Ghost Hunt - Volume 01 - Are there really lots of Evil Spirits!

by Ono Fuyumi

  "It's pretty strange."

  Brown took a deep breath.

  "Jabanese be so dif'cult!"

  "Hey, kiddo!"

  Bou-san shouted aloud. Bou-san saying "kiddo" sure seems strange—

  "I'm begging you, please don't speak in that weird Kyoto accent."

  Bou-san implored.

  "Still, there ain't no other talk thaz mo' polite than this here Kansai-ben talk."

  "Who?! Who taught this guy Japanese!"

  Bou-san exclaimed, his breathing becoming more and more difficult.

  "Listen carefully. Kansai-ben is a dialect. I suggest you not speak it anymore, got it? Otherwise it'll seem like you're speaking comic-talk."

  "Ah," Brown nodded, "If I don' speak, then ever'body can jus' get 'long. Y'all are psychics?"

  ...It's still very strange...

  Naru-chan responded:

  "Well, more or less. She's Matsuzaki-san, a miko. And he's Takigawa-san, a former monk on Kouya Mountain."

  "An' you?"

  "I'm a ghost hunter."

  "Oh, then this here equipment in da car is all yors? Impressive."

  "What about you?"

  "Ah, I be an exorcist."

  "Exorcist?"

  In an instant, Miko-san and Bou-san stopped laughing and started staring at Brown, with gazes that suggested they were looking at a powerful enemy.

  "About that, I thought in Catholicism you can't be an exorcist unless you're ranked higher than a priest... You seem really young to even be a priest."

  "Thas' right. You, my fella, is very knowledgable. Howeva', I'm 19 already. I jus' look like a young 'un."

  Oh no, I can't hold in my laughter.

  Nineteen... Then that means, he's Naru-chan's senior? This foreigner really does have a baby face...

  "It's best if you don't say 'wate'."

  Naru-chan advised, smiling wryly again.

  "If you say boku or watashi, you shouldn't say 'ansan'; otherwise, you'd be changing the meaning to 'you.'"

  Brown... No, Brown-san nodded his head.

  "Okay, thanks. What be ya name?"

  "Shibuya Kazuya."

  "Shibuya-san, hope ya don' min' takin' me aroun' the place first."

  Shibuya-san nodded slightly, then turned towards me.

  "Mai, time to work."

  "Okay."

  When Naru-chan headed towards the old school building, I wondered why everyone else followed.

  The equipment in the lab room had recordings. The sound of the machinery echoed throughout the classroom.

  "These are..." Monk-san mumbled, apparently at a loss for words, "I can't believe you brought in this much equipment."

  Naru-chan ignored him.

  Miko-san snorted in contempt.

  "This is all useless. Little boy, your little show is finished. It's time to pack all your things up."

  Naru-chan ignored Miko-san.

  "Bringing all this equipment in is such a waste. That must've been exhausting for you," she taunted.

  Monk-san said, "That's rude. Ah— I have high hopes in you. Since you have this much equipment, you must be very capable."

  His tone was ironic, mocking.

  Naru-chan turned around, a hint of coldness behind his eyes. "...What about you two? Did you come here to exorcise spirits? Or did you come here to play?"

  Embarrassed, Miko-san instantly turned around.

  "That's why I said I hate kids. Well, it must be an earth spirit, as it seems to be showing off a lot," she purposely ranted aloud, then left.

  Monk-san followed, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

  "Now what are you going to do?" Naru-chan asked, facing Brown.

  Brown looked embarrassed. "...Do you want me to help you?"

  "I don't care."

  "Um... I, I don't really know what to do in this situation. Is it alright if I stay here an' help ya out as much as possible?"

  "That's fine. Just do what you want," Naru-chan answered calmly, his eyes still glued to his computer.

  After nearly ten television sets were stacked on top of each shelf, the TV screens changed. Now they were showing a view of the corridors. Digital numbers and letters flashed incessantly on the screens. A view of the first and second floor could be seen from the TV placed in the entrance hall. All the screens were immersed in blue and green speckles.

  "What's this?"

