Note: I have nothing to do with Here is Greenwood and its characters except to be a fan who enjoys the OVAs a lot. This story is my extrapolation of the storylines as seen in the OVAs. I apologize if this story doesn't quite fit in with the manga.

"Kisaragi Inn."

"How are you, Shun?"

"Mitsuru-sempai! I'm fine! How are things at Greenwood?"

"Everybody's fine here so far. I didn't think Shinobu would call and tell you, but we've taken care of the mummy. You don't have to worry about it any longer."

"That's great! How'd you do it?"

"It's complicated, so I'll tell you when you come back to Greenwood. Er...when are you coming back, anyway?"

"Day after tomorrow. I'm going back to get the stitches out, and after that I'm going straight to Greenwood."

"That's terrific. I'll let everybody know. Greenwood's still sort of empty, what with everyone away on vacation or sick at home, so it gets a little dull."

"That's too bad. I'll try to get back as soon as I can."

"By the way, Shun, there's something I want to ask you. Shinobu said he talked to you about the person who sold you the book, but he won't tell us anything."

"I don't see why. I mean, it didn't really seem all that significant."

"Shinobu seems to think...never mind. Why don't you just tell me about it?"

"Well, there's not much to tell. Like I told Shinobu-sempai, it was a man. He was about Suka's height, maybe a little taller. He had sort of blonde hair...but not quite."

"How can you have 'sort of blonde hair but not quite'?"

"I don't know. He looked sort of old, but his hair seemed...I don't know. It was sort of like someone poured chalk dust over his head. If his hair were darker, I would have called it 'salt-and-pepper' instead."

"That's odd. What else can you remember about him?"

"He a beard...but you know, now that I think about it, it was gray with streaks of black in it. Is that possible, sempai? To have blond hair but a black beard?"

"That sounds very strange. Did you tell Shinobu about the beard?"

"I...think so. I was on medication when he called that time."

"What else?"

"He wore these really dark glasses. I couldn't see his eyes. I thought maybe he might be blind, but he seemed to see well enough."

"Very strange. Anything else?"

"Yeah. The man seemed...he was hunched over, but it was like he was forcing himself to lean over. And he seemed really stiff and uncomfortable. Not the way old people get when they have arthritis, but like he was a soldier or something. And you know, he knew I was a boy. You know how most people first think I'm a girl? He just...knew. I don't know how he knew, but he did."

"Now that's interesting. Very interesting. Listen, Shun, I have to go, okay? I'm going to the market with Shinobu and Hasukawa in a few minutes."

"Okay. Bring back some snacks for me, okay?"

"I'll tell Hasukawa. We'll have a real party when you come back, all right?"

"Great! Bye, sempai!"

"Bye, Shun."

* * *

Kazuya stared gloomily out the window. It was all he'd done since they'd come back from the koi pond.

Shinobu sighed as he gazed at his friend. "Kazuya," he said, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Shinobu sighed again. "Kazuya, I know something's bothering you. What is it?"

"Nothing!"

Shinobu shook his head. "This is about Haru, isn't it?"

Kazuya started in his seat, but he quickly shook his head.

"It is." Shinobu stood up and crossed over to the window, blocking Kazuya's view. "You care about him, don't you?"

Kazuya jumped up. "Of course!" he snapped. He started pacing back and forth. "Next to you, Mitsuru, and Shun, he's my best friend!"

"Even though you've known him barely a month?" Shinobu pressed.

"What does that have to do with it?" Kazuya objected. "I trust him with my life! I have trusted him with my life. So have you! And now so have Mitsuru and Aoki! I can talk to him, the same way I can talk to you and Mitsuru. Sure, the hours we can talk to each other may be awkward, but when we do talk we enjoy ourselves."

Shinobu shook his head. "Kazuya, let me ask you this. How much do you care about Haru?" That brought the younger boy up short.

"What?"

Shinobu's eyes narrowed. "Do you care enough about Haru to let him go?"

"What...what do you mean?" Kazuya stammered.

"Kazuya, I know that you like Haru. You trust him. We all do. And because he's your friend, you're afraid that doing what we have to do will change your relationship with him."

Kazuya threw his arms up in the air. "Sempai, if we do the same thing to him that we did to the mummy and the rusalka, he's not going to be here anymore! He's going to move on!" Kazuya lowered his arms and turned away. "I won't be able to talk to him anymore," he whispered.

Shinobu walked over to his friend and gently drew him into an embrace. Kazuya resisted at first, then sighed and relaxed.

"Kazuya," Shinobu said softly, "you're being selfish. You don't want to lose your friendship with Haru. I can understand that. But you have to think about how Haru feels. I'm sure he doesn't want to lose your friendship either. But I'm also sure he doesn't want to be a vampire."

"But--"

"No, just hear me out. You know he doesn't like having to drink blood to survive. He hates the fact that he's confined here and has to take all his blood from you and me, and now Mitsuru and Aoki. And what's going to happen when we all graduate and move on? Eventually we'll all grow old and die, and he'll be left all alone. Do you think he wants to face that?"

