Chapter 5

Legend of the Mysterious Onee-sama

After what had happened, Yoshimitsu regains her composure and stares at the blonde ghost before her with her hands on her hips and eyebrow raised. However, Karasu doesn't care and just smiles at the American.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," the guitarist says. "My name is Karasu. Nice to meet you~!"

Ageha sighs from the awkward situation as she stands between the two girls. She recovered from Yoshimitsu's outburst, but still feels a bit uncomfortable because the American can also see Karasu and doesn't know why.

"I-I'm Yoshimitsu…" the blonde replies. "Nice to meet you, little ghost."

"That was sort of easy…" Ageha says.

"Well, it's obvious that she's floating," Yoshimitsu says.

"Yes, but what should we do?"

Karasu just smiles at the both of them while Yoshimitsu examines her a bit.

"Well, she doesn't seem like she'll do anything bad," she says. "I think you're going to have to let her stay for a while."

Karasu nods happily. "Thank you so much!"

"I'm so glad," Ageha says.

"You're all so understanding~!" the guitarist says. "I'm so moved!" She starts to float towards the door, when it suddenly opens.

"Good mor-" Meimei walks in and sees a girl with dirty blonde hair in front of her. Karasu's body is half-way through Yoshimitsu's abdomen. None of them move a muscle for at least a second before Meimei faints.

**Later**

"A-are you okay, Meimei-chan?" Ageha asks, nervously.

"I think we can deal with her later," Matsuri says as she stays in her room, trying to fan her.

The rest go back to Ageha's room.

"So…now that Karasu-chan's staying here…" Yoshmitsu starts.

"Oh, boy!" Karasu cheers. "It's like having living with Onee-sama like wife and wife!" She turns to the Spaniard. "Oh, Ageha-onee-sama! Please make me your wife!"

"Y-your wife!?" Ageha gasps.

"Yes, your wife!" Karasu then tackle hugs her to the floor. "Oh, Onee-sama, Onee-sama, Onee-sama! You're so beautiful and elegant I just want to push you down right then and there!"

Ageha tries to break free, but Karasu's grip is too strong. "H-hey, calm down, please…"

Yoshimitsu just laughs nervously. "Ageha's got her hands full…"

**At School**

Ageha rests her head on the desk while looking out the window. She thinks back on their discussion while in her room with Karasu.

**Flashback**

"It was my dream to become Onee-sama's wife," Karasu told Ageha and Yoshimitsu. "One time, I told her 'Onee-sama, I want us…to get married.'"

"Get married?" Ageha repeats.

"Yes…" The guitarist hangs her head down in sadness. "So, when I found out that she was getting married right after graduation, I was shocked. If only we were together for a bit longer. I resented the fact that we were both born girls."

"I see."

"So, in that sense, there's no better Onee-sama than Ageha~!" Yoshimitsu says.

"Yoshimitsu!" Ageha scolds.

"I think it's great!" the American says. "Maybe this is your chance to have a wife~!"

"Yes!" Karasu says. "That's right~!"

**End of Flashback**

I don't think that's the issue, Ageha thinks as she sighs. What am I supposed to do?

"Is something the matter?" Leo asks, snapping Ageha into reality. "Is something on your mind?"

Ageha sits up. "Leo-san."

"It looks like you're staring into space," the blonde says.

That's kinda of correct… Ageha thinks.

"Ageha-san…" a quiet voice says.

The Spaniard turns her head, but there's no one there. But when she looks back, she sees the silver haired girl staring at her closely, making her jump back.

"WAH! Kasumi-san!" Ageha cries.

"You did a good job," Kasumi whispers.

"Huh?"

"Heh…" The silver haired girl walks away without another word.

"Wh-what does that mean?" the Spaniard asks.

"Well, Kasumi-san says strange things sometimes," Leo replies with a nervous smile. "I'm not sure either."

"Don't worry, Ageha-san," Kaede says as she walks up to them. "Since it came from her, I'm sure you've done something good. She's not one to give compliments."

"But what did I do?" Ageha asks.

"If it's bothering you," Kaede says. "Perhaps you should ask Kei-san yourself."

The three girls turn towards the quiet girl. But somehow, to Ageha, she feels that there's some strange aura coming from Kasumi. She wants to ask her, but another part of her tells her that it's not a good idea.

"I think I'll pass…" Ageha says with a nervous laugh.

**At the Dorms**

Karasu is on the floor, groaning. "Argh! Why can't I get out!?" she cries. She levitates and backs away a few feet. "No matter! I'll try harder! I won't be beat!" She charges towards the exit, but hits an invisible wall. She slumps down on the floor and groans. "Ahhhh…it's no use." She shakes her head roughly and summons her guitar and plays it. "I WANNA GO OUT! I WANNA SEE ONEE-SAMA! YOOOOOWWW!"

