Authors Note: This is my return to fanfiction after a three year break and I'm really nervous. If you do review please don't be too harsh.
There are spoilers in this for the first trial and parts of chapter two as I used male pronouns for Chihiro. However most deaths after the first trial will be different.
The first time Chihiro Fujisaki caught sight of a flash of red hair out of the corner of his eye, he thought he was going insane.
He paid no attention to the other people in the lunch hall, zoning out on the conversations going on around him and turning very slowly in his seat to check if he was seeing things correctly. He fought to hold back a gasp when he saw that his eyes hadn't deceived him. On the opposite side of the room, standing slightly behind Naegi was none other than Super High School Level Baseball Player, Leon Kuwata.
But that was impossible. Leon Kuwata was dead, right? They had all witnessed his awful, cruel and despair inducing execution just a day before, right? Then why was it that Chihiro could see him across the room, plain as day, as if nothing had changed?
Chihiro continued to stare in the direction of the allegedly deceased baseball player, watching for signs that this was a dream. Leon was standing just outside of the small group that had formed, probably to discuss any progress made in the search for an exit. He stood with his arms crossed, listening in on the conversation and occasionally making gestures and remarks, all of which went unnoticed by those around him. In fact, they seemed to be ignoring his presence entirely.
It was in that moment that Chihiro was hit with the realization that the others weren't reacting to Leon's sudden appearance because he hadn't appeared to them.
Chihiro was the only person in the room who could see him.
The thought sent a sharp chill down his spine. It left him rooted to the spot and unable to stop staring at the person who couldn't possibly actually be there. Why weren't the others seeing this? Was this some kind of weirdly realistic nightmare? Or perhaps could it be something that Monobear had cooked up to try and scare him? Was he finally losing his mind? Was he hallucinating?
That had to be it… right? It was just the lack of sleep and the stress of the situation causing him to hallucinate… wasn't it?
He gripped the edge of his seat until his knuckles turned white, wishing for all of this to just be an illusion that would disappear as soon as he worked up the courage to look away. Of course, this wasn't the case and sooner or later Leon was bound to notice that he was being watched.
That still didn't prepare Chihiro for the jolt of fear that struck him when Leon's attention drifted from the group he had been spying on. His face taking on a slightly confused expression before he seemed to become aware that someone was watching him. His gaze searched the lunch hall before slowly landing on Chihiro.
Leon's expression morphed in to one of genuine astonishment when Chihiro still refused to break eye contact. He seemed just as surprised as Chihiro at this turn of events, if not more so.
In the few seconds that followed both seemed frozen in a state of shock, not knowing how to react. Then Leon raised his hand and made a small waving gesture. It was as if he was having an awkward reunion with an old school friend and not appearing to someone from beyond the grave.
The reality of the situation hit Chihiro like a ton of bricks and he let out what could only be described as a stunned squeaking noise. His chair scraped loudly against the floor as he stood. His fight or flight instincts were kicking in and everything about this situation told him to run as fast as he could and not look back. Chihiro was not a fool, he had watched horror films and he knew that nothing good ever came of hanging around when a ghost was in the room. However, before he could put his running plan into action, a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Um, Fujisaki-san?" The voice belonged to Aoi Asahina. "Are you ok?" The super high school level swimmer asked with an almost motherly tone of concern.
It was then that Chihiro's attention was brought back to the other members of the group. A blush burned at his cheeks when he found that all eyes were on him. He didn't even notice how much of a scene he was creating until now. Obviously people were going to wonder why he suddenly shot out of his seat like that. What could he tell them? Nobody in their right mind would believe him if he told the truth. Even if their current situation was one more likely to be found in fiction than reality there were still things that just shouldn't be possible. Seeing the ghost of a dead friend was definitely one of them.
Chihiro knew that they wouldn't leave him alone until he gave them an answer. "I… I j-just…" he began, willing his voice to stop being so shaky. "I… I'm just… I'm not feeling well. I have to go." He stated, backing away from the group slowly.
"You can't leave yet! We still haven't properly started our breakfast meeting!" Ishimaru protested.
"I'm sorry." Chihiro mumbled in reply.
Before he even registered taking another step, Chihiro was outside the lunch hall and running towards his room as fast as his feet would carry him, ignoring any further objections from Ishimaru. He scrambled to open his door when he thought he heard another set of footsteps behind him, chasing him.
At first he thought that Ishimaru had decided to follow him and drag him back to the morning meeting. The hall monitor was really strict when it came to their group meetings and nothing irritated him more than when someone arrived late or didn't show up at all. Then he heard it, the voice of the person he was trying to escape.
"Oi! Fujisaki! Wait!" That was Leon Kuwata's voice, there was no mistaking it. "Fujisaki! It's me, Leon!" The voice continued, footsteps growing closer.
Chihiro yanked his door open with all the strength he could muster, slamming it behind him and locking it as quickly as possible. Once inside, he turned and rested against the door, letting out a loud sigh as he slid down it until he was sitting on the floor. He curled in on himself, resting his head against his knees. Why him?
He already had to hide something from the others, with his gender not exactly being what his appearances dictated. He had enough secrets; he didn't need to add seeing and hearing people who shouldn't be there to the list. He didn't want to have to lie about anything else. So why had fate chosen him? Why did he have to turn out to be some kind of Super High School Level Ghost Whisperer on top of everything else he already had to deal with?
'What do I do? What do I do?' Chihiro thought to himself repeatedly.
After all, it wasn't every day that he had a dead kid stood outside his bedroom.
"Can you really see me?!"
Make that inside his bedroom.