Ink Stained

☯ Season 1 | 01 ー begin: the end*

One, the spirit of a young woman whose pale skirt flapped in an invisible wind, hung on the shoulder of a middle-aged man, leaning in and screaming into his ear. Pai could hear the woman's shrieking only vaguely, as if she was very far away. The man was talking to a small boy in middle-school uniform, and he only winced to show for what Pai imagined him to be getting only a sharp pain from the screaming woman he couldn't see.

Pai's eyes lingered on the Goryo that clung so steadfastly to humans who couldn't perceive their existence. She looked away quickly, not wanting any of them to notice that she could see them when most couldn't.

"Even with Kouta-sama's power, there are many Yori Chiisai that will try to come after you, especially now." She spoke quietly. She watched Shiori carefully, noting the discomfort flowering in her eyes at being left without her necklace. "You will by the idiot for coming to school alone. This on its own," she gestured at the necklace. "It is not enough to keep you safe."

Shiori's frown deepened into an unwitting pout. Her hand darted forward and she took the pendant from Pai, her fingers closing around it securely.

"I get that much. But you're human too. You're in just as much danger," she mumbled with her chin to her chest as she clasped the necklace back around her neck again. Shiori lifted her head to look at Pai, her hand drifting down to absently stroke over the long yellow-black feather.

A ghost of a smile flitted over Pai's lips as she lead the way into the school property. "Think about it this way, then. If I do not come, Kouta-sama would assign one of the men to watch over you. Now imagine how that would be; you are walking through the school or sitting in class, and all that time, Ryosuke-san or Haru-san are right behind you, watching your every move." She didn't quite mean to make it sound as creepy as that just did, but she didn't mind as she paused for dramatic effect. "Or even Yuu-san."

Shiori stopped, and Pai turned to face her in time to catch the look of deadened resignation in Shiori's face at the thought of Yuu glaring at everyone within vicinity and shirking any and all attempt at friendly conversation. "Okay. Fine. I get it. But, do you know how creepy that was?" she pulled a face. "You make them sound like fifty-year-old samurai heeding their shogun's orders or something."

I mean, Pai thought about their steadfast loyalty to Kouta. If you think about it, that's not really far off.

"You are an idiot if you think he would not have made them come," she answered. "If it was not me, then one of them would have to come watch over you to make sure you are safe."

Shiori blew out a heavy sigh as she slowly resumed walking, pondering Pai's words. The scowl on her face said she saw the logic, but her grumpy silence said she didn't like it.

Pai wasn't surprised she didn't. She knew that Shiori was just worried about Pai being able to handle high school after so long of being away from it, but she didn't need to. Pai would be fine.

Although, if someone pointed a gun at a her head and demanded she tell the truth, she would say that no – no, she did not want to be returning to high school. She really didn't.

But no one was threatening her life with a gun, so she kept quiet and didn't let on just how little she cared to be here right now. She didn't quite understand why her stomach was so filled with dread at the idea of going to school, and no matter how she questioned herself about it, she found no answer for it.

Stepping through the gates of high school for the first time in a long, long time should not have been nearly as morbid an occasion as Pai it felt. She'd fought off the bad feeling about all this for a while, but now she found herself almost nauseas with a conflicting mix of emotions that made her wonder if she was about to throw up.