Eighty-Fifth Spell: Jubokko
"It's me, you idiots!"
Recognizing that voice, Haru took the Namahage Cape off Rui and himself. Standing behind them was Hikari with her arms folded wearing the black top and skirt she wore when Haru accidentally burned her hand on the M Line.
"How did you know it was us?" Rui asked.
"I could hear you two talking from underneath the cape," Hikari answered irritably. "Now let's get to the storage house before Ako or Bambō show up."
With all three of them under the cape, they moved down the stairs into the courtyard and over to the west-facing side where the storage house was. After Hikari used the Knot-Breaking Jinx to undo the knot on the door, they cautiously stepped in. They could hear the soft croaking sounds of the giant Ōgama toad Nuru from somewhere in the room.
"Has Nuru seen us?" Hikari whispered to Haru.
"No, I don't think so," Haru said back. "Otherwise, she would have attacked us by now."
"Okay, then use the Moisture Spell to bring mist from the pond into here."
Haru took out his plum tree wand and waved it at Nuru. "Shikke Jiā!"
Through a crack in the storage house entrance came a trail of mist that engulfed the room. While Haru and the others started to feel sweaty underneath the cape, the croaking noises from Nuru increasingly slowed down.
"All right, now we just have to move Nuru away from the other set of doors," Hikari said.
While Haru kept the spell going with his wand, Rui and Hikari got out from underneath the cape. Rui used the Firelighting Charm to see where Nuru was, but the moisture in the room was so great that the fire at the tip of her wand constantly flickered. Using the light of the fire from Rui's wand to see, Hikari attempted to push Nuru away from the second door but to no avail.
"This is ridiculous," Hikari said. "Why should I have to push Nuru all by myself?"
"Because Haru needs to keep the Moisture Spell up so Nuru stays calm and someone needs to light the place up so we can see where Nuru is in relation to us," Rui said.
"Screw this!" From a pocket in her skirt, Hikari took out a handmade Kampo Pill and swallowed it. A moment later, her skin turned bright red as she pushed Nuru.
Much to Haru and Rui's surprise, Hikari managed to shove Nuru to the side like she was pushing a stack of papers and not a toad that was taller than the three of them. While this was happening, Nuru didn't react and continued croaking softly.
"How did you do that?" Rui asked Hikari.
"I took a Strength-Enhancing Kampo," Hikari explained. "Unfortunately, it doesn't last long. So let's go."
"Don't move!"
Standing at the entrance to the first door was a female figure that looked slightly overweight wearing a purple sweater and khaki pants wielding a wand made of Hinoki Cypress.
"Nayu!" Hikari exclaimed.
"What are you doing here?" Haru asked.
Just as Nayu was about to answer, she noticed Nuru and froze with fear. Sensing this, Nuru immediately flicked her tongue at Nayu and wrapped it around Nayu's arm.
"Higuāng!" said Haru, causing the moisture to evaporate as he produced fire from his wand that burned Nuru's tongue.
This allowed Nayu to free herself as Haru grabbed her. Hikari then immediately opened the second door which she, Rui, Haru, and Nayu got through and closed behind them. But to make sure Nuru couldn't get in, Hikari placed a Ward over the second door.
"What was that thing?" Nayu said as she was shaking violently.
"Higa's former pet Ōgama Toad Nuru," Haru explained.
Nayu looked back in disbelief. They could hear Nuru's slimy hands rubbing against the paper screen door, but she wasn't able to break in.
"Why would Higa keep something that dangerous in here?" Nayu demanded.
"More importantly, why did you follow us?" Hikari questioned in a scrutinizing tone.
"I saw you guys talking at the gazebo earlier," Nayu answered. "Though I couldn't hear what you were saying, you were eyeing the storage house. So I figured you were planning to sneak in there and followed you in the hopes of stopping Haru and Rui from losing more points for Byakko."
"Really?" Hikari looked annoyed. "That's all you were concerned about?"
Just then, something grabbed Hikari out of the darkness. Wondering what it was, Rui re-cast the Firelighting Charm. They discovered they were in a second room that was almost as big as the previous one, but with a taller ceiling.
In the room's center was a giant tree with bright red leaves and an evil-looking face carved into it. Embedded into the floor were roots covered in barbs with one of them dangling Hikari in the air by her ankle upside-down. While Haru looked away from Hikari's exposed underwear, he noticed the floor was covered in a brownish-red dirt.
"Stay absolutely still," Nayu advised, her voice having dropped to a whisper. "A Jubokko Tree will attack if you move around too much or make a lot of noise."
"That's a Jubokko Tree?" Rui couldn't believe it. "Sabe-sensei said they only grow from places where battles have occurred, and this storage house doesn't seem like a battlefield to me."
"Maybe it has to do with the soil," Haru suggested, pointing at the floor. "It kind of looks bloody in the firelight."
"Whoever planted this Jubokko Tree must have taken the soil it grew from and spread the soil around the room so the tree could live here," Nayu guessed. "But I'm not sure why someone would plant a Jubokko Tree in this storage house, unless they wanted to keep people out."
"Hey, can we save the speculations for later?" Hikari said, reaching for her wand. "Is there a way to get this thing to let me go?"
"Fire," Nayu said. "But not just any fire spell will do. It has to be a strong one that can burn for long periods of time."
"Like the Inferno Curse?" Haru suggested.
"No, that one's too dangerous!" Nayu insisted. "Something like the Cremation Spell Hihuī would be better."
Realizing she raised her voice too much, Nayu tried to move away. But the Jubokko Tree grabbed her leg with one of its barbed roots and dragged her towards it. Panicking, she aimed her wand at the Jubokko Tree's sinister face.
"Hihuī!" Nayu cried out.
To be continued…