{Get ready for the longest chapter yet, 8 thousand words worth of it! (And honestly, my favorite/second favorite I've made), As a kind of celebration for getting to 1K reads I'm releasing this chapter early, enjoy!}

After the whole full moon operation, time has passed for our heroes, each of them going on about their lives... Until, a most horrible event was about to happen, one that was sure to bring devastation in its wake, one that was so vile, most had nightmares about it, I'm talking about...

Exam week!

May 18

Over with the first trio of students, the classroom is completely quiet as the teacher walks around overviewing everyone, Yukari is clutching her head trying to think of the correct answers, Junpei is completely passed out, and Makoto is calmly reading and answering his questions, and over with Yin things aren't much more different, with Fuuka answering her questions nervously as Natsuki tries her best to copy her, meanwhile Yin...

Yin (Thinking): "'What is the English name of the profession in which an expert listens to your problems and tries to help you with them?' Hmmm.... 'Psychonaut' Easy!"

He's hopeless...

May 25

The exam results have been posted up in the school for everyone to see, Fuuka placed fairly high in their class while Yin barely made it above average, Yin looked over to the other class to find that Makoto placed on top of his, Yukari scored average and Junpei... Junpei Looked like he was dying, being comforted by two of his classmates, the sight made Yin snicker a bit.

May 27

Everyone in the team that attended clubs were currently busy, Makoto was sprinting in the running club (I think that's what it was called), Yukari is taking aim and shooting in the archery club, and Yin had recently joined the art club, trying to get better at this activity (And definitely not because he wanted to spend more time with Fuuka...), and he was having an actually good time, starting to make acquaintances with the club captain, Keisuke.

May 29 - Tartarus

Akihiko had been given the green light to go back to fighting recently, so with excitement he told the other boys of the team to go to the tower with him, once there Junpei looked visibly tired/worried, Makoto didn't care and Yin's expression was hidden below his helmet, but his body language suggested he was feeling similarly to Junpei....

These little moments made Yin appreciate his time in the SEES a little bit more, surely there wasn't going to be an event that would shake things up right?

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May 30 - Entrance of Gekkoukan

Two girls were being shoved into an ambulance in stretchers in front of the school, various students gathered to see what was happening, all of their expressions showing various signs of worry, but one expression of pure and utter fear stood out from all... Natsuki's.

Yin didn't arrive to school until things had already calmed down and the students had dispersed, having had waited for Fuuka in front of her house for some time until he realized he was going to arrive late, ending up messaging her and getting to school as fast as he could, once classes were over he checked his phone to see his inbox, not seeing anything of value, like a response from Fuuka.

Yin: "Man... She must be really sick if she hasn't responded in hours, welp, no use in worrying about it, she's a big girl, she's gotten worse and came back like nothing"

But even as he thought, a small spot of doubt crept up to his stomach, still not big enough to make him notice it...

Having spent some time doing after club activities and buying some more cheap ramen to eat, Yin had finally arrived at the dorm, noticing everyone besides Mitsuru were seated in the lounge, Akihiko being the first one to spot him, spoke up.

Akihiko: "Hey, where have you been? You were the last one that needed to arrive"

Yin: "Arrive to what exactly...?"

Yin said as he took a seat beside Yukari, setting his things on the table, Akihiko simply took out a sheet of paper and set it on the table, the contents on it making Yin's eyes widen like never before, and a cold feeling on his spine starting to set in.

Akihiko: "Fuuka Yamagishi, a student in second year, Class E"

Junpei: "Oh sweet, A girl! She's gonna be a new member right!?"

Makoto (To himself): "This girl... I-"

Akihiko: "Apparently she was in the hospital we were at, they noticed she had the potential there"

Yin (Softly): "Wha-? No... B-But this can't be..."

Yukari, being beside him noticed Yin's expression and trembling hands, but before she could ask him, Mitsuru had walked in through the door, grabbing everyone's attention

Yukari: "Huh? Where have you been?"

Mitsuru: "I went to see those girls found by the school entrance this morning, something about it bothered me"

She went to sit down on the remaining sofa in the lounge.

Yukari: "Oh, those girls in Class E? It's a little creepy that they found two of them passed out there..."

Akihiko: "How are they? Do they have..."

Mitsuru: "Yes, they both have apathy syndrome"

Everyone was surprised to say the least.

Yukari: "Huh!? But that only happens when they are attacked by shadows right?"

Mitsuru: "Yes, and the fact that they were found at Gekkoukan High's front gate is troubling"

Makoto: "... It's connected to Tartarus somehow?"

Mitsuru: "That was my thought as well..."

Junpei: "Nah! I don't think that's the case"

Yin (Calming down): "You... You know something?"

