Credit and appreciation goes to the artist who created the cover art for Chasing Ghosts, a friend of mine who goes by the name of LordlyOgnios. Information including the DeviantArt page and Email address can be found on my profile page if you wish to reach him.
Chapter 6: Seeing Spirits
"Not so fast you two! Have you guys eaten breakfast yet? If not then you should try the Squish sausage bar! Loaded full with omega 3's and calcium!" I walk up to the 3 of them holding a snack bar that I was promised to advertise. And having been given a reason to talk to my friends at work I made sure I was as much as myself as possible.
Taiga and Ryuuji stood still looking at me in astonishment. "What the...?" They both said in unison. I gave the best bright and goofy smile I could.
"You know it! And it's got the flavor punch in it to make your insides say yum!" I held the awful candy bar proudly in front of me, letting my nutty personality carry the atmosphere. Inage-san turned his awareness to me seeing as how I became the center of attention.
"Ahh Kushieda! Never letting a moment pass to get the job done eh? Well no luck I'm afraid, you can't sell to Mirino's kid! He's got her same skin after all! Hah-hah-hah!" He gave a ridiculous laugh as only he could pull off. His sense of humor was definitely off-putting but I had worked long enough with him to get used to it. It still creeped me out, but only just a little.
"Minorin... you work here?" Taiga spoke up to me confused.
"I sure do! Can't let an opportunity slip by to put your youth to the test!"
"Huh... so then this place is one of the..." Her mood became more resilient; she didn't like whatever she was thinking about. I glanced at her expression for not even a second before I connected that face to what I saw when we fought last week. A shroud of guilt hits me and I look quickly to change the subject.
"So Takasu-kun! What brings you and Taiga to this humble shop this morning?"
"H-huh? Oh it's nothing... we were just going to look for some place to eat breakfast is all..." He responded meekly.
"Ah, eating out again are we? Well good thing you guys managed to come across this super awesome store! Maybe you should get a little grub for your stomachs here before chowing down on the real meal!" Don't screw up Minori. Don't screw up.
Takasu darted his eyes away from me to the ground beside him. "Yeah... sounds like a good idea... but it was a real surprise to see you here. I mean, I didn't know you worked more than one job than Jonny's."
"And I've got even more! Got to stay on top of my toes!" I gave him a swift thumbs up, then did my best to remember some cheesy movie lines. I made sure to make it sound extra ridiculous. "for you see Takasu-kun, the wisest hero seeks to remain deep, as deep as the stillest shadow! As mysterious as the dark side of the moon!" The pose I gave on top of it was just as corny. Taiga and Takasu didn't say a word. I didn't expect them to after seeing that.
"Hmm? You're being a little more energetic than usual Kushieda. Do you all know each other from somewhere?" Inage-san looked at me curiously, then turned to all three of us with a puzzled look. Embarrassed I immediately turned to him, realizing I had ignored my boss for a good amount of time.
"Oh yeah Inage-san, we all go to the same high school and we even have the same class together! It was a nice surprise to see each other so I got kind of excited. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier."
He gave a long winded grunt, the kind of grunt that only a person that old could manage to do. " *sigh*, well that makes sense I guess. Go on ahead and get back to work. I have something I want to talk about with your friends over here." Guess he's taking the sale into his own hands now.
"Sure thing boss! One super shiny window coming in no time flat!" I skipped back to the other side of the store; he was my boss after all. I still needed to do my job even if Taiga and Takasu were here. I couldn't just give this up to talk to them... even if it hurt to admit it.
I reached into my apron for my rags. I brought them up to start and on instinct my eyes went to the reflection of Taiga of Takasu against the sheen. "...I did okay... right? I don't think I did anything stupid..." I think to myself slowly, making sure I wasn't the Minori I was yesterday. " I was really silly,... I made a dumb joke,... yeah... I was me right?" I made sure I covered every little thing I did. "...Yeah... yeah you were. This is a good thing Minori... stop being nervous for no reason."
"Kushieda! Put your back into it girl!" Inage-san cheered to me.
