"Sorry we're late!" Mai called out as we scrambled into SPR to find Naru looking through some research books.
"She says sorry, but I did text you about my appointment." I grumbled, letting out a yawn as I took off my jacket and waving my cast-less hand at him. "Doc says I've got full function, though avoid heavy lifting and sleep better."
"Typical, Panda." Naru smirked, making my brow twitch in annoyance before he spoke to Mai. "Tea."
"That's how you treat me first thing?" She grumbled under her breath. "Have you ever considered making tea for yourself?"
"Then what am I paying a part-timer for?"
"Filing." I muttered.
"That's what I'm paying you for."
Mai clicked her tongue. "Yes, you're right, boss. By the way, Lin-san… I guess he's stuck in the research room, huh?"
We both glanced at the door, though I had a better idea than Mai as to what he was up to. I've been dropping by after school for their Spartan training with my energy transfers with Naru, so he's probably working on that seal for me that he mentioned. Things had been going well on that front, but we'd discovered that my transfer of energy was completely involuntary. In other words, the moment Naru uses even the slightest bit of energy, I not only home in on it, but I automatically pass along that amount of energy or more in return the moment I make physical contact. So, Lin had thought of making a limiter seal to keep me from giving too much. Problem was, it sounds easier than it is. Making a seal was complicated work, so he'd been shut up in his room the last few days trying to figure it out. Not to mention the issues he has with the Japanese. I'm glad he and I have come to an understanding as far as communication. He tolerates me because of my use with Naru, and I just deal with him professionally. Other than that, we stay out of each other's way.
I spotted something on the desk where I typically file things and picked up the article on Ryokuryou High School. And so, things begin. This one's going to be a pain for me. I sighed heavily, catching Mai's attention.
"Oh, they were in today's newspaper again. The article about Ryokuryou High School." I passed her the paper and she flipped through it. "Um… the headline reads 'Is it mass hysteria? Another strange incident at a high school'. It says here that some students started to panic because a dog bit them during class. The teacher claimed that he didn't see a dog, but the students indeed had injuries." She glanced at Naru. "Why did you turn down this request? You should have helped them."
"I try to avoid cases that may potentially attract mass media." He answered and I hummed, agreeing with him completely.
Mai on the other hand…
"Eh? Why? This could help us become famous! Then SPR would have many more clients."
"I doubt he does this for the popularity." I muttered, before the door opened.
"Hello?"
Mai whipped around, plastering on a pleasant smile. "How can we help you?"
"Yes, uh… I'm the president of the Ryokuryou High School student council. My name is Osamu Yasuhara." The young man said and I nearly hummed in approval.
Ah, my favorite. Looks better in real life too. Can't wait to see some of his sarcasm first hand. Mai waved him to a seat and I lifted a mug.
"Coffee?"
He smiled a little, hesitantly. "Ah, no thanks." He then pulled out a clipboard from his bag and handed it to Naru. "This is a petition from the students. When I heard that you rejected our principal's request, I gathered signatures from the students with the hopes that you'd reconsider. Won't you please help us?"
I passed him a mug of coffee anyway, unable to resist wanting to help him, and he accepted it with a small smile of thanks before his expression fell.
"Our school is in bad shape at the moment. At first it was just students telling each other ghost stories, but now strange things are really happening every day. All of us are scared and concerned about what could happen next."
Naru sighed. "To be honest, I'm interested in working on this case, however, I'd rather avoid attention from the media."
"I can understand that!" He said passionately. "We're bombarded by journalists coming to our school every day, but that's why we want this case resolved as soon as possible. Please, help us!"
He bowed lowly and I was surprised to find Naru's eyes land on me.
"Yuu, what do you think?"
All eyes went to me and I nearly choked on my coffee.
"M-Me? Why are you asking me?"
"I'm not jumping in without a second opinion." He replied, gesturing to Yasuhara. "And you've been watching him strangely since he first showed up."
I winced, not really wanting to admit that I had been staring. Not just because he was my favorite character in the series, but also because of the smoke that clung to his uniform.
"Well… he's got smoke on him."
Yasuhara sniffed at his clothes and I flushed in embarrassment.
"Ah, no. Sorry. Not that kind of smoke. I'm sort of…"
"She has the ability to see certain aspects of the spiritual realm." Naru explained to him. "Seeing smoke means that the object or person in question has been in contact with something spiritual lately."
His eyes widened as he looked at me. "Then, there really are ghosts? And you're a sort of psychic medium?"
I waved a hand in front of my face. "No, no, no. I'm hardly a psychic. I just… see things, is all."
Naru cleared his throat. "Anyway, Yuu? Your opinion?"
I sighed. "Still don't get why you're asking me, but I say we should check it out. The school can deal with the media nonsense and… I don't like the look of that smoke."
His eyes narrowed, but he nodded. "Mai, call Ryokuryou High School. Tell them we accept their request."
Yasuhara thanked us as Mai got on the phone and let them know, before calling up Bou-san (the only one she was able to reach) and the others. Naru though, continued to stare at me.
"What was strange about the smoke?"
I wrinkled my nose. "It's color. When people use psychic abilities, they give off a smoke too. Yours is grey, Kuroda's was violet, Kasai had a sort of light blue color, but spirits… malicious spirits and even malicious actions… They've typically got black smoke. Yasuhara-san was covered in it. Whatever's going on at that school is bad."
"I see. We best stay alert then, when we get there. You especially." He said and I gave a lazy salute as he went to get Lin to get the car ready.
"Aye aye, boss."
Yuu coughed heavily almost immediately after they entered the school, waving a hand in front of her face and gaining the attention of Naru, Mai, and Bou-san.
"You alright there?" Bou-san asked and she nodded, though Mai was concerned.
"Fine." She croaked out, clearing her throat a bit. "It's tolerable, but there's a thin layer of smoke practically coating the school."
Naru hummed curiously as they went to ask the clerk where the principal's office was. He was more than a bit rude—something which got Bou-san and Mai talking—but then again, the principal was just as bad.
"Anyway, use your expertise to stop this melodramatic nonsense! Really! How ridiculous is this for students to believe in ghosts? Imagine what it's like having to pay to take care of such nonsense. I can imagine what our board of directors will have to say about this!"
Mai bristled angrily, but it was Yuu who spoke up.
"You shouldn't talk like that in front of your mother."
"Excuse me?!" He exclaimed, getting red in the face, but Yuu remained calm.
"She's hovering behind you." She said idly, pointing in a vague direction over his shoulder. "She was a strict one, wasn't she? She's complaining about your posture and says you should keep your elbows off the table. Ah, your hand doesn't hurt, does it? She's got a rather wicked looking ruler."
The man paled abruptly and yanked his hands off his desk as he turned to the man beside him. "M-Matsuyama-sensei, take them to the meeting room."
"Sure." The man grumbled, shooting the group a glare as they walked down the hall. "Hey, you. You own this company, huh? How old are you?" He demanded from Naru.
"I'm seventeen."
"Why aren't you in school?"
"I'll leave that up to your imagination." He answered dully, making the man smirk.
"The occult or not, I don't know. But young people these days are always looking for one form of escape or another. And there's always someone willing to take advantage of them. It's a dirty world, don't you think?"
Bou-san had to grab Mai to prevent her from attempting to bash the man's head in as they entered the meeting room to find Yasuhara.
"I've been waiting for you guys."
"Yasuhara-san! Why aren't you in class?" The teacher snapped and he smiled innocently.
"Seniors are already on shorter class schedules."
"Do you still find enough time to study for your university entrance exam?"
"Don't worry." He smiled at the teacher who scoffed and took a seat.
Yuu raised a brow, but didn't comment as Bou-san tried to get things on a roll.
"Okay, so this will be our base for the research. What do we do first?"
"Well, we need to interview students involved with each incident." Naru declared. "Mai, would you go find them now?"
"How can I do that?! I don't even know my way around yet!"
"Ah, I can do it for you." Yasuhara offered.
"That would be faster, thank you."
The teacher scoffed again. "Please hurry up. I'm very busy."
"Sensei, please feel free to leave." Naru told him, making the man frown.
"I can't do that. It's my job to watch students' behavior."
Naru ignored the complaint. "As long as we're involved with this case, the students are also our clients. It's our policy to protect our clients' privacy."
"It's not necessary for kids to have privacy!"
Naru resisted a sigh of exasperation. "No matter how old they are, clients are clients. Please leave."
"Will you be doing something you'd rather I didn't see? Since they're the ones who hired psychic to come to our school, I want to hear what they have to say."
"Then you should go to the principal's office."
He seemed confused for a moment, before Bou-san chuckled.
"That's right. Your principal is the one who hired us."
Thoroughly embarrassed, the man stood and headed for the door. "Fine then! If anything happens, I'll blame it on the principal!"
Once he left, Mai took that chance to let out some steam.
"You're an idiot, baldy! Instead of worrying about your students' behavior, you should worry about your own behavior first! This is what they call 'the loud barking of a defeated dog'!"
"It's 'howling', not 'loud barking', Mai." Bou-san sighed, silencing her, though Yasuhara chuckled.
"Taniyama-san is funny."
