Previously:

"Takigawa-san, how are your wounds?" Yasuhara asked.

"Very bad," Bou-san said. "But I don't want a guy playing doctor with me."

"I guess if you can joke around, you're no that bad," Yasuhara said. "Okay, let me look," He started lifting the back of the monk's shirt.

"Eek! Pervert!" Bou-san said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Shall I pour the hydrogen peroxide over your head?" Yasuhara asked with a straight face. He finished rolling up the monk's shirt. Bou-san's back was covered in scratches with one particularly blood wound on his upper back. Yasuhara and Hitomi furrowed their brows with concern. Mai and Masako gasped. "Okay. This will sting."

"YEEEOOOOWW!" Bou-san shrieked, struggling to get away from the painful disinfectant.

"You're a man. Endure it!" Yasuhara told him.

"Well, tonight I'll be a girl!" Bou-san said in a girly voice. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh, please… Don't creep us out!" Yasuhara said. A few members of the Yoshimi family laughed quietly at their antics.


The Cursed House (Part 6)


Those who were awake could hear birds chirping.

'It's getting light...' Mai thought.

"Well, then. I guess I'll go work some more," Bou-san said.

"Huh? Already?" Mai asked, concerned. "But you only got a little sleep because of the kekkai, right? Why don't you rest some more?"

"You still look exhausted," Hitomi agreed.

"I can't dilly-dally," Bou-san said, rubbing out a crick in his neck.

"If we don't deal with it now, we don't know what will happen next," Naru said.

"They may attack again tonight, and I don't think I can handle them in this condition," Bou-san said.

"!" Mai said.

"The problem is Okobu-sama… but we won't be able to get to it if it uses all of its 'shiki' to attack us again," Naru said.

"So you're saying we need to exorcise every spirit out there?" Bou-san asked. "That's a tough job. There are the three rokubu and the five ringleaders and the legendary princess and her lover. All of the spirits who died here are probably familiars."

"That is a lot," John said.

"Yeah," Bou-san agreed. "Even with Hitomi's help, it's gonna be—"

"Then stay here," Ayako said. They all looked at her.

"What?" Ayako said.

"And leave it up to john and Hitomi alone? Don't be ridiculous," Bou-san said. They were all still basically running on empty with how little sleep they managed to get.

"I'll do it," Ayako said.

"Huh!?" Bou-san, John, Hitomi, and Mai said.

"… I hate to say it, but that's impossible," Bou-san said. "You still haven't proven your ability."

"It wasn't the right time before now!" Ayako said defensively. "I can do it. Just leave it to me. You three can stay here and rest."

"But..." Bou-san said.

"Why don't we let Matsuzaki-san do it?" John said.

"John!" Bou-san said.

"But we're still unsure of the situation, so can we accompany you?" John asked. "Since we're tired, we'll only be going as observers."

"You don't trust me, huh?" Ayako said.

"Trusting you and irresponsibly abandoning the problem is different," John said.

"Even though I'm just being considerate of your well being..." Ayako said.

"Sorry," John apologized.

"You don't have to apologize," Ayako said as she walked out of the room to go get changed. "How stupid."

"What's with her confidence?" Bou-san asked, sweat-dropping.

"I know. But she said that last night, too," Mai said. "That there were 'circumstances'."

"Circumstances? Like what?" Hitomi asked.

"I dunno..." Mai said.

—∞—

Ayako led the way as she, Mai, John, Bou-san, Hitomi, and Naru walked over to the big shrine where the sanroku mounds and the mounds for the five ringleaders were. Ayako was carrying part of a tree branch with a bell tied to it and a bottle of sake.

"Ayako, can you really do it?" Mai asked.

"Leave it to me. Right here will be the best area," she said with a confident smile, coming to a stop. "It's small, but there's still faith here. And the trees are alive."

"Trees?" Mai asked.

"Right," Ayako said, opening the bottle of sake. She poured it at the roots of a tree. "My childhood home had a big Japanese cinnamon tree. A fine one, with a sacred rope around it. When I was young it used to tell me many things. Since it told me when our patients were going to die, it also got me into trouble."

"I see," Mai said.

"To tell the truth, I don't think I have that much power," Ayako admitted. "But… I'm a miko."

'She seems different than usual...' Hitomi thought.

