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Random question if you were to want to make a foil/opposite/the yin or yang, character of Amane/Hanako Yugi what you think they be
Nene-chan and Tsukasa combined; Amane already has foils
Where Amane is filled with secrets and refuses to speak his heart, Tsukasa speaks his heart fearlessly
and where Amane is hopeless, Nene-chan is filled with hope
a good story has its foil baked into the plot! its characters will exemplify the different philosophies!
we don't need to invent anything new!
Because I have a feeling when school is in full swing and Hanako-kun has a moment alone with Tsukasa, I have a feeling he's going to ask, "Why are you doing this?" I hate you, you're not my brother" In this situation I have the impression that Hanako-kun will get angry and it will be at that moment that Tsukasa will unload all her feelings on him saying that he's the one I've always hated him. That's my theory how do you think that will be the moment when Tsukasa really reveals his true feelings
I guess just the once, I will answer one of these, which I typically would delete ....
without any malice directed at you, but with simply opposing ideologies, know I feel this with conviction: you, and everyone who thinks this are as incredibly wrong about the manga as you could possibly be. You'll be confused and disappointed until the very last page.
The Yugi are deeply in love with each other. Everything Tsukasa does is out of boundless love for Amane, and a wish to know him. Everything Amane has done is originating from his love for Tsukasa. Even his love for Nene-chan, derives in some way in the way she reminds him of his naive, childish, gullible, clumsy, playful little brother, who he spent his childhood with.
The core concepts in this manga are love, devotion, attachment, enduring everything and accepting any outcome, because you love somebody. It doesn't matter if they push you away (Aoi), if they could never return it (Hakubo), if they're beyond hope (Sakura), hurt you (Tsukasa), or change (Amane, Mitsuba)-- they are still the person you love. As long as there is something there, it is worth loving, it is worth believing in.
There cannot be a message about hate, or someone lost and corrupted beyond saving, as Iro-sensei is honestly too soft and sentimental for this. A reveal about hate would not be narratively interesting, thematic, or satisfying. The concept of shooting a big gun at Tsukasa at the end of this, or the Yugi hating eachother, is 100% impossible. Really I think that!
You may as well 'theorize' that Mitsuba is a lost cause, or 'theorize' that Hakubo never loved Sumire, or 'theorize' that loving Aoi is wrong of Akane, or 'theorize' that Nene will have to destroy the too-far-gone Hanako with her bare hands, lol.
What senseless things! Silly nonsense. Why do some people think hate is so important?
Tsukasa has no secret.
Here are his true feelings:
but I don't know why I'm saying anything ... you must not listen to a word I say! Ho hum ...
Amane fixing the clock and finally Tsukasa also appeared in the Showa Era.
I don't like the pose Tsukasa is in.
Maybe that's why Amane doesn't remember why he wanted to fix the clock. Tsukasa could erase what he was doing it for. The strange thing is that when he looked at the clock, he remembered coming and fixing the clock, but he couldn't remember why. That particular memory had been erased from his mind. It's possible that Tsukasa erased that memory from him then.
Considering how important it was for Amane to fix it , he must have known something was really bad will happaned and maybe Tsukasa was involved? Was he trying to stop something bad? Knowing it was coming.. or he wanted to solve a problem he had in a different way not by murder... I previously wrote that Amane must have had a really special reason to kill Tsukasa, and I keep coming back to the thought that possibly the clock is related to the murder case.
Amane knew/suspected that Tsukasa wasn't a "normal" human and possibly also knew about the existence of supernaturals at the school.
I wonder what the life of the twins was like when the mother returned from the temple with her son, after all, she did not get help so she went with the conviction that it was "not her son"
I have a feeling that Tsukasa helped Amane make the choice to kill him. Amane was forced to kill Tsukasa for some good reason.
The festival that is about to take place may be a shock for Amane to recall some events... and possibly get Amane backstory or backstory related to this event...
It seems that something really bad is going to happen and it's possible that the same thing is about to happen in the Shouwa era.
Here!
Just more hanako cat for you
KYYAAA!!! AMANE!!!!!!!! 😍😍😍😍 AIDAIRO KNOWS HOW MADE ME FANGIRL SO MUUUCH!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 THEY DID AMAZING WORK WITH THIS EVANT I WANTED TO SEE AMANE MORE AS CAT. I'M GRATEFUL AIDAIRO AND YOU TO SEND THIS TO ME! 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 CUTE CUTE GORGEOUS AMANE CAT-GHOST!!!! PERFECTION AMANE'S IN EVERY FORMS!!! 🥺✨💘💘💘💘
This describes their differences very clearly
:)
What I have is a theory. I don't think it will surprise anyone that I think like Amane. The rules must be seen. Tsukasa wants to break them which I think is wrong.
and I think what Tsuaksa said in the Mitsuba arc is relevant and related to his plan. He wants to introduce chaos so that the supernatural and humans can do what they want, which I personally think is wrong because as I said that would be chaos.
I don't think his motivation is related to Sakura. They both just have a purpose in destroying Yorshiros that's all. I think his motivation is Amane. For him, he does it perhaps to fulfill his real wish.
Tsukasa mostly confuses hate with love. Amane is also guilty that Tsukasa thinks so.
Amane used a word that is often confusing for the Japanese, I guess. In English, "Isn't it obvious?" It was supposed to be an acknowledgment that "Yes, Tsukasa I love you", but Tsukasa understood it as hatred. There was a huge misunderstanding between Tsukasa and Amane. Amane for Tsukasa wasn't very clear, and Tsukasa misunderstood.
Amane is really in bad words, he prefers to express it with deeds... which he has shown many times.
Amane pushes Tsukasa away in this scene, not because she hates him, but because she's sick of being sick and wants to be like Tsukasa and play with him. After all, Amane is 4 years old here... he found out that he will die 100%... He had enough of everything and took out his anger and frustration on Tsukasa. Still, Tsukasa could take it as Amane could be without him if only he was healthy. Which is absolute bullshit and another misunderstanding between the twins.
But...I honestly don't think Tsukasa really believes that Amane hates him. Tsukasa is his Yorshiro, so Tsukasa must see that he is the most important person in Amane's life and also that way Amane look at Tsukasa in p.p arc
This scene is just beautiful! But Tsukasa doesn't see those eyes looking at him with love and admiration! Why Tsukasa???
AidaIro always gives hints that Amane loves Tsukasa and chapter 95 was a big confirmation. I deduced that there is no doubt that these two love each other, but both have communication and understanding problems each other
I don’t know if it’s a light shade but the tsubaki also looks pink which can symbolize longing
Which makes sense because they are brothers, amane and tsukasa seem to have a strong and obviously long relationship so it more of a reason to have the yearning desire to join him once everything is finally over since amane just doesn’t want to go on without tsukasa.
All more reason amane needs to face tsukasa, fight and destroy him not for tsukasa but also for amane himself,to let go as well to free tsukasa from being his yorishiro and maybe amane finally releasing himself as a mystery.
If that even makes sense but HEY that’s just a theory a TBHK THEORY
Good finding! It would fit, but I checked in the program and it is not pink as I wrote in the post … it is bright red.
I wouldn't write something I wasn't sure about.
I used the color picker and it comes out red. The only one flower I missed is white, it's actually yellow
so yellow mean "longing" that means Amane loves and miss Tsukasa....
Even I was fooled by the shading… (I know I should have checked, but I was sure it was white), I won't do it again. I'm so sorry 😭
Either way, the flowers have positive meanings and it shows how these two love each other!
This is the most important thing for me. I love Amane and I think both Amane and Tsukasa are the best in this series and I'm glad that AidaIro shows more clearly that these two love each other.
can agree with the first part, but not the second. Amane seems to have a plan from the start. And from the beginning he used Nene to pursue it, only at that time he fell in love and changed, knowing that Yashiro's fate is not indifferent to him. What is Amane's true wish?, what is he really planning?, what is his deal with God? It's not that easy. Amane also has a plan he was going to give up on, but Tsukasa persuaded him to go ahead with his original plan. I want to know if his original plan is related to Tsukasa and what is Amane's true original wish. Saving Nene's life was the second sincere desire and wish, what about the 1st? I want to know!
Mmm o
How about amane waiting to join tsukasa once he fulfilled his duties or once the TBHK series is over (it’s kinda simple I know) he actually might fight against and destroy him but that’s my opinion.
These flowers… They look like Tsubaki in other words "Camellias"
I did the colors to make sure the flowers look pink.. it's actually a bright red and white.
Red camellia means love, white camellia means waiting.
The red camellia symbolizes Amane's love for Tsukasa. I wonder what the symbolism of the white "wait" means. Waiting for what? I'm curious.
It's really amazing that AidaIro has shown again that Amane loves Tsukasa in another amazing way,they said "Amane loves Tsukasa,don't hate him"
Tsukasa looks so calm.. He trusts Amane so much.
