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

∙Eleven∙

    (Y/N) was sitting on the windowsill, peering out over the courtyard. She watched the students leaving the grounds, remembering how eager she used to be to leave the school at the end of the day. Now look at me, stuck here forever, she thought to herself. Sighing and laying back, she was relaxing on the large sill and watching the hakujoudai float around.

    A line of mokke were hopping about excitedly and waving around candy, the last of their payment for helping gather some food. They were all sent running (holding on tightly to their rewards) when the door was slammed open by two boys, the elder one practically dragging in his yelling younger brother.

    "Just because you got stuck with her doesn't mean I have toilet duty!" the younger one complained. Amane had a straight face and just kept dragging his brother through the door and shut it behind them. He turned around and faced Tsukasa, who wore a defiant pout.

    "I want you to help us so we can protect the school. And you don't have to come here every day to clean, that's my job," he said with exasperation. It clearly wasn't the first time he'd attempted to convince the boy. (Y/N) was amused by the twins, and she slid off of the windowsill to greet them. She walked up behind Amane and put her hand on his shoulder. He turned and smiled at her. It had taken a week for the boy to finally bring Tsukasa here, and (Y/N) was all too aware of time ticking briskly by. Every second lost was another second that students were in danger of their own imaginations spinning up violent apparitions.

    "He's right, Tsukasa. You don't have toilet duty, so you don't have to worry about doing much here. I just ask that you hear me out, ok?" she asked in an attempt to coax the younger twin into listening what she had to say. 

    Tsukasa scrunched up his face, still trying to be defiant, but he knew he couldn't keep it up for long. He had someone waiting for him, and he didn't want to be around the spirit for long. "Fine, I'll listen. But only for a little bit!" (Y/N) smiled at him, and nodded. Amane stepped back and began cleaning the bathroom. It wasn't something he had wanted to do, but he needed an excuse to be in there and the teachers had been desperate to find someone who would clean the haunted girl's bathroom. No girl would step foot in it. 

    "Thank you, Tsukasa. I'll make this quick." She clasped her hands together behind her back and floated in the air a little, slightly increasing the height difference between the two. "As you know, I'm Hanako-san the Bathroom Ghost, but dropping all the fancy stuff and just calling me Hanako-san will do."

    Liar! Tsukasa's thoughts interjected her speech.

    "I'm asking for you to help me and your brother. Not everyone can see supernaturals, so others are often completely helpless. I have a plan to ensure the students of Kamome don't have any dangerous encounters with supernaturals."

    You're the danger.

    "Amane should've told you that he entered a bond with me in order to help me, but I won't ask the same of you."

    He had no choice.

    "I just want you to let me know of any strange rumors that you might hear, to help spread the ones we make, and to not tell anyone about this."

    I won't make the same mistake as Amane!

    "Is that ok, Tsukasa?" she asked him. The glint in his eyes bothered her, and Amane noticed that her hands tightened together behind her back. A few tense seconds ticked by. Amane thought the air was so thick it could be sliced with a chef's knife.

    Finally, a bright and over-exaggerated smile grew on Tsukasa's face. "Of course I'll help! I don't want anyone to get hurt, and if I don't do anything that's like saying it's ok that something bad happens!" (Y/N) held a hand out to him, but the boy wasn't paying attention as he rushed over and clung to his brother.

    "Tsukasa! Let me go!" Amane scolded, trying in vain to push his twin off of himself.

    "Amane! We're gonna be heroes! It's so cool, right?" (Y/N) laughed at them both.

    "Kinda, but neither of you are supposed to tell anyone about what's happening," she said, mostly to remind Tsukasa. "There's a few people that think I have bad intentions when really all I want to do is protect this school. I always wanted to help people even before I haunted this bathroom. Now when I finally get a chance to, some beings want to get in my way. That could be dangerous to all of us, so you have to be careful and keep what we do a secret."

    Tsukasa's grip tightened on his brother, who winced. "Ok, Hanako-san. I'll keep it a secret, I promise."

    "Didn't you have to go somewhere when you were done?" Amane wheezed. Tsukasa, who was constricting him like a snake, nodded.

    "Then you can go if you'd like. Feel free to stop by anytime if you need something, ok?" the girl said to the clinging figure. She wanted to get him off of Amane before he got hurt too much.

    "Yup, I got it!" He hopped onto the ground and let go of his twin. Amane gasped for breath, and Tsukasa walked happily to the door. "Thanks for giving me a chance to help, Hanako-san! I'll see you at home so we can play, Amane!" He waved to the two that remained in the bathroom, and swiftly exited. (Y/N) moved closer to Amane and faced him. He could see the worry in her features, and he wasn't sure if he liked it.

    "What did he mean by 'play,' Amane?" she asked him, crossing her arms. She had done best to keep the stern tone out of her voice, but she wasn't exactly successful.

    He looked away from her, fidgeting just enough for her to notice. "He meant play, obviously. Brothers play together, that's not something new. What else would he mean?" His voice quavered slightly.

    "I don't know what else he would mean, but to be honest I don't exactly trust him. Did you see the look on his face when I was explaining what I wanted him to do? Hell, it started the second I mentioned my name. Something's wrong, and I don't think either of you are telling me everything." Her eyes wandered to the bandages that were ever-present on Amane's arms. The boy noticed and became a little self-conscious, so he did the best he could to cover them up. 

    "That doesn't mean anything, you can't know everything about what someone thinks just by looking at them," he responded. The spirit shook her head.

    "I guess you're right. You know more about him than I do. What do you think?"

    "He was excited and happy to be a part of something that keeps people from getting hurt, and when I get home the two of us are gonna play together. That's all," he said, fidgeting again. He stopped himself and returned to cleaning up while they talked.

    "I'll have to take your word for it then, won't I?" (Y/N) turned away from him and went back to her spot on the windowsill, worries and thoughts flooding through her mind.

    What bothered her most was that every time the brothers' 'playing' was brought up, Amane always reached for his bandages.

A/N
It's been less than a month and I already have 11 chapters out! I'm pretty proud of myself for all that writing, not gonna lie (It's about 1,000+ words a chapter, and there's also the prologue). But at the same time, OVER 800 READS? AND NEARLY 40 VOTES?! You guys are absolutely amazing and stunning and awesome!
I may be proud of myself, but a book or any sort of work means nothing without the people there that support it and encourage it. Seeing more reads every day or randomly checking my phone and seeing that another chapter was voted on really helps to motivate me and is part of the reason why I update so often, even more than me just wanting to get this story out there. Thank you all so, so much for reading and voting. I hope I can keep putting out chapters that you all enjoy!

Well on that sappy note, see you all next time!