Chapter 11: Scary Stories

The moment Hakuryuu safely came back from the bathroom with no sign of their magi around, they could see that Hakuryuu had a hand in the absence of their magi. Judging from Hakuryuu's refreshed mood, they all knew that Judal's attempt to peep on Hakuryuu ended in failure.

"Hey Hakuryuu, how was your bath?" Kouha asked his younger brother who was walking over to the kitchen.

"Fine." Hakuryuu answered back as he took a can of tea leaves from the cupboards.

"Judal, didn't try peeping on you?" Kouha asked bored since it was Hakuei and Kougyoku's turn to play their choice of game on their game console.

Apparently, they chose to play Battle Maiden II, a female orientated game where you can choose a (female) character and fight to save your dying kingdom by collecting magical items bestowed from the gods. Also the magical items are items to be worn by the main character. The worst part, for Kouha, was that they were all equipment for women.

"He did, but I set up some traps before taking my bath." Hakuryuu starts boiling some water.

"I guess that was the scream we heard earlier." Koumei added.

"I thought it was some sort of rapid dog or something." Kouha says his second older brother.

"Dozo..." Hakuryuu sets down a cup of freshly, brewed tea near Kouha. He later does the same thing for Koumei. Then Hakuei, Kougyoku, and finally Kouen.

There was nothing better than spending your time with your family while enjoying a well brewed cup of tea by Hakuryuu.

Unfortunately, the nice, peaceful night was short lived.

"Hey Hakuryuu! What's the big deal!"

"What do you want Judal?" Kouha calls out to his friend in a lethargic tone.

"Shut it, Okama. Hakuryuu, what's the big deal!"

"Hm?" Hakuryuu has no clue what Judal is mad about as he is just quietly sipping on his tea while reading a book Hakuei recommended to him.

"Don't 'hm' me! Why didn't you let me peep on you!"

At that moment, Hakuryuu ends up spitting out the tea he was drinking.

Hakuryuu breaks out in a horrible cough as he almost choked on the tea.

*cough* *cough*

"When you go take a bath, it's your duty to let someone peep on you unless you're as ugly or shriveled up as the Old Hag. And it's my duty to be the one peeping on you."

This was the most ridiculous statement Hakuryuu had ever heard. It's so ridiculous he doesn't even know how to respond to such a thing.

"Now that Judal is here, how about we try something summer vacation like. It is our very first day of summer vacation." Hakuei suggests ignoring Judal's previous remark.

"Like how commoners act?" Koumei inquires.

"Yes, Seishun told me that during summer vacation normal students go out a lot and do many memorable things before they start on their homework on the last day of summer vacation."

"I have heard of this too!" Kougyoku exclaimed. "According to Ka Koubun, commoners do things called 'test of courage' and tell scary stories."

"They also go to this thing called a festival with friends where they eat and play games." Hakuei informs her sister.

"Fr-Friends!" Kougyoku yells out. She envied how lucky the commoners are. She wished she could go to a festival with her friend, Alibaba.

"But from what my classmates say, it's more than just that!"

"More!" Kougyoku takes great interest in the matter. What could be more important than going with friends?

"They said it's also a place where lovers go together!"

"Lovers?!" Kougyoku madly blushes.

"That's right. It's a very special occasion for lovers because they get to see each other wear a yukata. They get to try different types of commoner foods together. If the girl wants a prize from a booth, the guy will win the prize for the girl?!"

"Eep!" Kougyoku squeals as she fantasizes about her and Sinbad in a festival with each doing the things Hakuei just described.

"And not but least are the fireworks?! Standing side by side as they watch the exploding gunpowder light up in the night sky. Rumor has it that if a couple watches the fireworks together are destined to be together. And to seal their fate their fates together, they..."

"They..." Kougyoku leans in closer. Curious as to what happens afterwards.

"They... KISS?!"

"Kiss!" Kougyoku screams out in embarrassment. "You mean that thing grown ups do on their wedding!"

"That's the one."

"B-But don't people normally kiss when they're married?" Kougyoku asks all flustered by the new information.

"They do, but now couples kiss each other even if they're not married."

