16

ooooooO0Oooooooo

"I'll curse you to death."

Yuki heard those words echoed around her as she stood amongst flames. They weren't hot, but they were bright. Something brushed against her cheeks and she caught the scent of perfume. It was distinct, but also not strong enough to bring attention to the wearer. She let out a soft cough as she tried to figure out what was going on around her. It was nearly impossible, nothing was making sense. She couldn't connect what small flames had to do with someone wearing perfume. That was annoying. It was still better than Gene's death. A part of her smelt metal with that perfume, and got the distinct feeling of bending a spoon of all things. Jeering and the sounds of a camera clicking followed, and she truly found it a bit better than Gene's death.

She jinxed herself. She smelt the hot asphalt and heard the cicadas. Sweat was gathering on her brow as she looked at the lake before her. She thought it was beautiful and wondered if she could spend some time fishing there. It was oddly amusing that Gene had been thinking about fishing of all things. Less amusing was what happened to him.

ooooooO0Oooooooo

Yuki looked around the two story school. Yuasa High School was nice, and incredibly clean. She walked next to Takigawa and glanced outside every so often. The large school ground meant that they'd have to cover a lot of ground incredibly quickly. Emrys let out a huff from his spot next to her. He was starting to get big. Her eyes softened slightly when Emrys's ears pressed flat to his skull. There were too many people around, he was still shy. Her expression blanked and she stood up straight as they came up to the principal of the school, Nobuto Mikami.

"Thank you for coming," Mikami thanked them, his lined face showing his exhaustion and stress.

There was another man there. He was dressed in sweats, and Yuki gathered that he was the physical education teacher. She then thought more about it. Maybe an advisor instead, he didn't have the look of a PE teacher. Takigawa scratched his cheek, he was feeling some tension amongst everyone. He couldn't help but wonder what had set everyone off.

"This is Yoshino-Sensei, a student advisor," Mikami introduced the man and Yuki mentally smirked at her correct assumption. "He'll give you a tour of our school. Please feel free to walk around and get familiar with our campus. We do hope you can solve the problems soon."

Yoshino shyly nodded towards the group and began to lead the way to an empty room. Yuki watched as Emrys immediately went to one of the tables and hid below it. He wasn't going to be much help until she got him a bit more used to densely populated areas. She gave a soft sigh before rubbing the back of her neck in thought. Well, she'd just have to get everything put together without worrying too much about him. He wouldn't leave home base, he was a smart boy.

"You did request an empty room, yes?" Yoshino asked and she gave a nod. "You can use this small conference room, I've already advised the students to come and see you there if they need to consult you or anything."

"Thank you," Naru said and Yuki gave a small bow of gratitude.

"So this is going to be home base," Takigawa lightly commented and Yuki sent him a look at his loud shirt.

"Are you the head of SPR?" Yoshino asked in confusion. Yuki gained an amused glint to her eyes as she looked over at an annoyed Naru.

His annoyance increased, she gained an impish expression. She was so close to smirking at him, but held back. The more she annoyed him, the more things he could task her to do. She didn't want to have to do more than she needed to.

"Oh, no, he's right over there," Takigawa stated, motioning towards Naru.

Yoshino blanched for a few seconds before his shy nature returned. Yuki took note of that. Yoshino wasn't naturally shy. No, something was bothering him. Her expression was serious, something Takigawa was used to seeing on the teen. He had her number, but didn't know how to really check in on her without angering her. She would shut down, and he was very aware of that. He had a somewhat good read on the kid. Naru's brow twitched when he felt eyes on him.

Emrys had decided to be around him, and this was sitting on his feet. He should've been annoyed, but the happy expression being sent his way by the dog made it hard. He had the smallest soft spot for animals. Yuki moved to set her bag down on a nearby chair, claiming it as hers.

"I have my own matter I need to speak to you about," Yoshino informed them.

"Please, take a seat," Naru said, motioning to the seat across from him.

