They heard him long before they saw him.
"I am not believing this!"
Kazahaya's eyes widened as he and Rikuou met up with the temporary partners they would be having for this new job. On the street corner, there was a woman with perhaps the longest black hair he had ever seen and he blinked at her designer clothing that showed perhaps a little too much leg, even if it appeared to be in a business style cut. She appeared to be enjoying the young boy's tantrum.
The boy on the other hand was something to behold and somehow familiar. He wore glasses and behind them were the bluest eyes he had ever seen. They were brilliant sapphires, dark and deep and seemingly as wild as the ocean. Life sparked from them with a sea-like flame and he thought that if he touched the boy and read the thoughts that Kazahaya would have a mound of interesting memories assault him.
"Are you…Yuuko-san?" Rikuou asked, after consulting the piece of paper they had been given with only the name and a street corner to go by. They didn't even know what they were supposed to be doing.
"I am."
"Ah!" the boy suddenly muttered and pointed at them. "You're the clerks from that store!" When Kazahaya remained with a blank look of incomprehension, the boy leveled him with what was perhaps the prettiest smile he had ever seen on a male before. "I come in a lot to buy the hangover remedy."
Suddenly it clicked and he smiled back. "Oh, that's you! I didn't recognize you at first."
"I'm not wearing my uniform this time, no." He noticed Rikuou's eyebrows rise in question, as it seemed him and the boy in question seemed to get along splendidly. Almost too splendidly for the suspicious 'partner' he was always saddled with.
"Who is it you always buy it for anyway?"
The curious question prompted a dry and irritated look and he followed the silent pointing finger to the elegant and beautiful businesswoman next to him. He blinked in shock. How could this lovely woman possibly need that medicine? As if she read his thoughts, a grin that could only be described like that of the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland crossed her features.
"You have no idea, she's a holy terror!" the boy expounded and it appeared he would have gone on in length about this holy terror had Rikuou not interrupted.
"Isn't there supposed to be someone else coming too?"
"Let us pray he doesn't," hissed the boy with glasses.
"If I don't, you'll end up in trouble."
The voice that flowed out of the darkness was deep and stoic; not quite the same as Rikuou's but very similar. When he could see the new boy by the light of the streetlamp they huddled next to, he noticed that the hair was quite short and his eyes were a sharp, golden color. He had the impression that nothing passed this boy's attention and Kazahaya did not miss the way that while those eyes looked at everyone and everything, they always seemed to come back to rest on the boy with glasses. He carried a bow in his hand, strangely enough, but he had no arrows.
"Good that you're all here," the woman, Yuuko, said at last. "I suppose introductions are in order. This boy here is Watanuki Kimihiro and the other is Doumeki Shizuka. I am Ichihara Yuuko."
Kazahaya smiled. "I'm Kudou Kazahaya and this is Himura Rikuou. It's a pleasure to meet you."
There was a short awkward silence as they stared at each other and finally, the woman's smile vanished and she glanced at the street leading north that seemed so much darker and more foreboding than the others around them.
"You four must be careful at all times and must always be together. It is a very dangerous place where you will be going. Rely on each other when at all possible. There is no time limit on this little mission, but it is best that you do not stay too long. Watanuki has the rest of the details and he can tell you them when you reach the house."
As they all shifted their clothing against the biting cold chill of winter, the woman dragged the boy with glasses, Watanuki, aside for a moment to speak to him in private. From his expression, it was obviously something he disliked, but because of the grave expression on her face, he didn't argue back.
When Watanuki joined them again and they were ready to head off, her voice caught them all in one last warning. "Be careful. You can die in this mission if you're not."
Kazahaya blinked and almost protested, but she was already gone, heading down the south street in the opposite direction they were to go in. Die! What the hell! That was the first he'd heard of this new and potentially life-altering development! Neither Doumeki nor Watanuki seemed to find it surprising or news of any kind and they had already passed on ahead of them.
"Don't worry."
