Disclaimer: I do not own Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji (Wolf Girl and Black Prince) or any of the characters


"What was my favourite subject?" Erika asked him as they walked side by side. He answered the same way he did all her other questions, with a grunt. She didn't seem to mind as she asked him more questions with the hope that she would eventually ask one he could answer.

"The only subject you were getting a passable grade in was art so I'll put my money on that being your favourite." Kyouya said after thinking for a moment. He promised to help her but he didn't know where to begin and he didn't know if he was doing the right thing. If they continue to look into her past, he would eventually have to tell her about her death.

They eventually stopped in front of her house and he took a deep breath. The simplest way to find out more about her was to speak with her parents but he didn't know how to bring up the subject. He couldn't very well tell them that her ghost wouldn't leave him alone until she learned about who she was before she died. Hopefully, he could think of something before they answered the door.

Kyouya knocked several times and Erika rocked on her heels as she waited impatiently. The modest home was familiar but she couldn't summon a single memory of the place. Would her parents be able to see her like Kyouya? The flowers were well kept so they should still be living in the house. Concentrating, she touched the flower and smiled when she felt its soft texture.

As she stroked the petal, Kyouya watched her since he didn't have anything else to do while waiting for her parents to answer the door. He could see her more clearly in the moonlight than the sunlight but the tinge of blue outlining her reminded him that she wasn't human anymore. Forcing himself to look away from her, he turned back to the door and knocked again.

"Is there something you need, young man?" Someone asked him even when no one answered the door. He turned to see who the voice belonged to. An elderly woman stared at him from the porch of the neighbouring house. Confusingly, Erika ducked behind him despite the fact that she was a ghost and she had no reason to hide.

"I'm their neighbour on the other side and I was hoping to speak to the owner of this house. My dog got out and I wanted to know if they could keep an eye out for him while I'm at work." Kyouya thought of a lie quickly so the woman wouldn't think of him as suspicious. She gave him a sympathetic look and he was glad that she believed him. "Do you know if they're home?"

"They left on a trip a while ago actually and I'm taking care of their house for them. I don't know when they'll be back." She told him and Kyouya didn't know if he should be relieved by the information or not. Awkwardly asking them about their dead daughter wasn't the best way to spend the night. He thanked her and went back to his own home since there was nothing more he could do tonight.

Erika followed him, looking over her shoulder as she did so. The woman continued to knit as she sat on the porch and it would be difficult for Kyouya to enter her home with the woman there. Kyouya waited for Erika to enter before he closed the door. A brief glance at her face was enough for him to know that she was conflicted over something.

"What is it?" He asked her when she bit her lip.

"We can't possibly wait for my parents to return to find out the truth! I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight." She answered him and it was on the tip of his tongue out that she was a ghost so she had no need for sleep. "At this moment, neither of us knows another way to find out more about myself. Even if they're home, there should be photos that can tell us about me."

"You're not seriously suggesting that I break into your house with that woman sitting there, are you?" Kyouya asked and her expression told him that she was. He rubbed his forehead. "What if they already cleaned out your room? It's been years. Even if you opened the door for me, that old lady is sitting right there. I promised to help you but I can be thrown in jail for trespassing."

"I think I know of a way!" Erika exclaimed but he didn't know if he should feel the same excitement. It was obvious that she didn't have the same hold on logic as he did, even when she was alive. Not aware of his skepticism, she rushed to his room and he was forced to chase her in case she did something foolish. She only explained her idea when she reached his balcony.

"We should be able to get in through my bedroom window. And that old woman won't be able to see us." Erika climbed onto the rail and Kyouya worried that she would fall. She didn't have the same fear as she jumped onto her balcony rail. Her feet landed perfectly on the flat surface and she looked over her shoulder to grin at him. "C'mon."

"Are you trying to kill me?" Kyouya asked but he tried to steady his body on the rail. His body was larger and heavier than hers so it was more difficult for him to balance himself. Their balconies weren't far apart so he didn't have to jump far to land on her balcony. With his feet safely on the ground, he glared at her since she giggled at his expression.

"You looked so scared. This is easy!" She jumped back and forth on the rails easily. It felt as if she had done so a million times. So she continued to do so even after she had no need to. The sight of the ground below didn't scare her since it felt as if she was home on one of their balconies once she passed that cavern. Feeling weightless, she twirled on his rail to face him.

Kyouya watched her content face as she jumped as if she was weightless, floating above the space between their balconies. He didn't know the appeal the simple action had but she looked happy. Then she spun to face him and he saw her feet begin to slip off the rail even before she began to fall. Instinctively, he reached out to catch her.

His heart only began to beat again when he felt her in his arms. She barely weighed more than a feather but he could feel her body heat. It was a strange aspect of hers since she was a ghost. What would've happened if he hadn't caught her?

"Thank you, Kyouya." She said once her own heart resumed beating. In his arms, she felt secure even if the feeling wasn't as familiar as jumping between their balconies was. She wondered if he could feel her rapidly beating heart as he set her down on the ground again.

