Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Volume 3 Ghost Stories

Ghost Stories

After we all ate and took a bath, Kobato and Maria both fell fast asleep after playing so much down at the beach.

Yozora, Sena, Rika, Yukimura and I were gathered in the living room.

Yozora was reading a book, Sena was playing her PS she brought all the way out here, Rika was doing something on her computer, and Yukimura was spacing out.

Basically, we were all doing what we normally do in the clubroom without any change at all.

I played "Mon Hunt" for a while, but quickly got sleepy and went to bed.

I was pretty tired, and I slept like a log until morning.

For breakfast the next morning, we had more of that huge batch of curry I made.

Personally I think that curry you let sit overnight in the fridge is the best.

After we ate, I went down to the beach with Kobato and Maria.

Sena and Yukimura decided to come too, but Yozora and Rika stayed behind at the villa.

Sena was finally able to fulfill her dream of swimming with Kobato, but couldn't keep up with her in the least. Kobato can swim as good as any fish, and so Sena ended up collapsing on the sand.

"... Haa... Haa... K-Kobato-chan, you swim really fa-... ugueh..."

"She's an even better swimmer than I am. You just learned how to swim a little while ago, you don't have a chance of keeping up with her."

I said with a wry smile.

After lunch (I made yakisoba) Kobato, Maria, and Sena all fell asleep after using up all their energy down at the beach.

I took my chance to go to buy stuff in town while the two kids were asleep. It took me about 40 minutes round trip using the electric bike in the garage.

It was an easygoing small port town, and it was nice to be able to buy so much fresh fish at such a low price.

I put the fish I bought to good use later that night, and made us paella for dinner.

Since I had to make enough for seven people and all, I made things a little more extravagant than usual too.

Making a big meal like this once in a while is actually pretty fun.

There were a few parts that got a little too burnt, but everyone said they liked it despite that.

That's how things went for the evening, and then night came.

Everyone was gathered in the living room, but we were all just killing time the way we usually do.

"...We're going home tomorrow, but we still haven't done anything very training-camp-like, have we?"

I said to nobody in particular.

"What do you mean by training-camp-like?" Sena raised her head from her PSP and asked.

"I dunno, but we're all here so I was just thinking it'd be fun to do something together."

"We all went to the sea and did that yelling out 'The seaaaaa!' didn't we?" said Yozora.

"...That doesn't really count."

Then, Rika jumped in to comment.

"Everyone just doing their own thing isn't anything unusual, but it is true that we rarely all gather up like this. It does kinda feel like a waste to not do anything while we have the chance."

"Right?"

"Yes, and, of course, a group of young men and women together at night means we should have an org- fgah!?"

Smack!

Yozora hit Rika over the head with her fly swatter before she could finish her sentence.

...Did she really bring that all the way out here?

"We don't need any obscene remarks from you, pervert."

"Oh, what's this? I think immediately deciding that what I was about to say was obscene just based on hearing 'org' means you're quite the pervert yourself Yozora-senpai. I could've been about to say 'organized competition' or been about to say we should have an 'organized discussion' about something."

"T-that's..."

Yozora's face went deep red after having Rika point that out.

"Of course, it's true that I was about to say that we should have an orgy party."

This time I took the chance to silently whack Rika on the head.

"It doesn't hurt! Please hit me harder Senpai!"

"Ehh!?"

That unexpected reaction of hers creeped me out.

"Hey hey~ what kind of party is an orgy party!? I want to try having one!"

Maria asked, eyes sparkling.

After she did, a suspicious gleam rose in Rika's eyes as she went and did something on her laptop. Then, while she was showing the screen to Maria, Rika whispered in her ears.

"An orgy party is where you murmur murmur whisper whisper murmur murmur..."

"Uwahhhhh!! Orgy parties are scaryyyyyy~~!"

Maria clung to me and started shaking in fear.

"What're you teaching her now..."

I rubbed my temple out of annoyance.

"Well, I suppose I don't want you to think I'm a total pervert freak who can only spit out dirty jokes, so as a serious reply to you Senpai, why don't we try something fitting a summer night like ghost stories or a test of courage? Rika actually has quite a few scary stories to tell."

