A/N: Whoa, guys! I was surprised when I read your comments! Seriously, I didn't even expect it at first, but thank you very much for the support! They made me want to update as fast as I can! But, sorry for the wait, anyway. Without further ado, here's chapter 2. ENJOY!
Disclaimer and Warning: See chapter 1
Haunted
© lunaryu~
Haunting 2: Mysterious Spirit
Muhyo was reading Jabin when he felt thirsty.
"Rouji, get me a drink, will you." He continued reading and snickered at some funny parts of the manga and only realized that Rouji didn't respond to his call when his hand grabbed empty air as he reached for the cup of tea which should have been on the table if Rouji had done his request.
"Oi, Rou—!" Muhyo halted his call when he remembered that Rouji wasn't there in the first place.
He looked at the too quiet living space and clicked his tongue. For some reason the office felt extraordinarily empty. There was an odd pang in his chest seeing the silence in a usually lively place when Rouji was around. The blond boy was never really quiet even though he wasn't speaking. If not doing chores, he usually made some clattering noises doing whatever he deemed important to be doing, or plotting and writing down his often useless 'Super Fab Tech'.
Muhyo looked around him for a moment, feeling momentary lost before he closed the manga and put it down on the table. He got down from the couch and walked to the kitchen to fetch a bottle of water. Oh, he could make his own tea, thank you very much. But it was a pain to do it himself, so he decided that water would do just fine to satiate his thirst.
As Muhyo reached out his hand up to grab the refrigerator's handle (he was irked that he needed to stand on his toes to do that), he noticed a yellow post-it note stuck on it.
I put your dinner in a Tupperware inside the fridge. Please heat it up before you eat!—Rouji
Muhyo couldn't help smiling slightly, feeling warm as he touched the note. It was thoughtful of his assistant to do that before he left to infiltrate St. Patricia dorm.
Realizing what he was doing, Muhyo immediately dropped his smile, pulled his hand back and shook his head, silently berating himself that he was being disgustingly sentimental concerning his assistant.
He opened the fridge looking for a bottle of water which was the only thing well stocked inside. It was depressingly empty as always, sans the lone Tupperware in the middle shelf and leftover vegetables from Rouji's previous grocery shopping in the lower shelf.
Muhyo huffed and grabbed the bottle before closing the fridge again. He opened the cap before drinking slowly. Done with half the content of the bottle, he recapped it and put it on the counter.
He stared at the kitchen counter for a moment. It looked clean, too clean. Sterile. It seemed wrong somehow. This space shouldn't be this impersonal. Rouji always cleaned it spotlessly and it was a proper thing to do because hygiene in the kitchen was important, and yet...
It felt... kind of lonely.
Muhyo scowled at his pathetic thought. What was wrong with him anyway? He'd been alone longer before he roomed in with Rouji. He had never felt like this before.
He shook his head again, trying to clear his head. Looking at the clock; 8 p.m., he might have been hungry, otherwise he wouldn't be thinking about silly things. He should eat his dinner.
...
He wasn't really hungry, but...
Muhyo glanced at the fridge. He sighed. No point in wasting Rouji's effort in making dinner.
Reheating the cold dinner, sliced omelet with miso broth (he cursed that he had to use the chair to reach the microwave), Muhyo set the now warm food on the table with his half full bottled water.
Muhyo looked across of him, still no one sitting there. He frowned at himself for being weak as his mind conjured up an image of Rouji smiling in front of him against his will. "Itadakimasu," he said aloud, which he had never done when he was around other people, and started eating.
As expected, Rouji's cooking never disappointed. Muhyo smiled again. "It's delicious, stupid-Rouji."
~ # ~
"Take me there," Rouji requested the dorm head to lead the way, somber and determined.
If this was the ghost that terrorized the school, it was Rouji's opportunity to get a close look at it. Of course the chance of the spirit to be still maintaining their original shape was close to nil, but there was a chance that they still had consciousness of their identity.
Rouji might be able to communicate with it.
"This way, Kusanoji-san!" Shijo led him to the stairs and both of them quickly went down to the floor below theirs.
Some scared students ran past them, yelling about calling the teachers, the security guards and the ambulance.
"What's going on here?" Shijo grabbed one of the crying girls, and the terrified girl looked at her in surprise.
"Shijo-senpai!" She looked relieved momentarily before she spoke again in panicky. "It's Haruna, Senpai. She tried to hang herself!"
"What?!" Shijo sounded shocked and appalled as Rouji instantly moved to the open door with many people still crowding in front of it.
"Please let me through!" Rouji grabbed some of the girls, gently enough not to hurt but forcefully enough to move them so he could make a way for himself to see inside the room.
In the room was a girl standing on a chair with a rope around her neck, the end of the rope tied into one of the horizontal lumbers of the wooden ceiling. Her half open, onyx colored eyes seemed to be looking at nothing, her body lax as if she was not aware of what she was doing.
"What are you doing, Haruna?! Don't do it!" Three girls tried to stop her and they were about to enter the room when Rouji's keen eyes saw something that they probably missed or didn't see.
"STOP!" He shouted, surprising those girls. "Don't come inside the room!"
