InuYasha Fan Fiction / Ghost Hunt Fan Fiction ❯ Balm For A Broken Soul ❯ Episode 1: Evil spirits All Over?! Part One ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Balm to a Broken Soul

 

By: Ryu Katanna

 

Beta:

 

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

 

A/N: A lot of the dialogue will be familiar as the first several chapters do follow the anime and manga. There are more parts that are original to the story, but I’ve done this to stay close to the original while also telling Kagome’s side of the story. There will be more deviations we get farther in.

 

Episode 1: Evil spirits All Over?! Part One

 

It was a nice spring day in April when Kagome received a call from her cousin. Houshou Takigawa was the son of her mother’s brother. He was a few years older than her, and a monk of the modern times. Kagome, herself, was a born Miko who had trained five hundred years in the past. She was different from the Miko of modern times, and so too did her abilities differ.

 

“Houshou. That is enough.” She scolded her cousin in front of the old school building he had asked her to meet him at.

 

Apparently, he was investigating and exercising hauntings on the side. Mainly he was playing in a band, and so he had left his parents' temple on Mt. Koya. When he had received a call about a haunting in an old school building he had called and asked if she would like to tag along. It was no secret to her family that she had been sensitive to spirits since she was a young child. Houshou knew she was trained as a priestess though he had little idea of her abilities.

 

“It’s about time, Kagome.” Houshou greeted her with a smile, and Kagome shook her head.

 

She had seen him with another woman and two teens when she had arrived. His yelling at the teens had been the reason for her scolding tone. There was no reason to become so openly confrontational. Heightened emotions were not advisable when dealing with potentially volatile spirits.

 

“I did say that I would.” Kagome replied as she came to a stand next to him.

 

“Now who is this?” The red-haired woman asked a bit derisively, and Kagome turned to look at her before dismissing her to look at the two teens.

 

The redheaded woman had a slightly pink aura. One glance was all it took for Kagome to know everything she needed to know about the woman. She was a Miko, but a very weak one. If she had any ability then it was nature based if the predominate brown hue in her aura was anything to go by. She was trained, but not in the old ways.

 

The teens, however, intrigued her.

 

“This is Kagome. She’s both my cousin and a priestess. Kinda like you.” Houshou said, and Kagome looked back at him.

 

“I am nothing like her.” Kagome said before looking once more at the two teens.

 

“My name is Kagome Higurashi. I am the Miko of the Sunset Shrine. I am here to assist Houshou.” Kagome said as a simple introduction and listened as the others introduced themselves in return.

 

Some might have called her a little cold, and there were times when she thought she acted a lot more like Kikyo than she would have ever wanted to. Yet, that was how things were now. Her training had taught her to keep a better control over her emotions. Her abilities were largely based on emotion. Better control over her emotions led to better control over her abilities. She was still the same person under it all, but after her adventures in the past had ended she hadn’t wanted to get attached to other people.

 

“The principle is wasting his money. There’s no need to have all of us for such a simple job.” Ayako stated after some angry muttering at what Kagome had said.

 

“Yeah. All he really needed was me.” Hoshou replied and Kagome pinched his arm, making him jump and correct himself as he glanced back at her apologetically.

 

“Right. I wouldn’t be so sure.” Ayako responded with a smug look as she caught the interaction.

 

Kagome chose to ignore them both as a new voice joined them.

 

“Oh, thank goodness you’re all here. That haunted old school house has been terrorizing me for weeks.”

 

“Kuroda?” Mai said as she recognized her classmate.

 

Kagome turned her attention to the new teen before dismissing her. There was nothing really of note in her aura. She need only hear the first two sentences she spoke before knowing she would not like this girl. There were many like her. People who thought to gain the attention or admiration of others for having abilities outside the norm. The problem was that many people like that didn’t realize the problems that came along with having such abilities.

 

“Stop grandstanding. You’re just looking for attention. Are you really that desperate for people to like you?” Ayako’s voice chimed out and stopped the girl from continuing, and Kagome felt her respect for the other woman rise just a bit as Mai jumped to the girl’s defense.

 

“Excuse me! That was extremely rude!”

 

“It’s true. She claims to have psychic abilities in the hope it’ll make her popular.” Ayako says with a shrug as if she cares nothing for the girl at all.

 

“That is totally uncalled for!”

