Three days prior to Y/N's arrival at Sukora, the Broadcasting Room...

"Tsukasa, I don't want to kill anyone anymore."

The apparition drifted down from his floating a little, eyes wide with great interest.

"So that is your wish?"

Surrounded by shadows, the Sukora Wonder lifted her head, firy red eyes shining.

"Don't make me repeat myself."

"Calm down!" The black-haired spirit laughed, shaking his head. The other grunted impatiently, crossing its arms.

Tsukasa rolled over mid-air, turning to face them even more closely.

"You want to step down from your position, right?"

"Yes." They firmly nodded.

"Then in that case, I've found the perfect successor." Tsukasa's eyes shone with malice.

"There is a girl coming to your school, Sukora. She will be a perfect fit."

He looked down at her, grinning widely.

"Y/N Tsukira."

~

'I'm going to make so many friends!'

'I'm going to defend myself against anyone who will hurt me!'

'I'll be more talkative!'

"Hello?" A brunette approached her. "You're the transferee, right?"

Y/N stumbled back, caught off guard by how close the boy was to her.

"U-Uhm, y-yes!" Y/N nodded furiously. "Y-Y/N Tsukira. I-"

"Nice to meet you." The brunette smiled awkwardly. Then, as if he wanted to leave, hastily took off.

Y/N turned red, holding her backpack straps even more tightly. She walked into the unfamiliar campus with a crestfallen look.

'I'm failing. Woohoo!'

Even though she had mapped out her school plan for months, any little talk someone unfamiliar did made her recoil in anxiety.

'Strangers are just friends you haven't made!' Y/N chanted in her head, fighting her worry as curious stares from old students lied on her.

For the one hundredth time, she began to reminisce about Kamome.

At least there, she knew a few clique of people. She could melt away into the group and act like she belonged.

There, she knew everything. Here, she was nothing.

~

"Haven't you heard? They say the 12 pm Sewing Girl suffocated someone again!"

"The Nun's Daughter has been wandering in the school grounds."

"Is Hanahaki even real? Let alone the curer?"

Y/N listened intently to the murmuring of her new classmates, the boring lecture of her Homeroom teacher far away.

"The Guardian Angel is going to kill someone again!"

"The rumors said the sheets were stained with blood."

"Who could be laughing in that playground?"

"Hello? Hellooooo?"

Y/N snapped out of her intent listening, whipping around to turn to her seatmate.

She had been quiet the whole time, seemingly intent to the teacher's discussion. Now, she looked at her with wide red eyes.

"Oh! Hi..." Y/N mumbled shyly.

'I sound so stupid!'

"I'm Osane Miku." The girl started in a friendly manner.

"And you are?"

"Y-Y/N.... Tsukira."

"Well, then, Y/N!" Osane leaned down, a bright grin on her face. She made her voice low. "Don't you think Mr. Suzuki's lecture is a bit boring?"

Y/N nodded, unsure how to respond.

However, Osane didn't look bothered. She chuckled.

"Well, then! I think we can be good friends!"

'Friends!' Y/N thought cheerily.

'Looks like it won't be so hard after all!'

~ Recess...

"I see you've taken an interest to our school's rumors!" Osane smiled as she walked around campus with Y/N.

Both had bought snacks from the canteen. Y/N was munching on a F/F [favorite food], while Osane took an apple.

"Mhm." Y/N smiled wistfully. "You see, back at Kamome, we also had rumors..."

"We have seven." Osane nodded with interest.

"Seven?!"

"Yep!'

"Cool!" Y/N stammered in wonder. "We also have exactly seven!"

Osane looked at the enchanted girl, amused. As they continued walking, they shared Wonders, Osane bringing her to wherever place Sukora's rumor happened.

At last, they arrived in the corridors. Y/N took notice of how Osane had only mentioned six Wonders.

"Anyway!" The red-eyed brunette clapped her hands in conclusion. "That sums up all of the-"

"What about the 7th Wonder?" Y/N tilted her head.

"Oh!" Osane paused thoughtfully. She shrugged.

"He's not interesting... he's a toilet ghost."

'A toilet ghost!'

Y/N felt an unwanted wave of hope, looking up at her new friend with wide eyes.

"A he?! What's his name?"

Osane blinked, taken aback by her sudden peak of interest.

"Aka Manto."

Y/N's heart fell, and suddenly, she felt stupid for keeping her expectations optimistic. She tried to hide her disappointment, but Osane took notice.

"What's the matter, Y/N-chan?"

"It's nothing, really." she sighed, eyes misty. She looked out at the window, and the garden below.

They also had a big tree. Y/N cringed a little in guilt, as it reminded her of Kamome's Confession Tree.

"It's just... ours was a toilet ghost, too."

Osane's eyes widened with interest.

"Was he? Can you describe him?"

