Follow The Whispers of The Lost

“Ah, thank God we’re away…” Honoka muttered, as she heaved a breath of relief.

“Agreed…” Naomi bopped her head along, “The alleys back there smelled like… Lustful roses and sweet adult nectar…”

“WHAT?!” At the sound of such vulgar and implying vocabulary coming from her kouhai’s mouth, Honoka jumped up in shock.

“Or this is what this flier says, anyway…” The high school junior smiled wryly, as she waved a colorful piece of paper around. “Join us in the greatest night of your dreams—“

“Where did you get that?!”

“Give it here.” Eiji, ever the practical one, snatched the flyer from Naomi’s grasp and shredded it into confetti.

Nonchalantly, the young girl gave her reply. “An older man gave it to me while we were walking by a very… empty lobby.”

“You dumbass.” Eiji looked almost too exasperated to explain, so Honoka was the one to nod her head and step in next.

“Don’t take what everyone’s offering you Naomi-chan. And especially in the night district.”

“Wow, you senpais…” Naomi’s eyes glistened, “So dependable!”

Before another comment could be flung her way, Eiji came to a stop right around a deserted alley.

“We’re here.”

He voiced, after the girls shot him an inquisitive glance each.

“Honoka-san. Do you hear anything?” Eiji stuffed his hands in his pockets, yet surveyed their surroundings like an alert hawk nonetheless.

“I see and sense nothing, Eiji-dono!” Meh popped out of thin air, and squeaked almost like a plush toy.

“Can’t… Meh hear it instead?” Naomi tilted her head to the side curiously. A very…

“…Interesting question Mizuno Naomi, indeed!” The shikigami flew up in the air, batting its wings like eyelashes. “Most shikigami such as Meh, do not possess the hearing range of an auditor. Audity is a rare gift, which is what makes such practitioners so useful when it comes to exorcism. They can hear much further and much deeper than any shikigami or exorcist ever could.”

“So… Honoka-san… is extremely rare and special?” Naomi asked, causing a blush to creep up on Honoka's cheeks.

“Naomi-chan, shush.”

“Honoka-san?” Eiji raised a brow, causing her to snap out of her shyness.

“Right, right!” She shook her head, her bangs swaying with the motion. In an instant, she closed her eyes and furrowed her brows, determined to focus on the task ahead. Her frown deepened, and it seemed like her efforts were intensifying. However, just a few seconds later, Honoka slumped her shoulders in defeat.

“Ah…” She exhaled wearily. “…I don’t think I can use it willingly… I’m sorry, Eiji-kun.”

“It’s okay, we’ll find something to make it work…”

Naomi, ever the optimist, chimed in, “Don’t worry, Honoka-san! We believe in you!”

Right as Eiji had turned to Meh, for potential answers, the warm hand Naomi placed on her upperclassman’s shoulder seemed to have an effect beyond mere motivation.

“Right, I just have to— eh?”

Honoka stopped midsentence, freezing in place. Her face stiffened.

“I can… hear whispers!” The senior’s face lit up, as she almost bounced in place.

“You can?!” Naomi removed her hand in shock, gaping at her senpai.

“Ah, now… it just faded away again.”

“…”

As Eiji watched from the sidelines, the young man's face filled with curiosity. Naomi's gestures had especially caught his attention. Her use of that talisman remained a mystery. Could the enormous amount of energy she had summoned that day be more than a fluke? Might it be a valuable resource for them now?

“Put your hand on her shoulder again.”

“Eh?”

Eiji raised a brow, leaving no further room for hesitation. As the girl did as she was asked, Honoka’s eyes grew wide.

“Can you hear it now?”

“I… can!”

There was a small pause, almost like the event was being thoroughly analyzed in each attendee’s head separately.

“What does this mean, senpai?! Am I her battery?! A generator? Or does my palm hold magical powers like—“

A light chop to the head, was effective enough to make Naomi grow quiet.

“Shhh.” Eiji brought a finger before his lips, sharing a look with the young girl who was slowly following the whispers with her eyes.

“Right, right…” Naomi muttered, and rubbed her sore skull.

“It’s coming from over there…” Honoka pointed down the road, as she led her friends down some more alleys. This time however, their walk was less colorful and eventful than earlier.

Before long, the three found themselves at an old construction site—a sprawling expanse filled with partially built structures, scattered machinery, and stacks of materials. A typical, haunted area. Or so the manga Naomi read, tended to say.

“It’s clearer now…” Honoka almost winced, probably due to the increased volume of the words spoken directly within her head. "I hear something... eerie, like a voice trapped in agony,”

“Ominous…” Naomi shuddered, but took a step forward nonetheless. “Count me in!”

