Not Today, Satan

“Hm… hm… hm…”

The melodic humming filled the otherwise, two-faced, silent room. Naomi rummaged around in her bag, her bangs held back by a fluffy headband, and her loungewear too loose for her to care. Fiddling around in her own part of her shared room with her sister, Naomi got ready for yet another outing with her upperclassman. And hopefully, one more memorable adventure.

Naomi let out a contented sigh as she conducted a final check of her bag's contents. Everything was in order: her helmet, a change of clothes in case she needed to spend the night at her senpai's house, and a pair of paper strips - talismans gifted to her by the young exorcist whom she cherished so much.

Naomi initially believed she would never recover from the shock of losing her best friend, who had been her guiding light, her own guardian angel. However, after her friend's passing, who could have foreseen that a boy from her past, seemingly a mere cog in the machinery of fate, would help her find her way back?

Using her senpai as a means to rediscover joy in life felt self-serving, she knew that much, for sure. But through this process, Naomi gradually rekindled her will to embrace life to the fullest, one step at a time. Her world expanded to crazy new adventures, and it wouldn't be an overstatement to say that she was living out one of her most daring fantasies.

For the first time since Hazuki passed, her life turned exciting. And she looked forward to each and every new day with even greater excitement than the last. Perhaps it was also because of the striking similarities between her two saviors.

“Heh.” With a small smile, Naomi shook her head and looked around the room. With a nod to herself she trotted out, slinging her precious bag around her shoulder.

“I’m going out mom!! I’ll be at senpai’s—“

“Again?” Her mother raised a brow in the middle of feeding her troublesome twins. Soma was grunting disapprovingly at his half-finished carrot bites, while his brother tried to escape from his mom’s grasp but ultimately failed. Ms. Shiori cast a fleeting glance around the room.

“Can you at least go check on Kazusa? She still hasn’t come back home.”

“Really?”

Almost lost in her own little bubble, Naomi failed to notice the absence of her sister. Although she was less troublesome than the menaces she called brothers, her defiance had increased significantly as she entered the stages of her early teen years.

Kazusa, in her own way, shared a penchant for delving into the mysteries of the occult, not falling too far from her sister's adventurous spirit. Just the other day, she had confided in Naomi about her plans to explore a supposedly haunted section of the abandoned school wing adjacent to her high school, a venture that Naomi had strongly discouraged.

“Okay, I’ll give her a call, see you mom.” Naomi managed a smile, as she made for the door.

“And please be careful!”

“Sure thing!”

Her mind still lingering on Kazusa, the eldest of four closed the entrance to her house behind her. As it stood, her sister still wasn’t home for the day. Something that soured her mood, and prompted Naomi to tap away at her phone, before bringing it against her ear.

She let out a sigh as the phone rung away. Keeping tabs on all her siblings as her mother expected could be quite a bother, but she wouldn't trade it for anything. Still, there were moments like these that truly grated on her nerves when her siblings chose not to heed her warnings and advice.

Did she really have to go and do the opposite of what I told her?

While Naomi was preoccupied with such thoughts, the ringing was cut off by her sister’s voice.

“Nee-san!” Her tone was whiny, as it reverberated off the speaker. The girl had to distance it from her ear. They really were similar in being… loud.

“What is it? I’ll be back soon.”

“Kazusa…” Naomi sighed. It wasn’t common for her, yet her siblings elicited that gesture from her sometimes. “You went to the abandoned school wing, didn’t you?”

“Eh?” Her sister froze for a fraction of a second, while the mic also picked up a faint cacophony of whispers around her. “…How did you know?”

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

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

“Kazusa…”

“Okay okay…” Kazusa finally seemed to drop her tone. “We’re about to wrap up here soon. It’s not even that scary anyway.”

Naomi paused for a second. She really was in the school as they spoke. But despite the very obvious fact she didn’t heed her warning, the older sister was glad. Things could go south fast very easily, as she had learned from her experience in the parking lot.

Unwillingly, she remembered everything that had transpired back then. The dread, the terror. Losing… her best friend.

