Golden Time:Volume3 Chapter3

Status: Incomplete

17% completed (estimated)

   

Chapter 3

Tada Banri was walking.

Accompanied by Yanagisawa Mitsuo, he was going over a cross-walk.

The traffic light flashing, the two of them messed around like dogs, playfully laughing out "Watch out!" "Run, run!" as they broke into a run. Each of them had plastic supermarket bags in both hands, swinging heavily.

"...Wait..."

As for me,

"...Wait for me, Banri..."

Already, no more words than that came out.

Not having completely finished crossing when the light turned red, I crouched down in the middle of the road. The cars started up, passing through one after another. Without me even raising my head, I was run over and shot through. Nobody even hit the brakes for me.

And then, I couldn't scream. The voice to scream "Please stop!", "Please help me!" wouldn't come out.

Obviously. Because I'm dead.

Banri went walking ahead, not even looking back at me. Though I called "wait", he couldn't hear me. He didn't even notice.

Even though there are things that should be said, this voice reaches nobody and there is not a person in this world that knows that I am here.

No matter how much I cry and scream "I'm here!" nobody notices.

I have never known such loneliness before. I understood it to be a blessing. It was my intention to surrender myself to it entirely. I thought that I would accept this fate calmly, resisting its approach being futile. I was watching over Tada Banri. In my own way I even imagined that even with the passing of decades, until in due time Banri died, I would still be doing this.

But in that moment, when Linda cried, I understood. In Banri's room, Linda laughed, but in her heart she was crying. I didn't understand that because I'm a ghost. I always listen closely to Linda's voice. So I understood.

I had made a promise. If Linda were to cry, I would absolutely come running. So, that time I thought, "I wish I could have been beside her." I abide by my promises, unchangingly. I wanted the power to get close to the crying Linda. To reach out to her, to talk to her. To try and touch with those fingers her shoulders, her back, her hair, over and over again.

And then I finally realized it.

I couldn't touch Linda ever again.

This voice would never reach her again.

There was no point in being a ghost at her side, his very existence unknown from the start, and besides, Linda had given up on me entirely.

Trying another time...

"...Banri... please wait..."

Nobody understands me any more. Why should I go through things like that so calmly? It's not okay. There is no way it would be okay. Since I died, my mind seems to have become strange: crying, shouting, raging. Clinging to Banri, biting him, screaming to you who lives to do something. Do something to this me. And yet, nothing changes. Nobody notices me.

I thought I was afraid of disappearing.

But now, I'm afraid of things never ending.

He wondered if he would be able to take it if things stayed like this forever. If there is no end. If I must continue to exist forever, just myself as I am now, having nothing to do with life and death, forever. If my parents died, and Banri, and Linda and everybody else I ever knew died, and there was no end.

"...Hey you, wait up!"

Wiping the overflowing tears from my cheeks with my hand, I stood up desperately. Chasing after the departed Banri, I cried aloud as I ran unsteadily. I've been trying hard so far. But I don't want to be set aside. I don't want to be left behind by myself in such a place.

As I was running, it dawned on me. Banri was more than a year further along than me in living.

* * *

In front of the apartment entrance there was a tall figure, easily recognized from a distance,

"Sorry, Two Dimensions, were you waiting!?"

When Banri and Mitsuo rushed over, he turned towards them.

"Hmm, you're late! I've been waiting!"

His face suddenly resembled that of a toad, puffed out. He twisted at the waist. However much Two Dimensions was his bosom buddy, when he was disgusting he was disgusting. They automatically exchanged wordless glances, and he tried to pass by as if he were a stranger, but,

"Wasn't this set for 6 o'clock!? It's already been fifteen minutes!"

From that tall figure's shadow suddenly, and in the same tone,

"If you were going to go shopping for us, then you could at least have met up with us at the supermarket!"

A beautiful white face made its appearance.

"...You've got to be kidding. Really, I'm not mad at all. If I can see Tada-kun's face, then 15 minutes or an hour makes no difference. Just being able to meet up with him, I am h-a-p-p-y."

With four steps she closed on Banri, fastening on to his left arm like a baby monkey. That, of course, was Kaga Kouko, who he didn't remember calling. Mumbling "Hmm!?" he looked into her face. Responding with an "Ufu!" Kouko tilted her head, looking back up at his eyes.

Two Dimensions took four pigeon-toed steps and clung to Mitsuo too,

"Being able to meet up with Yana-ssan, I am h-a-p-p-y too."

Refusing him with all he had, "Kii!" he shook himself hysterically to be let go. That "kii", perhaps, was a "kii" of disgust.

Surprise! Kouko's eyes were sparkling, but no, he really was surprised. Banri thought he'd only called Two Dimensions to this "get-together to cheer up Yanagisawa Mitsuo @ my place." He'd even sent a text to Kouko telling her not to worry about it.

"Wh, why? Why is Kaga-san here?"

And yet, hadn't she even come entirely changed? Even her hair style was different from how it was at noon. Over an unusual earth-toned no-sleeve blouse, she wore a large necklace, knee-length pants, and the bangs of her long hair were raised up with a beaded hair-band. Like a bright lemon-yellow plaything, a little bag hung quietly across the middle of her back, and, exposing her beautiful legs yet more, she wore gladiator high heels that could kick them to death, had they been sheep.

"You're happy, aren't you? Won't you say you're happy?"

Dressed in style for drinking at home, Kouko hung her entire weight on Banri's left arm, fawning over him.

"Ah, well, of course..."

"I'm happy, I'm happy! I'm super happy to be able to see Kaga-san!"

