Chapter 66
Case 09: Dear Nostradamus-sama (3)
Eyelids are such a marvelous thing: a thin piece of skin that separates your eyes from the world.
Without them, how restless of a world would people have to live in? When a person is tired, when they want to think things through without any obstructions, and when they end up face to face with things they don’t want to see – they are truly a reliable shield. A trustworthy partner that provides hearts and minds a brief shelter from the cruel realities that draw close without mercy. But nowadays, eyebrows are being treated rather unfairly by those who complain about their eyebrows swell up on some days, or those who wish they had double eyelids. To them, the eyebrows should have a thing or two to say: I am your shield, the last fortification that moistens your eyeballs, prevents impurities from entering, and maintains your peace. Only the warm rays of the sun are allowed to penetrate gently, but that is because of the sun's greatness—
I wake up every morning with this thought in my head, but on this particular day, the sun was a bit too strong. Regardless of how thin and cheap the curtains in my room were, wasn’t the light from the sun a little too strong?
Could it be that I’d forgotten to close the curtains before I slept? I wondered while rubbing my doozy eyes as I woke up, when I found two legs straddling me.
As I look up from the navy blue socks, I am struck by the curves of the white thighs and see -- a short black skirt. The exposed skin between the top of the knee high socks and the hemline of the skirt were perfectly formed, and though the undergarments weren’t visible, the chain of the white blouse, black tie and black blazer were of the distinctive Koumei high school uniform.
“It’s eight o’ clock.”
The sunlight bounced off the long, black hair from her shoulders, Yoishi looked down on me for some reason as she spoke.
“Let’s go on a date.”
“…Huh?”
“Since It was ruined midway through the other day.”
Yoishi said that as she tried to throw off the futon, I panicked and tried to stop her.
Hey, isn’t this development a complete reversal from always?? I was always the one fighting to wake her up after she had spent all night surfing the net, made her wash her face, made her eat, and if the situation called for it, strapped her to the back of my mama bike so that we could ride together to school.
“A date--? Isn’t it a weekday? What are you gonna do about school?”
“There are countless things in the world more important than school.”
She spoke with a serious expression on her face, making me feel it was useless to try and argue with her.
It couldn’t be helped, I thought to myself, as I grabbed a fresh pair of pants and shirts before heading in to the unit bath to change. There, I suddenly remembered, opened the door a little and spoke my mind.
“Say, it’s about that girl, the one who was selling the ghost photographs. Can’t you help her somehow? I ran into her the other day and had little chat, she’s not a bad kid.”
“You met her? Where?”
“She was hanging outside the university. So, I talked to her for a bit.”
“…”
“Anyways, it seems she was called a liar in class, so she tried to rebut them by playing ‘Kokkuri-san’ or something.”
However, Yoishi didn’t answer at all. I finished changing my clothes, and washed my face, applied water to my disheveled hair and fixed it up a bit, and when I came out of the bath, I saw her with her hands on her lips, lost in thought.
“Hey, Yoishi.”
Yoishi looked at me in a daze after I called out to her, and she spoke.
“Anyway, let’s go on a date.”
However, even though she said that, the place she took me to was the second district of Musashino’s Kichijoji Honcho, in short, the Koumei institute as usual. And moreover, it was the Beatnik research society club room in the western club building. It was, in a nutshell, the headquarters of the occult website ‘Ikaigabuchi’.
“W…why are you two here together so early?”
Shiina Kurimoto, aka Krishna-san, the leader and representative of ‘Ikaigabuchi’, with a baby face that looked like a middle school student, and owner of a voluptuous bust, asked us in astonishment, But I was befuddled as well. I had no idea how this qualified as a date, nor the reason why Yoishi had suddenly dragged me out here.
“Let us play ‘Kokkuri-san’ here.”
In response to Yoishi’s abrupt demand, both Krishna-san and I dropped our jaws at the same time.
“K…Kokkuri-san?”
I ask in return, and Yoishi nods in silence.
Krishna-san, who was using a computer on the work table, raised her trademark red glasses with her middle finger, and answered firmly:
“No. You know what ‘Kokkuri-san’ is, don't you?”
“Yes—'Kokkuri-san’ is what is known as a Ouija board in the west, a pseudo- séance that sometimes causes mass hysteria. Most of them are a kind of automatic writing caused by one of the members involved deliberately directing the movements, or by the involuntary muscular movements of the fingers, or through hypnotic states; but sometimes, they are prone to dangerous interference by low-level spirits.”
“If you know that much, then you know it’s not something I’ll allow.”
“This ‘Kokkuri-san’ will be a little different, and it might affect this person.”
Saying that, Yoishi grabbed me by the sleeve of my clothes.
“I may not be able to save him, so I'll keep you as insurance.”
......No, I didn't ask you anything about danger or insurance.
As I’m left dumbfounded, Krishna-san asks:
“What do you mean by insurance?”
“You know specialists who deal in exorcisms, correct?”
Yoishi spoke with a blank expression, causing Krishna-san to frantically grimace back in protest.
