Shinigami Eyes
Cheree & Adam Smith
Copyright © 2014 Dark Cherry Press
Cover by: Silvia Paoletta of Dark World Books
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval without permission in writing from the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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http://www.chereesmith.com
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[email protected] To Franny and Silvia, whose encouraging words force me to continue when I’m down - Cheree
For all those who seek to expand their horizons. Ganbare! - Adam
Table of Contents
Copyright Information
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Japanese Glossary
Acknowledgements
About The Authors
Other Books By Cheree Smith
Chapter 1
It’s not like I killed him, so why are they treating me like this? Shipping me off to another country like I’m some frigging convict. No one even asked me if I wanted to move to Japan. At least they’re sending me to Tokyo and not some backwoods village devoid of civilisation.
My cousin, Haruka—a girl I haven’t seen in over ten years—glides down the aisle ahead of me with her dark blue sailor suit school uniform gently swaying like she’s preparing for a fashion show. Meanwhile, I’m trudging after her, lugging my oversized suitcase and bashing into every chair and outstretched elbow I come across.
I hear the soft patter of excited feet bouncing along behind me and feel a shudder run up my spine. I choose to focus on making it to the other end of this carriage without losing a limb, opting to ignore the small Japanese girl nipping at my heels. Just going to act like she doesn’t exist—which I’ve been told countless times she doesn’t.
“Can you believe we’re finally here?” The small voice behind me gasps. Misa. For the past decade this bubbling six-year-old has been following me everywhere. No matter what I do, she refuses to go away. “I’ve always wanted to come back to Tokyo. We’re going to have so much fun!”
Haruka stops at our seats and lets me slide in first, giving me the window seat. Sitting down there’s just enough space to awkwardly cram my bag between me and the seat in front. Leaning back on the black and grey chequered headrest, I push my earphones into my ears and crank up the music until it blocks out all unwanted noise—namely the excited babbling of the tiny girl behind me. It’s going to be a long trip, I might as well just sit back and take in the scenery.
The train jerks into motion and the world outside changes from the gloomy underground train station to a small town with lots of buildings. Nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary. There are only modern buildings here and if it weren’t for the Japanese symbols decorating some of them, I could imagine I’m back home in Australia.
After a few stops, the buildings fade into countryside and all I see are trees and fields flashing by. Leaning back in my chair, I close my eyes and try my hardest to ignore the energetic girl behind me swinging her legs—kicking my chair—like she’s practicing her swim kicks while forgetting she’s not in water.
Slowly, I feel the drifty haze of sleep sliding over me. A cool breeze blows through the carriage and in the dark recesses of memory I hear Misa’s voice echo around my mind.
‘Stay away from her.’
The small girl stands at the top of the stairs, dark hair standing on end as if a thunderstorm were erupting inside her. Her eyes flashing rippling shades of vermillion as she peers down at the broken mess crumpled at the bottom of the stairs. The voice booming from her tiny frame bristles with rage towards the unmoving boy. ‘I won’t let you touch her.’
My seat jerks and I jolt upright, snapping me out of the dream.
“Rin… Rin.” Misa continues slamming her foot into my chair as she tries to get my attention. “Can you believe we’re actually here?”
Fumbling for my fallen earphones, I shove them back in my ears and turn up the volume until the only thing I hear is peppy J-Pop blaring in my ears. I’m only able to pick out about half of what they’re singing at the best of times, but right now that’s better than nothing. Mum made sure my conversation skills were up to par, speaking to me primarily in Japanese since birth, but these singers could put the chipmunks to shame with the speed they’re running their words together. I’m pretty sure this cheesy girl group song is about loving a boy. That, or fighting a bear.
Tapping the constant rhythmic drumbeat against my lap, pretending I’m back home sitting behind my drum kit instead of on a train in a foreign country I never wanted to come to, I stare back out the window.
The train slows as it pulls into yet another station and the concrete platform fills my view. This mustn’t be a very busy station as there are only a couple of people waiting on either side of the platform for their different trains. A rectangular building sits in the middle of the concrete slab with a red and white sign written in big, bold English and Japanese characters with the word ‘Kiosk’ blasted across it.
A finger gently taps my shoulder, startling me into ripping my earphones out. Trying to catch the dangling earpieces, I turn to face my cousin.
“Gomenne, Rin-chan,” Haruka says in her clear Japanese, her cheeks turning the slightest shade of red. “I didn’t mean to bother you, but...” She falls silent, her gaze dropping to the floor.
To fill the silence, and because I know it’s what I’m supposed to say to make her feel a little less awkward, I say, “You didn’t bother me. What do you want?”
“Grandfather has told me to tell you that we’ll be sharing my room during your stay,” she says, her gaze still on the floor.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother,” I give the answer I know Mum would want me to give. Super polite and friendly.
