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Reimi was finally at ease. Kira was gone for good, and Morioh is safe and back to normal (or, at least, as safe and normal as it could be). Now, she could spend her time floating around, perusing the shops and watching tourists enjoy the sandy beaches. It's not like she could enjoy them herself given her ghostly state, but she did derive joy from seeing people in her beloved town. Today, she was sitting outside the train station watching the hustle and bustle of rush hour. As she gazed on the passersby, a man dressed in a bowler hat and suit stepping out of the train station caught her eye. She was used to seeing weird people, but this was a standout. A ghastly face, a pale complexion, almost as if he was a ghost too! (Reimi wondered if she looked like that, not that she could check herself in a mirror.) He approached her, and Reimi felt her heart race. He can see me? she wondered. He took out a paper from his pocket and read from it.
"Hello, miss, I was wondering if you knew where this house was-"
She wasn't listening. "Who are you?" she said.
"Ah, so you can see me, too. I was suspicious when your face changed when you looked in my direction. You looked like you'd seen a ghost," he chuckled.
"Well? You still haven't answered my question!"
"Oh, right. I suppose it's only courtesy to tell you who I am after scaring you like that. I'm Kira Yoshikage. That's really all I know about myself; sorry if you were expecting a more extensive answer." He seemed unconcerned with the lack of information.
"No, that can't be your name..." He was dead, wasn't he? Those hands dragged him to hell, didn’t they? But, now that she got a good look, that was definitely him. "Why are you here? Leave!" she commanded, though her voice cracking didn't help. She began to briskly walk away from him.
Kira was taken aback. What did he do? Does she know him? Maybe she could help him learn more about his previous self. He shook his head. Don't be ridiculous. There's probably a lot of Kira Yoshikages around. "I'm sorry. I'll just ask someone else, if I can find anyone, that is..."
After hearing this, Reimi felt a pang of sympathy for him. She sighed and turned back to him. "Alright, I guess I'll help you. Just follow me." She couldn't believe she was doing this, but it was just one time, right? She'd be careful not to say anything too risky.
"Thank you...?" Her attitude changed so suddenly. What happened? He sensed a sort of tension between them, but he didn't know why.
What should she say to him? That he was the one who killed her? It's not like she could die again anyway. Or maybe... no. That was just her wishful thinking. This wasn't the Kira who killed her, but it wasn't the one who was her friend either. This Kira was just a stranger to her. But the thought kept gnawing at the back of her mind. Maybe she could try to recreate what they were, at least for the few minutes it took when walking the scenic route to his destination.
"I'm Sugimoto Reimi, by the way. Do you really not remember?" she said, not looking at him.
"I believe this is the first time we've met, Ms. Reimi. What should I be remembering?"
Reimi didn't know how to respond. It was beginning to annoy Kira. He stopped walking and faced her.
"You knew me when I was alive, didn't you? What was I like?"
A small smile formed on Reimi's lips. "Where to start... Well, you were probably one of the most terrible people I'd ever met."
"Terrible?"
Reimi giggled. "I mean that in the best way possible! You were a little shit, but you were just so charming it never really bothered me."
"A man of many contradictions, then. Interesting. What else?"
Reimi noticed they were approaching the beach. Maybe this would jog his memory. She started walking along the boardwalk.
"Sometimes we'd walk along the beach like this. Not in broad daylight, but at night. We'd sneak out and meet up and talk about anything, though I did most of it. You were a good listener. Or, at least, you gave me good answers. You never really talked about your problems, but from what I gathered, you hated your parents. You hated a lot of things, actually, and I was sure you hated me too sometimes. But you'd always do something to restore my faith in you." Reimi fell silent. She wasn't sure how to continue, but saw the old orange tree and felt a bit of nostalgia hit her. She motioned towards it. "When we got tired, we'd sit under the orange tree. I think we had a photo of that, but it's probably long gone by now."
