Ryūta chuckled.

  “You almost sounded like Shinji just now. For a second there, you nearly had me.”

  Hayato’s expression didn’t waver. He didn’t even blink.

  The laughter died in the boy’s throat. He studied the detective’s face more carefully, searching for any telltale sign. The man was dead serious. Ryūta, however, still couldn’t bring himself to believe it.

  “No one would want Hime to be alive more than me,” he began, his voice dropping. “But it’s impossible. Her funeral had an open casket and I saw them shovel dirt onto her grave with my own eyes. She’s been in there for over a month. There’s simply no way she could still be alive, especially since I was there, holding her hand when she died.”

  Hayato didn’t interrupt. He let the boy lay out his argument completely. When Ryūta finally fell silent, the detective spoke again.

  “I find it hard to believe too. But my theory isn’t baseless.” He paused, measuring his next words. “I shouldn’t be telling you this since the investigation is classified, but we interrogated the night guard who caused the accident at the school gate. He had been taking sedatives because he couldn’t process what he saw.”

  The boy’s eyes narrowed.

  “What did he see?”

  The man leaned back slightly.

  “He was patrolling among the graves when he heard sounds coming from Aizawa-san’s burial plot. A girl crying and screaming. He switched off his flashlight and moved closer to investigate. That’s when he spotted someone, probably a man. He couldn’t see their face. Whoever it was wore a hooded coat. The guard didn’t know what to expect, so he didn’t dare to intervene. He just watched quietly. The stranger finished digging, climbed down into the grave, and pried open the coffin lid. Then they climbed back out, crouched at the edge of the pit, and reached their hand down.”

  Ryūta listened with mounting tension, forgetting even to breathe. Hayato continued.

  “When they extended their hand into the grave, a slender female hand grasped it. Then they pulled her out of the grave. She had snow-white hair, and when the moonlight caught them, the guard saw she had red eyes. He said it was like a demon had possessed her. Based on the photo he had seen at the funeral, he was willing to swear it was Aizawa Himeko.”

  The boy stared ahead, frozen. Part of him believed what he had heard. This wasn’t the first strange case he had encountered, after all.

  He remembered Sanae’s injury healing in mere moments, then the dream where Himeko appeared and told him that if it’s a corpse he’s looking for, he won’t find her. Not to mention his ability to see the future.

  Another part of him, however, recoiled in horror at the thought. If she really was alive and out there alone, who knew what she was going through, how scared she must be.

  Finally, hiding almost every emotion from his face, he asked,

  ”Where is this cemetery guard now?”

  Hayato interlaced his fingers.

  “He’s dead. We found him in his holding room the next morning. Cause of death was apparently his sedative, which he took with grapefruit juice. We don’t know yet whether it was suicide, an accident, or someone silenced him. But I suspect the latter. It would be too strange to be coincidental, just like how conveniently they pulled the case away from us.”

  Ryūta agreed. Something didn’t add up.

  They sat in silence for a while. Tears began streaming down the boy’s face. He didn’t know where they came from: the uncertainty of not knowing whether he had lost Himeko, the relief that maybe she was still alive, or simply standing at the limits of what he could bear and wishing it would all just end.

  Hayato stood up, walked over to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “You probably need time to process what you just heard. I’ll leave now.”

  Without saying goodbye to the others, he picked up his cap and left the house.

  For a few minutes, Ryūta just sat at the table alone in silence. Eventually, Shinji approached him, searching for the right words.

  “I have a feeling I know what you and my uncle talked about,” he started quietly. “You can stay as long as you want. You can even sleep here if you like. I won’t pry into what you discussed, but if you want to talk about it, I’ll be here to listen.”

  Meanwhile, Izumi watched the two boys from behind one of the doors, anxious and hesitant. She probably didn’t want to disturb them, much less say or do anything that would make their guest uncomfortable again.

  Ryūta wiped away his tears before anyone could notice. When he answered, his voice was steady, without a tremor.

  “I’m fine. I just need some time alone.” When Shinji saw from his face that he really was okay, he nodded. Then his friend stood up. “Thank you both again for having me.”

