Chapter Text
It’d been a few days since he talked with Amane.
Kou was worried, both for his friend and for the school. Amane was a force to be reckoned with, even though that force wasn’t always bad, but he did have an...effect on the school. He liked to go around causing minor inconveniences, like switching all the locks on the gym lockers or stealing all the toilet paper from the boy's bathroom to hoard it in the girls. Occasionally, he left trails of candy through the halls that went in a circle to confuse any unwitting students, only to be thwarted by Mokke. And after school ended, Kou was sought out immediately and dragged along to whatever Amane and Yashiro wanted to do that day.
But Kou couldn’t find the ghost anywhere, until he stormed into the girl's bathroom in the middle of the day, looking to catch him by surprise.
And wow, did he catch Amane by surprise.
“Agh!”
Amane screamed, falling off the window sill and sending hanafuda cards flying in the air. The mokke he was playing with just leaned forward and nudged one of his legs that stuck up awkwardly, encouraging him to continue playing immediately.
Kou rushed forward, already scrambling to help Amane up and get him away from the Mokke’s growing impatience.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t think I’d scare you that bad! I mean, I kind of expected to scare you a little bit, but not this much, I’m sorry, Hanako!”
Amane stood with the help of Kou, dusting off his black pants and gakuran. He shook his head and smiled, huffing out a laugh.
He made an ‘OK’ sign with his hand while he used his other to flip his hair out of his eyes.
“Okay, alright, good! But, still, sorry. I’ve been looking for you everywhere so I got a bit excited…”
Kou admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Confusion flashed across Amane’s face and he looked up slightly, pursing his lips. Kou could practically hear the gears turning in the ghost's head, processing the simple statement. He perked up, eyes widening.
“ Oh !”
He looked between the Mokke and Kou, making Kou dizzy just from watching the ghost's head whip back and forth at a nauseating speed. He settled on the Mokke and, though Kou couldn’t see it, he knew Amane was communicating with them in his weird, charade-like fashion.
A few of the Mokke hopped over to Kou’s feet and waved their ears-arms?- around.
“Number Seven says he was working on supernatural stuff.”
Amane nodded.
“He also says that we shouldn’t tell you he’s lying.”
Amane gently shoved that Mokke into the wall, scowling.
“Number Seven never works.”
Amane seemed to be more offended than panicked at that one, brows furrowing and nose scrunching up, and it looked adorable. How a ghost could look so cute while being irritated was far beyond Kou’s imagination, which was pretty impressive since he spent more time daydreaming and hanging out with supernaturals than anything normal.
“Why are you lying? What were you actually doing? Dude, it’s been like, a week and a half, you have to tell me what’s going on!”
Amane pointed to himself, made an ‘X’ out of his hands, pointed to his chest again, and then mimed hitting something with a hammer or bat.
‘I’m.’ ‘Not.’ ‘I.’ ‘Hit.’ ‘Someone.’
“You were fighting someone?”
Kou gasped.
Amane crossed his arms in a full, much bigger ‘X’ and made a sound like what played in a gameshow when someone answered wrong, like a buzzer.
“Someone hit you?”
Amane picked up two Mokke and held them up in an ‘X’ , much to the pink supernatural's confusion and alarm.
“You...were...doing construction?”
“He says he was fixing stuff.”
One Mokke piped up from Amane’s grasp.
“Fixing what?”
Amane glared at the Mokke in his right hand, eyes yellow like a blazing fire.
“Fixing...his... floaty eyes..”
Kou blanched.
“They’re not broken.”
Left Mokke waved its ears in the air in a panic.
“Broken! Number Seven’s eyes are broken, need to be fixed.”
“They’re cracked. He’s very sad.”
The rest of the Mokke started to agree, repeating the obvious lie like a chant.
Amane shrugged and poked one of his hakujoudai, which was perfectly fine from the way it faked paralysis. It was still moving, the smoke coming off it in wisps didn’t stop, only the main eye stuck still. The other was also fine, hiding behind Amane’s back with Mokke climbing on to it.
For such a cute scene, it made Kou’s stomach twist in a knot.
“Why are you lying to me?”
Amane held his gaze, steady, unfaltering, a gross insult to honesty.
“Do you...not trust me?”
The ghost boy smiled as naturally as he had the last they talked, radiantly, as he shook his head ‘no’ .
