Amamiya grasped the female ghost's wrist, his voice steady and authoritative.
"What did you just say?" The ghost's eyes filled with confusion.
Amamiya's expression was serious. "Why did you touch me just now?"
The female ghost was stunned. "You're a boy, and you're accusing me of harassment?"
"What's wrong with that?" Amamiya retorted confidently. "Boys can't be harassed by nymphomaniacs too? What happened to gender equality? You're being sexist!"
"That actually makes sense," Chika nodded without thinking.
"I had a friend once," Amamiya continued, "a really cute boy. Because of his looks, a woman from next door wouldn't leave him alone."
He then looked back at the female ghost. "So don't try to play innocent. You're the subway pervert that targets male high school students."
"I didn't! You're just making things up!" the ghost protested, her voice growing sharp.
Amamiya smirked, his reply sharp. "Then why did you grab me out of all the passengers here? Why not anyone else?"
The female ghost froze, speechless for a moment. It was a cruel reversal of her own words, leaving her in a complicated silence.
Watching this unfold, Umi whispered, "I feel bad now for doubting that boy with glasses earlier... What was his name again?"
"I think it was Aki... something?" the timid short-haired girl murmured.
"…"
"Are you not afraid of dying?" the ghost asked coldly, her face contorting with growing malice.
"Of course, I am," Amamiya replied, his voice calm but firm. "But what I'm more afraid of is letting a false accusation go unchallenged. Sometimes malicious slander is scarier than death itself."
His words seemed to strike a chord with the other ghostly passengers, who averted their gazes.
"Amamiya-kun, you're amazing!" Chika's eyes sparkled with admiration.
"Not really." Amamiya subtly gestured toward the female ghost, "Now, hurry up and move over here."
If it weren't for the prompt that had appeared in front of him earlier, Amamiya wouldn't have bothered playing along.
What to do when a ghost falsely accuses someone?
Slandering others was a crime, even among ghosts, and directly landed her on the list of targets for "gangbuster" action.
"Oh, right!" Chika quickly stepped away from the ghost and stood beside Amamiya.
Unexpectedly, the female ghost made no further moves, only glaring at them as she hissed, "You'll regret this, human."
With that, Amamiya and the girls retreated to a corner, keeping a cautious distance from the vengeful spirit.
"That ghost isn't acting normal," Umi observed, arms crossed. "Chika-chan didn't even touch her, so why is she targeting us?"
Amamiya's voice was low, thoughtful. "First, it was the boy with glasses. Now, it's Chika. It seems like she's only going after the players."
The timid girl's eyes lit up. "Could this be a hidden part of the game? Maybe if you answer wrong, you're taken off the train when it stops."
"Eh?!" Chika's panic was immediate. "Does that mean I'm next?"
As the subway began to slow down, its screeching noise signaling a stop, Chika looked nervously toward Amamiya. "What do we do now?"
Without a word, Amamiya stepped over to the body of the office worker lying near the subway door and began searching his briefcase.
Inside, he found various items: papers, towels, a wallet, keys, a bottle of unfamiliar pills, a half-smoked pack of cigarettes...
"What are you looking for?" Umi asked, tension clear in her voice as the group huddled together. "Need help?"
"Got it," Amamiya said, pulling out a small metal lighter.
To activate the "gangbuster" skills, Amamiya knew he needed to see his target first. While dim, the lighter's flame would provide enough light to make the ghost visible.
Chika's eyes lit up with understanding. "That's why you needed the lighter! But... how did you know he had one?"
"Because I've watched a thousand episodes of 'Detective Conan,'" Amamiya said quietly.
"Ah, it's the fingers, right?" Umi chimed in with interest. "Smokers often have yellowed fingers."
"Exactly," Amamiya gave her a nod. "Sharp thinking, Kitagawa Marin-san. You caught on."
"It's 'Kitagawa Umi', not some random character from an anime!"
"…"
As their conversation came to a close, the train slowed to a halt once more, accompanied by the same eerie buzzing sound, and once again, the subway plunged into darkness.
Amamiya acted swiftly, lighting the small metal lighter without hesitation.
A faint flame flickered to life, casting an eerie blue glow that, while unsettling, provided just enough light to see.
"I was worried it wouldn't light," Chika murmured, her nerves easing slightly as she stepped closer to Amamiya.
Then, suddenly:
"Whoosh…"
A soft breath swept past them, chilling and foreboding, and in an instant, the fragile flame was snuffed out.
Someone had blown out the lighter. Someone—or something—was in the subway with them.
Amamiya's expression darkened. The doors hadn't even opened yet, so how had they managed to appear inside?
There was no time to think. In one fluid motion, Amamiya turned and pulled Chika into his arms.
'I can't let her be taken. If she vanishes, I may never find her again.'
At the same time, he silently called out to the protective spirit lying dormant within him:
'Mrs. Shimizu, now would be a great time to step in! Even if you can't fight, you could at least act as a shield in a moment like this, right?'
In the suffocating darkness, with Chika pressed tightly against him, Amamiya became acutely aware of her presence. He could feel the softness of her chest, and the delicate fragrance that surrounded her—a mixture of shampoo, milk, fruit, and cake—pleasant and sweet.
It seemed the saying that girls are made of "sugar, spice, and everything nice" was absolutely true when it came to Chika.
Chika, just as anxious, clung to Amamiya's waist, her rapid, warm breaths falling against his neck.
But in that intense moment, no one had the luxury to care about anything else.
Moments later, the subway lights flickered back on.
"Looks like nothing happened," Umi exhaled in relief.
"Maybe hugging someone stops them from being taken?" the short-haired girl speculated. "Or maybe it was Amamiya-senpai's answer earlier?"
Amamiya slowly released Chika from his arms. "I'm just glad you're safe," he said softly.
Chika's face was flushed, her breath still uneven, and her hair slightly disheveled from the embrace.
As the group began to recover from the moment, a hand suddenly shot out, grabbing the wrist of the grey haired girl, Umi.
"You touched me?" a cold, eerie voice hissed.
It was happening again.
'Can't you come up with a new line?' Amamiya thought, sighing internally.
Umi's eyes widened as she looked to Amamiya for guidance. Swallowing her nerves, she mirrored his earlier words, hesitation in her voice:
"You're the one who touched me... train slut!"
The ghost's grip tightened, tears of blood flowing from her eyes. "You accuse me of this without proof? That's slander!"
Amamiya winced slightly. 'She's using my own lines now... You're supposed to follow through with them!'
"What do we do now?" Kitagawa asked nervously. "She's not following the script!"
"Who said there's no proof?" Amamiya's voice cut through the tension, calm but commanding.
At that critical moment, he stood tall and declared confidently:
"I just saw your thighs—covered in 'pervert' characters."