Chapter 15: The Eye of Truth
The Yukinoshita family's influence was immense.
With just a few phone calls, a black Rolls-Royce Phantom with a special license plate parked unimpeded at the entrance of Sobu High.
The car's interior was luxuriously spacious. The soft leather seats and staid wooden trim completely isolated them from the outside world's noise.
Yukinoshita Haruno sat in the front passenger seat, constantly on the phone handling family matters. She would occasionally glance back at the rear seats, a hint of scrutiny and anticipation in her eyes.
The atmosphere in the back seat was somewhat delicate. Natsume Yu maintained his unshakeable calm, leaning against the window with his eyes closed to rest. Yuigahama Yui sat right next to him like a small animal seeking shelter, nervously and curiously observing everything inside the car.
Hiratsuka-sensei, on the other hand, was restless. She looked at Natsume Yu, then at Yukinoshita Haruno. Her lips parted several times, but in the end, she couldn't bring herself to say, "You've all gone mad." As a responsible teacher, she couldn't bear to let her student get involved in such superstitious matters. Her only choice was to follow along and witness it for herself, to prevent Natsume Yu from causing any trouble.
The vehicle moved smoothly. As it passed a small park in the middle of a street, it slowed to a stop.
"Haruno-sama, we're here," the driver said respectfully.
"Mm, please wait a moment," Haruno nodded.
Hozuki Eiko got out of the car and walked towards a small figure sitting alone on a park bench.
It was a little girl who looked to be in the lower grades of elementary school, dressed in a black Gothic Lolita-style dress and tightly hugging a slightly worn rabbit doll. She had long, jet-black hair and straight bangs, under which were a pair of disproportionately large, emotionless eyes like obsidian. The depths of her pupils seemed to hold a heart-stopping darkness that was incongruous with her age.
"That's Eiko's cousin, Hozuki Yayoi," Natsume Yu, who had opened his eyes at some point, explained faintly.
Soon, Hozuki Eiko led the little girl named Yayoi into the car.
"Natsume-san, long time no see," Yayoi spoke, her voice as flat as if she were reciting a textbook, without a trace of the innocence a child should have. Her gaze lingered on Natsume Yu for a moment before turning to the others, finally settling on Hiratsuka Shizuka.
"The residue of negative emotions on this auntie is very dense," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"A-auntie?!" Hiratsuka Shizuka felt a vein throbbing on her forehead.
"Yayoi, don't talk nonsense," Hozuki Eiko said, patting her cousin's head in embarrassment.
"An elementary school prodigy with an IQ of 160, and also a 'professional' who is more professional than you can imagine," Natsume Yu introduced her, then looked at Hozuki Eiko. "We met because of Yayoi, didn't we?"
"Ah," Hozuki Eiko recalled with a look of lingering fear. "At that time, Yayoi was experimenting with her self-created, half-baked sealing technique. It went wrong, and she was almost devoured by the evil spirit she had captured. If Natsume-san hadn't happened to be passing by, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
Natsume Yu remembered. It was a Special Grade Cursed Spirit entrenched in an abandoned shrine, which Yayoi had trapped with a crude but effective trap. However, the sealing technique, a mixture of ordinary people's blood and some Shinto rituals, not only failed to seal the Cursed Spirit but also enraged it, causing its power to go berserk.
At that time, he had simply fired a "Red," which had vaporized the berserk Cursed Spirit along with half the shrine. That world-destroying scene had clearly left a very deep impression on the two sisters.
"Yayoi's ability is special," Natsume Yu continued to explain. "She can capture evil spirits and then have them fight to the death in a specific container. The last one standing is the so-called 'graduate'."
"In layman's terms, she raises ghosts."
Natsume Yu's understated words seemed to make the temperature in the car drop by several degrees. Yuigahama Yui and Hiratsuka Shizuka both looked at the innocent-looking little girl with horror.
Yukinoshita Haruno also frowned. Although she was seeking help from supernatural forces, a term like "raising ghosts" sounded far too sinister.
"Hmph," Yayoi seemed a little displeased with Natsume Yu for exposing her, and just hugged her rabbit doll, turning her head away and saying no more.
"Oh, what a cute little sister and doll!" Hiratsuka-sensei's attention was successfully drawn to the soft and cute-looking rabbit doll. As a single woman of a certain age