POV: Isozaki Izumi

I closed my eyes as the freezing wind caressed my skin with my nose turning beet red, I waited for the wind to pass by then opened my eyes to view the apartment building I was standing in front of.

"So, it's here." I mumbled looking at the building that shined of cozy light despite the freezing darkness of the night.

This night was a special night, it was the one where I welcome my new home.

As if to celebrate with me, the full moon shined rays of light so brightly in the night sky bragging to the dim lit stars next to it.

I took my first step toward the building and started climbing the stairs toward apartment number 105.

I moved my finger on the bell button in front of the apartment.

Ah, it's late and might be a bother.

Surely, he will come out soon I'll just wait.

Soon I gave up on ringing it and crouched in front of the door.

This neighborhood was not any different than my old one, at night it was filled with unbearable silence that makes your heart screams in solitude.

As my source of light hid behind a cloud in the sky, what caught my sight was the faint light that shined on what seemed to be a small shop right across the building I was in.

The door seemed barely holding up, few cracks on the wall were visible even in complete darkness and the huge sign which was the reason for the faint light had 'Konomi' written on it but despite the old rusty feeling it gave you could see the coziness of the inside from the display window that showed how the owner poured love in it.

They're still open this late?

By the time the moonlight returned, the shop lights went out. I took my phone out to check time to see that it was exactly twelve at midnight.

The clouds rushing out of my cold lips urged me to warm myself up and best way to do that which I knew of was singing.

"??~ Spin me around and around~??

??~ Turn me upside down ~??

??~ Spin me around and around~??

??~ Let me feel~??"

I sang while blowing the warm air that went out of my mouth toward my hands.

My eyes slowly moved downward closing down, as I continued to sing quietly,

"??~ Spin me again and again ~??

??~ Until I'm upside down ~??

??~ Calling again and again ~??

??~ My name ~??"

Then my view became darker as I shut my tired eyes.

---

I could faintly hear someone talking,

"umi"

"zu"

The voice became clearer with time,

"Izumi?"

It was my name being called.

Who is it? Why are you calling me?

Then a hand appeared out of nowhere slapping me awake.

"What the freak!?" I screamed as I come to realize I was sleeping at the same spot I was sitting in last night, I scanned my surrounding to see four people looking down on me with worried faces.

"Uh... um..." I tried to talk as I stare awkwardly at them inspecting me up and down.

One of them was an old lady who seemed to be in her late 50s who was glaring holes into me, another was a pretty young woman who seemed to have teary eyes while looking at me with eyes full of pity, I moved my eyes toward the third person to see it was a boy who seemed to be at age of a high school student that was looking at me creepily while smiling.

I looked at the last person present to see it was a familiar irritating face I never thought I would be glad to see, but he was better than the new faces in front of me, it was Hoga.

"What are you doing sleeping in front of someone else's apartment you idiot?" Hoga said with his expressionless face.

"Do you think he's homeless, Hoga-san?" the young girl whispered in a hearable voice.

"Do you know this man, Hoga-kun, what is the meaning of this?" the old woman asked Hoga with her eyes doubting that the mighty Hoga would know someone as questionable as me.

"What did you say!?" the boy tried to pick a fight with Hoga as he grabbed his collar.

Not bothered to answer any of their questions, Hoga sighed, pushed the guy holding his collar then kicked me out of the way and opened the door that was behind me.

He stared at me and ordered me with monotone, "Follow me."

This jerk acting like he's the boss.

I quickly got up and fixed myself and opened the door wider, I turned around and said with a faint voice, "sorry for worrying you," then patted the shoulder of the high school boy and whispered in his ear, "next time punch his stomach don't just hold his collar."

With a huge grin on my face I waved at them before closing the door shut.

As soon as I closed the door, I got hit on the back of my head by slippers followed by another order from the jerk, "wear these."

Is that the best way you know to hand someone slippers!? I'll frigging kill you someday, you just wait for it.

I wore the slippers and ran inside and swayed my hand wide and aimed for the back of his head, sadly he moved away just in time avoiding it, so I clicked my tongue and glared at him and confirmed, "You just read my thoughts, didn't you?"

Ignoring my question, he went inside a room, leaving me all alone in what seemed to be the living room.

This jerk does he not answer any questions he's asked?

But really... this apartment taste never fails to get me every single time I see it.

The room was simply decorated with a table that had laptop on it in the middle and two sofas in front of the huge T.V screen.

Where do they sell furniture with these bad patterns?

The table legs were green with yellow stripes and a blue surface with red dots on it. One of the sofas was purple that had green, blue and red pillows on it and another one was orange that had brown, pink and yellow pillows on it.

Is he colorblind?

"I asked the landlord and she told me she'll get the contract ready this afternoon, you can move right away what will you do?" Hoga said as he came out of the room he went in before.

"I'll move in right away then." I answered him avoiding eye contact afraid he'll be able to read my thoughts about his apartment.

He moved across the room and sat on the orange sofa and stared at me with curious eyes making me pour cold sweat out of my skin, he asked me, "But why were you sleeping outside?"

Like hell I'm going to tell you I was too scared to sleep at my old house.

I answered nervously, "it just happened." Knowing that answer won't satisfy him, I quickly tried to change the subject, "So, did you find anything new about our ability? You said you'll research it more."

He let out a sigh and opened his laptop that was lying on the horrible colored table.

He told me, "I tried dying once yesterday to test the time I take to revive, it seems I take 15 minutes."

15 minutes to revive? Isn't that too long? We stay dead during that? Man, I thought immortals heal right away, this is fraud.

