ME: I'm bored.

SIS: Aweeeehh?

SPACE: You're not. Read the chapter below, and notice if she's bored or not.

AALIYAH: Ha-ha-ha-ha I love Selene's expression here.

TRIO: Enjoy the chapter!

CHAPTER: Yeah, enjoy meeee!

ME: I keep on forgetting about the disclaimer note. Well, I DON'T OWN LETTER BEE!

ALL except Author: AT LAST SHE REMEMBERED!


CHAPTER 9: PHANTOM GHOSTS

[SELENE'S POV]

The artificial sun, its light once again shone on my face. My eyes won't open; I'm still too tired to wake up, to open my eyes. Can I sleep a little longer? I felt this feeling—warmth enveloped me, what is it? I don't care, it feels comfortable and it makes me feel protected and safe. This peaceful aura, it's like, nothing in the world would be the same with this kind of atmosphere. That was then until I heard a groan.

"Huh…?"

I tried to open my eyes for a second. What I saw were black threads, no, black hair brushing through my cheeks. I finally opened my eyes but something didn't feel right. My position last night was on the floor with my head buried below my arms if I'm not mistaken. I tried to turn my head until I saw Zazie's face right in front of me, still sleeping soundly.

"Gaa—"I immediately covered my mouth. There was blanket on top of us until I felt his arm on my waist, so that's why I felt warm—he… he… was… HUGGING ME? With that thought, my cheeks suddenly heated up. I tried to look for Lag with my eyes until I saw his shadow right inside the kitchen.

Until his arms moved and I felt his body heat gives more warmth as he moved closer to me. I don't know whether I should shout or struggle, but it felt comfortable…

Wait… WHAAAAT?

My heart began to pound—fast and loud; his breath right next to my neck, giving me goose bumps. I looked at his face, and once again, my face flushed with red blush, and my heart beats faster… I can't take it anymore!

"La-Lag!" I tried not to shout, I might wake up Zazie. Lag's silver hair peeked through with his purple eye and he gave a smile. "Ohayo, Selene-chan! Is Zazie awake yet?" He walked towards me and he helped me up and he headed back in the kitchen. I can still feel my burning cheeks and the red blush haven't left my face yet.

I covered Zazie's shoulders with the blanket and stared at him for a second until that hugging thought ran through my head again. I headed towards the kitchen and I saw Lag preparing breakfast, and worse, the breakfast is Sylvette's soup.

"Lag, how did I end up sleeping right next to Zazie?" I asked him, I felt as if I was emitting a dark aura around me. Lag gave a laugh.

"Se-cr-et!" was his reply.

"Ugh… my head hurts…" we heard a groan and a loud thud along the floor. We both hurried to see who that was and we saw Zazie lying on the floor.

"Aah! Zazie!" Lag exclaimed. He helped Zazie up while my cheeks went completely red once again.

"A…zul… where the hell are you? We aren't done with our fight yet! Coward…" Zazie shouted while Lag was looking at him in a problematic way.

"Ne, Zazie-kun, breakfast is ready and let's eat, so that we can find Aaliyah and Azul fast." Lag said and Zazie nodded, rubbing his cheek, still angry about what happened.

The three of us ate Sylvette's nasty soup, which led us to not eating it. After eating, Lag went to get ready and left Zazie and I in the dining table, which was of course, it felt awkward.

"Um… Zazie…" I began to stutter. The awkward silence was really irritating.

He turned and looked at me with his feet up the table, "Hmm?"

"You mentioned Azul a while ago, was he the one whom you fought when we were still asleep?"

His annoyed look changed into a fierce and angry look. He covered his eyes with his hair and stood up, leaving me alone in the dining room.

Idiot, why did I ask him that? ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?

/Ne, that's your fault./

Will you be quiet for now?

/No. No. NEVER, I'm your inner self, I'm you, I can't./

Ugh… alright…

I stood up and left the table, I saw Lag ready with his bag and his uniform and I saw Zazie putting back on his Letter Bee hat. I picked up my scarf and I just noticed that we all slept in our Letter Bee uniforms with the exception of the hat and the scarf. I fixed my scarf and placed my hat above my hair and I looked at myself in front of the mirror and spun a couple of times. I grabbed my bag until I felt something was missing…

"Lag…where's Alee?" I terribly asked.

