Lesson 15: The universe doesn't care, but there are people who do.
Soul sleeps in fits and starts, dreams of the blackest night interspersed with dreams of talking cats, glowing forests, and shadows that move through walls with ease. He remembers none of them any of the times he wakes, although the unearthly voice that weaves itself through every dream stays with him. When he wakes up for the seventh time and sees that early morning light has replaced the night sky, he rubs his face roughly in an effort to stay awake for good.
Once the pull of sleep has receded enough for him to think somewhat lucidly, he drops his hands to his sides and glances around without moving his head. He's slightly surprised to find himself sprawled out on the reclining chair in Kid and Black Star's living room, before he remembers that Black Star convinced him and Maka to spend the night in the apartment.
Blindly, he searches for his phone, finding it stuck between the cushion of the seat. He scrolls through his texts, finding the message he apparently sent to his parents telling them he would be staying the night at Black Star's, although he doesn't even remember typing it.
His mother had texted him back almost immediately, though he hadn't responded, which he does now.
[12:32 am] Mom: Tell Black Star and Kid that I say hello!
[12:34 am] Dad: And please try to be quiet when you come in. Your mother and I are going to be sleeping all day after the shift we're having.
[7:49 am] Soul: i will and i probably wont be home till late so you dont have to worry
[7:50 am] Soul: sleep well
Neither his mother nor father reply, which isn't unexpected; putting his phone back in his hoodie pocket, Soul sits up, the muscles in his arms and legs protesting with a dull, but pervasive, ache from all of the physical exertion he's forced them through in the last week. There's also the distinct stiff exhaustion that comes right before a cold running through his body.
He looks to the couch where Maka had slept for the night, only to find it empty, the pillows she used neatly arranged while her blanket sits folded on an armrest. Neither Black Star nor Kid appear to be up, and the apartment is heavy with a brittle, expectant kind of silence that unsettles Soul. It's like something is waiting for him, and as soon as the thought crosses his mind, he does his best to not listen to the silence, in case he catches the voice coming from the mines within it.
"Hey." He jumps, and Black Star lifts his hands up from where he's appeared on the side of his chair. "Sorry, I thought you heard me."
"It's fine." Soul tries not to sound annoyed by the overly delicate tone Black Star takes with him. "Where's Maka?"
His tone now become evasive. "She went out."
"I can see that."
Black Star sighs after a moment. "She went down the police station to ask Marie if anyone was reported missing last night."
"Oh." He blinks. "That's a good idea."
The worried expression on Black Star's face clears. "You think so?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Rising, Soul stretches, trying to banish some of the soreness in his muscles.
"I don't know, I just-" he pauses, biting his lip. "We didn't want to make it seem like we were doubting you, you know?" he asks. "Kid and I were talking after you went to bed."
He raises an eyebrow when Black Star doesn't go on. "And?"
"And if you say you saw someone get kidnapped or murdered, and there's been this weird shadow dude following you around, we believe you dude," he says, voice rising like it does when Black Star gets passionate about something. He takes a deep breath and adds, "I don't know how that voice from your dreams figures in but shit's been weirder. We've all-"
The rest of his words are cut off by the crushing hug Soul envelopes him in, and after a moment, Black Star reciprocates.
"None of us ever thought you were crazy, dude," he mumbles into Soul's shoulder. "Even Maka, back when she was super ticked at you. We just thought you were-"
"An asshole."
Black Star pulls back as he lets him go, grinning. "You said it, not me."
There's a strange stinging sensation at the back of Soul's throat as he rolls his eyes. "Right."
"Come on." Black Star gestures to the kitchen with his head. "Maka should be back soon, and Kid's finishing getting ready so he'll be out in a few minutes."
He takes a seat at the dining table while Black Star produces a coffee machine from one of the cabinets next to the stove. Soon, the sharp scent of coffee fills the kitchen, and Black Star places in front of Soul a mug of coffee while he takes a seat next to him.
