Chapter 7: Big Sister!
Lena flips through her notebook, humming softly as she floats through the air. Mayumi peeks over her shoulder and looks at it.
"What's in that thing anyway?"
Lena looks behind her at Mayumi and has a disillusioned expression.
"Cases, times people are going to die, restless spirits in the area, and other things."
"Who updates the thing?"
Lena smiles and puts her finger up.
"It gets filled with the most up to date information as soon as it hits Spirit World! The words will just write themselves in. I'll show you if I catch it."
Mayumi crosses her arms.
"Guess that's handy. What're you looking at?"
Lena sighs and looks exhausted again suddenly.
"Restless spirits. Part of my job is helping spirits move on. I've been trying to get some of them to pass on for a while but they're stubborn. I guess I'm losing my touch. I used to be so good at this…"
"Let me check them out. Maybe we can try to do them together. I don't have anything to do while we wait anyway, and it's been pissing me off."
Lena looks a little surprised and blinks a few times, but holds the book out with one hand. She thinks this could be helpful for Mayumi's spirit beast to not kill her when it hatches. Mayumi takes it and looks at the page she's open to, resting her head on one hand as she sits cross legged.
"Satoshi Sato?"
"Yeah."
Lena floats over and points at the information on the page.
"He was an 8 year old boy. His spirit is 'fixated' which means he has strong emotions or feelings towards a specific location, and can't move on from it even after death. He's been really stubborn, I've been trying for months to get him to pass on…"
Mayumi's eyes move from Lena's face back to the book to read more of the file. Her eyes slowly scan and take in all of the information.
"Does it say how he-"
Her heart drops. She reads the way he died and her expression changes, a mix of a somber and sullen look in her eyes. She closes the book and hands it back to Lena.
"Come on. I'll talk to him."
Lena tries to get some words out but before she can, Mayumi is already floating away.
Lena and Mayumi both float above an old, abandoned home. It looks neat, but has an eerie aura to it.
"The spirit energy here feels so wrong no matter when I come here."
Mayumi looks at Lena after she says that and talks in a more calm and gentle voice.
"So he's somewhere in this house?"
Lena nods.
"He always stays in his room. He won't move from it. Please, try to not scare him. He startles easy…"
"Yeah yeah, just let me do it my way. Your way clearly doesn't work if you can't get him to budge."
"Don't make my job harder than you already do!"
Mayumi scoffs and quietly floats down through the roof. She lands in the living room and looks around. The house is empty, and quiet. Everything was taken out.
Mayumi looks over at Lena as she follows her down to the living room.
"Where's his room?"
"Down that hallway. To the left at the end."
Mayumi puts her hands in her pockets and quietly walks down the hall. She comes to the door, it's closed. Lena walks over and is about to tell Mayumi to knock when she just walks right through the door, Lena facepalming.
Mayumi instantly sees the boy sitting on the floor, his knees curled up to his head and him sitting in a ball. His hair is is messy and short, a deep black. He has green and white pajamas on. She walks over quietly and stares down at him.
"You Satoshi?"
His head shoots up and he yelps a little, crawling back. He breathes hard and stands up. He bows in a polite way.
"U-Um, yes. I'm Satoshi. Who are you?"
"I'm Mayumi."
Mayumi looks around the barren room. The floor is hardwood, and the walls an almost sickly yellow. A closet is closed in the back.
"Not much of a room, kid."
Satoshi looks down and nods.
"...Yeah. The people came and took it all away a long time ago."
He looks back up at Mayumi.
"W-Why are you-"
He sees Lena behind Mayumi.
"...I know why you're here. It's okay. I tell the nice Grim Reaper lady she can leave me alone when she visits. I can't leave here until mom and dad say I can."
Lena talks softly.
"This is why he hasn't moved. He's waiting for them."
Mayumi's eye twitches. Her soft and gentle expression is broken by her shouting and then yelling, startling both Lena and Satoshi.
"FORGET THEM! You're your own damn person! You can't let those bastards who did this to you keep control over you! You better not give them a single thought EVER again!"
"I-I can't just-!"
"Saying you can't means you won't! And you won't do shit if you don't get out of here!"
She suddenly grabs Satoshi by the sides and hoists him up over her shoulders as he yelps, letting him sit on them. Lena reaches her hand out in a panic.