Lag seemed terrified and looked around, not seeing a sign of any white puffy winged rabbit. Lag suddenly ran outside and decided to look for Alee and I decided to follow, only until Zazie grabbing me and pushing me back on the floor.

"Shhh…" he whispered. He was pinning me on the floor. Until that exact moment, a bullet hit the door where I was standing a while ago.

"Zazie—!" he suddenly covered my mouth, "Be quiet… stay here, I'll go look for Lag." He stood up and left. Why would he leave me behind? Ugh, I'm coming whether they like it or not!


[NORMAL POV]

Outside, Lag looked for Alee until he encountered two people wearing black clothes. Lag, without hesitation, asked them if they found a puffy white rabbit with a green gem anywhere, that is, until one of the people in black raised his arm, revealing a tired and wounded rabbit—Alee.

"Alee! Can I have her now?" Lag asked until they heard a girlish chuckle.

"You can't have her that easily, you see; we need someone's power and that power can control this coruna, where is she?" they shouted. At first, Lag thought that they took Alee for ransom, now that he realized, they were enemies.

"Lag, move! Blue thorn!" Zazie shot his malice which sent the two mysterious shadows dodging his attack—and worse, dropping Alee. Lag managed to catch Alee while Zazie managed to scare the two black-cloaked. Zazie pointed his shindan to them one more time until he heard his name shouted by Selene.

"IDIOT! GET BACK INSIDE!" Zazie shouted back which made Selene step a few backwards, she saw Lag carrying Alee who was terribly wounded while Zazie was pointing his shindan towards the two mysterious people. Selene didn't know what to do, to run and leave her friends, or to stay and disobeying the orders of her senpai. Nonetheless, she ran.

"Na-ah-ah-ah! Not so fast my dear." Someone blocked her way and choked her neck and raising her up.

With Selene up above the ground being choked, she struggled to be free. "Unngg…ug…."

"Tell me, are you the owner of the coruna?" the person asked, and what's more, Selene saw her eyes glowing beneath her cloak filled with evil and hatred. That person had a girl's voice, someone Selene couldn't figure out who owns that voice.

"Se…lene…chan…" Alee murmured, feeling hopeless that she couldn't help her contractor. The girl beneath the cloak gave a cunning grin, "Heh, Selene, it's so nice to meet you… you are indeed the owner of that coruna, come with us, and we'll spare you and your other friends, got that?"

"Selene, no! Don't listen to her!" Lag shouted which made the other cloaked being point his gun and sword at him, and this made Zazie furious on where to shoot his shindan.

"I'm… sorry, but… I'm not… coming with… you!" Selene said, as the female choked her even more, "I'm… staying… right here… Blue Arrow!"

A blue arrow shot from Selene's gun that blasted off the girl. Selene fell on the floor, flat and unconscious. The cloaked female rose up, rubbed her cheeks, and laughed hysterically.

"So, that's your biggest attack? You're weak as usual Selene… remember, you're weak and that will never change. Come, let us leave. Master needs us." The woman said to her companion, coughing blood from her mouth. The two shadows left without a trace.

"Come back here!" Zazie shouted.

"Who were they and why did they want Selene?" Lag asked, while Alee also went unconscious. Zazie ran towards Selene and carried her bridal style with Selene's head resting on Zazie's shoulder. As they were walking, they saw Hanako running towards them.

"Zazie-kun! Lag-kun! Selene-chan, what happened?" Hanako asked, with her voice trembling. Lag explained everything and Hanako offered their house where they can let Selene rest. Lag and Zazie followed Hanako towards the Verde Residence.

"Lie Selene here…" Hanako offered her bed and Zazie lied Selene in her soft bed.

"Who were the people you encountered? I found out Aaliyah-chan's address so I decided to look for you, until I saw Selene unconscious." Hanako explained.

"We saw two black cloaked men just outside our apartment—"

"Wrong, one of them was a girl." Zazie interrupted. "Hanako, do you know them?"

Hanako stopped whatever she was doing and thought for a while. "Black clothed, a boy and a girl… they must be the people in the news everyone feared of." Zazie and Lag jumped from their seats and listened more to Hanako.

