Published at 17th of August 2019 7:51 am

Volume 10, Chapter 8: Roller Coaster at Dusk

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Part 1

February 14, Sunday

February 14, it was Sunday and Valentine's Day. On top of that, an event celebrating Valentine's Day was being held. Despite it being cold, there were many people in the amusement park. So there were many families and couples surrounding Koutarou and Kiriha. They were all smiling and enjoying the holiday.

“Kiriha-san, where are we going today? You said you had found a clue.”

“Calm down, Satomi Koutarou. There is a proper procedure to these things.”

Koutarou had been taken to the amusement park by Kiriha when she had asked him to help her to find someone. Since he had already helped her look many times, he readily agreed. Koutarou considered Kiriha to be a precious friend, so he had no reason to refuse. On top of that, Kiriha was looking for her first love. He couldn't keep himself from helping her. And since she had said that she had found a clue, Koutarou was very enthusiastic about going looking.

When they entered the amusement park, Kiriha began walking to lead the way. They were definitely heading towards the attractions inside, but Kiriha wasn't telling Koutarou her plans for some reason. Confused, Koutarou had asked her, but she had dodged it with a smile. And that's where they are at now.

Still... I'm getting a strange feeling about this...

Koutarou chased after Kiriha's back while being caught up in a strange sensation. Since they had left Corona House in the afternoon, the sun was already setting. The orange sun created long shadows. That sight stimulated Koutarou's memories, and he felt that he had seen this before.

Well, I've come here several times before, so...

This wasn't the first time that Koutarou had come here with Kiriha. In fact, he had been here with her several times. One time under the pretense of a date, and a couple more times to look for someone. The date had left quite an impression, so it was only obvious for him to have memories of it. However, as the two walked, he remembered some other memories, apart from the ones with her. It was a memory of a far off day and it had been a serious event that had greatly developed Koutarou's mind. While he scanned his memories, he chased after Kiriha.

“Here it is.”

Kiriha stopped in front of a certain attraction. She then turned around towards Koutarou and showed a cheerful smile. It was a pure and bright smile. It was completely different from what she normally showed, and it was like the smile of the children standing in line for the attraction.

“This is...”

The attraction they were standing in front of was the roller coaster. When Koutarou looked up he could see people shoot by and spin and twist on coaster. This was the most popular attraction in the amusement park.

“I was thinking that we should ride this today.”

“Wait, didn't you decide to ride this with your first love? Or did you give up?”

Kiriha was planning on riding the roller coaster. However, Koutarou objected. In the past, they had decided that Kiriha would ride this with her first love. If she gave up on looking, or if her first love had rejected her, she would then ride it with Koutarou. Because of that, Koutarou couldn't agree.

“You're wrong. I may have found him. My Onii-chan, who I had always been thinking of...”

My Onii-chan.

When Kiriha said those words, a different person's appearance overlapped with hers.

“I've decided! Onii-chan, let's ride on that next!”

“That thing spinning round and round and zooming by!”

It was the appearance of a young girl that had just turned six years old. A girl he had met about half a month ago and had spent a few days with. She soon vanished and Kiriha returned, but Koutarou had definitely caught a glimpse of that girl.

Could it be... no, that's impossible... do such coincidences even exist...?

Koutarou was speechless. An idea was forming in his head, but he quickly denied it.

It wasn't like he hadn't thought of it before. He had considered the possibility. But it was something with such a low chance of being true that he considered it a delusion. Even Koutarou could understand that the cause appearing after the result was impossible.

That's why he didn't know what to do. Confused, all he could do was stand in place.

And as Koutarou was speechless, Kiriha smiled and began to slowly speak.

“Ever since I came up on the surface, I had always been looking for him using the wrong method. That's why I couldn't find him.”

Kiriha spoke differently from normal. She was still polite, but no longer as formal, she spoke as a normal girl. But Koutarou didn't find that strange, something deep inside him told him that was natural. And considering Kiriha's age, this way of speaking was more apt. She was normally too mature.