They love each other so much!❤️💜
I think it needed for tsukasa to be destroyed by amane not just for tsukasa but also for himself (wanted to put the past behind him metaphorically? I really don’t know ) if that even makes sense
Just gonna say I feel like I suck at storytelling (stupid of me for being this optimistic)
side cover of vol.19
Amane is standing over Tsukasa… what Amane's thinks? What does his face look like?..
I want to know,AidaIro!!!!
and also... Tsukasa has a seal. that means… that Tsukasa will be destroyed by Amane?
Or it just doesn't matter and it's just the back cover?
Do you think amane has autism ( even as hanako), and signs he shown autism?
Same with tsukasa doesn’t he seem like he has ADHD or even shown signs to that?
I don't think! I heard about it. Twitter was full of it. There is no evidence that Amane is an autistic boy. AidaIro has not confirmed this, but it has been assumed that he is "autistic", which I personally find disgusting to give him a disease just because someone thinks he is.
The fact that Amane didn't play with his friends seemed to be his choice. And personally he said that "he would like to have a friend like he used to" maybe he was talking about his brother, maybe he was talking about someone else. Amane definitely expressed a desire to befriend Yashiro in Chapter 2. He missed a normal life and longed to have human contact, to have a friend.
Of course, Amane has problems with expressing feelings, but he does it with actions, which he has shown more than once and I'm sure he will show more times. For me, actions speak louder than words…
Tsukasa, first i haven't heard of this. The fact that Tsukasa is chaotic but has no ADHD symptoms…
It's so annoying… Amane was already terminally ill.
for me, none of the twins have any of these symptoms of either disease. AidaIro didn't confirm these rude statements.
It's just fanon… false rumors.. no official confirmation of it.
Have you or people found out what amane illness was when he was 4?
Amane... was sick.. in age 4,cause little Tsukasa said about it. He showed that Amane was terminally ill
Amane was going to die…
and Tsukasa sacrificed his life for Amane's health.
The manga is the main source of this information.
Arc Red House Chapter.78
SAME !
Also NO.4 seijima mei is also an example of cruel gossip and rumors I mean Darn watching people straight up lie about her creator’s death that is beyond mess up! Not just over dramatic but beyond judge mental
One of the thing I realized when reading then rereading TBHK is that rumors are cruel and i hate it when people talk about others without even to try to know or understand just being over dramatic and it’s stupid even as a victim in elementary also yes it was depressing

I agree in 100%. What's even worse is how supernaturals can get rid of their own Yorshiro and I'm talking about people who are precious to them. example is poor Sumire didn't mind what no.6 did to her and also Amane.
Tsukasa is literally happy at the thought of Amane will kill him a second time in future as you can see and how much he cares. Amane on the other side is devastated. Tsukasa has achieved his goal and Amane won't back down.
I find killing loved ones a second time more cruel.
Poor Amane:(
It might seem an annoy question but can you pls explain the end chapter of the red house arc I mean did tsukasa befriended IT( that what I call the black void) and he wasn’t able to leave the house so how does he know about the life his sorta clone or was that IT unless I keep reading it but still confused me 😞
This question is not annoying, just very exciting, and I really couldn't wait to answer it for you, but I had to postpone it due to personal matters, so I'm happy to finally be able to do it😆
I see. I think everything about the red house is so weird… and genuinely interesting.
Maybe I'll start with Nene calling it "fake" which I personally don't think Tsukasa with read house is fake. I think Tsukasa from the red house and 13-year-old Tsukasa are the same person.
I don't know where you are with the chapters but I have to give you spoilers. It has been confirmed that Tsukasa is the yroshiro Amane and is its most precious moon. that's why, I think that Tsukasa small and big are the same person, because it is not possible that this "fake Tsukasa" is the most precious moon and the person Amane wants to protect so much. That's why, I also believe that by Kou's words,little Tsukasa returned to his family burning down that red house. He's back, but he's not the same person he was before he disappeared…and he grew up with that thing inside and he died again and he's got that thing inside all the time, but we don't see it in his older version. That's why I don't consider the older Tsukasa a clone
I don't think he's made friends with that weird black hole in him. Tsukasa became more like a carrier of this thing. But it's also possible that it was the only thing he could talk to…Friendship is too strong a word, more like comrades… this thing probably uses Tsukasa. That's why I think don't make friends and after such a short interaction they don't look like they are friends. The red house knows people's desires, so this thing didn't tell him about his life. He just decided to come back after Kou's words to know what would happen and why. This black hole doesn't read the future, but human desires, it knows what someone wants to manipulate. I think so.. he knew that Tsukasa wanted to go home, that it became his desire, it makes sense. This thing… this house can read people's desires. Even as a ghost, Tsukasa is no exception.The second option could be that they got to know each other enough that he knows what Tsukasa wants to do, but they are not friends, that's too strong a word for me.
Tsukasa knew nothing.. nothing… he thought Amane had a great life without him..
It wasn't until Kou tells him how it really is and he was really shocked.Tsukasa was saying what he thought… not what the reality was. He didn't know the reality.
I find this whole arc interesting and confusing too. Unfortunately I don't have any other explanations at this time.. AidaIro can surprise :), so I know that they will surprise us more than once.I'm waiting for more tips :)
I'm honestly not sure if this thing can see the future or not. AidaIro can invent literally anything.
Edit:
In short. I believe that Tsukasa 13 years old and Tsukasa from the red house are the same person. The thing…. in him I don't think they're friends, more like comrades… Tsukasa is the bearer of this thing… for me… As for the future. Tsukasa sees what the human heart desires and uses it, he even knows exactly when that wish will come true, that means he knows the future of the wish when it is supposed to come true. This thing is too mysterious to say anything… It's possible that this thing knows the future, but Tsukasa isn't talking about it… I have no idea… well… let's see what AidaIro will do. I'm not sure of anything :)
Thanks for the ask
The Yugi twins in TBHK were born in 1955 that means their Chinese zodiac is the wood ram.
I’ll leave the rest that read this fine some connections
CRIES SCREAMS CRIES SOBS SCREAMS CRIES
... omfg yall
i found out today that some people consider amane the moon & tsukasa the sun (me included-ish) but some say the opposite? can we settle this- opinions under the cut!
we all know amane’s irises are supposed to be the moon, but personally i feel tsukasa’s eyes look like a very smol lunar eclipse, so the sun seems like a really nice choice for him (note the yellow donut he makes in his eyes. my beloved evil baby)
and i genuinely do feel that their personalities do match, up to their deaths. tsukasa shines really brightly and had many friends, amane stayed secluded and draws from tsukasa for most things (eg the moon reflecting the sun’s light!)
also, tsukasa’s kokujoudai tend to have a habit of bursting into flame (wait actually tsukasa kind of also burst into flame)
they’re like little phoenixes. i love them so much
anyways i want yall to know that no matter what ur opinion matters so
keep sharing it!! tysm for being here~
and tysm for reading ♡
two days, eight hours left!! it's a 5% difference!! vote!!
i found out today that some people consider amane the moon & tsukasa the sun (me included-ish) but some say the opposite? can we settle this- opinions under the cut!
we all know amane’s irises are supposed to be the moon, but personally i feel tsukasa’s eyes look like a very smol lunar eclipse, so the sun seems like a really nice choice for him (note the yellow donut he makes in his eyes. my beloved evil baby)
and i genuinely do feel that their personalities do match, up to their deaths. tsukasa shines really brightly and had many friends, amane stayed secluded and draws from tsukasa for most things (eg the moon reflecting the sun’s light!)
also, tsukasa’s kokujoudai tend to have a habit of bursting into flame (wait actually tsukasa kind of also burst into flame)
they’re like little phoenixes. i love them so much
anyways i want yall to know that no matter what ur opinion matters so
keep sharing it!! tysm for being here~
and tysm for reading ♡
you should’ve seen me screech in shock checking this post because IT’S LITERALLY ALMOST AT A 50/50???? AND SO MANY PEOPLE VOTED????? IT’S BEEN ONE DAY???????
yall make such good points in the comments 🥹 tysm for your contributions! i love the new tidbits i learned today <33 shoutout to everyone in the replies, go check out their tumblrs! there’s many many really nice people in this community~
adding on here that they both have their own personalities, and they don’t necessarily have to match one and only one! keep your flexibility and don’t stick to just one explanation (especially if you’re writing with metaphors! you don’t need to come up with a new way to attach the moon to amane’s eyes if you can just say they’re like suns—unless it’s important to the story! spoken from experience 😔)
we can acknowledge both sides of the debate! these two mean the world to me, and i know many others feel the same (but i cannot go three posts without calling custody. save a piece of amane, sakura & mei/shijima for me!), so let’s appreciate aidairo’s hard work all together!
tysm for reading & voting !! and ty for all your support~ ♡
i found out today that some people consider amane the moon & tsukasa the sun (me included-ish) but some say the opposite? can we settle this- opinions under the cut!