She starts to float up towards the roof. So far, so good, she thinks. "Up I go!"

BONK!

She hits another invisible wall and falls on her butt. She groans and looks up at the sky.

"Onee-sama…" she says, sadly. "I want to see her. But for some reason, I can't leave. I'm like a caged bird…er…ghost. I guess I have to endure this heart-wrenching pain and wait in our room for Onee-sama to return." She floats back down in the halls. "But I can't sit still! There's gotta be something…" She looks over at a door and decides to check it out. "I'm coming in!" She looks around and sees Meimei sleeping. "Are you okay?"

The Chinese girl opens her eyes and looks around until she sees the guitarist.

"Oh, you're awake! That's good~!" Karasu says.

The Chinese girl backs away, screaming. "OH, NOOOOO! IT'S A GHOST! A GHOST!"

"Y-yes, I'm a ghost, but don't let it bother you," Karasu says. "I know, I'll change your ice pack." She reaches for it, but her hand goes right through. "But I can't seem to grab it."

Meimei tries to run away, but gets tangled from the blanket.

"I-I'm sorry, but I'm not trying to scare you," the dirty blonde says. "Please don't be scared."

Meimei looks at her with a frightened look while Karasu still wears her cute smile.

**Later**

"We're home!" Ageha, Yoshimitsu and Matsuri call in unison.

"I wonder how Meimei-chan and Karasu-chan are doing," Ageha says with a worried expression.

Just then, a very nice smell fills their noses.

"Mm~! Something smells good," Matsuri says.

They walk in the kitchen and they notice Meimei cook up some pork buns.

"And done~!" She says as she takes them out of the oven.

"Wow!" Karasu says. "You're really good at this, Meimei-chan~!"

"Thank you!" the Chinese girl says.

"What are you two doing?" Yoshimitsu asks.

"Welcome home," Meimei says.

"Meimei-chan is making dinner," Karasu says.

"Meimei-chan is a great cook~!" Matsuri cheers. "I'm so excited~!"

"Yes, but Meimei, you're okay now?" Yoshimitsu asks with a concerned look.

"Yes," the Chinese girl replies. "I was shocked at first, but when we started talking, I realized that Karasu-chan is a really nice person."

"I love pork buns, too, so we really connected," the guitarist says.

Meimei turns toward Karasu. "I'm sorry I'm such a scaredy-cat."

"No, I'm sorry for scaring you because I'm a ghost."

Both of them laugh and the rest of the girls decide to help with dinner. About an hour later, all the girls enjoy their meal and spend time with their new ghostly friend. Even as the days went by, they get along very well with Karasu. They played games together, ate together and told stories to each other. By the time a week passes, the girls go to the front courtyard with smiles on their faces.

"Well, Karasu-chan's gotten settled in," Yoshimitsu says. "I can't believe Meimei was scared at first."

"Karasu-chan is so energetic and lively that she's not ghost-like at all," the Chinese girl says.

"Well, ghosts are usually dark and have unfinished business in this world," Yoshimitsu points out. "The dorm is livelier now that Karasu-chan is here."

Ageha nods as she turns away to look at the garden. Unfinished business, huh? she thinks. She loved her Onee-sama so much that she'd give her life to see her one last time. The Spaniard decided to know more about this mysterious Onee-sama and why Karasu fell in love with her.

**Later**

"Welcome back, Onee-sama!" Karasu greets as soon as Ageha arrives at the dorms.

"Hello, Karasu-chan," The Spaniard says. "Say, can I talk to you for a moment?"

They go up to her room a minute later and Ageha tells her about the mysterious Onee-sama.

"What was she like, you ask?" Karasu inquires. She scratches her chin. "Hmm…well, she was really, really nice. And she was a bit unusual."

"Unusual?" Ageha asks.

"Yes," the guitarist says. "It was one morning when I was about to be late to school. I was running full speed to school with a piece of toast in my mouth. And I wasn't watching where I was going when I accidentally tripped and bumped into her. I apologized repeatedly because I was so foolish to run into someone that I didn't know. But then, she said to me 'It's not the end of the world just because you're late.' The sound of her voice was sweet and kind. Then, she extended her hand to wipe the butter off my nose with a tissue. That's when I realized that her smile was the most beautiful thing I had seen."

Ageha smiles at the story. "Really? I don't think it's that unusual."

Karasu giggles. "Hehe~! Well, ever since then, I fell in love with Onee-sama." She closes her eyes and puts her hand on her chest. "She was always warm like the sunshine. She was right there, yet it seemed like she was part of a dream. Whenever I was sad or when I did something good and was praised for it, we would always go under the shade of a tree on the terrance and she would gently do this…" She strokes her own hair with her hand.

Ageha gasps and suddenly thinks back at what her mother did back then when she was a child. She did the exact same thing that Karasu mentioned. Why does it seem familiar? she thinks.

