Disclaimer: I so very much wish I did, but I don't.
Chapter 27
Taihen.Totemo Taihen da. Sakuno was worrying to herself as she studied the air above her.
Once Ryoma switched off the torchlight, Sakuno could see quite a lot of gauzy pale shapes floating about the room. Those were the essences of dead spirits who were trapped in the living world. Sakuno remembered reading about how spirits would gather at places where dark energies were strong, because these places were potential gates to the other world.
Unless she missed her guess, there was just such a spot somewhere near the ceiling of this room. Just for precaution, she quietly threw a Boundary spell over herself and Ryoma. The spirits would not be able to cross the Boundary even if they took it into their ethereal minds to try to possess herself or Ryoma.
She had never held up a spell for so long, she had no idea how long it was, but her body told her it was long enough. Her body heat had been channeled into the Boundary to hold it up, and she was feeling very cold, almost like the times when she was having Premonition dreams.
Bad time to recall that, she though wryly, looking around at the darkness she was trapped in. Maybe that was why it was called the Premonition dream; perhaps she was fated to face a similar situation sometime after her Change. Strange that Mayu never mentioned anything about such a connection.
She sat quietly hugging her knees, and concentrated on the Boundary protecting her and Ryoma from the spirits floating above and around them. It didn't take much magic to cast the spell, but holding it up for so long was another matter. Her magic was not diminished, but her physical conditions were deteriorating at an alarming rate.
Sakuno was trying to recall if there was a spell to get rid of the spirits. Exo-something, she remembered seeing something like that in one of the books Mayu inherited from a previous Ryuuzaki witch.
Oh dear, she needed to think harder, Exo-what? What was that word for chasing away spirits trapped in the living world? Exo-exo-exo, Exorcise! No, wait. That was for when the spirit had possessed a living person and taken over the human body. And that was for if any of the spirits around them managed to break through the Boundary. Not that she was going to sit back and let them have a chance.
She rolled her eyes around the room, a little worried that the spirits seemed overly interested in her Boundary and were gathered right outside, flitting this way and that all around them. She wondered belatedly if the spirits were attracted to her power, and wondered if she should have continued playing dead instead. How she wished Mayu was here to give some advice!
Now there was an idea! Perhaps if she called Osaka and asked her aunt for the spell ….. oh, she couldn't. She didn't have a mobile phone, and she knew Ryoma didn't bring his on school days. Anyway, Mayu and Kurokuro were out on one of their little expeditions somewhere far away from home; and she sincerely doubted her aunt would memorize spells that didn't help with the chores around the house. Her aunt was strange that way, even for a witch.
Brr… she was so cold. Sakuno put the Boundary spell to the back of her mind, and let her thoughts wander as she tried to forget about her freezing body.
Something fell onto her shoulders, shocking her out of her reverie. For a moment she could have sworn it was one of the spirits came to possess her. But no, it was only Ryoma, whom she had honestly forgotten about when she was holding up the Boundary spell.
The Boundary! The shock from Ryoma had broken her concentration on the spell and the Boundary was fading away! Komarinatta, now they were in trouble! Sakuno tried to see if the spirits were restless, but Ryoma had the torch on again and she couldn't distinguish the pale shapes she was looking for.
Ryoma was saying something else now, but she couldn't hear his words. She was too busy feeling cold and being absolutely terrified that some spirit would try to attack him.
Oh no, oh no. Was that a spirit coming at Ryoma from behind? She couldn't be sure, and Ryoma had starting to shake her shoulders for some obscure reason. Sakuno vaguely thought that he had better have a valid excuse for treating her like a rag doll, one that he would explain to her clearly while on his knees when they survived this night unscathed. If they survived this night unscathed. And he still owed her an apology!
Sakuno was dimly aware that she was panicking, her brain felt like it was rattling around in her skull as Ryoma was still shaking her shoulders. In her terrified state, a spell suddenly flashed vividly in her mind. Or maybe Ryoma shook it out of her, she didn't know.
Exo-exo-EXODUS! The spell used to "invite" spirits to leave the mortal world by momentarily opening the dark gates. Good, there was definitely one of those above their heads, Sakuno cheered to herself.
Yokatta! Now all she needed to do was weave her hands and chant the spell to clear the room of the spirits. Iie, she was ready to cast a spell to clear the entire Tokyo of pale gauzy shapes.
But she couldn't do the honorable thing in front of Ryoma, and certainly not with him shaking her like that. Oh dear, what was a witch to do? She wasn't ready to tell Ryoma about her magic; she didn't think Ryoma was ready to hear about it.
Maybe if she could get him to shut his eyes. Iie. Turn his back? Iie. But she could certainly do it behind his back ……
Sakuno didn't hesitate once she hit upon the solution. She reached her arms behind Ryoma and started the spell by weaving her hands in the proper formation. She leaned against Ryoma, letting him take some of her weight so she didn't need her arms to support her body. She couldn't see over his shoulder, but she didn't need to. Looking off to the side, she said the spell under her breath and threw it up on the last syllabus, aiming for the ceiling. She was gratified when the air burned stark white for a second, then revealed darkness empty of spirits.
Spent from the rite, she crumbled against Ryoma, her head resting on his chest, her arms folded loosely around him.