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Inyouchuu Kyou Chapter 2 Part 3

The patients started sweating profusely as they tried to deceive Sui in a hurry. Kurokawa, who seemed to be so lighthearted just a moment ago, and Nishida, who tried to act like a molester, were all now sweating bullets and trying to get out of that sticky situation. Surely, they would not want something that was meant to be a joke in their minds to be filed as sexual harassment, and so they bit their lips anxiously and looked down onto the floor.

After all, they had just learned that if they were to do something irresponsible, Mikoto would hit them with her slippers, so they probably wanted to avoid any vulgar topics at all cost now. However, Sui ended up talking about her oversized breasts of her own volition.

The atmosphere in the room started to become really dangerous, and there was an uncomfortable air that was filling the room, refusing to let go.

「Ah……!! Oh yeah, that’s right! Hey, nurses? Do you happen to know about this rumor?」

The patient who made an awkward smile and tried to change the topic opened his mouth and spoke up quite forcefully.

Regardless of the circumstances, Mikoto thought that maybe they would be able to collect some information here after all.

Good grief, I wish we could have gone that way sooner……

Mikoto thought to herself like that and then started to listen very intently.

* * *

A few hours later, the sun shone down on the corridor of Hongouin Clinic.

「Well, we have certainly heard a whole lot of different stories and rumors, but, hmm……」

Mikoto let out a long and deep sigh, with her arms crossed in an outfit that seemed about ready to burst from all the pressure that her abundant breasts were putting onto its fabric, and Sui, who was walking a little bit behind her with her usual timid steps, did the same.

By entering several hospital rooms and enduring the obscene gazes crawling around their tightly fitting nurse uniforms, the two of them had heard more stories and rumors than they expected. Being in the hospital was pretty boring of an experience, so once the opportunity to talk to someone willing to listen presented itself, many people jumped on it without a second thought.

However, there was no information that could be used as a decisive factor in their investigation.

Most of the stories that they heard were some useless gossip, such as feuds between doctors, and the troublesome relationship between doctors and nurses. In addition, there was no depth to the muddy human relations story, and no particularly suspicious person came to the forefront.

「Well, I knew that it would be foolish to think that we would be able to get a lead on the culprit right away, but still…… If this continues on, we might actually be in a pretty big of a bind here……」

「Umm… Mikoto-chan……?」

「If we can’t find out who the culprit is, or what their endgame goal is, we might really have to resolve to that plan with seriously injuring Yamato and having him hospitalized here……」

「Mikoto-chan, Mikoto-chan……」

Sui hesitated while calling out to Mikoto, but then she approached her and pulled on her sleeve a little bit. Of course, since Mikoto was so deep in her own thoughts, she failed to even realize it.

「We don’t know if there is anyone really suspicious in here, but we know for sure that the place itself is suspicious in its own right. So, wouldn’t that mean that rather than individual people, it would be better for us to investigate this place as a whole before anything else?」

For Sui, it was actually hard to imagine that she would be so aggressive with her approach, but she was actually right here.

「H-Huh? W-Well, yeah, now that you mention it…… Yeah, you’re right. But do you have anywhere specific in mind?」

With a stiff smile on her face, Mikoto tried to blurt her way out of the blunder of her own making.

However, she also happened to know exactly what the serious Sui was about to say here.

The mere thought of it made her heart pound under her big breasts and a cold sweat dripped down her spine.

「You know, that place where the ghost is said to appear at night……」

「GYAAAHHH! Stop it, stop it, stop talking about scary things! I don’t wanna hear it!!」

Just hearing her say that there was apparently a ghost in this hospital made Mikoto turn pale and she squatted down on the spot, covering her ears with her hands.

She would wield her Exorcism Sword, ‘Raikou’ with ease, and never flinched no matter how hideous of a youma she would face, but she was really bad when it comes to dealing with scary stuff, like ghosts and other things like that.

However, it seemed that ghosts would haunt the old hospital ward at night, which was the “suspicious place” that emerged from the stories and gossip of the other patients. Behind the main hospital site, a red brick building was indeed a scary and suspicious-looking place. A place worth investigating.

