White Noise

“Don’t do it.”

Don’t do it.

Don’t…

Think.

“What have I taught you?”

What did I learn?

Thoughts. Big and small. Significant and irrelevant. Scenery of the city at night. A city he knows all too well. A familiar face.

A single, prolonged plea.

“Don’t use it.”

Use what?

Red floods his vision.

“The red covenant.”

The face before him becomes clear amidst the haze. The red covenant.

His pulse quickens, and his body jerks.

…

“AH!” Eiji jumps out of a bed with a start, his shikigami flying about his head in concern.

“Bad dream, Eiji-dono?”

“Something… like that.” The young man takes a moment to catch his breath. The words he had heard amidst his dream however still linger in the forefront of his mind. The phrase, and its meaning.

“Meh.” Eiji stands up, having regained a semblance of his composure, and looks around. Still early for the usual visit, he deduces looking at the clock.

As he walks to the bathroom, his familiar replies.

“Yes, Eiji-dono?”

“Remember anything about the crimson covenant?”

“The crimson covenant?! But of course!” As if his time to shine has arrived, the spirit bounces about in delight. Who would have thought Meh was such a show-off when it came to trivia?

“It’s the most sacred technique known to an exorcist! The user sacrifices a memento of theirs, something that they hold dear in exchange for immense power, limitless use to the full potential of their powers. Yet only briefly…” Meh hovered about as he spoke, while Eiji washed his weary face.

“But! Beware! The consequences are sever. Such power should not be yielded by the faint of heart. The strain on the user is immense, and there are instances where an exorcist’s conscious was sent to the spirit realm, a place of fond memories, to never return! Thus you understand—“

“Yeah, yeah we get it.” Eiji, waved him off, as he went about brushing his teeth.

“But, Eiji-dono surely has to remember, no? Eiji-dojo’s mentor told him all about it! Every exorcist knows! She will be very—“

“Shut up.”

“Ah-re? Why has it grown so dark? Meh was sure Eiji-dono payed the electricity bills last week…”

Unable to see from the towel Eiji had just placed on him, Meh the shikigami hovered about in puzzlement. The young man succeeded in keeping his familiar silent, and his ears in peace.

Eiji sighed, placing his toothbrush on a cup. He looked at the mirror and his disheveled blonde hair, his unsightly glare. Another morning. Another day.

But…

The needle in his heart, the thorn to his side, never dared disappear.

Eiji had quite the busy month, and time was passing quickly. Almost too quickly. Summer was just around the corner. The date were he lost his family drew near once again. It almost felt like yesterday, when he last passed by that date. When he last visited their grave.

And yet, he was about to head back there, with the exact same progress as last time.

None.

It seemed as if he was grasping at straws. Constantly chasing shadows that slipped further from his grasp each time he got close. Specters never spoke back, and no clue was good enough to satisfy him.

The one he was looking for of course, was none other than the Jack of Hearts.

The monster of a man, or monster altogether, that took his family away.

While searching for him, and following his duties, he had come across various people. All of which he had let close to him. All of which now played a role in his everyday life.

He wondered, when the day he would find his nemesis would come…

Was he perhaps not trying enough? Was he wasting time?

While Meh was still struggling in silence, a sweet voice called from besides Eiji. Or was it within his head?

“Eiji.”

“Nee-san…” Eiji muttered, but dared not look. The tone in which the voice addressed him was laced in curiosity. Silent longing. A single foreboding question.

“When will you avenge us?”

Eiji’s breath caught on his throat. His heart’s pace quickened and thumped like a drum.

Time and again, Hifumi would come and talk to him. But had never demanded anything of the sort. Was it really his sister? Or was his mind playing tricks on him?

“What…” Eiji croacked, “What the hell am I supposed to do?!”

The young man banged his fists against the sink, his voice raised in a volume he never intended to reach.

He gulped, and felt the voice disappear. His shoulders slumped, and with it the will to go through the motions of another day left him as well.

Maybe, he could skip class and…

“Senpai!”

Alongside the ringing of his doorbell, a colorful and vibrant voice reached his ears.

Yet this time it belonged to someone very much alive. Someone so alive, it put all the other humans who were just struggling to survive to shame.

Eiji sighed, and run the water once more. After another quick, cold splash of water, he came out of the bathroom, to see the door already opened by his familiar.

“Greetings, Mizuno Naomi.” Meh spoke nonchalantly. Eiji didn’t even have the energy to repeat to him, how he shouldn’t be opening doors.

“When will you stop calling me that Meh-chan? Just call me Naomi-chan!”

After the girl smiled warmly at the spirit, and attempted to pet it like one would grab a ball out of  a shelf, she turned her attention towards the fur ball nuzzling against her feet. 

“And a great morning to you too, Luna!” 

While the black kitty was basking in the girl’s attention, Eiji towered over both of them, his mood seemingly sour.

“Oh, good morning, sen… pai?”

It took a while for his scowl to register in her brain, as he heaved a sigh and pointed at the door.

“You, will never knock on my door again.”

“Eh?”

While Eiji’s tone was flat and betrayed no emotion, Naomi’s breath caught on her throat.

“Senpai…” Her gaze was frantic, exactly like her heartbeat. “B-b-but! I didn’t do anything! Did it bother you that much?!”

