Disclaimer: I don't own anything. (Though I wish I do)
Summary:
Have you ever heard of Dark Magic? What do you know about them? Natsuki is a rising star in the Fuka Police Headquarter who solves her case based on logic & facts. However, her world is turned upside down when she meets Shizuru. Shizuru lives in a world that can never be defined by logic and facts. What happens when the two meet? ShizNat Rated T for now
Chapter 6
Shizuru placed a circular mat on the floor and lit four oil lamps around the mat. Then she placed the red origami star in the middle of the cushion and took a few steps back.
All set.
With her forefinger and middle fingers together, Shizuru pointed at the origami star and chanted a spell.
Immediately the origami star rose into the air and unfolded itself, releasing Shiho's spirit from the talisman.
"Shizuru!" The moment Shiho realised she was free, she launched herself towards Shizuru, ready to tear into her.
But before she could touch Shizuru, she was blocked by an invisible wall. She tried again and again and each time she was blocked by something invisible.
"Don't waste your time Shiho-chan." Shizuru took a chair and sat down, watching patiently as Shiho tested her boundary.
Shizuru was prepared to wait.
She crossed her legs and took a sip of the wine from the wine glass. "I have set up a boundary around the mat and you won't be able to escape."
Shiho growled at Shizuru. "What do you want from me, Shizuru?"
Shizuru smiled and held the bottle of 和合油 (love potion; refer to Chapter 5) in front of Shiho.
"Everything." Shizuru's eyes glowed an ember red. "Everything you know."
Shiho-chan's eyes widened in shock when she saw the bottle in front of her. She averted her eyes before quickly regaining her composure.
"What is that? I have never seen it before." With a blank face, Shiho-chan shrugged her shoulders. "Where did you get it from?"
Amusement flashed across Shizuru's face. She smiled. "Stop playing games Shiho-chan. You know what it is. Or would you like me to refresh your memory since you were dead for hmmm… one year or so?"
Shizuru shook the bottle gently and watched as the liquid swirled in the bottle.
"It is a very useful solution isn't it? Oh but you were also trapped in the coffin for the whole period. You might have forgotten a lot of stuff."
At the mention of being trapped in the coffin sent anger flaring through her. Nobody could understand the pain of being trapped in a small place, day after day, night after night, unable to move an inch. She nearly went crazy while trapped in that box.
Shiho roared and charged at Shizuru.
With a flick of her wrist, Shizuru shot something red into the four lamps.
The moment Shiho hit the boundary, she bounced back screaming in pain.
Shiho could feel her body burning in pain.
Shizuru smiled, folded her arm and took another sip of the wine. "I already told you Shiho-chan. Stop wasting our time. Tell me what you know about this."
Shizuru gestured to the bottle she placed on the table.
"I really don't know what you are talking about." Shiho insisted, completely denying her knowledge of the solution.
"I have always been a kind person. So I shall give you another chance, Shiho-chan." Shizuru paused as if thinking. "It might be… hmmm less painful for you perhaps."
Despite Shizuru's suggestion, Shiho-chan remained stubbornly silent.
Shizuru placed her wine glass down and smiled. "Alright. It's fine if you can't remember now. You can always stay here until you can remember everything. In the meantime, it is my bedtime and I will see you tomorrow."
Shizuru walked towards the door and just as her hand touched the doorknob, she paused and glanced back at Shiho, as if she just remembered something.
"Oh I forgot to mention, I really love this room. The windows face the east. You would be able to see the nice sunrise in the morning."
Shizuru gave a smile and nodded her head.
"Oyasuminasai Shiho-chan."
And with that, Shizuru left and closed the door behind her, shutting off the screams and curses coming from Shiho.
Sunlights were particularly harmful to spirits and ghosts. Sun is considered to have the Yang energy or positive energy. Whereas, spirits and ghosts are opposite and considered to have the Yin or negative energy. Once exposed, the sunlight would burn away their yin energy and prolonged pipo exposure could kill them.
Shizuru knew it and so did Shiho.
The next morning…
Shizuru wiped her mouth as she finished the breakfast prepared by Mikoto.
