Chapter Text
Everyone seemed to be hustling and bustling in the auditorium today. The props team was leaving cardboard and paint everywhere. They were supposed to be in the arts classroom, not the auditorium! The costume team was as messy as the props team, since they were leaving their fabrics and scissors on the chairs, the floor and the stage. The actors were scrambling; half of them didn't memorize their lines yesterday, while the other half did memorize, but they keep tripping over their words. The director was screaming orders for each team, looking even more stressed than the rest. It was like an apocalypse in and of itself. The 'cramming and stressing' type of apocalypse. "Props team! Stop leaving your materials everywhere! Same goes for you, costume team! Actors, am I seeing any development? Get back to me later! Tech team, how's the sound board? What? It's not working again? God, I'm coming up there," Akane yelled into a microphone, trying to make his voice louder for everyone to hear.
Akane looked the worst out of everyone. His uniform was crooked and not ironed, there was a suspicious red blotch—perhaps it was ketchup—on an area of his beige vest, his hair was a bird's nest, and he was clearly wearing two different socks. The boy looked like he was on the verge of death. "Director, maybe you should take a short nap," his assistant spoke nervously, as the student council vice president whipped his head around to look at her with eyebags underneath his red shot eyes, which caused his assistant to squeak in fear. He calmed down a bit and sighed. "Yes... I probably should," he groaned, feeling a migraine coming on. He took a seat on one of the chairs in the front row and immediately fell asleep with his head in his arms on the table. He must be exhausted... his assistant thought in worry, before turning to the teams. "Alright, everybody, 30 minute break! Come on, I know most of you haven't even eaten yet," she yelled, gaining cries of joy, as they dispersed to either go to the bathroom or eat something.
A certain toilet-bound ravenet stared at a few students who collapsed into a heap on the floor of the stage. It looked like they were taking a nap. He sighed and turned to his human assistant, who was currently trying on one of the knight helmets the costume team was working on. "Huh, it's very dark in here," she noted. You think? The apparition thought incredulously, staring at her with half-lidded eyes. "You guys sure are busy, Emma-chan. Everybody looks so tired," he pointed out, floating closer to her with his hands behind his back. Emma sighed and nodded. "Yeah, we've been working like crazy for several days now, since the announcement that the school play was tomorrow," she told him. "How could they just shorten the gap between the start of practice and the deadline? Was the Great Wall of China built overnight? No! Was the Statue of Liberty built overnight? No! No project could be finished overnight, unless you're a very productive genius." After her rant, she pulled the helmet off her head and turned around. "And here's another thing—" she cut herself off, her eyes widening, as she realized she and Hanako were just two centimeters away from each other, close enough to feel their breaths if Hanako was still alive that is. Her cheeks grew a very dark red, and her lips parted, as she stared into the deep pools of amber that were Hanako's eyes. She could never get over how beautiful and entrancing they were. She could just stare at them for days upon end. "Emma-chan? Emma-chaaan?? What're you gonna say?" Hanako's curious voice snapped her out of her trance, and she let out an embarrassed bird noise, headbutting the apparition comedically and causing him to fly back. "Ack!" was his ever-so intelligent response. "Ow! What was that for?" He whined, pouting, as he rubbed the sore part of his forehead.
With eyebrows furrowed, Emma opened her mouth to give him an apology, but she was approached by none other than her best friend, Yashiro. "My princess! Hehe, I've been looking all over for you! Oh, hey, Hanako-kun. I'm gonna steal Cinderella here for a bit to practice," she said, a bright smile on her face. The apparition returned her greeting with a smile and shook his head, his hands in his pockets, as he floated nonchalantly. "I don't mind. The princess has her duties after all," he snickered, as the princess shot him a glare. He's been getting used to her glares for the past few weeks, so a normal one didn't really scare him that much anymore. Waving slightly, He flashed her a gentle smile, causing her to drop her glare and replace it with a shy look, surprising him a little. What was with that look? He pondered, but then shrugged, choosing not to dwell on it. Oh, well, time to find the mokke to challenge them to a game of cards.
"Fair maiden, may I have this dance?" Yashiro bowed a little, her right hand on her chest, while the other was kept in place at her back, as she looked up at her friend with a charming smile. She held out her hand, waiting for the other's. Emma nodded with a small smile, doing a curtsy and softly placing her hand on her friend's outstretched one. "You may, good prince," she responded gracefully. With the fair maiden's consent, Yashiro gently pulled the dark-skinned beauty towards her and got into a dancing position. It was a good thing they were the same height, so she wouldn't have such a hard time when she twirled her. They then began to dance, slowly but surely with classical music playing in the background, namely Swan Lake Suite, Op.20a: 2. Waltz, if you want to listen to it as they dance. They took two steps back and one step forward, as they moved around the empty spot in the auditorium that didn't have chairs set up. They moved swiftfully and gracefully, perfectly in sync with each other's movements, as Yashiro twirled Emma a couple of times, before resuming the normal dance position again, naturally going back into two steps back and one step forward.
