Author's Notes: Ah man, I didn't realise how little time I was going to have to draw, much less write, even though I'm temporarily retired from RO. Sigh. Of course, there was the fact I got a rare bout of fangirlism for L from Death Note…

"Ah, fresh meat" is the Butcher's signature line when you see him. Where does the Butcher come from? Blizzard's awesomely awesome Diablo, of course ;) Ah, I have the sudden urge to get my Diablo 2 CDs and start playing again. Good game, good game…Anyhow, enjoy!

Edit: Went under heavy revision because I really, really hated this chapter. I suppose the ending dialogue is less amusing in this version, but the character reactions are probably closer to the mark. Still not entirely happy with this though.

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Ragnarok Online

The Spectres of Amatsu

Chapter 2

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Amastu, named after Amatsu-Mikaboshi, is one of the most beautiful cities off the mainland. Its signature cherry-blossom trees, known as sakura, are world renowned. They only bloom for a mere week, when the flowers cover the tree in blossoms of white and pink. How lucky I was to be there when they were in full bloom! The first son of Amatsu's royal family tells me the sakura trees are a symbol of the beauty, but brevity of life. He says, 'life is beautiful, like a cherry blossom. But, like a cherry blossom, life is short'. However, also associated with the sakura are the samurai, Amastu's honorable warriors, who are believed to be reborn in the blossoms when they die in battle.

- Trian Lizray

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Lise pinched the bridge of her nose, her mind slowly digesting what she had been told. The other three members of her party sat at the table, carefully watching her reaction. Raile's eyes darted frantically about the room, as if he feared a steel blade seeking his flesh would come out of the shadows. Cairn had the look of a hunted animal in his eyes. He gripped the neck of his bottle of drink so tightly his knuckles bleached. Han, though, didn't display any outward change, patiently waiting for her reply. Finally Lise spoke.

"If you bow out now, the report I send back the Church will not be favourable."

Cairn shot to his feet, the palms of his hands slamming into the table. "Do you want us to die, Ravella?" he hissed furiously, his fingers clawing the table's surface. "What happens if that ghost isn't there to save our asses next time? What will happen then, huh?" Lise discreetly edged away from him, the sour alcohol in his breath something she didn't want to inhale.

Han waved a hand at the assassin, indicating he should sit down. Reluctant, Cairn slowly sat down. "Forgive us, Sister Ravella," the hunter said quietly, "but we no longer need to accompany you. It was stated in the contract we would be your bodyguards when we either found Incantation Samurai, or after 3 months. As of yesterday, our contract has already terminated. If you want us to continue, you will need to pay extra."

Lise clenched her fist, narrowing her eyes at the hunter. "Why, you money-hungr–"

"Do not misunderstand, sister," Han interrupted, calmly matching her angry glare with his unblinking stare. "We would not accept even if you offered. Do you really think it is wise to drag us into your pursuit of the Samurai when we are no longer able to perform as a party? Do you really want to work with people who are so plagued with fear they see monsters where there is nothing?"

He tilted his head, indicating his partners. Her gaze followed his gesture. All she saw were mere shadows of the men they had been. Only skeletons of their bravery remained, clinging to what scraps of pride they had left like hungry dogs. They would not be so willing to forfeit their lives this time. Lise chewed the bottom of her lip as she returned her gaze to the hunter. Unfortunately, he had a point. "Unlike you," he continued, "we age faster, we don't live so long. You are still in your prime, and will be for another twenty years. In another twenty years, we will be on the edge of retirement. We do have families to return to. I hope you understand, sister."

Lise ran her thumb over the beads of the rosary in her hand as her mind's wheels turned. She didn't like this at all. She doubted the Church would be willing to spare her anyone else for a 'whimsical romp that serves no purpose'. And she didn't trust mercenaries that had no recommendation. All too often they were greedy, slovenly bastards who didn't do the job right. She didn't want to be associated with felons who would stab her in the back for her money.

Sighing, she let her frown slide from her face. They were such fools. If they truly valued their lives, they would not have become mercenaries. She could only forgive them and hope they had the sense to take up some other occupation.

