After trying a few times, Scotland decided to give up for the time being.
Fortunately, his bass, which was in a gig bag, had come with him to the station. Although he didn't know why it was here, it at least provided Scotland with a way to pass the time.
When the mood struck him, Scotland would hold his bass and sing in the station hall, occasionally even accepting song requests.
This was indeed a very convenient way to close the distance, so Scotland put in some effort and smoothly gained a thorough understanding of everything happening in the station.
Occasionally, unlucky humans would fall into the station from various corners; as long as Scotland saw them, he would do his utmost to help. But unfortunately, not everyone was willing to believe his nonsense; even if he was a kind-hearted ghost, after all, there was a difference between humans and ghosts.
Scotland felt sorry about this, but he still did his best to help every unlucky human he encountered.
Scotland no longer thought about things like whether he could reunite with his friends after death; he didn't understand why he had come to this place. But once he confirmed that he could not leave, he began to pray frequently that he would never see those familiar faces here.
After all, this place was still too small; they probably wouldn't like it here, Scotland thought, crouching in a corner while clutching his instrument case.
Evil spirits do not dream, Scotland did not want anyone to dream of him either. Looking at his current state, if he were to appear in their dreams with a bleeding hole where his heart used to be, it would certainly give them quite a fright, wouldn't it?
Scotland rested his chin on his hands, crouching in a row with the vending machines in a somewhat bored manner. Because he had so much free time now, he could let his wild imagination run rampant to his heart's content.
He was thinking about the future, a future he would not be able to participate in. Even though he knew things wouldn't be as wonderful as he had envisioned in his mind, whenever Scotland thought of something happy, he couldn't help but wear a pleasant expression.
Will he be happy? He must be happy! Scotland thought firmly.
He repeated this day after day, until once again he encountered an unlucky human who had fallen into the station.
This time, he heard a name from the mouth of the young man, a name buried deep within his past memories.
*
You know Matsuda?" On the way, as the young man led the way to avoid other ghosts and headed toward the broadcasting room, Scotland still couldn't help but ask, "Did he come to the station just like you?
I'm not sure." Kisaragi Chiyo did not give a definitive answer. "But when the anomaly occurred, we were indeed together. If nothing unexpected happens, he might be inside the station right now?
You know Matsuda?" Before Scotland could even open his mouth, after answering the other man's question, Kisaragi Chiyo threw the same question back and followed up with a counter-question: "Are you and him friends?
".." Scotland fell silent for a moment. The hood of his sweatshirt cast most of his face into shadow, leaving only a small section of his smooth chin exposed.
"Right?" An ambiguous answer. Those blue, upturned cat-like eyes were slightly lowered, looking somewhat dejected.
Is this also a question that requires hesitation?" Kisaragi Chiyo asked in confusion. "Don't tell me you two had a fight and split up before making up, only to end up dying on opposite sides?
Scotland was choked by Kisaragi Chiyo's words. He turned his head away somewhat sheepishly, not knowing how to answer her question.
Although the young man's words were a bit too blunt, the situation was indeed exactly as he said. After he and Matsuda Jinpei parted ways, each died on their respective sides.
Even the time between their deaths was only a month apart.. how incredibly unbelievable.
Even thinking back on it now, the image of him being so full of life when he said he would catch the bomber to avenge his fallen comrades seems as if it happened only a short while ago.
Scotland knew of the news of Matsuda Jinpei's death.
At that time, he had just returned from a mission abroad, upon seeing the date, he instinctively wanted to search for news regarding the Metropolitan Police Department receiving a countdown.
Logically speaking, we were approaching the final single-digit number this year; if that bomber truly intended to cause a massive commotion, it would be impossible for the media not to report on it.
Then, upon checking, he saw the news of Matsuda Jinpei's death in the line of duty.
..
"We weren't fighting." Scotland finally said this after a period of silence.
“So, are you a police officer as well?” Kisaragi Chiyo saw the other person fall into silence again and couldn't help but raise her eyebrows slightly. “Is that also a difficult question to answer?”
"Has Matsuda ever told you that you're a bit pushy?" Scotland turned his head, looking at Kisaragi Chiyo with his dark, gloomy blue eyes.
"Thank you for the compliment, your friend is quite fond of me," Kisaragi Chiyo replied modestly.
Hearing this, Scotland couldn't help but marvel at how impressive it was for the young man to make such a statement while maintaining such a cold expression.
"So.." Scotland felt that he was still innocent; even if he was an evil spirit now, compared to the other ghosts at the station, he considered himself quite a likable-looking one.
"What are you angry about?" Scotland keenly sensed that he was actually being the target of the young man's displaced anger.
It's nothing.." Kisaragi Chiyo's voice weakened slightly after being called out, "I'm just angry at some sulking guy.
"It must be someone important," Scotland thought.
But he quickly reacted again. Wait.. was the other person using this opportunity to say that they were also sulking? Scotland fell into deep thought, wondering if he had made his feelings that obvious.
Kisaragi Chiyo fell silent for a moment after speaking, then gave a soft cough and said to Scotland, "About just now.. I am very sorry."
"No, it's nothing." Scotland shook his head with a smile, not paying much mind to it, likely having sensed that the relationship between Kisaragi Chiyo and Matsuda Jinpei was unusual. Therefore, whenever Scotland looked at the young man, he couldn't help but feel a certain fondness for him as well.
"You are not wrong." Scotland felt that this might be because he had not spoken with a human in a long time, so he told the young man about his past.
I am indeed a police officer, but perhaps not quite like the police you usually know.
"Undercover?" Kisaragi Chiyo quickly guessed the meaning behind the other person's words.
"You.." Once it was guessed that the identity of the demon was an undercover police officer, the blood hole in his heart and the cause of his death became quite intriguing.
