Chapter Eleven
"Demons in the Doorway, Monsters Down the Hall"
By Ghost of the Dawn
Robyn smiled again at the blue-haired youth sitting next to her. Rowen didn't seem to notice as he busily jotted down some trig notes while the professor yammered on. Robyn didn't care whether he noticed or not. This was Rowen's first day of being to school in over a month and she just couldn't get over how nice it was to have him back. It was a strange feeling. There had been some days when she felt like she had had more of Rowen Hashiba than she could stand. But she also had to admit that without him, things just weren't the same. Something inside just felt like it was missing until he came back today.
The red-haired girl pondered on him all class hour. When the bell rang, Robyn didn't want to part. Instead, she wanted to somehow let him know how much he was missed. The trick was telling him with out giving Rowen the wrong idea and giving him the opportunity to... be like himself.
"Hey, Rowen," Robyn said as they walked out the door. "You wanna skip class and go to an early lunch with me?"
Rowen blinked. "Right now?"
"Yeah, just the two of us. There's this little cafe only a few blocks off. It'll be fun."
A smile tugged at the side of Rowen's mouth. "I do have history next hour..."
"Well, so do I," Robyn insisted. "I mean, mine's not a college course like yours, but don't we study the same things every year? It's not like history will change while we have lunch."
Rowen looked thoughtful. "True. Okay Robyn, let's go."
"Great!" Robyn grabbed his sleeve and started leading him away.
Rowen followed at a moderate pace, listening to Robyn go on about the food at the place they were heading to. Robyn was caught in mid sentence when Rowen suddenly gasped and pushed her into a small nook conveniently created by the oddly shaped college building. Robyn blinked in surprise as she was pressed against the cold wall with Rowen's body. He was so close she could feel his heart beat; and it was racing a bit faster than normal.
"Rowen," Robyn protested, wanting to know what was going on.
Rowen silenced her by placing a finger to her lips. He glanced behind him and Robyn could vaguely see the form of Mr. Yamada, the principal, walking past. Both teens' bodies were ridged until the dreaded authority figure was out of sight.
"Whew, good call," Robyn commented. "Shall we go now?"
"I dunno," Rowen suddenly grinned and placed his palms against the wall in either side of her face. "I kind of like where I am right now."
Rowen instantly found himself stumbling back out onto the empty sidewalk while Robyn strutted out indignantly. Rowen frowned in unappreciation as he straightened his shirt. But then he had to turn his attention to more urgent matters - namely sneaking off the school campus without getting caught.
The task was easy enough. Within no time the two sluffers were strolling down the city sidewalks toward the cafe Robyn mentioned. The food there was a bit different from Kento's restaurant where they usually ate. But still pretty good, Rowen had to admit. The time they spent there was also quite enjoyable with the two of them talking idly about this and that and just enjoying each other's company. The usual school lunch period had been going almost ten minutes by the time they started back for campus.
"I wonder if anyone's missed us at lunch yet," Rowen wondered aloud.
"They're probably enjoying the peace and quiet for once," Robyn joked back.
Rowen laughed as they continued on. Neither one noticed the stout young man with beady eyes and brown shaggy hair leaning against a building as they passed. But he noticed them and instantly straightened as they walked by. "Well, well, long time no see," he said in a scratchy voice.
Upon hearing that voice, Robyn instantly froze in her footsteps and Rowen saw her face go pale. The stranger smiled tauntingly as he stepped forward, keeping his fists in his heavy brown coat. "Heard you had a birthday, Red. Congratulations."
Rowen turned to face the stranger while Robyn gripped his arm tightly. He could feel by her hold alone that the very presence of this guy terrified her. Her nails would have been digging into his flesh if he hadn't been wearing his jacket.
"What?" the young man feigned a hurt expression with the way Robyn reacted. "Such cold treatment. Is that any way to greet an old friend?"
Robyn backed away, her voice trembling. "You're not my friend," she whispered.
Rowen moved in front of her and eyed the stranger suspiciously. "Who are you?" he demanded.
The stout young man only eyed the bearer of Strata over and then snorted. "I can't believe you left Jason for... this! What were you thinking? Man, he would tear you apart if he knew what you've been doing. But I bet if you come with me right now he'll go easy on you and all will be forgiven. What do ya say?"
