《Living with a Ghost: I Wasn't Able to be Reincarnated so, I Became a Ghost.》 Prologue – Start Again Sitting here on the bench by the vending machine I let out a deep sigh as I finish my sip of tea. The third school in two years. Admittedly this is my first year of High School so we should all be on the same level but at least they know this town. I need to look for a better book store, I have already reread what I brought when we moved and the convenience store by the house isnt really cutting it. I hear an Aw crap coming from the vending machine and I look up to see him. His dark hair shining in the April sunlight, hes pretty handsome. Hes wearing the uniform for the same school as me. Thats interesting. I think Ill have a bit of fun. Whats wrong? I say to him. Oh, hi, Im just a bit short of getting a drink is all. How much do you need? Huh? No, its ok I didnt need it anyway. Really its no big deal here I think I can spare some change, take what you need. I hold out a few coins in his direction. Uhthanks. I only needed 10 yen so I can get you back tomorrow. Im Shinichi Kitaji (һ) in class 1-3. What class are you in? Im Michiru Kanazawa (g) in 1-1 and, if you really want to pay me back, how about helping me find a real book store. Do you know any in this area? Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.Yeah, the one I go to get manga has a good selection there. Its about 2 stations over. Ah I see more into manga, are you? Mostly, not that I havent been known to pick up a few novels now and then. Really? Any I might know? Maybe, there was that one isekai series by Ryusei. Oh, I know that one! Its a classic! I excitedly replied. Oh, this is going too good. I cant mess this up. Yeah, I grew up with those so I read em all. What have you been mostly reading? Oh, there was this Witch Academy series that recently started. Its got me hooked! I replied. I think I have seen ads for it in the shop a few times. Then I REALLY need to go to this store you recommended. Im gonna go this Sunday. Want me to show you where it is? Im still new to this town so thatd be a big help. Oh, I know how that is. My family moved here about 4 years ago. Hey, theres this great caf nearby the book store that I usually drop by afterwards to read a few chapters. We can stop by there as well if youre, ok? That sounds like my kind of place. Great! Lets meet at the station at 10. I cant wait! I said as I turned and started walking back home. Oh my god! Did this just happen!? Did I just set up a date with this handsome schoolmate? Man, I am such a lucky and crazy girl. Chapter 1 - The Death Of Me Finally, the rain stopped. I didnt think Id need to bring an umbrella and I always liked the rain anyway. Its been almost 7 years since Shinichi took me to this book store and now our life together has had all the ups and downs anyone has together. But this last week alone has been a whirlwind of happiness! Shinichi and I are finishing college together and we both have been accepted to our dream jobs. Then yesterday, he proposed to me! I cant believe it! He even asked my dad for permission and of course he said yes. Its not like he hasnt known them for years now. It was obvious that my dad would be fine with it. They got along well enough and having a man like Shinichi in the family makes him happy to have a son in the family. I skip down the walkway, my long green dress flowing in the wind. All those memories of Shinichi and I together come back. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.Ah, I think Ill skip the caf we usually go to and start reading when I get home. I cant believe the author said there is only one more book left. Oh well Ive been keeping my eye on a few other series that I have been wanting to start. I come up toward the intersection and the guy in front of me is pretty oblivious studying his flip cards. I hear a loud screech as the truck hits its brakes and starts sliding on the wet road. What? He still didnt notice? As if on pure instinct and adrenaline I rush forward and grab his collar as he is still on one leg and pull him back. I however am pushed forward and I feel a sharp pain in my head. What is this? I was going home and wanted to see Shinichi. Yes Shinichi. I love him so much. Whats going on? Im confused. I just want to be with him. We were supposed to be married soon. SHINICHI!! Chapter 2 – Become The Martyr Its white. Its all so white. Why cant I see anything but this whiteness? I guess its true then, Im dead. But is this all there is? You were always a smart one I hear a voice say. The face of my grandfather reveals itself before me. Are you really my grandfather? I reply. I always found it made the person I was talking to calmer if I appeared as someone they knew. Did it work? I suppose. But obviously youre not my grandfather then that would make you? Oh, youre a smart girl who else would be here in this celestial plane? he retorts. WHAT? Youre God? In the fleshwell, astrally speaking of course. God umm I mean Almighty One um its great to meet you and all but, if Im dead then why am I here? Oh, please you dont be so formal and relax a bit. Have a seat and drink some tea. A square table appears in front of us which had a cup of tea atop it. I sit down and relax. God joins me in sitting across from me. Lets hold that thought on why youre here for a bit, ok. Let me pose a question to you first. What was the last thing you remember happening? Ook? Um the last thing I remember besides my memories and my longing to see Shinichi again oh that boy. Did he live? Ah there we go. Yes, he lived despite a broken leg and a dislocated shoulder. He wont be throwing any baseballs like he used to anymore. You really threw all your strength into saving him. Good job with that. Oh well Im glad one of us lived, even if it was kind of his fault. I retorted but not so much as to seem disrespectful. I assure you the incident was going to have a negative outcome either way sadly. You see, your sacrifice was very important to the future of humankind. "HUH? No way? Im just a college student! Im not that important. I just wanted to get married, start my career and have a couple of kids eventually. Oh, but I assure you, you were more influential than you think. That boy, or rather first year high school student, you saved, his name is Takahiro Gotou by the way, having you save him from death changes his life dedicating himself to not wasting the chance you gave him. As a result, he drops his pursuits of becoming the next big baseball star and dedicates his life to his engineering studies. In the years following he paves the way for advancements in robotics and interstellar travel. His decedents continue on his work and eventually achieve travel and colonization on a nearby habitable planet. Wow but did I have to really have to die for that to happen? Sadly yes. It needed to be really impactful to put him on the right path. But what about Shinichi? We were supposed to be married after we graduated. I really want to be with him. This is where we need to discuss your original question. Oh, you mean why am I here? Correct. I see him going down one of two paths and only you can help me with. Helpyou? But, youre GOD. How can I do something you cant? Oh, I can do it but I think it would be best to have you be able to see him again and hopefully have him put on the right path as well. You see he also is able to accomplish some minor biotechnological feats and in turn his future children pick up his advances and help the biological side of mans journey to the stars alongside Takahiros engineering efforts. I wish it was me who gave birth to that child for Shinichi. I let out a small sigh. I have a role for you to still play if you still wish to do so. God interjected while patting my head comfortingly. But Im dead and Im pretty sure my body has already been burned. Are you gonna send me to some other world to be their hero or something like that? This isnt some isekai light novel or anime. I have my hands full enough with this universe to worry about others. I dont need to take on a bunch of false realities made up of nonsensical fantasy lands. Im sorry I mentioned it. I hastily apologized. Thats ok. I do have a somewhat strict law of nature I try to uphold in regards to this world. Those stories tend to throw all of that out the window and disregard all the hard work I had done in favor of absurdity. But, thats neither here nor there. Lets get down to the task at hand. I have you here before me because I need you to again interfere in the flow of events. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.Interfere in the flow of events? I reply inquisitively. Yes, while I do have my previously mentioned laws of nature somethings people experience tends to be mistaken as going against them. A case in point is those who have interacted with ghosts. Ghosts? So, ghosts, are you? I reply confusedly. No but they are a divine spirit blessed by me and sent back to the world to set the course of events right when something is requiring a special touch that only those connected to the person is able to do. As far as you are concerned, I see that Shinichi is on a rather poor pathway and not befitting of the future I mentioned earlier and is needing something to get him back on the proper course. Oh, I think I get it. So, you want me to try to get him back on his way I take it? You were always a bright one. I need you to see your beloved and try to get him back on the right path. Also, there seems to be some problem in regards to Takahiro as well. It seems he is mostly on track but is still not quite there. I need you to figure out what it is. Sure, I mean you are god and you are giving me a chance to see Shinichi one more time so I am grateful for that. Im still not sure what I can do once Im there. I mean I will be still just a ghost after all. Oh, I wont just throw you out there with no proper tools. I will give to you seven blessings or miracles if you will. These will allow you to manifest whatever you will need to help you accomplish your mission. The rules for these are simple. As I stated earlier, I like to keep the laws of nature as intact as possible. So, no wishing to making a cat into a human companion for example. Heh, that would certainly cause an uproar if a catgirl were to suddenly appear I suppose. I got it, no outrageous ideas that upset the laws of nature. Im not really saying that. You will be tested to use your wits and tackle the problems before you. The goal is to not make the unbelievably impossiblemanifest itself, got it? Ok, Got it. But what if I do for some reason make a request that would be considered as such? Then it wont happen. Easy as that. However, be very careful with these as once you expend your seventh blessing, you will be done and you will find yourself back here. So, it would be best to use the last one once you feel you have completed your mission, got it? Yes, I believe so. I replied assuredly. Eh? Are you sure? I dont want you to have any doubts as to what you are supposed to do. No, I know I have to get Shinichi and Takahiro back on course and I have seven blessings to use to assist me. Right, you will have some minor abilities you can use that I will let you figure out as you go along. Theyll become obvious to you once the situation arises. Do you have any ideas on where to start? Well, I suppose I need to see whats the deal with both of them so I will probably observe them and decide what the best course of action is. Right then it seems you have things in order. Hold out your hand, here are your blessings. I believe the shape of these hold a significant relevance for you. I hold out my hand and, in the palm, instantly appear seven 10-Yen coins. If there was any doubt that this was God then the fact that only me and Shinichi had the bond with this coin. Thank you so much. I wont let you down and thank you so much for letting me see him again. I say to him with tears starting to come down my cheeks. Please dont cry my child. As I stated to you earlier you are more important than you realize even though you are no longer alive. Now go and see this man you loved so much and put his mind at ease and back on the right path. God comes up to me and puts his hand on my face over my eyes. The darkness of closing my eyes turns to the same bright light I experienced when I arrived. Chapter 3 – The Return The light fades, I open my eyes and find myself at the vending machine that Shinichi and I met for the first time all those years ago. However, things look a little different around the area. Oh well, my parents house isnt too far from here. I make my way towards my parents house and it hits me, do I really want to see them just after they lost me? Yeah, thats probably not a great idea. I hang my head and start walking aimlessly until I see another familiar place. This convenience store was always a place I first started going to when we moved. I instinctively enter the store passing through the glass door and what is this music? Is this what passes for pop music now? Sheesh, gone for a few hours and music takes a nose dive. I make my way over to the books section and glance at the newspaper. To my surprise its been four years since I died. FOUR YEARS!? Ok, calm down. This really complicates things. I dont know where anyone is except maybe my parents. Yeah, I was going to my parents house but I guess cancelling that idea has now been uncancelled. Its a good a place as any to start. Shinichi and my parents always got along and my dad was so happy to have a son in the family finally. Im sure theyre still in touch. Instinctively I exited the convenience store and traversed a good portion of the path to my parents house while I was lost in thought. Just a little bit more but, what will I do there? It is getting kind of late. Hopefully I wont be disturbing dinner. Well, they cant see me, I guess. It should be fine. Stepping further along until I finally reach the house, I pass through the door and instinctively let out an Im home, and go to the living room area. It feels weird not having to take my shoes off when I come inside. Is this how Americans feel when they visit Japan? I see my dad sitting on the couch watching TV and my mom finishing up the last of the dishes. I am so glad that they are still doing well. I look around the room. It hasnt changed much except for the small area with my picture on it. The type of area reserved for a close family member who is deceased. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. My dad starts to pick up his smartphone and make a call. He says a familiar name. Hi, Shinichi, I was wondering if you were going to visit Michirus grave tomorrow? Oh, you are? Well be going there about noon Oh, you wont make it there until later in the afternoon. Well, how about coming by after you do to have dinner tomorrow Great, Ill see you tomorrow. Its HIM! YES! I wish I could have heard him. Dad why are you so loud? I want to hear him. Sigh, so, I guess Ill go with my parents and wait around to I can see Shinichi. That will be kind of surreal to see my own grave stone. Now that I know what Im going to do tomorrow, I go upstairs and head to what was my old bedroom. Not much has really changed in 4 years. I glance at the clock by my bed to see it read 9:36PM. Looking around the room there are some of my things that are boxed up and my bed is empty with no sheets on it. My desk is still the same. How many nights have I spent studying at this desk? And this computer, its a good thing I am not a guy so I didnt really have anything questionable on there. Besides if I had those thoughts, I always had Shinichi to go see to make me feel better. What am I even thinking? My bookcase is still as I left it with the exception of the witches academy series missing. Hmm wonder where that is. Oh well not like I can read it anyway or can I I reach out to the bookshelf and focus hard on grabbing a book. It moved! Oh, hmm, lets go with this one, the signed copy from the Magic Kingdom series. I removed it from the shelf with my hand and I carry it back toward my bed. Before I start reading, I remember God did say that I would have some abilities to help me out. It seems I can interact with items around me a little bit. I guess that makes sense. You hear stories of things being moved around by ghosts. I guess it wasnt all just made-up stories designed to scare people. As I finished my thoughts I laid down on my bed and start to thumb through the book but then I close my eyes and drift in the memories I had in this room. The nights Id be reading a book or when Shinichi and I would be studying for some exam. I feel so light and I start to blackout Chapter S1 – I Hate Myself Why am I even here? Why do us Japanese always have these after-work workplace gatherings anyway? It feels more like obligation than morale building. I always resisted coming to these as I only took this job because I was overqualified and I needed a paycheck to keep playing my net game at night. The exam to be a pharmacy tech was easy considering I was going to be a biological and pharmaceutical researcher. But here I am 4 years later pouring drinks to my co-workers waiting for the time to escape to the safety of my apartment. Oh, finally the boss is signaling he is going to head home. Maybe I can get a couple of hours of game time in before I fall asleep from the drinks. I use the sign the boss is heading out as my queue to do so as well and give all my co-workers the usual goodbye greeting. The early spring night air is cold and I button the top on my jacket to keep warm while I stop by a vending machine during the walk to grab a hot can of coffee. Just as I finished and toss the can in the recycle bin, I get a call. Its from Michirus father Taro. I go ahead and answer it. Hello?...Yes, I have an early shift so I wont make it until the afternoonUh, sure Ill come by to have dinner with youOk, Ill see you later tomorrow. Uhg, what did I just do? I dont particularly have any issues with Taro, I only said I was going later because I feel so awkward when we visit her site together. Im only partially lying since Im just going in to pick up my paycheck then run some errands. I guess theres nothing I can do about it now. Ill just get back and relax a bit online and then get ready for that early shift tomorrow. I get through the door and head right for my PC. I log in and get to playing. I cant really do much since I have to get ready for my trip to work and then go to the grave site. I guess Ill do some crafting since thats always relaxing. Being a functioning shut-in is such a pain sometimes. Thankfully since I had dinner at the izakaya I can skip that part and dedicate more time to gaming. Just dealing with people in the minimum amount I do all day at work is extremely tiring. I just want to hide here in my apartment away from everyone. Taking my time crafting stuff for my guild members I decided to make as gifts and to help them in their quests. As I was finishing my eighth or so item I start to nod off * * * Hey, Shinichi. I hear a familiar voice. Yes, what is it? I feel like going out to a movie tonight. Sounds good to me. You have one in mind? Well. She says as she cozies up to me and places her hand on my chest and starts rubbing. There was that musical I have been wanting to see. Hmmm, well I dont know. As I slyly reply tilting my head and putting my index finger cheek. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.We can go by that Italian Restaurant afterwards. She responds as she moves her hand to my face and leans down to kiss my lips. I do like that place but, a musical is going to have to take more than a belly full of tasty carbonara. I continue toying with Michiru. I think that and some great merlot can set the mood for some after dinner alone time. You know I dont drink anymore. Since when? I know you cant hold your liquor like me but this is strange. What do you mean I havent for four years nowfouryears. What is going on youre not here anymore. You left me all alone! What are you talking about? Im right here! No, youre not! You died and left me all alone! * * * A loud noise wakes me up. The alarm on my phone blares out to bring me back to reality. Its that damn dream again. Its been a while since the last one. While the start was nice the end just made me mad. I let out a sigh. What a great mood to start this day off. I log out and get out of my computer chair and head to the bathroom and take a shower. Why did I blame her anyways? Uhg, stupid dreams, its more like a nightmare to have to be falsely reunited with her. I hate myself sometimes. Its not her fault she died it was that asshole she saved. I finish up my shower, get dressed and head out the door to work to pick up my paycheck. After all the errands are done, I finally end up at the family site here. Hmm, looks like her parents brought more offerings than usual. I leave the standard offerings, light the incense and bow my head, clap and offer my thoughts to her. So, its been 4 years now. Not much has really changed in the that time. I have barely been keeping myself together still. The pharmacy job has still kept me busy. I know thats not the plan we had before but I just dont have any desire at all to try to accept that job at all. That was for us to build our future together and eventually a family. I really dont know what to do with myself any more. We had these grand plans and dreams but, what do I do now? My days are all just work, gaming and sleeping. Somedays it takes all my strength just to leave the apartment to get a convenience store dinner and debate if my hunger is stronger than my desire of staying in and away from people. Then when I start to feel a little better, I have what happened last night. Dreams of false reunions and situations like nothing ever happened. This just serves to bring back the hopelessness and anger of being left here alone after so many years together. I hate myself being like this and I know you would as well but, Im so lost. Well long story short, I keep hoping things will get better. I miss you every day. Well, I guess I cant hold this off anymore. Im going to your parents house for dinner. Ill see you in a few months for Obon. You always liked the fireworks. Ill set some off for you then. At that I release my hands, let out a sigh and set out to Michirus parents house for dinner. Chapter 4 - Calm Before The Storm I sit up from my bed clutching my book and I notice that it is now light outside. I glance over at the clock and it says 10:11AM. Oh, wow I time traveled, I guess. I mean do I even sleep? I should go downstairs and see what my parents are doing. I head downstairs and notice my parents about to leave out the door.I follow my parents closely to see what I can find out. While heading to the train station, I hear my parents start discussing some things about Shinichi. Im worried about Shinichi. My father says to my mother. Is he really ok at that pharmacy? Its his life. He needs to figure it out. He still has, Kaz and Emi, his own parents alive to give him help if he needs it. My mom retorts. I know he loved Michiru but shes not coming back. Um Im right here, dad but, I get it. He should try to be happy. He continues. I know what you mean. Its his life though. You dont need to be interfering. Hes a grown man. Youre right. Well, were here. Oh, heres where my marker is. It looks nice. Thanks mom and dad I say as tears start to fall. Wow, I can still cry. I didnt think I could still cry. I mean I was with God last time but, I dont know what is real at all most of the time. My parents place the offering at the marker and I see them put their hands together for their prayer. A couple of minutes later I see them finish their prayer and they start to make their way back to their house. I decide to hang out and wait for Shinichi to pay his respects. I take a walk around to check out the shrine, when someone I dont recognize comes up to my marker. He looks vaguely familiar. He places an offering, puts his hands together and begins to softly talk out loud while saying his prayer to me. Thanks for that. Hello, Miss Kanazawa its me Takahiro Gotou. This is finally my first time to visit you here. I never knew where you were until I talked to your parents not too long ago and I offered my deepest apologies to them for what happened. Your dad let into me pretty hard but, your mom was pretty calm and wanted to know what I intended to do with this opportunity you gave me. Oh, this is him. Hes grown up quite a bit. Hes not a bad looking guy really. I bet he has a bunch of girls chasing after him. He continues speaking. I let them know I am not wasting this life you gave me and have been studying at a prestigious universitys engineering program. It was always an area I was good at but, baseball was cutting into that as I entered high school. I wont let you down Miss Kanazawa. I am sorry you had to die for me to figure out my way in life. I just hope I can get Shinichi to forgive me but, I dont know where to find him. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.Well, thats good to know. I will make him see you. He needs to forgive you. I chose to save you. I was just too clumsy save myself as well. I wish I could have met you. Your old teacher told me so much about you and Shinichi. I feel a little better having said all this out loud to you. Ill come by during Obon to see you again. And with that he takes his hands apart, bows and turns to leave. Hes a good kider I mean man. He is still younger than I was. I hope he has a good girl to help him relax a bit. This still seems to weigh on him too much. I dont what time it is so, I take a look around the grave site waiting for Shinichi to arrive. After some time, I finally see him. Hes still tall, hairs a little longer than Im used to and hes a little bit unshaven. I want to hold him, and I instinctively try to do so but, fall through him. He starts moving the offerings around and adding his own then begins to light some incense. He puts his hands together and bows his head. He doesnt let me hear him but hes taking his time. I wonder if I can do the same thing as the book so that I can touch him. I reach out with my right hand nearly touching his back and focus. me busy. I know thats not the plan we had before but I just dont have any desire OH! Whats this? I instinctively pull my hand back. Was that his thoughts? I focus again and decide to put both my hands and lay my head against his back. The thoughts from him continue: staying in and away from people. Then when I start to feel a little better, I have what happened last night. Dreams of false reunions and situations like nothing ever happened. This just serves to bring back the hopelessness and anger of being left here alone after so many years together. I hate myself being like this and I know you would as well but, Im so lost. Well long story short, I keep hoping things will get better. I miss you every... I fall to the ground and start to cry. This is more difficult than I thought. I feel like a huge ball of emotions. Hearing his thoughts and what hes going through seems too much for me to handle. So much hopelessness and so much despair. Maybe its some sort of emotional feedback from his thoughts. Hes holding his emotions in so much it seems. I need to figure out this ability more. It wont be helpful if Im stricken useless from the flood of emotions. With that his prayer to me ends. He releases his hands, lets out a sigh and turns to leave. Oh, hes done. Time to follow him back to my parents home. Coin 1? – Denying the Sin Shinichi didnt make any stops on the way, just right to the house and pulled out a key to unlock the door. Opening the door, he lets out the standard pardon the intrusion, takes off his shoes and joined my parents in the living room. Shin! Im so glad you came! Give me a hug. My dad yells out. Hiya Taro. Yeah, just got done at the gravesite. Oh, Shin youre here. Come here. My mom also gives him a hug. Hi, Atsuko. Dinner will be done in a few minutes. Want something to drink? My mom asks Shinichi. Ill have some tea thanks. Shin, sit down, have a seat, relax. There goes my dad, always so pushy. So, hows the pharmacy job goin for you? Its fine, I think Im doing something good. It also keeps my mind off everything. Have you thought about finding anyone to go on dates with yet? TARO! DAD! Uh-oh moms mad now and so am I. Im just curious is all and I dont want you to think you will offend us by looking for someone else. Thats none of your business really. Yeah, you tell him mom. Dinners ready now, so lets eat. Mom leans over to Shinichi and whispers to him, Im really sorry about that, as you know, he gets a little mouthy when hes had a couple of drinks. Its ok, I understand, really. Shinichi retorts. They all sit down and let out a: Thank you for the food. The three of them start digging into the food and things were uneventful until We met the kid Michiru saved not long ago. Oh, great, my dad stepped in it again. I could see Shinichi put a death grip on his chopsticks. Then he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before replying. I see. What did that asshole want? He asked us to forgive him. I almost beat him to a pulp after he introduced himself. I got in-between them and calmed Taro down. My mom cut in. I wish you had beat him up. After I calmed down, my dad continued, I heard what he had to say and had to step away to think about it for a while. I kept talking to him after Taro left. I held him accountable for his actions wanted to know what he intended to do with this chance Michiru gave him. He told me all he did after she died and what hes doing now. Good for him, I dont care what he does. I think you should talk to him sometime. I didnt give him your contact but, I have his. My dad adds and holds out a slip of paper toward Shinichi. Im sorry, I cant do that. You might be able to forgive him but I cant. Excuse me I need to go now. Shinichi gets up and leaves the house. Shin, please! My dad pleads. Taro, let him go. Mom begs dad. Oh boy. What do I do now? I guess I have to chase after him to make sure hes ok. I hope hes not too far ahead of me. I follow Shinichis fast walking pace all the way to his apartment. He busts through the door, drops his shoes off and heads to the living area to flop on his bed face down and let out a loud muffled scream while punching his bedding. I feel pretty useless and wish I could hold him so much. He was holding in so much while still being polite to my parents. Well plus side is I know where Shinichi lives now. As he crashes on the bed, I scope the place out. Its not a bad place. Pretty standard for a single person style apartment. Not a lot of furniture except for bed, computer desk, table and bookshelf. Hmm, whats on the shelf? Theres his manga tankouban, lots of volumes of Upside Down, Shotgun Cats, The Wonderful World of Il Rischio and WHATS THIS?! Stolen story; please report.My Witches Academy Series! The last two books are there too! Oh man I want to read them but I got more important stuff to do right now. When I get a bit of time, Ill be reading that. Argh, whyd they have to corner me like that? I need to kill some stuff to feel better. Shinichi gets out of the bed and heads to the desk to start playing some online RPG called Vaneorza. I mean yeah, I guess they cornered him a bit but, Im pretty sure they were thinking of you the most. Although I wonder what Takahiro told my parents. I guess now that I know where Shinichi lives, I can go back to my parents house and try to get his information from that paper. I make the trek back to my parents house again and look through the house. Its obviously not on the table anymore. I try to look at all the usual places downstairs and eventually upstairs, my mom and dad would put something like that. Nothing. Well, that sucks. I think as I wander into my room. I didnt want to do this so soon but, guess I have no choice. Reaching into my pocket I grab a 10 Yen coin and clasp both of my hands around it and think hard on what I want. Please take me to Takahiros house. Opening my eyes and find myself in the entrance to an unfamiliar house. In my hands, I notice the coin is still there. Oh! So, I can fast travel like in one of Shinichis RPGs. Thisis AWESOME! I let out the instinctive pardon my intrusion, and look around the house. The layout of rooms in the house is not too dissimilar to that of my parents. I dont see anyone in the living room or kitchen. It is kinda late so if anyone is home, theyre probably upstairs. Slowly I make my way upstairs listening for anything that may be happening when I find a door with a sign saying Takas Room on it. The room is pretty quiet but I see a light coming out from under the door. I hope Im not catching him in any personal time. Peaking my head through the door it seems Im in the clear. He seems to have fallen asleep at his desk. Looking around the room he has very little in his