In the late summer, wind was the red flag of the poppy petals, a living masterpiece of nature. Though they grew unnoticed by so many, they were more to her scarlet eyes than a monet or any artwork that brought their likeness in beautiful strokes of softest bristles. The sky blazed blue and the sun was a celebration of yellow, free and bright. The trees rose to the occasion, donning their best verdant hues
The frameless scenery, gazed upward at the ever-present sky; they were the warmth of the land that gave thanks to the warmth of the summer sun. They were the rainbows that arose from earth and water, yet can be nothing without the golden shimmering rays.
From her classroom window, the second year student watched pleasantly as the first year students watered the plants in the practice garden; although this time, it was a separate class from Akane's. The water that sputtered out of the green gardening hose had reflected the prisms of light, creating a small rainbow in which she admired momentarily.
The ravenette was surrounded by her classmates who were talking about the one upmost classic and gossipy subject; boys. Japanese class was rather boring, quite simple actually. The teachers tended to be turned around and writing on the chalkboard more often than calling on students, so it was rather easy to doze off for the entire class.
Break rolled around as she sat confided in her seat, smiling and throwing a few words into the conversation every now and then. It was amusing to watch the girls fawn themselves over boys who liked them, but neither of the two had the courage to admit it, and thus, they rambled on and on about their love stories.
However, it was anything but fun when the beloved President Minamoto was thrown into the hot topic of the conversation and everyone turned their heads to the lotus flower of the second years: Natsuki Nora who only blinked.
Her classmates leaned in closer to her with a grin on their faces. "You and Minamoto really aren't dating, Natsuki-chan?" The brunette asked as she bluntly and simply shook her head in reply, it was a common question with the same answer in reply as always as the girl sighed and sat back down in her chair at the answer given.
"What a waste. You two are basically the unmarried king and queen of the school." Nora chuckled at the exaggerated statement. "That's really far fetched."
They glanced at her as though she were joking. "Ah .. you're so dense Natsuki." They drawled as she tilted her head in confusion. "I mean, sometimes my heart flies around in a little loop when I'm around him." She twiddled with her fingers nervously as they all lifted their heads in excitement.
"Natsuki! Do you like him?!" They all inched closer to her as she looked up from her feet with a grin on her face. "Just kidding~" The witch hummed, sticking her tongue out playfully as they all sighed.
She wasn't bewitched by the Teru effect. Nor will she ever. Probably.
Suddenly she watched their faces morphed into bashful scarlet red ones as they sunk into their seat, covering their mouths. "Hu-"
"Well that's certainly a shame, Nora." She felt the top of her head get tapped by what she believed was a clipboard as the girl tilted her head upward and was met with the cerulean gaze of a certain blonde haired exorcist who smiled as she blankly blinked, taking a moment to register what was going on inside of her head.
Her friends had begun to squeal and scream. "Is it?" Her scarlet eyes narrowed.
He only sighed, turning to the girl's friends. "If you don't mind, I'm going to borrow Nora for a bit." Teru said, in his usual friendly tone. As though their eyes had turned into hearts, being swayed by his tranquil tone, they all wordlessly nodded their heads, as Nora gaped her mouth at the betrayal.
Teru dragged her away and out from the classroom. "Well now. I know you wouldn't drag me away from my friends in an interesting conversation for no reason." The witch crossed her arms, as she adjusted the ribbon of her uniform.
Her back was against the wall as Teru stared at her, arms folded. "How long have you known?"
She raised a brow at him. "I know a lot of things." Nora replied simply as he tapped her over the head with his black clipboard again as she winced. "How long have you known that Kou made contact with Hanako, the disgusting Seventh Wonder?" Teru asked as he tilted his head to the side, awaiting an answer.
The witch knew this was coming. There was no way she could have hid it from Teru as she chuckled sheepishly. "Well ... Ever since they went to Number Two's boundary?" She said meekly as he narrowed his blazing azure eyes at her smaller frame.
