Kouta woke up at roughly six o'clock in the afternoon. He had a headache, but that didn't matter. There was too much to think about. There was a ring of his doorbell. Kouta slowly got up and walked to his door. He opened it up to see Kasumi. She seemed embarrassed of something.
"Um...Kouta?" she said.
Kouta frowned and looked away. "Kasumi. Not now."
Kasumi looked concerned now. "Huh? Not now? But Kouta, about last night..."
Kouta closed his eyes. "I said not now!!"
Kasumi took a step back. "Kouta...why? Aren't we friends?"
Kouta turned his back on her. "Kasumi. I won't be back at school. I want to pretend that you never knew me." He went back into the house and closed the door.
Kasumi stood there. She started crying. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry Kouta. I really am..." She walked back to her house.
Kouta went to his living room and took a seat on the couch. He sat there quietly for several minutes, just staring at the wall in front of him. Kouta got up and walked to his bedroom. He picked up his phone. He turned it on and went to dial a number. His finger stopped before pressing the first digit. He turned the phone over and opened the back. He pulled out a microchip and snapped it in half. "That's not supposed to be there." he said. Kouta sighed and threw his phone to the floor, breaking it. "It's probably tapped. Don't trust it."
Kouta went downstairs back to his living room. He went over to the telephone on the wall. He picked it up and dialed a number.
"Hey. Marie. It's me."
--
Kouta walked into the building from the previous night. He made his way up the stairs to the tenth floor. He opened up the door to room 9-J. Marie was on her computer, typing something on the keyboard.
"Hello Kouta-kun. You wanted to talk to me about something?"
Kouta closed the door behind him. "The Reapers busted into my house when I got back."
Marie looked away from the computer with a shocked expression. "For real?!"
Kouta nodded. "I told him I quit." He pulled his shirt collar down to reveal a scar on his neck. "I got jumped. This crazy wench stabbed me with a syringe. It hurt like hell."
Marie stood up to look at the wound. "What color was the fluid?"
"I think it was red." Kouta said.
Marie took a breath. "Thank goodness."
Kouta frowned. "What? You talk like this is a good thing."
Marie sat back in her chair. "They gave you a drug that enhances a person's vector to the point where they lose control of their mind. Essentially a mind control drug. It's been bouncing around the underworld scene lately. I already assumed that Root would try that with you. Remember that purple medicine I gave you?" Marie smiled. "It's an antidote."
Kouta was surprised. "You...how did you get the antidote?"
Marie leaned back. "Because I'm the one who made the drug in the first place. You're looking at the best paranormal scientist in Tokyo!" She started laughing.
Kouta flopped himself down on the bed. "The Reapers are forcing me to stay in Root. They threatened to harm my friends. They're in danger. I know they are."
Marie regained her composure. "So? What will you do?"
Kouta frowned. "I don't know. But I don't plan on taking anymore orders from Root. I'm done with them."
Marie grabbed her clipboard and flipped through some pages. "I can hire someone to watch over them if you want."
Kouta looked at her. "You will?" He sat up and bowed. "I'd really appreciate it."
"One thing about the underworld is that you can still find good people in the midst of all the bad." Marie said. "But I should warn you. There are people that you should never, under no circumstances, ever confront."
Kouta looked up. "Who is that?"
Marie lowered her gaze. "First and foremost, Abe Shinya. I'd say that he's one of the most powerful and influential people in the underworld. He has hundreds, maybe even thousands of followers. He makes a fortune off of drugs, gambling, prostitution, and...vector hunting."
"Vector hunting? Wait, is this the same guy that came here last night?"
Marie nodded. "Vector hunting is the process of stealing vectors from an esper and turning them into a drug that can be given to a normal human. The rich pay millions for them." Marie flipped a page on her clipboard. "Next is Mamoru Hasegawa. He's known to be the greatest samurai in all of Tokyo. I don't know what he looks like, so it's just better to not anger any samurai you happen to come across. Third. Usako Ban. You should know him when you see him. A carefree man with a horizontal scar running across his forehead. And finally, Miyazaki Taro."
Before Marie could explain the next guy, Kouta stopped her. "Did you just say Miyazaki?!" he asked.
Marie looked slightly puzzled. She nodded. "I did. Why?"
Kouta shuddered. "That's...Yumi's dad."
Marie raised her eyebrows. "Oh, so you know him?"
Kouta shook his head. "I just know that he separated from his wife and left home. Yumi only has her mother left."
Marie closed her eyes. "Well, Taro is a notorious underground criminal. I advise you to stay away from him."