"My, you dance beautifully," Yashiro said smoothly, as she spun her partner around and pulled her back to her. "Thank you. I believe you dance wonderfully, as well, good prince," was her friend's polite response. After a while of a few more waltz sequences, Yashiro ended it with a sudden dip, leaning a bit forward, as she held her best friend tightly. "Fair maiden, may I ask your name?" She asked, her magenta eyes slightly half-lidded with an emotion Emma couldn't quite recognize. Her lips parted, as the question slipped through them. The expression she was giving her looked like a smoulder. Oh, dip, Emma thought, feeling a bit flustered at the look her friend was giving her. Beads of sweat cumulated on her forehead and the back of her neck, as her cheeks glowed a slight pink. "Um, m-my name is—" The speaker they were using for the classical music suddenly blasted out the Big Ben's loud chime, signaling the actors that it was already twelve midnight. "Ah-! I'm sorry, but I have to go!" Emma wrestled out of her friend's grip and ran away, 'accidentally' leaving one of her uwabaki in place of the glass slipper. "Wait! But I didn't get your name!" Yashiro chased after the girl, until she came across the shoe and picked it up. "I'll find you, fair maiden, and I'll bring this back to you," she muttered, staring at the shoe.
The sudden applause made her jump a little, as she turned around to see a few students, including Aoi, clapping, looking very entertained by their practice. "You guys were really good!" Aoi complimented happily. Emma jogged back to her friend and panted a little from the exercise. "You were great, Emma-san!" One of their classmates said, almost tearing up. "Ah! And the look Yashiro-san gave Emma-san a while ago! It was so good! I felt her piercing gaze go through me!" She continued to gush about the two girls' performance and how they interacted made her swoon. Emma chuckled at that. "Thanks, you guys," Yashiro said, smiling gratefully and glancing at her best friend, who was listening to another one of their classmates give them tips and reminders on how to act your best. The light-haired girl's cheeks turned a bit pink, as she watched her best friend laugh at something their classmate said. She clenched her skull brooch with uncertainty.
The three musketeers sat on a picnic blanket on the rooftop with Yashiro's lunch box on it. Yashiro was once again gushing over a boy in a film magazine, as she shared it with her best friend, who was still eating her lunch. "Sorry, I'm still eating. I'm kind of a slower eater," she apologized, after swallowing a chunk of her food. Yashiro shook her head and gave her friend a lovely smile. "That's alright, Emma-chan. Take your time! We still got long ways to go until the end of lunch," she reassured her, flipping a page in the magazine and resuming her fangirling. "Ahhh! I don't suppose a hot guy would fall from the sky like this guy here from the Castle in the Sky play!" Both Hanako and Emma with her cheeks full of food stared at her with half-lidded eyes. "Yashiro..." The ravenet started to say, causing said girl to sigh and stare at a random area with dead fish eyes. "Oh, come on, I'm not really serious. I know the difference between fantasy and reality," she grumbled. "But I'm friends with a supernatural and his assistant! I can't help it if I end up hoping for a special encounter that leads to a special romance! And you know my wish, Hanako-kun."
"Special?" Hanako repeated.
"Yeah, like in this movie," Yashiro said, clearing her throat, as she began to narrate her own version of the film. Take your seats, make yourself comfortable and some snacks, and Nene-chan's Theatre will begin shortly. Because of her noble pedigree, a lovely maiden—that's me—is taken captive by an evil spirit. Suddenly, before her very eyes, a beautiful young man that had mocha brown skin and hair as dark as coffee grounds and eyes that resembled pools of chocolate fondue falls from the sky. Emma's eyebrows furrowed at that. Was it just me or did that sound like me? But as a boy? She chomped on an octopus sausage Yashiro had given her a while ago. In a brilliant show of power, he vanquishes the evil spirit—"Um, Yashiro, he's vanquishing me," Hanako commented—and he and the beautiful maiden live happily ever after. Yashiro sighed dreamily, holding the magazine to her chest, until Hanako ruined her daydream by snatching the magazine from her hands. "No dangerous ideologies," he told her with half-lidded eyes and furrowed brows, one of his eyebrows twitching. "Besides, you don't need those delusions, Yashiro. As your official dating counselor, I'm gonna find the best guy for you!" He placed his hand on her shoulder firmly, as he gave her a determined smile that seemed to sparkle a little. Yashiro was not impressed at all. My dating counselor? What??
