Iuvenes: The Zodiac Cyle (Yuuki_Tatsunohi and JoJo

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Yuuki_Tatsunohi

勇気 竜火
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Not accepting invites at this time
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per week
  2. One post per week
  3. Slow As Molasses
Writing Levels
  1. Advanced
  2. Prestige
  3. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. No Preferences
Genres
Fantasy, Sci-fi, Modern, Magical Realism, Slice-of-life, AU, Post-apocalyptic, mythology, time travel, fandom, romance, slow burns. Well, basically anything except for what is stated in the "Don't Like" section
  • In this world there exist Magi and Specters. Magi are people who made a wish with the mysterious creature, Kyuubey, in exchange for creating a contract with him. Specters are powerful, dangerous creatures that feed of the negative energy from humans, creating chaos everywhere they go. The Magi fight these specters, defending humans from being sucked into a specter's labyrinth.

    Yuzuki Hamasaki is a new Magi just starting her journey. She's naive and still learning about her powers but she willingly steps up to the job to defend the city. One day, Eiji Akaishi, an older boy from her class accidentally stumbles upon Yuzuki's secret and soon the two form a strong bond. But what are the real ramifications of Yuzuki's contract?

    Specters encountered thus far
    zodiac%20web%20wheel.gif
    Scorpio

    4d5ee35916c2f577b3e0374140c13cf5

    Status: Killed
    Capricorn

    zodiac-monsters-fantasy-digital-art-damon-hellandbrand-10-600x420.jpg

    Status: Killed
    Leo

    f6381df7006802b4a468f01f479357b6

    Status: Alive
  • Yuzuki Hamasaki

    c8dbf408127b0c1c9911c5e6cd92d8e2-d6h3gfi.png

    Yuzuki Hamasaki
    Color Reference:

    #1034a6​
    Eiji Akaishi

    khr___hibari_kyoya_render_by_fashion_neko21-d6z5hzx.png

    Eiji Akaishi
    Color Ref:

    Plum​


Yuzuki Hamasaki jumped in her seat as she felt her ring pulse. Her cheeks burned at the sudden movement but luckily no one had noticed her, all attention on the teacher up front as she recited lecture. Yuzuki pulled her folder closer and looked at her ring under the paper. The dark blue jewel in the center glowed softly, a faint swirl in the jewel. To a regular person, the radiance of the gem would seem as if it were reflecting the lights from the classroom, but to Yuzuki that meant a Specter was nearby. Duty calls and she’d have to go hunt for it or else it would cause disaster for all those around it, at least that is what Kyuubey had told her.

It seemed luck was on her side today as the bell chose to ring a minute later, signaling the end of the school day. Immediately, Yuzuki sprang out of her seat and ran for the door, her backpack haphazardly banging against her side.

“Oh, I forgot. Hey can one of you sign me out? Please and thank you!” she called to her friends, winking at their perplexed faces as she bounced on the balls of her feet. She didn’t wait to hear a reply nor answer their question if they were going to eat out later. I’ll catch up, she promised to herself.

She ran through the hallway and stairs, almost jumping down whole flights to get to the bottom. Once outside, she ran through the school field, past athletic sports clubs who used the field for practice. One club, the football team, was hauling tackling dummies towards the center, crossing paths with Yuzuki. She was going very fast, it looked like she wouldn’t be able to stop in time and one player stepped in front of the dummies to catch her before she hurt herself. Yet, whether it was by some hidden athletic talent or a miracle of God Himself, the football player didn’t know, Yuzuki leaped over him and the tackle dummies, flipping in the air once before landing on the other side with such agility the players’ jaws dropped.

“Sorry about that!” Yuzuki said, waving at them, her ring glowing a little brighter. She continued running, watching her jewel for any signs of the specter.

Your Soul Gem is your best tool for finding Specters, Kyuubey’s words echoed in her mind. The glow of her Soul Gem reached its peak when she found herself standing before a shack in the middle of an old baseball field. This field was abandoned years ago by the school in favor of building a brand new one, one that was a better sight on the eyes and upheld the school’s looks. The old field was still used, mostly by people wanting to play a leisurely game or kids needing a hidden place to smoke. The shack was closed permanently, yellow tape in an X and a restriction notice posted on the door.