"Eh?" Kazahaya blinked and looked up at Rikuou as they walked to catch up to the other two.
"Don't worry. She said if we stick together, we'll basically be fine. You won't die."
That was unusual, coming from his companion. But perhaps he remembered Kazahaya's stubborn will to live when he'd found him nearly dying in the snow at Christmas time. There was nothing more that Kazahaya feared than death, and his determination to survive is perhaps what piqued Rikuou's interest into saving him in the first place.
The house was indeed terrifying. Kazahaya's stomach hit his feet as he stared at it. It was a western style kind, with three stories and for all they knew, a basement too. It was painted black and the word dilapidated seemed…kind in description of it.
Doumeki was already opening the door and leading them in. There was no such thing as electric or technological amenities, and the darkness seemed to cling to them, wanting to strip them of all the warmth they held. It was cold, too cold to be mere weather, and Kazahaya shivered.
That's when suddenly the coughing broke out. He jumped in shock and stared at Watanuki, who hitherto had been perfectly healthy. Now his skin was a pale, pasty color, even more than what he had seen in the lamplight, and he was clutching onto Doumeki's arm, as if it were the only thing holding him up. He seemed to want to vomit, but nothing came out and he was covering his mouth and nose with his hand. He looked like he was about to keel over dead any minute.
"What the hell?" Rikuou demanded, jumpy and nervous as Kazahaya was. "What's wrong with him?"
"It's horrible…" Watanuki muttered and Kazahaya had to strain to pick out the words from behind the boy's hand. "It's filthy…The smell…!"
Doumeki's arms wrapped around the other boy's waist to hold him up. "Hold this."
Kazahaya had no choice but to hold the bow that was shoved at him and before he could stop it, his talent went into effect. At first, it was all a jumble of memories, but finally a clear impression remained: Silence, looking at Watanuki, in some sort of temple room. Hands were reaching through a shoji door to grab the bespectacled boy…
It was gone a moment later when he blinked and all that lingered after that of feelings were that of a shocked but also calming peace. As if…The only thing that he could compare it to would be how someone would feel as if they had found the whole reason that they had been placed on the earth. He could imagine that maybe finding the reason you were born would be calming and fill you with peace.
"Hey, pay attention, we're moving now."
Kazahaya blinked again and focused on Rikuou's face. Doumeki was carrying Watanuki toward a room to the left into what appeared to be a living room with a door leading to a study. He glanced around once more, noting what was once a grand staircase leading to the upper floors was nearly destroyed with age. He shivered, not sure he wanted to touch anything in the house and find out what it's history was.
"Hurry up."
He picked up his pace, getting into the small study just as Rikuou closed the door. It would have been a splendid room if it weren't so run-down. It appeared that most of the books on the shelves had pages disintegrating from age.
Doumeki set Watanuki down on the sofa and unexpectedly, it did not break under the frail weight of the boy. Rikuou leaned against what remained of the desk in the room and his eyes were somewhat cold as they stared at the boy that had carried Watanuki.
"What is going on? Why'd he collapse?"
Kazahaya knelt down next to Watanuki as Doumeki turned to his partner. The boy was barely breathing, raspy gasps as if he had trouble breathing, but at least he was not coughing as badly now. He blinked when he noticed that Doumeki held Watanuki's hand. His eyebrows knit. It was not the kind of hold that one had when someone was sick, but more that he knew he had to hold the hand for some reason.
"He collapsed because of his ability."
"What ability?"
There was a pause and those golden eyes glanced back down to Kazahaya and Rikuou. "If you don't want to tell us, I can always touch Watanuki-san and find out for myself," he suggested, since it didn't appear as if Doumeki liked talking a lot.
"What?"
"Kazahaya's ability is to read memories and past events," Rikuou explained, crossing his arms. "Doesn't matter what it is, person or object. My power is to destroy things. Smaller objects are easier."