Emma looked at the two like this was some K-drama she was watching. Man, my lunch isn't popcorn, but it'll have to do! She thought, as she shoved a spoonful of rice and sisig, a Filipino dish that consists of parts of pig head and chicken liver, seasoned with calamansi, onions and chili peppers, in her mouth. "That's far enough!!" A boyish voice rang throughout the area, causing the three musketeers to whip their heads around to see who was making all that racket. "I finally found you, you vile fiend!!" A boy jumped from the topmost part of the roof, gripping something shaped like an umbrella in his left hand. A boy from the sky... just like in the movie! Yashiro thought, her hands connected together in a praying position. "I am a third year in the Kamome Gakuen middle school division..." the mysterious boy began to say, still in a cool landing pose. Waaaait, I recognize that voice. Don't tell me... Emma thought, her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes half-lidded, still chewing food in her mouth. It can't be! A beautiful young man's here for me...? Yashiro gushed in her mind, as she imagined her prince call out to her.
"Minamoto Kou at your service! Take your memory of me as a souvenir to the afterlife!" The blond boy declared confidently, pointing at himself with his thumb. Yashiro and Emma stared at the boy with dead fish eyes, while Hanako seemed the slightest bit interested, even going so far as to let a long oh sound. "Someone you know, Hanako-kun?" Yashiro inquired, tilting her head in slight confusion. "I think he can see you." The apparition blinked, as he glanced at the middle schooler in his peripheral. "Well, we've never met in person..." he began. "But he said he's from the Minamoto clan, right? That must be why he can see me."
"The Minamoto clan?"
Hanako started to explain how back in the day when supernaturals were called 'youkai' and when they had stronger powers, there were three that were feared above all others, believed to be even more powerful than the gods themselves. They were the Three Great Evil Youkai of Japan. One of those three was the evil oni of Mt. Ooe, Shuten Douji, and he was slain by the exorcist extraordinaire, Minamoto no Yorimitsu, the ancestor of Kou. "Exactly! Heh, you really know your stuff," Kou huffed with pride, rubbing his finger under his nose. "My ancestors left countless powerful, anti-evil artifacts for their descendants to use. I will master all of them and use them to protect people from vicious supernaturals like you! That is the calling of every boy born into the Minamoto clan!" Hey, what about the girls? Emma thought irritatedly, as she scooped up another spoonful of lunch. "And so! I'm here to exorcise you!" Oh, fuck, that's my cue, Emma scrambled to stand and rush to the scene, stretching her arms to block him from Hanako, her mouth still full of food.
"Uh, Emma-chan, you still have food in your mouth," Hanako pointed out, stifling a snicker. Said girl held up one hand, as if to signal everyone to stop and wait until she's finished her food. Kou blinked, as he slowly processed what just happened. She chewed and swallowed, gasping a little. Then, she opened her mouth to say something, but was immediately cut off. "Huh?! Emma-senpai, is that you?!" Kou yelled, pointing his umbrella-looking thing at her. Her eye twitched ever-so slightly. "What do you mean 'is that you, Emma-senpai'?! Of course, it's me, you dolt!" She shouted, flailing her clenched fists in the air angrily. "And besides! Why'd you interrupt me?! I may be your classmate in our exorcist lessons, but I'm still your senior!!" Comedic puffs of hot air began to blow out of her nostrils, as she heavily panted, using almost all of her energy in expressing her irritation. Kou sweated a little at his senior's short rant. Honestly, this isn't even her usual length. Nornally, it goes on for about two hours, he thought in fear. "A-ah, sorry, Emma-senpai! Please continue," he said, bowing his head a little and scratching the back of it in embarrassment.
With an indignant huff, Emma placed her hands on her hips, as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, giving the blond a 'this-means-business' look. "Look, I'm a friend of Hanako-kun's and his bodyguard-slash-assistant, so I'm sorry, but I can't have you exorcising him, Kou-kun," she told him. Kou's eyes widened in shock. "What?! Whaddya mean 'no exorcising him'?! Senpai, you're an exorcist! You've gotta exorcise him! If you're not going to, I am!" He took a few steps closer, until a glowing blueish white blade of a scythe almost met his neck, halting him in his movement. "Not if I can help it," Emma stated coldly, her brown eyes staring him down. Beads of sweat rolled down the side of Kou's face, as he stayed silent, until he spoke, "What happened to you, Senpai?" Her eyes narrowed. "Nothing happened. Hanako-kun's my friend, and he's a good one too. I won't have anyone exorcising him," she said with firm determination in her voice. "I didn't want to hurt you, Senpai—" Emma rolled her eyes at that cliché line. "—but I have to do this!" He pulled the cloth covering his spirit staff, the Raiteijou, and swung it at her, however she quickly blocked it with her scythe's blade.
