〄Hᴀʟғ-Bʟᴏᴏᴅs' Lᴇɢᴀᴄʏ〄 [Ch. 4 Up!]

[scmarshtacky]

For the most part. When I wrote this chapter it was early November, and the date matched up with the time in the story, so that's why I picked it as Ayako's birthday. Other dates I make up depending on what time it is within the story.

[scmarshtacky]

Chapter 36 – Enter Okita

It was already eleven by the time they arrived at Ayako’s house for the sleep over. It was more modest and small than Mika had anticipated after seeing their vacation house. It might have been slightly larger than the surrounding houses, but it still wasn’t anything grand and spectacular.

By the time they got situated inside, all three of them were way too tired to do much. Kana cleaned out Ayako’s shallow wound and bandaged it while Mika simply grabbed a band aid to put over the small scratch on her arm.

“That was certainly the most interesting birthday party I’ve ever had,” Ayako said as she lay down on her bed.

“It would be nice to not make a habit out of it, but I believe it’s a bit too late for that,” Kana stated. She finished laying out her sleeping bag on the floor at the foot of the bed and crawled inside.

“Why is it always us?” Mika asked.

“Maybe it’s because we spend so much of our time hanging around a demon,” Ayako answered the rhetorical question.

“It could be that we are simply able to notice it more because we have been introduced to it,” Kana said.

“That’s a good point,” Mika agreed, nodding. “If you hadn’t met Kaito, Ayako, you probably would’ve just thought Kondo-san’s eyes were a trick of the light and gone about your day.”

“Maybe...”

“In any case it doesn’t matter now,” Kana said. “Let’s just try to get some sleep.”

Ayako turned out the light in her bedroom, and almost as soon as their heads had hit the pillow, the girls were asleep.

The next morning came much too soon, and the group spent the day together sitting around Ayako’s house watching movies, playing board games, and messing around on the Internet. The morning passed fairly quickly and before they had realized it, it three in the afternoon.

Kana and Mika gave their final farewells to Ayako and her family and then headed home to prepare for school on Monday, and in a blink of an eye, the rest of Saturday and Sunday passed.

“No...” Ayako groaned to her friends Monday morning. “It was just Friday; the weekend can’t be over yet!”

“And yet it is,” Kaito said simply.

“You are not helpful at all!” Ayako shot back at him.

“It does no good to complain about it,” Kana said. “Not matter how much you groan, it won’t change.”

“I know but...!”

Mika couldn’t help but smile at her friends, grateful that Ayako and Kana had chosen to befriend her, and Kaito as well. As she turned to glance at him, she noticed he was looking around with a look of concern across his face. “Is something the matter?”

“No...” he spoke slowly. “It must’ve just been my imagination. There’s no way...” he trailed off with a slight shake of his head.

Mika waited a moment for him to go on, but when it was clear he wasn’t going to, she turned back to her friends. Once at the school, they went straight to their classroom as they were already much later than they usually were due to Ayako’s slower pace. In just a minute, the bell rang and the teacher came in.

“Good morning class,” the sensei(teacher) greeted. The students responded with a ‘good morning’ before the teacher continued. “We have another transfer student joining us today. Please treat him well.”

From Mika’s spot behind Kaito she saw his whole body tense up. What’s bothering him today? She turned her attention back to the classroom door where the transfer student was entering. Unlike a normal Japanese student, he had natural blond hair that fell slightly past his bright green eyes.

The new student ran his eyes over the group for a moment before his eyes locked on Mika. No wait, she thought, he’s not looking at me. He’s looking at Kaito!

As if on cue, Kaito stood up with a slight dumbfounded look covering his face as his eyes met the transfer student’s. The new student’s eyes immediately lit up, and a bright smile broke out on his face. “Onii-chan(Brother)!” he shouted as he rushed from the front of the class toward Kaito’s desk. “This is where you’ve –”

“What the hell are you doing here Okita?” Kaito growled under his breath.