--
Kasumi laid in her room, throwing a tennis ball at the ceiling and catching it with one hand. She had a sad look on her face. "I saw it...I know I did. It wasn't a dream. He was fighting them...and I messed everything up. I was attacked by that...thing." Kasumi lifted her shirt halfway and rubbed her stomach. "I don't have the scars to prove that...but it felt so real." She caught the tennis ball one last time and rolled over on her side. "I haven't had a real conversation with Kouta in so long...we used to talk all the time. Now it's like...he doesn't even want to see me." Tears welled up in her eyes. "Pretend like I never knew you? Idiot. How could I ever do that?" Kasumi stuffed her face in her pillow.
--
School started the next day. The students had homeroom class as usual. Yumi sat at her seat and stared at the empty chair by the window.
"Kouta's not here again?" she said. Yumi pulled out her phone. She'd already text him eleven times, but she got no answer in return.
Ryoto strutted into class. "Oh hoh? What's this? Murakami's still absent hmm? Well, what's mine is mine!" He flopped himself into Kouta's chair.
Yumi abruptly stood up. "You can't sit there!" she exclaimed.
Ryoto looked back at her irritatingly. "Huh? You've got a problem? He's not here, finder's keepers."
Yumi puffed air. "But it's still where he sits! We got that straight on our first day! He'll be back!"
Ryoto smirked. "Oh yeah? And when he does, he can have the seat back. He's probably out trying to find whoever killed his mommy and daddy."
The boys in the class started laughing. Yumi started tearing up. "Ryoto I hate you!!! All of you!!!" She ran out of the classroom.
Yumi went up to the roof and walked outside. She leaned against the door as she closed it back. She saw Kasumi sitting up there, against a wall.
Yumi walked towards her. "Kasumi?" she asked.
Kasumi looked up at her and half-smiled. "Hi, you're Miyazaki Yumi right?"
Yumi smiled back, "Yes." She sat next to Kasumi.
"Why'd you come up?" Kasumi asked.
Yumi looked down. "Ryoto was being a jerk, so I just left. What about you?"
Kasumi curled up tighter. "I was...thinking about things."
There was silence between the two for some while. Then Yumi looked at her. "Say, you and Murakami Kouta are good friends right? Do you know where he is?"
Kasumi looked up at her. "No, I don't. And...I'm not sure if we're still friends."
"What do you mean by that?" Yumi asked.
Kasumi looked up. The sky was gray. It seemed like it could rain at any second. "Something happened last night, and Kouta told me...that I should pretend like we don't know each other."
Yumi pulled out her phone. "He hasn't answered any of my texts or calls, so I was worried."
Kasumi seemed like she wanted to say something. She lowered her head, and decided to speak. "Um...Yumi?"
"Yes?"
"Do you...believe in ghosts?"
Yumi was surprised. "You know about them too?"
Kasumi quickly looked at her. "Too? You know about them?!" she asked.
Yumi nodded.
--
Nomura Rin had slept through the few minutes he had before homeroom started. He woke up and took a quick glance across the classroom. He'd made a habit of remembering where everyone sat. Three people were absent.
Murakami Kouta. Sato Kasumi. Miyazaki Yumi.
Rin thought about it. Both of the girls were close people to Kouta.
"Man...I'm bored." he said.
He looked at Ryoto. "Hey. Hashimoto." Rin said.
Ryoto looked at him, already with a mean mug on his face. "What?"
"Was Kasumi or Yumi here this morning?"
Ryoto smirked. "Yeah I saw Yumi earlier. She got her feelings hurt and left. I think she has a hard-on for that Murakami bastard."
Rin stood up. "Idiot. Girls can't get hard-ons."
Ryoto felt mildly insulted. "I know that!! It's a figure of speech!!"
Rin walked out of the classroom. A serious look was on his face. "Kouta is ditching. The girls know about him, but how much do they know?"
He started walking down the halls. "If someone wants to talk in private, they go to the roof." He made his way to the top of the school building. There was one small window on the roof access door. He peered through it. Sure enough, there they were, Sato Kasumi and Miyazaki Yumi.
Rin placed his palm on the wall next to the door. "Don't blame me for what happens, Murakami."
--
Yumi was first to notice.
She saw a light blue portal open up on the wall.
Kasumi saw it too.
A ghoul started to come out of it. It had the face of a bear and the body of a human. It wore a white robe that hid its legs. It let out a ghastly moan as the fingernails on its hands grew longer and sharper.
Yumi screamed. Kasumi was in shock.
"It's one of them..." Kasumi said.
Yumi slowly stood up with her back against the wall. "Why now?! Why here of all times?!"
The ghoul looked straight at them. It let out a deep scream.