Ghost Hunt:Volume6, page 13
part #6 of Ghost Hunt Series
...It was simply pure pain. Of course, there weren’t any scars anywhere.
“Mai!?”
“Don’t touch the white things!”
Distracted by me, Bou-san was attacked by a white thing and staggered violently.
“...ow”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m not at all okay… shit.”
Bou-san joined his fingers.
“Kyataya hanjasa hadaya sowaka!”
Suddenly, the color red flooded my mind. Crimson… transparent light. It wasn’t seen with my eyes, but I sensed light. After the light disappeared, there wasn’t even one white thing left.
“It’s over now... go on. Protect the little kids.”
“Right!”
I ran and rushed over to the side of Teruka-san, who was leading Wakako-chan by the hand.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes...”
Teruka-san, who answered with a tense expression, was also covered in thin cuts. Wakako-chan had a dazed expression. I lifted Wakako-chan and ran. I feverishly ran down the dark corridor back towards base.
7
Upon returning to base and going inside, there was a strange feeling like caressing downy hair. It wasn’t a particularly unpleasant feeling. Once inside, I lowered Wakako-chan and sat down. I was out of breath, and I couldn’t move anymore. Both my hands and feet were trembling.
Bou-san soon rushed in as well and, with a thud, fell on top of the tatami mat where he had entered the room.
“Are you… okay...?”
“I’m dying.”
It was a carefree voice, but his breathing seemed like he was suffering terribly.
“Are you alright?”
Masako hurried over and tried to help him up. Bou-san refused it and simply wiggled his fingertips.
“I wouldn’t mind paying 100 million yen… if I you’d let me sleep right here.”
What are you saying?
I glanced at the doorway. Both the lattice and sliding doors were open at the dark entrance. The white things were flying over again from the corridor, but they seemed to be repulsed at the entrance. I dragged my trembling legs and closed the sliding door. Watching them is bad for the heart.
“You should rest a little. It seems to be all right now.”
“If I rest, that barrier will be dispelled, too.”
...oh, is that so?
Without noticing, the curtains had been tightly closed over the veranda window and there was a low table propped up there. It was like a simple barricade. Several candles were lit. I would have never thought such small lights could feel as warm as this.
“Hey... what do we do now?”
“We wait until morning. They should go away at dawn.”
I reflexively looked at my wristwatch. It was already close to one o’clock. Since dawn is early in the summer, we’d be able to hold out somehow.
“What about Naru? Is he okay?”
After I asked, Lin-san nodded.
“He’s fine. He wasn’t woken up.”
Ayako, Masako and Yasuhara were treating all the wounds.
“Taniyama-san, also. Are you injured?”
I was called by Masako and looked at my opened cuts. The blood had already clotted. They didn’t seem like such deep cuts.
“Mine aren’t serious. I’m okay.”
“Well, it’s only disinfection.”
...I don’t like it because it stings. I thought this, but I quietly had them treated. Yasuhara-san kneeled beside Bou-san.
“Are you injured, Takigawa-san?”
“A bunch.”
“Please don’t move for a moment.”
Bou-san’s t-shirt had become covered in blood. When Yasuhara-san attempted to raise Bou-san’s shirt,
“Pervert.”
“Would you like me to pour the hydrogen peroxide over your head?”
“I wouldn’t like it because I’d be heavy metal.”
Yasuhara-san laughed and pulled up his shirt forcefully. His back was covered in cuts of various sizes. The ones visible below his shoulder blades were especially deep. At this rate, he should be covered in blood. Yasuhara-san momentarily frowned, but he immediately spoke as if it was nothing.
“This will sting.”
After saying this, he applied the cotton wool and Bou-san raised a pathetic voice.
“Ow, ow, ow.”
“You’re a boy. Endure it!”
“I’ll be a girl starting today.”
“You’re grossing me out, so please stop.”
While speaking of one thing or another, Yasuhara-san disinfected Bou-san’s wounds, then tore sheets and bandaged him. After a while, Lin-san looked up unexpectedly.
“What’s wrong?”
“It has returned.”
“Eh?”
“My shiki. Now all five are present. Takigawa-san, it is safe to sleep.”
I didn’t see anything with my eyes and I didn’t feel anything.
Masako frowned.
“That is your shiki?”
“It is, but can you sense its presence?”
Masako nodded.
“I understand why the spirits in this house were so empty.”
What?
“The ones who possessed Hazuki-chan and Naru, as well as the ones wandering the house, every one of the spirits felt so empty because they are the enslaved spirits of someone.”
Masako’s hands, which were clasped together, were trembling.
“Those spirits are not acting of their own will. Someone is using them, enslaving them as shiki. Using their resentment… using their deep suffering to the extent that they are unable to rest in peace.”
...Nao-san passing through the cave. If that’s the rebirth ritual, then what is it for? Why was Nao-san participating in the attack? ...with such… a pitiful appearance.
