Prologue - Precognition

Prologue
Precognition

Knowledge of something in advance of its occurrence, especially by extrasensory perception; clairvoyance.
 

Drip.    

Feeling about the darkness, the girl patted around for her lamp. It shouldn't have been that hard, the room was traditional so the thing was supposed to be right next to her. She had used that room all of her life.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Beads of liquid dropped down, hitting a warm surface, causing a subtle, steady pitter. Caught in a state between consciousness and sleep, the young, teen female laying on the futon mindlessly wiped her forehead with the back of her wrist. Realizing she'd had that same dream she'd been having for the past three days, the girl tried to drift back to sleep.

'Drip...
...Drip...
...Drip,
goes the maid.'

The airy sing-song whisper snatched what little attention the room owner had to offer. Opening her eyes, the young woman led still as she listened to the words that sounded like they were spoke from inside the room.

Drip.

And again, a viscous droplet dapped the girl's clammy forehead.

Now, almost fully awake, the laying female made an attempt to remove the nuisance that had woke her up. Only this time, she was unable to lift her hand from her side. Surprised, the young woman tried to shrug herself into a different position but to no avail. Her eyes darted around the familiar space, trying to find something to focus on through the blackness. The feeling of a more intense darkness slowly crept up on the woman, as if there was another presence in there with her.

Ice like air brushed the girl's face. Gradually, she brought herself to look up and a cold sweat took a hold of her while the inability to take a decent breath caused her to tremble in horror. Staring straight at her was another person. It was no one she knew. It was another woman, dressed in a plain grey kimono, dowsed in sanguine, hanging upside down against the wall and on all fours. The room's owner tried to make a noise to call for help, but nothing came out. Nothing but a strangled hiss.

The figure sung in the same voice from earlier as she made her way down, jittering and contorting her limbs. "Drip, drip, drip goes the maid." What appeared to be blood pulsed down over her face from a gash on her head.

This wasn't right. She'd had this nightmare before. Soon, she'd wake up sweating and it'd be light outside. Just as the woman got within reach of her, she'd wake up.

That was what she thought. But, as the paled female in the kimono twitched down the wall and across the floor, that feeble hope withered away. Within moments, the oddity had made it to the top of the futon with outstretched hands. The mauled appendages reached out and gripped the loose ebony hair that spilled over the pillow, clawing the younger girl towards her with a twisted grin and her left eye almost bursting from its socket.

 

Two Days Later

Spring had crept up on Kanagawa, a district in Yokohama. The weather was mild, trade was doing well, and an established construction company was well under way with building a new school for the growing population.

It was then, during the lunch break for the workers at said school that one young man was approached by his boss. The young man was Tsukino Shoichi, a twenty five year old that, despite his hundred and seventy centimetre self, was well-built from hard manual work. Whenever he walked around by himself, his default expression happened to be a deep scowl. That habit plus the rusty coloured dyed hair made him seem like a high school delinquent. He was exceptionally sensitive about only two things, his height (or there lack of), and creepy things. No one would ever guess either because of the air he gave off to strangers and thus, made him appear to be one of those 'have it all' conceited pricks.

"Tsukino Kun?"

Jumping up and jogging over to the middle aged man who had called him, Tsukino bowed his head. "What can I do for you, Kachō?"

Taking the younger man by his shoulder, the Foreman steered him away from the others his employee had been eating with and lowered his voice. "I heard you were quite well known during your high school days for taking part in ghost hunting."

Not sure of how to react or quite understanding where the conversation was going, Tsukino hummed. "It was the club I belonged to."

"Do you still have any knowledge on the matter?"

"Sorry to be forward Kachō, but, what's this about?"

"My sister called me a couple of days ago. She was hysterical. I can't really go into details only for you to say you can't do anything..." He looked down, clearly at his wits end with the situation.

"I understand. To be honest, my friends were more clued up on those things than I was. I could get them together if you think it could help." He went and said it without even thinking about just how troublesome such a task would be.

