The year was 2019 and Karaat was slowly starting to realize that this summer was going to be unlike the rest. At eighteen years of age, he was a fairly nice man, although he was a bit awkward at first, which hindered his ability to make friends at times. It also didn't help that he had a slightly devious side and liked to say things that were, for the most part, silly. But those things also could annoy some people. He secretly liked the various reactions, though he wouldn't admit it. Standing at 165 cm, Karaat had spiky black hair near the front that partially covered his right eye. Grey eyes were behind a pair of black glasses and he usually wore a red shirt with black pants, belt and shoes. His full name was Karaat Utsutsukowashi and he had a mother. He had a dad and but unfortunately he had passed. It was now only him and his mom, though he didn't mind it.. They lived in a simple town that might not seem exciting to a lot of people. But to him, it was perfect. It could get boring sometimes, but that's where movies and other hobbies helped him fill the time.
He had a childhood friend, who he spent most of his time with, even though she was a bit odd. Her name was Sairenji Murasaki and her family was known for running a Buddhist temple. She was a third year in high school, and she usually gave the impression that she was quiet and emotionless. When they were children, Karaat caught her talking alone in the bathroom which had given him quite a fright. Eventually, he got to know here though and they soon became good friends.
While that all might seem normal, his situation clearly was not normal. He was being haunted. A few days before the summer vacation started, Karaat had gotten a supposedly cursed Blu-ray from a friend. The friend was known for daring him to do crazy things. But, watching a cursed Blu-ray disc wasn't usually one of them. He wasn't really sure if he believed in ghosts, at least until now. It also didn't help that his friend had managed to be very convincing. So, curious, and maybe as a way to prove himself, he watched the disc. Unfortunately, the disc was actually cursed and he was soon possessed by a ghost! Luckily for him, Murasaki was able to partially remove the possession through her knowledge of exorcism skills. The ghost in question, was a girl named Mikanagi Chiyako who then explained she was not alone, that there were six other dead girls inside the disc. And all seven would eventually leave after forty-nine days. After some discussion, it was decided that they would split the remaining time that ghosts had left in the world between the seven girls. And Karaat would help each one live those last seven days to the best of his ability, so they would not pass on with regrets.
It was currently Kutsuna Sakura's turn, who was a seven-year-old girl that had passed away. Or at least, she was seven when she passed away. She had long hair that started pink and slowly faded to purple at the ends. She wore a pink and green dress, light yellow socks and brown shoes. For most of the day, Sakura had been spacing out from the news that she would not be able to contact her family. She was originally from a small farming village and had passed away a long time ago. Even if there were records of the family, which in itself was going to be a miracle, tracking them would be impossible. Most likely they weren't alive, given how long it had been. Because of the news, she spaced out most of the day on the veranda and had suffered heatstroke.
When he found her, he had immediately panicked. He didn't want any of the girls to get hurt, especially during their days of getting ready to pass on! It had taken a bit, but she finally cooled off and wasn't in any danger anymore. He might have gotten Murasaki to help, but seriously, she shouldn't be surprised. After all, she had volunteered to help as well. So, he would probably be calling her a lot over the next forty-nine days to ask questions or get advice. It's not like they didn't talk a lot before this!
It was now nighttime and Karaat was talking to Chiyako, the original ghost who had possessed him for a moment before Murasaki attempted her exorcism. The same exorcism that had now gotten him into this awkward predicament with six girls possessing inanimate objects and one having a human form. Chiyako was now possessing his phone, and they were currently talking about Sakura and what they could do for her, if anything. Karaat sighed softly, leaning back as he muttered, "I wish I knew what to do. I feel bad for her but it's practically impossible. If her passing had happened sooner, or if she was from a town that would bother to make a record of a small poor family and when they passed, we could at least give her closure, you know, Chiyako? Chiyako?" He frowned, looking down at his phone, blinking when he saw that it was dark. Chiyako wasn't in his phone anymore. He was about to look around for her, when he heard someone calling for him.
