hetalia_kink | Hetalia kink meme part 27

Hetalia kink meme part 27

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*

Meanwhile, the meeting of the Occult club grew tense. A book had been laid across the table. Candles flickered, as the pages were turned. Arthur shook his head.

"Someone brought a presence in here," Arthur said.

"There's always been ghosts in the closed wing,” Vasil said. “It's from some time when a speakeasy burned down. The school was built over the ashes. They didn't even do a ritual to ensure the dead had departed."

"Of course I know about them. But this is a new ghost and it's moving outside of the closed areas."

"Did you forget to send the spirits back at your last seance session?"

Arthur sputtered. "Do you think I'm a complete amateur? I didn't become president of the Occult Club by chance!"

"I figured it was that your eyebrows drew the most spirits, like a lightning rod."

Arthur grimaced. "As if you have anything to say about eyebrows."

"It remains, someone summoned something here. And I know it was recent. I pay attention to my surroundings, unlike some people."

"I pay attention."

"I was talking about Herakles. He fell asleep on my Book of Shadows. It's covered in cat hair."

"Asleep? How could he? It's several inches thick, at least. How did he even get in here?"

Vasil shrugged. "Cats sleep anywhere; Herakles is no different."

All of a sudden, the door burst open, and a little bundle of energy and sailor shirts rushed in.

"Arthur, Arthur, I'm here!"

Like a pair of doting parents, Berwald and Tino followed. "Careful, Peter!"

Vasil turned to him slowly. "You have something on your hands."

"What? I washed them--"

Vasil lifted his palms up. "Do you see that, Arthur? Ectoplasm."

"As clear as day," Arthur said. “You've been playing with the equipment here. Don't tell me you've gotten into the spirit board.”

Peter flinched, and drew back guiltily. "I was just pushing it around! I didn't do anything!"

"Dammit. There's no telling what he summoned. He probably didn't even remember to say goodbye."

Peter started to bawl.

"There, there," murmured Berwald. Tino reached down to pull Peter into an embrace.

"We'll punch all the hellish things from the underworld you accidentally summoned," Tino said brightly.

Berwald nodded.

"We'll have to find it first and make sure it didn't prey on anybody else," Arthur muttered.

"No more playing with spirit boards," Vasil said.

Peter wiped at his red-rimmed eyes. "I just wanted to be like you. Like my big c-cousin!"

Arthur bent before him. "You're just starting out. You've got a long ways to go before you can even think about drawing any magic circles, let alone talking to the other side." He rustled Peter's hair. "Now go off, you scamp. Aren't you hungry or something? Children usually are."

"Children usually are? You sound like an old man," Vasil said.

"Speak for yourself, you're wearing a tiny top hat!"

"It's called fashion. Look it up sometime."

From behind Tino, Lukas strolled in. He narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the room. "Someone unleashed something from beyond the veil in here."

Vasil nodded. "That's what I've been telling him."

"Well, we'll evacuate the place," Arthur said. “The janitor left early, and everyone else went home on a winter storm warning, so it should be rather empty.”

"What you call a winter storm, we call a nice spring," Lukas said.

"Yes, I get it, you're all Viking ice spirits," Arthur rejoined. “Some of us actually prefer livable habitats.”

"Since when is the land of constant rain and spaghetti on toast liveable?" Vasil asked.

Tino laughed. "That's a new one. I guess we'll have to split up and make sure there's no one in here while we secure the perimeter in case the ghost is strong enough to escape."

"The nap club," Vasil said pointedly.

"Oh, right," Arthur said. “Well, they shouldn't be too hard to move. Tino, you know what to do.”

"I'll carry them! We'll check the rest of the club rooms just to be sure. C'mon, Berwald."

Berwald plucked Peter up and hauled him off. The three of them wandered off towards the row of rooms slated for extracurricular activities down the hall.

"We'll take the abandoned wing," Lukas said. "You cleanse this room."

Arthur looked mildly irritated, but Lukas didn't wait for his smart-ass comment before he left the room. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Troll boy is coming for your status as president," Vasil said.

"Don't you think I know that?" Arthur snapped. "Just get the salt already."

"I think you're salty enough to keep all the spirits at bay."

Arthur glared. "Don't make me prove to you why I got elected president, Vasil."

"I already have to look at you. That's a curse worse than you could ever cast on me."

Arthur rolled his eyes.

