"Ugh… my head… it hurts…"
In the darkness, Ichika held her heavy head and murmured to herself.
Opening her eyes, she looked around, but saw only darkness.
Just as she wanted to speak, Ichika realized her mouth was gagged. No matter how hard she tried, she could only make muffled sounds.
She tried to get up, but her arms and legs were tied, preventing her from standing.
In a situation like this, how could Ichika not understand? It was clear she had been kidnapped!
In that moment, boundless fear and panic flooded her heart.
However, the panic lasted only briefly. Ichika quickly collected her thoughts, recalling everything up to the moment she entered the audition room, and roughly understood the situation she was in.
Most likely, she had been kidnapped by that so-called big director, though she didn't know why. But the most important thing now was to free herself from the ropes binding her wrists.
"Hm? Someone woke up, huh?"
Suddenly, a somewhat surprised and cute female voice reached Ichika's ears.
Hearing the voice, Ichika quickly turned and saw a short-haired girl not far from her, turning on the light on her phone and approaching her.
"Woah!"
With her mouth gagged, Ichika wanted to ask who the other person was and what was happening, but she could only make muffled sounds.
"I'll help you untie that."
The short-haired girl came closer and began untying the ropes around Ichika's hands, while explaining at the same time:
"We were captured by yōkai. I know it sounds unbelievable, but it's true. Don't make noise, or you'll attract that guy."
Listening to the calm tone of the short-haired girl, Ichika's heart still couldn't calm down.
What yōkai?! She had been taken by supernatural creatures? How could yōkai even exist in this world?!
Eyes wide, Ichika looked at the girl in disbelief.
She looked younger than her, and although she was quite cute, how could she know things like this?
One question after another filled Ichika's mind. As if sensing her confusion, the girl introduced herself:
"My name is Yura Keikain, and I am an onmyōji. You can trust me, don't worry, I'll save you all."
After hearing her words, no matter how much Ichika didn't want to believe it, she had no choice but to rely on the girl in front of her.
After about half an hour, Ichika suddenly felt her wrists relax—the ropes had been removed!
She immediately shook her hands, pulled them free, removed the cloth from her mouth, and took several deep breaths.
After recovering a little, Ichika looked at Yura Keikain and saw that she was already holding her phone and moving to the side, where it looked like someone else was lying.
Checking, Ichika realized her phone hadn't been taken. She felt relieved and immediately thought to call the police, but when she turned on the phone, she realized there was no signal.
The hope that had just appeared at that moment shattered into dust.
"This cage was specially made by the yōkai; messages cannot be sent from here."
At that moment, Yura Keikain noticed Ichika's thoughts and spoke.
Helpless, Ichika took a deep breath, turned on the phone light, and illuminated the surroundings to see the situation.
At present, they were inside an iron cage. There were four people in the cage in total: Yura Keikain, the girl who was still unconscious in front of her, and a somewhat familiar figure in the corner of the cage.
"Is that… Arima?"
Taking two steps forward, Ichika finally saw the face of that person and immediately recognized Arima Kana, with whom she had talked a few times.
Just as she wanted to try to wake Arima Kana, Yura Keikain stopped her:
"Their unconsciousness is due to inhaling the yōkai aura. Ordinary people don't wake up so easily. Don't make noise."
Hearing that, Ichika's steps halted. After a brief hesitation, she approached and sat beside Yura Keikain.
"What should we do now?"
Ichika asked in a slightly helpless voice.
But Yura Keikain's answer left her speechless.
"Don't worry, a way will be found."
Yura Keikain didn't explain further, only tried to comfort her.
However, Yura Keikain knew that her talismans had been taken and that she could no longer summon shikigami for combat.
Without shikigami, she… was just a girl with strength even weaker than an adult man.
Gently biting her lower lip, Yura Keikain looked at the girl lying on the floor.
That girl's name was Ienaga Kana, her schoolmate, and the fact that she had ended up here was inseparably connected to her.
Ichika also noticed Yura's unusual reaction, and fear appeared in her heart.
She had just realized that if this onmyōji girl had a way to escape, she would have already done so, instead of being trapped here together with her.
Still, Ichika was touched that Yura, even without a solution, was still comforting her.
"Keikain is very strong, but don't worry, my brother, Yu, will come to save us!"
Crossing her legs, Ichika looked toward the top of the cage and said.
"Yu? Your brother?"
Hearing that, Yura Keikain looked at Ichika.
"Yes, trust me, Yu will come to save us!"
Ichika nodded, her voice full of conviction.
However, Yura Keikain did not believe her words. Tokyo had long been yōkai territory, and there were almost no powerful onmyōji there. She had never heard of that so-called Yu.
Most likely, he was just an ordinary human.
Not wanting to discourage Ichika, Yura Keikain had no intention of responding, but then a voice sounded that completely surprised her:
"Oh, how touching, young lady. You trust your brother so much that it borders on naivety."
"Buzz!"
As the voice fell silent, the lights in the hall suddenly turned on. The dazzling white light filled the entire room, forcing Ichika and Yura Keikain to cover their eyes with their hands.
"Although today's target is that so-called Yu, since this young lady trusts him so much, why don't you wait with us and see if your prince on a white horse really comes? Before that, you should get some rest."
As the mocking voice spoke, Ichika gradually adjusted to the light and clearly saw the owner of the voice.
In front of the iron cage stood a blue-haired young man, dressed in a white blazer with a deep V-neck, hands in his pockets, smiling as he observed them.
His gaze was as if looking at toys.
Then the young man released a cloud of black mist, which engulfed the two conscious people.
…
Tokyo, once known as Edo, had long been yōkai territory. In that land, a huge yōkai organization was rooted, known as the Nura Clan!
Time passed, and the Nura Clan reached the era of the third-generation yōkai leaders. However, for various reasons, the third-generation leader was a human named Nura Rikuo!
At that moment, on the back steps of the Nura Clan residence, a brown-haired young man in a dark kimono and thick glasses was thoughtfully watching scattered cherry blossom petals.
At that moment, a mouse dressed in a kimono cautiously peeked from behind a cherry tree. When it saw Rikuo, it quickly approached him.
When Rikuo saw the mouse, he was so frightened that he fell backward. Before he could say anything, the mouse beat him to it.
The mouse bowed, in a serious tone, though its dark eyes betrayed a barely noticeable cunning:
"Young master, Lord Rikuo!"
"In the name of Ichiban Street, Kyūso Clan, your friends, Miss Ienaga Kana and Miss Yura Keikain…"
"They have been kidnapped by villains!"