 

“Mai. It is true that Ayako may not have said it as nicely as she could have, but you will find that those with abilities would usually sooner hide it than to actively call attention to it. To do so draws attention, and that attention is not always good. Ayako is not wrong.” Kagome said gently and could feel as blue eyes studied her.

 

Her attention turned to the other teen as she ignored Kuroda threatening Ayako. This one interested her the most out of those here. His aura was dark with grief and pain, but not a bit of it showed on his face. He had a great deal of power hidden just under the surface. She could see it, but his aura was frayed and broken. As if there was another part of him that was missing. There was nothing to filter and counterbalance that power. It was unstable without the other piece. He had to have had a lot of training from an early age to control that power well enough for it to not leak out into the area around him.

 

“Hey, Naru! So what’s up? What are we going to do today?” Mai asked cheerily as she tried to brush off the situation with Kuroda.

 

“Wait. What did you just say? Did you just call me Naru?” Kazuya asked as he stood and turned to look at Mai.

 

“Ehh. Sorry…” Mai said nervously with her hand over her mouth like she had said something she hadn’t meant too.

 

“Where did you hear that?” Kazuya’s tone was suspicious, and Mai seemed a little taken aback.

 

“Hm? You mean… you’ve been called that before? Of course! That makes sense. I can’t be the first to have come up with Naru the narcissist!” Mai patted him a few ties on his shoulder as she laughed a bit nervously.

 

“Morning everyone. Nice to see you all. Say hello to John Brown.” An older man who Kagome assumed much be the principal said as he walked up with a younger man who had blonde hair and light blue eyes.

 

Kagome noted that the blue of his eyes was much lighter than Kazuya’s. She could tell from his aura that he was a gentle and sociable person. He was young, probably Kagome’s age, but there was more to him than met the eye. She couldn’t pinpoint the vibe she was getting, but it wasn’t one of the bad ones.

 

“Good day, mates.The names John Brown, and I come from the great outback of Australia. I can’t express how excited I am to join you.” His tone was light-hearted, and his accent sent Ayako, Houshou, and Mai into a fit of giggles.

 

“Mr. Brown is relatively new to our country so please so him the respect he deserves.” The principal said as he seen the way they had reacted.

 

“No, no, no, let me guess. You’re looking for a playground, right?” Ayako managed to ask through her chuckles.

 

“Actually, I practice the ancient art of exorcism.” John replied easily, and Kagome watched as both Houshou and Ayako stopped short at that answer.

 

“Only those who have been ordained in the Catholic church as priests have the ability to conduct exorcisms. You seem young for that.” Kazuya said as he approached, and Kagome could see the same assessing look in his eyes that he'd had when he’d looked at her earlier.

 

“You really know your stuff mate, and to be honest I just turned nineteen a few weeks ago. That’s why I look so young.” John replied with a bit of a sheepish smile as he ruffled his hair.

 

“You can never take someone's appearances at face value. You should remember that, Houshou.” Kagome said a bit scoldingly for her cousins earlier behavior.

 

“Come on, Kagome. Let’s get to work.” Houshou sighed as he held his head like she was giving him a headache.

 

123

 

Kagome followed Kazuya into the room that he had set up as his base camp. The screens of the TVs were lit up by the images from various cameras he had already placed in different rooms. She had seen things like this before. Souta had been obsessed with shows about ghost hunters since she had started her bit of freelance work.

 

“Nice set up you have here Kazuya.” She said softly as she tried to ignore Ayako’s voice as she found her self-important tones a bit annoying.

 

She breathed a sigh of relief when the woman left to do her walk through. Houshou followed shortly after her in the other direction, and Kagome went to sit down so she could start her own work. John was in the middle of speaking to Kazuya about working together when Ayako’s high pitched scream echoed through the halls and into the room after the sound of a slamming door. Kagome was startled out of the beginning of what she was doing by the sound. Knowing something might be wrong she jumped up and left the room with the others to find out what had happened.

 

They got there just as Houshou did. Ayako was banging on the door in panic when Houshou told her to stand back. With one hard kick the door crumbled in on itself, and Kagome saw Mai cover her ears. Ayako was out of the room quickly and Kagome shook her head as she followed Houshou into the room. He looked around as if trying to see whatever spirit had locked the redhead in. Kagome, however, ran her hand along the door frame as she checked the wood for any residual energy. Finding none she turned back to the others to see them heading back to base.