Junpei: "Actually, there's rumors flying around the school right now!"

Suddenly, the lights were off, as Junpei took out a flashlight and pointed it to him to add a dramatic effect to his words.

Junpei: Good evening, and welcome to Junpei's Believe it, or Don't~ There are many strange things in this world...

Legend has it, late at night, after everyone has gone home...

A maniacal ghost roams the halls, and devours anyone caught in its grasp!

The other day, this friend of mine- Let's call him "Witness A."

Anyway, he said to me, "Hey, Iori, I saw something weird the other day", he sounded serious, so I asked him what he'd seen.

He told me he saw the girl from 2-E, and claims he watched her go into the school on the night before the incident!

I told him, "I don't believe it. Not even for a second!", that girl from 2-E ain't the type to go wanderin' around at night!

But Witness A was white as a sheet. He swore to me it was true! Then, it hit me...

If the girl was found unconscious at school, then maybe the ghost really did make her its dinner! It all made sense! She went to the school at night, and walked right into its deadly trap!

I felt a chill run down my spine, and I broke into a cold sweat... Yes, there are truly some strange things in this world...

Believe it... Or don't

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And so, the lights went on again, showing that everyone was... confused to say the least.

Yin (Thinking): "Why did he name him Witness A if he was the only one...?"

Mitsuru then turned to Akihiko.

Mitsuru: "... What do you think, Akihiko?"

Junpei: "Seriously? Not one word about my amazing performance just now...?"

Akihiko (Completely ignoring him): "I'm not so interested in the ghost part, but it does sound worth investigating"

Junpei: "Sooooo... (Turning to Yukari) You're afraid of ghosts huh, Yuka-tan? Didn't know you were such a chicken~"

Yukari: "What!? Who're you calling a chicken!?... Fine then, let's investigate it! Each of us will ask around for the rest of the week and gather information, this ghost story is just a bunch of nonsense! I'll show you!"

Yin: "Why is she so worked up over this...?"

Mitsuru: "Sounds good to me. The story is a bit unnerving, isn't it?"

Yukari: "Huh...?"

Akihiko: "We'll leave it to you guys then, would've been too scary for me~"

Yin: "... Why did I get dragged into it...?"

Yin lamented himself quietly, his eyes still resting on Fuuka's file on the table, that same uneasiness still lingering on his stomach...

June 1st - Monday

And so the next school day arrived, still no sign of Fuuka, Yin simply sighed, sent her a text and went to school...

June 2nd - Tuesday

Still no sign of her, text, school...

June 3rd - Wednesday

... No... This... This isn't right, that feeling of uneasiness just kept growing in Yin's stomach, Fuuka had never been out for so long, there just wasn't any way this was normal, he knew that well... He asked around his classroom to see if anyone knew what had happened to her, but everyone just gave him the same answer of "Mr. Ekoda said she's sick", and so he went out into the halls to ask everyone, even going as far as to ask the teachers, still the same answer every time, "She's sick"... That phrase was starting to get on his nerves, once the last bell of the day was heard, he decided to do something he'd never do again, or more accurately, he never wanted to do again... Face Fuuka's parents.

And so he took the train and walked the rest of the way to the Yamagishi household, it took him time to finally gather his focus and knock on the door, waiting some minutes before it was opened, revealing mister Yamagishi, the moment his eyes locked on Yin's form they immediately turned into a scowl, glaring at him, which Yin only swallowed the lump on his throat.

Yin: "... Mister, listen I know you don't like me around Fuuka, and I understand why... But please, tell me what happened to her, she hasn't come to school since friday last week, this isn't normal..."

Mr. Yamagishi: "... She's sick, in the hospital, like always... That's all I'm gonna tell you"

He slammed the door shut, making Yin close his eyes for a second, before letting out a sigh.

Yin (Thinking): "Maybe... Maybe everyone's right, maybe I'm just being paranoid, I hadn't even thought of visiting her yet. Every time she got sick I preferred to give her space, but now... Now I really need to see her"

And so he made his way to the hospital, trying to calm himself down with every step he took. Once there, he walked up to the reception, where a nurse was taking care of the computer.

Yin: "... E-Excuse me, I'd like to know if Fuuka Yamagishi is available to visit right now..."

The nurse simply started to look through the records of patients and the rooms they were in, after a few minutes of looking, she simply shook her head and faced him again.

Nurse: "I'm sorry young man, but... We don't have someone by that name in any room, are you sure you gave me the right name?"

In that moment, with those words... Is that Yin finally started panicking, managing as much as to give a simple nod to the nurse, and thanking her, he stepped out of the hospital, his eyes downcast, a question started plaguing his mind:

And so, his entire afternoon was spent walking around the zone around her home and the school, asking around the students if anyone had seen her, but always receiving the same answer, sometimes with different variations.

