Cross Life

((D: No he doesn't. And he's totally not threatening me to say this. How dare you.))

As much as Kei hated to admit it, it really wasn't a bad idea to keep at least some degree of contact with the other pair, since no one knew when a big and powerful monster would appear, and at a time like that, they would need someone's help. That said though, going right now still seemed more like intruding. It was obvious they were having a hard time, and it wasn't their place to get involved. But, of course, for Hiroyuki, there is no such concept as 'minding one's own business'.

"That does seem likely," Kei sighed, thinking back to the day before. They didn't really see what happened to force Shiyuchi to unpossess his medium, but the ghost did look like he was blaming himself for whatever it was. It could be safely assumed that their synchro-rate had been too low, since none of them looked in a bad shape before the monster struck them, unless they had been training or something before, so they wouldn't have that much time left... The first was more likely though. Maybe they were already fighting before the monster appeared.

"...They seem to be having a hard time."

((Suuuuuuuuuure~))

"I hope things are better..." Hiroyuki replied before stopping and whirled around to face the house they were in front of.
"Here they are!" He announced with a big smile, and dashed up to ring their doorbell repeatedly before stepping back and waited with a big smile on his face.

Shiyuchi snapped out of his daze when he heard the doorbell rung several times. He wondered who would be ringing their doorbell at this time. He also wondered if he should get up and answer it. Though, what if Kazuhiko decided to answer it and the two would then be out in the hallway together. No, best to just stay in the room and let Kazuhiko go answer it. If whoever was at the door felt the need to ring several times, perhaps if no one came to the door right away they would keep ringing the ball and eventually Kazuhiko would get fed up and go answer.

Kazuhiko looked up from his schoolwork when he heard the doorbell ring several times. He wondered briefly who it could be at this time of the day, before getting up and opening his window, which faced the front of the house. He spotted the visitors almost immediately. He had a vague memory of seeing the smaller kid after the monster hit him, before passing out. He couldn't be sure though, everything that happened then was too blurry.

"...I guess I should get that."

He stretched as he walked down the stairs, popping a few bones back into their place. He should at least politely thank them before turning them down and going back to studies, if it turned out they really were the ones that ended up saving him and Shiyuchi back then. It wouldn't be bad to know another pair of ghost and medium either, just in case a monster big anough to require the four of them appeared.

Kazuhiko opened the door, smiling politely at the two boys standing there, one looking all sparkly while the other was expressionless. "Can I help you?"

Hiroyuki's face beamed when he saw that it was Kazuhiko who opened the door.
"You're alright! That's so good to know. After we brought you to the hospital I wondered how you would be. Oh, right, you were unconscious when introductions were made. I'm Hiroyuki and this is Kei. We already know your name is Kazuhiko. Though, where is Shiyuchi? Is he home? I hope he's alright too. He looked like he was in pain while he was making his way here from the hospital," Hiroyuki just went off without giving anyone else hardly any room to talk until he was trying to peer around Kazuhiko to see if Shiyuchi was somewhere else in the house. He wasn't really paying attention to Kazuhiko's face to see his reaction of the mentioning of Shiyuchi.

Shiyuchi was curious as to who was at the door, and he then noticed that he could sense the medium and ghost from the other day nearby. So, that means it must be them at the door. It didn't surprise him that Hiroyuki would bother them. That kid didn't seem to know how to mind his own business.

azuhiko was a little taken aback when the smaller kid started talking on and on by himself. He had ton wonder for a second just how long that boy could go without breathing in. "...I vaguely remembered you. I have to thank you for what you did that time," he smiled, carefully calculating his movements. He didn't want to make any reaction to Shiyuchi's name. He was in the middle of ignoring that moron, and he wasn't going to stop now.

"It's nice to meet you properly, Hiroyuki, Kei. And again, thank you for helping us," He bowed, hoping they wouldn't notice he was avoiding Shiyuchi's subject entirely. If they wanted to come in and go see him though, there was nothing he could do. He'd just go to his room and leave them alone with the ghost. Whatever they had to talk about wasn't any of his business.


Kei bowed too, without saying anything, knowing that Hiroyuki would do more than enough talking for the both of them. Kazuhiko seemed to be avoiding the question about his ghost partner... so they were still fighting. Hopefully, Hiroyuki wouldn't prod too much where they weren't welcome.

