Akira's eyes shot open as he took in his surroundings.
"Mā, watashi wa mada ruburan ni imasu... Sono yume wa nanideshita ka?"
For some reason, he had an incredibly weird dream. He woke up in a strange prison with piano music playing throughout the room, a long-nosed old man sitting in front of the bars at a desk. Two twin wardens stood guard outside his cell door, one with a baton and the other with a clipboard.
The old man was odd, talking about things like "ruin" and "rehabilitation." Whatever it meant, Akira dismissed it as just a dream, and nothing to be too concerned about. Looking around, he noticed that Sumire was nowhere to be seen.
"Kinō wa tada no yumedesu ka? Kimyōna koto ga takusan okotte irunode, nani ga shinjitsu de nani ga okotte iru no ka hotondo wakarimasen…"
Akira changed into more casual clothes, still trying to process what happened yesterday and figure out if he was hallucinating.
As he headed downstairs, he noticed the sign was still flipped to "Closed," Sojiro nowhere to be found. Instead, Sumire was at one of the cafe tables, looking intently at the crossword puzzle sitting there. When Akira's feet touched the bottom floor, Sumire looked up and gave a happy smile, Akira returning it both in happiness to see his friend again and in relief that he wouldn't be scheduled for a visit to the psychiatrist anytime soon.
"Asa no Akira!" Sumire floated over, leaving the crossword. "Anata ga me o samasu no o matsu no wa tsumaranakattanode, watashi wa kafe o chekku suru koto ni shimashita. Kono basho wa subarashīdesu! Karera ga nani o motte iru ka shitte imashita ka-"
"Akira! Kimasu ka?" Sojiro's voice rang out from the other side of the door.
"Sō sō, kyō wa orientēshon ga arimasu. Watashitoisshoni kimasen ka?"
"Mochiron!"
Akira left the cafe, Sumire floating through the door. He got into the passenger seat of the car, drawing the seatbelt. He turned around to see Sumire float through the door of the car, settling on the chair. Before Sojiro got in, Akira opened his mouth to tell Sumire to buckle up before remembering she was a ghost, closing it wordlessly.
Sojiro stepped out the remains of his cigarette and got in, starting up the car and driving onto the highway to Shujin. While they were on the ride, Sumire felt oddly restless and even slightly excited, but she couldn't tell why. Soon, they pulled up to the white buildings that made up Shujin Academy, Akira's school for the next school year.
Sojiro tapped his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. Cars were laid out all along the road in front of them. Akira tapped his foot restlessly as Sumire shifted around slightly in her seat, changing positions every now and then. Thanks to the constant silence, Sojiro turned on the radio as some music began playing. Eventually, it switched to the news as the traffic jam continued to stretch in front of them while they waited to move forward another few meters before stopping again.
"Seishin-tekina shattodaun no abare wa, kako sū-kagetsu de ōku no jiko o hikiokoshimashita, saikin sono sukejūru o ōhaba ni okuraseta chikatetsu no jiko..."
Sojiro turned off the radio with a mix of sadness and frustration on his face, while Sumire looked out the window out of boredom.
"...Betsu no jiko? Dakara sore wa totemo konzatsu shite iru riyūdesu."
Sojiro sighed deeply, the next words making Sumire freeze.
"Jitsuwa sengetsu wa hontōni kanashī koto ga arimashita… koko ni kuru mae ni okotta nodesu. Kioku ga tadashikereba, nakunatta shōjo wa tatta 15-saideshita. Kanojo no ryōshin wa tada..."
If her heart were still beating, it probably would've stopped.
Sojiro shook his head while Sumire processed what he said, the sounds of the engines and honking fading as Sumire's thoughts raced.
"Sengetsu? Akira ga kuru mae ni? 15-Sai kurai no on'nanoko? Sore wa watashi no jikodesu ka?"
Akira looked back at Sumire, who was oddly quiet and now wore a thoughtful expression, clearly lost in thought. He processed what Sojiro just said, and the possibility it presented in his mind stunned him.
Sumire seemed to come to the same conclusion, and the two shared a knowing look. Once they got out of the traffic jam, both of them knew they had to discuss the accident to see what they could figure out.
The ride was silent on the way home…
The jingle of the bell echoed in the empty cafe, the dark sky contrasting with the soft glow of the lights.
