Fun and Games (self-insert #4)

Chapter 5

My laptop glowed tauntingly at me. The Word document was blank and it'd been like that for the last half hour. I ran my fingers over the keyboard, then settled for naming the document: BRAINSTORM 4. I could at least say I'd accomplished that much...

...but it really wasn't much help.

Next to me, Lin shifted on his uncomfortable metal folding chair as he switched his attention to the thermographs. A range of yellows and oranges lit up his solemn face, casting shadows in the hollows of his face. "Having issues?" He asked, his voice neutral.

"Can't think." I admitted. "My brain feels numb."

His eyes were glued to the shifting patches of color. "Relax. You're overthinking it."

"You can't overthink when you can't think at all." I contradicted.

"Relax."

His voice took on an edge, letting me know he was too busy to discuss this further. I sighed, slumping in my chair and letting my eyes close. This case was going to be the death of me. Oujia boards, dogs, fires...all of this had me wishing for Ubusuna-sensei's psycho voodoo fun. At least she'd been super obvious about it all.

The door clattered, catching my attention in time to see Bou-san and Naru entered with an unsteady Masako between them. My chair screeched against the floor as I rushed to my feet. As I did, the answer popped into my head. "Sakauchi got eaten?" I asked.

Ayako huffed impaitiently as she and the others filed in a moment later. "Will someone please explain what's going on? What's wrong with you?" She addressed her last question to Masako.

She swallowed hard as she lowered herself onto a chair, still visibly shaken. "I was channeling Mai's vision. The spirits were devouring each other." She whispered. "They...swallowed Sakauchi-san."

Bou-san exhaled. Ayako looked unnerved by this change of pace. "So then...an expelled spirit is not an exorcised spirit. It merely had 'escaped' to another place." She said softly, playing with her crimson hair. "What's the difference betweeen a spirit that devours and one that is itself devoured?"

John was grim, something I would've assumed to be impossible for his usual sunshine self. "The spirit that devours grows more powerful, right?"

I slapped the table. "That's it!"

Everyone turned to me expectantly.

"And there it goes." I dropped back into my chair with a sigh. "Ignore me."

I half-expected Naru to make some sort of remark but he was deep in thought, his interwoven fisted fingers resting against his face. Bou-san cleared his throat. "What do we do, Naru-chan?"

"We probably should wait a little on the exorcisms. What would happen if the spirit were to escape?"

The door slid open, revealing Yasuhara. "Ah, may I interrupt? I've got something you might be interested in."

Naru straightened. "What's that?"

"I tried to trace the origin of Orikiri-sama at this school. And after discussing it yesterday with Taniyama-san, I learned Orikiri-sama appeared about two semesters ago." He pulled out a small notebook and flipped through it. "There are two ways I think it could have gotten here. Either a freshman summoned it or it was a student in the art club. And so...it dawned on me that the late Sakauchi was in the art club."

"He was also a freshman." I remarked. "He fits both of the criteria."

Yasuhara gave me a sideways nod. "Now, of course, there's no reason to think that means anything. After all, it's just one piece of the puzzle." He reminded me. I nodded in agreement—no detective should be easily suckered by tempting clues. "It could mean something, or nothing at all. Anyway, it was less than two semesters ago that it began spreading among the freshman or the art students."

Naru lowered his hands. "It could use any number of means of possession to spread. So this summoned spirit..." His thought trailed off momentarily. "Obviously it's strange, but...even with the many means of possession it has at hand, there's no rhyme or reason to its ways. And I can't figure out why this place in particular has a attracted so many spirits."

"Could it be connected to a burial ground?" Yasuhara suggested. Bou-san thought about it before shrugging.

"Well, that would make sense."

SMACK. We all jumped as Yasuhara facepalmed. "Ah! I'm such a fool! I didn't discover just one grave. The Ryokuryou ruins were once an entire Nara-era cemetery!"

Realization dawned on Bou-san. "Of course!" He whipped around to explain to Naru. "The site of an ancient cemetery is bounded by kekkai, so spirits are cursed to wander aimlessly in it. Normally, spirits can't escape because of kekkai, but this is one way it could."

'This' meaning Orikiri-sama.

"A student could—in theory, anyway—summon a spirit out. So that's the key to this mystery." John mused.

"Oh, that makes sense." Mai agreed.

"We didn't know that about this school. Thank you." Naru stood, a bit of his usual edge coming back. "Yasuhara-san, please take John-san and show him the other trouble spots—he can at least purify locations. Matsuzaki-san and Hara-san, please patrol together. Bou-san, you'll have to patrol by yourself. If you come across a phenomena, please do your best to fight off the spirits. Lin, Mai, Nira and myself will be waiting here. We'll have our earpieces at the ready."

They patrolled the rest of the day and Naru, being a regular tyrant, threatened to evict me if I didn't listen to the recordings. He stood over me for a few minutes to check that I was doing what he assigned but the moment he moved to sat down I zoned out, wondering if it would be a hassle to ask Naru to buy me a tray of cupcakes. I needed sugar, a bucketful of fake sweetness.

My wayward brain cells remarked that Naru could be a bucketful of fake sweetness at times. I muted them.

It was after Maghrib that I finally noticed. "Where's Mai?" I asked as I folded the rug.

"Getting the tape from the biology room."

I froze. Walking alone at night, going for a tape...It would've been nice if someone offered to come along...

I lunged for the door. "Hurry!"

I didn't realize Naru was on my heels until he tripped over me when I paused for a breather. "What's wrong?" He demanded.

"Mai. She'll face a bunch of spirits." Fueled by my panic, my irritation skyrocketed. "Where's the biology room?"

"This way." He took the lead, his stride brisk as we set off again down the black corridors. We reached the door in record time and without hesitation he pulled it open, hitting us with a wave of fumes. I shoved the end of my hijab under my nose, but Naru bent down to examine Mai's unconscious form. His fingers hovered over her pale cheeks. "Call Bou-san."