What does the word “friend” mean to you? A friend is a person whom you trust to the point that he or she knows your deepest secrets and will never abandon you, a person who is always there with you in good times and bad times of your life, a person who you can always rely on when you’re in trouble or pinch. What outstanding definitions. Unfortunately, I don’t believe in those three ideas. Don’t you think that those are too good to be true? In the first place, why do you even need a friend? Don’t even think about saying that a friend can always help you in your troubles because that will only become a joke with a very bad taste. Can’t you do anything without them? Are you fine with the idea of owing them a debt? If I’m going to need a helping hand, it is in the level of robbery, death threat, hospitalization and other similar catastrophe. That means that what I need is the government, private sectors or the like and not a simple being called friend. I just want to live a life without making friends. By being alone, I can find peace and tranquility. For me, staying this way is my only wish.

  That’s right. I am your average loner in the corner, Orel. I am now an 11th grader in Pepito Garcia Memorial High School at a city far from our country’s capital, in other words just some countryside. In my whole life, I lived as a loner and this year, I am expecting this lifestyle to continue but…not everything goes according to plan, right?

Right now, I am walking towards my school when somebody called my name.

  “Or!” a girl called with a smile.

  I immediately recognized who it is but I pretended not to hear it. I just continued walking when suddenly, that girl stumbled and fell on the asphalt road, face first.

  “Not again,” I whispered in a displeased tone.

  When I turned around, I saw a girl lying on her stomach in the middle of the road. Jeez…she tripped again.

  Irritated by her usual clumsiness, I went towards her.

  “Here,” I said with a sigh after extending my hand.

  She then looked at me and made a very cheerful smile.

  “Thanks,” she said and held my hand. I then pulled her up as she stands.

  “I told you to be careful when you're running, right? Can't you learn anything from those trips?"

  “Hehehe…” she laughed with a slight apologetic look.

  Don’t laugh. I’m scolding you for your own good, you know.

  This girl is Sheena, a cousin and schoolmate of mine. In appearance, she has a shoulder-length hair, slender body and a height that is one head shorter than me. She happens to live around here so we often came across each other when going to school. That is why even if I don’t want to walk with her side by side, I couldn’t help it. You can say that I stopped minding it a long time ago because it is more troublesome to find ways on how to avoid her. I think it is around grade school…well, it’s not that important. Before I know it, we are now this close to each other.

  “Or, are you alright? It looks to me that you didn't get enough sleep last night. Is it because of your homework?" she asked with a worried yet care-free expression.

  By the way, “Or” is my nickname. Well, she’s the only one who calls me like that.

  "Do I have some bags?” I asked and slightly touched the skin below my eyes.

  “Yup,” Sheena nodded.

  Wait…I think I can tease her right now.

  “Our class doesn't have any homework. I just ‘did’ something last night?”

  “Something?” she asked after slightly tilting her head with a puzzled face.

  "Anyway, ‘that’ is indeed very tiring. Well, it can't be helped. I can only do ‘that’ at night when Dad and Sylph are sleeping,” I continued with a serious expression.

  Her face’s color suddenly turned to red and replied, “D...d...don't tell me…” in a flustered expression.

  "And before I know it, I climaxed twelve times.”

  “C...c...c...” she stuttered and after a couple of seconds, her head started to emit smoke.

  “Anime…” I said with a poker face, trying my best to suppress my laughter.

  "Huh?” she reacted with a surprised look.

  "I've watched a new series of anime. It has a total of twelve episodes."

  "Then, the climax...” she whispered with widened eyes.

  "Every episode has a climax. That's what I meant.”

  "You…did that on purpose, didn’t you?” she asked with a suspicious look.

  Oh no, I’ll get pinched again!

  "A-Anyway, that series is full of cliff hangers that I stayed very late. Thanks to that, I couldn't get enough sleep."

  “Ehh~” she reacted with a slightly interested look on her face. “What's the title?"

  “OreIto,” I answered seriously.

  “OreIto?" she repeated with a puzzled face.

  “Ore no Itouko ga Konnani Kawaii Wake Ganai.”

