Hello-hello!
again, sorry for the delay, but I already got a few chapters on the list waiting to be edited! So it may be uploaded soon (hopefully).
Thanks to Crimson for Edit!
Thanks for reviews/comment/faves and follows!
Early morning,
It hasn't yet passed more than a week for them, after the mid-semester exam. A vote was put up to decide what school activities will be held as a relief to the heavy pressure, given by the exams. The School festival won the majority vote, Nozomi and Eli are getting a lot busier in school to prepare them. They were also often getting calls from the police as they both became the witness of the recent tragedy in the café they visited a few nights ago.
That wasn't really their concern, but it was about the soul that they were supposed to see in the crime scene. Before the police came by, they conducted a quick search and didn't find any soul but a strong aura of anger. They found that strange, because according to Nozomi's knowledge, a soul which leaves the body will haunt around the site of death, it doesn't have to be close to the dead body itself…unless they have decided to travel just like Reiko who decided to move on from her death site... but it's a rare occasion as many of the soul who hasn't returned to nirvana are those who refuse to move on from their life.
When Nozomi and Eli arrived in their 'private' room—the student council room… A brand new A3 sized sketch book was placed on the table, with all the previous mind map materials copied in smaller size. They're still neatly arranged and beautifully decorated with non-decorative purpose sketch of early ghosts that they encountered.
Hanako of the toilet is their first encounter. Eli also decided to add the Snow Girl as the second, with short description about each of them and status that they put up as : Friendly Ghost, they gained an extra information from each of the two ghosts.
Hanako added that her purpose of searching for living who wanted to leave their place is that so she could get more friends in where she lives—under the shrine's ground, which apparently is supposed to be a place for deceased priests, priestesses and other friendly ghost.
The time when Hanako accidentally brought Eli, who now is apparently called as the Kyuubi by them, got their soul collection from a lot of years ago wiped out. It was Hanako's fault for not being careful, but the survived souls are forgiving her and they started to schmooze with Eli herself.
It was still unknown to Nozomi about how Eli suddenly has a nine-tail fox soul inside her, but either way, that is also a sign that the ghost in the shrine won't mess with them again, even if that is in fact the work of Dai Mao, she somewhat likes that change to her friend.
About the Snow Girl, she is just a curious soul who likes to travel around Japan. She takes liking to many living beings, but has never tried to take them since she knows her place. At times too—according to herself, she is also the one who invites a lot of lost souls to the nearby shrine to find peace…
A decent ghost like her should get more popularity, she says. Which Nozomi responded with a sharply sarcastic sentence such as 'A decent ghost like those who needs attention from every single SOUL in the world' …
The Snow Girl and Nozomi has become friends with each other, but it was more like a rivalry as the Snow Girl also often attempted to seduce Eli—the crush that Nozomi always had, while Eli herself, well… it can be said that she remains oblivious about that.
Then the third ghost was Kashima Reiko, she is described as a childish ghost, and ever since she helped around the shrine, she takes her job too seriously and tends to accidentally make appearance in the public—other than the time when she did her hobby of scaring people with her disfigurement.
Sometimes, Nozomi wondered if Reiko is actually happy to be disfigured in such a way….
Either way, Reiko is also one of their ghostly friends. She also often gets lonely and decides to disturb whatever activity the two currently does.
The fourth was a friend of Hanako who said to be often lurking around the toilet as well. He is called Akamanto, always wears a red cape and when he doesn't, he wants himself to be called by the color he wears. He is a strange guy and is not quite a pervert—until he met Nozomi and the two messed up with almost everything in the bathroom. Eli always put her palm on her face when the two met.
Last time the two met with each other, they were talking about new color of cape—and that caused Akamanto to buy new colors and asked to be called by the other color on his cape….for example...sparkly-pinky-manto…
He also added a detail that further update will be given when he gets more ideas of how he will want to be called….
The fifth until the twelve, they are nothing in particular. Just common ghosts that lurks around the school or their apartment…not every one of them are friendly but—those who aren't friendly always gets exorcised by Nozomi herself…
Then the thirteenth is not yet finished and it was still the same case that they were facing… about the red haired girl that said to want to be able to solve her hearing problem. They have conducted search in the clinic for a few times by now, though, they have never tried to analyzing the clues they achieved…
When Eli sat and decided to start working on the student council work, Nozomi sighed and places her forehead on the table.
"Haaaahh…. There are so many things we need to do out there… and here is no different…" she said.
"If you are tired, you can go home and I'll make sure to do your work…"
"I want to work with Ericchi, after all, we promised to share everything right? As Great-great-great Best friend?"
Eli chuckled,
"As your Great-great-great Best friend, I'll want you to have the best for yourself and cover you up…"
"Sheesh, sticking around you is already good for me…plus… the fail flirts never fail to amuse me…" Nozomi said as she chuckles...
"Fail flirts? Let me count about how many times you collapse after I…launched my flirting skills on you…"
"I'm just tired…not even related to that…"
"Loser…" Eli replied.
"You're a loser too! That's how you don't have a girl until now" Nozomi said as she smiled at her teasingly.
"Well, you haven't got a girl with you until this year, I thought you were better than that… I mean, I swear you've always been checking on other's body measurement…" Eli said—for some reason, she seemed to take it seriously.
"Huh? Well… didn't I tell you— maybe…I have someone in mind but this girl is just oblivious? Besides, what about yourself? You haven't got a girl with you either!" Nozomi replied.
"Maybe this girl is too oblivious as well!"
"You're just a coward!"
"No way! I could get all the girls if wanted to!" Eli said.
"Liar, you're too awkward to do that! You have the right charm but not the right words! That's why many people prefer to admire you from the distance! They won't bother to listen to your cold-sharp words!"
"What about you then? You're a lot more awkward than I am! You are cute but you're merciless and too carefree! That's also why nobody likes you personally, because you seem better when you just know the person!"
"Just remember the time you ignored the girl who had a crush on you and sent you endless love letters! She decided to walk up to you and confess, but then you say something like: Sorry, you're just nobody for me… just imagine how that scarred her heart!"
"Then, what about you!? Remember the time when that Volleyball captain came up to you and brought you flowers? You accepted it and then dumped it right in front of her, then you said: 'Sorry. I don't take bribes from people like you, my heart belongs to someone else….' then you walk away like nothing happened! Even the next day, you still smiled at everyone around you and acted like you've done nothing wrong!"
"You're saying it like you've never done that. You did that too! Remember that new student screaming out your name each time she saw you? You bluntly said to her that she is too noisy and disgusting…"
"Are you implying that you are just being honest?!"
"Exactly!"
"It's not like anyone will like that!"
"Say that to yourself! But oh-wait… maybe you're not that honest anyway! You can't be honest to yourself—put aside being honest to everyone else!"
"What do you mean I'm not being honest to myself?! I am as honest as I am!"