After breakfast, Shizuru switched on the television and watched the morning news. She wasn't in a hurry to see Shiho-chan. She had ample time anyway.
The news anchor was reading off a piece of news that Shizuru was familiar with. Two grave robbers had robbed the graves to sell off the remains for posthumous marriages. However, there was disagreement and one of the grave robbers killed the other one and made off with the remains. Unfortunately, that grave robber died of possible heart failure while in police custody. Investigation was underway to ascertain the cause of death.
Shizuru watched the news. She wasn't surprised if Shiho-chan was the one who killed both robbers. Shiho-chan had turned into a vengeful ghost and the two robbers took her remains. So it was likely that she went after them and took their lives. But now that the two robbers were dead, the only 'person' who knew the truth would be Shiho-chan.
As Shizuru thought about it, her mind drifted off to Natsuki-san. She wondered if Natsuki-san would have to write a report regarding the death of the grave robber.
As if realising where her thoughts were going, Shizuru refocused her attention and glanced at the clock.
It was about time.
Shizuru got out of the sofa and went to find Shiho-chan.
Shizuru entered the room and saw Shiho lying on the floor, groaning in pain.
"Gokigenyou Shiho-chan." Shizuru smiled and greeted Shiho.
Shiho tried to glare at Shizuru but was too weak to do so. She panted as she felt her whole body burning with pain.
The sun had risen about two hours ago and ever since, her whole body had been burning. She could feel her soul dissipating under the hot sun. Any longer and she might just die, disappearing from earth.
Shiho's body wasn't as solid as yesterday. Her soul was slightly translucent from the burnt of the sunlight. Sunlight was able to dispel Yin energy and ghosts or spirits were made of Yin energy.
Shizuru wasn't in a hurry to close the curtains. She went over to the chair and sat down, all the while watching and waiting for Shiho to speak.
"I… remember…" Shiho uttered through her pale lips. "Close curtain…please… I will… tell you…"
"Ara…so Shiho-chan remember what this bottle is all about?" Shizuru tapped the bottle with her finger.
Shiho nodded weakly.
Shizuru smiled and pressed a button that closed the curtain.
"Let us begin then." Shizuru said as her eyes glowed red in the dim room.
One hour later, Shizuru exist the room and Mikoto was standing outside.
"What is it, Mikoto?"
"Yuuichi-sama called just now. But I told him you were busy."
Shizuru nodded her head and Mikoto retreated to her place.
Shizuru went to the study room and sat down in her leather chair. Though the conversation managed to clarify certain things, Shiho-chan wasn't able to provide much helpful information.
Those black magic items belonged to Shiho but they weren't made by her. She bought them from a man, whom she had never met before. Shiho never knew who he was. And she wasn't able to contact him. He was always the one who contacted her. The love potion was the first item she bought from him and it all happened one day when she received a call from a stranger asking if she would want to buy a love potion.
Shiho was desperate then. Yuuichi nii-sama rejected her advances again. So Shiho decided to try the love potion. Money was transacted online and the next day the item was delivered to Shiho. Though she was skeptical at first, she still went ahead and tried the potion on Yuuichi nii-sama. And imagine her surprise and elation when the potion worked like a miracle as Yuuichi nii-sama fell in love with Shiho immediately.
Since then, the man would occasionally call Shiho offering her various items and she would always buy them from him.
As for what happened after her death, Shiho was even more clueless. The moment she realised she was dead, she was already trapped in her coffin until she was released from the coffin by those two grave diggers, which she killed in the end.
That was all Shiho knew. But regardless, it clarified a few things.
Shizuru picked up the phone and returned Yuuichi nii-sama's phone call.
"Shizuru! The police returned Shiho-chan's remains!" That was the first thing Yuuichi nii-sama said to Shizuru when he picked up the call.
"Gokigenyo Yuuichi nii-sama. That is good news."
"Yes it is! I am so glad to have Shiho-chan back." There was a slight pause before Yuuichi continued, "Shizuru, do you think I would be able to see Shiho-chan's spirit soon?"
"Of course nii-sama. You will see her again when we find her spirit."
"Shit!" Yuuiki Nao cursed as she wandered along the third floor corridor of the school building. "Why do they build such a huge school? And for goodness sake where is the toilet?"
