The Hikari Ghost

Chapter 8:

He opened his eyes and sat up on his bed, listening carefully for any sign of the person he was seeking or anything out of place. He knew what he had to do. Grabbing his sword, soundlessly, he left his room in search for someone.

There was shuffling downstairs.

Waiting a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, he made his way down the stairs and towards the kitchen. At the entrance, he could see a figure hunched over the ingredients for tomorrow's breakfast. Tightening his grip on his sword, he walked behind him and within a moment, the figure let out a surprised gasp as the metal pierced his stomach. He withdrew the sword and watched as the man turned around and tried desperately to get away, leaving a trail of blood behind him as he tried to run. Silently, he followed slowly behind the other until they reached the parlor where the other was pressed up against the window, facing him, cornered. The blood had begun to pool around his feet. Eyes wide with fear, he let out a mangled whisper as he continued clutching as his wound, "Why are you doing this?"

He raised a brow, indifferent to the sight of a man bleeding to death before him, "Do you really wish to know? Very well, first of all, you've done terrible deeds that can't go unpunished, and second, your most terrible deed was directed to the person I'm guarding and caused him a lot of suffering as a result."

"Guarding? Nohe was supposed to be dead a long time ago. Ihe's supposed to have been taken care ofthis place was supposedto be mine."A surge of anger washed over the man, "Who are you to take that away from me?"

Cold amethyst eyes scanned him over before taking a step forward, "I'm Dark Mousy, his personal guard, but you may know me better as the black knight."

The man's eyes widened further, he shook his head with great difficulty, "the black knight…no…you can't be!"

"Ah, but yes I am. and remember it well because you're the only one who will ever know. And if I ever see you again, in this life or the next, I won't hesitate to do this again." He murmured angrily, and moved forward. The man let out a groan and sank to the ground as the sword pierced him once more. "Goodbye. For your own sake, let'shope we never meet again."

Those ice cold amethyst eyes were the last things he ever saw.


Daisuke watched as Dark disappeared down the stairs without another word. He exchanged glanced with the blue haired boy and followed the elder. There was something off about the taller boy as he disappeared into the kitchen, "that's not Dark anymore…" the redhead whispered to his friend.

Satoshi raised a brow, "does that mean he's going to go around calling us incompetent again?"

He shrugged and observed the scene before him as they walked into the kitchen, "well, that other ghost seems to recognize him." Then suddenly, he blinked, "that's weird, they're all here…but they're on different channels right now or something…"

Blue eyes looked over, "What? You mean dead, black knight Dark, the plate-throwing ghost and the other ghost are all here? So which ghost and which ghost can see each other, what?"

Daisuke pursed his lips, "well it looks like possessed Dark and the angry ghost can see each other-"

Dark ignored the two and focused on the presence in front of him, his eyes narrowing dangerously, "I thought there was someone unwanted here…but you, I didn't expect that it'd be you again. Have you already forgotten my parting message from before?"

The two redirected their attention over to the owner of the icy voice. Satoshi shot the other a confused look, Daisuke shook his head, "the ghost looks scared and really surprised. He's yelling and kind of crying and oh look, now he's gone."

Dark gave a soft huff and turned around, blinking at the sight of the two, "You guys again?"

Satoshi frowned, "and who are you?"

The taller boy raised a brow coolly, "Me? I'm Dark Mousy, and you two are…"

"I'm Daisuke and this is Satoshi," the redhead introduced, purposefully leaving out their family names, or at least Satoshi's.

Dark pursed his lips and took a closer look at them, "what are your posts? You two seem pretty young to be working around here…" but then he shrugged, "oh well, it's not my place to say who's too young or too old to work here I suppose."

The redhead frowned slightly before asking, "Do you know that you're dead?"

The taller boy looked down aloofly for a moment before nodding with a shrug, "yes, I've figured that out quite awhile ago."

He blinked, that wasn't really what he was expecting, but he pressed on anyway. Though with more caution this time as he figured that it might be a touchy subject for the spirit, "Oh, well…do you remember how you died?"

Another pause, before Dark shook his head. "No, I don't, but that doesn't matter. I know why I'm back, and that's what I care about." He looked around the room and suddenly, his shoulders drooped slightly, almost wearily as he gave a sigh and muttered under his breath, more to himself than anyone else, "…it's been so long…are you still…?" He shook himself out of his trance and straightened up and began walking away, "Try not to cause any trouble, alright, you two?"

