Chapter 6:

"We meet again." The ghost casually greeted.

An uncharacteristic frown formed on Yakumo's face. She wanted to stride forward and slap the ghost girl back to where she came from. This ghost usually appeared during her melancholic moments but it now seemed like it could appear at her happiest too. She still couldn't fathom how this entity could barge in whenever it pleased. Its entrance to her life had been sudden, just like this time.

It was a horrible revelation indeed that not only could Yakumo see thoughts, but ghosts as well. This entity showed up in her lowest of moments, questioning her with brutal bluntness that made her rethink her decisions. Her doubts seemed to fuel the spirit as it showed sadistic glee whenever she showed signs of unease.

Eventually, the spirit revealed it was a part of Yakumo, born out of the sadness and loneliness she had pent up inside. Yakumo couldn't hide anything from this entity especially if said entity was the embodiment of her subconscious.

At their supposedly final encounter, Yakumo at last confronted the ghost and bravely proclaimed that she was her own master; she would not be ruled through fear by some manifestation of negative emotion. No matter how painful or hard or long it took, she would face it head-on. The ghost, finally seeing Yakumo stand up for herself, suddenly showed a lighter side; acting like the little kid she appeared as and laughing at her melodramatic declaration. The ghost left, treating all the previous encounters as if they had been some sort of children's playdate and hoping to "play" with her again.

Yakumo thought she had banished this dark part of her once and for all. But it seemed she had been entirely wrong.

Seeing her in Harima's sketches was a total shock. She realized that if Harima could see her, then this was something more than just her inner demons. The grim realization that it wasn't all over, caused her to faint in terror.

Knowing that this entity, this part of her subconscious, could appear to someone else and that being someone she personally knew, made her fear for the safety of her loved ones. It had once appeared to her sister but back then it lacked both form and body and was neither malicious nor sinister. Tenma thought she was just imagining things and it never bothered her again.

But if this ghost had appeared to Harima and he saw what she really looked like...

"Why are you doing this?" Yakumo asked directly, not wanting to skirt around the issue.

The ghost tilted her head. "I see you've changed from when we last met."

"Answer me."

The ghost gave an almost infinitesimal smile at her demand. "It seems you're aware I've appeared to your beloved. I simply wanted to play with him. I didn't have the chance when he last stayed here because his heart was still not in shambles. Although I have to admit, I half expected him to run away upon our first meeting."

"I thought you're just-"

"A part of you?" the ghost finished for her. "I told you before I was here long before you were born." The girl slowly walked around. "His presence here made things rather... difficult for me. As much as I try, I cannot penetrate his mind nor can I instill dread in his heart."

Yakumo was perplexed. "What do you mean?" she asked, curiosity overriding her anger.

"His will and mind are still strong despite what he has experienced. His heart is broken, true, but there's something shielding his mind. Call it "mental dissonance" if you will. His devotion to your sister is what kept you from reading his mind, but there is more to it than that."

Yakumo was more surprised. I'm right that it's his love for my sister which keeps his mind hidden from me, but there's something more?

When she had first helped Harima with his manga, a strange thing had occurred. She had finally read his mind for once. But for some reason it was incomplete. She had seen "Cute. T-. . ." beside his head on that fateful night. Her mind-reading abilities had never failed her before which made the matter even stranger. It always showed what people thought of her down to the last letter. But with him it was incomplete. And it vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, when he woke up from whatever daze he had been in.

She had suspected she might have imagined it since it was late into the night. The rest of the letters could have been hidden by his head, after all. It never happened again though so she dismissed it and never pondered on it again.

But upon hearing the ghost's words, her suspicions resurfaced.

Something was indeed blocking it, preventing her from reading his mind even further.

"I now know why you love him so much." The young girl continued. '"He is a very unique person, like you. Gifted in the supernatural only a very few people have. Though he is dim and stubborn, he's strong and courageous, neither regretting nor doubting his decisions. It is what gives him a strong will. That is why you so admire him – because you are the polar opposite.

"We'll see who will last in this game of charades you're playing. Until we meet again..." At this the ghost slowly vanished, her red eyes two points of gleaming light in the eerie darkness.

"Wait!" Yakumo reached out to the ghost's disappearing form. For the first time, she wanted the ghost to stay and talk to her. She had so many burning questions to ask. So many things she wanted to clarify. Was Harima really supernaturally gifted too? Was that how he was able to see her? How did she know that?

Yakumo might not know if the young girl was helping her or not but in the end, it would be her own choice that mattered. The surroundings became hazy and, feeling nauseous and light-headed, she collapsed to the immaterial floor, insensate.

x-x-x

Yakumo woke up with a start.

She found herself sitting in a chair. Glancing at the wall clock, she noticed the time hadn't moved during the conversation with the ghost. There were tear tracks and smudges on her face and she quickly went to the kitchen sink to wash her face. The cold sensation of water brought surprising calm to her.

