Hanabi

Chapter 3: Curse

INFO:

Yuurei – this is actually the general Japanese word for “ghost”, but I’ll use it only to refer to the angry and vengeful spirits who died violently or suddenly (like Sadako from Ringu and others). This way it gets easier to describe and differentiate them in the story.

Keigo – is the polite language the Japanese use, through honorifics like “-san” or “-chan” or “-sama” etc. The right ones for the right people. Not using keigo is seen as really disrespectful unless you’re very close to the person.

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Haruna felt tired while walking with Tomomi through the same remote and empty street for the millionth time. They had just finished a job that afternoon and the taller girl actually did well, so Haruna was relieved. The task was to cast away a yuurei that was driving a young woman crazy, haunting her house and trying to harm her. It took them four long days, but they finally managed to chase that one away for good. She had the chance to teach Tomomi a few things, so it was safe to say that everything regarding that one job was a success.

The thing was, that task was constantly interrupted not only because the yuurei would suddenly disappear on them, but also because Tomomi insisted in going to the mountain side every day. Of course Haruna wanted to solve that problem with the Oni, she was making her own research about it, but she didn't think that going to that girl's house again and wait in vain for her to talk to them would make any difference.

An entire week had passed since the Oni incident, and Rina showed them where that Mami girl lived the day after it happened. But the girl refused to get out of the house or acknowledge their presence in any way. Haruna didn't want to insist, but Tomomi made her go there every single day. The result was always the same, the two of them sitting on the sidewalk for hours getting bored almost to insanity.

Haruna couldn't understand why Tomomi was being so adamant about going there, but then, Haruna wasn't the one who was attacked. She had never seen the girl, she wasn't there to really understand what Tomomi might be feeling about everything. Plus, she still wasn’t able to understand some things about Tomomi and how she really worked.

She figured that was her punishment for being so harsh. She liked Tomomi, she saw potential in her, and she thought the taller brunette was actually really nice to be around when she wasn't whining about stupid things. But she couldn't bring herself to be nice to her, like a normal friend would be. 

Tomomi was a tricky one to understand completely, sometimes she would be just too sensitive for her own good, but other times she seemed simply impossible to shake. There were those moments when she seemed like such a strong minded person, and Haruna knew there was more to her than she would let people see. Tomomi wasn’t just that loud and scared person she appeared to be on the surface, she could notice that.

Now it was one of the times when Haruna wished she tried harder. If she actually tried to really know her friend, maybe she could understand why she was being so stubborn about going to that house. Maybe if she was nicer to her, the girl would tell Haruna what was bothering her so much. She hated when her grandmother was right about these things.

But she didn't really know how to treat her any differently, she didn't know how to treat anyone differently.

They walked in silence, to a point where there were only a few houses here and there. There were many trees around and the place was quieter than the rest of the city. Then they saw it once again, the large house ahead, rising there completely isolated from all the others.