"Try again, dear," Emma smiled cheekily, her eyes crinkling, as she pulled her weapon away and swung at her opponent's staff, like a pitch, causing it to fly out of Kou's hands. "Ack—! Raiteijou...!" He yelped, jumping backwards and trying to catch it. The staff safely landed in his arms, and he quickly got into an offensive position again, staring down at his senior. "You may have gotten stronger since we last battled, Emma-senpai, but I've gotten stronger too!" He ran towards her and brought it upon her head, but a hand grabbed it before it could hit her, making Kou gasp. Emma smirked and held it tight in both of her hands, quickly turning around and flipping him over her shoulder, which caused him to land painfully on the ground back-flat. The dark-skinned girl yanked the staff out of his hands and flung it away, not too hard though, she didn't exactly want to break a family heirloom.
"O-ow..." Kou groaned, not wanting to sit up since he hit the ground so hard. His noise of pain snapped Emma out of her victory celebration in her head. She crouched down and sat on her calves, looking at the blond. "Sorry, did I flip you too hard?" She panicked a little. Hanako floated behind her and casually draped his arms loosely around her neck with a nonchalant smile on his face. "Nah, nah, you didn't. Don't worry so much, Emma-chan~" he cooed into her ear, causing a shiver to go down her spine and a blush to appear on her cheeks. Kou gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, irked at how the supernatural was treating his senior. "Hey! Don't touch Senpai like that!! It's bothering her!" He growled, quickly sitting up and trying to wave the toilet ghost off her, but his hands phased through Hanako's head. "Wha—" The ravenet chuckled and snuggled closer to his human assistant. "Why should I? Jealous much, boy?" He teased. "Oookay, time out," Emma said, standing up with Hanako still clinging onto her. "Hanako-kun, off for a moment." At that, he whined a little and reluctantly let go of her, crossing his arms and pouting like a child. Kou's eyes widened, as he stared at how childish the big, bad, scary supernatural he was supposed to exorcise was being.
His senior knelt down in front of him, causing him to quickly turn his attention to her in a frenzy. "Does it hurt anywhere?" She asked him, genuine worry swirling in her brown eyes. Kou snorted and shook his head mirthfully, grinning at her. "Nah, I'm good. Stop worrying so much about me, Emma-senpai! I'm stronger than I look!" He exclaimed confidently, rubbing his finger under his nose again, as sparkles practically appeared everywhere. "I know that, but you're a reckless idiot most of the time, Kou-kun," Emma sighed, making Kou stiffen, while Hanako snickered in the background and Yashiro stared at the blond with exasperated half-lidded eyes. She hasn't even known him for more than an hour, and she can say what Emma said about him was completely true. "Anyway, your flips have gotten better, Senpai! I really felt the force in that last one!" Kou complimented, clenching his fists, his blue eyes shining with admiration. Emma softened at that and laughed bashfully, rubbing the back of her head. "Aw, thanks!"
"I still have to exorcise Hanako, though."
"Eh," Emma said blankly, smiling dumbly.
Kou stood up and pointed at the apparition, a clenched fist at his side. "Just you wait, evil fiend! Once I get Raiteijou back, I'll exorcise you for good!" He declared. The bespectacled girl scrambled to stand and held Kou's pointing finger, lowering it. "Now, wait a minute! Why can't you believe me when I say Hanako-kun's a good spirit?" She asked, eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you so pressed?" The blond blinked in confusion at her question, then narrowed them, pulling his hand away from hers. "You don't know, Senpai? My grandma had a hard time sealing Hanako-san of the Toilet; it even took all her strength! He's a really, really diabolical evil spirit! And look, he uses that knife for a weapon. That's proof that he used it as a weapon while he was alive too!" Kou grabbed her shoulders, staring at her with a grave expression. "He used that knife to take someone's life!" Emma's eyebrows furrowed even more, as her eyes narrowed in disbelief and uncertainty. "No, that can't be Hanako-kun... He helped Nene-chan and I. He's doing his best in fulfilling Nene-chan's wish. He's my best friend. He's not the type of person to kill someone!" She countered, her fists clenched.
"No! He's fooling you, Senpai!!" Kou shouted, shaking her a little to try and get his point across. "You can't trust him! You don't know what he's capable of! You're just gonna be... another..." he trailed off, as he took notice of a knife against his neck, the hand holding it belonging to none other than Hanako, who had his left arm protectively wrapped around his human assistant and his right one threatening Kou with the knife. "Aww," Hanako cooed eerily, his amber eyes a hue darker than they usually were. "My secret's out." Kou immediately jumped backwards, gritting his teeth. Emma's eyes widened at the apparition's sudden appearance, but her eyes softened at the way his arm was tightly around her. She could see no murderous intent from his aura; all she could see was playfulness and protectiveness. Hanako-kun was still Hanako-kun, she thought. Surely, there has to be a story around what he did.
