Dawn broke over the beautiful mountains of Japan, the early morning sun streaming in through the temple's eastern-facing window. A certain redheaded priest-in-training had already been up for hours, methodically placing tiles on an old shogi board as he waited for his roommates to stir. It was nearly time for them to begin cleaning the temple and cleansing the purification water at the entrance to the temple needed to be finished that before the worshippers began to arrive throughout the day.
Midorima Shintarou, a tall, green-haired teenager with glasses, was the first of Akashi Seijuuro's roommates to awaken. He woke quietly, dressed quickly, and joined Akashi by the shogi board. Aomine Daiki, their dark-skinned, navy-haired, samurai's-son-turned-priest roommate, was the last to open his eyes. Unlike Midorima, he wasn't particularly graceful when he woke up. He snorted loudly and bolted into a sitting position, realizing he'd slept in later than he was supposed to. He threw on his clothes as fast as he could. The other two wordlessly rose from their game, looking at Aomine with distain.
"Come, Daiki. We have work to do." Akashi said coldly. The three of them exited the room, pulling brooms, cloths, and buckets from the closet down the hall. They got right to work, scrambling to make up for lost time. They prayed the chief priest wouldn't notice they'd started their work late. They swept the grounds, washed the the floors, and polished the bell until it shone brilliantly in the light from the rising sun. They worked like their lives depended on it. Midorima and Akashi, having been training as priests for longer than Aomine, purified the small pool of water in the entrance, where worshippers would wash their hands to cleanse themselves before entering the temple. They managed to finish up just as the chief priest rounded the corner to check on their progress. He examined their work thoroughly, and the boys held their breath. He nodded to himself.
"Nice work, boys." He said, and they breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Listen, you boys are going on a field trip later, once the sun starts to set. We've been getting complaints about a ghost nearby. Supposedly, he only comes out at night, but people are getting too scared to pass the cemetery. The number of worshippers visiting us each day is dwindling."
"G-ghost?" Aomine stuttered, a shiver running down his spine. "Do we have to?"
He earned a sharp smack upside the head from the chief priest. "Yes! A temple cannot survive without worshippers! If you do not deal with the problem, we will not be able to afford to eat! You will have to find different homes or starve to death!"
"I'm sorry!" Aomine grumbled, rubbing the assaulted body-part. "I'll go, I'll go!"
Throughout the day, many of the worshippers whispered about the ghosts in the cemetery. Most had different stories of what they did and what they looked like, but there was one in particular that showed up in their stories more often than the rest. Nobody knew what it looked like, but it always sang to its visitors from the cover of the mist. Most people usually high-tailed it out of there when it started singing. Others would wait for the song to end, but would chicken out and flee before the ghost could materialize. Some would even begin running when the fog simply started rolling in.
The rumours of ghosts had Akashi excited. He'd never seen a ghost before, though he'd seen demons and demi-gods, and other spirits. He'd even met a kitsune before, but he'd never gotten the chance to see just a regular ghost.
When dusk finally came, the priest and his three priests-in-training sat down to dinner.
"Alright boys." The chief priest said. "Today, you are only going to be assessing the situation at the cemetery. Afterwards, you will come back here and explain to me what is going on. I will research it a bit tonight, and you boys will deal with it as soon as possible after that. Understood?"
"Yes sir." The three boys nodded.
Half an hour later, when the sun was barely visible on the horizon, the boys found themselves wandering around in the cemetery. They tread lightly, careful not to disturb more spirits than they had to. Aomine was trembling like a newborn fawn, clinging to Midorima for support. It wasn't long before Akashi ended up abandoned by the two idiots. Something had shifted in a bush, sending the two fleeing for their lives. It turned out to just be a small rabbit, not much more than a baby. Akashi scoffed at the cowardice of the other boys.
The ground was silently covered in thick white clouds. They rolled in without a sound, and they moved rather quickly. It was like standing in a mountain river. Cold rushed in with it, and even Akashi had to admit he was a little frightened. His fear was quickly escalating.
Every hair on his body stood on end, and goosebumps rose on his arms. It took everything he had to maintain his prim and proper appearance and cool composure. Something was definitely there with him. The thick fog was keeping him blind, however. He felt something lightly touch his hair, and he whipped around to see who was there. All he was met with was emptiness and fog. Suddenly, a far-away voice began toying with his ears.
"Kagome, kagome..." The soft voice sang quietly to him. "Kago no naka no tori wa, itsu itsu deyaru..."
"Who's there?!" He asked in a snarl, turning in another circle, still seeing nothing.
"Yoake no ban ni, tsuru to kame ga subetta..." The voice continued to murmur, seemingly directly into his mind. The voice of the ghost echoed in his head.
"Stop it now! Show yourself!" Akashi exclaimed.
"Ushiro no shoumen dare?" The voice suddenly sounded much more solid, real. And it was right behind him. He spun again, this time coming face-to-face with a boy a little shorter than him. The boy's skin was unbelievably pale, almost as white as the delicate kimono he wore. The hem and sleeves were embroidered with fog the same powder blue as his hair, and the silk sash around his waist matched as well. The boy's wide eyes were the colour of the sky on a clear afternoon. Something seemed off about the boy, Akashi noticed. His body seemed to swirl and shift, though he wasn't moving at all. It was as if he were made of smoke. His body was partially transparent, though it wasn't blatantly obvious because of the thick white fog behind him.
Akashi's eyes widened slightly at the sudden appearance of the boy. He slowly raised a hand, and was mirrored by the boy. Akashi touched his hand gently to that of the boy, but it dissipated like the fog would if he attempted to touch it. When Akashi retracted his hand, the other boy's hand reformed. The boy looked up at him, slowly reaching up to his face. Akashi felt a whisper of cold air as the boy caressed his cheek softly. The fog coiled around him. Though it had been cold before, the fog now felt warm and welcoming. The boy looked as though he was about to say something, but he was interrupted.
The boy twisted his head sharply at the sound of approaching footsteps. As suddenly as he had appeared, the boy was gone, taking the fog with him. Akashi turned to the approaching pair, recognizing the two idiots who had ditched him earlier. Aomine appeared to be absolutely terrified, his dark skin multiple shades paler and his hand clutching his katana, ready to draw. On the surface, Midorima didn't seem fazed in the slightest, but Akashi knew he was also quite scared. His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles had been bleached white. Akashi was almost surprised the bones hadn't broken the skin yet.
"Akashi, let's just go!" Aomine pleaded. "I don't want to see any ghosts!"
They don't wan to see you either, Akashi thought. He sighed in exasperation, and slight disappointment. "Fine."
The three of the left swiftly. Akashi glanced back as they left, hearing the quiet singing of the little blue ghost far behind their retreating backs.
So, I saw some KnB fanart a while ago. It had the GoM, Kuroko, and Momoi all in an old, Japanese mythology kind of style (I couldn't find a Murasakibara one though). I really liked the pictures, and I had been listening to a bunch of Japanese music, so this is what happened. I haven't decided yet if this is a single-chapter thing, or if I should actually keep going with it. So leave a comment and let me know what you think!