"Right! With a vengeance!" On instinct I turned to reply to him and gave an energetic fist pump. And without much thought I just as quickly turned back around washing windows.
"... they'll both leave and eat breakfast with a good impression of you... you made up for last night... it still happened but you didn't make things worse so it's fine... you're fine." I felt a weight begin to lift off my shoulders. "You'll see them again when school starts in a few days... everything will go back to normal... it'll be like none of this ever happened. I'll be me... Takasu and everyone will be happy... Taiga will be happy... and I'll be happy. ...yeah, you're okay Minori... you're oka-"
"Hey Kushieda! I've got some good news for you!" Inage-san hollered at me not long after.
"Awesome! Bring it on boss!" I hollered back.
"That's the spirit! Well it looks like you'll have yourself some help today! It turns out your buddies have signed up to work with you!" ...ehh? ...wait, what did he just say?
I swayed my eyes towards Taiga and Takasu not believing what I just heard. I looked at the both of them nervously looking back at me. Takasu was blushing with an awkward smile, having his hand behind his head. His other arm was around Taiga's shoulders, who wore a face of confusion and shock. Her mouth hanged slightly open, stuttering but speechless. For the longest second we all stared back at each other as if we didn't believe what just happened. I think we all shared the feeling of how uncomfortable this was.
"N-no, this is a joke right?... I mean, what kind of reason would they have to want to work with-"
"So why don't you take a little while to talk for a bit? Your friends told me that they haven't had breakfast yet so go ahead and have about half an hour to eat something and come back. I'll take care of the shop until you're all done. When you get back here though make sure to show them how to take inventory so it can get all get done by noon. Think of it like an early lunch break. Sound good?"
"Yes sir! One early lunch break on the double!" I stood at attention and gave my best military salute.
"Hah-hah! Don't go and burn out all your energy having fun eating! I expect you to come back as twice the girl I knew you! Hey, maybe you'll rub off on your friends too! Wouldn't I be a lucky guy then! Hah-hah-hah!" Inage-san walked back in the store gallantly laughing as he left the three of us outside. I stayed still in my position, and Taiga and Takasu stayed in theirs, until his laughter faded to where we could barely hear it from outside the shop. And once again we found ourselves staring back and forth at each other, unable to think past anything except how awkward this was. We stayed like this for a few seconds as if we were waiting for each other to start the conversation. I spoke up first.
"...so guys, there's a little coffee shop around the corner over there. Want to get a little something to eat?" I brought my salute to the back of my head in a nervous manner, still afraid of how to move the moment forward. Taiga and Ryuuji were as equally timid it seemed; it almost seemed like they couldn't do anything but stay stiff and frozen. Taiga still looked shocked beyond belief and Takasu's smile showed no sign of saying a word. I felt my nerves tense up on how bad the vibe stayed. I stopped thinking and said the first thing that came up.
"Oh c'mon you two, I know you've gotten close but how long are you going to hold each other? Isn't it a little early in the morning to be seen like that?" With my cheerful question they both slowly turned to look at each other, then in an instant split apart from each other as if the other person had some horrible disease. And not surprisingly they began to argue with each other about who got close to who. I chuckled softly to myself. Nice one Minori.
I took the second to appreciate their bickering back and forth with one another. Taiga, who was always so dismissive towards other people, was using every ounce of energy to berate and insult Takasu. Takasu in return equally put in his all, verbally defending himself and fueling the argument. I stood as a bystander watching them go at it. The way they were so passionate about keeping each others attention. The way they were so oblivious to anything around them except one another. The way they were so close to each other, ….it still hurts. It still... I can't believe it. I... !
"Hey you guys! Let's start walking already! I can't just let you guys keep talking and have you starve to death!" I raise my voice over theirs and wave my hand to get their attention. I made sure to immediately focus on them instead of my own thoughts. I was well aware of how I was feeling, and even more aware that I shouldn't pay any attention to it. I shouldn't have been selfish to think about myself in the first place.
