NOVEL NEXT Chapter 25
Kurosawa easily jumped over the tightly closed school gate.
“…Looks like you really plan on doing this,” Yuuki said in disbelief, and Ikeda placed one hand on his forehead.
“That kid will actually go through with it. Whether positively or negatively. It’s pointless to try to stop him. He’ll end up going in today, no matter what… But.”
Ikeda looked at us and asked, “Are you two planning to join him? There’s really no need for that, you know?”
Yuuki and I exchanged glances. So… Yuuki looked at Kaneko and said, “Seems like he has a good vibe.”
I wasn’t quite sure what he was basing that on, but there’s probably some way for Yuuki to figure that out.
Yuuki shrugged at me, and I nodded.
In works like this, saying someone has a good vibe usually means they can see spirits. Given how relaxed Yuuki was, it didn’t seem like anything serious would happen, but since we went through the trouble to come here, it might be for some contingency plan.
“After all, there should be teachers inside, right?”
…
Ah, I hadn’t thought of that.
There’s bound to be a dormitory or security, of course.
“Sigh…”
Hearing Yuuki, Ikeda sighed and looked up at the sky.
Yuuki approached the door like Kaneko did, and with a thud, clank, thud, he jumped and touched the door, successfully leaping over it with one go. It was a smooth motion, like water flowing. Did he have similar experiences?
“Ha!”
Ikeda ran toward the door but, of course, couldn’t jump over it.
“…”
I didn’t bother trying and just looked through the bars on the opposite side. It wasn’t completely solid metal; it resembled bars, and I could see through to the other side. In reality, it wasn’t very high. I guess anyone taller than around 170 centimeters could potentially peek over.
The problem was that I probably didn’t even reach 160. Ikeda was probably the same.
Yuuki silently opened the door from the other side. There was no lock. Since there were people inside, they could just turn the locking mechanism from the inside at the right time.
I mean, how many people would break into a prestigious high school in the middle of the night, anyway?
Ikeda tightly shut his mouth and entered through the open gap. I followed right behind.
Fortunately, it was mostly dark nearby, and luckily there was no one passing by us.
Clank.
We locked the gate again and headed toward the school building.
Yuuki and Kaneko’s clothes were already a bit damp. They had likely folded their umbrellas for a moment while jumping over.
We reopened the umbrellas and trudged through the puddles towards the school building.
No matter how I looked at it, we seemed to be walking way too openly for sneaking into school, but what could I do? It wasn’t like we had a grand plan.
“Ugh… School at this hour…”
Ikeda murmured, hunched over.
“I’m sure if we get caught, we’ll be in big trouble…”
Well, it looks like he wasn’t scared of ghosts. Though, to be fair, Ikeda probably thought nothing like that existed.
“Don’t worry. That’s why I suggested we meet up on a rainy day. The dormitory staff should be asleep in their dormitory, right? Who would want to come outside in weather like this?”
Well, that makes sense and all…
There’s probably a security system here too.
“And, besides, we’re not actually trying to get into the building itself. Ikeda, where did you meet Noboru?”
“Uh, ah.”
As if Kaneko’s words struck a chord, Ikeda seemed to realize something and opened his mouth.
“Well, come to think of it, I saw him in the courtyard.”
“Right. Ikeda wouldn’t approach a guy in front of others, right? Plus, I doubt he would have spoken up at any time. There wouldn’t have been a reason to just grab someone randomly and request them to join.”
“Y-Yeah. It was at the end of April. The club recruitment period.”
I looked at Kaneko, who was naturally piecing things together, with awe.
What is this? Is she possessed by a spirit? This isn’t like Kaneko at all.
“Hehe.”
With our gazes on her, Kaneko pointed at her forehead with her finger.
“Even if I look like this, I have at least minimal deductive skills as the vice president of the Occult Club. What do you think I’ve been doing before coming this far?”
Oh, I see.
She said to meet by 9 PM, so she would have had plenty of time. Of course, there’s Yuuki who would need 20 minutes to come via subway, but Kaneko and Ikeda likely wouldn’t have to travel that much at all, if they lived nearby. They probably still had about two hours left.
Of course, Kaneko being Kaneko, she was likely preoccupied thinking about this even during class. Considering that, the time for deduction would have increased.
Come to think of it, this school is quite reputable. Given its ‘famous for its high deviation score’ setting, I’d say it’s safe to assume that these folks have above-average academic ability. They might have been qualifiers for track and field, but with them currently resigning from the club, it’s likely they were not.
