Chapter 3: Old Wounds

Kouichi walked along a riverbank, hoping to clear his head. He enjoyed the serenity of it all. The warm spring sun. The smell of fresh grass. The soothing noise of the river. Kouichi closed his eyes as he walked, immersing himself with the calming effects of nature. He had begun to zone out when a piercing shriek brought him back to reality. He looked around and saw a bridge over the river. It was hard to see, but it looked like two figures on the bridge were struggling. Eventually, one overpowered the other and threw them into the water. As the victorious person fled the scene, Kouichi ran to rescue the one in the river. He saw a body floating as the currents dragged it away. Without hesitating, Kouichi took off his shoes and jumped into the river, swimming towards the body. Kouichi didn't even try to get a good look or identify the person as he dragged them ashore.

Kouichi laid the body in the grass and checked for injuries. The victim's shirt was drenched in blood in several places. These were likely the result of stab wounds, but Kouichi had no idea how to treat them without supplies. Kouichi turned the body on its back, only to see more stab wounds on the stomach. He then took a long hard glance at the face and gasped. It was a young woman with long straight brown hair. Kouichi immediately recognized her as his dead aunt, Reiko. Just then, her eyes sprung open, but instead of being brown, they were black and empty like a void. "Kouichi," the corpse moaned, "why did you murder me? I loved you." Before he could answer, her body began to rapidly decay before his eyes. Reiko's flesh withered away as worms, maggots, and other such creatures poured out of her cuts. Soon, there was nothing left of Reiko but a rotting skeleton. Then it sat up and stared at Kouichi. He began backing away, his mouth agape with horror. The skeleton let out a deafening screech before lunging at Kouichi.

Kouichi woke up screaming. Mei got up and hugged him, shouting, "Kouichi! Look at me, it was just a dream! It was just a dream!" Kouchi got a hold of himself and returned the hug.

"I. . . I had another nightmare."

"I kinda figured that from the screaming. Was it about the calamity again?"

"No. It was about Reiko. I watched her murder. I couldn't save her. Then she asked why I killed her back at the inn."

"It's over now. I'm here."

Kouichi kissed his wife and held her closely. "I don't know if coming here was the right thing. Maybe we've just been picking at old scabs. Maybe that's why we've still had nightmares all these years."

"No, this is good for us. It helps us cope with loss. It also gives us a chance to pay respects to our dead friends and family. Would you want to forget them? Any of them?"

"Of course not Mei. This. . . this is just so hard to deal with."

"I know. We'll do this together. When my sister died, I felt all alone in the world. I felt like the light in my life had been snuffed out. Still, I continued to visit her. I brought the doll she loved most from my family's store to her in the morgue. It would be my parting gift to her. Everytime I thought of her, it hurt me. But the thought of forgetting the good times we had hurt me more. That's why we do this. To remember the good moments we made with the people we loved. Those moments will always be ours. Not even cruel death can take them from us."

"Thank you, Mei. I needed to hear that. You're right. I don't think I could do this without you."

"We need each other, Kouichi. That's why our relationship is so strong."

The couple eased into each other's embrace. They felt solace in the bond that only two people with a shared pain can understand. The moment was quickly ruined when Yuuya burst through the door.

"I heard a scream, are you guys alright?" he blurted out with concern, causing the couple to jump in surprise.

"Oh, Yuuya! Yeah, we're ok, I just had a bad dream."

"Oh. Yeah, I used to get those for a long time. Naoya too. Usually about that crazy hostess lady from the inn. She's chasing us through the burning building, but in the dreams Sensei Chibiki doesn't save us."

"That's rough. Mine was about Mikami-san."

Yuuya looked at Kouichi with confusion. "Who?"

"My aunt, Reiko. You know, she was the assistant homeroom teacher that year?"

"Did we have a assistant homeroom teacher? I don't remember that at all."

"You know what, never mind. You can go back to bed. See you in the morning."

"Alright. Goodnight you two."

When Yuuya left, Kouichi turned to Mei. "I can't believe he's forgotten her. I was pretty sure he really had the hots for my aunt that year."

