Chapter 15: Research (2)

“I think I found something.” spoke up Everlong. His voice quickly woke up Hiyori, who was sleeping on the couch. For her size, there was enough room to stretch out her limbs, finding it especially relaxing to lay down on it. Not to mention, for now this was the only place she could really sleep. 

 

“What?” asked, yawning, rubbing her eyes, quickly standing up, hurrying to his table. Her hair was messy beyond belief, like if she was struck by lightning. Now only Everlong’s lamp, on the left side of his desk, was the sole source of light in his office. The sun ducked down below the horizon for hours by now and the cloudy night made everything seem even darker. 

 

“The school was granted money in 1991 by the ministry of education to renovate the roof and install a chain link fence.” Said, showing an official document to her. 

 

“And?” asked, still barely awake, trying to read it, squinting, blinking again and again, without much success in the process. 

 

“The main reason is this!” chuckled, pushing another document before her that she picked up and started reading out loud after a few, successful eyerubs. 

 

“The board found it unacceptable that the name of the school is associated with bullying! The death of a student impacts our image towards the public, the parents and towards the Regional Association of Schools! We can’t let anything like this happen again!” reaching that point she raised her head, now completely awake, looking at Everlong. 

 

“That is a manuscript from a board meeting.” explained it to her “The fence got put up because one student jumped off of it. Four months prior, through the Golden Week, she ended her life by deciding to repaint the entryway to the school.” placed another page before her that had a student’s portfolio on it.

 

“Fukui Yukari…” read her name, almost as a whisper, watching the young girl’s picture, next to her name. She was thin, with messy, black hair, wearing it in a haphazardly put together bun. “Was she bullied to death?”

 

“Dunno.” answered with a serious tone “But she was the reason the chain went up! Now, a suicide, in 90% of cases, leave behind a ghost of some kind. An imprint of her woes.”

 

“And those are easy to turn into something demonic.” said, putting it down, looking at Everlong, who nodded.

 

“Most certainly! Now, I’m not saying she is your unwanted partner but she is a strong candidate! We can pick up on this clue and possibly follow it back to the crux of your problem!” stretched, with a clearly satisfied moan.

 

“Could she be another victim? One that I would have ended up as?” asked, with a much more calm voice than Everlong anticipated. He smiled a little, seeing how she was thinking about it.

 

“Could be. It also could be that she was murdered. Now, that kind of death births a tainted spirit, 99% of the time! Usually those who die that way wish death upon their murderer! It is not a peaceful way to go!”

 

“A murder like that should have been investigated by the police!” replied with raised eyebrows.

 

“It should have been! But it does not mean it would be!” replied, rubbing her hair with a smile “That was cute of you to think about it like that~” 

 

“...” looked away, looking a bit pouty, feeling like he was handling her like a child… but it felt great to be patted like this! “Fuck you…” murmured, under her breath only to make him laugh.

 

“You should stay here, get some sleep, I will go and dig up some files about Yukari-chan, let us see where she was born and what kind of life she had! It can draw us a nice picture about her personality and see if it matches with some, albeit distorted, characteristics of your possibly cursed twin!”

 

“She is anything but my twin!” rolled her eyes but as she looked at the picture… There were a ton of similarities. The messy hair, the dark circles under her eyes and how thin she looked even on the small image… just like her now. Hiyori could not help but shiver a little, turning the page face down with a quick move. “Can I come with you?” 

 

“Another night without sleep?” asked Everlong with a smile.

 

“I’m used to it. What about you?”

 

“I’m running on coffee!” chuckled “So first stop is going to be a McDouglas!” said, walking to his coat-stand and dressing up before they left the office.

 

…

….

…..

 

Hiyori was enjoying the car ride, looking out the window, watching the dark scenery as the sea completely blended in with the cloudy night sky and the black shoreline. She was unable to tell where it started and where it ended as there were no lights there, no matter where she looked. Turning towards Everlong, he was holding the wheel with one hand a searing hot cup of coffee with the other, blowing on it before taking a sip. On the other side of him, she could see the image of the mainland, the bright street lights on the side of the roads of a town further in that they were passing by on the highway. As it was already past midnight it seemed to her as if they were the only living beings around now as the whole road was empty before them. 

