Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume2 Chapter4 (section)

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"So what will we be doing?" asked Bou-san.

Naru instructed us, "As of now, we have enough manpower. The underlying problem is the woman. If we don't bring her out, everything we do will be meaningless."

"How do we bring her out?" Ayako retorted.

"Disperse the children," he said in his sharp voice, "Miko-san, can you make some charms?"

"Of course I can. Even though the ones I stuck in the hotel were useless earlier."

"First, make a significant amount of charms."

"I'm telling you this will fail," complained Ayako.

"It's okay. John will assist us."

"Okay, but..." John murmered.

Naru patted John's back, cutting him off. "Perform another exorcism."

"What?!"

"The idea isn't to prevent the ghosts from get near Ayami-chan. It was to not let the ghosts leave the house in the first place."

Bou-san blinked his eyes in surprise. "I don't know if that will work."

"It doesn't necessarily need to strong. Just good enough to keep the spirits from leaving and to leave the Demon's Gate open."

"What's the Demon's Gate?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Quiet, Mai."

"I want to know."

"Located in the northeast quarter, it's the gate in which evil spirits leave through. Originally it's the easiest place to leave, and since the charms will be blocking all other passages of exit, the ghosts that are heading toward the hotel will have to pass through the Demon's Gate, —Bou-san and Miko-san will disperse the spirits leaving the Demon's Gate."

"So you want us to disperse the spirits that leave the Demon's Gate?"

"That's right. All you have to do is disperse them."

Ayako commented, "We can't solve the problem this way. Even if we do disperse the spirits, they will end up accumulating anyway."

"Don't worry. As long as we temporarily reduce the amount of spirits near that woman, it'll be okay. John, go to the living room and disperse the spirits there."

"Got it."

Naru nodded and stood up.

Bou-san called him, "Hey, I understand that we handle the childrens' spirits, but who will be doing the most important exorcism of that woman?"

...That's right. Bou-san and Miko-san are all outside the room, while John will be staying inside. But he can't do it by himself. But then Naru said things wil be okay if we disperse the spirits.

"Can it be...Naru, are you doing it?"

Naru smirked confidently and softly clapped his hands together. "We're starting."

It was 4:00 AM.

Charms were pasted all over the walls. To prevent the ghosts from leaving through the living room, John stayed in the living room and sprinkled holy water. He recited the prayer used earlier on Ayami-chan. At that time, the spirits couldn't immediately find Ayami-chan; instead, they just wandered around. Even though in the end, his spell was still broken.

Outside, Bou-san and Miko-san had stuck their charms onto the house. There were also charms in the hotel Ayami-chan was staying in. Even though in the end, they will probably break.

Only one place wasn't sealed by charms. The Demon's Gate.

And that's where Bou-san and Miko-san are.

John and Naru were in the living room while Lin-san looked over the equipment.

Naru told me and Masako to stay in base, but Masako insisted on being in the living room.

"Mai, the living room will be sort of dangerous. Stay with Hara-san. Things will be troublesome if she gets possessed."

Recalling Naru's words, I followed Masako to the living room.

It was dawn, and the sun was almost up. Even if the sky didn't seem much lighter.

What is Naru planning? That woman is looking for her daughter—Tomiko. Since Tomiko isn't here, she won't give up. She can't cross the bridge into the other world. If she finds Tomiko, she'll be happy and satisfied enough to leave for the other world. —But, how can we do that?

Tomiko's not here. She might not even be in the living world anymore.

"John," Naru called out, urging him to start.

John nodded and started his prayer, which I've seen many times already.

Not long afterwards, the room became foggy and the sounds began.

It's starting...

I looked around and didn't see any shadows or ghosts. The only indication that they were here was the warping sounds coming from the ground. Knocking sounds on the wall and thumping sounds in the furniture started too. Masako's face was pale white. If you're so scared, you should've stayed in base.

"Are you okay? Do you want to go back to base?" I whispered.

Masako shook her head. "No, I'm fine... I'll stay here."

You want to stay with Naru that badly?

I really wanted to say something cold to her. I'm scared too~ Being pulled into the well was a bad enough experience.

"There are two ways to exorcise spirits..." Masako explained, her eyes searching the room. "Cleansing them and removing them. Cleansing them involves talking with the spirit and finding out why they can't cross the bridge. But this is something that only a medium can do."

"Naru's not a medium, but he wants to exorcise the ghost," she continued to explain.

"Exorcise it?"

"Killing it with brute force..."

A different method? Persuading them is the same as cleansing them. And to not pay any attention to the spirit's troubles is killing it.

"I hope he doesn't kill them, at least not in front of me."

Masako can see the spiritual world. To her, spirits and humans are the same. She doesn't want to see a human die or a spirit getting killed. That's Masako.

...Even if I don't really understand it, I guess this is the way it is.

When Masako and I were softly talking to each other, the rapping sounds grew louder.

Footsteps sounded from the floor. The sound of children trying to run away.

A cold layer of air enshrouded the floor, as white, wispy smoke hovered about the floor, encircling the entire room. In the middle a vague, lone figure started to materialize.

Sorrowful cries filled my ears. The desperate cries became louder.

John's prayer was making them flee.