The tables were already pushed together and it made everything a bit quicker for them. He brought out his notebook as Yuki slowly looked around the room. She was going to make tea for everyone that came to sit in and talk with them. It was the least she could do. It would most likely keep people calm. She placed the cups of tea in front of them and Yoshino took a nervous sip out of his. He paused at how comforting the tea was. He wasn't even a big fan of tea. Takigawa inwardly snickered, leave it to her to have a comforting cup of tea. Yuki took her seat and picked up a pencil. They would have two sets of notes, maybe she could figure something out where he couldn't.

"At night I hear something knocking on the window," Yoshino informed them. "When I open the curtains the knocking stops, but it keeps happening every night. If I ignore it, it continues until morning…I'm getting very little sleep these days."

"Is it only the knocking sound?" Naru asked, pausing as Yuki wrote something down before taking a sip of her tea in thought.

"Yes," Yoshino confirmed, nodding just the slightest.

"Can other people hear that knocking sound too?" Naru questioned.

Yuki frowned just the slightest when Emrys rested his head on Naru's thigh. His scent had to follow her home for Emrys to just home in on him like that. Still, she couldn't help but find it a bit cute. She wrote something down on her report and narrowed her eyes slightly. Sleepless nights were too familiar, she had plenty of experience with those. No wonder Yoshino seemed so shy, he was exhausted. Yuki didn't like talking to other's when exhausted, she doubted he did as well.

"Yes, but it doesn't seem to bother them as much," Yoshino answered.

Yuki found that interesting. It seemed the main target, if she wanted to use that terminology, was Yoshino himself. She scratched her cheek in thought when he gave a polite bow before leaving the room. She'd scratch Emrys behind the ears, but someone else had beaten her to it. She let out a quiet sound before getting up and putting more water into the kettle. They wouldn't have much time to prepare once word got out that they were there. Takigawa took a seat next to where she was sitting and she frowned before making some coffee for him. He smiled in thanks when it was set down in front of him. She took her seat just as the door opened. It was the girl that had told them about her friend she thought was possessed by a fox spirit. Yuki wondered if she hadn't been entirely truthful with them.

"Have a seat," Naru's quiet order had the girl quickly moving to the seat, if she was surprised by the tea given to her in a takeaway cup then she didn't say anything.

"Please state your name for our records," Yuki quietly requested and the girl blinked in surprise.

"Ito Kiyomi," The girl introduced herself, watching as the albino shifted through her bag before pulling out a manila folder.

"When you stopped by my office, you came to inquire about your friend who you claimed is possessed by a fox spirit," Naru said, looking at the file that Yuki handed to him. "Where is she today?"

"She hasn't come to school for quite a while now," Kiyomi answered.

"You mentioned that she jumped onto desks and ate sand," Naru stated, reading the report that Yuki had written up and slightly frowning at the French cursive she had used.

She had gotten back at him for being rude to the girl in the one way he couldn't reprimand her for, nor would he. Her French was always a pleasure to read, the loopy letters showing more character than her kanji. Her English…her writing was fine, he had yet to hear her speak it out loud. He almost dreaded the day she did, it would take the mystery away.

"And that's not the end of the story," Kiyomi admitted before placing her hands into her skirt and clenching the fabric. "One day she jumped into the school pool with her uniform on, even though it was a very cold day."

"Has she ever hurt any of the other students?" Naru questioned.

"No…she hasn't," Kiyomi answered.

"Normally, if someone's behaving in such a manner the first thing I would wonder is whether she has some type of emotional illness," Naru dryly stated and Yuki thought a bit more about it. "Why do you think she's been possessed by a fox spirit?"

"Because she told me that she's a white fox in servitude to Oniari-San," Kiyomi answered with a blank expression. "She started acting strange ever since we played kokkuri-san."

"What do you use to play kokkuri-san?" Naru questioned noting the way that Yuki's eyes narrowed in distaste at the idea of ouija.

"A single piece of paper," Kiyomi said, and Yuki frowned.

"Paper, and what else do you use?" Naru pressed. "A glass? A goblet? Anything like that."

"No, our version of kokkuri-san is done by writing the entire hiragana alphabet and using a pencil on a sheet of paper," Kiyomi explained. "We didn't have any issues of kokkuri-san not wanting to return home or making fun of kokkuri-san, but as we were leaving she said she felt as though she had been possessed, we told her it was ridiculous but she said her shoulders felt heavy."