「That place is currently being used as a warehouse, and there’s no way ghosts exist in real life, so rumors about them appearing are just lies to keep people away, at least I think so. There must be something in the old ward that someone would not want other people to find out about.」

「W-Well, yeah, I guess that you’re right, but……」

Mikoto still flinched in fear, while Sui willingly showed her a bright smile, offering a clear course of action for the two of them.

Usually, their position would have been completely reversed if this was your usual youma extermination mission.

Sui, who was always protected by Mikoto, felt a little better now that she smiled at her like that. Besides, it looked like Yamato would have to be seriously injured if they were to return with their investigation amounting to pretty much nothing, so she really wanted to find even the tiniest piece of evidence possible if they could help it.

「You said no one would come in at night to that place, so let’s go back to the office after we find out what this place is all about, alright?」

「Y-Yeah…… Alright……」

Mikoto was reluctant at first about this whole idea, but Sui was clearly in the right here.

(T-There’s no way that things like ghosts actually exist……! Just like Sui said, it’s a lie to keep people away from that place……)

Waiting for night to come, the two quietly sneaked into the pitch-black old hospital ward, making sure that no one would see them.

* * *

A weak light coming from a flashlight swayed in the deserted, too quiet hallway of the hospital’s old ward.

The reason why the streaks of light occasionally jump up and down was because the timid Mikkoto, who was stuck to Sui’s back as if she was glued there, would flinch and shiver in reaction to the faintest ambient sound.

「It’s okay, Mikoto-chan. There’s nothing there, you don’t have to be afraid.」

Seeing Mikoto act like a scared little girl, Sui couldn’t really help herself but to smile brightly. It was somewhat refreshing actually, seeing Mikoto acting so different from the way in which she would usually conduct herself.

(Mikoto-chan really doesn’t like ghosts, does she? But since I’m always being protected by Mikoto-chan and the rest…… I have to stay strong here, so that I can return the favor, especially since the opportunity presented itself……)

However, even though Sui thought that, it was not like she was all that particularly strong-willed, either. She was a rather timid and scaredy cat herself, but……

「H-Hyaaah!?」

「Iiikkk!? W-What is it!?」

When Mikoto happened to yell out loud right into Sui’s ear, the two would hug one another closely as they almost fell down onto the run-down floor.

「W-What’s wrong, Mikoto-chan? Did you happen to see something?」

「I-I-I I saw it! I saw something white right over there……!! Y-Yeah, right there! It was some sort of a shape, standing in the shadow of that doorway over there…… D-D-Do y-y-you t-t-think that it was a g-g-ghost……!?」

The difference between Sui and Mikoto here was as plain as day, especially when it comes to the speed at which both of them recovered from their initial shock.

(Ah…… I guess Mikoto-chan really is no good with stuff like that. Which makes it only even more important for me to step up and cover for her.)

Sui made a quick decision on the spot, took a deep breath in order to calm her pounding heart down, and calmed down herself after a while,

「Could you feel any miasma from that thing?」

She then stood up cautiously while circling the flashlight around the place where Mikoto pointed towards..

「W-Well, now that you mention it…… I don’t really feel anything, but…… But that’s just what ghosts are, right!? White, see-through, and you can’t really sense them until they get really in your face!」
Instead of admitting her mistake, Mikoto was stubbornly claiming to be correct in her assessment just now. That is why Sui got up and started to walk forward, while Mikoto was still crouched down on the spot and refused to move. She then cautiously peered into the doorway next to them and confirmed her suspicions.

「It’s okay, Mikoto-chan. It was not a ghost at all. It was just your plain and ordinary curtain.」

「R-Really……?」

「Yes, really. I wouldn’t lie to you, now would I? So come on, Mikoto-chan. It’s okay, there are no ghosts here. Just pull yourrself together and we can investigate this room.」

Sui extended her hand towards Mikoto and helped her to stand back up on her feet. But even though Mikoto seemed alright on the outside, she was still trembling all over and could not bring herself to look towards the place where the aforementioned curtain was.

