The hallway had fallen silent.But Haruka couldn't breathe properly.
Something was pulling him.
Something inside didn't want to let her go.
Haruka (looking at the ground, speaking to himself):— I don't want to get involved.(pause)— But... what if she's in danger?
The impulse came like instinct.Before he realized it, his feet were already moving.
Miko walked fast, her steps firm, heading straight for the school gate.
Haruka followed from a distance, hiding behind trees and poles, feeling ridiculous—but unable to turn back.
She exited through the side of the main gate, down a narrow path between buildings, until she reached the top of a sloped street that led to an old road.There, the wind blew stronger.And the city felt... different.
Less alive. Heavier.As if something had tainted the air.
She stopped. Looked around. Took something from her backpack—an old notebook, covered in cute stickers, with yellowed pages and red scribbles.
Miko (softly, flipping through the pages):— ...three victims... same age range... same time of day...
Haruka (behind a hedge, watching):— She's investigating...? Is this really that serious...?
Then, Miko pulled a new seal from her pocket and pressed it against an old utility pole.
Miko (in a firm whisper):— Spiritual Revelation. Let the veil be torn.
The pole's wires flickered. The air grew heavy.And Haruka saw it—even from a distance—a red glow flaring across the road, like the scars of an old fire had been reborn on the pavement.
Ghostly flames. Traces of pain.
Haruka (gulping):— What... is that...?
Then he heard them.Several voices. Dragged echoes, distorted, suffering.
Voices:— ...run...— ...don't stop...— ...she's coming again...
Haruka staggered back. The voices vanished.But now, he couldn't pretend it wasn't real.
Miko (suddenly turning, arms crossed, looking right at where he stood):— You can come out. I knew you were following me.
Haruka cursed under his breath and stepped out from behind the hedge, clearly embarrassed.
Haruka (trying to sound calm):— You shouldn't be walking around alone, you know?(pause, looking around)— What exactly are you doing out here?
Miko (serious, eyes locked on his):— Hunting...
Haruka (raising an eyebrow):— Yokai?
Miko (nodding):— A very old and dangerous one.(pause)Three students died this week. All of them young. All with internal burns and eyes completely destroyed.
Haruka went pale.
Haruka (softly):— ...eyes...?
Miko (gazing at the glowing traces on the asphalt):— Records speak of a yokai that walks through fire and tricks the vision of its victims until they can't escape.(pause)They say it's an entity of flame and illusion.(long pause)They call it... Shiranui.
The name cut through Haruka like a blade.
Haruka (taking a step back, gasping):— ...Shira...nui...?
Miko (noticing his reaction, stepping closer):— Have you heard that name before?
Haruka (hands trembling, trying to deny it):— No... I don't know...(softer)But... it feels like my body remembers.
The sensation was real. A burning under his skin.
Miko (now more serious, eyes narrowing):— Rinri-kun...(pause)This yokai isn't just killing. It's searching for something.
Haruka looked at his own hands—fingertips trembling.
Above them, the sky began to darken, even though it was still too early.
A warm wind passed by, like a whisper rising from the embers.
??? (female, hoarse, sharp, smooth and cruel):— ...it's been so long... at last... you've awakened, my sleeping flame...
Haruka froze.Miko prepared another seal.
The hunter... had become the hunted.
Light gathered. A scorching vortex began to spin above the road, fast enough to lift dust and broken twigs.
From the fire, a silhouette rose.Feminine. Tall. With a flowing ponytail of white flames and eyes that tore through the dark.Her reflection appeared in scattered rain puddles—but never in the same spot.No movement was predictable.
Shiranui (hoarse voice like smoldering coal):— You... shouldn't be here.— This isn't a place for worms.
Haruka's heart raced.
A heat rose from his spine.Reality around him began to unravel—lights stretched, colors twisted, time... slowed.
Haruka (sweating, trembling):— What's... happening...?
Miko (scared, staring at her):— Rinri-kun... that's Shiranui, the Blazing Mirror...
Shiranui moved.Illusions struck from every angle, burning Haruka and Miko with ghostly fire.
Shards of light, black flame, and shockwaves shattered the poles and cracked the pavement.
Haruka (shouting, stumbling back):— Stay away!
Shiranui (arms crossed, floating in the air with cruel majesty):— Hmph. I'll have fun with you little worms.
Miko (yelling, running to Haruka):— We need to get out of here! She's stronger than the records say!
But it was too late.The power was active.They were marked.
An explosion of heat consumed the scene.
It ended as fast as it began—but the heat... lingered.It pulsed, alive, breathing with Haruka's fear.
Haruka (kneeling, panting, one hand on his chest, the other on the cracked ground):— What the hell was that...?
His body sparked, as if trying to contain something struggling to break out.His eyes flickered between his usual blue and Shiranui's burning red.
Miko (in a defensive stance, a seal in her right hand and another between her teeth):— Rinri-kun! Focus on me! Breathe! You can't let her possess you!
Shiranui (chuckling low, like embers cracking under dry leaves):— He's not being forced.(pause, walking slowly through the air around them)— I'm just taking what's mine.
Her illusion moved like smoke, never touching the ground—but leaving burning footprints where she passed.Each mark reflected a distorted mirror.Each reflection showed a different Haruka: monstrous, burning, and laughing.
Haruka (shouting, fighting back):— SHUT UP! STAY BACK!!
Shiranui (subtle cruelty in her voice, savoring each word):— Yes... entertain me, worm. Hehe.
Flaming circles began to spin around Haruka.Illusions of Shiranui attacked from every angle—then turned to ash.
Miko (yelling, slamming seals into the ground with her fingertips):— Speed Break! Delay Seal!(pause, gasping)— I won't let you hurt him, you bitch!
The seals exploded in a wave of invisible force.The space warped.Shiranui's illusions slowed down—as if moving through thick, hot syrup.
Haruka (looking at Miko, his eyes still flickering):— Why... why are you protecting me?
Miko (without hesitation):— SHUT UP!(short pause, glaring at Shiranui)— Let's finish this bitch.
Shiranui (pausing, head tilting as if amused):— So sweet...— Shame the little slut will burn to death.
A blast of fire surged straight from her body, aimed directly at Haruka.
Miko (raising a fan-shaped seal):— Spirit Wind: Scatter!
The seal broke into hundreds of paper leaves, dispersing the flames until they vanished.
Haruka (still on his knees, sweating, but his gaze steadier):— You... damn yokai.
Miko (kneeling beside him, pressing a seal to his forehead):— Then let's fight it—TOGETHER!
His eyes shut. The seal glowed.A scream echoed—not from any mouth, but in the air itself.A spiritual scream.Of pain. Or liberation.
Shiranui (recoiling, as if burned by denial):— Hmph. Still so weak and useless. But... more interesting than I thought.(pause, fading into her own smoke)— Until next time, my sleeping flame. I'll return to ignite... everything.
With a swirl of illusory flames, she vanished.The spiritual traces on the ground slowly faded.
The old road returned to what it was.Dark. Silent.
But for the two of them—nothing was the same anymore.
Haruka (now lying on his back, staring at the sky):— That... was real?(pause)— Or have I just completely lost my mind?
Miko (sitting beside him, still catching her breath, calmer now):— It was real.(pause, gently)— But your mind... might not be entirely wrong either.
She looked at him—not as an exorcist anymore, but as someone who had seen.
Miko (eyes still on the sky):— I'll protect you.— But you need to learn to protect yourself too.(pause)— I'll teach you how to fight like an exorcist, Rinri-kun.