The people of the village began their routine as the light faded, and the moon started to rise over the ocean. Farmers rode to their fields, merchants opened their stores, and cooks warmed their ovens. We passed through the town hastily, catching glimpses of common life in quick succession. Soon we came to the low-lying area that hugged the bay, plagued with the stench of stagnant fish, where Tonbei's family lived. Ikidre led me to the alleyway where we found the door to his house.

I knocked, waited a minute for a response, then knocked again. Ikidre must have thought I was doing something wrong when he added a long series of raps a moment later. When there was still no answer, I threw my hands up.

"They must be out."

"That's impossible!" Ikidre snapped, and he moved to peer into a set of windows. "Tonbei's grandmother is sickly, and never leaves the house. But she would certainly answer the door."

"Maybe she's feeling particularly sickly."

I was searching for explanations, not for additional worries. From the subsequent look on Ikidre's face, however, I knew I had struck a nerve. He became more frantic, tapped on the window, and then tried the door. It was locked. He tried the gate to their backyard, but it was locked too.

"Something must have happened!" he bleated, more anxious than I had ever seen him. "We've got to get inside and make sure everything's alright."

I eyed the massive wooden fence that kept belongings from floating away during floods; it was well over twelve feet tall. I told Ikidre to stand back. After quickly checking to make sure no one else was in the alley who might see, I took a breath, then took off towards the fence. After a few strides, my feet launched me into the air and halfway to the top of the fence. At the apex of the jump, I focused chakra into my foot and released it all in a sudden burst. For a split-second, the air there effectively became solid, and I leapt again from it, now able to land easily on the top of the fence. After scouting for safe landing spots, I dropped into the yard and removed the bar from the gate to admit Ikidre.

It felt surreal, stepping into an unfamiliar yard in the shadow of a strangely empty house. Ikidre approached the back door more confidently; it was clear he had been here many times and probably felt at home. This entrance was unlocked, so we quietly went inside.

Room after room was found dark and tidy. There were no signs that anyone had lived here recently, it seemed. I assumed that they had a maid, that they had just overslept, and told Ikidre as much. He shook his head and whispered back.

"It's never this clean … too peculiar. We should check upstairs."

On our way to the second floor, I summoned my seirei. Though academy students were instructed to no longer treat these phantoms as companions, I still used mine as an extra set of eyes and ears. The small ghostly lizard danced onto the landing alongside me, leaving a golden trail of airglow. I led it one way down the upstairs hallway, while Ikidre went the other way. I began politely knocking on doors, listening for an occupant, then cracking open the door to peer inside. Ikidre was doing the same. Eventually, I came to one end of the hall and went into the bathroom there. This too was strikingly well-kept.

I was about to examine a series of portraits on the wall when I saw, through my seirei's vision, a sudden movement in the hallway behind me. It was Ikidre, bursting backwards through a door. There was a quick, red flash of light that darted toward an open hallway window. It was out and gone before Ikidre hit the ground.

The seirei darted to the window, but already there was no sign of the swift apparition, whatever it had been. I ran to Ikidre, and knelt by him. He appeared to be fine, albeit knocked out. I left him there, slowly rising to my feet to inspect the last few rooms in the house. What attacked Ikidre had to have come from one of the two, but I couldn't find anything as I searched. There was a broom closet and a spare bedroom, both clean and vacant.

My anger was not enough to overwhelm the fear that surged in my stomach. I hated not knowing what it was I had seen, nor what should be done. Hastily I took up Ikidre over my shoulder and left the house, first to get help for my teammate who was unconscious, then to determine what had happened to the one who was missing.