Ono Yoko's Ghost Story

~

One thirty in the afternoon.

In the reception room of the Keqin Exorcist Agency, Yamagishi Eiichi sat with a troubled expression, his clothes disheveled and his manner tense and uneasy.

He picked up the coffee on the table in front of him and brought the cup to his lips. He could already smell its rich aroma, but he sighed and set it down again, then anxiously looked out through the reception room's glass window. He wished Shu Yunwen would appear in front of him right away.

The past two days had not gone well for Ono Yoko. In fact, they had been... awful.

The police had not left until eleven on Thursday night. Yoko had no intention of staying alone in the room where someone had just been murdered, so Yamagishi Eiichi booked a room at a nearby hotel.

But she had just gone through something so terrible, and even with Yamagishi Eiichi there with her, Yoko did not fall asleep until four in the morning. Not long after she finally drifted off, she woke in terror and knocked on Yamagishi Eiichi's door. From Yoko's stammering explanation, he managed to get the gist of what had happened.

Yoko had had a nightmare.

She had only just fallen asleep when Fujie Akiyoshi appeared in her dream. Covered in blood and clutching a knife, he chased her from behind, shouting, "Why?" At last, he cornered her. With a savage look on his face, he lunged at her with the knife, and she finally woke from the nightmare.

After waking, Yoko was afraid to stay in the room alone, so she had no choice but to wake Yamagishi Eiichi.

At the time, after listening to Yoko, Yamagishi Eiichi figured that she had been traumatized. She had been dwelling on what happened all day, so it was only natural for it to haunt her dreams. He offered her a few words of comfort and did not think much of it.

But even though he had brushed it off, the same thing kept happening.

Because the case was confidential, the media had not had much impact on Yoko, despite some reporters gathering around. She still had to keep working.

On Friday morning, while filming a commercial, Yoko went to rest in the dressing room during a break. Less than two minutes later, she screamed and fled the room. She had closed her eyes for just a minute, and before she could even fall asleep, she saw Fujie Akiyoshi with a knife in front of her—coming straight at her.

That afternoon, Yoko attended an event. After it ended, she dozed off in the work van, then woke with a start. Once again, she had dreamed of Fujie Akiyoshi, covered in blood and holding a knife.

The same thing happened all day Saturday. So last night, Yamagishi Eiichi and Yoko went to see a psychiatrist. After hearing what had happened, the doctor said that Yoko was under enormous psychological strain because she had suddenly become involved in a murder case, and that she was having these experiences because she had developed a psychological fixation.

The psychiatrist then recommended that Yoko undergo therapy. Soothing music played, and the session had only just begun when Yoko closed her eyes. Within minutes, Fujie Akiyoshi appeared before her again. Terrified, she jumped out of the therapy chair and ran out of the room.

Yoko did not sleep at all on Saturday night either.

This morning, the agency gave Yoko the day off because her mental state was far too poor.

Yamagishi Eiichi treated Yoko like a daughter he had just welcomed into the world. So even though Yoko offered to let him take the day off, the exhausted Yamagishi still took it upon himself to look after her.

Near noon today, Yoko and Yamagishi Eiichi were in the room the agency had arranged for them. While Yoko was washing her face in the bathroom, the strange phenomenon happened again. The faint image of Fujie Akiyoshi appeared in the mirror above the sink—and this time, Yamagishi Eiichi was standing right beside her. He saw it clearly.

He was certain it was no damn psychological suggestion or mere hallucination.

That was Fujie Akiyoshi, who was already dead!

This was a haunting!

After Fujie Akiyoshi died, he had become a ghost and latched onto Yoko!

That was when Yamagishi Eiichi remembered what Shu Yunwen had said at the crime scene, and recalled the Vice President Matsushita from the Keqin Exorcist Agency, who had given Yoko a business card there.

Afterward, Yamagishi Eiichi entrusted Yoko to someone from the agency and went to visit in person at the address on the business card. He was worried that if he called, Shu Yunwen might not take the matter seriously enough and delay dealing with it.

Given Yoko's current state, they really could not afford to wait. If they delayed any longer, someone might die.

As Yamagishi Eiichi was pondering this, two familiar figures passed by the reception room's glass window. His eyes lit up, and he hurried to his feet, almost jogging out of the room. "Lord Yunwen, Vice President Matsushita, it's nice to meet you. I'm sorry to have come without warning. I'm Yamagishi Eiichi, Miss Yoko's manager..."

Shu Yunwen smiled and nodded. "Mr. Yamagishi, I remember you. I had Matsushita-kun give Miss Yoko a business card, but you were the one who took it."

"That's right, Lord Yunwen." Yamagishi Eiichi nodded quickly. "I'm sorry. Miss Yoko was so upset at the time. Please forgive her if she was in any way rude."

"Think nothing of it, Mr. Yamagishi. I understand the circumstances. Why would I be angry? If anything, giving Miss Yoko my business card under those conditions was what was truly rude of me." After speaking, Shu Yunwen turned to Secretary Adachi, who stood at the very back. "Adachi-kun, please make me a cup of coffee. Thank you. By the way, Matsushita-kun, what would you like to drink?"

