Chapter 3
It was a bright and sunny day for Amity Park. It was the sort of day that promised good things and cheer for all. And even more so for its resident high school, Casper High. For in just a few days, it would be Spirit Week. For the students and teachers, it was an entire week devoted to the idea of being excited and full of enthusiasm at being a part of the school.
But that was not the only interesting thing going on. For starting today there would be a new school counselor. Supposedly she was a woman that went by the name of Penelope Spectra. And sure enough she stepped out of a taxi, on time and clearly ready to get started.
She was a pretty young woman. With red hair, green eyes, and wearing a red suit, she certainly captured the attention of anyone who saw her. There was a perkiness to her that should have seemed infectious, but somehow didn't manage to go beyond just her.
She lowered her briefcase. She surveyed the area and grinned.
"My, what a lovely school," she said with a cheerful smile, but it quickly morphed into a smirk as she continued. "I believe I'll enjoy my stay"
It was the afternoon of her planned tea time with Vlad. And as was quickly becoming tradition for the, the two were in his study playing chess. She'd quickly grown to enjoy both activities and always looked forward to the visits.
With a cup of chamomile tea in hand, she watched as Vlad contemplated his next move. While he did so, she couldn't help but take in the scent of her tea. It was a warm and soothing smell. She didn't know why, but she felt quite nostalgic at the smell, like she used to drink quite a bit of it before. And it wasn't just the smell. It was the idea of having tea with a friendly face.
Maybe she had tea time with someone else before she lost her memories. Maybe that was why it seemed so right and familiar. But who? Maybe her parents? Whoever they were...
So lost was she in her contemplation that she hadn't noticed that Vlad had made his move. She further missed it when he then patiently waited for her to make her move. After a few minutes, however, he clearly realized she wasn't paying attention. Then, likely confused as Flora wasn't normally this inattentive, he cleared his throat.
She started suddenly as she heard him and broke out of her thoughts. Then she blushed as he chuckled.
"My goodness, Flora. I'm hurt. Are you more interested in tea now than me?" he teased gently her as he placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt.
"N-No! Of course not. Vlad-san. I-I just…" she exclaimed, flustered.
How embarrassing. She had never been so inattentive before. Especially when dealing with her small collection of friends. Then she heard Vlad chuckling further. This caused the young ghost blushed a deeper red, the shade extremely visible against her pale blue skin.
"Oh… it's quite all right, little rabbit. I do quite like hearing that new little quirk of yours, though" he told her.
Flora couldn't help looking away at that. Her new quirk had started not too long ago. When she was helping Ghost Writer, she stumbled across an interesting book. It was a beginner's guide to learning Japanese. It was strange, but when she picked it up, it felt familiar. Like a part of her had been sleeping and now woke up. She realized, and Ghost Writer agreed based on her appearance, that she was very likely at least part Japanese. Because of that, she immediately began reading enthusiastically. It took a week to finish, but she did it. So far she could say greetings and other respectful terms.
But what she found to her surprise is that she had developed a speech quirk.
It happened whenever she felt a rather strong emotion, such as happiness, sadness, and now embarrassment. She had started giving her friends Japanese titles next to their names. Such as "chan" for females and "san" for older people. Not all the time and not for everyone, but it was happening increasingly often. Danny didn't know it yet but she had begun calling him "Danny-nii," meaning "Brother Danny," in her mind for quite some time now.
"Now, little rabbit, what seems to be the matter? Is the tea bothering you? I could make another type if you wish," he asked gently.
It made her smile to hear the slight concern in his voice. It was comforting to know he in a way cared for her.
She shook her head in reply, "No, it's not that at all. It's just… I think I used to have tea with someone else… but I can't remember…"
"Ah , yes… that memory problem of yours… hmm…" He paused for a moment. "I believe this is enough for today my dear."
His statement made Flora look up in shock. Did she do something wrong?
"What?! Oh no, please, Vlad-san. I'm sorry if I ruined our game I just…," she exclaimed only to be interrupted by a hand gently patting her head.