Rouji spread his slightly long arm to cover the entrance because he had obligation to protect those ordinary people as a Magic Law practitioner, even though those people couldn't see what he could.
"Wha- what are you doing?! Haruna needs help there!" One of the girls screamed at him. The others tried to remove him from the door, but he stood his ground. Besides, he was stronger than them, both physically and mentally, so he didn't move an inch even as they pushed and pulled at him.
"Trust me, you will endanger her more if you crowd her now!" Rouji warned, rather desperate to make those girls understand that they would also endanger themselves if they went inside, without having to tell the truth about what he was seeing. "You could startle her into hanging if you weren't careful. Don't panic around her. Let me do it. I'll talk her out of it." Rouji pleaded, promising them that he would help her, but he needed to do it alone.
There was no way he would involve ordinary people in this. He promised Muhyo he would never endanger anyone else again after what happened to Nana the first time he tried to face a spirit alone.
The girls around him seemed to waver, apparently seeing his determination, and when Shijo showed up in the middle of the crowd as well, those younger girls made a space for her to approach Rouji.
"Can you do it, Kusanoji-san?" Shijo asked, sounding and looking worried, but not unwilling to give Rouji a chance.
Rouji smiled at her reassuringly. "I'd ever done it before."
"Alright," Shijo nodded.
Rouji sighed in relief and stepped into the room. "Don't suddenly open the door before I open it from the inside, okay?" He requested tentatively. Shijo nodded at him before he closed the door in front of them.
Finally away from prying eyes, Rouji turned around and gulped. There was so much of white substance, string-like spider-web all around the corners of the room that crossed to the middle, tangling into some parts of Haruna's body; around her arm-shoulder joints, her back, her legs, the back of her neck... they seemed to support her weight. It was almost translucent, even Rouji had difficulty seeing it clearly, so it was no wonder that people without spiritual power or tempering were unable to see it.
There was quite strong miasma around, yet he couldn't pin-point the spirit's real form.
Rouji readied his magic sealing pen and some charms that he brought around for emergency. It wasn't too careful to always be prepared after all. He couldn't actually exorcise the spirit, but halting their movement and nullifying their effect on Haruna physically or mentally could be done.
"Hey, I don't know who you are and what you want to do with her, but you better stop it right now. You are a spirit and you're committing a crime. Let go of her before it's too late for you to cross over to the other side. If you're adding your crime by committing murder, an executor will definitely send you to hell," he warned, trying diplomatic approach first.
It was a move that often pissed Muhyo off. Rouji knew that sometimes there was no talking to a spirit that already lost their mind, but by any chance... if there was a possibility to talk some sense into them so they wouldn't try to commit more crimes, he would do it.
For some reason, the temperature in the room dropped by a few degrees. Rouji looked right and left, clenching his pen more tightly. He sharpened his hearing as he heard something... hissing?
No. It's...
It was a crying voice.
Rouji looked upward at the ceiling as he detected the source of the sound, and there he saw a mass of thick black mist, like a swarm of bugs. Just above Haruna, a pair of creepy red eyes in the middle of the swarm glared at Rouji, and he was caught off guard when the swarm suddenly lashed at him.
"Ack!" He couldn't react fast enough and was pushed back, his back slamming into the door and his pen and charms dropped at the impact.
What a violent reaction!—Rouji groaned and gritted his teeth in slight pain. Then he hurried and grabbed his dropped magic sealing pen when he got back up.
There was high pitched screeching sound then, and Rouji winced hearing it. As he was about to perform a binding spell directly onto the swarm, they suddenly stopped moving and the swarm scattered around in the blink of eyes, dispersing outside the window.
"Oh, no! Wait!" Rouji dashed, about to chase after the swarm, but then he saw Haruna, her lax body already released from the web-string-like substance, begin to drop down with the rope still around her neck. "Uh-oh!" Rouji made a sharp 90 degree turn and dashed toward her instead, immediately catching her body before she fell for real and got strangled by the rope because of the fall.
Rouji lifted Haruna's body upward slowly, being careful not to jostle her too much, and sighed in relief when he noticed that she was still breathing despite being unconscious. Tentatively getting onto the chair, he removed the rope from her neck, and then carried her to lay her down on the bed a few feet away. After making sure that she was relatively okay, Rouji went to the window to check whether the spirit was still around the dorm.
He couldn't see the black swarm anymore and when he closed his eyes to feel their presence, he could only detect faint trace. All the miasma was also gone from the room.
Why did the spirit withdraw so suddenly? It was rather mystifying. Their behavior weren't like normal spirit. It looked almost like they realized that Rouji was about to put a binding spell on them.
But that hiss and cry...
Rouji bit his lower lip and clenched at his chest. He felt rather odd when he heard their screech earlier. It… didn't sound like the spirit was angry or hateful, or even vindictive.
Why... why did it sound like they were crying in anguish?
~ # ~
Rouji got out of the room in the face of a lot of people. Some students together with Shijo, a teacher—later known as Momozuki-sensei, a school guard—Hayashida-san, and a pair of medics from the ambulance which was called by one of the students.
"She's alright, just unconscious," Rouji explained, but gesturing for the medics to come inside the room and to examine Haruna, while the teacher, the school guard and Shijo stayed to ask some questions.
