Stray Seishin

A pale, teen boy with messy ashen hair is seated at his desk, patiently awaiting the conclusion of the school day. His vivid yellow eyes gleam as he gazes out of the window.

"Seriously, Kurai!" The teacher snapped, sounding pretty irritated. "You gotta pay attention here. Trust me, all this stuff we're discussing is gonna come in handy for you down the road."

Kurai, with an air of quiet curiosity, presents a stoic expression that seems to mask any trace of emotion, as though utterly disinterested in whatever the teacher is speaking about.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm listening," the boy stated with an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes.

As Kurai sat at his desk, he started thinking about a book he had seen in the school library about demons and souls that couldn't pass over to the other side.

Kurai has always had a strange obsession with spirits and dark magic, as he's always wanted to communicate with his mother, who passed away when he was just a little boy.

His father has never been in the picture, as he left when kurai was just a year old, which meant that kurai had been in the foster system for quite some time.

As the teacher continued to speak at length, seemingly unaware of the passing time, the bell chimed, Signaling the end of the teachers lecture, granting the students their much-needed reprieve from their studies for the day.

As soon as Kurai perceived the sound of the bell resonating, he swiftly rose from his seat and promptly proceeded towards the library.

As Kurai made his way towards the library, he decided to remove his formal uniform overgarment, desiring to assume the appearance of a teacher.

Aware of the regulations prohibiting students from accessing the library beyond school hours, he aimed to assimilate unnoticed.

These precautionary measures were prompted by recent incidents of book vandalism and theft perpetrated by students.

Kurai confidently walked through the library doors, as the lock that used to be on the doors was broken by a group of delinquents, and the school director hasn't gotten around to fixing it yet.

Just when he thought he was in the clear, his optimism diminished as he was halted by the librarian who was preparing to leave.

"Excuse me, sir! What are you doing in here? The library is closed for today." the teacher exclaimed assertively.

"Uhm, one of my students left their book here, and they asked me if I would come and grab it on my way out."

The librarian's facial expression shifted abruptly from assertiveness to confusion.

"I apologize, but I'm gonna need your teacher identification to verify that you are indeed a teacher and not a student."

With those words, Kurai realized that it would be more appropriate for him to devise another explanation regarding his lack of verification or simply leave the situation.

"Actually, I forgot to bring it today..." His voice heavy with regret.

It was clear to kurai at this point that the librarian doubted him.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you entry without proper verification." she said, wearing a smug expression on her aged and wrinkled face that was slightly covered by her drooping, gray hair.

"I understand, But it's just one book. Is there anyway you can make an exception, just this once."

"I apologize, sir, but if you don't leave immediately, I'll have to report you to the school board." the librarian interrupted without waiting to hear his explanation.

With a sigh, Kurai had no other choice but to turn around and exit the library, but he had one more plan up his sleeve.

Kurai made the deliberate choice to postpone his return to the school until midnight, fueled by his unwavering determination to procure the book he had been in search of.

After scouting out the building to make sure no more security guards were around, he made his way up the side of the building to the 3rd floor.

Located on this level of the building was a jammed window that was never reported to the headmaster, which kurai used to enter the school.

As kurai had been at the school for some time, it was only natural that he had the layout of the place, including ways for him to get in or out if absolutely necessary.

After struggling to open the window, Kurai eventually managed to successfully unlatch it, granting him access to the interior of the building. Immediately upon leaping through the window, an overpowering and nauseating sensation washed over him, emanating from an overwhelmingly intense presence.

"Holy shit!" Kurai went pale with fear.

The overwhelming presence was so potent that Kurai felt on the verge of collapsing beneath its weight.

However, upon reaching the conclusion that he was merely indulging in excessive thoughts and needlessly provoking anxiety, he took a deep breath and bolstered his determination to proceed with his plan.

As kurai walked out of whatever room he was in, he realized how hard of a time he was gonna have trying to maneuver in the dark.

Trying to be as quiet as possible, Kurai slowly crept out into the main corridor. After about fifteen minutes of walking, Kurai had a good sense of where he was, and made his way straight to the library.

As he got closer to the library, the overwhelming presence once again made itself known. Kurai was frozen in fear right outside of the library entrance, contemplating if he should go in or not.

After carefully reflecting upon his actions leading up to this moment, he gathered enough bravery to open the old wooden door.

The unsettling sound emitted by the hinges further contributed to the ominous atmosphere emanating from the school; however, Kurai remained resolute in his commitment to get the book.

Kurai then proceeded towards the rear area of the room, where the collection of Japanese history books were located, as the book that had caught his attention focused specifically on the era in Japan known as the Edo period.

Suddenly, a beam of light began to emanate from the opposite corner of the room, causing Kurai to instinctively lower himself and maintain silence, in order to evade potential detection by a security guard. The peculiar aspect, however, was that he had taken precautions to ensure the absence of any guards on the premises.

After what seemed like hours, Kurai's interest got the better of him, compelling him to make his way towards the beam of light.

On the opposite end of the room resided the basement, designated for the storage of outdated and neglected books. Additionally, it was imperative to acquire additional space to accommodate the copious influx of newly arriving book shipments.

As Kurai descended the basement stairs, the illumination abruptly vanished. Upon reaching the end of the stairwell, he came to an abrupt halt, startled by a piercing screech emanating in front of him.