Case 13: Spiritual Paths (1)

Karasu-san—her real name being Yukiko Nadare on the family register, had silently been cremated.

After a simple ceremony had been held with just her family, the body that had lived in this world as ‘Karasu’, was reduced to beautiful ash. The girl contained in the funerary urn was so small, her long slender figure, glamorous body, beautiful black hair and large eyes – all traces of her face had already disappeared.

And, right now, I was staring at it in front of the altar at the back of the assembly hall in the annex of the funerary hall.

Her funerary urn was adorned with countless Anemone(Which Karasu-san loved before her death), and above it was a large photograph of her. I was worried that I would shamefully break down in tears when I stood before Karasu-san who ended up in ashes– however, I disappointingly betrayed that. Because, in the extra-large sized picture, Karasu-san had a broad grin on her face. She cutely winked with one eye, as if to say, “Well, I’ll be seeing the so-called other side first.” Her eyes twinkled with excitement as she said that, and she even made a peace sign. I was taken aback by that smile, and I had my jaw slightly open as I looked back at the outrageousness of that portrait, which was nothing at all like a portrait of a deceased person, when--

“Yo, Nagi-kun, it’s been a long time.”

I turned around after being called out, and there was Suu-san’s well-rounded smile.

Like me, he was a regular of ‘Ikaigabuchi’, an old man who was one of the oldest members of the site, his primary business was being the owner of a liquor store.

“Wow, last time we met was in the previous offline meeting, huh? How have you been doing? ...Haha. I guess you’re not doing so well.”

“Ahh… Haha. I’m fine.”

I laughed so for the moment, but to be honest, a dull aching pain remained here and there. I stood there as a very painful figure, with both sides of my torso wrapped in a cast under my navy-blue suit, and a bandage on my right arm. I hadn't actually been cleared to leave the hospital yet, but I forced the doctor to expedite my discharge just for this day.

“But, it sure is amazing—this venue. No matter how you look at it, it’s nothing like a funeral, and nothing like a memorial either.”

I looked around at Suu-san's exclamatory words, and replied, “That’s quite true.”

There were countless people in the assembly hall. In addition to her friends, acquaintances, and the regulars from ‘Ikaigabuchi’, more than a hundred people had gathered, there were also her professional clients as a "fortune teller"—in short, company presidents, politicians, people from the backstreets, and countless others arrived one after the other. The rather large venue was completely filled.

And everyone had a radiant smile on their faces. In the first place, I didn't see anyone in mourning attire. There were people in jeans and T-shirts, biker men dressed in leather, and I even saw a woman wearing a party dress. If you entered this place without knowing anything about it, you might mistake it for a wedding party or something, and the atmosphere was so convivial that nowhere did it feel solemn or subdued or anything like that.

Right—to be precise, what was being held here today was not a ‘funeral’. The hall with the tall ceiling was filled with lively Western rock and jazz music, and all kinds of snacks and drinks were set in one corner of the room, and above all, there was a flashy sign put up at the entrance to the hall that said, ‘Farewell Party’.

“It seemed to have been in her will. She said, ‘Please never remember me in tears’. Very much like her."

The plump liquor store owner spoke as he loosened his necktie and leaned against the wall with a wineglass in one hand.

“As such, I can only assume that Karasu-san did indeed realize the time of her death.”

“…Realized the time of her death?”

“Huh? Nagi-kun, You didn’t hear?”

No, I shook my head.

“Hmm, I see. Well, it’s a story all old timers of ‘Ikaigabuchi’ are aware of. In her high school days, she got involved in something strange and threw away her real name.”

“…Threw it away? Her real name?”

“I don’t know the details of what exactly happened. She would befuddle you by telling you that it’s better not to know, but it seems to have been a very dangerous incident. I heard that Karasu-san’s mother died because of it or something.”

With those words, I finally realized. The two men at the center of the hall who were politely bowing to the attendees one-by-one. They must have been Karasu-san’s father and brother. And there was indeed no sign of a mother-like figure near the serious-looking men.

“But it seems that Karasu-san herself didn’t believe she had escaped that incident by throwing away her name. That’s why she would always say it when she was drunk. She would say, 『I’m sure that one day, I’ll suddenly disappear from everyone's sight, but I never want you to grieve for me. 』

I hung my head down, not knowing how to respond to the story I had never heard before, when--

“I’ve heard it too.”

I heard a clear voice close by.

I turned my head to see Yukihito Kurimoto-kun in his school uniform, bowing politely.

“Nagito-san, it’s been a long time.”

“Yo, have you been well?”

Yukihito Kurimoto-kun was the younger brother of Krishna-san, the manager of ‘Ikaigabuchi’, and was currently a first-year student in the Koumei university affiliated high school. He was handsome in every meaning of the word, and he gave me a worried look with his soft, light hair and well-groomed face, like that of Krishna-san.

“I’m fine of course, but—Nagi-kun, are your injuries alright?”

