The illusionary fireworks dissipated, leaving not even the smell of gunpowder in its wake. The spirits drifted on once more, to lives that Hiraku knew nothing of. They definitely moved with a sense of purpose, but they weren’t living beings, so what exactly did most of them do? If he remembered correctly, they wished to validate their existence to human beings, but how exactly did they do that?

“Well then,” he said, buttoning up the collar of his gakuran, “You said there was work, right?”

“Uwah, bored already?” Shinobu gasped in mock surprise.

Hiraku rolled his eyes. “We came here for a reason. Don’t waste time.”

“Wouldn’t have thought that the chuuni delinquent was such a focused person, but okay~!” With a clap of her hands, a colorful explosion of confetti and pink mist covering her body, before Shinobu stepped out in a decidedly different outfit. With framed glasses, a black cardigan, a silk blouse, slim trousers, and high heels, the ponytailed girl twirled the translucent ruler in her hand.

“More magic?” Seeing her flaunt that extraordinary power was starting to irritate the powerless Hiraku, but he bit his tongue. Complaints can be saved for later, after he learned more.

“Of course!” The girl snapped her ruler at empty air, and a blackboard popped out into existence with poppy sound effect. “Now, Kazanari-sensei’s mission briefing is in session! Everyone listen up please!”

Hiraku applauded lazily, sitting crosslegged on the glowing ground.

“Tonight, we’re going to be exorcising a Spirit with dominion over the concept of ‘Hot-bloodedness’! Kaminazuki Academy has designated it as a Type-Stray, so as long as nothing out of the ordinary happens, it’d be the same as kicking a stray puppy!”

“Wait, what? Like, what’s all this?!”

“Oh, looks like someone’s been a bad student, eh? Guess Himura-kun is going to have to take some private lessons~”

“Shinobu, cut the crap. Explain things clearly, and stop messing around.”

“Boo.” Shinobu pouted, her fake clothes and accessories disappearing, “You were so much more fun a few minutes ago.”

“Yeah, but explain to me. Exorcising? Dominion over ‘Hot-bloodedness’? Kaminazuki Academy? Type-Stray? Maybe you should have told me about all this before we got here?”

“Well, you never asked, so there!”

Hiraku grimaced. The longer Shinobu stayed in Unveil, the more childish and immature she became, and this trend was pissing him off.

Shinobu noticed that stormy expression of his though, and sighed, raising her palms up. “Boys these days, so impatient and disruptive. Well, whatever, your reliable big sister w-”

“Shinobu!”

“…will explain on the way. Just follow me.”

Picking himself off the ground, the blue-haired boy followed behind as Shinobu strode into the flock of spirits. Though some of the odd creatures regarded him with curiosity and he had to get out of the way of a progression of ghostly pallbearers, the residents of Unveil appeared rather accustomed to flesh-and-blood humans being among them. After the two of them reached a quieter part of the ‘road’, Shinobu began to speak.

“Exorcising forces evil spirits to pass on to the afterlife, and thus, everyone learns this. It’s a widespread magical skill that can be found in practically any religion. If you don’t exorcise a spirit, it won’t disappear even if you kill it. So yeah, pretty important.”

“Spirits, as Noa-chan already told you, are souls that were unable to pass on because their attachment to the world was too strong. They all have dominion over either an element, a concept, or an action, from which they validate their existence and interfere with the world. In the case of this Type-Stray, which has dominion over the concept of ‘hot-bloodedness’…”

Shinobu trailed off then, and Hiraku sighed.

“You don’t actually know what that’s supposed to mean, huh?”

“Tee hee~ I’m actually testing you! What do you think?”

“Liar. And you can’t even stay serious for more than a minute, huh?” Hiraku scratched his chin, leaning against a pearl mimicry of a vending machine. “Probably something stupid like controlling emotions? Or maybe something more direct, like being able to heat up blood?”

“Sure, let’s go with that! Anyways, the spirit we’re going after here would validate its existence by causing humans to get hot-blooded…whatever that means. The more humans that become affected by its interference, the stronger and more famous it becomes. Of course, it’s not like hot-blooded rivalries are a bad thing, but from what I’ve heard, it’s been escalating verbal conflicts into violent ones recently.”