we all know amane’s irises are supposed to be the moon, but personally i feel tsukasa’s eyes look like a very smol lunar eclipse, so the sun seems like a really nice choice for him (note the yellow donut he makes in his eyes. my beloved evil baby)
and i genuinely do feel that their personalities do match, up to their deaths. tsukasa shines really brightly and had many friends, amane stayed secluded and draws from tsukasa for most things (eg the moon reflecting the sun’s light!)
also, tsukasa’s kokujoudai tend to have a habit of bursting into flame (wait actually tsukasa kind of also burst into flame)
they’re like little phoenixes. i love them so much
anyways i want yall to know that no matter what ur opinion matters so
keep sharing it!! tysm for being here~
and tysm for reading ♡
i found out today that some people consider amane the moon & tsukasa the sun (me included-ish) but some say the opposite? can we settle this- opinions under the cut!
we all know amane’s irises are supposed to be the moon, but personally i feel tsukasa’s eyes look like a very smol lunar eclipse, so the sun seems like a really nice choice for him (note the yellow donut he makes in his eyes. my beloved evil baby)
and i genuinely do feel that their personalities do match, up to their deaths. tsukasa shines really brightly and had many friends, amane stayed secluded and draws from tsukasa for most things (eg the moon reflecting the sun’s light!)
also, tsukasa’s kokujoudai tend to have a habit of bursting into flame (wait actually tsukasa kind of also burst into flame)
they’re like little phoenixes. i love them so much
anyways i want yall to know that no matter what ur opinion matters so
keep sharing it!! tysm for being here~
and tysm for reading ♡
мальчик, который собирал звезды
Recent tbhk chapter images (part 2)
(Staticy) derpy manga images
Summary : Days pass from the Hell of Mirrors incident, you can’t stop thinking about it. Hanako is no help, so what better option than to drag Kou with you!
Warnings : Not much, minor cursing here and there, reader going a bit manic and expressing signs of PTSD at some point, obvious implications that reader is female (ex. Use of she/her pronouns, etc.), mood swing-ish reader.
( A / N ) : I tried not to procrastinate but I got busy with work and stuff so I didn’t have much time. I didn’t let myself sleep tonight till I got this out. I will try my best to be more consistent with chapters and at least get these things posted every other week. This is proofread so enjoy!
Prev. >>> Next (not available yet)
A couple days have passed since the Hell of Mirrors incident, and you’ve tried to find for another way back in. You tried every mirror possible, but none would budge. Hanako didn’t care much either, he said to just leave it alone for now and they’d figure it out another time.
Even Kou seemed a little odd about it. He wanted to see Mitsuba too, but it was like at the same time he was avoiding it. Part of you understood him though, you knew what it felt like to be forgotten before, and it was certainly not a good feeling.
“Can you hand me the sugar?” Satou asked, looking over at you.
You finally had snapped out of your thoughts, “Sorry, what was that?”
Satou chuckles “The sugar, can you pass it to me?” He repeats.
“Oh, yeah.” You nod, eyes scanning over the counter before finding the sugar. “Sure.” You grabbed the bag of sugar, and a measuring cup.
“We need one and a half cups of sugar.” Kou mumbled, eyes scanning over the list of instructions.
You nodded, and scooped up a cup of sugar.
Satou looked over at Kou, and Kou only shrugged.
“(Y/N), are you okay? You seem a bit zoned out..” Satou finally spoke.
“Yeah, just tired.” You excused, pouring the sugar. It was more than just being ‘tired’ — you were anxious. You wanted to see Mitsuba again, talk to him. But you didn’t know where to find him — and the Hell of Mirrors was not an option anymore because you couldn’t get in. Maybe you could ask Yako again?
“(Y/N).” Satou panicked “T-That’s too much sugar.” He yelped, quickly taking the measuring cup from your hands.
Flinching, you snapped back to reality “Shit— I’m sorry..” You muttered, pinching the bridge of your nose with a sigh.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Satou frowned, putting a hand on your shoulder “Usually you’re the one who’s the most focused out of all of us.”
“Yeah, I am, don’t worry about me okay?” You assured him with your signature smile “I’m just tired.”
Satou eyed you suspiciously, then glanced over at Kou who in turn only shrugged his shoulders. He then sighed, letting his hand drop back to his side.
“We’re your friends, don’t forget that okay?” Satou offered you a smile “So don’t feel like you have to hide anything from us. If you’re not feeling good you can tell us.”
“I know, I know,” You sighed, leaning forward and propping your elbows on the counter, burying your hands in your hair “—I’m okay, I promise. If I’m not, you guys are the first people I’m going to.”
Satou was skeptical but didn’t push the topic, nodding and going back to the batter. “We need to put in a little bit more of each ingredient to make up for the extra sugar.”
There you stood, in front of the mirror in the girl’s bathroom. Your hands holding onto the sink, staring into the mirror as if doing so would magically bring Mitsuba back.
“How long has she been there?” Yashiro asked, walking in through the bathroom doors and setting her bag down by the entrance.
“A while.” Hanako shrugged, he’s too busy playing hanafuda with the mokke again to care.
“Well you’re no help.” Yashiro sighed, walking behind you and placing a hand on your shoulder.
Your gaze didn’t falter, staring intensely at the mirror. “You think Yako will help me get in again?” You asked before Yashiro could get a chance to speak.
Yashiro raised an eyebrow “Again? By yourself? I-I don’t think..”
“I dunno, I don’t think so.” Hanako shrugged a second time.
You frowned, finally turning around to look at Hanako instead “Are you sure?”
“I doubt it but you can try.” Hanako simply replied, glancing up from his cards for a second to look at you before focusing back on his game. “She probably will if you keep asking her to the point of annoying her, go give it a try.”
Yashiro looked between the both of you “I.. um.. she shouldn’t be going alone, if that Tsukasa guy shows up, she could get seriously hurt or something.”
“Then get the kid to go with her.” Hanako suggested “I’m sure she’ll be fine. That Mitsuba.. (Y/N) was the only one he was trying so hard not to hurt.” He noted, “So I’m sure she’ll be fine. Worst case scenario, Mitsuba will probably just send her out again.”
“But—“ Yashiro tried to protest, concerned for your safety.
“Okay, thanks Hanako, bye.” You shouted as you grabbed your bag and ran out the door.
Yashiro frowns “Hanako, and if she gets seriously hurt?” She would feel responsible, having gotten close to you since the whole spiritual thing, she saw you as her younger sister.
“She won’t, she’ll be fine.” Hanako assured, placing his cards face down onto the space next to him and standing up “Now come on, you have to get to cleaning toilets!” He beamed, teasingly nudging her.
Yashiro’s frown deepened.
“Kou, Kou, Kou!” You called out, running up to said boy, who was currently with Satou and Yokoo.
“Oh, hey (Y/N)!” Yokoo hums, smiling at you with his signature smile.
“Hey Yokoo, Kou, come with me I need to do something.” You grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, tugging on it.
“(Y/N), are you okay?” Satou asked, raising an eyebrow at your eager.. whatever it was.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine.” You half heartedly answered, brushing them off. “Now let’s go!” You began practically dragging Kou with you, who in turn yelped.
“Oh okay..” Yokoo muttered, glancing at Satou.
“No idea, she was like this earlier, except zoned out.” Satou shrugged. “And she wouldn’t budge when I asked her what’s wrong.”
Yokoo pursed his lips, obvious concern written all over his face. “She.. it’s gonna affect her not letting anyone know.”
“Yeah.. I know. I tried getting her to open up but she kept saying it was nothing. It may just be nothing, but we’ve known her for a while to notice this pattern.” Satou mumbled. “I just hope it doesn’t get as bad as last time..”
“Let’s not look too much into now though. If she’s not okay, we have to trust she’ll come to one of us or all of us. And if she says she is we have to trust her on it, even if we think she isn’t.” Yokoo shrugged, fidgeting with his sleeves.
“Yeah I guess you’re right,” Satou sighed “I just wish she’d tell us what’s going on.”
.
.
“So what are we doing exactly?” Kou asks, trying to keep up as you sped through the halls.
“Yako, we’re going to Yako.” You look behind at him for a moment before looking straight ahead again “I wanna see Mitsuba again.”
Kou flinched and froze in his tracks, making you stop as well. He pursed his lips.
“What’s wrong?” You asked, you didn’t try to pull him along — not wanting to force him.
Kou frowns, looking away. “What’s the point if that guy won’t remember me anyways?” He mumbled, pulling his sleeve from your grasp.
Your gaze softened “Kou.. just because he didn’t recognize you doesn’t mean he doesn’t remember you.” You sighed, moving to wrap your arms around his torso.
Kou went stiff momentarily, then relaxed, his arms coming around to wrap around your waist as he buried his face into your shoulder, trying his best not to stain your school uniform with his tears — his shoulders trembled.
“I’ve got you.” You assured, leaning your head on top of his. “I promise, we’ll get him to remember you.”
