Case 15: The Disturbing Mansion [Part Two] (4)

After his long, long, story had finished—

Sako Takita gave a thin smile as if something possessing him had fallen off.

“I feel as if my long journey will finally come to an end when I’m able to make it feel the concept of death.”

I had no idea how to answer, and had my head cast down there as if I were merely seeing a dream.

The reason why Sako became Sako—the monster that possessed people moving from person to person.

Amplifying the negative emotions in people, wasn’t that the crazy system Ayana Takamura tried to create through the taboo words?

However, that meant that such a thing already existed in this world?

The Nine tails in the Nara period and the everlasting night stone in the Edo period—Wait, ‘Everlasting night stone’?

“…Hey, Sako.”

I raised my head in a daze and asked.

“How do you write the words for ‘Everlasting night stone’?*”

In response, Sako twisted the edges of his mouth into a smile.

“Oh, you noticed, did you…?”

In an instant, it looked as if the mouth of that pale, bloodless face, was slit from ear to ear.

“Right, it’s written as ‘Everlasting night stone’(常夜石). I found it at last recently. The place it currently lurks—or rather, the person.”

“…Hey, it can’t be.”

“That’s right—In Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun.”

“The monster I’m chasing appears as a dark glow in her eyes when she faces the paranormal, and at times she tries to remove by vomiting.”

“Ah….”

“The ‘everlasting night stone’ possesses person to person and destroys their surroundings. In all likelihood, that has continued for a thousand years and is probably as natural to it as eating something. But you see, for the past few decades, it has been observed to follow a certain rule. The ‘everlasting night stone’, which used to possess and destroy at random, has often come to stay in one person. My master and I often wondered and researched into what that meant. And we arrived at one possibility. Yes--- it had the audacity as a monster, to try and incarnate itself. It shamelessly began to desire a flesh and blood body. And that too, an exceedingly beautiful body with a spiritual disposition. Thereupon, about ten years ago—it fell in love at first sight with a young girl.”

“You…”

I asked as if to spit out something bitter.

“How long have you known about it? Did you know it from the moment you appeared before us?”

“Not at all.”

Sako gave a thin smile. “The first time I met you—was in that cramped apartment. You were in a deep sleep and wouldn't wake up. Yoishi-kun called Kurimoto-kun, and Kurimoto-kun called me for help. When I came to visit, I saw that the thread of your soul was at its limits, at the point of being cut off. Its whereabouts were deep in the depths of your psyche-- yes, the source of your fear, the dream mansion. I used clairvoyance to see that you were in the living room of the mansion. You were afraid of the fusuma in the living room, and moreover, that your mother was inside. To tell you the truth, I gave up right away because I thought it was impossible. To begin with, it was impossible for a stranger to solve an incident in the deepest recesses of the mind which involved the mother, who shared flesh and blood. But that time, she said it. By she I mean Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun, whose name I did not know at the time, she spoke with a strange glimmer in her eyes, 『Let me go inside this person』.”

“……..”

“I suddenly felt as if I had met this girl somewhere before. But well, as you know, I’m quite terrible at remembering people. ‘Oh fine’, I asked as I rubbed my chin. 『What do you mean by inside?』In response the girl spoke, 『Let me synchronize with him. You should be able to do it』. Her face really made me believe that she was acting out of puberty--and in some way enjoying herself—but this is what was truly the case you see: she seemed genuinely worried that you were danger. It was true that I, as a medium could act as a catalyst that could match the brain waves of a sleeping person with those of a person who was awake. And it was exactly how the girl said it would be: to return a person lost at the depths a dream required someone to synchronize with them and pull them out. But well, I did warn her how dangerous it would be. 『Is it all right? The possibility that you might not return is fairly high』. She merely nodded her head with a strong resolve. 

There was barely any hesitancy in that, and because the situation urgently demanded it, I had no choice but to accept. And then-- after I had sent her inside you, I suddenly felt a terrible sweat run down my back. I performed the ritual even as I was perplexed as to the reason why that was, but at long last I realized. It was the eyes of the young girl I had seen just now. The eyes of the beautiful high school girl who had asked to synchronize with another person's dream-- Or rather, it was something dark that flickered in its depths. I was aghast, it couldn't be. Could it be that right now, I was facing the arch nemesis for whom I had searched for many long years? 

