Chapter 7: The Ouija Spirit and the Conditions for Clearing
Tap… tap-tap…
The light, hopping footsteps echoed through the empty kitchen, each soft impact thudding against their hearts like a tiny hammer. The sound was unnervingly cheerful, a stark contrast to the oppressive silence of the Candy House.
Then, it stopped. Right at the bathroom door.
In an instant, Haruto and Yotsuya Miko's bodies went rigid, muscles coiling like springs, ready to bolt at a moment's notice.
Haruto slowly crouched, intending to peek through the gap beneath the door to see what was out there. But then he recalled something crucial about the nature of such beings and cautiously kept a safe distance from the crack before daring to look.
Through the narrow sliver of space, he saw a pair of small, pale feet. They stood stiffly on the bathroom floor, their skin a bloodless, waxy white—not the healthy pallor of a living person, but the unmistakable hue of a corpse.
The feet remained perfectly still. Something felt wrong. A jolt of realization shot through Haruto: they hadn't put the ceiling tile back in place.
At the same moment, the same thought struck Miko. A wave of fear washed over her, and she instinctively leaned down, desperate to see the situation for herself. Her gaze had only just fallen upon those ghastly little feet when—
Crack.
In a motion that defied all laws of physics, the feet twisted a full 180 degrees. The toes, which had been pointing toward the sink, were now aimed directly at the door they were hiding behind.
A deafening buzz filled their ears as a chill rocketed from the base of their spines to the crowns of their heads.
Without a second's hesitation, Haruto slapped a hand over Miko's eyes, his other hand gripping her wrist in a vice. Every muscle in his body was taut, prepared to drag her away the second that thing made a move.
Time seemed to freeze. They held their breath, forcing themselves into absolute silence. The only sound in the suffocating air was the frantic, panicked drumming of their own hearts.
Thankfully, after an eternity that lasted only a few seconds, the feet slowly rotated back to their original position, facing the sink once more.
Creeeak… scraaape…
A faint, dry crawling sound drifted down from overhead.
The little feet vanished from Haruto's line of sight, followed by a soft scraping against the ceiling.
Soon, the light, skipping footsteps resumed in the kitchen, growing fainter and fainter until they disappeared completely.
The two remained frozen, counting the seconds with bated breath. Only after a full two minutes had passed did they dare to slump against the wall, bodies trembling with relief.
"I'm sorry…" Miko's voice was a choked whisper, thick with tears and guilt.
Haruto just waved a dismissive hand. "You didn't have time to put the tile back. I forgot about it, too."
"It's not that," she murmured, her voice trembling. "I mean… I shouldn't have looked. I almost got you killed, Haruto-san…"
"It's fine," he said, his tone surprisingly casual. "Think of it as a blessing in disguise. Not only are we still alive, but we also just confirmed one of the ghosts' behavioral patterns."
Haruto didn't blame her in the slightest. He hadn't anticipated that particular trait, either. It likely stemmed from a past life of neglect and indifference, leaving the spirit with a desperate craving for attention, making it hypersensitive to the gaze of others.
"Let's get out of here first," Haruto whispered. He didn't bother with the ceiling tile in the bathroom, instead leading a quick retreat back into the kitchen.
"There are footprints!" Miko pointed to the flour they had spread earlier. A fresh set of small tracks marred the white powder.
Haruto rubbed his chin, his mind already piecing things together. "So, Wanwan and the Ghost Doll have physical forms, while the adult ghost in the hallway is incorporeal. That means it was probably Wanwan who opened the iron door to the utility room."
"The father ghost? That adult in the hallway is the father?"
"Yes." Haruto produced the mysterious fountain pen. "This pen wouldn't just appear for no reason. It's a lady's pen; it definitely doesn't belong to the father…"
Miko's throat tightened. "Is… is this fountain pen a ghost, too?"
The picture was becoming clearer: two ghost children with physical bodies, an incorporeal father ghost haunting the halls, and a fountain pen that might just contain the mother's soul.
They decided to continue exploring the remaining rooms.
Meanwhile, back in the dark corridor, a shadowy figure stirred. It stumbled and staggered into the kitchen, its tiny feet leaving a new set of prints in the flour, noticeably smaller than the first.
Half an hour later, Haruto and Miko had finished their search. They found no other major clues, but they did locate the circuit breaker and managed to restore power to the living room lights.
Returning to the now-illuminated living room, Haruto took out a piece of paper and the pen. He was just about to begin the ritual to summon the Ouija Spirit when his pupils contracted. He had seen something.
Without a word, he snatched the paper and pen back, grabbed Miko's arm, and pulled her out of the living room. He ducked into the nearest bedroom, then into another, and another, moving swiftly and silently through the house.
Though Miko was utterly bewildered, the day's events had forged an unconditional trust in Haruto. She followed without question.
Only after they had switched rooms five times did Haruto finally stop.
