I'm back! And I actually have an excuse this time! I was on vacation, and… Oh, forget it. It's too long to put here anyway. Well, here's chapter three. I thought I would give you a reward for being so patient, so I took some of chapter four and moved it here. That way, you won't be left at such a suspenseful part like last time. Well, you still will, but at least it's not short. On to the chapter!
Journal entry January third.
... I'll never understand what happened to that ghost, or where it is now. In fact, I'm lucky if I can understand ANYTHING that happened that day. As I've mentioned before, the supernatural is not one of my strong points. One thing I am sure of, though: if anything like that ever happens to me again, I know who I'm NOT gonna call...
Garu had somehow finished explaining his entire situation in sign language, and was questioning his sanity.
Why on Earth did I come to him? he thought. Have I forgotten the last time he tried to exorcise in my house, or am I still suffering from that bump in my head?
Abyo was casually leaning against a telephone pole, eating an apple as he tried to process Garu's strange gestures. "Let me get this straight," he began. "Basically, you just found out that your house is haunted again, but by a different ghost, and you still came to me because I did such a great job getting rid of the first one?"
Actually, I have no idea why I came to you, but since i can't say that...
Garu nodded.
"Alright then," Abyo said, "let's get started. First can you tell me exactly what you saw?"
Garu stared at him, irritated.
"Oh, sorry. Bad choice of words. Umm... Okay, why don't you just show me where this happened?"
Because I know you're going to screw everything up, Garu thought sarcastically. But I guess I have to.
Moments later, the two stood outside Garu's front door, Abyo cool and collected, and Garu trying hard to be the same. Abyo slid open the door, revealing Garu's living room, just as it was before. If he looked through the arch into the kitchen, he could see the toppled table, his cereal bowl still nowhere in sight. Garu was surprised at how tranquil the whole thing was, as if his episode from mere minutes ago had never happened.
"Are you sure there's a ghost in there?" Abyo asked, also puzzled by it's peacefulness. "It looks pretty empty to me."
Garu nodded again, wishing they could just go in and get this disaster over with.
Abyo seemed to hear his silent wish. "Alright, come on then," he said, walking confidently through the open door. Garu followed him cautiously, but just before he could cross his threshold, the door slammed into place. He tried to pull it back open, but it stuck firmly. Frustrated, he pounded on the door to get Abyo's attention, and put his ear up to the door. He heard nothing on the other side, not even footsteps.
That's it, he thought. He backed up to get a running start, and charged at the door. Being made of thin wood and canvas, he could have easily torn right through it, but instead, he crashed into it hard, was blown back, and fell onto the porch, as if it had been made of solid steel.
Garu sat upright, grunting through clenched teeth and rubbing the back of his head (which had finally stopped hurting from earlier). He wondered if Abyo had heard then bump from the door, and decided to wait for a response.
It seemed like a long and boring wait. Although Garu knew it had only been five minutes since Abyo went in, it seemed like a lot longer. He decided that while he was waiting, he may as well meditate. He got into position, and sure enough, as soon as he was relaxed, he began to hear a voice on the other side of the door. Garu stood up, pressing up against the door and straining to hear what Abyo was saying, but he couldn't make any words out. He leaned closer, focusing all of his energy into hearing-
Then, without any warning, the door was violently pushed open, and Garu fell backwards once again onto the porch. He sat up again, and turned around to see Abyo in the yard in front of him, down on his hands and knees, shaking with fear. Attempting to go and see what was wrong, Garu stood up slowly. As the wooden porch creaked under him, Abyo turned towards the noise with a terrified expression. He saw Garu's face, and his eyes widened, he gasped softly, and stammered (Garu could only make out "Buh... But, y-you..." until it melted into incoherency). Suddenly, he jumped on his feet and broke into a frantic run back towards town. When he was halfway down the dirt path, he called out, "You're on your own!" without looking back.
Garu knew he would always be curious about what happened in there, but for now, he figured some things were better left unsaid.
"I'm sorry, Garu," said Ching, "but I'm not sure I know anything about ghosts. You should ask Abyo, he's always bragging about that time he-"
Garu groaned, cutting Ching off, and walked away. He knew he was being rude, but he didn't have the time or patience to apologize. He had been all around the village looking for someone who could help, but had found no one. Bruce only had authority over the living, and had no power (or knowledge, anyways) over ghosts. Chang, like Garu, knew next to nothing about the supernatural. Turtle and Master Soo were both busy, asking Santa would be absurd, and, though she probably knew more about ghosts than almost anyone, he was NOT going to ask Pucca for help. That meant he had only one choice left...
I don't see why we're doing this, thought Garu's ninja half.
Just be quiet, his casual half retorted.
I mean it's not like he'll do anything for you-
Shut up! We're already here anyway.
Garu was beginning to regret not finishing breakfast. He forced himself to stop arguing with himself and just knocked. He still hardly knew what he was doing here, but-
The door opened, interrupting his thoughts. At first, Tobe looked anxious, as if he was expecting someone, but his expression quickly turned into annoyance when he saw Garu.
"What do you want?" he said.
Garu had gotten tired of explaining the whole thing with hand gestures, so he handed Tobe a note he had written on the way there, which explained everything. Tobe's reading was agonizingly slow to Garu, but he put up with it for his own sake. Plus, it gave him some time to think. Was Tobe really his last resort (before he ended up going to Pucca)? He could think of no one else. And could there be a trap waiting for him along the way? He hadn't time to think of anything before Tobe looked up from the letter, now with an amused expression.
"Is this a joke?" he asked, almost chuckling. "Or did you seriously think I was going to help you? What even made you come to me, anyway?"
Garu had thought of three reasons while Tobe had been reading. First, Tobe was his last preferred option. Second, he wouldn't go bragging about it to everyone like Abyo, since he was reluctant to help out in the first place. Third, he had the Vagabond Ninjas practically at his disposal, which included Shaman, the town's foremost expert on the supernatural. However, knowing the bad points outweighed the good ones, and not being able to say any of this, anyway, Garu just shrugged.
Tobe's annoyance returned. "Well, then, I won't even consider-" he broke off, suddenly realizing what Garu hadn't thought of. "Unless, of course, there is something in it for me."
Garu sighed. There always had to be a catch. At least Tobe wouldn't try to sabotage Garu during the deal, knowing he wouldn't get his end if he did. Garu rolled his hand and turned away, as if to say, "Go ahead, do your worst."
This was all the invitation Tobe needed, and an evil grin crossed his face as he thought of what he could get out of this. He thought for a few minutes before finally deciding, and said, "How about you have to be one of my ninjas for a week."
"Hmm," Garu said. This wasn't nearly as bad as what he expected. He nodded, which seemed to take Tobe off guard.
"You do realize that means following my every command, and helping me destro-" he broke off again, seeing the look on Garu's face. "Oh, duh. Sorry. I guess it would be kind of awkward to ask you to drop a piano on yourself. Not that, I was planning to drop a piano on you, so, you won't have to worry about... I'm gonna stop talking."
Although Garu was still a bit worried about this, he had to remind himself that Tobe was his last hope before going to Pucca. he knew he would regret it, but he stuck his hand out to confirm the deal.
Tobe smiled that evil grin again, and Garu wanted so badly to run, a feeling Tobe had only instilled in him once before. Tobe took his hand firmly, as if to hold him in place, and shook it once. There was no turning back now; it was a deal.
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