Rika casually said.

"You're way too late if you don't want me to think that you're a pervert freak who can only spit out dirty jokes, but ghost stories or a test of courage, huh... That's not a bad idea. See, you can do it if you try. Why don't you act like this more often!?"

"...Getting yelled at even though I gave you a good idea seems a bit unfair."

Rika started sulking a bit and pursed her lips.

"Still, I didn't see this coming. Never thought a science girl like you would be into that stuff."

"Senpai, all girls love supernatural stuff like this. Rika is still a girl before she's a scientist. Even if I'm a perverted freak girl."

"Don't admit it..."

Talking with her always wears me out.

"Ghost stories and a test of courage, huh... I couldn't care less about ghost stories, but I wanna try doing a test of courage since they did one in 'TokiMemo'," said Sena.

"Hmph, well it's not like we have anything else to do..."

Yozora agreed and then said,

"But we don't have anything ready for a test of courage, so how about we tell some scary stories first and then go out into the forest?"

"Sure, why not? I think it's already pretty scary just walking through there in the dark as is."

I agreed with Yozora's idea.

"I shall do whatever Aniki wishes."

Yukimura meekly said.

"Kukuku... the darkness of the night is my companion... I will not feel a single drop of fear..."

"I-I'm not scared of monsters either! If a monster does come out, I'll beat him with my holy power!"

Maria energetically announced in response to Kobato.

☺

We set a few candles on a table in the living room, and then all gathered around it with the lights off.

We turned off the A.C. and opened the windows instead, but it was still really hot.

The flame of the candles flickered to the point it looked like they'd go out any minute, and brought a faint light to everyone's face.

"Wow... this has a good scary feel to it."

I said in admiration.

"Kodaka's and Yozora's faces look even scarier than usual like this..."

"With it this dark you'd never know who it was that groped you I bet."

"This is like a birthday party!"

Sena, Rika, and Maria all said, destroying the atmosphere.

"...Let's get started. Who's first?"

Yozora asked, and Rika volunteered.

"Rika will go first, since she thought of it. Hehe, I'm setting the bar pretty high with this one."

"Hmph, then show us what you've got."

"Very well!!"

Everyone focused on Rika as she began talking.

"This is something that really happened to Rika... I can clearly remember the fear I felt even now... I can't forget it even if I wanted to... Let's see, it happened... one summer day when I was a freshman in middle school..."

She lowered the tone of her voice, giving it an eerie feel.

This might be a seriously scary story...

I heard someone go 'gulp' as they swallowed their spit.

"Back then Rika wasn't much of a hikikomori, and was seeking out a Freedom Gamudan x Destiny Gamudan as she stepped foot into a boy's love specialty shop named 'Tora no Anal'..."

...Huh?

"The store sold many kinds of BL doujinshi, but the one I was after was already few in number, and there was only one left when I arrived... It would not be a mistake to call me finding that last copy destiny... Rika returned home as she trembled with joy, and immediately began reading the doujinshi... But a terrible thing occurred... The cover was a picture of Destiny Gamudan being penetrated from behind by Freedom Gamudan's beam saber that looked like a Free x Des doujin no matter how you looked at it, but it was actually a Des x Free doujin... Eeeek...!!"

............

......

...........?

"...What about the rest?"

We all waited, expecting her to continue, but all Rika did was make a confused face and said,

"Eh? That was the end."

"That's the end!?"

We all fell down in shock.

"That was a terrifying experience... I can handle a reverse pairing now, but to Rika who was still a pure maiden back in those days, Freedom had to be the top and Destiny the bottom. A Destiny x Freedom doujin was out of the question. You might say it was Rika's fault for not researching it enough beforehand, but I simply got too excited the second I saw that cover on the net..."

Who cares...

"...So yeah, next~."

Yozora said, brushing Rika aside.

"Very well, I shall take my turn next."

Yukimura was the one who volunteered this time.

"Oh, this is a surprise."

Yukimura began to tell his story.

