Chapter 4 - Hakurei: The Dead

1

Anna liked the English language, but she didn’t do so hot in English class. She stared lazily out the window as she listened to the English teacher drone on, reciting one elementary sentence after another. As the afternoon waned, a group of children would gather in the schoolyard every day like clockwork. There were boys and girls of every age. Some wore school uniforms, some were in pajamas, some were even half-naked. But they all had one thing in common: they clearly weren’t of this world.

A boy, his right leg bent at an impossible angle, dangled from a steel pole in a gentle sway. Anna had heard a rumor that someone had fallen from there and died 20 years ago. It must have been him. To still be here now, he must have had regrets that kept him from moving on.

A girl in a floral dress was missing half her head. A victim of bullying, she’d killed herself some years ago when she couldn’t take it anymore. She was always searching the ground with her bare hands, desperately looking for something. She would likely never stop until she found whatever it was she was searching for.

This wasn’t anything normal people saw, of course. But to Anna, the strange sight had become part of her daily life.

The adaptability of humans is a truly remarkable thing...

Anna thought things over in a daze. She was amazed at how quickly people could change. She remembered waking up in a hospital bed two days after the accident. Unable to turn in her sleep, her back would hurt so badly that she wished for death just to end the suffering. Then two days later, she was totally used to it. It was just like the pain of her losing her parents. It hadn’t even been a month since the accident, yet she’d already begun to recover. Her new life with her uncle was also slowly becoming less painful.

But the accident had affected her in more ways than one. She wasn’t sure whether it was because she’d hit her head really hard or just because she’d had a near-death experience that blurred the line between this world and the next, but ever since that tragic day, Anna had been able to see ghosts. Naturally, she was shocked at first. She worried she’d gone crazy. The ghosts were scary, but none of them had ever tried to harm her. She eventually came to accept them along with her power, and now it was just another part of her life. It hadn’t ever been a problem. That is, until yesterday.

A small sigh slipped her lips.

Last evening after leaving Shun’s place and finding herself at the site of the accident with Hiroshi, she’d seen the ghost of Naoki. He was completely blue and his guts were spilling out grotesquely where the truck had run him over. He’d stared straight at Anna.

“Death to you all!” he’d hissed in a whisper, a faint grin on his face.

Anna wasn’t certain who “you all” was referring to, but she had something of a hunch. If it was what she thought it might be, then...

Shrugging off such dark thoughts, she concentrated again on the courtyard. A lone student was scaling the school gate. He then ran across the yard toward the building like he was coming straight for her. Anna’s eyes went wide as she stared at him. She recognized that trademark spiky hair. It was Kota, one of the boys who’d gone missing two days ago. As he approached, Anna got a better look at him. Everything from the superhero T-shirt to the braided bracelet around his wrist said it was Kota. There was no doubt about it. But Anna let out a gasp of despair.

Kota’s face was missing. Great, dark holes sat where his eyes once had, and the center of his face was nothing but red, as if his nose had been ripped off. The river of blood pouring from it made it impossible to tell if he had a mouth or not. When she looked, she could also see that his right thigh was split vertically. She could literally see through it. The sight was altogether ghastly, and Anna knew no one could be running in that condition. He had to be dead.

Kota came right up to the building. He placed his hands on the classroom window and brought his featureless face closer like he was trying to peer in. Was he looking at her? He rapped on the glass, as if trying to communicate something. The pane shook and rattled fiercely. Several students looked around for the cause of the noise, but none of them could see Kota.

Green liquid dripped from his eye sockets. It almost looked like tears. Kota continued to bang on the window for a few minutes before giving up and turning away. Moaning, he ran off.

Were you trying to tell us something? I’m sorry, Kota...

Anna looked down so that no one would see her biting her lip. Guilt pierced her chest like an arrow. None of her other classmates had seen him. She was the only one who could have done anything for him, yet she’d pretended not to notice him. It was just like with Shun. The intense self-hatred that bubbled up in Anna’s heart felt like it would tear her in two.

