Ghost Hunt:Volume4 Chapter2

Chapter 2 - Dance in the Shadows

1

When the second group consisting of Ayako and Lin-san arrived, it was already night.

When she arrived at the Meeting Room, Ayako exclaimed, “Don’t we have a guesthouse?!”

It was exactly such a situation. As this place is very far from Tokyo, we had asked the school to arrange for lodgings for us. Despite that, the school’s side only prepared a workroom…

Matsuzaki Ayako, 23 years old, is a self proclaimed Miko. For no apparent reason she is always full of confidence, but up till today, no one has yet to see her powers. There are some who say she is simply useless.

Ayako questioned me, “What in the world is this situation?”

“It can’t be helped. We are still good, with only 2 people in a room. The pair of us have 6 tatami’s space.”

Naru and the guys were to be pitied, with 3 persons squeezing into a space of 6 tatamis; when John comes the next day it’d be 4 people sleeping together.

“How dare they not even have heating?” Ayako grumbled on.

“That, too, can’t be helped. Or should be forget it and just go home?”

When she heard me say that, Ayako refused to look at me.

Naru, wearing an expression that said “this has nothing to do with me”, was discussing something with Lin-san.

Lin-san: real name unclear, age unknown. I’ve known him for nearly 10 months now, but I still don’t know his name and age; all of this builds up Lin-san’s image. Thinking about it carefully, Lin-san is a more mysterious person than Naru.

“Anyway the number of sightings is really too large and our equipment and resources are a little lacking.” Naru said looking highly dissatisfied.

“Tomorrow we will have Hara-san do an inspection for spirits, and confirm the presence of the spirits. If there are spirits, we will have the Monk, Matsuzaki-san, and John conduct exorcisms. Lin-san and I will investigate the more suspicious locations. As for Mai…”

Saying that, he turned to face me.

“Basically, stay at the base and collate and organize the reports.”

“Ye~es”

“But, if anything is discovered, you must report at once.”

???

When the monk saw that I was flustered as I did not understand Naru’s meaning, he continued.

“Aren’t you the woman with the 6th sense?”

“Ah, am I?”

Now that he mentioned it there was that incident, when a random hunch was right. And they unexpectedly even say it is latent ESP. Xi~ xi~ xi~ (laughter)

“Naru-chan~ this fellow just won’t do ~~”

Whatever. Have you forgotten? Look, I am very gentle.

“Forget it. It’s nothing new that Mai is useless on the field. The last time was just a special case.”

Ayako’s tone was sarcastic.

“So, the truth is you are envious; just because you have never been useful.”

Ayako’s face was flushed with anger.

Looking at the parties glaring at each other, Yasuhara started smiling.

“I had always thought psychic users etc are much darker and deeper people.”

“Our group here is special. Oh yes, Yasuhara-kun, don’t you have to go home?”

“En, don’t judge me by my looks, I think I am capable of the basic chores and errands. Right now I am thinking of staying to help out.” Yasuhara said, smiling.

The monk’s expression turned pathetic. Perhaps he was imagining a scenario of 5 men squeezed into 6 tatamis.

“Please don’t worry; I have borrowed a sleeping bag.”

En~ Surprisingly, Yasuhara is the tough type.

“Yasuhara-kun.” Naru’s tone was severe. “I really appreciate your offer to stay back to help, but it is better if you did not stay over. It is very dangerous.”

“Definitely, if you feel I am getting in your way, please tell me, and I will go home.” Yasuhara said, smiling widely.

I can’t help feeling he’s a very energetic person. En, I have turned into a fan of Yasuhara’s.

A glimpse of a smile appeared on Naru’s lips.

“If that’s the case, then please provide us with your help. Do you have confidence in your strength?”

“Please leave it to me.”

Naru nodded, and then said, “then, Lin and Mai, go and move the equipment.”

Yes~.

One by one we went to the van parked in the school’s car park to collect the equipment.

“LL classroom, 2-4, 3-1, the Locker Room, the Music Preparation Room – set up cameras in these 5 locations. Place microphones in the other places where the other strange stories were reported.”

We followed Naru’s instructions and moved the equipment to their designated locations and set up. Running back and forth between the car park and the school compound, Yasuhara was dazzled.

“It’s really incredible. The modern day psychic makes use of this type of equipment!”

Yasuhara and I went to the Chemistry Lab where footsteps were heard and installed a microphone.

“It’s only our group that is special.”

I smiled bitterly. There was nothing to be done besides forcing a smile.

“To tell the truth, I had thought that supposed psychics would look and feel more dangerous, they would raise their hands and chant incantations.”

“There are also people who do that. But at least, Naru is not a psychic.”

“Is that so?”

Yasuhara looked very shocked.

“That is what he says himself. He says he’s just a ghost hunter.”

“Ah, if that’s the case I get it.”

My hand that was installing the recorder paused.

“That’s rare… Normally one wouldn’t know this type of thing.”

Yasuhara’s expression was complicated.

“Because this previously became a topic of discussion…”

Topic of discussion?

“Sakauchi, not long after enrolment he wrote this in the survey of his aspirations. He said he wished to become a ghost hunter in the future. But that might have been only written as a joke.”

“Sakauchi… was the male student who died in summer…?”

“Yes. According to what I know, his was the first death of a student since the founding of this school. There was a period when everyone was discussing that incident.”

Yasuhara looked pained.

“I can’t help feeling… we shouldn’t keep quiet. We pass each other in the same school, spend half the day in the same space, and might have unknowingly brushed pass each other in some corridor. If it was fated, we might have become friends. That’s what I think.”

“Yeah.”

Even if he was joking, he was still the boy who wanted to become a ghost hunter. If he had met us, what would he have said?

“Really? He was a boy who was interested in this sort of things.” Seeing that I was looking a little dejected, Yasuhara said that encouragingly.

“Ok. Where should we go next, Captain?” Yasuhara lifted the stand up.

“It is, ‘the Gym Storeroom with Sound of the Cat’s Mewing’. Yasuhara-kun, don’t call me ‘Captain’ or whatever.”