"Now, now, none of that. You didn't ruin anything at all, my dear. I just remembered, don't you have to meet someone at this time?" he retorted as he gestured towards the clock.
Following his gaze, she looked towards the clock. Lo and behold, it was in fact time for her to meet up with Box Ghost. She'd promise him that she would help him be more "awe-inspiringly frightening" in exchange for some info.
"Oh. Um… Okay then. Still, thank you and I'm sorry, Vlad-san," she exclaimed bowing before flying out of the room and through the ghost portal.
Once through the portal Flora, quickly made her way to her garden. She didn't want to be late. The moment it was in her line of sight, she couldn't help but smile. No longer was it a tiny piece of land with a single growing tree and patches of grass and flowers. Now, it was a real and true garden, with her oak tree prospering, wildflowers blooming here and there, lush green grass and tiny bushes sprouting by the edges.
Just as she was about to reach her home however, someone blocked her way abruptly, shouting loudly, "BEWARE!"
"Box Ghost, I told you before. Popping out yelling 'beware' doesn't work" Flora told him, amusement clear in her tone and not even startled by his attempt.
Box Ghost pouted in reply, "Oh, you think you can do better?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. Stay here," she replied before turning invisible.
All was silent as Box Ghost followed her instruction, folding his arms, still pouting. He obviously didn't expect anything impressive and was still upset that his attempts to scare her failed. Then a minute or two passed, making him slump in boredom.
Suddenly, an echoing giggle brought him to attention. He looked around, calling for Flora in curiosity. But the giggling only grew louder when a bundle of leaves abruptly hit him in the face.
Aggravated, he batted them away only to see something was on some of the leaves. He was about to grab them when they instead floated in front of face, forming the words, "BEWARE" with the letters formed by poked holes in the foliage.
He scoffed at this, muttering on how this wasn't scary. But he jumped in surprise when the leaves suddenly wilted before his eyes and started swirling around him, a whispering of the word "beware" echoing around. Now he clearly began to feel apprehensive on where this was going as the air seemed to be chillier than normal.
He looked around in search of Flora when he spotted something in the distance. It was definitely Flora, though she wasn't looking at him. However, she seemed to be… different somehow. Box Ghost started to complain to her about how in the world a bunch of leaves are supposed to be scary, but only received silence in response. Box Ghost waited for reply, but none seemed forthcoming. He slowly grew apprehensive when minutes passed by and Flora only seemed to stare at him.
Suddenly, there was the echoing whisper of "beware" once more in the air. Flora, who was looking down in silence before, suddenly looked up with hair whipping around her face. She had a crazed look in her eyes and a Cheshire wide grin across her face. This made Box Ghost flinch as his apprehension rose, wondering what exactly she was up to.
Suddenly, she began whispering. Box Ghost strained his ear to hear what she was saying. He reeled back in surprise when he heard the word 'beware' being chanted by her. She then disappeared, only to reappear closer than before, her chanting slowly getting louder. She continued this, her voice slowly rising as she did.
This caused to Box Ghost to cringe back, swallowing hard at her act. Just when he thought she was about to continue until she reached him, she disappeared once more and everything was silent. For a moment, he thought it was over and sighed in relief.
But then she reappeared before him, causing him to yelp. Grinning at him, the crazed look still in her eyes, she screamed, "BEWARE!" with everything seeming to howl around her.
Box Ghost screamed in terror, shielding his face. Then he heard the sound of laughter. And not a scary kind either, but rather the sort of laughter that came when someone was honestly amused. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw a normal-looking Flora once more and gently lowered his arms.
"And that's how you scare someone," she told him with a grin.
"How… How did you do that?" he asked, confusion clear on his face.
"Easy. What you do is predictable, so people easily get bored with your 'I am the Box Ghost, beware '. One of the main things people are afraid of is the unknown. So the best way to scare someone as a ghost is to build up the suspense. Now, I've done my end of our bargain, so it's your turn, good sir. Who's the ghost to watch for this week?" Flora said.
"Fine… let me think…" Box Ghost grumbled, scratching his head before perking and snapping his fingers. "There's Spectra."
