Staking Out

At noon, the sun shone brightly over the school gates. Pedestrians were sparse, vehicles were few, and the blazing sun hung high in the sky. The campus, currently in the midst of the lunch break, was still immersed in a peaceful tranquility.

At an intersection where few people passed, a girl of about thirteen or fourteen stood leaning against a utility pole. She wore a white short-sleeved top and a white pleated skirt, her short, messy black hair framing her face as she panted heavily. Her eyes were fixed intently on the closed gates of the high school ahead.

"Whew... whew... it should be here... the source of that powerful summoning jutsu-shiki, the place where those malicious spirits were summoned..." Yura, an Onmyoji girl from the Keikain Clan, a renowned Onmyo family from Kyoto, spoke in a grave tone, her expression incredibly serious.

During her exorcism at the abandoned convalescent hospital, Yura's actions had met an unexpected obstacle. A powerful jutsu-shiki had interfered with the Demon Binding Spell she had used to imprison the malicious spirits. Yura had watched helplessly as several dangerous spirits were rescued one by one by the interfering technique. Despite her best efforts to resist, it had been utterly futile.

Such an abnormal phenomenon forced Yura to take the matter seriously. Consequently, she had immediately left the abandoned hospital and followed the flight path of the spirits when they were summoned, eventually tracing them to this school.

"There's no mistake... there must be a powerful practitioner inside this school. He's the one who summoned all those malicious spirits away... A powerful and evil practitioner. I can't just leave this alone!"

Yura continued to mutter to herself. She suspected that an evil practitioner resided within this campus, perhaps using that abandoned hospital as a Demon-Rearing Ground to raise malicious spirits for some unspeakable purpose. This hidden practitioner, upon sensing that the spirits were being attacked and bound, must have used some secret art to recall them in an emergency, causing them to fly back to this school.

An evil and powerful practitioner hiding on a school campus was something Yura could not ignore. She had followed the trail here, but facing the tightly closed gates, she found herself in a bit of a dilemma.

She knew an evil practitioner might be inside, but what should she do now? Barge in and search? She wasn't a student here, and the guards wouldn't let her in. Moreover, with so many people in a school, how could she conduct a search alone? Go from classroom to classroom? She’d be kicked out in no time. Besides, this was a high school, and she was only in middle school.

Should she go back and tell her two brothers, asking them to have the Tokyo Onmyo Agency intervene? That was an idea, but her brothers were at odds with the Onmyo Agency over jurisdictional issues. Furthermore, her claim of an evil practitioner in the school was just her word; she lacked convincing evidence. Even her brother with the rather foul personality, Ryuji, might not believe her, let alone getting the Onmyo Agency to mobilize.

Moreover... Yura's purpose for coming out this time was to train on her own. Seeking outside help without even trying would be a blow to her pride.

"In that case... I'll just wait here... I'll see if I can find anything when school lets out..."

Staring at the iron gates, Yura murmured her decision. After weighing her options, she chose a rather clumsy method: waiting at the school gate for the evil practitioner to emerge.

Since it was a school, there would eventually be a time when classes ended. Whether the practitioner was a student or a teacher, they would have to come out. Not many people lived on campus. By standing guard here, she might be able to intercept them.

If the practitioner was careless and kept the malicious spirits in a divine realm by their side or carried them on their person, Yura was confident that her spiritual vision could see through them, provided they weren't sealed.

Having decided on her strategy, Yura began her vigil at the school gates, waiting for the end of the day.

...

Time flew by, and several hours passed quickly. To the sound of a pleasant bell, the day's lessons finally came to an end. Students poured out of the classrooms with their bags, either heading to club activities or going straight home.

Miketsu walked out of the teaching building with her bag, heading toward the gate. Hayakawa Rin, who had no club activities today, walked beside her. As they walked, they discussed the events of the afternoon.

"I really didn't expect it... even though Akiko Shikaku's reputation is so mysterious, in reality, she just has some spirit photos... nothing special at all..." Rin murmured. After seeing Akiko's performance at noon, her previous admiration had clearly diminished significantly.