It’s not over yet. Nothing is over until...
We have to cut off this grotesque root and release the trapped spirits.
Chapter 6 - God Approaching
1
After that, along with low voices chanting sutras outside the room, the sounds of banging and the scratching of something continued until dawn. When it finally quieted down and I looked outside from a gap in the curtains, the sky had become faintly bright.
“Well, shall we work a little more?”
I was surprised upon hearing Bou-san’s voice.
“Why don’t you sleep more?”
I know, in the end, without removing the barrier, Bou-san served as a barricade and mostly didn’t sleep. He was finally about to doze off just now.
“I can’t do that. I have to hurry.”
“Why? Won’t it also be okay after it becomes daytime?”
“I wish I could wait, but I can’t. It isn’t necessarily safe because it’s daytime, and if we don’t settle it quickly, there’s no telling what will happen. If we’re attacked again tonight like we were last night, it’s unlikely I can handle them again in this condition.”
...yeah.
“Lin-san, you stay here. I’m going to remove the barrier since it weakens my energy.”
“Understood.”
“Well then, shall we go?”
“But, where are you going?”
When I asked, Bou-san laughed.
“The ‘Sanroku mounds’, of course. You heard the voices chanting sutras, right?”
...ah.
John nodded at Bou-san’s voice.
“And the three were using the spirits gathered around here as enslaved spirits.”
“It’s not only the gathered spirits. It’s also probably the five from the riot who were beheaded and the princess and her lover from the legend. All the spirits of the people who died roughly around this area, I think they’re all being enslaved as shiki.”
“That’s a staggering amount.”
Bou-san shrugged his shoulders as if fed up.
“Sort of.”
“You should sleep.”
It was Ayako who firmly said that all of a sudden.
“Then, are you saying we leave it to John alone? John is tired, too!”
“I’ll do it.”
Bou-san sighed.
“I hate to say it, but it’s impossible for you.”
“Look, I can do it!”
“Say that after you’ve been more useful.”
Actually, that’s true. But, there was something she said last night. There being conditions or something…
“There were circumstances up till now. I can do it this time. Leave it to me and both you and John go to bed. You’re unsteady on your feet.”
“Do you think I’ll say, ‘Yes, very well,’ and go to sleep?”
John stopped Bou-san, who was going to say something further.
“Why don’t we accept Matsuzaki-san’s kind offer and leave it to her?”
“John, wait a sec.”
John looked at Ayako and smiled.
“However, I do not know what will happen, so may I go along as a measure of precaution? I’ll just watch since I’m very tired.”
“You don’t trust me, huh?”
“I think there’s a difference between trust and irresponsible neglect.”
After frowning slightly, Ayako sighed.
“Even though I was offering out of kindness...”
“Sorry.”
“It’s not like you have to apologize to me. How ridiculous.”
...what? What’s with this confidence suddenly??
***
A morning fog was drifting outside. We left cautiously just in case, however, there were no signs in particular of an oncoming attack. The shop building was in terrible condition. The corridor walls were mostly chipped, and there were spots left on the pillars as well as the floor and ceiling as if they had been struck with an axe.
Still being cautious, we headed for the shrine. There was also a fog drifting around the small compound of the shrine. In the distance, birds were chirping peacefully. It felt bizarre.
The ‘Sanroku mounds’ were also immersed within the fog. Ayako was holding a single bottle of sake and just the branch of a sakaki tree, which had a bell attached to it.
“Ayako, can you really do it?”
When I asked, Ayako laughed confidently.
“I’m telling you, leave it to me. There’s no place better than this.”
“Place?”
“...Yes.”
Ayako looked over the compound.
“Although it’s small, faith securely remains. The trees are also alive.”
“The trees?”
Ayako nodded. She scattered sake on the roots of the compound’s trees.
“There was a large camphor tree in front of my parents’ home.”
...oh?
“A wonderful one with a sacred rope tied around it. It taught me various things from the time when I was little.”
After saying this, Ayako frowned slightly.
“When I was little, since it would even inform me of the time of death of the patients that came to the hospital, I would get scolded every time I told my parents.”
“...really?”
“To tell the truth, I don’t think I have that much power. Still, I am a miko.”
Ayako erected the sakaki in front of the mounds. There was a clear jingling sound.
“I will begin.”
She put her hands together.
“I reverently offer this prayer for thy presence…”
I was sure it was the same prayer Ayako always did, but even so, it was much simpler than usual. And yet, it seemed like something profound, which was completely different. It was likely that Ayako’s own aura was different.
Ayako smoothly proceed with the ritual, her hands folded in prayer,
“Hail, I pray to thee, descend here before us and grant thy protection.”
After chanting, she put her fingers together. She was using the formal method for cutting the nine syllables, not the fast version.
“Rin...”
There was a clear chime from somewhere as if in response. I looked around the area. There were no silhouettes in the compound, which was heavy with fog.