The blood in my body froze over as I realized this. I immediately thought I would seal it right there and then. Even Kurimoto-kun wouldn't realize if I did it then. Because I had already made the seals that sent Yoishi-kun into you. I could kill it right there in the vessel that you were. It would have been unfair to you, but I would use your consciousness to make it able to feel the concept of ‘death’. Although it would kill you as well. My fingers were already about to make a move at that time. But-- but you see.”

“…But?”

“At that moment, I suddenly ended up seeing it you see. I saw her– I saw Yoishi-kun’s hand enveloping yours as if connected.”

………………………………..

“I changed my mind at the very last moment. I couldn't for the life of me believe that the way those hands were connected was a manifestation of malice. And, a different thought emerged. Could it be that the ‘nine tails’, the ‘everlasting night stone’, did not yet have complete control over this young girl? That because of some reason, it had not completely consumed her heart. –No, was such a thing even possible? The ‘everlasting night stone’ I had known of was an existence that was the complete antithesis of the word ‘fool’. It is terrifyingly intelligent; all of its actions are calculated and borne purely from malice. I hesitated as to whether this act too might merely be an insurance policy to stop me. As long as I held naïve notions, I would never be able to win against it. If I were to let this once in a lifetime chance slip away, I might have a chance to seal it ever again--I hesitated, and hesitated.....”

Thereupon, Sako looked at me.

“As I hesitated, you eventually ended waking up.”

“……..Ah.”

“And you who awoke called her Yoishi. Ahh, it was true after all, and darkness took over my vision. I was about to faint on the spot, realizing how foolish I was. But this time, it was Yoishi-kun who did not open her eyes. And what did you say to me, who was blaming myself to death? 『Return me to that dream』. I was astounded, and at the same time, extremely agitated. You might not believe it, but I do get agitated. And you see, I suddenly felt somewhat relieved.”

“….Relieved?”

“Well, please think about it. If she truly was the ‘everlasting night stone’, would she have tried to save a total stranger from a dream from which she could not return? Would she try and end her life, after having lived for what might potentially be thousands of years? And, her actions were connected to your following actions. They had now given birth to a fool who was willing to die to save others. Such a thing is not at all in accordance with the principles governing the ‘everlasting night stone’s’ conduct.”

“…………………”

“Later on, I did a thorough investigation of Yoishi Mitsurugi-kun’s background, and of all things, realized that I had already met her ten years and eight months in the past.”

Sako’s face contorted in an unusually somber manner.

“And it was only then…that I finally remembered that I happened to be present there when she became ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’.”

“Ten years and eight months ago….? Did something happen to her back then?”

When—

I heard footsteps treading on gravel behind me, and when I turned around, I saw a group of three old women who looked like tourists; They looked suspiciously at the both of us with the bottles of sake we had at our feet in the middle of the day in the subordinate shrine. I bowed lightly and said, “We’ll be going back soon, so please ignore us.”

After that, I turned to face Sako once more.

And I asked him.

“Say—isn’t Yoishi Mitsurugi her real name? Why did she lose the emotion of ’fear’?”

“What will you do after learning that? There are things in this world people shouldn’t know.”

Those words—

They made me recall the face of my deceased grandmother once more. I was often told the very same words by my grandmother. My grandmother would always be kind to me no matter what kind of mischief I pulled, but would speak those words alone with a face so grim it would frighten me when I was little.

However, I apologized to my grandmother’s phantom—and shook it off as hard as I could.

“I’ll be the one to decide if it’s a story I shouldn’t know.”

“……………….”

“It's not up to you or anyone else to decide that. She and I are war comrades. I’ve decided that I’ll save her. Her life is already more important to me than mine.”

In response—

“….Hoho.”

Sako unexpectedly raised a dry laugh.

“….Ahaha---is that right, hahahaha… So that’s how it is, huh….? War comrades…. War comrades. With that, the last mystery is finally solved.”