 

Kagome got back into the room to hear Ayako telling the others about her experience when a new voice chimed in to refute her claims of there being a spirit in the building.

 

“No, there isn’t. I don’t sense one paranormal being.” The soft dulcet tone startled Mai who clung to Kazuya’s shirt with a scream of 'ghost'.

 

Kagome shook her head at how jumpy the girl was, and turned to see the girl standing in the doorway. She could see how Mai may think she was a ghost at a glance, but Kagome’s sight told her differently. The girl standing there was definitely living, and a familiar face from one of the shows on tv Souta currently watched. Even if Kagome hadn’t known who she was she would have been able to tell what she was. Her aura vibrated a low ki, and that ki sung to spirits. She was definitely a medium.

 

“Masako Hara is a spirit medium.” Kazuya said as the girl entered the room with measured steps.

 

“Oh, another one?” Mai responded and Kagome had to stop herself from shaking her head.

 

No, Masako was the real thing. She wasn’t someone who was looking for attention or trying to stand out. She was someone who utilized her ability to teach others. Kagome had seen her show often enough thanks to her brother.

 

“Fantastic. So now they’re calling in a tv star?” Houshou said with a laugh of disbelief.

 

“This is ridiculous. It’s easy to fake results on television. The only reason she gets ratings is because she’s pretty, and wears that silly kimono.” Ayako said derisively, and Kagome felt her dislike for the woman grow.

 

“Why, thank you. I take that as a compliment.” Masako shot back at the older woman.

 

“Well, trust me, it’s not.”

 

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you before.” Masako said as she turned her attention to Kazuya.

 

“Yes. We've never met, but your reputation precedes you.” That was almost a compliment.

 

“Right.” She replied, but there was something a bit more to her tone.

 

“Anyway, there is a haunting here. In my professional opinion; we’re dealing with an earthbound spirit.” Ayako said as she brushed off the interaction, and Kagome had to bit her tongue.

 

That woman talked way too much.

 

“I believe it’s a residual haunting. A traumatic event must have happened in this building in the past.” Houshou said as he gave his own opinion.

 

“So you mean like, someone was murdered here, and they have to spend eternity searching the halls for their killer, or something?” Mai asked as she sought more information to understand what he meant.

 

“Close. I think the entity is afraid it’s going to lose its home. So it’s attempting to block the construction.”

 

“John. Kagome. What do the two of you think?” Kazuya asked, and looked as if he was thinking.

 

Kagome noticed though that he was holding something. A nail? Where had he gotten that, and when?

 

“Well, to be honest, I’m not sure, but usually a haunting does originate with a ghost or spirit occupying the structure.” John replied before Kazuya looked at her.

 

“I haven’t gotten to do my own scan of the building yet, but I’m leaning toward agreeing with Masako. I couldn’t get any spiritual energy reading off of the door that slammed shut on Ayako.” Kagome told him, and she noticed his gaze pause on her before he went back to thinking.

 

“So it’s either a haunting or fiction and folklore. Are you listening, Mai?” Kazuya asked as he turned to his assistant.

 

“Of course I am. What do you take me for?” Mai growled back defensively as she jumped back from his focus suddenly being on her.

 

“These are things you need to learn.” He told her only to receive a groan in return.

 

“Enough talk. I’m getting rid of this thing as soon as I get back. I don’t know how long I can put up with you people.” Ayako said as she reached the end of her patience and moved to leave out the door only to be stopped as Kuroda stepped in front of her.

 

“I wouldn’t be so confident in your abilities. The spirit that haunts this site is incredibly powerful.” Kuroda’s voice was meant to sound ominous, but Kagome just sighed before moving to sit in front of the screens showing various space in the building as she listened.

 

“Kuroda.” Mai said as she seen the girl.

 

“Move aside.” Ayako wasn’t going to waste any time and push the girl out of the way where she slid down the wall.

 

“The spirit attacked me. It’s true. I was walking down the hallway when suddenly my hair was yanked back with amazing force. When I tried to flee it started strangling me.” To Kagome, it sounded like a bid for attention, and honestly, she was getting tired of it.

 

When would any of them be able to get back to work?

 

“When did this happen?”

 

‘Ah. He doesn’t believe her either.’ Kagome thought as she heard the tone Kazuya used when he asked the question.

