章 31: Witching hour

[Please meet me in front of the apartment building at two-thirty of the morning.]

Wakana knits her brows. Did she hear it wrong? "Two-thirty of the morning or afternoon?"

[It has to be done in the witching hour.] She pauses for a moment. [You don't know which hour is witching hour.]

"Er..." Wakana might have read stuff, but she has only read things that can help her keep the ghosts as far as possible from her.

[The hour between three and four of the morning is called the witching hour. The barriers between the worlds are weakest in that hour... He's a powerful demon. I need another witch's blood to send it back. Nakashima San, if you help me, I can send it back. Believe me.]

Morita Aiko sounds like she's begging.

[Since you have been marked by him, it's easier for me to send him back. Your life won't be at a risk. You don't have to enter the apartment.]

"Morita San, I won't let you handle this alone. I will meet you there." Wakana squats down on the floor when she feels her knees trembling. She's afraid of facing that demon again, but Morita Aiko is right. She can't live her life in fear.

[2:30 AM in front of the apartment building.] Morita Aiko reminds her again. [Please come on time. If we fail tonight, we have to try again tomorrow night. I will make the preparations.]

Wakana sighs. It seems like she has to face her fear this time. She looks at her palms. Usually, she loves the period when her abilities are reduced. But, if she has to go to a battle, she must have all of her weapons.

They are just reduced. She wipes her sweaty palms on her trousers. It's not like they are gone. She will help Morita San in every way possible.

"How long are you going to sit here?"

Startled, she looks up at Minami Sei. He's still here. "You haven't left?"

He crosses his arms. "We are supposed to check the surveillance cameras."

"Can't we do it tomorrow?" She has to leave in a few hours to help a witch banish a r@pist demon. Surely, catching a stalker who gave her food and a bracelet comes second. "It's late."

"What if he decides to give you another visit while you are asleep?" Sei can't understand the working of this woman's mind. How is she so calm? She hasn't taken off the bracelet. "I don't know about you, but I can't sleep if someone put on a pranking device on me while I was asleep. We have to catch that person before he does some worse."

"I will call the security office and tell them to give you the recordings." She doesn't have the time to deal with a stalker tonight. "I will sleep at my sister's place until we find the person."

He eyes her with a strange calm in his eyes. "Pack your stuff. I will drop you at your sister's place."

This man can't understand that she's trying to kick him out of her apartment. She gets a headache whenever she talks to him. He always finds a way to make her do things that she wouldn't do normally. "Just wait for a while."

Wakana walks to the bedroom to change her clothes. She locks the door. What should she take with her? She wears simple jeans and a cotton shirt. She pulls out a bag from the corner of the wardrobe. She opens the bag. She has the packets of the salt and an iron knife. Taking holy books or holy symbols won't work. Her faith in religion or god isn't strong enough. Salt is the most effective solution.

She hasn't dealt with a demon before. She will be relying on Morita Aiko. Wakana only takes the bag. If the demon is gone, she will return and look at the surveillance camera to find out the person. Staying at Natsumi's place is not an option. Sayuri isn't at home. She has to come back here.

"Let's go."

Sei turns around. She doesn't have much with her. He glances at her wrist again. She's still wearing the bracelet. He holds out his handkerchief in his hand. "Give it to me."

"Why?" She touches the bracelet, hiding it from his view.

"Until we find out who gave it to you, you shouldn't wear it." He stares at her. "Wakana, be good. You know how things are. You are an officer yourself. You can't take this lightly."

She doesn't like it, but he's right. She takes off the bracelet and drops it in the handkerchief. He puts it in his pocket and walks ahead of her. She follows him out of the apartment, locking the door. Before leaving, she changes the passcode while Sei watches.

"Only you and I know the passcode now," She tells him, taunting him.

"Just change it again tomorrow," He grumbles. "Does your boyfriend know the passcode?"

"No." She pouts, looking at him from the corner of her eyes. Her old habits are returning. She keeps wanting to see him. She knows that it's wrong. He's taken. She shouldn't be doing this. If she walks on this path, she will get hurt. "How long have you been with your girlfriend?"

"Seven years." It's too late to change his words. If he tells her that he lied, she might dislike him more. He will tell her when the time is right. First, he has to find this man who put on the pranking bracelet.

At the security office, she talks to the guard for the surveillance.

"You are from apartment number 403." The guard types on the keyboard a few times. The screen changes. It's all black. "What's this?"

The cameras are on, but there's nothing on the screen. Sei is least surprised. This matter is rather grave. "When did it start?"

The guard tries to access the old recordings. "I can see it up to seven of the morning."

"You left my place around six-thirty," Sei says it with a low voice. He glances at Wakana when she doesn't answer him. She isn't listening. Her gaze is distant. Annoyed, he pinches her wrist.

"Wake up."

"What?" Wakana jumps.

"Don't get scared easily." Sei looks at the young guard. "Did you any suspicious man around recently?"

"No." The guard shakes his head. "I patrol the vicinity regularly. I didn't see anyone."

Wakana hears him ask the guard a few more questions before he drags her out of the office. He is quiet again. She can tell that he's thinking hard. She purses her lips. Should she tell him about Morita Aiko and the apartment?

"Where does your sister live?" He asks her.

Sei is likely to cause problems if she takes him along with her. She gives him some fake directions until she reaches a bus station. "Minami Kun, just drop me here. My sister lives in this area."

His voice is low and eerily cold. "Which building?"

"That one." She points at one randomly.

Sei stops the car in front of the 'random' building. "Go."

"Thanks a lot, Minami Kun." She smiles at him. "You can leave now."

"Go inside." His penetrating gaze freezes her soul.

"Minami Kun worries about me a lot." She grins. "I will leave now. See you tomorrow, Minami Kun."

He doesn't say anything to her. She gives him a formal nod before she walks toward the random building. It's quite late. She can't see the guard. She enters the vicinity until she finds a hiding spot. She waits there until Minami Sei leaves.

She checks the time on her wristwatch. If she takes the bus, she will reach the old apartment around 1. She can wait until Morita Aiko arrives. Her plan seems flawless. Tonight, she and Morita Aiko will kick a demon's butt out of this world.

Filled with foolish confidence, she walks toward the bus station. She never notices the man whose dark gaze follows her in the quiet night.

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