Previously:
"!" Mai gasped. "Uh—Hey… hey! Wait up!" she said, stopping them. "What about us six?"
"There are six of us, but why did you ask?" Hitomi added.
"Don't worry, onee-sans!" They giggled again and ran off, whispering to each other.
'—What's this unnerving feeling...' Mai wondered. "Now I know what Akifumi-san meant."
"Yeah, it's hard to pin down, but there's something off around about those kids," Hitomi agreed.
'Maybe it's nothing...' Mai thought. 'But… Hitomi-sempai thought it was strange too...'
"KYAAAAAAAA!" A screamed pierced the dark silence.
The Cursed House (Part 2)
'That scream just now...' Hitomi and Mai thought, furrowing their brows with concern.
"Mai! Hitomi!" Bou-san called, running up to them.
"Bou-san!" Mai said. "Did you hear that scream—"
"Yeah, I did! It came from the main wing.!"
They raced toward the scream as fast as their legs could carry them.
CLATTER—
"What's going on—!" Bou-san started to demand as he slid the door open, when he saw the violent scene within. Eijirou was snarling like a wild animal, while Taizo and Kazuyasu struggled to hold him back. Eijirou was bleeding from a wound on his forehead, but the most disturbing part was the broken knife he was gripping tightly in his hand.
"GAAAAAAAA!" Eijirou roared furiously, his vicious face distorted almost beyond recognition. They could see the tip of the knife still stuck in the table, along with multiple stab marks in the wood. The TV was cracked as though it had been attacked, too. Akifumi was slumped to his knees in shock, while Teruka huddled together in a corner with her mother.
"Wh… What? What is—?" Ayako asked as she arrived too, along with Naru and Lin.
"GAAA!"
"E-Eijirou-san…?" Mai asked, startled by how rabid he had suddenly become since the last time they saw him.
"Stay back, Mai," Hitomi said, holding an arm out in front of her, though that didn't seem likely to be a problem.
"Lin," Naru said, prompting the older man to step forward into the room. They all watched as Lin cautiously approached the snarling man, but they were startled when Eijirou suddenly broke free and lunged at him.
"AAAAA!" Eijirou growled.
"Lin-san!" Mai yelled. Hitomi tensed. But they needn't have worried. Lin swiftly dodged the attack and got behind Eijirou, pulling him into a headlock. Lin applied pressure, and Eijirou passed out.
'Wow...' Hitomi and Mai thought, impressed.
—∞—
Once Eijirou was properly restrained, and the wounded were treated, Naru decided it was time to get down to business.
"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked.
"That's what I'd like to know," Teruka said, holding her head. She had bandaids on her arms from where her husband had managed to graze her with the knife. "All I can say is it was all so sudden..." The whole family looked uneasy.
"You mean, he just started acting violent?" Naru asked.
"Yes," she replied. "… There was a little argument."
"May I ask what the argument was about?"
"… He was so moody during dinner today, so I asked him why. And then… he said, 'It's nothing.' So I said, 'If it's nothing you wouldn't look so foul. It's shameful to act that way in front of guests.' Then he just stood up and walked out, even though I wasn't done talking to him yet. When he returned, he was holding a kitchen knife… what was he thinking!?"
'He may not have been thinking anything...' Hitomi thought, glancing at the unconscious man. It was possible he could have been possessed.
"Do you have any idea why he was in such a bad mood?" Naru asked.
"Well… he was fine just before dinner," Teruka replied. "After preparing his usual meal, he went out to get some fresh air—then it happened when he returned."
"I bet it's spiritual possession," Bou-san said.
"I agree," Naru said. "Maybe we should call John. Or else—Matsuzaki-san… can you expel a spirit?"
"Me?" Ayako asked. "… I'm not incapable, but… It's hardly my expertise."
"Then how about you, Bou-san?"
"Hmmm. I can give it a shot… But it'll be my first time doing it on a human."
"What!? You haven't expelled a possessing spirit before? Some psychic you are!" Ayako mocked him. A vein throbbed on the monk's forehead.
"What do you mean by that!?" he demanded incredulously. "What have you done lately besides spout nine-cut spells? That's all you're capable of."
"Hey—It works, doesn't it?" Ayako said defensively.
"So, then what are you saying?" Hitomi asked.
"Just that we shouldn't invoke the Buddhist powers directly onto a human. It's dangerous," Bou-san answered.