"So you knew they went to Number Two's boundary too?"
She laughed. "He asked me to keep it a secret. Besides, I don't want Kou to get upset at little ol' me either." It was fair game. She would prefer to continue having Kou's meals and desserts rather than starve by ratting him out. But it was too late, she tried, he would understand and continue to give her dinner. Hopefully.
Teru sighed in exasperation as he massaged his temples. "Where is he now? With the supernatural?" The blonde questioned as she nodded.
It wasn't difficult to pinpoint Kou's location when the witch had a tracker placed on him. "Let's go." The male flicked her forehead as a punishment as he began following her to the rooftop, where Kou was located with his two .. friends.
The high school girl covered her eyes from the blinding and blazing light from the large brilliant star in the sky that shone brightly over the clear cerulean skies that stared down at their very beings. It was rather windy outside as well, the reasoning for her hair fluttering delicately as they spied not only one, but two students and an apparition.
One had their backs turned to the two while the the boy had his eyes glued onto the girl whom was speaking. The apparition had taken notice of them immediately, however he wasn't sure if they could see him, so he kept his mouth shut while the first-year student continued to ramble on.
Nora recognized all three of them in an instant. "M-Minamoto-senpai wasn't a crush so much as, like, a dream! Like a TV personality or a pop star! You're happy just watching them, even knowing that you can never be together because he likes someone else! He's the student council president, and hes handsome, and nice, and so smart ..."
Nora nudged the blonde with a smile as he let out a light chuckle. "Minamoto-senpai .. what a charming prince.." The young girl breathed out airily.
By then, Kou had already realized the two made an appearance as he nudged the apparition and pointed at the two second years. "Why thank you." Teru approached with soft footsteps and a delicate smile as he beamed toward the young girl who had turned around, flinching. "I'm sorry .. I didn't mean to frighten you." He scratched his cheek sheepishly.
Nora stifled a laugh as the first year had begun to flush red, her cheeks dusted in a scarlet color, even rivaling Nora's own ruby orbs. "Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Minamoto-senpai! And Na-Natsuki-senpai?!" Within the blink of an eye, she had backed against the wall, creating a five meter distance between herself and her crush.
Upon the beckon of Nora's surname she waved with a smile. "Nii-chan! Nora-nee!" The young exorcist smiled brightly as he flung himself toward his two upperclassmen. Teru sighed as he tapped his younger brother's forehead with the black clipboard. "I've been looking for you, Kou." Teru said in exasperation.
Nora pat the young boy's head as he had a child like grin on his face. "Ah! It's Nene-chan! Oh-" The witch covered her own mouth. "Is it okay if I call you by your first name?" Nora asked, not wanting to be impolite, although the younger girl seemed too charmed by the seventeen year old to care. "Natsuki-senpai .." Yashiro stared at the ebony haired girl longingly.
"And you're Yashiro-san? I don't believe we've met. I'm Teru Minamoto, thank you for always being so kind to my younger brother." The president smiled at the girl who let out a gasp, covering her mouth to try and calm the rapid beating of her heart as she stared at the two. Never did she think that the two sweethearts of Kamome Academy would ever come to speak to her.
"Oh .. I never introduced myself formally either! I'm Nora Natsuki, but you seem to already know that." The witch clasped Yashiro's hands into her own as the first-year felt her head overheating and getting woozy. "Y-Yes ..." The girl breathed out.
Teru chuckled before turning to where the unintroduced male sat. "And you." His voice dropped low and dark as the gaze casting over his burning sapphire orbs had heightened, flickering dangerously at the supernatural who only sat there. "Kou. Come here, we need to talk." With that, the blonde had dragged his younger counterpart down to the stairwell.
Yashiro was so deeply entranced by Nora's crimson orbs that she had just realized something. "Wait! They have the same surname! Minamoto! But .. Nee-chan? You don't happen to be ..." Yashiro trailed off as she looked up to Nora who smiled warmly, shaking her head.
"No, no, I'm not related to the two of them. We're just old friends is all." The witch said dismissively.
