CHAPTER 28
Shinji
Shinji could barely contain his excitement from having Teruo by his side and with no more risk to his life. Having his energy freely out was an immense relief after so much time of struggle to keep it contained. Finally, they reached the point they long dreamed of.
With a press of his palms, Shinji brought out his gate. The white light on the ground glowed brighter and opened as his gate rose from the ground with a rumble. It settled on the surface, the dark veil that led to the other side billowing in the middle.
Teruo stepped closed and ran his finger over Shinji’s name carved into the white pillars of the gate.
Shinji bounced from his heels to his toes as he watched Teruo admire his gate.
It felt so intimate because Shinigami didn’t really show off their gates.
Opening these passages was a closed off business and only technicians had access if necessary.
So Shinji hadn’t thought about it over the years.
But seeing Teruo circling and checking the exquisite craft made him giddy.
“It’s very beautifully made,” Teruo said.
Shinji smiled. “Thank you.”
“How does it stay underground?”
“It’s not underground. This thing—” Shinji pointed at the white glowing line. “—is like the bubble dimension of the castle, only for gates. We can’t leave them around because even with all the protective wards, sometimes a non-supernatural can slip through and accidentally go in.”
“What happens to a living person that goes in?”
“They die,” Shinji said. “The living can’t stay on the other side.”
“But you always tell me that the Onmyōryō has liaisons to the other side. How does that happen?”
Keiko who had been silent this entire time, snorted amused. “He’s in detective mode.”
“He is.” Shinji chuckled.
Teruo looked from him to Keiko. “I’m what?”
“In detective mode,” Shinji said. “With complex seals and protective wards, some supernaturals can temporarily go there. It’s why I was so angry when Horiuchi showed us all those stolen seals.
A piece of paper with some writing plus the right amount of spiritual energy can do a ton of dangerous things. ”
Teruo nodded. “I see.”
“He looked right at me earlier,” Keiko said.
“Is Keiko visible to you?” Shinji asked.
“Not quite. After you opened the gate, I started noticing a little translucent contour and figured that must be her. I can’t hear her, though. But I seem to be more aware of her.”
Shinji arched a brow, fascinated by the changes that were happening even if he wasn’t sure if it was necessarily due to Teruo’s repaired soul.
And as he thought of that, he realized why Horiuchi wanted Teruo’s peculiar abilities to be analyzed.
It really was quite a supernatural miracle.
Or perhaps this kind of thing had always been possible, but the Onmyōryō with its rules never let supernaturals experiment long enough to find out. Well, besides his mother.
He thought about the journals Horiuchi told him to burn. He hadn’t. Only put them in a safe. Now he wondered if he’d made a terrible mistake, but he wasn’t going to burn his mother’s legacy no matter what Horiuchi said.
A dense ghostly mist started to fill the clearing and Shinji sensed the ghosts from his jurisdiction approaching.
From the opposite direction, and farther away, he felt Tamura slowly getting closer.
He was likely coming all the way from Higashikurume where his daughter was serving her sentence.
Shinji would’ve gladly let Mariko come to say goodbye, but the Onmyōryō forbade it.
“It’s suddenly very cold,” Teruo said. “The ghosts?”
“Yes, they’re approaching.”
Three ghosts floated, or rather two of them as the third one—an elderly man—stomped through the alley, looking annoyed as hell.
“I demand to know who disturbed me from my afternoon walk,” the man said.
Keiko rolled her eyes. “Here we go again.”
“Was it you, young lady?”
Keiko raised her palms. “Nope! Not me. It was that guy.” She pointed at Shinji, then she floated further back.
The other two ghosts of another man and a woman just looked curiously.
Shinji bowed. “My name is Miyazaki Shinji. You have passed away, and I am here to guide you through the gate toward the afterlife.”
“I know I’m dead,” the old man said. “Been dead for a while now, but no one would answer me so I just decided to enjoy my walks.”
