Chương 4: The Talking Doll
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When the others got back, Ayumi's room and a living room were declared off limits. The furniture had been moved in Ayumi's room, and everything had been completely flipped over in the other room, down to the rug. It would have been impossible for any single person to have done.
We go to bed soon after, Ayako declaring she'll have the place clean by tomorrow evening. I woke up twice that night; once to a small figure at the end of my bed. The second time to the feeling of little hands in my curly hair, and soft giggles.
I say nothing.
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In the morning, the vase from the hypnotic suggestion hasn't moved, so human made poltergeist is firmly ruled out, as is structural failure based on the data collected. Ayako does her little ritual, but the spirits hide from it. It's weird. I can't tell if they're out of range or if Ayako can't force them away. It might be that something is holding them back. In any case, my little friend doesn't show up either.
I'm curled up in a chair at base, head bowed with hair falling around me. I've decided to wear it long since it seems to attract children. Or well, at least the one.
The thing about my abilities is that I have two kinds of foresight. There is the feeling I get, an instinct, a direction, a number, a guess that's incredibly, impossibility correct. Those are my intuition and generally don't cause any backlash or require absorbent amounts of energy. The downside is that I end up doing shit for no identifiable reason. It's useful as fuck, but just because I know danger is coming doesn't mean I know from where. I have, in the past, occasionally ended up in ridiculous, often terribly dangerous situations because the result was to my benefit, like ending up finding something I needed, but having to get my ass handed to me first. It's a tricky ability.
On the other hand, I can see visions, past, present, or future, sometimes even in my dreams. However, they can be misleading at best, I won't necessarily know when they take place, and while the future can change by my actions, getting the conclusion you want is fucking exhausting and requires a shit ton of careful planning and litterally blinding myself. I once needed to plan something and required several visions that left me blind for a whole week. The length of the backlash isn't even proportional to vision length. Because my abilities have to obey the natural order of whatever reality I'm in, the backlash is different for every world. In this world, dreams don't blind me at all, but outside of that, I can't predict how long my eyesight will be shot. Even after almost a whole childhood, I haven't been able to identify a pattern, if there is one. It could be seconds or hours. While I've gotten over how traumatic suddenly losing what little is left of my sight after a vision can be, it's not exactly fun for me.
Fucking Fate out here trying to have Ballance and bullshit. That bitch.
All that said, I'm very fortunate to have another more passive ability; magic sensing. Combined with reading auras from my empathy, I can use it to feel things heading my way. There are some worlds so saturated in energy, I can use the magic in the air to see like sonar, or echolocation to almost completely negate my lack of sight. This is, unfortunately, not one of those worlds. Magic just doesn't flow like that here, and using my own magic to soak my surroundings like that would be really draining and very noticeable. Currently, I can only sense the living, the dead, or objects of power. I'll still run into a table if given the opportunity, but at least I'll be able to tell if someone is trying to stab me.
I huff. Mentally focusing inwards, I call forth my power, searching for a vision of something to do with my little friend. A little girl lies in bed, sickly pale. Purple bruises under brown eyes. She has two braids in her lank, oily black hair. Two chairs rest next to her bed, and in them a man holds a woman, her parents I think, while she sobs. This must be how my little friend died.
An alarm goes off in my head, telling me something's up, so instead of breaking out of the vision, I pull on the thread of power that leads to my intuition.
The scene blurs and shifts. Now, Kanna cooks in the kitchen as flames erupt from the stove. She starts to scream- I yank myself out with a hiss, staggering up and into a table.
"Oi! Fire about to break out in the kitchen with Kanna! Go!" I sense hesitation. Especially, the guys, who I'm learning are protective idiots, although Mai is a smart cookie and already off to save Kanna. "I'll be fine, go!"
The room empties fast as hell and I carefully make my way forward. I'm not a huge fan of people watching me like this, fumbling and lost. I don't mind being lead, but this level of vulnerability is something I'd only be comfortable showing Mai right now, and even then, I loathe the mere idea.