Momozuki ordered the other students to go back to their respective rooms because it was almost past their bed time. Some of them protested since they were no longer kids and Haruna's wellbeing was more important than bed time, but in the end they relented because Momozuki threatened that she would give them detention unless they obeyed the rule. Shijo was of course exempted because she was the dorm head.
While the medics checked up Haruna, Momozuki brought Rouji and Shijo to the office room while she requested Hayashida to stay and accompany the medics and the unconscious girl.
A few minutes later, seated on the couch in front of Momozuki and Shijo, Rouji tried to act calmly, though he couldn't help but fidget anxiously and frown deeply in worry because he had to leave Haruna with ordinary people. What if the spirit came back to catch her again?
"So, Kusanoji Rouka-san?" Momozuki addressed him and Rouji nodded at her, confirming. "I am Momozuki Kira, St. Patricia's Senior High School Dorm Advisor also the English teacher. I heard you just moved in today. For some reason the Principal didn't notify me about your transfer," she said, sounding rather put off.
"Ah, that... might be because the special circumstance of why I need to go to school here." Rouji looked the other way, inconspicuously sweating even though he tried to maintain his expression to stay calm and confident. "It's kind of classified. I am afraid I am not authorized to tell you the reason." Well, at least it was the truth. Rouji wasn't a good liar and not telling the reason was technically not a lie.
Shijo raised her eyebrows at that and Rouji shook his head once, refusing to explain further.
"Ah, I see. Well, a few students transferred here for 'secret' reasons as well, which are various, I supposed. But never mind that." Momozuki shook her head hard, looking rather distraught. "What happened in that room just now? Do you know why Haruna did that? How did you talk her out of it? Why is she unconscious?"
The barrage of questions almost overwhelmed Rouji, so he raised his hands slowly, nonthreatening. "Please calm down, Sensei. I didn't actually do anything," he answered gently, making sure that he got her and Shijo's attention before continuing. "Haruna-san didn't seem to be in her right mind when I spoke to her. She... was in a trance, I believe."
"A trance?" Shijo looked confused.
"Her eyes were vacant the whole time, like she wasn't herself, and after a while she lost consciousness. I caught her before she fell," Rouji elaborated.
"Really?" Momozuki frowned, stroking her wavy neck-length brown hair back slightly while Shijo went noticeably quiet, her face paling.
Rouji noted Shijo's reaction, but he didn't mentioned it and quietly observed.
"Yes. I wonder if she has history on mental illness," Rouji looked down demurely then, thinking he could suggest to move her away from the dorm or the school to prevent another attack in case she was targeted specifically.
Shijo and Momozuki looked at each other for a moment before Momozuki sighed. "Maybe I will call for her parents tomorrow to talk about this matter. I'll speak to the medics. You can go back to your rooms, Shijo-san, Kusanoji-san," she stood up and dismissed them.
"Sensei," Rouji also stood up. "I think Haruna-san should not be alone tonight," he said, looking at Shijo and then at Momozuki seriously. "There is a chance she might try again if she's alone."
"I agree with Kusanoji-san's concern. She and I will be staying at Haruna-san's room until she's awake." Shijo nodded at him and asked for permission from their teacher. Rouji was slightly mystified of why she volunteered him as well. She only knew him for a few hours after all.
"Alright. Do that, and please report to me of her condition after she's awake," Momozuki smiled slightly. Rouji smiled back and Shijo bowed slightly at her when they parted ways.
"Good night, Sensei."
~ # ~
When both Shijo and Rouji arrived back in front of Haruna's room, they only saw Hayashida in front of the door. The medics were nowhere to be found, probably already moving to talk to Momozuki as she was the adult in charge of the dorm.
"Hayashida-san," Shijo walked up to the older man, probably around 30 years old, with dark hair and deep midnight eyes, and he turned to her with a smile.
"Shijo-sama," Hayashida greeted her, nodding politely.
"How is Haruna?" Shijo asked, her tone worried.
"The medics said there was no visible injury on her physically, but they were concerned about her mental stability. They recommend that we bring her to a hospital to undergo some mental evaluation," he said, looking troubled.
"We will do that tomorrow after her parents are here," Shijo nodded at him and then turned to Rouji who watched their interaction curiously. "Ah, Kusanoji-san, this is Hayashida Hayami, the head of our school security personnel." Then she turned to Hayashida again and introduced Rouji to him. "This is the new transfer student, Kusanoji Rouka, Hayashida-san."
"Nice to meet you, Hayashida-san," Rouji lifted part of his skirt and bowed slightly at him, automatically greeted him formally as a young lady would.
Hayashida blinked once, looking a tad bewildered. Shijo instantly chuckled lightly, and Rouji, realizing that he might have done something stupid, flushed at their reaction.
"Wow, so formal, Kusanoji-san, you are adorable." Shijo giggled some more in mirth and Rouji felt his cheeks heat more intensely.
"Um, it has… kind of rooted inside me, because of the lesson on manner courtesy of my family. I can't really help it." Rouji looked the other way, still blushing in embarrassment, not exactly lying because Nana's lesson in lady's mannerism was brutal, alright. He was conditioned into it against his will.
