Chapter Text
Chapter 1: A ghost's perspective
The last thing Atsuya Fubuki saw before he died was the terrified look of his twin brother, Shirou. They were returning home after a soccer game. Since they were little, they had been inseparable, the perfect combination of defender and forward. So, when danger loomed, a shared instinct froze his body.
An avalanche.
Atsuya pushed Shirou out of the car, sacrificing himself to save him. Seconds later, darkness and cold enveloped him, and everything vanished in a frozen blanket.
His memories became blurry after that. He didn't know how he got to a hospital. He was huddled in the corner of a dark room, his gaze fixed on his father's drooping figure. He was younger than Atsuya remembered, with dark hair and glasses that barely managed to hide the tiredness in his eyes.
The man fidgeted nervously, trying to calm himself as he pushed a small baby stroller. Atsuya felt a mix of confusion and despair. What was he doing there? Why couldn't she approach her father, seek comfort in his lap? Every time he tried, an invisible barrier kept him away, trapped in that dark space.
Every few minutes, his father's eyes darted anxiously toward a door at the end of the hallway. His fingers drummed on the hard chair in a rhythm that resonated through the room, creating echoes that seemed to stir the shadows around him.
The shadows that watched him.
Why was his father so nervous? Atsuya watched as the nurses and doctors passed by, not noticing his presence. The nurses whispered next to his father, trying to calm him, offering him blankets and hot coffee. Atsuya reached out toward them, longing for the warmth on the other side, but found only the coldness of the invisible wall that separated him.
It seemed to say something, so he strained to make out the sounds.
"...the patient in room 304 was once a criminal..."
"Oh, really?..."
"…Where's the X-ray room"
“...sir, don't forget the recipe. Go to the pharmacy…”
“…you are the new one…”
"...they only admitted me once, I'm leaving soon..."
“…don't run through the hallways…”
All the voices piled up as he desperately tried to hear his father's voice.
“…don't worry, we have the best specialists…”
"...tell me doctor what illness I have..."
"...do you want to come to the cafeteria on Thursday..."
“I can't help but worry… it was so sudden…”
He hit the barrier hard, desperate to make some noise, to break that separation. But there was no sound. The wall remained firm, and his hope began to fade. Exhausted, Atsuya curled up again, the cold penetrating to his bones. The voices on the other side became clearer, and he could hear his father's trembling voice.
—I can't help but worry. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't have arrived in that state.
"This isn't the first time we've dealt with an emergency like this," a nurse responded in a soft voice. I understand your concern, but getting nervous won't help.
-I know. Still, it was a premature birth.
Suddenly, the baby in the stroller began to cry, interrupting the conversation. Atsuya watched his father pick up the baby, rocking him carefully. In his father's arms, the baby seemed so small and fragile, but there was something strangely familiar about him, even if he could only see the blanket wrapped around him.
Atsuya's heart pounded as a shiver ran through his body. What was happening? Blurred images began to emerge in his mind, and the cold in the room increased. The silent atmosphere was broken by a torrent of discordant voices, like a poorly tuned radio that accumulated dozens of stations on a single frequency.
Pain surged through his head, and Atsuya screamed, desperate. I was remembering.
He screamed and cried, as the images in his mind faded as if someone was trying to stop him from remembering. He saw glimpses of a family, a car ride, and… a lot of snow. The noise in his head intensified, like thousands of needles piercing his mind and ears.
-Please! Aid! Dad, mom, someone… please make them shut up!
And suddenly, everything stopped. The thunderous noise was replaced by a child's crying coming from the door at the end of the hallway. Atsuya felt an inexplicable force, an impulse that led him to hit the invisible wall with all his energy. The wall began to undulate, and Atsuya stepped through it, feeling an invisible pressure threatening to crush him.
When he finally made it to the other side, he ran toward the door, the cold air burning his lungs. Just before he arrived, a delicate hand covered his eyes, and the cold disappeared instantly. A soft feminine laugh echoed behind him.
The crying became clearer.
Atsuya opened his eyes and found himself in a white room. There, his mother was lying on a bed, holding a baby in her arms. When she looked at him, Atsuya knew immediately that that baby was him.
His legs gave way under his weight, and the cruel truth forced its way into his mind with painful clarity.
Atsuya Fubuki was dead.
He had frozen to death in an avalanche with his parents. Now, no one could touch him. Nobody could hear him. Nobody could see it.
After all, he was a ghost.