"And after that," Karasu continues. But she blushes and laughs. "Oh, the rest is so embarrassing, I can't say it!"

All Ageha could do is just stare into space, wondering why she suddenly had that memory pop in her head. She decides to do a little research to see if there's any connection between her and Karasu.

**Next Day**

Ageha looks through some year books in the library, yet she's not having any luck. I thought I'd figure it out if I looked through the yearbooks, she thinks. But there are no clues. She lets out a sigh.

"Oh, is that you, Onee-sama?" Kochou's voice says from her right. "How unusual to run into you in a place like this."

The Spaniard turns toward the student council president and vice president walking toward her.

"Are you looking something up?" the brunette asks.

"Yes, I am," Ageha answers. "Excuse me, Kochou-san, can you tell me…are there any materials here that could tell me about the past? Like about the history of this school or about past Elders?"

"Elders?" Kochou repeats. She blushes and smiles. "Oh, I get it! You want to learn about how to be an Elder from the history of the school and the Elders of the past! I'm so happy that you finally see my point of view~!"

"Er…well…" Technically, that's partially correct.

"I have the perfect thing," Kochou says as she turns to her assistant. "Chihaya…"

"Oh, yes!"

The two girls lead the Spaniard towards the other side of the library, where there's a small shelf filled with old year books.

"The Elder system has complete autonomy, so the student council handles all of the material on the Elders," Chihaya explains.

"We have so much information that we just moved a portion of it here," Kochou adds.

Ageha picks out a book after looking back and forth at them. She stands up and smiles. "Thank you, Kochou-san."

"Of course," the student council president says. "What are you researching?"

"Well…a ghost mostly," Ageha answers.

THUD!

She jumps at the sound of the book dropping and looks at the student council president who is trembling in anger.

"GHOSTS!?" she shouts. "ARE YOU SERIOUS!? I TOLD YOU THERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS! WHY DO YOU…"

"P-President….please relax," Chihaya says.

"I AM FREAKING RELAXED!" The brunette turns away. "Let's go, Chihaya. G-good day, Onee-sama…" With that, she and her assistant leave without another word.

Ageha sweat drops. Was it something I said? she thinks. She turns back toward the book and flips through pages until she stops at one page. She stares at it for what it seems like minutes.

"I-I don't believe it…" she says quietly.

The picture she's looking at is a girl that resembles her. No, the girl that looks exactly like Ageha in the past. The Spaniard cannot believe her eyes at the sight of this one person. She leaves the library in a hurry as the image of that girl stays in her mind.

Mama! she thinks.

There are so many questions that are swirling in her head right now, but it's too much to answer all at once. Ageha sprints down the halls as she thinks back that one time where she and her mother spent quality time together when she was young. And it was absolutely wonderful.

**Flashback**

"Mama!" young Ageha called and she happily ran towards her mother, sitting on a chair in the living room.

Her mother gave her a beautiful smile and gently stroked her hair. And then, she planted a gentle kiss on the forehead, making young Ageha blush and smile at the same time.

**End of Flashback**

Mama…Ageha thinks. She arrives at the front entrance of the school and places her hand on the railing while looking up at the building. Light wind blows past her, making her wavy hair sway gracefully.

Mama, ahora entiendo (Mama, now I understand) Ageha thinks. Ahora voy a la misma escuela a la que tú fuiste (I am now attending the same school as you did).

At sunset, the image of her mother is still on Ageha's mind while walking towards the dorms. She looks down at the path. You walked the same path, she thinks. And the room that you lived in…that's why you chose this for me. She arrives in her room minutes later and hears some sniffling coming from her closet.

"Karasu-chan?" she says, softly as she opens the doors.

The guitarist looks up at her with tears falling from her eyes. "Onee-sama…" She immediately jumps into Ageha's arms, sobbing. "I'm so glad! I-I was so scared!"

"What do you mean?" The Spaniard asks as she pulls her away.

"I meant to sleep for a little while," Karasu replies between sobs. "B-but I didn't realize you'd come back. Wh-what if I fell asleep again and you disappeared? I was so scared…" She buries her face in Ageha's chest as she continues to cry.

"Karasu-chan…"

"You wouldn't go away even if I fell asleep, right?" She pulls away to look into Ageha's golden eyes. "We'll be together forever! Because…because I want us…to get married!"

I understand now…Ageha thinks. Karasu-chan loved my mother and she waited…all by herself. She was…all alone. She pulls her close as she gently strokes her hair.

"Karasu-chan, there's some place I want to take you tonight," she says softly.

**Later**

"You're going out?" Yoshimitsu asks. "At this hour?"

"We're going on an evening stroll, Yoshimitsu," Ageha replies.

"A stroll? But Karasu, you can't go outside," the American reminds her.

Ageha just gives her friend a reassuring smile. "We'll be fine. We'll return shortly."