((Oh Kei, this is Hiroyuki we're talking about :3))

"You're welcome! Um, you didn't answer me about Shiyuchi. Is he not home? Do you know if he's okay? Are you two fighting? I think you're purposefully trying to avoid answering me about him. You shouldn't fight, not with your partner. Kei-kun and I can handle the monsters, but with the odd way they're popping up all over, a strong one might appear that we'll need help with. We have to work together to fulfill our duty in taking care of these monsters," Hiroyuki said without really any pause and yet somehow not out of breath by the end of it. He looked at Kazuhiko with a worried expression, waiting for the other's answer to his questions.

((I can see Kei face-palming.

LOL OMG TABLE FLIP (ﾉ・∀・)ﾉ　＝＝＝＝＝┻━┻))ﾟДﾟ)･∵.” ))

Kazuhiko just stared at the kid as he rambled on and on. His eyes narrowed a little at the mention of a fight between him and Shiyuchi though. He honestly didn't care about controlling his expression anymore, since apparently this wouldn't be solved by just turning down the kid like a polite person. He sighed, waiting for the boy to finish before looking at him with a serious look in his eyes.

"Look, I appreciate your concern and all, but whatever's going on between him and me is none of your concern. Now if you have business with that ghost, I'm pretty sure he's holed up in his room. Otherwise, I'd like for you to leave."


"...That came even sooner than I expected it..." That Kazuhiko kid didn't look like he had that much of a short temper at first sight. Never judge a book by its cover, huh. Kei decided to just stand back and let Hiroyuki handle the situation he had created. At this rate though, the medium was likely to get the door closed on his face.

"Don't stay mad," Hiroyuki sighed before he turned to leave. Kazuhiko was becoming upset, he could see that, and he didn't think anything he did would change things for them right now.
"Oh!" He exclaimed before reaching into his pockets to pull out his cellphone. "Let me get your number? I'll give you mine too so we can contact each other. My number is *insert random Japanese cell phone number here*. Kei, you should give him your number too."
He waited for Kazuhiko to get out his cell phone or grab a piece of paper to write that down and then to say what his number was. Hiroyuki also figured he could get Shiyuchi's number some other time, since it seemed like Kazuhiko didn't want to talk about him, and most likely if asked for Shiyuchi's number his reply would be something like go ask him yourself. Hiroyuki didn't feel like intruding in on their home at the moment. Maybe if things didn't get better between the two soon he would, but not right now.

Kazuhiko was relieved when Hiroyuki turned to leave. He wasn't in the mood to start a fight with people he had barely just met, but he knew his own temper, and he knew it would act up if the kid insisted any further. He raised an eyebrow a little when he was asked for his phone number though. Why would anyone do that the hard way? Hiroyuki didn't look that young, so it couldn't be that he had only had a cellphone for a little while... oh whatever.

"Just hold your phone out," He took out his own cellphone from the pocket of his pants, made a few touches here and there (He has a touch cellphone because I say so), and held it out in front of Hiroyuki's. Both cellphones made a small ringing noise when the loading bar reached its end, and Hiroyuki's name appeared with the small message that indicated he had been added as a contact.

"You can just pass him my number the same way. Now, if you'll excuse me." He turned around and walked back into the house, closing the front door behind him. He went straight to his room, purposefully ignoring the door that led to Shiyuchi's.

Hiroyuki was amazed at Kazuhiko showed him, having never had to get someone's number before. His parents put their numbers and Kei's in there for him and then just showed him how to make calls. Beyond that he had no idea. Before he could thank Kazuhiko, the other had already retreated back into the house and closed the door. Hiroyuki just shrugged and turned around to leave.
"All that's left is to get Shiyuchi's number later, and then I'll be able to call both of them whenever. Well, I won't bother them a whole lot. Though it's nice actually having someone to call. Not that I don't want to call you Kei-kun, but you don't like them and I see you everyday. I mean, we live in the same house," Hiroyuki chuckled, heading off down the sidewalk with Kei in tow.

Shiyuchi noticed the two at the front door were leaving now and Kazuhiko had gone to his room now, of course still ignoring him.

((AND BECAUSE I CAN.))

Hardly a half hour had passed when Shiyuchi sensed a monster nearby.

