My body felt heavy, and the arms of Koko, tightly wrapping around my waist, made it very hard to breathe, but more than that, I was worried about my face.
It felt like I had some burns on my face.
I think that human bodies start to burn when the temperature rises just a few degrees above normal body temperature, so maybe that’s what’s happening? With so much blood rushing to my face, the temperature there might have risen too high, causing a burn on my skin…
Now that I think about it, it wasn’t just my face. My whole body was burning up. Thinking that this flush was purely from embarrassment only emphasized how embarrassing my situation was.
I wish Koko would just squeeze me tighter until I faint. At least I would wake up in a much better situation than having tried to run away in my hospital gown.
“Kotone!”
As I lay on the asphalt, trying my best not to roll over, Koko wouldn’t just leave me alone.
My body spun to the side.
The other kids who had squished me were now a distance away, and only Koko, Yuka, and Kagami were sitting near me.
It was the same whether they were sitting or standing; they were all looking down at me.
“……”
That gaze was intense.
Fortunately, there were no expressions of contempt or anger.
Most of them looked shocked or amused. Everyone had a face that was half-laughing, half-crying.
…Uh, wait a minute. I just realized there are some people here who don’t know my real situation.
“Kotone!”
But before I could continue that thought, Koko’s face suddenly filled my view.
Even though Koko was incredibly cute, honestly, this was a bit scary.
She was smiling brightly, though.
It seemed Koko was certain that I was back. Even if I was the remaining remnant of Nirlas, that wouldn’t be strange.
But that thought changed as I felt my heart racing.
This body was still somewhat connected to Koko. The last body I stabbed through was Nirlas’s. So, it would be natural to assume the remaining part was the body used to revive me.
Thump-thump, through the beating of my heart, I felt Koko’s joy right away.
As I slowly lifted my body, Koko stepped back a little.
Now sitting on the ground, I found myself facing Koko.
Her two eyes were red.
Just moments ago, they had been teary. The area around her eyes was puffy, and the rest of her face was pale. Was she perhaps not eating properly again?
I was a bit worried about Koko when my vision went dark again. Koko’s hair covered my face.
My body was tightly wrapped. Koko was hugging me.
Maybe because the weather was cold, I could feel Koko’s high body temperature.
“……”
And that sensation made me realize that I had returned.
I slowly moved my arms and hugged Koko back.
It was a body that looked exactly like mine. The body I had thought I would never see again was slightly trembling.
Koko was burying her face in my shoulder and crying.
Was it because my body accepted Koko’s feelings, or was it just that I was happy?
Either way, I felt the urge to cry as well.
I knew I had caused a lot of pain to everyone here. Considering my actions just a moment ago, the people in Seoul might not even think I was myself.
But suddenly feeling relieved, I just cried out loud without holding back.
A different hand was placed on Koko and me. Was it Yuka? Or maybe Kagami who had been right next to me? It didn’t really matter.
I simply enjoyed the sensation of being tightly embraced, as if welcoming me back.
Ah, I see.
I was scared too.
When I met Kuro, I acted as if I had accepted everything calmly, but I truly wanted to live.
Even though I acted like I had let go of everything in my previous life, I still wanted to live.
There were many things I wanted to do while alive.
The conversations I had at the end, and the ones I couldn’t have.
Everything.
I sobbed like a child in their arms for a long time.
*
Tears rolling down and blowing my nose a few times.
I’m not sure who said, “Let’s eat,” but we found ourselves in a nearby restaurant.
Since it was late at night, the venue naturally ended up being a family restaurant.
Even though I was still in a state of shock from crying so much, I thought, “This combination seems strange.”
I still hadn’t changed out of my hospital gown. It was because Koko, who had been holding me, wouldn’t let go.
The already white hospital gown was getting dirty after rolling on the floor a few times.
As soon as we entered to eat, the eyes of the few people in the restaurant immediately focused on us.
And because of that, I regained my sanity.
The person in front was a girl in a dirty hospital gown. Had she just woken up from the dead? Her face was pale.
Next to her was another girl who looked exactly the same in black clothes, seemingly a mourner.
On either side of them were also adults and a same-age girl who looked like they were the girls from earlier. Also in black clothes, with her hair tied neatly back. Her eyes were a little red, almost as if she had been crying just moments ago.
That wasn’t all. There were countless people behind them.
Everyone in mourning attire.
And in between was Suzuki, the homeroom teacher, who still didn’t seem to grasp the situation!
“Uh, um, Kagami.”
Having figured out the situation, I quickly looked up at Kagami and called her name.
Kagami looked down at me.
Her face was smiling.
She was smiling, but there was an overwhelmingly angry atmosphere.
I swallowed nervously and opened my mouth.
“Um… why don’t we go back there…?”