 

“A few minutes ago. In the second floor hallway.” Kuroda answered and Kagome couldn’t help the hand that raised to rub gingerly at her temple.

 

“That’s false. There are no spirits here.” Makako affirmed, and Kagome was inclined to agree with her again.

 

The girl was a strong psychic. If there was anything there then Kagome didn’t doubt that the girl would have sensed it. Her own readings would just be to check the building for any residual spiritual energies at this point. Another point against Kuroda was that there were no such energies on her. If the spirit had tried to strangle her that Kagome would have felt the residual energy on the girl with her being so close to her.

 

“Yes, there are! There definitely are, and they’re angry.” Kuroda denied what Masako was telling them.

 

“You said it was the second-floor hallway.” Kazuya said to confirm before turning to his equipment.

 

Kagome scooted to the side to let him do what he needed to before turning to watch the screens with the rest of them. Kuroda’s behavior in the video is what caught her attention. The way she walked down the hall was too stiff. It was almost robotic.

 

“What just happened? Is the camera broken?” Mai asked as the screen went fuzzy and static took over.

 

“No, but it is quite strange. When a spirit becomes active electronic equipment will often malfunction, but here I’m not so sure. Is it a spirit of em interference?” Kazuya seemed to be thinking again, and Kagome decided to leave them to it as she stood and walked out of the room.

 

She needed some quiet. That girl was persistent, and it was giving Kagome a headache just listening to it. Between Ayako and Kuroda; Kagome didn’t even want to be in that room. She could talk to the others when she got back. Hopefully, by then neither one of them would be there.

 

Kagome didn’t wander far before she stopped and stepped into a vacant classroom. There was little furniture except for a few tables and chairs. In all, it looked just the same as the other rooms she had seen here. One of Kazuya’s camera's sat off to the side, but she ignored it. If they needed to find her then at least they wouldn’t be looking for long.

 

Lowering herself to the floor she relaxed until she slipped into a light meditative state. Slowly she spread her aura outward. First through the room, into the hallway, and further to cover the building. She could feel the others still grouped together a few rooms away, but they were the only presence. There was no sign of any spiritual energy aside from the psychics in the building. As far as she could tell there had never been a spirit here.

 

She felt one of the energies moving toward her, and so slowly she began to pull back her energy. Back through the rooms and hallways until all that remained was her. The process was a bit disorienting as she went from a state of being that encompassed all to just her singular form. Slowly, brown eyes fluttered open only for Kagome to feel a bit startled to know she wasn’t alone in the room anymore. She looked up to see her cousin watching her carefully. Kagome reached up a hand in a silent entreaty for help up.

 

“You’ve been in here for over an hour. What were you doing?” Houshou asked once she was on her feet.

 

“I was scanning the building for any spiritual energy. There’s nothing here, Houshou.” Kagome said softly only to see his look of surprise.

 

“Are you sure?” He asked, and Kagome nodded before they started making their way back to the base.

 

“No spiritual signatures outside those of us here. Not even any residue.” Kagome confirmed only to see that he still had his doubts.

 

Kagome shrugged it off. If he wanted to doubt her then fine. He had asked her along for her help, and she had found there was nothing to help him with. They entered the base to see that it was almost empty. Kazuya was the only one there.

 

“I know you're saying there’s nothing here, but I’m going to do another walkthrough to be sure.” Her cousin said before he turned and left.

 

Kagome sighed before taking a look at the monitors. It would seem Ayako hadn’t returned yet from wherever she had gone. Houshou had left and was making his way toward the old library. Masako and John looked to be doing their own walkthroughs and Mai was setting up a few microphones.

 

“So what was up with the nail?” Kagome asked not even looking away from the screen.

 

“Excuse me?” Kazuya asked as he turned his attention to her.

 

“Earlier. You were holding an old roofing nail.” Kagome reminded him, and he paused for a moment before responding.

 

“You are observant.” He stated and Kagome sat down and crossed one leg over the other.

 

“Paying attention to what is happening around you can save your life.” He nodded in understanding at this answer.

 

“It was in the door.”

 

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There's chapter one. I started writing this for my husband who is a big fan of Ghost Hunt. Let me know what you thought. I started this story within the timeline of the anime to give Kagome that background with the others. I know there are several lines of the dialogue from the show, but I want to stay as true to it as I can while also telling the story of the part Kagome has to play in all this.

 

~Ryu

 

Edited: 02/13/2018