  Naru-chan flashed an impatient look at me. Would it kill you to answer me?

  Brown-san answered instead, "It's Thermography... It indicates the temperature."

  "Oh—"

  Hey, he's pretty nice despite being psychic. (I'm already starting to think that all psychics have terrible personalities—)

  Brown-san pointed at the screen. "Orange indicates hot temperatures; on the other hand, blue indicates cold temperatures."

  Ah— Colored speckles, how strange.

  "Thank you, Brown-san. You're so kind," I said in a tone that will hopefully taunt Naru-chan.

  Brown-san blushed. "It's nothing... That's right, I didn't ask you what your name was. Are you Shibuya-san's assistant?"

  "Yeah, pretty much. I'm Taniyama Mai."

  "You can jus' call me John."

  ...It's that.. Strange Japanese again—

  Turning back, I saw Monk-san in the middle of the TV screen. While examining his surroundings, Monk-san walked into the depths of the hallway. Miko-san was in another screen.

  And in the other screen...

  I could see the dim classroom deep in the entrance hall. Inside, the shoe cabinet cast off a shadow. And in the middle of the shoe cabinet was a ghost.

  "Naru-chan!" I screamed, pointing at the TV screen of the entrance hall.

  Right in front of the shoe cabinet was a doll-like girl wearing a pink sakura kimono, trying to see what was above the shoe shelf.

  She looked just like a living human, with that jet-black hair of hers. She was also about the same age as me.

  The girl looked at another direction, then turned and left. She was no longer in the screen.

  "Wh-... What was that, just now?"

  Not acknowledging my question, Naru-chan rose and headed towards the door. His expression didn't change at all.

  The door opened.

  The doll-like girl stood in the middle of the darkness,

  "......!"

  I screamed.

  John softly patted my shoulder.

  "It's okay, Mai-san. She's not a ghost."

  Huh?

  Naru-chan forced a smile on..

  "The principal must really want us to finish the job quickly since he went as far as inviting you..."

  Her expression didn't change.

  "Do you two know each other?" I asked.

  "No. I only recognize her face because she's very popular," Naru-chan replied.

  "Who is she?"

  Though I was obviously asking Naru-chan, the girl opened her cherry-like mouth and answered me instead.

  "If you're talking about me, then I'll introduce myself. I'm Hara Masako."

  "Who?"

  I don't know...

  Naru-chan sighed. "She's a very famous psychic medium. She's great at summoning spirits, probably the best in Japan."

  "Summoning spirits?"

  "Ignorant, aren't you?"

  "I'm talking to you—"

  This time John answered my question again. "It's like calling spirits out and letting them possess your body and speak."

  "Huh? Oh, like the kinds on TV, right? Like when a psychic speaks in place of the ghost, right?"

  "Yup."

  Naru-chan looked at the spirit medium.

  "What is your evaluation of this building, Hara-san?"

  The psychic medium cocked her head.

  "I'm not sure... Who are you? You don't seem to be a psychic..."

  "I'm a ghost hunter, Shibuya."

  ...What was that, Naru-chan. Do you just go for pretty faces? You don't speak to us with *that* kind of attitude.

  T
he psychic medium looked at Naru-chan with a surprised expression.

  "Have we... Met before?"

  Oh. What an old pickup phrase.

  "I think this is the first time we met."

  "...Really...?" she said, turning around to face the pile of equipment

  "...I don't think there're ghosts here. Even though the principal was in a panic over it, there's nothing here. I also don't feel the presence of any spirits."

  "Really..." Naru-chan said, contemplating her words.

  ...Does the principal want to tear down this building that much? Is the old school building really that scary?

  A ghost hunter, a priestess, a monk, an exorcist, and even a psychic medium. He makes it seem so serious by inviting so many people. Just because of the old school building rumors. But, these people... Do they really have that kind of ability?

  It happened at that time.

  A loud, knocking sound and a woman's scream echoed through the building. We were fightenened for a moment.

  "Is that Matsuzaki-san's voice?" John asked.

