Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume1 Chapter4 (section)

===1===

"What did you say just now?" 

Michiru persistently stared at me in the morning. 

"There's a rival." 

"Who?" 

Keiko, stop bothering me. 

"She’s called Hara Masako. Have you heard of her?" 

"Hara Masako? The one who's always on TV?" Yuuri asked. 

"You know her?" 

"Yeah... The psychic medium on that popular show... She's about our age. She's also really pretty..." 

"I guess so. She looks just like a Japanese doll." 

"So that girl suddenly tried to get close to Shibuya-san?" 

"No, it's more like Naru-chan started it..." 

"What!" 

Keiko almost pinched me again. 

"But it's true, that poison-tongued Naru-chan didn't say one sarcastic remark to her. I'm positive Naru-chan just goes for pretty girls." 

"Oh..." Keiko mumbled, her voice depressed, disappointed. 

"Hey, didn't I say it already... Give up on Naru-chan. He's not as nice as he looks, he's a liar, and he's a poison-tongued narcissist to boot." 

"But he's really handsome." 

...Just because he's handsome doesn't mean he's great, right? 

I'm getting tired of this conversation. 

My line of sight reached Kuroda-san, who was looking this way. 

She's a strange one too. Is her personality that twisted just because she has psychic powers? Kuroda-san seemed to want to say something. 

I thought she was going to talk to me, but then she suddenly turned around and left the classroom. 

...Umm— 

Right after class, Keiko & co. kept rambling on and on. It would be troublesome if they followed me into the old school building, so I dashed off the moment they started arguing again. 

The weather's nice today too. 

I have to work here at night. If it rains, it'll be even scarier. 

But there's a big, evil spirit loitering about. I'm not panicking. I'm not that scared. Is this good or bad? I energetically opened the door only to notice that Naru wasn't here yet. In front of the equipment was another dangerous person. 

Waah... Kuroda-san. 

"...What are you doing?" I asked. 

"Nothing. I'm just looking around. Shibuya-san doesn't seem to be here." 

Kuroda-san touched the equipment beside her. 

"It's best if you don't touch anything. Naru-chan will get angry." 

"Really?" Kuroda-san asked, her hand still touching the TV's edge, "hey, how were things yesterday?" 

"Nothing... Much. Naru-chan said there was nothing unusual." 

"What did the others think?" 

"Miko-san was locked in a classroom. But no one can agree on whether or not that was because of a ghost." 

"Why?" Kuroda-san asked, her eyes suddenly gazing into mine. 

"...The psychic medium said there were no ghosts in this old building. But Miko-san insisted that there's an earth spirit here." 

"Really... Is the psychic medium you're referring to Hara Masako?" 

"Yes." 

"That person's an imposter." 

"Wha-?!" 

An imposter... 

"She's on TV because of her good looks. She doesn't have any psychic powers." 

"Huh..." 

Exactly what is Kuroda-san thinking? 

"There's a ghost here, and a very strong one too." 

Then, is Kuroda-san the only one who can feel it? 

Kuroda-san gazed intensely into my eyes. "I... Was just attacked." 

Eh?! 

"When I was walking in the corridor, a force suddenly started pulling my hair. I wanted to run, but then it grabbed my neck..." 

"That... Can't be." 

"It's true," Kuroda-san insisted, a dark smile spreading onto her face, "I even heard a voice telling me, 'Your psychic power is too strong. You're in the way.'." 

The air around us froze in the silence. 

Kuroda-san looks like she's going to say something else. 

But as for me, I had nothing to say. I don't understand this kind of stuff. I've never seen a ghost, and I've never been able to feel one's presence either. It's impossible for me to know if she's lying.

That can't be right. Masako said there are no spirits here. And Naru-chan said that places like this have other dangerous things. 

Scary rumors. Abandoning the old school building after tearing half of it down. 

In the midst of the silence between us, Naru-chan came back. 

He looked at us. "What's the matter?" 

After he heard Kuroda-san talk about her story, Naru-chan thought about if for a while. "When did that happen?" 

"Just now. At first I was scared and wanted to go back out, but then I saw all this equipment, and I gave it a second thought. I just got here, and Shibuya-san must also be..." 

Naru-chan placed his pale fingers onto the laptop's keyboard. "Let's look at the recording. Where did you encounter the ghost?" 

"The corridor on the second floor." 

Naru-chan rewinded the recording. 

A view of the corridor showed up on all ten TV screens, with digital numbers lined up on the side. 

The digital numbers kept changing. 

These changing numbers recorded the time. When the time was "13:12:26", a soft stepping sound could be heard. 

Kuroda-san showed up in front of the corridor. Stiff and prudent, she carefully looked around, then went up the stairs. After she reached the top of the stairs, her eyes darted left and right. 

It happened at that time. 

A white line suddenly flashed onto the screen. Two times. Three times. Then it was just static, followed by a white screen. Then the screen turned all black. 

"What happened— This broke—" 

Naru-chan looked at the other screens. There was nothing wrong with the other ones. Only the stairs recording was blank. 

"...It didn't break," Naru-chan said as he fiddled with one of the TVs. 

The TV screen didn't change. 

"What does this mean," Naru-chan mumbled to himself. 

"...Huh?" 

"Right after the ghost shows up, the camera stops working," he said, looking at the TV screen, "what can this be.. A ghost, interference with electric waves... Or..." 

He contemplated his ideas, then quickly turned to face Kuroda-san. "Kuroda-san, you said you heard a sound. What kind of sound was it?" 

"It was an unclear sound, but it sounded like a little girl's voice." 

"Really..." 

"Hey, Naru-chan? Didn't Masako say there weren't any spirits here? So how can that be?" 

"About that... I think I can believe her..." 

...Is it true or not? So he's not believing Masako because of her good looks? 

Kuroda-san cocked her head. "Does Hara-san really have psychic powers?" 

"Normally... Female mediums have different wavelengths. Maybe your wavelength is the same as that of the ghost." 

"Huh?" 

"If the old school building does have a ghost, then that ghost might have the same wavelength as you." 

Kuroda-san couldn't help but laugh, "Perhaps." 

At this time, numerous footsteps came from the entrance hall. 

Miko-san, Bou-san, John, Masako, the principal, the director, and an old teacher. 

In the front was Miko-san, clothed in her priestess garments. Miko-san's exorcism started.