Kazuya shook his head. "No," he whispered. "We talked about it before. He...he was afraid that getting to know people and losing them to time would change him. He swore that he'd kill himself before he lost his humanity."

"Then you can see my point, right? In the long run, it will be better for us all if we release Haru from his curse."

Kazuya sighed. "I...you're right, aniki," he whispered. "But I'm going to miss him."

Shinobu opened his mouth to speak, but the door opened and they both looked up.

Mitsuru walked in. He seemed surprised to see them together, but he simply shut the door and sat down at the desk.

Shinobu released Kazuya and faced his roommate. "Any news about Shun?"

Mitsuru nodded. "He'll be coming back the day after tomorrow. I promised him a party, so we'll have to go back to the market again tomorrow." Mitsuru sighed. "Unfortunately, it's too late to start a betting pool on when Shun will arrive."

"We can worry about that later," Shinobu said. "Right now let's just rest and relax. We'll need to stay up late again tonight, so let's try to conserve our energy."

"Why?" Mitsuru asked. "What's happening tonight?"

"Tonight we end this," Shinobu said. "We'll free Haru and put and end to the book's power once and for all."

Mitsuru crossed his arms. "And we're going to do this how, precisely?" Then he straightened in his seat, his eyes narrowing. "You know what to do, don't you?"

Shinobu shook his head. "I have an idea of what to do," he said firmly, "but I need to think about it more. So don't try to pry any answers out of me," he added, shooting a warning glance at Mitsuru.

"Tonight?" Kazuya whispered. "Does it have to be tonight?" There was a pleading note in his voice.

Shinobu sighed. "I'm sorry, Kazuya," he said, "but it does. We don't have the right to prolong Haru's torture."

He watched as Kazuya slowly sank down onto the bed.

"That's not enough time," he heard the other boy say.

"Do we really have to rush this?" Mitsuru asked quietly.

Shinobu nodded. "The book's caused enough trouble already. It's time to fulfill the priests' dream and break its power."

Mitsuru sighed. "All right," he said, turning towards Kazuya. "I'll follow your lead on this. But I think I'm going to miss Haru."

Shinobu smiled grimly. "Don't worry," he said to himself. "If this all works out, neither of you will have time to miss Haru at all."

* * *

"I don't believe it," Mitsuru muttered as he entered 210.

Kazuya looked up from the book he was attempting to read. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Where have you been?"

"I was in the arcade," Mitsuru said, sinking into a chair. "Aoki closed it early so he and Haru could continue their 'tournament.'" He shook his head. "We should have told the dorm about Haru and set up a betting pool."

Kazuya grinned. "Is he that good?"

Mitsuru shrugged. "It depends. He wins all the RPGs and action-adventure games, but Haru has the edge in the sports-related games, especially the racing games. They're more or less even in the fighting tournament games."

Kazuya snickered. "Sempai," he said, "do you really want to set up a pool when neither side has a definite advantage?"

Mitsuru smirked. "But that's what makes it so interesting, Kazuya, setting up the parameters of the pool and the terms of the betting so that we have the advantage without seeming to have the advantage."

Kazuya laughed.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Mitsuru said. He leaned forward. "I know this thing with the book and Haru is upsetting you."

Kazuya sighed. "I know we have to go through with it," he said softly. "But I don't want to lose him. He's my friend."

Mitsuru shook his head. "Kazuya, Shinobu explained it all to you earlier."

"I know!" he snapped, slamming his book shut. Kazuya glared at his friend, then lowered his eyes and looked away. "It's just that..."

"It's okay to hurt," Mitsuru said softly, "and I don't know of any way to stop the hurting. But just remember that we're doing this because we care about Haru."

Kazuya swallowed. "I'll try, sempai," he said, "but..."

"I know."

They looked up as a cloud of mist floated in around the door. A few moments later Haru solidified. "What's up?" he asked.

Kazuya swallowed again. "I hear you were giving Aoki a run for his money."

Haru grinned. "I kept lapping him in the races. He couldn't believe how quickly I was taking all the turns."

"That's...that's great."

Haru frowned. "Kazuya, is something wrong?"

Kazuya looked away.

Mitsuru stood up. "I'm going down to the baths," he said. "See you later." He slipped out of the room before Kazuya could say anything.

"Kazuya," Haru said, approaching and sitting beside him on the bed. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Kazuya shook his head. "It's nothing," he said. He opened his book again.

Haru took it from him. "Kazuya," he said, "don't make me read your mind. Something's bothering you, so it's bothering me. I don't like to see you upset."

Kazuya sighed. "It's just that...this may be the last time I see you." He closed his eyes and turned away.

Haru was silent for a long moment. "The last time?" he said softly.

Kazuya nodded without opening his eyes. "Shinobu-sempai insists on using the book tonight to free you. He doesn't want that book around any longer."

"I don't blame him," Haru said slowly. "I wouldn't want that book around either. But are you so sure this is the last time we'll see each other?"