Shijo giggled again before she moved closer to him and took his hand. "I like you more and more, Kusanoji... Ah, how about I call you Rouka-chan? You can call me Yukari," she smiled sweetly, her hands moving up slowly to embrace Rouji's arm.
"Uh," Rouji suddenly felt rather uncomfortable with the proximity. "S-shouldn't we change our uniform into sleeping wear before we turn in for the night, Shijo-san?" He tried to change the subject, while subtly trying to pry his arm away from her grasp, wondering why he felt uneasy with the strange way she looked at him now.
"My, you're a shy one. How cute. I told you to call me Yukari, Rouka-chan." Shijo giggled louder, tightening her hold and even resting her head on Rouji's shoulder.
Eeh?! What's with this situation?!—Rouji, feeling incredibly crept out now, glanced at Hayashida and pleaded to him silently to help him.
Somehow, Hayashida said he had patrol to do and quickly turned away and retreated, leaving Rouji to fend for himself.
Traitor!—Rouji almost yelled at his retreating back, feeling oddly betrayed just because Hayashida was a man and Rouji was too, even under his skirt, and men shouldn't leave fellow men in trouble without helping! But he quickly remembered himself not to blow his cover. Rouji sighed, resigned, but still not actually understanding what was going on anymore.
~ # ~
The next day~
Muhyo was still sleeping when he heard faint knocking sounds, followed by high pitch voice calling; scratch that. They were yelling for his name.
"Muhyo-saaan!" Bang-bang-bang "Open up please! Muhyo-saaan!" Bang-bang-bang.
Muhyo tried to ignore the offending noises, but they were quite persistent that a vein finally popped out from his head and he opened his blue eyes with promised murder in his menacing glare.
He woke, sat up, got down from his bed, stomped toward the office door, and then slammed the door open violently while still in his pajama, as he yelled, "Shut up! Do you know what time it is?!"
"Ah, finally!" Nana's face and voice were too cheery and chirpy in the blind morning. It wasn't even...
Muhyo surreptitiously glanced at the clock.
...Seven o' clock in the morning! Seven!
Muhyo scowled harder. He never woke up before 9, damn it. "You'd better have something very important to tell me or I will be extremely pissed off." He set a laser glare at the pretty, well-endowed teenage girl who didn't seem to find him scary at all despite what he was capable of doing.
This was what happened when people got to be around him longer than necessary. They became immune of his intimidating technique. So very annoying!
"You are already angry, aren't you? Besides, what are you talking about? It's seven in the morning, Muhyo-san! Normal people are already up and about doing their daily activities at this time!" She pushed her way inside the office, not minding having to move Muhyo forcefully from the door to do so. What a rude girl.
"What exactly are you doing here, Nana? I'm seriously going to kick you out if you're here only to bother me." Muhyo slammed the door close, still frowning, irritated beyond belief. He couldn't deal with her in such ungodly hour by himself. Rouji usually entertained her when Muhyo clearly wasn't in the mood.
"Sheesh, calm down. Don't be such a grump first thing in the morning." Nana pouted, putting down a paper bag that she had been carrying on the table at the sitting area and stretched. "And I do have a good reason to be here, you know. Rouji-kun asked me after all." She lifted her nose proudly and put her hands on her waist.
"Huh? Rouji?" Muhyo turned to look upward at her, puzzled. Why did Rouji's name come up suddenly?
"Yes. He asked me to cook breakfast for you when he was away." She smiled then, looking pleased.
Muhyo went silent at that, slightly widening his eyes. All thoughts were in immediate halt.
"Rouji-kun is very kind and thoughtful, isn't he? He seems to be thinking about you and your well being all the time even though he doesn't have to." Nana turned to look at the grocery bag on the table, her expression poignant. "He's worried that you probably won't eat if cooking is too troublesome, so he asked me to come and cook when he can't. No worries! I will properly follow his recipe, so I guarantee it will taste delicious!" Nana held up her right arm, and clasped her left hand on her gun, winking at Muhyo confidently.
Muhyo could only blinked, surprisingly rather dumbfounded, when she grabbed the paper bag and carried it once again, skipping to the kitchen while humming happily.
He... didn't know what to think of that.
Well, that's bullshit.
Muhyo just didn't want to admit it. Times and times again, he was repeatedly reminded that Rouji thought the world of him. Rouji was always by his side even though he barely knew anything about Muhyo. He was a clueless idiot, but Rouji's kindness and loyalty, and his willingness to protect other people were the characteristics that made Muhyo choose him as his assistant in the first place, not just because Rouji had tremendous amount of tempering.
But, honestly... Muhyo never thought he would miss that idiot's presence this much only in one day. Worse, it wasn't even a day yet since it hadn't hit 24 hours mark.
When did I start feeling this way? Last time we separated in order for Rouji to figure out his place and duty on my side, I didn't even think about it that much aside of how inconvenient it was to lose half of my spiritual support, but now...
The emptiness was irritating... and excruciating, like losing a limb or two.
Ah, damn it!—Muhyo scratched his head curtly, very much exasperated with himself.
"Oi, Nana!" Muhyo called rather loudly, and the brunet came out from the kitchen with a ladle on her right hand and a pink apron, Rouji's, already on her.
"What?" She tilted her head aside, looking at him with wide curious hazel eyes.
