Sorry for the long delay,
it seemed that my editor is super busy. Please forgive her.
Thanks for reviews/comment/faves!
Midnight, at the Otonokizaka Highschool;
Once again, the two are together and this time, with their brand new title and a bundle of keys that were recently added to their inventory, Nozomi and Eli explored the dark and quiet school with only a pair of flashlight and a reserved emergency lamp in their bag. Eli seemed to be extremely tense while Nozomi appeared to be enthusiastic as she leads the way.
"Sheesh…going to school in the middle of the night, you sure are crazy…." Eli complained.
"Oh Ericchi, I thought you already adapted to your sixth sense…" Nozomi replied as she kept on maneuvering through the hallway. While walking Eli caught a glimpse of a shining white light—which somewhat looked like a human soul passing by, from behind the window and across the classroom.
"Seeing those creatures at night is different from seeing them in the daylight…."
"They just glow in the dark, like glow sticks…" Nozomi said as she also caught the similar glimpse of the white light across the classroom.
"Either way, why are we here now…?" Eli asked.
"It's the best way to look for clues, Ericchi. With a lot of people and the chance of that specific person that possessed by that specific soul, I doubt we can find anything!"
"Do you think this will make it any better? I mean… everyone says that this kind of hours are the hours for souls to come out of their hiding!"
"What are you talking about, Ericchi? You've seen it yourself that they always exist even during the daylight, it's just that they look more visible at night! Plus, if you're talking about special hours, let me tell you that usually, at 4:44 AM, a demon will hunt for souls and prey on living beings!
"Why is it 4:44 AM, does it has something to do with how 'four' could also mean 'death' if written differently in Kanji…?"
"Not really, they just like that hour. Ever since someone made up that story, plenty of people tried to dare themselves to go around and be eaten…"
"So you're still serious about demons eating living souls!"
"Did I say that I was joking?"
Eli sighed heavily as she heard the purplenette respond innocently.
"Let's just make sure we finished before 4 AM…." Eli said.
"Don't worry Ericchi, they won't eat you as long as you're not trying to be dumb like those people who went and dared themselves… they're pretty negotiable and smart, you know!"
"Now you sound like you did make some kind of negotiation with them…"
"Trust me, I did. That's how I said that they're pretty negotiable…"
"What did you even negotiate with them…."
"Hmm…sparing my life…?"
Eli stopped for a moment to look at her weirdly before she let out a heavy sigh and continue after Nozomi.
"It's your life… why do you need to make a deal for it to be spared? You can survive on your own..." Eli said.
"There are times when we have to admit that we cannot win, Ericchi…"
Eli smirked slightly,
"I'd rather give up than live with shame…"
"I'll be a lot more ashamed if I give up… "
"Tell me more about it then… what are you even doing to get yourself into that kind of trouble?" Eli asked.
"It's a spiritual experience, hard to explain… especially to someone like you…." Nozomi replied.
"I'll listen…promise…." Eli said.
Nozomi stopped immediately as she heard it,
"My, Ericchi… Are you that curious?" she smiled at her teasingly.
"Just tell me already…" Eli said as she keeps moving along side with the purplenette.
Nozomi remained quiet and she looked away from her,
"I'm a little tired from the search, should we go sit somewhere for a while?" she asked with a sweet smile.
Past-Midnight, Otonokizaka Highschool rooftop;
The two sat on the rooftop as they stared into the deep blue night sky, the moon was hidden behind the thick clouds yet the stars shone brightly over them.
The blonde remain silent as she waited for the purplenette to start.
After about ten minutes of quietness….
"It was not long before I decided to stay here without my parents…" Nozomi started,
The azure eyed girl turns her sight to her,
"I was a curious lonely girl…without friends, without anyone to talk with…."
"How come? You look like someone who can easily make friends…"
"You are the first friend I made… believe it or not…" Nozomi said.
Eli lifted her eyebrows,
"You surely have a bad sense of people then. From all the people around the world, to choose me as a friend is a horrible choice…"
"We're similar in a way, that's why I think we should be friends…"
"Just because of that? Ridiculous…"
"Don't you want people to understand you?" Nozomi asked,
Eli remained quiet, unable to respond,
"….for me, I want people to understand me, just like how I want to understand you…" Nozomi continued yet Eli didn't look too intrigued.
