In the Dark of the Night

Notes- Several people have contacted me stating they are confused about whether Amanda's father is called Adam or Akira and if he's at the house or the hospital in this chapter.
First off, let me clarify that Adam and Akira are two separate people. You will notice that I like giving people names that begin with A in this story, it's a running gag I have going = Adam, Akira, Abigail, Amanda, Allison, perhaps more.

Adam, father of Amanda. Father-in-law to Shoda. Adam takes Jun and Shoda to the hospital.

Akira, father of Shoda. Father-in-law to Amanda. Akira is trapped in the house,
Was it the following line that confused some of you? "My father, Akira, and Shoda have searched the history of not only the house but the lands as well." If so let me explain, there are three men she's referring to.
1-Her own father, Adam. Most people don't call their parents by name, the simply say mom/mother or dad/father.
2-Akira, her father-in-law, many people do call the in-laws by name.
3-Shoda her husband.


Chapter 4

Entry 23
By Amanda

Forgive me for being abrupt with this entry. I am too sick for a lengthy entry. Earlier we were eating some apples when Shoda suddenly had a look of terror come across his face. I did not seen a ghost around at that time so I did not know what had disturbed him until he went to spit out the apple seeds. To our horror, they were not seeds but teeth. Human teeth.

Entry 30
By Amanda, May 7, Monday

Today another catholic priest arrived. Father MacGavin is considerably younger than Browning, but far more pleasant. Father MacGavin said his goal is the same as Browning's; to observe the events and to se if the church needs to intervene. At first Shoda was upset. I explained it was in the wordings of the sentence, it was not what he thought. I explained how in the past, the church would 'exorcize' people that in the rise of science would be now described as mentally ill or, say shaking violently, were having a seizure instead of being shaken by devils. Shoda calmed down once he realized that was Father MacGavin's purpose: to verify that the happenings are of a supernatural origin and are hostile. Akira made one point to the good father, there is not a person here that needs to be exorcized, it is the house.

I must say that I am impressed, Father MacGavin is quite tolerant of other faiths. He asked Kohaku and Shino if he could follow them as they walked about blessing the house. They have been doing this since they first arrived. I personally believe that is what helped quiet things down. The hateful attacks have occurred with less frequency since they have been here.


Entry 31
By Amanda, May 8, Tuesday

Today wasn't as eventful as other entries that I've made. Today not even one major incidence has happened. The most that happened was when the pranksters tried to tie knots in Jun's hair. Shoda threw an ofuda about three inches above her head. There was a quick flash of light. When we looked again everyone could see the spirit! It was extremely short, only about one foot tall. A long nose and wrinkles was seen. If it wasn't for the fact it was a ghost, I could have mistaken it for a disgruntled brownie!

Shizuru brought everyone out of their daze by hollering: "Eww! That thing's hands been in my hair?" At our laughter, the spirit hissed and ran through the wall.

"Eww? I just can't see Shizuru saying that!" Yusuke commented as the others smiled. It is difficult for most of them to picture the stoic Shizuru whining like a little child.

"Bah, you all are bunch of dimwits. Shizuru was a young girl once." Genkai grumbled as she remembered when a frightened and scraggily girl arrived at her shrine.


Genkai grumbled as she opened her doors at the dead of night. "Shizuru? Why are you here so late?" She got no response from the youth until she opened the door wider to allow the child entrance.

"I didn't want to stay at the foster home, not when Kazuma and Yoshiko are still in the hospital." Shizuru looked at the aging martial artist. "Can I stay here for a while?" She asked as her lower lip started to tremble. "I don't want to be around strangers. Please Genkai baa-san?"

Her features softening, Genkai let out a sigh. "Very well, I'll call them though to let them know that you are okay." After making the call, Genkai went about getting some tea and a light snack for the child and then sat down. "I have some news, Shizuru, you will be staying here for a while after all. I planned on getting you in a few weeks after I got everything in order. This just sped up the 'move-in' date."

Hope filled the girl's eyes. "Really? What about about my little sister and baby brother?"

"Hai." Genkai could not suppress the smile as the girl squealed with joy. "Once the doctors release Kazuma and Yoshiko, they will come here as well."

"Why?" Cocking her head to the side young Shizuru asked. "You can heal them faster than those silly men in white coats! Why do we have to wait?"

"Shizuru, not everyone believes in spirit energy, much less the ability to heal. I am healing them." Genkai swiftly interjected to soothe the troubled sister. "But thanks to those watchful eyes, I have to do it slowly so it's less noticeable to the average person."

"Hey, grandma!" Yusuke yelled as he brazenly waved a hand in front of Genkai's face. "Don't go senile on me here."

Wham! A single punch was all it took for Genkai to send the punk flying into a wall.

"Genkai, is something wrong?" Kurama asked in his deceptively soft voice.