'She actually looks like she can do it,' Mai thought. 'Even if she is Ayako.' The bell jingled as she stuck the tree branch into the ground. Ayako stood up and put her hands together in prayer.

"I will begin," she announced. She began the usual prayer she prayed whenever she performed an exorcism. The trees rustled.

'It's the same prayer Ayako always does, but it's different this time,' Mai thought. 'The air is getting serene...'

"Rin," Ayako said. The bell rang.

RING.

"Pyou."

RING.

"Tou."

RING.

'The bell...' Mai thought.

'The bell is ringing...' Hitomi thought.

"Oh..." John said. "Over there..." They followed his gaze and saw something white and wispy coming out of the tree Ayako poured sake on. It took the shape of an old man dressed in ancient clothing.

"… What…?" Mai said.

"Hey. There, too," Bou-san said, drawing their attention to another tree, where the same thing was happening.

'Are those… the spirits of the trees…?' Hitomi wondered. All around them, spirits were leaving their trees and moving towards Ayako. They watched as the sprits moved past her one by one and entered the tree branch with the bell, ringing it as they went.

RING. RING. RING. RING. RING. RRRINGGG…

'They all disappeared...' Mai thought. Ayako formed another seal with her hands. Something was wobbling toward them through the trees. "Ayako. There's still..."

"Shh..." Bou-san said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

'But there are more people over there,' Mai thought.

'Wait… there's something different...' Hitomi thought. They seemed darker, more solid.

'… They're different,' Mai thought. 'They're different from the previous spirits… that's..." They could hear the sloshing sound of something wet moving as they came into view. It was Hitomi's great grandmother and another corpse. More corpses came sloshing forward, surrounding them on all sides. Naru and Hitomi stood close to each other. Ayako calmly leaned down and picked up the tree branch with the bell.

RING.

"Now. It is time or you to rest in peace," Ayako said. One of the corpses staggered forward.

"!" Bou-san got ready to exorcise it, but there was no need. Ayako shook the tree branch and the bell rang.

RRRIIIINNNNGGG. The corpses faded away to nothing. Ayako continued to shake the branch as the spirits continued to come forward.

RING.

RING.

RING.

RING.

One by one, they all vanished.

'The spirits are disappearing with the sound of the bell… Are they all coming… to have Ayako help them leave this world?' Mai and Hitomi wondered. Matusmoto Setsuko was restored from her rotted state. She smiled at them and disappeared. Hitomi furrowed her brow when she saw dark things rise up out of the three rokubu mounds.

"Look out!" she said.

"Behind you…!" Mai added. Ayako turned and swept the branch in front of the mounds.

RRIIINNNGGG.

The spirits there faded away too, and all three stones cracked. Ayako kneeled down and placed the tree branch back in the ground. She stood up and the bell rang one final time.

RRIIINNNGGG.

The knot tying the bell to the branch loosened, and the bell fell to the ground.

TING. Ayako exhaled a sigh.

"She was right…" Bou-san said, amazed. "… She didn't need us."

—∞—

"So..." Mai said as they were walking back. She was annoyed that Naru and Hitomi were walking so close to each other, so she walked faster to catch up to Ayako. Bou-san and John were still stunned. "You have a lot of power. Why have you kept it so hidden?"

"I wasn't hiding it," Ayako said. "Until now there were no living trees nearby. I always said the circumstances just weren't suitable."

"I thought you were just being a sore loser," Mai said.

"Even had I explained it, you'd have felt the same, right?" Ayako said.

"Er… Yeah, I guess," Mai said.

'I can't deny that...' Hitomi thought.

"It has to be a purified location with a living tree," Ayako said. "You saw the old men coming out of the trees, right?"

"Were those tree spirits?" Hitomi asked.

"Or something along those lines," Ayako said. "Without them, trees are practically dead. It doesn't have to be performed at a shrine. But shrines in the city are deficient, and the trees are like mummies. I get sad when I see them."

"… So it was good that the mounds were in the vicinity of the shrine, but what if they weren't?" Bou-san asked.

"If it's near, I can call them over," Ayako said. "You saw the five ringleaders of the riot and the legendary princess, right? Or you can take the spirits to a location."

"Then why didn't you take Eijirou-san when exorcising?" Mai asked.

