Unreadable [Ritsu x Reader]

Chapter 22: Afterwards

About a month later the news reported the story of an unnamed hospital patient who had mysteriously disappeared. No nurses or cameras saw him leave his room, and there were no sheets tied together outside his window. Ritsu and I knew it was him. I couldn't help but wonder how he was doing now.

The Old Ones were all defeated, and Spice City was safe again. The forcefield machine disappeared as well, probably taken back by the person or group of people responsible for inventing it in the first place.

With schoolwork and routines back to their normal flow, life soon felt normal again. Our class has a big exam coming up, so we've been keeping ourselves occupied with studying. I made myself some flash cards to help myself memorize the different terms, I'm not going to use any mind help on this test. I'm even using the pretty pens grandma gave me to decorate my notes with colors.

At lunch I eat outside with Ritsu again. We talk about the recent crazy events. Our lunch is interrupted by a small spirit, but this time it isn't Dimple.

"Aia?"

"Hello," the quiet girl greets. "I'm glad I found you. I wanted to say thank you for helping with my mom, and all those other mean ghosts."

"I'm glad we were able to help," I smile at the little pink spirit. "What will you do now?"

"We'll, Mom is gone now... so......... I want to see my brothers again." I watch Aia smile for the first time, it's a pure and sweet smile. "I just wanted to thank you two before leaving."

"Take care of yourself." Ritsu adds.

"I will." The little girl waves and slowly disappears into thin air.

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After another day at school I groan and pack up my bag. I walk outside and meet with the Kageyama brothers to walk home together. As we chat I think about how content I am with the way things are. My mind reading still doesn't work on these two, but hasn't bothered me at all when we're together. The warm sun shines down on us as we wander through a small crowd of people in our path. Suddenly I stop.

"Guys!" They turn where I'm looking. Farther away in the crowd is a young man with slightly wavy blond hair. He's dressed in a business suit. His hands and face are now uncovered, except for a small bandage on his cheek. The man looks at us and smiles before walking out of sight.

"Was that....." I couldn't believe my eyes. "I barely even recognized him without all the bandages."

"He seems much healthier now," Ritsu states.

"And happier," Mob agrees.

I laugh happily at the surprise encounter. "I'm glad for him."

"Are we gonna stand around all day?" Dimple interrupts in a whiny voice.

We continue walking down the sidewalk together. A plane flies high above us, leaving a small trail of clouds through the clear blue sky. I briefly make eye contact with Ritsu and we smile at each other. I'm grateful things worked out the way they did. I guess it's times like these that are worth noticing. 

[Drafted by Anna]