A classroom door opened and a high school boy entered. Buttons were in place and his uniform was clean. Though, his dress shirt wasn't ironed. Look, the student cared enough to look presentable, but was practical enough to know that there was no point ironing his black shirt if he was going to cover it with a dark red blazer.

When he approached his desk, his dark brown hair momentarily fell over his eyes as he glanced down. Lips pressed into a thin line, the boy observed the state of his desk. Trash, such as finished food packages and tissues, were dumped onto it. Oh, and special mention to the strings of childish and derogatory insults carved onto the surface.

An exasperated sigh left the student. Luckily, it was pretty early. He had time to clean the desk before class started. As for the carvings? Well, he would be covering them up with books and such anyways. Already prepared for scenarios such as this, the student took out disposable gloves from his bag. As he was just about to put them on, he heard snickering from behind his back. Dark brown eyes narrowed as his gaze turned to the classroom door.

There were three other students. They were sneering with eyes crinkled in arrogant amusement.

A girl laughed, "I bet he's going to cry."

"Pft, he's looking at us," a boy said. "What's with that face? You turning into a vengeful apparition or something?"

"Disgusting," another boy followed up with. "Alastor. Even his name sounds close to the word apparition."

Alastor sighed at the trio.

Apparitions. The city's enemy. Look, it wasn't like Alastor was an apparition enthusiast waving around huge cardboard signs saying that we should love and appreciate them––he simply expressed a different opinion during class once.

"I think some apparitions are pretty harmless, though. They just exist. Why bother exorcising them?"

Alastor remembered how the class fell silent as the teacher awkwardly cleared his throat and moved on with the lesson. People then tended to act distant towards him, but it wasn't anything terrible really. Such treatment was inevitable for those who didn't follow the crowd. However, there were a few annoying consequences. Some saw it as the perfect opportunity to target him. These idiots, for example. There were a couple of others, but these three seemed obsessed with him.

Alastor approached the three students.

"Oh, he's mad," one of the boys, which Alastor mentally noted he put way too much gel in his hair, laughed at him. "Maybe he will turn into a vengeful apparition after all! But he'd have to die first––"

The best thing to do was to remain calm and not aggravate the situation. That was reasonable. Walk away and get on with your day.

So Alastor punched the boy in the face.

Cut to the principal's office. Without shame and with arms folded, Alastor casually sat in his seat with three beaten up students on the other side of the room. Alastor had a few bruises and scratches of his own, but he dealt more damage than received.

"Let this slide?!" The boy's loud voice could give megaphones a run for their money. "He almost killed us!"

Dramatic. All I did was rearrange your jaw a little.

In between sobs, the girl choked out, "He even hit a girl!"

"I don't discriminate," Alastor replied.

The principal merely sighed at the bickering and ran a hand through his greying hair.

"You both were in the wrong. Alastor has already apologised, now you three need to do the same."

"But—"

"Look." The man's voice was stern and void of patience. "Elias from the speciality force is coming to conduct a lecture this afternoon. It's either I send you three home to not disrupt such an esteemed guest or you behave."

Looks like this school's annoying obsession with the AEI was in Alastor's favour for once. The students closed their mouths, conflicted. Secretly, Alastor stuck out his tongue at them whilst the principal was preoccupied with his computer. Alastor laughed in his head seeing their faces go red with anger.

"I'll still be calling your parents, Alastor," the principal said, sending a pointed look in Alastor's way.

Alastor managed to stop himself from scoffing. "Kay."

After Alastor received three pathetic apologies, the four were dismissed. The other students didn't even try to hide their hateful glance towards him as they left.

The bell rang for lunch and Alastor sat outside to eat. Not at an isolated spot, but at a single table so no one could sit near him. Well, not that many would want to. Alastor didn't have any close friends. This was primarily due to his frequent school changes and his refusal to conform to whatever stupid expectations or attitudes others wanted. Back at his old school, the obsession with becoming exorcists was far worse. Everyone wanted to be part of the AEI. Students there were those who wanted to make it into an academy specialised for training exorcists, but weren't good enough.

"You realise that the AEI isn't perfect, right? You shouldn't romanticise it."

