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Mograri had known a few forms of torture, but none like this. His family of exorcists had cruel and unusual ways of torturing people with spirits, but they had never held someone in a room and made them fill out a scantron for two whole hours without so much as a break for breath.
His first finals week felt more like a test for survival.
His head hurt with all of the studying he had to cram on top of all of the spirit hunting, so while his friends had told their family they’d been studying and practicing… that was really, really far from the truth.
From their recent encounter Mogari had still been healing from an injury on his arm, a large gash that his cousin stitched up as soon as Ren could shove him to the floor and curse at the recklessness of the wound. It hurt a good amount, but it wasn’t the worst injury he had sustained. When he was younger and somehow even more reckless when he’d tested his own mortality, his father wasn’t amused. Nor were the housekeepers who had to clean him and his mess up. At least his broken bones made him more durable.
That had been so long ago, and he’s toned down the injuries a good amount… He did preen the next morning on his walk to school when Kanzaki doted on him, it made his chest swell with warmth and the muscles in his throat clench. Mogari savored the shy and reserved smile that Kanzaki saves for when it's just the two of them, he was thankful that the brisk morning hid the darkening of his cheeks. That whole walk he’d noticed how Kanzaki leaned into his space or how their hands knocked together. Just painfully close, and yet just out of reach.
And, oh, his nerves were frying themselves in his arm with restraint. He wanted so badly to just give into it and lace their hands together, his heart racing in his chest just thinking about running his thumb across Kanzaki’s soft yet frigid hands. Watching as his flushed pale composure gets shoved into his layered scarf to hide from the expected embarrassment.
The thought follows him across the river bed and to the gates of school, and into their separate classes where Mogari knows everything he tried to cram into his head has dropped dead and left his head for the day.
The bell rings and it amplifies his headache tenfold, his eye’s feel heavy in his head despite his age recommended eight hours of sleep. He slumps on his desk and lets his weight rest for just a minute before the rest of his class leaves for the day. The teacher has already started to collect the scantron sheets from the abandoned desks, telling Mogari that he should leave and head home for the day as he collected his.
Begrudgingly, he drags himself up and stumbles into the hallway. He thinks to himself, how worth it this all is when he’ll inevitably get to walk home with his friends - with Kanzaki. As he’s about to walk out of the doorway when a girl in a long heavy knitted cardigan carrying a retro school bag. Almost, as he staggers back just in time for her to disappear down the hallway’s emergency exit.
He doesn’t think anything of it, he hopes there isn’t anything to it.
His group of friends had been outside in the hallway immersed in conversation, Kanzaki and Korekishi had been the only ones on decent standing, weary but still in one piece. He and Tamon, he notices, were both dead on their feet.
Korekishi takes pity on the both of them as he doesn’t ask how it went, he should know the answer with the way Tamon is hanging on by a thread and Mogari sways like the souls he’d consumed thus far are about to escape from his weary appearance.
Kanzaki pushes himself off the wall and comes up to Mogari’s side which lightens his own spirit, even more so when their shoulders brush.
“At least it's over…” Tamon offers as they make their way down the stairs and into the hallway of shoe lockers.
They shouldn’t try to hunt today, Korekishi had insisted, seeing as they wouldn’t be in full commission with their underlying lethargy. They make it to the courtyard when Mogari sags with a sigh of relief, he hardly has an appetite as is. Despite having so much stamina this morning - or any other day, he feels as if it was all leached out of him. He watches as Tamon sluggishly unlocks his bike, how Korekishi removes his glasses to rub at his eyes, and how Kaoru stifles a yawn in his thick scarf.
A gust of wind passes them and Mogari’s nose picks up an abnormal scent, with a trained urgency he scans his surroundings taking into account the surplus of fauna the school has allowed. He notices their placements by the windows, how they’re surrounded by freshly potted and planted greenery…
Oh.
On queue two of the spirit sensors turn back to the school staring at the path to the school's garden. The three with a paranormal sense look to each other, before begrudgingly trekking toward the ominous stone path.
Korekishi stares at the three curiously, “Where are you going?”
Kanzaki points down the suspiciously luminous path, “Spirits.”
Korekishi shrivels with a sigh, wrinkling his normally flawless blazer before digging in his bag for the notebook and pen he uses to log their findings.