He was laughing, but his face looked like it was crying to me.

“Hey, Sako.”

“No, my apologies--- but now that the mystery is solved, it’s not my place to tell you.”

“….What the hell?”

“I was obliged to talk about my own story, but from here on out, it’s her story. And if she is your war comrade— then you should hear it from her own mouth.”

Sako had a satisfied grin on his face, when—

A brrrrrr sounded from the back pocket of my jeans, my phone was vibrating.

“Ah, sorry.”

I answered the phone, it was from Yukihito Kurimoto-kun.

“Yo, Yukihito-kun. I’m kind of in the middle of something right--”

《Nagito-san, are you with nee-san right now?》

“…Krishna-san? No…”

《I got a call from my mother…. Just now, she found a note in nee-san’s room that said, 『I’m sorry』. She thought nee-san might have left home early this morning, but she might have been missing since last night….》

“Missing, you say…?”

I unconsciously shifted my phone to the other ear, when I heard Sako clicking his tongue, “Tsk”.

As I looked at Sako with one eye, I talked to Yukihito-kun who was unusually perturbed.

“Listen to me, first of all you need to calm down. Take a deep breath, and then try and remember if Krishna-san was acting strange somehow.”

《Come to think of it.》

Yukihito-kun spoke after taking a deep breath.

《After she went to help sort out Karasu-san’s belongings last night, Nee-san looked unwell.》

“Karasu-san’s belongings?”

For the time being, I told Yukihito-kun, “We’ll also try and look for her”, and hung up the phone, when Sako muttered.

“It might have been my mistake.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve forgotten to adjust her spine for a while now.”

“You…said that before as well, but is Krishna-san’s spine really that bad?”

“It’s not bad body structure-wise. But, I’ll say it once more, the spine is the air duct. Once an oversized ghost passes through it, the spine will end up becoming wobbly and distorted.”

His words made me shudder.

“An oversized…Ah, by the ghost that passed through, you mean….Hey, could it be?”

That’s right, Sako nodded.

“I don’t know what kind of shape Ayana Takamura appeared to you in, but to me, she’s so large that I can feel her presence everywhere. Figuratively speaking, she now blends into the entirety of this large blue sky.”

“….S-sky?”

“Anyway, since then, Kurimoto-kun’s body has ended up becoming a body that accepts all kinds of ghosts. It was my responsibility to close that at regular intervals.”

“Then—then, let’s go look for her right away.”

I stood up, when Sako shook his head, “No.”

“The one you’re in a race against time for is not Kurimoto-kun.”

He then took out a paper from his pocket, quickly jotted down something on it, and handed it to me together with an old key.

“I’ll take care of Kurimoto-kun. Please complete Yoishi-kun’s story.”

“W, what is this?”

“It’s the address and key of a certain ‘mansion’, one that is currently being managed by the government--- it might turn out to be a key to hell.”

Sako spoke not with his usual jesting tone, but rather, with a serious expression.

“At that address, there is a building that was once called ‘The Hanging Mansion’.”

“H, hanging mansion?”

“It is now a ruin in the mountains where no one lives or approaches anymore. And it is there that ‘Yoishi Mitsurugi’ was born.”

A gulp rang out from my throat.

Sako put his hand on my shoulder, and rubbed it with the bony hand whose weight I did not feel.

“Listen to me carefully. Nagito Yamada-kun. The more excellent a soul is, the more troubled it is.”

Sako’s kind tone of voice was so warm that it felt as if it didn’t belong to the Sako I had known up until now.

And, it made me feel as if an elder brother I had parted ways with had unexpectedly appeared before my eyes.

“You will be compelled to make a choice in that mansion. With two precious things in front of you, you will be forced to make an exceedingly bitter choice.”

“…………..”

“But what will make that choice is your soul, and no matter what conclusion it might bring about—”

Having spoken that far, Sako made the perfunctory smile he always made and said,

“Well, it’s fine.”

“Oi—”

“It’s fine, Nagito Yamada-kun. After all, being troubled is a privilege of the young.”