「L-Look, Sui…… I’m sorry. You go on first, alright? I…… I don’t think I’ll be……」

「Oh well, I guess it’s something that just cannot be helped, huh?」

With a wry smile on her face, Sui slipped behind the curtains and slowly entered a pitch-black room that looked like your plain and ordinary locker room. Here and there, vertical steel lockers could be seen, with rust on their surface. They were lined up in a row, blocking the view and making it impossible to see all the way to the back of the room from where they were standing.

Pointing the flashlight at the ceiling and trying to see just how big the room really was, it was spreading to the left and to the right by a huge margin. For the time being, it would seem that the girls would be unable to see to the very back of this room without actually going in there and seeing it for themselves.

「…… Hey, Sui? Stop for a moment, alright?」

Mikoto suddenly lowered her voice and held out her arm to stop Sui who was about to go deeper into the room. Sui turned her alert eyes to the back of the room and asked Mikoto in a hushed voice:

「What is it, Mikoto-chan……?」

「I can sense some miasma in that room. It’s very faint and doesn’t move at all, so I’m guessing it’s not an actual youma, but some sort of spell for sure.」

In an instant, Mikoto returned to her usual Exorcist’s mode and continued to press forward while speaking in a low voice. The only thing she was not good with were ghosts, beings devoid of physical form. But if it was anything else, it was a fair game for the Exorcist girl.

「We might get surrounded in an instant. Please stay vigilant and stay behind me at all times.」

「A-Alright……」

「Just to be on the safe side, prepare some spell talismans and have them at the ready. But don’t try to do anything rash on your own. If anything happens, just wait for my signal and…… GYAAAHHH!?」

「Kyaaaaaaahhhhhh!!」

Sui jumped up and screamed at the sudden scream that managed to penetrate her all the way to her very soul.

RATTLE! RATTLE!

A tremendous noise resounded by their side in the very next moment, and the lockers that had blocked their view were thrown open as if the wind at the door were knocking them down like pieces of dominoes all the way to the other side of the room.

「W-W-What is going on, Mikoto-chan……!?」

「I-I-Is this…… t-t-the g-g-g-ghost’s…… d-d-doing……!?」

As if by ramming the sheet metal locker, Mikoto, who was half caught in the distorted elongated door, stretched out her trembling fingers toward the ceiling in a vain attempt at maintaining her balance.

The startled Sui hurriedly turned her flashlight around— And then,

Certainly, something white that was standing there shook in the flashlight’s light.

But of course it was not a ghost of any kind.

Whether this locker room was unisex or a converted examination room, there was a curtain rail that was suspended from the ceiling inside the white ellipse created by the flashlight. There, a spider’s nest, like thin cloth, hung long and narrow in the shape of an inverted triangle, and it swayed slightly as it was stirred by the air currents.

「It’s okay, Mikoto-chan, it’s alright. It’s just a spider’s web. Nothing more.」

「R-Really? Like, really really? This time for sure?」

「Yes, this time for real. Have a look at it yourself. See?」

Prompted by Sui’s voice and her wry smile, Mikoto fearfully opened her mouth and looked up. Behind the smiling Sui, from the darkness that opened wide on the ceiling, the slender legs of a youma were suddenly sticking out.

「……!? Manifest thineself, ‘Raikou’ ——!!!」

Mikoto screamed in panic, but it was already too late.

「Huh? A-Ahh…… Kyaah!!」

Its body was armed with long and slender legs with sharp and forked claws at its tips, and there were a whole lot of terrifying ridges growing out of each joint. It then slammed into Sui, who was standing completely defenseless, from behind her back. Its legs reached out towards Sui as if to hug her, grabbing her without even the slightest bit of effort. Surprised, the false nurse was lifted from the ground, who let out a hoarse scream, and then it pulled her into a pitch-black hole in the ceiling.

「Cheeeee!!!」

The tip of the sword that the jumping Mikoto swung severed the curtain rail cleanly and carved a deep scratch on the ceiling, but that was all it managed to do. The hole that was visible until just now was an entrance to another dimension that had been dug into the space of this place itself by youma magic, apparently.

「S-Shit…… Sui…… SUI……!!! I’m sorry…… I’m so sorry, Sui! It’s all my fault……」

Gritting her teeth and drooping her head, Mikoto punched herself in the thigh with her fist, and then she removed the spell that erased her traces and immediately left the old hospital building.