"There's no point in doing it to a human," Ayako replied. "I can do it to most spirits. And if I ask a tree for help once, I need to let it rest for at least half a year… So if they helped me at that point, they wouldn't be useful at a critical moment. I new that Hitomi or John would be able to get rid of the spirit anyway."

"I see… Wow..." Mai said.

"Call me Ayako-sama from now on!" Ayako said, laughing.

"Our job is done then?" Mai asked.

"Not yet," Ayako said.

"What!?" Mai and Bou-san said, taken a back.

"I said 'spirit'. But there's something else here that is not just a spirit," Ayako explained.

"… What?"

"There was a power that didn't come near," Ayako said. "If it were a spirit, it would have come near so it could've gone home. But it didn't. I don't know what it was, but it's more powerful. I think it's using the other familiars as spirits."

"In other words, Okobu-sama," Naru said.

"Yes," Ayako agreed. Naru glanced at the bruise on Hitomi's neck.

"… I'm going to exorcise it," he said.

"Do we need to?" Bou-san asked. "Can't they just honor him?"

"If they forget to, it'll curse again," Naru said.

"But it'll be fine for a while, right?" Bou-san said. "Even if the opponent is ebisu, it's a type of god. It's worse than dealing with a monster. It was you who said that there's no way of getting rid of a monster, remember?"

'Yup. Yup,' Mai thought, nodding her head.

"So let it go? I think not," Naru said a little darkly. "It gave us such a fun experience… It's only fair that we should reciprocate."

"He's gone mad," Mai whispered to Bou-san.

"Completely bonkers," he agreed as they both shivered.

"Or did you want to retreat?" Naru asked, looking at them, making everyone but John and Hitomi flinch.

'He looks scary!' they thought.

"But who's going to do it?" Hitomi asked. 'Why is Naru so fixated on this? I agree that it would be bad to leave it, but like Bou-san said… this thing is worse than a monster...'

"Well, I can't do it!" Ayako said quickly. "There's no tree there that can help me."

"Me neither… I can only deal with spirit possession. If it's a god, I don't know what to do," John said.

"Lin?" Naru asked.

"I don't think we can do it," Lin said. "Naru, I suggest keeping our hands clear of this one."

"Bou-san?"

"I could try… but maybe we should listen to Lin and not do it..." the monk said.

"I don't need anyone who is incompetent," Naru said bluntly.

'What did you say!?' Bou-san and Ayako thought with veins throbbing on their heads.

"That leaves you, Hitomi," Naru said.

'So she wasn't included in that!?' Bou-san and Ayako thought.

'Oh, he's manipulating them into it!' Mai thought, sweat-dropping.

"Like Bou-san said, Okobu-sama is probably worse than a monster. I could barely bring Urado down. We still aren't sure I did," Hitomi said.

"Are you saying you won't do it?" Naru asked.

"I can try, and maybe with Bou-san's help, the two of us can manage somehow..." Hitomi said. "But we should be prepared for the consequences."

"Consequences?" Mai asked.

"Well, we don't know what will happen when we attack it," Hitomi said. "I imagine it'll put up some kind of resistance. If we mess this up, it could be a case of the hunters becoming the hunted. I'll definitely need more arrows."

—∞—

"… So. We ended up going, eh?" Bou-san said, rolling up the sleeves of his monk robes. It was hot. How did he let himself get talked into these things? John was also dressed for business. Bou-san looked at Hitomi in her shorts and t-shirt. Not her usual archery attire. But she had said she didn't want to mess up one of her kimonos. They had managed to find a hamaya arrow, which they stripped of its ribbons and bells. "Okay. You guys stay here," he told the others. "We don't know what's going to happen."

"I'm coming as well," Naru said.

"Me, too!" Mai said.

"You'll be in the way," Bou-san said. "I don't think I can protect you."

"But..." Mai said.

"Each person will look out for themselves," Yasuhara said.

"Huh?" Mai said as she and Bou-san looked at him, sweat-dropping.

"You're coming, too?" Hitomi asked him.

"Yep. Don't worry, if it gets too dangerous, I can run away faster than anyone," Yasuhara said.

"Hey! We're not playing a game here!" Bou-san said sternly.

"Huh? I don't think it's a game," Yasuhara said.

"We really don't know what's going to happen!"

"But my good luck is already proven from the Ryokuyou case."

"Urgh… You keep talking back," Bou-san said with a vein throbbing on his head, sweat-dropping.

