"What can we do... to move on to the next life?"
Sayoko's voice was low.
Takuto stood a step behind her.
"Well..."
His foot slipped straight through the floor mid sentence.
He flailed once before hauling himself back up with a faint pop, one arm momentarily lodged halfway into the wall.
Sayoko blinked.
...Did he really just fall through the floor and pretend it didn't happen?
The corners of her mouth twitched.
She immediately covered her mouth.
Takuto straightened and cleared his throat.
"We need to make peace with our regrets. Only then can we move on."
Sayoko's brows knit together.
"That's easy for you to say... but I can't remember anything. Just fragments. Myself... my parents... and a handful of other people. Everything else is a blur."
Takuto folded his arms.
"Then that's where we start. You need to remember the people who were part of your life. Once those memories come back, the regrets tied to them should come back too."
Sayoko turned to him, her eyes narrowing.
"What about you? Do you remember anything?"
A faint sigh escaped his lips.
"Not much. But our connections to other people matter. One of them might even lead us to the person we're looking for."
His gaze sharpened.
"Think carefully. Did anyone ever threaten to kill you? Or hold a grudge against you?"
"Not that I remember. My parents... they'd never hurt me. That's out of the question."
"Wait...!"
Her head lifted.
Takuto leaned in.
"What is it?"
"I remember now."
Her voice dropped.
"Back in my second year... I reported someone."
"A classmate's father."
Her fists trembled.
"I caught him in the music room after school... with one of my classmates."
She swallowed hard.
"He was..."
Her voice shook.
"...forcing himself on her."
"I recorded everything... and showed it to the principal. He was fired, arrested... and sentenced to six years in prison."
Her eyes lowered.
"But his son... he swore he'd kill me."
A shaky breath left her lips.
"And... I think maybe he meant it."
Takuto's lips curled into a smirk.
"So we finally have our first real lead."
He struck a dramatic pose, one hand on his hip and the other pointing forward.
Then his torso sank straight through the floor.
His eyes widened.
With a grunt, he pushed himself back up.
"I... meant to do that."
"Hmph."
Sayoko pressed a hand over her face.
Takuto frowned.
"You know I can still see you, right? Your hand's transparent."
"...Right. Sorry."
She lowered it, but her shoulders continued to shake.
"Do you know where he is now?"
Sayoko closed her eyes, concentrating.
"If I remember right... his mother owned a bookstore."
She opened her eyes.
"Maybe he took over."
"Or at least he's helping her run it."
Takuto nodded.
"Then that's where we'll start."
The two of them turned away from the school grounds.
Meanwhile, inside a classroom, a boy sat slouched at his desk, his chin resting in his palm.
Black bangs hung over his eyes as a yawn escaped him.
Why did I even come today?
His gaze drifted toward the chalkboard where the teacher continued her lesson.
This class is so boring... I'm gonna fall asleep any minute now.
With another sigh, he looked out the window.
Something caught his eye.
Two figures were walking across the school grounds.
"Huh?"
His eyebrows lifted.
"Who's skipping class now?"
A faint grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Not that I'd blame them."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Wait..."
His heartbeat quickened.
Long black hair.
His eyes widened.
"Could it be...?"
His breath caught.
"...Sayoko?"
The name slipped from his lips before he could stop it.
His chair scraped loudly across the floor as he shot to his feet.
"Takeda, where are you going?" the teacher asked.
"Bathroom!" he shouted without looking back, already sprinting toward the door.
"Eh?!"
The classroom erupted.
Chairs screeched as several boys leaned forward with amused grins.
"Takeda's about to destroy the restroom!"
"Nah, Kōki's just ditching class again!"
"Gross! Couldn't he have said it normally?!" one of the girls cried, covering part of her face with her notebook.
The teacher slammed a hand onto her desk.
"I did not give you permission to leave! Get back here this instant!"
But Kōki was already gone.
His footsteps echoed down the hallway.
At the back of the classroom, a pale girl sat hunched over her desk.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Her thumb repeatedly pressed the top of her pen.
Her eyelids grew heavier.
"No... no... not again..."
Her hand trembled violently.
Without warning, she drove the tip of the pen into her arm.
The point pierced her skin with a dull stab.
A thin line of blood surfaced.
She gasped and clutched the sleeve over the wound.
Her whole body shook.
