"This is..."
The object pulled from the box was a type of ani rchandise known as a figure. It looked like a character dressed as a shrine maiden.
"Why is there sothing like this in the offer box?" Shido asked, confused.
"I don't know, but let's just throw it away." Mikoto said, puffing out her cheeks in anger. To think she had actually been scared by an ani figure.
"Stop! Please don't throw her away!"
Suddenly, a loud voice bood from behind the offering box.
"Uwaa!"
"Eek!"
Shido jumped in shock, and Mikoto shrank straight behind his back.
"Who's there... huh?"
After getting a clear look at the person, they realized it was another mber of the Fraxinus crew, Nakatsugawa.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I brought my newlywed bride Hiko-chan to the shrine this morning, but I accidentally dropped her into the offer box. Since there were other people waiting to pray, I figured I'd co back to find her at night when no one was around. But I accidentally bumped the bell rope."
It seed he was here to retrieve the shrine maiden figure nad Hiko, which he had dropped into the offering box earlier that day.
"But why were you hiding?" Shido asked, caught between laughing and crying.
"Well, since Yakumo-chan got scared by a horror movie today, I thought it would be best to stay hidden so I wouldn't scare her again."
"Hiding in the dark makes it even scarier! The bell ringing when no one's there is the scariest part!" Shido yelled, calling out the sheer stupidity of Nakatsugawa's logic.
"Umm... Nakatsugawa-san. Thank you for your concern.However, please allow to suggest that next ti you accidentally drop your belongings into the offer box, you notify the shrine maiden imdiately. If the shrine maiden is not present, this shrine offers a phone ssaging service, allowing you to retrieve your lost items the following day.Furthermore, this shrine strictly prohibits anyone from privately taking items out of the offer box..."
Mikoto stepped forward, flashing a perfect, custor service smile.
"Umm... is Yakumo-chan angry?"
Looking at the young girl who seed to be radiating literal dark energy, Nakatsugawa asked, sweating profusely.
"Yes, I am angry. So please forgive for what I am about to do."
After saying that, Mikoto raised her hand and threw the shrine maiden figure as hard as she could. The doll nad Hiko traced a beautiful arc through the air, landing perfectly in the branches of a small tree.
"My Hikoooo—!"
Watching his beloved figure get stuck in a tree, Nakatsugawa let out a tragic wail and rushed over, preparing to climb it.
"Well then, let's go back, Shido."
Mikoto sighed, grabbed Shido's hand, and headed back toward the house.
"Y-Yeah..."
Looking at Nakatsugawa, who had climbed halfway up the tree before falling back down, Shido cast him a pitying glance.
Ignoring Nakatsugawa's wailing, the two returned to their respective rooms.
"Everything should be fine now, right?"
Shido reached for the light switch. The "Ushi no Koku Mairi (Hour of the Ox) woman" was Shiizaki, and the spooky stuff at the shrine and the offering box was Nakatsugawa's masterpiece. Now that she knew that, Mikoto should feel at least a little more at ease.
[!!!]
However, before he could turn off the light, the dark of night suddenly descended upon him once again.
"Senpai!"
Stepping out of his room, Shido saw Mikoto shivering in the hallway. She was wrapped in her blanket, leaning against the wall, and staring into her own room with a look of absolute terror.
"Shido... a shadow..."
Seeing Shido appear, Mikoto pointed a trembling finger toward her room.
"A shadow?"
"Shadows... there are two of them."
_______________
Rewinding ti to a minute or two ago: Mikoto returned to her room, but because she was still scared, she didn't turn off the light. She just took off her clothes and crawled straight into bed.
[Please, just let sleep peacefully.]
But just closing her eyes made the terrifying scenes from the movie flash through her mind, making it impossible to sleep. What was even worse was that she had just experienced real-life versions of events from the movie—like the hamr hitting the doll, or the eerie bell ringing in front of the shrine.
Even though Shido had helped her figure out that it was all just accidents caused by the Fraxinus crew, honestly, Mikoto felt completely exhausted deep down.
[Phew...]
She closed her eyes, trying to force herself to sleep. However...
[!!!]