Alastor said that to the students he was sitting with for group work. To keep it short, they didn't react well to it and he was quickly ostracised at the school.

Alastor sighed. "So annoying."

He took out his lunch. The cafeteria food was mediocre, so he learnt to cook. To be honest, he just learnt one recipe and called it a day. A very simple one as well. Fried rice. The first time Alastor made it, he almost thought his tongue would fall off by how bad it was.

Alastor's phone rang. A glance at the screen revealed his mother's name on the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Alastor, I got a call from your school."

Already? Looks like I know what this school prioritises.

"Just... try to not let your emotions get to you, okay?"

Alastor narrowed his eyes. "Did they explain everything?"

"They mentioned that the three students said a few things to you."

The boy sighed. "And the desk? The consistent bullying?"

"The principal explained that as well."

"And despite all of that, I should just close my mouth and bottle my anger?"

"Well, it's good to be mature, right? If you're angry, you could take it out on other things. Oh, I know! Would you like me to sign you up for any sports clubs? I heard physical activity is a good stress reliever."

Sure, his mother's words had some merit. Punching a guy in the face, though very satisfying, wasn't the best course of action. However, there was something about his mother's approach and attitude that pissed Alastor off.

"So not concerned about the bullying?" Alastor scoffed. "Whatever."

"Wait—"

Alastor hung up the phone just in time for the end of lunch. Students were instructed to head to the lecture hall. Excitement and anticipation buzzed in the air. Alastor sat down and, with nothing better to do, he listened in on nearby conversations.

"I'm so excited! Elias is my favourite. He kind of gives off rich CEO vibes."

"I dunno, Sara isn't talked about enough. I met her at the shopping mall last month. It was insane, she managed to reduce hundreds of dollars worth of clothes to half the price."

"I personally think Caleb is the best. He's so fun. One time he walked past us playing basketball and joined us."

"Ohh, how was he?"

"He destroyed us all."

Chatter went on for a solid ten minutes. Eventually, voices quieted down before the hall went dead silent. A young man, which everyone immediately recognised to be Elias, with brown hair a few shades lighter than Alastor's stepped on the stage. Elias's footsteps were silent; if Alastor closed his eyes, he wouldn't know someone was there.

Elias glanced around the hall. Everyone tensed at his gaze, hoping it'd fall on them. Yet, paradoxically, were also afraid to meet such an authoritative gaze. Alastor also spotted a few female teachers who had taken extra measures to appear more polished than usual.

"I'd like to extend my thanks..."

Anddd, Alastor was zoning out. Formalities bored him. While everyone else hung on every syllable Elias spoke, Alastor wondered what life would be like if he had an extra arm. Don't get him wrong, he wasn't the only one that wasn't fixated on Elias. There were a few who were either on the same boat as Alastor or still admired Elias, but weren't die-hard fans.

"Moving on, today I'd like to talk about vengeful apparitions. New information has been discovered and there seems to be misconceptions about them as well."

That got Alastor's attention. Elias first went through the basics. Vengeful apparition manifests from their frustrations and rage––all that stuff.

"Before I move on, are there any questions?"

Many hands shot up. And by many, Alastor meant basically the entire hall. Elias didn't seem phased and went through each person swiftly. Alastor had to give it to Elias, he respected the effort and efficiency. Some questions were genuine and allowed Alastor to learn interesting information. Others were pretty unnecessary.

"Are you single?"

"Next question."

Elias would skip over those people without a thought. That was pretty hilarious.

"Any final questions?"

Alastor sat with folded arms, tapping a finger against his elbow. He didn't intend on asking a question since he knew it'd draw negative attention to himself, but the thought of that being the responsible course of action his mother would've wanted left an irksome feeling within him.

Alastor raised a hand. Yes, he acted out of spite.

"Yes?"

"Are there other ways to deal with vengeful apparitions other than exorcising them?"

If that question caught Elias off guard, he sure as hell didn't make it obvious. "Would you like to elaborate?"

"Dunno, like talking to them? Can't we find a way to calm them down or something? We can learn more about apparitions and even ensure a peaceful passing."

