WARNING: Discussion of masturbation, sex, and crass language because it's Toritsuka and Aiura and they like to bad mouth each other and whoever else. It's not in the tag since that's not the focus of the story.
Chapter 25 - Kishin 鬼神
The first thing that should've warned Toritsuka that something stupidly major happened was the fact that Saiki missed two school days in a row.
At the time, Toritsuka had thought that Saiki had decided to up the normal game by doing the normal thing of getting sick and staying home.
The coincidental increase in accidents around school didn't bother Toritsuka all that much. He saw dead people, for god sakes. He had accepted the fact that something was going to pick people off eventually and he should act like a sane person and run the other direction. PK Academy was going through the normal set of bad luck that should have happened to people and turn some of them into ghosts. Saiki was the meddlesome psychic who improved the fortunes of many, no matter how Saiki preached "don't help people carelessly."
Of course, Aiura, the lovestruck self-declared soulmate of Saiki forced Toritsuka to do something about the bad luck, which was to prevent what should have been natural near brush with deaths. Seriously, Saiki can really infect people with his goodness. Toritsuka, being a person who fell into the mold when badgered, did as he was told.
And because he did do, in general, what he was told, albeit poorly, he confessed to Aiura the oddest encounter he ever had with a complete stranger who turned out to the Saiki's older brother.
Toritsuka recalled the older brother well as well as the realization of how different Saiki-san truly was compared to other psychics like Aiura and Toritsuka himself. It was then he understood why Saiki so desperately admired a perfectly normal person like Satou Hiroshi; why Saiki always looked like a smile might permanently make him crack. Saiki needed to look no further than his own older brother, a grinning mad scientist, to know what indulging in their abilities would eventually result.
On that same day, Aiura did figure something out that she didn't seem willing to share. She mysteriously declared that they won't be seeing Saiki any time soon.
Toritsuka never badgered Aiura about what she meant. If it was something important or catastrophic, then a ghost would tell him.
Still, the whole "the boss is missing" thing was disturbing enough that the PK Academy Pscyhickers thought they should at least investigate.
Since they both had side jobs, Aiura with her fortune telling job and Toritsuka with his mandatory temple duties, they did not immediately go visit Saiki at his house. Akechi was saddled with the responsibility of checking in on their boss.
Akechi, the sneaky detective who probably has undiagnosed attention deficient disorder, tailed Saiki's normal friends instead.
Akechi discovered that some sort of important, heads-of-state-looking people had come to the house one day and seemed to have been there for an entire day soon after the mutual bemoaning of Saiki's mysterious absence from school. After that, no one was seen coming in or out of the house. The curtains of the house had been drawn and remained that way. Ringing doorbell had gone unanswered, even after Akechi rang the bell for an hour. The outside plants seemed to have been neglected. Phone calls went unanswered.
Akechi did not seem to be too worried, though, explaining that the Saiki family had done this before. Kusuo was there one day at school then transferred the next. Akechi, in his investigation of Kusuo-kun, said that this had happened several times before too, before any of them knew Kusuo. He reminded everyone that Kusuo was a psychic, a powerful one at that and there was nothing that Kusuo couldn't do well, except for horse betting.
So when their classroom teacher declared that Saiki had withdrawn from school, Akechi didn't even blink.
Aiura, though, seemed concerned.
She wasn't saying something, that much was certain.
In hindsight, that should have been the second warning that something major had happened and the PK Academy Psychikers should be on high alert.
At the time, Toritsuka, like Akechi, wasn't so concerned either. He had seen Saiki in his natural element. In all honesty, it's odd that Saiki even bothered with the charade of school. The reward of school did not seem to be worth the effort. That nebulous goal of "attending college" so to "get a good job" didn't seem like something Saiki would be worried about.
But during that public announcement at school was when Toritsuka had realized something had happened.
There were fewer ghosts in town.
Normally, if Toritsuka really looked, there would be at least a dozen of ghosts in a room. And in a classroom, full of students, most of those ghosts would be guardian spirits.
Some would be upside down. Some would be mooning people. Some would look out the window. Most would just mill around like a bunch of people on vacation, admiring ordinary everyday objects like tables and desks.