In the Kou family, they were not allowed to see their fiancé until the day of their wedding, but as time went by these traditions are becoming more lenient. So dating someone was okay. However they would only engage in intimate activities such as kissing or hugging as long as it was someone they wish to marry. Due to the influence of their family traditions, the very thought of kissing someone out in public was like a marriage proposal to the Kou family.

Although there are already others who had known about this beforehand.

"Isn't that old news?" Kouha asks his older brother, Koumei.

"Well those two barely interact with their female classmates especially on matters concerning the romantic feelings of teenage girls."

'Sister...' Like his two older brothers, Hakuryuu had already known about such things. He worries about his sister's exaggeration at the whole thing.

"Hm... So commoners do that sort of thing..." Kouen takes in the new information he had just received. He barely had any interest in that kind of stuff to begin with so it wasn't exactly breaking news for him.

After 1 hour of talking about how commoners act, Kouha decided that he had enough already.

"Enough with the lame girl talk! Let's do something more fun!"

"Like what?" Kougyoku asks although she was not pleased with the rude interruption from her brother.

"Like telling scary stories!"

Kougyoku's face pales upon Kouha's response.

"Commoners do that sort of activity during the summer. And now is the right time." Koumei checks the dark night sky.

"Sounds like fun." Hakuei joins in.

With Hakuei's participation, Hakuryuu has no choice but to join in along with Judal who found it fun to scare the living daylights out of Kougyoku.

Seeing as how a majority of his family and magi taking part of the game, Kouen had no reason to decline.

With that, Kouha started turning off the lights while Hakuei lite a candle and placed it in the center of the living room table as everyone else were seated. Kouen sat on a soft cushion recliner. Koumei took a seat on one of the wooden chairs from the dining room. Kougyoku sat on a round, soft cushioned foot stool. Judal took a seat one of the couches as he forced Hakuryuuu to sit next to him. Once all light in the room except for the one from the candle was gone, Kouha took a seat on the 'L' shaped sofa where Hakuei sat. He sat on the other end of the sofa instead of the longer end where Hakuei sat at.

The light from the candle had given the dark room an eerie atmosphere. It also made the usual mean look Kouen's face scarier than normal although this did not bother any of the others as they were used to it.

"S-So who goes first?" Kougyoku asked trying to hide her fear but to no avail.

"I'd like to go first!" Hakuei is the first to volunteer.

With no other takers, Hakuei starts her story.

"I heard this from Seishun but apparently there is a rumor at our school."

Rumor? They all knew that there were strange rumors at their school but not one that was scary in any way. This made them all the more interested in Hakuei's story.

"Rumor had it that the home ec room was haunted by the ghost of a girl who committed suicide after she was dumped by her boyfriend for her horrible cooking skills. Once all the students have gone home, the ghost shows up preparing a deadly feast for those for the man who broke her heart."

Now that scared Hakuryuu a little not because of the ghost but rather the fearsome nature of a woman's grudge. Kougyoku on the other hand was shaking in fear.

Thinking it was funny, Judal decided to creep over behind Kougyoku and blow near her ear.

"Kyyyaaaaa!" Kougyoku lets out a bloodcurdling scream thinking that the ghost from Hakuei's story was behind her.

Judal laughed his pants off at the sight of the frightened maiden.

"One day, a new student transferred over." Hakuei continued on ignoring Kougyoku and Judal's little comic routine. "He was a kind, young man who did not mind taking over the classroom chores for others. A classmate asked him to pull out all of the weeds in the back of the school in her place. Another student asked him to help out with his library duties. Being the kind person he is, he accepted their requests. However by the time he finished them, it was already late outside. Hurrying back to his class, the student happened to pass by the home ec room. Despite it being so late, the lights in the home ec room were on. Not knowing about the rumor of the haunted home ec room, the student curiously went over to the door. As his hand was reaching over the handle, the student heard a noise from the room. It sounded almost like... Laughter..."

Everyone quietly listens to Hakuei's story. Kougyoku tightens her grip on her night robes.

"Although he was a bit scared by the laughter, curiosity got the beat of him as he hesitantly opens the door. And the next day, he was never heard from again. His classmates started to worry about him each day he wasn't there. They all got worried that it might have been the ghost of the home ec room. Only one student knew the truth. Said student had finished some late basketball practice and as he was walking through the hallways he had coincidentally saw the transfer student just before he opened the door to the home ec room. And it was there that he saw it. He saw the student dragged by a pair of hands into the home ec room that no longer resembled a kitchen but rather hell itself. And that was the last he saw of the student."

