Chapter Two! This one was a little hard for me because I'm not very good at using her character. Apologies for any misspellings, or extreme canon divergence. Echo Essence was supposed to start off as mostly canon, but I just cant' seem to keep to my goals!
Aoi-chan is impatient. Nene has not been in school for three days. Aoi keeps assuring Yashiro's parents that the two are staying together, but if her friend is not back soon, she may tell them. She misses her best friend. Aoi thinks of the different wonders. Which would be helpful? Hanako-san, probably. Aoi-chan gets up and goes to the restroom. Third stall in the old building. Three knocks and…"Hanako-San, Hanako-San, are you there?" The door creaks.
"Go away. I have no time to dally with a little human." Hanako is sitting on the window ledge, looking- no, glaring- down at Aoi-chan. "Hanako-San. I have a wish. My name is Aoi Akane, and my best friend Yashiro Nene has disappeared. Help me find her." Aoi speaks up, Hanako's anger not deterring her. He freeses when the girl mentions Mene. "Yashiro Nene, you say? I happen to be looking for her right now, but you interrupted me." Aoi goes still. "How do you know Nene?" she questions the spirit. "She is my assistant. A long time ago, she made a wish and I granted it. Three days ago, my brother Tsukasa took her from me. I have not found her since." Hanako's cold face does not match his sorrowful eyes. Aoi is afraid and sad. She may never see Nene again.
Aoi grumbles. She has been made to search the school all day, until she was kicked out. There is only one sector left: the club rooms. She and Hanako walk slowly over to the last room. If Yashiro is not here, she is truly gone. They creak open the door and slip in, unnoticed. The world groans and twists as they move into another dimension. Nene is sitting in a chair, chatting with a green haired girl. A cat-like boy and Hanako doppelgänger are waiting on her.
"Natsuhiko, can I have a soda?" Nene asks. Her face is slightly flushed. She is happy to have boys treating her like a queen. "So, Sakura, what are you doing today?" The green haired girl looks up. She must be Sakura. "Investigating the elevated death rage of supernaturals at this school," she replies. Her voice is flat, but not unkind or emotionless. Doppelgänger grabs Nene and tosses her into the air. He catches Yashiro and puts her in his lap. She grumbles, but really she is excited. "Tsukasa, really?" Nene whines. "Yes!" Hanako Doppelgänger exclaims, eyes wide with innocence.
Sakura shifts, not comfortable, but not uncomfortable either. She knows Nene does not like Tsukasa, but it it clear Tsukasa likes her. With Sakura, he just invades her space, poking and prodding. With Yashiro, there is little to no semblance of personal space, as if it never existed. He also cannot seem to keep his hands off the girl, pretty much glued to her side. Sakura sighs. She pines for a boy that will never be hers.
Natsuhiko is in the back, grabbing a soda, when he hears rustling. It's not Mitsuba, because the Wonder boy is sitting next to his beloved Nanamine-chan. "Who's- mmH!" Natsuhiko starts to ask his question, but a hand snakes over his mouth, muffling him. He twists out of its reach, and grabs another hand. He also grabs one of Tsukasa's knifes ("Just for protection…or fun! Murder is fun, Amane proved that") and holds it up to the other intruders throat. His voice is level as he speaks. "Show yourself or she dies." To prove he is not bluffing, Natsuhiko presses the knife deeper. A bead of crimson pricks on the edge of the blade. Hanako floats lazily out, smiling humorlessly. "Release her," he says, his voice deadly serious. Natsuhiko lets go, and Aoi stumbles away from him. She glares at both boys in turn, grumbling to herself. Natsuhiko stares at Hanako. Hanako stares at Natsuhiko. The cat boy makes the first move. "Tsukasa, can you come here for a second?" Hanako curses silently, and Natsuhiko grabs Aoi again.
Tsukasa drifts into the kitchen and stares at the scene before him. Smiling, he laughs. "Oh, this is funny. 'Mane's putting a human in danger. But it's time for you to go now. Bye bye!" He snaps and the dimension folds up again. it spits out Aoi and Hanako in front of the club room, all without Nene knowing. Hanako glares at the door in anger. He starts to pace, annoyed and frustrated. Tsukasa is grabbing an extra soda for Nene and bringing it back to her. Nene is smiling and accepting it. Tsukasa is helping her pop it open. He is taking the first sip and passing it back. Nene is laughing but taking the next step. This is continuing. Hanako wishes he were the one sharing it with her. Without his awareness, tears spill forth down Hanako's face. His features twist and he lets loose a strangled sob. Aoi stares in pity at the apparation. He loves her friend dearly.
Sakura stares at the knife in the kitchen. She has gone to get more snacks for Nene. The knife has a smear of blood on it. What did Tsukasa do this time? "Natsuhiko!" she calls. She will get her answers from him. Natsuhiko walks in smirking like the Cheshire Cat. The smile falls when he sees the knife.
"Did Tsukasa-"
"I can explain-"
Both stop. "You first." Sakura mumbles, "Well, there was a purple haired girl so I kinda held the knife to her throat and threatened to kill her if the other dude didn't come out and then Hanako popped out so I called for Tsukasa and then he spit the out…" Natsuhiko trails off, his words all bunched together. Sakura sighs. Of course Tsukasa hadn't given them Nene. He liked tormenting his brother, and he loved Nene.