"I dare you to confess to the girl you like by tomorrow morning, I bet you can't do that!" Nozomi said.
"No! Let's just not do anything about that!"
"Why? Are you scared to be rejected like how you reject everyone else?"
"Because you'll be unfair!"
"Me…Unfair?!"
"Yes! You're always unfair when it comes to this!"
"How could you just decide to judge me like that, huh?!"
"Remember the time when that Basketball team defender asked you to come to the field to meet her in the afternoon, you took me there and just basically claimed that you're already dating me! That was such a big lie! You're bad!"
"Why? Is it because of the lie itself?!"
Eli blushes madly,
"Shut up! I'm just feeling bad for that person!"
"Do you really care?! I don't think you do! You never care about others, right?! That was just an excuse! The Ericchi I know is that cold blooded murderer with sharp words as her weapon…"
"And the Nozomi I know is that person who acted like a two-faced killer! She smiles at first and then kill their heart without mercy in the end! She has no heart and no guilt when it comes to love!"
"Funny that I felt bad about my doing to you earlier!"
"I said—when it comes about love!"
"Then why don't you just take is as my way to hint you that I'm still truly interested in you!"
"You don't need to make fun of me now!" Eli replied as her voice shows a hint of true anger…though it felt more like a cold than heat.
"I know that you're just trying to toy with me. There's no way for someone —especially someone like you to be interested in me! How many times do i have to tell you that I really have nothing for you?!"
"…and how many times do I have to tell you that you are everything I wanted? Or maybe…if I can put it in the same way as you…. maybe you're just trying to be nice to me and pretend that it was you who has nothing to offer…"
Eli frowned at her,
"W-what?! No!"
"I know I have nothing to offer to you as well! I'm not good enough for you and you just want me to think that I am better than you so that you don't hurt me!" Nozomi shouts at her,
"It contradicts with everything else! You said I'm blunt and I don't care about others, then how come I would do that to you?!"
Nozomi pauses,
Now that she points it out—or…perhaps she should think of how random things just moved from their previous conversation….it's started from a teasing that she tried to do, but failed because her sense of humor might have been inappropriate for her.
"The only thing that's clear is that you have the skill to communicate with others… you may appear cruel behind your smile, but you have a kind heart, you refuse to give fake hope, and you learned how to send your ideas to others… didn't you realize that you've slowly become softer and friendlier in front of everyone else? Didn't I tell you that a few nights ago? Did you really care about what I told you?! Or maybe you just faked everything from the beginning?!"
"It's not like you're not! Even though you're still cold when someone approaches you, you started to learn how to listen to others first and be gentle towards the people who are polite towards you!"
"You're just trying to be nice! I don't believe that! "
"Stubborn!"
"Can't you tell that I was being ok around others because you seemed to want me to do that?!"
"What? You're blaming me now?! Ridiculous!" Nozomi frowned at her,
"Didn't I tell you, that I have never liked to talk with others...and I've also never liked it when you were trying to be nice to me…?"
"Because you are anxious when I do that?"
"Exactly! I feeling uncomfortable around people who fake their acts towards me… the same to you! I always feel like you never actually swing the same way as me. You're just trying to make me feel comfortable…and you just wanted to be a friend to me…by pretending to be swinging the same way as me…and you appreciating other women's body is so that you appear to be the same way as me!"
"…and will you explain me why are you doing things because of me? Doesn't that mean you are faking your act as well?"
"It was because I want to know how it feels to do that… it doesn't feel good! Not at all! I feel so much more humiliated! I don't like this job as a student council president, you know? I did this because of you—and because of that Principal!" Eli shoves away all the paper on her table.
"…..you know what, Nozomi…? When you said that you were sick when you suddenly had a nosebleed from my flirting, it made me sure that you weren't excited…"
"Are you saying that—you've been flirting on me out of no-where just to test if I truly swing the same way as you?!"
"…yes, and you were faking it well..! Thanks to you that I was so close to believe it…"
Nozomi remains quiet, but then she smiles mischievously at her,
"….You're not that unique… has anyone told you that?"
Eli frowned, still trying to understand what it's supposed to mean in this case...
"…well… maybe not… maybe you've been in a place where you are treated differently…and made you feel unique….but no, Ericchi… you're not that unique…" she said sarcastically.
"I don't get you…" Eli said.
"I can't believe that from the start of our conversation today, you can't tell which is a lie and which is the truth…you believed every word I spoke and then denied it later…you're weird…and awkward…"
"Do we have to come back to this again?" Eli furiously stares at her.
"I'm not going to argue about which of us is a lot more awkward or weirder… we took too long caring about that…" Nozomi said as she stood up from her seat.
"There's something else that offended me right now…." she continued as she approaches Eli.
"What?" Eli coldly replied to her.
"It's about the way you have said that you don't believe, that I truly swing the same way as you…" Nozomi smiles strangely, before grabbing the helpless blonde—and with out warning—….
The classroom;
"Nozomi!" Eli shouted at the purplenette who fell asleep in the classroom.
"Hnn…..aahh….Ericchi…." Nozomi mumbled in her sleep.
"Wake up! The exam hour is over and we have to go to the police station right now to give our testimony!" Eli said.
"Hnnghh…..just….one more minute….Ericchi…. I'm going to show you all my orgasm…" Nozomi continued again.
"Orgasm…? Huh? Are you dreaming something perverted about me again?" Eli smirked at her.
"I'm the alpha lesbian….Ericchi…" Nozomi once again mumbled,
"Alpha…what?" Eli's smirk getting wider.
Nozomi didn't respond. She seems to be deep in her slumber.
An idea came up on the blonde's head.
She quickly looked around for any sign of people, then immediately picks up the purplenette—who is surprisingly not that heavy for her.
She moved her all the way to the student council room—a place that they could call as their private place. Well it was Nozomi who said its their private place even though in reality, it wasn't really a private place as the principal always drops by at the end of the week and some students come by from time to time.
She is lucky that it isn't the end of the week… else she wouldn't be able to launch this prank on her.
When Eli managed to move everything else, including their bags to the room, she began to strip Nozomi's clothes down to unbuttoned white shirt. Then placing her on the floor behind the desk…
She lifted both of Nozomi's legs and places them on her shoulder and then holds her waist—lifting it up a little bit and pressing her groin against the sleeping girl's gap… the pose was too much, it looked like they are in the middle of something inappropriate…
Eli waited for her to wake up—or showing a sign that she will wake up…
"Nozomi…." Eli called her suggestively,
"hhnnn….?" Nozomi slowly opens her eyes—to find Eli still fully clothed.
"I'm going in…" Eli said with a smile,
"Going….in….?" Nozomi replied with half of her consciousness.
Then she could feel her underwear being pulled as she also realizes her position—…..
"AAAAAAHHHH!" Nozomi quickly kicked the blonde as she swiftly gets up—blushing madly from the event.
