After school in the afternoon.
Although he had agreed to go on a date with Yumiko, Ryuji wasn't in a rush because of Eriri's project that afternoon. Instead, they decided to go out next weekend.
Soon, the end of the school day arrived.
"Ryuji-kun!"
Ryuji had just stepped out of the classroom when he saw Eriri sneaking up to him. She glanced around nervously, clearly worried someone might show up and interrupt.
"What are you doing?" Ryuji asked, raising an eyebrow.
Before he could say anything more, Eriri grabbed his hand.
"Come on! Let's go before that woman finds us!"
"…"
Ryuji couldn't help but sigh. Clearly, Eriri was still worried. After all, it was a rare opportunity for her to bring him home without anyone interfering.
If Utaha showed up and spoiled her plans, she'd probably want to strangle him! What could Ryuji do? He could only smile and follow her lead.
"Should I call my mom first?" Eriri asked once they were outside.
Ryuji shook his head. "No need. Let's just go."
"Alright," she agreed, though a bit uncertain.
The school wasn't close to Eriri's house, but that wasn't a problem they could just take a taxi. In less than ten minutes, they arrived at her family's villa.
"Please, come in!" Eriri said, still a little nervous about bringing Ryuji into her home for the first time. She seemed worried that something might go wrong and leave a bad impression on him.
Ryuji didn't mind. As he followed her inside, he looked around. "Just as I thought," he muttered to himself. He could sense a faint spiritual power lingering in the air, confirming that the root of the problem was in her home.
"Eriri, is that you?" a soft voice called from upstairs.
"Sorry, Mom's still feeling a bit tired. Take a seat; I'll make dinner after she wakes up," Eriri said, looking a little concerned now.
Normally, she wouldn't think twice about her mother being tired, but considering recent events, she couldn't help but worry.
"Ryuji-kun…" Eriri looked at him, seeking reassurance. She didn't want anything bad to happen to her mother, but she felt helpless and could only ask him for help.
Seeing her worried expression, Ryuji smiled and waved his hand. "Don't worry, it'll be fine."
"Yeah," she nodded, feeling a sense of security. As long as Ryuji was there, she knew everything would be okay.
They made their way upstairs to her mother's room. Ryuji didn't bother knocking and just walked right in.
"Eriri?" her mother, Sayuri, looked up, expecting her daughter. But when she saw Ryuji, she froze for a moment. "Ryuji-kun?"
Sayuri was already aware of Ryuji's abilities after a previous incident. Although she was tired, she tried to sit up. "Sorry, I'm not at my best right now."
"It's alright, you'll feel better soon," Ryuji reassured her.
"...What do you mean?" Sayuri asked, still not fully aware of what was happening. She just knew she had been feeling unusually exhausted lately, but she hadn't connected it to anything out of the ordinary.
That was until Ryuji reached out and pulled a small fox-like spirit from her body. Sayuri gasped in shock.
Ryuji didn't waste any time and threw the spirit into a dimensional rift, where it quickly disappeared. With the fox spirit gone, Sayuri immediately felt better, though there were still faint signs of fatigue.
"What just happened?" Sayuri asked, now fully awake.
"Mom, we were being haunted by something!" Eriri explained seriously.
Sayuri's expression changed as she suddenly remembered how strange her daughter had been acting lately. "Eriri, are you alright?" she asked in alarm, trying to get up from the bed, only to realize she was still in her pajamas—pajamas that were a bit too revealing.
Noticing Ryuji's gaze, Sayuri blushed, embarrassed despite having a daughter. "Sorry!" she muttered.
"It's fine, I'll step outside," Ryuji said, turning to leave the room.
"Mom!" Eriri called once Ryuji was gone. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her mother, who could only respond with a bemused look.
"At a time like this, you're not helping your poor mother out but giving me that look?" Sayuri sighed. "What kind of daughter are you?" she muttered, but Eriri didn't answer.
"Well, whatever. Just go help me tidy up," Sayuri said, clearing her throat as she tried to shake off her embarrassment.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Sayuri poured Ryuji a cup of tea, avoiding eye contact. "Here, have some tea," she said, trying to act normal despite the awkwardness.
Eriri quickly got back to the issue at hand. "Ryuji-kun, I think whatever affected Mom is the same thing targeting me."
Hearing this, Sayuri also remembered the fox-like spirit Ryuji had pulled from her body. She had known Ryuji had special abilities, but experiencing it firsthand was unsettling.
"It's likely a type of curse, something that feeds on a person's vitality," Ryuji explained calmly. "There are plenty of things like that out there."
"That's…" Sayuri began to grasp why she had been feeling so weak.
"Could it be that Eriri and I went somewhere dangerous and got cursed?" she wondered aloud, though she couldn't remember going anywhere unusual. They spent most of their time at home.
"No," Ryuji shook his head. "The source of the problem is right here in your house."
"In the house?" Sayuri looked around nervously. She hadn't noticed anything strange, but now that Ryuji had pointed it out, she couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Ryuji wasn't worried. As he drank his tea, he continued to observe the surroundings. The aura in the house was unmistakably strange, further confirming his suspicions.
"Have there been any odd occurrences here lately?" Ryuji asked.
"Odd…?" Sayuri thought back, then suddenly remembered. "Oh, wait, a few days ago, Spencer came back and left something here."
"Spencer?" Eriri repeated, surprised. "Dad?"
Sayuri nodded. "Yes. He left some kind of clay doll. I didn't think much of it at the time."
"Please, show me," Ryuji requested.
Sayuri retrieved the doll from the storage room and handed it to him. The small clay fox didn't look like much to the untrained eye, but Ryuji could see the dark energy emanating from it.
"This is it," he confirmed.
"Where did this come from?" Ryuji asked.
"Spencer brought it over a few days ago," Sayuri replied.
"Dad?" Eriri was shocked. Why hadn't she known about this?
"If I hadn't told Eriri that it was from her father, I would've thrown it away. It's just been collecting dust," Sayuri said.
"This thing doesn't offer any kind of protection," Ryuji said with a smirk.
"Then… what is it?" Sayuri and Eriri both stared at him, confused.
"The curse that was affecting you is tied to this," Ryuji explained. "This doll is the source."
"What? That can't be," Sayuri stammered, unable to believe it. "I mean, Spencer might be… difficult, but he would never hurt Eriri!"
Ryuji remained calm. "There's an easy way to find out."
Understanding what he meant, Sayuri handed the doll to him. Ryuji examined it briefly before applying pressure. The clay doll cracked, and with a sharp sound, it shattered completely.
As the doll broke, a dark fox-like spirit emerged and immediately tried to flee.
"Soul Devouring," Ryuji whispered, and chains shot out, wrapping around the spirit and dragging it into the same dimensional rift where he had banished the first fox spirit.
"Well, that's taken care of," Ryuji said, satisfied.
Sayuri and Eriri were speechless. They couldn't deny what they had just seen.
"That bastard!" Sayuri muttered angrily. It was one thing for Spencer to plot against her, but to involve Eriri? She couldn't forgive that.
"Why would Dad do this?" Eriri whispered, her voice filled with sadness. She didn't want to believe that her own father would harm her.