Kou chuckled dryly “You can’t make that promise you know.”
“I know,” you smiled “—but I sure as heck can try to fulfill it.”
Kou took a deep breath, smiling. “So then what’s holding us up?” He asks, wiping the last of his tears with his wrist “Let’s go find us a kitsune.” He grinned.
“Nope, nuh uh, I won’t do it.” Yako frowned, crossing her little fox arms across her chest. “I only did it for number seven because it was emergency — I’m not gonna do it just say cause you say so.”
“But this is an emergency.” You insisted.
Kou joined in “Yeah, we’re on a mission to—“
“Find that ghost boy friend of yours? If he doesn’t wanna let you in you know he’s not gonna.” Yako sighs, trying to make herself comfy in the bookshelves.
“Yako, please. I.. I know you probably wouldn’t understand but this is important.” You pleaded, “All we wanna know is if he’s okay.”
Yako paused for a moment, thinking deeply on whether she should or shouldn’t. “Hmm..” she hums, her eyes shifting from you to Kou and then back to you. “Fine, but this is the last time I help you.” She sighed, finally giving in.
You and Kou both smiled widely, glancing at each other and looking at Yako again. “Thank you so much!”
“Don’t mention it, but this is the only time I’ll be helping you out!” Yako insists, when really she has a soft spot for the two and she definitely would do it again.
.
.
“Well, here we are.” Yako hummed, back to the liquid mirror-like portal from before.
You brought your hands up to slide them across the surface, watching it create ripples under your fingertips. “Last time we were here I got sucked in.” You mumble, dipping your hand in the mirror and flexing your fingers before removing your hand and letting it rest at your side again.
“Not this time, fortunately for you.” Yako pointed out, you hadn’t gotten forced in.
“So..” you turned your gaze to Kou “Here goes nothing, right?”
“Yeah.” Kou nodded, taking a deep breath in.
Three…
Two..
One.
Suddenly you were falling, reflections all around you with people — no, they weren’t people — entities of people you both knew laughing and mocking you both. Kou reached for you, holding you close to him as he protected your head. It started to get brighter and it felt like you were getting closer and closer to the bottom. That was what it felt like, until..
“Jeez, are you trying to get yourself killed?” A familiar voice scoffed.
You both found yourselves caught in the hand of a bony limb as it moved you towards one of the floors, and that’s when you saw him.
“Mitsuba!” You immediately cried, running towards him and throwing your arms around him.
“H-Hey, I get I’m cute and all but there’s no need to cling to me you perv!” The boy in question yelps, but there’s no denying the way he reluctantly wrapped his arms around her waist and the flush of his cheeks.
“He didn’t hurt you did he?” You asked, bombarding the poor ghost with loads of questions “Why didn’t you let me back in you jerk.” You pouted, punching his shoulder.
“Ow, ow, ow! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Mitsuba laughs, feigning hurt. “And no, I’m not hurt.”
“Good, you better not be.” You sighed in relief, letting yourself relax a bit.
Mitsuba looked behind you to Kou “Oh.” He muttered, making eye contact with the other “It’s you again.”
“Yeah, it’s me again.” Kou repeated, shifting from one foot to the other a bit awkwardly.
“What.. what’re you guys even doing here?” Mitsuba asked, gently grabbing you by the shoulders to push you off a bit.
“I dunno, we just wanted to visit I guess?” You shrugged, it was an obvious lie and a good cover up but Mitsuba seemed to buy it.
“Visit the Hell of Mirrors? Really?” Mitsuba lets a laugh-like scoff slip past his lips. “Yeah this isn’t really the type of place you’d want to visit.”
“..definitely.” You nod, “Okay fine, truthfully we just wanted to see you.”
“We?” Mitsuba inquired, raising an eyebrow as he looked between the two of you.
“You remember Kou, right?” You asked, grabbing Kou’s arm and linking it with yours. “He was your friend too.”
Mitsuba narrowed his eyes at Kou and frowned “Sorry, doesn’t ring a bell.”
Kou sighed, rubbing his forehead “Figured.”
Boy.. this might take a while.
.
.
The three of you ended up talking to pass the time, flipping through the pages of the yearbook from which Mitsuba had photographed the pictures within it, all that he did not seem to remember.
“Hey um.. earlier you guys mentioned something about Tsukasa doing something bad to me.. what’d he do?” Mitsuba asked suddenly, making the both of you look at him. “I mean, he’s the one who brought me back here so I wouldn’t disappear.. he can be mean and scary sometimes but he won’t hurt me.” And then at each other.
“Um..” you looked a little uncomfortable, shifting around in your spot. “It’s complicated I guess.”
“It’s really hard to explain, I have no idea how to put it in words.” Kou was equally uncomfortable.
“What? It can’t be that bad?” Mitsuba laughs, but his smile faltered as he realized you two weren’t joking. “Was it?”
You decided to be the one to tell him, taking a deep breath. “It was just after I got you to remember me, the day after, actually.” You began, fidgeting with your sleeves. “We were altogether trying to figure out your ‘unfinished business’ as Kou called it.”
“To help you cross over to the afterlife.” Kou added.
You nodded along “You had told us it was a probably a picture, so we got your camera and we went around different parts of the school to take pictures.” You continued “It was funny, especially since most of the time you were basically just bullying Kou.” You giggled.
Mitsuba smiled, yeah that did sound like something he would’ve done.
“I think I have the pictures? I don’t think I ever gave them back to Kou.” You admit, fishing into the pocket of your shirt, and there were the pictures in question. “Here, see for yourself.” You hand them over to Mitsuba.
Who in turn tenderly grabs them, looking at each of them individually.
The pictures varied. Some were genuinely beautiful, and the ones he took when he was messing with Kou made him have to stifle his laughter.
Mitsuba laughs “Yeah you’re right, I probably did bully him. And had a blast doing it.” He smiles, showing you guys the photo where — he assumed — he was trying to take a photo of some kittens and Kou ended up getting attacked by their mother.
You giggled at the memory, while Kou only pouted.
Mitsuba froze as he saw the picture of you and Kou, and his gaze softened. You looked so pretty to him, and.. there was Kou too, I guess. He stared a bit mesmerized but then cleared his throat, handing them back over to you. “A-And then what? You two didn’t do anything dirty to me did you?” He teased.
“No you pervert, we didn’t.” You sighed, but smiled fondly nonetheless. “We ended up going inside cause it started to rain, and probably gonna leave at that point since school had already finished by then. But that’s when Tsukasa found us.” You had to clutch onto your stomach to prevent yourself from throwing up, the nausea already settling itself in. “The rest of it was a blur. All I can remember was feeling a bit scared. No, that’s an understatement.”
“I was absolutely terrified.”
“He said something about how you left without his ‘permission’ and you looked scared too.” You continued, feeling your hands start to tremble, to which you clearly balled them into fists to stop them from shaking. “He..” the squelching noise and the sound of Mitsuba’s cry rung in your ears. “He hurt you.”
Mitsuba flinched “Hurt me?” He repeated in question, reaching forward to try to hold your hand, seeing as though you were shaking and you looked like you were about to cry. The second his fingertips brushed your knuckles, it all flooded back to him. The empty feeling he felt, the pain, the shock, the fear. It was drowning him. He quickly stood up. “No, no, no that’s not true, not true.” He mumbled to himself, backing up as he buried a hand in his hair.
“I blacked out after I yelled at him, he knocked me out when I tried to attack him.” You admit, voice trembling and small.
Mitsuba’s head whipped around to Kou, eyes watering. “Is he gonna hurt me again?”
“No, don’t worry Mitsuba.”
The two of you froze, Mitsuba flinched.
“I’m not here to hurt you, remember? I brought you back so I could grant your wish.” Tsukasa grinned from ear-to-ear, swinging his legs as he sat on top of the railing. He hopped off, inching closer to Mitsuba.
You stood up immediately, though your legs were shaky, willing yourself to stand next to Mitsuba, stretching out an arm in front of him. “I won’t let you hurt him again.”
“(Y/N)..” As much as Mitsuba admired your bravery, if Tsukasa was really as dangerous as you two claimed he is, he doesn’t want you to get hurt either.
“That’s funny,” A child-like giggle left Tsukasa’s lips. It didn’t last long though, quickly etching into a frown. “What makes you think you’re strong enough to stand against me?” He asks, crossing his arms over his chest. “Mitsuba, kick them out if you don’t want me to deal with them.”
“B-But Tsukasa..” Mitsuba protests.
“Mitsuba.”
Without another word, Mitsuba did as he was told, sending you both away. Just like the first time, you were dragged out through the mirrors. Yours and Kou’s protests fell on deaf ears.
“From now on, you can’t talk to them, ‘kay Mitsuba?” Tsukasa spoke commandingly, frowning upon said boy like a mother scolding her child.
Mitsuba flinched, mouth agape “But—”
Tsukasa didn’t let him finish “No buts. Do you understand?”