She nods, regaining some of her usual energy and excitement. “Iie, iie, you won’t be. It’ll be just like a sleepover.”
I keep my attention on her until she pulls out her phone again and starts rapidly typing something, giving me the indication that our brief conversation is over. Looking back out the window, I find my attention drawn to the couple standing at the far end of the platform opposite the one our train still hasn’t departed from.
A Japanese girl with short black hair cut around her ears, and a blond haired boy that I can see is definitely not Japanese. Even from the distance he looks like he’s a gaijin, a foreigner. He fits in about as well as a zebra in a fishbowl. They appear to be having some sort of heated argument.
The boy grabs the girl’s hand and she struggles in his grip. She shouts
something and the boy just glares at her. The blur of a train heading towards the station catches the corner of my eye and I suck in a breath. They are way too close to the edge of the platform to be arguing like that.
“Haruka.” I franticly tap my cousin on the shoulder, unable to take my eyes from the feuding couple. “Haruka. Haruka!”
“Hai, hai,” she says. “What is it, Rin-chan?”
“They’re too close to the tra...” I feel the words die in my mouth as the scene changes.
The boy says something and the girl stops struggling, her gaze darting around the near empty station. For a second our eyes meet and I see the terror and sorrow burning there, then the boy shoves her. With one solid push the girl disappears down onto the tracks. A wall of roaring metal appears in her place as the inbound train rolls into the station.
I scream and jump up, slamming my head against the low roof of the cabin.
“Rin-chan? Rin-chan?” Haruka blinks at me, squeaking in a frantic voice as she tugs on my arm. “Rin-chan, what’s the matter?”
“The girl… Didn’t you see… the boy… he…” I stutter, unable to find the words in Japanese and not even able to think clearly enough to switch back to English. I just fumble for words as I point wildly in the direction I’d been looking. “That boy, he just pushed a girl in front of a train.”
“Rin-chan, there’s no one there,” Haruka says in the soft voice people use when dealing with crazy people. “Perhaps they got on the train? You’re probably just tired.”
I snap my attention back to where I’d seen that horrific scene play out and feel the blood rush from my face. There’s nothing there. No boy murderer. No panicked bystanders. No gawking witnesses. No nothing. Everyone’s just going about business as usual.
Maybe they really did get on the train. Or maybe they weren’t even there to begin with. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen something that wasn’t real. Slumping down in my seat, I let out a sigh. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“Don’t worry, Rin, I believe you,” Misa whispers in my ear. “I don’t think you’re seeing things.”
“Big help, coming from you,” I hiss.
“Hmmm?” Haruka says, her attention still fixed on me.
“Ah, thank you for letting me share your room,” I say the first thing that springs to mind, trying to change the subject. Haruka just shrugs and turns back to her phone. I hope this incident doesn’t get back to Mum. The last thing I need is for her to hear I’m hallucinating again.
Our train jerks and as it lumbers into motion, I dart my gaze around the mostly empty platform one last time. Sitting in the spot where I’d seen the couple fighting is a small plush doll that looks like some sort of capering fox, but from this distance I can’t be sure. The doll’s beady black eyes stare back at me, winking like it knows a secret. Okay, that’s a bit creepy, especially since I didn’t notice any doll there before.
Curling the strands of purple that streak my hair around my finger, I wait for the train to get moving. I don’t realise I’m holding my breath until that creepy doll disappears into the passing scenery. I just put my headphones back in and keep staring out the window as countless fields drift past us slowly turning into towns then cities then metropolises full of tall buildings and colourful billboards with cartoon characters and familiar movie stars plastered across them.
The train pulls up at station after station as I concentrate on putting what I’d seen from my mind. Allowing myself to be hypnotised by the constant scenery whizzing by, I force myself not to dwell on it. A female voice comes over the PA system announcing our arrival at Tokyo and I notice for the first time that my music has stopped. I don’t know when, only that at some point it was replaced by Misa’s constant yapping in my ear.
I take a deep breath, urging that little voice out of my head—too bad it’s not that easy. Even the medication that’s supposed to make my hallucinations go away doesn’t seem to do anything to get rid of her. My imaginary friend simply refuses to leave me alone, even though she is so not wanted.
“Are you sure you’re alright with your bag?” Haruka asks.
I nod and drag my bag out into the aisle, joining the long line waiting to exit the train. Misa falls into step behind me, still trying for my attention. I follow Haruka as we file off the train and onto an escalator, always moving forward. I’m pretty sure if we did stop we’d be stampeded by the hundreds of rushing commuters around us.
“Where are we going?” I shout, forcing my legs to go faster just to keep up with Haruka.
