Yoh everyone! This will be my first full-on story about this amazing anime. The interesting part about this anime is because there are so many things left to explore and explain despite that SR is "already" finished. I'll try to take on those unresolved plot holes with this story. And trust me, this would be freaking long.
Without further ado, let's just begin...
Read. Enjoy. Review.
A Ghost Encounter
By silenthero
"Are you afraid of ghosts?"
"Not really."
"Then do you believe in ghosts?"
"Why should I be scared of something I don't believe in?"
The young girl bowed her head, her hair falling in front of her face and hiding her eyes. "Then nice to meet you, Kenji Harima."
Prologue
Kenji Harima, former delinquent and number one bad boy of Yagami High. He's also engaged to a certain rich heiress and now living with his crush's younger sister and a nun.
Even he wouldn't have believed it if it hadn't actually happened to him.
It was now a month after his first love, Tenma Tsukamoto, fled to America to pursue Karasuma Ooji, his hated rival both in love and manga. That specific moment really impacted him more than he could admit. It nearly ruined him, dropping him to the lowest of low of his meager existence.
But then again, wasn't he the one who came up with it? Personally handing the girl he loved to a man who abandoned her? Couldn't he just wait it out, slowly let time do its cruel deed of changing happy moments to mere memories? But no, he couldn't.
In his heart of hearts, he knew he couldn't let fate win this one. Could he live a life regretting the moment he could make her smile but hesitated because of his own selfish love? No, it wouldn't end that way. He had to make a choice: at the expense of his heart or the heart of the one who gave him a heart.
It was not that hard to answer if you don't think too much about it, something Harima is particularly good at. He thought of it on the fly and if given another chance, he would have done it again without a second thought.
Since then, his life was cast adrift, waking everyday knowing he was the chief architect of the demolition of his heart. The one inspiration that drove him to become a better person was now gone. No more purpose, no more regret, and no reason to live any longer.
It took two young ladies to keep him afloat; a slap to reality and a house to call home. If this was fate rewarding him for his sacrifice, he would laugh at the absurdity of it. Fate can be a cruel mistress but sometimes fate shows her other side.
He called it Lady Luck.
Or so he thought...
Chapter 1:
"It's so nice to have a man around," a blonde girl sporting a milkmaid-braid hairstyle cheerily said. She was leaning her elbows on the kitchen table, her hands cupping her face.
"If that's a compliment, Sarah, then I'll take it," a man wearing a hair band said while washing the dishes. "It would also be nice if a certain nun could also help."
A red eyed girl with shoulder-length hair giggled. "There aren't many dishes to wash, Harima. If you don't mind I'll wash them."
Harima looked at Yakumo and replied sternly, "That's not necessary, Imouto-san. You already did the cooking. I can do this myself."
"You see, Yakumo. He can do it by himself," Sarah cut in, mischief in her eyes. Harima looked over his shoulder and stared gravely at her. He should be more careful with his words from now on.
"Anyway, Harima," Yakumo said, calmly changing or diffusing the subject. "I know it's Saturday but Sarah and I will be gone the whole day. Will you be okay being alone here?"
Harima looked back at her direction and replied, "Of course. I'm beginning to get used to living in a big house so leave the chores to me."
"How lovely! You could be a good housewife!" Sarah cheerily exclaimed.
"Thanks, Sarah." Harima deadpanned, still not forgetting their exchanges earlier. Yakumo smiled inwardly at the both of them. They were like a brother and sister teasing each other.
With her older sister gone, Yakumo was left alone. It was her best friend Sarah who had the idea of staying with her. Since Sarah was an orphan who lived at the church, it was beneficial for the both of them. The only thing Yakumo didn't expect was her friend bringing along Harima.
There was a heated discussion after Yakumo's classmates learned of Harima's sudden engagement to Eri. They were livid about the news and, although Yakumo was tight lipped about it, they decided they would help her out by any means necessary. They could not let one of their beloved classmates lose to some rich blonde. It suddenly became a personal mission for them. Yakumo herself wasn't bothered about it but because of her classmates' insistence, she began to question the situation. Akira then told them the engagement was just on paper and the two would never really go through it. Yakumo was relieved after hearing that.
Relieved? That feeling of relief had surprised her. It meant that she was bothered. That she really did care. So she let her classmates do what they wanted. She just didn't expect they would go as far as having Harima end up staying with her.
As it turned out, Harima was kicked out by his cousin because he was now "married" and should not stay with other women any longer. He drifted to his bride-to-be's residence for lodging but Eri stolidly refused since they were not technically "married" and she couldn't stomach Harima being in the same place as her, even as her face betrayed what she was saying. Sarah took the chance and, along with her energetic classmate Miki, hatched a plan to let Harima stay with Yakumo. After their ordeal (and at Hanai's expense), all went according to plan and Harima agreed.