“For that, if you want me to be less formal then I shan’t call you that. The real Taniyama-san should be a livelier person.”

Oh oh, I’ve been seen through.

“If Yasuhara-kun does not do so too then I shan’t continue. Because I am younger.”

“For me, I really hate this type of thing. I dislike the society which differentiates between social classes.”

“Ah, me too.”

“We really have quite a lot in common, Captain.”

“Yes, little brother. Before we get scolded by that super narcissistic big boss, let’s go to the next location.”

“Let’s do that.”

In the school filled with wild rumors, Yasuhara and I walked briskly, smiling.

2

The first night was spent setting up equipment.

Night vision cameras, temperature recorders, microphones etc; we set them up in order at the locations of the strange rumors and at places where spirits were more frequently seen. Anyway, because we did not have enough cable (I refer to extensions needed by the equipment) to cover the entire school compound, the machines were left at the various locations to record pictures and sounds, so we had no choice but to retrieve them one by one to examine them in the meeting room. As usual, the preparation work was very troublesome; the post set-up maintenance was also a chore; I was quickly sick of it.

By the time we finished the work and turned in, it was about midnight, 3am.

Ayako, who did not help us, had turned in much earlier and was already snuggled in blankets in the workroom. Even when I entered the room, she did not stir. Despite that, I changed quietly and dived beneath the cold sheets.

After that, I had an inconceivable dream.

I was walking in the school at night.

Dark classrooms; dark corridors. There was not a soul in sight; it was a completely silent school compound. I did not know where I was. It was pitch black.

I felt there was something and studied my surroundings. I noticed a door in front of me.

Instinctively, I opened the door. A cool breeze blew. This was the roof.

Scanning the roof, I saw a figure at one side.

“Who’s there?”

I put together the questioning words; he turned his head.

It was a male around my age. He was not tall, and looked vulnerable. He glanced at me with lifeless eyes; his line of sight returned at once to look away from the roof.

He grabbed the railing, and stared unmoving at the ground.

“What are you doing?”

I walked to his side and asked. He whispered in reply.

“I’m looking…”

To my “looking at what?” he did not reply. I followed his line of sight and looked. He continued to stare unmoving at the school compound. For some time, the two of us, together, stared at the school compound.

Dark, black windows. We could see something white floating within them.

“Ee?” I thought, as my eyes gazed at these things. White light. They easily passed through the windows and floated around. They were round, dragging a very long tail. They appeared weightless; the white lights looked like they were flowing.

Just as I thought that, white lights also appeared at the level beneath that. Looking over, they were also in the next level. They were in the next window and the window after that too. Turning to look behind, they were also on the field.

In an instant, the school was filled with spirits. Leaving a white tail of light, they flew all over the place. They were also all around me. It looked like it had been heavily.

“You are… looking at that?” I asked the silent boy who looked.

He nodded. A slight smile appeared at the corners of his lips.

“Are you not afraid?”

“I’m very happy.”

“Happy? About this type of thing?”

But those are spirits! To be happy about this type of scenery?

He glanced back at me with a satisfied smile.

“Extremely happy.”

But, those are…

Suddenly his expression was hidden by a dark shadow. He looked steadily at me, lips parting. Those steady eyes flashed a dark radiance.

He was smiling. The corners of his lips rose. It was a sinister smile.

“I’m extremely happy. There is no feeling better than this.”

Who are you?

Who exactly are you?

Suddenly I was awake.

I sat up, my surroundings were still dark. I could hear Ayako breathing softly.

I glanced at the watch next to my pillow. I had not even slept 10 minutes.

Ee? What in the world was that dream?

I tried to recall the boy’s face. It was a face I had never seen before. At the very least, it was not a person I know.

“How strange…”

I fluffed my pillow, and lay down once more. This time, my sleep was undisturbed.

3

Already exhausted by the previous night, we were rudely awakened by someone early in the morning.

Grumbling, I opened the door. Outside the door stood a few girls; they had heard of the psychics’ arrival, and had run to ask for news before classes started.

It’s not like I don’t understand your feelings…

So I explained the situation to them. Yesterday was only preparing for the investigation; the official investigation would start today, so any exorcism would only begin after that.

After dismissing the dissatisfied group of girls, once again I snuggled beneath the sheets.

I was nearly asleep, when someone knocked on the door.

It was the 5 groups of students we saw the day before. Thanks to them, Ayako and I were well and truly roused.

The series of unfortunate events did not end there.

When I went to the equipment we set up yesterday, to retrieve the data collected, there was a large crowd of people gathered around. They grabbed hold of me and I was interrogated. Because it will get in the way of our investigations, could every one please keep their hands off the equipment – they need to be handled with care. There was no job harder than this.

Furthermore, in the crowd all dressed in uniforms, we outsiders were even more eye-catching. When we walked around to check on the equipment we would be stopped by curious students.

They all wanted to know even the smallest development. As Yasuhara had said, everyone in the school felt unsettled. There were conspicuous empty seats in the classes. The seats belonged to students who were sick due to the season, and students who were too afraid to attend school. The school was completely lifeless. Students gathered in small groups, and spoke softly, as though at a funeral.

And, we would be fortunate to be stopped by the students. The real misfortune was to be spotted by Matsuyama. If we were seen by Matsuyama, he would make sarcastic comments. He would say a lot of words that would more than make my blood vessels burst, and leave wearing a self satisfied expression. Hn. Bastard.

Then that afternoon, Masako, who came with John in the third group, dropped the most dissatisfactory bombshell.

When John and Masako arrived, it was about 3 o’clock in the afternoon.

John Brown, 19 years old, is an Australia born exorcist. Unfortunately he learnt his Japanese in Kansai, and would inadvertently become the unfortunate target for teasing. His personality is very good, it’s a small shame (?) that he’s a psychic.

Hara Masako, 16 years old, is a spirit medium. She has been actively working as a medium since her childhood, and is a famous personality who has appeared on television. Although I’d like to comment on other aspects of her, I’ll skip it now. She is, according to Naru, apparently very powerful.