*

Lukas stared down the hall.

"That way, huh?" Mikkel grinned. "We should go ghostbusters on that ghost's ass!"

"A hamburger wrapper...." His face paled as he lifted it up. "That could only mean one thing--"

"The Hamburglar is hiding out here?"

Lukas ignored him. "This way."

Mikkel hoisted him up over his shoulders. "We'll go twice as fast this way. Just call me your miiiightyyy steeed! It's fitting in more than one way!"

"You've used that dick joke five times this week," Lukas said.

"It's still funny," Mikkel said.

They wove through the rows of tables.

"So, rider, you going to tell me where to go next?'

"...kitchen."

"Yeah, I could use with a snack, too. Maybe they even have something edible in here. It's a long shot, but it just might work."

Salt had spilled across the floor. Several pans were displaced and strewn across the floor. The rest still hung from a series of hooks on the wall. As they walked further in, the pans began to move and clatter against each other.

"Someone raided the kitchen," Mikkel said. "Who just takes a random cast-iron pan and tosses it about? Drunk people, maybe."

Lukas didn't reply. But a glint of blue hovering about the door caught his eye.

"I can't believe they'd be such idiots-- no, actually I can. Mikkel, pry that door open immediately!"

Mikkel smirked and pulled back the door. It let out a massive creak. The pair inside pulled apart suddenly.

"Should we come back at another time?"

"I get wanting to make out where there's danger, but next time just join the mile high club, okay?"

"L-later! We g-got to get out of here before we f-freeze!"

They limped out into the kitchen. The freezer door slammed shut with surprising force.

Mikkel chuckled. "Satisfying sound. I almost get why you'd want to pick that place as a make out spot."

"That's because you're an idiot," Lukas said.

"The door wasn't even locked. This is an odd place to hide. What, did Nataliya desperately need snow or something?"

"What? It was locked-- it was completely locked! I've been tackling against that thing for ages, and everybody knows this is the tackle that saved a thousand games."

"Perhaps the ghost unlocked it."

"Hey, my phone is working again." Alfred frowned. "The battery was completely drained, but now it's back. What's with this?"

"Ghosts," Lukas said.

Alfred nearly dropped his phone. "G-ghosts? Really?"

"Did you not see the floating textbook?" Nataliya asked.

"No, you were way ahead of me. You told me to watch the door."

"First, they must get warm," Lukas said.

He poured a line of salt across the entrance. If only she'd thought of that. She'd let herself get caught in the moment and forget integral monster hunter rules. Nataliya rubbed her hands together and stared down at her skirts. They were laced with frost.

"Here, drink this."

Somewhere in the cupboard, Mikkel had found some Swiss Miss instant cocoa mix. The warmth of the cups brought feeling back into her fingers.

Nataliya had a high tolerance for cold and had even once taken down a wandering yukionna who had terrorized a village, but even she had her limits.

"Th-thanks!" Alfred said. “I really thought we were goners.”

"What happened? It seems odd. I know for a fact she's sensitive. We've been trying to get her in the Occult club for ages," Lukas said.

"I was careless," Nataliya said. "Distracted, even."

"Oh, I feel you. Lukas is the same when I'm around and I peel my shirt off," Mikkel said.

"In your dreams," Lukas said.

"That too."

She stared down at her cocoa and sighed. Little marshmallows floated in what was left of the brown, thick and warm liquid. She took another sip and let it warm her from the inside out.

"My textbook suddenly went missing. Alfred helped me look, but suddenly we saw a ghost. I knew I didn't have the proper resources to fight it, but I didn't want to fail, so I followed after recklessly."

"It isn't a vengeful spirit," Lukas said.

Alfred sputtered. "We just got locked in the k-kitchen freezer! That sounds pretty vengeful to me!"

"I can't ascertain its motives. But it tried to draw us here to unlock you."

"Well, it did pet cats. Nobody who likes cats can be bad... unless they're a Bond villain."

"If we could contact it, perhaps we could find a way to appease it."

"Wait, Nataliya, didn't you get your textbook?" Alfred said.

"...it disappeared. All that effort for nothing."

"Well, I wouldn't say it was nothing."

Mikkel chuckled. "A little longer and you'd have been really sharing that body heat." He lifted his thick eyebrows suggestively.

"Only in a PG way. Maybe PG-13 at most, but that'd probably be for the action scenes. Heroes respect whoever they're dating!"