Even though the kick on her face was somewhat painful, Eli still laughed with joy. The face and the reaction was priceless…
"That was hilarious…" Eli said between her laughter.
"W-What?! Are you actually molesting me?!" Nozomi protested.
"Of course not, you were just too deep in your sleep and then you spoke something about being an alpha… it was funny…" Eli said.
"Huh? Then what made you suddenly do this to me? It doesn't make sense and feels so much like a staged act!"
"Well, it is staged act… I staged it….but if you truly want to know my point as of why I'm did that…" Eli pauses as she approaches Nozomi who is still in the middle of fixing her clothes,
"…even if we are going to date…honey… you'll be the bottom and I'll be the top…" she whispered to her ears.
"Since when did you get that kind of confidence…huh?" Nozomi squint her eyes at her,
"I've always been like this…what are you talking about?" Eli replied teasingly...
"besides… I have no idea what you were dreaming of…but—…"
"I was dreaming about arguing with you…it was so realistic and even, the new sketchbook was there too! Then, we just ended up doing things…" Nozomi cuts in before the blonde was able to finish her sentence.
"Then I suppose it's a good dream for you?" Eli replied mockingly.
"No! It wasn't! if only that wasn't a dream!"
"You're like…you know… a woman without shame and I'm just a strong woman, who knows about you too much…so if you are somehow dreaming about me being helpless and you being the one that makes sense…then that's probably just going to be in your imagination forever…" Eli said.
"Ericchi is a spoilsport…"
"Anything new?" Eli replied with a chuckle. Nozomi smirked at her,
"By the way, Nozomi… back to what we were supposed to do today…" Eli said.
"What…?" Nozomi asked,
"The witness testimony… we need to head to the police station as soon as possible and give them what we have…"
"Oh! right…we need to do that quick…" Nozomi said.
"Yes, also… don't forget to keep an eye out for the red haired girl…" Eli replied.
"Yep! Got it!'
"Also…hmm… I wonder if everyone submitted their vote…"
"Eh…what?" Nozomi tried to make a confirmation.
"The vote…Nozomi…the vote about which school activity we will do before the last semester exam…"
"Uhm…that will be the…the school festival…" Nozomi said.
"What?"
"The school festival will win the vote…" Nozomi said again.
"How can you…..?!" Eli seemed to be flustered,
"Well...I'm just thinking that because… in my dream before…we were preparing for the school festival…" Nozomi said.
"Ridiculous…" Eli put her palm on her face.
"You said that because your dream said so…?"
"Well, if you don't believe me…then let's just wait…" Nozomi said.
Then suddenly, she raises her eyebrows,
"Oh My God! Does that also mean… we will be intimate soon?!"
"Not a chance…Nozomi…" Eli sighed.
"Oh come on! One can dream… because Ericchi is such a spoilsport… what's wrong with admitting that you're into me… we can always date too!"
"What about you then? Are you even ready to take my charm?"
"Taking your charm? Of course…!"
Both remain quiet for a moment before Eli decided to move closer to Nozomi. She started with brushing her hand on Nozomi's shoulder, down to her arm…
It was so slow and gentle…
"Are you…really…?" Eli said suggestively…
And at the time Eli say that, Nozomi feel something has made her all tense.
"Y-Yes! O-Of course!" she said.
"You don't seem like it…" Eli said with the sultriest voice Nozomi has ever heard directly from someone's mouth.
Within a moments loss, Nozomi's nose bled sprouts greatly out of her nose—to Eli's white shirt.
"Aaah! My shirrttt!" Eli complained.
"S-Sorry! Ericchi! But…I survived this time… see?" Nozomi said.
"You're certainly alive—but my shirt! You killed it!" Eli quickly touched her shirt,
"L…let me clean that…" Nozomi said as she quickly touch Eli's shirt.
Immediately, an imagination passes on her mind—the image of herself stripping Eli's clothes…..
Then the blood shoots out of her nose again but this time, towards Eli's face.
"N-Nozomi!"
"I'm so sorry Ericchi! I'll fix that!"
When she tried to clean the blood out of her face…she unintentionally touched Eli's lips—which somehow made her think about having her thumb being sucked by the blonde…
And another spray of red came out again.
"Nooooozooooooommmiiiiiiiiiiiii! Can you just stop thinking about anything perverted for now?!"
The Police station;
Thanks to the previous incident, Nozomi and Eli had to return to their own apartment to change their clothes and fix a few things that needed their attention.
When they arrived in the police station, they had to meet a detective, who would be taking care of the case. The two are expecting the detective to be one old-man or perhaps the cool type that often becomes the star in a typical detective story…
But….
"Good morning…" a female voice came up in the room, which surprised both Eli and Nozomi.
"Oh…morning…" they replied plainly.
"Why do you two not seem excited…? Isn't this the kind of thing that makes people excited…?" she asked.
The two remain quiet, flustered of what to say,
"A lot of people likes mystery…"
Eli and Nozomi were still quiet as they stare at her, walking to the seat in front of them and taking a seat.
"Witnesses are important for one case to be solved, without them it will be harder to solve—but the harder it becomes, the more challenge and the more achievement we get…"
Eli and Nozomi turn to each other, wondering if any of them understand the purpose of such sentence.
"We will not be playing the regular kind of investigation right now…and just because you two are high-school students, it doesn't mean that I'll be easy on you…especially, because I think you two got some wits…"
"We got…what?" Eli tried to ask again.
"Pretending to be stupid, pretending to be deaf, both are some nice disguises for one criminal to get their innocent verdict…"
"I don't—…."
"Do you like ice creams? Or Candies…?" The detective asked as she cuts Eli's statement.
The two remain quiet again,
"Ah—pardon my rudeness then, my name is Chieko Harada, sounds like a dog's name, right?" the detective said.
Eli and Nozomi still flustered.
"Well…so you are Ayase Eli and Toujou Nozomi… A pair of lovebirds from Otonokizaka High-school, the student council president and her loyal vice president… scoring the best mark in almost every test and study… there's no way for you two to not understand what I'm trying to hint here…"
Once again, the pair keep silent, they could grasp the idea—but not quite about the reason why she has to say all that anyway…
"I see. With this amount of patience or let's say—carefulness, no wonder that you two are the school's second year's ace. Or perhaps those are just because you are used to getting a lot of troublesome love letters every morning? Probably not, right? You two in fact—hate them…so you two always dumped it anywhere possible…"
Eli and Nozomi started to feel like this detective has done some investigation on them without their knowledge. Did she see what happened this afternoon as well? Hope not…
"Say, I need each of you to answer this within three seconds, what is the tallest mountain in the solar system?"
"Mount Olympus…?" Eli replied immediately. Nozomi hasn't got a chance to answer it.
"What is it that always comes but never arrives?"
