Haunting in Room

Dakota was lazily slouching at the guild bar, her clothes sticking uncomfortably to her skin. The fact that she was currently chewing on ice and fanning her face did little to ease it, and she huffed angrily. Doesn’t anybody else feel the heat? In truth it, it wasn’t any warmer or cooler than any other day during the season. She finished off the remains of the glass of ice and slid off of the barstool, sauntering over to the job board. If I’m just going to die of heat exhaustion, I might as well do it during a job. She found it hard to focus on the jobs, the heat encompassing her almost every thought, even if there were only four sheets of paper tacked onto the board. She easily skipped the S-class and B-class job, as they required more developed skills, leaving her with a D-class job, labeled ‘Haunting in Room’. She read the details of the job, only stating to deal with whatever was disturbing the child and subsequently the entire house. She pulled it off the board and carried it over to the Lady Inari for approval. After giving her the okay, Dakota opened the guild doors and began trudging into the intensely sunlit streets. What have I done to deserve this fate? She thought grumpily, taking the most shaded route she possibly could to get to the family home.

She arrived after a walk that lasted an eternity. (It was twenty minutes Dakota. Twenty minutes in the burning sun!), and knocked heavily on the door, the sound reverberating through the wood. At least it’ll be cool inside. She thought, her spirits rising considerably, and a small smirk appearing on her face. When a woman opened the door she looks surprised to see a young girl with an unusual smile on her face. Dakota quickly explained that she was here for the job and that she was part of Koma Inu. The woman looked skeptical, though allowed her inside, and Dakota almost squealed in delight, a cool breeze enveloping her once she stepped over the threshold. The door was shut promptly behind her and she was led directly into the boy’s room, which appeared to have been vacated for a while. It was decorated with a bunch of random posters, a single bed, a closet door, and nightstand. The woman looked around the room, her eyes wide as if something would jump out at her, and Dakota lightly clicked her tongue. “So, would you like me to stay here overnight and see what’s goin’ on?” She asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet slightly. Mrs. Ocula started, and her head whipped to look at Dakota. “Oh, sorry, yes I’d like you to stay at least one night. Whatever it takes to get whatever is happening to stop.” The woman looked extremely tired and haggard now that Dakota looked at her. She was slouching heavily, her eyes slightly drooping, and dark bags sitting under them. Dakota put on a gentle face, and gently took the woman’s hand. “I swear, I will bring you justice.” She said, her tone serious, though soft. Mrs. Ocula nodded her head and gave her a small smile. “Thank you so much.” She whispered thankfully.

Dakota had spent her entire day in the small bedroom and swore she could Ice-Make the entire thing from memory, from the cracks in the ceiling to the very designs of the floorboards. She got off the bed and achingly stretched her unused muscles, cracking her knuckles in earnest. By now, the sun was dipping ever lower into the horizon, and the woman was making quite the ruckus outside the door. Not wanting to be nosy, Dakota simply waited until she came in to find out what was going on. The noise stopped, and shortly thereafter, the woman came to the door, and quietly opened it, leaning the upper of her body in. “Now, I’ll be heading out, and I’ll return tomorrow morning. Please use this if you need anything.” She held up a card but made no move to go in any farther into the room, forcing Dakota to walk over to grab it. Once she touched it, it began to glow, and the woman’s face appeared on it. “Oh, and feel free to get whatever you want from the fridge or cupboards.” She said, and Dakota nodded. Mrs. Ocula left her alone again, and a few moments later, the loud sound of a closing door told her she had left.