"Spectra? Is she a really scary ghost?" Flora questioned.
"Oh, she is a truly terrifying ghost," Box Ghost informed her. "Not as terrifying as I, the Box Ghost. But man, she's one creepy lady,"
He shuddered slightly as he said this. The girl ghost tilted her head.
"Why? What can she do?" Flora asked, her curiosity nagging in her mind.
Raising his arms in an attempt to be scary once again, he yelled, "She feeds on misery."
When he said those words, Flora became confused and worried. Hundreds of questions circled her mind, but she decided that would be for another time. For now, one pressing question needed to be asked above all else.
"Where is she now?" she asked, hoping to know so she could avoid said ghost.
Just the thought of meeting this Spectra ghost made Flora shudder. Feeding on misery? Why? How? That was creepy.
Box Ghost shrugged and answered, "I heard that she has decided to spread her evil to the human world…"
He continued speaking, but all other words fell deaf to Flora's ears the moment 'human world ' came out of his mouth.
All she could think of is how much trouble Danny would have to deal with a new ghost on the loose. But Flora also knew she was being irrational. Danny could handle this. He was strong and brave.
Still, that didn't calm the worry that was bubbling in her stomach. Resolving to check on him, she quickly went off, yelling back at Box Ghost in thanks.
The moment she was by the doorway, she turned herself invisible and peeked in. Thankfully no one was around. But to be on the safe side, she remained invisible and went through.
Floating up to next floor, she looked around and didn't see Danny. Flora frowned briefly in thought. She didn't want to spend too much time poking around everywhere. Where could he be?
Looking around, she spotted a clock and saw it was just after one. It was the middle of the day. So then that meant he was still at school.
Biting her lip, she contemplated whether she should go to his school. It would be crowded and full of other people who might spot her, even if she did her best to remain invisible the entire time. And she wasn't even sure where exactly the school might be. Remembering Box Ghost's words, however, hardened her resolve and she took off.
Flying high in the skies, she spent what felt like a whole hour as she went down from time to time to check a building only to be wrong. When she spotted a large red building with the American flag on top, she went down to check it out. It certainly held more promise than whatever that "Nasty Burger" place was. Floating down, she saw words above the door stating "Casper High."
Silently cheering to herself about having found the right place, she flew in. As she did, she marveled at everything she passed by, fascinated at being in a real live high school and the different students walking about.
She was startled, however, when the bell rang and nearly lost control of her invisibility. Taking a deep breath, she focused back on control of it once more. Only after she was certain that she wouldn't accidentally reappear did she look around for her friend properly again.
Her efforts were rewarded shortly after that. Flora perked up when she spotted Danny with his friends.
Flying over to him, she saw him let out his frosty breath and look around in wariness. She remembered him talking about how he could notice ghosts without seeing them and how sometimes they would show up at school. She could easily guess what he was assuming at the moment.
Deciding to reassure him, she whispered, "Danny, it's me."
"Flora?" he hissed in surprise, catching his friends' attention. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry Danny, but Box Ghost said that a new ghost had come to your area to cause trouble. I just…," she paused and peered at his face. "Danny, what's wrong? You seem sad… and mad too…"
A sour look came across his face as he replied, "It's nothing… Apparently Jazz thinks I'm a loser too…"
Flora was startled at that. That wasn't something that a sibling would say, she thought. She knew that Danny told her that Jazz tended to nag at him, but he knew she loved him, didn't he? Worry building up in her, she went to hug Danny invisibly only to be interrupted by another of his friends.
"Are you sure Jazz said that? That doesn't sound like Jazz to me," Sam stated.
There was a phrase that Flora read in one of Ghost Writer's books: speak of the devil and they shall appear. The meaning of that phrase became pretty clear right then. The moment Sam said that, a voice called towards the group.
"Hey, guys. What doesn't sound like Jazz to you?"
A girl that, judging by the brief looks across their faces, must be Jazz was standing across from them. It was actually a little spooky how well she timed her arrival.
A dark look came across Danny's face. It startled Flora and she wanted nothing more than to hug him in comfort. But she knew that she should hold off for a moment since an invisible hug in front of witnesses might look strange.