Fuuka Academy School was an elite school with a huge campus, housing both the Fuuka High School and Fuuka University.
Yuuiki Nao was a third year student at the Fuuka University. She had chosen this school solely for the people who studied here. They will be the elites of this country in the future. Making friends with them now will definitely be of help in the future. And most importantly, they were rich kids. Having a rich boyfriend will make life easier.
Nao turned right and saw the female toilet situated at a corner.
"Thank god!" Nao muttered under her breath. There were only two cubicles inside the toilet and lucky for her both were empty. There was a woman washing her hand at the sink.
In a hurry, Nao dashed into one of the cubicles. Any longer, she would have wet her own pants.
A few minutes later, Nao stepped out of the cubicle, completely relieved. It felt good to be alive.
The woman Nao saw earlier was still bending over the sink washing her hands.
Nao couldn't help but frown in irritation.
While Nao appreciated cleanliness, this was a bit too extreme. And the toilet was not so dirty that the lady had to wash her hand for that long.
The woman repeatedly pressed the tap and rubbed her hands vigorously against the running water, her head bowed focusing on the task at hand.
Nao would have ignored her had the woman not been blocking her access to the liquid soap.
Nao waited for a while but obviously the woman was not moving an inch. The sound of the woman pressing the tap vigorously and running water gushing from the tap was loud in the background.
"Oh for god sake, could you just excuse me. I need soap." Nao spoke out loud and clear.
Immediately the woman paused in her washing.
"You can see me?" In slow motion, the woman turned her head to look at Nao. The head moved in a rather awkward movement. Normally, a person would have straightened up and then turned the head to look over at the person. But in this case, the woman was still 45 degree bent over the sink and while bending over, she turned her head to an extreme angle that Nao was sure humanly impossible.
Shit!
Nao's legs trembled when she saw the face. She stared into a pair of eyes that was completely black with no iris. Droplets of blood were trickling from the corner of her eyes and the colour of blood was a huge contrast against her pale skin.
The temperature dropped several degrees.
"You can see me." A statement this time. And the woman smiled. "Finally."
It wasn't a nice expression.
Just as Nao was about to scream, the lights in the toilet flickered once, twice and the whole room went into darkness.
The scream caught in her throat.
There was complete silence.
All she could hear was her ragged breathing.
She could feel the coldness creeping up her spin and the hair on her neck standing up.
OUT! She needs to get out! Nao thought she inched her way to the door in the dark.
Just as she grabbed the handle of the door, she felt a pat on her shoulder.
A cold pat and then a murmur next to her ear. "You saw me."
It was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Nao took a deep breath and let out a scream as she slammed open the door and fled towards the stairs.
She didn't dare to look behind.
What if she turned and came face to face with the 'woman'?
The thought was too horrifying.
Nao ran down the stairs and out of the building before she stopped a distance away to catch her breath.
It should be safe here. Nao thought.
But just as she was about to move off, she felt another pat on her shoulder.
This time with no hesitation, Nao took flight again.
"What is wrong with her?" The security guard mumbled as he saw the redhead dashing off after he tapped her on her shoulder.
Nao stood in front of the same school building which she ran out of yesterday night.
She came back here in the end. She didn't want to but she left her bags together with her wallet in the toilet. And the money in her wallet was to pay her school bill.
She knew what she saw in that toilet yesterday night.
Ghost
She told her boyfriends but all of them shook off the notion of spirits, thinking that it was all a joke. And so she was here on her own to retrieve her bag.
That ghost that she saw in the toilet was definitely not the kind sort.
Nao paced back and forth in the lawn, biting into her fingernails.
She needed the money urgently. The school had sent her a message reminding her to pay the school bill as soon as possible. She only had about three more months before she graduated from this university.
Shit shit shit.
Nao tightened her fingers around the talisman which she bought from a temple, gathered her courage and stepped into the building once again.
She traced her steps up to the third storey and stood outside the toilet. Her hand shook as she slowly pushed open the door.
Nao let out a sigh of relief when she saw the empty toilet.
