"Welcome to Nagoya Airport. Have a pleasant stay here in Japan…" the PA announces.
"Hmph—" a youth exits the airport and looks at the night sky.
"Eight years, huh?" he thinks for a while, "Will they…remember me…?"
After taking a few more steps, he turns back to see the magnificent doors close behind him… "Now that I think about it…what was that in the plane?"
-- -- --
SukuRan and Japanese Folklore are not mine…I just enjoy talking about them! Peace!
-- -- --
Note: "presumed Japanese"; "presumed English"; "thinking"; "EMPHASIZING"; "PRESSUMED ENGRISH"
If you haven't read OSDN, please go to the bottom of the page to understand some of the events.
-- -- --
#1 AMERICAN GHOST
-- -- --
"Hey, Yakumo, how do I read this?" the youth decides to speak after staring at the first page of a Japanese textbook for well over six minutes. He has bangs even though his long black hair is tied into a long ponytail. He is dressed casually in the residence…and the only things of great note are his accent in speaking Japanese and his blue sunglasses that rest behind his bangs.
"Niisan?" a girl walks into the room and looks at the book. She as well, is dressed casually. Her hair is as black as the boy's but is much shorter, as it barely passes her shoulders.
"Sorry, but I still have problems with Japanese…" the youth lets out a chuckle.
"Keiichi-niisan…" Yakumo, the girl, responds, "Are you sure you want to study here in Japan?"
"Of course!" Keiichi, the youth, replies, "I want to finish my high school and college here…besides…I want to be with you guys…just like before…"
"N-Niisan!" Yakumo blushes.
"Heh, by the way, where's Tenma?" Keiichi looks around.
"Somebody looking for me?" a girl with long black hair tied into two little pigtails squeals, "Hi, Kei-kun!" Her physical stature is…much less than average…not only that she appears to be underdeveloped.
"Tenma, there you are. So, which school are you two studying at?" Keiichi points a pen to her.
"Yagami Gakuen (Yagami Academy/High School)," Tenma, the other girl, replies.
"'Yagami Gakuen', huh?" after putting the pen on the table before him, Keiichi continues, "Does the school have high educational standards?"
"Yeah! It's so hard there! I pass…but barely…" Tenma confesses.
"Okay, the school seems easy enough," Keiichi ends with a short laugh.
"But, Kei-kun, I just said that it was hard!" Tenma repeats the last thing she said.
"That, Tenma, is because you are an idiot," Keiichi lays his words down casually.
"Kei-kun wa hidoi! (Kei-kun's mean!)" Tenma lets out then wonders, "How can you say such mean things like that with such a straight face?"
"…Sorry, I didn't understand the second thing you said…" Keiichi sighs.
"Hehehe…I found Kei-kun's weakness!" Tenma jumps, "You can't make fun of me for being dumb, if you can barely understand Japanese!"
"…Please repeat that slowly…" Keiichi requests to Tenma.
"For you…I'll repeat that in English!" Tenma replies, "Ahem…YUU ARU NOTO TSU HABU FAN BAI CHIISINGU ME FOA BIINGU BAKA, SHINSU YUU ARU NOTO GUDO ATO NIHONGO ORUSO!"
"…Your English is not what anyone would call…noteworthy…" Keiichi comments.
"Huh? What does that mean?" Tenma asks cutely.
"Nothing," Keiichi scratches the back of his head, "Yakumo, what do you know about hearing something like an echo…in an airplane?"
"Echo?" Yakumo repeats.
"Yeah, a week ago, actually," Keiichi continues.
"That means Engrish!" Tenma answers.
"I said 'echo', not 'eigo'!" Keiichi gives Tenma an un-amused glare. (note: "Eigo" means "English language")
"'Echo'…is 'hankyou' in Japanese," Yakumo explains.
"Oh, I get it now!" Tenma replies, "Maybe you're talking about the PA system!"
"…Let's try that again…" Keiichi massages his temples before continuing, "I seem to be the only one who heard the voice. The person beside me didn't hear a thing."
"I think you probably just imagined it!" Tenma giggles.
"…I guess," Keiichi sighs, "…Well…uh…aren't you going to miss your favorite show?"
"Oh! Right! Gotta go! Bye!" Tenma rushes out the room quickly…even her stomps at the staircase could be heard.
"…Yakumo, what's your opinion?" Keiichi asks her.
"Huh?" Yakumo responds, "About the voice?"
Keiichi nods.
"It's probably just your imagination…" Yakumo answers.
"…Has Ojiisama ever told you anything about our family traits?" Keiichi shifts the topic.
"No, why?" she replies.
"…Maybe…it's for the best that you don't know…" he sighs then heads to his computer (which is on 24/7) and starts looking up on Google.
"Niisan…" Yakumo sighs.
After a while of researching, he gets a hit, "Huh?"
"Niisan?" Yakumo heads beside him.
"Yu…u…re…i…?" Keiichi tries to read.
"Ah, that's a ghost…a wandering spirit," Yakumo explains.
"Hm…the facts do match…" Keiichi thinks aloud.
