Not Today, Satan

“Hm… hm… hm…”

The melodic humming filled the bedroom, a cheerful counterpoint to the quiet of the shared space. Naomi rummaged through her bag, her bangs pinned back by a fluffy headband, her oversized loungewear hanging loose. She moved with a purpose, prepping for another night out with her upperclassman—and hopefully, another adventure to add to the highlight reel.

With a contented sigh, she did a final gear check. Everything was in its place: her yellow helmet, a change of clothes in case she crashed at her senpai’s apartment, and a pair of paper strips—the talismans gifted to her by the young exorcist.

There was a time when Naomi believed she would never recover from the shock of losing Hazuki. Her best friend had been her guiding light, her guardian angel. Yet, in the wake of that tragedy, who could have guessed that a boy from her past—a seemingly minor cog in the machinery of fate—would be the one to pull her back from the edge?

She knew that using Eiji as a way to rediscover joy was a bit self-serving, but through him, she was rekindling her will to live.

Her world had expanded into these wild, daring fantasies. For the first time since the parking lot, life felt exciting again. Perhaps it was because of the striking similarities between her two saviors.

“Heh.” With a small smile, Naomi shook her head and slung her bag over her shoulder.

“I’m going out, Mom! I’ll be at Senpai’s—”

“Again?” Shiori-san raised a brow, mid-struggle with the twins. Soma was grunting disapprovingly at a pile of half-finished carrot bites, while his brother was making a break for it. Shiori-san caught the escapee and shot Naomi a fleeting glance. “Can you at least check on Kazusa? She still isn’t home.”

“Really?”

Lost in her own bubble, Naomi hadn't even noticed her sister’s absence. Kazusa was less of a menace than the twins, but her defiance had spiked since entering her early teens.

And Kazusa, it seemed, shared the family penchant for the occult. Just the other day, she’d mentioned wanting to explore the abandoned wing of the school nearby—a venture Naomi had strictly forbidden.

“Okay, I’ll give her a call. See you, Mom!”

“And please be careful!”

“Sure thing!”

The door clicked shut behind her, but the thought of Kazusa lingered, souring her mood. Naomi tapped away at her phone and pressed it to her ear, listening to it ring. Keeping tabs on three siblings for her mother was a chore, but she wouldn't trade it for the world. Still, it grated on her nerves when they ignored her hard-earned advice.

*Did she really have to do the exact opposite of what I told her?*

The ringing cut off, replaced by a whiny, familiar voice. “Nee-san!”

The tone was so loud Naomi had to pull the phone away from her ear. They really were cut from the same cloth. “What is it? I’ll be back soon.”

“Kazusa…” Naomi sighed. It was a gesture her siblings extracted from her daily. “You went to the abandoned wing, didn't you?”

There was a fraction of a second of dead silence on the other end, underscored by a faint, grainy cacophony of whispers in the background. “…How did you know?”

“We talked about it yesterday, remember? Mom isn't going to be happy.”

“Aw, Onee-san! You don’t have to tell her, do you?”

“Kazusa…”

“Okay, okay…” Kazusa’s tone finally dropped. “We’re wrapping up soon anyway. It’s not even that scary.”

Naomi paused. Her sister was actually inside that building. Despite the irritation at being ignored, a cold drop of worry hit her stomach. She knew how fast things could go south—she had the scars to prove it. The memory of the parking lot, the dread, and the loss of her best friend flashed behind her eyes.

“I’m coming over there to get you.”

“Eh?! But we’re just about ready to—”

“No buts!”

“Okay…”

Kazusa knew better than to push her luck when Naomi used that tone. Besides, if their mother found out, the consequences would be dire. For both.

Naomi tightened her grip on her bag. Eiji hadn't mentioned anything dangerous in that area, but an older sister couldn't just take "probably safe" for an answer.

⌁◉⌁

The stroll to the abandoned school building didn't take long, but the atmosphere shifted the moment Naomi crossed the threshold. It was a dilapidated wooden skeleton of a structure that looked less like a building and more like a ransacked haunted house attraction.