She flopped back onto the bed and began lightly tracing the patterns of the bed sheets. ''Man, this has been boring. Maybe I would’ve been better of melting in the guild hall.'' She thought, her fingers lazily gliding over the cool fabric for a while before she noticed a bright flash outside the window. She got up, practically vibrating at the thought of finally getting some action. She lifted the window up and was greeted with fog. It was thick enough to prohibit her from seeing the house next door though she could see a few slinking shadows. Finally! She cheered internally, instinctually forcing her fist to her palm. “Hey, I know you’re out there!” She shouted loud, not once thinking about people possibly sleeping. The shadows all froze in their motion, and three pairs of glinting eyes focused in on her. She felt a chill go down her spine, but it was definitely because of the adrenaline pumping through her veins, no way was she scared. She focused her magic into her hands. “I’ll give you one chance to turn yourselves over!” She called out, her hands glowing from the ethernano gathering there. The shadows seemed not to care for her threat, and simply remained still, and she smirked. “Ice-Make Eagles!” She chanted, and several eagles took form from a magic circle, charging at the beings. They all, however, shattered without even getting close. “What the heck was that?” She called out angrily, already coating her hands in a thick layer of ice. A small snort was heard, and Dakota launched herself outside the window. She charged at them, though once her ice gloves disappeared, she stopped in her tracks. “What is going on?” She thought aloud, knowing full well while her level of magic wasn’t great, that all of it wouldn’t be gone in two spells. Another snort of laughter was heard, and she backed up a few steps, once again setting her Ice-Make Gloves spells. It remained intact this time, and she began to realize what was going on, and she narrowed her eyes. “Nullifying my magic was a pretty cheap move.” She huffed, raising her fists and preparing for an attack.

One of the shadows advanced towards her from the left, and she quickly turned, meeting him with a quick punch. Focusing her magic, she left a small patch of ice behind, and in their haste to physically remove it, she quickly rolled out the possibility of them being any sort of powerful mage or at least having any smarts. Another decided to come forward, and she quickly ducked to avoid an attack and tripped them up with her foot. On their way down, she quickly slid under them, grabbing their torso, and then throwing them over onto the ground with enough force to knock the air out of their lungs, but not mortally wound them. Pinning them down with her forearm, she breathed an “Ice-Make Sword.” And it appeared in her other hand. She quickly switched her arms and touched the edge of the blade to their throat, it's icy form freezing the skin it touched. The person beneath her squirmed, letting out a small groan of pain though she didn’t move a single bit. “If you want your friend back, you’ll have to let me see who you are!” She growled, and as she predicted, they all quickly rushed at her. “Ice-Make Dome!” She chanted, and those close enough were rebounded as a semi-sphere separated her and her hostage from them. “I’m warning you!” She shouted, her voice easily reaching them.

She tossed the sword aside, and as soon as it was out of her hands, it disappeared into the air, but she knew she wouldn't need it. She chilled the air until it was freezing, and the guy she was fighting didn’t even get up off the ground. “Hello~ aren’t you gonna fight me?” She said, placing her hands on her hips. However, when they didn’t respond, she knew that yes, they weren’t going to be fighting anytime soon. She counted the people outside, who at this point we're all waiting for Dakota to do something to her captive. ''Only two others. I could take them on, as other than nullification, they don’t seem to have any magic, and they haven’t even used it.'' She thought, tapping her finger to her chin. “Which of you has the nullification?” She questioned, lightly nudging the person inside the dome with the toe of her shoes. “I do.” They answered, and Dakota shook her head. “Then why haven’t you used it, hm?” She questioned, leaning down next down them. They cursed under their breath, and Dakota yanked the robe over their face off, revealing a boy who was a few years younger than her. “Yeah, well, I think I know.” She stated, waving her own spell away. “Now I suspect all of you know what this means, hm? I know that you,” She pointed at the boy she had trapped, “have nullification magic, though at a near nonexistent level.” She pointed at the other two. “I assume one of you has illusion magic, which you were using to harass this poor family.” She stated, eyeing them like a disappointed mother might. They all hung their heads in shame, and she tutted at them. “You’re gonna have to come with me, and tomorrow you need to apologize to the family.” She said, helping the boy nearest her up. They all removed their hoods, revealing that they were all boys and that the other two were twins, and appearing to be around her age. “What are young men like you even doing this for? Shouldn’t you be looking for guilds to join? Honestly.” She sighed shaking her head, and the boys all blushed in embarrassment. “We’re sorry miss.” They all said in unison, and she led them back over to the window, guiding them all in.

