6

Chapter 6

After dinner, they both decided to go back to their rooms to try and relax and take a nap before the following morning arrived, and they were forced to get up early for school the next day.

They were both reluctant to leave each other after the delicious food that they had shared the night before, however, they ultimately decided to let one of them take the bed since they would have to share it anyway, which was fine by the both of them.

Before going back up to his room, the boy gave his friend a light pat on the shoulder, assuring him that he was alright, and thanked him for looking out for him. Then, with that, he turned around and went into his bedroom, shutting the door softly behind him as he did so.

The boy fell backwards against the bed, letting out a large sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. After a few moments passed, he lifted his head up and glanced down at the picture frame that was sitting on the edge of the bedside table. As much as he tried to keep his focus on the picture, he found himself constantly glancing back to where the image was hidden beneath his blankets. With an annoyed groan, he pulled the covers off of himself and sat up to take off his socks, then his shoes, and finally his jacket. After slipping underneath the blanket that he had draped across himself before laying down and staring blankly at the ceiling, he allowed his thoughts to drift off once more…

…and ended up falling asleep quickly despite his best efforts.

When his alarm rang the next morning, he groaned quietly as he reached over to grab it and turn it off. He opened his eyes and stretched tiredly, trying to wake himself up just a little before pulling back the blanket covering himself and slipping out from underneath it. Once he got fully awake, he picked up his phone and checked the time. It appeared that he had overslept and had slept in quite a bit. While he was glad that he was able to sleep in later than usual, he wished that he had done so earlier rather than in such a strange and unfamiliar setting.

For a few minutes, he stayed quiet, not knowing what to do with himself as the memories of the previous day started playing back through his brain. As he remembered what had happened and what had gone down, his eyes shot open in surprise.

Wait…

Wasn't that the name 'Mori'?

And he had recognized it. That voice hadn't changed.

Could it be…? Could the old man have somehow survived after all? Could this be what he had meant when he had talked about the barrier being weakened…? No... that couldn't possibly be true, could it? He was sure he had only dreamed that whole incident. Still, he decided to investigate just in case.

Without a word, he slipped on his shoes and grabbed his jacket before heading downstairs. Just as he passed through the hallways, he saw someone hurrying towards him, calling his name urgently. As he stopped in his tracks, he noticed that the person was a girl. Her long white hair was tied into two pigtails and she wore a bright red sweater and jeans. A small pendant hung from her neck with a black chain. He smiled slightly at seeing her and waved politely.

"Hello there," he greeted pleasantly.

"Oh, hello, there," she replied cheerfully. "You're that kid, aren't you?"

"Yeah, what about it?" he responded. "Do you need something?"

She shook her head.

"No, I just saw your name on the sign and came to check it out, since I heard that new student from town moved here," she answered. "My name is Akane. What's yours?"

"It's Hiroki," he replied.

"…Hiroki," she repeated, giving him a curious glance.

He frowned in confusion.

"Yeah…? Is something wrong?" he asked, raising his eyebrows curiously.