Takezawa’s Ghost - Episode 1

“We will inform our customers.”

It is common knowledge among working adults that announcements on the train that begin with this introductory phrase and continue with more information are sure to be irritating.

“A passenger was involved in a collision with this train earlier, so service will be suspended. For this reason…”

I don’t need to ask any more than that.

I launched the music app and stuffed my wired earphones into my ears.

The already bad air inside the car becomes even worse.

Hearing other passengers sigh and click their tongues can make you feel upset, even though you know it’s not happening to you.

So at the very least, I’ll listen to my favorite music to distract myself.

I have work tomorrow too.

I want to avoid stress as much as possible.

Not only is it blocking my hearing, but my vision is also obstructed, so I close my eyes. “…”

However, I can’t calm down because I feel annoying stares.

I would be happy if they looked at me like, “That guy is cool!”, but this look is laced with ill will.

I can’t block out this sensation even if I cover my ears and eyes.

I wish I had been less sensitive, but there’s no point in wishing for something that doesn’t exist.

So I have no choice but to open my eyes.

To see what kind of face this creepy stare is making.

He’s probably just an old man glaring pointlessly at those around him because things aren’t going well at work.

However, contrary to expectations, his opponent was young.

And overwhelmingly so.

She was a girl wearing a school uniform, a symbol of youth.

If he were on the train at this time, he must be a high school student. No, I’ve heard that even junior high school students are late these days because of cram schools and such.

Anyway, the female student was glaring at me.

His gaze was sharp, as if he were looking at the enemy of his parents.

What the hell? What did I do?

I know it’s best not to get involved with these crazy people, but I was also annoyed that the train had stopped.

So I glared back.

The other person doesn’t seem to be intimidated by this and just stares at me.

When that happened, I felt like I would lose if I looked away. It may sound childish of me, but I kept glaring at him, determined not to lose this fight.

In the end, the staring contest continued until an hour after the train started moving again.

Once I started running, I felt like I had reached a milestone, and I unconsciously lowered my eyes.

Damn, I let my guard down.

I hastily turned my gaze back, but the female student was gone.”…”

The train was crowded, and there was no place to hide.

In that case, we should assume that he had gone outside, but he was certainly there until the door closed.

Maybe too much work has finally made him go mad?

Shinji Takezawa.

30 years old. Single. Low wages.

I work in a factory that smells of iron.

The work isn’t fun, but it’s not difficult either.

His already small salary is eaten up by rent for his small apartment and the cost of books, his hobby.

Although I have no education, reading is my hobby, and I end up with mountains of books that don’t fit on the shelves and are piled up on the floor.

I don’t have the space to buy a new bookshelf.

However, on stressful days, I have a bad habit of buying a bunch of books at the bookstore.

I spend more than 10,000 yen at one time.

The lineup has no consistency and includes a wide variety of books, from entertainment novels and pure literature to non-fiction, photo books, and even picture books.

Someone important apparently said, “You can tell a lot about a person by looking at their bookshelf,” but I wonder how that would be perceived by me.

He is an avid reader who tries his hand at anything.

To put it in a positive way, he has a thirst for knowledge. To put it in a negative way, he is an unprincipled idiot.

I hope it’s the former, but honestly, I’m an idiot, so it’s probably the latter.

My highest level of education is junior high school.

I ended up dropping out of high school.

At the time, I was desperate to escape, but now I regret it too late.

I wonder if I had just continued to endure and gone to high school and graduated, my life would have been a little better than it is now.
“…Hah.”

I can’t help but laugh at how selfish this thought is.

There’s no point in talking about what if.

You just have to somehow win the game of life with the cards you have.

This is a game whose conditions for clearing it are unclear.

Thinking about such things, I lay down on the sofa.

“tired……”

After a day of work, I was involved in a fatal accident on my way home. I think it’s okay to complain about something like that.

I don’t want to hear anyone’s voice anymore.

That humble wish of mine didn’t come true.

The TV turned on by itself.

This also came at a time when news of a horrific accident resulting in death was being reported.

Why?

I closed my eyes and was lost in thought.

I haven’t even touched the remote.

“…I guess this is just part of my life.”

It’s a small TV that I bought cheaply. That may be the case.

The gloomy news continues, and I get fed up, so I turn off the TV.

I yawned lightly and closed my eyes again.

The TV was on again, and I was forced to listen to the same old news.

Second time.

This cannot be explained away as a malfunction.

If so, was it done by a third party?

Thinking about this, I remember a female student glaring at me on the train.

If she were the woman who gave off that ominous aura, she would probably harass someone like this.

I know it’s unrealistic.

But, being an idiot, I occasionally find myself immersed in a world of delusion.

Snap.

As if to confirm this possibility, the lights then go out. “…”

Now I can’t help but think that it was that woman’s doing.

I’m tired, and you’re doing such a boring thing.

I gradually became angry.

Before I knew it, I was screaming.

“What’s going on all this time?! It’s disgusting! If you have something to say, just say it directly!”

“Hi.”

yeah?

Did you hear what sounded like a girl scream just now?

“…sniff. Ugh.”

More crying?

Judging from the voice, it seems like he’s right in front of me.

Look closely.

To see otherworldly beings that may be hiding.

…there was.

A female student with long black hair, which is rare these days.

Her bangs are long, and her face is hard to see, so I can’t tell if she’s cute or not.

The uniform is faded enough that it looks like it’s been there for years.

My skin and nails are in tatters.

A girl who reeked of such an incident appeared before me.

A ghost.

A textbook ghost that looks like it came straight out of a Japanese horror movie.

A terrifying being that is said to have the ability to curse and kill humans.

That ghost was crying because of someone like me blackmailing him.

Even though it was a ghost, I still didn’t feel good about making the girl cry.

“…Uh, uh.”

If he was going to cry, it would be better if he cried louder, as it would make him feel better, but he was suppressing his voice.

“Uh… I’m sorry for saying it was disgusting.”

I ended up apologizing even though I was the victim.

“……!!!”

The ghost panics and distances itself from me.

Then, using a pen and the back of a flyer, I began writing.

After waiting for 30 seconds, a flyer was placed on my lap.

“Well, it’s pretty clear.”

If you answer honestly, the ghost will look down.

I can’t see his expression, but does he seem embarrassed?

On another flyer, he wrote some more text.

While I wait, I look again at the words “Can you see it?”

…Even though he’s a ghost, his handwriting is better than mine.

As I felt a slight sense of defeat, the second letter was placed on my lap again.

Takezawa's Ghost - Episode 1

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