Chapter 9: Lost Melody (2)

Lost Melody (2)

Sora (Ghost) sang at the live house [Regret].

The audience listened intently, so it's fair to say the concert itself was a success.

However, the girl on stage look gloomy. Ghost's boyfriend is nowhere to be found, and Minamoto isn't here either.

Minamoto seems to be taking a little longer. What on earth is he up to? He sent a photo of him with a frivolous-looking man with braids, so it seems he wasn't lying, but he won't give any details.

It was now past midnight. [Regret] closes at midnight. We offered to help clean up, but Shizuka-san told us, "It's time for the kids to go to bed." We thanked him.

It's still muggy outside. Summers in Tokyo are much more humid than those in our town. I don't have the slightest bit of local pride, but I prefer the summers I'm used to.

As we walked through the city towards the nearest parking lot, my sister glanced briefly at Sora and the space next to her. "It was really nice."

Compared to the first time she sang while possessed, she was able to sing freely. Stiffness is the enemy of singing. The fact that she was no longer stiff after getting used to it must have been a big factor.

"Thanks" and "Yes," Ghost and Sora each replied.

"But still," Sakura says, "Ghosts really exist."

"Really!" the ghost was the first to agree. "I never thought they were real either." However, Sakura didn't hear her. So I told her instead, "Even she is surprised."

The muttering "Is that how it is?" was carried away by the wind and disappeared somewhere.　

"Hmm," Sora reached into the pocket of her ripped jeans and took out her smartphone.　

"What's wrong?" my sister asks.

Before I could answer, Sora's face broke into a smile, both happy and relieved. "Mizuki said he'd arrived in Kichijoji!"

It was a smile that tickled the tender spots in my heart, enough to make even a woman's heart skip a beat.

Someone let out a "whoa!". Maybe it was me.

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I never thought the day would come when a monster like me, with no interest in music, would set foot in a space called a live music venue. My first impression was that it felt rather gloomy. If there had been more people, my impression might have been different, but there weren't, so it can't be helped.

A man named Shizuka, who called me "cute," guided us to a place where a group of shady people called band members were making a fuss -- and although he was guiding us, it wasn't a maze, so there was no way we could get lost on our own. Therefore, for now, Shizuka-san's existence has no meaning to me.

Before I could figure out who the "ah" came from, I spotted a woman singing on the stage.

"Mizuki," Sora said, grabbing the hem of my T-shirt.

"I know," I answered, and Sora asked, "How does it feel?"　

"It's just a normal ghost. It doesn't seem dangerous."　

"I see," she said in relief. I had thought that once she felt at ease, she would let go of the T-shirt, but that was not the case, and it seemed that Sora was staying close to me.

"Huh? Is there really something there?" Sakaki-san expressed her surprise and disbelief. She's blind to these kind of thing, so this reaction isn't surprising.

Meanwhile, Shiori-san, whose hair looks like it's been bleached about four times, and Shizuka-san and Ayane-san, who had both prepared themselves to some extent, didn't seem particularly shaken.　

"Good evening," I greeted. "Why are you singing?"

"So you can see me after all," said the ghost.

Even without singing, her voice easily makes its way into your head.

That's why I associated it with an eel. The voice that comes from her vocal cords leaves her mouth and slides through your ears into your brain.

I nodded in agreement, thinking that people who are in band really are a mysterious bunch.

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I recently realized something.

It's the connection between the mind-reading ability and romantic feelings. Ever since I realized that I really love Sora, I've been able to use my mind-reading ability without any problems, even on rainy days.

As I spent time with her and these feelings deepened, I became better at reading minds.

As a result, I was able to see fragments of the ghost's memories that he was trying not to see - these fragments were several still images:

<A man lying on the ground covered in blood>

<A car that had come to a stop after crashing into a building>

<An intersection and a blue sky>

<A guide sign for Shichijo-Kawaramachi>

This must be what she saw, and judging by the low vantage point, she herself was lying in the road, probably on her back.

