No. 4| Out in the rain book II

Chapter 26

'H-He kissed me!' Y/n blushed as she touched her forehead.

Y/n was in a daze for a bit when she felt Mei squirm around in her arms. She placed Mei down on her painting stool.

She then left the art room. As soon as she stepped out, her eyes met with some amber ones.

"..."

"..."

Y/n started to walk away quickly. Unfortunately, the person grabbed her wrist.

"Y/n?"

She turned around and looked Hanako in the eyes.

"..."

"Say something!" He said, getting a bit frustrated.

"Good afternoon?" She said, not knowing what else to say.

"That's it?" He asked, gripping her shoulders tightly.

She sighs and looks away from him. She wasn't embarrassed to see him, she just knew he was upset with her.

He muttered something under his breath before grabbing her hand, starting to walk away from the art room.

Hanako didn't feel the warmth of a human in her hand. Her hand was cold and lifeless, just like his own.

She was an apparition now.

"Hey! Where are we going?" She asked, trying to pull away from him.

Hanako didn't respond and continued to pull her. They finally reached the bathroom.

'I haven't been here in a long time...'

"This is where we first met. Do you remember?" Hanako asked, turning to face her.

"This is also the place where you put a knife at my throat, do you remember?" She asked, making him chuckle.

"What's so important about me remembering if we met here? This is where you meet everyone, right?" She questioned, observing the place.

"You're an apparition now. You probably don't remember your human life like you think you do." Hanako said.

Y/n's eyes widened. She tried thinking of her past life, only to realize she only remembered the moments before her death.

So then why did she remember Hanako? What about Tsukasa and Mei? How did she remember them.

"When a human is around an apparition for a good while, that apparition's spirit and aura shall remain imbedded inside of that human's brain." Hanako said, almost like he read her mind.

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked.

"This weapon. This was pointed at your neck during our first meeting, and during our last, was it not?" He asked, turning to face her.

Her eyes widened slightly "I remember... I had to help somebody..."

"You realize the cons of becoming an apparition? You are no longer visible to most. Your education was also thrown away. You couldn't live a normal life. You shouldn't have gotten involved with Tsukasa." He said, grabbing her wrist.

"Even so, I'm happy with the life I lived! It might've been short, but I still think I enjoyed it." She says softly, looking down.

He looks at her and sighs "Just tell me."

"Huh? What do you mean-

"Why did you do it that day? I know you were aware that Number three and I could've been killed instead. We'd come back... and everything would've been normal. So why?"

She doesn't respond for a few seconds "I remember... I wanted things to go back to normal, too. But I didn't want you to die again..."

"I would've came back the same! You... You lost your life! You only got a second chance because of Number four!" He snapped, gripping her shoulders and looking in her eyes.

"It's okay-

"It's not! I killed you, Y/n. The murder weapon was mine. So not only have I killed myself and Tsukasa. You've been slaughtered by me as well." He said, gritting his teeth.

Y/n was speechless. She had no idea he had all this guilt building up inside him for so long. It made her heart ache for him.

"I'm sorry... I just wanted to help." She said, looking at his cape that swayed every time he moved.

He took a deep breath "You're a wonder now? What's your yorishiro?"

Her breath hitched, not because of the question he asked, but because he was smiling again.

"Well, I don't really have one..." She says softly, hoping he wouldn't make fun of her.

"Hmm. You look different. Did you change your hair or something? Maybe your outfit? No wait—your eyes?" He asked curiously, getting closer to her face to analyze it better.

"Back up!" She said, getting a bit flustered.

He didn't listen to her and started to float, getting even closer to her.

She pushed him so hard that he landed into a stall, getting soaked with toilet water.

'I'm getting a sense of Deja vu...'