"See you tomorrow, Yukino." Yū waved.
"See you tomorrow." Yukino didn't wave back, but she gave a small bow, a gesture of gratitude for all the insights and guidance the woman had shared with her today.
She gave one last glance at the boy who stood quietly saying nothing, then opened the car door and climbed in.
After closing the door, she looked toward the front seat. "Yoshino-san, please let Mother know that I spent today in Kamiyama with Chitanda-san."
Yoshino smiled and nodded. "Very well, miss."
Turning her head, Yukino looked back at the boy and the ghost still chatting by the gate, lost in thought.
The Chitanda family were wealthy farmers in Kamiyama. Her mother wouldn't have anything to say about her spending time with Chitanda-san, if anything, she might even encourage it. The Chitanda family truly had substantial resources.
Shaking off these complicated thoughts, Yukino let her expression soften.
Chitanda-san really was wonderful. Smart, not pretentious, gentle and considerate. A true lady in every sense.
Then a flicker of concern crossed her face.
Chitanda-san was perfect in every way except for how much she trusted him. That boy always seemed like he was up to no good.
She exhaled softly, her gaze fixed on the rearview mirror.
She'd keep a closer eye on things from now on. She couldn't let Chitanda-san get taken advantage of by him.
…
"She's definitely thinking something not very nice," Natsuo mused.
"What else would she be thinking about? Probably how to explain getting home late to her family." Yū stretched, then looked down at him. "Come to think of it, why didn't you go with Eru to her place for dinner? Not interested in a free meal?"
Natsuo shook his head. "They're a happy family of three. Why would I intrude? Besides, her dad is always trying to get me to reopen the shrine and become the 'Heavenly Officer.' It's a hassle."
He turned and walked back into the yard. "You talked a lot with Yukino today. That's not necessarily good for her. Don't assume that seeing more of the world is always a blessing. Sometimes seeing nothing at all is a kind of fortune."
Yū followed him, her gaze sweeping over the old house and the towering ginkgo tree in the yard. Her voice was soft. "A lot of things… it's not about what you think is best for someone. For Yukino, turning a blind eye isn't something she can accept. It's who she is."
Natsuo stepped onto the porch and stopped, turning back with an expressionless face. "Her being able to see you, normally, that wouldn't be a big deal. Keep your distance until you reincarnate, and the side effects fade on their own. But you're building a connection with her. You're deepening her awareness, strengthening her spiritual sight. Have you thought about the long-term consequences?"
"A future heir of a major family. A bright, respectable future ahead of her. And what, she's going to spend it seeing ghosts?"
Yū stopped as well, looking at him seriously. "This is what Yukino wants. I'm a teacher. My job is to help her learn how to handle the reality she's in."
Natsuo held her gaze for a moment, then turned away. "Hiratsuka Yū. Don't forget you're dead. The living and the dead are separate. For you, this ends in death. For her, it ends in loss. The more you connect now, the more grief and lasting scars there will be later."
He walked into the house. Yū stood in the twilight, looking down at her hands.
The lines were clear. They looked no different from anyone else's. But she knew these were already the hands of a ghost. Hands that would one day fade away.
She turned her head and looked out into the fading light.
After a long moment, she looked away and stepped up onto the porch.
Her teacher had once taught her that many things in life, you couldn't know their value or their rightness until later. All you could do was follow what you believed in the moment. And if she was near the Heavenly Officer…
She was a teacher, too. She couldn't predict the future. All she could do was support her student's choices for as long as she had left, teach her what she could about life, and guide her.
As for the future…
Yū looked at the boy standing on a stool in front of the kitchen stove, and her gaze softened.
She'd seen this scene many times before, back when her teacher was alive. The old woman had been so frail in her final years that he had been the one to prepare all the meals.
Standing on his stool, wielding the spatula with practiced ease, bringing the food to the table with an air of put-upon annoyance.
If she had to think about the future… she'd leave it to fate. Let people's choices play out and find their answers. And fate, in this place, was surprisingly simple…
Yū knocked on the kitchen doorframe. "I want stir-fried beef."
Natsuo had a cleaver in one hand and was smashing a clove of garlic with the flat of the blade. He shot her a glare. "How about I stir-fry you instead?"
She whistled innocently and wandered back to the living room to watch TV.
Natsuo made a sound of irritation and went back to prepping the ingredients.
He couldn't help feeling his luck in this life hadn't been great. Back when the old shrine maiden was alive, cooking with her was like watching a ghost brew poison. Everything she made came out shrouded in black vapor, completely inedible.
And now Yū, it turned out, was also hopeless in the kitchen. The meals she attempted weren't fit to look at.
If he wanted to eat anything decent, he had to make it himself.
Eru had been studying cookbooks lately, but she was still young. He couldn't exactly ask her to stay and cook for him.
Thinking these thoughts, Natsuo expressionlessly hopped off the stool and walked to the refrigerator.
In a way, there was something tragic about learning to cook almost as soon as he'd learned to walk.
He pulled out a piece of pork, climbed back onto the stool, and quickly sliced it into thin strips.
…
"That Yukinoshita girl seems to have caught whatever Yamanashi has."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You know how Yamanashi always used to mutter to himself in empty spaces? Lately, Yukinoshita's been doing the same thing. Standing alone somewhere, talking to herself."
"Really? They've been getting pretty close, haven't they? Eating lunch together, walking home. That's nice."
"Yeah… too bad."
"Too bad?"
"I thought I'd be Yamanashi-kun's first friend."
Hayama Hayato took a quiet step back from the boy standing in front of him.
The boy seemed to realize how that sounded and scratched his head awkwardly. "I mean, I just think Yamanashi-kun is kind of cute, you know? He's not a bad person."
He waved his hands quickly. "Don't get the wrong idea, Hayato. I just see him always alone, and it makes me think… he seems lonely."
Hayato smiled and took another small step back.
That… was hard not to misunderstand.
Natsuo rested his chin on his hand, watching the two of them from across the room. His expression went from mildly amused to something like swallowing a fly.
"Congratulations. Maybe in a few days you'll be getting love letters." Yukino sat down beside him and opened her book.
Yes, they were now desk neighbors.
"Yukinoshita-san seems unusually knowledgeable about matters of romance. As expected of the second-ranked student." Natsuo didn't hold back.
"Not as knowledgeable as the first-ranked. He's about to conquer both genders." Yukino's expression remained unchanged.
"Yukinoshita-san, please don't treat real life like some strange romance novel. Those kinds of feelings don't happen in reality." Natsuo let out a cold laugh.
"Yeah, yeah." Yukino clapped her hands together in mock applause, her face perfectly blank.
Natsuo's expression flickered with something strange. That move… that was usually his thing.
Yū watched him from the side and grinned.
…
After school, the two of them plus one ghost stood in front of the shoe lockers.
Natsuo reached into his locker and pulled out a pink envelope.
Silence.