Instead, she turned to take a closer look at the sister that Danny talked about many times before. Flora was pleasantly surprised by what she saw. She was just as Danny had described her; with light red hair and aqua eyes, which at the moment were filled with curiosity. She wore a black shirt and jeans while her hair was pulled back by hair band. At first look, Flora couldn't help but think that she looked like a nice sister.
The more she watched, however, the more down she felt. She thought Danny and his sister had a rather good relationship. Everything she'd heard made it sound that way. Even the occasional complaints about Jazz held a slight tone of affection for her. But now Flora wondered if she guessed wrong.
She could understand what Jazz was saying, of course. She seemed worried about him and wanted to help. Flora could understand the older girl's feelings. And she mentioned "the accident"...
That didn't matter at the moment, though, because Flora's focus was drawn back to the boy's reaction. As she watched Danny lash out at Jazz, she recoiled. She'd never seen him react like that.
Suddenly, she saw Danny's ghost sense act up and looked around warily. That couldn't be good.
Going close to his ear, she whispered, "It isn't me, Danny. I think the ghost I was trying to tell you about is here. Please be careful."
The moment she said that to Danny, he began shivering. And that caused Jazz to exclaim in concern, which caused Danny to lash out once more and run off. It was like a domino effect.
Flora quickly followed after him, still worried. At least she didn't have to chase him for long. They stopped in a dead end corridor with no one around. Knowing it was safe, Flora finally revealed herself and immediately went to hug Danny, startling him.
"Hey, what's this for?" he asked, hugging back.
Seeing that he was somewhat better than before, Flora continued holding him and answered, "I felt like you needed a hug."
Danny smiled at that and, for the moment, the two of them seemed to have truly bonded and even dissipated his darker mood a little. But that moment vanished quickly, interrupted by a scream.
Releasing him, she smiled at him and said, "Good luck, Danny-nii."
Then she disappeared from sight and flew off, knowing he could handle this. Handling ghosts haunting his town was what he did on a regular basis, after all. She flew back to Danny's home, heading back to her garden. After making sure the coast was clear, of course, since no one was supposed to see her in his house.
As she was heading back to her garden, she saw to her delight that Ember and Kitty were waiting for her. Any remaining concerns about Spectra bothering Danny vanished for the moment.
"Ember! Kitty!" she called out in delight before flying over to them to give each one a hug in greeting.
"Hey there, Baby Doll. Where've you been?" Ember greeted after she released them from her hug.
"Oh, I went to explore the human world to visit my friends," Flora answered, causing both the girls to cringe.
Flora rolled her eyes at that before heading to get some flowers she picked. She knew that Ember and Kitty were confused on why she didn't even show herself to anyone but her human friends in the human world. No matter how much she explained on how much she explained, they didn't understand. So in the end, they agreed that they disagreed and left it at that.
For now, she had a bundle of flowers and an hour of "girl bonding." Actually, their visit lasted for the next hour or so. She giggled as Kitty wove flowers into her hair and listened happily as the two chatted, interjecting when she could. Flora enjoyed her time with the older girls.
When the pair finally flew off, Flora went out for the next few hours like she did any other day. She tried meeting new ghosts that didn't venture out into the human world, satisfied with their lives in the Ghost Zone. Some of them could be nice while others were a little territorial, which was part of the reason she talked to the Box Ghost on a regular basis. She also took some time to help out Ghost Writer at his library as well as getting taught by him on history.
Actually, her tutoring didn't begin until about a week ago. She realized one day that even if she was a ghost, didn't mean she had to stop learning. Though her books helped, they could only do so much with her mental capability. Besides, it gave her a chance to meet other ghosts who held interesting knowledge that she could add to her journal. And it wasn't everyday she could meet with mythological creatures. But that was a story for another day.
At the moment, it was reading hour. Flora was reading a fun book of tongue twisters and practicing a few phrases. While she was trying out a twister about seashells, she heard a knock at her tree's door.
Waving her hand to open it, she saw Danny peeking in and quickly rushed to greet him with a hug. Pulling back, she looked him over for any injuries.