“I’m obviously here to find you of course!” he said with no regard for the environment in which he was speaking. All of the students and the teacher had turned their attention to the two unsure of what to make of the situation. “I need to tell –”

“Not now,” Kaito stopped Okita, “and not here.”

Okita cocked his head in confusion giving him the expression of a puppy. “But why not?”

Kaito ignored him and turned his attention to the teacher who was staring at the two curiously. “My apologies,” he said giving the teacher a small bow. “He’s not very familiar with the customs of the Japanese.” To Okita he added more quietly, “Now bow your head and introduce yourself properly.”

Okita clearly didn’t understand Kaito’s reasoning behind this, but nonetheless, he copied the dip of the head that Kaito had given the teacher and said, “Hi! My name is Okita, and Kaito is my brother!” He smiled happily as the rest of the group gaped at him.

Kaito slapped the palm of his hand against his forehead and mentally cursed Okita’s naiveté.

The teacher was the first to get grip on himself. “W-well then Takahiro-san, if you would please take a seat behind Hanashi-san.” The teacher indicated the seat behind Ayako.

“Is he talking to me?” Okita asked Kaito quietly.

“Yes you goof,” he hissed giving Okita a small shove in the general direction. “That’s your new last name.”

Okita moved off toward the seat rather reluctantly and Kaito fell back down into his chair. Whatever Okita’s reason for being here was, it couldn’t be good. Kaito could feel Mika trying to get his attention behind him, but he didn’t want to have to explain everything right now.

The classes passed by slowly and every time that a bell rang and the teacher left, a handful of the students would swarm Okita’s desk asking various questions. Kaito could only give Okita the mental message to not say anything carelessly. As the next teacher would come in, the students would go slowly back to their seats, and class would resume. At long last the lunch bell rang. Kaito all but leapt from his seat, walked swiftly over to Okita, and hauled him off toward the roof.

“Owwy, Onii-chan(brother). You’re hurting my hand,” he whined as Kaito drug him up the stairs.

Kaito never released, nor did he even turn around to glance at his brother until they were safely away from all of the people on top of the roof. “So what is your reason for being here?” Kaito asked turning to face Okita.

“What? I can’t just come see my brother in the human world?” Okita asked.

“Okita, I haven’t seen you in a century. We’re not supposed to be seen together at all. Why are you here?” he emphasized. “What’s so urgent that I must be informed immediately, and by you no less?”

“Well, there’s been a bit of a... dispute.”

“Oh wonderful,” Kaito sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

“Nothing’s exactly happened yet, but I definitely thought you of all people should know.”

“And the usual alliances are forming?”

“Yep,” Okita agreed with a nod.

“And the Earth Clan –”

“Remains unaffiliated and uninvolved,” Okita finished for him.

“Okay you three, you can come out now,” Kaito turned toward the door. “If you think you can hide from me, you’re sadly mistaken.”

“I told you, you were too loud!” Ayako hissed at Mika as they stepped through the doorway.

“I’m sorry! I can't help it. I just naturally breathe loudly,” she defended herself.

“Well it is not like we could have stood like that for very much longer anyway,” Kana interjected.

“How much did you overhear exactly?” Kaito questioned them.

“Um... something about Earth is unaffiliated in a dispute...?” Ayako said uncertainly.

Okita burst out laughing. “Yeah! The Earth certainly isn’t involved at all, but that’s not exactly what I –”

“Okita, you don’t have to tell them more than they need to know,” Kaito muttered to his brother. “Then all they’ll do is beg for more information.”

“So you two are brothers right? So Okita is...” Mika cocked her head as if that might help her figure out how this boy was a demon. He certainly didn’t act like Kaito at all. He seemed more like a grade school kid than anything else maturity wise.

“Yeah he is,” Kaito replied. “Although he doesn’t look like much at all.”

“Onii-chan that’s mean!” Okita protested. “So are these three humans your friends?” he asked, glancing them over thoughtfully.

“I suppose you could say –”

“And they know about us, I mean that we’re not human?”