"Tomorrow…" Eli replied again immediately. Giving no chance for Nozomi to think of answers…
"What 3 positives numbers give the same result when multiplied and added together?"
"One, Two, and Three…" Eli replied again without a doubt.
"Which plant is hardest to harvest when it is wet?"
"Tobacco…" Eli replied again.
"There is a house, one enters it blind and comes out seeing…what is it?"
"A School…" Eli once again replied.
"An Ancient invention that lets people see through walls…"
"A window…" Eli replied again.
The detective went quiet as she keeps staring at Eli. Then suddenly, a sharp knife was thrown from an unexpected direction—towards Eli and she immediately dodges it.
"Catch!" The detective shouted as she threw something black and textured—even though Eli caught it for a second, she quickly throws it away the next.
When Nozomi was able to see what the thing exactly was…
She could see a grenade…
Obviously a fake one…
"That was nice, Eli…" said the detective.
"I don't see that as a compliment…" Eli replied.
"That was not… but now I see that you two might be the real suspects…" the detective said.
"Excuse us…?" Nozomi tried to confirm about what she just heard.
"One of the suspect who have done a big hit to one of the victim—the owner of a nearby restaurant, is a slow person, but powerful. Then towards him, the owner of the café, one fast swing but accurate and deadly—then also require a very swift thinking and wit to make it appear to be a suicide. Then the rest of the victim, females… everyone could kill them, but with enough evidence, we will be able to figure out about the true identity of the killer…"
"How can you think Nozomi to be powerful…?" Eli asked.
"Maybe, not as powerful as you—Ms. Perfect, but with her current record at school, the iron ball tossing, she gained a decent score which is enough to be compared with a deep and powerful killing blow…"
"I thought we were here to give our testimony—not being suspected like this…" Nozomi replied.
"That's one less witty comment, but you tried…" the detective said.
"We don't even have the right motive…" Nozomi said again.
"Alright, that's nice… but can one kill without them?" the detective asked,
"We're sane enough…" Nozomi replied again.
"Alcohol… it's a crime to drink before one reaches age twenty… we can conduct a test to prove that…" the detective said.
"Go on…" Nozomi said.
"That's unfair..." Eli replied.
"Wait…Ericchi…what?" Nozomi asked.
"In my home country, it was fine to drink before twenty… if you conducted the test on me—even though I have never drunk any in this very place, I might still have the chance to fail on proving that I'm purely not contaminated by it…"
The detective chuckled,
"I'm amazed by your honesty, but if that's truly what happen, then you shouldn't worry. A second year, like you….should've been living here for more than a year…or months… you shouldn't be still carrying them, unless you did some drinking at the past few weeks ago…or at the night of the murder which is just about three days ago in the morning…"
"Then go on, conduct the test…" Eli said.
"Wait a minute…" Nozomi said.
"What?" Eli asked.
"In the morning?" Nozomi asked.
"Oh…right…she said in the morning?" Eli asked to confirm.
"Yes… the time of the death for each of them are in the morning… then you two reported at night..." the detective said.
"We have an alibi for that case…" Eli replied,
"Yes… we both were attending our exam… then we went to the clinic...to search for someone specific…we couldn't find her so we stopped by during the night of that very day…. If you're asking about what we did at the next day, we do pretty much nothing on the weekends, just studying and be stressed for this last day…"
"Very well, then… you two…can you start describing about what exactly brought you to the café…?" the detective asked.
"It was—…" before Eli was able to speak out, Nozomi cuts in,
"We were looking for parfaits…and then we see this quiet café—because we love being alone together…"
"A…parfait…?"
"Yep, pretty much that's what we were looking for… the best meal for a romantic date…"
"Since when were we dating…" Eli mumbled softly.
"I see… then, have you two conducted an experimental act towards each other's prison purse?"
"W-wait...what? Prison purse?" Eli raises her eyebrow in confusion.
"No we haven't… we're still a pure and happy couple…a characteristic of smart students like us to be honest…" Nozomi said.
"I find it funny when it comes from you, Toujou Nozomi… however, I'll believe that…or at least…try to believe it…" the detective said.
"We've never done any crime other than stealing each other's heart…." Nozomi said with a smile.
"That was cheesy…" Eli put her palm on her face as she whisper to herself.
"Very well then, you two… into the next section— I want to listen about what you two thought, before finding out about the very crime scene along with the details about what you two saw in the very place.
"We were wondering why no one came by after we tried to call for them a couple of times..." Nozomi said.
"Then we decided to look into the kitchen and saw that immediately…" Eli added.
"Did you make a call right after it…?
"No, we decided to take a little tour around the café for a bit to see if there were anything else we needed to report…" Nozomi said.
"Also if it was truly a murder scene or just a prank…" Eli said.
"As smart as you two are, young ladies… that was quite the right thing to do… but I have not seen either of you two cry in fear or have any other reaction in that matter, like most female will, during their first encounter with such things…"
"I have to admit, it wasn't the first time for us to see dead bodies…" Nozomi said.
The detective seemed to make an eye that says: something is suspicious between these two.
"We've seen them in the movie too…" Eli added.
"Movie….? You two are…."
"We're quite a fan of mystery, just like what you said earlier…" Eli said.
"Yep, that kind of horror will not make us scream and run like a chicken…" Nozomi said.
Then suddenly the lights goes off without warning,
A gasp came out from one of the girls in the room, then Nozomi and Eli could feel cold hands grabbing them. Seeing no light emitting from it, they instantly figured out the person holding their hands. Immediately grabbing the hands back and strongly holding it.
No one scream, no one running, but…
"Ah….aren't you a little too cold for one who is used to with mysteries…?" said the detective.
"Shut up…" Eli said.
"Unhand me now, you two… I'll turn the light back on…" said the detective.
They unhanded her and let her turn the lights back on.
"Alright, so from you, Miss-Not-So-Perfect-After-All…" the detective look at Eli.
"….You have a fear with the darkness…" she continued.
"Really…?" Nozomi lifted her eyebrows. Surprised among the discovery,
"It's not that apparent, when you see it, but I can feel the cold sweat that just came up immediately after it went dark…" the detective continued, while Eli seemed to be quiet about it.
"Say, from your perspective about this….friend of yours... has she done anything ridiculously mindless when it's dark…?" the detective asked Nozomi.
"Now that you mention it…." Nozomi tried to remember the previous event where Eli had to face the darkness.
"Yes…she did…" she continued.
"How was this mindless act…?"
Eli gets somewhat nervous as the question comes up,
"I request for my right to not speak of something personal…" Nozomi replied. Eli sighed
"Your answer might save her, you see…because, there's something else about the murder…"
"To clear up your suspicion on us then, let me tell you that we both have never known the victims…it was also our first time being in the very café… it doesn't make sense for us to somehow give that much effort to come in early morning, and do such a thing that gives us nothing in return…"
"And the fact that if we ever went to commit murder that morning, we wouldn't bother to return at night just to make ourselves appear in the case…"
The detective nodded,
"….say though, you made us stumble into this interrogation because you found something has gone wrong in the site of murder, right? So you were looking for an answer by putting your suspicion into us…?" Nozomi asked,
The detective smirked,
"Heh… you little teenagers are too witty now…guessing that in just one simple conversation…" she said.