  Naru-chan rushed out of the room and we followed. We bumped into Bou-san right after we left the lab room.

  "That sound just now..!" Bou-san exclaimed.

  "I'm not sure, but it seems to be on the first floor," John replied.

  Matsuzaki-san's scream echoed through the hallway from the west side of the first floor on the other side of the lab room.

  "What happened?!" Naru-chan was the first to reach the door, but he couldn't open it no matter how hard he pulled.

  Miko-san banged on the door from inside.

  "Open the door! Hey, open the door!"

  Both Naru-chan and Bou-san pulled with all their strength. The door started to bend, but it still wouldn't budge.

  "Let's kick it open," Bou-san suggested as he faced the door. "Ayako! Move away!"

  "What! Don't just call me by my first name like that!"

  ...You don't seem that worried.

  Bou-san kicked the door, causing the door to emit a snapping sound. Bou-san kicked the door again, this time knocking it down.

  Miko-san's face looked blue.

  "What happened?" Naru-chan asked calmly.

  "I don't know... After I came in, the door shut by itself. I couldn't open it."

  "You didn't lock it then?"

  "No!"

  Right when they were about to argue again, Hara-san intercepted.

  "How embarrassing."

  Miko-san stared at Hara-san.

  "What do you mean?"

  "How can you say you're a psychic? You start hollering like crazy when the door locks on you. Don't you think that's sort of embarrassing?" Hara-san taunted, her tone cold like the wind.

  Bou-san whistled softly, then turned towards the raven-haired girl. "You there... Are you Hara Masako-san?"

  "Yes."

  "You're prettier in person."

  Hara-san looked at Bou-san as if he were something dirty, then turned around.

  This person has a bad personality too—

  4

  "Well then, we must find out exactly what's in this old school building," Miko-san arrogantly declared.

  We took a break in the lab room, drinking the canned coffee that John brought.

  "Aren't you being oversensitive?" Masako commented coldly.

  "Shut up little girl. I'm not the same as a fake psychic who got popular just because of her looks."

  A small smile brushed through Masako's face.

  "Thank you for complimenting my good looks."

  Hmmm— That... Reminds me of someone.

  Miko-san disregarded Masako.

  "I believe it's an earth spirit."

  "An earth spirit is...?" I asked.

  ...What?

  Miko-san looked fed up with me.

  "Didn't your assistant go through any training, Shibuya-kun?"

  "She lacks the ability to do so in this area, nor is she worth training."

  Naru-chan said, his finger toying with a nail. You jerk. You must've been itching to say that.

  Miko-san assumed a teacher's position.

  "An earth spirit is one that lives in a certain place."

  "You mean like Jibakurei[spirits that're bound to an area]?"

  "So you know difficult terms like that? But they're not the same. Jibakurei are bound to an area because of an event that occurred. Earth spirits are spirits of the land, known as Seirei."

  "Oh—"

  So there're actually different types of spirits.

  "Weren't a lot of shrines here before? In that case, there could be many of them."

  "I think it's a Jibakurei," Bou-san intercepted, "Didn't something happen at this old school building? A spirit must live here. It had to disrupt the workers' progress because it was scared of losing its home."

  "What do you think, John?" Naru-chan turned around to look at the foreigner.

  "I'm not sure. Aren't haunted houses usually caused by *spirits turning into *ghosts?"

  Naru-chan looked at the nail in his hand, then nodded. "*Spirit...seirei, *ghost is yuurei. Are you listening, Mai?"

  ...Mind your own business. So you think my English is really bad, huh?

  "If it's a *spirit, then that means the earth spirit has some kinda relationship to the land. An' if it lives in a building, it woulda been a *ghost that might summon evil spirits or whatnot," John explained.

  I see.

  "If it's 'cause of a ghost, then that means the person who died in the house is a Jibakurei,"

  John continued.

  "You guys don't believe it's an earth spirit?" Miko-san asked as she stood up.

  "I don't think so. It's Jibakurei," Bou-san said as he rose and stood beside John.

  John's sky-blue eyes mirrored his confusion. "It's early, an' we still can't agree on a conclusion."

