Fate of Pandora - Book II

Even If It Takes One Thousand And Eighty Tries

Midori sighed when she heard the story from Kairi. She knew that the first place she had sent them was probably a false clue, but she felt bad that the two had run into a gang. On the bright side, everyone was okay, and the old woman continued her search for possible hiding places of the mysterious box.

In the middle of the week, she suggested they check an old, closed-down hospital. Any place where people faced life and death was always brimming with energy... be it positive or negative.

Coalt and Ayame looked without enthusiasm on the dark and abandoned building under the moonlight. The boy lighted their way by controlling a small flame, while Kairi used her blue fire to be sure there was nothing hiding in darker corners. When they found an entrance, they were careful to not get too close to anything that might ignite – it would be just their luck to accidentally burn down the place before they had the chance to search it.

"It's so obvious something bad is going to happen," Coalt sighed. "The question is, what will it be this time? Angry spirits? Demons? Zombie invasion? Sparkling vampires?"

"Shut up, Coalt! You're scaring, Ayame," the nekomata shushed him.

Indeed, the girl once again had her arms wrapped around his free arm, looking uneasy at all the dark doorways and shadowy objects, waiting for something to jump out at them.

"Sorry," Coalt apologized. He could see that she was really frightened and trembling at each step. An abandoned hospital was such a common place in horror films; she hated all the similarities.

Despite the tension, in the end, they had a pretty anticlimactic night. They searched the place as well as they could, and nothing happened. No fights this time – which wasn't really a bad thing – but no supernatural occurrences of any kind. It meant they weren't close to Pandora's Box, after all.

It took Midori a few more days to find another area and, Saturday morning, she decided to go with the two teenagers to a place that had called her attention. She took them to the Aoyama Cemetery, well known for some famous people buried there and for its beauty. Aoyama Cemetery wasn't a sad place to cry over the lost ones: instead, its trees and landscape commemorated their lives and the memories they had left behind.

They stopped at the entrance, which was guarded by two koma-inu – lion-dog statues, common guardians found in many places around Japan. It was the first time Midori personally wanted to show them the place she had tracked down, which was unexpected.

"Ah, such an interesting place. Too bad the Sakura Avenue isn't blooming; it must be beautiful during spring." Midori said as she walked ahead.

"Midori, are you coming all the way with us?" Ayame was surprised by the woman's boldness.

"Oh, yes. There is such a different sort of energy here that caught my interest. I couldn't miss the opportunity to check it out," she said without a drop of worry.

"You know we might face danger," Coalt warned her.

"Oh, if that's the case, you two and Kairi will protect me." Then she turned and winked at them, "And, if it's a spirit, I'm the one who will protect you two. Ho ho ho."

Coalt and Ayame exchanged a look, but didn't object.

"Kairi, come here. I need your help to track where the energy is coming from; this place is huge."

The black cat was still at the entrance, staring at the guardian lion-dogs. When Midori called for her, she ran inside and quickly joined their powers, trying to form the smallest blue flames on the backs of Midori's hands to call as little attention as possible. The old woman took her pendant from her pocket and concentrated. The crystal at the end of the chain reacted and pointed in the direction of a strong source of energy.