Note: I have nothing to do with Haunted Junction and its characters except to be a fan who enjoys the series a lot. This story is my extrapolation of the storylines as seen in Bandai's subtitled release of the series. I apologize if the subject matter is inconsistent with the original intent of the creators or the original Japanese. Note: episodes during which specific events took place are identified in brackets.

He slowly opened his eyes.

At first, as he stared up into the darkness, he had trouble remembering who he was. Then he remembered everything.

His name was Hokujo Haruto. He was the President of the Holy Student Council of Saito High. He and the rest of the council had just battled an ogre princess intent on taking over the school. He'd volunteered all his life energy to aid his friends.

He'd died.

No, Haruto thought, I didn't die. I hurt too much to be dead. He groaned as he tried to move his arm, only to have pain shoot through his entire body.

Somewhere a light went on, and Haruto noticed that he was lying on something, with curtains hiding him from view. Suddenly a skeleton pulled back a part of the curtain and a girl in a mirror floated in.

For a brief moment Haruto thought he had died because now he was seeing walking skeletons and a floating mirror. Then he scolded himself. Baka! Of course you're seeing spirits! You go to Saito High!

Then another figure appeared, this one standing on its feet. "Haruto," a warm, well-remembered voice said softly, "you should go back to sleep."

Despite his weariness, Haruto smiled. "Red Mantle," he rasped. "What time is it?"

"It's about four in the morning," the tall spirit said. "And no," he continued, reaching out and firmly pressing down on Haruto's shoulder, "you're not getting up. You had a rough night, and you need to rest."

"But my parents--"

"The Chairman called all your parents, Niichan," Mirror Girl said.

Red Mantle nodded. "He explained the real situation to Kazumi's and Asahina's parents. He told your parents that you had an assignment dealing with astronomy and astrology and needed to stay overnight in school. It's fortunate that tomorrow there is no school, or I doubt your parents would have agreed."

Haruto nodded, finally allowing himself to relax again. "Where are--" He broke off and coughed. "Could I have some water?"

Mirror Girl floated out of sight, then returned holding a glass of water before her. "Here, Niichan," she said, as Red Mantle helped him to a sitting position.

Haruto gratefully accepted the cup and sipped at the water, letting it soothe his sore throat. "Where are the others?"

Bones Suzuki pointed across Haruto towards the closed curtains on his far side. "They're sleeping on the other cots. You're in the school infirmary."

Haruto sighed and nodded. "We won, right?"

Red Mantle nodded. "Himeko is trapped inside the Kannon box, where she'll stay until someone releases her. Right now the Chairman is trying to track down the Ogre-Slayer."

Haruto blinked. "Isn't that the name of a sword? What good can it do now?"

"It's also the name of the nameless ogre born as a human who wields the sword," Red Mantle explained.

"Why would an ogre want to kill another ogre?" Haruto asked. "And why would he have a sword that's known for killing ogres?"

"That's not important," Red Mantle said. "You need to get some rest."

Haruto shook his head. "Not yet," he said. He still felt weak and woozy, but there was something he needed that he couldn't get here in the infirmary.

"Red Mantle," he said, "can you take me up to the roof?"

The spirit frowned. "The roof? Why?"

"I think...I want to see the sky right now," Haruto said softly. "I need to see the sky."

Red Mantle was silent for a long moment. Then he nodded. "I think I understand." He reached down and scooped Haruto up in his arms, then carried him out of the infirmary.

Haruto was too weak to do more than lean against the spirit's chest and suffer the indignity of it all.

* * *

The air in the halls was chilly--no doubt the air outside would be likewise--and Haruto was glad that he had Red Mantle's cloak to keep him warm. He couldn't quite suppress some shivers, but he ignored them as they emerged onto the roof.

Someone had brought a chair up to the roof for some reason, maybe Asahina for when she did her long-distance ogling of the elementary schools. Red Mantle sat down on it, and gently repositioned Haruto so he was able to look around yet remain wrapped in the spirit's cloak. However, he refused to relinquish his hold on the boy.

Haruto sighed and leaned against the spirit again. As embarrassing as the situation might be, he was just as glad to avoid having to stand on his own two feet. He was just too tired.

He caught sight of a glowing white orb, still visible over the horizon. He pointed to it. "You know," he said, "I never thought much about the moon and the night sky. After last night, though, I think it's almost as beautiful as you are."

