Second Chance - 1. Memories

     "M-Mitsuki." The word stumbled clumsily out of my mouth.
      Tears started streaming down Mitsuki's gentle smile. "Takuto-" she choked  and fell onto her knees.
      "H-hey, are you alright?!" I quickly knelt beside her. "What is it, what's  wrong?!"
      A small squeak emerged from the young girl's throat as she grasped it. She looked up at me, still smiling. There was a silent pause between us, and slowly... gently... Mitsuki reached her arms up to my face. My heart throbbed as her delicate hands brushed my ears. I closed my eyes and held my breathe. Wait... who is this girl? I thought I knew. Her name is Mitsuki, that I know, so why can't I remember anything else about her?
It didn't matter. I felt warm. I felt safe.
      Her hands trembled as they made fists behind my back and pulled. I wanted to know who she was. This soft face. This warm skin. This sweet smelling hair. This fragile body. I grabbed it all tight so it would never leave me.
      "But how?" She winced. Talking seemed to cause her a lot of pain. "I thought you were-"
      "Thought I was what?" I slipped out of her hug and looked into her eyes. Did she know me?
      Tears again welled up in the corner of here eyes. "I thought you became a ghost-" She held a hand to her throat.
      "A ghost?" I accidentally let out a chuckle. I inwardly scolded myself as I spoke. "Ghosts don't exist."
      "What... What do you mean, Takuto?" Concern swelled in her face.
      "H-hey..." I scratched the back of my head. "Y'know. I don't have any memories of who I was..."
      A quick glimpse of my past flashed in my eyes. I was at a concert, and- It left as soon as it came.
      "Mitsuki! You know, so tell me! Who am I, and why don't I remember anything?"
      She gazed at me silently. I could swear I saw thoughts floating through her eyes as I held her arms. "Mitsuki, I-" She held a hand up to stop me.
      Her fingers brushed across her neck as she mulled over whether to speak or not. She looked at the ground and back up at me. "Follow me." She wrapped her fingers around mine and gently pulled as she spun and began to walk.
      I paused and looked back. back to the house I had been staying at. That family were all I knew. But I wanted to see things that I knew before. I softened my stance and allowed Mitsuki's grasp to pull me away.
      Gradually, our walk had gotten faster and soon became a sprint. I wanted to stop the little girl from going so fast; Her breath was becoming hoarse, and worry squeezed my stomach. I couldn't slow her down, though. Her eyes looked so intently towards her destination, I didn't have the heart.


     My mind winced as my fist hit the table. “You can’t be serious. You expect me to believe that I’m a death spirit?! You gotta be kidding me!” What she told me felt right somehow, but how could that be possible? Things like that don’t exist in the real world.
      Mitsuki has a friend. Two friends. Apparently she knew them both before the were engaged, and before they even knew each other. I did wonder why Mitsuki was friends with two middle-aged adults, but it was soon to be explained. Dr. Keiichi Wakaoji and Miss Masami Oshige - soon to be Mrs. Wakaoji.  Oshige lives a small distance away from Mitsuki’s house, and both of them had insisted I stay with Oshige until things were sorted out.
      Mitsuki Koyama was her full name. She recently went through surgery, which is why her voice was gone when we first spoke. It had mostly healed by then, and she could finally talk to me without much pain.
For most of her life, Mitsuki had been struggling with cancer in her throat. Her only wish was to sing, and according to her, I helped her achieve that dream.
      Her story explains that once upon a time, before Mistuki was born, I was a member of a famous band, Route L, along with her father and his best friend, Keiichi Wakaoji. I found it strange that there were no photos of this band to prove I was in it. As the story continues, I suffered from the same cancer as Mitsuki. When I found that my options were death or losing my voice forever, I chose death. Singing was the one thing that gave my life meaning, and without it, I saw no option but to throw myself off a cliff, along with my motorcycle. Apparently.
      “They do exist! You existed!”
      I sighed and looked the other way. “Try to look at this from my point of view. For all I know, This could be a big practical joke you’re playing on me to take advantage of my amnesia.” I could feel her sadness. I could feel her choking her tears back. It hurt me. “I’m not trying to hurt your feelings, but this is a lot to chew on.”
       The thing that bothered me was that Masami, a full-grown woman, backed up everything Mitsuki said. They both agreed that these death spirits, or shinigami, come about when someone takes their own life. They become shinigami as punishment, and are doomed to take the life of others, when their time comes. If a shinigami remembers their past life, they become a ghost. This is what supposedly happened to me. I used my shinigami powers to occasionally turn Mitsuki into a 16 year old pop star, Full Moon. As we faced different difficulties together, we grew closer, and I developed feelings for Mitsuki. I defied the fate of a death spirit and vowed to protect Mitsuki instead of killing her.
Because singing had so much to do with my past, I began regaining my memories. Her story seemed ridiculous. It all seemed so fake and magical.
      “I’m not lying, Takuto! Meroko went to the spirit world and got a flower for you that would erase your memories! That way you wouldn’t become a ghost!” Mitsuki cried out. Meroko. Mitsuki said Meroko was my partner shinigami, who had agreed to help me save Mitsuki. As her story continued, it revealed that the flower came too late. I began to disappear as the effects of the flower kicked in. And that was as far as Mitsuki knew. That day she had had the surgery. And never heard from me or Meroko until the day we saw each other earlier this week. She claimed that Meroko possessed a toy and led her to me.
       It was just to much. It all felt right, and somehow familiar, but maybe it was just my mind, void of memories, grasping for information about myself. But why would she trick me? And why would Oshige agree?
      “Takuto… I…” Her cheeks became flushed. “I love you.”
      I saw her. I saw Mitsuki singing on that stage. She looked so beautiful, swaying back and forth. The lyrics of that song I once sung spilled sweetly from her lips. I sighed in an effort to break the silence between me and Meroko. She looked at me and smiled. It was a pitiful smile. I knew that she didn’t really want me to lose my memory. I knew that she was the one who would have to deal with my confused self when it happened. She would have to tell me everything. She would have to deal with me refusing to believe her. And so would Mitsuki.
      I stumbled backwards as the memory hit me. “No…” It couldn’t actually be true, could it? “No… No!” They don’t exist! Shinigami don’t exist!
      I felt a warm touch to the back of my neck. It was Meroko. I knew it was Meroko.
      “That’s right.” I couldn’t tell if the sound was Meroko’s voice or the ringing of my ears.


      “Takuto? Takuto wake up. It’s me.” Keiichi’s voice filled my head. I moaned and rolled over. “It’s me, Wakoiji.”
      “Keiichi, you jerk. 5 more minutes.” I grumbled. Who cared about deadlines. Sleep was much more important.
      Keiichi laughed and patted my back. “He’s alright, Mitsuki. I think his memories are coming back.”
      That’s right! I sat up as fast as I could and turned to Keiichi. “Where is she?! Where’s Mitsuki?!” He smiled an pointed to the left. My eyes followed his finger to reveal that beautiful, wonderful, girl.
      “Takuto do you…”
      “Yes.” I grabbed her and pulled her close to me. I place my lips on hers, and let everything come back. Yes. I gave up everything for her. My memories. My life. But I had been given a second chance. And Meroko… for her kindness, she had become and angel.
      Thank you, Meroko.
      “You’re welcome”
       A tear rolled down my cheek and onto Mitsuki’s. “I promise. This time I’ll make it right.”