Soul, who is very much not a coffee person, takes a long drink of the coffee, which is such a dark shade of brown that it's nearly black, attempting to keep a straight face as he swallows. Although he feels significantly better after their conversation, there is still an anxious edge in the air, the quiet tension before something happens, and he needs to be fully alert to handle whatever the something is.
Kid shuffles in shortly after he takes another drink of his coffee, greeting Soul with a sleepy wave. As he takes a seat on the opposite side of Black Star, Soul notices the beginnings of a white stripe starting to show in Kid's hair, which is odd since Kid has always taken careful measures to keep the white in his hair dyed black since the stripes first started showing up in high school. It was genetic, Kid answered, when Soul asked about it during one of the rare moments they were alone together. Soul, who was no stranger to how thoroughly genetics could screw over a person, had never commented on it again.
"I'm sure Black Star has already told you about what we discussed last night," says Kid, pulling Soul out of his thoughts. He picks up the mug sitting at his table mat and takes a sip before adding on, "Personally, I think there's a logical explanation behind the voice and what you saw last night, but I don't doubt what you've seen or experienced, and I'd like to help anyway I can to get to the truth."
It's a big show of support from Kid, who Soul always assumed had tolerated him at best, and he gives him a grateful nod. "Thank you."
"How sweet," Black Star interjects, moving his hand closer to Kid's. "My favorite boys bonding."
Kid, however, does not reach out to close the space between them like he normally would, and Black Star moves his hand away after a moment.
It's awkward, but fortunately a knock on the door keeps Soul from having to fill the silence, and he jumps up from his chair. "I'll get it."
Maka's put her hair up in her pigtails again, he notices as he opens the door and she steps inside. She also went home to change apparently, her costume from last night replaced with a black skirt and tights, red shirt, and her leather jacket. "Hey."
"How did you sleep?" she asks, turning to face him as he closes the door. "I heard you moving around a lot."
He cringes. "Did I wake you?"
"If I slept through my parents' fights, I can sleep through everything," she says, waving a hand. "So?"
"Well, I slept, I guess," he answers, trailing her to the kitchen. "But if you're asking if I rested, I'd have to give that a hard no."
"I'd say that's how we all feel right now," Kid says as they take a seat at the table. He gestures to the bag Maka places on the table. "What's that?"
"I'll explain in a minute." She picks up her cup, taking a swig of coffee, and glances around the table as she sets it back down. "I spoke to Marie," she says after swallowing. "She says that no one was reported missing, injured, or otherwise last night."
A needle of disappointment stabs through Soul, but the way that Maka speaks doesn't appear to be dismissing what he saw.
"Of course, the person who got taken could have been someone from another town or even the city," she continues. "So it could be anywhere from a few days to weeks before their disappearance is linked to Shibunsen Springs."
"Forever, if they got taken by a ghost," says Black Star.
"Speaking of that, I was thinking about what you told us last night." Maka looks at Soul as she opens her bag. "And I was trying to figure out the connection between yesterday, the voice, and the figure," she says, pulling out a thick book from the depths of her bag. "And I think I have a few leads."
Black Star eyes the book with a suspicious look. "When did you have time to drop by the library?"
"This isn't from the library, it's from the historical society by the church," corrects Maka. "And I already had the book at home."
Kid frowns. "I thought the historical society didn't allow anyone to take their books off the premises."
A faint tinge of pink appears rises in Maka's face. "They don't," she says shortly, before moving on. "Anyways, I figured that since the figure has been showing up mostly in places or events significant to Shibunsen Springs, and the fact that Soul heard the voice coming from the mines, that must mean it's a ghost who has a history with the town." Her fingers drum against the cover of the book. "The thing I can't figure out is why anyone from the town's past would want to hurt or kidnap people."
Soul knows that Maka always attacked problems with a determined, head-on attitude, but he's still taken aback by how methodical her reasoning is, and how quickly she's adapted to the situation.
"I wish we had gone to college together," he says, breaking the silence. "Maybe then I would have been motivated to pass my classes."
The blush on her face deepens. "It's nothing that no one else could have come up with."
"Yeah, but you're the only one who can do it that fast."
