Natsuo swallowed the last of the rice and looked up at the sky.
This world didn't have immortals or gods. He had no idea which deity's power her divine arts were drawing on. It couldn't be those dragons, he'd met Nidhogg himself, and it wasn't nearly as strong as her. Or maybe it was those strange spirits? But they weren't that powerful either.
"What happened next?"
Eru tugged a little harder on his sleeve as he paused. "What happened after that, brother? I'm curious."
"I don't know the rest either." Natsuo ruffled her hair.
"Ah? That's a shame. I thought the big brother was about to start a new adventure." Eru's eyes dropped in disappointment.
"Maybe." Natsuo patted her on the shoulder. "Alright, it's time for you to head home. Don't want your family getting worried."
"Ah, that reminds me!" Eru suddenly seemed to remember something. Her head shot up and she looked at him earnestly. "Father has invited brother to join us for dinner."
"Not going. He probably just wants to convince me to reopen the shrine." He helped her stand up. "Come on, Eru, head home. Next time you come over, don't wait outside. I've got a fan inside, go in and cool off."
"Are you really not coming, brother?" Eru picked up her cloth bag, still not quite willing to give up.
Natsuo just shook his head.
"Then good night, brother. See you tomorrow." Eru bowed and turned to leave.
Her steps were small, so it took her a while to reach the gate. She turned back, about to say "see you tomorrow" one more time.
"Eru." Natsuo stood on the porch and spoke first.
Eru's eyes lit up.
"The stories I tell you… keep them safe for me," Natsuo said, his words a bit strange.
Eru's anticipation turned to confusion. "But elder brother has such a good memory. Why do you need me to remember them?"
Natsuo thought for a moment, then affirmed, "Because I trust your memory more than my own."
"Alright. See you tomorrow."
Eru nodded seriously. "Eru will remember them well. See you tomorrow, elder brother."
After the girl left the gate, Natsuo twitched his fingers. A bird darted out from the ginkgo tree in the yard, flew up to the wall, and trailed after her, step for step.
He looked up at the sun, just a sliver of it left beyond the distant hills, and quietly waited for it to disappear.
He had started telling Eru those tired, clichéd stories of a boy seeking revenge just to satisfy her boundless curiosity. But later, he thought it might not be so bad to have someone remember.
To have at least one person know that somewhere, in some place, there really had been a person like that. A person who had walked a long road, and after all his business was settled, finally got to try that V50 meal deal his classmates used to talk about.
Honestly… it wasn't as good as he had imagined as a kid.
"Hey there, this is the Yamanashi place, right? You're Yamanashi Natsuo?"
Natsuo shifted his gaze toward the gate.
A girl stood with her back to the last light of sunset, long hair trailing down to her waist. Her legs were long and well-formed, her figure graceful, and a wide, carefree grin spread across her face.
A high schooler, Soubu High uniform.
"No," Natsuo answered naturally, choosing denial.
"Hehe, don't try to fool me. I asked a bunch of people on my way here." She strolled into the yard with a laugh.
Natsuo's gaze moved past her, settling on the one standing beside her instead.
Similar long hair, similar face. Business suit. Vacant expression. A hole punched straight through her chest.
Oh. Hiratsuka Yū. The old shrine maiden's former student from her teaching days. She used to drop by during holidays for a drink. Had even sent flowers for the funeral a while back.
"I'm Hiratsuka Shizuka. Mom told me that after Grandma passed, you turned down foster care." The girl had already made her way up to him, patting her chest with an air of great chivalry. "So, what do you say? Come live with me. Stick with me, and whatever I eat, you eat."
Natsuo stopped paying attention to the ghost, whose consciousness was gradually returning, and pulled out his phone to dial a number. "Hello, officer? Someone has trespassed onto my property and is attempting to molest an elementary schooler. The address is 221b Miyagawa Street, Kamiyama Ward."
Shizuka didn't try to stop him. She just rolled her eyes. "Don't make things up. I wasn't molesting you. At worst, I trespassed."
Natsuo looked at her quietly.
She met his gaze, then glanced down at his still-lit screen. Her mouth fell open. "You… you actually called the cops?"
She took a step forward to get a better look.
Natsuo stepped back. "Officer, now they're trying to use force."
Shizuka's eyes went wide. "You really called them!"
She instinctively lunged for the phone.
Natsuo turned and bolted.
…
Natsuo watched as the girl stared at him from the patrol car window, quietly seeing her off.
She wasn't being taken to the station, of course just escorted home.
He turned to look at the woman still standing beside him and raised an eyebrow. "Well, well. If it isn't the drunkard Hiratsuka Yū. Haven't seen you in a while. How'd you end up dead?"
Yū watched her daughter being driven off and reached out to ruffle his hair. "On my way home a while back, I came across a fire. Ran in to help someone, got pinned by a collapsing wall. A piece of rebar went straight through."
Natsuo dodged her hand and turned back toward the house. "Good news for you: running into me means you not only get your mind back, you also get to reincarnate. A blessing most wandering souls never see."
Yū didn't mind being dodged and followed him in. "And the bad news?"
Natsuo shot her a glance. "Until you reincarnate, you're stuck with me."
"If I leave your side, I lose consciousness again. I felt that earlier." She let out a thoughtful sigh as she looked at him. "So, little Natsuo, have you taken on Grandma's role? Become the 'Heavenly Officer' that passes down through the Miyagawa Shrine?"
Natsuo stepped into the house. "Not doing it. Too much trouble."
Yū followed him inside, a smile forming. "But if you weren't the Heavenly Officer, how could you see me, restore my mind, and offer to send me to reincarnate?"
Natsuo looked around the living room, thinking about where to put a TV if he bought one. Hearing her question, he turned back. "I can see you because I'm strong enough. As for the reincarnation thing, you got lucky. Your daughter happened to come looking for me, and you, still mindless, happened to follow her here."
He pointed toward a jar on the tea table. "You were her student. I owe her a lot, so I'm willing to send you on your way. That's all there is to it."
Yū stretched lazily after listening. "Alright then, little Natsuo. What do I need to do now?"
Natsuo picked up the urn. "You've got unfinished business, which is why you're still lingering around. Anything you really want to do? We'll take care of it tomorrow so you can move on."
Hiratsuka Yū scratched her head, looking a bit embarrassed. "I'm not sure. Does craving ramen from that little shop in Inage count?"
"Heh." Natsuo walked past her with the urn, heading into the back of the house. "Here's another piece of bad news: souls get worn down by the world over time. If you don't reincarnate, the only outcome is disappearing completely."
"Yikes…" Yū followed him with a fearful expression.
"I'll try to think of something."
…
Ten minutes into class, Yukinoshita Yukino glanced his way for the thirty-fifth time.
A woman with a hole in her chest was sitting on his desk, reading a book. He was sitting there too, reading one of his own.
The problem was that none of the other students or even the teacher seemed to notice her. Which was strange, considering how tall she was. She was practically impossible to miss, perched on his desk like that.
Yukino realized she couldn't focus on the lesson at all, so she looked over at him again.
Their eyes met.
The boy made a strange expression and scooted away from her slightly.
It was the same look he'd given her yesterday when he'd put his hands up in that "keep your distance" gesture.
Yukino's hand trembled slightly as she resisted the urge to launch her textbook at his head.
She widened her eyes and glared at him instead.