A student spoke up. "Why bother with the emotions of apparitions?"

"You know that apparitions were once humans, not some entity that spawned out of nowhere, right?" Alastor sighed. "Imagine how their families feel seeing their loved one become a vengeful apparition and then get exorcised without a second thought––like the moment they become an apparition they no longer deserve to be treated with any respect."

Though there wasn't any chatter in the first place, somehow the hall felt more silent. Sharp and critical eyes bore into Alastor like nails hammered against a wall.

As much as Alastor hated to admit it, it made him feel small.

Contrary to everyone else, Elias's eyes held no judgement. In fact, they were clouded in thought. Alastor wasn't sure if Elias was good at hiding his emotions or if he truly didn't feel like Alastor's question was as bad as everyone else deemed it to be.

"It's an interesting consideration. However, it would take a substantial amount of time," Elias responded. "The priority of the living takes precedence."

Alastor couldn't shake the feeling that Elias's response was a weird mix between his genuine thoughts and the constraints imposed by the AEI's code. Alastor could pry further, ask further questions. However, as much as a non-conformer Alastor was, he didn't have a social death wish at the moment. Plus, a few teachers were shooting him a warning look. Probably didn't want the school to look bad in front of Elias, especially since he was the grandson of the Chairman and all.

Alastor sighed quietly. I feel suffocated.

More time passed as Elias continued his lecture. A hand was raised and a student asked,

"How long does it take for a vengeful apparition to form?"

"Contrary to popular belief, vengeful apparitions don't certainly manifest immediately. Emotions can take a while to fester. We found cases where it took several years," Elias explained. "Vengeful apparitions don't act on reason, driven by rage. Sometimes it's hard to find logic in their actions and pinpoint the exact reason for their anger."

Oh, right. There was a pretty intense rumour about a girl who died in this school and vehemently cursed everyone. It had a lot to do with her being bullied and ostracised––pretty similar to Alastor's situation. People were pretty paranoid about it since she never came back as a vengeful apparition.

It seemed like Elias picked up on that because he followed up his response with,

"However, those are extremely rare cases."

Huh. He's done his research, hasn't he?

Once the lecture ended, students were left disappointed that they couldn't talk to Elias. The guy was busy and efficient. The moment the lecture was done, he was out of the school building to tend to other business.

After the lecture there was still time to head to class and do work, much to Alastor's displeasure, so here he was sitting in English class listening to the drones of his teacher.

"The blue curtains represent the character's sorrow."

Or maybe the author just wanted the damn curtains to be blue.

Alastor glanced at the clock. There were only a few minutes left as well. At this point, he was just watching the minutes go by, waiting for an appropriate time to start slowly packing up.

Suddenly, there was a bad feeling. It started off very subtle, easily brushed off like an uncomfortable hair strand on your arm. But then the feeling became more prominent. Apparitions. There were apparitions in the school building. Alastor, along with a good portion of the class, cast wary glances around the room.

Not everyone had exorcism abilities, but a good chunk of the school at least had a modicum of sensitivity to discern apparitions that were typically invisible to the normal eye. Alastor had exorcist abilities and had exorcised a few apparitions in his lifetime, though he was not as proficient as those who trained at the academy or those have dedicated their lives to work at the AEI.

Murmurs of student's surfaced.

"Is it an apparition infestation?"

"Didn't we already have one earlier this year?"

Apparition infestations weren't common, usually a few times in a year. The closer to the centre of the city, the more often it'd happen. Alastor heard a passing rumour there was an invention in the works that would reduce apparition infestations in schools.

The teacher cleared his throat. "Remember the procedure, don't panic and keep a calm mind to not be vulnerable to possessions."

An alarm blared throughout the school, confirming the nature of the situation. Students swiftly rose from their seats. Sensing something was off, Alastor rubbed his thumb and finger together with a furrowed brow. There was something odd about the air. Apparition infestations would typically lead to a drop in temperature, but it felt humid.

A shrill, panicked scream echoed through the hallway,

"There's a fire outside!"

Before the weight of those words could fully register, a sudden burst of flames erupted and consumed the school hallway. The cacophony of terrified gasps and screams intertwined with the crackling of the flames.

