The Forgotten Past

　　Six years ago.

　　Due to work and wanting to escape the pain of divorce, Tsukiko decides to go on a short business trip.

　　But in this case, there was no one in the family who could care for 16-year-old Hina and 9-year-old Rui.

　　Perhaps for fear of getting into trouble, Tsukiko did not send them to her grandmother's house in the countryside, but instead asked a relative in Tokyo to look after them for a month.

　　 Rui didn't mind this. She is only o years old and has a quiet and shy personality. Even though she was full of anxiety and wanted to go with her mother, she could not express her request.

　　On the other hand, Hina, who is already a mature senior in high school, said that she would take good care of herself and her younger sister. While asking her mother to be careful on the road, she also hinted that she would like to eat local food. The chocolate contains grapes and reminds her mother to remember to buy local products.

　　Truly extraordinary.

　　Unlike Hina, after her mother left, Rui secretly cried several times in the toilet.

　　So at that time, Rui felt that she was very different from her older sister.

　　Regardless of her personality, appearance, or interpersonal relationships, the 9-year-old girl cannot be compared with the 16-year-old Hina, apparently it is a matter of course in the eyes of herself and others.

　　After staying at Asada's house, she realized this again.

　　In just a few days, Hina has been able to establish good relationships with local residents, every time she walks in the park, someone always greets her, regardless of her age.

　　She always responded with full energy, feeling like a native of this city, without any strange feeling as a newcomer.

　　On the contrary, even though Rui wanted to make friends, because she spoke too straight and had too cold an expression, none of the kids wanted to hang out with her.

　　Gradually, she saw that her older sister had more friends, but she could only read on the park bench and listen to her laugh.

　　(As expected, I'm not suitable for making friends)

　　Rui started not leaving the house anymore, and went to Uncle Asada's study to borrow books and read all day.

　　No matter whether she could read it or not, she could always forget the depression and depression in reality if she plunged into the world of paper.

　　One day, she happened to meet a boy she had never seen before, walking down from the second floor to use the toilet.

　　 Rui stood in the corridor looking at him in surprise, but the other party acted as if he was the only one in the entire room. He went downstairs while reading, took the book to the toilet, and returned to the room while reading the book.

　　His entire movement was silent, and there was not a single glance in his direction, which made her wonder if she had met a studious ghost who wanted to study even after he died.

　　However, is the Asada family the kind of Onmyoji family written in novels? How could raise such a skinny ghost? It doesn't have any attacking power at first glance...

　　Thinking so, she didn't dare to chase and immediately asked Aunt Asada about the boy ghost.

　　When Aunt Asada heard this, her expression became a little complicated. After she stopped talking, she whispered to her.

　　"Rui-chan, that's not a ghost, that's your cousin..."

　　"The reason why I haven't introduced him to you for a long time is because he once had a serious illness and now he doesn't like meeting other people..."

　　Listening to the other party's explanation, Rui remembered that every time it was time to eat, Aunt Asada would indeed bring another dish to the table, and then put down the empty rice bowl after eating.

　　Although the Tachibana sisters were confused about this, they didn't dare to ask further because this was a family matter. Only now did they know that it was for the "cousin" upstairs.

　　After telling her this, Aunt Asada also asked her, if possible, to try to be friends with him, maybe that would cheer him up and stop being a ghost.

　　Rui said firmly at that time: "Can I not do it? What if I get infected?"

　　Aunt Asada's mouth twitched: "...No, he is in good health, but his insides hurt. It's not contagious."

　　"Does he hurt inside?" Rui who was only 9 years old, seemed to understand. She was a little curious about what disease must be inside to become like a ghost in a horror movie

　　But she didn't go straight to her cousin, but waited for Hina to come back from playing and tell her about him.

　　It wasn't because she was afraid of being infected that she was looking for a scapegoat, but in her mind, the word "making friends" had nothing to do with her, and Aunt Asada had to ask her sister.

　　"By the way, why didn't you tell us about this when we first moved in?"

　　Rui blinked her big, clear eyes and looked at Aunt Asada with pure eyes.

　　She smiled bitterly and answered a little depressed.

　　"If Shinichi knew that I was instigating you to get close to him, he would definitely be even less interested..."

　　It's actually pretty good now... She muttered.

　　It seemed that the couple had been in trouble and discomfort for a long time because of that cousin.

　　When Hina learned of this, she immediately patted her chest and promised that she would get along well with her cousin, then rushed towards the door that seemed to have never been opened.

　　Not long after, she left the room with a sad expression.

　　"It's so dark and sad... He's the type I can't deal with well..."

　　A 16 year old girl was helpless in front of a 10 year old boy, but she was still Hina who was good at making friends?

　　Rui was very surprised, was there anyone in this world who couldn't be friends with her older sister?

　　Looking back at that person's appearance, it was indeed a bit gloomy...

　　However, this also made Rui even more curious.

　　Out of curiosity, despite having no intention of befriending him, she quietly opened the door in the quiet afternoon.

　　The first thing that catches the eye is the curtains that are neatly drawn, and only neon lights illuminate the four corners, as if no one has ever lived in such a neat room.

　　Rui shifted her gaze and saw the skinny boy sitting at the table, lowering his head to read.

　　He has short black hair and looks ordinary, except that he feels very incompatible with the surrounding atmosphere, which is a bit strange.

　　All the volume in the air seemed to be turned down, and he even deliberately kept the sound of turning pages low.

　　Rui for a long time, and then saw a shadow at his feet. After confirming that the other party was truly not a studious ghost, she walked over without flinching.