"What happened?" Miko asked, her voice laced with anxiety.
"There was another set of footprints on the floor," he explained calmly. "They were very small, clearly the Ghost Doll's. All the toes were pointed toward the kitchen. There were tracks leading in, but none leading out."
"The doll is in the kitchen?" A fresh wave of cold dread washed over Miko, and she began to tremble uncontrollably.
"The footprints vanished at the cabinet under the stove. It's most likely hiding inside."
"Then… shouldn't we go back to the living room instead?"
"No." Haruto immediately vetoed the idea. "For now, it's only the Ghost Doll in there. Don't forget, Wanwan and the father ghost are both active around the living room area."
Though he said that, he didn't actually believe Wanwan was in the living room at that moment. They had scoured nearly every inch of it earlier; there was nowhere left for her to hide.
Of course, he couldn't rule out the possibility of a secret passage or a hidden room they had missed, but the probability felt low.
Putting the thought aside, Haruto wasted no more time. He began to explain the method for summoning the Ouija Spirit to Miko.
"I'm not sure if this will even work," he admitted with a shrug. "I just saw it online once. But hey, it can't hurt to try."
He gripped the lower half of the fountain pen, its nib resting on the blank sheet of paper. After running through the instructions in her head, Miko took a deep breath and placed her fingers on the upper part of the pen.
"Ouija Spirit, Ouija Spirit, I am your present life, and you are my past," they recited in unison. "If you wish to continue our bond, please draw a circle on the paper."
They repeated the incantation. The pen vibrated violently in their hands, but as their voices faded, it fell still.
"...Did it work?" This was Miko's first time playing any kind of paranormal game, let alone in a house where ghosts were demonstrably real.
Suddenly, a massive, unseen force seized the pen, as if a third hand had closed around it. The nib scraped against the paper, drawing not a circle, but a sharp, definitive checkmark.
"Hold on tight," Haruto warned. "Don't let go, no matter what."
Miko gripped the pen even tighter, her knuckles turning white from the strain.
Haruto asked the first question. "What is Miko's full name?"
The pen jerked to life, scratching out crimson ink onto the page.
[Yotsuya Miko]
Miko gasped softly. "It even knows my name?"
Haruto nodded. "The Ouija Spirit is said to be almost omniscient."
He asked another question. "How old am I?"
The pen immediately drew a '1'. But a second later, it eerily scribbled out the number and wrote a '2' beside it.
Haruto was momentarily surprised, but he quickly deduced the reason. The number starting with '1'was likely his total age across two lives. The'2' probably represented the two years since he had officially become a Boundary Youkai.
Not dwelling on it, he pressed forward. "What is the mission for this instance? What do we need to do to clear it?"
The pen moved again, but its writing was shaky and intermittent, like a pen running dry.
[Play three… ga…]
It seemed some external force was preventing the spirit from writing clearly. Still, Haruto understood the gist.
"Is the task to complete three games?"
[Yes]
"What are these games, exactly?"
[Ouija Spirit, Hide-and-Seek, Doll Stabbing]
Seeing the first game on the list, a wave of relief washed over them. They hadn't realized they had already completed the first task just by starting.
"Then how do we play Hide-and-Seek and Doll Stabbing?"
Haruto already had a theory about Doll Stabbing. He recalled seeing a row of long steel needles in the utility room, which were almost certainly the tools for the third game. But Hide-and-Seek… he was at a loss. He couldn't figure out how to even begin. It wasn't like he could just walk up to Wanwan and ask sweetly, 'Hey, little girl, want to play Hide-and-Seek?'He shuddered at the thought. Setting aside whether he had the guts to do it, he was terrified that the moment he approached her, she'd just shriek'Found you!' and lunge at him. The image alone made his skin crawl.
[Say the words 'Hide-and-Seek'to her]'Just say it right to her face?' Haruto's eyes widened. He seriously suspected this Ouija Spirit was trying to get them killed.
"I'll go."
Miko gritted her teeth and volunteered. Before Haruto could object, she quickly explained, "If I die, Haruto-san, you still have a high chance of getting out of here alone. But if you die, I'll almost certainly die here, too. From every angle, it should be me who goes."
Haruto's lips, which had parted to protest, closed again. After a long, heavy pause, he said, "...Then I'll leave it to you."
Miko gave a soft, trembling hum, her shoulders shaking slightly.
"You still haven't explained everything," Haruto said, his tone turning colder. He could feel the Ouija Spirit was holding back crucial information. "How do we determine who wins or loses? What are the rules we need to watch out for?"
[...If caught, you lose. The loser becomes 'it'and counts for 15 seconds. The new'it' then catches people, and roles are swapped upon a catch. One round lasts ten minutes. This is repeated for three rounds.]
"Then what happens to the person who is still 'it' after the third round ends?"
The pen tip slid violently across the paper, leaving four chilling words.
