Dear reader,

I'm writing this at 4 A.M. I just went on my first mission today and ended up getting home super late.

After Nakamura-san defeated Kumo, the creepy spirit world disappeared, and we found ourselves in the alleyway where I fought the other unnamed Youkai.

It turns out that there was another body in the spirit world. The police found it in a different alleyway after being informed by Nakamura-sensei.

Since it was super late, we couldn't take the subway back home, so we took a taxi. I was dropped off at home first, while Abe-senpai and Nakamura-sensei went back to the Agency to report on the mission. My parents were still up despite it being very late, and I could tell they were super relieved when they saw me.

Everyone ended up okay, although Abe-senpai did have a broken arm. Hasegawa-san said that it should heal in about a week, though, due to the special bandages we have. They're called "Yao-Kuai Healing", and were apparently invented in China. Hasegawa-san explained that you could charge them with excess soul energy, and when needed they'll use that energy to heal you. Hearing this amazed me, but unfortunately, the bandages only really speed up your healing, so it can't heal illnesses, or wounds that you wouldn't be able to heal by yourself. Nonetheless, they're still pretty useful to have.

Hasegawa-san talked to my parents about the mission, and while I do think they were very concerned, they were mostly glad that I was okay. I think they know that I have to learn to protect myself.

School's going to start the day after tomorrow. Even though it seems like nothing compared to what I've been through lately, I still can't help but feel nervous since it'll be my first time in high school. Thankfully, Mika's going to be there too. Hopefully, I'll be able to make friends. Anyway, since it's super late, I'm going to be going to bed.

____________________________________

Due to my exhaustion, I slept like the dead. I would've slept longer, if I hadn't been shaken awake.

I groggily opened my eyes, and when my blurry vision cleared I was staring up at a familiar person with a bun and brown eyes.

"Good morning, sleepyhead."

Ah. It's just Mika being Mika again.

"What time is it?"

"3 p.m. Madam, why did you not reply to any of my texts yesterday? I'd understand if you were busy, but you were gone the entire day!"

Oops. I did have my notifications off because of the mission...

"Uh... about that..."

Dammit, I don't even know what to say! What do I tell her? I mean, obviously not the truth, but-

"I bet you were too immersed in reading a book or something. Airhead."

Mika walked back out my room door and said "I'll wait for you to get changed. Let's go somewhere and enjoy our last day of summer."

"Ah. Okay."

I'm lucky she didn't ask any more questions.

I quickly changed into some comfortable clothes and walked down the narrow stairs. When I got downstairs, I saw Mika on my couch playing video games with Kenta.

They did not exchange a singular word, but they had perfect coordination and teamwork. I walked over and grabbed a controller.

Mika looked over at me, and hastily said "Wait, I just wanted to go out for a bit."

She turned her attention back to the screen, and to her dismay, she realized that she had died. I tried my best to stifle my giggling.

Kenta laughed too, and got up to turn off the console.

"I should get going to my part-time job anyway. You two have fun."

We stepped out of the house and into the neighborhood. A light breeze and warm sunlight served as a reminder of springtime.

"Where should we go?"

I stretched and yawned. It was quite comfortable outside."Mmmm.... Let's go get ice cream at a convenience store."

When we entered the local Family Mart, I felt a weird sensation, almost like a small chill. That's strange. I don't think the AC's on here...

I quickly scanned the area while Mika walked over to the freezers. Nothing. Was it just my imagination?

Ignoring the weird sensation, I followed Mika through an aisle of bright candy and snacks, to the ice cream section. Hmmm... they have a lot of types. It's hard to pick one.

I looked over at my right to look at more brands before deciding, where I noticed an expressionless boy also buying ice cream. I don't usually stare at strangers, but... why the hell is he buying so much?

The boy had a small shopping basket, but it was filled to the brim with ice creams of all sorts of shapes and sizes. On top of that, he even had a clear umbrella, even though it was sunny this week.

Wait... GAH!

After looking closer, I realized that the umbrella in question had a giant eye. A long tongue snaked out of its front, and human arms sprouted from its sides. It kept hopping in place, with a singular leg wearing a geta sandal.

Without thinking, I jumped backward at the sight of the umbrella Youkai. Both Mika and the boy stared over at me in bewilderment.

I kind of wished the air conditioning was on now.

"A-ah... There was a big spider..."

Mika sighed and turned back to take out a bar of ice cream, but the boy with the basket full looked at me for a little longer, to the point of me feeling pretty uncomfortable. I made eye contact with him, and he quickly turned away. But what I really cared about was the Youkai.