Yuzuki stared at the door, her ring pulsing madly. In fine details that could only be seen by Magi such as her, strange letters covered the door; the Specter’s mark. She looked around her, seeing no one before turning back to the door. “Okay, let’s do this,” she said. Her body was engulfed in a bright light and emerged with her entire outfit changed to her Magi costume. With a deep breath, Yuzuki stepped right through the door, as if it were made of nothing, and into the Specter’s labyrinth
 
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Eiji had slacked off and cut class today, well... not all the classes, just the last one. English was a lame, and difficult class, and it wasn't even useful either... So, he snuck out during the passing period for the next class, and made his way out to the (abandoned) baseball field. Baseball had gotten a newer field recently, so this old one was only used for... hanging out, and various other odd activities. It was on the backside of the school in sort of an inconvenient placement, and everybody agreed the new field being closer to the road was a good thing. But now that this field wasn't constantly maintained, it was starting to look pretty ragged... the wood shed used to hold equipment was beginning to fall apart, and it's door had been taped over and chained pretty heavily to prevent someone from breaking in and using it. A notice was placed on the door notifying everybody of this for "safety" reasons. The real reason was that it had caught fire from kids smoking in it, but luckily it had been saved before too much damage was done. The roof was still a bit charred, and the insides had probably received rain damage. He could only imagine the number of spiders nesting in there... He himself, however, didn't smoke, but it was a nice place to relax until it was time to leave school... walking straight out the front was suicide. He'd be caught and punished immediately, so, he stayed here.

The bell rang, and he sat up, slinging his backpack over one shoulder, and stranding. He could leave now... but maybe he ought to wait longer. He could hear people coming out of the back of the school, probably to begin other sports in the fields nearby, and getting caught by a coach wouldn't bode well either. He sighed, and dropped the bag, then reset his school jacket on his shoulders. The arms-out-of-sleeves look was in, and he digged it. You could always tell a delinquent by their dress... a short haircut, constant frown, coat hanging off his shoulders with arms folded over his t-shirt, and pants with rips and a chain on top of boots. Ladies could eat their hearts out...

Speaking of ladies, he heard a feminine voice coming his way. A girl coming out to smoke or something? No, it sounded sort of innocent... but, she sounded nervous, and she wasn't saying anything that let her off the hook. What would someone like that be doing out here? He peeked around the edge of the shed, and saw her step into the door. "What the hell...?", he said to himself, seeing her pass through the solid door. Impossible... what he just saw was impossible, and yet it happened... He walked up to the door, and pressed his hand to it. It passed through, and a strange sign showed up on the door, before the door pulled him in. "Ah!?", he managed to exclaim, before getting thrown to the floor behind the girl. He looked up to see her panties (She was definitely innocent. No self-respecting smoker girl wore shooting star panties....) , and a strange, warped sky. "What the hell is going on here?", he got up and rubbed his head. He stared at Star Panties Girl, hoping for an answer.
 
She was in a desert. The land around her was very dry, forming dunes everywhere that seemed to be in a myriad of colors. There was a stark lack of vegetation, except for a group of trees in the distance which must be where the Specter was. Yuzuki looked at the sky; it was red dotted with white stars. She squinted and realized the stars were actually M’s with an arrowed tail. Back on the ground a neon green ball rolled around, knocking against a rock that changed color when it was hit. The ball uncurled into a scorpion that climbed the rock and attempted to puncture it with its tail.

There was a loud thud and Yuzuki turned to see a boy lying on the ground. Yuzuki recognized the blazer hanging from his shoulders, the male version of her school uniform. He looked familiar too; a classmate perhaps? He was a little older than her, but her class was a mixed class full of students from different grades. He looked up and it suddenly occurred to her he could see up her skirt.

“Wh-what are you doing here!” she asked, turning a deep red as she tried to cover herself. “You can’t be in here, it’s too dangerous!”

She grabbed his hand the moment he stood up, pulling him back the way he came. Unfortunately, the entrance chose to seal itself at that very moment, blending into the red sky behind.

“No, wait!” she jumped forward, expecting to hit a wall, instead passing through where the door once was. It was as if the door had disappeared into thin air. She turned to the boy, biting her lip. “Why did you follow me? Now you’re trapped in the Specter’s Dungeon.” She drew a circle in the air, reaching in and pulling out a blue, star-adorned scepter. “I’ll-I’ll get you out of here, but you have to stay close. If you don't, you might die.” Even if this boy had stumbled upon something he shouldn’t know about, it was still her duty to protect him. She only hoped she was strong enough to do so.
 
