Truthfully, Yata had wanted to find Mikoto – sensei first (his cool awesome hero!) However the teacher wasn't on duty until three days more. He had no choice but to go to Munakata – sensei first, who would come to school tomorrow.
With sweet free time in hand, Yata spent the evening after his detention to talk to Fushimi – or to the ghost's declaration: annoy the shit out of him. Their so-called bonding conversational time was mostly Yata ranting about nothing and everything and Fushimi clicking his tongue and complaining. Every once in a while Yata would ask personal things about Fushimi, but the glasses-wearing boy skillfully dodged the important questions and picked the harmless ones to answer. Such as "I like nothing. Books and technical stuff come close, though they're not necessary my objects of affection." and "why do you even need to ask such pointless thing as my favorite color? All colors are the same. Boring."
There were several times people came into the elevator. Two old men, a middle-aged one hand disable woman and a pale skinny boy. Each time Yata had to scrambled to his feet and put on his best "act-natural" pose. Thank God no one spoke a word, just looked at him like he was an alien. Fushimi either mocked him for being crazy stupid or sat quietly with sulky pouted lips. It was actually kind of adorable.
The chit chat was cut short right when the redhead mentioned Totsuka out of curiosity, and the other boy startled and began to curl himself up, mumbling "He's just an annoying guy who likes jumping onto other people's business. If you're here for Totsuka's sakes, then you're wasting your time."
So these two really had a history. Too bad Totsuka couldn't see him anymore...
Fushimi refused to say anything after that, except for "Hurry up and get out already", much to Yata's completely confusion. It was getting late so after a few more attempts to stir up another conversation in vain, Yata regrettably deemed it was time to leave. Arguably they'd only met few times but the attachment was ridiculous, almost like a magnet – Yata felt like there was an insistent physical force pull him to the gloomy spirit – and he was very reluctant to say goodbye.
The redhead got terribly excited when he went to bed that night, expecting another tell-tale dream. However, in the slumber he saw nothing but the total darkness surrounding him. Something he could hear faint laughs from somewhere faraway, but that was it, nothing more. Yata doubted it even had a meaning. He wasn't even sure if it was supposed to be a dream – for all he knew, he might just have a dreamless sleep.
Nonetheless, Yata had no reason to be upset about not getting a piece of blurred memory when he was going to meet Fushimi's guardian.
According to Kukuri, Munakata was an elite 25 year old Japanese literature teacher who had been teaching in Ashinaka high school for three years. He was the most second popular man within the school, teachers and students alike. He was excellent in his teaching profession, but the students were as wary of him as they respect him. Not that he was unreasonably strict or anything, it just seemed very difficult to be around him – he had a kind of superhuman ability of observing people for his own amusement and playing mind tricks with everyone.
Sounded like an unpleasant smartass. How fitting for someone like that to be the guardian of a mysterious, irritating ghost.
During the self-study period in the afternoon, Yata sneaked his way into the literature department where Kukuri had set an appointment for Munakata and him beforehand. She said that when she had mentioned the reason for the meeting, the teacher had sounded kind of cautious and weary. "I never see Munakata – sensei loses his cool before. I heard Fushimi is an orphan and Munakata – sensei took him under his wings when he was 14. Maybe the separation with Fushimi – kun affects him more than I thought." spoke Kukuri with a concerned expression.
Yata knocked the door to signal his presence. "Munakata – sensei?"
"Enter, please."
The redhead stepped inside the lounge, glancing around. The room was fairly large and bright, at the center placed a big square grey table surrounded by a dozen of chairs. Two filing cabinets stood proudly at the right sidewall. On the wall hang an elegant picture of a mountain filled with cherry blossoms.
A refined – looking man with blue hair, long side bang, and slim glasses, assumed Munakata, was sitting at the middle on the right side of the table, playing an insane large jigsaw puzzle – must be at least five thousand pieces. His appearance was somewhat similar to Fushimi. One would expect they were siblings.
"You're the one who wants to ask about Fushimi Saruhiko, correct?" Munakata smiled at him, but his eyes gleamed like a hawk. Yata's primal instinct immediately recognized danger in them. He didn't know why he was treated this way, but he wouldn't back down nonetheless.
"Yes, that'd be me." Yata nodded fiercely to show his fighting spirit, yet trying to be more or less polite. "Could you tell me something about him, please?"
The teacher picked a jigsaw piece and examined it, seemingly ignoring the teen for half a minute, making Yata gradually get annoyed. Little did he know that the man was watching him carefully from the corner of his eyes.
