Episode 9: Onryou

[Hayate]

Power of Love

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~ Episode 9: Onryou (Apparition) ~[/u]

Act 1: Spirits Among Us

Sapporo South High. The warm glare of the slowly setting sun shines through the glass windows of the school library, creating an almost rainbow-like blend of red and orange on the floor tiles. A serene silence blanketed the inner sanctum of this sanctuary of books. Only the sounds of shuffling papers permeated the air. Near the front of the library, a man with short blond hair is seen organizing the workspace of his desk. Carefully placing some papers into a drawer, the man then closes the drawer shut, its metallic tumblers clanging as they lock into place as he does so. A short few moments later, the man rises from his seat, picks up his personal briefcase, walks towards the library’s entrance, and grasps the handle on the door.

Just before taking his leave, however, a soft female student’s voice calls out to him from behind. “Are you leaving now, Watanabe-san?”

“Hmm?” The man, Sapporo South High School librarian Chisao Watanabe, turns to face the source of the kind voice and meets the gaze of a girl with long, black hair that just barely reached her waist. “Oh, Haruka-chan. I didn’t realize you were still here.”

Standing across from Watanabe, junior librarian Haruka Yagami is seen cradling a pile of books in her arms. “I guess I got so caught up in tidying, I lost track of time. Hehehe.”

Watanabe couldn’t help but smile at the brunette’s carefree innocence. “Well, I’m taking off a little early today. Try not to stay too late, and lock up when you leave, alright?”

“Hai. Mata ashita, Watanabe-san.”

Motioning to his little assistant a polite nod, Watanabe pushes the library door open and takes his leave for the day.

After watching him depart, Haruka resumes her tidying up of the library. One by one, she would place the books back in their designated spots on the shelves. Though she had a smile on her face, she secretly curses those who would leave these books scattered about the library so callously. With the placement of the last book, the smile on Haruka’s face widens a little. “There! All done!”, she proudly states. Following Watanabe’s example, young Haruka is just about to take her leave as well…

…when all of a sudden, she hears a mysterious sound coming from the very rear of the library: the sound of heavy books thumping onto the floor.

A little frightened by the noise, Haruka slowly turns to face the back of the library, where no sunlight would reach. “…H-Hello?”, she timidly calls out. “Is anyone back there…?” No voice replies; Haruka simply hears the noise again. Stepping down off the stepstool, Haruka slowly moves toward the darkness, fearful of what she might find lurking. A few feet in, she begins to make out a human-like figure. It appeared to have its back to her. “W-Who’s there?”, Haruka calls out again. Just like before, however, no response would come. As Haruka takes another step forward, her foot generates a tiny creak in the floor. This creak grabs the figure’s attention, and it turns to face Haruka, looking back at her with a pair of large, pale white eyes that shone brightly through the dark. “!!!”

…Terrified by this glowing glare of suspected malice, Haruka screams her lungs out, her panicked yell echoing across the school grounds.

Fortunately, the following afternoon would bring more peaceful tidings. As a small flock of birds chirp while hovering by, Kyosuke and company (sans one Yuzu-chan) are seen sitting in their routine lunch circle on Sapporo South High’s rooftop.

…Of course, it would be difficult for anyone in this group to hear the birds’ chirping over Chiaki’s noisy eating.

Picking up her bento and chopsticks, redhead Emiri is the first to break the silence. “Hey! Have you guys heard this new rumor circulating around the school?”

“Which one?”, queries Misuzu.

“They say that there’s a ghost haunting the school library!”

Hearing the mere utterance of the word ‘ghost’ signals Chiaki to stop mid-chew.

“A ghost?”, Kyosuke says unbelievingly. “Heh… Seriously, the rumors going around this school get stupider each day.”

“Hehehe… It may not be as stupid as you think, Nanbara…”, comments Rudy.

“What, are you saying you actually saw it, Rudy?”

“Well…yes and no. I was in the school library the other day. It was a couple hours after final dismissal…”

“…So your name’s Haruka, eh? That’s a nice name.”

“…Thanks… Sorry, but I--”

“Typical…”, Kyosuke suddenly interjects. “Going to the school library just to chat up the assistant librarian… Why am I not surprised?”

