Note: I have nothing to do with Here is Greenwood and its characters except to be a fan who enjoys the OVAs a lot. This story is my extrapolation of the storylines as seen in the OVAs. I apologize if this story doesn't quite fit in with the manga.
Shinobu blinked.
"Mr. Tezuka," Father Ichinose said as they moved across the courtyard behind the church. "I realize that the item in question belongs to you, and that we have no right to deny you access to it, and no right to withhold it from you at all." The priest shook his head. "But you have to understand the position you put us in."
Shinobu gazed steadily at the Catholic priest, only marginally aware that Kazuya was fidgeting beside him nervously. Knowing what effect his stare had on his own older sister, he wasn't particularly surprised when the priest flinched and looked away.
"Explain," he said quietly. The priest flinched again, but began talking.
"You brought the book here," the priest said, "and even the newest novitiate sensed the evil power of the grimoire, even through all the wards and sutras you'd already had Shinto and Buddhist priests wrap it in. You asked us to assist in containing the evil of the book, and we did."
"For which we are grateful," Shinobu said.
The priest glared at him, but Shinobu returned it with his calm, cool gaze, and again the priest turned away first.
"You have no idea what we had to go through to even come close to countering its evil," Father Ichinose complained. "Even with all the wards on it reducing its effect, it kept most of us up the first night! We finally had to take it outside and seal it in ring after ring of holy water, crucifixes, and the Host. At that, we only know that we've blunted the effect it was having on us all. It did nothing to neutralize the evil, let alone defeat it."
"As I said," Shinobu said, letting just a touch of his impatience show, "we are grateful for all you've done. However, we need to use the book to--"
The priest whirled around. "What! Use the book? Are you out of your mind?"
Shinobu's eyebrow rose at the priest's words. "We need the book to avert an--"
"That book is evil!" the priest snapped. "Nothing will ever come of using it that isn't evil!"
Shinobu felt a sudden surge of emotion beside him, and immediately turned and caught Kazuya around his shoulders. "Relax," he whispered, squeezing his friend's shoulders and urging his friend to calm down.
"I--I'm trying," Kazuya stammered. Shinobu drew his friend closer and let him lean against his shoulder.
Shinobu looked over at the priest. Father Ichinose was staring at them, obviously confused. "Panic attack," he told the man calmly. "The book terrifies him."
The priest nodded curtly. "As it should," he muttered. "Don't you see? While the book stays here, at least we know that it can't do any evil."
Shinobu shook his head. "You don't understand," he said. "I brought the book here because it has already been used, and because it resulted in evil. Now we need to use the book to undo what has been done. It's the only way."
"My answer is still no," Father Ichinose said stubbornly.
"I suggest you change your mind," a voice said.
Shinobu turned, bringing Kazuya around with him.
Two men had entered the courtyard. Both seemed to be about the same age as Father Ichinose, but while one had jet black hair, the other was completely bald. Neither seemed particularly noteworthy as both wore plain business suits, but the bald one held juzu in his hand and was slowly rotating the beads in his hand. It didn't matter though; Shinobu recognized them.
"What are you two doing here?" Father Ichinose demanded.
"It should be obvious," the one with the hair said. "Tezuka-san consulted with the two of us regarding a certain object of immense evil."
"Priest Jinbo," Shinobu said, not bothering to hide his impatience, "what did you mean by suggesting that Father Ichinose change his mind?"
"Priest Jinbo and I," the bald man said, "have had a dream."
"How wonderful for you," Father Ichinose said acidly.
"Don't be a fool," Priest Jinbo snapped. "What Reverend Tomikawa has to say is important."
The bald man nodded, then looked back at Shinobu.
"Well?" Shinobu demanded. "What was so important that a Shinto priest and a Buddhist monk had to invade a Catholic sanctuary like this?"
"As I said," Reverend Tomikawa said calmly, "Jinbo and I have had a dream. I have a feeling that Ichinose had one as well, but his faith does not allow for the possibility of prophetic dreams."
"That's ridiculous!" Ichinose snapped. "If we didn't--"
"Gentlemen," Shinobu said, allowing his voice to frost over, "please have your religious debate later." For good measure he gazed steadily at each man until they flinched and turned away. He nodded, then looked back at the Buddhist monk. "Reverend Tomikawa?"
"We had a dream," the monk said again. "In this dream we saw you using the evil book several times. The first time you used the book, nothing happened. The second time you used the book, nothing happened. But the third time you used the book, something happened."
