Chapter 224 – Haunting at Tsukiji High


    Atst, we got all the decorations onto our Christmas tree that it was more color than green. Though, I guess that was the whole point. Mio was bouncing up and down. She shot me a look as if asking for permission to put the final piece on.


    I nodded. Without sparing another second, Mio lifted the star up to the top and put it on. Her demeanor was awash with confusion. I heard Hatsumi stifling a giggle behind me. We purchased a star that lit up, so Mio was probably wondering why it didn''t glow. She turned to me, lower lip trembling and eyes watery.


    "You have to connect the power. Might be tucked into the bottom of the star. Pull it out and plug it into an outlet. One of the lights should have one," I said.


    Mio followed my instructions. When she plugged it in, the star lit up brightly. A big smile shed across her face, brighter than the lights on the tree. Hatsumi switched off the living room lights, and our Christmas tree lit up the ce as if it were fireworks. All the furniture and even we were tinged with its glow. Seeing the array of colors reflected off Mio''s glinting eyes made all the efforts of putting a tree together worth it, just likest year.


    My sister ushered us together in front of the tree, then snapped a selfie. Mio had the biggest, dumbest grin. Hhan was right. Her happiness really was contagious. The best part was that I''d get to experience this again when we decorate another tree at the apartment.


    Though, that might have to wait until we got in touch with Kairi and Casey. It was winter break after all. Those two most likely had their own things going on.


    "You know what we gotta do next?" Mio asked.


    "What?" I humored her.


    "We NEED to buy some sexy Santa costumes. Preferably the ones that look skimpy as fuck," she said.


    Hatsumi recoiled like someone sucker punched her. A thin streak of blood trickled down her nostrils.


    "I''m in agreement! Let''s look some up right now and buy them!" Hatsumi nodded furiously.


    "O-Okay… but only if I get to choose," I muttered, pressing my fingers together.


    Both of them stared at me with their mouths agape.


    "Damn. You never agree to this shit right away. Usually it takes me sexually harassing you a bit. What''s up? You getting horny?" Mio cackled and nudged me.


    "Ugh… I''m a subus! Is it so wrong to be horny?" I pouted.


    Although I was surprised myself, what happened in Rusutsu probably had a lot to do with my current insatiable state. Four months in total. Four. Just having sex daily. At some point, that must have rewired my brain. But sexy Santa costume… where the hell were we going to find something like that?


    My phone started ringing. When I checked the caller, it was Hana of all people. It was just past three, so she should be out of sses.


    "Hana, just so you know. You''re interrupting something very important," I said.


    "So important that you can''t spare some time for your favorite kouhai~" Hana replied yfully.


    "I''m hanging up."


    "Wait, wait, wait! There''s some weird spoopy stuff going on at school. We were wondering if you cane and check it out!" she eximed before I cut the call.


    Much to my sister''s disappointment, Mio and I had to put the sexy Santa outfit shopping in the backburner. We flew to Tsukiji High for the first time in what must have been ages. Not much had changed. Students were on their way out of the school gates. We were immediately the center of attention, not that it was anything new to us. Faces familiar and new stared hard at us. Particrly, a lot of boys.


    "Hana better not be fucking with us. If she is, this fist has her name on it!" Mio blew her right knuckles in preparation for a slugging.


    We entered the school to find Hana but ran into Principal Murata instead.


    "Oh? Saeko, Mio! Precious alumni of our prestigious academy, what brings you back?" The principal regarded us with a big smile.


    "Hana called us. Said something about spooky things going on at school. Is she being serious?" I asked.


    "Well… For once, Hana <i>is</i> being serious if you can believe it," he said.


    Principal Murata urged us to follow him to the faculty office. We bumped into Nurse Naruse, and I now noticed the new rings on their finger and a baby bump on her belly.


    "No fucking way!" Mio gasped.


    "Hehe. The principal and I got married over the summer. We had a rather… private but intimate ceremony." Naruse giggled while he rubbed the back of his head in embarassment.


    I put a hand to my face because Mio had a big part in them getting together. At least it was a wholesome ending in the end, but I wondered how things might have turned out if they were never charmed.


    Principal Murata brought us to the faculty office where a familiar face I didn''t expect to see was waiting.