"You can't just- you're violating the laws of Spirit World! You can't just drag fixated ghosts anywhere!"
Mayumi completely ignores Lena and looks back up Satoshi, him looking down at her.
"You're forgetting all about them! And the best way to forget about stupid shit is to go hit the town!"
Satoshi yells as Mayumi runs straight through the walls and phases back out onto the street. Lena groans and covers her face with her palms as she gives up.
Mayumi takes Satoshi basically everywhere she can for them both being ghosts.
The movies.
Mayumi smiles and goes along with the movie they're watching. It's an animated comedy based more for kids. Satoshi seems really happy to watch it.
"I always wanted them to make a movie for this! I loved reading it!"
Mayumi laughs softly.
"Maybe I'll buy some of the tankōban then. I'm liking the movie."
His eyes light up when she says that.
"Really!? Can we read them together!?"
"Hell yeah, kid. You got it."
He makes the happiest little noises and looks back at the movie. Mayumi's eyes linger on his excited face for a few moments before they go back to the movie.
The amusement park.
"Are you sure it's okay to cut in line?"
"Who cares? They can't see us."
"Oh yeah!"
He runs ahead and Mayumi has to run to follow him.
"Slow down, the rides still going!"
They both stand behind the carts to a large roller coaster. Mayumi smirks and grabs ahold of the headrest behind someone.
"Alright, we gotta improvise here. Grab that one."
He looks from Mayumi to above him, at the headrest behind the person in the back cart. He floats up and grabs it, looking over at Mayumi with a happy grin.
"I won't let go!"
"Damn right you won't! You're tough!"
He smiles and gets an almost prideful look on his face and looks determined.
The ride shoots off, and they both yell and scream as it flies and goes all around. They hold on for dear life and laugh the entire time, knowing it'll be okay since they can fly if they let go.
They both fly to the highest place they can in the city, and look down at everything below.
Satoshi looks around in awe. He looks mesmerized by the world.
"Everything looks so small."
"Yeah. That's why you can't let your parents drag you down. All of this is out there for you. Everything you see is somewhere you can go, and somewhere waiting for you to be."
Satoshi looks up at Mayumi and smiles a big toothy smile.
"You say a lot of cool things!"
Mayumi smirks and pats her chest.
"Just speaking from the heart, kid."
He looks back down and moves around the building top like he's looking for something.
"Wonder if I can see my house…"
Mayumi walks over and looks around with him. She points over to a specific place.
"Somewhere over there. Near that tall building. I remember seeing it when I was floating over."
"Woahhh! You're right! I remember seeing that building walking to school every day!"
Mayumi fondly looks down at him, her heart warming gently. His innocence hits her like a train. She's happy he can still be so cheery and excited about small things.
The sun begins to set. They're both walking, Satoshi holding Mayumi's hand and dragging her somewhere.
"Come on kid, do you even know where were going?"
"Yeah! Mom and dad went here a lot!"
Mayumi's expression falters. But she doesn't say anything. Her eyes turn more somber but she keeps up with Satoshi and follows him. The street looks more familiar. She almost couldn't tell where she was because of how busy it was. But she knows why.
They both stand there in front of a Pachinko parlor. The one Mayumi goes to to gamble when she does.
"I always wanted to see the inside! Mom and dad would drive here and leave me in the car with my toys for a long time sometimes when they went in there. They said it's a game for adults."
Mayumi feels a strange overwhelming sensation suddenly, feeling some kind of empty feeling when she hears that from Satoshi. She sighs softly and puts on a smile, squeezing his hand a little. She figures it can't hurt to just show him. She knows he can't ever go here with how things ended up.
"Alright kid, c'mon. I go here sometimes too. I'll show you what's up."
His face lights up.
"You're an adult!?"
Mayumi suddenly panics a bit as she got put on the spot and shakes her head and tries to play it off for him.
"What, no! Look, I'm not supposed to go here, so uh, don't tell anyone."
He gasps and covers his mouth with his free hand. He nods and smiles.
"I won't tell on big sis!"
Her eyes widen. Her heart melts a little in her chest. She grins and nods.
"That's my little brother. Cmon."