"Indeed. That's why I say there are no such things as ghosts or gods in this world... you shouldn't believe in that mysterious nonsense at all." Walking beside Rin, Miketsu replied with a calm expression. It was clear she did not want ordinary mortals to delve into supernatural investigations.

For ordinary mortals, the human realm itself was the greatest protection. It was difficult for common ghosts and malicious spirits to cross the boundary on their own. Great malicious spirits were usually found in specific haunted locations, and Yokai were generally under the constraints of their organizations. As long as ordinary people didn't go looking for trouble out of a sense of morbid curiosity, their general safety was preserved.

In fact, many humans who lost their lives to malicious spirit incidents were curiosity-seekers who actively sought out supernatural investigations. Actively investigating the supernatural was equivalent to voluntarily giving up the protection of the human realm to contact the demon realm, which often resulted in putting oneself in danger.

Truthfully, Miketsu didn't have a specific grudge against a high school girl or a desire to make things difficult for her. It was just that Akiko's large-scale promotion of supernatural investigation was truly dangerous. If the students influenced by her followed her lead, it would undoubtedly lead to disaster. That was why Miketsu had specifically gone to "crash the party."

'I hope these high school brats can focus on their studies instead of playing with these curiosity-seeking toys all day...' Miketsu thought.

"Hmm... Inaba-san really is someone who doesn't believe in ghosts and gods at all," Rin remarked, hearing Miketsu's words. Miketsu replied calmly.

"Of course. Instead of believing in ghosts and spirits all day and fussing over nonsense, it's better to do something meaningful..." As Miketsu spoke, she walked out of the school gates. Suddenly, she felt her mouth go dry and turned her gaze toward a vending machine by the side of the road.

'I won't wait for Miko's tribute today...'

Miketsu walked up to the vending machine. After glancing at the drinks inside, she reached into her bag for her wallet, but after fumbling for a while, she still hadn't pulled anything out.

"It seems I forgot my wallet when I left home..." Miketsu said slowly. Seeing this from nearby, Rin proactively approached her.

"Inaba-san, do you want to buy a drink? If you forgot your money, I have some..."

As she spoke, Rin prepared to take out her wallet, but Miketsu stopped her.

"Don't be in a hurry. Wait a moment..."

"Wait?" Rin's expression clouded with confusion. Clearly, she didn't understand what Miketsu meant. Would waiting make money appear? Or did she want to search more thoroughly?

Just then, on another street not far away, a middle-aged man stood in front of a small shop. After taking a pack of cigarettes, he pulled out his wallet to pay. As he was fumbling through his wallet for money, a coin accidentally fell out and rolled away. By the time the man realized and tried to catch it, the coin had already bounced into the road, far beyond his reach.

Ultimately, the coin rolled onto the road and was struck by a passing car, sending it flying. It ricocheted between the passing vehicles until, after being hit by a large truck, it shot into the sky at a perfect angle. Following a high arc, it flew toward the school intersection. It struck a tree branch and bounced downward, shooting with absolute precision into the tiny coin slot of the vending machine. With a clink, it was swallowed by the machine.

"Ah... it seems a coin went in..."

Seeing this, Miketsu spoke and quickly pressed the button for her drink. A can of cola dropped down. Miketsu picked it up, opened it, and took a sip.

"Hah... delicious..."

"..."

Rin stood frozen in place, her expression blank, not knowing what to say. She clearly hadn't quite grasped what had just happened.

"That... that was... a coin just... flew in?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I don't know where it came from, but let's thank the original owner." After saying that, Miketsu took another sip of cola. Standing there dazed, Rin felt utterly speechless.

'Someone like you... actually doesn't believe in ghosts and gods?'

As Miketsu was contentedly drinking her cola, her gaze swept through the crowd. Suddenly, a familiar figure caught her attention.

Holding her cola, Miketsu focused her gaze. She saw a girl of middle school age with short black hair standing behind a utility pole, staring intently at the school gate.

That silhouette and face stirred a distant memory in Miketsu.

"We meet again..."