I make my way to the wall and carefully use it to guide myself towards the noise and to the kitchen. Mai and Kanna meet me in the hall and fill me in. My warning seems to have been good timing because Monk was able to immediately take out the fire with the extinguisher he had ready. Mai had already evacuated Kanna to the hall. While Kanna was a bit nervous, she seemed reassured because of our timely actions, and thanked me sincerely. Yay me.
Feeling something, I grab Mai's hand and step just inside the kitchen. "Mai, do you see anything."
Confused, Mai turns to look, "See anything?" She looks up and gasps. "Naru, someone's outside! A little kid!"
Naru and Lin run over, but don't seem to see anything. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, Tsukiyo sensed someone, too."
"You saw it as well, Tsukiyo?" Lin asks.
"Sensed it, not saw. Can't see right now." I wave my hand side to side in front of me for emphasis. "Got a vision of the fire, hence the warning, so I'm gonna be running blind for a bit." I snicker at my own pun, and Mai whacks me.
"And it wasn't Ayumi?"
"I don't think so, but I didn't get a great read on it." Mai accidentally scared it off.
"We'll double check in case."
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We all ended up checking on Ayumi upstairs, and she was simply playing. Noriko went over to question her if she had been the one outside that Mai and I noticed. But, that wasn't the problem. The problem was the thing in the room with her. I felt my spine stiffen, and my hand clench on Mai's arm. I can't see it, but I can feel the malice it carried. It is very dangerous. Oddly enough, the darkness wasn't directed at Ayumi exactly, but everyone.
No, wait, that's not right. It's especially aimed at… the women? Noriko, Kanna, and even me and Mai and Ayako.
"I am! Ayumi didn't do it!" Ayumi had become distrsss by her aunt seemingly not believing her, and immediately I felt the spirit children converge on the room, responding to her upset. The dark entity was pleased with that, and I could feel sick satisfaction radiating from it. I feel a pulse of energy from it, and then the children were scared and hurting and their cries filled my ears just as knocking noises filled the room.
I jerk back, covering my ears from the sudden chaos, feeling disoriented from the lack of sight and inability to use my ears to help me. My blood turns to ice as cold laughter starts from inside the room. A woman's laugh. I back away farther from the room, gritting my teeth, a snarl pulling at my lips.
"Stop it!" Ayumi's scream rips though the air, and I can feel the entity's irritation, like she is disappointed in Ayumi's reaction. There is another loud bang, and then Mai is calling out.
"Noriko!"
"Aunt Norrie!" cries little Ayumi, her fear palpable.
There is a crash, and I whip my head up. I have, at this point, backed away from the room towards the stairs where it's quieter. As the others were scrambling to check on Noriko, who thankfully didn't feel hurt, I sense the spirit materialize behind me.
And then I make a mistake.
I hadn't realized being able to see it- no, her, would make her angry. I hadn't even really thought about, merely turning on instinct at the presence I sensed on the stairs, despite only being able to see shadows and light at the moment.
Her rage hit me full force, knocking the breath from my lungs, and then a hand closes on my ankle and yanks. I let out a shriek of surprise, managing to grab the banister by some miracle, but I feel the side of my ribs smash into an stair edge with force. Feeling the hand trying to pull me down, I growl, and let my magic flare.
The entity shrieks, letting go and vanishing. My magic settles back into my body just as the team appears at the top of the stairs. There is a lot of yelling, and their emotions are overwhelming. Hands are grabbing at me, and jerk away, teeth bared. "Silence," I hiss, "Stop touching me!"
Everything stops, and I take a second to brace my head on a step, trying to get my breathing under control despite the sharp pulsing ache in my ribs. Letting go of my death grip on the banister, I wrap my arm around my side, and use the other to turn myself over into sitting on the stairs and leaning on the wall. I breathe deeply, "Alright, one at a time."
"Are you alright?" Mai asks, her voice shaking and sounding petrified.
"I'll be fine, but I think my ribs might be bruised pretty badly." There is some shuffling, and someone moves past me to crouch in front of me. Alarm, anger, concern, Naru.
I turn my head to him , nodding to him in silent permission to begin his interagation. When he speaks his voice is softer than I've ever heard it, and I'd be fooled into thinking he was calm if I wasn't a literal mood ring, "What happened?"