“…It’s rude to interrupt, Nanbara… As I was saying…”

“--Sorry, but I need to finish up here. Come back some other time.”

“O-Oi! Hold on just a…! Heh. Shot down again. Oh, well. ‘Try, try again’, as they say. …Hmm? What was that sound?”

“…Just then, as Haruka walked into the back room, I heard a loud thump coming from the rear of the library, like the sound a textbook makes when you drop it on the ground.”

“Ooh… Kowai desu ne…”, Emiri remarks, enthralled by the story thus far.

Kyosuke, however, wasn’t so convinced. “Oh, please…”

“Is anyone back there?”

“…”

“…!!!”

“And that’s when I saw it!”, Rudy dramatically cries. “A pair of big, white eyes staring back at me, as if peering into my very soul! …Unfortunately, that’s all I saw, so I couldn’t tell if it was a ghost or not.”

“Let me guess… You ran away, screaming like a little girl.”

“…Must you ruin my moment every time, Nanbara?”

With her head tilted down enough to hide her eyes with her crimson hair, Emiri shows a crafty smile. “…Well then…you know what we have to do then, right?”

A frigid chill runs down Kyosuke’s spine. “…Oh, no…”

With fire burning in her eyes, Emiri suddenly leaps to her feet and assumes a dramatic pose. “It’s up to us to confront this ghost and make sure it doesn’t terrorize our fellow students anymore!”

Normally giving in to his hyperactive friend’s histrionics, Kyosuke adamantly wanted his voice heard this time. “What are you, seven!? This isn’t some mystery TV show, Emiri! You honestly believe a ghost is terrorizing the school!?”

“You’re gonna just ignore the rumors?”

“Of course! Because that’s all they are: rumors!”

“Hmph! Well, fine! Be that way! I know the others have my back! Ne?”

“It’s all utter nonsense if you ask me.”, Misuzu snaps with her arms crossed. “…But…I suppose I can’t just ignore it. And who knows? With the publicity I’d get for dispelling these rumors, it might improve my chances of becoming school president! Hahaha!”

“And I’d never forgive myself if I let a couple of girls wander the campus after school hours without some protection.”, comments the ever-boastful Rudy. “Daijoubu, Emiri! I, Rudy Beaumont, shall keep you out of harm’s way as we track this vengeful phantom down!”

An exaggerated bead of sweat trickles down Kyosuke’s temple. “…I can’t believe I’m hearing this…”

“What about you, Chiaki?”, Emiri asks her Osakan friend, whose face was still hidden by her bento. “Are you up for some ghost hunting?”

“…Um… I, uh… I think I’m wit’ Kyosuke on this one…”, Chiaki weakly replies.

“Awww… You’re not seriously taking Kyosuke’s side, are you, Chiaki?”

“W-Well…it’s just that…”

“…You’re afraid of ghosts, aren’t you?”, Kyosuke asks, detecting his friend’s unease.

“…” Setting her bento down, Chiaki shows a weak-willed smile to the others. “…Am I that obvious? …Yeah, I’m really not into all that paranormal stuff… I have nightmares just thinkin’ about it… Hehehe…”

“…Chiaki… Alright. I’m not gonna force it on you. Misuzu, Rudy, and I’ll solve this by ourselves. No big deal.”

As he watches his three friends hatch their plan to confront the ghost of Sapporo South High, Kyosuke has mixed emotions of doubt, anxiety, and nausea. The only thing waiting for them at the end of the day was punishment for wandering on school grounds without permission, he thought. Whatever repercussions their foolhardy plans would earn them, Kyosuke wanted nothing to do with.

Later that afternoon, the school becomes a ghost town (pun intended), not accounting for a trio of overcurious classmates. The slowly descending sun shines its reddish-orange rays onto the campus. Emiri, leader of this ‘expedition’, slides open the entrance door of Class 7-A. The room, as well as the entire school for that matter, was cloaked in a deathly silence. “Yup. This place is completely empty.”, discerns Emiri. Closing the sliding door, she turns to face her fellow ghost hunters Misuzu and Rudy. “Okay. I think the first place we should check is the library. Almost all of the ghost sightings were there.”

In concurrence with her proposal, Misuzu and Rudy nod and follow their leader up to the second floor.

