Epilogue: Hold Me Like a Grudge

“He’s stable…”

The tall, mysterious white-haired woman, with the beautiful blue eye took a drag through her half-burning cigarette, leaning most of her weight against the counter.

“…For now.”

“Ah… stable means… good?” A baffled, curious yet still visibly distressed Naomi raised her gaze from the hot cup of tea warming her fingers. It wasn’t particularly chilly, yet the shock she had just experienced caused her body to feel oddly cold. The young girl’s eyes scanned the room briefly, taking in the small kitchen around her, and the round equally small table she was resting her arms on. They were in the woman’s apartment as they spoke, the place in which they had carried an unconscious Eiji onto. While the two women resided in the kitchen of that simple western-styled apartment, the young man was laid down in one of the beds out back.

“I am Eiji’s mentor… as well as his legal guardian.”

The woman introducing herself as Ishii Tsubaki, had simply stated in the car ride towards her place. Left completely without an option, Naomi chose to trust the stranger despite her reservations. After all, she was the one who had saved her upperclassman by the look of things.

“Not the kind of good you’re probably hoping for.” Tsubaki’s stern words caused the shaky Naomi to gulp.

“Then—“

“But he’ll live. That’s the important part.”

Naomi felt as if she could relax momentarily, her tense shoulders heaving down with the release of a weary breath.

The young girl’s gaze bounced back to the woman before her, her mind not letting Naomi enjoy any more of the relaxation Tsubaki’s words brought to her.

“There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there… Ishii-san?”

“A lot of things. Many of which you’ll probably not understand even if I did.” Tsubaki took another drag of her cigarette, before parting her lips to release the smoke. For being Eiji’s guardian she didn’t look exactly distraught by the events. Yet appearances could be deceiving.

Naomi’s gaze didn’t give the impression she would budge, despite the woman’s cryptic attitude.

With a sigh that almost admitted her defeat, the woman put out the cigarette on her already littered ashtray, and grabbed a seat across from the teenage girl.

“Eiji performed a dangerous exorcist technique, The comatose state he’s in right now, is the punishment for that.” Tsubaki’s eye hardened at those words. For the first time, she displayed something more than just aloofness. It was a bitter emotion that shined through her simple gaze.

“Comatose?” Naomi processed the words in her mind, tightening her vice grip around the mug of tea she was offered a few minutes earlier. The tea was still warm, but the girl didn’t have any interest in tasting anything at the moment.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, thankfully.”

“It’s not? Does that mean he’ll wake up?”

“He will.”

Naomi felt some color return to her pale face.

“But I can’t exactly tell when.”

And just like that, the girl’s hopes were dashed, just like having a rug pulled away from beneath her feet, and facing the cold reality of the floor.

Tsubaki noticed all the little changes in her expression and demeanor, and tried to produce a few reassuring words in return. She wasn’t nearly as heartless as she seemed at first glance after all.

“The crimson covenant, the technique he used, is by far the most dangerous ability an exorcist can use. Some even die a few seconds after performing it. Eiji though, will live. He avoided the worst.”

She was essentially saying the situation could have been a lot more tragic, a detail that wasn’t exactly all that positive. But it wasn’t grave either. It was like a peak of light in a pitch black room. It didn’t do much to change the dimness of things, but it was something that proved it could have been darker still.

“What’s happening to him as we… speak?” Naomi gulped “Is senpai... in pain?”

Tsubaki in turn shook her head. “Far from it.” Her expression was peculiar, it looked like she was smiling, but with a profound bitterness instead of joy.

“When exorcists use the crimson covenant, their souls are dragged down to Yomi. A realm of death. A realm of nothingness.”

Naomi gripped the mug and opened her mouth, but Tsubaki continued.

“It sounds scary, I know. But it’s also a realm of peace. The souls of the living that venture there have all sorts of different visions. Alternate realities where they lived a happier, more fulfilled life. Maybe a life where some of their loved ones, never died.”

Tsubaki’s words struck Naomi’s heart like an arrow. And that was because she knew. She knew all too well how much Eiji had lost. How many things he wish he’d done differently.

“Does that mean… those souls wouldn’t want to leave?”

Tsubaki was silent, as she reached for another cigarette. Her gaze didn’t meet Naomi’s. When she eventually lit her third smoke for the night, she spoke.

“That’s the tricky part. Why would they? Down there, they have everything they ever wished they didn’t lose.”

Naomi’s face hardened uncontrollably. Her fears were slowly coming to life.

“It is true that Eiji’s soul is of the weakest when it comes to emotional attachments. Growing up he’s lost a great deal… Heck, he’s got more people down there than he does up here—“

“Ishii-san!” Naomi clenched her teeth and raised her voice. She looked around with a hint of anger, but soon realized she was out of line. Eiji’s guardian wasn’t at fault. She was just saying the things Naomi didn’t want to accept.

“But, for better or worse…” Tsubaki looked away as she said this, and produced a mutter, “Damn I’d never thought I’d say this.”

“Eiji is also very hooked on revenge. And revenge is a strong feeling. Or rather a strong attachment.” The woman shook her head almost in disbelief. “That stupid revenge-hungry idiot really is depending on whether his desire for vengeance is strong enough…”

It was like a very bad joke. One that Naomi didn’t like in the least. But she also had no choice than to hope for something as sad as that.

“Then again, I’ve been away for a month…” Tsubaki inhaled some smoke once more, and raised a brow. “You wouldn’t happen to be his girlfriend, right?”

“Eh?” Naomi’s eyes rose from the liquid before her and met the woman’s. Her expression was rather perplexed. “I-I am not. Sorry.”