"Not everyone is a boor like you," Lukas said.

"No, they're a bore, apparently," Mikkel said.

"That reminds me! I bet Kiku would know what to do." Alfred swiped his phone. He scanned through the contacts on his phone, until he hit 'K.' "Yo, Kiku. We survived, though the ghost tried to lock us in the freezer."

He explained the rest of what happened so far that day as Kiku listened carefully.

"Alfred-san, you said others are there? Put it on speakerphone, please. That way I can address them also."

"Can do," Alfred said.

"Was it two men?"

"No, a girl and a guy," Lukas said.

"Ah, not a fujoshi ghost, though she may still have fujoshi tendencies. It sounds like you have a romantic ghost haunting the college."

"Romantic ghost?"

"Yes. Love may be her motivation. Perhaps that is why the door opened. If you hadn't been too busy kissing, perhaps you would've noticed."

"I didn't even tell you that! A-are you psychic or something?" Alfred blushed. "Aw, come on, it wasn't that freaky. A hero never goes all the way on a first date."

"Yes--- wait, I need to take this message. Call me back in a few minutes." The call ended abruptly.

"Good to know." Mikkel snickered. "I'll protect you, Lukas. Protect you with my dick."

"You are a dick," Lukas said.

Nataliya opened up her backpack and pulled out a wrapped up series of tools. No, not the stake. She'd already used up the holy water and hadn't replenished... She always meant to replenish it, but that would require going to Europe again with the Hunter's Convention and tracking down Father Germain. With his unceasing hunt for the undead, that could be quite a feat. Her fingers hovered above the many tools of fighting the undead. She'd been truly careless this time and allowed Alfred to distract her from an obvious ghost. It was his fault with his broad shoulders and big smile and those blue eyes.

Alfred just gaped.

"What? Everyone needs a hobby."

Alfred beamed. "Holy crap, you're so cool! You're even cooler than I thought you were! You really are a superhero!"

She smiled despite himself. His joy was infectious. "We can celebrate together. Right now, we've got a ghost to force back across the veil."

"So do you have crossbows in there? Magic guns?"

"The college may be lenient, but not that lenient," Nataliya said.

They wouldn't even let her keep the stash of silver bullets near, much to her dismay. What if one of her professors turned out to be a werewolf? Then what would she do? Put a collar on him and try and make him heel? Hardly.

"But you do have crosses and whips?"

She stared at him. "Whips? Just what are you suggesting?"

"What, you never played Castlevania? The holy Belmont whip!" Alfred mimicked slinging a whip, complete with sound effects.

"I can't say I have. I was too busy fighting actual vampires."

"Whaaaat? It's a classic! Once this is all over, I'll have to get you started. Dunno where. Maybe Ecclesia. Shanoa reminds me a lot of you, with how she's so strong and emotionless and badass."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Yeah! Shanoa is the greatest. Man, Nataliya, you have got to show me your knife collection when this is all over! Wait, do you do that knife-gun thing?"

She frowned. "Knife...gun...thing?"

"Like Russian Roulette, except stabbier. Russian Gun-lette… where you stab the table between your fingers. People play it in the movies!"

"I've never tried it."

"Come to think of it, I think only mobsters do it. Unlessss, you're secretly a big mafia killer as well as an exorcist and college student! I bet you pilot a Gundam too."

"You watch too much anime with Kiku," Lukas said.

"No such thing. Wait, wait-- maybe Nataliya is totally a magical girl, too! Maybe a dark one... like Homura." Alfred's face lit up. "Wait, do you got a whole arsenal of guns and stuff? That would be so frigging cool! The ghost comes in and you just go boom, boom!" He made a series of noises which she assumed were machine gun sounds.

"That would blow up the entire college," she said. "Also, guns are ineffective for ghosts."

"Aw, but I bet you could get them with magic guns. Wait, do you think I can punch a ghost, or do I need something else?"

"Why don't you ask Kiku?"

"Good idea!" He swiped his phone and waited as it rang. "Hey, Kiku. Long time no hear, huh? Hey, can I punch a ghost? No? Dang, I was hoping for some good ghost-punching action!" Pause. "H-hey, anyone would be freaked out by Hanako. I use the bathroom. She could be in there, just waiting... nobody wants to die while taking a dump! That's so unheroic! That doesn't make me any less of a hero! It didn't matter if you could see the zipper on that old movie we saw, that face was creepy!"

