Fable (on hiatsu)

17. Request

October 2nd, the Clubroom

We all sat at the table, petrified. A single sheet of paper, born from a letter, held our undivided attention. It shone in pristine splendor, a stark white, tainted only by the messy writing scrawled across it. The letters fought each other for space, though the message was relatively short.

I was caught by a certain monster that appears at school on the last day of each month. Please SAVE ME! No one around school can see me, or the monster! I wrote this to you in the hopes that you will help me. I can wait until Hallowe'en, but I don't think I will last any longer! PLEASE!

It ended with an indefinite scrawl that I guessed was the student's signature. Well, to be shocking, it sure was! I was definitely going to ask around about such a monster! Ugh, I shiver at the very thought of such a thing being seen by just anyone, at the end of the month.

Speaking of the end of the month... did it have to be Hallowe'en? I have enough trouble trying to calm overzealous spirits all day and night to top it off with finding someone!

"Craft?"

"Yeah?"

"Are there really spirits at school?"

"Huh? Of course there are. We've got several naiads, tons of tsukumogami and several spirits of all kinds. Oh. And the ghosts. Must be at least twenty ghosts around here." I stopped when I noticed their freaked out expressions. Whoops.

"Y-you re-really mean it?" Toby shivered.

"Yep. Don't worry though; I get along with most of 'em." The others are more... problematic, but lets not delve on that too long.

"So its safe? What about-"

"No. It isn't safe. The only reason I'm unscathed is 'cause they consider me dangerous. I'm close to lots of them, to the point I consider them friends, but most leave me alone."

"Dangerous? You?" Jo looked astounded. I wondered if he even knew what his dad did as a living.

"Yeah, me. I'm not the kind that brags -at least, not much- but I am a realist. I've gotten in countless fights (though I avoid those I know I no chance of winning) and more often than not I've won." I replied confidently.

"..."

"..."

"Hey, someone say something."

"So (ignoring what Craft just said). What are we going to?" Jo asked.

"Well, I'd say we should prepare ourselves... but the question is how."

They didn't even consider leaving the poor kid to his fate.

I felt a smile creep up my face. Well, it seems that I would be the one introducing my friends to the Shadows. My plan snapped into place.

"I know how," I continued after a moment, "I'll help you two get the Sight."

Its funny when people give you the deer-in-the-headlights look. Alarmed, surprised.

"Its temporary, though," I corrected myself, "It only lasts six hours, but you can use it as often as you want."

"Such a thing really exists?"

"Yep." But its far crazier than it sounds. "The first thing we need to do, though, is go to Jo's house."

"Why?" The concerned person asked, bewildered.

"Because you have a very special cat."