The two watched as he stepped out the door with an offhanded wave. The shorter boy dipped his head in thought, "I guess it makes sense…I think he still thinks there are servants here. He'll be surprised to find out how much things have changed. Actually, no, he might not care…Satoshi?"

Satoshi stared at the kitchen entrance in wonder, "that was a pretty close call. I almost found myself respecting him, even though those two are completely different…'not my place'? Can you imagine Dark, the idiotic Dark that we, unfortunately, know, saying something like that? Or even just him angsting in a respectable manner? Or being even remotely responsible in any way? …wow, I hate to say it, but I think this is the coolest I've ever seen him. It's just too bad it wasn't actually him."

Daisuke shook his head and gave a small smile, "He's not so bad…I mean, Dark's got his good points, and his cool moments too. Just not as many and not as cool as the Dark that possessed him."

Blue eyes glanced over, "I guess, but I still like you an infinite times more than him."

"I like the both of you a lot too," clearly, the redhead missed the other possibility that that statement could've held. "Hey, earlier, you called him the black knight Dark…"

Satoshi nodded, "yea, apparently, aside from being a thief, he was someone called the black knight, you know, slayer of the bad and all that. The black knight has a pretty good reputation around this area, he's like the Robin Hood of this land, and they even have books about him in town. He's basically a legend around here. Though nowadays, people aren't sure whether he was real or not since there's never been any records of him being unmasked. Not to mention there's been no evidence of his existence, except the deeds he supposedly did of course. And except for the fact that we know who was, according to these journals anyways."

He stared in disbelief, "And he was Dark Mousy?"

"I know it's hard to imagine, but I'm not exactly unconvinced, not after what I saw just now…Dark had such an amazing ancestor, how did he turn out like this?"

The ruby eyed boy turned and faced the door that the cooler Dark had gone through and gave a laugh, "oh look, modern day Dark's back."

The elder boy stretched as he headed into the kitchen, "I'm hungry, what's there to eat? Dai-chan, make me something before I starve to death!"

Satoshi held back a sigh, "Welcome back Dark…"

Violet eyes blinked, "welcome back? Why? Did I go somewhere or did something happen without or to me again?"

The redhead shrugged, "if you count you chasing away a hostile ghost something, then yes, something happened." When he received a confused look, he gave a small smile, "you know the Dark Mousy whose journal you've been reading?"

Dark nodded, "yea, he's a guard for some attractive person by day and a thief slash the black knight by night…though from my family's more or less recorded history, he was only ever recognized as the thief…"

The younger boy raised his brows in approval at his recitation of knowledge and nodded, "Right, that one. Well just now, you were possessed by him."

"Again," Satoshi added helpfully.

"Again," the shorter boy echoed, "and while he possessed you, you know the ghost that threw the plates at you? He scared him off, which was pretty cool actually."

He gave an absentminded nod, "that's interesting and all. You know, 'and all' being the relief that I'll get from knowing that I won't have random ghosts throwing plates at me anymore, but my stomach's still empty and I think that takes top priority."

The blue haired boy snorted, "Well, it's definitely Dark again."

"That's not curing my hunger!"

Daisuke sighed and headed for the stove, "I get it. I'll go fix something up for you…"


(Satoshi's)

There've been rumors of war lately. I hope they remain rumors. The young master's health has been declining as of lately, the medicine we have around here are starting to lose their effect. If a war does start, this could prove to be a terrible obstacle for the guard if he gets sent to fetch more herbs. But he'll do it. I know he will without a second thought. Despite knowing this, I can't help but worry. If he were to be caught or killed, what would become of the young master?


(Dark's)

Unexpected things have been happening as of lately. First there was all that talk about war and then earlier today, the lord offered to dub me as a knight. It was pleasantly surprising at first, until I heard the terms. I was to be a knight under his younger son's command, apparently he's heard talk about my fighting abilities, which I admit, are admirable, but I refused the post. Lucky for me, he was willing to hear me out as opposed to chopping my head off on the spot. And since I'm writing this, the reason I gave him appealed to him enough to let me continue doing as I please.

I told him that I couldn't be anyone else's guard, and that my loyalty lay with his eldest son. That was basically what I said in fewer words. I don't think I'll be telling him about what happened today, he's already down as it is. Maybe it's the rain, he's been looking rather pale as of lately…


(Daisuke's)

There've been a lot more armoured men walking around. I asked Dark about it and he told me that there may be battles in the future. When these battles do occur, would he have to go out and fight with the rest of the men?

