novelJinnai Shinobu @ Clock With a Different Gear (2)
| ← Ch.09 | Ch.11 → |
If it had been treated as an emergency notification, a message would have been sent to all the adults' cell phones.
If a friend was simply hiding the boy in their house, the adult of the house would have ignored the child's wishes and contacted the boy's family.
"We have checked all of the locations suggested by his friends. We found nothing there, so we are now going around house by house."
"Well, I suppose there really aren't that many houses in the village."
"But we have found nothing at all. It is possible he is in some sort of outdoors secret base rather than a residence."
In the Intellectual Village, most entertainment was satisfied via online stores, so it had no karaoke boxes, manga cafes, or similar shops. And the closest neighboring town was a fair distance away. Whether they liked the outdoors or not, the only option for a child running away from home was to take some canned bread and bottled water and flee to a secret base. Even I had done it before.
"... But in this rain?"
However, these "secret bases" were usually made from the cardboard shipping boxes. They would not last in this pouring rain. That was why the adults would demolish them when they were found.
"Hm, so where could he be?"
"Sorry for the interruption. If you learn anything, please post in the lost child information section of the notification network."
With that said, the Umbrella and Lantern headed back out into the pouring rain.
...
"Hey."
"What is it?"
"You know the mountain the Sanatorium is on, right? The southern base of it has been the standard spot for building secret bases for ages. I doubt he's there in this rain, but it's possible he's playing there if they've managed to build a proper hut of plywood or plastic or something."
The Umbrella and Lantern leaned forward slightly. It might have been meant as a bow.
But I remembered something as soon as I slid shut the front door.
"... Huh?"
"Shinobu."
The Zashiki Warashi and Nekomata approached the front entrance.
"If he's built a secret base on the southern side of Fruit Mountain, this might be dangerous."
"What do you mean?" asked the Nekomata as she tilted her head.
I explained while also putting my own thoughts in order.
"That area is just an undeveloped open field. Unlike the orchards that produce 30, 000 yen bunches of grapes, you don't get into any real trouble if you sneak in. That's why the kids like bringing cardboard boxes there to create secret bases."
"So are there snakes there?"
"No." I shook my head."But now that I think about it, the situation is a bit different from when I was a kid. The orchards on the slope of the mountain were taken out by water damage since then. Irrigation ditches weren't enough to handle the rainwater caused by sudden rainstorms, so they built a flood control reservoir for emergencies. Normally, there is nothing in that empty field, but huge amounts of water can be guided there to protect the valuable orchards."
"..."
The Nekomata fell silent and looked up at the ceiling.
The rain could be heard beating loudly against the roof.
Finally, the Nekomata said, "That is bad."
"Yes, it is! The area is supposed to be off limits nowadays, but they do find collections of cardboard boxes there occasionally. The kids probably still make secret bases there. If the floodgates are opened, the entire area will be covered in water!! If he really is there... !!"
"Shinobu, do you think this rain will be enough for the floodgates to be opened?"
"I don't know. I don't think it's quite that bad yet. Opening the floodgates is a last resort. The general consensus is that it shouldn't be done unless absolutely necessary. I doubt they'll do it unless we get typhoon-level rain."
We hurried to my bedroom and I opened up my laptop.
I connected to the Intellectual Village's neighborhood association notification network and checked the disaster message board.
When I saw one thread name highlighted in the color for an emergency, I felt a bit faint.
Important notification regarding the floodgates for the flood prevention reservoir on the southern slope of Fruit Mountain.
"Not good... They've already been opened!?"
I left checking the message board's information to the Zashiki Warashi while I pulled out my cell phone to contact the fire department just in case. But would they do anything? The Intellectual Village was quite well equipped when it came to putting out forest fires, but I could not think of any actual rescue personnel for other disasters.
And then the operator said the following:
"Are you absolutely sure this child was in the emergency flood prevention reservoir area?"
"No, but..."
"We will send some men in, but it would be difficult to have the floodgates closed. They were opened to prevent definite losses. Unless you have more definite information..."
"Understood. Sorry. As long as you check. Please just have someone check for a drowning child!"
I hung up and felt like punching the wall.
"That's no help at all! I get the feeling they'll just send two or three men out to arbitrarily look around. And it's going to be completely dark soon. If they walk around a bit and point a flashlight around, they'll never find a small child!!"
I checked the clock.
It was 6 PM.
Due to the thick clouds covering the sky, it felt even darker than usual.
"Hey, Zashiki Warashi. You bought a whole bunch of disaster goods a while back, right? Where did you put them? I want a powerful flashlight."
"... You're heading out now? Have you never heard of secondary losses?"
"I won't go too far. Just get me a flashlight."
"Helping and getting yourself involved are two different things. You do realize you are crossing a line here, right?"
"I realize I only have a side role in this. I'm not heading out to battle some strange final boss. I'm just going to go check. If I don't find anything, I'll come right back."
The Zashiki Warashi sighed and headed back to her room.
The Nekomata looked up at me.
"Have you checked your cell phone? Does that old beat-up thing have GPS functionality?"
"Yes, and I have it turned on. But the phone isn't waterproof, so if I drop it in the water, it's done for."
"Then we'll start panicking if the signal disappears."
I took a flashlight from the Zashiki Warashi when she returned and then turned toward the front door.
"They'd definitely try to stop me, so don't tell dad and the others what I'm doing even if they ask."
"... Shinobu. That request makes me very worried."
"Don't worry. I'll make sure he only gets mad at me. Anyway, I don't have time. Could you lend me the electric stickboard we were using this morning? You've been charging it since lunchtime, right?"
That was not a toy you could carry an umbrella while riding.
I charged through the pouring rain as I rushed for the submerged flood control reservoir.
Part 8
By the time I reached the southern base of Fruit Mountain, the area was completely dark.