"......!"

Someone tapped my shoulder, but when I turned around, no one was there. My hair was being pulled.

I wasn't the only one either. John constantly turned around, sprinkling holy water every time in order to push the spirit away.

The barrier was working.

The floor distorted, and I couldn't help but sway along with it. A flash of light shone on the wall.

The room swang intensely.

...It's too strong!

The sudden shaking of the floor made me lose my balance as I was lounged into the air. John and the others were struggling too.

I could feel someone clutching onto my wrist. I tried to pull my hand back, but then an unseen force tugged me back onto the ground.

"Mai-san!" John cried out as he turned around and sprinkled holy water in my direction.

The force on my wrist vanished. The smoke engulfed the entire room.

John didn't stop his prayer. The objects the smoke was moving were dropped temporarily.

"Hara-san! What's the situation?!" Naru turned to look at Masako.

"They're running away. The amount of spirits has decreased dramatically... They're leaving the the living room."

The remaining spirits cried as they left. I was probably the only one who heard them.

The ghosts moved slugglishly. They were all trapped in this house, with no where to go. They couldn't go back to their house. They were sad, lonely spirits who called out to more children. And now John's prayer was hurting them.

...I kind of understand Masako's feelings now. Those children are too pitiful. Loneliness and sorrow... They keep getting pushed around.

Same for the woman. Trapped in her own sadness, she couldn't stop looking for Tomiko, and now she had created a snaring trap of sorrow.

But we can't leave things as is. We can't turn the living Ayami-chan over. There's no way we can do that. We won't let Ayami-chan become one of those dead childrens' playmates.

The mist in the living room started to dissipate. This is proof that the number of spirits are decreasing. The spirits were pushed away with the help of John, Bou-san, and Ayako.

"Can't you cleanse them?" I asked.

Masako shook her head. "It can't be done... As long as that woman is here, it can't be done. If we don't cleanse that woman first..."

Masako abruptly took a deep breath, her blanched face reflecting her fear. She stared at the well.

"...She's coming..."

And then there was silence.

A thin wispy mist drifted our direction.

We held our breath.

And then an empty sound filled the air.

Water drops in the well could be heard. And then, a voice bellowed.

The well—

A bluish light floated above the well.

A transient figure arose.

We all stared. It was an indistinct figure of a woman. Her hair was wrapped up in a bun, and her lanky figure was covered in a kimono. She looked like she might disappear any minute.

"Tomiko-san isn't here!" Masako exclaimed. "She's not here anymore!"

The figure lowered her head, but didn't respond.

"Please understand! Tomiko-san isn't here!" Masako cried out desperately.

"These children aren't Tomiko-san! Please release them! They all want to return to their mothers!"

Masako stopped.

The transient figure was halfway up from the well; the edge of the well reached her waist. Small white things appeared on the brim of the well. It was as if they were larva. White, small, childrens'...fingers.

The little fingers reached for the floor.

They want to come up.

On the other side was another pair of fingers. And another, and another... The edge of the well was covered with little, white fingers as the children tried their best to get out.

"No! Don't come here!" Masako shouted.

I was rendered speechless.

John stood in front of us as he prepared to sprinkle the holy water again. Suddenly a force knocked him off his feet.

"John!" I cried out.

And then, the woman whose head was lowered started to raise her head.

Eyes filled with hatred. She didn't hear Masako at all. She was still concentrated on finding Tomiko. She had no plans of leaving until then.

Her gloomy eyes swept the floor. They stopped at the black figure near the door.

A figure black as night. A pallid face.

Naru stared back at the woman. His dark eyes were full of confidence.

Naru raised his right hand.

"Naru, stop! Please wait!" Masako cried out.

Naru didn't bother looking at Masako. He just stared at the woman, his arm raised high, flashing the object in his hand to the ghost. The woman watched Naru's movements intensively.

"Your daughter is here," Naru calmly announced.

There was a wooden board cut in the shape of a human in his hand. A spell paper was pasted on it.

The woman stared at the wooden piece.

"Take those children...with you as well."

Naru tossed the wooden piece into the air.

The woman cried out.

The wooden figurine spun in the darkness, slowly spinning toward the woman. The blurred trajectory faded into a figure. —The figure of a child.

I get it now. That's Tomiko.

The woman hunched back and reached out for the child. Tomiko ran into the woman's arms.

The air in the room began to revolve counterclockwise.

The woman spun too, her hands wispy like smoke. The moment her faded hands touched Tomiko, a white light flashed.

"......!"

What happened? What was that light?

The woman embraced Tomiko. A white light emanated from them.

The woman hugged the wooden figurine; I couldn't see her expression. But from the way she held her head and shoulders...she looked satisfied.

A white light encircled the woman. She melted into the brightness.

The light engulfed the entire room.

A warm, serene light. It wasn't blinding at all. It was just very warm.

The light slowly faded away.

The misty children's figure appeared distinct for a moment in the white light. Soon after, they too disappeared into the light.

I saw it. In the midst of the fog, I saw the smiles of the children.

The white light dissipated, leaving the dusky room the way it was before it all happened.

Masako stood up. 

"...They're gone...the spirits have been cleansed...!"