“I’m coming over there to get you.”

“Eh?! But we’re just about ready to—“

“No buts!”

“Okay…”

Despite her whining, Kazusa wasn’t in any position to decline her sister’s offer like that. She knew what would happen if she did. Their mother surely wouldn’t be happy when she would hear the news.

And Naomi decided, amongst other things, that she shouldn’t leave her sister alone at a potentially dangerous place. Even if her senpai hadn’t talked about anything dangerous in the area, an older sister had to be sure.

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

The stroll to the abandoned school building, a dilapidated wooden structure that resembled a ransacked haunted house attraction, wasn't particularly lengthy. In fact, it took her less than ten minutes to arrive at the location, enter the premises through the open, rusty gate, and gently push the creaky, nearly collapsing door to gain access to the building.

As soon as the young girl stepped inside, the mixture of dust and murky air assaulted her lungs. She had to fight against some coughs. It smelled… old in there.

The interior was mostly made of wood. Stairs, railings and floorings, were all of the same dark brown hue. A floor that creaked with her every new step greeted her as she walked at the bare staircase to her left. The steps spoke back to her in complaint, in their own twisted language, as Naomi descended up at the visible balcony overlooking the ground floor.

Directly across from it, a normal school corridor extended. To the left, awaited a few classroom doors, and to the right, the moonlight filtered in through the glass panes that lined the walls. As many of them were still intact.

Naomi raised a brow, looking around. She heard a few giggles coming from one of the doors.

“Kazusa?” Her voice rung true and clear, travelling all the way to the back of the corridor, where another staircase awaited to the left. Surely, it led to the other floors, whose balconies were visible through the ground floor, and stacked atop the one Naomi had ventured into.

“Nee-san?”

A faint voice reached Naomi. Second door to her left. There was no need for her to ascend any further. She had to push with quite some backbone to open the sliding door to the classroom.

Amidst the darkness, a pair of candles greeted her, and around them, a handful of 5 middle school students. Two boys and three girls, one of which was Naomi’s sister. There were a few exhales of relief amongst them, as they realized who the visitor was.

Kazusa’s warning apparently wasn’t enough for them. Or maybe it was the nature of the place?

Furthermore, all their hands were stretched out before them, a circular object resting atop a wooden play board in the middle.

“Helloooo, everyone…” Naomi greeted, a wry smile on her face.

At the sight of such an infamous board game, Naomi almost stomped her way towards the unaware kids. With a sigh she crouched over her sister’s side.

“So that’s what you were doing?”

“Yes.” Kazusa affirmed, before shifting to her friends. “This is my older sister everyone. Her name is Naomi.”

The middle school students that were engrossed in their game up until now, nodded at Naomi with slight hesitation. Especially the boys. Naomi’s cuteness was nothing to scoff at, after all.

One of the girls however, was already familiar with her elder.

“Heyo, Naomi Nee-chan. I promise we’re not doing anything dangerous.”

"Aika-chan," Naomi's smile faded as she cast one more glance at the notorious game known as the Ouija board.

“Of all the places…” The older girl muttered. “Sorry to… ruin the fun, everyone buuuut…”

Kazusa and her friends regarded Naomi with curiosity. Naomi wasn't particularly adept at scolding kids who weren't her siblings. In fact, she wasn't very skilled at being stern, no matter the situation.

What would her senpai have said, in such a situation?

Naomi almost smiled to herself. She knew what Eiji would say. She was sure.

“This place is dangerous. Especially this late. You don’t want to attract any… unnecessary attention.” Naomi crossed her arms, a proud smirk on her face.

Did that spook them? Will they go home now?

“Unnecessary…”

“…Attention?”

The two boys mused. Meanwhile, Kazusa fidgeted.

“My sister likes to think she’s an occult master, actually…”

“I don’t like to THINK that, Kazusa! Onee-chan is one!”

