As always, thanks for reviews/faves/follows!
It's all darkness,
Until she saw a faint light shining through the closed windows. Her vision eventually focused as she heard a sound of chain bump into each other.
"Nozomi….!" a sexy begging voice called her.
Her eyes started to look for the source and when she turns back—she could see a tall blonde woman without any fashion covering her, chained in a position where she believes—is set for her to grope.
This must be a dream…
She thought.
A good kind of dream…
She thought again.
She could see a pair of fox ears on her head, with nine tails grown on where it should be.
"Please touch me already!" the blonde begged.
If she has to describe how it sounded to her, she has to say that she might've died from the sexiness, but all she could think of is to do what she was begged to.
"With pleasure—Ericchi!" Nozomi said cheerfully before she jumped and started from grabbing her breast.
She enjoyed every second of her hand touching the softness of the other girl's breasts…. After a while, she let her lips join on the feeling and began to taste her plain and cold nipples.
With full of passion, she sucked and licked it from time to time. She even heard the sound of the lustful moan coming out of the exotic blonde…
Her other hand attempted to reach the core which she has always dreamed to touch….but…
A hand dropped to her head,
"Nozomi…." said an angry whisper heard from a very close distance.
The purplenette just realized, she has been sucking on the back-tip of Eli's pen that was held by her near her breasts, she was also grabbing her soft part and currently, attempted to touch the blonde's core. She open her eyes wide and realizing that they're now in the student council room. She must've fallen asleep during meeting…again.
"What are you even dreaming about…." Eli sighed heavily at her.
"E-Eh…N-nothing! Really!"
"Is it something perverted—and about me again?" Eli frowned at her,
"N-no way! You're just overconfident, I don't always think about you…"
"Alright… I'll buy that… but now, Nozomi… we're going to be third years soon…so behave yourself, ok?"
Nozomi nodded slightly and smiled teasingly at her,
"Well…Ericchi… we're almost third years and isn't it the right time for us to give it a shot…"
"Still a big no, Nozomi…we're not going out… you're still not able to take care of yourself… do I have to remind you about how you get anemia…? One flirt and half a liter of blood spilled for nothing."
"I was just slacking on my practice…"
"Tell me anything you're not slacking at. You're slacking in your studies, in student council work, in your spiritual power improvement, and in your—endurance practice!"
"Well, at least I'm not slacking on getting my luck…"
"And those lucks are like the only thing that helped you survive till now!"
"But Ericchi, you know… I wouldn't be able to use my luck to survive if I wasn't a genius…"
"…and who told you that it needs a genius to use luck?"
"Ericchi…"
"I never told you that!"
Suddenly, the door of the student council opened,
"Uwwwwoooooooo! Eli-senpai! Nozomi-senpai! I spotted a spiritual call!" a ginger haired girl shouted as she showed herself in the room.
"S-Spiritual….call?" Eli flustered,
"Oh—right, Ericchi, Honoka-chan just started to learn her spiritual power. Umi-chan and Kotori-chan agreed to do the same too because they wanted to help souls like Christopher!" Nozomi said.
"When did this start…?" Eli frowned slightly at them.
"Just right after the festival, Ericchi… so that would be like… three weeks ago? They were also influenced by their meeting with Snow Girl, Hanako, Reiko, and Akamanto!"
"Yep-yep! We started to be able to see them, not as clear, but still! Hehe…we really want to help you two on helping lost souls! So please take care of us, ok?" Honoka added.
Eli remains silent, wondering what she should say to that.
"So…what is this spiritual call, Honoka-chan?" Nozomi asked.
"Ehehe… it just about a few miles from the school, a lost little boy soul! I think we can help him find the light quickly! Kotori said, he probably might be that one boy who died from the playground incident…he was in the last month's newspaper!"
"Ahhh..is that so? Then, let's just get Hanako-chan to help us out!" Nozomi said.
"Yup-yup!" Honoka replied.
"Do you want to come with us, Ericchi?" Nozomi asked.
"What are you talking about, Nozomi… we just had a meeting and we need to document the results before we forget all the details! Besides, when we become the third years, I might not be elected to be the president again, we better work on our documents so that the next president doesn't have a hard time on her first few days of work!"
"Ok, then you do that yourself since I wasn't paying attention to the meeting anyway! I'll help you with the later work after this!"
"Yuss! Let's go-let's goo!" Honoka said before she and Nozomi left Eli alone in the room.
Eli was so surprised at what Nozomi decided to do. She couldn't let any word come out of her mouth. She knows that Nozomi had a point where she might not be of use in the current work, but still…
Something feels hanging inside her…and she doesn't know how to describe such feeling.
Without her knowing, a tall woman-like creature was peeking from behind the window…looking at how Eli's face darkened ever since she was left alone by her said to be a best-friend.
The Shrine, dusk;
Nozomi, Honoka, Umi, Kotori, and Maki gathered as they waited for the sky to be a little darker. Meanwhile, they were all checking on their own belongings, knowing that they will do some hunting in the dark—as always.
"I'm feeling somewhat excited to do this… I mean… it should be my first time of doing something real instead of practicing with the Snow Girl and everyone else…" Umi said.
"There, Umi-chan..it shouldn't be that different. You just need to make sure you spot them, then try to talk with them—and if possible, convince them to go to the light…or let's say, to find peace…" Honoka said.
"Say though, Honoka-chan, how did you know that you should help them to go to the light? I mean…from my history, I've always been just exorcising them with my fire…"
"Hehe…my mother told me thats how it should be for, everyone who has passed away. They just really need to move on from life and that's it… making them remember what they love will work!" Honoka said.
"That's a simple belief, but powerful…I'm amazed…" Nozomi complimented.