Not too soon after Kazuhiko's cell phone started to ring as Hiroyuki called him. Anxiously Hiroyuki held the cell to his ear, quickly leaving the house with Kei as they went off to find the monster. It was an excuse to call Kazuhiko, and perhaps in a sort of life or death situation, whatever was going between him and Shiyuchi could be settled. Though, Hiroyuki would make sure that even if they were still arguing and couldn't sync right, that Kei and he would be there to stop the monster from hurting them.

Kazuhiko jumped a little when he felt his cellphone vibrating from inside his pocket. He had't even noticed he had started to space out... it was all that kid's fault, making him feel like he should make up with that illegitimate child Shiyuchi. As if.

He brought out his cellphone, raising an eyebrow at the screen flashing that kid's very name. Couldn't he ever get a break...? He sighed, slowly flipping the phone open and bringing it to his ear, already expecting to instantly hear and endless string of words with no spaces for him to intervene. "What is it?"

------------------------------------------

Kei looked at Hiroyuki as the kid dialed on his cellphone, wondering if it was really a good idea to call those two out when their synchro-rate was so low. There wasn't anything he could do now to stop him though. Instead, he hurried his pace, easily running past Hiroyuki. It would be a good idea to scout out the monster's location, and get some information on it before those two got there. Spying without being noticed wasn't something easy to do with Hiroyuki around, so now was a good chance. He continued running at full speed, straight towards the place where he could feel the monster's aura. He'd probably get a few minutes of time before Hiroyuki caught up, he'd need to be fast on observing this one.

"There's a monster! Get Shiyuchi and meet us where it is! Two Mediums there is better than one, so please hurry! A, Kei-kun!" Hiroyuki immediately blurted out into the phone, not giving Kazuhiko time to protest, and then the phone clicked as Hiroyuki hung up. Kei had taken off ahead of him while he was busy with the phone. He ran to catch up with Kei, managing to in a few minutes. He paused next to Kei, panting as he tried to catch his breath, looking around for the monster that was somewhere nearby. Hiroyuki did his best to try and hide before they would face the monster. They were vulnerable as they were at the moment.

He then spotted not too far off the monster. Well, he thought it was the monster, since it didn't look like a normal rock. It looked like a huge golem, but it wasn't moving so it was hard to tell. He also couldn't find the core anywhere on it. Though, it might have just been on the side of the monster he couldn't see. He hoped Kazuhiko would arrive with Shiyuchi soon.

((derp, Shiyuchi is just in his room))

It took Kei a moment to spot the monster, which looked just like a normal giant rock, except it moved from time to time. It looked like some kind of golem, with a huge body and a small head. The main problem was, well, it was a rock, so normal attacks wouldn't do it much damage. Their only choice would be to attack the core directly. He felt Hiroyuki getting closer, so he spread out one of his arms, blocking the kid's way so he wouldn't go closer than where he was. The bushes and other small plants in that spot were perfect for hiding.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shiyuchi stared at his phone for a few seconds before sighing and slipping it back into his pocket. He didn't know if the monster was really strong enough to need two mediums and ghosts to fight it, or if it was just that kid trying to butt in and make him and Shiyuchi make up, but he couldn't risk it. If a monster ever got into town... not only would everyone panic, but the existence of both ghosts and mediums would be revealed too. And that was too troublesome.

He got up, walked across the hall to Shiyuchi's door and took a deep breath before knocking a few times. "There's a monster. The kid from before says they need our help."

Hiroyuki stopped when he approached Kei's arm, getting the idea that he should stop and hide. He took a hold of the hand of Kei's outstretched arm so when the Ghost was ready, he could possess him. He watched the monster as it slowly moved around, and luckily it seemed it hadn't notice them still. Of course, his eyes were also searching for its core since that's where they needed to hit, but where it was couldn't easily be seen. He wondered if it was just on a side of the monster he hadn't seen yet. For the most part it had its side turned to them.

---

Shiyuchi looked up when Kazuhiko knocked on his door, saying that there was a monster and that Hiroyuki said they needed help. He stayed where he was for a moment, not replying, able to sense that there was a monster nearby. Before he stood and went to the door, he put on a calm mask to hide anything he was thinking. Shiyuchi opened the door of his room, still not saying anything, and headed out, figuring Kazuhiko would follow. He wasn't giving the other much chance to say anything to him either, since he still felt horrible about what had happened. Shiyuchi wasn't sure if they'd be able to sync though, and it'd be up to just Hiroyuki and Kei to take care of the monster.