"Heheh," Yasuhara said with a smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

"… Fine, then! Do what you want!" Bou-san said, stomping off.

"Thank you," Yasuhara said.

"Takigawa-san," John said, concerned.

"So anyway," Yasuhara said, turning to look at Mai, Masako, and Ayako. "I think all of us should go."

"Huh?" Mai and Ayako said, sweat-dropping.

"Come on, this is..." Ayako said.

"I know it's dangerous, but they may need a rescue team," Yasuhara said. "You saw his injuries, right?"

"… Oh," Mai said, remembering how terrible the monk's back had looked when Yasuhara lifted his shirt to give him first-aid.

"I'm sure his wounds haven't closed up yet," Yasuhara continued. "They were deep. Brown-san also got a deep gash in his arm. I think he's going to need stitches. Matsumoto-san has managed to avoid getting any deep wounds so far, but she was extremely weak after shooting all those arrows. Shibuya-san had to help her walk. If it were a shrine where an ambulance could come up to it, it'd be fine. But in a cave, Shibuya-san and Lin-san won't be able to bring them back. If we're not going, we're not letting those three go… we need to reach an agreement."

"… Okay," Mai said.

"… Geez. Men are so stupid!" Ayako said, holding a hand to her head. "Hitomi should know better, too..."

"I guess we shall go then," Masako said. "… Mai?"

"!" Mai turned her head and looked at her. "Yes?"

"May I borrow some clothing? I can't go like this," Masako said.

—∞—

"Are these okay?" Mai asked, lending her capris and a cute shirt.

"Yes. Thank you," Masako said. Mai was beaming at her.

"… Is it that odd for me to wear Western clothes?" Masako asked.

"Well… there's that, too," Mai said.

"What else then?" Masako asked. Mai grinned.

"Ummm..." she said.

"Mai!" Masako said, threatening to hit her.

"Oh! See, you called me by my name again," Mai said, still smiling.

"!" Masako said. "Hmph… And? You do the same to me."

"Yeah. So you can keep on doing it. " Mai said with a big grin. "I like it when people call me by my first name. It makes you feel closer, right?"

"… I wonder..." Masako said.

"You always called me by my family name. But now sometimes you call me by my personal name," Mai said. "I like the change of sentiment." Masako's eyes widened slightly, a little surprised.

"… I'm not being friendly," she said. "It's just pity because we both have the same sickness."

"Same sickness?" Mai asked.

"We both chose someone difficult..." Masako said, making Mai blush and sweat-drop.

"Oh," Mai said.

"At the moment, Matsumoto-san seems to be winning, so we can't let our guard down," Masako said. "But even she seems to have a hard time with him."

"Yeah, making her do this even though she's obviously exhausted..." Mai said.

"As far as personality goes, Takigawa-san or anyone would be much better," Masako said.

"… That's true," Mai agreed.

"And it'd be easier, too," Masako said. "… But I guess that's something we can't control."

"Yeah… They say love is chemical," Mai said as they both sighed. They looked at each other and laughed a little bit.

—∞—

They entered the cave with Naru and Hitomi in the lead, followed by Lin and Bou-san, followed by Masako and Ayako, followed by Yasuhara and Mai.

"Whoa," Mai said when she almost tripped.

"Be careful," Hitomi said.

"Hey, Ayako," Mai said.

"Hm?" Ayako said.

"All the familiar spirits are gone, right?"

"They should be… but if it can calm storms and high waves, it might be nothing special to call the spirits back again.

"What!?" Mai said.

"You never know. It's a god," Ayako said.

"… No need to worry," Masako said. "They're not here now. Even if the atmosphere is like a sacred ground. It is a very empty sacred ground..." They came to the hokora shrine. The doors were open, as if Okobu-sama was welcoming them.

'I'll have to leave my eyepatch on to shoot...' Hitomi thought, putting it back on. The area around the shrine looked too distorted without it. Bou-san stepped forward. She nocked an arrow. She drew it, concentrating on gathering energy. She was so tired that it was going to take a while. She only had one arrow, and she only had enough energy left for one anyway. She only had one shot at this.

"Let's begin," Naru said. Mai gulped nervously. Bou-san sighed and formed a seal.

"On haba haba kiuta saba trauma. Saba saba kitsu dokan. On data gato nau beba ya sowaka," Bou-san prayed. Mai's eyes widened slightly.