“Unfortunately –”

“It’s nice to meet you Onii-chan’s friends!” Okita grabbed for Ayako’s hand and shook it wildly up and down. “My name, well you already know my name don’t you? Anyway, I’m the second prince of the Wind Clan and Kaito’s twin brother!” he smiled gleefully and then released Ayako’s hand.

“Wait – do what now?” Ayako asked rubbing her shoulder from the overly excited handshake, and trying to get everything he had said into her head. “You’re his twin?”

“Yep!” Okita replied tossing his arm around Kaito’s shoulders. “Can’t you tell?”

Now that she looked at them side by side, she could see the resemblance. Even though their hair and eye color was completely different, their stature was identical. “You never said you had a twin!” Ayako said turning an accusing eye on Kaito.

He shrugged off Okita’s arm and replied simply, “It was never relevant, and you never asked. And Okita, you really need to learn to hold your tongue. You said way too much.”

“But isn’t that how you introduce yourself in the Human World?” he asked thoughtfully putting a finger to his chin and cocking his head ever so slightly.

“No, it isn’t!” Kaito said turning on him. “Just your name is fine; you absolutely do not go around announcing yourself as a second prince of the Wind Clan. They’ll think you’re nuts! Then again, you never did go to your lessons did you?”

“Nope,” Okita replied a bit more proudly than he should have.

“So if you are from this ‘Wind Clan’,” Mika began, “does that mean you don’t control electricity like Kaito does?”

“Nope –”

“More importantly than that,” Ayako interrupted, “You’re a prince, like a legitimate prince that lives in a palace, and has butt loads of money, and all that you see on movies?”

“What’s a ‘movie’?” Okita questioned pronouncing the foreign word very carefully.

Ayako blinked several times not knowing how to answer the question. She remembered that Kaito had said his world didn’t have any electronics like they had here, but she didn’t even consider that this guy didn’t know anything about it.

“Then Kaito, does that mean... you also are a prince?” Kana asked.

“Well yeah,” Kaito rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and turned away from their gaping faces.

“W-Why didn’t you ever say anything?” Ayako asked managing to recover herself first.

“Because I knew that you’d immediately flip out like you’re doing right now. In any case, Okita and I do not live in the same area. If you haven’t already figured it out, Okita lives in the Wind Clan because that’s the element that he controls. I obviously do not share that ability.”

“Then where do you live?” Ayako demanded.

“The Lightning Clan.”

“Makes sense,” Ayako said nodding her head in a scholarly manner.

“How many of these clans are there?” Kana asked. “Wind, Lightning, Earth...” she said listing the ones that she had heard them speak of so far.

“And Fire and Water,” Okita filled in. “They all have a separate element that they control.”

“Wait, wait, back up,” Ayako held out her hands in a stopping motion. “That’s weird isn’t it? You said you two were twins, so why do you control two different things and why do you live in two different areas?”

“Ah...well that’s... because...” Okita hesitated and looked to Kaito as if asking permission to speak.

“That is absolutely none of your business,” Kaito said more harshly than he had intended. “That’s enough Okita. They do not need to know any more. They already know too much. Keep your mouth shut, and come on.” With that, Kaito spun around and headed for the door which he walked through without a second glance back at them.

They all stood frozen in the tense silence for a long moment. “Geez, what’s his problem?” Ayako finally muttered darkly. “I just asked a reasonable question!”

“I’m sorry Kaito’s friends,” Okita spoke up more seriously than any of them believed possible. “It’s a bit of a... sensitive subject, for the both of us. Kaito especially hates it because his father is the King of the Lightning Clan and, being next in line, and he really hates for our mother to even be brought up.”

“We understand,” Kana replied with a small nod.

“And my name is Ayako, so call me that and not ‘Kaito’s friend’. That’s Mika over there, and Kana’s the one with the glasses, okay?”

“Okay!” Okita smiled gaining back some of his former vigor. “I’ll remember that!” Then he too turned and chased after Kaito.
As soon as the metal door had shut behind him, the lunch bell rang.

“Aww man!” Ayako protested. “We didn’t get to eat anything, and I’m hungry.”

“You should have thought of that before you began such a long winded conversation,” Kana said as she headed back down the stairs as well.

