Took a bit of a while to put this up... blame homework, like everyone else does.

So, thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions for Netherlands' and Belgium's human names! The majority of people said Lars and Bella, so I just went with those.

Anyways, please enjoy the chapter!


Chapter 7

"They failed..." Mei observed, watching as the brothers disappeared instantly. Her gaze shifted slightly to the larger man, who had turned to talk to Ari and was now smoking a pipe. "That guy must be pretty dangerous to have scared off the North American Brothers without even touching them. What do you think, Xiang?"

Her partner eyed the threesome, frowning when Ari suddenly dashed off. He glanced back at the man and woman who had saved the boy, except now they were looking right back. "... They shouldn't be difficult to beat. Come on. We have to report back to Yao."

Mei hesitated briefly, but when Xiang began walking away, she quickly followed, not wanting to be left behind. "There are already so many people trying to get Ari... we can't beat all of them."

"We'll try," he replied simply. "And if we can do it, even better."

"But still-."

Xiang glanced over his shoulder, an almost exasperated look on his face. "Stop worrying, Mei. It will work out, whether in our favor or someone else's. For now, all we do is follow Yao's orders, and try to get Ari for ourselves. Is that clear?"

Mei stared at him for a few moments, and then nodded. "Yes."

"Good. Now let's go."

ˆˆˆˆˆˆˆˆ

"The North American brothers did what?"

Lars barely flinched at Erik's raised voice, instead leaning back against the thick tree trunk and continuing evenly, "As I said, they attacked Ari. It seemed they were toying with him for a bit- they certainly weren't snatching him outright and making away. I suppose that's good for us, since it gave Bella and I enough time to intervene."

Erik hardly looked comforted, instead pacing around the graveyard in distress. "Is he alright? He didn't get hurt?"

"Not a scratch on him," Bella assured the tenth grader. "He was just surprised for a few moments, but he soon recovered. Don't worry."

"Don't worry? Ghost speakers from all over the world are coming here to attack my younger brother for reasons I don't even know and you're telling me not to worry?" Erik demanded. His eyes were wide, bright blonde hair spiking out everywhere in his surprise. This was probably the most blunt emotion he'd shown in years, his uncaring barrier finally having been broken down.

"Freaking out certainly isn't going to do much," Lars pointed out, looking annoyed at Erik's outburst. "But besides that." he shifted his position slightly, his pipe bobbing up and down in his mouth. "You said you didn't know why all the ghost speakers were coming. Are you serious about that?"

Erik paused, obviously trying to calm himself down. He ran a hand through his hair, flattening it, and looked curiously at the Dutchman. "I am. Why? Is there something I don't know about Ari?"

"A lot, judging by what you're telling us," Lars replied.

Bella tilted her head to one side, looking almost like a cautious but curious sparrow. "You're his older brother, though... how could you not know?"

"I've heard that before," Erik muttered, an unpleasant memory of Vash flashing in his mind. "But I never managed to figure it out. What's so special about Ari? He can't even see ghosts- he should have nothing to do with our world."

Lars scoffed. "For a prodigy you seem to know nothing. Ari has practically everything to do with our world. He's the key to it."

"The key...?" Erik looked lost for a few moments longer, before a shock of realization suddenly hit him. "Ari? You must be kidding! It... it couldn't be Ari!"

The Dutch shrugged. "You know how it goes- his powers will awaken on his thirteenth birthday. This Friday, isn't it? You and your cousins should act fast if you want to keep him safe. Bella and I will help, of course, but it's a matter of what you're going to do and how you're going to protect him from the rest of the world."

"What? But... what can we do?"

Bella smiled sympathetically. "Well, it's not clear for now but... come on, you're a genius, aren't you? We'll figure something out!"

Somehow, that didn't reassure him.

ˆˆˆˆˆˆˆ

Alfred hastily gobbled down his Sausage McMuffin, and then snapped up his hash brown in a few quick bites before starting on another one. He barely paused for either a breath or a sip of coffee as he ate, instead opting to swallow down his fury with his breakfast. Matthew ate his own maple syrup-drowned-pancakes calmly, although it was clear that he wasn't in the best of moods, either. Both were silent, neither wanting to mention the failure that had happened only fifteen minutes earlier.

