Author's Note: Welcome to the latest chappie of OfK! I'm Dark Side of the Moon and I'll be your guide for this chapter! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: On the screen, you will see what I have written as a disclaimer, meaning that I do own neither Hetalia nor Harry Potter.
"I refuse," Kiku denied her bluntly.
"Ah! But you must!" Chikako's eyes widened in shock. "They have been waiting a long time!"
"In case you haven't noticed, I am not exactly in the best… condition to go meet with strange demons in the woods- especially now that it's nighttime."
"But Master Country!" Chikako lunged forward to grab his sleeve. "I am certain that they won't mind! In fact, they'll even find the source of your ailment and- and-"
"Enough," Kiku ordered her. He looked around the crowded common room (anywhere but her face, really) and shook his head. "I do not wish to discuss this any longer." Kiku sighed and once he was done speaking, he turned around to head towards his dorm.
"M-Master Japan!" Chikako was floating after him, close to tears. "I-If you don't come… They will not hesitate to use force to get you."
"… What are they so desperate to talk about?" Kiku questioned her. When he saw how she lit up, he added, "I can't talk to them… I don't even know why they really want me."
Chikako frowned. "I am unaware of what the ones from the forest wish to speak of… I just know that they want to talk to you… and are willing to do whatever it takes."
Kiku didn't respond. He contemplated the thought for a few moments. "If they are in the forest…"
"How many are there?" he finally asked.
"… Only two, but if you refuse, I wouldn't be surprised if Kappa-sama told the others…"
"K-Kappa?" Japan stuttered. "That means their base is nearby, if not in, some sort of body of water… Is there a stream that goes into the lake?"
Kiku bit his lip- he just knew he would regret this… but two demons knowing his whereabouts was still less than a whole horde (math doesn't lie, after all). "If you can promise to keep my location a secret from the other demons… I will come into the forest with you to discuss whatever they wish- peacefully. However, we will have to wait until this spell wears off, and I am allowed to tell a friend to warn others in case I do not come back."
Chikako threw herself into the air in a joyful leap. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she smiled, trying out her newly acquired English skills. "I am so very happy!"
Kiku gave her a small, uncertain smile. "So… It's getting late; I think you should g-"
"Ah! I will help Master to bed!" the ghost declared, gaining snickers from a few people.
Japan sighed- this was going to be a long night…
He was right- it was a long night. Not necessarily due to the talkative (and hyper) ghost girl that never left his side, but, thanks to the Weasley twin's joke, he couldn't sleep in the boys' or girls' dorms without feeling uncomfortable. So, instead of the nice, warm bed he slept on during his stay at Hogwarts, he found himself on a lumpy, old couch in the commons. It didn't help that he kept thinking about the demons.
"What do they want with me…? Why do I keep getting targeted like this?" his half-asleep conscious wandered through countless troubling thoughts. "Why do these things seem to always happen AFTER the others leave?"
Eventually, he faded off into a blissful slumber, only to be woken up what felt like moments later.
"Kiku, get up…" Hermione ordered. "It's morning."
The first thing that Kiku noticed as he sat up from his make-shift bed was that he was still a girl. He was slightly relieved because that meant that he wouldn't have to go into the forest yet. The second thing he noticed was that he, Hermione and Chikako were all alone in the commons, signaling that it was still fairly early. He quickly stretched and yawned, standing up from his place on the couch.
Chikako floated around frantically. "Master Kiku! You take orders from a girl lesser than you?"
Kiku looked back and forth between Hermione's fuming anger and the ghost's surprise. "What are you talking about?"
Chikako's dead eyes flashed in fear. "The Master I knew wouldn't take orders…" suddenly, the ghost's eyes softened. "But, Master, you seem to be much more kind now: I like that."
Hermione finally got her thoughts sorted out. "So, Chikako," she began sarcastically. "Is your prejudice against me or all muggle-bornes?"
"Ah, no! My apologizes, Madam!" Chikako quickly went into a low bow. "I do not mean anything against you or your people! I-I am just… shocked at how different my dear Master's acting!"
Hermione's eyebrows rose. "… What do you mean? As far as I'm aware, Kiku's always been pretty nice."
Kiku decided now would be a good time to intervene. "Chikako-san, please go and pick up some books from the library for me."
"Eh? What kind, Master Kiku?" the ghost girl asked.
"Anything you can find on Japanese demons. Don't let anyone know what you are looking for and meet me in the Great Hall in an hour or so," he ordered in his native language.
"I understand, Master Japan," she replied, setting off onto her mission.
"So, Kiku," Hermione inquired, still somewhat mad and confused. "What was she talking about?"
"I… really don't know," he shook his head. "I honestly didn't even know she existed until last night…"
The bushy-haired girl gave an awkward half-smile. "I understand that. Last night you even asked her who she was and you had genuine surprise on your face… That's hard to fake."