room. Just a bed, desk and table. I mean not even a TV, game console or PC at all. Maybe hes stored them away. Ill take a peek in the closet. I mean its not like hell see me. I feel like a big snoop or a burglar. I poke my head into the closet and see two boxes sitting on the floor. Focusing I reach out and pull the lid off of one of the boxes and see a baseball mitt that is well used, a couple of baseballs with some signatures, some cards of famous players, some from NPB and a few of some Japanese players in MLB. It is really obvious he really loved baseball and now he keeps it all locked away. I put the lid back on and check out the other box. Inside is a handheld console, some pictures. It seems these are pictures of classmates. On the bottom is a letter. The envelope says To, Ai Yokoyama (ɽ). OH! Is this what I think it is? A confession letter? It is still sealed. I should leave it alone. As I put everything back in the box and put the lid back on, I come to the realization that I could probably use the ability I used on Shinichi. Maybe I can just enter his dreams to get a historical account of what happened to him. Well, I can give it a try. I place my hands on his head, close my eyes and focus on four years ago and images start to come into my head Chapter T1 – Unbroken Kawamoto-san gets a hit and reaches first base. We have a runner on and only one out. We can do this. As Suzuki-san gets ready to go to the plate, Im standing on deck ready to go after him. I wish him luck, Suzuki-san, good luck. Ill do my best Gotou-san. You did a great job pitching well to keep us in the game and get us this far this year. I only wish I didnt let two runs score. Its only 2-1. We are a team so we all have to work together to win. Thank you, Suzuki-san. We just need two runs and we will go to Koshien. Here I go! Suzuki-san steps in to the left-handed batters box and gets ready for the pitch. The pitcher gets the sign from the catcher, winds up and delivers a great pitch down the center. Suzuki-san swings and skies it deep toward right field only to go foul at the last minute. I take a deep breath and exhale. So close. The umpire throws a new ball to the pitcher and then gets the signs from the catcher. The pitcher sets and delivers the pitch to Suzuki-san. Suzuki-san swing and makes contact. A ground ball to the shortstop. Oh no! An easy double play. Yep, thats what it is. A 6-4-3 double play. The winning team erupts in cheer as Suzuki-san heads back from first base, head slumped. I go up to him and he sees me and begins to bow and says, Im sorry I let you down. I put my hand on his shoulder and say to him, remember you said we are a team. We are this close to Koshien with all but the two-third years returning next year. Just think we came this far when the school did nowhere this close. We can do this, right? Yeah, youre right we can do this! Come on, Lets go talk to the other teammates. We walk over to our teammates. We both bow our heads to them and apologize for our failure to win. Everyone comes up to Suzuki-san and I to comfort us as we all walk back to the locker room * * * I wake up in a bed. Its not my bed but one at a hospital it seems. Ow, ow, ow! I let out as I try to get up out of bed, I feel pain in my arm and leg. My arm has bandages and a sling keeping my arm up and a cast on my leg but not tied down. Thats right I was almost hit by a truck. No, I was hit by a truck but, someone moved me anyway. Were they trying to push me? No, that doesnt make sense. I was pulled away from the truck. Then how was I hurt? TAKA~! My mother comes in to the room. Oh! Im, so happy youre safe. My mother comes around to my non-casted side and gives me a hug. Ow, ow, ow. Oh, Im sorry. Im just so glad youre alive. I dont know what all happened. I just remember checking my study cards and then someone pulling my collar and blacking out. The police told me all the details. The truck driver was going too fast for the rainy conditions and was also driving while awake for twenty-seven hours. I felt someone pull be away from the road, so they saved me, right? Yes, this girl, well, college student, pulled you away from the oncoming truck. I have to thank her. I dont think Id be alive if not for her. Um, sheshe didnt survive. The truck hit her first and she died instantly. Tears start to come down my face. But it was my fault. No, dear, it was the drivers fault. You did nothing wrong. I just looked down at my cards and then she died because I didnt pay attention. No, no, witnesses said she was caught off balance when she grabbed you and was hit by the truck. Thats not any better! It just makes it more my fault! My crying starts to become heavier as my mother starts to hug me again. I say muffled by her hug, its all my fault, its my fault * * * Hello Taka-kun, are you awake? Oh, Ai-chan what brings you here? What, I cant see a classmate after he was in a harrowing accident? Uh, ok. Oh, dont be so serious. The class rep. needed someone to bring you your school work so, I volunteered to bring it for you. But, how are you doing? Hows your leg and arm? Theyre ok. I only dislocated my arm. Sadly, its my pitching arm so I dont know if Ill be able to pitch this year at all. Shouldnt you think about getting better first. Yeah, youre right. Thats all I can do for now and see how things are in a few months. Umif you dont mind, Id like to help you with your work you know, since you cant write at the moment. Wow, shes being so cute and bashful right now, thank you so much. I hope Satou-sensei wont mistake my paper for yours since itll have the same handwriting. She lets out a giggle. Ha ha, minell be the one with the higher score anyway. Oh, well see about that * * * The end of day bell goes off. Everyone before you leave, there will be a Japanese quiz tomorrow so, I hope you will be ready. I put my books and pencil case in my bag and then Satou-sensei calls out to me. Gotou-san, I need you to help me with something in the art room. Ok, Im going there now. Thank you, Ill be there shortly. I finish collecting my supplies, grab my bag and head to the art room on the other end of the hallway. I slide the door to the art room and notice a couple of desks put together face to face. After a few minutes I hear the click-clack of Satou-senseis shoes grow louder as she reaches the art room door. It opens and she enters saying, please, have a seat. Diddid I do something wrong? Of course not. I just wanted to see how you were holding up. Its been a month since you came back. Hows the leg now that the cast is off? Its good but really weak. I wont be running much for a while. Thats good. Take your time to get better. Still, you dont seem to be your usual self. Would you like to talk about it with me? Its just that I dont feel right about what happened. I feel so responsible for what happened. You know what I mean? Yeah, I can understand that you might have an overwhelming feeling of responsibility for what happened but, what happened to Michiru wasnt your fault and you need to keep telling yourself that if you ever want to continue living your life. Wait, what did you just say? You need to stop blaming yourself for what happened. No, thats not all you said. You said what happened to Michiru. Was that her name? Ummwell, I guess I cant lie to you, can I? Yes, her name was Michiru Kanazawa and she went to this school as well. So, you knew her? What was she like? I want to talk to her parents. Whoa, calm down. Ill tell you all I know and can tell you. She was in my first class as a homeroom teacher when I got here. Michiru had just moved here from out of town and at some point, became friends with Shinichi her eventual fianc. Even though they were not in the same class they always pushed each other in their studies and to be the best version of themselves. Unlike many students they decided early on what their goals were in life and were driven to see them through. What were their goals? Shinichi was focused on life sciences mostly in biochemistry and biotech and he excelled in pretty much all the sciences except for physics. Michiru however, got enamored in broadcast production. While that doesnt seem as exciting as what Shinichi was doing, she thought about using her love of reading and interpreting it into different ways of telling a story on film or TV. It and books were her passion. I see. Were you still in contact with them after they graduated? Yes, they would come to the culture festival every year. It was a favorite of hers. They would always come to see me. Last year they announced that they were finally getting married once they had graduated. It seems that they both got the job they were looking for after college. What? They were that close to finally realizing their dream. I start to show my guilt in my slumped shoulders and bowed head. Now, why do you think I went into so much detail about their lives? I assume it wasnt to make me feel bad about what I did? Listen, it was NOT your fault and you need to remember that. What I mean is that the two of them had an unbelievable desire to make the world a better place and did everything to accomplish that. What I am asking you to think about is what will you do with this chance that Michiru gave you? Give it some thought and act on it like the two of them would have. Thats all I ask. Thank you very much, sensei. I do have something to ask you though. Do you have a way to get in touch with her parents? I wont lie and say I dont but I dont think now is a good time to meet them. When you really feel the time is right, I will reach out to them and ask them if they will meet with you. For now, I think its best to get your own self in order. Dont you think? This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.Yeah, youre right as always. Thank you so much sensei. I have a lot to think about. With that I get up out of my seat and give Satou-sensei a bow, get my things and head for the door. Ill see you tomorrow, sensei. As I walk out to locker near the exit, I get my shoes and all I can think about is, what am I going to do? * * * It has been three days since my talk with Satou-sensei. I have given her words a lot of thought. I really dont know what my talent is other than baseball. I mean I am good at it but how is that going to make an impact on the world? Even though my shoulder is feeling better, having my leg broken and still really weak will really affect my pitching. Itll take quite a long time to get back into playing ability let alone back to my prime. I already missed the spring tournament so; I can at least spend this year getting better. Thanks to Ai-chan my studies have been good and has let me take my mind off the accident and not being on the field. Ah, Ai-chan. I wrote this confession letter to her but, I am worried that giving it to her will mess up the great study sessions we have together. I could always put it in her locker here. Yeah, thats a really manly thing to do, not. I put on my shoes, put my slippers in my locker and leave school to go home. I think Ill stop by the convenience store and see what new manga is on the stands. I usually felt a lot more relaxed after browsing them. After a bit I arrive at the convenience store. I make a beeline to the newsstand and peruse the titles. Oh, hey, the new Shotgun Cats is in this issue. No, wait its the same creator but, it looks like hes doing a mecha manga now. Ixion the Bullet God, huh? This is interesting. Such a big change in genre. No, wait I remember. He did the mecha designs for that one show, Gum Pop Trouble. Shotgun Cats is the different genre manga. Yeah, I can see the similarities with Gum Pop but, the mecha are much bigger. So even he was able to change genres and be successful. I put the manga back on the shelf and glance over the rest of the manga and magazines. Man, some people just messily put newspapers back. I pick up the newspaper to refold it and put it back neatly. Whats this? This article about there being a large lack of STEM graduates which will impact medical advancements and space exploration in the future. Oh! Wasnt Kanazawa-sans fianc going to work in the biological sciences? I think thats what Satou-sensei said. I dont think Im cut out for doing that but you know what? Those giant robots and powered armor suits were cool. Maybe I can do something involving that. I neatly put the newspaper back, turn and leave the convenience store and head home. Yeah, I have finally decided * * * There I am Taka! Number 517! What was your number again? 327. There you are! We did it! I mean of course youre there, you had me tutoring you. Ai-chan nods triumphantly. Eh, are you sure about that? I thought I remembered you struggling pretty hard with that calculus portion. Oh, yeah? How about those kanji that were causing you so much trouble? We both let out a huge laugh. Why does she have to be so cute? No, I have to keep focus on this goal. We did it, Ai-chan! We really did it but, are you sure this is what you want to do? I must admit that I was shocked when you said you were giving up your dream of being a baseball pitcher. You made such a compelling reason to change to a STEM academic pursuit. I mean you convinced me to look into it as well. I figured you would be a designer with the great art you always made. Well, Im still designing. I mean someone has to make those engineering ideas useable by normal people. She lets out a giggle. Yeah, youre right. We just want what ever were doing to work first and foremost. Lets go back and tell Satou-sensei the great news. Lets go... * * * Sensei! Satou-sensei we did it! I hurriedly find her but, easily enough she was already in the classroom setting up for the next class. Since our numbers were to be posted today our school usually allows for a day off to check the acceptance board and then do what needs to be done with your family afterward. Ai-chan got a phone call and had to stop by home, so she told me to go ahead and tell Satou-sensei. Thats great! I am glad you were both able to make it in. You both worked so hard, you deserve it. You both still have a couple of months left here so I hope you wont slack off before graduation. Of course not. I will admit I was really worried I wouldnt know what to do when you asked me what I should do to make the world a better place. Well, life is always full of tests even when you arent in school any more. Consider it a test to see if you were going to rise to the challenge or be a broken man with no direction in life. Id say you passed quite well so far. Thank you, I didnt want to let Kanazawa-san, you or Ai-chan down. Well, you certainly didnt do that so far. You should get home, tell your parents the good news and get ready for the last days of classes before graduation Thank you, Satou-sensei Ill see you tomorrow * * * I finally graduated and now I start my time in college that Ai-chan and I studied so hard for. I decide to see Satou-sensei to thank her one last time. Satou-sensei than you very much for everything you did for me in high school. I give a deep bow in appreciation while holding my diploma tube close to my body. I am very glad you were so strongly dedicated to your studies and completed school here. I hope that after you have gotten your college career started and situated, we can meet here at the cultural festival. You can tell me how things are going for you and Yokoyama-san. Of course, Satou-sensei. I look forward to seeing you and the school then. I again let out another deep bow and say, Thank you again for everything * * * I was finally able to get some time off from my studies to attend the cultural festival at my old high school. It was difficult but I resolved myself to give Satou-sensei an update and maybe it was time to face Kanazawa-sans parents after two and a half years. Walking around this familiar location I was at only a few months ago feel odd and comfortable at the same time. I see some of the kohai that I remember and talked to on occasion. Instinctually I avoid the baseball teams booth. I just cant bring myself to be around them after I abandoned them to pursue my engineering future. I wonder what theme Satou-senseis class chose this year. I head to her room and see it has been changed into a maid caf. Well, its a bit generic but easy enough to do, I guess. I can almost see Satou-sensei trying to talk the students out of doing it and trying to encourage them to be more original. Oh, Gotou-san you came. Im glad you made it. Right on cue as if she read my mind. I know its not the most original class project but they were really adamant. I let out a big chuckle. Somehow I knew you were going to say that. Haha, you know me, always trying to get the best out of my students. Well lets have a drink and catch up. Of course. We walk in the door and are greeted with a chorus of Welcome back, master. One girl who had Maya on her name tag comes up to us and says, right this way master. Theyre really into it, I say to Satou-sensei. You expected anything less from students of mine? HAHA, I guess not. Maya sits us at a table together. I order a cake set with cream and sugar in the coffee while Satou-sensei orders the same but with vanilla cream in her coffee. That actually sounds good but maybe some other time. So, how has the studies been for you and Yokoyama-san? Its been really hectic for me and I have barely seen Ai-chan except around campus from time to time. Other than that, my focus has been on my studies and not much else. Isee. Im sad to hear you havent seen much of Yokoyama-san as I hope you remember how instrumental she was in your studies after the accident. I never forget that. I just have been really absorbed in my studies and Im sure she has too. Hmm, I..see. Well, I am glad things are going smoothly. After we had that discussion after the accident, you asked if I could get you in contact with her parents. Is this still something you want to pursue? Yes, very much so. Are you able to help me out? I have contacted them and I dont think it is time just yet. I hang my head a bit and reply, I see. Well, nothing I can do about that for now. Dont worry about it too much. I have a good feeling if we meet this time next year, I should be ok to let you get in contact with them then. Our orders arrive and we both take a sip of our coffee and start to eat our cake. Satou-sensei continues, Youve done well so far but dont let your life only be your studies, ok? Of course, Ill try to be more conscious of my surroundings as you taught us. I hope so, for your sake Coin 1.5 – For Real This Time, The First Coin I take my hands away from his head. Wow, that was emotionally intense but, that was a lot better than when I touched Shinichi. Maybe Im getting better at this. It seems like he hasnt woken up from my little bit of intrusion into his memories. Well, I understand him better now. I agree with God that he needs to be put back on course. Well technically he is on the right course. Yes, its good for him to dedicate himself to his studies but, he should have no regrets either. I think thats what God meant. I start to pace back and forth in his room. What do I do now? Originally, I was just going to give him Shinichis address but, I dont think there should be any loose ends either. But I dont know. Should I really be nosy and interfere in his love life? No, this is what I was brought here for. I mean yeah, I am here for Shinichi but, there are all the incidental situations that need tending to as well. God did mention that he eventually has some children that have an impact on the future. I get it now. He has to have someone to have children with obviously. The way he is now he keeps pushing that poor girl away in favor of his studies. It seems like he didnt quite grasp or take seriously Satou-senseis remarks about Yokoyama-san. I mean I could see all the times Yokoyama-san was subtly letting him know she wanted to be a bit more than study buddies but, those darned smart guys are always too dense to notice. That has to change. He cant let this one get away. I only hope its not too late. Maybe I should take a peek at her to make sure it isnt too late. Yeah, lets try this fast travel again and see where it takes me. I hold my hands together, close my eyes and think of Yokoyama-san. Once I open my eyes, Im standing in front of a caf. People are walking through me as they go through the automatic sliding door. How rude! It''s actually really off putting. Well, Im going to take a wild guess that since Im not in some house or apartment that shes in this caf. I make my way through the door and survey the seating area. Ah, there she is, doing some schoolwork it seems. Next me I notice a girl looking around much like I was doing. Finally, she lets out a there she is, and heads toward Yokoyama-san. Yokoyama-san notices her and starts putting her things away, stands up and gives her a hug. Kasumi-chan how have you been? Kasumi sits down and answers ah you know just the usual university stuff. Classes are definitely harder thats for sure. Just as Kasumi finishes the server comes up to the table and offers her a menu. Heres a menu. Do you need a moment to decide? No thanks, I know what I want. Ill get the strawberry cake set with a chai tea latte. Thank you very much. I will be back with your order. It seems this Kasumi is her kohai from our school and recently started university. The two start to catch up on old times. The conversations are not too interesting and really only make much sense if I was a part of their clique. That was until. So have you finally caught Gotou-san yet? No, she lets out a sigh. I am about to give up. I have tried just about everything except kissing him and jumping his bones. Aw thats not good. You two were always together. What happened? School happened. Once we got there, we grew apart mostly from our own studies not being the same. He sunk himself deeper and deeper into his studies. We all knew you two were the perfect couple but wondered why you never took the next step. Yeah, I tried but even in high school he always played off my advances. I mean am I not cute enough? What? Of course, you are! You were always the prettiest in the school. You dont thinkmaybeyou knowhes maybe No way! I am very certain he isnt. Then why doesnt he see you as the soulmate you two truly are. I dont know but, as distant as we have been lately, I cant hold out much longer and have to move on. That is really sad to hear. You know all of us are still rooting for you. Thank you. I guess I can try one last time tomorrow. Ill message him after were done here. This is bad. Shes really going to give up if he doesnt come to his senses. So how about you and your boyfriend? I hope all is going well for you. With that the two start to talk about Kasumis own love life and more conversations that dont mean much or make sense to me. I think I have what I need to fix this situation now. I hold my hands together and go back to Takas place. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.Well, that settles things. He''s got one last chance for him to confess or its all over. Not to mention it will make my job here a little bit of a failure if he doesnt end up with her. Looks like Ill be using my first coin after all. But what should I do though? Well God did say that if what I ask is unreasonable it just wouldnt happen. So, now all I have to do is figure out what I should ask for. Now that Im back in his room I see that he has woken up and is working on his studies again. Really? Come on take a break once in a while. I swear no wonder Yokoyama-san is about to give up on him. But what can I really do? I start pacing back and forth behind him as he diligently continues his studies. I think I got an idea. So now the wait for him to leave the room or fall asleep again. Ah! Bathroom! he shouts out loud. Aaand just as I think that he gets up and heads toward the door. This seems all to convenient to me. Hey, God, are you helping me out here? Yeah, I didnt expect to get an answer either. Well, now that hes out of the room. I head back into the closet and focus myself and take the lid off the second box and get the letter. Maybe him walking in and seeing it is good. I fling the letter under the door and it lands by his chair. Hmm, he might miss it. Wait, I got a better idea. I pick up the letter and bring it to his desk and set it down. Just as I finish putting the letter on the table, he returns to the room. He makes his way to the desk and begins to sit back down but, pauses as he notices the letter and starts to pick it up. While he does that, I hold a 10 Yen coin in my hand and start to think of what I want to happen. I feel the coin fall through my hands and hit the ground with a loud plink. Shocked, he straightens up and then looks to the ground to see the coin laying on his bedroom floor. As he reaches down a loud notification noise goes off on his phone. What is going on here?! he exclaims. Ah, all according to plan to scare him into action. Though I didnt expect the coin to become real but, it added to the ambiance so, it worked out. He picks up his smartphone and looks at the message. ---Insert email style graphic--- Hello Takahiro-san, I am glad you are doing well and I hope my little bit of theatrics didnt startle you too much. I am sending you this message because you are at a crossroads of a sort. You will get another message very soon from someone you have had feelings for. Not to sound all doom and gloomy but this will be your cue and last chance, and I do mean last as in FINAL chance, to tell Yokoyama-san how you really feel about her. If you are as smart as I know you are dont let your love of technical data kill your best chance at being with the one who was there for you in your darkest days and helped you get here. Oh? Who am I and how do I know all this? Well lets just say Im a guardian angel. P.S.: Oh yeah, by the way once you have patched things up, Ill have a special surprise for you. Dont mess this up. Ill be watching you. ---End email style graphic--- He slumps to the ground holding his phone to his chest. Is this real? What is going on? Is ityou, Kanazawa-san? Just after he finishes his questions out loud, his phone goes off again. The notification freaks him out and he lets out a yelp. He pulls the phone from his chest and looks at it. I peer over his shoulder and notice its a Line chat from Yokoyama-san. ---Insert Line chat format--- Ai (Heart emoji): Hey are you still awake? Go Taka: Yes. Whats up? Ai (Heart emoji): Are you free tomorrow? I have something I need to talk to you about. Go Taka: Say, are you available to meet up tomorrow? Ai (Heart emoji): HAHA, I beat you to the punch. Go Taka: Always competitive. So, are you available because I am? Ai (Heart emoji): Yes, I can meet after my class ends at 11:45. Go Taka: Perfect. Lets meet in the courtyard near the library. Ai (Heart emoji): Ok, Ill be there. You better be. Go Taka: Oh, I will be there. Ai (Heart emoji): Well, Im gonna get some sleep now. You should too. Go Taka: Thanks. Sleep well. Ai (Heart emoji): Sleep well. ---End Line chat format--- Now all I have to do is wait for tomorrow to see how things go. Might as well get some sleep if you call it that. I dunno it feels more like time traveling since I close my eyes and then wake up at a different time. Maybe its more like when in an RPG when you stay at an inn and then night becomes day all of a sudden. The only thing missing is the sleepy time music. Chapter 5 – We Started Out As Friends Instead of going to my room at my parents house, I decide to go back to Shinichis apartment. Hes already asleep at his desk with his game still running on his PC. Well, I guess Ill take his bed. I start to black out and after a while some memories start to enter my mind. I open my eyes, sit up in bed and see that Shinichi has finally joined me in bed. So thats why the memories started. I curl up next to him, close my eyes and think of a certain memory. One of my favorite memories. It was a summer day at the beach. We had just finished having food at the restaurant on the pier. As the sun was starting to set, we gazed out at the sea together. I set my camera on the railing and set it to timer. He holds me tight, his arm around my waist. Click! He pulls me in close and we start to kiss. Click! Everything is black now. I open my eyes and see Shinichi sitting up in bed, his hand on his face and breathing heavily. I know I always made him breathe heavily and made his heart race but this is odd. He lets out a what was that about? Whyd I dream that? Well, thats interesting. He gets up and makes his way to the bathroom. I glance over at the clock and see that its 7:32 am. I got a while before I have to be at the fateful event for Takahiro. Hes taking a long time getting back to bed. I get up and head toward the bathroom. Instinctively I try to put my ear to the door to hear what might be happening to him. I fall through the door and catch a great full body picture of him in the nude. Oh my. It has been a long time since I saw that body like that hasnt it. Well, he has put on a little more weight than when we last saw each other but he was always really thin anyway. He starts up the shower and steps inside. I really miss this. Even when we would shower together it was always a clean and loving time. I head back to the bed. It seems hes going to work. I close my eyes and its just darkness again, until I have an impulse to open my eyes. I look at the clock and it is 11:40. Well, I guess thats my cue to hurry over there. Placing my hands together and closing my eyes I think of Takahiro. I arrive at a courtyard with a maze of walkways trailing to the nearby buildings, fresh cut grass, about six trees and a couple of vending machines near the few benches littering the area. Ah this takes me back. Sometimes Shinichi and I would take a break and relax on one of the benches in the college courtyard. I would lay my head in his lap reading a book while he caught up on his latest manga. I look around and find Takahiro standing by a tree. Hes looking down and staring intensely at the 10 Yen coin in his hand. Unbeknownst to him, Yokoyama-san is walking up to the tree from behind him. Shes walking carefully with a book in her arm. I cant believe Im finally doing this, he says. Oh, what are you finally doing? Somehow, I dont think that coin is going to reply to you but, I might if you ask the right question. WAH! Ai-chan dont scare me like that. I was always told; you only need to be scared if you did something bad. Did you do something bad? Come on Takahiro, shes really laying on her cuteness thick for you. You got this! You know what, yes, I did do something wrong. Ever since you started helping me with my studies, I never told you how it really made me feel. He takes a deep breath. I have always liked you even before the accident and after that my feelings only grew stronger. I love you Ai-chan. Please, will you be my girlfriend? He lets the question out and bows toward her. Uhg, what took you so long? She lightly taps his head with her book. He lets out an instinctual, Ow as he peeks up from his bow, so does that mean yes? Well, I could always wait four years to give you an answer. Dont you think thats fair? I like this girl. Shes got a lot of spunk. He raises his body but still has his head lowered. II think thats fair butI dont want to take this journey into the future without you. I know I havent been very friendly lately but, me being alone only made me become aware I needed you more. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.You really know how to make a girl feel special. How could I say no? I have one request however. Anything, just ask for it. Oh ho, you should really be careful saying that phrase around me, as she smiles widely, tilts her head and places her finger on her right cheek. He raises his head in shock at the response. Look me in the eye and ask that question again. Oh! Shes good. He stands straight up and looks at her face and readies his replies. Ai-chan, I want to build a future with you so, please be my girlfriend. She puts both hands on his cheeks and replies, see that wasnt so hard was it. I dont know, my heart is beating really hard. I mean you really havent given me an answer yet. Her hands still on his cheeks, she leans forward with her mouth close to his right ear, she whispers a yes. Excitedly he wraps his arms around her in a hug and lets out a thank goodness. Wow, I know I was being really forward but I didnt expect you to do this. He realizes what he did and pushes her away. Bowing he blurts out, Im sorry! A stomach rumble breaks the silence. He stands up and holds his belly. Heh, heh, uh, want to get some food? Sure, youre buying, right? What? Do I have to? I should think so. Think of it as payment for the last year you been avoiding me. I think its a small amount to pay really. They start to walk away towards the campus boundary. Well then, I get to choose the place then. No fast food! Well how about the Family Restaurant nearby? Ok, Ill accept thatfor now. What did I get myself into? She lets out a very cute giggle. They continue to make their way off campus and to the restaurant. Takahiro grasps the coin tightly in his hand and holds it to his chest. It seems like hes offering a thank you to me for helping push him. Youre welcome. Eventually Yokoyama-san says to Takahiro, so whats the deal with the coin? Uhit suddenly dropped on to my floor last night. I think it was from Kanazawa-san. Scared the crap out of me. Oh, sure it did. No really! I think Kanazawa-san was contacting me to help me be true to my feelings. Even the confession letter I wrote for you four years ago suddenly appeared on my desk. You dont have to make excuses to finally confess to me. Wait, what was in that letter? No, really! Look, I even got an email! He dodges the question and looks at his phone to pull up the email. What?! I swear I got an email last night. See, it was just your imagination. Come on lets go, as she turns to face him. Thats so strange, he mutters under his breath. I follow them to the family restaurant and hang around while they order. I feel so accomplished. So, what was it you said in that letter to me? Nothing I havent already said to you in person, as he begins to blush. Your face is telling me otherwise. Maybe one day if we ever get married. Oh ho! You really think thats in our future? Well, you put up with me the last 4 years, I think you can handle it. Such confidence, I always liked that about you. Well, I was pretty scared the whole time back there. As you just proved, you can be confident and scared at the same time No kidding. So, now that were a couple, does that mean you gave up on meeting Kanazawas fianc? No but, I have a feeling Ill be able to see him soon. Well, I did say I had a surprise for him once he patched things up with her. Id say he earned his surprise, especially with all the teasing he had to endure from her. Well, just remember that you have your studies and me to pay attention to now. The meeting with Kanazawa-sans fianc is the last loose end to tie up now. After that it will all be about our future together. Thank you for waiting. Heres your order, the waitress cuts into their conversation with their orders. This is probably the best time to head out and look around while I wait for Takahiro to go back home. Coin 2 – As Daylight Dies I start to walk around the area outside of the restaurant but none of the shops are that interesting to me. Ideally, Id wait for him at his house but, sadly the fast travel doesnt really tell me where he lives, it just takes me there. Hmmm what if I just think of some place to go instead of someone to go to. Will that work? Lets find out. I clasp my hands and think of the place Shinichi and I were thinking of visiting sometime after we got married. I open my eyes and am standing high above the ground outside on an observation deck. It is already time and the sky is cloudy as if it could rain at any time. I look out past the deck to see the beautiful city lights that flow into a large body of water. This is the top of the Space Needle in Seattle where we were going to take in the sites and catch a Mariners Game. While that famous Japanese player no longer plays there, some other Japanese players have been joining the team off and on. I also heard the place is somewhat Japanese tourist friendly. Taking in the sites again on the observation deck it feels so great to be able to do this even if its by myself. I really wanted to do this with Shinichi but thats not going to happen now. Sigh. I know! I should bring back a souvenir for Takahiro and Shinichi. Its the only proper thing to do when you are on a trip, right? But, what should I get them? I notice the two lighted stadiums in the distance. I wonder if they have anything there worth bringing back with me. Something from there would be great! I mean, Takahiro was a pitcher and all and it was Shinichis idea to visit the stadium. Alright, I guess it wouldnt hurt to stop by the park and take a peek. I fix my gaze at the stadium. The lights are on and the roof is open. I close my eyes and focus on going there. Opening my eyes, Im standing in what seems to be an open bar area. I turn around and gaze out at the field and its so spacious. The grounds are neatly kept, like its ready for play at any time but, it seems the season has not started yet. I look down from the railing that blocks the area off from field of play and notice that there is a patch that has a pitchers rubber and home plate. This is probably where the pitcher warms up. By the pitchers rubber there are a pile of baseballs there. I go down there to investigate them. Focusing, I reach for a ball to examine it. It has markings stating this is an official MLB baseball as well as some trace amount of the red dirt you would see on the field. I dont think anyone would notice if I brought a couple back to Japan with me, right? I mean they supposedly just hand these things out to kids before the games. Thats what Ill do. Once again, I focus and grab another ball to accompany the one I already have in my hand. Now that I have my presents, I decide to try an experiment. I need to know if these balls are still physical when I hold them or not. I pull my hand back and ready a punch. I put my full force into the padded wall separating the bullpens. My hand goes right through and the ball stops at the pad and drops to the ground. Well, that kind of answers some questions. Objects I pick up are still solid unlike me. I can probably assume to other people it looks like the object is just moving by itself. That would be pretty spooky. Well, I am a ghost after all. I guess I need to be careful of things I carry with me. I grab the dropped ball and decide to head back to my room at my parents house. I figure I need to hide one of them before I give it to Shinichi. I cant carry it with me all the time and having a baseball moving around town would bewell not very good. I decide to put a ball under my bed like some teenage boy trying to hide his treasure. With that done, the other ball will go with me to Takahiros house. Okay, now to head back to Takahiros room. Once I arrive, its still pretty early in the day so I decide to take a nap until he makes his way back to his room. I could use his bed and hed never know. I think I need to collect my thoughts for my next message to him. Okay, I got it now. I lay down on his bed, close my eyes and the darkness comes. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.Suddenly I open my eyes to see the room has gotten darker than when I closed my eyes earlier. Its still light outside but it seems to be about sunset. I hear a faint Im home! from the other side of the bedroom door. I hear some other noises coming from downstairs and then eventually footsteps going upstairs and then come down the hall. Okay, time to get spooky. I get off the bed, stand up and wait for him to open the door. He opens the door and as soon as he walks in, I drop the ball. It bounces a couple of times and rolls toward him. Startled he jumps back a little bit. He drops to his knees and the phone in his hand plops onto the ground. He reaches out to pick up the ball and then after he sees the markings, he drops it in shock. Thisthis is real? Am I dreaming? He picks it up again and examines it closely. Where did this come from? Is this real Beam Clay!? No way! Kanazawa-san what does this mean? It seems he likes the present. I take out a coin hold it in both hands, hold my hands over his desk and then pray. The coin slips through my hands and then falls onto the desk. He drops the ball again and then he scrambles for his phone. Maybe he knows whats coming next. Smart guy. As he expects, a notification goes off on his phone. Its the special email I devised just for him. ---Insert email style graphic with attachment--- Hello Takahiro-san, I saw that things went well with Yokoyama-san. Good job. I hope you figured out why I gave you this push to make your feelings known to her. Thats right the key word is regret. You already have the regret of not fulfilling your dream as a pro baseball player and that was unavoidable in order to pursue your engineering future however, the choice to not let your feelings known to her is a regret that is created by your lack of decision. My little trip to Seattle reminded me that some regrets are unavoidable. I always felt that if you can make decisions to avoid regret then you should do it. Satou-sensei was partially right in interpreting our motivations. Making the world a better place was really a side effect of something you should be familiar with from your time as a baseball player: doing everything you can within your power so that you can have no regrets in your decisions. For example, that day I met Shinichi I didnt want to regret the chance to find my true love. If it didnt work out for me at least I wouldnt have wondered if I made the right choice or not. Shinichi has forgotten this and as a result he is in a very bad place. I say this to give you perspective on what you will encounter if or when you decide to meet him. Do I think you should meet him? The answer was already told to you in this message. Well, I think this wraps up what I needed to tell you. Congratulations on your life together. I probably wont be sending you a message again. As for me, I chose to save your life so please remember this all the time and live a long and happy life with Yokoyama-san. P.S.: Attached is what you have been looking for these past four years, Shinichis contact information and address. He seems to have every Saturday off. P.P.S.: Oh yeah! Yes, its real. I told you in the message above where its from. Dont forget your love for baseball. You never know where youll find answers to problems. ---End email style graphic--- Attached to the email is a digital contact card. He taps the attachment and it loads itself to his address book and gives a prompt stating a new contact has been added to his contact list. He picks the ball back up in one hand and brings both the ball and his phone to his chest. Thank you, Kanazawa-san. Im sorry for everything. I mean, yes, I will meet with him and try to remind him. He stands up and slowly moves to his desk. He sets the ball gently on the desk toward the back. I need to find a case for this to sit in. Its a baseball not a Faberg Egg! Reaching into his chest pocket he pulls out a coin and the reaches out to the one on the desk. He puts a coin on each side of the ball. Aww, he made a little shrine. Looks like my job here is done. Im sure Shinichi would be pretty upset that Ive spent a lot of time alone in another guys room. Chapter 6 – I’ve Been Lost Before. You Are Not Alone I decide to take a little break from fast travel and leave the house like a regular person. Once Im out the door I head down the sidewalk skipping and spinning around with glee. Ah, I feel so accomplished! I wish I could celebrate with some strawberry ice cream or maybe even some wine. Oh! A nice medium steak would be great. At this point Id even settle for a glass of milk and a candy bar. My skipping starts to become a slow walk. OMG I just realized I havent eaten anything since I got here two days ago! Well really, its been four years since I last ate. I know, I should have an offering at my grave. Is it still there? I know youre not leave food there but, I think Shinichi left a can of something there. I mean its supposed to be for me after all. I dont even care if its coffee as long as its something I can taste. Can I really even drink it if its still there? Only thing to do is try it. Its worked out for me well so far. OK lets see if theres anything still there. Well, so much for my little temporary ban on fast travel. I close my eyes and think of my gravestone. Once I open my eyes I am standing in front of my gravestone. Here I am, I see my flowers and incense container is still here. I look around and there is a lady a few graves over from me. She looks as though she is crying. Well, Im a ghost so its not like she can see or hear me. I glance back at my gravestone. Oh, theres the can still on top. Its a can of milk tea! He knows me so well! I let out a loud Woohoo! Is someone there? I hear a voice let out. Oh! She heard me! Im sorry I disturbed you. I let out instinctively. Wait! She HEARD me!! You cansee me? I ask her. Yes, I can. She lets out softly. I assume that means youre a ghost like me. Yes, I am or so thats what God had told me I would be. My name is Hiroko Asagiri (F), I am very pleased to make your acquaintance. She gives a deep bow. Shes about my height with shoulder length wavy hair. I am so happy to be able to talk to someone directly. Oh, Im sorry Im Michiru Kanazawa. How long has it been since you arrived? I have only just arrived from my visit with god. Im sorry you saw me in such a state. It was just a little too much for me to see my own grave. She speaks in a very calm and polite manner, especially in contrast to my own tomboyish way. She looks to be only a few years older than I was when I died. Maybe in her late twenties. Its ok I totally understand. I reassure her. I felt about the same way when I first visited mine. Oh, how long have you been here, if you dont mind me asking. Its been about two days now but, also four years since I died. I see, I suppose it also has been four years for me as well. I glance over at her gravestone. Yup, it sure has been four years. I wonder what the significance of this time is. If you dont mind me asking what did God have you come here to do? It would be no imposition at all. I suppose I should start from the beginning. Sure, if its not a problem. Not at all. My husband, Hideki (FӢ), and I had been trying to have a child for about two years. Finally, after suffering a couple of miscarriages I able to carry a child. We were so happy. About three months before my expected date, I had slipped coming out of the shower and hit my head. It was a minor injury but little did I know it was somewhat the cause of something greater. As the date of our sons delivery approached, I was experiencing a number of headaches. The doctors said that it was due to a concussion from the slip I had exacerbated by the stress of pregnancy. The day of our sons birth I died midway through. God told me it was due to something called a Colloid Cyst in my brain that was benign but came dislodged when I hit my head. During childbirth it ruptured and I died. Hideki and I never decided on a name but he combined our phonetics and decided to call our son Hiroki (F). God also told me has the strong possibility grow to become a very important doctor using new technologies to develop new and influential lifesaving surgical techniques. But isnt your son like, four years old right now? Isnt it a bit early for any of that? That was what I had mentioned as well. I dont fully understand it myself but, God mentioned that there was to be a series of events that would threaten not only his future but his life as well. Id like to say this just a coincidence but, given who sent us herewell yeah, its no coincidence we met and have similar missions. I have a good idea why we are standing here together. Guess I better get into senpai mode. I have a feeling we were supposed to meet each other. Are you gonna be ok doing this? I will admit my initial feelings of being able to see my husband and the son I never met clouded by judgement into accepting this duty. Oh, I totally get you. I guess I should give you my background a bit and it might help you out. If it is no trouble for you I would very much like to hear it. I tell her about Shinichi, the accident that killed me and everything I did for Takahiro. It really felt like I was narrating a recap episode of some anime series. Wow I would never have thought to move things around like that and going to places in an instant is way beyond anything I would have thought about. Aw, Im sure you would have figured it out eventually. I was just an OL and then became a housewife waiting for our son to be born. I am sure I would have wasted my blessings on something so trivial. She pulls out an origami crane. Well, thats an interesting shape. I wonder what the story is behind it. I totally understand luckily, I had already had an experience that may put you at ease a bit. I used one of mine to try to find the boy I saved only to not have it not disappear. I pull my five remaining coins out to show her then continue. My thought is that the blessings, are used for something that will cause a significant effect to the people associated with it. That is very interesting and quite good to know. I just wonder if I really would be able to come up the ideas that you do. Hmm. I let out as I start to think about how other people would feel being put in the same position. I got an idea. Ill be right back. I promise I wont leave you. Ookay, thank you very much. She says and gives me a bow. I close my eyes and think of my room. I open my eyes and here I am. I head over to the bookshelf and focus myself to grab a book called, Ghosts, Spirits and other apparitions C Tales of encounters with those from the afterlife. Once I lift it off the shelf, I hold it to my chest and then close my eyes once again. Opening my eyes, Im back next to Hirokochan? I know shes older than me but I am her senpai. I guess just Hiroko will be fine. Such formalities always bothered me. Welcome back, Kanazawa-san. No need to be so formal. Just Michiru is fine. Then please call me Hiroko. Great! Now, I went to get this book. It was one that I was interested in a long time ago in middle school. I dont think everything in here is true but, it makes sense to me now that Im an actual ghost. I see. So, you learned everything from here? Not really. I guess I just wasnt afraid to try anything I thought of. Here, you try to pick the book up. I set the book on top of her gravestone. Oh! I went right through it. It is not as easy as you made it seem. Okay, try again but, this time imagine yourself picking the book up. She reaches out to grab the book with both hands and picks it up. I did it, Michiru-san! I mean Michiru. Great work! But you can also be able to open the book and read it. You can have the book. Oh no I could not accept something like this. No worries at all. I got it for 100-Yen at the discount store anyway. I guess the thing to say is you should be careful reading it in public though. To everyone else itll look like a book floating and changing pages by itself and that is kinda creepy dont ya think? Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.I think I understand what you mean. Lets try something out. Hold your hand out. Ookay. She puts her right hand out to me. I reach out and try to grab it. My hand meets hers and it is as solid as when I held the book. Whoa! I can feel you! No way! Um I can understand your enthusiasm but do you still need to hold on to my hand? Oh, Im sorry but, can you close your eyes for a second? I want to try something else. Ssure. Once I see that shes closed her eyes, I think of another place Shinichi and I were going to visit. Ok now open your eyes and tell me what you see. She lets out a gasp. Is this the real Stonehenge? Nah, its actually a replica that was built in the US as a memorial to those that fought in WWI. I came across it when I was doing research to go site seeing with Shinichi. Amazing! I never knew such a thing existed. I wish I could have gone site seeing more with Hideki. I know its not much but, you can visit places you always wanted to go to just by closing your eyes and thinking of the place. Here give me your hands again and you think of a place you wanted to go to. Ookay. Here I go. I close my eyes and wait for a sign that we have arrived. I cant believe it! It is more beautiful than the pictures made it out! Thats my sign to open my eyes and we are standing in a moderately sized pool of water that is the bottom of a very stunning waterfall. The sun is shining brightly and the plants are ones you would find on a tropical island. Great job! See you can do it too. Thank you so very much! I saw this waterfall in a travel book for Hawaii. I believe it was called Sacred Falls. I thought it was so beautiful and wanted to visit it someday. Hawaii huh. Good choice. It seems shes happy with her choice as well. She wanders around the pool taking in the sights. I guess one thing nice about being ghosts is we wont have to dry our clothes from all this water. She comes back to me and grabs my hands. Thank you so very much! You have taught me so much! I am glad to help. Shall we go back now? Yes. I am ready. We grab our hands again and close our eyes. We open our eyes and we are in a girls room. It is Yokoyamas room. She is laying, belly down, on her bed using her phone, doing something. I am unfamiliar with this place. I thought we were heading back to the gravesite. I forgot two last things. As you can see, I got us here by not thinking of a place but of a person. It has been four years since you saw Hideki so he may not be living in the same place he was then. Thinking of a place to go to can only get you so far. The first few times you may not be as exact as I was getting here but that changes as you use your abilities. Thank you very much again. However, you mentioned two things and you only mentioned one. Youre paying attention. That will help you a bunch. This girl is, as of now thanks to my meddling, the girlfriend of the boy I saved from the truck that killed me. Oh, I see. But why are we here? Going to places and picking up things is great and all but the real power we can do is touch someone and hear their thoughts and also enter their dreams to relive past memories. Whaaat?! No way. I would feel like I am invading their privacy. I get ya but, remember were ghosts now. They cant see, hear or feel us. We were sent by God to help them and we need to use everything we can to do it. We have to think like ghosts now. Not those mean ones though. We used to be nice people after all, right? Iunderstand. Yes, I think it is probably better this way. Right! Were here to help them because theyve lost their way toward the bright future waiting for them. You are right. I am sorry this is still a lot to take in but, I understand now. Great! Now lets try this last exercise. I walk over to Yokoyama. I glance over her shoulder and notice her chatting with Takahiro. This ought to be fun. I hold my hand on her back. Now, you just put your hand on the person maybe just breaking the surface of their body. Once you do that, close your eyes and let everything just flow into you. I hear Yokoyamas thoughts. Oh! These are some very juicy thoughts. Takahiro is gonna have his hands full for a long time. I take my hand away from her and walk back to Hiroko. Her thoughts were about thinking of things to say to her boyfriend while also thinking of things to do with him in the near future. As you can see theres no reaction from her. Okay, now you try it. She takes a deep breath and walks over to Yokoyama and slowly puts her hand on her. She takes another deep breath and closes her eyes. OH! Oh my! Oh my oh my oh my! These emotions are quite intense andthis girl she is quite shameless. I swear if we still had blood Hirokos face would be red from embarrassment. I cant help but let out a chuckle. Im sorry I couldnt help myself. Youre always so stiff and scared. I wanted you to relax a bit but, the goal of this exercise is done though. The flood of emotions can be lessened the more you get used to using this ability. The imagery not withstanding I thank you for your tutelage. She gives me a bow. Glad to help. Now you know pretty much what I know. I guess the only other thing to go along with this last bit is you can use this ability to enter a persons dreams and relive their memories as I mentioned before. Its not something to try out now but, its a good thing to know when the time comes. Thank you, I will remember that. Great! Now, lets head back for real this time, okay? Of course. We join hands for one last time, close our eyes and head back to the gravesite. We open our eyes and we are for real this time, back there. I head back over to my gravestone and get the can of tea. Here, I think you need this more than me right now. Drink up, collect your thoughts and decide how to continue from here. I toss the can of tea over to her and she fumbles it but, catches it. She focuses and then opens the can. She drinks it all then lets out an, ah! Once its empty the can falls through her hands and clanks on the ground and rolls toward me. Thats new. Oh! Im sorry. I really shouldnt be littering. Dont worry Ill get it. You go see your family. Go, go, go. I make a shooing motion. Thank you very much. I think I will be on my way to see my husband and son now that I know I can get to them no matter where they may be. Well good luck on your mission. And good luck on yours as well. Thanks. With that she holds her hands together, closes her eyes and disappears. So thats what its like when I do it. Oh, I forgot to tell her you cant bring objects through walls, doors and stuff. Pfft, shell be fine. Aw man, so much for my celebratory tea. Oh well, I guess I should at least put the can in the recycle bin like a responsible citizen. I head over to the can, bend down to pick it up and notice something shiny behind the flowers in front of my grave. I push the flowers aside andits a chocolate croissant!! Yes! This is much better than the tea! I grab both the can and the pastry I loved so much when I was alive. I drop the can in the recycle bin by the exit. I open the wrapper of the fluffy, flaky goodness and take a bite. SO GOOD! I missed this so much! I cant believe I can actually taste this let alone eat it. My thoughts start to go to the accomplishments I had in mentoring Hiroko. Man, am I a great senpai or what?! I know shell do fine. I did teach her after all. Now that I think about Hiroko, maybe shes a sign in another way. I know Ill never be able to find another me. I am perfect after all but, trying to find a kind motherly type like Hiroko would be a good call. I think his kindness and her support would go well together. Yeah, I think Ill have to stop avoiding that issue and look for someone. Ill do it after Takahiro meets with him. For now, time to prep Shinichi for his visit with Takahiro in a couple of days. Chapter 7 – Into The Arms Of Sorrow I have a couple of days left before Takahiro meets with Shinichi. Guess I better stop putting this off. I leave the gravesite and start to skip my way heading toward Shinichis apartment while munching on the croissant. Ooops! Hold on, didnt I just warn Hiroko not to go running around with objects. Uhg, Ill head back and finish this up. I head back to the entrance and slowly finish up. I dont know when or if Ill get another chance like this so Im savoring every bite. As soon as I finish the tasty offering the wrapper falls through my hand and falls to the ground. Hmm, again with the falling on the ground. I stoop down to pick up the wrapper and then drop it in the trash can at the entrance. I dont see anything in the trash that seems interesting so I guess its just something that happens. Well, time to go. Yeah, no more stalling. I just hate seeing him like this but. Hes not gonna get better is I dont help him. Right? Right. And Im not walking there. I need to do this sooner rather than later. K lets do this. I close my eyes and think of his apartment. Well, here I am. Apparently, hes not though. Ill wait for him. Im not backing down. What do I do in the meantime though? My eyes glance over to the bookshelf. Right, Ill just read the whole Witches Academy series again from the beginning. Itll be a great way to relive the early stories and then I can go right to the two books I never read. I nod at my great idea then head over to grab the 1st book. The door to the apartment opens and I lose focus on the book. It drops to the flood with a thud! Is someone here? I hear him call. He rounds the corner slowly with an umbrella in his hand. Meh, its just a book that fell. Was it an earthquake? I didnt feel one. Whew, that was a close one. He picks up the book, pauses, puts the book to his forehead for a couple of seconds and then returns it to the shelf with the others. I see why they were here instead of my parents house. He must feel that since I loved these books the most it was something that would always make him feel like Im still here. Even though I totally am and he doesnt know it. He heads back to the entrance and puts the umbrella away and grabs his bag of convenience store food. Really? Hes eating that stuff? He was always a good cook. Much better than me. It was kinda embarrassing as a woman. I really just didnt let it bother me too much since there are such great chefs that are guys, but him making simple dishes taste better than mine stung a bit. Sheesh, all this talk of food lately. Am I hungry? I dont think I can get hungry. How would that even be possible? Well, I did just eat that croissant but, I wasnt hungry really. I just ate it which is just odd but Im thankful nonetheless. Shinichi walks over and turns on his computer then sits down and begins eating. Ill just hang out and watch him play. It looked kinda interesting when I saw it last time. Hes logged in to a room that is sparsely decorated with odds and ends. Its probably a personal room since it has a bed but also has lots of decorations from a bunch of holidays. Once his character is loaded, hes greeted by a message by someone named Yamashi. --- Game message graphic--- Hey friend, I sent the items for a new great sword. When you get time can you make that new one thats for Dark Paladin? --- Game message graphic--- He lets out, Eh? Already? I swore I just made him a new one. Its no big deal but, hes getting strong fast. He gathers the items and begins crafting the sword. OH! High quality! Hes lucky! He opens up a new message and attaches the sword to it. --- Game message graphic--- Yo! Heres that sword you wanted. You got lucky and it ended up being HQ. I dont think youll need a new one for a bit because of that. --- Game message graphic--- After he finishes his message, he sets out into the world to fight monsters. I continue to watch him, sometimes fighting solo, other times fighting in a group. He plays for quite a while late into the night. Around 2am he finally starts nodding off and then turns his PC off and heads to bed. Ah, heres my chance finally. Kneeling, I lay my head on his chest and focus on controlling his dreams. I close my eyes and think of a situation. * * * The two of us are sitting in a restaurant. It is the restaurant in the Space Needle. We watch the city sky pass by as the entire restaurant rotates at a slow pace. We finally made it here, Shinichi! Yeah, its so much better than the pictures made it out to be. I reach out and hold his hand. Im so glad we could enjoy our time together after finishing our college degrees. Yeah, we did it. We got our dream jobs and we will do our best to make sure we make an impact on this world. Yes! We will never regret our choices, ever! We hold our glasses up and clank them. Together we let out, kanpai! As we finish our cheer, Shinichi starts to take a sip of wine, stops and his face gets a bit stony. I wish we had done this before you died. Thats right you left me. Left me here all alone! He becomes somewhat hostile. Thats not true! It was an accident! I shout back. Then why did he have to live and you die?! Its just how it worked out. I would rather have not died either. But you did and now Im here all by myself! Everything goes black now. * * * I open my eyes and hes again sitting up in his bed and holding his head in his hands. Oh boy, this is gonna take a little more delicacy. I look at the clock and its 7:23am. He gets out of bed and goes to the bathroom like last time. Of course, hes still holding a grudge but this is a bit much. How am I going to do this? I hate seeing him like this. God told me he was in a bad place and from the outside yeah, it seems like it but thissorrow and hatred are a bit much. Ive never really seen him get mad. Annoyed yeah, but mad. Well, his patience was always more than mine it made me wonder if he was a person or Buddha himself. So, this anger is something new to me. Wait, there was that one time. Hmmm. I dont really know how to deal with this. Uhg, I only have a couple of more days left before Takahiro comes to visit him. I gotta think of something. Im not a day drinker but I could totally go for a glass of something right now to calm myself down but, Im gonna stay right here. I have a mission to do and I have to do it no matter how much it hurts me. Maybe my answer can be found in a book. I found many answers in books in the past, why would now be any different. Its best to wait for him to leave first. I nod my head in agreeance to my conclusion. With that I hear the water for the shower stop. A few minutes later he comes out in his underwear and towel around his neck. It never gets old looking at him like this. I want him to hold me against his body right now. Gah, stop daydreaming. He puts on his clothes and heads out the door. He didnt grab any food on the way out, which means hes probably going to grab some junk food from fast food or convenience store. Not very healthy in my opinion and is probably why hes put on some weight. Well now that hes left, I will wait for him to come back instead of sleeping I head over and grab the first book of the Witchs Academy series. I begin immersing myself in the book reliving the time before my family moved here when I discovered this series while keeping an eye on the clock so I dont have an incident like yesterday. Just as I am about two-thirds the way done with the book when I notice he should be back very soon. I slide the book back on the shelf and wait for him to arrive. After about 10 minutes I hear the front door open. I hear bags rustle as he takes his shoes off and he makes his way to the living area. He turns on his PC, sits down and starts to eat his convenience store bento. After his character has loaded in, he has a message from someone called Zoragon. --- Game message graphic--- Hiya! I was wondering if you can help our group out with this dragon hunt. If you are free, can you bring your healer the canyon area. Ill invite you when you get there. GOGOGO! --- Game message graphic--- I guess I can go for a while. He presses some buttons and the outfit on his character changes from an apron with an anvil on it to a bunch of robes. He exits his characters house and starts casting a spell and disappears. His character appears in a rocky and hilly area with very little vegetation. He pushes a few buttons and sends what appears to be a direct message. --- Game direct message graphic--- Yo, I just arrived in the area. Throw me an invite. --- Game direct message graphic--- He gets a response, I assume from Zoragon. --- Game direct message graphic--- Great! I got Yamashi and Hrist here too. --- Game direct message graphic--- I continue to watch him play. