Ghost Hunt:Volume6, page 2
part #6 of Ghost Hunt Series
When I looked back in haste, the figure of a person could be seen peering inside from the opposite side of the door. I hurried to the door while inwardly breaking into a cold sweat.
***
At the entrance stood a man of about twenty years of age and a girl around kindergarten age.
“Yes?”
I switched to a business smile as I opened the door.
“Excuse me, I don’t know how I should say this, but… you’re spiritualists, right?”
Pulling the hand of the girl, he came into the office. He had a very quiet voice.
“We’re a little different from spiritualists. Do you have a request?”
He nodded, then looked down at the girl.
“I would like you to examine this child.”
The girl was wearing a shirt with a sailor collar, and her neck was bandaged.
“Well...”
I looked back at Naru. There are some spiritualists that will treat illnesses, but in the case of ‘Shibuya Psychic Research’, that sort of thing is outside our area of expertise. Furthermore, in our case, we’re very different from spiritualists.
As I was thinking that, Naru frankly replied,
“I think you should go to the hospital if you need treatment for an illness.”
Being said as such, the man’s eyes grew wide a little bit in surprise. Then, he gently smiled.
“I agree....but, I don’t think it’s an ordinary illness.”
Naru stood up.
“Is there an illness?”
“No.”
“First of all, you should consult a doctor.”
Naru’s voice seemed blatantly irritated. Hearing Naru, the girl looked up at the man.
“I hate hospitals.”
He smiled.
“It’s alright. We’re not going to the hospital.”
“Is this a hospital?”
“It’s different, Hazuki. You don’t smell medicine, do you?”
The girl nodded, but was still uneasy. She firmly clung to his arm as she looked around the office.
“Naru-chan.”
The one who interrupted was Bou-san.
“It’s alright if we examine her, right? In particular, it won’t take long, so there’s no reason to be so impatient, is there?”
Glancing at Bou-san, Naru lightly sighed. He offered the two the sofa.
“Please sit. —Takahashi-san, please serve tea.”
***
The man’s name was Yoshimi Akifumi-san. The girl’s was Yoshimi Hazuki-chan. She’s his niece. After introducing himself, he began to unwind the bandage that was around Hazuki-chan’s neck. From beneath the gauze appeared a sort of red eczema on her throat. It was simply a red line straight across the middle of her throat. Blood lightly seeped out of the sore skin.
“It looks like a skin disease.”
When Naru said that, Akifumi-san turned Hazuki-chan sideways.
“It’s around her entire neck.”
True to his words, the line went around her neck. A band of eczema, the width of about a centimeter, was around her neck. It was somewhat creepy. It looked like a wound. As though to cut the neck directly horizontal.
“It doesn’t seem painful at all, and it seems there’s no itch.”
“It’s not a rash from something?”
Akifumi-san shook his head ‘no’.
“If it was only that, I would have taken her to the hospital, but it’s also on her back.”
After he said so, Akifumi-san turned to Hazuki-chan.
“Hazuki, excuse me.”
After speaking, he opened Hazuki-chan’s shirt and dropped it from her shoulders. Looking at her small white back, I unconsciously spoke aloud.
“What… is this?”
Similar to the eczema that was on her neck, there was a line on her back. Something like this can’t possibly be a skin disease.It looked like nothing but characters. As if written with a brush, there were the kanji, ‘喘月院落獄童女.’
“...that’s terrible.”
It was Bou-san who said that in a low voice.
“What?”
“This is… a Kaimyou, isn’t it?
“Kaimyou, isn’t that a name given to a dead person?”
Bou-san made an unusually serious expression.
“Right…. this guy is malicious.”
“Malicious?”
“‘喘月’ means the foolishness of fearing something too much. ‘落獄’ would mean descend into hell. —Yoshimi-san, please dress the young lady.”
Descend into hell? What kind of Kaimyou is that?
“‘童女’ is given to girls. It’s a Kaimyou someone made with malicious intent. —It means, ‘This foolish child will descend into hell.’”
...this foolish child…
“‘月’ in ‘喘月’ is probably taken from the character in ‘葉月(Hazuki).’ This is a Kaimyou for this child.”
2
It was the evening of the following day when we arrived at the Yoshimi house, which was in Noto.
In the end, it was decided that Bou-san and Ayako would accompany us, so as usual, we crossed the simmering Japanese archipelago in two cars. Sheesh, it was a nauseating long journey.
The Yoshimi house was on a cape overlooking the Sea of Japan. From the road along the coast, a narrow side road extended through the forest to the seaside. Entering the road, an impressive building of Japanese construction immediately appeared. This was the Yoshimi house, a Japanese-style restaurant, which Akifumi-san’s family runs.
Akifumi-san, who had come back the previous day on an airplane, welcomed us and we were guided to the main building where the family lives. In the main building, which is connected to the restaurant by a corridor, was a tatami mat room in the very back.
In there, an old woman was sitting on a futon waiting.
“Grandmother, they’ve arrived.”
