The group was traveling to Enoshima, a small touristy island off the Shonan Coast of Kanagawa
Prefecture. Despite being an island, it was connected to the mainland by a bridge and it was possible to walk there on foot.
The hour journey to Enoshima was nothing shy of joy and laughter, the group of friends mingled and joked happily.
The warm sun and sea breeze welcomed their arrival at Enoshima Station.
Mayuri and Carly strode towards the seaside as they were overwhelmed by the beautiful scenery. Blue skies accompanied by a borderless sea with the same color was a magnificent scene to look at, even more so when Enoshima Island was within sight because it represented the fun the group were going to have for the rest of the day.
While Taka walked up to the two girls, trying to calm them down, Akira stayed behind the group and looked around.
He wasn't admiring the scenery but he was looking for the woman in red. He had a hunch that what he saw back there had followed them here and his search returned with results.
Amid the bustling tourists making their way to Enoshima, Akira spotted the same woman along the flow.
"Bingo, seems like I was right all along... Huh?"
Aside from the joy of locating the woman in red, Akira noticed something weird about the woman.
The woman stood in the sea of people but she wasn't looking at Akira, instead it looked like she neglected him instinctively despite Akira's prying gaze.
The woman looked beyond Akira.
He turned and tried spot what the woman was looking at but other than hundreds of tourists, he got nothing.
Turning back, the woman then disappeared from Akira's sight.
"Interesting. Guess I have to be prepared."
"Hey Akira, what are you doing standing there all alone by yourself. Come on, we have a lot of things to see and lots of delicious food to eat!" Taka called him and brought him back from his thoughts.
"Okay, coming!"
Keeping his thoughts away temporarily, Akira joined his friends at the bridge before they walked towards the island.
Enoshima was famous for many things: food, souvenirs, sightseeing spots, a lighthouse tower that provided an aerial view at the mainland and most importantly, its shrine.
Akira and co. had walked around the commercial street and tried almost every single snack they had to offer; they'd stop by some souvenirs shop for window shopping as well.
Whilst they ate and shop, the woman in red was quietly following them in the shadows.
She'd appear and disappear in corners, staring at them grudgefully while maintaining a certain distance from the group.
As a matter of fact, the woman in red had been following the group since they started shopping.
Akira noticed they were being followed but he wasn't too bothered by it since they were walking along a sea of tourists and were even close to a shrine.
"Let's go visit the shrine next." Taka said in order to stop the girls from further buying things.
Everyone agreed, especially Akira.
Many flights of stairs greeted the group when they reached Enoshima Shrine but it didn't deter their excitement and joy to conquer the tedious walk to get to the top.
The shrine, dedicated to worship the Goddess Benten, was built on a hill. There wasn't a grand hall for worship like the other shrines though, instead the shrine consists of many scattered structures across the hill and were all connected through many flights of stairs.
Visitors of the shrine could either pay a fee to use the escalators built for convenience or test the strength of their legs by climbing up almost 500 flights of stars combined.
The four of them finally reached one out of three main altars for worship after climbing for almost twenty minutes.
The main altar wasn't big by any means, it was in the size of a small house and yet it was meticulously decorated. The four of them went up, prayed and then started to stroll around for pictures.
While Taka was busy taking pictures for the girls at the mini pond, Akira went over to the store beside the altar selling talisman charms.
"Can I have two of this?" Akira asked.
"Sure. Please hold on for a moment." the priestess on duty replied and started to pack the talisman charms into a small paper bag.
"Is the Chief Priest around?" Akira asked as he paid for the talisman charms.
"I'm so sorry, the Chief Priest is currently out on assignment. May I know who is looking for him?" the priestess on duty asked.
"I see. Nevermind then, it's not something big anyway. Can you pass him a message when he is back saying that Akira from Tenjou Shrine sends his regards?" said Akira with a smile.
"Very well sir, I'll make sure the Chief Priest gets the message." the priestess bowed and replied with a smile also.
All the shrines throughout the region had a connection with each other one way or another, so Akira thought it would be polite of him to pay a visit to the Chief Priest of Enoshima Shrine; Akira bought the two talisman charms in order to be prepared for the potential encounter.
He looked at the two sewn charms in his hand with a smile before going back to his friends.
The group then further walked around the island, had more snacks and took more pictures— they even went up to the lighthouse tower for an aerial view of the mainland.
The four of them almost toured the entire island, they visited all the tourists spots, had a great time and even took a speedboat back to the mainland at the back of the island, so they wouldn't have to walk back the same way they came through.
When they arrived and disembarked the speedboat, Akira spotted the grudgeful woman in red among tourists further away.
This time, the grudgeful presence around the woman were slightly revealed. Akira smiled, he wanted to confront her once and for all but when he took the first step out, the woman in red vanished into a cloud of dark mist.