Kou decidedly did not like feeling like his heart was being torn apart vein by vein. He hated the disappointment and betrayal that seeped inside from a simple shake of a head. He knew it wasn’t too outlandish- they’d only known each other for less than a full month and he was still hesitant to call Amane his friend, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.
“Oh. R-Right, yeah, obviously.”
Kou strained out a laugh, clenching his fists.
“Um, I should-I should leave you to...whatever you’re doing… I have exorcist stuff to do.”
He waited for Amane to ask him to stay, give him any sign that he wanted him around, but his face was perfectly happy watching him leave. His shoulders didn’t fall and he didn’t look away when Kou caught him in his peripherals, nothing like how he looked when he thought nobody was looking as Kou and Yashiro left. When they left for the day, Amane tried to keep them there a bit longer, but they had to leave eventually. And when they did, Kou would catch a glance of his sullen face and downcast eyes.
Amane didn’t look sad at all.
So...Kou left.
He spent the day thinking about that one encounter.
What Amane could’ve been doing, why it needed to be a secret and why he was lying about it.
Why didn’t he trust Kou? Had he done something wrong?
No, that couldn’t be it. He’d done everything right.
He stuck up for Amane when talking to his brother, he helped with the bathroom cleaning, he didn’t stop looking for him so it couldn’t possibly be Amane feeling like he was being ignored.
He needed to know. He wouldn’t stop until he knew why Amane was avoiding him!
So he made a plan.
Or, well, half a plan.
Kou would get out of class, somehow, find Amane, somehow, and follow him around all day to find out what he was doing that was so secretive!
____________________________________________________________________________
The next day, Kou went to class determined. Algebra was his least favorite class so he was glad he had an excuse to leave. All the numbers got screwed up in his brain and it pissed him off, so usually, he didn’t even do anything and waited until Teru could read it out fr him and help him. The only problem was that he wasn’t as charismatic as his brother and couldn’t get out of class with no official reason, and there was no way he was going to give himself a bad papercut or bloody nose to get away.
“Satou! I’m going to the nurse, tell the teacher I’m having labor pains!”
A genius plan.
Satou didn’t question, he was well used to the strange things Kou did and said, but he did raise an eyebrow when Kou took off sprinting off toward the girl's bathroom. Satou figured it was none of his business, so he didn’t comment on it much.
____________________________________________________________________________
Kou found Amane surprisingly quick.
Amane was walking the halls of the old school building, holding a Mokke out like...a metal detector. When he held it out and turned in a circle, its ears constantly pointed to one direction, twisted around each other to act like a compass pointing north.
He went around, following the Mokke detector, Kou following him. Kou trailed him at a distance, watched Amane poke at the top of a chalkboard with a stick, hop around to grab something from the ceiling beams, and rummage in the practice garden. He carried a bag and continuously put items in there, but Kou was too far away to make out what he was taking.
He didn’t follow Amane into the girl's bathroom, because this was a bathroom that was actually in use and had two or three girls in it. It wasn’t Amane’s bathroom, but he was still going in it!
Was he seriously that much of a pervert?
____________________________________________________________________________
“Where’s Minamoto Kou?”
The teacher called out, frowning at the attendance sheet.
Satou raised his hand.
“He said he had labor pains, so he went to the nurse's office.”
Yokoo gasped, slamming his hands down on the table.
“He’s giving birth?”
____________________________________________________________________________
They made their way outside and Kou hid in the bushes, crawling on his stomach army style to avoid being detected.
Kou did not avoid being detected.
He got distracted by a particularly large worm wriggling in the dirt, because wow, that dude was fat, and it really wasn’t his fault for paying attention to it.
Just as he was about to poke it, he felt a weight plop on top of his back, sending him face-first into the soil. The worm wiggled away, but the weight on his back did not. Kou craned his neck to see who or what was on his back, and not to his surprise, he saw Amane’s grinning face. The weight wasn’t Amane himself, it was the bag he carried that actually pinned him down. Amane weighed next to nothing. Ghosts weighed almost a third of their living weight, and he looked like a skinny kid anyway.
He looked a little too skinny.
“Agh, come on! I didn’t even find anything out yet!”
Kou complained, throwing the bag off of him with a huff, sending Amane tumbling with it.
Amane laughed, flopping back into the bushes and throwing leaves around.
“You knew I was here, didn’t you?”
Kou pouted. He flipped over to sit up, batting dirt off his pants and shirt.