Taiga and Takasu looked back at me, both of them still having a little blush in their faces from a few minutes ago. Taiga elbowed Takasu in his stomach and went on to coldly walk away from him towards me. She called out to him when she reached me. "Hurry up you dumb dog. Or you'll be getting my leftovers when I'm through eating without you." Her words were just as cruel as I thought they would be. Takasu was still several feet away stooping over himself recovering from Taiga's blow. With a brief moment between the both of us, I made sure to use to try and dig some information out of my best friend.
"Hey, so why did you and Takasu-kun decide to work with me? I don't get this." I knelt down and whispered into her ear, keeping my eye on Takasu to make sure he didn't notice us. Taiga spoke back just as quietly.
"I just wanted to do something with you today. We didn't really hang out like you wanted to last night so I thought maybe we could do it like this. You don't have anything against it right?"
"N-no, I mean I really want to spend more time with you, but you've never done something like this before! I thought you hated things like work! And if you just wanted to spend some time together why is Takasu-kun here? Why did he sign up to do this too?"
"I didn't just want to tell him to go home by himself while I hung out with you instead. What would he think if I just ditched him like that?" Taiga didn't make this any easier. I try to make eye contact with her to get my point across better.
"Well okay, but still you two could've just ate somewhere and then you could have just came back to visit if you wanted. I still don't get why-" As if on instinct my eyes swing back to what they were originally on. Takasu was walking towards us casually, but as my eyes fixate on him coming to us he brought his sight to mine to catch my attention. I felt my mind stutter for a second. I knew exactly what was happening.
"Right! Looks like we're all good to go! Just follow me everyone! I'll have us at that coffee shop before you even know it!" I let myself be heard to the both of them and turned around, ready to start walking. There was no way I was going to let myself slip up twice. Before I shut off my thinking completely I tap Taiga's foot with my own and spoke without a sound, hoping that she could read my lips. "We'll talk later." She looked at me coldly for a moment but soon nodded in approval. And with that I grandly started marching, leading the way towards the corner coffee shop.
The walk was short lived, with maybe about 6 or 7 minutes of me trying to keep the atmosphere up. They told me about the little shopping trip that Taiga had told me last night on the phone, and how Takasu didn't get that much sleep because of it. A few jokes later with me acting like a fool and we ended up at my little oasis from work. I was thankful I've gotten to know so many coffee shops in the area with all the jobs I have. Otherwise we would've maybe had to eat some junk food, maybe even out of Inage-san's store. Maybe I would have had to eat that terrible sausage bar. Anything was better than that.
"And here we are guys! How's that for record time! Take a look at my own little home away from home!" I showcased my average coffee shop to my friends as brilliantly as I could. Doing my best to look like one of those game show actresses, I knelt down a little and spread my arms to show just how fantastic this store was. For the second time now Taiga and Takasu stood there, lost for words. A few seconds passed as I held my pose and Takasu had seemed to find the words I had managed to hide from him.
"... It looks great Kushieda..." He says as he gazes confusedly at the mediocre building.
"Now I know what you're thinking. *ahem* Well now, this just looks like some plain old ordinary store. How could it possibly be as good as she says? Well don't go off judging a book by it's cover! The best surprises come from where you least expect them! You'll never suspect that some of the greatest sandwiches come from here!" I tried to change my voice a little to add to the goofiness of the entire thing. It seemed to be going alright.
Takasu again had the look of someone who couldn't think of anything to say. He's been having that really weird face for a while now. I can't tell if he's embarrassed or if he's gotten really shy all of a sudden. It's a little strange to see this side of him. I planned on going into another pose to gesture them to go ahead inside, but Taiga managed to step in before I could.
*BAM*
She had suddenly moved behind Takasu and went to kick his back, causing him to reel forward and stumble over himself in pain.
"What the hell! Why'd you kick me for?!" Takasu yelled in anger behind him, while at the same time trying to stand back upright and regain himself.
"I can't have my pet dog taking up the entrance being a nuisance for everyone. Go through the door and save us a spot." She gave another kick and caused Takasu to lose his balance and fall forward towards me. I don't think I've ever heard her talk to him in a way that wasn't cold-hearted.
