Mount Iwate stood in the Iwate prefecture. It had an elevation of more than 2,000 meters and not only that, Daiki was familiar with it. When he was younger Daiki often traveled from his hometown of Kitakami to Morioka with his mother. But now that they had figured out which mountain she was familiar with, getting to it was another issue. The travel time alone was practically five hours by train and in addition, Daiki would have to fund the fees to travel and stay there. While contemplating, Saki flew in asking when they would be getting on the road.
“Saki, it’s not going to be easy. We’d have to take the train plus I’m not financially ready to travel. We would have to wait at least another month before we can go but then the semester would just be ending as well.”
“Well take a few days off! It’ll be fine!”
“It’s not that easy. I need to pause my life before saving yours. It’s going to take some time.”
Saki relented and accepted his conditions. To prepare for their travels, Daiki got a map of the surrounding areas by Mount Iwate. He also collected books and pictures to hang and spread in the living room for Saki’s observation. After discovering that she could manipulate devices and recordings, she used that ability to document her findings. Finally, plans for finding her identity were finally starting to look up.
When a week passed by, a pent-up lack of sleep drilled Daiki. He was exhausted from the work but he knew he couldn’t afford to stop now. Eventually, the members of the Supernatural Experiences Club also grew worried for him. On a number of occasions, they tried convincing him to take a break and rest but he refused. Soon, Saki’s unknowing ignorance of his current state shattered when she saw the dark circles under his eyes.
“Uh, Umehara-san? Are you doing alright,” she asked in concern. “Honestly, it’s you who seems like the one who died…”
“Yeah. I’m fine.” He responded putting on his backpack. Almost immediately he began to wonder why it felt like he was carrying a 45-pound dog. Daiki held out his hand to twist the lock on the door, sounding a click as the gears shifted.
“Hey, I looked through the other pages you wanted me to. What do you want me to do now?”
“You did? Ah, let me think…”
For some reason, he felt light but heavy all at once. It was as if he was floating on clouds but it hurt too.
“Umeha-”

Saki’s voice was the last thing he heard before a screeching ring filled his eardrums. Like a stealthy lioness about to ambush its prey, Gravity pinned him down and everything went black.
She saw it all. From the moment she realized he wasn’t going to answer her, she held out her arms but he slipped right through her. She knew he was in trouble. In an attempt to test his temperature, Saki placed her palm over his forehead but couldn’t feel anything. It was frustrating. She poked her head through the front door in search of help but the neighborhood was empty. It was helpless, and so was she. For three hours Saki sat beside him while he slept in the entryway. Finally, when his phone rang, Saki manipulated the electric field to answer it. The voice she heard on the other line was Aoi; on her end, there was no response, only static.
Aoi called his name but the silence made her suspicious rushing her over to his apartment. Upon arrival, she found the door unlocked and Daiki fainted in the entryway. Immediately, Aoi got to work bringing him back to bed and cooking a meal. Saki stared. She envied Aoi’s ability to be of use compared to herself. Upset over something she couldn’t control, Saki returned to the bedroom to watch over Daiki. Eventually, Aoi would walk in with a stew and wake him up to eat. Upon opening his eyes, Saki flew out and Aoi spoke.
“Hey, how do you feel?”
“Like shit. What are you doing here?”
“Well I called but you must’ve fainted right after answering because you went silent so I came over.”
He remembered unlocking the door but not her call. Figuring that Saki had something to do with it, Daiki thanked Aoi and she took her leave. After he was sure she was gone, he called out to Saki bringing her back to him.
“Yeah?” she nervously peaked into his room.
“What are you doing over there? Come in,” he ordered.
Saki went over to his bed. “What is it? If you needed something you should have asked Miss Aoi. I-”
“Thank you,” he interrupted. “Aoi said she called me. Apparently, I answered but I have no recollection of it. It must’ve been you,” he said gazing into her eyes. “Thanks.”
“Oh, I don’t think I did very much. It was frustrating. Literally, the only I could do was sit next to you for three hours until she came.”
“You sat there?! For three hours,” he questioned in shock. Saki’s cheeks reddened as she realized what she just told him.
“Ye-yeah! I couldn’t do anything and I was worried okay?! Just forget that I said that,” she said holding her face in her hands. He acknowledged her nervousness and called to her. When she found the courage to look up at him, his expression was still and his voice soft.
“Thank you. I know you did everything you could.”
Earlier she felt so useless but at this moment, his sincerity broke her a bit. She was emotionally baffled over his understanding but at the same time, she felt her soul warm up.
“You’re welcome.”
It took Daiki an additional four days to fully recover but when he did, he got to work. This time, he was careful now aware that the fault was his own. After sharing with him how she felt, Daiki became intent on keeping track of himself. He was a smart guy so it tore his confidence a little when he let himself drown in the work. A small factor of his self-awareness was also because of Saki. Conveying that she felt helpless until Aoi’s phone call lived in his head rent-free. She was a ghost after all but he didn’t want her to feel that way ever again. It was neither her nor Aoi’s job to take care of him, it was his.
When Daiki got home, Saki was drooling on the couch. He looked at the work he had assigned her before leaving and noticed that it was practically untouched. “Hey,” he said pulling close. Their faces were a foot away from one another. She looked like she was in deep sleep. When he called to her again the beautiful lavender eyes her lids tucked away lit up catching him off guard.
“Wha? Oh welcome home,” she said drowsily. “Did you have a good day?”
“Why aren’t you doing your homework,” he questioned.
“My homework? Ah, I got tired and wanted to take a nap. I figured if I woke up before Umehara got home,” she stopped abruptly. When she realized he was the one talking to her, her body shot up, “Oh Umehara! It’s you!”
“Of course it’s me. I live here, did you forget?”
Saki went back to work after he scolded her a little bit. Sneaking a peak at her, his thoughts began to change. When they first met in the storage unit, she showed him many features that Daiki thought were annoying. Initially, he didn’t want to deal with her at all but now she seemed just a tad different. In just a few days, he began to see new attributes that he actually liked. Saki had the determination of a lioness, the trust of a canine, and a heart of gold. Every day made it easier to talk to her and though she slacks on her work sometimes, she follows through. 

“Hey,” Daiki began, “Are you sure about this? The whole saving you thing.”
She turns to him abruptly, “What are you even saying? Of course I am!”
“Even though all we know about you is that you probably lived in Morioka? You barely remember the facts yourself.”
Her look turned fierce. Saki didn’t know what he was up to but it bugged her. “I am not going to change my mind!”
She stood up to him. She was serious and suddenly Daiki smirked.
“Oh Good,” he teased sticking out his tongue. “I was just making sure you were actually still serious since you weren’t doing your homework.” Saki’s face singed red. She had no idea he could make a jokeful remark or ridiculing face. It actually stunned her a bit.
“Let’s make that promise then.”
“Promise?”
“Yes. The one you asked me to make.” Daiki set down his things and walked back to her holding his pinky out. She looked at him in confusion. “Saki, if I promise to save you, will you promise to give me something in return,” he said indicating their prize of agreement. Finally, she caught on and wrapped her finger around his. Her numbing touch proved that their pinkies actually hugged.
“Yes, I promise! When you manage to save me, I promise I will give you the toys for your collection!”
Daiki frowned at her choice of words; they could have been better but that was Saki for you. Looking into each other's eyes, they simultaneously smiled in agreement.
“Then with God as our witness, it’s a promise.”