Chapter 3: Hunting Season(ing) Part Two

[mp_npc]

God, was there some planet in retrograde right now? Everything was so…gray. Tome usually would have been able to cite a specific planet but she had been too oddly deflated all day to speculate.

At least she wasn’t the worst one off. No, not by far. That honor went to the pompadour’d thug who did nothing but sulk in the corner of their shared club space now. Her own club mates who were always too scared of him to even approach even tried to offer him one of their honey chip bags out of sheer pity. Tome, usually quite stingy with the resources (especially now they didn’t actually have funding anymore) didn’t even object. ‘How the mighty fall.’

Goda had spent some time trying to cheer Onigawara up. That boy was too nice for his own good. Him AND Kageyama. Tome didn’t know what Goda had been trying, exactly, since she was too engrossed in (or rather numbed by) her video game to listen but she could guess. The Body Improvement Club had one solution for every possible human ailment. It was exactly why she didn’t risk complaining today.

Tome glanced at the clock—it was getting to be that time, wasn’t it? The time where everyone finished their club activities up. Ah. Orwell was calling her name once again.

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[mp_simplyacommoner]

"Kageyama! H-He was already hurt--!" Tome struggled to stand as the cold from the water seeped into her bones even if she had no hope of reaching either of them.

The spirit's teeth sank no further into Teru as he put his hand on it's head. He could see it clearly for the first time. Then, he laughed, but it wasn't in his usual haughty way. He laughed softly, almost in disbelief.

"Kageyama-kun...you called me by my name." The spirit's wretched form began to soften as the energy flowed from Teru's body to surround it.

"I get it now. It's fine. It's over."

The dove watched Teru's back as the form of the spirit it had once feared so much dissolved into embers. It felt just like all the gentle spirits that once roamed freely across the farmland.

Then, the rain to fall again. The dove heard Teru mumble something before he was suddenly falling too. The dove flapped it's wings in a panic and flew after him to catch him.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob reached out, slowing Teru's fall with his psychic abilities. And when he was close enough for Mob to catch him, he let Teru settle in his arms, supported by his psychic powers. He really thought he had gotten stronger since joining the Body Improvement Club, but he wasn't strong enough yet to support someone else.

"Teru..." He had been so panicked before that his first name spilled out of his mouth before he could even adjust it. It was rude to call someone by their first name, especially someone you didn't know very well. His mom had lectured him on it many times.

But it didn't feel like he didn't know Teru very well anymore.

[mp_simplyacommoner]

The dove had managed to catch Teru by his hood and was frantically flapping it's wings when their descent had begun to slow--and it flapped harder and harder until it grew dizzy and fell into a tailspin of it's own to be caught by Tome.

"...Eh?" Tome's face brightened and tightened in a mixture of relief and confusion. "I swear he was bleeding before..."

That drew another faint laugh from Teru, now rousing, imbued with his haughtiness once more. "As if...that thing could really hurt me..."

Teru opened his eyes. Mob's face was the first thing he saw. Teru's body warmed even though he was in the cold mud. And even if Mob's aura had dissipated, his face was still the brightest thing there. Teru summoned the strength to lift his arm to poke the small dimple that appeared at the side of Mob's tight lip. "Hey...winners aren't supposed to look so dour."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob swallowed the emotion building up in his throat. "You could have really gotten hurt out there."

[mp_simplyacommoner]

The small catch in Mob's throat shot to the heart of him. Teru's instinct to treat the other boy like he was foolish for daring to be concerned died. Teru sluggishly winked in apology.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you so much."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"You think you're okay to stand now?" Mob was still holding onto him. Psychically and physically.

[mp_simplyacommoner]

"Actually...think you could lend me your shoulder?" The rain was slowing to a drizzle but the mud was still slick and his legs were weak.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Yeah, sure." After all, he was the one that had relied on Teru's support getting down here. It was only right for him to support his friend, too.

Mob gently set Teru down and tucked his head under his shoulder.

"Kurata-san, are the two of you okay?"

[mp_npc]

As Mob and Teru had their little back-and-forth, Tome's relief hadn't lasted long.

