บท 68: Chapter 64: The Ghost

The following day, Minoru began his usual routine of preparing breakfast while his family gathered around the kitchen table, watching him cook. Aqua, curious about the day's news, decided to turn on the TV.

[Today is April 10th, 2014, and in just a few days, we will be able to witness the Tiamata comet with our naked eyes. But when is the best time to see it? We have an expert with us—]

"That's right!" Ai exclaimed with a broad smile. "We could go somewhere to watch the comet, right?"

The three of them watched Ai's excitement, humming in agreement.

"Isn't that too risky?" Aqua voiced his concern.

"Yeah, Mama, you're about to release a new single, and as an idol, we can't go to public events together," Ruby chimed in, making a valid point.

"Come on! It's alright, I can wear a disguise as usual. We can't miss this opportunity, can we? It'll be a memorable family moment!" Ai insisted passionately.

Seeing Ai's determination, it was evident she really wanted them to go out together. It made sense, as they rarely had time together outside of their home. However, they couldn't risk it, given Ai's fame as an idol.

The twins and their mother simply hummed, then turned to Minoru, who had just finished cooking.

"We could simply go to a private island," Minoru suggested, wiping his hands with a towel. "What?"

Once again, the twins and their mother hummed at his typical "I'm super rich" answer.

"Minoru-kun, do you even know what a festival is?" Ai asked, a hint of amusement in her tone.

"Of course I do," Minoru replied, placing the food in front of them. "The problem is, what happens if we get caught?"

Ai's pout flattened awkwardly. "W-Well, can't we just try?"

Minoru sighed. "Look, I can't solve everything with my resources. Unfortunately, going to a private place far from the public is our only option."

"Couldn't we bring Ichigo-san and Miyako-san with us?" Aqua suggested, though he knew it was still risky.

"It's still too risky," Minoru said, taking a seat. "We can't roam around Tokyo and enjoy the festival. Alright, kids, finish your meal quickly and get to school."

With that, they ate breakfast, resigned to the fact that they couldn't enjoy the festival or watch the comet together like others would this weekend. Once again, they had to swallow the bitter truth.

---

Shuchi'in High School rooftop.

During the school's lunch break, Minoru sat alone, smoking a cigarette, pondering Aqua's discovery about the possessed bookshelf.

"It's trying to communicate, huh?" Minoru murmured as he gazed at the city below.

It was hard to believe, but there was evidence. The books sometimes fell out randomly, but other times, they followed a pattern.

"Even trying Morse code," Minoru remarked as he exhaled.

'If Rachel hadn't told me about magic, I might have dismissed this as nonsense.'

But he was wrong. If magic could somehow make wormhole appear on Mars, then the "ghost" in the kids' bookshelf might be explainable. Once again, he had to thank his kids for managing to solve it.

What was important was that Minoru also wanted to have a vacation with his family. Ai's plan might be better than going to a private island; after all, sometimes simplicity was better than luxury.

---

On the following day, the family anxiously anticipated Aqua and Mitsuha's body swap once again. Despite their efforts, the mystery of their involuntary exchanges remained unsolved.

"No more cameras and acting, please," Mitsuha, now in Aqua's body, groaned, clearly unenthusiastic about heading to work.

"Why do you let Aqua-kun endure this, Yanagi-san?" questioned Minoru, pausing in his chopping.

"Perhaps it's his passion, and I can't stand in the way of his dreams," Minoru mused, considering Mitsuha's complaints about Aqua's demanding schedule.

Miyamizu Mitsuha, a 17-year-old high school student, from the rural village of Itomori. Her family, deeply rooted in religious practices, oversaw the management of Miyamizu Shrine. Her mother's illness and subsequent passing left her father, a former priest turned politician, to assume the role of Itomori's mayor.

"What's Itomori like, Miyamizu?" inquired him, to which Mitsuha sighed wearily.

"It's a dull rural area, filled with elderl. There are scarcely any job opportunities, entertainment, and not even a single café," she lamented.

"Isn't that your hometown you're talking about?" said Ai, joining the conversation with curiosity.