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.His group waits around and eventually the dragon appears. That thing is HUGE. The huge red dragon begins attacking his group. A name above it says Takysis. Shinichis group spends the better part of an hour fighting this dragon and end up winning. YES! We got the drop! I dont know what he means but it seems they got some treasure of some sort. Well, thats good, I guess. The group hangs around and talks to each other by in game messages. He leaves the group and heads out fighting monsters on his own until he starts to nod off like last night. He turns his PC off and heads off to bed. I again, like last night, lay my head on his chest and think of a different scenario than before. * * * We are in our old school, uniforms and all. Hey Shin, lets go to that book store after class today. Eh? Again? We were just there on Sunday. Ill buy you the yucky coffee you like. Oh, yucky coffee how can I refuse. He says sarcastically. Why do you want to go there so soon anyways? Cant it wait until this weekend? It could butI just really want to go, ok. Oh, I see so its just you being whimsical then. OK, fine. There is a book signing for the Magic Kingdom series author so I wanted to get his autograph. Ah, there it is, your ulterior motive. Oh, come on, lets just go. I grab on to his arm and bring it to my chest. Well, you make a rather convincing proposal. Okay lets go then. Alright! I cant wait! I get on my toes and give him a peck on his lips. I suppose I can grab the latest volume of Shotgun Cats while were there. Just after he finishes what he was saying to me, a classmate that we had a falling out with comes by. Keisuke. Every time I see him, its always too soon. Oh, still wont let him off the hook. Never! He tried to break us up! I know and I still hate him for it as well but, you knew him for a long time before we met. And thats what hurt the most. Him trying to stand in the way of our future together. Always focused on me and our future. Thats why I love you so much. He can apologize to me all he wants but since youre dead, he can never apologize to you and that will forever make him an enemy. Uh, oh I can feel it coming now. Youre dead Thats right. Andeverything is black now. * * * Sigh, I was so close too. I hear him mutter, fuck that guy, hell never be able to redeem himself, ever. He had his chance to apologize but now that shes dead, he can fuck off forever. Whoa I pissed him off. I mean yeah, I was trying to get a rise out of him but not to that extent. Great, I got one more chance before Takahiro visits. The dream future approach was no good and altered past approach failed as well. Where do I go from here? Maybe a present time scenario? He gets up and starts the morning routine Ive seen the last two days. I guess one consolation is I get to see lots of eye candy every morning after experiencing such strong emotions all night long. He leaves and I go back over to the shelf and continue reading while trying to think of what to do tonight. When I get half way through book two, I get ready for him to come home. I think I have an idea on what to do so I wander around preparing for Takahiro to visit tomorrow. I need to figure out what to do with that baseball I picked up in Seattle. OK, I think I got an idea now. Just as I finish my thought, the door opens and I hear the rustling of a plastic bag. He once again heads for his PC, starts it up and logs into the game. All right. Lets do this. Time to make lots of money tonight. Hes making money? I thought he was playing the game. I dont understand. His character loads up in his house and then gets a direct message from Zoragon. --- Game direct message graphic--- I sent you an invite. Are you ready for Altyrnis? --- Game direct message graphic--- Oh, Altyrnis, I guess its some event or something. --- Game direct message graphic--- Yeah, Im grabbing my Dark Mage gear and Ill BRT. --- Game direct message graphic--- His character changes in a flash, outfitted in dark robes equipped with a staff that has a brightly multicolored orb on one end. After that he heads out and teleports to an area that is filled with high walls that look to be like that of a castle. This looks amazing. Just the ideal place I would expect in a fantasy setting. There are some elves! Whoa and some cat people too. I just remember him spending most of his time fighting monsters in outside areas so this is the first time I saw a city. He enters an archway and meets up with the others in his group. Once his character is there, the screen flickers and the music changes to something ominous. The group is in the same place but the ambiance is very dark and foreboding. Someone in a green outfit with the name Aleena above them runs away and shoots at something with their bow. Oh, an archer of some sort I see. I love the outfit; I always did love green. They run back to the group and following them is large group of enemies. Everyone starts fighting. It looks like something out a fantasy war movie. Shinichi is casting spells at different enemies helping the groups out in defeating the monsters. Yamashi sends him a message. --- Game direct message graphic--- Hey friend, think I can buy your share off you? --- Game direct message graphic--- Wow negotiating while fighting. --- Game direct message graphic--- Sure, Ill even give you a discount. I wanna see you with that relic sword. --- Game direct message graphic--- I guess hes collecting items here to sell for in game money. His remark about making money makes sense now. Yamashi responds back. --- Game direct message graphic--- Much appreciated. --- Game direct message graphic--- As the conversation concludes the group repeats the same chain of events and keeps fighting for long into the night. I assume this is why he has Saturdays off since hed be pretty tired after doing this all night. As the group finishes what seems to be the last of the monsters, Aleena makes a very cute motion and then heads back out from the rest of the group. Aleena comes back and following her is this huge orc! It must be the boss. The group start attacking all at once. This is taking quite some time not as long as that dragon fight the other day but, still especially with this many players it is going to be defeated quickly. Once the orc is defeated the group lets out a cheer. They all are sent back to the normal city they came from. Shinichi gets a message from Yamashi. --- Game direct message graphic--- Hey friend can you send me your share? Ill send you the money when I log in tomorrow. Im pretty beat so Im just going to hit the hay. --- Game direct message graphic--- Shinichi replies. --- Game direct message graphic--- No worries. Im pretty beat myself and I trust you. --- Game direct message graphic--- I wonder why he trusts him so much. --- Game direct message graphic--- Much appreciated. Good night. --- Game direct message graphic--- Shinichi replies. --- Game direct message graphic--- Good night. --- Game direct message graphic--- After his message, he heads back to his house, logs off and turns his PC off. He goes off to bed and this is my last chance to try to make him ready for Takahiros arrival. Once he falls asleep, I decide to climb on top of him and then put my hands on both sides of his head, close my eyes and focus on what I came up with earlier. * * * We are standing in a heavily wooded area. Im wearing that cute green outfit that the archer was wearing. I look really cute in it if I do say myself. I draw my bow and let loose an arrow. It flies and then lands into this odd-looking plant creature called a bulbion. I did it Shinichi! You did. Now take out your knives and get ready for him to attack you. Shinichi is wearing his healers outfit. Its white robes with a hammer hanging from his waist and a shield on his left arm. The bulbion runs toward me and I put my bow away and pull out my knives. My first swing of my knives hits the target. The bulbion attacks back and I take damage. I swing my knives again and it takes more damage. It strikes back and I take a big hit. Just after that hit I have a sparkly light envelope me and my injuries are gone. It was Shinichi healing me. I continue attacking until I finally defeat the bulbion. Once its defeated, I see a message appear saying Level Up! Hurray! I leveled up! Congratulations! This is so fun I can see why you play so often. Yeah, it helps me take my mind off of everything in the real world. I can see that. Its a pretty lively place. Yeah, I wish we could have done this sooner. Uh, Oh. Im gonna lose him again. Not if I can help it though. I cant lose againI WONT lose again! I grab him around his waist and hold him tight. But, Im here now even if Im only in your dreams. Yeah, this feels pretty real. YES! I got him to stay with me! I cant mess this up. I may not have much time either before he wakes up either. I will be happy to visit you from time to time and we can continue to have adventures together. Idont know if I can do this. No, I have to try harder I cant let him go. I need to have him hear me. Its ok, I understand. I am dead after all. I know you miss me and I miss you as well. Yes, I miss you so much. This game lets me bury the pain. Thats fine but, there are something in the real world I need you to confront. I dont know if I have the strength anymore. I reach up with my hands and put them on each side of his face. You were always strong enough for the both of us. You can do this. I will try. I cant promise anything though. If you try that is enough for me, for now. The picture starts to fade. Oh crap, I gotta hurry. Please Shinichi, listen to what Takahiro has to say. Everything goes black once again. * * * I open my eyes and Im on his bed face down. Shinichi is sitting up again with his hands on his face. I hope I got that last message off before it was over. What was that dream all about? I hear him say in his head. I guess Ill find out soon enough. Chapter 8 – The Great Divide He gets up out of bed and then begins his morning routine. I look at the clock, 8:23am. At least its not 7:30 this time. Wait a minute! Isnt today his day off? Where can he be going? I wait for him to leave and then I go through his kitchen area. I see some cups, some plates and a couple of frying pans. Hey hes got a rice cooker at least but, I dont see any actualyou knowrice. In the refrigerator there is really nothing but a couple of large bottles of milk tea and coffee milk. OK, its pretty obvious where hes gone off to, food. I dont know when hell be back so I guess reading is off the table for now. Well, I do need to pick up that baseball for tonight but, what do I do until tonight. I dont really want to time travel to the meeting. What to do until then though. I think Ill take a walk and see how much has changed in the last 4 years. I mean other than the bad music that was in the convenience store. Last time I was in this area I was more focused on not losing sight of Shinichi when he was storming back to his apartment. So, I think that since Ill be here a while, I should know the area a bit. I leave his apartment and take a walk along the street out front and head the direction I think was going back to my parents house. Now that Im looking around theres quite a lot of houses and apartments along this route. I continue on following the route and notice a shopping arcade. I remember this place; it was kind of close to my parents house. Shinichi and I would come here sometimes to grab a bite to eat and window shop together. I decide to take a walk around the arcade and see what has changed. I mean things are a bit more expensive but, thats always a given. Even the vending machines have gone up. If this was today Shinichi would have needed to borrow more than just that 10-yen coin back then. I keep perusing the shops and notice a few other changes here and there. At least some of the clothes are nice, while others are kinda slutty. I mean who really wears this stuff. I continue to visit each shop along the arcade. There are quite a few new places but, most are not that interesting to me. Theres the fast-food place wed go to. Doesnt seem to have any problems getting customers still. Eventually I see the game center we would go to when we came here. It doesnt look as lively as it used to be. Thats pretty sad really. Those days Shinichi would go play some trendy video game while I would try my hand at the crane games. I won a few great plushies to make a small collection at home. Leaving the game center, I keep walking until I see what used to be the small book store. Looks like they expanded a little but, only a little bit. It looks like its about its about one and a half times bigger than before. Its still not as big as the place Shinichi and I went to all the time. I decide to check it out nonetheless. The manga section is a little bigger than before. I dont really recognize any titles from ones that Shinichi used to read except one thats called Shotgun Cats: Reloaded. Oh wait, next to Shotgun Cats is that Ixion manga from Takahiros memories. Other than that, a good portion of the expansion is in the novels. It seems theres been an explosion in light novels recently. Thats crazy! I glance through the titles and theyre kinda ridiculous. I mean, I was reincarnated into another world and became an overpowered wealthy aristocrat with my laptop while creating a harem. With a title like that do you even need to read it? Look at this one: I was a college student and supermarket part-timer who was summoned to another world with my college text books so I can defeat the demon lords army. I mean yeah theres probably nuance in the stories but seriously why cant they be less obvious with a short title like those older ones like Attackers, Mage Killer Orpheus or Complete Steel Surprise!? In those days you had to pick up the book and figure out what the story was about instead of being slapped in the face with it. But I guess at least people are reading books more so thats a good thing. I continue to look through the titles and theres a few that are interesting. Oh, now this one is interesting, Dominion Lord. Short title, the art draws you in and the premise is strong. Maybe I could come back and borrow it if I finish Witches Academy any time soon. I pretty much saw everything here in the shopping arcade so I guess Ill make my way to my parents house. Itll be an easy trip since I know the way from here. So, I continue on my way back to my parents house. Once I arrive, I let out Im home. I take a peek into the living room and notice my parents arent there. They must be out somewhere. I notice the clock in the living room. Its already 1:21PM so I spent a good deal of time around the shopping arcade. I might as well head upstairs to my bedroom then. As I enter the room, I make a beeline for the bed and retrieve the ball I placed under it a few days ago. Hmm, how do I do this? I obviously have to have to fast travel but, what if I get there and Shinichi is looking right at the ball floating in the air? I could arrive in the bathroom but what if hes using it when I arrive? Thatd be embarrassing in more way than one. Maybe I can aim for the entrance. It is a little isolated from the living area so, hopefully I can end up there. I bring my hands together the best I can while holding the ball, close my eyes and think of his apartment entrance way. I open my eyes and I did it! I look down and Im standing in his shoes. I heard of putting yourself in someone elses shoes but this is a bit on the nose, isnt it? I slowly take a peek around the corner and look into the living area and see him at the computer playing already. Well, what do I do now? I have to time this right. I suppose I can wait for him to go to the bathroom. Yeah, Ill go with that. The time goes by as he appears to be crafting items for other guild members or for sale. I also need to decide on a place to stash it before Takahiro arrives. I feel like Im a housewife stressing over guests that are about to arrive at any moment. I have to make sure everything goes perfect. AH! I have an idea. Just as I put everything together in my thoughts, he leans back in his chair and raises his arms in a stretch. He pushes himself away from his desk and heads off toward the bathroom. I crouch down and hide the ball behind his shoes so that he cant see it, hopefully. Once hes in the bathroom, I get up and dash to the bookshelf. I pull the first three Witches Academy series books off the shelf and place the ball in that space. I then replace them and push the other books on the shelf forward to align up with the three books that have the ball behind it. There all set. He finishes up in the bathroom and then heads for the refrigerator. He grabs the bottle of coffee milk, takes a drink from the bottle, returns back to the desk with it and continues the game. Well now the wait for Takahiro to arrive. I continue to watch him play. The time ticks away as minutes become hours until Pinpon! The doorbell goes off. It must be Takahiro, please be Takahiro. This waiting has been nerve wracking. Shinichi gets up from the desk and heads to the door and I follow him. He opens the door and it is Takahiro standing there with a small bag in his hand. Yes? If you are selling something Im not interested. He begins to close the door. IIm not here to sell you anything Kitaji-san. Im Gotou Takahiro. Im here to talk to you about Kanazawa-san. I put my hands and head on his back and keep repeating please listen to him, over and over. He opens the door back up and says, I figured thats who you were. I suppose Ill hear what you have to say. It doesnt mean anything other than that. Did that actually work? I dont know but, at least hes going to listen to him. Give me a second to put the table out. I only have milk tea in the fridge right now. Oh, you dont have to. Well, you did bring a snack. I assume thats whats in the bag. Oh! Yyes, it is. I didnt know what to bring so I got some cookies at this bakery on the way here. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.He holds up the bag but, he must be nervous since hes by the door and still out of sight of Shinichi who is in the living area setting the table out and tidying up a bit. Shinichi comes back to the kitchen and grabs a couple of glasses, three small plates and the bottle of milk tea from the refrigerator. He heads back to the living area and says, come on in I guess. Ththank you. Pardon the intrusion. He takes his shoes off and heads to the living area. I go to behind Shinichi and wait near the bookshelf. Takahiro heads to the table and sets the bag on the table. He backs away from the table a bit, gets down on the ground and performs a dogeza. Please forgive me. I know everyone close to me kept telling me that it wasnt my fault but if it wasnt for me, she would still be alive and you would be building your life together and happy. Shinichis hands clench and he begins to raise one in the air along with part of his body. Oh, I hate to abuse books like this butI have no choice so, here goes. I push the first book of the Witches Academy series off the shelf and let it hit the floor with a loud thud. Both get startled and Shinichi releases his clenched fists and takes a deep breath. Get the fuck off the floor and sit like a normal person. Its taking all my willpower to not jump across this table and beat the shit out of you. Man do I have good timing or what? Im pretty sure he would have done something he would have regret if I hadnt dropped that book. Speaking of regrets that should be your cue Takahiro. Yyyes sir, I understand. Takahiro gets up and sits at the table. Satou-Sensei and Michirus parents told me the whole story but, I refused to accept it myself and still do, to a degree. So, you need to choose your words very carefully. II understand. Shinichi picks up the bottle of milk tea and pours them both a glass full. He then reaches into the small bag and grabs the envelope containing the cookies, opens it and then dumps them on the plate sitting in the middle of the table. Ththank you. Takahiro nervously takes a sip of tea while Shinichi takes a cookie from the plate, takes a bite and places it on the plate in front of him. The silence continues for about a minute until Shinichi responds. So, was that all you had to say? If so then it was nice meeting you. I drop another volume of Witches Academy on to the floor which startles them both again. What the hell is going on? I didnt feel an earthquake. Yeah, I didnt feel it either. It kind of makes you wonder if were being watched or something, Takahiro responds. Smart boy. Hes caught on to what Im doing, somewhat. Ill pick them up later. Well either way continue with what you were going to say if anything at all. Yyes, I do have more to say. He takes a deep breath. Someone recently told me that I should do everything I can within my power so that I can have no regrets in my decisions. I see, and this concerns me how? as Shinichi takes another bite of his cookie. I wait a bit to see how Takahiro handles the response before I decide to drop another book. I was told by Satou-sensei that you were studying in the Bio-cheh field. Not anymore, Im just a pharmacy tech now. I just dont feel like doing that kind of research anymore. I see. Im sorry to hear that. I was hoping you could give me a hand on a project I was working on. I know my engineering skills dont typically align with your skills but this was one idea I had that does actually now that you mention itbeing a pharmacy tech, that actually might come in handy. Takahiros face seems to light up a little bit. Good comeback and follow through. I dont obviously have my design here with me but, if you can I would like you to come by the university and I can show you what I have been working on. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a business card and offers it to Shinichi with both hands. Shinichi takes his card and places it in front of him. Oh, youre going there. Not a bad university to go to for engineering. Your parents must be proud. Shinichi says sarcastically. Actually, I tried very hard to get there because of the guilt of what happened to Kanazawa-san. I just didnt have the focus or motivation to continue my baseball future. But after talking to Satou-sensei she told me about yours and Kanazawa-sans dreams and I knew I had to do something to not let her sacrifice be in vain. Shinichi pounds his fist on the table and starts to get up and theres my que. I drop another volume of Witches Academy on the floor. He takes a deep breath and sits back down. I reach in the space created by the missing books and move the ball behind some manga. It looks like it might take more than the three books I originally thought. I really hope not. So, you just think that coming here, bowing and scraping and telling me how you gave up baseball in favor of engineering is supposed to make me feel better about losing the woman I was supposed to live out my days with? Again, I pause to see how Takahiro handles the situation before I drop another book. II understand completely and I know you are still having a difficult time. Despite that, I still had to see you, offer my apologies and tell you about my project. I really think you can provide some much-needed insight and useability for it. I also needed to tell you that that I will do everything I can within my power so that I can have no regrets in my decisions. I cant really say who told me this but its a great philosophy to have I think. Takahiro raises his head which he had bowed most of the time and looks at Shinichi. He also appears to notice something behind Shinichi. Is that Shotgun Cats? I loved that series. Yeah, I was a fan from the beginning but, thats not what were talking about. Sorry I got distracted by the manga. He bows his head again. Shinichi takes a deep breath and replies. Do everything within my power to have no regret in my decisions, huh? I wont promise anything but Ill let you know next Saturday if thats ok with you? Takahiro raises his head up with a smile on his face. Of course! I know youll be a big help! I need to do some more tweaks to the design. I should get to work on it now so Ill leave for the university. Takahiro gets up and bows to Shinichi. Thank you very much for seeing me. Shinichi also gets up. Ill see you to the door. They both head to the door and Shinichi opens it for Takahiro. Takahiro exits the apartment and says, Thank you again for seeing me and I hope we will meet again soon. It was nice meeting you. Ill let you know next Saturday. Takahiro starts to leave and as he gets out of sight, Shinichi closes the door, turns around and slumps against the door probably from the release of stress. I cant believe he came here. I felt like a cornered rat. How did he even know where I was? I let out a giggle. I kneel down on the floor and give him a hug the best I can. You needed this Shinichi. Its the first step toward a brighter future and you dont even know it yet. He gets up and heads back to the living area and puts the milk tea back in the refrigerator. Heading back to the table he finishes his cup and pours out what was left in Takahiros cup and puts both glasses in the sink. Next, he put the cookies on his desk and then puts the table away. After putting the table away, he looks at the books on the floor, heads to them, picks them up and put them back on the shelf. As hes putting them back, he notices they are not all the way back in the bookshelf and begins pushing them back one by one until, he cant push one back. He tries to push it back again and no go. What the? He then takes the book out, looks inside the bookshelf and then drops the book from his hand. Where the hell did this come from? He pushes the books aside, reaches in and grabs the baseball. I giggle. Those two are more similar than they realize. Shinichi sits on the floor and slumps over. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE! Shinichi shouts out. I think I spooked him a bit. Boo! Ill let him deal with everything and collect himself. Chapter 9 – The Eye Of The Storm I head out the door and walk down the street pleased with how everything went. I got everything in motion now but, what is next on the agenda really? I mean I could wait for them to go to the university and see how things go. Thats all well and good but, from there how do I want to handle this? I guess everything really depends on if he goes to the university or not. I think I spooked him enough that he will go and Im pretty sure he got the second-hand message from Takahiro. Not to mention that was pretty eventful and that tension was really thick in that room. Actually, now that I think about it, I do deserve a break. I wonder if my parents have anything offered up to me at home. Forget walking there Ill just take the quick way to my parents house. Time for the usual ritual of closing my eyes and thinking of where to go. Once I open my eyes, I am in the living room and my parents are there as well. Dad is sitting watching TV and mom seems to be preparing dinner. There is a cup of milk tea at the shrine for me but, I dont need to scare my parents to death by having a cup floating in the middle of the room. I walk upstairs and go to my room. Aw man I wish I at least had my Witches Academy books here to read. Yeah, I do have other books here but I really want to know how the series ends. I know, speaking of university, they had them there at the library. It should be pretty empty since its Saturday so I should be able to borrow it and then put it back later. It is a library after all and loaning books out is their duty to the students even if Im not a student anymore but, I was when I died so that should count, right? OK, thats it. Ill go there and check the book out and come back and finish up where I left off and then return it. When I finish my normal steps for fast travel, I find myself in the university library that Shinichi and I went to. Four years later and it really hasnt changed one bit. It is a library after all so what is there really to change, its pretty perfect as is. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.I walk up and down the aisles, look around at the tables and remember the times Shinichi and I would come here and study or just relax reading together when the weather was bad outside. There are a few people scattered around the library but, luckily none by the area I am going to. I know where the Witches Academy is so I head right there. Hey they the whole series now, thats convenient. Since Im almost done with the second book I look around, reach out and grab the second and third books and then fast travel back to my room. I lay down on my bed and continue where I was in the second book. Ah, its so peaceful like when Shinichi and I would go out to a park or caf and just relax. I have a week before Shinichi goes to see Takahiros project. I get near the end of the second book and I hear footsteps and my parents talking as they make their way down the hall way toward my room. I hastily shove both books under my bed just to be safe. and so, I think its time to pack up the room. My mom says as she opens the door. I got it. Are you ready to go back to work? Yeah, Im sure and the first thing I need to do is make a small office for when I need to work on things here. Alright well get everything packed and stored this coming weekend and you just work on finding your new job. They walk back out and close the door. Oh, this bad. I wont have an oasis to retreat to in times like this. This is my room! I grew up here. I slept here. I studied here. These are the books I read many times. Shinichi and I had sex on this very bed. All these memories will be lost. This was a part of my life. What am I gonna do? What can I do? I collapse to the floor and start crying. I think I finally know how my parents and Shinichi felt when I died. I continue to wallow while on the floor. What is going to happen to everything here? There is a part of my life in everything here. I start to take a deep breath and try to calm down. Just as I begin to pick myself up off the floor, I notice a pair of legs in front of me. Chapter 10 – Let Me Fall Apart Oh, Michiru-san it seems I have caught you at a bad time. I look up and it is my ghost kohai Hiroko. Im sorry, Im ok. I say and finish getting up off the floor. It does not seem that way to me. I am here right now so you have someone to talk to. Youre right. I do really have someone to talk to. I mean someone who can actually listen anyways. Yes, I know we are not that close but we are all we have right now and I believe we have to help each other out if there are any problems, we cannot deal with by ourselves emotionally. I let out a small laugh. Sorry for the laugh but thats the kind of thing Id expect from a very motherly figure like you. I do not know if I should be pleased or insulted. It means that you woulda been a great mother. Thank you. Now what is the problem? Oh, its just that my parents just came in here and discussed packing up all my things and turning my room into a home office. Oh, I see. This was a part of my life and now itll be gone forever. This is a very nice room indeed. Hiroko looks around the room and stops at the bookshelf resting a finger at the space that once held the book I gave to her. She turns back around to me and continues, However, our time has passed and everyone we left behind needs to continue on with their lives and not be forced to dwell on our absence. It seems you have not fully come to terms with that realization. But we are here. Im here now! We were afforded this time as a gift. We will be gone once our mission is complete. We are just here to set events back on their proper course. We are visitors not unlike the tourists at the places we visited when we first met. These things are all that is left of me being here. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.These are just things. You may have memories of them but to others, they are just things to be bought or sold or even thrown away. The real memories are the ones each individual person holds dear to them and either keep to themselves or share with others. We are gone but not forgotten. I dont know why but, I just reach out and hug her while tears flow down my face. Oh! Thats ok. You can let it all out. She puts one arm around me and the other on my head gently rubbing it. Im sorry. I dont know why I just did that. Its ok. I understand. Just take your time. We are all that we have to rely on after all, so we need to support one another whenever we can. Thank you so much. I guess it all just finally hit me and I couldnt hold it back any more. I continue holding Hiroko tightly and she continues rubbing my head. Remember I was in a state not too dissimilar than you are now when you first saw me in the graveyard. Thankfully you were there to help me collect myself and to guide me on my way. I believe you were not so lucky when you arrived so I am glad that I can provide some comfort to you now. Yeah, youre right. I feel a lot better now. I let go of Hiroko, she reciprocates and I wipe my face the best I can. Are you sure? I have plenty of time to listen if you would like. No, Im better now but, what brought you here in the first place? Oh! I wanted to ask you something. However, I will need you to come with me. I will need to show you first. Ok, Well lets go then. If you still need to spend time here, we can wait. No, my parents wont be packing things up until next Saturday so I have plenty of time to let go. Speaking of go, lets go. Alright I will take us there. Hiroko reaches her hands out and grabs my shoulders. We close our eyes and we are no longer in my room. Chapter 11 – Drown We open our eyes and we are in a bedroom belonging to a small boy. Im guessing this is her sons room. Its a pretty normal room for a four-year-old boy. Theres no desk but, there is a box with toys in it. Nothing too out of the ordinary for his age, mostly toy insects, shape changing robots and super sentai figures. Theres not a lot of them so it doesnt seem like hes being spoiled, just enough for him to be a kid and play. Her son is asleep in the bed. Hes a very cute boy. Im sure hell have all the girls chasing after him once he hits school. He is only four years old; it is much too soon to be even thinking such thoughts. Oh, come on, Im not saying he should be a skirt chaser or strive to be a harem manga protagonist, especially since hes so young, just that Im sure hell be smart and handsome once he grows up. I mean his mother is very pretty after all. Even though were ghosts, Hirokos face is really red from embarrassment. II did not bring you here to discuss my sons future romantic prospects. There is a problem with my son. He appears to be afflicted with a rather odd disease. I see, have you tried going into his dreams yet? Yes, I did. I did not see anything too out of the ordinary. Hmm, let me see. I put my hand on Hirokis forehead, close my eyes and try to enter his dreams. I get faint images mostly just thoughts of Hiroki subliminally making choices. Things like go here, do this. I cant see the actual dreams myself. Thats interesting. I say to Hiroko. I dont think I can actually enter his dreams. I just get some random thoughts most likely him making choices navigating his dreams. That is very interesting indeed. I had no issues seeing his dreams before. I wonder why that is. I have an idea though. I think I was able to enter Takahiro and Shinichis dreams because I had a personal connection with them. I had only just met you so I never met you or your son before I died. Your hypothesis seems very sound. Look at you with the scientific speak. So, you say hes sick but I dont see anything on the outside that seems like hes sick. It does not happen all the time but while he is asleep, he will break into a sweat and I even used a thermometer to check his temperature and he had a fever of 39.4 C. His breathing is very labored as well. Wow that is pretty high. It doesnt seem to be happening now. Im gonna take a guess. Is there a specific time at night it happens? I do not recall the exact time but, it typically occurs sometime after midnight. I let out a chuckle. Oh, the irony. It has to be a coincidence, right? What is wrong? Sorry, but have you heard of something called The Witching Hour? I cannot say that I have. What is that exactly? It does not sound good at all. Its something from western history. It referred to the time just after midnight when it was thought that witches and other evil spirits would be the most active. Oh, surely that must be coincidental. I know right? However, its been said that during that time the body is more likely to prone to illnesses like: lung disease, the flu and the common cold. In the Dark and Middle Ages being hit with those diseases were scary and youd want a way to explain it so they just defaulted to religious beliefs and blamed it on witches or demons. I see. Do you think this is something that is happening to Hiroki now? What? Nah. Thats all just crazy superstition to explain the scientific situation of the bodys immune system becoming over active and white blood cells are fighting off any infections and thus makes the symptoms seem worse than they are. Wow, that is a quite in-depth explanation. Meh, I was always interested in the occult stuff but Shinichi told me about the real reason it happens. So, putting both together you get the whole picture. Wow you two really did complement each other. I liked to think so. Did you try to use one of your cranes to help him? Yes, I did however, nothing happened. Hmm. I just had a thought and this seems really crazy but, its possible. Did you think of something? Well, you know how we were sent here by God, right? Of course, how could I forget something like that. It was kind of a rhetorical question but, I thought that since were dealing with God and ghosts why cant whats afflicting Hiroki be both? I mean maybe theres something thats making a disease he has flare up or something. That seems quite ludicrous under normal situations but, given our current circumstances it seems plausible. Assuming you are right, if we can get rid of this possessive creature then I could cure him? I assume thats what you mean. Yeah, pretty much but, I cant go in there myself. Not to sound mean but, hes your son so, its all up to you. I pat her on the back. Yes, I understand. It does not seem it is time yet but, what should I look for once I enter? Well, Id say look for something off. Youve only been with him a few days now so; youll have to use your knowledge of him and Hideki. I see, yes, I think I understand. As we go what Hirokos course of action, Hiroki starts to breathe rapidly and his face starts to become flush. Well, it looks like its your time to shine. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.Hiroko goes over to Hiroki and places her hands on his head, one on each side of his face. Her eyes close and her head slumps down. So thats what I looked like when I was going in to Shinichis dreams. Suddenly Hiroko reaches out with her left hand and grabs my arm. Everything goes black and then I am floating inside Hirokis dreamworld next to Hiroko. WOW I didnt think this was possible. You surprise me all the time Hiroko. II just instinctually reached out to you after I saw, that! She points to herself sitting in a park with her son, watching him play while she pays little attention to him and more attention to her smartphone. I dont get it, looks like a typical scene of a little boy playing in a nearby park while his mother watches on. That is NOT me! I would never neglect him like that. Well, he doesnt really know you so it could be just a semi-ideal day out at the park with the mom he never got to know. Just as I was dismissing the whole scene the dream Hiroko gets up, goes over to Hiroki grabs his arm and starts taking him away, Hiroki protesting and struggling. Hes being pulled toward a pond that appeared suddenly. Dreams, theyre pretty weird. Hiroko, the real one that is, rushes to the pair and just lands a full force punch right to the face of the fake Hiroko. WOW! I never knew she had it in her to resort to violence. As a tomboy myself Im impressed. Just goes to show you dont mess with a mothers child if you dont want to pay the price. Hiroko puts herself in front of Hiroki and places a hand on him making sure that the fake Hiroko cant touch him. Stay away from my son you demon! Actually, I think this is a kappa. I blurt out. At that the fake Hirokos disguise disappears and it is indeed a kappa that was trying to take Hiroki into the pond and drown him. I mussst dessssstroy thisss child. The kappa hisses back. NEVER! I died so that my son could live! My son must live! I run over and grab the kappa and yell out to Hiroko, Now! Use your crane on it now! Hiroko reaches into her pocket and pulls out one of her origami cranes, pushes it into the chest of the kappa her hand laying on it flat. She closes her eyes, prays silently and the kappa slowly disappears. After the kappa disappears, Im left standing like an idiot with my arms in a ring shape where it once was. I quickly put my arms down and tell Hiroko, Good work. I didnt know you could throw a punch like that. II do not know what came over me. OH! Never mind that! Hiroko drops down and hugs her son. Are you really my mother? Oh, he is so adorable. Yes, I am, my dear sweet Hiroki, that bad creature is gone for good. I thought you died. I Yes but, shes your guardian angel now. I interject. But then who are you? Hes a real smart one. Oh me? Im just a friend of your mom who helped her when she was starting out as your guardian angel. I see. Hiroko kinda gets my lead and continues on talking to Hiroki. Listen my dear son. I will be watching over you so that I can protect you from anything like that monster that attacked you. While I do that, I only need you be yourself and know that I love you. Your father, Hideki, while he is having a tough time right now, also loves you very much. Will I see you again, mother? Of course, you will. I will be here for as long as it takes to keep you safe and help your father with his struggles. I notice the area around us starts to fade away so I head over to Hiroko. I hate to interrupt this beautiful reunion but it seems its time to go. Yes, you are right. We have to go now so remember what I told you, my son. I will mother. With that the dream fades and we are back in Hirokis room. Hiroki starts to stir as if hes starting to wake up. The crane used to get rid of the kappa lays on his chest. Its dawn outside now. Thank you so much Michiru-san for everything you did. Eh, I didnt do so much, it was all you really. I dont think I would have been able to do this without you. You dont give yourself enough credit. Your motherly instincts more than made up for whatever I provided. Do you really think so? Yeah, moms can be scary when it comes to their children. Anyway, it looks like the worst is over for now but, you should get him looked at for whatever illness he has left over. Yes, you are right. I will make sure Hideki takes him to see a doctor. Well, I have a few days before I have to go see Shinichi meet with Takahiro at the university. Oh, things seem to be going well for you as well. Yes, I forced Shinichi to meet with Takahiro and Takahiro exceeded my expectations. He invited Shinichi to take a look at his project and get his opinions on it. I think things are going in the right direction I just need to figure out the next steps. I see, it seems we both still have a long way to go. Yeah, Im gonna head back to my room, as it is for now, and continue reading my books and start scheming my next moves. I understand. If there is anything I can help you with please do not hesitate to contact me. Sure thing. And dont forget to ask me for help again either if you need it. Take care. Hiroko says to me and bows as I fast travel back to my room. Chapter 12 – More Than Dreaming Once I make it to my room, I reach back under my bed, grab my borrowed book, lay back on my bed and continue reading. As Im reading, I cant help but think about how that whole ordeal with Hiroko and her son was strange. I mean was it just a monster in his dreams, the kind most kids his age would have nightmares about, or was it really a possessive yokai? Well, it looks like it was really a yokai or something posing as a yokai and Hirokos origami crane did lose its power and become real. I mean that should be a sign that the dream was more than a dream. It was definitely something trying to kill Hiroki. That really gets me thinking. Is there something also trying to kill Shinichi? I didnt see anything when I was in his dreams but, I was getting a lot of resistance to the point of anger. Hes usually awake at midnight so I cant think of a connection there. OH! Thats right The Witching Hour being at midnight is a more recent connection. It was originally at 3am. He usually falls asleep about that time. So, is he attacked by a yokai just after he falls asleep? If he is, then why couldnt I see it? Was Hiroki being sick the reason why the yokai decided he was weak enough to try to kill him? Is Shinichi not being sick why I cant see the yokai? So many questions and so few answers. Uhg! I slam the book shut. I cant focus on reading right now. I might as well bring the books back to the library and spend more time with Shinichi at night to try to see if theres anything there or Im just being paranoid. I gather up the two books I borrowed and pop back to the university library. Once I arrive its still really early in the morning so they arent open yet. I head over to the shelf where The Witches Academy series is and start to put the books back. As Im putting the second book back a librarian assistant walks by and sees the book floating in the air as I put it back on the shelf. KYAAA! she lets out and collapses to the floor. Oh please, you act like you never seen a floating book before. Ok, she probably hasnt but, overdramatic much? Also, why are you here? The library isnt opened yet. I look at a nearby clock and it seems it is time to open. She was probably heading to the door to unlock it. Hey, get to work will ya. Therere students that need to use these books to study. Oh well, I did what I came here to do and I cant do much to help her so, Ill leave. I go to Shinichis apartment and he is still asleep. Hes probably going to wake up soon. I just decide to keep watch over him while hes asleep to see if theres anything that is strange. As time passes, I dont notice anything. I bet I look like some crazy stalker watching him sleep. His alarm goes off and he gets up to get ready for work. After he leaves, I have time before he comes back from work so I continue where I left off in my book. I start to think of an idea on what to do tonight as I keep a look out for something that could be attacking him. I get near the end of book three and get ready for him to come back home. Once he gets home its the usual routine of convenience store dinner and gaming. I dont know if hes really in trouble but, he is in an endless loop of work, junk food and gaming. It also looks like the only real human interaction hes had is with my parents and the meeting with Takahiro. Thats not really good either. I think him going to see that project will be good for him and hopefully make him remember that he enjoyed what he was studying. If he does remember, does he have a place that he can go to work at? I think that might be something to look into but, things have to go smoothly and he has to want to move forward. Ive come a long way since I got here but, I still have a long way to go. As I finish organizing my thoughts, I notice the clock is already past 1am. Hes still playing but is starting to get a bit drowsy. Although hes getting sleepy, he still finishes playing the rest of the hour until he finally heads back to his characters house and then logs out for the night. So, its like I remembered, hes awake during the timeframe that Hiroki was having his sickness. Well, I guess I better see if theres anything hiding. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.I wait for him to fall asleep and then go over to him to go into his dream. * * * I open my eyes to a blinding light which is the sun reflecting off the white-yellow sand. This appears to be a beach area of some sort. The sand meets up with is, probably the ocean or some body of water. Close to the water are giant crabs, about knee high, called Pinchers, wandering close to the waters edge. I am in that cute green outfit again, with a dagger attached on each side of my hip. I continue looking around and coming out from an outcropping of rocks Shinichi is running toward me in a set of robes I dont recognize from before. It is what best can be described as a mix of wizard robes and a hoodie set with a white puff ball on the hood. It has various shades of red and orange and has a small club hanging from his hip. Sorry to keep you waiting, he says. Oh, I just got here. Good! I changed to something we can level together. Itsinteresting. Its Earth Mage. Yeah, Im not a big fan of the outfit either. But I can still heal us while we fight. Oh! While were fighting, I have a few questions I wanted to ask you. Funny that you say that, I have a few questions of my own as well. I figured as much. Get ready! he says and then casts a spell. The spell drops a small diamond shaped crystal by us, there, that should give us some defense. Now do you remember how you fought that Bulbion? Do that on one of the Pinchers. Ok, I got it. I pull out a bow, notch an arrow, aim at a Pincher and let the arrow fly. It hits the Pincher. As it heads toward us, I put the bow away and pull out my daggers and prepare to attack. Shinichi readies his club and waits for the Pincher to arrive. Once it arrives, I attack with my daggers. Shinichi, have you had any strange dreams where someone was trying to attack and kill you? Not that I can remember. Usually, my bad dreams had been involving you. Not too different from the one Im having now. So, why do you think you havent woken up yet? I mean you usually do when Im involved, right? Yeah, I do. It may be because you are actually here, arent you? Yeah, I amsorta. Listen I dont know if youll remember any of this when you wake up but, I am here only for a short time as a ghost. I seem to remember only small things. Maybe we are here on a subconscious level Once we finish off this Pincher, I grab another one for us to continue fighting. Yeah, I noticed you werent fully aware of what we doing in the last dream together after you woke up. He casts some curing spells on us to heal us back to normal and once the new Pincher arrives, we continue fighting. Oh, so you are watching me outside of the dreams as well. Well, isnt it obvious by now? Im a ghost. That explains the falling books and the baseball. By the way what is with that baseball anyway? Oh, it was something I picked up when I visited Seattle. What? When did you go there? It was a few days ago. I was testing something out and thought of the Space Needle and poof, I was there. Even though it was not really a planned trip, I still had to bring a souvenir back for you and Takahiro. Just after I finish my explanation to him, I land the killing blow on this Pincher. I see a level up graphic above both of our heads. Woo, we leveled up! Yeah, we did. Sadly, its starting to get dark out and theres some nasty stuff that shows up at night. Also, it is about time for me to wake up. Lets head to this little fishing village right around the corner. We head behind the rock out cropping that Shinichi arrived from earlier and sure enough there it is. It has a long passage way and a set of gates to close off the entrance probably to protect the village from the nasty stuff Shinichi mentioned. As we pass the gate Shinichi turns to me and says, Well I hope we can keep doing this even if its only for a little while. For now, yeah, well do this again. Therere still a few things to work out concerning you. Everything starts to fade to black. * * * I open my eyes to him sitting up in bed again but, hes not holding his head like before. Its progressI think? Maybe? I hope. I guess I should probably make sure hell go to see Takahiros project next. Chapter 13 – The Blade I wait for Shinichi to finish his morning routine and then settle in to finish the third book. Once I finish it, I decide to hold off on the fourth book as I had a thought. I look around the room a bit and notice a framed picture of me sitting on top of the bookshelf. In front of the picture is a small dish with one of the cookies Takahiro brought the other day. It has probably been out a couple of days but, it wont kill me if I eat it so, dont mind if I do. It is a little stale but it tastes pretty good. Wish I knew about that bakery when I was alive. I pick up the plate and put it in the sink so that I make him think that he threw the cookie away. After that, I head over to his closet and start looking through his clothes. Just the usual casual wear he always wore when we were together, so it hasnt really changed for him much. I look in the back of the closet. Whats this? I pull out a lab coat and followed a suit. The lab coat has our college logo on it along with his name and seems to be in good shape but, the suit looks like moths have gotten to it. There are a couple of small holes in the slacks and the shirt is nowhere near as white as it used to be. I remember this suit now. He looked so handsome in this. It was one we went to get about a year before graduation. The one he used for his job interview that he was going to work at once we graduated. I can see why he didnt get rid of it but, its not very useful right now. I guess I can see about getting a new one for him later. For now, Ill just put the lab coat up on top of his clothes as a sign to go see Takahiro and close the closet. With that I start to read book four and wait for Shinichi to come back home. Just a little bit before Shinichi is due to come home, my reading gets interrupted by some loud noises coming from the apartment next door. I put the book back on the shelf and peek my head through the wall and look outside. It seems the person next door is moving out. Just as I finish figuring out whats going on I see Shinichi walking up the stairs. He looks perplexed and takes a peek in the door. Rin-san are you ok? Oh, Kitaji-san. Yeah, the place I worked at recently went out of business. Wow! That anime studio had been around for a long time and they made some classics too. Didnt you work there for a quite a while as well? Yes, they did but things were going bad the last couple of years making some bad decisions until finally they couldnt hold on any more. Luckily, I was able to find a new job quickly. Thats good but why are you leaving? Sadly, the new job doesnt pay as much as my previous one so I need to get a place closer to my new job to cut down on costs. I see. I will miss our talks about classic anime. Im not going too far, just the other side of town. Maybe we can get some coffee some time later when Ive settled in. Sure, as long as you lay off the yaoi talk a bit. She lets out a laugh. You know I just do that to make you a bit uncomfortable. I know, I figured as much. Well, I hope to hear from you sometime. Oh, definitely and you take care of yourself. Things will get better just see. Thanks, take care. Shinichi waves to Rin-san and heads for his apartment. Well at least he was personable to one of his neighbors. She seems nice. Shes a bit older than him maybe five or more years. I dont get any sort of vibe between them other than friendly neighbors who share some interests. Besides I have a plan for his future. I watch him enter the apartment and prepare for his night of gaming. I dont quite understand what hes doing. He seems to be going to various places and fighting specific types of monsters. It kinda looks like hes getting materials for something to make. He continues this well into the night stopping to craft a few small things here and there to clear up some inventory space. Okay, I got almost everything for today. Now I can sleep. With that he gets up, logs off, and turns the PC off. He heads off to bed, I follow him and wait for him to fall asleep so I can enter his dreams. * * * I find myself in what looks like an elaborate cave system. Theres some smaller caves and passageways and creatures called that resemble yellow caterpillars called Lesser Silk Worms. They are about waist high tall and about the length of a person. If these are the lesser ones, Id hate to see the greater ones. In one of the small dead-end caves is a treasure chest and next to it is Shinichi opening it. Hes wearing a redish-brown outfit which includes a long fur lined jacket going down to his knees leaving him bare chested, matching fur lined briefs, a horned helmet and two small axes one on each side of his hip. He looks like someone out of a barbarian movie. There you are. I let out. Ah yes, I had a treasure coffer key for this place and saw it so I opened it. All the items in it are random when it shows up but, luckily it had the item I needed. I see, what is with that outfit? Its pretty um interesting. I mean I like the macho look. Heh, I had to change to a more defensive and attack heavy job. Its called Viking and were gonna need the extra power here. Oh? I assume its these worms were fighting. Yup, I need your treasure skill to get one last item needed to make a special gift I feel you will need soon. OH! I cant wait! Right just like before use your bow and attack one of the worms. Got it. I pull out my bow and aim for one of the worms. I let my arrow fly and it hits its target. Once it makes its way toward me, Shinichi readies his axes, outstretches his right arm and lets out a roar. The worm changes its focus and heads to Shinichi and he greets it with an attack from his giant axe. Something I forgot to ask you last time was, are you planning on visiting Takahiro? Im not really sure. What? Come on. I mean he took a huge risk to even meet you let alone invite you to see his project. Ive been out of the lab for four years now. So what? You are still doing things even if its as a pharmacy tech. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.I guess so. I just dont have the same desire to do the research like I had before. I bet if you go, you might find at least a spark of that desire you had before. Maybe, but I dont know if I will or not. How will you know or not if you dont go. Shinichi swings his axe and the worm dies. I fire my bow and get another one for us to continue fighting. Shinichi once again outstretches his right arm and lets out a roar causing the worm to head toward him. Yeah, youre right as always. But I still have a lot of apprehension to going there. I see. I wonder why that is? Isnt it obvious? I was doing it for our future together. I pretty much lost any reason to keep doing my research. I get it. Im not asking you to forget about me but you need to live your life to the fullest. Do you remember when we first met? How could I forget. It was one of the happiest days of my life. I say as I land the killing blow on the worm. I then pull out my bow, fire a shot at another worm and we repeat the cycle. Shinichi replies, It was a surprise for me to be sure. I remember you mentioning that you were surprised I even suggested going with you to the bookstore. Yeah, once we finally went out, I was able to tell you about my dark days. Oh, thats right. I was so shocked because you were so kind and happy around me. Well, Im not some psycho who would go around hurting people or anything. I just came out of a bad relationship and my friends werent really there to help me so I became a bit of a loner. Yeah, I was surprised you were even still going to school and didnt become a shut in. You mean like I am now? Probably. Why now and not back then? Im not the same person I was then. How so? Well, isnt it obvious? You showed me that things cant always be bad and I wanted to do everything I could to hold onto that hope and happiness. You always did know how to make a girl feel special. I blushingly reply, as I once again land the final blow on the worm. I grab another worm with my bow and Shinichi takes it using his roar and we continue fighting. So, going to go back to our original discussion, Im still not sure about meeting Takahiro. Could there be something stopping you maybe? It is possible. I mean just about anything is possible really. Youre here for instance so who am I to cast doubts on whats possible. Fair enough. What do you think might be stopping you? Other than what I mentioned about building our future together, I dont know. I just feel something stopping me from moving forward. I see. So maybe there is something affecting him. Maybe its hiding itself buried deep down. With that I once again land the killing blow on the worm. Hold up before you pull. Shinichi bends down grabs a blue crystal and a few herbs from his pouch and the crystal spins around and draws the herbs into itself. A few rotations later a couple of potions pop out and the crystal disappears. Here drink this. We both drink our potions and I have all my wounds gone from the previous battle. Shinichi continues, Now see that worm that is a little bigger than the rest? Yeah, it says Creepy Crawly above it right? Right. Lets go for that one. Well need to be very careful though. Its pretty tough but will be worth it. Ook. Here I go. Once again, I ready my bow but this time I aim for the lone stand out called Creepy Crawly. The shot lands and it heads toward me. Shinichi readies his axes and lets out his roar which makes the Creepy Crawly change its focus to him. He wasnt kidding this guy is a lot stronger than the normal worms. Its kinda hard to continue the conversation and fight this guy. Im doing lots of dodging and parrying. It is focused on Shinichi but still taking swipes at me. Its pretty close but I need you to go behind me and use your Trick Slash Skill. Itll do a bunch of damage and if it still survives after that, itll keep its focus on me. Okay! I move out from behind the worm to line up behind Shinichi. I prepare my skill and stab deep into the worm. OK here I go! Shinichi says. He lets loose a spinning attack and lands both axes into the worm. It looks about ready to fall and just as I think that my next stab is the fatal one and it falls to the ground. We are both greeted with the Level Up message above us. WE DID IT SHINICHI! Yes, we did. Congrats on defeating your first Named Monster. Wow is that what that was? What are those really? Think of them like mini bosses. I see. Just as I say that the corpse starts to disappear and in its place is what looks like a spool of silk thread. Whats that? I say as I point to the spool. This is what I have been looking for. High Quality Silk Thread. As he finishes his reply he bends down and picks it up. He then reaches into his pouch to grab some other items and a red crystal. He kneels and starts the crystal spinning. One by one the items are drawn into the crystal until the last item, the silk thread, is drawn in. The crystal starts to take form and morphs into a blade, a dagger. Once the process is done it is a dagger with a beautiful triangular blade with a half of a blue snowflake at the base of the hilt and three blue lines that look like rays radiating from the snowflake. I think you have outgrown your current dagger. I think this one will be better for you. I have a feeling youre gonna need it soon. Thanks. But I didnt get you anything. Oh, I wouldnt say that. You being here is a present in and of itself. Well, I know you havent really fully decided to go see Takahiro but, I did set aside your old lab coat in the closet. So, please take a look at it and at least think about seeing him a little more. I will. As Shinichi let out his reply everything goes black once again. * * * I open my eyes and see Shinichi sitting up in bed. He stands up, makes his way to the closet and opens it up. He looks directly at the lab coat. Reaching out, he scoops it up and brings it to his chest and gives a deep sigh. He unfolds it and puts it on. Heh, still fits of course. He takes the coat back off, refolds it and places it back in the closet. After closing the closet, he takes a look over at the clock and rushes to the bathroom to start his morning routine. Coin 3 – Something Deep Inside After Shinichi finishes and leaves for work, I grab book four and continue reading. Today was pretty uneventful, thankfully, so I end up finishing the fourth book and get about half way through the fifth book. It should be close to the time Shinichi returns from work so I close the book, return it to the bookshelf. Just as I remove my hand from the book, I hear a loud crack. Its thunder and it seems that its raining outside and I didnt even notice. I peek my head through the wall to look outside and sure enough its pouring down. Wow, its really coming down. I didnt think there was a typhoon headed this way. I didnt hear about a typhoon coming. Ok, I havent been listening to the radio or catching the news so how WAS I supposed to know if a typhoon was coming, if this even is one. I hope he has an umbrella. As I finish my thought on that, he finishes walking up the stairs and heads down the walkway to the door. Carrying his usual convenience store dinner in the store provided bag, hes drenched from head to toe. Well at least his food is dry, I guess. He enters his apartment, drops his food off on the counter and heads to the bathroom to peel off his wet clothes and get into something dry. Hes soaked all the way through his underwear so that had to come off and I got a see that lovely view that I missed so much. He throws a small towel on his head, puts on some sweats, grabs his dinner and heads for the PC. While he logs in, he eats up his dinner and gets greeted with a message from Aleena. Aleena>Heya! Think you can give me a hand with Duke Angar in Xvalbard (Щ`)? So, she needs his help fightinga Duke?! Now hes going to kill some royalty? Just when I think I understand this game it always shows me something new to confuse me. He replies back to her. AleenaKnight if you dont mind. Ill come Healer. AleenaOK Im ready to summon him. Summon?! I dont get it. AleenaWoot! I got it finally! AleenaOK, just a sec. Nothing happens on screen for a few seconds until, Aleena holds up the scythe and her outfit changes. Her outfit is all black armor with similar red trimmings to that of Duke Angar. AleenaHEHE! Come to the Dark Side! We goth the pain you are looking for. www AleenaOh, I hope youre, ok? AleenaOh no! You better get some sleep then. AleenaThank you and thank you so much for the help getting it. Sleep well and get better. With that exchange he logs off right there in Xvalbard, shuts his PC down, crawls into bed and instantly falls asleep. I go to the bathroom and look around for a digital thermometer. Ah there it is. I grab it and check his temperature. 