I grimace, letting my hair fall into my face, genuinely embarrassed and pissed at myself. "I made a mistake. The entity in the room was doing something to the children, and they were screaming and crying, and the knocking got too loud. I backed up so I could focus and be out of the way, but then the knocking stopped, and the spirit, a woman, appeared behind me. When she realized I noticed her, she got very angry, hence how I ended up smacking into the stairs." Let's leave my magic, and the fact that she'll probably come at me again, out of it for now. "I strongly believe she dislikes other women, and that she's probably gonna have it out for us. Considering the amount of dead children, Ayumi needs to be protected as well."
"Noted. Can you stand?" I nod, and feel hands settle around my wrists, genuinely surprised by the fact that they're Naru's. I lean my wait on him, and he tells me when the steps finish, the crew behind us, and Mai's palm on my arm.
We get to base and Ayako, who's actually a legit doctor, checks my ribs, which are apparently now decorated with a giant ass black bruise, but like me, doesn't think they're broken. She wraps them nice and tight for me, and I drink the tea Mai brings me.
Naru makes the decision that no one is to be alone anymore, especially the girls. I can't see it, but I can feel the pointed look in my direction.
It kinda pisses me off.
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The next morning, my eyes are back to their normal amount of shitiness, so that's great. I still have the pain meds from when I got my hand impaled last week, so that's extra nice.
Everyone is a bit on edge from yesterday, but have limited themselves to concerned glances and covert hovering because they think they're subtle even if they really aren't. It makes me feel warm on the inside though, so I let them do it.
The temperature in Ayumi's room drops suddenly, and when the audio is turned up, the dread starts to mount. There is a lot of intense banging noise from the room. No one is in there, or at least no one the others can see or hear.
But I can hear it. The sound of crying children breaks my heart.
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Mai and I are spending time with Ayumi and Noriko. Although Ayumi has become withdrawn since her father remarried and they moved here, the girl is still very sweet and adorable, having asked very shyly to braid my hair.
Kanna comes in with a tray of snacks for Ayumi, and I snap to attention at the atmosphere shift. While Kanna is hopeful, she's also a bit frustrated. Ayumi, however, has my eyes narrowing. Ayumi is seriously scared.
I force myself to stay relaxed as I feel an entity enter the room. I keep a smile on my face and my eyes focused on Mai, even as the entity gets right up in my face, seemingly testing to see if I can see her.
Magic bubbles under my skin, heart pounding, but my instincts telli me to not confront it lest the others get caught in the crossfire. Then, something strange happens.
The entity, who looks like the maimed, rotted corpse of a small girl, gets absorbed into the doll. And then she starts whispering, and to my utter horror, based on Ayumi's climbing terror, the living girl can here her. I feel my stomach drop, and my hands are clammy, my nerves through the roof as I listen to the one sided conversation.
Kanna offers Ayumi the snacks, but the little girl won't even look at her, and she leaves, storming out and upset. This fucking doll-
Noriko goes to eat a cookie, and Ayumi, in a panic, slaps it away. Seemingly at a breaking point from the stress, Ayumi spills a few details. How her doll tells her that her stepmother is a witch and planning to get rid of Ayumi and Noriko, how her father is her servant, and how the cookies are poisoned.
I feel the dread climb in my gut, but I keep it off my face. When I look at the doll with the spirit inside, it doesn't look like the pretty, if somewhat ragged, doll it was a few minutes ago.
It looks like a rotted cadaver, with ripped and bloody clothes and hair. A thick chain and shackle binds one of the ankles, leading through the floor. The worst part is the wide eyes and even wider smile, the excitement and satisfaction. Or maybe it's the high pitched giggles ringing in my ears.
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"Minnie's the one who told her that? So she's talking with the doll."
I'm scribbling as quickly as I can on a notepad, trying to get it down as accurately as possible with only pen and my shitty visual memory. Meanwhile Mai is filling the boss in on what happened earlier before we go to bed.
I drag the pen across the paper in quick, harsh strokes, grimacing and still disturbed despite the conversation with Ayumi having been hours ago. It'ts not perfectly accurate, but it'll do.