Anna had known that Shun was the victim of terrible bullying at Takuro’s hands. A ghost in the home ec room had kindly told her so. Yet she hadn’t done anything. Despite knowing that Shun might meet the same fate as Naoki, she just didn’t know what to do. And now...

What... could I have even done?

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Anna lifted her head and looked out the window, but she didn’t see Kota anywhere.

I must be really tired today. I should go home early and rest.

Suppressing the dark feelings that had welled up within her, Anna began packing up her bag to leave as class came to an end.

“Huh? Takuro, you’re leaving? What about practice?” someone said at the front of the classroom.

“I’m taking off today. Not feeling so hot. Cover for me with the seniors, will ya?”

Anna lifted her head to see Takuro leaving the classroom before anyone else.

“Takuro. Wait, please.” Hiroshi stepped in front of him as he hurried toward the door.

“What do you want?”

Oddly, there was a roughness to Takuro’s voice. Today he’d been acting quite unsettled and was quick to anger. It was most unusual. Rather than his normally radiant, friendly aura, he seemed to be exuding panic from every fiber of his being. What could have happened?

“Where are you going in such a rush?”

“The Jailhouse. These weird rumors are going to affect my dad’s business, so I’m going to put an end to them myself by proving there is no monster.”

“I advise that you refrain.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I can’t say, honestly. But would you consider not going today?”

Anna finally realized what was going on.

“If any of our classmates say they’re going, you have to stop them.”

Shun had given them a very specific warning just the day before, and Hiroshi was trying to keep his promise. Anna had thought Hiroshi didn’t care much for people since he was always either buried in a thick book or intensely studying bugs. He was the smartest kid in class, and he certainly behaved like a brainiac. But something was different about him when it came to Shun.

“Shut up. Out of my way.”

It was clear Takuro had no intention of listening. He forcefully pushed past Hiroshi and stormed out of the classroom. Mika and Takeshi, his girlfriend and lackey, followed him out. The three of them were practically always together.

“Takuro. Wait, please!” Hiroshi yelled, which took Anna by surprise. He then turned to her. “Anna, let Shun know immediately that Takuro’s headed to the Jailhouse. I’ll go after him.”

That’s right. This is no time to be spacing out. I’m done with doing nothing and regretting it later.

“R-Right. Got it.”

Anna nodded and dashed out the door.

2

Slipping past a girl missing her head as she left the school, Anna made her way toward Shun’s place. She glanced up at the sky and saw dark clouds rolling in. The low rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance. Storms like that weren’t common in winter. Was it a bad omen? Unease clawed at Anna’s chest. Something similar had happened right before the accident. She had to hurry.

Veering right off the main road, she cut diagonally through the grounds of the abandoned chemical plant. It was the quickest way to Shun’s, but on the other side of the plant lay the Jailhouse. Beneath the darkening clouds, it and its lofty, old stone walls looked creepier than usual.

Let’s not spend any longer here than necessary. I’ll run as fast as possible and cut right through.

Unfortunately, her heavy school bag was a hindrance. She tossed it aside for the time being and bent down to tighten up the laces on her shoes before making a run for it.

“You gonna leave your bag here? It’s gonna rain soon, you know. Your stuff’ll get soaked,” said a familiar voice.

Anna looked up and saw a boy covered in blue liquid standing in the shadow of the plant.

“Naoki...” She was so shocked that his name left her lips in a raspy whisper.

His guts were dangling from his belly, just as they had been the day before. Swinging them with his left hand, a twisted smile crept across his lips. It was an expression Anna never could have imagined him making while he was alive.

“Oh? I didn’t believe it when we met yesterday, but you really can see me, can’t you? Wow, so people like that really do exist...”

Naoki stood right in front of Anna, his peculiar smile widening. Anna, however, was speechless. She stood there aghast. Naoki scratched his upper lip, troubled at the sight.

“Well, gee. You don’t have to be so on guard. I’m not going to hurt you.” Naoki bent down to meet Anna’s gaze directly. Still smiling, he continued, “But could you not get in my way?”

His expression was calm, yet the tone of his voice carried an intensity that told Anna that he wasn’t exactly asking.