"So, Kiku called you a dumbass, what else?" Mikkel quipped.

"He didn't call me a dumbass," Alfred said.

"It was merely implied," Lukas said.

"He said there needs to be a barrier and if she gets lost, she might terrorize tons of people to make them kiss and pet cats all over the city."

"Wow, what a dangerous ghost," Mikkel said dryly.

"Tino and Berwald already set up a barrier around the front door, but did they get the back door? They're pretty good at back door stuff." Lukas held out a heavy book. "Take this."

"Let me guess, I get to carry the stuff."

"Menial labor and brute force are all you're good for."

Mikkel lifted his eyebrows suggestively. "Not all I'm good for."

"We've already established that you're a complete dick."

"Damn right I am."

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Alfred asked. “Just go home? Pet cats? I like the last idea best.”

"We send the ghosts home," Nataliya answered.

*

*

They crossed over back to the closed wing. The long hallway was filled with shut doors that identically resembled each other. It seemed almost endless in its expanse. At the very end was a single door with a red frame. That was where she felt the air turn cold. Each step closer took her closer to the dead. Alfred kept glancing around him as the doors closed behind them.

"H-hey, Nataliya. We should hold hands… y’know, for good luck. It'll keep the ghosts away."

"Don't be afraid. Ghosts can feed upon that energy."

Alfred gulped. "J-jeez, that's just what I didn't want to know."

Laughter echoed down the hall. It felt different somehow. Older. Still, Nataliya knew a lost soul when she heard it. "Do you want to be a true hero, Alfred?"

He gave her a shaky thumbs up. "Eeeh---- I can do it. If someone as cool as you is beside me, the g-ghosts won't stand a chance!"

Nataliya pushed open the red door.

The simple classroom was overtaken by memories of another time. Inside, floating dancers soared across the ceiling. The feel of heat, and scent of smoke filled the air. She wore a long white dress of older times. The twenties, she'd guess. Above them translucent dancers floated to the sounds of an old victrola. Right next to a stack of records was her textbook. She'd recognize it anywhere from the amulet bookmark she'd left between its pages. The tassel, with runes that Lukas had made himself hung down, shifting like a metronome in the faint breeze.

"There you are, my prince..."

In a quick motion, Nataliya poured salt around them.

The ghost girl giggled. "Do you think that would stop me?"

The long drapes fluttered as a great wind. The circle held even as the woman circled around them. She twirled like she was dancing with her arms held out.

"What is your name?" Nataliya demanded of her.

"My name?" She tilted her head. "I've almost forgotten. I've been waiting so long for my date to arrive." She swayed in time to the music. "Just one kiss, just one dance, my love. I've been waiting for so long."

"Your name," Nataliya said firmly.

"Georgina...that sounds right. It sounds like an old song I've almost forgotten the words to, but I still remember the melody. Like..." She started to hum a tune, and floated nearby.

"Georgina, you must return to where you came from!"

"Just one dance," she said. "Then my prince will take me home. I've been waiting for so long. What a mean boy to keep a gal like me waiting this long."

"All right," Alfred said. He stepped outside of the barrier.

"Don't!"

"It's just a dance. Besides, a hero never leaves anybody crying."

Georgina reached out. His eyes turned glassy as he danced along with her.

"What a smart boy. That's why you're my prince... Now we'll be together forever....my love."

Nataliya stepped beyond the salt barrier.

Another ghost appeared. This was a schoolgirl with thick glasses and a bag covered in little charms.

"It doesn't end this way. The story can't end this way!"

If this was the ghost that had been summoned via the ouija board, then who was that?

"Alfred! You have to resist her! She'll drag you over to the veil with her!"

Georgina's image faded into something darker, smokier. "Can't a girl dance in peace?"

The ghosts above grew thicker, stronger with the Georgina's anger. They spread out like a web.

Alfred's eyes had turned glassy. Now, Georgina wrapped around him like a snake made of smoke. Her eyes burned like a set of coals.

Knives wouldn't work with ghosts, not even if they were blessed by priests. And Georgina was rapidly coming to the point where no reason would work.

Nataliya lifted up her shaker of salt and threw it across the dance floor. The glass shattered and the ghosts moved back with a grumble.

"I have to cut in," Nataliya said coldly.