"No." Was the blunt reply Genkai gave. "I was merely remembering when Shizuru first arrived here."

Everyone was curious but it was Yusuke that asked while he rubbed the knot on his still sore head. "When was that?"

"I already told you, she came to stay with me when she was ten." Genkai refused to say any more as she opened the journal.

Entry 33
By Amanda, May 11, Friday

Morning

I should have not allowed the false quiet to lull me into unawares. That so-called silence has been shattered. Monday, the day after MacGiven's arrival, was peaceful. We didn't even hear from most of the regular ghosts. In hindsight, I suppose that we should have seen their silence as a warning. A warning that something worse has arrived. Or perhaps awakened may be a better term. My father, Akira and Shoda have searched the history of not only the house but the land as well.

I now believe that the spectral arm belongs to the ghost of Sir Authur Gray, a nobleman of violent tendencies that was courting Lady Anna Holmes in 1751. When Lady Anna refused to marry the brute, he dragged her by the hair and threw her over the railing that looks down onto the foyer. It's said that he laughed as she fell to her death. Her two brothers then retaliated by shooting Sir Gray to death. There are more incidences like that throughout the history of the land, more than what I thought.

Pardon me for wandering off topic. As I said , Monday and Tuesday were pleasant but the past two days have been hellish. It has been so horrible that it is only now, going on the third day that I have had a chance to write in this journal. As I hinted at, something worse has arrived, something more vile than those before it. Something that is murderous. It started on Wednesday afternoon, we were discussing the land's history when all the doors in the house began to slam close, open then slam close again with such violence that I saw cracks appear in the kitchen door. This was followed by electricity starting to flicker. Then wind blew at us with such a stench. When Kohaku attempted to dispel the evil, he bought us a small reprieve. All was quiet for a fifteen minutes, then the stench returned. Without the wind, the foul odor hung in the air throughout the kitchen. Once we walked out of the room, the odor stopped. Shino stepped back over the threshold of the kitchen then back into the den. After several times, Shino confirmed that the stench is localized to the kitchen.

Before any sort of plan could be conceived, the newest force struck again. Every window around us shattered inwards, showering us with glass. We did not get a chance to gather our thoughts, for right then we heard the girls screaming from their bedrooms upstairs. We could hear the girls scream 'let me out'. Father MacGavin and Shoda were the first ones to reach the stairs. They were halfway up when Shino and my father tried to ascend up the stairway, only to be repelled. I telepathically cried to my husband not to turn around but go ahead. It was only after Shoda and MacGavin reached the top could Shino and father set foot on the stairs. Kohaku, Akira and I tried to go but as before, it would allow only two people at a time to ascend the stairs. I feared my heart was going to burst out of my chest with fear. My poor daughters screams had not yet ended.

Finally I reached the second floor only to see the hallway seemed to stretch forever. I know I screamed that this hallway is only suppose to have ten doors. But as we looked on it seemed to have one hundred! To make matters worse it seemed as if the screams were coming from behind each door. Dear gods, I couldn't tell which ones the true doors to my daughters bedrooms!//////////////////////

Please forgive the tear-stains and smudges. Although these events happened two days past, they are so horrible I know the events will haunt us all every night until we die.

Shino threw four ofuda down the corridor. Within a blink of an eye, the illusion of the never-ending hallway vanished. The ofuda stuck to four doors. Slowly three of them opened; Jun, Shizuru and Misao came out. Looking back, I know that not even a minute passed before we rushed to open the door to my remaining daughter's room. However at that moment it seemed like to be an eternity as I saw three of my girls emerge. Each one had scratch and bite marks on their visible skin and faces. I hoped that the casts on Jun and Misao's legs and the one on Shizuru's arm actually protected those areas from the attacks. I realized that Yoshiko hadn't come out yet. As I said, I know that less than a minute expired but it seemed to be longer than that. Once I opened the door to her room, I began to scream myself.

Yoshiko sat there oddly quiet as she stared at her arm in a massive pool of blood. There is no way all the blood could be hers since she was still alive. The entire floor was covered with copious amount of blood. And Yoshiko just sat there staring curiously at her arm. Since her back was to us, I could not see what she found so captivating that she didn't answer her sisters screams or my pleas. I am ashamed to say this, but I faltered at that doorway. I failed my daughter! I stood there confronted with this bizarre behavior of my third child while she sat in a pool of blood and I could not force myself to enter and approach her. Her father unlike me, did not have a leave of his senses. He scooped her up and we could see the wounds where some blood oozed from. There were bite marks all over her. Unlike her sisters, Yoshiko's were deep. however, those were not the most horrible of her injuries. The worst injury was her hand. By the gods---it was GONE!

Those fiends severed her left hand!