"Really? Hehe… I'm glad!" Honoka replied.
"Heh—My family never had any experience with spiritual beings, but I was strangely born with the ability…. It's so annoying…" Maki said.
"It might be written in your destiny, Maki-chan…maybe you're just meant to meet us from that…"
"Uh-huh… but anyway, why isn't your soulmate coming today?" she asked.
"Soul mate? Hmm…that's such a title, anyway, she has some student council work to do today… so she can't join us…"
"Student council work? Aren't you the vice-president?" Kotori asked.
"Yup…but most of the time, I only start to work when Eli finishes documenting…which means, I always do the finishing touches…"
"Oooh! Sounds amazing!" Kotori commented.
"Yep! That I am! But it's still a lot of work for me, you know… Ericchi has a really complex mind and she tends to over detail things…"
"I totally can see that from that book…" Umi said as she looks into the sketchbook that Eli made to document their journey with spiritual beings.
"Oh, yes! That's right… The book is amazingly detailed! It's very interesting though!" Kotori said as she ran to reach the book and opened it—showing the part about Christopher.
He was illustrated in great detail, along the back-story written by the detective, told by Christopher himself before he disappeared from the living's sight. There are also some testimonies given by Nozomi and Eli herself about the case.
"I wish I could try making it…" Umi said as her eyes sparkle when looking at how perfect everything is created.
"You can try for this case!" Nozomi said.
"R-Really?!" Umi replied with a shine all over her face,
"Yep! Since Ericchi is too busy, of course you can do that!"
"T-Thanks a lot! I'll do my best!" Umi said.
And at the time they feel like they could go, an old woman came by,
"Ah…isn't this Toujou Nozomi and friends?" she said,
"Oh! Kagemi-san!" Nozomi greeted her.
"You're in practice today?" she asked gently.
"Yep! I think I'm encouraged to do some practice for myself as well while training them!"
"That's good….hmm…where's your other friend though?"
"She is busy today…" Nozomi replied.
"Ah…I see…" the old woman smiled faintly.
"What about you? Are you well today?" Nozomi asked.
"Me…?" the old woman chuckled.
"Nothing is better than to feel an ache on my back. It makes me always remember that I'm given with such long years to live on…"
"Ah—by the way, please introduce yourself to the senior!" Nozomi said to her friends.
"Kagemi-san! I'm Kousaka Honoka!" Honoka said energetically.
"Hehe! I'm Minami Kotori!" Kotori bowed gently.
"Sonoda Umi, please take care of me…" Umi bowed politely.
"Nishikino Maki…." Maki said without even looking at her.
The old woman chuckled,
"Looks like your new friends are fun as well…"
"Of course!" Nozomi replied cheerfully.
"I hope that doesn't mean you're going to abandon her?"
"No way! Ericchi and I will stay as best friends! It's just that we have to work on our own right now…"
"Is that so?"
"Yep!"
"Funny, that I thought she'll be against that idea… she looks like a clingy person to me…" Kagemi said with a playful smile on her face.
"Ericchi…clingy?" Nozomi took a moment to process the word.
"Maybe she is!" she continued.
"Then you might not want to leave her for too long…else she'll be jealous…" the old woman replied with her teasing tone.
"Ah–she will understand … don't worry about us…we're already inseparable!" Nozomi replied surely.
"So, what are you all practicing today?" the old woman asked.
"Capturing souls and make then return to the light!" Honoka replied.
"Sounds good! A hard challenge like that is great for your practice!"
"you think so?"
"Yes, child! It's easy to beat some lesson to a spirit, but it's not easy to convince a spirit to return to the light. It may take more than a trick to do so… if you're lucky, they might teach you about how to use spiritual powers as well as their gratitude…"
"Oh…?" Nozomi tilts her head,
"Yes, some spirits discover their ability on their own, the older they are, the better they are at using their power…but of course, I'm not talking about how long they have been dead, but it was about how long they stay as a spirit…"
"Ahh….ok…."
"There's an exception, if one spirit hangs out with the other, they might as well learn some new techniques from them….even though it might not be as perfect as the other…"
"Hmm..I wonder if we can just ask to be taught…" Honoka asked.
"They don't always say yes, just look at the stingy Snow Girl…" Nozomi said.
"Knowledge is not free…" The old woman said as she chuckled to her statement.
"Now that you mention them…." Maki said.
"I haven't heard from any of them…." she continued.
"Perhaps they're scared of my presence…." Kagemi replied.
"Eh..? Why? You seem nice to us…" Honoka replied.
"Maybe I'm too intimidating for them…" the old woman chuckled again.
"I can totally understand that…some souls just don't want to show up around me if I didn't bring Ericchi with me…" Nozomi complained.
"Well…Kyuubi is always attractive… else they won't be able to get their prey…"
"P-Prey?! You're saying it like kyuubi is some sort of a hunter or something…" Nozomi said.
"They are hunters, born as a way of the God to control souls, if I have to say. There is not many living who give such good deeds like you… so they had to be the one who did the population control…"
"Wait a minute though, doesn't that beast only exist there because she was possessed? I mean…. I didn't see that beast before when I met her…"
"Some may sleep before true danger approaches them…but their existence has stained their life from the very beginning."
"You're saying, that Ericchi is a kyuubi from birth?" Nozomi asked again to confirm.
"Why does it sounds funny to my ears now… born as a nine-tailed fox… what a load of crap…" Maki commented.
"Quite similar to one who is born with ears to listen…" Kagemi said.