Apparitions infiltrated the classroom. Some students took action and exorcised the apparitions, Alastor was one of them.

Ugh. The feeling is so weird.

The last time Alastor exorcised an apparition was a few months ago, so his hands weren't used to the sensation. His palms began to heat up, though that feeling was almost negligible by how warm the room was becoming.

Right. I have those gloves with me.

Gloves that regulated one's hand temperature to prevent them from overusing their ability and having their arms paralysed. These were expensive and Alastor took on a part time job to afford them (fuck customer service). The ones the AEI supplied were of higher quality, but these did the job.

"Students without gloves refrain from exorcising the apparitions." Alastor's teacher stepped in front and exorcised the apparitions in the area. "And those who own the gloves, don't use that as an excuse to be reckless."

Everyone managed to safely get out of the classroom. If it wasn't obvious by now, this was not the typical apparition infestation. A vengeful apparition was everyone's conclusion. It was the most reasonable one as well, especially with Elias's lecture fresh in their minds.

Alastor mumbled, "This is going to make the news for sure."

The building seemed to quiver and groan, crumbling due to the vengeful apparition's wrath. The corridor was shrouded by flames––not ordinary ones that could be rid of by a fire extinguisher.

There was a scream to the left. Alastor turned his attention to that direction and saw a distressed girl cornered by apparitions, likely separated from her class. She was panicking and worn out. A perfect formula for possession. Alastor's teacher was preoccupied clearing the path and everyone else were either too caught up in their own fear to notice or were hesitant to help.

Alastor sighed, weighing the consequences of what he was planning to do next. He'll never live this down if he looked the other way, huh? Against his better judgement, he ran over. A few people called out to the boy, but he tuned them out and focused on the girl. She was grasping her throat, more apparitions were closing in––they had already begun possessing her.

Alastor had knowledge of exorcising an apparition out of someone, but he had never done it before. Amidst the chaos, he frantically combed through his memory.

Okay... First, let's create a barrier.

"... How do I do that again?" He mumbled. "It was like this, right?"

With a quick hand gesture, a transparent red sheet covered the two. Yeah, good enough. Now onto the difficult part. Alastor kneeled down to the crouching girl's level and took a deep breath. A subtle glow came from his palms as he focused his energy on the girl. Gradually, the grip around her throat loosened and a sense of clarity returned to her eyes.

He had done it. Alastor managed to exorcise the apparition out of her.

Huh. Maybe I am a genius.

She meekly looked up to Alastor. "Th-thank you."

She was still shaken up by the possession. Unfortunately for her, Alastor wasn't a full fledged exorcise and didn't know how to execute the appropriate measures to help her mental state.

"It'll be more of a thanks if you got up and go. I'll get rid of nearby apparitions."

"O-okay."

Alastor did his best to clear up the area of apparitions. Not even a minute later, there was a sound of rumbling from above. In an instant, the roof caved in with a deafening crash that seemed to shake the earth. The crash blocked the once-clear hallway path with wreckage and debris. The air thickened with dust and Alastor scoffed.

This is what I get for being a good person. Noted.

As the flames surged higher and the number of apparitions multiplied, Alastor figured it was best to retreat. He sprinted across the hallway, grabbed the first door he could find, and rushed into the room. It was the nurse's office. With time against him, Alastor glanced around the room. There was a window. Risky, but Alastor could get out through there.

With that in mind, he made his way over. What stopped him was a sudden ominous presence that phased through the wall. It was a murky dark red figure that took a rough form of a silhouette of a person. A vengeful apparition. Alastor was met face to face with it. Or, rather, her. It had to be her. The girl from the rumours.

Just my fucking luck––

To no one's surprise, the vengeful apparition spared no time attacking Alastor. He cast a barrier and managed to narrowly block the attack. The barrier expended most of his energy, he was on the verge of collapsing due to exhaustion. Surviving for more than five minutes was out of the question, let alone defeating her. What to do... What to do...

This might be dumb, but it's my only option.

Talking was his best shot at the moment.

"Hey, you know—"

CRASH!

