Kouta came to in a medical room. The floor was made of pale white-yellow tile and the walls were a slightly darker shade. The ceiling was white with two bright light panels in it. Kouta was laid down in a bed. He turned his head to his left where there was another bed. Kasumi was there, unconscious. Kouta lowered his eyes in sadness.
"So? How do you feel?" It was a woman's voice.
Kouta turned his head the other way. A blonde haired woman sat in an office chair in front of a desk and computer. She was writing something down on a clipboard.
"Where am I?" Kouta said.
"You are in the medical room I use to treat patients. My name is Marie. I'm a doctor."
Kouta pointed at Kasumi. "Is she okay?!" he asked.
Marie nodded. "Yes, I healed her completely. All she needs is a little rest."
Kouta's interest piqued. "Completely? For real? Are you an esper?"
She nodded.
"Marie..." Kouta looked up at the ceiling. "Thank you. I owe you one."
Marie smiled. "So? Want to tell me what you were doing chasing a phantom?"
Kouta frowned. "So you know..." He took a deep breath. "It was a job I'd gotten. To take them out." He looked at Kasumi. "She followed me without me knowing and the phantom snatched her away."
Marie's smile left. "So you're one of those Reapers."
Kouta looked at her. "You know about them?"
"Oh I know plenty. Just be careful, okay?"
Kouta sat up in the bed. "What do you mean?"
Marie put her clipboard down. "What is your name?"
"Kouta. Murakami Kouta."
"Okay. Kouta. When was the first time you've ever seen a ghoul?" Marie asked.
"When I was fifteen. A ghoul killed my parents and little sister."
Marie smiled sadly. "Ahh. So that was you."
"You know about it?" Kouta said eagerly.
Marie nodded. "Yes, I know all about it. The child that was orphaned because of a mysterious killing. Most people have seen it, but most people also forgot about it. Cases like these come and go all the time. But tell me, after your first encounter, what was the very next time you saw a ghoul?"
Kouta thought for a second. "This week, first day of school."
"And after that?"
"The next day."
Marie sighed. "And let me guess. You just became a part of Root, didn't you?"
Kouta nodded.
Marie stood up and took something out of a glass cupboard. "Look Kouta. Nothing in this world is by coincidence. Everything has a purpose."
Kouta frowned. "Are you saying that the ghouls don't spawn randomly?"
Marie grabbed a small vial with a purple fluid inside. She sat back down. "The human realm and the spirit realm are connected by what we call vectors. Esper is the title given to humans who have access to them. They are the bridge between our world and theirs. If this is true, then it would require a vector for the ghouls to even manifest themselves here. So what does that tell you?"
Kouta's eyes widened. He looked at Marie sharply. "Espers are required for ghouls to appear?!"
Marie raised her eyebrows. "Makes more sense doesn't it? Where a ghoul spawns, an esper is likely near."
Kouta immediately remembered back to the first two days of school when he first encountered the ghost that attacked Yumi.
Rin was there.
Then the next day when the ghouls appeared on his way to school. The Reapers were there again.
Rin was there too.
Kouta was scowling. "Nomura...Rin..."
Marie smiled. "So you have a lead. I suggest you keep this to yourself, it could mean trouble. At least not without proof."
"Is Root...bad?" Kouta asked.
Marie shrugged. "I don't know. But they're definitely shady. They tried to recruit me before but I refused."
Kouta leaned his head back against the headboard. "I don't even know who to trust at this point."
Marie opened up the purple vial and drank half of it. "All I can say is don't trust anybody, not even me." She handed Kouta the vial. "It's medicine."
Kouta took the vial. He smirked. "You drank half to show me it wasn't poison?" He downed the rest of it. "Smart."
Marie chuckled. "I pride myself in that area."
She handed him a note. "It's my number. Call me anytime. I don't get many espers here in the underground."
"What's the underground?" Kouta asked.
"Basically everyone that's not on the grid. Including espers. Dangerous place if you don't watch yourself. By the way, what's your vector?"
Kouta shrugged. "I think I have more than one."
Marie looked at him intently. "Tell me more."
"Well, at first I could absorb ghouls. I was told that the one that I absorbed first was a shinigami. One called a 'Fallen'. But I can also sense ghouls, and I take the abilities of the ones I kill."
Marie wrote some things down on her clipboard. "A Fallen shinigami...truly interesting. To absorb a ghoul and steal their ability falls within the Curse of the Yokai."
Kouta looked up. "You know about it?"
Marie stood up and left the room. "I know a lot of things."
A few minutes later she ran back into the room. "Kouta, quick, take the girl and run. Now!"
Kouta jerked out of bed. "Wait? What?! What's going on?!"
Marie was in a mild panic. "I'll tell you later, but just know that if you're seen here, it'll be bad news for the both of us, now go!!"
Kouta ran over to the other bed and picked up Kasumi. He slung her over his shoulder and ran. Marie pointed left. "Go that way, it's safer."