Teru was going to kill him for getting his uniform so dirty and scuffed, he’d never hear the end of it.
Amane nodded.
“...I was just trying to figure out what you’re keeping from me, okay? If you told me, or-or showed me, I mean, I wouldn’t have done this.”
Amane made the ‘OK’ sign and tossed the bag to Kou.
Kou dumped the contents of the bag on the ground, and out spilled...a bunch of dumb, random things.
Akane’s haniwa clay figure, a notebook, a textbook, a lunch pass, and a whole backpack, all tumbled out, along with a singular, tiny Mokke shoving an ungodly amount of candy into its...mouth...face....thing.
Kou glanced between the items and Amane.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
“Did you steal all of this?”
Amane shook his head and picked up the Mokke, once again waving it around like a metal detector. The Mokke’s ears stayed pointed at the pile of items. He poked the Mokke’s cheek three times, a silent, ‘It was them! ’
Kou snorted and put the items back into the bag.
“If you want, I can return these to their owners. I know the clay thing is Akane’s, and the rest should have their names and grades on them.”
Amane nodded again, beaming up at Kou with a smile brighter than the sun.
“So...this is what you’ve been doing? Collecting stuff the Mokke stole?”
Amane didn’t answer.
He stood up suddenly, fixed his hat and looked off to the clock tower and its windows, eyes narrowed. He pointed at something glinting in the sun, hanging between the top and middle.
“Eh? What’s that up there?”
Amane didn’t deign to respond and instead, grabbed Kou’s sleeve and started running full speed at the clock tower. Kou had no choice but to follow along, stumbling in the grass.
When they got to the top, where the tallest, paneless window stood, he saw the light shine straight through Amane. Uninterrupted, unhindered, like he was never even there.
He didn’t exist to the rest of the world, only those who summoned him or ended up on the other side of his blade, and the rest never knew or had forgotten.
It had to be lonely when not even the sun remembered he was still there.
Amane loosened his grip on Kou’s sleeve and slid his hand down to Kou’s. It would’ve been almost romantic if Amane didn’t immediately pull Kou’s hand down to his calf, demanding he grab it while Amane faced the window. He held his leg out so Kou could grip it better, which Kou did not want to do at all.
“Why are you doing this? Wha--What are you doing? I need an explanation before you--”
Amane didn’t let him finish his sentence before he flung himself out the window.
Thank god Kou had fast reflexes, because he was able to grab Amane’s other leg just before he could plummet to the ground. Amane had the gall to laugh when his face bonked into the outer wall, as if Kou hadn’t just saved him from crashing to the ground. He held Amane up tightly, he didn’t want to risk dropping him for real.
Strange.
It was strange at how good of a person Amane was.
Teru said that all supernaturals were evil. There was no such thing as a good supernatural. They were dangerous, manipulative, and cruel. All they could possibly think about was themselves, what they wanted.
But it seemed that Amane was the exception to all of that, other than the ‘dangerous’ part. And maybe he was a little bit manipulative when they got into their supernatural hunting missions, and unnaturally skilled at using a knife to cut supernaturals apart, and the power to terrify Yako with a threat without even saying a single word, but that was it.
He didn’t go out of his way to destroy humans nor supernaturals. He protected both sides as best as he could, going beyond his designated job to keep the balance of the school. He was worried about Kou when he got back from the fight with Teru and he’d exerted himself many times to keep Kou and Yashiro safe from whatever trouble they got into. He went around the school collecting stolen items so he could return them to their owners, and that wasn’t even vaguely necessary for him to do.
None of that screamed ‘self-centered’.
Amane wasn’t evil like the exorcist journals said.
He was a kid who put others before himself, valued his friends' safety more than his, and who would go around for a whole day helping people who didn’t even know he existed.
If all supernaturals were evil, then maybe Amane was the exception.
His grip started slipping right when Amane jerked down farther. Amane swung a leg back in surprise and accidentally kicked Kou’s hand off of his other leg, and with that, he was falling.
Kou screamed and lunged forward, grasping for Amane.
He couldn’t reach far enough.
Amane didn’t yell, or shout, or make any noise of panic or surprise. He just let out a sharp little gasp and his eyes widened, and he dropped like a rock without another sound. He was annoying when he was loud and obnoxious with his laughing and sound effects, but he was even worse when he was silent. It was unnatural and wrong.
