Chapter 2 - Making New Friends

After I had taken Sachiko’s hand in the hallway, she ran off with me out of the school and dragged me to Tenjin Station. She nagged me to buy a ticket to go to Yodoyabashi, a station that I've never been to before, so I was more or less confused by everything going on right now.

 Something I did note, however, was the fact that the train car was awfully full. Usually when I went home everyday, the subway line I took would be just about half full, but this line was crowded to the point that I was pressed in between people. It was hard to breathe and what little air I did get in was the musky scent of sweaty businessmen. It was, understandably, noon and I normally didn’t take the train to Osaka, but… wait, why am I going to Osaka?

Was this really happening?

"Yes, yes it is," Sachiko suddenly said.

I felt a chill. "Y-you can read minds?"

"No, but I had a feeling you were wondering if you were going crazy." I gripped the train handle a little more tightly. She was really starting to get creepy. Because she was a ghost, she didn't have any problem being squished in between people, so she simply floated in the air. I resisted the temptation to look up as she hovered dangerously above my head wearing only a skirt.

"I don't even see why you're so put off by this whole thing. You seem to have a lot of experience with strange beings."

"Sure, but I've never really gotten close enough to get to know them. It was more like 'hey, you're here, I'm not going to talk to you but just don't mess with my stuff' sort of thing."

"Oh?"

"I have a Zashiki Warashi that lives at my place. Kinda cute."

Sachiko folded her arms and gave me an irritable look. Was that jealousy in her eyes just now?

"Whore."

"Oh come on, she's a child! Or, well, at least she looks like one."

"Pedophile."

"I am not a pedophile!" I interjected.

"Whatever you say, Aki-chan."

She was seriously starting to get on my nerves. "Why do you keep calling me by my first name? Don't you think it's a little too soon for intimacy?"

“Is it?”

Several people gave me looks. Oh right, nobody could see her. I must’ve looked insane right now for talking to the ceiling about Zashiki Warashi and pedophilia. I stopped talking and attempted to raise my head above the shoulders of several men so I could look out the window, but I couldn’t get a peek.

I was already starting to regret my decision of going along with her. We’ve been on the train for about over three hours and despite making several stops, the crowd of people didn’t seem to be getting any smaller.

"Yodoyabashi, Yodoyabashi. Please be careful stepping off the train." Very few people seemed to be leaving, so I pretty much had to shove my way out and before I knew it, I clumsily stumbled out of the train, nearly falling over once my foot hit concrete. Turning around, I saw Sachiko calmly passing through people's bodies without any trouble. Damn her.

The doors closed behind her and the train continued down the railway. There were a lot of people around, but it was busy enough that I didn't think anyone would pay attention to me.

"Alright, so why exactly did you make me go to Yodoyabashi Station?"

"Never been here?"

"No."

"Right, right. Follow me." She went ahead and led me out of the noisy station and out to the surface world. The environment was totally unfamiliar. I didn't recognize any of the buildings and the city bustled with busy people and traffic. So this was Osaka.

She kept on walking until we reached an alley in between two buildings, completely empty save for the line of vending machines along the wall and an abandoned bike on the ground. Once she stopped, she looked up at me and cleared her throat.

“You may be wondering why I made you go to Osaka.”

“I may be?”

“The woman I told you about lives here. It isn’t a problem for me since I can travel long distances faster and more conveniently than any human can. But obviously, you can’t so I accompanied you on the train.”

“I have questions.”

“They’ll get answered eventually.”

“Look, I just want to know what’s going on. You don’t need to be so vague about everything.”

“Fontaine will explain almost everything to you. Along the way… I’ll tell you more.”

I smiled. “Fontaine, huh. Alright, so where is she then?”

“Right now, we are in Kitahama, near Mizuho Bank. If you would let me, I'll give you directions to our destination."

"By foot, right?"

She turned her head towards the bike on the ground.

"Isn't that stealing?"

"Does it look like I give a damn?"

"Guess not." I walked over to the bike, stood it upright, and hopped on. Sachiko climbed up my back and sat on my shoulders. Thankfully, she was weightless.