After the pairs’ arrival at the base and introduction to Yasuhara, who had came to help out after class, Naru explained the situation. I was at the side organizing the reports collected the day before and checking the data collected by Lin-san the previous night.

First Naru asked Masako, “Hara-san, what is the state of the school?”

Masako looked melancholy. Looking lost for words, she was hesitant for a while. With Naru’s encouragement she finally spoke.

“I’m not… quite clear.” She dropped the bomb.

In a split second we started clamoring.

“That can’t be, Masako, that again?”

Masako ignored the monk’s words.

“It’s not like I can’t see anything. I can feel their presence.”

Appearing worried, the monk cradled his head in his hands. Ayako and John shook their heads, they were out of ideas. Then Naru’s expression turned complicated.

In other words, this time we can’t count on Masako.

Spare me a little.

Apparently, it takes some talent to be able to see spirits. For strong spirits with clear aims, even untalented people have been reported to be able to see them. But, for the normal spirit that quietly exists, one would need special talent to see it.

Of all the members gathered here only Masako has this sort of ability. That is to say, if we can’t rely on Masako, we were as good as blind. It was really worrisome.

“… and their presence that you can feel?”

When the apparently very frustrated Naru said that, Masako showed a contrary expression.

“Normally, the spirits should be clearly seen, but here… It’s like looking at a poorly tuned television channel. There is a great deal of static mixed inside… Do you get what I am saying?”

En, I’m not quite clear.

“I can feel the presence of spirits, and there are quite a lot of them. I also know where they are, but… exactly what kind of spirits they are, I’m not too clear. Although there are spirits that can be clearly seen that are present.”

Masako said that and lowered her head.

“For me, I have never been good at communicating with wondering spirits. If it is a spirit that has a special connection to a person or a location, I usually have no problem…”

The monk sighed.

“Anyway… because these are spirits summoned through Kokkuri, it is to be expected they have no great connection to the school or to the students… And this happens again, Masako.”

He glared maliciously at Masako.

Masako stared at the monk.

“This is only a special situation. This time it’s not like I can’t see or feel them at all!”

“Yes, yes,” the monk said, contracting his neck.

Masako suddenly slightly creased her brow.

“But there is a spirit that I feel particularly strongly here…”

“What kind of spirit is it?” Naru asked. Masako squinted, as though looking at a distance.

“It is a male, about my age…” A male…about Masako’s… about my age…?

“I can see that male very clearly. I can feel a very strong emotion. That male… perhaps something happened in this school that saddened him. He is currently trapped within the school.”

That… is not it…

With her eyes closed, Masako tilted her head.

“It is clearly not nearby, but its presence is that strong… I believe it must be the spirit of someone who committed suicide. And it happened not long ago.”

It is Sakauchi-kun… In other words, he is currently haunting the school…

My head suddenly felt pleasantly cool.

Last night’s dream. The boy on the roof. That person… who was he?

Naru opened his notebook and took out a newspaper clipping.

“That spirit, is it this person?”

Masako took the clipping and looked at it. Coincidentally Masako was standing right next to me, and I could see the contents of the clipping by just stretching my neck. It was an article about a first year student’s suicide in a certain school. There was a photograph of the student on it.

I suddenly felt faint. That was… that photograph was…

Masako nodded.

“It is this person. So his name was Sakauchi…”

Naru retrieved the clipping from Masako and returned it to its original location and said, “this… hate for the school… is true.”

Naru looked like he was muttering to himself. Then he immediately turned to Lin-san, “Lin, what was the situation last night?”

The aforementioned Lin-san took down his headphones.

“There are some locations where the temperature was abnormal. 3-1, 2-4 and the LL classroom had especially low temperatures.”

3-1 was Yasuhara’s classroom where the mass poisoning occurred.

2-4 was the classroom where the black dog appeared.

“There is nothing abnormal with the visuals; the microphones recorded sounds in 3 locations. Distinctly, they are the Art Preparation Room, 2-4 classroom, and the Gym Storeroom.”

Naru knocked the table with a thump.

“So it is like this, we get a response on the very first day.”

When was that incident… Naru had said before “Spirits are very shy.” Spirits dislike outsiders. If there are outsiders, they would temporarily go into hiding.

However we got a response on the very first day. If that’s the case then…

Naru swept a glance over all of us.

“Commence exorcism with the 5 aforementioned locations as the core. Hara-san, please walk around the school and check the locations where there are spirits. Matsuzaki-san, please accompany Hara-san, and conduct exorcisms to the best of your abilities.”

“Ok.”

Ayako and Masako rose. Naru called after Ayako, saying, “It’d be better if you don’t look down on the spirits in this place; please be more careful.

“Mai will keep watch over this place, and actively manage the communications. Monk and John,” Naru looked at the pair as he said that.

“First, proceed to the 5 locations which had activity last night and conduct exorcisms there. After that go to locations pointed out by Hara-san.”

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

The pair replied and rose from their seats.

“Lin and I will continue to investigate suspicious locations. Yasuhara-kun, please help us. Mai,”

“Yes!”

In response to my enthusiastic reply, Naru shot a cold look at me.

“Do not be lazy and fall asleep.”

Yes~

4

In the school where lessons continued as though nothing had happened, everyone set out.

I was the only one who stayed in the Meeting Room. To be left alone was a little lonely, and perhaps a little scary; somehow I could not calm down. Quietly fuming, I organized the reports we collected the day before.

The strange stories and their locations. The contents of eye-witness reports. I used a very large cardboard and sorted them by type, and could not help yawning.

Ah… that won’t do. I’m sleepy. Last night I stayed up so late, and also did physically demanding work. And now I’m so bored… I must not sleep. I have to be more stimulated. If I was to be caught napping by Naru, I wouldn’t know what he’d say.

I was struck with a strong bout of sleepiness.

For no reason, my throat felt very dry. I craved for a cold drink.

I recalled there was a vending machine at the end of the building…

I stood up and walked to the corridor.

I gazed blankly at my surroundings.