"She's not going anywhere," Rowen growled defiantly.
"Oh yeah," the bulkier teen also took a step forward. "And just what are you going to do about it?"
Robyn tugged imploringly at Rowen's sleeve. "Rowen, just forget about it," she pleaded. "You don't need to fight him. Come on, let's go back to school."
"No way," Rowen argued. "No one threatens my friends and gets away with it."
"Please don't," Robyn begged. "You still haven't recovered all the way yet. What if you get hurt?"
Rowen threw her a self-confident grin. "Trust me, Robyn, this guy won't even touch me."
"We'll see about that!"
Rowen dodged as the young man threw a punch at him. Unfortunately, the bearer of Strata had underestimated his opponent and the fist slightly grazed his face. Hmm, I'm a bit out of practice, Rowen thought as he rubbed the now red spot on his cheekbone. Time to brush up on some basic skills.
"Derek! Stop it!" Robyn yelled at Rowen's aggressor.
"Yeah, Derek," Rowen chided. "You better stop while you're ahead."
Derek just growled and punched at Rowen again. The blue-haired youth cleanly dodged the attack this time. And again and again as the young man now known as Derek continued throwing his fists at him. "What's the matter, Jap?" Derek taunted. "Not enough guts to fight back? You can't run from me the whole time."
"As you wish." Rowen caught the next flying fist and used the propulsion of Derek's own punch to send him flying into the nearest wall.
Robyn gasped as Derek's body collided solidly with the building and he fell to the pavement. The dazed youth got back to his feet shakily only to see Rowen still standing at the ready before him. A vengeful anger built up in the young punk and he growled as he started after the Ronin again. Same as before, Rowen artfully dodged each fist. And then, as if saying he had enough playing for one day, Rowen delivered a nice, practiced punch to Derek's nose followed by a swift kick to the side of the face. The Derek kid went down again. His nose was bleeding after he picked himself up off the sidewalk. He took one last look at Rowen, who wasn't even winded from the fight, and retreated down the street.
Rowen stood there, watching until the little punk was out of sight. Only after he was gone did he turn to face his friend. Robyn stood stalk still with eyes wide and her hands covering her open mouth. Rowen smiled at her as he rubbed his sore cheek. "Man, looks like it's time for me to start training with Sage again." The lighthearted comment didn't seem to change Robyn's expression any. "Hey, are you okay?" Rowen asked as he put a hand on her shoulder. After Robyn nodded he asked, "Who was that guy anyway?"
Robyn gazed in confusion at the direction the stranger had gone. "I-I knew him back in America..." she said in a far-off voice.
"America?" Rowen exclaimed. "Then what the heck is that little twerp doing here??"
Robyn shook her head as her gaze never wavered. "I don't know. He couldn't have-" She caught herself in mid sentence, as if she were about to give something away. "I don't know," she then repeated.
"Well, come on then," Rowen said, steering her back in the right direction. "We still need to get back to school before lunch is over." Robyn allowed him to lead her where he pleased.
"Rowen," she said after a while. "Please don't tell anyone what happened, especially Cye. Okay?"
"What?" Rowen protested. "I don't know if I want to keep quiet about that. What if that guy tries something again? He said he wanted you to come with him. What was that about?"
Robyn waved off his questions. "He's just being a jerk. That's the way he is."
"And what about that other guy he talked about? Jason, I think he said his name was. That sounded like a threat if you ask me."
Robyn stiffened at the mention of it. There was a decided pause before she answered. "Jealous ex-boyfriend. Not the smartest move I ever made. He and the guy who you fought with, Derek, were best friends. You know, now that I think about it, Derek could be here with his parents. You wouldn't believe it from the way he dresses, but his parents are stinking rich. They travel all over the place."
"Quite a coincidence meeting him here," Rowen commented.
"You're telling me," Robyn agreed. "But I doubt we'll see him again. It's not like he knows where I live or anything. Just don't mention what happened, okay? Cye has a heart attack over everything and I think I've shorted his life span enough already."
"Fine," Rowen consented after a while. "I'll keep quiet on one condition. If anything else happens, you stay straight with me. Deal?"
They were mere footsteps away from the campus now.
"Deal," Robyn agreed as she shook his hand.
