"Eh? Possessed? What do you mean, possessed?" Mochi blinked repeatedly, trying to process the word without fully understanding it.
Haruka didn't flinch.
"That last attack it launched before dissipating wasn't meant to hurt you physically," Haruka explained. "Its true intention was to infect you. It implanted a fragment of its soul—a seed of its own essence—inside you."
"Infect me?" Mochi shivered, imagining something dark moving beneath her ribs.
"Yes. You probably won't notice anything unusual right now; it's a small fragment and, for the moment, it lacks its own consciousness. But over time, that fragment will grow. It will strengthen itself by feeding on your energy and, eventually, it will try to take over your body to be reborn."
Mochi swallowed hard, her back tensing and her tail bristling completely as she pictured that colossal cat trying to burst out of her like in some alien horror movie.
"But don't worry, Mochi. I won't let that happen. Ever."
Mochi let out such a long sigh of relief that her shoulders dropped all at once.
"Phew, thank goodness… It would've been a shame if my manga protagonist life ended right when you revealed something this exciting."
Haruka gave her a look of pure disbelief. She froze for a second, astonished by Mochi's almost supernatural ability to jump from terror to adventurous excitement in less than ten seconds. In the end, the elf could only sigh in resignation.
"Haa… I suppose I'm glad you're not getting depressed over this. That's very much like you."
"Is there anything else?" Mochi asked, her eyes shining again.
"Yes. I need you to come with me to the OHRA base in this city."
"Yes, yes! Let's go right now, Haruka! No time to waste!"
Haruka raised an eyebrow, puzzled by the lack of questions.
"You're not even going to ask why? Well… never mind. Let's get moving."
As they walked through the streets, Mochi's imagination took off into the stratosphere. In her mind, the secret OHRA base was a display of unprecedented technology. Will it be a boring office building hiding supersonic elevators? she wondered. No, even better! An abandoned subway station turned into a command center with holograms, world maps full of red lights, and agents in tactical suits!
Her expectations grew wilder and wilder… until the scenery began to change. They left the city center and entered an outdated residential area, where the buildings were old and the gardens looked like they hadn't seen a lawnmower in decades.
Finally, Mochi lost patience.
"Haruka… are you sure this is the right way? This looks like the setting of an old ghost movie."
Haruka didn't respond immediately. She simply pointed toward the end of the street with an impassive gesture. There stood an old Western-style church. Its white walls had turned yellowish and cracked; the stained-glass windows were covered in grime, and some broken panes had been replaced with wooden boards. The garden was overgrown with weeds and tall grass that swallowed the stone path.
"Huh? Is it here?" Mochi stopped, her ears drooping in disappointment. "But it looks abandoned! Where are the laser beams and the laboratories?"
"Appearances are the first line of defense, Mochi," Haruka replied, walking toward the heavy wooden gate. "Come. They're waiting for us."
Haruka stepped forward and, placing both hands against the carved surface of the massive solid wooden doors, pushed with force. The heavy portal gave way with a long creak.
Mochi hurried after her, expecting the interior to reveal the hidden technology she had imagined, but her expectations crumbled the moment she stepped inside. The space was wide, dusty, and just as decayed as the exterior. At the back stood a gray stone altar; along the sides, wooden benches were piled up chaotically, many of them splintered or rotting from moisture.
This is definitely disappointing, Mochi thought, her shoulders slumping. Where are the screens full of data? The world maps lit up with colored lights? The buzz of an elite secret base? This looks more like a storage room for junk than the headquarters of an action manga.
They walked in silence until Haruka turned toward a small side door. They moved down a narrow, dim corridor lined with closed doors. Suddenly, one of them opened, and a man stepped into the hallway with an elegance that clashed completely with the surroundings.
He was tall, slender, with refined features. His long blond hair fell gracefully over his shoulders, and his pointed ears revealed that, like Haruka, he shared elven heritage. He wore an immaculate white suit over a red shirt, the top buttons undone to reveal part of his chest. As he passed them, he looked at them with bright eyes and offered a charming smile.