In that exact mont, the corner of her eye caught sothing eerie and completely out of place—a shadow. Even though she couldn't make out the exact shape, it was undeniably the shadow of a person.
The young girl's eyes flew wide open, cold sweat soaking her back. She was lying in bed, so why was there a human shadow on the wall!?
"Eek!"
Unable to endure the terrifying sight any longer, Mikoto wrapped her blanket tightly around herself and bolted out of the room.
_________________
"A shadow? There's nothing here."
Shido walked into Mikoto's room, but he didn't see any so called shadows.
"Huh?"
Mikoto also stepped into the room, only to find that the wall where she had seen the shadow was completely empty.
"You must have just imagined it."
Looking around, Shido didn't see anything that could even be mistaken for a shadow. The only explanation was that Mikoto was so scared she saw things.
"Umm... I'll head back to my room then."
Since everything was fine, Shido decided to go back to sleep.
[!!!]
Seeing Shido turn to leave, Mikoto's eyes widened. That shadow earlier was definitely not her imagination. The thought of sleeping alone in a room where a creepy shadow might appear pushed her anxiety to the absolute max.
"Yakumo-senpai?"
Shido, who was about to leave, felt Mikoto hug him from behind.
"Don't go, Shido."
"But..."
"Please..."
Looking at the young girl shivering in her blanket, tears welling up in her eyes, and an expression full of pure unease, Shido's ntal defenses instantly crumbled.
"I... I understand..."
If there was anyone out there who could harden their heart and reject a girl looking like an abandoned little animal, Shido wanted them brought here imdiately. He definitely couldn't do it.
"But you have to put your pajamas on properly."
Glancing at the girl's smooth, bare shoulders peeking out from the blanket, Shido felt his throat go a bit dry.
"Mhm!"
Mikoto nodded happily.
And so, the two of them ended up sleeping in Mikoto's room together.
"Ehehe, it's just like during the school trip" Mikoto giggled warmly, snuggled in her bed wearing strawberry patterned pajamas.
It was a very strange feeling. Just a mont ago, she was scared half to death, but looking at Shido right next to her, all of her fear vanished without a trace.
"Ugh..."
However, for Shido, looking at Mikoto lying right beside him naturally brought back mories of the school trip—specifically, the warm, soft sensation of the young girl. In an instant, his mind started getting hazy.
"I think... I'm going to get up for a bit."
Shido tried to get out of bed. If he stayed like this, sothing terrible was going to happen.
"No!"
But the young girl hugged him tightly, refusing to let him go.
"It's Shido's fault I ended up like this in the first place, so you have to take proper responsibility."
"Ugh..."
Looking at the blushing but incredibly stubborn Mikoto, and feeling her body heat and softness pressed against him, Shido felt his rationality slowly lting away.
"Senpai... I really think I should..."
This was bad. If this kept up, he was definitely going to lose control. He decided it would be better to just sit next to Mikoto until she fell asleep, and then sneak back to his own room.
"Shido... Zzz..."
"Huh?"
However, he quickly realized that after spending the entire day drowning in fear, the mont she finally felt safe, the young girl instantly fell fast asleep.
"Honestly..."
Looking at Mikoto's sweet sleeping face, the chaotic thoughts in his mind quietly settled down. Shido gave a wry smile, scratched his cheek, and closed his eyes.
"Goodnight, Yakumo-senpai."
As the two drifted off to sleep, outside Mikoto's room, black shadows quietly spread across the floor.
???: "Ara ara~ What an unexpected developnt."
Taking a break from her busy schedule, she had co to the shrine to rest, only to find Mikoto panicking for so unknown reason.
???: "Honestly. What should I do now?"
She had only intended to scare her a little, but ended up scaring Shido right into Mikoto's bed.
???: "Well, considering it's Shido-san, nothing should happen anyway."
Logically, she should have intervened. But considering how incredibly anxious Mikoto had been today, combined with Shido's overly herbivore personality, she had a feeling absolutely nothing was going to happen anyway.
???: "Goodnight, Shido-san, and Yakumo-san."
A soft giggle echoed from the dark shadows before slowly fading away completely.
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