Munakata finally raised his voice. "Yata Misaki, 16 year old, new transfer student of class 10-B, enrolled in Ashinaka high school a month ago due to the divorce of your parents and change of living location. No record of crime but tend to have conflicts and get into fights."
The fuck!? Creepy! Was this teacher a stalker or what. "Why do you know all that!?"
"Hm", The literature teacher hummed lightly and brushed him off. "May you light my curiosity as for why you need to approach the information about Fushimi – kun?"
Yata pursed his lips. For some reasons everything and everyone related to Fushimi had to be so damn difficult Even though he admitted that people might be a little confused if a total stranger suddenly asked about your deceased foster kid.
"No reason really. I just heard rumors about him and got really interested in his sudden disappearance."
"Is that so? If that's the case, I believe Yukizome – kun had informed you about Fushimi – kun's special scholarship offer." Munakata chuckled lowly, showing clear I-know-you're-bullshitting-me attitude.
The redhead frowned. "I don't buy that. No one receives such a good scholarship go away unnoticed that easily. Friends or other students aside, this school values reputation so much that I doubt the principal would slip that chance to promote Ashinaka. Yet I don't see anything about it on mass media."
Did he just say that. Did he just say something sounded so intelligent and logical. Honestly he didn't even think that far, words just spilled out of his mouth. A pat in the back for Yata! He was so proud of himself. Who is the idiot now, Fushimi?
"I see. Impressive, even if it's a wild guess."
Munakata placed the jigsaw piece he was holding down, then walked toward Yata. His pleasant smile had gone, replaced by a grim face.
"I'd love to provide you with what you need, however, Fushimi - kun's information was classified as a confidential by the school's principal. I cannot give it to someone who doesn't have the rightful access, nor I myself want to give it willingly to a stranger who have unclear connection with Fushimi – kun without further observation."
Confidential? Bingo, something fishy was definitely going on here. "What...what do you mean?"
Munakata lowered his head and got closer to the boy's face as if he didn't know what heck personal space meant. Even though his composed smile came back, his voice turned icy cold.
"I will never make that mistake again. Now, won't you tell me what is your true intention towards Fushimi Saruhiko?"
A chill ran through whole Yata's body upon hearing these sharp words. He stuttered out without thinking, not even noticed that he was spilling the truth. "I-I swear I mean no harm! It's probably fate or something but I just want to h-help, yeah, help him so he can go on – "
"Hey, Munakata, the report you want is ready." The door abruptly busted open and a teacher with golden hair walked in, effectively interrupted Yata's confession. Halting in mid step, the new comer stared at the scene, dumbfounded. "What are you even doing to a student?"
"Ah, Kusanagi – san, thank you for your trouble. You come just in time, actually." Munakata leaned back, face calm as always, and gave an easy smile. He pushed Yata lightly on the shoulder so the boy bend toward a little. "This interesting boy here is asking me about Fushimi – kun."
The blond man, Kusanagi, jointed and seemed to be completely shocked. He glanced at Yata with wide eyes and twitching lips. "Are you used to be Fushimi's friend?"
Munakata answered instead of Yata. "I believe it's not the case. Yata – kun lived in Sapporo before coming here one month ago. As far I know, Fushimi – kun and him have no relation. Apparently, he finds the rumors about Fushimi – kun enthralling and somehow insists he can help our dear boy go on, or whatever the word he was going to say."
Kusanagi gawked at both the dark haired teacher and Yata for a moment, then sighed. "You totally call me here on purpose."
"You're too skeptical, Kusanagi – san. I really need your report. Such a coincidence sometime happens."
"What do you want me to do now? You know we are supposed to never speak a word about what happened."
Yata looked back and forth between the two older men, unsure of what to say but gradually getting pissed off at being ignored. "Tsk. What do the lot of you play mysterious for..."
Smiling and nodding to himself, Munakata placed a hand on Yata's upper back and directed him to the blond man. "My, my, such a short-tempered, adventurous boy. Don't you think he would fit to be a Homra member?"
Kusanagi tensed visibly, his face struggled to kept a composed facade. "Homra is no longer an active club. Membership recruitment was Totsuka's job, anyway."
"Oh I don't know what is happening but I want to join! Mikoto – sensei is Homra's president, right? I also want to meet Totsuka – san again, I think he'll let me in easily enough." Yata smiled brightly, recalling Totsuka as an easy-going man from their first meeting.