    "Mikami!" I waved.


    "My acolyte!" Mikami was still in that funny get-up of ck robes and a feathered masquerade mask obscuring the upper half of her face.


    "Oh, shit. You''re the exorcist chick from Menagerie," Mio said in recognition.


    "My, this is a surprise. If you three know each other, then that makes exining things much easier," the principal said.


    Actually, if Mikami was here… Hana wasn''t ying an borate joke after all. Mio and I traded uneasy nces.


    Principal Murata brought us some seats and proceeded to exin what had been happening at Tsukiji High. It started a week ago. Students who stayedte after school for club and sports activities reported seeing desks trembling in empty ssrooms. At first, the principal and faculty passed them off as jokes. When a security guard reported the same things, they thought it was just students still ying jokes.


    Supernatural urences progressed. The following days, reports of moaning echoed across the courtyard. Strange floating lights flickered down corridors. Water stations randomly switched on and off.


    "I ain''t liking the sound of this!" Mio hid behind me and clutched my shoulders.


    "You''re a subus with magical powers. Don''t tell me you''re scared?" I squinted.


    "We can charm anything from a mangy rat to a rampaging ogre. I can''t do jack shit against a ghost if it''s real!" she fired back.


    Principal Murata offered a sympethetic frown. "It''s gotten to the point that some students outright refuse toe to sses or stay after school. I care about everyone''s well-being. If this is causing anyone stress, I''m willing to believe a supernatural force is at y. After all, subus like you and Mio are real! That''s why I called Ms. Mikami from Menagerie to help uncover the spirits or put to rest these rumors."


    It was Hana who asked us toe down here anyway, so I had no reason to refuse. Mio felt the same way, although still a bit peeved about not getting to see me in a sexy Santa costume. The principal gave us free reign to roam about the school and stay well into the night if needed. Mikami, Mio, and I emerged from the faculty office to begin our investigation.


    "So, you really are still in the ult business. Not being able to see them hasn''t hindered you at all?" I asked Mikami.


    "If you can believe it, not one bit! Obviously, being able to see them would''ve been easier. Fortunately for me, the field of exorcism and the ult isn''t new. I merely applied the usual learned methods." Mikami smiled proudly.


    That was a relief. I figured after we resolved the whole yokai and spirits flooding into the world, Mikami and Menagerie would have a hard time finding work. There were probably still plenty to clean up afterwards anyway.


    "Ugh. I ain''t too hot on the ghost stuff, but if we''re doing it, then we''re doing it. What''re we doing first?" Mio asked.


    "If you''re scared, you don''t have to stay. You can just let us handle it. We''ll probably be done by the evening," I said.


    She shook her head. "No dice. I''m staying with you."


    "Hehe. I look forward to working with an additional acolyte. Well, then! You had a friend who asked you to be here, didn''t you? Shall we start with them?" Mikami suggested.


    Good idea. It seemed Hana and Principal Murata had two different ideas on who to get help from. We heard from thetter, time to see what there was to learn from the former. We made our way to the student council''s room, but none of us were prepared for what awaited us inside.


    There were five people inside, and the room looked nothing like I remembered when Hitomi and Rika were members of the student council. Hana, the student council president, was sitting on a couch facing the television. She held a controller, racing a male member in a game of Mario Kart. Another member was texting away on her phone, and two more were typing away on theputer.


    "Hitomi will have a heart attack if she saw this!" I pressed a hand to my face and groaned.


    "Plug me in, chief!" Mio vaulted over the couch and startled the male member.


    "You guys came!" Hana grinned, tossing Mio her controller to take over. "Lemme introduce you to everyone. Second year Haruo, the guy on a losing streak against me, is the treasurer. Second year Lisa is the secretary. She always works on her phone for some reason. Over by theputer, the Vice Prez is third year Amane and the intern is first year Mikiko. Guys, this is your big senpai, Saeko and Mio— er… I don''t know who the masked weirdo is."


    "I''m Mikami, a spirit medium, exorcist, and ult expert that your principal has called to help with a case of a haunting at your school." Mikami bowed graciously.


    "Uwoouhh!" The pink-haired trickster apuded.


