Chapter Text
The supernaturals at school tend to behave, almost sleepy in their presence, but peace is fleeting and exceptions are not uncommon, so Teru was mostly exasperated when a pest started leaving traces of their meddling all over the school.
A firefly stuck in the air, completely frozen in time.
A cat that does not move, as still as a statue in the middle of the rain, only to screech and jump in fear out of the blue minutes later, seeking warmth as fast as possible.
An alarming amount of people claiming to feel chills in random parts of their body.
Each phenomenon is surrounded by rumors, birthing small and unstable supernaturals that Teru is quick to subdue.
Thankfully, many of these new rumors were too weak to take form but Teru stayed alert, aware people like to bring horror elements to their innocent tales the moment they got bored. But for now, he’ll focus on Mystery Number 1, sure one of its keepers was the one behind all these anomalies.
.
The culprit of it all passed by his class window, sparing Teru from hunting him down: the humanoid supernatural was following a third-year girl, not taking his eyes off her. Teru felt his mood drop at the apparition's fancy old-fashioned clothes and long red hair, sure from the fascination in his shiny eyes that he was the one causing trouble.
School Mysteries are dangerous, made to stay within their boundary. Why is this one stalking a student? What is he planning?
The supernatural didn’t notice Teru’s eyes on him, fully focusing on the girl. He sat down with his back towards Teru, seemingly happy just staring at the older girl, who mindlessly braided her hair and checked her phone.
Teru frowned at the way the supernatural undid his low ponytail, awkwardly copying her every move, trying to braid his own hair. It was a pitiful attempt to feel human but nothing that might hurt her.
Not until the supernatural scooted closer to the girl, stopping her time.
Teru tensed up, immediately raising his hand “Professor, I have already finished the assignment, may I take a bathroom break?”
“Always so quick.” The teacher smiled with pride “You can go, Minamoto-san.”
Teru thanked her, speeding up the second he was out of class, ready to resort to violence. To his surprise, the girl time was running again when he reached the schoolyard, and the supernatural was still braiding his hair, acting peaceful as he chatted to himself “You’re so talented Rita-chan! I can’t braid with only one hand! With two is already a bit tricky… Am I doing it right? I’m sure you would teach me if you could hear me, you’re so sweet.” The supernatural sighed happily “Is hard to find people as sweet as you, make sure to never lose that Rita-chan…” He trailed off, distracted when the girl laughed at something on her phone.
He paused her time again, as if in a trance.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
The supernatural startled, his frown turning into shock when he found Teru glaring at him.
“You..." His voice got quieter "Can see me....?”
“Answer.”
The supernatural tilted his head in a short and jerky manner, like a clock arrow that was unable to move freely, forced to jump with each tic. It was rare for a pest playing make-believe to have such an inhuman habit. The supernatural lit up, giggly by the attention, but also visibly confused, eyes lingered on Teru's sword, taking a moment to process his order “Ah, I am keeping Rita-chan company.” He pat his own long hair, breaking into a relaxed smile, “What do you think about my braid? Is it good?”
Teru narrowed his eyes, on a technical level it was decent, but he still dislike it.
“Not good hum…” The fool lost some of his cheer at Teru's silence, but he sounded more pensive than angry, not hesitating to undo his messy braid and try again, more carefully this time. The determination in his eyes was far too intense for his semi-translucid body.
“Your efforts are futile, supernatural.” Teru's voice grew colder “You’re not human, pretending to be one is painful to look at-”
“I’m not pretending to be anything, human.” He cut him off, mocking the way Teru said ‘supernatural’ “I just want to get closer to Rita-chan.” He softened when he looked at the girl who was still frozen in time “Braiding is nice, I can see why she likes it,” The tip of his fingers passed through the girl’s braid. “...I bet it would be even more fun if she taught me.”
The wistful tone was familiar by now, it carried implications that betrayed his longing for life.
No matter how much supernaturals tried to fool themselves, it was always the same story, the same pitiful attempts to experience what they have long lost, playing nice but sinking their greedy claws where they don't belong, not caring who got hurt as long as it allowed them to cling to the Near Shore.
It sickened him.
“Are you attracted to this girl?”
The supernatural beamed, a switch being flipped “Of course! Rita-chan is an angel!”
That’s dangerous. In no time he would do something reckless and ruin the girl’s life.
“She is so cute! I learned a lot about baking because of her!” He smiled brightly, “She wants to be a cook! I tasted one of her breads and it's so good, I know she has a future!” His eyes sparkled, jumping to his feet and getting closer. This one was a lost cause, fantasizing about the living and going as far as to eat human food. It would be easier to eliminate the threat before he lost it completely but Teru can’t kill one of the seven mysteries. He can, however, send a message that will be hard to forget “When she opens her bakery, she'll give her brother free pastries! She is such a good sister, I want to-”
Teru stabbed his chest, meeting his surprised eyes with cold ones.