I haven't been able to sleep well these past few days. I'm constantly awakened by my own coughing. It's probably just a cold. I don't think I should bring this up with Dark, he's already beside himself with anxiety. I'll give it a couple of days, it should pass by then.


The redhead blinked when he reached the last entry. Not wanting to wake anyone up, he crept down the stairs and into the library in attempt to find more information regarding the events that followed.


(Dark's)

War has broken out. It'll be difficult for me to go out now, what with all the ambushes and armed soldiers waiting and lurking around every corner. I made a trip the other night and was nearly caught again. Luckily, the guy must've been drinking because he couldn't even swing his sword straight. Luck's been on my side up until now, but when it runs out, I'm probably going to have to pull off a pretty crazy miracle to get back in one piece…


There's something wrong with him.

He's become bedridden and the medicine we have aren't working. Every time I offered to bring him something, he'd shake his head stubbornly and he'd latch onto my hand with that worried look in his eyes. It scares me how weak his grip is. He's an idiot for worrying about me when he's the one who can't stay asleep for over an hour before his own coughing wakes him up.


I am at a lost for what to do. I can clearly see how sick he's become. His eyes have dulled, his skin's pale and he looks exactly like what he currently is: a person who hasn't been able to eat or sleep in days. The servant in charge of tending to him came up to me and told me what I already knew. He needs new medicine, and he needs it soon. I've already found out where to obtain the ingredients for it but actually getting there and back will be the real challenge.

In amidst this war, no one will be able to tell whose side I'm on, and I'm on neither side… Before, this wouldn't have been a problem at all. The worst thing that would've happened if I died would be that he'd be lonely, and that'd always been enough to keep me going. But this time, if I fail, I'm not the only one who will sleep forever.

I have to make it back.


I told him about what I was going to go, and of course, he tried to protest. It haunts me that even his voice has grown weak. I offered him the only comfort I could. I told him that I'd be careful and avoid unnecessary battles. I promised him I'd be back to do something only I can do, with or without the medicine. Thinking about it now, maybe I shouldn't have made a promise that I may not be able to keep…but he smiled when I told him. And now that I've made this promise to him, I can't very well go back on my word. Even the thought of it-no, I'll get the ingredients and come right back. I will…I must.


Dark's brows furled as he flipped the page only to find it blank. Giving a huff of annoyance, he decided to leave his room and head for the library to look for something else, an answer maybe, simply because he didn't like being kept in suspense. When he reached the main floor, he blinked when he caught a glimpse of red in the library, "Dai?"

The shorter boy looked over, "Dark? You couldn't sleep?"

He shook his head, "I just finished reading this and the ending sucks. It's like a cliffhanger with no sequel or anything."

Daisuke nodded sympathetically, "mine too. I wonder if Satoshi-kun will be finished soon, I mean, he does read faster than most people. I guess that just means the writer of his journal outlived both of ours. Let's wait for him, he'll probably come down when he's done."

The elder boy grinned, "that's cute, Dai-chan, having so much faith in the creep."

A faint blush crept onto his face, "what are you talking about?"

"Nothing, I think I'm going to look around and see if there's anything else on the black knight and stuff. Have you heard from the not-evil ghost lately?"

The redhead shook his head, "the last time I saw him was in the kitchen when you were possessed and scaring away poltergeists, but he couldn't see either of you. I found it really weird. I thought he'd be able to, but he disappeared halfway through the confrontation and I don't know where he's gone."

Dark looked up thoughtfully, "maybe it's because after all this time he…"

Daisuke turned his head and blinked, "what?"

The taller boy gave a start and turned his attention to the redhead, "what?"

"…never mind."


(Satoshi's)

Dark Mousy has left and all we can do is wait. The young master is beside himself with worry despite his own illness. I have the utmost faith in the guard and his abilities, but I also have to look at this realistically, unfortunately. The chances of him surviving aren't very high, not with men blindly attacking on both sides of the battlefield. If he succeeds, he should be back within a day or two. But again, thinking about it rationally, if he does not make it back…

What am I to do?


A day has passed, and there's been no sign of Dark Mousy. And the young master's condition continues to worsen.


Another day has passed, he has yet to return but the young master insists that he will keep his promise. But there's something about the way he said it, perhaps it was his eyes that gave him away and I'm fearing now for the worst.


