Rikuo stared out into the sky through the window of his room. It had been three days since the events with the Baku happened and he had been patiently waiting for Shuuji to contact him again. If Rikuo was honest with himself, that day almost felt like a fever dream constructed by his own overactive imagination.
'Hopefully not.' The blonde boy chuckled to himself, shaking his head to clear out the bad thoughts. There were so many questions he wanted to ask when he met his friend again. Could he even call Shuuji his friend? Would the other boy mind it? What if he didn't want to be Rikuo's friend and Rikuo is being rude!?
So deep in his own head, the blond boy didn't notice that someone came into his room.
"Riku, are you alright?"
The boy yelped in surprise, snapping out of his spiral. He whipped around to find Ms.Shizuka, his caretaker, smiling at him in amusement. Her eyes twinkled with silent laughter at his reaction.
"You surprised me Ms.Shizuka!" Rikuo whined, pouting like a mature 15 years old, he was. Ms.Shizuka giggled at his childish display. He counted that as a victory. Sue him, in his teenage mind, his caretaker was one of the prettiest people ever.
"Haha, I'm sorry Riku."
"How can I help you Ms.Shizuka?" The chestnut haired nurse hesitated to answer. Rikuo frowned at her. He knew she only got like this when-
"Oh, did my parents call again?"
The usually cheerful boy's tone was dark as he guessed what had his caretaker in a bad mood. It hurt Shizuku to hear the child like this when asking about his own parents. She knew it wasn't her fault that Mr. And Mrs.Tsujimura were neglecting Rikuo but it also made her feel incredibly guilty about the news she was about to deliver the boy.
"I- Yes. Your parents called this morning Riku. They are transferring you to a private hospital downtown and said someone will be here to pick you up in an hour with the necessary documents." She informed him softly.
Rikuo's world came to a sudden halt. Trembling slightly, the boy asked. His voice sounded so faint and far away to his ears.
"What?..."
"You're transferring hospitals, Riku." Ms.Shizuku explained patiently, knowing how much the news must have shaken the boy up. He had been a patient in the small hospital since he was 13 after all.
Rikuo felt like he couldn't breathe. He was suffocating, unable to do anything about it. It was like he was that helpless 13 years old child again who only just lost the feelings in his legs. He hated it. Rikuo hated how helpless he felt. He hated his parents for making him feel like this again.
When Tsujimura Rikuo was young, his parents Mai and Ryuta were affectionate. They would take care of him whenever he fell sick and sing him lullabies to get him to sleep. But then years passed and he got sicker and sicker. The more ill Rikuo got, the more his parents worked to deal with the medical fees. By the time he lost his legs, his parents had gotten so busy that they didn't even have time to take care of him.
He had been alone at home when he fell so suddenly, unable to get up. Rikuo had crawled his way up to the phone to call an ambulance. Feverish and drenched to the bone with sweat. He apparently had been in a medical coma for week after that day. And when he woke up, Rikuo was left alone in the hospital with Ms.Shizuka at his side.
At first he had hoped his parents would visit him but that naivety had died after a year of no response. Sure his parents paid his expenses and they apparently kept in touch with hospital staff but they never tried to reach out to him.
'They gave up on their useless sick child.' Rikuo thought bitterly.
Yet, here they were, transferring him without asking for his opinion. It made the normally calm boy tremble in anger. Normally, he wouldn't be so against the idea. But, what of Ms.Shizuka? She was an employee of the hospital so she had to stay here.
Then three days ago he also met Shuuji and experienced things that most likely changed Rikuo forever. Shuuji had promised they would see each other again. If he transferred now then how would he find Rikuo? If he transferred now then they may as well never meet again.
Warm hands landed on his shoulders, knocking Rikuo out from spiraling further. They grounded him as Ms.Shizuka smiled at him encouragingly, her eyes soft yet sad.
"Hey, it will be okay, Riku. You can still call us after you transfer and maybe we can visit you too. Of course, I'm sure that a bright boy like you will be able to make more friends there as well. So don't be so glum, okay?"
"Okay…" the blonde mumbled. Ms.Shizuka wrapped her arms around him in a small hug before pulling away.
"Now come on, I'll help you pack."
Rikuo, nodded. 'Yeah, It's not like the world is ending just because I am transferring hospitals.' He told himself, deciding that he had gotten worked over nothing. So what if he was transferring? He could just ask the nurses to give Shuuji the directions to his new hospital. And like Ms.Shizuka said, he could always call them if he missed them. With a determined nod, the blond teen got ready to leave.
….
Within an hour, Rikuo had finished getting ready with the help of Ms.Shizuka and was waiting by the receptionist desk to be picked up. The blond had no idea who his parents sent to pick him but he would find out either way so he wasn't all that curious. He had another pressing matter at hand too to care about whoever was coming.
Rikuo smiled at Ms.Natsuki, the receptionist brightly. He widened his turquoise eyes, feeling smug as the said woman cooed.
"Ms.Natsuki can you please do something for me?" He asked. Ms.Natsuki nodded, still cooing at him.
"Of course Riku. What can I do for you?"
The blond's smile brightened even more.
"I have a friend called Shuuji who said he would come meet me soon but since I am transferring, he won't know where I would be so if possible can you-" he pretended to hesitate.
"Can I do what?" She prompted him, seemingly unlikely to refuse.
"Can you give Shuuji the directions to-"
"Give me directions to where?"
'HOLY MOTHER OF-' For god's sake what was with people today? Were they trying to give Rikuo a heart attack?
"Shuuji! What are you doing here?" The blonde asked, gawking at the boy that seemingly materialized out of nowhere.