“The person I met ten years ago was the same age I was now. That's why I assumed that at her youngest, his mother would be in her thirties, but she would most likely have been in her forties. Using that as a clue, I looked in the records for women who had been in traffic accidents, but I couldn't find her.”

Kiriha had tried to find her first love through the traffic accident. Assuming that her first love had been around 15 years old, it was only natural for her to add at least another 15 to his mother's age. That's why she had investigated all of the women who had died in traffic accidents at the age of 30 and up. As a result, she had found a few that matched the description, but she hadn't been able to find her first love.

“I also used other methods. But I just couldn't find him no matter how I tried. I began thinking that he might not even have existed to begin with, like he was just a dream...”

Kiriha had looked into other records as well, but had the same result. She just couldn't find her first love. That irritated her, and she began to doubt if her precious memories were even real.

“But... but you know? The day before yesterday, I found this...”

Kiriha's eyes filled with tears and she put her hand in the purse she was carrying with her. And she pulled out a certain something from it.

“Thanks to this, I finally understood why I couldn't find him... why his mother didn't exist in the records...”

Kiriha showed an antique necklace with polished jewels and fangs.

“...T-That's...”

The moment he saw that, Koutarou held his breath. The necklace she was holding was a memorabilia that he had hidden in his wardrobe. The reason why she had taken that out and why she said she had solved the mystery proved that Koutarou's imagination was correct.

“There was no way I would have found him. That's because that person was still only 6...”

Kiriha's first assumption had been wrong. If the child had been six years old, she should have added in women in their twenties. But Kiriha hadn't done so, and for obvious reasons. Although he might have been six in the register, he was 16 when she met him. Who would have imagined such an irrational situation?

“I gave this necklace to that person when we parted ways.”

If she assumed the person had been six at the age of the accident, only one person fit the description. Kiriha had already confirmed that, and she had also found the necklace as evidence. All that was left was for her to confirm one last thing.

“I gave it to him as thanks for this card.”

Kiriha pulled out a card from her purse.

It was a metallic trading card. However, it has lost its sheen as time had passed. The card depicted a hero based on a beetle posing.

Koutarou had seen that card and the letters written on it before. It looked just the same as the card a six-year-old girl he had only met half a month ago had.

“This necklace is a keepsake from my mother. I gave it to him, hoping that my mother would watch over him so he wouldn't feel lonely and cry on his own.”

Kiriha was crying now. She had never displayed any intense emotion in public before, but now she was crying without caring about her surroundings. Her expression seemed happy, but sad. It seemingly contained all kinds of emotions. And that intense emotion turned into tears and streamed out of her eyes. The tears ran down her cheeks and were lit up by the gentle light of the setting sun.

“I had always been worried these past ten years. Was he happy? He's not feeling lonely is he?”

It was as if Kiriha was unable to control her own emotions. Her body was trembling and she was weak at the knees. Just standing up was the best she could muster. She looked like she would collapse onto the ground if someone so much as touched her shoulders.

“So, please tell me, Koutarou! Is the owner of this necklace currently happy? He's not feeling lonely... is he?”

That was the real reason for why Kiriha had looked for her first love. Before confessing her own feelings, she wanted to know if he was happy.

Kiriha still loved him, but she didn't demand that he did the same. He had his own life, he might have a lover, or he might even have built a family. Kiriha had no intention of forcing herself into his life. Just conveying her feelings was enough for her.

But she wanted to know if he was happy, and make sure that he wasn't feeling lonely, no matter what. That was the feelings behind the reason for her giving away her necklace, and what she had wished for as she looked on her card. Before she could make sure of that, she couldn't move forward; she couldn't chase after her own happiness.

“...Could you stand over there for a moment?”

Koutarou didn't answer Kiriha's desperate appeal. Instead he smiled and pointed to something behind her. With a calm expression and tone he had somehow returned to normal.

“Eh...? O-Okay...”