I look at Takasu beneath me, barreling his emotions towards Taiga and steadily trying to get back up. He slowly got into a kneeling position; he had one knee on the ground and the other bent forward to use as support for the rest of his body. He started to lean in on it, pushing his hands against it as leverage for his body when he tilted his head up in my direction. He kept his annoyed and aggravated composure for maybe half a second, and then lost all sense of anger he had in an instant. His cheeks reddened quickly and he became as quiet as a mouse. His lips slightly parted away from each other leaving his mouth hang just slightly, and his eyes stood still looking at me. On reaction my eyes went to his and strangely enough the gaze that met mine wasn't the forceful stare I had expected. It was somehow lighter, as if our own gazes allowed each others to pass through. Without me knowing I felt my face began to match his and I realized that my cheeks were on fire, probably as red if not redder than Takasu's. A shock of embarrassment rang through me as I rushed to think of something to do, but again was beaten to it.
*BAM* "I said get going you stupid mutt!" *BAM* *BAM* Taiga repeatedly began to kick Takasu forward toward the entrance as I instinctively moved to the side. Fortunately, this time Takasu wasn't sent to the ground but instead used the force of the blows to propel him back on his feet. That still didn't stop Taiga from kicking him through the door with a final hit. *BAAMM* "And buy me something good!"
Taiga stood at the entrance fuming with anger as the sounds of the door chime began to ring out. As the door slowly made its way shut her temper died down to where no one would have known what happened seconds ago. I didn't pay attention to what I was like, but I probably looked just as lost as Taiga and Takasu when I showed them the shop. She took one deep breath before calmly speaking to me.
"Don't worry about him. He just acts like an idiot most of the time. Sometimes I have to remind him not to misbehave." The way she said it almost made me think she didn't mean it figuratively.
"... You really do treat him badly, don't you?" I said gently.
"He is my dog after all. I have to discipline him and let him know who's in charge. I can't just let him do whatever he wants."
I thought back to our fight and what she said that day. "I'll show you! I'll prove to you I don't care about him! I'll work him like the dog he is and make him cook food for me every day! That'll teach you!" … I couldn't help but feel a little responsible for the way things turned out. But then again, Taiga wouldn't treat anyone else differently.
"You gotta admit though, he's a pretty good friend for still sticking by you. There's not a lot of people that can fill his shoes." I perked up a bit and said my words brightly.
She stood still for a moment, as if trying to delve into her thoughts. It wasn't that long though before I saw her brush off whatever she was thinking about. "What can I say, he's well trained." She closed her eyes in pride, giving off a cynical smile. She then reached towards the handle of the door and swung it open calmly. "So we gonna eat or what?"
"You betcha! I'll let you try a katsu sando that'll knock your socks off!" I took Taiga's invitation and darted towards the open door. Everything was okay so far, no bad moods or sudden spurts of sadness on my end. I was confident. Taiga's here and I'm spending time with her like I've always wanted to. And I was far from letting my emotions get the best of me. I just had to be me and this day would go fine.
"Geez, you all sure did take your time didn't you? It's already 12:30." The three of us met back with Inage-san a little later than I had wanted. It was already a little past 12:27 when I realized just how long all of us sat and talked. I even had us run the way back to try and make up for lost time. Taiga and Takasu couldn't keep up my pace though and we had to take a few stops in between. All that happened really was that we got back to the liquor gasping for air.
"Sorry 'bout that, I kind of messed up and didn't keep track of time. Got caught up having fun with my friends when I shouldn't have, my bad." I hang my head down apologetically hoping to squeeze by on my personality alone. Inage-san went and did that long grunt again.
"*sigh*," Inage-san shook his head while doing it, adding to that weathered old person feel. He peered off past me and took a look at Taiga and Takasu who were both short of breath. "And look at the both of you. Did you all run back here after lunch?" He looked back at me in a displeased manner. "You shouldn't have had your friends do that just because you were late you know." The shame I felt was excruciating.
