Stretching lazily, Sakura assumed that she could finally enjoy a normal, ghost-free life. Smiling, she made her way to the bathroom.
And then…
She came face-to-face with the middle-aged male spirit, but this time, it was morphing into something…
Like a shadow.
"You can see me…?"
"You can see me, can't you…?"
The shadow's voice was hoarse and low as it called out to her. Its neck was twisted at an unnatural angle, bending multiple times, making its already terrifying appearance even more grotesque.
Sakura's earlier joy instantly froze over.
Crap, she had been so happy this morning that she forgot to bring her protective charm…
But since she was already in the bathroom, turning around to retrieve it would be suspicious.
If the spirit realized something was off and lunged at her, she might not make it back in time to grab the charm.
Bracing herself, Sakura forced a calm expression and entered the bathroom, pretending not to notice the spirit. She focused on washing her face and brushing her teeth, doing her best to ignore the ghost staring at her.
For Sakura, this house was still a minefield of danger.
She had to keep her protective charm with her at all times.
—
As she was walking towards her school, she saw a familiar figure wearing a long red jacket waiting for her.
"Sakura!" Her biological sister, Rin Tohsaka approached her but she just lowered her head as usual.
"Are you okay? You weren't hurt by the incident yesterday, right?" She asked with concern.
"I'm fine.." Sakura replied quietly, unsure whether to continue conversing with her.
Due to being… given away when Sakura was a child, she held a lot of resentment towards her father, mother and… sister, despite knowing she wasn't aware of what actually happened.
Her adoption to the Matou household had made her life miserable while her… sister was having the freedom of doing what she wanted.
So how can he talk to her without showing any resentment?
Even when she asked for help when her leg "cramped" it was only a way so that she could avoid the "shadow" chasing her. If possible, she really didn't want to meet her again, after all she's…
Touching her stomach, Sakura's eyes flashed with insecurity
"S-Sakura, mom misses you, I'm sure she'll be happy once she sees you again." Rin Tohsaka tried saying nonchalantly, but one could clearly hear her nervousness in them.
Rin really doesn't understand why she becomes like this everytime she talks to Sakura. Her mind sometimes blanks out and she starts talking about random things while trying hard to express what she wants to say.
Maybe it's because of guilt?
No, no. Rin shook her head inwardly, Sakura was sent to the Matou's to inherit their magecraft, with her talent, she definitely wasn't treated badly.
But what if Sakura actually doesn't want to be a magus?
"Tohsaka-san, is that all you want to say?" Sakura stopped and turned to her, eyes hollowed.
Rin was caught off guard and tried to say something but…
"I'm okay. I don't want to see…mom." And you, Sakura wanted to say the last part but she held herself. Why? She doesn't know.
Maybe it's because deep down she doesn't mean what she's saying.
Hearing Sakura's words made Rin shift uncomfortably.
Seeing this, Sakura didn't speak anymore and continued walking, carrying her phone as she did so.
Surprisingly, she didn't see any ghosts in her way.
It must be the charm, she thought as she looked at the charm hanging in her phone.
Seeing this, Rin set aside her mother for now and tried conversing with her sister again.
"Hey, Sakura. Is that new? It looks very good."
Sakura frowned slightly but nodded, "Yes."
"Where did you buy it?" Rin doesn't even know what she's saying at this point, but as her sister, she must find out Sakura's likes and dislikes.
Plus the pendant isn't bad looking too, its bear shape is just right for Sakura.
"I bought it yesterday." Sakura answered. It's not really strange for students to buy random things.
"Oh…" Rin narrowed her eyes at that, yesterday? "How much? I'm thinking of buying one myself."
Sakura frowned again, confused at her interest but after remembering that the charm helped her, she answered. "It's in The Almighty Exorcist. It cost me 20,000 yen."
Rin stopped and was in daze after hearing that.
"...20,000 yen?" She asked while looking at her.
"Yeah, why?" Sakura asked while holding the charm.
Seeing this made Rin angry but inwardly calmed himself down. "Sakura, are you sure? It's 20,000 yen?"
"That's right."
