Cannon Fodder

The apartment hallway was hushed, the silence broken only by a pair of mismatched footsteps. One was steady, calculated even. The other? Loud, shameless, and completely incapable of any form of subtlety.

Together, they walked past rows of identical doors until stopping in front of one.

203.

“We’re here,” Eiji muttered, tapping his borrowed earpiece—Naomi’s pink wireless earbud.

“Roger that,” came Naomi’s chipper voice on the other end.

Like before, she and Honoka were stationed near the elevator as lookouts. This time, however, they had backup.

Hatsue.

Meanwhile, the break-in team consisted of exactly two members: the only two people reckless enough to do it.

Eiji and Mitsuaki.

Delinquents by trade.

And if someone had to take the fall tonight… it definitely wasn’t going to be the girls.

Eiji moved closer, pressing his ear to the door and waited. The only sound coming from within was that of an old fridge. No footsteps, no nothing.

“Clear.”

Mitsuaki rolled his shoulders as he crouched in front of the door and pulled out his tools and started tinkering.

“…This one’s a single tumbler cylinder. The cheap kind. Landlord’s probably been using the same key since the building opened.”

Click. Click.

“…How the hell do you know all that shit?” Eiji muttered, making Mitsuaki grin.

“Trade secret…”

“I better not see you in my flat.”

“Hah! Scared, Kanzaki?” Mitsuaki boasted a little too loud.

The apartment door slowly creaked open. Eiji informed everyone over the comms as they walked into the apartment and closed the door behind them.

“Ugh.” The moment they stepped inside, a sour stench hit them like a slap. Mitsuaki recoiled, hand instantly to his nose. “What in the fuck—“

Eiji was undettered as he scanned the room. It looked barely cleaned a few months ago and the trash was almost overflowing to a point where it covered a part of the floor.

“Trash don’t count, right?” Mitsuaki said.

“We won’t risk it.” Eiji replied walking to his desk, “Grab something els—“

The young man froze before he could finish. Atop his desk sat something… unfamiliar. But very, very dangerous.

“What in the rusty hell is this?” Mitsuaki spotted it too.

“It’s a homemade bomb.” Eiji gritted his teeth.

“A fucking bomb?!”

“Shut up, you idiot.” Eiji glared at Mitsuaki to be quiet.

So this was why Katsuragi didn’t come to school… Now that he was almighty he wanted to use his power to bomb the school and get away with it.

It seemed simple murder wasn’t enough…

But if he were home all this time… where was he now?

“Senpai!” Naomi hissed on her earbud, “Katsuragi is heading straight for you!”

“Tch.”

“Wait wha—“

Rattle.

Their heads snapped toward the front door.

Click.

The key turned.

Katsuragi was back.

Eiji didn’t hesitate. He snatched the nearest notebook—didn’t matter what—and grabbed Mitsuaki by the sleeve.

“Wait—HUH?!” Mitsuaki squawked, nearly tripping over the low table.

Fire escape.

The window screeched open. Eiji pulled Mitsuaki through first, then followed, just as the apartment door creaked open behind them.

Inside, Katsuragi stepped in—eyes wide but weary. His brows twitched and his mouth was pressed into a thin angry line. He looked around the room.

From the fire escape Eiji and Mitsuaki peeked just enough to see him. Did he realize they broke into his house?

They couldn’t wait around to find out. They climbed the metal steps down two floors and leapt the last.

When they hit the pavement, Mitsuaki wheezed.

“W-What in the rusty hell was that?! You nearly dislocated my—!”

“We’re out.”

Eiji’s eyes narrowed as he informed the others on his earbud.

⌁◉⌁

“Senpai! I can’t believe you jumped out the window so fast! You were basically like a phantom thief!”

Naomi cheered as the occult club all gathered in a park a few ways away from the apartment complex.

“More like a phantom idiot.” Hatsue sighed, “What if somebody saw you from outside and called the police?”

“…You had a better plan?” Eiji raised a brow.

“Be that as it may, we did get something out of this.” Honoka’s smile eased the tension.