Holy fu––she had NO patience. The apparition mercilessly slammed against Alastor's barrier. He could feel her powerful weight against it. Only a couple more hits and he could kiss his protection goodbye.

"Hey! We're the same! People hurt you just because you think a little differently, right? It's the same for me."

Alastor wasn't sure if he was making any sense. The urgency and pressure of the situation along with his fatigued state didn't exactly make him a class-a speaker.

Another crash against his barrier. This one caused Alastor to visibly wince.

"I'm ostracised just because I believe there's another way to deal with vengeful apparitions besides exorcising them without a word," he continued, pouring as much emotion as possible in his words. "It's shitty, I get why you're so angry."

...

...?

The vengeful apparition stopped attacking? Well, it wasn't like she suddenly turned off the fire and apparitions, but this was progress.

He exhaled shakily. "Listen, I—"

The door suddenly burst open and a million curses escaped under Alastor's breath at the interruption.

It better be the AEI.

It was not. In fact, it was those three students from earlier today.

"Found it!"

"If we exorcise it, we'll be able to get straight into the speciality force right?"

"C'mon, this is our chance!"

Well, his hard work just went down the fucking drain. Were they serious? Where on earth did they get that confidence and information? How can someone be so wrong in all areas?

"Are you three out of your mind?!" Alastor yelled. "How the hell can you defeat a vengeful apparition?"

"Oh, ew." The girl scoffed. "What's he doing here?"

Alastor didn't have the time nor patience for their games right now. "Did you at least call for help––"

The vengeful apparition broke through Alastor's barrier with a force that sent him hurtling backward. The impact slammed him against the window and the glass shattered. Alastor coughed and fell to the floor. Thanks to the shattered glass, his golden-brown skin was littered with red cuts. Great. Just great.

There was barely anytime for him to catch his breath or compose himself when the vengeful apparition struck again. This time, it left Alastor hanging precariously out of the broken window, shards of glass perilously close to his face. A chilling realisation stuck him; one wrong move, one unfortunate angle, and the glass shards could have pierced his throat. Alastor immediately got off the window. Thankfully, the vengeful apparition's focus was off him and had shifted on the three students.

Alastor's throat stung and reached out to it. His fingertips came out damp, and a quick glance revealed a disconcerting sight—he was losing more blood than he expected. The boy ran to the cabinet and frantically searched for the bandages. Contents fell out, but he didn't care as he grabbed the bandages and frantically wrapped his injured neck. He also bandaged his arms.

When he was done, a cry to his left caught Alastor's attention.

These idiots.

Unsurprisingly, the three students couldn't exorcise the vengeful apparition. The girl was sobbing on the ground, trying to get her broken phone to work, and the guys were doing pitiful attempts at casting barriers. Somehow all three of them were doing a worse job than him alone.

There was no saving them. Alastor's energy was holding onto dear life, his injuries needed to be treated properly, and the three students were already halfway through being possessed. Though talking had some effect on the vengeful apparition, Alastor wasn't going to risk it again if he didn't need to.

And besides, Alastor didn't feel particularly motivated to help them for obvious reasons.

With caution, Alastor carefully climbed through the window. When he glanced down, he cursed under his breath.

"Are you kidding me..."

The ground below was engulfed in flames. His plan to jump and land onto the ground was a no-go. Alastor glanced up to the rooftop.

If I make it, I'll give less attitude to my PE teacher.

Fuelled by adrenaline, Alastor climbed to the rooftop. Once he made it, he assessed the situation below. AEI members had arrived and it seemed like the majority of the students and staff had evacuated safely. Alright, seems like things will be calming down soon.

Amongst the crowd, Alastor made eye contact with the principal. About to raise a hand and make himself more known, he was shocked to see the man turn away. In fact, many people should have noticed Alastor, especially panicked students who were sending constant glances at the school building. He was on the rooftop for crying out loud.

Alastor chuckled bitterly. "Seriously?"

Was his reputation worse than he thought?

Don't think about that now.

Alastor took out his phone, opting to call for help. Just as he was about to dial the number, his mother called him. He was supposed to decline the call, but he fumbled and ended up accepting it instead.

