Chapter 1: The Incident

"Shinto!" A mature lady with long brown hair yelled upstairs. There was a short moment of silence. "Shinto!!" The woman yelled again.

A door opened near the top of the stairs, revealing a boy with short, brown, spikey hair. He was wearing a black jacket with a white tee shirt and blue jeans. "Yeah?" The boy took a few steps out of the door and stood at the top of the stairs. "What's up?"

"I forgot to buy some ingredients from the store today." She said as she was looking through the cabinets. "Could you be a dear and buy them for me?" She headed for the counter, picked up her purple purse, and took out a $50 bill.

"Sure, I guess." Shinto replied reluctantly. "I can't promise I'll remember everything." He took the money from his mom's hands.

"Don't worry, I'll text you everything I need." She said, picking up her phone. "If there's any money left, feel free to buy yourself something." She added.

"Okay." He nodded, headed for the front door, and put his black shoes on. "I'll be back in a bit, mom." Shinto said as he opened the front door.

"Be careful!" His mother smiled and waved as he walked out the door and closed it behind him. The nearest store is 15 minutes away by foot, even in a pretty populated town such as this one. Houses lined up the sides of the streets and had walls along the edges on them. The houses themselves were all two stories and had very little room for a yard, both front and back. There were many turns you'd have to take to make it out of the neighborhood, which is where Shinto had to go.

He began his walk down to the store. A few minutes after he left the front of his house, he felt his phone vibrate. He received a text from his mother. Shinto pulled out his phone and skimmed over the contents of the message. He was looking at his phone while he neared a turn, and BONK accidentally bumped into a girl, making her tumble to the ground. "Huh? Oh! Sorry!" He extended a hand to help her get back up.

The girl was rubbing the side of her head that Shinto had hit, "It's fine..." the girl said softly. She turned to look at Shinto. "Oh? Shinto!" The girls face lit up. She took Shinto's hand and got back up on her feet.

"Kaori?" Shinto said, surprised.

"What are you doing out at this hour?" Kaori asked.

"I could ask the same to you." Shinto replied. "Isn't it a bit dangerous for a girl like you to be walking home alone at this hour?"

"I was just on my way home from a friends house. What about you?" She held her hands behind her.

"My mother forgot to pick up some groceries, so I have to go buy them from the store while she prepares." Shinto sighed.

"Oh! I actually have to go that way! How about we walk there together!"

"You say that like I have much of a choice." Shinto laughed.

Kaori pouted, "Well, you said it yourself, It's dangerous for a pretty girl like me to be walking around at this hour." She said, latching onto one of his arms. "So how about you escort me back home?" She smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's just get moving." They both started walking down the sidewalk towards the store. They took a few steps forward. "So, are you going to let go of my arm now?"

"I don't feel like it." She said, bringing her body closer to his. She proceeded to giggle.

"What's so funny?"

"It's nothing." She said. "It's just that you're just as clumsy as ever."

"Am I? I thought I was getting better." He whimpered.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just that you haven't changed much from middle school, and I like that about you." Kaori comforted Shinto.

"Thanks, I guess?" Shinto laughed nervously. "Though it's not like you're any better. I'd say you've changed even less than I have. You're just as assertive and popular as ever."

"I guess you're right..." Kaori said, still latching onto Shinto's arm. "I wish you'd be a bit more assertive yourself, though."

"Why do you say that?" Shinto tilted his head.

"It's just that... I don't see you hang out with anyone, is all. I kind of get worried about you. I don't want you to get lonely. Besides..." she trailed off.

"Besides...?"

"Oh... it's nothing..." She placed her hand over her heart and blushed.

"I see... well, you don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine, promise." He smiled. "I have you as a friend after all, don't I? That's more than enough for now."

"Oh..." she blushed again. "I uh..." she whispered, "have something to tell you..."

Shinto only heard her mumbling. "What'd you say?"

"N-nothing! Haha..." Her cheeks turned pink, and she pouted. "Oh, this-this is my turn." She let go of Shinto's arm and ran ahead and turned around. "Thanks for accompanying me, Shinto." She put her left hand on her heart again and spoke softly.

"It's no problem." He said.

She giggled. "You're sweet. See you in class!" Shinto stood at the intersection and waited for her to enter her house before proceeding. The grocery store was only a few minutes away from where he currently was, so he walked the rest of the way back with a big smile. Shinto approached the automatic sliding glass doors while pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Let's see eggs, milk, lettuce, peppers, cheese, and ground beef. Simple enough." Shinto entered the store and grabbed the items he needed and a soda to drink. He paid for the items, got them bagged, and headed for the door. The door slid right open, and he took a step out.

"Huh?" Shinto felt something wet touch his shoulder. He held out his hand and looked to the sky. "Rain? But... I didn't see any rain clouds." Shinto was confused. No forecast predicted rain today, and the sky was clear as ever when he entered the store. "Guess I've just got to hurry home then before it gets too harsh." He pulled up his hood and began briskly walking back home as the rain beat down on him. In mere seconds, the rain picked up, turning into a massive downpour. The clouds darkened the area. Even though it was technically the afternoon, it looked like it was nighttime. Shinto turned on his phone and used his flashlight since the streetlights hadn't turned on yet.

Shinto traversed through the pitch black streets with nothing but his phones lights to guide the way. Suddenly, Shinto's nose sniffled. "What's this smell?" He sniffed a couple more times. "Fire?" Shinto looks up. In the distance, there was a house flooded in a sea of flames. You could barely see the house underneath the engulfing flames. "That street and house are..." He checked the addresses of the houses near him and counted the streets. "No... it can't be!!" Shinto went from a small jog to a desperate sprint. As he approached the house that went up in flames. He turned right onto the street and took a look at the mailbox numbers. "NOOOO!!" He stood in front of the house. Tormented screams louder than a tornado alarm stabbed through Shinto's ears. "No..." Shinto fell on his knees. Light left his eyes as the screams terrorized him. "It... can't be..." Tears began to swell up in his eyes and began to pour out of his eyes. "Mom... Dad... Kagari..." he mustered a small amount of strength to get up off the ground. "Why?!" His voice was shaking. "I've... gotta do something... right?" He tried to recompose himself, holding on to some shred of hope, but it was no use, whatever screaming there once was dissipated into the flames. The sound of wood tore through as the house collapsed in on itself. Tears started flooding out of his eyes. He watched as his house turned into ashes with no way to stop it. "What do I even do now? I've got nowhere left to go... DAMN IT!!!"

Shinto looked around frantically. He tried to call 911, but any attempted call only led him to static. With nowhere left to go, he headed towards the city across from the bridge while it was still pouring out. Any energy he had left was exhausted from him. While he was walking on the sidewalk on the bridge, he slipped on a puddle and fell face-first into the ground. He made no attempt to try to get back up. He just laid there, accepting his fate. "(I guess... this is how it ends...)" his body goes limp. "(I'm sorry, Mom... dad... I can't do this...)"

Within the reflection of the puddle, there was a human-like figure that stood above Shinto. Their deep Sapphire eyes gleamed in the darkness. "Not yet." The girl said as she stood above him.

Shinto groaned, "Who... are... you...?" As he began to lose consciousness.

"I can't let you die here. Not yet." The voice said, as Shinto's world fell to darkness...

End of chapter 1...

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***