[Become family]
Haruto had already suspected as much, but seeing the answer spelled out in stark red ink still sent a chill down his spine. It meant that whoever was caught in the final round would be turned into a real ghost, becoming a permanent resident of the Candy House. He didn't dare to imagine what that entailed.
"What about Doll Stabbing?" he asked immediately, changing the subject.
[Utility Room. Use needles to stab dolls. Choose three spots to stab from six parts: head, heart, hands, and feet.]
"What do these six parts represent?"
[Don't know]
Miko couldn't help but be surprised. There was something the Ouija Spirit didn't know?
Haruto, however, wasn't surprised at all. If the Ouija Spirit were truly omniscient, it wouldn't be a mere ghost; it would be a nearly all-powerful god.
A new suspicion formed in his mind. "Is it that after stabbing the doll three times, the game ends and we win?"
[Yes... but also no. One needle must be stabbed into the head.]
Having obtained the most critical pieces of information, Haruto decided it was time to send the spirit away. He gave Miko a look, and they spoke in unison.
"Ouija Spirit, Ouija Spirit, thank you for your help. Goodbye."
Even after the pen stopped vibrating, neither of them let go.
"Ouija Spirit, are you still there?" Haruto asked into the silence.
Half a minute passed with no reaction. Only then did Haruto release his grip, and Miko followed suit.
"Haruto-san, you're amazing," Miko sighed with sincere admiration. She knew with absolute certainty that if she had been transported to this haunted place alone, she wouldn't have survived this long.
Haruto didn't respond immediately. After a moment of silence, he asked in a grave tone, "Are you sure you want to be the one to find Wanwan? It's incredibly dangerous."
"How can a horror instance ever be safe?" Miko forced a small, shaky smile. "I can't rely on you for everything. Besides, didn't the Ouija Spirit say there's a fifteen-second window to run?"
Haruto's gaze shifted slightly. Fifteen seconds was, in theory, enough time to create some distance. But that was the ideal scenario. The hallway was long and narrow, and they could easily run into one of the other two ghosts. If they were flanked, it would be a dead end.
Miko couldn't possibly be unaware of this risk.
Suddenly, Haruto smiled. He stepped closer to her and leaned down slightly. The unexpected proximity sent a flush creeping up Miko's cheeks. It was only now, under the dim light, that she finally got a good look at her teammate's face.
He wasn't devastatingly, shockingly handsome. But he was exceptionally attractive, with a boyish charm that was hard to ignore. And after everything they had been through, Miko felt an overwhelming sense of security from him, a warmth that pushed back the cold fear.
'Is he going to kiss me?' she thought, her mind racing. It was just like in the TV dramas: at the critical moment between life and death, the hero and heroine share a passionate kiss.
Her cheeks grew hotter. For a moment, the terror of the instance faded into the background. She unconsciously stood on her tiptoes and puckered her lips ever so slightly.
Flick—
A sharp flick to the forehead sent Miko stumbling back, covering the spot with a pained yelp. Tears welled up in her golden eyes.
"Haven't you ever heard that ghosts are full of lies?" Haruto asked, an amused glint in his eyes.
"Haruto-san, are you saying the Ouija Spirit lied to us?" Miko was stunned for a second before the implication hit her.
Haruto shook his head, his gaze falling on the pen still lying on the table. "The Ouija Spirit probably won't, or perhaps can't, tell a direct lie. What I mean is, it has no intention of actually helping us. It will conveniently withhold information."
He elaborated, "Like how the condition to start the game is to say 'Hide-and-Seek' to Wanwan. The spirit never specified how we have to say it. We might not need to say those words right to her face."
Miko's eyes lit up with understanding. "That's right! We could use a phone or any recording device. Or even make a string-and-cup telephone if we had to!"
"Exactly," Haruto continued. "And for the Doll Stabbing game, if I hadn't been careful enough to ask about the specific victory conditions, we could have died at the very last step. Think about it. If you were told to stab a doll, which part would you instinctively stab? No, let me rephrase: which part would you instinctively avoid? Don't think, just answer."
"The head," Miko blurted out. The moment the words left her lips, a wave of cold fear washed over her. If it were up to her, she would have absolutely avoided stabbing the head or the heart.
She had thought the Ouija Spirit game was a freebie, a helping hand. It turned out to be a minefield of carefully laid traps.
After taking a moment to calm her racing heart, she asked tentatively, "Haruto-san, did you bring a phone?"
"I did."
Haruto casually pulled a smartphone from his pocket. Miko stared, completely dumbfounded. She had only asked as a long shot, never actually expecting him to produce one out of thin air.
She eyed his plain black trousers with deep suspicion.
"Haruto-san… are you Doraemon?"
"Huh?" Haruto blinked, genuinely confused.
"Your pocket! It's like a 4D pocket! You can pull out whatever item we need at any given moment!"
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