They both walk in and his face lights up. The music and clanging of the metal balls in the machines fill their ears. He runs off and Mayumi walks in following, looking around at everyone playing. She recognizes a lot of people and feels a little happy being somewhere she recognizes and spends her time at. Satoshi seems to be jumping up to try and glimpse at someone playing.
Mayumi walks over and picks Satoshi up again, putting him over her shoulders. She watches as the hunched over man mindlessly clicks the button, watching the endless stream of metal balls clack and clack down the machine, just to earn more and keep the endless cycle going. Satoshi raises an eyebrow and looks dumbfounded.
"Is that the game?"
"Yeah."
"...It looks dumb. It's just watching balls fall…"
Mayumi stays silent. She looks at the man hunched over again, taking in his blank expression. He looks like a husk.
She thinks. Does she look like that when she's playing? Just watching the endless cycle over and over with no end like it'll suddenly have some kind of meaning when it never will? Letting something so simple and stupid become something she'd do for hours a day sometimes if she had the day off.
She never even thought about how much time she had wasted here. How much of it could've been spent doing something actually productive. Spending time with the people she cared about. Doing things she actually loved. But now that she's dead, it puts it all into perspective. She sat here, and just like this guy, and just like Satoshi's parents, neglecting everything in the outside world, and hurting the people around her. She wonders if sometime while she was playing, his parents were in here with her, and Satoshi was stuck outside in that car all alone.
"...Yeah. It is stupid. Don't ever let things like this get you addicted. You'll make big sis angry."
He smiles and nods, looking down at the top of Mayumi's head.
"Toys are better. You can play anything you want with them."
Mayumi turns and begins to walk out past everyone she recognizes.
"Yeah. They're way better. Stick to them."
She hates this place. She hates everyone in this place. She never wants to see them ever again. And she never wants to be here ever again.
Nights come. Mayumi and Satoshi stand on the side of a road by a traffic light. The city is illuminated by lights and neon signs.
Satoshi is practically bouncing while holding Mayumi's hand. He's watching the cars drive by as the light goes from green to red to green again.
"Where's a cool car…"
Mayumi tries to look out for a car that looks cool for both of them and points over to a red sports car with black stripes.
"Is that one cool?"
Satoshi's face lights up and he nods quickly.
"Yeah yeah!"
Mayumi smiles. She has an idea to make the car watching even better for him.
"Oh yeah? Check this out!"
She grabs his hand and quickly jumps with him, him laughing with a big smile as they land on top of the car. She sits down and crosses her legs, patting in front of her.
"Sit! We're going for a ride!"
His face lights up and he sits down. He has the most happy and lighthearted smile in the world. It's like it could fix any problem in the world if he just smiled enough at it. Mayumi smiles back at him with a dopey smile herself. Satoshi gasps a little when the car starts moving and watches as the city flies by. Mayumi watches as well as the neon colors melt together into a mix of lights with how fast the car is driving.
"...Big sis?"
"Yeah?"
"...Um, I've had so much fun today…"
Mayumi smiles and pats his head.
"Don't mention it. Told you the best thing to do is hit the town. Feeling better?"
He nods gently.
"Mhm. A lot better."
He stays silent for a while. Mayumi notices and slowly moves her hand away from his head and back into her lap.
"Hey. You can talk to big sis. You don't gotta worry about anything with me here."
He stays silent for a while. His voice is very quiet, sounding a little scared. His hands move and hold each other.
"...Do you know why mom and dad hurt me? I don't know why… I tried being so good for them…"
Mayumi's eyes soften. She puts a hand on his shoulder.
"Your parents are bastards. It's their loss they couldn't see what they had in front of them with you. You're a damn good little brother. Remember what big sis said, don't think about them, okay?"
He looks up at her. His eyes wide and terrified looking.
"But… what if they hurt me again? They told me I can't leave without them saying so! They hurt me over that before, what if this time-"
"No! Big sis'll protect you. You never have to worry about them again. They can't ever hurt you and they never will. I'll die again before I let them even lay a hand on you."
She puts both her hands on his shoulders.
"I promise. You can let go of them. They can't hurt you anymore. Family goes beyond blood, and they aren't any kind of parents to you."
He looks down. He nods after a few moments.
"...Yeah. You couldn't be my sister if blood mattered."