"Oh sorry, I haven't"

"Who is she again?"

"She hasn't come in days, maybe she's just sick?"

Yin felt like he was going insane, how is it that no one knew where Fuuka was? Not in the hospital, not even in her own home, just what had happened to her... She couldn't have just disappeared like nothing right...?

He wasn't able to sleep that day, but he wasn't able to skip school either, unless he wished to provoke Mitsuru's disappointment, so he forced himself to attend to school, but the moment classes ended he went out to ask around once more, buying energy drinks to stay awake with the money he had gotten from Tartarus explorations, right now he had just finished asking a couple of students that were walking through a park, and unfortunately having gotten the same answer, he decided that taking a break on a nearby bench was the best course of action, needing a break before his brain fried with all these questions without answers...

He sat down, and quickly opened a Mad Bull from his bag, starting to gulp it down before he felt someone sitting down next to him, looking at the side he saw a woman was looking at him with a smirk.

???: "Well, ain't someone thirsty ay'?"

???: "I guess I shouldn't be surprised tho, the student life's hard ain't it?"

The boy felt self-conscious, now that this woman had seen him just drinking a drink from just one go, he set the can down and cleared his throat.

Yin: "I... I guess so?..."

The woman quickly noticed his tired and worried expression, getting a bit more serious, she decided to nudge him with her elbow.

???: "Ay, what's wrong Kiddo? Something in your mind? Got dumped or sum'?"

Yin barely registered that last part, as he just let out a sigh, his gaze cast down to the can in his hands.

Yin: "... My friend hasn't come to school for almost a week now, everyone tells me she's sick, but... I can't find her anywhere, I'm starting to think that maybe her parents just lied to me and told me she wasn't home or anything just to get me away from her..."

???: "Ah, I see now... Well, I may not be able to tell you where your friend is, but I can tell you one piece of advice: 'Have faith', as long as you believe she's alright, she will be, so why don't you wrap up your detective work for today and go home already and continue tomorrow ay'? I'm sure that your friend wouldn't like seeing her friend neglecting his health now would she?"

Yin was only able to stare at this woman, her words sinking in his mind as he looked at the can in his hands, his eyes gaining a new focus as he threw it at a can, getting up and nodding.

Yin: "... Thank you, miss... I promise to remember your words!"

With regained energies, he dashed away towards the dorm, the woman simply smirked as he saw him go, once out of sight, she chuckled, muttering under her breath:

???: "You brat... Not even asking for my name... Ahh, whatever, there's always next time~"

Just then, she felt something poking her shoe, looking down she saw...

Seeing the small creature, she picked it up and placed it on her palm, smiling.

???: "Ah, you're back already, guess those three are looking for me aren't they? Alright then... Wouldn't want to upset my business partners~"

She got up, the creature simply entered her suit's pocket as she walked away.

???: "I also gotta see how the harvest is coming up, that project should be going just fine to test on monday... You're gonna be in for a surprise, Yinny~"

Her voice sounded much more sinister with that last nickname, as she disappeared into the shadows of an alley...

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Friday 5th

Even after being re-motivated by that woman, Yin still felt nervous, but the thought that the she was okay, and he would find her soon comforted him, having gone to the bathroom at school, Yin was coming back to his classroom to find Junpei and Makoto asking one of his classmates about Fuuka, he decided to go up to them, acting as if he didn't hear anything and creeping up behind Junpei, Makoto had clearly seen him but decided to not speak up (Or simply he didn't care, as always).

Yin: "What are you two doing here?"

Junpei jumped startled, hearing him talk behind him, spinning around to see him there.

Junpei: "Jesus man don't scare me like that! What are you doing here!?"

Yin: "Uhhh... This is my classroom...?"

Junpei: "Oh... Yeah that makes sense"

As they started talking they suddenly heard a girl complaining to one of the council study members about his view on the incident of the two girls a week ago, the council member (Which I know is like important and has a name but I've never cared enough to do the social link for),

simply said that surely they simply got wasted behind Port Island Station, but said it so that he looked as big of a jerk as possible, and with that information, the boys all looked at each other.

[Hey guess what dummy, timeskip]

Now on Wilduck Burger and with Yukari in the group, the four started discussing what they had recollected over the week, something Yin had completely forgotten about thanks to his umm... "Circumstances"

Yukari: "Port Island Station, huh?"

The four were seated on booths, each one with some fries and a soda, all except for Yin, who was currently going to town on a mysterious burger (Courtesy of Makoto, after some nagging).

Yukari: "You think it's connected?"

Junpei: "Beats me, but it's our only lead... What