  "Kindly translate."

  “My cousin can’t be this cute.”

  Her eyebrows furrowed and replied, “Are you mocking me?”

  “Of course not! That is really the title.”

  After hearing that, she just looked at me blankly while trying to see if I’m lying or not.

  “I don't know if you will like it or not. Want a copy?” I asked.

  “Sure. I will try to watch it this week,” she replied with a smile.

  “Then, I will let you borrow my flash drive tomorrow. I forgot it at my study table earlier so I can't give it to you right now."

  "It's okay. Then, I'll be waiting," she followed with a smile.

  Well, anime are cartoon shows made by the country Japan. Unlike cartoons made by America, anime has a lot of genres because it targets all viewers no matter what your age is. That is why I am quite addicted on watching anime shows.

  “Or?" Sheena called.

  “Why?" I asked.

  “Nothing. It looks to me that you are once again lost in your thoughts. Is something wrong?”

  "No need to worry. It's not that important."

  Let me at least do the narration.

  "Don't be shy to consult me if it is about your personal problem,” she said with a smile.

  Isn’t it always the other way around?

  “Right, right. If I feel like it,” I replied half-heartedly.

  “Jeez,” she said with puffed cheeks.

  As you can see, I am close to her even though I am a self-proclaimed loner. Well, she is my relative after all. I am just distancing myself to total strangers like classmates, neighbors and other similar beings. Also, I met her before I became like this. Well, it is slightly complicated to explain so let’s just leave it like that for now.

  Before I know it, we are now in the third floor of the school’s main building. Well, all the third year’s classroom can be found in this floor.

  “Bye,” Sheena said after stopping before her classroom’s door.

  “Later,” I said and continued walking.

  Well, Sheena’s classroom is just next to mine.

  When I entered my classroom, no one even gave me a glimpse, a usual treatment because of my obscurity. Well, my seat can be found at the first column and fifth row, the farthest seat in the back.

After I sat down, someone suddenly went before my desk.

  “Good morning,” she said with her usual energetic tone and cheerful smile.

  “…”

  This girl is Meryl, the class representative of this section. In appearance, she has a long straight hair (long enough to pass her hips), her looks are above average but not in the level of showbiz icons and her body is well-endowed for her age. She also has a headband with a red ribbon design on its left side. Every day, she is always disrupting my peaceful and quiet life. How? She is always inviting me for lunch; she is always inviting me to walk with her when going home and other pointless things just to make me open up with the whole class. If I can define her briefly, she is just a “happy-go-lucky” high school girl, always smiling because she really enjoys her high school life. Always has a positive outlook in life and doesn’t have any problems, the complete opposite of me. That is why I find her very annoying.

"It's not that bad to greet me back, right?” she said with slight puffed cheeks.

  What a pain in the neck.

  “Do you need something?” I said with my usual cold tone.

  “I just want to remind you that you are one of the cleaners for today.”

  I almost forgot. Jeez…so this day has ‘finally’ arrived.

  “Okay.”

  “Don't even think of escaping, okay?" she pointed out with seriousness.

  “…”

  Is she a psychic?

  “OT?”

  Not that darn nickname again.

  “I won't so don't worry."

  "Then, I'm going back to my seat,” she said and went back to the front seat in the middle.

  What an energetic girl. Just from talking to her can make me extremely tired.

  Out of tiredness, I immediately rested my forehead on my desk but…

  “…”

  After feeling someone’s stare, I immediately looked at its source. It is coming from no other than the girl sitting in my right side. Because of my sudden glimpse, she got surprised and covered her entire face with the book she is holding.

What is wrong with her?

  This girl is Laira, an extremely timid and silent person who transferred here this year. In appearance, she has a long braid hairstyle, petite body and white-as-snow skin. Also, she always has a hairpin to prevent her neatly trimmed bangs from covering her forehead. Because of her stand-offish personality, she doesn’t have a friend in the class. If someone tries to talk to her, she will immediately flee like a chicken. Well, it looks like she is afraid of our classmates but even though both of us don’t have a friend here, that doesn’t mean that we are alike, hatred and fear are not synonymous after all.