"G-gh…!" Maki smirked,
"Don't you feel bad for them? Even though, they're born to be hunters, they may have as well been born to be hunted by the bigger danger. They who can oppose will oppose, and they who can swallow will swallow… in other words, they may be as attractive as gold, but at one time, they may disappear as they weren't able to survive from a bigger predator who has no interest in them…"
"Oo…so..we must protect them!" Honoka said.
The old woman chuckled,
"Ah… that's a nice way to see it…." she said.
"I see…so maybe this is why I was brought here by fate…." Umi said.
"Mm… we will practice hard so that we could protect Ayase-senpai!" Kotori said.
"It will be exciting to know how you will all grow…" the old woman said.
"But to be honest, the safest way for the kind of you is to just keep distance… the closer you are to them, the more danger you will be faced with. At least, that is what you need to do if you wish for a peaceful life…"
Maki frowned to the statement,
"But I don't buy that….in all honesty… there will never be a peaceful life. We're all born with a challenge to face. So what if your soul is a beast or you're hunted or any other crap you're destined to have… "
"…and those words came out from someone who prayed to be born differently…" Kagemi said.
"..Well, I'm sorry to have realized that late. Running away will just make me regret of losing a chance to do something good for others… that's why, I've started to accept what have been given to me…and let me tell you—I used to hate the fact that I was born as papa's princess, now I'm proud to be my papa's princess…."
The old woman laughed,
"What a youthful spirit!"
"D-don't laugh! I'm serious!" Maki protested.
Umi, Honoka, and Kotori smirked while Nozomi just lifted her eyebrows, wondering what she should say toward the almost wise and mature words she said…
"Well anyway, child, good luck on your practice…this old woman needs to tend to her back…."
"Ok, Kagemi-san! Take care!" Honoka replied.
"Thank you for your advice…" Umi said politely.
"See you later!" Kotori said.
"Later…" Nozomi said to the old woman.
Kindergarten near the Otonokizaka High-school, night-time;
"Say…" Honoka started a conversation as they all walked together,
"Are any of you getting in trouble for going out late…?" she asked.
"I had to make excuses about going to your house to help you do homework…" Umi said.
"Same with me…" Kotori said.
"E-eh?! Why are you two putting that on me…?!" Honoka complained.
"That's the only reason we could think of to let our parents say ok to staying out until late night…" Umi said.
"Yep, besides, you're like the only person who can make us stay until midnight…" Kotori added.
"Huuuhh…. That's mean! But, what about you Maki-chan…?"
"I'm the Princess…I do whatever I want…" Maki said.
"That's a short response!"
"Huh? Then what should I tell you…?"
"I mean, are your parents not worried if you go out at night…?"
"They're always out until late night…or sometimes, they don't even return home because the clinic is too busy. My parents tend to assume that I am sleeping somewhere in the clinic or at home…we have plenty of rooms and I always move around from here and there… besides, I know how to defend myself… they gave me some martial arts lesson ever since I was little…"
"T…that's nice…." Honoka said.
"What about you, Honoka…? What did you tell your parents?" Umi asked.
"Ah—they will just assume that I escaped to your home… no one worried!"
"So that's fair, right?" Umi said.
"Ehehe… hmmm..what about you, Nozomi-senpai?" Honoka asked.
Nozomi didn't respond, she was too deep in her thought about what Kagemi just told her.
"Nozomi-senpai…?" Honoka called her once again.
"O-oh! S-Sorry!" she snapped out of her thoughts.
"What was the question again…?" Nozomi asked.
Kotori, Umi, and Maki took a notice to Nozomi's surprised face. They wonder if she's alright…
"Are your parents ok with you going out at night?" Honoka asked.
"As long as they don't know…I guess…" she said.
"You're sneaking out?!" the others said loudly.
"No…not quite… I live alone…." Nozomi replied.
"Oh…" they calmed down,
"Wait what?!" They said all together again.
"G-Geez…nothing is wrong with that, right?" she said.
"O..of course…" they said all together.
Honoka was about to ask another question, though Nozomi spoke up first,
"But I'm not always alone, sometimes Ericchi comes by to stay over! That's what a best friend is for, right?"
"True-true!" Kotori said with a smile.
"What about Eli-senpai though? Does she live alone or… with someone? I heard she is a transfer student from a foreign country…" Umi asked,
"Well...she lives with her younger sister, I don't know her name though…she never introduced her to me…" Nozomi replied.
"Ah…that reminds me, Yukiho—my little sister often brings a friend to our home. She is a foreigner too and her name is Ayase Arisa!" Honoka said.
"That's probably her sister…" Nozomi said.
"Definitely…the surname gives it away…" Umi said.
"Well, she said where she often pays a visit is at a manjuu shop near a dojo…"
"That's definitely my home…" Honoka said.
"And….the Dojo… would be my home…." Umi said.
"Oh…? Small world!" Nozomi chuckled.
"Ah—Everyone! Look! That's Hanako-chan and the Snow Girl!" Kotori said as she pointed to a direction.
"Ooo—Nice job, Kotori-chan! Looks like your eyes are getting better with vision!" Nozomi appreciated.
"I barely see them… that's awesome…Kotori-chan!" Honoka added.
"Ah, you're right…I can see them…but it's still too transparent for me…" Umi said.
"Huh….really? I didn't hear them talking or anything…" Maki said.
"A weakness that you have, Maki-chan… but at least your ear is a lot better than any of us…" Nozomi said.
"What are they doing though?" Kotori asked as she pointed out about how they seemed to be hiding behind bushes.
"Didn't we tell Hanako-chan to wait for us here? Maybe they're trying to surprise us?" Umi replied.
"I don't think so…" Nozomi replied as she walks faster to approach them.
The rest of them follow up.
