“What the hell?” Hanako slurred as she squinted at a blank-faced Niko, in order to get a better look at his face. “What’re you doing here, Nimo?” “My name’s four letters long. How could you mess that up?” the teenager replied, as his wasted acquaintance hiccupped away, her pale face was bright red as she slowly bobbed about the room. “What’s with this ridiculous amount of beer anyways?”

“Ain’t nothing like a good drink after a long day, right?”

“Long day? You don’t do anything!”

“Shut it! It’s brats like you that are running this damn country! Talking back to your elders like that, Jesus… “

“You sound like a drunk old man, Hanako. Put the can down already, your gonna upset the landlady”

“Huh! Like Kaori would get mad at me!”

The spirit suddenly looked down at the can in her hand with a sullen look.

“I’m out…Kimo, go get some more booze for me, would ya?” she asked with tears forming in her eyes.

“Stop getting it wrong! Why am I doing that? Wait, are you seriously crying…?”

“W-Why? Do you hate me or something, Limo?”

“Am I car now or something? You’re doing this name thing on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Himo’s mad…He definitely hates me, just like Mom and Dad did…”

Before Niko could even question that remark, he watched as the numerous empty beer cans began to swirl up around Hanako at an alarming rate. It was as if a whirlwind had suddenly kicked up in the Common Room, but Niko was already well aware that it was Hanako’s doing. It was the same power she had shown off at school to open the classroom door.

The lightbulbs that peppered the ceilings suddenly shattered under the incredible pressure of Hanako’s power causing the tiny glass fragments to shower the room in a beautiful, yet deadly fashion. The transfer student attempted to cover his face from the falling glass, just as the air around him became noticeably thin. The force of Hanako’s power was beginning to absorb everything surrounding it; the second she let loose the entire Masahiro complex was most definitely done for…

“Hana? What’re you doing?”

Everything suddenly stopped.

The cans dropped loudly onto the wooden flooring followed closely by the shards of broken glass. The incredible pressure had dispersed entirely, making it easier to breathe again. Scanning the room, it was easy to see that the majority of it was in tatters. Expensive-looking marble ornaments were lying in pieces on the floor, they broken beyond the point of no return, in fact, it was impossible to even tell what they were before Hanako’s outburst had destroyed them. A small table that had been in the middle of the room was now sitting in the corner with more than half of its legs broken and littered around the room. Broken vases left scattered flowers around the room too, though they were mostly bare of any petals at this point.

Looking over at Hanako, Niko felt a mixture of relief and bewilderment as he watched the small spirit slowly close her eyes and enter a deep slumber. It looked like he could stop fearing for his life for the time being.

After helping the landlady clear up the room from the debris caused by Hanako’s outburst, Niko sat himself down on a dark-green zabuton, (A type of cushion that was made to be sat on) whilst the landlady sat opposite him on a zabuton of her own.

“Sorry about this, Niko…This isn’t really a good start to your new life here, is it?” she said, looking apologetic. “I can understand if you want to leave” “N-No, its fine, really” the teenager replied, smiling. “It doesn’t bother me at all! I would love to continue living at Masahiro” ‘Mainly because I don’t have anywhere else to go…’ he thought to himself as the landlady smiled back at him. “Uhm, just a quick question though, Miss Landlady…” Niko started, eager to get this provocative question off his chest. “Please feel free to call me Kaori, ‘Miss Landlady’ sounds so uptight” she replied, beaming. “Right then. Kaori, does Hanako live here?” The property owner looked over at the pale girl as she bobbed around, mumbling something in her sleep. “No, Hanako doesn’t live here; but she does come to visits here quite often. Masahiro is a place where people like her can feel at home after all. Though her visits do usually end with her getting completely blackout drunk…” “I-I see…Earlier, you mentioned something about Masahiro taking me for a ride. What did you mean by that? “Oh, that” Kaori brushed some of her long black locks out her face as she shuffled on her cushion to let herself get more comfortable. “Masahiro was just testing you. He tends to do that to everyone who is new here “This building is…sentient?” “Yes, very much so! Do not worry, Masahiro is a very kind and loving spirit; I highly doubt that he will attack you. You passed his test after all, Niko”

The transfer student gulped, as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his head.

‘That ridiculously scary mind-breaking thing was a test? Am I really going to be okay here?’ he thought to himself, hiding his fear and concern from Kaori with a smile.

“Ah, by the way Niko…” Kaori began, pointing to the teenager’s head. “Your hair is very impressive! How on earth do you keep it in that style?” “Huh? My hair? You don’t think it’s a bit…well, much?” “Not at all! I find it very endearing!” “T-Thanks…”

A wry smile suddenly appeared on Kaori’s face.

“Speaking of looks, Niko…” she began, shuffling a little closer to the latest tenant of Masahiro. “Do you think I'm good-looking?” Niko felt his face burn up a little bit, totally not expecting that comment. “H-Huh? Where did that come from, Miss Landlady?” “It’s Kaori, remember? Now what is your answer, Niko?” “Erm…uh, well…”

“STOP!”

Both Kaori and Niko looked over at Hanako, instantly recognising her voice. The two of them were honestly surprised by how quickly the spirit had recovered from her booze binge and mental meltdown.

“Kaori! What were you trying to do? Niko hasn’t even been here a week and yet you were already trying to cut him?” Hanako shouted, floating in between the two, separating them. “God, so much for your change of heart then!” “C-Cut him? I would never!” the landlady replied, her wry smile had been replaced by an expression of guilt and embarrassment. “Are you still drunk, Hana?” “As if! You can’t hide that thing from me! Hand them over!” Kaori sighed and reached into the left sleeve of her kimono, bringing out a pair of scissors and passing them to Hanako. “I tried to control myself! I really did!” the woman replied, looking down at the tatami flooring sadly. “Sure, you did. I thought that you’d stopped doing this already, Kaori!” “I did! But it’s just that Niko is the first human to live in Masahiro for a while, so I just…” “Right, right; that’s enough! Keep Niko out of your strange habits, alright?” “Yes…I apologize for that Niko, that wasn’t like me. It won’t happen again, I promise!” Kaori bowed her head in apology to the completely confused teenager, who was still coming to terms with the fact that he had mostly likely avoided an early grave. “W-Were you going to kill me just now?” he asked, suspiciously, backing away a little. “Not at all! How could I kill a tenant of Masahiro? I was just going to make some…’adjustments’ to your face…Nothing serious at all!” “R-Right…”

“Shouldn’t you get started on dinner, Kaori? Everyone will be coming back soon” Hanako suggested, pointing to a clock on the wall. “Oh, you’re right! Thanks, Hana; I’ll start on it right away!” the landlady said, quickly standing up and walking to the door of the Common Room. “I’m so sorry, Niko. Honestly” “Yeah, we know; just get going!” “Right!”

“Hanako…W-What the hell just happened…?” Niko asked, still in a state of disbelief. “Why did Kaori have scissors?” “I’ll explain later, but for now, just remember this: If Kaori asks you if she’s good-looking or not, reply with ‘You’re average’, okay?” the small spirit replied, a serious look on her face. “Unless you want to have a huge gaping hole from ear to ear…” “Gaping hole?” “Yeah. Try to keep your distance from Kaori for a day or two, okay? Yokai like her are practically unpredictable. Promise me” “Y-Yeah, I promise” “Good. Now, let me explain Kaori’s…for lack of a better word, uniqueness…”