Jun fainted and I heard Shizuru vomiting out in the hall while Yoshiko still stared at the stump where she once had a hand. In my panic I actually tried to slap Yoshiko out of it but she was unresponsive. We started running to get her to the hospital. The stairs gave us no trouble as we went down. It was in the foyer that the resistance came. My family stopped as we saw the gigantic eyes glowing in the foyer. The three religious men went to the front.

The Buddhist monk, Kohaku.

The Catholic priest, MacGavin.

The Shinto priest, Shino.

They recited their various different prayers in an attempt to dispel the fiend. At first the only effect was a deafening roar. They made several attempts as my father tied a tourniquet on Yoshiko's forearm. She had passed out in her father's arms due to the pain. I know she she was loosing blood as well. We had to get her out! After a few more tries, we heard Shino shout for us to run for the front door. MacGavin and Kohaku continued to chant their different prayers and Shino rejoined them. I carried Misao whose right leg is still a cast while Adam carried Jun, who's leg was also in a cast. I saw my husband and father go out of the door with Yoshiko.

Then there was a blinding flash of red light. I felt as some force rammed into me, knocking me backwards. As I fell, I heard everyone scream. After I regained my bearings and stole a look at the door, I cried out in dismay. My screams of no made the others look towards the door ... or what should have been the door.

It was gone. Instead of a door leading out of this nightmarish house, there was a solid wall. Not even an outline of door could be seen.

"Damn it, this is so frustrating!" Koenma hollered as he tossed another folder to the side. Picking up another one, the Reikai prince kept one ear on the screen that was tuned into Genkai's temple. "Jorge, get Botan on the phone."

"What phone, Koenma-sama?" The confused ogre asked.

"I meant the communication line!" Koenma roared in his foul temperament. "What other way do I contact Botan?"

"Well, back when Yusuke was undergoing his spirit trial, you did just 'pop in' a lot." Jorge mumbled in sarcasm.

"Koenma-sama! Have you found anything yet?" Botan pleaded at screen of the communicator.

"Thanks to my father dismantling my support system here in Reikai ... not much." Koenma settled back down. "I can't even find the files on the Kuwabara clan. Not just the ones on our friend and his sister but even the files on their father and grandfather are gone. I suppose that my dad really wanted to get to me, To get Kuwabara's file I have to go through a ton of paperwork to get dad's approval. That could take weeks!"

"I remember you telling me that he sent the people loyal to you to different areas, but I didn't realize that he went that far!" Yusuke said over Botan's shoulder.

"Also, another reason why we know little about the events in those journals is because it happened on foreign soil." Koenma sighed. "Therefor, Reikai doesn't have any records of them. That is why it is vital that you read those journals. I am having them recorded as you read them that way we can get a copy here in Reikai."

"Koenma, you said "not much". Just what have you found?" Kurama prodded before the comminution could go blank.

With another sigh at his lack of accomplishments, Koenma went on to say, "I currently have only a few entries on Kuwabara, What I do have, suggests that he had trouble with ghosts right up to to the time he discovered how to use his spirit energy."

With a snort, Yusuke crossed his arms at that. "Feh, I already knew that! That was part of the reason he first came to see Genkai when she was holding her tournament."

"Only 'part of the reason'?" Kurama fixed a steady gaze at his friend. "What, pray tell, was rest of the reason?"

"Well, I remember Kuwabara saying his powers were getting uncontrollable." Yusuke simply said as he scratched the back of his head.

Off to the side, Hiei had listened in. "You once said that it was during Genkai's search for a successor that Kuwabara first discovered his Reiken. So what powers did he have before that and how were they going out of control?"

After putting out a cigarette, Yusuke answered Hiei. " Kuwabara said that he was having sleep paralysis more often, and he kept hearing and seeing things all the time. He complained that it was too distracting, saying that he couldn't concentrate, not even in a fight. I know that he could sense ghosts. Beyond that, I don't know."

"In short, Kuwabara's sixth sense had a dramatic increase in level in a very short time, up to a point where he couldn't control it without a mentor to give him some pointers." Genkai summarized as she picked up the first journal. "I'm going to finish this entry. Everyone shut up."


I used my telepathy to reach my husband. Thankfully Shoda, father and Yoshiko made it outside before the rest of us were trapped. I urged them to go ahead and get help for Yoshiko. After I told everyone with me that the other three are free, Father MacGavin had me tell Shoda to contact his superior, a man by the name of Tavis. It is Tavis that will actually perform any exorcism if MacGavin told him there was evil within the house.

Those of us trapped on the inside made our way to the sitting room, where the three holy men set up protections within. Rest of the house seemed to be alive at that point. During the evening we heard screaming, roaring and hideous laughing coming from beyond the doors. About seven hours after Shoda and father escaped, the walls seemed to ripple as if they were made of water. After Shino slapped an ofuda on a wall , they returned to normal. We got very little sleep that night.

