Saturday, 8:30 a.m.

As the alarm clock rang, Hikigaya Hachiman abruptly opened his eyes.

After yawning and stretching, his groggy brain directed his body to head downstairs.

"Onii-chan, good morning~"

As usual, Komachi was lying on the sofa in her sleepwear—which barely covered her upper thighs—watching a morning drama.

Seeing Hachiman come downstairs, she waved cheerfully to greet him.

"Ah, morning…"

Still half-asleep, Hachiman nodded toward her and turned into the bathroom.

A few minutes later…

Refreshed after washing up with cold water, Hachiman came out of the bathroom energized and sat at the table to enjoy the breakfast Komachi had left for him.

"Do you have plans today, Onii-chan?" Komachi casually asked while watching TV.

"Yeah, I'm going to visit Yotsuya-san's house…"

Hachiman nodded and explained that he was going to see Miko Yotsuya.

"What?!"

Komachi's voice shot up several decibels. She turned off the TV and looked at Hachiman seriously.

"Onii-chan, didn't you say you didn't like her?"

"I did. Why're you asking all of a sudden?"

Hachiman looked at Komachi, confused by her suddenly tense expression.

He was just going to Yotsuya's house to do an exorcism—nothing worth getting worked up about.

After all, his current spiritual power rivaled that of a general-class exorcist. The only ghost he couldn't handle in all of Chiba was the ghost king.

"Then why are you going to her house today?"

Komachi crossed her arms and interrogated him.

"To exorcise spirits. Yotsuya-san said her house is haunted by lots of evil spirits, and it's seriously affecting her daily life. So she asked me to go and deal with them today…"

"I see…"

Hearing Hachiman's explanation, Komachi nodded.

She immediately understood what Yotsuya was planning. A very clever strategy, indeed.

First, use Hachiman's empathy to lure him to her house under the pretense of exorcism. Then, cause a few "accidents," and from there… Unforgivable!

"Onii-chan, when are you supposed to meet her?"

Having made up her mind to supervise, Komachi asked for his departure time.

"Ten o'clock."

"Ten, huh?"

Hearing that, Komachi fell into thought. She sat down again but soon stood up and ran upstairs.

"...…" Hachiman silently watched her bizarre reactions. After finishing breakfast and cleaning up, he also went upstairs to change clothes and get ready to go out.

"Komachi, I'm heading out."

He would've preferred to just wear something casual to meet Yotsuya, but considering she was a girl and he might meet her family, Hachiman begrudgingly picked out a decent outfit from his limited wardrobe.

Before leaving, he called loudly toward Komachi's closed bedroom door. There was no response.

"Well, I'm off then…"

Not getting a reply, Hachiman didn't mind.

After putting on his shoes at the entrance, he stepped out and headed to the plaza where he had arranged to meet Yotsuya Miko.

From between the curtains, Komachi watched Hachiman's figure disappear from sight. In her room, fully "armed" and dressed, Komachi gave herself a pep talk in the mirror—then stealthily snuck out to follow him.

.

.

.

On the bus—

After spending an hour carefully dressing up, Yotsuya Miko sat upright in her seat, looking out the window at the passing scenery.

The thought of soon meeting Hachiman and finally saying goodbye to all the evil spirits in her home made the corners of her lips curl up involuntarily.

But…

Staring at her reflection in the window, Miko's excitement gave way to a trace of anxiety.

Will he like how I look today…?

Suddenly, loud chatter and laughter echoed in her ears.

"Eh? Really? That's hilarious!"

Hearing the noisy voices, Miko frowned but said nothing. After all, the bus was public space, and even if others were loud, it wasn't her place to complain.

But then she realized something was off— There were very few passengers on the bus. Looking around, she saw no group of laughing girls anywhere.

No way...

Miko gave a bitter smile. With her experience, she already knew what she was dealing with.

Sure enough, the noisy laughter returned. This time, she didn't look around, simply lowered her head and scrolled through news on her phone.

But the spirits weren't done. The third wave of voices came—this time from directly in front of her.

"Why do I have to deal with this just by riding a bus…"

Biting her lip, Miko hesitated for only a second before switching her phone screen to LINE...

Ding~

Hachiman was walking toward the plaza when his phone suddenly vibrated.

Miko Yotsuya: There's a ghost bothering me on the bus. Can you come save me? (╥﹏╥)

"...…"

Hachiman stared silently at the message. Did Miko have some sort of ghost-attracting constitution or what? She always seemed to be haunted.

Still, grumbling internally was one thing—Hachiman swiftly replied:

Hachiman: Sure. Where's the bus now?

Miko Yotsuya: I'm on Bus 15, three stops away from the plaza.

Three stops, huh?

Hachiman looked up and estimated his current location relative to the plaza. Walking would take about ten minutes. At a normal bus speed, they'd probably arrive at the same time.

But just to be safe, Hachiman decided he needed to reach the stop before her.

No choice but to run…

Sighing, he began sprinting toward the plaza station.

"Eh? Has he noticed me?"

Seeing Hachiman suddenly speed up, Komachi—disguised in casual wear with a mask and sunglasses—popped out from an alley and began chasing after him with all her might.