"I'm going to St. Patricia today to meet Rouji. The sooner the case is done, the sooner I can get my assistant back." He scowled as he stomped to the bathroom to freshen up and change clothes.
It's annoying to think about things that will only piss me off even more. So what if I'm attached to my assistant? It's not like it's a crime or anything!—Muhyo's scowl deepened as he brushed his teeth and then rinsed before he splashed his face with water. He dried off and then glanced at himself in the mirror.
He had been asleep for over 9 hours... and yet the reflection that stared back at him looked like a person, a kid, that hadn't slept in a week.
Muhyo usually slept really well, but somehow... when Rouji wasn't around... it didn't feel like he was asleep at all. "Stupid Rouji. Hurry up and come back to me, idiot."
~ # ~
"Kusanoji-san?"
The teacher called Rouji and he snapped back from his wandering thought to look at her, honestly surprised, just recalling that that was his current name, and that he was in the middle of the class lesson then. "Yes?" He smiled, covering his reaction quickly, trying to give an impression that he was listening to her explanation instead of looking out of the window and daydreaming.
It didn't look like the teacher bought it, though.
"Can you try solving the problem in the white board?" The math teacher, Raika Setsuko, asked him with a painfully fake smile, probably trying to be polite even though she was annoyed that he didn't pay attention to her at all.
Rouji winced slightly at his rude behavior but he followed through with his initial plan, stood up and nodded at her. He unhurriedly walked toward the front of the class while his new classmates stared at him with rapt attention.
Rouji tried not to be too self-conscious with all the eyes of the girls when he looked at the math problem on the white board.
It was algebra in trigonometry. It wasn't that difficult or advanced. With Rouji's daily training in calculating as he planned his Super Fab Tech, he dealt a lot with laws of physic and numbers. Understanding how to solve it immediately, Rouji took the marker and started to write down his answer.
Five minutes later. He was done with it and looked at his teacher while putting down the marker. "Is this alright?"
Raika stared at him with wide, disbelieving, sparkling eyes. "Amazing!" She shouted suddenly, excitedly, surprising Rouji. "This work is perfect!" She pushed up her glasses and squealed at him then, and Rouji blinked in revelation as his new classmates instantly whooped and applauded enthusiastically.
"That's a wonderful job, Kusanoji-san!"
"So pretty and smart!"
"No wonder Shijo-san immediately claimed her to be her number two!"
Wait, what?—Rouji was bewildered at that last shouted line. What in the world does she mean by 'claimed'?
"This is a college level math problem, Kusanoji-san. It was exceptionally unusual for a high school student to solve it. It seems your understanding in math is far more advanced than your fellow third year students'." Raika patted his shoulder, probably because he was much taller than her, so she could only reach his shoulder instead of his head.
"Oh, r-really? I just implemented the formula that I had studied before. I am just lucky that I remembered it." Rouji chuckled awkwardly, but somehow regally despite his embarrassment, which somehow made his fellow students squeal even more and call him adorable and cute, instead of being put off.
Rouji's sweat dropped. It was actually inconvenient to be so eye-catching (even though he didn't know the reason why). He was supposes to lay low so as not to attract too much attention to himself so he could gather information more discreetly, but somewhat he was already famous when he stepped into the class that morning.
It might have something to do with Shijo entering the building with one of his arms in her embrace (again, despite his obvious reluctant. It was hard to say no when she was so… weirdly authoritative). All the students seemed to be looking at him with very fascinated eyes after that. Even the teachers seemed to be paying more attention to him in class.
From what he knew after asking one of his classmates, Shijo Corporation was the biggest patron of St. Patricia Senior High School, so Shijo Yukari's status was like celebrity, the queen, of the students and teachers. Luckily she wasn't in the same class as Rouji, so he could breathe a little easier in his class.
At the recess time, Rouji was immediately crowded by his curious classmate. He was asked about who he was or whose daughter he was. Then how he could get to know Shijo Yukari and what his relationship with her was. The last question was accompanied by hysteric giggles from his classmates, which he immediately dubbed as a joke to the new student.
"No wonder you're instantly famous, Kusanoji-san. Shijo Yukari seems to take a liking to you. She is the most powerful student in this school. Even some teachers are afraid of her 'parents'." The air apostrophe was clear enough to show him what she thought about that fact, much more with the eye roll and the laugh after that. The one speaking was Hana Akizuki, a girl with Chesnutt colored hair tied in intricate ponytail, and with dark chocolate eyes.
"Yeah, Shijo-senpai is often at odds with other students, but many of them are too afraid of her parents to do something about it," another girl, Wada Kanae, a girl with dark blue eyes, added, sounding and looking rueful as she played with her black curly hair.
"What's that, Kanae? Aren't you one of Shijo-san's follower," another one, Kunimiya Yukiko, a girl with auburn colored hair and violet eyes, asked with a teasing tone, and Kanae pouted at her.
"I just don't want to cross her. My dad works for her dad, you know." She deadpanned at Yukiko and the latter giggled at that.