    "Heh~ So, maybe we won''t have to lift a hand after all with experts on the scene," Lisa said.


    Their secretary was a blonde-haired caucasian girl, possibly a transfer or exchange student. Her ears were pierced from top to bottom, and she had an uninterested look. Hana mentioned that Lisa worked on her phone, but I was pretty sure she was just cking off.


    "Hm." Mikami tapped her chin. "Maybe you students can tell us something the principal hasn''t. First hand experience with the supernatural perhaps?"


    "Oh, right! Everything Principal Murata told us were second hand ounts. Practically hearsay. If we had something more grounded to go on, it might give us a good start," I said.


    "You''re in luck. Two peeps here got the jeebies scared outta them! Ain''t that right, Mikiko? Haruo?" Hana singled them out, and both tensed up at the thought of recalling.


    Mikiko was a cute girl, heavy set and with pinchable cheeks. Braided pigtails red off the sides of her head. She exuded a sweet and soft atmosphere about her. Haruo, on the other hand, was a scrawny andnky kid. He slight hunch in his posture, skittish, and had a perpetual uneeasy expression on his face. Sort of badbination for a kid like him that made for an easy target of bullying, but he seemed to be doing fine in the student council.


    "When President Hana was gonest week," Mikiko began, "I was helping Vice President Amane with some of the paperwork."


    Mio and I red at Hana, who stuck a tongue out and acted dumb.


    The intern continued, "We stayedte into the afternoon. I think it was getting to be around six. Amane asked me to bring some documents to the faculty office and check if Principal Murata was still around to sign them. I heard… ckinging from the second floor girls'' restroom. It sounded too rhythmic to be a student needing to go. I decided to see if maybe someone needed help. I got to thest stall just in time to see the toilet seating down. What happened next, I''m not sure. I ran to the faculty office and that was that."


    "Second floor, girls'' restroom. Alright. And you. Haruo, was it?" Mikami jotted into a notepad.


    "For me, it happened at the bike racks three days ago. I was getting ready to leave after filling in for Hana''s meetings with student clubs over monthly funds. As I pulled my bike from the racks, a few of the other bikes started peddling on their own. They went fast enough that their tires started smoking! I wasn''t going to stay and be ghost bait, so I just peddled away. The next morning, I checked the spots where those bikes were parked and there weren''t any signs of tire tracks. None at all!" Haruo shuddered recalling it.


    At the corner of my eyes, I saw Mio mouth the words ''what the fuck''.


    "Could we be dealing with a tsukumogami?" I asked Mikami, having learned a thing or two about yokai from working with her and being in the presence of so many in the past.


    "A tsuku what?" Mio turned to me.


    "A tsukumogami," Mikami answered in my ce. "Objects that are upied by spirits. However, the myths surrounding those yokai is that the object must have been around for 100 years before it bes a spirit. I highly doubt Haruo''s bike or a school toilet is so old."


    Something else then. At least for now, we had two leads to tackle.


    "Let''s go check them out before it gets dark," I suggested


    "Actually," Mikami interjected. "I think it would be better if we did wait until nightfall."


    "Eh? Why? It''s still light out. Let''s go now!" Mio went pale.


    "Haruo and Mikiko''s encounters had one thing inmon. That is, they happenedte in the day. I believe we have a greater chance of facing the same if we waited," she insisted.


    I agreed, but Mio reluctantly epted the proposal. We hung out with the student council untilte. Mio yed Mario Kart the entire time to distract herself. One by one, the student council began to leave. Only Hana and Amane remained to finish up some paperwork for future school events.


    "So, you''re an exorcist. Ever encountered a spooky sex toy?" Hana asked.


    "President Hana…" Amane red at her colleague. "Ms. Mikami, you don''t have to humor her."


    Out of all the students, Amane looked to be the most straightced and here for work. She appeared more the part of president than Hana. Very well put together, even down to her sitting posture. A poker face that had no patience for ying around.


    "In fact, I have! It was a plug of the posterior region. I was called to a house about a haunting. Turned out, a phantom with was using it to scare the residents. A simple western-style exorcism put that one to rest," Mikami exined.


    "I''d take a haunted butt plug over any of the other scary shit." Mio groaned.