We confidently followed behind the walking Kaneko.
And entered the dimly lit courtyard.
It seemed to have been created with the assumption that students would only use it during the day. There were hardly any streetlights, and the spaces between the distant lights were completely dark, hardly visible at all.
I took out a flashlight from my pocket.
Except for Ikeda, the other three had seemingly prepared flashlights for this situation. Thanks to that, Ikeda was able to walk relatively comfortably.
“Uhm… around here?”
“B-But?”
“Alright, everyone turn off your flashlights.”
Upon hearing Ikeda’s response, Kaneko instructed us, and we all flicked our flashlights off.
“Ugh.”
As the surroundings turned completely dark, Ikeda let out a trembling voice.
“Leaving them on would make us noticeable to the teachers patrolling inside, right?”
Kaneko replied to the anxious Ikeda, her tone almost cheerful.
“…So, what were you intending to do after coming all this way?”
In an effort to forget, even a little about the fear, Ikeda asked Kaneko.
“Well, of course, I came prepared for this.”
With that, Kaneko started rummaging through her pocket, pulling out something.
What she pulled out was—
“Cocorii-san.”
A packet of Cocorii-san stickers that she had packed tightly in a zip-lock bag to protect from the rain.
Ikeda slapped his forehead.
I couldn’t help but look at Yuuki with a slightly incredulous expression—
“Well, that seems fine.”
Yuuki said nonchalantly.
Both Ikeda and I turned our faces towards Yuuki.
“That’s the simplest way of doing a summoning, right? It’s not like we’re using blood or hair. It probably won’t be dangerous.”
Our mouths dropped in stunned silence.
“What… are you talking about?”
“I live near the shrine. My grandfather and father have been involved with this, and I sometimes take on roles as a shrine maiden when needed.”
Upon hearing Yuuki’s words, Ikeda’s mouth dropped even wider.
“You… are an incredible junior, huh? Why don’t we start an Occult Club together? I’ll give you the vice president position.”
“Sorry, but I’d prefer not to take up another hobby if I already have a profession concerning it.”
“Really? What a pity.”
Kaneko shrugged and placed the paper on a nearby bench. Sealed with a zip-lock, it wouldn’t get wet. Resourceful, isn’t she?
“Alright…”
Then she took a coin from her pocket and placed it on the bag.
The human eye is truly a mysterious organ; even though we were in pitch darkness, I could still see what Kaneko was doing without difficulty.
The school building likely wouldn’t be able to see us well from here. Plus, since it was raining, no one would be passing by to get a detailed look at us.
“Then, who will join?”
Kaneko, squatting in front of the bench, looked around at us three.
I shook my head.
If I participated, it wouldn’t be a ghost that would converse with me but some kind of outer force instead. If that happened, it would defeat the purpose of the summoning.
Ikeda vigorously shook his head, clearly frightened.
“I’ll do it.”
Yuuki said, handing me his umbrella.
Then he squatted down beside Kaneko under the umbrella she held.
“Alright, then…”
Kaneko placed her finger on the coin. Yuuki followed suit.
The two of them closed their eyes…
“Cocorii-san, Cocorii-san, please come~”
—and chanted the incantation.
…
“Did it… come?”
Ikeda mumbled.
“…Nakano-san?”
…
Silence.
“Uh, hold on.”
“I guess it was a failure.”
“That’s right? There’s no way a ghost would just show up.”
“Actually, it worked in the literature club room before.”
“That’s… ah, maybe it was just a lucky coincidence or something.”
“Who’d set up a lucky coincidence?”
With a slightly annoyed voice, Kaneko, after pausing, sighed deeply.
She seemed much more disappointed than I expected. Maybe she isn’t just messing around, and actually takes the Occult Club quite seriously.
After that, Kaneko repeated the incantation several more times with Yuuki, but—
Neither Cocorii-san nor Nakano Noboru responded.
*
Eventually, this weak escapade ended without any results.
Ikeda apologized to us and took the disappointed Kaneko home.
I found myself sitting in a family restaurant, going along with Yuuki’s coaxing.
Yuuki’s bait was vanilla shakes and French fries.
Ugh, using food to lure someone in is just cowardly.
Nonetheless, the vanilla shake and French fries were tasty.
“Of course. You missed one of the most important conditions.”
Yuuki reviewed today’s summoning.
“Condition?”