The corridor was wide and empty. Was it because I was spacing out, or because the sky was darkening, the vision in front of me was a strange and flat scene. Weak sunlight permeated the windows at the side of the corridor. The far end of the corridor was shrouded in mysterious darkness. It was covered by a dull black color; it looked like only there, dusk had already fallen. In the midst of the darkness, there was something white moving.

“… …?”

The white was the face. Only the face was visible as he wore black colored clothes.

What the… it was actually Naru. Don’t scare me like that.

Naru walked slowly towards me. As though in sync with his footsteps, the corridor gradually darkened. In the opaque blackness, only Naru’s silhouette could be seen clearly.

“What’s up?”

Did anything happen?

Naru smiled. A slight smile. Then the smile immediately tensed.

“This place is very dangerous… Mai, you’d better not remain here.”

“How can it be?”

“It’s true. There are spirits floating all around here.”

“Are there that many?”

I recalled the previous night’s dream: spirits blanketing the school like snow.

“Yes. Although everyone is conducting exorcisms, there is practically no effect.” He said, frowning slightly. Then, “Look.”

He extended his pale fingers and pointed to the floor. Following his fingers, I looked at the pitch black floor.

“Ai…?”

When I regained my focus, I found that the floor had turned transparent.

Beside my foot, it was like white lines had been drawn on the black floor, like the square outline of ceramic tiles. Beneath that, through the transparent floor, the second floor’s corridor was visible. There, too, was shrouded in darkness. The floor there was also transparent, and I could see the first floor corridor beneath it.

“Ai?!”

I nearly fell down on my bottom. It felt like being suspended high in the air. If it wasn’t for Naru’s hand holding me, I might have plummeted straight down.

“It’s nothing, calm down a little.”

“What has it changed into now?”

I scanned my surroundings. The sky was black. The school which was originally grey was now black. Contrastingly, the things that were originally black had changed into white - the windows of the next school building, the trees that were bare due to winter.

The floor and the walls everywhere had turned transparent. Just like the negatives of photographs stacked together. The only people remaining in this negative world were Naru and I.

“Hey, this is…”

Naru interrupted my speech.

“Look closely. There are a lot of spirits hovering.”

I looked beside my foot. A dark, empty space. The lines of the floor, the lines of the walls, and the outlines of the buildings – only these were white. Like it was drawn with white on black paper – a transparent school compound. Beneath my feet it was transparent - the second floor, first floor, corridors, classrooms.

Over there, floated translucent objects that gave off a wan glow. They looked just like spirits illustrated in books with their white tails, and moved like they were flowing. 10, 20… they were countless. In the second floor right in front of me, there were 8 of them.

“So many… Are they all spirits?”

“That’s right. Look…”

Naru raised his hand and pointed towards the window. Opposite the white outline that remained of the wall was the building containing the Gymnasium. The Gymnasium, too, had turned transparent leaving only a white outline.

At the front of the Gymnasium was a small room. That was the Locker Room. There were 2 figures inside. It was Masako and Ayako.

Masako approached a huge spirit next to some storage shelves and stopped. That spirit looked larger and blacker than the other spirits.

Masako pointed at that spirit, and Ayako started brandishing her jade rosary. The pale black spirit floated weightlessly to escape, and floated out of the window. Neither Masako nor Ayako noticed any of these.

“How could that be?”

“It escaped. It escaped to somewhere else… look.”

The escaped spirit continued flying, and escaped to the East Block we were currently in. It floated to a small room at the end of the second floor, and closed in on a white spirit straying in a corner. That was the Broadcast Room…

The large black spirit and the smaller, rounder white spirit circled each other. Their tails became intertwined. Soon, the smaller spirit was engulfed by the larger one. It felt like the larger spirit grew a little larger, and a little blacker.

“How disgusting…”

“Yeah. It’s a really nasty sight: spirits devouring other spirits. That’s why I said… this place is very dangerous.”

“But…”

“Just like that they grow… then…”

Naru’s fingers descended as he pointed beneath his feet. Through the transparent floor, I looked at the room in the first floor. There were spirits in that room too. While I called them spirits, perhaps they are more suitably called will-o’-the-wisps. Quite a distance from my feet, was a darkening, swamp-like patch of an ominous color. And it was immense. It was like a huge pit had opened in the center of the room.

“That is evil… do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Looking at the color alone would make your skin crawl. It had an extremely evil will.

I stared, unmoving, at the clump of black. The white spirits floating around the school – some of them went beside the black will-o’-the-wisp. The will-o’-the-wisp pulsated rhythmically like a heart. The burning flames stretched out, ensnaring the smaller spirits, engulfing them. It was just like a carnivorous plant trapping weaker insects and devouring them.

“You had better go back.” Naru said to me.

“But, I’m unable to do it, to return by myself.”

Naru looked at me worriedly.

“Then you need someone to teach you to reverse the spell.”

“Is someone like me capable of doing it?”

“If it is a weaker person… you have to be more cautious, and not go near to dangerous places.”

“Okay.”

I looked about my feet. The never-ending strange scenery. Black, large will-o’-the-wisps were dangerous. I confirmed its locations. In the first floor of this building there were 2. In the East Block there were 5. The South Block had 4. When I was looking at these, the area beside my feet grew dimmer. The previously visible scenery beneath gradually grew fainter, color returned to the ground beneath me. Slowly the floor came back into sight.

“… …?”

The floor. Brown colored plastic tiles. There was flooring everywhere.

“Mai!”

Ah!

I raised my head and saw Naru. He looked severe.

“If you are tired go and sleep. Your stumbling is a hinderance.”

“How fierce you are, all of a sudden.”

“… …? Are you awake?”

He looked at me suspiciously. Am I awake? I definitely am…

Ha-

I looked around me.

The meeting room. The long table. The messed up pile of papers in front of me. The floor plans of the school stuck on the white board. And in the doorway was Naru, staring at me.

… … … …

“I’m sorry. I was spacing out over here.”

Crap… I’m in trouble.

“How is the organizing going?”

“Not done yet.”

“Has there been any communication from the others?”

