Author's Note: This week is rather short because I was finishing up the Hetalia part of the Halloween part. I have Halloween 2021 two-thirds of the way finished. All that's left is the Durarara part. That's coming along rather nicely. Anyway, I had to get back to the main plot of this season for this story. The plotline is evolving as I go along. I can't wait to see where this goes as the season goes along. I know what I am doing next week. For now, enjoy this week's match.

Match Seventeen: Curiosity, Research, and Phone Call:

-Ju-

This week is going to be busy. My exams are coming up in a few days. I can't wait to get this over with. I buried my head in my hands. This is too much right now. I lowered my hands and looked towards the doorway. Yao stood with a tray in his hands.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No," I said. "It's fine."

"I made you some snacks," he said.

"Oh. Thank you," I said.

"Is it that bad?" Yao asked. I pressed my lips together and nodded. He walked into my office and sat down in the chair in front of my desk. I took my hand away from the mouse.

"Tell me something, Yao," I said.

"What?" he asked. I leaned forward on the desk.

"Did Qi seem a little… off to you?" I asked.

"How do you mean?" Yao asked. I shrugged and shook my head.

"I don't know how to put this," I admitted. "Call it a feeling." How could I put this? Hm…

"Although, I did hear a rumor a while back," Yao said.

"Hm?" I asked. He paused.

"Well… it's just a rumor," he said.

"What is it?" I asked. Yao looked like he was struggling to explain himself. I tilted my head.

"What is it?" I asked again.

"How you heard of the binding vessel ritual?" Yao asked. He wouldn't look into my eyes as he asked that.

"No…" I said. "What is it?" Yao held his fist to his mouth.

"Yao?" I asked.

"Look it up," he mumbled. I turned back to my computer with a dubious look on my face. I opened a new tab in my browser and typed up binding vessel ritual. I got no results. I tried again. I still got the same results after four more attempts. I turned to Yao. Alright, I knew what he was going to say.

"It's forbidden magic, right?" I asked.

"Yes," he admitted. I didn't like where this was heading.

"Let me guess, you're going to tell me to stop before I go too deep. Right?" I said. He didn't say anything. I rubbed my forehead.

"What a way to bury the lead," I muttered.

"So sorry," he said. I waved him off.

Of course I couldn't let it go. I just had to find out this binding vessel ritual. I was alone with this. Hen-to and Fei won't help me. Yao's not saying anymore. This country has a tight grip on the internet. Yep. I'm on my own here.

I have to go underground for this. There's only one place I can go.

My college has an underground library. (This is a rumor, of course. I didn't say anything. You can't prove that I did.) There has to be a certain pass to try and get in. You can't get this pass on your own. Oh no. I'm not telling you how I got my pass.

I made it down to the underground library by six in the evening next day. I made it up to the glass doors. I pulled out my card and put it in the slot. The door clicked open. I pushed on the glass as I walked inside.

"Hello?" I whispered. The lights are off inside. I stepped inside and looked around. No one really manages it after hours. People who go inside are responsible for everything that they read or use on the computers. Nothing is allowed to leave the building. You will have to make copies of the pages that you want to see.

I walked up to the desk and signed in. You can't use your real name. I gave myself the Kanji for "daisy" on the sheet. My time was about 6:45 p.m. Once I signed in, I made my way to the back. For this, I was going to need the forbidden database. This held the history that was banned from the public. No internet searches would yield this to the country. This would be the only way.

I looked around before I sat down in front of the computer. I typed in the password to unlock it. When the desktop appeared, I got to work. I clicked on the search bar. I typed in "binding vessel ritual". Low and behold, one file came up. It was a zipped PDF file. One little click and I wouldn't be able to turn back. I took a breath and clicked on the file.

What I read shook me to my core. Here are the basics of the ritual.

An adult takes a child, preferably their own offspring, and turns them into their vessel. The child has to be killed in order for it to work. This will force the soul out of the child's body. Then the adult will seriously injure themselves. Injured almost to the point of death. The adult will stick the hand into the wound and draw their name all over the child's body. Their soul will enter into the new vessel's body. This ritual could go on for generations.

I felt like I was watching snuff films with the videos attached to the file. All of those children were murdered by someone they trusted. I'm not a person who gets queasy easily, but I about threw up in my mouth by the time I reached the end of the document. I see why our government was buried from the public. I see why my side of the clan doesn't acknowledge that side of the family.

I closed out of everything and erased the history. I had enough of my wits to sign out before I left.

Sometime later, I pulled out my phone when I got home. There was one thing that I had to do with this.

"Qi? I'm ready to talk again," I said. "Tell me where and when we can meet." I listened as I flopped down onto my couch.

"I understand," I said. "I will see you then." I hung up the phone. I only had Yao and myself to blame for going down that violent and barbaric rabbit hole. I already accepted that I couldn't turn back after this.