"So, what's the next step?" interrupts Black Star.
Maka blinks, before lifting the book higher. "This is a compendium of historical places in Shibunsen Springs, put together by Darnel Glace shortly before he was killed," she says. The cover of the book appears to be made out of leather, the words etched onto it worn away by the wear and tear of time. "Obviously, we can't make it to all the locations he mentioned in a single day, but I've found a few promising places to start."
Her words are met with confusion by Soul and Black Star, although a spark of recognition entered Kid's eyes when she mentioned Darnel Glace.
"Back up a second," Black Star says, frowning. "Why should we care about a travel guide written by a random dude?"
"Darnel Glace was the leader of the first mining strikes that took place in the late nineteenth century," Kid answers. "Those strikes were also the first significant thing to happen to Shibunsen Spring since its founding."
"Exactly," says Maka, excitement growing in her voice. "Since the voice is coming from the mines, it's likely that the ghost is tied to that strike or one of the later strikes."
"We're going to go to all the places over a century old in Shibunsen Springs and hope the ghost shows up?" asks Soul in a skeptical voice. He glances at his coffee, wishing he had drunk more of it before it went cold.
She gives him a look. "Not exactly that, but we might find some clues as to who the ghost is if we explore around. If we find out their identity, maybe we can figure out what they want, and then they'll move on or whatever."
Another silence follows her words, and then Black Star speaks. "Can we call ourselves the Ghostbusters?"
Fifteen minutes later, Soul meets Maka and Black Star outside while Kid gets the car from the apartment garage. She's squinting at the book, snapping it closed when he joins them.
"Once we get whatever information we can from the library, we can decide where to head from there," she tells him and Black Star, meeting Soul's eyes. "The historical society and the graveyard seem like fairly good choices, though."
Her words become stiff when she mentions the graveyard, and Soul is about to say that they can skip it when Black Star talks. "I don't know what good reading dusty books that are falling apart is going to do," he grumbles. He crosses his arms, eyes flicking to Kid, who has remained as distant as he was in the apartment.
"Not books," Maka says with a trace of impatience. "The library has a microfiche archive of all the issues of the Shibunsen Tribune since it opened in 1859."
"So?" asks Black Star irritably.
She aims a glare at him. "Don't tell me you can't put two and two together."
Soul opens his mouth to intervene before they can argue any further, but Kid shows up at that moment, bringing the car to a stop right next to them. Rolling down the window, he looks at the three. "Ready?"
Black Star's mouth snaps shut as he swallows back the retort he was going to lob at Maka. "Yeah."
Kid says nothing as the three enter the car, Black Star all but stomping his way to the front passenger seat, though Soul sees the tiny frown that tugs at his mouth when Black Star slides into his seat and closes the door with slightly too much force.
The music from the radio is fills the air in the car as Kid drives to the library. Maka glances at Soul when they're close to the library. "How are you holding up?"
He gives a small shrug, even though the jittery feeling from last night has returned in full force since they left the apartment. "Fine enough, I guess."
"Are you sure?" she asks in a low voice. "This has to be a lot and I-"
"I know how I'm feeling, and I'm fine," he says, not sure if it's the resurgence of his nerves, his exhaustion, Black Star's mood darkening his own, or a combination of the three that makes him snappy. He meets her gaze, trying to pull himself out of it. "But thank you for asking."
"Of course," she says softly, though she doesn't talk to him until after they get to the library.
When they arrive at the library, Soul is unsurprised to see they're the only car in the parking lot, other than the librarian's ancient sedan. The librarian doesn't even appear to want to be there herself, blinking blearily when Maka asks for the key to the microfiche archive in the basement.
"No food or water near the microfiche," she tells Maka in an exhausted half-whisper as she hands her the key. Her eyes trail to Soul and Black Star, who have both been kicked out of the library more times than they can count. "And make sure someone responsible is handling the microfiche and the camera."
Their footsteps echo against the walls as they descend the stairs leading to the basement, the ceiling hanging low over their heads. The long room is divided in half by a hallway, sectioning off the space into three rooms. On their right is the janitor's supply room, while on the left is a filing closet for the librarian.
