Disclaimer: I don't own ES21!
Notes: No. I have not given up on Sukkitte ii na yo! Yet. I've just been really busy lately with all my exams and having to attend to club activities and duties. This is a story I created just to pass time , while waiting for an inspiration to strike. I can't really write properly if I don't feel like it.
Pairings: Probably various/fem!sena as usual, but I guess I'll be focusing more on Yamato/Sena, Taka/Sena and Kakei/Sena
This is AU, meaning that they won't be playing much of football. And yes, I changed some relationships. I won't explain some of them until the next chapters, but I assure you that those who are not blood related in the canon are also not blood related here.
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Sena nervously shifted her weight from one foot to another. She stared at the door, in front of her in silence. She anxiously fidgeted with the hem of her skirt before finally giving up. She would have to do this, whether she liked it or not. She took a deep breath and slid the door. "Excuse me, but, is this the-"
The brunette's courage fell as she was momentarily blinded by a certain boy's dazzling smile.
"Yes, finally a client!" He grinned. She blinked. And before she could even say anything, she was quickly dragged inside. The tall man put his hands on her shoulders and forced her to sit on the chair located in front of the table. She gave a horrified squeak as she noticed how big his hands were, compared to hers.
The small girl scanned the room (But in actuality, she was looking for any possible escape routes, just in case things got bad.) and noticed that besides the two of them, there was another person. He was also tall like the other guy, but he seemed less cheerful and kind of anti-social.
He met her gaze and stared.
A second passed.
Then two.
He returned to the book he was reading, as if she wasn't there.
Scary.
That guy was definitely someone she should be wary of.
"Welcome! I'm Yamato Takeru and that guy over there is Honjou Taka!" Yamato pointed between the two of them."Taka's not really one to talk. But, you'll see, he's a nice guy!"
She gave him a small nod and smiled. "I'm Kobayakawa Sena"
Well. At least, this one seemed nice.
Although kind of suspicious and scary in a different way. But still scary.
"So, your request?" The person named Honjou Taka closed his book and glanced at her. Yamato took a seat in front of her while Taka leaned on the wall. She shifted uncomfortably under their gazes. "Well, um, you see the recent rumour around school." The two of them raised an eyebrow. The recent rumour? What recent rumour? There were a lot of rumours in school! Couldn't she be more specific?
"Hiiii! I'm sorry; I was talking about angel-san!"She whimpered, jumping out of her seat and inching towards the door.
Ah, they actually said it out loud.
"I mean, about Kokkuri-san." She continued, nervously twiddling her thumbs.
"Oh, that. Kokkuri-san?" Yamato frowned. "When playing Kokkuri-san, one shouldn't just take it as another children's game."
"Has anything strange happened?" Taka asked. Sena nodded her head and began explaining. "You see, well, um, Senpai, a few days ago, my friends were playing Kokkuri-san. And... They didn't finish it properly."
"The chances of something appearing are rather low. So, I doubt that anything would be called out." Taka stated. Yamato nodded at this and straightened his blazer. Kokkuri-san was indeed quite a dangerous game, but when done by amateurs, summoning something with an evil intent was quite rare. But, if by chance that a person who is naturally and highly sensitive to the supernatural was to take part in it, then it was different.
A spirit may appear, but not the malicious kind. If the ritual is finished properly then nothing bad should happen, but if not then...
"I know, but, one of them suddenly said that she was seeing things. Every night, somebody would knock on her window. And she would see silhouettes of hands on that same window." She shivered. The brunette wrapped her arms around herself in a protective manner."And...And...Well... I'm kind of worried."
"You know, she might be saying that just to attract attention. There are a lot of people who would go that far." Yamato pointed out. Sena pouted.
Her friends weren't like that!
"The other one was caught up in an accident; she claimed that someone pushed her off. Luckily, she only broke an arm."
"Coincidence."
"That's what's everyone's saying! No one believes them. But, I'm sure! It really did happen, they wouldn't lie like that!" She threw her hands up into the hair before dropping her head. Yamato gave her an apologetic look."Sorry, but, we don't do requests unless we have solid proof that there's something."
"An amateur won't be able to summon anything. Plus, if that's true, then why hasn't anyone else in the school experienced anything out of the normal?" Taka rolled his eyes. Could this girl get any more stupid? She was probably one of those girls who would fake a request just to spend some time with them. It wasn't uncommon for girls to do that. Ever since they established their club, countless girls would come swarming like flies and claim that something's been 'haunting' them.
The brunette fiddled with the hem of her blazer. Her friends would never lie about things like this. She was sure of that! But if these people didn't want to help her then so be it! She was going to do it herself.
"Y-Yes, well maybe you're right. I'm sorry for wasting your time. Oh, uh, it's getting late! I think I better go." She rolled her sleeve and looked at her wrist. Crap! She didn't have a watch. How lame, making an excuse like that.
