Shinrei Tantei Yakumo – ANOTHER FILES Vol 2 Chapter 1

ANOTHER FILES – THE COFFIN OF PRAYER
file 01: the cursed spring (TRANSLATION NOTES)

1

Sachiko ran –

With only the moonlight as her aid, she made her way through the dark, thick trees and gra.s.s, pushing away branches and panting as she ran frantically.

Just earlier she had seen the back of the man running in front of her, but now, she could not find him anywhere.

It seemed like she had completely be left behind.

She didn’t even know where she was running towards now.

Still, she couldn’t stop. If her feet stopped, she would be caught at once.

– I shouldn’t have come here.

Along with her strong regret, the spring she had seen earlier formed a vivid image in her mind. A spring on high ground, surrounded by the forest.

– Let’s watch the meteor shower.

She couldn’t remember exactly who had said it, but Sachiko herself had thought that a photo of the meteor shower reflected on the surface of the spring would have been beautiful.

And then they had gone to that spring.

At first it had been fun. Everyone had been excited when somebody had said, as they were waiting for the meteor shower –

‘I hear something.’

When Sachiko strained her eyes, she did hear something.

She hadn’t known what it was at first. It sounded like the branches rustling and the sound of insects.

'Do you know the legend about this spring?’

Sachiko started talking about the legend she had heard before about this spring. She had meant it as a joke.

She could still hear the sound as she talked. It got louder and louder, and then finally, somebody said –

'This is a song.’

Those words made everything turn cold.

Sachiko held her breath and looked around.

There was n.o.body here besides them, and yet she could hear it. Sachiko could no longer hear anything besides the song.

Sachiko suddenly felt something and looked towards the spring. Then, she saw something bubbling up from the spring, which reflected the moon on its surface.

As the water rushed up, a black shadow appeared.

A woman –

There was panic. Sachiko couldn’t remember exactly what happened. She ran, screaming.

The singing voice came down from the sky.

The voice which echoed uncannily through Sachiko’s head made her tremble.

'Stop it already! What is this!?’ screamed Sachiko.

However, the song continued to echo in her ears regardless.

I need to get out of her right now – despite that urgent thought, Sachiko tripped on a tree root and fell forward.

She used the tree trunk as support to stand up, but then a shocking pain ran through her ankle. It seemed she had twisted it when she fell.

As if to mock Sachiko for that, the song followed her.

'Stop!’

Sachiko covered her ears with her hands and shut her eyes tightly as she screamed as loud as she could. Then, the wind rose up, as if her scream had caused it, and made the branches rustle loudly.

Sachiko was shaking, but she soon noticed something strange and opened her eyes.

The singing voice she had heard up until now had suddenly stopped. When she took her hands off her ears, she couldn’t hear the song.

In the silence, Sachiko heaved a sigh of relief.

What on earth had that song been? Maybe it had been an auditory hallucination – no, that couldn’t be it. She wasn’t the only one who heard it.

Sachiko suddenly felt a presence behind her.

The man who had left her had come back – that was what she thought at first, but if that was the case, why wasn’t he calling out to her?

Drip, drip, drip –

There was the sound of dripping water.

Gooseflesh came up over Sachiko’s whole body in her anxiety and confusion.

– I’m scared. I don’t want to look.

Even though she thought that, her neck slowly turned backwards, contrary to her will.

It was so shocking that Sachiko couldn’t even scream.

Standing behind her was a woman, completely soaked –

She was so pale she didn’t look alive. Water dripped from her sharp chin.

Drip, drip –

Her wet hand reached straight in front of her.

– I need to run.

Even though Sachiko thought that, she was caught by the woman’s eyes, which were as dark as caves, and Sachiko couldn’t even move a finger.

The wet hand completely s.n.a.t.c.hed away Sachiko’s consciousness –

2

Gotou Kazutoshi leant back on the chair and lit a cigarette –

'I’m bored…’ he grumbled, blowing out smoke.

The Unsolved Cases Special Investigations Room that Gotou was stationed at was under the jurisdiction of Criminal Affairs. Though it had a splendid name, the main work was to organise files for cases that had been left unsolved and to a.s.sist in cases when there weren’t enough people. It was just a do-nothing job.

'Then please help.’

Through the smoke, Gotou saw Ishii Yuutarou lift his head up from the pile of doc.u.ments.

He wore a slender suit and silver-framed gla.s.ses that made him look intelligent. At first glance, he looked like a capable man, but that was completely false.

Ishii was always hesitant and panicked when it came to the crunch, so he couldn’t do anything. That was the type of guy he was.

'I can’t do boring work like organising files.’

Gotou looked away.

'Organising doc.u.ments is a splendid job. Why do you dislike it so much?’

Unusually, Ishii talked back.

Why – the answer was just that Gotou didn’t like it.

It irritated him to think about difficult problems and do detailed work. There was no reason for it. That was just his personality.

But saying that aloud would get on Gotou’s nerves.

'I don’t dislike it. I just don’t want to do it.’

'That’s the same thing. In the first place…’

'Shut up.’

Gotou hit Ishii’s head.

Ishii’s lip curled in what looked like dissatisfaction, but he didn’t say anything else.

When did Gotou turn into this –

When he joined the police, he had been burning with justice. He had felt like he’d become a hero.

However, he soon found out the truth.

Police weren’t allies of justice. The bad guys did whatever they wanted, and the good citizens that the police were supposed to protect became victims.

Even while knowing that, there were laws, rules, and society – within these walls, Gotou couldn’t do anything.

The recent stalker case was a good example.

Even though Gotou knew it was likely they’d commit a crime, he still couldn’t do anything. All anyone could do was report it. If nothing happened, the police couldn’t act.

These days kept piling up, rubbing away at Gotou’s spirit.

If he couldn’t save anyone, what were the police for anyway?

– Going on feeling won’t solve anything.

A man who had been Gotou’s coworker before had said that. The complete opposite of Gotou, he followed the rules and acted on his thoughts – an unpleasant guy.

Even though Gotou could remember his name, he just couldn’t remember his face. Maybe because he hadn’t ever looked at him properly because he just hadn’t liked him.

The door opened, interrupting Gotou’s thoughts.

Miyagawa Hideya, the chief of the detectives, came into the room.