Sliding a small envelope containing the rest of their pay towards the hunter, Lise stood up to leave. "I understand. My report back to the Church will not be unfavourable."

She didn't see Han's nod of acknowledgement at her retreating back. The hunter traced the wooden grain of the table in thought. He understood that not unfavourable did not mean necessarily mean favourable.

Lise massaged her temples as she walked, feeling a headache coming on. She needed to do something so she could clear her head and think. Her best option was to clear some undead, and what better place was there than the Tatami Maze? Although she did not wish to repeat the encounter with Incantation Samurai, she had previously roamed the Maze with her ex-party members for a whole Samurai-free month. She was willing to take the risk involved in entering the Maze. After all, the risk was still the same as when she first started investigating the Maze.

She walked into the Maze, giving a curt nod to the guards outside before dropping blessings and a barrier over herself. Lise easily fell into the role of 'killing' the undead so they could move on. But even the simple task of releasing undead souls from their physical constrains was not enough to clear her mind.

Part of her thoughts was occupied with mentally composing the report she would have to return to the Church. The rest her mind dedicated itself to trying to sort through the confusion the previous day left behind. There were so many loose ends that needed tying up, but they were all hopelessly tangled from the questions that frolicked amongst them like kittens with a ball of string. Each question mewled in its own pathetic voice. How did the Samurai break down her Kyrie Eleison barrier so easily? How was it that Incantation had no undead smell? But one question's voice rung out louder than the others.

A frown tugged at her face as she stepped over the ashes of a turned undead. She wanted to find that ghost who saved her. She wanted to know who he was, but she realised that when all this was over, when she knew everything she wanted to know, she would have to release his soul too. After all, he was still a ghost, an undead. It was her duty to ensure they went to a peaceful afterlife.

"What're you doing here?" a cold voice suddenly demanded from behind her.

Lise reflexively whirled and released a blast of holy light at her unexpected assailant. Her eyes widened when she realised she had just attacked the ghost she had been hoping to run into. With lightning fast reflexes, the ghost dodged out of the way, but even he didn't escape unscathed. The ball of light struck him in the right shoulder, imprinting an image of a brilliant cross. Lise watched in horror as his shoulder turned to thin fingers of mist before her eyes. Clenching his teeth, the ghost disappeared as the light from her spell faded away. Using several words the Church would have been shocked that she knew, Lise cursed her trigger-happy instincts. Her reflexes while she was in auto-pilot had saved her in the past, but that had to be the worst time for it to kick in.

"Ohhhh sheeeeeet." She mentally smacked herself in the head repeatedly and cursed, just stopping short of using God's name in vain.

Good job, Lise, she inwardly berated herself, You just scared away that ghost. Why don't you get someone to carve 'Stupid' onto your forehead?

She stayed a little longer in the undead infested corridors to recollect her thoughts. Her thoughts were now a maze as frustrating as the one she walked; all the paths she took were dead ends created by that ghost. But even as she turned and turned and turned again, she was lost, unable to find the right path.

Because she didn't know what the Finish looked like.

--

When he wanted something, he took it sneakily out in the open. He did it blatantly because he knew he could get away with it. If he couldn't, he wouldn't lose much anyway. But when he wanted something he was afraid of losing – though there were very few times that happened – he would watch and wait and watch and wait…

Then someone told him it would be better to come out from the shadows. It would be better, and less suspicious, and less prone to misunderstanding. And less creepy stalker-like.

He fingered his sore shoulder. Maybe she thought that too.

--

Lise sighed as she lay under a tree. She had looked for that ghost every single day, to no avail. Every time she turned a corner in that godforsaken Maze, she hoped to see the face of that ghost. But more often than not, there had been either an ugly skeleton standing in her path, or simply nothing at all.