  Afterwards, the class ended and it is now time to clean. But…

  “OT, where are you going?" Meryl suddenly asked after I stood up.

  “I-in the comfort room,” I answered nervously.

  “Then, leave your bag behind,” she said with a smile.

  “Fine,” I said with a resigned expression and placed my sling bag on top of my desk.

  After that, I went outside and when I covered a fair distance, I immediately ran away as fast as I can.

  You are still naïve, Meryl. There is no homework for tomorrow. I will only watch anime for tonight so there is no need for me to bring that bag back to my house. Farewell!

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  Without a single clue of what will gonna happen, I ran away from the classroom.

  The next day, all students in the school were acting strange. They were all gossiping about the same topic. As a loner, the only thing that I can rely on is my ear so I wouldn’t be left out in the dark. Now…behold my prowess!

  “What happened?” one student asked.

  "According to what I've heard, Meryl and Laira are currently hospitalized,” another student answered.

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know the exact details but according to what I’ve heard, they have been found unconscious here in this room yesterday. Not just them, there are also two students with them but I didn’t hear their names.”

  “Did someone assault them?”

  “I don’t know but what is puzzling is all of them don’t have a single scratch.”

  “Then, how did they end up like that?”

  “Well, some says that they’ve been possessed by a ghost.”

  “Th-that’s ridiculous, right?”

  “Well…you know the story that someone died here, right?”

  “Yeah, but...”

  “Isn’t it a little scary?”

  “Idiot! That...is impossible.”

  “Are you kidding me? A ghost? They don’t exist in real life, you know,” I thought to myself and stopped listening to their conversation.

  The whole day finished just like that with only the teacher announcing that those two were absent because of sickness. The students kept on asking what really happened but the teacher insisted that we should stop asking for further information.

  “What the heck happened?” I whispered to myself while walking towards my house.

  The two absentees were Meryl and Laira. They were the cleaners yesterday including me. They were still fine when I left the room. Whether what really happened to them, they were surely harmed. Does that mean that I got lucky because I escaped? Would I meet the same fate as them if I stayed behind?

  Before I even realized it, I am now in front of my house’s gate. My house is not that big. It is just a two-storey house with white façade and grey roofing. It has a small garden in the front so it looks a little big in my position’s view.

Just before I enter the black gate, I noticed that someone is talking to my father Oren in the garden.

  “Please. We really need your help,” the man said with a desperate tone.

  “But…” my father whispered with a troubled expression.

  What is happening here?

  When I tried to find out who is the person talking to my father, I got surprised from what I saw. It is a stout man wearing red polo and brown trouser. It is no other than our school’s principal. What is he doing here?

  “You are the only exorcist left in this city. You are the only one who can save my goddaughter,” the principal continued.

  Exorcist? Goddaughter? Is this conversation related to that strange incident yesterday?

  “That’s right but...I can’t save anyone anymore. I am too old for those victims,” my father replied.

  “What do you mean?” the principal asked.

  Suddenly, my father noticed me and called my name.

  “Orel. Did you hear our conversation?” he asked to me with a serious expression. “Come here.”

  “Right,” I said and entered the gate.

  “So your son is back from school,” the Principal followed as he watches me.

  “This is Orel. Orel, you know him, right? This is your school’s principal, Mr. Dan Hummington.”

  “Yes, I know him.”

  “Do you have some questions?” my father asked.

  A question? Am I supposed to ask about the incident at my school? Is he testing me?

  “What do you mean?” I asked seriously.

  “Two of the victims are your classmates, right?” he muttered without his expression changing.

  Just as I thought.

  “Based on what I’ve heard in the school and here, I think I have the gist of what is happening," I continued.

  “Then, let’s hear it,” he said with a somewhat amused face.

  “Then, promise me that you will not laugh no matter how funny my theory is.”

  “I promise. I know how sharp you are.”

  “My eyes again?”

  “Not that. What I mean is because of your anime marathon every weekend, you can construct a fine guess on what is happening here.”

  Is he saying that my answer should be fiction-based? Well, it is.

