Author
[Sorry it took a bit more than a month for me to update this one!
My Macbook completely broke down and I lost all my data.
Including my drafts... Baaaaaaah.
Plus, I was busy with work and all, so I really didn't have time to sit and re-plan...
All right, enough excuses.
There's a major plot twist- YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Read on your own discretion.
Please have fun reading!]


Even as a ghost, she could almost feel her heartbeat increasing and a cold chill down her spine.
Kizami Yuuya was dangerous.
He did not just kill the living- he tortures the dead.
She remembered the countless times where he had caught her and strangled her over and over again.
Those were the times she remember almost giving in to the darkness around her,
the times where she almost succumbed to evil in her,
yet somehow she managed to keep her sanity.

She felt almost magical to be able to hold the little boy in her arms.
She had never been seen, much more touched, by any living thing since she was dead.
She stared at the boy who was gasping and choking from his tears and found herself still amazed by the fact that he saw her,
that she could touch and even hold him.
He reminded her of her very own younger brother.
Her very own Yuu.
They look completely different.
Yuu was tanned and always had a messy and cute bed hair.
And this boy, his hair was short and neat, and his skin fair like porcelain.
Yet that was something in him that seemed strangely familiar.

Seiko
[...Hey boy, you okay?]

Boy
[*choke* *cough* *pant* *nod*]

Seiko
[Y-you're safe... Well, at least for now.
*worry* We really got to get your legs fixed up.
You aren't going anywhere with those wounds of yours...]

Boy
[*nod* *cough* *pant*
T-thank you, big sister...]

Seiko
[..! *smile* Un! No problem!
You can always count on this big sister! Hehe!
My name is Shinohara Seiko, what's yours?]

Boy
[Yone-Yoneyama... Shuuya... *pant*]

Seiko
[Ah...Shuu-chan... Shall I call you Shuu-chan!]

Shuu
[U-uh, un! *excited*
Everyone calls me Shuu back home... *sniff*]

The boy clenched his fists and held back his tears.

Seiko
...! He must be thinking about home...
It looks as though he's going to cry any time now.
What a mature boy... To hold back his tears like this...

Seiko
[All right! Shuu-chan it is then! Come on, Shuu-chan!
Let's get you to the infirmary for now.]

Shuu
[U-un! *struggle*
O-ow..!]

Seiko
[You okay?]

Shuu
[Yeah, I-I'm all right.]

She knew it was a kind lie to keep her from worrying,
for his face looked paler than before and his lips were turning dark.
She looked at the stab wounds on his legs.
They looked rather deep and she would not be surprised if it might have burst his vessels.
To see the small body withstand a pain like that broke her heart.
That was it- their similarity.
They were both young, but mature.
They both want to be protected, but they would do their best so as to not worry her.
She smiled to herself.
Even if it was a bad thought, Seiko was somehow glad that Shuu was with her.
She bent down before him and signaled him to get onto her.

Seiko
[Come on! Let big sister give you a piggy ride!]

Shuu
[E-eh?! Th-that's fine! I-I can manage it...]

Seiko
[Don't be silly! Those wounds are deep.
Don't strain yourself and lose your ability to walk!
Come on, get up now before I lose my temper!]

Shuu
[...A-all right... *blush* T-thanks, big sister.]

Seiko
[*smiles* Ehehehehehe! No probbie!]

Before they could move forward, a shadow appeared before them.
It was limping toward them as the light flickered around him.
His eyes were sunken and dark, and his head held low.
The teenage boy with no guts stopped right before them.


[THE AFTERMATH - CHAPTER 7: START]

He noticed how sweaty Yoshiki's palms was and it finally occurred to him it is about to begin.
For that moment everything around was so silent he could only hear the sound of his own heartbeat,
starting off slow and steady in a momentum as in Newton's cradle,
then it slowly accelerates into the beating of the snare drums.
He noticed the air was thick and the wind was loud like a warning,
yet the fire lit on the candles were still burning like undying flames.
Satoshi found himself perspiring and his palms were wet.