They shed their bags against the walls of the school, Mogari shallowly inhales to steel himself. He can’t let himself fall into the effects of the plants, he thinks back to what he’d been taught and releases that breath. Kanzaki comes up beside him and Tamon, Mogari internally delights in the warmth that slides down his wrists and laces their fingers together - unfortunately he forces that delight to be compartmentalized for a later time. Instinctively, he keeps the hand of his eyes behind him as they continue to walk, keeping Kanzaki and Tamon behind him. Korekishi keeps his distance as he usually does to work out his journal narrative.
The foliage is overgrown, the further they go the more inaccessible the path becomes. More overgrown stems and distorted roots disfigure the ground, a few shoes get caught and a dress shirt gets snagged on a well-hidden branch.
He makes a note to ask Ren to mend it.
The shift in the air is sudden - as most paranormal encounters are - sending a wave akin to sunlight past the group. The floor is disfigured with lace-like leaves, some are frayed from being stepped on and others are graying at the sides. Vines and overarching stems block what's left of the natural sunlight - Tamon pulls out his phone to use it as a flashlight - the atmosphere change is palpable. Fresh spring air, heavy with pollen.
Mogari isn’t a fan of that as he wills away a sneeze.
As they come in further Mogari grimaces and scrunches his nose there is a sharp sweet scent in the air the others pick up on it, but not as strongly as him. At least they’re close now.
“Shishikuno,” he hears Tamon call out behind him, “There's at least two voices up ahead - watch out.”
Nodding his head he follows through to the end of the tunnel, the season changing atmosphere only becomes more oppressive - warmth like a mid-summer sun.
At the end of the tunnel of foliage, a yellow glow draws Mogari’s attention, just past it are two kids messing around in the garden - one whiff tells him that is their target. He crouches down to huddle his friends into a group, before digging into the flora encasing them and pulling them apart to create a makeshift window.
“They’re kids,” Tamon quietly shrieks, “No shit,” Kanzaki instantly quips back. Korekishi knocks his journal on top of the seekers head, turning to Mogari, “What will you do? Are they Malicious?”
Shaking his head, “No, don’t think so.” Beside him, despite the free space surrounding their huddle, Kanzaki presses further into his backside trying to look closer at the scene. “Looks like… they’re playing tag?” Tamon readjusts his hand to Kanzaki’s shoulder as he stands from the huddle, “Around the cherry blossom tree?” The three onlookers turn back to each other with a halfhearted shrug. Behind them Korekishi stands up to brush off his slacks, “So then you should try to talk them into release, instead of eating them, Mogari.” He looks toward Kanzaki and the two stand, having already decided their course of action.
Having done this only once before, Mogari wonders to himself how he’ll approach the kids. He hardly has experience with them seeing as his family hadn’t allowed him and Ren such interactions. With a deep breath and somewhere in his psyche he hears the clan head - no, his father - saying that he’s weak for showing these spirits any mercy. Deeper in that psyche, he recalls his mother’s words, “Mercy isn’t weakness,” her voice dulcet as rain on water, “but the man that isn’t merciful leads a blighted path on his lonesome.” He bites his bottom lip with worry and anticipation.
A tug on his hand brings his eyes to Kanzaki’s, his face scrunched up in worry, his hand on his shoulder. “You, okay? You went silent.” A new warmth finds its way from swelling in his chest and creeping up his neck, and before Kanzaki can look too much into it, Mogari turns his head toward the children running in the field. “Yeah, c’mon we should start while there's light out.” He doubts that it’ll be a problem however, with the area before them and all.
He and Kanzaki slowly make his way out of the tunnel of vines; one look back and Mogari watches the scene of Tamon holding his arm toward Korekishi who is listening to something that the green haired boy whispers behind his hand.
He wants to wonder what that was about, but he quickly tunes the thought out for after this is situated.
The grass crunches under the exorcist's feet to let them know he’s approaching but the kids seem unbothered. Two young girls, both no older than secondary school students, one is wearing that same cardigan of the girl who nearly bumped into him earlier, under it blouse paired with a knee length dress , her red pigtail flying behind her, the other girl had short white hair and wore a similar cardigan and uniform but with a fray from tugging at her sleeves. Absently, he takes note of the two bags just along the fence line behind the tree.
