Chapter 26: Striving to Become a "Yotsuya Miko" Trainer
Hearing those words, Yotsuya Miko was so scared that tears almost spilled out. She stammered:
"Y-Y-Yoru... E-E-E..."
"Hungry what? If you're hungry, go eat. What's the use of telling me? I'm not a chef."
Before Miko could finish, Yoru waved his hand to interrupt her. He leaned close to her ear and whispered.
"Look clearly. That is a human, not an evil spirit."
Hearing Yoru say this, Miko relaxed a little. She bit her lower lip lightly, looking at the beautiful girl, still shaken.
It couldn't be helped.
In the past, Miko only needed to look at the appearance to judge whether someone was a human or an evil spirit.
But ever since she was almost successfully "entrapped" by the evil spirit disguised as Hiratsuka Shizuka, she had developed a bit of PTSD.
Hearing the phrase "Can you see me?" was enough to scare her soul out of her body.
Fortunately, Yoru was by her side. Otherwise, the words "Evil Spirit" would have blurted out of her mouth just now.
"I'm sorry to have disturbed you."
Seeing Yoru whispering in Miko's ear, appearing somewhat intimate, the beautiful girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She spoke softly and politely, then turned and left without dragging things out.
Once she was gone, Miko finally let out a sigh of relief.
Then, she recalled that the girl's appearance seemed familiar.
"Wait a minute. Wasn't that... Sakurajima Mai-senpai?"
"Not familiar. Don't know her."
Seeing Yoru's indifferent attitude, Miko raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"You actually don't know Sakurajima Mai-senpai? Let me tell you, she is..."
"Former national idol, debuted as a child star, famous actress, starred in multiple morning dramas, right?"
Yoru rattled off a long list of Sakurajima Mai's titles and yawned.
"I know her very well, I'm just not interested. Don't forget, the most important thing right now isn't chasing celebrities."
Hearing this, the light in Miko's eyes dimmed visibly. She nodded solemnly.
"Mmhmm, I understand."
As a spirit medium with the "Sight," after learning from Yoru about the dangers lurking in Kyoto and the restless evil spirits threatening all of humanity, Miko had made up her mind.
Even disregarding her own safety, she was determined to solve this matter together with Yoru.
"Alright, relax."
Seeing Miko's heavy expression, Yoru chuckled and patted her shoulder.
"I'm in a good mood today. I'll treat you to dinner, and then we'll start your training."
"What do you mean by training? Do you think I'm a Pokémon?"
"If only you were a Pokémon. I'd stuff you full of Rare Candies."
"Stop saying weird things."
After some banter, Miko's nervousness finally eased a bit. She asked somewhat shyly.
"Um... treating me to dinner... just the two of us? Alone?"
"Of course. Just the two of us."
"Th-This... okay."
Miko felt her heart rate suddenly speed up.
She stole a glance at Yoru's profile, thinking that when he wasn't saying weird things, he was indeed very charming.
Could it be...
But we've only known each other for five days. Isn't this progress a bit too fast?
Did I misunderstand?
But eating alone, just the two of us... that sounds ambiguous no matter how you look at it.
If Yoru suddenly confesses to me during dinner, how should I respond?
Accept... or reject?
Miko felt very conflicted inside.
....
Half an hour later.
Miko looked at the gloomy, unfinished building in front of her. The walls were a dilapidated gray, emitting an ominous and eerie aura. She looked dumbfounded.
"The... the 'eating alone' you mentioned... is coming to a place like this?"
"You bet."
Yoru looked serious as he pulled two bento boxes from his bag.
"I snuck out of school during lunch break just to buy these. You should feel honored."
Miko looked at the abandoned building. Her golden eyes showed great reluctance, and she felt her legs going weak.
"Can... can we not eat here? Y-You said it would be just the two of us, didn't you?"
"Yeah. Just the two of us 'humans'. See? I kept my word."
Seeing Miko still hesitating, Yoru shrugged and walked straight into the abandoned building.
"Anyway, if you don't come in, our partnership ends here."
Hearing this, Miko's cute face looked like she wanted to cry but had no tears. Finally, she gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, and followed him, suppressing the fear in her heart.
As soon as she entered the building, she felt a very familiar aura—one she had felt in the alley last time. She thought to herself:
It seems there is a 'Door' nearby.
Thinking of this, Miko's mood became increasingly heavy.
Not for any other reason.
Last time, she hadn't seen the "Door" or felt its terrifying aura before stepping into the alley.
This meant the influence range of that "Door" was just that dark alley, a few dozen meters long.
But this time.
She clearly felt the aura of the "Door" the moment she stepped inside.
Judging from the exterior, this unfinished building was at least thirty or forty stories high and designed to be a large shopping mall.
This meant...
The range of influence of the "Door" existing here was more than a hundred times that of the previous one!
"Training officially starts now."
As Yoru's voice fell, Miko suddenly saw hundreds of eyes—varying in size and color, but all revealing madness—emerge from the dark corners of the building where the sunlight couldn't reach.
The gazes of hundreds of non-human eyes locked dead onto her and Yoru.
Suddenly facing such a terrifying encounter, Miko felt as if she had been plunged into an ice cave. Her pupils dilated in shock.
"No elevator. Let's take the stairs."
Yoru's expression remained as calm as ever, as if he didn't see the evil spirits at all.
Miko finally understood what the so-called "training" meant.
Having come this far, she had no other choice. She could only suppress the fear in her heart and follow Yoru into the stairwell, heading upwards.
"Can you see me?"
"Can you see me?"
"Can you see me?"
...
After entering the dark and narrow stairwell, the evil spirits didn't disperse; instead, they followed.
From time to time, out of the corner of her eye, Miko could see strands of pitch-black, dripping hair or pale, twisted, grotesque fingers flashing past her.
In the quiet stairwell, aside from the incessant questioning of the spirits, there was only the sound of her and Yoru's footsteps interwoven with the sight of hundreds of evil spirits crowding together behind them, creating a terrifying scene straight out of a hell scroll.