"Oh no I'm sorry I just-"
"No wait, *pant*, it wasn't Kushieda's fault. It was just, we didn't want to be late and cause her any trouble. She didn't force us to run or anything." Takasu rose his voice and cut me off before I was going to apologize. He walked forward next to me, still a little fatigued. I was a bit taken back, not sure what to say from how bold he was.
"Hmm? You shouldn't feel like you have to talk responsibility. I know you're all friends but she was still in charge for the both of you. And besides you're Mirino's flesh and blood! You shouldn't have to be put through something like this!" Inage-san was skeptical, as I think any boss should be. Not wanting him to take any blame for my actions I tried to talk back.
"Yeah Takasu it's okay-"
"No, no one was in charge of anyone." Takasu stood fully upright, having a serious presence about him. "I wanted to run with Kushieda because I didn't want her to be late. She didn't make me or Taiga do anything. It was our mistake as a group to not pay attention to the time, and it was our decision together to help Kushieda. No one was to blame." His confidence alone took hold of the conversation. It was... inspiring.
Inage-san stood their unshaken, still looking curiously at Takasu. The silence that ensued for that brief time was unnerving. "... Well, who am I to complain! If you're fine with it then what am I to be upset about! No skin up my nose hahaha!" His countenance changed completely as he went into that good-spirited laugh of his. "Haha... but all joking aside though, all of you still have got to make for the half an hour that you should have been here. Work is work after all. Hmm... I know! Kushieda!"
"Y-yes sir?" I asked stunned.
"You up for a little challenge?"
"Of course I am! Lay it on me!" My words flew out all by themselves.
"Now that's the girl I know! I was gonna have you teach and take inventory with your friends over here but with there being so little time now I think we might have to split things up. You'll have until 1 to show them how take care of the store and then you'll work the register til we do deliveries. Think you can do it?" He really knew how to rile me up without me knowing.
"No problem! Alright guys! Follow me and let's take care of this ASAP!"
Taiga was the first person to speak up against the little proposition. "Huh? Hold on a second, can't we all get a little brea-" I snatched her hand before she got the chance to finish.
"No time for breaks Taiga! Time's a wasting! You only live once right?!" With her wrist held tight I rushed toward the back of the store.
"H-hey wait up!" I heard Takasu call out to me in surprise, along with the sound of his footsteps trying to catch up to me.
"M-Minorin! Slow down!" Taiga called out to me reluctantly as I guided her through the store.
"Atta girl! Make sure they separate the beer properly!" Inage-san's voice faded quickly as I raced for the inventory door. I rammed the door open with my forearm letting the force of my sprint carry me. I gave a little twirl when I reached the center of the stock room, spinning Taiga by her one arm while doing so.
"Crossed the finish line! Here we are everyone! Time to face our foe, Inage-san's mysterious liquor inventory!" Taiga slipped away from my grip and went to sit on a nearby beer case. She was probably the most worn out out of all of us. She took time to breathe before speaking up.
"*pant*, don't you ever get tired Minorin? I mean, *pant*, how do you manage to keep this up all the time?" Taiga loathed as she hung her down.
"That's a no brainer Taiga! There's no time to get tired! There's always something to put 100 and 10% into every single day!" I gave a bright smile and thumbs up to Taiga as she creaked her head towards me. She rose an eyebrow me in discontent, obviously put off by my enthusiasm. In return I gave a friendly wink and an even brighter smile. She kept that same disgusted look for a second before eventually returning back into a tired sigh.
"You're such a spazz." She gave a faint grin, looking away from me to avoid eye contact.
My chest began to tingle a little as she did so. I rushed up to hug her, picking her up in my arms along the way.
" No way! Was that a compliment I just got? Geez, I'm gonna have to pay you back for it one of these days! You little brat!" I spun her around with my eyes closed in the same fashion as when I first barged in the inventory room. We both giggled happily, having fun while it lasted. My whole upper body flushed warm; it was such an incredible feeling. It was the type of feeling that made me wish I could just keep spinning and laughing with her all day. Just for a second I slipped out of my thoughts, trying to enjoy the moment.