Pushing through the rusty gate and the nearly collapsing front door, Naomi was immediately assaulted by a thick curtain of dust and stagnant air. It smelled like rot and forgotten time. Every step she took on the dark brown floorboards was met with a twisted, creaking complaint from the wood. She ascended the bare staircase to the balcony, her heart already beginning to sync with the rhythmic groans of the building.

Across the balcony, a long corridor stretched out. Moonlight filtered through the few glass panes that remained intact, casting jagged silver shards across the floor. Then, she heard it—the muffled giggles of children.

“Kazusa?”

Her voice echoed through the hollow halls, traveling up the stacked balconies of the upper floors.

“Nee-san?”

The reply was faint, coming from the second door on her left. Naomi pushed against the sliding door with her shoulder, forcing it open. Inside, the darkness was pierced by the flickering amber glow of two candles. Scattered around them were five middle schoolers—two boys and three girls, including Kazusa.

They were all huddled over a circular pad and a wooden board. The so called Ouija board.

“Helloooo, everyone…” Naomi greeted them, a wry smile masking her growing unease. She crouched down beside her sister, sighing as she looked at the notorious game.

“So this is what you were doing?”

“Yes,” Kazusa affirmed. She introduced Naomi to her friends, and the boys in particular gave her a hesitant, wide-eyed nod. Even in the dim light, Naomi’s charm was hard to miss.

“Heyo, Naomi-neechan,” Aika, one of the girls, chirped. “I promise we’re not doing anything dangerous.”

Naomi’s smile faded. “Of all the places to play with this thing...” she muttered.

The kids looked at her with curious eyes. Naomi wasn't great at being the "stern adult," but she tried to channel her inner Eiji. She crossed her arms, a proud smirk appearing on her face.

“This place is dangerous. Especially this late. You don’t want to attract any… unnecessary attention.”

“Unnecessary… attention?” the boys echoed, sounding more intrigued than spooked.

“My sister likes to think she’s an occult master,” Kazusa teased.

“I don’t think it, Kazusa! Onee-chan is one!” Naomi barked back.

“Then, then! Naomi-nee-san, tell us a scary story before we go!” Aika pleaded.

Naomi took the opportunity to act smug. “Maybe… if you’re all good kids!” She watched as the boy with glasses tucked the board under his arm.

“Actually, don’t worry about that thing. It doesn’t really work.”

“Really?” one of the boys asked.

“Of course. Did you see anything happen?” the other girl asked, crossing her arms.

Naomi was about to launch into a lecture on spiritual frequencies when a loud, sharp CREAK tore through the room.

“Ah… did everyone hear that?” The boy with the glasses tightened his grip on the board.

“It’s just the wind, right? Right, Onee-chan?” Kazusa looked to her sister for reassurance.

But Naomi couldn't move. Her feet felt like they were fused to the floorboards. That familiar, heavy weight of dread was manifesting in her stomach—the same spiraling terror she had felt in the parking lot. She wasn't an exorcist, and she didn't have a shikigami, but her instincts were screaming.

She gulped, the silence in the room becoming deafening.

“Nee-chan? If you’re trying to scare us—”

CREAK.

It was louder this time, echoing from the corridor. Then came a sharp *click*—the sound of a lock turning—followed by a soft, eerie, rhythmic *pulling* sound.

Before their eyes, the wood didn't exploded. The classroom door was ripped from its frame, flung into the darkness as if it were made of paper. In its place, a grotesque, mountainous hand clamped onto the jagged doorframe, followed by a face that seemed to swallow the moonlight.

As the discarded door crashed at the far end of the corridor, the creature staggered into the light. It was a pudgy, misshapen nightmare, its bare, pale flesh glistening with an oily sheen. It had the massive, tree-trunk arms and the hardened, scowling face of a sumo wrestler, but twisted into something ancient and wrong. The sight etched a cold, indelible mark of terror into the souls of the children.

As the air left the room and the kids' blood turned to ice, Naomi broke the trance.

She lunged for her bag, her fingers white-knuckled around her phone. She knew exactly what this was. She’d seen this movie before, and she wasn't going to let it end the same way. She had to call him, but first, she had to buy them time.

“Everyone, run to the other exit! Move! Now!”