"…but I will still not involve you in the investigation…this is all you can do to contribute…" she continued again.
"Sure… I understand that you might get sued for using an under-aged person to work on your bidding without payment…" Nozomi said.
"W-Way to say it…but for real though… no one would have thought of you two as high-school students even if I tried…" the detective replied.
"Can we just leave now…? I feel like we've done everything we can do…" Eli said.
"Eh—uhm….sure…go on…" the detective said—she seemed to be losing her spirit.
"Are you sure, you don't need our help? Some extra brain will do some work…right?" Nozomi asked.
"Ahaha..no-no… thanks though…" the detective said.
"Let's just head off, Nozomi…" Eli said as she stood up and pulled Nozomi away from the room.
With a concerned look, Nozomi peeked at the sad detective who smiled at them as she waves gently.
The two walks all the way to Nozomi's apartment,
It was already night time, but since tomorrow is just one short meeting for them, they decided to stay in one place. Eli has always been used to this ever since they got closer with each other.
"Ericchi…." Nozomi called her,
"Hmm..?" Eli replied as she was currently writing something down on a small paper—which might be for their mind-map.
"Shouldn't we go back to the café to conduct our own investigation…? I mean…we did feel something has gone wrong and the angry soul might still be there…"
"We need to wait for the police to finish with their business there… I believe that soul can wait…"
Nozomi gloomed as she heard it,
"But what if what the soul wants is justice…?"
"…and you think they realize that they're dead…?"
"Maybe…." Nozomi said.
"What if the massacre happened for a long time? By then, the dead will surely realize that they were in danger…and then they will haunt and scream for help forever…" Nozomi said.
Eli sighed,
"It doesn't happen that long for the two male…but perhaps it was for the female… and that came up just from my own perspective as I looked at the dead body…" Eli replied.
"You did pay attention to the details... so how was it exactly…?" Nozomi asked.
"Just read the things in my sketchbook…." Eli pointed to her sketchbook. Nozomi—having no choice, as she could see Eli being very serious on her writing, decided to pick up the book and started to read the top paper…
May 27,
Reiko came up to us, she asked if we could help someone with her problem. She said, this someone could hear things happening around her, but she couldn't see it. I bet it must be a big problem for her as she might confuse it with the voice of the living… perhaps if I'm to be her, I'll try to avoid the crowd and put on loud music in my ears—pretending that I'll never hear anything until someone will make enough effort to call me.
Reiko also said that she should be around the Nishikino clinic, but when we tried to approach the place, a lot of people said that they often saw her, but none of them know where she could be since she randomly picks her place to sit around. Honestly, I'm always suspecting the garden as her favorite site. There aren't many souls there according to my sight, but I don't know if Nozomi noticed that detail as well. But, either way I believe she will be the one to solve this case again in the end.
Then the paragraph ended—but an arrow was made under it, leading to a new page with a new paragraph.
On the same day of our mission,
We found a family slaughtered in their own café, it was horrible, alright, but something felt wrong as we couldn't see any soul haunting the very place. Instead, I think the outside of the place has more of them. We also could feel a big angry aura enveloped in the area, but even after we tried to look around, we couldn't find a soul…
I know Nozomi is confused as well. But just in case this will happen to come in handy, I've drawn what my eyes saw that very night…thanks to my photographic memory…I'm still not able to forget the details until now…
Nozomi tilts her head slightly. Then she looks at the sketch of the crime scene. She doesn't quite remember the details but… Eli…indeed drew them all. It's amazing and scary at the same time…
There's a big man hung on the ceiling, with a long and tough rope tied to the pipe next to the sink. He has a slit across his neck, with blood running down to stain his collar. He brings nothing but there's a big knife on the floor under him. At the table, there laid a slender and slim man with gloves only on one of his hand.
On the other side of the floor, there were two female's sprawled on the ground… in the perspective, she could not see the face, but Eli also wrote that one of them looked like a middle aged woman while the other one looked like a teenager.
The details of the tattered shirt and messy clothing are well drawn. There's also a note about the clothes and how it looked like it was pulled up on the back of the collar. But what might have been done to her? It seems impossible for one to have the collar appear to be pulled up—was she dragged there instead of falling on her own, in the very spot?
Nozomi could see another paper attached next to the one she was on, with an arrow connecting them, the paper said,
Nozomi used to tell me, when one soul leaves its vessel, they should be wandering around the very place it left its body. Unless the soul returned to the light, going to a pilgrimage like Reiko—or be eaten by the other creature…like…the beast that she said, happens to be inside me…. there's no way for them to leave their death site…
I also heard that one building will become the limit of one soul to travel—not an exact limit, but a limit that they made by themselves, which is caused by their thoughts, that refuses to move on from what they stumbled into. It's a complex concept, I admit…
Either way, I have not seen any soul when I took a venture in the very building. I wonder if there's a way for them to be stuck somewhere else? Or perhaps they just moved on, despite their terrible death? What can explain the Aura of Anger inside that place?
"Ericchi…" Nozomi called.
"Hmm…?" Eli replied as she sticks a tape on the paper that she just finished.
"Do you want to take a look at the place again?"
"Tonight?" Eli asked.
"Yes…." Nozomi replied.
Eli remain quiet as she stare into her friend,
"We have a meeting tomorrow…wouldn't it be best if we get some sleep?" she said. Nozomi knows that it might be just an excuse for her to not go in the darkness of the night…or at least, that's what she thought ever since that detective revealed her weakness… a weakness that she never expected. Either way though…
"I'll bring a lot of flash lights… I have about three of them here… along with batteries and everything else…I'll make sure everything is bright enough for us to take another venture in that place…"
"The police have put up their line and we really should not do anything to it… remember that the detective as well said that giving our testimony was all we could do…"
"But are you not curious? Just for a little…?"
Eli remain quiet for a moment again.
"I am…curious… but I know my place…. I don't want to mess with their work… that's all…"
"Then, what if we just take a look outside…? Then maybe ask for help from others?"
"And…what is 'others' in your context…?"
"Hmm...one that can't be seen by normal human beings…?"
"Oh…you mean… them…" Eli sighed,
"Who else? Besides, we're currently doing a favor for Reiko too, right? Maybe she wants to help us in return…?"
Eli sighed again,
"I guess, if you think you can do it that way… but I hope you know what to tell them…"
"Hmm… I think you should be the one to tell them though…"
"...and why is that? They're not even my friend…"
Nozomi chuckled,
"What are you saying, Ericchi…. they've turned you to a friend…you see? So just say ok, will you?"