I opened my eyes to see Taiga appreciating this is as much as I was. She kept her eyes closed through the entire thing, having a playful grin as she held on to me in the air. I kept my attention on trying not to hit anything, making sure this moment lasted as long as possible for her. After a few rotations or so I noticed someone by the entrance. It took me a moment to comprehend my spinning vision but it clicked in my mind that it was Takasu. I completely forgot about him, was he just waiting by the door the entire time? I focused my vision on him so I could see some detail despite the blurring of my spinning body. It was trace, but I saw the looks of a smile on his face. But it wasn't a smile I could really understood. It wasn't really happy, but it wasn't sad. It didn't look like anything I had ever seen. An indescribable emotion started to emerge from my chest, like I could somehow connect with whatever his smile was giving. I somehow felt at home with it, I felt like I... I don't know, I just wanted more of it. I felt my feet starting to slow down. I eventually came to the point where my vision of Takasu stood still.
"...Minorin? What's the matter?" I heard a voice from outside my line of sight and I snapped back out of whatever I was in. My eyes flashed toward Taiga, who looked at me in curiosity and disappointment. I hurried to do something silly on the spot.
"Sorry to ruin all the fun there Taiga, but I totally realized that we left Takasu-kun hanging there!" I put Taiga down gently beside me and walked to Takasu, ignoring the heat around my cheeks. "Sorry, I got lost in the moment and wasn't paying attention. Didn't mean to just leave you alone like that."
"N-no, it wasn't your fault, you were just having fun. It's fine trust me." He quickly became reserved and talked in a hush manner. He was smiling but it was the same timid smile that I've seen him have before. It was like that mysterious smile he had just vanished into thin air, like it didn't exist. Takasu glanced his eyes over toward my own and I curiously looked back. He had that same demure composure about him, nothing was out of the ordinary. Was I just seeing things?
"... Kushieda? Are you alright?" Takasu asked as I continue to ponder, looking curiously at him. I shot him the brightest smile I could give.
"Just a quick little staring contest, that's all! I think I came out on top there!" He blushed and looked away in return. Yeah, I understand him now. There's nothing to get worked up about. I was confident that whatever horrible thing that caused me to freak out in front of Takasu was dead and buried. I leapt back a bit and went into a full pose. "But the time for fun has long past! Now is the time to work hard and fight!" I rose my fist into the air proudly. "Let's go!"
It was now 4:30pm. I managed to somehow teach Taiga and Takasu how to take inventory in maybe 15 minutes and I then bolted over to the front register. From 1 until now I stood standing, taking orders as I usually do when I work with Inage-san. It wasn't the usual day to day routine this time though. Constantly I heard the both of them behind me talking and making fun of each other, just having a good time in general. I was certain that what I was feeling was jealousy, but it in no way felt as clear as just one stupid emotion. It was like my chest was a sink drain, and there was thick murky water flooded all around it. The pain spiraled down over and over but there was so much of it that it would never seem to stop. No matter how much I tried to stop it, or how much I tried to ignore it, it would always seep right through and keep gushing in. It was torture. In the back of my mind when I was taking orders, helping customers, even sweeping the store, it would never go away. I thought back to the nightmare I had last night, the one where I was at Jonny's. Where I was stuck and couldn't do anything but feel exactly like this. I then thought about what I was doing right now, working with Taiga and Takasu in the background. The only thing that my brain connected was the pain that the both of them brought. Nothing else seemed to make sense. It infuriated me to no end.
"What do you want from me!? What!? What do you think I can do right now!?" The thoughts that went on through the day were the same thing rewound over and over. "Are you trying to haunt me or something!? Is there some special stupid thing I'm supposed to be learning right now!? By feeling like trash!? Over my friends!? Over Taiga!? Well then tell me already! Stop trying to make me feel jealous over something I can't help!" I never figured out the answer over the span of those 3 hours. I just did what I was good at, holding it in til I could dump it back at home. I was confident no one could make out my little internal war. And with Inage-san's deliveries starting up the day would be over in a flash.
