Kouta went to sleep that night, thinking about what had happened earlier. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he dozed off.
Yumi though, was still awake. She sat at the desk in her room, spinning around in her chair. She stopped and started using the computer. She searched up 'ghost sighting' in the engine. Her eyes darted back and forth as she scrolled through the results.
"Ugh, I can't tell if these are real or just a hoax. I mean, people always say that they've witnessed something paranormal, but this is different. Ghosts are supposed to be the souls of dead humans right? They shouldn't be able to attack then."
Yumi spun around in her chair again, groaning in frustration. She suddenly stopped and erased her search. She typed in something else. 'Ghoul sightings'.
"Ghouls...I'm getting somewhere! There's a lot of posts on social media about people who've been attacked by evil spirits. They aren't ghosts, they're ghouls! I should tell Kouta..."
She looked at the clock. 11:34 PM. "He's probably sleep by now...maybe in the morning. Besides, I want to keep looking for more information."
Kouta woke up around midnight in a cold sweat. He sat up in his bed breathing hard. His house was quiet. As it always was. He caught his breath and tried to go back to sleep. In about ten seconds he heard a knock on his window. He jolted up. He stared out into the night.
"There's no ledge there...and I didn't hear anyone..." He hopped out of bed and ran to the window. He slid it open to the side and stuck his head out, looking both ways. No one was there.
He brung his head back inside and took a deep breath. "Maybe it was just a bird."
sniff.
His nose twitched, catching a whiff of something. He turned around as he was tackled to the floor. He was being held down by the neck and shoulders.
"What the?! Get off of me!" Kouta said, throwing the person to the side. Kouta stood up, breathing heavily.
The mysterious person stood up, his face visible in the moonlight. Kouta squinted. "Nomura...Rin?"
Rin quickly pulled out a katana and pointed it at him. "Don't move."
Kouta frowned. "Hey, what's this all about?! Breaking into my house, for what?"
Rin's gaze was cold as steel. "You're one of them. I saw it. You jumped off the eighth floor of the school building with that ghoul."
Kouta gritted his teeth. "He was there? Why can't I hear him?"
Kouta spoke up. "I'm not a ghost. I'm human. And I was saving Yumi for your information."
Rin got closer, his sword barely touching Kouta's neck. "You jumped off the eighth floor and was perfectly fine. That's not human. You passed directly through the glass without breaking it."
Kouta's eyes widened. "I did? Oh yeah...heh. I didn't know I could do that."
Rin tensed. "Don't play games with me. You're a ghoul, Murakami Kouta."
Kouta grinned. "No I'm not. Like I said, I'm human. I'm just possessed by a ghost. It gave me some weird abilities. Trust me, I'm not happy about it either."
Rin narrowed his gaze. He removed his blade and sheathed it.
Kouta rubbed his neck. "Sheesh, who are you anyway, with that sword...you're not just some regular student."
Rin kept one of his hands on his sword's hilt. Kouta could tell that he didn't trust him fully.
"I'm a Reaper. I slay ghouls." Rin said flatly.
Kouta chuckled. "A Reaper huh. So you must know all about them. The ghosts."
"They aren't ghosts. They're ghouls. Evil spirits that feed on living things."
Kouta flopped back on his bed. "And you seriously thought that I was one of them? That's bull."
Rin looked at him. "But you passed through a solid object..."
Kouta put his hands in the air. "Look, I just told you, I'm possessed! There's a ghost, ghoul, whatever! I have one inside of me! Maybe it gave me some sort of ability that lets me pass through solids. I don't know okay?!"
Rin's eyes widened. "A vector...you're an esper!"
Kouta lifted his head. "A what now?"
Rin grabbed his hand and pulled him up. "Come with me."
Kouta removed his hand from his grasp. "Hey. I'm not going anywhere. You just broke into my house, tackled me to the floor, and pointed a sword at me, and you expect me to follow you? I take care of myself. I don't know about the Reapers or whatever, but I don't need your help."
Rin lashed out. "Don't be arrogant!! You have no idea of what's out there!! If you try to solo this, you'll die!! Don't you know how strong ghouls are?!"
Kouta fell back on his bed with his hands behind his head. "Doesn't matter, they can't touch me."
Rin frowned. "What are you talking about?!"
Kouta raised his hand and made a motion where he closed his fingers then opened them up. "If I touch one of 'em they go poof."
Rin took a step back. "Exorcism? You have more than one vector..." He looked down and then quietly and quickly left the house through the window.
Kouta looked up. "Hey...what's a vector anyway?"
The next day at school, Kouta was in homeroom relaxing in his window seat with his feet kicked up. He was the first one there today.
Yumi was the next to arrive. Her eyes lit up when she saw Kouta. "Kouta-kun!" she exclaimed.
Kouta looked up at her. "Yo."
Yumi sat in the seat next to his. "I did some research on those ghosts last night. They're not ghosts. They're ghouls!"
Kouta nodded. "Yeah that's what I heard."
"People have seen them all over Tokyo recently...I think something's going on. This just started happening in the past month!" Yumi said.
Kouta's gaze went to the classroom doorway as Ryoto and Rin walked in at the same time.
Kouta frowned. He lowered his voice. "Yumi. We'll talk later. Meet me on the rooftop at lunch."
Yumi looked a bit confused, but she got up and went to her seat.
Ryoto scowled at the two of them talking. He didn't say anything though.
Rin was staring at Kouta. Their eyes met for a second and he looked away.
Lunch period came. Kouta was laid back on the rooftop staring at the sky.
Yumi soon walked out of the roof access door with her satchel. "You ate?"
Kouta sat up. "No, I'm just not hungry."
Yumi politely sat down across from Kouta. "So, why did you want to wait until now?"
Kouta frowned. "Rin knows about me."
Yumi put her finger to her chin. "Rin? You mean Nomura Rin? The white-haired quiet kid?"
Kouta nodded. "He got in my room last night and attacked me. I guess he thought I was a ghoul."
Yumi was taken aback. "Attacked you?"
Kouta put his hands on the roof and looked up at the clouds. "He called himself a Reaper. Said something about me being an esper and having something called a vector."
Yumi's face lit up. "I've seen something about espers! It refers to people who have ESP, or extra-sensory perception. They have heightened senses and a sixth sense... but I don't know what that sixth sense is exactly."
Kouta smirked. "I might have a feeling." He stood up. "Yumi. Promise me. Don't go chasing after these things. I don't want anyone to get hurt."
Yumi stood up as well. She nodded. "I promise."
Kouta sighed and walked back to the roof access door. "Well that's that."
He left.
Yumi tilted her head slightly. "Is something bothering him?"
After school, Kouta walked home by himself.
The sun was setting, and it colored the sky a pinkish orange.
It was peaceful. Kouta enjoyed silent walks. He felt relaxed.
As he was crossing a street, he felt a fuzzy feeling in his body. One that sent a chill up his neck. It disturbed him. He stopped walking and looked all around him. He didn't see anything, nor could he tell where it was coming from.
Then it happened.
He saw a multitude of disc-like portals in the sky. And along with them, a group of ghouls flew out of them.
Kouta's eyes widened. "It's them." Then he smiled. "Looks like the whole family is here!"