He didn't have much time to react before she yanked him up and began pulling him toward where he had fallen through. Unluckily for him, there was no way back. She pushed him back towards wherever he had fallen, and he simply fell again. (Jeez, what a strong girl...) He sighed, and sat up, dusting off his clothing. There was sand here... this was just too strange. "How was I supposed to know what this place is? I just saw you step into a wall! That isn't exactly normal. So I saw if I could do the same and I'm here. Wherever here is. Ghh... musta got knocked on the head or somethin'. This can't be real.", he lifted up his forearm and bit it. "OWww! Dammit, that hurt!", he stared down at the mark on his forearm. "I'm not dreaming? What the hell is this?"

He sighed, and folded his arms. "Did you do this? I honestly thought there was a chance you came to the shed to smoke or something. That's what others do, but, you're too... I dunno, you just didn't seem the type.", he frowned. "But seein' as how you've got that witch getup on, I'm thinkin' maybe you're behind this place! Is this your secret lair or something? Huh... I expected the lair of a girl with star panties to be a bit more... verdant.", he looked down at her. "If this place really is dangerous, there's no helping but following behind you. This place looks so weird it makes me think that just my fists won't help me..." he then extended a hand to her to shake. "Name's Eiji. You should probably tell me what to call you, star panties.", he said, with a crooked grin. "You don't wanna be stuck with that embarrassing name for as long as I'm around ya, huh?", he added. "You look like one of the underclassmen that I share a few periods with... Yeah, think I've seen you around. Didn't know someone so unassuming would be doing whatever this is..."
 
Yuzuki turned a deep scarlet at the mention of her underwear and an even deeper shade at the nickname. He actually got a peek and was now giving her pet names because of it! This guy! If only this wasn't an emergency, oh! Yuzuki pulled her skirt down lower as she shook his hand tersely.

"People are full of surprises. I'm Yuzuki and I didn't do this, nor is this my lair or whatever you called it. " A clump of sand flitted about, sprinkling sand in its wake and making a circle. Eventually the clump's rounds turned into a huge dust devil with with powerful winds. Briefly losing her footing from the gusts, Yuzuki threw her hat and watched it get caught in the dust devil. It rode the winds for a few moments before sucking it in, shrinking the tornado until it was gone. Yuzuki picked up her hat, dumping out the sand inside.

"This is the realm of a Specter, creatures that are much worse than that." She put her hat back on. "According to my contractor, you can't get out the realm until you defeat the specter, which is over there." She pointed to the group of trees in the distance. "I'm going over there now, so please stay close. And watch out for their familiars too," she added as a severed, but still moving, stinger floated by.
 
"So you fight monsters with your magical witch powers?", he said, looking at her instead of the dust cloud. He let go of her hand. "Sounds like the plot of some silly anime.", he chuckled. "So you're the protagonist in this one, huh? Yeah, you look good enough to sell merchandise.", he chuckled. (apparently he had no breaks on his internal monologue leaving his mouth.) "Yeah, I'll stay out of your way. I can't beat reality breaking stuff like walking through dimensions and summoning outfits, so, unless these monsters you're talking about are allergic to knuckle sandwiches, I can't do much to help."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, resigned to his fate. "Well, you lead the way, Yuzuki. I'll keep out of your hair. I've been trouble enough as it is.", he informed her, and let her lead him. "So, how many of these hunts have you done, hmm? Are there others, or is it just you? I guess that if you have some sort of contractor, he'd be like a boss at a workplace, so do you have some sort of witch-team goin' on?", he continued, as he trailed along behind her in the sand. "I don't mind if you can't tell me, being some sorta crazy secret witch superhero must be harsh, and explaining it to guys like me ain't part of your job, eh?"
 
“I guess, if you look at it like that.” Yuzuki glanced at her dress, touching her braid. Eiji had a point: With her current attire and the fact it came with powers too, it was as if she had been pulled straight out of an anime. “Although, I’m not a witch, I’m a Magi. At least that’s what I believe it’s called.”

They started walking. She chucked at his comment about attempting to take on specters with his bare fists. “That’s okay. It’s my job to deal with them anyways.”