"I really want people to understand why I put barriers around me… I also want people to understand why I keep my distance… so–…"
"We are different…" Eli cuts in.
Nozomi widens her eyes in surprise,
"besides… I don't think that's even related to what I asked you before…unless all you're trying to say is that being lonely and without friends, is what makes you do something stupid…" Eli continued again coldly.
Nozomi couldn't think of a coherent response. It is exactly what she thought to say to her.
"If I was you… I will never forgive myself…and I will live with hate towards myself. I don't want anyone to understand me, I don't want anyone to befriend me, and I don't want anyone to try…." Eli continued cold heartedly.
Nozomi was still frozen in place, she tried to see if Eli was possessed but from the look in her eyes there was no hint of a soul inside her, this person she is talking with, is the genuine Ayase Eli known to her.
"…and if you're trying to say that being friends with me is your way of yourself trying to change, then let me tell you once more that you've made the poorest decision. You will find nothing from me… nothing at all…" Eli continued.
Something clicked inside the purple haired girl's head as soon as the blonde finished talking.
"….Is it really nothing…or are you just trying to hide something from me?"
Eli widens her eyes as she heard Nozomi responded calmly.
"I said, there's nothing you can find within me… you know nothing about me— don't just make guesses out of nowhere!" Eli retorted,
"….did you make this 'stupid decision' like me back then…? Making a dealing with a demon and all…?"
"No! I don't even know what you're talking about! I don't deal with them! I've never felt any spiritual experience in my entire life and I've never wish to! You're just dragging me around and making me do all these stupid things!"
"You know, Ericchi…. if someone completely didn't want to do this… they could've insisted on not coming before night fall… Yet here you are…and I believe you intentionally waited for me after we got out of school… an average person would run away and return the next day, pretending that they never had a friend like me before…." Nozomi replied again with all of her calmness while Eli started to feel agitated,
"I-It just that I want to do a favor for you… and then here you are playing the know-it-all person…." Eli countered,
"My guess was only based on what I would feel if i were in your shoes…" Nozomi said.
"I'm not you…. You're not me…."
"You can deny all you want, but you know it yourself that what I said is true…" Nozomi continued again,
"Can you stop trying to think that I'm like you? We're not the same and we will never be!" Eli stated clearly.
"Why is it so hard for you to just admit it? The more defensive you are, the harder I will try to make you tell me everything…"
"You're the one who is supposed to explain yourself! We're here to talk about you! Not me!"
"You insisted, and I'm willing to tell you, but I want you to tell me a bit of yourself as well to make it fair…"
"Do you have to annoy me with your judgments for that?"
"You don't like being judged, yet you also judged everyone else…"
"How could you say that out of nowhere?"
"By saying that you don't want anyone to approach you, it's like saying that everyone will attack you so you prefer to do everything on your own…even though it will also make you feel burdened…"
"It's not that I'm just trying to protect myself, I just feel better that way!"
"You feel better because you think that no one will attack you if you're alone! Just admit it!"
"What exactly do you want from me, huh? We've been spinning your words around into a useless argument…" Eli started to raise her voice higher,
"I want you to understand me… and I want you to let me understand you!"
"To let you understand me? Impossible! That will never happen because you just can't understand me at all!"
"Then why can't you try and explain it to me? I want to know about you! I want to be your friend!"
Eli sighed heavily again before she stood up from her place,
"It will never happen… we just never fit each other from the very beginning… find someone else to be your friend!" she continued as she walks off to the door.
"Do you really think you can make any real friends with that attitude?" Nozomi shouted loudly,
"…and what about you? Do you think anyone will like you?" Eli responded again,
Nozomi remained quiet, she couldn't be so sure of what to say to counter that. She knows well that she didn't do that good in making friends—also because she knows that someone like Eli is inside her as well.
"…let's be realistic… if you really are someone who is capable of understanding me, then you will know why a person like me shouldn't try to make friends…."
"Is it because you're scared to hurt others more than you hurt yourself?" Nozomi asked which brought Eli to be surprise again, though she frowned at her after…
"I don't even care about others!"
"Liar, you care a lot about others and you pretend that you're not hurt... you're just ignoring your own wounds!"
