Day 1 of "enjoying the school week" with Hanako

"You'll let me enjoy this whole school week.... with you."

Those words wouldn't stop ringing in her head even as she left the bathroom.

The whole day, people wondered why Y/N remained impervious to their jests and taunts. Yoshiro, her seatmate, kept poking her, trying to catch her attention.

"Y/N?"

"Mm?"

"You alright?"

"Mm."

"You sure?"

"Mhm."

Yoshiro began to grow worried. Y/N may be quiet, but she was never unresponsive.

The school bell rang, marking the end of classes. Yoshiro wandered the school grounds, desperately looking for her friend.

"Y/N?!" She called out, adamant to find her. "Y/N! Let's walk home together! Where are you?!"

"Hey, Yoshiro-chan."

Yoshiro jumped at the voice, her ears tinged red in embarrassment.

"H-Hi, Miramoto..."

'S-Senpai...!'

"Who are you looking for?"

"Y-Y/N." Yoshiro awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. "I couldn't find her, so..."

"I heard she already went home." He shrugged. Yoshiro was both hurt and stunned at his words. Leaving her like that was something Y/N would never do.

"So... 'wanna walk home together instead?"

Yoshiro's heart skipped a beat, her eyes shining.

That was something she simply couldn't refuse.

~

Y/N was out of breath as she finally escaped the packed crowd, rushing to the bathroom.

The bandage she had wrapped by herself sure did a good job... but only for a little while.

She thought she would faint as the blood seeped through the bandage, soaking her fingers in a dark crimson.

She crashed open the girls' bathroom door, falling unto the tiled floor clumsily. Her steps were getting feeble and her head was spinning. The sight of blood really made her feel nauseous.

"Aww, came to see me, did you?" An all-too familar voice reached her ears.

"H-Hanako-san!" Y/N gasped in surprise.

The boy had appeared out of nowhere, catching the girl off guard even when she was about to faint. It didn't take long for the ghost to find out that something was wrong with Y/N.

"Hey, are you alright?" He floated to her side, kneeling beside her as she panted heavily. Y/N ignored his question, trying to unwrap her bandage.

Hanako's eyes flickered unto the bloodied cloth. He bit his lip tursely.

"What a pathetic bandage..."

"I couldn't get a gauze." Y/N wheezed through her baited breath. "Mom would never let me."

Hanako nodded in understanding, helping her unwrap the bandage.

"H-Hey!" Y/N gasped, again finding the sudden contact surprising. She reached out to uppercut him.

This time, it worked.

She watched as the boy hit a bathroom stall with a loud CRASH! Y/N clamped a hand to her mouth in terror.

"Oh my god, Hanako-" Y/N began to crawl towards him, but her injured arm gave away.

The boy caught her before she could fall. For the second time, Y/N felt herself blushing.

"You're strong... but so clumsy!" Hanako chuckled, bemused. Y/N ignored his teasing.

"How can I touch you?!"

"Oh, about that..."

Y/N kept her eyes on the boy as he slowly let her go. She kept her eyes away from her arm as he continued to unwrap the bandage.

"...I made us share a bond. You know, so that I can really enjoy this week. How can I have fun if I can't even touch you?"

Y/N recoiled a little at his straightforward words.

"You sound like a pervert..."

Hanako only smiled frivolously. By now, he had disposed of the bandage, tossing it out of the window.

"H-Hanako-san!" Y/N gaped at the apparition.

"What?" He frowned.

"You can't just do that! There's a garden down there!"

"You're more important than that garden, as a matter of fact." Hanako replied, again reaching into his uniform to get something.

Y/N didn't like the way her heart raced.

'My heart races in front of my mom, and I'm scared of her... maybe it's because I'm still scared of him, too.'

Hanako had now pulled out a fresh, clean gauze. This time, the bandage wasn't just some makeshift one made with a random cloth, like how Y/N did it.

"I-I'll place it..." Y/N reached out a hand to take it.

"Allow me."

"Hanako!"

But it was too late, anyway. Hanako was busy gingerly wrapping the gauze on her wound. And then, after a few minutes...

"Ta-da!" Hanako grinned widely, pulling away. Y/N could finally muster the courage to look at her arm.

It was as good as new. Clean, tight, and way more comfortable than the old one.

Again, tears began rushing to her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" Hanako pouted. "My bandage is not good enough?"

"N-No..." She murmured, fighting down her tears of genuine happiness. "...It's wonderful. Thank you."

"But you look so sad." Hanako gushed, unconvinced.

"I'm sorry..." Y/N stiffled a sniff. "I-It's just... other than Yoshiro, no one has been this nice to me before..."

Hanako awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well..."

Suddenly, Y/N crashed into him.

His amber eyes widened as the girl pulled him into a tight hug, sobbing into his shoulder.

Hanako hadn't felt the warmth of an embrace for a very long time... it was so warm that even his face was heating up, too. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, reciprocating the act.

They were quiet for a while. Finally, Y/N spoke.

"I-I'm sorry..."

"Don't be!" Hanako pinched her cheek. "You're just naturally a crybaby, aren't you?"

Y/N swatted his hand away bashfully.

"Sh-shut up...."