"To pick you up of course. Your parents asked me to pick you up" Shuuji stated, pulling out a file from his jacket to show the receptionist. Who quickly took, reviewed and signed the file before handing it back.
"Everything is in the correct order." Ms.Natsuki said. She smiled at Rikuo with Ms.Shizuka by her side.
"See you kid. Take care of yourself okay?" She grinned. Ms.Shizuka gave the blond boy a one last tearful hug.
"Call me if you need anything, okay?" They waved the boys off. Rikuo felt sad to go but he did his best to not look back. Shuuji pushed him out towards the parking lot, where a fancy looking black car was waiting for them.
"So why are you picking me up?" Rikuo asked. Knowing full well Shuuji wasn't here to pick him up just because his parents asked. Heck, he was pretty sure they didn't know each other at all. Was this one of the magic mumbo jumbo Shuuji could perform?
"Do you want the official story or the unofficial one?" The ravenette asked, as he helped Rikuo into the car. Inside of the car was just as fancy as the outer and it's not like he had anything fancy in the past 3 years, nor had he been allowed out of the hospital. So Rikuo was allowed to marvel at something simple as a car.
"Both please." He mumbled, looking out the window as the car started. Shuuji nodded mumbling 'To the gate please.' to the driver before answering him.
"Well the official story is that I, your friend, offered your parents to let you stay and recover at our family owned, private hospital and your parents agreed. Unofficially, you are coming to stay with me while we get you registered as a champion with the council and further your future as a chosen one." While everything was said rather blandly, Rikuo found it quite interesting.
"So did you actually speak with my parents? And a champion? Chosen one? Exorcists are registered? Do you have your very own hidden society?" Shuuji laughed.
'Oh..' Rikuo thought, pausing to watch the calm boy laugh. He let out a sheepish laugh.
"Sorry, did I ask too fast? I just got excited."
"It's fine." The ravenette grinned. "You're good."
"So to answer your question. Yes, I did actually speak to your parents and the official story is just that. As for the chosen one and champion, it's another word for contracted people like us. I can't really explain it well but we who sign a contract with God are effectively working under them as their champion on earth. Also yeah we do have our own society and to keep track of us contracted, we are all registered by the elder council. "
"Oh, did you sign one too?" Rikuo asked curiously. Shuuji hummed.
"Yes, I signed a contract just like you." Rikuo nodded.
"So do I get cool powers like yours?" The ravenette gave him a look that slowly dawned into an understanding.
"Normally it's on the contract but you signed without being able to read it. But you can learn more once you awaken your Lwa." He answered.
"Lwa?"
"It's a familiar you could say. Lwa is a part of your soul given animal form. They used to be how people signed contracts with God but after The Revival Day they now function more like a pet." as he explained, a small scaled head poked out of Shuuji's shirt. It hissed, sounding highly offended.
"I am not a pet!~"he hissed. Shuuji laughed, "I know Jor."
Rikuo stared at them in wonder.
"Is that your Iwa?"
"Yeah, Riku meet Jor. Jor this is Riku, our friend, so treat him nicely." The last part was said as a warning. Jor hissed, tongue sticking out to touch Rikuo's offered arm. He had heard that was how snakes smelled.
"Fine, I won't eat the bird.~" he hissed in agreement before slipping back into Shuuji's shirt for another nap. Shuuji blinked at the snake.
"Okay? It looks like your Lwa is a bird of some type. Since Jor did call you a bird." He stated.
Rikuo nodded, confused.
"How does he know that?"
" Well… Lwas can sense each other and while yours is still unhatched, Jor can probably see them." He explained.
"Oh, how do I hatch them?" The blonde boy questioned. Eager to have his own partner.
Shuuji shrugged.
"After registration, you will have to go through a welcoming ceremony. A baptism of sorts if you will. It will be witnessed by the elder and three other champions. That's when your Lwa will be hatched."
They ended their questions there as Mr.Miyamoto, the driver informed them that they were at their destination. Shuuji got up first then helped Rikuo into his wheelchair while Mr.Miyamoto drove off to deliver their luggage to Shuuji's place.
Rikuo looked up curiously as Shuuji pushed him into what appears to be a rather crowded cake shop. Making the blond teen wonder if they were in the wrong place. It made him even more nervous as Shuuji pushed him past the customers and into the back of the shop that said "Employees Only."
"Uhh Shuuji, is it okay for us to be here? It did say employees only." He asked fidgeting with his sleeves. The ravenette snorted not unkindly.
"And I thought you were a smart one, Riku. This is just where we need to be." He said and it dawned on the blond teen. The entrance to their society was in a cafe, like how entrance to the wixen world was in a pub in that magic kid novel.
They rolled into a stop in front of an elevator in the very back of the hallway. Shuuji tapped the door open the pushed Rikuo, who was growing more and more anxious inside.
In the elevator there was only one button to press with a strange crossed 0 on it. The ravenette pressed it without hesitation opening the back of the elevator to reveal a street crowded with beings straight out of fairy tales.
The ayakashi mingled with humans peacefully in the city illuminated by lantern lights. Modern and traditional buildings were mixed together to create an unbelievably magical sight. Shuuji leaned into his ears to whisper.
"Riku, look up." The turquoise eyed boy did as told only to be met with a sight that absolutely took his breath away. Millions of constellations hung in the sky, like a sea of stars shining brighter than he had ever seen them. And right in the middle of it all sat a violet moon illuminating this mystical world he had stepped into. Rikuo heard Shuuji laugh as the other boy once again whispered to him.
"Tsujimura Rikuo, I Welcome you to Midnight Tokyo."