38.4, thats pretty high. I look over at the clock and its 12:32am. Guess this is my chance to test my theory. I go ahead and put my hands on his face and enter his dreams. * * * I open my eyes and Im in Xvalbard. I look around and dont see Shinichi anywhere. Off in the distance I see some towers behind the hills to the north. They are made from the same black stone that was used to make the arch way. Looks like thats a good enough place to start looking for him. I sneak my way along the premade path to what I think is a castle avoiding any monsters along the way. As I round the corner of the rocky outcrop, I get a full view of sure enough a huge castle. The snowy and rocky fields give way to a snowy pathway to a black iron gate. On each side of the pathway is a very steep drop to a miasmatic bottomless pit. I dont see any guards at the gate and the bars have such a huge gap between them. What is the gate supposed to keep out anyway? You know an unguarded gate from my experience in reading these types of stories in novels usually means its a trap or a trapped gate. I approach the gate and look around for any traps. Thats odd there doesnt seem to be any at all. Maybe Im over thinking this. I mean this IS an online game world this dream is modeled after. Not to mention theres a ton of tough looking monsters nearby that should keep most riff raff out. Well here goes. I squeeze myself through the bars and come out the other end to be greeted with a voice saying, Youre pretty gutsy to be sneaking in Castle Vahssil (`) like that. I almost let out a huge scream but do jump up in shock. I ready my knives and the voice says, WAIT! I look right at him and hes a goblin or what one would usually think of when a goblin is described to them. It says his name is Scurvax above him. Im not on anyones side here I usually peddle my wares to Demon Folk and Adventures alike. Oh, I see but why would theum Demon Folk let you sell stuff to their enemies? Some of us Goblins follow the Demon Lord while others like myself follow profits more. I can admire that. I was always one to march to the beat of my own drum as well. So, what brings you here anyhow? Im lookin for my fianc. You seen anyone come by here lately? Well, I may have seen him and I may know some other things too but, as I mentioned I like profits if you get my meaning. I figured as much. As a Rouge Im usually not one to give money so freely, Im usually the one taking it if you get MY meaning. Oi oi, no need to be so hostile! Throw me a bone here, ok? Sorry, I couldnt help getting into character. Dont scare me like that miss. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.So, whats it gonna cost me to tell me where Shinichi is? Usually, I trade some long-lost artifacts to adventurers to well I dont know or care what they do with it. I get my profits for a bunch of junk. But you just want info so a small amount of Jin should do it. Oh, ok. What price are you looking at? I guess it all depends on the questions youre asking. I really only have two questions. Have you seen Shinichi and where do think he went to? Hmm, Id say that is worth 1990 Jin. I see. I reach into my coin purse and grab the exact amount and hand it over to the goblin. Thanks a bunch, miss. OK, so I saw some guy who was wearing this shiny white armor. He didnt look like he was here to look for items with that outfit on which usually means hes here to pick a fight with the Demon Lord. I guess my next question would be how do I get there? This is a pretty big castle and looks like it has a lot of confusing twists and turns. As luck would have it, I have also been selling maps here to adventurers for a while now. Just 3000 Jin. Wanna buy one? Ill even throw in a couple of extras for just 30 Jin more. Its a great deal isnt it, miss? Hahaha! You really are something. OK Ill take it all. I hand over 3030 Jin to him. Youre a great customer, miss! Heres your map. Ive marked the best route to the throne room. Also He sprinkles me with something and I can no longer see myself. this should make you undetectable to 98% of everyone here. Not to sound ungrateful but, only 98%? What about the other 2%? Those are really nasty Demon Folk here. Usually someone in charge of a group here. Best to stay as far away from them as you can if you value your life. Oh the irony of telling that to a ghost. Ok I got it. Thanks for the help. I got a fianc to find. Good luck miss, youre gonna need it. I make my way through the winding halls of the castle and come to another gate similar to the one at the main entrance. According to the map theres about three of these including the main one however, just under the bridge leading to this gate is a secret entrance and a staircase that goes up to the top floors. Who would design a castle like this? I guess from a game design it probably works but, this wouldnt work so well in a fantasy novel. Not to mention I got this cheat from Scurvax that helps me sneak around here like Im some kind of ninja. I start to climb the stairs and oh boy is it a lot of stairs. This many stairs in a spiral would make anyone dizzy. Lucky for me I never had a problem with spiral staircases or amusement park rides. I reach the top and it appears to be a dead end. Well, this started with a secret entrance so there should be another one here. I put my hands on the wall and start to feel around. Oh, whats this? I push on the wall and it starts to move like those wall panels you see in one of those period dramas where the ninja come out of the walls to try to kill an important member of royalty or something. This door unlike those in the shows is many times bigger and made of stone. I push it a little bit and poke my head through the space and look around. I see a couple of I guess those are Demon Folk. They look really similar to that duke Shinichi and Aleena fought but much smaller. Ok, the name above them says Major Demon Folk so thats pretty on the nose. I wait until the Demon Folk are not looking this way and then quickly exit making sure the door is closed so they wont know Im here. I look around the room some more and to my left is another gate that I can just slide through. I go over and do that and come out the other end on a terrace connected a long bridge with no railings. Its a long way down so Id hate to fall from here. Good thing Im not afraid of heights either. Why do they have such a dangerous bridge here? They really dont care about safety here. Well, I guess the Demon Folk do have wings though. On the other side of the bridge is another terrace attached to solitary tower. Apparently, thats where the throne room is. Kind of an odd placed to have that. I follow the bridge and come to the terrace. The door to the throne room is huge. I mean like 4 times my height. In the middle of the door is a stone that is pushed to open the door but, since its big and also taller than me to reach I cant open it that way. In the corner of my eye, I spot a smaller button similar to the one in the door which is a bit bigger than my hand. I guess that makes sense since some of the Demon Folk are about my height so, theyd need a way to get in. Well, hopefully its not a doorbell because thatd be embarrassing. I press the button with my hand I hear some clunking noise and then the sound of chains moving. The door opens up so, I might as well go inside. I enter and the door slams shut. Ah, another interloper I see. I hold my hand up and I can see it. Oh well nothing I can do about it now. So, this is the Demon Lord. Hes huge like three times the height of Shinichi. From a design standpoint he looks like the duke but also a bit wider and carrying a huge sword. The room is huge with a small set of stairs leading to a platform with the throne sitting on it towards the back. I see Shinichi in front of him kneeling down with his sword pointed down. He looks like hes been here for a while fighting the Demon Lord. I run up to Shinichi. Are you alright? Im fine but I think I bit off more than I could chew here. Yeah, you been known to do that in the past. I ready my knives and wait for the Demon Lord to make his move. Shinichi gets up, casts a healing spell on himself and then readies his sword and shield. Lets make it to the platform so we get some high ground. OK Im right behind you! I reply. We run past the Demon Lord and run up the stairs. I guess being small against him can be a useful. The Demon Lord swings his sword toward me and suddenly Shinichi appears in front of me with his shield up. The sword hits the shield and Shinichi turns his head to me. Go! Get up the stairs. But you Ill be right behind you so, GO! I run up the stairs and after Shinichi brushes the Demon Lords sword aside with his shield follows through with a sword attack to the Demon Lords sword arm, then turns and follows after me. GRRRRAAAAAH! I will destroy this future you seek! Humanity cannot be allowed to move forward. Your destiny is to be death and hatred. Your hope is an illusion. Ah there it is. There WAS something imbedded deep in him stopping him from moving forward. Hes clearly not a yokai so its just probably something in his subconscious taking control of him. Some force is trying to stop Shinichi and Hiroki from succeeding. At this point I dont care; I just need to stop the Demon Lord from killing us both. No, WE need to stop him, together! Shinichi gets up the stairs and we take battle positions. The Demon Lord recovers, lumbers to us and readies another attack at Shinichi. The Demon Lord raises his sword up preparing to bring it down. Shinichi readies his shield preparing for the attack. I notice an opening and attack the Demon Lords belly, swiping my knives across it. The Demon Lords sword slides off Shinichis shield and clanks on to the ground as the Demon Lord grabs his stomach with his other hand. I got an idea Shinichi. Can you keep him distracted? Yeah, Ill make sure he is completely distracted. Shinichi raises his hand out and a flash of light hits the Demon Lords face dazing him. I reach into my pocket, get a 10-Yen coin and put it on the knife Shinichi made. The coin melds into the knife and I run toward the Demon Lord, jump up and stab him in the head. I hop down next to Shinichi. WE GOT HIM!! I yell. Yes, we did! I may have failed but we still have the child. With that statement the Demon Lord is engulfed in a bright light and fades out. On the ground is the knife that Shinichi had made for me. The outer walls of the throne room start to dissolve away and reveals the wooded area we were at when we first started this journey together. I knew there had to be something here. I guess I had a feeling too. Maybe thats why I made that knife. What did the Demon Lord mean when he said they still have the child? There is someone you may meet in the future but he is a four-year-old now so itll be a while. I dont know the details but, his mother is currently watching over him. I see well I guess Ill look forward to seeing him in the future. Hold on I thought Hiroko took care of the thing whatever it was. Maybe its not completely gone or the Demon Lord didnt know thatHiroko was italready took care of the enemy. Both hypotheses are sound. I think Ill have to see how things are going with Hiroko. Other than that, I gotta ask one more time. Are you going to visit Takahiro? Yeah, I think I will. I feel better so I will go and see what he has. Whew. Im so glad. As I finish saying that, darkness starts to make its way towards us. I dont have much time it seems so I need to say things will get better, I promise. I continue. I know, I can feel it now. As the darkness is about to overtake us, I hold the blade out to Shinichi. Keep this blade with you as a reminder of our hope of the future. Things will be better from now on so try to be happy. I will try. He lets out as the darkness finishes and I open my eyes. * * * Im back in his room and he still is asleep. Thats odd. Usually, he wakes up when the darkness kicks me out. On his forehead is the 10-Yen coin I used. I take the coin and place it by my photo. Ill watch over him for now and wait for him to wake up. Chapter 14 – Pick Up The Pieces and Forge Ahead I hear the alarm on Shinichis his phone go off. He finally wakes up and turns the alarm off. He gets up and wanders to the bathroom and gets the thermometer. I look at the result: 37.9C, a lot better than last night but, he doesnt know that. He goes back to the the bed, gets his phone and makes a call. Hello? Its Kitaji. I have a really bad cold so I need to take today offIm at 37.9 so its probably best to stay home for a day at leastOKThank you very much. I will rest up and should be able to come in tomorrow. He ends the call, collapses back on the bed and falls asleep. Good, hes going to stay home to rest up. I know in the past he would have just gone where ever he wanted anyway regardless of his health until a doctor would finally make him stay home. Oh yeah, I should check on Hiroko to figure out what Demon Lord said. I close my eyes, think of Hiroko and go to where Hiroko is at. I open my eyes and I am in Hirokis bedroom again. I see her here but Hiroki is not. Hi Hiroko. How are things going here? Oh! Michiru-san I did not expect to see you so soon. What brings you to see me? I wanted to see how Hiroki was doing. Has there been any more bad dreams or fever spikes since you beat the crap out of that kappa? You do not have to say it like that. It is rather embarrassing. As for Hiroki I have not noticed any issues physically. He is rather healthy at the moment. Thats great! I am glad to hear that. So why are you here and not with him? Oh, I was just looking at what he has and noticed that he has toys which is fine and healthy for a child. I dont see any edutainment toys though. He seems to be behind developmentally. I see, arent Hirokis grandparents helping raise him? Yes, but they are rather on in years. I mean yes, they have the basics of course. They did raise three children but, that was over three decades ago. They are in the twilight of their years. They should not have to be burdened with raising another child. Yeah, they should be spoiling him and then giving him back to his parents like normal grandparents. I did not get the chance to be his mother but, I am trying my what I can but, I feel like Im more overwhelmed than most living mothers. I would think so. I put my index finger on my chin and start thinking. Did you have an epiphany? Maybe, Ill be right back. I fast travel back to my old bedroom. Good it doesnt look like my parents have started packing everything up yet. I go into my closet, grab a box and open it. Here it is. I go back to Hirokis room. Here, try this. I hand Hiroko a small stack of books. What are these books? These are books that helped me when I was about his age. You wouldnt know it but I had some speech problems early on. My parents got these for me and they helped me not just with my speech but also it was probably when I fell in love with books. Oh, I cannot take Dont you even say you cant take these. These were going to be for when Shinichi and I had a child together but, they were probably going to be sold or worse since my parents are going to convert my room into an office. You could give them to Shinichi for when he has a child. Youre gonna make your senpai angry if you dont take them. Im sorry, thank you very much for your help. She says as she bows to me. Alright then. Ill leave you to it. I need to head back and see how Shinichis fever is. Oh! I hope is fine. He just got a cold from being in that storm yesterday. So, I encountered something like the kappa that you fought while he was running a high fever. You should probably keep an eye open for any sort of relapse. The Demon Lord I fought said I may have failed but we still have the child. So, I dont know if there is still something or he was unaware of what you did. A Demon Lord?! Oh my! That sounds dreadful. Its ok now. We took care of him but, that final line he said stuck in my head. Hiroki is the only child I know about and if he means Takahiro then that doesnt make sense since hes an adult now. I see, I will have to remain more vigilant around Hiroki from now on. Thank you for the warning and for the teaching aids. Oh, hey you wouldnt happen to have any sports drink here, would you? I believe there is some in the refrigerator. You wouldnt mind if I grab a bottle, would you? That would be no problem at all. It is the least I can with everything you have done for me so far. Let me get you a bottle. She disappears and then almost as soon as she left, she returns and hands me the bottle. Here you go. I hope Shinichi recovers well. Thanks, hell be fine. His fever has already gone down. That is good to hear. I gonna head back to him now so, take care and good luck. You take care as well. She waves to me as I go back to check on Shinichi. Once I get back to Shinichis apartment, I see him still resting. I put the bottle of sports drink next to his bed. I grab book five and fast travel to the empty apartment next door. I occupy space by the wall that separates the two apartments so that Im able to poke my head through and I can keep an eye on him. He gets up to use the bathroom and, on his way, back he notices the bottle sitting next to his bed. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.He cocks his head and says, When did I? Never mind. He grabs the bottle and drinks about half of it, sets it back down and goes back to sleep. Once I finish the fifth book, I place it back on the shelf and grab the next book and continue reading it next door. Finally, I caught up to the new books, well new to me that is. I really wanna know what happens next. As Im reading night finally comes and I see him starting to stir and wake up. He finishes up the sports drink, puts on some clothes and a mask and heads out the door. Where could he be going? I guess I could follow him. I put the sixth book back on the shelf and follow him out the door. He heads down the street and I realize just where hes heading now, the convenience store. Well, I assume its probably for more sports drink but I guess I can see what else hes looking at. I follow him into the store and he heads to the drink section. He grabs a large bottle of sports drink, one of the 750 mL type, and then stops by the manga section. He picks up a couple of them and puts them back not too impressed with them. Eventually he picks up one, a monthly called Mid-day and spends quite some time on it. He decides to take it with him to the counter. Will this be all? Uh, Ill get the kara-age as well. Okay, one sports drink, one manga and one kara-age will be seven hundred eighty-two Yen. Shinichi pulls out a 1000-Yen bill from his pants pocket and places it on the plastic tray in front of the cashier. Out of one thousand Yen, your change is two hundred and eighteen Yen. The cashier bows and says, Thank you for coming. Shinichi grabs his bag, puts the change in his pants pocket and heads back to his apartment. We walk back to his apartment and he munches down on his kara-age along the way. Once we get to his apartment, he finishes off the food and tosses the wrapper in the trash. He takes the manga and sports drink to his bed and settles back in. He starts reading the manga occasionally taking large drinks from the sports drink. Eventually he stops reading, puts the manga down by the sports drink and falls asleep. Well, its night time what should I do? I know, Ill get that suit! But, where? How about one of those expensive Italian ones actually from Italy. I could go there and grab what I need and pop back. Maybe thats a bit too much plus I heard they need to be tailored and I cant exactly ask them to do that let alone speak Italian. Simplest is the best, I guess. I dont recall a shop at the shopping arcade that sold normal suits, the kind youd see the typical office worker wear. Department store it is then. I grab the waist and inseam measurements from a few of his pants that he uses for work. I hold my hands up, close my eyes and think of a department store that I would go to with my parents or Shinichi. I open my eyes and I am here at the department store by the mens wear section. Browsing through the shirts, bottoms and jackets I quickly get one of each of the correct sizes. Right, the easy part is done now the item that ties it all together, the tie. A dad joke? I dont make dad jokes, thats Shinichis area of expertise. Whatever, back to the ties. Theres a bunch of choices here. Solid color and if so what color? How about one with a pattern but what pattern and then also what color? Tie, clip-on or zip up? Wide or skinny? Sheesh, one accessory thats important to the whole suit but, can represent the persons individuality. I guess thats why its so difficult to choose just one. Hmm, maybe Ill get a red one. He always liked the color red. Whats this? I notice a small section of clearance ties. Most are just ugly and probably why theyre here but one of these are not like the others. I reach out and pick up a leather tie. Wow, now this, this is different. Its black, has a skinny shape and is a zip up type. From a distance it looks like a normal black tie but once you get up close it hits you all stealth like. The fact that it is leather is odd. You dont see many of them if at all. Maybe some rocker ordered it and didnt pick it up. Who cares, its mine now! Or should I say soon to be Shinichis. OK, one suit ready to go. Ill keep it in the empty apartment for the time being. I think the timing is going to be important. One more day before he goes to see Takahiros project and its getting close to morning so Ill just wait for him to wake up and then Ill keep reading until the next night and then pay him a visit in his dreams. Well, one to last temperature check before he gets up. I put the thermometer in his mouth and wait for the result. 37.3, just a little high but okay. Hell be fine today. I wait around by his bed keeping an eye on him until, 7:30 finally comes and his alarm goes off. He wakes up does his own temperature check and then does his morning routine. After he leaves, I grab book six and continue reading it. Over the course of the day, I finish off book six and start on book seven. Wow, its gotten really good I cant wait to see how this story finally ends. I get about a third of the way through and see it is about time for Shinichi to get home. Coin 4 – For You And All Your Dreams I put the book back on the shelf and wait for him to return. Footsteps start to sound off across the walkway and then stop before getting to Shinichis apartment. Uh oh, seems they are entering the empty apartment so I should investigate. I go through the wall separating Shinichis apartment and the empty one and see a woman here looking the apartment over. She notices the suit in the corner that I placed it and begins to pick it up when Shinichi notices the open door and steps in to talk to her. Hello, Mrs. Nagahama how are you today? Oh, Kitaji-san. Just getting back from work? Yes, just now. Are you preparing the apartment for a new tenant? Yes, I dont have anyone moving in yet but I should have it listed soon. I see. Was something wrong? Have you been busy? Youre just now coming to check the apartment. Oh, theres no problem at all. I just went with my husband to America. He had to attend a convention there to promote his new project. I wanted to see the sites. Seattle is a really nice city. Yes, it is, Michiru and I were planning to go there one day. Im sorry to hear that. I hope you will still go eventually. I may in the future. You never know what might happen. By the way. I see this suit here. It seems Rin-san left this here. It looks new so I dont know what the story is. Are you still in contact with her? I can get in contact with her yes. Thats great! Can you ask her about it? Yeah, I should be in her part of town tomorrow. Oh really? Any particular reason? I have a meeting tomorrow. Oh, for your pharmacy job? No, Im being consulted on an engineering project. That sounds important. I dont know really. Im just doing someone a favor. Im not really good at engineering stuff but apparently his experiment has something to do with pharmaceuticals. Im not sure myself entirely. I dont understand it all either but it sounds important. I hope it all goes well. Since youll be over there do you think you can hold on to this and return it to her when you see her? Yeah, itll be fine. Ill text her in a little bit. Thank you very much. Well, I will let you finish here. It seems theres nothing to do here. She took good care of the apartment here so other than the suit here I am ready to list it. Oh, if you know anyone interested give them my card. She takes out a business card and places it on the suit. I dont know anyone but, Ill ask my coworkers if they need a place. Ill take the suit with me then. Have a good night. You have a good night as well. With that they both leave the empty apartment. Mrs. Nagahama goes back downstairs and Shinichi enters his own apartment. Once he takes his shoes off, he goes to the living area and sets the suit down on the floor near his closet. He takes the card and sets it on his table. He starts his computer up and then pulls his phone out to I assume send a message to Rin-san. Shinichi Hi Rin-san. I hope you are doing ok. Shinichi I saw the manager in your old apartment and she noticed a rather new mens suit in a corner. I will be in your area tomorrow so I can return it to you then if you are free. Right, message sent. Now to get ready for Altyrnis tonight. I guess I need to see how this plays out with Rin-san before I decide if I need to take it back from her. Just as he logs in, he gets a message from Zoragon. Zoragon>Tonight is going to be at The Mines. Are you ready? ZoragonOK we will start in 30 minutes. ZoragonUnderstood. Ill start forming parties in about 15 minutes from now. He has his character change into his Dark Mage robes like before and casts a spell where he disappears. Once the screen changes his character is appears in an area filled with some caves and where hes standing is a bricked area along with other members of his group. I see most the same ones from before especially that person Aleena who was with Shinichi a few days ago but is now wearing the outfit I love so much. I hear a notification sound go off on his phone. I take a peek and see its not from Rin-San but from Takahiro. Takahiro I just wanted to make sure you were ok coming by tomorrow. Shinichi Yes, I will be there. Takahiro Great! I hope 10am isnt too early for you. Shinichi No that is fine. Takahiro I will see you then. Looks like a false alarm of sorts since this is a confirmation text from Takahiro. Still, Im glad they are communicating a little at least. He gets his group invite that Zoragon mentioned and then waits for the event to start. After he finishes his group preparations he gets up and goes to the refrigerator. He grabs a bottle of milk tea and settles in. The screen goes black and the music becomes ominous. Once the screen loads it is the same area he was standing in before but it is dark. So dark its hard to see down the tunnels. I see Aleena move forward and she fires an arrow. It hits something and the cave area lights up to reveal these giant turtles called Orbital Turtles about the height of the people playing from the bottom of the foot to the top of the shell. The turtles come marching toward. Everyone splits into smaller groups and the groups each fight a giant turtle. Once the teams finish off the turtles they move forward to another dark area and Aleena again fires an arrow and lights up the cave to more turtles, this time revealing a small pond. Shinichis group casts their high-power spells all on one target and it goes down. His group splits off and helps out the other groups, taking breaks to recover MP until all the turtles are gone. From here the cycle continues for some time until they reach the end of the caves. After Aleena lights up the end of the cave, it opens up into a giant area with a large lake with some plant life scattered about. By the lake is turtle about ten times the size of ones they were fighting before called Turtle of the World. Atop the back shell is a small village with a group of houses. Aleena readies an arrow shot and it flies into the giant turtle and immediately the turtle starts casting magic to go on the offence but Aleena runs out of range of the spell. Coming down the back of the turtle is these green and white plant like bipeds with pink flowers for heads called Mandrakes. They are about one third the size of a normal human character and come at the player groups in a large swarm. As the swarm heads toward the players, the turtle really slowly begins to lumber its way to the group as well, the ground shaking with each step like a small earthquake. The group of Dark Mages with Shinichi begin casting their highest strength spell at the mob of Mandrakes. Their spells land and a good majority of the Mandrakes fall to the ground. The other groups start mowing down the remaining Mandrakes and then prepare for the Turtle of the World. One person, a catgirl, called Mae wearing some red robes and a rather stylish looking hat uses some abilities, then heads close to the giant turtle and starts casting a spell. The Turtle of the World begins retaliating by casting one of its own but Maes lands first and suddenly the turtle is no longer casting. The groups rush in and begin their attacks. Everyone, Dark Paladins, Knights, Healers, Demon Knights, Dark Mages, Rouges, Vikings, Earth Mages and a few others I dont really know what they are just all attack it while the turtles head and tail flail about in an attempt to counter attack. They spend a good fifteen minutes chipping away at the turtles health until it finally succumbs