Sarah's plan was to "rehabilitate" him and, finding Yakumo would be living alone, she took the initiative to do it for her, even though Yakumo had no say in it. It was the perfect opportunity since Harima's heart was still vulnerable after going through such a traumatic experience. Yakumo even got her blessing from her older sister when she informed her of Harima's stay, even though it was Tenma who threw Harima out the first time he stayed over. Her sister said happily that both of them were now living with the men they loved and then she stamped her approval; despite Yakumo again having no say in it.
It seemed the whole world was conspiring in her love life, one way or another.
Despite the drastic changes, Yakumo had gotten comfortable living with them in the two weeks they'd stayed so far. To be honest, she found living with the two of them far less tedious than with her sister. Tenma actually needed such high maintenance to look after now that she thought about it.
Bidding goodbye to her two housemates, Yakumo grabbed her bag of "costumes" and left for the cafe she was working at. Sarah shortly followed, remarking she should get to work early to make up for her late attendance last week at the chinese restaurant. After finishing the dishes, Harima was left alone in the big house.
In the last two weeks he'd stayed, this was the first time he'd been left alone. School aside, he was either with Yakumo or Sarah or they were both in the house. They talked about their day, watched TV or simply dozed off while he drew his manga. Yakumo would also help with the manga but only when he really needed her. He was in too much debt to ask her for it. There was also Eri and her activities.
Harima wished that the blonde had the decency to notify him first before barging in to the house and then dragging him away to a rich man's errand he knew nothing about. Her arrival could be at any given moment, from him doing his manga to him being asleep. This made him spend more time in her company than he did in the house. Despite that, he knew he would never understand rich people no matter how much time he spent with them.
With a larger-than-average house to currently deal with, Harima began to think of his plan of action. Yakumo left him a note of chores to do around the house but she hadn't left him a time table. Even so, Harima was accustomed to cleaning. He was the "cleaning lady", as his cousin put it, when he was staying in her apartment.
Ms. Itoko had taught him (more accurately, threatened him at gunpoint) that by being the one who was staying in another person's place he should have the courtesy and initiative to help around. Although Yakumo's hospitality was a far cry from Ms. Itoko's spartan treatment, Harima was already in debt in how Yakumo had helped him multiple times with his manga. Yakumo always did chores around the house so he would do it first before she even had the chance. She, of course, would politely thank him and that alone was enough for him to know he was paying his debt, little by little.
Still, an apartment was totally different compared to a full-fledged house. This would be tricky. He took the note clinging to the refrigerator and began to read it.
1. Take out laundry to dry. I should start with this one while still early.
2. Sweep the floor. Not that much of a priority but still.
3. Feed Iori. I should add Napoleon and Shiba as well.
4. Water the plants. Good thing they don't have a big garden here except the ones in the front gate.
5. Remove dust from desks and tables. No problems here.
6. Clean the backyard and storage room. Hmm. Isn't that a bit vague, Yakumo?
7. Check supplies for the next week. Yakumo just bought groceries the other day. Just a second check.
Harima arranged the order in his mind. This shouldn't take the whole day, he reminded himself. Still wearing the perky light blue apron and appearing very similar to a nanny, he went to do his chores.
The laundry was no problem. It was spring. The weather was fair and clouds were sparse in the sky.
This would have been a good day to go out to town.
Shrugging the thought away, he prepared the food for their pets, and found it surprisingly challenging with an additional pet.
Shiba, Eri's huge sheep dog, followed him the moment he introduced himself to the big dog. This wasn't the first time they met, though. It was during the time when Eri slapped the hell out of him that he first saw the dog. His memory of that time was still fuzzy; but he didn't know why he didn't notice the animal more than Eri herself. Animals were more close to him than most people. So when the dog followed him, he didn't mind but Eri was beyond pissed that the dog had the gall to leave a woman like her. He laughed at her and, seeing an opportunity, he made a deal with her that if he took care of the big dog, she would leave him alone for a whole month. Eri grudgingly accepted, still not over being rejected. But if she was called to an important meeting, Harima had to accept, whether he disliked it or didn't like it.
It'd been two days since Shiba was brought to the house. Yakumo had been terrified out of her wits when she first saw the big dog but Harima assured her he was safe. Comforted by his words, she slowly accepted the dog but Harima was still concerned about Yakumo and her apparent phobia of dogs.
Iori, on the other hand, was far from a friendly cat. He apparently shared the same phobia as his master. The black cat treated the dog like some sort of mortal enemy despite the dog's friendly nature. Napoleon was the easiest one as he could just eat almost anything and be content. Harima just separated the pets a good distance away from each other and fed them. After eating their fill, the pets roamed the residence without clamor. Satisfied, Harima went to the other chores.