“The living cannot hear spirits,” Shinji explained.
“Kids these days don’t hear anything. They have their noses in their phones.”
Keiko turned away covering a huge snort with her hands, while Shinji bit his lip and tried not to make eye contact with Teruo who was giving him a funny look.
“If you’re ready, then you may cross over to the other said.” Shinji gestured to the veil. “No kids with phones.”
“Perfect.” The man stomped through the veil with conviction and disappeared.
Shinji looked at the other two spirits. “All good?”
“Yeah, we were giving him a head start,” the woman said. “He’s been whining the entire way here.” Then she along with the man crossed over.
Shinji chuckled, shaking his head.
“I wish I could hear what they tell you,” Teruo said. “You seem amused.”
“Some of them say all sorts of funny things.” Shinji shrugged. “It’s human nature, even if they’re spirits. I’d say lots of them lose their filter as spirits.”
“I definitely lost my filter as a spirit,” Keiko agreed. “I can say whatever the hell I want, though that’s probably because you’re the only one in close proximity who can hear me.”
A few minutes later, Tamura arrived as well. He was somber and looking defeated.
“I am ready this time,” Tamura said.
Shinji pressed his lips in a thin line. “I’m sorry we didn’t figure out the situation faster. I’m sorry for the horrible betrayal your son faced.”
“From the moment I realized Fuyumi planned on getting revenge, I knew it was not going to end well. It’s too late now.
My hope is that Mariko will manage to put her life back together after all of this.
” He looked at Keiko and bowed. “Thank you for staying with me.” Then he turned back to Shinji and glanced from him to Teruo.
“Thank you for everything you did. I should’ve trusted you sooner.
If I had…” He trailed off with a deep sigh.
“The chief and I will make sure this won’t happen again,” Shinji said.
Tamura stared at the ground with a long and dark gaze. “It will. It always will.” He bowed one last time and bid them goodbye before passing through the veil.
Shinji stared after him with a bitter feeling in his heart, then closed the gate.
~ * ~
“Keiko arranged something for today,” Shinji told Teruo as they climbed inside the car. He blasted the air con on himself. “She wants us to meet up with Megumi at her grave.”
Teruo’s eyes widened and he turned toward the backseat. “Do you intend to leave us?”
“No,” Keiko said. “I just want closure, I guess. I know it’s been a year, but it took me a long time to put my thoughts in order.”
Shinji relayed what Keiko said.
“Got it.” Teruo nodded. “Does Megumi know we’re coming? She usually prefers to visit on her own, so I don’t want to surprise her.”
“Yes. I sent her a message and she agreed.” Shinji started the car and drove to the Ishikawa family grave.
He only once or twice visited Keiko’s grave this entire time.
It always felt a little peculiar to visit cemeteries because, for him, the ghosts weren’t that different from living people and he was interacting with Keiko daily as if she’d never left this world.
And because he saw ghosts so vividly, it was sometimes difficult to keep a straight face when the spirits in cemeteries accosted him.
As expected, when he reached the cemetery, there was already a thin ghostly mist spread throughout. He parked further away and they walked back toward the entrance. Shinji armed himself with a portable fan while Teruo stretched his arms above his head.
“It’s good to get out of the house,” Teruo said as his shoulder made a popping sound.
“Are you alright?” Shinji asked.
“Yeah, it’s my numb arms complaining. My whole body aches from doing nothing.”
Shinji scoffed. “Oh, come on. You rested like one week, you buff toddler. You’ll be fine.”
Keiko burst into laughter. “Buff toddler!”
Shinji managed to dodge a pinch to his ribs, but didn’t see Teruo’s other hand, and yelped.
“Serves you right.” Teruo grinned.
They reached the cemetery entrance and walked the stone path straight ahead. Rows of gray and black headstones stood on either side, some with shiny surfaces that reflected the sunlight. Beyond them, tall trees ringed the edge, and above the sky was a little too blue for such a somber visit.
