Case 10: The Invisible Friend (3)

The oxygen was thick, the sunlight felt warm. Above all, there was a sense of liberation, as if I had escaped from a monotone world and discovered a world of color. I wanted to take a deep breath, but the sour smell from the liquid on my hands prevented me from doing that. As I contemplated on what to do with it:

“If we don't hurry, it could get bad.”

Yoishi spoke that, and began to walk at a brisk pace. She still looked pale, but her gait was steadier than before.

“H, hey, wait a second! My bike! You push my bike!”

Yoishi tossed her black hair, turned around and tilted her head in puzzlement.

“Don’t act like you don’t know why. My hands are full because of you, the least you could do is push my bike.”

Yoishi then stood motionlessly in place as she stared at the vomit in my hands as if she had just noticed, and spoke:

“Are you a vomit maniac or something?”

“…Huh?”

“How long are you going to keep carrying that around as if it were precious material?”

“…Y,Y, You bitch. There’s no way anyone would carry this around because they liked it! If you’re gonna go around throwing up everywhere, then it’s your job to carry a plastic bag with you at all times! I mean, is this stinky crap something you can just casually throw everywhere? It's a nuisance to the neighborhood, so throw it in the toilet of a park somewhere! And wash my hands while you’re at it!”

Hearing my fervent speech go that far, Yoishi finally put her hands on the mama bike.

Although she seemed very reluctant to do so, we went to the toilet in Shakujii Park together. After dumping Yoishi’s vomit in the public toilet by the entrance, I thoroughly washed my hands with soap in the hand-washing area. Not having a handkerchief, I wiped my wet hands on the back of my jeans.

“Say, have you heard the term, Imaginary companion?”

Yoishi suddenly asked me out of the blue.

“Imaginary companion…? Ah… it’s that, right? A friend who only exists in your imagination when you're a kid, right?”

“Yes, also known as an imaginary friend. Children are in their own way, under pressure adults cannot perceive. Their minds have not developed resistance or anything yet, so they create the ultimate ideal, an imaginary friend to protect themselves.”

“I’ve heard about it before, so what of it?”

I asked that much, when I suddenly realized.

“….Eh? Wait, are you saying… that’s what we saw in the DVD?”

Yoishi shook her head and said ‘I don’t know’, before walking off.

“At first, I thought that was the case – but, I feel it’s different somehow.”

Her white face hung downwards as she moved away, I drag my mama bike in a rush to catch up with her.

“Wait, why is there an imaginary friend in the video?”

Besides that, according to the story that woman named Iizuka told us, the image of the rumored ‘Shōko-chan’ sounded more like it was the target of everyone’s fear. It was nothing like an ideal friend that appeared in order to protect a child’s spirit. On top of that, wasn’t it weird how all the other kids shared that image?

“Right, it’s weird.”

Yoishi muttered happily for some reason.

“That’s exactly what makes me curious.”

Her eyes were suddenly filled with vitality. They shone with such energy that it was hard to believe she had just vomited a few moments ago.

“Anyways, we’ve already lost twenty minutes. Let’s hurry up.”

“Hurry up…? What for?”

“We need to hurry up and make sure that video isn’t seen by anyone else.”

As I looked at Yoishi, who had already taken a seat on the back of the mama bike and was waiting for me to get on, I felt deeply dismayed.

--Oi, just how many times did we see that dangerous video?

Thereafter, we rode double on the mama bike illegally back to the rental shop, and as per Yoishi’s suggestion, I returned the movie that should have been returned originally and took back that creepy DVD with the kindergartner once more. The store employee put the DVD in a cheap case, as though he felt bad about giving it back bare-cased, but even so, it felt scary to hold the DVD with that creepy thing in it directly in my hand. Staring at the light bounce off the disc inside the case made me reluctantly recall that grainy video. A chill ran down my spine as I recalled the kindergartner with their head hanging down, and how, with each successive replay, their body slowly turned towards us and head raises up with each playback.

