Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume3 Chapter4 (section)

===1===


The next day, although it's daytime, I had somewhat creepy thoughts in the conference room. Nobody came yet. I was waiting for everyone to show up.

The door opened, and I thought they finally arrived. But when I turned around, it was Taka and Kasai-san who peered in.

"Eh? You're alone again?" 

"No one arrived yet." I was strangely relieved. ''That'' didn't show up in this room. Although I told myself that it was targeting Naru, I was still uncertain.

" '''Not yet'',' you say? It'll be lunch soon, you know?" 

"...Yeah. Everyone's tired. I myself don't want to look at the desk work and do it."

"Well... Did you make some progress in your job?" 

I smiled vaguely. I was wondering if Kasai-san herself wasn't to blame in this mysterious phenomenon. After I recounted yesterday's incident, it didn't bother her at all.

"Did you eat lunch already? If you don't mind, would you like to eat with us?" 

"...Oh, I didn't bring my own lunch."

"That's what I thought." Taka held out something wrapped with a table napkin. "I also made your share~"

"Eeh, no way!　I'm so happy~" I squealed, teary-eyed.

"Hehe. Kasai-senpai said, '' 'I wonder if Mai is eating lunch regularly''.'  Well, we talked about how you don't look like you're eating well. So I thought, '''Perhaps I'll make an extra lunch today''.' ”

''I-I'm so happy~''  "...Sorry for always troubling you."

"It's an untold promise~ <3"

"I'll make lunch for you tomorrow." Kasai-san beamed.

"...That's not good..."

"It's okay. Anyway, I forgot to tell you yesterday," Kasai-san said while unpacking her lunch. "Kei-sensei said you should tell her if there's anything she could assist you with. I'll also help, so let me know whatever I can do."

"Wow."

"She was impressed, after I told her Shibuya-san is an ''onmyouji.'' He's an admirable sort of person after all~"

"Really?" 

"Yes~"

Taka rose and said aloud, "For me, Bou-san is better."

I gripped my chopsticks, but didn't declare anything. "Gotcha. In fact, you like him as a musician as well, don't you?" I delved.

"Yeah~"

"As a bassist, he's better," agreed Kasai-san too.

"Yeah~ <3"

Yes, yes. That was a good reply.

The three of us ate lunch enjoyably and afterwards talked about foolish things while sipping tea. It was then that Naru finally arrived. Lin-san followed behind him.

"...Kasai-san?" 

"Ah, good afternoon." Kasai-san raised a hand to Naru. After that, she and Taka stood and waved their hands to me. "Then, I'm leaving. I have PE this afternoon."

"Okay."

"Really, let me know if there's anything I can help you with."

"Thanks. I shall find a mountain of work for you."

"Idiooot." Kasai-san laughed.

Taka did the same. "Then, do your best~" she said, and the two of them bowed to Naru and Lin-san and exited the room.

"...Hehh. You've become surprisingly good friends with them." Naru watched the two leaving, looking strange.

"I guess so. It's due to my charisma," I said.

"Perhaps."

''...Eh?'' Um... I was expecting a sarcastic comeback, so I'd braced my mind for it. And he merely gave a simple reply though.

Naru sank down to a chair.

Noticing his eyes were a bit reddish, I probed, "Your eyes are bloodshot. Didn't you get any sleep?" 

"I didn't. Me and that guy were glaring at each other until morning."

'' 'That guy' ''... ''Don't tell me''… "...''That guy'' from yesterday?" 

"Yeah. Your intuition was correct. Last night, it appeared in my room."

Lin-san regarded Naru as though it were the first time he heard of that. "You should have called me."

"Indeed... I thought of that. But I had a feeling that it would be dangerous if I looked away. So we glared at each other till morning."

''Why is he talking as if it seems nothing?''

"I would have heard you if you knocked on the wall. Why didn't you call out for me?"

"Yeah, well... I was a little curious...if something would happen. Isn't it wrong if I wake you up while you're in deep sleep?"

"Naru, if something had occurred, what did you intend to do?"

"Well, of course, if the situation worsened, I would call you. But it didn't come to that..."

...How rare. Naru and Lin-san were having a personal conversation. I wondered what made the latter anxious that got Naru feeling a bit impatient. "Hey, Naru?" 

"Hm?" 

"This is an irrelevant question, but are you and Lin-san living in the same place?" 

"...That's how it is. What about it?" 

''...Well, it's nothing really. I see~ That's how it is~'' I didn't know his address and telephone number. (Because there's the office, it served its purpose well enough that it's unnecessary for me to know other things.) I wasn't even sure where they're living. Hehh, I felt I'd come a step closer. "Ah, that's right. Kasai-san had said we should tell her if there's anything she could help with."

"She did?" 

"Yeah. Ubusuna-sensei too."

"Amateurs can't handle the situation well when we have them help us..." Naru grumbled, looking fed up.

"They aren't amateurs, are they? Kasai-san is extremely well-informed at different kinds of things. Since she said her knowledge is from Ubusuna-sensei, sensei is even more well-informed."

"Hmph..."

"If you try talking to them, you'll discover that they're good people. I thought Kasai-san was scary when we first met her at the Biology lab, but at that time my nerves were considerably on edge." That's right. Saying things such as '' 'I'll curse you to death!' ''  in the company of teachers—the teachers themselves were the ones who drove her to do that. "During all this dispute, both Ubusuna-sensei and Kasai-san appear to be having a really difficult time. Isn't Ubusuna-sensei admirable? Shouldn't the teachers nowadays protect their students and so on until their own positions are at risk? We can say the same even to subordinate teachers. But still they're not capable of doing that usually."

"Is Ubusuna-sensei from Yuasa?" 

"Seems like it. It's said that that's how it is for almost all female teachers in this school. But you know..." After I trailed off, I said out of the blue, "Hey, Naru?" I tried saying what was bothering my little heart. "Kasai-san can never really put a curse on anyone, right?" 

Naru looked puzzled. "I guess not. No matter how much PK she has, she can't possibly curse a large number of people like this. Not to mention, there's the fact that the spirits are appearing where their victims are..."

"About cursing straw dolls and such, they don't work, do they?" I asked.

"According to hearsay, superior psychics are superior spellcasters, but...that's probably not true. When you use a straw doll, you'll have to hammer a nail into it."

Uh-huh. That's true. "It should be painful at the spot where you hammered the nail after all, right?"

"...Yes. Such instances like spirits appearing due to straw dolls are—" Naru began, but jolted aback. He turned to Lin-san; the latter also looked like he had the wind knocked out of him. "Lin..."

"That is possible."

''Eh? What is?'' I examined the two of them. ''What are they talking about?''

"Why didn't I notice it until now?" 

"Um... Hello, are you there?" I queried, and Naru glanced back at me.

When he was about to say something, we heard many footfalls.

It was the arrival of the group of psychics.