"Karaat! Karaat, we have an issue!" Nene, one of the ghosts who was currently possessing a male cat said, "Sakura is going berserk!" The cat was on the other side of the door and was pawing at it, trying to get his attention. The cat was dark grey with little black paws and a white belly.
Well, that was descriptive. He swore she was in the living room, since that's where he told her to rest and recover from heat stroke. He had given her everything she would need, or at least he hoped she would need to recover and had gone outside to think to himself and figure out a plan to help her. As he slightly opened the door to the living room, he frowned. At first, he couldn't see her but he swore he could hear munching noises. Confused, he turned to Nene, patting the cat on the head before saying, "I'm going to check on her. If you hear any screaming, call Murasaki. We might be having an issue."
Once Nene nodded in agreement, he carefully walked into the living room, trying his best not to make a sound. The living room was dark except for one light, which he soon realized was coming from the open fridge. Turning to the light, he realized that Sakura was in the fridge, eating anything she could get into. She was crying as well, tears streaming down her cheeks as more and more food disappeared. The sight broke his heart. He knew that Sakura had been from a poor village, and that before she passed, she was always hungry.
"Not enough, not enough. Never enough!" Sakura sobbed, shoveling more food into her. She was hungry, always so hungry! Nothing ever satisfied her; she could eat a whole restaurant worth of food and she would still be hungry! It was most likely due to the fact that her family was always poor, and she often would have to barely eat anything or go starving to make sure her siblings got food. She tensed, looking up when she realized she wasn't alone. There he was, Karaat, the one who was trying to help them all. Sniffling, she started to cry again and as she put more food in her mouth, she muttered, "I can't hold my hunger anymore. It's too much, it's consuming me! I don't know what else to do."
"It's alright," Karaat said, slowly approaching. "Sakura, it's alright, we can work through this. Let's just take a moment, alright?" Dread was thick in the room and he gulped as he slowly reached for her. The tension in the room was making it hard to breath, and he felt like he might regret this.
Unfortunately, he soon did. As soon as he got close enough, Sakura lost control, the hunger consuming her. In a flash, she suddenly moved forward, biting his left hand while glaring up at him with a smirk on her lips. Shit, shit, this wasn't good, Karaat thought to himself as he gasped and shouted in surprise. She had moved past his hand and was now working on his fore arm, leaving bite marks deep enough to bleed. If he didn't get her off now, she would probably bite him all over, possibly actually eat him! "Sakura, damn it, Sakura snap out of it!" Tears forming from the pain, he reached over, trying to pull her hair but it only angered her more. As he screamed in pain, hopping and struggling. If he didn't get her off of him before Murasaki arrived, he would probably have a chunk of arm missing, if not more!
Gritting his teeth, he tried again to pull her off, the pain getting too much to bear. "Damn it, please this isn't you! Focus, Sakura!" As he attempted one last time, something odd happens. A ghostly arm appears from the area near his right arm, moving towards Sakura and hitting her on the face, pulling her off of him. The arm had what looked like a suit jacket and cuff links the shape of saxophones. Panting, he blinked before staring up at the ceiling. He was definitely in shock and he couldn't think, couldn't even focus. All he could feel was pain on his arm and the ghostly arm was still there, staying near his chest, as if it needed to protect him again. He didn't know what it was and he didn't get it, though he was secretly grateful it helped. Even if it probably went overkill by punching Sakura like that. He would need to apologize soon, once he calmed down and figure out what the hell happened.
Something hit her! Something hard and strong and, oh god, her jaw! Her jaw was dislocated! Looking around in fear, she saw Karaat laying on the floor, his left arm bleeding in several places. She tensed as she tasted something her mouth, something metallic and liquid at the same time. She tasted blood! In horror, she looked down for a moment, before putting her finger, which was trembling to her to her lips. She bit Karaat. She tried to eat him, the person who was actively trying to help all the spirits so they could pass on! Sobbing, she blinked tears away before another wave of sobs ran through her body. She rushed to the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it. Oh god, she bit him! She was actively trying to eat Karaat! Embarrassed and angry with herself, she paced for a minute before she rushed to the toilet. As sobs wracked her body, she started puking.
