|| A Bouquet of Red and White Roses || [Yu Yu Hakusho Fan-fic] {Edits}

Fading Existence

Three weeks have officially gone by. Izumi is still missing. Ciel and Shuichi are still gone. The appearance of Sara has slowly began to decrease. The activity around the fountain has seemed to decrease. There hasn't been a sight of a shadow. There hasn't been any sight of Tsukiya. Those low leveled demons have disappeared. The only thing that seems to remain now is that erie silence.

For the 3rd time this week, I made the usual checkup on the fountain. Like before, there was nothing. No movement. I made my way to the certain spot near the fountain and looked up into the moonless night. Again, there was that faint rippling movement in the sky. The gate was still open, but... 

"Could it be that you're expecting something to come out of the fountain ?", a voice asks from behind me. Slightly taken by surprise, I turned to see Seiji suddenly standing there. "Oh", I mumbled as I placed a hand on my heart, "It's just you. Seiji." Seiji made his way over to me and stood beside me. He looked up at the sky, towards the still open gate. I raised my guard but continued as if it were just a normal conversation. "So have you found the Guardian yet ?", I asked in a soft voice.  From the corner of my eye, I could see him grin. "I'm surprised you still remember", he said, "I thought you'd be distracted after Tsukiya placed that contract on you. But as I had expected, it didn't have any affect on you." I took a slight interest in what he said. "Is that so ?", I asked. I moved away from Seiji and took a seat on the railing that surrounded the fountain. Seiji seemed to keep his gaze on my every movement. "When we met you that one night by chance", he began to explain, "I had a strange feeling that there was something about you that was different from the other humans that exist in this world. Although, I discarded the thought, thinking that you were all the same. Selfish.. weak.. I shouldn't have overlooked it." I grinned and glanced down at my shoes. "Were those 'strange feelings' finally confirmed when Tsukiya told you about the removal of the contract that was on my neck ?", I asked with a faint smile. Seiji nodded his head. "The moment I was told, I knew that there was something more", he replied. I sympathetically smiled at him.

Everything seemed to be right. The only information that he was missing was the fact that I wasn't the one that removed it. I was glad that they had overlooked Shuichi, possibly even Ciel. If they focused on me, then I could see why something happened to Izumi first. In truth, even I overlooked something. I overlooked the fact that I was being monitored by not only Tsukiya, but Sara, at the time. If only I had decided to pay more attention. Then maybe Izumi would still be here.

I slightly shook my head and sighed. What a troublesome child you are, a voice says in my head. Could I help but be this worthless child ? Seiji moved in front of me. I looked up to see him looming over me. His expression was no longer nonchalant and carefree. It was indifferent and cold. "Nee..", he said in a low, bitter voice, "Who.. exactly are you ?" There was an emphasis. I glanced at him before turning away. I stood up and grinned at his seriousness. Moving past him, I looked up at the sky again. "Hanamura", I replied, not bothering to look over my shoulder. "Hanamura Shiori." I could hear him turn. But he made no effort to move after me. I could tell he was observing me. "The Guardian", he said after a momentary silence. "Do you know who it is ?" I looked over my shouldered and grinned. "Perhaps", I replied softly. "But perhaps I don't." I raised a hand to indicate that I was leaving and slowly began to move away. "In the near future, maybe you'll know."

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When I arrived home that night, I was greeted by an uneasy looking Mizuki. To my surprise, he was still awake. It was already 2:35 in the morning. After closing the door behind me, I walked past him and questioned his.. appearance. There were bags underneath his teal colored eyes. He seemed to have been sitting on the couch, patiently waiting for me to come back. I walked over to him with a glass of water in my hand. He slowly looked up at me when I loomed over him. A look of exhaustion. How long has he been awake...? I was startled when he suddenly hugged me around the waist. I almost dropped the glass. I placed my hand on his shoulder and could feel a faint quavering. Kneeling down beside the couch, I hugged him back. He buried his head into the crook of my neck and shoulder. I was reminded of the time when he came to me nearly crying. This situation seemed to be the same as that time. I knew Mizuki wouldn't budge so I didn't bother to part from him.

"Mizuki", I said in a soft tone, "What happened ?" I could feel him tighten the grip as he shook his head. I tried again. "Mizuki", I asked again. "What happened ?" Sniffles. I could hear him sniffle. After a minute of being clung onto, he slowly let go. To my surprise, he was crying. He actually cried this time. I reluctantly smiled at him and used the sleeve of my jacket to wipe away his tears. From that point, I handed him the glass of water. Mizuki took it from me as I stood up. I was going to go into my room and change, but he stopped me. "Don't go", he said in with an unsteady voice, "Stay. Stay here." He didn't even look my way. He kept his gaze on the glass cup in this hands. Whatever had happened must've disturbed him to such extent. I took a seat beside him which caused him to lean on me. I put my arm around him and pulled him closer. I rested my cheek on his head and waited. "Nee", I said after a while, "What happened Mizuki ? Why're you still awake ?" Mizuki closed his eyes and heavily sighed. "I saw someone", he said in a tiresome tone. "I saw someone standing around your room." I narrowed my gaze and stared at the glass cup on the table. "In the house ?", I asked. He slightly moved his head. "At first, I thought it was you, but after moving a little closer, I realized that it wasn't", he mumbled. "When it noticed me standing there, it seemed to smile at me. From that point I just came down here and hoped that it wouldn't follow me." I looked up at the ceiling and sighed. So that's why he was all the way down here. "But in the end, it didn't", I replied softly. Mizuki didn't move. I could tell that he was about to fall asleep. "That's good", he said in a drowsy voice. 

"That's...good.."

About 10 minutes later, he fell asleep. It was around 3:50, almost 4 o'clock. After gently separating myself away from him, I headed upstairs to investigate this "someone" that Mizuki had referred to. I saw no one though, not even a shadow. I even checked the other rooms, including Mizuki's to find nothing. However.. when I reached for my doorknob and touched it, I could feel something lingering on the other side. Ah, perhaps this is what Mizuki was talking about. But I wonder.. how did it manage to get inside when there was  a barrier that surrounded this house ? Could it be...?

I slowly opened my door and turned on my lights. I sighed in dismay. There, standing nearby my desk, a shadow. It appeared to be looking for something. When it noticed me, it didn't falter. I had a feeling that I knew who this shadow was. Who it belonged to. I moved towards it and stood beside my desk. I knew what it was looking for. I opened my second drawer and pulled out the pin, now a black color. Its changed since the last time I've seen it.

Looking at the shadow, I grinned. "Not this time", I say to it with a smile. 

"Not this time.. Tsukiya."