"Really, you need to be more careful. There are only so many times I can save you." He told her but there were still uncomfortable questions he had since he saw her fall. If she was a ghost, why did he worry about her well being? He was a man of science so he had to remind himself that she didn't fit into the world he knew. "Let's just go in before we're caught."

"Okay!" Erika walked through the door and into her room. It was mostly dark and she could barely see the interior. She told herself that she needed to focus on helping Kyouya before anyone saw him on her balcony. The doorknob had a thick layer of dust but her hand left no impressions on it as she turned it. Still, she tried to smile when she faced him again. "Welcome to my room."

Kyouya found the light switch easily and turned it on. The room was small and Erika seemed to be determined to fill the space with photos and sketches. Most of the furniture was covered with a white blanket and Erika pulled one off to reveal a desk. Sitting on a chair, she ran her hand over the dust the accumulated over the years. Several figurines sat on the desk as well as framed pictures.

"It doesn't look like your mother threw anything away," Kyouya noted as he looked over her room. He didn't know what exactly they would discover in her room but her sunny personality coated the room in pastel colours. He picked up a stuff dog that sat on her bed and he could easily imagine her playing with it even in her later years.

"Kyouya, can you help me? I want to see if there's something in that box!" Kyouya turned back to find her struggling to reach a shoebox placed on top of her dresser. Even while standing on a chair, her hand barely grazed the box. Watching her haphazardly jump to reach it, he wondered if she was able to fly like other ghosts in fiction.

Kyouya stood behind her and reached over her should to take the box. Erika turned in his arms and heart began to beat faster when she realized how close they were. She never noticed how tall he was until now since only when she stood on a chair was she tall enough to look directly into his eyes. They were crimson red but she didn't find them menacing.

She realized she was staring so quickly turned her gaze to the ground. Trying to escape the circle of his arm, she walked through his arm. Erika sat on her bed and patted the spot next to her to gesture for him to place the box down. Hopefully, there would be something in the box that would tell her more about herself. It looked simple but she felt drawn to it.

Kyouya sat on the bed and placed the box between them. Since it would strain her to do so, he was the opened the box for her. It was filled with photos and a half finished scrapbook. Laying each item on her bed, he took the time to study each one. From the corner of his eyes, he watched Erika's reaction and with each one, her shoulders became tenser.

"I think I was making this for her birthday. I think…" Erika picked up a photo of herself and girl she didn't know. She couldn't stop the tears gathering in her eyes as a memory tried to force its way into her conscious but failed. "Who is she? I really wanted to finish this for her birthday and give it to her. There was something I needed to tell her but I… but I died."

Without a word, Kyouya took the photo from her and set it aside. He caught one of her tears on his thump as he brushed them away. She felt almost real so he moved his fingers through her hair to confirm that she was. Like the time before, his hand passed through the strands. She rubbed her eyes against her sleeve before smiling to him. "I'm silly, crying like this when I already know I'm dead, aren't I?"

"I guess you can say that." He leaned away from her. Kyouya took another picture and handed it to her. "I already promise to help you move on so you can depend on me. I think the girl in this picture was named, Sanda. We were on the student council together but I don't know where she is now. If you remember what you wanted to tell her, I'll tell her for you."

"We must've been the best of friends!" Erika decided after she went through every picture. While she didn't remember any of the moments in the photos, they made her feel happy. One was of their school festival and the only face she could recognize was Kyouya's. To her shock, he was smiling but there was something empty about it. Closing her eyes, she remembered the first time she saw him truly smile.


"Smile." Kyouya said in a light tone and he captured the moment they did with his camera. Usually he wouldn't participate in school events but he was saddled with the task of taking photos when the photographer from the yearbook committee called in sick last minute. He was a part of the student council so it was his responsibility to make sure that the festival went smoothly.

It was a silly and pointless event to him but he told himself the credentials will help him in the future. He didn't understand why their teacher insisted that they put on a maid café for the festival. The gimmick was silly and he didn't understand the fetish. But the school festival was a tradition and would help raise funds for school activities.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see several girls approach him but he pretended he didn't see them and ducked into another room. He recognized the girls since they would often bother him for pictures and he didn't want to be bothered with them anymore. For most of the day he had been faking a smile and it was beginning to tire him to the point he wanted to leave.

"Oh!" Someone yelped and he realized that he hit someone with the door when he opened it. Kyouya looked around the door to find his neighbour rubbing her forehead. Her clothes were now covered in flour and he could only imagine the anger she would unleash on him. He quickly apologized but she shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I just hope I have a change of clothes."

"If you want, I can help you find something for you to wear. You can't go out with your clothes like this. There should be a spare maid costume." He offered and gave her his napkin. Erika took it and tried to wipe the flour off her the best she could. She appeared to think over his offer before she shook her head.

"It really doesn't matter since I'm stuck in this kitchen. You see, I have the most important job in our little operation. I'm the official taste tester! Sanda is the baker and I offered to help but she says that it'll be best if I just stick to eating rather than baking." Erika joked but there was something sad in her voice. He didn't know why she wanted to be stuck in the kitchen instead of being a waitress.