“Wha-”
“You shouldn’t get attached to the Near Shore,” He focused his spiritual energy on the tip of his blade “You’ll ruin Rita-senpai’s life.”
The supernatural winced, wide eyed “I would never hurt her- ” He gasped when Teru sunk his sword deeper, grabbing the blade with a frown “Fuck- This is pain??” A deep crimson stained the pest's white vest, the sight used to unnerve Teru when he first started working, but he got used to it, focusing on the lack of smell “St…Stop!” The supernatural coughed, finally panicking. He fought to push the sword back, his unfinished braid already coming undone “Get it… Off!”
“I’ll spare you if you stop mingling with the school." Teru discharged a wave of lightning down his blade, apathetic to the supernatural's screams: He made sure not to hit his core, so it may hurt, but it won’t exorcise him. "Stay in your boundary, No.1. Your carelessness has created plenty of rumors.”
The supernatural twitchy hand held on to his wrist, the tight hold enough to activate his time powers: One second Teru had the cockroach in his grasp, the faint sound of a clock ringing above his head and a sudden cold enveloping him, the next he was in an abandoned classroom full of empty desks shoved in a corner, the supernatural safely away, staring at him in wonder. His braid fully done, neater than ever.
There was a slight itch in Teru's collar and wrists that wasn’t there before. He also wasn’t holding his sword. He couldn’t even see his weapon.
His time had been frozen: He had been completely powerless as the supernatural unarmed and dragged him here.
(He could have died.)
Teru went rigid, facing death on the daily as an exorcist, but never in such a deceivingly innocent way.
Ignorance may be bliss, but it is dangerous.
“Are you worried about Rita-chan?”
“How long did you stop my time?”
“Are you worried about Rita-chan?” The supernatural repeated, his face unreadable “One question for a question.”
“I can’t trust you.”
“You just stabbed me.” The supernatural raised a brow “That’s not usually a sign I can trust you.”
…Tch.
“Will I get my sword back if I answer?”
“Maybe,” The supernatural eyes crinkled in a suspicious manner, “But you will get an answer to your question.”
Arrogant pest.
Fine. He’ll play along.
“...Yes, I was worried about Rita-senpai.”
“I wasn’t going to hurt her, boy.” He reassured, “I only want her to be happy.”
“With you. You want her to be happy with you. ” Teru called him out, feeling on edge without his sword “That’s dangerous, supernatural.”
“No, I don’t!” He snapped, overly defensive. “I don’t." He calmed down "I truly don't, I am… I would be okay if she found someone that made her happy.” He lied to himself, “And it’s Aka.”
“...Excuse me?”
“My name is Aka, not supernatural, ” The supernatural said, which was painfully uncreative. Did he really see his red hair and named himself Red? “So call me that.”
“That’s not a name.” Teru refused to give this fool a name.
“Don’t be a brat.” The supernatural made a face between a frown and a pout “How old are you ?”
“How old are you?” Teru asked back.
“...Around 20?” He said, not sounding very confident. It’s hard for a supernatural to not obsess over the date of their death, so this one must have memory issues.
“What about you?”
“I am 14,” Teru narrowed his eyes at the surprise on his face “I’ll be 15 soon.”
“You’re younger than I thought…” He commented, Teru glared, getting the supernatural to raise his hands in mock surrender, “I froze you for 7 minutes, no need to freak out.”
7 minutes is way too much time to waste on a singular pest.
Teru grabbed the clock keeper by the wrists, suspecting contact with his gloves were needed to stop time, and slammed him on one of the desks, hating the not-quite-solid cold of the dead but getting some satisfaction at the shock in his eyes. “Listen here,” He spoke, unwilling to give up “If you bother a single student, for whatever reason, I’ll exorcise you on sight.” His voice grew harsher “Now, tell me where my sword is if you want to keep your miserable afterlife for another day.”
The supernatural focused on one of his hands, face unreadable “You’re an exorcist. Is that why you can touch me?”
Teru tightened his hold, unable to feel any warmth “Don’t test me.”
“I could warn you the same,” The supernatural clicked his tongue and lunged, aiming to bite his nose. Teru was caught off guard, leaning backyard on instinct and feeling a sudden pain in his stomach, which was already injured from yesterday's night patrol. Teru yelped, slackening his hold enough for the supernatural to punch his side and escape.
“I’m the keeper of the present, No.1 of the Seven Mysteries.” The supernatural declared with arrogance, bouncing on the heel of his shoes with restless energy and getting in a judo stance, which proves braiding is far from the only thing this parasite picked up from humans “You can’t beat me without your sword, kid.”