Ryo sat and watched the sun set from his bedroom window. The spring colors were dazzling as the sky was lit on fire with shades of oranges and reds. But the bearer of Wildfire was hardly paying attention to the grand spectacle happening right before his eyes. His brow was knitted tightly as he thought about the dream he had a few months ago. The one with the raging fire and the gruesome figure. The one where his friends were tortured before his eyes and his very life was threatened. He never had a repeat of that dream since that night, but that didn't mean he forgot it.
There were times he would wake up with a similar feeling of dread in his heart and no memorable explanation for it. During these times, when he was alone and able to think, he could feel the creature's presence reminding him of its promise. The dream itself seemed to constantly replay relentlessly in a corner of Ryo's mind all the time.
But what did it all mean? It was a threat of some sort, Ryo was sure of that. A threat for him to stay away from this thing. It somehow knew what he was and the power he possessed. But this creature obviously had powers of its own. Was Ryo destined to fight with this thing someday? And if he did, was he destined to win? Is that why the creature so blatantly told him to stay back? And if he didn't when the time came, would the consequences foretold actually come to pass?
Ryo ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. So many questions without answers. One thing he knew for sure, something was definitely coming. Something not good. He could feel it. Deep down in the soul of his armor he could feel it. His armor gave him a strong intuition about these things and Ryo never took it for granted. So in the meantime, Ryo would be watching and waiting for the time when his questions would be answered and he would be called to take up arms again if necessary.
The dark-haired youth straightened and tossed his heavy thoughts to the wayside as he heard his grandmother enter the house downstairs. Ryo instantly forced his expression to lighten as he stood and headed out the door. Grandma Sanada got on his case enough about his habitual worrying. He didn't want her to get after him again. So instead, the bearer of Wildfire put back on his cheerful facade and went off to meet the world once again.
Mama Faun stepped into a small classroom decorated with brightly colored pictures and other types of odds and ends that helped make the setting. A thin, young woman with her raven hair pinned to her head was sitting at a quaint little desk and smiled her greeting as Mama Faun entered.
"Mrs. Rei Faun," the woman said. "How nice of you to be able to speak with me. I'm Ms. Ishida, Chun Fa's teacher."
"Yes, I guessed that," Mama Faun replied courteously.
"Please, have a seat," the young teacher motioned to the chair across from her. "I would like to discuss some things about your daughter that have me worried."
Mama Faun's expression instantly turned from pleasant to slightly concerned. "Oh? What happened?"
"Well," Ms. Ishida replied. "We had a small activity a few days ago. We had been studying myths and legends for the past week. We wandered into a few ghost stories and started talking about phobias and such. Then I had the children write about something that scared them and to draw a picture.
"Some kids said they were scared of the dark or they drew spiders or snakes. We had one boy draw some girls with cooties."
Mama Faun smiled at that.
"But I was quite surprised when Chun Fa turned this in," Ms. Ishida said as she produced a piece of paper. "She said she was the most afraid of the man that lived in the closet down the hall."
Mama Faun took the assignment and looked at it. There was a rough coloring - all in black crayon - of a human shaped figure standing in a doorway.
"Now, I know Chun Fa has some older brothers," Ms. Ishida went on to say. "Do you suppose perhaps one of them made up that story to scare her?"
Mama Faun continued to stare at the picture as she shook her head. She had no idea and somehow, it frightened her.
"Man, I hate this time of year," Kento observed as he sat down to eat lunch.
"How come?" Rowen asked. "We've got less than two months left of school. How can you not like this time of year?"
"That's not the reason," Kento insisted.
"Then what is it?"
Kento gave an exasperated sigh. "Man Rowen, are you blind or something? There's only like a million posters hanging up everywhere!" Rowen raised an eyebrow, not having a clue to what he was referring. "Hello, Rowen! It's the PROM, remember??"
Rowen sipped idly at his juice through a straw. "Yeah, I know that. So what's the big deal?"
"What's the big deal?" Kento repeated incredulously. "Every year it's the same thing. Suddenly everyone gets all lovey-dovey with the big goo-goo eyes." Kento stopped to glare at a happy looking couple as they walked by hand in hand. "All of a sudden Spring Fever hits and everybody's gotta pair up with everybody else! I can't stand it!"
"That's only because you don't have a girlfriend, Kento," Cye teased.