“If we hurry we’ll be able to eat a little in the classroom,” Mika said. “Come on Ayako!”

Ayako chased her friends quickly down the stairs and back to the classroom where they had just enough time to scarf down a bit of their lunch before class resumed once more.

The rest of the day drug on for what seemed like endless hours until the dismissal bell finally rang. As soon as it had, just like when all the previous bells had rung, several of the students came over immediately to talk to Okita.

All of their voices came at him at once asking various questions. ‘Where are you from?’ ‘Your hair and eyes are so pretty, is it natural?’ ‘How long have you been in Japan?’ ‘Where did you stay before you came here?’ ‘Do you participate in any sports?’

Kaito was the one that finally broke through the mob of people. “Sorry everyone, but I’ve got to show my brother the way home. You can talk to him tomorrow. Come on,” he hissed at Okita who followed him somewhat reluctantly.

“They were all so nice, Onii-chan! Why won’t you let them talk to me?”

“Because you’re not conscious of what you’re saying at all,” Kaito answered him without looking back.

“Yes I am!”

“And that’s why you introduced yourself to Ayako as a prince of the wind clan?” Kaito asked raising an eyebrow.

“But I am! It’s the truth!"

“And it’s why you shouldn’t talk to anyone else until you get a grasp of this world and its people.”

“What about those friends of yours, Ayako, Kana, and Mika? You’ve told them about us right?”

“It was an unfortunate and unavoidable situation,” Kaito answered.

“But you’re happy,” Okita said with a big smile. “You’re really happy that you have friends here that treat you normally and don’t worship the ground you walk on, and that’s why you never told them that you were the prince of the Lightning Clan! I know that’s it!”

“Lower your voice,” was all Kaito said. “They’re still following behind us and trying to listen to our conversation.”

Okita turned to confirm what Kaito already knew and waved to the trio. “Hello again!” he smiled. “It would be a lot easier to hear us if you were up here!”

“Don’t encourage them!” Kaito muttered to Okita under his breath.

The three glanced at each other and ran the extra several meters to catch up to them.

“You’re not going to follow us all of the way are you?” Kaito asked raising an eyebrow.

“Of course we are!” Ayako answered. “You stormed away angrily earlier and I didn’t get to ask all that I wanted to, so we’ll have a conversation over dinner!”

Kaito sighed, and knowing that he wouldn’t be able to persuade them to do anything differently, he turned around and kept walking with the group of four chatting excitedly behind him.


A/N~ Okita may be the most fun character to write just because he's so innocent and happy about everything even though he is quite naive. Now the brothers are finally together and chaos is brewing in their home. I used Onii-chan repeatedly as I wrote this chapter because I feel like it's more childish almost and I think it fits his character better. If you don't know Japanese at all, I'm sorry for throwing this at you so many times. I know this chapter was a little shorter, but I hope you enjoyed it. ^^

<==Chapter 35

Chapter 37==>

[Muse.]

After a week of drowning in my homework, this really helped. <3

Okita is cute. ^^ I love the new problems that will arise because of how he spouts every single thing, unlike Kaito. There is definitely going to be lots of information given out now! xD

[melody.]

BLARGH<3

*noms*
I loved this chapter!


c:

[|~quitting~|]

I loved it!!! It's going to be interesting with Okita-kun around xD I've had a week of reading really good manga....this added to it :]

[scmarshtacky]

I'm glad everyone enjoyed it.

[scmarshtacky]

bump with a fun picture

[DoctorWhoCrazy]

we need a full picture of the gang! (mika, ayako and kana!)

[scmarshtacky]

I know. I've tried more than once, but I just can't find good pictures that I like to create it. I have a file that I've done, but I don't like it, so I haven't posted it. I just need the right picture, and that's hard. Mika is the hardest to find...

[DoctorWhoCrazy]

Why don't you post that file? Then we will have an idea!
But, sometimes, its just not right. Ah, well. Looking forward to the next chapter!
*yawns* Hint... mika... kaito... romance... some point... please...