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“I love a hot cup of coffee but damn!” smacked his lips, placing it into the cupholder “I burnt my mouth once again!” 

 

“Their coffee comes out around 90 degrees celsius!” chuckled Hiyori, watching him grumble.

 

“Oh, yeah, you worked at them! Is it really that awful back there like the stories I hear?” asked, striking up a conversation as they were mostly silent since they left the fast food restaurant.

 

“Not really!” replied quickly, stretching in the car’s chair, taking up her own cup from the holder, blowing on it multiple times “I don’t know how it goes on the other side of the world, but here, we have extremely strict regulations and constant checks from the government! The things you hear are from the UCA and not from the Empire!” 

 

“Hmmm… true. Well, I am sure it is also not true for every place there too, to find rats baked into the bun and such! They are a pretty big country for that to happen anyway!”

 

“Yeah… we had to learn all the 100 colonies by name and the capitals they have!” sighed with a bit of nostalgia, remembering her middle-school days. “I got 67 on the test and only because Sayako-chan let me peek at hers!” 

 

“You still have to do that? So much for your independence after the Great War, huh?” smiled with a bit of sarcasm.

 

“I wasn’t alive back then so I can not comment on that!” said with an uninterested voice. “Even if we are no longer a part of the United Colonies of America, the agreements let their corporations flourish here! But our regulations are extremely strict, so our McDouglas was pristine! You could even eat from the floor~” laughed in a relaxed mood.

 

“True, your people love regulations!” agreed with his own laugh “It was hard to get used to it at first, but it also makes my work easier!”

 

“How was it in your homeland?” asked curiously, wanting to know more about him.

 

“It is different now, but when I grew up, there were regulations, but the coppers wiped their asses with them! So as a kid, born from a whore of a mother and a professional ale connoisseur, aka drunk dock worker, I was put to work at 6. By 10 I was mining coal, 18 hours a day.” explained calmly.

 

“Damn…” clicked her tongue, looking at him with widened eyes “Looking at my life…” said, trying to continue but he quickly reached out towards her, rubbing her head.

 

“Do not compare them! Your life is your life, your problems are just as hard and harsh as others! Nobody can tell you that you can’t feel bad about things that affect you just because somebody may have it worse!” 

 

“Thanks…” smiled, feeling relieved and at ease. She did not understand why, but it was something she was not about to question. It was a great feeling and that was enough for her!

 

“You are welcome! Anyway, that was then and here I am now, a paranormal detective! An upgrade if you ask me!”

 

“Were you always aiming to be one?” asked, raising one hand, touching the top of her head, still feeling Everlong’s hand on it, even after he pulled it back. 

 

“No.” answered, grabbing his coffee “I was tricked into it because of desperation! When I was 13, I was drafted into the army. On paper I was 18 of course! I got myself a fake passport, hoping to get on a ship and sail away, to a new life! Well… looking back at it now, it really played out like that, just not the way I expected!” chuckled, taking a long sip “Then on the battlefield… shit happened. After it I had no other choice but to pick up this profession and have been doing it since then! In a nutshell, that is my early life.” closed it down, clearly not about to tell her more for now.

 

“Oh… I see…” nodded, falling silent, slurping her own brew but her thoughts already started to form many questions in her mind.

 

The last big war was in the 1960’s… Namely the Oceanic Revolution, when the Albionic Commonwealth’s last colony broke off, ending a 400 year old empire’s reign for good. Maybe he fought in Africa? Where skirmishes are frequently fought, even today? That was the most logical outcome as he only looked to be in his thirties! Before all that there was only the Great War, going on from 1900 to 1920! And before that… Only the spark that ignited it, the Fire of Freedom, a series of uprisings, where colonies after colonies decided to break off from their overlords, throughout the XIXth century! Yeah… that was impossible, he can’t be that old… Can he?

 

“Is there something on my face?” asked Everlong, looking at her with a quick glimpse.

 

“Ah, no!” flinched Hiyori, feeling embarrassed “It’s just… my mind can quickly come up with a bunch of bullshit…”

 

“That can be a gift and a curse at the same time!” said while they drove off from the highway, coming to a separate road, leading them towards a small town. “It helps you keep your own self and solve problems… but also gives a great attack point for demons who like to manipulate the mind. But don’t worry!” reached out again, patting her head “I’ll teach you how to deal with it!”

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