As they come up just behind the spirits, they stop their chase endlessly running around the tree, instead the redhead comes to a quick stop balancing herself on a protruding root which ends in the other girl stumbling into her. They fall as gracefully as one would expect, like two dominos, with a small “oomph” from the redhead.
They don’t seem to be disturbed by their presence, not even excited like Urahime was, just giggling on the dirt at the tree stump. Kanzaki looks at him curiously, before turning to the girls, “Aren’t they a little young to be in high school grounds?” The two kids sit up startled, seemingly used to being ignored by the people who pass by. “Look! Look!” The redhead with sun kissed skin points at them, “Chiyo, they can see us!” Chiyo Looks at the girl, and then back to them standoffish, “Sachiko, that's not possible.” Taking Chiyo’s hand in her own and lowering it to the ground.
“Mogari, talk to them, I’m no good with children.” Kanzaki tugs on his hand, dragging him into a squat. “What makes you think I’m any good with children?” Mogari pouts his lip at his spiritual eyes. “You’re personable, it shouldn’t be too hard.” Kanzaki leans into his space with his eyebrows scrunched up to intimidate him, but it only causes Mogari’s face to flush.
A resounding “Oooh” draws from the girls in front of them, more so from the redhead girl who giggles to herself when Kanzaki whips his head toward her. Mogari doesn’t understand the interaction but enjoys the way Kanzaki’s face colors pink. “You like each other, huh?” Mogari steals himself and watches as Kanzaki becomes progressively more irritated with the redheaded girl. “That's why you came to the cherry tree!” Sachiko says with an air of innocence that Mogari imagines most children quickly grow out of, beside her Chiyo chides “Sachiko!” embarrassed for her friends actions.
He’s read manga like that, Mogari notes to himself, one person asks another to meet under a cherry blossom tree to confess their feelings – it’s cheesy and overdone, he thinks. Never has he seen it in real life, but he guesses someone of Sachiko's age listens to stories like that and believes it to be happy ever after. “No,” Kanzaki replies like he’s had the air kicked out of him, “We’re not,” He looks at Mogari from the corner of his eye and swallows, “We aren’t like that.”
“But!” Sachiko insists, “You two are holding hands! And - And you’re blushing!” Her expression becomes sad as she turns to Chiyo; the white haired girl mirrors her expression shaking her head. Mogari ignores the cold feeling that creeps up from the brief, instant, but present insecurity he’s very recently developed from what his friend said or at least tries to.
“That's ‘cause Mogari can’t see you unless I share my power with him.” He lifts their joined hands to make a point, but the girls - or rather - Sachiko doesn’t buy it. Mogari, suddenly with a weight on his chest, changes the subject. “Do you two always play around this tree?” Chiyo nods shyly, the redhead beside her answers with pleasant energy, “Yeah! Me ‘n Chiyo always play tag right here on our way home! Chiyo is my best friend in the whole world, I always love playing with Chiyo.” The white haired girl flushes and slumps her head against the exuberant girl's shoulder, huffing out her name in embarrassment.
His shoulders slump as he watches the two; from their conversation, he understands the girls must move on together. As content as they look, he can only imagine what they need to pass on, the neglect of personal space, the cherry tree, and their matching fond expressions.
He decides to try his luck on Chiyo, “Say, Chiyo,” he adjusts himself to sit catching the girl's hesitant gaze, “How did you and Sachiko become friends?”
She pauses, looking at the dirt before landing on her grumbled skirt. “She was the first person who wanted to talk to me.” Her eyes look away to her red haired friend and then back to the red eyed exorcist, “She wanted to learn about the books I liked, she also watches the same cartoons as me.” Her gaze wanders downwards and onto the grass, “She also keeps the boys from picking on me.”
With a huff Sachiko interjects, “Those good for nothing slimes, they don’t know up from down, but they still torment my Chiyo.” She holds her small fist up in Kanzaki’s face, “I’ll protect Chiyo like a prince from those fairytales!” She says with a childlike innocence.
Mogari can’t help the smile that overtakes his face, they’re not so different from him and Kanzaki, his smile becomes bittersweet.