Kazuya opened his eyes and stared at him. "What else can it be?" he asked. "You saw what happened when we freed the mummy from the book's power. He went back to wherever he came from. The rusalka did the same thing today when we freed her."

Haru straightened. "You freed the rusalka?"

Kazuya nodded miserably. "We did it this afternoon, just after lunch."

"So I'm the last," Haru said softly.

Kazuya swallowed. "Haru, I don't want you to go."

Haru blinked. "What?"

"You're my friend, and I don't want you to go."

Haru clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Kazuya," he said softly, "you're my friend, too, and I don't want to go either. But...you know I don't want to prey on people any more. I hate having to take blood from you to survive. I guess...if it's a choice between remaining a vampire and drinking your blood each night or dying the true death and keeping you safe and healthy, I'd choose dying."

Kazuya sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that." He turned and hugged Haru. "Promise you won't forget me."

Haru laughed softly. "I'm not going yet," he whispered.

"Not yet."

* * *

"It's time," Shinobu said gently. He held out the book to Kazuya.

Kazuya took it slowly, his hands shaking. "Do we have to?" he asked quietly.

Shinobu nodded. "Kazuya, it's for the best."

Kazuya sighed. "All right."

Haru got up and walked to the window. "I guess this is good-bye," he said softly.

"Maybe," Shinobu said. He felt Mitsuru's eyes dart toward him.

"Shinobu, you're hiding something," he said in a low voice. "What is it?"

"Nothing of immediate import," he said. He moved to Kazuya' side and slipped his arm across his shoulders.

"Now listen carefully, Kazuya," he said. "You need to focus very hard on the spell we want, because this time there are specific things we want to happen. Are you ready?"

Kazuya swallowed. "Yes."

Shinobu watched as Mitsuru took up his place on Kazuya's other side. Then he glanced at Haru. "Ready?"

"Yes," the vampire said softly.

"All right." Shinobu turned back to Kazuya. "Listen carefully," he said. "Look for this spell: a spell to bestow upon an American enhanced strength, healing, and senses, as well as the ability to change shape and size."

"Shinobu," Mitsuru began, "do you really think the book--"

"Found it," Kazuya whispered.

Mitsuru closed his mouth and stared at the book.

Shinobu looked down, He read through the spell, then smiled. Perfect!

"Go ahead," he said aloud. "Read it."

Kazuya took a deep breath.

"You, who possesses unnatural strength, who possesses the senses of animals, who possess the resilience of plants and trees, who changes and reshapes himself at will, be a human being once more! Give back that which has granted you your power and be a human being once more! Be that which you were born to be, and be a human being once more!"

Kazuya's eyes widened. He turned. "Sempai--"

Mitsuru also turned to stare at him. "Shinobu, that spell--"

Shinobu shook his head. "Watch," he said, gazing directly at Haru.

At first it seemed as though Haru were transforming back into mist. Vapor seemed to curl off of him and twine around his body. Tendrils of the glowing mist rose up his torso, snaking around his arms and throat. Then, the vapor seemed to contract into what was almost a fist. It plunged forward, directly into Haru's mouth. Haru staggered backward as the mist surged up and flowed into him. Then his entire body began to glow, first a sort of deep blue, but the aura quickly surged up into blinding whiteness.

Beside him he sensed Kazuya and Mitsuru raising their arms and turning away. He closed his eyes, but he focused his other senses as completely as he could...

...and heard the sound he was waiting for: a breath.

As the glare faded, Shinobu opened his eyes.

Haru stood before them, apparently unchanged, but he was pressing one hand to his chest and the other to the side of his throat. His eyes were wide and amazed.

"I have a heartbeat!" Haru whispered. "I can breath again!"

"Sempai, how did you--"

Shinobu shook his head. "I didn't know for certain if it would work," he said, "but I believed that it would. Because Haru hadn't actually died--as he told Kazuya originally, he'd lost consciousness and awakened a different being--becoming a vampire was more as though he'd been given certain special abilities that made him more than human, but taking in return certain other abilities, like the ability to breath or possess a pulse. By--" He broke off as a new light filled the room.

The book was shaking violently in Kazuya's hands. As they watched, cracks spread all across the cover of the book. Blue light shone through the cracks. The light surged once, then flickered and died away completely.

Shinobu gently took the book from Kazuya. He opened its cover slowly.

There was nothing legible left. It was as though someone had spilled ink all over the page, or as though something immensely hot had scorched the entire page wholly and completely. When he turned the pages, he saw that all of them were exactly the same.

"It is done," he said quietly. "The book's power is no more."

"Good riddance," Mitsuru said, just as softly. "Now the only question is, what do we do with it? We can't just throw it away, right?"

"Why not?" Kazuya asked. "It doesn't have any power anymore, right?"

"No," Shinobu said. "There is another question."

"What?" Mitsuru asked. "What question?"

Shinobu nodded towards the window. "What do we do about Haru?"

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