Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

HIRO

A few minutes down the road, I notice Hikaru acting a bit uneasy. He glances behind us, and when he catches me looking, he quickly turns back, like he’d never done anything of the sort. I glance behind us, but I don’t see anything there.

His ghosts seem to get restless, and suddenly, one slams into me, pushing me into the side of the building. I lose my focus and another crashes into me like I’m not even there, and Yumi looks back, noticing the noise.

“You okay?” she asks.

“Yeah. I tripped. I was gawking and not watching where I was going.”

“Oh yeah, be careful. These sidewalks are narrow here. Don’t need to fall into traffic.”

“Yeah,” I say as I hear a ding of a bike before it flies past us. The ghosts shift and I’m unsure if it was the sudden appearance of the bike or the person on it that startles them, but they grab harder onto Hikaru. So hard that he’s flung forward. I don’t realize what’s happening until he’s thrown down to his knees as they slam down on top of him. I can’t tell whether they want to hurt him or protect him, but it takes me far too long to realize they’re able to touch him… because of me.

“Hey, are you okay?” Maddox asks as he rushes forward.

He’s clearly struggling to rise to his feet, but the ghosts are keeping him down. “Y-Yeah, it’s like… there’s a weight on my back…”

I step back from him, knowing distance will help, but what the fuck am I going to do? Run home?

No, no, I need to make them incorporeal, I need to make them so they can’t touch him. I force myself to focus as hard as I can while Yumi tries to help him to his feet, but Hikaru just can’t get his feet under himself. The ghosts are inconsolable as they hang on to him in what looks like desperation. I push myself forward, shoving through them as I reach out, prepared to peel them off if I have to. “Let him go,” I demand.

The ghosts pull back. I don’t know if it’s my words or something else, but they draw back, yet they don’t disperse. And still… they say nothing. They’re just silent, watching… waiting. Many try to grab him again, but they can’t latch on to him like they had moments prior.

“What was that?” Yumi asks me as Hikaru manages to stand.

“Careful standing… are you dizzy?” I ask, playing it off like I also have no idea what happened as I look him over for bruising or scratches. He has some on the back of his neck that he rubs at, but overall, he seems okay. More confused than anything.

Hikaru shakes his head. “No… not dizzy.”

“Are you okay?” Maddox asks.

“Yeah, that was so strange. It was like… someone shoved me and was holding me down… but no one was there.”

“Let’s go inside and get something to drink. Maybe you’re lightheaded from the heat,” Yumi says. “Or should you go to a doctor?”

“No! I’m fine,” he assures her. “It was just… the heat, like you said.”

She seems uncertain, and I feel even more uncertain. I don’t want the ghosts to hurt him, but should I just leave him? Shouldn’t I figure out what’s going on? What if they want to hurt him because he’s a bad person? Would they hurt him if he wasn’t? But he doesn’t seem to be one…

Yumi hesitantly walks a bit, and when Hikaru proves that he’s honestly quite fine, she relaxes a little. “In here,” she says as she nods at the restaurant. Maddox holds the door open for her as she heads inside and Hikaru follows.

I’m feeling frustrated again as my head starts to pound from forcing the ghosts back and keeping them incorporeal. I just wanted to enjoy my vacation and yet… this is what I get stuck with? So many ghosts that I can’t even see Yumi or Hikaru who are only across the table from me?

“Honey, it’s okay,” Natalie says as she squeezes me. “Just try to relax and enjoy your day.”

I nod and Maddox reaches under the table and squeezes my leg. “You okay?” he asks quietly.

“Yeah.” I’m not sure whether I am or not, but I have little choice in the matter.

“Getting some food in us will definitely help,” Yumi says from somewhere beyond the ghosts. “This is really good. I recommend it.”

“What is it?” I ask, unable to see it.

“Okonomiyaki. It’s like a…” I can see a glimpse of her as she glances over at Hikaru for his help.

“Maybe pancake? But different. With vegetables, and your choice of meat,” Hikaru says.