"And what do you think, Tsukiyo?" I hand him the notepad, wincing ar rhe unexpected throb in my ribs. Not even two weeks into this job and I've got a hole in my hand and bruised ribs. This better not be an omen. I'll be dead before I get my paid holiday!
Mai, leaning over Naru's shoulder, flinches back from the rather gruesome picture. "What the hell is this?"
"Watch you fucking mouth, you little shit." I intone on reflex, making Mai let out a weak laugh, and Naru sigh in exasperation, but I can feel the amusement. "Naru, we were with Ayumi and Noriko for a while. When we first got there, it was just us and the occasional child peeking in. Then, a spirit came in around the same time as Kanna. It was another shackled child, but it looked really messed up compared to the others, like a zombie almost. It entered the doll, and that's what the doll looked like after. I could hear it trying to manipulate that little girl, Naru."
Naru leans back in his chair arms crossed. He feels…conflicted. After a moment he leans forward, and I match his posture in order to get a semblance of eye contact, or even the illusion of it. "Tsukiyo, it's not that I don't believe you-"
"It's the fact that my abilities as far as the dead have not been tested or proven in anyway, even if my psychic abilities have, and taking my word as evidence would be idiotic, or at the least, irresponsible. I know, you Idiot Scientist. I'm not upset. I completely understand and agree with your handling of the situation, Boss. 100%."
I feel his genuine shock, and then… bittersweet mirth? Naru shakes his head letting out a breathless laugh. "Your performance for the duration of the case will be enough evidence. For what it's worth, I'm already convinced." Feeling genuinely touched, I can't help the soft smile that curls my lips.
"I expected to earn my recognition like that anyway. I won't let ya down." I get up from my chair, and arm wrapped around my injured side. "I think we need to do something about that doll, Naru. The spirit is litterally using it to torment Ayumi by mentally and emotionally manipulating her. I would really recommend calling Masako in as well. I'm gonna head to bed now."
"I'm coming, too." Mai wraps my arm in hers, calling goodbye to Naru and we head to bed. I have to hide my smile at my silly, protective friend.
"Goodnight. Stay together."
"Aye, aye, captain."
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I knew I was dreaming. Or, more accurately, I was Seeing. It's the only kind of dreams I seem to have. The woman from before was walking towards a well, her sadness hanging around her, heavy and draining, as she dragged her feet onwards, a defeated slump in her shoulders.
She rested her arms on the lip of the well, as though she could no longer hold her own body up. And then she climbed over and jumped.
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I wake up that morning feeling a bit ill, but this is far from the most disturbing dream I've ever had. In fact, this would be rather tame in comparison. So, I shower and get ready, and when I get back to the room I'm sharing with Mai, two little girls are sitting on my bed, quietly waiting for me. One is the girl from before, and the other I've seen watching from afar. It seems like she worked up her courage to come closer.
I settle quietly next to them, noting the sickly look they share. They died from illness, both of them, my intuition tells me. Both children are crying silent tears. "Good morning, Little ones."
"Hello, nice lady." I grin, amused by the idea that I seem like a full grown lady to these little children, but the child's next words wipe the cheer right off my face. "We came to warn you. She's mad that you are here, you and your friends. She really hates you. She's gonna hurt you."
"She can try," I shrug, putting on a reassuring look, "but I'm really tough. I'm gonna free you, all of you from this place. We won't stop until your safe and happy."
"You'll free us? Save us?" The new shyer child asks. Unlike my first little friend, this one has short brown curls and lighter eyes, and I only barely manage to hold back my rage when she lifts a too thin ankle, showing me the heavy shackle tightly binding it and leading somewhere into the ground.
"We will. My friends and I will save you all," I tell them seriously, determinism swelling like a wild fire in my chest.
"Can…can I play your game with you, too?"
I grin, "All of you can."
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It's sometime later that Mai wakes up, looking embarrassed. "Hey, Tsuki,…. What does it mean when you dream about someone."