Rouji's sweat dropped watching their interaction. Now he understood why he felt so uneasy when Shijo had an interest in his person. She probably thought she could make him her follower. Of course he didn't intend to humor that. But judging from his classmates' opinion on Shijo Yukari's power at school, it didn't seem wise to cross her either even if he wasn't afraid of her or her parents. He had nothing to do with her anyway.
Though, Shijo-san seems to know a lot of things about this school. And her reaction when she was about to open Principal Akanari's daughter room… also her pale face when I mentioned about Haruna-san's 'in trance' condition…
"So, Kusanoji-san," Kanae now looked at him with twinkling eyes. "What's your hobby? You are very smart, so you probably like studying and reading, but what about other hobbies, ones that involve moving your body? Horse riding? Sport? You are so tall and pretty, you could be a model!" She squealed and her friends followed her lead and squealed some more in enthusiastic manner.
More beads of sweat rolled down Rouji's cheek. Are girls really this noisy?—He couldn't recall Nana or Judge Imai being so… annoyingly noisy. They already conjectured some of the answers before he could clarified their own questions. He'd better answer as clearly so they wouldn't gossip about him.
"I like cooking, if that counts as a hobby. I do sport sometimes, but only to keep me healthy. And I've never been a model on any painting or on magazine. I like reading too, but mostly Jabin." Rouji smiled sincerely and the girls stared at him with wide eyes.
"Oh my god, she's so pure!" Kanae actually cried while the other two swooned.
"Yamato Nadeshiko!"
"That reads manga!"
Then they laughed again in hard giggles. Rouji laughed with them, but he had no idea if he was being sincerely praised or being sarcastically insulted. Either seemed possible with them.
"I also like things that have to do with supernatural and mystery," Rouji added, trying to make good of his opportunity to gather information about the haunting that happened in St. Patricia.
At the mention of those things, the trio went rigid immediately. Their smile gradually disappeared as Rouji continued.
"I gather horror stories from town to town. What fascinates me most is the story of seven ghost stories at school. Does this school have something like that too?" Rouji looked at the three from under his eyelashes, getting excited as he noticed they look at each other rather uncomfortably.
"There was… actually none of such story at our school…" Yukiko answered slowly.
"That was, until three months ago," Akizuki finished, and the three girls visibly shuddered at that.
"What happened three months ago?" Rouji asked, paying much attention to them, urging them to tell him the story. The three looked at each other again, frowning, seeming to get even more uncomfortable and a little bit scared.
"Someone died three months ago," Kanae finally said, the other two gasping in appalled look.
"Kanae!" Yukiko warned but Kanae shook her head.
"Kusanoji-san deserves to know. She's this school student too," Kanae argued and both Yukiko and Akizuki looked contrite, but went quiet then, seeming to be unable to debate that logic.
"There was this… quiet girl in class 3C. Her name was Akanari Momo," Kanae started to tell the story and Rouji gave her his full attention.
~ # ~
Muhyo was a few meters away from St. Patricia school gate. It was closed of course, and some very conspicuous people with cameras—clearly journalists, even some reporters with small TV crews, were crowding in front of the gate.
As expected of the media world. Even with clear capital NO cooperation from the school they still tirelessly work to gain more information.
Muhyo shook his head as soon as he arrived in front of the gate behind the crowding paparazzi. There was no way he could sneak inside the gate with those people around.
Muhyo stared at the gate, and then at the school building visible from the top.
Despite the elegance of the classic building, below the gray colored sky of winter season, the school looked old and strangely eerie.
Muhyo smirked slightly. Even from outside the gate, he could feel strong presence of spirit surrounding the entire site of the school. The investigation would proceed infinitely faster if he was inside the haunting site. He could activate one of his Magic Law Spells and summon one of his adversaries, like Spirit Striker (1), to search the spirit responsible.
However, the purpose of the investigation this time was not to remove the spirit. It was to identify them, which was irresponsibly ridiculous. It didn't matter though, because in the end Muhyo still had to pass judgment and execute them according to their crime.
"Now, how to enter the site without getting caught by the security and those vultures?" Muhyo mumbled while looking right and left, and then upward.
The gate was too high and there was security camera at the corner of the gate. Even people with normal stature would have difficulty in climbing up there, much more so for Muhyo. Besides, with those crowds in front of the gate, it was out of the options anyway. He had to look for another less visible way to get inside.
Muhyo turned right and walked along the high wall of rose bushes inside barbed stainless steel which surrounded the school.
Talk about over protection.
Muhyo smirked again, half wondering if the school had been actually a prison once. The rose was a nice touch, but it didn't change the fact that this school practically imprisoned their students, subtle as it might be.
Muhyo almost missed his opening, but was saved by a student coming through the barbed bushes just in front of him. He blinked as the girl straightened and patted her slightly rumpled uniform back to decent neatness before she walked away. Apparently sneaking out of the school in broad day light was possible despite the security measure.
Well, not everyone in this school is a lady after all.
Muhyo shrugged after the girl turned at the junction and left his sight. He turned to the part of barbed rose bushes that didn't seem to have barbed wires around them.
He was lucky indeed.
~ # ~
Rouji was trying to hide away from Shijo. Well, he was practically running away from her, not wanting to indulge in her strange interest in him. Luckily, when Shijo had been looking for him, he had already done hearing the story about the girl that died in the school biology lab, Akanari Momo. It was said that she committed suicide.