"It's here," Maka says, walking down the hallway to the last room in the basement. She slots the key into the lock, the door clicking as it swings open, and holds the door open for them as the other three file in.
The microfiche room is dimly lit, and larger than Soul expected. In the middle, there's a table with three boxy microfiche readers on it, evenly spaced on its surface. Lining the room are dozens of filing cabinets, different years scrawled in messy handwriting across the labels on the drawers.
Soul stares at the cabinets, opening the drawer closest to him and cringing when he sees how full it is. "How are we going to get through this in one day?"
Maka is stymied for a moment. "Well, the first strikes happened in the 1870's so we can probably disregard anything before that."
"That only takes off eleven years, though," says Black Star, peering into the drawer Soul opened.
Kid speaks up. "I think we should just focus on the times when there was a strike going on, since that's what stands out the most in the town's history." He moves across the room, looking at the cabinet labels until he finds what he's looking for. "So that would be the entire 1870's and the 1880's," he points to the cabinet, "as well as the strike in 1931 and 1942."
"That's twenty two years." Soul hesitates before he adds, "We should also look at more recent times, to see if the newspaper ever reported on anything...supernatural."
Luckily, no one gives him a strange look at the suggestion. Black Star shrugs. "It's your investigation, dude."
He nods, and they get to work. Maka takes the camera on one side of the table and a box full of microfiche with articles from the 1870's, while Black Star and Kid take the camera in the middle, focusing on the strikes during the 1880's, 1930's, and 1940's.
Soul pulls boxes of microfiche dating from last year to a decade ago. It takes him a while to figure out how to work the microfiche, even after the tutorial Maka gives him, but eventually he gets the hang of it. He examines the headlines of the main section of the Shibunsen Tribune and the lifestyle section of the paper, where residents write in and share their experiences.
He's gone through roughly a dozen stories of people complaining about their neighbors when he finally finds something, although he waits until he finds two more similar stories to mention it.
"Listen to this," he says aloud, looking up to see if the others are paying attention. "Ghostly rumors haunt historical society." He scans the article. "Apparently the janitor quit because he saw someone walking around trying doors during the night shift."
"That's not strange," comments Kid.
"No, but what is strange is that every time he went to go investigate, there was no one there," Soul rejoins. "He quit because of it."
Black Star's tone is skeptical. "It could have been just some really good pranksters being assholes."
He is undaunted, however. "What about this then?" He takes out the article from the microfiche camera, and replaces it with another. "Spectral happenings at Shibunsen Jump." Pointing to the article, he says, "This couple says they saw a figure walk off the cliff at the jump and walk on air before disappearing. When the forestry services investigated the next day, they found no sign of a body at the base of the cliff."
"Okay, that is weirder," admits Maka, rising from her spot at her camera to read the article more closely. "But they still could have been drunk or something."
"And then there's this." Grabbing the last article he found, he puts it underneath the microfiche reader. "Local ghost 'Little Joe' back at it again."
Black Star is the closest to the projector. "'Little Joe', reportedly the ghost of Joe Shade, a miner who died mysteriously decades ago is back at it again. Multiple residents have reported seeing the deceased miner rising from his grave in the back section of Shibunsen Cemetery, and walking around the graveyard, unnerving visitors and cemetery staff alike."
It's quiet when he finishes.
"When was that article written?" Maka asks finally.
Soul squints at the tiny font of the microfiche. "Three years ago."
"The jump isn't that far from the historical society," Kid says with a thoughtful look in his eye. "And the cemetery is right by the society."
"But what would a dead miner have against the town?" asks Black Star.
"Maybe he died in a mining accident," Maka suggests. "The conditions of the mines always went back to the way they were before the miners decided to strike. He could have a bone to pick with the town because of that."
"It's still a long jump from scaring people to kidnap and murder, though." In his head, Soul sees the way the figure slammed whatever they were holding into the man's head.
Maka looks from the projector to the others. "I think it's time to investigate."
"Well, this sucks," says Black Star.
