17 Chapter 17: The Ghost Girl (Part 2)

Soon enough, we entered the school's forest and everything's kinda going well, but there is something that has been on my mind, since earlier.

I turned to the dandelion guy beside me.

"Hey, Gino. I wasn't planning to point it out, but…" he turned to me, with a stilled smile. "Why are you carrying a net around you?"

My nose wrinkled, as I pointed out the thing he was carrying.

Gino pressed his chin and tilted his head to the side, before answering, "To catch the ghost, I guess?" 

My face is surely making a bad one, so I brought my right hand to my face and let a big sigh out of my mouth.

"The Ghost is practically a human, not a bug!" 

With my retort, the dandelion guy looked away and sulked down, whilst mumbling, "I brought it thinking that it might help, though…"

No, it wouldn't.

Suddenly, a sound of something brushing behind the bush, nearby us, took our attention in an instant.

I raised my index finger and started mumbling a chant, which I concluded with, "Lux" that made a small ball of light on top of my finger.

Nodding to the others, I threw the small ball of light near the creature, who was rustling behind the bush.

Upon seeing the silhouette of the creature, I hastily took Gino's net and used it to catch the creature.

"Gotcha!"

With those words, I raised the net up and the other looked at the creature, with confusion written over their faces.

"A dog..?" Russell mumbled, which in turn Forth corrected with, "I assume that is a cat?" 

I loosened the cover of Gino's net, and the creature jumped over and clung onto the timid lavender girl.

"Puu…"

The dog-cat like creature let out a voice that sounded as a sigh of relief, as he positioned himself over the timid lavender girl's arms.

"Seems like it is a dog" Reina stated and Anna agreed with, "It just barked, after all" a happy smile.

Was that a bark..?

"Well, don't mind if it's a dog or cat, though" I mumbled, as I slowly approached the creature with my right hand, to pat his head.

Although, it hissed at me like a snake that was threatening me, and made me and my hand back off.

"Eh??" 

Reina nodded to herself and told me, "It hates you. Surely, because you caught it, which made him think that you are dangerous"

No way" 

I whimpered and Reina, who ignored me like I was an air, patted the creature with a soft smile.

My lips formed a smirk and I pointed out Gino.

"It's not my fault, its Gino's net's fault!" with fake tears I created, I grumbled and Gino exclaimed, "You're gonna blame it?!"

The four-eyed boy look behind him.

"Hey, did you guys heard that just now?" he tilted his glasses up, and Gino asked him, "Hear what?"

Forth turned to us, with a gulp.

"Don't you hear it? The sound of rustling wind and a sound that something seems to be cutting wood?" 

Hearing those words, Gino gasped and quickly rushed towards where the sound was heard, on his own.

Wait!

I know that we all thought of the same thing, that it might be the ghost girl, but you're doing a dangerous act there, Gino!

After all, if what they thought about the girl killing animals and destroying trees are true, then…

Quickly, I followed after him, which in turn made the others follow after me.

…

We soon caught up with Gino, and found him standing still, with his eyes wide and mouth opened largely.

"Gino?" 

I tapped his shoulder, but he didn't reply anything nor moved a breath.

Turning behind, I saw Anna hid behind Reina, as the dog-cat like creature looked over the way the wind was whistling, with anger. 

I turned my head back in front, as the sound came closer and soon, a blurred-looking girl came a few steps away from us, and stopped.

As I squinted my eyes to make a clear face out of the girl, Gino moved a step back and exclaimed, "I-it's the ghost girl..!" in a quiet tone.

No, that's not a ghost, that's a…

My feet quickly dragged me over where the girl was at, which in turn made Gino freaked out and stop me, "Wait, Ed!" 

"That is dangerous, Ed-iot!" the crimson girl followed after him and made a pun over my name, like usual.

As I thought she was a human. 

So there really was a wind magic around her, and that is making her look vague from afar, which made others take her as a ghost.

I raised my right hand forward and grabbed the wind magic around the girl.

"Hey, what the heck are you doing, Ed?!" Forth freaked out and Russell called, "Ed! Stop what you're doing!"

Taking a deep breath in and out, to forget the pain that is slowly tearing my right hand off, I whispered in a voice quiet enough that other wouldn't hear.

"Devour…" 

As the wind magic around her dispersed into ether particles and entered my body, the girl slowly collapsed down.

Upon catching her on time, I wiped my forehead and sighed.

"Is that the ghost?" the lazy boy asked and I nodded, "Yeah! Although, she's not a ghost but a human…"

Soon, Reina appeared in front of me with a frown, which made me mumble, "Reina…" just before she took my right hand. 

"Are you an idiot? I don't know what you did, but with this wound, it is a miracle that your hand isn't split into two" 

I flinched, as her grip on my hand tighten along with her frown.