Despite that, I had no choice to take it with me, so I quickly made my way to the exit and thrust the DVD into Yoishi’s hands, who was waiting outside the shop.

“Here. So, what do you plan on doing with it?”

“I wonder.”

Yoishi gave an irresponsible comment, but—

Didn’t you take it back because you had some kind of plan?

“Say, what did you mean when you said that woman deliberately returned this DVD to the shop?”

“Same as you are now. She didn’t want to hold it for a long time, so throwing it away was the best option, and I believe she threw it away many times over. However, in all likelihood -- this ended up returning.”

“Ended up returning??”

“There are things in this world imbued with such a nature, like ’A doll that’s been loved for a long time’, or ‘A creation you put your heart and soul into’, Most of the time, it's just that the original owner hasn't quite let go of the old feelings in their heart and is calling them back."

That suddenly made me recall the doll memorial in the temple* I saw when I was on a school field trip to Kyoto. I recalled that in one corner of that temple, a smaller temple surrounded by shimenawa* was built separately, where countless dolls were bunched together and how they stared coldly at me. I recalled the bundle of hollow stares that suggested they were no longer needed by their masters, and I remember running off reflexively.

“It would be best to seal it off somewhere.”

--Hey, don’t tell me you plan on swiping another shimenawa from a temple again? I had a bad feeling as I stared at Yoishi play around with the DVD in her hand by spinning it round, when—

“Oh, Nagi-kun-- and Yoishi-chan?”

Hearing a familiar voice call out my name, I turned around and saw Karasu-san there for some reason.

She was wearing what could be called her trademark black camisole with a fluffy fur shawl, twirling her car keys with her fingers, and had a broad grin covering her entire face.

“What are you two doing here on a Sunday?”

The female fortuneteller and longtime regular of ‘Ikaigabuchi’ asked me as she wore her beautiful black hair tied high on her head today. She was a tall woman by nature, and also a beauty with a flamboyant face. In addition to all that, she had a loud voice, which made her truly stand out. With her appearance alone, she gave the impression of a large sunflower blooming in full bloom, and we were instantly the center of attention from everyone around us.

“Us? What are you doing here?”

I asked back in a hushed voice.

“Me? Well, I’m just wandering around because it’s my day off, but…? Aaah… could you two be on a date? A date! I love it, I love it!!”

It’s not a date; Your voice is too loud.

I was about to say that, when she suddenly grabbed me with her arm and put me in a tight headlock. Under the fluffy shawl, my cheeks were buried in Karasu-san’s soft bust, and I could smell her nice fragrance. Locked in a headlock, I was dragged towards the parking lot.

“Say, say, say, Nagi-kun? Don’t you have anything to report to me?”

“W-what are you talking about?”

“There you go again, playing the fool. You’re still living together with Yoishi, aren’t you? Which means… you’re together now, right? In short, it’s become that sort of thing, right?”

“…Huh?”

“Tell me, tell me, what did you think of Yoishi-chan's lips and all that?? That girl’s a little strange, but she's got some serious quality, doesn't she? Even as a woman, her eyebrows and eye shape make my heart throb, so I don't blame you for losing patience, but aah, damn, I'm so disappointed in myself. If I could meet a girl like that, I wish I’d been born a man!”

“—A-are you... are you nuts! What are you talking about?!”

“Oh my, you're all red-faced. After all, a 16-year-old girl makes a big decision and walks into a guy's house. Oh, the two can’t possibly still be platonic, right? I think that’s super unhealthy.”

“Which one is unhealthy?! In the first place, if you hadn’t placed me in a headlock like this back then, I wouldn’t have been caught up as an offender of the Youth protection ordinance. Yoishi wouldn’t have started parasitizing in my house.”

I finally managed to break free of Karasu-san’s headlock and declared that.

“Be thankful, I arranged a special event in your springtime of youth.”

Karasu-san laughed as she cheerfully slapped me on the shoulder.