  “I am not really familiar about this but I think that my classmates got possessed by a ghost because they somehow disturb its slumber or something similar. And because of that, they are still unconscious. As an exorcist, you can somehow save them, am I correct?”

  Jeez…I’m watching too many supernatural anime shows.

  “Excellent. You’ve got it correct in a way,” he said with a smile.

  What the heck? I answered without thinking seriously and it really became the right answer. Is he serious?

  “Four girls from your school got cursed by the ghost,” he continued after making a serious face again.

  Who is the other two?

  “What do you mean by cursed? What will happen to a human if they got cursed by a ghost?” I asked.

  “Jeez. This will be a long explanation,” he whispered while scratching his head.

  “...”

  “You heard what I’ve said earlier, right?” my father continued.

  “That you can’t save anyone anymore?” I answered.

  “I will tell you everything about an exorcist’s job if you will become an exorcist.”

  “Me...as an...exorcist?” I reacted with a surprised face.

  “You can only become an exorcist if one or both of your parents have an exorcist’s blood in their veins. Not just that, you must also be their first offspring.”

  “So I can become an exorcist,” I whispered to myself.

  “That’s right. That is why if you don’t want to become one, now is the chance to back out. I can’t provide you anymore information about the existence of exorcists because it is a top secret to normal citizens.”

  “Then...” I muttered, still with a slight surprised look.

  “That’s right. If you will become an exorcist, I will provide you all necessary information about all of this.”

  Jeez. How did I end up in this situation? What the heck should I do?

  After noticing my uneasiness, my father asked me a question.

  "Do you want to save them?"

  After hearing those words, I remembered the face of Meryl.

  "How troublesome," I whispered to myself and looked at my father with determined eyes. “Can I...save the four of them?”

  Because of that sudden question, my father gave me a smile.

  “Of course you can. Nothing is impossible to humans...especially exorcist so don’t underestimate yourself.”

  “Then...I accept it. I will become one, an exorcist that can save anyone I want to.”

  “Nice resolve. Then...” my father said and put his hand on his left pocket.

  “Catch!” he said and threw something towards me, the one that is from his pocket.

  I somehow caught it even though it is so sudden. Jeez.

  “This is...” I reacted with a slightly surprised expression after looking at the thing on my left hand.

  “An exorcist’s symbol, the...cross of salvation.”

  “Cross of...salvation?”

  What the heck? Is it just me or this thing’s name is really cool?

  When I looked carefully at the pendant, it is really a shiny silver cross that has a length of around 3 inches. It also has a clear as glass pearl embedded on its center.

  “What is this? Is it like the one that the policemen show to civilians when there is a trouble around to recognize their job?” I asked.

  “Just to make it clear, you shouldn’t tell anyone about the existence of exorcist as much as possible,” my father followed.

  “But why?” I questioned.

  “I will discuss it later. Anyway, always wear that even when you are sleeping and bathing.”

  So it is really important to an exorcist. I wonder if it is some kind of high-tech gadget.

  I then wore it around my neck and once again stared at the pearl on the cross.

  “Now, want to learn everything about the exorcist’s job?” he asked to me.

  I looked at my father and replied, “Yes.”

  “John Theory,” my father mentioned suddenly.

  “John?” I repeated.

  “John Vaden Casanova, the greatest exorcist in the history.”

  Greatest, huh.

  “According to him, a spirit that can’t still go to heaven or hell is called a ghost. They are the ones who give curse to humans.”

  “But why would they do that?”

  “That is because of their hatred.”

  “Hatred?”

  “You can become a ghost if you died while storing strong hatred to someone,” my father explained.

  “So their hatred is the reason why they can’t rest in peace,” I followed.

  “Right. Do you want to know how can a ghost give a curse to a human?”

  “How?”

  “If a human destroyed one of their belongings.”

  “Huh?” I reacted, not expecting the answer.

  “According to John, our God placed all of their hatred inside a specific object that can be easily destroyed after they died. Because of that, all ghosts here in this world are already free of hatred. They are just wandering around the human world without a single memory about their past life.”

