Hanako's "heart-wrenching" screams exploded in Ho Fei-yu's ear. His hand jerked, and a half-bitten piece of sushi fell from his chopsticks back into the bento box.
"Ugh~ You even swallowed it! Waaaah~"
Adhering to the fine tradition of not wasting food, Ho Fei-yu swallowed the bite, prompting another wail from Hanako. He found it hilarious; he hadn't realized Hanako was part of the "Anti-Cilantro" faction.
"Hana-chan, why is there cilantro in the sushi?" he asked.
"Yu-kun, do you not like cilantro? The steamed eggs you made last time had some, and I thought it was delicious, so I added a little to the sushi. If you don't want it, I'll pick it all out right now," Hana said apologetically, reaching for his bento.
"Hana-nee, if Fei-yu-kun won't eat it, I will!" Before he could speak, Yūshin snatched the bento and picked all the sushi pieces into her own box.
"It's not that I won't eat it, it's that she won't," Ho Fei-yu whispered into Hana's ear as he pulled her close by her waist. He saw her guilt-ridden face and wanted to reassure her. It wasn't that she had failed as a girlfriend; it was just a "third party" issue.
Hana beamed, leaning into his embrace. As long as it isn't him who hates it...
"...Why am I the bad guy? Cilantro just tastes bad..." Hanako muttered quietly, clinging to Ho Fei-yu's neck. The sensory sharing only happened while the food was in his mouth; once swallowed, the taste vanished.
Yūshin, seeing the couple reconciled, felt proud of herself, thinking her intervention had saved the day. She happily ate the cilantro-flavored sushi, even the piece Ho Fei-yu had bitten, without a second thought.
Hanako stayed quiet for the rest of the break. If not for the cold lingering on his neck, Ho Fei-yu would have thought she'd left. After lunch, he told the girls to go back first. Hana understood he had business, so she pulled a confused Yūshin away.
Once they were gone, the teenage ghost girl appeared in front of him.
"I'm annoying, right? I've been dead for years; I should be lucky to taste food again, yet here I am complaining," Hanako said, floating in the air and looking down at her white-socked feet.
"Not at all. Isn't it normal? Everyone has foods they hate until the day they die," Ho Fei-yu said with a smile.
"You really don't blame me? I made your girlfriend upset." Her eyes brightened.
"Hana-chan isn't petty. She's probably forgotten already. Since I agreed to your request, how could I blame you?"
"Thank you," Hanako smiled brightly.
"What?" Her voice was too quiet.
"Hmph! Idiot!" Hanako's pale face flushed pink, and she vanished instantly, leaving behind a sharp retort. Ho Fei-yu scratched his head. What's with her?
"Are you still there? Want to possess me and go to class together?" He felt a lot of sympathy for her after hearing her past. Murdered, dismembered, buried in a filthy toilet... even after her bones were found, she couldn't move on, trapped in the school like a prisoner. What crime had she ever committed?
"Idiot! I'm a ghost, why would I go to class?!"
"Ahem... being a well-educated ghost isn't a bad thing," he countered. Hanako didn't reply, so he left the rooftop.
As he walked down the stairs, he saw the four yankee girls from earlier leaving his classroom. Frowning, he entered the room, but everything seemed calm. He sat down and pinched Yūshin's neck.
"Eek!" She pulled her neck in like a turtle. He laughed.
"Hey! Fei-yu-kun, what was that for?" She turned around, pouting.
"I wanted to know what those four girls were doing here."
"Them? I didn't pay much attention, but they were talking to Saki Yoshida."
"Saki Yoshida?"
"Yeah. They seemed to know each other, but I couldn't hear what they said."
He grew silent, lost in thought.
"What is it, Fei-yu-kun?"
"Nothing."
"You can tell me anything. I'm very capable too!" Yūshin felt a bit dejected that he always kept things from her. She rolled up her sleeves to show off her thin muscles. He didn't laugh; he just patted her head gratefully. "Hehe~"
Saki Yoshida looked down at the empty bento box in her desk with a dejected expression. She had wanted to give it to Ho Fei-yu to thank him for the lollipop, but she couldn't find an opening. Then, he had clashed with her "friends," making it even harder to speak up.
She was caught in the middle. She hadn't wanted him to know she was associated with those four. She had met them through a contact to find a part-time job at a KTV. They had come to tell her the deal was done. They had taken her bento as "payment" for their help. Saki was just relieved they hadn't run into him when they returned the empty box.