Nozomi carefully sits next to them as they intensely watch something at the kindergarten yard. The two ghosts don't seem to realize her presence. Honoka, Umi, Maki and Kotori remain silent as they also join them to sit behind the bush.
"Oohh…. I never knew you like watching kids play around…"
"It's not as simple as that! Take a look at that tallest girl! She looks like she is a living, who is able to split her consciousness—it's a very high tier ability!" The Snow Girl said.
"Ooh…which one is the tallest?" Nozomi asked again.
"It's the one with short brown hair and pink eyes! I think they called her as Hanayo-nee-san!"
"Split consciousness? What does it mean?" Honoka asked.
"It means that they're able to put themselves to sleep as they let a part of their soul leave their body. They will look like someone who is deep in their sleep, but in fact their second consciousness is actually somewhere else… that's why, sometimes it takes a while for someone to wake up from their sleep." The Snow Girl replied.
"Amazing… how did someone have such an ability…" Umi commented.
"Maybe, she was taught by some specific spirit so that she could play with them all…hmm…why did I never think of that before?" Hanako said.
Then they all went quiet for a moment until…
"Aaaahhhh! When did you all come here?!" The Snow Girl and Hanako shouted at them.
"W-Why are you surprised now?!" Maki said.
"We are not that aware, you know! That's totally mean!" The Snow Girl said.
"Yes! It's a crime to spirits!"
"Say what…?" Maki smirked.
"Now-now, what so interesting about them other than that specific girl that's able to split consciousness…"
"Well...why did you tell us to see them…?" the Snow girl replied.
"Oh right, that will be my idea…" Kotori said.
"So what do we need to do here?" Hanako asked.
"Well uh...you see…I heard from a few people, who often walk around here at night. They said, they often hear children laughing loudly and sometimes they scream for help as well…" Kotori said.
"That's it?" Hanako asked.
"Yep…"
"So...what's wrong with existing…?" The Snow Girl ask.
"Uh…it scares peoples…." Kotori said.
"What? Doesn't make sense, we just play around with each other and ask for help and we're scary?" Hanako said.
"Now-now, you made me feel like we're going to be here for nothing…didn't I tell you that we are only going to do one that will intentionally disturb the living?" Nozomi said.
"E-Eh? We-Well…" Kotori averted her eyes.
"I understand! It must be that even though they only exist, they are sort of disturbing, because they never show themselves and they trigger one's heart to look for them…." Honoka said.
"Hmm…she's got a point, because they ask for help, people immediately think that there's a presence of danger nearby. It makes them worry and it makes them feel insecure… that's why she thinks that we should get rid of them or make them stop doing such…."
"Y-yeah! I guess I'm ok with them playing around!"
"Alright…so, we're just going to ask them what makes them scream for help, right?" Nozomi asked.
"Y-yeah!" Kotori replied.
"Then, count us in…" Snow girl said,
"Yep! We will be glad to help!" Hanako said.
"So...how are we going to do it?" Umi asked.
And before everyone could say what they think, Honoka comes out of the bushes and shouts.
"Ooooooiiii! Did you all hear me?!"
"H-Honoka!" Umi exclaimed.
All the children soul and the one soul that said to be part of the living, turn their eyes to her…
Honoka, knowing that she is noticed—runs towards them without a single doubt in her step…
But at the time she was about to reach where they are,
A sound that only Maki and the Snow Girl could hear came out.
It's like a loud shrine's bell ringing somewhere…
In that very moment, one of the kids shouted,
"Oh no! We have been spotted!" he said.
"Run!" They said—and even the living soul quickly ran and faded away into the thin air—or at least that's what Honoka saw.
Umi, Kotori, and Hanako catches up to Honoka while Maki, Nozomi, and the Snow girl seemed to go somewhere else.
"Ah…they ran away…" Honoka said sadly.
"That's why you should wait for us to plan something…" Umi said.
"Y-yeah! Hnn…now what should we do?" Kotori asked.
"Hellloooooo! Please come backkkkk!" Hanako shouted.
"I…I don't think that will work…" Umi said.
When they start to look around, the ash brunette could feel something watching over them. She began to feel insecure—but there's something else that she could feel.
It wasn't her that might be in danger…
But….
"Hanako-chan!" Kotori shouted as she quickly tries to protect her by jumping—attempting to shove her and it was magically working…except… it as well caused her to be hit by a creature that just pounced on her.
A Gray and black furred creature—like a nine tailed fox, appeared along with a bell attached on its neck, it was able to push Kotori's soul off her body. Fortunately, Umi was able to notice the snap as her soul left the body.
It was similar to what happened to her…
Except, she may not have as much time as her—knowing that there's a mysterious nine-tailed fox nearby.
The nine-tailed fox growled at Kotori who tried to get up from her fall. It takes a second for her to realize that she has left her body by accident.
When the nine tailed fox was about to jump her, a little kid held it back strongly along with a giant hand that spawned near her…
"Run!" Hanako shouted to Kotori.
The ash brunette quickly escaped as far as she could—leaving her empty vessel on the ground near Umi.
Umi, who knows that they may have to take a long time to merge back and also that it will be impossible to do it when a hunter is about to eat her friend. Umi picked up her friend's body in her arms and ran away to follow where her friend's soul escaped to. She really hopes that there will be a place for them to merge the soul and body back.
"W-whoa! Umi-chaan! Wait for me!" Honoka shouted as she ran to catch up with them..
The Nine tailed fox turn its focus to Hanako who has been holding her, the little girl makes a slight frown before it tried to bite her—and she dodged it with ease before she escapes to the sky and dashes to someplace else.
The fox was quiet as it turns its eyes the other way—which is where the trio ran into.