"Alastor! I heard about the question you said during Elias's lecture. Why did you ask that? Did I not tell you to be careful?"

Alastor's gaze dimmed. "That's the first thing you say?"

"What? Alastor—"

Alastor hung up. No time to delve in his teenage frustrations––or was it adult frustrations? He was eighteen, after all. Whatever, the point was that he needed to call for help. He'll deal with his mother later.

However, before he could do that, a powerful force slammed him off the roof. Alastor's eyes widened. It was as if someone up there had granted him one last pitiful act of mercy; time slowed down and allowed him to see what had pushed him off before gravity had seized his body.

The vengeful apparition––?

A harsh collision with the ground shook every bone and joint in Alastor's body. Perhaps his body instinctively used what remained of his exorcism abilities to protect himself because there was no way he could've survived a fall that high and was still conscious.

Alastor couldn't move. Red pooled underneath him and he felt his breathing grow more shallow. Fire surrounded him and apparitions were jumping at the chance to possess him. Calling for help wouldn't do much. First off, his voice would get lost in the fire and the harsh winds. Second, he couldn't even lift a finger, let alone reach out for his––likely broken––phone to call someone.

Oh. He wasn't going to make it, was he?

It terrified Alastor how calm he was. And maybe it was because he had already accepted his fate that thoughts he normally wouldn't have began to circulate his head.

Being an only child was kind of lonely.

Alastor took a deep breath. His throat felt dry. Like sandpaper. Unpleasant.

Would've been nice to have a young sibling or something. It would be funny if their attitude was like mine.

Alastor took another slow breath.

... An older sibling wouldn't be so bad. Annoying them would be fun.

His body grew numb.

This is where people usually reflect on their lives right? Think about their regrets?

"..."

Do I... Have any regrets...?

Amongst the furious flames and harsh winds, a quiet whisper left him––a quiet whisper laced with frustration parted his lips.

"This is pathetic."

Pathetic. Pitiful. Utterly, pathetic. If Alastor could, he'd laugh at himself. Dying? Here? When there were still so many things about this world that pissed him off? To hell with that.

Mind clouded with hatred and the determination to survive––Alastor's dark brown eyes had a tinge of red. He will be coming back.

And when he does, he'd make sure there was hell to pay.



===



Alastor liked to think his ability to manage his anger had improved ever since meeting you. It wasn't like you trained him to. He wasn't a dog. It was just... Being around someone who rarely displayed their anger subconsciously influenced him. Hell, Alastor had never seen you genuinely mad.

He would never admit it, but you were the first person he truly cared for. Someone he didn't feel unpleasant around, someone he'd go out of his way to show acts of kindness for (in his own way, of course).

There were many things to like about you, but what he liked most was how attentive you were to people's emotions. Sure, your naive and 'heroic' nature got you into trouble countless times, but Alastor never hated it. If possible, he'd help clean up any messes you make because of that nature of yours.

You didn't cast away Alastor's anger. You didn't force him to open up. You acknowledged his emotions and displayed genuine care. So simple, yet so hard to find these days.

Alastor cared for you. And when you cared for someone, you wouldn't want them to get hurt.

"... (Y/n)?"

Just a few moments ago, Alastor remained in your consciousness. Now, he was standing in a hallway in front of your unconscious and bloodied body. There was someone else there with you. A man with orange eyes and short dark brown hair. With meticulous hands, the man was wrapping fabric, probably from his own shirt, around your body to stop the bleeding.

Oh, right. Alastor remembered now. His name was Finn. An AEI member, a member of the speciality force, an ally, and––most importantly––a friend. Yet, you were fighting him moments ago. Alastor wasn't able to obtain a clear vision of the fight. Everything was muddled because you allowed so many apparitions in your body.

The clearest vision Alastor received was when Finn stabbed you.

Don't jump to conclusions.

Alastor's gaze followed the blood that came from your body. Finn hadn't noticed Alastor yet, too busy tending to your wounds.

Your missing context. Don't give into your anger. Don't cause trouble.

Those thoughts were as useful as a drop of water amidst a fury of flames. Yes, Alastor was angry, frustrated. However, most of all, he was afraid. He wasn't in immediate control of your health like usual, he couldn't just take over and heal you, there was a chance he could lose you.