Yakumo wonders, "Niisan? You don't surely believe that—"
"Hm? That it might have been a yuurei?" Keiichi thinks for a while before continuing, "Facts are facts…and they seem to point me towards there."
"I don't think it's wise to tempt fate…" Yakumo warns.
"How am I tempting fate?" Keiichi asks her.
"Last year, Neesan and I saw a ghost…She…" Yakumo explains.
"Scared the heck out of you two, huh?" Keiichi continues for Yakumo, "I don't get scared that easily…besides, I'm more interested on what that yuurei said to me."
"What did it say to you?" Yakumo asks.
"'I want to see you again…'" Keiichi answers, "'Mata aitai…'"
Yakumo wonders, "Who would—"
"Exactly. That is what makes this more important…" Keiichi explains, "Aside from our parents, I don't know of any person that I have met who has died."
"What kind of voice was it?" Yakumo asks.
"A female voice…but the voice was too distorted for me to know the age," Keiichi answers.
"Mama?" Yakumo guesses.
"Most likely," Keiichi agrees.
"…I…" Yakumo reluctantly replies, "…I…think I would want to see Mama again…Her caring voice and her warm hugs…I want to have those again…"
"Me, too," Keiichi sighs, "I hardly remember her…but she's still my mom…the one who brought all three of us into this world…"
After a long while of reminiscing, Yakumo breaks the silence, "Niisan, maybe…just this once we can try to contact Mama."
"…Uh…Meet Okaasan?" Keiichi rephrases Yakumo's words to see if he understood.
"Yes," Yakumo replies.
"Hm…doing something occult would be sacrilege…" Keiichi thinks aloud, "Perhaps, the yuurei will meet me again…?"
"It seems possible…" Yakumo replies.
"But…Tenma has to not be around…" Keiichi explains. After Keiichi notices Yakumo's curious expression, he continues, "She'd blab about it so much the yuurei won't want to return!"
"…Neesan is—" Yakumo tries to explain.
"Actually, I just don't want to get Tenma involved," Keiichi sighs, "If something bad happens to her because of our meddling, I would never forgive myself…"
"Niisan…" Yakumo sounds a bit glad.
"So, I guess that we will have to wait until tonight to see if the yuurei will make contact with us," Keiichi explains.
"Most likely," Yakumo replies.
-- -- --
(that night)
"Oyasumi nasai, Kei-kun. Oyasumi nasai, Yakumo," Tenma, in her light blue (with bear-prints) pajamas, yawns, while she walks up the stairs.
"Oyasumi nasai, Neesan," Yakumo, who is in her green, vertically blue-striped, pajamas and is watching something on the television, replies.
"Sweet dreams," Keiichi, who is in red pajama pants and a white shirt and is also watching something on the television, greets…this is one of the only times Keiichi is usually seen without his sunglasses and/or his hair free…which is before turning in.
After a while of waiting, the two finally hear Tenma's room door close.
"Now that I think about it:" Keiichi thinks aloud, "although Tenma and I are twins, we are complete opposites…"
"Niisan?" Yakumo didn't understand what he had said in English.
"It's nothing," Keiichi replies, "So, theoretically, we just have to see if the yuurei will return, right?"
"Yes," Yakumo holds up a charm that wards away evil spirits, "And the room with no lights turned on should attract the yuurei even more, right?"
"Yes…and what's that?" Keiichi points at the charm, "Are you trying to ward off the yuurei?"
"No, but it's a precaution…If the yuurei happens to be an evil spirit," Yakumo explains.
After staring at Yakumo's serious expression for a while, Keiichi comments, "In a way, I was expecting a titter or something, but then again…people change…"
"Niisan?" Yakumo asks.
"It's nothing," Keiichi sighs, "Now, for the yuurei, we just have to wait—"
Suddenly, some sounds from the kitchen can be heard. Like glass items hitting each other…then a door opening…and closing…
"Hm?" Yakumo looks towards the kitchen.
"That could be one of three things…" Keiichi, un-amused, looks towards the kitchen, "A poltergeist, the yuurei we were looking for, or…"
"Yakumo, are we out of milk?" Tenma's sleepy voice calls from the kitchen.
"Sorry, Neesan," Yakumo replies.
"…Tenma needing something to drink…" Keiichi does a facepalm.
"Buy some tomorrow, okay?" after yawning, Tenma makes her way back upstairs.
Keiichi just looks at Yakumo after Tenma's gone…making Yakumo ask, "Niisan? Is something wrong?"
Keiichi sighs, then explains, "Well, I guess, I should have added 'Tenma might scare the ghost away' or something of that sort."
"Huh?" Yakumo asks him, "But Neesan would be more scared of the ghost than…"
"That's not what I meant," Keiichi sighs.
"…S0m3…0n3…" a distorted voice is heard from the walls.
"N-Niisan?!" Yakumo looks a little flustered and moves closer to Keiichi.
"Now, that is not Tenma!" Keiichi scans the living room…which now seems almost completely devoid of light.
Suddenly, the television screen turns to static.
"What the—?!" Keiichi turns towards the television.