    "Hana, is the school really experiencing supernatural phenomenons? Or are you using your magic for an borate joke?" I asked.


    "It''s really real! I''m serious! I''m not always fun and games." Hana pouted until her cheeks ballooned up.


    I still had my doubts, but during the summer break of my third year, we did a test of courage and experienced something supernatural. If it wasn''t for that and the whole me being able to see yokai, I would never have believed Hana.


    "It''s about time to find that ghost! Shall we?" Mikami asked.


    "Ugh… fine. Let''s get it over with." Mio shuddered.


    Hana and Amane wished us luck as we left. Our first destination was the 2nd floor girl''s bathroom. So far, so good. Nothing spooky on the way there.


    When we got to the toilet, the lights were shut off. The janitor must have alreadye back. We switched it on and entered slowly, checking each stall. However, it was thest one that Mikiko recounted having a strange event. The very back stall was for handicapped and physically-impaired students, so it was a bitrger than usual.


    Mikami pulled out a censer and lit the chamber. Smoke billowed out, and she walked circles around.


    "What''s that stuff?" Mio asked, pinching her nose shut.


    "If there''s a ghost here, it will repel the most from its hiding ce. When it does, the both of you will protect me, right?" Mikami smiled.


    Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it, we spend almost fifteen minutes in the bathroom with nothing happening. Eventually, Mikami suggested we move onto the bike racks. However, that also turned out with nothing. Mio clung to my arm the entire time, shivering like a cold puppy.


    It was actually getting dark, and we decided to head back to the student council room to brainstorm our next move. Most of the lights in the hallways were out. Strange. We were only outside for only half an hour.


    A chill ran up my spine. I walked right into Mikami''s back. She had stopped walking and was staring down the hall.


    "There''s something down the hall…" Mikami said.


    When Mio and I followed her gaze, a very obviously phallic object was lying on the ground.


    "Wait… is that… a dildo?" I squinted.


    "It… " Mio''s eyes narrowed into slits, then snapped open. "It is a dildo!"


    The only culprit that came to mind was Hana. Suddenly, the dildo lifted from the ground and levitated. A swarm flew out of the corner and in our direction. Mio conjured a me and was about to st them until I grabbed her hand.


    "No! You''re going to burn the school! If not, activate the sprinklers!" I warned.


    "Then what do we do?" Mio yelled.


    "Run!" Mikami shouted what we were all thinking.


    We raced down the hall for our lives while being pursued by— I''d never imagined in a million years— flying dildos.


    "That has to be Hana, right? When I get my hands on her, I''ll strangle the pink out of her ass!" Mio growled.


    "But I don''t sense her aura nearby!" I cried.


    Wait. I didn''t sense Hana''s aura at all. It should be fairly big enough that I could sense it if we''re both in the school building. She for sure hadn''t left yet.


    The hallway seemed to stretch longer and longer with no end in sight. Then it happened. Something plunged into my groin. A dildo. My body jolted with both pleasure and a brief bout of pain.


    "What''s happening? Why are ghostly dildos chasing us?" I asked, struggling to not trip from the pleasure of the dildo pumping into me.


    "I think… we might have… entered a spirit''s realm!" Mikami panted.


    "The fuck is that supposed to mean? We in some kind of action manga?" Mio gaped at her.


    "Possibly!" she answered. "Ghosts with a strong enough resentment or anger in the world sometimes exert their influence over people. You sometimes experience this! A light flickering. A belonging being misced when it was right next to you. A deja vu, too! This is just a more… intense version of it!"


    "Then how do get out of here?" Mio and I shouted.


    Mikami''s eyes scanned the eternal hallway again. She screeched to a halt on her heels.


    "Well, since this isn''t the actual school building, I don''t see why you shouldn''t be able to st it with magic!" Mikami offered.


    Mio spun around and fired a pir of mes down the hall, incinerating the dildos into ashes.


    "Nothing''s happening!" Mio pointed at the scorched sex toys.


    "Oh, wait…" I yanked the one out of my pussy and tossed it down the hall.


    We were about to burn it, too, when shadows sprung out and covered us in darkness. The next I opened my eyes, I was sitting in an empty ssroom. The lights were on. Mio and Mikami were no where to be seen.