"Hmm... hearing that, I'm happy too..."

She rubbed her round forehead ecstatically against Banri's shoulder, like a really adorable animal. She was lovely, but that was that, and this is this. Pulling back a little,

"No, seriously, why'd you come...?"

Asked again by Banri, Kouko replied "Cut it out, what're you saying?" a little miffed. Only her eyebrows tipping up,

"Don't you see? Aren’t I your girlfriend? Can't I come see you if I want to? Isn't it obvious?"

"Right!?" Turning, Kouko looked at Two Dimensions. Two Dimensions shrugged his shoulders a little and laughed. Saying "Hey, it's just common sense," she turned back towards Banri.

"Though I thought even Tada-kun understood it, if he didn't know it, now he does. When I want to see him, I will go see him. Because I'm your girlfriend, it is only natural. Be ready, 365 days, 24 hours a day. OK? OK, right? Understood? You understand, right?"

"Well enough."

She didn't let him say anything more. And she pressed her index finger firmly down on Banri's lips. Doing that, Kouko chuckled, and bringing her face even closer to his,

"Actually, I've been sticking around here since about five o'clock. I was wondering if I ought to go home already. Then Two Dimensions showed up, and when I called out to him he told me about the drinking party. Wasn’t it already decided I would be at such things? I mean, I want to hear why I shouldn't. ...Why didn’t you call me?"

Her face suddenly went serious.

She was cross-examining him, but her finger still sealed his lips. Banri being unable to even try and answer, from his side Mitsuo raised his hand in reply.

"Wasn't it decided!? Because the get-together today was to cheer me up! It's because I wasn't going to get cheered up with you there!"

"I didn't ask your opinion."

Ignoring such comments with a snort, Kouko stared at Banri motionlessly, as if she were making fun of him.

"Hey, Tada-kun. ...No, 'password Tada'. The reply? And who am I?"

"...'Tiffany Kaga'..."

Banri answered.

Incidentally, Two Dimensions' was 'Kilobyte Satou' --- that making the three names of their pact.

With the simple vow "if any of us goes to a drinking party, we would all attend without fail," these three had bound themselves together. If any of them were to break their vow, something important would be lost to them.

"It is, isn't it? So, according to our oath, it is by all means my right to participate in this drinking party... no, it is my duty. Isn't that so? It is, isn't it? And so, the person who shouldn't be here..."

Striking a pose like a model, Kouko, pointing at Mitsuo and lightly sticking out her chin,

"Mitsuo. Rentre chez toi."

She said that with the coldest eyes ever seen before.

*Buchi* A cutting like sound was coming from Yanagisawa's forehead,

".........."

Without saying anything, he started taking out his boots, and tried to hit Kouko. Wait! Wait! Banri hid Kouko behind his back while saying that, Kouko on her side started unstriping her Gladiators and swinged it.

"There's no way that you are going to win over a Red Wing with a Jimmy Choo!"

"You are going to say that to a soul that stepped on shit last week!?"

"There's no shit! I am using Studs here!"

"Idiot Idiot! Excluded woman!"

"Man that steps on shit!"

"Even using a bag that looks like of a kindergarten child! Are you trying to be cute?"

"Haa? What are you saying? This is Celine! Ah, got it, are you so bad from being turned down that you went crazy? Super pitiful Mitsuo."

"Who is the pitiful, you aging face!"

"Free perm! I hope that your hair roots die from this cheap perm lotion!"

"Ass chin!"

"Are you ready to give bye bye to your hair forever?"

In the middle of the street, there's an ugly boots fight between childhood friends, Banri who was trying to approach the two of them, was fearing at the same level the shit on the left and the Studs on the right,

"Hii—! Two Dimensions, please do something! Two Dimensions!"

"Ah, wait. A call."

But Two Dimensions was really an existence from another realm, he was calmly using his iPhone,

"Is this time to be answering a call? Now we have to separate those two!"

"Incoming call... it's from Oka-chan. Do I pick up? Do I have to pick it up?"

After hearing that, the boots fell from Yanagisawa's hands. Kouko also stopped moving, and exchanged glances with Banri.

"....Ah. It was cut."

That moment everyone lost their words, a subtle silence was kept for a few seconds. The one who called just now of all times was Oka Chinami.

The time that Kouko saw Yanagisawa stopping the fight, she started putting her Gladiators back while holding on Banri, Yanagisawa was there with the foolish image of one bare foot.

"Eh? Eh? Eh? What? in other words... Two Dimensions is exchanging calls with Chinami? Eh? What? Why? When...? Wait... Rather... I am not in position to be worrying about those little things... Yeah... Right..."

They were muttering that.

But there was not such a grief. Two Dimensions put his iPhone at the pocket with an anxious look,

"Iiya! It's not like that! There was one time that we met by coincidence, we spent some time together and that time we exchanged numbers. That's all! And this is the first time she is calling me."

Banri glanced. When he says 'met by coincidence', he was talking about the time Banri escaped from Linda.

At a later date, they explained “Suddenly I got a diarrhea”. It sounded pretty much as a lie to us, but both of them didn't carry it for long, so we let it flow on.

"I thought that was really strange", like that Banri was able to understand it once again. But if they were going to explain everything in detail, the conversation would extend for too long.

"...Haha, ha. ...You can laugh."

*pon* Yanagisawa touched Kouko's shoulder. "Don't touch me casually" saying that Kouko shaked.

"You came to see my disgrace didn't you? It's okay. Please, laugh... You can enjoy yourself as much as you want by my clumsiness."

<~~17%Completed~~>

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