"Then, then! Naomi-nee-san, can you share a scary story with us before we go?" Aika, rising from her seat with an excited skip, acknowledged that their fun had come to an end. Instead, she chose to shift her focus to the new member of the group,

“Hm, maybe… if you’re all good kids!” Naomi found the window to act smug once more, as the middle school students all followed.

“Then can you tell us something about this thing?” One of the boys, the one wearing glasses, spoke as he picked up the circular pad, and folded the board up. It looked more like a cheap replica up close. Naomi had fiddled with way more original stuff than that, a courtesy of Hazuki’s deep pockets.

“Oh, this?” Naomi spoke, giving a shrug “It doesn’t really work.”

“Really?” The other boy titled his head, patting the dust off his pants.

“What do you mean really? Did you see anything happen that I didn’t?” The girl next to Aika crossed her arms, causing Kazusa to giggle a little.

“She likes him…”

The whisper the younger sister gave Naomi, caused her to smile.

“Sure thing, if there was anyt—“

Just as Naomi was about to drag the conversation back to her occult knowledge, a loud, sharp creak stopped her from advancing.

“Ah-no… did we all hear that?”

The boy with the glasses, Ouija board tucked under his arm, spoke a little hesitantly.

“I’m sure it was just the wind! Right?” Kazusa brushed a strand of hair off her face awkwardly, “Right, Onee-chan?”

But Naomi had frozen still. Her feet were glued to the ground, and every part of her body dared not move, save for her heart beating madly and sending ripples against her ribcage.

There was a heavy foreboding weight manifesting in her stomach, a sense of dread that spiraled uncontrollably. She held no magical tracking properties, like Meh, and wasn’t an exorcist like Eiji, but somehow she knew.

Something was up.

Naomi gulped, unable to utter any words, something that did nothing in breaking the tension.

“Onee-san?”

"If you’re trying to scare—"

Another creak, louder this time, echoed through the room, sending shivers down everyone's spines. All heads snapped toward the source of the ominous sound. A sudden tug, a metallic click, and then a soft, eerie pull.

Before their eyes, the door was ripped from its frame, flung away as if by an invisible force. In its place emerged an enormous, grotesque hand, and a face that filled the doorway, like some nightmarish apparition. The room held its breath, for there was something there, or rather, something sinister.

As the discarded door crashed at the end of the dimly lit corridor, a pudgy, misshapen creature staggered back, its round, bare body glistening in the dim light. Its massive arms and the head of an angry, hardened sumo wrestler crowned its grotesque form, leaving an indelible mark of terror etched into the group’s soul.

As everybody’s breath seemed to stop, and their blood grew colder with every new inch the beast gained, Naomi broke out of her trance.

Clutching her phone, she raised her arm from her side.

There was no doubt that thing before them was a specter. She couldn’t let it catch her or any of her sister and her friends. She knew who to call, but before that… she had to keep everyone safe.

“Everyone, run to the other exit! Don’t let it get close!”

Wordlessly, or rather in huffed panicked screams, the middle school students rushed to the other side of the room.

In response, the specter retreated a step before lunging forward, completely ignoring the fact that the door gap was nowhere near wide enough for it to pass into the room. It paid no heed to the collateral damage as it pulverized not only the gap but also half the wall, causing the classroom's exterior to come crashing down with a resounding thud.

Naomi jumped away clumsily, barely avoiding the mad dash made from the wailing creature, its screams so ear-piercing it was getting increasingly harder to think.

“Onee-san!” Kazusa called back, just about to cross the threshold of the second exit to the corridor.

“Go, Kazusa!” Naomi got up and ran towards her sister, her legs kicking off faster than ever before. As she ran she tapped at her messaging screen and a text shot out onto the web, hoping it would reach its destination in time.

Naomi had prepared a text for a situation such as this, and at the moment, she couldn’t be happier she did. To make sure, she pressed the call button as she ran, motioning for the kids to move to the end of the corridor.

The hideous gigantic specter could be heard shuffling in the back, positioning itself between the stairs to the ground floor and their group. It moved slughisly, but its power seemed devastating.

The call connected, but the service was poor. It didn’t matter, Naomi thought and hinted to the messages.

