"Ooooowwww... SHUICHI YOU IDIOT !!! HELP MEEEEE. I THINK YOU GAVE ME A CONCUSSION !!" ;w;)|||| "WHY DID YOU THROW THAT !??"

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"Good grief, will you stop crying already."

"Easier said than done..."

It's been approximately 15 minutes since I was attacked by an apple, but it still hurt. I winced at the throbbing pain in my head and rested my head on Shuichi's shoulder. At the moment, he was carrying me on his back. After I sat up, I couldn't find myself to stand again. So here we were, walking through the neighborhood. "Jeez...", I mumbled in dismay as I closed my eyes. "Out of all things.. your first reaction was to throw an apple... What kind of person does that to someone that they haven't seen in so long...?" "Oh hush", he heavily sighed, "Stop talking about it already. I just had to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating and that it really was you. Seeing you suddenly standing there was really sketchy." "But I didn't die." "Even so." "Why're you so meeeeaaaaan ? ;w;) I thought you'd be happy to see me." There was a short lived grin.

"But I am." 

"Oh ?" I think I heard wrong. "What was that ?" Did he just say...? Shuichi looked up at the cloud covered skies and nonchalantly smiled to himself. "Oh nothing", he mumbled secretively. "I was just talking to myself about something.." I slightly tilted my head to the side and wondered what he meant. That was when a bad idea suddenly came into mind. 

...!?

Shuichi stopped walking. For at least a minute, he stood there, staring ahead at the empty street in front of us. I couldn't help but chuckle a bit before he slightly turned his head to the side. "Oi Klutz", he said in a bitter tone. "Do you want to die ?" I sighed in relief and rested my head on his shoulder again. "No... but I thought that it'd be nice to get even with you for once. Don't you agree ?" I smiled. In return, he glared. "So biting me was a way to get even ?", he asked sharply. "Are you testing me ?" "I dunno", I mumbled with a grin. "I think it's because I missed you. Didn't you miss me too ?" He sighed and eventually started walking again. "Yes, yes", I heard him say softly. "Whatever you say..." I slightly tightened the grip I had around his neck and sighed. As he walked I could hear the rhythmic sound of his steps. 

It's been so long... 

Oh !

"Nee Shuichi ?", I wearily yawned. "Nani ?", he asked. "I should've asked you this earlier, but why weren't you in class ? Isn't it still in session ?" "Why ?", he mumbled slowly. There was a momentary pause. "..Let's just say that something troublesome came up during the time you were gone." "Like ?", I asked curiously. "Disappearances." It was a blunt reply. "What do you mean by 'disappearances' ?" I was suddenly engulfed by a feeling of dread. For some reason, my heart sank, and that content moment I had with Shuichi just seemed to.. slip away. The atmosphere also changed as we were beginning to approach to Main Square. As usual, it was bustling with different faces. I was going to ask Shuichi if he could put me down the moment we reached the entrance, but then he suddenly stopped walking and stood there. 

"Nani ?, I asked him. He glanced around before turning his head to look at me. "Did you notice that.. just then ?" Confused, I looked around. But then I shivered and quickly put my head down on his shoulder. " "Like someone was watching us just now ?", I suggested. He chuckled mischievously as I slightly peered up to see him staring out into the crowd of people. "Bingo", he replied dryly. "So tell me Klutz, would you like to stick around or would you like to go on a little detour with me ?" I frowned. "Oi.. what kind of question is that ?"

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"GEH ! THE APPLE WAS ONE THING BUT THIS...!??" 

Shuichi walked into the kitchen with a mischievous, content smile on his face. I on the other hand, was sitting on the couch with a blanket over my shoulders. I stared at him suspiciously and watched as he prepared some food. "I asked you didn't I ?", I heard him say from the kitchen, "If you were testing me or not ?" "But still !", I snapped, beginning to feel feel a bit flustered again. "..I feel.. violated." "Oh ?", I heard him asked. "You feel what ?" There was an obvious sign of amusement. After staring at the coffee table for about five seconds, I turned to him and scowled. "I only bit you once !", I hissed, "And I didn't leave a bruise ?.. YOU ON THE OTHER HAND. I have bruises all over my neck and shoulders now..." ;w;)||| My voice trailed off as I covered myself up with the blanket. I could hear Shuichi laughing. 

After we left the Main Square we took a short detour through Kaede Park and eventually arrived at Shuichi's house. To my surprise, Minamino-san wasn't home. When I asked about her, the only thing he told me was that she was at work. I didn't really expect anything after that, but once he closed the door behind us, things got real. Too real. I thought I was going to die the moment Shuichi threw me on the couch. "N-nani !?", I recall saying, "Wh-what're you doing !?" He nonchalantly glanced over me before grabbing my hand. He pushed me down, and with a feigned smile, he said, "Nothing really..." He lightly kissed the back of my hand as I noticed a mischievous look reflect in his eyes. I gulped. "..But for some strange reason, something feels a bit off to me... It's really faint, but you smell of other guys..." I covered my face with my hands and frowned out of embarrassment. After he said that, things happened, and when I finally got myself to refocus again, I was already covered in bruises. A lot of them.

Behind me, there were footsteps. I slowly brought the blanket down to see Shuichi standing there with a small tray of food. "How long do you plan on dressing up as a ghost ?", he asked stoically, "It's not Halloween yet." I watched as he set the tray down on the table. I tilted my head to the side and frowned. "It's okay", I mumbled as I stared at the food, "I'll be a ghost if I want to.. Hey I just got a good idea ! You should be one two !" Shuichi slowly glanced over to be before breaking out into a smirk. "Right", he replied in a taunting tone. "Definitely."

"So are you going to tell me why you weren't in school today or not ?" "Oh yeah, about that.." Shuichi took a seat beside me and sighed. "You see...", he began to say, "About a few days ago, students from Meiou began to go missing. At first, we thought that it was probably just a misunderstanding of some sort, but after looking more into it, it got a bit suspicious. For one, how could the students of Meiou suddenly disappear without a trace if they were at school ?" "How many people have disappeared so far ?", I asked sternly. "Since it began.. at least 4 people. Even Wakahisa." "WHAT !???" Shuichi turned to me and sighed.

"Wakahisa has been missing for three days. Ever since these disappearances began, the Chairmen of Meiou has decided to suspend classes until everything has been sorted out." 

"Until then, we keep investigating."