BA-DUM.

'… I heard… something,' she thought, looking back at the wall behind her while the monk continued to pray. 'Was it my imagination…?'

BA-DUM.

"… Do you hear something?" Ayako asked.

"You too?" Mai asked. "What is it?"

BA-DUM!

BA-DUM! BA-DUM!

BA-DUM! BA-DUM! BA-DUM!

BA-DUM! BA-DUM! BA-DUM! BA-DUM!

"… This…" Ayako said, a bead of sweat sliding down her face. "… Beating of the heart?"

"Agh!" Masako yelped, jumping away from the wall. "The wall..."

BA-DUM! BA-DUM! BA-DUM! BA-DUM!

"Mai. Don't," Masako said when she reached out to touch it.

'… Could it be… that the cave is pulsating?' Mai wondered, touching the wall.

BA-DUM! BA-DUM! BA-DUM! BA-DUM!

Mai yanked her hand back.

'It feels like rock… but it's warm like a human!' she thought.

RRROOOOOAAARRR. WHOOOOOOO…. ROOOAAAR.

Ayako flinched.

"What? Now it's like it's breathing? It's as if this cave is alive!" she said.

"Takigawa-san!" Yasuhara yelled. "The entrance is sealing over!" It really was. The holes to the world outside were shrinking, being replaced with rock.

ROOOOAARRR. RROOOAARRR.

"Damn..." Bou-san said, about to turn his attention to the entrance.

"Don't bother with it," Naru said calmly. "If we get the main cause, it'll come open."

'Naru...' Mai thought nervously.

AAAGGGGHHH!

"What the!?" Ayako said as a new sound was added.

WHOOO. AAGGGHHH! BA-DUM! BA-DUM! SHUUUWHOOOO. WHOOO. BA-DUM! BA-DUM! BA-DUM! AAAGGHHH! WHOOOOO. BA-DUM! BA-DUM! AAGGH!

"Stop it..." Ayako said, covering her ears. "Please make it stop!"

'… This voice,' Mai thought. 'Is it coming closer? From behind me...' She slowly slid her eyes over to look at the wall behind her.

AAAGGGHHH….!

It was coming from the wall. She watched it.

AAGGHHH…!

Something dark came out of the wall.

AAGHH! AAGGGHHHH! AAAGGGHHHH! AAGGGHHH!

From the dark stuff leaking out came white things with screaming faces.

AAGHH! AAGGGHHHH! AAAGGGHHHH! AAGGGHHH!

"In the beginning there was the Word," John prayed. "And the Word was with God. The Word was God. The Word was with God in the beginning. Through the Word everything was created. Without the Word, nothing would exist..." As he prayed, the white things began to shrink back into the wall, until they disappeared completely. Mai exhaled a sigh of relief and they smiled at each other.

"Bou-san, prayers," Naru said.

"… Yeah," Bou-san said. "On basara kiri raun jaku un ban koku..." More white faces began to appear in the rock, pushing themselves out. Mai gulped nervously as she stood with Masako. Yasuhara backed away from the wall to stand with them and Ayako. Hands began to push out of the wall too.

"Wheee!" Lin whistled, directing his shiki into action.

"Mai!" Ayako said urgently.

"Uh… Yeah!" Mai said. She began performing the nine cuts. "Rin pyou tou sha kai jin retsu zai zen!" John continued to pray and splashed them with his holy water. Masako said her own chant. Ayako performed the nine cuts. They fought over and over again.

"It's endless," Ayako said, panting. "No matter how many you vanish, they keep popping up..."

"… But..." Mai said, also panting. "… We have to..." Suddenly the white faces began to glow red. "Red light… Bou-san?"

"Yes!" Ayako said.

"… Tari tsuta boritsu hara boritsu taki mei taki mei kara san tan uenbi sowaka!" Bou-san prayed, stabbing his vajra into Okobu-sama.

WOOOSHHH!

The monk was thrown back so hard that he slammed into the rock wall.

"Bou-san!" Mai yelled.

"!" Hitomi furrowed her brow and fired. The arrow jammed itself in next to the vajra and widened the hole, creating a huge crack in Okobu-sama that spanned its whole length. But it wasn't deep enough to break it in two. The entrance opened again, but Okobu-sama wasn't vanquished yet.