"Indeed. Nonetheless, I plan to leave for Tokyo once I graduate!" Mitsuha declared with a bright smile.

"That's quite the leap from being a shrine maiden to a free spirit," observed Ai with a grin.

"Ahahaha." Mitsuha laugh awkwardly.

As the conversation continued, Minoru listened attentively, though he found little of usefull information. The next day brought a shock when Mitsuha didn't return to her own body, leaving everyone bewildered.

"Aqua, how are you feeling?" Ai asked with concern, peering at the screen.

"I'm fine. It's just strange that I'm not back to normal today," replied Aqua, inhabiting Mitsuha's body.

They contacted Aqua, reassuring him and promising to seek a solution. For now, all they could do was ask him to wait patiently.

---

On the way back from Strawberry Production studio, four people sat inside a car. Two mommy occupied the front seats while the twins, with their distinctive silver hair, nestled in the back.

"Sigh…"

Mitsuha's weary exhale filled the car. Another exhausting day, still inhabiting Aqua's body, meant shouldering his demanding schedule. Showbiz life was proving to be more grueling than she had anticipated.

"What's wrong, Mitsuha-san?" Ruby noticed Mitsuha's heavy sigh.

"I'm just tired. It's surprising that Aqua-kun manages to keep up with all of this," Mitsuha remarked.

"Ahahaha~! Mitsuha, you've been doing a fantastic job all this time," Ai chimed in with a giggle. "Isn't that right, Miyako-san? Can we swing by the department store first? Minoru-kun suggested we get something to reward Mitsuha for her hard work."

At Ai's suggestion, Mitsuha's fatigued expression shifted to curiosity.

"Ah… Alright, and I also need to pick up a few things," Miyako said with a smile.

Ruby interjected, "Can we stop by a café afterward?"

"CA-CAFE?!" Mitsuha gasped in surprise.

Amused by Mitsuha's reaction, Ai grinned as they made their way to the department store.

"Mitsuha, pick out something nice for yourself," Ai urged with a smile.

"Oh, um... okay then."

After some shopping, they eventually made it to the café.

"That's adorable!" Mitsuha exclaimed, admiring the café's dog-themed interior.

"The dogs I rode with Anya were somehow cuter," Ruby commented with a hint of disappointment. "Excuse me, can we ride these dogs?" she asked, pointing at them.

The employee smiled awkwardly, "I'm sorry, young lady, but you can't ride these dogs."

"What? I thought all dogs were strong," Ruby pouted.

"Ruby, if you want to ride something, we can find a horse or pony later. I apologize… she's still a child," Miyako explained to the employee.

As time passed, they headed home, but Ai was preoccupied with a deep concern.

"Ai-san, why the long face?" Miyako asked as she drove.

With her gaze fixed out the car window, Ai sighed. "Aqua and Mitsuha haven't returned to normal yet."

Miyako's eyes widened. "You mean they're still stuck in each other's bodies from yesterday?"

Ai nodded. "Yes, I don't know the reason, but I'm really worried."

Miyako pondered, "How did you resolve it last time? With you and Mai-san?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but we managed to resolve each other's problems. I accompanied Mai-san when she reunited with her mother and decided to return to showbiz with a different agency. At that time... I think she was facing a similar dilemma as me," Ai reflected. "I had been contemplating resolving my issues with my mother too. I hadn't visited her yet, but somehow, we returned to normal."

Miyako nodded in understanding.

"So, even though you didn't technically know why, you managed to solve it through action. But when we think about the two of them, Aqua is still a child and doesn't have a past like yours. As for Mitsuha, I could believe she might have personal problems like you, but Aqua... he's just four."

Ai agreed with Miyako's reasoning.

"So, the reason for their body swap must be something else. Mitsuha mentioned being a priestess in her village, yet she had no prior knowledge of it. My guess, I have a feeling it might be related to my children's bookshelf."

"Oh..." Miyako recalled. "Perhaps you should call a supernatural expert or just move the bookshelf and call it a day."