"So this is how you want to play eh? Okay, I'll be waiting for you." said Akira with a determined look.
After spending a whole day touring Enoshima, the four of them got back to the mainland and headed towards a local ryokan that Taka booked to spend the night.
A short 15 minutes travel later, the group finally reached the lodging spot.
The ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, wasn't big or luxurious by all means, it looked like a traditional japanese house on the outside and had the simplest decoration outside together with its signage.
After they checked in, they headed to their rooms for a quick rest before dinner; Akira and Taka shared a room while Mayuri and Carly were next door.
They rested, refreshed themselves before heading down to the restaurant at the lobby for dinner as it was also included in their stay.
After a delicious dinner, they decided to go relax their tired bodies at the onsen which was on the same floor.
The onsen, meaning public baths and hot springs, was divided into male and female.
The boys washed up and cleaned themselves before heading into the hot water to soak away the tiredness.
"What a day! It's been a while since we had this much fun together." said Taka as he stepped into the hot water.
"I know right, really brings back all the memories. I remember how we used to hang out after school, sat under the setting sun and even saw a meteor shower once!" said Akira as he too sat in the water.
"What I remember the most is our first meeting back in elementary one!"
"Yeah, that was one meeting too painful to forget."
"I remember how cheerful and happy you are even after you got beaten up by those bullies." Taka giggled and started to reminiscence their first meeting.
"Well, what can I say? Crying can't save me from those bullies, why not smile? Besides, I bet it's my smiles that attracts you to save me." Akira said cheerfully.
"Ya, and I ended up with bruises on my face." Taka shook his head and teased.
"Hey, both of us laughed in the end right? Despite me losing one of my teeth."
"Ya, both of us laughed like idiots despite getting beaten up by bullies. Your laughs and cheerful attitude is always so infectious." Taka exclaimed.
"Hahahaha, it's not the first time you said that." Akira laughed louder.
Taka replied with a smile instead.
Although Akira was happily chatting with his friend, he did not notice the woman in red anywhere since they entered the onsen.
Could it be…
Meanwhile at the female side of the onsen, where the new pair of friends were enjoying themselves in the water, something unusual was about to happen.
"How did you and Taka meet?" Mayuri asked with her semi-long black hair tied up as she immersed herself in the water.
"We met during the first day of doctor school. We are in the same class, in the same group for assignments and it just happened naturally. I guess it's Taka's charms that attracted me."
"What about you? When did you and Akira get together?" Carly asked with her semi-long blonde hair was tied into a ponytail and laid on her left shoulder.
"Eh?! Together? No, we are just friends!" Mayuri responded in a flush.
"What friends? My sharp instincts tell me that you have a crush on him! Just look at how happy when you are walking beside him!" Carly teased her new friend.
"Well… It's not like that at all…I..I…" Mayuri face turned red, she slowly soaked herself deeper into the hot water and even took the only piece of towel to cover her face.
"Come on, don't be shy. Both of us are women, and now, we've seen each other naked, it's okay to be honest with me! So did you confess yet or…" Carly continued her bold teasing. She was fairly excited and even stood up, revealing her huge chest that the tiny little towel could barely cover.
"I… Well…I don't know… I mean… What if he doesn't like me?" Mayuri face got redder because of the bold move from Carly and the shyness.
"My instinct tells me that Akira will accept you!" Carly got closer to Mayuri and pressed her chest close to her arms, which further increased Mayuri's shyness.
Rendered speechless, Mayuri's mind was muddled.
While the girls were having some intimate touches at each other body, the steam around the water got thicker.
The steam continued to grow thick to the point that it started to block sights, and the unusual scene soon caught the girls' attention.
"Isn't it getting a little too hot in here? Or is it getting a little steamy?" Carly said.
"I guess." Mayuri was confused.
Then, both of the faintly saw a figure amid the steam, the figure was also inside the water but at the other end.
"Mayuri, I thought it was just the two of us here?"
"So I thought."
Carly and Mayuri were baffled by the sudden appearance.
The figure was blurry because of the thick steam, but the overall contour faintly revealed a femine figure with long black hair over the face.
A low eerie muffled weeping suddenly came from the female figure.
Both the girls were slightly scared by the weird woman, they tried their best to see through the steam to get a glimpse of the woman, but there was no luck.
The weeping then got louder and more irritating, and the female figure's long black hair started to grow longer and swam towards the girls.
"Mayuri, I think we should get out of here."
Frightened, Carly grabbed Mayuri, got out of the water and ran towards the changing room.
The weeping grew louder to the point that it was heard by the girls while they anxiously put on their bathrobes at the changing room.
The girls ran out of the onsen with their poorly dressed bathrobe and bumped into Akira and Taka who had just gotten out from their side.
"Taka! There's a weird woman inside there!" Carly ran to her boyfriend.