With her confidence boosted by the empty toilet, Nao took a few steps in. All she needed to do now was to grab the bag and run. The toilet wasn't that big. Just two cubicles. So she could just grab and go. It won't be too dangerous.
Nao tried to convince herself.
But often, realities differ greatly from expectations.
Nao searched every cubicle but couldn't find her bag. She remembered she dropped in on the floor. Nao recalled as she kneeled down to search under the sink.
But as she turned her head, the space which she knew was empty previously, was now occupied by two feet dangling slightly above the ground and droplets of blood dripping on the floor.
Drip.
Drap.
Drip.
Drap.
Loud and clear, echoing in the enclosed toilet.
Immediately Nao froze. She clenched her teeth to prevent herself from screaming.
Pretend you didn't see her.
Pretend you didn't see her.
Nao chanted to herself.
If possible, Nao wanted to faint on the spot and pretend that there was nothing. But she feared that the next time she opened her eyes, she might just come face to face with the ghost.
Move! She needed to move out of the toilet! Nao thought as she commanded her limbs to move.
After several repetitions, Nao's limbs finally heeded her command and they moved in an uncoordinated manner towards the door.
Yes! She was crawling on all four. But it didn't matter as long as she could get out of the toilet.
Nao stared at the floor as she turned to crawl towards the door, pretending she couldn't see the pair of dangling feet.
Unfortunately, reliefs came too early.
The pair of dangling feets moved in tandem with Nao, blocking Nao at every opportunity.
Right now, the pair of feet was dangling between her and the door. To get to the door, she must bypass the feet.
It looked like the female ghost had no intention of letting Nao go away so easily.
She clenched her teeth.
It took a while before Nao finally gathered her courage and looked up. She saw that same woman grinning at her from above, blood trickling down from her eyes down her cheek, before pooling beneath her feet.
Nao screamed and dashed towards the door, trying to fling it open. But the door remained stubbornly shut.
Once again, the light flickered off.
Nao had her back against the wall this time.
Complete darkness and complete silence. Every nerve in Nao's body was strung tight.
Just then Nao felt cold fingers tightening around her necks.
Tighter and tighter the fingers squeezed.
"You can replace me here." The woman whispered into Nao's ear and chuckled.
Nao could feel her legs dangling above the ground.
Her grip was too strong. Nao thought as she struggled to breathe. Nao thought as she tried to loosen the fingers around her neck.
At that moment, Nao thought of the talisman she bought!
Nao fumbled and threw the yellow paper at the ghost.
But it just bounced off the ghost like any normal piece of paper.
Nao cursed. It was a pirated version! She got cheated!
Instead of repelling the ghost, it only made the ghost angrier as she lifted Nao higher above the ground.
Nao struggled to pull out a pocket knife from the back of her pants. She was prepared to fight it with a knife if necessary.
Nao took the knife and thrusted against the ghost, screaming "Get the hell away. Fuck you!"
Again and again, Nao thrust the knife into the body as she screamed at the top of her lungs.
That went on until the lights in the toilet flickered on and someone stood at the door asking, "What hell are you doing?"
And that was when Nao saw herself sitting on top of a decomposed corpse on the floor.
"Why Nao, you looked so natural with the handcuff on! I almost couldn't recognise you!"
"Stop your sarcasm Kuga." Nao snarled.
Natsuki smirked as she sat down in front of Nao.
She and Nao were first cousins on their mother's side and were childhood friends. They used to be close but drifted apart after the death of Natsuki's mother. In fact it had been years since they last saw each other.
"Still as mean as a snake huh Yuuiki-san."
"Shut the fuck up mutt."
But Natsuki only grinned at her. And the grin turned into chuckles.
"Nice to see you again Nao. Though I guess it would be better if we could meet each other under different circumstances rather than in an interrogation room."
Nao's rigid stance dissolved as she slumped back into the chair.
"Yar nice to meet you too mutt."
"Now tell me what happened..."
"Natsuki, how is your cousin?" A police officer asked when Natsuki exited the room.
"She has kind of settled down. Thanks for giving me a chance to talk to her."
"No problem. Anyway, we are not really bending any rules for you. All suspects are entitled for a visit by family members." The police officer gave Natsuki a smile.