I let the electric stickboard fall to the ground and switched on my flashlight. The area was so worthless no one cared if it was submerged, so it naturally had no streetlights. I lightly swept the light across the area and spotted the Umbrella and Lantern standing in a daze amid the noisily pouring rain.
"Hey, what is it? Did you find the boy!?"
"... I-is our master really out here?"
"A-are... are you sure you were not mistaken?"
I walked up next to the two speechless Youkai and shined the flashlight on the emergency flood control reservoir.
The situation was very bad.
Normally, the area was nothing but a green field covered in short undergrowth. Everything would look the same in every direction except for the occasional cardboard box secret base built by the children. That lack of maintenance allowed it to feel more raw and natural than the maintained orchards of the Intellectual Village.
But now it was all pitch black.
This was due to the water.
With a deep rumbling of flowing water, the entire area looked like the sea at night. Everything from the short underbrush to the cardboard box secret bases had been swallowed up. That flat black surface covered everything. Not even the light of my flashlight could penetrate the water, so I had no idea how deep it was.
It was so much that I almost lost my balance for a moment.
Searching for something in that water would likely be harder than finding a ring cast into the sands of a desert.
"Lantern. You can fly, right?"
"Y-yes. Not very high, though."
"Then you fly over the flood control reservoir and call out his name. Come to think of it, what is the boy's name?"
"Yonesaki Hiro-sama."
"Hey, boy. What should I do?" asked the Umbrella.
In response, I grabbed his handle.
I then turned him upside down and stabbed him into the water from the edge of the path.
"Excuse me a moment."
"Gyahh!!"
"So it's about a meter deep. He was about 130 cm tall, so he might be able to keep his head above water if he tries."
I pulled the Umbrella out of the water and released him.
But the depth could change depending on the location and the ground might grow soft from the water and suck his legs in. I decided it would be best not to be too optimistic.
The Umbrella coughed up the water that had gotten in his mouth. (Where did the water go?)
"H-honestly. People these days do not know how to treat their tools!! It is because of you savages that you almost never see a Tsukumogami in the form of a computer or cell phone!!"
"While the Lantern searches above the reservoir, you and I can head around the perimeter."
"You're not listening at all, are you!?"
I ignored the Umbrella's complaints and began our rather unreliable search.
The outer edge of the flood control reservoir was simply constructed by piling up dirt, so I was a bit afraid it would collapse as I walked along it. I pointed my flashlight around in the darkness and shouted the boy's name, but I received no response. Occasionally I would stop in shock when I saw something large floating on the dark surface of the water, but it always turned out to be a cardboard box from one of the secret bases.
"Hey, Umbrella. You went around asking about this Yonesaki Hiro boy, right? Do you know who he was playing with?"
"No. Why do you ask?"
"Playing make believe in the secret fortress is like playing tag or hide-and-seek. It isn't something you normally do on your own. If the floodgates were opened while he was building a base here, some other kid might have been swallowed up too. It would be best to know how many kids we need to be looking for."
Also, there was no sign of the fire department arriving. I had seen no vehicle parked nearby. It was possible they had decided my call was nothing more than a prank.
"..."
The Umbrella remained silent for quite a while but finally spoke quietly as if he could not withstand the pressure of the darkness.
"It is possible our master did not come here to play."
"What?"
The area had been turned into an emergency flood control reservoir because there was nothing there. I could not think of any reason to go to the field other than to play.
"Youkai like us do not know much about human schools, but they would warn the children not to play in places like this, correct? The same as they warn the children not to play in rivers or head into the mountains on their own."
"... Probably. What about it?"
"In other words, our master would have known how dangerous this place is." The Umbrella let out a heavy breath."What if that is why our master chose to come here at this time? What if he was seeking that danger?"
"What are you-... ?"
I trailed off as I felt like my heart was being squeezed.
I had realized what he meant.
"You don't mean... Yonesaki Hiro was waiting here for the floodgates to open so he could drown himself?"
Suicide.
A child that young was committing suicide?
I could not imagine how that could happen, but a high schooler like me could not understand the complexity of an elementary schooler's world. I had once walked down that path, but I could no longer recall the real details of the time.
Was it possible?
Could something really make a child of about 10 completely give up on the world?
"Lately, it has seemed our master has been constantly worrying about something. He has been eating less. And he will not tell Lantern or me what is worrying him."
"You said you checked with Yonesaki Hiro's friends today, right? So he has friends."
"Yes. He is not having problems with his friends. Nor have we seen any discord in the family.... So I have no idea what it is. He has obviously been worrying about something, but I cannot tell you what that might be."
"..."
It was true that people often held problems that could not be seen in their day-to-day lives.
I pulled out my cell phone, but I could not perform a search because its internet connection was too weak. I had no choice but to contact the Zashiki Warashi by calling the smartphone (my smartphone!) that she had.
"I need to find any records a boy named Yonesaki Hiro has left online. Can you search for me?"
"Most people do not use their real name. Do you know what screen name he might use?"
I turned to the Umbrella and asked, "What did Yonesaki Hiro's friends call him?"
"Yonecchi."
"Search for Yonecchi, " I said to the Zashiki Warashi.
After a few dozen seconds, she replied, "I found him on 4 Line Net. It's a popular SNS these days."
"That's the type that only lets you make short posts, right?"
"I can only get the information set as public, but I can see him posting about his classes and other things he's done. This account definitely belongs to an elementary school kid from Noukotsu Village. He even names the neighborhood sweets shop."
"Is he being bullied online?"
"Not really. But I think 4 Line Net has comment viewing levels of 'close friend', 'friend', 'personal acquaintance', and 'general acquaintance'. Any important information wouldn't be open for anyone to see."
"Can you check any further?"
"I am a Youkai, not a super hacker."
... Hm. But come to think of it, isn't there someone in my class who knows about this kind of thing?
