Chapter 5: Naughty, naughty

“That’s a neat trick,” Hazel commented with slight jealousy in her voice. “Doesn’t it ever concern you boys that someone might find out you’re magic?”

The boys carefully made their way to their seats, taking care not to accidentally knock over any of their classmates.

“Not at all. We have other spells to deal with that,” Chester sat himself down behind his desk. “Do you remember singing in the Solar Eclipse Party for Werewolves at school last month?”

Hazel stared blankly at him. “No?”

“Exactly.”

Her mouth dropped in shock.

Chester blinked a few times as the purple clocks faded from his eyes. The orange outline around Hazel’s body vanished as well.

“We have one minute before my time-stop spell expires,” Chester commented. “So let’s make this quick.”

“I’ll cut to the chase. You are right, Hazel. It is a Yokai we’re dealing with,” Liam said. “Or at least, I’m pretty sure of it. A broom spirit is one of the missing Yokai that escaped last night. Funny how it found its way to our school; maybe it was drawn here by something.”

“Who cares why it’s here?” Chester shrugged. “All that matters is that we have to catch it. Hazel, you better muck in— you better help out too. It’s partially your fault that it got loose.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way!” Hazel beamed.

“Brilliant,” Chester muttered. “We’ll meet at the rooftop after school to discuss further how to deal with that monster without getting anyone’s attention.”

“Absolutely!” the girl piped. “Oh, I have so many ideas—”

“Conversation’s over,” Liam reminded her, putting a finger to his lips. “Focus up, Missus Rogers is here.”

Hazel turned back to the front, only then realising that the time-stop spell had expired and everyone was moving normally again. For a relief, her classmates had also hurriedly returned to their seats before their homeroom teacher started calling out names.

Tomoko appeared by Hazel’s side without warning, sitting herself down with an oddly amused expression on her face.

“Tomoko! Oh, thank the heavens you’re alright,” Hazel half-whispered, half-shouted in surprise. “Where’d you run off to last night? I was so worried you got hurt.”

“I ran away on my own.” Tomoko smiled sweetly, as though she hadn’t just admitted to abandoning Hazel.

Hazel’s gaze shot to a few red marks on her thigh which looked suspiciously like some sort of wound. Tomoko seemed to have noticed her concerned look as well, because she quickly pulled down her skirt to hide it.

Hazel turned her attention back to the whiteboard.

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Hazel didn’t remember sitting through her classes, considering that all she could think about was how to catch the Hahakigami lurking somewhere in Starlight High. She could only suppose that she must have, because the school bell was ringing again and she was fighting with a throng of people to get out of the classroom.

Tomoko had somehow managed to slip away before the after-school crowd flattened her. Although she seemed in strangely higher spirits than usual, Tomoko still only shared a few words with Hazel throughout the classes. It seemed her mind was on something else as well.

Not like Hazel was free enough to care now, though. Her phone had been buzzing with requests from her Journalism Club President to write all sorts of occult articles for the student population. And now she was headed off to meet Chester and Liam for an exciting adventure too.

For the first time in her two years of high school, she was needed by everyone.

The cloudy afternoon sky greeted her as Hazel opened the doors to the school roof. It was still empty, although the two boys had left the classroom earlier than her. Thankfully, she did not have to wait long when the air began rumbling in front of her.

“Oof… Make some space! This thing is heavy…”

Hazel quickly stepped out of the way as Chester and Liam emerged from a shimmering oval portal that looked like the air was slashed by some kind of magic knife. The boys were carrying a full-length mirror that looked like it was manufactured in the sixteenth century, from the ornate wooden frame to the slightly yellowish silver that nestled snugly within.

They set down the huge mirror with a dull clunk.

“What’s that?” she asked curiously.

“What does that look like to you?” Chester plopped onto the floor, fanning himself rapidly. “Borrowed this mirror from HQ. It’s going to help us unveil any illusion magic. The Chinese branch gifted it to the Americans as thanks for helping them with their zombie outbreak last year.”

“There was a zombie outbreak?!” Hazel exclaimed.

“No, no. Not the ones you see on MTV. Y’know, the hopping ones.” The boy stretched out his arms in front of his body and bounced on his toes. “Ah… Such good fun. It was just like herding cats. Dumb, slow-moving cats.”

“Speaking of which, that’s precisely what we’ll be doing tonight,” Liam cut in. “Here’s the plan for catching our little Yokai. The three of us will split up and sprinkle dried leaves around the school. The sight of messy leaves will surely draw the Hahakigami out to tidy them up. Once any one of us gets a hit, we’ll use this to chase the spirit out.”

The boy fished out a lightning-bolt-shaped paper attached to a rope. Hazel beamed excitedly in recognition.

“That’s a Shide!” She pointed at the talisman.

“Is that what it’s called?” Liam shrugged, passing it to her. “Eh, doesn’t matter as long as it chases spirits away. This ward has been imbued with celestial magic for twelve hours, so we’re using this to push the Hahakigami to the entrance of our school—”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“— Where this trusty artefact will be waiting,” Chester patted the mirror. “In addition to revealing a monster’s true form, it’ll also apply a stunning effect. Think of it like a flashbang of sorts. The broom spirit doesn’t have much magical density, which means it should be stunned long enough for us to re-capture it. Got it?”

Hazel nodded slowly. “Other than the Hahakigami, what are the other three Yokai we need to find?”