“Originally, things like these focus more on the intent of the answering spirit than the summoning entity. All the magic circles and summoning circles are to gather ‘what the spirit likes.’ Conversely, to chase them away or prevent them from coming, you gather ‘what they dislike.’ Like drawing a circle with salt; you get that, right?”
“…”
“So, Ikeda probably saw the ghost because… some ‘condition’ fit just right. Today, that didn’t match up.”
“Condition… did we need to do it during the day?”
“Well, if the spirit likes the daytime, then yes. But I think there’s probably something even more important than that.”
Yuuki sucked through his straw one last time and spoke up.
“The most essential thing is emotion. You’ve heard that people involved with restless spirits end up in similar situations or have overlapping feelings, right? It’s like this too. So… Ikeda has to evoke the feelings he had back then.”
After tapping his fingers on the table for a moment, Yuuki continued, “Hmm, it might be loneliness? Ikeda said that all the seniors he got along with until last year graduated. So, he was probably feeling lonely. And there might have been a sense of desperation too since the literature club he enjoyed being with could easily disband. Those feelings overlapping might have led to the chance encounter with the spirit in the courtyard when there happened to be no one around—just a really coincidental meeting.”
That’s a lot of coincidences.
“Most supernatural phenomena typically occur by chance. People killed by Youkai often just had bad luck to run into one, and running into a serial killer also ends up being a coincidence, right?”
Seemingly reading my expression, Yuuki picked up a French fry as he explained.
“And actually, the likelihood of encountering supernatural occurrences in school is quite high. There are connections, and a heightened sensitivity. It’s an age where all kinds of feelings are intensely felt.”
He’s speaking like a sage.
I thought while sipping my vanilla shake.
“…So that’s why you were so calm.”
“Right. And typically, if someone is about to cause some serious turmoil, there are generally signs leading up to it.”
Yuuki shrugged his shoulders and popped a French fry into his mouth.
*
Tomorrow, I have work.
As I pushed through the rain and entered the school entrance, that thought crossed my mind.
After school, I’ll take the subway, walk through the rainy streets, and go to the maid cafe. Then I’ll change into my maid outfit and work.
Hmm, when I first began, I thought it was quite a nice job, but still, keeping at it continuously without a weekend is exhausting.
But then again, finding another job wouldn’t necessarily be any better. Working on weekends would be the same.
With a deep sigh, I took off my socks, dried my feet, and changed into my indoor slippers.
Even after an hour and a half of coming to school, I still felt stuck in that drowsy state as I ambled over to the classroom.
If I waited a moment, Miura, Fukuda, and Yamashita would arrive in a line, and I waved my hand to greet them.
As Yuuki passed by the hallway glancing in, our eyes met, and I waved again.
A short while later, Suzuki-sensei came to check attendance, and after attending class—
—Yeah, today wasn’t much different from usual.
Until the lunch break came.
“Kurosawa-san?”
Just as I was thinking about getting up to head to the store, Suzuki-sensei entered the classroom first.
Looking a bit pale, she approached me and asked, “Do you have a moment? I’d like to discuss something.”
I felt Miura, sitting behind me, gaze at me with concern.
“…Yes.”
Well, what could I do as a student but accept the teacher’s request?
At least, I figured Suzuki-sensei wouldn’t cause me any harm.
Feeling Miura’s worried eyes soaking my clothes little by little, I stood up.
*
Following Suzuki-sensei to the teacher’s office, I found Ikeda and Yuuki already there. It seemed each was accompanied by their respective homeroom teachers.
And then I realized.
Ah, I’ve been found out.
Strangely, Kaneko was nowhere to be seen. If I recall correctly, Ikeda and she were in the same class?
“Is this the child?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
The man in gym clothes behind Ikeda nodded, and Suzuki-sensei affirmed it.
“Were you in the school last night as well?”
Despite his stern looks, his voice was somewhat soft. Perhaps the teachers had been informed about my circumstances.
I glanced at Ikeda. He slightly nodded. His expression had turned pale.
“…Yes.”
“Is that so?”
The boy’s teacher sighed heavily, closing his eyes.
“I won’t ask what you were trying to do in the school last night. Nothing seems to be missing. However, there’s something you must understand.”
The man spoke in a voice that felt like he was regurgitating words.
“Today, Kaneko hasn’t come to school.”
…
Huh?
“After calling her home, it appears she hasn’t returned since she left last night.”
Oh?
I looked towards Yuuki.
Yuuki looked back at me, his face a bit rigid.
“When you saw Kaneko-chan yesterday, did you notice anything unusual?”
