My Knight // Hananene ~Medieval AU~

Chapter 9:Console

   I woke up the next morning, with dried tears still on my face.I rubbed eyes and looked at the open balcony window.

  Ah, haha, I never got what I wanted to ask yesterday.I just cried and beated Hanako-kun's chest with my fist in a mix of hurt and anger. Hanako-kun did not question why I was crying, nor did he try to coax me to stop.

  Hanako-kun just stood there and let me cry, understanding that I just had to let it all out.The fact that Hanako-kun seemed to understand me so well at just a glance ....infuriated me even more.

  After awhile my wails were reduced to quiet sobs, then eventually sniffles from fatigue.Only then did Hanako-kun gently guide my exhausted body to my bed, and kissed me on the forehead just before I fell asleep.

  Then, I drifted into sleep as I heard the echo of Hanako-kun's receding footsteps.

  "Ha..."I muttered.

  I am too emotional.I should have just confronted Hanako-kun about it.Or maybe I was reluctant to.Was I afraid of the outcome?That what Minamoto Kou said was true?Was I afraid to accept that Hanako-kun hid such a big secret from me?

  "Good morning, Yashiro, did you sleep well?"Hanako-kun asked.

  He sat on the balcony, one of his legs folded so that his ankle rested just above his knee. His Haku-Joudai floated around him, as he smiled reassuringly.I could tell he was analyzing every little move I made, choosing his words and actions very carefully to make sure I would not get upset.I knew when someone was doing this very well-since I myself did it often in that suffocating household of mine. 

  “There’s no need to walk on eggshells around me, I’m fine.”I replied, “What did you want to tell me, spit it out.”

  From my own experience acting this way, I also knew that when someone acts this way it is to soften the person up to tell them what they wanted or needed to say, especially if it's bad news.Humans have a motive behind everything, after all, and a ghost was just a human before it died.

  “Hah, you got me.I want to go find the Misaki Stairs.They need a little spanking for what they’ve been up to.”Hanako-kun chirped, “I shall take away their boundary and their title as one of the second of the seven great apparitions of this land.Of course, I need your help for this too.”

  Ah, I see.It’s time then.The way Hanako-kun emphasised ‘spanking’ frightens me more than the actual prospect of fighting the Misaki Stairs apparition though…

  “But why so early?”I asked, once the question popped into my mind.

  “Oh, because this little quest of ours would probably take a long time.I promise we’ll be done by midnight though.”Hanako-kun replied, clapping his hands, “Sorry that you have to cancel all your plans for today, Yashiro.”

  I sighed.

  “Don’t worry, I don’t have any plans for today, nor any plans for most days, after all.”I replied.

  Hanako-kun smiled brightly.

  “Then get ready in ten minutes or so, and don’t wear anything that would limit your mobility too much.We may be running a lot today.”Hanako-kun added.

  “HUH?!Why would we be running from The Misaki Stairs?I thought you were the most powerful out of the 7 apparitions to be their leader!”I cried.

  Hanako-kun’s face darkened.

  “Unlike last time, Yashiro, we’ll be fighting The Misaki Stairs in its own Boundary.”Hanako-Kun explained.

  “Boundary?”I asked, cocking my head.

  “Mhm.Remember my boundary back in my old castle?Its a world in between the near shore and the far shore, the connection in between the world of humans and the dead, to be oversimplified for your sake.A world that mirrors somewhere that is or used to be in the real world, and can be bended to the owner’s will.The owner of a boundary will be stronger there, so going to The Misaki Stairs’s boundary is like walking into the lion’s den.The Misaki Stairs is also really agile and defensive, so it’d be hard to catch and attack it.”Hanako-Kun explained, “The only reason why I disposed of Yousei-San so easily was because the place where you found it was where it was putting stuff into its boundary.When it saw you, it just thought it could quickly dispose you and did not need to drag you to its boundary which would attract unwanted attention.However, I appeared!”

  Oh I remembered now, Hanako-kun explained it to me before but did not go into much detail then.Up until now I always thought a boundary was like a home for an apparition to stay in.How ignorant the idea seems now.

  I felt chills down my spine.So the Yousei-San I met had intentionally reduced its power, wasn’t at its full power and wasn’t even at the place it fought best?How much more powerful Yousei-San would have been if he had dragged me to its boundary?Would Hanako-Kun still have been able to save me then?

  I also remembered how Hanako-Kun said Yousei-san was, in his words, very ‘squishy’.Which meant that Yousei-San relied more on stealth and quick attacks and its defense was weak.Even then…Yousei-san still seemed powerful.And since The Misaki Stairs apparition was agile and more on the defensive side, that meant that it might kill me before Hanako-Kun even has a chance to react.I gulped.We really were planning on facing a much stronger foe this time.

  Then I had to be on my best behaviour later.

  “So eat up and get ready, today will be a pretty long day.”Hanako-Kun said, pinching my cheek, “So please rest up.”

  Author's Notes:Double chapter today!!>:D (celebrating end of exams)