Ayumi
[Do not let go of your hands until we are done talking to her,
or her spirit will escape from here. *breathes in*
'I command the spirit, Saenoki Naho, of whom the token belonged to,
rise from below the ground and heed my cry!
Answer to me or your wretched soul be condemned,
satisfy my thirst of knowledge and free shall you be!']

A wild free blew and across the class room and the flames wavered dangerously.
Naomi was tempted to let go off Satoshi's hand to cover her face from the rough wind.
They turned their face away from the direction of the wind.
Then the wind ceased and the turned to look at the center.
The flames grew weaker and smaller.
They waited. The wind stopped. The air still.
The flames extinguished.
They froze for a very long time but nothing else happened.

Ayumi
[T-this... This cannot be it...]

She let go of her hands and moved backward, unable to comprehend the situation.

Ayumi
[It...didn't work. Why? W-why didn't it work?
Everything was done perfectly... The candles, the salt, the pentagram...]

Naomi
[M-maybe we got some detail wrong?]

Yoshiki
[Y-yeah! That's very possible!
Come on, Shinozaki. Let's check the spell book again!]

Ayumi went toward her back and took out a thick brown leather book.
She flipped the worn out pages and turned to the page marked with a pink label.
She scanned through the page.

Ayumi
[I-I don't get it... I followed everything according to this book...]

Satoshi
[Could this book be a scam?]

Ayumi
[It couldn't be!
Naho wouldn't value such a book!]

Ayumi shows them the markings and notes made by Naho all over the book.

Ayumi
[Besides, I found this exact same spell over the internet.
People had reviewed that this spell worked.
But of course, we do not know how true it is...
So I was pretty sure it's the real deal after I read this book from Naho...
*frown* Just where did I go wrong? *frustrated*]

Satoshi
[Maybe we could try again?]

Naomi
[Yeah, class rep! Let's try it again.]

Ayumi
[U-un...]

They lit up every candle and formed their circle once again.
Ayumi calmed herself down and this time look down at the spell book at her feet.
She read it out loud and slowly, taking note to her enunciation to every word.
Once again, a gush of wind blew but then the silence came and the flames vanished.
Ayumi broke off from the circle and dropped to her knees.

Ayumi
[Just why...?]

Naomi
[Maybe she really isn't dead...?]

Yoshiki
[That can't be it. We obviously saw her spirit in Heavenly Host!]

Satoshi
[Maybe it's simply because she's in another dimension...
And we can't call anyone from another dimension...]

Ayumi shook her head.

Ayumi
[I did a lot of studying.
A token is to be represented as a sacrifice for the dead to cross dimensions...
And that's the box...
It would have been burnt if it worked...]

Yoshiki opened box and found the necklace just as it was before.

Yoshiki
[*shrug* Well... We must have gotten some thing wrong somewhere like what Nakashima said...
A detail like the size of a token, the number of candles or the color of candles, I don't know!]

Ayumi
[*whisper* ...The name.]

Naomi
[...? Did you say something, Shino-]

Ayumi
[The name. It must be wrong...!
That's the only thing that make sense!
Argh! Why didn't I thought that Saenoki Naho could have been her pen name!]

Naomi was startled by the discovery and she was disappointed.
Her eyes looked into nowhere and her mind drifted away.

Naomi
Seiko...
Seiko...

Naomi's thoughts kept chanting Seiko's name for she was too emotional to think about anything else.
Just when they thought they could contact someone from Heavenly Host, the plan failed.
Satoshi noticed how distant Naomi looked and grabbed her hands and squeezed.
Almost like a defibrillator, Naomi awoke from her trance-like moment and her eyes had life in them again.
She looked into Satoshi's eyes and he smiled at her, as if saying, 'It's gonna be okay'.
She gave a tiny smile and nodded.