“So, you want to be with Chiyo forever?” Kanzaki, with his head in his empty hand, says skeptically, as if he doesn’t know if he's reading the situation correctly. Sachiko nods her head so quickly Mogari thinks it’ll fall off, “Even if you grow up and life becomes harder?” She nods again, “Even if one day you’ll be expected to get married?” Kanzaki prods.
A fire lights in Sachiko’s eyes, “I want to be with Chiyo forever and ever!” Despite that innocence she goes on, “When we graduate I want to go to the same school as Sachiko, I want her to share her dreams and worries with me so I can hold her hand while she's happy or sad, I want to watch the cartoons we like, and I want to know the things she likes even if I don’t like ‘em.” Her voice grows defensive, prepared to be met with resistance. Despite that Mogari feels like his smile might tear at his face, “So, Sachiko do you love Chiyo?”
At that she becomes shy, despite giving a confident declaration like that she looks away from Chiyo. Kanzaki glares at him, and Chiyo reaches out for her friend. A silence overtakes them briefly, only the passing wind and the rustling of leaves until a smaller voice speaks up. “I want those things too,” Chiyo looks like she might start crying, “Sachiko, I want that too, I want to grow up with you, and share my favorite things with you… I like you, even if boys or adults think we're weird, I just want to be with you.” Now fat tears roll down her small face, she hiccups as she wipes her tears away with her cardigan. Sachiko nearly lunges over the space between them and back onto Chiyo, her own face wet with tears.
And suddenly the girls start to age, from pre-teens, to teens, adults, middle and late adults, until they’re both much older women. “At your wedding I was so spiteful Chiyo, I wanted nothing more than to be that man up there with you… I used to pray that your parents would call it off, but –” A much older Chiyo shushes her, and their forms start to break up and away, “Just promise me Sachiko you’ll be my prince in our next life, and that we'll run away together and do all the things we said we would.” Sachiko does promise, but just before they go Chiyo looks at Mogari and then Kanzaki intentionally.
The overgrowth of the school's garden shrinks and depresses around them, the sun reclaims its place behind a cover of clouds.
“That was,” Kanzaki puts his hand on his neck and inhales through his teeth, worn for all the vulnerability, “a lot.”
Mogari nods in agreement, his front for the spirits deflated with their departure, now allowing himself to ruminate on what Kanzaki said to Sachiko. He stands when Kaoru does, but his mind is elsewhere, prodding at him as if to say, “if you don’t ask now, then when?”
With their hands still clasped, Kaoru starts to walk away, but his hand breaks off from Mogari’s when he doesn’t move. “Mogari?” Once again, he steals himself, takes a deep breath, holds it, and lets it out. He feels confused, this morning, their interactions before this, he tries to fix what he was certainly confident about. The lingering touches, promises, vulnerability they’ve only shown each other, the fleeting glances, and how they always stood so close. Did he misinterpret this? Was he thinking too far into it? No, he couldn’t be, but even so, he takes another deep breath, why did he say it like that?
“Mogari?” Kanzaki tries again, placing his hand on Mogari’s upper arm sensing how tense he's become no doubt.
“Why did you say it like that?” He nearly whispers, but it's just enough for the other boy to hear.
“What, your name?” He says, genuinely confused.
“No, when you were talking to Sachiko, after she said that we liked each other.” His voice feels small, and for whatever reason, he feels dumb for even thinking this - having this conversation. “That we aren’t like, what?” he manages to say.
Kanzaki is silent at his side for a few minutes, remembering or preparing himself - he doesn’t know. His grip squeezes at Mogari’s arm, before Kanzaki starts to brush his thumb against it. “It's true, it's not like,” He listens as Kanzaki takes a shuddering breath, “Its, we’re not like that.” His hand gradually slips down Mogari’s arm stopping at his wrist.
“Not like what, Kanzaki?” His heart constricts in his chest, it screams at him to drop this conversation, to go back to being what they know - friends - friends who border on something more.
Mogari feels sick almost, watching Kanzaki look for the words, like he’s about to say that everything up till now meant nothing. His fist clenches, his nails digging into his skin, as he braces himself for the worst of it.
“We don’t like each other like that.” For the first time in a long while, Mogari feels warm prickling begin in his eyes, and before it gets any stronger, they shut close. Kanzaki’s hand at his wrist burns, with what - he doesn’t know, he wills himself to look at Kanzaki who looks no better than he feels.
