Chapter Three: Image in the Mirror

Dark circles were under my eyes when I stepped onto the school grounds the following day.

Last night had been long and arduous. I'd spent most of it working on homework while grappling with the terrible reality that Manta and the shaman boy would always be somewhere nearby. For the remainder of the year, there would be a risk of Manta barging into my classroom or of me encountering the shaman boy. I bitterly resented and dreaded it.

I had entertained the idea of skipping school to let things cool down but decided the consequences of something like that would be too severe. My mother and her husband would become furious when they discovered the perfect attendance record I'd maintained since Junior High was destroyed. It was better to fear what other unexpected predicament might occur than to suffer their wrath.

Several people looked in my direction as I made my way across the courtyard, then smirked or snickered to each other while huddled in their groups. The behavior continued even as I entered my classroom and sat down. No doubt it had something to do with what happened yesterday.

"Have a rough night, Chibana?"

The person who had spoken was the same one that teased me yesterday after school.

He was my class president and one of the most popular guys in school, Itsuki Aikawa. For reasons I couldn't explain, he regularly went out of his way to speak to me whenever there was a chance—a brilliant smile always on his face. I suppose it was just part of his good-natured, cheerful personality to be friendly with people. If things were different, perhaps I would have allowed us to become friends.

"What does it look like to you?" I replied with a sigh.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure to protect you from the midget."

The amusement in his voice and the absurdity of the statement caused annoyance to flare up inside of me, but I kept my mouth shut. There was no point in correcting him on his conclusion. If everyone wanted to believe I'm terrified of short people, who was I to stop them? At least the snickers and predatory smiles sent my way when I walked onto the school grounds made sense now. Everyone who disliked me must be laughing their heads off at my expense.

"Itsuki, you'll never guess what I saw yesterday," his friend said, breaking into the middle of our conversation as he entered the room and walked over to us.

Aikawa turned his attention to him while I began to pull out my books.

"Yesterday?"

"Oyamada was beaten to a pulp by Umemiya and his gang last night."

I paused, surprise and concern flowing through me.

"Seriously?" Aikawa asked.

"Yes," the girl behind me replied, eagerly jumping into their discussion. "According to my sister, he was in Funbari Hill Cemetery trying to prove he'd seen ghosts when they suddenly assaulted him."

A curse threatened to come from my lips as I thought about how Manta had acted after school.

That idiot. I'd feared he'd do something stupid, but managing to get himself attacked by a gang? Manta truly is too headstrong for his own good. He should have just dropped it and moved on!

"Are you still involved with Umemiya and Sakata, Chibana?" Aikawa's friend asked, eyeing me with suspicion.

"Why?" I asked with a frown.

"It's convenient he would suddenly get thrashed by them the day you ran away from him. Did you tell them to do it?"

"No," I replied with an unamused tone to my voice.

I never was involved with either of them in the first place. Although it was easy to see where the misconception was coming from. Before Umemiya and Sakata graduated, there were various occasions through the years that they came to my aid when someone was bullying me at school. Their noble actions made it difficult for me to decide what to think of them, considering their well-earned reputation. I still don’t understand them.

Aikawa’s friend didn’t look convinced, but the bell for class forced the conversation to an abrupt end. I moved my gaze away from him and stared at the board at the front of the classroom.

For the rest of the morning, Manta consumed my thoughts once again. I felt concerned for him. He would only experience heartache if he continued to head down this path. But, there’s nothing I could do. I’m not allowed to talk to him, and I couldn’t afford to be near him.

When the bell for lunch rang, I grabbed my bento and left the classroom to be alone. There was no point in me staying, and it was safer to escape before news of Manta's condition became widespread. Aikawa's friend would attempt resuming our discussion, so he could pin Manta's assault on me in front of everyone. And no matter what I said in my defense, everybody would believe whatever they wanted to. Common sense told me it wouldn't go in my favor. I had more enemies than allies. If the accusations mounted high enough, rumors might spread outside of the school and cause trouble for me.

How could everything be turned upside down so easily? I only wanted to be left alone. Was that really too much to ask?

Careful to keep a close eye out for Manta and the shaman boy, I stepped outside the air-conditioned building. The exposed skin on my hands, legs, and face, warmed by the sun shining down from the clear blue sky. I started walking forward while others gathered in their usual spots for lunch, a gentle breeze blowing through my hair. No one seemed to notice me approaching an old storage building near the soccer field at the edge of the property. I hid behind it whenever the day proved too challenging for me to deal with others. It was the only place I could find solace at school.

I let out a relieved sigh and felt my shoulders relax once behind the structure. Allowing myself to unwind, I took several steps forward, then sat down on the ground, back resting against the wall of the building.

I opened my bento, and, as always, the contents hidden within the box made me salivate by the mere sight of them. My mother may terrify me, but she definitely knew how to cook. I preferred her food over anything offered in the school cafeteria.

When I was about halfway through lunch, I saw movement in the corner of my eye. I lowered the chopsticks in my hand, preparing for the worst. Only someone who wanted to cause trouble for me would be here. They must have seen me take refuge here. I should have been more careful.

"What do you want?" I asked, looking at the person who'd chosen to join me.

The individual my eyes landed on was the last person I expected to see. But, nevertheless, the very sight of them made me freeze altogether.

Manta was standing only a few feet away with a black right eye, a left arm wrapped and hanging in a sling, and large bandages bound around his head. The startled expression on his face slowly shifted into a hauntingly familiar look of defeat as he gazed at the ground. I felt my stomach twist uncomfortably, a memory springing forth without consent.

I stood in front of a cracked full-length mirror, eyes misted over and defeat written on my face. Thick bandages wrapped around my head, neck, and right forearm. An enormous bruise on my left cheek.

Distressed, I scrambled to my feet and slammed a fist against the wall behind me to bring myself back into reality, frantic to push the image aside. Determined to protect the sanity I had garnered in the last several years. The pain which shot through my hand had the desired effect. Manta’s small form came into focus, his large brown eyes wide as he stared up at me.

“Himiko?”

Distress switched to anger as I scowled at Manta, silently blaming him for the thought that had appeared because of his selfish pursuit. Regardless, I was also worrying over how foolish Manta had been and how dangerously close he was to repeating the same mistake I'd made.

No. Don't think of it!

"Idiot!" I exclaimed, emotions overriding my senses. "Why have you gone so far to prove yourself to people who find it so easy to believe you would lie to them?! People who haven't bothered to give you the benefit of the doubt and turn on you the moment you say something they disagree with?!"

What are you doing? Don't think of that time!

His eyes were wide from my outburst.

Unable to look at him unless I wanted to be reminded of the image of myself in the mirror, I spun around.

Silence engulfed the area. I took a few deep breaths and cleared my mind. The last thing needed was for any more memories to resurface, something that had become perilously close to happening with our encounter. I'd spent the past several years compartmentalizing every memory. Shoving any unnecessary thought inside a shelf and locking it away until virtually forgetting everything. And I would go on forgetting, continue to lock them away. I could not, would not let them come back.

"I have a few words of advice for you," I said, calming down enough to speak rationally. "Give up. You'll be better off if you do. It's impossible to prove that ghosts are real."

I swiftly walked away before he could reply, leaving behind my lunch box along with its contents scattered across the ground. In the attempt to escape, I came face to face with the shaman boy who was hiding just around the corner. I froze, eyes widening in shock and heart, stopping because of our close proximity. The aura around him, sending emotions whirling through me once more. Coming to my senses as he opened his lips, I threw myself back and then bolted to get away from him before he could say anything. I didn't dare look back.