Supernatural Investigation 101: Chronicles Of Nakashima Wakana

Her body is still. The patches of blood are still on her clothes, telling a tale of what she might have gone through. Her skin is dull and yellowish; a purplish hue on her dry lips.

"What happened to her?" Minami Sei murmurs, not moving his gaze from her. While he was looking for her, she was at the Okuyama Mansion. He hurried to the hospital after he received a call from Nishimura Soichiro. After coming here, he is stumped to see her like this.

Nishimura Soichiro sighs when he sees the mortified expression on Minami Sei's face. "Her body was possessed by the soul of Okuyama Shun for some time." 

Possessed? Minami Sei raises his brow, glancing at him with questions in his eyes. What does that suppose to mean? 

To be honest, Nishimura Soichiro hasn't understood completely why she's like this. Choi Minho left immediately after Nishimura Soichiro arrived at the hospital. He hadn't expected that Nakashima Wakana would go to the Okuyama Mansion without informing anyone. Okuyama Mikio was found unconscious outside Okuyama Shun's room that was full of dead bodies. Okuyama Mikio was brought to the hospital, currently under the watch of multiple the police. He hasn't regained consciousness either. 

"From what I gather, Okuyama Shun's soul entered her body. I don't exactly what happened when he was inside her body. When he left, his grudge was left behind in her soul. She can't wake up because her soul has been damaged in some way," Nishimura Soichiro frowns. How did it get damaged? Can souls leave their grudges behind in other living beings? If that's true, then why didn't he ever heard of it? It shouldn't damage the soul anyway. "She needs to be exorcised."

But why? It's not like she's still possessed. He can't understand why Choi Minho said that. Where is he anyway? 

"Exorcise?" Minami Sei's voice trembles, stiffening. "How do we do that?"

"Choi-san is looking for one." Nishimura Soichiro runs his fingers through his hair. Maybe he should look into Nakashima Wakana's abilities. 

The clock strikes five of the evening. Nakashima Wakana hasn't regained consciousness. Sei holds her hand. It's cold and sweaty. Sei brushes his fingers against her cheek. "Does it hurt, Wakana?"

There was a time when the sight of blood used to shake him. Blood would remind him of that night and he didn't want to forget it either. It was one of the reasons why he became a police officer. 

But she's so still, attached to the machine to help her breathe. Her unmoving, nearly lifeless body is more terrifying than seeing blood or recalling that night. The thought of losing her is frightening. He puts his head over her arm. "You should have taken me with you, Wakana. You are not an idiot. Why would you go there alone?"

Click!

The door opens and Choi Minho, with dishevelled hair and sunken eyes, walks inside. He's not wearing a coat. His shirt is creased, stained with something red and wet, and the cuff of the right sleeve is missing as if something tore it away. Right behind him, a tall and pale woman in a black kimono with dark hair, an ancient look in her eyes, and thin lips amble into the ward. Sei furrows his brows, looking at Choi Minho for an explanation. 

But the immortal man's turquoise eyes are fixed on Wakana, pursing his lips; his c.h.e.s.t tightens and thickness forms in his throat. 

She gives a glance to Minami Sei. The rims of her dark eyes contract for a moment. When he meets her deep gaze, she turns her head toward Wakana. With her hands clasped together, the woman treads to the patient on the bed. She reaches to touch Wakana's hand. Deep lines form on her smooth forehead, hand stopping only an inch away from Wakana's wrist. "She's not possessed."

"Akabane Sama, she is possessed by the grudge of the dead," Choi Minho utters with a strained voice. "The soul has already departed from this world. I need you to dispel the --"

"The demonic grudge is deeply seated in her soul." The woman stares at him. "The soul inside this body is vulnerable. It might not be able to endure the exorcism."

She's the best exorcist in the world. If she can't do it, then who can? Choi Minho gazes at Wakana. It's his fault, isn't? She went there because of him. 