“...What are you going to do?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“Nothing, really. Even in death, I’m powerless. I can’t do anything, just like when I was alive.” Naoki frowned bitterly. “It was all I could manage to lure Shinichi to the Jailhouse.”

Naoki was quite talkative, a quality he hadn’t shown in life. He hardly seemed to be the same person. Perhaps this was how death had transformed him.

“Is Shinichi in the Jailhouse?” Anna asked as she looked to the high walls on the other side of the road.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Is Kota with him?”

“Yup. They were together until two days ago, at least.”

“What does that mean?” she asked, despite knowing what he meant. Anna had seen a ghastly version of Kota earlier that afternoon, speechless and missing his face. It was obvious he was no longer of this world. “...Are they both dead?”

“Yeah,” Naoki answered as the corners of his mouth curled upward.

“How? Did you kill them?”

“Of course not. I just told you I’m not strong enough to do that. I simply led them to the Jailhouse. The rest I left up to the monsters.”

“Monsters? There’s no such thing as monsters.”

“So you’re talking to a ghost, yet you still disbelieve? Knowing what you do, why wouldn’t you think there are monsters in the Jailhouse?”

“Because... Because they can’t possibly exist. They just can’t.”

“That’s an unexpectedly stupid answer, coming from you.” Naoki giggled, his eyes glinting happily. “Well, whatever. If you don’t believe in monsters, then don’t interfere. I mean, if there aren’t any monsters, there’s no danger in Takuro and his friends going to the Jailhouse, right?”

Naoki’s eyes went wide. He looked to the sky, a satisfied smile creeping across his lips.

“All those who treated me like a bug should die. Takuro especially. I want him to piss his pants in fear.”

The dead needed no food, sleep, or rest. The only thing they had was their regrets, which grew greater by the day. Naoki, consumed by his desire for revenge, had completely lost any semblance of his living mind.

“Death... Death to them all... Death... Death... Death... Yes, die... Die... Die... Die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die, die!” he chanted, a look of ecstasy on his face.

Anna tried to sneak away while he seemed distracted, but he snatched her wrist in the blink of an eye. His grip was too strong for her to break free.

“Let me tell you a secret: ghosts can’t be seen, but we can still touch people and objects. It’s basically like we’re still alive.”

“No! Let me go!”

A passerby gave Anna a strange look and quickly walked away. Any normal person could only see Anna standing there, so of course they were creeped out.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Naoki asked, still holding on to her right arm.

“I have to stop Takuro!”

“I don’t get you. I asked nicely for you to stay out of my way...”

Anna struggled, trying to find a way out of his grasp, but she froze for a moment when she saw Takuro approaching out of the corner of her eye. Mika and Takeshi were with him, but none of them could see Anna shrouded in the shadow of the chemical plant. They were diligently making their way toward the heavy iron gate of the Jailhouse with Takuro. To Anna’s surprise, Takuro took a key from his pocket and easily undid the padlock.

“Don’t go!” Anna tried to scream but couldn’t. Naoki was covering her mouth.

On Takuro’s orders, Takeshi begrudgingly pushed on the gate. It was so heavy that he only managed to get it open a fraction of the way. The gap was just large enough for one of them to fit through at a time. Takuro went first, and it was almost like the others were sucked in after him.

A few seconds later, Hiroshi appeared. He was out of breath. He must have been running as fast as he could to catch up. There was a blue bruise on his temple where Takuro or maybe Takeshi had probably hit him. Seeing that the gate was open, Hiroshi slipped inside after his wayward classmates.

If Hiroshi’s there, it should be fine.

Anna breathed a sigh of relief. She knew Hiroshi would be able to use reason to talk the others down.

“Are you thinking Hiroshi will be able to dissuade them?” Naoki whispered in Anna’s ear. His moldy breath awoke a new fear inside her. “You’re naive. He can’t possibly stop Takuro.”

Naoki’s grip weakened for a moment, and Anna jerked her head out of his grasp.

“Takuro! Don’t go inside the mansion!” she shouted as loud as she could.