  “If the God placed all of their hatred in an object that can be easily destroyed, what will happen if it was destroyed?"

“Because that thing has been destroyed, their hatred will automatically perish. Because of that, they can now go to heaven or hell.”

  “Then, how did my classmates ended up like that?”

  “Hatred is a dark energy. It will perish if it is destroyed together with the object but it can still take advantage of human's heart.”

  “How?”

  “In the instant that the object has been destroyed, any humans around 5 meter of radius around that object can be cursed. It will release some of its dark energy and enter all human’s heart around it. Any humans have knowledge about sins. That means that all humans have a possibility to commit sins. That is why any humans that can distinguish what is right and wrong can be cursed. By the way, young childre cannot be cursed. They are still pure after all. Even if they did something horrible, they still can’t understand the weight of that sin fully. That is why as long as someone has a pure heart, that someone cannot be cursed.”

  “What will happen to the person that has been cursed?"

  “It will take advantage of their heart, right? That means that their heart...will stop beating.”

  “Then...” I whispered with a sudden worried look.

  “Don’t worry. They are still alive,” my father followed with a smile.

  “Does that mean that the hospital can still maintain their heartbeat?”

  “No. Since the start of these cases until now, the doctors still can’t find a way to save them without the aid of exorcists.”

  “Then, how can they still be alive?”

  “Light energy is the opposite of dark energy. Just after the victim received a curse, a faint yellow light will envelop his or her body. That is from the God itself. Because of this, the light energy and dark energy can reach equilibrium and make the victim safe for the time being.”

  “Then...” I whispered, realizing what the true work of an exorcist is.

  “That is the exorcist’s job after that. According to John, our powers are from the God itself. That is why we CAN'T make a living out of this power.”

  Is that really an important fact that he even emphasized it?

  “How can an exorcist save a victim then?”

  “The victim’s heart stopped from beating, right? That is why an exorcist's job is to make that heart beat once again before the light energy around them disappeared.”

  “How can I do that?”

  “Love, make that person fall for you,” my father naturally answered with a straight face.

  “Huh?” I reacted with a sudden dumb-founded face.

  “I’m serious here. That is what our descendants do after all. That is why I said that I am too old for your classmates, right?”

  “How can I do that? They are unconscious, right?” I retorted with a confused expression.

  “That is why only exorcist can save them...by entering their minds.”

  “We can do that thing?” I asked with a surprised face.

  “Well, we can only do that to the victims so we can’t enter other people’s mind. Once we entered their minds, we will found ourselves to an identical world of this world. The only difference is that in that world, they didn’t get cursed.”

The concept of parallel world, huh.

  “So the God made an identical world of this world on their minds to provide the exorcists the essential world to make anyone fall for them?" I reconfirmed.

“Yeah,” my father answered.

  “But how long can I last in that world?”

  “It depends on the victim. That means that it can be one month, one year or even one decade. Anyway, you have a question earlier right?”

  “Yeah. About why the exorcists’ existence can’t be learn by the public.”

  “Well, some victims find it difficult to fall for an exorcist in the past because of the knowledge that the love of that exorcist is not real.”

  Are you kidding me? What is with that ridiculous way of saving someone? I’m a loner you know. I can’t even have a proper relationship with a friend and now…

  “That cross...” my father pointed out.

  “This one?” I asked and held it.

  “There is a white pearl there, right?”

  “Right.”

  “It can produce seven different colors. The colors in the rainbow.”

  “Is there a meaning behind those lights? Do they represent something?”

  “That’s right. It symbolizes the skills that can be used by exorcists during their mission.”

  “Then, how can I light this thing up?”

  “It will light when the time comes. Anyway, the most important light is the color violet. Your cross will suddenly produce a violet light when the time comes. Don’t worry because you are the only one who can feel and see that light. But that is indeed troublesome. It will wake you up even if you are sleeping, you know.”

  “But why?”

  “Well, it indicates that you still got exactly three days to make the victim fall for you. That means that the color violet symbolizes ‘limit intuition’.”

  “So that indicates the critical point. How about the other colors?”

  “It is not fun to say everything here, right? Discover the use of other colors for yourself.”

