There were weird things happening at the shrine the Abes owned. WEIRD things—and Aamaki knew what was causing them. The candles kept flickering omninously, the posters used to ward off ghouls were always falling off even when Aamaki put super glue on them, and he'd heard suspicious noises behind the shrine. And it all proved the undeniable fact; the (TERRIFYING, in his opinion) fact that a yokai was haunting the shrine.

A yokai was haunting the shrine, and it was Aamaki's job to get rid of it. At first, he planned to get it done quickly—rip off the bandage like he'd usually do it. Not exactly 'face his fear,' but do something enough to ward the ghoul off. What he didn't expect was to encounter one right after Haruaki's summer break ended, leaving him alone without any sort of spiritual assitance. It wasn't that hard to get rid of one by himself, but his nerves were definitely getting in the way.

So, he ripped off the bandage anyway. Walking behind the shrine proudly, surrounded by the forest, illuminated by the rising sun, he decided that he'd just throw parchments of blessed paper at it. Maybe do a bit of praying first and throw some holy water.. It isn't that hard. Or so he thought.

"Come out wherever you are," he coaxed, voice flat and pitching upward, betraying the slight desperation in his tone. Clutching a couple of warding charms in his robe pocket, he took a step forward. Maybe, just maybe, it was just a rodent looking for food.. not a yokai. Then again, rodents can't make spooky noises while he ran the shrine for his parents. If only Haruaki were here.

Then, a rustle came from the bushes surrounding the shrine, the sound giving away an unnatural presence. Bingo. He carefully made his way towards the bush, carefully tiptoeing like a cartoony criminal on their way to rob a bank.

Clearing his throat as if to regain some semblance of his usual cool demeanor, Aamaki pulled a charm out of his sleeve, pasting it to the back of the shrine to make sure it couldn't touch him. It wouldn't DARE now that there was a barrier stopping it.. right? At the very least, it could knock the yokai out. He turned around proudly and fumbled to snatch another blessed charm out of his robe pocket.

Aamaki glanced around wildly, narrowing his eyes in suspicion as if he sensed internally that this was simply too easy. Silence fell upon him and the barely visible forest, its trees only lit by the old, traditional lantern nearby. He took a moment to gather some air, inhaling and exhaling deeply like a man finally about to win a game of roulette. Taking a proud, victorious step forward back, towards the entrance of the shrine, he marched. He would have continued his stride if it weren't for a certain yokai yanking him back; no resistance was his reaction—he froze instantly.