🐱 Science Preparation Room
After school that day, Shin-ichi and Haruka headed to the Earth Science Club room. In Shin-ichi's hand was the large key he had brought from the teachers' room.
As they went from the first to the second floor, and from the second to the third floor, the number of students in the hallways decreased, and by the time they reached the top floor of the junior high school building where the clubroom was located, there were not a single junior high school student to be seen. Shin-ichi naturally remembered the dream he had the day before, and he became anxious. He felt like his hair would stand on end if he didn't say something.
"Haruka, thank you this morning. Thanks to you, I was able to turn in my homework safely."
"That's great."
"I could write about 'Dragon Quest' in much more detail than 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.' Don't you think RPGs are like reading books? There's dialogue, there's a story..."
"I don't play games, so I don't really understand."
"You should definitely play them."
"My mom won't let me do it."
"If you get 80 or above on your tests, you can negotiate for an hour a day."
"I don't have to go to that extent. Just reading books is fun enough, and my mom won't complain."
"I think games are much more interesting."
"Not at all. Reading books makes me feel like I'm traveling to a new country, and it makes me feel like I'm having a wonderful experience and it's very moving."
"That's true for games too."
"Really?"
"The emotional finale after defeating a boss is something special."
"But I don't really like fighting or defeating things."
"...Even if you say that..."
Just as the two of them reached the science preparation room, it suddenly got dark outside. Perhaps a sudden rain shower was about to begin. Shin-ichi felt for the keyhole in the door and inserted a large, vertical key.
------The door opened with a click, and he stepped inside. The dark room made Shin-ichi flinch. The smell of stale chemicals, the skeletal anatomical model, and the eternal silence that hung in the specimen boxes...
Shin-ichi hastily flipped the light switch. The room became bright in an instant. He breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked back. Haruka, who had been there just a moment ago, was gone. There was a puppy, but he didn't know where it had come from. It was a white dog about the size of a Chihuahua and had no collar. It was wagging its tail vigorously in his direction.
At that moment, a sharp, threatening "Meow!" came from deep inside the room. A chill ran down Shin-ichi's spine. He couldn't help but turn towards the voice.
As expected, there was a girl with Haruka's face. When had she managed to overtake him and enter the room? That's fine, but the adorable look she had had just moments ago was gone. She didn't have a slit mouth or glowing eyes like the ghost cat he saw in his dream. But it just didn't look like Haruka at all. There was something strange about her. Her expression was gloomy, her brow furrowed, and her eyes were strangely bright, giving her a pale, sickly face. Shin-ichi couldn't help but shudder.
Haruka glared at the puppy for a while as if it was a mouse, but then, as if she had suddenly realized something, she turned her gaze towards Shin-ichi. The moment their eyes met, a chill ran down Shin-ichi's spine... No matter what, this was not the Haruka from before.
"Ahhh!"
Shin-ichi let out a strange shriek and ran away. The stairs leading down to the second floor were a long way off. It was only a matter of time before Haruka, or rather the ghost cat, caught up with him. He wasn't particularly fast. No way! His head spun.
Was Haruka a ghost cat? Her expression is similar to the one she had when Shota, who had turned into a dog, jumped on her in class. No way! Haruka and I have been friends since elementary school. There's no way that Haruka could have been a ghost cat...
Shin-ichi felt as if someone jumped behind him. The next moment, he felt the pain of something sharp and claw-like piercing his shoulder.
"No, I'll be killed!"
And then he lost consciousness.
When he came to, he found himself lying on a bed in the nurse's office. In front of him was the school nurse, Ms. Ogawa Yumiko, wearing a white coat. She was small and had a kind face. Beside her, Mineyama, who was standing there, lifted the frame of her black glasses and spoke.
"Sawaki, did you wake up?"
"What happened to me?"
"You were lying in the third-floor hallway."
"Did you help you?"
"That's right. I was going up the stairs when I heard what sounded like a scream. I rushed over and found you collapsed in the hallway."
"Was there a cat there then?"
"A cat? I didn't see anything like that."
At that moment, Ms. Ogawa interjected from the side.
"Now that I think of it, there was a scratch on Sawaki's shoulder that looked like a cat's claw mark. I disinfected it to prevent it from becoming infected."
"Hmm. That's strange..."
"By the way, how's Haruka of the Earth Science Club doing?"
"By Haruka, do you mean Kozuki?"
"Yes."
"In that case, she'll be waiting quietly in the Earth Science Club room."
"Is that so..."
Shin-ichi hesitated to tell the truth. He didn't think anyone would believe him, and if they did, it would mean accusing Kozuki Haruka. He was scared of a ghost cat, but Haruka was one of his important friends.
"It's nothing. I think I collapsed from anemia."
"Did you scream then?"
Mr. Mineyama and Ms. Ogawa peered at Shin-ichi suspiciously. Shin-ichi became flustered. Then, he suddenly remembered the seven wonders Shota had mentioned.
"Teacher, do you know about the Seven Wonders of Hiroshima?"
"Huh?" Mineyama let out a confused voice. "Does it have anything to do with this incident?"
"No, it's not that..."
Then Ms. Ogawa said,
"I've heard that before. I believe that when Izanami-no-Mikoto, from Kojiki, died, her grave was on Mt. Hiba in Hiroshima, and that that's how Hibagon was born ...Mt. Hiba is considered one of the Seven Wonders of Hiroshima."
"Is that true?"
"Well, isn't it? Izanami-no-Mikoto is the goddess who gave birth to Japan, so it would be strange if her tomb wasn't one of the Seven Wonders of Hiroshima. She must have also given birth to Hibagon and Tsuchinoko."
Ms. Ogawa said this with a confident look on her face.
"That's ridiculous!"
Mineyama said, his eyes wide.
Shin-ichi ignored him and continued to ask Ms. Ogawa a question.
"Do you know of any other places that are part of the Seven Wonders besides Mt. Hiba?"
"All I know is Mt. Hiba."
"Is that so..."
"So what?"
"No, that's fine."
Shin-ichi was disappointed. He felt like he had come across a difficult problem that seemed solvable but was not. Next to him, Mineyama looked puzzled. He felt like there was something important that he should have asked Shin-ichi, but he couldn't remember what it was.
