Moriou stood at the front, and Nohara and Ohta stood slightly behind. In front of them was a woman in a hakama who sprinkled holy water left and right. The haunted apartment shook like in a horror movie.
Now, not only Nohara and Ohta were turning pale, but even Moriou too.
The woman in traditional dress sighed, then tossed her long hair. "Well, it's time for you to get out of this house. I will give you a new place to live," said the woman.
The vibrations stopped.
The woman took out a small wooden box with a strange symbol on it. She opened it and placed it on the floor. "You can see for yourself, what your new residence looks like. I'm going to leave this box here overnight. If you decide to move, I will take you away," said the woman then.
After those words, the woman turned away and smiled at Moriou, Ohta and Nohara. The three of them followed the woman out of the apartment.
"How is it, Ouryo-san?" Nohara asked.
"Hmm, we'll have to see how it goes tomorrow," Ouryo Miko said.
"Ah..." the three people nodded at Miko's words.
"Don't let anyone into this place without me, understand? We won't be able to catch them if we disturb them," Miko explained then.
"Alright, Ouryo-san, thanks for your help," Nohara said, taking out an envelope of money.
"No, no, you can pay me tomorrow if I succeed," Miko said quickly. She bowed her head and asked permission to leave.
Nohara and Ohta chuckled and sighed. Meanwhile, Moriou was still frozen on the spot watching Miko's back walking away. "She's really cool, isn't she?" Moriou asked, making Nohara and Ohta look at him confused.
Nohara bowed her head to Ohta. "Thank you for introducing me to Ouryo-san, Ohta-san. I was really in a bind. I really like the apartment in this location," she said.
"I understand. This place is really good," said Ohta.
"If Ouryo-san succeeds, Inoue-san will stay here? We will be neighbours," said Moriou.
Subconsciously, Ohta glanced at Nohara, who was smiling at Moriou. "Right," said Nohara with a refreshing smile.
Ohta turned his gaze away. He didn't notice Nohara then glanced at him after. A faint smile appeared on Nohara's face.
Ohta's cell phone rang, and as the man looked at it for a split second, Nohara noticed the change in his expression. But Ohta quickly returned to his original expression and turned to Moriou and Nohara. "Tomorrow morning, I won't be able to come to see the results of Ouryo-san's exorcism, sorry, Inoue-san," Ohta said.
Even though tomorrow was Sunday.
"Don't worry, Shimizu-san! I will accompany Inoue-san!" said Moriou cheerfully.
"Thank you," Ohta smiled, then walked away first after seeing Nohara smiling and nodding at him.
She had been staying at Ohta and Moriou's apartment for two weeks. The two of them told her to treat the place as her own home. And for some reason, Nohara got used to it after a while.
Nohara began to understand Moriou and Ohta's lifestyle. Both left for work before seven and returned at five in the afternoon. They would go straight to dinner, and when they got home, they would clean up for a while and then rest.
Unlike Nohara, who was unemployed, their lifestyle was more tiring and organized. Nohara herself ended up doing a lot of the housework, which was neglected because of how busy the two men were. Nohara started doing deep cleaning such as wiping the window glass, cleaning the trellis, scrubbing the toilet and bathtub, buying some air fresheners and so on.
As Moriou and Nohara chatted as they walked up to the apartment, they realized Ohta wasn't home. Moriou didn't think much of it, but Nohara remembered that Ohta had drunk heavily at the club alone a week ago.
Momoka.
Nohara pulled out her cell phone. She saw Momoka's contact name on her contact list and hesitated. Momoka was her best friend, but Nohara limited their interaction. This was natural because Nohara loved Momoka, and Momoka knew it. Automatically, Nohara didn't want to dive too deep into her pent-up feelings.
Nohara also didn't want to find out what Momoka wanted from contacting Ohta.
But she was worried.
Momoka was a... difficult woman.
You could say, Momoka was a jerk, a bitch and a toxic person. The person who forced her to be involved in various scandals that became the beginning of rumours that she was a lesbian was Momoka. The one who broke her heart and Ohta too was Momoka.
Momoka might be a sociopath or a psychopath. Being around her would drive you crazy, really. And that's what happened to Nohara and Ohta too...
.
"Yahoo!" a beautiful woman with shoulder-length short hair appeared from behind Ohta's seat.
Ohta's heart was pounding hard.
Seeing the woman after breaking up ... had this effect on him. "Hey, Arai-san," Ohta said with a helpless smile.
"Have you been waiting long?" Momoka asked.
Ohta shook his head. "I just arrived ten minutes ago," he explained.
Momoka nodded. The woman sat on the chair opposite Ohta and smiled gently at him. "I already asked via text, but I'll ask again, Ohta-san. How are you?"
Ohta's gaze dimmed. "I'm fine," Ohta replied.
"Good to hear that," Momoka smiled cheerfully.
.
The next morning, Nohara and Moriou were standing behind Miko, who was checking the apartment carefully. Miko didn't miss the slightest corner, she inspected everything carefully. She even went up to the ceiling with a ladder and checked for every stain. Then, she examined the small box she had placed on the floor yesterday. She furrowed her brows.
"They've decided to move into this box," she said then in a determined voice.
Nohara and Moriou breathed a sigh of relief. "So everything is over now?" Nohara asked.
Miko nodded. Taking the small box and sealing it with a white cloth filled with spells, she walked away from there. "My exorcism style is a bit different from other exorcists. I'm not just capturing or exterminating spirits. I invited them to live with me of their own accord," said Miko. "That's why, sometimes there are spirits left behind because they don't want to leave here and come with me," she explained.
Nohara felt the hairs on her neck stand up.
"Therefore, if something happens, you guys should contact me immediately, got it? Those who don't want to come with me, usually, will hide for a while. When they reappear, I'll try to persuade them again, and worst-case scenario, I'll have to catch them by force. But if there are no problems after six months, then we can assume that they decided not to bother anymore. Or that there are no more spirits in this apartment," explained Miko.
Nohara nodded in understanding.
"But don't worry. Usually, those who want to stay in this place are those who have sentimental reasons and will not interfere with human life. Even though they are here, they will be calm. Moreover, it's not good if a location doesn't have a guardian spirit at all," Miko explained then.
Nohara raised her eyebrows. "That means, there are still many other possibilities?"
Miko nodded. "That's why I said if something happens, or there is a problem, you should contact me," explained Miko. "Of course, you don't have to call me, you can summon another exorcist you trust more if you want," she continued casually.
Miko came closer and patted Nohara on the shoulder. "Don't be too scared. Things like this are easier to deal with than you might think. I'll come right away if you call me. And if any spirits are left behind, you don't have to pay me any more for my services," explained Miko.
Nohara gasped, she then immediately took out her money envelope and gave it to Miko. "Thank you, Ouryo-san!" Nohara bowed deeply.
"You're welcome!" Miko took the envelope and bowed too. Their interaction ended there, and Miko left.
While Moriou was still standing in place, lost in thought.
Nohara looked at Moriou, worried and a little scared. "Tokuchi-san, you're not possessed... are you?"
Moriou blinked, then looked at Nohara, confused. "Ah, Inoue-san? What did you just say?" he asked.
Nohara shook her head. "The important thing is that you're okay," she mumbled.
"Oh, right… how can I meet Ouryo-san again? I hope your apartment still has an evil spirit left behind…" Moriou muttered.
"Don't jinx it!" Nohara turned pale.
"Hehe," Moriou blushed slightly. "She's really cool, Ouryo-san..."
Nohara looked at Moriou, who was drunk in love and snorted softly. She smiled helplessly.