".... and you said it's from the Almighty Exorcist? I remember… Was that the criminal who bumped into us?" Rin tried holding her anger and asked as calmly as possible,
20,000 yen over a wooden charm? It only costs a few thousands from the local store… and that's the highest!
Sakura got cheated by that man!
"Yes but please don't call Diego-san a criminal, he's a good person." Sakura nodded but frowned when she heard Rin's last sentence.
Others may doubt Diego but not her, his charm has helped her after all.
"And his charm works. I wish I could've bought more…" She muttered, something that was clearly heard by Rin's supernatural senses.
Looking at Sakura as if she was brainwashed, Rin took a deep breath and calmed herself down. As much as she wanted to scold Sakura, she knew it wasn't her fault, she was still young and gullible.
Compared to that fraud looking guy, her little sister was simply taken advantage of.
"Sakura, can you bring me to that fr– exorcist?" Rin forced a smile, her eyes twitching as she did.
The purple haired girl thought for a moment and nodded slowly. A customer shouldn't bother Diego right?
Seeing Sakura agree made Rin cheer inwardly. She's gonna teach the guy a lesson for scamming her little sister.
20,000 yen over a wooden charm? It only costs a few thousand at most! Rin clicked her tongue, crossing her arms. This guy is such a scammer… But still, something about the way Sakura looked at him bothered her.
Tch. Fine, I'll watch just to see how fake this guy is.
And add her own personal revenge too.
Who made her get scolded by the police?
Totally forgetting that it was her fault for meddling in the first place, Rin urged Sakura to bring her to the store.
As for Sakura? She didn't notice her anger, she was too worried on how to save money for the next exorcism service.
—-
In Rin Tohsaka's opinion, Sakura must have been tricked by Diego. She not only bought a charm worth 20,000 yen, but she was also planning to save up to buy more items later. As Sakura's sister, even if their relationship weren't good compared to back then, Rin felt it was her duty to expose this scam and wake Sakura up.
So, under the pretense of wanting to buy a charm, she asked Sakura to take her to Diego's exorcism office after school.
On the way, Rin noticed that the small "Little Eye" charm on Sakura's backpack was gone. When she asked about it, she found out that not only had the backpack charm disappeared, but Sakura had also thrown away the plush toy she had bought.
"Diego-san said that Little Eye's design was too peculiar and didn't suit me, so I got rid of them all..." Sakura said, a little embarrassed.
Hearing this, Rin became even more furious.
She knew that Little Eye was special to Sakura. Although she's usually quiet, Rin knows her sister has a very girlish heart. As someone who had observed (stalked) her from a distance, she knew how much Sakura liked that pendant.
And yet... Sakura had thrown away such precious memories just because of a few words from that guy!
She had to expose that fraud's true face!
"We're here. It's right here."
The exorcism office wasn't far from their school, so they arrived after a short walk.
Sakura had no idea that her former sister was planning to "cause trouble." A little excited, she led Rin to the second-floor office, hoping that Diego would also make a charm to protect her.
However, someone had beaten them to it. Diego was already entertaining a guest in the reception area.
The guest was a middle-aged man in a suit, looking quite uneasy, as if he had something heavy on his mind.
Diego glanced at the two girls who had just entered, cleared his throat, and said, "I have a guest right now. If you don't mind, you can wait downstairs at the café. I'll come find you later."
Diego's exorcism office was on the second floor, while the ground floor housed a café. Whenever multiple customers arrived at the same time, he would ask the later arrivals to wait downstairs.
After all, most people visiting an exorcism office had their own worries and preferred not to be overheard by outsiders.
Sakura nodded obediently and was about to task Rin to go with her downstairs, but Rin shook off her head and approached the guest with a friendly smile.
"Uncle, did you come here to deal with a supernatural event? My…. friend and I have similar concerns. Would it be okay if we listened in?"
Rin was a harmless-looking high school girl with a likable face. The man hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"If you want to listen, stay. I did encounter something really bad."
Sakura was startled. She quickly moved beside Rin and whispered, "Tohsaka, why did you say that all of a sudden? What if Diego-san feels offended?"