I hung up on the Zashiki Warashi and called the eccentric beauty Madoka-chan.
"What is it, Shinobu-kun?"
"Help me."
"That certainly is straight and to the point. Has something happened?"
"Madoka, you know a lot about the internet because of your stock trading, right? There might be some traces of criminal activity hidden in 4 Line Net comments restricted from public viewing. Is there any way to get access to them?"
"I see, I see, " said Madoka offhandedly."What search engine are you using? Try using Free Load."
"Do you want me to check the cache data?"
"That won't be enough. Use the image search. It's meant to search for image data, but it also takes a sample of the text on the page. That should pierce straight through a site like 4 Line Net. Search for an image file unique to the user and it should display it all for you."
"You sure know a lot of about this."
"Well, it used to be popular as a means of acquiring insider information."
"... Madoka-san?"
"I never used it. My autonomous investing program doesn't need that sort of information."
I thanked her and hung up. Then I called the Zashiki Warashi again and instructed her in what to do.
"You take advantage of all sorts of women, don't you?"
"Please don't say things that make me sound bad. So did you find anything?"
"... Oh, my. This is full of suspicious text. It looks like this Yonecchi believed everything he was told by someone he had never seen. Do you think this was some kind of Youkai power?"
"Paste the text and send it to me."
I received an email.
When I read through it, I frowned slightly.
"I think this might be a technique known as journal profiling. People psychologically analyze the available text to respond with comments that will receive the most positive response. A few of these comments almost perfectly match the ones on the alert from the police's website."
It was the same as a test that let you freely draw a picture to determine your psychological condition. Blogs and SNSs could be quite defenseless in that regard.
"That's the method the administrator of that suicide site from a while back used to gather participants, right?" asked the Zashiki Warashi.
"Yeah, but I think he drowned himself when he was about to be arrested for assisting in the suicides.... Wait. But the Youkai used for that was..."
"A Shichinin Misaki, right? The article I read on a news site gave a quick mention of the Package."
The suspect from that incident was gone.
But it was still possible someone else was reusing the Package for their own purposes or that someone else had been involved in the initial incident as well. And the Umbrella and Madoka had both mentioned recent Shichinin Misaki sightings.
"By the way, what kinds of worries were used to provoke Yonecchi?"
"It isn't spelled out, but reading between the lines, I think he was afraid of having to say goodbye to his friends."
...
I fell silent and looked over at the Umbrella, but he merely rotated his entire body back and forth as his version of "shaking his head".
"I have heard nothing about any of his friends at school moving away."
"No, " said the Zashiki Warashi.
"So he does have some friends moving away?"
"No, it isn't that. These friends are not the kids from school."
"?"
The Umbrella's thoughts seemed to have frozen up, but I had more or less grasped the situation.
The "friends" Yonesaki Hiro mentioned were...
"Someone came to 4 Line Net and provoked him with the following, " said the Zashiki Warashi smoothly."'What if there was a method of becoming a Youkai just like your precious friends?'"
The Umbrella remained silent for a while.
His movements had completely stopped.
"It's a pretty common issue, " I said."Especially in an Intellectual Village. Youkai live with you, but their lifespans are much, much longer than your own. That means you have to say goodbye to them eventually. That is what he was afraid of."
But what was this "someone" hoping to gain by provoking him with that desire?
A method of becoming a Youkai.
Was that simply a convenient means of luring in a specific person or was that itself the goal?
I asked if any of the posts gave more details, but the Zashiki Warashi's response was not what I was hoping for.
"It seems 4 Line Net was simply used to gain Yonecchi's trust. The person invited him to speak further using free email addresses. The specifics would have been discussed using them."
"That makes this sound all the more suspicious."
In all likelihood, the boy had been instructed to delete his email address after the needed information had been exchanged. In that case, not even contacting the server company would get us anything. A decent company would delete the entire cluster of personal information. It would all be gone.
"Do you really think there is a means of becoming a Youkai?" asked the Zashiki Warashi.
"I don't know."
Humans and Youkai were completely different life forms. It would likely be more difficult a task than turning a human into a mountain gorilla.
I thought for a bit and then...
"You said you saw an article on a news site about the suicide site that gathered participants using journal profiling, right? Did that have details of the Package used?"
"No. I don't know if the police never figured it out or if they wanted to prevent any idiots from copying it, but no details were given. However, it seems the key to the Package was how to get the people to meet the Shichinin Misaki that kills anyone who meets it."
"Was there no other hint?"
"An alibi hotel." The Zashiki Warashi used a term that had been popular on talk shows a while back."A website is created for a fictional hotel. For the price of a suite, an alibi is created for the person whose personal information is given. That was used so the targets who would never have met the Shichinin Misaki would have met it on paper. What do you think, Shinobu?"
"If that was enough to kill someone, anyone could easily kill the secretary-general of the UN or the president of the US. That would have only been the first stage. After those initial preparations, they would need to actually approach the target to prepare some kind of setting."
"And that is the flood control reservoir?"
"I don't know, but they wouldn't have called him out here for no reason."
"What about the police?"
"We should probably report this."
I hung up and a sudden question burst out of the Umbrella.
"Wh-what is going to happen to our master!? Is he here!? Or has he been taken elsewhere!?"
"We don't know anything yet! It's still possible he's just drowning here. For now, we just have to rule out every possibility we can."
That was when I heard a rumbling noise.
I pointed my flashlight toward it and found the opening to a water pipe tunnel directly below the edge we were standing on. The flood control reservoir was not simply a place to gather water. It only had so much area. The water flowing in was sent through other pipes to disperse the rainwater as much as possible.
The tunnel was about a meter across and the bottom half was filled with water. I would likely be able to enter it if I crouched down.
The Umbrella and I leaned over and I pointed the flashlight into the tunnel.
"I can't see very far in. I can't even tell if it heads straight or if it curves."
