"Pssst, little guy," I whispered, heart hammering in my chest, "our teacher out there isn't supposed to know about you."
How stupid of me! How many times had I seen Megumi's dogs howl when he summoned them? Apparently not often enough to react faster. I gave the soft white fur a quick stroke before getting back on my feet.
I crossed both my thumbs and mentally crossed dozens more imaginary ones that maybe, just maybe, I had been fast enough and Satoru hadn't heard anything.
I firmly gripped the scythe again, which I had leaned against myself while opening the capsule, and decided to stick to the lower floor first. I made my way straight or more like stumbled towards a section, tripping slightly over the torn corner of a cardboard box.
…!
Suddenly, my phone started ringing in the pocket of my skirt.
Startled, I jumped, looking completely the wrong way as I fumbled to process the noise, before finally recognizing it for what it was.
"Stupid..." I muttered as I pulled out my still-ringing phone.
Just great...
Who else could it have been but Satoru, huh?
"Yeah?" I answered, feigning innocence.
"Say," his voice came through, way too knowingly, "did I just hear a hellhound howling?"
I grinned sheepishly to myself. "And... how could that be?" I replied seriously, despite my guilty expression. "I would have had to smuggle Megumi in with me, wouldn't I?"
"It could've been your own curse energy manifesting into something new," he pointed out slyly.
"Nope, unfortunately not," I said regretfully. "I didn't hear anything just now, and my cursed technique is still playing hide and seek."
As if he'd actually believe me but I wanted to keep my fluffy companion for a little while longer.
"Good luck then," he said cheerfully before hanging up.
Phew.
I continued clinging to the false hope that he had bought my story and quickly opened my chat with Megumi to send him a message.
*** Mayu: It worked :D!! I successfully summoned the hellhound – but he howled really loud and Satoru just called me about it >.> ... I hope it won't cause too much trouble...
Megumi: That's great! Keep me updated if I gave him too much cursed energy or not enough. Don't worry about Satoru ;) Good luck, Mayu.
Mayu: Thanks :) ***
I smiled in satisfaction and tucked my phone back into the pocket of my skirt. It was a huge relief to know I wasn't completely alone even if the hellhound wasn't exactly a replacement for backup.
"Alright, come on," I said to my new companion, and we continued moving along behind the escalator, entering our first destination which appeared to be a clothing store.
The first details that caught my eye in the fairly dark and spacious room were the round silver clothing racks, some still precariously holding onto a few hangers. Several ceiling panels had collapsed into the center of the room, exposing the pipes and dangling wires above. Any real light source was non-existent, but at least the glass dome of the main hall allowed just enough daylight to see that no cursed spirit seemed to be lurking here.
Still, being the coward that I was, I didn't dare venture much further in. Instead, I gave the fluffy white head beside me a gentle pat.
"You'd like to tell me your name so I can command you a little deeper into the room, right? How about Mio?"
A wagging tail and a few eager pants seemed like agreement to me. Hopefully, he wouldn't decide to howl again.
"Very good, Mio. Now, go check the room for the cursed spirit!"
At my command, the hellhound trotted deeper into the store.
As for me?
Honestly, I didn't really have the guts to follow, but I couldn't risk my shikigami getting taken out right at the beginning of my mission either. So I grabbed my courage by the scruff, dragged it out of its corner, and picked my way across the clothing scattered on the floor toward the darkest part of the store:
The fitting rooms.