"Aqua said he'll solve it no matter what, so he refuses to move it," Ai sighed. "Whoa~ we've finally arrived. Thank you, Miyako-san. Alright, kids, we're here."

With that, they arrived at Minoru's private parking lot basement. As Ai pondered something, she turned to Miyako.

"Miyako-san, since you and the President moved to the same building as me, have you encountered anything similar to that bookshelf?"

With Minoru becoming a major shareholder of Strawberry Production, he took care of everything, including providing accommodation for Ichigo and Miyako. Since Miyako also managed Aqua's schedule and picked up Ruby and him from school, it made sense for them to move into the same apartment complex. Ichigo, being the agency's CEO, deemed it a reasonable arrangement.

"Our new apartment seems normal to me," Miyako replied.

Ai hummed thoughtfully. Perhaps it was too spacious, attracting even ghosts to inhabit it.

"I'm scared a ghost might come out of our TV," Ruby confessed.

"How is that possible, Ruby-chan?" Mitsuha chuckled. "I think the ghost would be stuck in the TV."

"Ah... I think the ghost would be perfectly fine," Ruby remembered their large TV.

"Hahaha. Miyako-san, I'll head inside. Thank—" Ai's words were interrupted by her vibrating phone, followed by Miyako's.

"An earthquake?" Miyako read the notification aloud.

As Ai and Miyako moved to collect the kids, the basement shook four times before the earthquake subsided.

"Phew... that was a shock. Is everyone alright?" Ai asked, receiving nods from everyone.

"I think that's the second earthquake this month," Miyako said, glancing towards the basement where things were still shaking slightly. "Alright, I'm heading out. Thanks for your hard work."

"Likewise, Miyako-san," Ai replied, watching her leave.

Suddenly, Ruby's eyes widened.

"Mama! I'll go first!" she exclaimed, darting towards the elevator.

"W-Wait! Ruby, what's going on?—Wait!"

Ai called after her, with Mitsuha and the others following suit. They became increasingly concerned as Ruby rushed ahead, leaving them behind. When Ruby finally reached her bedroom, she flung the door open, only to be shocked by what she saw.

"Ruby! What is—"

Ai and Mitsuha arrived shortly after, their mouths hanging open in disbelief as they surveyed the scene in the kids' bedroom.

[Ai! Is she alright?] came Minoru's voice from Ai's phone.

"Yes, she's alright," Ai reassured him, still processing the situation. "Anyway, you should come home first."

Ai hung up the phone, leaving Minoru cursing worriedly as he made his way back home. Thankfully, the earthquake it wasn't too severe. He called Ai, learning that they were all safe but that Ruby had been in a panic. Later, Ai informed him that Ruby was fine but urged him to come home immediately.

Upon arriving home, Minoru rushed straight to the penthouse.

As the elevator doors opened, he was met with the sight of the kids' bedroom illuminated by a warm light. Running towards it, his reaction mirrored that of Ai and Mitsuha when they first witnessed the scene.

"Dad! The ghost is acting up again!" Ruby exclaimed, approaching him.

"Are you alright?" Minoru asked, patting her head as he focused on the perplexing scene. "What is all this?"

"After the earthquake stopped, I remembered that I had placed the sandbox in the wrong spot, and then it fell. But then, the ghost..." Ruby explained, trailing off as she gestured towards the room.

Ai watched Minoru closely as he entered the room. "Minoru-kun, what exactly is happening here?" she asked, her voice tinged with concern.

Minoru remained silent, his gaze fixed intently on the peculiar sight before him: a shattered book on the floor, a fallen box, and most intriguingly, sand seemingly arranged in a pattern on the ground, illuminated by the soft glow of a desk lamp.

---

As the sky outside turned a fiery red, signaling the approaching end of the day, a man leaned against his children's bed, jotting down notes.

"Did you find something?"

A woman leaned against the wall, her curiosity piqued by the man's smile. Their twin children watched from the doorway, brows arched inquisitively.