"...Now then, I shall tell you the tale of... 'The Terrifying Shuumai'."

"""That's not a ghost story!"""

Yozora, Sena and I all yelled in unison.

Yukimura tilted his head in confusion.

"But this is a truly terrifying story. I myself never expected the shuumai to be stuck to the lid of the box..."

"You even gave away the punch line!"

He's hopeless.

"...Don't you have any other stories?" Yozora asked.

"In that case, while they do not compare to 'The Terrifying Shuumai', I do have several other stories I am familiar with."

...So he said, and went on to tell us "The Haunted Canal", "The Demon Cat of Nabeshima", "The Mansion of Plates", and "Hoichi the Earless" instead.

I'd heard the stories themselves plenty of times before, but the fact that they've lasted this long as horror stories is really more of a testament to their quality, and they were plenty scary when combined with Yukimura's quiet monotone voice.

"O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-Onii-chan..."

"Hyauuu... An-chaaan..."

Kobato and Maria were both shaking and half in tears as they clung to my arms.

"I-i-it's fine, there's nothing to be scared of. Yeah, nothing at all...!"

I said, while myself also shaking a little.

"Geez... Why didn't you react like that to my story... Rika thinks her story was just as scary as his."

Rika said, pouting about the difference in our reactions.

"H-hey, Yozora, did that actually scare you? M-maybe I should be nice and let you h-hold my hand."

Sena said with the tips of her mouth quavering.

"Hmph, it's funny how obviously scared you are when you shake like that, Meat."

Yozora said, showing no particular signs of being afraid.

"Kh..."

Sena let out a frustrated grumble.

"I-in that case, I'll go next and have you so scared you'll pee yourself!"

Said Sena, who then began to tell us her ghost story, full of confidence...

............

......

...and then she finished.

"...So?"

Yozora said in a voice that clearly showed she wasn't scared in the least.

Tears formed in the corners of Sena's eyes as we all stared at her apathetically.

"Uuu~ Why are none of you scared...!?"

I could barely believe how not scary her story was.

The main point of the story was that a beautiful girl who suddenly came to visit the main character was actually the ghost of a girl he killed, which is set up like a proper ghost story, but the way Sena told it ruined the whole thing.

She told the whole thing in an energetic voice, and every now and then would throw in a "Ahaha, isn't this guy a total idiot?" or some other comment.

In the final scene where the guy is killed by the ghost, she said "Ahaha! That's what you get, iiiiidiot!" as part of her narration...

"Well, I think the story itself was made well-enough."

I tried to cheer her up, but that just seemed to make her more annoyed.

"What's with that condescending attitude... Do you have any good ghost stories then? Huh?"

...Looks like my turn is finally here.

I'm not really that knowledgeable about ghost stories, but I did think up my own original one not too long ago.

Honestly, I'm pretty confident that I can scare everyone good with it.

"...Alright, I'll let you guys hear my ghost story then. It's called: 'The Terrifying Miso Soup'."

Thwack!

Yozora hit me on the head with her flyswatter without saying a word.

Sena was giving me a cold stare too.

"D-don't think it's a funny story just because of the title! This is a bona fide ghost story!"

Thus, I began telling "The Terrifying Miso Soup (my version, ghost story edition)" to everyone...

"Fuahyahyahya, I-I can't breathe, w-w-why was Augus- why was Augustine, pfffft- Hyahhyahyafuahya! W-w-w-why did the mom put that in there!? Why did the mom put Augustine's head in there!? Ahyahyahyahya! Where did she even get it from!? Ahyahahaha, haha, c-can't breathe, ue, huehiehya!"

Maria was holding her sides exploding with laughter when I finished my story.

"W-why are you laughing...?"

I was taken aback when Maria made the exact same reaction she made when I told her "The Terrifying Miso Soup (joke version)", and when I looked around at the others, all I found were pitiful stares.

"Kodaka... why are you so hopeless?"

"I'm sorry Senpai. Rika doesn't know what face to make at a time like this... should I laugh?"

Even Yukimura said, "I did not understand Aniki's story at all. I still have much to learn..." with a sad expression on his face.

