Hanabi

Chapter 6: Trusting her

INFO:

Ihai – an ihai is a spirit tablet, or memorial tablet that’s used to represent and/or supposedly keep around ancestors’ spirits or some deity that acts like a guardian. They can be found in shrines.

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Haruna turned around in time to dodge two extremelly white hands that were aiming to grab her head, but the yuurei moved fast and took a hold of her arm before she could do anything else. She felt the sheer cold on her skin as the yuurei kept a tight grip on her arm, and saw long curtains of black hair hiding the ghost's face and a white gown trailing on the floor.

Of course it was a woman, that was the amount of luck Haruna had. In seconds, the yuurei reached for her head again, and Haruna punched it square on the face as a reflex, with her right hand. The yuurei let out that deafening scream again and fell backwards.

- Like my chain, buddy? - Haruna said, feeling her heart beating faster with adrenaline, clenching her right fist one more time. The silver chain was still wrapped securely around it. But as she took a quick glance at her left arm, the one the yuurei had previously grabbed, she saw big and really dark bruises. She hated getting wounded by yuurei, those things would normally take from days to weeks to heal, and it looked like this one had scratched her as well.

As she moved to try and hit the yuurei one more time, she got another scream right to her face, and couldn't do anything else besides holding the muffler against her ears and stepping back. Haruna closed her eyes for a moment with the pain on her ears, and the noise stopped.

However, when she opened her eyes again, the yuurei wasn't there anymore.

- I hate when you people do that... - she mumbled, and then the lights went off with a popping noise - ... And I hate it even more when you do that.

She just stayed quiet, trying to see anything around her and feeling the pain stinging on her arm. Tomomi would be really useful that moment, she cursed mentally for going there on her own. The task was going to be way more complicated and time-consuming than she previously thought, if that yuurei was going to keep the hide-and-seek and then attacking her from behind.

But there was nothing she could've done, was there? She couldn't simply shrug someone who needed her help just because Tomomi wasn't available to go with her. Rina did offer her assistance, but then... that was Rina. She wasn't going to accept help from a kitsune like that. Besides, as far as Haruna was concerned, Rina could just turn against her and make things more complicated. Haruna wouldn't take that kind of risk.

Her arm was hurting more by the minute, and Haruna cursed under her breath. The yuurei was hiding, her arm was driving her crazy, and she couldn't see anything. What a nice situation to be in. She got out of worse scenarios in her life, but it didn't cease to be annoying.

The pain started to spread over her whole arm very quickly, and that made her groan in frustration. She figured the best thing to do was getting out of there, doing something about that arm and then coming back. Sighing, she went walking on a bee line to where she knew was the sliding door back to the front of the shop, going slowly so she wouldn't bump on the multiple boxes and make a bigger mess.

Suddenly, when she was already close to the door, she felt a cold wind passing by her, from her back, and right after that was a feeling of pure cold inside, as if she was immersed in cold water, and she knew what that was. That was the feeling of a ghost passing through her. Haruna never had the time to prepare, because the yuurei materialized itself in front of her right after moving through her body and grabbed both sides of her neck, screaming at her face again.

Growling in pain and anger, Haruna grabbed one of the yuurei's arms with her right hand, sinking the silver chain on its dead skin, and the spirit screamed louder before turning translucent again. She ran the rest of the way to the sliding door, opened it and threw herself out, than sliding it shut once again.

Haruna fell on her knees, panting, and felt the stinging pain spreading now over her neck as well. Maybe it was a bad idea going there with only that silver chain, she needed more resources to deal with that one. She had to do something about her wounds and go to her truck to grab other tools before entering that stock again.

With that in mind, she stood up and made her way to the front of the shop, where the old Kamiya and Ethan were talking. They stopped speaking when seeing her, and she noticed that both of them looked at her with concern.

- Ono-san, are you alright? - the owner asked worriedly, and Haruna nodded at him, walking towards the front door.

- You don't look ok at all... - Ethan said in the same concerned tone.

- I just need to fix my arm and get some tools to deal with this thing, I'll be back soon. - she said in a reassuring way, but started feeling dizzy - Don't worry, just don't go back there before I solve this.

- Are you sure? - the old Kamiya asked again, rubbing his hands nervously.

- Yes, I'll be back. Don't worry... - Haruna said and went out of the shop.

She walked through that narrow street with some difficulty, her vision blurring and her head feeling heavy. All she had to do was reach her truck, once she did that she could fix things and everything would be under control.

But if she would ever get to the truck or not, she didn't know. She was just seeing the end of that street when everything went black.