When he asked her about her hunting experience, she wrung her scepter, looking anywhere but Eiji. “Aah, w-well, this is actually my . . . second hunt. First one alone,” she said sheepishly. “And I don’t have a team either. As far as I know, I’m the only Magi there is.” She glanced back at Eiji. “That’s all, I know really. My contractor―he’s not really my boss, though. More like, he’s the one who gave me my powers―hasn’t mentioned anything about teaming up or even recruiting. It’s fine though. Even if it’s harsh, I think it’s worth it.” She stared at the star on the top of her scepter, smiling fondly.

They kept walking, finally reaching the trees. The small group of trees suddenly spread away from each other, growing taller and taller, almost reaching the sky. Giant boulders slid in between the spaces, sealing off any possible exit. In the center were two things: a tiny little pond that was colored a toxic green, and standing over it, constantly dipping its stinger was a huge red scorpion the size of a building. The scorpion spotted Yuzuki and Eiji and swung its tail at the two.

“Look out!” Yuzuki tackled Eiji into a magic circle, emerging through another one perched on top of a boulder. “You okay?” she asked.
 
"A magi? That's what they call it, huh? Sounds latin. It's one of those derivative languages they use for english or whatever. It's probably why they all say it like "magic". (picture butchered pronunciation) Well, I guess that makes it gender neutral, and pretty old as well, seeing as how that language isn't used much now, from what I learned in class... but that doesn't get it off the hook for sounding anime-y.", he sighed, as he followed along beside her over the sand. He could see some trees pretty far ahead. "Yeah, with great power and all that. When we get out of here, though, I'm gonna have to make it up to you. You need an upper-classmen to crush skulls, improve your status, or help with your homework, I'm your guy. The last one may not sound like a fitting description for me, but the only reason I ditch classes is because I already know the content, and sitting in a boring room getting told what I already know is suffocating.", he said, and scratched his neck.

"Ehh? You're expected to go to weird-ass places like this alone? That isn't really fair.", he muttered. "It's gotta be pretty scary and lonely. If nobody's supposed to know about it, or help you, I guess that means you'd end up pretty detached from normal people, because you'd have to do this all the time...", he started to gather the meaning of her work. "What did you get in exchange for all this? You can't tell me that you suddenly decided you didn't want to hang out with your friends anymore, and instead wanted the chance to use powers against monsters that want to kill you. I mean, there are some people who might think this is cool, but they're all boys. And idiots. You mentioned a contract, so what did you get? A lifetime supply of star panties? A ton of money? OR was it something immaterial?", he asked.

He was pretty smart, and quick at deducing these sorts of things, but, thinking about it had robbed him of his attention on the world around him. A giant scorpion had attacked, and he'd only noticed it when the attack was a couple feet away. But, suddenly he appeared on a boulder. "Ahh...?", he patted himself. "Ah, I was almost toast. I'm fine though, I'm guessing that's your monster isn't it? Go ahead and get it's ass kicked, I'll watch out for myself here."
 
Odd letters etched themselves onto the scorpion’s claws. Far from Japanese, but similar to English; to a regular person, they were indecipherable. To a Magi, it was like a second language. Yuzuki read the name Scorpio.

Yuzuki nodded. "That is a specter, they’re the ones who make realms like this.” She then adjusted her hat. “Sounds good. I’ll be right back. I hope.”

She stepped off the boulder, soaring through the air and right to the specter. Scorpio snapped its claws, its tail swinging around, causing a few close calls for her. She countered with a few volleys of shooting stars, circling the specter as she tried to weaken it. She then found herself smacked against the wall, the specter’s stinger poised to strike. She barely dodged, sending a huge wave of stars at the tail, breaking it into sections of the tail.

The pieces, however, weren’t finished. Soon they were in the air, swirling around Yuzuki. A tornado quickly formed, the tip of it centered in the green toxic pool. Taking on the green shade, liquid splashed Yuzuki, the poison burning into her skin while she was being hit by the tail segments. Soon the tornado was gone, a wounded Yuzuki falling. Scorpio’s claws clamped down on her body, only for it to suddenly disappear.

“I’m right here!” She called from behind, unharmed, her scepter held above her head. A giant fireball had formed at the tip of her scepter. She swung, sending the sun at Scorpio, engulfing the specter in flames.

The sun dispersed a few minutes later, the scorpion specter gone. At that moment, the labyrinth disappeared, reverting back to a dusty, rotten shed.

“That was so scary,” Yuzuki said as she fell to her knees. A black shard clinked next to her, bearing the symbol, ♏. But I killed a specter all by myself. And even rescued someone too! Her Magi form reverted back to her school uniform as she picked up the shard, grinning at Eiji.
 