"It was the next day she started acting strange?" Yuki asked, folding her hands together and watching as the girl blinked in suspense before nodding.

Takigawa scratched the back of his head. Teenagers would always find a way to do ouija no matter how many times they were warned not to, but to get possessed so easily? It was strange. He noted the way that Yuki was staring at the girl. The thoughtful expression as the wheels in her head spun.

"Please refrain from doing kokkuri-san in the future," Yuki sighed after a few seconds. "Even if it seems like the spirit you summoned left without issue it doesn't mean that they really do."

"Where did you perform kokkuri-san?" Naru asked as Kiyomi sheepishly nodded at Yuki's reprimand.

"First grade, room three," Kiyomi answered.

"I see…" Naru trailed off.

Kiyomi left the room so she could make it to class and Monk sat back in his chair and sipped at his coffee. Why was it that the two teenagers had a habit of finding trouble, without trying to. He was almost impressed if he was to be honest. He ran a hand through his sandy hair and wondered where they were going to start, there couldn't be too much activity at the school. He heard something thumping and turned his head to see Yuki scratching Emrys behind the ears, the dogs tail wagging heavily.

"Yuki," Naru got her attention. "Is there anything off about the building?"

"Nothing that I can tell on the surface, but I can't help but get the feeling that something is happening," Yuki stated, frowning before it smoothed. "I can't put my finger on it, sorry I'm not much help."

He sighed at her words and she found it amusing when he pinched the bridge of his nose. Ah, so he did end up getting a habit out of her. Her lips twitched just the slightest and she had to look away so she wouldn't show her full amusement. Her attention turned to the door. Someone was about to enter. So, something else was going on at the school. She wondered what it was. A student with short brown hair walked in and was beckoned to a seat. She stiffly sat down and blinked at the cup of tea set before her.

"Please begin," Naru said, making sure that Yuki had sat back down and was ready to take notes.

"There have been weird things happening in the track team locker room," she started to explain. "Sometimes the lockers would be tipped over and the equipment would be scattered all over the place, it started happening so frequently that we thought someone was doing it to harass us. So, we decided to see if we could catch them. We decided to spend the night there and wait to see if anyone came, but while we were distracted the shot puts somehow got placed on the floor in one perfect line."

Yuki tilted her head in thought. They had gone the practical route with their line of thinking, something physical before something spiritual. She had major respect for the sports teams for doing so. Few people would do so, which surprised her with how logical people could be. The girl got up and gave a curt nod before leaving the room, Yuki was a bit amused that she took the tea with her. Waste not want not, she supposed. Another girl came in and it was a simple rinse and repeat.

"The gymnasium has a storage room that's usually locked and we did a kimodameshi in there last month, we also played hyaku monogatari to see if a ghost would really appear," the girl said and Yuki noted that no one was giving them names anymore, though this girl had long, brown hair in twin tails that rested on her shoulders. "Ever since then I've been seeing these weird silhouettes, its mostly been a rope on the wall in the shape of a noose."

Yuki paused on the word noose. She had just written it down and was staring at it in thought. Perhaps it was a visual hallucination she was seeing. She got them sometimes, it was always in her peripheral. Figures that weren't really there, or people that didn't actually exist. She once saw a butterfly in the corner of her eye, and that had definitely never existed. Not inside a school hallway.

"A friend of mine was hospitalized the other day, she was with us when we did the kimodameshi," the girl added. "I hear that since that night ghosts have been appearing at her desk."

"Her desk?" Naru and Yuki asked in unison, both picking up on the small detail.

Takigawa let out a cough as he choked on his coffee. That had been terrifying to hear. Yuki sent him a withering look as Naru ignored the two. Even the girl before them was surprised by the unity between the two.

"Yes…I heard that right in the middle of class she became paralyzed with fear, then she felt like someone was touching her stomach so she looked down to see what it was," the girl answered. "She had a vision of a hand coming out of her desk and massaging her stomach. She experienced it many times, a few days after that she discovered a hole in her stomach."