"It still doesn't kill me, so who cares? Even if it will, I don't care!" Eli stated before walking through the doors, leaving it open as she started to disappear into the darkness with her flashlight.
"Ericchi! Don't go on your own! It's dangerous!" Nozomi hurried to catch up with her.
"I said, I don't care! Leave me alone!" Eli shouted without having any intention to stop and wait for the purplenette to catch up.
"You promised that you will listen to me! Now you leave before I could tell you everything?!" Nozomi shouted again, yet Eli was silent and kept striding away.
"Ericchi! Stop!" once again she shouted as she keeps moving faster towards the blonde.
"Fine! You don't need to tell me about yourself! I will tell you about myself!" Nozomi still insisted as she began to catch up, though Eli also started to move faster.
"I was young and stupid, I was lonely and clueless… and I realized that I really want to have a real friend… not one who doesn't even care about me… not one who just moves on their own pace as they look at me as their clown… also not the ones who always says sweet things while they just try to be kind to me…." Nozomi stated as she increased her pace.
"You are the first person that I seem to have a similarity with…so I thought, maybe… if I could befriend you, I can finally be friends with myself as well… I want to learn about how to do so! I know we might be different, but I also know that what you do, what you think, and what you say are just the same with what I will do, what I will think and what I will say… denying that fact will do nothing, so I want to make the change! It's not a secret that I'm doing it for myself! Not for you or anyone else!"
Eli still didn't bother to stop.
"Please, come back… I'm sorry that I was stubborn! Let's just finish what we have to do here, ok?" Nozomi said again before she caught a glimpse of something inside the student council room that she just passed by. She stopped for a moment to look— though as she realizes that Eli really didn't plan to wait for her, she continued to move again. But when she looks ahead, she already lost the blonde.
Nozomi sighed heavily…
Sheesh…I don't want to neglect my first reason for being here…
She said to herself as she looks into the mysterious presence inside the dark student council room.
But…. I don't want to let her go like that… knowing that she is too attractive for the wandering souls…
She continued as she looks into the empty and dark hallway.
Maybe I should let her go for now…then hope that she slowed down on her way home so I can catch up and talk.
She said in her mind as she returned her sight to the student council's door.
I just need to make sure to finish this quick…
Meanwhile, The Otonikizaka Clinic;
Principal Minami and a few student council members were inside the clinic with lights on and charms attached in every corner. Then three junior high-school students sat around the bed,
"I…I don't know if this is a good idea…. I mean, are we really here to wait for someone to exorcise evil spirits?" said the blue haired junior high-school student. She has a beautiful face and a deep yet attractive voice, along with a body that has a posture of a well-trained athlete.
"There, Umi-chan! Stop worrying too much, as long as we're going to be an audience, it will be fine!" said a ginger haired girl who seemed to be extremely energetic.
"Honoka-chan is right! Also…it's a good thing that it's a weekend, else we wouldn't be allowed to stay all night like this!" said a slim and cute girl with ash-brown colored hair.
"Actually, Kotori-chan…. it was planned by the principal…." Said one of the student council member.
"Oh…it was?" Kotori replied,
"Yep, she has been super excited ever since the two entered the school. She really hopes for a solution to the spiritual problem and they looked like they're capable of fixing it."
Kotori seemed to be bothered by it a little,
"I guess your mother really doesn't want to close down the school…" Umi whispered,
"Hehe—Then we just have to support this school right? We will enter this school together!" Honoka said energetically.
Kotori lifts her eyebrows and then smiled widely,
"Yes! You're right, Honoka-chan! We can all enter this school!" Kotori said cheerfully.
"Not to break your hopes, but three new students won't do it…we need something big!" said another student council member.
"Oooh! Like-like…uhm… a massive Television commercial?!" Honoka asked.
"W-What?! Why would we need to do a television commercial?" Umi asked in protest.
"Hahaha—Honoka-chan! You're going too far off! I'm just trying to say that you should get your other friends to apply to this school too!"
"Oh!"
And the trio continued to chat with the student council members as Principal Minami watched over them. She is happy that her daughter and friends seemed to enjoy themselves, but what became of the two people that she tasked to work on the problem?
The Student council room;
Nozomi decided to move to the student council room on her own.