"You also know Totsuka?" Both the teachers asked with surprise voice.
"Well sort of...I met him just twice recently, though."
The elder teacher gripped Yata's arms and stared straight deep into his eyes, like he was desperately searching for something. The student blinked back in genuine confusion.
"Alright. Yata, isn't it? I'll take him."
Yata winced inwardly as Kusanagi suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled him along. They were almost out of the door when Munakata raised his voice again in a warning manner.
"Kusanagi – san, I trust you to not lose control over the situation no matter what this intriguing boy may bring. Our condition is not ideal for us to rush after a small piece of opportunity, should you forget what the consequences can be. For Fushimi's sakes, and even Suoh's, I suggest you solely make him a Homra member for the time being."
Kusanagi frowned, nodding as he replied curtly. "I understand. However, guiding him to us implies you're getting impatient too." He tugged the ginger again to leave without bidding a goodbye.
Yata let himself be led obediently, partly because he was wrecking his head to process all the vague information within the two teacher's earlier dialogue. Which was unfortunately neither much nor helpful.
They were about to reach the staircases when Kusanagi halted abruptly on his track and sighed, like he just thought of something important, before turning back to Yata with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"I'm sorry to drag you around without your consent. You must be very confused."
Damn right I am, he scowled. "So what's all this about? To be honest I don't understand a single thing. I went to ask about Fushimi and then got pushed into a club. What even?"
"First thing first, my name is Kusanagi Izumo. I'm teaching Advanced English for the 12th grade students, and I'm also the vice – president of Homra." Kusanagi raised a hand, to which Yata hesitantly shook, creeping out from the unnecessary politeness.
"I'm Yata Misaki. I guess I'll be in your hands from now?" It was weird to suddenly be recruited in a club he had next to no knowledge of. Well, Mikoto – sensei was there so it must be great by default. No complaints.
"Yes, but only after I confirm one thing." The fingers curled around Yata's hand tightened just a bit. Yata noted that they gave off the impression of a strong grip. "I want you to look straight into my eyes while answering it."
"Is it an entrance test or something..."
The English teacher got down to Yata's eyes level and asked with a low, dead serious voice. "Do you, by any means, work for, or relate to Colorless?"
Yata blinked. "Who the heck is Colorless?"
Kusanagi's hazel orbs seemed to dig deep into his soul. Pushing his uncomfortable feeling down, Yata kept his gaze on firm line.
It felt like an eternity had passed until the blond man relaxed visibly, when in reality it was only three seconds. His shoulders relaxed visibly, eyebrows eased and his smile quickly reached the eyes. Still, the staring game didn't stop.
"Good, very good. Now I'll go straight to the point. I believe that you get involved in this mess for a reason, and with your ability, you can definitely figuring it out sooner or later. Truthfully, I cannot provide you any confidential information regarding Fushimi and Totsuka because of certain awful conditions."
The redhead nodded dumbly. Well, back to a square one.
Kusanagi grinned. "Or that's what I'm supposed to say, anyway."
Oh?
OH.
"So, so ? What do you mean by that? Will you tell me about them?"
Kusanagi hushed him silent and slid a finger on his phone's screen, choosing a name form the directory. "Ah, Mikoto? Get your ass over the bar. Now. And bring Anna with you too."
A few seconds passed before Kusanagi sighed exasperatedly. "No, it's not about Colorless, I haven't found him yet. I'll explain later, but we have a new member. A kid who claims he's seen Totsuka and Fushimi recently. Yeah, you hear it right. Alright, see you later."
Yata stared with face brimmed with hope and excitement, jumping up and down like a puppy. The English teacher glanced over him and sighed again. "Let's go to Homra's base. I'll decide the limit of leaky information you'll get after consulting Anna."
Apparently Homra's base wasn't located inside the school, but a street away.
Unlike any other clubrooms Yata'd ever seen, it was a grand Europe-styled bar with red and gold as its main theme. Despite its luxurious appearance, the inside of the bar actually gave off a warm, cozy feeling.
Yata jumped onto a high bar stool and swirled on it like hyperactive 5 year old child. Being a junior high student, he had never set a foot into a bar, so it was a whole new wonderful world to him. The sparkle glasses and wine bottles were like diamonds in his eyes, along with the elegant bar counter and the red couch at the corner.
Kusanagi poured two glasses or water and placed them on the counter, all the while keeping an eye to the door, waiting for his friend.
