3.4 Light Night Horror Fight Labyrinth Part 3

“Look at that, it’s Nee-chan! And is that Jun?! Jun, long time no see! Hey! Are you doing the Late Night Horror Fight Labyrinth too?” Shigoro called from down the street. Junna didn’t need to be close to know that Takuto was chuckling. Squinting against the gloom and their own astigmatism, Junna could see Shigoro, slim with wavy hair and the same cute face as his sister but narrow fox eyes that suited his personality. Takuto, the oldest of the Takara triplets, was identical to his brothers: conventionally handsome with well-proportioned features and dark eyes. His short haircut and perpetual scowl made him look completely different from his brothers; Junna had never seen either of them make the same unpleasant expressions as Takuto.

Both of them wore what Junna immediately recognized as onmyōji robes, tailored to be more modern-looking—shorter robes, fitted pants. No hats.

Damn, they have uniforms now? It was bad enough when Takuto started talking about business cards…

“Ah. Yeah,” Junna called back in a much less enthusiastic voice. They sure weren’t going to be the first one to approach. Maybe Shigoro and Takuto would point and laugh at them and just leave. That would be great. “What are you doing over in Taitō City?”

“Same thing as you,” Takuto replied as he approached. Junna clicked their tongue: no luck. At least they might have a larger party? Strength in numbers? There was still a chance both of those guys would just leave. “You’re the one that sent us the lead. Although you were about five months late and it turned out those two hosts are dead after all.”

“You couldn’t even tell they were shikigami made from corpses? Wasn’t that your girlfriend’s specialty?” Shigoro asked, practically skipping on Takuto’s heels. The triplets weren’t particularly tall or broad, but Shigoro was built shorter and lankier like his sisters, so he always looked like Takuto’s sidekick if you were being generous, or his obnoxious twink boyfriend if you weren’t. Junna could never imagine either of them in a serious romantic relationship with anyone. It was too bad they wouldn’t just date each other and quarantine themselves from the dating pool.

“Shut up. You can be nice or get back to working by yourselves,” Junna warned. Shigoro had a habit of needling weak spots. Takuto had a habit of laughing at it and encouraging him to be worse. There was no argument against their skills as exorcists but their personalities were considered awful almost universally. Takuto didn’t care because they made plenty of money and Shigoro didn’t care because… love of the game, Junna expected.

“Sheesh, you smell dead.” Shigoro wrinkled his nose. “Have you been eating ghosts?”

“That’s what Sagyo does. They’re basically suicidal, remember?”

“I mean yeah, but it’s worse now.”

“I am being so serious, shut your damn mouths.”

“Please, we should all work together to get through this—even you two want to make it to the end to get paid, right?” Nana offered to keep the peace.

“That is true…” Shigoro sighed. “Where are you two headed?”

“Uh… we were thinking of Sensōji.”

“Why?”

“Look, then what are you guys doing exactly?” Junna couldn’t believe he even asked. It was the obvious route!

“I have shikigami all over the place. We’re finding and exorcizing ghosts and leaving the living people alive.” Takuto shrugged. His specialty was tiny paper shikigami. They were almost as easy to make as ofuda and similar to the messenger origami airplanes Nana used, but they could be controlled with way more finesse. Since they were so small and simple, Takuto could release as many as he wanted. They would gather information that would appear in writing on a scroll he kept on him.

“Damn… maybe we could actually use your help…” Junna wasn’t above asking.

“Hah. Can you afford it?”

“That’s funny. You’re already in here and in danger, so are you really going to be picky about who you work with?” Junna might’ve wanted to take this ordeal on by themselves, but they could be a team player. They could be nice to their teammates and figure out how to use everyone’s skills effectively. Takuto and Shigoro’s inability to work with others without pay pissed them off.

“It’s kinda true,” Shigoro admitted. “Anyone can get targeted and the spike in supernatural happenings has been huge!”

“Are you going to charge me if I ask anything else?” Junna said.

“Maybe,” Takuto replied.