Saying so, Akifumi-san lead us into the tatami mat room.
“This is my grandmother.”
She was an old woman like a small guardian deity of children. She neatly placed her hands on top of the futon and deeply bowed her head.
“My name is Yoshimi Yae. I humbly beg you to look into our case.”
The grandmother is the actual requester— Akifumi-san and Hazuki-chan were the ones who came to the office of ‘Shibuya Psychic Research.’
“In truth, I should have gone to make the request, but as you can see, my health is somewhat impaired, so my grandson was sent as my proxy. I think even this was impolite, however, please pardon it.”
After Akifumi-san introduced us to his grandmother, there came a calm seeming man and a woman wearing a kimono who waited with tea. The man was Akifumi-san’s father Yoshimi Taizou-san, and the woman was his mother Yoshimi Hiroe-san.
The pair politely greeted us, and Naru lightly nodded in return.
“—I’d like to hear the details of the request again from grandmother.”
The grandmother nodded, pursing her mouth.
“...Where should I begin?”
Slightly tilting her head, she began talking.
“You’ll probably think this is foolish, but this house is cursed. A few days ago, my husband passed away...”
“My condolences.”
“No. He lived a long life. ...At any rate, there is a disquieting legend in the house of Yoshimi. It is said that accidents occur whenever there is a change of ownership...”
The grandmother frowned after saying this.
“It was also true in the previous generation— when my father passed away and my husband took over the house. After the death of the previous head, corpses from the family began appearing one after another. Gathered in a big house, relatives had been living merrily, then just like that the number of people had decreased and the house was empty.”
“Is that type of thing also happening now...?”
When Naru asked, the grandmother nodded.
“Yes. It was the same thing when the house was ceded to the previous generation from the generation before. Although, I don’t remember much since I was young at the time. However, among my six siblings, I alone survived. Because of that, I did not become anxious. Actually, that eczema began to form on Hazuki immediately in response to my husband’s death and in less than one week, it has become as it is now. Considering this, it doesn’t seem like an ordinary case. With regards to the bruises on her neck as well as the Kaimyou on her back, it seems as if someone is saying they’ll cut off Hazuki’s head.”
Saying so, the old woman fixed her gaze on Naru.
“Just as I had thought there was no option but to rely on people from another profession, I received a referral to you by a guest named Ohashi-sama.”
Ohashi-san was the man who came with the request of the previous incident.
While Naru took notes, he said,
“I’d like to hear about when the predecessor, your father, died. When was it?”
“It was thirty-two years prior to now.”
“Several people seem to have passed away, but do you remember the number and the causes of death?”
The grandmother nodded.
“There were eight people from this house. The five youngest of the seven children of this house, the oldest grandchild, my cousin, and my uncle. Half died in accidents, and the rest from illnesses with unknown causes.”
I looked around the Japanese-style room, which had begun to darken. There was a large Buddhist family altar by the grandmother’s bedside. Eight people from within the family. The heavy number of eight.
“From this house —that is to say, there are people who died in addition to the family?”
When Naru asked, the grandmother nodded.
“Two restaurant customers, in accidents...”
When Naru looked down at his notebook to brood, Akifumi-san’s mother Hiroe-obasan, who had been silently sitting beside the futon, spoke up.
“Mother, wouldn’t it be better to tell them everything?”
The grandmother looked down. Naru stared back at Hiroe-san.
“My mother… is worried whether all of you will return from here.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Three spiritualists died.”
‘I see,’ Bou-san muttered quietly.
“We invited two people from a spiritualist company, however, when they began their prayer, they soon died in accidents. The person we also invited after that died in an accident, too.”
When Hiroe-obasan said this, the grandmother nodded while still looking down.
“We would very much like your help, but considering the risk, it’s unreasonable...”
Bou-san interrupted Hiroe-obasan.
“If it’s too dangerous, we’ll desist and leave. We understand what’s involved. However, I’m not so cowardly that I’ll leave without seeing what I’m up against.”
“...Thank you.”
Bou-san smiled at Hiroe-obasan, who completely bowed her head.
“However, Naru-chan, it’ll be troublesome if customers are also in danger.”
Naru nodded. He spoke to Hiroe-obsan,
“Right now, are there any customers in the shop?”
“There aren’t any here. The restaurant has been closed since my father died. Mother...”
Hiroe-obsan stared at the grandmother.
“She absolutely insisted. Employees were also asked to take a vacation after the funeral ended. Only the family is in this building now.”
“I think that’s a sensible action.”
Naru nodded lightly. Then,
“Have you experienced any incidents, or seen anything strange?”
The one to reply was Akifumi-san.
“After grandfather’s funeral, it started with the death of grandmother’s hill myna, and over about three days, all the birds and dogs we had raised died. There were the two canary birds my niece had raised and the three dogs. The birds died in their cages, but the dogs were found washed up on the shore.”
Wow…
“Other than that?”
Akifumi-san looked at his mother. Hiroe-obsan replied,
“Some of the employees said they saw a ghost in part of the restaurant. It was peeking into a room from the window.”