He was the officer assigned to the case and the suspect asked to speak to her family member, which happened to be Kuga-san
He was hoping to use this as an opportunity to get closer to Kuga-san. She was well known throughout the HQ for her beauty and capabilities. If he could use this as a platform to ask her out, he might just be the envy of all the guys in the HQ.
"Thanks. Since I am related to the suspect, I won't be able to involve myself in this case. Please do treat me like any other family members of the suspect."
"Of course. Of course. We have to uphold the integrity of the police." The officer agreed, trying to impress Natsuki with his professionalism.
Natsuki and the police officer parted ways and she returned to her table.
Natsuki sighed.
Nao had told her everything including the incident with the ghost. Prior to Munakata Shiho's case, Natsuki would never have thought there were such things as paranormal activities. But guess she is wrong. Natsuki sighed once again.
Based on what she understood from Nao, it was unlikely that she would be charged for any crime, except for possession of a dangerous weapon. This would be punishable by fine.
There was a high probability that Nao was not involved in this case. The body was found to be highly decomposed so it was impossible for Nao to be the murderer, even though she was found stabbing at the corpse.
Therefore Nao was unlikely the murder suspect.
So what's most important now was the forensic report which would shed light on the cause of death of the victim. If the cause of death was not due to knife wounds, then Nao would likely be released soon.
Natsuki wondered if she should visit the crime scene.
Shizuru clicked on the save button and then closed her PowerPoint slides. She just finished preparing her lecture slides for her lecture tomorrow.
She was currently an associate professor in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences in Fuuka University. Her area of specialisation was in the Asian studies, focusing mainly on Asian religions and cultures.
Shizuru glanced at the corner of her laptop screen.
It was 9:30pm now. About time to fulfil her second duty as an associate professor in Fuuka University.
Fuuka University was a well recognised university, ranked among the top three universities in Asia. Students who graduated from Fuuka U were in high demand by companies across the country. And of course not to mention, Fuuka U had ties to many conglomerates and renowned politicians. Many of them were alumni of Fukka U.
But what many outsiders did not know was that Fuuka U was also a place where many black magicians or 巫师 (loosely translated as "witch doctor"; refer to Chapter 2) gathered.
Fuuka U was a breeding ground for 巫师 (witch doctor). Not everyone has the potential to be a 巫师 (witch doctor) and to learn the art of black magic, you need someone to guide you in the practice of black magic. And most 巫师 (witch doctor) either belong a specific sects or are born into a family of 巫师 (witch doctor). And they would send their children to Fuuka U.
There was a hidden rule amongst all 巫师 (witch doctor). Black magic was never meant to be known by average citizens. Their acts were meant to be a secret.
While they were meant to be a group hidden from the masses, they were never willing to stay powerless. Hence many sought to influence the direction of the country, in the political, economic and social sphere.
This was where Fuuka U came in. Through the university, 巫师 (witch doctor) sought to establish connections with the rich and powerful.
And Shizuru was one of the representatives from the Fujino Clan. She was born a Fujino. But her mother decided to leave the clan and bring Shizuru, who was still a baby at that time, with her. Her mother was adopted by Viola Kiyaotaro and they took the family name Viola.
But when Shizuru was 15 years old, her mother passed away. And not long after, the Fujino Clan came to bring Shizuru back as part of the bigger family. Just like most of the Fujinos, Shizuru studied in Fuuka U and after she graduated, Shizuru came back to work as a professor.
Just yesterday, she received a phone call from the Dean of the faculty, requesting her help with a paranormal activity in one of the faculty toilets. That faculty toilet was quite well known ever since Shizuru was a student there. There had been a series of suicides in one of the female cubicles. It caught the interest and imagination of many adventurous students then, who wanted to unveil the secret behind the rampage suicide in this toilet among female students.
To prevent any future incidents and for safety purposes, the university locked up that toilet. That was the general information given to the public. But Shizuru knew that the Dean had someone conduct a ritual and sealed the place up.
Normally when someone died of unfortunate events or suffered from unnatural deaths, the death would release some form of negative energy and would attract more negative emotions or extrapolate negative feelings. And the spirits from such death would linger and entice more living to commit similar acts.