"Ah! Isn't that the straw hat our master was wearing!?"
"Where? Is it just the hat!?"
"Further in. I can see just his hat caught on the edge..."
"Where!?"
"I already told you: further in!!"
"Yes, but where further-... !?"
I suddenly trailed off.
I had completely lost my balance. I could hear the Umbrella shouting something, but I couldn't make out what. I had sunk into the muddy water headfirst, so I could only hear a bubbly, muffled sound.
I was near the large water pipe, so the current was intense.
I immediately began flailing my arms around, but I could find nothing to grab onto. I was swept into the large opening of the water pipe.
"Cough!! Cough cough!!"
I somehow managed to get my head above water, but I had already been sucked completely into the tunnel. I pointed my flashlight toward the entrance and was shocked to see how far from it I had been swept. I was too far for the light to reach the entrance. I had already traveled several dozen meters. And the powerful current was still sweeping me further and further in.
I still had no idea if there had actually been a straw hat there or not.
I tried to brace my arms and legs against the edges of the tunnel to hold myself in place, but I still slipped further in bit by bit.
I began to wonder if it would be best to go with the flow and leave through the exit on the other end.
But there was no guarantee the water level would remain the same. If the water pipe tunnel headed down underground, it was entirely possible the entire thing would be filled with water.
"Shit!!"
I gave up on trying to gain footing and instead tried to swim through the muddy water, but I could not gain any ground no matter how much I flailed my arms and legs around. In fact, I could tell I was being swept further in.
My body was flipped over and I was rolled around in the tunnel so much I lost any sense of up or down. The direction filled with air and the direction filled with water swapped back and forth so much I could no longer tell if I was sucking in air or swallowing mud.
The hard feeling of the flashlight left my hand.
I was swept on and on and on through the pitch black tunnel.
Maybe...
Maybe I shouldn't have tried to do something so out of character...
Part 9
"... Cough... cough..."
I let out a groan while coughing up what might have been water or might have been mud. The suffering I felt told me that I was still alive.
But where was I?
The next thing I knew, I had been dumped out of the dark tunnel. I sat up from lying on my back and realized I was in a ditch running through a paddy field.
"Wait, that's not it."
The sun had already set so it was pitch black and the pouring rain cut my visibility down even further.
Even so, I stared intently at my surroundings. At first glance, it appeared to be a paddy field, but nothing was growing in it despite it being the end of August. And the large paddy field was surrounded by something like wooden planks so I could not see out.
... Is this field not being used anymore?
From how thick the walls surrounding it were, I guessed it might be another proposed site for a flood control reservoir.
I crawled out of the ditch while dragging myself along after my clothes had grown several times heavier due to soaking in water and mud. I pulled out my cell phone, but it was completely broken. I clicked my tongue without meaning to.
The area was so dark I could not see much of anything, but I still had to try.
The area seemed to be an old unused paddy field with a ditch running through the middle, but it was not covered entirely in flat dirt. At one point and one point only, the dirt swelled up. It was similar to the space prepared when someone wanted to create a grave on their own land instead of at a Buddhist temple.
The area of dirt was about 10 meters square.
It appeared large stones had been laid across on top to create a foundation.
But...
"... It isn't a grave?"
The stereotypical tombstone was not there.
In its place was a small shabby wooden hut.
It was not large enough for someone to enter. It was only about a meter across on each side. It was supported by a small leg, so it reminded me a bit of a Stevenson screen.
What is that?
This was inside of an old unused paddy field that was surrounded by wooden planks. I did not think anyone would be able to see inside from outside the field, so I doubted this was something the owner of the land had built. It was more likely that someone else had put it here so the people of the village would not know it was here.
I approached it with my feet sinking into the mud.
It was too dark to see the details, but the small hut did not look very old. Its color and texture were spot on. It might have been created out of materials taken directly from actual antique wooden buildings. However, the nails or the adhesive used may have been new because I could smell an odd scent.
Was it a small hut or a small shrine?
At any rate, I stood in front of it and opened its double-doors.
"... What is this?"
I found something unexpected within.
It was nothing related to the occult like a Buddha statue or a Shinto shintai[2].
It was something in the complete opposite direction.
"A handgun?"
The barrel glittered with a silver light. The grip was covered in black rubber. It appeared to be a stereotypical six-shot revolver. But when I cautiously reached out and touched it with a finger, it felt somehow odd. I had never held a real handgun, but it felt so cheaply made even I could tell something was off. It seemed to be made of metal, but something like paint had been added on top. Color had been added to make it seem more solid than it was. A real gun would not need such a trick.
... Is this a toy?
I touched the black rubber grip and a question caught in my mind.
What was this doing in a place like this?
And...
I also felt like I had seen the exact same thing somewhere. But where? I felt as if it had been quite recently.
But then...
"... What are you doing?"
I suddenly heard a voice from directly behind me. It was a high-pitched soprano voice. But it was not a girl's voice. It was the voice of a boy before his voice changed. It was not the voice of anyone I knew very well, but I was still fairly certain I knew who it was.
I turned around.
I found a boy of around 10 standing there. Perhaps due to the Umbrella not being here, he was soaking wet from the pouring rain. But he was still not as muddy as me. He may not have passed through that water pipe or he may have passed through it before the rain began.
But even so...
This was an old empty paddy field being used as a flood control reservoir, so where had he been hiding?
That question swelled up in my mind, but I had something else to check on first.
"Yonesaki-kun? You're Yonesaki Hiro-kun, right?"
I was a little unsure of how formal I should be when speaking to a child of that age, but this was no time to worry about that. I ended up asking my question in my usual brusque manner.
The boy nodded his head.
"Yes."
"Good."
That was stage 1 clear.
But I asked another question just to be sure.
"Did you come here alone? You weren't with any other friends, were you?"
"I came alone."