"E e, kyō wa mise o hiraku koto sura dekimasendeshita..." He turned to Akira. "Atama o sagete kudasai. Izure ni seyo, watashi wa anata o enseki ni kerimasu." Sojiro had a hard look while he glared at Akira, who shied away from it.
Suddenly, Sojiro grabbed Akira's hand and slapped a small hard object into his palm. It felt like leather, and when Akira looked at it, it was a small journal.
"Anata no mainichi no katsudō no kiroku o hokan shite kudasai. Watashi wa tsukiniichido hozen obuzābā ni hōkoku shinakereba narimasen, soshite anata ga kafe ni iru ma ni asa to yūgata ni anata to hanasu koto wa jūbunde wa arimasen."
Akira nodded and turned to see Sumire waiting at the far booth, seemingly lost in thought since she was staring vacantly at the coffee beans on the shelf behind the counter. Sojiro's phone buzzed, and his expression significantly softened as he picked up.
"Hai?"
A pause.
"Shinpaishinaidekudasai, watashi wa modotte kimasu. On! Kyō wa isogashī hide wa arimasen, soshite anata wa sore o shitte imasu. Watashi wa sore o torimashita. Hai."
Sojiro sighed and pocketed his phone, turning towards the door. "Gaishutsu suru hitsuyō ga arimasu. Nan'notameni kafe o dete mo onaji koto ga okoru koto o wasurenaide kudasai."
As the door shut behind him, Akira turned to Sumire, in the same position she was before Sojiro took the call.
"Sumire?"
She jolted in her seat, thankfully. Akira didn't know how to snap Sumire out of it considering he couldn't touch her.
"Wah! Sate, Akira gomen'nasai, nanika hitsuyōdeshita ka?"
"Wakatta?" Akira slid into the booth seat next to Sumire, hoping no one would walk by and see him talking to what would amount to thin air. Sumire looked in her lap, not responding as she seemed to tear up slightly.
"Hai…" She was quiet, almost inaudible. Akira turned towards her and tried to give her a reassuring smile.
"Kite. Nani o kangaete iru no ka oshiete itadakemasu ka?"
Silence. Sumire fidgeted a bit while Akira leaned in a bit further.
"Sumire? Oshietekudasai. Watashi wa kore ga nandearu ka ni tsuite no kangae o motte iru to omoimasu, shikashi anata ga shizukadearunaraba, watashi wa tasukeru koto ga dekimasen."
"...jiken…"
"Un?"
"...Sore wa jikodesu…"
"Watashi wa sore ga sorera no sen ni sotte iru to omoimashita…" Akira ran his hand through his hair and tried to comfort Sumire. "Sojiro ga anata no jiko ni tsuite hanashite ita to omoimasu ka? Kare wa anata o kizutsukeru tsumori wa nakatta..."
"Shiru. Jiko ga ōkatta no ni, naze watashi dake ga yūreina no ka? Soreha-shin no batsudesu ka? Watashi wa nani ka machigatta koto o shimashita ka? Watashi ga ikite ita toki no ningen no shippaina no ka, nanika ga umaku ikanakatta no ka wa wakarimasen-" Akira put a finger to her lips, cutting her off despite his hand not touching her.
"Sumire. Tōkyō de mita yūrei ga watashitachi dakedatta no wa fushigidesuga, anata wa machigainaku warui otokode wa arimasendeshita. Ochitsuite kudasai. Kore o rikai shimashou."
Akira pulled out his phone and typed in 'Sumire death', filtering results from within the last month.
No results found.
He scrunched his eyebrows together before furiously typing out a slightly different search.
'Sumire dies'
No results found.
'Sumire killed'
No results found.
'Sumire deceased'
No results found.
'Sumire passes away'
No results found.
'R.I.P. Sumire'
No results found.
Akira drew in a breath, hoping for this last prompt to turn up some information.
'Sumire car accident'
No results found.
He slouched in his seat, letting his phone drop to his side in his hand. He turned to Sumire, one last question on his mind.
"Le no namae o oboete imasu ka?" Sumire shook her head sadly, not knowing anything more than her name and the way she likely died.
Akira shook his head, setting an alarm before pocketing his phone. However, Sumire's comment raised a few questions. Considering Sumire's current state, he had to ask carefully.
"Nani o oboete imasu ka?"
