GH: THE MISSING ARCHIVES II

Thanks everyone for your comments!

-Querida Yolanda, gracias por tu mensaje. Lamento me momentanea desaparición, pero cai dentro de un bloqueo creativo severo. Mi intención era terminar la historia costara lo que costara. Mai aun tiene problemas para aceptar que sus poderes son confiables, asi que a menudo olvida cosas imporatnes de sus sueños.

I've made a new cover art for the story! I hope you guys like it. I will try to put a link down the chapter.


DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters from Ghost Hunt, or any concept from the games mentioned before.

File 001: Can you see me in the dark? #5

"Ah, this will be the first time I get to see a sealing. It is kind of exciting," I said, watching Rei and Kei work on the table.

Kei was busy painting paper spells while Rei was working with a small piece of wood she has gotten from the forest a while ago. My friend was very focused on carving the wood with a knife, and I watched, amazed, how, what had started as a thick branch of a forest tree, gradually began to take the form of a small tablet.

"You're surprisingly good at carpentry," I said, watching her carve the spell symbols on the totem.

"Well, you end up learning one thing or two in this business. If I end up unemployed as an onmyouji I can always become an artisan…"

I laughed at the comment, imagining Rei sitting in a park trying to sell wooden sculptures to tourists.

"Dear sister of mine is a woman of many talents, sadly though, cooking and home chores are not among them… auch!"

Rei had slapped his head in annoyance, and Kei was rubbing the sore spot between chuckles.

"Don't think I won't hit you because you are my brother," Rei said glaring him.

"On the contrary," Kei smirked. "It is because I am your brother that I know you will hit me."

"You are such a dork."

"That is part of the charm, right Mai?"

"I think I'll rather not answer that," I replied, noticing that Yasuhara was nearby.

I didn't want to think what sort of thing he and Bou-san would pull if I said the wrong thing. They had been pestering about the incident with the mistaken room for the whole day, and I could tell Naru was already so done with it that I was surprised that he hadn't kicked them out of the place already.

"Ne, is there anything I can do to help?" I asked.

Despite feeling incredibly well, Naru had forbidden to help with anything. I appreciated his consideration, but it was making me feel a little frustrated.

"Weren't you helping our lady priestess?" Kei asked.

"Nope, Ayako said, she can handle it by herself," I shrugged. "Besides, Naru doesn't let me do anything. I feel pretty useless and I want to do something…"

"It's abstinence syndrome," Rei scoffed. "four days stuck in bed, now she's like a hyperactive kid dying to work."

"Hehe… kind of."

"You're the weirdest person in this world," Keo laughed. "aren't you the one who always complains because Shibuya-san exploits you? The guy is being a caring boss, letting you rest and you want to work."

"It's not my fault! Naru conditioned me to work like crazy. Now not doing anything feels wrong."

"Well, how about you help me with these spells?"

"Really?"

"Yup, can you pile them by the symbol?"

"Sure!" I said cheerfully.

It was a menial task, but it was enough to make me feel useful, and being useful made me happy.

"Ah, Mai-chan seems so happy!" Yasuhara grinned, sitting down by my side. "What a pleasant change. Too bad Boss isn't here to watch you sing like a dummy."

"I am happy, Yasuhara-san, so happy that not even Naru would ruin my mood," I said. "Did you finish your task, Yasuhara-san?"

"Oh, yeah. I just need to wait for the Boss to tell me what he wants next, but judging by his look. He's sure that the case will be over today."

"Eh, sounds like Naru. Where is he anyway?"

"Installing cameras with Lin-san. He wants to record Matsuzaki-san's exorcism." Yasuhara smiled. "They planned to set some by the shrine, too. To record your ritual as well."

"Oh, so we are getting recorded?" Kei said. "Does that mean we are becoming famous among paranormal researchers?"

"Well, it is a rare opportunity to see a sealing ritual, after all," I said. "I wouldn't be surprised that he wanted to save it as future reference."

"What exactly is a sealing ritual, anyway?"

"Well, it's just as it sounds… we are sealing something," Rei chuckled.

"Ghost and spirits can get cleansed or exorcised…" Kei replied, "Yokai are different. With them, you have only two options: the violent one and the not so violent one."

"What foolish brother means is that when it comes to yokai, you can only kill them or seal them. Killing them is usually the easiest way, and we could probably have Aki slay that thing in a blink, but that's rather cruel and you never know when that yokai might come in handy."

"You can turn yokai into familiars called ekiki," Rei said. "They are a little harder to tame, but they are pretty useful."

"Lin-san explained that to me some time ago. Ekiki are demons you tame to become your servants," I smiled, looking at Yasuhara. "He also said he preferred Shiki over ekiki."

"Oh, yeah. Ekiki are difficult to deal with, and not many people like to take that path. You need a lot of power- physical and mental- to tame them, so…" Kei shrugged. "A Yama-uba might come in handy, though. Those hags are crazy, but they are quite powerful. Maybe dad will be interested…"

"Eh? Are you guys planning to keep it?" Yasuhara asked.

"Well, it is either that or we take the risk of somebody finding it and releasing it by accident," Kei replied. "It's all right, it isn't the first yokai we get home."

"Uh, you say that like you were talking about a stray dog," I laughed.

"So how does that ritual work?"