"You're a real square. He's my prince. He wouldn't be interested in a plain and cold girl like you."

Slowly, comprehension came over his blue eyes. Alfred was stunned out of his trance. "That’s not true! Nataliya is the coolest person I’ve ever met! She should have her own comic series and television show and that wouldn't be enough! She'd need at least a multi-movie deal! Then she'd have to play herself because there isn't a person around who would be cool enough to portray her!" In that moment, he let go of Georgina's hand. Nataliya quickly grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the pile of salt and glass in the middle of the floor. The scent of smoke filled the room. Alfred coughed and reached for his jacket. He instantly pulled it off and handed it to her. "We have to get out of here!"

Every day, she relived the same fire. What a horrible existence to be caught in for decades and decades. Waiting and agony, waiting and agony.

"We need to fill her last wish."

"But we have no idea where the guy could be," Alfred said.

"We can do both. When I count to three, get ready to run, and don't let go of my hand."

Alfred nodded. "You don't have to tell me twice."

The ghosts behind them were a howling horde, a dark cloud of smoke and agony. Each step felt like it might be their last. She struggled for breath. It was like swimming through ashes. The doors in the hall opened, one by one. Dark clouds of eyes oozed out of the room. The closed wing, the kitchen, the front entrance was so close. Alfred never let go of her hand, not even once. It was only when the cold air hit her that she finally gasped for breath.

Alfred bent down and coughed. "Jeez, I sure got my training in for today."

They were still alive.

*

A candle flickered in the Occult club. The salt barrier was thick enough that though the doors rattled, they didn't budge.

Arthur glared at his cards. After three spreads, they'd been reduced to playing strip poker with tarot cards. Vasil wore nothing but his top hat, his clothes beside him in a neat folded pile. Arthur had an inkling Vasil was throwing the games. At least it wasn't Monopoly. In the Nap Club, Herakles and Feliciano slept on, unaware of the chaos around them. Down the hall, Mikkel and Lukas walked on, unperturbed by the ghosts.

Mikkel snickered. "Well, somebody pissed them off. It's trolls versus ghosts now."

Lukas rolled his eyes.

A thin sheen of light surrounded them. The troll perched on Lukas' shoulder was almost visible now.

Outside, Berwald and Tino looked up from the little snowman they had finally given in and let Peter make.

"I guess it really was good we took a break. It would've been horrible if Peter was in there when this happened."

"I'm a big boy, I could've handled it," Peter protested.

Tino patted his head. "Sure you are. Though we really need to get Peter home. It's way past his bedtime."

Peter puffed out his cheeks. "I said I'm a big boy! I don't need bedtimes! I can fight ghosts!"

"--Nap Club," Berwald muttered.

"Oh, we were supposed to go get them, weren't we? Oops." Tino just shrugged his shoulders. "Looks like we'll have to go get it later."

The windows rattled. The ghosts were unleashed.

*

*

"Crap, there's other people in there but we can't even get anywhere near it," Alfred said. "I don't just wanna leave them behind... heroes don't do stuff like that."

"I wouldn't worry about Arthur and Vasil. They can take care of themselves."

"Yeah...but I studied for the next test and everything. I don't want to have studied for nothing!"

"You'd rather take an exam?"

"Heroes don't study for exams only to fail them because they got delayed and they forgot all the study stuff."

Faces appeared in the frosted glass. They slowly burst into bright burning flames that disappeared in wisps of smoke.

Maybe if she'd be able to check the archives, she could know. But there was no way of getting safely in there. She sighed. What a mess they'd gotten themselves into, and she hadn't even gotten her textbook though the next exam was the least of her worries.

The bell at the top of the school, long abandoned for anything but show, started to ring. Had the ghosts already gone up that far? Slowly, she saw shapes of what the school had once been: a grand ballroom collapsed into fire. Beside her, an ember of fire shone through the night. A cigarette and a spectral figure wrapped in the gray night. He wore a battered black leather jacket and his dark hair was greased back. The door suddenly sprang open. Alfred stepped in front of her.

Who had displaced the salt? Or had the ghosts come together in such rage that the salt did nothing to stop them?

Give him back!

It was a roar across the city. The ghosts coiled like a snake. Howls of agony and the scent of fire filled the air. Nothing in her arsenal could fight this. He let go of her hand and took a step forward.

