The dark haired man and the light haired man walked down the street in the early morning light. The lighter of the partners had put his hands behind his head and made somewhat of a walking pillow for himself. However, the darker of the two, Nino, shook his head at his friend’s actions and continued walking along. They took several turns down different streets, and neither said a word but understood internally as they walked up to an apartment complex. As they entered, Matsu’s head went towards the front desk where a dark haired woman snoozed with her feet up on the desk and her head arched downwards. Nino’s eyes moved for a half moment as he considered the surroundings around him. Leave it to Matsu to rent a somewhat middle of the road apartment neither too expensive nor a shack. There was some strange art to that notion that Nino had yet to figure out, but it suited well enough for Matsujun who was now starting up the stairs.
“Sorry we ran out of money for a top floor. This room was the cheapest thing that I’ve seen in a long time,” Matsu said sadly to himself as he made his way down the hall of the second floor. “I did also manage to stock part of the refrigerator…..”
“It’s fine,” Nino answered darkly back.
A still sharp yellow eye moved over to view the lines of his friend’s face but met a dark blue eye instead. Turning his head complacently higher and now staring at the dots and panels of the ceiling as they continued walking, Matsu debated for a moment whether or not to speak outright to Nino about the course of things they were both thinking about. In the end, neither one said anything, and Matsu stopped walking as he came upon the room he had rented the day before. Flipping out a silver key, the white haired man opened the door and then stepped inside to a cold brush of air that blew his own hair back.
“It’s a nice place, honestly, and it’s completely furnished. I got it at a bargain too,” Matsu said as he stepped in, and indeed the room was spacious and appeared to be one giant living room rather than any separate rooms that normal apartments hand. Nino’s eyes moved about the room in the dull way that one more apt to go to bed rather than stare do. However, just as his eyes made it to the back wall, a jingling sound hit the ears of the dark haired man. “Oh, Nani!” Matsu seemed to cry as the lean black cat made her entrance from behind the couch resting on the back wall.
Staring for a moment at the cat as she made her way across the room, Nino bent down and allowed her form to come into his arms and then moving back into a standing position The vibrations of purring that escaped the only female in the room was enough to shake Nino’s arms. However, in that half second, his blank face had started to shift into a half smile. However, after another few seconds, Nino turned to Matsu who was still standing a few feet away and handed over Nani. The cat made a sudden and very loud cry not to be transferred, and yet after a moment, she sighed in defeat understanding that Nino’s ways were not always in her sole interest.
Nino turned his head and found that there was somewhat of an inlet in the wall where a bed was already laid out. Matsu, catching his eye, let out somewhat of a laugh. “You know the western styles never suited my tastes, but then again, mattresses are comfortable,” Matsu half laughed but quickly fell silent again. Nino said nothing but walked over to the bed and laid himself down into the firm but springy mattress. The creaking of the mattress echoed in the large room and nearly startled Nani for a full second before she became composed again. Setting the cat down on the bar counter that turned one way and secluded itself somewhat from the rest of the room, Matsu stretched a moment and then walked to yet another inlet that served to couple a bed and already set sheets. The mattress made it known that Matsujun had entered as the springs squealed a bit. Moving around and getting more comfortable, Matsu allowed himself to lay on his back and stare at the ceiling. The lights were still on, and yet there were no lights directly under the beds, and there was enough darkness for anyone to be complacent.
“Are you still awake?” Matsu asked through the half wall that divided the two beds accordingly. There was no noise for a long time on the other side, and for a moment, Matsu actually perceived that maybe his dark haired friend had actually gone to sleep. Yet after a moment, the white haired man knew this to be a false statement.
“Yes,” Nino answered in a low voice just above what one would consider a whisper. Yet Matsu could hear it well enough and began to talk more.
“It’s ironic,” Matsu began as his voice dropped a few degrees in measure. “That he was around….. Do you think the rest of his group knows?”
“No,” Nino’s voice answered back, and the bed creaked yet again explaining that Nino’s form had moved. “He didn’t even know, himself.”
“M… true, true,” Matsu answered. “And what of the others? I find them a pretty interesting group, myself.”
“The loud one.”
“Ah yes, Miss Emiko. She is certainly interesting in nature.”
“And the kid.”
“Oh yes, Miss Aisling… she is very young in appearance… oh what did you think of Miss Mari? That baby-….”
“No,” Nino cut Matsu’s voice to shreds in that second. “He is nothing.”