"Look who's talking," Kento shot back. "Anyway, as I was saying, I just hate how you're forced into the whole thing. It's like you have to find yourself a date and go or otherwise you feel like a big loser. It's such a pain."
"So who are you planning on asking then Kento?" Rowen asked with amusement.
Kento opened his mouth as if he were going to spit it out, but then thought better of it. "That's none of your business, Rowen. And anyway, who are you going to ask."
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Rowen said with a Cheshire grin.
Cye raised his eyebrows at both of them. They sounded almost like rivals for something. Did he miss what was going on? No, the heat of their argument couldn't possibly suggest they were both planning to...
"Hey, guys," Robyn called as she came up and plopped herself at the table. "Nobody talk to me because I've got a test next hour to study for, okay?" With that she promptly opened her book and began skimming through it as she gnawed on an apple. Cye noticed how both Kento and Rowen instantly got quiet when she arrived. Now both of them were glaring at the other, as if daring the other to be the first to say something.
"So... Robyn," Kento cleared his throat. "You going to that dance thing coming up?"
"Yup," Robyn replied, not looking up.
"You are?" Rowen asked as he and Kento both looked surprise at her reply.
"Yeah, Robyn's already got a date," Cye took the liberty to answer. "Unlike you two."
Kento looked incredulous at his best friend. "Cye, you're not - you didn't..."
"No, I didn't," Cye replied indignantly.
Rowen took another sip of his juice. "So who asked you then, Robyn?"
Robyn cleared her throat and mumbled something under her breath.
"Who?"
"Hiroshi Yumi," Cye clarified.
"WHAT?!"
Rowen choked on his drink while Kento almost fell out of his chair in surprise. Robyn tried to ignore them during their display and attempted to hide behind her propped up schoolbook.
"That jerk?" Kento declared. "I can't believe you said 'yes', Robyn, after what he did to us!"
"Well, I couldn't be rude!" Robyn pulled her face away from her book to argue. "Besides, he was very apologetic about it. He's trying to make up for it and I would be the bad one if I didn't accept his offer."
"I don't see him trying to make up to me," Kento grumbled. Robyn huffed and went back to burring her face in her book.
A little while later Ryo approached their table with Sage in tow. The black-haired boy walked right up to Robyn and sat own next to her. His deep blue eyes were larger than normal as he just stared. Robyn finally lifted her head when she realized she was being watched. "What?" she demanded of Ryo.
"You're going to the prom with Hiroshi Yumi?" he asked in awe.
"FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" Robyn shoved her book down in frustration. "Yes, I'm going to the prom with Hiroshi! Are you guys all happy now? I know what kind of person he is, I know, okay? Besides, it's not like any of you guys were planning to ask me."
A few of the Ronins exchanged guilty glances while Robyn went back to her reading. A few minutes of silence was granted after that.
"You know, even though they broke up a week ago, Min's still going to be mad," Kento reflected.
Robyn said not a word as she slapped her book shut. She had quite an annoyed expression on her face as she packed up and moved away from the table.
"Hey, Robyn, where are you going?" Rowen called.
"To the library to get some quiet," Robyn shot back as she left.
The five boys looked at each other. Rowen looked like he was going to get up and go after her. But Kento shot him an expression that made him change his mind. So instead, the five boys returned to their lunches and ate quietly.
Sometime after school that day, Rowen found himself at the city library thumbing through rows of old books - a task he was no stranger to. He skimmed through several different titles, oblivious to everything else. While he was pulling out a few choice selections he was spotted by someone who didn't frequent the library quite as often as he. "Hey, Rowen," Cye greeted as he walked up the aisle.
"Hi." Rowen looked up momentarily before leafing through the book he had chosen. "What are you up to?"
"Oh, just gathering some information for my term paper," Cye said, holding a collection of books himself. "You?"
"I'm on a... sort of personal project, you might say."
"Why am I not surprised," Cye replied as he shifted his study materials in his arms. "Hey, I'm off to the restaurant to meet Kento and grab some chow, you want to come?"
Rowen took a moment to look thoughtful. "Sure, why not?"
Cye nodded to close the agreement. After the two young men checked out the books they had gathered they set off on foot for Kento's family restaurant. Rowen had his books packed away in his worn-out school bag with one of the straps missing while Cye carried the two books he took with him.
