I Fell In Love With A Girl Who Died Before I Was Even Born

The three of us were on our way back from No-Parking Park when a strange thought occurred to me.

The only way into the Nightlands was through an Achilles Gate.

Okay… but no one knew what one looked like.

Shion and her pot-head friends, Speed Nuts and the Automotive Studs went to the Nightlands though.

And Shion met them on her first night here.

She met them on Crescent Moon Academy grounds because she said she couldn't go past the iron gate at the front of the school.

But she never mentioned the woods behind it. And I knew something else that was in those woods.

The bus tunnel.

We were only a few blocks from Shin'yume-sou when I called out, "Hey you two, hold up a sec."

Natsumi and Yuki stopped just ahead of me on the sidewalk, both turning with the same tired, curious glance. Yuki's brows raised a little.

"You okay?"

I grinned, letting her know I was good.

"I'm okay," I said. "I just… wanted to run something by you."

Natsumi puffed her cheeks.

"Is it about snacks? Because if it's not about snacks, Natsumi is losing interest fast."

She stretched, rolling her shoulders and looking bored.

"It's not snacks," I said. "It's about the bus tunnel."

Yuki scrunched her nose instantly.

"Gracious, but you do go on about that thing. What is your obsession with it? Larry, the bus driver, literally told you not to go near it."

I remembered.

"He also said Crescent Moon was 'kinda haunted' in the same tone you use to say a vending machine's out of lemon soda," I replied.

Natsumi took a slow hit from her vape, exhaling a bubblegum-scented puff that floated toward the flickering yellow glow of a streetlamp.

"Natsumi's heard stories. People go missing near that tunnel. Sometimes students who don't go missing stay around."

Yuki tilted her head, but I had a good idea what she meant.

"They get turned into the Noppera bō," I said.

Natsumi nodded, but Yuki gasped, bringing her hand to cover her mouth.

"And they think I'm spooky," Yuki whispered.

The street around the three of us was dead quiet, just the occasional buzz of neon and the thrum of a cheap bassline leaking from some half-alive bar around the corner. Most of the buildings were shuttered or boarded up. Apartments squatted over old shops with signs too faded to read.

The whole place reeked of entropy and leftover ramen grease.

But that smell couldn't cover up the uneasy feeling.

Natsumi's ears twitched. She looked over her shoulder. Then the other one. Her eyes narrowed.

I followed her gaze. Nothing was moving—but I suddenly couldn't shake the feeling that something was.

A presence. Just… watching.

"Natsumi doesn't think we should be talking about this here," she muttered, lowering her voice.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because it's stupid to say the name of something creepy when creepy things might be listening," she said. "American-jin doesn't yell 'Bloody Mary' into a cracked mirror, hai?"

I thought about it for a minute.

"…I don't think so. At least, not on purpose."

Then Yuki spoke up.

"I've done it," Yuki said flatly. "She didn't show up."

Natsumi just turned towards Yuki, lazily.

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"She's busy." Natsumi hissed. "She's union now."

I waved my arms.

"Listen, I'm serious. I want to go to the tunnel."

Both of them froze.

"Nope," Natsumi said immediately.

For once in our conversation, she actually looked sincere.

"Nooope. Natsumi's out."

Her eyes were wide, shoulders tense.

"Why?" I asked. "Why does everyone keep saying the woods aren't safe at night?!"

Natsumi's eyes flashed with anger. She took a step forward, her stubborn jaw stuck out.

"Have you ever been in the woods at night?" Natsumi snapped.

I opened my mouth to argue. Then paused.

Growing up in West Virginia, of course I'd been in the woods at night. Hundreds of times.

But, thinking about those times back then, I knew exactly why the regular, normal forest at night wasn't safe. My mother had told me at least a dozen times.

Venomous snakes. Holes you can't see that you step in at night. If you were lucky, you'd just sprain your ankle. If you weren't, you could snap your leg. Not to mention brambles. Thorns. Hornet nests. All manner of varmints. Feral dogs. Shadowy things you couldn't see until they breathed behind your neck.

And that was before you added Crescent Moon's flair for the supernatural.

I nodded slowly. "Okay. Fair. But still—"

The nekomata shook her head.

"Natsumi wants American-jin to add yokai to those woods now," she said, crossing her arms. "Also orcs. And trolls. Probably at least three possessed toilets."

She took a hit from her vape.

"The tengu have a sparing ring somewhere in the woods," she whispered, smoke trailing out her mouth.

Yuki made sputtering noises.

"Huh? Tengu?" she asked. "I'd heard that it was the oni. Rinko said she dated a guy that used to go there after class."

Oni? Tengu? Trolls now too.

"Should I throw in lions and tigers and bears?"

"Oh my!" Yuki chirped.

Natsumi groaned.

"Ughhh, ghost girl's enabling American-jin."