Suzuki-sensei asked me.
I pondered briefly and shook my head.
Kaneko… didn’t seem all that different. She had gotten a little sharper after failing the summoning, but she got back to normal quickly.
I blinked.
…No way.
“…Is that so.”
The man nodded, then said, “Kaneko left at 9 PM yesterday and returned home an hour later. You probably went home around that time as well. But Kaneko left again after that. The police are currently investigating Kaneko’s whereabouts, but I think hearing your stories is also important. Anything trivial is good. Do you remember anything?”
“…”
I looked at Ikeda and Yuuki in turn.
It seemed both of them didn’t mention anything about what we did yesterday.
I slowly shook my head.
Suzuki-sensei, along with Yuuki’s and Ikeda’s homeroom teachers, exchanged concerned glances.
*
“Is something wrong with Kaoru?”
“Uh, Ikeda-senpai.”
As Ikeda paced anxiously in the room, Yuuki tried to calm him down, but Ikeda was merely biting his nails and trembling.
“Is it my fault? I showed him that….”
“No, it’s probably just a coincidence.”
Yuuki kept his serious expression.
“Perhaps she just needed a breather for a while—”
“Kaoru isn’t that kind of person!”
Ikeda shouted at Yuuki.
“Even if she might seem that way, she puts in her best efforts in everything! It really was sudden that she quit the athletics club she loved so much—”
The moment Ikeda was about to continue, his expression suddenly went blank.
With just a moment of vacant expression, Ikeda immediately turned, flinging the door open, and dashed outside.
“Wait, Senpai!”
Yuuki was startled and chased after him. Not wanting to be left behind, I hurriedly got up to follow Ikeda and Yuuki.
Ikeda headed toward the school gym.
Since the rainy season hadn’t ended, most sports-related clubs were currently engaging in indoor activities.
Naturally, the athletics club was one of them.
“Kaneko?”
The head of the athletics club, a third-year girl, chuckled upon hearing Kaneko’s name.
“She’s the one who caused a fuss and quit, right? The one who was a pain to her senpai.”
The head turned around, and I could hear insulting voices about Kaneko from all sides.
“Just because she was decent at sports, she managed to get a bit full of herself. We gave her a few words of advice, but she couldn’t handle it, and she quit soon after. She could only last a year.”
The head had a look that screamed disdain.
“Whatever she does or wherever she is, we don’t need to be concerned about her, right? She’s probably just out having fun somewhere.”
“Kaoru…!”
“Senpai.”
Ikeda was about to shout angrily, but Yuuki held his arm.
Yuuki turned to Ikeda, shaking his head, then pulled Ikeda along as we exited the gym.
“Ikeda-senpai.”
Yuuki placed his hands on both of Ikeda’s shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.
“It’s fine. Kaneko-senpai will come back soon.”
“How can you say that—”
“I know she will.”
Yuuki’s words lacked any extra persuasion, nor did he provide any solid evidence, but his unwavering demeanor seemed to slightly sway Ikeda’s heart.
“…Will she really come back?”
At Ikeda’s words, Yuuki nodded.
“She definitely will.”
“…”
The tension in Ikeda’s hands eased.
With his arms hanging limply at his sides, he lowered his head and murmured, “Kaoru… she’s my friend.”
“I know.”
“In elementary school, she was the first person who came up to me when I had no friends…”
“I see.”
“…”
“Don’t worry. She will definitely come back. Kaneko Kaoru-senpai will.”
Only after Yuuki said that did Ikeda seem to calm down a bit.
*
“…Do you have any idea?”
“I do have a few thoughts.”
On the way home.
Yuuki frowned and spoke up.
“The Kaneko-senpai incident—she definitely went back to school.”
“…Loneliness and desperation.”
“Yeah. This is… my mistake. I couldn’t read the emotions of Kaneko-senpai correctly. Even having been close to her.”
I shook my head.
“Anyone wouldn’t have imagined it.”
Even with my response, Yuuki’s expression darkened further.
“Plus, I think time is also an issue. Kaneko-senpai left around ten, but… if she kept trying persistently, she might have hit the Chushi (丑時) time by now.”
Chushi.
This term even appeared in Light Novels. It refers to the second character in the Chinese zodiac. When arranged clockwise, it aligns with the northeast position.
This period, usually between 1 AM to 3 AM, is said to be an open time for spirits to emerge.