Several ghosts floated just a little above their graves, while some walked around aimlessly, mist pouring from them.
Their bodies were faint in the strong sunlight.
One noticed Shinji and got into his and Teruo’s faces.
Teruo didn’t react, possibly thinking it was Keiko, but Shinji had to focus his eyes on a fixed point.
Keiko moved in between them and the ghost floated away.
“There’s Megumi,” Teruo whispered.
They turned left on a smaller path. Megumi stood in front of a headstone, her hands clasped in front of her. She had a sorrowful look on her face and when she saw them, she quickly wiped her eyes.
“She always cries when she comes here,” Keiko said. “Even after so long.”
“A year is a small time to grieve,” Shinji replied in a low voice.
“Yeah. Sometimes I forget that for her I am truly gone.” Keiko let out a sigh.
When they reached Megumi, Teruo brought her into a hug. “Hey.”
“How are you two? It surprised me when you said you want to visit.” Megumi gave Shinji a bewildered but soft smile.
It didn’t occur to him that Megumi would find it odd since, technically, he had never even met Keiko while she was alive. The first time he’d met her, she was already a spirit. He scrambled quickly for a response.
“We had a tough case recently,” he said. “So, Teruo and I thought it would be nice to join you.”
Teruo arched a brow at him, but played along. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Megumi said.
Keiko gave him a nudge. “Nice save.”
They turned toward the headstone and pressed their palms to pay their respects. Shinji noticed the flowers were fresh, one probably brought by Megumi, the other was one or two days old, perhaps brought by Chizuru, Keiko’s sister.
Megumi’s hands trembled and she rubbed them against her trousers. “Every time I come here, I keep thinking about that night, about how I shouldn’t have let her go home.”
“You can’t blame yourself for what happened,” Teruo said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
“I rewind it in my head,” Megumi continued. “And I think why didn’t I tell her to sleep at my place? She’d be alive now. I just can’t forgive myself.” Megumi blew a frustrated breath. “I know she would’ve wanted me to move on, but it’s so difficult.”
Keiko looked at Shinji, and he realized she was silently begging him for permission because he’d been the one to stop her from reaching out to Megumi. He’d always felt guilty about that. Today was different, though, and he nodded, so Keiko floated in front of Megumi and grasped her hand.
Megumi drew a sharp breath, but didn’t move away, just stared down at her own hand.
“You’re right,” Keiko said. “I want you to move on. What happened that night wasn’t your fault at all. Forgive yourself because you did everything you could for me. When I was alive, I could always count on you.”
Megumi seemed to feel the ghostly mist because a shiver shook her. For a moment Shinji had the odd impression she could see Keiko, but she was staring at the headstone.
Keiko held Megumi’s other hand too and squeezed. “I want you to live free of guilt, Megumi. For me. I’m okay now. I truly am. So I want you to remember me as a happy memory.”
She released a soft breeze of ghostly mist then let go of Megumi’s hands. For the longest time, Megumi stood unmoving, staring at her hands in shock. Shinji took the opportunity to quickly wipe his tears away.
Keiko floated beside him and smiled. “Thank you.”
“I think this cemetery might have ghosts,” Megumi whispered toward Teruo. “I just had the oddest impression someone held my hands.” Megumi turned to Shinji and looked from him to Teruo. “Did you two feel nothing?”
“Might’ve felt a breeze,” Shinji said.
“Are you feeling okay?” Teruo asked.
“Oddly, yes,” Megumi said. “I feel…light. As if a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders.”
Keiko looked extremely happy and floated up in the air as they walked out of the cemetery.
“Do you wanna grab a bite?” Shinji said. “It’s been a while since we all went out together.”
“I’d love that.” Megumi looped her arms through both Shinji’s and Teruo’s. “It’s gonna be my treat today.”
They left the cemetery behind and walked back to the car, with Keiko following from above. Shinji glanced up and smiled, glad that her heart had found peace.