Mitsuba hung his head low in response. “Yeah, I got it.”
“Dude, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me right now.” You groaned in frustration, standing perched up on the sink and slamming your fists into the mirror.
“Hey, hey, let’s calm down a bit okay?” Kou yelped, “If we break something, Hanako will be upset.” He warns.
“Like hell if I care,” you frowned, turning around slightly to glance at him.
“Kid, what the—“ Hanako stood there dumbfounded. He sighed, floating up behind you and picking you up from under your arms.
“Put me down!” You protest, squirming in his hold.
Hanako dragged your squirming figure to a corner, setting you down. “Time out.”
“Time out?” You scoffed “I’m not a kid.”
Hanako hugged you, ruffling your hair. “You’re not, I know. Just cool off.”
You huffed, crossing your arms.
Kou frowns “He’s right, just sit still. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“This is stupid.” You retorted.
.
.
It wasn’t long before Yashiro arrived for her daily bathroom-cleaning duties, setting her bag down by the door. “What.. happened.”
It was definitely a strange sight. Kou and Hanako were just sitting with the mokke and playing hanafuda, and you were sitting in the corner just drawing shapes on the floor with your finger.
Kou sighed, setting his cards down for a moment. “Long story short, we got Yako to take us back into the Hell of Mirrors, we talked with Mitsuba, and just when he finally realized Tsukasa came back and forced him to kick us out. (Y/N) got on the sink and starting banging on the mirror again so Hanako put her in time out.”
Yashiro gave you a pitiful look. “(Y/N)..”
“I need to get back in there, there’s no telling what that thing might do to Mitsuba.” You speak before she could get a chance to.
“And there’s no telling what he might do to you if you’re not careful.” Hanako frowned “Kid, I care about you. Don’t go doing anything stupid that can get you hurt or possibly even killed. You can’t go up against a supernatural as dangerous as Tsukasa.”
You groan in frustration, burying your hands in your hair. “It’s all so infuriating. I want to do something about it, but I can’t do anything. I feel so useless.” You mumble.
“I know the feeling.” Hanako replied sympathetically, putting his cards down to put a hand on your shoulder. “I was scared too, when Yashiro got dragged into the Hell of Mirrors. I felt useless because I couldn’t get in, I couldn’t do anything, really.” He rambled on. “If you’re going to get into trouble like that, at least have a plan, and an exit route.”
“You didn’t have a plan going to save Yashiro.” You scoffed, but a smile found its way onto your lips.
“You get what I meant.” Hanako pouted, playfully shoving your shoulder. “Don’t dive head first into danger. Make a plan and then you can.”
“But you did it.” You quipped with a smirk, nudging him.
“Cause I can’t technically can’t ‘die’ a second time.” Hanako frowns, ruffling up your hair “You can. Be careful, figure something out and then you can try, okay?” He sighs “That boy will be alright, Tsukasa probably won’t destroy something that has the potential to destroy us.”
“Probably? That’s reassuring.” You snort sarcastically.
“I’m serious. Focus on one thing at a time.” Hanako groans, scolding you.
“Hanako’s right, you two could’ve gotten seriously hurt going in there alone without a plan.” Yashiro sighed, leaning on the bathroom stall door. “Tsukasa is dangerous from what I can tell, there’s no way you can beat him if he was able to kill number 3 in his own boundary.”
“I guess..” you mutter, standing up and crossing your arms.
“You guess? He knocked you out when you tried to interfere with him and Mitsuba.” Kou narrowed his eyes down at you, “They’re both right, no more dragging me with you if you don’t have a plan. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Fine, fine, jeez. I’m not a baby.” You whined, a pout resting on your lips.
“No but you are reckless, and incredibly selfless.” Yashiro smiles.
“Uhh thanks?” You trail with an awkward smile.
“I don’t think that’s a compliment.” Hanako snorts.
As you both quickly got into your usual playful banter, Yashiro turned to Kou.
“Hey, keep an eye on her please.” Yashiro asks, her voice spilling with concern “I don’t want her to get hurt. I’m sure none of us do.”
Kou nodded “I will, I promise.”
.
.
It was getting harder and harder to sleep at night. Tossing and turning in bed, trying to get Mitsuba off of your mind but it wasn’t easy. He’s okay, they assured you, but why did you feel like he might be in deeper danger than he started? You need a plan, and fast. But what can you do? Tsukasa won’t allow you near him, and Kou will probably keep an eye on you for awhile to make sure you don’t go manic from the whole ordeal. But.. Kou’s not watching you at night, is he?
( A / N ) : Finally got this done!
Tag list : @tr-mha-fan
Summary: After finally finding Mitsuba, all hell breaks loose. Between fighting Hanako though failing miserably and replacing the Hell of Mirrors No. 3 of the Seven Mysteries, but that isn’t half of the chaos just waiting to unfold.
( A / N ) : I can’t believe it’s been so long since Act I was released. I really liked working on it and lately I just didn’t have the time or motivation to start Act II, but I’m using every small break and rest time that I have to write this. :> I hope you guys like it!! Also from the middle of Act II to the and of Act IV, it’s going to go waaay off plot and onto a different plot that I thought of. I lost my original ideas for all the acts so I’m trying to remember bits and pieces and work from there to remember the rest. So far so good!
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Kou luckily rushed in front of you before Tsukasa could get any closer, but you wish he hadn’t. It’s hopeless, but if you were any stronger than that deathly apparition, you would’ve killed him a second time. After assuring himself that Tsukasa wouldn’t attack if he turned his back on him, he whipped around to check if you’re okay.
“Are you okay (Y/N)? Did he hurt you?” Kou worries, checking your arms and legs—you’re like his little sister after all.
“N-No,” you managed to choke out, trying both not to throw up and cry at the same time “..Kou, I—“ you hiccuped.
“It’s okay, I’m here now.” He assured.
“Kou,” you tried to make your tone sound stern, but with the tremors in your voice that was near impossible. “Behind you.” You just barely managed to croak out.
Reluctantly, Kou turned behind him.
And what he saw shocked him.
No, even shocked is an understatement.
There wasn’t any words to describe the feelings he was feeling. Relief? Guilt? Happiness? Distress? No, it was all of them. A wave of emotions crashing down onto him and he was almost scared he would drown in them.
“You..” he paused, dropping his staff which he held in his hand and standing up “..how are.. but I thought you were gone for good.” Kou’s usually confident voice seemed to tremble.
“Mitsuba.” He called out, still in disbelief. “You’re really okay? You’re not hurt or anything, are you?” He reached for him, but Mitsuba seemed to flinch away. Kou didn’t notice though “Huh?” He then reached for Mitsuba’s hand “Why is your hand like that? What’s wrong?”
“What happened to you.”
“Uh..” Mitsuba didn’t know whether to feel awkward or uncomfortable. ‘Who is he?’ He wondered to himself.
Hanako pursed his lips, sensing some was amiss. His eyes expertly scanned the room for anything that looked even slightly out of place.
Well, No. 3’s dead body on the floor was an obviously noticeable sign.
Hanako’s eyes widened and he sighs “Is that.. Don’t tell me.” He had to make sure, narrowing his eyes down at the corpse. He looked back at Mitsuba, and he froze.
“Kid, get back!” He warns.
Kou looked confused, turning his head to glance at Hanako over his shoulder.
Large arm-like structures seemed to sprout from behind Mitsuba. Trying to attack Kou, or at least that’s what it seemed as they thrashed around.
Mitsuba flinched, shaking his head. “No, no! I’m scared.”
Your eyes widened. You always hated seeing Mitsuba cry back when he was alive, him being dead didn’t change a thing. “Help me.” Mitsuba whimpered, shutting his eyes closed tightly. And covering his head with his hands.
You got up on your shaky legs, with the intention of going to comfort Mitsuba, but you tripped over your own feet and stumbled back to the ground. Which was very lucky for you.
One of the arms, threw itself in Kou’s direction, which if you hadn’t fallen back down; you would’ve gotten hit. Hanako stepped in, slashing at the arm with his butcher’s knife. Pieces of the arm shattered and scattered around the floor.
“You okay kid?” Hanako asked, to which Kou nodded.
“Uh.. uh-huh.” Kou confirms, pursing his lips as he looked at what looked to be Mitsuba.
The cluttered pieces trembled, inching closer to each other till they reformed, standing tall behind Hanako.
You couldn’t warn them, your throat felt too tight. But for some reason, as you glanced at Mitsuba’s usually confident rose-colored eyes, you could see he was really scared. He wasn’t trying to hurt them on purpose, it was almost like an impulse.
“Watch out, behind you!” Kou gasped as he saw the hand getting ready to slam down on both of them to hopefully crush them underneath it.
Hanako whipped back around, ready to attack but instead of hitting him, it grabbed him. The hand was so big, Hanako looked like a plush in its palm. Thankfully he was only stunned for a moment, quickly breaking out of its grip. He smirked “He’s surprisingly quick.”