However, it wasn’t a big deal in the novels. It was simply a material for ghost stories Yuuki shared during a summer episode. The reason I knew about this time was that I’d looked it up myself since the novel didn’t explain it in detail.
Also, I always liked ghost stories. While I presumed they were all fake, I still enjoyed learning about them.
sigh, Yuuki sighed deeply.
“This… I will do something about it. It’s my specialty.”
“…Me too.”
“No.”
Yuuki looked at me sternly as he continued, “You should stay home.”
“…I’m going too.”
“No. What you agreed to isn’t about purification; this is about hunting spirits. This concerns ghosts, not Youkai.”
“…”
With that, I had nothing to say.
“Don’t worry.”
Yuuki smiled at me.
“Again, I’ll handle this as it’s my specialty. I told you, the ones who are in my position were all dealt with by me. There’s no need to worry excessively.”
How could I not be worried?
Furthermore, I heard from Yuuki himself.
It’s said that ghosts almost never harm人. However, there are extremely rare cases where danger exists.
Kaneko had vanished.
What else would be more alarming than this?
But if I declared that I would go, Yuuki would undoubtedly try to stop me.
So for now, I could only nod in agreement.
*
And as expected, I didn’t simply return home.
By the time I went back only to return, that would be a three-hour round trip in total.
So for now, I decided to trick Yuuki by boarding the train. He conveniently stayed nearby, watching me until I got on the train.
But even if I boarded the train, I wouldn’t get off for a few stops and simply return again.
After about ten minutes on the train, I found myself back at Omiya Station.
Once I confirmed there wasn’t a Yuuki nearby, I surveyed the area carefully as I returned to school.
Reconsidering Yuuki’s words, I figured that he would prepare for the purification (制靈) at school before Chushi came.
So, I could just hide in the school until then.
It wasn’t yet time for the students to head home, so it wasn’t a big deal to re-enter the school.
However—
…
……Where could I hide until 1 AM?
*
Today, Ikeda left early, too. It seemed enduring the literature club room without Kaneko was quite difficult.
I felt sorry for Ikeda, but thanks to him, I was able to hide in the literature club room until 1 AM.
There weren’t many valuable things in the literature club room. All we had were books and snacks, so we didn’t bother locking the door. If someone had locked it from the outside, I would’ve been trapped inside, but luckily, that didn’t happen.
I confirmed there was no one in the hallway by listening, and cautiously hunched down as I left the literature club room.
…The atmosphere feels extremely bleak.
If I had thought nothing of it when I believed ghosts weren’t real, now that I know creatures like ghosts and Youkai exist in this world, I couldn’t help but feel scared.
Checking my watch, it had been 45 minutes past the hour.
Chushi time was approaching.
While it might not be time for significant events to occur just yet, I decided it was time to move.
Sneakily edging toward the first floor, I felt anxious about encountering a teacher.
And at that moment, I suddenly remembered there might be a security system in the school.
…But it was already too late to think about that now.
Fortunately, it seemed that I hadn’t touched anything, without triggering any alarms.
The exit door from the school building was locked, so I opened a window and snuck out.
I briefly pondered whether or not to open my umbrella, but I thought it might just get in the way.
And as I was caught in the rain, I quickly realized how wrong that thought was.
Regretting my choice, I walked through the dark school premises until I reached the courtyard where Kaneko had summoned Cocorii-san last time.
It was still dreadfully dark there.
By the way, no one certainly calls this space behind the school a courtyard—there’s a decent amount of space between the buildings and the wall, like a small developed park— but that was not an important topic right now.
I noticed nobody was in sight, which was a relief.
…Alright.
I reached the bench and stood still.
Standing in the rain like this made me feel immensely miserable.
I rummaged through my school uniform pockets and pulled out a cutter knife.
Well, having come this far, what other options do I have?
First, I’ll have a chat with Jjapgurasu. I’ll ask her thoroughly about what to do and look for solutions.
Then, I’ll join up with Yuuki later to solve the issue at hand.
The reason I went this far was to avoid becoming anemic quickly as blood would drain out. I need to save time somehow.
As I drew out the blade from the cutter knife and brought it to my left wrist—
Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm tightly.
I almost screamed in shock but—
“…Kaneko-senpai?”
I saw Kaneko staring at me, her eyes wide open as she gripped my right hand, still holding the knife.
“What are you doing right now?”
Kaneko, drenched like me, asked.
“…Ehm.”
Well… I was about to… cut my wrist. Um.
Right, no matter how I looked at it, the situation itself did seem a bit off.