"A weird woman?" Taka was baffled by the sudden hug from her girlfriend.
"Ya, the woman had long hair and was weeping." Mayuri didn't ran into Akira though, but she stared at him with teary eyes.
"I think it's just some foreign tourists. Don't worry about it." Akira tried to calm the frightened girls with his lousy joke.
"Ya, it must be just some foreigners. Come on, let's get something to drink to calm you girls down." Taka said.
"Oh, you better put on your bathrobe properly though." Akira added.
Mayuri flushed and quickly tightened the bathrobe around her chest.
The four of them then walked towards the lounge for a drink and as they walked away, Akira turned around for a quick glance over the female onsen. He grinned.
Akira, Taka, Carly and Mayuri stayed at the lounge for drinks and chatters, they lingered for around an hour before the went back to their respective rooms to rest.
The night turned darker and quieter as the clock ticked at 12.
The front desk of the ryokan was closed around 11 and all the lingering guests went back to their respective rooms.
The lobby was emptied of any living soul, it was dark, quiet and somewhat eerie.
Suddenly, a soft mutter sounded. It sounded like gibberish at first but it gradually became clearer, it was actually repeating a name.
"Ma...yu...ri…Mayuri…"
The mutters slowly spread to the other floors and eventually entered Mayuri's ears after a while.
Mayuri was awoken by the mutters. Slowly, she opened her eyes, she sat up and turned to Carly who was sleeping soundly beside her.
At first she thought Carly was whispering, trying to wake her up for some reason but then she realized the mutters came from outside the door.
Mayuri was confused, she didn't know what was happening but the mutters was ringing in her head and disturbing her sleep.
She opened the door and stuck her head outside for a look.
There was no one along the corridor, only a flickering light at the end which was also the direction of the mutters.
"Mayuri...Mayuri…"
The voice got slightly louder in her head. She rubbed her eyes and decided to find out what was going on.
She walked along the corridor under the flickering light, and when she reached the end, the irritating light died off.
Mayuri instantly plunged into complete darkness. She was scared but she decided to wait for her eyes to adjust to the environment, so that she could get a clearer glimpse.
However, she waited for quite something and yet her eyes couldn't catch the slightest light. The unusual darkness started to seep into her mind, she wanted to yell for help but before her throat could make the voice, she saw a dim light in front of her.
A few seconds later, Mayuri realized the light wasn't from the flickering light at the corridor anymore, it was the front desk lamp.
Bedazzled, she found herself in the middle of the empty lobby facing the main entrance.
Confusion and fear rose in her heart, she had no idea how did she get to the lobby from the first floor in just a blink of an eye.
Just when she wanted to move her feet, she suddenly saw a figure faintly appearing at the entrance.
"H-Hello…? Who is there?" she mustered enough courage to voice her shaky question.
The figure slowly came into shape, it was a woman with long hair wearing a dark red trench coat. Her messy and wet hair covered her face but a rough and heavy voice came out from her mouth.
"M-Mayuri!"
Cold air spread as the woman walked towards Mayuri with her eerie mutters.
Mayuri was horrified, she wanted to run or scream but the cold air from the woman caught up to her, silencing her and tripped her as she made her first step.
Pak!
Panicked, Mayuri fell on the floor. She opened her mouth, tried her best in screaming but her voice was somehow silenced by the cold air.
Amid her trembling, Mayuri dragged herself backwards with her hands as the woman in the trenchcoat came closer.
The woman took off her red trench coat, revealing her withered, naked body underneath.
The trench coat should have fell on the floor but it didn't, the woman's long hair suddenly came alive like dancing snakes, grabbed the red trench coat and somehow absorbed it.
The woman's hair was instantly tainted red after the trench coat was consumed and her eyes behind her messy hair suddenly shone in a bloody red.
"Mayuri, Mayuri, Mayuri…"
The rough voice of the woman repeated Mayuri's name maniacally.
Her snake-like hair were slowly wriggling towards Mayuri as she walked closer to her.
Mayuri still did not give up in screaming, but her attempts were futile. All she made was some grunts, like something was stuck in her throat.
Mayuri was looking at the snake-like hair moving closer to her face, tears filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, her mouth was opened but not a single sound came out.
What is this?! Why is this happening?! What did I do?! No, I don't want to die!
Messy thoughts filled her mind, and just when she was about to lose it, her sight turned black.
She did not close her eyes and it wasn't the darkness that disrupt sights but a figure suddenly appeared in between Mayuri and the woman.
"I've been waiting for you."
A familiar voice sounded in Mayuri's ears, she looked up in panic and saw a familiar back.
Akira?!
She couldn't speak but her mind told her than the man before her eyes was the one she had a crush on.
"Don't worry Mayuri, I got this." Akira grinned without looking back.
The woman… or Yoma with snake-like hair was stunned by Akira's sudden appearance.