In other words, it can be interpreted that she and the bloody man were in a car accident.

She explained that the cause of death was cancer, but it cannot be denied that this was a lie, a misunderstanding, or that she was unable to accept the harsh reality and distorted her own memory.

And another thing I can't ignore is the Shichijo Kawaramachi guide sign. According to the internet, that Shichijo Kawaramachi sign is located in Kyoto. 

When the ghost saw Sora crying, she said "futakame," which apparently means "double eyelid" in the Kyoto dialect. This means that it seems reasonable to think that she wasn't visiting the city as a tourist and had an accident, but rather that she was living in Kyoto and had the misfortune to fall into that state.

However, this raises the question of why she is in Tokyo. It is possible, but there is not enough information to determine which scenario it is.

Furthermore, if the lover she is looking for is the man in her memory, and if he died in the accident, there is a high chance that she will not find him even if she searches for him in Tokyo.

So I decided to go to Kyoto.

The tourism industry seems convinced that you can visit Kyoto as easily as you would a trip to your local convenience store, and while I have no idea where that confidence comes from, I've become convinced that there's nothing unreasonable about suddenly deciding to travel to Kyoto.

However, even if it had been unreasonable, Sora had asked me to "do something," so I would have visited Kyoto anyway. Perhaps this is what is commonly known as the weakness of being love.

And so Kimimaru and I found ourselves in Kyoto.

When I sent a message on RINE asking if I could borrow his car, he replied, "Yes, of course." So we were able to get to Kyoto smoothly.

"Let's jump off the stage at Kiyomizu Temple right away!" Kimimaru was excited.

"It might be good for you, because you'll be able to go unnoticed by others, but if I did it, people would think I was weird."

"Now that you mention it..." He made the excuse that it had been a blind spot, pointing out the special structure of his eyeball.

If I remember correctly, the Kiyomizu ropeless bungee jump was supposed to be entertainment for making wishes to the Kannon Bodhisattva. In other words, Kimimaru had a wish he wanted to come true.

"What do you wish for?"

"I want to keep strange men away from Touko-chan!"

"...I see."

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After jumping off the stage at Kiyomizu Temple, Kimimaru complained, "It wasn't very pleasant. I need to try harder."

However, after that, he accompanied me on my investigation without complaint.

First, I searched for the intersection I remembered in Shichijo Kawaramachi, but it was peaceful and I couldn't find any clues or earthbound spirits.

Next, I visited live music venues and music stores. Searching for "accidental death," "band," "woman," and "Kyoto" didn't yield any useful information, so I had no choice but to keep working steadily.

After enjoying my time as a detective, I finally got some relevant information at the fourth live music venue.

A middle-aged male staff member said, "Maybe it's about that..." and shared his hunch.

He said that about five years ago, there was an accident at the Shichijo Kawaramachi intersection, where a man and woman were walking and were killed when they were hit by a car. Apparently, the duo were active in Kyoto as part of an amateur band, and both members played and sang.

 Thinking that the ghost and his lover were probably the ones who had died at that time, I asked the staff in detail about them and learned a lot from him.

While making detours to Kyoto's famous sites and exorcising evil spirits, we visited the live music venues, parks, and sidewalks where they had performed, and discovered a floating spirit on Shijo Bridge over the Kamo River. The man was about 25 years old and had typical short hair. He is believed to be the blood-stained man from her memory.

I approached him and started talking to him naturally. "Why don't we see any ducks here, even though it's the Kamo River? Is it always like this?"

If that's the case, it's a scam, but maybe they are trying to convey indirectly that there are herons around. In that case, it's a scam, but not a scam. Are there a lot of cynical people in Kyoto?　

"You can't see them now, but there are ducks out there," he replied, then added a quizzical "Huh? Wait who are you?"　

"Just an ordinary person who can see ghosts," I said, and Kimimaru added, "But he can't see ducks."