"Wh-What do you mean?" Mai asked.
"I don't know. There's no one here who's ever done it," the monk replied.
"What?" Mai said, taken aback.
"So you've really never expelled a possessing spirit before?" Hitomi asked.
"Not on a human," Bou-san said. "Although, I did expel one possessing a vase once. I expelled the spirit, but I also smashed the vase into a million pieces."
"Bou-san, I think it's a very good thing that wasn't a human..." Hitomi said, sweat-dropping.
"I agree," he said. "Well, I tried my best."
"But then, I tried to do it with a friend. I wanted to demonstrate it," Mai said.
"Whaaa?" Bou-san said, flicking her forehead. "You're second level. That's too low-level, so nothing would happen."
"Okay..." Mai said.
"For now, will you try to do it?" Naru asked Ayako. "… If not, it's okay, but..."
"If it's just expelling, I'll give it a try," Ayako said. "But I can't guarantee that he won't still be possessed."
"As it is, Eijirou-san's already possessed, so it can't get any worse. Especially since this spirit is extremely violent," Naru said. "Hitomi, you brought your bow, right?"
"Yes," Hitomi answered. After their last case there was no way she was leaving home to go on a case without it. You never knew what would happen.
"Be ready on standby, just in case she needs help destroying it once it's exorcised."
'That's right...' Mai thought. 'If we do this poorly, Teruka-san and the others will have to deal with the aftermath.'
"What's the matter?" Bou-san asked her.
"Oh… Nothing," Mai replied.
'… The family members that died from accidents and diseases… was that really how they died…?' Hitomi wondered, holding her chin. 'Could Grandpa be right about what happened thirty-two years ago?'
—∞—
They took the tied-up Eijirou to a storage room that still had plenty of space.
"Okay. If we do it here, there won't be any problems if he gets a little violent," Naru said.
"Uh-huh..." Bou-san agreed. "Oh, Naru, is John coming?"
"Yeah. He said that he and Hara-san are leaving on the first flight in the morning." Mai looked at him.
"We also called in Masako?" she asked.
"I wanted us to have back up," Naru replied.
"But we already have Hitomi-sempai..."
"Actually," Hitomi said, looking around after having just removed her eyepatch. "That's not a bad idea..."
"Why? What do you see?" Mai asked.
"Well, there's a foreign aura around Eijirou-san, but..."
"But?" Naru pressed.
"It looks kind of… oily."
"Oily?" Bou-san asked.
"Yeah, like when you drop a clear oil into water and stir—that odd colorless texture you get when the two are still mixed for a moment? That's what it looks like," Hitomi explained.
"What does that mean?" Ayako asked.
"I don't know what to expect from that," Hitomi answered frankly.
"I take it that means you've never seen this before?" Naru asked.
"Not like this, no... But there is something familiar about it."
"… Be ready to draw," Naru told her.
Ayako finished setting up her altar and took her place in front of it to pray. Hitomi nocked an arrow.
CLAP! CLAP!
Ayako clapped her hands and began praying. "I reverently offer my spirit—Miyashiro, the aura enshrined here… The countless many who have taken roost here, be at ease, be at peace, hear my request… I come before you for your response—" Eijirou's eyes shot wide open. He started inching his way closer to her like a demented caterpillar. "..." Ayako swallowed the lump in her throat and continued praying.
"H-Hey… Ayako can handle this, right?" Mai asked nervously. "Hitomi-sempai can't shoot the spirit if it's still inside Eijirou-san..."
"Probably," Naru answered. "Anyway, John will take over in the morning."
"Why not Lin-san?"
"Because we don't know the true form of our adversary."
'… Geez, Naru. Why are you so nonchalant about this expelling business?' Mai wondered. Hitomi tensed when something started rising up out of Eijjirou's body. It was a dark purple with a sort of film over it.
"It's a malicious color..." Hitomi announced, in case they couldn't see for themselves. "… But there's something strange about it."
"Other than being 'oily'?" Bou-san asked.
"Yes. It… It kind of reminds me of how spirits look when Lin-san controls them."
"You mean his shiki?" Naru asked.
"And Suzuki-sa—!" Hitomi gasped and drew her arrow when it suddenly exposed itself completely. It had taken the shape of a fox, and it seemed to be glaring at them menacingly.