With only a flashlight in her hands, she opened the door and began to examine the room—which appeared to be extremely messy and strangely gave out a gripping aura.
"Is anyone here? Anyone like…anyone? Any souls, any human being, any creatures?" Nozomi said loudly as her flashlight explored around the room. Broken wooden objects, shattered glasses and a few papers were scattered on the ground. Nozomi quietly tiptoed into the room as she tried to look for the lamp switch— yet even after she found it, she wasn't able to turn on the light because apparently, the broken glass objects came from the lamp's lightbulb. Which looks like it exploded or intentionally damaged by someone.
Then she started to examine the nearby bookcase that was filled with albums and documents. One of the album seemed to have been recently touched as she noticed the black ink dripping down the rubber cover, along with the fresh smell of wet ink.
Nozomi decided to slowly approach and pick it up.
When she opened the book, she noticed that someone scribbled their name on every single photo after a specific year.
Mitane Kimiko
It says.
The end of the book led to the current year she is in right now, where the name Ayase Eli was officially written, or at least it was until a black ink crossed through it, and the same name written under, alongside a sentence after it.
Mitane Kimiko is the real student council president, no one can take her place!
Nozomi lifts her eyebrows as she realizes, the presence is getting extremely stronger and much closer to her.
When she turns her sight and her flashlight back to the door— there's already a girl standing there, with her head tilted strangely, eyes wide open, messy hair, rugged uniform and skin as pale as the rotten paper stack on her hand. She started to move strangely as her lips turn sour when she gets closer to Nozomi.
"This…..is….my room….." she said with horribly echoed throaty voice,
"How…dare…you….take…. away… my right!" she continued angrily as her face started to get closer.
Instead of running away like how most people would do in this state, Nozomi frowned at her,
"So you are the culprit!" she stated.
The girl remained still as she stands strangely in front of her,
"Get off that girl's body already! You don't belong in this school anymore!" Nozomi continued bravely.
The girl remained still.
"Yes, I'm talking to you, old-hag! I know you're in there!" Nozomi said again,
"Nnnngggaaarrrghhhh! You're arrogant!" The girl started to enrage while attempting to strangle Nozomi, yet the purplenette holds on to both of her wrists, shoving it off herself.
"Really? You think everyone is arrogant just because you are a sore loser? I know what you're up to just by knowing that you will never be officially written in the student council president and vice president album!" Nozomi said to her.
"Face it, you lost… and that's all you get! No matter how much you try, and how much curse you land on others, the time will never return and your life will never be repeated again! You just need to move on and start looking for a new light!" Nozomi added again,
"You—don't—understand!" the girl said.
"Why would I need to understand you, huh?! Just look at you! Ruining other people's property, attempting to murder, haunting the place and thinking that you're the boss. Do I have to tell you that you're not even the right person to do all this? You didn't even build this school—not even paying your own school fee and you don't even show any quality that could convince everyone to pick you as the president! You're just throwing a tantrum! Admit it and be gone!" Nozomi yelled,
The girl seemed to get angrier and angrier as she began to strengthen her push—which made her manage on gripping Nozomi's neck.
"You want to kill me? Then let me tell you that once my soul leaves my body, I will kick your ass eternally! And I'm very sure that I will find the light faster than you could lick your own butt!"
The girl seems flustered as Nozomi said the last sentence,
"Yes…I said—your own butt… not literally of course! But either way, I'll give you a minute to think of what you will do… if you decide to be stubborn, then I will exorcise you with my power—which I know that I will succeed at ease. But if you are willing to stop doing all this nonsense, then I will let you go…"
The girl remained quiet,
"….so…? Have you decided?" Nozomi asked again,
"Very well….I will leave….." the girl said as she released the grip.
"Good…" Nozomi replied.
"…but I will take this girl with me….or the girl who won the election…"
"Why? Can't you leave on your own?"
"I want to take a memento—because I've lived my entire life to chase after the title…"
"You will never find peace as long as you still keep your mind to things on Earth. Just face it, you lost….and you no longer belong in this place…" Nozomi said.
"They both agreed, that there's no point of living and suffering… wouldn't that be good for them too?"
"One more bluff, and I will not tolerate it…" Nozomi said coldly.
