Chapter 7: Go Home
I’m hungry, Houzuki.”
Houzuki no longer goes to the old school building.
The reason is simple.
Ghosts appearing in the old school building are forcibly dragged into the science preparation room.
“I’m hungry, Houzuki.”
Basically, Houzuki only needs to meet her best friend, Towako, and she has no interest in the silver-haired red-eyed male student.
“I said I’m hungry, Houzuki!!”
“Grandpa, didn’t you eat earlier?”
“Don’t treat me like an old man!!”
The silver-haired red-eyed male student, Yuiru Enen, strikes the skeleton specimen out of frustration.
Houzuki also doesn’t attract ghosts every day.
In the first place, he eats ghosts wandering around the school one after another, so he seems to be getting fatter. Well, ghosts don’t seem to get fat though.
Yuiru shouts, “I’m hungry!!”
“Are you fine with me starving to death!?”
“I can’t imagine a ghost dying twice, though.”
“You heartless girl!!”
“What’s a ghost like you saying?”
“What an uncute girl.”
“Does it benefit me to show you how cute I am?”
Houzuki responded to Yuiru with a cold and indifferent attitude, and Yuiru seemed frustrated, muttering in discontent. He was truly an unghostly ghost.
Kuroomi Otoya, sipping his coffee, seemed to find the exchange between Houzuki and Yuiru amusing, suppressing his laughter.
Well, one could say his eccentricity was something they were used to. Perhaps they had never seen a science teacher drinking coffee from a beaker before. It seemed like something out of a manga or a novel.
“Although you were also arguing the first time I saw you two, it sure is interesting.”
“Which part part do you see in this ridiculous exchange interesting? I’m being serious here.”
“If you’re so hungry, why not scoop some white rice into a bowl and eat it with chopsticks?”
“Don’t turn it into a memorial meal!”
Yuiru, who was also insulted by his old friend, was furious and exclaimed, “Mukii-i!!”. (TN: a cry of frustration)
The target shifts to Kuroomi Otoya and Yuiru pounces on him.
While Houzuki exhaled, observing the exchange about coffee, Towako, who had been watching the exchange, comforted her, saying, “You’ve had a tough time.”
“That willful ghost is really leaving us speechless.”
“Hmm……But it’s true that he helps in his own way.”
The number of ghosts that Houzuki can perceive has significantly decreased.
This is because Yuiru is eating ghosts indiscriminately.
Whether his stomach is bottomless or not, he eats any ghost that catches his eye as if it were a snack. Thanks to that, the ghosts she can see are mostly just Yuiru and Towako, which is a bit of relief.
For him, this exchange seems to be a kind of play. If he were seriously hungry, he’d probably go outside and eat ghosts on his own.
“Hmm, is that so?”
“Yeah.”
“By the way, Houzuki-chan.”
“What’s wrong, Towako?”
“Did you lose weight?”
Houzuki keeps quiet.
“Coming from someone who’s become a ghost, it might sound strange, but you really need to eat properly, you know? Because you’re alive, Houzuki-chan.”
“I’m eating properly.”
Houzuki smiled reassuringly at the concerned Towako.
She tried to appear natural, not forcing her smile.
While she hadn’t noticed any weight loss herself, if they were saying so, it must be true. She had to make sure they didn’t notice that she was pushing herself too hard.
Then, as if prompting the end of the school day, the chime echoed through the school building.
“……It’s about time to go home. I have things to do at home too.”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Towako didn’t say anything special and simply saw off Houzuki.
Houzuki, with her school bag slung over her shoulder, nodded to Kuroomi, the owner of the room. Kuroomi, sipping his coffee, gave her a nonchalant “Take care.”
As she was about to leave the classroom, Yuiru, who had been a ravenous monster just a moment ago, seemed to notice something and spoke up.
“Houzuki. Do you have a family?”
“…………”
Houzuki answered the male student who looked at him with his piercing red eyes.
“They’re dead.”
☆
Kasugadani Houzuki has no family.
It’s said that they all died.
She was told that they died in a traffic accident.
“………….”
As she traced her way home, Houzuki moved her leaden feet with effort.
“…………”
She didn’t truly want to go home.
There was no space in that place where Houzuki’s heart could find solace.
The unpleasant atmosphere permeated every corner, and the fear of wanting to escape filled the air.
With no reliable relatives to turn to and no reason to want to return, she still had to go back.
Because that house was Houzuki’s home.
“…………”
A dilapidated apartment that seemed like it could be blown away by a direct hit from a typhoon.
Only in that space was there an eerily quiet atmosphere, where the sound of Houzuki’s own breathing seemed disproportionately loud. Tumbled plant pots and a faded tricycle left abandoned in front of the apartment added to the sense of unknown dread.
Apartment 1-1 on the ground floor; that was Houzuki’s home.
“I’m home.”
Unlocking the door with the key, she pushed open the thin door.
Gyii.
The sound of the hinges grating against each other touched her ears.
Upon entering, the kitchen came into view. Dirty dishes were piled up, and a man with his head bowed was standing over the cutting board.
He slammed a rusty knife onto the empty cutting board, the unpleasant sound reverberating throughout the room.
Daan, daan, daan!
Daan, daan, daan!
With single-minded focus, for no apparent reason.
Houzuki took off her shoes and stepped further into the room, heading towards the back.
Though, it was just a few steps away. In what served as the living room, there was a triptych mirror, and a woman was seated in front of it.
Jii. (TN: Stare)
It’s a faceless woman.
No eyes, nose, or mouth. Her hair was unkempt, and her clothes were tattered.
The woman facing the triptych mirror remained motionless, staring at her reflection without any apparent purpose, just silently.
Jii.
Feeling like her eyes met with the woman’s through the mirror, Houzuki quickly looked away.
She jumped into the room she had claimed as her own territory and threw her school bag onto the bed.
Leaning against the closed door, she covered her ears and slumped down onto the floor.
“I can’t take it anymore…”
In the secluded valley, Kasugadani Houzuki has no family members.
But those were her family.
Family who were supposed to be dead since she was a child.
Houzuki’s family became… strange… after they… died…
