Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume1 Chapter5 (section)

=== 1 ===

It's evening. The ambulance left the school. The people standing in front of the old school building were bathed in the orange glow of the sunset. 

Masako had fallen from the classroom on the west side of the second floor. 
	
That classroom was old and worn. There was no wall on the west side of the classroom. There was only a wooden plank, worn down by the weather. That wooden plank cracked and broke. 

Masako had fallen from there... She fell three meters before hitting the ground. 

The metal pipes that were placed there during the investigation remained in the same place. 

Thank goodness she fell onto soft ground and not onto the metal pipes. 

"Exactly what happened?" the principal questioned Naru, "I called you here so you could exorcise the ghost. Before, your assistant was injured, and now someone else is injured. Those rumors are..." 

Naru interrupted the principal. "My assistant was injured because of a brainless student of yours." 

...Are you talking about me? 

"Before Hara-san shifted into unconsciousness, she insisted that there are no ghosts here. She said this was an accident due to her carelessness. Don't worry." 

"But..." 

"I will go back and continue to investigate." 

Naru bowed, then left for the old school building. 

...Accident? Masako did say that's what it was. 

Still... 

"That's just Masako being stubborn," Miko-san asserted. 

Before we knew it, the lab room became our base room. 

"I think there's a ghost here," Miko-san repeated. 

"Really? Then Ayako must've been unsuccessful in exorcising it," Bou-san retorted. 

After hearing Bou-san, Miko-san blushed in embarrassment. 

"...Okay, I admit it. My exorcism failed. This place is dangerous." 

I couldn't help but ask, "Dangerous?" 

Miko-san crossed her arms in frustration. "If an exorcism fails, the ghost will act like an injured bear: it'll act fierce..." 

"Then, it's your fault Masako's injured!" 

"No it's not!" 

...But, isn't that what you're saying?! 

Naru interposed. "Don't jump to conclusions. The camera recording revealed it as an accident. It's exactly what Hara-san said: she was careless." 

True. Masako didn't seem to know that the wall wasn't firm. She didn't know it was only supported by a rotten wooden plank.

She accidentally leaned on the wooden plank, making it crack. The camcorder recorded the entire incident. 

Still... 

"Hey, Naru? Aren't places considered haunted because bad things like accidents or suicide happen there? Whether it's an accident or a suicide, don't both happen for a good reason? But in the end, people still believe those places are unlucky..." 

When I said it that way, Naru crossed his arms, contemplating the matter deeply. 

"True. But... This building is strange. I don't understand." 

"Why?" Kuroda asked, her tone blunt and frank. 

"There have been no responses to the equipment. There have been no temperature declines, no ion deviations, and no electromagnetic wave abnormalities. All of the data appear normal." 

"Then, why did Miko-san get locked up? Why was I attacked? Why did the camcorder recording vanish? Why did the windows break? And how come the chair moved by itself?" 

"That's why I said I don't understand." 

Bou-san interrupted, "Maybe you don't know about this kind of ghost. It could be a ghost strong enough to hide its presence." 

Naru pondered the idea. "So you think that..." 

"It's a Jibakurei," Bou-san finished the sentence. 

"I bet it's a tsukumogami," Miko-san added. 

"A tsukumogami?" I asked. 

"Sometimes inanimate objects will be possessed by a ghost. For instance, a table, a chair, or even a house. Those inanimate objects absorb human emotions in its environment and then become possessed." 

Oh... 

"This building probably absorbed the emotions of the students and teachers, especially their fear of this place." 

...What the... That's scary. 

Thankfully, Masako isn't seriously injured. But... 

Bou-san shot Miko-san a look of disgust. "Then where did that earth spirit of yours go?" 

"Of course, part of it is the earth spirit's fault." 

"This building is a gathering place for spirits. The spirits absorb the negative emotions of the people and then become tsukumogami." 

"Oh~." 

Naru asked, "What do you think, John?" 

"I'm not sure. But this place is dangerous. I'll perform an exorcism." 

"Really..." 

"Naru, what do you think?" Bou-san inquired. 

"I'll withhold my opinion for now. I'm going to investigate this from a different angle." 

"Oh.~" 

"Mai." 

"Yes." 

"I'm going back to the van. You stay here. If anything happens, call me," Naru-chan said, pointing to a microphone. "This microphone is linked to the van." 

"Okay." 

How sly of you. So the narcissist is the only one leaving?