"A hole in her stomach…" Yuki muttered after the girl had left and she frowned. "Can't get any worse than that, but I don't know of any spirits that could do that over the span of a few days."

"I wouldn't think too hard about it," Takigawa stated, plopping a hand on her head and ruffling the messy strands.

He watched as she tensed in surprise before frowning at him, the glare she sent wasn't filled with any real heat. Nor any ice that he was used to seeing with her glares. She just didn't know how to react to someone ruffling her hair. He gave her a grin and she simply sighed. He brought his hand back and she turned her attention back to her notes, studying over the information they had been given. She didn't even know where to start, all the activity was relatively spaced out across the entire school. So what was the factor that brought it all together? Nothing was making sense, and that was annoying.

"Hello?" The door opened and a girl with short brown hair peeked in, Yuki was reminded of a freshman that was in the same class as Kuroda. "Ah, I'm impressed you really came!"

Yuki really did need to learn that one girls name, the one from her school. Maybe it didn't matter. She blinked when the girl quickly walked up to Takigawa and grinned up at him. Yuki made a disapproving face, he was far too old for her. She probably didn't have a leg to stand on, with all the celebrity crushes she had that were decades older than her.

"Of course, let me introduce them to you," Takigawa stated and Yuki's brows twitched. "This good looking guy over here is Shibuya, he's the president of Shibuya Psychic Research."

Naru closed his eyes and tried to ignore the insanity that was happening in the room. Yuki joined him in that regard by focusing on her notes, not even looking up. It didn't help that Yuki agreed with Naru being a "good looking guy". She blinked when Takigawa plopped his hand down on her head again. What was it with him and being so affectionate? It was incredibly weird.

"This pretty lady is Yoshida Yuki, she's his assistant," Takigawa introduced her.

"It's nice to meet you." Yuki politely said, her small bow incredibly formal.

"I'm Takahashi Yuko, nice to meet you as well," the girl introduced, giving her own polite bow before turning towards her friend who had a crutch and was covered in bandages.

"Let's get started," Naru stated, and Yuki wondered how she had missed the second girl. "Did any of you ever sit at the strange desk, and were you involved in any accidents?"

Takigawa moved to get the tea as Yuki quickly wrote down everything. Naru sent the man a look of annoyance and Yuki's soft huff of air meant that it hadn't gone unnoticed by his assistant. Granted, she wasn't too sure what the look was for. The two girls sat down and Yuko got a whole lap full of dog. Her eyes brightened and her fingers went right into the fur. Yuki was happy to see Emrys breaking out of his shell. It was nice.

"I was the second one to get in an accident, when I was getting off a train I started walking but then it felt as if something pulled my arm back and it got stuck in between the doors," the other girl answered. "Then the train began to move and I tried to keep up with it, but I fell down and got dragged along the platform. It went for five meters before the train finally stopped. I dislocated my shoulder and broke my leg, the casts were removed but the bandages are still there."

"Did you see anyone near the train door at the time of the accident?" Naru asked.

"No, no one, I know for sure because the train wasn't crowded that day and I'd remember if anyone had been near me," she answered, shaking her head.

"Can you think of any reason why strange incidents happen to students who sit at that desk?" Naru questioned.

"Not really," the girl said with a sad smile.

"I'd love to see that desk," Naru admitted.

"I can take you," Yuko grinned.

ooooooO0Oooooooo

"It's that one right there," Yuko informed the group as they headed into class two five.

Naru was studying the desk. He placed a hand on top of it and Yuki frowned a bit. His eyes narrowed in thought and his hand slid to just his fingers. Just what was he trying to do? Yuki could ponder that until she was blue in the face if she really wanted to. It was best to just observe for the time being.

"Who sits here now?" Yuki asked as Naru looked inside the desk.

"No one, the girl who was sitting there is in the hospital now," Yuko answered.

"And the location of the desk hasn't moved?" Naru questioned, not finding anything unusual with the desk.

"Nope, haven't touched it," Yuko said, her light tone making Yuki wonder if the students were playing a prank of sorts.

No, she struck that thought immediately. A train wouldn't ride off with someone trapped in the doors on the basis for a prank. No adult would let that happen. At least, she hoped they wouldn't.