“Sounds good to me,” Maddox agrees. “Hiro, it can come with shrimp.”

“Ooh, I do love shrimp,” I say as I try my best to relax. I’m just getting flustered because I want this to be a vacation, but clearly that’s not how these things work. So I just… need to embrace it and move on. It was the same when I was a child until I learned that it was just a part of life.

So I need to remember that and keep trudging forward.

Yumi orders for us in Japanese and then Hikaru gets a phone call.

“I apologize, but I need to take this.”

“No reason to apologize,” I assure him, honestly thrilled his gang of ghosts will be gone for a moment. He heads outside, allowing me to finally see Yumi.

“Are you two having fun?” she eagerly asks.

“It’s… beyond words how amazing it is,” I say. “It’s silly but I got to thinking what it’d be like to visit it with my mother.”

“I’m sorry. That must be really hard.”

“Yeah… but I want to bring Patricia here sometime. She’d love it. That would be really neat. And Nicolás would love it too.”

“I bet they would come,” Maddox says.

“She sounds very nice,” Yumi tells me.

“She is.”

Yumi fiddles with her glass for a moment. “Excuse me for asking… and I know I shouldn’t… but are you upset… with my mom and our grandma?”

I’m a little surprised by the question, but I have to assume it’s something we’ve all been thinking about. “When I was a kid, I was,” I admit. “But not anymore. I know… I know things don’t always work out that way. Grandma was dealing with the passing of her husband and her own medical issues. I’m aware that neither of them was able to take me, and that’s fine.”

“I was upset when I found out. I mean, I was little at the time your mom passed, so I didn’t know what was happening… but I think a sense of guilt kept either of them from ever talking to me about it in my teens. I literally had to stumble upon you myself. Did they write you and stuff?”

“They did. They’d send letters during events that were important in my life. I often didn’t reply, though. I was a bit… angsty, I guess. Then we kind of just… drifted apart. But they tried to keep in contact. I tried less. So it’s not all on them.”

“Yeah… but I don’t blame you. I’m afraid I’d feel the same way and maybe not be as open as you are. Sorry for asking. I’m sure you didn’t want to talk about that. Let’s talk about something else.”

“How long have you and Hikaru been dating?”

“Nearly a year now. I’d sworn off dating for a while after getting in a bad spot with a friend and it was like… he swooped in at just the right time.”

“Sounds like it,” I say.

“I hope he’s not sick and lying about it.”

“I wonder if it was that bike that went by. Maybe they hit him?” I suggest before she gets too suspicious about what might have happened.

“Oh maybe. I didn’t think they were that close, but they could have had something sticking out the side.”

“He’s in college?” Maddox asks.

“Yes, this is the last year for him.”

“Does he live on campus?”

“No, with his family.”

“What’s he going to school for?” Maddox asks, and I realize he’s on a mission to find something out about this guy that will either mark him as a murderer or tell us why the ghosts want him.

“Business. Top of his class too. He’s very smart.”

“That’s amazing,” I say.

“Is he in any sports?” Maddox questions.

“No sports.”

I’m waiting for a “Has he murdered anyone lately?” but before Maddox can dive any deeper, Hikaru returns.

“We were just talking about you,” Yumi says. “I was telling them how you’re the top of your class.”

He laughs. “Yeah, I fell behind a little.”

“To second.”

“Maybe,” he says with a soft smile.

“I don’t know who he was talking to, but he sure didn’t seem to be enjoying himself,” Reggie says. “Like imagine talking on the phone while you waxed your balls. That is how much fun he was having.”

“Ooh yeah. I bet that would hurt. I waxed my hoo-ha once and boy oh boy, I told my boyfriend he was not worth that,” Natalie announces.

Keaton just stares off into space.

“I’d wax anything for you, Keaton,” Reggie assures him.

“Why’d that sound like a threat?” Keaton asks.

“Because I get feisty whenever I look at your handsome face. Rawr.”