to the relenting onslaught. After the turtle is defeated, the group stands around and discuss some items that came from the boss. Once they divvy up the spoils the screen goes black again and they are back in the mines area they started in. The group says its good nights and most log out in place. Yamashi>Hello friend YamashiI got one of the special drops. Can you make one of those new necklaces for me? YamashiThank you very much friend. Shinichi warps back to his home, then logs out and turns his PC off. He finishes preparing for bed, crawls in and goes to sleep. I put my hands on his face and close my eyes and enter his dreams. * * * I open my eyes and I am in a very crowded area. I remember this place its that big comic convention that people go to. Looking around for Shinichi I see him with someone, its me. Whats going on? I cant believe you bought that costume but I have to admit itll look great on you. Well, Hanako is my favorite character from the Witches Academy Series. Its only natural I get her outfit. OH MY GOD, this is so embarrassing! Is that really how I act? What are you going to do about the hair? Isnt Hanako blonde? Yeah, Ill have to go buy a wig store and get one but for today, I want to wear this. I watch myself enter the cosplay changing area for women and Shinichi opens his backpack, looks through it and grabs an A4 sized, but rather thin, book. He flips through it until, I final come out from the dressing room. Well, how do I look? Its nearly perfect. I think youll need to do a few alterations especially since the bust is a little tight. Well, I dont have a problem with it. You know I always like to show off my curves. Besides people can look at these all they want but theyre yours. He gets a little bit embarrassed before retorting. They always did feel good in my hands along with other parts of your body. Oh, you! I reply as I grab his arm, my breasts rubbing against his arm. Im such a perv its embarrassing. I watch myself lean in and whisper in his ear. When we get back, Ill let you touch me all over as much as you want. He pulls me close and gives me a kiss on the lips. I watch myself go back in the changing area and Shinichi goes back to reading his book. This was a great and really embarrassing moment but why am I here and not over there with him? Why am I looking at myself from years ago? As I keep thinking about what is going on, my other self comes out and they both go back to browse more tables of merchandise. I decide to run up to Shinichi and reach out to him. My hand goes right through him. This seems to be like when I was reliving Takahiros dreams. As Im starting to put everything together the whole area starts to go dark and then nothing. * * * I open my eyes and I see Shinichi reaching over to turn the alarm off. He picks up his phone and sees a message from Rin-san. Shinichi Hi Rin-san. I hope you are doing ok. Shinichi I saw the manager in your old apartment and she noticed a rather new mens suit in a corner. I will be in your area tomorrow so I can return it to you then if you are free. Rin Huh? I didnt have anything like that there. If it fits you and it was left there then you can have it, I dont need it. Rin I cant meet up too early since I work late but if it is after 2pm then I can meet you at the coffee shop near the train station. Shinichi Sure, Ill meet around 2pm, if thats ok. I should be done by then. He finishes his message to Rin-san, puts his phone down and then goes to the bathroom. Thanks Rin-san for covering for me without knowing it or even knowing me. Once Shinichi finishes up in the bathroom he gets dressed and grabs a small backpack and puts the suit and his lab coat inside it. He heads out the door and I follow him. Once we get to the train station he buys his ticket, enters and then makes his way to the platform to wait for the train. He wanders over to the vending machine and gets a warm can of caf aulait. I never could understand why he liked coffee so much. It always tasted like dirt to me. He finishes it just as the train gets to the platform so he wanders over and drops the can into the recycle bin. Afterwards he enters the train, takes his backpack off, sits in a seat and sets the backpack on his lap. As I wait for the train to reach its destination, I start to think about what happened last night and why the dream was different than usual. Did using a coin to kill The Demon Lord lock me out from being able to talk to Shinichi in his dreams? Was I only able to interact with him because his mental defenses were down because of The Demon Lord? I mean thats the only thing I can think of. Theres really only one thing left to do is to and thats to check later tonight. As I finish my thoughts the train reaches the stop Shinichi was waiting for. He gets up, puts his backpack on and heads out of the train. I follow him as we exit the station and he walks down the street toward the university Takahiro goes to. He takes a short trip to a convenience store along the way and grabs a melon bread and another caf aulait Once hes done with his purchase he steps outside and eats his bread and downs the coffee. Now that hes had breakfast he makes his way to the campus and toward the engineering building. As he enters the building, he is greeted by a bowing Takahiro who was waiting for him. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.Im again glad you could come. No worries. I guess I owe it to her to at least see this through to the end. I appreciate it very much. I have an extra coat inside you can use. Thats ok I have my old one here. He takes his backpack off and pulls out his old university lab coat. I hope it being from a rival university wont be a problem. Itll be fine. Besides it does say Life Sciences Department on it below your name. You clearly arent from their Engineering Department trying to steal any secrets. Good comeback Takahiro. We go through some doors and there is a set of small rooms along the hallway. At the end of the hallway is a set of double doors but thats not where we end up going. We go into one of the rooms in the hallway. In there is a machine about waist high with a hose coming off of it and a wand at its end. Here it is. I know its still a bit big right now but its still a prototype. It looks impressive but how does it really involve me? Sorry I should have led with the name: Transdermal delivery system for temperature sensitive medication. Hmmm, I see. You know transdermal delivery systems havent really been science fiction for a long time. They just tended to be inconsistent in actually delivering the medication or vaccination. It also caused festering infections at the transdermal site. Yeah, I looked at those but designs and took those into account in my design. What made you think of a delivery system for temperature sensitive medication? Actually, I got the idea from you. From me? How so? I was looking online for a way to get a hold of you and I ran across a report you made in regards to using temperature sensitive compounds to fight off autoimmune and rare diseases. Oh yeah, I remember that now. That was so long ago. I didnt think anything would come of it. It was my junior thesis. I did a few lab tests and the results were promising but deciding on the compounds to match up with the diseases but my professor said the theory was sound. Yeah, I didnt understand everything in your report but one thing did hit me and that was there was no way to deliver the medicine to the patient. I mean its one thing to test the compounds in a lab environment where you can control the temperature but in the real world with various environmental factors are at play you will need someway of delivering the medicine. I see, have you made any headway on decreasing the size? Yes, I have but, its still in the planning stage. I need to get the prototype working fully first. So, what is the issue then? Like I said engineering isnt really my strong suit. The issue comes when the medication gets to the skin. The temperature imbalance usually upsets the medicine. Yeah, that was gonna happen. How about this, make a cooling phase for the skin and then once the medicine is injected slowly warm up the area back to normal body temp. Hmm, I see but what about the patient? Wont that hurt? Well, if its a medicine that will be lifesaving, Im sure a short amount of pain to get it is better than no medicine at all. You have a good point. So why transdermal and not just a pure syringe style injection? I thought of making a fast-injecting needle but there was the chance of contamination from the lubricant and so this way it has to fewer moving parts. Makes sense. They talk about the project more but, mostly things that are way above my head. Eventually, they finish their discussion. Well, its great work but as it sits it takes up too much space to work. Another person walks through the door. I hope all is going well in here. Dr. Akitaka I am glad you could make it. Yes, everything was going well. Kitaji-san here has given me a lot of information and advice. Nice to meet you. Im Shinichi Kitaji. Shinichi reaches into his backpack and grabs a business card holder and then presents it to Dr. Akitaka. Oh, thank you. Im Gotou-sans professor, Dr. Kenichi Akitaka. Dr. Akitaka reaches into his lab coat pocket and hands his business card to Shinichi. I was just about to leave but, your student has good ideas and good potential. Yes, he has been a very dedicated student. Oh, dont let me keep you. Thank you very much for coming by. Let me escort you to the door. Takahiro says. Ill join you The three exit the door of the room and make their way to the entrance. Once they reach the lobby, Shinichi takes his coat off and puts it into his backpack. Takahiro bows. Thank you very much for coming by. I will work those suggestions you made into project. Not a problem. Its been a long time since I been in a lab. It kind of felt good. That is great to hear. I will let you know when I finish. Thank you very much again. Thank you for showing me your project. You did a great job. Take care. At that Shinichi heads off the campus. I see Takahiro and the Professor talk to each other I assume its about the project. I follow Shinichi off then campus and he enters the train station to get on another train. He gets off after two stops and then exits the station. As he exits the station, he makes his way for a nearby coffee shop. We enter the coffee shop and Shinichi goes to the counter to order. Medium mocha and a ham cheese croissant, please. That will be 720-yen please. He waits for a little while and then picks up his order once its ready. With his coffee and croissant in hand he finds a seat and begins drinking. About five minutes goes by and Rin-san comes walking through the door. Shinichi raises his hand and she sees it. She points to the counter and he gives a thumbs up. Once she gets her drink, she takes a seat across from Shinichi. So, what brings you to this part of town? I had a meeting with the boy Michiru saved. Oh, I see and how did that go? He showed me his engineering project he was doing for his final at the university nearby. Thats a big step for you. I hope you werent too hard on him. We got most of our tension out last week. Hes doing his best to make sure Michirus death wasnt wasted. Its good you two have seemed to make up somewhat. So, how was the project? Is it something cool? Its an interesting idea. I cant really talk about it too much but, it is something to do with medicines which is why he asked for my input. Oh, I see. How was it being in a lab after being away for so long? Oddly, it felt good. I have been feeling better the last couple of days for some reason. I even dug my old lab coat out of my closet. Really? Are you gonna make cat-people a thing finally? Wasnt there a rich American who talked about doing that? I am still just a pharmacy tech but, that trip to the lab did make me miss it. Thats a good thing, I think. Maybe you can see if your job position is open? Probably not but, I wouldnt feel right working there without Michiru. So, youd be open to another place then? Yeah, thatd be nice but Ive been gone for four years so I dont know if I would be able to compete against others for a position. How are you supposed to know if you dont put yourself out there? Yeah, youre right as usual. Ill see what I can find for options. Well, thats a good bit of info I needed. Oh, by the way heres that suit you left. He reaches in to get the suit from the bag but she stops him. I didnt have a mans suit. Like I said if it fits you, you should keep it especially since you just said youd look to see if theres a place for you. Youre probably gonna need it. OOk, if you dont mind. Thank you. I dont know why youre thanking me. I really didnt own that. Well, you did give me some good advice. If you say so. So, whats your new work like? Are you working on anything cool? Im not working on any anime. I am working at an import company. Thats sad to hear. Not really. I need to take some time away after being there for so long. Anime will still be there for me if I decide to go back. I just need to get my life in order first. Yeah, I suppose youre right. I hope youll be ok. Oh, I will. You should also decide what you want to do going forward as well. I get what you mean. Well, I am glad you patched things up with the kid. I need to get ready for work. Oh, thanks for meeting with me. What are you talking about? I may be here on the other side of town but, weve known each other for a few years, even if we were just neighbors. We had great conversations together. Well, have a good day at work. Thanks. Have a safe trip home and dont hesitate to contact me, especially whenever youre on this side of town. Rin-san picks up her coffee and waves goodbye as she heads out the door. Shinichi stares off in the distance in thought. He eventually finishes his croissant and whats left of his coffee. Picking up the tray with the plate and cup on it he brings them over to the trash. He puts the plate on a stack of other plates, the tray on the stack of trays and the cup in the trash. Once hes finishes that, he heads out of the caf and to the train station. I follow him on to the train and we end up at his home station. Once we leave the station we end up at his apartment. He goes in and starts gaming. Well, that was an interesting trip across town. Things went well with Takahiro and Rin-san got my back on the suit. Im gonna let him relax a bit before my next step. Once he logs in, he changes into the Rouges outfit and goes out to fight monsters, I assume to get crafting items. A while goes by and he gets a message from Yamashi. Yamashi>Hello friend. Youre on a little late. YamashiOh? Anything interesting? YamashiHuh? I thought you were a pharmacy tech? YamashiI didnt know you did research. YamashiIm sorry to hear that. I hope you your advice helped that person. YamashiOh, ho. Are you thinking of going back to research again? Yamashi Well, theres my cue. I get a 10-Yen coin from my pocket, hold it in both hands and pray. The coin drops to the floor behind Shinichi and he turns around in his chair to see what the noise was. He looks down, sees the coin, picks it up and then puts it on his desk. A notification goes off on his phone. He reaches for his phone and sees the email notification. He clicks on it to see its a message from Dr. Akitaka. ---Insert email style graphic with attachment--- Mr. Kitaji, This is Dr. Akitaka. We met earlier today when Gotou-kun was showing you his finals project. Thank you very much for providing your input to him in person. Gotou-kun has also told me about the connection the two of you have. I am sorry to hear about what happened to Kanazawa-san. Gotou-kun has been one of my best students and I think that has been because of what Kanazawa-san did for him. When you were here, I noticed the university lab coat you were wearing. Gotou-kun told me you were doing research there and was set to work at a bio-tech research company when you graduated but decided not to go after what happened to Kanazawa-san. I dont know if you are still interested in doing so but a good friend of mine just mentioned that her research lab posted an opening. I have attached her virtual business card. She should be in her office on Monday. So, if you are still unsure, please take the rest of this weekend to decide. I think you would be a good fit there. Kenichi Akitaka, PhD Professor, Engineering Department ---End email style graphic--- Wow, that was quite an email. I wonder if he will take this opportunity, we just handed him. Ok, he seems to be in shock and is just sitting in his seat staring at the email. Finally, he turns back to the game and starts typing. YamashiOh? Just now? YamashiCongrats friend. Thats crazy that we were just talking about this and it happened. YamashiAre you going to accept it? YamashiI dont know about that. I dont think they would have wasted their time offering you a job if they didnt think you couldnt do it. Good job backing me up Yamashi, whoever you are. Shinichi thinks for a bit and then replies. YamashiThats great! YamashiYeah thatd be great. Ill send you my info before I log off. YamashiNo worries. As long as I have it before the next Altyrnis that will be fine. YamashiOk, let me know when its done and Ill meet you in front of your house. Shinichis character pulls out a magic scroll and then disappears. His character arrives at his house goes in and then takes some items out. He changes his outfit to I assume one for him to craft in and begins crafting. Once hes done, he sends Yamashi a message. YamashiIll be right there. Shinichis character goes outside his house and waits for Yamashi. After a couple of minutes, a character, a cat person, in black armor and a giant sword on his back comes running up to Shinichi. Yamashi>Thanks for making it for me. YamashiWhats this?! YamashiI would have been fine with the normal one. YamashiThank very much! Yamashis character bows to Shinichi. YamashiThank you again and good luck my friend. Yamashi Hello, friend! Yamashi< Heya, just doing my dailies. Whats up? Yamashi> How was the new work place? Yamashi< It was good. I mostly did orientation stuff but, I did get setup in my new lab as well. Yamashi> Oh ho! Ready to discover the secrets of humanity or bring cat people to the world? That Yamashi guy is funny. Yamashi< Small steps first. I have unfinished business with what I was working on in college. Yamashi> Thats great! I hope its something cool. Yamashi< Its nothing too great but if I can get it solidified, there will be a lot less diseases we will have to contend with. Oh, yeah. I remember that stuff he was working on in college. It was his thesis if I remember. Yamashi> That sounds pretty cool to me. Yamashi< Yeah, I guess so, if it all works out. I still have a way to go though. Yamashi> Does this mean youre going to have to stop playing soon? Yamashi< Well, I am going to have to drop out of most of the events but, Ill still be here when I can. Yamashi> Im sad to hear that. You were always one of the most important members in Alternys runs. Yamashi< Thanks, but I just did my best. You have my information though so; we can always meet up sometime. Anyway, I need to finish up these dailies and then head off to bed. Yamashi> Right, we should definitely do that. Well have a good night. Yamashi< Im just finishing up my last turn in so, Im about to log out. Have a good night as well. With that he logs out and prepares for bed. Well, nothing left to do today so, Ill just head back to read some more. Chapter 17 – This Is The Way It Has To Be As I continue reading the night turns into morning and then around noon I decide to check up on Yoko and Peter. Their things should be arriving soon anyway. I fast travel to the apartment and see Yoko already opening boxes and putting her things away. I see Peter next to his cage. Well, Peter, it looks like youre settling in just fine. Im just glad my master didnt change things for me to much. Youre so silly. Anyway, she looks like shes about all settled in as well. Yeah, she apparently has today off to prepare our hole to live in. It seems she set things up mostly like she had it in her old place just as Peter said. I wonder if it a Feng Sui thing or just a familiarity thing? It looks like the head of the bed is facing north so, maybe it is. Once shes finished putting her kitchen items away, she goes to the living room holding some small saucers and a container of salt. Oh! I know what shes doing. It wont work on me though. Im not an evil spirit. Or, at least it shouldnt work on me. I guess I will find out. She goes over to the sliding door that leads to the balcony and in the corner places one of the saucers. After placing the saucer, she pours the salt in the shape of a mound. Hmm, I dont feel anything different. She goes over to the front door and does the same thing again. I go over to the one by the balcony door and put my hand near it. Nope, nothing at all. I guess its for evil spirits after all, if it works at all. Is she just doing this as a precaution or does she know something? What is she gonna do next, start burning some sage as well? I do like her style though. I think we have a lot more in common than I thought. If things were different, we probably could have been friends. Alright all done! she says after putting the last saucer down by the entrance. Now to work on dinner for tonight and pack the leftovers for lunch. She goes back into the kitchen and takes some items from the refrigerator. It looks like some various vegetables and mushrooms. She grabs some cooking oil as well as some dry and wet ingredients. Oh, shes making some tempura. I havent had that in a while. Mom always made the best tempura I thought. Then one day Shinichi made some from some recipe one time and it was so good I was so amazed. Come to think of it, all these ingredients look exactly like what he used and he measured them carefully just like shes doing now. Hmm, what to do. I got it, I think. Hey, Peter, was Yoko out sweeping the front area earlier? I believe so. Why do you ask? I had a feeling. She seems like a very tidy person. I look around for the broom and notice it sitting next to the laundry area by the bathroom. Its gonna take a bit of timing but Ill wait for her to be looking away and then fast travel this outside. Just as I have that thought I see her starting to put some items back into the refrigerator. OK, heres my chance. I grab the broom and bring it outside the apartment and sit it by the door to Yokos apartment. Alright, prep work done. All thats left is to wait for Shinichi to come home. I know he will be returning with more junk. After setting up the broom, I return back inside Yokos apartment and watch her cook. Sorry Yoko, this may seem mean but its for both of your own good. You both need a fateful encounter to start things along. She begins to cook the tempura vegetables. Oh, Peter, does this smell as good as I think it does? I dont know about any of that. I just prefer food the way it always was. Maybe in small bits. Well yeah, you are a rabbit after all. I guess that makes sense. My master sometimes gives me the scraps of the vegetables she cooks. Oh, that must be nice for you and her. Yeah, I get really a delicious variety of vegetable scraps but, I really love it when she gives me carrots and sweet potatoes. Who doesnt like sweet things. Those are the best. She really does take good care of you, doesnt she? Yes, I have the best life. Not worrying about what to eat and being hunted by strange animals. You really hit the jackpot, didnt you? I guess so, if thats a good thing. Oh, it is for sure. Youre one lucky rabbit indeed. I think so as well. As I finish my conversation with Peter I wander over to Yoko to see what else she is cooking. Nothing too out of the ordinary just her putting some rice in the cooker and some instant miso soup. She takes the tempura out and lets the oil sink into the paper towels sitting on a plate. Shinichi should be getting home any minute now. I go outside and wait for him to arrive and sure enough he starts to make his way up the stairs. Hes carrying his usual convenience store dinner. As he gets past Yokos door, I reach for the broom, push it down and hold it out so that it catches his legs. He falls down face first with a loud thud. His bag containing his dinner goes flying over the edge of the guard rail and plummets to the first floor and lands strewn on to grass below. Wow it went better than planned. Ow ow ow. The door to Yokos apartment opens and she notices Shinichi. Oh my! Are you alright? Yeah, Ill be fine. Oh no! What happened exactly? Somehow I tripped on something. Something? Oh no! My broom! I swore I put it away! Im so sorry! Please, let me help you up. Are you ok? Thanks, Ill be ok just a few scratches. Cant say the same for my dinner. Ill just have to go back to the convenience store for another one. Oh no! Im so sorry! Why dont you go and clean up and Ill be by with some food I just finished making. No, I cant let you do that. Its your dinner. Its not a problem at all. I made extra for my lunch tomorrow, so its not a problem at all. Are you sure? Yes, I am, so go and Ill be by in ten minutes. Uhok. She rushes back inside and Shinichi goes down to pick up the remains of his dinner. Once he finishes, he goes into his apartment, drops the spoiled food into his garbage and takes his clothes off to go into the shower. It never gets old looking at him like that. He finishes up and puts on some sweats. Just as he finishes putting on his top there is a knock at his door. Coming! he yells as he heads to the door. Her opens the door and Yoko is standing there with a cloth covered box and some disposable chopsticks tucked in the knot. Thanks for waiting. Oh no! Your lip is bleeding! Eh? I guess it is. Are you bleeding anywhere else? Probably but, not too bad if I am. Here, use this. She says as she takes a handkerchief from her pocket. Thanks, please come in. I dont want to intrude, but you should sit down. Yeah, I should. Come in. She enters with the usual greeting and takes her shoes off. He leads her to the living room and sits down while still holding his lip with the handkerchief. She sets the box in front of him and unwraps the box. Thank you very much. She opens the box and its some of her tempura and some rice. He takes the handkerchief from his mouth and says, it looks great. Thanks for the food. As he takes a bite into the carrot, she begins to look around the room and stops at my picture. Was this your sister? Thatthat was my fianc. She passed away four years ago. I am sorry to hear that. This taste is familiarit is very similar to what I made for her that one time. Its a recipe Ive been using for quite a while. Oh! Was it from that famous recipe website? Actually, yes it was. I saw it about two years ago. It said it was a popular one so, I tried it out and liked how it turned out. Oh my god, no way! No wonder it looked so similar! Yeah, I lost a bet to her one time and she said I had to make her some tempura. That sounds like quite the punishment. Eh, not really. I was the better cook out of the two of us. Wow, sounds like something out of a shoujo manga. Ha ha. Yeah, it was kind of but, her stuff was at least edible and had flavor. Hey! It wasnt that bad! My pride as a woman is being hurt here. He takes another bite and then tears fall from his eyes. Oh! Whats this? Whered these tears come from. He reaches up with the handkerchief acting like hes dabbing his lip but, subtly wipes his tears away. He returns back to eating. Yoko doesnt seem to notice since she seems like something caught her eye. Wow a desktop. You dont see to many that arent used for business nowadays. Yeah, I put it together so I could play my online game. Wow! Really? Thats awesome that you know how to make a computer. It wasnt too difficult really. I mostly just matched parts that fit the specs and watched a couple tech videos online. The software gave me more trouble. Just dealing with drivers and OS conflicts was a pain. Yeah, I bet. Oh? Youre familiar with those issues? Umsomewhat. I just started work as a network analyst at Midorikawa Network Security. Oh, I saw that place while I was walking to my previous job at the pharmacy. Yeah, I was just hired by them and moved here from the south. Oh, how are you enjoying the city so far? I know it can be difficult adjusting to a new town. I really havent seen much time to see the area but, Mrs. Nagahama told me about a park nearby I can take P-Chan to. P-Chan? Peter, hes my pet rabbit. Hes just so cute I have to call him P-Chan. Oh, I see. I remember you carrying a cage with you when we met. I think your rabbit will enjoy that park. The cherry blossoms should be ready about now as well. Oh, that will be nice. By the way, Mr. Kitaji, do you also work in the IT field? No, not at all. Im as far away as IT as you can get. I much like you have started a new job but, as a Bio-Tech researcher. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.Wow, thats incredible! I guess so. I am doing what I know the best and what I was working toward in college. With that understated statement he finishes the last of the dinner. Thanks for the meal. It was really great. Im glad you liked it and Im glad you arent hurt. Yeah, Ill be fine, thank you. Well, it was nice talking to you. Yes, it was nice of you to keep me company. Ill wash this handkerchief and get it back to you. Ill probably need it a little longer tonight. She grabs the box the meal was in and wraps it back up in the cloth and starts to make her way to the exit. Ill see you out. Thank you. I should go and give P-Chan his banana. Have a good night. Thank you for everything. Have a good night as well. She bows and walks back next door. As she heads back inside Shinichi finally closes the door and heaves a large sigh. He heads back over to the living room and looks at the handkerchief on the table. Finally, he goes to his computer and starts it up. Once it starts up, he opens the browser to the cooking website they were talking about. He starts looking at different recipes. Some of them are really elaborate. What is he really thinking. Yoko only made tempura not a Michelin star meal. He heaves a sigh, closes the website and loads up his game. Once he logs in he changes to that green outfit I like so much and goes out to fight monsters. After some time he gets a message. Yamashi> Hello friend. Yamashi< Hey there. Howd Alternys go? Yamashi> It wasnt the same without you. We did wipe a couple of times. Yamashi< Well the Dalmakus zone was always a pain so its not really a surprise. Yamashi> So what are you up to now? Yamashi< Eh? Im just gathering crafting materials. Before I logged in, I was looking at recipes to make for my neighbor. Yamashi> Whys that? Yamashi< There was an accident and she ended up giving me some of her dinner. So, I was thinking of making something for her in return. Yamashi> That sounds nice. What did you decide on? Yamashi< I didnt. Everything I looked at was way too complicated or easy and unappealing. Yamashi> Thats unfortunate. Yamashi< Yeah, Ill try to look around for one later tomorrow. Yamashi> Hmm, I think I might have one for you. Its my go to when I want to make something quick and filling. Yamashi< Really? Thatd be great. Yamashi> Ill text it to you. Yamashi< Thanks a bunch. Yamashi> No problem. I hope you like it. Well, Im off to bed. I got an early day tomorrow. Yamashi< Thanks again and have a good night. With that Shinichi continues what hes doing until he gets the text from Yamashi. He picks up his phone to see what Yamashi sent. I glance over and look at it with him. Hmm, Shephards Pie, this looks pretty tasty. It does look pretty simple too. Just a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, mashed potatoes, 500g of ground beef and some various spices. Thats not a lot of ingredients either. Hmm, that could work. It looks like he approves. It seems like its still a little much to me but, thats really up to him, I guess. OK, Ill go with that then. He puts his phone away and finishes up what he is doing in game. I wonder how this will turn out. Once hes back in his house in game he crafts a few things and then logs out for the night. As he gets ready for bed I go through the wall to talk to Peter. Hey Peter! I think I did it. Oh? What did you do. My master rushed outside and then came back inside in a huge panic. I used that broom to make a little accident to get rid of that food he was going to have for dinner. Oh, so that was what that loud noise was. Yeah, now hes going to make Yoko a repayment meal. I hope she likes it. As long as it has vegetables in it, she will eat it. Shes not a vegetarian, is she? If that means all she eats is vegetables, nah Ive seen her have plenty of meat from time to time. Its not my thing but you humans seem to like it. Thats reassuring. Well, Ill let you get some sleep. Sleep well Peter. Thanks, Id say the same to you but you dont sleep do you? Sorta, I just close my eyes and then open them and time has passed, like time traveling more than sleeping. I see. So, what are going to do for now? Im just going to go read this book series Ive been hooked on. Ok, well, Ill let you do that. I dont know how much longer I can keep my eyes open. Haha, its ok you get some sleep. Good night, miss ghost. Good night, Peter. Ah more downtime. Well back to my new base of operations, the manga caf. I continue reading as night turns to day and then day gives way to the evening. He should be coming home about now. I head back to his apartment to see him just get to his door carrying a bag full of what I assume the ingredients. Once hes inside he goes right away to the kitchen to begin cooking. Man, it has been too long since hes cooked. I hope his skills are still good. It doesnt seem so. Hes browning the meat, chopping the potatoes and getting the oven ready for the final assembly. I watch him finish up and put the dish into the oven. He lets out a sigh. Man, its been a while. Yes, it has. He sets a timer and then goes to his computer to browse some scientific news articles. A lot of articles that really dont make much sense to me. Hold on, whats this? A new planet with earth like atmosphere discovered. New planet is approximately 2.7 times the size of earth. Wow thats pretty cool. I wonder if theres anything living there. What would it actually be like? Is it some peaceful planet in tune with nature or is it under the control of some oppressive galactic empire. OH! You know what, I should be able to go there. I mean I did go to places here on earth I never been to before just by thinking about it. But this is outer space though. Just as Im lost in my thoughts, Im startled by the timer going off. He gets up, goes over to the stove and takes the pie out. Its odd that its called a pie but theres no crust. I wonder why that is. It does look delicious though. Once he sets it out to cool a bit, he goes back to his computer to shut things down. Darn, I was hoping he would click on that article so I could read it. He leaves the desk, grabs the pie and goes next door to see Yoko. She answers the door. Oh! Mr. Kitaji, what a surprise to see you. Uhyeah.uh, I hope you havent eaten yet. I made something as a thank you for yesterday. Huh? Nonono. It was my fault you got hurt and lost your dinner. True but I could have been more careful as well and you gave me your lunch. Well, I was about to make my dinner so I guess we can eat this together if you dont mind. Sure. Please, come inside. She opens the door fully and he walks in. Once he takes his shoes off, she escorts him to the living room. Please have a seat. Thank you. He sets the pie on the table and sits down. Oh my. That looks so delicious. Yeah, it does. This is my first time trying this recipe. I hope its as good as it looks. Whats it called? Its an English dish called Shepards Pie. It doesnt look like a pie. Yeah, I was worried my friend sent me the wrong recipe at first but I looked it up online and yup thats the real name. I see. Well, was there anything you would like to drink? I have mostly different teas though. Ill just have water. Ok, Ill get the drinks and dishes. Do you need a hand? No, Ill be fine. Just sit. It takes a couple of trips but she comes back with a couple of plates, a couple of forks, a serving spoon and two glasses of water. Please, let me serve it for you. Shinichi says as he grabs the serving spoon and her plate. Th... thank you very much. Thank you for the food. She digs in. Oh my! This is great! Is there cheese in here as well? Yeah, I wanted to add a little bit of saltiness without using extra salt. Its definitely not traditional but, Ive been known to make changes to recipes to change the flavor profile a bit. Wow! Did you ever think of being a chef? Nah, theres a bunch of things I dont really care to eat. If I was a chef Id have to eat those and Id rather enjoy my food especially with good company. Was that a flirt? Did he really flirt with her? Aam I good company? Shes definitely blushing. Well, I hope so. I think things are going well but, I cant watch this much longer. As much as I want them to be together, I cant help but feel that I miss doing this with him. It should be me sitting with him having shepherds pie. I tried to put on a brave front to move things forward for him but, the last two days has hit me pretty hard. It was one thing to just find her and get her here but, now that theyre together the reality is setting in on me again. Why cant I be that good company? I walk through the sliding glass door to the balcony. What do I even have left to do anyway? I let out a deep sigh and then look up into the near cloudless yet starry night sky. I feel like a girl whos seen her ex-boyfriend with a new girlfriend. It hurts me just to see him flirting with her. Its not her fault. She was just chosen to take my place. OK, thats really harsh. Shes her own person, shes not me. I know Im supposed to be here to get the flow of events back on track but, this part of the journey feels more like torture. Why do I have to do this? He was my fianc. I continue looking out at the stars. Does anyone else have to go through this? I bet they dont have this problem on that newly discovered planet. You what, only one way to find out. Besides I can take my mind off of things here for a while. I close my eyes and think of the planet mentioned in the article. Chapter 18 – In A Dead World I really hope this worked. Ill feel really stupid if I just got my hopes up for nothing. I open my eyes and see a field of flowers in front of me. Oh, this is so beautiful! Behind me I hear a loud voice shouting, Litrfsfrvik greind! I turn around to see what appears to be a humanoid looking robot or someone in a full set of armor standing near something sort of resembling a motorcycle with no wheels, aiming what appears to be a gun of some sort at me. Im sorry, Mr. Robot, sir. I dont know what youre saying. Tunguml greint. Stilltu tunguml Terran undirmengi jap?nsku. Language now set to Terran variant language Japanese. Wow! I can understand you! Thats awesome that you know Japanese! Correct, I have recalled the Terran variant language you call Japanese. Wait, wait, wait. You can see and hear me? Correct, I detected a spectral anomaly not native to this planet. Once I observed you, I concluded you were of minimal threat. Query, why is there a spectral anomaly from Terra on this planet? Uh, um, oh you mean me. Right, mmy name is Michiru Kanazawa and I, uh, read this article about, uh, the scientists on Terra, as you call it, discovering this planet. I was having a bad day and decided to see how life was here. I hope Im not causing any trouble. Your ability to hinder my mission is inconsequential however, the planet here is still unsafe. I look out past the beautiful flowers and see a gray landscape with a massive tree in the distance devoid of leaves. Hmm, I guess it is. So, uh, Mr. Robot sir, do you have a name and where am I? I am not a robot; however, I know my appearance can be deceptive. My designation is: Environmental Repair Cyborg Vitan Mark 90. You have arrived at the planet the natives once called Midengard. It was laid desolate by a monster called Raganrog. Once the oceans and nine continents here were drained of life, the Raganrog left to seek another planet to claim. Wait, these names are sounding familiar and nine continents sounds like nine realms. Not to mention that huge tree as well. Were there any survivors? Affirmative. Records state that there was a group of approximately one hundred million natives of this planet fled in the final days. To try to keep their genetic information from extinction they set out to three different planets. One of those was your planet, Terra. They arrived approximately two thousand of your Terran years ago. Wow, no way! It has to be them. I mean it makes sense that people from a more advanced world would be considered gods. Indeed. The native Terrans in the northwestern part of the Eurasian continent incorrectly considered them deities. Some survivors remained in that area and mated with the local natives. The remaining left in search of a less populated planet. Thats probably how the legends there were started. Thats amazing! I have to wonder though, this place doesnt look that bad, in fact it looks gorgeous! This area is the result of my primary directive on this planet. Primary directive: return the environment back to its previous state prior to the devastation caused by the Raganrog. Secondary directive: investigate the disappearance of Environmental Repair Cyborg Vitan Mark 88. I see. These flowers you made are so beautiful. I did not make these. I used the energy of the Kirtov I defeated to reconstitute the dead plant and animal life in the immediate area. Oh, I seewait, WHAT!? You brought the plants and animals back to life?! I mean youre not God or a god obviously how is that possible? No wait, we just talked about this. Youre from a more advanced civilization than where I come from. Correct, your logical conclusion is sound. But I thought there was no life here. How did a, uh, Kirtov you called it, end up here? The Kirtov remained in stasis after traveling on some small meteorites. The meteorites bombarded the planet approximately 517 Terran years ago. Once the meteorites crashed on Midengard, the Kirtov remained in stasis waiting for signs of life so that they can consume and create more spawn. Once I arrived a nearby Kirtov awoke and attacked. They kind of sound like that Raganrog you mentioned. Incorrect, the Raganrog stands approximately three hundred and twenty-seven Terran meters tall and systematically consumes all manner of life on a planet. The Kirtov stand at over two of your Terran meters tall and drains the life force from animal type lifeforms. Kirtov are more similar to what you Terrans called vampires. Wow, vampires!? Correct, unlike your Terran vampires of fiction, Kirtov are very feral and attack once the first sign of animal life is nearby. Thats pretty scary but, you took care of the one here, right? Correct, there is no danger in the immediate vicinity. Thats great, not that Id be in much danger since Im a ghost and all, right? Correct, had you arrived 1.06 Terran minutes earlier you would have been inadvertently reconstituted as well. Whoa, WAIT, WHAT? You can do that?! It is still within my ability to repair your body allowing you to become whole once again. Oh my, um, Im at a loss for words. I have a wave of emotions flooding me. What should I do? I mean I can be alive again and see Shinichi. Warning, repairing your body will prevent you from returning to Terra. You would have to remain here and the area is still very unsafe. Additionally, I will have to alter the isolation barrier on planet Midengard to prevent further inadvertent intrusions. Do you still want to proceed? Theres always a catch. Hey, I know, couldnt you just take me back to EarthI mean Terra? I mean you must have a really cool spaceship, right? Confirmed, unfortunately I am unable to leave until my objectives are complete. Yeah, thats what I figured. Its not like you know me let alone owe me anything. So, I can stay as a ghost, return home and finish my mission there or take a chance here with my body returned unable to return to earth. Not to mention trying to survive against unknown dangers. Your conflict is correct. I cannot assure your safety assuming you decide to remain. Right, and I guess you wont be done here any time soon. Correct, time to complete mission is unknown. Current time on planet Midengard is six Terran days. Current completion percentage of primary directive is 3.27%. Secondary directive is currently at 0.00%. Additional directives have potential to be created in the process of completing the primary and secondary directives. Yeah, thats what I thought. I think it really is me having to come to terms with letting Shinichi go on with his life without me and if I were to come back to Earth alive is that really fair to Shinichi and to a lesser degree Yoko? I upended both of their lives to set them up for the future and coming back now would be pretty mean and undo everything Ive done so far. I have to think about them and not just myself. Quandary analysis. If returning to Terra alive would cause an error in your current progress the only option is to continue as you were before to complete your mission. The conclusion is sound. Well, I was mostly thinking out loud but, yeah, we pretty much came to the same conclusion. I cant run away from my problems. I need to fight them head on. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.Interjection, I still detect hesitation from you about your decision. Why shouldnt I be hesitant? I get killed, then brought back as a ghost and told to give my fianc, the love of my life, to another woman all for the sake of a future I will never get to experience. I still love him and I know he still loves me too. Why cant I have that life with him? Counter-point, while I do not profess to know your situation entirely, I would like to present you with a narrative from a position of strength. Death is something that has been familiar to me since even before becoming an environmental repair cyborg. As a Vitan I visited many planets ravaged by the Raganrog. Among them is while being able to reconstitute some native lifeforms there were some that were beyond saving. In a few cases those that were considered the closest to those that were reconstituted were unable to be. While I could sense their spectral form, they would not manifest and would instead continue to deteriorate until they would disappear. Additionally, those that were reconstituted would pay tribute to those that did not to help ease their pain and to help them start their journey without those that did not return. I would sometimes observe some natives return to a designated spot to continue to pay tribute to those that are gone. I would like to posit that the natives continuing to visit the designated spots was them being able provide a sense of mental relief and to thank them for being a part of their life. Yeah, thats pretty normal for us on Earth as well. I dont see how any of that really applies to me. I know that my parents and Shinichi miss me and visit my grave every year. They even have my picture with an offering plate always available to remind them of me. I know they miss me and would want me back and I want to be back with them. If I never saved that boy, I would have had a perfect life. The man I decided to spend my life with, to have children with and supported me in anything I wanted. I deserved to live my life with him and not give him to someone else. Whats wrong with that? I detect your regret at saving the young human but, I will continue. No, Im sorry, I cant let that go. I lived my life with no regrets. Why cant I have some regret for once, huh? This is my life after all. I understand your emotion. I believe the rest of my anecdote will be of use to you. Fine, if you say so. I will now continue. The majority of the spectral forms were resigned to their fate; they were just glad to see their closest individual be reconstituted and survive. Those that were not resigned to their fate would become distorted due to their harbored resentment or negative emotions. They would cause problems for those that are alive to the point of becoming what you on Terra call vengeful spirits. What happens to those vengeful spirits? Dont they just hang around and create trouble for the living? They will however, also continue exuding their negative energy and eventually dissipate infecting objects and areas. I had read about cursed objects and haunted buildings before and it all seemed believable but they were just stories. Im not vengeful though. Correction, I have detected the beginning stages of your spectral devolution. Spectral devolution? Me? I mean I am upset I cant live my life with Shinichi and seeing him with another woman hurts me but I dont think that is me devolving at all. Query, was it just this one time just prior to arriving here or were there other instances? I posit that there have been instances of regret and/or jealousy before arriving here. Well, yeah, but no more than any normal person. That is what it means to be human, to feel all the emotions we experience in our life and how we deal with them. Hows that any different than now? Understood, however the difference is that you are not a whole Terran anymore. You are a spectral form and will eventually dissipate. How you dissipate and leave your mark depends on the actions you do before the end. You can finish what you need to in order to accept your fate or you can let your attachment to the corporeal world distort you. Hes MY fianc. I should be the one to live our lives together! I know he will never forget me! I crumble to the ground and tears fall from my eyes. He comes up to me and his hand begins to glow. His hand reaches out and touches the top of my head. It doesnt feel like metal that is touching me. Understood, if this Terran was close enough to be your mate, experience dictates that if he were to find another, he would still remember everything the two of you accomplished together. Those memories will never fade. You may be gone physically but, the impact that you had on their life will not diminish. It will leave a mark on their soul. Is that just another of your anecdotes? His hand slides from the top of my head, down the side and below my chin. He brings my head up to look at him as he kneels down. The armor is gone and hes wearing some strange clothes almost like something out of some Futuristic American Sci-Fi show. He has shoulder length black hair, striking green eyes and a very slim, pale complexion. His hands come to rest on my shoulders. No, it is my own personal experience of losing the woman I loved. His monotone semi-robotic voice is gone. Even after becoming a cyborg all those years ago, the memories of Mishandra are still here deep within me. Sometimes while I am in stasis between planets I would reliI mean dream of those happy days we spent together. While Im not the same as I was before becoming a Vitan my love for her never went away. But, did you ever find any one after her? Of course, I did. I met Shatara a few years later. We fell in love and had three kids. While I did love her, she was never Mishandra and I never expected her to be Mishandra. My life with the both of them is very precious to me. They both shaped who I am. Dodo you think Shinichi will be the same way? If he feels anywhere close to the way I felt for Mishandra, I dont see why he wouldnt feel the same way. Especially, considering what I know about people from Earth. You need to let him live his life. Yeah, youre right. I have to let him go on with his life. I have to believe that hell never forget me. No, I KNOW hell never forget me. Good, Im glad you are feeling better. Here let me help you up. He offers his hand. I grab it and get up. Wait a minute! How is he doing all this? Just as I start to think about that, he becomes fully armored again. Danger! Enemy detected three hundred Terran Kilometers away. Recommend you return to Terra without delay. I will take down the barrier so that you may return. Are you sure? Youll be ok, right? Affirmative, you should return to continue your mission. Right, what can I do here after all? Ok, Im ready to go. Understood, the barrier has been adjusted. I wish you success on your mission and you do not forget what we discussed here. Right. Thank you for everything and I hope everything goes well with your missions as well. I close my eyes, put my hands together and think of Shinichis apartment. Coin 7 – A Bid Farewell I open my eyes and I am in Shinichis Apartment. Whew, made it back ok. Shinichi is standing in a yukata fastening his obi. Isnt it a little early in the year for festivals? Hell be really cold in that. I take a peek outside and see the trees and plants already in full bloom. The dominant sound of cicadas permeates outside. People are walking around in summer clothes. What the? I leave for a short trip to another world and I lose six months. I mean it has to be about six months. It was almost spring and now its probably Obon. At the minimum it should be summer festival time. Wait a minute. If its been six or however many months since I was here last, what happened to their relationship? I guess its going ok but, I dont see Yoko around though. Maybe shed be too embarrassed to see him changing clothes. Well, shes probably not like me though. Id probably be right next to him helping him put the Yukata on. I shake my head. Snap out of it, Michiru. I cant go down this path just like Vitan said. Or does he go by ninety or Environmental Repair Cyborg? Whatever he goes by, the point is I could become a vengeful spirit and thats not good for anyone at all. For now, I should just follow him and see whats going on. Yeah, thats the best idea right now. Just as I finish my thoughts, I see him bend over to grab his things from the table and put them in his sleeve. Once he is situated, he heads out the door and I follow him. We head to the train station and I wait for him to get off at his destination. A couple of stops down he gets out. Thats odd I dont remember the festival being in this area. What I do remember being in this area is my familys grave site. Why is he heading this way? As we exit the train station sure enough, we are heading to the gravesite. Well, I guess Ill go see why hes going there. Just before he gets to the gravesite, he stops off at a vending machine that sells pastries as offerings. He buys two things, a chocolate croissant and a red bean bun. After collecting the bread items, he goes to the drink vending machine and gets a bottle of milk tea. Once he has those things, we go over to our family marker. I have a feeling that he wont be saying anything out loud so I should access his thoughts. Man, havent done this in a while. He bends down and puts the chocolate croissant in front of the marker. I put my hands on his back and start to hear his voice. you go. I havent seen any signs of you giving me messages for a while so I figured I should come here to talk to you. Well, I was away for a few months apparently, sorry. I guess youre probably wondering why Im here. Yeah, pretty much. He opens up the red bean bun, takes a bite and then opens up the tea and takes a sip. It took me a while to come to terms with my emotions but, I think Im ready to go forward with my life. I knew this was gonna come eventually. This doesnt mean I will forget you or I dont love you. I mean who could forget let alone compete with your larger-than-life personality. Larger-than-life? Me? Youre making me blush. I know you had to have sent Yoko my way. Shes a wonderful woman. I havent felt so relaxed around anyone since I was with you. Well, I was worried she wasnt going to be up to the task of keeping up with you really. I know how you can be. He again takes another bite of his bun followed by a sip of tea. After you died, I couldnt really envision a future without you. Now, I feel that the future is really endless right now. Idont know what to say. I guess I did a good job. No, wait, I did a GREAT job. He finishes up the last bite of his bun, follows up that with another swig of tea and then sets the bottle down next to the chocolate croissant. So, I have decided. He reaches into his sleeve and gets something. Its a small box. I going to ask her to marry me. I am not asking her to take the place of you or to be you. No one can be you. I am asking her to join me on this journey to the endless future. Um, I need to compose myself a bit. My emotions are conflicted. I take a deep breath. I gotta be careful not to let my emotions run away from me but, how can I not be emotional? Its a huge step and hes leaving me behind. I keep telling myself that Im not leaving you behind. Youll always be with me no matter what. Thats probably what I wanted to hear. Its just like the story Vitans told me. No matter what happens to him Ill always be in his heart and memories. I dont know what Im really saying here, other than letting you know Im doing my best to continue living without you. You how bad I am with these things. Yeah, thats true. I mean you always let me know you loved me but your other emotions were guarded. I hope you will be able to let her know how you feel about anything. Well, I shouldnt keep Yoko waiting. Yeah, dont keep her waiting for her big day. I love you, Michiru. Tears run down my face. I love you too, Shinichi. Go and be happy together. He reaches out and touches the marker and then leaves. I think everything is going to be ok. Theres not much left to do except figure out what to do with this last coin. Either way I think its time to go. I reach down and grab the chocolate croissant and milk tea. As I start eating, I try to figure out what I should do next. If its time to go I should probably say goodbye to at least Hiroko and Peter. Right, Ill go visit Hiroko first. I go over to the trash can and then finish off the food and drink. The bottle and wrapper drop to the ground and I scramble to pick them back up. Once I drop them in to the respective bins, I close my eyes and then think of Hiroko. I open my eyes and I see her sitting on the floor with Hiroki reading one of the books I gave her. Oh, Im sorry to interrupt you. That is fine. We were just about to pause so that he can have a drink. Hello, nice lady. Why hello there Hiroki. I hope you have been enjoying these books I gave your mom? Yes, I have. Thank you very much. He stands up and gives me a bow. Youre welcome very much. Im glad youre enjoying them. Hideki, go ahead and get yourself some barley tea and a couple of cookies. Okay, thank you, mother. He turns and heads downstairs to get himself a drink. So, what do I owe this visit? You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.I wanted to say bye. Its time for me to go. Oh my, Im sorry to hear that. I hope everything went well. Yeah, it did. Theres really not much else for me to do. Hes got a new job and has his life back on track. That is good to hear. I am also glad that you have finally come to terms with your situation. Well, it was pretty rough until recently but, I went to this other planet and met someone there who helped me find my way and come to terms with my fate. That is very good. They must have been very wise. Well, it seemed he had a number of years of living so it seemed that way to me. He did warn me of having my emotions control me of Id run the risk of becoming a vengeful spirit. That does not sound very good at all. Yeah, I dont know if it would happen but he made it sound scary enough I didnt wanna risk it. Yes, that does seem prudent. I should be careful as well. Thank you for that knowledge. No worries, glad to help. In comes Hideki with a tray with three small glasses, and a plate with a few cookies on them. Mother, I brought you and our guest some refreshments as well. Hes such a polite boy. Yes, he is. Hideki and I were blessed with such a great boy. He goes to put two glasses and a few cookies in front of the picture of Hiroko. Thank you very much for the refreshments but, thatll only work for your mom. Oh, I am sorry nice lady. I did not know that. Dont worry, Its ok. I need to go anyways. Oh my, If you must. Yeah, I just wanted to see how you were doing and say bye. I turn to Hiroki, who is having a sip of barley tea, and tell him. Youre a good boy, keep listening to your mom. Shes a very wise woman. Oh, and keep reading those books. You never know what might inspire you in the future. Thank you, nice lady. I stand up and turn to Hiroko. Hiroko, thank you for all you did for me. Oh my, I did not do very much really. You helped me find my way before and thats more than enough. I should be saying that to you. You did so much for me as well. And these books have been a huge help to me. Youre welcome. Good luck on your mission. Thank you very much. We will miss you. Thanks. Good bye, Hiroko and Hiroki. Good bye, nice lady. Good bye, Miss Michiru. We wave to each other as I close my eyes and think of Yokos apartment. Once I open my eyes, I notice Peter eating some grass. He suddenly stops and comes running over to me. I cant believe it! Youre still here! Hi, Peter. Yeah, Im still here for now. Youve been gone for so long I thought you went back to your forever hole. Oh, youre just as cute as always. Im sorry I was gone for so long. What happened? Why were you gone for so long? Well, after I made that accident, I decided to visit somewhere very far away. Wow, was it Maine? What? How do know about that place? I saw it on that TV thing my master was watching. There were so many delicious plants on there. Oh, youre so funny. Always thinking with your belly. Well, I am a rabbit after all. Yeah, yeah you are. A very cute one too. Thanks. So, youre back for now, right? Actually, thats why Im here. I am done with my mission so I will be going back to see God. Oh, I see. I knew that time would come eventually and I was scared I wasnt going to be able to see you one last time. I bend down and start petting him. I know how you feel. I didnt get to say good-bye to Shinichi and my family but, Im here now. Yeah, you are. Thanks for that. Of course, Id see you before I left. Youre one of the very few Ive been able to talk to since I came back and I have always enjoyed our talks together. I did too. I mean you were the only one who could hear me. You know it was like I was some magical girl with a talking rabbit companion. I dont really understand what that is but it sounds pretty cool. It was just something from the TV I saw when I was a little girl. Sounds crazy that theres something on that TV thing that has talking rabbits. Yeah, theres all sorts of things on there but youre under the whims of what ever Yoko decides to watch. Its not a big thing for me. Im just happy being with my master getting delicious food. Thats a good thing though. How has Shinichi been to you? Oh, him? Hes been good to me. He gives me snacks and pets me. He doesnt pick me up so thats a great thing. Yeah, that sounds like him. Im glad you two are getting along well. He is a good human. He is very kind to my master too. He really is. Now you know why the next step Im going to take will by hardest. Oh? What are you going to do? Silly, I told you I have to go back to see God. Oh yeah, Well Ill be there not long from now. What? You? Youre still young, arent you? Nah, Ive been here for over ten of your humans years. We dont live much longer than that. Oh, I didnt know. Well, its good that Shinichi is here. Whys that so? Well, Im pretty sure will be very sad when you die. But everyone goes to their forever hole eventually. Sure, everyone knows that but, that doesnt she wont miss you being with her. I guess youre right. But itll be ok. Shinichi will be right by her to comfort her pain. I guess thats a good thing. You bet your fluffy little tail it is. Do you mind if I just sit and pet you for a while? Sure, thats fine. Thanks, I have a few things I need to think about. I sit down and start petting him. Through the balcony door I see the fireworks go off in the distance. Although its not really loud since it seems to be pretty far away, I check Peter and he doesnt seem to notice the fireworks and is just eating some grass. I continue petting Peter until the fireworks come to a conclusion. They will be home soon, Peter, its time for me to go. Oh, it was very nice to be able to talk with you. Yes, it was for me as well. I wont say good-bye because, we will see each other soon. I reach down, pick him up and give him a hug. Yeah, well see each other soon. Sorry I picked you up. Its ok, I understand. I put him back down and then go through the wall into Shinichis apartment. Once I get there, I head over to his table in the living room, get my last coin out. I make my wish and then the coin falls to the table. A piece of paper appears on the table with the words, Be Happy on it as my vision goes black. Epilogue – Hope is… Its been four years since our marriage and we are awaiting out first child who should be joining us any day now. The doctors told us its a boy so we decided on the name Kotaro for him. I quickly rose to one of the best researchers at Kanzaki Bio-Tech. Its been a great 4 years with Youko and she has been there for me every step of the way. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.Shed also been keeping her IT skills going at her job until she found out she was pregnant. I dont know who was happier to find out. However, something interesting happened. While we expected Kotaro, from the 1st doctor visit when it came closer to the final month there appeared a second child in the womb. It was a girl. We are going to have twins! The two of us were astounded and could only think of one name for herMichiru.