This morning was the real indication that something had happened.
As he laid in bed, working off the usual sexual frustration of a young man, he realized that it was eerily quiet in his room, and that there seemed to be an unknown oppression about him, as if the atmospheric pressure had doubled. He took a moment to make a ring with this thumb and pointing finger, a technique to enhance psychic sights, and peeked through the ring.
Not a single ghost.
But something at the foot of his bed was glowing though.
"Reita!" cried Kasunao, the almost 70-year old priest who was Toritsuka's direct guardian at this temple, from the other side of Toritsuka's locked bedroom door.
Toritsuka was startled out of a very important plot point. "Coming~" he responded.
The young monk quickly slid his porn magazine underneath his pillow and cleared the raunchy info from his phone. He quickly wiped off the sticky white stuff on his stomach with a tissue, threw that in the trash and balled up some paper to place on top of it.
"REITA!" Father Kasunao yelled again, sounding like a vein on his forehead just popped. "Open the door."
"I'm coming! Hold your horses," cried Toritsuka.
Toritsuka pulled on his daily blue samue and pulled at the sleeves to flatten some of the more obvious wrinkles. He checked himself in the mirror to make sure his crotch wasn't being embarrassing. He ran to the door and opened it.
Head Priest Kasunao was almost seventy. He was shaved bald, with bushy eyebrows and wore a full Buddhist monk habit. Currently, several veins on Head Priest Kasunao's forehead had popped. The nose hairs in the old man's nostrils seemed longer as a huff of steam came out like an enraged bull, ready to charge.
Next to Head Priest Kasunao was Aiura.
Trusty Aiura was in one of her gyaru outfits, which was to say that she was showing a lot of skin.
Toritsuka understood why Head Priest Kasunao was ready to kick the young monk's ass.
This was a Buddhist temple, with its philosophical mission to turn people from desire to experience freedom.
Aiura was looking like the epitome of desire. Her skimpy string strap tank top and tight mini skirt left little to the imagination. The faux leopard skin boots and the unzipped fur-trimmed leather jacket seemed to only accentuate her womanly assets. She had the courtesy to look somewhat reserved, but came off flirtatious instead.
"She said she's a classmate of yours, Reita," said High Priest Kasunao.
Toritsuka nodded.
"She says that she's here to do a group assignment with you," said High Priest Kasunao.
"Er...Okay," Toritsuka acknowledged.
"Is that true?" asked High Priest Kasunao, looking like he was ready to sentence the boy to a week-long absolution if he dared to lie.
Toritsuka did the usual tell of a liar, where he looked to the upper right.
Luckily, Aiura had foreseen this and pulled off the standard-issue blue school bag that she was carrying and dropped it on Toritsuka's foot.
High Priest Kasunao pursed his lips as he was treated an impromptu one-footed dance. The effort to keep his expression solemn caused his to turn red in the face and steam to seemingly come out of his ears. It only made him look even more menacing.
"Oi. Oji-chan. Lighten up. We're third years and we're studious students," said Aiura, trying to sound cute and innocent, but her tone came off like a phone sex operator.
In the end, the old man seemed to give up trying to police the young monk and the woman. They're almost adults, anyhow and it was unlike they would automatically do what he said. Heck, Reita had gotten taller than him by now. "I'm watching you, Reita," the nearly 70-year old man warned. "Don't you do any stupid with a woman in your room."
"Yes. Yes. I get it!" said Toritsuka as he stopped hopping. He's going to have problems putting his foot in his school's indoor shoes in the coming days. What did Aiura put in the bag? Bricks?
With his escort of the young lady done, High Priest Kasunao paced out of the door. He gave a perspective look at Toritsuka and the gyaru chick who looked to be enjoying the sight of Toritsuika in pain. With the door slightly ajar and only showing a pair of suspicious eyes, High Priest Kasunao quickly strung three words together right before he slammed the door shut.
"Wearacondom."
For once, Toritsuka just stared at the door, shocked into silence.
Aiura busted out laughing immediately, "As if I'd f $! you, germ!"
Toritsuka, being male with the proper level of urge, had the nerve to say, "I do keep a supply."