"You'd do that?" The older man took his employee's hands in his own and stared down at him with a hopeful look. "We don't know what to do any more." The Foreman's expression dropped again as he looked away.

Tsukino gave a reassuring smile and patted his senior on the top of the arm. "I'll do what I can."

 

At the end of work that day, Tsukino Shoichi was taken home by his boss. Being dropped off just outside of the shopping precinct, the short man bowed his head and waited for his superior to start driving before running towards his house. But rather than going in his own home, the redhead made for the next door along. Rushing through the grocery store which was just closing up, the construction worker stopped at the open door at the far end of the space. Without so much as knocking, Tsukino kicked off his boots in the cramped square foyer which led up a set of stair and ran towards the living area on the floor above.

"Oba San?" Tsukino called out to notify the homeowner he was there.

A woman soon emerged from the kitchen wearing a smile. "Sho Kun, what's wrong? You're running around like there's a fire."

"Is Yuki here?"

The slight woman wearing an apron placed her clasped hands in front of her stomach. She had delicate features and warm aura, and nobody would ever guess that she was forty three years old. "He's in his room."

"Thanks." Tsukino lowered his head in thanks and then dashed for the bedroom at the end of the hallway. Slamming the door open, the short man huffed and pointed at the room owner. "Need...Contact...With...Others..."

The slim man who looked like a mirror image of his mother cocked an eyebrow as he examined the state of his best friend. "Sho Chan, have you been taking illegal substances?" His deep voice which contradicted his appearance often startled most people, but the panting redhead merely gave him strange look.

"What, no." The shortest of the pair scrunched his face and shook his head animatedly.

The room owner, Kurosawa Masayuki, had been friends with Tsukino for as long as they were able to gargle words. They had both lived in the same houses all their lives; the narrow two story buildings joined side by side just off the middle mark of the indoor shopping precinct. The pair were total opposites. Tsukino liked to think of himself as masculine while Kurosawa was most definitely effeminate in all his fair, sparkling one hundred and eighty four centimetre beauty. Kurosawa would over-think things and was overly sensitive to others feelings whereas Tsukino would open his trap before he had half a chance at thinking about what was tumbling through his head. Still, they had been the closest of friends for over twenty four years.

"Have you forgotten about what happened?" Kurosawa tucked a caramel lock behind his pierced ear and eased up from the desk he was at, his expression somewhere between confusion and worry.

"I haven't forgotten. It's just," Chucking his backpack aside, Tsukino threw himself down onto his friend's bed with a grunt. "I kinda accepted a ghost hunting job and said I'd bring everyone along."

Kurosawa stretched to the side and beckoned his friend over with his finger. When the shorter male had got within reach, the epicene male slapped him down across the crown of his head with the book he’d been reading. "Why would you do that?" Despite his calm attitude, the taller male expressed his obvious discomfort with the current predicament as he tapped away at the keyboard of his laptop. And it was now their predicament because every time the shorter man got himself into bother, the room owner was always dragged into it too.

"I don't know~" The guest whined, clearly not quite understanding his own reason for it. "But," He turned to look away, yet peeked out of the corner of his eye to check if his friend was watching him. "You should definitely help me."

Sighing and sitting back in the desk chair, Kurosawa gave a defeated smile. "I just messaged them."

“Already?” Tsukino seemed astonished by the possibility. "You have Taka's e-mail address?"

Kurosawa waved his hand as he picked up his cup and brought it to his lips. "No, but Shi-Ri Chan probably does."

"We haven't spoken to them in years, do you think they'll be pissed off at this sudden...'thing'." He waved his hands, not knowing what to call it.

Taking a sip of the herbal tea, the room owner gave a gentle shrug. "Hi-Ka Senpai will. He's just like that."

"Then what do we do now?"

"You, Tsu-Sho Chan, will make me another drink." Kurosawa held out his cup as he beamed, his smile reaching his eyes as sparkles practically flew from him.
 

Updated: 8th April 2018 - 20:25