Chapter 29: Past Life:

Aiko's POV:

We were at my cousin's wedding. I gotta be honest, at first, I didn't think highly of her. I even tried to talk Hiromu out of it, but then I saw her tell her mother off and stand up for her father. Maybe I was wrong about her. Anyway, just as Hiromu was going to kiss the bride, her name is Sayo, by the way, I started getting headaches...

...

I looked in a mirror and I started to think... why was I chosen?

"Are you okay," asks Dad.

"Dad, have you ever had feelings you're... not who you're supposed to be," I asked.

"I think it's time I tell you the truth," says Dad.

"Huh," I asked.

Montaro Kosaka's POV - Flashback:

It was years ago, when I moved into this apartment. That night, I had a knock on my door. I answered and it was Aranore and Fumichi Tachikawa. "You mind cutting it out with the noise," asks Aranore.

"You're too loud," says Fumichi.

"I wasn't making any noise," I said.

They then ran away, scared.

...

One day, I learned my apartment was haunted by the ghost of a little girl, so I called in Jokuro Kyogoku, a famous monk. "I can help you speak with this child!"

I then spoke with her. "What happened," I asked.

"My Mommy and Daddy were mean, and they always ignored me and never gave me any food, so I died of starvation!" Her parents were the Tachikawas!

...

I reported them to the police, and they were taken away and the ghost was able to move on. "When I'm born again, I hope I have a daddy like you!"

Aiko's POV - Present:

"That's so sweet," I said, "did she have a name?"

"Her name was Aiko," says Dad.

"You named me after her," I asked.

"Sort of... I believe you are her, reincarnated," says Dad. I then thought about what Sōzanji...

Aiko's POV - Flashback:

"You are the Reincarnated Guardian of Nature and Humanity," says Sōzanji.

"I'm still confused," I said.

"For years, there is a young girl chosen to protect nature and humanity against those that would endanger it," says Sōzanji, "you are that girl reborn. And now you are needed!"

Aiko's POV - Present:

If it wasn't for those people... I could've fought that parasite years ago... assuming it would've made its move back then...

To Be Continued

In the next chapter, the parasite attempts to destroy Aiko itself.