“Ah, somehow. Haha, it is how it is.”

I vigorously shook my left arm, the one that wasn’t bandaged down. But just by the vibration alone, my entire body creaked and let out a scream, Guh, I choked. The right elbow in particular hurt like hell, since it had scraped against concrete to the point where the bone was visible.

“Please don’t push yourself.”

Smiling like a spring breeze, Yukihito-kun straightened the black necktie around his neck.

“Ah, Yukihito-kun. Never mind that, you said you heard it too—you mean you heard the story of Karasu-san’s time of death?”

“Yes. Before. It’s….um, it’s from back when I was still troubled you see. I was told the story when I was made to see Karasu-san as a sort of counselling. She said,『Someday, maybe very soon, I'll suddenly disappear, so please remember me.』I thought she meant it as 『Don’t keep depending on me forever』, and after that, I began to think for myself a little.”

“Ah, to say that to a boy in puberty is harsh--”

Suu-san smiled, and Yukihito-kun gave an embarrassed smile in reply.

“Back then, I thought I was being pushed away, and I did indeed think that women were scary… but, now that she really has disappeared, I think she was trying to encourage me to stand on my own.”

Suu-san and I followed Yukihito-kun’s gaze as he looked back, and we gazed in the far-off distance at the smiling Karasu-san in the photograph.

However, Suu-san quickly let out a ‘Pfft’.

“That picture doesn't even bring a tear to my eyes.”

“Yes.”

I, too, couldn't help but smile.

However, I took a hard look at it, and thought once more—

That it was indeed a strange picture.

Regardless of being a lively meet that was called a ‘Farewell party’, it wasn’t just me who would recall Karasu-san midway through the conversation and be at a loss of what to say. There were moments when the reality of a ’person dying’ would stab at my heart, when my thoughts would end up stopping in their tracks. But when I would look up, that joking wink and smiling face would be looking down on me. At that moment, my sadness would dissipate, and I would suddenly realize that my heart became lighter. To the point where I would end up thinking that ‘dying’ meant going on a simple trip to a neighboring country.

“That picture must be a form of Karasu-san’s consideration.”

Suu-san’s voice was a little hoarse as he spoke.

“Anyone who can be somber in the face of that foolish picture must be really dark from their roots.”

Thereupon, I realized the presence of a small shadow working diligently in front of the drinks counter.

It was indeed Krishna-san, my senpai in university and the manager of the occult site ‘Ikaigabuchi’, to whom I owed a great debt of gratitude. She was handing out drinks to the visitors who came one after the other with a smile on her face. She was dressed in a black and white suit with only her glasses being in color, but—

“I guess she’s the one who has it the hardest.”

Suu-san’s words suddenly made me realize.

“She must be really depressed at having to close down ‘Ikaigabuchi’.”

“Ah…about that, has it already been decided? Why does she have to close it down? I don’t think Karasu-san would be happy about that.”

“…Ngh.”

After taking a sip of the wine, Suu-san hesitated for a while over whether to say something or not, before eventually telling us.

“I believe it happened a few years ago. Someone involved in ‘Ikaigabuchi’ died. Well, he was a reckless guy who kept venturing into haunted spots on his own regardless of whether Krishna-san stopped him or not.”

I suddenly felt mortified, like he was talking about me.

“In the end, he lost his senses and got run over by a train. At that time Krishna-san was so distraught that she made a great big fuss, saying she was going to quit and close the website. But, the one who stopped her from closing the site back then was Karasu-san. She acted quite out of character back then, you know. The normally outgoing and playful Raven-san wrapped her hands around Krishna-san’s cheeks and shouted at her, 『Are you listening, Krishna-chan? Don’t focus only on those who are hopelessly delusional and turn your eyes away from the countless ghosts who could be saved!』Well, Krishna-san changed her mind thanks to that – but, the question of whether or not to continue ‘Ikaigabuchi’ must have always been swirling inside that small body of hers.”

“……”

“’Ikaigabuchi’ is different from your average occult website. There are times when articles go beyond the realm of just being thrilling and enjoyable ghost stories, when they have to be investigated seriously. And, although we can't understand why – the information on ‘Ikaigabuchi’ we can’t see is always secretly sealed away by Krishna-san alone. If she made that decision after accepting Karasu-san’s words, then there’s nothing we can do as mere visitors to the site.”

…Ah, that was true.

I took a glance at Krishna-san’s small back once more.

Information on S ranked haunted places was also locked and stored on Krishna-san’s computer. It could not be published, nor could it be erased, it continued to exist as disturbing data on her computer, and having ended up gaining that information, it was inside her even now, wriggling in the dark.

“Ah, dammit…I’m really.”

Without thinking about how tiring that strangeness must have been, I was only thinking about myself once more. I only wished for the preservation of this extremely precious community -- of this gathering of so many strange people.

I felt helplessly sorry.

I looked at the Krishna-san working hard in the distance, straightened my posture on the spot, and made a deep, deep bow.