After a shared, silent exchange that clearly conveyed their intention to ignore Naomi and her antics, Eiji confidently approached the gate surrounding the partially constructed property. With a swift leap, he effortlessly cleared the barrier.

“Woah…” Naomi marveled at the maneuver, and attempted to do the same. Thankfully, Eiji was already on the other side, sparing him the sight of her scaling the fence in her skirt, which did little to conceal what lay beneath as she clambered over.

“Naomi-chan…” Honoka shook her head, as her underclassman struggled to come down the other side.

“WOOEE!” In fact, she managed to slip on the way down, much to her dismay.

Thankfully, Eiji was there to catch her before her buttocks could hit the ground. A gesture, that didn’t fail to bring color to Naomi’s face.

“You’ll break a leg, you idiot.”

“Senpai…” The girl smiled, and looked away coyly.

“Ah, the gate was open…” Honoka smiled wryly, as she pushed in the flimsy impromptu door and waltzed in without any hesitation whatsoever.

“Ah.”

“Ah.”

They both came to a sudden, silent realization.

“Sen—“

Before Naomi could make another comment however, an ear-piercing shriek even the non-gifted could hear cut through the air like a razor. A green translucent figure emerged from the depths of the darkness, her disheveled thorn-like hair swaying at her back as she approached.

“S-S-Se-Senpaaai!” Naomi was caught off guard, jumping back a few feet instinctively. Honoka too winced and shuddered. Like last time, she could see the danger all too clearly.

“So she’s… here.” Eiji’s frown deepened, almost sorry to see what used to be the essence of a human in such a pitiful state. Her soul had turned so hideous it was painful to watch. But Eiji had to exorcise it nonetheless.

And thus, he called for Honoka to step back, as he cracked his knuckles and stepped forth.

“Meh.”

“It’s a typical vengeful Onryo, Eiji-dono. A spirit that emerges when the soul of a person, typically that of a young woman, meets an untimely death. No doubt she’s blinded by revenge….”

"Onryo, huh?" Eiji exhaled slowly, his breath escaping like a wisp of air. His eyes transitioned from their dark pools of black to fiery depths, as if peering into a distant, blazing world.

With a shriek that mirrored a tormented wail, its claw-like nails and elongated arms swung menacingly at Eiji. Yet, the young man skillfully evaded the specter's attack, maintaining his distance from the crying and screaming spirit.

With a red streak of lighting, Eiji struck back, a beam that grazed slightly past the specter’s head. The exorcist pulled back his arm, and stepped back altogether shortly after.

The specter abruptly halted its advance, and for a moment, they locked eyes. Within those hollow sockets, there was nothing but a profound void of despair. Her visage seemed to be in a state of decay, as if she had lingered in death for an extended period, which seemed improbable. If Eiji's theory held true, the specter before him was undoubtedly linked to the young woman who had worked over at Tsutsuji's.

As the two stared each other into a stalemate, the specter dashed forward once more. Yet Eiji, was prepared as always, he stepped forth and attempted a close range attack, a fist coated in red.

“Hm?”

What he didn’t expect though, was that the spirit weaved past him, almost as if it had lost interest.

"Watch out!" The exorcist called out as the fully alert girls quickly dodged to safety. The specter of the woman, on the other hand, passed right through the fence, showing even less less interest in them.

“What just… happened?” Honoka looked on, question marks just about ready to jump out her head.

“Maybe it had some… other business to take care of?”

In response to those two questions, Eiji dashed down the way the specter retreated, clicking his tongue.

“After her, damn it!”

<*><><><*><><><*>

As the three teenagers dashed through the dimly lit alleys of a district as eerie as Shina, their pursuit of the specter led them away from the night district and onto the more frequented streets. However, even at this late hour, the avenues remained deserted, with only the occasional whoosh of passing cars and the intermittent flashes of their headlights providing any sign of life. The three of them stuck to the paved path, trailing closely behind the elusive green figure—a presence that had once been so much more in a time long past.

As they turned on yet another corner, however…

“…EH?!”

Naomi wheezed loudly, bent over with her hands on her knees, supporting her exhausted body.

The specter had vanished.

But there was no time for despair, before Honoka stepped forward.

“I hear… something. Not sure, what it is.” She gulped. “It sounds human…”

“Hu…man?” The panting Naomi voiced, managing to stand up straight.

Eiji hummed, his mind working to understand the situation. The specter could have vanished earlier; there was nothing to prevent it from doing so. So, why now? Did it lead them to those distant human voices?

The young man nodded, and gestured for the senior to lead the way.

“Let’s go.”

Whatever piece was missing from the puzzle, it would soon be revealed, if they just followed the sounds.