Chapter 58: Regrets, Many Regrets!

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

Kazuki pulled Chikage Tojo into a quiet room in the dojo. Tojo’s miserable pleas were giving him a slight headache. “Be quiet!” he snapped coldly.

His words were ice-cold and threatening, causing Tojo to tremble and fall silent. However, his fearful stare betrayed the panic in his heart.

Tojo and Kimura were the only people in the room now. If Kimura were to beat him up, he had nowhere to run. So, before Kimura could punish him, Tojo decided to be as obedient and unobtrusive as possible.

Kimura nodded his head in satisfaction and motioned for Tojo to sit down. He then asked him, “Have you encountered anything unusual recently?”

“What do you mean?” Tojo asked in confusion, his heart beating erratically.

He might be confused, but Akie Hanzawa was not. Once he heard Kimura’s question, he started complaining. “One month ago, this guy here was too fixated on his mobile phone while crossing the road. If it weren’t for me, he’d be dead by now. I regret it so much, saving a delinquent youth. I must have been possessed!”

Upon hearing this, Kimura did not respond to Akie Hanzawa. Instead, he looked at Chikage Tojo and said lightly, “Do you still remember what happened a month ago?”

He could not trust ghosts now, after knowing how much Ito Shunji from Akichi High School had hidden from him. Although Akie Hanzawa looked like a friendly spirit, Kimura had learned to be more cautious.

“Haha, you can actually see and hear me!” Kazuki’s continued interrogation made Hanzawa extremely happy. Without the restriction of a physical body, he could fly around as much as he liked to exhibit the emotional turmoil and glee he felt in his heart.

historical

Also, Kimura was obviously coming for Hanzawa. Otherwise, he would not have asked Tojo these questions. After flying around for a few seconds, Akie Hanzawa settled down and sat up straight beside Tojo. He planned to fill in the gaps in Tojo’s answers.

Kazuki glanced at Akie Hanzawa briefly, but he did not speak.

Hearing this, Chikage Tojo was shocked. His eyes instinctively revealed his guilt, and he stuttered, “Kim... Kimura, are you friends with Mr. Akie Hanzawa?” At that moment, he thought that Kimura was here to exact revenge for Akie Hanzawa.

“If you are here to avenge Mr. Hanzawa, you can go ahead and beat me up, I won’t fight back.”

Of course, he knew that even if he fought back, he would not win anyway. But deep in his heart, he was very remorseful about what happened a month ago, because he had indirectly caused someone’s death. That incident had left a significant impact on his life.

Hearing this, Akie Hanzawa felt comforted. Even though Chikage Tojo was a delinquent, at least he still had a conscience.

What happened was very simple. Chikage Tojo did not have many hobbies, but he did enjoy playing this card game called ‘The Birth of Sakura.’ One afternoon a month ago, the new and updated version of the online card game was released.

In a hurry to log in online to test out the update, he was too focused on his phone and had ended up crossing the road while the red light was flashing. He did not even hear the warnings given by the people around him. The approaching driver on the road, not expecting someone to be crossing the road at a red light, stepped on the accelerator instead of the brakes in his panic to stop the car.

Upon hearing the noise of the car, Chikage Tojo’s reaction was already too late. While he was still in a daze, he felt his body being shoved aside violently, and he fell to the ground. When he got up again, he saw a person lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

Akie Hanzawa could not be saved and was pronounced dead immediately.

“Sigh... I regret it now, I regret it so much! At that moment, I had acted on impulse, rushing forward without thinking when I saw the situation. I felt that life was so tiring, being reprimanded every day by my boss. Perhaps it would be better to exchange a young life for mine. But when I was on the verge of dying, I thought to myself... what would happen to my younger brother after I’m gone.” Akie Hanzawa was no longer playful. His translucent face was etched with heaviness and worry as he sat there.

This whole month, he was bound to Chikage Tojo’s body. He could only move within a 50-meter radius of that person’s existence. He could not visit his younger brother even if he wanted to.

He had been an orphan since young and had no relatives. He only had a younger brother, and they were mutually dependent on each other. Even now, his brother was still in high school. Without his income, his brother could not be independent yet. Also, if he received compensation from the driver and consolation money from Chikage Tojo’s family, the money would still run out one day.

More crucially, he wondered if his brother would break down emotionally after hearing about his death. This was the reason why he regretted his recklessness so much.

After hearing the story from the man and the ghost, Kazuki was moved.

Akie Hanzawa’s current state could be described as an attachment spirit, also known as a dorsal spirit. If the spirit type was evil in nature, it could torment its host into misery, until the host perished eventually in endless suffering. Once the host died, the evil spirit would then be free.

But Akie Hanzawa was evidently a friendly spirit. Even though he died because of Chikage Tojo, he had kept his pure and kind heart and bore no harmful intentions toward anyone.

As to why he came to possess Chikage Tojo and not one of his blood relatives, Kazuki understood the reason behind it.

It must be that after Akie Hanzawa was knocked down by the car, most of his thoughts had remained on Chikage Tojo. After all, he was saving someone, so naturally, he would have hoped that the person he rescued would be unharmed. However, he was also bothered by other thoughts in his heart, which led to the current situation.

Attachment spirits were a particular spiritual type, acting as a parasite on their host, so they could conceal themselves without problem in a crowd. As they have their hosts’ bodies as protection, they were considered more fortunate than other spirit types, and could even live in bustling cities.

When Japan was in an era of spiritual revival, there were two common routes of training.

One was to summon a martyred spirit; the summoner and the martyred spirit would then fight side by side. This type of martyred spirit was also known as a shikigami.

The other route was to get a dorsal spirit. During this era, these spirits were also known as guardian spirits.

Dorsal spirits commonly attached themselves to people who shared blood relations with them and was a way to level up by the blood. Even if the host died, the guardian spirit could attach itself to other relatives and continue fighting. Their powers would never be lost.

As long as the guardian spirit lived, its power would only get stronger and stronger.

How Akie Hanzawa got attached to Chikage Tojo though, was evidently an accident. Kazuki had wanted to explain the situation to Tojo, but looking at the current situation, it was perhaps better that he remained ignorant about the existence of supernatural beings in this world.

After a moment of silence, Kazuki picked up his Sun and Moon Sword. He did not unsheathe the sword. Instead, he passed the scabbard to Chikage Tojo.

Under Chikage Tojo and Akie Hanzawa’s confused stares, Kimura said, “Hold it.”

Although he was doubtful, Chikage Tojo did not resist. With both hands, he held on to the scabbard that Kimura had passed to him.

The next moment, Hanzawa, who had been observing curiously, was suddenly sucked into the Sun and Moon Sword. With a short ‘ah,’ he disappeared into thin air.

Seeing this, Kazuki breathed a small sigh of relief. He told Chikage Tojo that he could now let go of the scabbard. Then, Kimura stood up and grabbed his Sun Moon Sword, leaving without a single word.

An utterly baffled Chikage Tojo was left behind.