"It's unfortunate," Kid agrees as they sit in the empty parking lot of Shibunsen Cemetery, staring at the closed sign on the gate leading into the graveyard, and the chain and lock underneath the sign. "I forgot they close the graveyard the day after HarvFest after what happened after six years ago."
Maka scoffs. "Like it's that hard to hop a fence."
Her tone is offhand, but Soul can see the tension in her face as she gazes at the cemetery. Unless something happened in the time he was gone, this is the first time she's been to the cemetery since her mother's funeral.
"But Marie is probably going to be coming around here soon enough." Black Star glances at Soul, clearly thinking about how she nearly caught them yesterday. "So we need to move fast and someone needs to stay with the car."
"I have a cleanest record out of all of us," says Kid. "I'll go while you guys stay in the car."
"Have you never seen a horror movie?" Black Star exclaims. "Something bad always happens to the person who goes away from the group."
"I'll go with him." Maka unbuckles her seat belt. The tightness in her expression intensifies, but her voice is determined. "The historical society is only about a mile from here. While Kid and I are in the cemetery, you two can go there."
Soul speaks quickly before she can get out of the car. "No, I can go with Kid," he says. "I've been in the graveyard a million times. We'll be able to find Joe's grave in no time."
"Yes, and you're also the one Marie won't let off with a slap on the wrist," Maka replies with a roll of her eyes.
"That just means I can't get caught." When it looks like she's going to argue, Soul reaches out before he can think better of it. Maka's hand isn't soft, with all of the time she's put in at the Scythe'n'Saw, but it's warm, and it feels something like home as he rolls his thumb across her palm.
Whatever she was about to say dies on her lips as she looks at him. "You said you never wanted to go in there again," he says quietly. "Let me go."
"All right," she answers just as quietly after a moment. Her hand lingers in his for a beat, and then she opens the car door. "Move over, Star," she calls as she gets out of the car.
"We'll be back in less than an hour," Black Star says from the driver's seat once both Soul and Kid are out of the car. "You should be out long before then."
Soul gives them a salute. "Roger that."
Black Star jabs a finger at the two as he rolls up the window. "Don't get caught."
"Hang on!" Maka calls Soul over with a wave of her hand, and she speaks low when he bends to talk to her eye-to-eye. "Could you visit her for me?" She fiddles with her bag instead of looking at him. "I don't want her to think I'm avoiding her."
"I will." He could say more, but he knows this will comfort her most.
"Great." A weight seems to lift from her face. "Thank you."
He steps back, watching as the car backs out of its parking. There's a brief silence between him and Kid as the car drives out of sight.
"We should get going," says Kid once they can no longer see the car. "We don't have a lot of time."
"Right." Soul turns to see Kid approaching the gate, and then he stops him, eyes going wide. "What are you doing?"
Kid gestures to the gate. "Climbing the fence."
"Yes, but not in front of the church," he hisses, throwing a glance to the building on Church Hill, where it would be all too easy for a visitor or Father Justin to spot them. "Follow me."
The stand of trees surrounding the far end of the cemetery fence takes a while to get to, but it's worth not getting caught before they can even get into the graveyard.
Kid struggles a bit with climbing the fence, and Soul offers him a hand when his foot gets stuck in a gap between the chain links when they're at the top. "Thanks," he huffs, swinging a leg over the top of the fence and pushing his hair out of his eyes. "I don't know how I would have climbed this alone."
"Then why did you volunteer to go alone?" Soul asks as they descend the inside part of the fence. He jumps down the last few feet, landing on his feet.
"I also don't know the answer to that," Kid answers as he clumsily disentangles himself from the fence once he reaches the bottom. "But Black Star wouldn't have let me go alone so the point is moot."
"Fair enough."
They pause to catch their breath, and then Kid points to a crooked tree in the distance. "I've explored the cemetery a couple times before," he says. "The old section of the graveyard starts there."
"That's what I remember." Soul swallows, glancing at Kid before he talks. "Before we head over there, there's someone I have to visit?"
