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Chapter 5
I discovered there were seven exorcists at school. There were Itsuki and Mana, who were both in my class. Kiyori (the big guy) and Souta (the awkward one with curly hair) were both in second year. The blonde girl Kurumi, and Taisei (who seemed like their leader) were both in third. Nina was also in third year. She wasn't at school the day I met the other exorcists, but I saw her once in the hall. She looks a lot like Sis, but I'll tell you more about that later.
Everyone seemed to find Souta annoying, but he was the only one who was willing to tell me anything. Whenever I talked to the others they'd freeze up and tell me to go away, but Souta let the secrets spill like there was no tomorrow.
"Obake are animal spirits which live in the natural world," he explained to me as we walked through the school hallway together.
"I know that already," I said while remembering the stories Grandpa told me as a child. "What else?"
"Hmm, Obake usually pretend to be different animals and then transform back into monsters and eat humans. Lots of murders are actually done by Obake instead of people. No one thinks that the cute kitty they find on the street is going to eat them when their back is turned."
"I knew it!" I didn't feel so stupid anymore for treating every animal with caution as a child.
"But different types of Obake often disguise themselves as the same animal, so you never know what you're going to get until it unveils itself. Sometimes it's just a talking cat, or a giant cat with massive claws, or a half cat half person thing. It makes exorcising really hard. When I started we had to run away a lot, but now Taisei and Kurumi are pretty good, and Itsuki is probably the best."
"Itsuki," I snorted. I could feel my anger begin to rise. I'd made a few attempts to be nice to the guy, but he ignored me completely. "I don't get it, why is that Itsuki guy such an arse all the time?"
"Don't worry about Itsuki, he's still mad about having to go to this school. Itsuki actually made it in to a really good high school, but they refused to let him go. He's been angry since then."
"Still, that's no excuse to be a dick to everyone," I muttered.
"Don't say that, Itsuki's a really loyal friend. He might be angry now, but he's normally fun to hang around with."
"Maybe," but he had still gone out of his way to build a wall between Mana and I. "So what's the deal with him and Mana?" I asked.
"Itsuki and Mana, huh? They're the same age, so they've always been close. Mana was bullied in elementary school, but Itsuki would always rush in and save her. Just like a knight in shining armor."
"I see," I wasn't sure how I could compete with that.
"He helps her with school work at home a lot too."
"What! Home? So he goes to her house?" The thought of the two of them alone in Mana's bedroom made me want to puke.
"Yes, sort of, we all live together."
"Really?" That wasn't as bad then. "All of you, as in all the exorcists, like together, in one house?"
"Yes. Taisei, Kiyori, and I have to sleep in the same room. Taisei snores and Kiyori farts all night."
"And your parents are there too, right?"
"Nah, our parents are back home. We just live here during our training."
"Wow, that must be tough," I tried to imagine what it would be like to live far away from Sis, Shuro and Hikaru.
Souta shrugged. "At first, but I've been here since middle school so I don't really mind anymore. But Kiyori was really angry. I think he sometimes sneaks off and goes home when he's not supposed to."
I soon discovered that Kiyori was probably the biggest guy at school. I'm really glad that he wasn't trying to beat me up, because I don't think I would have survived. The two of us got along pretty well for a while, until that incident.
Taisei was the oldest and the leader of the group. He was also Mana's older brother, so I had to be nice to the guy if I wanted to date her. This meant I had to try not to spill their secret.
I tried talking to Mana a few times since the first day, but Itsuki would always slip himself between us and foil all my plans. Therefore she couldn't go with me to the cinema, the mall, the water park, or all the other fantastic date locations I came up with.
I considered asking my sister about her father and older brother, but I decided against it. Sis always got depressed when we talked of them. I was also paranoid of what Taisei would do if I told her there were exorcists running around my school.
I probably should have told her immediately. Maybe I was too stupid to see what was coming, but perhaps Sis could have saved me.
I began to wonder if I would have been an exorcist if Grandpa hadn't passed away. If I had a famous guy like him as a mentor I could have been an awesome exorcist by now. Surely awesome enough to make those other guys take me seriously. Maybe even awesome enough to rival the first Daisuke Matsumoto.