Yuu cracked a grin as Mai rounded on her.
"That's right! How did you know all those things about the principal?! Did you really see his parent's ghosts?"
Yuu snorted. "Please. I just guessed based on his personalities. Someone who claims so loudly that they don't believe in ghosts would only be startled if someone who might see them, says they can see someone they fear right behind them. I figured he was more of a mama's boy than anything and one with high standards for him since he became a principal."
Bou-san though, glanced at Naru. "Although I was really looking forward to hearing Naru's comments."
"I don't have time for jerks." Naru said blandly, making the monk shiver. "Let's see, Yasuhara-san, as soon as class is over, please have the students come here—"
He was abruptly cut off as Yuu whipped her head towards the door and screams rang out from down the hall. She was the first one out with Bou-san behind her demanding what happened. He hurried to the two girls on the floor in front of a classroom, kneeling down.
"What's the matter?"
"T-The dog… It's that dog."
Naru turned and looked at the door that Yuu stood in front of, noticing her clenched jaw and quivering fist.
"Wait, it's dangerous!" Mai tried to stop them, but Yuu pushed past whatever was holding her back and opened the door with the two coming in beside her. A snarling black dog stood in the center of the room, standing at the height of a wolf, before it launched itself at the trio.
"Naru, Yuu! Get back into the hall!" Bou-san demanded and Naru made it, but Yuu couldn't get back in time as the beast jumped at her.
"No!" Yuu called out, as a small blur rushed between her and the creature, before the beast wailed and disappeared.
More screams rang out as more students came over to see the commotion, and Yasuhara offered to carry the one injured student to the infirmary with Mai. Naru though, turned to Yuu and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder as she knelt on the ground.
"Yuu, everything alright?"
"…Yeah. Sorry. I'm fine." She said, not sounding very convincing to Naru, but he didn't press the issue, missing the fact that Yuu seemed to be holding something in her cupped hands.
I stared at the ghost bird as it laid in a small box I'd found and stuffed with a handkerchief. You stupid thing. I thought halfheartedly as I reached in and brushed a finger over its head, earning a small coo from the injured creature. This is why I keep telling you to stay away. What made you think you could have stopped that thing? God, now look at you. I can't even do anything to help you… I sighed heavily, looking down at my left arm and flexing my fingers. It had been over an hour since we'd dealt with the ghost dog and, despite my bird friend trying to stop it, the beast had passed through my arm and I'd yet to regain feeling in it. Not that it mattered much at the moment. We were simply listening and recording what the students had experienced from ghost children, noises in the music room, ghost men in the incinerator, and an unknown figure in the nurse's office. Then Sakauchi was mentioned and things became more curious.
"A death note?"
"Yes." The student nodded cautiously as I tuned back into the conversation. "It said, 'I'm not a dog'."
I winced as my numb arm suddenly flared up with pain, burning intensely as my lip lifted into a snarl.
"I am not a dog. Don't treat me like I am. You can't control me. Why should I listen to you? You are trash. Worse than trash. I'll make you pay. You'll all pay!"
A hand touched my shoulder and I lifted my head with a growl, before blinking at the surprised look on Mai's face.
"Y-Yuu?"
My body relaxed and I suddenly felt exhausted as fear and confusion overwhelmed me. I looked down at my quivering, numb hand as I muttered an apology to the startled Mai.
"S-Sorry. I was… thinking."
"Oh… Um, I was just going to ask if you wanted more coffee."
I nodded, passing her the cup with my good hand and trying to calm down after what had just happened. Was I… Was I possessed? That's what it felt like for a minute. That sentence, Sakauchi's suicide note… Was that the trigger? I forced myself to shake the feeling off, hoping it was a one-time thing as Yasuhara knocked on the door with the next group of students; which included himself. I listened silently, stiff in preparation for another possible trigger, but there was none and I relaxed as Mai brought me the coffee I'd asked for. I was just glad I hadn't been noticed until Naru stood.
"May I inspect the classroom now?"
"Ah, sure."
"Yuu, you're coming too." Naru commanded, eyeing me suspiciously as I nodded and got up.
We were brought to classroom 3-1 and Yasuhara gave us a small warning before he opened the door.
"Do you smell it?"
I did and grimaced, not appreciating it, but not too overwhelmed. Mai and Bou-san were having a harder time though, plugging their noses as they attempted to describe the horrible smell. Naru and I wandered the room though, seemingly unbothered.
"There aren't any areas of the room that smell stronger than others." Naru commented and Yasuhara nodded as Mai and Bou-san rushed to a window.
"Exactly. We've looked for the source of the smell for a while, but the entire classroom smells."
"It doesn't even make a difference if you open the window." Mai nearly sobbed as her and Bou-san hung their heads outside.
I snorted at them, before Naru called me over.
"Yuu, come look over here."
I did, heading to the desk he was standing by and grimacing. "The whole room is covered in fog, but that desk is worse. The hell did you guys do?"
Yasuhara blinked as I waved a hand in front of my face to no avail. The smoke was beginning to bother me and I knew I would have to get out of the room soon.
"Did you do anything abnormal here?" Naru asked more specifically.
"Something abnormal?"
"For example, summoning a spirit?"
His eyes widened as the two girls behind him muttered.
"Summoning?"
"Perhaps he's talking about Orikiri-sama?"
"Silly! That's different! Because that was—"
"Orikiri-sama?" Mai cut in as Bou-san frowned.
"What is that?"
Yasuhara explained. "Lately, or actually since the second semester, it's become popular. Orikiri-sama, Gongen-sama, it basically is—"
One of the girls pulled out a paper. "I have it right here! We haven't used this one yet. Look, this is it. It's very popular at school right now."
"Huh, this…"
Bou-san's eyes went wide. "This is Kokkuri-san!"
"Eh?" The girls gaped. "That's not right! Doesn't Kokkuri-san summon a fox spirit? Orikiri-sama summons gods and it can guide us in relationships! Gongen-sama is—Oh, no!"
Bou-san crumpled the paper and went to explain, but I couldn't take it anymore. I excused myself quietly, stepping out of the room and into the hall where I coughed and choked on the slightly cleaner air.
"Ugh, the hell is this?" I groaned, sitting on the ground and tipping my head back as I wheezed. "It's like having asthma."
"Are you alright?"
I flinched at Naru's voice, frowning at him as he looked down at me with a hint of amusement.
"Did the smell finally get to you?"
I scoffed, pushing myself up only to bring a hand to my head at the pain that sliced through it. His amused smirk vanished at that.
"Sorry. It's a headache." I waved him off. "Really. This place is just covered in smoke though and that room was five times worse."
"You're having difficulties breathing." He noticed and I scowled.
"It's like wading through a cloud." I coughed and he sighed.
"It's almost time for a break anyway. Go get some food for us and we'll finish up with the interviews. That will give you time to get some proper air."
"Alright." I said, relieved but also suspicious.
He's being nice. It's weird.
"And try not to take forever, Panda."
I bristled. "I told you to stop calling me that!"
"We're not staying at a hotel?!"
Yuu groaned as Ayako shouted, her headache not retreating despite her time spent outside. It was easing up until I came back, but now it's hitting me full force. She ground her knuckles against her temples as Ayako went on complaining.
"I traveled three freaking hours from Tokyo for you! And now you're telling me I have to stay in the janitor's room with a heater that doesn't work?!"
"Ayako, stop yelling." Mai complained as well, fingers in her ears but Ayako went and got in her face about that before Naru got everyone's attention.
"Anyway, we don't have enough equipment to monitor every area we need to. Tomorrow I'll have Hara-san inspect the school and confirm the existence of the spirits. Once we confirm their existence, Bou-san, Matsuzaki-san and John will start performing exorcisms. Things that we are still uncertain as to what they are, Lin and I will continue to investigate. Mai, you stay at the base and organize all the information that we'll be giving you. Yuu, you'll be with Lin and myself unless I decide otherwise, but if anything happens, let me know right away, Mai."
"Like what?" Mai questioned, oblivious and Bou-san gave her a look.
"You're the woman with the sixth sense, right? Weren't you told the other day that you could potentially have ESP?"
"Ah, that's right. I forgot about that." She laughed awkwardly as Yasuhara cut in.
"Eh? The Taniyama-san also has special psychic skills?"
"Oh, no. It's not like that." Mai tried to wave him off, only to start arguing with Ayako once more, much to Yasuhara's amusement.
"By the way, Yasuhara-san, don't you have to go home?"
He smiled. "I'm fine. I thought I could help you with some of the administrative work. I brought stuff with me so I could spend the night just in case."
Bou-san groaned as Yasuhara laughed, but Naru wanted to make sure he knew what he was getting into.
"Yasuhara-san, I appreciate you offering to stay to help us, but I don't recommend you spending the night. I'd rather not put you in danger."
"Of course. If you think I'll be in your way, let me know. I'll be happy to leave." He offered, but Naru wasn't about to let free help get away.
"Then, I can use some help. Yuu, how are you feeling?"
She shot him an annoyed look as the others turned to her in curiosity; having not known she wasn't feeling well in the first place.
"Fine." Yuu bit out. "It's just a headache, as I said."