"Amari nai... Watashi no yō ni kikoeta koe dake o oboete imasu. Tōri de megasameru mae ni,Sumire!' To kiita." Sumire's shoulders sagged. "Sore ga daredeare, watashi ga shinu mae ni karera ga watashi o yonda to kakushin shite imasu. Karera wa watashi o ki ni kakete ita ni chigai arimasen... Shikashi ima watashi wa koko ni imasu. Watashi wa karera, matawa watashi o ki ni kakete iru hito, matawa watashi o mada ki ni kakete iru hito o oboete imasen. Watashi wa kodokude wasurete imashita. Naze anata wa koko ni iru nodesu ka..."
"Sonogo, watashitachi wa onaji fune ni notte imasu."
Sumire looked up, confused. Akira gave her a pained smile before reminiscing. "Anata wa anata no ryōshin ni tsuite hanashimashita ka? Watashi ga sore o hitsuyō to shita toki, karera wa watashi o nayama seru koto ga dekimasendeshita." She nodded slowly, Akira continuing with his story. "Watashi ga keimusho o deta toki, sore wa sarani hidoi monodeshita. Hitobito wa ekibyō no yō ni watashi o sakemashita. Daremoga watashi ni chikadzuku koto o kyohi shimashita, soshite karera ga watashi o mita toki, watashi ga karera no me ni mita no wa osore to keibetsu dakedeshita. Shōjiki kowaidesu. Matahitori ni naru node wanai ka to shinpaidesu. Koko ni ite dare ka to hanasu dake demo yume no yōdesu."
"Nē, Akira? Watashitachi wa anata o tasukeru tame ni saizen o tsukushimasu. Watashitachiha futari tomo hitoridesuga, otagai o zenshin sa seru koto ga dekimasu. Anata wa watashi o tasukemasu, soshite watashi wa anata o tasukemasu." Sumire moved to attempt to put her hand on Akira's, hoping to reassure him, even if it went through him as usual.
Akira's eyes moistened, the pent up emotions in him breaking the dam. "Watashi… arigato, Sumire…"
Sumire floated out of her seat, heading upstairs. "Kite. Ashita wa gakkō de nagai tsuitachi o sugoshimasu. Korekara sukoshi kyūkei ga hitsuyōda to omoimasu."
"Un…" Akira got up, a few tears sitting on the lenses of his glasses. "Nemurimashou…"
Akira went upstairs and changed, motioning for Sumire to come up afterwards. After the two took off their glasses and got ready to sleep, Akira pulled out his phone to check his subway route before his eyes landed on the mysterious red-and-black app.
"Oi, Sumire?"
"Mmm…?" Sumire lifted her head from the couch and looked towards him.
"Anata wa kono apuri ni seitsū shite imasu ka? Kore o mita nochi, sukoshi attanode, dō iu wake ka tsunagatte iru no kamo shiremasen…"
Sumire floated over and examined it carefully, her expression puzzled before she shook her head.
"Īe, chigaimasu. Shikashi bukimina... Tabun anata wa sore o torinozokubekidesu."
Akira dragged it to the bin icon on his screen again. "Izen ni tameshimashitaga, modotte kimashita. Sore ga tsudzukunara, tabun watashi wa sore o chekku shimasu."
"Wakatta… Oyasumi, Akira." Sumire turned on her side before her eyes shut, her soft breathing once again filling the room.
"Kanojo wa yūrei ni naru riyū ga hitsuyōdesu... Naze watashi dake ga kanojo o miru koto ga dekimasu ka? Akira wa jibun no koto o kangaete me o toji hajimeta. Anata wa shugo tenshi no yō ni narimasu ka? Kanojo ga daredearu ka hotondo wakaranainode, anata wa sore o suru koto ga dekimasen…"
He looked towards Sumire, sleeping soundly while his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
"Harou~īn de ichido mita eiga o oboete imasu... Yūrei wa sakini susumu mae ni mikansei no shigoto ka nanika o motte imasu ka? Kanojo wa kenbōshō ni kurushinde irunode muzukashīdeshou... Kanojo ga shinu mae ni Sumire o yonda hito wa dare demo daijōbuda to omoimasu. Kanojo wa sutekina on'nanokodesu... Karera wa kanojo no sōshitsu ni attō sa reta ni chigai arimasen."
Sleep overtook Akira once more, his eyes shutting as his breathing matched Sumire's.