╭───────────────*·˚➳
⛥┊オカルトクラブ ˎˊ˗
┊₍✞︎₎ ..⃗. ꒰ ⁰⁹· get this ꒱ ⛥ೄ ･ﾟˊˎ
╰─•*⁀➷
✞︎ the six of them were all silent walking to the cafeteria. no one spoke a word as ike led the way.
"ike?" y/n called first. "are you angry..?"
"yes." ike immediately answered, not even with a second thought. although the rise in his tone made y/n flinch.
"but not at you, so you don't worry," he added.
"ike..."
"maybe a can of coke will calm him down." shu said before giving y/n a head pat. "don't worry, sweet cheeks. ike was only mad for you because he knows you couldn't be mad at them yourself."
"i want to be sweet cheeks too." mysta also said, but shu just ignored him.
"because that was below to the belt. they've crossed the line." ike said. "if y/n is too kind to get angry, i understand." ike added and stopped walking.
"it's not like i'm not angry too... it's just i couldn't do anything because..." y/n hesitated to continue. "anyways, i'm used to it."
"you can't just be used to it, be frozen in place and mind blocked every time they do that to you, y/n!" ike exclaimed, shocking everyone. "y/n, we're not gonna be here forever!"
the lady's eyes widened at the realization. she immediately zipped her mouth as she looked at her feet in... feelings she couldn't describe. feelings she couldn't understand.
"ike you didn't have to say that..." luca mumbled softly so y/n wouldn't hear.
"no. i have to."
"you could've approached her differently." vox murmured.
"y/n, you left your bento in your room. let's go get it?" mysta asked and slowly took y/n's wrist. "we'll be back guys!"
the two walked back to the lady's classroom, leaving 4 of them just staring at ike.
"ike. what was that?" vox immediately asked.
"yeah, ike. that was a jerk move." luca said.
"although it is true that y/n needs to stick up for herself because we won't always be here to do that for her, you could've just said it gently and nicely." shu rationally said.
"we all know how sensitive and fragile y/n is. you know hurting her is the last thing we'd like to do." vox said again.
"i..." ike mumbled. "fuck. sorry. i was so mad."
"i-i just can't believe my eyes earlier! that was a very serious case of bullying, guys! protecting y/n is what we five vowed to do!" ike said and groaned loudly. "is there any way we could stop it, at least? like what's wrong with them?! isn't this too much?!"
"when i saw everyone laughing at her, i admit, i got goosebumps." luca said while caressing his arms. "i was so shocked that i couldn't move. i never thought i would see something that worse in my whole life."
"and that's how y/n felt too, ike. no matter how used she said she was." shu added.
"we're back!" mysta said and glanced at shu.
shu nodded. mysta was relieved and nodded back.
"how was it in y/n's room?" vox asked.
"they were quiet. i think they were still surprised." mysta replied.
"y/n. are you alright?" luca asked.
"huh? oum, i'm alright. don't worry." y/n said with a smile and a soft tone. it was already enough to make everyone worried, at least.
the words spread fast. they thought when the cafeteria was silenced upon their entrance.
they all went to get food, leaving y/n alone on the table they used to seat at since day one.
although she was waiting for the guys... it actually felt lonely. again.
ike was right. i... i can't depend on them too much. i have to stand up on my own. she thought as her fist balled under the table.
y/n lifted her hands, ready to slap her own cheeks again when someone held her wrists.
"hi."
y/n blinked. "hello, kaicho."
"were you about to slap yourself?" he asked.
"yes..?" y/n replied and subconsciously glanced around, only to see people staring, curious about you being with the school council president...
"you should go, kaicho."
"did something happen?" he again asked. "ah. was it about what happened in your room today?"
looking at shoto while throwing y/n's head back is making her neck ache. and it's a weird position too.
"yes... ike told me they won't be here forever to stand up for me. what happened in the room was below the belt, they said. i should've stood up for myself." y/n explained.
"i'll be the one with you forever, then."
"w-what?"
"it's true that you have to stand up for yourself." shoto said. "i'm sorry, leto. i should've been there when they were doing something to you, but i chose to be blind and focus on getting the student council chair."
"it's fine, you don't have to say sorry." y/n softly said. "i'm not your business to begin with, so you don't have to get caught up in it."
"but still—!"
"if you did, you'll mess up the image you've earned for years just to reach the student council. it would've been harder for me to pursue the president to vouch for the occult club if it's not you..." y/n added.
shoto slowly let go of the lady's wrists.
"and besides... i'm used to it." y/n mumbled.