When I heard that response, I finally felt my body relax with relief. Everyone was safe. I did not need to worry about any other children having been swallowed up in that torrent.
As long as I could safely return this boy to the Umbrella and Lantern, the entire incident would be over.
That meant my biggest concern was the actions of whoever had lured Yonesaki Hiro out here. Yonesaki Hiro himself had said he came here alone, but I was afraid this mystery person might be lurking in the darkness somewhere.
"You know the Umbrella and Lantern, right? They're really worried about you. But you just need to get home for now. I'll tell the two of them I found you."
"No, " replied Yonesaki Hiro. He continued speaking while standing still in the middle of the pouring rain."I'm not going home. I was told I would be turned into a Youkai if I stay here."
"... By who?"
"..."
My question was met with silence.
It seemed he was not willing to answer just anything. That was not too surprising as the boy had no real reason to open his heart to me.
Given how muddy I already was, I decided it was pointless to worry about my clothes. I sat down in the mud so I could stare the short Yonesaki Hiro in the eye before speaking again.
"Hey, listen to me."
"..."
"Anyone should know it would be difficult to turn a human into a Youkai. Are you saying you can do it? How? A Yuki Onna and a Zashiki Warashi may look just like us, but they are completely different inside. Even if I decided today I would become a Yuki Onna, I wouldn't be able to. Don't you understand that?"
"I can do it."
His reply came almost immediately.
I had denied what he believed in. This was only a reflexive response to that, but it was better than silence.
"I can do it. I was told I can. So..."
"Is everything people tell you true? Then let me tell you something: a human cannot become a Youkai. Will that change your mind? Will it convince you? Will it?"
"I can become a Youkai!! I can because I waited here for that person!!"
"Again: who is this-..."
My question trailed off as my words caught in my throat.
I frowned.
"Wait. Why did you just use the past tense?"
"..."
"You didn't say you could become a Youkai if you wait for this person. You said you can because you waited for them. That's what you said, right? Why?"
"Because..."
"Don't tell me you already met them!? With who!?"
The darkness surrounding me suddenly seemed to stab sharply at me. I could feel malicious intent coming at me from all directions. Was the person nearby? Who was it? What had they done while meeting with Yonesaki Hiro? This meant the person was not simply trying to kidnap the boy. Had they set up some kind of trick that would automatically bear fruit after the fact?
Did Yonesaki Hiro understand what had happened to him?
The boy then shouted out as if I had angered him by insulting his family and friends.
"With the Shichinin Misaki!! I was told I can be one of them!!"
I felt a chill run down my spine that was not from the muddy water. It was much colder.
The Shichinin Misaki.
The Umbrella and Madoka had both mentioned it.
They had mentioned sightings around here despite the Shichinin Misaki being an ocean Youkai.
But...
"You idiot... That thing is completely deadly! And not just on the level of a Yuki Onna or Nekomata. It supposedly kills any human it meets. That's about as deadly as it gets!!"
Was a wild beast covered in powerful muscles frightening?
Was a wild beast equipped with razor sharp fangs and claws frightening?
The answer is obviously yes. But the strength of Youkai is not the same as that of normal animals. The most frightening species of Youkai are the ones that have irrational deadly abilities.
If you merely meet them, you die.
If you merely have anything to do with them, you die.
Those ones were the truly deadly ones.
At that point, I felt like I had finally seen the whole picture.
Having Yonesaki Hiro meet the Shichinin Misaki had been the criminal's goal.
After the target had been designated using 4 Line Net and the alibi hotel, some method would be used to send the Shichinin Misaki to the same area as the target. Normally, a Shichinin Misaki would wander around aimlessly simply spreading damage. However, once the Shichinin Misaki had already "met" Yonesaki Hiro online, their characteristics as a Youkai would take over and send them straight for the boy like a guided missile.
It was an assassination Package that accurately killed only the designated target while disguising it as suicide.
But I could not grasp why the criminal would use such a complex plan against a boy like Yonesaki Hiro. Was it simply a test or did killing Yonesaki Hiro hold some great meaning?
"No. No! I was told I would get to be part of the Shichinin Misaki. It isn't going to hurt me!!"
"You know the Shichinin Misaki is a rather vague Youkai, right?"
"Yes, even I know that."
"It always appears before humans in the form of a group of seven drowning victims. It kills any human that meets them. The oldest drowning victim is annihilated and the person just killed takes up the position at the end of the line. It's that repeating pattern... that loop construction that is actually the invisible Youkai known as the Shichinin Misaki. The drowning victims you see are like its clothes or accessories. That is not the same as being one of them."
The Shichinin Misaki may have been about the most deadly Youkai there is, but it was not good or evil itself. If anyone was to blame, it was the person who had led the Shichinin Misaki here to meet Yonesaki Hiro.
Yonesaki Hiro was not seeking his own death, but the end result was not much different.
He wanted to go somewhere else.
He wanted to become someone else.
Anyone had those thoughts at some point or another, but to me it seemed they had been forcibly twisted to make the boy wish to die as an escape.
"But I was told I would be turned into a Youkai, " repeated Yonesaki Hiro obstinately."I was told the Shichinin Misaki coming to me was a special one that would turn anyone into a Youkai if they want it. It can ignore the limit of seven. No one has to disappear. Everyone can become one of them and be a Youkai."
Become a Youkai.
Become the same sort of being as the Umbrella and Lantern.
That way he could avoid the inevitable goodbye with his close friends.
If that was what Yonesaki Hiro wished for, would that infinite Shichinin Misaki really appear so wonderful? But if it was true, wouldn't this special Shichinin Misaki transform into some horrific existence as the endless pile of drowning victims piled higher and higher?
Becoming a portion of the Shichinin Misaki may indeed mean becoming something other than a normal human.
But would that really be an existence equal to the Umbrella and Lantern?
A fish that could freely swim through the ocean and fish meat made by smashing up the flesh and bones seemed like different things to me.