The other side of the area,
Nozomi, Maki, and the Snow Girl kept chasing a group of children. They may be unseen for Maki—but she knows that she just needs to stick around the other two. When they keep running, Maki realized that the shrine bell sound started to fade from her ears.
"The Bell sound is fading…" Maki said.
"What Bell?" Nozomi asked.
"A shrine bell, this place might have been a shrine before it was rebuilt into a school for little kids…" The Snow Girl replied.
"Oh…?" Nozomi raised her eyebrow.
"Then, that bell is probably not coming from the building itself, right?" Nozomi asked.
"Yes…it should be coming from a nine tailed fox that is tasked to guard the shrine…" The Snow Girl replied.
"So…what are we chasing now?" Maki asked.
"Kids… they're our targets, right?" Nozomi replied.
"Yes…but what about the others? Why are they not coming with us?" Maki asked.
"Let them stay there, maybe their position right now will come in handy later…" Nozomi said.
"Then, what about the nine-tailed fox? Is it any danger?" Maki asked.
"Not for the living. They can't harm them without a living body…" The Snow girl replied.
"You think this nine-tailed fox has no living body?"
"They can't…" The snow girl said.
"What about Hanako-chan though?" Nozomi asked.
"She'll be fine… she is a legendary soul like me, that kind of soul isn't scary at all…" The snow girl replied surely.
And suddenly, Hanako came by,
"Yuki-nee-chan! Yuki-nee-chan!" she shouted. Nozomi, Maki and the Snow Girl stopped, letting the child escape completely from their sight.
"What's up, Hanako-chan? Are you being chased by the meanie fox?"
"No-no! But Kotori-nee-san is! She was trying to save me, but then she was suddenly able to touch me…and then….she got hit by the meanie fox! Then her soul got knocked away from her body!"
"Now that's scary!" The snow girl said.
"W-wait…what?" Nozomi flustered.
"It's possible, once you learned how to touch and be touched!" the Snow girl said.
"Kotori-chan learned how to touch and be touched? Why does it sound wrong to me?! "
"This is why you shouldn't watch too much porn…" the snow girl said.
"I'm not even saying it in a perverted way! I'm saying that because, I haven't learned about that and Kotori-chan beat me to it?!" Nozomi complained.
"You've been slacking too much then…" the snow girl said.
"Putting that aside! Where should we go now?" Maki asked.
"I think we should help those three first…" Nozomi said.
"Yes, they need to be saved before anything bad happens!" The Snow Girl said before they all quickly runs to where the trio is.
As they left, one of the kids peeked—wondering what they might've left for…
Meanwhile,
The fox kept running towards them—perhaps, they could spend a moment to think of a reason why they are suddenly being chased by the fox… or perhaps about the reason why they're running to the inside of the kindergarten building instead of the outside—or just far away from this very place...
Another thing about them— Umi seemed to be able to endure all the running with a soulless body in her arm. But in all her senses, she never expected to run after the soul of the body and also running to save her from a hunter.
When it gets darker, she started to see her soul slightly clearer—while also started to see how the beast is catching up to her. But on the bad side, despite her careful and diligent nature, her eyes still couldn't support her enough to see an obstacle under her, causing her to stumble. The time she realizes that she is about to fall, she quickly turn herself around, letting her body fall first while the body she carried fall on top of her.
"W-wwaaa! Umi-chan!" Honoka ran back to her. Kotori went ahead—knowing that the beast won't give her time to stop, unfortunately she doesn't notice that her friend just fell.
Umi stayed in place, feeling a painful ache around her ankle. It's not that rare for her to have her ankle strained, or getting bruises from her daily practice. But… now she felt herself conflicted of what she should do with the fact that she is now carrying the cold body.
"Honoka, please take her, and stay close with her…but be quiet!"
"E-Eh…? But… what about you?"
"I'll stay here for a bit, I think I sprained my ankle…" Umi replied.
"Oh… Ok!" Honoka replied before she picks up the body on top of her and starts running to catch up with the other girl—along the beast that tried to catch her.
Umi was left on the ground, she was then dragging herself with her hand to the side of the school's hallway. Without a flashlight in her hand—or any memory of holding one, she barely could see anything inside the room, and if it's not because of the night sky shining through windows, she doubts she could see the locker with some pictures displayed on it.
It's not exactly the same picture, but she feels like, she used to be where she is right now—long before she was as old as now. She tried to look for the switch, the one switch that she remembers well because she used to try so hard to reach it as a kid but should be easier now even with her limping legs.
As expected, she managed to find it and…the light of the very room went on. Showing the almost similar room with the one that recalled her memory…
This is her kindergarten—a place where she met Kotori and Honoka for the first time. This is the place where she started to realize that she is no longer a lonely girl who always hid behind everything.
There was a time where she ran from her home to this very place in the middle of the night—just because she accidentally caused her dear friend to cry.
That time, she borrowed Kotori's crayon when they had to make a picture of what they love. She needed a deep blue and light gray color, but her crayon only had 8 colors while Kotori's had about 64 colors. She remembers, when she was drawing what she loved, Honoka asked to borrow the same color from her… and later—she forgot to return it. She didn't know where Honoka placed them, but by the time she realized that she had to return the crayon, Honoka already went back home with her parents while she was stuck with the ash brunette girl that was waiting for her to return the crayon.
It took all of her courage to say sorry—because she took a really long time to look for the crayon and she also made her wait for nothing. She remembers well that the ash brunette's honey colored eyes started to get watery and she was also immediately running away back to her mother after hearing that Umi couldn't find the two missing crayons.
That's why, she decided to return to the school just to work herself to find the two missing crayon. She remembers well that she wasn't scared about anything that time—but now that she thought about it… she remember she met someone that night— that someone helped her find the missing crayons.
