Chapter 4: As it Began.

"Where should I rest for tonight?" Among the few things that he could consider as truth, looking for a place to stay for the night was one of the most bothersome tasks he encountered; and even more so now that he lacked a left arm after his mission went awry.

"I really liked that house." A ghost house, where every single thing was made out of 'ghost' including the fire created from the matches. It was a damn shame it was infested with those cleansers, which were the one's responsible for him losing his arm.

"It's not just their fault." It was also that Bitch's fault too; the one who gave him the assassination assignment and set him up to be destroyed by the cleansers. "You better say your prayers." Because he was coming for her, and maybe take one arm of hers to replace the one he lost.

But all of that had to wait, because he needed a place to rest for the night.

"It's just a damn shame." He was still sore about the Ghost House. It was filled with all sort of object he could've used to entertain himself, since the life of a Vagabond Spirit was terribly dull and hazardous.

"It's already dark." If had being allow to stay at that house he could be relaxing with a good book or listening to Mozart's Piano Concerto n° 27 or Schubert's Swan Song in 78 RPM records. But no, he was walking with no idea where to go risking bumping into people or other ghosts.

The Vagabond Spirit wandered around for hours and he was about to resign himself to a restless night on the streets, when he heard it.

A very faint sound in the distance, but he was able to hear it.

It was Music.

And it was coming from a High School.

"Who's playing music at this hour?" He doubted it was the music club because this late at night there shouldn't be anyone around the school grounds. So this intrigued him even more.

"Should I…?" He wondered. He wasn't exactly in optimal condition with his lack of an arm and all, but the music had some alluring quality to it. It felt vaguely familiar and he could sense it was calling for him.

After debating with himself for a bit, the Spirit decided to investigate, more so out of curiosity but there was also the idea that he could use one of the many empty classrooms in the building to rest. And since there were no students or members of the faculty he could enter any room without having to ask for permission first.

So with no more roundabouts, he made his way towards the source of the music.

Following the sound of music, it didn't take him more than a few minutes to cross the school grounds, to finally find the source. Standing completely alone in the middle of the track field, a feminine figure sway back and forward as she play a tune in one o the most particular instruments the vagabond had ever seen.

A lyre.

The spirit stood silent as he watched afraid of startling the girl and interrupt her piece. The music itself was pleasant enough, yet it somehow was evoking all sorts of strange emotions he rarely felt before.

'What's this feeling…?' he wondered. He had no idea why but the more he heard the figure play the most melancholic he felt, experiencing a strange case of nostalgia.

While he sorted his feelings, he continued to listen to the song to the very end. Had he had both his arms he would've clapped.

"How was it, Mr. Stranger?" The figure asked turning around, revealing herself to be a young girl with cyan hair with a white streak running to the side. "Did you like my song?"

"You can see me." It wasn't a question, but a fact.

"And you can see me also." She giggled. "I guess that means we are both spirits." She then looked towards his missing arm, but made no comment of it.

"Indeed." There was no way around it; both were stranded ghosts in the world of the living. "Although I admit, I've never seen another ghost as lucid as you before."

Most of the other ghost he had encountered, were just husks of their former self, who already given up on their "after-life" and just crawl into small places, sitting in the shadows or up in the tress just to avoid being touch by the living.

"You and me both." The girl nodded in agreement. "You still haven't answered me though. Did you like my song?"

"I never heard anything like it before."

"That doesn't tell me if you liked it or not!" She pouted with her arms crossed, something that would have put him off in any other occasion, yet with her he found it strangely endearing.

"I liked it."

"Was that too hard?" She said finally uncrossing her arms. "Say, have we met before? You look strangely familiar to me."

"Maybe you have seen me walking around before." He answered without admitting that she too looked very familiar to him. "I'm sort of a Vagabond Spirit." Meaning he wasn't bound to a single place like many ghosts were. In fact the idea of being bound and unable to leave terrified him; it would drive him insane and he'd become like those ghosts on the streets, he disliked so much.

"Maybe so." The girl said tapping one finger on the side of cheek in a thinking pose. After a few seconds of silence after that, soon turned into a whole minute in which none have any idea what to say to each other. "You know, I haven't talked with anyone for so long, I don't know what to say and how to hold a conversation."

"I enjoy silence myself." He said aloofly. "But I can see where you are coming from." Girls were much more talkative than men, and with no one to talk to being a ghost would be such a pain for a woman.

"Speaking of which, what are you doing here?" The musician ghost finally asked, "Pr were you so enthralled by my song that you ended stumbling here?" She said with a teasing smile.

"I was looking for a place to rest for the night." The Vagabond answered keeping quiet of the fact that he did come this way because of her alluring melody.

"You're in luck. Today is Saturday so tomorrow that school will be empty. You can stay in one of the many empty classrooms if you like." She offered without having second doubts. "Save for the Girls' Locker Room, you perv!" She teased him again.

"Thanks for the offer." The man accepted ignoring that last one jab. "I really need to rest." He signaled to his lack of an arm.

"Have a good night's rest." She bowed to him. "If you need to find me for anything I'll be in the music room."

"Thanks."

[x-x-x]

No matter how much he tried the Vagabond Spirit just couldn't find a way to get comfortable in any of the classroom he chose. So he spent the better part of an hour going from classroom to offices trying to find something, but no matter what it always felt awkward.

As he continued to roam the hallways, he ended up in front of the music room where the young girl's spirit told him she resided. He was about to just go and don't bother her, until the caught faint sound of music coming from inside.