Finally letting go of Yashiro's hands, Nora turned to the boy, surprising Yashiro. "You can see him?!" The silvernette screeched as her upperclassman nodded with a slight chuckle escaping from out of her vocal chords. "Of course I can."
The apparition took a step back. "You don't look like a Minamoto." He said obviously. "Well that's because I'm not."
She was neither hostile nor friendly toward the apparition, but he deemed her to be alright since she wasn't attacking him. Not yet at least. But for as long as she had a close relationship to Minamoto Teru, an honored and infamous exorcist by both supernaturals and humans alike, Hanako wouldn't let his guard down.
She was dangerous and he couldn't figure out why. She didn't give off an exorcist vibe, nor did she look like she was contracted with an apparition. So why ..
"Say Nene .." Nora trailed off. The girl immediately stiffened. "Yes?!"
Nora laughed at her cute reaction. "No worries, I don't bite." The witch pat the younger girl's head as Hanako stared disapprovingly. "I've always wondered ... How do you get your hair to look this nice? I've always been so jealous!" Yashiro had blinked once and realized Nora was holding a lock of her silver hair.
"R-Really?! But my hair is grey like an old lady ..." Yashiro fiddled around with the hem of her uniform as Nora twirled a strand of her raven locks around her slender ivory finger. "Well .. Black hair is pretty plain, I've been thinking about dying it since I don't like it. But your hair! It fades into a pretty green at the tips! It's really smooth too!" Yashiro was getting an overload of compliments from her senpai as her eyes swirled.
"S-Senpai, your hair is pretty too! I-In fact, I think you're very pretty!" Yashiro blurted out as her words echoed. Nora covered her mouth, concealing a surprised smile as she blinked at the sudden confession, suddenly encasing the young girl into a hug. "Well aren't you cute!" Nora rubbed Yashiro's head as the girl flushed red.
Hanako let out a grumble, frowning at the two of them as he floated closer, wanting to pull Yashiro back to his side. Nora narrowed her eyes at him. Whatever internal thought process was occurring in her head, was put to an end as the rooftop door swung open.
Nora certainly didn't miss Kou's down mood, and Teru's glare at the apparition. "Nora." He called out to her. She perked her head up, letting go of the first-year slowly as he waved his arm, signalling for her to come over as she did so, skipping merrily to his side, seemingly in a better mood after Yashiro.
"Sorry Nene, your senpai have some work to do." Nora pouted as the first year student nodded her head, deeming that the short interaction they had was already enough for her soul to pass on to the other life. Nora and Teru waved at the two before heading back down the stairs, waiting to hear the click of the door shutting before Nora's smile faded.
"I told you. Putting him on the Seven Mysteries case wasn't a good idea. He's never exorcised a supernatural before, allowing him to exorcise the Seven Mysteries that are not only the strongest apparitions at the school, but also the most capable of human emotions, considering their humanoid appearances that they have because of their massive amount of spiritual power." Nora said in a serious tone.
Teru sighed. "I gave him a little more time. We'll see how this goes."
"How was Yashiro?" The blonde exorcist had asked curiously, peering down to the witch who only smiled softly. "Lovely. It's a shame really. Seeing someone like her go is rather sad and disappointing. She's so innocent and bright. Kou'll be upset if and when he finds out .." Nora trailed off as Teru sighed once more.
It was a long school-year. A long year of never-ending exorcisms for them. All because there happened to be some special guests this school year. Starting with a girl who had a wish that had resulted in a contract with the leader of the Seven Mysteries. Because she was capable of pulling the apparition out of his boundary, she gave him reigns over the school.
And now she was entangled with the world of supernaturals. She was like a walking target— bait of sorts, being able to see supernaturals and also capable of going into boundaries and the far shore. Getting entangled with other human beings, getting their rumors mixed and messed up, attracting more supernaturals that tore from the spatial cracks of the two shores.