He dusted the furniture one by one, finding it quite relaxing. He had used a vacuum cleaner in Itoko's apartment but now preferred using a feather duster as the noise of the vacuum ruined the gentle ambiance of the house. He then swept the floor. It wasn't that hard to do and soon enough, it was already noon.
Harima went to the kitchen for lunch. Opening the refrigerator, he took a frozen instant curry and heated it up. Since he was all by himself and there were still chores piled up on his list, he opted for ready-made food. He checked the rice from breakfast earlier if it was still ok. Content it was still edible he poured the heated curry over the slightly cold rice and began to eat.
Harima grimaced. It was bland and not very appetizing. He was getting accustomed to Yakumo's dishes now so anything below its level was noticeable to his palette. While eating his meal, he looked up and a memory shot through his mind.
"You're so lucky. Yakumo's cooking is the best ever!"
He saw Tenma welcoming him to eat. It felt like it happened years ago but the memory was so fresh that it looked like it was happening in real time. Back then he thought he was dreaming. Now, he was sure he was hallucinating. He slightly closed his eyes, wishing against hope it was the case again that it turned out it was true. He returned to his meager meal and ate in contemplative silence.
After resting for a bit, he checked their supplies. Hmm. Nothing lacking. We could even live a month off of all this stock. Wait. Pet food is surprisingly low. Should have expected that with a big dog like Shiba. Should I ask Rich Girl? No. She'll just add that to her "Harima-owe-me" list. Might as well hit the store tomorrow.
He took a piece of paper and scribbled a note in a messy handwriting, "Buy pet food for Shiba." Checking it was legible, he pinned the paper to the fridge using a magnet.
There. Another one down. Next is clean the backyard. How bad could it be?
It took almost the whole afternoon just to clean the backyard, Harima cursing his luck along the way. Harima had discovered the aftermath of Shiba and his activities. The dog had been very active with his claws, digging for whatever caught his fancy. Chewed twigs, scratched tree trunks and, with a big appetite, big... leftovers. Harima was appalled with how the dog acted on its own. Even his motley crew of wild animals didn't behave this way. He quickly thought of the blonde owner and her lousy treatment of her pet. The dog had apparently been caged most of his life and had become very excited when it could roam free. He just needed to train the dog.
He had trained tougher animals before.
After lecturing Shiba about the house rules, he started to head for the storage room. It was in the far corner of the backyard with a simple box layout. Upon opening the creaking wooden door, Harima's impression about storage rooms went up a notch in the creepy level. He finally realized why so many people were afraid of attics or any storage rooms.
The room was filled with various strange containers. Old crates with weird talismans stuck on them, suggesting they may contain, or seal...something otherworldly. Jars upon jars of unknown contents were displayed on various shelves. There was a mysterious vibe in this room, Harima could feel.
He tried to open one box and found old scrolls and tomes. Looking through one of them, the language written in it was completely alien to him, looking more like scribbles than an actual language. There were even scrolls that had weird symbols and sketches. Going to the bookshelves there were books that contained strange and bizarre pictures on how to exorcise a spirit or how to break a particular curse and other occult stuff. One thing that struck a terrifying chord in him was a wall displaying Oni masks of different types. It was so unnerving and terrifying that he was sure those demonic faces were staring at him, following him wherever he went. That alone was enough for a lifetime of nightmares.
After cleaning the room, his adrenaline helping him along the way to quickly finish the deed, Harima swore he would never return to that godforsaken room. He might accidentally awaken a terrible evil if he stayed there too long.
Why do the Tsukamotos have these things anyway!?
After that adrenaline pumping activity, Harima started watering the plants. The house only had small shrubs and a few trees. Still, the place looked very traditional and homey with its simplistic beauty. It was a complete change of pace from the last labor. The sun was slowly setting, bathing the backyard with a warm glow. The gentle breeze was soothing and relaxing. Sometimes when he felt like it, he would splash himself with the cooling water from the hose to wake his spirits.
While watering the plants Harima noticed someone standing at the front gate. Ruled by his curiosity, he stopped what he was doing and checked the lone stranger. He walked towards the uninvited guest and saw a young girl.
The girl was wearing a white dress with red linings at the sleeve's ends and a diamond lining at the neck part. Her ebony hair was unusually long, reaching down to her waist.
She must be 8 or 9 years old, Harima thought.
"Good afternoon." Harima greeted the young girl. "Are you waiting for someone?"
The young girl simply stared at him, her red eyes strikingly familiar to Harima.
"What's your name?"
"...Just call me Ya'mo."
Author's Note: One thing, though. There's probably a lot of info dump in this story to tie it up with the current lore. Just prepare for an absurd amount of flashbacks and explanation in the next chapters.
Ciao.