"She's still playing…" He mused. It made sense since she appeared to love music so it was logical that she would spend her nights playing with the instruments at night since she wouldn't be able to do so during the day. Otherwise students would begin to spread rumors of the Ghost in the Music Room; which would only led to them calling some sort of medium and spiritualist to come and chant endlessly or throw around salt everywhere.

Soon his musings were interrupted by the door of the music room opening and the girl stucking her head out from inside. "You can come in if you please." The girl gave him explicit permission to enter, allowing him to do so. It was one of the many rules Ghost liked them had to follow.

"Thank you." He said accepting her offer and entered the room.

"Do you need anything?" She walked back to the center of the room and took up her Lyre. "I hope I didn't wake you up."

"Hardly." These rooms where designed to keep sounds inside the room from leaking outside. He wouldn't have even heard a thing if the door hadn't been ajar. "I'm having trouble settling in." He didn't know why he even said that, maybe because he needed an excuse to even be here in the first place.

"You can stay here if you want to." She offered without a hint of worry towards him. Was she fearless or was she that trusting towards anyone. If the later was true then that might explain why she was dead in the first place. "Shall I play something to lull you to sleep?" She teased with a giggle.

"That might help." Not really. Ghost didn't need to sleep, just rest in a place to recover their energy. "What will you play?" He asked jetting his curiosity get the better of him.

"There is this one song …" She said looking to the side feeling somewhat self-conscious. "I've been wanting to play for someone but…" but being a ghost limited the amount of people you could play at without having them freak out in terror.

"I'd be honored to hear it." The Vagabond said as he took a seat in a comfy chair. This was his way of repaying her generosity of allowing him to stay, not to mention he was intrigued to hear her play even more.

"It is somewhat of an old song." She warned as she pulled up her lyre. "I hope that's fine with you." She waited for this response, which was a silent nod from him, before she began playing.

"So sad her eyes

Smiling dark eyes"

He hadn't expected to play such a sad melody, yet he remained silent as he immersed himself into the notes and the feelings they were evoking in him.

"On such a breathless night as this

Upon my brow the lightest kiss

I walked alone."

Despite the unexpected sad nature of the song, he found himself enjoying despite the strange melancholic feel it was filling him with.

"The White Queen walks and the night grows pale

Stars of lovingness in her hair."

He tried deciphering the meaning behind the lyrics of the song, and he found himself picturing in his mind an image of a woman who is aloof, precious, magnificent, and the man who admired her from afar could simply not have her.

"How did thee fare, what have thee seen

The mother of the willow green

I call her name."

He didn't know why but the slow tune combined with the lyrics of the song reminded him of the works of famous play writer William Shakespeare. All like his famous works this song will not have a happy ending.

"White Queen how my heart did ache

And dry my lips no word would make

So still I wait."

It was a song of unrequited love, and worst of it all for the man in the song it wasn't because she rejected him or her distant nature but because he simply couldn't gather the courage to close the distance between them.

"My Goddess, hear my darkest fear

I speak too late

It's for evermore that I wait."

Like he predicted, the man waited for so long that he lost his chance and he would never get her back, and so he was destined to remain alone forever in regret; truly an inspiring tragedy like the classic plays of the days of yore.

"Dear friend goodbye

No tears in my eyes

So sad it ends

As it began."

And so the song came to an end and once again he regretted his lack of an arm since he couldn't clap in appreciation for such a piece.

"Did you like it?" The young Musician Spirit turned to look at him, putting the Lyre down.

"It was acceptable." He answered not wanting to sing it praises and let it go to the girl's head for fear of being teased more. "A fine piece of music."

"Is that all?" She asked tilting her head to the side.

"Yes."

"Then why are there tears in your eyes?"

As soon as he heard that, the Vagabond stood up from his seat and brought his hand to his face and finally noticed that he was indeed shedding tears. "Why?" He couldn't recall when the last time he cried had ever being. Heck, he didn't know he was capable of doing do. So why? Why did he cry because of a simple song?

"You know… this song I wanted to play it for someone really special?" She confessed, without commenting on the tears any further.

"For whom?"

"I don't remember…" She said sadly, her eyes threatening to also spill tears. "All I ever know is that I wanted to play it for someone I loved…"

It wasn't hard to believe. He knew spirits dwell in the world of the living for some specific and sometimes unknown reason, and hers was as common as they come. And since she doesn't remember for whom the song was for, then just like the man he pictured for the song, she was destined to wait forever with that regret.

"I'm sorry." That was all he could say.

Then she surprised him when she approached him for a sudden embrace, resting her head on top of his chest.

"Thank you for listening…"

The man stood completely still, not knowing what to say or how to handle this sort of situations. Once more she cursed his lack of memories from his life that could help him in this predicament.

"I… I'm sure he would've loved it."

"You think so?"

"I know so?"

"Is it fine if we remain like this for a while?" She asked hopefully, without moving her head from his ample chest.

"It's fine." He resigned himself to it, besides it didn't felt as bad as he would've imagined.

"Lyra…" She suddenly said.

"Excuse me?"

"My name." She clarified. "My name is Lyra… I don't remember my family name."

"Yoshikage. Kira Yoshikage." He introduced himself in turn. "Nice to meet you Lyra."

"Nice to meet you too…Yoshi-chan."

Author Notes:

Finally this story comes to an end.
And for those of you who don't know, this chapter is based in the JoJo one-shot story, Deadman's Questions.
And the Song is White Queen by Queen. Next chapter is just an Omake or a Bonus Spoof chapter not to be taken seriously.