This old man...

  “Rainbow represents hope. That is why you, as an exorcist needs to become their hope,” my father said to me with serious eyes.

I just stared at him with a slight surprised face and afterwards, I gave him a serious nod.

  “Anyway, time is running out so we should go to the hospital now," my father followed.

  "Okay," I answered.

  We then immediately went to the hospital by riding the principal’s red sports car.

  Without a single second to waste, we walked as fast as we can towards the room of the victims. After using the elevator and walking on countless hallways, we finally reached our destination.

  When I entered the room, I found four beds inside with a girl lying on each of those. Four of them are wearing white blouse with red neck tie and red mini-skirt, our school’s girl’s uniform.

  “So there is indeed a faint yellow light enveloping them,” I whispered as I stare to that said light.

  Then, when I looked at each one of them, I got surprised from what I saw.

  “Sheena?” I reacted with widened eyes.

  “Sheena...is one of the victims,” my father replied with a sad face.

  Are you kidding me? She is one of the outsiders? Why did she go to our room? Don’t tell me that…she was there…because of…me?

  “Dad! It’s my…” I said with a shocked face but my father immediately interrupted me.

  “Calm down, Orel!”

  “…”

  “You need to save them one by one. By the way, you should kiss them as a finale.”

  “Ki...kiss?” I reacted with a really surprised face.

  “Of course. In order for them to fall for you for real, that is a requirement. That is why nothing will happen if you kissed them without developing your relationship first.”

  I know that at least.

  “Because you are an irregular in that world, you are the only one who can save them. Even if they fall for a different person in that world, that love is not real because that fellow is just a representation of the real him in the real world.”

  “Orel, I leave my goddaughter to your hands,” the principal said with a smile.

  “By the way, who is your goddaughter in these four?”

  “The one with the cap and joke glasses. Wait here,” the principal said and removed both of it.

  “Aimy!” my father shouted with a very surprised face.

  “Aimy?” I repeated while thinking if I already met this girl before.

  “That is what you get from shutting yourself in your room every night. Aimy is the most popular idol of this generation. She started as a singer and before we know it, she has conquered the showbiz industry completely. Her T.V. shows, movies, concerts, album sales and everything are all huge hits!” my father continued with an exaggerated enthusiasm.

  “Then, how the heck can I make someone like that fall for me?”I asked after realizing that this mission will be impossible.

  “I think...it’s impossible,” my father instantly answered in despair.

  “The heck?” I reacted, not expecting that instant answer.

  “Do...don’t be so negative. Orel, Aimy will start attending your school so you can court her every now and then so don’t give up!” the principal said with determined eyes.

  “…”

  “Orel, you can’t fail this. You can only enter a victim’s mind once. That means that there is no second chance,” my father mentioned with sudden seriousness.

  “The world that I will go is just the same as this one, right? Then, on what place and what time will I appear in that world?” I asked.

  “The starting point is quite complicated. You will start on the nearest day where she is in your field of vision when you look around. That means that it can be even 10 years after this day or something. Luckily, all of your targets here are currently studying in your school. That means that your starting point will be tomorrow morning at the school except if you somehow met one in the roads.”

  How complicated. I wonder what I should do if the victim is really far. How can I track her? Well, I don’t need to worry about that now at least.

  “Who will be the first?” my father asked.

  I looked at each of the girls and realized how hard my mission is. The world that I will go is just the continuation of our daily lives. That means that I have to make them fall for me for real like we are in the real world. There reaction and emotion will be the same as what they will feel in the real world. Jeez…I can do this!

  “Orel?” my father called because of my sudden silence.

  “I will first rescue Sheena,” I answered seriously. “By the way, how can I enter her mind?”

  “Forehead to forehead,” my father answered with a smile.

  “Right.”

  “Good luck, son.”

  I slowly walked towards Sheena’s bed and saw her sleeping face. For some reason, I find it quite attractive for the first time. I need to…make her fall for me.

  “Wait for me, Sheena. I’m going to save you.”

  After stopping before her bed, I drew my face closer to her face and did what my father told me to do.