"i can help." shoto said. "self-defense, martial arts, you name it. sooner or later we can both kick some asses! or maybe you could slay demons with me."
y/n flinched a little bit. "u-uhm, no thank you." knowing that vox is an actual demon, hearing shoto saying that is now different.
shoto just smiled and gave y/n a head pat. "then i'll..."
"i'll take care of it, leto."
shoto then left y/n after he saw the five boys coming back. two student council members immediately went back to his side before they left the cafeteria.
"kaicho?"
"yeah. i'll have a meeting with the student council and the advisor at 4 pm. ask if the admins would like to come and hear my proposal out."
"yes, kaicho!"
"was that shoto? was he bothering you?" vox asked as they all take a seat.
a/n: their seats in the cafeteria would always be like this, unless i said so. yes, ike is sitting that far and luca is sitting that near.
y/n shook her head as no before glancing at vox with her eyes doing the talk. vox just cocked his head to the side, knowing that y/n wanted to say something, yet he couldn't understand her.
"just tell me, darling. what is it?" vox asked.
"do you know that shoto knows about you being...?" y/n asked and did a horn sign on her head.
"w-what?" vox mumbled in surprise.
y/n nodded. "he never told me to hide it from anyone... he's a..." y/n signed another pair of horns before slicing her neck with her thumb.
"he's a horn neck? what's a horn neck?" luca asked.
"idiot. she's saying shoto is horny—"
"cut it out." shu immediately cut mysta off.
"no way..." vox murmured as ike just stayed quiet. "but how?"
"shoto went to our house yesterday night. my mom has seen him a few times so they knew each other." y/n said. "he was... trying to kill me because he said i have your smell. and shoto was sure that you smell like a...." y/n did another horn sign on her head.
"it's because we've both killed before." vox whispered. "is he going to kill me, then?"
y/n shook her head. "i don't think so. if he tries to..."
"i'll kill him myself," y/n whispered.
the five boys' eyes perked up at y/n. but only ike's eyes glistened in amusement. the rest of them were nervous.
"let's eat!" luca chirped.
the six of them ate together in the canteen, ignoring the stares they've got for a very long time.
"let's meet together at the occult club room later." y/n said as they walk back to their classroom.
"y/n." ike called. "can i... have a word with you?"
"we'll see you later, y/n!" luca bid as they all walk away. vox also patted ike on the shoulder before they left him and y/n all alone in the hallway.
"y/n i..."
"it's alright." y/n immediately said. "you were right. it's true that i shouldn't be too dependent on you guys and that i should... stand up for myself on... my own."
ike sighed. "yes... but i'm sorry for saying it that way. it was a jerk move, i could've delivered it differently. i was just so angry when i saw you, it made me just want to—!"
"okay, okay! breathe, ike. calm down." y/n said while giggling.
seeing her back to her usual self has given ike the biggest relief.
"come here." ike said with his arms wide open.
y/n didn't waste a second and run into ike's arms. the two of them almost lost their balanced before they hugged each other tightly.
"i promise to think more before i talk. and not to get my emotions ahead of me."
"thank you, ike. for doing things for me." y/n said while looking up.
"i don't want you to always remember what i told you earlier, but i don't want you to forget it either. we'll still always be here for you. okay?"
"okay..."
"can't we go now and hug them too..?"
"shut up luca."
"they're so cute and huggable right now so i don't blame you, luca."
"the only thing stopping me from hugging them two is that luca is still here."
· · ┈──────┈⛥┈──────┈ · ·
✞︎ "vox."
vox's face immediately crumpled as he glanced back at who the fuck just called him by his first name.
"what do you want, nanato?" vox asked. it was just kumi.
"i'm... i'm sorry—"
"i'm sorry to cut you short, but we have a club activity that will start shortly." vox cut her off and wore his bag. "if you're going to apologize for what happened, i don't want to hear it."
"besides, i'm not the one you should apologize to," he added.
"he's gay." mysta immediately said, earning a smack from vox.
mysta, vox, and shu left the room and went to the other room where ike and luca are all ready to go.
they all nodded at each other before going to the occult club together.
"y/n!" they all called, startling the lady.
"hey everyone." y/n greeted and went down from sitting on the window sill. it swiped everyone's worry away.
"you're just in time— and sorry about that. you don't have to be so angry," she said to the five while sweating.
"we do the activity outside, right? how do we leave?" ike asked.
y/n just used her lips to point at the door, making everyone look behind.
"yo." shoto greeted and entered the club room.
