The night goes on, and the group finally decides to cook food and eat. It's a rather odd experience; though Minato and Satoshi took over cooking duties in the end, and some conversation was exchanged, the entire thing felt odd. You hadn't done this for years, not since...
Oh, and of course, Hanako's plate gradually disappearing into thin air. If the text messages hadn't convinced you that Hanako was hovering just out of sight, the fact that she was actively consuming the food should have. As was the fact that she then volunteered to do the dishes, causing the sight of dishes floating in the air being wiped by an invisible figure.
Yet the question hovered at the back of your minds as you were a group once again since that fateful day.
Why was Hanako here again?
The next daySatoshi sighs, staring at the leftovers from last night.
"....Hanako."She fell into view, frowning.
"Yes?"
"You really think....things could go back to how they were? I mean, I'm not sure, but....could they?" "If anyone could pull it off, it's you, Satoshi. But...it's been so long. Two years....."
"Two years and I never stopped thinking about everybody. Trust me, Hanako. When we find out why you're here, we'll all do our best."
"Thanks. I...well, I suppose this would be so much easier if I wasn't....well. Two years too late to worry about that, huh?"Hanako exhales. It was habit, rather than necessity; ghosts didn't need to breathe.
"We should at least figure out if there's a way to get everyone to see me. I don't want to keep tapping away at a phone. And you can't keep me all to yourself, Sato-kun."Satoshi snorted.
"Hey, you're the ghost. Maybe you wanted me all for yourself, and that's why I'm the only one who can see you. Think about that?"
"Being your summer beast isn't my idea of spending my free time. Besides, you'd never listen to me. You'd be too busy doing your...Satoshi thing. Speaking of which....where are you meeting Kou-chan?"
Kousei had asked (and then Satoshi had subsequently communicated to the others) to meet him at old Uncle Honda's eatery at the market. It had been there since they were kids, been there since their parents' childhoods and would probably be there until the end of time.
Old Uncle Honda was one of those people who seemed to never age, who seemed to have appeared, fully formed as a vaguely middle-aged man who was happy to dish out bowls of udon in the middle of the market. It was not the local favorite - that would be Auntie Nana's eatery around the corner - but Satoshi's group used to gather there, and Satoshi and Hanako had a soft spot for his udon.
Nowadays, it was the new terrible trio who hung out there; Natsuo Honma, Kousei Saihara and Yelena Akasaka.
If the rumours were anything to go by, the three of them, roughly the same age and being younger than Satoshi's group, had found each other because they were outsiders. Yelena was half-Russian and clearly a foreigner (and it didn't help that her school nickname was that of a character from an anime she resembled, a character rather appropriate to Satoshi and Hanako's current situation), Natsuo was one of the smartest children in school and preferred the company of books to people, and Kousei had somewhat faded into the fringe since Hanako's death. Still, Satoshi couldn't help but smile as he thought about it. Kousei, at least, landed on his feet after Hanako had left their lives.
So it was there Satoshi and Hanako waited for the others to appear.
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Topic: FEF: Seven Wishes of Hanako Saihara IC Thread: Ch 1: The Speechless Singer (Read 14679 times)