Free Web NovelChapter 179: Chapter 178 - Echo of Fate
The day of departure was finally here, but in the most ordinary fashion possible.
Without any extraordinary weather.
Without a foggy evening.
Without a nighttime accident.
Just light falling through the yard of the inn and the silhouette of Mount Fuji under the sky.
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Because today, for the first time in many days...
Everything seemed to be normal again.
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Akari was having an argument with Aoi during breakfast.
Rika was drawing.
Mina was making sure everything was packed.
Yui was helping to clear the table after the dinner.
Minami was drinking tea and trying to understand how six schoolgirls created so much fuss in so little time.
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Normal.
Ordinary.
Comfortably normal.
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But somehow...
He just couldn’t get rid of thoughts about the girl.
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He had tried.
Really.
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The logical explanation was rather obvious.
Concussion.
Fatigue.
The effect of local legends.
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It had been explained by Aoi at least seven times.
Probably more.
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The problem was that every time Kuro managed to persuade himself that it was all just a misunderstanding...
Some memories were returning back.
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The ringing of the bell.
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Her voice.
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Her hand.
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The bruise on his wrist.
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Nothing seemed to be imagined.
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"Kuro."
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He looked up.
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Yui stood right next to him.
Carrying two cups of tea.
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"You have been looking at the mountain for ten minutes."
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"...Have I?"
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"For thirteen."
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It was Aoi who was speaking.
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"Why are you measuring time people spent looking at the mountain?"
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"Because somebody should."
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"Nobody should."
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The argument started immediately.
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Kuro smiled despite himself.
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The group has finally returned to its normal state.
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At least, on the surface.
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However, because he looked at Yui...
He noticed one thing.
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She seemed to be lost in thought.
Distracted.
Just like he was.
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"Something wrong?"
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Yui hesitated a little.
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Then she shook her head.
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"...I don’t think so."
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It wasn’t a denial.
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It was uncertainty.
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She was looking at Mount Fuji.
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"For some reason..."
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"I feel like I am forgetting something."
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Kuro stiffened.
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Yui nervously laughed.
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"Sounds silly, doesn’t it?"
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But he didn’t have time to reply.
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"IT’S THE GHOST."
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Akari rushed to him.
---
Immediately everybody regretted her arrival.
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"The ghost has stolen your memories."
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"Ghosts don’t work that way."
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"A lot of people know that," said Aoi.
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"How do you know?"
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"There is no evidence that ghosts exist."
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"There is no evidence that they don’t."
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"This two statements are not equal."
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Akari completely ignored her.
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"This is an official record of the paranormal activity."
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Rika was writing down her notes.
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"Actually..."
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She looked thoughtful.
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"Mystery manga about people losing their memories could be quite interesting."
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Aoi adjusted her glasses.
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"The more interesting phenomenon is consistency."
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Everybody looked at her.
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She continued.
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"The same kind of feeling is reported by several people."
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Akari pointed with drama.
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"SEE?"
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"This is not evidence of your ghost theory."
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"It works as emotional evidence for me."
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"That is scientifically offensive."
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Even Minami couldn’t help but laugh.
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For a few moments...
Conversation went into a different direction.
Plans of future university.
Future trips.
Survival of Akari till adulthood.
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The usual topics.
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But Kuro didn’t listen.
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Because his thoughts always were returning to the same topic.
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To the mountain.
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To the trail.
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To the bell.
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Finally, everybody returned to their rooms to pack everything.
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But Kuro took a decision.
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Simple one.
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He silently put on his jacket and left.
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Just for a little while.
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Because there was a place where he needed to go.
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Last time.
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Path to the trail became much more ordinary during the daytime.
Less mysterious.
Less scary.
---
Fog disappeared.
Shadows vanished.
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It looked like any other hiking path.
---
Which made everything look even stranger.
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Because he knew what had happened there.
Or at least...
He thought that he did.
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Step by step, Kuro walked along the familiar trail.
Up to the place where the accident occurred.
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And somewhere in the depths...
He wasn’t sure of what he was expecting.
The trail through the mountains was silent.
Not creepy.
Not eerie.
But plain, peaceful, and quiet.
The kind of silence that fit with the usual morning.
The birds chirped among the trees.
Wind blew among the branches.
Light shined through the leaves, illuminating the trail ahead.
---
Kuro walked the trail slowly.
With each step, new memories returned to him.
The fog.
The light.
The fall.
The bell.
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Finally, he arrived.
The rough part of the trail where the accident had occurred.
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During daytime, it looked quite ordinary.
Somewhat risky, perhaps.
But surely not the scene of any supernatural occurrence.
---
Kuro stayed there for a while.
Observing everything.
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Nothing.
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No traces.
No clues.
No anything.
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Just rocks.
Just trees.
Just silence.
