CHAPTER 1 - STORM OVERHEAD

"Excuse me?" The teacher asked, her eyebrow raised in confusion.

"I said my mommy's magic! She can do spells, she can fly, she can-"

All the children in the class erupted into laughter, heedless of how the girl standing in the front of their classroom shrank fromtheir mockery. They pointed fingers and joked to each other, all at the expense of the little girl.

"It's true!" The girl protested, even as her small voice was lost in the laughter. "I swear!"

"Oh yeah? Then bring your mom here and show us!" One of the boys in her class demanded, raising his voice to be heard over the noise. The girl stepped backward until she was against the blackboard behind her. Everyone felt too close. "I... I can't," the girl said weakly. The laughter got even louder. The teacher loomed over the little girl. Though the grown-up was silent, the little girl could tell that she didn't believe her either. No one ever did.

"You shouldn't lie," the teacher said, bending down closer to the girl. "It's not-"

The girl turned around and ran for the door before the teacher could finish, unable to spend a second longer in the classroom. She struggled to push it open, but eventually she got through. Running down the hallway, she wiped away the tears that had started streaming down her flushed cheeks. Tears that she were all too familiar with.

"Koike? Kasumi Koike?"

Kasumi snapped back to reality. Looking around, she saw that some of her classmates were looking back and staring at her. Panicked, she raised her hand and said, "Present!" Nodding in acknowledgment, the teacher wrote something on his clipboard and called the next student for attendance. Kasumi slumped into her desk, resting her face on her arm. Why do I still remember that? She thought, groaning softly.

"Didn't get enough sleep?" The boy sitting next to Kasumi asked. He was facing her, head resting on his hand and a grin on his face. He brushed his black hair away from his dark eyes. "You totally zoned out." Kasumi turned to face him so that her speech would not be muffled by her arm.

"Yeah, I'm still half asleep," answered Kasumi, not wanting to say that she was lost in her thoughts. It happened more than she liked to admit. The boy shrugged and reached into his bag to pull out an overstuffed folder which he handed it to Kasumi. "Here's your homework back," the boy said as Kasumi sat up to take it. "Thanks for letting me copy it." Kasumi took it, a grin forming on her face. "You did make sure to make yours different, right? If Mr. Okimoto notices then it's both our asses, Shin."

"Yeah, yeah," Shin assured, waving a hand dismissively. "If anything, that's the one thing I can do well in school." Kasumi shook her head as she stifled a chuckle. This guy's hopeless, she thought to herself, sighing. She closed her eyes again, letting her teacher's voice fade into the background as she fell back into her thoughts. Unconsciously, her hand wandered to the golden star that hung from her neck. She felt it with her thumb, picturing the shape of the object in her mind. It almost felt like a part of her body after having it for so long. For a brief period of time back in middle school, she considered throwing it away or pawning it off since it looked so gaudy, but she eventually decided against it. Kasumi was glad she didn't. It was the only memory of her mother she had left.

The door opened with a distinctive squeak, and Kasumi opened her eyes. A balding man in his thirties wearing a pale grey blazer walked in. Kasumi sighed. She forgot that calculus was first period today.

…

When the clock struck three-twenty in the afternoon, everyone in the class started to pack up and head home. After a while, the classroom was mostly empty, leaving only Shin and Kasumi. "Can you hurry up?" Shin asked, irritated. "Just hold on, I'm almost done," replied Kasumi, stuffing textbooks and folders into her bulging bag. The day had been stressful for everyone, and by the end of the last period everyone had been assigned to three new projects. Her desk had devolved into a cluttered mess which she was only now putting away. Shin waited impatiently, tapping his foot as Kasumi struggled to fit everything into her bag. Pulling on the zipper which seemed just about ready to snap off, Kasumi shrugged on the bag and left the classroom with Shin.

Walking down the hall, Kasumi looked out the window at the overcast sky outside. The sky seemed to be completely white, and the weather had given everything a dull grey hue. It was probably going to rain soon. Wet season in Karakura town is always so dreary, Kasumi thought. Looking away from the window, she continued downstairs with Shin until they arrived at the school's main entrance. Changing into their outdoor shoes, they stepped outside, making sure to take their umbrellas from the rack.

"...And then he said that he was going to tell my parents about it! Can you believe that?" Shin said, exasperated. Kasumi, after being friends with him since before middle school, had grown accustomed to his ceaseless complaining. She nodded along as Shin continued on his tirade, only half-listening. They both walked at a relaxed pace, the asphalt under their feet still wet in some places from yesterday's downpour. Eventually, they both arrived at the street where Shin lived.

The street was narrow, only wide enough to allow a single vehicle through. Similar stout looking houses stood side-to-side on both sides of the street, separated from each other by low concrete walls. Tall wooden utility poles stood above them, plastered with faded posters and their wires waving gently in the light breeze. The pair stopped in front of a two-story house with beige walls and a dark brown roof. "Well, see you tomorrow," said Shin as he unlocked the gate to his house. Waving silently, Kasumi watched Shin walk through his front door and disappear into his home.

Now alone on the street, Kasumi turned around to face the little boy standing by the utility pole down the street from Shin's house that she and her friend had walked past. The boy looked completely normal, save for the chain attached to his chest, the end of which seemed to trail off into the air and fade away from existence. He stared at nothing with wide, blank eyes.

For as long as Kasumi could remember, she could see ghosts. For most of her life they appeared as hazy mirages vaguely reminiscent of people. Sometimes, they were nothing more than clouds of indistinct fog. They used to scare her, but now they're as ordinary as blades of grass. When Kasumi was a little girl, she used to tell people all about the figures she saw. No one ever believed her. No one except for Shin, whose young imagination was stoked like a fire whenever Kasumi spoke about these spirits. While everyone kept their distance from her in the playground, Shin was there, listening to every word she said. Nowadays it seemed that Shin was doing all the talking.