Slowly and silently, Alastor raised a hand. The moment Finn had finished tending to your body and stepped back, Alastor snapped his fingers and a rush of wind furiously slammed Finn against the wall. Alastor knew attacking Finn would not solve anything, but his sense of reason was clouded with emotions.

The brunet let out no noise of pain. Alastor approached him and looked down with hostile eyes. Finn met his gaze, but they held no hostility, just a quiet sense of realisation and understanding. Making a movement to attack again, Alastor stopped when he heard a faint whisper.

"... Big sister?"

Like a flip of a light switch, Alastor's head cleared. He turned around, finding Copper, Sam, Alec, and Mochi outside the pages of your book and crowding around your body. Sam knelt down beside you, her clock-work eyes usually full of mischief and life now shrouded in concern.

"Sister? Why aren't you responding?"

Sam's twin brother sat down next to her. "Maybe she's asleep?"

"..." Copper averted his eyes. "I don't think she's asleep."

Mochi whimpered and nuzzled his nose against your arm. When the wolf let go, your arm went limp.

It didn't take long for the apparitions to find Finn. No words were exchanged. Just like Alastor, they connected the dots. Light brown eyes from the twins, silver eyes from Copper and Mochi––they all illuminated dangerously. The intent to harm, to kill. Alastor understood it all too well.

Alastor knew what it was like to lose yourself to rage, blinded to reason and logic. He had experienced it many times when he was in his prime vengeful apparition state. Sure, it was emotionally liberating, but losing yourself was a terrifying feeling. Alastor didn't want the kids and Mochi to experience the same thing.

Though he wanted to press Finn for answers, there were more important matters at hand. Plus, you needed to be healed and taken care of. He should lead by example. He had younger siblings and a wolf to take care of, after all.

"Leave," Alastor told Finn through gritted teeth. "Seeing you won't do any good for them."

Finn looked like he was about to protest for a moment. "... You're very responsible."

"I don't need to hear that from you," Alastor snapped. "You can land pretty well from here, right?"

"What do you mean––"

Alastor gave Finn a friendly boost by commanding a surge of wind and rain to slam him out the building window. Ah, that was a little liberating at least. Sam was prepared to follow Finn outside, but Alastor pulled her back by the collar of her dress.

"We need to go after him! Why did you stop me?"

"Calm down," Alastor said. "You––"

"Calm down?" Copper scoffed. "He's the one who hurt (Y/n)!"

Alastor took a calm breath. He kneeled down to Sam and Copper's level and gently held their shoulders. Alec stood next to Alastor. Though the child seemed calm on the surface, Alastor knew he'd jump at the opportunity to pursue Finn just like the others. Mochi understood what Alastor was doing and made sure Alec didn't run off.

"I know, I know. I want to get back at him as much as you do," Alastor said, a voice that was gentle yet firm. "However, let's focus on making sure (Y/n) is safe first."

Sam began to tear up. "I..." She glanced over to you, hurt in her eyes. When she looked back to Alastor, she meekly nodded. "Okay..."

Alastor ruffled her hair. "Good. After that, you can cause as much trouble as you like. Leave it to your older brother to clean up your mess."

Copper looked to Alastor. "I thought you hated being called big brother."

"Yeah," Alec said. "You always frown angrily when we do that."

Alastor flicked Copper and Alec's forehead. "Still have energy to be cheeky, huh?"

The children giggled amongst themselves while Mochi barked happily. Alastor sighed in relief. Now that that's done, he should get you medical attention. Possessing your body to heal you seemed like too much of a risk at the moment given how many possessions from other apparitions you've just endured.

I need to hurry––

The sound of glass shattering pierced the air. Alastor snapped his head towards you––at least, where you were supposed to be. You were gone.

What was left was an empty space and a shattered window.



===



Faint.

Everything was... faint.

Your hearing, your sense of touch, your breathing, your consciousness, vision—everything felt just out of your grasp, as if you were grabbing a handful of water and the liquid was constantly slipping through your fingers. No matter how strongly or vigorously you tried, it was futile.