"There is nothing that cannot be said." Scotland did not reject his end; he had been mentally prepared for such a fate from the very beginning, not to mention that he had been lucky enough to choose his own way to die.
"As you can see, I committed suicide after my undercover identity was exposed." As Scotland spoke, a relieved smile played upon his lips.
“They say those who commit suicide cannot go to heaven, but I never expected that I wouldn't even be able to go to Hell, would instead be trapped here.”
Alright." Looking at Kisaragi Chiyo, who seemed to want to say something more, Scotland raised a finger to his lips and gave a soft "shh.
Next, let's quickly find the lost Matsuda Junior.
*
Matsuda Jinpei paced irritably around the station, while searching for Kisaragi Chiyo, he took the opportunity to teach a few blind fools a lesson with his fists.
In a place like this, the law of the jungle seems to be the only rule, even monsters have hierarchies; it is not uncommon for the big fish to eat the small fish.
Just as Matsuda Jinpei was wondering if Kisaragi Chiyo had perhaps not fallen into the same place as him, or if she had gone to another station, a sudden noise erupted from the loudspeaker overhead.
Matsuda Junior, Matsuda Junior, your guardian is looking for you. Upon hearing this announcement, please come to the broadcasting station~
Upon hearing the broadcast, Matsuda Junior raised his head, his sunglasses sliding slightly down the bridge of his nose to reveal a pair of sharp, teal eyes.
He stared at the broadcast as it repeated for the second time; the familiar voice coming from it did not belong to Kisaragi Chiyo, but instead sounded like another friend he hadn't seen in a long time.
The two of them are together now.
Matsuda Jinpei quickly reached this conclusion; as for why the other party was appearing here?
Matsuda Junior flashed a smile that wasn't cute or friendly in the slightest.
He thought that once he reached the broadcasting room, all questions would be answered.
“Are you nervous?” Kisaragi Chiyo sat in the chair in the broadcasting room, a stack of newspapers placed by his side, which Scotland had just handed to him and he had not yet had time to look through.
Scotland said nothing, merely offering Kisaragi Chiyo a smile.
Alright." Kisaragi Chiyo shrugged. "It looks like you'll die right after Matsuda. Judging by your appearance, you should be around the same age as him.. are you in the same year?
Scotland continued to smile.
"It seems you were colleagues," Kisaragi Chiyo ignored his gaze and continued with her deduction.
Let me guess again, if that's the case, you must know Hara Kenji, right?
Another name popped out of the young man's mouth, catching Scotland off guard.
"You know Hara too?" As soon as Scotland asked the question, he felt it was redundant. Since the other man knew Matsuda, it wouldn't be surprising at all if he knew Hara as well.
After all, those two were inseparable childhood friends.. It was understandable that even after death, they hadn't been able to pass on because they were still worried about Matsuda Jinpei.
“Yeah.” Kisaragi Chiyo said unexpectedly, "The three of us are together now."
".." Scotland fell silent again; he felt that having been a ghost for so long, his human language skills had somewhat degenerated.
“Excuse me..” Scotland hadn't felt this constrained and cautious in a long time, “By 'together'.. do you mean you are living together now?”
"You could say that." After hearing the young man's reply, Scotland, for some reason, felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
But in the next second, he realized he had let out that breath far too early.
Living together.. eating together, sleeping in the same bed and all that." The young man spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. "Kissing and hugging each other—that's what they call family, right?
Not at all!
Scotland screamed internally; decent family members aren't like this! Decent family members wouldn't do things like this!
-----------------------
Author's Note: The next chapter will cover what exactly is happening with Hiro now. Thanks to all my little angels for your support. Mwah 030
Chapter 98
Scotland's silence was deafening; perhaps because his expression was too strange, Kisaragi Chiyo couldn't help but take a few extra looks.
“What is it? Is something wrong?” Kisaragi Chiyo settled into a comfortable position in the chair. He never failed to treat himself well; even now, while situated in a station that could almost be described as a monster's lair, he felt no sense of crisis.
".. No." Scotland replied dryly. Although he felt the bond between the three of them was a bit too crowded, since the parties involved were happy, Scotland couldn't think of any reason to say anything more.
He couldn't help but feel that the relationship between Matsuda Jinpei and Hara Kenji was a bit too close for comfort. But then again, perhaps they simply enjoyed the warmth of being so close together.
"It's fine.. It's fine." Scotland nodded with a complex expression; after being hit by the sudden shock of his friend's love life, he quickly found a reason to convince himself to accept it.
After all, this matter isn't even illegal; at most, it's subject to a few moral condemnations. Besides, can one really use the morality of the living world to restrict a ghost who is already dead?
They're already ghosts, so don't dwell on it so much.
Scotland quickly composed himself, returning to his original, calm demeanor.
"Then that person you mentioned before, the one throwing a tantrum.. it couldn't be Hara, could it?" Based on what Kisaragi Chiyo had mentioned earlier, Scotland quickly connected the dots to a suspicion.
Although he thought this answer was highly unlikely, Scotland still felt a bit surprised after seeing Kisaragi Chiyo nod in affirmation.
That's Hara Kenji!
Social skills at max, the composed and tactful Hara Kenji!
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't connect him to the concept of being in a sulk.
"You two really are close." Noticing the subtle change in expression on Scotland's face, Kisaragi Chiyo confirmed her suspicion once again.
"After all, we were in the same class," Scotland said with a slight smile.
Kisaragi Chiyo fell silent; she seemed to realize that Scotland did not particularly want to reveal too much about his past. What he had mentioned before was merely a brief overview, even now, Kisaragi Chiyo did not even know Scotland's name.