She allowed them to sit on the bed, but only after she explained very thoroughly that nobody was able to sleep in this room because of the terrible fright they’d caused. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a few bottles of water and went back upstairs. She gave each of the boys one and asked why they had begun pestering the people who lived here. “Well, our younger brother here was constantly getting bullied by the kid who lives here, and decided to start getting revenge, unbeknownst to us.” One of the twins explained, and both of them turned and glared at their little brother, but Dakota quickly pinched both of their hands. “This is as much your fault as it is his!” She hissed, and they both flinched from the pain and her stern gaze. “Continue with the story!” She snapped after they paused for too long, and they flinched again though recovered in order not to be scolded again. “Well, we found out what he was doing, and why, and couldn’t allow this continue. We went to his mother and inquired about her son bullying our brother, and she outright denied us the ability to talk it out and slammed the door in our faces.” The same twin continued. “We tried again, but she didn’t even answer the door again after that. So we kinda took our brothers path and began persistently knocking at his window and creating illusions to scare him a bit. He must’ve known it was us, though, because who else would bother him, right? We started learning a few different skills and cast nightmares on him. Well then we didn’t even bother with anything else, so he must have gotten scared that something strange was actually going on.” He shrugged his shoulders, ashamed of what he had done know that he heard it coming out of his mouth, and his brothers looked similar, all their ears red. Dakota shook her head yet again. “Well, I suspect it’ll stop now that she has paid 300,000 jewels to get me and fix the problem, hm?” She said though the boys knew it wasn’t really a question. They all nodded their heads anyways, and she smiled. “Anyhow, I’m Dakota Fath, from Koma Inu! It’s nice to meet you!” She cheers, outstretching her hand. The twin who did the talking took it first and muttered a small “Alec”. The second did the same, adding “Blake” while the youngest added a “Camden”. “All in alphabetical order, huh?” Dakota said, her eyes lighting up. The boys relaxed a bit, and she stood up again. “I’d like you boys to head home, okay? If you’re not back here tomorrow by dawn, I will not hesitate to tear this city apart to find you, got it?” She said the last bit with a smile, but the undertones quickly told them not to be late. She bid them farewell and then collapsed onto the bed. Well, that was tiring enough. She thought, stretching out on the bed. At least it's over now, so the family can rest easy. She closed her eyes, and sleep quickly overtook her.

The next morning, she woke up and judging by the pale sky, it was still dawn was still breaking. She stretched and let out a loud yawn out. Walking down the stairs, she noticed that three boys had been eagerly waiting on the couch, and smiling when they see Dakota. She skips over to them and greets them cheerfully. “Good, you adhered my warning.” She said, booping each of them on the nose. They all nodded eagerly. Just then the front door opened, and the Ocula’s walked into the door, and nearly dropped their belongings when they saw the three boys sitting on their porch. “I-I-I said you could stay here, not invite friends over!” The Mrs. shouted, pointing at the door angrily saying, “Out you go!” However, before they could get up to leave, Dakota calmly said. “They’re here to apologize. And also get a few apologies of their own.” Each family looked equally surprised, but the boys were the first to break the silence. “We’re sorry for harassing and causing you trouble.” They all said in unison, looking to Dakota for approval. She gave them a small nod, then turned her attention back to the Ocula's. “Now, please apologize for bullying her son," She said, looking at the boys, and then she turned to the mother "and for turning them away when they tried to apologize the first few times,” Dakota said, her voice stern, turning away any possibility of denial. The mother and son both lowered their heads and whispered a small sorry. Dakota didn’t want to push her luck and have her pay reduced, so she left it at that, telling the trio to go ahead and go home while she stuck around her payment. “Thank you for stopping all this nonsense.” The woman said, giving Dakota all 300,000 jewels. She eyes the money happily and quickly stashed it in her back pocket. “No problem ma’am. Anything to help the citizens of Fiore!” She bid them farewell and began skipping back to the guild, not even minding the bright sun and the heat.