A Sweet Secret Love

by kawaii-witch181

"In this world...all things can only be acquired with an equal exchange"

Chapter Thirteen: The Counter Keeper

"….To acquire your living body,"

O.O

An felt a pair of cold hands on her own, grasping the hidden warmth she held.

"Really…An-chan?!" Sakuno's eyes sparked with the newly found hope and happiness. Finally! After years of waiting, she can go back to her body! Oh, the feeling of being alive again…she can almost grasp it! "Please tell me how!"

The shinigami girl nodded. "Of course I will. But, I shouldn't be the one to tell you. I'm sure she will be able to elaborate it further. Come with me."

She held out her hand, the portal shining so brightly behind her.

"To…Reikai?" Harumi asked nervously, making sure.

"No, Ryuzaki. For spirits like you, Reikai can be a very dangerous place. You might never..come back."

"But!"

"What do you think of me? I will not let Sa-chan be harmed!"

"…That's why I'm coming with you."

"Don't you ignore me, Sa-chan's Prince!"

The boy glared at her.

"Sure, Ryoma-kun."

"Hmp. Fine. You can come."

"Che. I don't need your permission,"

"Arrogant brat!"

The spirit girl just sighed. Seriously, when will the two of them get along?

~oOo~

The tennis prince left his bag to his frozen cousin's hand. It will just be a nuisance. Sure, it's his first time to Reikai, but according to his (assumed) knowledge, traveling there will surely be far from easy. Yokais and various kinds of spirits are definitely roaming there. That is the Netherworld after all. Don't ask him why he wanted to come, though. Sightseeing is absolutely out of the answer. Ryuzaki's safety…That is his concern. Okay. Shut up.

The manipulation of time finally wore off.

"Am I so obscure here?!" The foreteller lowly growled in annoyance. The three of them left her! Without even telling her something! Not even a single goodbye!

"Oh, Harumi-chan. Where's Ryoma and Sakuno-chan?"

She scowled. "They left me,"

"Where did they go?"

"Reikai"

O.O

"What?! But isn't that off-limits? I mean….Ryoma is alive and a human."

"A shinigami girl arrived here earlier. She said something about the living body of spirit girl and they entered Reikai. I've been ignored all the time!" She sulked.

"Maybe. They were just in a hurry? You know how long Sakuno-chan is searching for her body, I presume?"

"Well…yeah…but still…." She whispered, "And Jirou left me too…."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"Hmm? ...How about some sweet treat, then? My tooth is craving for something!"

"Sure! Your treat though!"

"Harumi!"

:P

And they both run out of the hospital like two young children racing for something.

~oOo~

"I thought we'll be boating across a river…" Ryoma commented.

An rolled her eyes. "You know you're not dead yet. Take it like this, you two are merely tourists, asking for classified information here."

"..."

"Ne, who are we meeting?" The auburn girl asked.

"The counter keeper of Reikai,"

~oOo~

"T-Tomoka-san?"

Ryuzaki Sakuno's surprised voice echoed. There in front of her is the said shinigami she had met before. She was scribbling on a paper, a grayish cloud dictating some words beside her. Tomoka looked up.

"Ah, it's Ms. Spirit Girl from before. What are you doing here? Dead already?"

"You know she is not!"

"Quiet, Tachibana!"

Tomoka's hand continued to scribble.

"Hmp"

"You are the counter keeper." Ryoma stated monotonously.

The pigtailed shinigami raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Got a problem?"

"Ne, what does a counter keeper do? Does she guard or something?" Sakuno asked.

"I am the information keeper here. All processes of information came my way. If, perhaps, a stupid spirit goes astray, I'm the one with the reliable data. Enough about that, what are you doing here? And you, Tachibana. Did you even ask permission to bring a human here?"

"I-I didn't plan to bring him here in the first place!" An defended.

"Ummm…A-Anou…We just….Uh….Ryoma-kun and I only wanted to know..if you….Well…An-chan said that you can help me acquire my living body."

Tomoka's jaw dropped at the statement, but eventually regained her composure. "You what!" She turned to An. "You know we can't interfere with their bodies, Tachibana! That is their problem! They don't need our help. Seriously, I will really fire you in one of these days." She rubbed her temple, feeling all stressed.

