Daytime in Tokyo. Sunlight bathed the earth, its bright curtain draping over the city. Yet, no matter how intense the rays, there were always shadows that the light could not reach.
In a corner far from the bustling districts lay a gloomy courtyard. Weeds grew unchecked, and trees stood thick and overgrown. Vines crawled across the crumbling brick and stone walls, while the old iron gate was sealed shut with nailed wooden boards. Fallen leaves, left uncleaned for ages, blanketed the cracked pavement.
Standing within this dilapidated courtyard was an old, five-story concrete building. Moss climbed its walls, and half of its windows were completely shattered. Behind the ancient, cracked door frames lay an interior so dark it was nearly impossible to see, as if gusts of eerie wind were blowing out from within. Above the entrance, several crooked, leaning characters formed a sign that read: Yamada Convalescent Hospital...
Despite it being high noon with the sun at its peak, the temperature around the dark building was several degrees lower than elsewhere. A faint, inexplicable chill permeated the air.
"This is the place..."
A girl stood solemnly upon the leaf-strewn ground. Judging by her stature, she was likely thirteen or fourteen years old. She had somewhat messy short hair and wore a white short-sleeved top with a white pleated skirt. In her hand, she clutched several paper charms.
"According to the records... this is supposed to be a rather troublesome haunted location. But if it's me, there won't be any problems!"
As she spoke, the girl named Yura Keikain tightened her grip on the charms, her expression turning serious.
"Now... it is time to test the results of my training..."
In the afternoon, bright and dazzling sunlight spilled into the school campus. After finishing lunch and the day's lessons, Miketsu lay lazily across her desk, basking in the light streaming through the window as she relaxed her body.
That was until a familiar voice from behind began calling her again.
"Fushimi... uh... Inaba-san?"
Hearing those words, Miketsu's expression stiffened for a moment. She turned around to face Rin Hayakawa, who was leaning forward from the seat behind her, and asked flatly, "Is there something else?"
At Miketsu's words, Rin's expression became slightly mysterious. She lowered her voice and whispered to Miketsu, "I say... Inaba-san... do you... do you believe that ghosts... that spirits exist in this world?"
"Ha...?" Hearing Rin's mysterious tone, Miketsu paused for a second before waving her hand dismissively. "What are you talking about? Of course there are no ghosts in this world. Isn't that obvious?"
Surprised by Miketsu's response, Rin thought for a moment and continued, "Then, do you believe that gods exist in this world?"
"Gods?" Miketsu blinked, then responded in a matter-of-fact tone. "Of course they don't exist either. How could there be gods in this world..."
Miketsu spread her hands as she spoke. Rin seemed to find this hard to believe; she had clearly seen this girl achieve impossibly high scores on exams just by rolling dice, yet she didn't believe in gods?
"Inaba-san, you actually don't believe in the existence of gods..."
"Well... you could say that. I am a firm atheist..." Miketsu nodded with certainty. Internally, she thought, 'I'm the one who personally locked those gods away in the divine realm, so of course I'm an atheist. As for wild gods? Do they even count?'
Preventing all gods from descending to the mortal world and personally crafting a world without gods—this was what Miketsu meant by her 'atheism.'
Hearing Miketsu's words, Rin's expression turned solemn. She leaned closer to Miketsu and raised a finger mysteriously. "I didn't expect your convictions to be so firm, Inaba-san... but if I were you, I wouldn't be so certain. There are too many inexplicable things in this world. Gods and monsters might be hiding right beside us, just that ordinary people can't see them. Only certain special people can see the things we can't..."
Miketsu was slightly surprised by this and asked directly, "Why the sudden thought? Did you see some supernatural rumors or videos online? Those are all fake. Most so-called occult YouTubers are either overreacting neurotics or frauds."
Miketsu's purpose in saying this was simple: she didn't want Rin to care about gods and ghosts. For ordinary people, the supernatural was extremely dangerous. Actively seeking out the paranormal out of curiosity was essentially a death wish. The boundary barrier was the best protection for ordinary people; as long as they didn't believe in or meddle with supernatural affairs, they could generally live in peace.
Thinking about the various ways young people nowadays sought out trouble in this regard, Miketsu couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Unconvinced, Rin argued, "Ugh... you have a point, Inaba-san, but you're being too absolute! There are definitely many people with real talent, and they're right here among us."
Rin continued speaking with a look of certainty. Hearing this, a spark of interest finally rose in Miketsu's heart. She turned the question back on Rin. "Among us?"
"That's right! You probably don't know, Inaba-san, but Akiko Shikaku from the class next door is a famous occult blogger. She's very popular in school right now."
Miketsu raised an eyebrow, looking slightly puzzled. "A popular occult blogger? From the class next door?"
"Yeah! They say Akiko Shikaku's ancestors were mediums from Mount Osore, and she can see things that 'shouldn't exist.' She shares many methods for seeing ghosts, and more importantly, she does divinations—and they're incredibly accurate!"
Rin introduced her with great enthusiasm. Hearing this, Miketsu rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"Divination too... So there's someone like that in school? This is the first I've heard of it..."
"Mhm! It's said that Akiko Shikaku even gives lectures on supernatural knowledge at school, shows images of ghosts, and even offers free divinations for people," Rin continued.
Miketsu nodded and remarked, "Well, that does sound a bit interesting..."
At midday, in another spacious classroom, the students who had finished lunch were not resting at their desks. Instead, they were gathered in a crowd around a single table.
In the center of the crowd, a girl with chestnut-colored shoulder-length hair and a broad forehead sat with her legs crossed. She wore a smug smile. On the desk before her lay many photographs. The students surrounding her held these photos, examining them closely and whispering to one another.
"Hey... look, there really seems to be a shadow here..." "It looks like something is glowing behind that window..." "That thing in the water really looks like a face..." "Akiko is amazing, she actually captured so many spirit photos..."
Watching the students marvel and praise her while looking at the photos, the girl named Akiko Shikaku nodded with a satisfied smile. A sense of superiority and pride welled up in her expression.
'Heh... these guys can only look at photos. In the end, they're just a bunch of ordinary mortals who can't see the hidden reality of this world...'
Akiko Shikaku was a tenth-grade student. When she was young, she heard from her grandfather that their ancestors were mediums from Mount Osore. Consequently, Akiko had developed a deep interest in rumors of ghosts and spirits from a young age, becoming an occult enthusiast as she grew older.
Akiko believed she was different from other so-called occult enthusiasts. What she was most proud of was her genuine ability to 'see things that shouldn't exist'—the so-called spiritual vision.
During twilight and dawn, Akiko could occasionally see faint black shadows wandering about. Though they were blurry, flickering in and out of existence, Akiko's intuition told her these were likely ghosts and spirits—invisible things that ordinary people could not perceive.
Faced with these faint, abnormal shadows, Akiko Shikaku felt no fear or anxiety. Instead, she viewed it as her own special talent, the thing that distinguished her from common mortals. Driven by this so-called 'innate talent,' Akiko began her journey as an occult expert, gaining the admiration of countless curiosity-seekers.
"These photos are just the appetizers. In a moment, I'll show you something even more extraordinary. And for the finale today, I will perform a divination for one of you..."
Seeing the curious crowd passing the photos around, Akiko spoke with a smile. Her words caused a stir among the students, many of whom immediately began trying to recommend themselves to her.
At that moment, a soft, gentle voice rose above the noisy clamor and reached Akiko's ears.
"Are you Akiko Shikaku?"
Akiko turned her head toward the source of the gentle voice. There, a petite girl with short black hair was walking toward her with a smile.
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