Seeing how serious the young man was, Aiura blithely said. "What? To collect dust with?" Then she gave a haughty look, crossing her arm, and followed up with "Besides, I would be disappointed anyways if we do it now."
"Why?"
Aiura pointed to the wastebasket. She had one of those slanted looks to her eyes. "You've just finished yourself off."
Toritsuka glowered at her and muttered, "Damn fortune teller."
"Don't need to be a fortune teller to know that," Aiura said with a snort. "Paper on top of tissues? Can you be any more obvious? At least get a close-top trash bin."
Toritsuka clicked his tongue. He crossed his arms. "Did you seriously came here just to insult me on a Sunday morning, Tits?"
Aiura gave Toritsuka a wicked smile but didn't answer. She then took a moment to study Toritsuka's room.
For being a monk who lived in an actual temple, Toritsuka's room was very much like a normal young man's room. There was a comfortable bed, a messy desk, a book shelf, the usual TV, a decorative lamp. The floor was wood, without the usual room carpet that would usually be in a girl's room to soften the space. Posters of the Eternal Diamond Veronica and the Four Heavenly Kings were on the wall. The bed was unmade, though, and not all the trash landed in the wastebasket. There were a couple of lounge chairs that were being used as shelves for loose trinkets and school bag.
Toritsuka was somewhat of a slob.
Completely unlike Saiki's very neat room where everything was dust free, unobtrusive, and cold.
Without being invited to do so, Aiura found a lounge chair at the end of the bed where a pile consist of an ugly Buddha statue, dirty laundry and some homework books. She proceeded to shove the pile off the seat. She plopped down on the now visible seat of the lounge chair, her arms stretched to hung on the top of the lounge chair's backing, completely at home.
"Please, princess bimbo, make yourself at home," said Toritsuka sarcastically.
Toritsuka hobbled over to the newly created pile of stuff on the floor and pulled out the creepy Buddha statue. "At least try and be reverent to kishin here."
Aiura tilted her head. "Kishin?"
"A fierce deity," said Toritsuka. He carefully placed it on the desk. The statue was one of those bugged-eyed Buddha statues, standing on a lotus blossom, several arms holding various weapons. "Destroyer of roadblocks to enlightenment, so goes the Buddhist tradition. It's a literal ghost god." He clapped his hands twice at the statue, bowed, paying it respect.
"Oh..." intoned Aiura, understanding and completely uninterested. "And you see ghosts."
"Yes. I bow to a god of ghosts. Ghosts who are nice and don't randomly shove people's stuff onto the ground," said Toritsuka. He then half-heartedly muttered a few sutras at the statue, bowed again, before turning to Aiura.
"So, what brings you here, for real? I don't think you've ever visited me at temple," asked Toritsuka. "Wait, how did you know which temple in town I'm in?"
Aiura grinned a little.
Toritsuka realized how stupid the question was and how he just opened himself up for another insult. "Don't answer that."
Aiura kept on gloating. It was nice to have someone acknowledge how she completely outclassed them.
Her smile did fall as she went straight to the heart of the issue. "Well, Reita-toto, I have a problem." She picked up the blue school bag and unzipped it. She fished out a clear plastic bag. She held up the bag in front of the young man.
Through the clear bag, Toritsuka could see mostly broken glass.
"Well, don't drop your crystal balls on my foot the next time, Tits," said Toritsuka as he limped to his unmade bed and plopped down on the mess of blankets and pillows, laying on his stomach. "Why do I always end up being the punching bag?" he grumbled to himself.
"They were broken before I came here," said Aiura. "I came here because, well, you're the only other real psychic that I know who might be able to help me figure this out. I don't trust my fortune teller sisters. They're even more unreliable than you. Akechi gives me a headache, he doesn't have real psychic powers to deal with and I'd rather not resort to my womanly wiles to get him to talk straight."
Toritsuka had to ask the obvious. "Why didn't you ask Saiki-san? He's the overpowered psychic. I thought you're good at tailing him."
"Because I can't find him," said Aiura.