Satoshi
[Why don't we call it a day for now?
We could go research some more about the spells and find out Saenoki's real name.]

Yoshiki noticed how disappointed Ayumi was and she wasn't responding to Satoshi.
He worried for her.
Ayumi had always been the kind of girl who was always too hard on herself.
She was stubborn and never allowed any room of weakness.
Even in dealing with Satoshi's rejection, she never really spoke to anyone about it.
The only time she expressed her disappointment was that day where she ran into Yoshiki's embrace
and hit him on his chest continuously as if to cover up her sadness.
He has got to cheer her up somehow.

Yoshiki
[*nod* Yeah, that'd be good...
Shinozaki, why don't we go back to her apartment and search.]

Ayumi
[...Okay.]

As the group tidied up the classroom, Yoshiki looked at Naomi and noticed that she looked pale from the shock.

Yoshiki
[Satoshi, why don't you bring Nakashima home to rest?
*smirk* Don't think I forgot about your desert treat though!
We'll do it another day.]

Satoshi
[...Yoshiki...
*smiles* Sure.
*whispers* Thanks.]

Yoshiki
[*whispers* No problem.]

Satoshi offered to help dispose the rubbish as he walked Naomi out of the classroom.
Yoshiki and Ayumi were left in the room.
The air in the room was tensed and Ayumi kept in silence.
Yoshiki decided to wait even though the silence was almost unbearable.

Ayumi
[... *softly* Let's go then.
*brightens* I can't just let this put me down!
There must be a way, I know it.
Come on, Kishinuma. Let's go back to Naho's apartment!]

Yoshiki smiled.
She was strong indeed. That was exactly why she had always been so attractive.
She was obviously small and weak, but she never let herself look vulnerable.
Yet something inside of Yoshiki wished she would let her guard down a little more,
or at least in front of him.
Whatever the case, he was glad she was fired up again.

Yoshiki
[Sure, let's go.]


The high school girl with dark shoulder length hair sat on a tall single-seat sofa.
The sofa was made of deep red velvet and resembled a throne befitting of a royalty.
The girl laid back against the sofa and made herself comfortable.
Her pentagon hair pin shone a deep dark red, dimly lit by a few candles surrounding her.
Hinoe lit up a incense burner and the aroma of lavender filled the room.
Naho closed her eyes and took a deep sniff.
The smell entered through her nostrils and reached into her brain, commanding her body to relax on its own.

Naho
[This...is lavender, isn't it?
*smiles* It is a pretty scent.]

Hinoe
[*smiles* Yes, it is, indeed, Ms Saenoki.
Now, if you would just close your eyes and relax yourself as much as you can...
Just listen and follow my voice.
Now you're very relaxed... You're situated in a grassland... A lavender field...
You could smell it and you could feel the breeze against your face...]

Naho
[...It's a lovely sight...]

Hinoe
[It is, isn't it?
Now... As you walked across the field, you noticed a house before you...
What does it look like?]

Naho
[...It's a..hut. A straw hut...]

Hinoe
[Good, good...
Now you walk closer to the hut and you push open the door gently...
You walk to the hut and close the door behind you.
What do you see?]

Naho
[...I see... Me.
I mean, I see a mirror..
And there's my reflection... But a little different...
The hair is shorter... My fringe is almost covering my eyes...
The eyes are harder... I look determined...
I look like me... But I know it's not me... It's something else that looked like me...]

Hinoe
So...this is it...
She wasn't lying at all...

Hinoe
[Ms Saenoki, could you please tell me more about yourself in the mirror?
Look closer, is she saying anything?]

Naho
[...Uh..Umm...Her lips are moving...
I think she's trying to tell me something...
'My...name...is...' *shakes*
What? What's your name?
No...She's leaving! She just turned around, she's leaving!
...! Sh-she...She's gone...]