Before the twins could answer, Naru and Lin entered the room at that moment. They both approached the table, and I got up to make some tea before Naru started demanding it.

"Welcome back, boss," Yasuhara smiled. "Is everything settled?"

"Uh, Matsuzaki-san will be performing the cleansing soon," Naru answered, sitting down.

"Great, we are almost done here, too," Kei nodded. "Right sis?"

"Uh, the effigy is finished. So who's going to be the lure?"

"Well, I don't know. Want to play Jan-ken-pon to decide?"

"Why do I bother?" Rei sighed, rolling her eyes. "You're better with words, you do the binding. I'll be the lure…"

"Lure?" I asked, setting Naru's tea on the table.

"We'll be summoning the Yama-uba," Rei replied. "Matsuzaki-san's cleansing should be enough to taunt it, but it is better to be safe. I'll play bait. The Yama-uba hasn't received a sacrifice since we arrived, even before, so it must be starving. It will surely answer to my humble offer and once the yokai comes out, we will use a binding spell and sealing spell to trap it in this totem."

"Ah, is that even safe?" I asked. "Sounds like you'll be throwing yourself out to the creature."

"I am not you," Rei chuckled. "It will be fine."

ooo OOO ooo

Naru, Yasuhara, Lin, and I stayed at the base observing the monitors. The screen on the right showed Ayako starting her ceremony, while the screen on the right showed the Shrine in the forest.

Kei was sitting in the middle of a circle with the Abeno Clan pentagram. His hands were forming a mudra (1) and his eyes were closed. Rei was standing outside the circle, she was wearing her purple kariginu; the same one she favored when she knew she'd need better mobility, and something long rested in her hands.

"Lin, turn up the audio feed from the shrine," Naru said.

"Yes."

If it hadn't been for Lin turning up the volume, we would probably have missed it. It was a soft mantra, one that I thought I'd heard before, but that I couldn't quite recall. The words sounded so soft and harmonious, almost melodic.

On okiriite kite meiri ute on kiriki barare ikine on tara tara om are tara

There was something about the twins' rituals that felt different than the exorcisms I'd seen over the years. Over time, I had learned to associate a feeling with every exorcist I knew. For example, John's rituals had something warm about them, and although sometimes they felt severe, it felt the same as if I was being scolded by a father or mother. Bou-san's exorcisms were rigid, like seeing a rock that stopped the current of a river; everything was perfectly executed and articulated; Ayako's were calm, peaceful; Aki's were a little scary and the few times I saw Lin participate in an exorcism, they felt mysterious. The twins' rites always felt...Solemn.

There was a certain theatrical air in his way of performing his rituals. It was not something common to all onmyouji, rather, it was a personal brand of the Abeno Clan.

Kei used to say that it was because Seimei had always been a bit eccentric and that for some reason, he favored pompous acts. The rituals worked well without so much drama, but that had become a tradition for the clan, and that was how it was taught in the family.

Rei stood solemnly; she lifted the object in her hands, and with a quick movement pulled it. It was a sword. The blade glowed in the candlelight for a moment, clearly showing its sharp edge. She took the sword with one hand, placed the palm of the other on the blade and slid it over the edge with a fast, fluid movement and without fear of the pain that the cut should cause.

Kyu-Kyu Nyo Ritsu Ryo

"Boss, look!"

Naru and I turned to look at Ayako's screen. The footage showed several spirits approaching her. Their bodies were transparent and grayish, but the human form was unmistakable. The spirits of the people had answered Ayako's call, and now they were approaching her to be purified.

"They are so many…" I whispered.

"It seems that Kei-san's guess was correct. All the townspeople were possessed," Naru said with a frown.

"Noll!"

Lin's call made Naru and I switch our attention to the twins. My eyes widened as soon as I saw the screen. The image was a little glitched, and the sound was distorted, but I could see Rei holding the sword in front of her body, and then…

tapa… tapa…

My heart skipped a beat when I heard that familiar sound, and then I saw it. A dark shadow was slowly beginning to take shape in front of Rei. At first, I didn't see any shapes of it, but after a few moments I realized that it was an old woman with long, bony arms with fingers that ended in sharp nails; her long hair was tousled and ragged; and her kimono looked dirty, tattered and shredded. Was that the look of a Yama-uba?

The woman -or creature- jumped at Rei, waving her long sharp claws at her, but Rei jumped back, dodging the hit with graceful ease. Their showdown was short, but it felt longer. I was holding my breath each time the creature launched at Rei and missed her by only a few inches.

Behind them, I saw Kei reciting his spells while he performed each mudra; the words were drowned under the static of the corrupted audio, but I could still catch some cut off words and I could hear the demanding tone in his voice. After some endless minutes, the noise died away, and the screens returned to normal. The glitches in the footage were no longer there, and we could see the twins standing calmly on the screen. Kei pulled out a piece of cloth and he wrapped the wooden tablet that Rei had been carving earlier with it. After that, he put the wrapped bundle inside a small wooden box. We saw him shut down the box and perform a quick finger spell on it, before finally relaxing.

Rei turned to the camera with a bright smile and gave us an "ok" sign with her hand. The spirits had been cleansed, and the yokai sealed.


Case 001

-Case Closed-

(1) Mudra: symbolic or ritual gesture or pose

COVER ART: Drawn by me :)

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