The Pierrot and the Princess [Part 2]

     As promised, Wraith tracks the scent of the culprit, which leads into the city, specifically the arcade. Behind a machine, a hooded man stands alone. He looks slim and worse for wear; Wraith was right about him not caring for himself well, as he also appears malnourished judging by his pale skin. The two watch him discreetly from a distant dining booth.

“Is that really him?” Izumi asks.

“Sure is.”

“I wouldn’t think someone like him would be capable of killing anyone.”

“Yea, and according to you I don’t look like I’d be the strongest ghost there is, but here we are.”

Izumi tries to ignore his teases, gripping his shorts to cope. “W-well, I have an idea.”

“Which is?” Wraith’s alluring eyes throw off Izumi for a moment. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget the things he’s done, as he clearly doesn’t carry the burden of his actions on his shoulders.

“I’ll get to k-know him, try to get a confession through that.”

“Hmm. Normally I’d call you stupid, but it could work.” Wraith leans in closer to Izumi, who’s sitting across the table from him. “You see, I caught the specter that helped him just yesterday.”

“That quickly?!” Izumi nearly shouted in surprise.

“Shhh. Yes. I told you didn’t I? A territory breach is a huge issue in our world. It would’ve irked me if I didn’t take care of her asap. Lucky you though, it was the Specter of Guilt.”

“Which means he feels super guilty?”

“You catch on quick. Exactly. If you get close with him, he will probably start to feel even more guilty. If you’re having trouble, I could always pull some strings, since I have her in my possession and all.”

“You captured her?!” Izumi tries to be quietly surprised this time around.

“I did indeed. I would kill her, but if I do then the spell on the town would be released and you could kiss your article and the culprit goodbye, so I’ll wait until after you’re done.”

“Ok, that works for me. I need to do research though before I approach him, and a lot of it, so you could probably go about your business for a while. Is there a way you can get me his name?”

“Well, I can see from here that he ranks the highest on the leaderboard on that arcade game. Completely crushed anyone else on there. Name is VIX? Might help.”

“How can you see from this far away?”

“I can turn completely invisible at will and you’re wondering how I can see from this distance?” Wraith laughs, Izumi trying to ignore his constant mockery as he looks up the name on his phone.

“His name’s Fuhiro Nakamura apparently, professional at that game, seems like it’s kind of like Tetris? Actually, one of the top five.” Izumi scrolls some more, glancing at a few articles. “For whatever reason, he doesn’t go to tournaments anymore. Doesn’t say why, people speculate that he retired, but I doubt that if you said people’s perceptions were changed. Would it be possible to talk to the girl he killed?”

“Sure, if you know where she’s buried.”

“Cemetery records aren’t public in Japan. Could you try and find out for me?”

Wraith sighs. “What’s her name?”

“Toshiko Eri.”

“Got it. I could probably get you that by tonight and we could go tomorrow to check, that good with you?” Izumi nods in response. “Great, I’ll come by later today.” Again, Wraith disappears before Izumi could say anything in response, making him realize how much he hates that Wraith is in his own world on his own schedule.

     The rest of the day is spent behind his desk, sitting with his knees tucked into his chest as he does extensive research on Fuhiro. Still, there are no firm assertions on why he left the competitive scene, but Izumi does manage to find out the name of his previous sponsor just as soon as Wraith arrives, who scares the soul out of Izumi.

“Don’t you know how to use a door?!” Izumi shouts halfheartedly, his voice somewhat quivering, since he’s not the assertive type.

“Maybe you should have eyes on the back of your head, or just be more aware of your surroundings.” Wraith flops onto Izumi’s bed, where Lala is sleeping. Izumi side eyes Wraith, trying to gain the courage to tell Wraith to leave his dog alone. “Say it then, why don’t you?”

Izumi feels his heart in his throat from Wraith’s comment and gulps it back down. He tries his hardest to sound firm. “P-please,” mannnnn, “leave her a-alone.”

For the second time, Wraith’s smile is more sweet than sinister. “You need to work on standing your ground. Believe me, I don’t mind, it’s a cute look on you, but one day someone like me might take advantage of that.”

Izumi turns red from ear to ear and immediately goes back to working on his laptop. Wraith, who’s sitting comfortably on his bed, studies his room.

“I can tell you’re not a virgin, but you sure act like one.”

A shiver runs up Izumi’s spine and he whips his head to Wraith, nearly about to explode in embarrassment. “Can you please-!” Sounding downright in tears without the waterworks. Wraith’s smile shifts to his usual cocky one.

“You mind if I ask how long its been?”

“Of course I mind!” Izumi barks back.

“I won’t tell anyone.” Wraith tries to hold back his laughter. There’s nothing he enjoys more than playing with him, but even he doesn’t know why he enjoys it so much. “Come on. If it makes you feel more comfortable, I did it just a few days ago. I have people for that so I do decently often.”

“Well I don’t and didn’t need to know that!” Izumi tries to go back to his work again, but Wraith gets up from the bed and turns his chair around. Placing a hand on each arm rest, he surrounds Izumi.

