ALL NOVEL 52: Scary Things
A few hours from Tokyo.
Nowadays, from Tokyo, the capital, you can reach anywhere in Japan in less than half a day. So, before I could even enjoy the ekiben I had been secretly looking forward to, it was time to get off the Shinkansen.
Goodbye, Shinkansen…
In fact, it was almost my first ride, so besides the ekiben, I was also looking forward to the famous “Shinkansen Super Hard Ice Cream,” but I never got to try it.
As a result, most of my memories from the ride involve chatting with Kamidama and snacking on sweets. This… doesn’t seem any different from what I usually do after school…
It was shockingly similar to an ordinary after-school hangout. Despite getting off at a station I’d never been to, it didn’t feel that way at all. Instead, I had a sense of déjà vu, probably because of this.
Or maybe, when I first came to Tatarano, I had a similar feeling, so it could just be my instinct pretending to know better. Stop finding déjà vu everywhere you go.
Sighing, I naturally found my hand being held.
“You’re zoning out. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing really. I just feel like I’ve been having a lot of déjà vu lately.”
“Déjà vu?”
“Yeah… well, maybe not exactly déjà vu. It just feels like I’ve been here before.”
It’s probably just my imagination.
No way have I started receiving past-life signals from Kamidama.
If it reached that point, it would be magic—while thinking that, Kamidama quietly smiled and lightly pushed my chest with her fingertip.
“Who knows? Maybe your soul remembers this place.”
“Stop saying scary things all of a sudden. Look, now my legs are shaking.”
“Uraku, you’re really weak against spiritual stuff, aren’t you…”
“Of course I am…! I’m already bad with ghosts and such…”
I feel like I’ve become even weaker recently.
And it’s all because someone who might reinforce those entities has appeared.
You know who I mean, right, Kamidama?
You seriously need to reflect on that. I couldn’t help but look serious.
“You’re pretty straightforward in those areas…”
“What do you mean, ‘those areas’…?”
“Well, I thought you’d say something like, ‘Ghosts? The scariest thing in the world is humans,’ with a cool attitude.”
“Wait a minute, was that an insult?”
Apparently, the version of me in Kamidama’s mind is quite nihilistic. Although I can’t say there was never a time when I thought that way…
Unfortunately, I’ve already moved on to a higher stage.
Sighing, I shrugged my shoulders and laughed.
“Listen, Kamidama. The world is full of scary things. So, ranking them is pointless. People, ghosts, dogs—everything is equally scary.”
“You still find dogs scary in this life too…”
“The way you said that makes it sound like I was bad with dogs in my so-called past life as well…”
“Hmm? Ehehe, yes. You were really bad with dogs, even small ones. You’d flinch and hide behind me. It was so cute.”
“There’s nothing cute about that!”
Rather, it was a hundred percent pathetic. You could squeeze it out and make juice from it—that’s how full it was.
It was such an embarrassing story that it made me look up at the sky, even though it was about someone else (from Kamidama’s perspective, it was about me).
Nice weather…
Thanks to that, the sunlight stung my eyes.
“Still, if I had to name the scariest thing, it would be cars.”
“Okay, okay. It’s fine. I’ll always be by your side, and I’ll never leave you.”
“That’s not what we were talking about…!”
“Yes, it is! And I’m scared too.”
That’s why, to keep from being scared, I’ll do this. Kamidama squeezed my hand tighter and smiled brightly.
She kicked the ground lightly.
“Scary things are less scary when you’re with someone else. Isn’t that right?”
“Who knows. Scary things remain scary, no matter how many people are around.”
It’s a simple fact.
Once you find something scary, it doesn’t easily stop being scary.
“But, well, yes. Being with someone else gives you more options than just being scared.”
“I knew you’d say that. I love that about you!”
“Yeah, yeah. What exactly do you love?”
I was a bit curious about how many of those “things I love about you” there were in me.