You can't see me...can you?

Chapter 2: Are you there? Kaya?

As Masaaki navigated the crowded school corridors, his footsteps echoed with the weight of uncertainty. Thoughts of Kaya consumed him, swirling in his mind like a tempestuous storm. Was it truly her that he had seen? The image of her face lingered, haunting yet mesmerizing, like a distant memory refusing to be forgotten.

"Hey, Masaaki, you seem lost in thought. Everything alright?" Ms. Tanaka's voice broke through his thoughts, her concern palpable.

Masaaki offered a weak smile, his lips trembling slightly. "Yeah, just... trying to make sense of things," he replied, though the words felt feeble, lacking the conviction he wished to convey. How could he explain the turmoil churning within him?

Entering the classroom, Masaaki sank into his seat, the dull hum of his classmates' voices fading into the background. His gaze drifted to the window, where the pale light of the afternoon sun cast long shadows across the room. But even as he tried to focus on the lesson, his thoughts kept drifting back to that fateful encounter with Kaya.

He remembered the way her eyes had met his, a silent plea lingering in their depths. He remembered the ache in his chest as he reached out to her, only to be met with silence. And most of all, he remembered the hollow feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach as she disappeared into the night, leaving him with more questions than answers.

Lost in his thoughts, Masaaki barely noticed as the lesson began, his mind a whirlwind of confusion and doubt. But just as he was beginning to lose himself in the chaos, the shrill ring of the bell snapped him back to reality, jolting him from his reverie.

As he gathered his belongings and prepared to leave the classroom, a sense of unease settled over him like a heavy shroud, suffocating and inescapable. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong, that the reappearance of Kaya was just the beginning of a much larger mystery waiting to unfold.

Stepping into the bustling hallway, Masaaki felt a surge of anxiety wash over him. He scanned the crowd, half-hoping to catch a glimpse of Kaya amidst the throng of students, but she was nowhere to be found. A knot formed in his stomach, tightening with each passing moment.

Cutting to a couple hours later

Masaaki busts through his apartment door exhausted from the day he throws his bag down.
Once again, he is reminded of his empty home, a home that was supposed to House the family he would have with Kaya. 

But that was only if Masaaki had ever actually built up the guts to tell her he liked her...
I mean he never said it out loud to anyone, but he knew that he liked Kaya.

It took her passing to realize not only did he like her, but he flat out loved her, to him she was perfect, and the world had taken an angel from him.

Pulling himself from his thoughts he walks over to the laundry room to grab a towel. He turns the corner and picks up a towel.

"Masaaki.." A voice whispered behind him

Masaaki jolts around putting his fist up ready to fight before he's even fully turned around to see who it was.

"Who are yo...-" Masaaki trails off his sentence as he turns around only to realize nothing was there.

Masaaki calming down now lowers his hands

'That... that voice... I know that voice! It was Kaya's voice!' Masaaki thinks to himself 'But Kaya is dead DAMNIT! I need to accept that' He pounds his fist against the wall

"YOU ARE NOT REAL!" Masaaki says out loud, seemingly yelling to the Illusions.

"Kaya is dead... my best friends gone, for real... you can't be her... I wish- I wish you could but-"

He cuts himself off, Masaaki had just now realized, that despite his screaming to the illusions... or ghost... or whatever they are that they were not real, He was screaming at them as if they were.

Masaaki chuckles "Oh I'm losing it" he says to himself in a half joking half serious tone before beginning to turn around towards the bathroom,

Only for that turn to be met with Kaya,

"AHHHHHNG" Masaaki screams at the sight of the woman who looks like kaya suddenly appearing 

Her eyes hollowed, yet somehow staring at him, wearing clothes he'd never seen her in before, He only had a glimpse back then but now... he's getting the full picture.

"K-k-kaya.." Masaaki says to the Illusion (or ghost...?) with kaya being just as unresponsive as before

To him, despite her hollow eyes, and her creepy look, she was just as beautiful as she ever was, But he was sure Kaya would kick his ass if she were alive to know that. 
 
"Kaya I-"

"No no Kaya why..."

"Kaya after all these years you think you just... you just have the NERVE TO SHOW UP AND TORTURE ME ALL OVER AGAIN?" Masaaki completely looses it, he doesn't care about the illusions right now, the void in his heart is too big to be filled by mere interactions or friends.

"YOU HAVE NO FUCKING PLACE, NO RIGHT KAYA"
He continues screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I SEARCHED ENDLESSLY, I CRIED ENDLESSLY, I BEGGED ENDLESSLY, I ASKED WHY SO MANY TIMES KAYA" He continues

"SO, AFTER ALL OF THAT, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DO THIS TO ME!"
He says to kaya half expecting an answer, Half knowing she wouldn't answer

Kaya proved him right, and said nothing, just staring at him in the eyes. Despite hers being hollow

"Right... you're just, imaginary, you aren't even real right?" He laughs "Oh god im venting to the air."

Suddenly Kayas expression turned devilish, as if something Masaaki said angered her.

"Wha-" He tries to say a sentence but is cut off

 She screeched and lunged towards Masaaki wrapping her hands around his throat attempting to strangle him

"GAHK" The air escapes Masaki's throat as the impact from her hands hits it

Masaaki attempting to fight back swipes at her hands only to watch his hands phase through her

"Wuh tha hewl" Masaaki says barely able to properly breath and barely able to speak 
he continues to struggle but it is in vain, he starts seeing black dots, and his vision is fading... all he could think is 'Kaya.. I- I love you'

              END OF CHAPTER