"Depends. Sex dreams," I ignore Mai's shriek of outrage, "can mean anything or nothing, especially the weird ones. Other dreams are just shit your subconscious wants you to know, or things you were thinking about. Then, there are precognitive dreams that are trying to warn you about something, an ability we know you have. Some dreams are just random nonsense. I once knew someone who once had a dream about dancing with unicorns around a bonfire to summon candy rainbows. Other dreams are spirits trying to show you something. It can really mean anything, especially to someone with your only thing I need you to remember is that things are often not what they seem. I've read that there are entities that disguise themselves to trick and hurt you."
"So, if I dreamed a person telling me Ayumi is in danger?" My head whips up, and I give her an incredulous look.
"Then she's in danger, idiot. Get the hell up, we gotta go."
"Wha- you just said things aren't as they seem!" Mai yells, scrambling after me.
"That one is pretty straightforward considering the haunted doll, Woman!"
We make it into base, nearly running, and quickly inform Naru of Mai's dream warning, which I assure him is accurate. He leaves for a moment to find Lin and the rest, mentioning that John Brown and Masako Hara will be arriving soon as back up, which is a huge relief to me. I've kinda been bullshitting my way through this medium shit, but I don't actually know what I'm doing. I can see and hear spirits, yes, but real mediums can do much more.
They see visions from them, understand their backgrounds, and see their issues. I've been using my abilities to mimic that, (empathy and energy sensing to find them, visions and intuition to piece together their stories), but it's very roundabout. The spirits can't show me what they want. I have to figure it out on my own by feeling my way through with my abilities. Mediums can communicate with spirits over long distances as well. I can only do that if they are physically near me. Mediums, like Masako, and possibly Mai, seem to also attract spirits. That's not necessarily true for me. They actually seem confused, curious, and even wary initially. I know part of what mediums do is convince people to move on, but considering the shackles the kids are sporting, I'm not sure what to do.
"The person who gave me the warning in my dream was Naru!" Mai bursts out of no where, nearly making me spill my coffee. I side eye her, trying not to show my exasperation. "Am I starting to get a crush?!"
I facepalm, and instantly regret it because I used my injured hand. I understand she's genuinely distressed, but dear god, being a teen can get exhausting. Really this is my fault. Mai became my family, and it is my responsibility to explain and prepare her for shit like this., considering she doesn't have a parental figure. Clearly, I missed something.
"Little Sister, no. Even if it was a dirty dream- Stop that, it's perfectly natural, and don't let anyone shame you for it," I tell her sternly, whacking her hands away from where she was hiding her face in them, "Even if it was, it wouldn't necessarily mean anything. Hell, you could have a dream like that about someone you wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. If it was a precig. dream like it sounds, it could be two things, probably. One, a spirit disguised itself like that so you would trust the warning, or two, that's merely the way your subconscious decided take shape in order to warn you. In that case, it hints that you see Naru, a professional, as an authority, a trustworthy messenger, which is logical, all things considered."
"What if it was a spirit?" She asks, a little nervous.
"We'll have to be careful since you haven't figured out how to close that gateway in your head, but the worst thing that can happen in this case is we protect Ayumi and nothing happens. Alternately, ignoring the warning could have far more dangerous consequences."
Mai nods, "Better safe than sorry."
"All that said, it's fine to crush on him, if you end up doing so, but that's not necessarily what's happening just because you dreamed him." I give her a soft side hug. "Come to me with anything else. I'm here for you, and won't ever judge you. Promise."
I feel the relief flood her, as she leans against me, her smile bright again.
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"Ah, before I forget. Last night, I dreamt about that women from the lake throwing herself down a well. I can't be sure it killed her, but she definitely felt sad enough to attempt suicide." I would know.
"Could you have mistaken her?"
I shake my head. "My eyesight is perfect in visions," I state, hoping my smile isn't bitter. Just because I'm resigned to Fate's bitchiness doesn't mean I don't hold any resentment towards it. I'm only human, after all.
"Interesting." Naru suddenly feels very intense and curious, and I can feel the barrage of questions about to be aimed at my face, but I'm saved by Masako and John arriving. Yeesh, I hate it when he goes mad scientist on me. Creepy. I shudder.
Poor Masako immediately gets sick, saying she's never been in such a disturbed house, which is incredibly alarming considering this is a profession she's famous for. I feel bad, but I'm genuinely amused by her litterally throwing herself at Naru, and have to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing. I nearly lose it when I feel Mai's irritated exasperation.
