“WHY AM I LIKE THIS, GOD?!” the girl cried, banging her head against the door of one of the stalls.
“Kurai! Stop! It’s a spell cast by those vampires! Pull yourself together!” shouted Shin.
“Fuuu. I’m better now.” The girl gave a thumbs-up and walked out of the bathroom.

Damn it. I didn’t notice my hand was under the container, and the water drained faster than planned. I can’t risk refilling it—there’s a chance it could ignite before I make it back from the faucet. Messing with it too much is a bad idea. I’ve got to move. I’ve got about nine minutes left, with seven before break ends. That leaves me two minutes to talk to her in the classroom and trigger the fake fire.

Alright, time to walk back to class—slowly. I need to avoid Shin at all costs. Running into him now would be game over. Analyzing the situation, he’s probably off celebrating with Eyepatch Girl in the cafeteria. That gives me a chance to slip by unnoticed.

Weird. Even after reaching the cafeteria, my anti-Shin radar isn’t going off. Did I lose my ability to sense him, or is he not here? That idiot should definitely be celebrating, especially after thinking he defeated two witches. On Monday, he treated himself to strawberry milk just because he convinced me to jump over a “cursed” step.

Getting through the cafeteria was easy—he really wasn’t there. I swear, if I’m in his line of sight, he’ll spot me immediately. He might not have supernatural powers or actually be a vampire hunter, but his eyesight is definitely freakish.

With a minute left until break ends, I made it to the classroom without running into Shin. Now I just have to wait for the blonde girl to arrive, ask her, and bam—I’m out of here.

Alright, I’ll admit it. The closer we get to her showing up, the more I’m second-guessing this plan. What if she doesn’t want to answer? What if she ignores me? What if she just slaps me for staring at her too long? Stay calm, Koji. Stay calm.

The blonde girl enters the classroom, starting to chat with everyone around her sitting down right into the middle of the crowd.

I’m not ready. Damn it. But I only have two minutes. I need to move fast. Get up. Fight. You’ve got to be decisive if you want to win the war.

Walking toward her feels like a mix of heaven and hell. I’m thrilled to be approaching, but so nervous I think my heart’s about to leap out of my throat and run away.

“Uh… Hi, good morning,” Koji stammered, glancing at the blonde girl and Generic Girl B sitting beside her.
“Hey, Koji! You okay? You seem nervous,” Generic Girl B replied.
“Hm.”

Crap. I didn’t think this through—I don’t know their names. During roll call, I was too busy tuning out Shin to pay attention to anyone else. I need an excuse to ask. Think, Koji. Think.

“Sorry if this is rude, but how do you spell your names? I’m planning to make a class video at the end of the year and don’t want to mess anything up.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it! I’m Mahina” said Generic Girl B—or rather, Mahina.

The blonde girl scribbled something on a piece of paper: Naomi.

Naomi. It suits her—beautiful and honest. Her eyes radiate a remarkable sincerity.

“I see. So, uh, which clubs are you thinking of joining?”
“I want to join the music club!” said Mahina enthusiastically.
“I…”

You…

“I want to join…”

WANT TO JOIN…

“…the litera—”

The fire alarm blared as sprinklers rained down on the room.

“NO! WHY?!” Koji yelled, slamming his fists on the floor.
“RELAX, MY FRIEND. A LITTLE FIRE CAN’T STOP THE GREAT SHIN THE SHINIGAMI, VAMPIRE HUNTER, AND LAST CHAMPION OF THE GALAXY!”
“SHUT UP AND GET ME OUT OF HERE, SHIN!”
“Oh, of course. LET’S GO, HIKARI! OUT OF THE FIRE!”
“RIGHT!”

Don’t ask me why I told Shin to carry me, but I figured if I walked, I’d probably jump out the nearest window in despair.

Koji was seen being carried princess-style by Shin through the school, drawing a few laughs before the commotion shifted to the potential fire.

“So, partner, now that we’re outside, wanna grab a milkshake with me and Kurai Hikari? We were going to celebrate a victory over vampires earlier, but Hikari started throwing up after the battle.”
“I call it post-battle syndrome. Using my powers has a heavy price,” Hikari said solemnly.

I don’t know why I said what I said next. Maybe I was in a post-failure depression.

“Sure” Koji muttered, wiping tears from his eyes.
“HAHAHA! LET’S GO THEN!”
“What did I just agree to?”

Koji, Kurai Hikari, and Shin the Shinigami went to a nearby ice cream shop. Classes were canceled due to the fire Koji accidentally caused.

“HAHAHA! Today’s been one for the books for our duo, Kurai Hikari and Shin the Shinigami!”
“Yes! Our partnership is striking fear into demons across the region. Isn’t this duo amazing, Koji?” asked Hikari.
“Yeah. Amazing,” Koji replied, sipping his milkshake and paying no attention to their conversation. A rare, content smile lit up his face.

“But seriously… We know your secret, Koji.”

Hikari’s gaze locked onto Koji.

“We’ve noticed you’re different from everyone else. Even different from us.”
“Yeah, it’s true.”

Koji was completely engrossed in his milkshake.

“You, Koji… You’re an archangel, aren’t you?” Hikari declared, standing up with dramatic determination.
“Mhm,” Koji mumbled absentmindedly.
“No! Maybe you’re Jesus Christ himself!” shouted Shin.
“Mhm.”
“With someone as powerful as you, we just want to say…”

In perfect unison, they spoke:
“Koji! Join our team to hunt all the demons, zombies, and vampires in the city!”

Koji spat his milkshake in Shin’s face.
“I’d rather be buried six feet under.” Koji said, his expression dead serious.

And that’s how my terrible Wednesday came to an end.

END OF CHAPTER 7