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- Are you feeling sick?

Mami could only hear Tomomi's voice in a vague way, and shut her eyes. She was pressing her elbows on the table so she could support her head with her hands again. She felt weak, heavy and unable to move, and she knew she was going to faint soon or later.

- Can you... - she started, trying to speak in an audible tone - Can you bring me some water?

- Of course! - Tomomi said promptly, and Mami knew she was standing up.

- Everything's easy to find... - Mami tried, but she couldn't speak anymore. Instead, she just focused in keeping her head from hitting the table.

There was some movement, and Mami knew Tomomi had hurried to the kitchen. Mami felt just so mad that this was happening when she was trying to find one last way to convince Tomomi that she didn't need her around. It seemed like she lost, then. There was no way she could pretend things were fine after that.

She didn't know if one or two minutes passed, but soon Tomomi was back with the water. Mami felt the brunette's hand on her back as she kneeled by her side, and tried to raise her head to look at her, but it felt too heavy.

- Hey, Mami. - Tomomi called and placed the glass of water on the table, stroking the blonde's back - Come on, drink the water...

Mami managed to finally raise her head, but when she tried to take the glass, her hands were shaking too much. She opened a bitter smile and decided to try again anyway, since she needed the water and it wasn't like she'd never spilled it all over herself before. That was going to be just another level on the scale: making that mess in front of someone else.

But Tomomi noticed how bad her hands were shaking, and took the glass before her. Mami turned her head slowly to face her, and her eyes were almost closing on their own.

- Let me help you, or you're going to ruin your shougi board.

Tomomi was absolutely sure that the look on Mami's eyes was telling her to shut up and let go of the glass, but she ignored it. Instead, she moved the glass towards Mami's face and made her drink it.

The glare she received was so piercing, even with Mami being clearly almost fainting, that Tomomi felt some shivers. But the blonde drank the water in the end. It was obvious that she needed it after all.

- How do you feel...? - Tomomi questioned worriedly a couple of minutes after Mami finished drinking, and placed the glass on the table again - Do you need anything else?

- No, thank you. - Mami replied, and her voice sounded weak - I just need to lie down.

- You should eat something first...

- I can't. - Mami said and faced Tomomi, seeing the worried look the brunette had - Food doesn't like being in my stomach, if you know what I mean. - she saw the worry grow on Tomomi's face, and on her thoughts as well - But water helps, thank you for that.

Tomomi nodded and smiled, and Mami didn't know why, but she felt like smiling back at her. Maybe she did, because Tomomi's eyes lit up suddenly. She knew what the brunette was thinking, she was full of hope. She believed that smile was a sign of agreement.

But Mami had no arguments to make her believe otherwise, not anymore. Mami was feeling too weak to argue back, and also kind of thankful for that little help. She didn't like passing out in the middle of the house.

She sighed and lied down on the flat cushions, still feeling dizzy, and Tomomi sat back and hugged her own knees against her body, observing the blonde. Soon, the black cat jumped over the low table and moved to lie over Mami's legs, making Tomomi smile at the scene.

- So... - the brunette began slowly - Will you really let me help?

Mami covered her face with one of her hands and sighed, closing her eyes.

- Yes, you won.

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Haruna only saw a blur when she opened her eyes, and had to blink a few times. There was no time to recognize anything, though, because she felt someone's hands around her neck and had an instant reaction, punching and kicking in all directions and sitting up. She could feel that she hit someone.

- Were you raised with the wolves?! - she heard a high pitched yell. That was a familiar voice.

When her vision focused, she realized she was in her grandmother's living room, lying on the couch, and Rina was now sitting on the floor and holding her nose, giving her a very dirty look. Her brain instantly put the pieces together.

- What the hell were you doing to me?! - she shouted angrily at Rina, rubbing her own neck.

- I was trying to help you, but it seems like you're so allergic to me that you can't even let me save your stubborn ass! - Rina shouted right back at Haruna and stood up, shutting her eyes for a moment while she moved her nose back in place. When she uncovered her face, Haruna saw some blood under her nose.

Suddenly, Haruna remembered that the yuurei held her by the neck, so she was probably wounded there too, not only on her arm. But she had no idea of how she ended up back in her grandmother's house, she was just leaving the shop and then everything was a blur.

- Why am I here? - the shorter girl started to feel that same stinging pain again, and looked at her arm. The bruises were bigger than she remembered. - How...?

- I carried you here, Haruna-san. - Rina answered in a rather irritated tone, and Haruna didn't know what to say - I was looking for you, and then I saw you passed out on the sidewalk with that guy and that old man around you trying to call an ambulance.

