The sky was grey and overcast as the taxi pulled up the twenty foot driveway. Kamiya Kaoru was the first to step out, looking at the heavy clouds as the driver started pulling luggage from the trunk. Yahiko, her little brother, slipped out last, his body language matching her demeanor.
"This doesn't feel right," the ten year old boy muttered solemnly.
Kaoru subconsciously wrapped an arm around her brother's shoulders. "Of course it doesn't. Dad should be here for this."
Yahiko shrugged away from the affection, his edges still painfully rough since the funeral. Kaoru couldn't blame him, the anticipation and joy of the move had been horribly ruined with their father's unexpected death. Kaoru looked to their new home for the first time, at the dull blue of the siding and the browned grass of their tiny lawn.
A duffle bag and a suitcase in hand, the blue eyed girl helped the taxi driver carry luggage inside. Yahiko had already disappeared, a trick he was getting very good at in the past three weeks. The house was small, even by Japanese standards, and with no furniture it gave the place an empty, ghostly impression. Even Kaoru was able to smile at the irony.
"That's the last of it," the driver said. Kaoru pulled out of her daze and pulled out her wallet.
"Here," she said softly. As the driver was leaving, she took a chance. "Hey!" she called. "Your sister wants you to know that you're doing the right thing."
The driver stopped cold, openly staring at her. "... What?"
"Anyway, thank you very much!" Kaoru added quickly. She closed the door and loudly clicked the lock, imprisoning herself in her new "home." Leaning back against the door, she slid to the floor, staring at the shell of a house.
"Kaoru?" Yahiko softly padded in from somewhere and crouched down to her level. "What are we gonna do?"
The big sister smiled sadly. "I have no idea," she answered honestly. "But we'll figure it out together. Come here." She drew him in to a hug, and for once Yahiko did not shy away, instead rubbing his face into her collarbone, desperate for comfort. The girl rocked back and forth slightly, and it was their first memory of their new home.
Surprisingly quiet, considering what was to come.
It was two days of unpacking. The two bedrooms filled in nicely, and both Kaoru and Yahiko felt better once they had an environment that reminded them of their original home at the dojo. The kitchen and great room filled out less well, but they had what they needed, and one corner of the great room was lovingly dedicated to their father. The other rooms were left blank for the simple reason that they no longer had any thing to fill it with, the rest of their belongings haven been sold long ago to make the last of the ends meet.
School was a twenty minute walk from their new home, and Kaoru learned very quickly that the two of them would be walking together if either of them wanted any piece from them. The market was blessedly quiet, however, and Kaoru happily bought what she needed. On the third day, Sunday, she and Yahiko worked together to make an attempt at a celebratory dinner, a "welcome home feast," that their father had talked about since his announcement of the move. Neither of them could let go of the idea that, if they cooked for him, he might show up.
In spite of that, both were very surprised to hear a knock on their door as they were sitting down to eat.
Kaoru first turned to Yahiko. "Is it him?" she asked, half afraid of the answer.
The ten year old shook his head, his rust colored eyes more red than normal. "No, I don't feel anything."
Sad and relieved at the same time, Kaoru stood up and went to open the door.
She looked up, and up, and up - that was how tall he was, to see the boyish face of a man with a fishbone in his mouth. "... May I help you?"
"You're the new guys?" he asked in a course voice.
"Yes..." Kaoru drew out.
"I'm your new neighbor," he grinned, pushing past Kaoru and letting himself in. "Hey, I came just in time, you havin' dinner?"
Yahiko, who had been glaring from just inside the kitchen, spat out, "Not for useless rooster-heads that wait two days before introducing themselves!"
Kaoru could not cover her laugh quickly enough; Yahiko's description had been true. The tall man did have the wild main of a rooster, his read headband and dirty white blazer only enhancing the image.
"Try saying that to my face, kozou!" The tall man strode in further, entering the kitchen and then happily sitting down to eat. Kaoru hastily followed, wondering dimly how she was ending up feeding this unnamed guest.
"Name's Sanosuke," the man offered, even as he took a bite out of his rice bowl. "You?"
"Kamiya Kaoru," the older sister offered.
"A bird-head doesn't need to know my name!"
"Yahiko!"
"Kaoru! You just ruined it!"
"Brats are brats no matter what their names are."
"What?! Say that again, rooster-head!"
"Whatever you want, kozou!"
Kaoru burst out laughing, the first real laugh she'd had in ages; it felt like. Sanosuke and Yahiko soon joined in. It was an auspicious meeting, but for the Kamiya's one that was well timed.
Sanosuke, or Sano, as he preferred, quickly explained that his job had a lot of traveling. He'd only just gotten home that afternoon. His job? A traveling fighter. Kaoru didn't quite understand the specifics, but she sensed that she didn't want to try. Sano just as quickly ate through all their dinner and drank through all their beverages - complaining the whole time that there should have been beer. Yahiko tried to agree once, but the patented death glare from Kaoru quickly shut him up.
It seemed like no time had passed before Sano bid his goodnights and left them to their own devices.
Kaoru looked around her sparse kitchen, Yahiko cleaning up. "You know, this house doesn't seem so empty, suddenly."
Yahiko glanced at her covertly. "Uhn," he said softly.
The next day loomed large for the two Kamiyas, for several reasons. The first was that it was the first day at the new school, both middle and high school. The second was the excruciating twenty minute walk.