Kei sighed in frustration. The monster wouldn't move at all, so it was difficult to tell if the core was somewhere they couldn't see, or if it was hidden beneath the rocks that made its body. "Do you want to wait for the other two?" He turned to look at Hiroyuki, figuring it would be the same if they did or not. Shiyuchi and Kazuhiko might not be in conditions of fighting yet though, so it might be better if they tried to find the core now. That way, the battle would be easier for the other medium and ghost.



Kazuhiko stared at Shiyuchi as he walked right past him and towards the stairs. He clearly had no intentions to talk things out, so he wouldn't bother. He just followed him to the door, letting the ghost lead the way, since he was the one who could feel where the monster was anyway. Whether they would be able to get in sync was still beyond him, but they could at least try.

"Hmmm," Hiroyuki thought about what they should do, since he wasn't really sure. "We could at least stay hidden while we move around the monster to try and find the core until they get here."
He looked back at Kei, waiting to see if the other agreed with this plan. Hiroyuki tried to impress Kei with coming up with ideas and plans for situations. Perhaps if Kei liked him more than their sync-rate could be higher.

Shiyuchi knew that Kazuhiko was following him, but he didn't bother turning his head around to look at the other. It was bad enough that they were called about by the other two. He didn't know what he was going to do. Though perhaps a stressful situation was what they needed. Either things would get better, or they would get worse. For now, he would head out to where he sensed the monster to be.

Kei merely nodded after listening to Hiroyuki, starting to carefully move around the foliage to try to get a different view angle on the monster. He made sure there were little to no dry leaves and other things that would crack under his feet, hoping his human partner's attention span would be forgiving enough to let him do the same. Monsters didn't tend to be smart or intelligent, but if it heard them it would most likely attack them or head this way.

He really couldn't see the slightest bit of the core's position though, and the monster's size only made it harder to find it. The bigger it was, the more places for the core to be hiding. Oh well, as long as it didn't notice them, things would turn out fine. Finding the core would sure prove to be a huge advantage though...

((Kazuhiko's just following Shiyuchi around having his period being sour, so yeah))

((OKAY HERE I GO I'M POSTING))

Sneaking through the forest, Shiyuchi found where Kei and Hiroyuki were hiding from the monster that had appeared.
"Did you locate the core?" he whispered, scanning over the monster that was barely moving.

"Unfortunately, no," Hiroyuki answered him, gripping Kei's hand a bit tighter. He was slightly nervous that they couldn't find it, and not only that but it didn't seem like it was any better between Shiyuchi and Kazuhiko.

Shiyuchi was concentrating on the monster before them, trying to locate the core, when he did notice this odd dome-shape. It seemed out of place with what the rest of the mosnter looked like. Of course it would just be their luck that they run into a monster that had a way to protect its core.
"See that odd dome on the mosnter? The core might be under there and we'll have to destroy that before being able to attack the core."

((REVIVING THE SHIET OUT OF THIS THING))

Kazuhiko followed Shiyuchi's line of sight to the dome-like structure protruding from the monster. It did seem like the perfect place for its core to be, for the monster at least. For them, it was possibly the most troublesome location. "We're dealing with a monster made out of rock, that dome won't break easily..."

Kei nodded in agreement, leaning a little closer to Hiroyuki. The kid got nervous too easily. If that dome's purpose was to protect the monster's core, then it should be even more tough than the rest of its body, which was a lot to say. They also needed to maintain the advantage of a surprise attack if they wanted to slip away with as little injuries to the humans as possible, so striking repeatedly until it broke wasn't an option either.

If they attacked that spot together, it may be enough to break past it and get to the core... but for that Kazuhiko and Shiyuchi were needed.

"...Can you fight?"

If their synchronization rate was too low they'd need a different plan... but then again, this might be a good opportunity for the two to put aside their differences in favor of a greater goal.