She ran off and fought the giant scorpion. As she did, he wondered what would happen if she failed. He'd be stuck there forever right? He probably wouldn't last that long. He was incredibly thankful he hadn't stumbled across such a thing while someone like her was away... he'd probably never be found. Luckily, he didn't have to worry about her failing, though. Despite the scorpion being massive, and it's attacks looking deadly, she managed to survive it, and... dropped a sun on the scorpion. As soon as it impacted, the world shattered, and he found himself right next to her inside the shed, a glowing crystal on the floor. "Yeah, it was... I was holding my breath there for you...", he replied. He helped her up, and looked around the inside of the shed. Webs. Everywhere. He could see spiders all over the place. As scary as the scorpion was, this was too, but he didn't cower... he had a girl to impress.

He gave the door one hard kick, and maybe due to luck, the door and lock's deterioration, or maybe bad positioning of the locks, the door actually flew off in one kick. He watched as the door cracked like a saltine and collapsed along with the chains. He took her hand and guided her out. "Thanks for that, Yuzuki. If you need me for anything, I'll be more than happy to help... I'd like to go along on more of this sort of thing, but I'm not sure if I'd just be getting in your way... it's up to you. Would you like to exchange numbers?", he asked, and pulled out his phone.
 
“I’m sorry. I’ll try to be more careful,” she said as he helped her up. “Thanks.” She dusted her clothes, jumping when Eiji kicked the door open. Even though it was an abandoned field, she couldn’t help but be a little concerned about property damage.

“Aah, no problem. I don’t mind if we keep in touch. It’ll be like having a second set of eyes when looking for specters!” she joked. She pulled out her own cell phone, exchanging numbers with Eiji. She then sent him a text to make sure she had the right number. {To Eiji, 4:37pm: It’s me, Yuzuki! ^_^}

“We should probably head back before―”

“There you are, Yuzuki,” came a voice. Yuzuki looked behind her to see a small, white, cat-like creature with a bushy tail standing on the roof of the shed.

“Kyuubey!” she said. The cat named Kyuubey leaped into her arms, climbing onto her shoulder. “Kyuubey this is Eiji―” she gestured to said boy “―Eiji this is Kyuubey. He’s my contractor.” She scratched behind the creature’s ears.
 
"Yeah, you'd better dammit. If you die in front of me, I won't have time to cry about it.", he chuckled, as he lead her out of the shed. She seemed pretty surprised that he had kicked down the rather sturdy and obviously off-limits door. "Don't worry about it, the school ain't got cameras pointed at this place, and they plan on demolishing this shed pretty soon for other reasons anyway. Besides, what other way would we get out? I didn't want to stick around another second..", he trailed off. "Ah, you'd really take me? Cool.", he said, his frown disappearing. They traded numbers and she sent him a message.

{To Yuzuki, 4:38 PM: Eiji here, I got your text just fine. ^^}

She announced they should probably be getting home, but she was cut off by a voice. It wasn't a sound, but he heard it anyway, and that made it sort of hard to pinpoint immediately. However, it didn't take much looking around to find a white, cat-like creature on the top of the shed they had just been in... had it been there the whole time? It looked sort of alien, with it's strange pink eyes, and rings around it's weird ears. It hopped down and Yuzuki caught it, holding it on her shoulder like it was her pet. "That's your contractor?", he said, his voice a little surprised. "Well, I suppose it's nice to meet you, Kyuubey...", he said. He had a lot of questions to ask, and the creature probably knew it.
 
Kyuubey stared at Eiji for a few moments before looking at Yuzuki. "I was worried you had stepped into the Specter's Labyrinth without me. Although it seems you handled it well."

Yuzuki smiled brightly. "Thank you. Oh, do you need this?" She pulled out the little black shard for Kyuubey to see.

"You need them to clean your Soul Gem, remember?"

"Aah! Sorry, I forgot." The ring on her finger changed into a gold egg-shaped jewel with a stone inside. The stone, a normally lustrous dark blue, was dull with what looked like a black substance inside. "Eiji, watch this," she said. Kyuubey climbed onto her shoulder as she touched her Soul Gem to the Grief Shard. The black substance was then sucked out of the stone and into shard and the Soul Gem once more had it's illustrious glow. She then handed the Shard to Kyuubey who flipped it in the air and caught it in an opening in his back. Kyuubey once again stared at Eiji, wrapping his tail around Yuzuki's neck; it tickled.