"Are you okay? No, wait, silly question. I'm sorry. I..." she rambled before hugging him once more.
Danny gave a small smile at her worry and hugged back. The gesture produced a smile from Flora in return.
Pulling back, Danny said, "I'm fine, honest— Whoa, what's up with the hair?"
Flora, moving away from the hug to give a little spin, explained cheerfully, "Do you like it? My friend did it for me."
Danny nodded, "Suits you for sure... Anyway, I just wanted to visit you and tell you that me, Sam, and Tucker are going for ice cream. Wanna come?"
"Ice Cream? You mean in the Human World?" Flora asked, licking her lips at the thought.
"Yeah... Wait... Is there's ice cream here in the Ghost Zone?" Danny asked incredulous.
Flora nodded, "Oh yes, there's a ghost of ice cream man near the ice realm that likes to give out ice cream to young ghosts like me. He only gives soft serve though and it gets kind of boring after a while."
"Huh, whaddya know?" Danny murmured before continuing. "Well, we got more flavors in the Human World that I'm sure you'll like. So come on."
He took her hand and led her out of her tree home. The two flew off to the Human World, slipping through the portal invisibly without any problem.
They met up with Sam and Tucker not too far off from someplace called Elmer's Pharmacy. She turned herself visible briefly to startle the two teens with her arrival, earning a brief laugh. Once they exchanged greetings and Flora made herself invisible again, Danny turned back human and they went off.
The moment they entered the building, Flora quickly flew over to see what flavors were available at the ice cream station. She read the sign behind the counter and glanced down at the freezers that took up a lot of space. Her eyes lit up at the options as she looked over the colorful tubs of ice cream.
Flying over to Danny, she whispered excitedly, "Oh Danny-nii, can I get a scoop a chocolate? Can I please?"
Her fervent pleas made Danny chuckle in amusement. She could barely contain her glee as he placed the order.
"Sure thing. One scoop of chocolate coming up" Danny replied a small smile on his face.
He had to admit that the day, overall, had been rough. Nothing really seemed to go right and his mood had been pretty dark. It was like a storm cloud hung overhead the whole time. But it didn't see as bad at the moment. For now, it seemed that all of worries had melted away with Flora's presence.
Whenever the two hung out together, Danny couldn't but feel he could relax with Flora. Sure, it was the same with Tucker and Sam, but ghost hunting took up a lot of their time together now, so it wasn't really the same. With the little ghost girl, there was never anything else happening that could be considered stressful. He was just playing and talking to a sweet little kid. No fights, no ghost attacks, and no secrets.
He really did enjoy the times he spent with Flora. It was fun acting as her older brother and mentor, teaching her ghost things and also learning things from her as well. It reassured him that he could do something right. And that was exactly what he needed on a day like this.
A day where everything was going wrong. A day where he was humiliated, a loser, and a failure. A day where it was hard to see the point of even trying.
Ice cream bought, the group went to take their seats with Flora happily eating her new treat while floating next to Danny. The ghost girl couldn't believe how wonderful the taste was. She didn't know if she'd ever tasted anything quite as good before her memories vanished, but it was certainly the best thing she could actually remember eating. She hummed in delight at the taste exploding in her mouth, but stopped when she caught a snippet of a conversation nearby that drew her attention.
There was a boy and a girl talking together. The boy possessed black hair and eyes that was shaped a little like Flora's and the girl had dark skin like Tucker and green eyes. They sat there with ice cream in their hands, looking oddly distressed for people with delicious ice cream. But that wasn't what caught her attention. It was what they were talking about.
"I don't know, Miss Spectra says that I worry way too much about material possessions," the girl said.
"Spectra?" Flora whispered in apprehension, the name making her briefly feel like she was back in the Ghost Zone rather than with her friends eating ice cream.
Looking back at the group, she saw Tucker holding out his PDA with an image of... Danny in a diaper? No, that wasn't important right now. She needed to ask them about if she heard right about Spectra and to pass on the warning about a ghost with that name. Just as she was about to speak to Danny, who seemed to be returning to a down mood, Jazz appeared once again.