Taka's eyes widened a bit. Was that a..? A cut? He turned his head to Yamato and gave him a look of uncertainty. The both of them didn't really like taking requests that were fake. Girls would usually lie just to hang out with them. But this girl, she didn't look like the type to lie. Just looking at the strange cuts at her wrist bothered Taka. Something might be after her.
He looked at it discreetly and noticed that it looked like as if someone tried to scratch and drag her. But, the strange thing was that...
It seemed to be forming a letter.
Just when Taka was about to come up with something, Sena hastily yanked her sleeves down again.
"What happened to your wrist?" Yamato asked, wrapping his big, warm and calloused hands on her arm, which was surprisingly gentle. He looked serious. But why?
Sena winced as the taller boy carefully inspected it. It didn't hurt that much, but, with Yamato's iron grip, it was suddenly hurting like hell.
He frowned. The cuts, it wasn't normal. It was rather strange.
It oddly looked like a hand had tried to scratch her wrists off and write on her skin.
It didn't seem like something that a normal human could have done. And, if it were something done to her on purpose, she would never let anyone see it. Normally, people-particularly girls, would be ashamed of such things.
"I-uh, don't know. It just suddenly appeared one day. But, um, I probably just failed to notice it." She replied honestly."I'm s-s-sorry . You've seen something disgusting."She pried her arm away from Yamato, rubbing it to soothe the sudden pain that she felt.
Taka's eyes narrowed at this. An accident that she failed to notice?
Impossible. It was too big for her to have missed.
"I'm really clumsy and unlucky, so this is really nothing!"She grinned sheepishly."Anyways-
"We accept."
"Okay! Wait-uh-what?"
"If Taka says so then I have no objections!" Yamato smiled before shaking hands with Sena. "It's a deal then!"
Sena just stared at them in surprise. Why did they suddenly change their minds? It was kind of suspicious. But...even though she didn't want to admit it, they were the best people to consult in her problem, so complaining would be out of question.
Still, she couldn't help but feel a little queasy now that they accepted it, especially if she were to consider their reputation.
The two of them were notorious. Yamato Takeru was 'said' to be able to predict the future and not once has he made a mistake. And as for Honjou Taka, he was the son of a famous psychic.
Both were kind of eccentric.
But it was exactly this trait of theirs that made most of the girls in their school go crazy over them.
This was what led Sena to the old drafting room, located at the highest floor of their school. She had accidentally eavesdropped on a couple of girls talking about how 'cool' and 'mysterious' the members of the mystery research club were.
She gave the other two occupants of the room a doubting look. Those two? Cool? Mysterious? Hot?
She paled at the sheer idea of falling for either one of them.
"We'll discuss about the payment later." Taka pushed himself off the wall, dusting the dirt off from his uniform. He ran a hand through his hair. He was bored. So, if his suspicions were wrong then he could probably just drop the case. The little girl in front of him didn't seem to be the brightest crayon in the box. But, there was still this small feeling of dread slowly creeping unto him.
The strange mark. It was bothering him to no end. But it could be possible that it was just a coincidence.
Right?
"Pa-Payment?" The brunette gave them an incredulous look. She didn't have that much money! And, no one said anything about paying. "Um, if you don't mind me asking then, how much do you think is it going to cost me?" She nervously asked.
"Since you're our first customer in a while then, how about 35,000 yen?" Yamato took a piece of paper then began writing something down. "That's fine, right Taka?"
Taka nodded.
"But- But I! Don't have that much money! I mean, where can you find a high school student with that much money?" She cried out.
Overpricing! No wonder, no one would come to this club! They probably didn't even do any proper work! The other one did look reliable. But what if they were just fake? What if they were just doing it to get money out of her?
Yamato's smile fell. Taka rolled his eyes.
"A-Ano, I'm not really sure if I can come up with that big amount." She bit her lip. She wanted to cry. How was she supposed to help her friends at that rate? The money was too big, even if she worked hard by herself, it still wouldn't be enough.
Yamato and Taka stared at Sena. She looked like a small lost puppy, who was trying its best not to cry. Or whimper. It almost made them feel guilty for charging her. Almost. But, money was what made the world go round.
The taller of the two clapped his hands on her shoulders."Don't worry; I'm sure that you'll find a way!"
Sena squeaked and flinched at this."B-But-I'm poor! And my brothers will kill me once they find out that I spent such a big amount of money!"
"But...if it's him then I guess, it would make sense for him to have a lot of money."She muttered.
"Eh? You have brothers?"He asked, tilting his head to the side."What're their names?"
"Hiruma Youichi, Kongo Unsui and Agon"
Taka's eyes widened at this and Yamato paled.
"On another thought, we'll make it free, just for you." Taka cut in, not wanting to face the wrath of the highly unpopular duo.
"Eh?"Sena looked up at him, beaming."Really?"
He nodded.
"Thanks!"
And this was the beginning of the mystery research club's first case.
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Review please~!
I haven't really focused much on the Teikoku guys before, so, to make up for that, I'll be focusing on them more! XD
I hope they aren't too OOC