"Alfred, don't you dare! Alfred!" She grabbed his wrist and refused to let him go. She wasn't about to let him make some heroic sacrifice. Not now, not ever.

"Hey, I saw her first. You wanna square?"

The fire was doused. Georgina's maelstrom of anger was instantly calmed. Her eyes widened as she rushed towards him. The gray smoke spun, the dancers swirled about into ash above a flapper caught in time.

"I always dug a bad girl," said the ghost. "Come on snake, let's rattle."

"My date stood me up. Care to be my prince?"

"I ain't the prince type. But if you want a villain, I'm your man."

He took her hand, and the fire faded.

The air was filled with snowflakes. A quiet had fallen over the city. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked. The flames had finally gone out.

"Aw yeah, here's one for dumb luck!" Alfred lifted his arm in a whoop.

"It isn't done yet. We've still got the textbook stealing ghost. And I'm out of salt."

"There's probably more in the kitchen unless Mikkel decided to make fries or something. Mmmm...fries. I'd kiss someone for some fries right now."

"Kiss? Isn't the term 'I'd kill for some fries?" Nataliya mentally wondered if she'd gotten the idiom wrong all along. It'd be just like her to accidentally turn a harmless idiom violent.

"Heroes don't kill people randomly."

Nataliya gripped his coat. "Don't you dare do something stupid like that again!"

"You're going to have to be more detailed. Which stupid thing?"

"Going outside the barrier! Dancing with a ghost! Trying to sacrifice yourself for me again and again!"

"Oh, that stupid thing. Well, hey, it got us saved, so no worries."

She clutched his coat tighter. What would she have done if he left? For so long she'd been ignoring what had been there all along.

Alfred grinned. "If I wasn't mistaken, I'd think you care if I live or die."

She let go of his coat. "Fah...."

"Oh, come on, Nataliya! Don't be cross with me."

"You want to be my boyfriend? Fine. But you stay in the barrier when I tell you! No more rash things like running out to dance with a ghost."

"Wait, really? You'll go out with me?"

Nataliya started to put her tools away. The snow crunched beneath her feet. "If you can keep up, that is."

"So cool. You'd be like...Cucumber Girl."

"Cucumber Girl?"

"Cool as a cucumber!"

"I liked it better when you were comparing me to Disney characters and superheroes," Nataliya muttered.

With more than a little wariness, she opened up the doors to the school again. The halls were quiet. They still retained the feel of the ghosts like an echo. For once, it wasn't just an unearthly chill; it was an unbearable heat. But as the seconds passed, it began to dissipate.

"So where do we start? I say kitchen."

"You're right; we need more salt."

"I was thinking a snack, but I'm down with pouring salt all over it."

She gave him a slight glare, not quite the usual full arctic force but enough for him to get the message.

The textbook floated in the middle of the kitchen like the ghost was waiting for them. The pans slowly clattered and then stilled.

"I'm sorry for pushing you. I only meant to borrow it."

Alfred stepped in front of her. For once, his face was filled with fury. She'd never seen him like this with clenched fists like he was ready for a fight. "You expect us to just take that? You almost killed us!"

Her face shone with something like giddiness. She cupped her cheeks. "But it got you to finally talk. Really, I unlocked it right away. I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted you to finally realize!"

Nataliya clasped her hand across his arm. "She doesn't feel full of wrath. I believe her."

"Jeez, be a little more careful. We almost kicked it."

She hung her head. "I just wanted to talk to someone. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. When that boy came to the board, I was so happy. And when he didn't say goodbye and I could come back, it seemed like a second chance. I died and nobody even noticed. They just kept on with their lives."

She looked up, her translucent face shone with tears. "I just wanted friends. And when someone reached out to me through that board… I was so happy."

"It hurts when nobody sees you," said a voice from outside the glass. Slowly, Matthew appeared into the kitchen.

"Matt-- when did you get here?"

"I was here the whole time, you all just didn't notice," he said bitterly.

"Walking through school, no one noticing...thinking I could just die and nobody would notice..." The girl ghost hung her head. "It's a lonely existence. I wish we could've met earlier. I think we would've been friends." She sniffled. "I never even got to find out how the season of Magical Princess Mochi Mochi ended. I really, really wanted to see that. I wanted to have friends and go back to Japan. Back to when I was happy. It's not fair that my life ended so soon." She could have flared up and turned red with the injustice but near Matthew, she remained calm.