  Izumi stepped a bit closer to the boy, more confident now.

  “Are you sure you want to leave? You’re very welcome to stay.”

  Shinji interrupted.

  “Mom, let him go. Everything will be fine.”

  His voice was reassuring, and it finally brought a smile to the woman’s face. She nodded and relented, then turned back to Ryūta.

  “Please come visit again sometime.”

  With that, the boy stepped out the door and started home. For a while, nothing happened on the way. But then that unpleasant feeling from earlier, as if someone was watching him, returned. This time it was much stronger and more oppressive. He looked around but saw no one again. In the end, he quickened his pace and reached the tower without incident.

  The moment he entered the building, he already felt safer. He took the elevator up, walked down the hallway, and opened the door to his apartment.

  As he crossed the threshold, he spotted Ninel in the entryway. She greeted him politely, bowing.

  “Welcome home, Ryūta-sama!”

  He was already halfway through saying “I’m home” when he realized he had never said those words to anyone in his life. The person he could have said them to had always taught him caution and distrust. Perhaps it was partly due to all the stress of the day, but it surfaced within him.

  The girl looked at him with concern.

  “Is everything all right?”

  His expression darkened, and he asked her coldly,

  “Why are you here?”

  Ninel replied in her usual emotionless tone,

  “Because it is my duty.”

  “If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be here?”

  “Probably not.”

  He didn’t show it, but that hurt him somewhat.

  “Then I’ll make it easier for you. You don’t have to come here anymore.”

  “Are you dismissing me from service?” she asked, slightly in shock.

  “Consider yourself on leave.”

  “May I ask the reason? Have I not been doing my work right?”

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “I’m not used to strangers having free access to my apartment. How did you even get in?”

  Ninel pulled out her access card and showed it to him.

  “Is this the only way you can enter here?”

  “Yes. Biometric authentication can only be used by residents, not by employees.”

  Ryūta nodded.

  “Then leave the card with me and don’t come here anymore.”

  The girl’s voice trembled as she bowed her head.

  “I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience I have caused to you.”

  She handed the card to the boy and opened the door. As she crossed the threshold, and turned back for a moment, a drop of tear fell from her face.

  Then the door closed.

  “Hmph. Déjà vu,” he noted to himself indifferently.

  He placed the card on his table and sat down on his bed.

  He shut his eyes for barely a moment to lose himself in thought when his phone vibrated again. After a short while, he took it from his pocket and glanced at the screen. A message had arrived from Shinji:

  “Sorry to bother you! I just forgot to mention that I translated that mysterious message in your sandwich. It means ‘Good person’.”

  Ryūta put his hand to his face.

  “You’re wrong,” he muttered to himself. “I’m not a good person…”

  Then he texted his friend back:

  “Thank you, but it doesn’t matter anymore.”

  No reply came. Presumably, true to his word, he didn’t want to disturb him.

  The boy just sat on his bed, staring blankly ahead. Suddenly, he spotted a small piece of colorful fabric on the floor, slipped under the table. He got up, walked over, and picked up the mysterious object. It had embroidered patterns similar to those on the cloth Ninel had wrapped his lunch box in. There was one significant difference, however. Words in Cyrillic script sat in the middle of the fabric. Though still unfinished, the text was already clearly readable:

  “Моему первому другу”

  Ryūta stood for a while, confused, with the cloth in his hand, then picked up his phone again and took a photo of it. He sent the picture to Shinji with a message:

  “What does this mean?”

  His friend’s reply came almost immediately:

  “Give me a moment. I’ll tell you.”

  A few minutes later, the translation arrived:

  “It means ‘To my first friend’.”

  The boy froze when he saw the response and collapsed back onto his bed. As he stared at the ceiling, he wondered,

  “Would it have meant that much to her that I said we could be friends?” He sighed, then asked himself ironically, “How many more times do I have to be an idiot and make the same mistake before I learn from it?”

  Just as he was, he grabbed his phone and the access card from the table and rushed out the door.