"Boring..." Judal voiced out his opinion in a monotone manner.

"I didn't know we had such a rumor at our school." This was the first time Koumei heard such a thing.

"When was this? 10 years ago? 3 years?" Kouha asked Hakuei.

"Nope, Seishun said it came out only recently so it's no wonder you haven't heard about it."

"..."

Oddly enough Hakuryuu had awfully silent throughout the whole story, Kouen even took notice that Hakuryuu didn't seem fazed when Kougyoku screamed earlier. Hakuryuu's face even looked a little grim.

"Hakuryuu, you've quiet for a while..." Kouen stated.

"Don't tell me Hakuei's boring story got to you!" Judal knew Hakuryuu was a crybaby and still is, but he didn't think he'd easily get scared of a scary story.

"No... It's just that..."

"That what?" Kouha inquired.

"That Sister's story felt familiar...?" Hakuryuu answered his older brother.

"Maybe you just heard it before." Judal stated.

"No, I mean I remembered something similar to Sister's story."

"What was it?" Kouha indifferently asked while filing his nails in boredom.

"Sometime before summer vacation started, I was out training by myself until it got really late. And as I was on my way to the school gate, I passed by the home ec room. Like Sister's story, the lights in the room were on. I thought someone was inside so I decided it was to inform them that it was getting late. I opened the door but..."

"Don't tell me you met the ghost?!" And here Kouha thought it was just some random rumor.

"No way, he was probably dragged into hell like in Hakuei's story." Judal rebuts.

"Actually I can't seem to remember what happened afterward." Hakuryuu finished.

He couldn't remember?

"Every time I try to remember..." Hakuryuu starts to break out in a cold sweat. "My stomach starts getting all twisted like someone was rearranging my intestines."

For some reason, the three Kou brothers and Judal had a bad feeling that Hakuei's story was more than just a scary story.

"I believe I can help clarify what happened afterwards."

Now this caught the three Kou brother and Judal's attention as they turn their heads towards Hakuei's direction curious about the meaning behind her words.

"When I heard that we were going to being staying over at one of our beach houses, I thought it would have been best to practice preparing meals for dinner in the home ec room."

Somehow they got the distinct feeling that they could see where this was going.

"Sometimes students would come in and I would offer them some snacks I made."

...

"But then they could end up falling asleep after one bite."

...

"Really if they so that they'll end up getting fat."

No gaining weight was the least of their problems.

"One day, Hakuryuu came in. Hakuryuu was a bit hesitant to come in so I had to pull him in."

They were pretty sure if anyone has seen Hakuei's cooking they'd make a beeline towards the exit.

"Hakuryuu told me he was passing by after finishing up his self training. So I offered him some dishes I prepared. It's good to make sure to replenish your energy levels after a long workout. After seeing his pale face, I could see that he must have been exhausted from his training."

No, they were pretty sure why Hakuryuu's face was so pale and they were pretty sure it didn't have anything to do with his training.

"I don't know why but shortly after he finished eating he collapsed on the floor. He looked so lifeless on the floor. I'm not sure what was wrong with him, but his condition was so bad that he couldn't go to school for the remaining school days. He only just recently recovered."

Their earlier intuition was right. That rumor was no rumor. It was actually something completely different that got jumbled around campus and eventually turned into a rumor. Well it shouldn't be any surprise at all, that's how all rumors turn out.

"I guess that explains the decrease of students showing up before summer break started. And here I thought they were just taking an early vacation. What do you think, Kougyoku?" Kouha recalled the increase of absent students in his class.

"..."

Kouha waited for an answer but received no reply from his sister.

"Kougyoku?" Kouha turns his head towards his strangely silent sister.

"..."

He saw his sister still seated in her chair, but she looked a bit different. Her eyes were completely blank. Her face had lost a lot of color, and that wasn't from her tacky makeup.

It didn't take a genius for Kouha to realize that Kougyoku had fainted on the spot probably sometime during Hakuei's 'scary' story.

It was definitely scary, but in a different light.