Though he had a small frame, his bald head and sharp, glinting eyes made him seem more like a gangster than a detective.

He had been on the scene for a long time. When Gotou was a novice detective, Miyagawa had worked him hard.

Miyagawa was also a man who went more on feeling than on thought.

'Chief Miyagawa, good morning.’

Ishii stood up and bowed in his stupidly polite way.

'My, my. What’s the revered chief of the detectives doing on this remote island?’ said Gotou sarcastically.

'You look like you have a lot of free time, as always,’ replied Miyagawa in the same manner.

'We’re busy, even though we look like this,’ said Gotou jokingly, which made Miyagawa snort.

'There’s something I want to ask you guys to do,’ said Miyagawa in a wry tone after walking up to Gotou’s side.

If it was a request for Gotou and Ishii in their do-nothing jobs, it had to be troublesome.

'Please ask elsewhere.’

Gotou pressed his finished cigarette in the ashtray and looked away.

'I want to do that too. This isn’t even police work in the first place.’

Miyagawa took one of Gotou’s cigarettes without asking and lit it. Gotou had heard that he’d given up smoking, but he seemed really annoyed.

'Then you can just refuse, right?’

Gotou waved his hand, like he was chasing away a fly.

'No can do. There are circ.u.mstances on my side of things too.’

Miyagawa sighed, blowing out white smoke.

He looked tired.

'What do you mean by circ.u.mstances?’

'Request from an old police guy.’

'I don’t know what idiot made the request, but you can just ignore somebody who’s left the force already.’

'You know that I can’t do that.’

It was just as Miyagawa said.

The police organization was built on a strict up-down relationship. The influence of that wasn’t limited to those who were currently working. It stuck with you your whole life.

'What’s the request?’

'The police vet has a grandkid who’s gonna be in uni. The request’s related to that kid…’

'A shoplifter?’

A police retiree might ask them to clear the record.

'There’d be no problem if that was it. We could just get pull them in.’

'Wouldn’t there be pressure?’

'Like I care. If there’s an arrest at this stage, there’d have to be pressure.’

Miyagawa wasn’t acting tough. He probably meant it. Miyagawa was that sort of guy – that was why he could be trusted.

'Then what is it?’

'That grandkid got a murder notice.’

'A murder notice!?’

Ishii, who had been listening silently, stood up, eyes sparkling. Even though he was useless, he always got excited about cases.

'Is it all right to leave such an important request to us?’

That bothered Gotou.

If there was a murder notice, the police should respond to it diligently.

It wasn’t something for a useless department with only two people to take care of.

'The problem is the obsessive person in question…’ Miyagawa said wryly, pressing his finished cigarette into the ashtray.

Gotou waited for Miyagawa to continue. Ishii was holding his breath too. However, Miyagawa didn’t speak no matter how long they waited.

'Who on earth is it?’ asked Gotou, who had run out of patience.

Miyagawa’s face twitched.

'An evil spirit, apparently.’

'Wha?’

It was so unexpected that all Gotou could do was c.o.c.k his head.

'Of all things, an evil spirit…’

Gotou had had a hand in many cases that dealt with spirits. He had even been given the nonsensical nickname 'Psychic Detective’.

'To be honest, it sounds suspicious,’ said Miyagawa.

'You don’t believe it?’

'It’s got to be someone’s prank. Even though we could just leave it alone, it’s been made into such a big thing… That said, I can’t just refuse it, but there’d be a huge protest if I put Criminal Affairs on this.’

'So you’re saying it’s OK to push it over to us?’

'Because I can trust you. I don’t have anyone else I can ask.’

To be honest, Gotou was going to immediately refuse, but now that Miyagawa said that, there was no way he could.

'I get it. We’ve got the time anyway. We’ll at least go hear them out.’

'Sorry. Thanks for this.’

Miyagawa bowed from his waist.

'Please stop acting unlike yourself. So where should we go?’

When Gotou asked that, Miyagawa handed him a memo with an address and a name. After he took it, he grabbed his jacket and stood up.

'Ishii, we’re going.’

Gotou started walking briskly, but when he turned around in the corridor, he didn’t see Ishii following him.

– He’s s.p.a.cing out again.

'Ishii!’ yelled Gotou, which made Ishii run out of the room.

He fell –

3

Ozawa Haruka went towards the prefabricated building behind Building B.

She was going to meet Saitou Yak.u.mo.

She had met him last autumn – it had begun when Haruka had gone to consult him because her friend had been possessed by a ghost.

Her first impression of him was the worst. He was rude and hard to approach. Was it really OK for her to leave things to him? That had been what she felt at first.

However, Yak.u.mo hadn’t only saved Haruka’s possessed friend. He had also revealed a murder that had been in the dark.

Since then, Haruka had experienced a number of cases, and her impression of Yak.u.mo had changed greatly. It could even be said that it was the complete opposite of what it had been at first.

Though Yak.u.mo normally hid it with a black contact lens, he had a red left eye.

That red eye could see the spirits of the dead – that is, ghosts.

Because of that unique ability, Yak.u.mo had suffered a great deal more than other people.

He was afraid of being hurt and didn’t like to hurt others, so he purposefully lived a solitary life.

Even though he was kinder than anyone –

Haruka soon reached the prefabricated building she was heading for. It had two floors, each with ten rooms.

The university lent it out to clubs and circles for activities.

Haruka stood in front of the Movie Research Circle room at the very end of the first floor.

The truth was, the Movie Research Circle didn’t exist. Yak.u.mo had filed some random doc.u.ments with the university’s student affairs office and used this room as his own – he literally lived here.

'Hey!’ said Haruka, opening the door.

Yak.u.mo, the owner of the room, looked at Haruka with incredibly sleepy eyes.

He had smooth, pale skin and a sharp nose. Though he had terrible bed head, it strangely went well together.

Haruka was going to sit in her usual seat, but unusually, there was a guest.

Since the guest was facing away from Haruka, she couldn’t see his face. He was a tall man, wearing a lab coat.

'A guest? Let’s continue this next time.’

The man slowly stood up and turned towards Haruka.

He was probably in his early thirties. He had a sensitive, androgynous face. There was a lolly stick in his mouth.

I feel like I’ve seen him before –

While Haruka thought about it, the man left the room.