In Japan, Aokigahara is a forest on the northwest flank of Mount Fuji. It was a beautiful place with many unique flora and funa. But unfortunately, this beautiful place is also known as the suicide forest. According to reports by the police, 105 bodies were found in the forest in 2003. And in 2010, 200 people had attempted suicide there, of which 54 completed the act. Subsequently, the official stopped publicising the numbers in an attempt to minimise the association of Aokigahara with suicide.
Thus, Aokigahara is a good example of how a place could attract more negative energy and deaths. Visitors who may have entertained thoughts of suicide when they entered the forest. But their negative thoughts and emotions were amplified when they are inside and thoughts become actions, unfortunately.
[advisory: please call the helpline in your country should you need help. Do NOT entertain such thoughts please.]
Sometimes ghosts or spirits would look for another person to replace him or her so the spirit or ghost could be released from their place of death and proceed to be reincarnated. This is also known as 替死鬼.
'替' means "replace".
'死' means "dead".
'鬼' means "ghost".
The original ghost may have died due to suicide. However, the ghost may not be able to move on and is bound to that place. Hence, when a human come by, the ghost may amplify the negative feelings and entice the person to commit suicide. So when the person died, the recently deceased person will replace the original ghost so that the original ghost could leave and be reincarnated.
Thus, this is why some places become well known to be common spots for people to commit suicide or hot spots for accidents.
And this female toilet became a popular spot in the Fuuka U.
Everything was peaceful after the Dean had someone cleansed and sealed the place up.
But recently, for some unknown reasons, a female student found her way into that toilet and committed suicide there. Nobody discovered her body and the student was reported missing. Subsequently, another female entered the toilet and was found to be stabbing the decomposed corpse.
Since the problem did not go away even after they dealt with it, they decided to seek help from Shizuru.
And because of this, Shizuru was standing in front of a building at 9pm on a cold night. Shizuru blew into her hands, trying to warm her hands with her breath.
Shizuru sighed. How she wished she was home, soaking in her tub and drinking wine. Or snuggled with a warm body on the bed.
But the dean was willing to pay a lucrative sum for Shizuru's service, which managed to convince Shizuru to go out on a cold night.
Regardless, Shizuru hoped she would be able to complete the task as soon as possible so she could go back to her apartment.
As she walked towards the building, she saw a familiar figure, someone whom she wasn't expecting.
Surprise flashed across her face.
It was Lt Kuga Natsuki.
What was she doing here? Shizuru never expected to see Lt Kuga Natsuki again so soon.
And at the sight of Lt Kuga Natsuki, Shizuru recalled that the lieutenant's jacket was still with her. She had washed it but had not gotten Mikoto to return the jacket to her yet.
After pausing for a moment, Shizuru decided to approach Natsuki. It won't be nice to pretend that she didn't see her.
That was what Shizuru tried to tell herself as she walked towards Natsuki.
"Konbanwa."
Natsuki was pressing the button on the lift when she heard the greeting. She remembered the voice. There was a slight distinct Kyoto accent to it.
Surprised, Natsuki turned and saw Viola Shizuru standing there. She hadn't expected to see Viola Shizuru again.
"Konbanwa." Natsuki returned the greeting. "I never expect to see you here."
"I work here. What brings you here?"
"Just checking up on a place related to a recent case." Natsuki replied, with no intention of sharing more information.
Natsuki had no plans to tell Shizuru about the possible paranormal activity in this building. Not that she hadn't thought of seeking help from Viola Shizuru. She had thought about it and then rejected the idea.
From Natsuki's point of view, Viola Shizuru was a family member of a victim and she was a police officer. The only possible relationship that could exist between the two would most likely be a formal one, a civil servant and a member of the public. They could hardly be considered acquaintances. Furthermore, it seemed that the two of them didn't end on the right note previously. She had unintentionally treated Viola Shizuru like a suspect, when Viola Shizuru had saved her multiple times. So it didn't seem right if Natsuki asked her for help.
At that moment, the lift arrived and once again Natsuki was surprised when Viola Shizuru stepped into the lift with her.