"Good. Then you can help Mai and Yasuhara-san set up equipment in some of the rooms." He smiled, sickly sweet and she glared in return as Yasuhara chuckled.
Once on their way, Yasuhara carried some of the equipment while Yuu carried the rest and helped Mai set it up. He was a bit dazed at what they were doing and some of the equipment, but Mai was ready to explain.
"With this equipment, we can detect any strange noises."
"Huh, so this is the kind of equipment psychic use now, huh?"
Mai chuckled. "I think we're unique. Besides, Naru is not a psychic. He refers to himself as a 'ghost hunter'."
"Ah, I've heard of that."
"Really? People usually don't know what that is."
"Yeah. Sakauchi… the freshman who committed suicide. At the beginning of his freshman year when he was asked what his future plans were, he wrote 'ghost hunter'. But he may have just been kidding."
"He wasn't."
The two turned to Yuu, but she said nothing more as she finished plugging in some things on the equipment, looking a little dazed.
"What do you mean?" Yasuhara asked and Yuu whipped around to stare at a spot just past his shoulder, but nothing was there. "What?"
Yuu finally looked to him, gaze a bit clearer as she blinked. "Hm? Oh, it was… it was nothing."
Mai frowned, having felt as if she was being watched from the very same corner, but didn't say anything as Yuu stood and looked at her hand for a moment.
"So!" Yasuhara chirped. "What do we do next, chief?"
Mai stood as well and looked through her list. "Let's see. The gymnasium where you hear a cat's voice."
"Then, let's do it and get it over with. A school at night's a spooky place you know? I'm such a chicken when it comes to scary things." Yasuhara grinned away and Yuu rolled her eyes and they started down the hall.
"By the way, why are you calling me 'chief'?" Mai asked.
"Because in this situation, I feel like I'm your apprentice. Are you comfortable with 'chief'? Then how about 'boss'?"
"That's not what I meant!"
"Ah, but then in that case, Shibuya-san would be the 'big bad boss'."
Mai laughed loudly. "Stop! That's too close to the truth!"
"What? Do you always have to be serious?" Yasuhara teased, missing Yuu lagging behind as she looked at something over her shoulder.
"Then, before our big boss gets mad at us, let's finish this up."
"Right."
Suddenly, Mai looked around, confused. Oops, where am I? Wasn't I setting up equipment with Yasuhara-san and Yuu? She spotted a student leaning on a railing then and started to head over. All the students should've gone home by now. As she moved closer, she could hear the boy laughing as he stared out at the school building across the street. The school building over there… I wonder what's so funny about it? Then, she realized that the building was swarming with will-o'-the-wisps.
"Hey… Hey, do you even know what those things are?" She asked the student who was laughing about it.
"Of course, I do. That's why they're funny."
"Funny?"
He turned to her then and she gasped, stunned by the smirking face of the boy who was beside her.
"They are very funny. I think nothing could be funnier." He said.
This student… who is he… The student who committed suicide?
"Ah… are you… perhaps…"
A low growl rumbled then from her left and Mai quickly turned to see Yuu, doubled over nearby.
"Ah, Yuu!"
"Stay back!" Yuu shouted, teeth bared and an animalistic snarl on her face that shocked Mai and froze her where she was.
It reminded her of something and when a dark violet smoke seemed to cover Yuu, Mai realized what it was as the smoke morphed into a large dog the size of a small car.
"Y-Yuu… Yuu?" Mai called out hesitantly, seeing the vague form of her friend clasping at her head inside the dog. "Yuu, stop it… Stop it, you're scaring me."
"I-I… I am not a dog. I am not a dog." Yuu growled. "I am not a dog!"
Then, as abruptly as the dream started, Mai was jolted awake; panting in the dark.
"You don't see any spirits here?!"
I cringed at the shout, headache a million times worse with the lack of sleep I'd gotten. That nightmare was too real. That damn dog… God, what am I going to do? I had no idea how to go about handling something like this and as much as my mind said to ask Naru for help, I felt that I needed to try and figure something out on my own. Doesn't he have enough to deal with?... But how dangerous could this get? Not just for me, but for Mai, for the others?
"It's not that I don't see any spirits at all." Masako explained to the stunned group, having arrived this morning to assist. "I do feel their presence."
"But Masako is the only one of us with the ability to see spirits, right? Yuu can, but…"
I glanced at the group who turned to me and I sighed. "There's too many here for me to get a clear reading on anything, and they're either hiding or too weak at the moment to catch my attention."
"So, that means…"
"We're in trouble." Bou-san sighed as well as John chuckled awkwardly.
"Ah, well, maybe they're not at their best right now?"
Masako huffed, ignoring this, but I knew it was correct in my case. I glanced at the little sparrow snoozing in my shirt pocket, still worn out from before. He's been sleeping the whole time. That issue with the dog must have taken a lot out of him, so I probably won't get any more of his help in this. I flexed my fingers, displeased that they were still rather numb despite a full day having passed.
"But you both feel that they exist here." Naru concluded and Masako nodded.
"Yes. I know that there are many spirits and I know where they are, but I don't know what types of spirits are here. Usually I can see spirits more clearly, but it's a similar feeling to when you're watching tv with bad reception, if you know what I mean." She explained. "I've never been good at communicating with spirits that float around. I'm better with spirits that have strong grudges to specific location or people."
"Well, since these spirits were summoned by Kokkuri-san, they may not hold any particular grudges." Bou-san huffed. "You're letting us down again, Masako."
"Last time was a special case and in this case, it's not like I can't see or feel any spirits!" She argued as Ayako joined in.
"But we still can't depend on you regardless, right?"
"You have no right to tell me that, Matsuzaki-san." Masako quipped back and the two began arguing as I groaned and got up; yawning and grabbing my third cup of coffee.
"You two didn't sleep well last night?" Yasuhara asked as I sat down again and Mai waved her hand.
"Eh? Oh, no. It's not that." She laughed off, but Yasuhara turned to me and I shrugged.
"I have a hard time sleeping, especially on cases." I admitted to him, before Masako spoke up again clearly.
"But… there's only one spirit that I feel very strongly."
"What type of spirit is that?" Naru asked, locking eyes with me for a moment before looking back at her.
"The spirit of a boy. He's about the same age as me. That means he's about sixteen years old. Yes, I can see his spirit clearly. I feel strong feelings from his spirit. He must have experienced hardships at school. His spirit is trapped here. Even though his spirit is not right here, I feel it very strongly. I think he committed suicide and I believe it was fairly recently."
A chill went down my spine and my eyes went to my hand, seeing but not feeling it clench tightly into a fist; and not of my own doing.
"I am not a dog. What do you know about me?"
A stack of paper hit the table, making my head snap up and eyes refocus as the fog faded from my clouded mind.
"I wonder if he really held a grudge against this school?" Naru mused, having not noticed my dazed state as he turned to Lin. "Lin, have we learned anything from last night?"
Lin removed his headphones. "Several rooms had unusual temperatures: 3-1, 2-4, and a language room. I didn't see anything unusual on the video but some noises were recorded in three different locations too: the art prep room, 2-4, and the storeroom for the gym."
"I see. The spirits are already showing some reactions on the first day." Naru said, tapping the table and drawing my attention to that; my hunched shoulders unconsciously relaxing. "Let's get to work. Hara-san, please walk around the building and locate the spirits. Matsuzaki-san accompany Hara-san and perform exorcisms whenever possible. Mai will stay at the base so please keep her informed with what's going on. I recommend not underestimating these spirits. Please be careful."
"Gotcha." Ayako hummed.
"Monk-san and John-san, please perform exorcisms at the five locations Lin just mentioned. When you've finished that, please go to the places that Hara-san will find."
"Sure."
"No problem." They answered.
"Lin and I will continue to investigate the locations that are unusual. Yasuhara-san, would you mind helping us with that?"
"Not at all."
"Yuu, you will… Yuu? Yuu!"
I flinched, having not heard him calling my name and earning a suspicious look from him as he frowned.
"You will be with Mai here. Try to let us know if you feel anything off, before you go dealing with it yourself."
"Right." I murmured and his eyes stayed on me for a second longer before he looked to Mai.
"Mai?"
"Yes?"
"Don't fall asleep."
She groaned as Bou-san and John chuckled, but soon everyone left and it was just her and myself sitting at a desk waiting for reports. Mai yawned after perhaps twenty minutes, resting her head on the table, before jolting upright only to wobble. She then harshly slapped her cheeks and I raised a brow while she grimaced in pain.
"Just sleep, Mai." I grumbled, lightly stroking the sparrow who was resting back in the little box I had. "I'll keep an eye on things."
"But Naru will—"
"He'll be pleased when you find out something useful in one of your dreams, so just don't worry about it. I'll pick up the slack."
She hesitated still. "Are you sure? You look like you didn't sleep well either."
"I didn't, but I've dealt with sleepless nights before, so it's fine."
"Well, if you're sure…"
I hummed and she slowly rested her head on the desk, still eyeing me with half-lidded eyes.
"I'm just worried, Yuu… I had… I had a dream last night. You were there, but… It was strange… I thought… I thought I saw… a dog."