  Miko-san stood up. "To sum it up, everything will be fine as long as it's exorcised. I'll get rid of it tomorrow."

  She announced, "I don't have time to waste on this insignificant case. I'll go home as soon as I'm done with the exorcism."

  Miko-san laughed, then waved as she left the lab room.

  Bou-san saw her off, then inquired about everyone's opinions. "What do you guys think?"

  Masako replied, "It's no use. I already said there aren't any spirits here."

  "But there are so many rumors about this place. How do you explain that?" I implored.

  "You didn't see anything bad happen, did you? A building this old will always have one or two rumors. It's like the school's Seven Wonders."

  Ah— What a confident tone. This person is more and more like that other guy.

  I couldn't help but retort. "Then why did the door lock on Miko-san?"

  "That was because she was a bit confused," Masako replied in a blunt, authoritative tone.

  So is that how it is.. True, some people will just unconsciously open and close the door. But weren't Naru-chan and Bou-san unable to open that door even with their strength combined? Can Miko-san unconsciously close the door so that it locked by itself? Then, without thinking, I laughed.

  Maybe Miko-san was so scared to death when the door closed that she couldn't help but cry out in fear. That would explain why she sounded so eager to leave after the exorcism.

  The dark, crimson glow of the sunset shined through the windows, leaving a rosy shine on the glass windows.

  "Naru-chan, it's getting dark."

  Naru-chan lifted his head towards the window.

  "Ah... We'll go home after the preparations are done," he said, rising from his chair.

  "Move the equipment into the classroom on the west side of the second floor."

  Okay—

  Bou-san wondered aloud. "Oh yeah, boy, you're not staying here, are you?"

  "Not today... But I might stay tomorrow."

  Huh? Then... What about me?

  While I was thinking uncomfortably, Naru-chan looked at me. "Come here after school tomorrow."

  "Um... Tomorr
ow's Saturday—"

  "It doesn't matter what day of the week it is. You must work."

  Uh, uh, uh. No, noooo.

  "Staying here is kinda..."

  "Then do you want to compensate me for the video camera now?"

  "...I'll be ready."

  Hmph. You really do act like a boss.

  Chapter 4 - Central Pressure 912 Millibars

  1

  "What did you say just now?"

  Michiru persistently stared at me in the morning.

  "There's a rival."

  "Who?"

  Keiko, stop bothering me.

  "She’s called Hara Masako. Have you heard of her?"

  "Hara Masako? The one who's always on TV?" Yuuri asked.

  "You know her?"

  "Yeah... The psychic medium on that popular show... She's about our age. She's also really pretty..."

  "I guess so. She looks just like a Japanese doll."

  "So that girl suddenly tried to get close to Shibuya-san?"

  "No, it's more like Naru-chan started it..."

  "What!"

  Keiko almost pinched me again.

  "But it's true, that poison-tongued Naru-chan didn't say one sarcastic remark to her. I'm positive Naru-chan just goes for pretty girls."

  "Oh..." Keiko mumbled, her voice depressed, disappointed.

  "Hey, didn't I say it already... Give up on Naru-chan. He's not as nice as he looks, he's a liar, and he's a poison-tongued narcissist to boot."

  "But he's really handsome."

  ...Just because he's handsome doesn't mean he's great, right?

  I'm getting tired of this conversation.

  My line of sight reached Kuroda-san, who was looking this way.

  She's a strange one too. Is her personality that twisted just because she has psychic powers? Kuroda-san seemed to want to say something.

  I thought she was going to talk to me, but then she suddenly turned around and left the classroom.

  ...Umm—

  Right after class, Keiko & co. kept rambling on and on. It would be troublesome if they followed me into the old school building, so I dashed off the moment they started arguing again.

  The weather's nice today too.

  I have to work here at night. If it rains, it'll be even scarier.

  But there's a big, evil spirit loitering about. I'm not panicking. I'm not that scared. Is this good or bad? I energetically opened the door only to notice that Naru wasn't here yet. In front of the equipment was another dangerous person.

  Waah... Kuroda-san.