Chapter 11

I stared at the guy's face, studying his features through the camera as best as I could. Ordinary would not be a word I'd stick to the man. He wore a black blazer with some white trimmings, which gave off an odd image when combined with the number of prayer beads on his person. He had two fashioned into loose necklaces of sorts and another one tightly gripped in his right hand.

Much like his blazer, he had on a pair of tight-fitting black dress pants. If it wasn't for the beads, I might have mistaken him for some high-class businessman. The weirdest part, though, were his eyes. One was perfectly fine, however, the other had an angry scar across it. The iris was white as snow and the polar opposite of his other eye.

"You said you saw someone following us?" Benitsubasa relayed my words to him and continued to do the same for him.

He paused for a moment, contemplating what combination of words might get him in our house.

"Yes. It's important that you let me in, please."

There was something about his voice. The desperation was something I picked up on, but there was more to it than that.

"Alright, but we'll come to meet you by the entrance. Wait for us there and we'll let you in."

His expression changed, lips rising just a tad.

"Thank you."

With that, I moved away from the intercom and shut it off.

"You really letting this sketchy guy in?" Benitsubasa asked, hands on her hip and a questioning look in her eyes.

I chuckled.

"No, that's why I said I'd meet him there."

God forbid if he does anything to damage this house. I might not have bought it, but repairing it would probably take a lot of money and draw way too much attention.

"Can you come with me? Just in case things take a sour turn?"

A shark-like grin split her face.

"Sure, just let me grab some food to go," she said, snatching two bread slices. Strawberry jam on one and mustard on the other.

"Wof kway! Lwefts gwo!"

I wasn't sure what was more disturbing. The fact she jammed both into her mouth and hadn't choked, or the fact that she really did like those kinds of sandwiches.

"Yeah, let's go."

I yawned and reached for the door. Hans was probably sleeping, and I didn't expect this guy to be much of a threat. He was alone and if we did see anyone else... well, I'd do something when we got to that.

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A refreshing wave of air rushed down from the heavens. It flowed through my hair and struck my face. It was... serene. The sun hadn't reached its apex yet and the chirping of birds called out to me. The ember of a long, forgotten memory twinkled the back of my mind. The combination of it all brought a smile to my face, if only for a moment.

"It's a nice day out today," I said smoothly.

Benitsubasa nodded.

"Yeah," she said and took in the sun.

We had more important things to do than bask in the sun, though. The two of us moved with a purpose and within a few minutes, we were at the gates. The odd man turned to us with a rigid smile.

"Hello," he greeted me, though not in English.

"He's saying hello," Benitsubasa translated.

I nodded and asked her to keep that up.

"Hello. So, what was this you were saying about a stalker? You said it was important."

I swear to god, if he was just trying to sell me something, then I'd give him the tongue-lashing of his life.

The man's face fell slightly as Benitsubasa translated. He sighed and looked up at me with a small amount of guilt on his face.

Benitsubasa's expression soured as she listened to him talk.

"Bastard says he was lying just to get you out."

...

"Ok... but why?"

She asked the man a question, and I could sort of understand a word or two. Benitsubasa patiently listened to his reply, but she soon began tapping the ground with her foot. The more he said, the more she started to bit her lip.

"He's talking some nonsense about picking up a menacing 'aura' around you? Says he's a monk or some crap."

A monk?

"Like, the ones that live up in temples and stuff?" Because he definitely didn't look like one. Weren't they supposed to be bald and wear some kind of religious garb?

"Yeah," she answered with a shrug. "Apparently, he saw us walking around town yesterday and was incredibly shocked by your aura."

The first thing that came to mind was psychic bullshit. Was he one? It was difficult to really tell with Benitsubasa being so close, but I had to at least try.

I took a calming breath and shut my eyes for a moment. A soft, warm sensation came from my right and it had a hint of strawberry peach. Straight ahead was something that resembled a nearly faded echo. It was the dying gasp of something, but it was closer to mine and Han's presence than Benitsubasa.

"Huh," I said as my eyes grew a tad wider.

This guy was a psychic, or at least he had a psychic aura. If I remember... weren't Ashikabi sort of the descendants of psychics or something? It would make sense... that still didn't explain what the hell he was talking about. No, wait, maybe the "aura" he saw was my psychic powers or something?

"Could you ask him what he plans to do? Like, yeah, sure, I have a bad omen over me or something, but I can't really do anything about that."

Surely he hadn't just come to tell me that.

Benitsubasa nodded and traded a few more words with him. A minute or two later, she let out an annoyed hiss and turned to face me.

"He's saying he's willing to help exercise any evil spirits that might be possessing you."

...

"Also says he'll teach you how to make some talismans for good luck."

Seriously?

"And am I going to have to pay for that?"

She shook her head.

"Nah. He said it'd be free of charge."

I sighed.