She drifted off and I eyed her silently, knowing that if she'd dreamt the same thing, then I really was in trouble. Her dreams are real and with me dreaming the same thing… I might really be possessed. I need to talk to Naru, before this gets any worse.
"Oh? I see you're all alone with your boyfriend, huh?" Bou-san hummed, spotting the sleeping Yuu nearby, while Mai dropped her head onto the table where she and Yasuhara were seated. "It's good to be young."
"We were talking about something serious!" She hissed, trying to stay quiet for Yuu, and Yasuhara chuckled.
"Oh, stop teasing us, Takigawa-san."
"Don't be shy, don't be shy." The man chimed in return.
"Please be more considerate. We were about to have a good time."
Poor John accidentally walked into the whiteboard with those words as Bou-san tried to get Yasuhara to understand subtlety.
"Okay, son. Let's have a little talk. I understand how you feel, but first you have to think about where you are and what's going on around you. You know, this type of thing needs the appropriate mood and—"
"Oh, I get it. I'll keep that in mind next time."
Bou-san blinked. "By chance, do you like Mai?"
"Yes, I do." He stated bluntly, making said subject flush red as Yasuhara went on. "But I also like Shibuya-san. He's beautiful, but, I like you even more." He hummed, smoothly taking Bou-san's hands in his.
Pale, the older man fidgeted. "Young man…"
"Yes?"
"You're teasing me, aren't you?"
"Of course, I am." Yasuhara smiled cheerfully, sending the monk into a depressed state as Yuu snorted; having woken up midway through the noisy chatter.
"I take it, you lot aren't getting anywhere with your little exorcisms if you're back here being teased by kids half your age."
Bou-san groaned loudly as John nodded.
"We've been preforming exorcisms based on Hara-san's guidance, but it hasn't been very effective."
"I see." Mai sighed, looking to Bou-san. "Hey, do you think I could perform an exorcism?"
"Why all of a sudden?" He questioned.
"I just thought I could try to be a little more useful."
"It'll be over for us the day we have to resort to you performing an exorcism." He sighed, making her bristle.
"What did you just say?!"
"Still." Yuu piped up. "It could be potentially useful if you gave her a spell or something that she could use to protect herself. With all the trouble she walks into, it would be nice."
"Yuu…" Mai grumbled, but Bou-san agreed and began to teach her one of his tricks as Yasuhara passed out the coffee to help wake up Yuu and the others.
They proceeded to discuss a few things that were on their mind then, before Bou-san looked to the younger people of the group.
"By the way, Mai, do you feel anything?"
"Eh?!"
"Hey now, why do you act so—"
"Ah, Taniyama-san, remember what you told me?" Yasuhara cut in. "The next fire may be in the radio studio."
"Is that true?!" Both Bou-san and John demanded to know as Mai leaned back awkwardly at the sudden pressure.
Note to self, don't tell Yasuhara anything if I don't want it to be brought up later. She thought, trying to answer the men.
"Well… I fell asleep earlier and had a dream about that…"
"And what else?"
"And that's all. It must be a dream." She said, twiddling her thumbs.
"I see. Okay, Mai! You're a good girl, now go to sleep." Bou-san commanded, shoving a pillow into her arms.
"What?!"
"Your dream must have meant something! Go to sleep! You need to collect more information!" he commanded as John tried as well.
"Hara-san and Matsuzaki-san are really the ones who went to perform an exorcism in the locker room!"
"It must be a coincidence!"
"No such thing as coincidences." Yuu hummed, sipping her coffee and enjoying the show.
"You've had dreams relating to our research during the last case and the one before." Bou-san tried to convince her.
"I can't just fall asleep all of a sudden!"
"Well, we'll find out one way or another later on tonight." Yasuhara explained calmly, being the voice of reason in the room. "If the fire does happen in the studio, then it would mean that Taniyama-san's dream was right, wouldn't it? And Taniyama-san, if the fire really happens in the studio, be prepared to support them."
"Hey, son. When did you become Mai's manager? That's Yuu's job." Bou-san complained as Yuu scoffed.
"Please. He can have it."
"Yuu!"
The next morning, however, Mai was proven right as a fire broke out in the studio instead of the locker room. Yuu was staring at the damage though, with a frown, rubbing at her arm idly as Naru demanded to know from Mai where she'd seen other will-o'-the-wisps in her dream. She wasn't entirely convinced that they would be where she said they were though, and went off by herself to think over a few things. Upon encountering the frustrating jerk from the school, however, she'd begun to regret not bringing Yuu with her to take him down a peg. Once she'd gathered up the courage to do so herself, though, a scream rang out. Mai ran for it, finding the classroom where it was coming from just as Bou-san and the others showed up as well.
"Hey, Mai! What happened?"
"No idea. I just got here, too." She said as Naru frowned and stepped forward.
"This is the class I sent Yuu to check."
Mai turned to him, scanning the group to find the young woman missing. "Where is she? She's not here. She can't be…"
"Get the door open. Quickly!" Naru ordered and upon opening it, the group stared in shock.
There as a dog, much like before, except it nearly filled the classroom with how big it was; easily fitting a desk in its jaws. Students cowered in the corner as it threw the desk at them, before rounding on the group. Mai's eyes widened though, as it laid eyes on her and she remembered the dream she'd had. It… It has the same eyes as Yuu… Oh, my God…
"Y-Yuu?" She breathed out and the dog stiffened, whipping around to look at her.
There, buried in the center of the beast, Mai caught the sight of a dark shadow. A figure that was barely visible in the miasma radiating off the creature before them.
"Oh, my God. Yuu! Naru, Yuu's in there! She's inside that… that thing!"
"Mai!" Bou-san shouted, pulling her back as the creature took a step towards her and Naru turned to John.
"John!"
John nodded, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small bottle of holy water, but it wasn't needed as the black dog suddenly vanished; leaving Yuu doubled over in apparent pain.
"What was that spirit?" Masako questioned, in shock. "It seemed almost real."
Naru looked at Yuu for a moment, but with the immediate danger gone, he turned to the teacher.
"Sensei. Matsuyama-sensei." He said, having to get the man's attention since he was dazed by the events as well. "Could you please call an ambulance? Some students have been hurt."
"That… That was the same dog as before?" Bou-san questioned, eyeing Yuu hesitantly.
"I think so." Mai agreed. "But it was much bigger."
"And much stronger too." Naru added, holding an arm out to stop Mai from going to Yuu's aid. "Don't get close to her yet. We need to make sure she's stable first. If she's still possessed, then she could lash out."
"But…" Mai didn't get to finish her thought as she spotted Masako suddenly collapse behind her. "Masako?! What's the ma—"
She herself began to feel dizzy then and blacked out; slipping into yet another dream-like state. It's just like my vision yesterday. She thought, seeing a large black blob-like creature grabbing at floating will-o'-the-wisps and devouring them. Don't! Stop it! This isn't right! You're devouring everyone! She spotted one bright light in particular though and brought a hand to her mouth in shock. How gross! This… can't be… Sakauchi-kun! The boy was absorbed into the creature and Mai grimaced, feeling pity for the boy. Then, she saw something else. Ah! Yuu! Yuu stood nearby, but she was too close to the creature. She was fighting, struggling against it as a tendril latched around something dark that was snaking out of her arm. No! Yuu! Yuu! Mai shouted, making to go and help, before someone placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Naru shaking his head, but that only made her angry. No! I won't let her get devoured! I won't!
He just pointed though and Mai turned to see that the black shape being pulled away from Yuu was actually that large black dog. Its mouth was wrapped around Yuu's arm as she fought against it, and the dog would drag her into the blob-like creature if she couldn't get free. Mai tugged anxiously on Naru's grip on her arm, but the young man held her back. Look. He commanded and she did, seeing something glowing in Yuu's shirt pocket. Her eyes widened as a small glowing orb flew out of it; expanding into a large bird that attacked and clawed at the black dog. Injured and unable to continue holding on, the dog was forced to release Yuu as the bird disappeared back where it had come from and Yuu fell back away from the devouring spirit.
"Hey… Hey! Are you okay?"
Mai's eyes snapped open and she looked to Bou-san as he looked over her and Masako in concern.
"What happened? All three of you suddenly collapsed."
Mai spotted Naru over by Yuu, feeling a sharp sting in her chest for a split second before brushing it off and turning to a teary-eyed Masako.
"Masako… did you see it too?"
"Yes. Sakauchi-san… He vanished and Yuu was nearly…"
"We'll discuss what happened in the conference room." Naru said then, carrying an unconscious Yuu in his arms. "John, I'll need you to make sure she isn't still possessed."
"Right…" He nodded and they headed off back to the base.
I woke up, feeling dazed and weighted down, like any movement would take so much more effort than it was worth. What… What happened? I tried to think back; my fogged mind remembering things piece by piece. I was with… No, Naru sent me to a classroom. I went to ask the teacher if I could sit in to search for paranormal whatever, but he fought me on it and… My brows furrowed and I managed to bring a hand to my head. Oh…Oh, no. The dog. Whatever that idiot teacher said set it off. I remember that, but then… there was anger and fury and something dark. Then, I was doubled over in the classroom. I'm… God, I'm missing pieces. Did I… Was I completely possessed? I grunted and pushed myself upright, blankets falling off me from the bed I was in, in the infirmary of the school. It was then, that I noticed my arm.
