The Story of Blitz : Chapter 9 - Probing

She didn’t appear…

Blitz was standing in front of the temple grounds. Usually at the crack of dawn she will be up and about, sweeping the dead leaves that scattered all over the ground, but today she’s not around. The thought made him even more worried than before.

Did I say something wrong to her last night, he thought.

He walked around the temple grounds, having never walked around it before. There’s small shrine that sells omikuji (sacred lots) fortune telling slips in wooden boxes and some other odd bits of souvenirs. There’s also a huge pine tree at the back of the shrine, together with a wall of metal wires on one side, all tied with omikuji slips. A handwritten sign is hammered to the ground, which reads,

Fold bad luck omikuji strip and attach it to the pine tree or metal wires to prevent bad luck.

Blitz didn’t know what made him do it, but he went back to the small shrine where the omikuji box is. Picking out a shiny, silver shilling form his pocket, he toyed it around and around his fingers. A little voice in the back of his mind is telling him to think twice before depositing the shilling in.

But what harm could it do? It’s just for fun, right? And it might be amusing to see what kind of fortune he gotten besides having a long life.

He slipped it into the offering box and randomly pulled out a slip of paper-

And gasped.

Great Curse (Dai-kyō)

The word is printed in English, Romaji and Japanese characters on the slip. For some reason, it made the back of his neck and his little fingers tingled.

It’s just a fortune telling slip… His mind told him.

With fumbling hands, he went to the great pine tree at the back of the shrine, folded his slip and attached it to the tree with a firm knot. Hopefully, it’ll stay there and don’t come off.



Luna was walking down the path to the florist’s to pick up some baby trees for the temple. She had came back late at night after the Phantom had ran off only to find some of the baby trees which she had planted were cruelly tugged out of their roots and left wiltered to die. On the ground there had threatening messages by the town’s teenagers.

WITCH…. GET OUT OF OUR TOWN.... STAY AWAY… GO CURL UP SOMEWHERE AND ROT…

Her eyes suddenly felt warm and prickling, and her throat’s tightening. With shaky breaths, she sat down on the wooden bench outside of the bubble tea café and buried her face into her hands.

I never thought much of the other town’s teens because all of them hated me. She thought, letting her mind wander. Ever since I came into town, they had treated me like an outcast. How many years has it been...? 2, 3 years? I forgot. I had always been alone...

Until he came.

That Blitz guy, with golden blonde spiky hair, his grey opal eyes that is actually a kaleidoscope of rainbow if you look at it closely. He was the first person who had ever shown her kindness, even offered his hand to be her friend. Her first ever friend.

Seeing him throwing the Phantom last night to save her made her seemed…humiliated. She had always been on her own, clearing the odd paranormal bits in town, but this is the first time someone came to her aid and risked himself to save her, despite the fact that they just met. Yes, it did made her humiliated for needing a guy to rescue her, it also made her angry, angry at herself for being weak, unable to fend off a so-called Phantom.

That’s why she’s mad, but she had directed her anger at Blitz. That’s why she didn’t return to the temple but wander around the town, trying to clear her thoughts. Once or twice she had passed by Casa de Angelo, and had seen Carla Angelo clearing the plates in the kitchen. But he and the others had been long since asleep.

A sweet sounding chime jolted her out her thoughts and she gave a small yelp. The café’s clock reads 12 PM.

Lunchtime already??? Oh nooooo. She was supposed to pick up the plants at eleven thirty.

Jumping back up to her feet, she practically ran down the street, feeling panicky when-

Bang!

“Ow!” She fall onto her backside with a whump.

“Are you alright?” A hand is extended out to her.

Luna could feel herself flush and getting a little angry with herself. Not again, come on, girl, pull yourself together.

She got back on her feet and felt her heart dropped for the second time this week at the person who has extended a hand to help her up.

Standing in front of her is a man, somewhere in his twenties. Even without a measuring tape, he is at least a head taller than her, who is only up to his chest. He has long black hair that is as long as hers. Eyes that are also blue like hers, but a different shade of blue. Volcanic blue, not sapphire or sky blue. He favored black a lot, a dark leather jacket that is only halfway zipped up, no vest underneath to reveal powerfully strong muscles underneath, a black leather choker with chain, dark snakeskin leather pants that fitted him nicely, no belt, but a silver chain hung from his pants, heeled chained boots and gloves. The right one covered his hand fully, whereas the left one showed of his fingers, long, slender like a pianist’s.