No one knew the reason. She only left a note, typed in her PDA which was found in her room, away from her body, saying she was sorry. People speculated about the 'why' and 'how' no one noticed the tragedy even though the school security should have been perfect. All the security personnel swore they didn't see a thing when they patrolled the building at night.
It was also investigated by the authorities, even. But her death was finally ruled as a suicide because of the note, and her quiet gloomy nature. Even her mother, despite her initial denial, admitted that she was clinically depressed for a while, especially after the death of her father.
For a few weeks the school, especially Principal Akanari, mourned her death.
Rouji frowned, feeling rather sad but mostly confused. Akanari Momo chose to die, which was a great crime by itself, but then... Why did her spirit linger in this world? If she chose death over life, why did she stay here? She obviously didn't have any more business in this side if she wanted to die, right? It didn't make any sense at all.
But what if... What if she didn't commit suicide? What if she lingered because something bad happened to her and she had regrets?
Rouji bit his lower lip as he stood in the empty classroom at the third floor of the west wing of the school building, looking outside the window. From his spot, he could see the backyard of the school. The yard was quite gorgeous, with lots and lots of flowers in various species and colors. Strangely, despite the cold season, the flowers were in full bloom. The gardener must have been professional because the flower beds were constructed to look like waterfall if they were seen from upward.
As Rouji was gradually relaxed while he was enjoying the scene, he almost missed the black head running through and around the flower beds.
Huh?—Rouji narrowed his eyes and grabbed the windowsill to look more closely at the running… child? The boy—wearing dark winter mantle and red knee-length pants, was chased after by a security guard.
"Wait!" The security guard, in close look was actually Hayashida, shouted at the child who only glanced back slightly at his pursuer and scowled, still running quite fast with his questionably short legs. The black haired kid then brought out something from inside his mantle and Rouji instantly recognized the big black leather-bound book with Magic Law symbol on its cover anywhere.
"Muhyo?!"
Rouji almost fell down from the window upon noticing the identity of the boy.
~ # ~
Muhyo was seriously considering using his Emergency Magic Law 'Anesthetic Needles' to his pursuer because the security guard was so annoyingly persistent.
Well, it was Muhyo's own fault that the guard noticed him in the first place. He didn't think that the tall, muscular man would be patrolling the backyard for one, and he made a mistake in not concealing his presence at all as he walked over the flower garden.
But seriously, who needs a maze of flower garden in school anyway?—Muhyo grunted, having a hard time maintaining his speed and breath with his limited stamina. He was admittedly not athletic unlike his sturdy assistant. Though he could move very fast, his physical fitness wouldn't allow him to do that for a long period of time.
Muhyo was already getting his Magic Law book out of his coat when he heard the distant shout of his name. He turned to the source of the voice which was slightly upward at the building direction.
Muhyo blinked once as he noticed a pretty gaping brunet looking at him from the window. He narrowed his eyes and recognized the shocked face as Rouji's immediately despite the blazer-one piece dress uniform, the neat-down blond hair and the flowing ribbons adorning it.
Muhyo didn't have spare breath to call him back with how fast he was running. He saw the way Rouji's mouth moving, yelling something else at him, but he couldn't make out his words before the idiot actually climbed on the windowsill.
Muhyo widened his eyes, quite shocked, when Rouji suddenly jumped out from the freaking third floor. "That idiot!"
Muhyo dashed faster—quite surprised himself actually, that he still had the energy to do it— now to Rouji's possible landing spot, uncaring about his still relentless pursuer. He didn't want to admit it, but his heart sank at the thought that Rouji might have been hurt. He was more pissed off though. There was no reason for his assistant to hurt himself over something so stupid like getting to Muhyo faster. Muhyo was not in any danger after all.
When Muhyo finally got out of the maze garden, he slowed down a little, noticing that Rouji was already up and running toward him. He didn't seem to get hurt in any part of his body.
"Muhyo!" Rouji called loudly, and his expression was…
Wait, is he crying?—Muhyo thought rather ridiculously as Rouji was getting nearer by the second, and before he could say anything back to him, the older boy already jumped forward and hugged him.
Muhyo almost choked at how tight Rouji hugged him. "No way, Muhyo! Why are you even here?" He asked, rather enthusiastically, still with his amazingly adorable teary eyes.
"Let go, idiot! You're choking me!" Muhyo scolded in undertone, but it didn't deter his heartbeat from increasing in speed and loudness and it had nothing to do with his running earlier. Also, his face felt hotter and he refused to even think that he might have been blushing as Rouji nuzzled his cheek.
"Oh! Sorry," Rouji loosened his hold on Muhyo's smaller body slowly and then chuckled sheepishly as he looked at Muhyo's still warmer than usual face.
Muhyo scowled deeply to hide his embarrassment. "Seriously, why are you even crying?" He huffed, not understanding the reason for Rouji to be in tears at all. Was he hurt after all? He did jump out of the window from the third floor.
"Eh? This is happy tears! I'm happy to see your face." Rouji laughed slightly then, wiping the remnant of the tears from the corner of his eyes with the back of his index finger. "It's not a day yet, but for some reason, I miss your face and presence," he continued and Muhyo widened his eyes slightly while his heart skipped a beat hearing it.