Kou dashed down the stairs of the clocktower and burst through the door, slamming it open so hard it splintered against the stone. He skirted around the wall until he found Amane’s crumpled up body in a heap, lying still, slumped down in the grass below the window he fell from. He wasn’t moving at all.
“Hanako!”
Kou rushed to the ghost's side and slid to his knees, reaching out to cradle Amane’s head in his hands.
Amane flipped over with a big grin on his face. He pointed to himself and then dragged his finger across his neck.
‘I’m. Dead.’
“You’re already dead, idiot!”
“Oh. Huh.”
“Yeah, ‘huh’ . Don’t ever do that again, you scared the crap outta me! I thought you were actually gonna get hurt. Did you at least get it?”
Aman shifted to sit up, and he opened his hand.
In that pale palm was Kou’s traffic safety earring, gold writing glinting in the sun. Kou reached up to touch his ear and found it bare. He hadn't even noticed before, but it must’ve been missing for a while, maybe even the whole day. He spent so much time focusing on stalking Amane that he didn’t even pay attention to himself.
“This….is what you did all that for?”
Amane nodded.
“I...You shouldn’t have. It’s just an earring, I can get another and have it purified again, you didn’t need to-...”
Amane held a finger up to Kou’s lips in a shushing motion, cutting him off. Kou’s hand trembled when Amane held it, opened his fingers and gently placed the special earring back in Kou’s possession.
Amane fell three stories for that earring. He dangled by his legs, swung in the air, and crashed to the ground just for some stupid, blessed earring Kou got when he was a little kid. He didn’t even know if it was valuable or special to Kou, if it had any use or was just a decoration, and yet he still got himself hurt to bring it back to its rightful owner.
“...Thank you, Hanako. But don’t be so stupid next time, you really scared me! Don’t even do that as a joke! And-And at least warn me, okay?”
Amane nodded and laughed, that laugh that made butterflies pop up in Kou’s stomach and a heat rise to his cheeks. He held out his pinkie, and Kou wrapped his around it on instinct. He and Tiara made pinkie promises all the time, but it felt like this one was...different.
“You’re gonna break this promise, aren't you?”
Amane hummed to himself, glancing away with a mischievous look on his face.
“You’re insufferable.”
Kou sat still as Amane took the earring back and carefully put the hook through the hole in his ear, and then the backing. His hands were gentle and nimble, and for someone without pierced ears, he didn’t struggle at all.
Kou decided that Amane was a good supernatural.
There was no doubt in his mind anymore. Maybe he was being naive or too trusting, befriending a supernatural killer, but this ‘supernatural killer’ was one of the kindest people he’d ever met.
He helped Amane up, pulling him to his feet, hand in hand.
He smiled.
“I made up my mind. I’m not going to exorcise you after all.”
Golden eyes widened. Amane glanced around and Kou could feel the nervous energy radiating off of his body, the disbelief and anxiety, mixed with relief.
He pointed to Kou, touched his lips, pointed, dragged a finger across his throat, and pointed to himself.
‘You. Said. You’d. Kill. Me.’
“I was just running my mouth. I know you better now.”
Amane pointed to himself and slid a finger across his throat.
‘I. Killed.’
“I know. But I also know you probably had a good reason to! And so, from now on, I’ll-!”
His back hit the ground before he even knew he was falling. Amane stood above him, blotting out the sun and covering him in darkness, face blank even after shoving his friend down. Kou’s mouth slammed shut at the glint of cool metal held in the ghost's hand, eyes trained on the blade as if it were a feral animal about to strike. He watched in horror as it was brought to his throat, dull side dragged slowly across his jugular. Amane raised the knife, positioned it over his chest, legs on either side of his body.
Kou could’ve moved, probably. Without Amane using his powers, Kou could’ve easily thrown him off, could break his arm without breaking a sweat. Amane was frail and weak without his abilities, while Kou had been training for most of his life. It would be like fighting a first grader!
But he didn’t move.
Because Amane tried to speak.
His lips moved and Kou felt a huff of breath, but nothing came out. Tears gathered in his eyes as he tried to say something, desperately grasping for his voice, and it was destroying him. Layered on top was horror at what Kou had said, hatred and guilt and anger swirling into a fucked up mixture that shouldn’t be on any child's face.
“C….kkh…h…”
His hands were shaking around the hilt of the knife, and Kou realized Amane was terrified.
He wasn’t in control.