Something. You wanted to feel something.

Your vision was shrouded in haze. Using the first movable part of your body, your arm, you fumbled through the disorientation. Eventually, you met a cool and slippery surface with your palm. Your rationale was long gone now. Acting on instinct alone, you balled your hands into fists and shattered whatever the hell that was.

Next, was the sensation of falling.

... Whatever you just did was probably a bad idea, huh?

However, the sound of the wind rushing as gravity pulled you down was much better than the numbness you experienced prior.

My, why it isn't the consequences of my actions. I should probably break my fall––

Your thoughts were interrupted when you felt yourself land on something soft and cold. You blinked, vision suddenly clearing up.

Snow?

Despite everything in your body hurting, you managed to sit up. Holy sh––you don't even want to think about how many bones have been broken.

Walls of ice caged around you. The ceiling was uncovered, which allowed some natural light to filter into the confined space. A refreshing yet crisp scent flooded the area. This was all too familiar. A quiet whisper parted your lips as you called out,

"Shen?"

A subtle breeze from behind guided your gaze to your left. An instinct wave of relief washed over you when you felt the familiar presence. However, that relief quickly morphed to horror. Your breath caught in your throat at the sight.

... What?

Half of Shen's body was missing and his mouth was gone. There was no blood or flesh. The remnants of his former self lingered as ghostly wisps, it resembled mist in a way.

His fragile state looked tragically beautiful.

Shen's silver eyes were tired. However, you could see the corner of his eyes crinkle at the sight of you, as if he were smiling softly. He looked at your arms and you followed his gaze. There were some burn marks from your fight with Finn. Gently, Shen ran his fingers over them in an attempt to soothe the wounds even if it was too late for such treatment.

With a shaky hand, you reached out to Shen. He closed his eyes and nuzzled his cheek in your palms. If he could, you were sure he would've sighed in content. Shen's skin was cold, yet his soft actions radiate so much warmth.

The scene was still.

The ice walls muffled noises from outside whilst also obscuring your vision of it as well. In this moment, your breathing and thoughts were the loudest sounds and your attention was entirely on Shen. His eyes opened and he leaned away from your touch. Next, he trailed a finger along the snow and wrote a message.

I'm glad I got to see you.

Shen's handwriting was neat and printed. The kind you'd want as a font for your essays.

You let out a trembling breath. "Shen, I..."

Who did this to you? What happened while I was gone? But those were questions that needed lengthy answers and you didn't want to strain Shen. Was he going to be exorcised? Right here? Just like that? When he was untouchable in the game till the very end?

You cared about Shen. You cared about him a lot. Those thoughts held more weight when you realised that you could lose him.

You left him before, didn't you? While it was for a good reason, you couldn't help but feel guilty.

"I'm sorry," you whispered.

Gently, Shen pressed his forehead against yours. You could almost hear him say 'it's okay.' When he leaned back, he wrote in the snow again.

I don't want to die, yet...

It feels peaceful with you here. I don't think about complicated things.

Your nails dug in your palms as an attempt to suppress your emotions. Shen tapped your hand, tenderly urging you not to hurt yourself. The kind action only made your heart ache more.

There had to be a way to save him. If your mind was a library, you'd be frantically scraping against the shelves and vigorously opening every book, indifferent to any tears in the pages or damages in the cover. You searched every crevice of your memory even if it pushed your mental state––experiencing several possessions prior before made you prone to headaches.

A few minutes elapsed. After relentlessly pushing amongst the sea of information, an idea came to mind. You weren't sure if it'd work, but you'd rather try than not.

"Shen," you whispered, pulling him closer by tugging the sleeve of his lab coat. His eyes softened at your touch, but they were quick to widen in surprise at your next words. "What do you think about possessing me?"





A/n: Alastor omg my son you've grown. Really enjoyed writing his moment with the siblings, his independent/older brother side is something I wanna show off more often. In an alt universe where he didn't become an apparition, I can 100% see him joining the AEI and Elias taking him under his wing as a mentor.

And cliffhanger pt2 hehe sorry guys. But hey! Shen isn't dead yet! Probably! Who knows what can happen :D