"Let's hurry, Mochi. It's getting late," Haruka said in a dry, cutting tone. "And ignore this guy."
Without giving her a chance to respond, Haruka grabbed Mochi's hand and quickened her pace. They passed the blond elf without stopping for a second. Mochi felt his gaze follow them as they moved away, still wearing that magazine-model smile.
He looks like one of those hosts from nightclubs, Mochi thought, letting herself be pulled along. The kind who charm girls into spending every last cent on champagne. Better listen to Haruka and stay away from him.
Finally, they stopped in front of a large, finely crafted wooden door. Haruka knocked twice—firm and brief.
"Come in," a female voice replied from inside.
When they entered, they found themselves in an office that looked as if it had survived a hurricane of paperwork. Stacks of papers and files were piled everywhere, some so crooked they seemed to defy gravity. At the center of the chaos, behind an old wooden desk full of scratches and dents, sat a woman.
She looked to be in her thirties and had a tomboy style that Mochi found both attractive and modern.
"You must be Noa," the woman said, fixing her eyes on her with a mix of curiosity and kindness. "My name is Ofelia, and I'm the leader of this OHRA branch."
Mochi instinctively gave a small respectful bow, feeling that she was finally in front of someone who spoke seriously.
"Haruka has already informed me of your situation," Ofelia continued, interlacing her fingers on the desk. "And I must tell you, young lady, what has happened to you is extremely rare."
Ofelia leaned back in her chair, which let out a metallic creak, and began to break down reality with a professional coldness that made the skin crawl. She explained that possessions by Anomalies were classified into three categories. Although each had its own rules, the outcome was usually the same: the person disappeared, and the monster walked in their skin.
"The First Type is an assault," Ofelia said, tapping the desk with one finger. "The Anomaly enters and takes control immediately. It devours the person's consciousness in seconds. There is no struggle—just an empty shell that now serves as its hiding place."
Mochi listened with wide eyes, feeling the air in the office grow heavier.
"In the Second Type, the Anomaly doesn't have the strength for full control from the start. Instead, it infiltrates and remains latent, like a parasite. It weakens the host little by little, whispering in their ear, showing them visions and nightmares until it breaks their will. It's a slow invasion—a war of mental attrition."
Ofelia paused dramatically and fixed her gaze on Mochi.
"And then there's your case, little Noa. The Third Type. The rarest… and the most unpredictable."
"This type occurs when the Anomaly is so weak that it can't even manifest a clear consciousness or torment the host. In theory, it shouldn't be capable of initiating possession at all. The conditions are almost impossible: the Anomaly must have once been powerful, but be so severely injured or weakened that it can barely remain active."
Just like the great black cat after Haruka's attack.
"The problem," Ofelia continued, leaning over the desk until her face was close to Mochi's, "is that no one can predict the outcome. That thing might sleep inside you forever… or slowly recover until it becomes a Type Two. And you see, Noa… normally, we eliminate people in your situation. They are a risk society cannot afford."
Ofelia's smile widened, but her eyes remained fixed—unsettling.
"Eliminate…?" Mochi instinctively took a step back, her heart pounding. The word execution seemed to hang in the air like a physical sentence.
"Ofelia, please stop scaring Mochi," Haruka intervened with a tired sigh. She stepped closer to her friend and gently began stroking her head, a gesture that immediately steadied Mochi's pulse.
From the way they spoke, Mochi realized they weren't just superior and subordinate; there was years of trust between them.
"I'm not scared," Mochi lied bravely, though her tail betrayed her with quick, nervous twitches.
"Sorry, sorry. You're just so cute, I couldn't resist teasing you a little," Ofelia said, laughing openly as she returned to a more casual tone. "But that whole elimination thing would only apply to a regular civilian. You're different—you've got something special, Noa. That's why I'm going to offer you another option."