While Eiji retreated to his bedroom and fiddled with a few of his bedside cupboards, Naomi followed closely behind him, evidently jittery.

“We can work it out, I’m sure! What if I only come once per—“

“Here.”

Eiji dumped a shiny item in her palm, as Naomi struggled to retrieve it before it fell to the floor. As the girl picked it up, and the young man was getting ready for class, her eyes shone with a new kind of spark.

The item in her possession, was a small silvery, and toothy tool.

It was a key.

A key to Eiji’s house.

“The doorbell sound is too annoying. Just enter and don’t wake me up on a whim.”

“Eiji-senpaaaai!”

While Eiji fiddled with his hoodie and patted down his blazer, Naomi’s smile glistened so brightly, someone would have needed sunglasses if exposed to it for long.

“And here.” Lastly, and all set for class, he dropped yet another thing in her hands.

“A… helmet?”

Indeed, it was a yellow helmet, much like Eiji’s black one.

“It belongs to someone I know. Right now, she won’t be missing it, and she can always buy a new one.”

“Hehe…” Naomi grinned behind the raised glass of the helmet, her eyes sparkling like stars.

Why are you wearing it now? Eiji wanted to ask, but just shook his head and headed out the door. He knew better than anyone that common sense didn’t apply to her.

“Senpai! Wait?! How do I take it off?!” As Naomi followed her upperclassman clutching her enclosed head, Eiji locked the door behind them.

“Wait! Does this mean you’ve accepted me as your assistant?!”

“Put a sock in it already.”

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

“So peaceful…” Naomi cried with her face resting against the table of the occult club, and her cheek smudged against it. 

“Indeed.”

It really was peaceful, Honoka affirmed as she read her book in silence.

“Peaceful…”

Naomi shot Eiji a glance, who looked out the window, scowling as edgy and stoic as ever.

“Too peaceful….”

With a stretch, she leaned back on her seat.

“Hey. Senpai? You sure there’s nothing going on?”

“Would I be here if there was?”

“Agh…”

Naomi slumped forward again, almost deflating like a balloon. “It’s been like that for a week now… I need some action.”

Despite her overly dramatic attitude, everyone present shared the understanding she didn’t mean anything resembling their last exorcism. The sight of such an act, and the girl’s image, will likely stay with the three for some time. Yet despite the disturbing nature of such an outing, none of the two girls shied away from the club, or more such adventures. Eiji really had missed the mark when he deduced such a radiant and hopeful girl like Naomi would run away the second she witnessed how twisted the world an exorcist lived in, was. That of course, extended to the calm, collected Honoka too.

Exorcists were there to decrease the chances of humans encountering specters and curses, and here Eiji was, doing the exact opposite.

“Can’t you draw Naomi-chan? How about you paint a nice picture?” Honoka mused, giving a small smile, the likes of which Naomi reciprocated.

“Ah, I have no inspiration at the moment, plus…”

“Mizuno Naomi, tends to never finish her works. She’s left quite a few half-done in fact.” As Meh popped up to give the usual piece of unnecessary info, the young girl reprimanded him.

“Meh!”

"M-meh... was it?" Honoka still struggled with the squeaky voice that lacked a clear visual in her eyes and mind. Even Naomi's partially completed drawing did little to aid her in forming a mental image. Perhaps a floating eyeball with bat wings wasn't a common sight in the imagination of a young girl.

“Any-wa-y!”

Naomi almost sung as she rose from her seat, her spunk returning.

“We’ll patrol like usual tonight, right?” She smirked. “Count me in, senpai.”

Eiji contemplated protesting, but he knew it was neither easy nor feasible to stop Naomi. So, he settled for a subtle eye roll instead.

“Agh…” Honoka winced, closing her book shut in the process. “I’m sorry guys… I can’t tonight.”

The senior girl shot the two of them an apologetic smile. “My father just came back from work, and since mom got recently discharged, we’re going out to eat together.”

“That’s wonderful, Honoka-san!” Naomi beamed, and clasped her friend’s hands. “Do not worry, senpai and I shall vanquish everything without breaking a sweat! These guns aren’t just for painting!”

While the red and black bundle of energy flexed an arm, Eiji gave a nod.

“No need to be sorry, I will manage.”

“What do you mean I, senpai? I’m here too!”

Honoka giggled, “Thanks, both of you. Apparently dad is here to stay after the whole ordeal with my mom. But I’ll be sure to make time for our… activities.”

“Senpai! I will be your ears tonight! No need to fret!”

“Just sit down already...”

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

The time was drawing near. The clock was about to strike midnight, and Eiji had half a mind to take off without his partner for the night.

“…”

But he already knew what would happen if he did. To save himself some nagging, Eiji killed some time around his cramped apartment. While Luna sat on his lap all curled up, he eyed his console. It had been a while since he had time to play. Or a mind to, for that matter.

Just as he edged closer, his phone rung.

Picking it up, knowing exactly who that would be, Eiji prepared to launch a complaint.

“You’re lat—“

“Sen—pa—i…”

Naomi’s voice came from the other end, cut off slightly by immense static in between.

“Huh?”

“Mess—age.”

The call ended, before Eiji’s puzzlement had the time to manifest into concern. Then, a few messages popped on his screen.

Come to the old school building. Everyone’s in trouble.

Naomi