I had no idea where “there” was. The place where the funeral was held was somewhere I had never seen before. I couldn’t remember it well. I hadn’t really paid attention to my surroundings while running away in a panic, but I was sure this restaurant was somewhere I had never seen.
Kagami said nothing as she looked at me.
She simply smiled—
Smirk—
And smiled at me.
I trembled.
I turned to the side.
“There probably wasn’t anything to eat there.”
Was that so?
If it was a Korean funeral, at least there would have been some spicy beef soup. Well, of course, it’s not that there was no food at a Japanese funeral, but maybe it was because of the situation that I wasn’t aware.
Besides, it was a little strange to think of eating spicy beef soup at my own funeral.
…
The stiff expression on Yuka’s face was as scary as Kagami’s smiling face, and I couldn’t argue that point.
“…I’m hungry.”
And decisively, Koko, who was still clinging to me, said that, leaving me speechless.
To put it frankly, I was hungry too.
As I regained my senses, my stomach started making grumble sounds. Whether that was influenced by Koko or because I hadn’t eaten anything for days, I wasn’t quite sure.
In the end, we sat down at a corner of the family restaurant.
There were several types of seating.
A four-person table faced each other like you might see in an American drama.
And then there was a long table for eight, which seemed designed for a large family gathering.
Without hesitation, I moved towards the four-person table, but someone grabbed the collar of my hospital gown.
I couldn’t really move without Koko letting go anyway.
Yuka, who grabbed me, dragged me over and sat me at the eight-person table.
Koko sat to my left, and Kagami sat to my right.
Yuka was at the table across from me. And next to her was Yuuki.
Seating after that filled up with Shii, Fukuda, and Mako in succession, quickly filling the table.
Even Kaoru pulled over a chair from the next table, taking up one spot, and perhaps inspired by her, Izumi did the same.
I was completely surrounded in an instant.
…I wonder if the food is going into my mouth or my nose?
Moreover, this— which had turned into a ten-person table— had people bustling around it.
It looked like a funeral was taking place in a family restaurant.
My funeral.
What should I do about this? Seriously.
I looked down at the table, sweating cold.
*
In the confusion where I couldn’t even remember what I ordered, a hamburger steak appeared in front of me.
Various other types of food appeared in front of the other kids as well.
The meal began in a very heavy atmosphere.
With the mood so somber, it truly felt like a funeral, and I felt the urge to say something—
—but what should I say?
It would be better to be on the street. Back then, there was at least a slightly warm atmosphere, but now it felt like a post-mortem inquiry.
Moreover, among my friends were kids related to the ‘extraordinary’ and kids who were not.
I glanced over at Mako.
She was mechanically moving her hands, eating french fries. Her glasses were slightly askew, indicating that both Mako and Fukuda next to her seemed to be struggling to regain their senses.
Everyone was eating, so I slowly raised my hand to grab the knife and fork.
Then I looked around.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on me.
Is this some kind of verification process?
Because zombies don’t eat, you should try eating too, something like that?
Slowly moving my hand, I cut the hamburger steak. It sliced through easily. Putting it in my mouth along with the fried egg on top, I was hit with a rich meaty flavor.
It was perfectly cooked, and even though it was made from ground meat, it had a good texture when chewed.
Delicious.
It was tasty, but it wasn’t a scenario where I could casually say how good it was.
To my right, Kagami was still smiling.
To my left… Koko was eating the same food as me, but each time she took a bite, she looked up at me, so when I turned my head, our eyes would meet.
Yuka was still staring at me with a blank expression.
The others were no different. Whether they were sneaking glances or staring openly, they were all watching me.
“…Um.”
This was incredibly burdensome.
But, the one who needed to speak in this situation was me. After all, I was the one who had created this situation.
What should I say?
“Surprise!”? If I said that, the kids who had just become friends would be incredibly disappointed. Of course, that wasn’t the truth either. I didn’t want to lie even in this situation.
But not knowing how far or how to speak, what I ended up saying was ultimately quite pitiful.
I carefully set down the knife and fork.
There was still food remaining on my plate. There wasn’t much of it, and I wanted to dive in and finish it right away, but I held back and thought of the ‘first thing I should say’ that had finally come to my mind.
“…I’m sorry.”
Yeah, that was the first thing I needed to say.
Everyone here was someone I had worried about in some way. So it was only fair to start with an apology.
Some knew I wasn’t an ordinary human, and some knew that I didn’t fall into the realm of ordinary humans, but everyone must have thought I had died.
When I think about it, there’s a bit of unfairness to it— but well, that’s fine. It’s not the fault of these people. It was that cat up high who always looked at me with a playful smile.
I lowered my head.
“I’m really sorry for worrying you.”
And I glanced around a bit.
I don’t know if it was my imagination or what, but as soon as I said this, the atmosphere around us seemed to clearly ease.
That doesn’t mean that any specific conversation continued, though.
But it was certainly better than just hearing clinks of chopsticks in silence.
