Ghost of a Chance

Forbidden Pastime (Part 11)

"Matsuyama. As in that Matsuyama-sensei?" Hitomi asked as the crease in her brow deepened.

"Uh... What does that..." Mai started to ask, when the door opened with a rattle, and in walked the devil himself.

"Aren't you ready to leave yet?" Matsuyama asked with a nasty smirk. They all turned to look at him.

'Mastuyama-sensei...' Mai thought. A bead of sweat ran down the side of her face. He had no idea...

"There's nothing left for you to do," he continued to taunt them. "Do me a favor and pack your things to go."

"I'm terribly sorry, but there's something else we need to talk about," Naru said seriously.

"Hmm? What's left to discuss?" Matsuyama asked dubiously.

"Sensei, I think that you should hear this," Naru said firmly.

"What? Is this about your fees?"

"You idi—" Mai started to yell, sick of his condescending attitude, when Bou-san and Hitomi quickly clapped their hands over her mouth, holding her back. 'What's with this old jerk!?' she fumed internally. Hitomi and the monk smiled wryly and sweat-dropped. Good ol' Mai... They knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Don't you dare try to trick me. Nevermind, just leave now," Matsuyama said sternly.

RUSTLE.

Naru held the Orikiri-sama paper out in front of him.

"What's that?" Matsuyama asked.

"It's a cursed charm," Naru replied.

"A cursed charm?" Matsuyama asked dubiously.

"Sensei, are you aware that Kokkuri-san is popular in your school?"

"Well... It's just a silly game."

"This was used to carry out Kokkuri-san," Naru explained. "It seems that someone has introduced a new, deceptive form of Kokkuri-san."

"So?"

"This cursed charm was used to cast a murder hex."

"That's completely absurd!" Matsuyama laughed. "It's not possible to kill someone with a curse. And who, might I ask, was the intended victim?" Naru stared straight at him.

"You, Matsuyama-sensei," he answered seriously. "Isn't that right, Lin?" he asked, handing the charm back to his assistant.

"Yes," Lin confirmed.

"E-Enough of your claptrap!" Matsuyama said incredulously.

"Takigawa-san. Can you read Sanskrit?" Lin asked, holding the charm out for the monk to see.

"Uh-huh. Well, enough to get by," Bou-san said, a little taken aback.

"Please read what it says here on the right," Lin instructed him. "The name of the one being cursed is written here."

"Whoa, is that really Sanskrit?" Mai whispered to Hitomi. Hitomi nodded in confirmation. She couldn't read it, but she had seen samples of Sanskrit before in temples and museums.

"I see," Takigawa said when he read the characters. "I can make out the name 'Matsuyama Hideharu.'"

"Wha—" Matsuyama sputtered.

"It doesn't necessarily need to be written in Sanskrit," Lin said. "Also, the left side lists an age. Naru, can you read it?"

"Kanji isn't really my strong suit," Naru said. "Hitomi?" Lin held it out to her.