Chrono X Angel, Book 7: Trial By Fire

Chapter 11

The school day had ended, and Midori and Hyoka were walking home together without Rei for once, as the Oni had chosen to stay behind and finish up a couple small projects. As the two undead ladies joked about their day, Hyoka suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. At the same time, a young man in a Fumizaki High School uniform, who was roughly Kuroko's age, across the crosswalk from them had also stopped. He had the same terrified and panicked look on his face as Hyoka.

"IT'S Y-YOU!!!" They both stammered, pointing at each other, and Midori tilted her head in confusion.

"You know this guy?" She asked of the trembling Yuki Onna. Hyoka nodded her head.

"That's the priest who banished me from my mountain all those months ago!!

Yoshikage Abe was frozen in place as flashbacks of a grumpy Yeti picking him up and dangling him by his leg over a cliffside rushed back into his mind. That girl had been the Yuki Onna he had tried unsuccessfully to banish twice! The first time it had seemed to work for a while but then one day she came back, and his talismans that he had worked so hard to make were gone. He had gone back up the mountain with a few more potent tools when he was ambushed by the massive creature. From the shrubs had emerged the ghost girl who had spoken to him.

"I-I don't want to cause any trouble but this is my mountain..." she muttered quietly, "Please do not come back, or Gohan..."
The Yeti, seemingly of his own volition, had stomped over to the cliff and held the squirming priest over the steep descent.

"I-I won't!!" He blurted in panic, "Please just let me g-go!! You'll never see me again, I swear!!"

Back in the present, Yoshikage's face was almost as pale as Hyoka's. If it was not for the girl obviously recognizing him as much as he recognized her, he might have been able to brush it off but no. This was the same girl somehow.

"D-did you come to finish me off?" He stammered, knowing full well his mediocre magical abilities would be nothing against a Yuki Onna.

"She's just trying to walk home from school," said Midori, getting between the two and walking slowly towards Yoshikage, "You're not planning any trouble for her I hope?"

The Lich had crossed the street now, and was stood face to face with Yoshikage, who was trembling. Yoshikage furiously shook his head in a negative, and Hyoka slowly came over to join Midori.

"Actually... this is good," said Hyoka quietly, "There's something I have been wanting to tell you for some time now."

Hyoka stiffened up a bit, and looked the priest in the eye as best she could manage.

"I f-forgive you," she whispered, bowing towards Yoshikage, "I... know you were doing what you thought would help the people of Fumizaki... you weren't trying to be malicious. I understand that now. I'm sorry for scaring you so badly that day, Gohan is very protective of me, and the mountain..."

Whatever Yoshikage had been expecting to hear, it sure was not that. An outright apology from the ghost he had tried to banish??

"N-no it's my fault honestly," he replied almost as awkwardly, bowing back, "You weren't causing anyone any trouble, I should have let you be. I just wanted to be a hero, and 'saving' the city from a Yuki Onna seemed to be the best way of doing that."

Hyoka's face seemed to lighten a little, and she giggled slightly.
"Maybe... I should almost be thanking you," she said smiling, "it's because of you banishing me in the first place that I got to meet all my new friends, and regained my memories..."

The moment was rudely interrupted by Abe's phone going off, and he excused himself for a moment to take the call. Though Midori was not close enough to hear what the conversation was about, when Yoshikage suddenly shouted "dammit, Kenji Amano!!" a shock like lightning went through the teenage Lich. Could it... be? She doubted it was a coincidence, considering the school uniform this Onmyoji guy was wearing was from her old school. Deciding then and there that she was not about to leave anything to chance, Midori stormed towards Yoshikage. The Onmyoji felt his stomach drop as the undead girl stepped fast towards him, her face a swirl of emotions. Had he somehow done something to make her mad?? He was not sure how he might have, but Abe still took a could steps back reflexively.