Seventy-Seventh Spell: The Cloud Forest
"What are you doing here?" Haru asked Hikari.
"Headmistress Dōmeki saw me casting the Voice-Changing Jinx on you, and chastised me for casting spells in the Student Dining Hall which isn't allowed," Hikari said reluctantly. "I thought I was being careful…."
"But not careful enough," Higa noted.
This made Hikari glare at Higa. "Are you mocking me?"
"No, I'm just stating the fact that you're here and not in your dormitory at this hour," said Higa.
"It's all your fault, Ryuji," Hikari said bitterly.
Surprised by this, Haru responded, "What did I do? You chose to cast the jinx on me!"
"I have never had to serve detention before, and now you've ruined my perfect track record!" Hikari snapped.
"Again, why is this my fault?"
"You're cursed, just like your parents!"
Remembering Ako said the same thing to him, Haru's face turned red in rage.
"Okay, kids, settle down!" Higa urged, hoping to prevent a fight from breaking out. "You're both in detention and you have to accept that."
This made Hikari hug her shoulders even tighter. "So what are we doing?"
"We're going into the Cloud Forest," answered Higa.
"Are you crazy?" Hikari exclaimed. "First-Year Preliminary and Secondary Students aren't allowed in the Cloud Forest! Why do you want to take us down there?"
Before Higa could answer, a soft set of footsteps caught everyone off-guard. In the light of Higa's paper lantern, the footsteps turned out to belong to Sayuri Shō.
"Shō-sensei!" Hikari couldn't believe her eyes. "Why are you—
"I'm here to aid Higa-san with his business in the Cloud Forest," Shō interrupted. "That is all."
As a mild winter wind started to pick up, Higa began walking down the slope toward the line of mist-covered trees that marked the outer edge of the Cloud Forest. Haru, Shō, and Hikari followed after him with Haru shivering in his blue raincoat. In the heavy mist, it was hard to see. Yet Higa seemed to know the way.
What unnerved Haru the most was the eerie quiet of the forest as there were no animal sounds or bushes being disturbed by movement. Every once in a while, Haru thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. But when he turned to look, there was nothing there.
"Here we are!" Higa said, causing the others to stop walking.
In front of them was a large chinquapin tree covered in moss with branches stretching in various directions and shiny leaves. On the main trunk was a hollow that had bioluminescent green liquid along the edges.
Shō's brow furrowed when she saw the stain. "Is that what I think it is?"
"I'm afraid so," Higa said somberly as he touched the stain with his two fingers.
"Um, what is that stuff?" Haru asked.
"Kodama Blood," explained Higa as he showed Hikari and Haru his stained fingers.
"I thought Kodama Trees couldn't be killed!" Hikari exclaimed. "That's what Sabe-sensei told us in Herbology."
"You misunderstood what he meant," Higa said. "A Kodama Tree is just a very old tree with a Kami inside of the same name that manifests from the tree itself. Because of this, the Kodama's life is tied to the tree it occupies. So it won't die as long as the tree doesn't."
"But this tree isn't dying," Haru pointed out. "Its leaves aren't brown, and the branches aren't falling apart."
Shō pointed at the moss. "That is the first sign of this tree's decay. It will reduce the moisture the tree absorbs and prevent it from getting the necessary nutrients to live."
"What the blood indicates is something injured this tree badly enough to force the Kodama out through the hollow," added Higa. "And whatever hurt the tree took the Kodama."
"So what are we here for?" Hikari asked.
"To find the Kodama and bring it to Sabe-sensei so he can save it," Higa answered. "Because if a Kodama Tree dies, it'll bring misfortune."
Neither Hikari nor Haru liked the sound of that.
"All right, now we'll cover more ground if we split into two groups," Higa pointed to Hikari. "Genma-chan, you'll come with me, and Haru will go with Shō-sensei. We'll reconvene at this tree in an hour after searching this side of the island. If one group fails to show up, we'll assume that group ran into trouble and deal with it accordingly. Any questions?"
No one said a thing, which satisfied Higa as he walked to the left side of the tree with Hikari reluctantly following him. As for Shō, she took out a blue Chōchin lantern with a permanent frown on its living face before walking past the right side of the tree as Haru trailed behind her. In the light of the Chōchin Lantern, Haru tried to get a look at Shō's robes to spot the Kurami Sword Rui allegedly saw during the Quidditch Exhibition Match.
"Is there something wrong, Ryuji-kun?" Shō asked, noticing where Haru was looking.
"Nothing!" Haru averted his eyes. "I was, um, wondering if you could teach me...the Appeasement Ritual."
"The Appeasement Ritual? What for?"
"Well, I heard from Higa that he's been trying to catch an onryō, and I believe that my adopted sister's ghost and the onryō he's looking for are the same thing."
"And why do you think that?"
"Because ever since my adopted sister's ghost appeared at the Shrine of Idesei on Obon, the shoulder where she touched me has been feeling cold which Popuri-dono said is a symptom of sickness caused by an onryō."
"That does make sense, given the deteriorating effect onryō spirits have on living beings."
"I've also been seeing my adopted sister's ghost for many months now, which Popuri-dono speculates is because someone cast the Onryō Curse on me."
Shō seemed mildly surprised by this information. "Do you have any suspects on who could have cast the curse?"
Just as Haru tried to come up with an answer, a terrible wailing sound echoed through the trees. It made Haru freeze from fright while Shō immediately took out her wand.
To be continued…