The ghost's cryptic words were still lingering in her mind. She wanted to question Harima about it but ultimately decided to keep the issue to herself once again. Her sister and Harima had both resisted the ghost upon their first meeting so maybe that would be the last time the ghost would appear to him too. If she told him about it, he might freak out and the situation could worsen.

She was also feeling somewhat relieved after hearing about Harima's strange mind resistance since it didn't mean he didn't have feelings for her after all. It gave her hope but still, she really wanted to know what he thought of her.

Good thing Harima still hadn't come back yet. If he caught her teary-eyed and looking wasted, not to mention being unconscious again, he might start thinking badly of her. It's been nearly twice in a row now she'd acted uncharacteristically in front of him. Maybe next time she would laugh hysterically to prove she was now out of control.

While waiting for him, Yakumo starting to look for some chores to do around the house. After fainting or not, it was normal for her to be busy. It was Sunday. Back when Tenma was around, it was their cleaning day, until Tenma got invited by her friends and she scurried out of the house like she had been freed from forced labor. Yakumo understood her sister's carefree personality and she had no compunctions with doing the majority of the chores, but having two new housemates who could actually help out, the amount she had to do around the house became less and less.

Not finding any chores to do, Yakumo went back to the kitchen. There was a folder on the table and she remembered what she was supposed to do. How she managed to forget about it was beyond her. Perhaps because it was easy to do the chores on autopilot compared to mulling over how unfair the situation was.

Sitting at the table, she grabbed and opened the folder.

"They sounded like a really good duo."

Yakumo heard again in her mind. Narrowing her eyes, she replayed that moment in her head, reviewing every second for all it was worth.

It was like a declaration that they were now together. It would have been the cheesiest way to propose a confession and to be honest with herself, she would have definitely fallen for it. It had more impact since it was unexpected and out of the blue just like a confession should be. Other boys that confessed to her had their feelings plastered above their heads so it wasn't that surprising. She knew their intent already before it was voiced out. This, however, was totally unexpected as her usual steely inner guard was still reeling from the shock last night. Harima also delivered it in a very casual manner without any pretense despite its great significance.

But to Harima, it would also be just that: it simply sounds good. The significance of the moment would fly over his head. He'd stick to the most basic and simplest of meaning without even considering any connotations of what the phrase could mean. It was what he said it was and Harima had never been vague with her. It was always straight to the point without any underlying meaning. She had cried thinking that Harima had moved on and now took notice of her, but upon pondering about it, Harima might have done it for an entirely different reason.

On the walking festival last school year she had asked him for a walk to take her mind off of the impending heartbreak of her older sister. She was tired emotionally but during their walk together he started talking about something unexpected.

The setting was perfect on that moonlit night. They were alone beneath the foliage of the trees and the ever-present buzzing of insects was absent at that moment as if the whole world had set it up. He then spoke with a familiar nervousness she had heard from so many people before.

A confession, a declaration of being together had passed through his lips before she registered what he was saying. He was saying they should be together from now on. It was strange: she was the one who asked him for a walk and he's the one who confessed. Had he thought she was about to confess to him and so he went ahead and did it first? Harima's motives were simply inscrutable to her, given his mind was always seemingly blank. But surely, even he could not be this naive if he said the exact words that they should be together from now on, right?

And then, all of it was completely derailed when he told her what he really meant. He actually meant it in a professional way and not as a relationship. He even thought she liked Karasuma, and this might bother her if she worked with Harima! She had denied this assumption wildly. If that wasn't enough, he misunderstood her incomplete confession for something else entirely.

It seemed Harima's obliviousness knew no bounds.

Upon hearing him twisting her words, her feelings for him had wavered, thinking he was not the right person for her even with all the cues and subtleties of the world. Any girl would have run away crying in disappointment for such callousness towards their heart.

But she was not just any girl. Seeing him beaming with pride at her even though it was for a different reason, she felt that there was still a chance for them to be together, a glimmer of hope that she was wrong for thinking he was not right for her. And with that optimism, she clung to that chance, even now.

The fact that Harima had managed to replace the heroine that symbolized her older sister, suggested he had taken a step towards moving on. Letting go of something he dearly loved was not an easy thing to do. His manga revolved much around the heroine; her absence would leave a gaping hole in the story. Now that Harima was going to present her new character as a sort of replacement for the heroine, the spotlight would shine on her. It may not be the same treatment as the original heroine but it was a step forward nonetheless.

It did actually sound like he had now replaced Tenma with Yakumo, but given Harima's nature, this too was still inconclusive. It was frustrating and yet knowing it could be plausible both ways she felt somehow relieved.

Musing about her manga counterpart now, Yakumo started to think of a suitable background story. It was quite exciting, connecting a fictional character with yourself. No one knows one better than oneself and what better way to show it than through a fictional character. It was interesting knowing how you would act whilst also observing yourself through a different perspective.