Eli once again sighed before Nozomi gave out a smile to her.
Once the two arrived at the site,
The police tape spread from one corner of the building to the other. The lamp was left on and a few police seemed to be on guard duty. They only asked Reiko and the Snow Girl to come with them—knowing that the other two of their friends aren't that easy to be asked about stuff like this.
"Hnngmm…. Nozomi-chan…Eli-chan…. are you two sure that you two could feel an aura of anger inside?" The Snow girl asked,
"Yes…we're very sure…"
"Hmm…..sadly, I don't see it in there… but…." the snow girl looks at a different direction.
"I can see something behind that building…" she said as she pointed to a luxurious restaurant.
"Behind that restaurant…?" Nozomi widen her eyes.
"Yep… there's something big….and…uh…..angry…." the Snow Girl said.
"Hmm... she is right, I certainly could feel something big and angry behind that restaurant…" Reiko said.
"Come to think of it, one of the victim is the owner of that restaurant…" Eli said.
"Ah, is that so…? Then… something might've happened there…" Reiko said.
"Can you two check?" Nozomi asked.
"Only…if someone else was the one who asked…" the snow girl and Reiko said as they glanced towards Eli.
Eli smirked and then rolled her eyes…
"Isn't there just another way? Maybe we can just check it out together… I'm sort of interested to know as well…." she said.
"Ooh—of course!" the two ghosts replied.
"Hey…you two…aren't you two a little disgusting?" Nozomi said boldly.
"Pssh—You're just jealous because you can't do that, right-right?" The Snow Girl said as she floats closer to Eli, which was responded with a gentle shove. No one feels anything wrong with Eli being able to touch a ghost—not even Nozomi herself…perhaps she is just focused on something else?
"Such a low-confidence woman…" Reiko said proudly.
"…and you're the one to say that! Legless!" Nozomi said.
"Let's go…" Eli said as she already headed to the restaurant...
"Ah—Ericchi! Wait!"
Night time,
When the two came in to the restaurant, they started to look at the menu first. ..especially…the price….
"W…wow…." Eli smirked
"This is….super expensive… 3000-5000 yen per meal?" Nozomi said.
"I wonder if they have anything that we could…uhm..afford…" Eli said.
"I heard they have a package in specific hours…" The Snow Girl said.
"How do you even know that…" Nozomi said.
"Eh, I've heard things…you see… hmm…" the Snow Girl pauses, then she look up to the clock that placed near the street lamp.
"Ah…it should be… starting from 10 PM until early morning… A dinner for two…"
"A dinner for…two…how much that will be?" Eli asked.
"Well…it's not that expensive… just 30.000 Yen…."
"30.000 YEN?!" Eli and Nozomi exclaimed.
"Why? I thought you two have enough…? It can be cheaper if you two split the bill…"
"15.000 Yen….Is still expensive! Why would we pay that much to have our dinner?!" Nozomi said.
"Normally, the price of a restaurant is about 1000 yen until 3000 yen….just what kind of thing do they have that they are brave enough to put up that price?!" Eli complained.
"It's a high-class restaurant…" the snow girl said.
"I know! But still! That's more than half price of the average!"
"Well, then, maybe we can help with that…" Reiko said.
"Huh? Are you going to pay?" Nozomi asked.
"No way, but there's always be another way to get you two in…" Reiko said.
"Huh…? Don't tell me…." Nozomi said as she squints her eyes at her...
Reiko giggled mischievously
"Leave it to us… just get in line, will you?"
Nozomi and Eli looks at each other...wondering what kind of trick she might have up her sleeve…
After a while,
The two has finally got into the main room to have their food. They wanted to know how Reiko and the Snow Girl did it, but their name is somehow written and also marked as paid in the front.
The room is huge and surrounded by giant windows covered with big red curtains. A few rare plants placed in every corner and bright luxurious lamp hanging above them.
"Is it really ok to do this…?" Eli whispered to Nozomi as they both waited for the food to come.
"I don't know…but looks like they actually got this thing going right…" Nozomi replied.
"I'm not talking about if it'll actually be safe for us to do this, but it's about… are we doing any favor to them? Don't you feel bad for doing this without paying a single coin?!" Eli replied again.
"Let's just pretend that we're doing a favor by taking care of the angry ghost's behind this very place…" Nozomi said.
Before Eli was able to respond, the Snow Girl and Reiko approach them…
"We've done a checking!" the Snow Girl said energetically.
"What did you get?" Eli replied as she turns to her.
"Well, uh…we found out that… there are two scary men…they are wandering around the back of the restaurant…. It seems that both are chefs, they are still holding a big knife with them… The big one is limping and his head seems to be almost falling off, the slender one has a big scar on the back, they don't look like they are in any condition to talk…" Reiko said.
"They've probably turned into a vengeance soul, which means that they could make an appearance and harm the living…in only a short time though…"the snow girl added.
"Only…a short time?" Nozomi asked.
"Yes, soul of vengeance are only able to touch you at specific hours, that will be around 4:44 AM to 5:00 AM…" The Snow girl replied,
"Means, they only have 16 minutes to be able to do something…?" Eli asked.
"Yes… because at 4:44 AM, the representative of the underworld, a demon, to be precise, will come out to take the loot. The loot will be the lost souls that wander around the world… the gate and power of the underworld will come out and it will give an ability to every soul where they will be able to touch the living as well as the living able to do harm to them. " The Snow girl explained.
"In most cases though, people who are alive are the ones to get hurt the most… because they are always cowering when they see the intimidating face of the dead…" Reiko added again.
"16 minutes is enough to slaughter one being…" Nozomi said.
"Yes…plus, they also usually devour their victim's soul…because every vengeance soul will always be thirsty for power and they get plenty of it by doing such…" Reiko said..
"Talking from experience, Reiko-chan?" The Snow Girl said teasingly.
"Oh come on! I wasn't that dangerous! I'm just easily angry at stupid people!"
"Uh-huh..sure-sure…" The Snow Girl said.
"I'm a holy woman now… a good spirit…" Reiko said.
"You still like wandering around the bathroom…to do your thing…" The snow girl said,
"Putting that aside now…" Reiko changed the topic,
"….I think you two should enjoy your meal… I've picked the best ones…" she continued before a waitress came by to place their meal on the table.
It's a big plate of spaghetti…with oriental sauce and tasty looking meat…. The scent and everything makes it worth calling an elite meal.
Then the waitress places a pair of forks and knifes above the white tissue. As the waitress left, Eli and Nozomi stare at each other, wondering if it's really fine to do that.
"Why are we….having one big meal instead of two?" Eli asked as she smirks.
"Oh—you know, I watched this cartoon before, a pair of dogs were given spaghetti then they kissed…and—…" Reiko started to ramble.
"I don't even know what cartoon that is…" Nozomi cuts in.