As his throat refuses to cooperate with words, he maneuvers the hand that Kanzaki is holding so that he can firmly grasp his hand, forcing the other boy to look at him. The moment the words stumble out of him, their eyes meet, and Mogari lets the flush on his face be seen. “I like you like that.”
The wind rushes past them, a breeze that casts Kanzaki’s hair out of his face and maybe muddles Mogari’s words, the other boy stands stunned - becoming pink as the seconds go by.
“This isn’t like - a joke, is it? You’re serious.” Kanzaki looks over Mogari as if he’s trying to convince himself the moment is real.
“No,” He says under his breath, “No, I’m serious about this.”
Mogari inhales deeply, “I like learning about your favorite things, I like when you talk to me about nonsense skincare, or the excitement on your face when you complete a collection. I want to hear about your struggles so I can help you, give you advice, reassure you, and I like just being around you, Kanzaki.” Somehow, he does that all while keeping their eye contact, and he watches as Kanzaki’s scarred eyes let loose a couple of tears.
He listens as Kanzaki’s breathing is held - let go - and then quick to inhale again, his expression contorts like he couldn’t believe Mogari’s words.
Kanzaki pulls Mogari close and throws his arms around his neck, “Corny and unoriginal.” He says with a sniffle, his hands clawing at the back of Mogari’s lapels, it fills Mogari with relief, as his arms instinctively wrap around Kanzaki’s waist. “But you like me for it.” He can’t help but tease as he nestles his way into Kanzaki’s neck.
Mogari feels light on his feet, he leans into the embrace all he can without bringing the two to the floor and his heart is full. Kanzaki seems content to hold his weight even as they teeter unsteadily. Mogari pulls away with his smile threatening to tear his chapped lips, just enough to see Kanzaki’s flushed face. He doesn’t know who moves first, but the next thing he knows he feels Kanzaki press his smooth lips against his, he quickly reciprocates. It's not perfect, their noses squish amidst their eagerness, but it’s more than Mogari might have hoped for hours ago. A clumsy press of lips that tingles and lingers before their lips meet again for something more gratifying, this time angled correctly. One of his hands clumsily comes up to cup his friend's plush cheek this time as they hold the sweet kiss.
A giddy feeling overtakes him as they separate, Kanzaki’s hands let go of his now rumpled shirt but remain on his forearms. Under Mogari’s tentative gaze, his eyes shy away, but the exorcist watches as Kanzaki’s soft hands lace with his own dragging them down between both their bodies. They’ve held hands plenty of times, but this time it sends jitters up his arms and down his spine.
“C’mon before the others get suspicious, then you can walk me home?” Kanzaki tugs at his hands, causing him to take a bumbling step forward. He nods his head instinctively; following his partner back to the hedge entrance. He would’ve done that anyway, he imagines.
When they return, the two voluntarily benched members are sitting together watching instructive baking videos on Tamon’s laptop - both incredibly engaged. “Ah, they’re back.” Korekishi helpfully supplies, Tamon pauses the video to look at the pair with an impish smile. “So, how’d it go?” The former student council president continues.
“It was fine,” Mogari neutrally replies, free hand behind his neck, “Two peaceful spirits, girls who wished they could go back to a time they were together, typical peaceful spirit stuff.” He flaps his hand as if to say it was nothing. Beside him, Kanzaki nods with the same stoic expression he always wears.
Korekishi’s eyes drift downward, “Mhm, of course.” he says as his arms come up studiously to adjust his glasses - a telltale sign of hiding his smile. He then turns back to Tamon, taking his journal from the green haired boy, “I trust you’ll tell me all about it at our meeting tomorrow?” He says, not waiting for an answer as he takes a few distancing steps down the path.
Tamon, ever helpful, stands up with his laptop in hand, “It was only a matter of time, right?” He flashes a bright, knowing smile before following Korekishi beyond their view.
Kanzaki’s hand flexes, gripping Mogari’s hand tighter, a grunting noise comes from his throat. Mogari playfully rolls his eyes before tugging Kanzaki after him. Delighted in the warmth that threatened to swallow him whole, he’d gladly let it.