Chapter 9:

The Truth

A Ripple in a Starry Sky

The room was quiet as Nitsuki stared at her food. Her appetite had vanished, and her stomach felt heavy, but she forced herself to take a few more bites. She couldn't afford to pass out again.

"…Where did your stuff go?" Tachibana asked again. He was leaning forward slightly, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands clasped together in front of him. "I sort of noticed earlier today, but I assumed it was just my imagination. Now though? It looks like your whole life's missing. Did something happen?"

Nitsuki swallowed, her mouth dry. So, he had noticed. There was no way she could let him know the real reason though.

Perhaps she could try a half-joke answer. She was good at those, and it might be enough to satisfy Tachibana.

Nodding to herself, Nitsuki plastered on her usual 'everything is okay' look.

"Haha, about that… well, uh. I didn't want you to find out this way Tachibana, but…" She thinly smiled and shrugged, "I'm getting into minimalism. Surprise!"

"Minimalism… right," he drawled, his voice flat.

"I mean it. I thought I'd try a new lifestyle. Becoming a monk just seemed too intense, so I figured minimalism was the best way to go. What do you think? Worked out pretty well, right?"

He sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. He did not look amused—at all.

"Nia, I'm not trying to pry. I'm just… concerned. Your entire house looks like it was cleaned out. You had some sort of episode earlier from not eating, and now I find out that you actually fainted."

"Ah, well, that's just me being me. Haha, so silly~!" She stuck out her tongue and gave him a wink.

"I'm serious. Please. There isn't even anything in the pantry for crying out loud. I know you said you had a power outage earlier, but that shouldn't have affected any of your dry goods, let alone anything else. What happened to the stuff that you need to actually live?"

Nitsuki winced at the accusation in his tone. "It's nothing that serious. Honest—"

He suddenly moved forward, placing his hands flat on her bed.

"Nia, please don't lie to me. Ever since Maya's funeral, something's just felt… off." He looked away briefly before meeting her eyes once more. "I… want to help. Please trust me."

"…" Nitsuki's fists tightened around the blanket covering her until her knuckles turned white. She still didn't want to tell him that she had tried offing herself. He'd definitely freak. And if he did…

Her throat constricted at the thought. She didn't know how bad it would get. How hurt would he be?

She closed her eyes and focused on a future where she told him the truth. She had to know. The last thing she needed was to risk losing him. Not when he was the only one she had left. Perhaps she could try find a way to break it to him without—

She suddenly felt her hands being covered by his. Her eyes snapped open to see that he had leaned in even closer.

"Nia," he murmured softly. "I'm here for you. No matter what."

Her heart skipped a beat. "W-well," she stammered as her brain tried processing things.

"What is it?"

She sighed. "…Tachibana, look. I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. Sure, I might've done some weird things, but it's really nothing to be… concerned… about."

His eyes were beginning to water. "Oh, Nia…"

The pure heartbreak on his face was just… soul shattering. She still really didn't want to tell him, but at the same time, she knew she had to come clean.

"Sorry, Tachibana. You got me. I just…" The words died in her mouth as she tried to speak. Her throat tightened to the point where it was hard to swallow.

"What's going on?" he asked softly. "Please, I can't help if I don't know."

Nitsuki shifted anxiously and forced a very uncomfortable smile.

"…I might've been preparing to take a shortcut to the afterlife."

The blood drained from Tachibana's face.

"…What?"

She instinctively backpedaled. "Well, uh, don't worry. Things didn't exactly pan out. I got refunded my express ticket and—"

"Nia." His voice cracked, completely oblivious to her humor. "Are you… are you saying that you tried to kill yourself?"

"I don't know if I'd say it out loud so bluntly. But uh… sort of?"

"…" Tachibana stared at her as the tension lingered in the air. He was shaking, and his hands quivered as if he was processing something.

"Tachibana? Erm, are you okay? Like I said, I'm—"

She felt the wind expelled from her body as he suddenly embraced her, burying her head into his chest.

