Chapter Text
Paranormal investigators were necessary for society to function, to move on. They cemented the fine, dangerous line between living and dead. They dealt with the daily drudge of death and misery and regret and places haunted by those who should be long gone. So long as people die with regret, there will always be more work to do. Paranormal investigators were important parts of society…
Well, Akito sure as hell didn’t feel important, rising before the sun did, ignoring the growing stack of unpaid bills on his table as he walked out the door of his shitty apartment with a ratty winter jacket on.
On his front door was another notice from his landlord complaining about his delayed rent payment, but Akito just tore it off and crumbled it. The paycheck from this next job would be enough. Apparently it involved the death of some rich music kid. He checked the address. Aoyagi Mansion. Hah. " Important Necessity." The work he did was apparently priceless, and yet it still didn’t pay.
Akito stared at the horizon as he walked along the city sidewalk. The sun would be rising soon. He had to get there before dawn…but some breakfast at the local convenience store wouldn't hurt.
There was a dead girl in the store. Her spirit was gaunt and pale, wearing nothing but a hospital gown, a torn off iv drip still hanging from her wrist. Her yellow and pink hair was tied up in two pigtails that hung limply from the sides of her face.
Her eyes were empty, nothing but hollow voids as she limped along, following a young blonde man about Akito's age in an expensive looking jacket pondering which type of chips to buy. Akito wondered how long she'd been dead.
"Nii-chan...nii-chan..."
The girl attempted to tug on the man's (presumably her older brother's) sleeve, but her hand passed right through it. The girl sighed. The man jolted and shivered, pulling up his jacket like a chilly breeze had just passed by. Interesting. So this guy can feel something. Usually normal people couldn't acknowledge anything about a spirit's presence.
The girl looked up at the shelf of chips the man was looking at. Feebly, she pointed up to one of them.
"Nii-chan...that one…"
Akito tore his eyes away. This wasn't what he was here for. He just wanted breakfast. Absent-mindedly, Akito picked a random sandwich from the shelf and briskly made his way to the counter. He paid as quickly as he could, staring at the floor the entire time. As he exited the store, he looked at the man and the girl one last time.
It seemed the man had finally made up his mind and was paying for his purchase at the counter. He was attempting to converse with the cashier by loudly introducing himself, but the worker was having none of it. Akito noted the bag of chips he was buying was not the ones the spirit had pointed to. As the transaction came to a close, the girl made a sad whining noise that went unheard by everyone but Akito.
Akito hesitated before turning around and walking away. Forget it. They wouldn't want his help. They never did. It was better if he just forgot anything happened. As Akito continued to walk to his destination, he began to fade into the bustling Tokyo cityscape, a single figure lost in the crowd, his thoughts consumed by the image of a dead girl who just wanted her brother to buy her favorite chips.