Kaoru did some last minute straightening of her uniform. It was her last school's uniform; she did not have the time yet to buy the new one. Yahiko only needed a different blazer, so he substituted by simply not wearing it, instead opting for a burgundy colored sweater.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
Yahiko looked paler than he had five minutes ago. "Yeah..."
They walked out of the house and down the road. Within five minutes they arrived.
"Can you see me?"
"You horrid son! How could you do this to me?"
"Bastard! You said you'd be with me forever!"
"Mommy! Mommy! I'm right here! Why can't you see me?"
Their energies were so negative. More often than not, what kept them here was not positive. They swirled around people, but it wasn't long before they massed around Kaoru and Yahiko. For Kaoru, it was comparatively alright. Aside from the occasional absent comment to them that would turn heads of other people, she could only see and hear them. While that in itself was often disconcerting, it was something she could deal with.
Yahiko, however, could not see or hear them. But he could feel them. Their negative energies sank into him, draining him and literally sickening him. At the old school he would occasionally have retching or fainting spells. Many just assumed he was sickly. It frustrated the boy, even more so because he couldn't say anything - no one understood how real ghosts were.
It was easier when they walked together; their combined energy somehow fended off the worst of the energies. Today, Yahiko discreetly took Kaoru's hand, taking comfort in her presence. The older sister let him, knowing that he would not have this layer of defense at the middle school.
Blessedly, the pressure of the ghosts let up and Yahiko coolly pulled away, not wanting to loose whatever image he thought he had. Kaoru smiled but did not comment as they separated to go to their adjoining schools.
For Kaoru, it was her last term. It was awkward to only have one semester at a school before graduating, but it was necessary. She was introduced to her class, the students looked at her with the expected mix of curiosity, annoyance, and pity; she took her seat and ignored all of them.
She had wanted to go to college, but their present circumstances had quickly squashed those hopes. They had sold everything, even their beloved dojo, to make enough ends meet for the move and for her to finish high school. Immediately after that, Kaoru would get a job as something to pay for Yahiko's schooling, and only then would she entertain the idea of college.
The classes were predictable, there being virtually no change from her old school and here. There were no ghosts that she saw, and that made life much, much simpler. She ate lunch on the roof, enjoying looking down at the students below. Turning, she watched the middle school students in gym class in the other field. Kaoru tried to spot Yahiko, but to no avail.
After school, Kaoru waited patiently outside for her little brother at the gate; and the boy finally dragged himself out of the building.
"You look pale," she commented, "is one in there?"
"Yeah," he answered. His head was hung low. "I think whoever it was might have killed themselves. There's so much sadness and bitterness. I think it followed me around the entire damn building."
"Is it here now?" she asked.
"No, I think it's only in the building. When I was outside I was fine."
Kaoru looked to the building, hoping to see the specter that bothered her brother so; but she could see nothing. Shrugging, she said, "We'll work something out later. Right now we just have to go home."
"Don't remind me," he mourned.
It was just as excruciating that evening as it was that morning. When they arrived home, Yahiko nearly collapsed onto the floor, and Kaoru had a splitting headache.
"When I die," Yahiko muttered from the floor, "Remind me to never, ever, ever do something as stupid as become a ghost."
"When I die," Kaoru replied, "I'll make sure to make your life miserable."
"You already do, busu."
After a moment, they both laughed, and they felt better.
After supper and before homework, the two pulled out their shinai and moved outside. The air was crisp, chilled, but not so cold that a workout wouldn't warm them up; and that was just what they did. Their dojo may have been sold, but that didn't mean that their schooling had stopped.
"No, no, Yahiko!" Kaoru called as she happily sent him spilling into the earth. "The hilt, the hilt! You focus too much on the blade and you loose sight of your footing."
"Shut up! Busu tanuki!"
That earned him a hard thwack on the head. "Is that any way to treat your sensei?"
"Sensei? You're just a busu!"
A vein popped on Kaoru's head and her eyes burned with fire. "Come here you little delinquent! I'll show you who's 'busu' around here!" And thus the chase was on. Their new home, while small, had a yard that opened up to a small forest. An ideal place to hunt down insulting little brothers and pound them into submission, Kaoru believed. It gave her plenty of places to sneak up on him.
Laughing the whole way, they raced around the woods, mock sparring, teasing, and having fun for the first time since their father had passed on. Yahiko broke into their backyard first, an exclamation of Kaoru's looks on his lips when he suddenly stilled. Kaoru still had momentum and couldn't stop herself in time. Sliding, she crashed into her little brother and on the way down, she could have sworn she saw streaks of red flitter across her vision before disappearing.
"Yahiko?" she asked between gulps of breath.
"I thought I felt..."
That was enough. Kaoru rushed up to her feet and did a quick scan of the area. There was nobody in sight, either alive or dead. Still, she turned around slowly, taking in everything.
"It's gone now," her little brother sat up, running a hand through his sweaty hair. "I must have imagined it if you didn't see anything."
Slowly, Kaoru's nerves calmed. "Maybe," she admitted. "I think we've had enough practice for today," she smiled, "so let's go set up a good hot bath. You soak first and I'll start dinner."
Yahiko bristled. "No way! No way! No way in hell! You take the bath first, I'll cook!"
Her smile grew exponentially. That was always the best way to get the bath first.