I looked back at the Youkai. It looked just like the famous Kasa-Obake Youkai, except instead of a traditional umbrella it was... a plastic one from a convenience store.

It seemed to be doing nothing but sitting (or hopping?) next to the ice cream boy. Hasegawa-san's voice floated from the back of my mind: "Most Youkai are simply troublemakers..."

If this Kasa-Obake was one of the common and harmless Youkai, I don't think I have much to worry about. Do I even have to exorcize it? It just seems to be minding its own business.

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As I debated what to do about the Kasa-Obake, the dark-haired boy counted his ice cream, and left to go to the register. The Kasa-Obake seemed to take interest in me and hopped over to me to stare.

Ahaha...

I quickly opened the freezer door and grabbed the closest ice cream, which happened to be a watermelon popsicle with chocolate seeds.

"Mika, let's go pay for these! I'm really craving this ice cream!"

Mika stared at me blankly. "Uh... sure."

Dammit, I just wanna get away from this thing. Quit looking at me like that!

As we started to walk towards the register, Hoshi appeared next to me. Does she need something?

She pointed at the ice cream with a pouting look. Ah.

"I'll get you something at home, alright?" I whispered so Mika couldn't hear.

Hold on, can she even eat? I guess we'll have to find out later...

Hoshi's expression brightened, and she playfully tapped the Kasa-Obake before floating after me. The Youkai unfortunately also hopped after me.

Ugh. Am I gonna have to have Hoshi beat it up?

We finished paying and walked out of the store, and the Kasa-Obake finally stopped at the doors. It didn't seem to want to leave. Hoshi waved goodbye at it and watched in envy as Mika and I opened our ice creams at a nearby park.

Okay, okay, I get it. I'll get you something later, I promise.

Mika glanced over at me and opened her mouth.

Oh no. What's she gonna say?

"So. What was that all about earlier?"

So she did notice... I was hoping she momentarily went blind... and deaf... and maybe just oblivious... But this is Mika I'm talking about. Of course she noticed.

"Ah... Uh... There was a bug..."

She didn't seem convinced. "Yeah, you said that earlier, but why'd you keep staring anyway?"

"Uh..."

She looked at me for a bit, before asking, "Was it the boy?"

I stared at her in blank shock. And then I regained my wits. "No!"

She started to giggle. "You don't need to be embarrassed about it."

Please. At this point I was considering telling her the truth.

"It's not what you're thinking..."

That sounds like something that someone in denial would say.

Mika looked at me for a bit more, and her smile grew even larger. "That sounds like something that someone in denial would say."

Are you kidding me? Can she read my freaking mind?

After I made more pitiful excuses, we started the walk back to my house and discussed high school.

"You nervous?"

I almost laughed. Five minutes ago I just saw something that would shock anyone. And yet, now that I was thinking about it, high school did cause me a bit of anxiety.

"Yeah... I wonder if we'll be able to make any friends?"

"Eh. I doubt you'll have much of a problem."

Mika's statement puzzled me. "What do you mean?"

This time Mika was the one who did laugh. "I'm sure you haven't noticed yourself, but you're just... a very likable person. Kinda like one of those people who never get into fights with others."

"Oh... Thank you?"

Her words made me feel like smiling, but...

"What about you?"

Mika grinned as we started walking up a ramp. "Oh, me? You don't have to worry about that. I'm pretty confident in my social skills when I put some effort into it. And besides, I'm best friends with little Miss Sunshine over here-"

Her smiling face suddenly dropped, her ponytail flowing through the air. I stared in shock as she lay on the ground, having barely caught herself in time.

"Mika! You okay?"

She started to push herself up from the floor and back onto her feet. "Yeah, just tripped-"

With comedic timing, Mika tripped once again. This time she was in a very bad mood. Her face was pressed into the ground and she grumbled loudly.

"What the hell? What's up with me today?"

Strange, usually Mika's pretty athletic... I scanned the floor around her to check for anything that might've made her slip, when I saw it. There was a flat creature the color of a light gray, matching the concrete floor. Two tiny arms sprouted from it, and they were wrapped firmly around Mika's ankle. It had an ugly grin across its face.

"Ugh. Sayuri, would you mind helping me up?"

I stared at the Youkai, feeling pretty annoyed. It was making a weird noise that I could only assume was giggling. Why couldn't it mind its own business? What did it gain from doing this? Hoshi appeared next to me and summoned her naginata with a matching annoyed expression.

"Hold on."

I pulled out my phone and opened the Youbidase app. I opened up the map and saw a small glowing green dot in front of me, next to a slightly larger one. I clicked the small dot, and pressed "scan".

[Scan complete. The signal is predicted to be E rank.]

Ah. Isn't this thing super weak?

