Wraith (Kabane x Male Reader)

Gilded Diary

Inugami's POV

i asked the Caretaker questions but something seemed off. For some reason, he never answers things relating to himself and only things that happened to the house or it's areas.

Inugami "what ahout the family that lived here? What happened to them?"

And there it is again. He only shifted, blinked, and moved around uncofortably.

Inugami "anything you can tell me about the-.... hello...?"

I redied my gun again and got the kids to move behind me. The man has begun twitching uncontrolably as if... possessed. Then suddenly, he began moving back into the fog.

Inugami "hang on! where are you going?!"

Caretaker "find m-me. P-ple-ease. F-f-find-d m-me..."

I followed him into the fog with the other three following close behind me. What is this man doing?

His slow twitchy walk began to turn into a run and then an unrestrained sprint. His moves are still unnatural, as if forced and takes a lot of energy to do. We followed him past the statue and on to a path that we didn't even know was there. He eventually led us into an area with multiple burnt houses all clumped together.

He then sprinted toward one of the houses but went... through the door? As if his body didn't even touch it.

I made my way to the door myself and opened it, inside i saw... a skeleton...

Akira "what's in- *gasp*!"

Shiki "oh God... i think im gonna vomit..."

Akira passed out on the spot, thankfully being caught by Kabane before he fell to the ground.

I walked in and took a closer look at the skeleton. He wore the same clothes at that Caretaker we just talked to. Damn it. What is it with this place?

In the skeleton's hand was a knife. Under closer inspection, the man's ribcage looks to be pierced. Given the positioning, it's safe to assume that he killed himself...

Behind the skeleton i saw something shining. Moving it a little, i managed to grab whatever that shiny item was. Apparently it's a gilded book or diary of sorts.

The front page said "this book is property of Mary Belladonna." Despite being in his hands, i don't think this book actually belonged to the caretaker himself. For one, the name sounds female and the caretaker is male, and two is the fact that this book looks way too expensive for someone with the job of a simple caretaker of the lands.

I stood up and left the house, going back outside to see Kabane still holding Akira and Shiki looking stressed.

Shiki "this is the worst mission we've ever had..."

Inugami "come on. Let's get back to the car and go home for now. I need time to think everything through..."

Shiki agreed and i picked up Akira while handing the book and the doll to Kabane.

Back at the car, we put all the items at the back trunk and let Akira lay down on Kabane's lap while Shiki sits next to me. We all put on our seatbelts - aside from Akira who is still unconscious, and set off back home. As we left the village, i looked to my rearview mirror and saw that thing again for a split second before it dissappeared. The thing that's haunting that manor.

*Timeskip*

Back at the agency now. Akira woke up mid-way in the car and we didn't tell him what happened. It's better to let him forget that.

Shiki and Akira have gone to sleep and last i checked, Kabane was taking a bath. I asked the insufferable vampire Mihai to dig into what exactly we're facing here. I have my guess but im just hoping im wrong.

At the moment, i'm studying the contents of this diary and the properties of that doll Kabane found. The diary itself seems weird. It's obvous that there was once words here but it has since blurred out and yet... magic is at play. Illusions cover the words so that i can't read it. Whether this illusion is from the book or something else is unclear.

I suddenly heard the door behind me open and in walks Mihai with an unamused expression as he usually has.

Mihai "guess what, the thing you said you encountered? It's a wraith. A powerful one."

Ahh the words i hoped i would not hear has come true.

Inugami "damn it! Not only are wraiths tricky to banish, it's fatal if done wrong. Not to mention the danger the wraith itself pose."

Mihai "i also did some digging to that diary of yours. It's called a memory book. It'll re-live memories if the conditions are met."

I looked at Mihai with an arched eyebrow.

Inugami "what sort of 'conditions'?"

Mihai "you said to me that you couldn't read that right? It's mot supposed to be read. Bring that diary to a location where so.ething happened that is entailed there, and it will play out again before your very eyes."

Inugami "what sort of magic is this? and how do you know?"

Mihai "it's not from Japan. It's from Europe. You mentioned the estates looked european, well there's your answer. The family is probably from there, either them or their ancestors."

Mihai took a brief moment of pause before continuing.

Mihai "the only thing i couldn't fihure out... is the doll. That's gonna be up to you."

I sat and gave what Mihai said some thought. Eventually i dismissed him as he probably went back to play his game.

There's a lot to do here... we need to banish that wraith but how do we do it? And should i even bring the other three along with me on this one...?

Much to do... much to do...