'It looks like I got in the way,’ said Haruka, regretting her bad timing.

Since it was Yak.u.mo, Haruka was sure he’d say something like 'You did’ or 'Read the atmosphere’, but he gave an unexpected response.

'It’s fine. The game is decided.’

Yak.u.mo sighed, chin in his hands.

– What game?

Before Haruka asked, she spotted a chessboard on the table. It looked like Yak.u.mo had been playing chess with the man from earlier.

'Who won?’ asked Haruka.

Yak.u.mo looked bitter.

'I was about to lose in twelve turns.’

It was unusual for Yak.u.mo to acknowledge his defeat so readily.

Haruka took another look at the chessboard. Though she didn’t know the rules well, from looking at the positions of the white and black pieces on the board, it didn’t seem like a situation which would beckon a complete loss.

'Isn’t it too early to give up?’ asked Haruka.

Yak.u.mo shook his head.

'Unfortunately, there’s no way for me to win this way.’

'Is that how it is?’

'That’s how it is,’ murmured Yak.u.mo. Then, he pushed one of the pieces on the board over with his finger.

Haruka didn’t really understand, but if Yak.u.mo was saying that, it was probably true.

'By the way, I feel like I’ve seen that person before, but who is he?’

'Professor Mikoshiba.’

'Ah!’

Haruka remembered now that Yak.u.mo said his name.

Haruka was in the arts and humanities faculty, so she hadn’t directly met him, but she had heard the rumours.

A young maths a.s.sociate professor. He was tall with a mysterious air, so people called him the 'Lab Coat Prince’. She’d heard that there were female students who fancied him.

'But why were you playing chess with Professor Mikoshiba, Yak.u.mo-kun?’

'I major in mathematics. Didn’t you know?’

'I didn’t.’

– I didn’t know.

Even though Haruka had thought she knew Yak.u.mo better than everyone, she had unexpected gaps in information about his personal life.

'Well anyway, that’s how it is. We play chess sometimes.’

'I see… So what are the records?’

'Zero wins, zero losses, seventeen draws.’

'So you’re an even match?’

'No. He’s just playing with me. If Professor Mikoshiba were serious, it’d be like taking candy from a baby for him.’

Yak.u.mo put his hands up in surrender.

'Is he that great?’

'His specs here are different from mine.’

Yak.u.mo tapped his head with his finger. If Yak.u.mo was saying this much, Professor Mikoshiba had to be pretty amazing.

'So what trouble do you have today?’

After a pause, Yak.u.mo stifled a yawn and spoke.

It made sense for Yak.u.mo to think that way. It was true that Haruka had always visited Yak.u.mo when she had trouble. However, it wasn’t that common now.

'Nothing, really,’ Haruka said casually.

Yak.u.mo furrowed his brows.

'Do you have a lot of free time?’

'Even though I look like this, I’m busy too.’

'Then can’t you just leave now?’

'It’s fine for me to stick around, isn’t it?’

Haruka opened the refrigerator in the corner of the room and took chocolate out.

'When did you put that in there?’ asked Yak.u.mo, sounding dissatisfied.

'When I came last time.’

'Why are you so…’

'Want some?’

Haruka interrupted Yak.u.mo’s grumbling and held out the box of chocolates.

It looked like Yak.u.mo wanted to say something, but perhaps he lost to the temptation, as he reached for a chocolate and tossed it into his mouth.

Though it wasn’t something Haruka should be saying herself, she felt like she had become better at dealing with Yak.u.mo than before.

Just as she sat opposite Yak.u.mo, there was a knock on the door.

'Come in!’ replied Haruka.

'This isn’t your room,’ complained Yak.u.mo.

Haruka thought about reb.u.t.ting, but the door opened before she could.

A young man stood there. He was tall, but his round face made him seem friendly and cute.

'I apologise for coming so suddenly. Is Saitou Yak.u.mo-san here?’ said the young man in a slightly high-pitched and gentle voice.

'What is your request?’

Yak.u.mo turned an evaluating gaze towards the young man.

'Are you him? My name is Utsugi Kento. I’m a second-year law student.’

'I asked about your request.’

Yak.u.mo’s eyes narrowed.

It was a pointed statement, but it wasn’t that Yak.u.mo had any special dislike for the young man named Kento. He was like this to everyone.

Haruka thought that the young man would be discouraged, but he just laughed quietly and said, 'Ah, that’s right.’

'To put it directly, my friend, er… seems to have been possessed by a ghost… Aizawa, an uppercla.s.sman recommended me here.’

'Ah!’

Haruka spoke up without thinking.

To be frank, Aizawa had been the one who introduced Haruka to Yak.u.mo too. That said, Aizawa hadn’t met Yak.u.mo before, and didn’t know about his unique ability either.

He just exaggerated rumours and made them sound true – that was the sort of person he was.

'Do you know him?’

'Yes, we’re in the same circle,’ replied Haruka with a wry smile.

'Is that so? Er… Would you listen to my story?’

Kento looked at Yak.u.mo.

– What will you do?

Haruka looked at Yak.u.mo too. Yak.u.mo crossed his arms and looked down, like he was thinking.

'The main fee is twenty five thousand yen. Actual expenses are separate.’

Yak.u.mo put a smile on his face like a shady salesman.

It looked like he planned on taking it, but perhaps he was just planning on making up some appropriate lies and tricking Kento out of his money.

When Haruka thought that, her heart started beating strangely –

4

'We’ve arrived,’ said Ishii to Gotou in the pa.s.senger seat after parking the car on the side of the road.

There was no response. When Ishii looked towards Gotou, he saw him lying back on the seat and sleeping with his mouth wide open.

'Detective Gotou, please wake up. We’ve arrived.’

When Ishii shook Gotou’s shoulder, he finally opened his eyes.

'Shut up. I know.’

Gotou hit Ishii on the head.

It was an unreasonable scolding, but Ishii’s sad personality made it impossible for him to complain.

'Man…’ grumbled Gotou as he got off the car. Ishii followed him.

It had become much colder recently. Ishii had his shoulders hunched as he looked up at the large house that was their destination.

The house itself was probably at least two hundred tsubo in size. The grounds were large as well, surrounded by a tall fence.