There was a moment of silence, then Haruto realized what he'd said. He felt himself flushing. "I'm sorry," he stammered. "I didn't mean to--"

"It's all right, Haruto," Red Mantle said quietly. "I told you before, I love you too, in my own way."

"I know," Haruto sighed. He closed his eyes and leaned against the spirit's chest.

"Haruto," Red Mantle said, "do you remember what you told me yesterday? That you wished there were some way to prove how much you loved me?"

Haruto felt himself flushing again. "I was--"

"You've done it."

Haruto blinked. "What?"

"During the battle," Red Mantle said, "the three of you--you, Kazumi, and Asahina--formed the triangle of power, and you channeled the spiritual energies that flow from your homes here into the school and the council. It's what allowed us to defeat Himeko." He paused. "You know that you don't have any spiritual powers like Kazumi's or Asahina's."

Haruto nodded.

"You also don't have as much life energy as they do. Don't think that it means you're weaker or closer to dying than they are," Red Mantle cautioned. "The training they've received and their own powers have increased their life energy. Yet you were willing to sacrifice all of your own energy to stop the ogre."

Haruto nodded again, confused by where the spirit was going with it all.

"Now let me explain why I'm telling you this. Thanks to their training, Kazumi and Asahina can consciously channel their powers and their energies, in this case into Hanako and Nino-kun. They, too, were sacrificing everything to save the world."

Haruto had no doubt that they had done so. He knew he could count on them in a crisis.

"You weren't able to do this," Red Mantle continued, "so I had to draw the energy from you. It was through you that I was able to use the spiritual power flowing to you from the church." He stopped.

"Haruto, the three holy places are evenly matched in terms of the spiritual energy they generate. Part of the energy I drew was coming from the church. Most of the energy came from you. Yet, the power I drew from you not only matched, it surpassed what Asahina and Kazumi were channeling."

Haruto stared up at the spirit. "I don't understand," he whispered.

"Have you ever guessed why you are the council president instead of Kazumi or Asahina?" Red Mantle asked. "Have you ever wondered why we entrusted you with the badges instead of one of them?"

Haruto shook his head, his eyes wide.

"It's because you have the greatest heart," Red Mantle said. "Countless times you have set aside your own dreams, your own wishes, your own fears to do what you felt was the right thing, and even when it was wrong you did all you could to correct your mistakes. You take your responsibilities seriously, even as you resist accepting the role of council president. You impressed us all when you chose to play with Mirror Girl instead of letting Asahina attack her."

Haruto felt himself blushing again at the praise.

"And tonight," the spirit said, smiling down at him, "it was your great heart and all the love in it that made you the strongest member of the council. And," he continued, his voice dropping to a whisper, "it was the love you felt for me that gave me the strength and courage to continue fighting, even though I knew what it was doing to you."

Haruto looked away, unable to gaze at Red Mantle any longer. "Stop," he whispered, tears trailing down his cheeks. "I know you don't feel the same way--" Gentle fingers drew his face back.

"Haruto," Red Mantle said, "the love you feel for me isn't exactly what you think it is. I'm not the one you want to spend the rest of your life with."

"But I--"

"Haruto, we both know that it isn't the way I look that's captured your heart," Red Mantle said gently.

Haruto's mouth worked, but no sound came out.

"Your great heart looks beyond the surface," the spirit continued, "searching for what's beneath it. That's why Hanako doesn't flirt as openly with you as she does Kazumi. You see here for a real person, not simply an object of lust and attraction." The spirit smiled. "And certainly you don't see me in that way, do you?"

Haruto blushed furiously, shaking his head. "No! When I see you, even without the mask, I see..." His voice trailed off.

"Yes?"

"I see...you," Haruto finished, his voice filled with wonder. "Not the bane of the school's teachers and the spirit who makes all the girls faint, but you. A generous, compassionate, kind soul who looks beyond the surface, too."

"Yes," Red Mantle said. "And that is what you love. Not the body, but the spirit. And that is what your heart does not want to lose."

Haruto closed his eyes and nodded, feeling new tears flowing down his cheeks, but he felt better than before. "Now I understand," he whispered. "I won't lose you, will I?"

"No," Red Mantle said softly. "You won't. Even after you graduate, you'll still love me, and I'll still love you. And maybe, if we don't meet again in this lifetime, we'll still meet in the next world."