“And something more than we’d have liked…” Mitsuaki gritted his teeth.

“Meaning?” Hatsue tapped her foot.

“There was a bomb. A homemade one sitting right on his desk..” Eiji said, causing all eyes to gather on him. The silence was deafening before Hatsue spoke again.

“A… bomb? How did—“ She sighed, “Is that why he isn’t coming to class? He’s planning to blow us all up the next time he attends homeroom?!”

“We don’t know that yet.” Honoka said, “However it is highly likely the school will be his number one target…”

For once Naomi didn’t comment, but only gulped, looking at Eiji with hope that he’ll solve this.

“No use crying over it now. That just means we have less time than we thought.” Eiji looked between everyone, “Tonight we end this.”

“We better.” Mitsuaki cracked his knuckles.

⌁◉⌁

The occult club didn’t need another warning. They quickly realized what was at stake in this case and acted quickly. By night, everybody gathered at Honoka’s home where the ritual would take place.

Masaki, her father, would of course oversee the ritual as shaman, however Tsubaki wouldn’t be able to make it. She had already left the city for another case. Her phone call with Eiji however made the young man realize the endgame was drawing nearer.

“I would have dived with you if I were there… but another case arose.”

“Don’t worry. I can handle it.” Eiji had replied to Tsubaki’s unusually tight voice on the other end.

“Eiji, there’s something you need to tell everyone since I’m not there to do it myself.” Tsubaki exhaled, “Taking part in the ritual… it’s not as simple as they think it is.”

“Meaning?”

“When people without the Sight enter specter territory… it changes them. Permanently.”

“Just tell me.” Eiji sighed.

“The sight, Eiji. The regular people who get tangled into the ritual will develop the sight. They’ll be able to see the undead just like we do.”

“Tch.” Eiji clicked his tongue. That meant the occult club members apart from Naomi, who already obtained it as an aftereffect of the curse that affected her, would be pulled into the world of specters and exorcists until God knows when.

Yet deep within Eiji felt… relief. That would push them away much more quickly than his words and warnings ever would.

When Eiji transferred the news to his friends gathered around the kotatsu at Honoka’s home, the host chuckled.

“I always wanted to see what Meh looked like.”

“Huh?” Eiji raised a brow at her response. Then one by one, the members of the occult club shattered his opinion on them.

“See ghosts? Huh, as long as I can punch them, that's fine by me.” Mitsuaki grinned, his bravado at full display.

On the other hand Hatsue raised a brow too, “What? You thought that would make us tuck our tails and run and leave the heavy lifting to you?”

She grinned.

“You can’t even get to class on time. You need our help. It’s not up for debate.”

Honoka chuckled again.

“See, Kanzaki-kun? The occult club will stand by you.”

“Yay! More ghost watching is in store!” Naomi cheered.

“Let’s just get through this one first…” Hatsue smiled wryly, “Hey those… specters can’t get into houses, right? I won’t see them in the bathroom or anything, right?”

Everybody stayed silent.

“RIGHT?”

“Don’t think about it…” Eiji brushed her off;

“Okay, so what’s the plan?” Naomi leaned in, “We go in guns blazing and—“

Hatsue stuffed her underclassman’s mouth with the snacks Honoka brought just to make her stop talking as she cleared her throat.

“So what exactly does diving into that freak’s dream mean?” She spoke, “Do we fight him or…?”

“Eiji-kun will do the fighting.” Honoka explained, “He’s the most competent fighter.”

“Ugh.” That felt like a dagger to Mitsuaki’s side. Yet he knew it was the undeniable truth.

“Then what will we be doing?” The delinquent recoiled.

“Oh, I know!” Naomi raised her hand, and Honoka nodded at her to continue.

“From what Tsubaki-san said, the ritual only ends when all divers are erased. Meaning we’ll be acting as extra lives for senpai. As long as we’re not all erased, Senpai can keep diving until he wins!”

“We’re cannon fodder…” Hatsue deflated on the table, “I’m getting erased…”

Eiji clenched his jaw.

“I’m not asking you to come. I can do it by myself.”