I spent most of my classes daydreaming about fighting Obake. I wasn't certain how they were exorcised, so I made up most of the details on my own. Like with giant swords, or magical weapons that sent out laser beams.
In my imagination, I became a fantastic Obake hunter who saved young maidens from terrifying monsters. Unless the maiden was an Obake herself. In that case I would have to destroy her, despite being almost overwhelmed by her beautiful looks.
Being the idiot that I used to be, I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I had to see an Obake, I had to know if they were real.
I decided to ask the exorcists if I could follow along one day and take a quick look. One quick glance, then I would be out of there straight away.
I approached Taisei with this idea in break time, but he wasn't very enthusiastic.
"Absolutely not," said Taisei.
"Why not?" I begged. "I promise I'll stay out of danger."
"There's no way I could guarantee your safety."
"Come on. I really want to see an Obake. I'll do anything."
He looked like he was considering it, but he then shook his head. "They would probably ground me. I have a date with Yui Murase on Friday and it would suck if I couldn't go."
I tried begging for another five minutes, but he wouldn't budge. I later found out that Yui Murase was the prettiest girl in third year, which explained his decision, but I was certain I'd see her making out with a student near my house.
I considered approaching Mana or Itsuki, but I knew it would be a waste of time. Some days they didn't arrive at school until lunch time. Unlike the rest of us (who were lectured for arriving a few minutes late) the teacher just nodded as they entered the room.
"This is so unfair," I muttered to Keira, the guy seated beside me who became my new lunch buddy. "The teachers don't do anything when they're late. I wouldn't mind not showing up until one."
"It's because they do community service," said Keira as he took a bite of his rice ball. "Like go to retirement homes and read stories to old people. I asked Yoshida-sensei if I could join, but he said all the places were full."
"Hmph," I fumed.
Only I knew the truth. I'd decided I wouldn't mind chasing Obake all night if I didn't have to study anymore. High school was far duller than I expected, and the teachers already started piling on the homework. It was only the second week, and I had two assignments due.
I ignored Taisei's advice and attempted to follow them after school. Unfortunately they all seemed to possess some sort of exorcist skill that allowed them to vanish when the final bell rang. All my stalking attempts failed.
I felt deflated. But little did I know that I was about to meet my first Obake within the next few hours.
I took a walk through the shopping district on my way home. It was a closed off street with shops on either side, and a roof so that you don't get wet when it rains.
I stopped to look in the second-hand games store at things I couldn't afford. It was unlikely that my sister would give me money for games, but if I could convince Shuro, he may have brought it for me. He was a really awesome guy when it came to things like that.
There were a few girls hanging around the shops as well. Some were in groups, and some were casually shopping on their own.
There was one cute girl gazing into the display window of a clothing store. Probably imagining how she would look in the fashionable, but over priced outfit the mannequin was wearing.
I was tempted to stop and talk to her, before I remembered the gruesome end to the first Daisuke Matsumoto.
I decided that I would no longer attempt to pick up strange girls without confirming if they were human. I didn't want to meet the same end as Sis' older brother. I was paranoid that the fox monster really liked the taste of his heart, and would come back looking for seconds.
I sighed and turned to go home.
So much changed since I began high school. I had to make new friends, found out that my adopted family were exorcists, and discovered that any pretty girl could be a heart eating monster. If I'd known my death was also soon to come, I would have returned home and locked myself in my room forever.
I heard the jingle of phone charms, and a flash of blonde raced past me.
I stared blankly at the girl running off into the distance. She was wearing our school uniform, but her hair was bleached blonde which was against school policy.
The only person I knew who could get away with that was Kurumi!
I took a second glance. It was definitely Kurumi. I knew that she must have been racing off to fight an Obake. I couldn't figure out any other reason why she would be in such a hurry.
I clutched my bag strap with one hand to prevent it from falling off my shoulder, and ran after her.
Following her was like taking another step closer to my demise, but I was just too excited about the chance to see a real live Obake.
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