It seemed unfair for the person behind this Package to demand the boy make his decision without having any of the trickier issues explained to him.
"Hey."
"..."
"Listen. Look at me. Come to think of it, I never asked you one thing. You keep saying you will become a Youkai, but why do you want to become one?"
"..."
"This silence isn't because you refuse to answer. You're embarrassed. I understand."
"How can you-... !?"
"How can I understand?"
I gave a scornful laugh.
Oh, dammit. Understanding this is easy. It embarrasses me too!!
"When writing about their dreams for the future, children in Intellectual Villages will occasionally say they want to become a Youkai.... In my case, I started writing it in elementary school. Everyone in my class laughed at me. For some reason, it was turned into a wall scroll and it decorates the wall of the Japanese-style living room in my thatch-roof house to this day. The Zashiki Warashi teases me about it twice a year or so."
"..."
"That is why I said I understand. I was the same. I originally thought it was a natural thing to wish for. I didn't understand why my class laughed at me. But I eventually realized why. Humans cannot become Youkai. That is not the path for us."
But Yonesaki Hiro had not given up there. Even if he found it embarrassing to tell people he wanted to become a Youkai, he had remained silent and continued to wish for it in his heart. But it had slipped out occasionally. And some idiot had picked up on it and lured the boy here.
"Our differences in lifespan can't be helped. It isn't a problem we can solve. Rhinoceros beetles die sooner than we do. That's sad. But what would happen if we forced a rhinoceros beetle to live for 100 years? I have no idea how a rhinoceros beetle would feel about it, but I would guess it would be painful. The construction of its body would have become something that can no longer be called a rhinoceros beetle."
Compared to the time when it was said humans lived for 50 years, our lifespans had expanded quite a bit. But it was still impossible to match a Youkai.
Humans could not become Youkai.
No matter how close we lived with them, we were still different.
"Why?"
Yonesaki Hiro asked a short question. It was a question of denial.
Did this prove he was still trapped by the criminal's trick?
Or did it mean his original wish had simply been that great?
"Why did you give up? What made you say you can't become a Youkai?"
"Because I don't need to be one, " I said immediately and decisively."For the sake of argument, say there is a child with a serious illness. A tactless doctor announces that he has only a few months left to live. Is it wrong for this child to want to make new friends?"
"Well..."
"Of course not. The length of people's lives does not bind them. Even if you have only a week to live or if you only have a day to live, it is best to live your life to the fullest up to the very last moment. Am I wrong?" I then started from the opposite angle."Just because Youkai live so much longer than a human who lives for only 100 years, the human does not need to feel inferior. If a Youkai said it did not want to be friends with a human because he only lives for 100 years, that is just that one Youkai's issue. Would you really want to be friends with someone like that?... The Umbrella and Lantern who have always been with you are not that rude, are they?"
Yonesaki Hiro gave a large shake of his head.
And so I continued on to my conclusion.
"Then there is nothing to worry about. You just have to live your 100 years of life to their fullest. There is no need for you to throw away the life you have to have a Shichinin Misaki turn you into a Youkai. Right?"
"Is that... really true?"
"If you're worried, don't keep it to yourself. You can discuss it with the Umbrella and Lantern. As long as you aren't speaking with a horrible contrarian of a Zashiki Warashi, they will give you a proper answer."
Despite the pouring rain, they had been searching the near-overflowing flood control reservoir for the boy.
Once they learned he planned to become one of the drowning victims, they might seriously scold him. But I felt it was not my job to scold the boy. That was the job of those who had always been by Yonesaki Hiro's side.
In that case...
"You do not need the help of the Shichinin Misaki. Okay?"
"... Okay."
"Then just wait here. I'll go call the Umbrella and Lantern."
I felt a horrible feeling run down my spine.
Now that he had given up on his plan, if Yonesaki Hiro simply headed home and was reunited with the Umbrella Obake and the Lantern Obake... he would not receive a happy ending.
A human who met a Shichinin Misaki would die.
They were not frightening because of their razor sharp claws or fangs. They were not frightening because they were covered in powerful muscles.
If you merely met them, you would die.
It did not even need to touch you.
Yonesaki Hiro had said he met that sort of deadly Youkai. If that was the case, he was no exception. Yonesaki Hiro would die. I did not know if it would be three days later, a month later, or what, but he would certainly die now that he had met it. That was simply the type of Youkai it was.
However, there was a single small piece of fortune.
That Shichinin Misaki seemed to be part of a Package created by a third party.
It seemed the limit of only seven drowning victims at a time had been removed so the drowning victims could be added on infinitely.
I had no idea what number Yonesaki Hiro had been set as.
But if he was not in the normal count of seven, it was possible the count could be returned to zero if the core of the modified Shichinin Misaki was destroyed and it returned to its normal state.
In other words...
It was possible Yonesaki Hiro's death could be cancelled.
To properly return Yonesaki Hiro to live on in the world he had come from, something had to be done about the Shichinin Misaki at the base of it all.
But on the other hand...
Taking action to save Yonesaki Hiro would mean directly facing that Shichinin Misaki with that horrible characteristic.
If I met it, I would die.
Even if it never touched me, it would kill me.
Luckily, I had not yet encountered the Shichinin Misaki. If the Package was only targeting Yonesaki Hiro, I might be able to avoid ever encountering it. But to save Yonesaki Hiro from the Package, the risk of spotting the Shichinin Misaki rose. Knowing that, was it really best for me to continue on through the mud? I would be lying if I said that worry never crossed my mind.
I was not a card battling Onmyouji living in the modern age nor was I an exorcist who wielded spiritual power.
I was a mere high school student.
If I was to appear in this sort of story, I was only suited to play the victim.
If I didn't want to die, I needed to flee right that instant. The Shichinin Misaki problem was focused on Yonesaki Hiro, so I would be safe if I kept away from the boy. I could wait for the problem to go away.
