Of Ghosts and Demons

Chapter 14: A fun forest trip

Phantom yawned. Having to wake up early in the morning was ruinous to his mood for hours to come, and he sure as hell did not share the optimism Okumura possessed. He could understand the joy of finishing the semester, but going on the field trip was a sorry excuse of entertainment in his mind. Atop of that, due to his physical capabilities Yukio was aware of, Danny had to carry twice as much as anyone else. And if Rin was fine with being degraded to a mule, too absorbed in the excitement, Danny was feeling particularly grumpy. Their whole procession was going through the thick forests not so far away from the academy, right under the scorching noon sun. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Danny looked around himself, and saw the others getting pretty tired.

"Hey, guys, look, a spring!" Rin exclaimed, immediately dipping his head into the water, drinking and washing his face like a dog. All the while carrying a huge backpack with the necessities.

"He sure is bursting with energy," Renzo said with a small laugh, before noticing Danny looking more dead than usual. "What's wrong, Danny-san? You are as strong as Rin, but you seem far worse."

That caught everyone's attention, and it was something the Demon King didn't want at the moment.

"I hate heat. Atop of that, I hate camping trips."

"Why though?" Rin grinned, "It is fun to go out once in a while."

"My last trip, Okumura," the half ghost's eyebrow twitched. "Was when my uncle ditched me in a forest full of demons in a middle of nowhere without any weapons, tools or a cellphone. So forgive me for my lack of jolly mood."

A silence fell on the procession.

"Jeez, what kind of family do you have?" Asked Bon.

"DID have. A very twisted one. Guess that's why I am a sociopath."

"Speaking of, what was that about your sister?" The blonde remembered. "You didn't say anything after you got rid of that demon."

"Funny thing actually," Danny rubbed the back of his neck, "I get worried sick and then out of the blue she calls from a public phone. I hate you, Jasmine."

"Heh, it's nice to know that our prince of gloom actually has a soft side."

"I'm not 'gloomy'. I just have some important things on my mind."

He was quite preoccupied with what Jazz had told him. Knowing that she was safe and sound did not ease his concern, as Phantom knew all too well that eventually the whole Vatican would know everything. And then who knew what would befall upon the small family. It was stupid of him to believe that the family history could simply be erased. Especially since it went all the way to the middle ages. Hell, his own ancestor almost killed him. The main point was that it was bound to be uncovered eventually. All what was left to do was trying to pull the act together and not let the nosy clerics uncover the true secret two Fentons held. Considering that Shura already knew about his ghost side, it was going to be more complicated. She was one step away from learning it all.

And those 'appropriate people' they spoke of didn't leave his mind. Who could they possibly insinuate at? It's almost as if this Egin person expected them to know the guests. As far as Phantom was aware of, the GIW were not affiliated with the Holy See or the Order. They were a bunch of fools who somehow got their hands on funding and weapons from an unknown source. Probably the US government had a hand in this, but Phantom had long since dismissed them as a threat, and not because he now resided in Japan. They were incompetent, their tools were ineffective copies and Danny's parents refused to sell them any. On one hand, Phantom was happy about it. His enemies would not get any stronger. On the other, he would continue to eat meagrely because there wouldn't be any extra money. To sum up, Danny didn't think it was them.