"You…don't understand…." The girl said again—and just right after she said it, Nozomi lit up a spiritual fire around herself, and suddenly a soul of a different young girl came out of the physical body which fell down to the floor. The soul struggled as the fire began to make her fade into the thin air. Nozomi kept on chanting her prayers as the fire eventually strengthened—completely burning the soul mercilessly.
As the soul finally burned completely, Nozomi stopped and she sighed heavily— coldly watching the girl who fell on the floor in her unconscious state. Then she took out her phone, looking at the clock and the phone number that she immediately clicks to call.
When she heard the one that she called, pick up the phone,
"Good Morning, Principal Minami…." She said.
"Aaaahhmmm…." The Principal Minami yawned,
"…did you just finish the exorcism, Toujou?"
"Yes… but…I have a little problem here… apparently, the soul possessed a girl—but I couldn't see clearly about who she possessed… it's a little bit too dark and her face wasn't that clear when we got to see face to face…."
"I see… then we will go upstairs now… is it in the student council room?"
"Yes…and….upstairs?" Nozomi asked to confirm.
"Yes, we're all waiting in the archery dojo… I'm here with a few student council members…. We also have my daughter and her friends…but they all fell asleep before you called…"
"Ah, I see…. then, do you want me to wait…?"
"Oh, no, that's fine, you are dismissed, I bet Ayase doesn't want to wait for you for too long…"
Nozomi was surprised as she heard it,
"….we just saw her standing near the school gates…talking to…uh… no one?"
After the Midnight, The Otonokizaka School Gate;
Nozomi—moved at a moderate walking speed until her eyes could see the sight of the blonde surrounded by a group of transparent and bright souls. They seemed harmless and friendly towards her. But what kind of business do they have with her?
Surely, it can only be cleared once she reaches her…
"Ericchi…" she called.
Eli remained quiet and her eyes only moved slightly towards her, the souls who seemed to surround her quickly escaped when the purplenette comes closer.
"You're done?" Eli asked.
"Yes… what about you? Why are you here? I thought you left…."
"Thanks to those souls who stopped me on my way…." Eli replied as she averted her eyes.
A hint of lies, that's what Nozomi got in her head as she stared into the blonde's azure eyes. Though perhaps it's better to let it go for now? Because, maybe… the blonde made up that excuse to cover the fact that she actually waited for her… who knows?
"Why did they stop you? Is there anything important that they're trying to tell you….?" Nozomi asked.
Eli nodded slightly, though she seemed to be unwilling to explain fully.
"….to put it simply…" she started,
"They're just trying to tell me that you've done a great job on exorcising the evil spirit…" Eli continued.
Nozomi tilts her head slightly,
"That's it?" she asked,
"Yes… but it could've been less intimidating for the souls…" Eli replied shortly as she crossed her arms.
Nozomi remained silent, trying to understand what exactly her gesture meant in this case.
"Either way, that's just you being yourself… I can't blame you…." Eli continued again.
"What? I don't understand?" Nozomi asked.
"The ghost girl you just exorcised, did you know that she went through something horrible in her life time?"
"Not at all, but she did something bad, I won't let her go so easily…" Nozomi replied.
"….if you really understand what I feel…." Eli said as she began to walk which Nozomi proceed to follow,
"….maybe you will also understand what she felt to be treated unfairly.… and to be treated the same way after her death …."
"It's painful… right?" Nozomi asked.
"Exactly…" Eli replied again.
"But she is causing trouble, what does she expect?"
"Do you think ….just because of what she did to others, she deserves that treatment…?"
"She refused to change to be liked, she was throwing a tantrum and demanded the impossible victory like a sore loser…."
Eli chuckled,
"Absolutely no mercy, huh?" she asked.
"Will you give her mercy?" Nozomi asked back.
"To be honest, no… I wouldn't…" Eli replied as she comes to a halt,
"…and yet I know I will just by wonder why I cannot be as merciful as how a wise one will be when given hard decisions…" Eli continued again.
"What do you mean?" Nozomi asked.
