The Dream Shifter

Chapter 120

Seiji was making quick work of most of the problems that wandered around the shrine leaving only dust to blow in the wind behind him. However, there were still some that were not being destroyed by his rampage. Left behind unaffected by all of his swings were ghosts and other non-corporeal beings. They were still hunting after him with an intensified strength. The last of the physical creatures were being dealt with when three ghosts flew in after Seiji. In a heightened sense of awareness, Seiji picked up their incoming attack and turned to meet them head on (ignoring the fact that they were ghosts with his blind rage). Using the same tactics he had before he took several quick swings at the ghosts, but stumbled through them unable to land a single punch. "You can't stop me!"

Still watching Seiji from across the grounds, the woman could only raise her hand to her face in disbelief. "…he's trying to fight ghosts with his fists too…" After he failed several times she could not take the embarrassment anymore and floated over to him. "They don't have physical bodies! Physical attacks won't work on them, i***t priest!"

The scolding was enough to snap Seiji out of his tunnel vision. He focused his eyes in determination seeing the three ghosts regrouping for another attack on him. Seiji took a firm stance to prepare for their assault until he found a way to attack them, but they held their distance. The ghosts moved their arms out point them at him starting to glow wildly before shooting out a thick purple beam at him. "What?!" He had no time to react as he was taken off guard by the new attack. All he could manage was to cover himself up with his arms out in front to take the hit.

In an instant the beams collided exploded on impact blanketing the entire area in blinding light. Seiji disappeared in the blast leaving his condition unknown as the ghosts smirked at their success. Smoke began to billow out as the light slowly began to fade away. The woman strained to look for signs of Seiji in the dark clouds with no luck. "Hey dumb priest! You dead?" A new light shined from inside the smoke alerting everyone around. "What's that?" Once the smoke was pushed out a flashing transparent light appeared through the remaining smoke cover. It was a small barrier that had been erected.

Inside safe from harm was Seiji looking very confused by the situation. He looked about his surroundings trying to understand what was around him until it faded away. A few thin papers fell away to the ground. Seiji leaned down picking one of them. "Another talisman?"

"Hey watch out!"

Seiji looked up from his knelt position to see the ghosts building for another attack. Their anger was fueling their power to increase its strength. "That won't work on me again!" He charged forward making himself difficult to hit as the ghosts started firing at him. Their aim was good, but each blast only hit the ground creating small craters from the explosions. Seiji was able to keep up dodging the attacks, but he had no chance at hitting them.

"Use those papers!" the ghost shouted tired of watching him.

"What are you talking about?" Seiji kept ahead of the strikes through the distraction, but nearly tripped in the process. Once he regained balance he took a brief moment to glare over at the woman. "Stop bothering me so I can figure out how to beat them!"

Her temper had got the better of her making her turn away from not willing to listen to his complaining. Groans of pain from near misses echoed around her making her fidget. The blasts continued to get louder and more destructive as the moments passed. She could no longer take it and forced herself back around. "Use the stupid papers they're charged with spiritual energy!"

Seiji was slightly caught off guard by her shouting, but then he understood. "Oh! I know what to do!" He slid around several beams and pulled himself back away from them. Once clear, Seiji extended his arms out fully as talismans flew out from inside his sleeves. The papers floated around his hands in front of him gathering in mass. Countless talismans began to glow white with energy as they resonated with Seiji. A spark ran through them straightening out the material flat to hover around his hands. The talismans were pulled in towards his arms wrapping around his hands and back up to his elbow covering any exposed skin. "Right! I'm ready now!"

The ghosts looked on a little confused by his action, but resumed their attack. Seiji caught sight and charged forward into the purple beams of energy. As they came into range he swatted them away with his talisman covered fists. The ghosts were taken back by their attacks having no affect and tried to retreat. Their escape was too late as Seiji quickly closed the distance and finally connected with them shattering them to dust. "Yes! It works! Time for the rest of them to say goodbye!" Seiji ran off disappearing to the other side of the shrine grounds with renewed vigor.

The woman ghost could only let out a heavy sigh witnessing Seiji's method of fighting. "He is quite possibly the worst priest I've ever seen…" Eventually, the shrine had been exorcized of the undead. She finally decided to search around for Seiji after waiting around for thirty minutes. He was found back in the corner of the grounds stretched out on his back breathing heavily from extreme exhaustion. She looked down at him holding her hands on her hip with a frustrated expression. "You're fool!"

Seiji grinned back at her. "Maybe, but this fool took care of all those weird things."

"I don't understand you."

"It had to be done. Nothing more to understand."