Y/N was at a loss for her words, but plowed on with a heavy heart. Thinking about the past still made her feel terribly homesick.

"He grants wishes, but at a price."

"That all?" Osane harrumphed, unsatisfied. Y/N rolled her eyes, amused, and thought harder.

"He fulfills them really well." Y/N closed her eyes. "His deals are very fair. If you would ask him for a wish, no matter how strange, he has a good solution. He also-"

"-what the hell? Have you two met or something?"

Y/N's eyes snapped open, and she jumped back.

"NO! NOT AT ALL!"

"Oh?" Osane narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"What? Do you have any proof?" Y/N retorted defensively.

"You were blushing, Y/N." Osane rose a brow. "If you two had met, you must have been awfully close."

'Blushing?! What the heck?!'

She patted her face anxiously, looking for warmth. Osane burst into laughter, shaking her head.

"Nevermind! Here, let me tell you about Aka Manto."

Y/N hastily tailed after her as the girl showed her to the bathroom.

"Right over there, in that bathroom stall, is where Aka Manto lingers."

She pointed to a stall at the far back, enshrouded with shadow. Y/N shivered.

"If you anger him, he will appear to you." Osana continued. A spark of curiousity flared in Y/N.

Was it just her, or did her friend sound less enthusiastic about explaining this Wonder?

"He will ask if you would prefer blue or red toilet paper." She continued darkly.

"If you choose blue, he will strangle you and choke you to death until you turn blue."

Y/N quivered, but Osane continued.

"If you choose red, he will stab you repeatedly 'till you're drenched in red with your own blood."

Osane affixed Y/N with a grim stare.

"Regardless of the color of your choice, you will die." She flatly said. "It's best not to mess with this spirit."

Y/N didn't realize her jaw had been hanging open in stupor the whole time; she hastily closed her mouth.

Osane sighed, though the emotion it brought was unreadable. As for Y/N, she thought it was a little sad.

"So, what do you think of the rumor, Y/N?" Osane asked quietly.

Y/N blinked. She would have said he was terrifying; a pyschopath. An absolute murderer.

But then she thought about her own toilet-bound ghost; Hanako.

'He was a murderer, wasn't he? But look at what he did to me. Look at where I am now.'

"He is interesting." Y/N responded with a small smile.

Her thoughts drifted to the Mokke, forced to shape into their rumors. She continued;

"I'd say I feel a little bad. Does he even want to kill?"

Osane stayed silent, looking at her with a stunned glance.

"U-Uhm..." Y/N slowly turned red, wondering if she had upset her new friend.

"Osane-chan?"

Osane instantly got pulled back to reality, smiling in embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah! Sorry, Y/N..."

She hooked her arm around hers, shooting her a warm smile.

"....I'm just surprised by your comments! I haven't heard something like that before!"

And so, as if the brunette had never been fazed by the 7th Wonder's rumor, she walked back with Y/N to their classroom.

~ Continuation: three days prior to Y/N's arrival at Sukora, the Broadcasting Room...

"Y/N Tsukira?" The Sukora Wonder's voice was low and grim.

"Tsukasa, I don't want to kill. That is why I specifically asked for-"

"Y/N will be your final kill." The younger apparition thrusted forward, taking the other by surprise. It took a step backward.

"One last kill for salvation," Tsukasa continued, voice brooding and soft. "And then you'll be free."

The spirit shuddered. Even as a Wonder themselves, Tsukasa held a power that chilled them to the bone.

"I wanted freedom. And you want...?"

"The Rift." Tsukasa's playful amber eyes suddenly darkened.

"But why?" The spirit hissed, red eyes slitted. "Rifts are not things to be tampered with. There are only three in the world; that's how great their power is."

"Their power..." Tsukasa lowered his head in acknowledgement.

"...a place where you can traverse from boundary to boundary, irrespective of school, country, or continent."

"I am the guardian of this Rift." The spirit scowled. "How do I know you'll take care of it?!"

"I want to use it, simply to grant the wishes of other apparitions like you." Tsukasa said smoothly, approaching them with a sultry grin.

The Sakura Wonder stood their ground, glaring at Tsukasa with deep distrust. He continued.

"I want to give them peace; that is my job. If I had this Rift, I could help set free suffering spirits much like yours."

He shot them a sidelong glance.

"And along the way, save innocent lives who had to be victims of these forced rumors."

That was the breaking point for the Wonder. They calmed down, trying to fight down their hostility.

"I trust you, Tsukasa." They muttered darkly.

"And so it is with me, Osane Miku." Tsukasa grinned. The Wonder shifted uncomfortably at the use of their alias.

"Oh, my bad~!" Tsukasa laughed. He rephrased himself.

"And so it is with me, Aka Manto."

He drifted away from the shivering brunette, holding her gaze steadily with a bright grin.

"I will visit Y/N myself. Afterwards, I expect her dead body!"