"Which floor are you going?" Natsuki asked as she entered the lift and clicked on the level four button.
Shizuru tilted her head, a thoughtful look on her face. She was also going to level four. If she was guessing right, they were going to the same place.
The only recent police case that she heard of was of a female student stabbing a decomposed corpse in the toilet, well known for the many suicidal incidents. And she was going there to cleanse and seal the toilet again.
"Ara… I wonder if we are going to the same place ne…" Shizuru replied.
Natsuki looked at Shizuru, a surprised look on her face.
"So you heard about the paranormal activity at the toilet?" Natsuki blurted out, looking wide-eyed at Shizuru.
Instead of replying to Natsuki, the thoughtful look on Shizuru's face turned into frown instead.
"So you knew that there was paranormal activity in that toilet?"
Natsuki nodded her head.
This time, Shizuru narrowed her eyes.
Sweat dotted Natsuki's forehead. Did she offend Viola Shizuru again? She sensed that Shizuru was irritated with her again, though this time round, she wasn't sure why.
Natsuki did a quick scan of what she just said and did earlier but came up blank as to what might have ticked Viola Shizuru off. Again.
Natsuki was right.
Shizuru could feel the irritation building inside her. Kuga Natsuki knew that there was going to be paranormal activity in the toilet and that it was something she wouldn't be able to deal with on her own, yet she still decided to venture into the place. It was dangerous and not to say reckless.
If possible, Shizuru would like to pry open her brain to see what's in her brain. What was she thinking? She already knew first hand the danger and yet she decided to risk it on her own!
Hadn't Natsuki thought about contacting her first?
"Erm… Viola-san…" Natsuki tentatively called out Shizuru's name.
Just when Natsuki thought that Shizuru was going to snap at her, Shizuru suddenly looked up and smiled, a dangerous smile on her face.
"Ara… Since Natsuki-san and I are going to the same place, let's go there together."
"Erm… Sure! That would be good." Natsuki nodded her head and scratched her chin.
Natsuki was confused now. She was pretty sure a minute ago, Viola Shizuru was irritated with her. But now, she was smiling at her? Natsuki wasn't sure what caused the sudden change in attitude.
Did she miss out on something she was supposed to know?
Much as Natsuki was baffled over this sudden change in attitude, she felt more assured and secure to have Viola Shizuru around. She had seen how Viola Shizuru dealt with Munakata Shiho then and she felt more comfortable visiting that place knowing that Viola-san was around.
What Natsuki didn't know was that Shizuru had some other plans for her.
Poor Natsuki had no inkling what Shizuru was planning when she agreed to visit the place with her.
To be continued…
Omake 1
Movie director: Alright Shiho-chan, in this scene, you are held hostage by Shizuru. She wants information from you. But you must show that you are reluctant to give the information. Alright? Are you able to do it?
Shiho nodded her head and clutched her fist. The most difficult scenes were over. She should be able to pass this scene in one shot. She needed to impress the movie director with her acting skills.
With great determination, Shiho stepped into the circular mat, ready to impress.
Movie director: Action!
"Don't waste your time Shiho-chan." Shizuru took a chair and sat down, watching patiently as Shiho tested her boundary.
Shizuru crossed her legs and took a sip of the wine from the wine glass. "I have set up a boundary around the mat and you won't be able to escape. The lit lamps are the barrier. As long as it is lit, you won't be able to escape."
Shiho growled at Shizuru. "What do you want from me, Shizuru?"
Secretly, Shiho swallowed the saliva pooling at the back of her mouth.
Damn! She liked this type of people! Confident, sexy and dangerous.
Shizuru smiled and held the bottle of 和合油 in front of Shiho.
"Everything." Shizuru's eyes glowed an ember red.
Shiho's eyes widened.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! I will give you everything Shizuru-sama!" Hearts appeared in Shiho's eyes. "Everything."
A/N:
Ok chapter 6 is here Hookedonreading :) Chapter 7 of Black Magic should be up soon by the end of January.
I know what you mean. The different colours on the trees just make the scenery so much more beautiful. Please keep yourself warm.
Thank you and Arya78 for reading :)
I have also updated Unexpected with Chapter 6.