"Ouch! Don't worry. Not so long… Look!" some ether healed the wound on my hand and made the crimson girl look at it, all baffled. 

Forth tilted his glasses up and uttered, "Heal is the Arts of the Imperial family, wasn't it?"

I nodded.

"Our arts can heal wounds like this one, but it wouldn't be able to heal illness and large wounds" 

Seeing my hand, Reina sighed and mumbled, "Good thing…"

"Were you worried about me?" I asked and Reina quickly answered, "Of course! After all, your hand was about to split, you know"

I looked down and mumbled, "I see…" quietly.

The crimson girl looked at me, and tilted her head to the side.

  "Is something wrong?" she asked and I waved my right hand around, "Ah, no! It's nothing, so don't mind it!"

Somehow, it was kinda surprising that she honestly answered my question, instead of brushing it away.

…

We then went to the dorms, and stopped in the midway where the path separating the place where the boys' dorms and girls' dorms are.

"Well, she'll be staying in our room for now, until we managed to solve this mystery" 

My words made the others, except for the crimson girl who was throwing daggers at me with her amethyst eyes, look over the girl, who I was carrying behind me.

"Why in your room? You guys aren't planning something to her, right?" she crossed her arms, and both me and Russell shook our heads, "Of course no!"

The crimson girl sighed, and slowly approached my back.

"I can't trust you two, so she'll be sleeping in our room instead" she uttered, as she tried to get the girl behind me.

Quickly, I turned around to the crimson girl.

"But you already have that little guy over there, right?" I pointed over the dog-cat like creature, Anna was holding. "Won't your room turn into an orphanage?" 

It's just one creature, but it is quite a hassle to take care, as well.

"Fine, you win… just this once" the crimson girl turned her back against me, and went to her timid lavender friend. "Let's go, Ana" she stated with a gentle voice. 

Anna followed with the little guy on her arms. 

Win, she said, but it's not like we're in a competition or something, you know. And, aren't you giving up faster than the usual?

"Oh and…" 

The crimson girl pressed her chin and turned back to us.

"It's not little guy, for I already gave him a name, Lux" she pointed out, before she turned her back against us.

What a stubborn girl… Though, it's a bit vexing that she can be so much cute, sometimes. 

…

A yawn left my mouth, as I entered the room with Russell after parting ways with the other guys. 

"Heheh…" he giggled and I asked, "What's wrong, Russell?"

The plain boy shook his head with a drowsy-looking smile and uttered, "I'm just a bit surprised, you know"

"Surprised at what?"

Russell leaned his chin over his right palm, as I covered the mysterious girl with a blanket, on my bed.

  "Well, that you and Reina are getting along" 

His mouth formed a smirk, as mine opened up, along with my eyes that were forcing itself to open up earlier.

"We're always fighting, how the heck does it look like we're getting along?" 

Hearing my words, Russell sighed and lied down his bed, whilst saying, "The fact that two people fight proves that they properly think of the other party"

"Do you think so?" 

Russell answered with, "I do!" and raised his right hand to waved, "Good night, Ed…" at me, who was down.

  "Good night, Russell" 

I laid down the floor and looked over the ceiling, as I remembered an image of a girl, smiling at me.

"Now that I think about it, that was the first ever time that we fought with each other, despite the long years we spent together…"

I turned to the side. 

"Maybe, because the other party never thought of the other party…" as I finished mumbling those words, I tucked myself in a blanket.

As I closed my eyes, "Hakuya!" a nostalgic cheerful voice came to my mind.

…

"Up..! Edward, Wake up!" a familiar voice woke me up from my slumber. 

This voice… If I remember it right, it is the same with the voice of a kid that I heard when I first came to this world. 

Slowly, my eyes opened up, and I found a girl looking down at me, who soon smiled as she saw me wake up.

"So, it was you..?" the words left my mouth and made the girl tilt her head to the side, with a stilled smile. 

Russell mumbled, "Ed?" which made me gasp back reality.

  "I didn't expect you to already introduce me to her, might be because I've slept in too much, today" 

A yawn left my mouth, and saw Russell shaking his head.

"No, I only introduced myself. That girl went over your side when she saw you. Do you know her?" 

I shook my head. 

"Don't know, I don't remember…" whilst mumbling, some strange images vaguely flowed in my mind.

Russell turned to the girl and asked her, "Can you tell us your name, then?"

  "E-Elia… My name is Elia!" 

The girl answered with a cute smile, which was kinda wavering at first, and Russell happily hummed.

"Elia… What a pretty name, then next question. What is your relationship with Ed?" 

Saying those words, the plain boy looked a bit like the four-eyed guy, since his big smile didn't reach his eyes. 

The mysterious girl wrapped her arms around me and happily uttered, "I am Edward's soulmate!"

Huh..?