I could feel it now, for one thing, but it was wrapped in a rosary and bandages that had scrawled writing on it. They know… I realized, staring at the cross dangling from the beads absentmindedly. They know and this is probably John's work… and Bou-san's, if the writing is any clue, but… what happened? I feel like I did something wrong… The door opened then and I turned to see Naru enter; looking rather stern with the dark frown on his face as he closed the door behind him. He pulled over a chair and sat down in it, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at me.
"Why didn't you say anything?" He asked, making me wince slightly.
Damn, I hate being talked to like a child from someone younger than me, but… "I thought it was a one-time, minor occurrence." I grumbled. "When it got worse, I planned on telling you, but with the fire and everything else, we were… busy."
His glare seemed to get worse. "Busy? We are never too busy for you to mention something like this." He reached over and grabbed my arm; shaking it. "You were possessed, Yuu! Not just a minor possession either, but a complete, possession by an evil spirit. You hurt people, Yuu. You said nothing and ended up sending a student to the hospital."
I stiffened, not having known anything of what happened while I was possessed. "I-I… what?"
His eyes narrowed and he dropped my hand, getting up. "You will stay in this room and rest for the remainder of this case, then you will return home. I'll send you your paycheck in the mail."
"What? Naru… Naru, wait! I'm fired?!" I called out after him, but the door slammed shut and I was left on my own. "But… I-I don't have anything else…"
I sat there in a daze for an unknown amount of time. What… What do I do now? If he's firing me, then… I wasn't sure what to think. I was someone trapped in the body of someone else, in a Japanese anime or manga or whatever, who could see ghosts and interact with them. I didn't know what to do. My mind kept going blank. I… Do I just go back to school like before? It didn't seem right, didn't feel right. I wanted to do more here; with SPR. I'd gotten attached, enjoying the time I spent with them and what we did with spirits and the supernatural. Without it, what was left?
Time passed as I stared blankly at the sheets on my lap, feeling something dark wrap around my chest that made my body heavy and shoulders slump. I almost didn't notice when the group came in with an unconscious Mai, until the door shut and I felt eyes on me. I briefly caught eyes with a frowning Naru, before turning over onto my side and trying to ignore the group. I'm fired, after all… Nothing else that's going on here now involves me anymore. So, I should distance myself, shouldn't I? I heard Ayako chiding Mai the moment she woke up, cringing when I heard my name brought up.
"Why were you wandering the campus alone? We've already had one issue with possession with Yuu, do you want to be next?"
"Well… the video tape…" Mai muttered and Ayako's annoyance shifted to Naru.
"The tape? What do you have to say for yourself, Naru? You knew no one should go out alone!" She huffed. "Tell us what happened."
Mai explained the children spirits she saw in the science lab and how she'd been locked inside before being knocked unconscious by broken bottles of chemical.
"Children's spirits, huh. Masako, are they still around?"
"No." The medium answered. "I think they've gone."
They only stick around to cause problems, then they wait until their next chance. It's all because of what happened with Sakauchi. It's a curse. I mused silently, biting my tongue to stay silent as the group left; leaving Ayako behind with us just in case when Mai asked her to. She must have fallen asleep at some point and I did too, but I didn't have any dreams thanks to the precautions that had been wrapped around my arm. That didn't mean I missed out on her abrupt awakening though.
"Mai? Hey! What are you doing, you idiot?" Ayako complained when Mai immediately toppled over from dizziness.
"Ayako, the first floor! It's in the print shop!" Mai warned her. "John and Yasuhara-san are there too! They're in danger! We've got to warn them!"
"But I can't leave—"
"Go." I said, sitting up myself. "I've got most of my strength back. I can keep an eye on us and get us away, if need be."
Ayako still hesitated, but went on to quickly teaching Mai a counter-spell before rushing out to warn the others. And now, the fun part. I thought, glancing up at the ceiling as the lights went out.
"Mai, we need to get out." I declared and she turned to me with worried eyes.
"But… I'm still dizzy. I can't even sit up without—"
I clambered out of bed and headed for hers, keeping my gaze locked on the shadow in the second bed that had appeared. "Move towards me and I'll help support you, but we need to go. Now."
She nodded and slid her feet down to the floor, using my shoulder as a crutch while I grimaced. I still ached from the possession, but it was tolerable. I was more focused on the shadow that had sat up in its bed.
"Should I do the counter-spell?" Mai asked hesitantly. "That should help us, right?"
"Don't. You'll just make it angry." I stopped her, knowing that if she tried, the spirit would lash out. "It's devoured some of the others, so I don't think a small counter-spell will do much other than irritate it."
"Devouring... More of your foreknowledge?" She questioned and I shot her a small, annoyed look.
"One would think you'd be more concerned with us getting out of here, instead of how I know certain things."
She chuckled awkwardly, before I suddenly stiffened and whipped back around. The inky black spirit was gone.
"Not good." I murmured, trying to remember what it was that happened next, before the ground suddenly quaked below us.
My eyes widened and I helped—shoved—Mai to the door.
"Go! Get out!"
She stumbled though and we both fell to the ground with groans. I was back up onto my feet first and scowled at the few feet of wall now between us and the door above us. The floor had caved in, only confirming my theory that the spirit was more powerful than before. Mai groaned from the ground and I hastily tried to get her back up onto her feet.
"Mai, we need to get out of here now."
"Right. The door is right…" She turned to find the wall and I pointed above us.
"We sank, Mai. I can give you a boost to at least get you onto the edge. Get the door open and I'll climb up after you."
We both stilled at the sound of scratching though, and I cursed.
"Shit. Mai, we've got to move."
She nodded, sensing that this wasn't just mice skittering about, and placed her foot onto my interlinked hands.
"W-What if it comes this way?"
"Don't." I scolded her, lifting her as best I could to get her up to the small ledge by the door. "Don't think about it. Focus on getting out."
"R-Right."
She grabbed the edge and pulled herself up, reaching for the door, only for it to be pulled open before her.
"Mai?"
Naru stood at the entrance and Mai let out a sigh of relief.
"Naru!"
"The floor… What happened?" He asked and Mai went to answer, but I gave her another shove upwards.
"Later. Just pull her up so I can get up too, before…"
Too late. I grimaced, hearing the cracking of the ceiling as Naru pulled Mai up through the door and reached down for me. His eyes met mine and when he reached down for me, almost desperately, I couldn't believe it.
"Yuu!"
"Y-You idiot!" I shouted, just as the ceiling collapsed and I was knocked to the ground.
"Yuu…"
God, what…
"Yuu, say something! Are you okay?"
Oh, the ceiling fell… but then why was Naru…
"Yuu!"
My eyes cracked open and I cringed at the pain that went through my head, bringing a hand to it as I tried to push myself upright only to be stuck. I twisted and nearly had a heart-attack at seeing a relieved Naru holding up part of a bookcase that had fallen towards me when the ceiling collapsed.
"N-Naru?" I breathed out, earning a pained, annoyed look before I winced and reached out to try and help him shove the large object aside.
More voices came from just above us and, thanks to Mai, the others helped unbury us and get us to moderate safety. Back at the base, Ayako was quick to look Mai, Naru, and myself over for injuries, but not without complaint.
"Really now. How is it that you always manage to get injured?" Ayako moaned, placing a bandage over a cut on my forehead after having treated Mai and Naru. "The same goes for you two! You three are unbelievable. At least these injuries will heal."
"It's only because the building's ceiling boards are so weak." Naru commented, adjusting his sleeve over a bandage on his wrist. "It's no big deal."
"Shouldn't you go to a hospital and get it checked out?" Bou-san asked as he looked over Mai again.
She waved him off. "I'm fine! I just can't believe the whole ceiling caved in too. Right, Yuu?"
"Hm?" I turned away from the back of Naru's head, which I'd been staring at in frustrated confusion. "Oh, yeah. Suppose so."
Why the hell did he come down to shield me from the collapse? I know Mai was supposed to be the one stuck down there, but because it was me, I thought… That dark feeling in my chest ached again. Did I really think he thought less of me than her? Why does that… Why does it bother me so much?
"This is no joke." Bou-san said seriously. "A spirit would have to have the strength of an army to make a whole ceiling cave in like that."
Even Yasuhara was unnerved by the whole thing.
"So, you're saying that entity has gotten even stronger?"
"Stronger and more brutal."
"It… hatched." Mai spoke up then, gaining everyone's attention. "It's been sleeping until now and once it built up enough strength, it must have hatched. That means, no one…"
"No one can stop it." I finished for her, rubbing at my bandaged hand.
"Did you see something too?" Naru asked, and I hesitated before slowly nodding.
"I… suppose." I muttered, before explaining. "It's a smaller spirit that's been slowly eating the weaker spirits around it to grow more powerful. I don't think we can handle something like this unless we know exactly what we're dealing with." I chose to make a small risk then. "Though, I think I've read about something like this before. I can't remember it… something to do with throwing gold in the streets…"
"Gold?" Bou-san questioned, placing a hand on my head and tipping it to get a look at my sour expression. "Are you sure you're alright? You did hit your head pretty hard."