But...
"What is it?"
"Nothing, " I said as I shook my head.
Surviving like that was taking the easy way out. But someone's life was on the line. If I took the easy way out, I felt I would be bound by that decision for the rest of my life.
It's a bit embarrassing for me to admit, but if I could have easily made that decision, I would not have rushed out into the rain to search the flood control reservoir in the first place.
"Listen. You need to stay here. I'll bring the Umbrella and Lantern here. We'll deal with the Shichinin Misaki, so you stay here. Understand?"
Something had released the limit of seven people.
Something was not allowing it to count to seven.
I already had a decent guess as to what that was. There had been a strange small shabby hut set up in the old unused paddy field. A six-shot revolver toy had been kept inside. Its framework was built around the number six, so naturally it could never count to seven. Just as the six-shot cylinder would spin every time the trigger was pulled, the Shichinin Misaki would forever continue gathering drowning victims in vain.
When I thought back, I remembered that Yonesaki Hiro had first spoken to me the instant I touched the toy handgun.
Yonesaki Hiro may have been there all along, but I had not noticed him until I touched a portion of the Package. Was it possible the "change" in Yonesaki Hiro had simply advanced that far?
"..."
The fact that the revolver was enshrined in the small shabby hut held meaning.
If I tried to forcibly move it, someone who wanted to maintain the Package would likely try to stop me.
And they would likely do so by wielding the power of the Shichinin Misaki they controlled.
Once my death was decided, I would be able to move the danger away from Yonesaki Hiro who remained behind.
But that alone was not enough.
The Shichinin Misaki was an ocean Youkai. It made no sense for it to be in Noukotsu Village which was surrounded by forests and mountains. Some other trick would be needed to force it past all that. If I did not destroy that other trick, the Shichinin Misaki would remain in the village. It would wield its power and kill both Yonesaki Hiro and me.
"Hey, you said you met the Shichinin Misaki, right?"
"Yes."
"Did you see anything on the ground around it? Like a thermos or a plastic drink bottle. Some kind of sealed container filled with ocean water."
"... I don't know, " said Yonesaki Hiro slowly as if trying to remember."But I stopped by our secret base before coming here."
"In the flood control reservoir? That whole area was submerged once it began to rain."
"Yes. There was a lot of stuff there because we all gather the things we find. I remember seeing a case that probably held fishing equipment and a cooler for putting fish in."
"... I see."
If someone was trying to hide something or keep it from being messed with, the best method would be to place it at the bottom of that violent water. That water that had been made so muddy by the downpour. No one could see the bottom and entering the water would be suicide.
But that was likely where the Shichinin Misaki's core lay.
If I could open the sealed container and pour out the ocean water contained within, the Shichinin Misaki would likely lose all its power. Even the most powerful shark in the ocean would be powerless when dragged up on land.
I had no time.
The "change" to Yonesaki Hiro was likely progressing at that very moment.
I had to change the Shichinin Misaki's target before it crossed a certain line.
The small hut contained a silver revolver toy.
The moment I grabbed it, I would begin a deadly game of tag with a Youkai that would kill me if I so much as met it.
I had passed out on the way here, but I figured I was at most 200 to 300 meters away from the flood control reservoir the Umbrella and Lantern were at. Any more and I would have drowned.
The old unused paddy field was surrounded by wooden planks, but a careful observation showed that one of the planks was broken. I could leave through there.
The conditions I needed were all set.
The cards were still stacked too far against me to call it a fair fight, but nothing would be resolved if I did not break free of this.
Okay.
Are you ready?
Part 10
I grabbed the toy revolver in the Stevenson screen-like hut. I then began running as quickly as I could. However, the dirt of the old unused paddy field had soaked up a lot of water. I could not run like normal. Nevertheless, I somehow made it to the opening in the wooden planks surrounding the area.
In the next instant, I felt something cold run down my spine. It felt more like static than a chill. The signals running through my nerves had clearly grown buggy. I could feel the core of my body growing limp. Despite the darkness, I was blinded as if by a bright light. My breathing grew erratic. I was sweating profusely.
"Is this... something like... a fever... !?"
Dammit.
It was hard enough to run already!!
In this state, I could see how someone could drown even in a puddle. I practically fell out of the old paddy field and through the broken plank. I approached the mountain slope as I ran along an unpaved farm road. Or rather, I tried to run. It was only a distance of 200 to 300 meters, yet I seemed unable to reach my destination. If I was truly running, I would have passed my destination long ago.
All I could manage was walking while staggering.
I decided that was better than collapsing and being forced to crawl.
"Gah... pant... pant... pant..."
The pain in my throat was the worst of all. Was that because this was a deadly Youkai that created drowning victims? I did not have the courage to look behind me. I did not know what form this Shichinin Misaki modified by the Package would have, but I knew I would be overwhelmed if I looked straight at it.
Of course, whether I turned to face it or not made little difference. I had still met it, so I would die either way.
But I could not bear any more fear.
And where was I? How far had I gotten? I had lost track of the direction. Even my sense of up and down grew uncertain. My consciousness was so hazy that both my thoughts and my emotions had grown dull. I sincerely hoped I was not simply running in circles.
And then I spotted a sign.
It was a single light visible in the darkness.
It was the light of the Lantern Obake who was still flying around the flood control reservoir.
"Wh-what happened!? I heard you were sucked into a water pipe!!"
The Lantern made much more of a fuss than necessary when I finally returned to the edge of the reservoir.
But I did not have time to answer her questions.
I had to search the bottom of that unbelievably large reservoir and find the cooler filled with ocean water.
"Gyaaah!! Wh-what are you doing!? Are you trying to kill yourself!?"
Strength left my body and I more or less collapsed forward into the reservoir.
But I was in no state to search for something.