Shiyuchi looked over at Kazuhiko, wondering if they could fight. At the moment, he didn't know if they could, but they had to if they wanted any hopes of defeating that thing. He was still worried about Kazuhiko getting hurt like last time, but if he didn't possess Kazuhiko then the other had no way to defend himself. It was quite the conflict he had going on, and it made him doubt that their sync-rate would be high enough. Without saying anything, Shiyuchi held his hand out for Kazuhiko to take, a gesture to mean that they should try.

Hiroyuki looked back and forth between Shiyuchi and Kazuhiko, the silent tension making him more nervous and worried. He hoped the two would be able to fight, otherwise they would be in quite the pickle.

Kazuhiko looked down at the hand being offered to him, he wasn't sure if he should accept it or not. They hadn't even talked properly since what happened last time, how was their synch rate supposed to be any better now? If they forced it now, the same thing could happen again... Was Shiyuchi willing to take that risk? Or did he just not care...?

He looked back at the monster, slowly moving in a random direction through the forest, crushing small plants and bushes with its feet. It could be dangerous but... they didn't really have any other choice but to try if they wanted to defeat that thing.

Kazuhiko looked at Shiyuchi for a moment, pushing back all the nasty thoughts and feelings to the back of his head for the time being. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, kept his mind blank without anger or frustration, and took his partner's hand.

When Kazuhiko took Shiyuchi's hand, he began to posses him, but almost as soon as it started it stopped and the two were just sitting there holding hands. Shiyuchi tried to reassure himself that everything would be alright, he just needed to possess Kazuhiko like they had done plenty of times before, but no matter how many times he tried, it just wasn't happening. He let go of Kazuhiko's hand, looking down at the ground, mostly disappointed with himself that he was most likely the main reason thier sync-rate was so bad at the moment.

((Yes, Shiyuchi, everything is your fault for being such a betch 'cause Kazuhiko is totally not being all PMS on you))

Kazuhiko sighed and let his hand fall to his side when Shiyuchi let go of it. As expected, it was useless. They couldn't hope to solve all their issues right there and then either, that would be plain stupid. If they wanted to get even close to fixing all this mess between them, they needed to sit down somewhere, call a truce on teasing and insults, and have one very, very long talk. And even that was unlikely to succeed, seeing how any time they spent more than five minutes together in a room someone started yelling or punching or throwing things and the other followed.

But, this was way more important than keeping up their prides and childish antics. Now that it was clear that they wouldn't be able to fight off monsters, Kazuhiko could honestly say that he, at least, was willing to pretend Shiyuchi's presence was bearable to him long enough for them to have that talk. Or try his very darn hardest. As unexpected as that was. Before all this mess happened, it would've never crossed his mind that there could be something that could make him want to get along with Shiyuchi, or at least have a civil relationship.

All that could wait though, they had a more important problem at hand. "So much for plan A. Sorry, but you guys will have to figure out a way to get past that thing alone."

"No, we have to do this together," Hiroyuki protested, pleading with the two of them. "Shiyuchi, I can tell something is bothering you. If you just tell Kazuhiko what it is, then maybe you guys can get past it."

Shiyuchi didn't say anything, because, damn, the kid was right. What was bothering him was how last time it was his fault that Kazuhiko got hurt and he didn't want that to happen again. If they fought that monster, there was a risk Kazuhiko could get hurt, and it was up Shiyuchi to protect him. He knew it was this unspoken burden that was preventing their sync-rate from being any higher, but he didn't feel like he could say it to Kazuhiko's face. Let alone predict how the other would react to it.

"You... are way too naive," Kazuhiko sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he tried to find the simplest words he could think of so the kid would properly understand. "Not every problem can be solved by talking. And within those that can, there are plenty that take time and patience to work through," He looked at Shiyuchi for a second before continuing. "Seeing how our... personal differences are something we've never tried to solve since the day we met, this would fall under the slow and tedious category. That is, if someone is willing to cooperate. I can't make things work alone."

He turned back to face the ghost, who had done nothing but avoid him ever since he got out of the hospital. This may not be the right time to stop and talk, what with the giant moving rocks stumbling around the forest, but he needed to know if Shiyuchi was at least willing to make things better between them. He had to admit, now that it had gotten to the point where their synch rate was so low they couldn't even fight together, he was just tired. Of the fighting, the bickering, the frustration, the anger, everything. He just hoped Shiyuchi felt the same.