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He laughed quietly.
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"Yeah."
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What had he been expecting?
Some sign?
Some signal?
Some clue to prove his imagination was real?
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Mountains gave nothing like that.
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After several minutes, Kuro decided to leave.
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But stopped halfway.
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Something was glimmering on the edge of a rock fissure.
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He squinted.
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"...Huh?"
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Kuro bent down.
And with care reached to that narrow gap.
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His fingers touched metal.
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Cold.
Smooth.
Tiny.
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Slowly, he pulled it out of there.
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For some time...
He just looked at that.
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The bell charm.
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Silver.
A bit scratched.
Connected to a short piece of broken thread.
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The exact same bell charm as the one from that bracelet.
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His heart was suddenly beating faster.
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The charm lay silently in his palm, reflecting sunlight.
Perfectly ordinary.
---
But to Kuro...
It was impossible important.
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There was no name.
No initials.
Nothing else.
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Nothing to give out any clue about its owner.
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Just a small bell.
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Chime.
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The bell rang lightly with the movement in his hand.
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Kuro froze.
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A memory instantly rose from somewhere in his mind.
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Moonlight.
Long hair.
Worried eyes.
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"Thank you."
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For a split second, the memory became unusually clear.
---
Then faded again, like a dream after waking up.
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Kuro closed his hand around the charm.
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"...So you were real."
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Or, at least...
One small part of her was.
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Mountains gave him no more clues.
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Only silence.
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Finally, Kuro went back to the inn.
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And did not tell anyone immediately about the bell charm.
Not because he tried to hide it.
Because he was unsure how to explain.
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Several hours passed before the group finished to load luggage on the bus.
---
The journey was over.
---
Akari stretched and declared.
"I declare this vacation a complete success."
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Aoi objected immediately.
"One of the participants had a concussion."
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"A minor detail."
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"This is literally the most important thing that happened."
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Akari paid no attention to her.
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"We found our destiny."
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"No."
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"We found ghosts."
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"No."
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"We found ghost destiny."
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"Absolutely not."
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Rika was already making notes for the story.
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"The ghost destiny idea has potential."
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"Traitor."
Aoi muttered.
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Beside them, Yui was standing quietly next to the bus window, looking at the mountain.
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That strange feeling was still there.
---
Not strong enough to understand something.
Not clear enough to explain.
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Just...
That sensation that something happened here.
Something important.
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Seeing Kuro approaching her, she glanced at him.
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"Still thinking about it?"
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"...A little."
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Yui nodded.
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"Me too."
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They both knew why.
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But neither had an answer.
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And somehow...
This made the feeling only stronger.
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Several seats away, Aoi looked contemplative.
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"There is one thing I still don’t like."
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Akari immediately turned to her.
"The ghost?"
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"No."
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"The anomaly shared by all of us."
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Everyone looked at her.
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Aoi put on her glasses.
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"All of us have fragmentary memories of one event."
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"Missing data."
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"Missing emotional context."
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She frowned slightly.
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"I don’t like missing variables."
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Akari raised her finger dramatically.
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"That’s because it’s a ghost."
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"It’s not."
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"Ghost."
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"Not ghost."
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Their argument continued until they got into the bus.
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Engine started.
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Luggage secured.
Passengers seated.
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The journey was over.
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As the bus was leaving the inn...
Kuro looked through the window one last time.
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Mount Fuji stood silently under the afternoon sky.
Magnificent.
Impassive.
Ancient.
---
Mountains seemed very far now.
Were already turning into memories.
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But then...
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Chime.
---
That faint ring of a bell reached Kuro’s ear.
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His eyes slightly widened.
---
Kuro looked at the mountains.
---
There was no one.
---
No one in sight.
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No one watching.
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Just the mist that was floating along the mountain slopes.
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That sound did not repeat itself.
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For a long time...
Kuro kept looking at it.
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And finally...
Slowly opened his hand.
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The small silver bell charm was lying in his palm.
Silent.
Warm from his touch.
---
He curled his fingers around it.
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A small smile was appearing on his face.
---
Perhaps he would never find out who she was.
Perhaps he would never find out what really happened that night.
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But somehow...
This did not bother him anymore.
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Because deep inside...
He could not get rid of one thought.
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Maybe we weren’t met by accident...
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The bus was descending the mountains’ roads.
---
Slowly.
Surely.
---
Mount Fuji’s silhouette was vanishing into the distance.
Into the mist.
Into nowhere.
---
Leaving behind only memories.
Questions.
And the faint echo of a bell.
A single form was beneath the trees, as the bus has left the mountain trail behind and cont’d down the highway.
Long hair swayed in the breeze.
Softly jingled a little silver bell bracelet.
She gazed at the highway where the bus has disappeared.
She smiled.
".....Until next time."