Karaat was shocked, confused, and just hoping that there wasn't any permanent damage. He turned to look at the ghostly arm. He was pretty sure this was karma for his most recent actions. A few days before, while he and Sakura were shopping for wind chimes, he had accidentally grabbed her breasts. He hadn't meant to and he was incredibly embarrassed but maybe karma didn't worry if it was an accident or on purpose. Seemed like a cruel kind of karma, if he was being honest, especially since he had apologized over and over for most of the day, even trying to buy her things to make up for what happened.
"In here," Nene said, rushing towards him with Murasaki. She moved closer to where he was laying, noticing the blood and could hear Sakura crying and throwing up in the bathroom. This wasn't good, at all. She glanced over at Murasaki, saying, "He's most likely in shock. We should get him sitting up and try to get him to be aware of our presence."
"Yes, of course. Why didn't he wait for me? This was dangerous to do!" Minutes later, they were hugging him and when he finally started to focus, Murasaki was crying as she held him close. "You idiot, you damned idiot! You shouldn't be doing that alone. What if you hadn't managed to get her off of you? She could have eaten you! Then what? Please tell me, then what, Karaat?"
He was finally coming to, but what he was coming to was a mess. Murasaki was definitely hugging him and she was pretty sure that he could feel Nene, the cat, rubbing up on his good arm and purring. After a moment, he blinked and started to pet Nene with his right hand, turning to Murasaki and saying, "I'm fine, Murasaki. Please, you don't need to cry for me. Everything's okay. The wounds aren't that deep, at least I don't think so." He went to shrug but winced, glancing over at her. He appreciated her concern but he was fine, or so he thought. He would probably have to have the wounds looked at. For now, they needed to deal with Sakura and cleaning up his wounds.
"Karaat, with all due respect, you're not fine." Nene said, matter of factly. You're shaking and crying. And that's not even bringing up this ghostly arm. What is with this arm anyway? It's rather, well, odd looking."
Karaat looked at the arm, a little shocked when the ghostly arm started to wipe his tears away. Well, that was new. And sure enough, his right arm was shaking, like Nene said. His whole body was probably shaking as well, though he didn't really feel it. He probably was still in shock. Shifting, he frowned and muttered, "It appeared when I was struggling with Sakura. I was trying to pull her hair and push her off but it only angered her more. Then this hand appeared and punched her. It brought her back to her senses because she stopped. And I guess once she realized what happened, she ran. I don't think it punched her that hard but I can't really tell for sure. I hope I didn't break anything! I wouldn't want to hurt her."
There was a quiet moment as Murasaki calmed down. She glanced over at the ghostly arm, not even reacting as if she knew what it was. She would have to explain this to him later. Right now, they had to worry about his wounds. Sighing softly, she turned to Karaat, saying, "We need to first treat your injury. Where's your first aid kit?"
"Ah, that." Karaat said, blushing slightly. "Well, that one might not be so easy." At her confused look, he sighed softly. He turned to the bathroom where they could still hear Sakura. "It's in the bathroom. Where she is." This was going to be awkward. It was clear she was still upset, especially with the crying and throwing up they could hear from behind the door.
"Alright, let's get you up." With a bit of struggling, they manage to get Karaat to stand up. It wasn't easy, especially given his legs were still shaking. She didn't really blame him. It had only been barely a week or so ago when he was first possessed. Not only that, in the same night, he soon realized what he was about to be tasked with doing. He still accepted the task, but spirits weren't an easy thing to handle. And he was expected to take care of seven of them all through the course of the summer without any training. She definitely didn't envy him at the moment.