Before the Seven Mysteries (Amane x Reader) {Abandoned}

∙Twenty∙

    "Thank you, Yako. We'll be back on better terms, I hope." (Y/N) flashed a smile, receiving only a nod and a tinkling of bells in return. The hakujoudai fluttered around her and Amane, whose face was still set in determination. After a quick look to the boy, (Y/N) peered into the doorway that was to take them to Akari's boundary. It looked like any other, with the exception of the shide that adorned the edges. It was opened into a classroom with chairs and desks set neatly for students. Nothing seemed odd about it.

    (Y/N) grabbed Amane's hand and entered first. It was a very different feeling from one part of the boundary to another than it was just to enter the boundary from the near shore. Instantly, Amane realized the difference. The air was heavy, so much so that Amane felt like he was running through water. In fact, he now felt the water steadily receding around himself and his friend. Soon he was running through water that was no more than a few inches above the ground and gripping (Y/N)'s hand tightly. They emerged from a dark passage, and the boy ran into the ghost who had stopped suddenly. The two were observing the landscape ahead. The world was a bright green, with fields of wildflowers blooming both around them and far in the distance. A small settlement lay in the center of the valley they found themselves in, and in the center of that valley they saw a dazzling crystal spring crisscrossed with floating wooden walkways. Mountains rose up to encase this valley in its entirety. There was no clear way in or out. (Y/N)'s hand felt different, so she glanced down at it to see that not only her hand, but also her attire had been fixed. She made a mental note to thank the fox later.

    "What is this place?" Amane questioned. "It's not the same as before."

    "My best guess is that this is the state her part of the boundary is normally in," the ghost then grumbled under her breath, "Go figure I was the last to figure out I can manipulate a piece of it."

    "Ok, and how do we find Akari?" He surveyed the valley again. "There's only so many places to look, but this place is still big."

    A flash of bright yellow lightning crackled, and (Y/N) balked as the warm light flooded her features for an instant. The look of horror and anger that appeared afterwards was not one that Amane would forget. "That's how we find her. Let's go."

    The ghost took off, floating this time and careful that Amane could keep sight of her. He took another look at the walkways to see two figures face off, and a third leaving them to head for the hills. He didn't know who this third figure could be, but he knew in her rage that his friend hadn't noticed it. Quickly, he caught up to the ghost. As they passed over the wildflower fields, the few flowers that the ghost brushed against withered and warped themselves into red spider lilies. The boy tried ignoring this, but knowing it meant death set him on edge. It made him wonder if it was because (Y/N) herself was dead, or if death was her intention. 

    Soon they found themselves stepping through the deserted settlement. From afar it had looked well-kept and promising, but when they had entered they found it was desolate and overgrown with foliage of all shapes and sizes. The ghost took the quickest route she could find to the walkways, a route that wouldn't leave behind her companion at least. Amane noticed this, and her struggle to find an opening. It was a maze, so the boy grabbed her shoulder.

    "I'm only keeping you back. I saw something else run off, it looked human, so I'm going to go find it. You get to Akari-san, ok?"

    The conflict arose readily on (Y/N)'s face. "I can't let you go on your own, and I can't risk anything happening to you." 

    "You won't be able to get to her on time because of me. Go, and find me as soon as you can."

    The ghost sighed. "I hate it when you talk sense, kid." She waved a hakujoudai towards him. "Take this, it's dangerous to go alone."

    "You need it more than I do. You're in more danger because of Minamoto-senpai, and you said so yourself that I can't die in a boundary, no matter what happens I'll be fine." He swatted the hakujoudai away from himself. "Besides, I'd be a liability like Yako-san said. There's no guarantee she'll fight fair, so it's better if I'm away."

    "Worse things can happen to you than death." She pondered for only one more moment. "But you're right. Go find whatever it was, and if you see it don't get too close. I just want to know who or what it is, but if it starts to get bad then escape, hide, whatever you have to. I'll find you as soon as I can." The ghost descended, walking forward and handing the boy two dried flowers; a plum blossom and a yellow poppy.

    "A ward against evil, and good luck. See you soon, Amane." With that, she rushed through the nearest building, leaving the boy dumbfounded for a few seconds. Without another place to put them, he placed the flowers in his pockets and ran off, splashing through the water of the boundary. A hakujoudai kept an eye on him until he rounded a corner, then disappeared into the building after (Y/N).

    The ghost quickly made it through the buildings and onto the walkways, where another crack of exorcist lightning was shot out. This time, she heard Akashi's cry of agony, and saw her heavyset form on the ground. Tiara stood over her crumpled form, readying her tantō for the final blow.

    "Hey! Your fight is over here, Minamoto-scum!" the girl called out. The familiar piercing blue eyes of Tiara rose to meet the angered (e/c) eyes of the ghost. (Y/N)'s expression conveyed nothing but rage. Her anger could not be disguised, and for now she didn't care to. Tiara smiled, sheathing her blade and walking forward, kicking Akari to the side. The girl grunted. She had more burn marks on her, no doubt from the lightning, and her apron looked ready to fall apart. It had been sliced in many places, and some of it was stained crimson.

    "Good thing you showed up, I was just getting bored over here," the exorcist remarked. "Your friend wasn't going to last much longer."

    "Only cowards fight like you." (Y/N) made her way forward. "You attack someone weaker to draw me out. Next time come find me yourself. You have no honor."

    The comment didn't phase Tiara, who was grinning from ear to ear. "Ironic how a murderer wants to condemn me for dishonor."

    "You have a funny way of handling things you know nothing about." The ghost drew her yawara and flipped it in the air, catching it deftly and pointing it directly at Tiara.

    "I had every right to kill those men. If you think I gave a shit that one was a Minamoto, then you believed the warped story his friend fed everyone." (Y/N) laughed slightly. "You're too gullible to ever become a great exorcist."

A/N
Damn, that took forever to finish and publish. I have to say I'm very overwhelmed and humbled at the amount of attention this story has been getting. As I'm finishing this up, there's been 16.8k views and 864 votes. I love seeing the comments, and I love the support (despite the horribly infrequent updates). Thank you all so much, I really appreciate it! I can't make any promises on when the next chapter is gonna be out, so I'm apologizing ahead of time. And just for future reference, if I ever decide to drop this book, I'll publish my little storyboard chapter so you know what was going to happen, or someone else could pick it up.

Again, thank you all so much, and I'll see you next time!