Chapter 7 – A hint
They had been walking for twenty minutes to find plants and Kin wouldn't stop moaning about every little thing she couldn't change. From the hot weather to her feet and everything else in between. She didn't miss an opportunity to slide in snide comments about her companion. Each time she managed to scrap deeper into Hinata shell of patience.
Never before had the dark-haired teen been so tested in her life. Kin had always been a passive nuisance as she never had to face the harpy, she never had to put up with her or anything that direct. Yet there she was, having to endure not only the incessant barrage of complains in one of the most annoying voice she ever had to, but also the sleep deprivation, the harsh sun and hunger.
Hinata snapped.
"What do you want?" Hinata restrained herself after her voice went an octave too high at the first word.
"Finally, you listen, creep!" Kin exclaimed. Hinata squeezed her teeth not to roll her eyes "I need a fucking break"
"Ebizu-sensei asked for pictures of plants. For our grades. We haven't found any yet" Hinata said slowly, a deep frown marring her face "Until then just sh- be quiet and walk"
A long minute passed.
Her companion for the day stayed motionless, her shocked expression turning slowly into one of stubborn grimace. Hinata started walking again.
"And I need you to fucking slow down. I've got two hundred bucks on my feet unlike you" She called after Hinata "can't believe I've gotta put up with you all day long"
"Me neither" Hinata mumbled. She didn't slow down at all.
As they walked in dead silence, Hinata saw the ghost she had been looking for. Out of surprise, out of panic, she stopped walking altogether.
"Wow, can't believe you can actually slow down"
The specter was standing at the edge of the cliff.
Questions flooded in. What was she doing there? Was she connected to anyone at school after all? Hinata couldn't take her reflection any further when she stumbled forward. She caught herself quickly with her right leg. The movement was so sudden, so quick, so forceful that she felt something twitch and hurt in her quadriceps.
"Whoops! You could warn before you stop walking like that, creep!" Kin said with a mocking smile. Scorn couldn't even begin to describe the mocking girl's look.
Hinata squeezed her jaw until it hurt. She knew at that moment that any wrong move or word would end up into a fight. Or worse. Not only Kin was known to get bloody revenge after fights but it didn't seem like a good plan to fight there. The negative energy that emanated from the ground made it feel like tragedy would ensue.
The dark-haired teen breathed deep, her eyes shifting from her ghost to her potential opponent. One, two, three… nothing to do to calm the adrenaline coursing through her veins. There was this feeling deep inside her, that something big was going to happen. At that thought fear coiled inside her belly.
Did she talk to the ghost that had been evading her for a couple of days, knowing that somehow a counting down had started for her to find the ghost identity as soon as possible? Did she try and fight the girl that had been taunting and bullying her? After all, even if Kin might get revenge later, the girl wasn't known to be that strong.
The pressure kept mounting, pushing, pushing, pushing against her chest.
Suddenly, the spirit descended along the rocky face. That's when Hinata made her choice. Without waiting, or paying attention to Kin, Hinata followed the ghost. The wall must have nearly ten inches. Hinata was lucky not to be afraid of heights given the inclination of the slope. With each step she took, she paid attention that the stone under her foot was well wedged.
In less than five minutes, she had reached the bottom. She noticed then, that there was a trickle of water which was enough to fill her sneakers. There was a big bush that stood in the middle of what must have been a torrent when spring melted thick layers of snow.
Strange, she thought.
She came closer to the strange mass which had a shape that seemed familiar to her. Before she could touch the thing, Kin, who had stayed back, yelled at her.
"Eh! Eh! Are you fucking insane? If you're suicidal there are cleaner way to go!" Kin's screams grew louder "And you could answer me when I talk to you, creep!"
Hinata didn't answer.
"Don't fucking get us in trouble or else-"
"Please, it wouldn't bother you that much if I was in trouble! So let me be" Hinata shouted back. She was annoyed that Kin kept interrupting her focus, and the pressure in her chest kept mounting engulfing her a bit more. "Let me be!"
"Who do you think you are?!" Kin got definitely angry. Hinata couldn't careless "I'm fed up with this shit! I'm outta here!"
The small fear at the back of her head grew. Kin could definitely leave her behind all alone. The cheerleader didn't care for her grades anyway. Hinata wouldn't have cared either. Only problem: her insufferable companion was the one with the radio to contact the teacher, and phones didn't work in the area.
Hinata thought quick.
"Look at that bush! Don't you think it has a strange shape?" Hinata waited until Kin looked at the direction she pointed to "Who knows what might be hidden in there ..."
Kin took the bait. The girl was so hungry to be the center of attention that she could abandon all of her principles to be talked about. Still hesitant all the same, she descended into the bed of the stream.
"It looks like a car." She commented.
Hinata passed her hand under the vegetation, where she touched a cold metal. She knocked against it. A metallic noise escaped. Both girls glanced at each other in shock.
"They won't believe what I found!" Kin rejoiced as she pushed Hinata hard further away from the car.
Kin proved to be useful.
Being a little further than her from the car, Hinata could notice that the vehicle was on its roof. It must have rolled over several times before stopping there. Hinata deduced from all the vegetation covering it that it must have been there for quite a while. It could even be that ...
She got out of her head and searched for the spirit.
The specter was there, next to the wreck that Kin was desperately attempting to open. The woman was staring at Hinata. The latter couldn't believe it. Feverishness took over her, fear and hope making an intoxicating cocktail in her head.
The glint of madness that had been in the ghost's eyes from previous encounters was gone. She looked a lot less scary. It all clicked in place in Hinata's head.
Hinata had two answers to three of her questions. Hinata walked back to the wreckage and crouched down, clearing the vegetation that was blocking her view. As Kin kept trying to open the car, stopping from time to time to take a picture or kick it, Hinata finished removing the leaves. It was dark in the cabin; she couldn't see much.
"Kin-kun! Give me your cell phone." Hinata asked as she looked inside the cabin, a hand stretched out toward her classmate.
When she didn't get what she asked for, she turned toward the other girl, her palm still outstretched.
A short laugh, which reminded her of a hyena, came out of Kin's mouth.
"I wonder what the hell is wrong with you today. Are you on crack or something?"
Hinata regretted so bad not charging her phone the night before.
"Please, just give me the phone" Hinata said slowly as if to a five-year-old.
"Like hell I'd do that. Why would I give it to you to begin with?" Kin said, acting superior.
"I… Why are you such a- why are you so mean to me. I've never-"
"That's what happen when you try to play on others' territory?"
Hinata looked at her more confused than before. Kin clicked her tongue.
"Stay the fuck away from Shika" Kin narrowed her eyes. "I won't let you take my phone anyway. I'm sure you'd screw it up" Kin added, bending down next to Hinata.
Hinata scowled when Kin mentioned the name of one of the popular guys at school – a boy she'd only seen once.
At least Kin understood what she wanted to do. She really tried to understand Kin's words but she couldn't. Hinata just stared at the car's window, her brain blank.
Finally, Kin turned her phone's flashlight on and lit the vehicle cabin.
They saw someone inside.