I said trying not to show my disappointed expression, "is that so."

"If you think 15 minutes is too long wait till you hear that you take longer than that." He said while browsing on his laptop.

What?

"What do you mean by that?" I asked while slamming his laptop shut to get his attention.

He stared at me without saying any word then got up and started heading toward the main door.

"Where are you going?" I asked unable to understand his reaction but got, "come," as an answer.

We exited the apartment and went downstairs then Hoga knocked on the door of apartment 001.

"Are we meeting someone?" I asked while hoping I'll get an answer to my question this time, but no response came, and we kept waiting for the door to open.

Will he die if he answers me? Why is he ignoring me this whole time? Pisses me off.

The door creaked open revealing the old lady from before whom had a lot of makeup on.

"That's a lot of makeup." I said unconsciously as I saw her.

Her eyes squinted, and she started glaring at me, "who is this brat, Hoga-san?"

B-brat!? What is with this old hag?

"He's the one I mentioned before." Hoga answered her. When she heard his response, her face couldn't show her disappointment more.

"He looks like an idiot and a troublemaker, I agreed on this thinking he's your friend, but he doesn't seem to be that type," she said as she inspected me.

"I-Idiot!?" I questioned taken by surprise by her complain.

This old hag keeps judging me since the morning what is her problem?

"You're wrong, he's my friend." Hoga said in monotone.

Who are you trying to kid with that tone you psycho, like hell she'll believe that.

"fine, I guess it can't be helped. Just come in and sign the contract." The hag said after letting out a sigh.

She believed that bullshit!?

---

I sat on a chair that was inside the apartment as I waited for her to come while Hoga sat across me with a book in his hand.

Unlike Hoga's tasteless living room, this one was so comfortable to sit in, it had a nostalgic feeling in it.

The furniture was mostly made from wood and the wall was full of pictures of two young couple.

I wonder if it's her son or daughter.

"It's her husband," Hoga said while flipping through pages.

With a shocked face I asked Hoga, "her husband left her for a young woman?" Hoga responded with a silent laugh.

The woman entered the room with papers in her hand and she sat on the desk in the corner of the room she said, "I'll fill your information so come here."

I moved my chair closer and got met with the first question, "Name?" I answered right away, "Isozaki Izumi."

Then the second question, "Job?" I quickly answered, "staff-" then paused before continuing.

What should I answer? The chairman said I'm vice-president, but he might have been joking. And that psycho is here he will not accept that what if he said I'm lying there is no way to prove myself.

"He's vice-president at Miscul," Hoga answered the question making the old lady widen her eyes and asked me to confirm, "you are!?" and I nodded surprised by Hoga's actions.

Does that mean he accepted my position there?

"Guardian?" the old lady asked me, making me pause yet again.

Who should I put? Should I put Nao? Or is Hoga better option in this case? No.

"You can just put my name there as well." I answered her.

"We can't just do that, how about your family?" she said while staring at me for another response.

"Uh..."

What should I say? If I say I don't have family, this will get awkward plus that's not something I can say casually...

"What's wrong? Hurry it up," she rushed me.

I moved my head downward and said with faint voice, "I don't have."

"What is it?" she asked not hearing what I said.

I raised my head and moved it sideway, "I don't have ... any ..."

She started writing on the paper then handed me the paper and said with clear voice, "sign down there."

Eh? That's it?

I signed my name down and shifted my eyes toward the guardian spot to see that she had put 'Nishida Konomi' in it.

"Nishida Konomi?" I asked her with eyes questioning her.

As she fixed her posture on the chair she answered, "that's me."

Surprised by her answer I asked, "Eh? You're sure about that?"

Putting her name as a complete stranger guardian.

Unlike the expressions she showed me up till now she flashed a smile my way that reeked of sadness, "As a fellow person who doesn't have a family as well."

Ah... because her husband left her...

I smiled back and patted her shoulder, "it's fine, men are like that, they only look at face and age"

Her smiling expression turned into angry one and she yelled, "what is that supposed to mean you brat!?"

Taken back by her change I answered, "Isn't it because he left you for that girl in the picture?"

She slammed her hands on the desk and shouted, "that's me!"

Eh?

...

EEEHHH!!!??!?!

"Don't lie to me, old hag!" I screamed back, and continued, "even if it's hard to accept, you have to deal with him leaving you for prettier younger girl."

Hoga burst into laughter making me come to realize the mistake I had.

This jerk, is that why he laughed before!? Would it have killed him to correct me!?

So, this girl in the picture really is this old hag? Unbelievable.

I looked at the old lady to see her glaring her eyes out at me, "okay, I'm sorry but how am I supposed to know that, seeing how you are in late 50s I bet this picture was taken years back, you look so young in it. So, calm down, it was pure mistake."

Unlike the reaction I expected I was met with a boiling expression that seemed close to exploding with anger, she yelled at me, "I'm only 43, you brat!"

"Stop lying to me, old hag." I yelled back.

'Only 43'!? We don't use 'only' with 43, grandma.

"Give me back the contract I'll rip it in pieces," she said as she approached me trying to get her hands on the contract.

I raised it above my head and grinned at her, "it's too late to change your mind, grandma."

Then both of us looked toward Hoga, waiting for a reaction from him but got met with a flip of a page.

She sighed and said in a disappointed tone, "just make sure you pay the rent monthly on the 1st."

Then she kicked us out after she told us, "make sure you greet the neighbors when you move in, they were worried about you."

Later on, we discovered that we were not the only special ones in this apartment building, as a person with an ability like us whom will cause a drastic change in our life is living in it as well.

-End of Chapter 14-