"An-chan... that was so embarrassing..."

Kobato hung her head down, her face completely red.

"C-come on, wouldn't that be scary? Seeing St. Augustine's head in your miso soup would be ridiculously scary, wouldn't it!?"

I said, utterly confused, to which Sena replied with a reproachful look in her eyes,

"Haa... Your stories don't work because the punch line is always too surreal, idiot."

"I see, so basically they're too high level?"

""Like hell they are!!""

Sena and Yozora both yelled at the same time.

Hrm... You guys have the weirdest taste in stories...

"...Anyway, is there anyone else who has a story?"

Yozora asked with an exhausted look on her face.

The only ones who haven't told a story other than Yozora are Maria and Kobato, but it doesn't look like they have one anyway.

"Hmph... then after I finish my story we'll go on our test of courage."

"Fine. Hurry up and tell your story then Yozora, not that I'm expecting much from you."

Sena said, and Yozora began telling her story.

"This is just a story my friend told me, but..."

"Since when do you have friends?"

"Shut it, Meat."

Yozora glared at Sena for interrupting her.

"...This story's protagonist is, well let's call her A-ko... She went to a certain public middle school... She also had a friend whose name was... let's just go with Y-ko. A-ko and Y-ko just happened to get seated next to each other in class, and ever since then they were friends who did everything together..."

Yozora told her story in a deep and somewhat gloomy voice.

It was basically how she usually talked, but it was perfect for telling a ghost story.

"...By the way, there was a certain urban legend that was popular at their school... It was a story called 'Yamiko' about a young girl's ghost..."

We all gulped, and continued listening to Yozora's story.

Yozora's voice already had a certain scariness to it, and as she went on it only got more and more ominous sounding.

According to the story, Yamiko was a girl who had committed suicide after being bullied, and it was her friend who bullied her enough to drive her to do it.

Thus it was said, that Yamiko would possess anyone betraying a friend and kill them...

A-ko and Y-ko got along, but one day they began fighting over a boy, which led to a crack forming in their friendship. A-ko was outgoing and had plenty of other friends besides Y-ko, and eventually began bullying Y-ko, who was a very timid girl.

The bullying got worse and worse each day, and eventually Y-ko killed herself in a toilet stall in the old school building after being constantly bullied by A-ko and her friends.

At first A-ko regretted what she'd done, but as time passed on she slowly began to forget about Y-ko.

However, ever since then weird things began happening around A-ko.

At first, A-ko thought it was merely somebody's prank, but as the things happening got more and more serious, it was clear someone held a grudge against A-ko.

A-ko didn't suspect it being somebody else at that point, for she knew it was the spirit of Yamiko who had cursed her.

A-ko begged for forgiveness, but Yamiko ignored her and continued to harass A-ko, eventually cornering her within the same toilet stall Y-ko had killed herself in.

A-ko locked the toilet's door, and happened to look up, where she saw Y-ko's dead body, hanging by the neck, glaring down at her...

"...Nobody ever saw A-ko again after that... Many more people went missing at that school, and the school was eventually torn down. The ruins of that school currently lie beneath a forest... And the forest they lie below... is none other than the one behind this very villa..."

The second Yozora finished her story the candles in the room all went out, and the room turned pitch black.

"Gyaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?"

The screams of the Neighbors Club echoed throughout the room.

☺

"...So, ready to go have our test of courage?"

Yozora coolly said after turning the lights on.

However, not a single one of us began to stand up.

Maria and Kobato were both shaking while clinging to my arms, and it took even me a while to open my mouth.

"H-hey, Yozora... why don't we call it quits? It's not safe going out when it's so dark..."

"Y-y-y-yeah, you never know what might happen!"

I said, to which Sena agreed, and Rika and Yukimura both quickly shook their heads up and down.

"...What, are you guys scared?"

"A-as if I'd be scared of a stupid story like yours! B-besides, I've never heard of there ever being a school here, and if I think about it there are lots of other strange parts too!"

"That's because it's a story passed down by hearsay... It's understandable that there might be a few spots that are wrong here and there... I suppose I can't stop you if you want to think it was all a lie..."