"In our dream," Priest Jinbo said, taking up the story, "we see a battle being fought, between a brilliant blue light, and a sphere of red light. In the center of that sphere is the book. The first time you use the book, the sphere of red light swells and surges, but it returns to the way it was. The same thing happens the second time. On the third time, the sphere swells and surges, but its light wanes, and we can see that something has happened to the book. Its spine has cracked lengthwise, and a blue light shines along the edges of the crack."
Shinobu's eyes narrowed. If he understood the symbolism the Shinto priest was describing, then...
"You use the book again," the Buddhist monk said. "And again the spine cracks, this time across its width."
"And you use the book again," Father Ichinose whispered. "And this time, the book crumbles to pieces in your hands. Its power is broken."
Shinobu glanced at the priest, then nodded.
"What does it mean?" Kazuya asked quietly.
Shinobu looked at him. "It means that we have a chance," he said. "We can set things right." He looked around him. The three priests nodded.
"It seems," Priest Jinbo said, "that you can break the power of the book by turning its power against itself, using it for good deeds instead of evil."
"But that's impossible!" Kazuya objected. "The book itself tricked us in the beginning by offering ways to get rid of evil things when we were actually summoning them! And that's not even mentioning that it's written in who knows how many languages!"
"Kazuya, calm down," Shinobu said. "The book used us, but now that we know its nature we can use it against itself." He looked over at the priests. "If we destroy the book, will any remaining spells be negated?"
Reverend Tomikawa nodded. "The summoning spells you told me of will end with the power of the book. What good you do with the book will endure, however."
Shinobu nodded. He turned to the Catholic priest. "Father Ichinose, do you still object to our taking the book with us?"
The priest glared at him, then his expression fell into one of resigned frustration. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"
"No, you don't," his two counterparts said.
* * *
"Have all of you lost your minds?" Mitsuru demanded.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could they possibly be planning to use that book again after all the problems it had caused thus far? True, he'd thought of this possibility the night before, and he'd worried that his friends might come up with the same idea, but he hadn't thought they'd actually follow through on it! It was madness!
Now, though, his three friends were working to convince him that the plan would work. He'd had a strange sense of foreboding the entire afternoon after he returned from seeing Shun and his parents off from the hospital. Now he understood why he'd been plagued so: because a mad nightmare was taking shape in the real world.
"We have no choice," Shinobu pointed out calmly. "We have to lure the mummy back to Greenwood before it gets to Shun."
Mitsuru took a deep breath. "Shinobu," he said slowly, "are you even listening to yourself? 'Lure the mummy back to Greenwood.' Let's say you succeed in doing that. Then what?"
As he suspected, Shinobu couldn't answer him yet. True, Shinobu gave no outward sign of his lack of an answer, but his silence was all too telling.
Mitsuru shook his head. "You don't know, do you? You have no idea how to stop a mummy that's determined to kill you to free itself."
"I'm sure we'll come up with something before that happens," Shinobu said, his face calm and serene. "We always do."
Mitsuru sighed. "I don't believe this," he muttered. "You're gambling our futures on the possibility that we'll 'come up with something' before the mummy arrives."
"That's why it's called a gamble," Shinobu said.
"It's not a complete gamble, Mitsuru," Haru said. "We're going to test the summoning spell first by having Kazuya summon a vampire, namely me. If it doesn't work, then we'll come up with something else."
"And what if it doesn't work?" Mitsuru said, pouncing on the other boy's words. "If it doesn't work, we'll have to get ready for another vampire to attack us."
"That's what I'm here for," Haru said. "I'll be able to stop the vampire before it can attack Kazuya or anyone else in Greenwood."
"And are you strong enough to do that?" Mitsuru demanded. "You haven't exactly been enjoying the diet you're accustomed to."
"That's what I'm here for," Kazuya said. "If the spell doesn't work, Haru's going to take some of my blood as soon as I'm done, just in case the vampire's really close by. That way he'll be fresh and strong."
"And what is that going to do to you?" Mitsuru said. "You may look completely recovered from your broken leg, but you've been giving up your blood every night. Haru's blood can't heal you completely, you know."
"Mitsuru, give up already," Shinobu said. "You know we have no choice. We already have proof that we'll use the book."
Mitsuru stared at his roommate. "That went by rather quickly."