"You won't stop stuttering, too." Hanako grinned. "I'm calling you stutterbug."

"Quit it!"

"Alright, stutterbug!"

"My name is Y/N L/N!" Y/N harrumphed, puffing her cheeks irritably.

"Are you trying to look intimadating?" He yawned. "You're only making yourself look cute."

Y/N rolled her eyes, slowly untangling herself from the hug.

"Why are you being so nice?"

Hanako looked up in surprise at the question.

Y/N suddenly looked a lot more suspicious... even serious, too. Her E/C eyes had a luster of distrust.

Hanako was used to that. He hummed, not wishing to reveal his true answer.

"Why? You don't want me to?"

"W-Well...." Y/N shyly looked at the floor.

Hanako smiled softly. Reverse pyschology always worked. In the meantime, he looked out the window.

It was already getting dark. He looked at the clock on the wall.

5:30 pm.

'Wow. It's been an hour....?'

"Hey, Y/N!" Hanako floated towards the wallclock, gesturing to it.

"It's getting late! You should go home..."

"...And back to my mother?" Y/N crossed her arms, looking down at the floor. "I-I don't really want to, but..."

She sighed, picking herself up from the floor. Hanako's eyes widened.

"Wait, Y/N!" He took hold of her wrist. The young girl turned around in surprise.

"You can stay here if you'd like." Hanako smiled warmly.

Y/N's jaw went slack in amazement.

"I can? Really?"

"Of course!"

"D-Do I have to pay back for that..? This is all too good to be true..."

Hanako thought for a moment. Maybe he could make her do something... but what?

"Hmm, let's leave that unanswered for now..." Hanako landed on the ground beside her. He walked through the bathroom doorway, holding out a hand.

"Now come along!"

Y/N looked at him doubtfully.

"Where...?"

"Why, to a classroom, of course!" Hanako laughed. "What's the matter? You want to stay in the bathroom?"

Y/N grew embarrassed.

"Th-that's not what I..."

"And your top's already a little unbuttoned, too." His eyes slitted lasciviously. "Hey, Y/N... are you dirtier than I thought? What are you trying to insinuate~?"

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL!" Y/N bursted in exasperation, hiding her partly exposed chest in embarrassment. "The button fell out, and I couldn't replace it! My mother, of course, refused to help!"

The simpering look on Hanako's face remained, but he nodded. He turned around, then began walking towards a classroom.

On the way, Y/N grew more conscious of her missing button, trying her best to cover it up.

"Don't." Hanako called out, even when he didn't turn to look at her.

"Why not?" Y/N grumbled.

"You look mighty fine without it." He peered over his shoulder, smirking.

Y/N headchopped him on the neck.

"OW!" He cried, whimpering in agony. "What was that for?!"

"Watch your tongue!"

"Oh, I will..."

Y/N didn't like his tone of voice on that sentence. She blushed, looking away, Hanako enjoying her flustered expression.

At last, they reached the classroom. Hanako pushed open the doors, revealing an empty array of chairs and desks.

Despite the chairs, the pair decided to settle on the floor. The chairs were rather far apart, and as childish as it sounded, Y/N didn't like being alone in the dark.

She stayed next to Hanako, who was visibly accustomed to utter blackness. He settled against the wall comfortably.

"Hey, the night air is cool tonight, Y/N." He smiled at his companion. "So what do you-"

He went quiet when he saw how afraid Y/N looked. She was twirling a strand of her H/C hair nervously, her eyes wide in fear.

Hanako chuckled, bemused. He approached her, then settled next to the shivering girl.

"Too cold?"

"A bit..." Y/N quietly murmured. "But, uhm.... it's also very dark...."

Hanako had to stifle a laugh at her confession.

"You're scared of the dark?!"

"I-I know! I'm silly!" Y/N yawned. "But I feel a lot better with a friend by my side."

"'Friend?'" Hanako repeated the word.

Y/N turned a little red at the word that slipped. A hand flew to her mouth.

"S-sorry..."

"Oh no, it's alright!" Hanako grinned. "Humans can be such interesting companions... I'll take you in as one."

He inched closer, then laced his fingers with hers.

Y/N grew flustered, but liked the warm that came from it. She pressed against Hanako. She felt less cold.

"M-May I...?"

"Hmm?"

"Move a little closer."

Hanako, unsure what to say, nodded.

She siddled up to him, resting her head on his shoulder. The boy's ears felt a little hot.

"Thank you..." Y/N murmured quietly. "You've done more than anyone could've."

"You're welcome...?" He answered uneasily. This was the same aura of awkwardness he felt when they hugged.

"Thank you." She repeated softly.

"I get it, I get it..." Hanako looked away, a little flustered.

"I still have so much to do." Y/N sighed absently. "I still need to do my homework, and even fix this button, what a pain...."

Her warm breath tickled his neck. Hanako grew strangely uneasy, which he tried to mask by coming up with a taunt.

"Hey, getting pretty close, aren't you? What are you trying to do, make us look like a couple? You little-"

A quiet snore.

Hanako's eyes grew wide. His eyes flickered to the girl beside her.

Y/N had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

The spirit's eyes softened.

"If only you knew how much we have in common..." He murmured absently, before drifting off to a little nap himself.