“I think there should not have been any.”

“You think?”

Naru looked at me coldly.

“Are you trying to help us? Or are you trying to get in our way?”

This… this fellow –

But for me, the lazy investigator who was caught napping, there was no possible reply.

5

John and the monk returned immediately after Naru left the Meeting Room.

“How is it?”

“Who knows? It wouldn’t be this tough if I knew.”

Really…

John also tilted his head. As he marked the school’s floor plan on the white board, he said, “For now, although I have said prayers as per Hara-san’s instructions, there does not seem to be any effect…”

Suddenly an image crossed my mind. John was scattering holy water. The pale white spirits left that place, and escaped to another location.

“Can’t say for certain, but maybe they escaped…”

“Ha?”

“Nothing. Ah, right. Hey, am I able to reverse spells?”

John and the monk looked at each other.

“Do you both think it’s impossible?”

“… a simpler one.”

After I finished, John said, “you should be able to do the very basic things, and there is the method of scattering salt and saying ‘In the name of the Lord, I order you, evil spirits, be gone.’ But is Mai-san a Christian?”

“No.”

“If that’s the case, maybe doing this will not work.”

“Is it…”

If it’s me it’s impossible… As expected.

“Why would you suddenly be like this?” The monk asked, disbelieving.

“Is it possible for me to be of a little use… something of that type…”

John and the monk exchanged a look once more.

“If we let Mai conduct exorcisms, don’t you feel we’ll all be doomed?”

F**k.

Just as I was about to loudly admonish the monk, he suddenly said to me, straightforwardly, “With the fingers on the inside, stack them together.”

… …?

“Like this.”

The monk showed me how he interlaced his fingers with the palms facing away and bent the fingers inwards to form a stack.

“Like this?”

“Then, place your index fingers and thumbs together vertically.”

It was like a position used by ninjas or something. And the fingers hurt quite a bit.

“This is the Seal of Acalanatha. Maintaining the proper position of the seal, say, ‘naumaku, sanmanda, bazaradan, kan’.”

“Ha?”

“Naumaku, sanmanda, bazaradan, kan.”

The monk wrote the words quickly on the whiteboard.

“Try practicing it. Say it three times continuously.”

“En… naumaku, sanmanda, bazaradan, kan…?”

“If, after chanting the incantation, the spirit does not disappear, do this.”

The monk released the seal, raised the index and middle finger of his right hand and held them in his other hand.

“Form the Sword Seal, concentrate.”

“Okay. Like this?”

I tried copying the monk’s actions.

“Not bad. This is the simplest one. Don’t accidentally bite your tongue in impatience.”

“Yes~”

“Unlike Christianity, it works even with non-believers. Anyway, try your best.”

Was that a dig at John? You really say a lot of redundant words…

“Ok. John, let’s head to the next place. ‘No Rain but Water Drips’…”

The monk retrieved and looked at a card I had compiled.

“The first floor’s Printing Room.”

The monk’s finger searched for the location of the Printing Room on the floor plan on the whiteboard.

“There it is.”

That place is…

I accidentally recalled the dream I just had.

Naru’s voice in the dream. “That is evil.” The ominously colored will-o’-the-wisp. The room it was in.

“You can’t go there.”

I could not help blurting out.

“Eh?”

The monk and John turned back to look at me. Flustered, I said, “Leave that place alone for now. Could you go to the Music Preparation Room first?”

Although the monk and looked flabbergasted, he silently accepted the card I handed out.

“‘The Music Preparation Room Where Noises are Heard’? John, let’s go.”

“Yes.”

6

While I verified the (disappearing) footsteps of the pair, I tilted my head in thought.

Why did I say something like that…? That was just a dream. It had no special meaning. It shouldn’t have… What happened in the Printing Room was that water would frequently drip down and create puddles everywhere. It was only an incident of this level; nothing that could be considered “sinister” had happened.

But…

When I could not help starting to ponder, the Meeting Room’s door was opened, and Yasuhara appeared.

He was ordered around by Naru, and had run all over the place moving equipment.

“Is the job done?”

“Yes. If you are referring to the errands I was assigned.” Yasuhara said, beaming.

“Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“Ah, I’ll make it.”

“No need, it’s always been my job to make the coffee.”

“If that’s the case then I really should make the coffee. Won’t you get bored doing the work that you always do?”

Wa. Sorry to trouble you~

“About that, Taniyama-san… was the cause as we expected – the Kokkuri?”

“It looks like it.”

“Hu… It’s really unfair. Kokkuri and the type, they are clearly games that are played everywhere.”

“That’s even though Naru also said something like that.”

“It appears to be very popular in the middle school my little sister attends. But this type of strange things only happens in our school.”

Yeah yeah.

“But the Kokkuri popular in this school is very strange. It’s called Worikiri-sama right?”

“Is it? Although I don’t know the details, it looks like it is very complicated with this and that. That’s despite saying this place really gives one a strange feeling.”

“Complicated?”

“Yes. Unlike regular Kokkuri, it appears to have various rules. For example, the paper cannot be used more than once.”

“He~ It’s really strange.”

“The used paper must be disposed at the shrine or something. And there is the chanting of incantations…”

“Worikiri-sama, Worikiri-sama… like this?”

“It’s not like that. How was it done…? I’ve only heard it a few times myself. ‘Oh~Worikirittenantara’ or something.”

“What was that, ah, this?”

I immediately started feeling strange.

“As expected was it very strange? Perhaps this method of doing it only done in our school.”

“I always thought it was weird; Kokkuri and what not… where did everyone first learn of this method?”

Yasuhara tilted his head.

“You’ve got a point. Perhaps someone heard it somewhere… It might be interesting to investigate this. ‘From whom did you learn how to play Worikiri-sama?’ or something similar. There must have been someone who invented it.”

“And there are people still playing the normal Kokkuri?”