Hanako felt his human assistant relax at his touch, and he felt his heart swell at that. He thought she would jolt in fear at him. He was glad she still felt comfortable around him. A smile almost threatened to break his serious demeanor. He reluctantly released his hold on the girl and floated away from the two humans. "I was hoping to keep it to myself a while longer..." he sighed. "Come here, Haku-Joudai." The ghostly orb wrapped itself around Hanako's arm and transformed his outfit into a sort of battle armor. Oh, shit, talk about magical girl transformation, Emma thought, her wide eyes blinking. "You're right. I did kill a human being. But God told me that if I can fulfill my duty here, it will erase my guilt." His Haku-Joudai-formed cape flapped smoothly, as a slight wind passed by. He cannot be legally licensed to be that cool, the bespectacled girl griped in her mind. He brandished his knife in the direction of the younger Minamoto brother, a smirk on his face. "So I can't let you exorcise me. Sorry."
Kou narrowed his eyes at the apparition, thin beads of sweat rolling down the side of his cheek. "You don't even make sense." His hand instinctively reached to his side, finding no staff there. Crap! I forgot Emma-senpai threw it somewhere! Dang it, Senpai! Worst timing ever! He thought, his eyes darting at every area of the roof, looking for his family's heirloom. Spotting his staff on the floor several feet away, he glanced back at the toilet ghost he had to exorcise who was just staring at him, as if waiting for him to equip something first before the battle between them began. "Go on," Hanako said nonchalantly. "Get your weapon. I don't want to fight a defenseless person. That would just make me a coward." He smiled slyly as he said that, his eyes crinkling with mischief. He wasn't really going to try something, of course, but it was fun to tease the blond.
Kou glared at the ravenet, but instead of talking smack, he ran towards his staff, picking it up and smoothly making a U-turn back to the seventh mystery. "Have it equipped already? Well, then." Hanako flew a few feet into the air and stepped on the fence on the edge of the roof. "Wait!" Kou yelled, dashing over to him and swinging at the apparition, missing his target, as the ravenet dodged it by jumping over it and landing back on the fence safely with his tongue out at him. Cheeky bastard! Kou grumbled mentally. Hanako ran on the fence, as the blond kept missing his swings. You should work on your baseball bat swings next time, Kou-kun, Emma thought, sighing, as she shook her head. Hanako noticed something off about the way the young exorcist was holding his staff and quickly jumped over to his side, when he was busy trying to swing at him. "Hey, doesn't that hurt your hand?" He asked, staring at the blond's hands. Kou let out a gasp, and in a panic, released lightning from the staff. "You never learn!! This time, there won't be anything left of you!!" He laughed maniacally, feeling like he's won, until he saw Hanako unharmed and holding the staff. Wha—?! It didn't work!! Kou's eyes widened, as he quickly dodged the sudden swoosh of the ghost's knife at him. "Whoa!" He yelped.
"Hyah! Hyah!" Hanako childishly chirped, swinging his knife at the blond.
"Just a—" Kou was unfortunately interrupted by another 'attack' from the apparition.
"How's that? How's that?" The ravenet practically giggled, as he continued swinging his knife around.
"Urk!"
Hanako gave the blond a mischievous smile, still not easing up his hold on the staff. "I really like this staff of yours, kid. Give it to me, and I might let you go," he offered. Truth be told, he just wanted Kou to let go of the staff already, since he knew what holding and using the staff was doing to his hands. However, Kou tightened his grip on the staff. "Don't you dare look down on me...!" He growled. "I ain't gonna run!!" Hanako blinked a few times at that and flashed him a happy-go-lucky closed eye smile. He isn't letting go of the staff, so I better try a different method. "Oh, well, okay," he simply said, immediately letting go of the boy exorcist's staff, which caused Kou to lose his balance and fall on his rear. "Ow!" The apparition grabbed the blond's shoulder and raised the knife, looking like he was about to kill him. Kou felt like his life was going to flash right in front of him any moment now, his grip on the staff loosening until he let it fall from his hand. He felt sorry he wasn't able to exorcise the spirit. He was about to apologize to every single person he cared about and write a freaking will in his mind when—Hanako flicked his forehead. "Take that! I win!" He beamed, a grin on his face, holding the staff in his hand.