Yoshimitsu just stares at her childhood friend as the two leave the dorms.

Once outside, the two look up at the sky.

"It's so beautiful tonight!" Karasu says. "But it's so strange that I can be outside just by touching you." She is holding Ageha's hand while the Spaniard just leads her. "But…why all of a sudden?"

"I decided," Ageha says while closing her eyes with a smile. "That I should do what your Onee-sama couldn't." She looks up at the sky. "I really wish I was your Onee-sama, but…I'm sorry…"

Karasu just hugs her. "Not at all, Onee-sama! Ageha-Onee-sama, you have the same sweet smell as my Onee-sama." Just then, she gasps when Ageha carries her, bridal style. "Ahaha…I'm a bit embarrassed."

"Really?"

The two continue walking until they enter a church. After opening the doors, they walk towards the statue of Virgin Mary and Ageha gently sets Karasu down. The guitarist walks toward the statue with a smile.

"This was my dream," she says. "To seal my oath with a kiss and to be…Onee-sama's bride."

"Karasu-chan…" Ageha walks up to her, wraps her arms around her and strokes her hair once more.

"My Onee-sama used to hold me like this," Karasu whispers. "It felt so good."

"My mother used to do this as well."

Karasu gasps and looks up at the Spaniard.

"This is my childhood memory of my mother," Ageha continues. "And…the memory of your Onee-sama."

"Then," Karasu says. "Ageha-Onee-sama, you're Rosalia-Onee-sama's…"

Ageha nods and digs into her bag. She pulls out a bridal veil and gently puts it on Karasu.

"I think it's time for our little ceremony to begin," she says. She holds hands and turns back at the Virgin Mary. "Here we go. I, Ageha, will stay by Karasu's side for in sickness and in health until death do us part."

Karasu blushes at those words and links arms with her. "I'm so happy."

"I'm glad," Ageha says with a smile.

"I feel like I really got married as a ghost."

"Karasu-chan…"

Karasu looks up and Ageha tips her chin, leans in and kisses her on the lips. The guitarist's eyes widen at this and feels like she's with her own Onee-sama right now.

"Rosalia-Onee-sama…"

She thinks back at all the good times they've shared with each other, like sitting together during lunch or just talking to each other in general while walking to and from school. Karasu longed for this moment in years and now…she's finally got what she wanted.

Just then, a yellow glow surrounds Karasu and Ageha backs away from this.

"Wh-what's happening!?" she says.

Karasu just smiles as she puts her hands on her chest and closes her eyes. "Onee-sama…the heavens have called for me."

"Called for you?"

"Yes! My heart feels light. It's because my dream came true."

Karasu-chan…" Ageha reaches for her, but the guitarist is already floating higher.

"Please…please ssee me off just like that, Onee-sama…" She smiles while small tears fall from her eyes. "I'm filled with gratitude towards you and Rosalia-Onee-sama."

"Oh, Karasu-chan!" Ageha says while shedding her own tears. "Thank you for keeping the memory of my mother alive for 22 years!"

"And thank you and the others for being so kind!" Karasu says.

"I can't thank you enough!" the Spaniard says. She tries wiping her tears, but no avail. "You've given me new memories of my mother."

"Onee-sama…thank you very much!"

"No, Karasu-chan. Thank you!"

Karasu smiles as her body fades and gives her a wave. "Good-bye…good-bye, Onee-sama…"

"Good-bye, Karasu-chan!"

And so, when Karasu fades away, so does the light. With that, Ageha exits the church without another word. It is then that she notices her American friend standing by a tree with her arms crossed.

"Yoshimitsu?" she says.

"Karasu-chan left, right?" Yoshimitsu says.

"Y-yeah…" Ageha sniffles and wipes another tear.

"Hey, hey, it's okay…" Yoshimitsu walks over and hugs her. "You did the right thing…as Karasu-chan's Onee-sama…"

"Yes…"

Yoshimitsu then grabs her wrist. "Well then, let's go~!"

"Ah, w-wait, Yoshimitsu! How are we going to explain this to Meimei-chan and Matsuri-chan!?"

"That's an excellent question!"

**At the Dorms**

"We're home!"

"Oh, welcome home, Onee-sama~!" Karasu greets.

Ageha almost falls on her butt from the shock. "K-Karasu-chan!?"

"Yep~! I'm your bride~!" the guitarist jumps into her arms.

"B-but how?"

Meimei and Matsuri walk towards them.

"Oh, Onee-sama is back," the Native American says. "Where did you go?"

"I-I went to the chapel," Ageha answer as she turns towards Karasu. "B-but how did you get here!?"

"Well, I just found myself back here," Karasu answers as she pulls away. "Onee-sama, I will be in your debt for a while longer. I hope that will be okay~!" With that, the guitarist gives her a cute smile.