My Modern Kaidan: Meibatsu

Chapter 16

"Mimiko." The voice to my side is strong and commanding.

I look up and my breath catches in my throat at the vision of an ethereal girl, her long black hair swaying softly as her skirt ruffles gently at her knees, illuminated by a light that isn't there. She's beautiful.

"Sachi-chan," Mimiko says softly. The eyes covering her skin close slightly, drooping in momentary defeat before they focus on me again.

She suddenly bursts forward, moving faster than ever, until she's perched over Kenji and I. The rancid smell fills my nose and she smiles again, her mouth frothing and eager as her throat expands and contracts to expel more water. I raise my hands.

"Yamete!" Sachi's voice cuts through the air and Mimiko falls to her side on the ground beside us.

Sachi glides forward, her expression strong and determined as Mimiko begins to flop helplessly like a fish. The water begins to rush from her mouth, followed by her nose, then her eyes, all of it flowing towards Sachi.

"EEEEEEEEEEEE!" Mimiko's screech scrapes my ear drums as she struggles to move. As the water leaves her, her skin becomes dry and brittle, cracking like platelets of earth in the desert. The taught skin renders her immobile, and she screams in pain as the rims of the eyes covering her skin burn red.

A ball of water hovers in the air before Sachi, a thick cloud of dark brown congealment. Sachi raises a hand and places one delicate finger onto the surface of the water. I watch as it becomes clear and pure before falling towards the earth and splashing into the ground at Sachi's feet in crystal droplets.

With a flick of her wrist, Sachi sends the curled shell of Mimiko flying through the open door to the spring, slamming it behind her and exposing a knocked out Miyako, bleeding from her forehead and I realize she must have been hit as she attempted to open it for us.

I collapse onto my side, momentarily relieved until I remember Kenji.

Sachi steps forward, until she's standing over us. Streams of sunlight flow through her body and she smiles. Maybe she recognizes at least part of me.

Turning her attention to Kenji, I watch as his lips part slightly, a stream of water pouring from his mouth, creating a lazy river down his cheek that flows into the grass beside him.

He coughs.

I look up at Sachi, who seems to become more and more translucent with each passing second. "Arigato gozaimasu, Sachi-san!" I bow my head, wishing I knew a million different ways to say thank you.

"Iie," I hear her say. "Ego-san."

Kenji coughs again, and by the time I glance down at him and back up again, Sachi is gone.

Kenji looks up at me. "Who are you talking to?"

I laugh. "No one. You're delirious. You drowned, almost."

"Nani," I hear Miyako moan. "Itai desu yo!"

"Woooi," Kenji groans suddenly. "What is that smell?"

I grin. "Kenji, your family probably shouldn't use that spring anymore."