"Yuzuki, did he see the specter?" Kyuubey asked.
 
She spoke with the creature for a short time about her... necklace? They called it a soul gem. She asked him to watch her, and so he did... when she touched the stone to it, the jewel began to glow. It seemed to have a dim glow before, but now it was shining as bright as any light. Did she take energy from the monster, and fill the gem with it to restore it's light? That must be where she got her power from then... but why was it called a soul gem? That sounded sort of creepy... did it eat souls, or was it a soul? What did that thing have to do with souls? He felt like that was a bad question to ask at this time, though. But he noticed that after she restored the gem's energy, Yuzuki looked a lot less pale and worn out. The small creature on her shoulder asked him if he had seen the specter.

"You mean the big scorpion? Yeah, after she gave it a whupping, the world changed back to normal... It could have been dangerous if she wasn't there, and someone like me had stumbled in there alone... we're lucky to have her, huh?", he said, smiling at Yuzuki and stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Would it be fine if I went with her to these things now, or would that put her in danger? I wish I had the power to help instead of watch, but I won't be asking anything of you.", he told the creature.
 
"I don't mind if you come along," said Kyuubey. "The person you want to ask is Yuzuki. She's Mitakihara's current Magi and is therefore in charge."

"I-I'm in charge?" Yuzuki asked, pointing a finger to herself.

He nodded. "Correct. I merely grant wishes and collect the used Grief Shards. You are free to do whatever you want with your territory." He then jumped off Yuzuki's shoulder and landed on the railing of the shack, turning to Eiji. "I do warn you, Eiji, because of your involvement today, you are marked. You now carry the Specter's scent and that will attract more of them to you. It's no problem for Yuzuki, but you are a different story." His tail swished from one side to the next. "Of course, I can change that. But as you said, you won't be asking anything of me so I won't force you."

"Is there any way to get rid of the scent?" Her heart sank when Kyuubey shook his head.

Biting her lip, she stared at the Soul Gem in her hand. The dark blue had a sparkle to it, like the twinkle of a star. Gripping her Soul Gem, she turned to the boy. "Eiji, I'm sorry you got involved in this and now you're a target for Specters. Kyuubey said this is my territory, so as Mitakihara's Magi I will guard the town and everyone in it. Including marked ones like Eiji. So Eiji—" she bowed low before him "—please let me keep you safe!"

She messed up, she realized that now. In fact, she had messed up big time. In exchange of a wish, Magi fight Specters, and by extension protect innocent people from them. She had failed to do so with Eiji. It was all her fault, so to make up for it, keeping specters away from this boy was the least she could do.
 
Apparently sticking with Yuzuki was a better idea than he had originally thought... he had thought that it would be a fun, but dangerous thing to do, but, instead, it was an even safer option than leaving her alone... by following her into the labyrinth, he had sealed his own fate. Staying away from he would surely mean a lot of danger for him, if what Kyuubey said was right. The specters could track him down regardless of his location, or the fact that the one who did it was dead. The idea that he could be in such a grave situation without someone or something to keep him out of harms way was a very fearful thought in deed... of course, he wouldn't be revealing his fear of that to her.

Kyuubey mentioned that there would be no way to remove the scent, but that maybe he could do something about it? "What do you mean by that? If it applies to me, I'd like to hear, I just meant I didn't want to pry into your business with Yuzuki.", he explained, and folded his arms. Though, before he could get an answer, he got an apology from Yuzuki, and she bowed deeply... "Ah, Yuzuki, you may be an underclassmen, but you don't have to bow...", he sighed, and pat her shoulder. "I'd still be happy to go with you, regardless of me being in danger.", he said. "I forgive you, it's not like you could have stopped me anyway, you didn't know I was there.", he told her. "So don't give yourself a hard time."
 
She nodded, standing up straight. Yuzuki was grateful Eiji wasn't mad at her, in fact he actually wanted to see more specters.

"I think it should be fine if you go. But be careful. Also if there is any trouble, don't hesitate to call me," she said. Even if Eiji is a target for specters, she'll make sure this will be the last in Mitakihara.

"The reason why you can't get ride of the 'scent'—" Kyuubey paused tilting his head to the side. His left ear twitched. "Yuzuki, someone's coming. I have to go." Kyuubey leaped on top of the shack roof. "Let's meet some other time to discuss what happened today. Job well done." And with that, Kyuubey was gone.