“There probably aren’t that many. About autumn everyone was homogeneously playing Worikiri-sama. There were people casually calling Worikiri-sama ‘Kokkuri-san’, ‘Cupid-san’ etc right from the start. That, isn’t there a saying that Kokkuri-san would cause haunting? So nobody still plays that anymore. Then someone said that Worikiri-sama would not cause haunting, and the steps are very complicated. And they said that if you followed the rules it would be completely safe.”

“So that’s why you played?”

“My curiosity is very strong. I would always want to try it out once.”

“I can understand that… On hindsight, the volume is really exaggerated. Why would it be so popular?”

“If we analyze the reasons for its popularity you wouldn’t have so much trouble. Perhaps it’s like this: maybe it’s because the steps are very unusual. Look, didn’t you see those papers? That alone is already a little strange. People think it is a novelty.”

“Is it?”

Yasuhara’s expression turned slightly more serious.

“Although there are other explanations, ‘suppressed students looking to vent their stress’ and the type, this type of explanations are not convincing; because it would grow into a problem of some sort.”

“Yasuhara-kun… I can’t help feeling you are very knowledgeable.”

“Yes. I’ve been called a little old man by others. As for my nickname, it is ‘Echigo-ya’.”

“Eh… Echigo-ya?”

“Yes. They say I have the image of a kindly old man, but they can’t tell what I’m really thinking of deep down.”

Perhaps it’s like that… deep inside…

“It’s today.” Yasuhara said suddenly.

“Eh?”

“The twelfth day. Tonight. More accurately tomorrow morning. There will be another fire in the Locker Room.”

He said it like it was an inevitable event.

I suddenly thought of the dream I had.

“Perhaps… not in the Locker Room.”

“Eh?” Yasuhara asked suspiciously.

Ah… not good…

I frantically waved my hands.

“That… there’s no profound meaning to it… I just suddenly felt that this time it could occur somewhere else… whatever. Like the Broadcast Room…”

There was no deeper meaning, because, it was just a dream. Firstly, I don’t even know if Masako and Ayako ever really visited the Locker Room. Furthermore, the monk and John had exorcised basically all the places where incidents have happened that were reported on the news.

“Are you a person with sixth sense?”

“That’s why I say, ah…”

This is really troubling…

“I’ve already said this is nothing important. Only in the previous case my hunch was right. It’s not like being able to detect spirits or anything similar…”

It’s not… I think it’s not… maybe…

7

The sun had set, and the surroundings started to turn dark. The monk and John returned to the Meeting Room.

Once the monk entered the room he let out a whistle.

“Oh, Mai, in a world of your own with your boyfriend? How mature.”

Really. Who’s my boyfriend?!

“Yasuhara-kun is also very quick. Youth is great~:

That, ah…

“Takigawa-san, that’s not fair. It was a rare opportunity for us to talk in depth.”

En!

Upon hearing Yasuhara’s clever retort, John’s head hit the whiteboard. The monk, too, stared at Yasuhara with a tic on his face.

“I wish you would be more considerate of the feelings of others.”

As though imparting a secret, the monk placed his hands on Yasuhara’s shoulders.

“Young man… Have a little chat with me.”

“Yes.”

“I understand your feelings, but you have to consider the situation and the location.”

“Ah, right. Then, next time I’ll try my best.”

That… that…

“You have to consider the atmosphere for this sort of thing…”

That… hey, hey?

Looking steadily at Yasuhara, the monk said, “Do you like Mai?”

“Yes I do.”

… …

“Ah, but I also like Shibuya-san. He is very beautiful!”

Gong. John’s head hit the whiteboard once more.

“But I like Takigawa-san even more *heart*”

The monk looked severely at Yasuhara from the corner of his eyes.

“Young man…”

“Yes?”

“You, you are teasing me?”

“Of course *heart*”

With a shout “ai”, the monk released his fist. In order to dodge the monk’s blow, Yasuhara escaped behind the table.

“Don’t make fun of adults!”

“That’s because you were thinking of making fun of children.”

Yeah, yeah…

Smiling, Yasuhara poured coffee for the pair of them.

“How is the work going?”

The monk looked like he had been asked a question he would rather not answer.

“I don’t feel like answering work related questions.”

“It’s not going well?”

In response to my question, the monk only shortened his neck. John made a mark on the Geography Room where the fluorescent light dropped during cleaning. He marked it with a sign “J”. It meant that the location had already been exorcised by John. While he continued marking other locations, he answered in place of the monk.

“The volume is too large.”

The floor plan of the school was on the whiteboard. Troublesome places were marked with numbers, and the places that have been exorcised were marked with red.

After a whole day, only one fifth was done.

“What’s the situation with Masako?”

This time, can we still not rely on Masako?

The monk sighed.

“Although she insists that while she can’t see it she can definitely feel it, I don’t know what is really going on.”

“Hey, hasn’t Naru said before that within Japan, Masako is first class? Would something like this happen to a first class medium?”

“Yeah…”

The monk groaned painfully.

“Masako is good at channeling spirits.”

“Channeling spirits?”

“Ah. She summons a spirit and lets it possess her body. Then she can make prophecies, and answer questions. What she does is not too different from Kokkuri.”

“Ah, television programs frequently broadcast that.”

“Apparently she has got a lot of it right. But…” The monk looked pained. “Naru has said before, ‘the only things spirits know have got to do with death’.”

Hmm.

“I have never doubted this before, but when Naru said that I thought that might be the case. For example, I let Masako summon my Grandpa’s spirit back from the dead. My Grandpa, possessing Masako, not only knows things that only my Grandpa and I would know, but can also answer my questions. ‘How will my luck in Love be?’ ‘It’s only so-so.’ That type of conversation.”

“Yeah.”

“The conversation between the spirit and myself is like that, but what really goes on?”

I...see. This is really difficult. John cut into the conversation.

“Some time ago I was asked to help write an article. There are researchers who say that there are 2 types of mediums.”

“2 types?”

“Yes. Real mediums and ESPers.”

The monk nodded.

“Ah, I’m not sure where but I have heard that before. It should be Professor Davis.”

“So you remember. What the Professor said, was, mediums need not have psychic powers.”

“Ha?”

I did not fully understand their conversation.