"The two of them go after the name of Phantom Ghosts. I believe they came from the secret dark magic organization of The Black Tsubasa. If you don't know the Tsubasa, I'll be gladly tell you every bit of information I know about them—"

"No need, we know the Tsubasa very well." Zazie interrupted once again. Hanako nodded and continued.

"The Phantom Ghosts began searching for something, and not only here in Honey Waters. They were searching for power, they had victims, and the victims said that they were searching for someone's power. I heard that the Bee Hive sent Bees to investigate the situation but I don't know if they reached yet—oh, don't tell me you guys are the people Largo-san sent?"

Lag and Zazie nodded.

"Ne, Hanako-chan, do you know Claudius Peak?" Lag asked.

Hanako thought once again. "I've heard that name before. Claudius Peak, you say? Isn't he the current leader of the Black Tsubasa? If he is, I have no doubts that he might be the ones who are involved in the Phantom Ghosts." Hanako said.

"Wait, didn't the Phantom Ghosts said that they needed Alee's contractor's power? And Selene is her contractor, does that mean that the Ghosts are after Selene's power?" Zazie asked.

Lag stopped and looked at the unconscious Selene. "Maybe they were searching for her power, but I've never seen her power of anything, I know that Aaliyah-chan can control Black Magic, maybe Selene's power might be the same."

Hanako smiled. "Ne, Lag-kun, let Selene-chan drink this; this would be able to help her wake up." Hanako handed Lag a pill and a glass of water.

"Thank you, Hanako-chan." Lag said, putting the pill inside Selene's mouth until a simple problem rose.

"How will she drink the water?" Zazie asked.

"Looks like you need to do it orally: drink it and give it to Selene through a kiss—" Hanako teased. Zazie's face flushed into a slight red and went outside, because of his headache.

"Lag-kun, does Zazie-kun likes Selene-chan?" Hanako asked.

"He does, he just doesn't like being teased with her…" Lag replied. Hanako said that she was just joking about the oral part, she said that the pill will dissolve in her mouth instantly. Hanako left and left Lag and Selene inside.

Luckily, Selene woke up with her coughing.

"Selene-chan, drink this…" Lag handed her the glass of water. Selene gratefully took it since her throat seemed dry. Hanako entered the room bringing bringing cookies and tea. Selene smiled at Hanako and thanked her.

"Alright, I'm going to bed now. Just so you know, Zazie's outside and I think he's melting—"

"WHAAAT? HE'S MELTING?!"

"Se-Selene-chan, you take things too literally, he's just outside thinking about things…" Lag said, with a big sweat drop on his head.

"Oh…"

"Lag-kun, why don't you tell Selene-chan what we were discussing here while she's still unconscious? I'll be doing chores today, see you!" Hanako said, and then left.

Lag did tell her everything, from the Phantom Ghosts to the topic regarding Claudius Peak. Selene listened to his every word and they decided to leave immediately but Lag stopped her.

"But Largo told us to look for Aaliyah and Azul, right? And Hanako-chan knows their address, so let's just wait until she's done with her chores, then we can ask her about their address, okay?" Lag said.

"Okay then… why don't you go and tell Zazie to go inside, it might be freezing out there." Selene said, concerned about Zazie.

Lag nodded and called Zazie who seemed to be asleep in the couch just outside their bedroom. Lag smiled and left her there and went back inside the bedroom, with Selene clutching her heart-shaped locket.

"You miss Aaliyah, right?" Lag said, knowing that the Aaliyah that recently visited the Bee Hive was not Selene's real sister, they all felt it, and all of them knew that she was not the Aaliyah they used to know.

A tear fell from Selene's green eye. "I do… Even though she's back physically, it's not the same…"

All of a sudden, Lag hugged Selene. "We all miss Aaliyah. So don't worry, we'll find her, I promise."

In the end, Selene cried her heart aloud, wishing Aaliyah would be back.


ME: At last I finished Chapter 9!

SIS: Yeah, did you liked it?

SPACE: I can sense that Author is super, duper, extra, really, and fabulously inspired today!

AALIYAH: Everyone misses me? Awww *cries*

TRIO: We don't.

AALIYAH: Meanie!

ME: Well, it seems that the one-shots are not moving and don't worry, in Halloween, I'll finish the Halloween Special requested!

SIS: Yeah, you do that.

TRIO: Bye for now! Don't forget to review!