It was quite a splendid home. Somebody who had a house like this in the city had to have a lot of money.

'It’s impossible to be killed by a ghost anyway.’

Gotou spat in front of the gates.

It was an action inappropriate for a current police officer, but Ishii’s sad character also did not have the courage to warn Gotou.

'You can’t say it’s completely impossible,’ said Ishii.

Gotou glared at him. As usual, it had incredibly pressure.

'You know this too. Ghosts are cl.u.s.ters of the thoughts of the dead and don’t have any physical effect. That’s why they can’t kill.’

Gotou’s words just now was the theory of a young man named Saitou Yak.u.mo, who had the unique ability to see the spirits of the dead.

Ishii wasn’t saying that the theory was wrong. He himself had experienced how true it was through a number of incidents.

However –

'In the previous case, a person possessed by a ghost killed someone,’ said Ishii, pain still in his chest.

'Ah, that,’ murmured Gotou.

Ghosts that had no physical influence couldn’t kill directly, but they could possess someone and use their body to kill.

That case had proved it.

'You saying it’s the same as that case?’ said Gotou bitterly.

'No, since we don’t know the details yet. I can’t say anything. However, that is why I think it is premature to say that something is impossible at the current stage.’

'Pre – what?’

'Premature.’

'Matcher?’

'Ah, er… yes.’

– It’s frustrating how I can’t deny it.

'So we have to think of all the possibilities.’

'Yes.’

Though Gotou had got the word wrong, Ishii’s meaning had got through, so it was fine.

'No helping it. First, let’s just take a look.’

'That’s right,’ replied Ishii. Then, he pressed the intercom b.u.t.ton.

After a while, a woman’s hoa.r.s.e voice replied .

'I’m Ishii, from the Setamachi precinct.’

Ishii put his face close to the intercom and gave his name.

The intercom cut off.

– What was that?

Ishii and Gotou looked at each other.

That had been a scream just now. Something serious had to be happening. Though Ishii thought that, they couldn’t just break in.

Crack!

The sound of gla.s.s cracking from inside the house interrupted Ishii’s thoughts.

'Let’s go!’

Right after saying that, Gotou started running. Ishii hurriedly went after him.

Gotou opened the entrance door and rushed in, but Ishii stopped.

– Can we really go in like this?

Last year, society had been making a fuss about privacy. If they weren’t careful, the press would beat them for this.

And yet, when anything big happened, people clamoured for quick responses.

Whatever they chose, there was a problem. It was a tough world – that was what Ishii was thinking when he heard fighting from inside.

Then, he heard Gotou yell out, 'You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!’ –

Ishii couldn’t stop any longer. However, after all those excuses, the truth was that he was just afraid.

'You can do it, Ishii Yuutarou.’

Ishii reprimanded himself. Then, he opened the door and rushed in.

'Takatoshi, calm down!’

A middle-aged woman cried out in fear from a room that was just by the entrance.

– What on earth is happening?

When Ishii peered in, he was shocked.

Gotou and a young man were fighting in the middle of the room.

'Calm down, you idiot.’

Though Gotou was trying to hold the young man down, the young man twisted his body about in a furious struggle.

It was like two beasts were fighting.

'Let go! At this rate, I’m going to be killed!’ wailed the young man with a ghastly expression on his face.

'Ishii! What are you doing? Help out!’ shouted Gotou.

Even if Gotou told him to help, Ishii wasn’t used to this sort of thing. He wasn’t sure what he should do.

'Er… Um…’

Perhaps Gotou had given up on help from Ishii when he saw him hesitating there, as he just made a clicking noise with his tongue and pushed the young man to the floor.

The young man finally became quiet.

'J-just as expected, Detective Gotou!’

When Ishii ran up in excitement, Gotou’s fist came down on his head.

'If you’re also a detective, act like one.’

'I-I apologise…’

5

Haruka, sitting next to Yak.u.mo, looked once more at Kento, who sat opposite them.

Perhaps because of his round eyes, he looked very young. In contrast though, he seemed reserved and calm – somewhat sophisticated.

'Your friend was possessed – correct?’ said Yak.u.mo after letting out a bit of a sigh.

Kento nodded and then began to speak.

'Do you know about the little spring to the west of the city?’

'Yes, though I haven’t been…’ replied Yak.u.mo.

Haruka had also heard that there was spring there, but she hadn’t gone herself.

'It’s called Kagami Spring[1].’

'It’s the first I’ve heard of it.’

'It’s named that because the water’s surface is reflective, like a mirror. There’s a rumour about that place.’

Kento looked up at Yak.u.mo.

'A rumour?’

'Yes. You can see ghosts at Kagami Spring – and that’s not all. If you look into Kagami Spring at night, your true self will be reflected back to you.’

'Your true self?’

Haruka c.o.c.ked her head.

She didn’t really get it. Of course the person reflected in the water would be your true self. It would be creepy if something else appeared there.

'Yes. Your true self that you don’t want anybody to know about, hidden away in your heart.’

– I see. So you can see to the bottom of your heart.

'If that’s the case, I’d like to take a look.’

'It would be better not to.’

Kento shook his head.

'Why?’

'The people who’ve seen their true selves are killed by a curse within a week – that’s what people say.’

The words Kento said with a serious face made Haruka hold her breath.

'Is that true?’

When Haruka said that in shock, Yak.u.mo shook his head with a sigh.

'When are you going to fix that airhead nature of yours?’

Fix? Haruka had never even thought of herself as an airhead.

'Did I say something strange?’

'Being unaware of it yourself is fatal.’

Yak.u.mo let out an ostentatious sigh.

Haruka thought about objecting, but when she saw Kento with his brows furrowed in concern, she decided to keep quiet.

'And then?’ Yak.u.mo urged.

Kento started once more.

'Yesterday, I went with my friends to Kagami Spring.’

'Why did you go there?’

Yak.u.mo’s tone was harder now.

From Yak.u.mo’s perspective, it would be unbelievable to go for fun to a place where spiritual phenomena were said to occur.

If trouble occurred after going there, it was just deserts.

'Stargazing. We wanted to see the meteor shower. The location is perfect for viewing the night sky. We were thinking of taking photos of the meteor shower reflected on the water’s surface too.’