I swatted his hand off me. "So, did you, when you were a child. It's why you have no brain cells left."
He smiled, twitching as he grabbed my head once more in annoyance. "I-Is that so? My, how cheeky you've gotten, Yuu. Don't you know how to respect your elders?"
Says someone who's younger than me.
"Oh, sorry, old man. Don't know how I forgot you were an elder with all those grey hairs."
"Why you—"
Naru cleared his throat before our petty argument could go any further. "I suggest we all get some rest and decide what we're going to do after a meeting with the principal tomorrow morning. For now, no one is to go anywhere by themselves and each group is required to have at least one person able to perform counter-spells professionally."
Mai pouted at that, but I expected as much and went to join her, Ayako and Masako in the women's resting area, only for him to stop me.
"Yuu, you're staying with Lin and I. No more than three people per group."
I didn't want to, giving Mai a desperate look to help me, but she simply shrugged before leaving with the others. Seeing no other choice, I sighed and took a seat in one of the empty metal chairs; not really tired and knowing that even if I was, I wouldn't be able to sleep. So, instead, I pulled out my little bird friend to check up on him; rubbing his tiny head with my finger as I rested my own head on the table.
"What are you doing?"
I jolted, having forgotten that Naru was there and couldn't exactly see what I was doing. Or can he? I… I'm not sure. He's seen other ghosts, but those ones wanted to be seen, so maybe he can't? He wouldn't be asking me if he could, right?
"Um… p-petting the ghost bird…"
He stared at me for a while, making my face flush in embarrassment.
"W-What?"
He slowly closed his notebook and headed over, making me fidget awkwardly as he looked between me and where my hand was by the bird.
"You're not going to sleep?" He questioned then, making me bristle.
"I'm… not tired."
He raised a brow. "You're going to look even more like a panda, if you don't."
"I'm not a panda, you narcissistic as—"
"Yes, yes." He sighed, cutting off my curse as he sat down beside me. "Didn't your parents teach you to watch your mouth around others?"
I hadn't thought about my parents in a long time, and his question caught me off guard long enough to calm me down and allow that seeping darkness to wrap around my heart further.
"They're dead." I muttered, resting my head back on the table as the little sparrow ghost rolled onto his back for me to pet his stomach. "It's not like they'll get mad at me now."
He stayed silent for a moment before his own finger came into view and scratched at the bird's stomach; making me look up in surprise. So, he can see it…
"Why didn't you say anything before?"
My frown returned at his question, knowing he was talking about my possession.
"I told you. I didn't think it was anything big and when it got worse I was going to, but… never got around to it."
"Why?"
"Because we were bus—"
"That's not it, and we both know it." He said sharply, eyes shifting to mine and seeming to pierce through me. "So, stop pretending to be a stubborn-headed idiot."
"What does it matter?" I grumbled, looking away. "I'm fired anyway."
"Yuu." He persisted and I groaned, getting up and moving to the coffee-maker in my frustration.
I watched the dark liquid as I poured it into a mug, feeling as though the very same thing was slowly clawing its way into my chest trying to drown me.
"I was scared, alright?" I finally responded. "I'm still… new to the whole 'dealing with ghosts' thing. I mean, I've dealt with them before—" Or Yuu has, anyway. "—but not like this. I'm not like Mai thinks. I don't like confronting them. I'd rather ignore them or hide or run away, but I can't do that with her. I won't let her get hurt."
I shook my head, knowing that I was getting off topic.
"The thing is… I was scared about what had happened, what might end up happening to me. I was going to tell you, but then… then I worried about what would happen with us. It's one thing to chide us for injuries, but something like this?" I lifted my arm, making the cross swing back and forth on the beads wrapped around it. "I didn't want to end up becoming the liability… That's exactly what happened though, so I guess it didn't matter either way, what I did. Someone still got hurt because of me, Mai and the others were still put in danger because of me, and I'm still being fired for what happened. I didn't tell you because I was scared that trying to get me un-possessed would put everyone in danger and that… that you would kick me off the case."
"Why would I—"
"Please." I grumbled, turning around finally as I sipped my coffee. "You don't need a spirit detector or whatever I am, because you already have that in Masako; who also has more experience than me too. I'm not equipped to exorcise anything like John, Bou-san, Ayako and Lin, and I'm not all-knowledgeable about ghosts like you are. Add easily-possessed to my list of quirks, and I'm the last person anyone would want on a ghost-hunting team. The only thing I'm good for is putting up cameras, filing and playing bait."
It was growing, that darkness; getting stronger, feeding off me.
"Yuu?"
My throat felt tight and my vision swam as I took a step back and bumped into the table behind me; Naru standing up.
"Yuu, what—"
"I-I don't…" I shivered as a tear slid down my face. "W-What am I saying? I-I-I don't u-understand. Why…"
The coffee mug slipped from my fingers, shattering on the ground as my eyes slid to the bandaged appendage that quivered and shook out of my control.
"Lin!" I vaguely heard Naru shout over the sound of my own breathing in my ears.
What does he know?
He doesn't understand anything about me.
He thinks he can just get rid of me just like that?
I'll show him. I'll show all of them.
I am NOT a DOG!
STOP IT!
Everything shifted, stopping and twisting all at once. The snarl on my face twitched as the hand fisted around Naru's shirt froze and the low rumbling growl in my throat ceased. Brows furrowed as I struggled mentally, fighting against whatever dark force had managed to keep hold of me until now.
Stop it! Look what you're doing! Look who you're hurting!
He hurt me first! He threw me out! He hurt me!
My fist tightened again, but quivered as Lin stormed in.
"Naru!"
"Wait." He stopped him, trying to speak to me instead. "Yuu, fight it. I know you can. I know you don't want to do this, so fight back."
A warbled sound escaped me as I forced my clenched fist to slowly let go. Whatever had me was still fighting though, pounding against my already battered mind and pushing and pulling at my soul in an attempt to devour it or shove me out. I fought back, but I was tired, so tired. What was the point? I wondered. Aren't I fired? Even if it did take over or even push my soul out, what would it matter? I have nothing here. What difference would my being dead make?
"No. Don't you give up, Yuu." Naru's voice broke through, making my eyes turn to him as tears fell unnoticed down my face. "Don't let this thing take you. You're stronger than that. I know you are."
"Y-You don't k-know me." I got out, voice warping slightly in my struggle to speak.
"Then, you'll have to tell me more." He said calmly, watching me with those dark eyes as if he was seeing through me. "Show me what you're capable of, Yuu. Prove to me that you're worth the effort of having you in SPR."
"B-But you got rid of me."
"You idiot." He sighed heavily, grabbing my shirt and slamming his forehead roughly against mine. "As if I'd actually get rid of you. After all… Mai is useless at filing. You're the only one who does it right."
I blinked owlishly before the back-handed compliment finally registered and I scowled.
"You know, if I wasn't currently wresting with a possession right now, I'd be dumping your precious tea down your pants, you narcissistic asshole."
"Dully noted. Lin?"
There was a high-pitched whistle that was let out before something slammed into my chest. My breath left me in one fell swoop and I toppled forward into an awaiting Naru, as a large dark mass escaped me. I barely registered the black dog that was quickly obliterated by flying white orbs, thanks to my fading vision. I wanted to see what was going on, if I was truly free, but I was so tired and Naru seemed to sense that as he placed a cool hand over my eyes.
"Sleep, Yuu. We'll deal with things in the morning."
"…Fine…"
I twisted and turned, out of breath as murmurs reached my ears and whatever was around me seemed to tighten. Then, I was awake and sitting up in a flash, something clicking in my mind.
"A spirit kodoku!" I blurted out, drawing the attention of the entire SPR to me.
"What did you say?" Naru questioned as I brought a hand to my forehead in a small attempt to quell my dizziness.
"I-I remember. The gold thing I mentioned before." I lied, having not meant to blurt out what was going on the moment I woke up, but my head was in a bit of a scramble from the possession still and it was a little late to try and take it back.
Naru's eyes widened in understanding as the others—who probably gathered for a meeting—stared in confusion.
"Did you say, 'kodoku'?" Mai asked as I furrowed my brows at the blanket wrapped around me.
When did I get to this futon? Hell, since when was there a futon in this room?
"It's a type of curse." Naru explained, speaking rapidly as he told them about the basics of said curse.
Rare curse from China, burying a bunch of bugs in a jar until one's left, and human sacrifices and throwing gold. Yes, yes, yes. I know all of this already, but why can't I remember how I got here? A cross dangled from my arm, swinging lightly across my vision and I blinked at it in confusion. Turing to Naru, I poked it with my finger.
"Hey, what's this? Why's it on me?"
He paused from his explanation and furrowed his brows. "You don't remember?"
"Remember what?" I frowned now as well, seeing the group eye one another cautiously. "What happened? What the hell is going on? Why do you all keep looking at me like that?"
Naru sighed. "I'll explain it to you after I finish explaining this, alright?"
