The Journey Home

As I ride my bike on the way to Tokyo, Yuna floats beside me as I pedal.

Yuna: “Do you think ghosts can still get hungry?”

With her hands behind her back, Yuna skipped beside me and asked suddenly, which led me to blink.

Haruto: “Probably… Or else why were you eating the steam buns in the storeroom just now?”

She puffed her cheeks.

Yuna: “I mean, if I’m going to haunt someone, I at least deserve a snack!”

Haruto: “Well… That doesn’t mean that you can just take buns from someone else’s (a temple’s) storage room!”

Yuna pouts slightly.

Yuna: “You know what, ghosts can still get hungry. Give me a steam bun, now.”

I sighed softly.

Haruto: “Alright, alright…”

Yuna clings to the back of the bike, munching on another bun.

Yuna: “You’re… really different from the other exorcists, you know. They all treated me like some monster. But you… You listened.”

I kept my eye on the road, wind pushing my hair back.

Haruto: “…It’s not like I was born special. I was just… scared.”

Yuna blinks.

Yuna: “Scared?”

Haruto: “Yeah. When I was a kid, a ghost wouldn’t leave me alone. I thought it wanted to hurt me. For weeks, I couldn’t sleep. I cried a lot back then.”

Yuna tilts her head, surprised, which led me to smile softly.

Haruto: “But one day, I worked up the courage to ask what it wanted. And you know what it said? It just wanted someone to play with. When I finally played tag with it, the look on its face before it disappeared, I never forgot that.”

Yuna goes quiet.

Yuna: “That’s… kind of sweet.”

Yuna muttered, causing me to laugh lightly.

Haruto: “Sweet, huh? Others called me weird. But to me… that’s when I realized. Ghosts aren’t scary because they’re strong. They’re scary because we don’t understand them.”

For a brief moment, the only sound between us is the hum of tires on asphalt.

Then I grinned, changing the mood.

Haruto: “Anyway! Enough about me. We should focus on getting to your house, Yuna.”

***

After what felt like an eternity (and several arguments over steamed buns), we finally arrived in Tokyo.

The city's lights, which are much brighter and noisier than Kyoto's peaceful streets, stretch out like an endless sea of stars. Yuna's eyes were almost sparkling.

Yuna: “Woaaah… It’s so bright! And loud! Is this really still Japan?”

Haruto: “Yes. Yes, it is.”

As soon as Yuna stepped onto the ground after floating for a while, she whirled around, her skirt swishing and her gaze darting from neon signs to enormous billboards. She would look like any other high school girl traveling if she weren't half-transparent.

I was carrying a backpack full of food, talismans, and numerous packs of sweet buns, which she insisted on buying when we passed by convenience stores in rural areas. Already, my shoulders were crying for help, which led me to grumble.

Haruto: “We’re not here for sightseeing, you know. We need to find your school first.”

Yuna: “Hehe… but what’s the harm in looking around just a little? I mean, I’m dead, so technically time doesn’t matter for me.”

Haruto: “…It matters to me. I have work tomorrow.”

Yuna pouted, but I caught the little smile tugging at her lips. She was enjoying this way too much.

Yuna: “Wait…”

Yuna steps forward slowly and points at a clock tower that’s a few distances ahead.

Yuna: “I… I remember this clock tower. It’s the one near my school!”

Her voice trembled. Faintly shimmering in the sunset, the clock hands continued to tick.

After glancing at her, I turned to face the tower.

Haruto: “So, we’re close then.”

Yuna nodded, her gaze softening.

Yuna: “Every morning, the bell would ring, and I’d panic because it meant I was late again.”

She laughed quietly to herself. That small, airy laugh that ghosts somehow manage, half there and half not.

Yuna: “…But it’s still here. Everything else changed, but this… stayed.”

I didn’t interrupt and let her proceed while observing her as she ran her fingers through the air, seemingly able to touch the past that had disappeared.

The streets had changed; wooden bookshops had been replaced by bright cafés, and old bakeries had been replaced by convenience stores. However, Yuna would pause every few steps and mutter:

“That was my friend’s house.”

“We used to take a shortcut through here.”

“I once skipped class and hid behind that vending machine.”

There was warmth in every word, along with a slight ache.

We arrived at the school gates at last. Even though it was cracked and repainted, the old signboard still reads: Sakura High School.

Yuna paused.

Something heavier, a mixture of longing, guilt, and nostalgia, took the place of her smile.

Yuna: “It’s really been that long, huh…?”

I parked the bicycle nearby.

Haruto: “Do you want to go in?”

Yuna shook her head.

Yuna: “No… Not yet, at least. Let’s go home first.”

She took a deep breath and turned to the street beside the school.

Yuna: “If I remember correctly… my house should be this way.”

Silently, I followed behind. However, the air changed as we turned the corner; it became heavier, colder, and sharp enough to raise the hair on my arms.

I paused.

Haruto: “…Yuna. Stay close.”

Yuna blinked.

Yuna: “Eh?”

Static, like whispers played backwards, was a faint distortion that echoed through the air.

Something started to creep out from a lamppost's shadow.

A faint silhouette. A man-shaped blur, dragging chains that weren’t really there. Its face twisted and unreadable.

I frowned.

Haruto: “...A lost ghost?”

However, the way it moved, snarling at the air, twitching, and clawing, told me otherwise.

Not lost.

Corrupted.

I let out a quiet sigh.

Haruto: “I was hoping we wouldn’t run into one here…”

Yuna stepped back, trembling.

Yuna: “W…What’s wrong with it!?”

I glanced at her, then at the creature.

Haruto: “It’s what happens when ghosts forget who they were.”

My voice lowered.

Haruto: “Most exorcists think every ghost like this is evil. They can’t tell the difference between those who are hurting and those who’ve already lost themselves. The longer a spirit’s regret festers, the more it twists them inside out, until there’s nothing left but hatred and noise.”

Like metal scraping bone, the creature let out a shriek. As it lunged, its arms grew abnormally long.

Yuna let out a loud shriek and shut her eyes in fear, as I held up a talisman and looked forward at the creature in determination.

Slash!

The creature’s arms fell onto the ground.

Yuna: “Eh…?”

I swung the talisman in a flash, splitting its arms.

I sighed.

Haruto: “Guess I have no choice, huh?”

Yuna glanced at me in surprise.

Yuna: “W…Wait. How can we even defeat this thing?”

Haruto: “What’s covering him right now… is hatred. If we can cut through it and reach his real spirit, maybe we can still save him.”

The creature's limbs twisted and regenerated. The talisman started to glow in my hand as I lifted it higher, the edges of the paper fluttering.

The charm flared, and fire covered my arm, wrapping it in flickering orange light.

Yuna: “W…Woah…”

A black katana formed from the flames, its blade humming subtly with spiritual energy.

I let out a slow breath while looking into the creature's hollow eyes.

Haruto: “... I hate fighting.”

My eyes narrowed as I lowered my posture.

Haruto: “But if that’s what it takes, then let’s do this.”