Kento’s explanation made Yak.u.mo’s expression soften slightly.

'Is that so?’

'I didn’t believe in the rumours about Kagami Spring. But when we were waiting for the meteor shower, we heard singing from somewhere – ’

Kento put his right hand to his ear.

It was like he could still hear it now.

'Singing – you say?’

'Yes. I couldn’t hear what song it was. I don’t know if it was a man or a woman singing. The sound was in a peculiar range.’

'It’s possible it wasn’t a song.’

'No, it was definitely a song,’ Kento said confidently.

'And then?’ Yak.u.mo urged.

'Then, something started coming out of the spring.’

'Something – what was it?’

'A person. A drenched woman crawled out from the spring.’

Kento wasp robably remembering the fear from then. His expression was stiff, and his voice was shaking slightly.

'Did you see her face?’

'We were a bit away from the spring, so I didn’t see it clearly… but she was definitely a woman.’

'I see.’

Yak.u.mo put a hand on his chin as his gaze wandered, like he was thinking.

'We ran away in fear. We were in a panic. I could still hear the song then – but I managed to get to a main road,’ said Kento, much more quickly than before.

That made his words seem incredibly urgent, conveying his fear to Haruka.

'But I didn’t notice.’

Kento looked down at his feet and bit his lower lip.

'What didn’t you notice?’

When Haruka asked that, Kento covered his face with both hands.

'The girl who was with me… I had been so focused on running that I didn’t notice her…’

Kento probably blamed himself.

However, Haruka felt there was no helping it. Only Yak.u.mo would be able to stay calm after encountering a ghost.

Furthermore, this wasn’t the time to be hunched over with regret. The problem was –

'Excuse me… What happened to that girl?’

'I was afraid, but I went back. I saw her collapsed in the forest. Though she was breathing, she was unconscious… I called an ambulance…’

'Is that so?’

Though he might have run away once, Haruka didn’t think that Kento’s decision afterwards was wrong.

'But – she’s been strange ever since then.’

'What exactly do you mean by strange?’

When Yak.u.mo asked that, Kento slowly lifted his head.

Perhaps he was exhausted, because his face seemed to be shadowed.

'She’s been singing thi whole time – ’

Kento’s words echoed through the small room.

6

'So what happened?’ said Gotou, sitting on the sofa and looking at the middle-aged woman and young man sitting opposite him.

The woman was Tozuka Yukiko. She was the daughter of the retired police officer.

The young man was her son, Takatoshi. He was a soph.o.m.ore at Meisei University.

Yukiko seemed exhausted, perhaps because of the fuss earlier. In contrast, though Takatoshi had become quiet after Gotou thrust him to the floor, he was fidgeting restlessly.

'Er…’

Yukiko looked away, like she found it hard to speak.

It felt like she didn’t know where to start. Gotou felt the same way. There were a number of things he wanted to ask, but because of the fuss, he wasn’t sure where to begin.

'Excuse me… I heard that an evil spirit was threatening you…’

Ishii, sitting beside Gotou, was the one who broke the silence.

It felt like it’d be better to ignore the incident for now and start asking from there.

'Talk about the spiritual phenomenon you experienced.’

Gotou looked at Takatoshi.

That instant, Takatoshi’s expression changed. He looked weak, to the point that n.o.body would think he was the same man who had been thrashing about earlier.

'Please save me… At this rate, I’ll be cursed to death…’

Takatoshi put his hands out, pleading.

Next to him Yukiko looked obviously displeased.

'Tell me in detail. If you don’t, I can’t do anything,’ urged Gotou.

'I… The other day, I went to Kagami Spring with my friends. It’s called the Spring of Truth…’

'Kagami Spring?’

'It’s on a hill to the west of the city.’

Gotou didn’t know about the spring, but he knew there was a hill to the west of the city. He had a general idea of where it was.

'There’s a legend about that place… If you look in at night, your true self will be reflected there. The people who see that will be cursed to death within a week – ’

'What did you say!?’

Ishii stood up in shock, which was too much.

Only Ishii would so easily believe a story that was as shady as this one. Gotou hit Ishii’s head to tell him to shut up.

'So did you see it?’ asked Gotou.

Takatoshi nodded.

'I… was so afraid…’

Takatoshi covered his face with trembling hands.

Gotou didn’t really get it. Of course you say yourself when you looked at water. The reflection had to be your true self.

When Gotou said that, Takatoshi vehemently denied it.

'That’s not it! The reflection there… was a woman, covered in blood…’

Gotou and Ishii looked at each other unconsciously after hearing Takatoshi’s explanation.

If that were true, Gotou understood where Takatoshi was afraid. But –

'Didn’t you just see wrong?’

Or it was some sort of optical illusion.

'That was definitely what I say. Ever since then, I’ve been hearing a strange voice.’

'A strange voice?’

'Somebody whispering in my ear. I’ll kill you – that’s what the voice says. When I get in the bath, when I’m sleeping in my room – I hear it everywhere, like I’m being followed – ’

After saying that all in one breath, Takatoshi took heaving breaths with his shoulders.

He looked incredibly agitated. From that response, Gotou didn’t think he was lying.

'It’s fine. You just misheard,’ Yukiko said kindly, rubbing Takatoshi’s back.

However, Takatoshi shook her away.

'No! I didn’t mishear! I’m going to die, like the legend says!’

'If you didn’t mishear, it’s just somebody’s prank,’ said Yukiko.

It looked like Yukiko doubted that anything was actually happening to Takatoshi. At the same time, Gotou realised why her retired father had asked the police for help.

He probably thought this was someone’s prank and wanted the culprit to be found.

'I don’t care if you don’t believe me! That person will save me!’

Takatoshi tried to leave the room in his anger.

'Wait.’

Yukiko grabbed Takatoshi’s arms and tired to pull him back. Takatoshi fought back –

This was just what happened before.

'Calm down a bit!’ yelled Gotou, standing up.

Takatoshi’s and Yukiko’s eyes went wide in shock and both sat down on the sofa, losing to Gotou’s pressure.

'I’ll properly look into whether what’s happening to you is a proper spiritual phenomenon or somebody’s prank.’

Gotou sat on the sofa again as well.

If he got Yak.u.mo to help, he’d be able to determine whether what was happening to Takatoshi was the work of a ghost or a living person.