  “Maybe she hasn’t gotten too far yet,” Ryūta thought, but to his surprise, as soon as he crossed the threshold, he spotted the girl.

  She sat alone, hugging her knees, crouched against the wall, barely a few meters from the apartment entrance.

  As the boy walked closer, Ninel noticed him and jumped to her feet.

  “I am sorry. I will leave right away,” she said, already preparing to flee, but Ryūta caught her hand.

  “Please, wait!”

  Though she stopped, she didn’t look at him, still facing away.

  “I wanted to leave, but suddenly I did not know where I could go.”

  “It’s okay, don’t go anywhere! I don’t want you to leave!” he pleaded.

  The girl finally looked at him, confused.

  “But you said—“

  “I know what I said. I was a jerk, and I’m really sorry. Please forgive me. I pushed away a friend once before, and I don’t want to make that mistake again, especially when that friend cares about me this much.”

  Ninel relaxed her body, no longer trying to escape. She turned fully toward the boy.

  “Does this mean I can stay?”

  “I’m asking you to stay,” he replied gently.

  Tears welled up in the girl’s eyes.

  “And I want to give this back to you,” he added, pressing the access card into her hand that he was still holding.

  “Did you not say you were not used to strangers having access to your apartment?”

  “Yeah, that’s true, but we’re not strangers anymore. We’re friends.”

  Ninel threw herself into Ryūta’s arms and began to sob softly.

  “Another déjà vu,” he thought to himself as he gently stroked her hair. “But this time, I don’t mind.”

  After a few moments, when they finally pulled apart, she wiped her tears away with a shy smile.

  “Come on, let’s go back.”

  The girl nodded happily.

  “Yes!”

  They spent the evening together, almost forgetting the unpleasantness of the day. They talked about everything, had snacks, and for the first time in her life, Ninel experienced what it’s like to enjoy someone’s company as their friend rather than as their servant.

  “Thank you so much for this wonderful evening,” she said, then, embarrassed, avoiding the boy’s gaze and playing with her fingers, asked, “When may I visit you again?”

  “Anytime you want, even unannounced. You’re always welcome.”

  She looked him in the eyes again.

  “Then I will see you in the morning.”

  After that the girl headed home, while Ryūta took a hot bath and went to bed himself.

  The next morning, he woke up rested and happy, as if the conversation with Shinji’s uncle had never happened. All he could think about was that he had finally made the right decision and thereby a new friend.

  As he met Shinji at school, his friend immediately noticed his good mood. When lunchtime came and he pulled out his lunch box wrapped in the by-then-finished cloth, everything made sense him.

  “Thank you!” Ryūta said, prompting the other boy to look at him in confusion.

  “What are you thanking me for?”

  But his friend just smiled.

  “Never mind. Just thank you!”

  “All right, since you’re in such a good mood, how about this?” Shinji asked as he pulled out four dice, this time real ones instead of sugar cubes, then added, “We haven’t tried with four yet.”

  “You seriously bought a whole set just for this?” Ryūta asked, furrowing his brow.

  “Actually, this is a set of five, so there’s still room to escalate.”

  “Unbelievable...” Ryūta sighed, then gave in, “All right, let’s play a few rounds.”

  As Shinji tossed the dice one after another, Ryūta repeatedly, sometimes with his mouth full of his lunch, predicted the rolled numbers.

  “I still can barely believe it, but you really can see the future...” Shinji marveled.

  “Tell me about it...” Ryūta replied with a sour grimace, since the game prevented him from peacefully enjoying the lunch he had received from Ninel.

  As Shinji picked up the dice again and was about to throw them, Sanae suddenly appeared beside them.

  “What are you two doing?” the girl asked.

  The boys exchanged glances, and Ryūta shook his head almost imperceptibly, signaling that she knew nothing about it.

  “We’re playing a game where I roll the dice and Ryūta has to guess the sum of the numbers.”

  “With that many dice, that sounds pretty hard...” Sanae sulked.

  Then Shinji realized he needed to say something better to convince her, so he continued:

  “Yeah, but he doesn’t always have to get it right. This is just for statistics.”

  The girl’s face contorted as if she had licked a lemon.