So it wasn’t Amane’s fault.
“Hanako...Hanako, breathe. It’s okay. You’re okay. Can you hear me?”
Amane heaved, dropping his knife to clutch at his lungs. Fifteen seconds passed by before Amane nodded, eyes fluttering ass they focused and unfocused, drifting over Kou’s face.
“Okay...Okay, that’s good. Can you-”
Amane reeled upright, his joints locked up, and his breathing stopped altogether. Blue light surrounded him from the back, blinding Kou in the most familiar of ways. Amane started screaming, hyperventilating, chest heaving up and down but no air came to him. He wouldn’t stop screaming, aborted sobs cutting through, but it didn’t stop, he wouldn’t stop. It hurt Kou’s ears and it broke his heart, it was like watching what the inside of Hell looked like.
“That’s enough.”
Amber eyes rolled back into Amane’s head and he dropped like dead weight. His head hit a rock with a hollow thunk.
Teru strolled forward, katana deftly held in between his fingers, smile casual and warm. He lowered his gaze to Amane’s form, disgust flickering throughout his whole frame, eyebrow twitching at the very sight of a supernatural. He was cool and composed, constantly a perfect role model, but Kou couldn’t see him like that.
With Teru looking at Amane like he was less than human, an item that needed to be broken, Kou couldn’t imagine fighting by his side.
“Hanako…”
Kou whispered, crawling forward to move Amane’s arm from where it was bent awkwardly beneath him, brushing a chunk of hair out of the ghost's forehead.
“It’s not like you to skip class. I’d wondered what might’ve caused it.”
Kou refused to acknowledge him. He hurt Amane, he didn’t deserve the attention!
“...Kou. I was right, wasn’t I? Hanako truly is an evil spirit. You can’t deny it anymore, I’m sorry. I’m going to exorcise him right here and right now, so...if you would get out of my way?”
Teru looked as charming as he did when addressing the entire school during an assembly. There could’ve been sparkles floating around him and it wouldn’t seem out of place.
Kou had never been more scared of his brother.
He’d never been scared of his brother, period.
“N...No...No! Get away from him!”
Kou stood up fast, nearly tripping over his feet to stand between Teru and Amane, gripping raitaijou tightly. He had to protect Amane from Teru’s wrath, just like Amane protected him from countless supernaturals before.
“Oh, honestly.”
Rosary beads shot out and wrapped around Kou’s arms and legs, pulled taught and bound, digging into his skin. He fell to the ground in a wiggling mass, fighting against the enchanted beads, even if he knew it was nearly impossible for anyone, let alone a mere human, to break out.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Amane coughed once, twice, his whole body trembling. He forced himself to his hands and knees, teeth grit against a rising groan.
“You just aren’t mature enough, Kou. No need to bother yourself with all these useless thoughts of defending ghosts and supernaturals.”
Teru turned away from Kou and directed his attention to Amane. For every step forward, Amane scrambled a foot back. He was clearly still reeling from whatever scary episode he’d had, Kou could only imagine the chaos and confusion going on in his head. He was looking everywhere, eyes darting all around him, not focused on Teru solely. His breathing was erratic and he just clearly wasn’t in a proper state of mind. It wouldn’t be a fair fight if Amane were forced to battle when he could barely even think straight. His pupils dilated and constricted, if ghosts could get concussions he definitely had one.
Teru didn’t seem to mind the unfair advantage, in fact, his smug aura increased when he saw just how frazzled Amane was.
“Hey, there. Haven’t seen you in a bit, School Mystery. Glad to see you’re doing...well.”
Amane rubbed his eyes furiously and shook his head. He shuffled to a crouching position, on the balls of his feet, like a cat ready to pounce. He swayed, cringing when his head lolled to the side slightly without his permission. He raised a hand to the air and flicked his pinkie and ring finger, like a signal or beckoning call.
Whatever he was trying to summon was blocked out by Teru’s lightning cage. That used to be Kou’s favorite - a cage of pure exorcist energy that even the blade the older Minamoto had been gifted at age seven couldn’t properly conduct. It was all Teru’s skill and training that made it possible, none of it was easy.
It wasn’t his favorite anymore.
Anything used against Amane was no longer Kou’s favorite.
“I won’t let you summon your Tsueshiro. I wouldn’t want to make this fight any more difficult.”
The Lightning cage would decimate any supernatural who passed through, there was no way Amane would be able to simply run.