“Like hell you will!” Mitsuaki thrust his hand on the table, “We’ll be the best cannon fodder you can find!”

“I don’t know if that’s inspirational really…” Naomi laughed dryly.

“So… erased means…?” Hatsue did her best attempt at puppy dog eyes at Honoka, basically pleading with her to get the answer she wants. Or rather avoid the one she didn’t want to hear.

“From what dad told me, it means…”

“Spit it out!” Hatsue whimpered.

“…Die inside the dream.”

The others stared blankly at her.

“Die? Like kapoot?” Naomi asked, shaping her mouth like an O.

“Will it hurt?” Hatsue winced, awaiting the answer.

“The pain depends on each dream separately so we can’t know.”

“Like I—“

“No! We don’t wanna hear it!” Hatsue cut Eiji off, “No more I’m doing it alone shenanigans from you!”

Eiji simply answered with a tired sigh.

“To think the day I’d die for Kanzaki would come…” Mitsuaki grumbled like an angry dog.

“Nobody is dying, dumbass.” Eiji bit back.

⌁◉⌁

The room was dimly lit.

Not from lack of lighting—but because it had been made that way on purpose.

Honoka’s tatami room was lined with drawn curtains, faint candlelight flickering across the paper walls. A low table had been pushed aside, replaced by a precise ritual circle made of salt and sakura ash. Protective ofuda were placed in the corners. Incense burned softly, wafting upward in steady trails.

In the center of the circle lay a worn, scribbled notebook.

And above it, suspended from a thin spiritual thread strung from the ceiling beam, hung a small folded paper charm—a shide, trembling gently.

That charm… would glow when the target, Shinichiro Katsuragi, fell asleep.

“Preparations complete,” Masaki said, standing slowly and brushing ash from his hands. “The circle is set. The wards are holding.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Honoka said softly, clad in a ceremonial garb.

Across the room, Naomi flopped onto her side, “Wow this all seems so… mystical! It’s like a demon will jump out!”

“There’s demons too…?” Hatsue hugged herself.

“Girls,” Masaki sighed gently.

Eiji remained seated near the edge of the salt ring, his arms folded. Mitsuaki crouched beside him, poking the edge of the ink-drawn mandala with his pinky.

“Hey, Kanzaki, you’ve done this before right? This is normal for you, right?” he whispered.

“No,” Eiji answered flatly.

“…Fuck, we’re screwed.”

Masaki gave them all one last look. “Until the beacon activates, rest. Hydrate yourself. The dive can only begin when the target falls asleep. The shide will flare when that happens.”

They nodded.

And so they waited.

⌁◉⌁

With the ritual circle prepped and the spiritual beacon dormant, the mood softened.

The occult club sat around the kotatsu table in the adjacent room, light snacks and hot tea set in front of them. Honoka had insisted on preparing dango, and Naomi was now on her third stick.

“I’m just saying,” Naomi poked her rice cracker. “If senpai dies first, I’m drop kicking the specter into oblivion!”

“I don’t die first,” Eiji muttered.

“You’re right, senpai! I was just joking, hehe!”

“You better not,” Hatsue narrowed her eyes. “We’re banking on you like some shounen anime plot armor.”

“He is the protagonist,” Honoka smiled.

“I used to think I was the protagonist,” Mitsuaki sulked into his tea.

“Rejoice Ishida-senpai, you’re the loud rival with the weird hair!” Naomi assured him.

“I’ll… I’ll take it!”

After some quiet laughs, the room fell silent. That was Naomi’s cue to fill.

“So, everyone!” She announced, “Let’s not let dreams of death deter us! Let’s have fun!”

“What are you saying now?” Hatsue sighed.

“I’m saying we’re having a sleepover so let’s play games! Have you never had a sleepover before?”

The room fell silent.

Honoka giggled awkwardly, “I think once… with my far away cousins.”

“Here it is, the cousins you don’t know line.” Hatsue smiled wryly, “Well I never had a sleepover before, that I’m sure of.”