"Different? How am I different?"
At that moment, Mochi's imagination took off again, leaving fear behind. I knew it! she thought, her tail wagging excitedly from side to side. I must have a special power! I always knew I was different since I was little! I must be chosen! A destined heroine! Mochi closed her eyes for a second, trying to steady her breathing. Okay, okay… breathe, Noa. Don't lose your composure now.
"It's because you're Haruka's friend, and she vouched for you," Ofelia said with a crooked smile. "We practice nepotism here at its finest."
Mochi's tail, which had been raised high just a moment ago, immediately drooped, hitting the floor with a deflated flop. Beside her, Haruka let out a small, suppressed laugh, looking away to hide her amusement.
Traitor… Mochi complained internally, shooting a glare at her own tail for betraying her so shamelessly.
"Noa, join OHRA," Ofelia continued, her tone turning more formal again. "The only one who can resolve your situation is you. Here, we can train you and teach you spells. That's the only way you'll have a real chance of controlling what's inside you… before it controls you."
"Of course! I want to join!" Mochi answered without a second thought. Her wounded pride over the nepotism comment was instantly swallowed by the prospect of having powers like Haruka's.
"Good, I expected that answer. I've already had a special set of equipment made for you; it will be forged using the remains of the cat anomaly that infected you. Tomorrow, Saturday, Haruka will come by your house and guide you through your first field assignment. It's best that you start as soon as possible."
* * *
The next day, the sound of the doorbell rang through the house like a starting gun. Mochi had already been awake for hours, pacing around the living room with a volatile mix of nerves and impatience.
She ran to the door and flung it wide open.
There stood Haruka. Her uniform was impeccable as always, and she held a small dark leather briefcase. Seeing her there, with that professional air, finally made Mochi realize that all of this wasn't just a fever dream.
"Haruka!" she greeted her with electric enthusiasm. "Come in, come in!"
"Mochi… are your parents home?" the elf asked, glancing cautiously into the hallway.
Mochi leaned toward her, softening her expression into a mischievous smile and raising an eyebrow suggestively.
"Nope, they went out for a few hours…" she whispered, and to top it off, she winked. "So we can make all the noise we want, Haruka."
"D-don't make those kinds of jokes, please!" Haruka's voice turned higher and nervous as a deep blush spread across her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears.
Mochi couldn't help but burst out laughing at her reaction.
"Sorry, sorry. Don't get like that. Come on, let's go to my room."
Once there, they both sat on the edge of the bed. Haruka still avoided direct eye contact, trying to regain her composure. Maybe I went a bit too far with that joke… but I don't regret it at all, Mochi thought as she watched her friend place the briefcase on her lap.
With a metallic click, Haruka opened the latch.
Inside, resting on a bed of black velvet, was a pair of knuckle dusters. They were a deep red, almost like blood. Mochi was left speechless. The weapons emitted a faint glow, a subtle pulse that seemed to respond to her presence. There was something magnetic about them—something Mochi couldn't tell if it unsettled her or drew her in with irresistible force.
Without realizing it, her hand slowly extended toward the reddish metal, eager to feel that power.
But before her fingertips could even touch the cold surface, Haruka snapped the briefcase shut with a sharp crack.
"These are your new weapons," Haruka stated, keeping her hands firmly pressed on the closed lid. "They were forged using the remains of the cat that infected you. And… the results weren't exactly what the Agency's blacksmiths expected."
She paused for a moment, lowering her gaze.
"Its will persists with unusual strength, even after death," Haruka continued in a whisper. "It's a 'living' weapon in the most dangerous sense of the word. You'll have to be extremely careful when using them. I fear there's a real risk that these knuckles could influence your will… or even begin to alter your personality while you wear them."
"As for their form… I chose them personally. I know your movements, Mochi. You're agile and direct; I think this type of weapon suits you best. But promise me something: if you feel like you're losing control, if you hear its voice… you'll tell me immediately."