"here's the permission slip." shoto said and softly smacked the piece of paper on y/n's head. "with this, you can go home right after the club activity outside the school. if you need another one next time, don't hesitate to tell me, okay?"
"thank you, kaicho! you're the best!" y/n chirped with a wide smile. it immediately made shoto blush, as they all felt an arrow hitting their hearts.
"so shoto's with us?" mysta asked.
"i'm vouching for the occult club. got a problem with that?"
while shoto was looking at the boys, y/n brought her charm in between her lips before putting her index finger in from of her mouth, telling them to keep quiet about the real magic.
"of course not. but we should make haste, president." vox said.
y/n nodded. "thank you, kaicho. we'll be back tomorrow." she said and left the room first.
she also handed shu a book secretly before they left the student council president alone.
the six of them left the front gate with the permission slip presented to the guard.
with their bags and ready to go home, they were surely not heading to the train station, are they?
they must admit, they feel a bit anxious. y/n has never briefed them about the procedures yet, and they don't even know how to use their own charms.
will they start the activity now?
"i will answer any questions starting now." y/n said.
luca raised his hand up, making y/n giggle.
"yes, luca?"
"where are we going?" luca asked.
"good question." y/n replied. "we're checking the house mr. hiroto was talking about. we'll then head to the temple for a short prayer and when the sun sets, we'll go back to the house."
luca nodded and didn't forget to thank y/n for answering his question.
"me." ike said with his hand also raised, although it wasn't as high as luca's earlier. "i'm a bit anxious. we never used our charms, so will we do a little practice?"
y/n shook her head. "i understand how nervous you guys are, but you'll only use the charms once we start the ritual. your practice is also your first attempt."
"oh..." ike mumbled.
"my turn." mysta said. "will you brief us on what we'll do once we start the ritual?"
"yes. that, i will. at the house." y/n answered. "once we get there, i'll tell all procedures."
it didn't take them long until they reached the house. and in just one look, the house may look like a normal one just like the ones in the neighborhood, but this one certainly gives out bad vibes. that vibes.
y/n opened the gates and went in, to be followed by vox, shu, ike, luca, and mysta.
"what do we say again to avoid getting cursed by elves or something?" mysta mumbled while trembling in each step. "oh god where is my mum when i needed her the most?!"
"excuse me? pardon me?" y/n said. "for the asian belief about unseen spirits living below the earth?"
"yeah— how the f*** did you know that?"
"i don't know. why is your curse word censored?"
"mysta." vox immediately said, which has defeated mysta instantly.
the six of them went inside the house. it may be abandoned and not cleaned for a while now, but it's still decent, at least.
"phew. i thought it'll be like your modern haunted mansion." ike heaved in relief.
"oh look, there are a few people in here." luca said, peeking at the kitchen. "i thought this place was abandoned?"
"yes. by mr. nuguya who left the house unattended. he didn't even sell it after he found his new family..." y/n answered.
"okay. so there's a spirit lingering in this house who plays the piano every night from 8 pm." vox recalled as they all look around, ignoring the other spirits. "basically, we need to send them home."
"unless they want something else. we have to make it happen first." y/n said.
"why are these spirits not in the other world though?" mysta asked, talking about the other spirits lingering in the house.
"because they don't want to leave earth yet. we can help them, but it would be too hard for us since we can only use the ritual and the charms once a day." y/n said. "and the balance of spirits and humans residing on earth must remain 50/50. sending them all would break that balance."
"shu. you're awfully quiet. is there something wrong?" y/n then asked shu.
shu shook his head. "i just have the feeling that we need to send them out before we meet mrs. nuguya. i don't think they're related to them."
y/n nodded. "vox. will you scare them off for me?"
"sure—"
"wait. didn't you just say we can only use the charms once a day? what if we need vox's charm?" ike said.
"i don't think we'd need to kill a spirit tonight. i don't sense a bad spirit at all." luca said, still busy looking around. mysta also agreed.
"don't worry, ike. if things come to worst, you have me for emergency measures." y/n said.
"and besides! vox isn't using his charm, he's just going to show them off." y/n chirped with an upbeat tone to cheer ike up.
it's too early for everyone to be nervous, after all.
"y/n. your call."
"it won't change," y/n answered and held vox's shoulder.
the time was once again stopped by y/n's white charm. vox felt that familiar pang and saw that blinding light again.
y/n touched the other guys to make them move, making them feel the same thing vox went through during the process.