"Oh," the man nodded, not seeming convinced. "So, what do you want? You're not going to tell me you just wanted to nitpick about the name of the Kamo River, are you?" he asked, turning his long, single-lidded eyes to the birdless surface of the river.

"There's a woman looking for you." I could already read the man's mind—Tsuji Toshiya. He remembered the accident and the memory of the accident, as well as the song I had heard at the Kichijoji live music venue, so there was no doubt it was him. "Her name is Chagawa Nanami. You know her, right?" I blurted out, referring to his girlfriend's name, the name of the ghost with Sora and the others.

"..." He gasped, spat, "Where is she?!"

"Chagawa-san is in Tokyo."

"Thanks god, she's still alive—"

"No. She's become a floating spirit, just like you."

"?!" Tsuji-san shook his hazy body. "That can't be..." he muttered weakly.

When Tsuji-san woke up as a floating spirit, Chagawa-san had disappeared from Kyoto. Apparently, her family home was in Tokyo, so he assumed that her parents had taken her body and buried it in the family graveyard. That is why she was in Tokyo.

However, even though Tsuji was aware of this possibility somewhere in his heart, he was unable to accept her death and turned a blind eye to it. He said he hadn't seen her body, that she had simply able to run away while he was unconscious.

That's why he didn't leave Kyoto. If he went to Tokyo, he might be confronted with a horrific reality. He couldn't accept that, so he ran away.

However, at the same time, his desire to meet Chagawa-san is growing stronger and stronger - he hope to sing with her at least one last time.

This was the regret that kept Tsuji-san stuck in this world for five years. For Tsuji-san, it must have been a truly sad world.

However, if he turned a blind eye to reality, his wish would never come true.

So I tell him the truth. "Chagawa-san is singing. She is crying, saying she wants to see you, she wants to hear your voice." The thought crossed my mind as to whether Sora would sing for me. But without changing my expression, I continued, "Let's go see her. I think that would probably be best."

Tsuji-san's brows furrowed in pain, but he still clung to his convenient fantasy, wondering, "Is it true? Is it really Nanami-chan?" 

I can understand his feelings, but if he did that, he'd surely regret it. But then, wouldn't the regret and love disappear if she disappeared? Feeling a strange, but not quite so strong, desire for someone to tell him that wasn't the case, I looked at Kimimaru, who said, "Here's the smartphone I bought a week ago," pulling out a wallet-style case containing an item far more convenient than a notebook.

Kimimaru quickly operated his smartphone, muttering to himself, "There it is, there it is." He pointed the screen at Tsuji-san and said, "This video is of your girlfriend possessing this guy's girlfriend and singing. Listen to it," tapping it and starting it to play.

The moment the intro begins to play, Tsuji-san's expression contorts, revealing the guilt and fear like a child who has been caught playing a prank by his mother.

This song is an unreleased piece by Tsuji-san and his group, and they are the only ones who can sing and play it. Despite this, it is sung by someone with a different voice and physique.

As the A-melody begins, then the B-melody, and then the chorus begins, Tsuji-san's tension gradually fades away. It's as if he has realized that there is no way to deny it any more.

"I get it. I get it now," Tsuji said, sounding resigned. "The frequent use of edges, the intonation and vibrato, and the way her fingers work the keyboard are all Nanami-chan's. This... I had no choice but to accept it," he muttered.

"I'm glad you understand," Kimimaru thought, pointing the smartphone at himself and scrolling through the pages. "Ah!" he said aloud.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"My comment got downvoted..."　

"What comment was that?"　

"I wrote, 'This is definitely a skinny, beautiful D-cup Oppai.'"　

"..."　

That's true, but I don't think there's any need to comment on it.

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"Where in Tokyo should I go?" Tsuji-san asked. He seemed to mistakenly believe he had to get there on his own.

"Our destination is Kichijoji, but we'll take you there."