He was a little boy, a gentle little boy with pale face. He never told his name to her, but she remembers that he told her to not speak of his presence because the giant fox is looking for him.
Perhaps, this is what the spirits inside this very place always had trouble with? The constant chasing and the constant hiding…
Perhaps… their mission now is not to stop the kids from bothering the living with their nose, instead, it was to stop the fox from chasing after them…
But how?
Will she need to have a force like Eli? The one with a fox spirit—one that was so close to swallowing her.
Or perhaps some fire power like Nozomi?
She doesn't know what they did to have those…
Maybe they're just naturally born with it….
She sighed at her helpless mind. Feeling so useless in this case until….
"Oh—it's you again!" A boy voice said.
Umi quickly turns around,
The very same boy, the one she met that day, stood in the corner of the room.
"How can I help you?" he smiled to her with his mischievous face.
Meanwhile,
"Where are they going to, Hanako-chan?" Nozomi asked.
"Uuhh—I don't know! They should be around here but….!" Hanako tried to look around until she saw a light come from the room inside the kindergarten building.
"Maybe there! That light wasn't on before!" Hanako said.
"Alright…let's go!"
"W-wait a minute!" Maki said.
"What is it, Maki-chan?" Nozomi asked.
"Did kyuubi always have a bell on their neck?"
"No...they don't…the one that's bound to a place does!" The Snow Girl replied.
"So…maybe… that thing…is protecting this place, right? Then…. We're the intruders, he is the guardian…?" Maki asked.
The three paused, seeing that it does make sense…
"Can we just somehow move everyone from this very place…?" Maki asked.
"But…who owns this place to begin with?" The Snow Girl asked.
"Yeah…who owns this place?"
"Hmm…I don't think we should think about who own this place, but instead, we should think of a the better benefit for the living…" Nozomi said.
"You're siding with the living!" Hanako said.
"I think she is right though… because this world…is used by the people who are alive to live their lives. We're just visitors…" The snow girl said.
"Eh…Yuki-nee-chan?" Hanako flustered.
"You see, Hanako-chan… whichever of them gives a more peaceful result is the one that we need to keep. Because after all, we don't want to be claimed as the mischievous and evil being…right?"
"Hmm…Ok….so…how do we figure that out?" Hanako asked.
"Simple, Toujou-san will corner that beast with her spiritual power…then we ask him, what he is doing… a noble beast like him will give us an honest answer!" The Snow Girl said.
"Are you sure we can do something like that? What if he lies?" Maki asked.
"Wait…can he even talk?" Nozomi asked.
"Oh—come on, he is an expert guardian, nothing like your newbie friend…" The Snow Girl said.
"Hey, shouldn't we just go ahead now? Maybe they're waiting for our help…" Hanako said.
"You're right…I'll go!" Maki said before she quickly runs away along with Hanako.
"Ah—right!" Nozomi was about to run as well, but…
"Wait…Toujou-san…" The Snow Girl said.
"What is it?" Nozomi replied.
"Speaking about your friend…." The Snow girl pauses…
"Maki-chan…?"
"No…the best one…."
"Ericchi….?"
"Yes…. I believe you were not that surprised after knowing about her and that kyuubi…." The Snow girl said.
"I was surprised at one point…but…not quite….I was somewhat expecting that…" Nozomi replied.
"I see…but…after knowing that fact… didn't you think of something….?"
Nozomi stayed quiet for a moment before she sighed.
"Honestly….I do have a thought… and…because I know something about them as well…" Nozomi replied sadly.
"So…are you going keep trying?" The Snow Girl asked.
"I don't see any problem…perhaps she could just bind herself to me and be my guardian instead of staying in a place…"
"It's not about that, you know… it's about your own safety… I believe you realize that you're not the only one who wants to have a guardian for your own soul… The closer you are to her, the more danger you will face… besides, if you fail to bind herself to you… she will be your predator…"
"Maybe I should just start eating danger for breakfast first before she eats me…" Nozomi replied with her smug smile.
The Snow Girl sighs at her response.
"But really, I don't mind danger…Even if it will take a while, I'm sure that I'll be able to have her heart for myself…."
"Don't you realize that it might be her charm that causes you to act like this?"
"What's the difference with looking at an extremely attractive person? Look now, I have my personality, and they have their personality…do you get what I mean?"
"Not quite…" The Snow Girl replied.
"Each person has their own way to live. They can think and they can decide how they want to act. Though, one cannot control how they want to be seen. Maybe for some, she is attractive, but maybe for some other, she is not. You cannot blame her for being attractive when I was the one who wanted to do something to her—it's my personality that makes me do it! I do not simply act like a mindless being!"
"W-welll…" the snow girl tried to think of a response.
"I honestly don't think that Ericchi can be blamed for being what she is. If she is to be blamed for being attractive, why are there only the mindless ones that bother her? in other wordz, from a population of a hundred souls in an area, only ten are trying to stick themselves on her—and you're one that proved to resist her!"
"Eh—honestly, she is pretty hot for me too…"
"And yet you've been doing nothing to her, right?"
"I've been watching her from a distance…"
"And that's about it, right?"
"Also peeking at her during baths…"
"And that's…about it….right?" Nozomi's voice getting slightly louder.
"Watching her from a close distance when she is asleep…"
"And that's about it, right…..?" her voice could be compared to a shout.
"Also leaving a few things in front of her door…or some times food on her table and leave a secret admirer note…"
Nozomi took a deep breath…
"And that's about it….RIGHT?!" she put a heavy emphasis on the last word.
"I'm sorry—she is hot…" The Snow Girl said.
"Didn't someone tell me that they're more into manly guys than her?!"