I sent a message to Hasegawa-san.

[Hey... Just found a Youkai causing trouble. Should I exorcize it? It's E rank.]

Hoshi could probably easily get rid of this pest, but I wasn't sure if I was allowed to deal with Youkai without permission.

"Hold on for what? Don't tell me you're taking a picture."

Oh. Sorry Mika.

Actually, that gives me a good idea.

I opened the camera app and snapped a photo of Mika on the ground.

"Goddamn it, Sayuri. Give me a hand already."

But I curiously looked at the photo. Sure enough, I could see the Youkai in the photo. I decided to send it to Hasegawa-san to provide more information.

Within a few seconds, I received a reply, which was a bit surprising given how busy he seemed.

[Go for it, Miyake-san! Sorry that I forgot to tell you, but you don't need any permission to exorcize any weaker Youkai. If you do encounter a stronger one, try and make sure no bystanders are in danger, and retreat while informing us. Hope your friend's okay!]

Great.

Now beat its ass, Hoshi.

Hoshi seemed to sense my intentions and gave me a nod. She pried the Youkai free from Mika's leg, to its attempted resistance. She then threw it into the air and sliced it in half, ceasing its squealing.

Good riddance.

Although it did let me see Mika in a funny situation.

Mika and I ended up walking back to my house and playing more video games with Kenta. The two of us have had a heated rivalry in Battle Bros for years, yet Kenta still somehow managed to destroy us. Despite the thorough ass-kicking, I still enjoyed my last day of summer, forgetting the dangers that I had just experienced, even if it was just for a little while.

_________________________________________________________

A lone car was driving down a mountain road. A young man wearily gripped the wheel, feeling quite tired after a long journey. He had been away visiting his parents, who lived in the country far away. But now that the school year was starting again soon, he had to make the long drive back to Tokyo, where he attended Waseda University.

Although his parents dearly missed him, they were incredibly supportive when he was accepted into the prestigious school.

But if he was being completely honest, he missed his hometown too.

The young man sighed deeply. "Almost back in Tokyo... It's alright. I'll get to go back again during my next break."

His car headlights illuminated the dark path in front of him, and eventually hit a pitch-black tunnel. He wasn't too far from the city now. He drove into the tunnel and sighed again. The tunnel was definitely a lot creepier late at night. It felt like it was stretching forever...

With a sudden bang, the car spluttered to a halt. What in the world?

The man cautiously stepped out of the car, praying that no one else was out driving this late. He walked to the front of the car, and couldn't help but gasp. One of the lights was broken, and the entire front was smashed. It was a miracle that the car didn't blow up.

"What the... did I hit something?"

All of a sudden, he heard a growl right behind him. He turned around and froze in a silent scream.

In the middle of a dark tunnel sat a monstrous creature. Its bright red skin gleamed in the moonlight, covered in a sinister, darker-red liquid. Blood also dripped from the iron club across its back, and splattered on the ground. Laying a few feet in front of it was its victim: a corpse whose head remained nothing but a gorey mass on the ground. Pieces of the person's flesh stuck to the ends of the Youkai's two horns, which sprouted from its grinning head. Smashed innards stuck to the floor and walls.

The Oni had just hunted another one of its prey, but it wasn't satisfied. It thirsted for more. It uncrossed its legs, and stood up, nearly twice the height of the average man. It turned to leave the tunnel. It could sense much more presence in the nearby city. There would be tons of prey there. It walked forward a couple of steps and stopped.

A shadowy figure was walking towards it. The Oni tilted its head. It couldn't sense anything from this creature. It would pose no threat. The Youkai lifted its club from its shoulder and snarled viciously at the intruder. It could barely contain its excitement.

Then something odd happened. The temperature turned extremely cold. The Oni stood frozen momentarily, shocked at the sudden change in mood.

What was this feeling? It was like the rush of battle, yet... where had it felt this before? It was so long ago...

But there wasn't enough time for the Oni to identify what it was feeling. The figure stretched out a hand, and shadows stretched from out of the floor. Endless hands formed from the darkness grabbed the terrified Youkai, and effortlessly lifted its several-ton body from the ground. The shadows engulfed and wrapped around the predator-turned-prey.

With horror, the brute realized what the figure was doing. But it was too late.

Shadows constricted around the Oni's arm, and slowly tore it off. The ogre began to scream with an inhuman sound, yet anyone listening would somehow understand its pain and terror. The blob of darkness flooded into the Oni's open mouth, and its screams were stifled. It looked as though black oil was dripping from every orifice.

After the deed was done, not even dust was left of the poor Youkai.

The figure silently continued walking down the tunnel.