"Oh yeah?" asked Toritsuka distractedly. He made no effort to hide the fact that through their brief exchange that he was distracted by Aiura's breasts. There was a slight drool down the corner of his slightly agape mouth as he stared intently.
Aiura rewarded the monk's admiration with a knuckle punch to the top of the head. "My eyes are up here!"
Toritsuka yipped from having nearly bitten his tongue.
It was another minute before Toritsuka recovered from that indignity
This time, Aiura zipped up her jacket all the way up and crossed her arms.
Toritsuka learned. He sat cross-legged on his bed instead, out of reach of Aiura's fist and his crotch well protected by a pillow that he was hugging. He grabbed at his toes, massaging them and working off the swelling from the earlier insult. "You were saying?" asked Toritsuka, all the usual distractions finally covered up.
"As I was saying. I can't find him," said Aiura, now sitting back down again.
Toritsuka looked confused. "How come?"
"It'd be faster if I showed you."
At that, Aiura pulled the blue school bag and rummaged through it. She pulled out a pocket-sized crystal ball, the ones that she would normally carry around in a purse in case she needed some impromptu fortune telling. This crystal ball must've been some sort of mass-produced object since it still had a price sticker and had not been personally blinged out with hearts and other decorative stickers.
With the crystal ball held in one hand, the other hand held slightly above it, as if casting a spell, Aiura said, "Where is Saiki Kusuo?"
Immediately, cracks developed inside the crystal ball, spidering through the crystalline structure, quickly clouding the crystal ball's clarity.
Toritsuka watched, fascinated as the ball glowed and creaked, as if it was struggling through some internal force.
Sweat began to form on Aiura's brow.
POP!
Toritsuka jumped back as that ball shattered, pieces falling everywhere, all over Aiura and Toritsuka's bed, floor, and some even hit Toritsuka.
Aiura glared at the newly created gravel and glass shards on her hand. Since Toritsuka is such a slob, she did not even bother trying to make sure that the glass made it into a wastebasket. She dropped it immediately on the floor.
Toritsuka watched as gravely glass shards fell on his bedroom floor. It didn't bother him in the least.
"Err...when did your psychic powers include breaking glass?" asked Toritsuka.
"It doesn't," said Aiura. She went rummaging through the school bag again. And like one of those clown cars where a clown wearing large floppy shoes emerged from a too-small car, she pulled out another crystal ball.
Was that bag like some sort of a dimensional portal to a crystal ball factory?
"Ask a question," commanded Aiura.
"Huh?"
"Ask a question," repeated Aiura, an edge to her voice. She was about to demonstrate something important here and Toritsuka was being uncooperative.
"Um..." Torituska wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. He didn't want to waste the rare instance where Aiura actually willingly tells of his fortune, for free. He hit on a relatively good idea quickly. "Who is my soulmate?"
Aiura made a face at Toritsuka, like he just burned up a kid's safety blanket.
"What? It's a legitimate question!" Toritsuka defended. "Do you know how frustrating it is to chase chicks and get rejected nearly 100% of the time? I'm ready to find my soulmate, get the chase over with and the good times rolling."
"Well, you might end up with a soulmate like Kusuo," said Aiura plaintively.
Toritsuka leered at her. "Well, it's not my fault your soulmate always acts like he has a stick up his ass."
Aiura threw an errant geta at Toritsuka's head. "Quit saying shit about Kusuo behind his back...Even if it's true."
Toritsuka easily dodged the wooden shoe. "Well, You and I know that he has a shitty personality and it's not like he doesn't know our opinions about him. It's all part of what makes Saiki-san, Saiki-san."
Toritsuka sat up straighter again. His voice took whining tone. "So come on. Tell me. Who is my soulmate?" His eyes were turning into heart shapes. "It'd better be someone hot like Teruhashi or even that Rifua chick from second year. I'll even take the idol Hashimoto Kanna."
"Gawd. You're the worst." Aiura remarked. "Fine. Anyways. This is what happens when I do a normal fortune telling."
Mirroring her earlier position, she held a hand over the new pocket-sized crystal ball. "Who is Toritsuka Reita's soulmate?" she asked.
This time, the crystal ball's glow was muted, almost like a tiny little soul flickered inside.