"I-I told you, that made-up story isn't scary at all!"

Yozora was completely calm, but Sena was still yelling.

"Hmph..."

Yozora sighed with a look of pity in her eyes.

"Then we won't go on a test of courage? I never really cared either way, so it doesn't matter to me," Yozora asked all of us.

...Obviously, not a single person said we should still go.

☺

After the ghost stories, we all took a bath and went to sleep in our rooms.

I turned off the lights, got in my futon, and closed my eyes.

Soon after, I could hear Yukimura's peaceful sleeping breath.

However, I on the other hand couldn't sleep even if I closed my eyes.

I should've been tired, but I couldn't get that story about Yamiko out of my head.

I don't actually believe in ghosts, and the story wasn't so scary that I couldn't sleep really, either.

But it seems like the combination of the story and Yozora's perfect scary voice left quite an impression on me.

Yamiko, who curses and then kills those who betray their friends.

10 years ago, I left town without saying a word to my best friend.

I wonder if he thinks I betrayed him...

*shiver*!!

"...!"

I closed my eyes, trying to ignore my body's shaking.

No matter how long I waited though, I still couldn't sleep.

Then, all of a sudden, I heard a tiny sound that went crrreeeeeaaaakk.

Startled, I opened my eyes, and saw that my door was slowly being opened.

My body was covered in goose bumps.

I-it can't be, Y-Yamiko...?

The door opened, and a single person's shadow entered into our room.

The shadow slowly made its way over to my futon.

I was terrified, and tightly shut my eyes closed.

I can't see it...!

If I can't see it, it doesn't exist...!

But... it came and shook my futon anyway.

Eeeeeek...!!

"...Kodaka. Hey, Kodaka."

...Huh?

I know that voice.

"...Sena?"

I opened my eyes and called out her name.

Standing near my futon was Sena in her pajamas.

"...What's wrong?"

"C-come with me for a little bit..."

Sena said, seemingly embarrassed, and while I thought it was odd, I got up and left the room without making a sound.

"So, what's wrong?"

I asked again in the hallway, and Sena eventually replied after fidgeting while blushing,

"...I-I want you to come to the bathroom with me."

"Bathroom...?"

"I-it's not like I'm scared or anything, okay? But, you know, better safe than sorry."

It looks like I'm not the only one scared by Yozora's story.

The bathroom. The place Y-ko killed herself, and the place A-ko was taken away by Yamiko at...

"...Why didn't you just get Yozora to go with you..."

I said, and Sena shot me a nasty glare.

"Because if I ask her she'd just make fun of me!"

"Yeah, you've got a point."

"S-so let's go! I can't... hold it in... much longer..."

"O-okay."

Sena and I walked down to the bathroom.

Sena went in, and I stood outside waiting for her.

"You're still there, right Kodaka?"

I could hear Sena's voice, along with other miscellaneous sounds, from inside the bathroom.

"Yeah, I'm here."

I replied, realizing how awkward this was.

I heard the sound of running water when Sena asked again.

"Kodaka, are you there?"

"I said I'm here two seconds ago."

"K-Kodaka! You're there, right!?"

Sena asked again in a voice that sounded like she was about to burst into tears.

I guess she couldn't hear me over the water.

"I said I'm here!"

"Answer me faster, idiot!"

...I lost count of how many times Sena asked to make sure I was still there before she came out again.

When we got back to her room, Sena glared at me with a beet red face.

"Y-you better not tell Yozora about this, okay? If you tell her I'll kill you, got it!?"

"Yeah yeah..."

I gave a reply mixed with a sigh, and went back to my room.

Maybe it was because of having to deal with Sena, but I wasn't scared at all anymore, and was ready to go to sleep.

Good, now I can get a good night's sleep...

...However, that relief lasted but a moment.

The door to our room opened again, and somebody came in.

"An-chaaan..."

The person next to me who looked to be on the verge of tears was Kobato.

"...What's wrong, Kobato?"

"Come with me to the bathroom..."

"............"