“They don’t have the time to get involved in such things. In the first place, they are lending us their help because they agree with Ikaigabuchi’s aim of promoting the segregation of ghosts and people. As long as it's not something urgent or of social significance...”
“This is one of the dangers that’s spreading now here in Musashino.”
Krishna-san went silent after hearing that.
“…What do you mean?”
“A pseudo séance known as ‘Dear Nostradamus-sama’ is beginning to become something of a fad among elementary school students; It doesn’t just summon any low-level ghost, but rather, a specific wandering ghost.”
***
A light-blocking curtain is an amazing thing.
When used, it gives a strange feeling of airtight closure, creating an otherworldly space. And the curtains in the Beatnik research room were excellent at blocking out the light, unlike the ones in my apartment. Originally, this place was intended to be used to verify archive footage, but the moment the drapes were drawn, it became so dark it was hard to believe that it was almost 9 AM, even blocking out the noise outside the window, leaving the room in complete silence.
In the dark room, Yoishi set up a candle she had brought in preparation in the middle of the round table. She then moved four chairs and arranged them around the table. There was one more seat than the number of participants, but it seemed that was part of this particular ‘Kokkuri-san’.
As me and Krishna-san sat around the table, Yoishi took out a scrap of paper of some kind from her pocket. When opened, I saw that it had the Japanese syllabary, numbers, a yes-no, and instead of a torii, it had a hexagram, the so-called Star of David, a six-pointed star with triangles crossing upside down - scrawled on it.
After all arrangements had been made, Yoishi sat down as well. She then proceeded to place an engraved ten-yen coin from the Shōwa era in the center of the paper and placed her own index finger on top of it.*
*TL/N: Visual reference for the kokkuri-san divination sheet traditionally used in the ritual: View image
“Let’s begin.”
Spurred on by Yoishi, Krishna-san and I had no choice but to follow her lead, and we both placed our index fingers on the coin. After a deep breath, Yoishi began to speak.
“Dear Nostradamus-sama -- Thou who art linked to the gate of the swirling spiral, who art uninvited by fate, please preach to us with wandering Kotodama.”
Those appeared to be the words Yoishi had researched over the past few days by digging through the internet and visiting Akane’s elementary school.
“Those are some shady sentences.” I spoke.
“I believe the words don’t mean anything.” Yoishi whispered in reply. “What’s important is that they, on the other side, know they are being summoned.”
“Who do you mean by ‘they’?”
When I asked, Yoishi’s fair, well-shaped face, illuminated by the flickering candle-light, seemed to smile enchantingly. However, that gaze lingered on the seat in front of me – the empty one between Krishna-san and Yoishi, causing me to shudder in fear.
“Dear Nostradamus-sama -- Nostradamus-sama. Please appear here, preach to us the path with the wandering kotodama.”
As Yoishi continued to repeat those words in a low key tone of voice, it felt like the club room alone was being isolated from the world around it. It did become considerably colder recently, but the dry air had changed into something slimy – or should I say, the atmosphere of the room had become muddy, as if something cold and creeping began to hang at my feet.
However – Nothing was happening, was it?
As I was about to say that out loud…
With a thud, someone banged on the window from outside, startling me.
Krishna-san and I froze in place. The reason being that the Beatnik research society was located on the third floor. There was no way someone could have banged the window. It must have been hit by a ball or something. I wanted to make sure, but I couldn’t take my hand off the ten-yen coin, so I stayed where I was.
Suddenly, I felt someone’s presence cross directly behind me, and yet, I couldn't dare look behind me in the fear I would witness something unpleasant. On the other hand, I was afraid to look at the empty seat in front of me. Krishna-san being right next to me was a source of comfort, but the fact that she herself remained silent also scared me.
I came to realize that Yoishi’s mouth movements, which were repeatedly chanting the incantations with her eyes half-open, had ceased.
In the concrete clubroom, silence alone, was deafening.
The candle continues to flicker and sway, and I wondered…
…Wasn’t it strange? The other side of the window which was abuzz a moment ago, had fallen silent… No—there was a sound. I didn’t know how to describe it; it was like something was ringing in my ears. Like an uughh… or an ughoo… a muffled sound, like hearing someone’s voice underwater.
“---It’s here.”
It was the moment of Yoishi’s low whisper.
My finger moved with a twitch, and instantly, a cold sweat ran down my spine.
The ten-yen coin beneath my finger – was moving. No one was putting power into their fingers, and yet, the ten-yen coin twitched and wriggled as if it were a living thing.
“Don’t lift your fingers under any circumstances.”
Krishna-san nodded nervously at Yoishi's request, and I nodded back, holding back the tears in my eyes.
“Is this Nostradamus-sama?”
In reply to Yoishi’s question – there was silence at first.
Eventually, the ten-yen coin began to move sluggishly and stopped when it reached the position of ‘Yes’.
“I have a question.”
In reply, the fingers started moving again as if they were being dragged by the ten-yen coin – However, this time they stopped at ‘No’.
--No? Does that mean questions aren’t allowed?
Isn’t asking questions the main part of ‘Kokkuri-san’?
“I'd like you to tell me something.”
