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

Soundless Echo

...I've returned for you.

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It's been about three days since I got myself involved with those missing disappearances. And since then, nothing has changed. All we've been catching are illusions. For some reason, that boy will only reappear when I'm alone. It's strange. However, it's also agitating.

"Ara ? Shiori-chan~ You're not scared anymore ?" I looked over my shoulder and slightly scowled at Asai. "I got bored", I replied bluntly. "Do you expect me to be scared forever ? Besides, I was only kidding. Can't you tell the difference between real and fake tears anymore ?" Asai mischiviously chuckled behind me as she and I continued to walk along the eerie hallways of the 2nd floor. Today, we were all split into groups of two. And you may guess, I got paired with Asai tonight. Our job was to determine which part of the halls had more activity. After figuring it out, we've move to the 3rd floor and do the same thing. It wasn't that hard, but it would've been much more easier if it hadn't been for those illusions. They kept getting in the way, no matter which way we turned. 

"I wonder if the other have found anything yet", I mumbled as I looked ahead into the darkened halls. "This is getting boring." Asai, who was casually walking beside me, sighed in dismay. From the corner of my eye, I could see her looking down into the courtyard. "Nothing.. I assume", she replied dryly, "Tsukiya and Yuuki are down at the courtyards right now. You can see their flashlights moving around in the dark if you look from here." I glimpsed over to see what she was walking about. "How do you know if that's Tsukiya and Yuuki ?", I asked. "Simple", she mumbled, "They were assigned in that area.. as well as Shuichi and Ciel. Or it could be Shuichi and Ciel..? Either way, they should all be focusing on the area around the Gym." "And the Library ?", I hesitantly asked. "I think it's Seiji and Azalin", Asai replied softly. "With Botan and Sara too." She looked up at me with a slight frown as we stopped walking. "According to Sara, there was more activity going on around that area. That's why they're all over there. They know more about that stuff, so the rest of us are wandering around in the other sections of the school." I chuckled and placed a hand on the side of my neck. "Not that we mind", I added. Asai laughed as we continued walking. "But of course", she replied, grinning. "Why bother to..."

[BAM!!]

The both of us quickly turned to the source of the sudden noise. Asai and I exchanged stern glances and ended up flashing our flashlights towards that end of the hall. I grimaced and Asai sighed. "Jeez...", she mumbled, "What was that supposed to be ?" "Why don't you look over there ?", I asked. Standing there, nearby the staircase that led to the 3rd floor, was a little girl in a white dress. She smiled at us and laughed in a carefree manner. "Come play with me~", she called out as she slowly began to walk away. I turned to Asai. "Well ?" Asai huffed. "What kind of question is that ?", she asked as we began to chase after that little girl.

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[Giggling]

...Behind you.

A faint white light slowly began to appear around us as something invisible clashed with the barrier that surrounded us. Not that far away was that little girl. She was still smiling at us, but this time there was something in her hands. She was dragging it around. It's an.. axe ? My eyes widened as she suddenly appeared in front of us and hit the barrier. White sparks came into view as she clashed with the barrier. The little girl jumped back and started to laugh. An amused yet disturbing kind of laugh, that is. "Waaaaah..", she mumbled in awe, "Brother wasn't kidding when he said that you guy were prepared.. Too bad you weren't like the others ! Hahahaha~" "I assume that you're talking about the missing students", Asai said dryly. "But of course !", the child replied optimistically. "They were fun to play with, but I feel like playing with you guys will be even better !" "Too bad we're not toys", Asai sighed as she shrugged. "At least not yet", the girl said as she threw something at us. Once again, there were sparks. We covered our eyes as smoke suddenly began to appear around us. We could hear her laugh. It seemed to be everywhere. "Oh Nee-saaaaaaan~", she mischievously called out. "Let's play a game~!" "I don't want to play games with you", Asai replied bluntly. I laughed at her response. Her voice sounded so dull that it was funny. Especially since this was a serious situation. "Bad children like you need to learn their place..." "Oh, is Nee-san angry at me now ?" 

"..." Shiori, do you see that ? That person standing over there ? I slightly nodded my head and stared at the extra figure standing not that far away from the little girl. For some reason, it looked familiar. 'Have I see that somewhere before ?', I asked. 'Why does it feel like it's trying to provoke me ? ' 'I don't know', she replied, 'But I have the same feeling.'  I wanted to look away from it, but something about that figure made it difficult for me to do so. I continued to stare at it until it finally moved. And when it did, my eyes widened. My body began to move on it's own and before I knew it, I was running after it. "Shiori !?", I heard Asai shout as I left her behind. "Shiori !??" Pretty soon, I was alone, running through the empty and darkened school. I expected something to happen, but for some reason, that figure that I was following, seemed to wait for me. It didn't disappear as it led me away to another part of the school. Why was that ? 

When it finally stopped, I was on the 3rd floor. It seemed to stare at me as it lingered around in the dark. Finally, that figure began to focus and someone new was standing in front of me. But without my flashlight, I still couldn't see a face. I had dropped it when I was running after it, probably when I was still on the 2nd floor. "Who are you, and what do you want ?", I asked dryly, "What business do you have in this place ?" There was silence.

"Have you forgotten ?", it finally said. "Have you forgotten me already ?" The area around that surrounded us seemed to grow darker. "How can you forget ?" I narrowed my gaze and grimaced. "I don't know what you're talking about", I replied softly. "If we've met, then I would remember." Again, silence. "You'll remember soon...", the figure seemed to whisper. "You won't forget.." Suddenly, there was a quick sharp pain on my arm. I flinched, and from the corner of my eye, I could see that the shadow was beginning to move again. "Wait !"

...!??