“Aha, what a scary face.”
Teru mused, directing Kou’s attention back to Amane.
He looked terrifying.
Like...Like he was about to kill someone.
“No matter how you try to cover it up…”
A knife appeared in Amane’s hand and he raised his head, more focused and concentrated on the battle ahead. He was glaring up at Teru, eyes no longer yellow but a dark, murky brown. He had the same look on his face that he had when he finished off Yako, when he pinned Kou down earlier and drew his weapon.
But there was anxiety hidden behind that murderous shield he had up.
“...in the end, you can never change what you truly are.”
That was when everything Amane worked to cover up, all the fear and hatred of who knew what, the insanity lying below, and the childish nature even lower.
He was trembling.
He was just a kid.
He was the same age as Kou was, he was around thirteen.
How could Teru forget that?
“A troublesome ghost who gets unstable at the drop of a hat, and harms the living at the slightest provocation.”
He was talking about Amane like he was nothing but a monster, like he was never human to begin with, acting like he was on the same level of the terrors he faced on the street. Like he was some kind of psychopath whose only purpose is to kill.
“Stop it..”
Kou muttered.
“Self-serving and violent, you took life from another and yet you cling stubbornly to this world and refuse to accept your own death.”
Teru laughed.
“Stop it…!”
“And to be perfectly honest,..it’s painful to look at.”
It all happened so quickly.
Flashes of light, Teru quick-stepping behind Amane, Amane losing his grip and flying forward, reaching for his knife and- and-
Teru’s sword went straight through Amane’s hand.
He fell to the ground.
The screams started up again, louder, more frantic and pained as he tried to wrench his hand away and only managed to slide it up and down the blade, slicking blood across the enchanted metal and smearing it around. It was like a waterspout of red.
Kou knew that spout wouldn’t stop until Amane’s entire existence was snuffed out.
That was what Teru did, when fighting - he weakened and tortured the supernatural until they couldn’t lift a finger against him, and once he was finished with beating them down, he’d stab the spirit blade through the entire supernatural, skewer them, and then finally destroy them.
It was sadistic, but it was what he’d been taught.
It was also incredibly effective. If Teru kept on for even one more minute, Amane would be properly exorcised and he wouldn’t be able to help at that point.
It didn’t matter how powerful he was, Teru was better.
Kou had to stop it, he had to save Amane!
But…
...Did he?
Amane had problems, that was clear. He was unexpectedly violent, switched from an asshole, happy-go-lucky kid, to a heartless killer. There were wires crossed in his brain and no amount of ‘saving’ could put them in place.
Teru said he needed to be exorcised, and Teru was rarely wrong. Was it really possible for Teru to be wrong about only one single thing, and that just happened to be a ghost Kou got too close with? The eldest Minamoto was smarter, he had more experience, he knew better. He had stone-cold reasoning and more than enough intellect to know when something was too dangerous to exist.
Besides, if Kou did try to help, what could he do?
He was nothing.
He was useless.
He couldn’t exorcise anything to save his own life.
He waved around raiteijou like he was some deity, but he had zero clue how to even use it properly. He was self-taught and he wasn’t a good teacher.
Teru was a hero, Kou wanted to be just like him.
Maybe he was being stupid, getting attached to someone so...temporary. Amane’s time had already run out years ago, he was overdue. The hourglass of his life was cracked open, empty, and dusty, he was simply clinging onto this world with borrowed time and pure determination. He’d been around far longer than he was meant to.
Amane screamed again.
Kou hated that sound. It hurt.
He was face down in the dirt, dragging himself forward in a crawl, pulling himself with his chipped nails and dirty fingers.
They were at the end.
Amane was fully weakened, all Teru needed to do was deal the finishing blow.
“Just stop fighting it. You’ve been in the living world for how many years, now? I think it’s about time you accepted your punishment.”
It startled as a huffing breath and grew into a pained and bitter laugh. Not the loud cackling Amane gave when he made Yashiro blush red, or the muffled snorts and giggles when he successfully pissed off Kou or played a ‘funny’ prank. This was sorrowful, heartbroken…
...hateful.
But against who?
Both Minamoto’s turned their attention to Amane’s upright form, shaking and hunched, but especially his hands.
He drew a finger across his throat. Closed a hand into a fist and let it go.
‘Death.’ ‘Release.’
“‘Death would be a release…’”
Kou murmured.