Kimimaru pointed to his prized SUV. "With that one."

"...Can ghosts ride in cars?" Tsuji-san shook his head. "I'd end up slipping through and getting left behind—"　

"Haha," Kimimaru burst out laughing. "As long as you can clearly visualize getting into a car, it'll be fine."　

"You don't actually sit in a seat, but it puts you in the same state as if you were sitting," I explained, explaining that I wanted only those who understood to understand, and Tsuji-san agreed, saying, "...I'll give it a try."

The result was a success. "Wow, it's working fine," he said, looking happy.　

Thus began the drive for the three men.　

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A few hours after we left, we arrived in Kichijoji.　

It's past midnight, but this town is still very human-hearted compared to our hometown.

Thats when I get message from Sora after confirming that arrived just now.

"Can you come to the witch parking lot?"

"I want to see you soon."

Sora asked on RINE, so I followed her instructions and headed towards the parking lot, where there probably wouldn't be any witches.

Tsuji-san looked nervous.

"It'll be fine," I said, even though I had no basis for this.

"Yeah, I know," Tsuji-san replied, without any basis for it.

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We met again in Kichijoji late at night. And so did they.

"Slow, you idiot!" Sora's expression was soft, and her heart was adorable as she thought (I want to hug you tight. I want you to. But I guess I should hold back for now... It's painful).

"Lets do it later," I soothe Sora, and look at Tsuji-san and Chagawa-san as they stare at each other in silence.

As Chagawa-san's face, which had been like a thin haze, becomes clearer, memories come flooding back to her: Toshiya, Nanami, the confession, The Flying Apples, the accident...

It seems that the doctor had diagnosed her with cancer. But before she could tell Tsuji-san, they had been in an accident. It was with this background in mind that she said the cause of death was cancer - perhaps she was unconsciously using her own illness to divert attention from her lover's death.

"Toshiya..." she said the name in a daze. "Toshiya." she said again, this time savoring the feeling.　

"Nanami-chan, I'm sorry." Tsuji-san lowered his head. "If only I hadn't said I was going out that time—"

"It doesn't matter. There's nothing you can do about that," Chagawa-san said, laughing. "Hey!"

"?" He raised his head.

"Let's sing. Let me hear your song again. That would be all I needed", she said.

"..." After a moment, he nodded and said, "I understand."

"Nee-san!"  A voice called out from beside me. Shiori-san was speaking to Ayane-san.

"Can we use [Regret]?" She looked over at Tsuji-san and Chagawa-san. "She said they wanted to sing."

Ayane-san's smile lit up in the night light. "I can do it. I can do it! Leave it to this Onee-chan!"

Kimimaru, seeing this, muttered, "She looks like a witch."

"I agree," I replied.

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"It feels better to sing on stage," Ayane-san said, leading Tsuji-san and Chagawa-san to [Regret]

It was already 1 am, but Shizuka-san was in high spirits, and four other staff members were still there. I couldn't understand what was going on.

But then it occurred to me that these people might be in love with music. That's why they're able to tolerate the unreasonable requests of people I don't really understand, as long as it's for the sake of music.

The stage isn't that big. The space for the audience is quite large, though. It's only slightly smaller than the old 50-meter swimming pool at our school. But claiming it can accommodate 500 people seems a bit of a stretch. But there are only nine spectators now, so it's not too much of a stretch.

I look at Sora next to me. She smiles. This must be Chagawa-san. The atmosphere is not that of Sora.

Sora and I are on stage - I play guitar and Sora plays keyboards.

The reason why this strange situation had occurred was that at first, Tsuji-san and Chagawa-san performed an a cappella performance just the two of them, but everyone except Sora, Kimimaru, and Shiori-san, who are all psychic, could only hear the sound of someone scratching a blackboard, creating an awkward and tense atmosphere.

Chagawa-san asked, "Sora-chan, is it okay if I use your body?"

