The Pierrot and the Princess [Part 1]

     Izumi rolled in his bed unable to sleep. With each replay of the shiba’s body, he became more and more sick to his stomach. What sickened him even more was the fact that Wraith had once played with Lala and thus the possibility of her taking the shiba’s place. That night, he procured no more than a handful of hours of rest, which were incredibly unfulfilling, so in the morning he felt more drained than the previous day. 

When he woke up, he saw the last person he wanted to see sitting beside his bed, gazing down on him with his contrasting eyes. Once more, he was in his blazer rather than his red robe. Wraith’s hand was over Izumi so that Izumi lay between the gap of his hand and body. This time, his smile was sweet, but Izumi wasn’t fooled.

“Good morning sleepy head. You look like you’ve seen better days.” Izumi didn’t want to respond to someone like him, and Wraith could tell. “It didn’t take very long for you to hate me. It doesn’t necessarily bother me either, the majority of the people, ghosts and humans alike, despise me. I could give you a reason to like me, at least a little bit, though.” His smile grew wider and more cocky than sweet. “I found your little murderer.”

Izumi shot up from his bed in both surprise and joy. “Really?!”

“Yep, did a bit of research for you too, only a little. He lives by himself, looks like a shut-in considering he doesn’t take care of himself nor his apartment very well. I could track his scent for you, could follow him today and see where he goes. Might help you figure out how you’re gonna bring him in. Theoretically, with the murder weapon found, you could just turn it in and get credit immediately.”

Izumi shook his head. “No, I could, but I wouldn’t be able to write a good article on it. I wanna know more about him and why he killed her, how one event led to another, like a whole story. It’ll make for a better piece. So approaching him would be better.” Izumi paused to think, not realizing that his face is less than a foot from Wraith’s. “Can you help me with something before? My mom, she thinks that I’m hallucinogenic. If I could show you to her, then she’ll finally believe me, I’m sure you could do that disappear and reappear thing and that would be good enough. She’ll probably faint for a second but it’s fine.”

Wraith tilts his head slightly in both confusion and surprise and chuckles. “Show me? Like some sort of talent show? Pfft. Sure alright. It’ll cost you though, just a bit of blood, how bout it?”

“What about tailing the murderer?”

“Put it under the same tab, it’s not big enough for me to ask for anything more than that. And before you ask, I promise I won’t ever drain you until an inch of your life. I can’t have you dying on me or anything close until I figure out your situation.”

Izumi wishes he didn’t have to work with him, but he was the only one he could rely on if he wanted to catch the murderer. “Alright.” He agreed.

     The blissful smell of a delicious breakfast flooded the house as Izumi opened his bedroom door and went downstairs into the kitchen. His mother had already finished cooking and the table was set to perfection. Hearing his footsteps, Izumi’s mother turned around and greeted him.

“Good morning, sweetie! I was right about to call you down.”

“Morning…” Izumi wasn’t really sure how to start. Wraith was waiting at the top of the stairs since Izumi figured it would be better for him to appear normally first rather than out of thin air. “I wanted to talk to you about something mom.”

“Sure, what is it sweetie? You finally leaving the nest? Or maybe you got another boyfriend.” Izumi shuddered at the thought of Wraith being his boyfriend.

“Well, it might be better to just show you I guess. You can come downstairs.”

Wraith descended the stairs slowly as the last thing he wanted was to take care of his unconscious mother. Luckily, Kanae didn’t pass out right away, but she was still agape nonetheless.

“The man from the drawings you do?!!” Her mouth and eyes were wide in shock. Wraith looked at Izumi with a face that clearly mocked him for drawing him, which embarrassed Izumi enough for his cheeks to burn red.

“Well, yes, but-”

Wraith sighed. “Look lady, I’ve got stuff to do with your kid so the faster that we clear this up the better. Your son isn’t delusional, ghosts are real.” With one hand, Wraith pulled a cup towards him using magic and made the other invisible. “See?”