The duo walked on mostly in silence. Rowen snuck a sidelong glance at the shorter, rusty haired youth. Out of all the relationships throughout the Ronin group, he and Cye probably were the least closest. Even Kento and Sage, from all the arguments they got in, had a certain friendship with each other. When it came down to it, Rowen and Cye hardly knew each other outside of being fellow Ronins. Being alone together left them with nothing to talk about and made for a very quiet and awkward silence as they continued down the sidewalk together.
Rowen let out a loud breath and looked around. They were now entering an older part of the city. He suddenly paused as they happened by a street that seemed familiar. Cye looked up in surprise when he suddenly realized Rowen wasn't with him any more. He stopped and looked back, spotting the bearer of Strata located a few paces behind him. "Rowen, what are you doing?" Cye asked as he backtracked in his steps.
Rowen's eyebrows were knitted in concentration as he stared down the lane across the main road. His mind wandered back a few months ago to another time he was walking down this same sidewalk. He had been with Sage and Robyn that night. He could still remember just as clear as day the look on Robyn's face when she saw that street before she had run away from it.
"Cye," Rowen said, not wavering his gaze. "Do you know what's down that street?"
"THAT street?" Cye asked, looking more surprised than Rowen had expected him to. "Why that - that's my old neighborhood. Robyn's, too. We used to live next to each other. You can barely see them. That kind of brownish-grey one way back there was Robyn's and mine was on the other side of it."
Now it was Rowen's turn to look surprised. Only his milder expression was merely the lifting of his eyebrows at the revelation. "Really..." he mumbled, more to himself than anyone.
"Yes," Cye confirmed. He looked down the street with a puzzled expression. "How did you know to point out that street?"
"Mmm... I can smell Mama Faun's cooking from here. Come on, Cye! I'm starving!" Rowen was already to the corner, heading for the crosswalk by the time Cye turned around.
"Rowen!" he protested at being ignored. But the blue-haired youth didn't seem to be stopping for anything as he started across the road to the restaurant. Cye let out a deep breath before running after him.
"Oh, Robyn. Good, you're here," Mama Faun said as she opened the door to let the girl into her house. "I'm so glad you were able to baby-sit tonight." She paused to call up the stairs. "KENTO! RINFI! LET'S GO!"
Different shouts came from up stairs that they were coming and there were thumping sounds from above.
"Again, I apologize for the lateness of the hour," Mama Faun said as she turned back to Robyn. "And also for the short notice. We just got a call that Kento's aunt has been in a small accident. We're sure it's nothing too serious, but we're still going to go to Tokyo to see her anyway."
"It's fine, really," Robyn reassured her. "I totally understand. Don't worry about it."
Rinfi raced down stairs about that moment. "I can't find my coat!" he called in frustration as he stomped into the other room to search for it.
Mama Faun, for the most part, ignored him and continued her conversation. "We're taking the three oldest with us and you'll just have Chun Fa and Mei Ryu to look after. They've already had dinner and everything. We're not sure how long we will be staying. We might be staying over night. If that's the case, the kids can set you up in Chun Fa's room or feel free to sleep in one of the boys' rooms. I'm sure they won't mind."
Through all the instructions, Robyn just kept nodding. Though she had never baby-sat the Rei Faun kids before - she still pretty much knew the routine. She would have time to figure out all the details later.
"Ready!" Kento announced as he bounded down the stairs two at a time. Yunis followed behind him, walking normally.
"Good," Mama Faun nodded to him. "Get your father and we'll go."
"Right here," Mr. Rei Faun announced as he came in. Rinfi was right behind him, tugging on his newly found coat.
"Great, let's get everyone and get out of here. The kids are upstairs, Robyn. Thanks again for watching them."
"Good luck," Kento called as he was the last one out the door.
Robyn waved them off and then shut the door behind them. No sooner had she turned around then she saw a pouty looking Chun Fa standing by her feet with her little arms crossed. "I wanted Cye to come baby-sit," the little girl told her curtly.
"I'm sorry, honey," Robyn said, bending over with a patronizing tone. "But Cye has a big, important paper he has to write for school and couldn't come. Maybe next time, okay?"
"Okay," Chun Fa begrudgingly replied.
"Are you going to play games with us?" Mei Ryu asked critically from where he sat at the top of the staircase. "Cye always plays games with us."