Kid's expression is unsurprised. "Your grandmother?"
His words hit Soul like a slap to the face. "No, not her," he says quickly. He hastens to correct himself. "I mean, maybe one day, but not today."
A curious look crosses Kid's face. "Then who?"
He hesitates for a second. "Maka's mom."
"Ah." Understanding blooms on Kid's face. "Is that what she asked you to do?"
"Yup." He scans the landscape for the pine tree that marks the area where Kami is buried. "She can't bring herself to visit, but I think she wants to know that she's okay."
"I can empathize with that last part," Kid says. "Except for me, they're still alive."
His comment takes Soul aback. Kid is always reticent when it comes to how he feels, but he leaves no room for Soul to reply.
"I should probably visit my parents, it's been a while." Kid glances at Soul. With the gloom of the overcast day, his eyes almost seem to glow. He points to the crooked tree. "Want to meet there in ten minutes?"
He nods, and without another word, they go in opposite directions.
It doesn't take Soul long to reach the pine tree. After that, it's a matter of trekking up the rows until he finds the black headstone marking Kami's grave.
The headstone is simply decorated, a spray of roses etched underneath the words "Dearly Missed", written in curly letters. Under the roses is Kami's name and the date of her birth and death.
There are few leaves on Kami's headstone, and he crouches down to clear them off. "She misses you," he says as he brushes away the last of the leaves. It's awkward to talk to the air, to know that the person he's addressing is never going to respond to him, but he swallows back his feelings because this isn't for him. "She doesn't want you to think she doesn't care."
His knees start to ache, and he rises. "It's hard for her to accept that you're gone.
"It would have been better if you were here," he says quietly. "But she's doing okay."
He doesn't know what else to say after that, so he stands at the grave for a few more minutes in silence, before turning around and heading for the old section of the cemetery.
Kid is waiting for him by the crooked tree, giving him a quiet nod as they head down the first row. Soul expects to see sadness or even anger on Kid's face, given Black Star's reaction to Kid's family, but there's nothing on Kid's face except sober reservation.
A hill rises in front of them once they reach the end of the fifth row, and they start to climb. Soul tries to keep how heavily he's breathing to himself, but the exhaustion that's been weighing on him all day makes it impossible.
When they reach the top, Kid speaks. "Why don't we sit down for a few minutes?"
Too tired to protest, he flops down on the grass, feeling Kid sit next to him. It's quiet for a minute, and then his curiosity gets the better of him.
"Are you okay?" he asks. He assumes this is what Black Star meant when he said Kid was visiting his family. "After visiting your parents?"
"I don't really feel too much one way or the other when I visit them," Kid answers with a shrug. "They died in an accident when I was three."
"Oh," he says awkwardly. He hadn't known that about Kid, but then again, Soul didn't know much about him in general. "Do you remember them?"
"Not really." He shakes his head. "All I remember from my childhood is my brother. He became my guardian when my parents died."
"He must have been a good guardian then," he guesses.
Kid shakes his head again. "The opposite."
"Oh," Soul says again. "Sorry."
"Not your fault."
Kid is quiet for a long time, and Soul is about to suggest they keep moving, pretending the conversation never happened, when he speaks again.
"Do you know why I don't believe there's actually a ghost following you around?" he asks, plucking out a blade of grass from next to him. "Or why I don't believe in the paranormal in general?"
Soul is thrown by the question. "Because it doesn't adhere to the principles of science?"
"When my brother would lock me in the basement, sometimes he would leave me in there for a couple of days," says Kid. "He never left any food or water." There's a flat, unaffected expression on his face as he speaks, staring at the blade of grass between his fingers. "When that happened, I used to try to signal my neighbors with telepathy while I sat there in the dark, hoping they would hear my thoughts, because, to me, they were louder than a fire alarm. Other times, I used to try to unlock the door with my mind.
"None of it ever worked." He holds the blade of grass flat in his palm, and the wind picks it up instantly, sweeping it up into the sky. "When the white started showing up in my hair, I stopped believing in anything."