THUD!
One of the arms had unexpectedly slammed Hanako into the wall “Wha..?” He gasped, clearly caught off guard.
“Hanako!” Kou panicked, failing to notice the hand creeping behind him and slamming him down into the ground.
“KID?!” Hanako yelps, wincing as he saw the force of the hands attack.
Surprisingly, they didn’t seem to be attacking you. More like they were avoiding you, scared to touch you—almost like they were scared they might hurt you.
“Uh..” Mitsuba’s anxiety only seemed to get worse “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” He panicked hands gripping onto his hair “Stop it.”
“Mitsubaa..”
Oh no. Not that voice again.
Just hearing his voice made anger bubble up in you, and knowing there was nothing you could do about it only made it worse.
“Did you finish eating?” Tsukasa asked with a smile only that of an innocent child would bare, but he was far from it. He sat perched up on the railing-like structure above the mirror behind Mitsuba. He jumped down.
“Uhh..” Mitsuba trailed, you didn’t miss how he didn’t seem to tense or freeze around him now like he did then.
Just what did he do to him?
Mitsuba then stood up up, scrambling to hide behind him like a scared puppy would.
“Hm?” Tsukasa hummed, glancing over his shoulder to look at Mitsuba who was trembling behind him “Oh?”
“What..” Hanako froze up, in what looked like fear, no. What was it? “What are you doing here, Tsukasa?”
Tsukasa turned to look at Hanako, and when he saw him he instantly beamed. “Aaah!” He squealed, rushing over to him with quick steps “Long time no see!” He giggled, hugging Hanako tightly, clinging onto him like how a koala would. “Amane!”
“Just wait a second!” Hanako yelps as he nearly stumbled back from the force of his brother’s embrace “Come on Tsukasa, listen to—“ he didn’t get the chance to speak.
“Amane, Amane!” Hanako’s words only went through one ear and out the other, Tsukasa listened to none of it.
Tsukasa looked so innocent, almost childlike. Which made you think, if you didn’t know any better, you’d think he was innocent too.
The hand whipped around to shove them tossing them across the room.
Tsukasa was somehow flipped upside down, sliding down the wall “Oof—“
Hanako groans, but let his pain last only a second before standing upright again. “H-Here it comes again!” He warns.
Tsukasa frowns, groaning in annoyance, “You’re getting in the way.” It doesn’t take him that long to stand up again, and not upside down, effortlessly dodging the arms that would swing at him with ease.
Suddenly, as another arm reached to attack him, Tsukasa quickly grabbed it, also holding another that was sneaking up on him nearby “Mitsuba..” he sighs, almost like a disappointed mother would to a child.
“What.. what’re those?!” Mitsuba panics, “W-What’s happening?” He whimpers, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
“Now, now,” Tsukasa smiles, leaning forward to wrap an arm around Mitsuba, “there, there.”
Mitsuba flinched, but then relaxed in Tsukasa’s hold.
You wanted so badly to push him away from Mitsuba, but you could only stay frozen in both fear and shock.
“These things’re here to protect you,” Tsukasa assured him “Calm down so you can keep them under control, okay?”
“O-Okay.” Mitsuba sniffled, using his sleeve to rid his eyes of tears, taking a deep breath “..okay.” He mumbled, hugging Tsukuba to comfort himself.
“There we go.. just like that.” Tsukasa whispered, rubbing his hand up and down Mitsuba’s back “Very good.”
“Hey,” Kou spoke through gritted teeth “Damn it! What the hell did you do to Mitsuba this time?”
“Oh?” Tsukasa mused, a smirk gracing his lips. He glanced over his shoulder to look at Kou, almost as if to mock him.
“I granted his wish.”
“You didn’t grant his wish, you did the complete opposite!” You choked, getting up on trembling feet. “He just wanted a friend, and he had two right with him, but you just tore it all away.” You tried taking deep breaths, but it helped nothing. “You made him people fear him, how is that granting his wish?” You scoffed, glaring at the ghost with teary eyes.
Tsukasa frowns “But I did grant his wish.” He insisted crossing his arms over his chest “And the price of that wish was his mind, in other words, a part of his soul.” He explained, but still, it didn’t seem right at all. “When you last saw me,”
The memory alone made you feel sick to your stomach, your hands immediately flying to clutch your stomach and to hold your mouth. You didn’t even want to remember it, the squelching sound that sounded like it tore through human flesh even though Mitsuba was a ghost, the sick look in Tsukasa’s eyes. No, you can’t throw up here, not now.
“I removed a part of his soul; his mind.” Tsukasa’s lips then twitched up into a smile “The rest is simple!”
“I collected low level spirits that were already fading away and used them to make a spirit body.” Tsukasa patted Mitsuba’s head, ruffling his hair. “Then I added the piece of Mitsuba’s soul to it!” He then grabbed his shoulders, patting them. “And then, all done!” He giggled like a boasting child who just finished all his chores.
“It has the same soul at its core, so it probably looks and acts just like him.” Tsukasa continued to explain “But this is something totally different! I mean, of course it is.” He looked at Mitsuba, then directly at you “The Sousuke Mitsuba who lived and sided as a human..”
“Doesn’t exist anywhere in this world anymore.”
Tsukasa then looked back at Mitsuba “But the weird thing is.. because of that, he should have no recollection of his past life. Or even when I collected his mind that day. Yet it’s like you’re now engraved in his memory.” He mumbled, it was barely audible to anyone except for the ones who stood close to him. Like you and Mitsuba.
Part of that reassured you, but it wasn’t enough to cover up the fact that what he did was still as sick and unforgivable as before.
“Why?” Kou spoke again, his hands were balled into fists and trembled at his sides. “Why would you do that? It’s your fault Mitsuba is gone in the first place.”
“Hm?” Tsukasa’s amber eyes wandered the room, as if he was seriously thinking about it. “Just because, I guess? I’ve always wanted to try making one.”
“An artificial human.”
You all stood there in disbelief, and his words only proved to further anger you. He has no right to be talking about Mitsuba as if he were nothing but an experiment, a test subject.
Even Hanako was shocked. “What..” he mumbled.
“Amane and I saw one a looong time ago.” Tsukasa beams, “There was a movie with an artificial human that attacked everyone!” He giggled. “Oh.. but this..” he then looked down at Mitsuba, placing his hand on his head “This is a ghost huh? So I guess it’s an artificial ghost then, huh? I didn’t count on it being such a weakling that it can’t exist in the mortal world, though.” he moved so he was now holding Mitsuba’s head against his shoulder, propping his chin atop his head. “Pretty cool, right?”
Kou suddenly slammed his staff into the wall next to Tsukasa, it stabbed into the wall. Mitsuba flinched at the noise but Tsukasa remained as calm as ever—completely unfazed.
“You creep.” Kou scoffed, in all you’ve known Kou, you never saw him this angry. “You’ve got to be kidding me..” his shoulders were trembling, his hand whipped up to grip the menacing ghost boy’s uniform.
“Hm?”
“Mitsuba, he isn’t..” Kou choked “He isn’t your toy!”
There was this unsettling look in Tsukasa eyes as he said that, and he tilted his head “So..” he looked back at Mitsuba who was now sitting on ground behind him. “You’re saying I shouldn’t have made this thing?”
“He’s not a thing, he’s his own person!” You finally managed to shout “Dead or not, he should still have a say on how he wants to spend his time in the afterlife!”
Tsukasa only brushed you off, taking Mitsuba by the hands. And suddenly, they were gone.
Your eyes quickly scanned the room, and you found them floating not too far away — a few floors up.
Mitsuba yelped, clearly panicked. But it made you wonder.. he’s a ghost too, can’t he float?
“Don’t worry Mitsuba,” Tsukasa’s voice was gentle, like a child’s “I don’t hate you!” He beams.
“Waaa!” Mitsuba looks from Tsukasa to the ground that looked so far below them. “I’m gonna fall, I’m gonna fall!” He cried, clinging to Tsukasa.
“So, Mitsuba.” Tsukasa didn’t care to calm him down, letting the boy cling to him. “You’re just a baby with only one memory.. but no powers or anything else. Nothing.” He smiles down at Mitsuba “But now you have No. 3’s core inside you, now you do have power.”
“What do you wanna do?”
The question should’ve been heartwarming, to Mitsuba’s ears it was but it somehow planted an unsettling feeling in your gut.
“Do you wanna let them take your new power from you and just disappear?” Tsukasa’s gaze didn’t falter, staring straight into his eyes. Mitsuba flinched at those words, and it also scared you. You didn’t think you could go through losing him again. “Or do you wanna take School Mystery No. 3’s seat and become the ruler of this boundary? Tell me,”
“What do you want, Mitsuba.”
Everyone stood frozen in shock, anticipating his reply.