About four a.m., I was waken up by my father's mental call. They were able to get Yoshiko to the hospital. For some odd reason, she didn't suffer from the amount of blood loss as they expected from such a traumatic wound. I wonder if she could have inherited my grandmother's ability to heal faster than the normal? Whatever the cause, I thank the gods that Yoshiko will live. My father said it took so long to contact me is is due to two reasons. One, They were able to get out of the house but had some minor ghosts harass them at the gates. Two,he were distracted by the police officers questions and couldn't concentrate to make the psychic connection. Of course, most people are not going to believe you if say that your daughter lost her hand because a ghost ate it! Or that ghosts were the ones to cause all the bite and scratch marks. Therefor the police were involved. It was only with the help of Dr. Owens, our family doctor, and Father Tavis that they were able to convince the police that Yoshiko is not being abused by her own parents. Also, father said they dispatched a car to the manor ... only to have the gates attack the squad car! That incident and father Tavis' influence convinced the constable that the supernatural is involved.

The prior events happened on Thursday. Since we took safety in the sitting room, I was not able to write about them since the journal was up in my private room. Yesterday, we had to fight to get out of the sitting room to get food. Shino and MacGavin took the front to ward off any attacks while Adam, the children and myself were in the middle and Kohaku protected our backs. That is when the evil took another means of attack. We noticed that the walls were moving back and forth as if they were breathing. Then the walls began to bleed. Copious amounts of blood began to pool under our feet. With it came the rancid smell of rotting flesh. Of course this wrecked havoc on our mortal minds and we began to panic. Misao started to scream in my arms. Adam urged us to run as he held Jun on his back. The panic became full-fledged when the priests agreed and the monk grabbed little Shizuru, the only child present able to walk.

We ran into the den. When we looked back, we could see the blood seeping into the cracks of the wooden floor until not a drop remained behind. Kohaku and Shino started to work on sealing off the den. MacGavin went into the kitchen to make certain it was safe. The only things in those rooms were nothing on the same scale as we have seen in the past twenty-four hours. As we watched, Abigail appeared in the den. She warned us not to leave these rooms. As we looked on in horror a skeletal but insubstantial arm grabbed Abigail. We heard a male voice cry out "Leave in the name of God!" When Abigail was dropped, she ran into the china cabinet where she is still hiding. The one to cry out was not Father MacGavin but the ghost of the Irate Monk. I do not know of any other time that that particular ghost has wandered inside the house. The Monk's ghost explained that some of the more peaceful ghosts are taking action to help protect us.

I remembered that the windows were broken out earlier in the den, as I looked around, I saw that every window was intact. Not only that but they were now barricaded. It looked as if thick menacing vines had grown over the windows since earlier.

With the ghosts aiding us along with the holy men's prayers, it has bought us some time to cook and eat. I wish that there's a bathroom connected to the den. Being pregnant that's as important as eating for me, it is humiliating to use a kitchen pot for relief! We could hear things breaking and screaming outside these rooms. That has continued to this morning. The ghost that resembled a brownie appeared and dropped a book onto my head. When I looked at it, I saw it was this very journal. When I looked up, The ghostly monk told that I should continue to record the events. So I sat down this morning to write what has happened the past two days. It is now mid-afternoon and I am famished.


When Genkai stopped to sip her tea and wet her throat, everyone stayed quiet for a few minutes. Surprisingly, it was Hiei that broke the stillness. "I always thought that there was nothing here in Ningenkai that could be as threatening as a childhood in Makai."

Keiko wrapped her arms around her fiancé's neck. "I wonder if this is when it started to happen?" Keiko had arrived in the middle of Genkai's reading. Yusuke had told her about the journals and she came as soon as she could get away from her university.

"When what started, Keiko?" Yusuke was not following his fiancee's train of thoughts.

But it seemed that Kurama understood Keiko's concerns when he nodded. "It's quite possible." When Yusuke demanded for an explanation, Kurama went ahead. "Ever since we've known Kuwabara, the only family of his we have seen has been Shizuru. Kuwabara has never mentioned that he had three other sisters, his two grandfathers or his parents. I can only conclude that somewhere, somehow, they were killed, leaving only the two current Kuwabara siblings."

"That would be Shizuru and Kazuma. So between then and now, something has happened to the rest of his family." Keiko finished sadly.

Off to the side, no one sees the haunted look that came over an old lady.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TBC~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amanda------ mother
Shoda --------- father
Adam-----------Kazuma's grandfather - Amanda's father
Akira------------Kazuma's grandfather - Shoda's father's
Jun---------------1st daughter
Shizuru ---------2nd daughter
Yoshiko---------3rd daughter
Misao------------4th daughter
Shino------------Shinto priest
Kohaku----------Buddhist monk
MacGavin-------Catholic priest