Meanwhile, at the front of the school, Kyosuke and Chiaki, in their act of protest against this silly ghost hunt, are seen walking away from the school and towards the courtyard gates. “Ghosts… Yeah, right.”, Kyosuke sneers under his breath.

Chiaki, walking a short distance behind Kyosuke, keeps her eyes focused on the gravel beneath her feet as she walks. But just a few yards away from the gates and being home free, she stops walking and glances towards the school.

“…Chiaki? Doushita?”

“I… I dunno. I just…have this sinkin’ feelin’ that somethin’ bad is gonna happen to Emi-chan and th’ others.”

“Well, that’s no surprise. If they get caught by a teacher in there, they’ll be lucky to get away with a detention or two.”

“…” Not even so much as batting an eye to Kyosuke’s remark, Chiaki begins to move her feet forward. Not towards the courtyard gate, but in the direction of the ghost-plagued school she was so fixed on getting away from.

“What are you doing, Chiaki? I thought you were afraid of ghosts.”

“I am…but…I jus’ can’t shake this feelin’ I have.”

“…” As he simply stands there, Kyosuke watches Chiaki walk away. Even as she falls further and further out of his line of sight, he could still see the hesitation in her step. The thought of Emiri and the others aimlessly wandering the school admittedly didn’t sit right with the black-haired lad, but with Chiaki now joining them, Kyosuke feels even more ill. “…You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Letting out a prolonged sigh of frustration, Kyosuke reaches into his left pants pocket and pulls out a cell phone, proceeding to dial home. “…Satsuki? It’s me. I’m gonna be home a little late today. …Uh-huh. …Right. …Okay. I’ll see ya later.” As he puts the cell away, Kyosuke lets out a second sigh even longer than the last. “…I can’t believe I’m doing this…” As the boy reluctantly makes his way back towards the building, a chilly spring breeze blowing over him.

~Onryou: End of Act 1~

Act 2: Hide & Seek

As the warm red radiance of the sun steadily fades over the horizon, the inner workings of the school begin to slowly lose their light. Even at a time early in the evening such as this, one would be able to hear the soothing song of the cicadas. As Emiri and her band of ghost hunters tiptoe their way down the second story hallway towards the library, their footsteps generate faint creaking sounds in the floor. Their faces emit mixed expressions of anticipation and fear. Just outside the library, Emiri grasps the door handle, ignoring the sheer cold of the metal. She proceeds to attempt to open the door, but ends up softly pounding into the door with her shoulder. “…Tch. It’s locked.”, the redhead whispers angrily.

“Not for long…”, Rudy coyly states, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a key.

“Where’d you get that?”

“A cute little number named Haruka lent it to me.”, answers the boy with silver hair and tongue. Walking forward, Rudy unfasten the doors’ locks with the key, quickly following up by turning to Emiri and Misuzu. “Ladies first.”

“Heh. Guess you’re not completely useless after all, Rudy.”, teases the blond Misuzu.

Meanwhile, having entered the main school building just minutes prior, Kyosuke casually walks through the school lobby, passing by the rows of small wooden cubbyholes the students would leave their assorted carry-ons in. “Chiaki?”, the boy calls out into the deafening quiet. No response. “…I lost her already. Just perfect.” Still cursing himself for even returning, Kyosuke continues forward into the school, hoping to find his friends before succumbing to his rising urge to kill them.

Elsewhere, a lone green-haired Osakan finds herself aimlessly trekking the first floor hallway. Every few seconds, the girl would look back over her shoulder just to confirm that she wasn’t being followed. “Emi-chan…? Misuzu…? Rudy…? Ohhh… Maybe this was a bad idea…”, Chiaki whimpers under her breath as she walks. Just then, a short distance ahead of her, the squeamish girl could just make out the sound of footsteps approaching from the shadows. “E-Emi-chan?”

The footsteps gradually grow louder during their slow encroachment. Then, in the reddened darkness of the hallway, a pair of large white eyes appear. Following this, a soft, almost childlike voice silently calls out. “Chiaki… Chiaki…”

“!!!” Her face completed whitened with fright, Chiaki makes a full 180 and frantically sprints in the direction in which she came, screaming hysterically and flailing her arms about wildly.