"Tell us your name," Nataliya said quickly to distract her from the overwhelming sorrow. “We'll leave flowers on your grave.”

"And tell me what happens with Magical Princess Mochi Mochi? I so wanted to know if she and the prince got together."

"I'm sure Kiku will know," Alfred said. “He always knows stuff like that.”

"Oh, that's wonderful. I wish I could've seen it, but I..." Her image flickered.

Panic grew in Nataliya's chest. It was a dangerous edge they were dancing on. Should sadness overwhelm them, she might grow truly violent.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude! My name is Sally Tahno." She bowed. "I'm getting really rusty. It's been so long since I was back in Japan with my grandparents. I had to stop so much of what I learned here when I moved." Before anyone could respond, she floated over towards Matthew. "Your bear is cute." She reached out to the little translucent bear that sat on his shoulders.

"Oh, that's just Kumojaro," Matthew said. “He's always around.”

"It's your guardian," came a voice from just beyond the room.

Lukas walked in with Mikkel not far behind.

"The bear. He shields you. However, his shield has the side effect of rendering you invisible. Those with spiritual power remember you better, because they have enough strength to counter him."

Matthew looked irritated and tapped the little bear on his shoulders. "Jeez, Kumomochi, all this time it was you?'

"Who?"

"Come on, Kumojiji. I'll go tell Arthur and Vasil the ghosts are gone. Maybe they'll actually pay attention to me this time."

"Um, goodbye! It was nice to meet you!" Sally said.

Matthew glanced back with surprise. "Uh-- nice to meet you, too."

"Was I rude?" Sally clutched her skirts and hung her head. "I didn't mean to be--"

"He's just not used to being remembered," Alfred said.

"Maybe that was what happened to you," Lukas guessed. “Maybe you had a guardian spirit so protective, they kept you from everyone.”

"Lukas' don't give enough of a fuck to keep him hidden away. His personality does the job and drives everyone away anyway." Mikkel laughed.

Lukas' jaw twitched. "Mikkel, do you like living?"

"You can't curse me, your trolls are my bros. Besides, who are you going to get to carry your shit? Berwald is too busy mooning over Timo to be your personal gopher."

Lukas crossed his arms over his chest and gave Mikkel a glare, but he had no argument to make.

"A guardian spirit?" Sally perked up. “That's like a Ghibli film. Maybe I'll meet them someday.”

"Do we need to get that spirit board again or something?" Alfred asked.

"No, I'll go back. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused." Sally bowed her head. "I hope I see you all again and-- I'm so glad you two figured it out. It was like one of my shows come to life." She had one last giddy lovestruck look before she faded into nothing.

"She didn't cross over," Lukas said.

"She still had things to do like that anime crap. But, as long as she isn't trying to kill us, it's all good."

Alfred sent a couple texts to Kiku.

I'll take care of it came a few moments later. Alfred smiled, and put the phone back in his jacket. "Another case solved. Hey, if we're in the kitchen already--who wants to get something? Fighting ghosts is hard work!"

Mikkel laughed. "There's nothing good in here. Let's head to Mickey D's and get something greasy."

Alfred beamed. "Now that's what I'm talking about."

He put his hand about her shoulders, but slowly as he kept looking down to make sure she was okay with it.

"I could use a burger," she said.

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any cooler."

*

*

Kiku burned strips of paper. Across them were spoilers for all of season 2 of Magical Princess Mochi Mochi. A figure appeared in the smoke.

"Are you Alfred's friend?" she asked shyly. "The Kiku-san he mentioned? I hope my pronunciation hasn't gotten while I was overseas. I tried to keep up my Japanese skills for when I came back to visit my grandparents."

"You are doing fine," Kiku said.

He brought out a series of DVDS. Sally let out a gasp as she caught sight of the colorful pink covers with magical princesses on them.

"Oh, you got them? And these are the Deluxe Collector's Edition, too! With the concept art, special interviews, and a limited edition figma, and a whole ten minutes of deleted scenes!"

"We could watch together, you know. As long as you behave."

Her eyes grew wide as she took in the collection of figures and DVDs in the room. "You got the Redgold Magical Princess Mochi Mochi figma? That's limited edition! I couldn't even preorder it, because it ran out in under an hour! And---there's all of PreCure Plaid Princess here! Oh, I always wanted to watch that season, but..." Her smile faded. "I died... You know, I took the book because I wanted to see if I could write something in it. They reminded me so much of the pair on Sakura Smiles. A cold but cool girl, and a bouncy heroic boy. I tried to tell them, but I'm not sure they understood."