Hinoe
[Calm down, Ms Saenoki...
Now, just calm yourself down and close your eyes...
When I count to three, you will be back with me, all right?
One...Two...Three...]

Naho slowly opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling above her.
The dark red ceiling with black flowery patterns on it.
She looked down and stared at Hinoe who was seated before her in a similar sofa to hers.

Hinoe
[How do you feel, Ms Saenoki?]

Naho
[...All right, I guess?
I didn't imagine her, did I?]

Hinoe
[Well, I don't supposed you did...]

Naho
[So she does exist, doesn't she?
That girl... Who looked like me... She did exist, didn't she?
All those dreams I had of her... The images of times spent with her...
They were real, weren't they?]

Hinoe
[...]

Naho
[But mother and father said I was the only child.
I had no twin, not even a miscarriaged sibling...
Or have I gone mad to even imagine a doppelganger who never existed?]

Hinoe
[Ms Saenoki...
Sometimes, things happened beyond what our physical eyes can see...
And I supposed that's what's happening to you and... Your other half.
I don't think you made her up. I have tried dozens of spells and hypnotism with you and draw to only one conclusion-
The twin you see in your dreams is real.
As to why only you could remember her... That I am not sure...
*grimace* But my gut feeling tells me, she might not have existed in this world anymore...
And the fact is that only you, who is bound to her by blood and spirituality, can remember her.]

Hinoe
If I am not wrong... Her spirit...her soul...
Must have been lost somewhere else...
Somewhere that is not of this world...

Naho
[Is it..is it possible to bring her back then?
Ever since that day I woke up... I just lost it all.
I did not remember why I wrote those books I wrote...
They didn't feel like my own works...
Those were my names... And the content familiar...
But I know I didn't write them. I wasn't the one writing them...
It must have been the other me that wrote those books...
Without her... Saenoki Naho will not be able to write anymore...]

Naho grabbed Hinoe's hands and look her in the eyes, pleading.

Naho
[Please... Ms Shinozaki... *squeeze*
It's more than just the books... The other me...
She feels very important to me... I feel like a part of me is missing without her...
You got to bring her back somehow!]

Hinoe
[Ms Saenoki...]

Hinoe
Well... If my assumptions are not wrong...

Hinoe
[Well then, Ms Saenoki. *smiles*
We'll have to get you to a few more hypnotic sessions.
We'll have to pry open the barriers in your mind and get her name.]


Ayumi
[Good afternoon, Mr Security Guard!]

Security Guard
[Ah, little miss, it's you! I've been waiting for you.]

Ayumi
[..? Waiting for me...?]

Security Guard
[Yes! Please wait a bit.]

The security guard turned around and entered a door behind him.
He did not return until what seem like five minutes later and appeared from a door outside his post.
He pushed a trolley piled with a few boxes out from the door.

Security Guard
[Sorry to keep you waiting! These are Ms Saenoki's belongings.
Her rent payment was three months late and no one could contact her,
so the management had decided to evict her from her apartment.
We were supposed to throw these out because we couldn't contact her or her family...
Well, she didn't exactly leave us any contact to her family members...
But anyway, I decided to keep it here for another week before I throw it,
in case you two decide to come along...]

Ayumi and Yoshiki opened their eyes in wide surprise.

Ayumi
This might actually work better for us..!

Ayumi
[I-I see... All right, I guess we could keep them...
Right, Yoshi-nii?]

Yoshiki
[U-uh, un! *bows* Thank you so much, sir!]

Ayumi bowed alongside with Yoshiki and the security revealed a kind smile.

Security Guard
[No problem! Oh, just... *whispers*
Keep this a secret between us, all right?
The management wouldn't be happy to find out I've entrusted these to someone else without official papers,
even though they were supposed to be thrown away...]

Yoshiki
[Sure, you can count on us!]

Ayumi
[Thank you, Mr Security Guard!]