“A little clingy, aren’t you?”

“I need to be close in case you get lost. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

“Right.” I pedaled out into the street and awaited her orders.

"Keep going south. You should see Chiba Bank along the way." I nodded and looked up to the upcoming buildings that I passed by. After a few seconds, I found the bank she was talking about just ahead. "Honmachi... turn right."

I made a sharp turn, nearly running over a pedestrian along the way, and rode down the street rapidly. I was probably breaking a few laws, since I was switching erratically in between car lanes and sidewalks, but my priorities weren't exactly straight at the time.

"Utsubo Park," she said. "Keep going... keep going... turn left." An old man yelled at me as I swerved around him and changed direction. "Itachibori... 4-cho-me... Amika-Ike-Suji... right!" I braced myself as I passed a red light and veered right. I rushed through a sea of traffic, a car just barely missing me as I passed directly in front of it. Horns blared angrily.

"Sorry!" I yelled over my shoulder, which turned out be a bad decision because some kid just happened to be crossing the street. I sidetracked her, almost tipping the bicycle over, and continued down the road.

"Nishinigahori," Sachiko muttered. "Left."

I turned accordingly, this time riding along the sidewalk, though it was slightly difficult with the amount of people walking.

"Okay. Rinai Sato Shrine is just down there."

As I slowed to a stop in front of the shrine, I panted heavily, exhausted from the sudden intense exercise. I clambered off the bike and carelessly let it fall to the ground. I wiped the sweat off my forehead, folded up my sleeves and adjusted my small ponytail before taking in the sight of Rinai Sato.

It was a small, unremarkably ordinary-looking traditional shrine, sandwiched in between a bar and a hair salon unfashionably.  The structure was painted bright red and there were several statues of various animals and Youkai surrounding it. There were no tourists around, understandably so, as it didn't seem to be very popular.

"This is where she is?"

"Inside. Don't forget to take off your shoes." I went up the steps and removed my dirty sneakers. Sachiko gave me a nod, so I slid the door open slowly and took a look inside. It was... a very empty room, with nothing but a large, old drum and a few dim lanterns scattered across the wooden floor. There was another door probably leading to another room, which suddenly opened to a large, muscular 'woman' wearing lingerie.

"Sachiko-sama!" 'she' yelled, 'her' voice deep and resounding. "You've brought an intruder?!"

"Calm down, Fontaine. She's friendly."

'Her' nostrils flared. "She smells like a demon."

"She's the daughter of an Oni."

Fontaine growled. ‘She' stomped towards me and grabbed my arm. 'Her' grip, seemingly made of steel, was powerful enough to yank me forward. The 'woman' began to inhale my scent, much to my confusion and discomfort. 'She' then sniffed my dark, messy hair. With a grunt, I was released.

As I massaged my sore arm, I was able to get a proper look at Fontaine. 'She' had champagne pink hair done up in twin pigtails, a matching goatee, and clouded eyes. 'Her' cheekbones were quite defined and 'she' had a very masculine jawline. Around her late twenties, if I had to guess. 'She' also smelled of strawberries.

I leaned down and whispered into Sachiko's ear, "is this the 'woman' you were talking about? Why does she look like a man?"

She elbowed my side. "Don't be rude. She can hear you."

 "It's fine," Fontaine said, holding up a hand. She took out a stick of strawberry pocky from her bra and stuck it in between her teeth. "My femininity has yet to blossom, but I assure you, I will have a vagina by April."

 "What?"

 "HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME?!" she shouted unexpectedly. "I KNOW I WAS BORN A MAN, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T ACT LIKE A WOMAN EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE! YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND ME!"

 "Fontaine!" Sachiko snapped. "That's enough. She's didn't know. No one's trying to threaten your identity as a woman."

 Fontaine wiped away her tears with the back of her hand like a child. "Okay."

 Jesus Christ.

 "So um..." I coughed. "You're Fontaine?"

 "Yeah."

 "Okay, uh... Kure... err, Sachiko-sama came to me for help so I can return her soul to her body. Do you know how I could do that?"