“I promise I won’t laugh. I’m just curious. You always ask me questions and I always answer. Just this one, please?” Wraith gives a fake pleading voice in order to persuade Izumi, which surprisingly works, especially considering it’s the first time Izumi has ever heard him say please.

“Maybe like four years….” He mumbles.

“Hmm?” Wraith teases.

“Like four years!” Izumi shouts in humiliation, his face burning.

“See, wasn’t that hard.”

“Yes it was!” Izumi’s voice cracks as he messies his hair, trying to forget the conversation. “Why do you even ask!”

“I’m just curious. Consider it a judge of character.” Another sweet smile, more genuine than the last, causing Izumi’s heart to skip a beat. He violently shakes away his questionable thoughts. Wraith is clearly getting a kick out of him, more than he usually does. He gently picks up Izumi’s wrist. “Do you mind?”

“M-mind w-w-w-what?” Izumi’s head starts to spin, unable to take it any longer.

“Relax, I’m not gonna sleep with you. Not unless you want me to.” His comment nearly makes Izumi retract his hand and ask him to leave. “Before I forget, you need to repay your debt so far. I promise it won’t hurt too bad, just a sting.”

     Wraith holds Izumi’s wrist up to his mouth and licks, making Izumi shudder, although his heart is racing. He briefly felt a bump on Wraith’s tongue when he licked him, but his thought is interrupted as he winces in slight pain the moment Wraith bites down. Surprisingly, Wraith told the truth. Aside from the initial pinch, Izumi doesn’t really feel anything. Watching Wraith drink his blood makes Izumi wonder how blood tastes to ghosts like him. 

Eventually, he stops, pulling his teeth away and licking the wound, Izumi feeling the same bump again. Wraith’s saliva heals the wound, making it look like nothing happened in the first place, causing Izumi to pull his hand back and check his wrist in surprise and awe. He’ll never get over the prospect of magic. 

Wraith licks his teeth, swallowing the last bit of Izumi’s blood in his mouth. Wiping his mouth, he ran his fingers through his hair as he softly laughed, reminding Izumi that despite his abhorrent mannerisms, he still is unexpectedly attractive.

“W-what is it?” Izumi rubbed his wrist and tried to shake off the thoughts in his head, trying to remind himself that at heart, Wraith wasn’t a good person, no matter what outward appearance he may hold.

“You get more and more interesting with each passing second, that’s what.” Wraith looks overjoyed as a delightful grin stretches across his face. He sits on the floor, leaning his back against the bed, his knees bent with his arms on top.

“What’s t-that supposed to mean?”

“Your blood is sweet. Incredibly sweet. If it was anyone else, they would’ve accidentally killed you.”

“Is that not normal?”

“No. Normally, people just taste normal, like when you bite your tongue, you can taste the iron in the blood, basically the same taste. For specters, humans that they mold usually taste more savory or sweet, depends on a few things like their character or how they’re built but you get the idea. But you taste sweet without any of that. No specter marked you, molded you, nothing, yet you still taste sweet.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Not for me, now I’ll definitely look forward to charging you for my services. But for you, a little bit. If another spirit or specter catches you, they’ll definitely want to eat you.”
Izumi tightly grips his shorts in fear. “You won’t let that happen right?” He right away exclaims.

“Course not, remember it’s my job to keep you alive.”

“Until you figure out why I can see ghosts, and apparently why my blood is sweet. Then after that you’ll eat me too.” Izumi deducts.

“Maybe, maybe not. Maybe, when I find out why you can see ghosts, I learn that I can’t let you die. Who knows.”

“And if that’s not the case? Will you eat me?”

Wraith looks like he doesn’t want to answer the question directly, like he has an alternative in mind. “I’d rather not eat you. You’re more useful than that. Oh right, I found that lady for you. Some cemetery in the city, we can go tomorrow night, like I said. You got anything on that Fuhiro guy?”

Izumi clears his throat and tries to get back on track. “Yea, actually. I wanted to ask you something. Could you make someone tell the truth without them realizing it?”

“Would be a bit of work, which translates to pricey on your end, but yea I could do it.”

“What about making them believe anything they’re told?”

“Same thing. I could do it but it’ll be pricey.”

“Like how pricey?”

“For both? It’s better that I tell you some other time, when it’s more in the moment. Could go ahead and throw in finding that girl’s grave too. So, what were you planning?”

“I wanted to talk to his sponsor, but it’s obvious they won’t talk to some random guy, let alone say why Fuhiro stopped playing in tourneys. Especially since they’re probably under that spell that you mentioned from the Specter of Guilt, hence why I asked that.”

Wraith looks impressed, which is a first for Izumi. “Nice job kid, you’re smarter than you look. Sure, cool with me.”

“I’ll make the appointment for the day after tomorrow, their office is probably closed now, since it’s so late. Actually, I think it’d be better to talk to that girl after that then, because I have a long shift tomorrow.”

“Then that means I have to do something to do tomorrow that’s not poking fun at you. How boring.” Wraith jokes, making Izumi think I knew he did it on purpose!  “Then I’ll see you in two days.” 

After Wraith leaves, Izumi grips his chest and repeatedly tries to shake off his unholy thoughts as Wraith’s kinder side spins around his head, begging his heart to change its mind.