"Must be talking about those dogs…." Eli put her palm on her face.
"What's a cartoon?" The Snow Girl asked.
"Aahh—either way, just start eating, you two!" Reiko exclaimed.
Nozomi and Eli sighed and they started to take the spaghetti with their fork. On the first bite, they already accidentally took the same string of spaghetti, then they dropped it at the same time and took from another side—but then, it's the same string again…
They did that over and over—wondering why they always keep taking the same string until they've had enough and decided to not care about it anymore. They took their first bite, watched by the two ghosts which seemed to be curious of what would happen next.
When the two proceed to almost completely swallow the entire string, they found out that they could kiss if they let the strings connect them….
Instead of that though, Eli, whose cheeks were reddened by the idea of them kissing, quickly absorbed the string and took out what was inside the other girl's mouth.
"Awnndwamb…..Ewechii…whow..waudl…wuws …" Nozomi tried to speak with her mouth full. Eli remain silent as she swallows her meal.
"This is….indirect kiss…" Reiko whispered to her ghost friend.
"Looks like Nozomi wants it to be direct…" The snow girl whispered.
Then after, Eli keeps eating while Nozomi seemed to be slower when eating her meal…
Though after a moment, Nozomi seems to be in denial about how she is much slower when eating. She tried to eat faster and use her drinks to hasten up. Eli who noticed it, quickly tried to catch up too—and she didn't even know why…
It turned out to be an eating competition between the two. At the last string of spaghetti… one last string and the two kept staring at it….
Who is going to eat that?
The question that they give to each other with their eyes…
Maybe me….
The two said with their gesture… about to take the meal…
Nozomi was about to take it, but Eli is slightly faster than her and its enough time for her to roll the last string on her fork, and eats it immediately.
"That was disappointingly a fail…" Reiko said.
"Yeah… no kiss happened…" the Snow Girl said.
The second meal arrived immediately after their first meal finished— the waitress speaks nothing about the stunt they just pulled when eating… perhaps she knows that was one awkward thing to be seen in the eye of the public.
The second meal is a steak, once again, a big chunk of steak with mushroom sauce, well cut potatoes and a few carrots placed near it. Nozomi's eyes sparkled in delight….If anything, she looks like someone who really will enjoy her meal…
Meat….
Nozomi said in her mind as she immediately pulls over the plate. Eli seemed to be surprised, though she just smiled at her…
"You love meat, huh?" Eli said.
"Yes…." Nozomi replied as she immediately cuts the meat without questioning if the blonde wants it too.
"Well then, you can have it…. I don't want to eat too much at night…" Eli said.
"Thanks!" Nozomi replied as she quickly chows down her meal.
Halfway, Nozomi realized that maybe it's too selfish of her to eat it all by herself, she did hear Eli say that she doesn't want to eat too much at night…but… is it really what she says?
"Uhm…Ericchi, are you sure about this? I started to feel bad…" Nozomi said.
Eli smiled at her,
"I'm very sure that I enjoy seeing you eating that much… let's just make sure that you burn those fats tomorrow… a few kilometers extra in our daily jogging…" Eli said.
"Sheesh, that's not nice!"
Eli chuckled,
"I'm serious…anyway, just eat it…I actually enjoy it…"
Nozomi puffed her cheek before she cuts her meat into a bite size piece before offering it to Eli,
"Eat this too then! Do this as a favor for me…!" she said.
Eli chuckled before she carefully accepted Nozomi's offer. The way she pulled the meat away from the fork… and the way she held her hair to not disturb her mouth from cleanly reach the meat… that alone was enough to make Nozomi's heart scream in excitement.
What she just did…
Made her feel so special…
Even though it's not quite like that…
Or perhaps is it?
"Harasho…." Eli said as she tasted the meat.
"The meal is delicious…" she continued.
With that, Nozomi quickly stabs her fork to the last piece of the meat, then once again offered it to Eli.
"Please!" she said in all seriousness.
"Eat it once again! Slowly!" Nozomi demanded,
Eli raises her eyebrow…flustered...but….
She decided to just fulfill her request anyway—while wondering the reason why…
She slowly started from the tip of the meat…
Nozomi's heart started to beat faster as she watches how Eli's lips slowly swallow the meat that stuck on her fork.
In her imagination…
Eli is currently… swallowing her fingers from the tip…
When Eli slightly shows her tongue as her mouth open a little wider—trying to get the meat off her fork…
There's nothing else she could think of but her desire to know how that smooth tongue will taste like.. or about how she could get a chance to taste it…
It's so conflicting and she wishes she could do something else about it…
She wishes she could sticks her tongue inside her mouth—to feel those soft lips currently nibbling on the meat—or in Nozomi's imagination, it would be her fingers.
Maybe, it's true that she did not feel how soft and gentle the nibble is, or maybe how warm to be inside her mouth…but…for real…
It tickles her everywhere and thinks that if there's somehow a way for her to be intimate right now…. But she might want to go home right now to start imagining…
"SIN!" suddenly someone shouted.
"E-Eeeh!?" Nozomi and Eli was surprised and the two quickly made a distance,
"R-Reiko-chan! W-What are you doing?!" The Snow Girl said to her as she tried to shut her mouth...
No one in the very room noticed the shout, but….
A red haired girl put her attention to somewhere around her—then taking a notice to the couple…a familiar couple that she saw in the clinic's garden.
She also noticed…The couple is currently looking somewhere and they looked like they're chatting with the voice that she could hear but without any visible source.
"Reiko….!" Nozomi complained.
"….don't scream! Sheesh!" The snow girl added.
"No one else will hear me, don't worry…" Reiko said.
"It's not about that! It's my ear that you're hurting!"
"Oh…"
The red haired girl tried to pay attention to them, wondering if her ears were right.
"Speaking of which…" the couple and the unknown voice continued to chat. The red haired girl seemed to be very intrigued with it. Are those two really able to chat with the unknown voice? Will they be able to help her with her problem?
Surely, fate might've brought them both there…to the very site…
The red haired girl look at both of her parents, who are still in a conversation…she wanted to approach that couple to confirm her thoughts, but…
What can she do…?
Perhaps, it's not going to be bad for her if she just tried to approach closer by pretending to be going to the restroom…since their seat is much closer to theirs anyway…
"Mama…Papa….I'm going to the toilet…." She said.
"Sure, Maki-chan…" her parents replied at the same time.
So the first thing she did was get a closer look at them…
Passing through behind them—Maki didn't know that the two ghosts were facing to her and they both see her.
"WAH! THAT'S THE PERSON I NEEDED YOU TWO TO LOOK FOR!" they shouted at the same time as they also pointed to where Maki is. Nozomi and Eli quickly turned at her while Maki… well… she just heard something, but doesn't really know what to do…
"Oh…are you….?" Eli tried to ask,
"Nishikino….?" Nozomi finished her question.