“I know,” Matsu answered lightly back. “But just because he isn’t a demon lord or a spirit worth exorcizing, it doesn’t mean that he’ll be nothing forever.” There was no response to this, and Matsu finally let out a sigh to himself. For the first time, in the half shadows that reflected upon the light man’s face, a smile was no longer plastered on his visage. “There were also Miss Hazel and the young spirit with her, not to mention Miss Valeraine and the younger ghost hunter that we saw at the entrance…. I wonder why so many were called to a simple haunting, when one would suffice.”
“You know the answer to that,” Nino said sharply again, and his voice bled with such causticity that Matsu let out a sigh of his own hoping to soothe it.
“You’re being harsh again,” Matsu said letting out a sigh as his own body sank farther into the bed. “Nin-kun…..”
There was no reply to this, and finally Matsu allowed himself to relax more into the bed that quietly embraced him back. Nani, in her unknown wisdom, moved about the flat jingling her collar and warning the crows not to come near, but after twenty minutes, the great cat of the apartment made a sudden jump. Nino’s bed rattled for a full second as the cat moved and curled along the foot of the bed. Letting out a compliance breath, the cat lay down and relaxed once more as to not disturb her master or his white haired friend any longer.
~*~
Sleep was the demon that none could defeat, yet only an hour of sleep passed through Nino. He rarely dreamed, and the sleep he managed to retrieve was little more than a nap at best. The dark haired man made no move to get up from his bed, but as his eyes opened and sharpened, he felt his muscles tighten for a split second. Somehow in the night he had managed to work his shift off of himself and had been somewhat comfortable to leave the rest of his clothes on. However, the dark haired Nino didn’t notice this but rather something else. Matsu’s face was only a few centimeters from his own, and yet the light haired man appeared to be sound asleep still.
“… m…” Matsu said in his sleep somewhat complacently.
Narrowing his gaze, Nino slipped off the bed while Matsu seemed to roll over more comfortably in the bed. The dark haired man’s eyes continued to narrow for another second before the familiar presence of a cat rubbed up against Nino’s leg. Looking down, Nino sighed t Nani who was staring up at him with yellow eyes.
Idiot Matsu…Nino shook his head again and surveyed said Matsu as he clamped down on Nino’s pillow with one arm and seemed very complacent to keeps sleeping. Wake up damn it and get out of my bed…..Nino’s thoughts shouted in his own mind, and yet he made not a sound. In truth, Matsu had done many such things as this before, and over the course of years, Nino learned to blame it on Matsu’s over empathic ways. Shaking his head, Nino was about to lean over and shake the light haired man.
However, Nani rubbed up against Nino’s leg once more, and the man finally gave in and headed towards the kitchen. There had to be some sort of cat food or something in the apartment. Did Matsu even remember to get an apartment that allowed pets? Nino shook his head and found that his hair was a mess on top of his head. Not bothering to do anything at the moment, Nino started looking through cabinets and drawers that might contain something that a cat would eat. I’ll just wake Matsu up and have him go get cat food then….Nino thought after a moment somewhat agitated at not being able to find something to pacify the cat that was now continuing to brush up against him begging for food. It’s his job anyway. Nino’s eyes moved sharply to his own bed where the light haired man was still dozing. Nani made a half meow and pawed Nino sharply. The dark haired man glared down at his cat, but the latter didn’t seem fazed by this notion for she had seen it plenty of times in the past. Instead, she just pawed him again and let out something between a mix of a meow and a kitten noise that she had retained since birth.
“Alright,” Nino said quietly and walked to the refrigerator. Opening it and sticking his head in, Nino found what appeared to be a half cream half milk carton. Nino shook his head and took out the milk. Nani, appearing to find the supplement most admirable, jumped lightly onto the counter and stared once more with her yellow eyes directly on Nino who had taken out a dish and was now pouring the creamed milk into it. After a moment, the dark haired man stopped and set the dish before the cat that began to lap at it happily.
Standing for a split second in pure fatigue, the dark haired man closed his eyes and then moved off to the shower. After another fifteen minutes, Nino emerged again, fully dressed, with his hair still wet. As his eyes moved back across the apartment, the dark haired man noticed things that he had yet to see due to his own fatigue the hour before. There was a complete kitchen and a set of couches that divided things into a living room along with two sets of beanbag chairs. There stood a half bookshelf on the farthest wall that appeared to be stocked with magazines or something useless of the like. Shaking his head, Nino moved his eyes back to his bed to find that Matsu was starting to wake up. The white haired man was now sitting up with an overly sleepy visage.
“I swear you do that next time, I’m gonna kill you, Matsujun,” Nino said sharply as Matsu stretched and appeared quite baffled as to why he was being threatened. The look that passed across Matsu’s face after a moment reflected for a moment of half hearted pain which caused Nino to silence.
