1 A Friendly Spirit

In an underground room several hundred feet under the earth, Satoru Gojou opened yet another door full of empty cells. Dried pools of blood painted the floor red, while the metallic scent of iron assaulted his nose.

Looking at this scene, he didn't cringe; the contents of this room were far milder than the others.

Sighing, he closed the door and continued down the corridor. This was the last and deepest floor of this dungeon. Today was supposed to be his off day, so he was planning to go to Sendai to get some Kikufuku when he sensed someone channeling cursed energy below a building hidden deep within a forest nearby.

Further investigation revealed that it was the main headquarters of a cult that had existed since several hundred years ago. Strangely, not a single human could be found in any of the underground floors.

Shaking off his thoughts, he soon arrived in front of a large wooden door. Using one hand to quietly open it, he carefreely pranced in while taking in the surroundings.

The floor was covered with animal-shaped memory foam carpets. The walls were hidden behind large bookshelves that reached to the ceiling. It was fitted so exactly that unless he pulled on the bookshelves, they wouldn't move.

Gojou soon laid his eyes on a half-opened door. Music, loud enough to vibrate the earth, could be heard. Noting that no cursed energy was infused in the music, his curiosity rose.

'What could they be doing in there?,' he thought.

He strolled into the room with his body swaying with the music. Immediately, he took in the strange being that was sitting in front of a TV. Actually, sleeping would be a more appropriate term to call it. The creature was sitting on a sofa that was fully reclined.

'A cursed spirit? Why is he watching anime? Ah, that character's voice sounds familiar...'

"Mikoto-Chan?!?!" Gojou blurted out.

Spooked, the strange being jumped out of his sofa. Gojou immediately tensed up, ready for a fight. The being turned around and stared at Gojou before screaming and shouting out, "AAAAHHH!! INTRUDER!! SOMEONE HELP!!!"

'Eh?'

As the being continued to cry and scream in terror, Gojou started to observe it.

It had a 1.7 meter humanoid figure with slightly longer than normal arms, like most spear masters have. Dark wisps of smoke curled around its shadowy body. Its eyes were more along the lines of spotlights: round and extremely bright.

In actuality, it looked pretty cool. If it wasn't screaming, that is.

Out of curiosity, Gojou didn't attack it, and instead waited to see what it would do.

After a few minutes, it seemed that the being, who was now cowering behind the sofa, had calmed down. Carefully, it peeked his head over the armrest and stared at Gojou. When Gojou stared back, it ducked back down and whimpered.

Amused, Gojou chuckled.

"So who, or rather, what are you?"

A few minutes of silence passed before the shadowy figure replied in the voice of a teenager that still had a few months before his puberty ended.

"I'm me. Who are you? Don't make me call the police!!"

"Ah, that's right. My name is Satoru Gojou. What is your name?" Gojou nodded before asking.

"Hajime Inei," As he said his name, Inei crawled out from behind the sofa, and stared at Gojou before saying, "W-what are you doing here? You know this is considered trespassing, right?"

Ignoring Inei's questions, Gojou tilted his head and asked, "Do you not want to kill humans?"

"Why would I do that? If I kill humans, who would make the anime and manga that I like?"

Gojou's eyes, which were hidden behind his black blindfold, lit up and his mouth widened into a smile.

'Ah, a cursed spirit that doesn't want to hurt humans! This is a first! I should bring him back to Shouko! But first, I should get some Kikufuku and also check up on my cute little student!'

Approaching the fearful Inei, Gojou put his arm around Inei's shoulders and teleported away.