Kiku rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You're right. They do resemble Tanaka and Asuka."

"I know, right? Like a real life Tanaka and Asuka! I didn't mean to worry them, but that was how Tanaka and Asuka kissed. I thought for sure it would work. I unlocked the door right after, but they didn't notice-- they were too busy kissing." Sally pressed her hands to her cheeks and giggled. "And it was such a good kiss, too. Like there should've been an orchestra of music behind it. I could almost image the score." She twirled a little and began to hum a tune that didn't exist. "Do you think Matthew could come too? Do you think he'd like...anime?" She looked up shyly.

"Don't fall in love with the living. It can only end in heartbreak."

"Don't be silly, my heart belongs to Saburou-kun, the dreamy hacker Samurai in Future Neo Tokyo, but he looked so lonely. Maybe he needs a popular person to make others notice him like Kimi ni Tidoke."

"You certainly know your anime."

She sat down. "When I came home, I'd watch shows. I pretended I was a senshi as a child whenever I was scared. And whenever I was on familiar bases, the scenes of cities I remembered made me happy. See, Mother was in the armed forces. She moved bases a lot." Her expression sobered at this. "I wonder if they miss me."

"Of course they miss you."

"Even when I was alive, it seemed like I was already a ghost. No one noticed me. I slipped in and out of schools when Mother had to ship out. The only comfort I had was what reminded me of home: my shows."

"One day, I will bring you to see your family. But perhaps that will cause you to pass on. And it would be a tragedy for you to miss the second season of Magical Princess Mochi Mochi."

Sally smiled. "Thank you. C-could we---do you think we could be...friends?"

"Of course we could, Tahno-kun," Kiku said.

"Just Sally is fine."

She hummed along to the theme song as he turned on the DVD.

*

The next weekend was booked up. All the snow meant that classes were canceled and the butcher shop had closed. And so it was that Nataliya took a much needed break.

Alfred had already packed more snacks than she could finish in a week, let alone a night. There were all kinds of sweet candies, a bucket of popcorn, a bag of something greasy from some fast food joint, and a pair of two liter pops.

It was Alfred's house they ended up at, for the apartment she lived in was always full of family— and some were none too happy about her new boyfriend.

Besides, his couch was larger, if not more worn. It had been recovered so many times that she couldn't tell what the original material had been, only that now it had a fleur de lis pattern.

"Yeah, Matt got it like that because he was ticked off at Arthur. Every time Arthur forgets him, he goes super French just to piss him off."

"Well, everyone needs a hobby, I suppose," Nataliya said.

Alfred laughed. He eagerly pulled out a stack of DVDs. "All right, Bloodbath 2017 is on," Alfred said. "We've got The Haunting of Hill House, The Conjuring, all the classics like Jason and Freddie, and now The Bye Bye Man." Alfred laughed to himself at that.

"Oh man, when that came out, the memes about it were hilarious. You should've seen. Maybe I've still got some of them in my Twitter likes somewhere. Wait, does this count as our first date or was the other thing a date? I mean, standing in a circle of salt is pretty romantic, right?"

Nataliya stroked her chin thoughtfully. "That was more like a confession scene, I suppose."

"Cool, good to know. First date trial of courage is on!"

He turned on the television with a snicker. "I almost feel like Sadako is just going to come out there and come chill with us." But as the first spooky music came on, and the camera panned on a dark house, Alfred clutched to her arm.

She looked impassively his way and lifted an eyebrow. "The movie has barely started and you're already afraid?"

"Hey now, I'm-- not scared, really."

"You shouldn't be. It's incredibly inaccurate."

"Really?"

"Bad CGI doesn't even begin to show the horror of facing the undead."

"Ugh, you're supposed to say it doesn't existttt."

"You've seen actual ghosts. We fought them together."

"And they almost killed me! Besides, this is a vampire movie." As the horrifying cloud of darkness took over the town, or at least on the television screen this time, he squeezed her hand tight.

"The garlic is a myth; the stakes aren't."

"Makes sense, otherwise there wouldn't be any Italian vampires, and in the stories tons of them are Italian. Heh, you can be my hero."

"We can take turns."

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Hetalia kink meme part 27

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