“We just need to drop your bag off at home, in Nakano, and then I’ll show you around Tokyo.” She starts towards the exit. “When was the last time you were in Japan?”
“About ten years ago. To be honest, I barely remember the seven years I did live here,” I spit out between gasps for breath.
Haruka doesn’t slow her pace at all as we duck and weave through waves of harried rushing commuters. “Well then, I’ll have to make it a good tour. You’ll definitely like it here. I can’t wait until you start school with me.”
I nod without saying anything else as I follow her over to the ticket machines and watch her purchase tickets for our new destination. Misa bounces along behind me like a happy little puppy. I can’t stand that she’s so damn happy about the situation I’m in. I don’t care what everyone keeps saying, what happened to Damien was Misa’s fault. Imaginary or not, I can’t let myself forget how dangerous she really is.
Chapter 2
I cradle my steaming cup of hot chocolate. Only two days ago I was wearing tees and shorts, and now I’m forced to wear heavy jackets and gloves. I know this is supposed to be my punishment and all, but did it have to be this cruel and sadistic?
We caught a train to Nakano and dropped my luggage off at Haruka’s house. No one came out to greet me, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Haruka just vanished my bag inside before returning to drag me off on the super fun city tour she’d promised me. Which means that after nearly a whole day spent on various planes and trains, I got to do more walking and catch more trains. Yay. At least she let me stop and buy a hot chocolate.
We sit in silence at the café and I have no idea how to change that. I barely know anything about this so-called cousin of mine. Misa bounces about, hopping up and down in the seat next to me, looking at everything excitedly like this is the best day ever. I go about ignoring her as hard as possible.
I stare at the dark sky outside. The bright neon glow from all the stores and signs around us is enough to eliminate any traces of stars. It’s only six in the evening, and yet it feels a whole lot later. The streets are still packed with people scurrying about, going on with their lives, and I can’t help feeling depressed about the situation I’ve found myself in.
“Haru-chan!” a chipper voice calls out from beside the counter.
I turn around to see a girl, about our age, bounding towards our table. Wearing the same kind of dark blue sailor outfit as Haruka, the girl dodges around crowded tables looking like she plans to splash her coffee across every person in store along her way. Her hair, done up in a single sideways ponytail, held in place by a hairband topped with a pair of shiny off-white plastic balls, bounces up and down above her narrow face like an eager puppy wagging its tail.
“Miki-chan.” Haruka smiles at the girl. From the way they address each other with the honorific ‘chan’, I’d guess they are friends. “Gomenne, Rin-chan. I don’t know if you remember her from your time here, but this is my friend, Miki-chan, Kono Miki. She’s been my friend since we were in preschool.”
“Hisashiburi Rin-san. It’s nice to see you again.” Miki smiles down at me and gives a small wave before diving into the vacant seat beside Haruka. She darts her gaze around the table before speaking. “Aren’t you going to...” She shakes her head like she’s reconsidering the question. “Are you going to be coming to school with us?”
“Hai,” I reply, not wanting to admit that I can’t remember Miki. To
be honest, I barely remember much of my life before I moved to Australia. We used to move around a lot because of dad’s work, so I didn’t really spend much time in any one place. I only stayed with Haruka’s family for a couple of months before leaving the country, so I’m sure it’s nothing personal. “Once I’ve had a chance to settle, I’ll be going to the same school as Haruka.”
“That’s my school,” she announces excitedly. “We’re going to have so much fun! But . . . can I ask, is it true that you killed a boy?”
I blink at her like a deer looking at an oncoming truck. My throat tightens as whatever words I might have said suddenly decide to go on vacation some place very far away.
“Miki!” Haruka gasps. “I told you not to bring that up!”
“What happened?” Miki continues to push, her eyes sparkling with glee.
“Come on.” Haruka stands up. “We’re leaving.”
Thankful to be out of this conversation, I stand up and follow her out of the café.
“Gomennasai, Rin-san.” Miki races to keep up. “I didn’t mean to pry into your private life like that.”
I nod, not knowing how to respond. I really don’t want to talk about that night. I just hope remaining silent, and giving a polite smile and nod, will be enough to tell her she’s forgiven without making her think she can ask something like that again. If she does, this psycho girl just might snap.
I walk on ahead as Haruka grabs Miki’s arm and starts scolding her. This is already awkward enough as it is without me standing right there listening. I should have known it would get out. Things like this always do. I feel like screaming. I didn’t kill anyone. It was Misa. Besides he’s in the hospital, not dead. Not that that’s much of an improvement.
“Rin.” Someone steps out of the alley in front of me.
I ignore them and keep walking. ‘Rin’ is probably a pretty common name around here. It’s coincidence, that’s all. Surely they are calling someone else. By first name. Without honorifics. While looking directly at me.