- ... Shit. - Haruna just sank her face on her hands.

- What did you think I was doing, choking you? - Rina's tone was getting a bit calmer - On your grandmother's couch? For no reason?

- Look, Suzuki...

- No, you're going to listen now! - Rina still sounded calmer than before, but she was definitely mad. Haruna could see her jaw getting stiff for a second before she spoke again - You call Mami-san a brat, but you're the brat here! You have to decide right now if you're going to quit acting like I'm some damned criminal or if you'll keep this up forever...

- Ok, I know I overreacted... - Haruna interrupted, but then Rina seemed to lose it.

- Don't you interrupt me when I'm speaking, human! - she yelled, and what followed was silence.

For a second, Haruna felt scared. Rina's eyes were yellow and had those vertical pupils once more, and she had her hands raised over her head.

- Is this what you want? - Rina asked after a couple of moments, in a quieter tone - I can treat you just as badly as you treat me, it's your choice. Let me just warn you, I have a few centuries of wisdom and experience ahead of you if you decide you want to do something. I'm physically stronger and faster than you, and if I was this terrible youkai you like to believe I am, I could've dismembered you long ago and spread the pieces around the country so no one would be able to find you and you'd turn into the same damned yuurei that hurt you today.

The silence fell upon the living room once again, and Haruna felt like she was ran over by something. She never expected that kind of reaction, and she started to feel very uneasy and even regretful. There were noises coming from the kitchen, now that she noticed it, so her grandmother was certainly home and hearing all of that. Only that was enough to make Haruna feel ashamed.

She sank her face on her hands again and let out a long and heavy sigh as the silence dragged on and on.

- I'm not asking you to like me. - Rina continued very quietly, and Haruna looked up at her again. The yellow eyes were now brown again. - You just have to trust me so we can do what we have to do. If you had trusted me today, you wouldn't be alone in that shop and, believe me, that yuurei wouldn't have touched you long enough for you to be on that state.

- I'm sorry. - Haruna said weakly, looking down - But I can't trust you.

- Really? Then go look at yourself on the mirror. - Rina said bitterly, and Haruna stared back at her with confusion - Go, I'll wait. Your grandmother can tell you that your whole neck was bruised and blackened when we got here, and it was spreading up to your face. Go take a look now. Go and see if I'm trying to harm you in any way.

Haruna didn't think twice and stood up, walking straight from the living room to the hallway and then into the bathroom. She definitely wasn't going to believe that Rina did something for her if she didn't see it with her own eyes. But there it was, right in front of her.

When she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, she was absolutely normal. The only bruises on her body were the ones on her arm that, now she figured, Rina didn't have the time to fully check since Haruna hit her so brutally. She felt something cold and horrible clenching on her stomach, and she hated that feeling. The feeling she had when she was proven wrong, when she regretted doing something.

She knew there were bruises all over her neck before, she didn't need to check that with her grandmother. She felt the pain before heading out of the shop. Rina had actually healed her.

- Will you let me check your arm now, or not even a small thing changed?

Haruna looked out the door and Rina was there, leaned against the opposite wall. She didn't look mad anymore, just tired.

- Thank you. - Haruna whispered, looking down at the floor.

- I'll take that as another "I'm sorry" too. Now let's go and do something about your arm, you have to rest before going back into that place. And this time I'm going with you. Tomomi-san said she's going to slap you forever if you don't take me along.

- Tomo knows about what happened? - Haruna looked back at Rina's face, surprised.

- You've been passed out for almost two hours, she called and I picked up and told her everything.

- Did she say something about Mami's case? - Haruna asked eagerly, and Rina scratched her head - Tell me!

- She did, she did. I'd be proud of her if I were you, in two days she managed something that I tried for a whole year with no success.

Haruna widened her eyes.

- No, she didn't already...

- Yup, she bent Sasazaki Mami and her ego.

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The sliding door was closed again, and Haruna looked around cautiously. She tried to turn on the lights but they were really gone, so she just fixed the ear muffler and made sure both her ears were fully covered. The darkness in that place was almost a separate entity.

She was back at the antique shop, inside the stock room, and this time Rina was there by her side. Also, this time Haruna had a bigger and rougher silver chain with her, a dagger and a backpack strapped on her shoulders. It was nightfall already, and both of them knew they had to at least make some progress with that situation before they could go and pick up Tomomi at Mami's house again with no guilt on their shoulders.