 "Ah. Sit down, it's going to be a long explanation." I nodded and sat cross-legged on the floor. Sachiko did likewise. Meanwhile, Fontaine paced across the room. "Sachiko-sama, this is the human you've chosen to aid you?"

 "Yes. I had no other choice."

 "I see." She stroked her goatee. "Well, uhh, what's your name again?"

 I bowed politely. "Matsumoto Aki. Pleased to meet you."

 "Matsumoto-san, were you close to Sachiko-sama while she was alive? What was your relationship with her?"

"We just met."

She raised both her brows. "How is that possible?"

"It's fine," Sachiko said. "Just tell her the story."

"Alright. As you may already know, Sachiko-sama's body is dead. Do you know why?"

 "No."

"Sachiko-sama... keeping her in the dark, are you?"

"Just get to the point, Fontaine."

"Fine. Sachiko-sama's cause of death was suicide."

I let the words sink in. Suicide? What could have possibly driven her to end her life?

"Yuurei typically exist as a result of a person's heart being heavy with emotion. Whether it be jealousy, anger, or love. All range of emotions except for happiness. In Sachiko-sama's case, depression.

"For those that couldn't be reincarnated to a new organism, they spend eternity wandering purposelessly through space. However, there are ways to escape it. Possession, for example. Taking over someone's body will allow a ghost to assume a new life, and once they die, they'll be able move on. There are repercussions. The soul of the person they possess will completely disappear. There is absolutely no way for their soul to re-exist.

"And of course, you can return a Yuurei's soul to their body, given their body is still intact. They can relive their life and ensure they die without any regrets."

"Can you do that?"

"For someone like me, I'd have no problem doing so. There is only one thing stopping me. Sachiko-sama, since her death, has attempted to return to her body without any help from a human."

"Does she need a human to help her?"

"Yes. There's no way for a ghost to return to life without the help of someone that is part of the physical world. But that didn't seem to stop her. In her fruitless effort to repossess her body, she has created different timelines."

"Timelines?"

"Precisely. Ghosts can travel not only through space, but time as well. They can go forward or back, but they can only go back as far as the day they died. Though, this does come with consequences if they're not careful.”

“Such as?”

“Parts of her soul are lost. You may see her as a full body now, but in reality, she is close to falling apart. Her soul is scattered through several timelines.”

"So.... we have to get them back."

"Correct. When a part of her soul is lost, it finds its way into some inanimate object. This could be anything, and usually around the vicinity of where she was at the time. If you give me the object I can break it, freeing her soul, and it will destroy the extra timeline."

“How are we going to get them, then? Can we travel time this way?”

“It’s not time in the sense you think it to be. In fact, all you have to do is find the objects and give them to me. Each soul fragment simply represents a timeline in which she tried to return to her body. In each one, she failed and people were affected negatively. So Sachiko-sama traveled through time to try and fix it. She was somewhat successful, but in the process she loses a part of her soul. If she had continued, she would've lost her entire soul and ceased to exist. To make things worse, all of the mistakes she had made in the timelines would manifest in this world."

“I see…”

"Anyhow, that’s all the information I can provide you, Matsumoto-san. Sachiko-sama herself will be able to tell you the locations of her soul fragments. It’s up to you to retrieve them. In the mean time, I’m going to go to 7-Eleven."

“Thank you."

“SUCK MY ASS, YOU TRANSPHOBIC HALF-BREED!” Fontaine walked past me and exited the shrine without another word.

I stood up and turned to Sachiko. “Should we start now?”

“Not yet. We can stay at your place first. Which is at...?”

I sighed. “Back in Fukuoka.”

“Better take the train again.”

“Good thing I’m loaded.”

…

I turned the key and the door clicked open. Sachiko was already inside, since she passed through the door, and was seated on my computer chair. I climbed up to the loft and collapsed onto the futon, which was thankfully laid out. I felt content to just lie here for the rest of the night. My limbs were sore, I had a massive headache, and there was a ghost in my apartment. It’s been a rough day.