"ACK! T-Tachibana?! What are you—"

"How could I have been so blind?!" he wailed. "You were hurting so much, and I didn't notice!"

Nitsuki stiffened as he held her tighter. She could feel the top of her head getting wet, and she awkwardly patted his back, not sure what to do as his warmth seeped through her. Some primal parts of her brain were screaming, demanding that she should be enjoying this, but her heart knew that it was the wrong time.

"T-Tachibana, I appreciate your concern, but please calm down. I'm sort of used to hurting. So there's no need to get worked up—"

He pulled away, his cheeks dampened. "There's no need for me to get worked up? Really?! You almost died!"

"Yeah, but, uh, I didn't. And it's not like anyone would have cared anyway," she said, attempting a nonchalant shrug to try and deescalate the situation.

The look on his face immediately told her that her words were a mistake. His mouth gaped open, and his brow furrowed deeply.

"Nia!? How could you even think that? Of course I would care!"

She tensed up. "Ah! Well uh, obviously you would, but I meant other people. Like the rest of Hoshimura. They'd probably have thrown a party and—Ow!"

Tachibana's expression darkened as he reached up and flicked her forehead. "Don't say that," he growled. "Everyone in town would've cared, even Inoue."

She bit her lip. Yeah, no. It was pretty clear from her first vision that Tachibana was the only one that would have given a shit. Well, maybe she'd revise her stance to include old man Koji too considering how he had stood up for her earlier at work.

But as for the rest of Hoshimura? She'd definitely have to have a talk with him about his very misplaced optimism.

"Nia, please. Acknowledge that. I need you to."

She exhaled. Now wasn't the time to try arguing with him. So, for the moment, she'd at least agree that he would've missed her.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I was being stupid. But see? I'm still here. No harm done."

"No harm?!" His eyes widened in disbelief. "Nia, if I hadn't invited you, then would you have—"

"C'mon. Let's not get too dramatic," she reasoned, trying to sound as lighthearted as possible. She really didn't like where the conversation was going.

"Nia. You gave away your scooter, and from what I can tell, just about everything else you own too. This wasn't just a spur of the moment thing. This was… planned." His lips curled downward as his brows furrowed deeply.

Nitsuki chuckled nervously. "Erm. Well, I guess that is true, but it's fine now! I'm not gonna try it again. I'm totally over it—all better~"

Tachibana's gaze fixed on hers. He studied her for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "You're a terrible liar, Nia."

She scoffed. "Hey now, you can't just go saying that. I mean, I've already fooled you more times than I can… count…"

"…"

Ah. Crap.

"Shit, sorry, that just slipped out! I swear I didn't mean it!"

"…" Tachibana's mouth pressed into a thin line, his expression deadpan.

"Come on. You can't be mad at me. It was just a joke! A really bad one, but still a joke!" she said, her voice shaking. She tried her best not to panic. "See? How can you be mad at this face?"

Nitsuki forced herself to smile. She probably looked pathetic with the way her lips were trembling, but she was getting desperate here.

Tachibana stared at her for several more moments. He was uncharacteristically quiet. Then, without warning, he stood up and began walking toward the door.

Panic.

"W-wait, where are you going?!" she asked, ignoring the sudden dizziness as she scrambled to sit upright. No! No, no, no, no! This wasn't what was supposed to happen!

Was he leaving her? Had she screwed up?

He stopped and glanced over his shoulder. His face was somber, but he didn't look angry.

"I'm just going to make a call," he simply stated.

"…Call?" she echoed dumbly. "To… who?"

"Gramps."

Her stomach dropped. "No! Don't tell him. You do not need to worry him about this stuff."

"Don't worry, I won't." Tachibana reassured her. "I know it took you a lot of courage to even tell me. It's not my place to tell other people."

Her body slumped, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

However.

"Wait. If not that, then why are you calling—?"

He preemptively answered her question. "I gotta give him a heads up. I'll need him to prep some stuff for me."

"W-what? What are you talking about?"