Disclaimer: Eerie Queerie (Ghost!) belongs to Shuri Shiozu, Shinshokan & TOKYOPOP. Rally owns Emma Blair.
Author's Note: AAC stands for Anime Assassin Corps. It's the web personalities on the Anime Hit List, one of my alternate websites. On that site my personality is Kawaii. Here I'm just using the name as a prop, but if you'd like to know more about the AAC and the Anime Hit List click here.
Emma's personality had completely changed in the blink of an eye. She had gone from caring and worried to violent and suspicious. And her voice had dropped an octave. The woman was crouched down next to the lifeless Hasunuma like a feline mother protecting her young. She couldn't be...?
"She be who? Of you?" he tried in English.
"Hannah is mine!" Emma repeated in a hiss, eyes mere slits.
Okay, "Hannah" is a name. A girl's name. "Emma-chan," he pointed to the boy, scouring his brain for the right vocabulary. "Hasunuma sick. Help."
"Stay away!" She struck out toward him again. "Get away! Just die, Michael!"
The word "die" he understood. "Crap," Mitsuo muttered, before quickly scanning the room for anything useful. An ofuda would be nice. His focus landed on his friend. Hasunuma's skin was paling at an almost visible rate and from where Mitsuo was kneeling he couldn't tell if Hasunuma was breathing or not. He had to get to Hasunuma. He had to help him. He had to do something and if whatever it was that was possessing Emma was going to get in his way, he'd have to remove it. He just didn't have a clue how.
"Emma-chan?" Mitsuo deliberately switched back to Japanese. "I know you're here. I don't know why I can't see you, but I know you can at least hear me. I just want to say I'm sorry for what I'm about to do. Please forgive me." And with that vague declaration, he shifted all of his weight behind his fist and then sprung up and over to connect with the much taller figure ahead of him. The blow impacted dead center of Emma's face, with a peculiar crunch. The woman collapsed onto herself and Hasunuma.
Mitsuo took only a second to make sure she'd stay down before sprinting across the room to the closed suitcase at the foot of the bed. Charms, charms, beautiful charms. He snatched a handful of the painted paper talismans and then proceeded to cover every possible entrance for ghosts, including the door, windows, Hasunuma, Emma and himself. When he was finished the room resembled the vision of a drunken Post-It! Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey seminar hall. He even remembered to re-light the candle. It was as he was starting the incense burn he heard a rustle behind him. He turned toward the sound and kicked on his guard.
"Crab," mumbled Emma. "Dad reeby, reeby hurbz.(1)" She had managed to sit up and was gingerly holding her nose. "Ow."
The blond held out a fuda like a shield of righteousness. Even with a broken nose she was back to speaking Japanese, so he tried, "Emma-chan?"
"Whad da hell jusd habbened, Midsuo?(2)" Her hand was reaching to the talisman on her forehead.
"Don't touch that!" She dropped her arm. "Nobody's taking off their charms. We all have them, even me." He gave her a moment to take in her surroundings. "I don't know what happened, but I'm pretty sure Hasunuma was right. There is something here."
"Whad?"
Mitsuo shrugged. "I don't know, okay. You were the one possessed, what did you see?"
"I didn't see anything," she said carefully pronouncing her words. "I felt... I felt so angry when I saw you holding his hand and then... I don't know, I kind of blacked out." Then, "I was what!?!"
To Be Continued...