The middle schoolers didn't need a second invitation. In a chorus of huffed, panicked screams, they scrambled toward the back of the classroom.

The specter recoiled for a heartbeat before lunging. It didn't care that the doorway was too small for its bulk; it simply pulverized the frame, the wall, and the surrounding lockers in a deafening spray of splinters and plaster. The entire side of the classroom came crashing down with a resounding thud.

Naomi dove out of the way, the wind from the beast's mad dash nearly knocking her over. Its screams were so ear-piercing they rattled her skull, making it impossible to think.

“Onee-san!” Kazusa screamed from the second exit.

“Go, Kazusa! Just go!” Naomi scrambled up and ran toward the door, her legs moving faster than they ever had. As she ran, her thumbs flew across her screen. She’d prepared an emergency text for a night like this, and she’d never been more grateful for her own paranoia. She hit send, then jammed the call button, praying for a signal.

The connection was trash—static and silence—but she knew the message had gone out. Behind her, she could hear the heavy, wet *thump-thump* of the beast repositioning itself between the group and the main stairs. It was sluggish, but every step made the floorboards groan as if they were about to snap.

“Onee-san!”

“Naomi-neechan!”

“What do we do?!”

The kids were pinned against the far wall near the stairs to the upper floors, their breaths coming in ragged, sobbing gasps. Naomi looked at her sister.

*I have to keep them safe. I have to.* The thought looped in her head, a frantic mantra against the rising tide of dread. *What would Eiji do? How would he handle this?*

She ripped her backpack open.

“Nee-chan?!”

“Go upstairs! I’ll be right behind you!”

“But—”

“GO!” Naomi bellowed, her voice cracking with an authority she didn't know she possessed. Her knees were knocking together, but her yellow eyes burned with a desperate, fierce determination.

Kazusa couldn't find the words to argue. Aika grabbed her arm, and the boys followed, their footsteps thundering up the wooden stairs.

As the sounds of their retreat faded into the upper levels, Naomi stood alone in the corridor. She clutched a talisman in one hand, using the other to steady her trembling wrist. She was terrified—there was no point in lying to herself.

But she didn't move.

*It’s my turn,* she thought. *My turn to protect everyone.*

As the sumo specter drew closer, its oppressive weight felt like a physical hand pressing down on her shoulders. The world seemed to shrink until there was only her and the monster. She summoned every scrap of her willpower, rooting her feet to the spot. She held the talisman before her face—the paper bearing Eiji’s blood, her last beacon of hope.

“I’m NOT AFRAID!” she screamed, the words burning her lungs.

She wasn't. Not anymore.

A brilliant blue aura erupted from the paper, blossoming into a dome of shimmering, celestial fireflies. The specter let out a roar and swung a massive, ghastly arm. The impact hit like a thunderclap, a deafening explosion of energy that sent the beast’s limb recoiling in pain. The shield shattered in a blaze of glory, the resulting shockwave hurling Naomi backward.

“WAAAARGH!”

The beast roared, stumbling. Naomi hit the floor hard, her head spinning. She could feel the strain—the talisman had drained her instantly, leaving her light-headed and weak.

She looked up. From the floor, the specter looked twice as tall. It leered at her with lifeless black eyes, its bloodlust palpable. It raised a fist, ready to crush her into the floorboards.

Naomi didn't look away. She clutched her second, and final, talisman.

*Not yet,* she thought. *I’m not alone.*

Just as the massive fist began its descent, a shadow blurred past the moonlit window. Like a hawk dropping from the sky, a figure crashed through the glass, gliding across the floor with impossible grace. Eiji pivoted, his black boots skidding on the wood, and launched himself into the air.

His fist was pulled back, glowing with a hungry, crackling red light.

**BOOM.**

The punch landed with the roar of a physical storm. Red lightning spider-webbed across the specter’s chest, the force of the blow hurling the massive entity backward through the corridor.

Eiji landed in a crouch, his coat fluttering. He looked back at Naomi, his eyes sharp and glowing.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Naomi couldn't hide the grin, even as a single tear escaped and traced a path through the dust on her cheek.

“No, Senpai…” she whispered. “You came at just the right time.”