WOOOSHHH!

She was thrown back too.

"Hitomi-sempai!" Mai cried.

"Hitomi!" Naru said, checking on her. She was unconscious and very pale. It was hard to say whether she had hit her head or fainted from exhaustion. Naru furrowed his brow and frowned with concern.

"… John," Bou-san said. "Grab that tokkosho… use it to finish breaking the wood."

"Right!" John said. He ran to the shrine and pulled the vajra out. He tried to stab it again. John was thrown back before he could touch it.

"John!" Mai exclaimed. Yasuhara picked up the vajra and ran with it.

"Shounen!?" Bou-san yelled. Yasuhara was thrown back.

"Ya… Yasuhara-san, are you okay?" Mai asked.

"Oh… yeah, for the time being… I'm still alive, anyway," he said with a pained smile. "Oh, my glasses." They had been knocked off his face.

"Is that all?" Naru asked. Mai looked at him. She furrowed her brow.

"That's enough already!" she yelled. Hitomi slowly opened her eyes.

"Mai..." Bou-san said.

"I've had it!" Mai yelled. "Why are you so built up with this!? Everyone's been pushed to their limits helping you! Why do we have to go through all this anyway? Are you insane? If it's so important to you, why don't you do it yourself!? You're protected by others, so I don't think you can talk!" She was breathing heavily. 'I said it!' she thought.

"Logical argument," Naru said.

"It sure is!" Mai said. She started helping Bou-san up. "Let's go home. You've done enough."

"Yeah… Sorry, Naru-chan," Bou-san said. "Ow... It's the end of the road." Lin helped the monk and John limp out together. Ayako and Masako helped Yasuhara. Mai helped Hitomi, who was now conscious enough to limp out with aid.

"Let's return from the ocean side," Ayako said to Yasuhara. "You can't climb the stairs, right?"

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Naru. Let's go," Mai said, pausing with Hitomi to look back at him.

"Naru?" Hitomi said. Things were still a little vague for her. Naru stood in front of the shrine.

"Hey… Naru!?" Mai said. "What are you doing?"

"!" Lin said. "Naru!? Don't!" He almost dropped Bou-san.

"Whoa!?" the monk said, almost falling over.

"Oh..." Lin said, stopping to help catch him. Naru moved closer to the shrine.

"Hey, wait. Naru!" Mai said, setting Hitomi down. She walked over to get him. "Naru!" Naru's hair floated as if it were being ruffled by a breeze. 'Huh? There's no wind...' "…!" she flinched. 'What? Suddenly… my ears are ringing.' "Naru..." She reached out to touch him. A spark of something shocked her. 'What… is that?' There was some kind of light glowing around Naru, outlining him. 'The air around Naru is dense… It's like there's a membrane around him. And my ears are ringing louder. I can barely hear…' She looked at the shrine. 'Wow… the scenery looks warped. Naru is doing this, too?' A white ball of light or some kind of plasma formed in Naru's hands. Lin yelled something, but Mai couldn't hear. She held her hands over her ears, trying to block out the ringing. Naru raised his hands above his head, then brought them down, releasing the ball of energy in his hands. The energy raced toward the shrine. It was as if some kind of barrier shattered, and Mai had to shield her eyes from the explosion of bright light. "Agh.." She held her arms up to shield herself as a strong gust of air blew at her. When it was safe to look again, Mai opened her eyes and saw that the shrine was smoking as it cleared, she and the others could see that Okobu-sama had been reduced to a few splinters.

"… Naru..." Hitomi said. She knew he was a strong PK user, but that was just…

"… What just..." Yasuhara said. Masako gasped.

"The atmosphere… It's clear," she said. "This is not a sacred ground anymore. Spirits will not be summoned. This area is now just an ordinary cave." Mai was amazed. Bou-san sighed.

"Right now… I'm thinking if you were able to do it yourself, I wish you'd have done it earlier," he said.

"Are... you all right?" Hitomi asked Naru, recalling how he had ended up in the hospital the last time he used his PK.

"I'm fine. Let's go," Naru said.

"Are you okay?" Mai asked Bou-san while helping Hitomi as they walked along the shore. He seemed the worst off. "Why don't you rest in the shade a while… I'll get you some water."

