Exhausted, Saito had taken refuge on the school rooftop during lunch. Only two people ever went up there: Saito and Shisei. Compared to his home, it was a sanctuary of peace. With a carton of milk—his protein shake substitute—in hand, Saito grumbled like a regular at a bar.
“Lately, she’s been…” started Saito.
“Complaining about the old ball and chain, huh?” said Shisei. She was sipping Saito’s milk through his straw without asking.
“I’m not complaining. Also, how did you know I was talking about Akane?”
“I can tell from your voice. Whenever you’re worn out from dealing with your wife, you come running to Shise’s arms. And I’m the bewitching woman who soothes you.”
“Stop making it sound weird,” Saito scolded.
“It’s not weird. Everyone needs a place to escape to. You need Shise, and I, Shise, need you.”
“That’s true, but still…”
To Saito, who felt neglected by his parents, Shisei was the closest thing he had to family. It was more than that, really. Long before his marriage to Akane, Shisei had been by his side, always supporting him unflinchingly.
“Don’t hold back; just lean on me. I, Shise, will embrace you with boundless affection.” With a radiant smile, Shisei held out her arms to Saito in a welcoming gesture. Her expression, glossy like a porcelain doll, shimmered with an alluring mystique—truly, she had the aura of a siren. Though she looked like an adorable little fairy, one wrong move and you’d find yourself dragged into the depths of some enchanted spring.
“Don’t stand on the railing. That’s dangerous,” scolded Saito.
“Boooo.”
Saito lifted Shisei from her perch on the rooftop railing and gently set her down on the ground. No matter how otherworldly her beauty was, her fundamentally childlike nature kept the world safe from falling under her spell.
“So? What about the wife?” Shisei asked, tilting her head.
“She says she sees ghosts in our home. Gets scared about them standing by her bed or hearing footsteps at night. Now she won’t even go to the bath alone.”
“Ani-kun, you are a pervert.” Shisei gave Saito a deadpan stare.
“I didn’t do anything pervy! We didn’t end up bathing together anyway!”
“But deep down, you wanted to, right?”
“N-no way!” Saito panicked. He couldn’t truthfully claim he was completely free of impure thoughts.
“Ani-kun is a closet pervert.”
“I’m not a closet pervert!”
“I, Shise, know…Ani-kun is the kind of guy who would risk his life just to see a girl naked. He’d climb a skyscraper just to peep,” she said matter-of-factly.
“I’m not that desperate.” Saito just wanted to live a grounded life.
“Did Ani-kun see a ghost?”
“No, not at all. I’m pretty sure it was just a mouse, but when I told Akane that, she didn’t believe me. She went, ‘So you’re on the ghost’s side too?!’ and got all paranoid. I don’t even know what to do anymore.”
Shisei scrunched up her tiny hand as she fell into thought. “Maybe it really was a ghost.”
“No way.”
“It’s not impossible, Ani-kun. Grandpa has a lot of enemies. It could be the ghost of someone who got laid off and ended their life because of it, haunting the house he built. And now they can’t stand to see his grandchildren happy, so they want to curse them to death,” said Shisei.
“Then you tell it to curse grandpa instead, please.” Total misdirected resentment—but then again, Saito and Akane weren’t exactly living happily. If anything, Saito, Alane, and the ghosts could probably form a “Victims of Grandpa” support group together.
“Besides, ghosts aren’t even real,” Saito insisted.
“They are. I, Shise, have seen one.”
“For real?!”
“For real. One even gave me some melonpan,” said Shisei.
“Then it’s definitely not a ghost.”
“Another one pushed money on me crying, saying, ‘Please take this, no need to pay me back,’” added Shisei.
“That is absolutely not a ghost. That’s one of your fans.”
Having a stranger suddenly hand you money is a scarier act than most ghosts could manage—but that was the power of Shisei’s inexplicable charm. She could drive people to irrationality.
“You did turn the cash in to the police, right?” asked Saito.
Shisei shook her head. “Nope. I used it to hang out with Ani-kun.”
“Ugh… Now I’m an accomplice?” Saito clutched his head in his hands. From then on, he’d have to carefully monitor where Shisei’s money came from. More than shady—it was outright terrifying to think she might be spending dirty…or scary…money.
“In any case, something’s definitely up at your place. Even if it’s not a ghost, ignoring it could be dangerous,” Shisei advised.
“Yeah… I guess you’re right…”
Now that he thought about it, the noises he’d heard really were too loud for some kind of pest. If it turned out to be an intruder, both he and Akane could be in serious danger.
“If it’s something like that, then I, Shise, will find out what it is for you. Shise isn’t as dull as you, so I can get to the bottom of it.”
“But if Akane finds out you know about the marriage, it’s going to be a problem,” said Saito. Akane would definitely assume Saito was the one who spilled the beans and go nuclear.
“Don’t worry. I, Shise, can handle that.”
“How?”
“However it needs to be handled. You just relax and leave it to me. I, Shise, will protect my precious Ani-kun from any indecent intruders,” Shisei boldly declared with confidence.
As Shisei and Saito returned to Class 3-A, Shisei made a beeline for Akane’s desk.
“Akane, Akane. I need to talk to you.”
“…To me? About what?” Akane looked wary. They’d been in the same class since entering school, but Shisei and Akane had barely ever interacted. Saito couldn’t recall seeing them chat even once. Shisei placed her hands on Akane’s desk and spoke plainly.
“You’re married to Ani-kun, right?”
Akane froze, thinking Why would you say that here?!
Saito nearly choked. It wasn’t just what she said—it was the delivery. Shisei had pitched a 102 mile-per-hour fastball right down the middle.
Akane immediately trained her death glare on Saito, her eyes like a professional assassin. You told her, didn’t you?!
No no no! Saito frantically shook his head. Normally their communication was a mess, but for once, the couple’s eye contact perfectly relayed the situation in real time. Without the slightest concern for Saito and Akane’s desperate panic, Shisei continued calmly.
“I, Shise, know everything. About Ani-kun and Akane living toge—”
“All right then! How about we go for a lovely little walk! Right now!” said Saito, rushing to cut off his cousin.