“Oh… sorry….” Matsu answered back as he found the factor that was causing Nino to yell at him. He shook his head and stood up from Nino’s bed still fully clothed as he was the night before. “….. People died….”
“They always die,” Nino answered back knowing the saying all too well.
“No,” Matsu answered. “People close to those we were with last night…. I feel sick….” With that, the white haired man got up and walked to the bathroom. Nino shook his head agitated and began to watch Nani lap up the last of her milk. The sound of purging coming from the bathroom hit Nino’s ears, and he let out a sigh. However, as the white haired man came out of the bathroom once more, a light smile had come onto his face as though it had never left him. Nino, seeing this, nodded to himself for a moment. “Sorry,” Matsu said after a moment making somewhat of an overly exaggerated bow. Nino said nothing but turned back and took the dish from the cat that had now started to try and eat the plate itself. “I watched them die… but… I feel better now,” Matsu continued to the silent Nino. A quiet smile plastered on the face of the light haired man started to shift a bit, but after a moment, a sigh broke loose. “Anyways, how about we get some food and the head over to the school?”
“Take a shower first,” Nino answered back.
Matsu laughed for a solid moment before he nodded and then walked down to the bathroom. Nino yawned and looked at Nani who just stared back. After giving the cat a shrug, Nino walked back to the refrigerator and opened it. Staring in, he pulled out an apple and began eating.
“Wha-what are you doing here?” a voice asked causing Nino’s eyes to shift and view a girl no more than about seven, standing in front of him. It was obvious she was a ghost, and yet instead of reacting, the dark haired man simply closed the refrigerator and bit farther into the apple. The ghost shook her head as if she was sure that he couldn’t see her, but after a moment, Nino took a seat and stared at her.
“What are you doing here?” the dark haired man mimicked the ghost girl, and she jumped suddenly as though startled.
“Y-you can see me?” she asked looking at him sideways, and yet Nino moved his gaze downwards as he continued to bite down on the apple.
“Yes,” Nino answered after another moment. “And are you the reason the rent is so low?”
“Oh….. y-you heard about me?” the girl asked moving her head to the side.
“My partner said the rent was cheap, so I expected as much,” Nino answered back, and the girl nodded suddenly. “You need to move on.”
“But…..”
“Ghosts are a nuisance and don’t belong in this world.”
“I…”
The girl’s eyes grew large as she was now looking down the barrel of a gun. The ghost backed up, and yet Nino just re-aimed his gun and bit into the apple again. The girl looked from one side to the other and then screamed, and yet there was no echo. Instead, there was one solid bang and then silence.
~*~
Matsu heard the sound of a shot gun going off and yet continued his shower anyways. It was obvious Nino had learned why the rent was low. Shaking his head, the light haired man stopped the water and got out of the shower. Putting clothes on, Matsu looked in the mirror somewhat tired. I look terrible….Matsu thought to himself for a moment before he stood full again and finished dressing. Walking out of the bathroom, Matsu found that Nino was sitting at the table starting a cigarette with his lighter. After a moment, a wisp of smoke was already trailing.
“Ready?” Matsu asked seizing something that had appeared to be a peach from the refrigerator.
“Ya,” Nino answered back. “Back to the school.”
“Hah indeed,” Matsu answered back lightly smiling to himself as he took a bite into the fruit.
~*~
Both men walked with somewhat of a calm pace back to the high school. Before going in and making a scene, Matsu walked off to explain to the principal that they were there go look through the school. Waiting outside the principal’s office, Nino had his head down and started yet another cigarette. After another moment, Matsu was out and had two passes in his hand.
“Well at least now we won’t be arrested for trespassing,” Matsu laughed lightly for a moment. Yet Nino said nothing and just shook his head quietly and took the pass.
“Well,” Matsu began. “Where should we start?”
Nino closed his eyes, and suddenly, Matsu felt a wave of spirit energy run past him. The sudden change caused a light laugh to escaped the light haired man almost as though he were being tickled. Nino opened his eyes again and stared down the hallway. A ghost boy, only about fifteen at most, was staring down the hallway back at him. However, the bell tolled, and students started to move to their classes. It was then that Nino noticed that Ryuu was among the group that passed. Nino’s dark eyes narrowed for a moment but he simply took a step back and looked towards Matsu.
“He was probably searching for someone, or something to not have noticed us,” Matsu said lightly. “I wonder if he even can tell spiritual pressure or not… who knows hah.” Shaking his head a bit, Matsu stepped forwards once more. “How about we walk more around the school… we might find something interesting since the ghosts appear to wander even during daylight hours.”
“Yes,” Nino answered breathing in. Both men turned and started down the hallway once more.
___________________________________________
=U my humor never ceases to amaze me.
KC