"Hey Danny, how's it going?" she asked, only to receive a glare from Danny.
"Like you care. Just go away, Jazz," Danny retorted right before his ghost breath came out, causing Flora even more worry.
Both she and Danny's eyes searched the immediate area for the ghost. The boy had to be more subtle, but Flora was actively spinning around in an effort to help him find the new arrival.
"Oh no..." he murmured just as Flora spotted a ghost appearing behind a pretty girl with tan skin and aqua eyes. She could hear Danny murmur to himself, "Gotta keep Jazz busy."
That was all Flora heard before Danny began acting out and then shoving Jazz to his seat, running off. It wasn't exactly the most graceful escape and did little to slow his sister down. Jazz called out as he fled before following after him. And Flora followed after her, uncertain what else she should do.
There weren't a lot of places he could have gone, so the pair following him didn't have much trouble. They ended up at the back by an exit door.
"He went this way..." Jazz said as she opened the door. "I'm sure I can head him off."
Flora, who was behind her, turned herself intangible and stuck her head through the door as Jazz peeked out. And she was glad she did because what happened was certainly a major change for Danny, though he didn't seem to notice yet.
Jazz honestly didn't know what would happen when she chased her brother. She knew something was wrong with him, that he wasn't telling her something. Something was affecting her little brother and she was determined to find out what it was. And she intended to fix it. He might be lashing out at her for no apparent reason lately, but that didn't affect her decision in the least.
She didn't know what would happen when she chased him, but what she found was certainly not any possibility she'd considered.
With his back to the door, Jazz saw her brother turning into a ghost right before her very eyes. It seemed as if everything had slowed down that moment as Jazz saw the two rings slipping over Danny. His hair went white, his clothes changed into a black version of the protective suits kept in their basement, and there almost seemed to be a slight glow to him that she was quickly learning to associate with ghosts. It didn't make sense, but it was clear that she was watching Danny turn into a ghost.
In fact, it was a ghost that she was half-certain she'd caught glimpses of before. It was a ghost that kept being mentioned at school. One that didn't seem to cause as much trouble as the others floating around. The ghost that was apparently her brother.
Jazz heard someone gasp in shock, taking a second to realize she was the one who made the sound. She couldn't believe it. When he flew off, Jazz could only cry out his name in shock and surprise all rolled into one.
Flora watched as Tucker and Sam, who arrived just a little earlier from a different direction, turn as Jazz went over to them. She was exclaiming in shock, asking whether they saw what she did. But Sam, after stuffing Tucker's ice cream in his mouth, dismissed it. Danny's friends were trying to help keep his secret as best they could, but the ghost girl knew Jazz saw too much for it to work.
She saw the contemplative look on Jazz's face, which turned into realization as she agreed and made an excuse about her speech. Flora knew better, though. Danny mentioned that his sister was smart, so she wouldn't give up that easily. Something else would have to be done. The ghost girl knew she shouldn't do what she was considering, but desperate times call for desperate measures. As Jazz turned and walked away, Flora quickly followed after her.
The moment the door shut behind them, Flora moved in front of Jazz and showed herself. She quickly placed her hands over the ginger's mouth as she saw Jazz's eyes widen in shock and her jaw slacken.
"Please don't scream," Flora pleaded. "I'm Danny's friend and I know you saw him turn into a ghost. I promise I don't want to hurt you. Can we talk?"
Her words came rushing out of her mouth, a hint of desperation and concern coloring the tone. When she finished her frantic plea to talk, Flora smiled hopefully and waited for an answer. For a moment, there was a stretch of silence between them. Then, after what seemed like forever, Jazz slowly nodded and Flora removed her hands.
"How do you know Danny?" Jazz asked her cautiously.
"He found me," Flora replied simply, knowing no other way to say it.
"Found you?" Jazz questioned with an eyebrow raised.
Flora nodded, "I'll explain more at your place. Just don't tell anyone about Danny yet."