"Dad, is it a ghost trying to communicate or something?" Ruby asked, her curiosity getting the better of her, while Mitsuha observed silently.

"It's not a ghost, Ruby," Minoru replied with a grin as he tossed a coin, watching it fall to the ground. "It's gravity."

He recalled Rachel's explanation of a gravitational anomaly on Mars and now witnessed a similar phenomenon in his children's bedroom. After a moment, a grin flashed across his face.

"Your brother may be trying Morse code, but this..." Minoru chuckled as he finished writing. "This is binary." He smiled as he finished writing, "Coordinates…"

"Huh?" they echoed in unison.

They followed Minoru to the living room, where he retrieved his laptop and entered the coordinates he had found. Minoru frowned as he read the result.

"A dying volcano? No, it's just a big crater on the top of the mountain. And just a few miles from, Itomori..."

At the mention of Itomori, Ai and Ruby followed his gaze, exchanging questioning glances with Mitsuha.

"Eh?! I-I swear I didn't know what's going on. It wasn't me!" Mitsuha stammered, her innocence evident in her reaction.

Observing her, they concluded that she wasn't lying or playing a prank. With a sigh, Minoru got up and headed upstairs, leaving them puzzled.

"But this place..." Mitsuha murmured, looking at the screen. "It's the sacred place managed by the Miyamizu Shrine for centuries."

"Sacred place?" Ai inquired.

"Yes, where we make offerings every year. I should have gone today, but I'm still in Aqua-kun, so he must have done it," Mitsuha explained.

"Wait, could this give us a clue why you two are still switching bodies?"

Ai pondered aloud. If Aqua and Mitsuha were supposed to switch back this morning but didn't, the situation was worsening.

"Dad?"

Ruby interrupted, noticing Minoru descending the stairs with bags, clearly preparing to go somewhere.

"Minoru-kun, don't tell me that… are you going to Itomori?"

Ai asked, to which Minoru nodded.

"Okay, wait for me to prepare—"

"No," Minoru cut her off. "I'll go alone with Mitsuha. You both stay here."

He packed his laptop and the maps into his bag decisively.

"But we don't know what you'll find there," Ai protested.

"That's exactly why, Ai," Minoru replied, looking at her. "Let's say an alien led us to this place. It's undoubtedly a trap."

He didn't know what awaited them or why a fourth-dimensional being had sent them a message. But he couldn't ignore the call, not when it might help his son and solve the mystery of the body-switching. Before that, he also learn about magic and so on. Yes, he couldn't risk his family being involved by this suspicious events.

"You're right…" Ai conceded, realizing the validity of Minoru's reasoning. "But as his mother, I should be there too, right? This isn't just your problem. It's a family matter, Minoru-kun."

Minoru paused as Ai had a point. But before he could respond, he saw Ruby storm off in anger. Sighing, he set down his bags and went to her room, finding her hiding under her blanket amidst the chaos of her room.

"Ruby, hey... I'll be back right away, so—"

"I don't care. You promised we'd see the comet together, and now you're going without us," Ruby interrupted, her tone sharp with hurt.

Minoru felt a pang of guilt. "I'm sorry, but this trip might be dangerous, so—"

"Just go! I already hate you anyway…"

Ruby's words pierced through him, leaving him stunned. He never expected his daughter to say she hated him. Despite his efforts to connect with her and earn her acceptance as her father, it seemed he had failed once again. Damn, There's nothing he can do.

"Alright, alright, go prepare. We'll leave in 10 minutes."

"Heh..." Ruby smirked under her blanket.

---

Ten minutes passed with both Ai and Ruby smiling broadly. Currently, six individuals occupied the elevator, resembling a group gearing up for a wilderness camping trip.

"Finally! Family vacation I've been dreaming about! Wohoo~ Wait for us, outdoor camp!" Ai exclaimed excitedly before her smile faltered. "But why do we have to bring the President too?"

Ichigo snorted. "Shut it, you darn idol. Do you think we'll let a celebrity like you roam freely in public at this time? Don't forget we have a big project thanks to the Boss."