Indeed, the young master knew before anyone else did. Dark Mousy is dead. Another day has passed and I have heard the soldiers talking as I walked by this morning. The black knight had been slain two nights ago. No one knows who killed him, no one knows where he's been buried, or if he was buried at all. But gathering what the soldiers have said, it was an accident and whoever defeated him recognized his armor afterwards. Perhaps they were villagers that killed him, or even a knight on our side. Whoever did the deed was said to have unmasked him, only to put the helmet back on. And to honor him, they will never speak a word of the black knight again, not of his name, not of his burial site, and not of his death.

The legend of the black knight will live on.

And his identity will forever remain a secret.


A week has gone by and I've been too busy to write. It's a miracle that the young master is still alive. The medicine we have no longer have any effect on him. He's in insufferable pain throughout the day, and it goes on until it gets to the point where he loses consciousness. It's unbearable merely watching his writhing and coughing. Why does he continue to suffer? Is he truly going to wait for Dark Mousy as he said he would? But he already knows that his guard has been slain…

What am I to do?


I couldn't bear it anymore. He was in so much pain, living merely on the promise that his guard was supposed to fulfill…I had to stop it, for my own sake if not for his. He was looking at me when I did it. There was no anger in his eyes, but I can't help but feel haunted by them. At least he's finally stopped suffering. After all these years, he doesn't have to feel any pain anymore. The guards will be coming for me soon. My deed will be known to the entire household soon enough, and I will have to face the consequences of my crime.

The young master will not be able to truly rest, but perhaps someday


Blue eyes narrowed at the last, incomplete sentence. He closed the book with a huff and sat there for a moment in order to digest all the information he'd just been presented with. Running a hand through his hair, he decided that he wouldn't be able to sleep anymore, and so, headed down the stairs to get a drink. But when he walked down the staircase, he could see that the lights in the library were still on, and he ventured inside, "Hm? You guys are still up?"

Daisuke looked over at Dark triumphantly, "I told you he'd come down after he finished."

A snort, "Lucky guess."

Satoshi raised a brow, "so why are you guys in here?"

Dark shot him a lazy grin, "we finished reading, couldn't sleep and decided to come down here to find something else to read. But now that you're here, I'm hoping we'll get some answers, or I'm hoping that at least I'll get some answers since I know I won't be able to sleep without knowing what happens."

He shrugged and took a seat, "that's fine, I can't sleep either, so let's put everything together from the beginning."

The redhead crossed his legs, "well, in the beginning to the journal I got, there was this guy who wasn't noticed by anyone."

"The person I, or Dark…or black knight Dark was guarding. I don't think his name was ever written down."

Satoshi nodded, "He was just called 'the young master' in my journal. And he seemed pretty frail since he was poisoned by some guy in an attempt to murder him so that he could gain control of this place."

Dark grinned excitedly, "But he was killed by my ancestor."

"Yes, he was killed. Not that anyone did anything about it…"


The three continued weaving the story together until they reached the end, when the war was about to break out. Daisuke shook his head, "that's when mine ends. He knew he was getting sick but passed it off as nothing."

The elder looked up at the ceiling, they were all getting tired. "Yea, and then he got really sick and none of the medicine worked like they were supposed to. So my guy had to go get some new ingredients or something. And he said that he'd be back, but then it ends there, so I'm guessing he didn't make it back."

Satoshi nodded in agreement, "well clearly, the writer of my journal lived longer than yours. So Dark, your guy dies first, then things get worse for Daisuke's guy but he keeps on living until my guy kills him." That earned him very shocked looks from the other two, "it's true, I don't know how he killed him, but he did it to put an end to his suffering. Then he was probably sentenced to death for killing a noble. But…he did write that 'the young master will not be able to truly rest'…"

Daisuke frowned, "he's still waiting…he's waiting for his everything which was…"

The younger pair turned to look at Dark, causing him to sit up in alarm, "why are you looking at me? I'm not his everything, the other Dark was!" When the two continued staring at him, he frowned, "what?"

"Dark…you've been possessed by the other Dark twice now, and he's said it himelf, he knows why he's back. He's probably been haunting your family for generations now, through all those lives and people, waiting for this chance…"

Violet eyes darkened slightly, "'I told him I'd be back to do something only I could do, with or without the medicine'." He groaned and cradled his head, "why me? Does the ghost even know if I'm the Dark Mousy he's waiting for?"

The redhead shrugged, "I don't know, he probably knows you as Dark Mousy based on your resemblance or something, but I don't know if he's actually waiting for you or what. Not that I can ask him since he hasn't been around for awhile now…" He furled his brows and urged his friend, "come on Dark, we're so close and we don't have much time left. We have to figure this out…or else he-no, they'll have to wait even longer."