While Koutarou had regained his calm, Kiriha's mind had become completely disorderly. She wanted to hear his answer and the unexpected turn of events confused her.

“Like this?”

While her feelings with still in a disarray, Kiriha obediently followed Koutarou's instructions. Koutarou had pointed at a signboard in front of the roller coaster, and Kiriha moved in front of it.

“Yeah, just like that.”

As Kiriha stood there and waited, Koutarou approached her.

“Ah...”

As Koutarou approached, Kiriha's body stiffened, and at the same time she instinctively grasped the card and necklace she had in her hands. It wasn't like Kiriha wasn't anxious, even if she had proof, she wasn't completely sure. That's why she looked at what Koutarou was doing.

“Hmm...”

Though Kiriha was anxious, Koutarou smiled and nodded. However, he wasn't looking at her but at something behind her. Wondering why, Kiriha turned around and noticed what he was looking at.

'To ride on this attraction you need to be at least 140 centimeters'

That was what written on the signboard behind her. The height limit had been written with large characters on the side of the signboard and next to it was a large illustration that showed the height of 140 centimeters.

Koutarou looked at it and then cheerfully put his hand on top of Kiriha's head.

“...You've gotten so big, Kii-chan.”

Koutarou said that out loud as he looked at Kiriha. And at the same time he gently patted her head a few times.

“Ah...”

It was at that moment that Kiriha realized that her imagination had been correct. At the same time, her emotions exploded and she stumbled for words. Kiriha desperately tried to say something, but her mouth simply opened and closed with no words coming out.

“If you're this tall it looks like we'll be able to ride it this time.”

The illustration only reached up to Kiriha's shoulders.

With this the clerk won't stop us like that time...

Koutarou remembered the time when they had been stopped and he said to her.

“I couldn't tell it was you, really.”

“O-Onii-cha... you really are Onii-chan, right?”

Tears began overflowing from Kiriha's eyes again. Her body began shaking little by little.

“Yeah. That's right.”

Koutarou firmly nodded. He had also been surprised by this result, but he wasn't as shaken as Kiriha since it had only been about half a month for him. And the Kii, Kiriha, crying in front of him had grown big. He knew that she had cried for him, which is why whenever she cried in front of him, he felt like he had to keep himself together. Because of that, he could gently watch over Kiriha.

“Ah...”

Strength left Kiriha's knees and she lost balance. Since she was being swung around by her strong emotions, she couldn't recover from her collapsed balance and looked like she was about to fall over.

“Hey now.”

However, before she could, Koutarou held her body.

You're still light, despite having grown so much, Kii-chan...

Having been able to support the girl that had supported him made Koutarou happy. As Koutarou was pleased with himself, Kiriha put her arms around Koutarou and held him.

“...It's Onii-chan... you really were Onii-chan...”

Kiriha completely entrusted herself to Koutarou like a small child wanting to be doted on by her parents. So Koutarou readjusted his hold on her body to properly support her.

“...Back then you were more of a tomboy, and less like this.”

Koutarou supported Kiriha while smiling wryly. Right now, she looked even younger than Kii had.

To think she really was Kii-chan though...

Kii who had been hiding inside of Kiriha had now come out into the open. Up until now, Kii had peeked through a few times before, and Koutarou knew what Kii was like, so he didn't find it to be unnatural. Of course he had been surprised at first, and he still was, but his feelings were content. Because of that, Kiriha and Kii naturally began melding into a single person.

“Stupid... even if it's only been half a month for you, it's been over ten years for me, Onii-chan. Can't you just let me stay like this a little longer...”

Kiriha's arms were firmly swung around Koutarou. She poured enough feelings into her arms to make up for the ten years that she hadn't seen him. And those feelings also served as her new oath.

She would protect Koutarou from solitude, and always warm up his heart.

Just like Koutarou had supported Kiriha and Kii, they would support him. As her best friend and first love became the same person, their two desires became one. Those desires melded into one and became into an even stronger oath.

“I'm sorry. I'll listen to whatever you say today, so please forgive me.”

