Chapter 5 “At the Tracks Submerged in Evening Twilight”
Pikon. (TN: ping)
[Hey, where are you now?]
Upon receiving a message from her best friend, Houzuki’s gaze was cast into the distance.
Even in the Otherworld Station, time flowed, and the blue sky had turned completely red.
The open grasslands, stretching endlessly with neither buildings nor anything else, had also taken on an orange hue, and the gentle breeze made the wildflowers sway. Yet, this alone didn’t reveal where they were.
Seated on a bench at the Kamishana Station, a solitary structure in the middle of the grasslands, Houzuki wondered.
[A place called Kamishana Station.]
[Where is that?]
[I dunno……]
[Come home soon, okay? Uncle and Aunt are worried.]
Mom and Dad.
As the two words in the message from her best friend caught her eye, Houzuki turned away from her phone screen.
Anyway, they never worried about Houzuki. No matter how late she came home, no matter how much she misbehaved, they absolutely never worried.
Houzuki gazed absentmindedly at the swaying wildflowers in the wind. Next to her, a silver-haired, red-eyed male student plopped down energetically. Yuiru, who had been playing pretend with the clothes worn by the ghosts in his belly, finally got tired of playing and came back.
“Are you satisfied?”
“Yes, I had quite some fun.”
“I see.”
Houzuki responded with seeming disinterest, then said,
“Well, let’s head back.”
“How do we do that?”
“Why not just follow the tracks?”
“That’s a good idea.”
Houzuki, carrying her school bag, stood up and peered at the rusty tracks.
The tracks, extending through the grasslands, seemed to stretch endlessly, with no end in sight.
Even if they followed these tracks, it wasn’t certain whether they could return to their original world. Nevertheless, with no train in sight, following the tracks was the only option.
Without hesitation, Houzuki descended onto the tracks and called out to Yuiru, who was performing a clumsy waltz with the clothes the spirits had worn on the station platform.
“We’re going.”
“Understood.”
Yuiru, who had previously held the clothes with great care, discarded them onto the platform of Kamishana Station as though they were trash. He then followed Houzuki and descended onto the rusty tracks.
The tracks continued to stretch, painted in a deep red. The footing was unstable, and Houzuki walked carefully. Yuiru, who followed from behind, took advantage of his status as a ghost and floated through the air. Houzuki couldn’t help but envy this. For now, she found the role of the ghost frustrating, as it meant she had to walk in such a difficult place.
Pikon.
A message was received on her phone. When she looked at the screen, it contained another worried message from her best friend.
Even though she had only gone a short distance, her friend was overly concerned. Houzuki didn’t want to be a burden, but until this disposition changed, she might end up causing trouble.
On the familiar messaging app screen, her best friend’s message read:
[Who’s that behind you?]
Be・hind・me?
Houzuki tilted her head, paused for a moment, and looked back. Just as someone casually passed by right beside her, it was the silver-haired, red-eyed male student.
There was no one else around. Her familiar best friend’s figure was nowhere to be seen on this railway track.
“From where……”
Houzuki looked around, wondering where her friend might be observing her from.
The vast expanse of the grasslands stretched out with no buildings in sight. If someone were standing around, she would quickly notice.
Houzuki pondered where her best friend could be watching her from.
“What’s the matter, Houzuki?”
Yuiru, who had stopped a little further away, turned to Houzuki.
“Even if you’re tired, I can’t hold your hand. Walk on your own; it’s a hassle.”
“The last part doesn’t sound like you. — Anyway…”
Houzuki held her phone’s screen out to Yuiru.
“My best friend is saying weird things.”
“…Well, it’s certainly strange.”
Yuiru glared at the phone’s LCD screen.
“Houzuki.”
“What?”
“Can you really read this message? I have no idea what it’s saying.”
“Huh? You don’t know how to read?”
“Idiot. Of course, I can read.”
Yuiru snatched the phone from Houzuki’s hand and thrust the LCD screen back at her.
Displayed on the LCD screen was the message sent by her best friend.
The messages ranged from inquiries about her whereabouts and what she was doing to casual topics like the content of today’s homework.
They were written in standard characters, and Houzuki could read them just fine.
[Houzuki, there’s 陦後°縺ェ縺?〒]*
[Houzuki, today’s homework 縺イ縺ィ繧翫↓縺励↑縺?〒]
[Houzuki.]
[Beans? 邱偵↓陦後％縺]
Jiji, zazaza.
[Houzuki.]
[Hey, Houzuki.]
[Are you there?]
[Where are you?]
[Don’t leave me alone.]
[You won’t leave me alone, right?]
[We’re friends, right?]
[Hey.]
[Hey.]
[Hey, hey.]
[Hey, hey, hey.]
Pikon, pikon, pikon, pikon, pikon, pikon.
[Houzuki.]
[Don’t ignore me.]
[I’ll come to get you.]
[It’s dangerous, you know?]
[Hey.]
[Houzuki.]
Houzuki began to feel fear as an endless stream of messages continued to arrive.
Her best friend had never become this distraught before.
Why had she become so unbalanced?
Houzuki placed her fingers on the keyboard, but she couldn’t think of what to say to comfort her friend.
How could she appease her?
A cold sweat ran down her spine as she stood there, paralyzed by the tension and fear.
Yuiru, taking the phone from Houzuki’s trembling hand, examined the LCD screen closely, trying to make sense of the situation.
“I see how it is.”
After giving the phone back to Houzuki, Yuiru says,
“Houzuki, it’s annoying so turn it off.”
“Eh, uh, okay.”
Houzuki held down the power button and turned off her phone.
Now, she wouldn’t receive any more frantic messages from her best friend. She felt a little relieved.
Yuiru grinned and then said,
“I see, it seems that my next meal has been decided.”
“You can’t mean……”
“That so-called best friend of yours. I’m going to eat her.”
“I won’t let you do that!!”
Houzuki glared at Yuiru.
Her best friend was her one and only.
She couldn’t allow this arrogant and presumptuous glutton to turn her friend into a meal.
Yuiru tilted his head in wonder and said,
“Either way, she’s going to be my meal. The situation is already unfolding.”
Yuiru spoke with excitement,
“I’m looking forward to it. I wonder what your so-called best friend will taste like?”
As he said this, he suddenly vanished.
Houzuki found herself standing in the bustling Tsukinashi-cho Station, a popular spot. She hurriedly passed by salarymen who were giving her curious looks, clutching her powered-off phone.
Determined not to let her best friend be eaten, she held onto the powerless phone.
But then, the powerless phone received a message:
[Houzuki.[
[We’ve always been together, right?]
*TN: These are supposedly incomprehensible texts and I don’t know how to translate them to English so I’m leaving them as is.