"Your brother is the biggest asshole I've ever heard of." Soul blurts the first thing that comes to mind without thinking, and he cringes inwardly. "Sorry, I probably shouldn't have said that."
But Kid doesn't appear upset. "There's no point in denying the truth," he says. "Asura is an asshole."
"Why do you visit him then?" he asks. "If he treated you like that?"
"Force of habit," he answers, although the way he phrases his words makes it come out like a question, and then he amends himself. "I used to rationalize it by telling myself that because it was never anything physical, I would be silly to refuse to visit. I've since realized you don't need to lay your hands on someone to break them, and now I don't know why.
"Maybe it's because I'm all he has left." Kid sounds more like he's talking to himself than to Soul. "I keep telling myself every time I visit him that it'll be the last time," he says. "And one day, it will be."
He blinks, coming out of the place he had gone to, the flat expression on his face fading away. "Sorry, I shouldn't have put that all on you," he says. "I guess it's easier to talk about this to someone I don't really know, than someone who knows me too well." After a half-second, he adds, "No offense."
"None taken," Soul says. "I like listening to people yelling about assholes."
Kid frowns. "But I wasn't yelling."
"For you, that was yelling," Soul says. "However, I am very good at cursing people out, so if you ever want to hear someone cursing out your brother with some choice swears, I'm your man."
"I'm good for right now, but I'll be sure to keep your offer in mind." Kid isn't smiling exactly, but there is less of a weight in his expression.
"Do you believe in anything now?" he asks, before Kid closes the subject. He's not sure why he's abruptly anxious. "Or do you-"
He breaks off.
"Has Black Star ever told you how we met?" asks Kid.
"Yeah, he was late to class and he didn't see you when he was rounding a corner, and he ran into you."
"Knocked us both flat to the ground and knocked him unconscious for a solid minute," Kid says with a slight smile. "When he ran into me, it was like a falling star crashing into the earth." He pauses. "It made me wake up, made me realize I was alive and I wanted to act like it.
"I believe in connections," he continues. "Whether it's the ones we make in the sky, or the ones we make with the people we love. The universe may not care about me, but there are people that do, and it balances everything out, and that's enough for me to be okay with living."
"That is deep," Soul says after a moment. "I think I'd still be going to church if you were the preacher."
"Religion isn't quite for me," Kid answers. "But I might become a philosophy professor one day."
"Dr. Kid." Soul rises, holding out a hand on instinct. "It has a certain ring to it."
"It's Kiaran, actually," he replies, taking his hand. "But I prefer Kid."
The grave of Joe Shade is located four rows past the hill's peak, three graves in from the gravel path.
Kid squints at the grave. "It isn't very impressive."
"It's not like he has somebody to take care of his headstone," Soul says, though he has to admit he's slightly let down by the ordinariness of Joe's grave. The headstone is a dingy white color, completely unmarked except for Joe's name written in plain block letters across the top. There isn't even a birth or death date, though there are plenty of tracks around the grave, most likely from people who came to visit the grave out of curiosity like him and Kid.
They stare at the grave for a moment.
"What are we supposed to be looking for?" he asks.
"Well, he doesn't look like he's been disturbed." Kid peers at the yellowing grass at the edge of the grave.
"Or that he's been the disturbing others." He tries to ignore the knot of disappointment and tension growing in his stomach. Certainty had replaced the jittery feeling when he found the articles in the library, but now that he sees the relatively undisturbed ground covering Joe's grave, the anxiety that had receded rises again.
It makes him want to smash something, but he fights the urge down, instead circling the grave to see if he spots anything Kid missed.
"We should have brought a ouija board," Kid says, crouching down by the headstone to examine it better. "That way, we could have asked him what he wants."
"I thought you didn't believe in ghosts."
"Yes," he answers. "But I'm trying to humor you."
Soul stops at the foot of the grave-there is a prickling sensation in his hands, spreading to the rest of his body and screaming for release. He stares at the grave. "I've got a better idea."
"Really?" Kid says. "What is it?"