"That's what always happens to the 'extra' every year. They get removed from everyone's memories and even the school records."

"I know. It's still jarring."

There was a long quiet before Mei spoke. "Are you going to be able to sleep again?"

"Yeah. I usually don't get more than one nightmare per night. I should be able to get back to sleep."

"Alright. Good night, husband. We have a big day tomorrow."

The next morning

"Here we are. Yomiyama City Cemetery," Yuuya said as he parked his car. He and the Sakakibaras got out of the vehicle and gazed upon the many cherry trees that lined the landscape. Kouichi opened the trunk and pulled out a large bag of flowers. Mei observed that the cemetery seemed very quiet and empty. "It looks like we are the first ones here," she said. "Not quite, but close!" called out a voice in response. The three heads turned and saw someone jogging towards them. Upon taking a closer look, the friends noticed it was a man with sandy brown hair and light brown eyes. They smiled upon recognizing the man as Naoya Teshigawara. Naoya clasped hands with Yuuya and gave an enthusiastic greeting to Kouichi. However, when his eyes reached Mei, they nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Holy crap, Mei, you've got a bun in the oven!" he exclaimed.

Kouichi and Yuuya laughed. Mei smiled and said, "Well that's one way to wish someone congratulations."

"Of course, congratulations, I'm so happy for you guys," Naoya replied before bombarding the couple with questions. "When're you due? What's the gender? Have you picked out a name? If it's a boy will you name him after me?"

"Calm down, man. You're gonna overwhelm them," Yuuya said, though he couldn't help grinning.

"I'm due in three weeks, as for the gender, we wanted it to be a surprise, so we don't know. Therefore, we'll choose a name right after the baby's born," Mei replied.

"So, how's our favorite baseball star doing?" asked Kouichi.

Naoya shrugged sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Honestly, this season's been pretty rough. The team's been losing pretty bad. How have you guys been doing?"

They all took turns filling him in on their respective careers and personal lives. The atmosphere was surprisingly cheery considering the somberness of the location.

"Hey, did you remember the supplies?" asked Yuuya.

"Yep," Naoya replied. "I brought plenty of food. Both for the graves and for ourselves."

All of a sudden, the four heard several car engines behind them. They turned and saw their friends park and step out. Sayuri, Matsuko, Daisuke, and San waved at the group and approached. They all exchanged greetings and caught up. Some of the newcomers had brought supplies of their own, such as incense. Daisuke had brought an excessive amount of medicine for his inhaler, having become paranoid of running out since his asthma attack at the inn twenty years ago. Everyone made sure to congratulate Mei on her pregnancy. Yuuya then noticed someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Noboru? He usually arrives about the same time as you guys."

There was a pause before Sayuri replied. "I haven't heard from him, but he probably just slept in too late. He does that. I'm sure he'd call if it was something serious."

This seemed to satisfy the group, with most of them shrugging in agreement.

Then, two more cars arrived. Out stepped Yukito and Takeru from their respective vehicles. Kouichi instantly felt a chill run up his spine. Some of the group members went to greet the latecomers. Takeru became engaged in a conversation immediately, but Yukito walked straight up to Mei. Kouchi held her hand as he waited for the thin man with glasses to speak.

"I see you're having a baby. Congratulations," Yukito started quietly.

"Thank you."

After a long pause, Yukito said, "Listen, about the broom, at the inn, when I thought you were the extra. . ."

Mei cut him off, "You were scared, you thought you were going to die. I understand. I'm not angry with you."

Yukito looked up, "I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for what I did."

"I know. I forgive you."

Yukito breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thank you. I'm glad to hear you say that."

Sayuri then ran up to Yukito and tapped his arm. "It's good to see you again, Yukito. Read any good books lately?"

The two friends smiled and walked away as they caught up on their shared love of literature.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," Kouichi mused.

"See, this is all about healing. Are you going to talk to Takeru?" asked Mei.

"Eventually. Just not right now."