“Anything?”

Kiriha looked up and smiled at Koutarou as she tilted her head.

“Yeah.”

“I might say something amazing.”

“You won't. That's not the kind of girl you are.”

“...Fufu.”

Kiriha seemed extremely happy as she laughed and entrusted herself to Koutarou once more. She then quietly whispered into his ear.

“Onii-chan, you still haven't answered my previous question. So I want you to properly answer it.”

Was Koutarou happy or not.

Kiriha already knew the answer to that question. That's because when she had met him ten years ago, he had said that he was on his way home. And having a home to return to was a sign of happiness.

But Kiriha wanted to hear Koutarou say it himself. Had she been able to protect him during the ten months they had been together, and had Kii been able to warm his heart the two weeks since they had met? Had Kiriha and Kii been able to support him? She wanted Koutarou to answer her with his own words.

“Now that you mention it, I didn't, did I?”

Koutarou smiled wryly and gathered his thoughts as he looked up into the sky. What meaning had these ten months since he had met Kiriha and these two weeks since he had returned home meant to him? It was a question far too difficult for Koutarou to answer.

“...The owner of this necklace is pretty stupid, you see. He can't even tell who the girl in front of him is. Because of that, he always ended up fighting with those around him.”

Koutarou smiled as she began speaking to Kiriha. His smile and his words were completely different from what he had shown Kiriha up until today. As if he was talking to a small child.

“But... when he unexpectedly ended up somewhere far away, he strangely enough missed that fighting. So he desperately struggled to return home. So I think... that he's happy. At the very least, I don't think he's feeling lonely.”

Koutarou spoke as if he was talking about someone else. It was a little embarrassing for him to speak as if it was about himself. Even more so when one of the reasons he had returned home was right in front of him.

“...I'm... I'm so glad...”

However, Kiriha didn't seem to care about how Koutarou felt. The moment he had said that he was happy, her chest was filled with emotions and they poured out without stopping. Kiriha didn't know what to do, and so all she could do was cry and embrace Koutarou.

However, there was one thing that she knew.

That was that she no longer needed to worry about if her first love was happy or not, and that she would be able to be of Koutarou's help from now on. She would be able to see his smile up close from now on, and all she needed to do was keep that smile from becoming cloudy.

That made Kiriha shed even more tears of joy and she put more force into the arms around Koutarou.

“But still, to think you were Kii-chan...”

“...You're so slow... geez... couldn't you have noticed half a month ago...”

“I'm sorry.”

Like that, Kiriha continued crying while being held by Koutarou. Since the feelings she had pent up inside of her were huge, she continued doing so for quite a long time. However, Koutarou silently supported her until she stopped.

Part 2

After some time passed and Kiriha had calmed down a little. She slightly separated from Koutarou and looked up at him.

“...Hey, Onii-chan.”

Kiriha whispered and smile.

“Hm?”

“I'm actually a little troubled.”

As Kiriha said that, she put the necklace she had been holding in her hand around Koutarou's neck. To her, that was its rightful place.

Next, after she had shaken her card a few times and showed it to Koutarou she held it against her chest with both arms. That was also its rightful place.

“What's troubling you?”

Kiriha continued crying as she spoke and tears ran down her cheek and fell off her chin, wetting her hands and Koutarou's necklace. Noticing that, Koutarou reached his hand out towards her cheek and wiped her tears away. That made Kiriha happy, and she smiled, and shed one final tear.

“Kiriha and Kii are arguing inside of me. Kiriha wants to trouble you more, while Kii wants to stay like this.”

“Ah, then you don't need to argue.”

Koutarou let out a small sigh and dropped his shoulders.

“Why?”

Kiriha tilted her head like Kii would. She should have had the same face as always, but right now she looked like a young girl.

“...The glances from people around us are stabbing into me. They must think that I'm making you cry.”

By having Kiriha rely on him like Kii, Koutarou was being troubled. In the end, the results were the same, regardless if it was Kiriha or Kii.

