My name is Muraguchi Shogo.
I go to Waseda Middle School and am the captain of the basketball team there. To anyone else, I can be seen as just an ordinary kid with good athleticism, but I have something that no one else has.
I can see ghosts.
The very first ghost that I saw was that of my classmate Iesada Takanori. It started during his funeral.
*
Takanori's body was found inside a lake near a part close to our school. Because Takanori's mother had died recently from a poor heart, people thought that he committed suicide.
The people at his funeral were all his friends from school and their families. He was a very popular kid mostly known for how smart and outgoing he was. My parents were close friends with his mother so we attended as well.
No member of Takanori's family showed up it seemed. I heard that his father left them when he was still a baby so of course he never showed up.
While everyone was grieving, I looked up at the casket and then saw Takanori. As if he had just woken up from sleeping, he stretched out his arms while letting out an annoying noise.
What?
"WHAT?!"
All the people present turned to look at me.
"Ie-Iesada-kun is alive!"
Takanori turned towards me.
"Of course I'm alive."
But nobody else seemed to notice. I pointed straight at him.
"Iesada-kun is up right now!"
My mom came from the side and then hugged me.
"It's okay, Sho. Takanori is in a better place now."
Huh?
Takanori is still alive. What are you talking about?
Nobody could see him; only me.
I could see the worried look on Takanori's face right before I lost consciousness. How could I have been the only one to be able to see him is all I could think about as I slept.
Without even giving me a time to doubt whether what I saw was real or not, the moment I woke up, Takanori was floating right in front of me.
Uwah!
"Aha! I knew it, so you can see me! Sho, was it?" Takanori seemed really happy.
"I think I need to get some more rest." I told myself before putting the blanket over myself again, but immediately, Takanori pulled on my sheets.
"Wait! Hold on, dimwit! You're fully awake, I'm really here!"
"But then this makes no sense, how in the world are you floating?"
Takanori just lifted his shoulders as he shook his head.
"How would I know? The minute I woke up, I was in the coffin and you were screaming that I was alive while nobody else could see me."
I looked at him in disbelief.
"Then after you went to sleep, I just followed you when your parents took you home."
"I-I see..."
This was really too hard for me to comprehend, but it is actually happening right in front of me. It has to be real. There is a ghost right in front of me.
"Iesada-kun, did you really commit suicide?"
Takanori had a blank face in the beginning, but then he started looking around the room as he started thinking.
"I don't think so."
He let out a big sigh.
"I can't. I'm trying to remember what I was doing, but I don't even remember being near that park."
"So what now, then?"
I gave him a confused look as I asked him. He looked at the ground for a while before answering.
"Well, you're the only one that can see me. So I guess I'll just stick around you until we figure something out."
He let out his hand.
"We never really talked in class, but let's get along. I'm Iesada Takanori."
"Yeah, let's. My name is Muraguchi Shogo."
I went to grab his hand to do a handshake, but my hand just went through his'.
"Hm. Let's do an air shake." Takanori suggested as he did a handshake motion so we just pretended to do a handshake.
"Now, let me check out the other rooms in this house!"
"Wait, wait up!"
"Sho..."
He flew closer towards the door before continuing.
"I know you had no control in this, but I'm glad that someone can see me. So thanks."
He flew through the door, leaving me inside my room in peace and quiet. I leaned back down on my bed.
What is going to happen now?