Also, Harima would of course add something of his own to the character. It may be a reflection of what he thought of her. She would have a chance to indirectly read his thoughts depending on what he incorporated. It gave her the idea to make this character as close to herself as possible in order to discover how Harima really felt about someone like her.

After several minutes of brainstorming, Yakumo finally thought of something that would really fit the character. She smiled knowing she would now be directly involved in Harima's manga instead of just inking layouts or speaking out feedback. The story flow would still depend on him, however, but that only excited her further since she was curious how Harima would handle it.

Yakumo felt butterflies in her stomach while she waited for Harima. It was a foreign feeling she had not felt before and it made it the more excruciating. She felt like she hadn't been this impatient in her life. Closing the white folder, she returned it back to the table. A single tear suddenly rolled down her cheek. Wiping it off with one hand, she reminded herself to be strong from now on.

Things have changed, definitely.

x-x-x

After the longest 30 minutes of Yakumo's life, she heard the distant sound of a motorcycle engine. The rumbling became loud and abruptly stopped. She felt her stomach cramp in anticipation upon hearing the front door sliding open. Willing herself to calm down, she patiently waited in the kitchen.

Harima entered the kitchen clutching a big sack of dog food. Yakumo greeted him in a casual manner and Harima greeted back. He apologized for taking so long as he hadn't expected it to be so tricky to haul a sack of dog food on the motorcycle. Yakumo just waved it off, happy that he was now here. He placed the sack inside one of the kitchen cupboards and sat across from her. Yakumo then recounted her detailed ideas for the new character.

Noting that the names of the main characters came from their pen names, Knight Hario from Hario Harima and Princess Ten Ten from Ten Ten Tsukamoto (which Tenma had told her about the second she had the opportunity), Yakumo proposed the name should be closer to her actual name. She didn't have a pen name like them but thought that if she was to be given one it would definitely be something like "Ya'mo". It was the most ironic name she had ever thought of since she had hated it with a passion back when she was a child.

Harima seemed to like it though. He complimented her choice since it sounded catchy, cute and easy to remember, eliciting a blush from her. He remarked he knew someone with that name but he let her continue to not interrupt her further.

Continuing her character bio, since Harima had said the character would be more versed in magic and spells, she settled for a "Mage" title. The words "Witch" and "Sorceress" had an antagonistic ring to them. A "Magician" sounded like a person who does sleight of hand tricks and clever illusions. The title "Wizard" denoted a strong character if watching fantasy movies had any indication.

"Mage Ya'mo" would be a spellcaster traveling with Knight Hario on their adventures. As a twist to the story, she was the secret sister of Princess Ten Ten. After her family discovered she could wield arcane arts and not wanting to stain their noble family's name with a heretical relative, the Ruling Families banished her from the Kingdom for witchcraft. She opted to wear baggy robes and a wide hat to avoid being noticed. Her personality also reflected her imposed banishment, staying shy and quiet, keeping to herself most of the time.

But with the Dark Lord Kurama (a play on Karasuma's name) aggressively hounding and abducting every person of noble blood to end their lineage, she stumbled upon Knight Hario who was also looking for Princess Ten Ten. Both of them having a similar goal, they banded together - to try and save the Kingdom from the Dark Lord's grasp and finally uncover the truth of Princess Ten Ten's whereabouts. It would still be in the main storyline so her addition wouldn't ruin any established lore.

After finishing her narrative, Harima nearly hyperventilated from its "sheer awesomeness". He was so ecstatic from her made-up story that he praised her for having the potential to become a manga artist more talented than he could ever be. Yakumo politely thanked him for his over-the-top compliment but the story would still depend on him. She only came up with the foundation of the story but had no idea how it would progress. Harima had a knack for prolonging a story despite its repetitive nature. He added new features to keep it from being dull and boring. And Yakumo had no clue how he pulled it off.

Satisfied with Yakumo's feedback, Harima took the folder from the table to continue his work in his room. There were so many ideas cooking up in Harima's mind that he was very eager to work on it. He'd just ask for her help in the inking part.

There was a definite change, Yakumo was certain. Harima's energetic self was back and his comical actions reflected this. She then remembered the time when Harima was talking to her sister back when he first stayed here. He had proclaimed a newfound motivation to work on his manga after their conversation.

Now looking at Harima's energetic demeanor, knowing it was she who was responsible for inspiring him and not her older sister, Yakumo couldn't help but smile and be happy for him.

Harima went to his room screaming "To the fields of glory!" along the way. Yakumo was left alone, still relishing the knowledge that she had managed to inspire him.

I would be strong for the ones I love, she thought resolutely, tightly balling a fist.

Author's Corner: Woah. It's been a month already? Sorry for the long pause. Life has been terrible these past few weeks so that's that. I could make a list of reasons for it but I don't want to waste your time. The chapter is also too short even though it's wordy.

I do have an ending for this story so bear with me with all the fill-ins and flashbacks that took the majority of every chapter. I just feel like putting it there. And also the inconsistent updates. So again, sorry for those lapses and I'll be seeing you in the next chapter!