Dark gave an irritated groan, "I know, I know, I'm thinking but nothing's clicking. We'll definitely figure this out before summer ends, don't worry about it. Can't you just get him to possess me again or something? I mean, if he really wants this done, he should just do it himself, right? He knows all of this better than any of us."

"I think something has to happen, you know, to evoke it. I don't know though, I'm still not an expert at this…let's just keep thinking."

Soon, the three found themselves fast asleep in the library.

"…it's been so longare you still?"


The next day, he was rudely awakened by the sound of birds chirping. Dark sat up with a groan only to discover that the sun was high in the sky and the other two had disappeared already. Dragging his feet into the kitchen, he munched on the piece of toast that'd been set in front of him tiredly. When the redhead asked if he'd come up with anything, he shook his head with an incoherent grunt.

Satoshi shot him an almost concerned look before sighing, "come on, a walk outside will probably do all of us good. I mean, we might as well enjoy the sun while it's still up." And with that said, he and Daisuke dragged the half conscious boy out the door and into the garden. He looked over at the redhead, "actually, there's something that's been bugging me…"

Crimson eyes blinked, "what is it?"

"It was written somewhere that 'the young master' showed Dark his room, which implies that it was supposed to be a secret or something, or at least very few people knew about it. I was just wondering which room it was…"

Daisuke looked up at the sky, "that's a good question…" he looked over at Dark, who was still munching on his breakfast and smiled, "we'll figure it out. But other than that, I wanted to thank you for letting us stay with you this summer. I'm really glad I got to meet Satoshi-kun."

The blue haired boy returned the smile, "I'm glad I got to meet you too…and even Dark, I guess." He paused, "…maybe you two would be able to spend next summer here again?"

The redhead nodded happily, "I'd love to, and I'm sure Dark would as well."

Dark gave a tired yawn and threw the last bite of his breakfast into his mouth as he stared dazedly at the house. The two simply took his gestures as a sign that he agreed with what they were saying.


They spent the next few days trying to come up with where the secret room was located. They searched everywhere only to come out empty handed. Then one night, Satoshi sighed, "maybe it was destroyed or renovated…"

Dark shook his head, "No, I doubt it."

The two looked over at him, "and how would you know?"

A lazy grin and shrug, "call it Dark's intuition."

Satoshi raised a brow, "that thing again?"

Daisuke paused and contemplated for a moment, "wait, Satoshi-kun, when we got here, didn't Dark have the urge to unlock the wardrobe with all the medicine? And he's the one who picked thr room too…maybe his intuition's actually…"

The redhead's comment caused the two of them to stare at Dark again. He furled his brows and let out a yell, "what? First you make fun of me and now you want me to work my intuition? Well you can just…" he stopped and stared at the floor in concentration as words and pictures suddenly began flooding his mind.

"The young master showed Dark his room, which implies that it was supposed to be a secret or something, or at least very few people knew about it…"

"I was just wondering which room it was"

"There was someone watching us from a window upstairs"

"I hate that room"

"…it's just a feeling, like something's just not right. I'm not sure whether it's the room or something in the room, but either something in there isn't good or something in there isn't as it's supposed to be"

That busy corridor…that lonely figure…

"…you can see me?"

That room he didn't recognize, relatively large and spacious, a single bed, a single wardrobe and a single desk in sight…

A sparrow…

"Aren't you a fraid it'll fly away?"

Golden hair…

"I guess it's time for me to set you free"

Golden eyes…

"…if we were in a similar situation, would you set me free?"

That smile…

"…if you have nothing, thenthen I'll be your everything"

It's been so long…are you still…?

"I'll be back"

Dark gave a jolt, snapping back to reality with widened eyes, causing the two to jump in shock, "…Dark?"

"I promise"

He looked at the two before getting up urgently, "…I know where it is."


Nya

A long chapter, sorry if it's confusing, and now it's more or less: the climax! Which means this fic is almost done! This isn't the most romance-y fic I've written, is it? Other htan that, school's almost starting...boo... Not to mention my main harddrive, the one where I keep my upcoming chapters and pictures and all that, it screwed itself up and wiped out everything so I've lost everything, which annoys me to no extent. But yea, anyways, enough of my angry ranting, I was in Hawaii by the way, and I miss it lots. Err, anyways...

Thank you to those who are still reading and of course, many thanks and all my love to all the reviewers! Enjoy!