Back in the second floor library, Emiri’s group’s search for spirits would inevitably prove fruitless. Neither sign of a ghost nor evidence there ever was one were present. “You’re sure this is where you saw it, Rudy?”, inquires group leader Emiri to her silver-haired friend.

“Kanarazu!”, answers the boy powerfully. “I saw a pair of big, glowing eyes looking back at me from the end of this very aisle!”

“Well, there’s nothing there now…”, states Misuzu, the tone in her voice emanating a faint amount of disappointment. “So what now?”

Her ever-confident face returning to her, Emiri turns to her friends. “What else, Misuzu? We keep looking! Rudy, you check around here on the second floor some more. Misuzu, you look upstairs. I’ll do some poking around downstairs. If you find anything, use your cell phone.”

Motioning a meager nod to their leader, Rudy and Misuzu take their temporary leave to peruse the rest of the school.

With the setting sun’s continuing descent, its orange-red rays fade even further, inviting more darkness to overtake the campus.

A short few minutes later, class rep Misuzu is seen exploring the ever-darkening school’s third story hallway; although the uppity blonde seemed to have things on her mind other than catching phantoms. “I can see it now… ‘Misuzu Akiyama: President of Sapporo South High’… Hee-hee! As if there are really such things as ghosts! The immaturity of it! Hah!” The sound of a creaking hallway door would suggest otherwise. Turning to face the source of the noise, Misuzu raises her guard. “W-Who’s there!?”

Just as with Haruka’s, Rudy’s, and Chiaki’s close encounter, a pair of large, white eyes approaches from the end of the corridor, glaring back at Misuzu. With each passing second, the eyes would draw closer little by little.

“Who is that!? N-No! Don’t come any closer! S-Stay away from me!! AAAAHHHH!!!!”

Meanwhile, one story below the ‘picked-off’ blonde, exchange student Rudy inspects the rest of the second floor as instructed to him by Emiri. Unfortunately, the silver-haired lad was rather distracted by a breathtaking view of the shrinking sun through a northwest window. “Ahhh… The sunset’s even more picturesque here than in New York…”

“AAAAHHHH!!!!”

“!!!” Pulled away from his sunset-gazing, Rudy looks down towards the shadows of the hallway. Just as abruptly as the scream had arrived, the floor was blanketed by silence once more. “…”

All of a sudden, out of the darkness comes a crazed blur of green. “TASUKETE!!!!”

“Nani!?” Before the boy could react, he’s swiftly and harshly tackled into the ground by a panicky bundle of Osakan joy. “C-Chiaki!? Doushita no!?”

“I-I saw the ghost d-downstairs!”

“You actually saw it!? …Matte… Downstairs?!?” Rapidly rising to his feet, Rudy takes Chiaki by the wrist and beckons her to come with him. “Come on!”

Taken aback by Rudy’s sudden order, Chiaki all but forgets about her previous fear. “W-What is it?”

“Emiri’s in trouble!!!”

Meanwhile, one story further below, aspirant ghost hunter Emiri slowly makes her way up and down the hallways in search of the rumored spirit. “Come on, you stupid ghost… Show yourself already…”, whispers the girl impatiently. “…!!!” Her attention briefly drawn towards the floor, Emiri notices the shadow of an approaching figure from past the hallway corner ahead of her. Thinking quickly, the redhead picks up a nearby bucket -- perhaps unwittingly left there by the school custodian -- and positions herself against the corner wall with the bucket lifted above her head. Inch by inch, the shadow would draw closer to Emiri’s position. “…” Then, when the figure is just a foot away, she leaps out into the open and swings the bucket in a downward motion. “YAAAHHH!!!”

“What the hell--!? Gah!” And with the loud clanging of metal against skull, the figure goes down like a rock.

“Hah! Gotcha!”, Emiri exclaims in victory. “…Huh?” However, this sense of triumph would be quickly substituted with remorse when Emiri learns who it was she had struck. On the floor before her, Kyosuke lay in a lifeless daze. “…Whoops.”

…In his brief state of unconsciousness, Kyosuke begins to dream. He was in a pure white space, lying on the ground, and his body was now that of a 12-year-old boy.

