The White Hearse: a KHR fanfic

Tsuna, the Friendly Exorcist And His Ghost Friends: 1

Kyoko looked up at the fine lettered sign of the bar. Artemus&Apollos, it read in bold, white font. She clutched the paper in her hand tighter. "Kyoko we shouldn't be here," Hana hissed, tugging at her sleeve and looking around warily. The area they were in wasn't particularly dangerous; the bar was at the edge of downtown and tucked away in an alley across from a cafe. "I know, but..." Kyoko looked down at the small sized parchment in her hand. "I have to do something about it. I have to." Hana heard the conviction in her best friend's voice. She felt a tinge of shame for her display of unease when Kyoko was the truly scared one here. Doing her best to steel her nerves, Hana took a deep breath and straightened her back. She looked up at the bar's glowing sign, its dark wood door, and pushed forward. Hana charged in through the doorway, head held high. Sure she was nervous as hell, but she'll be damned if Kyoko had to go in by herself.

The bar itself was nice. The walls were a mix of earth tone colored bricks, complementing the floor's rough variegated grays. The bar's counter was a shiny copper hue, reflecting the dim yellow lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling above the bar counter. Across the bar counter were tables with a count of four high chairs at each. A few armchairs were gathered around a small coffee table. Behind the closest armchair to the door was a dark billiard table, the balls put into the rack and the cue sticks lined neatly on the wall. Next to the armchairs was a spiral staircase. The upstairs was somewhat visible from the entrance, but was covered with a mesh barrier. Hana blinked owlishly at the setting. It was.... much nicer than she was expecting. The cold air smelled of alcohol, but wasn't pungent enough to be unpleasant. Music played softly in the background, albeit in a language she didn't understand. Only a handful of people were in the spacious bar. Each minded their own business or spoke idly to each other as they nursed their drinks. "Wow, it has such a relaxed atmosphere in here," Kyoko remarked. Whatever tenseness they had brought in with them seemed to melt away at the soothing mood of the bar.

"May I help you with something?" the bartender said from behind the counter. Hana and Kyoko jumped. The bartender smiled at them. She was a young woman with wavy black hair tucked into a very short ponytail, albeit the front part hung over the right side of her face. She wore a plain black long sleeved t-shirt and a rose quartz necklace was dangling from her neck. Most notably, tattoos marked her forearms and fingers. Hana was too far away to really make out what they were, but seeing a woman with tattoos displayed boldly on her body was both intimidating and awing. "Um, we're looking for Sora-san? We saw his ad posted on our school bulletin," Kyoko replied with a burst of confidence. The woman's eyes flicked from Kyoko to the paper. She smiled. "I see. Just a moment, please." She turned and stuck her head into the closed room door- presumably the kitchen- behind her. "Shin-chan take care of the counter for me for a moment!" The woman walked from behind the counter and gestured to Kyoko and Hana. "Follow me." She led them up the spiral staircase.

The upstairs wasn't as decorated as it was downstairs. There was a long, black couch lined up against the barrier that was low enough that you couldn't see it from downstairs. Across from it was another hallway that led to another spiral staircase. On the right side of the hallway, closest to the next spiral staircase, was a dark brown door. On the left side, closest to where they were standing, was another matching door. The bartender led them to the right side door. She knocked thrice. "Tsuna! You've got clients!" she called. There was muffled crash and a beat of silence before the door opened. A mop of brown hair atop a disgruntled expression of a teen with horrendous shadows under his eyes met them from the opening of the door. "Yes?" Hana and Kyoko gaped at him. "Sawada?!" Hana blurted at the same time Kyoko cried out "Tsuna-kun?!"

The brunet blinked at them then realization dawned on his face. "Kyoko-chan?! Kurokawa?! What are you doing here?" Tsuna yelped. "What are we doing here? What are you doing here?" Hana retorted. Tsuna's eyes flicked from Kyoko to Hana. "....I work here." His gaze landed on the paper Kyoko was holding. He inhaled sharply. "Where did you get that?" Kyoko looked at the paper then at Tsuna. "This was on the school bulletin board," she answered then paused. "I needed help with a problem." Tsuna's slightly panicked expression eased away. "Oh yeah, I put that up there. I forgot," he mumbled and sighed. The brunet opened the door wider for them. "Come in." Saiko smiled at them then turned to go back to the bar counter. "If you need anything, just call me, Sora-kun." Tsuna shot her a glare, but there was no heat in it.