Haruto reached up and gently pressed his finger to the spirit's lips. "Let's not talk about the future and graduation. That's a long way off."

Red Mantle smiled. "Then what do you want to talk about?"

"Nothing, right now," Haruto said, his eyes slowly closing.

"Shall I take you back inside?"

Haruto shook his head. "I just want to stay here with you," he whispered. "If you don't mind."

"Not at all."

Haruto smiled and snuggled in against the spirit's chest. He rested his head against Red Mantle's shoulder. "Wake me when the sun rises?"

"Of course."

Haruto nodded and felt himself start to drift off.

"Haruto!" a voice called.

Haruto twitched with annoyance and started to open his eyes, but Red Mantle rocked him gently. "Rest," the spirit said, "I'll handle it."

"Haruto!" the voice called again, louder this time.

"What is it, Chairman?" Red Mantle said.

"Oh, Red Mantle, have you--" The voice stopped.

In his mind's eye Haruto could imagine the Chairman's expression. And any moment now he'd start taking pictures and making rude comments.

"So I was interrupting something yesterday!" the Chairman said gleefully.

"You're interrupting my rest now," Haruto retorted, not bothering to open his eyes. "Just say what you have to and go."

"Ah, Haruto, you're getting some backbone at last!" the Chairman laughed.

"What is it, old man?" Haruto demanded, still keeping his eyes shut.

"I just wanted to give this to you," the Chairman said.

Haruto sighed, and opened his eyes. He looked at the shining sword in the Chairman's hand. "What is it?"

"Genki no gekido."

Haruto's eyes widened. "The sword you gave me?" It couldn't be. That sword had been practically useless, what with its warped grip and pitted blade. The Chairman himself had said that it couldn't protect him on its own. This sword gleamed in the moonlight, its blade sharp and keen. "What happened to it?"

"You happened to it," the Chairman said. "Genki no gekido is the fury of life, but it is not necessarily the life of the one who wields it. Last night, the sword transformed when you drew it to fight not to protect yourself but to aid others, like Red Mantle here, and the other spirits. But it became this when you offered up your life energy to battle Himeko. The power of your conviction and your determination to defeat the ogres even if it cost you your own life allowed it to truly embrace the fury of life. Not your life, but the lives of all those you were fighting for. And so it became this, and it became yours."

Haruto looked up at the Chairman. "Mine?"

"Yours," the Chairman repeated, "because this sword has two other names. The first is Kokoro no nekkyoo, the passion of the heart. The second is Koi no tate, love's shield. And that is why the sword had the second transformation into what you see now: because you fulfilled the demands of the sword's three names. And now it is yours."

Haruto blinked. "How did I fulfill its needs?" he asked.

"You're wrapped up in the arms of your lover and you're asking me that?" the Chairman asked.

"Oh," Haruto said. Then he turned and snuggled back against Red Mantle, who repositioned the cloak again. "Okay, then. Was there anything else?"

There was a moment of silence. "Well," the Chairman began, an odd note in his voice. "I've sent a message to the Ogre-Slayer. He'll be visiting one of these days to take custody of Himeko."

"Okay," Haruto said. "Is that it?"

"Well...yes."

"Good. Now go away."

There was a moment of silence, then Haruto saw the glare of a flash going off. "Not before I get a few pictures!" the Chairman cried cheerfully. "Like I said before, you two make a perfect couple!"

"Chairman," Red Mantle protested. "He needs to rest."

"Oh, all right," the Chairman pouted. "Fine. I'll go see if Kazumi is awake yet. Maybe he'll get possessed by something interesting."

"He's gone," Red Mantle reported a few seconds later.

Haruto sighed. "Good." He shifted himself slightly, repositioning himself so his arm wasn't pinned between them. "You don't think he'll tell the others about us, do you?"

"Do you really care?"

Haruto thought for a moment. "No, not really."

"Then don't worry about it."

"All right." Haruto smiled, then he yawned. "I think I'm going to sleep now," he said.

"I'll wake you when the sun rises," Red Mantle promised.

"Thank you," Haruto said softly. "I love you."

"And I love you, Mr. President," Red Mantle said, gently stroking Haruto's hair.

Haruto snuggled a little closer to the spirit.

"Thank you," he murmured, "O my God."

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