“Onee-san!”

“Naomi nee-chan!”

“What the hell do we do?!”

The middle school kids huddled against the wall and clung to the staircase leading to the upper floors, their breaths coming in ragged, vocal gasps. The specter staggered toward them, its massive legs and considerable weight causing the ground to groan and creak, as if on the verge of snapping with each impending step.

Naomi gulped, and looked back at her sister.

She had to keep them safe… She had to. Those thoughts spun endlessly inside her head. Dread flooded her mind, her heart beating unevenly.

Will they all die here?

No.

She couldn’t let herself think like that. There was but one thing to do…

What would Eiji do? How would her upperclassman act?

Gulping, she brought her backpack before her.

“Nee-chan?!”

“Go upstairs, I’ll be there with you in a moment!”

“But—“

“Go!” Naomi shouted back in a volume she never thought capable of herself. Even as her knees trembled, the young girl looked back with determination burning bright in her yellow eyes.

Unable to make a comeback to her words, Kazusa was dragged away by Aika, while the boys quickly followed them upstairs.

As the chorus of frantic footsteps behind her grew louder, and those ahead of her increased in volume too, Naomi remained resolute. She held one of the talismans in her palm and used her free hand to steady her other trembling wrist.

She was scared, there was no way she wouldn’t be.

But she stayed behind despite that.

That’s what her senpai would have done. She was sure. So why would she run? There was no way she could have…

“It’s my… turn. To protect everyone!”

As the ominous specter drew ever closer, its oppressive presence bore down upon Naomi, the sheer weight of it sending shivers down her spine. Though it felt as if the world itself conspired to immobilize her, she summoned every ounce of her willpower to resist. Her feet remained rooted, defying the impending doom. With trembling hands, she clutched the talisman, holding it before her face with unshakable determination, a last beacon of hope in the encroaching darkness.

The talisman her senpai gave her. The piece of paper bearing his blood. The tool that would keep her safe.

With a voice loud and true that almost burnt her lungs on its way out, Naomi shouted.

“I’m not afraid!”

She wasn’t. Not anymore. Not as a brilliant blue aura blossomed before her, like a protective barrier forged from a multitude of fireflies, a celestial dome exclusively crafted to shield her from harm.

The specter's malevolent form raised its big ghastly arm and then, in a swift and violent motion, it swung. The impact echoed like a thunderous clap, a deafening cacophony that sent its limb recoiling in pain. The mystical shield, which had encased Naomi like an ethereal cocoon, shattered in a blaze of glory, forcefully propelling both her and the specter backward,

“WAAAARGH!”

The beast roared, while Naomi staggered and fell. From the ground where she stood, the specter seemed even taller than before.

She had used one talisman, and she could already feel the strain it took to unleash its powers. She felt tired and light-headed, much like the last time.

But she thought it better than being dead.

She gulped and looked back, clutching the second talisman in her possession tightly. She had one last shot. One last shuffle of the cards to draw an ace.

“RAAARGH!”

Leering with bloodlust in its lifeless black eyes, the specter glared down at her. With a menacing stomp, it advanced, ready to strike again.

Naomi didn’t avert her eyes. She didn’t look away. It was still far from over. She knew, she wasn’t alone.

As the big, murderous fist was ready to come crashing down, a figure of a person flew in from the window next to Naomi. Like a shadow in the dark, a leaf in the wind, Eiji, the man on a mission seemed to glide a few steps forward, as he pivoted on his leg, and jumped.

With a fist pulled all the way back, glowing and crackling full and hungry, he delivered a punch that landed with a thunderous roar. When the fist connected, the roar of thunder grew, and the specter was flung back across the corridor, red lightning running up the center of its chest, the part that took the brunt of his blow.

Eiji landed on his feet, looking back at Naomi.

“Sorry, I’m late.”

“No, senpai… You came at just the right time.” Naomi couldn’t hide the grin that spread across her face. Nor could she stop a tear that streamed down her cheek.

She really wasn’t alone.