“You ARE making me cry, geez...”

After giving Koutarou a very Kiriha-esque mischievous smile, she hugged him like Kii would. The two girls melded into one and threw their feelings at Koutarou.

“Then let's go.”

Koutarou smiled bitterly as he whispered to Kiriha. Strangely enough, he remained calm even as Kiriha was hugging him. As a results of his feelings for Kiriha and Kii merging, he believed this was normal. He was feeling something similar to the way he was feeling towards Sanae.

“Where to?”

Kiriha closed her eyes and whispered back to Koutarou as she continued to hug him.

“We're getting on the roller coaster, obviously. We stand out here...”

The surrounding people staring at them made Koutarou more uneasy than having Kiriha hug him.

“Trying to get a girl in the mood by taking her on a ride... don't you think you're being a little too simple?”

Kiriha looked up and smiled. She then let go off Koutarou and held his hand. Though she had criticized it as being simple, she seemed very into it. That was of course only obvious, since she had waited for this moment for over ten years.

“I don't. I told you before, didn't I? I'm actually very interested in roller coasters... I just want to ride it myself.”

Koutarou began walking. Kiriha naturally accompanied him and she gently rested her cheek on his shoulder. The two passed through the entrance to the roller coaster as if they were lovers.

“By the way, Onii-chan, who were those words for? Was it Kiriha, or was it Kii?”

“I forgot. Does it even matter?”

“Fufufu. I'll just leave it at that. Koutarou and Onii-chan are both shy.”

“Shut it.”

The winter cold had properly settled in on this February day. The sun was setting and the evening began growing colder. And in the amusement colored orange by the sunlight, the roller coaster zoomed by at full speed.

Nothing special had happened on this day. A boy with an antique necklace and a girl with an old card had just gotten a ride on a roller coaster together.

It was a very normal event on a holiday.

However, it was also an event that dramatically changed the two's relationship.

Part 3

Midnight on a day past the middle of March. A car stopped in a dim and dark alleyway near the station. A fat man was all alone in that car. He was sitting on the passenger's seat, fast asleep. The driver's seat was empty, and the man was waiting on the person who sat there to come back.

“Zzz... Zzzz... Zzz...”

Like that, the man had been sleeping for about an hour.

And then all of a sudden, the door on the driver's side opened and a slim man jumped in.

“Wake up, Hachi! It's an emergency!”

Despite the slim man shouting, the fat man called Hachi didn't wake up. Hachi continued sleeping and drooled. Panicked, the slim man grabbed a hold of Hachi and violently shook him.

“I told you to wake up!! Can't you at least wake up when I'm being serious!!”

“Hwah!? A-Aniki...?”

“That's right! Wake up! It's an emergency!”

“Aniki... what happened?”

Hachi rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked the slim man what had happened. The two had been working on a surveillance job for several months, but until now, nothing had happened and the slim man hadn't been this flustered before.

“That girl's condition changed!! She's apparently in a critical condition!!”

“T-That's terrible!!”

The moment that he had heard the words critical condition, Hachi opened his eyes wide and fully woke up. He could now understand the direness of the situation.

“That's why I said it was an emergency!! Hachi, you contact Nee-san right away!!”

“I'll call her right away!! What about you, Aniki!?”

“I'm going back to the hospital!! I'll put this spiritual energy stabilizer on her that I got from Nee-san to make sure that she doesn't die!! I just hope I'll make it!!”

They were the ghost hunters that Koutarou and the others had once fought against. However, they had now given up on their hunting days and had taken up a different job. Their current job was now to regularly report on the condition of a girl committed into a hospital. It was a monotone surveillance job, but it paid well, so the two had worked on without complaining.

“Nee-san! Kiriha-Nee-san! It's me! Hachi!”

Hachi had used his cellphone to call Kiriha.

“Bad news! That girl, Sanae-chan is dying!”

And the two had been watching over a long term hospitalized girl by the name of Higashihongan Sanae.

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