"… Naru!?" Lin said. They all looked back and saw that Naru had collapsed. He lay prone on the ground. Lin immediately let go of Bou-san to check on him.

"Na… Naru!" Mai said, letting go of Hitomi to rush over to him. Hitomi staggered then fell to her knees, in shock. Lin gasped. He put his ear against Naru's chest.

"Lin-san?" Mai said. Lin began giving Naru CPR.

"Naru…!?" Hitomi cried. She staggered back onto her feet and stumbled over to stand beside Masako and Mai, leaning on Mai for support.

"Damn it… Is he all right?" Ayako asked. Lin continued to administer chest compressions. The girls clung to each other. Lin gritted his teeth and slapped Naru hard across the face.

"Hey… Lin-san!?" Mai said, startled.

"Naru! Come on, breathe!" Lin said anxiously.

'… Huh?' Mai thought.

"No..." Hitomi said, sinking to her knees She held her hands over her mouth. Tears began to stream down her face. 'No, please…. Please!'

"I'll call an ambulance!" John said, running off to find a phone.

—∞—

At the hospital, Ayako, Mai, and Masako sat on a bench outside the ICU. Lin stood off to the side. Mai rested her chin on her clasped hands, looking uncharacteristically grim.

"I'm going to check on Bou-san and the others," Ayako said, standing up. "They should be patched up by now." She walked off to find them.

"… Okay..." Mai said. She sighed heavily. She recalled how Lin had told Naru to breathe. '… That means he'd stopped breathing, right? And they were massaging his heart. He almost died? Why… What should I do? I don't think it'll happen… but if Naru dies...' A doctor came out.

"I need to talk to the person in charge," he said.

"That would be me," Lin said, stepping forward. Mai and Masako stood up.

"He's in a state of shock," the doctor said. "His pulse is weak and sometimes irregular. Although he does seem to be recovering… There is a chance he'll fall back into a deeper state. He'll need to be hospitalized so we can monitor his progress." Masako sank back onto the bench, crying with her face in her hands. Mai held her.

'Hospitalized...' Mai thought.

"Thank you, Doctor," Lin said, bowing. The doctor bowed back and returned to the ICU.

"Lin-san..." Mai said, getting up and tugging on his sleeve. Is something wrong with Naru?"

"… No, it's not like he has a chronic disease," Lin replied.

"Then… That thing he did, was it qigong? He used qigong? Is that the reason?" Mai asked. "This happened before. You said he just fainted, but that wasn't the real reason, was it? You knew what was going to happen, so you tried to stop him?" Lin was a little surprised.

"… Yes," he said.

"Is qigong that dangerous? I thought it could cure illnesses," Mai said. "Why does Naru fall when he uses it!?" She started crying. "Urrgg..."

"Taniyama-san. Please calm down," Lin said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "… Everyone releases chi. That's what you call atmosphere. Usually it is just released and you don't use it for anything. Qigong is increasing that chi and controlling it for a certain purpose. Just like sports, you can use it if you train. But in Naru's case, it's far superior to that."

"Superior…?" Mai asked.

"It's a gift from heaven. Naru used to cause poltergeists when he was a child," Lin said. Mai's eyes widened. "As a means for him to control his chi, I taught him qigong. So it is similar to normal qigong. But his level of chi is so much higher."

"Really?" Mai asked.

"Yes. Naru's powers are too intense… for a human to handle. That is why his body can't keep up." Mai looked down and tears welled up in her eyes.

"… It's my fault," she said. "It's because I provoked him..."

"It was his fault," Lin said.

"But..." Mai said.

"Naru knew what was going to happen if he used it," Lin said. "If he were more cool-headed, he wouldn't have been so provoked. But I suppose he was really upset with himself. He has too much pride. When he wakes up, he'll be in a bad mood for a while."

"… I see," Mai said.

"He was upset and did what he normally would't do… so he blundered twice," Lin said. "If he hadn't succeeded in the exorcism, he probably would have died from indignation."

"… Probably," Mai said, laughing a little. "He'll be okay, then?"

"Of course," Lin said.

—∞—

Hitomi was lying in a hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, and wondering what was happening to Naru. She had an IV hooked up to her arm and was drifting in and out of sleep. Her exhaustion from firing so may evil-destroying arrows so close together was more severe than she realized. But she wanted to stay awake until she knew what was happening with Naru. It seemed like Ayako had just come and gone without any news, when the door opened again. It was Mai.