Kobato asked, fidgeting like Sena did, so I sighed and got up again.

I took Kobato to the bathroom, and flopped back into my futon ready to go to bed for real.

But, I felt wide awake, and couldn't seem to fall asleep.

Even so, I kept my eyes shut, and just as I was starting to feel sleepy again,

Crrrreeeaaakkkk...

You gotta be kidding me...

This time it was Maria.

"...Want me to go to the bathroom with you?"

I quickly got up and asked, which made Maria's eyes go wide in surprise.

"Ohh!? How did you know? Onii-chan you're so awesome!"

...And so, I took Maria to the bathroom.

"Onii-chan, are you there!?"

"Yeah~... I'm here~..."

Maria asked me that more times than I could count, and each time I answered while stifling my yawn.

...By the way, Maria didn't have to just pee, but do the other one too.

"Onii-chan are you there!?"

"Zzzz..."

"Ueh!? Onii-chan! Onii-chan!?"

"Hwah!? Ah, I-I'm here! Just calm down and take your dump!"

...After this and that, I took Maria back to her room, went back to mine, and closed my eyes ready to go to sleep, this time for sure.

But, yet again somebody came into our room.

"Yeah yeah, I know. Come on, let's go to the bathroom."

"Huh? Bathroom? Rika simply came here for some late night sex."

"Leave!"

I grabbed Rika by the collar and threw her out.

Thanks to Rika acting like an idiot I was wide awake again.

But, at least now there shouldn't be anyone else who'll come wake me up.

Relieved, I closed my eyes, and after a short while, finally got sleepy.

............Geh.

...As soon as I got sleepy, I had to go pee too. I wish I would've gone to the bathroom when I was taking the rest of them...

Regretting my actions, I slowly opened the door to our room.

"Kya!?"

"Owah!?"

For some reason Yozora was standing right outside our room, and we both yelled in surprise. She just said "Kya!"... that isn't like her at all...

"O-oh it's just you, Kodaka. What is it?" Yozora said, blushing.

"I'm going to the bathroom, you?"

"I-I'm doing the same."

"Eh? But..."

There was something off about her reply just now.

If Yozora were going to the bathroom, she should've reached it before making it down to our room.

"S-since we're here we might as well go together, Kodaka."

Yozora seemed to be pretty flustered, so I asked to confirm my suspicions.

"...You're not so scared of that Yamiko story that you can't go to the bathroom alone are y-"

"O-o-o-o-of course I'm not!!"

Seems like I hit the bullseye.

"...Why are you scared of that Yamiko story too... You're the one who came up with it."

"How can you scare other people with a ghost story you don't think is scary yourself!? I had to perfectly imagine the whole story in my head as I was telling it! If anything I should be more scared than you guys who only had to listen!"

Yozora yelled back at my criticism.

Just then, Yozora's body shook and she started trembling.

"A-a-a-anyway, let's go already, Kodaka."

Thus, Yozora, who was squirming as we walked, and I, went to the bathroom.

I let Yozora go first since she seemed to be at her limit, which left me on standby in the hallway again.

"K-Kodaka, you're there right!?"

"I'm here!"

I could hear a rummaging sound from inside the bathroom.

"Kodaka."

"I'm here~ Can you hurry it up? I've gotta go too."

"O-okay."

Yozora came out a short while later, and I went inside.

I could hear Yozora's voice from the other side of the door.

"I'll wait here until you're done too, Kodaka."

"I'm fine, you don't have to bother."

"Mu... does that story not scare you, Kodaka?"

"Nope, I'm totally fine."

To be precise, I was scared of it, but now I couldn't care less.

"I see... so you weren't scared..."

Yozora said in a sulky voice to my reply.

By the time I finished and got back to my room, the sky was starting to lighten up.

And so, the second day of the Neighbors Club's training camp ended.

We're going home on the third day after we eat breakfast, so this is pretty much the end of the trip.

The things we all did together were limited to eating, yelling "The seaaaaa!", telling ghost stories, and cancelling a test of courage.

While looking back and thinking it was a very Neighbors Club-like training camp, I went to sleep at long last.

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