Yoishi asked once more, however, the ten-yen coin stayed firmly planted on ‘No’.
“Are questions not allowed?”
In response, it began to move once more. With a dragging sound, the ten-yen coin shifts sideways and stops at the position of ‘Yes’.
Is this what Yoishi meant when she said this Kokkuri-san would be a little different?
“Well then, can you do anything?”
The ten-yen coin stayed motionless for a while. Eventually, as if dragging and oscillating, it stopped at some letters, and moved, again and again.
『D』『I』『S』『A』『P』『P』『E』『A』『R』
“Is that about making someone disappear?”
In reply to Yoishi’s query, the ten-yen coin… moved to ‘Yes’.
--Making someone disappear, it can’t be.
“Does that mean – to kill someone?”
With a twitch, the ten-yen coin moved and slowly swayed at ‘Yes’.
My fingertips were now frozen stiff, and my palms were completely drenched in sweat. My eyes were glued to the ten-yen coin in front of me, to the point where I might inadvertently forget to breathe. Was this what you’d call a prank from of a low-class ghost--?
No, I recall what Akane had told me before.
She said she played this in order prove she wasn’t a liar. As a result, she became feared. Yoishi had said that ‘a specific wandering ghost is summoned’—which meant…no way. Did she actually end up summoning a real ‘God of Death’?
“Understood. Those were all the questions I had. Please return.”
However, Yoishi spoke that with her usual expression.
But—
With a rustle, the ten-yen coin moves to ‘No’.]
“Please return.”
The ten-yen coin stayed firmly put at ‘No’.
Even though this was a predictable development in ‘Kokkuri-san’ type ghost stories, actually witnessing the phenomenon of involuntary return first-hand made me realize I would have panicked if I were doing it alone.
『D』『I』『S』『A』『P』『P』『E』『A』『R』
『N』『A』『M』『E』
Haa…haa….haaa…haa….
The ten-yen coin moves – and forms meaning. My breathing becomes ragged as I comprehend the words.
“So does that mean you won’t go back until you’ve made someone disappear?”
Yoishi asked in a clear tone, and the ten-yen coin drags towards ‘Yes’.
--Oooooh, Oi, what are we going to do?
In tears, I glance at Yoishi, then Krishna-san. I could see the sweat appear on Krishna-san’s forehead. Her lips were pursed tightly together, and she had at some point, taken her phone out with one hand. In all likelihood, she had looked up the specialists over at ‘Ikaigabuchi’ on her phone, her finger one button-press away from dialing their number.
However—at that moment.
“Well then—”
Yoishi spoke the words I could never have imagined.
“Well then, please make me disappear.”
……………………………………………
The ten-yen coin did not answer. Could that be because it was the first time this summoned entity had heard such a request? I felt a hint of something confused.
“—Stop it.”
The moment Krishna-san spoke that out loud—
…’Yes’.
The ten-yen coin under my finger formed a small arc on that spot.
I looked up in shock and saw that a black mist had been hanging over our heads for who knows how long.
Yoishi’s long black hair ruffles softly as it slowly sinks into darkness. Seeing that made my body feel an imaginary floating sensation. In the midst of the silence, as if time had stopped – Yoishi merely wore an expression of ecstasy. To be honest, I had no idea what had happened to Yoishi. I noticed more darkness spreading out from the darkness, and before long, the black mist expanded wide enough to envelop the upper half of Yoishi’s body.
“….Hey….Wait a minute….”
The mist continued to enshroud Yoishi. Her face -- her upper body, along with her arms outstretched towards somewhere else, they all continued to disappear.
“Nagi-kun, no!”
Krishna-san’s scream reached my ears, but I had already taken my finger off of the ten-yen coin. I stood up with enough force to throw off my chair and clung to Yoishi’s body, which was enveloped by the black stain-like substance.
“Hey, Yoishi! Stop messing around!”
However, the moment I embraced Yoishi’s soft body with both hands, a horrifying chill closed in on me. That was being transmitted through Yoishi’s body to me, and its root was – Yoishi’s outstretched hands, in short, something present inside the mist.
I saw –Yoishi’s outstretched arms, suspended in midair. I saw the thing her white hands were grasping.
It was black. Black and soft – threaded like someone's hair. Yoishi grasped it, as if putting her hand on its roots. And she pulled it out from the darkness. Without any mercy to the other side’s resistance, she dragged it over to this side. However – I couldn’t see anything. There was nothing in Yoishi’s hands. But for some reason, perhaps because of the way it was held as if it were wrapped in both hands, I couldn’t help but be reminded of a human head, and I thought I could hear the sound of a child crying out somewhere.
“Go back.”
Yoishi spoke as she pulled with all her might on what resembled a human head in her hands.
“There’s nothing left for you to consume.”
In the darkness -- did I hallucinate?
I felt I saw Akane Nanamori's head in Yoishi’s hands.
In mid-air, her pretty face was disfigured in a disheveled mess, and she was crying.
“You’re mistaken.”
And with those parting words –
Yoishi Mitsurugi collapsed audibly in front of my eyes.
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