"….Mitane Kimiko…." Eli replied—which surprises Nozomi, especially because she knows that the name wasn't yet leaked to the blonde…
"It was long before Principal Minami took over the school management. Kimiko died during an accident as she tried to reach the school for morning duty… She has done her best and it was also her last year to be able to run as a student council president… before she died, she was told that she has lost the vote. Then when the school tried to recount the votes which happen after Kimiko's funeral, apparently the other side was bribing the school's council members to have her lose… in their defense, they said, because the school doesn't need anyone who was obsessed on taking revenge towards bullies—which Kimiko never planned to do. There was enough hate spreading throughout the election. The ironic fact is that none of the candidates had as much passion as Kimiko—they wanted to become student council president because it was cool…"
"…and I bet, her wandering soul knows about it, which made her not want to accept her loss and then be really angry about it…" Nozomi said.
"Yes… then she started to become destructive and bossy towards the other souls in this school… there was also a story that she liked dragging a lot of souls with her, plenty of priests tried and they've stupidly offered their soul as a replacement for the person that she was trying to drag…. Yet after they were taken, they went to the light faster than Kimiko herself— she has never had anyone to support her and help her on making decisions… she was corrupted by her own darkness and left to rot by everyone around her…her parents didn't even once come to visit her funeral because apparently, they never wanted to admit her as their daughter ever since they divorced."
"I'm glad, that means I was doing things right tonight…. Someone who couldn't get past through her own problems wisely, doesn't deserve a reward… no matter how right she started out." Nozomi said.
Eli nodded,
"That's what I would've thought too…. but there's another part of me that wanted to approach her and listen to what exactly she wanted… knowing that she may have been negotiable, right?" she asked,
Nozomi tilt her head slightly,
"Why are you suddenly talking like that?" she asked,
"Because, maybe you were right—that maybe I want someone to save me from myself before I fall into that kind of misery…."
The purplenette smiled gently,
"There's still so much that I don't know about myself… if you think the same way as I do, then don't you also wish to change yourself somehow by taking a look into a mirror?" Eli continued again,
Nozomi nodded slightly,
"I agree…" she said.
"Maybe I will change my mind later, but…. let me tell you that I'm going to give you another chance on trying to be friends with me again…but please, if you really want to be my friend… help me change myself…. I don't want to fall alone… and I don't want to waste anymore of my life, behind all of my own barriers…"
The turquoise eyed girl was left mesmerized by how sincere the blonde was when she said all that. She began to wonder what exactly the souls are telling her to make her think that way all of a sudden.
"It's fine if you don't want to try again… I know I might have been far too rude to you…" Eli said, her face turning a light shade of red, before she quickly tried to walk away and hide her embarrassment,
"Oh—No! Not at all… I was the one who was being rude to you…that's why you were rude to me….but…either way… yes… I still want to be your friend…." Nozomi said immediately as she realized that the blonde was about to leave from her sight again.
"It may take a while for us to get used to each other, but please, stay with me…. And don't you ever leave me… even if you happen to be able to change faster than me." Eli said as her blushing cheeks started to get slightly brighter.
"My…did you just say that you're worse than I on changing?" Nozomi smiled teasingly.
"I…I didn't say that!"
"I can help you unbuttoning your shirt later, and then maybe also decide on which bra you should wear today? As someone who likes to check out females, that's pretty important detail and I'm very sure that I'm really good at it…"
"Are we even in the same context now?!" Eli raised her voice,
"Don't worry Ericchi… we came out of our own closet, we can go back in and this time—we will stay in the same closet forever…"
"W-What closet!? What are we even talking about now?!"
"Ahh! The night is so blue and the moon is so bright… it's a good time for some nice warm cuddles and perhaps, snuggles too?" Nozomi said lightheartedly—completely ignoring Eli's protest.
"N-Nozomi! Can't you just stay in one topic?!"
"Mmm… Ericchi, we should stay in your apartment tonight. I want that Quarter Russian milk again…."
"Q-Quarter Russian Milk? W-What are you talking about?! I was just serving you regular cow milk last time!"
"Don't worry about the source, with enough imagination and essence of lesbianism, everything is possible….and will also taste a hundred times better…"
"Essence of Lesbianism?! What on shattering Earth is that?!
"Ahhh—I wish I could milk it myself… fresh products is always better…."
"N-Nozomi! I don't understand! What are you talking about?!"
"Come on, Ericchi! I can't wait!"
And the purplenette began to drag the blonde into run with her.
"N-Nozomiiiiii!"
That was the end of the first case, kind of too fast? I hope not.
Next chapter~