“That’s why… say; the medium can summon my Grandma’s spirit, right? Grandma’s spirit borrows the mediums’ body and says things that only Grandma and I would know. There are people who say, that my Grandma’s spirit need not necessarily have possessed the medium’s body.”

“? But didn’t the medium know of things that only John and his Grandma should know?”

“Yes. But, it might not be the spirit that tells the medium. The medium might have ESP… there’s a chance she's a psychometrist.”

“Psycho…? What is that?”

“Psychometrist. That is a person with psychometry. This ‘psychometry’ is the power to be able to sense the history or related events through an object. For example, you pick up a bag on the street. A psychometrist would be able to see the past and the future of the bag; what type of person the bag’s owner was, what he is doing now, what he will do after that.”

“Is it like that?” I asked, and John nodded.

“Yes. Exactly. Professor Davis himself is a psychometrist, that’s why he came up with that theory.”

“This Professor Davis, is he that person with psycho kinesis (PK)?”

“Yes. Professor Oliver Davis. He was a researcher in England’s SRP – Society of Psychical Research. Not only was he a talented psychometrist, he was also able to use PK. He is of a minority of psychics who is able to use both PK and ESP. Professor Davis had a brother named Eugene Davis, who was a medium. The professor had mentioned before that Eugene Davis was a pure medium. Although Eugene did not know German, if he summoned a German spirit he would speak German; if it was a Greek, he would speak Greek. Such occurrences are very rare. It should be impossible unless he was possessed by a spirit. However, amongst the mediums, there are some who speak Japanese regardless of the nationality of the spirit summoned.”

That is the case…

“Not long ago I saw a program of Itako (a spirit medium in the north east regions of Japan) channeling on television. At that time Itako summoned Marilyn Monroe. To summon Monroe alone is hilarious, but that Monroe could even speak Japanese. Overall, I felt it was very strange and very funny.”

“Is it?”

“There are such cases, but on the other hand, there are also mediums like Eugene Davis, Rosemary Brown and Frederic Thompson.”

“Ha…?”

The monk explained to be by the side, “Mrs. Brown composed music with the help of spirits. She supposedly had no musical training herself, but could make music through summoning a spirit. The spirits that were summoned include Beethoven and Chopin and other composers, so some of her music was even orchestral styled. The music was completely in the style of the various composers, and from a musical perspective they appeared to be very highly received.

“As for Thompson it was drawing. He let the spirit of a painter called Robert Swain Gifford possess his body, and allowed it to draw. The drawings were all sceneries, places that Gifford visited when he was alive; furthermore, they were places he never mentioned a desire to draw to his friends. More incredibly, Thompson had neither visited that location, nor seen a photograph of the place. Of course, the art was completely in the style of Gifford.”

“He…”

John nodded.

“Despite all these, amongst the mediums there are those who excel at answering questions and making predictions. Professor Davis also once said, rather than calling users of this type of power ‘mediums’, they are more likely to be ESPers. Personally, he did not believe answers and prophecies etc were passed on by spirits.”

“Hmm hmm”

“So it was like that.” The monk quietly muttered.

“Masako would be considered a medium of the latter type. Whether it is answering questions or making prophecies, she is excellent. In other words, rather than calling Masako a medium, she is more likely to be a psychometrist. She also said that she finds it easier with spirits that have a stronger connection.”

Yasuhara sighed, looking concerned.

“It’s really complicated.”

For no reason I simply could not relax.

“As for this, I know… But what exactly is going on? Did it just change such that Masako does not have the ability to see spirits?”

“I’m not saying she is completely incapable of that. But if we consider ‘Masako can see spirits’, it is more likely that she has a ‘clear vision’ through an object, the school… although I’m not too sure myself.”

Hmm~

“That’s why Masako need not necessarily be able to see those spirits. Right now, right here we might be swamped by spirits Masako could not feel.”

I see…

“Mai, do you understand?”

“Ah… I’m getting a headache…”

The monk sighed.

“Me too. It’s because of thinking about some unimaginable things.”

“Exactly.”

“Therefore, Mai,” the monk looked at me.

“Have you felt anything yet?”

Me?

Before I could reply, Yasuhara blurted out, “Ah, haven’t you said it before. The fire would be in Broadcast Room or something like that.”

John and the monk turned to face me.

Wu… Wait a little. That might have been just a simple dream.

“Mai?”

With the monk’s urging, I related the incident with difficulty.

“It was a dream I had when I was napping.”

“And then?”

“I say…”

Trembling with fear, I described the dream. Of course, I removed the part where Naru appeared.

With a serious face, the monk stood up.

“Mai. Go to sleep. Go and sleep now.”

“Ha?”

“Your dreams have meanings. It’s collecting information. Be a good child now and go to bed.”

“That’s right. Mai-san, please go and sleep.”

What happened? Even John was like this.

“It could be just a simple dream.”

“That’s impossible. The exorcism in the Locker Room was really done by Hara-san and Matsuzaki-san.”

Uh?

“Bu… But, it might be a coincidence…”

“Did you know? This was researched by Charles Tart and others: dreams and ESP have a very deep connection.”

“Ha…”

“Especially the initial cycles of REM sleep. It’s known to experience ESP type phenomenon then.”

“Yes. A more accurate way of putting it is d-ASC, discrete-Altered State of Consciousness.”

Wait a minute...

“This state of the consciousness dissociating is the strongest, when mediums summon, or when ESPers use their powers of psychometry. Just as Naru said, you have latent ESP. Furthermore you got the part about Ayako doing the exorcism right. Your dreams definitely have meanings. Go to sleep.”

That can’t be. Furthermore, can’t you stop endlessly saying those profound words? To start, even if you order me to sleep, it’s not that simple to sleep just like that!

“Forget it.”

It was Yasuhara who piped up.

“Even if it is Taniyama-san, it is troubling to be forced by others like this.”

Exactly, exactly.

“And she does not seem to believe in her own abilities.”

Yeah yeah.

“We can’t rely on Masako. We were just grasping at last straw that you are, Mai. Perhaps, like Masako’s ability to see spirits, you would not be able to accurately predict this situation.”