"Thanks Mr. Eloquence," Kazahaya muttered. That wasn't exactly the way he would have put it, but it was accurate nonetheless.
"Now, since you know, I think it's time that you tell us what your powers are."
"You're being rude, Rikuou," he broke in, but it didn't appear as Rikou was about to back down.
"It is time, Kazahaya. Kakei sent us here and that woman warned us that we could die. It's only fair that we know everything so we keep living."
Doumeki, who had been silent as he listened, finally shoved his free hand into the pocket of his jeans and shrugged. "He's right. Watanuki has the ability to see spirits."
Kazahaya's mouth dropped open. "You mean like ghosts?"
"If you can read his memories, then that'd tell you better than me."
With a frown, since he didn't like to read someone's memories without permission, Kazahaya touched Watanuki's shoulder. Almost immediately, he was assaulted with memories and sensations. That always happened when someone was unconscious, as they weren't guarding their thoughts. Not to mention, Watanuki was highly spiritual, so that was even heightened.
"No…" he muttered, trying to sort through all he was seeing in amazement. "It's not just ghosts…it's everything supernatural. I thought at first it might be something like my power, but it's not. He can see spirits, both dead and those that are supernatural, plus forces of power…He sees it as black smoke…They're like physical sensations…"
Kazahaya jerked his hand back, not wishing to intrude on Watanuki's memories and sensations any more than he already had. It was close to mental rape when someone didn't agree to allow it to happen. Doumeki picked up the explanation, looking at Rikuou almost defiantly, even when no expression crossed either of their faces.
"That's why Watanuki was coughing. It makes him physically sick to be near such a concentration of whatever this stuff is in this house, or so I would assume. I've seen this happen to him before."
Rikuou didn't say anything for a long time and Kazahaya wondered if he would. Kazahaya shivered a little. In his search through Watanuki's memories, he had come across the reason they were there and it was not pleasant. Considering Watanuki's condition, he doubted that they could get this job over with quickly.
"Then what's your power?"
"He has the ability to suppress Watanuki-san's power, right?"
Doumeki glanced at him and scratched his head briefly. "Not exactly, according to Yuuko-san. I can exorcise spirits, but I can't see them. Watanuki can see them, but can't do anything about it. That's why I have my bow with me."
"But it's more than that, right? That's why you're holding his hand."
"What are talking about, Kazahaya?"
Kazahaya stood and turned to his partner. "Doumeki-san's presence is also enough to keep most of the spirits that haunt Watanuki-san away."
"Wait, haunt? I thought he just saw them."
Kazahaya ran his hands over his face and ruffled his hair, trying to sort through everything. "It was all a jumble, no coherence in his memories, but what I think it's like is that he sees stuff and they follow him around. Doumeki-san not only exorcises the spirits, but also can keep them away. That right?"
Doumeki shrugged. "Something like that, I guess."
"So what's the deal with the hand-holding then?"
"I guess it has something to do with that part of the whole thing. Maybe the closer they are, the more things Doumeki-san can do with his power. Or something like that. That's why if Doumeki-san wasn't there, he probably would have passed out instantly, right?"
"That's a reasonable guess," Doumeki said after a moment.
"Like he isn't passed out now," Rikuou muttered, but there wasn't as much heat or suspicion in his voice like there had been before. "Well, for now, we just have to wait until the guy wakes up and then get this damn job over with. This place gives me the creeps."
It was the first time Rikuou had said something like that, but Kazahaya could understand. This place had an oppressive and dangerous feel to it. He wanted to reach out and maybe touch one of the walls, to read what had happened to the building, but he was terrified of doing so and what he would see. The last thing he wanted was more nightmares.
"Tell me again why we agreed to this," he muttered under his breath as night continued to advance outside. He felt as if eyes were watching them maliciously, just waiting for a chance, any chance. Would it be like this if Watanuki wasn't with them? He'd gotten the clear impression from the boy's memories that he was a spirit-attractor.
Probably and that was the scariest thing.
End Chapter 1