"Wha—?!" Kou stared at the apparition incredulously. Taking out a seal from his pocket, Hanako stuck it onto the staff. "I'll just seal this away, so it doesn't hurt anybody," he smiled at his sealing work. The blond screamed and snatched the staff from the toilet ghost's hands. "What're you doing to my family heirloom?!?!" He screeched, trying to scrape the seal off, but to no avail. "Aaaagh!! It's not coming off! Take it off!!" He demanded, holding it up for the other boy. "Don't wanna," Hanako denied, covering his ears childishly, as he looked away. "More importantly..." he grabbed the exorcist's hand and examined the horrible burn on his palm, touching it a little and causing Kou to wince. "Thought so. It's like you have no idea how to use the spirit staff's power. You zapped yourself every time you shot lightning from it."
"Kou!!" A panicked voice rang out, gaining the two boys' attention, as a certain dark-skinned girl, along with a light-haired one, raced over to them, a medical kit in the second girl's hands. Oh, no, Kou thought, feeling his whole body become rigid with fear. She didn't even use honorifics!! I'm really going to get hell over this. Eyebrows incredibly furrowed, Emma gave the blond a hard and strict look, her hand held out, waiting for his own. Kou ashamedly placed his hand on hers and immediately gulped when she started to analyze his wound with a frown. "What's the status, doc?" Yashiro piped up, a serious expression on her face, as she opened her medical kit, awaiting her friend's orders. "Second degree burn. Much so that it looks like it tore off the first layer of skin and caused the second layer to bleed. We need to take him to the bathroom to cool the burn in water for 10-15 minutes, nurse. ASAP," she told her with a professional tone.
"Got it! Hanako-kun, please hold this while I take care of the patient," she instructed, handing the medical kit over to the apparition, who just finished de-transforming from his battle outfit. Yashiro gently grabbed Kou's injured hands in hers, pulling him with her, as they descended down the stairs to the third floor. Kou blushed, as he just realized a cute girl was holding his hands. "Uh, no, that's okay. I can walk just fine—"
"Will the patient stay quiet?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"We should hurry after them, assistant nurse," Emma said, grabbing one of Hanako's hands, which caused him to quickly shifted the kit onto his free hand, as she dragged him along with her. Hanako beamed at her, sparkles practically dancing around him. "I get to be part of the medical team too?!"
The three musketeers stood in the infirmary, as they looked at the blond lying on one of the beds, his gauze-wrapped hand elevated on a stack of pillows above the level of his heart and his feet elevated about twelve inches on another stack of pillows. A blanket covered his body. Kou stared at the white ceiling with exasperated half-lidded eyes. He was glad he was being taken care of by his Senpai and a cute girl he didn't know, but maybe this was getting a bit out of hand. "Should I get ice, doctor?" Yashiro asked, receiving a shake of the head from her best friend. "No need. It might cause further pain and damage to the injury," she answered. "Kou, once you go home, you have to talk to your parents about seeing a doctor, so they can check your burn for its severity. I'm not exactly licensed to do anything else other than the bare minimum of first aid." He nodded, not wanting to get in even more trouble with his senior. "Yeah, you better listen to Dr. Emma-chan here, kid. Using power you can't control will only lead to ruin," Hanako advised with a smile, floating a bit beside his human assistant, medical kit still held in his hands. "N—nobody asked you!" Kou hissed, clenching his fists, then instantly regretting it, as he winced from the sting of his recent wounds. "Ngh, I don't care what happens to me... as long as I can protect everyone!" Spoken like a true shounen main character, Emma thought. "Ooh, how passionate!" The apparition chirped.
"Don't worry," Hanako told him with a gentle smile, a tinge of melancholy in his voice. "There's no need to rush. You'll make a fine exorcist one day. You'll be so good, a little spirit like me will be a piece of cake to expel." He gripped the medical kit a bit tighter, which didn't go unnoticed by the bespectacled girl beside him. Does his hand hurt? She thought, frowning at his hand. "I'll be looking forward to it," he gave a bright smile to the exorcist lying on the bed, who had disbelief and confusion written all over his face. "Looking forward to it? This is me exorcising you we're talking about. So why...?" Kou muttered, not understanding the reason why the toilet ghost would say something like that.
"That said!" Hanako spoke with a closed eye smile, clenching his fist at his side, as if preparing to attack. "You're a total pushover now!" He then proceeded to punch Kou's gut with the side of his fist. "Guh—! You jerk...! That... was low..." The blond choked out, a bit of saliva seeping out of his mouth, immediately passing out due to Hanako's strong punch. "Yay! Winner!" The ravenet celebrated, his hands up in the air still holding the first aid kit, as he brought one of his legs up. "Holy shit! Hanako-kun!" Emma cursed, eyes widening at the unconscious exorcist and shooting the victorious boy beside her a glare. He glanced at her and gave her an easygoing smile. "I had to do it. It just didn't seem like he was going to give up otherwise," he explained, pointing at how Kou still held the staff. "Despite our efforts in nursing him back to health, he would still try and exorcise me. Don't worry, though. He's pretty tough. He'll wake up soon." As the three stared at the blond in thought, Emma suddenly realized something. "Ah, right! Hanako-kun, your hand please," she demanded, her hand held out in front of her.