As he lay there, a petite yet tomboyish voice calls out to him. “YO, ‘KYO’!”

Kyosuke’s body would remain motionless.

“C’mon, Kyo, get up! I know you’re just fakin’ it!” Just then, a girl, seemingly the source of the voice, materializes into tangibility next to Kyosuke’s lying body. She appeared to be 12 years of age as well. “If you don’t get up, I’m gonna kick you ‘til you do!”, the girl playfully threatens.

At last, 12-year-old Kyosuke awakens, sits up on the ground, and gazes up at the girl’s unseen face. “Hehehe… Alright, I’m up… Jeez…”

“Hahaha! Same old Kyo!” Although the girl’s cheery face could not be seen, her long brown hair sways to the beat of an inexistent wind.

“…Kyosuke… Kyosuke… Kyosuke! C’mon, Kyosuke, wake up!”

Outside of Kyosuke’s dream, guilt-ridden Emiri attempts to awaken him as he lay in her lap. “Come on! Wake up, dammit!”

Even as the girl continually speaks out in an attempt to wake him, Kyosuke lies unstirred. The black-haired boy can even be heard talking in his sleepy stupor. “…Miyako…”

“Dammit, Kyo, hop to it! You can dream about home on your own time!”

“…Ohhhh… H-Huh?” Finally coming to, Kyosuke slowly opens his eyelids and looks up at Emiri’s sideways face. “…Emiri…”, the boy mutters upon awakening. Then, feeling a sharp pain in his skull, he clenches it with both hands. “Agh! My head!”

“Uh…yeah. Sorry about that.”, Emiri says to the lying boy with an apologetic look. “I thought you were the ghost.”

“And your first choice of action was to take a bucket to my head!?”

“I said I was sorry!”

Picking himself up out of the redhead’s lap, Kyosuke takes a quick glance at his surroundings. It was a rather tightly enclosed space. One wall contained a door while the other three were decorated with shelves of assorted cleaning products. “…What is this room?”

“The custodian’s closet. It was the closest room I could find to drag you in.”

“Sou ka.”

“So what’re you doing back here anyway, Kyosuke? I thought you left with Chiaki.”

“Well, Chiaki was worried about you guys for some reason and came back. I just came along to make sure you guys don’t trash the place during your stupid ghost hunt.”

“Oh, really…?” Emiri wasn’t convinced. She could see right through him. “…You sure it wasn’t ‘cuz you were worried about us too?”

The pink in Kyosuke’s cheeks confirmed it. “O-Oh, knock it off. Let’s just find the others and get out of here.” Rising to his feet, Kyosuke approaches the door and grasps the knob. Unfortunately, it refused to turn. “…The hell!? Come on, you son of a…! Dammit! Freakin’ thing must open from the outside! We’re locked in! As if this day couldn’t get any worse!” His frustrations getting the better of him, Kyosuke forcefully connects his foot with the door.

The trembling caused by his kick rattles the surrounding shelves a little, and a small can of aerosol falls off one of them, making a loud clank as it connects with the floor. “Aah!” Startled by the noise, Emiri jumps forward and clutches tightly onto Kyosuke’s shirt.

“…E-Emiri?”

“Hehehe… Gomen.” Releasing Kyosuke’s shirt from her grip, Emiri backs away. “I, uh…don’t know what came over me.”

Just as Emiri could see through Kyosuke’s lie, he could see through hers. She was just as scared of ghosts as Chiaki was, hiding this fact by putting up a tough front. A fleeting glimpse of a side of Emiri that Kyosuke hadn’t seen before.

“Ohhh…” Feeling a frigid chill rush through her, Emiri rubs her arms to keep warm. “Why’d it get so cold all of a sudden…?”

“The wind outside must be coming in through the air vents.” Having been standing right next to her, Kyosuke was forced to bear witness to Emiri’s freezing fit. “…” The boy couldn’t help but sigh at this display. “…Here. Put this on.”

“Huh?” Turning to face Kyosuke, Emiri realizes that he was holding out his school blazer in front of her. The gesture had caused her face to turn pink. “K-Kyosuke…”

“You’re cold, aren’t you? So put it on already.”