Miyako sighed. "So, we're going to Mitsuha-san's village?"

"That's right! Isn't it a great getaway? Why didn't we think of this sooner?" Ai said, laughing. "Also, I really want to see Aqua in Mitsuha's body."

Mitsuha gasped. "P-Please don't do that!"

"Right. Boss, I think we should split up like before. Ai and Miyako will come with me, and as for the kids—"

"That won't happen, Ichigo-san," Minoru interjected, causing confusion among them all.

Meanwhile, Ruby felt something strange. "Uh… Dad, why are we going up?"

Minoru smiled at her as the elevator doors swung open. They felt the breeze hit them, causing a shiver. Minoru stepped out first, carrying Ruby in his arms with bags slung over his other arm.

"Minoru-kun, why are we on the rooftop?" Ai followed him, noticing a short staircase made of metal. "Wait, has this thing been here all this time?"

As the others stopped behind her, mouths agape, they watched Minoru approach a sleek black helicopter and swing open the door. After living here for around a month, it was surprising that Ai hadn't noticed such a significant presence on their roof.

"Hold on. You can fly this thing?" Ai asked skeptically.

"Yeah, get inside," Minoru replied, opening the front door.

After a while, they were all seated inside. None of them had ever flown in a helicopter before, and the thought of taking off from the top of the building was daunting.

"Hey, young man. How much experience do you have flying this thing? I'm starting to feel shiver here. It's not too late to change vehicles," Ichigo said, feeling a cold sweat forming on his back.

Minoru smiled a bit as he prepared to start the engine.

"Don't worry, I have a flying license. Alright, put on the headsets in front of you, because it's going to get noisy from now on."

They all followed his command, hearing the engine grow louder.

"This is April 0-0-0-1 Black Swan, ready to depart. Over."

Through the headsets, they could hear Minoru communicating as the engine noise increased.

[Copy that, Black Swan. Your flight plan to Itomori has been approved. We wish you luck.]

As he heard the confirmation, Minoru slowly lifted the helicopter off the rooftop. They watched in silence, seeing his focused expression.

"Dad is so cool," Ruby said from the back, and they all silently agreed.

Beside him, Ai watched Minoru, realizing once again how little she knew about him. As they began to ascend, she blushed as his face was illuminated by the fading sunlight of the afternoon.

---

The transition from day to night cast a serene blanket over the rural village, painting the landscape in muted hues. Amidst this quietude stood a young girl, her ponytail swaying gently as she surveyed the placid waters of Itomori Lake.

This girl, none other than Aqua, currently occupying Mitsuha's body, stood clad in a set of jogging attire, absorbing the tranquil beauty that surrounded him.

As Aqua absorbed the scenery, he couldn't help but ponder the stark contrast between this idyllic setting and the bustling streets of Tokyo awaiting his return.

"I'll probably won't see this when I'm back in Tokyo," he mused, his gaze drifting upward to the expanse of the night sky.

"Oh my…"

The soft voice of a girl interrupted Aqua's reverie, drawing his attention. He turned to find a young girl standing nearby, her presence both unexpected and intriguing.

"You again," Aqua remarked, eyeing her unamused. "Kid, it's late. Shouldn't you be in bed by now?"

The girl, undeterred by Aqua's dismissal, flashed a bright smile.

"For your information, I don't like being called a kid," she retorted playfully. "Besides, I can't sleep. The night is too beautiful to waste, don't you think?"

Aqua raised an eyebrow at the girl's boldness.

"But you are a child," he countered, "Surely your parents would be concerned about you."

"Ah, but I don't have parents," the girl replied, her smile unwavering. "No parents in this world to worry about me, except for the kind lady at the orphanage. Unlike you, who must have worried parents wondering about their missing daughter. But you're here, enjoying the view."

"Sorry…"

Despite his wariness, he found himself captivated by her enigmatic presence.

'Why is she speaking like this?'

His gaze lingering on her. The little girl smile with amusing eyes as she turned her attention back to the tranquil waters below.

(The creepy-girl's image.)

---

A/N:

Stones?