“Is it a definite location?”
“No. I think it was perhaps the cove side room, but...”
“Cove side room?”
Hiroe-obsan nodded.
“I think you’ll understand when we show you around afterwards, however… since there’s only the cove side, it’s a strange location for someone to peek in from outside... ”
‘I see,’ Naru muttered as he closed his notebook.
“For the time being, we’ll decide where to put the equipment. Did you prepare a room?”
Akifumi-san stood up.
“Certainly. I will guide you.”
3
We walked in succession down a long corridor following Akifumi-san.
Walking in the shop’s corridor, we went down a straight hallway and turned one corner. There were white walls on both sides, and lattice doors lined up here and there.
“Here it is.”
Akifumi-san stopped and opened a lattice door. Behind the lattice door, there was ordinary entryway.
“Unfortunately, it isn’t a Western-style room.”
Akifumi-san opened the sliding front door. It was three continuous rooms. It went immediately into a small four tatami mat sized room. Behind that was an eight tatami mat sized room. Additionally, another eight tatami mat sized room could be seen through an open sliding door on the left.
“It’s huge!”
Ayako cheered. In front of the two side-by-side eight tatami mat rooms was a paper sliding door that opened both ways. Akifumi-san opened it, and beyond was a wide veranda. Simple, Ryokan-style tables and chairs were placed there, although the ones here were three times as wide. It had the overall appearance of a simple wooden floored room.
“It’s fine if the sliding doors are removed. It’s a room where customers stay, but will it work?”
Akifumi-san asked Naru, who was overlooking the room. There are a number of beautifully made low tables placed against the wall, which seem a little too good for placing equipment on.
“It’s more than enough.”
“It’s small on the inside, but there is a bathroom. In addition to this room, we’ve prepared the rooms on both sides, so please use them for rest.”
“Thank you.”
While casting a side glance at Naru, who lightly bowed his head, I approached the window of the veranda. When it’s this wide and empty, I feel like wandering aimlessly. Looking out the window, I raised my voice. It was a superb view.
“Amaazing!”
Under the window was a small round cove. In front of the window, the opposite shore of the cliff could be seen nearby. The cove directly below looked very deep. The entrance to the sea was narrow and there was also no crossing. The thick, dark colored water was hauntingly calm.
“So, this is the cove side room?”
I understood. Certainly, it would be abnormal to see a person from outside this window. This room is built so that it projects from the cliff facing the cove. There is nothing under the window until the surface of the water. The distance is approximately four floors, or perhaps more.
“Do you understand now?”
Without noticing, Akifumi-san had appeared next to me. But it wasn’t just Akifumi-san. Everyone was looking out from the window.
“Yes, I understand. It’s impossible to look in from outside.”
“That’s right.”
“This cove, can you swim in it?”
“If you’re good at swimming. It’s very deep.”
“Ah, indeed?”
“If you want to swim, you can swim at the beach on the opposite side.”
Akifumi-san pointed back.
The opposite side… hmm, I can’t quite grasp it well.
The last time we went to a haunted house, the house was really large, and I would become frightened when I got lost. Though this house is smaller, it seems wide enough to get lost in. As might be expected from a Japanese-style restaurant, there are many rooms, and corridors that bend back and forth. I’ve barely been able to comprehend the fact that we’re in the restaurant rather than the main building. I wouldn’t like to make a floor plan again…
Perhaps thinking the same thing, Naru asked,
“Yoshimi-san, is there a floor plan of the building?”
“I think there is. I’ll bring it afterwards.”
Bou-san gave a wry smile.
“That would be helpful.”
Akifumi-san smiled.
“Since it’s not such a complicated building, I think you’ll become familiar with it immediately.”
“I hope that’s so. Incidentally, I’d be happy if there’s also a map of the building’s surroundings.”
When Bou-san said this, Akifumi-san smiled and raised his right hand.
“Please make a circle with your right thumb and index finger.”
“An OK mark?”
“That’s right. The circle is the cove. Where the thumb and index finger join is the entrance of the cave. The shop is around the base of the index finger. The opposite shore is where the thumb appears opposite now. The garden over there has a tea house.”
Hmmm. I stared at my hand.
“From the place around the wrist, the main building is where you enter from the road towards the index finger and the shrine is where you enter towards the thumb.”
“There’s a shrine?”
“Yes, right next door. The middle finger is the beach. A small fishing port is on the far point.”
Ah, I see. It isn’t simple.
“And there is a small cave on the part of the nail of the index finger.”
“A cave?”
“Yes. It’s a marine erosion cave. Waves hollow out the cliff and a cave is made. It’s only from the pointing part of the fingernail, it’s missing from the cove.”
“Amaazing. Can we see the cave?”
“Yes. Since today is too late, I’ll show you tomorrow if that’s alright with you.”
Hooray. Exciting.
“But Yoshimi-san,”
Bou-san raised his voice.
“I realize the building is splendid and the location is good, but is a restaurant really profitable in the middle of nowhere?”