"…so simple…" She sat down next to him resting her head in the palm of her hand. There was something about him that she felt that she could not abandon him even if he was an i***t. "I'm Aoi Toyotomi!"

"Seiji Tsuji…priest in training!"

"I'm Doctor Masanori Shiotani, pleasure to meet you." Masanori held the friendly smile for Saki trying to make her feel a little more at ease sensing the awkwardness between them.

Saki felt compelled to return the warmth that he was showing her. It made her feel a little better about being in the room, but the sense of being an intruder was lingered with her. The thought of Takako pulled her eyes back over to her in the corner completely unresponsive to either of their presence. 'Still nothing after so many days…I guess it's not going to improve over night, but still…' Saki looked back at the doctor with a seeking expression that bordered on pleading. "Can you help her?"

It had been a vague question and Masanori was still partially distracted that not having a name made him pause. "Miss Yamazaki, right… I won't know until I do a thorough test and examination." An uncertain answer was not what Saki had been looking for as Masanori could see the hope in her face starting to fade away. He tried to quickly recover from it. "I was just checking to see if she would make a good candidate for our program."

"Program? Candidate?" Some of the details from before had already disappeared on Saki, but hearing what the doctor said had refreshed her memory. She had recalled the nurse saying something similar. Saki had unintentionally converted it into an immediate hope that he was going to be cure or fix what that man had destroyed inside her.

Masanori gave her a slow nod while he tried to sort through how to easily explain it to Saki. "We've made some recent advances in neuroscience that may help Miss Yamazaki. The program I've setup hopes to help recover patients from deep mental traumas through less invasive methods."

Even in spite of Masanori's trying to simplify his words Saki was still feeling very lost with what he was telling her. "What do you mean less invasive methods?"

He rubbed the back of his head looking a little shy suddenly. "Well…I guess you could call something of things we do today for patients suffering from mental problems to be…a little barbaric perhaps? Our understanding is so limited in the way the brain truly works. It's my hope our new understanding can change much of that."

"…I see…" Saki was a little confused that a doctor was admitting to the conditions that patients were being treated. She had only been thinking it in jest before, but thinking that it could be true worried her. Yet for the moment he seemed to be making her feel like she could trust him with how earnest he sounded. "You mentioned candidate before?"

"Ah! Yes, that's right. As I said our understanding is limit and so I'm looking for patients with specific issues that connect with our research. So I was testing her responsiveness today for some preliminary work."

"Is she a good candidate?" inquired Saki having to know how much hope she could have.

The doctor pulled out the paper that he had on him and began flipping through them slowly. He seemed to be intently focused on them not even uttering a sound as several minutes passed in strained silence. Once Masanori was finished he looked up at Saki. "I can't promise anything yet…but it does look promising."

Evening was slowly working its way on the horizon. Deep in the newly grown forest of the Chinen Estates it remained mostly unknown. The light that penetrated the thick canopy only provided a slow warm glow to the forest disguising well the actual time of day. It had caused many to be thrown off, apart from being unsettled.

Chiharu had been focused on planning out a strategy for their attack. She had to listen to the repeated protests from Tamotsu about her rashness; however she refused to listen to his side. She plowed through with single-minded determination for her revenge. It was all she could think about once she had woken up. She had felt as though she had been wasting her time before and the rest had renewed and revived her spirit. Chiharu drive had all of her men scrambling to keep up with her pace.

While she had been unconscious it had left an empty lingering feeling of directionless actions for everyone in the household. There were none related to her by blood, but they had all been with the family for years and felt some sense of familial responsibility towards her. Without her presence to be felt they had no life; it was like death throughout the mansion.

All of that had changed when she woke up. They all eagerly took to any work and welcomed her harsh and rough speech. Even more than being alive again, it seemed to many that Chiharu had a different light that surrounded her than before. It was one that they felt could be followed in the darkest of tunnels and surrounded by enemies on all sides with the odds against them, but never feel as though they could lose. It could only be called undaunted charisma.

A door in a stretch of hall underneath the mansion opened allowing Chiharu to march out. An annoyed scowl was firmly dug into her features. Behind her Tamotsu was hurriedly trying to follow her. There was distress on his face. "Lady Chiharu! Lady Chiharu, please wait!"

"I'm done listening to your complaining, Tamotsu!" Chiharu snapped back at him not even giving him a stare while she continued to walk away.

Tamotsu disguised his frustration and hurried his pace to catch up to her. "I understand how you feeling, Lady Chiharu! But—"

"Do you, Tamotsu?" Chiharu had come to a quick stop and turned to face him back. The glare that he received from her was enough to make him hold his words and second guess anything he was currently thinking. "Do you really? He was my grandfather! The only family I've known since I was three!"