Yuki couldn't stop grinning.

"Maybe," Yuki said, hiding her smile behind her hand. "I'm just so glad I finally understood one of your references."

I looked up at the faint outline of the mountain behind the buildings. The way the trees swallowed the road. The black mouth of the path that led behind Crescent Moon Academy.

Somewhere up there was the tunnel.

And I had a feeling that whatever was behind it… wasn't just watching.

It was waiting.

"I'm going to the tunnel," I said, determined.

Natsumi rolled her eyes, and she pointed towards Shin'yume-sou.

"American-jin has a death wish," she said.

I shook my head.

"Natsumi, you're the one who talked me into going to fight a Yuki Onna a little bit ago. Now you're too chicken to take a short walk to a damn bus tunnel?"

Before Natsumi could answer, Yuki spoke up.

"Ryu, you're being an impulsive dumbass," she said flatly.

Natsumi laughed.

"American-jin's in love," she teased. "You'll listen to this, Yuki, nyyya?"

I sighed, but I nodded.

"Okay, fine. Why am I being an impulsive ass?" I asked.

"Just stop wanting to run off to the tunnel and think about what Natsumi's trying to say," Yuki explained.

Natsumi crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Fine," I said. "What are you saying, Natsumi?"

Her twin tails twitched irritably behind her.

"American-jin is dumb for wanting to go at night. Wait. During the day, much easier. Natsumi likes doing things the easy way."

Yeah. I could tell.

Yuki crossed her arms and gave me a long, flat look.

"You have more allies than you give yourself credit for," she said.

I didn't answer right away. My mind was still on the tunnel. I knew how close it was, and how much closer I felt to something real. Something hidden. Something that might explain everything.

But then Yuki raised a brow and asked, "Okay, fine. Let's say you do go. How are you even going to walk up to it? It didn't go so well last time, remember?"

That stopped me.

I remembered trying to reach the damn tunnel. I'd run with everything I had, but my feet had gone nowhere. It was like being caught in a dream. A sick, awful dream where forward didn't exist.

"Maybe I could fly," I muttered. "My wings. I could just fly over—"

Yuki shook her head before I could finish.

"Ryu, come on. Just wait a little bit," she said. "You've got me. You've got Natsumi. Hibana will help. Shion, too. Even little Miss Goth Cleavage if you ask nicely."

I raised an eyebrow.

"You mean Murasaki?"

Yuki smirked, then grew serious again. "My point is that you're not alone. And you don't need to rush."

I sighed, annoyed but swayed. My fists clenched at my sides, wings twitching slightly under my shirt.

"Fine," I muttered. "I'll wait."

We kept walking, Shin'yume-sou just ahead. Natsumi kicked a rock down the sidewalk, her vape dangling between two fingers like a cigarette. The building loomed, cracked windows catching bits of flickering streetlight. The heavy metal gates stood open from where we'd left, but barely.

And just outside them stood a girl.

She was short. Round glasses. Pigtails. Bright, smug eyes behind lenses that caught the glow of neon. She wore a cropped cheer top over a pleated skirt that didn't quite follow the rules.

I knew her. First period literature class.

Inego had problems keeping his eyes off her springy legs and candy-striped legwarmers that would've been right at home in the 80s.

Hotaru.

"Natsumi," she said casually, not even looking at me, "go get Hibana. I need to talk to this one alone."

Natsumi raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. She padded barefoot past her without a word.

That left me, Yuki, and Hotaru.

"You need my help with something?" I asked. "Kind of a shame you weren't around earlier. Could've used your help fighting the Yuki-Onna."

Hotaru held something in her hand.

And then something stung the side of my neck.

Sharp. Like a wasp. I reached up, my fingers brushing something metallic: thin and delicate.

A dart.

Not just a dart. A tiny, absurdly adorable dart.

With green, pink, and black candy stripes.

Just like Hotaru's damn leg warmers she wore all the time.

"Oh god damn it," I muttered.

My vision went swimmy, the lights warping into stars. My balance shifted. My stomach dropped.

Hotaru caught me as I stumbled.

"Yeah," she said, cool as anything. "I know about the Yuki-Onna. You really should've waited for Hibana. Would've made things a lot simpler."

"Ryu!" Yuki's voice sounded far off, panicked. "Ryu, what's wrong?!"

My legs buckled. My head leaned into Hotaru's shoulder. I tried to speak, but the words were mush in my mouth.

Hotaru's arms tightened around me. She felt stronger than she looked.

"Don't worry," she murmured. "I've got you. You've been rushing things. Making a mess. The clan doesn't like it."

I tried to ask what clan, but the world was melting.

Then, as everything slid sideways and the dark started swallowing me, I heard her sigh.

"Can't believe they want me to get with this big lug," she muttered.

And then everything was gone.