"She's an esper too?"
Those words were flying around Kouta's mind at this moment. This woman, whom he'd never met before, chased him around town and caught up to him without breaking a sweat.
Ayako tilted her head to the side sweetly. "Are we done with this game of tag yet?" she said.
Kouta quickly realized the gap between them. He held up his hands in defeat. "Fine, you win. Do what you will, but let me warn you, I'm sensitive."
Ayako tucked Kouta under her arm like a football and carried him back to the others.
Jun was waiting in the same spot, still smoking his cigarette. "Back so soon?" he said.
Ayako let Kouta go. He stood up and pocketed his hands. "So? Where're you taking me?" Kouta said calmly.
Jun turned around and walked towards the others. "This way. I'm sure that I don't have to take you by force."
Kouta nonchalantly strolled behind Jun.
The girl with glasses inspected him from every angle.
Kouta was a little uncomfortable. "Um... hi?" he said nervously.
The girl got up close to his face. Kouta could see her light gray eyes through her thick frames. She smiled seductively. "My name is Kaneko Saki. Just call me Saki. I'm a researcher."
She felt on Kouta's muscles. "You have a really nice build... I think you could be one of my best specimens yet!"
Kouta felt a hand somewhere it shouldn't be. He let out a yelp and jumped back. "Hey!! What do you think you're doing?!!"
Saki put her finger to her bottom lip. "A little lacking in that area I suppose..."
Kouta was ticked. "Aren't you over eighteen?!"
Saki chuckled and skipped away. "I'm seventeen just like you handsome."
Kouta didn't budge, feeling slightly humiliated.
Jun looked back. "Murakami. We don't have time to waste here."
Kouta sighed, and cautiously walked forward.
Another man, also a Reaper, held out both of his hands in front of him.
A light-blue portal opened up out of thin air. Saki, Ayako, and Rin walked through.
Kouta stopped walking. "What kind of power is this? Didn't the ghouls come out of these?"
Jun sighed. "It's called a vector. Most of us Reapers are espers. You'll find that everyone's vectors are different. Now I'd appreciate it if you hurried up."
Kouta went ahead and stepped through the portal. He felt a rush of adrenaline go through his head as he was propelled in what felt like a moving tunnel. Streaks of light blue and white light zoomed all around him.
In seconds he stepped out. He was in a room with dark gray walls and floors. It was well lit, like some sort of office building.
Ayako held her hand out, showing off the room. "Welcome to the Reaper Organization of Tokyo, or Root for short."
Kouta couldn't help but be impressed. To his right was some sort of ultra high-tech computer system. There were no keys or buttons, everything was all touch.
Jun sat down on a leather couch and snuffed out his cigarette. "Root is made up of espers and non-espers who slay ghouls, or at least contribute towards that goal."
An old man walked into the room from a wide doorway on the far side. He had light gray hair from age, and his left eye stayed closed. It had a permanent scar going from the forehead to just above the cheekbone. He also wore a black suit and walked with a cane. There was the slightest smile on his face.
"Are you Murakami Kouta?" he asked.
Kouta nodded slowly. "How'd you know?"
The man walked closer to him. "I just did. Nothing special." He held out his hand. "My name is Aragaki Kenzo. I am the founder of Root as well as the owner of this fine establishment here."
Kouta shook his hand. "Why am I here? Why do you all want me so badly?"
Kenzo smiled. "Well, you see, as I'm sure you recently found out, Root is made up of like-minded individuals who aim to rid our city of these otherworldly beings we call ghouls. I've spent a massive fortune in funding this organization, and I plan on bringing an end to these beings as soon as possible. Those who do the hunting of the ghouls are called Reapers, as such as these fine men and women here." Kenzo motioned towards Jun and the others. He continued speaking. "As I'm sure you know, it takes the abilities of an esper to defeat a ghoul. Average humans can not harm them in any way, but the vice versa is just the opposite. If these ghouls are left alone, they will stop at nothing to purge this city of all human life. I absolutely cannot let that happen. I know it seems wrong that we've sort of... forced you into all this, but I just refuse to ignore a fresh esper to face these creatures alone."
Kouta frowned. "And how did I become an esper?"
Saki intervened. "Ahem, allow me. Espers are individuals who are born with what we call vectors. Vectors are the connections between our world, and the next. A vector gives a person some sort of ghoulish ability. There's no known limit to what kind of vectors are possible, but all espers have what is known as ESP. Extra sensory perception. They all can-"
Kouta waved his hand around. "Yeah, yeah, sight, smell, hearing, all that good stuff. Listen... I'm being possessed by a ghoul and I just want to know two things; how to get it out, and how to kill all of the other ghouls."
Kenzo got closer to him with a puzzled look on his face. Everyone was looking at Kouta. "Boy... did you just say... possessed?" he asked.
Kouta hesitantly nodded. "The ghoul that killed my family entered my body and won't leave. It's why I can do all of the superhuman stuff."
Saki adjusted her glasses. "But that shouldn't be possible. Ghouls try to kill all of their targets a hundred percent of the time. What makes you the exception?"
This time Jun spoke. "The ghouls can't kill him. If one of them touches Murakami they break apart like a pin to a balloon."
Rin looked at Kouta. "I assumed it was some sort of exorcism vector."
Saki got a closer look at Kouta. "Well, it should be exorcism, but if the ghoul really did enter his body, then that can't be the case. It would have popped in reaction to his vector. Ohhh I can't wait to run some tests on you!! I love it, I love it, I love it!!!"
Kouta was more focused on Kenzo, who had a dead serious expression on his face. It was almost scary.
"Is everything straight?" Kouta asked him.
Kenzo seemed to snap out of a trance. "Oh! Um, yes. Uh, tell me, Murakami Kouta. What did this ghoul look like? The one that killed your family? I apologize if the topic is a bit insensitive."
Kouta shook his head. "No, it's fine. It's not like I could ever stop thinking about it anyway." He thought back to that haunting night. The monster that awaited him in his sister's bedroom.
Kouta's expression darkened. "It was huge. Its head was hunched down under the ceiling. It wore a torn up tattered black robe that hovered over the floor. It had... blue skin. And long, wrinkled fingers on its hands with sharp claws. And its face... was a hannya mask."
Everyone in the room fell silent. Even Jun himself seemed shocked. Kenzo's eyes were wide. "A shinigami..."
Kouta frowned. "Shinigami? What's that?"
Kenzo reached out a frail hand that shook ever so slightly. "A god of death. Ghouls have ranks. There are regular ghouls, phantoms, and shinigami. Murakami. Did the ghoul have a weapon? Like a scythe or a sword?"
Kouta shook his head. "No. Didn't see one."
The color drained from Kenzo's face. "So it was one of the Fallen..." He stumbled and almost fell to his knees.
Ayako ran to see to him. "Sir! Are you okay?"
Kenzo looked at Kouta. "Boy... you were never exorcising the ghouls... you were absorbing them... it's real..."
Kouta was creeped out now. "W-What is real?"
Kenzo was deathly pale now. "The forbidden vector... Curse of the Yokai."