"... Today was a good day. You had fun with Taiga, she had fun with you, you didn't screw up in front of Takasu. Screw what I'm feeling right now, you did a good job Minori." I was finishing up locking the cash register, reinforcing what I knew was right. "Just got to do the same old same old." Inage-san came out of his little private side room soon after.
"How was it running the register today?" He asked swimmingly.
"Everything went off without a hitch sir!" I gave him a traditional military pose and salute. "All transactions were done as smooth as possible!"
"Wouldn't expect any less of you Minori. Good work." He gave a welcoming smile, happy about a job well done. "Welp, you know what time it is! We'll be doing deliveries for the rest of the day."
"Sweet! I'll load up the bike and get those deliveries done pronto!" It would be nice to get away from the shop for a while. Just the thought of actually getting to use my body was great. Maybe I could burn some rubber and beat some of the feelings out of me.
"Hold up, it's gonna be a little bit different today from what we usually do." He put his hands in front of him signaling me to stop. "You know those friends of yours right? And the girl you brought along?"
"Hmm? Taiga? What about her?" An unnerving suspicion surrounded my body.
"Right, her. I thought about having her take the bike and do the deliveries. Ryuuji's probably tired so he can have a break. That girl on the other hand's got some spunk! She might even get those deliveries done as fast as you can!" I was hesitant, not sure what to make of his decision.
"... Right, so what am I gonna do?"
"You can help take care of the rest of the inventory! I'm sure they didn't do as good of a job as you can do so you can fix whatever problems they didn't take care of. Just have a good time relaxing and taking care of the rest of the shop. Whaddya say?" He was persistent. I don't think I could've said no if I wanted to.
"You got it! No change of schedule is gonna bring me down!"
"Of course it's not! Alright, go ahead and set up the bike! I'll have the girl load the cargo and get going."
"Roger!" I started rushing to get the job done. I didn't know what to make of all this, or how I felt for that matter. But work was work. It's still gotta get done no matter how messed up I get. I've lived by that rule for so long and I intend to keep it. It hasn't failed me so far.
I got to the street corner with the store bike in hand. I waited for a few minutes until I saw Taiga slowly plodding towards me, carrying an absurd number of alcohol boxes.
"T-Taiga!? Let me give you a hand with that! You're gonna hurt yourself!" I rushed over to her and hurriedly started to stack the packages on the bike.
"You're a... life saver... Minorin..." She paused frequently in her words from the strain that came with having to move so many boxes. She had to walk over towards me in a squatting stance to support herself. It made her already small appearance look smaller. I felt a bit sorry for her.
"Why'd you carry so many of them to begin with? And why isn't Takasu-kun helping you?"
"That old fart made me carry all of them... said some stupid crap about not letting Ryuuji work... I hate his guts..." Her words were more like grunts. The anger that she gave off was palpable.
With the last box I took from her Taiga let her arms drop to her side. She looked exhausted. I think Inage-san might have overestimated just how spunk she had when it came to this sort of thing. I tried to think of something to say to her to bring her mood up. I wasn't going to see her again for a few more hours anyway.
"So, you ready to go on your little adventure?" I asked quirkily.
Taiga shot me a stare saying she didn't want to speak a word. She was still fuming with rage from top to bottom.
"...right, maybe some other time I guess, hehe..." I chuckled nervously, unsure of what else I could do. I knew better than to try and talk to her while she was like this. I moved to the rear end of the bike to let her stand by herself.
Takasu came out of the store not long after, looking much more relaxed than Taiga. That jealousy I had felt a moment ago tightened when I saw him. I ignored it, confident that I wouldn't have to see or hear both Taiga or Takasu for a while after this.
"Hey. Inage-san said I should just stay inside and relax but I thought I might as well see Taiga off." He said casually.
At the sound of his words Taiga began to noticeably teem with hatred, looking to explode at any second. Just as I was going to prepare for it though she physically stopped, and took a deep breath in and out. She stood still again, staring quietly at the bike in front of her.
"Taiga...?" I asked softly to her. She ignored me and kept on with her fixated stare. To say this was out of her character was an understatement. Takasu went to Taiga's side and stood next to her.