Shinobu gave him a pointed glance then, and Hiraku looked the other way.

“Anyways, continuing on…Kaminazuki Academy is the institution that assigns rankings and offers work for people like us. Basically, our employer! They have a real pain in the ass method of ranking the threats that spirits present though, but a Type-Stray spirit is as scary as an angry, stray dog that hasn’t eaten a good meal for three days.”

Hiraku laughed. “Is that even a threat to humans then?”

She laughed as well. “Well, rabies are fatal~”

That stopped him in his tracks. “Wait, what?”

“Eh, don’t tell me you thought that Kaminazuki Academy would send out purification missions on spirits that AREN’T capable of causing grievous injury or death!”

“…Shinobu, just so you know, I fought that Beyblade monster in your dreamland with my bare hands because there was no way out. Can you please give me a weapon?”

“Geez, so nervous, Hiraku~ You’re just here to watch me at work! Don’t worry, there won’t be a single scratch on you!”

The youth rolled his eyes. It still didn’t sit well with him, but then again, the best thing that Shinobu could give him was an illusion anyways. He clenched his fist, tapping his knuckles against one of the buildings.

Hard and solid.

If it came down to it, Hiraku will grab that spirit and smash it against a wall until it stopped moving.

Silence dominated the inverted world. Shinobu stopped walking, and Hiraku gathered his bearings once more. The black sky was empty, no spirits lingering in the darkness. There was a clear divide between that lively parade of spirits and the ghost town they were now in. Here, the buildings were tall, dilapidated, some leaning, others appearing as if they were Jenga towers, missing giant pieces. The light that came from the ground was erratic, some sections of town pitch black, while other sections were much too bright. An oppressive aura loomed over the space, and ominous figures danced in the corner of his vision, disappearing when he turned to face them.

This was…

“The Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang applies to the world of spirits quite well, you know?” Shinobu’s smile disappeared, the playful light in her eyes replaced by a wary one.

A chill ran down his spine. “Then this is the Yin.”

“Yup. Our hunting grounds.”

“Pretty empty, huh?”

“Because the ones that survived learned how to hide.”

The air had become stagnant, magnifying every little sound he made. This far away from the ‘Yang’ side of Unveil, Hiraku felt that, for the first time since coming in, the cold air was no longer refreshing. He hunched his body, protecting it from the icy fingers that plucked away his warmth. Shinobu did the same, pulling her hoodie over her head.

Each time he exhaled, a puff of fog escaped his lips.

He wouldn’t have thought much of it if it was winter, but in the land of spirits…were pieces of his soul leaving him?

Creatures in the darkened spots skittered away, unseen.

Ghostly wails resounded, a sorrowful dirge that trailed off into silence.

He needed to focus, to stay sharp, to prevent any ambushes from feral spirits.

A tense grin surfaced. This atmosphere, this pressure, that dreamland scenario Shinobu tossed him could simply not compare. Because this time, he was walking into it of his own volition. Because this time, he had a choice to back off, and he chose to dive deeper instead.

Holy fuck, he was s-

“Ew, what a creepy grin.”

A flash of pain burst between his eyes, and Hiraku jerked back.

“Lighten up, Hiraku,” Shinobu said, putting her hand back into her pocket, “Noa-chan might be a drunkard, but she’s still a first-class miko, so you’ll be fine, defense-wise. Things only get harder if you jump at every shadow.”

“Tch. I wasn’t jumping at all. I was simply preparing for all circumstances.”

“Kekek, sure you were, Hiraku. Listen, alright? This is advice from someone who’s cuter and smarter and stronger than you. Fear and fascination go hand in hand. Stop being afraid of what’s going to happen, and start looking forward to it!”

“I thought I made it obvious that I wasn’t afraid. Anyways, you were acting like that too!”

“Eh? I was just keeping quiet because I wanted to give you time to get used to the atmosphere.”

“Don’t ‘eh’ me, you liar.”

“Whatever you say, Hiraku-chan~”

With another ‘tch’, he pushed forwards, past Shinobu…before slowing down when he realized that walking past her was pointless. While they had been walking straight the whole time, it wasn’t like Hiraku had any idea where their final destination was.