"The three priests had the same dream," Shinobu pointed out, "even if Father Ichinose didn't want to admit to it. For three people--particularly those so deeply involved in mysticism--to have the same dream is not a coincidence. Not only did they see us using the book, they actually gave us the book to use."
"Albeit grudgingly," Kazuya added.
"And I'm sure the spells are going to work, too," Shinobu continued.
"Okay," Haru said, "now that one went over my head."
Mitsuru nodded his agreement. "Don't worry, Haru," he said. "I'm sure Shinobu will be more than happy to explain exactly what he means." He fixed Shinobu with a hard stare. "Of course, if he would just stop being so cryptic, this whole thing would be a lot easier."
"According to the priests' dream," Shinobu said, "we use the book twice before we begin turning the book's power on itself. That suggests that we will only be casting two spells: the one to summon a vampire and the one to summon a mummy."
"But you don't have any proof," Mitsuru objected.
"Sempai," Kazuya said, "if we know the spells are going to work, why can't we just summon the mummy from the beginning?"
"Oh, no," Mitsuru said quickly. "If you think I'm going to let you summon that mummy without trying to summon another vampire, forget it. I'd rather have another vampire whose vulnerabilities we know about instead of a second mummy that we don't know how to stop."
"Mitsuru's right," Haru said. "It's best if we know for sure that the spells will work the way we plan."
Mitsuru nodded and sighed. "All right," he said, resigned to the inevitable. "Let's get this thing over with before I change my mind."
* * *
"It's time," Shinobu-sempai said quietly.
Kazuya stared down at the box he held in his hands. It might have been a plain wooden box such as women might keep their jewelry in. It might have been, except for the wax seal on its front, and the crosses carved into its lid and sides. From the feel of it, there was even a cross carved into its bottom. Somewhere inside it, amid all the wards and protective spells the Shinto, Buddhist, and Catholic priests had wrapped around it, there was an evil book, and he'd have to open it and read from it. He wondered if this was part of his notorious bad luck or simply fate and circumstance.
Regardless of which one it was, it had fallen to him to read the spells, and all his fears flooded back into him. Would the spells work the way they wanted them to? Would they not work and cause more trouble for everyone? Would they survive to find out?
"Is everyone asleep?" he asked, stalling for more time.
"As many as are going to be asleep at this hour," Haru said.
"It's a good thing not everyone's back yet from winter vacation," Shinobu-sempai said. "Otherwise we might have had to wait until after midnight."
"Never mind that," Mitsuru snapped. "Let's just get this over with."
Kazuya didn't want to get it over with, but he didn't really have a choice now. He sighed. "All right," he said. "I'm going to open the box now."
He felt nervous as he carefully lifted away the wax seal over the box's lock, only then realizing that the wax wasn't pure sealing wax: it was actually some sort of putty-like substance with something like cracker or cookie crumbs worked into it. As he drew the seal away, a tiny wooden crucifix dropped to the floor. It had apparently been placed beneath the wax over the lock.
"Father Ichinose wasn't taking any chances," Shinobu-sempai noted.
"What is this stuff?" Mitsuru asked, taking the seal from Kazuya. He held it up and turned it from side to side, examining it.
"I'm not sure what the putty is," Shinobu-sempai said, "but I'm pretty sure those tiny crumbs worked into it is the Host."
Kazuya's jaw dropped. "You mean the Eucharist?"
"The eucharistic bread, anyway," Shinobu-sempai said. His eyes narrowed, and he took the seal from Mitsuru. He studied it carefully. "They may have mixed the sacramental wine into this putty, but I think Father Ichinose would have used holy water instead. Then again, he may have insisted on both."
"How do you know so much about this?" Kazuya asked.
"I read Bram Stoker's Dracula a couple of years ago," his friend said. "They used it to trap a vampire." He frowned. "I don't know if it would be effective in this case, but it couldn't hurt to try."
Kazuya looked at his sempai, then slowly opened the box. As he did so, more bits of the putty fell to the floor. "They certainly thought so," he said.
"Would you hurry and get rid of that stuff?" Haru said.
Kazuya looked over to where Haru stood by the window. There was a faintly pained expression on his face.
Kazuya's eyes widened. "I forgot! This stuff is hurting you isn't it?"
"It isn't pleasant, anyway," Haru said.
"Hurry up, Kazuya," Mitsuru said. He bent down and started picking up the putty from the floor. "I'll take care of this. You get to the book."