Yak.u.mo would probably complain, but that was the fastest method. More importantly –

'Who do you mean by “that person”?’ asked Gotou, leaning forward.

Just now, Takatoshi had said that that person would save him. That meant there was somebody else involved in this case.

'The priest at the church…’ said Takatoshi in a voice that sounded like it could disappear at any moment.

'A priest?’ said Ishii.

'There’s a Protestant church near here. The priest there…’

'Ah, then he’s a pastor,’ interrupted Ishii.

'They’re both the same right?’

When Gotou said that, Ishii pushed up his silver-framed gla.s.ses with his finger in a showy manner.

'It isn’t the same. It’d be like calling a temple’s monk a Shinto priest.’

Ishii’s proud manner irritated Gotou, but they wouldn’t get anywhere if he complained now.

'So what about that pastor?’

'He can exorcise evil spirits… so that person would be able to save me,’ said Takatoshi, sounding desperate.

'So he’s an exorcist,’ said Ishii with sparkling eyes.

'Exercise – what?’

'An exorcist. In Christianity, there is a role that exists solely for cleansing evil spirits.’

'Sounds fake.’

'It isn’t fake. It was in that film, right?’

Gotou knew what film Ishii was talking about. The one about a girl possessed by an evil spirit running around.

But that was just a movie. Ishii’s reasoning made it sound like something in a movie was reality.

If that was the case, exorcists wouldn’t be the only things that were real. They’d have to say aliens and monsters were real as well.

'Takatoshi, you can’t believe in that. It has to be fraud. That person must be the one making the strange things happen…’

'I’m saying that’s not it!’

Takatoshi drowned out Yukiko’s reprimand with an angry yell.

Though Takatoshi denied it, Yukiko’s words made sense.

Gotou had a strong dislike for people who said they could cleanse evil spirits. He’d dealt with people like that before, but not only had they all be fakes, they had been cunning and troublesome.

Well, thinking about things now wouldn’t get anything started.

'I guess we’ll go meet that pastor…’ muttered Gotou.

If it went well, they’d get that pastor and solve all the problems at once.

7

'I’ve just returned.’

Hijikata Makoto went into the culture department room of Hokutou Newspaper.

The editor-in-chief in the back waved. It seemed that all the other reporters were out, so only the editor-in-chief was left.

Makoto put her bag down and sat in her own seat.

The exhaustion had piled up. She had been gathering information since last night on a potter since last night. Since the potter had been busy firing the ceramics, Makoto had had to go late at night and finally returned now.

She wanted to go home and lie on her bed, but she wanted to organise the photographs and recordings now.

She couldn’t sleep if there was stuff left to do. That was her personality.

After logging in to the computer, the business phone on her desk rang. Makoto immediately picked up the racier.

'h.e.l.lo, this is the Hokutou Newspaper culture department.’

Though Makoto answered the phone, there was no response.

They hadn’t hung up. It wasp robably from a mobile phone. Makoto could hear the sound of the street and faint breathing.

She thought that it might be bad reception, but it was strange.

– Is this a prank?

This wasn’t limited to newspaper companies. If a phone number was public, calls like these were everyday occurrences.

However, civilian information was absolutely necessary for their work, so they couldn’t ignore it.

'h.e.l.lo, who might be calling?’

Makoto spoke up again.

Still, there was no answer. She was about to hang up and took the receiver away from her ear, when she heard a hoa.r.s.e voice say .

'Yes?’

Makoto put her ear on the receiver again.

But there was silence again –

She thought about just hanging up, but she couldn’t. Something like a sixth sense told her that this phone call was very important.

'I’m Hijikata from the culture department. Would you tell me your name?’

Makoto spoke in as gentle a voice as she could.

Silence –

However, there was a faint change in the breathing.

Makoto looked at the business phone monitor. It was an unknown caller. The number wasn’t displayed.

'What is your request? If you’d be fine with me, please tell me,’ said Makoto patiently.

After some rustling on the other side of the pone, a man’s voice said .

Though the tone of the voice was dark, the voice itself seemed fairly young. Makoto wrote 'Man in his twenties?’ on a memo pad.

'What is it?’

It appeared he still wasn’t sure whether to speak.

'Please calm yourself down and speak.’

Perhaps he was nervous, as his voice was shaking.

It would be easy to say 'I will’ here, but Makoto couldn’t say something irresponsible in her situation.

She was a reporter. She was determined to make decisions without bias.

That said, she wanted to know what this man had to say.

'If you won’t tell me, there’s nothing for me to believe.’

After Makoto said that, there was a worrying pause for a moment.

'Were you involved in an incident?’

There was a small groan from the other side of the phone.

'What did you see?’

'A spring?’ repeated Makoto as she took a map out from the drawer and spread it out on the desk.

'The west?’ asked Makoto as she looked at the map.

Now that he said it, Makoto felt like there was a hill to the west of the city, but had there been a spring there?

She searched the map as she thought.

– There.

There was a very small spring on the map. Though there was no name there, this was probably it.

'What did you say at that spring?’ asked Makoto as she put a checkmark in red at the spring.

The man repeated himself.

Why was he so concerned about whether Makoto believed him or not? Perhaps it had something to do with what he had seen.

'Please tell me first. Otherwise, I can’t make any decisions.’

Makoto was careful not to sound accusatory.

Either the man’s voice had become quiet or there was some reception problem, as Makoto couldn’t hear the rest of his words.

'I’m sorry. I couldn’t hear you, so could you please repeat yourself?’

'What did you say?’

The man sounded irritated as he said that.

'Eh?’

Makoto repeated herself without thinking.

Corpses weren’t light things. Was it true?

The man’s tone changed completely.

It looked like he had determined that Makoto’s surprise was doubt.

Makoto tried to explain that that wasn’t the case, but he hung up before she could.

With a sigh, she put the receiver back down.

'What was that?’ asked the editor-in-chief.

Makoto thought about explaining in detail about the strange call, but she decided not to. There was no way to determine anything with so little information.

'I think it was a prank,’ replied Makoto, which made the editor-in-chief instantly lose interest.

However, Makoto still felt something was wrong as she stared vacantly at the map –

8

Gotou put his mobile away in his jacket pocket with a click of his tongue.

