Ghost of a Chance

After School Hex (Part 4)

"... But Kasai-san didn't do it," Mai insisted.

"Can you prove to us that it's not her?" he asked. "If we don't do anything to stop her, there may be someone who could really die from this. Do you understand that?" Mai flinched and lowered her head.

'I can't... prove it. There's no way I can prove her innocence,' she thought, frustrated. 'But... If I don't do anything about it...'

"Question," Hitomi said, raising her hand. "Out of everyone present, who here has spoken to Kasai-san the most?"

"That would be Mai," Naru answered.

"Then, wouldn't she have a better understanding of her character than those of us who have only spoken to her once, or not at all?" Hitomi pointed out. "What do you think, Mai? Knowing someone's life is on the line, is your answer still the same?

'Kasai-san is innocent,' a voice echoed in Mai's heart. 'That's right...' Mai thought, clenching her fists, as she steeled her resolve. 'Kasai-san is innocent. I can't prove it... but I feel it. Somehow, I know it...!' "... Kasai-san is innocent, definitely!" Mai stated firmly with determination.

"That's what she says," Hitomi said, glancing at Naru.

"Do you know that for sure?" Naru asked Mai.

"Yes, I do," Mai retorted.

"Is this your intuition again?"

"Yes, it is!"

Naru couldn't see any hesitation in Mai's eyes. She truly believed what she was saying. There was no doubt.

"Fine. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt this time," Naru told her.

"Really!?" Mai asked excitedly, surprised and relieved to hear that. Hitomi smiled.

"I don't want to be responsible if anyone dies, do you understand?" Masako asked seriously.

"I do," Naru answered, equally serious. "I have to stop the zuso. We'll look for the jusha," he said, referring to the four official members of  SPR. "I'd like everyone else to search for the hitogata."

"What now?" Bou-san asked, not liking where this was going.

"There are only two ways to break the enmi. One way is to turn the zuso back on the jusha. The other is to burn the hitogata being used for the curse," Naru explained. "The hitogata have to be buried near the cursed or the jusha. So if the jusha is somehow associated with the school, then it is likely that the hitogata will be buried somewhere nearby."

"Oi, oi! Do you have any idea how big the school grounds are? Do you expect us to search the entire area!?" Bou-san asked incredulously. "At least give us Hitomi!"

"In my case, at least, the culprit buried my hitogata sometime after Monday, when we started the investigation. Today is Thursday. You should still be able to tell where it was dug up," Naru told him. He wanted to see if Hitomi might also be able to see some sort of link between the psychic energy from the curse and the one casting it.

"Give me a break!" Bou-san said.

"Do you want to do this, or would you rather go home?" Naru asked coolly with a cold glare.

"Of course I want to do it..." Bou-san said, sweating nervously.

"Hey, are you losing the battle again!?" Ayako asked the monk in disbelief.

"... Maybe I could try a quick look before we split up?" Hitomi suggested with a wry smile, taking pity on them.

"Very well," Naru conceded. They watched as she removed her eye patch and placed a hand over her green eye so that she could only 'see' out of her blue, glass doll eye. Now that she had a better idea of what to look for and where, Hitomi began moving her head and turning around to look at the space around her to get a full view of the paranormal elements in the rest of the school from their base. She looked side to side, up and down, and all around before finally opening her green eye again to look at them. She saw that she was now facing away from the others, who had moved to avoid being bumped into while she was flying blind.