Mayumi grins and pats his head.
"Yeah. There you go."
He looks up at her.
"...You said you were coming back to life, right? The afterlife made some kind of mistake?"
"Oh… yeah. That's what they said."
He smiles and looks suddenly excited.
"D-Do you think I could come back with you!? I could stay with you, and we could go out every night! We could play with my toys and read those tankōban! I bet the afterlife made a mistake, I was supposed to be with you and not my mom and dad!"
Mayumi's heart shatters. She can't do that. She knows it. But she doesn't even know what to say. Her eyes widen in fear and pain. She doesn't even realize how quiet she suddenly became. And Satoshi realizes. He can't.
He looks down and stares for a while. Mayumi does the same. Mayumi talks in a quiet voice.
"Well, uh, I-"
He suddenly and quickly leans forward and hugs onto Mayumi tightly. He's squeezing her as hard as he can. She quickly hugs him back as tight as she can and breathes a little shakily. Satoshi begins to softly cry.
"You can't… can you?"
Mayumi speaks in a broken tone, but not crying.
"...No, I'm sorry… Spirit World's pretty strict on the whole coming back thing."
He hugs her even tighter. After a while he sits back and sniffles. He wipes his tears and looks at Mayumi, who's staring down and letting her hair cover her eyes. She's holding in crying.
"Big sis… is heaven nice?"
Mayumi sighs shakily and looks up. She puts on a wide smile and nods.
"It is. There's a big river, and a huge castle. They'll let you in no problem. It looks like the sun's setting all the time there."
He sniffles more and wipes his eyes again.
"...Will you be there sometime?"
"Of course I will! It'll be a while, but a Grim Reaper told me time doesn't matter in the afterlife. So all you gotta do is wait."
He has the most soft and sad smile in the world on his face.
"Will you find me?"
Mayumi reaches out and pulls him in for a hug again. She pats his head.
"You'll be the first one I ask about. Promise. Go find some cool places to show me, I never got to see it fully since I'm coming back."
He looks a little more excited and nods quickly.
"O-Okay! I'll find so many fun things to do with you to make up for how much fun I had today! I never got to have so much fun!"
Mayumi smiles and nods quietly. She feels like if she talks too much she'll break down. She tries to keep it short.
"Me too. I'll read all those tankōban and we can talk all about it when we see each other again, okay?"
The smile that can fix anything spreads across his face again and he nods. He stands up as the car comes to a stop and parks. Mayumi stands up as well. He looks up at her.
"...I don't really hate my parents. Because of them, I got the best big sister in the world."
Mayumi chokes up a little and crouches down suddenly, hugging him tight.
"And I got the best little brother."
He hugs her back and Lena quietly floats down. Mayumi hesitantly lets go of the hug and stares down. She can't look at them anymore.
"Hello, Satoshi! Are you feeling ready to pass on?"
"Mhm! I had such a fun day! I wanna tell you all about my big sis!"
Lena puts her hands together and smiles.
"Ohh! That sounds like fun. Come with me, tell me about it while we go."
Satoshi takes Lena's hand and they begin to float up. He looks down at Mayumi and she suddenly floats up to them and clears her throat.
"Hold on!"
She points at Satoshi.
"Remember what I said! I don't know what's up in heaven, but if you get addicted to anything stupid like Pachinko I'll be pissed! So don't do anything dumb!"
Satoshi smiles and laughs, nodding.
"I remember! I like toys more anyway!"
He smiles more and keeps looking down at her as Lena begins to float away again.
"I think it's funny how when you swear it's not always mean!"
"Don't get into the habit of that either! It's a bad habit!"
He laughs and waves.
"See you soon, big sis!"
She stares quietly for a moment at him. She waves back and shouts with everything she can.
"See you soon, lil brother! Don't ever think about those bastards again, okay!?"
He nods and smiles.
"I won't!"
Him and Lena vanish slowly as she takes him to Spirit World. Mayumi stands on the red car and stares down at its roof. She covers her face with one hand and begins to choke up and hold back sobs.
"Stupid goddamn parents…"
Satoshi Sato. Age 8. Died from abuse related to blunt force trauma from both parents while they were intoxicated.
Spirit: Fixated.
Case: solved.