The Mortician's Son (BoyxBoy)

C H A P T E R . 1 O

T H E  A D V E N T U R E  A T  T H E  Y O R U S H I  V I L L A

It was Spring Break. And while most of the pitiful student body of Twilight Town High School was in their homes surfing the internet, procrastinating or lounging about and enjoying their boredom, Blake, Nathan, Alex, Chance, Zexion and Dylan were happily lounging at the beach by a beautiful, two-story, sea-side villa at Shining Terrance.

Granted, it was Souda's sea-side villa, but he allowed Blake to bring his friends as well. In frankness, Souda had intended the villa solely for the teen and Nathan, but after Sakura — Blake's mother and possibly the only person Souda would listen to — stood beside her son and protested that Blake should bring as many friends as he wanted, Souda eventually conceded.

And so, here they were. Dylan, Chance, and Blake were attempting to construct a sandcastle, Nathan was digging a hole in the sand underneath the large beach umbrella - he was not particularly fond of the noon sun - with Zexion next to him, and Alex was deeply absorbed in lighting the fire for their barbeque.

"Hm. It seems Shining Terrance has a bit of interesting history," Zexion commented as he thumbed through a book titled Shining Terrance: A History.

"Yes," Nathan said, shoveling out another handful of sand with a large shell. "I've heard about that. This entire city is rich with its own horrors." A gleeful, slit-like grin crossed his features.

"Yeah, my father thinks that the villa's haunted by a zashiki warashi," Blake spoke up as he attempted to etch a royal crest into the castle's main body with a stick. "I think that's half the reason why he bought it, knowing him."

"A what, sorry?" Alex asked, glancing at his friend.

"A zashiki warashi," he explained. "It's kind of like a prankster ghost child that brings prosperity and good luck. Sometimes my clothes would go missing and stuff, and things would move around."

Chance and Alex gulped. Dylan paled. Zexion looked quite intrigued. Nathan seemed happier than ever.

"A zashiki warashi!" the brunette said gleefully, dazed with complete bliss. "I've always wanted to meet one!"

"But I think it was my Dad playing tricks on me," Blake said. "He always did like doing things like that," he added a bit bitterly. Souda had once misled him into thinking that the tooth fairy was a hulking, ugly, winged goblin-like creature that would steal away into his room the night he turned six-years-old and pry out all his baby teeth with a large pair of pliers. His father cheerfully admitted his deceit the next morning… after Blake had spent the entire night sobbing hysterically.

Nathan looked slightly disappointed. His lower lip jutted out into a very identifiable pout.

"Nathan, don't tell me you came all this way with me 'cause you wanted to see my haunted house," the eighteen-year-old joked.

"Not solely," the mortician's son said, failing to notice Blake's teasing. "I wanted to spend time with you, too."

The elder knew it probably wasn't easy for Nathan to openly admit his feelings, so he shuffled next to him and gave him a light kiss as a reward. "Thanks," Blake murmured.

The relationship between the two boys had been going quite well. Blake often kissed Nathan and held his hand openly in public, but he wouldn't dare try anything more than a heated make-out session. Nathan was taking this new experience quite well, in all consideration. The brunette was still very, very prone to bouts of heavy nosebleeds; however, he was getting better. When Nathan felt compelled to, which was rare and endearing, he would offer a kiss with a subdued excitement and a slight dab of fear, of making an error, in his eyes. At these times,  Blake would always oblige with enthusiasm. But the elder was always careful never to frighten Nathan when he made his advances. Always very careful.