Sora, deeply moved by the first a cappella performance, agreed without hesitation, and then asked me, looking up, "Is it possible for Tsuji-san to possess you?" The staff member watching next to me swallowed.

So, Tsuji-san used my body and Chagawa-san used Sora's body and we sang in a way that even people who aren't psychic could hear clearly.

By the way, I plan to sing using a vocal imitation ability - the image is that I will be speaking on behalf of the voice in their heart.

(I'm so happy about this. Working together with Mizuki...) Sora's inner voice says.

(I can't believe everyone will listen to the song "Confession" I sang with Toshiya...) This is Chagawa-san.

(What is this feeling? I feel a strange heat deep inside my body) It's Tsuji-san who is bewildered by the supernatural power.

"The song I'm going to sing now is called 'Confession'," Chagawa-san, possessing Sora, said into the microphone. "It's a song about the end of young love and the beginning of new love."

There was no cheering, but the sound of soft applause echoed through the underground space late at night.　

Sora, sitting in front of the keyboard, looked at me. Chagawa-san and Tsuji-san's eyes met through us. We nodded to each other without thinking, and Sora's beautiful fingers began to dance across the black and white keys.

A gentle, sad melody plays, and then we (me or Tsuji-san) too begin plucking the strings of our acoustic guitars and playing.

Snow falls, creating uncertain ripples on the calm surface of the lake. The melody evokes such a scene - Tsuji-san's mind is drawn to the shadow of someone, and Chagawa-san plays with a feeling similar to nostalgia.

And then Sora's voice begins to sing. The lyrics are woven deeply and quietly, like falling wet snow. The first verse sings of misunderstandings and partings, tinged with regret - Sora and Chagawa-san are the main characters.

Perhaps it's embarrassment, or perhaps the stubbornness of youth, but the lyrics expressing this immaturity overlap not only with the old emotions inside Tsuji-san and Chagawa-san, but also with Sora's hearts, and eventually their beautiful singing voices, reminiscent of snowflakes, exude an even stronger sense of sadness.

Inwardly, Tsuji-san has a complicated smile on his face. They must have both been through a lot. There must have been scenes that only the two of them could see.

While I was leisurely pondering these things, we arrived at the second verse, in which Tsuji-san and I take the lead roles. This is where he reflect on his own heart and realize how much he has lost.

Tsuji-san conveys deep emotion in his singing - the stronger the emotion of the person he is singing to, the more accurate my vocal imitation becomes. That's why my voice now is as close as possible to his.

The budding voice born from a thin, soft breath resonates in the throat, mouth, and nasal passages, growing into a supple mature tree. His sweet, gentle singing voice, reminiscent of cotton candy, soothes the hearts of those who listen.

The audience listens motionless, as if even the sound of clothes rustling is annoyed by it.

After the second stanza, I look at Sora during the interlude and sees her cheeks flushed with the color of autumn leaves of the mountains. (The last chorus of this song is...) Her heart races.

The song then enters the part before the last chorus, known as the drop chorus, where the tension is lowered. Only the guitar is playing.

They enter the drop chorus, a section before the final chorus where the tension drops. Only guitar is played.

Chagawa-san sings as if Sora is speaking to her. The lyrics are simple, about overflowing longing and simply wishing to see someone, but when sung by the girls, they don't feel trite.

Then the song moves on to the final chorus, the climax of the story. This is where it's really just a straightforward confession.

(Mizuki...) Sora's heart is directed towards me alone.

If Sora were standing on stage as a professional singer, it would be shameful for her to forget the audience. But that doesn't matter to us. We're just amateurs, just boyfriend and girlfriend.

So, in this moment, I think only of Sora.

Tsuji-san and Chagawa-san's nostalgic confessions, and Sora and I's first confessions. Each of us pours our hearts into singing the final phrase:

--So, to you.

Sora and Chagawa-san's voice.

--Only you.

My and Tsuji-san's voice.

--I love you.

We intertwined.