"I hear that your teacher is acting strange as well," Yuki commented and Yuko blinked in surprise.

"Yeah, he claims that he saw ghosts in a prep room, so now he won't come back," Yuko explained. "He never believed in ghosts before…even though he's in the hospital as well. He says he's still seeing them inside his hospital room…I hear he's suffering from neurosis."

Naru watched as his "assistant" frowned at the information. That had meant something to her, and he was following the line of thought. A ghost that seemed to be following someone in particular? It wasn't unusual for there to be personal haunts like that, but there would've been more signs of it in his past. His expression turned thoughtful and he began to leave the room. Yuki glanced at him and gained a soft expression. It was difficult to tell what he was usually thinking, his expression was harder to read than her own. A part of her was impressed by him, another wondered what had happened to him. She could only hope his own past wasn't as bad as hers, or worse.

"I wonder if this is contagious," Takigawa muttered and Yuki's eye twitched.

"Most likely not," she sighed before looking at the mockup of the camera placements they had decided upon for the investigation. "Naru, should we add anything else to our system?"

"We need a few more microphones set up," Naru quietly answered. "There's too many places and not enough equipment."

Yuki gave a nod of agreement before looking towards Emrys. The dog pawed at her leg once he noticed her attention. Right, she needed to walk him around for a couple of minutes so he could use the restroom. She didn't want to leave Emrys hanging, he had been so patient with them. The dog happily ran about the campus and Yuki's face softened. It was such a nice sight. Emrys headed further than he needed to and she let out an amused huff before jogging to catch up with him. He was shaking his body and she gathered that he had finished his business. She looked around and noted that there wasn't anything too out of place. Well, one of the trees did have a wet spot on it. She knelt before her dog and ran her fingers through the fur on his neck.

"Feel better?" Yuki quietly asked, Emrys placed his paws onto her shoulders and she made a face as he licked her face.

He stopped, sniffed, and then sneezed. Yuki made a face as he licked at his nose before returning to his previous actions of licking her face. She gave his back a few quick pats and, eventually, he stopped and she could get back up. She froze when she felt the sensation of someone watching her. Her head tilted back and she saw Naru standing at a window. She squinted just a bit, and noted that he had raised a brow.

She gave him a sarcastic salute. Naru felt annoyed at her actions, but also a bit amused. She gave Emrys a pat on the head before motioning towards the school with hers. That smart dog knew exactly what she had meant. He moved to sit in one of the chairs and reached for the styrofoam cup filled with tea, they would have to bring some of the spare china from their office in, and ignored the monk in the room. He needed to focus on the case. He looked up when Yuki entered with Emrys in tow, parts of her face were a bright pink and the tips of her hair were a bit wet.

"What happened to you?" Takigawa questioned.

"A very energetic dog," she answered, before noting his expression. "Don't stress yourself out."

"Yuki, tea please," Naru requested and she nodded.

He had cut into the conversation with ease. She set about making a new pot for her boss. A part of her was oddly proud of herself for getting him to say please whenever he requested something. Takigawa simply looked at Naru in shock. That was the first time that he had ever heard the other teenager say please, without the person being their client. He looked between the two of them as Yuki quietly placed a cup of fresh tea in front of her boss. Oh, there was something there between the two of them. He gained a small smile, at least she wasn't completely emotionally stunted. There was some hope for normalcy in her future.

"So, who is going to get rid of this many evil spirits?" He finally asked, looking around the room at people he was fairly certain couldn't exorcise spirits. "Is it going to be me? Let me cry right here."

"We'll most likely have to call in John, and Matsuzaki-San," Yuki dryly informed him. "Don't worry, you won't be overworked."

"Oi," Takigawa huffed at the teenager.

"This is unusual, I don't feel that each incident is that severe, however, having so many is what is so unusual," Naru stated.

"Right, it almost feels like there's an intent with each incident," Yuki agreed, knowing that he had spoken out loud to break up the conversation.

She looked towards the clock and let out a soft sigh. They wouldn't be able to cover much ground until the following day when they had more people. She sent the list of items they would need to Lin, both a bit amused by the addition of tea cups and a pot.