"…CAn…y0u…h3Ar…m3…?" the voice is heard again.
"I'm glad that it is not an evil spirit, but…" Yakumo looks around.
"That's not Okaasan!" Keiichi scans the room once more.
"…K3!…!ch!…" the voice is heard again.
"M-Me?!" Keiichi responds.
"N-Niisan?" Yakumo looks at her brother.
"…P13A$3…c0m3…bAck…t0…me…" the voice wishes.
"Who…are you?" Keiichi asks the voices.
"…H0w…c0u1d…y0u…f0rg3t…m3…?" the voice sounds a little hurt and angry.
"I don't know who you are…I don't have anyone who is both precious to me…and dead…" Keiichi states.
"M31!$$A!" the voice yells.
"Who…?" Keiichi replies then realizes, "That's not possible."
Suddenly, the television screen turns black…completely leaving the room in darkness…
"Niisan…" Yakumo takes a step back.
"It's too dark…" Keiichi complains, "…but I'm glad that I can see a little bit…"
"N-Niisan…!" Yakumo almost shouts.
Directly after having heard that, Keiichi feels someone hugging him tightly, "Yakumo, it's nice that you're looking up to me to protect you…but could you please hug more loosely? You're cutting the circulation of my arms…"
"But, I'm over here…" Yakumo appears to be a few feet away from Keiichi.
"…Don't tell me that…" Keiichi slowly turns around…to find a face covered in bleeding scratches and black bruises. Her face is a mess…too many injuries to even identify what nationality the girl is…but one thing is certain…she's dead. Keiichi turns to Yakumo and, in his calmest stoic voice, asks, "Yakumo, please break out the charm…"
"Niisan!" Yakumo takes the charm out and throws it to the yuurei.
Upon touching the spirit, the charm causes an electrical effect on the spirit.
"KYAAAAAHHHHH!!!" the yuurei cries and releases Keiichi.
"Free!" Keiichi runs beside Yakumo, "Do you have more of those with you?"
"No, I only brought that," Yakumo confesses.
"So, how are we going to get rid of the yuurei now?" Keiichi points at the electrical storm.
"KYAAAAAHHHHH!!!" the spirit is still screaming.
The sight silences the two…making them stare at the charm and the yuurei. After a while, the charm breaks; and the yuurei falls to the floor.
"O…kay…Do you think that worked?" Keiichi asks Yakumo.
"…I'm not so sure," Yakumo replies.
"WHY?" the yuurei gets up and disappears, "…!…$h11…r3turn…f0r…y0u…"
The sight leaves the two speechless. Both Yakumo and Keiichi make their way back to their rooms and go straight to bed…in hope that they can even get a wink of sleep for the night.
-- -- --
(the next morning)
"Ohayou, Kei-kun. Ohayou, Yakumo," Tenma, still in her pajamas, yawns as she heads to the kitchen table.
"Ohayou gozaimasu, Neesan," Yakumo, in casual clothes and an apron, greets as she hands Tenma a plate of onigiri (riceballs).
"Onigiri for breakfast?" Tenma asks.
"Ohayou, Tenma," Keiichi, in his usual white sleeveless shirt and black pants, does a late greeting.
"Kei-kun wa osoi! (Kei-kun is slow/late!)" Tenma points a finger at him.
"I have a lot on my mind. Please leave me alone!" Keiichi barks, "So, now that the yuurei is after us…or me…we should be more careful…but I can't help but wonder: 'who is that yuurei?'"
"Kei-kun?" Tenma taps his back.
"Tenma, I asked you to leave me alone for a while," Keiichi barks.
"Fine! I won't talk to you for the rest of the day!" Tenma pouts.
"Hey, Tenma, I found out that there is a super sale at the Yasakani Convenience Store!" Keiichi lies.
"Really?!" Tenma breaks her own vow.
"Maybe," Keiichi scoffs, "Perhaps, I can get involved with more of these spirits…?"
-- -- -- -- --
Yakumo: Next Time on School Rumble.
Keiichi: What a night!
Yakumo: Niisan…
Keiichi: Nothing else to do now…
??: Next Time…
#2 Kuchisake Onna
??: I shall meet you then…
Keiichi: Who was that?
Yakumo: I don't know.
-- -- -- -- --
Random Notes:
The first chapter is not so good, since I was planning to make THAT ghost appear much later.
Obviously, everything is out of whack, since that wasn't something from Japanese folklore…but saying more would be a spoiler!
Peace! See you next time!
One more thing: The next thing that I'm going to submit is my "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu" fanfic!
Corrections:
"'I want to see you again…'" Keiichi answers, "'Mada aitai…'"
Correction - "'I want to see you again…'" Keiichi answers, "'Mata aitai…'"
Information Corner:
This fanfic is set a little under a year after the start of SukuRan.
Obviously, non-canon to the original SukuRan, since…(note that I don't enjoy spoiling)
Yamazaki Keiichi is Tenma's twin brother and Yakumo's elder brother, who just returned from America after a little over eight years…and for that reason, he sucks at Japanese. n_n
For any other questions, just log in and send me a PM.