"Hitomi-sempai…" she said.

"How's Naru?" Hitomi asked. "Any news?"

"He's still in the ICU, but he'll make it," Mai replied. Hitomi was relieved. "Ayako said you have to stay here for a couple days?"

"Oh, yeah… I really overdid it," Hitomi said with a self-depreciating smile. "Thanks for helping me before."

"No problem. But you'd better brace yourself," Mai said.

"Why?" Hitomi asked.

"Lin-san said Naru's going to be in an especially bad mood once he wakes up," Mai said with the hint of a smile.

"Guess I'd better prepare for the worst then," Hitomi said, just thankful that he would wake up.

—∞—

After looking it over… the store was in complete shambles. Since they couldn't open for business, Akifumi invited the ghost hunters to stay for a while. Naru… and Yasuhara, too, were hospitalized (his ribs were broken)… so they gratefully accepted. In the end, no one in the had family died this time.

—∞—

Back at the hospital, the members of SPR had gathered in Naru's room. Mai and Masako were sitting in some chairs by the window, and Hitomi sat at the foot of Naru's bed. Bou-san and Yasuhara were standing up talking, while Ayako and John were getting more chairs.

"Gee… I'm glad to see you were released faster than expected!" Bou-san told Yasuhara.

"Thank you. Now it's Shibuya-san's turn," Yasuhara said.

"..." Naru ignored them and continued to work on the case notes with his brow slightly furrowed.

'And just as Lin-san predicted… He's in a bad mood...' Mai thought, sweat-dropping.

"You guys should sit," Ayako told Bou-san and Yasuhara. "Here's a chair."

"Oh, thank you," Yasuhara said. "Sorry."

'Gee whiz,' Mai thought when Naru continued to ignore everyone. She stood up. "I'll go buy some drinks. Is tea okay? "

"Yeah," Naru said.

"Thanks," Bou-san and Yasuhara said.

"Oh, Hitomi-sempai, you can have this chair," Mai said.

"You really want this spot, huh?" Hitomi said with a smile. Mai sweat-dropped, feeling a little embarrassed to be seen through so easily. She was indeed planning on stealing the spot closest to Naru, despite his bad mood. "Actually, I'll come with you," Hitomi said, getting up.

"I'll help," Masako told Mai, getting up, too.

—∞—

"Yasuhara-san is too nice," Masako said as they were walking.

"Huh?" Mai said.

"What do you mean?" Hitomi asked.

"Takigawa-san and Brown-san, too," Masako continued. "You, too, Matsumoto-san. Naru caused you all so much trouble. You should be a little upset."

"Oh, Yeah..." Mai said.

"But… Naru apologized," Hitomi said, surprising Masako. "It was the first thing he did after he woke up."

"… Really?" Masako said.

"Yeah. Bou-san told me yesterday," Mai said. Masako plopped herself down on a bench they were passing.

"Masako?" Mai said as she and Hitomi stopped.

"… That's what I hate about Naru," Masako said. "If he hadn't apologized, then he'd still be a jerk and things would be much simpler."

"Yup. Yup. I wish he's make it clear. Is he nice or is he a jerk?" Mai said, nodding her head.

"Unfortunately, he's both," Hitomi said.

"Exactly! It's ridiculous to like him, but it seems like a waste to hate him!" Masako said. "… But we cannot give up."

"You two can give up," Mai said with a grin. "I'll take care of him. Hee hee. "

"… Mai, don't be cunning," Masako said.

"Will you tell me Naru's weakness?" Mai asked her.

"Hmph. I certainly will not," Masako said, turning away from her.

"Then I can't agree to a pact like that," Mai said. "In love, you have to be cunning," Mai said. "Right, Sempai?"

"All's fair in love and war," Hitomi agreed.

"Go ahead, then," Masako told them. "While you play dirty, I'll be a good girl. You can even ridicule me."

'Uh… who's the one who's blackmailing him?' Hitomi thought, sweat-dropping.

"Do you think the prince will choose Cinderella?" Mai said with a smirk, acting like one of the older stepsisters from the story.

"Of course," Masako said with a smile.

"Have you really considered the prince's personality!?" Mai asked.

"… That's true," Masako said seriously, sweat-dropping.

"Right?" Hitomi said. The three of them laughed.