There's no doubt that this whole thing was sketchy as hell. Still, it was plausible. When there were alien women around that could punt cars over buildings, was it really that hard to believe that the descendants of ancient psychics could feel my own psychic energies? It went without saying, but I was curious.

"Alright," I said with a sigh. "Tell him he can come inside and do his thing."

Benitsubasa quirked her brow.

"You sure? Cause It feels like that's just where it'll start," she grumbled and shook her head. "Soon enough, he might be asking us to stay the night and then he'll be taking bread out of our new toaster!"

"I'm not really sure what's wrong with that last one…"

"It's our toaster!" she shot back with a frown. "I don't want anyone else getting their dirty little hands on it!"

Ok…

"I promise you he won't touch the toaster."

She clicked her tongue and nodded.

"Fine…"

Benitsubasa let out an annoyed sigh and translated my answer. The monk's face immediately lit up and he started bowing to me. I backed away, a small blush on my cheeks.

"Erm, it's ok. No need to be so formal."

It just felt so odd seeing people do that and was just another reminder that I was so very far from home.

Would I ever find a way back?

I sighed and cleared my throat.

"Alright, let's head inside and maybe get this guy something to eat."

A crease formed on Benitsubasa's forehead as she eyed the man.

"I'll make the food, ok?"

I chuckled.

"Sure."

She wouldn't poison it, right? Considering what she made before, some might consider that poison.

-----------------------

"Are you sure he needs all this stuff?" I asked, bewildered by the monk's odd requests.

"I have no idea why he needs nine spoons, but that's what he said," Benitsubasa answered with a grumble. "Should we just kick him out, then?"

I shook my head.

"No, I guess it's fine." I'd seen far weirder setups on TV. The problem was that this was taking a much too familiar turn. Was the guy just one of those phony psychics that bullshitted their way into people's wallets? His genetics could have just been luck and again, maybe I was that one guy that said yes. God, I'd kick his ass right out of the house if he suddenly asked for money after all that. I'd heard more than enough from others about how those sorts of people ruined lives and gave false hope to those desperate few who really needed actual answers.

I took a calming breath and asked Benitsubasa to see how much more was needed. After a few seconds of conversation, she gave me an answer.

"He says it'll only be a few minutes more," she said impatiently. "Also, he needs you to hold these spoons."

What the hell was it with spoons? Were they some kind of psychic focus? I could get that, especially since holding the weird phone I got when I woke up in this strange land seemed to make it easier to use my powers. No joke, I just felt lighter when I was carrying it around. A few tests told me that the further I was from it, the harder it became to use my powers and I didn't even want to learn what happened if it broke...

"Oh, and since I'm sure you're dying to know, he said the spoons help him re-direct his 'psychic energies around you to get a better read on your aura."

Ah, right. Now, was that bullshit or was it bullshit?

Either way, I would be finding that out in a minute, because he seemed just about ready.

"He says you should step into the spoon circle now."

...

"Ok, If I look like I'm in pain or say punch him, then you punch him, ok?"

Benitsubasa nodded.

"It's a good signal," she said with a grin. "Straight and to the point without being easily misunderstood."

I chuckled.

"Yeah, I knew you'd like it."

The monk said a few words I didn't understand and pointed at the circle of spoons. I took a deep breath and nodded.

"Here goes nothing..."

I couldn't help but feel odd standing inside the circle. It brought me back to a birthday party from back when I was less than twelve years old and I didn't know how to feel about that. Contrary to what I thought, nothing happened immediately. The man started to whisper a few words while tightly holding onto his prayer beads. As the seconds ticked by, his whispers grew into murmurs and eventual actual coherent words. I had no idea what those words were, but they definitely sounded Japanese.

At some point, he started whipping his beads in my general direction. His slow, rhythmic flicks soon became desperate and heavy. One might think it was all for show, but I could feel it. His heart sped up to match his pace and the tiny ember within his soul sucked in all that it could. It never grew larger than a match head, but it was there. I felt it, the energies that coursed from his center and rushed down the length of his arm. The energy spilled forth and coalesced into his prayed beads, filling each and every one. And then, at the climax of his chant, the necklaces tightly wound around his hands burst violently like a grenade.

Beads showed the living room. Most rushed around, wildly falling to the floor and rolling under the couch or other places. But, a select few tumbled through the air to land on the spoons that surrounded me. The energy gathered within those beads flowed into them. They were like ethereal fireflies. Their radiance was ephemeral, and within a few moments, there would be nothing remaining.

The monk shouted one last word and then energy within the spoons lashed out like lightning bolts. They reached for the closest thing that would act as an anchor, and of course, the spoons in my hand were the perfect target.

For a split second, it felt as if a hammer had smashed into my sternum. Yet... there was no pain. There was no shock.

There was only me and the alien voice whispered out to me.

"Are you there?"