"This." Soul steps onto the center of the grave, raising his foot as high as he can manage, and bringing it down. "Hey Joe," he yells, stomping on the grave again, "why are you following me?"
"That is not a better idea," Kid exclaims, attempting to grab him without stepping on the grave. "Get off of the grave!"
"If it bothers Joe so much, he can come out and stop me," Soul replies, punctuating every word with another stomp. Glaring at the grave, he asks, "Why are you haunting Shibunsen Springs?"
The ground gives way underneath him, and he lets out a cry as his foot goes straight through the grave, a sickening crack coming from the grave as dust fills the air.
Kid's voice is horrified as the dust clears. "What did you do?"
"Can I plead the fifth?" Soul tries to wrench his foot free, before coming to a very unfortunate conclusion.
"Um." He pulls his foot a little more gingerly, trying not to panic when it refuses to come loose.
"Can we just go already?" Kid is anxiously looking around them. "We've made enough noise to wake the dead."
He closes his eyes, attempting to not think about what is lying just underneath his foot. "I would love to do that, but my foot is stuck."
"So, pull it loose!" Kid sounds a little like Black Star.
"My foot is stuck in Joe's coffin." Soul twists his head around to find Kid, mostly to distract himself. "It went through the lid."
He whirls around from where he was looking over the hilltop. "It did what?"
"Please just help me." Soul sits awkwardly on the ground, trying to work his foot free.
Abruptly, he feels Kid's arms loop under his shoulders, but pain shoots up Soul's ankle when Kid attempts to haul him out of the grave. "Stop, it's not working!"
Kid releases him, panting as he straightens. "Then, what do we do?"
Soul's foot is pinned in an uncomfortable position, but he doesn't move it in case it touches Joe's body. "We need to make the hole bigger so I can pull my foot out."
Realization dawns in Kid's voice. "You mean-"
"Exactly."
They glance at each other, and then they get to work at the same time.
Dirt wedges itself underneath Soul's fingernails as he and Kid scoop out handfuls of soil from the place where his foot went into Joe's coffin. They dig with a frenzied kind of focus, throwing the clumps of dirt behind them until the rotted wood of Joe's coffin begins to show.
"There," Kid says, pushing away the dirt from the coffin. He examines the hole. "I think I can work it free if I push from the other side of the lid."
Shocks makes Soul's eyes go wide. "But you'd have to open the coffin for that."
"Or I could go flag down Marie for help when she comes to check on the cemetery."
He grits his teeth. "Continue."
Pushing himself up as much as he could, he braces himself as Kid moves to the other side and searches for the groove between lid and coffin.
However, when Kid opens the lid halfway and frees his foot, he can't see anything. Morbid curiosity gets the better of him, and Soul stands, peering over the lid and into the coffin.
The coffin is empty.
"That can't be possible," he says aloud. "The grave wasn't disturbed."
"Someone could have stolen the bones," answers Kid reasonably, though he is clearly shaken. "They could have replanted the plot with grass."
Soul does his best not to sound frustrated, pacing away from the grave. "But that doesn't mean-"
The rest of his sentence is cut short as his eyes travel up a dozen rows from where they stand.
"What is it?" asks Kid when he doesn't continue, coming to a stop next to him.
Pointing to the distinct outline of someone standing behind a large headstone, Soul keeps his eyes on the figure, a black hat obscuring their face. "Do you see them?"
"Who-" Kid breaks off as he looks in the direction he's pointing in. "Oh."
The figure steps out from the headstone, and Kid grabs his arm. "Run."
Soul leaps over the open grave as they sprint down the hill. Risking a glance behind him, he sees the figure is closer than he would have thought been possible. "Hurry up," he rasps to Kid between breaths. "They're right behind us."
Letting out a groan, Kid pumps his legs even faster. They fly across the cemetery without taking care to be discreet, not stopping until they reach the chain link fence. Kid scrambles up the fence far faster than he did when they entered, jumping to the ground shortly before Soul does.
He doubles over, gasping for breath. "Are they still following us?"
Turning, Soul braces himself to see the figure scaling the fence.
But the figure is nowhere to be seen.