"Kusanagi – san, this bar is so cool! So cool! What kind of club is Homra, exactly?"
The older man chuckled. "On paper, I listed it as a supernatural phenomena study club."
Yata raised an eyebrow. Okay, I don't know what I'm expecting, but that was certainly unexpected.
A small ding dong sound caught his attention, he turned his head to the door in time to greet Mikoto Suoh, the gym teacher Yata not so secretly admired.
"Mikoto – sensei!"
"Ah..." The man glanced at Yata lazily, looking like he could use a ten hour nap right at that moment. He flopped down onto the couch and finally talked. "Who are you?"
One might ask why such a person was Yata's idol. The short answer was: He's so cool!. The longer answer would be a ten-page essay about how the teacher looked like a red superhero, how manly he sounded and acted, how he made even the strongest rudest boys in the gym class behaved, how he literally let the students do whatever they wanted in gym as long as no accidents happened... on and on and on. On the second gym class, Yata's affection toward Mikoto skyrocketed when the boy almost got a volleyball flied straight into his face if not for the teacher's one hand block.
"I'm Yata! I'm your student, 10-B class! Do you remember me?"
"...Hm." Mikoto yawned nonchalantly, then looked over his right shoulder. "What's wrong, Anna? Come in."
Yata craned his neck to see a white-haired little girl in scarlet dress stood at the door. She was looking at Yata through a red marble, unblinkingly. The intense, odd stare made Yata fidget a little, although part of it was probably the result of his fear for girls.
Anna kept her gaze steady and her marble still in front of her right eye while slowly walking toward Yata. The student scratched his head and turned to the two men for rescue, only to find both of them quietly watched the little show with strange concentration.
The girl slowly shifted her line of sight to Mikoto, who just squinted a tiny bit in respond, then back to Yata again. She spoke softly after a few seconds.
"Mikoto, light your red up, please."
Mikoto nodded and raised his left hand, palm upward. A faint red aura raised from the red-haired teacher. Immediately, a dozen of fireballs floated all over him and the bar, some hanging dangerously close to Yata.
Yata screamed.
Loud.
In wonderment.
"Awesome! What, what is this magic trick? Cool! So cool!"
Kusanagi slammed a palm over his face while Mikoto just stretched his lips in a poor attempted half-smile.
Anna glanced back and forth at Yata and Mikoto, then nodded her head at the latter. The fire began to die down very gradually, much to Yata's disapproval.
"So, how is it, Anna – chan? You don't usually make such a flashy show." The English teacher gave an easy smile.
The little girl put her red marble down, speaking in quiet but clear voice. "Misaki has shadows behind him. Mikoto's flame can make them fade, but they're still lingering there. On the other hand...", Anna pursed her lips as if to try to find the right words, "...somehow, they also stirs up some shadows behind Mikoto."
"What are you talking about?" Yata frowned in confusion, looking over his shoulders. He saw nothing but his own ordinary shadow.
Kusanagi interrupted. "What? That is bad, right?"
"I don't know", Anna shook her head lightly, "but he is the key point, the only one who is in-between. He can change everything, though a good or a bad ending will not be for us to decide."
Yata looked at her blankly, trying to digest whatever she'd just said. "Are you playing insane hard riddles or something?"
A low laugh came out of Kusanagi's throat. "No, Yata, she's taking a glimpse at your fate."
"...hah?"
"I did tell you Homra is a supernatural phenomena study club only on paper, right? The truth is, we're the supernatural phenomena themselves. In other words, we Homra members have abnormal abilities, some of which can even be considered superpowers."
No fucking way. For real? "Th-then the fireballs, Mikoto – sensei, and, and...?"
"That's right. Mikoto can produce flames, Anna can sense all sorts of thing regarding to people's fate – as vague as it sounds. And I'm able to detect whether someone is lying."
Yata gasped in awe. He didn't see this coming. He wouldn't even believe it, deemed it a lame joke, if not for the fact that he had just talked to a ghost yesterday. But still, suddenly be told that a group of people have superpowers was a surreal experience.
Mikoto snorted and waved a hand at Yata in lazy manner as always. "Don't be so shocked. You have a weird ability too."
"Er, me?"
"You can see spiritual creatures, or at least ghosts, correct?" said Kusanagi, with a hint of sadness in his voice.
They knew !? How? Was it because I keep asking about Fushimi? Guess there's no reason to hide anymore. Things just get crazier and crazier.
