Ghost of a Chance

Ghost in the Gallery (Part 3)

Mai, Masako, Hitomi, Ayako, Bou-san, and John all stood before Takei Kensei's painting of hell. They were all wrapped up in the scarves, goggles, and gloves so that their faces and hands were somewhat protected from blasts of scorching air. Mai, Bou-san, and John held fire extinguishers. Hitomi had her bow and arrow. She was positioned so she could shoot Takei-sensei's spirit as soon as he came out of the painting. They were going to attempt to reason with Takei-sensei one more time and then if he attacked them, they would exorcise him.

"Takei-sensei... Takei-sensei," Masako said. "We wish to speak with you." There was no answer.

"Maybe we'll have to wait another thirty days to talk to him?" John said.

"Tell him it's about his painting," Hitomi whispered.

"Takei-sensei... We wan to discuss your painting," Masako said. The wall began to smoke and the paint became compromised and turned black.

"My painting...?" Takei's voice echoed. "My painting?"

"We would like you to let go of your painting," Masako said. "We think you would be happier if you passed on."

"No! NO!" Takei said, and the walls burst into flames. Bou-san and John tried to put it out with their extinguishers. Mai stood at the ready in case they ran out. "IT'S MINE! IT BELONGS IN A TEMPLE!" Takei showed his head, and a blast of scorching air was sent out at them.

"Why?" Masako asked. "Why must it be a temple?"

"I PAINTED IT FOR THEM! IT'S THEIRS! I WANT EVERYONE TO SEE IT WHEN THEY VISIT THE TEMPLE!" Takei roared. Another blast of scorching air came.

"They can see it here!" Masako said. "Everyone can see it here! It doesn't need to go to the temple for that!"

"NO! NO! NO! NO! IT BELONGS TO THEM!" Takei roared. He came out of the painting up to his waist, and they were pushed back by the powerful blast he sent toward them.

"Ahh!" Mai gasped as she and Masako fell. Hitomi stumbled and ended up on her knees, while John and Bou-san staggered. Ayako stumbled and crouched behind a nearby sculpture for cover.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Takei roared, now far beyond reason. The fire was spreading from the walls to the floor. They would all burn if they didn't do something.

"Ayako! It's your turn!" Hitomi shouted. She raised her bow and pulled the arrow taut, building up energy, while Ayako began chanting. Takei roared and took one step out of the painting. Ayako continued, and he was forced to take another step, completely removing himself from the painting. He stood with both feet on the floor, and Hitomi fired. The arrow hit its mark and Takei cried out in anguish as he disappeared like Urado.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

And then he was gone, along with the arrow that had destroyed him. The fire became less ferocious, but it was still spreading. Bou-san, John, and Mai quickly put it out with the fire extinguishers. They all breathed a sigh of relief. At least it was over.

"Poor Takei-sensei..." Mai said.

"Yeah, but if we hadn't done something, we would've become ghosts ourselves," Bou-san said.

"We did try..." Masako said, sighing sadly.

"If only Itou-san had agreed to share the painting..." Mai said.

"Yeah..." Hitomi agreed, feeling bad. But like Bou-san said, they had to do something.

"At least it's over now," Ayako said. They pulled themselves together and dragged themselves back to base.

"Thanks for the hard work," Madoka said.

"Are you all okay?" Yasuhara asked.

"We'll live," Bou-san said. "At least we didn't get burned this time."

"That's true," Hitomi said.

While everyone else packed up the equipment, Madoka briefed Itou and Kaoru on the events of the previous evening.

"This is terrible!" Itou said when he saw the damage from the fire. "This is even worse than before!"

"Well, the good news is, it should be the last fire," Madoka said. "But if you have any further trouble, please feel free to call us again."

"Thank you very much!" Kaoru said, bowing to her.

"Don't thank them for this!" Itou scolded her.

"But they got rid of the ghost," Kaoru said. "This is the last time we'll have to fix any fire damage. And it's only a small area that was damaged. We didn't lose any art."

"I guess, you're right," Itou said grudgingly. As Mai walked past them to carry a box to the van.

"Geez!" Mai said as she reached the van. "You'd think he could show a little gratitude. We did exactly what he wanted."

"He's the type of guy who'd complain in heaven," Bou-san said. He noticed Hitomi was checking her phone after putting her own load in the van. "Any messages from Naru?" he asked with a grin.

"He wants to know if we've resolved the case yet," Hitomi said.

"Did you tell him how you got burned?" Mai asked.

"Not yet," Hitomi said. "I'm not sure I want to see him tell me how stupid it was not to think ahead and protect myself in writing."

"Haha, I know what you mean," Mai said wryly. Hitomi started replying to Naru's text.

"Wait, they say a picture says a thousand words," Bou-san said. "Let's take a picture with the painting. That'll really give you something to talk about."

So they finished loading the van, and then Kaoru took a picture with everyone posed around the painting with Hitomi's phone for them. Hitomi sent the image to Naru with the text: All taken care of.