“…S-S-Sleepover with girls…? S-S-Sleepover with girls…” Meanwhile Mitsuaki was still loading the earlier graphics.

Then the girls turned to Eiji one by one.

“…” the young man stared back, before yielding under the pressure.

“I have a few times. With Yume.”

“Tch.”

“Ara~”

“Yume-chan got senpai’s first!” Naomi weeped into her hands.

“Don’t say it like that, moron!” Hatsue reprimanded her.

“Well it doesn’t matter!” Naomi quickly bounced back undeterred. “We have snacks, a kotatsu and friendship! All the ingredients to make this sleepover memorable.”

“I’d prefer to make it memorable by not dying.” Hatsue added.

“What are you suggesting, Naomi-chan?” Honoka tilited her head.

“Quick fire questions!” Naomi grinned, her fang glistening in the non existent sunlight.

“So basically we say whatever comes to mind?” Mitsuaki asked.

“Exactly!”

Without further delay, and probably because they knew opposing Naomi would only delay the inevitable, everybody murmured their agreement.

“So… if we had superpowers… what would you all pick?” Naomi asked, before giggling, “Personally I’d fly. Straight into space. And eat moon ramen.”

Mitsuaki scoffed, “I already have a superpower. It’s called raw delinquent energy.”

Hatsue came next, “I’d want invisibility. So I can sneak past all of you lunatics.”

Honoka tapped at her chin, “I’d like to freeze time… for naps.”

The last one to go was Eiji, always reluctant.

“I’d pick silence. Specifically from this club.”

The next question came,

“Who do you think would survive a horror movie?”

Naomi as usual answered first, “Me! I’d be the final girl with a frying pan!”

“You’d be the comic relief that dies in Act 1.” Hatsue deadpanned.

Honoka giggled, “Eiji-kun would make it to the end. But only because the monster would be scared of him.”

“I’d fight the ghost with my fists!” Mitsuaki added with zero shame, causing Eiji to roll his eyes.

“You’d punch a curtain and die.”

This time it was Honoka who made the question,

“Weirdest thing you’ve seen in Shina?”

Naomi raised her hand first, “…A tanuki stole my melon bread.”

There was once a pigeon at the library… reading.” Honoka added.

Hatsue tapped at her chin, “Hm… there was that one time where someone

had a sword on the train…” her gaze drifted across the room, “Now that I think about it, it might’ve been Kanzaki...”

“Oi.”

Mitsuaki leaned back, “I saw a dude kick a vending machine until it apologized. Might’ve also been Kanzaki.”

“Oi. You people have too much free time.”

Then—

A low crackle.

The laughter cut short.

From the other room, the paper charm hanging over Katsuragi’s notebook had begun to glow—first dim, then bright blue, burning in total silence.

The group turned to look across the hallway.

Eiji stood first.

“…It’s finally time.”

Honoka rose with him, her voice calm.

“Everyone. Take your positions.”

Naomi gulped and stood, pumping her fists. “Let’s gooo… Dream team… literally!!”

“Try not to get erased in the first five seconds,” Hatsue muttered, following her.

Mitsuaki stared at the glowing charm and muttered under his breath.

“…This better be worth it.”

In the next room, Masaki knelt before the circle once more—hands together, eyes closed.

The teenagers sat inside the circle, legs folded and holding hands around Katsuragi’s textbook that began to shimmer at its edges.

As Masaki prepared, he turned to everyone offering his last advice,

“Remember, Honoka will be your eyes and ears in there, but Mizuno-san, Shiratori-san, Ishida-kun… you’re not exorcists so don’t do anything reckless.” He then looked at Eiji, “It’s up to you Kanzaki-kun to keep them from harm. Do your best. In the worst case scenario I’ll pull you back from here.”

“Got it!” Naomi nodded vigorously while Honoka simply eased into a tight smile.

“Yosha…” Mitsuaki exhaled and Hatsue took a long deep breath.

“Guess we’re doing this.”

“Everyone if anything happens to me I—“

Before Naomi could joke around Eiji cut in sharply.

“Nothing will happen.” There was a pause as everyone looked at him, ”No matter what.”