Jazz muttered to herself on how crazy this was, but headed home nonetheless. Flora followed her invisibly, still half wondering if this was a good idea. They soon reached Jazz's home and the moment they arrived at her room and the door was shut, Flora revealed herself once more.
"Okay, talk," Jazz told her as she sat on her bed.
So Flora did just that. Beginning from the moment she woke up with no memories in the basement all the way to the events of today, cutting out some moments not related to Danny for time, she explained everything she could about the situation. She told the teenager about Danny helping her, that he'd apparently become half ghost, about how he tried to keep other ghosts from causing problems for humans, and how he was trying to keep it a secret. She talked about Tucker and Sam, how they knew his secret and tried to help Danny. She talked about anything she could think of to make the red-head understand.
As she finished, Jazz sat and contemplated in silence. Flora didn't know what she was thinking exactly, but she didn't know what else to say. Then Jazz's eyes widened in comprehension, only for her to slump with a frown.
"Of course... The accident..." Jazz whispered. "Oh Danny..."
"I know that this is a lot to take in I'm sure, but... Well... Are you going to tell Danny you know?" Flora asked.
She hoped she would say "yes" and that Danny would have another person by his side. Even with Flora's few memories, she knew secrets weren't easy. He deserved to have more people to support him. But she was surprised when Jazz shook her head instead.
"He'll tell me when he's ready," she told her.
"I guess I can understand. All right then. I promise I won't tell Danny that you found out until you do," Flora affirmed.
"Really?" Jazz said, mildly surprised.
Flora nodded, "This is between you and Danny. I'm just a spect-... Spector-... Oh, um..."
"Spectator?" Jazz offered.
Flora nodded with a smile. Pronouncing some of the longer words from her books was hard sometimes.
"That's it. Anyway, uhmm... Well... Can I still visit you though? I mean... Can we... be friends?" Flora asked, hope clear in her tone.
Jazz giggled and nodded, "Sure, why not?"
Flora beamed at that and gave her a hug, surprising Jazz. This was so great.
When she pulled back, Flora told her, "Thank you. I'll see you around."
With that settled, she took off flying without another word, leaving in her trail an amused Jazz.
For the next few hours, Flora continued with her normal routine as well as exploring parts of the Ghost Zone she hadn't been to before. To her delight, she found some ghost plants she could take back to her garden. They were pretty, but also tougher than they looked. With the right caring, they could become a sort of defense system for her garden should she need it. Placing them in a makeshift basket she made out of vines and twigs she found while exploring, she headed back.
After taking care of her new plants, she decided to continue with her book from earlier. She needed something to occupy her time for the moment and it was a good book. She started to reach for it only to hear her name being called.
Turning around, she saw that it was none other than Danny. But he seemed... different somehow from earlier. Before, it seemed like a cloud of gloom had been following him. Now, he seemed calmer and happier. His whole demeanor seemed more peaceful and relaxed. It was like he was back to his old self again and that made Flora smile.
"You're not sad anymore," Flora said, a statement rather than a question.
Danny shook his head with a smile and Flora immediately hugged him in delight. She liked it so much better when he was gloomy. He eventually pulled back and gave her a questioning look.
"By the way, it's been stuck in my head for a little while and I keep meaning to ask you about it. What did that word you call me earlier mean?" he asked.
Flora didn't understand what he meant at first, trying to think back about what she said earlier in the day. Her thoughts kept getting sidetracked by remembering her conversation with Jazz. But then recalled what he must be talking about and felt her face flush.
"Oh... That... The "nii" actually means... It means 'brother'," she replied, her voice dropping to a whisper near the end of her sentence.
He didn't ask her to repeat herself, so it clearly didn't keep Danny from hearing her. She wasn't sure how he'd react to the nickname. Just because she kept thinking of him as family didn't mean he did. After all, he'd been having trouble with his sister all day. He might not want another one, even if he wasn't as gloomy as before.
But his expression didn't seem upset about what she called him. The look on his face actually made her feel warm inside and reassured.
"'Brother', huh?" he said before hugging her once more. "... I think I like that."
That simple statement seemed to dissolve all her worries. Flora couldn't help but give a soft smile.