No... I don't want to see it again.
For just a moment, her eyes drifted toward the empty desk Kōki had left behind.
Then she quickly lowered her gaze, gripping her arm even tighter.
Kōki's shoes slapped against the hallway floor as he ran, his breathing growing uneven.
It can't be...
Sayoko... she died five years ago.
I remember it clearly.
I was only eleven.
She used to come over to our house... always hanging out with my sister.
His jaw tightened.
He ran even faster.
She's dead.
There's no way I could've mistaken her.
He burst through the school entrance and skidded to a stop.
His eyes darted across the school grounds.
Then they locked onto the two figures ahead.
His breathing stopped.
The color drained from his face.
"No way..."
His voice barely came out.
"...Did they just walk through the wall?"
He rubbed his eyes once before looking again.
"They're really ghosts..."
A chill ran down his back.
"I'm either dreaming..."
He swallowed.
"...or I've completely lost it."
Takuto taught me how to float and control my body so I wouldn't keep sinking into the ground. It took a few tries... mostly me getting stuck halfway through the floor... but eventually I got the hang of it.
It's funny, really.
When I first died, I wasn't floating or falling.
I was just standing there... feeling completely normal.
It wasn't until later that I realized I was dead, Sayoko thought.
Inside the bookstore, her eyes wandered across the shelves lined with books.
It's so different from how I remember it.
She slowly looked around.
"This is the place."
Takuto gave a single nod.
Together, they stepped forward.
Their ghostly bodies passed straight through the front desk.
On the other side, a man sat typing at a computer.
"There..."
Sayoko quietly pointed toward him.
"That's him."
"That's Arata."
Takuto quietly observed the man.
Arata leaned back in his chair with a tired sigh and stretched his arms overhead.
His desk was neatly organized, but Sayoko's eyes stopped on a small picture frame resting beside his keyboard.
Her chest tightened.
"...That photo."
Takuto glanced at her.
"...That's me."
Her lips parted slightly.
"That was taken when we were in junior high."
A shaky breath escaped her.
"After his father was arrested... we fought."
She lowered her eyes.
"He cut all ties with me."
A faint ache spread across her chest.
"I thought he hated me."
"Maybe... maybe that's the regret that's kept me here all this time."
Arata reached for the frame.
His movements slowed as he lifted it from the desk.
His thumb brushed gently across the glass, lingering over Sayoko's smiling face.
"...Why did you have to go, Sayoko?"
His shoulders trembled.
"You have no idea how empty it's been."
He lowered his head.
"Day after day...I still can't believe you're gone."
His mouth trembled.
I never got the chance...
...to tell you how I felt.
Tears welled in his eyes.
After a long moment, he carefully placed the picture frame back on the desk.
Sayoko stood frozen.
Her lips quivered.
Her vision blurred.
"...Let's go, Takuto."
She kept her head lowered as she slowly floated away.
Takuto watched her.
"Are you sure?"
She gave a firm nod.
"He doesn't hate me."
"That's much is obvious now."
She paused.
"But I'm still here."
"So... something else must be keeping me from moving on."
Without another word, the two of them turned and drifted back through the office wall.
I think they went in here...
Kōki looked up.
"A bookstore..."
He scanned the front of the building.
"Huh..."
Before he could take another step.
Two figures drifted straight through the wall beside him.
His entire body locked up.
Then he lurched backward.
His breath caught in his throat.
"N No way..."
His eyes widened.
"T That's... that's impossible!"
"You've gotta be kidding me!"
He pointed at them with a trembling hand.
"Ghosts?!"
His shout echoed down the quiet street.
Sayoko's eyes widened.
"...Kōki?"
He stumbled back again, panic flooding his face.
Without thinking, Sayoko stepped toward him.
She reached out.
Just then, a single leaf drifted down between them, turning slowly in the breeze.
Her fingertips brushed against it.
The leaf didn't bend.
It simply passed through her hand before settling onto the pavement.
"Stay away from me!"
Kōki turned and bolted down the street.
His footsteps faded into the distance.
Silence followed.
"...He saw us."
Sayoko stared after him.
Takuto kept his eyes on Kōki's retreating figure.
"It looks like..."
He paused.
"...he really can."
A beat passed.
Takuto slowly turned toward Sayoko.
"...Wait."
His eyes widened.
"He can actually see us?"