Trails of Intertwined Stars: Chapter 74 {Part 1}

~Chapter 121: Finding Duncan~

Jiu waited till he was certain everyone had left the manor. He watched as Edward and Soren whisked the parade of servants out, and even Master and Mistress Mohan. Jiu couldn't help but notice the woman gave him a disgusted sort of glare, as if wondering what right he had to demand this of them, but he paid it no attention. After all, he hated her. And she hadn't left the manor in years, it amused him to imagine her shrivelling up like some old witch from a fairytale as soon as she stepped into the light. Once they had all left; it was just him and Duncan in the manor. Perfect. He suspected where Duncan would be in the manor, yet he still made an effort to check all the rooms. See, the thing about ghosts was they had attachments to their past. Whilst Duncan may wander freely, there were certain points he'd feel safest. Once Jiu had searched the entire ground floor, he made an effort to go back into the foyer, past the corpses and up the steps to the second floor. As anticipated, nothing on the second floor either; they were the less active parts of the house, at least, for Duncan. By the time he got to the third floor, Jiu started to find he was growing more and more furious with the boy. Being a ghost himself, Jiu was not scared of him. So, he made an effort to slam the hilt of his sword on every door to startle the boy, and called out sternly every so often, like a parent lecturing their child.

"I'm getting really sick of this game, Duncan," Jiu hissed; slamming the hilt hard on the nursery door.
He peered in, cautiously. It was empty. In a way, he wasn't surprised; Leora had more ties to the nursery than Duncan ever had. The general swung his sword, scraping it across the floorboards in an effort to scare the boy into telling him where he was.
"You're making me angry," Jiu uttered," And believe me, you do not want to make a general angry."
Jiu kicked the door of the wonderland room open, peering in. Duncan would have ties to the room his mother passed in, after all. However, that room too, was seemingly untouched. Jiu now knew exactly where the boy was. It was a room he'd only been in once before, and it was in the past. Jiu turned to head back down the corridor, to go to the stairs.
"You're in big trouble now," Jiu whispered, his voice deadly serious," I gave you a warning. Now, I guess we're doing things the hard way."
Jiu heard the rocking chair in the nursery make an effort to rock by itself, in a furiously panicked manner. The general smiled to himself; he wasn't so easily fooled.
"I'm not an idiot, Duncan," Jiu laughed, passing the nursery without a care," You think I'll investigate there? I know you'll just lock me in there, and I know that's not where you're hiding."

Jiu reached the landing, he glanced up the stairway to the fourth floor; it was much darker up there. Jiu knocked twice on the stairs, taunting the boy. The wind outside howled, furiously.
"You think a little bit of wind scares me?" Jiu whispered, smirking, but he was hardly amused," You should know very well who I am, Duncan. And you should know I can do much more than just a few gusts of wind."
Jiu made his ascent up the stairs, staring ahead of him, cautiously. Suddenly, he heard the boy's voice, ringing in his ear.
"I do know you," Duncan muttered," General of Diyu; Crimson Rain Jiangguan."
Jiu hummed," And let me guess, you're from Aloysius' parts; aren't you? I can tell, by your little stunts with the living corpses. It's all so very vampiric."
As soon as Jiu reached the top of the landing, Duncan grew awfully quiet. Jiu could hear his panicked breaths, however. Duncan had acknowledged he was nothing compared to the general before him. Jiu saw a light flickering, from Duncan's old room, and headed that way. He scraped his sword on the floor as he did so. At this point, he was haunting Duncan, moreso than Duncan was haunting him. As he turned the corner, he saw the boy, standing in the centre of the room. Duncan watched him, cautiously; his hands balled into fists to his sides, his breathing heavy with frustration.

"Where's Leora?" Duncan whispered.
Jiu met his gaze, firmly," No. You answer my questions first; understand?"
Duncan sulked, glancing at the bordered up window in his room, before glancing back at Jiu.
"Fine."
"Why are you doing this to her!?" Jiu snapped, all of his frustrations at the cruel boy pouring out," What did Leora ever do to deserve you tormenting her this way!?"
Duncan stared at him, seeming offended.
"What are you talking about!?"
"The hauntings!" Jiu cried," All of it! You're hurting her, don't you see!? Tormenting that poor girl with no rhyme or reason, and I'm getting really fucking sick of it!"
Duncan's expression darkened.
"I understand now, why you said that weird thing to me before. It seems we've both misinterpreted each other, Jiu. I'm protecting Leora."
Jiu froze, his eyes wide; he felt every muscle in his body weaken. The sword fell to the floor with a clatter, and he stared at the boy in horror.
"You've been...protecting her?"