“A Kappa, Nekomata, and a Rokurokobi,” Liam replied grimly. “I’m more concerned about the latter two. Word has it that they’re rather violent Yokai. We’re going to need more preparations before attempting to catch it. It might be best you sit those out, Hazel—”

“And miss the chance to see those Yokai with my own eyes? Hell, no!”

“This isn’t a game, dammit. This is a dangerous line of work,” Liam’s voice raised sharply. “You could get hurt. You could die!”

Hazel stepped back in shock at the sudden harshness in his tone. Chester quickly grabbed his friend’s shoulder firmly, shaking his head.

“Not now, Liam,” he muttered. “Not now…”

“F— Forget it,” Liam unclenched his fists, smoothening his hair to calm himself down. “We’ll meet up in school at seven tonight. Let’s share our contacts in case you need help getting in.”

Hazel pulled out her phone.

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“Hazel! Psst… Hey, Hazel!”

Hazel jerked out of her daze, looking around the stairway in confusion before finally locating the source of the playful-sounding voice. The black-haired girl bounded towards her with a cheeky grin on her face.

“Hey, Tomoko. What’s up?”

Tomoko giggled. “The books! The books are up! Come look, come look!”

She grabbed Hazel’s wrist with a surprising amount of force for a girl her size and practically dragged her to the glass doors that guarded the library entrance. Tomoko hid behind a nearby wall and peeped at the library. Hazel followed suit.

The library was devoid of any students, but still filled with activity. The bookshelves were almost all empty, in the sense that books were strewn all around the room.

Literally.

Some books were on extremely high shelves, while others were taped on the ceiling and walls. The rest of the furniture was, thankfully, left untouched. Hazel’s mouth hung open in surprise as she watched the librarian fuss around, painstakingly removing the books one by one.

“Did you do all that?” Hazel asked. “How did you even…?”

“You like it?” Tomoko grinned playfully. “Come play with me! I’ll show you!”

Hazel glanced at the frizzy-haired librarian again. A small part of her felt a little sorry for making the overweight woman waddle around so much, but a huge part found her confused and frustrated expression absolutely hilarious. Childish playfulness bubbled as the prankster in her took over once more.

The library doors closed silently behind the two girls sneaking into the room. Thankfully, the librarian was too far away from the entrance to notice anyone entering. Hazel scuttled over to the counter, expertly rolling behind it for cover.

Tomoko, on the other hand, had somehow made it halfway across the right end of the library silently and was already busy rearranging the books. Not wanting to be outdone, Hazel also began shuffling the documents on the librarian’s table.

Footsteps echoed around the corner and Hazel scurried out of her hiding spot to hide behind another bookshelf, waiting patiently.

The frustrated shriek that followed almost gave her away.

Hazel put her hand to her mouth, stifling her giggle as the librarian began furiously re-arranging the documents. Serves you right for chasing me out last time just because I dropped a pen.

“Done already, Hazel?” Tomoko appeared behind Hazel without warning.

“Oh, you have got to stop doing that,” Hazel whispered back.

Tomoko tutted, staring impatiently at the librarian. “C’mon, go over to that side already…”

The librarian sat down instead, fanning herself in exhaustion.

“Dammit, I guess this will make you go there.”

Hazel watched in horror as the girl chucked a recognisable worn journal over to the right side of the room. When did she take my journal—

The book smacked the floor loudly.

“Who’s there?”

“What the hell, Tomoko?” Hazel whispered, trying her best not to exclaim in shock. The girl only stifled her laughter in response.

Metal scraped against wood roughly as the librarian got out of her chair, walking towards the source of the sound.

Hazel’s heart raced. She’d be royally screwed if the librarian picked up her journal, especially since her name was written right on its front cover. Memories of her expulsion flashed in her mind again.

Her fingers closed in on the metallic bell in her blazer pocket. She had really intended to use the bell as a distraction afterwards, but she had no choice now.

She tossed it towards the left side of the room.

“Hey, this isn’t funny! I’m reporting this to the Principal!” The librarian’s shrill voice echoed in the room, accompanied by the sound of intense shuffling feet. “You’re finished! Finished, you hear me?! Oh, when I get my hands on you…”

Hazel didn’t need to hear the rest. She made a mad dash out of her hiding corner, all covertness be damned now.

“I see you!”

The girl snatched her book without looking back and flung the doors open, sprinting out of the library.

Hazel didn’t stop running until she burst back into the journalism room. Tomoko had somehow managed to follow her all the way back as well, so Hazel swung around violently, hot fury possessing her gaze.

“What the hell was that, Tomoko?” she yelled. “You almost got me expelled!”

Tomoko blinked slowly with an infuriatingly innocent giggle. “Hehehe, you were so afraid! That look on your face was hilarious!”

“That’s. Not. Funny.” Hazel stepped forward, teeth gritted. “That’s not what a prank is. You’re not supposed to cause any trouble.”

The smile slipped off Tomoko’s face quicker than a fox slipping into the night.

“I thought you liked funny things…” She frowned. “I didn’t know you were such a spoilsport.”

“What?!”

“Or maybe…” Tomoko’s eyes drifted off for a moment before refocusing with considerable excitement. “The prank wasn’t big enough! Oh, you trickster. You really do have standards, huh? Just you wait, I’ll impress you! That was so fun; let’s do this another time!”

“Huh? No, wait—”

Hazel raised a hand futilely as Tomoko bounded out of the Journalism Club Room.