Kanae thud onto the floor.

“Why the hell did you do that! I told you to let me talk to her first!” Izumi turned and scolded.

Wraith put down the cup and rematerialized his hand. “Yea and I did and you were taking too long. You want me to wake her up?” 

Lala was licking Kanae’s face as she slowly rose. 

“Oh just kidding. Your mom’s a real trooper kid.”

Izumi rushed over to his mother, who was on the floor holding her head. “Mom, are you ok?!”

“I’m as fine as I can be. Is he-?” She peeked over the table to find Wraith still standing there. Shaking off her son, she went over to Wraith and cautiously stuck out a pointed finger, poking Wraith’s body in several areas–Wraith doing his best to not become annoyed and reduce her to paste. “He really is real. Do that thing again.”

“Which thing?” Wraith asked.

“The invisible thing.” 

Wraith decomposed his hand. Kanae tried to touch the area his hand once was, but her hands passed right through. 

“Ok put it back.” 

He rematerialized his hand, his patience thinning but work was work. She felt his hand with both of her own, her eyes sparkling. Wraith can clearly see where Izumi gets his starry eyes. 

“Woahhhhh. So you’re like, dead?”

He pulls away his hand and makes some space between himself and Kanae. “Not particularly. Your son can explain it later if he wants to, but some ghosts are dead while others are born. I’m a born ghost.”

“So were you really that ghost he saw in the fields when he was a kid?”

“The one and only.”

Another ‘woahhh’ expression emerges on Kanae’s face before she turns to her son. “Well, then I’m sorry for not believing you, I mean-”

“It’s fine.” Izumi interrupts. “I don’t really blame you, even after seeing him for real I couldn’t believe it, for sort of similar reasons.”

“Well…” She turns back to Wraith. “Join us for breakfast won’t you?”

Izumi turns to his mom trying to gesture to her no, but since she isn’t looking, he tries to ask Wraith to decline.

Wraith shrewdly smiles. “Sure, I don’t eat though, so a drink would be nice if you have booze.”

Izumi groans in the background as his mother excitedly gets a drink for Wraith.

     The three of them are seated at the dining table, which only has four seats. While Izumi and his mother eat breakfast, Wraith merely has a glass of whiskey.

Izumi watches while his mother curiously peers at Wraith. Soon enough, his mother’s lips part in an effort to speak to him, in which he tries to stop her from asking the question before she starts, but he’s too late. “You don’t want to eat?” Kanae asks.

“I don’t, but it’s not like I can anyways.”

Izumi directs his attention to Wraith as his wonder overwhelms him once more. “Wait, why not?”

“I can only eat what I told you kid.” He handsomely winks and smirks at Izumi, causing him to break eye contact as he tries to hide his red cheeks. “If you want to tell your mom what that is, that's your choice, but I’m assuming you don’t want me to say anything, so I won’t.”

Izumi coughs in an attempt to brush off his embarrassment. “But that doesn’t really answer my question.”

“Ghosts can’t eat anything outside of their diet. So things like this, eggs, toast, vegetables, etcetera will make us sick, it’s like eating something completely flavorless and textureless. Drinks are fine though, as long as they are more on the liquid side than solid, so shakes are a no.”

“So you can never try my cooking…” Kanae sounds a bit disappointed.

“Have you ever tried eating something else?”

“On occasion I do it if I need to blend in but I’d rather not. Imagine if you ate something rotten, that’s how normal food is to us.”

A passing feeling of pity fills Izumi. Food is widely enjoyed by all, and to him, it’s disheartening to hear that he’ll never have a meal other than humans or his own kin.

Maybe that’s part of the reason he’s become so monstrous, he thinks. 

After breakfast, Izumi and his mother talk, and she agrees to talk to the therapist and have Izumi stop attending her sessions. Izumi debates telling Eiji, his best friend, about Wraith but he decides to wait as he still hasn’t entirely forgiven him.