"Hey...are you okay?" Her voice was practically a whisper. The dove her hands was drooping unnaturally. Her hesitant worry erupted into panic as it lost its grip on the ring it had worked so hard to get. "Hey! What's wrong?!"

The dove cooed weakly. "I'm sorry...I've used up a lot..."

"No. No. You're too close." Tome's voice firmed into steel, as if she could forbid it from happening. She tossed her bag off her should and dumped everything into the mud. She dug through with her free hand--there was no food left. "You--you just have to get to the house. We'll run."

Tome looked frantically to Mob and Teru for something--anything. Teru looked down.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do. Even if we pour our energy into him... there's a good chance we'd only kill him. We should just try to get him there as soon as possible."

Teruki was probably the fastest of them normally, but not right now. Mob was struggling just to keep up with the Body Improvement Club, and he was always far behind them.

That just left Tome as their only hope.

[mp_npc]

Tome realized it then; it was truly up to her.

"Thanks...for the food. I haven't had any food so tasty since...well...could you tell her thank you too?"

"No."

Tome cradled the dove's body close to her and clenched her eyes shut. She didn't know what to do. She truly didn't know what to do but desperately wish for it from the bottom of her heart. She wasn't a psychic or an exorcist or a runner or even that good at following her own weird dream. The only thing she understood was that the little spirit had been fighting for so hard for so long for a wish that no one else could understand...until now.

"Because you're gonna thank her yourself."

Then, she opened her eyes.

Teru started. It was sudden--Tome's aura had changed completely. Teru looked to Mob wordlessly but the feeling was unmistakable. 'She's possessed.'

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob knows it immediately.

"We'll go with you." And they did.

The journey was slow-moving. The landscape had been transformed by the monsoon. It wasn't as easy to navigate as it was a few hours before. But Mob knew they were there before the turtle dove could say anything. On a lit porch sat an old lady, who stood when she saw their silhouettes out in the distance.

"We'll stay here," he said to not-Tome. Mob was not ever really good at knowing what to do or when to do it, but letting them go the rest of the way themselves felt like the right thing.

[mp_simplyacommoner]

The dove fidgeted in a way not dissimilar to Tome, as if knowing there was something right to do in its body but not knowing what exactly that was. It looked down at its former body in its hands and back at the two boys.

“Thank you. For…everything. I’ll never forget it.”

Teru watched them go. His head fell back to watch the sky. It was the kind of clear sky that only came after a storm.

“Incredible.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Huh?" Mob turned to look at Teru, still leaning on his shoulder for support.

[mp_simplyacommoner]

“Tome-san. The Fluffy One. You. You’re all pretty incredible.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"You're incredible, too. We wouldn't have been able to find the ring if you hadn't been here."

[mp_simplyacommoner]

Teru merely huffed in quiet laughter. ‘Maybe my heart was pure enough in the end…heh. Yeah right.’

Desire. That was the bullet that killed it. Was that the first time he had ever shared his true desire with something else? And it wasn’t even human. Well…that was enough. For both him and the evil spirit.

“Thanks, Kageyama-kun. I think I’m strong enough to stand on my own now.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Concern flickered in Mob's eyes. "You sure?"

[mp_simplyacommoner]

Teru laughed again but much more boldly. “If you’re going to fret you may as well carry me.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"You want me to?"

[mp_simplyacommoner]

“Eh? N-no, I was just kidding.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Are you sure? It won't be hard for me to do with my powers."

[mp_simplyacommoner]

“I mean, it’ll get chilly if I’m just floating up in the sky.” And he was already chilly from getting doused and then sucked on by a giant spider spirit.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Okay." That was a point Mob hadn't considered. He shifted himself so Teru was no longer leaning on him for support.

"My mom's really going to be upset when I get home." He'd missed dinner and hadn't checked in. Plus -- Mob looked down at his clothing -- he'd ruined his clothes again.

[mp_simplyacommoner]

Righting himself, Teru stretched his body to wake it back up. “Say you got caught up with me. Spend the night. I can get your clothes dry cleaned before you leave for school in the morning.”