The culprit of it all, was a master puppeteer. He, who controlled it all. Although he may have not started it, he had the biggest role. The strings, the marionettes and his dolls in which he pushed around for pure joy and amusement. Because of him, he had created much work for them all to do.
The days had gotten much longer, the sun had risen much slower, and their patrols had been much more gruesome than usual. Nora was beginning to get headaches. At five in the morning, she sat on the living room couch with a needle and thread in her hand, Teru's black koi fish yukata sprawled out on her lap.
They should have been home one or two hours ago, but because of an apparition all the way across town that had given the elders some trouble, the two of them were forced to intervene.
As if on cue, listening into her thoughts, Minamoto Teru himself had come down the stairs, brushing his teeth as he realized that he was not alone downstairs as he came down to place his dirty clothes in the laundromat for Kou to do the laundry later, considering that he was incapable of doing it himself, and the witch was much too lazy.
There had been a time, Teru had measured the detergent wrong as it overloaded and combusted their washing machine that had been steaming smoke. Quite frankly, the student council president may have been smart academic wise, but he was quite useless in anything that related to housework.
The yukata had gotten torn while they were occupied with doing the per usual exorcisms, and it was his favorite, so they couldn't just buy a new one for him. He claimed it to be his 'good luck yukata'. So, with much pleading to the witch, she, being the only one who stitched clothes and re-attached buttons for everyone, he had bribed her to stitch the fabric back for him.
In which she found it to be a pain in the arse, considering that it was a yukata, and there was an large tear in the sleeve. Although he was willing to give up one of his old yukata's so that she could use it's fabric to convert into thread with some magic.
Regardless, neither of the two would be able to sleep, having to wake up within the next hour anyway. Nora would rather spend it stitching something back together rather than try spending the next forty five minutes falling asleep, and just as she was about to slip into a nightmare-state, she would have to wake up.
Thankfully, Teru was good at brewing coffee at the very least, considering he had been the one to buy the coffee machine in the first place, after having to throw his parent's old one out. The blonde slid the coffee mug onto the table for the witch who had an aging line underneath her eye, along with a light purple-like-bruise eye bag beneath her scarlet orbs.
The two of them had been working to the very bone, which was rather exhausting if it didn't already sound like it. They had been getting requests from clan elders left and right, and it seemed like they weren't the only ones extremely busy as of late, considering Keiko and Daisuke were currently in Australia, dealing with a gate of supernaturals along with other international exorcists.
The last time they had visited was a little over a month ago.
Nora had grown into an expert at sowing, considering that Teru practically forced her to sow large cracks shut, the same cracks caused by supernaturals trying to force their way into the nearshore by forceful means, therefore leading into a tear in the space rift between the two realms.
Dawn was beginning to prevail over the evening, its velvet blanket began to curl itself into a cocoon being forced down by the breaking daylight as it peaked through the translucent ivory curtains. Neither of the two had uttered a single word, simply sitting there as Nora painstakingly pulled the needle and thread through without a machine.
Deciding to test how the weather was today, the boy finally got up from his seat on the couch, opening the door with a coffee mug in hand. The breaking iridescent rays shone against his eyes as he covered his face. A slight breeze entered the home as Nora stopped what she was doing for a mere moment to look up.
At the doorstep, there was an envelope. With curiosity, Teru picked it up. The name in big bold letters read a name that he hadn't heard of in a long time as he closed the door behind him slowly. "What is it, Teru?" The girl had finally spoke as he looked up from the envelope, handing it to her.
"I'm not sure. It's yours." He said as she took it from his hand, placing the yukata to the side.
The recipient of the letter .. was the Witch of the Void. It said so in big bold black letters on the front of it as Nora's eyebrow twitched. "Stupid elders. I have a name." She muttered beneath her breath, opening the envelope as Teru sat beside her. She took the folded paper out and began to read it's contents.
Unable to see the paper properly, Teru simply sat there, taking a sip of his second cup of coffee. It had been a long time since he had heard her original name. The Witch of the Void. The first time he had knowledge of this name, was when they had signed the contract years ago.