Kazuya nodded. He reached into the box and began pulling out all sorts of charms and wards. He handed these off to Mitsuru, who dumped them into a bag.
Finally, he reached the book. As he grasped it to remove it from the box, he felt a chill run up his arm. His first impulse was to let go, but he had a task to complete.
He grasped the book firmly, then lifted it from the box. Shinobu-sempai took the box from him, then he and Mitsuru left the room. Kazuya knew they were depositing everything next door in their room until they were done.
Taking a deep breath, he sat down at the desk and began flipping through the pages. He tried to remember what Shun had been looking at.
Suddenly, he was looking down at a spell written in English. He felt colder. How had he done that? He'd just opened the book, yet the page he was looking for had suddenly surfaced.
He shook his head. Never mind that for now, he told himself. Taking a deep breath, he read the spell aloud. He was dimly aware that his friends had returned and now stood behind him.
"I summon you forth, vampire. You will come to me and you will obey my every command. By the cursed blood that flows from you up to him who first sold his soul at the Scholomance, I command you to present yourself to me and bow before me. I am your new master, and you will do everything that I say."
The moment he finished reading, he turned towards the window. He flinched when he saw the rage that swept over Haru's face. The other boy had opened his mouth in a snarl, and for the first time that he could remember, Kazuya saw Haru's fangs lengthen into prominence.
A moment later, Haru's face had returned to normal, and the rage seemed to have passed.
"Sorry," Haru said. "I forgot to mention how much the summons irritated me the first time."
Shaken, Kazuya closed the book. "I guess it worked," he said softly.
"How do you feel?" Shinobu-sempai asked him.
"Scared," Kazuya said. "And relieved."
"And you?" his friend said, turning to Haru.
The other boy was silent for a long moment. "The original summons is still there," he said finally. "But it's weaker now. I could go to Shun if he called for me, and if I could get out of this dormitory, but Kazuya's summons is stronger now. If it came down to choosing which summons to obey, Kazuya's one would be the more imperative."
"As I thought," Shinobu-sempai said quietly, apparently to himself.
"Aniki?" Kazuya asked. "What is it?"
His friend shook his head. "I'll explain later," he said. "But since we now know that the spell will work, don't you have another spell to read?"
Kazuya sighed and nodded. "All right," he said as he opened the book. "I just hope I can find the right--" He broke off as he stared at the page before him.
"Kazuya, what is it?" Haru asked. He drew closer, as did Shinobu-sempai and Mitsuru.
Kazuya shook his head. "This books is really scaring me," he whispered. "I was just thinking about the spell, and the book opened to this page." He pointed. At the top of the page, written in a language he could actually read, even if he'd never seen it before, was "to send a spirit into the realm of the dead." Yet as he scanned the page, he could somehow see that what he read didn't match with what the heading suggested. It was definitely a summoning spell.
"Scary or not," Mitsuru said, "just hurry up and read it. I want that book back in that box as soon as possible."
Kazuya nodded. He read the spell aloud. Then he closed the book.
"That's it?" Mitsuru asked.
"That's it." Kazuya handed the book to Shinobu-sempai, who nodded.
"Now all we have to do is wait," his friend said quietly as he turned and left the room.
Kazuya watched his friend go. Then he stood up and started pulling clothes from his closet.
"What are you doing?" Mitsuru asked.
"I'm going to take another bath," he said. "I feel dirty somehow."
Mitsuru started to say something, then closed his mouth. "All right," he said. "I'll keep Haru company."
Kazuya nodded, then left the room. He couldn't wait to reach the baths and scrub his skin raw.
Boy, did he feel dirty!
* * *
A strange figure shambled along the train tracks of Tokyo. It didn't know where it was, only that it was trying to reach something...somewhere...someone. It had to: the compulsion on it was all that drove it.
It had nearly reached its goal once, that much it knew. But then, something had happened. The compulsion had changed directions. Instead of being ahead of it, it had moved off to one side and was receding into the distance. But the compulsion had not weakened. It had to reach it.
It had nearly reached its goal a second time, but then it had moved again. Now it lay much farther off, and it would take a while to reach it. It didn't care. All it cared about was reaching its goal, because it had to reach it.
Suddenly, a new compulsion seized it. The old one remained, but it faded before the force of the new one. Dimly it realized that this new one came from where the first had originated. Such was its power that it began to turn around and head in the new direction.
It would reach this goal first, then it would follow the original compulsion. It had no choice.
It had to reach its goal. Both of them.
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