Teru glanced over, ears sharp enough to hear the brief translation. He turned his attention back to Amane and lifted his katana to the ghost’s neck. If he decided to make one swift swipe, Amane would be gone.
Amane dared to look Teru in his eyes, his sobs growing louder and louder until they were basically nonsensical screams. No words, only despair.
He pointed to himself. Made an ‘X’ with his fingers. Held his palm out. He jammed his pointer into the dirt,
‘I.’ ‘No.’ ‘Halt.’ ‘Here.’
No, wait.
‘I’...’ Can’t’?
‘Won’t .’
So the third would have to be… and the last…
“ ‘I can’t stop now .’ He has...He has things he needs to do. To-”
Amane looked at him with pleading eyes.
Kou swallowed.
“He has things he needs to finish.”
The days he spent alone, cutting off contact with Kou and Yashiro, he was doing those ‘things’. He had a job and he refused to leave it alone, even if being with others would make him happier. He was a supernatural who gave up his own pleasure to help others, who spent the day returning missing items to students and tracking down troublesome Mokke, even though it didn’t affect him at all if a student was missing his lunchbox. He protected Kou and Yashiro.
He protected everyone in the school.
Was it his way of atoning or...was it just him? Did he think his only use was to help, sacrifice everything he had to make others even just a bit happier?
Was he doing that out of selfishness, for a desire for forgiveness, or did he out of genuine compassion?
Why did Amane do the things he did?
Who was Amane?
Kou had a choice to make.
“I see...you have your own issues that you’re working through. But…”
Save Amane or let Teru exorcise him.
The sword slipped lower and pierced Amane’s skin, his chest.
“It doesn’t matter. None of it.”
Move or sit by.
Pushing, pushing, he was crying, blood.
“You’re a dangerous supernatural. So I’ll exorcise you.”
His friend or his brother?
The sword pulled out, it would be back in seconds.
“That’s all there is to it.”
Which…
The blade went straight to Amane’s heart, it crackled.
“So stop.”
Which was he supposed to…
“It’s over.”
A biting pain flashed through Kou’s hand, stabbing through his entire body and wracking his nerves.
He moved without thinking, he chose with his instincts and not his brain, and he didn’t care if it was a mistake. He wasn’t the smartest Minamoto, he wasn’t the strongest, and he wasn’t the best by a long shot. He used a weapon he couldn’t control, he was an ‘exorcist’ who was friends with a ghost, he was a wannabe hero who couldn’t be anything more than a sidekick.
It didn’t matter.
He didn’t need to be anything.
He just needed to be the wall between Teru and Amane.
“You-- How….When did you break free?”
He had no idea.
One second he was wrapped up in rosary beads and the next he was holding a spirit-enhanced katana, the ‘how’ and ‘when’ were irrelevant.
Teru hurt Amane.
That was what mattered.
Kou shoved Teru back with his own sword, hands wrapped around the blade.
“Kou! Stop this!”
Teru shouted like a scolding parent.
Kou slammed him to the ground, heaving with exhaustion and exertion. Everything hurt, his hands were numb and cold and warm and on fire, and Amane was hurt, Amane was hurt.
Teru’s eyes widened. He’d seen the blood.
“Kou...You’re bleeding…”
It didn’t make sense to Kou. Teru was amazing, perfect in every way. He cared so much about his family that even amid a battle, he’d laser focus on his little brother's safety.
But he didn’t care about stabbing Amane.
Why was Amane’s blood worth less than Kou’s?
“Stop treating me like an idiot!”
Kou yelled, dragging Teru’s face closer to his by the collar of his shirt.
“I know I’m weak! And I’m a lot stupider than you! I can figure that much out. You’re right, okay? I know next to nothing about Hanako. I think...I think it was totally wrong of me to decide whether he was bad or good before I know more.”
He paused.
He thought of Amane’s smile, the real one he gave when he saw something pretty. Or his hair and how fluffy it looked, and how much Kou wanted to braid it like he did with his sister’s hair. Or his eyes. The way they lit up when he saw Kou, the lights dancing in bright amber.
“But exorcising all the supernaturals just because ‘supernaturals are dangerous’...I just… there’s something wrong with that.”
He stood up and wiped his eyes, sniffling. His brain hurt from all the emotions and thinking.
“It’s gonna take some time. I’m gonna get stronger, just like you, Teru-nii! And then I’ll decide what to do! If I need to, I’ll exorcise him!”