“I’ll.. I’ll do it.” Mitsuba’s voice came out trembly, but sure. “I’m not ready to disappear.. not when I still have nothing.” He glanced over to you, and then back at Tsukasa with tears in his eyes. “So if that’s the only option, I’ll be anything! I’ll even be a school mystery if I need to be!” He cried.
Tsukasa smiled eerily “Very good, if that’s what you want, then I will grant your wish.” He looked down at Mitsuba “From this moment on — you are now No. 3 of the school’s Seven Mysteries, Mitsuba.”
Mitsuba beams brightly — so bright it nearly rivaled the sun. “Woah, really? This is so cool!” He laughs.
“Yup, this boundary belongs to you now.” Tsukasa confirms.
You were all for it as long as he wouldn’t disappear again, but at what cost? What was the twist that Tsukasa was hiding? What’s the catch? So many thoughts in your head, you couldn’t help but worry something may go wrong.
“What kind of supernatural do you wanna be?” Tsukasa asks, a smile gracing his features. “You can be aanything!” He giggled, spreading his arms up high to emphasize this.
Mitsuba turned to look down at you, who is looking right back at him with a storm of emotions in your eyes. Relief, disbelief, worry, fear. He smiles at you reassuringly. “Anything?” He echoes.
If it meant he could be with you..
“Then I want to be normal.” Mitsuba uttered softly. “I want to be human again.”
“Can I?”
“Yup, you can.” Tsukasa nodded, holding his hands behind his back as he grinned at the pink-haired boy.
Your heart fluttered. Human, you mean. With us again? The thought of it gave you hope.
“NO!” Hanako’s voice echoed, rattling the entire boundary. It seemed to tremble at the mere force of it.
The haku-joudai’s swirled around the two ghosts, startling Mitsuba — but leaving Tsukasa as calm as ever. Maybe even a little amused.
Both you and Kou exchanged looks, then looked back at Hanako in disbelief.
Hanako pursed his lips, pointing his butcher’s knife at them. “You cannot be allowed to live on the near shore as a human,”
Just that sentence alone made you want to tune everything else into white noise, but it confused you — and even angered you, too.
“And why can he not?” You snapped, finally finding the courage to speak with all the chaos going on.
“Yeah, why can’t he Amane?” Tsukasa mocked in a sing-song voice, folding his arms over Mitsuba’s head and laying his chin on them.
“Because,” Hanako began, clearly frustrated. “A creature that has come to live on the far shore as a supernatural cannot be allowed to live on the near shore as a human!” He spoke through gritted teeth. “Mitsuba, you were ‘born’ a supernatural, which means you cannot be allowed to become human. That seat number is not yours.”
“And I’m taking it back.”
Mitsuba looked down at the four three of them of you as if you guys were only bugs under his shoe. Not with disgust, but with something more. Disappointment? Confusion? Even he couldn’t tell.
“..Mitsuba?” Kou called out to him, his hand tightly wrapped around his staff.
A childlike laughter echoes throughout the room, the sound is bouncing off the walls — Tsukasa’s laughter — is ringing in your ears.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Tsukasa asked with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest “Mitsuba’s pretty powerful now, don’t think he’s the same ghost weakling he was before or SCRUNCH!” He made an effort to clasp his hands together as if crushing something between them. “That’ll be the end of you.” He says with that sickening smile, letting his hands fall back down to his sides. “This boundary belongs to Mitsuba now, in here, no one can beat him!” He cheers, “Go on Mitsuba, scrunch ‘em.”
..
Except that Mitsuba was now trying to flee.
“Huh?” Tsukasa turns his head around to confirm that Mitsuba was indeed missing. “Mitsuba?” His eyes darted around the room, it didn’t take long for him to find him — Mitsuba couldn’t exactly hide all that well with the mirror’s reflections acting as cameras. “There you are!” He exclaimed, rushing over to him. “What are you doing?” Tsukasa asked, tugging on the hem of Mitsuba’s sleeve.
Mitsuba yelped, “Stay away from me!” He squealed in panic, lowering his voice to a whisper — he continued “What does it look like I’m doing, I’m running away!”
“Why?” Tsukasa insisted, a pout marring his lips.
“Why?!” Mitsuba whisper shouted, pointing his thumb back at Hanako “Look at that guy! He’s got a knife, there’s no way I can beat him!”
His words almost made you laugh if not for the severity of the situation.
“Aww, you’ll be fine!” Tsukasa assures with his signature childish grin, ruffling up Mitsuba’s hair. “Just scrunch him with your new powers!”
“I can’t do that,” Mitsuba whined, swatting his hands away “—don’t be crazy!”
“Come on, come on!” Tsukasa pouted, nudging his shoulder persistently.
“Noo! Nope! I don’t wanna!” Mitsuba was stubborn, he wasn’t as scared of Hanako as he was of Tsukasa, but to him he did look pretty intimidating.
“Uhh..” Hanako trails, freezing momentarily.
“Kind of feels like we’re interrupting something, huh?” You joked with a nervous chuckle, eyes flickering from Mitsuba, to Tsukasa, then to Hanako.
A loud noise — like something hitting flesh — rung in the room making you flinch at the sound. Tsukasa frowned, Mitsuba’s cheek was now reddened “Do it.”
“Eek!” Mitsuba squeaked, backing up and nodding “I will, please let me do it.” He panics as he scrambled back up to his feet. “So uh..” he looks around at the four of you, eyes lingering on you for a moment longer than the rest. “Here I go.. you four!” He looks over at you, then at Yashiro “Three? She’s unconscious, so does she count? Uh..” he trails “Right.. I don’t know any of your guys’s names.. besides (Y/N). And that other girl.” He mumbled, perking up after a moment. “Okay, I’ve got it! I’m calling you crazy knife,” he announces, pointing at Hanako “..and you.. hella-lame-traffic-safety earring!” he smirks, then pointing at Kou.
At any other time, Kou would’ve been irked to hear that nickname, but he only flinched. It hurt that Mitsuba didn’t remember him. But before either of you could speak, Hanako spoke up.
“What do you mean ‘crazy knife’?” Hanako frowns, pointing his butcher’s knife at Mitsuba.
“Eep!” Mitsuba squealed, floating backwards. “Don’t point that thing at me!” He glanced back at Tsukasa, who is looking right back at him expectingly. “Anyways, this is my turf now! So I decide whether you live or die!” He stammered, turning back to the four of you.
“Isn’t that a bit dramatic?” You teased, “Oh no, please don’t kill me.”
“(Y/N), this isn’t that time to flirt.” Hanako frowns, looking back at you.
Your cheeks flush. “I-I wasn’t..”
Mitsuba’s cheeks also flushed “Yeah! She wasn’t!” He pouts “But anyways.. if you surrender now, I might let you guys go!” He crosses his arms with a ‘hmph’, turning his head the opposite direction “I’m in a pretty good mood, you know?”
Hanako just pursed his lips, watching Mitsuba with a blank expression. Mitsuba on the other hand stared back at him, and if ghosts could sweat — he would be sweating buckets right now.
“You wanna do this?” Mitsuba finally speaks up, through his voice is a bit shaky “Well if you insist, I’ll use my Seven Mystery.. you know my like.. super-powerful powers!” You could tell he didn’t know at all what he was doing, and although he did technically have all the power to defeat Hanako, he wasn’t at all sure how to make his ‘power’ work. “To.. to do terrible things to you, so go away!”
“Like in porno?” Tsukasa teased, obviously baiting Mitsuba.
“I- uh! Yes! Just like in porno!” Mitsuba exclaimed quite loudly, looking smug as always before the realization of what he just said dawned on him and his cheeks flushed bright red.
“Porno?” Hanako mumbled, moving to wrap his arms protectively around Yashiro.
“Hey! What are you making me say?!” Mitsuba yelped, whipping around to glare at Tsukasa “I will not!”
You couldn’t contain it anymore, bursting into a fit of giggles, holding a hand over your stomach from how hard you were laughing.
Kou began walking towards Mitsuba, and before Mitsuba could register that someoen was behind him, Kou grabbed his arm, and pulled Mitsuba down so now they were eye-to-eye. He frowned.
“Um.. can I help you?” Mitsuba muttered, obvious confusion marred his features.
Kou’s frown deepened, and he looked away — squeezing his arm.
“Just— what? Are you enchanted by adorable visage or something?” Mitsuba mocks, trying not to show his confusion. Kou’s silence only proved to confuse Mitsuba even more. “Come on,” he insisted “—that earring is so lame.” He hoped by mocking him, he would reply — even if it was out of annoyance or frustration. Why wasn’t he talking? And what was up with this kid clinging onto him? Does he know him or something? Mitsuba had opened his mouth to tak again, but Kou beat him to it thankfully this time.
“You..” Kou’s gaze drifted back to the floor. “..you really don’t remember me?”
Mitsuba pursed his lips, he couldn’t help but feel even just a little bad for him. Of course he didn’t remember him, he didn’t even know why he was so hurt by it. Were they friends or something?
