|| A Bouquet of Red and White Roses || [Yu Yu Hakusho Fan-fic] {Edits}

Eerie Silence

"AH ! IT'S NEE-SAN !!!!"

When they all turned around, all I could see was surprise. Shuichi, who was standing beside me, walked past me and left me standing by the door. Sora and Miwa, who had run up to me the moment they saw me, both tugged at my hands. "Did we win Nee-san ?", they asked me enthusiastically. I knelt down and patted their heads. "Ahhh..", I groaned, to sound as if I was disappointed that I had lost, nodded my head and grinned. "You beat Nee-san at her own game. Of course you won." The both exchanged happy smiles. "Yay !", they both exclaimed before running off into the living room. I stood up and sighed. I was hit by a wave of relief and nostalgia. It's been so long since I've been home.

I'm finally home...

I walked towards the others and grinned. "Ara ?", I asked, "What's wrong with you guys ? It looks like you've just seen a ghost." Shuichi, who was standing by Ciel, smirked and looked away. He was making fun of me, that guy. Definitely. Ciel narrowed her gaze and took a step towards me. "Is that really.. you Shiori ?", she asked me slowly. "Are you doubting me ?", I chuckled. "If I wasn't the real thing, then don't you think that Shuichi would've killed me ?" Upstairs, there were footsteps. Whoever it was, was casually making their way downstairs. "Hey", a familiar voice called out, "Why're you guys so quiet all of a sudden..?" When he saw me standing there he stopped walking and stared at me, wide eyed. I stared back, awkwardly smiling. I waited for him to react. Everyone did. But you know what he did ? He turned around and quickly ran back upstarts and closed a door behind him. I stood there, confused. Behind me, there was laughing.

"It looks like Mizuki's seen a ghost too", Sara joked as she laughed. I glanced at Ciel who was grinning. "Why don't you go over and scare him a bit more ?", she asked me. "He's probably in a  state of shock." I looked over my shoulder and grinned. "Need you ask ?", I replied as I started walking after him. "I'll catch up with you guys later then." "Sounds good."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mizuki ?", I asked as I knocked on the door of his room. "Mizuki ?" There was no response. I tried to open the door but it was locked. I grimaced and took a few steps back. I didn't want to do this but... I kicked the door open. There was a loud 'thud' as the door swung back into the wall. Mizuki, who was standing there, stared at me in shock. "Don't you know that it's rude to ignore someone when they're talking to you ?", I asked him. He took a step back and threw something at me. I caught it just in time to hear him say, "Step back.. It can't be you.. they said you died.." I looked at the thing he had thrown at me. A bead. Like the ones that were used to protect this house. I glanced back at him, confused. "What do you mean ?", I asked. "They told you that and you believed them ?" He hesitated. "You've been away for so long that I'm scared to know if it really is you", he mumbled, "What if you disappear ? What if this is a dream ? If I wake up, will you still be-" Mizuki was cut off when I grabbed his arm and pulled him in for a hug. "Calm down", I sighed softly, "If I were really dead, then would I be able to do this ? Trust me more will you ? I promise that I'll live long enough to see you grow up." I let go of him and patted his head. "Don't overreact. Or else you'll get a heart attack~" Mizuki frowned. "Right..", he muttered softly. I grinned and  began walking out of his room. 

But then I remembered something. "Hey Mizuki ?", I asked him. "Yeah ?" I looked past him and towards the window. It wasn't that dark outside yet but I thought I might as well do something to get even with him after he ran away from me the first time. "Did you.. see that just now ?" Like I had expected, he began to look uneasy. "See what ?", he asked. I knew he was trying to keep his composure but I could tell that it was slowly beginning to slip away... The color of his face was beginning to change. I slowly pointed towards the window and tilted my head to the side. "..That person.. over there.." Mizuki didn't move. "..What person..?", he asked slowly. I didn't reply. That was when I really did see something.

"AH !", I screamed.

Mizuki jumped and quickly turned around to face the window. Within a few seconds, he closed the blinds and turned back to me. "DON'T SCREAM DAMN IT", he shouted back. "WHAT'RE YOU TRYING TO DO !?" I waited for a few seconds before I started laughing. For one, it was because I got him, and for two, it was because I'm trying to laugh off the fact that I really did see something. Oh jeez..., I thought. "Anyhow", I said as I started to leave, "See you downstairs." Mizuki stared at me in disbelief and placed a hand on his neck. "Whatever", he replied coldly, as I closed the door behind me. I was going to head downstairs and regroup with the others when I remembered that it was probably a good idea to take a short detour to my room. So that's what I did. I walked down the hall and went to my room. When I turned on the light, I was surprised to see that everything was still in place, like the way I had left it before I left for Makai. I glanced around before walking over to the window. My room had a balcony, so for some strange reason, I had the urge to open it. When I did, I closed the screen door behind me and stepped out. Outside, just below me, Juuji and Azalin. I didn't know what they were doing, but after a few minutes of standing outside, I caught sight of something moving. In fact, I shivered. I don't know how Juuji and Azalin didn't see it, but what ever it was, was standing nearby on one of the roofs of the other houses. For some reason, it was looking my way. I took a step back.

It eerily smiled at me before disappearing off into the night. I quickly rushed to the railings of the balcony and looked down to see Azalin and Juuji staring off in the same direction that it disappeared. "Juuji !", I shouted, "Azalin !" They both looked up. "Ah, Hanamura", Azalin's voice trailed off. "Did you see that just then ?", I asked. The both of them exchanged surprised glances. "See ?", Juuji asked as Azalin shook her head. "More like felt.. We didn't see anything ?" I slightly frowned. "I see", I mumbled. "Besides that", Juuji called out as he waved his hand, "Why don't you come downstairs ? We have a lot of catching up to do remember ?" I nodded my head and grinned. "Oh yeah, that's right." Juuji shook his head. "Tsk, tsk", I heard him say before I went back inside and closed the door to the balcony.

When I finally got downstairs, they were just as noisy as usual. "Ah, Shiori", Asai said with a grin, "You're just in time for this little meeting. I know you just got back, but it's worth listening to. Surely, it'll catch your attention."