He jabbed a finger at Teru.
“So keep your hands off him!”
Teru’s face was blank. Not nervous, surprised, happy...just blank. Whatever was underneath, Kou had no idea.
“He could attack a student tomorrow.”
Kou shook his head.
“Then I’ll keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t! From now on, he’s my responsibility!”
Teru was quiet, thinking, before he sighed in defeat.
“Honestly...We should exorcise him right now. But I don’t want you to hate me. You’re more important to me than a ghost. So...alright.”
Teru turned on his heel and sheathed his blade, already stalking away.
“I’m only doing this once, Kou. Next time...there will be no interruptions.”
He left.
It was just Kou and Amane now.
Kou turned to him, grinning in accomplishment.
“Ahah, that was intense! But I promise, from now on, you’re under my watch, so no shenanigans! I’ll keep Teru-nii away from you, no matter what, and once I figure you out, if you’re really as bad as he thinks, I’ll exorcise you on the spot! Count on me!”
His grin faltered when he got no response, not even a head tilt.
He crouched down in front of Amane and lightly placed his hand on his knee, gentle, afraid to cause any more damage.
“Are...Are you still crying?”
It would make sense.
Amane was just stabbed and beaten and electrocuted to Hell and back and he was curled in on himself, no one would be fine after all of that. It was stupid of Kou to assume he’d be back to normal immediately.
But...Amane started giggling. He raised his head and stuck out his tongue.
“Wha-what's so funny?”
Kou’s eyes crossed when Amane held up a bottle of fake tears in front of his face, waving it around like, ‘ haha, look at this, look at how dumb you are for falling for such a simple trick’ .
“Are---Are those fake tears? Hanako, I swear-!”
Amane jumped up to his feet and tossed the bottle over his shoulder, looking smug as ever as he made a dash for it.
A trail of blood pointed to where he went, but Kou didn't have the energy to follow.
Instead, he picked up the vial of fake tears and peered into it.
It...looked full.
Kou unscrewed the cap and his sneaking suspicion was confirmed when he heard the snap of a tiny plastic seal, only now just broken.
It’d never been opened before.
“Amane...You could’ve just told me. I wouldn’t have laughed. Why did you...There’s no reason to lie.”
Kou sighed, talking to the air. No one was around. He could voice his thoughts without looking like a freak.
“Why can’t you just tell me the truth for once?”
____________________________________________________________________________
Amane hissed in pain as the bandages were pulled tighter around his chest like a corset. He grumbled a noise of complaint, simply a noise, but he’d known this Mystery long enough that a simple huff had just as much meaning as a word.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Just stay still and it’ll be over in a second.”
Amane rolled his eyes but really, he couldn’t complain. He was lucky this Mystery still tolerated and helped him, cleaned his wounds when healing them with his own spiritual energy would knock him out for a few days straight. He owed this Mystery so much, but they both knew he’d never be able to repay it.
The least he could do was shut up and quit his whining.
“Shit, you got cut up bad. That Minamoto is not someone to be reckoned with.”
Amane shot a glare at the Mystery.
“What? I’ve heard you curse before, don’t think I don’t know! You’re not as innocent as some might believe!”
Amane gasped.
“Don’t play that ‘perfect schoolboy act. We both know you’re a menace.”
Amane snickered and winced again when the bandages were snapped in place.
“There, it’s done. Can I go back to grading papers now?”
Amane shook his head, rebuttoning his shirt and shrugging on his uniform jacket. There was something else. He needed help, someone on his side that could do a little spying.
“That’s a lot to ask of me…”
The Mystery grumbled, but they both knew that was far from a solid ‘no’ ,
“I’ll watch out for any suspicious activity, but I won’t go searching for it. I’m not suicidal.”
Amane flinched.
The Mystery frowned and pulled Amane in for a hug, one that was returned in a second.
“Sorry, bad choice of words. You know what I mean.”
Amane nodded into that old lab coat that smelled like acidic chemicals and old books.
“Hey...I’m proud of you, ya know. You’ve done a lot these past months. You’re a great kid, Number Seven, don’t let any Minamoto or exorcist make you forget that, okay?”
Amane looked up into the Mystery’s eyes for any sign of a lie, anything that would show he was poking fun at Amane.
There never was any, not with this Mystery.
“Okay.”
Amane whispered.