Ghosts of the Past

Chapter 30

Hide's dad stepped into the house and set his suitcase down.

"I'm home!"

"In here." The call was quiet, and Hide's dad began to worry.

He walked into the living room to see his wife with tear streaks on her face and a sad smile.

"Honey? Were you thinking about Hide again?" He asked her gently.

His wife nodded. "Yeah. Dear, I promised Hide to explain to you something. Will you listen?"

He nodded. "Of course." He took a seat beside his wife.

She smiled. "He's alive. Hide's alive. He's not here anymore, but he told me to tell you what he told me."

"Hide's dead. You have to accept that!" He tried to explain to the delusional woman.

"I won't accept something that isn't true!" She barked. "Listen to me before you jump to conclusions!"

Hide's dad forced himself to calm down. "Fine."

His wife went on to explain the things Hide had told her and what had happened after he'd called her.

"That's not possible." He denied.

"It is, apparently." She sighed. "I didn't know if you would believe me or not, but I'm hoping you'll give me the benefit of the doubt until he comes back."

Hide's dad thought. His wife wouldn't make something like this up. She had accepted Hide's death, though she had still been mourning. If she was telling him this, it was almost positive Hide was alive and kicking.

"I believe you. Now, let's go to bed. It's late."

__________________________

Amon hit the 'play' button on the recorder.

Akira and Arima listened intently to the information they heard.

Once it was done, Amon turned the device off and tucked it gently into his pocket. "So?"

"This certainly changes a few things." Arima grunted.

"I'll admit," Akira said, begrudgingly. "that it's sad something so horrible happened to him."

"He seems to have a lot of stuff happen to him." Amon countered. "I'm not the leader of the operation." Amon looked toward Arima. "That's you. After hearing this, what do you think we should do?"

Arima clasped his hands together and bent down to rest his head on them, eyes shut tightly.

'I don't know.'

__________________________

Hide made it to America in daylight.

He knew where Kaneki hid, but his first stop was Melinda's. That was the plan.

He smiled at the familiar sign of her antique shop.

He could still remember the first time.

Kaneki glanced around, and Hide followed his gaze to look at what Kaneki was seeing. When Kaneki's gaze caught an antique shop called 'Same As It Never Was Antiques', Hide smiled slightly. Kaneki was always into that kind of nerd stuff.

After walking in, voices were heard.

"Melinda!" A woman at the front desk called. "We have a customer."

"One minute!" Another woman, presumably Melinda, called from the back room.

The woman came back and she seemed to blink at Kaneki, slightly shocked at his appearance.