Promises || Teru Minamoto x Reader (TBHK)

amends || 4.2 || ǝʌᴉʇɔǝdsɹǝd ʍǝu ɐ

4 months later

  "Minamoto-sensei? How long has it been?" She asks as we trek the dirt path to our destination. We'd been venturing out for a long while, hoping to find the spirit we'd been told to exorcise. Well, more like the one I was told to exorcise. They still don't know that she's here with me. I sometimes forget that she's here with me, she barely ever talks. It's completely understandable why, it'd be awkward to try and make up after everything.

"How long has it been for what?"

"Since I died." She stops in the middle of the trail, looking down at her feet solemnly. I turn around to stare at her, observing her melancholic smile.

"Death of Tsubasa Ayano was.... I don't know. And you died the same day as her. It's been years, I think." I try to add up the numbers in my head, but I can't be bothered by that. We need to get back on the road.

  "But... Is that long? I don't think I can quite grasp a perception of time anymore." She whispers meekly, hiding her face in her button-up.

  "In the larger picture... no. It's been long for me, though. Too long for me." All she responded with was a slight disappointed hum and continued walking ahead of me. Her loose blazer flapped in the wind, leading to her rolling up the sleeves. Although we've already walked so far out, there's no endpoint in sight. Although the school break is nice, I still have to keep up with my duties. This trek wasn't the hardest part of the journey, however. There was far worse to come.

  Seeing the sun fall behind the snow-peppered mountains, I decided to declare that we stop for the day. Placing a small sleeping bag in the field of pink-hued blossoms, I rest my materials that'd hopefully come in use in the future. Although the petals constantly fell off and were sure to cover me once I woke up, I didn't mind. It felt nice being surrounded by  lovely flowers, almost as if you were in a dream-like state, encaged in a maze of rose colored florets. Feeling my stomach growl, I knew I'd have to eat soon if I wanted to be energized. One of the nice things about being a ghost must be not having to eat, or do anything really. Before departing on a journey for food, I decided to notify (Y/N), who appeared to be one step ahead of me.

"There's peaches here... I don't know if you want them, though." She says hesitantly, looking at the fruit in the tree with a scowl as if recalling unpleasant memories. No, not unpleasant memories, it's more like... Things that shouldn't have happened. Things that would've been better if they never occurred. At least that's what I think. I felt it too.

"It's food. That's good enough for me." I sigh, grabbing a stick to prod one of the peaches off the tree. Catching it as it descends, I eye it all around. It's bruised, but it'll do. It's not like there's anything better around unless I feel like eating bugs. As I took a bite into it, I felt a sense of relief. It wasn't the same. It wasn't like the ones at home, the ones that me and (Y/N) fought over, it's just a peach. And nothing else.

"This is how it all started, wasn't it?... (Y/N)?" I ponder aloud, not expecting an answer but at least hoping that she knew what I meant.

"Oh, you were talking to me?" She asks, pushing her hair out of her face as a way to stall time to avoid answering. I still knew how she acted. She hasn't changed much, at least not mentally. "Yeah. It was. I wish I could still taste, that'd be great. It'd make me feel human again." A solemn expression fell over her face, almost as if she was put in a trance. I would feel bad for her if she hadn't inflicted this on herself. Despite this, a pang of guilt suddenly crept up on me, what it seemed to be for no reason. No, there has to be a reason. I just don't want to hear it. I don't have a reason to.