"She has all the perfect looks, the fit muscles…the smooth skin…and…her handsome and gentle voice…and those fingers too….and her long tongue…."
"How did you even know about her tongue's length?!"
"She licked her nose at one point—and I saw that…she didn't even need to move her jaw too much…so that's why I assume…her tongue is long…."
"Now I feel like I've been slacking on getting to know her…"
"That's why you should start acting instead of only dreaming about her…"
"It's hard…you know…I have to be very-very careful on what I'm doing, else, I might piss her off…" Nozomi said sadly.
"I wonder why you like her now… I mean. Do you actually want to live near a time bomb…?"
"It's just the beginning, I'm sure that she is actually a very gentle and kind person!"
"You're really stubborn…" The Snow Girl said.
"You know what, I've been trying to ask her to go out…"
"And she never takes it seriously because you don't seem to be ready…right?"
"You know how it is…"
"Why do you always get a nosebleed whenever something sexy comes up in your head…?"
"I don't know…." Nozomi sighs again.
"It was what made me not have a girlfriend until now…"
"How….?"
"There was a time when I had the hots with someone in my junior high. She was…a blonde…like her too… but she was really gentle and motherly. She smiled almost to everyone…and she was alway someone who gave all the moral support that someone needs."
"Wait…don't tell me… did you try to—….?"
"Yes! I did! I always had my heart beating so fast when I was so close to her, wishing that she swung in the same way i did but—….at the time I wanted to ask her out….. I was thinking about something and….I had a nosebleed! Then…. I made her uniform dirty! But she was worried about me instead of her uniform…she took me to the hospital too at that time…. She introduced me to her boyfriend! I was so….sad!"
"….and…you cried….?"
"Of course! My heart shattered in a flash!"
"You poor thing… but I honestly think that's your fault for being a pervert though…" The snow girl said.
"I'm not a pervert! Sheesh! Anyway though, I did the same thing with Ericchi last time, she was complaining but I feel like she is actually fine with it…but she still doesn't take my word seriously!"
"That's because you look like a joke…"
"I wasn't joking though!"
And the two keep talking until they started to forget what they were supposed to do.
At the time Maki and Hanako enter the building,
They found that the room that lit up was empty.
"No one is here? That's a total disappointment…" Maki said.
And no one answered.
"Eh…Hanako-chan, are you with me now?! I can't see you!" Maki shouted.
"H-Hang on… Maki-nee-chan… I'm trying to find my way in…" Hanako replied.
"H-Huh? Your way in? The door is just—…" she pauses.
"There's a seal that closes the entrance…it looks new too…."
"New…huh? So someone might have just put it there?" Maki walks to the door.
"Yeah…but I doubt you know how to remove the seal…we need Nozomi-nee-chan…" Hanako said.
"I wonder why she hasn't caught up with us yet…" Maki wondered.
"Sheesh…she must be stuck with Yuki-nee-san….again…"
"Again…? What do you mean?"
"When they both are together, they start talking—it's like… it's not going to end until Nozomi-nee-chan needs to do something very important…"
"Oh…."
"I used to be stuck with them when we went somewhere, just the three of us, they chatted for so long, I almost fell asleep!"
"You can…fall asleep?"
"Of course we can! What do you think we're doing when we have nothing to do?"
"I didn't know ghosts can sleep…"
"Hmmph! Did you know, when you sleep, you're actually making your soul rest?"
"N…No…I thought sleeping is necessary to have—…."
"A body never stops from living before they're dead! A soul needs power to attach to one vessel! If you don't sleep, your soul may lose grip on the vessel, if the soul isn't in there, no one will take care of the body's system—and you might die if you didn't know how to return. I believe you know how long a body can hold itself, right?"
"8 hours before their tendons die completely…"
"We may not have that many hours because the giant fox cannot wait… so that's why, we are not going to wait for Nozomi-nee-chan and Yuki-nee-chan…"
"How are we going to do this then?" Maki asked.
"Just go in and look for anything suspicious… use your ears… I'll catch up when I find the way in."
"…alright then…."
Deeper inside,
Honoka, is carrying the soulless body of her friend as she keeps looking for her. She was told to do it quietly...but….
"Hnng…I wonder where Kotori-chan is… my eyes aren't that good yet…" she said to herself.
"I swear I saw her passing through this wall though…." she mumbled before she tried to enter the room behind the wall.
"Kotori-chan!" she shouted.
No one answered.
"I lost the beast too… if only I could see him, I might be able to see Kotori-chan too…."
She keeps walking around and…
"Pssst…Honoka-chan!" a bird-like voice whispered.
"Eh…Kotori-chan?" Honoka tried to look around,
"N-Not so loud! I'm right here…"
"Where is… here?"
"J-Just….here….!"
"Where…?"
"S-Stop moving! Uh…. I need to synchronize myself to my body…so I can enter back…"
"Ooh…How did you know?"
"I was watching Umi-chan doing it before… I didn't see her soul or hear her, but I heard Maki-chan trying to encourage her to synchronize herself with her body…."
"Aaahh..Ok-ok!"
"Can you please, put my body down…?"
"Ok!" and Honoka dropped her body immediately.
"W-Waah! H-Honoka-chan! Don't be so rude to my body!"
"So…how was it supposed to be?"
"J-Just forget it… uhm… can you please somehow put my body be in a comfortable position? I don't want to try synchronizing to a complex position such as… having my body sleeping on the floor with my hand under my own back and my head tilting in a mysterious way…."
"Oh…Ok…? So…. Standing?" Honoka lifted her body.
"N…No…. that's complex too… I need to hold the position for like 5 minutes, so…. I can't possibly try to stand like that and hold it for 5 minutes…."
