... huh? Wait, since when have I been standing in the entryway? I don't remember coming over here.

Click

Eh? The door's opening? Does that mean...

A man walked in.

His hair was a bit shaggy, but his eyes had a sly glint in them, as if he had a joke he couldn't wait to share.

It's really him. Dad.

I called out to him.

...

Huh?

Why can't I speak? Where's my voice?

I tried to step forward, but found that my feet wouldn't move.

What's going on–

"Look, Kiri-chan! This'll be our new home! Isn't it nice?"

A small, short-haired girl was holding the man's hand as he led her inside. She looked around with a wary gaze.

"Why can't we stay in the old house?"

"Well, we had to come to this area since it's closer to your mom's work."

"But what about Daddy's job?"

The man ruffled her hair.

"Don't worry about me, sweetie. I've got things under control."

Ah, I get it now. It's that thing, right? These are my memories. I must've been so overcome with emotion that they all came spilling out in my dreams when I took a nap.

Though, it's a bit weird that I'm seeing them in third person. How does that even work?

... well, I guess anything's possible in a dream...

The young me glanced behind her.

"Is Mommy coming?"

"She's busy with work, she'll come in time for dinner."

No, she won't.

"Now come on, Kiri-chan. Let's greet the neighbors."

The scene suddenly shifted. We were now at the doorway of the house next door. Dad rang the doorbell, and after a short time, a woman opened the door. She was holding a baby in her arms.

"Hello?"

"Ah, nice to meet you! We're the neighbors that just moved in next door..."

Little Kiriya, rather than hiding behind her father like you'd expect a little girl to do, had walked right up to the door and was trying to peer inside. I chuckled a bit at that. Back then, I didn't have an ounce of shyness.

"Who's that?"

The young me was pointing at a small figure that she had spotted down the hall. The figure ducked into a room when he realized he had been spotted.

The woman looked over her shoulder.

"Kazuma, don't be rude, come say hello."

There was no response as the boy remained hidden.

The woman sighed.

"Sorry, he's nervous around new people–"

"I'll go find him."

'Wait, Kiri-chan!"

Kiri-chan squeezed her way past the woman and ran down the hall to the room where the boy was hiding, then poked her head in the doorway.

"Ah! H-Hey, don't just come into my house!"

"Then don't run away from me. I'm Kiriya. You're Kazuma, right?"

"... Kiriya? Isn't that a boy's name?"

Kiri-chan pouted. It was a bit of a sore subject for her at the time. Dad really liked the name Kiriya and didn't even consider what to do if he had a daughter.

I like the name now, though. I'd much rather have an unusual name than a boring and unoriginal one, like Taro or Hanako or Kazuma.

"Hey, Kiri-chan, you shouldn't go inside without taking off your shoes! ... and, uh, you should also ask permission first..."

Kiri-chan ignored her father's protests and pointed at the boy.

"Dad, Kuzuma is making fun of my name."

"Hey, you messed that up on purpose! I know you got my name right the first time!"

Dad just chuckled.

"Try to get along with him, Kiri-chan. He's going to be your neighbor from now on."

"Fine..."

The scene suddenly changed again.

I looked around and realized I was in a park now. The summer sun was blazing down, but there was a cool breeze to counteract it and keep the air pleasant. I don't think I've ever had a dream with sensations this vivid before.

"Ah!"

"Come on, try harder!"

Kiri-chan and Kazuma were playing swordfighting with some sticks they found. They looked older now, maybe a year or two more than the last scene. Kazuma seemed to have been disarmed.

Kiri-chan shook her head as he retrieved his weapon.

"Come on, I know you can do better than that!"

"Sorry, I didn't want to hurt you."

"Huh? Are you looking down on me cause I'm a girl?"

Kazuma seemed taken aback.

"Uh..."

Kiri-chan swung her stick hard at his head. He just barely managed to block it with his own stick, but since he wasn't prepared, it got knocked out of his hand again.

"It doesn't matter whether I'm a girl or a boy! Right now, I'm your arch nemesis! If you don't go all out, you'll die, and then I'll plunge the world in darkness! Fuhahaha!"

Did I really enjoy role-playing that much? I mean, I suppose most kids do, it's just that it feels weird to see myself like that since I haven't done anything similar to acting in ages.

Kazuma resolved himself.

"Okay, fine! Don't cry if you get hurt! Haaa–!"

He lunged, this time not holding anything back.

"Now that's more like it– ah!"

After exchanging a few blows, Kiri-chan was the one disarmed this time.