Reimi was starting to regret throwing away Aya's scrapbook. Aya loved to take photos when she was younger, but she never took any with herself in them. "You and Kira are just much more interesting," she said. Rohan presented it to her a while ago but she couldn't bear to look at old photos of her and Kira, a simpler and happier time, especially after learning what he did to her. But now she's thinking it could've helped facilitate this healing process, and she would've been able to say no to his request for help earlier. Unfortunately, those old feelings she thought disappeared along with his soul turned out to still be somewhere deep inside her, wanting to see him again.
"Ms. Reimi. What sort of things would I do?"
Reimi saw they were approaching the elementary school and gave a grim laugh. "One time, I was crying, I don't remember why. I ran out of the house, all the way to the street lamp in front of the school. It was three in the morning, but I decided to give you a call using the public phone. You sounded tired and annoyed but I asked you to meet me anyway... I guess I was a little terrible too. I didn't think you'd actually come, but you did, much better dressed than me, and you gave me your coat and said something like 'your pajamas are hardly fit for this weather!' Then you bought some water from the vending machine for me and I cried on your shoulder all night. I asked if your parents would care if you came home so late, and you said you didn't care if they cared. We both only got a couple of hours of sleep that night, but you handled the next day at school much better than me." She could feel tears welling up in her eyes; why did she think this was a good idea? Talking directly to a sedated version of him should've helped, but it only made her more upset.
Kira processed the story, surprised he was so altruistic as a living person. Something about these stories made him feel a sort of warmth towards his guide, though. Maybe he'd ask to see her again, if it wasn't too much.
"Speaking of the elementary, did I have any siblings? Was I as good to them as I was to you?"
"You didn't have siblings, but there were these two kids we'd always babysit, and they didn't get along, but we made it work. One hated you and was convinced you were plotting to kill us all. The other had a crush on you, actually! Or, he admired you a lot. I don't think you realized it at the time, but you two were pretty similar, with your love for English music and movies. I can't tell if you picked it up from the kid or if you were more like him than you thought. You would sing along to the songs sometimes, and I never knew what they were saying, but I'm sure it was something romantic, like all songs. And when we got them to sleep, you'd put on a record and a movie, definitely not for kids, while you washed the dishes. Then we'd sit on the couch and try to watch, but neither of us would really be paying attention to it, so you'd take my hands and we'd dance around the room and you'd kiss me and smile and sing along and then we'd lie on the couch and flip channels the rest of the night. I'm sure the kids weren't really asleep, because the next day one of them was very concerned about me and asked if I was ready to have a baby! We never made it that far though, fortunately or unfortunately, I still haven't decided which."
"You think something more would've come out of it? If we didn't die, that is."
Oh no, he thinks he died like me? Reimi thought, not like she would say anything, though.
"I'm... not sure, for all we know, it could've been just a regular teenage romance. But the kids were really convinced we'd get married. One of them actually tried to propose to me, not because he liked me, but because he wanted to 'protect me' from you. He was sort of right in the end though. Not only that, but we were too different. It wouldn't have worked out between us."
"Well, we must've had something in common! We babysat some little gremlins, that's a start. And we were young and in love, so it didn't really have to make sense, did it?"
"I guess you're right," Reimi said. They continued walking in silence after that; she didn't think anything else needed to be said. Her heart didn't tremble near him anymore, and the embers of the dying flame for him were smothered for good. They turned a corner and reached their destination.
"Here's the house..." Reimi said.
Kira leaned in and grinned. "I guess this is goodbye. What would I do now? Would I kiss you?"
Reimi shrugged. "Sometimes you would, but only if you wanted to."
So he gave her a peck on the lips and tipped his hat. "Thank you for everything, Reimi." And he was on his way.
Reimi took one last look at the ghost of the boy she used to love, a boy that never existed, then turned away, finally saying goodbye.
"Wait, Reimi, maybe we could talk again-" he said, looking around for her. But she was nowhere to be seen.