Hanako blinked in confusion at the hand and smirked mischievously. "Eh~? Emma-chan, is this you secretly wanting to hold my hand?" He teased, placing his hand anyways on hers. Emma glared at him, as a tint of pink appeared on her cheeks. "No, you idiot!" She yanked a little hard on his hand, causing him to wince the slightest bit. "Gotcha," she muttered, examining the palm of his hand, which was scarred by the staff. "You were injured too, and you didn't tell me!" Her narrowed eyes peered up at him, as he looked away, a little bit pale at her intense gaze. "It wasn't that bad," he murmured, a pout on his face, as she brought him to a basin of cool water beside Kou—just in case his burn acted up again—and immersed the apparition's hand in it. The water felt nice. But... Hanako slightly blushed, as an embarrassing thought popped up in his mind. Her hand around his felt even nicer. After about ten minutes, Emma lifted his hand from the water and gently dabbed his palm with a towelette. "You should really be more careful," she softly scolded, making him roll his eyes. "Got it, mom," he groaned.
She scoffed at that and began to apply the appropriate ointment for his burn. "You know I'm dead, right? I don't really need medicine," he reminded her, watching her ever-so gently apply the ointment, as if he was a fragile glass doll she was scared of breaking. Geez, did she even see me handle the battle with that exorcist boy? She worries too much, he thought in annoyance, but his heart felt otherwise. "Doesn't matter. I just want to make sure you're okay," she replied simply, finishing her application and taking out a cute Hello Kitty band-aid from her pocket, as she took the sealing off and put it on his wound. Hanako stared at her with an undecipherable look, the area where his non-beating heart laid growing warm. This feels so domestic, he thought in embarrassment. "There we go! All done," she announced, smiling at her handiwork.
"What? You're not going to kiss it better?" Hanako teased. "Don't moms usually do that for their—" Emma planted a soft kiss on the band-aid on his palm, causing him to grow extremely red in the cheeks. "Wish granted. You're such a demanding patient," she chuckled, letting go of his hand. She turned away from him and was about to walk back to Yashiro, but a hand grabbed her wrist, causing her to look behind her. With a dark shade of red sprinkled on his cheeks, Hanako looked at her with an intense gaze, his eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, so that's it?" He asked.
"What's what?" Emma returned his question with another question, genuinely confused on what he's talking about.
"You—you haven't really said anything about what that boy told you. Why... Why are you acting like we're still friends? Me being a murderer doesn't mean anything to you?" He said, his grip on her wrist tightening a bit, as if a little afraid of letting her go.
Emma pursed her lips and fully turned her body to face him. "Murder is a crime, one of the most horrible things a human can do on this planet. I cannot even begin to understand whys you'd do that, but I know you must have an explanation. You're not someone who kills, Hanako-kun. I can see that from who you are and your aura," she stated, noticing how his aura spiked a little, a range of emotions converging and diverging. "You're still my friend, Hanako-kun, no matter what. I did say that before, didn't I?" The apparition looked down, the shadow of his bangs covering his eyes. A smile appeared on his lips, as he looked up at her with a somewhat melancholic yet relieved look on his face. "You did say that," he laughed slightly, his grip on her wrist loosening a little. The two share their bout of laughter, as Yashiro made a tiny smile at the scene. She was happy they were still friends. They almost remind her of herself and Emma. She took a cautious glance at the unconscious exorcist on the infirmary bed. Hopefully, he wouldn't try to exorcise Hanako again.
A clang of two blades meeting each other resounded through the practice room. With a strong swipe, Emma pushed Teru back a few feet away from her with her trusty scythe. However, he did not falter, his grip on his katana never wavering. He gave his sparring partner a proud smile. "You've been improving at a steady rate, Emma-san!" He noted, smoothly sheathing his katana. That damned smile gave Emma a raging inferno in her stomach and not the good kind. She furrowed her eyebrows into a glare she saved for this vile creature named Minamoto Teru without the presence of Yashiro, of course. Her best friend couldn't see how irritated Teru made her. "Yeah, okay, whatever. So, round 12 or what?" Emma breezed past Teru's praise, wiping off a few beads of sweat trickling down her chin. The school prince's proud expression contorted into a slightly nervous yet amused one. The girl's aloofness with only him always reminded him of one wrong life decision he had done upon another living being. "You're not still mad about the juice incident, are you?" He asked, wanting to chuckle a little, but deciding not to, unless he wanted to have a two hour long scream session from her.