In other words, he’s….beautiful. Not pretty boy beautiful, but really, handsome, manly beautiful. And very bad boy looking…

Oh God, why is this happening to me??? She thought, looking awkward and even more flushed than before. Even her face is turning beet red. The first time she’s blushing very hard all because of a guy.

“You alright? I didn’t see you coming.” His voice is like soft twilight touching your senses gently.

“What? Oh, no, no, no. I’m sorry.” She said, looking down at his boots, unable to meet his face. ”I didn’t see where I was going. Oh NO!” She suddenly yelped. “I’m LATE!!!”

Without another word, she sped down the road again, leaving the handsome stranger in black behind.

***********

“Why the glum face?” Scorpio asked, busy cooking spaghetti cabonara.

“Maybe his girlfriend dumped him.” Virgo said, trying to steal some meatballs.

“That’s not a very nice thing to say, Virgo.” Gemini said from the window, waiting for the spaghetti.

“Get your hands off the meatballs.” Scorpio said, holding out the stainless steel frying pan.

“I’m single.” Blitz said, setting the plates of spaghetti on Gemini’s tray. “And my girlfriend back in Washington had broke off with me last month.”

“Heartless.” Virgo said.

“Ouch.” Gemini winced, taking up the tray but not moving.

“Waiter!!!” A voice shouted.

“Coming!” Virgo ran out of the kitchen, notebook and pencil in hand.

“Are you thinking about that girl again?” Scorpio asked, taking out a fresh stock of spaghetti, tossed it into the pot and let it boil.

Blitz nodded silently, dressing the Caesar salad with slices of Pormeno cheese and olive oil. “She’s not at the temple. She’s always there in the morning.”

“Maybe she got some errands to do.” Gemini said. “You can’t expect her to be at the temple all the time right?”

“Waitress, where’s my spaghetti?”

Gemini rolled her eyes, picked up the tray and left. Scorpio fished out the noodles, set it down on a plate and tipped a generous amount of sauce into the plate just as Blitz said, “Scorpio, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?” He asked, setting the ladle down.

“Just…Just what is up with this town?” Blitz blurted.

“Pardon?” Scorpio said, raising an eyebrow.

“I mean, the Phantom of this town is supposed to be a myth, right?” Blitz said softly.

“Well, yeah.” Scorpio said, looking surprised. “It IS a rumour, after all.”

“But the Phantom of the Opera is real.”

“That’s just fiction, Blitz.” Scorpio peered at him curiously. “Are you sure you are feeling alright?”

Blitz sighed. This is the main reason why he had never told anyone about last night’s incident. As far as he is concerned, this is something he should keep to himself. Otherwise Aunt Carla might send him to asylum with the huge hypodermic syringe.

“Is there a library near here?”

“There’s one at 3rd Street.” Scorpio replied. “Sorry, but I got stuff to do here, otherwise I’ll take you myself.”

“That’s fine, thanks, Scor.”

*************

Luna burst into the shop, just as the shop owner came out from the back.

“You’re late, lass.”

“I’m sorry. I got held up.” She panted, staggering over to the counter. “Do you still have the plants I ordered?”

“Sure do. Wait right there, I’ll be back.” He then retreated to the back of the shop.

Luna sat down on the wooden chair in the corner, taking in the flowers and potted plants. Everything in here smells strongly of fertilizer, earthly soil and water. She usually come down hereto relax, it’s like another world on its own, cut off from the outside. Taking all of these in made her seem more relaxed and calm.

Footsteps sounded in her ears, she turned and said, “How much do I-”

She stopped short as she saw it wasn’t the shop owner, but a pink haired and eyes boy together with a tall powerfully built man with shocking white spiky hair.

The boy form the winery… What was his name again… Demise?

“What is it?” She asked ,looking back and forth.

The boy, Demise smiled serenely. “I told you it’s her.”

“Indeed.” The man is extremely cold, he looks as though he’s made out of hard ice. He dropped something on the floor and she felt sick with disbelief.

Strands of blue hair.

Her hair.

The raven… But it can’t be…

“Oh yeah, the nice man who’s supposed to give your plant…” Demise tossed something on the space between them. It looks human like, two hands, legs and it’s wearing clothes, but it doesn’t have a head. Just a stump of its neck.

Luna felt herself shivering suddenly, as though the temperature has dropped into zero degrees. “What-”

“Oh, I’m so sorry for being rude. Here he is.” Demise held out something by the head no wait, it is a head. He held it by the hair, and it’s very familiar looking. The face, eyes, wide and blank staring at the space ahead….

Luna screamed.