After a moment of silence, Ya-chan spoke up, "In that case, let's play ghost catching people."
"How do you want to play?"
"You become a ghost and catch me."
"If the specific rules are reasonable, sure," Seiji agreed.
A human pretending to be a ghost and catching people while a ghost pretending to be a human … this was actually a different kind of competition.
Fighting directly and forcefully suppressing Ya-chan with his strength might result in a terrible result. Now that Seiji knew that this little ghost didn't have any malicious intentions, it would be better to play a game and try to win against it.
After both sides agreed on the rules, Ya-chan transformed the spatial dimension into a gigantic room and set up many screens as obstacles.
These screens were all decorated with white cherry blossom petals, and they appeared strangely beautiful under the dim yellow light.
And then, the game began.
Ya-chan's figure instantly transformed into a streak of light!
Seiji used the [Evolved Body-strengthening Technique] and charged at full speed!
The ghost child moved at high speed between the screens, and the golden boy followed closely behind and gradually caught up.
When the distance between them was close enough, Seiji raised his hand and pounced forward!
* Whoosh … * Ya-chan suddenly changed direction and avoided Seiji's pounce.
Seiji missed his target and rolled forward, crashing through several screens before he was able to stop himself.
"Heehee ~" The ghost chuckled.
Seiji silently stood up and continued charging at Ya-chan.
After another round of chasing, he once again closed in on Ya-chan.
He cast [Evolved Telekinesis]!
A giant golden hand suddenly appeared and grabbed at the ghost.
Ya-chan suddenly changed direction!
Now on guard, Seiji also changed direction and pounced at Ya-chan!
This time, just as he was about to catch Ya-chan, the ghost child suddenly flew upwards! It dodged again.
Seiji missed his target and rolled forward once again, crashing through the screen behind him.
"You can't catch me, hahaha ~"
Seiji revealed a displeased expression as he listened to Ya-chan's smug laughter.
"This is just a warm-up. I'll be getting serious from now on!" Seiji charged forward.
The chase continued for quite a while.
Seiji approached Ya-chan again and again, but Ya-chan evaded him time and time again. Ya-chan kept rolling on the ground.
Ya-chan was incredibly fast, and it didn't have any inertia when changing directions. It never slowed down in the slightest and was extremely agile.
Should I say, as expected of a ghost?
After not knowing how many times he had missed, Seiji's expression was full of helplessness.
Seeing him like this, Little Ghost smiled happily.
It even took the initiative to come closer and made a face in front of him.
"Looks like you're having fun," Seiji said, looking at her.
"Yeah ~"
"Since we're having so much fun, can you tell me about Miyabi Ishihara's situation?"
"No!"
"Why not?"
"No means no ~" Ya-chan made a face and shook his head.
Seiji stared at it for a while.
"Alright then … Let's do it!!" he suddenly shouted.
Ya-chan was startled. Immediately afterward, it saw a flash of light and felt its body become heavy.
It was suppressed by the sudden appearance of a huge diamond-shaped barrier!
Seiji seized this opportunity and closed in at a much faster speed than before!
Ya-chan subconsciously tried to dodge, but its movements were sluggish due to the suppression. Before it could find a way to resist the sudden emergence of the great enchantment, the golden figure had already arrived in front of it...
"Gotcha."
Seiji revealed a genuine smile as he tightly grasped onto his target.
"You've lost, Ya-chan."
"Eh …" The ghost child had a confused expression. It still didn't understand what just happened.
"Well done, Matsutani-senpai," Seiji praised as he turned to look to the right.
"Sigh … I'm already so old, yet I still have to do such hard work. Honestly," the pudgy middle-aged man complained as he appeared.
"As expected of a former ninja, you were able to set up such a large barrier without being discovered at all."
"It's this brat who's too arrogant … Also, you acted so well that you completely attracted his attention. As expected of a current handsome guy."
"This has nothing to do with appearance." Seiji smiled wryly.
"I told you before, appearance is the most important thing! A handsome guy will always attract attention no matter what he does. In contrast, a fat otaku will always be ignored, "Matsutani stated in a serious tone.
Ya-chan finally regained his senses and realized what had happened — he had fallen into a trap!
"That's against the rules!" the ghost child shouted angrily.
"It's not against the rules." Seiji looked at Ya-chan again. "There's no such thing as' others can't help me 'in the rules that we agreed upon."
"A foul is a foul! I refuse to admit it!" Ya-chan shouted.
Strictly speaking, this was indeed a scam, but …
"You have no choice but to admit it." Seiji narrowed his eyes. "I played with you as you requested, and I also followed the rules and won against you. It's now your turn to keep your promise."
"I refuse …"
"If you insist on not admitting it, then what I'm going to do to you won't just be 'impolite,' Ya-chan."
Seiji raised his voice and increased the force of his hand as a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
Ya-chan was rendered speechless.
"Fine …" The ghost child pouted. "You win, Brother Harano."
The game ended here.
…
Miyabi Ishihara was dreaming.
In her dream, she was a child who went to her maternal grandmother's house in the countryside with her mother. She got lost while playing outside.
Just as she was about to cry out of fear, she met a child about the same age as her.
A cute boy with brown hair and yellow eyes wearing a striped t-shirt and blue shorts … or was it a girl?
"My name is Ya-chan. What's your name?"
"Miyabi? That's Ya-chan as well, just like me, heehee ~ "
"Ya-chan, let's play together!"
Miyabi nodded in response to his brilliant smile.
The two children began playing together in the countryside.
Ya-chan took Miyabi to catch insects, pick fruits, play with cats, play with water by the river, and look at the tall cherry blossom trees …
Miyabi had a lot of fun.
But later, Ya-chan said that they were playing hide-and-seek and hid in a house.
Miyabi couldn't find him no matter how hard she tried. Just as she was getting anxious, she suddenly realized that this wasn't a dream, but a memory!
Ya-chan, who hid after playing hide-and-seek, never appeared in front of her again.
She didn't know what Ya-chan's name was. She didn't even know if he was a boy or a girl. She couldn't find him or her.
Later, her maternal grandmother passed away.
Miyabi never went back to that village again.
The fun times she had playing with the child named Ya-chan became her most precious childhood memory.
…
Seiji and Matsutani met up with Miyabi Ishihara.
The high school girl's black-rimmed eyeglasses were gone, and her hair had turned snow-white. Two black cat ears grew out of her head. She was quietly sleeping on her seat.
She was sitting on the award winner's seat.
Seiji got closer to check on her condition, but at this moment, Ya-chan transformed into mist and vanished.
The house also transformed into mist. The gigantic cherry blossom tree and the falling cherry blossoms gradually faded and disappeared. All the other countryside scenes also faded and vanished. The entire place now looked just like the award ceremony venue.
"Hmm …" Miyabi slowly woke up.
"Why did I fall asleep …" She rubbed her eyes and then noticed that something was wrong. "My glasses … where are my glasses?"
"Compared to your glasses, there's something more important that you should be concerned about right now, Ishihara-senpai," Seiji told her. "For example, the cat ears on your head."
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