"This house is sourounded by the spirits of children. They're all suffering terribly." I nod, grimly satisfied with being validated by someone who knows there stuff. "They just keep crying saying they want to be with their mothers over and over again. I've never seen so many spirits in one house, and they're all innocent children."
I step forward when I feel her actually faint, ignoring the throbbing in my ribs from bracing the small girl, and Mai helps me lower her to the ground. She's fine, but gets sent away to rest.
Thanks to Noriko, we get to examine Minnie. Oddly enough, it doesn't look like a corpse as it did before. It's got some dark, sludgy energy remnants that I hadn't noticed originally because of how gross Ayumi's room in general feels. Hell, physically, it just kinda looks like it's been in some dirt, like Ayumi was playing outside with it, but if I blink or turn my head, for a fraction of a secondthe image will shift to a perfectly pristine doll. Weird.
Ayumi storms in, upset and even panicked, the small, dark entity following her, and takes back the doll. I'm confused about whether that thing is actually a child, but she has chains as well, so I'm assuming so. The only figure to not have a chain I could hear is the one who hurt my ribs, although I couldn't see her, so I can't be sure. "Naru, Ayumi can't be alone with that thing."
He nods, surprisingly without complaint, and sends Ayako with Noriko after her, before turning to the rest of us. "The wailing women theory is getting more likely, but we need to know for sure if it's the house or the doll. We need Ms. Hara to recover for confirmation as well, so tonight, we watch it."
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That night, we watch the doll on camera. Naru's sudden flare of energy has me focusing on him and breaking my meditation. As we crowd around the monitors, Naru shifts over the slightest bit to give me a better view, and it makes me smile because Naru's only kind when he thinks no one will notice.
Catching movement, I flinch as I see the doll on screen begin to slide off the bed, leaving dark energy like stains across everything it touches. "Ugh, it looks nasty again. Lin, can you please turn it up a bit more, she's speaking."
Most of the whispers are indecipherable, but it feels…angry. As the doll slides towards the edge of the bed, I hear two voices overlapping in terrifying synchronization: the first a raspy hiss of an adult woman, the other a high pitched, sickly sweet sounding little girl, and the effect haa all my hair standing on end.
"You won't keep me from finding Tomiko." Tomiko? Then the doll rolls off the bed, and then right into view of the camera. Once again, it's a horrible, decayed face with those too wide eyes and a manic smile. And then she screams.
"YOU WON'T STOP ME!" I flinch violently, yanking Mai with me on instinct, and accidentally clawing her arm in the process, trying to shield my ears from that sick, unnatural dual laughter. My stomach churns at the insane sound, but the screens all go black after only a few second.
"Shit," I gasp out, barely audible, a trembling laugh slipping past my lips, "I guess there are still things that can scare me." How arrogant of me to think otherwise.
Monk and Mai both take off upstairs to see the doll and I hurry after them, but have to slow down at the stairs. Naru stays with me step for step. I think he's worried I'll fall on them again. He cares a lot for his employees. Look at this tsundere. I have to hold back a cackle at the realization.
When we get upstairs, the doll is back in its place, but I keep my mouth shut because the dark entity is still sitting right there.
"This is common," Naru states, and I can feel the stirring anger, "Spirits don't care for mechanical devices."
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It's the 3rd day of the investigation, and Monk has called dibs on the first exorcism attempt on the doll. When I'm sure there isn't anyone else around but Lin and Naru, I turn to them.
"You two, sit quietly and look less scary. I'm trying something, but there isn't much time. Don't interrupt," I drop down onto the floor without waiting for a response, willing my magic to help me find my little ghost friends. "Mari, Hanako?"
I feel a tug, and then my magic being drained. Within seconds the two dead children appear, and from the shock in Lin and Naru's auras, I assume they can actually see them. Ooookay, didn't see that coming. Heh, see. I internally laugh at my own stupid pun.
"Hello," whispers Mari, looking healthier today, to my relief, although I know it's probably the magic they are taking from me.
"Hey. Are you two up for a favor? You don't have to." Both children glance at each other, before Hanako, the more outgoing of the two, speaks.