“Huh?” Mitsuba raised an eyebrow “What are you talking about, that doesn’t make.. any sense.” He frowned, tugging his arm away from Kou — and instinctively, Kou reached for his arm again.
“Who are you?”
Three words. Three words that stung Kou like needles. He glanced up at Mitsuba, then back down to the floor.
“Are you done?” Mitsuba asked, already starting to feel a bit awkward from the situation. “You’re done, right?” Kou was still not responsive, keeping his gaze on the floor; but he didn’t loosen his grip or even dare look back up at the boy. “Let me go.” Mitsuba frowns, tugging his arm away a second time.
This pulled Kou out of his trance, “Oh..” his eyes immediately darted back up to Mitsuba, and an image of his ghost friend’s old self flickered before him. Hallucination or not, it was enough for Kou to grab onto Mitsuba’s arm a third time. “No,” he stammered “—wait a minute!” This time, he pulled him even closer, his hand coming to grab Mitsuba’s chin, his fingers covering his mouth a bit.
“Ack!” Mitsuba yelped, clearly — and very reasonably — shocked. “What do you want?”
“I am..” Kou looked into Mitsuba’s rose-colored eyes “My name’s Kou Minamoto, remember it, stupid girly face!” He pursed his lips, letting go of Mitsuba. He walked towards one of the mirrors where he had dropped the old gardening club records, picked it up and walked back to Mitsuba to shove it in his arms.
“Huh?” Mitsuba was still clearly confused “What.. what is this?” He frowns.
“Just shut up and take it, fake-nice guy!” Kou spoke through gritted teeth.
“Wha—?” Mitsuba had literally zero idea on what was going on, why you were looking at him expectingly now, why this guy claimed to know him when Mitsuba was sure he’d remember someone as stubborn annoying as the boy who stood in front of him. “I really don’t get what you’re trying to get at! And man is that earring of yours lame..”
“Now, now,” Tsukasa came in between them, pushing them apart; and smacking either one in the face in process of it. “That’s enough of that.”
“Hey—what was that for?!” Kou yelped, pinching the bridge of his nose. It stung a bit.
“You have more important things to do, huh Mitsuba?” Tsukasa smiles, completely ignoring Kou. He grabbed Mitsuba by his shoulders, and guided him so he was right in front of Hanako again. “Here.” He beams, dusting off his shoulders.
Hanako didn’t even do anything, but as soon as he looked up at Mitsuba.
“Noo! Knife!” Mitsuba panics, backing up. He lost control of his arms again, and they whipped at Hanako.
Hanako quickly grabbed Yashiro — and before you could process anything — he shoved you over away from harm, turning to Kou as well “Watch out!” He warned “This is bad..”
“No kidding..” you panted, barely being able to catch yourself from falling.
“Hey Hanako, what do we do?” Kou gasps, just barely able to block the slap of one of the arms with his staff.
“Kid!” Hanako panicked. He pursed his lips, looking down at Yashiro “The thing is, if we want to get the school mystery’s seat number back, we have to destroy the source of power.”
“You mean the yoshiro or whatever?” You ask, one of the arms narrowly missing your legs to trip you up.
“S-Sorry!” Mitsuba yelps, trying to get them under control.
“Yeah! And for some reason, nothings waking her up!” Hanako frowns, gently smacking the girl’s cheeks “Yashiro, wake up!”
“And as for the yoshiro?” Kou asked, looking around.
Your eyes darted to the center of the ceiling. “Yeah, there’s no way we’re reaching that! It’s way up there!”
“So then,” Hanako’s eyes flickered from the yoshiro, then to Yashiro, then back to Mitsuba “—first things first, we’re gonna need to make him behave.” He let go of Yashiro, running off towards Mitsuba.
“Wait, Hanako!” You and Kou both panicked.
In just a blink of an eye, Hanako was right behind Mitsuba, his knife up against the other ghosts’ neck.
“Hanako, stop, what are you doing?” You yelped, rushing to the edge of the railing, there wasn’t much you could do — but you did know you would never forgive Hanako if he hurt Mitsuba.
Kou grabbed your arm, holding you back with him. He was scared too, but he knew Hanako wasn’t going to hurt him.
Mitsuba kept completely still, well, he did — but his arms didn’t. Frantically thrashing around.
“Mitsuba, you aren’t even the spirit of someone who once lived on the near shore anymore,” Hanako frowns. “You’re purely supernatural, your connections with the mortal realm are as weak as can be, and that means.”
“You can never be human.”
Those words stung Mitsuba, especially since he knew, inevitably that was reality. “No!” He weakly argued, one of his arms whipping at the floor above Yashiro. All of you turned around in horror and panic. You managed to run — while the rest were frozen in shock — shielding Yashiro’s body with your own. You shut your eyes, anticipating the weight of the floor above you crashing down. But it never came. You pulled away from Yashiro’s body, opening your eyes only a small pebble managed to hit her head.
And that seemed to be enough to wake her up.
“(Y/N)? Mitsuba?” Yashiro mumbled, her eyes slowly fluttered open.
You sighed in relief, letting your body fall back — and luckily for you — one of Mitsuba’s arms wrapped itself around you from behind to make sure you didn’t hurt yourself.
“Ouch..” Mitsuba groans, his eyes shut tightly as rubble slid off his body and he sunk back down to his knees.
“What’s going on?” Yashiro panics, looking around a bit frantically. “Hanako? Kou? (Y/N)? When did you guys all get here?” Her gaze then returned back to Mitsuba “Hey, you okay?” She scanned his figure up and down. Did he change while she was unconscious? “And what.. are you wearing?”
“So Hanako grabbing her and tackling her to the other side of the room didn’t wake her, but a tiny pebble did?” You sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose — this logic made no sense. You feared you might turn as dumb as them.
“I got stronger!” Mitsuba beamed like a little boy searching for praise from an older sibling. “I’m the ruler of this place now! A-And I became one of those seven mystery thingys!”
Yashiro didn’t look afraid, but she didn’t look to happy either. Her eyebrows furrowed as she glanced behind him and saw Tsukasa was still there, staring back at her. That was enough to send a shiver down her spine.
“So this is my boundary?” Mitsuba asked “Is that what you said it was called?” His excitement was short lived, as he could feel Tsukasa practically burning holes into his skin. “So.. I mean..” his eyes darting around from person to person until his gaze was focused on you again. “And I can’t let you destroy it.” He frowns, glancing at Hanako. “So.. uh-“
“Just get outta here!”
Suddenly, various arms sprang from the wall behind you. They grabbed the four of you — though they were much gentler with you for some odd reason — and forced you guys out.
“Stop that! Don’t grab my ankles!” Hanako yelps, trying to dig the blade of his knife into the floor to ground himself.
“Whoa?!” Kou gasped.
“I’m getting sucked into the mirror!” Yashiro panics, grabbing onto the frame of said mirror. “What are you—why are you doing this?”
“Just go with it,” Mitsuba smiles. “See you later.”
This whole time, you were surprisingly calm. The three of them were dragged out through the mirrors, but one of the arms kept you from fully going back through. So many thoughts running through your head, so many questions, very few answers. You had so many things you wanted to say, to ask.
“Mitsuba.” Tsukasa frowns.
“Oh, right..” Mitsuba mumbled, sighing. He didn’t want to, but he knew if you stayed there’s no telling what Tsukasa might do.
“Don’t you dare hurt him!” Was all you managed to say before you too were dragged through the mirror. An arm placed you down gently on the floor before retreating back into the mirror. You stood up on shaky feet, glancing down at the other three who were huddled together on the floor; presumably unconscious or something. You slammed your fist into the mirror, over and over again. Just when you found Mitsuba, you had to say goodbye again. The mokke tried to console you, huddling around you as you fell down to your knees helplessly. You were scared for Mitsuba. You didn’t trust Tsukasa at all. One thing was for sure though, you had to find Mitsuba again. And this time;
You wouldn’t let Tsukasa take him away this time. .
( A / N ) : I have not been able to find the motivation to write for the life of me. 😞 First chapter is finally done tho, hopefully I didn’t miss any spelling or grammatical errors, if so please let me know. I will proofread just in case. Also, I wasn’t sure if I should ask, but should I make a tag list for the chapters or? Originally I wasn’t going to but then someone asked if they could be tagged when new chapters come out so I’m gonna tag them but does anyone else wanna be tagged when I update more? Hope you enjoy btw, have an amazing day/night. <3
Taglist : @tr-mha-fan
- TBHK
Aoi Akane male
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Akane Aoi female
Nothing yet..
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Hyuuga Natsuhiko
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Minamoto Kou
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Minamoto Teru
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Nanamine Sakura
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Nene Yashiro
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Satou
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Sousuke Mitsuba
Something about you — multific
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Tsuchigomori
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Yako
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Yamabuki Lemon
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Yokoo
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Yugi Amane/Hanako
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Yugi Tsukasa
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