I wasn't exactly pleased, but grumbled my consent and got up to get some coffee. I only really focused back on what was being said when Mai began shouting about the students being quote-on-quote "masters" of the curse.
"That's impossible! What can we do? They're not even aware that it exists, right?! It will devour them all, including Yasuhara-san! Right, Naru?"
"And there's nothing we can do." He answered her calmly as I eyed the two. "However… Lin?"
"What is it?" The man asked, pulling off his headphones to listen in.
"It's true that a kodoku is a pretty obscure curse. Even we haven't encountered one before."
"But if this is a kodoku, it would be no different than a regular curse. Defeating it will be easy, though not without unintended side effects." Lin responded. "We have two options for releasing the kodoku: transferring it to someone else or agreeing to care for it."
"Right."
"No way…" Mai breathed out, looking to me, but I pointedly looked away from her probing gaze; that had attracted Naru's gaze as well.
Sorry, Mai, but I can't just give away what I know. Everything turns out alright in the end, but I can't even give you reassurance since Naru going behind your back is a big step in the relationship between you two. Something twisted in my gut at the thought, but I frowned and pushed it aside.
"Yuu."
"Hm?" I hummed, having been distracted once more.
Naru eyed me cautiously, for whatever reason. "I'm going to have to speak with the principal on this matter. I'll explain to you what happened afterwards, though I suggest going for a walk where the air is clearer, for now."
My frown deepened. "Let me guess, go outside because of something that happened that I can't remember?"
"Good, you understand."
"What? No, I—" My argument was cut off by the door closing behind him. "—don't. God, that narcissistic asshole. I was being sarcastic."
Mai knocked the back of my head with her fist, making me glare at her while I rubbed where she hit. "Language." She chided. "And just go do what he said. You've been… grumpy since we got here."
I felt there was more to it than that, if the cross on my arm said anything, but I knew better to argue with Mai and simply left with grumbles under my breath about secret-keeping jerks. The walk was actually nice and I mellowed out quite a bit from when I was in the school. Maybe this case is just affecting me too much. It was stuffy in there, with all the smoke. Maybe that has something to do with why I can't remember anything.
"Your face will get stuck that way, if you keep it up."
I bristled, facing a smirking Naru with a scowl. "Says you. You frown all the time unless you're looking yourself in the mirror, narcissist."
"And you scowl all the time, mirror or otherwise, Panda."
We had a staring match before Naru—probably thinking he was the better person—looked away with a sigh.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything." I muttered, accepting the silent truce for now. "What the hell is going on to get me this charm thing?"
"What do you remember?"
My brows furrowed as I thought back. "Dealing with the black dog in the classroom was the last thing. After that, things get a bit fuzzy. I remember things happening, but trying to think about it just makes the memory fade away."
He watched me as I scratched at my old scarred arm anxiously. I wasn't used to having this much missing and I didn't like it. That, and there was something about this that was familiar. Not to me, but to Yuu, which only made me even more unnerved.
"You were possessed."
I whipped around to Naru in surprise. "What?"
He moved to sit beside me on the curb in front of the school where I'd chosen to rest. "The dog, most likely, was able to possess you after our encounter with it. You were rather cross and I assumed it had to do with what you mentioned about the smoke, however, you also ended up attacking a group of students as well. Sending one to the hospital."
I paled. "N-No. No, you're lying. I wouldn't… I didn't…"
"You did." He said firmly, looking at me directly. "But you were being overwhelmed, so it's understandable."
I stood up, angry and a bit scared. "No, it's not! I hurt someone! I allowed myself to get taken over and someone got hurt because of me! I—"
He yanked my wrist, pulling me back down beside him. "You did nothing. The evil spirit that possessed you hurt someone, not you."
I opened my mouth to argue further, but a glare from him made me snap it shut.
"Don't blame yourself for something out of your control. If anything, it was my fault for not noticing there was anything wrong."
"Your fault?"
"I have experience dealing with possessions, so yes. I should have seen the signs and—"
"You're hardly putting the blame on yourself, boy." I scoffed, earning a raised brow from Naru.
"'Boy'?"
Shit. I showed my own age. God, think of something! Quick!
"Yeah, boy. You're acting like a kid, if you're thinking like that." I fibbed, looking away as a bead of sweat slid down the back of my neck. "J-Just… tell me what else happened, okay? No one takes the blame. Tell me what I missed."
He eyed me a moment longer, before giving in—much to my relief—and explaining the disasters that had occurred in my absence. I got the feeling he was leaving something out though, something important. And it plagued me even as we went back inside to the base. I swore there was a point where he was looking down at me in concern, but he didn't mention anything. I mean, maybe I imagined it? But why would I imagine falling asleep on Naru's lap?
"It's a curse?"
Lin nodded, passing Naru the paper he'd been given by Yasuhara after some more discussion while Naru was dealing with Yuu and the principal. "Yes. If you bury it at a crossroads, you can drive someone mad. But if you bury it under a shrine, you can kill someone."
Naru was silent for a moment. "So, this Kokkuri-san was being used as a tool to spread the curse with the unsuspecting students carrying it out."
"They did everything from making the charm to actually performing the curse." Lin agreed. "With just this sheet, you could kill anyone."
"So, every day the students were innocently making charms and performing rituals. It just so happened that this was used as a means of possession to gather spirits and as a result fulfilling an aspect of the kodoku."
"That is what I suspect."
"Once the kodoku is complete, what will happen?"
"This person will die."
"'This person'?"
"Matsuyama-sensei." Yuu piped up, making the group turn to her in surprise. "Right?"
Lin nodded silently as Naru frowned.
"How did you—"
She shrugged. "I may not remember what I did while possessed, but I remember some stuff. That teacher in particular pissed me off. More than anyone. Whatever possessed me must have held some crazy amount of resentment towards the guy if I could remember that anger."
The door was shoved open and said topic of discussion walked in with a cocky grin.
"Aren't you ready to leave yet? There's nothing left for you to do. Do me a favor and pack your things and go."
Yuu stiffened and lifted her lip is a snarl, but a quick tap on the hand from Naru and she slowly relaxed. While no longer possessed, lingering feelings from it would hang around for a while longer, especially while still in the school. Naru had to keep an eye on her and monitor any residual effects; handling them when they cropped up, like just now. Once she was back under control, he stepped towards the teacher.
"I'm terribly sorry, but there something else we need to talk about."
"Hm? What's left to discuss."
"Sensei, I think you should hear this."
"What? Is this about your fees?" The man snapped as Mai had to be held back by Bou-san to keep from jumping in. "Don't you try to trick me. Never mind, just leave now."
Naru waved the curse paper in front of him.
"What's this?"
"It's a cursed charm."
"A cursed charm?"
Having caught the man's attention, Naru went on. "Sensei, are you aware that Kokkuri-san is popular in your school?"
"Well…"
"This is used in Kokkuri-san. It seems that someone has introduced a new, deceptive form of Kokkuri-san."
"So?"
"This cursed charm was used to case a hex."
"That's completely absurd! It's not possible to kill someone with a curse. And who, might I ask, was the intended victim?"
"You, Matsuyama-sensei." Naru said blankly, making the man stiffen as he passed the paper to Lin. "Isn't that right, Lin?"
"Yes, sir."
"Why me?"
Lin passed the paper to Bou-san. "Takigawa-san, can you read Sanskrit?"
"Uh-huh. Well enough to get by."
"Please read what it says here on the right."
"It says, 'write the name of the cursed victim here'." Even Bou-san looked a little unnerved as he continued. "I see. I can make out the name 'Hideki Matsuyama'."
"Wha—"
"Sanskrit is completely unnecessary for playing Kokkuri-san." Lin explained, cutting the man off. "Also, the left side lists an age. Naru, can you read it?"
"I'm terrible at reading Kanji."
Yuu sighed, taking the paper and looking it over. "Fifty-three years old this year."
"That's about your age, isn't it?" Naru asked. "Good thing for us that the age at least, was written in this standard, legible way. If 'Matsuyama' had been written this clearly, anyone could have guessed something was going on. I wonder why it was deliberately written in Sanskrit?"
"Who… Who could have done this?"
"Invoking Orikiri-sama became popular within the art club and first-year students." Naru explained. "But not everyone is capable of performing this curse easily. This is clearly a person to be reckoned with."
"Wait! Was it Sakauchi! What was that idiot trying to do! What the hell are you—"
"Don't you realize why you were chosen?" Someone cut him off and he was surprised to see Yasuhara's angry expression.
"Yasuhara…"
"I am not a dog." Yuu said clearly, making his eyes flicker to her and back to the student as Naru tapped her hand again to gain her focus.
"That's all that was in Sakauchi-kun's suicide note." Yasuhara explained to the ignorant teacher. "We all felt this school treated us like we were dogs. Any of us could have written this about you, sensei. Sensei, you represent all that's wrong with this school."
Naru stepped in then. "It won't make a difference if we root out the perpetrators now. Once they've invoked the curse, it can't be stopped."
"Then, what's going to happen!"
"You'll die." Yuu shrugged indifferently, making the man go pale as Naru ignored her comment and turned to Lin.