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Everyone was captivated by the world created by Sora and Minamoto's singing—Chagawa and Tsuji's singing—and the five-minute melody.

"..."

The final melody outro had finished, but no one could say anything. A second, then two, of silence passed, and then Shizuka-san finally spoke up. "You're doing great! That's great! I'm so excited, even though I'm not your age! Ohoho!"

Laughter—uncontrollable, bitter smiles escaped from the entire audience. I looked next to me, and my eyes met Sakura's. "It's a shame not to release this, right?"

"It's a shame," my sister answered, not me. I just nodded in agreement.

"That's right," Sakura nodded deeply, turning her prominent eyes, with her plump tear bags, to Sora and Minamoto.

Perhaps there was no helping for this hopeless lovey-dovey couple.

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The recording for Sora, Minamoto, Chagawa, and Tsuji went smoothly, and the editing was quickly completed thanks to the serious efforts of Shizuka and my sister.

My sister posted the video in her band's account with the caption, "It's a song called 'Confession' by a band I know. Please listen."

The video gained popularity in a very different way, in a good way, from the video featuring just Sora and Chagawa. The comments section was a chaotic mix of excitement, with comments that even felt artistic, including those about Sora's beautiful style and the overwhelming aura of a beautiful girl that exuded despite her face not being shown, to those purely about the quality of the singing, and comments about Minamoto and Tsuji's amazing voices.　

Two days after the post, Chagawa and Tsuji disappeared completely.　

"Thank you, it was fun!"

"Thank you so much for coming all the way to Kyoto to get me. I hope you can see some ducks next time."　

These were their final words.

Why duck? What on earth was Minamoto doing in Kyoto?

When I asked Minamoto about it, he gave me the strange answer, "People in Kyoto seem to be a bit cynical. That's why it's so complicated." I really want to told him that maybe he was the one who was cynical.

The scenery outside the train window passes by at an incredible speed.

Will our time soon be over?

I was sitting on the Shinkansen train on my way back to my hometown and was thinking about this, which was out of character for me.

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Sora, who had just returned from Tokyo, said as if she had just remembered, "Come to think of it, I still had a lot of homework left to do from summer vacation."

"I see, that's tough," I replied, brushing her off. But she grabbed my hand tightly and insisted that we study together, that it would definitely be more efficient that way, and then, in a cute, coquettish voice that she had recently become good at controlling, she said, "Please, help me~"

So I have no choice but to sit in Sora's room and solve critical essay questions that toe the line between sophistry and logic.

As for Sora, who is struggling with Japanese history, she's muttering things like, "How do you read this? Don't give them such a difficult names," and "Why are they always fighting? Are they stupid?" 

"Let's take a little break," I suggested, feeling tired as well. I don't mind her nitpicking, but when it comes to modern Japanese questions, they suddenly lose all their appeal.

"Okay," she said, quickly putting down her mechanical pencil and stretching her upper body while still sitting.　

Gazing at Sora, thinking how peaceful it was, I said, "I love you." I had no other intentions. That's just what I thought.

Sora relaxed her expression and, with the suppleness of a cat, approached me as I sat on the cushion, hugging me and saying, "Me too... I love you too."

(It's embarrassing... but I'm happy...) She tightens her hold on me and continued

(...We still have time, so it's okay to take a longer break... right? But I feel a bit hesitant to ask him to 'do' me, since I was the one who asked him to help me in my studies... Ugh, thinking that it's no good now makes me want to do 'it' even more...) and she seems to be enjoying herself.

So I say in a gentle voice, "Let's keep things platonic until we finish our homework, okay?"

"..."

(He knows! He completely knows I want to have sex. ...Well, if he knows, he might as well just accept it. Right!)

"I won't go along with it if you try to force it."

"...." (Even just a quickie!)

"Still no."

"..... You meanie."

I know.　

Author's Note:

I created this episode based on the prejudice that bands are synonymous with youth stories.