When both were finally finished, Alfred quickly dumped the greasy wrappers into the trash and the brothers left the restaurant.

"So... what should we do now, Al?" Matthew asked quietly. His voice had returned to the ghostly whisper of his childhood, when he had been shy and unsure of everything, when he had been unable to see spirits. To his annoyance, his voice seemed to automatically fade like that whenever he experienced huge humiliation or disappointment. It certainly didn't help getting over said disappointment.

Alfred didn't seem too thrilled about it, either. "That bastard... he was just bluffing. I can't believe we actually fell for something like that. We're the North American Brothers! We're one of the strongest ghost speakers in the world." here, he turned his head to look at his brother, and Matthew found himself surprised at the resolve in his eyes. "No matter what, we have to capture Ari. No exceptions. Right, Mattie?"

Matthew hesitated. His brother's determination was admirable, but oftentimes it lead him to doing stupid, dangerous things. "Al... I get the feeling that guy really meant what he said. He might be stronger than us. I can't let you get hurt because of something I did. Can you please just swallow your pride and let me take-."

"No!" Alfred's sudden yell made the younger twin jump. Alfred, upon realizing this, slowly calmed himself down, but when he spoke again it was obvious it was taking a huge amount of effort for him to keep his voice under control. "We're in this together, okay, Mattie? What's happening to us isn't your fault. And besides, when we finally get Ari, it won't even matter." He grinned, although it seemed painfully forced. "It'll work out. I promise. And when the hero promises something, he never breaks it."

Matthew resisted a sigh. Alfred's loyalty was incredible, but it hurt him every day to see his brother suffering from the same curse because of him. It should be Matthew, and only Matthew. He remembered the innocent questions his older brother used to ask him since they'd begun the hunt for the Ghost World's key.

"Hey, Mattie? Stupid question, but... what was our phone number again?"

"Um... sorry, Mattie, but can you remind me what our tenth birthday was like?"

"What's our address?"

"Which elementary school did we go to?"

"Why do you always carry around that bear... er, what was his name again?"

Okay, so Matthew couldn't answer that last one, either. But the scariest part was that whenever Alfred asked him those questions, it always took Matthew a while to answer them. They were both slowly losing their memories... and it was all because of him. Alfred didn't need to suffer alongside him, it wasn't fair.

"Al, please," he tried again.

"No."

"But Al."

"I said no!" Alfred's voice rose again. "How many times do I need to tell you? This. Isn't. Your. Fault! Stop blaming yourself, already. It was my choice, anyway. Now come on. We're going to pay another visit to Ari's head."

Before Matthew could reply, the blue-eyed man had already stalked off, leaving his younger brother with no choice but to follow.

What if we can't win? What if we can't beat the other ghost speakers? What if we can't get Ari? If worse comes to worse I guess I could just force Al to give me the full curse... but... I don't want to forget. I don't want Al to be all alone.

Matthew paused briefly, and then continued walking, this time his steps sounding clearly and with a purpose as he went.

Al's right. No matter what, we have capture Ari. We can't afford to lose.

ˆˆˆˆˆˆˆˆ

At exactly 2:57 pm, Kiku Honda approached the school's principal in her office and began speaking in a soft but firm voice. It had a low, soothing tone to it, yet underneath, if you listened hard enough, was a certain ordering sound. He told her, very calmly, that Ari would be away for a few weeks to go to his grandmother's funeral, and probably would not be able to return to school until the next month. He explained that even after that Ari and his family would be moving to where his grandmother lived, as he had most likely inherited her property and such. He told her not to worry, and to accept it without question.

The principal agreed.

And at 3:03 pm, Kiku told Ari to follow him.

Ari agreed.


It's like I'm just throwing in characters I like and pretending they actually have a role in this...

So, just out of curiosity, can anyone figure out Kiku's powers? Because yes, he does have some. And yes, the story is finally moving forward. And yes, someone will die in the next few chapters. Actually, that's more of a maybe.

Whatever. Thanks for reading! And if anyone wants to request for something to happen or for any characters to appear, just feel free! I'll slip it in somehow, I promise!