Seriously, this guy…!—Muhyo face-palmed inwardly, while in reality he rested his forehead on Rouji's chest.
At this rate, Muhyo would develop heart condition. Rouji had no clue at all about how his words could be taken. Of course Muhyo perfectly knew that Rouji didn't mean his words to be remotely romantic, but anyone who didn't know the context of his relationship with Muhyo would definitely interpret it that way.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Muhyo? You're being unusually silent," Rouji asked softly, moving his hand on Muhyo's head and stroked his hair lightly.
"Your oblivious nature is annoying," Muhyo huffed, looking upward at Rouji who only blinked at him with question mark on his face. Muhyo wanted to be annoyed longer, but the befuddled expression in Rouji's face was kind of cute, so he snorted instead. "Never mind. Anyway, let's move. I was being chased—"
"Hey, you!"
The hard, irritated voice from behind Muhyo made him wince.
"Shoot. He's here already," Muhyo clicked his tongue and once again grabbed his Magic Law book inside the large pocket of his black coat.
"Wait, Muhyo. You can't use Magic Law on living human." Rouji touched his hand, his expression concerned.
"Emergency Magic Law," Muhyo whispered back, looking upward at his assistant's face which somehow was already so close to his own without him noticing.
"But there's no emergency in our work-related nature right now," Rouji said again, not releasing his hand from Muhyo.
Rouji was right, though. Unlike the emergency they dealt in 'Rie and Taeko' case, there was no spirit in site right now. No one was in life threatening situation. There was only one very pissed off security guard and he would kick Muhyo out of the school ground unless they did something about it… fast.
"This school ground is forbidden for anyone that isn't the school student or staff to enter," the school guard said, still panting slightly. He sounded strict and heated.
If it wasn't, I wouldn't sneak in, would I?—Muhyo wanted to retort, but thought the better of it and considered what to do to not make the dark haired guard angrier.
"What should we do, Muhyo?" Rouji bit his lips, sounding slightly panicked, probably worrying about his cover and the imminent blow.
Muhyo quickly got an idea, but he didn't like it. Well, either this or the worse alternative—he shrugged slightly.
"Follow my lead," Muhyo whispered again, into Rouji's ear now. Muhyo blinked slightly as he felt Rouji shudder lightly in reaction.
Huh.
Muhyo filed that in the back of his mind before he started to speak up, "I am sorry, Mister, but I really want to see my sister," without turning back his body. Instead, he drowned his face once again on Rouji's stuffed chest.
That silicon bra was really something. It did felt like Muhyo was nuzzling a girl's breast.
"Sister?" the guard sounded surprised, but a tinge of suspicion was still heard from his tone.
"Y-yes! He's Muhyo, my little brother!" Rouji immediately followed up Muhyo's lead and embraced Muhyo's body once again.
It wasn't less tight than the previous one. But now Muhyo had an excuse to enjoy being held by Rouji. It was for their cover story after all.
"You don't look alike," the man seemed skeptical still and Muhyo secretly scowled again.
Persistent and exceedingly annoying, indeed.
"T-that's because…!" Rouji stuttered slightly, his hand trembling while holding onto Muhyo more tightly than before, like he didn't want to let go of him ever again.
"It can't be helped if we're not alike. We have different mother," Muhyo turned his face aside, glancing at the guard while frowning his face.
"Doesn't matter. You still don't have permission to be on the school ground," the guard crossed his arms in front of his chest, frowning as well.
"I just wanted to see her… I missed her so much," Muhyo muttered with small volume, feigning sad face and tone, while getting increasingly irritated that the guard was a hard shell to crack.
"Muhyo…!"
And for some reason, the one who was moved by his words was his assistant instead.
Rouji sniffled and slowly loosened his hold on Muhyo before he looked at him with teary eyes again, smiling emotionally. "I really missed you too," he whispered, his expression an epitome of sincerity, before he leaned into Muhyo's face and rested his forehead on his.
Muhyo froze for a moment at the intimate contact before he melted and closed his eyes, reveling in the warmth and comfort of Rouji's presence.
Oh, damn it to hell and back…!—It was impossible to think of his feeling for his assistant as something else.
Attachment, sure, but it didn't explain the bubble of contentment and happiness whenever Muhyo was in such close proximity with Rouji. Even in this ridiculous situation, when they were lying about who they were, it felt like everything would be alright as long as they were together.
How could Muhyo deny this feeling any longer when being away from Rouji only for one measly day made his world so empty?
End of Haunting 2
Tbc…
Additional Note:
(1)Magic Law—Spirit Striker: reference in manga chapter 11 "Prelude", or in anime episode 4 "Omen", one of Muhyo's Hell Adversaries. It can find spirit and attack it to destroy the source of spirit infestation or infection, particularly spirit that has hidden main body use infection or infestation to gather their prey.
A/N: Hooo boy, it took me long enough to update this story. Sorry about that. As usual, real life and works are eating my hours of life *lol*. So, how is it? Too many OCs? Well, they aren't important OCs anyway. Fluffy enough at the end at least? There's more to come, no worries *grin* Of course I still want your feedback, guys! Go hit that comment button. I will be waiting!