"But….But!" An protested. "…Please, Tomoka. You are the only hope we have."

"You sounded so desperate."

"Sa-chan's Prince is desperate."

"Hey! How come it was me!?"

"Sa-chan's Prince? You gained that title?"

"Because he's always protecting Sa-chan!"

"..."

"Umm…." Sakuno fidgeted. "…Can you help me, Tomoka-san?"

Tomoka flashed her a final look and sighed.

"Fine,"

/ No wonder Tachibana sounded so desperate /

Sakuno's eyes glowed with the sunshine of brightness.

"Thank you!"

"But….Me giving the information is not for free. All things can only be acquired with an equal exchange, after all." The pigtailed girl crossed her arms.

"…Eh?!"

"But! Tomoka! Can't you give the information for free? C'mon!"

"You know the rules, Tachibana."

"Hmp"

"Then tell us. What do you want in exchange?"

Tomoka smirked. "I wonder if you'll be able to fulfill it though."

"Try me."

"Such confidence, human. Let's see if you can maintain that."

"Hn"

"We'll definitely succeed, ne Ryoma-kun."

/ That's right. I'll definitely fulfill it, for Ryuzaki's sake. /

"Now, tell us. What exactly do you want?"

"Nothing that of a hassle," Tomoka shrugged his question like it's so quick and easy.

"Firstly, you have to obtain the Mirror of Dexterity." She held her index finger in emphasis. "Second is a clay pot of sake from a snake yokai. And the last: the Rainbow Marble of Retention, from the well-known oden stand here in the land of Reikai."

"Tomoka! You know that's dangerous! You c-can't-"

"Silence, Tachibana. This is the most possible equivalent trade I can come up with. You know how dangerous the other exchanges are."

"Still.."

"Ryuzaki and I will be fine," Ryoma sounded so calm and collected.

"Who said you two will journey alone?" Tomoka turned to An once again. "Tachibana, you know your duty."

The shinigami girl's dark orbs widened. "…Me?"

"Yes. Accompany them."

She clasped her hands in excitement. "Thank you, Tomoka! Thank you!"

An wanted to give her a bear hug but the counter keeper side-stepped.

"Get off of me."

And she was able to hug Ryoma instead.

"Che. Like I WANT to hug you!"

"Like I want your hug either,"

An stuck her tongue out at him.

"Anyway, let's go Sa-chan! We have a lot more work to do." She grabbed the spirit's girl ghostly hand.

"B-But…Ryoma-kun…"

"Oi! Don't you leave me behind!"

~oOo~

"Ryuzaki , do you even know where we are going?"

The said girl looked around, glancing if any traces of her shinigami friend will pop up. She sighed.

"But…it's Ryoma-kun's fault that we are lost."

"Hn"

At least here...he can finally grasp that hand of hers.

~oOo~

The grayish cloud chuckled.

"Such strange people. No wonder An befriended them."

"Hmm. As far as I'm informed, it's only that spirit girl she befriended. Not that arrogant prince."

"Let's see how this will turn out," the counter keeper flop her chin to her palm. "What do you think?"

"I'm sure they can do it. An is helping them, you know. But….I can't help but wonder for their safety…."

"They were the ones who are desperate."

"Don't you even care for their safety even a bit?"

Tomoka shrugged. "It is their fault in the first place."

"…sigh…But if they are harmed, it will be partially your fault."

"I wonder who was the one who brought them here,"

"Tch. You really are stubborn, Tomoka-sama."

"…Stop this blabbering. I still need to sign some papers. Get those ones over there before they begin piling up once again.."

"Yes, Tomoka-sama."

~Chapter: End!

A/N: Really, I could have lengthened this chapter more. But…considering time is only limited in my hands for now, I decided that this is it. I really don't want to make you readers wait any longer. Really, chapter fifteen is rushed. XD

School is, as usual, keeping me busy, so uh…expect for a none chapter update for next week (my exam week again) My apologies!

And, I forgot! Disclaimer still applies! I forgot that in the previous chapters. And forgive me for the grammatical errors and stuffs. I'm just a trying hard author here. XD

See you, then! And leave your review, please. ^_^