"Bye now!"
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Reina felt like she had gotten off the train much earlier than expected today.
She simply waved goodbye to the train that hadn't started moving yet, tossed her empty can of mango juice into the station trash can, and felt quite good in that moment.
The night breeze blew from the street corner, brushing the stray hairs by her ears up and down. Perhaps because she was too hungry, she could vaguely smell the scent of food.
Reina adjusted the strap of her shoulder bag, hummed an unknown tune, and turned into the small path leading home with light steps.
Streetlights were few and far between, casting small pools of warm yellow light onto the ground.
The convenience store was already closed. A poster for tomorrow's specials was taped to the rolling shutter, billowing slightly in the wind and then flapping back against it with a soft "thump, thump" sound. Occasionally, vehicles drove by in the distance, their headlights sweeping across the street corner before being swallowed by the night.
Tap, tap, tap.
The sound of footsteps was exceptionally clear in the quiet residential area.
Reina didn't pay it any mind; she was still thinking about today's events: the moment Rin caught her while she was climbing over the wall, the faint conversations on the train, and their plans for tomorrow.
Tomorrow, going out with Rin.
Thinking of this, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upward.
Tap, tap.
Tap.
...Hmm?
Reina's footsteps faltered.
She stood at the edge of the streetlight's glow and listened intently.
It was very quiet all around; occasionally, the barking of dogs drifted from afar, and further away, the sound of car engines gradually faded.
Other than that, there was nothing.
She continued walking.
Tap, tap, tap.
The sound of footsteps started up again.
That's not right.
Reina's spine suddenly stiffened.
Her pace hadn't changed; it was the same rhythm as before. But the footsteps she heard—
It sounded like there were two pairs.
She stopped, and the sound stopped; she walked, and the sound followed.
The exact same timing, the exact same interval.
The only difference was that one set of footsteps was much lighter than her own.
Very light, so light that it seemed they didn't want to be heard, but because it was too deliberate, it ironically left a trace in the quiet street.
Images of scenes from ghost stories instantly flashed through Reina's mind, where protagonists, before meeting with misfortune, were often like this:
Having just finished a pleasant day, walking home alone at night, and then hearing a sound that shouldn't be there.
She, too, had just finished a pleasant day.
She, too, was walking home alone at night.
She, too, had heard a sound that shouldn't be there.
...Come to think of it, is today the 13th? And is it also a Friday?
Friday is bad luck, and the 13th is bad luck. If Friday and the 13th overlap, wouldn't that be the unluckiest of the unlucky?!
No, no, no, no, no—
Reina, stop thinking about it!
How could she really be that unlucky!
Besides, the "witching hour" has already passed. Even if there were some unclean thing, it should have gone back to rest by now; ghosts must have a schedule too, right!
Although she told herself this, her gaze still uncontrollably darted toward the street sign by the road, illuminated brightly by the light.
The metal surface was somewhat uneven, reflecting a faint gleam under the streetlight. Through that blurry reflection, she could clearly see the scene behind her.
There was nothing there.
Only the empty street and a row of tree shadows swaying gently in the night wind.
Phew...
Reina quietly let out a breath, her heart, which had been pounding, settling down a little.
She told herself, she was just scaring herself.
Just as she was about to move her gaze away from the sign, at that very moment.
A flash of white.
In the direction behind her, at the mouth of that black alley, something flashed by—so fast that Reina almost thought it was an illusion.
But it was definitely white.
"Huh!?"
[Oh my, that scared the hell out of me]
[What did I just watch, is this still a slice-of-life anime?]
[Holy crap, the production team's damn sound effects scared the crap out of me]
[? What sound effects? I didn't hear anything]
[Hey you above, I'm home alone right now, cut it out]
[Oh, I have it on mute]
[Damn it, I'm laughing out of anger]
How could there actually be a ghost!?
No.
Reina's breathing hitched for a moment, but her remaining sliver of reason forcibly suppressed the panic.