"Is there any other way?" Minami Sei's solemn voice shatters the silence in the ward. His brown eyes focus on the woman, a hint of threat underlying under his polite tone. "Lady, if it can go into her soul, I am sure that it can also be taken out."

Sensing the warning in a puny boy in front of her, the corner of her lips curls up into a chilling smile. She raises her chin, tilting her head to her left, watching him with laughter in her eyes. "I didn't say that it was impossible."

"Why are you not telling us then?" Minami Sei narrows his eyes on her, standing up. The woman is a feet taller than him. He walks to her and looks into her dark eyes. "Tell me how we can dispel the grudge."

She bends her head, knitting her brows slightly. He pinches his lips together when she leans closer, stopping only a few centimetres away from the tip of his nose. She lifts her hand, reaching for his cheek. Her pupils elongate, turning into a deeper shade of burnt red. Minami Sei clenches his teeth, resisting the urge to step back away from her. A foreign restlessness claws against the inner wall of his c.h.e.s.t. 

Why is he feeling this way? The air around him becomes warm and hazy. His breathing becomes sharp and rapid. The back of his shirt is drenched with sweat. Her eerie eyes are vermillion red, holding him with her gaze alone, s.u.c.k.i.n.g him. Who is this woman? No, just what is she? 

"Akabane-sama." Choi Minho steps forward and falls on his knees, kowtowing to the woman with an apologetic tone, "Please forgive the ignorant one. I beseech you to tell me how to save her."

She retracts her hand, taking a step toward Choi Mino. Minami Sei gasps and drops on the floor. What just happened? What is she exactly?

"Always begging me to do this or that," She snorts at him, "Minho, you are the same kid who begged me around twenty-two years ago. I thought that you would change after reaching immortality."

She's his only choice. Choi Minho puts his forehead on the floor. "Please, Akabane-Sama."

"Is she that important to you?" She bends down on her knees. He flinches when she strokes his blue-grey hair. 

"More than my life!" Choi Minho exclaims. "Please save her."

Minami Sei blinks his brown eyes. More than his life? Who is Choi Minho and what is his relationship with Wakana? 

"Why?" She grabs his hair and lifts his head, meeting his turquoise eyes. "Why do you have guilt in your eyes?"

"What do you want in return?" He whispers with a low and empty voice. His pupils shrink. Muscles of his cheeks contract. "Her body is dying as we speak."

So, it's like this. The smile vanishes from her lips. She releases his hair. The boy is a host of a devil. The girl is abnormal in some way. This little immortal is related to her. "I will grant this favour to her instead of you. After she wakes up, she must come to see me."

"No." Choi Minho grasps her wrist, widening his eyes. "She's unrelated. Leave her alone."

"Do you know," She jerks his hand off her wrist, stressing each word with a calm voice, "nobody in the world can exorcise the grudge in that mortal if I can't do it?"

His heartbeat elevates. He folds his fingers, tensing his shoulders. Her phoenix eyes twinkle with delight. "She's dying as we speak, Minho? You don't want that." 

And why is that? The kid won't tell her. The girl already has a scent of death on her. That must be the reason why the girl is s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to the ghosts. But why did she absorb the ghost's grudge? Humans who can absorb other living creatures emotions do exist. 

But humans who can absorb it from a ghost? 

If she owes a favour to Akabane Houmi… Choi Minho closes his eyes. It's akin to giving her life to this woman. If Akabane Houmi says that there's a way, then he can find it using other means. 

"Fine." Minami Sei's cold voice interrupts him before he can decline Akabane Houmi. "Wakana will do it."

Choi Minho glares at Minami Sei. Why can't this boy keep his mouth shut when he doesn't know what's going around here? This boy nearly got killed by this woman a while ago. He turns his heard toward Akabane Houmi. "Akabane-sama, don't listen to him. I brought you here. I will escort you to your home. Please come with me."

Escort her? He doesn't want his precious woman to owe her? She chuckles. It's too late. "Minho, her name is Dierre Virevo, a hybrid. You will find her in K Country."