“Well, sucks. If he had some sort of bond with you, maybe his connection would work the same way as his quest for revenge.”

“I see…” Naomi’s lips tightened despite herself. Her mouth twisted into a tiny smile, as she remembered everything they experienced in the past month. Their adventures, meeting Honoka, and the tiny seemingly insignificant moments that they had all shared in the occult club room. Moments Naomi knew she’d cherish for life. Maybe these moments… these bits and pieces of a memory… Maybe they were strong enough for his soul to come back to her?

“Well, speculation will get us nowhere.” Tsubaki noticed the girl’s wishful smile, and her lips curled up slightly too, perhaps in an attempt to turn her own mood a little less sour.

“Tell me… what really happened this past month? And how are you involved with Eiji anyway?”

For the first time tonight, Naomi seemed to smile naturally. She raised her eyes, took a sip of her tea, and began reciting the adventures they shared together, down to the last detail.

…

“Wow, I really missed the whole volume…”

When the young girl had filled Tsubaki in on every last detail that transpired while she was gone, the woman was left rather awestruck.

“Maybe the time he spent with you, will really be able to pull him back to us.”

“You think?!”

Naomi couldn’t help but raise her voice at the sound of the words she so desperately wanted to hear. Maybe not everything was for naught…

Tsubaki, rose from her seat, and guided Naomi to the room Eiji was resting at, at her own request. He still looked as unresponsive as ever, looking like a sleeping child from a distance. A thin layer of a blanket covered him, as his shut eyes were directed at the ceiling above. He really hadn’t moved an inch.

“I’ll take care of him ‘till he wakes up, you don’t need to worry.” Tsubaki spoke reassuringly. While at first Naomi was rather wary of the strange woman, her calm, peaceful voice somehow put her at ease after all this talking.

“Eiji-senpai…”

Naomi clenched her fist atop the frame of the door, as she leaned her shoulder against it. From behind, Tsubaki watched. For a moment, her expression twisted into a frown, and her eye narrowed in grief. As Naomi steeled her resolve, and turned around, the mysterious woman couldn’t help but loop her arms around the short girl’s back.

“I-Ishii-san?”

Naomi was naturally taken aback, but the woman’s hold felt almost maternal to her. With a soft whisper, Tsubaki spoke.

“Thank you, Naomi-chan. For helping out Eiji while I was away.”

Naomi’s face, buried in the taller woman’s shoulder seemed weirdly moist, as some tears trickled down her honey eyes.

“...Senpai helped me, more than I could ever hope to…”

Tsubaki smiled at the girl’s words, and freed her from her grasp.

Before the woman could speak, Naomi raised her eyes and smiled in her usual calming way.

“Ishii-san… do you mind if I ask why you were away?”

“Ah, well…” Tsubaki scratched at her cheek. “As you’ve probably realized I’m an exorcist too. Apparently, there was a haunted school around some countryside town named Kirihama I had to look into.”

“A haunted school?” Naomi cocked her head.

“Yeah, but the spirit had already been exorcised when I arrived. I just had to make sure there weren’t any dangerous leftovers for other specters to feed on. It took me quite some time, though...”

“I see…” Naomi nodded, and the weirdly sentimental woman, walked back towards the kitchen.

“…And turns out, as soon as I’ve returned to Shina, Eiji is fighting a specter that emits such powerful malevolence my shikigami can sense it all those miles away…”

“And that’s why you rushed straight for the school?”

“Exactly.”

Naomi followed the woman back to where their conversation had begun, and for a moment contemplated if it was already time for her to go.

Before the young girl could decide, Tsubaki sensed her indecisiveness and crossed her arms.

“Why don’t I tell you about Eiji and I?”

“Really?!” Naomi perked up at the sound. Just like that, she didn’t have to think about leaving anymore.

“Sure. Fix you another cup of tea?”

“If you’d be so kind…”

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

When the mysterious white haired woman and the teenage girl carried away the unconscious exorcist, a tall, slim figure weaved out of the darkness, and appeared before the abandoned school wing. The door was naturally left ajar in their hurry, and the debris within spoke volumes of the fierce fight that had just taken place.

The mysterious man fixed his hat, and took off his circular sunglasses.

“Hm.”

Despite his cold face, whose lack of demeanor gave the impression it was completely made out of wax, the man smirked just a tiny bit.

Before his very eyes, right where the specter’s flame had beat its last, a cluster of star particles danced in the air. The man walked closer, and produced a small book from his coat.

As he did, the cluster of mystical stars twisted in the air, and headed straight for the empty page as the book flipped open, giving the impression they were sucked into another realm altogether. In a few moments, there was nothing but dust in the air.

The stars, the shine, that little bit of life left in the atmosphere vanished without a trace.

The previously empty book however pulsed with an usual beat. Unbothered, the sharp dressed man tucked it back into his pocket, and turned around.

“One down. Only a few more to go…”

The tall individual, with confident long strides, simply walked out of the empty, tattered school. In a simple motion, he adorned his face with his black shades once again. In a matter of seconds, he had disappeared back into the shadows from whence he came.

“…My beloved.”

^^^ To be continued in Volume 2… Thanks for reading! ^^^

You really thought I would leave you hanging without an epilogue, didn't you? Well truth is I actually planned to, but I feel like this is a better way to finish the first volume. Again, thank you for the support you've shown to this story! If you've reached the end, then this means you're worthy of becoming... the next exorcist! On second thought, maybe not. 

Anyway, see y'all in volume 2, or maybe a little earlier if you choose to follow my latest project that will launch around December. 'Till then, stay safe everyone.

Katsu, out.