Kazuma lowered his stick and made a proud pose.

"Looks like it's the hero's victory this– oof!"

The moment he lowered his guard, Kiri-chan tackled him, taking him to the ground and pinning him.

"Hey, that's cheating!"

"I'm the demon lord, it's your fault for not being careful! You should've made sure I was defeated!"

"Tch. Take this, then!"

Kazuma managed to get his leg up and kick her off. She fell backwards and landed on her back, knocking the wind out of her.

Kazuma stood up with a smug look, then panicked when he saw her lying there.

"Oh, sorry, are you– gah!?"

His concern was rewarded with another tackle.

"What did I tell you? No matter who you're against, you should always go all out! Give them a dropkick if you have to!"

I cringed a little. Kiri-chan, it wouldn't hurt to turn down the tomboyishness just a little. You're acting more like a dumb boy than Kazuma.

Next, I found myself in my parents' bedroom. A king-size bed dominated the space. Kiri-chan, now around 9 or 10 years old, was digging through the closet while her parents were out.

As she reached the deepest corner of the closet, she found something that had been completely buried. It was an old photo album. Pulling it out and sitting on the floor, she started to flip through it.

The photos in the album were all from Dad's childhood. Birthday parties, old friends, family gatherings; all the typical stuff you'd see in such an album. For the most part.

There was one group of pages that stood out. A college-age Dad, posing with a motorcycle. An '86 GSXR-750G, though of course Kiri-chan wouldn't know that at this point. There were several photos, some with motorcycle buddies.

The young girl's eyes sparkled as she pored over the photos.

"I wonder if Dad still has that motorcycle somewhere. Maybe he can give me a ride! It looks like so much fun!"

At that time, it was still buried in a storage unit somewhere, gathering dust.

And now I'm standing at the top of a hill. Ah, I remember this place. This hill is at the end of the street I live on. If we're talking about important memories that happened here, then...

"Uh, I still think this is a really bad idea."

"Don't be such a wuss, it'll be fine!"

The two friends were looking down the steep hill. And one of them was wearing a helmet and straddling a bicycle. Since she couldn't ride a motorcycle right now, Kiri-chan was settling for what she thought was the next best thing.

Kazuma seemed concerned at first, but then hardened his expression after his friend's taunting.

"Whatever, go ahead. Anything that happens is your own fault."

"Wow, so cold. You don't care if I get hurt?"

"It's your job to take of yourself, not mine. I won't be caught dead being responsible for a foolish girl."

Kazuma said that, but from where I am now I can see him fidgeting with the bandages he has hidden in his pocket. He's a bit of a tsundere, isn't he?

"Alright, let's go! Banzai!"

Kicking off the ground, the girl began accelerating down the slope.

Faster, faster, faster. The wheels became a blur as she hurtled downwards.

Her hair trailing out behind her, she screamed out in delight.

"YAHOOOOOO!"

She was about 3/4 of the way down when the bicycle's handlebar began to shake out of her control. The grass was longer and the ground rougher near the bottom.

"Wait, wait– gah!"

The bicycle's front wheel jerked sideways, sending Kiri-chan tumbling right out of her seat and onto the ground. She rolled down the grass, hitting a sharp rock on the way down.

"OW! MY KNEE!"

Raising herself to a sitting position, Kiri-chan took a look at her leg. Blood was oozing out from a sizeable cut on her knee. She tried her best to fight back her tears, but there was still some wetness around her eyes.

"Are you okay!?"

Little Kazuma called out as he clambered down the hill, instantly abandoning his aloof act from earlier.

"I-I'm fine... it's just a– ow– cut."

She tried acting tough, but her friend just gave an exasperated sigh as he took out the bandages.

"Just sit still while I patch you up."

Ah, here it comes. One of the memories that feels like it burns my conscience whenever I think of it.

I don't want to see this. Please, just spare me. I already hate myself because of what happened, so please just stop rubbing it in

I didn't know who I was even pleading to, but if there was anyone listening, they sure as hell didn't care. The scene kept on playing. And then the words came out of Kiri-chan's mouth:

"We can be together forever if we want. We can just get married."

At that moment, I could feel everything that Kiri-chan was feeling. Warmth. Trust. Affection. It was just a simple-minded kid girl that made that promise... but she meant it with all her heart.

... am I crying? Even though this is a dream, my cheeks still feel damp. I wiped my eyes, but the sensation of wetness remained.

The next scene was an older Kiri-chan, middle school age, sitting in front of a pc.