"Yes..."
"It's not true." Anna suddenly announced, making everyone jointed. "You don't always see the spirit world."
"Well, you're right. I'm just a normal person for almost all my life. I think I'd never seen a ghost before Fushimi... I wonder why I can see him?"
Mikoto narrowed his eyes. "Fushimi? Where?"
"At the elevator in the A building, sir."
"The elevator...", the blond teacher murmured, "The haunted one in rumors? Of course. Why didn't I think of it..."
"Then, where did you see Tatara?" Mikoto asked again. Yata wasn't sure the soft tremble in his tone was due to sadness or anger.
"I met him at the elevator too when he was using it at the same time as me. Totsuka - san seems like a nice guy, I'd like to meet him again! Ohh, he's a member of Homra, isn't he? What's his power?"
The three Homra members looked stunned, then slowly turned their gaze down as dark expressions climbed to their face.
Mikoto took a cigarette out and lighted it with a swift snap of two fingers. "You don't know, huh. Well, he wasn't here anymore."
Anna squeezed the red-haired man's hand. "Mikoto. You're wrong. Tatara often comes. You just don't know."
"That guy sure is weird. What the point of coming back here..."
"Uhm...Did Totsuka – san and Homra have a fall out?" Yata tried his luck again.
"He – "
"Mikoto."
The name was called in a warning tone, signaling that Kusanagi wanted to shield the information. Oh come on...Not only Fushimi, but Totsuka is full of secrets too?
The Homra vice – president picked up the conversation. "Totsuka is one of Homra's founders, along with me and Mikoto, even though he doesn't work for Ashinaka school. He is a neutralizer, which means he can neutralize many other abilities. He holds position as Homra's HMR, but it'd be more correct to say he's an emergency fire-extinguisher or a beast tamer."
Kusanagi smiled when Yata was about to ask more. "Now back to Fushimi. I believe you want to hear about him?"
"Yes! Yes please!"
"On paper, Fushimi was an orphan that got Munakata Reishi as his guardian. However, the truth was he ran away from an abusive home when he was only 13, showed up at the center library and asked for a job and a shelter. He did a good job at literally everything and peaked the interest of Munakata, who was a frequent guest. They had quite a history of pushing each other around until Fushimi finally gave in and allowed Munakata to take care of him."
Mikoto chimed in. "Enjoy teasing a 13 year old boy. And that guy keeps saying about justice."
"Don't make it sound like that... Anyway, after Fushimi enrolled in the school for a while, Totsuka figured out that he had abnormal potential. At first we thought it was a Munakata - like trait, being genius. Ah right, before we had thought Munakata had ability of prediction, but it turned out he's just so smart that he could practically see all the possible outcomes. But Fushimi's ability was different, very vague and very unstable, even Anna couldn't put a finger on it."
Kusanagi scratched his chin for a few seconds to find the right words.
"To put it simply, it's depend on the strength of his mind. If Fushimi truly, absolutely believe in something within himself, it has a chance to come true. For example, if Fushimi tells a lie and absolutely 100% believes his lie, my lie-detecting power would mistake it for the truth. When he believes he can do something, like winning over stronger opponents or getting pass way too difficult problems, he may archive it through an unnatural boost of energy. Once time, Fushimi was trapped in the library's warehouse for a whole week, and while we're worried sick, when we finally found him Fushimi had read nearly all the books in presence and thought it's only just a few hours. No trace of starvation, dehydration, or sleep driven."
Sounded awesome. Weird but awesome. "So if he thinks he can fly, he can really fly?"
The English teacher sighed and face palmed again. "No. There's a limit for what one can do. Also it seems like his power only works unconsciously."
"Oh..." Yata pouted. He pondered on what he should ask next, knowing that touching the subject of Fushimi's death would only be brushed off, for whatever the silence policy was.
Anna seemed to read his thoughts when she suddenly raised her voice. "Are you wondering why you could see Saruhiko in the elevator?"
"Ah, that's right! It bothers me so much. Do you know why?"
The white-haired girl nodded. "The shadows behind you, they're the warning of death. People can see things clearer the closer they are to them. You can see him probably because of the combination of hidden spiritual ability, being in a place with a strong connection with the dead, and being close to death yourself."
"...I...I'm going to die...?" What have I gotten myself into.
Anna touched his hand gently, her downcast eyes trembled a bit, but still filled with determination.
"I don't know. When the time comes, it'll depend on both you and Saruhiko."