Ghost
Step One: Recollection
Throbbing; Thump. Thump. Thump. The sound coming from my skull. I don't think I've ever had a headache this severe in my entire existence. This pain, it was overwhelming, I could barely stand, I could barely think. Getting my thoughts together to determine what I had to do next would be quite a challenge. This pain felt unnatural; sort of artificial even. I was having trouble standing up, so I propped myself up against the wall, trying to rest for a moment. Trying to regain my composure for even just a moment, so that I could think about what was happening.
"Where do I go from here?" Was the first thing that came to mind. I couldn't go home, despite the idea of seeing my Rei was very inviting. There was nowhere in Japan that I could think to go.
The doctors at the morgue were understanding enough to give me some clothes to wear. A long white lab coat, a simple black blouse, and some clean black dress pants. Needless to say it was nothing like my usual attire, but it was better than nothing, not to mention I couldn't expect them to have much on hand; and I certainly could not wear the clothes I had entered in. What I really needed now however were the bare essentials: money, a place to go, and some time to contemplate.
Money wouldn't be too big of an issue thankfully, I had saved up my cash from when I was working, and opened a special savings account known only to myself. I put the account in an alias name that I used while I was a detective on a few cases. My paranoia from the Kaori case had lead me to be prepared. I wanted to be ready to disappear in a moment's notice to get away from her.
I ran my way down to the bus stop so I could catch a ride to the bank that I needed to reach. Upon arrival I noticed my reflection in the glass at the stop area. I looked unchanged. My hair was so long that is came close to my ankles. I grabbed as much of it as I could in the back, and placed it into a ponytail. The large bunch that danced in my face got brushed behind my ear on the left side. I had never noticed how interesting my eyes looked. They had such an adorable color to them. I looked a little more professional with my hair at least partially tamed as I had it.
"Rough day?" Asked a stranger standing at the bus stop with me.
"Oh, yeah, I suppose you could say that…" I commented.
"I know the feeling. Are you a doctor?" Asked he.
"Oh, yes. I work at Tokyo hospital actually." I lied.
"Well, you're a long way away from Tokyo then aren't you?" He quizzed.
"I actually was called down here to look at a body in the morgue; they said something was strange about it." I saved my lie. At least for the most part I was building off of actual fact.
"Really now? What was strange about it?" Asked he rather curiously.
"I'm afraid that much is classified." I responded.
"Heh, forgive an old man for being so nosey. I forgot that you doctor's have that patient-doctor confidentiality thing, secrets left and right, and whatnot." He apologized.
"More so than you'd know." I laughed.
The bus ride was short with few stops in between. I guess I had just missed most people's lunch hour, so the busses weren't being used very much at the current time. It was just another day for everyone else in this town, but not for me. I don't think I'd ever be like everyone else ever again. My life was about to change, but then again if I really thought about it, what was I truly losing? Rei deserved better than me. She deserved a lover that came home every night on time, someone who didn't risk her life every day just "doing her job". She deserved to not have to live in secrecy. No matter how I looked at it, Rei deserved far better than me. On top of that, I had essentially abandoned my friends. Most of them hadn't heard from me in months, even years.
"Ms. Aya Asuka, is it?" Asked the bank teller.
"Yes, may I get a balance check for my account?" I asked.
"One moment please." Said she.
She clacked away at her keyboard at several thousand keys a second it seemed. I had grown curious as to just how much money I had put into that account over the years. This actually was a surprise to me. I kind of enjoyed the excitement really; it was like winning the lottery almost.
"Alright, our records show the following on your account." She said handing me a receipt.
I actually was only slightly shocked. I had assumed a large number, but this was a bit out of my guessing range. Still it was more than enough to work with, 481,920,027Yen. I decided it'd be best to get some in cash right now.
"Can I withdraw about 20,000 please?" I asked.
I had decided to rent out part of a half house. Although it would mean I would have people living right next to me, it also would mean secrecy. I couldn't get a hotel, or an apartment, because I'd have to make a rather sizable paper trail, which was undesired. I needed to find people who were willing to make a transaction with only a verbal contract. Although I had documentation to fool my way through any kind of legal process, I would rather not leave behind too much that could even potentially lead back to me.
Fortunately, with my knowledge of the area, I knew that there were plenty of places down in the southern part of town, near the lower middle class area. A lot of people are hurting near that area, and won't think twice about easy money being thrown their way; people that won't ask a lot of questions, which is exactly what I needed.
A quiet walk down town gave me some time to collect my thoughts. My name was to be Aya Asuka from now on. Chikaru Minamoto was for all the general public is concerned, gone. Not dead, nor missing, just gone. I was no stranger to changing my name and identity, but this was the first time I felt so odd about it.
Despite being a new person though, I would have to be ready to gather my stored information. Fortunately I knew where to gather copies, and how to get to some of my records unnoticed. The hard part was going to be covering my tracks. I couldn't afford being discovered, or anyone asking any kind of questions about what I was up to. I had to take care of business, and do so silently.
There were only a few facts I understood at the time. The first thing being that the girl with Grace, Sophie I think her name was, she will want me dead if she learns that I am alive; Second that I have much information that I need to gather and bring forward from working on the Goddess of the Demon case, and the Kaori case; Lastly I couldn't risk jeopardizing the safety of anyone I knew by letting them shelter me. I was already in enough regret for the people whom have been harmed in working with me already; I could not bear to let anyone else befall the same fate.
For a moment, my mind fell onto Rayne. She could have died for me only a matter of hours ago. She wanted to die for me. Was that really to return a favor? Or was Rayne just legitimately concerned about me is what I wonder though. I may never know though, Rayne has a strange way of thinking, and that only she seems to understand.
I hoped only that Rayne was holding up alright, and wasn't too upset about the events that just transpired not too long ago. If only she knew I was still alive. I wished I could tell her, but I'd only be putting her back into the fire I just barely got her out of. The best thing for her now was to leave her be.
With money in my pocket, and an idea of where to head, I wished only to be able to get some rest, and think about what I'd do tomorrow.
A/N: First Chapter is short. Setting the scene crap. I'm actually planning on writing a lot of this while I'm at work, so I'm expecting at the VERY least weekly releases, but don't quote me on it. This is essentially the boring crap that not everyone cares about, but I can promise I'll get complaints about if it's not included.
I promise the next chapter will be far more interesting. As always, feel free to rant, review, tell me how shitty my work is, or how much you enjoy it.