“…Certainly.”
Kagami, either letting her guard down or lightening the mood a little, slowly opened her mouth.
“It’s not uncommon for someone who was thought to be dead to come back to life.”
The eyes of the kids sitting around the table shifted to Kagami.
I released a small sigh.
“There are various reasons. Someone could have just had a brief heart attack and recovered, or they could have stopped breathing, but their brain wasn’t dead yet.”
Kagami said this with a smile on her face.
“So I think your judgment this time was correct. If you had made a mistake, you might have ended up in a coffin, being cremated.”
“……”
Uh, does it not seem like you’ve let your guard down?
Her voice sounded more like someone angry.
“I think I’ve heard something like that too.”
Yuka chimed in with Kagami’s words.
“I’ve heard that sometimes, people are mispronounced dead and come back to life. Somewhere in the West, they would bury someone, and later when they dug them back up, there would be scratch marks inside the coffin.”
“……”
Ugh….
Maybe it’s a relief?
You hugged me just a moment ago, so I should take that as relief, right?
Yuka glanced at me.
Then, seeing my pale face, she stuck out her tongue slightly.
I felt a bit safer.
“Is that… is that so?”
Mako asked blankly. Fukuda next to her tilted her head.
Yuuki was sitting there with an extremely ambiguous expression, looking at Kagami.
“I think I’ve heard something like that too.”
Kaoru said.
“Um… maybe I read a similar story in a magazine?”
I thought maybe that was indeed true. It sounded like a little bizarre story, but it wouldn’t be surprising.
I also… well, I think I’ve heard about such stories too.
“I’ve read about that in a book. That’s right.”
“Y-yeah! I’m sure that’s it! I’m so glad, senpai!”
Izumi chimed in a little late, and Shii nodded eagerly.
I couldn’t say anything to those kids.
They were desperately making excuses for me, so I shouldn’t interfere.
If I said something inappropriate, it would lead to a situation even worse than moments ago.
“Ugh?”
Koko, next to me, tilted her head and made that sound, making my heart sink, but luckily she didn’t say anything until we finished eating.
*
“So then…”
Before parting, Suzuki-sensei opened her mouth, looking at me and me with an immensely ambiguous expression.
“…You’re planning to return to school, right?”
I suppose she wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to ask such a question.
Well, I was still in a hospital gown, after all.
After all, there probably weren’t many people who know what to say to someone who just died and came back to life.
“…Yes, as soon as possible.”
I was really worried about what would happen when I went back to school.
But that didn’t mean I was planning to drop out.
“Okay, understood.”
Suzuki-sensei looked at me for a moment and said,
“Let’s talk in detail later. Okay?”
That was certainly a grateful comment. I needed to come up with a story that other people would believe.
I needed to align my words too. If I gave different answers to each person asking, it would seem suspicious.
Just coming back to life was already bizarre enough.
“You must take her to the hospital.”
Suzuki-sensei, who was about to leave, immediately said this to Kagami.
Her expression and voice were exceedingly serious.
Earlier, I had been so dazed that I was about to call an ambulance, but the adults around us stopped me. Yamashita and Miura were at least people who understood the situation. In the end, I didn’t have to be taken to the hospital in a rush.
“Yes, I will do that.”
Kagami said with a smile on her face, her hands resting on my shoulders. It was unexpectedly unsettling thinking that someone was standing behind me. Especially since Kagami had been giving off a strange vibe for a while now.
Suzuki-sensei, looking at Kagami, narrowed her eyes slightly.
Do you think this whole incident was some sort of abuse?
With her hand holding her phone trembling as if she might report it to the police at any moment, Suzuki-sensei looked at me one more time and took a deep breath.
Considering my situation, she probably wouldn’t make the call.
Looking between me and Kagami, Suzuki-sensei asked,
“Can I contact you?”
If I don’t receive a call, it would mean she thinks something is wrong.
I nodded.
“Don’t worry.”
Hearing my words, Suzuki-sensei gave a faint smile.
It was a somewhat weak smile. She seemed quite tired.
“I’ll reach out.”
Having said that, Suzuki-sensei turned to leave.
And then—
Before I could think of anything, my vision was covered by hair.
It was Mako.
There was a bit of déjà vu.
However, it felt a bit different from when Koko lunged at me.
It was a hug that seemed tentative compared to Koko’s, who had embraced me with all her strength.
“……”
Mako didn’t say anything too significant.
“I’m glad… really.”
That was all she said.
And hearing that voice, my heart felt a little more at ease.
She must have gone through a lot of emotional turmoil.
Kagami, whose hands had been resting on my shoulders, pulled back a bit, as if observing the atmosphere.
Mako stepped back.
Tears were overflowing from her eyes again.
“I don’t know what happened, but I’m really glad.”
“…Yeah, I think so too.”
Really, it’s a relief.
That I was able to return.
I’m grateful.
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