"A glass of water will do," Matsushita Heisaburo said.

"Please wait a moment." Adachi Roppei nodded and began preparing the drinks nearby.

Shu Yunwen gestured for Yamagishi Eiichi, who looked anxious, to sit down. "Please have a seat, Mr. Yamagishi. No matter how urgent it is, it can wait a little while, can't it?"

"No, Lord Yunwen. Yoko-chan is in real danger..." Yamagishi Eiichi said hurriedly.

With Yoko's safety at stake, Yamagishi Eiichi could not spare a thought for politeness. He quickly recounted everything that had happened to her over the past three days, then knelt on the floor and bowed until his forehead touched it. "...So, Lord Yunwen, please, you must help Yoko! As long as Yoko-chan is all right, we're willing to pay any price!"

Shu Yunwen smiled faintly. "Mr. Yamagishi, the way you put it makes it sound as if we'd demand something outrageous... We're a legitimate exorcism agency. As long as you pay our fee, we'll certainly help you resolve the problem."

Yamagishi Eiichi immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, Lord Yunwen. I was so anxious that I spoke carelessly. Please forgive me."

Shu Yunwen nodded, then picked up the coffee on the table in front of him and took a sip. "Mr. Yamagishi, if you don't mind my asking, Miss Yoko has only seen Fujie Akiyoshi in mirrors so far, right?"

What do you mean, "only"? That's already terrifying enough! Yamagishi Eiichi thought, then nodded repeatedly. "That's right, Lord Yunwen. I think it's already very dangerous. If this continues, Fujie Akiyoshi's vengeful spirit may do something to Yoko-chan... So please, Lord Yunwen!"

Shu Yunwen smiled and reassured him. "Don't worry, Mr. Yamagishi. Miss Yoko will be absolutely fine."

With that, Shu Yunwen raised his hand and checked his watch. "It's two fifteen now. Miss Yoko won't have any problems before midnight tonight. As for the best time to perform the exorcism today, that'll be four fifty in the afternoon. So how about this? You go back for now, and we'll make the necessary preparations. Then we can meet again when the time comes. What do you think?"

"Well, I..." Yamagishi Eiichi hesitated. But when he met Shu Yunwen's gaze, he worried that if he refused, Shu Yunwen might turn him down outright, so he gritted his teeth and agreed. "...All right. Yunwen-san, here's Yoko-chan's phone number at the agency, and here are our pager numbers and mobile phone numbers. I'm counting on you!"

"Don't worry. I'll take care of this for you." Shu Yunwen turned to him. "Matsushita-kun, give Mr. Yamagishi our pager numbers too."

"Yes, Lord Yunwen."

Matsushita Heisaburo gave Yamagishi Eiichi their pager numbers. After a few more polite exchanges, Yamagishi Eiichi stood up, bowed, and hurried out.

He had to go back and make some preparations too.

He also needed to inform the agency about the exorcism, so they could get ready.

If those ever-present reporters found out about it and made a big story of it, they could avoid any negative publicity.

Only after Yamagishi Eiichi had left did Matsushita Heisaburo speak. "Lord Yunwen, Mr. Yamagishi said that Fujie Akiyoshi's vengeful spirit can already appear in mirrors. Can you... deal with it?"

Shu Yunwen curled his lip in disdain. "Matsushita-kun, do you know what a vengeful spirit is? It's the kind of spirit that can appear directly in front of ordinary people and attack them. And forming one is incredibly difficult. Fujie Akiyoshi has only been dead for three days. Even if he were placed somewhere with extremely heavy yin energy, he still couldn't become a vengeful spirit."

"...Right now, he's just a newly formed ghost who's a little stronger than most. As for his appearing in the mirror, that's probably only an illusion."

"Only an illusion?" Matsushita Heisaburo asked in surprise.

Shu Yunwen nodded. "Didn't Yamagishi Eiichi take Ono Yoko to see a psychiatrist? The psychiatrist was right about at least one thing. What they saw was all false. What a person sees doesn't depend on their eyes, but on their brain. Fujie Akiyoshi's spiritual power has been growing because of his obsession. At first, he could only affect Ono Yoko, but now Yamagishi Eiichi has been affected too."

"...He never actually appeared in the mirror. He only used his spiritual power to affect Ono Yoko and Yamagishi Eiichi's brains, making them imagine that Fujie Akiyoshi was in the mirror."

"If he really could appear in mirrors, Ono Yoko and Yamagishi Eiichi would already be dead!"

A vengeful spirit that could appear in front of people was beyond the abilities of a novice sorcerer like him to deal with. Even though Ghost Sorcerers naturally had an advantage against all ghosts and spirits, he would have to become an intermediate sorcerer before he could handle a vengeful spirit like that.

Matsushita Heisaburo opened his mouth, then stopped asking questions.

Shu Yunwen's answer sounded so impressive!

Well, it made him feel like he understood nothing at all.