“That’s right. The more reports the merrier, that’s decided.”

But…

“Tonight we will find out.”

Yasuhara said with certainty.

“Tonight, or more accurately tomorrow morning, if the fire happens we would know to exactly what degree we can rely on Taniyama-san’s dreams. If a fire occurs in the Broadcast Room, you will be able to believe in your own abilities, Taniyama-san.”

En… maybe…

“If that’s the case, Taniyama-san will be helping us overall.”

“Young man, since when did you start to be Mai’s manager?”

“From now on.”

Really… I’ll follow your wishes then…

At dusk everyone gathered; the monk and John explained the entirety of the situation.

Although I had anticipated it from the start, Ayako and Masako gave me cold looks. Contrastingly Naru and Lin-san remained expressionless.

Before Ayako could let out her sharp tongue to speak, Naru raised his hands to ask for silence.

“Yasuhara-kun is right. We only need to see where the fire occurs to find out. Lin –“

Naru turned to the Lin-san who stood at his back waiting like an attached spirit.

“Set up equipment in the Broadcast Room.”

Really? Is it alright to believe the dream I had? I will not be held responsible…

With unsettled feelings, I moved the equipment into the Broadcast Room. I asked Naru where it was suspicious, he replied, “over there”, with a confidence of a psychic. I was a little suspicious, but nevertheless, I was a little happy. But if there was no fire I would become a laughing stock. “I have to get this right this time”, I thought in my heart.

Waiting for the results of the experiment, I anxiously awaited the arrival of dawn. When the sky brightened, more accurately at 4:32:24 am, flames suddenly spurted from a cool wall.

It was the Broadcast Room.

8

We happened to be outside the Broadcast Room at that time.

As it was about time for the fire to happen, we observed the situation in the room through the equipment. Of course, the Broadcast Room was not the only one under observation. Lin-san and John were outside the Locker Room waiting and observing the situation inside.

Then, the only place where a fire broke out was the Broadcast Room.

Through the monitor, Naru, the monk, Yasuhara and I saw the wall ignite with our own eyes. Out of the blue, flames spurted from the wall in the room.

The fire was more intense than those previously reported. In an instant, the ceiling was charred, and the blaze had spread through the room.

Carrying fire extinguishers, the monk and Yasuhara rushed into the room.

“Well done.”

The monk applauded me. I began to feel very perplexed.

“I got it right. What should I do?” To tell the truth, that was what I was feeling. From now wouldn’t everyone anticipate that my hunches might be right? Perhaps I would continue to predict things correctly, perhaps I would not. What would I do if my predictions were not right?

In contrast to me, who was at my wit’s end, Naru wore an exceptionally blank look and asked, “Where are the other locations where there are will-o’-the-wisps?”

“The Printing Room and… LL classroom and…”

My voice tapered as I recalled the rooms where I saw will-o’-the-wisps in the dream.

This was a really incredible incident…

Suddenly the weight of responsibility rested on my shoulders. It would trouble everyone greatly if I provided false information. Even I was not sure whether what I said was true or false. What should I do?

“Mai?” Looking at the silent me, Naru urged.

“The will-o’-the-wisp in the Sickbay felt larger. But this might be pure coincidence. The future predictions might not be correct…”

Naru’s biting words countered my petrified reply.

“I don’t have any great hope for you.”

*Pissed off* sound.

No. That’s the way it should be. It would be terrible if everyone expected great things of me. Despite saying that, it felt a little lonely inside. Ah ah, the human being is really complicated.

Talking about complicated, Masako and Ayako, who had hurried to the Broadcast Room, looked at me with extremely complicated expressions. Putting aside confident-without-reason Ayako, I could understand Masako’s feelings.

You have always been carrying such a heavy responsibility. If it were me, I would have a little confidence in myself if my predictions were right a hundred times. But just as my confidence started growing, my predictions suddenly stopped being correct, with Ayako or someone else correctly predicting it instead, I would be really shaken.

This time no matter what type of sarcastic comments they make, I will endure it. Yeah.

“Don’t think too much about it. Just behave as you normally would. If you think too much you would end up not being able to come up with anything.”

“Okay…”

I shifted my gaze. The camera quietly standing in the middle of the Broadcast Room caught my eye.

Although the fire was fortunately extinguished immediately, the equipment set up there was a pathetic sight.

“Poor thing…”

I caressed the camera that was covered in white by the fire extinguisher.

“Hey, Naru, is this camera spoilt?”

Naru shrugged.

“It should be ruined. At the very least it can’t be adjusted.”

“Wa, what a waste…”

The camera was very expensive. That was what I had heard before.

Naru crisply said, “I already have it insured.”

Ah, is that so? That’s good… then…en?

“Naru. Just now, what did you say?”

“En?”

“You didn’t just say that you “have it insured”, did you?”

When Naru and I met, this unreasonably expensive camera played a part. Naru said to me, who had accidentally spoilt the camera, “Will you compensate? If not, you’ll have to work for me.” What in the world was that? Wasn’t it already insured?

“Then… shouldn’t it be that at that time I didn’t have to pay compensation?”

Naru played deaf and dumb.

“You only wanted a helper so you tricked me then, you bastard~”

Flustered, John opened his mouth to speak.

“Forget it. Just be glad that nothing happened in the end. Al…Although it’s like this, it is really regretful, Shibuya-san. It was so rare to witness a fire that started automatically; although it was an incredible opportunity to take a video, in this mess the precious tape is also…”

The situation was already a huge mess, to continue quarrelling would be of no use. John probably meant something like that. (John, as usual, speaks unclearly when he gets flustered)

However, saying that, John’s vision, my vision, and everyone else’s vision were fixed on Naru’s hands. A black colored, rectangular – tape.

The monk’s icy voice came from the side.

“This is a real example of a roll of tape being more precious than human life.”

This, this fellow.

Naru turned to Lin-san.

“Lin, set up equipment again.”

Abominable… this absurd scientist!!

I wasn’t the only one who screamed that silently.

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