Chapter 27: The Ghost of Yesterday

Shinjuku Central Mall. 12:45 PM. I am early. Of course I am early. She said 1 PM. She will be punctual; she will arrive at 1:00:00 PM on the dot. "Punctuality is a form of discipline," she would say. I am just panicking.

I am standing by the huge, multi-level central fountain. The place is packed. It is bright, it is clean, it is loud. It is everything I hate. Families are laughing, couples are holding hands, and I am me. A delinquent in a clean shirt. I feel incredibly out of place. I check my reflection in the glass of a closed kiosk. I look fine. I just look normal. A normal, sixteen-year-old guy who is vibrating with anxiety. "It is a 'procedural update'," I mutter to myself, pacing. "Just a 'correction'. Get a grip."

I pace one way. I pace the other. 12:50 PM. Ten more minutes. My heart is so inefficient. It is hammering. This is stupid. I am Shoujo Minatawa. I fight gangs. I took a knife. And I am terrified of shopping. No. I am terrified of her. No. I am not terrified of her. I am... something else. I do not know what it is. It is worse.

"Shou-chan?"

That voice. No. It cannot be. It is a nickname I have not heard in years. My blood freezes. It sounds just like... I turn. Slowly.

And my brain stalls. Wow. She is standing right there. She is not her. She is someone else. She is sunshine. She is in a yellow sundress, her hair brown and cut in a stylish bob that frames her face. She is smiling, a huge, bright, ear-to-ear smile. And her eyes are sparkling.

"Hina?"

Hina Aizawa. My old friend. My next-door neighbor from before. Before my family moved. Before everything. My first crush. The first girl I ever... Wow.

"It IS you!" she squeals, and she bounces on her feet. "Shoujo Minatawa! I knew it! I almost did not recognize you! You are so tall! And so intense! What happened to you?!"

"Hina," I say, my voice shaky. My brain is scrambled. "What are you doing here?"

"My dad is shopping!" she says, rolling her eyes. "He is over in the men's department. He is so boring. What about you? I thought you hated malls."

"I do," I say. "I am meeting someone."

Her bright smile falters. Just a tiny fraction. But I see it. "Oh?" she says, her voice a little too casual. "A friend?"

"Yeah," I say. "Just a classmate."

"A girl classmate?" she teases, but her eyes are sharp.

"I... yeah."

"Oh," she says. She looks down. "Wow. Look at you, Shou-chan. All grown up. Getting dates."

"IT IS NOT A DATE!" I say, way too fast, way too loud. A couple stares at me. My face is on fire.

Hina just giggles. That same giggle. "Relax, Shou-chan!" she laughs. "You are still so jumpy!"

"It is complicated," I mutter, shoving my hands in my pockets.

"Right. 'Complicated'." She smiles. But it is different. A little forced. "Well, it is so good to see you! I heard you moved to this district. My dad, he works at the main precinct now. He is a Detective."

"A detective?" I say, my stomach twisting. "Wow. Your dad was always scary."

"He is still scary," she laughs. "He is the best." She looks at me. "So... this 'not-a-date'... is she pretty?"

"I... I... she is..." How do I even begin to describe Ayako? "She is 'efficient'," I mutter.

Hina just blinks. "Efficient? That is a new one. What does that mean?"

"It means she is efficient! I do not know!"

Hina just smiles. She takes a step closer. "Well," she says, her voice soft. "It is just... I have missed you, Shou-chan. We should hang out. For real. Like old times." She is Hina. She still has that look in her eyes. The one I was not ready for back then. The one that still makes my stomach flip.

"Yeah," I say, scratching the back of my neck. "Yeah, maybe. We could..." I forgot how pretty she is. She reaches out and puts her hand on my arm. Her hand is warm. "I mean it," she says, her smile soft. "I..."

"Minatawa-kun."

The voice. It cuts through the entire mall. It is not loud. It is not shouting. It is perfectly level. It is colder than Antarctica.

I freeze. My blood turns to ice. Hina freezes, her hand still on my arm, her smile stuck. I turn. Slowly.

She is standing ten feet away. Ayako Katsumi. It is 1:00 PM. On the dot.

She is not in her uniform. She is not in her training gear. She is in a black dress. A simple, elegant, black dress. No logos. No frills. It just fits her perfectly. Her hair is down, flowing over her shoulders. She looks... unbelievable. She looks like a goddess of death.

She is staring. She is not staring at me. She is staring at Hina. No. She is staring at Hina's hand. The one that is touching my arm. Her face is a perfect, beautiful, terrifying mask of ice.

She slowly lifts her gaze. Her eyes meet mine.

"You are early," she says. Her voice is flat. "And you have company."

Oh... Oh, crap. This... This is not going to be efficient.