Haruna was feeling really weird, teaming up with Rina like that. But she had no choice, Rina had proven her wrong and so she had to bite her tongue and accept the kitsune's presence and her help.

- Your grandma uses fine necklaces to bind yuurei, you use chains. - Rina commented very quietly, and Haruna looked at her from the corner of her eyes - Aren't you a little too brutal to be her granddaughter?

- I wouldn't worry about that right now if I were you. The yuurei isn't screaming.

- Yeah... she probably knows you're back.

- ... I hate it so much when they're women... - Haruna mumbled and held the dagger in front of her face, looking around. - I always end up finding out what exactly happened to them in fine details even if I don't want to, and it's never simple.

- Well... if it was simple, they wouldn't be yuurei.

Haruna sighed and went walking slowly with Rina following closely. She still didn't fully trust Rina, but for some reason she wasn't feeling as nervous as she initially thought. Maybe Rina could be useful after all.

Not long after, they heard the same characteristic shriek from before, but it seemed to be coming from everywhere around them. When Haruna looked back, Rina's eyes were turning yellow again.

- You can't hide from me, missy... - Rina mumbled while she searched around with her gaze, and stopped when she suddenly saw the curtains of black hair showing up just by her side in the darkness. - Oh, hello there.

The yuurei went screaming the loudest it could and tried to grab Rina, but she moved back and watched as Haruna attacked with her dagger. The shorter girl almost hit the yuurei, who turned to its normal ghost form once again and disappeared through the multiple boxes around.

- I hate when they're women and I hate when they're smart. - Haruna murmured angrily, and Rina chuckled.

- Well, don't worry. You have my eyes on your side now, and I don't plan on staying here too long... - Rina paused for a moment and sighed - She's coming from your right in 3...2...1...

Haruna turned around and threw a punch with all her strength, hitting the yuurei right on the face with the rough chain that was wrapped around her left hand. She almost lost balance with all the noise that spirit was making by that point, but just kept going and tried to stab her with the dagger one more time. However, the yuurei turned to a ghost again and moved through her, giving her that chilling feeling one more time.

Then Rina moved in great speed, knowing that she was the next target, and jumped over some boxes to land in front of Haruna.

- I reveal her and you bind her, agree? - she asked as the yuurei turned around on their direction.

- Yeah, do your thing Suzuki.

Rina then smirked and ran towards the yuurei, holding her palms up in front of her face. Once the yuurei tried to pass through her, instead it turned solid once again and was thrown on the floor. Haruna took her chance and jumped on the dead woman, sinking her dagger on her chest and almost going crazy with the piercing screams that followed, wrapping her chain around the yuurei's neck.

- ... That was faster than I expected. - Haruna commented, looking at the now completely immobilized and enraged spirit under her knees. She would never admit it out loud, but Rina had a very useful ability right there. The screaming came to an end, and she looked at the dead-pale face of the yuurei. Even in the darkness she could see that the woman had a large and ugly scar cutting her face from the top of her left eye down to the right side of her chin. That had to be the cause of death.

- Of course it was faster, I'm here. - Rina said with an amused tone that annoyed Haruna a little bit, and walked closer. She faced the dead woman for a moment. - Do you think her husband or boyfriend did this to her?

- She's a yuurei, so... probably. Or that, or her parents.

- But why is she here? - Rina asked more to herself, but Haruna heard it.

- That's what I plan on finding out. Gotta know if she lived here before and was awakened by something Kamiya-san did, or...

- Or if Kamiya-san knows her. - Rina completed and crossed her arms in front of her chest - Or that Ethan guy.

- If I got it right, he's an exchange student, so I think we can rule him out. He doesn't look like he's been around long enough to produce something like this.

- Hm, that makes sense, so we should start with Kamiya-san... - Rina stopped talking when they heard the same yuurei shriek again. She widened her yellow eyes and looked at Haruna, who had a similar surprised look on her face. The yuurei was completely quiet and not moving under Haruna.

Rina turned around and resumed searching the place with her eyes.

- Please tell me this is a shared hallucination... - Haruna mumbled in a tired and mad voice.

Just then, Rina saw something moving far in the back of the room.

- No, there really is another one.

- You got to be kidding me...

- Please, Haruna-san, send this one away already while I keep an eye on the other.

- You don't have to tell me that. - Haruna kept holding on the chain with her left hand and let go of the dagger that was stuck in the yuurei's chest, reaching back on her backpack and unzipping it trying to find something.

- Quick, Haruna-san...

- Shut up and let me do my thing now. - Haruna felt the object that she needed with her fingers and pulled it out of the backpack. She looked at the black ihai on her hand for a second before pressing it against the yuurei's face - Keep an eye around, I'll be done in a second.