It was only a month ago that these phantoms in her vision began to slowly gain clarity, until they looked as human as she did except for the chains of varying length they all had attached to their chests. It made them much harder to ignore, and she was caught more than a few times by her classmates staring at what looked like empty space to them. Kasumi approached the ghost before her, who just continued to stare blankly. "Hello? You gonna say anything?" Kasumi asked the specter, waving a hand in front of his face. The boy didn't respond. Kasumi backed away slowly, and eventually continued walking to her home, unsettled.

A chill ran down Kasumi's spine. It's freaky enough that I can see ghosts, she thought, pulling her arms close to her body. But they can't see me! I wonder what that means. Every spirit Kasumi had seen since they became clear to her have been like the little boy, completely absent in mind. Kasumi began to walk faster. The stillness in the air suddenly seemed ominous.

After going down a couple of blocks, Kasumi arrived at her home. It was on the street corner, and stuck out from the other houses in both size and architecture. It was four stories tall and was considerably wider than all the other houses. Its tall, angular roof and dark brick walls gave the structure an antique appearance, in stark contrast with the other, more modern houses in the neighborhood. It was surrounded by a brick wall and the gate was made of black steel. People still made fun of her sometimes for living in the "Haunted Manor of Karakura Town," but Kasumi had since grown impervious to such jabs. Unlocking the gate, she stepped onto a stone path in the grassy yard of her property and walked up to the front door. Pushing it open, she took off her shoes and walked in.

"I'm home!" Kasumi called out, her voice echoing off the walls. Flicking on the lights, she entered the living room. Waiting for her inside was a middle-aged man with graying hair wearing a tailored and neatly pressed white shirt and black slacks. "Welcome home, Lady Kasumi," the man said, inclining his head. "Hey, Yasuhiro. I thought I told you to stop calling me that?" Kasumi asked as she put away her umbrella. Yasuhiro shook his head. "As the current head of the Koike family, it is only right that I refer to you with the proper respect." Rolling her eyes, Kasumi ignored him and headed upstairs.

After taking a brisk shower and changing into more comfortable clothes, Kasumi decided to take a walk around her house, as she was inclined to do when she had a lot on her mind. Even in her home, Kasumi never parted with her necklace. She held it between her thumb and index finger as she wandered the halls, feeling its shape. After a few minutes of walking through long, carpeted hallways and old rooms dusty from disuse, Kasumi found herself on the third floor, before one of many portraits of her mother. It seemed that, whenever lost in thought, Kasumi would always wander back to her mother one way or another. Kasumi stared at the portrait for a while. It was almost uncanny how similar Kasumi and her mother looked. Everything from her distinctive light brown hair and pale skin down to her dark, slanted eyes and sharp nose Kasumi inherited. It was like looking at a mirror.

Though Kasumi never knew her mother, everything in her life seemed to trace back to her. Kasumi always knew that her family was special, but in what way she couldn't figure out. She suspected that her ability to see the dead as they roamed the Earth had something to do with it, but anything beyond that was merely speculation. Mom, where are you? Kasumi thought, placing her hand on the picture. The mystery of her own past had become harder to ignore.

"Thinking about Lady Atsuko again, Lady Kasumi?"

Kasumi turned around, startled. Yasuhiro had appeared behind her without her noticing. She let out a long, drawn-out breath. "Jeez, don't scare me like that," Kasumi said. "Apologies, but you should really be more aware of your surroundings. It's dangerous to be oblivious," replied Yasuhiro.

"Your mother was a wonderful person," Yasuhiro said as Kasumi returned her gaze to the portrait. "You're just like—"

"Why won't you tell me anything?" Kasumi interrupted, giving Yasuhiro a sidelong glare.

"Pardon?"

"You know what I mean. For years I've been asking you about my mom, but you've always dodged my questions. I've let it be for too long now. Whatever it is you're hiding, I'm ready for it. So just tell me already! You knew her way before I was born, so don't say that you don't know anything." Kasumi said in a single breath. It was a demand that she was itching to make for a while now, ever since spirits began appearing to her vividly. Yasuhiro shook his head.

"I'm afraid that I can't tell you. It was your mother's wish that you were to live out your life free from the past."

Kasumi huffed and stormed off to her room, gripping the golden star in her hand tightly. What was my mom involved in? Was it so bad that me even knowing about it would be dangerous? Bad enough that my mom was killed for it? Kasumi continued on this train of thought, restless. She arrived at her room and collapsed into her bed. Mom... Who were you?

…

"That's odd... Look!" A young man with a friendly face and black hair styled with white hair clips pointed at a girl on a street below. "That girl can see pluses!"

"So what?" A woman with similarly dark hair wearing a dainty orange hat resembling an umbrella answered. She narrowed her cat-like eyes at him. "Focus on doing your job! Don't get distracted!" The woman said, raising her voice.

"S-sorry," the man apologized timidly. "But shouldn't we tell someone? You know, just in case she turns out to be like-"

"Yuki, are you dumb? We'll get yelled at if we waste our officers' time with that! Ignore that girl. We have something urgent to deal with. If we leave these Pluses like they are now, the Hollows in this place might get too powerful."

"Shino... Do you think this has something to do with the Garganta Eterna?" Yuki asked, apprehension in his voice.

"I don't know... but we should be careful," Shino said in a low voice. "Something shady is going on here." Nodding, Yuki jumped off the tall building that he and Shino were standing on, landing on the ground below gracefully. Shino followed suit. They split up, vigilant for any threats hiding in the lengthening shadows that may try to catch them by surprise.