"NO ONE MENTIONS THE JUICE INCIDENT!" was her shriek-like response.
"Yeah, stop reminding her of the juice incident, Teru-nii," a certain rambunctious, injured blond piped up from the sidelines of the sparring area. He held his wrapped up hand in his other hand gingerly, as he watched two people he looked up to the most banter. Well, more like a one-sided banter.
"It's not my fault she reminds us both of the juice incident! Give me a break," Teru sighed. "I'm still sincerely sorry for that, by the way. I don't know why you're still mad about that."
Emma pouted a little. She knew she was holding a seriously trivial grudge, but somehow she just couldn't forgive him for it. It was a special day for her that day, and he absolutely ruined it! Although, his apology seemed to be more genuine this time. "I just am, okay?! Sometimes you can't always be perfect in everything you do!" She argued, feeling her irritation bubbling and rising in her stomach. Her grip on her scythe tightened just a little. "You just had to spill juice on me of all people on that day of all days, huh? You couldn't have spilled juice on some other girl? On some other day?!" Kou gazed warily at his senior from where he was sitting. Senpai doesn't seem like in such a good mood today, he thought. She seemed fine this afternoon when he fought her, though. He released a shaky breath. He couldn't help feeling something bad was going to happen.
Teru's eyes narrowed and zoned in on his sparring partner's body. What is this thing he's feeling? Something feels off today. Emma's usual rant seemed to be more on edge than usual. "Emma-san?" He called out to her, but it seemed like she couldn't hear him over the bout of swirling emotions in herself. Who did this guy think he is anyway?! Having so much jurisdiction for the students like he was a king? Seriously! So what if he's the school prince? So what if he's the student council president? He's such a jerk! Isn't he? He is! Thousands of thoughts raced through her mind, causing her anxiety to rise and rise. Having that constant smile on his face doesn't make him a good person! He always comes home late! He's always gone! Everything isn't always fine! At this point, a small part of her had an inkling that she wasn't thinking about Teru anymore. "Emma-san? Emma-san!" Teru's voice wasn't going through to her. She was just standing there, as if frozen. Her grip looked so tight on her scythe that her knuckles were turning white.
Kou's eyes shifted quickly from his brother and his senior, feeling on edge. What was happening? Why was his senior just standing there, staring at the ground? He nervously swallowed, as he watched his brother approach the girl slowly. "Emma-san?" Teru called out once again. He had a feeling Emma was going through a mental breakdown of some sort, and he was worried for her. Her spiritual energy seemed to spiking and mellowing and spiking yet again. It was like she was going out of control. "Emma-san! You have to calm down!" He began yelling, as soon as he noticed the whole room shaking a little and the lights flickering non-stop. He has never seen anything like this. Kou tried his best to not panic, but it was difficult seeing the whole room turn into a tornado. He doesn't even care about us anymore! He has her and him and-! And-! I hate him so much! Tears began to well up in the girl's eyes, as her vision blurred. Then, she heard a faint yell of her name. Who...? Her surroundings slowly came back to her senses, and she saw Teru in front of her with his hands up to his chest as if in surrender. "Emma-san! Can you hear me?" He asked loudly, and she nodded numbly. "Okay, that's good. Try and copy how I breathe." He started to inhale for three seconds, hold, and exhale for another three. Shakily, she did her best to copy his breathing, and they did this for about fifteen times, until she calmed down. A few tears escaped her eyes, but she caught them as soon as they fell. She wiped her eyes, as her sobs began to disappear. "...m'sorry," she muttered, but Teru only gave her a comforting smile. "Nothing to be sorry about. Come on, why don't we make you a cup of tea? Do you like chamomile?" He proposed, gesturing to the door leading to the Minamoto residence. She gave a brief nod, and he lead her to the door, glancing at Kou and flicking his head over to signal him to join them. His little brother nodded vigorously and ran over to them, giving his senior a gentle and reassuring pat on the back, which made her sniffle a little too loudly.
Now, Teru was more than glad to see Emma has calmed down and is alright, but he couldn't help but be a little concerned over how the entire room they were in was being absolutely wrecked during her episode, but now it stopped. The blond looked over his shoulder to see chairs and tables knocked over to the ground, as well as practice weapons and the like. Did Emma get an upgrade or something? She was never this powerful before. He focused his attention back to Emma walking in front of him with Kou by her side. He could think more of it later, since right now, he had chamomile tea to make for his friend.