Symphony for The Departed

02: Wails of a Songbird

Finding Nishiura High was only a feat and a half, but finding the baseball field was easy enough. It was still a work in progress as some of the outer field had yet to be replaced with dirt but overall it had the small town ambience, Mihashi loved it.

Too bad he wouldn't be able to play on it. But he only wanted to watch anyway. And watching is what he did.

He watched as the coach swung her bat and hit a ball straight up. Watched as the teams catcher had the smallest but liveliest player throw balls into his mit as Hanai gave into the challenge to see if he can hit any.

In the end Hanai lost the challenge, but Tajima became the ace out of favoritism. Mihashi couldn't push down the jealousy and longing he felt to be in the same place the dark haired boy stood.

On the mound.

Abe, the team's catcher, seemed to get annoyed at Tajima's attitude and childish antics but Mihashi thought he was very friendly, open and safe.

Then again the brunette seemed to get annoyed at a lot of things. He didn't think Abe and him would've made a good battery had he joined the team.

But they seemed very lively and friendly so he approached closer to the team still keeping out of sight as if he'd be caught watching them interact as a team. Now gathered in a small circle, the team began to talk about this and that until the conversation turned to the news, of all things.

Then it made sense why they were talking about the news as the coach approached and said with her booming voice, "Alright kids! You all heard about the curfew put in place due to recent events so make sure to make it home before then, am I clear?"

"Crystal!" The team shouted back in unison.

Going back to whispering amongst themselves about the murder that took place in town, the murder of Mihahsi Ren himself.

Then being interrupted by the coach a second time, with a command of , "Go pack up your stuff and get changed! Yall stink!"

As Mihashi watched the team walk off to the dugout and into the locker room, he caught a glance his way. He wouldn't have been put off by this had it not been with direct eye contact.

As if the raven haired boy was staring directly at him from his place behind a bush.

Then with a shake of the catcher's head, he followed the rest of the team back behind the dugout and that was the end of it. Mihashi's only thought was that it was strange, but then again he could've just been spacing off or seen something in the distance. Mihashi wasn't sure but the latter seemed close enough to an answer for now.

________________________

For now didn't last very long as Mihashi had the urge to follow the catcher as he walked home alone. But he let the distance remain between the boy and himself.

Making sure not to be seen by said boy if he truly could see him, and that was a very strong if. Anyone had yet to even notice the presence of Mihashi, he was all alone no one else could see him.

So as he walked into the Abe residence the last thing he expected to have happen as he looked at each detail of the home, from the various framed pictures littering the walls to the stains of color left on the wall by what Mihashi could only assume was marker, it made it feel very lived in. Warm and safe.

Then while passing the bathroom whilst Abe splashed his face with some water the brunette snapped his attention onto Mihashi and startled fists ready to fight as if he'd seen a ghost.

Mihashi screamed back just as terrified at being seen after days of existing all his lonesome.

Abe was the first to form words, "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU IN MY HOUSE!?!"

Mihashi should've added a third option when he thought the boy yelling at him stared at him as he stayed tucked behind the greenery by the field. The option that he truly could see the strawberry blond.

Mihashi blubbering and fumbling over his words, trying to find a way to coherently translate his feelings and thoughts.

Abe yelled another question, "Who are you!??!

Mihashi felt tears brim his grey washed eyes, "Y-you can see me!?"

Abe answered, taken aback, "W-well yea, obviously! I'm not blind! And I'm not crazy!"

All the yelling the angry male was doing must've caused enough disturbance within the house that his mother shouted up the stairwell, "What's going on up there?!? Why must you always be yelling!?"

Abe rolled his eyes, a clear translation of 'as if you didn't just yell yourself'. Then he replied shouting out of the doorway, "Just playing a game!!"

"Well keep it down!!"

With that Abe opted to tone it down to a whisper yell, "Now, why the fuck are you in my house? More importantly, how did you get into my house??"

Mihashi stuttered saying the truth, but language defeated him as he said the words.

"I-I uh, walked through the door?" He said, more so asked.

"No, really. DId you climb through the window or sneak in the back door?"

Mihashi, not fully understanding the question blurted out, "You're the catcher for N-Nishiura. Right?"

There was a long moment of silence. You could begin to hear the cicadas outside singing their own tune. Suddenly breaking the silence Abe asked, the crease in his brows deepening as he spoke, "Are you, stalking me??"

Not knowing how to explain this to the boy, Mihashi simply muttered, "No. But w-well you see, it's hard to explain and I-"

Before he could get another word in, Abe interrupted him, the taller of the two seemed to be very rude.

"Well? What's so hard to explain about breaking and entering?"

Backtracking immediately MIhashi began stumbling over his sentence trying to explain himself, before settling on, "Well, I-I think I'm dead?"

With a quirk of his brow Abe spoke, "You think? You're dead? Well if you're so dead then why can I see and hear your whiny ass?"

"Th-That I don't know. I thought no one could s-see me until you looked at me in the field and so I followed you. I d-don't know why, I'm s-sorry." He began, only pausing as his voice shook as his face wobbled and he began to cry, hiding and wiping his tears with his dirty forearm.

"I'm just so lost, all I want is m-my baseball." Mihashi started to wail at the end, he wanted some normalcy back into his life, something he knew.

He wanted comfort, not to be yelled at by this rude, annoyed catcher named Abe who is the only one who can see him.

After the tears began to slow, Abe's voice softened a bit, no more yelling. Just his talking voice coming to the surface. Which was still loud, but loud enough where it didn't make Mihashi wanna bawl anymore then he already had.

"Ok, ok. Just, geez, stop crying already. Are you really?" Abe began asking.

"Yknow dead? Like a ghost or something?" He continued.

Mihashi looked down at the tiled flooring as if it would give him the correct answer.

"I suppose so." He stated, flatly with a shrug.

Abe's eyebrows furrowed at this, and the crease made it's grand return. "Well are you or aren't you dead?"

Mihashi had yet to even ask himself that question after waking up in the field just this morning, the information that was presented in front of him when he woke up told him he was dead but his spirit felt very well and alive.

He just didn't need to breathe and, well, couldn't pick up objects, could no longer play baseball, or ride his bike. He took a moment to actually inspect himself, looking down at his hands finding them to be a much paler, almost translucent, color in comparison to the tan he usually sprouted during this time of summer. And with that he breathed out, shrugged and gave a small nod in response.

He really was a ghost, he really was just a dead boy now.