She had asked around Amastu – with some difficulty; she wasn't fluent in the native language – and as far as she could tell, no one had ever heard of there being a ghost in the Maze. Everyone only recounted undead and the androgynous looking miyabi dolls. Nothing about the Incantation Samurai, and nothing about the ghost. No one had even heard of a man wandering the Tatami Maze that fit the ghost's description. None of the drunkards who usually yielded small snippets of information could describe the Samurai accurately. Nothing was new. Everything was simply rehashes of what the royal family of Amatsu had announced. The trail was running cold. She couldn't find either of the two spectres – not that she was in a hurry to find the Samurai – and she couldn't find any recent rumours of them. Both had practically vanished, as if they had never existed at all.

It was like trying to find…well…a ghost…

A frown tugged at her features. Was she just wasting her time? Was her whole idea of finding the truth behind the myths just a waste of energy? What if all this searching yielded nothing? What if all those legends really were just legends…?

Making a face at the carefree clouds, Lise sat up. She needed a walk. Or maybe she needed to kill some undead. It wasn't like her to be so negative.

But even as she walked to the Tatami Maze, Lise couldn't help but wonder whether she was doing the right thing by killing the undead. Did the undead truly die? She had never really thought about it until now, but there were still undead roaming about even though the Pronteran Church's aim for centuries was to exterminate them. Were there really that many restless souls being created to offset the numerous mass undead purges?

Shaking her head, she cleared her mind of all her thoughts as she entered the Maze. Its beautiful walls were becoming increasingly familiar to her. Lise knew if she took a right turn, the maze would split into three paths. And although all three lead to dead ends, the middle fork would take her to a room with a small table. A little bunch of flowers grew in the ceramic jar placed in the centre of the table, and a beautiful night scene in a bamboo forest was painted on the sliding door that wouldn't open. Lise found a longing to see that room. It was perhaps the only room that was completely unsullied by the undead filth. In all her visits, there were never any undead in this room. It was a tiny piece of tranquillity, a small slice of heaven, in a place that was filled with evil. A visit to that room was in order, before she began to clear the undead again. She may not have another opportunity to see it, if she decided to give up trying…

She nearly started when suddenly spotted the ghost in the room, watching her with his golden gaze. Noticing she had finally seen him, he approached her as silent as the trickling of sand. Lise was unnerved by how he was simply 'there'. The ghost, like the Samurai, didn't have any kind of indicator that alerted her to his presence. No sound, no sense of presence, no undead smell. They were so similar…

"Why're you still here, priestess?"

How long had he been watching her? "I was actually looking for you."

If Lise had been looking for some kind of reaction to her words, she was bitterly disappointed. "I don't care. I told you to stay out of here, and I mean it."

Lise felt her right eye twitch in indignation. How dare he? She hated it when people told her what to do. "Who are you, my mother?" she snapped at him. "I wanted to come here, and you can't stop me."

Before she knew what was happening, he was right in front of her, holding her chin. He tilted her head upward so that she could see the angry glare in his golden eyes. Lise felt a shiver run down her spine as he breathed. The blood drained from her face when she realised he was breathing on her like a wolf just before it went for the kill. In one swift movement, he had her pressed up against the wooden panelling of a wall. She began to struggle, but the dagger he carried pricked her under the chin, forcing her into stillness. Using her dagger point to tilt her head, he kept her in his gaze. "Just because I'm dead," he whispered, his voice freezing her inside, "doesn't mean I can't kill you. But I suppose I could always have a little…fun…with you."

Lise let out an unconscious whimper as he pressed himself harder against her. He was cold, so cold. She shivered, all too aware of how tangible the dagger at her throat was. She nearly cried when she felt him slide his leg between hers, a cold arm encircling her waist. Her breath hitched in her throat.

Oh dear God, what's he doing? This, this can't be happening to me!

"I can be your worst nightmare," he breathed, a lascivious smile drawing his lips wide in a fiendish grin.