– You kidding!? I've been trying to get that drop for weeks!

– Heh, what can I say? They don't call me 'Kazuma-san who's only lucky in getting rare drops' for nothing!

– ... you know that's not a compliment, right? That aside, you don't even need that, do you? Sell it to me.

– Eh? Why do I have to give it to you?

– Seriously? You would've died tons of times if I hadn't been covering your ass...

Around this time was when Kazuma started getting really into MMO games, and he dragged me into it too. For my part, I appreciated the distraction.

– Okay Kiriya, how about if you give me that gem you got yesterday, I'll trade you this?

– Sounds good to me. Well, I'm gonna sign off now, got that test tomorrow after all.

– Alright, want to walk to school together tomorrow?

...

– Sorry, I can't. I'll see you at school.

The young Kiriya signed out, then turned off the pc and stretched. She then looked around at the net cafe booth she was in.

"... wonder what Kazuma would say if he knew I was sleeping here."

This was also the time when my mother's company was struggling with a nasty lawsuit. Young Kiriya had taken to spending more and more time outside her home.

"It's not very comfy here, though. Maybe I can stay over at Kazuma's tomorrow... but it feels awkward lately, so maybe not..."

Curling up on the floor of the booth, the girl eventually started to drift off to sleep.

Now that I'm seeing this scene from an outside perspective... she looks really lonely. She's been hiding her troubles from her best friend, and because of that a gap is now forming between them.

But the young girl now struggling to sleep soundly didn't notice the powder keg that she was making.

Dad was taking the young me through a lot filled with storage units, keeping his hands over her eyes. It was early summer, with the afternoon sun blazing down. Young Kiriya was older now, in her third year of middle school.

"We're almost there, Kiri-chan..."

They soon arrived at the destination, a unit with its door already open.

"... aaand, now! Surprise!"

The girl opened her eyes, shaded her eyes from the summer sun as she peered into the unit, and gasped.

It was the same motorcycle she'd seen in the photo album years ago. It was a bit rusty in places and some of the parts looked worn, but it was in pretty good condition otherwise.

Dad smiled.

"Once I fix it up a bit, how about we go for a ride?"

Young Kiriya whipped her head around and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Can we really!?"

"Yep. Just need to get you a helmet, of course."

His daughter threw her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug. He hugged her back... but as he did so, his smile faded, and he sighed.

... wait, what's up with that? That can't be part of the memory, since there's no way young me could've seen that expression from where she is. Is my mind making up details?

"Come on, Kazuma, keep up!"

"Jeez, I don't get why you're in such a rush, Kiriya."

It was early summer now, and the two friends were running through that same storage unit lot.

"You'll understand once you see it!"

Young Kiriya was over the moon right now. It's actually the first time in a long while that she's been this excited about something.

And now the ecstatic girl wanted to show her friend so he could share in her excitement.

"It's right in here!"

Arriving at her destination, she threw open the door of the storage unit.

...

As the light spilled into the unit, there was only stunned silence from the two teenagers.

I already knew what I would see, but I forced myself to look anyway.

The bike had been knocked onto the ground. The headlight was smashed, the tires were punctured, and the body was dented all over as if it was assaulted with a hammer.

It was obvious right away who would do something like this, and the faint scent of alcohol lingering in the unit only confirmed it.

With the knowledge I have now I know that this level of damage is far from unfixable: the light and tires are replaceable, and the dents are all shallow enough to be fixed without much trouble. Thankfully the culprit didn't really know enough about the vehicle to do irreparable damage.

But for the 14-year-old me, the sight was traumatic.

She was finally going to do something fun with her father, but it was ripped away right in front of her eyes. Just like everything she tried to do with him.

... sniff...

The girl's tears had already started flowing.

"Uh..."

Kazuma, of course, had no idea how to react to this situation. He didn't know anything about the bike or why it would be in that condition. All he knew was that his friend was upset, so he tried to comfort her.

"Um, look, it's just a bike, right? You can get it fixed or get a new one–"

"SHUT UP!"

And we're finally here. The moment when the powder keg goes off. The beginning of my biggest mistake.

Kazuma backed away, startled by young Kiriya's reaction.

"Wait, hold on, why are you mad at me?"

The girl turned to look at Kazuma, and he flinched from her glare.

"You don't get it at all! You always have everything go your way, after all! You don't know what it's like!"

"Hey, I don't even know what's going on! This isn't fair!"