"Be careful out there okay?" He said his words calmly but Taiga ignored them as well. Puzzled, Takasu looked towards her. "Taiga? What's the matter?"
A brief and tense silence ensued. Both Takasu and I stood looking at Taiga, waiting for her to hop on the bike and start making her way down the street. But she still stood in the exact same spot. A few long moments passed by until Takasu spoke up again.
"Wait... you can't ride a bike can you-"
"SHUUT UUUUUUUUPPP!" Taiga screamed as loud as she could, clenching her eyes shut. After maintaining that yell for a few seconds she grabbed the delivery bike and started running alongside with it, sprinting down the street. She began to yell something to herself but by the time she started to she was already maybe a good 20 feet in distance away from us. I guess I was wrong. Inage-san judged her spunk just fine. Just like that she was gone, and I couldn't hear another word from her. Takasu and I now traded places with Taiga; we stared down the street where she ran down, too shocked for words.
"... Well that was intense." Takasu said, astonished.
"Yeah, but pushing the bike's safer than her trying to ride it. Right?" I tried to let my personality carry the moment forward so I could get back to checking the inventory. Being near Takasu seemed to make me at edge. It wasn't going to be a good idea to stick around by him. He's probably gonna go do his own thing too now that Taiga's gone, maybe grab some lunch or something.
Takasu didn't respond back. I guessed he was still speechless after Taiga's little performance. I took the initiative to get started back to work.
"Gotta run Takasu-kun! Inage-san wants me to go and restock the rest of the store. Can't slack off on the job!" I started to walk toward the entrance, looking forward to maybe finding a way to clear my mind out.
"Maybe I could! Uhh..." Takasu stopped me unexpectedly before I had a chance to go back in. I turned back around on reaction. "You know, give you a hand and help out? I would feel really bad if I just sat around and watched you work all day." On the spot my mind went into 4th gear, flooding me with thought after thought after thought.
"What!? No! You can't let him help you! You can't be near him! He's the reason why you're jealous! He's the reason why you're feeling this way! What do you think is gonna happen when he's with you!?" I felt myself having an internal debate. I always thought the cartoons where it showed a little devil and angel on a person's shoulders were ridiculous, but it couldn't be more true than right now.
"Well you can't say no to him! What kind of impression would that give us? Isn't he one of Taiga's closest friends? Isn't he one of your friends too? I can't treat a friend like that!" This part of my thoughts must have been the angel. But it sure didn't feel like one. I felt like I was going down a pit with each decision. Meanwhile I was just staring at Takasu, trying to make my mind up.
"Has any other friend you've been around made you feel this terrible before!? Anyone at all!? You leave Taiga alone when she has her moments right?! So take your own advice and get some space!"
"You've been in worse positions before and you've dealt with them just fine. After all this you can go back home and take care of this. It's better to just let it happen for Takasu's sake than to be a little girl and chicken out."
"Chicken out!? This isn't chickening out! You remember what happened the last time you were alone with him!? You want that to happ-"
"Sure! An extra hand would be great!" The words I said bolted out of me without a second thought. I didn't even make my decision yet. I think I let my personality go too far on that. ...Great Minori. What have you gotten yourself into?
Author's Thoughts:
I feel so relieved to finally upload another chapter of Chasing Ghosts again. I'll be brief.
No date will be given to when the following chapter will be released, I feel as if I have learned my lesson from past experiences. Also, Chasing Ghosts will continue to be written regardless of time past until I complete it, or I update it otherwise. I wouldn't want anyone to think I have stopped and forgot about writing because of a half year hiatus of no updates. Although I understand if they think the contrary.
On the final note, I once again have to thank you any of you who continue to read this. This hobby/project of mine has been going on for some time, and I still have readers who appreciate and enjoy what I do. No matter how much time passes it's those little messages and those positive remarks that fuel me, that make me feel so humbled that there are people who really do enjoy reading Chasing Ghosts as much as I do writing. I can't thank you enough. To any and all readers, you are truly appreciated. And once again, thank you for your time.