Teru glared, pouring spiritual energy on his bracelet and commanding the beads to tie him up, watching the creature stumble to the ground with minimal satisfaction, his gloved fists tied behind his back and braid falling in front of his face ”What the-” The clock keeper groaned, more offended than scared “You have way too many dangerous toys!”
“You talk too much.”
“And you’re a jerk. It’s not every day a living being can see me, you know.” The tied supernatural said, blowing his messy fringe out of his face and sending Teru a dry look. “You’re ruining the experience.”
“Tragic,” Teru deadpanned, feeding more of his energy to the bracelet and ordering it to tighten “Now, give me my sword back.”
The supernatural coughed when his stab wound was squeezed, wheezing out a laugh.
“Eat shit, kid.” He glared at Teru with no hint of fear and bit the beads on his shoulder, displaying sharp fangs that were useless against his family weapon. “Damn it-” He struggled even harder, straining his jaw and slamming his tied ankles on the ground, flailing like a particularly feral cat as he spat the restraints “Why won’t this thing budge?!”
“I don’t think you realize your position.” Teru kicked him, tensing up at the sudden sound of a ticking clock “Don’t-”
But it was too late. He could already see a ghostly clock above his head, body growing cold.
In a blink of an eye, his beads prison was laying on the floor and the supernatural was up, making a show of resting his hands on his knees and breathing heavily despite no longer having lungs. His partly undone braid and beaten-up clothes were the only signs that there had been a real struggle to get out.
“Your time is up already?!” The supernatural's eyes widened, straightening his back in alarm “You were supposed to be frozen for an hour, not twenty-seven minutes!”
He didn’t grace him with an answer, weirded out that he had been fighting his restraints for long enough to loosen the beads. In his experience, supernaturals don’t like to put up a fight, they either have the high ground, or they give up.
This roach is dangerous.
Teru jumped for his bracelet, watching with mild panic as the school mystery kicked the beads out of his reach, the ticking of a clock making Teru instinctively roll away when he hit the ground, almost slamming on an abandoned desk.
Unfortunately, he can’t escape time.
In a snap, his sacred beads disappeared from sight, his hands got tied by a shoelace, and the smug clock keeper towered over him, sticking his tongue out. “Got ya, kid.” He smirked “I found some suspicious seals on you and took them away as well. Not so cocky without your toys, are you? Now-”
He kicked the supernatural’s knees, satisfied by the way he fell face first on the ground, cursing loudly.
Teru could get out of the shoelace restraints and attack No.1 while he was down, but what would be the use? He no longer has weapons, and going against a school wonder that can stop time with empty hands was stupid. He shouldn’t risk angering him too much, less No.1 decides to attack while Teru’s time is frozen.
He might need to trick him.
“What do I need to do to get my heirlooms back?”
“Not fight me?” The supernatural grumbled, putting his hands on his hips “But I get a feeling that won’t happen. You sure love fights, don’t you kid?”
“Not particularly.”
It alleviates stress, it gives him a purpose.
It's the root of most of his stress, he no longer knows how to feel about his purpose, the pride has grown almost hollow, all that's left was something heavy he couldn’t name.
“Your arms are caked with bandages, kid.” The supernatural didn’t seem convinced “I doubt you got that in math class.”
Teru stared at him with a blank expression, not owning the roach an explanation. The School Wonder stared back, eyes big and deceivingly innocent, he could almost believe this was a grumpy teen instead of a parasite that can’t let go of a decades old corpse.
“Geez, you’re awful at talking.” The supernatural sighed, shoulders slumping “Fine, I’ll give your sword back, but on 2 conditions.” He raised two fingers, eyes sparkling. “First, let me feel your pulse.”
Teru went rigid, jumping to a defensive stance on instinct.
“Don’t look at me like that,” No.1 snorted “If I wanted to hurt you, I would have hurt you already.”
… He has a point. But Teru isn’t naive enough to believe he does not has an ulterior motive.
The supernatural fumbled with his vest pockets, fishing for an antique notebook overflowing with sticky notes, his glare failing to mask the excitment in his eyes “I am just curious, I swear. I can hear a heartbeat if I really try but I can’t get a hold on people for long enough to feel it. I tried to just ask, but every supernatural that used to be human gave me different answers. I can tell Honourable No.7 is full of shit, so I ignored his explanation.” He opened his notebook, flipping through the pages “I still don’t know what Tsuchi-sensei meant by saying it pulses in a pleasant way, not a headache way.” he stopped on one of the pages with the most stick notes, the look on his face borderline maniac “It can’t be like slamming on the school barrier. Even if the feeling matches the description of making my body throbs, it’s far from pleasant.” He scoffed, taping his finger on his notebook hardcover in a mechanical manner “When I mentioned loud music Kako said it was different? It kinds of make your body vibrate, not pulse? Speaking of the old man, his explanation also doesn’t help! I am not sure what a ‘living clock’ would feel like-”
…He was still going.