He was right, after all. It wasn't fair to him. But the girl wouldn't hear it. She was consumed by frustration and helplessness, and it mixed with her envy of her friend's easy life. And with nowhere else to go those emotions exploded outwards.

"I've had to deal with crap like this for years, and you don't have a care in the world! I'm sick of it! Get out!"

"But I–"

"GET OUT!"

"... fine."

Kazuma was starting to tear up as he left. My own cheeks were feeling wet again too. I wished with all my might that the younger me would calm down, realize what she's about to throw away, and go after him... but I knew that wouldn't happen.

Young Kiriya was wandering around the park the next day. She had spent the previous night in a net cafe, crying herself to sleep. Now she was sulking, with no particular goal in mind.

There weren't many other people in the park that day, other than some elderly folk and a gang of high school delinquents...

"Oi, that chick's kinda cute, isn't she?"

"Yeah... hey, I think she goes to the same middle school I was in last year!"

"Damn, you should ask her out!"

"Yeah! Hey girl, you all alone out here?"

She ignored them as she wandered past. Usually she'd get mad, but in her current mood she just didn't care.

"Wow, she just brushed you off, haha!"

"Aw, shut it. See, this is why I shoulda brought my bike, it makes picking up chicks way easier!"

She stopped in her tracks.

I tried to shout out to her to keep on walking, but of course my voice didn't work.

I knew what she was thinking: I've tried to be a good girl but bad things always happen to me... so maybe I should just be bad?

Coming to a decision, she turned around.

"You have a bike?"

I even tried to reach out to her and stop her, but I couldn't touch her.

"Woooooohoooooooooo!"

The feeling of the wind in her hair was exhilarating. Young Kiriya threw back her head while holding on to her senpai from behind as he drove his motorcycle down the highway.

Any lingering guilt she was feeling was being washed away by the sense of liberation.

The senpai spoke over his shoulder.

"Hey, how bout after this, we head back to my pla–"

"Don't get ahead of yourself."

"I... alright."

She wasn't planning on getting serious with him, of course. It's no wonder he ended up cheating later, not that it really hurt her feelings anyway. It did however lead to him finding a gas tank full of sugar after he got caught.

For now, though, she was hanging on tightly as he turned into town. They were passing through the shopping district now.

Soon they passed the arcade. Right as a certain someone was leaving said arcade to look for a place to buy lunch.

I wanted to scream. Call out to him! Clear things up! Don't let it end this way!

The young me opened her mouth... then shut it firmly and turned away.

I didn't see it then, but now I looked directly at Kazuma's face as the pair on the bike drove by. His expression was frozen, yet I got the sensation of watching something break into pieces.

The next couple years went by in a blur. Kazuma never showed up to school again. After breaking up with that senpai, I got into fights with other delinquents, won a lot of them, and made a name for myself. Eventually I had gathered my own small group. I still tried to get passing grades in school, but even then I felt my motivation slipping away.

I also started learning more about motorcycles on my own, and began fixing up Dad's old bike on my own, in a place where it wouldn't be found.

One evening, when I had finally got it working, I took it for a ride. It felt amazing... but also empty.

As I rode through town, I passed by that arcade again, and my thoughts wandered...

...

...

...

"Akechi Kiriya-san, welcome to the afterlife. Unfortunately, you've died. It might've been short, but your life's now over."

I woke up with a start, breathing heavily.

That dream was way too realistic.

I shielded my eyes from the sunlight coming in through the window as I tried to get my bearings.

If I remember correctly, I had laid down in my old bed and fallen asleep...

...

Wait, the sun's up!? What time is it!?

I checked the clock on my nightstand. It was already 13:00.

...

I only have two hours left! I can't believe I slept for so long.

How am I supposed to find Dad in just two hours?

Creak.

... that sound. That's the sound of the front door! He's here!

I ran down the stairs, and saw the back of a man with shaggy black hair.

"D–"

"–ad! ... wait, what?"

By the time the word had left my mouth, I was no longer in my house. I was standing in a pure white room.

In front of me was Chris, except she was wearing some strange fancy clothes and had longer hair. And a bigger chest for some reason.

"Er, Chris? That's you, right? What's going on–"

"Silence."

I froze. The girl I had thought to be my mischievous tomboy friend was now giving me a death stare, and spoke in a voice that sent shivers down my spine.

"Akechi Kiriya. You are accused of dodging your sentence to purgatory, stealing from the heavenly armory, and illegally reincarnating yourself. As the Goddess of Fortune and a guide of dead souls, I, Eris, will now cast judgement on you."