Ayumi and Yoshiki opened the boxes and checked the contents.
There were three boxes filled with books, one with a few sets of clothes
And the last one was filled with random items such as photo frames, envelopes, jewelries and stationary.
They decided to take the boxes with books and random items and loaded them onto a cab.
The cab drove right to Ayumi's house and Yoshiki helped to bring them home.

Ayumi
[Sis, I'm home!
...? She's not home again?]

Ayumi
Well, that works better for me I guess...
I won't have to explain about Kishinuma...

Yoshiki
[W-where do I bring these to?]

Ayumi
[Ah, right. My room. Ah, wait! Give me a second.]

Yoshiki stood outside her room and waited, his arms feeling the strain from carrying the box filled with books.
It seemed like eternity until she finally opened the door to her room and let him in.

Ayumi
[A-all right, you may come in.]

Yoshiki entered her room and noticed it looked emptier than before.
The stuff toys were put away and the desk was neat- there were no books popping out.
He noticed a new shelf by the side, occupied with a few books which he realized were Naho's.
He finally put the heavy box on the floor beside the shelf and Ayumi entered with the lightest box of random items.

Ayumi
[Well, Kishinuma, there are two more boxes downstairs that are way too heavy for me to handle.
Could you get them for me?]

Yoshiki
[S-sure.]

Yoshiki went down and brought up the remaining boxes before they heard the sound of main door opening.

Hinoe
[I'm home!]

Ayumi
[Hinoe-sis, welcome home!]

Hinoe
[Ah, Ayumi... I see that we have a guest?]

Hinoe looked at the Yoshiki's shoes and then at Ayumi.
Ayumi looked a little flustered and Yoshiki popped his head out of Ayumi's door.

Hinoe
[Oh my, what a surprise.
*smiles* I'm Hinoe, Ayumi's elder sister.
Nice to meet you...?]

Yoshiki
[*bows* Kishinuma! I'm Kishinuma Yoshiki.
Please to meet you!]

Ayumi
[*frowns* H-he's just here to help me...
With some...u-uh, school work.
Please, don't misunderstand!]

Hinoe
[*chuckles* I haven't said anything, have I?
Hmm, isn't mum home yet?]

Ayumi
[*shrugs* Still at work, I guess...]

Hinoe
[Well, it's almost time for dinner.
Guess I'll be main chef tonight.
Would you like to stay for dinner, Kishinuma-kun?]

Yoshiki
[EH? S-sur-!

Ayumi
[No! I mean, Kishinuma is probably has dinner at home, we should hold him-]

Yoshiki
[I live alone, actually.]

Ayumi
[Oh...Right. But we shouldn't hold him up.
He's probably busy!]

Yoshiki
[W-well, I happen to be free tonight!]

Ayumi glared at Yoshiki who returned a half-smirk.
Hinoe chuckled.

Hinoe
[Well, it wouldn't hurt to have an extra company, would it?]

Ayumi frowned but a faint pink flush appeared on her cheeks as she stormed into her room.
Hinoe laughed lightly and stopped Yoshiki before he returned to Ayumi's room.

Hinoe
[Kishinuma...Yoshiki, right?]

Yoshiki
[Y-yes...It is.]

Hinoe
[*smiles* I'm very pleased to have meet you...
*whispers* My sister is very cute, isn't she?]

Hinoe teased the reddened Yoshiki and urged him to go back to Ayumi's room and she walked down to the kitchen.

Hinoe
[Kishinuma Yoshiki, huh...]

Hinoe
*smiles* So he's the one... It's undeniable... The thread of bond they have...
*saddens* But there's a faint ominous aura surrounding the thread...
But...I'm sure they'll overcome it somehow...
I hope.

[THE AFTERMATH - CHAPTER 7: END]


Author
Well, I'm hoping to update weekly from now on, but pardon me if I don't manage to do it.
Let me know how you like this new chapter and it's twist of events.
Well then, till I see you next time! ;D