  “Ugh, I don’t like statistics...”

  “Then let’s leave it at that,” the boy concluded, putting away his dice. “Time to let him finish his lunch.”

  “Says the guy who hasn’t even touched his own...” Ryūta remarked.

  Shinji then looked at his box, which he indeed hadn’t even opened yet.

  “True...”

  With that, he finally started on his lunch as well, and when they finished, their carefree day continued.

  Ryūta dedicated time evenly to all his friends. He spent the breaks between classes with Shinji, the afternoon with Sanae, and the evening with Ninel.

  The feeling that someone was watching him didn’t resurface all day. Not until he went to bed.

  It was late at night when he suddenly woke up. He looked around the room but didn’t notice anything unusual, except when he tried to check the time on his phone, the screen didn’t light up.

  “Did the battery run out?” he wondered to himself, then climbed out of his bed and put it on the charger.

  It didn’t work.

  “Maybe there’s a power outage...” he thought again and left it at that.

  Still, he was curious what time it might be, so he moved closer to his wall clock to see it better. However, no matter how long he stared at the digital display, the number didn’t change.

  It couldn’t have broken, otherwise it wouldn’t have shown anything at all.

  He walked to his desk and lifted the landline phone to his ear. It was dead as well.

  “What the hell is going on here...?” he pondered again, then decided to look around outside.

  He got dressed, and stepped out of his apartment into the hallway. The light was on. He didn’t notice anything unusual. He walked to the elevator, and pressed the call button. The door opened. Strangely, it was right on his floor.

  He randomly pressed different floor numbers on the panel, but nothing happened. The lift remained still. As one last attempt, he selected the ground floor. At that, the doors closed and it began its descent.

  When it arrived a few minutes later, the doors opened. He stepped out and made his way down the corridor until he reached the lobby with its reception desk. To his surprise, he found no one. Not a soul in sight.

  Finally, he walked to the entrance and stepped outside.

  Though it was nighttime, it wasn’t cold at all. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. The streetlights glowed overhead, but every window in the surrounding buildings remained dark. The roads lay empty, no cars, no pedestrians, nothing parked along the curbs.

  Normally it should have felt eerie, but Ryūta, though he couldn’t explain why, felt no unease.

  Then out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something move. He quickly turned his head in that direction but ultimately saw nothing. He scanned everywhere with his gaze when he finally did spot something. A shadow at the end of the road that, judging by its shape, came from a person.

  He cautiously started toward it, but by the time he reached the corner of the building and turned onto the other street, he found no one. However, he spotted the shadow again a few buildings away.

  He followed it once more, but before he could reach it, it disappeared again.

  This went on for a few more attempts, until he no longer knew exactly where he was. In fact, he was even beginning to doubt whether any of that was reality.

  “I know you’re here! Come out!” he shouted, but nothing happened. “This is weird, it usually works in movies...” he scratched his head helplessly when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him. He turned around.

  A man dressed in an elegant dark coat with brown shoulder-length hair stood before him with his hands in his pockets. The boy couldn’t see his face clearly in the darkness of the night.

  “Who are you?” Ryūta asked, taking a step back.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” the man replied as he slowly approached him.

  “Then maybe you could answer my question,” the boy said again, never taking his eyes off the stranger for a moment.

  “I am one of those you’re looking for.”

  “Are you? And which one?”

  Although he tried to hide his nervousness, his voice trembled slightly.

  “The one who took away, and now gives back.”

  “What?”

  As the man came closer and closer to Ryūta, the boy was increasingly losing his patience.

  “You seek answers. I can give them to you.”

  “Are you mocking me right now...? I asked who the hell you are! And I want to see your hands!”

  The stranger then stopped. He said nothing, just slowly took his hands out of his pockets and raised them.

  Ryūta cautiously stepped closer to him.

  He, like the boy, had blue eyes and was a head taller than him. His face was covered with faint wrinkles.

  “Who… are you?” Ryūta asked again, this time much more calmly, to which the stranger smiled.

  “I am Kagayaki Ryōsuke, your father.”