“Okay, whatever. Nana and I are exorcizing ghosts. If you guys are doing the same thing, then let’s work on winning this challenge.”

Shigoro and Takuto shrugged. Junna looked at Nana who looked at Shigoro and Takuto and then just nodded. Nana would be nice to anyone, even her asshole brother or Takara Takuto. Junna would just do their best to redirect any insults away from her. They would defend her from threats both supernatural and not, even verbal ones.

“How did you two end up down here anyways?” Nana asked, primarily directing her question to Shigoro. She had always been slightly afraid of Takuto. Shigoro would at least readily provide some kind of answer.

“We got paid to come down here and do some exorcisms. There are a lotta… groups… that have us go clear Itsumise episodes when they take place on their turf.”

“When you say ‘turf’ it sounds like you’re talking about the yakuza or something,” Junna said.

“Awwww, does it? Hahaha…”

So their clients definitely had yakuza connections, then. Whether it was that or general nervousness, Nana did not ask any more questions and neither did Junna. The four of them navigated unrecognizable streets in familiar patterns. Junna was tired and struggling with keeping their thoughts and emotions contained, but they weren’t worried about the safety of this group anymore. Nana lacked confidence in social situations and could be very emotional, but she had a strong base of spiritual powers and was skilled at purification. And Junna might’ve even called Shigoro and Takuto something like “powerhouses…” but not to their faces.

What Junna was most confident in was their own abilities. So far, there had only been one ghost they couldn’t handle. Everything else, no matter if it was an oni guarding the gates to hell, a rogue kami roaming the wilderness, or an entire high school class of ghosts, they could do it. They had spent two years hopping around Japan, testing and honing their abilities for exactly those kinds of situations.

Actually, it was getting really annoying that Takuto and Shigoro kept exorcizing everything on their way. They must have been getting paid well. Junna didn’t get a chance to talk to any of them, which was disheartening even if it was likely most of the remaining spirits would be in similar states as the first two.

Nana tapped Junna on the shoulder as Junna turned away from the fizzling sparks of fading purified spirits.

“Um… I messaged Kei, to see if he was awake and um. If he could see what was playing on Itsumise on TV. He said we’re doing well. The hosts are… kinda mad…”

“Kei is awake already? And more importantly, you have signal down here?” Junna checked their own phone and found they had a few bars as well. “Technology is crazy.”

“That’s Tokyo for you,” Shigoro said with a shrug. “You spent too long out in the middle of nowhere.”

That didn’t deserve a response. Junna wasn’t going to complain about such a good stroke of luck. It was nice being back in the city again.

“You didn’t see any other contestants, right?” Takuto actually asked Junna a question. That was rare. “Live ones.”

“No, just ghosts, and not local ones. They were moved here.”

“Yeah, obviously.”

“Tch—”

As they approached Sensōji, the scenery grew lighter, the whole ground covered with ankle-deep, softly glowing mist. The buildings were darker, windows cracked or missing altogether, bricks and wood aged and weathered. Junna looked up; the sky was pitch black, even without Tokyo’s usual light pollution. In the distance, quiet wailing. Nothing close by except the occasional creak of metal hinges or shifting rocks hidden in the mist.

Suddenly, Nana stopped walking and reached for Junna, barely snagging their sleeve.

“There’s water,” she said, pointing a few meters in front of them. Junna hadn’t noticed it in the mist, but it was a large puddle.

Stagnant water…

Junna made sure they were in front of Nana and to be nice, made sure Shigoro and Takuto didn’t just walk right into it. A ghost would definitely grab anyone who stepped in the water, and probably anyone who walked within arm’s reach. There was no telling how many ghosts could be in there or how powerful they could be.

Junna stepped close enough that they could clearly see the black water under the mist, and also any ghost arms that came out of it before they were in grabbing distance. The water was perfectly still, but that was also true for puddles on days without wind. If they weren’t in the spirit world, it wouldn’t have looked scary, just kind of gross and oily. Their own reflection stared back at them.

And then the surface of the water broke and something gripped Junna by the ankle.