For a terror-stricken moment, Lise believed him. In the past, she had always scorned rape victims, believing they were weak to allow a man to overpower them. But now, she understood how crippling it was to know that all it'd take would be a swift jerk of her knee to be free, only to be held back by the chains of terror. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his golden gaze; it was as if someone was holding her head, preventing her from turning away. She didn't even dare move, not even when he drew closer, a hungry smile on his face. It was as if he was draining her of her will to fight back, like a vampire draining his victim of blood until all that was left was a hollow, empty husk. She was a tiny bird trapped in a snake's coils; her eyes were locked into his, unable to see the fanged maw open wide…

But finally, that stupidly logical part of her brain kicked in, and screamed at her to listen to it. "Y-you can't kill me," she stammered through her dry throat.

Lise winced as the dagger point pierced her flesh, drawing a single drop of blood. It oozed out from her skin, running down the side of the cold, cold blade. "Are you so sure, priestess?"

She resisted the urge to swallow the fear in her mouth in case she choked. "Y-yes. Killing me would defeat the purpose of saving me in the first place."

"I only saved you because I thought you were someone else," the ghost whispered, drawing his face closer. His tongue darted out and licked the tiny wound shut. An unconscious shudder, revulsion burning the clammy hands that squeezed her heart, ran through her in response. "You mean nothing to me."

Feeling the sickening terror rising up into her throat, Lise tried to fight it down. She felt the snake's coils slowly but surely constricting. Drawing on her final reserves of bravery, she made her final cry for life. "But you still continued to warn me away. No one in Amatsu has even heard of you. Yet you've appeared to me three times. Why…?"

…The world stopped.

Suddenly, the harshness seemed to seep out of his face like the water receding from a beach. He looked strangely saddened by her words and dropped his head, unable to look her in the eye. But it was a long, heart-pounding moment for Lise before he took the knife away from her throat. She breathed an audible sigh of relief when he backed away from her, giving her room to breathe. She clutched her arms, covering her chest even though she was fully clothed, still shivering. Lise felt the urge to warp herself out there and then and take a cold, cold bath to wash away that disgusting feeling he had left on her. She felt so very dirty, a mere object of lust for the ghost.

The priestess stared at the ghost, wondering why he was just standing there. She was torn between leaving to put as much distance between him and her as possible, or staying to see what he said. In the end, her curiosity – which had often gotten the better of her – won out, bridging the chasm of fear he had created.

There was a long pause before he finally replied. "You look like my wife."

Lise's mind just…stopped. W-what?

She unconsciously shrunk back, clutching the rosary around her neck as if it would protect her, when he turned his gaze onto her. But he didn't make any move towards her, instead sitting on his haunches like some kind of twisted human parody of a wolf. Maybe his wife had tamed this wild beast; without her, the beast now ran free, doing as he wished. But perhaps this wife of his had left behind some reins, some leash of control, for Lise to use…

"Who was your wife?"

He tilted his head to the side, staring at her. She stared back defiantly. He wouldn't dominate her with fear; she wouldn't allow him to, not when she knew there was a way to make him give up the answers she sought. "Was?" he said cooly. "Just because I'm dead doesn't mean she is."

"I see." So he was only dead recently. "Then, who are you?"

"Why are you asking again?" He yawned, opening his mouth wide and showing her a round, metal stud on his tongue. "I already told you, priestess."

He had? Oh. Lise glared at him. "'A fucking idiot' doesn't answer my question. What's your name?" Maybe he would give her his name if she gave hers. "Mine is Lise Ravella."

"You're starting to bore me, priestess. I can't believe I mistook you for her; you're nothing like her. There's no reason for me to stay." And he was gone.

Lise didn't realise she was grinding her teeth until a few moments after he had left. There was something about the whole exchange that had irritated her. Perhaps it was the way he called her 'priestess' rather than use her name, but Lise thought it was the fact he had just ignored her questions. It was completely unacceptable. She wanted answers!

"Tomorrow," she vowed fervently, "I'm going to wring every bit of information I can from that damn ghost!"

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Author's Note: I'm not too happy with the ending of this chapter, but it's all I could come up with for the time being. Mmm, not sure how accurate I was with the whole sakura thing was either. Ah well. There have been so many times I typed the ghost's name by accident. I have to check this lots of times to make sure a spoiler didn't slip through x.x;;

As usual, comments and criticism welcome.