Toritsuka stared intently, drool pooling at the corner of his mouth again, hoping that maybe he got to see the flicker of an image.
Aiura looked intently too, her eyebrows furrowed. Suddenly, she slammed the crystal ball into the ground, causing a second bone-chattering shatter.
Toritsuka jumped back on his bed, hitting a wall. "What gives, TitsMcGee!? Do you normally smash your crystal ball at all your fortune telling?"
Aiura was not listening. She looked at the shards of the now shattered crystal ball, a hand clutched at her heart like she just had run a marathon. Her hazel eyes traveled to Toritsuka. "I...I...I...can't believe it!"
Toritsuka jumped back on his bed. He watched Aiura's reaction and quickly came to some possible conclusions. "It's a guy isn't it?" he guessed.
Aiura looked like she nodded, but didn't say a word. She hugged herself, her eyes shut, looking like she was about to throw up.
Seeing Aiura's exasperation, Toritsuka assumed the worst. "Aww...fuck. It is someone like Takahashi, isn't it? That slimy green-haired clown kid. Thank god, he got moved to Class 4." Torituska pulled at his hair in frustration. "I mean, Takahashi's first kiss was with Nendo! Why do I have to get Nendo's leftovers for everything?" Toritsuka, too good at weasiling his way out of situation thought positively. "Though, Takahashi might be good at giving head with those lips..."
Aiura shakes her head. "Stop talking, penis aura! Ug. Just listening to you makes me I feel like I'm getting boogers smeared all over me," she said.
Toritsuka only shrugged. He happily chimed, "Well...that's probably because my guardian spirit is trying to feel your guardian spirit up right now. And you know that my guardian spirit is Nendo's dad, right? Takeuchi Riki. And your guardian spirit is this like ginormously fat fortune teller lady with a mole on her chin. She's ignoring him, you know, even when his hands are at you know where..."
Aiura made hurling noises.
"Um...you okay?" asked Torituska.
Aiura glared at the spirit medium. She grabbed him by the prayer beads on his neck and pulled him close for a proper vituperation. "No I'm not! I can't find Kusuo. Your soulmate freaked me out." She twisted his prayer beads and with both hands, began to pull, slowly choking him. "I came here, trying to figure out my problem, but you've just made it worse by allowing your guardian spirit to molest my guardian spirit!"
"Ah. Let go!" yelled Toritsuka. "I can't control him! He's like a really crappy stalker. Only Saiki had ever been able to make him leave."
Aiura choked him a little longer to even the score.
In the end, Toritsuka ened up half dead on his bed, his spirit trying to escape his dying body.
Without waiting for Toritsuka to recover, Aiura reached into the blue school bag again and fished out another pocket-sized crystal ball. "I'll come up with the question this time!"
Roughly, Aiura looked deep into the crystal ball. "Where is Saiki Kusuo's older brother?"
This time, the crystal ball did not glow. It was black, unmoving.
Instead, something on Toritsuka's desk rattled.
Toritsuka's eyes flickered over to the noise and his expression immediately turned to one of surprise and fright.
The creepy Buddha statue on Toritsuka's desk was glowing. The statue's golden eyes glowed. Its arms seemed to move, swinging the weapons back and forth. There seemed to be an aura of white flames.
Toritsuka blinked as his spirit medium sight showed that both of the remaining guardian spirits had stopped whatever they were doing and stared at the statue.
"...a kishin is passing.." said the two guardian spirits in the room in unison.
Aiura removed her hand from hovering over the crystal ball.
Immediately, the glow about the creepy Buddha statue stopped. Its eyes no longer glowed and arms no longer moving.
The statue definitely had shifted. There were scorch marks on the desk.
Torituska and Aiura looked at each other.
"Did you hear that, too?" asked Aiura, a sweat drop forming on her head.
Toritsuka nodded. He looked again at the guardian spirits again.
Back to milling the two guardian spirits went, as if nothing happened.
The two PK Academy Psychikers looked at each other again, shadows over her faces at the sense of unease.
What did all this mean?
AN: This is literally a chapter for Aiura and Toritsuka to further insult each other and their friends, because that's what good friends do.