"very well." vox then said before he felt his charm glowing.
he doesn't know how he was doing it, but it felt natural when he used it. his body felt heavy at first, but focusing on a specific someone's breathing behind him made his heart very light.
"woah! a sword!" shu, luca, and mysta beamed when a katana suddenly appeared out of a black mist on vox's side.
"do you have a sword too, y/n?" ike asked.
vox was busy admiring his old katana while shu, luca, and mysta were busy, also admiring it with vox.
y/n shook her head. "no. i use a stiletto dagger." y/n answered. "maybe i was an ice maker in my past life for having an ice pick-like weapon."
seeing vox slowly unsheathing his katana immediately made all the spirits run away through the walls.
"thank you." y/n said before resuming back time.
that adjourning, y/n went up first.
ah. everyone paused when they saw the vessel mr. hiroto was talking about.
the piano.
y/n started briefing them on the case. she first started stating the possibilities of what's happening in this house and this piano.
one. mrs. nuguya, who knows piano, has been dead for years. she may be playing the piano, but why did she only start playing it a few months ago? is she suddenly missing her husband?
it could not be mrs. nuguya.
two. it isn't impossible that it's her using the piano either. maybe, her soul has been residing somewhere ever since she passed away.
she just found out that mr. nuguya has already left this house.
three. mrs. nuguya died pregnant. but a fetus doesn't have a spirit yet, which means it couldn't be their child.
it may be a spirit not related to mr. and mrs. nuguya at all.
lastly. the piano started getting louder day by day. it was trying to get someone to notice it and get the exorcists into the house.
the spirit needs something.
there was no sign of mrs. nuguya either.
"it must be mrs. nuguya. she probably just went back to the house a few months ago and found out that it was already abandoned. she played the piano to wash her sorrows away and played it louder every day to ask for help."
"guess number two was right. nice work, mysta." y/n said with a smile.
"wow, your detective job paid off somehow." ike said.
"you were right for once." vox added, making the fox frown.
"we can start doing the ritual the moment we see mrs. nuguya, or whoever was playing the piano if we were wrong..." y/n started. "shu and mysta, get ready for tonight."
the six of them left the house after investigating. they then walked to the nearby temple on the mountain to pray.
it didn't make them too tired, except for one fox who luca almost carried on the way.
they prayed at the temple, excusing themselves at the caretaker.
"we should eat dinner first." y/n said.
they all nodded. y/n is really grateful that everyone was being patient with her. but during the whole time they were all outside, she knew to herself...
she knew she was hesitating.
y/n was hesitating to continue any further. she was still thinking about whether she should really do this with her new club members.
she'll be doing the activity, not with her senpais but with her new... colleagues.
y/n really wanted to, she really does!
but something was holding her down. she doesn't know what, but there is something.
"big sister, big sister."
y/n glanced at the side, only to see a kid wearing the traditional red hakama trousers that shrine maidens wear.
"y-yes?"
shu stood behind y/n for comfort and waved at the kid to show her that he means no harm.
"big sister. that man is a big fat liar. don't believe him!" the kid pointed at the temple's caretaker who was busy talking with vox.
"what do you mean?" shu asked, but the kid had already disappeared.
"vox." y/n called.
vox immediately turned to y/n and ran back to her, as well as ike, luca, and mysta.
"thank you so much for letting us pray for free." y/n respectfully said to the caretaker and bowed. the rest followed.
the caretaker chuckled. "it's fine! people usually offer mone—"
"i've been praying here with my seniors during my first year. i'm in my third year now. so it's really nice for some things to never change." y/n cut the man off.
the caretaker is new. i've seen him before, but he wasn't the main caretaker. where is uncle ben? y/n thought.
"o-oh haha, is that so..."
"yes. we'll take our leave now."
"take care, miss!" the caretaker said.
y/n glanced at the skies. the sun was long gone, and the night was starting to get colder.
all right. you can't hesitate now, y/n. she thought while staring at the stars.
"big sister!"
that made them all glance at the kid.
"come back and pray again, okay?"
that spirit has a request.
╭─•*⁀➷
┊⛥ ..⃗. ꒰ ⁰⁹· end ꒱ ･ﾟˊˎ
╰───────────────*·˚➳
a/n: i truly apologize if this chapter is like a messy soup in a bowl! it contains a lot of explanations so you guys won't be confused as much as i am, and at the same time i wanted to show how y/n was feeling about it, and also i wanted to open another case for the plot— i'm so sorry if it's really messy! i'm a mess right now due to a lot of things happening, but i wanted to post an update! i'll do better in the next chapter! thank you so much for understanding!