Kouta ran down the hall and opened up a door that said 'EXIT'. It led to the rooftop of the building. He was pretty high up in the air, maybe about ten stories. He peeked over the edge. There were nine all black SUVs out front. People came out of the cars dressed in all black suits with black shades on. One of them caught his eye. The man standing in front of everybody else didn't wear shades. He had naturally slicked back black hair and pale skin. He wore no shirt underneath his suit. He kept his hands in his pockets as he and five others walked inside. Kouta didn't understand what was going on, but he left in a hurry.
Not too long later, Kouta was back in his neighborhood. He quietly jumped up to Kasumi's bedroom window and focused on the glass. He slowly phased through the window and entered the bedroom. He put Kasumi in her bed gently and left back out the window.
"There." Kouta said. He went next door to his own house. He froze. The door was cracked open. Did he accidentally leave it open when he left the house? No, he couldn't have. He never left his own door unlocked, much less not even closed. He went through the door and closed it behind him. He listened for the faintest sound. The house was quiet as ever. "Hey!! Who's in here?!!" Kouta yelled. He heard his voice echo throughout the house. He quickly flicked on the lights. He took off his shoes and went to the kitchen. He turned on that light as well. He searched through every door and closet on the first floor. Then he stopped.
Kouta heard the sound of the wooden floors above him squeak.
He dashed up the stairs and went to his room. Jun was leaning against the back window. He waved Kouta's phone around. "You left it. Where were you?" he said calmly. Kouta was mad now. "Screw all that!! Do you people think it's okay to break into other's houses?!! Give me my phone back!!"
Jun held it away. "I'll ask you again. Where were you, Murakami?"
Kouta gritted his teeth. "I was at Sansoji Temple, fighting those ghouls like you told me to! Now give it back!!"
Jun scowled. "Murakami. I'm not stupid. It's four in the morning. You haven't been fighting ghouls for three hours."
Kouta balled his fists. "What I do outside of fighting ghouls is none of your business!! I quit!! I want nothing to do with you guys anymore!!"
Jun smiled. "Wrong answer."
Suddenly, Kouta sensed someone above him. He never noticed it when he walked into the room. He looked up but it was too late. Saki with a big grin on her face jumped on top of him and tackled him to the floor. She stuck a syringe filled with some sort of red fluid into his neck. Kouta yelled out in pain. Jun threw Kouta's phone to the floor. "I'll make sure that you're never able to defy Root again."
Saki laughed maniacally as Kouta grunted in pain. The veins in his neck swole and pulsed. Saki removed the syringe and stood up. Kouta rolled over on the floor in pain. Jun knelt down behind him.
"You wouldn't want anything to happen to Sato Kasumi or Miyazaki Yumi correct?" he asked.
Kouta looked back at him through the pain with anger in his eye. "Jun. I swear to you, if you do anything to them, I'll kill you!!"
Jun stood up. "Then be a good boy and stop poking your nose in places it doesn't need to be."
Jun and Saki left through Kouta's bedroom window.
--
Marie was sitting down in her office chair in her medical room. She heard several pairs of footsteps come closer to the door. She turned around. The black haired man was there, with five people behind him, a girl and four men.
"Abe Shinya." Marie said.
The man named Shinya chuckled. "I'm honored. You remember me."
Marie smirked. "How could I not? Your name pops up all over the underworld. At this point you could be a celebrity."
Shinya chuckled again. He gazed around the room. "You heard right? A phantom flew through the city with a flying boy behind it. The boy shot through the phantom and killed it instantly and then fell to the ground. Right around here. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
Marie shrugged. "Not a clue, and are you sure about this? You know how rumors spread around. They can be full of lies."
Shinya got closer to Marie's face. "Don't play dumb with me, Marie. Everything was caught on camera. It's halfway across the entire internet by now. You're hiding something from me, and I don't like it. You know what I can do to you, right?"
Marie looked him in the eyes. "Trust me, I'm well aware. But as I've said, I know nothing of it."
Shinya stood up straight and slowly strolled around the room. He looked at the beds. "Speaking of rumors. Here's an interesting one. The Curse of the Yokai has been found. Information was leaked. But where from, I wonder."
Marie frowned. "Don't accuse me, I'm no mole."
Shinya smiled. "I didn't call you one." He took a deep breath through his nose. "Two of them. One male, one female. You lied to me."
Marie didn't move. "That proves nothing."
Shinya chuckled. "You're right. It doesn't prove anything. Except that the video clearly showed a boy carrying what appeared to be a girl. Odd coincidence, don't you think?" He turned around to look at her.
Marie closed her eyes. "I have nothing more to say to you, Shinya. I'd appreciate it if you leave."
Shinya strolled to the door. His face got serious. "I'm warning you, don't cross me. You'll die." He left and closed the door behind him.
Marie sighed. "The nerve of that one..." She took a sip of water. "What'll I do now..."