"Sanda is out to deliver the cupcakes so I should text her. I can tell her to get more flour and my gym clothes from my locker on her way back." Erika said to herself more than him but he had to note they had spoken more in the past ten minutes than they had in the past ten years. "I'll have to clean this up or else she'll yell at me for making a mess of her kitchen."

"I'll help." Kyouya took the broom before she could. After he swept up the flour, she mopped the floor as she chatted about the bake goods they were planning. It was something mundane but her joy seemed more genuine than the other girls he knew that would speak about stereotypical things to appear cute. "We always end up talking about food, don't we?"

"I guess we do but I love my comfort food." Erika laughed at herself. Her eyes landed on his camera and she jumped in excitement. "Can you take a picture for me? It's actually San-chan's birthday soon and I'm making a scrapbook for her. I can't take a picture of us without being obvious. But if you say you're taking pictures for the yearbook she wouldn't know and you can give me the picture afterwards. I'll even pay you!"

Erika took one of the freshly baked cookies and held it out to him. Kyouya knew that it was the payment she meant and almost laughed since only a glutton would accept it as payment. But her large pleading eyes made him think of a puppy and he found himself smiling genuinely. So he took her offer, "I'll take the picture but it'll cost you a dozen cookies."


"I want that one!" Erika leaned on his shoulder and pointed to the parfait on the menu. Even as a ghost, she had the same appetite he remembered. He didn't know why someone would kill a girl like Erika. No one came to mind when he tried to think of any enemies she could have.

The previous night, they look through her room but he forced her to stop when he realized how late it was. He didn't want to take any of the photos since it would leave evidence that he was in her room. Erika still wanted to look at photos of her past life so he brought his old year book with him. He still had some time before work so he stopped by Takeru's café.

"I'm not ordering you anything. You can't eat anyway," Kyouya muttered. She pouted at his words and sat back in the chair across from him and stared at his yearbook. He was glad that she didn't try to turn the pages since it would appear that it was turning on its own. Her slightly transparent face reflected more emotions than the people sitting around them.

"Here's your usual and a parfait!" Kyouya looked up when Takeru and raised a brow. He should've known that he would usually only have coffee and a muffin. Takeru sat on the chair Erika occupied, forcing her to stand. She puffed her cheeks in frustration but couldn't do anything to him. His eyes landed on the yearbook on the table. "I haven't looked at this thing in years. It's not like you to get nostalgic."

"I accidentally put it in my bag. I didn't have anything else to do while I wait for you so I was just skimming it." Kyouya took another chair and placed his bag on it. Usually he would keep it on the floor but thought that Erika would be uncomfortable standing. Not to his surprise, she immediately sat in the chair and began to discretely lick the parfait. "I didn't order this parfait."

"I thought I heard someone talking about it and I just assumed that it was you." Takeru looked confused and Kyouya wondered if he could hear Erika's voice. "Well it looks like you had a long day yesterday so you should eat something sweet. And it's not like you to take this with you so my guess was right. Something on your mind?"

"Nothing that you need to worry about. Too bad you weren't smart enough to get into the same school as me. High school would've been more entertaining with you. I don't even remember half of these people in here." Kyouya turned the pages absentmindedly. "A lot of the students came here, didn't they? Do you remember any rumours?"

"What kind of rumours? A lot of students did come and they gossip but I never really listened to them." It was so long ago that Kyouya didn't expect Takeru to remember anything. While Erika was bullied, he didn't think it was more than the usually teasing students faced. Suddenly, Takeru pointed to a picture. "I remember these two!"

Kyouya eyes widened when he saw that Takeru was pointing to photo of Erika and Sanda. "They would come every day afterschool. I remember them because that girl with the brown hair would try all of my creations and said they tasted great. Her friend always made this funny face whenever she saw them but she liked eating them too. She still comes every once in a while."

"Really? I think we were on the council together but I never really kept in touch with her. Do you think you could call me the next time she comes in? There's something I want to ask her about. Just tell her that it's about her friend Erika." Kyouya asked and Takeru nodded even though he didn't fully understand. His friend wasn't a sociable person so what could he want to speak to her for?

"I will but in exchange, I want you to tell me what got you so distracted. No matter what you're going through, I'll try to help you." Kyouya doubted he could tell his friend the truth. Would Takeru even believe him if he did? He ate his muffin as he thought over what to tell him.

"I was going through some files at the school and I came across one about my neighbour. I don't think she was the type of person someone would want to kill. I just have some questions about her since I'm curious about her disappearance." Kyouya lied. "Some of my students said that there's a suspicious guy so I'm more worried about these things."

"It must be hard being a teenage girl." Takeru sympathized. "At least they have a teacher that cares."

"I should be going then. I won't be a good teacher if I'm late." Kyouya stood and placed enough to cover the bill on the table. Takeru waved to him before he realized something. He was about to ask if he still wanted to parfait but saw that it had been completely eaten.


Look at me updating so much this week ^-^ just watch me drop off the face of the earth and not update for weeks XD