"Mai, get back," Naru said, stepping in front of her. Hitomi aimed her arrow at the apparition. "Get out of here... quietly. Lin, take Mai with you." Mai moved to follow Lin.
"Heh.. Heh heh..."
Mai stopped.
"Heh heh… heh..."
She looked back.
"HahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA—BWAAAAHAHAHAHA!" Eijirou was up on his knees, laughing his head off like a madman.
CLAP!
"Buddha watches over us," Ayako prayed. "We are protected from that which is summoned!"
FUWA!
The spirit flew up high into the air, ready to pounce. Bou-san and Lin both moved to protect Mai. Hitomi kept her arrow trained on it, focusing on building her energy. Its glowing eyes landed on Naru. It sprang towards him.
"Naru!" Mai cried. Naru prepared to defend himself.
"Naru! Don't do it!" Lin shouted. Naru hesitated.
'It's too fast!' Hitomi thought. She adjusted her aim, and let her arrow fly. The glowing arrow cut through the air like a blade and struck the spirit when it was only inches away from Naru. She got it. The fox disappeared in a burst of white light. Nothing was left. Even the arrow disappeared.
"Wow… you completely destroyed it!" Mai said, amazed.
"Gone in one blow," Bou-san said, impressed. They had seen her attack on Urado, but they had been unable to discover his fate, so this was her first confirmed kill, so to speak.
'Don't be too impressed…" Hitomi said, smiling wryly. "I still have to recover a little in between shots."
"You were cutting it fine there," Naru commented.
"Well, it was moving too fast, so I had to aim at the space in front of you instead," Hitomi explained. "You're welcome," she added brightly with a smile.
"How's Eijirou-san?" Naru asked Ayako.
'Geez! Sempai just saved him… Would it kill him to say 'thank you'?" Mai wondered, annoyed on her behalf.
"Oh!" Ayako said, looking back to check on him. Eijirou was sitting up and looking around with a confused expression on his face.
"… Wha… What happened?" he asked timidly.
—∞—
KRSHHH—
The static seemed louder than usual.
"It doesn't look good." Lin said. "Nothing was recorded. It went to static the moment that fox-like entity appeared."
"It looks like the tape never stopped rolling… and the other instruments all registered needle movement," Hitomi reported.
"We can easily spot an ordinary fox spirit, but this was probably no mere natural adversary..." Bou-san speculated. "The 'oily' texture Hitomi talked about must have some meaning...'
"Hitomi, you said it reminded you of spirits controlled by Lin?" Naru asked
"Yes. But Lin-san's spirits aren't oily," Hitomi replied. "They're similar in that they're both covered in a sort of wispy film. Do you remember Suzuki-san's summoning?"
"How could we forget," Bou-san said.
"How did she look to you?"
"White," Ayako answered. "With white wisps coming off of her."
"That's how she looked to me, except I could still seem some color in her," Hitomi said. "And that's how that 'fox' spirit looked to me, only instead of a white, it's covered in that oily texture."
"… I see," Naru said thoughtfully.
"Well, I'm going to change," Ayako announced, standing up. "I can't stay in this forever."
"… What do you think?" Bou-san asked as she left.
"Of what?" Mai asked.
"Ayako," he replied. "How many people has she done this to…? You saw what happened. She completely butchered that exorcism. If Hitomi hadn't been there… Does she think she lived up to her role?"
"It is kind of suspicious how she calls herself a miko..." Hitomi agreed reluctantly. Ayako did warn them that it might not work, though. But on the other hand, she didn't behave like any of the mikos at Harada-kun's family's shrine.
"Right? Does a proper miko assigned to a shrine tremble uncontrollably during an exorcism?" Bou-san said.
"Eh?" Mai said. "Do you mean…!?"
"She's a 'self-claimed miko' to the very end. I'd bet anything she's only a psychic who just wears the clothes of a miko."
"That must be it..." Mai said, sweat-dropping.
"At one point, she was mixing buddhist and shinto rituals. I doubt she's done proper studying. But if she doesn't really have abilities in the first place, why did you bring her along, Naru-bou?" Bou-san asked, turning around to face him.
"She may not be much of a miko, but she expelled the spirit, didn't she?" Naru reminded him.
"Ah, that's true..." Mai said.
"It may have been messy, but it's a fact that Eijirou-san is free of the spirit now," Hitomi agreed.