"Sakura, don't worry so much. I just want to see how real this Diego guy is. If he's the real deal, he shouldn't mind people listening, right?" Rin whispered back with a playful grin
"Suit yourselves." Diego didn't seem to mind.
As long as the client had no objections, it didn't matter to him.
For a con artist, the more people there were, the easier it was to deceive them.
The guest had only just sat down and hadn't even explained his problem to Diego yet.
Once Sakura and Rin took their seats, he slowly began to recount his paranormal experience.
He was a taxi driver.
A few nights ago, in the late hours, after dropping off a customer in Arakawa Ward, he was preparing to head home and end his shift.
The Fuyuki Ward was a relatively remote area of Fuyuki with low economic development, large stretches of desolate land, and many uninhabited places. Since it was already late at night, the streets were eerily quiet, with hardly any vehicles in sight.
On his way back, he saw a man and a woman standing by the roadside, waving for a taxi.
He hadn't intended to pick them up, but considering that if he didn't, they might have to wait a long time for another ride, he slowed down and pulled over.
When he asked where they were headed, it turned out to be on his way home, so he let them in.
From the moment they got in the car, they didn't speak a single word. He couldn't figure out their relationship.
Looking through the rearview mirror, he saw that both of them had expressionless faces and pale skin—he wasn't sure if it was due to the cold night or an argument.
He tried asking a few casual questions, but neither of them answered. Realizing they weren't in the mood for conversation, he stopped talking and even turned off the radio, leaving the car in complete silence as he drove on.
What made him uncomfortable was that the two kept staring at his face through the rearview mirror the entire time, sending chills down his spine.
Still, as a night shift driver, he had seen all sorts of people. He kept his composure and drove them to their destination.
The fare came out to 13,000 yen. He told them the amount, and the man handed him a credit card.
However, when he swiped it, the card was empty—it wouldn't process at all.
He turned his head to ask what was going on, and that's when he saw something shocking—
The two passengers had vanished without a trace, leaving only two white paper dolls in the back seat!
The driver clutched his head, trembling as he recounted his story.
"I looked around through the rearview mirror, but they were nowhere to be found. They had asked me to stop right near a cemetery. That's when I realized I might have given a ride to ghosts. I was so terrified that I immediately drove away."
"For the past few days, I've felt restless. I don't dare to pick up passengers at night anymore. But I have debts to pay—I can't keep avoiding work. I saw an ad on the street, so I came here..."
"Diego-sama, can you help me!? I can't afford to stop driving at night!"
The driver looked at Diego with desperate eyes, hoping the young exorcist could help him.
Diego listened carefully, rubbing his chin, but didn't immediately give an answer.
"You said the paper dolls were like the ones used in rituals?" he asked. "Where are they now?"
In Japanese tradition, "paper dolls" are ritual objects believed to absorb impurities. They are often burned or released into rivers to carry away misfortune.
In onmyodo (Japanese esoteric magic), paper dolls can also serve as substitutes for spirits.
Their sudden appearance strongly suggested a supernatural event.
"I looked into it myself these past few days. Paper dolls can carry the resentment of evil spirits. I was afraid those two might haunt me, so I burned the paper dolls," the driver said, his voice trembling. "But I still feel uneasy, like they haven't left me..."
"When I close my eyes, I can still see them in the rearview mirror," he whispered, gripping his arms tightly. "I don't even know if I should be talking about this..."
"Master, please check if I'm still haunted!"
Rin, who had been listening, was sneering inwardly. This is Fuyuki and the leylines here are enough to keep low level spirits away.
"Sakura, do you think this taxi driver really encountered ghosts...?" she whispered, trying to ask for her opinion.
"I'm not sure either." Sakura gently shook her head.
Although she had awakened her spirit-seeing ability, she hadn't experienced enough to confidently judge. This "ghost taxi ride" was something she had never heard of before.
However, from her perspective, at least right now, the driver wasn't haunted by any spirits.
Diego leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.
"Have you considered the possibility that they just didn't want to pay?" He grinned. "Ghosts don't use credit cards, you know."