"Then…Sitting?" Honoka placed her body to the small chair
"A-Aah! No-no...the chair is too small, my body might fall during the process…"
"So….what should I do….?" Honoka asked.
"Uuuuhhh….well…" Kotori started to think.
In the hallway,
Maki keeps looking through the hallway, it was all dark and she couldn't see anything but furniture and some childish art-work. Though when she reached the point where she could pick two paths, she could hear a faint bell sound.
"I hear something… are you here now, nine-tail fox?" Maki asked as she keeps walking.
"Tsk…what is this stupid human doing here…." A voice said.
"Huh? Who are you calling stupid?" Maki replied.
"Hmm…interesting, you can hear me talking? Are you part of a royal family?"
"Not quite…. But I hear you anyway…so, show yourself already…"
"Too much energy… I need to save up to catch these idiot bunch of kids…"
"Why are you chasing them…?"
"So that I can guide them to the light—obviously… I'm a guardian, not a mindless predator!"
"How can I trust you?" Maki asked again.
"Listen, I don't care if you don't trust me. We can be enemies if you like, but let me tell you that because a population of idiot kids like them must be stopped from increasing…"
"Stopped…from increasing…?"
"A mischievous little demon has been killing kids and telling them that I was the one who did it! He even told them to stay around and play with their friends—who are gathered by him! I already had enough trouble with the existence of that stupid girl who plays around them at night…"
"You mean…the one that has a split consciousness…"
"Exactly! She was taught by that little demon about how she can do it… but she didn't realize that by the time she split her consciousness, some danger could fall upon her. If she dies in one of her consciousness, then she will die in her other consciousness as well. It's not a safe play!"
"Oh…."
"Sooner or later, the loud noises of these children will bother the living so much…that they will start calling some exorcist…When they do that, that little demon will use them as his shield while he watch them burn in spiritual fire, made by those exorcists…then maybe he will look for more?"
"I guess that's a bad thing…huh?"
"Of course it is! Someone needs to stop that little demon from killing kids… but upsettingly, no one sees it that way because he was able to make them appear in playground accident! This kindergarten has received enough blame…and soon it's going to be closed. Some stupid investor also planned to turn this place into another public area…I can't imagine what that little demon will do to those people! He is good at making souls trust him wholeheartedly…"
"You sound like you have so much trouble…"
"I'm not that witty as a fox, you know… I wasn't able to outwit him…"
Maki could hear a sigh,
"I wasn't born in this kind of era… there are too many things that I cannot grasp… I don't think I can do my job anymore!"
"Hey..now…. let's just forget about that… can you just stop chasing after a friend of mine?"
"That ash brunette? Why? I was just trying to give her a lesson because she made me fail to catch the mischievous master of all children soul…"
"Hanako-chan?"
"Yes! That little brat killed more than a hundred already!"
"Well, she isn't that bad now… things are already changing…so you can stop chasing after her…or trying to harm her…"
"Hmmph….maybe you're being tricked by her right now…"
"Well, she just told me to go ahead because there's a seal placed on the entrance. She is now trying to look for a way in…."
"A seal…. Placed outside? That's something brilliant… now I can just look for this stupid little demon and give him what he deserves…"
"Any idea of how it happened?"
"I wouldn't know…but if what you say is true, then you might want to go ahead and look for your friend. Help her synchronize with body or something and leave… because something really-bad will happen to that little brat and you don't want to hear or see it…"
"Alright… I'll go ahead…." Maki replied.
"Hey… what's your name?" The fox asked.
"Nishikino Maki…" she replied.
"Fine name… my name is Kai the Black Nine-tailed fox… an ex-priest from a very long time ago…if we're meant to be an ally, then we should be…." He said before Maki could hear the bell ring before it started to fade further into the distance.
Back to where Kotori and Honoka is,
"Uhn…Ahh…It's nice to have my body back…" Kotori said as she tried to move her arm around.
"Hehe…it's nice to see you back too!" Honoka said.
"But my head hurts…and …why do I feel aching in a few areas…" Kotori continued as she stretched herself.
"Ehehe…well…..I…I don't know!" Honoka replied as she averted her eyes.
"Also… a few bruises that I don't remember to having…." Kotori said.
"M-Maybe you just don't remember?
"Did you fall somewhere, Honoka-chan?"
"U..Umi-chan did!"
"Umi-chan…? Then…where is she now?"
"S-should be waiting outside, she sprained her ankle…"
"Oh…Umi-chan! Let's go and help her!" Kotori said as she quickly ran to the door—but as she was opening it, Maki was right in front of her and…
"A-aahh!"
The two bumped into each other.
"M-Maki-chan…"
"G..gh… careful next time, ok? I couldn't see you clearly so I can't dodge you…"
"Uwo….Maki-chan, I didn't know you could get here…did you see the beast?"
"I couldn't see him, but I talked to him…"
"Talked…to a beast?" Honoka and Kotori ask.
"Yeah… well… things aren't as what we thought it would be…just like what I suspected…"
"How so?" Kotori ask.
"Hmmm… how to put it… it's just that, those kids we saw before were gathered by one demon—in other words, he killed them one by one and pretend to be their friend…and….the girl who was said to have a splitting consciousness…she might be in danger if she keeps that up…" Maki said.
"A…ah….I…I see…." Kotori and Honoka replied.
"We need to somehow help that beast to explain to the kids that they have to somehow return to the light… this place is not for them…and that demon is not what they see as….."
"But how can we do that….?" Honoka asked.
"I don't know…we should just go out and see what those two can say about this…."
"What about Umi-chan….?" Kotori asked.
"Uh—right…where is she?"
Alright, merry xmas everyone! I hope you have a great day!