Then, all conversations stopped as everyone's attention was grabbed by a voice calling, "I hope you weren't planning on starting without me!" The crowd looked to see a man with short black hair and gray eyes. He was very short, which was made only worse by his slight slouch and use of a cane.

"Manabu!" cried Takeru.

"Hey, Takeru. Heard you and Yukito finally decided to show up to one of the reunions."

"Yeah, Yuuya said it would be good for us," Takeru replied, though his eyes were clearly focused on Manabu's cane instead of his face. This didn't escape the latter's notice.

"I guess no one told you about this. Yeah, I can still walk after that night, but that old bitch did a number on my back with that knife of hers. It's tough to move without support."

"Geez, that's rough. I'm sorry to hear that."

There was a brief awkward silence, which was broken by Naoya observing, "Hey, this will be our first time doing this without Sensei Chibiki." Everyone thought about their old teacher. He had died in April, being very old and with failing health. Many there credited him for saving them during that dreadful night at the inn. Now there would be yet another grave to lay flowers and incense at. "We should probably start," said Yuuya.

Everyone in the group took some supplies and spread out. Everyone went to the grave of the departed they missed most. They started cleaning the grave, laying flowers, and burning incense. It was quiet as everyone prayed at the graves. Mei unsurprisingly went to the grave of her twin sister, Misaki Fujioka.

"Hello, sister," she started. "I miss you dearly. I've thought about you every day since you died. It's been very hard. You were my best friend when there was no one else. You brought out the best in me, and made me a little braver. I hope I was able to give you as much during the time we spent together." Mei paused before continuing. "I've met someone you know. He's very special to me. His name is Kouichi Sakakibara. We met the night you died. He helped me deal with the calamity, and saved my life a few times. We're married, you know. That's right, Fujioka. You have a brother in law now. And soon you'll have a nephew or niece. I love them both so much, and I know you would too if you could meet them. I wish to heaven I could introduce you to them, but I know the most I can hope for is that you're resting in peace. That you're in a place with no pain or fear," Mei finished, holding back a tear.

In another part of the cemetery, Kouichi was taking care of Aunt Reiko's grave. "Hey, Auntie. It's been a while, but today, it feels like I'm just now losing you again. I miss your advice, your kindness, and how I could go to you with anything. I'm sorry we never caught the man who took you away, and I'm even more sorry I had to send you back to death all those years ago. I love you, Reiko-nee. You were like a second mother to me."

Kouichi then went and paid respects at his mother's grave. This time he didn't say anything, having never met his mother because she died giving birth to him. He just prayed silently, wishing he could have met her. As he finished, he noticed Takeru at Sanae's grave. Takeru had just finished speaking to it when he looked over and saw Kouichi. He gestured for Kouichi to come over, so he got up and approached Takeru.

"Hello, Kouichi," he started, "It's been a very long time. There's something I need to say to you."

Kouichi winced, expecting a tongue lashing for getting Sanae killed.

"Thank you," Takeru said instead.

"What?"

"Thank you. For being her friend."

"I don't understand. I thought you hated me. I thought you blamed me for getting your sister involved and causing her death."

"I did. I did for the longest time. But eventually I realized something. The calamity would have taken her one way or another, with or without your meddling. That's what the curse did. It took people in our class and our families without reason or care. I hated you, but you were a scapegoat. I really hated myself. I hated myself for not being there for her, for never talking to her. Do you know what that last thing I said to my sister was? I yelled at her to stop asking questions about Mei, and to just shut up and drop it. I was mean to her because I was so scared of the calamity. That's the last memory I have of her, and the last one she had of me. The real reason I was so angry is because I wish I had been a better brother."

Kouichi listened to Takeru's speech quietly. When he had finish, Kouichi put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Listen, Sanae talked about you a little. She knew you weren't close, but she loved you. A lot."

"I know she did. I loved her too, even if I didn't show it much. I'm grateful she had you as a friend to make her a little happier before she died."

The two left and regrouped with the others, who were finishing their memorials. Everyone got together at a nearby campground to eat lunch. They talked about memories of their deceased friends, joked around, and smiled together. In that moment, everyone felt happy and at peace.