“Pyō...”
There was a chime once again. Something shook right nearby. Each time Ayako cut one of the nine syllables, a clear sound responded.
“Over there...”
When I looked in the direction John was pointing, a figure drifted out from the trunk of a large tree. I watched it in astonishment. Figures drifted out from the trees here and there. They were faint shadows, but I knew they were people. There were many old men with beards grown long.
Those men, who had quietly gathered, walked calmly towards the sakaki. Whenever they reached the side of the sakaki, they would vanish. The sakaki’s bell shook each time and made a sound.
After watching the last one disappear, Ayako carefully formed the sword seal. She began cutting the air, five horizontal and four vertical.
I watched it while being strangely impressed and noticed there was still a silhouette in the distance.
“Aya...”
When I tried to call out, Bou-san stopped me.
“But..”
“Shh...”
But still, it remained. When I thought so and focused my eyes on the silhouette, I realized that it wasn’t one of the old men from the trees. It pushed its way through the morning fog and walked calmly closer. Each time the figure swayed, there was the sound of water lapping. When I noticed it, the sound repeated throughout our entire surroundings.
I soon knew who the one approaching was. His neck was broken and bent...there was no doubt that it was Kazuyasu-san.
Ayako bowed her head deeply and picked up the sakaki.
“Now, the time for all of you to rest has come.”
Suddenly, the figure of a person rushed from the shadows. The stench of salt water assailed my nose. Ayako shook the sakaki faster than Bou-san could form the sword seal. The bell rang and the figure that had rushed over vanished into the fog.
From there, our jaws just dropped and we could do nothing but watch. The spirits of the dead approached Ayako as if drawn in— it was like they were completely unaware of the rest of us— they would vanish just from the ringing of the sakaki.
She also shook the sakaki toward Kazuyasu-san. For a moment, as he was disappearing, Kazuyasu-san’s appearance returned to its original state, then he dissolved into the fog.
“Sure enough… we weren’t needed...”
Bou-san said suddenly. I nodded. While watching, I noticed something. The spirits of the dead weren’t gathering to attack Ayako. They were… gathering to be saved by her…
There was nothing dangerous about them. At last, black shadows flickered out from the mounds, however, they also just hung their heads at the ring of the sakaki and vanished.
After the figures ceased to approach, Ayako shook the sakaki toward the mounds to finish up. At the same time as the ringing sound, the three mounds cracked, making a noise.
Ayako erected the sakaki in front of them. When she placed her hands together, making a noise, the bell untied itself and fell. —With that, everything was completely over.
2
“Incredible… why did you hide that you have such tremendous power?”
When I asked on the way back, Ayako replied,
“I wasn’t particularly hiding it. You see, until now, there were no trees that were living. I always said the conditions were bad.”
“Well, I just thought you were being a sore loser.”
“Even if I explained the situation, you would think I was being a sore loser, right?”
Actually, that’s true…
“It has to be a purified location with living trees. Although, it doesn’t particularly have to be a shrine. All the same, the city shrines are full of leaves and other trash and when it comes to the trees, even the old ones are like mummies. I think the world is beyond saving when I see that.”
Bou-san and John looked mystified. ...I certainly understood the feeling.
“It was good that the mounds happened to be in the compound this time, but what if they weren’t?”
“If it’s in the vicinity, I can call that far. The five who died during the time of the riots were also there, right?”
“They were there?”
“Yes, they were there. There were five spirits without heads. —Should I take you there now?”
“That time when you exorcised Eijirou-san, we should have brought him to the shrine.”
“It’s pointless to even do that to a human being. If it’s just a spirit, there are no spirits that can’t be purified. Besides, if I rely on a tree once, then I have to let it rest for half a year. If I had asked a tree for help at that point, then it would have been useless at the critical moment, wouldn’t it? I knew it would be expelled if John came.”
...hmm. I don’t know why, but it’s cool. My view of her has already completely changed. From now on, I will call her Ayako-sama. Uh-huh.
“Well, the matter is settled now.”
“Not yet.”
At Ayako’s frank words, Bou-san, John, and I all involuntarily stopped short.
“What…?”
I take back what I just said. She’s Ayako.
“I said if it’s a spirit. There’s something here that isn’t a spirit.”
“What did you say?”
Bou-san frowned.
“When I was performing the purification, there was a force that absolutely wouldn’t come near. If it was a spirit, it should have come seeking purification; therefore, that wasn’t a spirit. I don’t know what it is, but it’s a much greater force. I think that force is what was enslaving all those spirits as shiki.”
“It wasn’t the spirits of the Rokubu?”
“That wasn’t the case. I think the three Rokubu were just shiki, too. Even Masako had said it was ‘sacred ground’, hadn’t she? For the spirits to gather in swarms like they did, it would have to be because there’s a special power there, right? Even Nao-san’s spirit called it a ‘monster.’”