Kiku wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that, so he simply nodded. "I should go get prepared for the day…"
"Y-yeah… Meet you at the table for breakfast?" she asked him.
"Hai."
The Great Hall was as crowded as always when Kiku finally got down for "the most important meal of the day". He saw several people give him looks of curiosity, but decided that he had more important things on his agenda than explaining why he was still a girl… which even he did not know the answer to.
"They said 'tomorrow morning', but never truly specified when," he thought. "Ah, speak of the devils…"
He watched on in confusion as the twin carrot-tops got up from their spots at the table and wandered over to where he was walking.
"Hello there, Honda," George greeted him sheepishly. "Er, you're probably wondering why you're… still a girl…"
Kiku bowed his head in acknowledgment, "Hai, I was. How much longer until this spell wears off?"
"Well, as you know, the spell can't be undone until you've told the caster something you've never told anyone before…" Fred explained. "And… you did tell me… but… George?" he asked his twin, words failing him.
"Er, right," George piped up. "You told Fred, but… we both casted the spell. In order for you to return to normal…"
"I have to tell you something as well?" Kiku sighed. "Really, I should've seen this coming…"
"Sorry, mate," George said. "We'll make it up to you… Do you want us to pull a prank on Malfoy?"
As tempting as the offer sounded, Kiku felt like he couldn't drag another person into this.
"Well, why not?" Kuro objected. "The little ass-wipe deserves to be punished after all he's done to you."
"Even if it's Malfoy, I don't want these two to cause even more trouble for me…"
"Honda? You still there? Honda?" he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"O-Oh, I apologize, Fred-san," he bowed. "I was just… thinking…"
"Well? Do you want us to prank Malfoy or not?" George questioned.
"I do not wish for you to provoke him… so no," Kiku told them. "Er, what should I tell you? I'm not really sure what I should say…"
"Eh, doesn't really matter as long as you've never told anyone before," George said.
"H-hai…" Kiku trailed off. "So it can make absolutely no sense as long as it's something I've never told anyone before… I got it," he clapped his hands together. "I am secretly a monkey."
Fred and George burst out laughing. "What the heck, Honda?" Fred asked between giggles.
Kiku shrugged, "Well, I've never told anyone that before, so it should work. Plus, if I had known that before, I wouldn't've told you about my brother."
"No, we know that… It's just that you said it with such a straight face!" George cried out.
"I… I see…" Kiku lied. "I don't get it…" he looked at the laughing twins. "Now then, when will the spell wear off?"
"T-Tomorrow morning!"
"… Such strange boys…" Kiku thought to himself as he walked very, very slowly away. He soon found himself behind Luna and Hermione, both of whom were in deep conversation by the looks of it.
"Hello, Kiku," Luna said so abruptly that it made the Japanese and Hermione jump.
"Hello, Luna-chan," he returned the greeting. "I will never understand how you can tell it's me."
Luna mumbled something unintelligible as a response.
Kiku leaned in closer. "Nani?"
"… I'll tell you later," Luna told him.
"Alright. I also have much to tell you," he said. "I have a ghost stalking me…"
"Chikako," the blonde nodded. "Hermione was just telling me about her. I hope I'll get to meet her."
"I have a feeling that you will," Kiku grumbled slightly, seeing the familiar pale girl at the entrance of the Hall. "There she is now."
Luna studied the ghost for a few moments before turning to Kiku. "How old is she?"
"… Are you talking physical age or age before she died?"
Luna never got to answer his question, for the moment she opened her mouth, Chikako glided over to where they were sitting.
"Master Kiku! I have brought you the materials you've required," she explained, presenting the books that she had piled in her arms and bowing her head down.
"H-how is that possible?" Hermione asked in terror. "I-is she like Peeves?"
"… What are you talking about?" Luna asked her.
"Ghosts aren't supposed to be able to move around worldly objects… Only poltergeists have that ability," Hermione told them. "But… poltergeists… only do things to cause mischief…"
Feeling eyes on her, Chikako lifted her head and gazed curiously at the people staring back at her. "Was my work unsatisfactory?"
Kiku snapped out of it first. "Oh, no, it was perfectly fine. Just… are you really a ghost?"
The girl thought for a few seconds. "Well, I am an Aonyōbō*, so yes."
"I-I see," Kiku nodded. "So you used to lurk in a palace?"
"No," she replied. "I used to 'lurk' in your house."
*From my understanding, an Aonyōbō is a ghost that is found around Palaces. (PM me if I'm wrong and I'll fix it!)
Alrighty~ so, how will Luna react to Kiku's deal with Chikako?
R&R to find out!
~Dark Side of the Moon