Which brought up the question…

“How are we going to find it anyways? You said they learned to hide, right?”

“You’re only asking this now? Wow, did the cold air freeze your brain?”

“Shinobu…”

“Well, I was thinking of going a little farther in, but this is good enough. Just watch and learn…and also stand at least ten meters away.”

Sitting down in seiza, back straight and hoodie off, the girl closed her eyes and formed a perfect circle with her hands, placing it on her lap.

“The earth rumbles, the first beat.” With a solemn phrase, a heartbeat resounded.

The white ground fractured, dozens of small fissures radiating from Shinobu’s central location.

“The metal strikes, the second flash.” With a solemn phrase, her skin shone.

Small blades of peerless steel rose from the fissures, shining in the white light.

“The water flows, the third fall.” With a solemn phrase, the radiance receded.

The blades rusted, turning into red dust as water pooled through the gaps, forming a ten meter-radius puddle around the girl.

“The wood grows, the fourth rise.” With a solemn phrase, her light reached upwards, a shining beacon.

Trees rose, draining the puddle dry, as their branches extended outwards, leaves lush and green.

“For the flames I await; an offering of blood.” With a solemn phrase, Shinobu bit down onto her right thumb, until teeth pierced skin.

Blood flowed through the open wound, and the leaves turned red.

“Protection, purge.” With a final phrase, Shinobu clapped her hands together once. Patterns, drawn with a pale blue light, shone on her hoodie, before fading into nothingness.

Hiraku could only stare at that display of true magic. Not the fancy yet pointless illusions that Shinobu loved to flaunt, but something that had an actual effect on the world. It was simply…amazing. An art worth learning. A power that could change the world.

Shinobu opened her eyes. They shone with electrifying energy, and excitement raced through Hikaru’s body.

“Impressed? Good! I bet you’re confused as to what all this is, so I’ll explain things too!”

Of course she had to ruin all that by casting another illusionary spell and acting like a teacher again.

“The simplest, and most effective ‘bait’ is that of a human body without protection from possession, which is what ‘protection, purge’ was for. However, that would cause literally every evil spirit to go sauntering about, which is why I need to send a specific invitation.”

Shinobu gestured around herself, even as her body stayed in the same place.

“All spirits fall under one of the Five Elements, and each element generates another. Fire generates earth, earth generates metal, metal generates water, water generates wood, and wood generates fire. The Spirit of Hot-Bloodedness would most likely fall underneath the category of fire, which is why I started from earth and ended at wood. Thus, only Spirits under the dominion of fire will interested. Others won’t be able to trespass upon this hallowed ground.”

“Naturally,” she continued, “That still invitation still isn’t focused enough, so once I’ve done all that, I also have to prepare a catalyst to narrow down the candidates even further!”

“Which is why you used blood.” Hiraku was impressed. He hadn’t pegged Shinobu as someone capable of thinking in such a manner.

“Yup! I’d teach you how to do it yourself, but you have like, no qualifications whatsoever, so too bad, eh?”

He ignored that jab. Hiraku could be patient. He could wait until this was over before pestering her about revealing the secrets of her magical powers to him.

“We wait then?”

The ponytailed girl nodded, before closing her eyes again.

The aura she emanated did not fade.

The minutes ticked by.

The red leaves fell.

And then…

From the darkness, a dark red form drifted forwards. It swayed from side to side lazily, weaving through the air. Red drops fell in its wake, splattering on the ground before being drawn back up to its tadpole-like body. On the opposite end, Shinobu’s eyes opened once more, a fearless smirk surfacing.

It may have been an incomprehensible being, but it really was just the size of a dog. Nothing like the horned giants or the golden dragon that he had seen on the other side of Unveil.

Hiraku relaxed. Time for some live action entertainment.

The faceless being stopped five meters away from the grove of red trees. Shinobu’s hands changed shape, the aura that shone like a beacon retracting into her body.

Then, it turned to Hiraku.

A black mask emerged from its blood-red depths, a mask of joy and gratitude.

“aaH, my ap0stlé, µou’vEz finLLly Qrozzed too deя Far Shore.”

And, before Hiraku could react, burning blood embraced him.