Apparently, she was some famous witch known by many older exorcists. A dangerous one at that. But he had never seen anything that could describe her as .. a void.
Nora's eyes squinted as she re-read the letter over and over again, tossing it onto the table with an ominous hiss. "The old geezers want me to do an ablution and purification ritual." The witch said simply as he picked up the letter himself. Mutters and strings of colorful profanities left her cherry lips with detestment.
"Loathsome, bastards are going to die soon, why not sooner?" Nora spat bitterly as she slammed her coffee mug down onto the table. "I'll tell Mom and Dad so they can oversee it." Teru pulled out his phone from his back pocket. "Six years and I've been saving their asses for how long now?! They still don't trust me?" Nora had accidentally let a profanity slip out louder than intended.
An ablution was a ritual held for those who had committed sins. It was use to cleanse and purify the person. It was also used as a lie detector in some sort of ways. The Elders still believed that she had at least killed one person in the last seventeen years she had been living in her seventh life.
Theoretically speaking if the ablution ended up reacting to her, it meant that she had done something wrong, and she would have to repent for it. A purification ritual was to cleanse her soul. It was a punishment for sinners, in the retrospect that she had done something foul. Of course Nora was innocent, but she despised doing ablutions and or rituals. Above all, she hated getting her fur bathed in salt.
It meant that she would be surrounded by Clan Elders who would intentionally make the process troublesome for her. She would have to bathe in purified water with salt, and prayers. The Elders would do whatever they could to make her snap and commit a sin within the sacred shrine of kami so that they had a reason to dispose of her.
Although they were testing her thinning patience to its brink. "I'm not doing it." Nora said simply.
Teru turned his head and blinked. "Nora you have to." He turned to face her as she bore holes into the olive green walls of the home. "I don't. This contract is concrete proof that I haven't done anything wrong. I already do prayers after exorcisms to get rid of any tainted aura from the supernaturals and I bathe in purified water once a month."
"The Elders are abusing their power. Keep in mind that this contract says that I will only risk my life when protecting the Minamoto's. That's it. I've been graceful and merciful preventing any of those old geezers from dying because their foolishness during exorcism rounds. If I wanted, they could have been dead a long time ago." Nora's voice became cold and low.
"So put your phone down. Keiko doesn't need to know about this if I'm not doing it." That was her final and last say. She would accept no other ultimatum. Even if Teru bore holes into the side of her head. "Nora." He called out.
She stood up. "I'm not doing it. They will brand me, they will burn me, they will do whatever they can so that I can kill another life and violate the contract, giving a reason to kill me!" She had put up with much of the discrimination against her as a witch for some time now.
Okay, her mother may have killed some of their relatives in the past, her mother may have been evil, she may have killed a few people, but Nora was at her point of destruction and ruin.
Nora may obey Teru's wishes, whatever he wanted her to do. Exorcise a supernatural, be bait for it, cross the farshore, get rid of a Wonder, take care of his siblings, she would do it. But the contract also stated that she had her own rights and freedom as well as demands that they had to oblige. It was an equivalent exchange.
"Okay." Teru said simply. "I alread--" She stopped mid-way through her next statement as she stared at him. He had his hands sitting on the top of his knees as he sat with one leg over the other, staring at her with a smile. "Did you just say okay?" Nora inquired.
He let out a sigh, standing up as the alarm on his phone went off. "I said okay. You won't have to do it. I'll talk to the elders myself." He placed a hand on her head as a smile began to grace her lips brightly. "Do you mean it?" She asked, just to be sure as he nodded her head.
"I do. So you don't have to worry." He pat her head as she smiled thankfully at him. Although he was unable to mask his surprise with the usual poker-face as he felt himself tumbling backward due to the added weight on his body as the girl wrapped her arms around him. It was a first as he blinked and pat her back stiffly.
Nora hated hugs. But she made an exception this one time. After all, it was equivalent exchange.