[HIATUS] ♕ 𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒆 ♕ -jibaku shonen hanako-kun

𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟡

"But I'm only doing this once... Kou."

Teru Minamoto took one last glance at the direction of where the mysterious voice that strangely sounded like (y/n) came from before he left. There is a glimmer of hope in his eyes, as if hoping that the sound really came from (y/n) and that he could see her again...

Of course it wouldn't happen. (y/n) is no longer here.

+++

(y/n) cursed herself from behind one of the school pillars where she hid after her reckless attempt of trying to talk to her childhood crush.

I can't believe I did that! He said he hates supernaturals, didn't he...? If he saw me, would he exorcise me without giving me any chance to explain about the reason I came here?

"You heard him," (y/n) heard Kou say, as she peeked from her hiding place to see if Teru was still there. "As of today, I'm keeping an eye on you."

Kou placed Hanako's hat back on the owner's head, and smiled widely, as if he's proud of being able to convince his big brother to let him take care of the supernatural. "I talked big talk to Teru-nii, but keep in mind that I still don't trust you one bit! If I catch you pulling even the tiniest of shenanigans, I'm gonna exorcise you on the spot! So keep that in mind!"

Hanako didn't reply. He just sat down on the ground with his knee bended while his face was buried on top of his knees. Kou crouched down beside him with a mix of worry and curiosity. "Are... are you still crying?"

Hanako looked up to Kou, then pulled the boy down and sat right on top of him. "I'll be looking forward to it... is what I'd like to say. But you've got a long way to go before you can exorcise me... if you're falling for a trick like this."

Kou's face flushed in embarrassment as he realized Hanako is tricking him, as usual. "Uh, hey! Are those... fake tears?!"

(y/n) came out from behind the pillar and approached the two of them, who just started bickering because of the fake tears. Hanako glanced at her from the corner of his eyes (while Kou is still blabbering), and nodded upon seeing her expression that beckoned 'I need to talk with him'. He stood up from Kou's stomach and left, giving them space to have a private conversation. After all, he already knew what (y/n) is going to ask the boy.

All the things that Teru-kun said... is that the secret that he's been hiding from me?

(y/n) approached Kou as soon as Hanako left, and gently took the boy's wrist where Teru's blade had scratched him.

"That was dangerous! What were you thinking...?!" she pulled his hand slightly towards herself so she could see the wound. "I know I encouraged you to help Hanako-san, but I'd never thought that you would block the sword attack with bare hands! It could've been worse than this, you know...!"

Kou stared at her with surprise for a few moments, and then smiled warmly towards her. She never changed... she's always worrying about others before herself...

"I know... I'm sorry that I worried you..." he paused for a moment before continuing, "and for dragging you into all of this... if I hadn't brought you along with me today, you wouldn't have to see Teru-nii in that state... I..."

(y/n) put her index finger on Kou's lips to prevent him from blaming himself any further. "It's none of your fault that I had to see him like that, Kou. I'm actually grateful because you have brought me here today.

"Since I arrived at this school as School Mystery No. 8, I think that Teru-kun would be afraid when he saw me, so I asked Tsukasa to help provide hints for him to be able to find me, through the rumors spread by the broadcasting club. As you know, the rumors are the source of powers for us supernaturals, and the more people who believe in those rumors, the stronger their powers would be. But I don't want my 'power' from playing the piano to be strong enough to hurt or bewitch anybody, so I asked them to make the rumors a secret so only a few people in this school knows about it.

"Tsukasa knows that my greatest wish is to meet Teru-kun for one last time, so he made sure that Teru-kun wouldn't get affected by the power that I got from the rumor, which is to bewitch people by my piano playing, by adding that 'there is one person throughout the whole school who wouldn't be affected' to the rumor. He's aware that 'the person' could be anyone, so he told me to always picture Teru-kun inside my mind every time I play so he would be 'protected'. I didn't really understand what he meant, but now I think I kind of do..."

...but I can't tell you why. At least not now.

(y/n)'s word trailed off, but Kou was too busy processing everything she said. Who is 'Tsukasa'...? Come to think of it, I think (y/n) also mentioned his name on my first visit to her chambers...

"(y/n)-senpai... the person who turned you into a supernatural... who exactly is he?"

The girl froze.

Shoot... he wasn't supposed to know about Tsukasa...

"Uhm... he is... " (y/n) stuttered, her eyes darting all over the place. "Uh... l-look at the time! It's time for me to play the piano...! And I think you should go home as well... see you tomorrow!"

And with that, (y/n) was gone.

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A/N : This one and the next one will probably be the shortest chapters throughout this entire book, but the next one will definitely be longer and include more  Teru and (probably) Tsukasa hehe :) Don't forget to vote and comment if you like this chapter!