The bloody eyes shone brightly as she looked at Akira.
"Who... are… you…"
"I, well I am the one who will purify you!" Akira said.
A faint white brilliance then shone from his right hand, he took a step forward to get closer to the female Yoma and…
PAK!
He slapped her right on the face!
A-Akira slapped the woman?! Did I see correctly? Am I imagining things?
Mayuri didn't have a clear look because of the low viewing angle but she was sure, notwithstanding her panic, she saw Akira slapped the woman.
Did...Did he just slap me?!
The same thought ran through the Yoma's mind. Her head was turned left by the slap and her glowing red eyes were widened by the sudden action, even her wriggling hair paused for a bit.
She slowly turned her head back and looked at Akira.
Akira then swung his right hand backwards…
Pak!
A backhand slap!
The female Yoma head was turned to the right this time. She could not believe what had just happened and unlike the previous slap where she was completely caught off guard, a sharp, irritating wail came blasting out her mouth.
The female Yoma was infuriated by the insult, the snake-like hair were waving furiously.
"Looks like I pissed her off." Akira smiled awkwardly. He quickly took out one of the talismans that he bought at the shrine from the pocket of his pants.
"Now eat this!" Akira clenched the talisman in his right glimmering fist and punched the female Yoma in the face.
Bang!
Upon contact, a ring of air exploded outwards and a heavy thud later, the female Yoma was punched out of the lobby, crashing out the glass entrance like a ragdoll.
The talisman that Akira was holding in his fist then disintegrated into dust.
"Well that did not last as long as I expected." Akira bitterly smiled as he clapped his dusty palm.
"Mayuri, stay here." Akira then walked out without turning back.
Mayuri was speechless at the scene, all she could do was nod in shivers.
Akira strode out the glass entrance and the moment he took a step out, a sharper, louder, wail came from the female Yoma.
Her face was twisted by the powerful punch, causing her withered, dark face to cramp together. She looked even more hideous than before.
"HOW DARE YOU! I WILL CONSUME YOU!" the female Yoma screamed.
"Let's see about that." Akira took out the second talisman but this time, he did not use it as a punching tool anymore. He hung it over his right middle finger by the thread and pointed his palm outward at the female Yoma.
The infuriated female Yoma lunged herself towards Akira, her withered arms with claw-like fingers were pointed at Akira, trying to rip him to pieces. The snake-like red hair also turned into spikes and ought to pierce Akira's heart.
A magical formation then burst out from the talisman. The formation had all sorts of mystical runes on it and it was shining brightly, as if Akira had put up a white shield before him.
The white magical formation caught the female Yoma's claw attacks and upon contact, sizzling noise came.
"Aaaaaaaaargh!" The female Yoma was burned by the magical formation. Sparks of white electric current ran through her body and temporarily immobilized her, her snake-like hair was electrocuted to a static state.
Akira smiled, "Didn't see this coming?" but before he could further smile, the talisman on the back of his hand was slightly torn, the threads started to break apart.
"Tsk, seems like I have to use my own."
Amid the painful screams from the female Yoma, Akira put his left hand into his shirt and pulled out his own talisman that he carried around.
He tapped his left hand on the back of his right hand, sandwiching the two talismans together.
"Impurities from the nether world, I command you to leave this world!"
"With the power granted to me, I hereby burn you from your foul existence!"
"HA!"
The magical formation shone brighter and the light engulfed the Yoma completely.
"Aaaaaaaaarh!"
The wails sounded more painful and agonizing as the white light burned the foul soul.
Kabooom!
An explosion of white light particles later, the Yoma was erased from existence.
White light particles then drizzled down like snow and covered the little area of scorched land.
"It's settled!." Akira once again clapped his dusty hands, clapping away the disintegrated talismans away after the exorcism.
Akiran looked at both his hands with white spiritual energy floating around, "Mako is going to be so mad at me for breaking her talisman." said Akira with a bitter smile.
"A-Akira?"
Akira turned around as he heard his name called, he saw Mayuri, barely standing up at the entrance of the ryokan, looked at him with teary eyes.
"It's all fine now, Mayuri." Akira looked at her with a warm smile and with the light particles drizzling down, he looked like an angel from heaven.
"A-A…"
Mayuri fell on her knees and started crying at the scene. She was touched and scared at the same time, she couldn't comprehend what had just happened. Akira walked up to her and hugged her in his arms.
"There, there, it's alright now, I am here with you." Akira comforted her, his words sounded like the most soothing chime that entered Mayuri's ears, granting her instant comfort.
Mayuri was slightly surprised by the sudden gesture, but she couldn't care less and cried in Akira's arms.
The moon shone down and formed a beautiful scene with a boy hugging a girl.
However, the scene was all captured by a dark figure on top of a roof further away from the ryokan.
Leaving a sharp glance behind, the figure vanished into the night.