The water was about a meter deep. Logically thinking, it was shallow enough to stand in. But the current was so strong that my feet were swept out from under me and my head was forcibly dragged underwater. I could barely keep my head above water, much less move around the flood control reservoir searching for something.
"Hey! What are you doing!?"
I heard an odd voice and then saw something long and narrow stick into the water in front of me.
It was the Umbrella Obake.
"Grab on. I can act as a float!!"
"Th-thank-... bgh!? Wait a second. Why are you sinking!?"
"Don't ask m-... mghmghgh."
This Youkai is useless through and through!!
As I half-floated and half-sank in the muddy water, my body was swept in a single direction. I looked over and panicked. I was headed straight for the tunnel I had been sucked into before.
If I was sucked into it again, I would lose any chance of turning this around.
I would either run out of strength in the old unused paddy field after leaving the tunnel or I would drown in the tunnel.
I knew that, but I could think of nothing I could do to stop it.
There was nothing I could do to resist and both Yonesaki Hiro and I would be swallowed up by that deadly Youkai.
But then...
"... ?"
I felt something hard against my leg.
When I thought about it, it made sense. The water was all flowing in that one direction, so all of the trash in the flood control reservoir would gather there.
And that included the cooler I was looking for.
"Lantern!! Cough, light up this area!!"
"Eh? Wh-why?"
"Just do it!!"
I gave up fighting the current and let go of the Umbrella I was using as a float. I then held my breath and dived underwater. I heard a splashing noise, but that was it. I could not count on seeing through the water when it was so muddy on such a dark night.
Even so, I managed to find a hard object by touch, grabbed it with both hands, and lifted it above the water.
The first object I found was a plastic bucket.
The second was a broken vacuum cleaner.
The third was the cooler box in question.
"Heh."
I could feel something deep in my head distorting. The Shichinin Misaki's attack may have grown stronger. But it was too late. I released the latch and forcibly opened the lid.
I then dumped the contents into the muddy water.
Nothing but a clear liquid that smelled of the beach poured out.
But that resolved it.
And as proof...
"..."
I looked around once more. I was now calm enough to simply look around. My mind had grown clear. The fever-like symptoms had disappeared.
And...
I finally noticed the Youkai approaching me from behind. The Shichinin Misaki. That deadly Youkai always made up of seven drowning victims. I saw a woman in a swimsuit, a woman in a suit with a tight skirt, a girl in a dress, and others. All of their arms were within a meter of reaching me.
But that was as far as they made it.
Countless fingers were pointed towards me like blades, but they stopped moving and approached no further.
It was as if something was interfering with their ability to act.
"You're just like a fish that's been dragged up on land, " I spat out.
I received no response. Perhaps the Youkai could not respond.
"A Youkai can't be killed by normal means, but what about now? Will you be crushed by the environment and annihilated or will you be stuck here unable to die and experiencing never-ending torture?"
Very faintly...
I distinctly felt something like fear running through that deadly group.
"On that note..."
I pulled a keychain out of my pants pocket.
My family's Zashiki Warashi bought so much pointless crap online that she had earned enough points to be sent this useless present.
The keychain was decorated with a clear sphere about the size of a ping pong ball. And it was filled with ocean water.
"I'll give you a place to hide for now. I just need to stuff this in a sleeping bag so no one 'meets' you and then carry it to the ocean. But that is only if Yonesaki Hiro and I remain safe. Do you understand?"
Part 11
I may have looked cool bringing all that to a conclusion, but the massive flow of water created by the flood control reservoir was still sucking me towards the water pipe. In the end, I was swept into it once more. (The Umbrella managed to spread his upper portion to catch on the edge before being swept in. ) Once I arrived in the old unused paddy field again, I had to return to the reservoir with Yonesaki Hiro.
The Umbrella and Lantern charged full speed through the darkness the instant they spotted the boy.
"O-ohh!! Master, where have you been all this time!?"
"Are you unharmed!? That is wonderful!!"
I could not hear the details of their conversation from where I was, but I figured things would be fine from what I did hear. In fact, there had been nothing to worry about in the first place.
This had all been caused by someone agitating the boy's concerns to cause a negative growth.
"Shinobu."
I turned toward a voice behind me and found the glamorous Zashiki Warashi holding an umbrella. I assumed she was going to let me join her beneath it, but she frowned and took a step back when I approached.
"... Stay away from me. You smell horrible."
"Then why are you even here?"
But given how muddy I was, there was no point in worrying about the rain.
"By the way, remember that Youkai artist... Houjou was it? Do you know where he went?"
"No."
I hadn't expected her to.
When I thought back, I realized the person who had showed an interest in the toy handgun in the sweets shop and the person carrying a cooler and a fishing equipment case for his art supplies had been him.
However, I had a feeling I would not find any sign of that Houjou even if I searched all over the Intellectual Village.
Why had he used that Shichinin Misaki Package? Why had he set Yonesaki Hiro as his target? Those two issues were left a complete mystery.
I'm not a professional detective like my uncle, so I know I can't have every loose end tied up. But still...
"Sigh. Let's head home."
"Yes. By the way Shinobu, I was listening to what that boy and his Youkai have been saying."
Nnn... !?
"A-and what exactly were they talking about, indoor Youkai?"
"Something that makes me want to go laugh at that wall scroll in the Japanese-style living room again."
"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!"
I could feel my mind going blank. The Shichinin Misaki contained in the keychain was nothing. My true natural enemy was definitely that glamorous Zashiki Warashi!!
"The length of one's life doesn't matter, hm?" muttered the Zashiki Warashi with a thin smile as I trembled."Well, I suppose that 'answer' does sound nice."
"?"
Notes
1. ↑ Azukiarai literally means "Azuki bean washing".
2. ↑ A shintai is an object at a Shinto shrine in which a god is said to reside.
| ← Ch. 09 | Ch. 11 → |