Ghost Hound (Fanfic)

Chapter 1

Four & half years had past since the day the Ōgami Religious Cult was stopped by a cunning plan created & completed by three boys with the incredible ablity to soul travel. Not to say they didn't have help with their clever scheme to save the young priestess Miyako. The Cult was now long gone, had moved else where & all was well in the small rural town of Suiten.

Makoto, Masayuki and Taro were now in their late teens & all living comfortably together in an old, wooden cabin on the outskirts of Suiten. The three strapping lads, no longer boys enjoyed living out in the isolated forest cabin as they could do as they pleased without upsetting neighbours, which Makoto had done on many occations while jamming on his guitar.

The morning air was cool, leaving condensation on the small wooden framed windows. Masayuki ran his warm fingers over the ice cold glass leaving a dancing picture of water behind as he bounced down the stairs. In the kitchen Makoto & Taro were already eating breakfast, they had started without him as he'd once again woken up late.
"You know Masayuki, this is the third time in a row I've made breakfast on your behalf." Makoto scowled.
"Yeah, but you make breakfast so much better than me." Masayuki smiled at the unimpressed, dark haired man sitting at the far end of the table.

The time was 8:12am, Taro was finally ready for work. Sitting down, legs stretched out on the porch, he tied his laces. Staring down at his feet, wonders of soul traveling came to mind, it had been months since he'd last surfed on the astral plane, not to mention actually dreaming. Swinging his legs round, he arched his back forward. Before he could stand, Makoto placed his hand firmly on Taro's head. Startled, Taro gazed up in surprise.
"Need a lift?" Makoto asked. His voice was calm, almost caring. So much had changed since they were children. After all those years of detesting each other, since then they'd become the closest of friends, maybe even like brothers.

Makoto drove his filthy, black Bobcat pick-up truck out from the side of the cabin. Taro heaved back the plastic blue cover, that prevented the rear of the vehicle to fill with water. Throwing his bike on, he slammed the hatch shut & ran off towards the passenger seat where Makoto was already sitting & waiting, his body leaning forward, held up with his arms on the steering wheel with a lit cigarette placed gently between his thumb & index finger.

The two of them began to make their way to the Sake Brewer's Warehouse at the top of Suiten Hill, Taro opened the window as far as it could possible go, blowing icy winds & rain drops onto his face, there he'd rest his head on the truck's door frame staring out into the forest, thoughts flooding through his mind of the astral world. It was the closest thing he could get to O.B.E's. Taro wasn't allowed to drive as he was a narcoleptic & for the safety of others & himself, uncontrollably falling asleep at the wheel wasn't a risk doctors were willing to take.

"It's raining?" Makoto said, reaching his arm out the window, wiggling his fingers in the air. "It feels nice." He smiled. Taro caught a glimpse of his smile in the corner of his eye, Makoto rarely showed emotion so seeing simple things like a smile or a tear made Taro feel privileged that someone so hard faced would be willing to share his feeling.
"You can drop me off here if you'd like." Makoto ignored him & continued up the hill to the Sake Brewer's place.

Taro's parents house was quiet, only the sound of nature & hissing steam from the warehouse was all that could be heard.
'I'm going to see if my dad's inside Makoto, thanks for the ride.' Taro jumped out, banging the truck door behind him.
Makoto watched as his friend raced into the old house. Turning off the engine he climbed down & went towards the warehouse. The door was heavy and needed a quite a push to open it. He stared in, eyes adjusting to the dim, yellow electric lights. It seemed no one was inside, coughing loudly his voiced echoed off the large steel plated walls.

Not wanting to be alone inside a creepy over grown shed, Makoto span round to return to his truck, when out of the darkness appeared Kei. She was as grubby as she normally was, hair scrapped back into a messy ponytail, rice & mud caped her dark green wellies, her body warmer was un-zipped, revealing her small curved body & breasts that was emphasized by her low cut, gray & white stripped t-shirt.

"I see you've been working hard again Kei?" Makoto chuckled. She looked tiered as if she'd been out running in the countryside. "Why don't you take a break? I'll treat you to some breakfast." She smiled at the young handsome man standing in the gap of the door way.

Light shone off his silky black hair, his dark eyes glistened. She had become quite fond of him as if they had known each other forever. "Sure, lets go."