"He's our favorite baby-sitter," Chun Fa chimed in. "He lets us do whatever we want."
"Yeah, and he lets us stay up and play and we don't have to go to bed until we want to!"
Robyn was not amused. She raised an eyebrow at the two impish children. She had a feeling this wasn't going to be as easy as she thought.
It was late when Kento and his family returned to Toyama - slightly after midnight. Mr. Rei Faun's sister had sustained no life-threatening injuries, but they were bad enough to keep her in the hospital for another day. They spent several hours there speaking with her and with other family members who had come until Kento's parents felt guilty about leaving their home and little ones for so long.
Kento leaned his face on his fist which was propped up with his elbow. The rumbling and swaying of the car as it passed by-now-familiar streets was lulling him to sleep. But he was still awake enough to hear his mother's fearful cry as the car pulled into the neighborhood. Kento was instantly at attention as the car halted to a very abrupt stop and his father swore under his breath.
Rinfi and Yunis were also wide awake now as they stared at the spectacle happening right outside their own front yard. The usually semi-dark street was lit up with lights from a small handful of police cars and two large fire trucks. Panic and fear filled their hearts as Kento's parents raced out of the car while Kento and his siblings scrambled to get out and follow.
Mr. Rei Faun was in the lead as he raced up to the house. His consolation was that the house looked in tact at first glance. "What happened?" he demanded of the nearest officer.
Upon seeing him and the rest of his worried family come up behind, the officer instantly surmised this was the owner of the house. "Now, there's nothing to worry about," the officer assured them. "There was a small fire and-"
"OH NO!" Mama Faun instantly exclaimed. "My babies! Are they all right?"
"They're fine, ma'am," the officer continued patiently. "They-"
"Mommy! Daddy!" A small girl bundled up in a heavy grey blanket ran towards them.
"My baby!" Mama Faun cried as Chun Fa ran into her arms.
Mei Ryu was at her heels, wearing only his pajamas in the chilly night air. "Dad! Dad! You should have seen it! There was this huge fire in our house! I'm going to tell Ryo about it! He loves fire! Man, it was so cool!" His father only nodded absently as he put his own coat around the boy.
"It was only a small fire," the officer insisted. "Your baby-sitter got the kids out of the house in time. The fire department arrived soon enough and was able to isolate the fire into only a slight portion of the house."
The parents looked relieved while Kento suddenly blinked in realization. While his mother and father continued to ask questions, Kento snuck off to wander amidst the mass of officers, firefighters, and parked cars. He found what he was looking for sitting in the back of the single ambulance that was there.
At first glance, Robyn looked okay. At least she didn't look hurt. She was wrapped in a heavy blanket that covered practically her whole body. Kento approached slowly, noticing the uncharacteristically blank look on her face. She held a steaming cup of hot chocolate in her hands which looked like it hadn't been touched. Robyn just continued to stare straight ahead.
"Hey," Kento greeted as he slowly approached her. Robyn didn't even notice. Her face was expressionless, but her wide eyes seemed to tell a different story. "Robyn?" Kento asked as he touched her shoulder. She slowly turned to look at him. "Are you going to be okay?" Kento took the cup from her hands and then sat next to her. That act seemed to shake her enough and Robyn finally nodded. "You didn't get burned or anything, did you?"
Robyn extended her arms from the blanket so Kento could see the bandages around them. "Only a little," she finally spoke. "It will heal in a few days."
"Hey, but you're a hero though," Kento grinned, trying to lighten the mood. "How does that feel?"
Robyn managed a small smile. "Good," she nodded.
Kento smiled back and put an arm around her. Robyn tiredly leaned her head on his shoulder. "The kids seemed to have fun," he chuckled.
Robyn snuggled up closer to him. "They'll be safe... now," she mumbled.
Kento didn't say anything, but he wasn't exactly sure what she meant by that.
Time passed on as it normally does. Kento and his family soon got past the fire encounter and went on with their lives. None of the officials could ever determine what started the fire in the first place. But it had been contained and the large multipurpose closest room was the only place that had really been affected.
"Just a lot of flammable junk all stacked together," Mama Faun said. She had been getting after her sons to clean up the room months before it happened.