Still rambling about a pulse.
Teru cast a critical look at his notebook, catching a glimpse of a stick note on the verge of falling off with the sketch of a medical heartbeat in it.
Teru felt somewhat detached, realizing this isn’t a trick. No.1 is insane.
“I get it.” Teru cut him off, not in the mood for a madman's ramble. He already lost way too much time as it is today. “I’ll let you check my pulse.”
The supernatural ceased his talking, too excited to get offended. He practically threw his book on one of the abandoned desks and took off his gloves, displaying red marks from when he struggled with his beads escape. Teru inwardly frowned, slipping his hands off the shoelace tie with minimal effort (learning how to use his bracelet made him very familiar with being tangled up) and offering his wrist to the annoyance before he could get any stupid idea and check his neck.
No.1 hesitated, smart enough to be wary of how easily Teru got out of his bonds, before gently holding his wrist. Direct contact was even colder than touching his gloves, Teru had to hold back a shiver at the unpleasant feeling, the supernatural didn't even try to hide his shiver, freezing on the spot “...Wow.” He lightly squeezed his wrist “...It’s so fast.”
‘You’re basically holding me hostage, what did you expect?’ Teru thought, every nerve in his body screaming to cut him down, not let the monster touch him.
“Kako was right… It is like a living clock.” The supernatural thought out loud, blushing and unconsciously softening his voice, “It feels warmer than when your time was stopped too…”
He knew No.1 had to touch him to drag him to this room, but the realization he must have tried to check his pulse without Teru's knowledge was unsettling.
“...What’s the second condition?” Teru asked, not wanting to stay near him without his sword for longer than necessary.
“That you don’t try to stab me again.” The clock keeper raised a brow, his attempt to be judgemental ruined by his visibly good mood. He seemed more curious than frustrated “Why do you even want to exorcise me? I never did anything to you.”
“I had no intention to exorcise you. It was merely a warning.”
“A warning?” No.1 blinked, incredulous “You stabbed me as a warning? For what??”
“You’ve disturbed the school stability, you keep doing whatever you want like a reckless child.” He frowned “Your interferences with the rumors aren't extreme at the moment but they may affect the three clock keepers rumor, and that can put the students at risk.”
No.1 made a disgusted face “You sound like Kako.”
“Who?” He frowned, sure they didn't just name the keeper of the past 'Past'. That would be even worse than the red head being called 'Red'.
“The keeper of the past.” No.1 slumped, “He’s is always going ‘Don’t do anything stupid, Aka. Stay in the boundary, Aka. We don’t need you falling in love with a student again and crying when they graduate, Aka. Mirai gets bored when you’re depressed, Aka.’ like I am some reckless kid whose only job is to babysit.” He scoffed, waving a hand in annoyance, but keeping the hold on Teru’s wrist suspiciously gentle. “It’s been months since I was allowed out!”
“You should listen to him.” Teru deadpaned, “There is a reason you aren't allowed outside, No.1.”
“Call me Aka,” He said, tilting his head in that jerky and short manner. This time he moved faster, in sync with Teru’s heartbeat “And I never hurt anyone.”
“Yet.”
“...Your certainty I’ll hurt someone does make me want to punch you.” The supernatural admitted with a tense smile, slightly squeezing his wrist before letting him go “But I promise I will never hurt a human.”
Yeah right, like Teru never heard that one before.
“Though I doubt you’ll believe me.” The clock keeper sighed, fishing a pen from his white vest and going to his open notebook, eager to write down the info he gained today.
“You’re not as much of a fool as you look.”
The supernatural bristled, sending him a death glare but prioritizing his notebook. He wrote surprisingly fast, finishing the journal pages quicker than Teru does his school work, and going back to glaring “I’m tired of your attitude. So I’ll show you.” The supernatural walked into his personal space, offering his hand and using full advantage of the three inches he has on Teru to look down on him “Let’s make a deal. If I hurt someone, you’re free to exorcise me.”
Teru blinked. That's convenient.
“Very well,” He grabbed his hand, not trusting No.1 to go through with this deal once his rumor changes or he has a bad day, but not against such a nicely handed excuse “I’m counting any damage from any rumors that sprout from your actions too.”
“Of course you are, brat.” He groaned, but did not hesitate to shake his hand. “I’ll keep them in check too. Promise.”