--It’s no good. Her pace might have made me genetically incapable of fighting back… is what I thought, when—

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, Karasu-san stared at me and gave a puzzled look. She skillfully raised only one of her slender, well-groomed eyebrows and put her hand on my cheek.

“W, what is it?”

“You’re having trouble with women, aren’t you?”

“Trouble with women? Yeah, I’m having trouble with you!”

I retorted scathingly, but Karasu-san replied with no, no, no, and started stroking my chin and cheekbones with her fingertips even further.

“This is—trouble with a woman far younger than me. And it’s not Yoishi either. Right—if I had to guess, I’d say a girl of elementary school age. It can’t be, don’t tell me you touched an elementary school girl. You know that’s a crime, right?”

“Of course not! I mean, you’re the one who helped a high school girl parasitize in the loft of my apartment, so please don't talk to me about crime.”

Ah, her fortune-telling was always like this. It was, how do you say: Out of focus? Unreliable? It wasn’t there when you needed it, and there were times when she would gleefully tell you of disasters that had already passed by. That elementary school girl she mentioned was probably the girl selling ghost photographs -- Akane Nanamori. That was already a bitter memory that remained within me.

“Well, be careful. These days, elementary school kids can be very mature.”

She spoke somewhat elatedly -- The carefree fortuneteller then waved a "Yoo-hoo" to Yoishi, who had remained silent for a long time.

“Yoishi-chan, how have you been?”

As if finally noticing her at last, Yoishi silently turned her eyes towards Karasu-san.

“My, my, Yoishi-chan is as cute as ever. Your deep eyes look like they could steal my soul, I can't help but adore them. I think I might lean that way!”

Even in the face of such cringe-worthy dialogue, Yoishi maintained a blank expression.

On the contrary, she waited for Karasu-san to finish speaking, before muttering:

“Is the apartment next door yours?”

“…Huh?”

“Next door to our apartment -- room 101. I heard you're using it as a storage space.”

“Ahh, that’s right, but… what about it?”

Karasu-san nodded cheerfully, and Yoishi asked a strange question:

“Who’s in there?

…Huh?

I looked at Yoishi’s face with my mouth agape.

Not ‘what’s in there?’, but ‘who’s in there?’

“Who, you ask, ermmm…. there's just a bunch of stuff in there…”

Karasu-san spoke somewhat evasively, prompting Yoishi to interrogate her further.

“That's strange. I can sense the presence of at least ten or so people in that room at any given time.”

Her words sent a shiver down my spine.

T…ten? Eh, what? What did that mean?

Astonished, I looked at Karasu-san to see that she too, was unnerved.

“......Oh, uh—that is, I mean….”

“What DO you mean?”

When I pressed her as well, the female fortuneteller finally opened up reluctantly.

“Actually...... There's a lot of items in that room with a shady history, you know, items that have been entrusted to me by customers.”

“Items with a shady history?”

“No, no, no, no, it’s not a big deal! It’s merely common stuff like ‘A mirror with a person trapped inside’, ‘a meat mask that can’t be taken off once worn’, or ‘a laughing doll’! But more so than being kept in storage, they are items that are sealed away because they can’t be touched presently – Ah, but Nagi-kun, you don't have to get all teary-eyed. They've all been spiritually treated. Nothing will happen unless you go in there and break the seal!”

“T-that’s not the problem here! Don’t seal such suspicious things next to someone’s apartment! No, I mean, please don't say such things in front of her right now!”

If it says ‘Enter and you will die,’ Yoishi would enter even if she had to kick the door down. If there was a sign that says you will be cursed if you open it, she would use any and all means necessary to open it.

As expected of her, Yoishi whispered:

“Show me that place.”

“…Eh?”

Karasu-san was at a loss for words; I shouted out loud as if moving her out of the way.

“No, no! Don't make things more complicated than they already are! We need to get rid of that DVD first!”

“That’s why, I need to see it.”

“…What did you say?”

“There might be something we can use.”