Everything in the room had been burned up - plus some of the hall outside the door and also slight damage in the attic above the room. But nothing that hindered the living conditions of the Rei Faun Family and certainly nothing that couldn't be cleaned up within a few weeks.
The next night after the fire, Kento was taking his turn to read to Chun Fa and then tuck her into bed. "Well, that's it for tonight, Shorty," Kento announced as he closed the book with finality. "Time to go to sleep."
Chun Fa obediently snuggled under her covers and Kento tucked her in. He headed for the door and switched off the light; but first glancing down the hall at the burned room on the other end. The door had been completely ruined and so it was merely left as an eyesore to all who came upstairs until it could be fixed.
"I hope seeing the closet open doesn't bother you anymore," Kento commented. "We can't close it tonight. Would you like me to close your door instead?"
"No," Chun Fa said calmly. "Leave it open. It's not scary anymore."
"It's not?" Kento repeated. "What about the scary man in there?" His mother had conferred with him earlier about her visit with Chun Fa's teacher.
"He's not in there anymore," Chun Fa explained.
"Why? What happened? Did he get burned up?" Kento joked.
"No," the little girl said matter-of-factly. "Robyn told him to go away."
Kento's eyes widened in surprise at that revelation. The reply had caught him off-guard. Kento wasn't sure why, but it also left a small twinge of fear in his gut as he headed back down the stairs.
The house was - as usual - empty and silent; which made it all the more easier for Rowen to hear the thunder from an approaching storm. The blue-haired youth was nestled against a large beanbag on the floor. He had a glass half full of juice at one side and a pile of books on the other. Another book was propped up on his thighs as he read through it.
Another boom of thunder sounded from above and Rowen looked up in annoyance. To him, it wasn't the most welcome sound in the world - especially with the type of material he was researching at the moment. Cye probably would have been asking questions at the library if he ever bothered to notice the titles of the books Rowen had checked out.
Scattered all about him were books and documentaries on ghosts, hauntings, supernatural phenomenon, and so on. The book Rowen was currently looking at was about a married couple who went around searching for such things. The wife was claimed to have some kind of ESP capabilities and was able to sense when there was a strange presence in the room. Personally, Rowen thought the whole thing was bogus and was skimming through the book only half-heartedly.
He started reading through one case in which a house was claimed to be haunted by an evil spirit. It did the usual things found in most haunted houses: made noise, caused things to float and bang around. Rowen chuckled when the book said the apparition more than once tricked a member of the household into thinking the cat was talking and swearing at them.
The report went on to explain how the spirit seemed to be bent on disturbing the young, adopted child living there. So much to the extent that it chased her to a neighboring house when she attempted to get away. And it was then Rowen straightened in his seat as a certain concept jumped out at him. A single sentence mentioned that the young girl had been very unhappy in her current living situation and that it was often troubled children who invited demons into the home.
Rowen lightly underlined that part with a pencil and then tapped the eraser thoughtfully on his chin. He still didn't have a clue about all that was going on between his circle of friends. But slowly it was starting to piece itself together.
Cye trudged tiredly into the bathroom. It was unbelievably late - except if you were on Rowen's watch. But it was late for Cye. Everyone else had been in bed for a few hours now. Cye ran his fingers through his hair as he gazed at his fatigued expression in the mirror. This term paper was killing him. Why couldn't he have just left the college classes to Rowen and stuck with the easier ones his senior year?
The sound of a coming storm could be heard in the stillness of the house. Cye reached for his tooth brush and half heartedly set about brushing his teeth. Once done, he switched off the light and padded out into the dark hallway. Halfway to his room was a small table holding one of his mother's favorite vases with a fashionable mirror hanging on the wall above it.
Cye glanced in the mirror as he passed by and froze in his tracks with fear. A dark creature with burning red eyes was standing right behind him. Cye swore he heard it breathe his name as he spun around. The vase on the table was thrown off as his elbow hit it and shattered on the wooden floor. Cye paid it no mind as he searched the darkness wide-eyed, but nothing was there.
A familiar fear gripped his soul as sweat poured down his face. In an instant Cye was a child again; afraid of the dark and what lurked in the corners. He could almost hear the demon of his past laughing at him. But then all he could hear in the dark house was his heavy breathing, the stillness, and the thunder.
By Ghost of the Dawn
Chapter Eleven - The Nightmare in the Closet
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