He had been trying to call Yak.u.mo since earlier, but it seemed like Yak.u.mo’s phone had run out of battery, since Gotou’s call wouldn’t connect.

He could never been contacted when it mattered. He really was an unpleasant guy.

'How was it?’ asked Ishii from the driver’s seat, as he handled the wheel.

'Can’t you tell from looking?’ replied Gotou curtly. He leant back into the pa.s.senger seat.

'Er… What should we do?’ asked Ishii as he stopped the car.

'What?’

'We’ve arrived,’ said Ishii, sounding like he thought it was very unfortunate.

Gotou saw a church outside the window.

It had white walls with a triangular roof. There were stained gla.s.s windows. It seemed very much like a church.

Maybe it had been erected recently or renovated, since it didn’t seem old.

There was a tower in the centre with a bell. The cross on top of the roof glittered brightly in the sunlight.

'There’s nothing to it. All we can do is go, right?’

Gotou tried to get off the car, but Ishii grabbed his arm. Ishii looked like he might cry at any moment.

'Er… I think that going with just the two of us is…’

Gotou could understand Ishii’s misgivings.

They had met a number of people who called themselves exorcists in the past. Every time, Gotou and Ishii had been trifled with and fallen completely into their traps.

They weren’t able to see through their fraud.

But Yak.u.mo was different. His red left eye that could see the spirits of the dead – when that confronted the people who called themselves exorcists, it was an impressive advantage.

That wasn’t all. Yak.u.mo himself had an exceptional mind for insight and a.n.a.lysis. It was a strong weapon.

Confronting an exorcist without Yak.u.mo was the same as going into enemy territory unarmed, but they couldn’t just retreat because Yak.u.mo wasn’t here.

'Stop whining. Let’s go.’

Gotou hit Ishii’s head and then got off the car.

Ishii, though reluctant, also got off the car.

Gotou slowly walked forward to the church door.

It was mysterious how the building up close had a solemn, overpowering feeling to it.

Maybe the awe of the people looking at it was reflected back.

'Sorry to bother.’

Gotou pushed open the decorated door and wet inside.

There was an arched ceiling with wooden beams supporting it. In the centre, there was a path covered in red carpet, with pews on both sides.

On the left side, there was a podium and an organ. There was an altar in the front and a tabernacle.

By the wall, there was a statue of Christ on the cross.

Why do they revere such a cruel statue – Gotou, who wasn’t a Christian, could not understand at all.

Gotou turned around and saw Ishii still loitering at the door.

'Hurry up!’ yelled Gotou, which made Ishii jolt and come in hesitantly.

Gotou looked around the church again.

n.o.body was inside. It was so quiet it was frightening.

'It looks like no one’s here. Let’s head back,’ suggested Ishii quickly.

There was a limit to how cowardly someone could be.

'Don’t run away.’

Gotou grabbed Ishii’s arm.

'No, but… er…’

Ishii looked around anxiously.

It was strange how Ishii couldn’t do anything because he was too afraid when he had to face the bizarre, even though he was so interested in it.

'Get it together.’

Gotou slapped Ishii’s back.

Ishii jumped up, but he still seemed afraid. 'Let’s head back.’

'Stop that already…’

Just as Gotou lifted his fist, there was the sound of a door opening.

Gotou saw a man in black worship clothes come out from the door behind the altar.

He was probably in his late thirties. His face was so thin that his cheeks were hollow. His face was so pale it was practically blue. He had a tall nose with thick eyebrows. In contrast, his eyes were so narrow they looked like they were closed.

– I’ve seen him before.

So Gotou thought, but he couldn’t remember who he was. While Gotou went through his memories irritatedly, the man in worship clothes smiled gently.

'Is something the matter?’

His voice was ringing and unique.

– I know this voice too.

Gotou’s memories were clamouring within his head. No, this wasn’t the time to be thinking about that.

'I’m Gotou of the Setamachi precinct. A man named Tozuka Takatoshi comes here, right? I want to talk about that.’

Gotou showed his police ID, which made the man in worship clothes instantly change expression.

It wasn’t the scorn or fear of a criminal. He had an open smile, like he had met again with an old food.

'gotou – Gotou Kazuhiko-san, right?’

The man in worship clothes spoke in a friendly manner.

This response – and he even knew his name. Gotou really did know this man in worship clothes, but he still couldn’t remember.

'It makes sense for you not to remember with me in these clothes.’

The man spread his arms and looked down at his own clothes.

From the way he talked, they probably weren’t just acquaintances.

Gotou would have pretended to remember and tried to find out from the conversation, but with this situation, he couldn’t do anything careless.

This could be a trick by the exorcist too.

'Detective Gotou, is he an acquaintance of yours?’ Ishii asked quietly.

Gotou didn’t reply. He looked straight at the man in worship clothes.

'Who are you?’

Finally, Gotou said that.

Maybe Gotou was nervous, as the inside of his mouth was dry.

'It’s me. Kirino Kouichi – don’t you remember?’ said the man in worship clothes.

With that, the remains of the smouldering memories within Gotou welled up at once. At the same time, he felt a hot anger boil up.

Kirino Kouichi – his memories of this man always came with anger and irritation.

– I hated him.

Gotou tried to stop the emotions that had unwillingly welled up, but he clenched his fists anyway.

'Um…’

'Shut up.’

Gotou interrupted Ishii.

To be honest, he still couldn’t believe it. The face did look similar. The voice matched the one of the man in his memories. But still, Gotou couldn’t accept it.

The Kirino Gotou knew wasn’t the sort of guy who would smile at others, and he hadn’t been friendly with Gotou either.

Like water and oil, they just hadn’t got along. They had hated each other.

And if this really was Kirino, what the h.e.l.l was he doing here? Gotou didn’t understand.

'Kirino. Is it really you?’ said Gotou, who couldn’t believe it. No, didn’t want to believe it.

Kirino nodded.

'I understand why you didn’t recognize me, since I’m a bit thinner now.’

Kirino shrugged.

That was right. His body type was completely different. The Kirino Gotou knew was about one size bigger than the man in front of him.

And the man had had cold eyes, like he was looking down on everyone.

'That’s a lie. You’re not Kirino.’