"Any solutions?"
"None so far."
"Is it possible to reverse the curse?"
"We could. But could we?"
"We don't have a choice. Death may soothe a soul's pain, but if everyone truly understood what death means, no one would ever commit suicide." Naru sighed heavily. "We'll reverse the curse."
"Reverse the curse?" Mai breathed out.
"In other words, turn the curse back onto the original conjurers. Once the last spirit has devoured everything, time will run out and the kodoku will be complete. If that happens, death awaits Matsuyama-sensei. That would be cruel, even for him. Before we let that happen…"
He was forced to trail off as Matsuyama began to cackle.
"Y-You're going to help me? Haha, you are! I won't die after all!"
"Sensei." Naru silenced him. "This is all your fault, please keep that in mind."
He stopped as Yuu scoffed.
"Keep acting like a dick, and you'll have another curse on your hands and maybe you will end up dying next time. Every dog bites back when its owner mistreats it."
He shrunk away from her glare as Bou-san turned to Naru with furrowed brows.
"But, Naru-chan, Sakauchi-san is already dead. How can we reverse the curse back onto a dead person?"
"…It's true, we can't reverse a curse onto a dead man, but anyway, he's not the one who invoked the curse in the first place."
"Huh?"
"If we reverse the curse, the curse is reflected back to the original conjurer."
"But if we don't know who that is…"
"The students were the ones who invoked the curse."
The group went silent, only Mai's breathy whisper cutting through.
"Wha… Wait… What do you mean?"
"He means, Sakauchi-san just got his revenge on everyone who ever mocked him and more, by making them do what he wished and take the fall for him." Yuu replied simply, rubbing at her arm once more.
"No! Stop it, Naru! This is wrong!"
"Would you rather see Matsuyama-sensei die?" He argued. "You're the one who's wrong. Those clueless students invoked the curse. If they are not punished, then by law, we will be accomplices in murder. We'll be reversing the curse upon the students. I realize that this is all that person's fault, but we must do what is fair, even with regret."
"But—"
"Shibuya-san." Yasuhara cut in. "If you reverse the curse, what will happen to us?"
"A lot of people invoked the curse. So many that I think the power of the curse reversal will be split and the effect on each person will be limited."
"Let's pray that's true." Bou-san muttered.
Mai went to argue again, but Yuu silenced her.
"Mai, just let it go for now. Trust me."
She whipped around, ready to snap at her, but paused, hesitating at something in the look on her face.
"But what about Matsuyama-sensei? Why save him at the expense of everyone else? He's the only one who'll go unpunished? That's just wrong."
"No matter how despicable someone may be, that's not a good enough reason to kill him." Naru countered her argument, which only made her angrier; tugging against Yuu's grip on her wrist.
"There's no good reason for us to kill everyone else, either!"
"Everyone must take responsibility for his or her own actions."
"But none of them understood the consequences!"
"Ignorance is no excuse."
Mai pursed her lips, looking hurt, before gritting her teeth.
"Mai, please just think about what I said for a minute and—"
"No, Yuu! You're just as bad as him! I hate you! And I hate you too, Naru! I hate you both and everything you stand for!"
"It is an honor to be despised by fools." Naru replied calmly as Yuu let go of Mai solemnly. "Lin, begin the preparations."
"Yes, sir."
"Yuu, with us." Naru demanded. "You can help with some aspects that we may need you for."
Yuu slowly nodded, giving Mai one last look before following them out; leaving her to burst into tears the moment the door was closed.
Mai and Bou-san headed back to the base after a long day the evening before with Mai risking her life to try and help the students in one last desperate act. Upon reaching the conference room, Naru faced them with his hands crossed over his chest.
"What brings you back?"
"What setup are you considering?" Bou-san asked simply, hands tucked nonchalantly in his pockets. "You don't have a display in here."
He was right. There was no big, open display of what could be used to reverse a curse. It was just a silver plate with a paper inside and two candles lit beside it. Sitting in front of that was Lin with Yuu standing behind him; a hand on his shoulder. As Mai's anxiety and worry for the students grew at the sight, she couldn't hold herself back and ran to the setup.
"Lin-san! Yuu!"
"Mai!"
"Lin-san, stop it! Please!"
Naru grabbed her wrist. "You're still spouting that nonsense?" He snapped, Mai's shouting having not disturbed the greatly focused, closed-eyed duo.
"It's not nonsense! No one deserves this! Even if all of them did put a death curse on Matsuyama-sensei!" She ripped her hand from his grip. "Everyone in the gym right now, they have no idea, right? No idea what's about to happen to them!"
Naru's patience snapped and he grabbed her wrist roughly, ignoring her complaints.
"Ouch! That hurts! Let go!"
"Everybody, get out! You're disturbing Lin and Yuu!" He shouted, tossing Mai out with the others who, more willingly, left the room.
"Why! Why are you helping Matsuyama-sensei by killing everyone else! Do you really think they were all involved!" Mai continued to rage outside once he closed the doors behind him. "There are probably people who unknowingly helped with the curse. They didn't know it would actually kill Matsuyama-sensei. So why are you trying to kill them all!"
Naru didn't say a word, which only irked her further.
"You murderers." She breathed out, being grabbed by Bou-san who could see the situation spiraling out of control. "If you can solve this case, what good will come of it? The death and mourning. What good will it do? It's not too late to stop! It's not too late!"
"Bou-san, please restrain Mai." Naru stated calmly and he did so as the young man retreated back into the conference room.
Bou-san took Mai downstairs, setting her down on a step as she shouted.
"Why doesn't anyone stop them?"
"Mai."
"It's not right! Stop them from trying!"
"Have faith in Naru." He told her firmly, making her pause. "You don't really think that Naru would betray our beliefs, do you?"
"But… would he?" She murmured, calming down.
"No. So have faith. It'll be fine. If you don't believe him, then think about Yuu. I may not know her that well, but you do. Would she really go along with what he was planning if she thought it was wrong? She hated that sensei just as much as the rest of us."
"But…"
I don't really know her. She's… She's not really Yuu anymore, right? So, do I really… The guilt in her grew from that thought, and tears filled her eyes as Bou-san reassured her that she wasn't the only one worrying for the students. She continued to sit with him on the steps, waiting for news from Naru and determined to apologize to Yuu for her thoughts. How could I think that I don't know her? Sure, it's technically a different person, but… even now, we've gotten to know each other. Her head perked up at the sound of footsteps and she stood at the sight of Naru, Ayako and Masako heading her way.
"It's over? Really?"
"Yes."
Mai's eyes widened and she rushed to the gym to see what horrible results lay in wait for the students who had conjured the curse. Upon opening the door though, she wasn't sure what to think.
"What happened? What is it?" Bou-san panted after having rushed after her.
The floor of the gym was covered with broken and whole hitogatas. Mai picked one up in shock.
"But before there were actual students…"
Naru reached past her and picked up a sliver of wood. "Bou-san."
"What's up?"
"Ask John to verify the hitogatas. As for Matsuzaki-san, Hara-san and Mai."
"Yes?"
"Would you please gather up the nametags on the undamaged hitogatas. Make a list of the names. Then, find out where those individuals are and make sure they're safe."
Mai nodded, dazed, but went and did as he asked. Once she had got through them all, her and the others smiled in relief.
"All done. There's no more."
"We did it!"
Naru had this all planned out, ever since he decided to reverse the curse… Mai headed outside for some air and blinked at Naru standing nearby Yuu, who was sprawled out on the grass, asleep.
"How did it go?" Naru asked when she came up by him.
"Everyone's fine. Everyone who didn't invoke the Orikiri-sama, that is."
"Is that so."
Mai shuffled awkwardly. "Would it have been wrong to have made a Matsuyama-sensei hitogata as a surrogate also?"
"Which is safer?" He questioned. "Cursing one person's hitogata, or splitting the curse among six hundred."
Mai stuck out her bottom lip in annoyance. "Man. You could have at least told me what you two were planning."
"It's hard to transfer curses onto hitogatas. As much as Lin wanted to, he couldn't save everyone."
Mai's expression softened. "But now I realize those mean things I said…"
"Were wrong." Naru said simply, surprising her. "That was really cruel of me. It's because you give up on people so easily. It's annoying. You should do something about that."
"Unbelievable!" Mai complained, cheeks red. "I… I apologized to you and you just threw it back in my face! You're always like that with me!"
Naru cracked a small smile before turning away. "Take care of Yuu for me."
Mai whipped around to the slumbering woman in concern. "Is she okay?"
"Exhausted, mostly." He shrugged, eyeing the woman on the ground. "I was simply making sure that she didn't go off and do something stupid."
"And the… the possession?"
"Should be completely gone now, even the side effects." He hummed. "Helping Lin though, will have taken a lot out of her. Don't be surprised if she gets ill later. Dealing with the possession on top of transferring her spirit energy can do that."
"What?" Mai blinked, watching as Naru smiled at something, holding out his hand for a brief moment before dropping it; as if he'd caught something for a split second.
He then left, giving no response to her questioning gaze, nor to the ghostly sparrow that settled itself on her shoulder.
