Shion chewed on Nanami’s words thoughtfully.
Her dance steps, however, remained unbroken.
Nanami, too, moved gracefully with Shion across the small observation deck, only her footsteps carried a noticeable weight.
Nanami nodded, confirming, “Yes, she quite literally vanished.”
“Hanami was a friend I knew from a very young age,” Nanami recounted to Shion, her voice soft.
“From elementary school, we walked to school together, strolled along the beach, and sailed out to sea to feel the ocean breeze.
Every summer, every cultural festival, every bonfire night—we spent them all side by side.”
A faint smile graced Nanami’s lips as she spoke, a testament to the beautiful, cherished memories she held of Hanami.
Once the dance concluded, Shion ceased her movements, joining Nanami as they leaned against the railing.
The bonfire continued to blaze, its gentle crackle and the soft popping of embers muffled by the boisterous laughter of the crowd, all dissolving into a somewhat chaotic background hum.
“It was an autumn evening a year ago when I told her I’d discovered a sea cave and wanted to explore it with her,” Nanami began.
“She agreed with such delight.”
“We entered the cave together; I was leading, and she was following close behind.
Inside, it was beautiful.
A small pool of water shimmered, reflecting the sunlight that streamed in from the entrance just a few meters away.
I……”
At this point, Nanami clutched her head, a clear sign that this was a memory she was intensely reluctant to revisit.
“I pointed to the pool and said to her, ‘Hanami, look how beautiful this is.’
But, but…… there was no reply.
When I turned around, Hanami was gone.”
As she uttered those words, the girl Shion remembered as always vibrant, enthusiastic, and even a little thoughtless, leaned against her, burying her head into Shion’s shoulder.
Tears quickly soaked Shion’s school uniform.
“I—I searched everywhere for her, but I couldn’t find her anywhere!
I called out her name, but there was no answer at all!
I…… I didn’t know what to do!
That night, I went home and told my parents.
They, along with a few of the fishing uncles, searched around the cave, but they found nothing!
It’s all my fault, I…… I shouldn’t have asked her to come with me that day……”
By the end, Nanami was practically shouting, her voice dissolving into soft sobs once her confession was complete.
Shion gently patted Nanami’s back, offering silent comfort.
“How could you possibly blame yourself for something like this, Kazama-san?” Shion murmured softly into Nanami’s ear.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.
Hanami-san’s disappearance isn’t something you ever wished for.”
Nanami shook her head, tears tracing paths down her cheeks.
“No, it’s…… it’s more than that.”
“It’s as if I’m the only one in this world who remembers Hanami.”
“Eh?!” Shion gasped involuntarily.
“W-Why?!”
“I don’t know either…… but after that night, my parents and the other fishing uncles acted as if they’d completely forgotten Hanami.
They only remembered that I’d asked them to search for someone in the cave the day before, but *who* they were looking for…… they couldn’t recall.”
Nanami confessed, her gaze fixed on Shion as she gently bit her lip.
“Then, I went to my old elementary school teachers and classmates, and my junior high teachers and classmates, because Hanami and I had been in the same class since elementary school.
But they didn’t remember either.
They remembered nothing about Hanami, absolutely nothing…… In old class registers, in graduation photos, Hanami was simply absent, as if…… she had never existed in this world at all.
Everyone said that Hanami must have just been an imaginary playmate I’d dreamt up, but—but I remember her so clearly, all those ten-plus years of memories are vivid in my mind……”
“If that’s the case,” Shion pressed, “what about Hanami-san’s family?
Surely her family couldn’t have forgotten her?”
Nanami shook her head, an undeniable trace of regret in her voice.
“Hanami had always lived with her grandparents.
A few months before she disappeared, her grandparents were moved to the city.
Hanami, being about to enter high school, planned to at least finish junior high here…… so for those few months, she was living alone.
None of us had any contact information for her family……”
‘Why…’
Shion’s mind raced, sifting through countless possibilities.
As a shrine maiden, she bore the responsibility of exorcism, meaning her knowledge base, if she possessed one, was at least augmented by an understanding of spirits, far surpassing that of the average town resident.
Yet, even after considering every conceivable form of malevolent spirit activity, Shion found herself unable to fathom an evil spirit possessing the power to erase a person’s very existence from the entire world.
‘But, but…… could something like this truly have never happened before?’
“Hoshimori-san, do you also have a younger sister?”
The soft voice of the blonde girl seemed to echo in her ear.
Shion felt as though she had been transported back to a sun-drenched classroom, with Shigure gazing at her with a questioning look.
Yet, this particular memory felt somewhat faded, as if it had dulled into a monochrome haze.
Despite it being an incredibly vague memory, merely a fragmented sliver, Shion felt a flicker of recognition.
Though it lasted only an instant, it was enough to convince her that Nanami’s experience was absolutely, unequivocally not unfounded.
“Hoshimori-san, do you…… do you believe what I’m telling you?”
Nanami’s cerulean eyes, like the distant, shimmering sea, reflected a profound earnestness.
“I believe you, Kazama-san,” Shion affirmed with a nod.
After a few seconds of silence, Nanami looked intently into Shion’s eyes.
“Your gaze, Hoshimori-san, doesn’t feel like you’re just humoring me to offer comfort.”
“Because I’m not humoring you at all,” Shion replied with a smile.
“I actually know more about these kinds of things than you do, and I don’t believe Kazama-san would lie about something like this.
So, I trust you.
If you need my help, Kazama-san, I’d be more than willing to assist.”
She added warmly, “So, please don’t cry anymore, Kazama-san.
At the very least, you’re not searching for Hanami-san alone.”
Nanami reached out and embraced Shion, a wave of warmth passing from her to Shion.
“Oh, Hoshimori-san, you really are something,” Nanami whispered into Shion’s ear.
“From now on, I won’t be searching for Hanami alone.
With you by my side, perhaps we’ll have triple the strength.”
Shion nodded gently, returning the embrace.
“From now on, may I call you by your first name, Shion-san?”
“Of course!
You just did, didn’t you?
I’ll always answer.”
In the distance, beneath the moonlight, the shimmering sea reflected the watery glow of stars and moon.