'You still don’t believe me? You remember this, right?’

Kirino pointed above his left eyebrow.

There was a scar about three centimeters long. When Gotou saw that, he felt like he had been stabbed in the chest.

'Kirino…’ said Gotou painfully.

There was no way he could forget. Gotou had been the one who gave him that injury.

He had a bad feeling in his chest.

'For certain reasons, I’m a pastor at this church now.’

Kirino smiled pleasantly.

'Don’t screw around!’ yelled Gotou angrily.

Pastor? What the h.e.l.l. Kirino didn’t have the qualifications.

The reason was that Kirino – had killed someone. Gotou couldn’t accept that a man like that could be a carefree pastor.

'Why are you so angry?’

'What are you plotting by doing this, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d?’

Gotou grabbed Kirino by the collar.

'You don’t change,’ said Kirino gently, which didn’t match the situation.

His eyes seemed somewhat sad.

'Detective Gotou, who on earth is this person?’ asked Ishii, eyes darting about.

'He’s an ex-cop!’

Gotou thrust Kirino away.

Kirino staged backwards, but he was still smiling gently. He wasn’t angry or shocked.

'I-is that true?’ said Ishii in surprise.

'Yeah.’

Kirino Kouichi had been a cop. And, though it was just for a short time, Gotou had been his partner –

9

'Hey, are you going to take that request?’ asked Haruka to Yak.u.mo, who was walking beside her.

Kento had requested that Yak.u.mo save the woman named Sachiko, who had been possessed by a ghost, but Yak.u.mo hadn’t said clearly whether he would accept the request.

'I haven’t decided,’ Yak.u.mo said curtly.

'Aren’t you going to see her because you want to accept it?’

Right now, they were going to meet Sachiko, who was in the hospital according to Kento.

'I just said now that I haven’t decided.’

Yak.u.mo seemed to be in an unusually bad mood.

'Do you doubt what Kento-san said?’

'No, his story was consistent. I think it’s probably true.’

'Then – ’

You should save her – is what Haruka tried to say, but Yak.u.mo stopped, interrupting her words.

'It’s because what he said was true that I can’t accept this easily.’

'Eh?’

'Unfortunately, all I can do is see. I can’t cleanse a spirit by chanting.’

'Oh.’

Yak.u.mo always said this.

Ghosts were like cl.u.s.ters of the emotions of the dead, and chanting wouldn’t do anything. Even if it did, it would be like forcing them out with violence – that was what Yak.u.mo thought.

That was why Yak.u.mo searched for the reason why the spirits of the dead were wandering and solved that cause.

'In short, if it’s true, I can’t guarantee that I can solve it – that’s how it is.’

Haruka felt like Yak.u.mo’s words had a sad echo to them.

Yak.u.mo had said this before. That he was irritated with himself, because all he could do was see –

He It was because Ykaumo was irritated with his bystander existence that he never said anything unless he was certain.

It was proof of how seriously he faced cases.

Haruka knew this, but she felt herself incredibly pathetic for not being able to sense Yak.u.mo’s feelings.

'Sorry…’

Haruka bowed her head.

Yak.u.mo frowned, looking troubled for some reason.

'It’s not like you need to apologise.’

'But…’

'It’s creepy, so don’t do any more.’

'Wai…’

Yak.u.mo always ruined everything by talking.

Though Haruka was irritated, she went after Yak.u.mo, who had started walking again.

Why was it? His back seemed somewhat lonely.

Soon, they reached the hospital at the station. They dealt with the procedures for meeting at the reception, took the elevator to the fourth floor and headed for the hospital room.

After knocking, they opened the sliding door to the hospital room.

It was a room for four, but three beds were empty. A woman slept in the bed at the very end.

Apparently, there had been people in the other beds until yesterday, but since Sachiko kept singing no matter how they told her to stop, the patients had asked to change rooms, thinking Sachiko creepy.

The nurse at reception had told Yak.u.mo that. Even though he was so blunt normally, changing his att.i.tude completely depending on the situation was one of Yak.u.mo’s skills.

Haruka and Yak.u.mo walked up to Sachiko’s bed.

It looked like she was sleeping now. Sachiko’s eyes were closed as she breathed quietly. The IV drip attached to her arm looked like it hurt.

According to the doctor, it was autonomic ataxia. From the medical point of view, that was probably all they could see.

Yak.u.mo put his index to his brow and looked down at Sachiko with a hard expression.

This response – Haruka could only see Sachiko on the bed, but Yak.u.mo definitely saw something else.

'How is she?’ asked Haruka.

Yak.u.mo sighed.

'She has certainly been possessed by a spirit of the dead – ’

After hearing Yak.u.mo’s words, she felt energy course through her.

Now that she knew there was a spirit possessing Sachiko, she looked strangely different.

'What sort of person?’

'A woman. She’s probably around our age. But that’s when she died…’

'I see…’

A woman who lost her life at about the same age as they were now –

What on earth had happened? Haruka thought about the life of a woman she didn’t know. However, doing that wouldn’t help her understand anything.

Sachiko’s eyelids slowly opened, like she had sensed them.

Sachiko’s lifeless eyes stared at them blankly.

It sounded like she was having trouble breathing.

This always happened, but Haruka didn’t know what to do at times like this. Though she wasn’t Yak.u.mo, she felt irritated at how she couldn’t do anything.

At the same time, she felt like she heard something.

– What are you saying?

Haruka tried to put her face closer, but Yak.u.mo immediately grabbed her shoulder.

'Don’t make me keep saying this. Don’t just get closer without thinking.’

'Sorry.’

All Haruka could do was apologise honestly.

It was just as Yak.u.mo said. She didn’t know what personality the ghost possessing Sachiko had. If she got closer without thinking now, she might be the one getting possessed.

Similar cases had happened in the past.

'Who are you?’

After a long silence, Yak.u.mo asked that in a whisper.

Sachiko’s mouth moved more clearly than earlier.

Her voice slowly became louder.

'Ne… ah… ma…’

That wasn’t an answer to the question. Just a sequence of words Haruka didn’t understand.

'Why are you possessing this woman?’

Yak.u.mo tried asking another question, but there was no response. Sachiko kept repeating the words, like a chant.

’… Go… to…’

When Haruka listened to