Nozomi, Eli, and Maki decided to start talking with each other in the restroom,
Nozomi and Eli explained about what they've heard from the ghosts that Maki cannot see…
"I see…" the red haired girl said,
"That was indeed right… I have that ability to hear what I cannot see…" she continued again.
"So…what are you exactly trying to do…?" Eli asked.
"I wanted to get rid of that ability…" Maki said
"Hmm…so I assume you just don't like it…?"
"Not at all…" Maki replied again.
"Then, the only way for you is to keep coming to the shrine and pray for your ability to be gone…" Nozomi said.
"Wait a minute, Nozomi…what about that old woman you told me about?" Eli asked,
"Oh…Kagemi-san? Well… she told me, it's easy to open one's sense as each person has the ability inside, but to close one's sense is harder… it needs to be the will of the Gods…" Nozomi replied.
"I see…" Maki seemed to be sad.
"But, truly. you're born that way…. Don't you think that you might have a reason to have it…? Because… I believe, every birth occurs because of God's will…including yours…" Nozomi said.
Maki sighed,
"If that's the case, then God might want me to turn insane…with all the voices I hear, I can't live in peace… I had to cover my ears with music to make it stop bothering me…" she replied.
"Then...embrace it instead of running from it…" Nozomi said.
"I don't want to…" she replied.
"I hate it…." she continued again.
Nozomi and Eli remain quiet as she watches the red haired girl biting her lips.
"That's why… please…somehow…make me stop hearing them…."
"Was it that bad to hear us talking…?" Reiko asked.
"Yes…it is…" Maki replied immediately.
"Is it not because you just can't see us?"
"Hearing your kind shouting for help is scary enough for me…I don't want to look…" Maki said.
"That was such a petty excuse…" The Snow Girl said bluntly.
"What are you saying…?!" Maki looks angered by the statement.
"You prefer to ignore someone who shouts for help, covering your eyes and covering your ears… do you think someone would be happy to be treated like that?" The Snow Girl said again.
"What do you say about the way they ruined my life…? I never had any friends because you spirits are calling for help and I could not see you! They told me, I'm creepy! They also told me that I was a weirdo! They also told me…that I will never be able to listen properly! This is all not my fault but theirs!" Maki said loudly.
"You are not the only one who has gone through that, look at the two people right in front of you!" The snow girl said as she pointed to Eli and Nozomi.
"Huh? What? Me? I just got this recently…exclude me…" Eli replied.
"Ericchi—that's not quite her point…." Nozomi whispered.
"You are selfish, that's my point. A kid like you will never learn how the world works before you expand your view…especially about people around you! You centered every single problem in the world on yourself and imply that everyone around you is selfish and naturally doesn't care about your feelings…" The Snow Girl said again.
"But that's the whole truth, isn't it? People don't care about my feelings!" Maki argued again.
"That's because you don't care about them either! But you know what? You're not the only one who can think! You're not the only one who can be angry either! A lot of people around you, in fact, would complain about everything else as well!"
Maki remained quiet, she bit her lips again,
"See? You are speechless…right? Because you have no idea of what you could say? You're just a kid, a big kid who still thinks that she is the most mature one…a big baby who still needs to be pampered… by your parents and by everyone else around you…what a spoiled brat…"
"What did you say?!" Maki frowned deeply.
"Now-now, that's enough of this…" Nozomi said.
Eli still remained in silent about the recent argument.
"….to put it simply, uh…Nishikino-chan… are you very sure about it? About wanting to give up that ability of yours…." Nozomi asked.
Maki turn her eyes away as she pouts,
"…if you decide to tend further, you could help some souls around you… but… if you decide to give up...that means you will start to live like the rest…" Nozomi continued.
"I'm very sure that I don't need to have this stupid ability… Those souls are meant to be on the other side…why would we have to deal with them…" Maki said.
"An arrogant way of thinking, but you should know that those who died used to live and they would also demand their right to exist—to be successful towards their goals before they leave entirely…" The Snow Girl said,
"Whatever… I don't care anymore…" Maki said.
"Then… if that's your decision… you have to pray every day in the shrine, say that you really don't want to hear it nor be involved with and spiritual beings…" Nozomi said.
"I'll do that… until I could stop listening to those spirits…" Maki said again before she decided to leave the restroom immediately.
"What a troublesome kid…" Reiko said.
"Really… I hate how she thinks about us…" the Snow Girl said.
"At least I can understand her a little…" Nozomi said.
"Really? You do?" The Snow Girl asked.
"Yep…" Nozomi nodded.
"Well…I don't! Not a single bit!" The Snow Girl said sarcastically.
Eli still decided to keep her mouth shut, though her eyes show a hint of concern—as if, she could understand her entirely for some reason.
At the time Nozomi, Eli and the two ghost left the restroom,
They could see a crowd of staff seemed to be troubled with something—or someone on the ground.
"Miss Nishikino…? Are you ok?" asked one of the staff.
Instantly, Nozomi and Eli quickly approach her as the two ghost follow up.
Maki covered her ears and she also covered her eyes…
"Make it….stop…." she mumbled.
"Miss Nishikino…? Miss Nishikino? Are you with us…!?" the staff asked again.
"Please, everyone, leave her alone…" Nozomi requested to the staffs, which was then fulfilled as they see that Nozomi appear to be taking care of her.
Eli and the two ghosts seemed to be very cautious, three of them could feel a tremendous heat, followed up with a faint sound—which might be so much louder in Maki's ears.
"Nishikino-chan…" Nozomi called her.
"I heard it…. so loud…. please make it stop…" Maki whispered.
Perhaps, her senses might be dull right now—or perhaps it was just from how she might not be focused at the time. She decided to start focusing…
After a few second, Nozomi began to feel something—the very same heat that Eli and the two ghosts could feel…then a faint sound that began to get louder and louder…
Hhhrrrrrrhhhh….
A sound that sounded like a Death Rattle…
Then, every single one of them, including the staff that are supposed to not have the ability….was able to hear it…
"W-What's that?!" one of the staff said in panic as he could feel a shake on his feet.
"Earthquake…?" The other asked.
A loud scream followed by some other screams, came up from the main room. Eli and the two ghost quickly ran to the main room as Nozomi remained next to Maki who is still cowering in her fear.
Hhrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhhh…..
The death rattle was getting louder and louder while Maki tighten her hands that covered her ears.
The earthquake stops, but…
The sound still remained incredibly loud.
When Eli and the two ghosts reached the main room, they could see that everyone stood in fear as they all looked into the big window—which used to be covered by the big red curtain, was now open and behind it, stood one giant man with a slit on his throat. Making a loud death rattling noise as he glared at each of the guests...
"This is…..so….unfair….."
The man said with his loud and angry voice…
See you next chapter! hopefully this isn't boring! But thanks for reading anyway!