“…” Reaching out, Emiri hesitantly takes the blazer from him and drapes it over herself. She could feel the faint sensation of Kyosuke’s warmth blanketing her. “…Thanks.”

“…Sure.” Completing his good deed for the day, Kyosuke takes his cell phone out of his pocket and sends a text message to Rudy, informing him of his and Emiri’s location.

“…So, Kyosuke, you still miss Miyako-jima, don’t you?”

“Hmm? Where’s this coming from?”

“When you were out of it before, you kept mumbling ‘Miyako’. You must still miss it a lot, huh?”

“‘Miyako’? …!!!”

“Hahaha! Same old Kyo!”

“…Y-Yeah. That’s right.”

An awkwardly long silence following, the two wouldn’t be freed from their ‘cage’ until three minutes later, at which time Rudy and Chiaki would arrive to open their door to freedom. “Kyosuke! Emi-chan! You’re okay! We thought th’ ghost got th’ two o’ you!”, exclaims Chiaki in heavy relief.

“It’s about time you got here.”, remarks Kyosuke with his arms crossed.

“Well, seeing Sakurai here wearing your blazer, I’d say you weren’t in THAT much of a hurry to be rescued. Hehehe.”

Shortly exiting the closet and back in the hallway, Emiri glances quickly amongst the group. “…Hey, wait. Where’s Misuzu?”

“I dunno. We haven’t seen her since we split up.”

“Hey, look!” With her arm and finger outstretched, Chiaki turns the group’s attention towards the end of the dark hall, where Misuzu could be seen approaching. “Misuzu! Thank goodness you’re okay too!”

“Pffff! Well, of course I’m okay! I am the future president of Sapporo South High after all!”

Just then, a short few feet to Misuzu’s rear, the large white eyes had returned.

“!!! Abunai, Misuzu! The ghost is behind you!”

“Nani? …Ohhhh. Heh. That’s no ghost.”

“…Huh?”

Out of the shadows, the pale white gaze approaches the group. Once within sight, the two large white eyes…are revealed to be a pair of eyeglasses. Looking towards the group, the wearer of these glasses beams a wide smile. “Hello, everyone!”

“…YUZU-CHAN?!?”

…Several minutes later, the group relocates to the entrance of the school. “…So that was you Haruka saw in the library?”

“Mm-hmm. I’ve been doing some afterschool reading this past week. But I always end up losing track of time in the end. Hehehe…”

Upon learning this, Chiaki lets out a long sigh of relief. “Yokatta… There ain’t no ghosts after all…

“Gomen nasai. I didn’t mean to scare anyone.”

“It’s okay, Yuzu-chan.”, Emiri says while ruffling through Yuzu’s hair with her hand. “We know you didn’t mean any harm. …Besides, this school could use some excitement every now and then. Hah!”

After a day like today, the circle of friends took great pleasure in sharing a momentary bout of laughter. With their ghost hunt finally coming to an end, the group leaves the school and goes their separate ways towards their respective homes. On the train ride to Kita-ku, Emiri nods off -- a clear sign of her heavy fatigue -- with her head on Kyosuke’s shoulder, making soft peaceful moans through her nose as she naps.

Kyosuke, however, was less interested in sleeping and more interested in watching the sun completely disappear. As the nighttime slowly sets in, the black-haired boy couldn’t help but think back to the dream he had earlier that evening. The image of the 12-year-old girl with long brown hair stayed affixed to the back of his mind, and her voice echoed in his ears like the ringing of a bell.

“Hahaha! Same old Kyo!”

In his state of deep thought, a single word escapes Kyosuke’s lips in a gentle whisper. “…Miyako…”

~Onryou: End of Act 2~

~Power of Love: End of Episode 9~

~ Power of Love: Next Episode ~

Kozue-sensei: It’s time for the Sapporo South High field trip! Where do you wanna go this year, class?

Misuzu: Shibuya!

Rudy: Akihabara!

Chiaki: Ikebukuro!

Emiri: Miyako-jima!

All: WHAT?!?[/i]

Kyosuke: Next time on Power of Love… Episode 10, “Misaki (Promontory)”…

Kozue-sensei: Miyako-jima… That’s WAY out there, isn’t it?[/font][/size][/color]