Keaton’s eyes narrow, but thankfully, our food comes before I’m subjected to any more of that tragedy.

Yumi was right in that she was prepared to make us walk . I feel like we walked around half the city before she finally let us head back, and I think it was only because Hikaru had an evening class to get to. I sent Keaton off to trail him, leaving Reggie and Natalie with me.

Maddox is lounging on the futon taking a break when I see that I’m getting a video call from Patricia. I accept and smile when I see her face.

“How are things going?” she asks.

“Really good. It’s so pretty here. I want to bring you here sometime so you can see everything.”

“Really?” she asks.

“You’d super love it. Isn’t it ridiculously early?” I ask.

“Sure is, but I have a conference this morning and about an hour drive, so I thought I’d call you now since it’ll get busy later.”

Since the door to the bedroom is open, Yumi stops just outside it. “Dinner is ready. Oh! Sorry, I didn’t realize you were on a call.”

“It’s okay,” I say as I tip the camera toward her so she can see the screen. “This is Patricia. Patricia, this is Yumi.”

“Hi, Yumi. It’s wonderful to get to meet you,” Patricia tells her.

“You’ll get to meet me even better once I talk my mom into letting me visit Hiro and Maddox,” she says with a grin.

“We’d love that,” Patricia responds.

“My mom and Grandma would love to say hi as well,” Yumi says as she waves me in their direction.

I’m not quite sure if they would or not, but I feel obligated to follow her down the stairs.

Yumi says something to them in Japanese before they come over and smile at the phone.

“I’m Rina, and this is my mother and Hiro’s grandmother Fumiko. It is wonderful to meet you,” my aunt says.

“I’m Patricia, and same here. I hope he’s not causing any trouble for you.” The only trouble I seem to be causing is how much food Rina keeps making.

“None at all! Thank you for taking him into your family. You did a very good job raising him to be a wonderful person,” Rina says.

Patricia looks surprised. “Oh… that’s all Hiro. He’s always been a super good kid.”

Rina smiles. “I’m very glad he ended up with you. Hiro speaks very fondly of you.”

“I would do it again and again in a heartbeat,” Patricia says as I notice the male ghost who’d haunted me last night scrutinizing the screen. He eyes it and then huffs and wanders off, like he’s not thrilled by it either.

“I would love to chat more, but I need to leave for this conference. Maybe we could talk again?” Patricia asks.

“Yes, please,” Rina says.

Once I hang up, she smiles at me. “She seems very nice.”

“She is! I would love for you all to meet in person someday.”

“She’s welcome here anytime,” Rina assures me. “Let’s eat. Did you guys have fun?” she asks as she sets dish upon dish out for us.

“We did, it was gorgeous. So many neat things to see. Yumi was an amazing tour guide,” I say.

“Thank you, thank you. I actually did tour guiding for a bit as a job since they said my English was very good!”

My phone beeps and I look down at a text from Patricia.

Patricia: I’m trying not to cry. And I was over here being all jealous and shit and they’re so nice. I’m a monster, Hiro. A MONSTER.

Me: I’m positive you’re not a monster. You raised a shed-burning monster, but at least I ended up perfect.

Patricia: Maybe you were the monster all along?

Me: No! I’m the perfect child!

Patricia: Did you already forget my talk about how creepy you were?

I’m trying not to laugh as I tuck my phone away to eat.

And that’s the moment Keaton comes rushing into the room. “Hiro, someone is trying to kill Hikaru.”

“What?” I ask as I jump up, startled. “Where is he?”

“What’s wrong?” Maddox asks.

“Hikaru,” I say.

“What do you mean, ‘Hikaru’?” Yumi asks.

Keaton grabs me. “I can take you there. I just… I don’t know the area, but you need to call the police.”

“Yumi, I need you to call the police. Do you know where Hikaru would be at this time? Fuck,” I say as I dash toward the door and Maddox runs after me.

“Hiro, what’s happening?” he asks.

“Someone’s trying to kill him,” I say as I cram my feet into shoes and shove through the door.