"A lot of bad things are bound to happen if you continue to disobey me."

"Neko-sensei!" Haruhi exclaimed as she whipped around to come face to face with her teacher, "I just-"

"Curious, little kitten? I'm very disappointed in you." Nekozawa advanced on her small form while she propped herself up into a better sitting position. She looked up at him, not with fear, but rather, she looked at him with trust.

"I didn't want the calming potion to over boil, and I needed you to make sure," she explained.

"Well," he said, "despite your intentions, you broke the rules and for that you must be punished. But how?" Nekozawa squatted down and became eye level with her. He picked up a lock of her hair and played with it while letting the options mull around in his head. "I know," he said, and he stood up, "to teach your prying eyes a lesson, you will be blindfolded for the rest of the day." He offered Haruhi a hand and helped her to her feet. "Follow me, please."

Haruhi followed Nekozawa over to his dresser where he opened the top drawer and pulled out a red handkerchief after a bit of shuffling. He deftly tied the fabric around her head completely sealing off her eyesight.

"How will I be able to read the book you gave me?" she asked. Nekozawa sighed.

"I guess we'll have to put that off until tomorrow. Tidy up the living room for now."

Haruhi heard Nekozawa walk away and she clumsily groped her way to the bedroom's wall in an attempt to follow him. She spent the next few hours crawling on the floor stacking books against the wall. Nekozawa had finished up the calming potion after storing away the items Kaoru traded him. What he said to the white wizard earlier was true enough; he had been so busy with Haruhi lately that he'd been neglecting Bereznoff. Nekozawa could only hope that his specter wasn't too upset.

When the sun began to sink Nekozawa began changing into his red and crème attire. He rather adored his ritual garments, and loved donning them when it was time to summon Bereznoff. He was halfway dressed when Haruhi decided to make her entrance. She came in following the edge of the wall and bumped her knee on her bedpost.

"D'Arvit!" she cursed falling back and clutching her knee. Nekozawa jumped at the sudden noise and turned to yell at her for intruding but thought better of it when he saw her in pain. Haruhi spun around on her bottom and leaned her head up against the bed. She bit her lip and winced at the pain. Nekozawa approached her on his knees and put his hands around her head.

He untied her blindfold.

Haruhi blinked a few times and blushed when she realized she was eye level with Nekozawa's naked chest.

"Your punishment is over. Please get ready for bed so I can draw the circle," he said. Haruhi looked at him confusedly until it clicked. She quickly excused herself and went to change in the washroom. When she returned Nekozawa was fully clothed and had completed most of the circle around her bed. She clambered in with the book on herbs from earlier and set a lighted candle on the small nightstand behind her. Nekozawa nodded in approval and stood back to complete the seal.

"Remember," he said, "come out for nothing. Bereznoff may be a little testy and it's very important that you ignore him should you be awake…or if he should wake you." Nekozawa looked at her with utmost serious.

"You have nothing to worry about," replied Haruhi, "I promise."

"Goodnight Haruhi."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

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Haruhi was awoken by this very noise.

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"Hello…," she called sleepily.

"Hello," a voice answered back.

Haruhi's eyes widened. She had heard this voice before.

She heard this voice…

Every time Nekozawa got angry.

Haruhi shot up in bed and looked in the direction of the voice. It took her a moment to register that the room was lighted and Nekozawa sat on a stool facing her. The blonde man smiled at her and waved.

"Neko-sensei? What are you doing?"

Nekozawa laughed, "Funny story, as it turns out Bereznoff doesn't need to be summoned for a few more nights and I can't sleep. Why don't you wake up and we can do something fun."

Haruhi rubbed her eyes and looked at the curtained window above Nekozawa's bed. It was still nighttime. "Maybe we should just go to bed Neko-sensei. I'm awfully sleepy, and-"

"No! I mean, we lost a lot of time today because of your mishap, and-"

"Goodnight, Bereznoff," said Haruhi, and she rolled over so that her back was facing him.

"You don't trust me, do you?"

"Not for a second, but I don't see why you want me to come out of the circle so badly."

"Would you mind if we just talk then?"

Haruhi sat up and swung her legs over the side. "…I suppose that would be fine."

"Excellent!" beamed Bereznoff.

"So," began Haruhi, "What would you like to talk about?" Bereznoff straightened his posture and sat cross-legged on his stool. Haruhi finished rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and waited for him to speak.

"It seems my master has taken a liking to you."

"Oh…" Haruhi blushed. Needless to say, she was a little disappointed with his topic of choice. "What makes you say that?"

Bereznoff laughed. "We do share a mind, after all."

"So, why haven't you broken the seal yet?"

"Hmm? Oh, the magick seal. Well, you see, I can't do magick, only my master can."

"But aren't you the one who gives Neko-sensei his power? Why can't you produce magick on your own?"

"Ah, when Umehito is in control, I am his medium and therefore he can produce magick, but when we switch places Umehito is my medium, and I can't produce magick through him. Hence why I've been trying to lure you out of his protection; no offense, by the way."

"I see," said Haruhi in awe, "So that means Neko-sensei's vulnerability is when the two of you switch places after he performs the ritual."

"Not quite."

Haruhi looked at him questionably. Bereznoff smiled.

"It's a secret."

"Oh, so why do you want to lure me out of the circle?"

"I just want to play with you."

The tone in his voice was deep and mischievous. Haruhi felt uneasy at the sound of his words and suddenly became very uncomfortable with him looking at her with such scrutiny. Casually, she slipped under her covers and pulled the blankets up to her chin.

"I'm sorry to cut you short, Specter-san, but I really am tired."

"Ah, no problem, I enjoyed talking with you. We must do it again sometime."

"Of course…I look forward to it." And with that Haruhi turned on her side with her back facing Bereznoff and her front facing the wall. She had a hard time falling asleep that night, and was afraid to move her muscles to a more comfortable position for fear that the eyes burning into her back would actually break the skin.