"We can try."
"I need you to let me know if She is coming. Can you keep a lookout?"
They hesitate, but Hanako grabs Mari's hand and nods. "We can do that."
"Be careful. Go." They disappear and I urgently wave Naru and Lin over, without getting up because my ribs hurt. They crouch next to me and I quickly tell them about what the doll said yesterday.
"Tomiko? You're sure?" I nod, looking Naru straight in the eye, for once close enough to see why Mai said it was a very sharp and intimidating gaze.
"Yep."
"And your friends' names?"
"Mari and Hanako."
He nods, getting up. "Those are the names of two of the earliest children to die in this house. Yuki Tachibanna was first recorded almost 70 years ago."
It's at that moment that said girls appear back in the room, making me twitch in surprise. "She's coming," is all Mari says before they vanish, the small drain on my magic stopping.
Mai and Masako hurry in, darkness following close behind, as Monk enters with the doll, nervousness and frustration rolling off him.
"Glad to see you up Masako." I wave at her from my spot on the ground. Lin is already typing away on the chair behind me.
"Thank you, it's good to see you as well."
"Naru, the doll doesn't burn. I literally set it on fire, and it was unscathed." Oh dear, Houshou Takigawa is seriously annoyed.
"Oh god, is that it? What a volatile spirit! Monk, get away from it!" Poor Masako was backing away, panic rising, and I realize this is her first interaction with the doll. Masako ducks behind Naru, hiding her face into his shoulder. I wince at Nau's sudden irritation and discomfort, even though his body language doesn't change. I should be more careful and make sure he is okay with it before I touch him.
"Another point to Princess," Monk states.
"Whoo," I say flatly, moving to stand by the arm of Lin's chair, uneasy with the malicious, ghostly gaze I can feel on me. I feel a large hand settle briefly over mine before Lin's typing starts up again. Ah, Lin is a good friend to have.
Mai and Masako begin to fill Naru in on the things that Ayumi just told them. Apparently, Minnie brought the other children here as her servants. The doll has been trying to isolate the little girl, and punishing her by wrecking her room whenever Ayumi "disobeyed." Interestingly, Masako doesn't think it's really the doll behind everything, merely a soldier acting on orders, so to speak. As they are relaying the details to our boss, I can feel the danger growing in the air. Shit, the doll's is getting angry.
I focus my attention and senses on the doll, swiping the pillow Lin was leaning on as my intuition bubbles up. I feel his confusion before it shifts into sudden alertness, and clicking on his laptop comes to an abrupt stop as he goes completely still. Good instincts on this one.
Casually, I grip the pillow, forcing sharp, aggressive magic into it, and feel Naru and Lin take notice, but the rest, minus John who is with Ayumi at the moment, don't.
Throw it. I hurtle the pillow full force at nothing on instinct alone, just as the spirit in the doll shrieks, positively wrathful, and chucks itself right out of Monk's fucking hands and at Mai's head.
The doll and magic laced pillow collide mid air, a foot from poor Mai and Masako who have nearly knocked Naru to the ground in their terror. The entity roars in pain and retreats, the doll twitching gruesomely, as both items hit the nearby wall.
The base is dead silent for a moment before Lin proves he's got a wicked sense of humor despite his cold face. "Well, I seem to have found the safest spot in the house," he stares flatly, his calmness brushing against my frayed nerves like a balm. I laugh, handing him another pillow to replace the one I stole.
"Well, you did say you'd have my back. I wasn't expecting it to be so literal, but I'm not even surprised at this point," My best friend squeeks with a nervous giggle, coming over and hugging me. I pat her head fondly.
"That entity was angry that Ayumi spilled her secrets. She will be seeking revenge. We need to get the ladies out of this house," Masako murmurs, her sleeve covering the lower part of her face.
"I wonder if a Kekkai barrier would help."
"A what?" Mai asks. I perk my head up, curious as well.
"It's a barrier used to hide and keep things safe from evil spirits." Oh ho, a stationary shield. Magic wards, I guess.
"I've got a plan," Naru states, and in that moment, his iron will gains him some serious respect from me.
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