- You're going to seal her?

- For now, yes, that's faster to finish, now pay attention to what you're doing!

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Tomomi rubbed her hands together nervously, looking up at the night sky. She was still at Mami's house, sitting by the living room door, and there was no sign of Haruna or Rina. She tried to call again, but the shorter brunette wasn't answering her phone.

- You're worried about Haruna... - she heard Mami's voice and looked back to see the blonde walking to her with a small bowl on her hands.

- Yeah, she can be pretty reckless sometimes, and she already got hurt today...

Mami nodded and sat down next to her, handing the bowl and the chopsticks to the brunette. Tomomi's eyes lit up when she saw the delicious looking ramen in front of her.

- This was improvised, so don't get any high expectations... - Mami said softly, and Tomomi faced her with a big smile. But the smile suddenly vanished when she realized that Mami didn't have a bowl for herself. Mami decided to speak before the brunette would - I said I can't eat, Tomomi.

- Not even a little bit?

Tomomi was looking at her intensely. After a couple of moments she started to pout as well, and Mami raised her eyebrows.

- No, Tomomi, I'll throw up.

- But just a little bit... Like, just a bit of noodles and nothing else, will you get sick the same way?

- Probably.

- But you're not sure...

Mami sighed.

- Most of the time that's what happens, Tomomi. I really don't want this right now, and neither do you. Just eat and don't worry about me.

Tomomi looked down to her bowl and fell silent. Mami could hear the commotion in her mind. She was divided between worrying about Mami's eating habits and worrying about Haruna.

- I'm sure she's ok, you said Rina would be with her. - Mami said with a smile, and Tomomi faced her again - Rina looks like she's all sweet and everything, but you saw her that day with the Oni. Haruna will be ok if she’s with her.

Tomomi nodded and started to eat, murmuring a soft "thank you". They sat there in silence as the brunette ate her ramen, and Mami spent most of the time observing her. She could feel it and hear it, Tomomi was also worried about the way Haruna treated Rina, and how that could affect Rina's willingness to help in that task. The next thought was about how late it was going to be when they finished or decided to stop with that, and if she would have to walk all the way back or find a train station in the dark. Mami frowned.

- You can stay here as long as you need. - she said, and Tomomi faced her in surprise, chewing on her food - I said earlier that you won and I'm giving you a chance. There's no reason for me to kick you out then, and I won't let you walk around on your own during the night.

- Eh, why? - Tomomi asked with her mouth full, and Mami had to fight herself not to giggle.

- What do you mean with "why"? Do you think Kyoto is different from the rest of the world? It's never safe for a girl to walk alone at night, unfortunately.

Tomomi kept staring at her for a second, with her mouth full of noodles, and then just nodded and looked back at the bowl. Mami couldn't help thinking that the brunette was kind of cute. She had never met anyone like that before, with such childish manners but still so seriously worried about others and sensitive about suffering.

She caught some things from Tomomi's thoughts during that day, and now she felt like she knew that girl a little better. Tomomi seemed to have had a tough time growing up, with few friends and not that much understanding from people around her. It seemed like everyone found her weird, and she was constantly alone.

Then Mami could understand why she seemed to be so decided to help her. She felt that Tomomi couldn't stand the thought of people being so lonely. That made her even more interesting, on top of the whole thing with how her thoughts worked. Mami couldn't understand how someone who seemed to have suffered as much as Tomomi could be so positive about things.

- I'm feeling terrible about this... - Tomomi suddenly said, gesturing the bowl of ramen, and Mami just looked at her - How can I help you if you don't take care of yourself?

- I don't know what to say to you. - Mami said with a bitter smile.

- Please, eat just a little bit... - Tomomi started again in a pleading tone - I take full responsibility if you feel sick, you can say "I told you so" and punch me or whatever, and I'll clean the mess and...

- Hey, hey, calm down. - the blonde cut her words in an amused tone, holding on her shoulder. Tomomi stopped talking and stared at her expectantly - You're really persistent.

- That's why people say I'm annoying. - Mami couldn't help it and chuckled, and that visibly made Tomomi open a large smile. - Come on, try just once.

The blonde just stared at her for a second, and then took the chopsticks that Tomomi was offering.

- Prepare to get the cleaning products when I throw up, it's not gonna take long.

- Ok, now stop talking and put food on your mouth.

Mami narrowed her eyes at the brunette with the motherly tone she had just used, and the girl just grinned back at her.

Tomomi was definitely a piece of work.




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