People coming? Yuzuki strained her ear and caught snippets of conversation as what sounded like a large group approached. It also sounded like they were carrying their own field equipment. She should probably leave before she got in trouble. They sounded like upperclassmen and she heard not many were friendly to underclassmen like her, with the exception of Eiji of course. Though she had to admit before today she probably would have also avoided him, due to his rebellious attire.

"I guess I should get going too," Yuzuki pulled on her back pack. "It was interesting having another person in the Labrynth besides Kyuubey. So if you have other questions, I can arrange a meeting between Kyuubey and I. Just say the word and I'll text you the time and place!" She smiled at him. "See you tomorrow, Eiji!" She waved goodbye as she ran off the field.

At the entrance to the school grounds was a bronze bust of a goat. It was a small bust, practically unnoticeable unless one had accidentally touched it. Tarnished too, save for its two back curving horns. As Yuzuki hurried home, the goat's eyes had a faint glow and turned its head as it watched her go.
 
"Heh, if there's something strange in the neighborhood, I will surely call you, instead of the ghost busters.", he chuckled. However, he was serious. If he saw something strange like he did today, he would try to avoid it this time and give her a heads up. From what he understood of these specters, they weren't good news. They were a danger to the public, and it would be best if Yuzuki got rid of them. However, that didn't mean that he wouldn't ask to just spend time with her as well, as friends. "Would it be okay if we spent time outside of school outside of this specter business? You know, if you aren't busy.", he asked.

Kyuubey heard some students he hadn't, and decided to leave earlier. Yuzuki decided leaving was the best option for her too. It was probably his best as well... A delinquent near a busted up shed wouldn't work out that well.... "Ah! See you, Yuzuki! Text me anytime, even if you just wanna talk!", he called, before he ran away from the scene of the 'crime', and headed home.
 
When Yuzuki reached home, she discovered a few boxes in the hallway. Most were sealed and ready to go, while others were still taking in a few assortments. Yuzuki noticed in one box was a stack of her father’s published astronomy papers.

“Papa, do you have to bring a box of your papers? Haven’t the people at NASA read them already?”

“Just in case they ask!” Her father laughed as he appeared beside her, carrying a book filled with star charts. “I want all the engineers there to know I’m qualified for the job they gave me.” He kissed his daughter on the forehead before walking away, humming to himself.

Her mother stepped in from the living room, chuckling. “He’s been like this all week; ever since he got the call,” she said. “I once found him packing all of the telescopes. As if NASA needs to see his collection.” She shook her head in exasperation.

Yuzuki laughed. “It’s great though that Papa got the opportunity.”

“Yes,” her mother nodded. “Ever since he was young, going to NASA and becoming an astronaut has been his dream. It’s a miracle he was chosen.”

“Yeah, sure is.” The light switch next to Yuzuki suddenly became so interesting.

“Come now, let’s make some dinner,” said her mother, leading Yuzuki into the kitchen.


The next day, Yuzuki practically skipped to school. She met with her friends, and was made to promise to eat with them after school since she seems to be avoiding them for some reason. One of them accused her of having a boyfriend to which she vehemently denied.

The bell rang and they headed to the classroom, swiping their card for attendance. As class assembled, she looked around for Eiji, to see if he would be in class today or not.
 
"No texts huh?", he yawned, and put down his phone for the night. He had went home immediately after all that crazy stuff went down and had some dinner... tight now he had a lot of questions and no answers, but he wasn't going to pester Yuzuki with things he knew would answer themselves given the proper amount of time. For the first time this year, coming home from school alone had felt sort of spooky. He didn't know exactly why, but after having seen that specter, and being told he might be watched... he did feel like he had to hide from something, though he wasn't sure what that would be... He dismissed it, and went to sleep, his dreams not being too terribly peaceful either.

The next day at school, he actually attended all his classes. He had seen Yuzuki at lunch, probably talking to her friends, but he decided not to bother her. It seemed like they were having fun, and he didn't want to scare off her friends, so he sat alone somewhere. In the final period, he walked over next to Yuzuki's seat, and swiped his card, taking the one next to her. "Well, hey there sunshine. Got any news for me? To be honest, walking home alone yesterday gave me the creeps. I definitely felt like I was being watched...", he explained.
 
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