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[notquitethere]

Kaya arrives to see the scene unfold with the floating phone. He tries to spot the thread that must be dangling it. When this game is over, I must ask Satoshi how me managed these effects...


: "Well met old friends! Do mine eyes deceive me? Or is there truly a ghost among us?"

[SeriousConcentrate]

Takeo stopped and stared at the phone.

"Is... that really you... Hanako?"

"Why can't I see you if you're there?"

After a moment to collect himself he looked at the phone again.

"The day we met. You and Satoshi were trying to fix something the two of you'd broken and I fixed it for you. What was it? Don't answer, Satoshi. I need to know that this is her."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"Hanako?"

Should the people not able to see Hanako follow Satoshi's eyes, they'd be directed roughly where Hanako's head would be, if they could see her.

A pause.

Takeo's phone erases Hanako's previous message, then-
My tricycle. I'm sorry. I can't remember too much. There's a fog on a lot that happened when I was alive, but I'd never forget that. Satoshi and I were driving that tricycle around and we went into a ditch and you offered to fix it for us.

[SeriousConcentrate]

"...That's right. I'd never forget it either."

He made no move to take his phone back. If that's how Hanako had to communicate with the rest of the group, so be it.

"It's her. I don't know how, or why we can't see her, but it's definitely Hanako. So... what do we do? How do we fix this and get you back?"

[Smoke Mirrors]

Compared to Takeo, Minato's reaction was... not as good.


"Wha... what?" he muttered, waving his hand above the phone, trying to break some hidden wire, and below it, in case... the wind was keeping it aloft or something. Finally, he tapped the phone, to make sure it was really there.

It was.


"This... this isn't... this..." he muttered, walking backward until he was sitting down on the couch, "This isn't possible. This is impossible."

[Gaterhyme]

"You could have asked a question that Satoshi didn't also know the answer to," Ran said weakly. But the fact that she didn't ask a question of her own said more than she was willing to admit out loud.

Honestly, she was stunned too. She didn't step back or turn away to collect herself, but she realized for the first time that she had never really planned what she would say or do if she had succeeded years ago. But of course Satoshi and Hanako had always seemed closest... Still, if there was frustration or jealousy there it was overwhelmed by the rush of other feelings that washed over her.

"How's it impossible? You of all people, you're saying that?"

[notquitethere]

: "Maybe it's a sick joke, but I'm honestly impressed by your stagecraft."

Kawa walks forward and swooshes his hand over the phone to try to catch a hidden wire. When his hand meets no resistance, he falls back with shock. You fool! The Satoshi you knew would never joke about this!

: "It's... real? She's... back?!"

[Smoke Mirrors]

"I didn't just get taller in the past few years." Minato replied "I grew up. Spirits aren't real, and neither are ghosts. This can't be happening."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

A gentle slap on the back of Minato's head reassures him that no, this is very much happening. Any other time, he might have attributed it to a leaf, or the wind, but....

This is happening, and I'm right here even if nobody but Satoshi can see me. You got real tall, Minato. A looker, too. Maybe you should've given Satoshi some tips.

Satoshi suppresses a chuckle, despite himself.

I'm sorry. I don't know why it's like this. Or why I came back. I can't even remember how I died. There's just a fog over everything back when I was alive, I'm sorry if I can't be more helpful.

Then.

I hope you all took care of each other while I was gone. Satoshi in particular.

[Gaterhyme]

Something seemed to shift, the expression behind her eyes, before Ran tossed her head and looked away.

"I wouldn't know, I haven't even thought about you in years."

She was addressing Minato but she hadn't missed Hanako's message either. She still couldn't identify the feelings roiling inside her, something like hot shame, self-righteousness, some strange fear. Were they still old friends in strangers' skin, or the other way around?

"I just came here because of her, that's all."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"...I don't think any of us did. It didn't take long for us to fall apart without you. Satoshi holed himself up in his room. Kogen left. Minato became a stranger overnight. So did Kaya, Ran, and Yayoi. I guess I went a little crazy. Started fighting everyone. Eventually I left too. Couldn't stay away, though I tried."

That was events from his point of view.

"There's gotta be some reason you're a restless spirit. I'm gonna figure it out. That's a promise, Hanako."

[Smoke Mirrors]

"You don't need to lie," Minato replied to Ran, "I don't think a day went by that I didn't miss everyone. I'm really happy to see you all again."

Now he addressed Hanako.


"I'm sorry, I should have done more to try to keep in contact with everyone. It just... it hurt to be with everyone, knowing that it wasn't everyone, but I should have done more. I'm sorry for not being able to do what you would have done."

[SirAston]

Kogen was quiet. She hadn't seen anyone in the past two years due to moving back to Okinawa. And for a moment, she was kinda aghast. First, the worry that Satoshi was off his rockers. Then the magical thing unfolding before her eyes. But even more so, she was silent and nervous because of the rest of the group. They all seem... changed. Sure, two years passed, people are bound to change, but some seem to have undergone an outright metamorphosis.

Then again, what could she have done? Even if it wasn't her fault, she was no longer there when everyone needed an ear to listen to. She couldn't help but feel responsible for this strange situation.

"... No, Minato. I of all people should apologize for not having been there. I know I had no choice in that matter, but still. Even now, me being here right now is pure coincidence... ..."
"... Hey, Hanako. Hey, Satoshi. Ran. Kaya. Minato. Yayoi. Takeo. Guess we gotta hold a 'welcome back' party for two, eh?"

She suddenly turned towards Takeo.
"Also, did I see that right earlier? When did you start smoking?! Akisamiyoo!"
Kogen often uttered this expression when she was surprised. Or angry. It's not hard to see which emotion was closer at the moment. Her expression suddenly shifted though.
"... I'm sorry. I... should have been a better friend all this time... I have no right to complain."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Yeah... I smoke now. Started nearly two years ago. It isn't the only new habit I have."

He didn't reach for his back pocket, but he was aware of the flask in it.

"Looks like you're the only one of us that's still the same. It must be a hell of a shock, seeing what a shambles the group as a whole is. Though I guess some of us got it together better than others."

[SirAston]

Kogen lightly shook her head.

"... ... I probably seem to have remained the same because I could never move forward."
"And how could I...? I couldn't even attend Hanako's funeral. And I became who I was because of y'all. Even when the messages became more sparse and shallow, I... would have felt guilty if I found new guys to hang out with..."
"Because everyone... and everything important... is here..."