“Nice place you got here,” Sachiko commented, spinning around in my chair.

“Are you kidding?” I said, slightly muffled in my pillow. I sat up. “It’s literally just a living area, a loft, and a kitchen. And there’s a bathroom, but that doesn’t count.”

“Well I like it. It has a sort of cozy feel to it. Besides, if you wanted a bigger apartment, why didn’t you get one? I thought you were rich.”

“I get all my money from my father, who is an Oni that steals to make a living. I only get enough money to pay for rent, food, and my fare card.”

“Why don't you live with your father?”

"I did for the first five years of my life. You know how Youkai and their children are reincarnated, right?"

"Maybe. Why don't you refresh my memory?"

"Well uh, unlike normal humans, Youkai and their children are reincarnated as the same person. Same appearance, preferences, personality... name might be different. My first life was somewhere in the Edo period. I don't remember anything from it, but while I lived with my father, I was educated everything I needed to know about the supernatural and the lives I've lived before. After that, I was kicked out."

"Hmm..." I watched Sachiko get off the chair and search the shelves. “Are you an otaku, Aki-chan? You’ve got a lot of manga here… mostly supernatural and yuri genre. Some ero-ero too..."

“Hey, stop looking through my stuff!”

“Nice figurines… Hatsune Miku… Akiyama Mio... that anime was shit, by the way... Toshinou Kyouko..."

"A-Aki-chan..." a quiet voice said. I immediately recognized who it was.

"Momoko?" I looked down and saw her just outside the kitchen door with a teddy bear in hand.

"I-I'm scared..." The timid little girl in a kimono carefully went up the loft and snuggled next to me.

"Sorry, Momoko. There's gonna be a ghost staying with us for a while." I patted her head to soothe her.

Sachiko raised a brow. "Is this the Zashiki Warashi you were talking about?"

"Yeah. She can't see you, but she must've sensed your presence."

"Where'd she come from?"

"She just came with the apartment. Please be nice to her. She's shy."

"Whatever." She seemed to get bored so she entered the kitchen. “Wow, nice kitchen. Ooh, is this your bathroom?” Wait, my bathroom?! Panicking, I slid down the ladder from my loft and hurried to the kitchen.Sachiko had her hand on the door handle and a head already peaked inside. She turned back and had a disturbed look on her face.

“Y-you…”

“It’s not what it looks like, I swear!”

“So the rumors about Oni being… being… are true?”

“NO!”

Sachiko’s face immediately changed back to its normal state. “Oh, okay. So Oni aren’t slobs.” She shut the bathroom door closed and walked out of the kitchen, leaving me bewildered. What?!

"Kurebayashi!”

She stuck her head back inside. “By the way, is it true that Oni are futanari?” My complexion turned pale.

I swallowed nervously.  “Um… um...

“Um?"

“Look it’s true, okay! I have a penis! So what?! I got it from my dad! It was out of my control!” Oddly, that felt really good. It was like a huge weight was just lifted off my chest. I’ve never told anyone that before.

“That’s fine. It makes a lot of sense anyway. I'd never judge you just because you're a girl with a penis."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "I’m glad."

"Show me sometime, will you?" she grinned.

"E-eh…?"

Sachiko placed a hand on my chest. "Don’t like being teased?"

I gulped. "Ku-Kurebayashi..."

Sachiko chuckled and walked back to my chair. "You go ahead and sleep. You'll need all your energy for tomorrow." She somehow turned on my computer and started using it.

I subconsciously touched the area where her hand had just been. My heart was racing. "Uh huh..." I stiffly went up to my loft and lay back on my bed. Momoko was quietly asleep. I brushed away some of her short, black hair so that she didn't drool on it. "What about you?" I called.

"I'm a ghost. I don't need sleep."

I reached over and switched off the lights to the apartment. It was silent for a while, with only the sound of clicking and typing. I decided to say something before drifting off to sleep. "Kurebayashi."

"Hm?"

"Why did you commit suicide?"

She didn't say anything for a long time. ".... Good night, Aki-chan."