“It’s no use. Your voice will never reach him over these high walls. But even if he did hear you, do you really think he’s the type of guy to listen?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Hiroshi will be able to stop them,” Anna said with a fierce glare at Naoki.

“Ghosts move unheard and unseen, so I’ve witnessed sides to each of you that no one else ever has. For example, I know that Takeshi’s actually a huge coward and that you’ve tried to kill yourself several times since your parents died.”

“...”

“Here’s another secret: insects aren’t the only thing Hiroshi obsesses over. His grandfather’s Italian, so he’s fascinated with anything European.”

“So what?”

“The original owner of the Jailhouse was also a European culture buff, so the place is filled with Western touches. There’s no way Hiroshi won’t notice. And when he sees something that interests him, he immediately loses sight of everything else around him. He might even be the first inside the mansion,” Naoki said as he let go of Anna’s arm. “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you go and see for yourself?”

He didn’t have to tell her twice. Anna dashed away, cut across the road, and approached the iron gate. Trying to calm her racing heart, she darted through the tiny open gap and stepped onto the Jailhouse grounds. Before her was a vast, overgrown yard. It looked like it hadn’t been touched in years. Despite it being the dead of winter, weeds as high as her waist sprouted from the ground.

Her eyes moved to the building looming on the opposite side of the yard. It was an ancient Western-style mansion like what you’d expect to see in a horror movie. Black clouds were rolling in from behind it, casting an ominous darkness over the whole scene.

The front door to the mansion was wide open, and Anna saw no sign of anyone around. The others must have already gone inside. So far, it seemed like Naoki was right. Hiroshi hadn’t been able to stop them.

Naoki casually walked past Anna as she stood there reeling, and headed for the mansion. She quickly followed after him. Forging a path through the weeds, she cut across the overgrown yard. Once at the entrance, she peered into the mansion over Naoki’s shoulder. She still couldn’t see anyone. Even straining her ears, she couldn’t hear a sound. She sucked in a deep breath and started to call out to Hiroshi.

“You’re annoying. Move.”

Naoki pushed her by the shoulder. Then, right in front of her eyes, his ghostly hand slammed the front door shut.

“Now everything’s as it should be,” he said with a satisfied smile as he leaned up against the door.

“Wait... What did you just do?”

She pushed him out of the way and stared up at the towering door. She tried turning the knob, but it only jiggled in place. The door wouldn’t budge.

“What’s going on?” she asked sternly, glaring at Naoki.

“Hmm... I wonder what is going on right about now.” Naoki gave a small shrug, playing dumb... or maybe he really didn’t know. “Sorry for grabbing you and covering your mouth earlier. But don’t worry, I won’t interfere anymore. You were on your way to a guy named Shun, right? Why don’t you ask him for help if you’re that worried? Not that it’ll help now...”

Naoki gave her a crooked smile as he played jump rope with his own trailing innards.

3

Anna ran as fast as she could straight to Shun’s place, practically flying. She rang the doorbell over and over, too anxious to even wait for a response. But Shun must have sensed her desperation. He came to the door almost immediately.

They went straight to his room. No one else seemed to be home. Anna had never been alone with a boy in his room before, but this was no time to be shy. She gulped down the tea Shun offered her then quickly told him about how Takuro and the others had gone to the Jailhouse. Of course, she omitted the part about meeting Naoki. That would only complicate things unnecessarily.

As soon as Anna finished her story, Shun reached out for the phone on his desk. After hitting a button on the speed dial, he held the receiver tightly against his ear.

“Who are you calling?”

“Takuro’s house,” he instantly replied. “We have to borrow the spare key to open the front door to the Jailhouse. They’ve probably realized that they’ve been locked inside the mansion and are freaking out by now.”

“Huh? Even if it’s an automated lock, they should still be able to open the door from the inside.”

“The Jailhouse doors aren’t normal doors. They won’t open so easily. We have to get them out, and quickly... Shoot, no one’s answering.”

Shun irritatedly hung up the phone, then picked it back up and pressed the redial button. But there was no luck the second time, either. No one picked up on the other end. With a heavy sigh, Shun took the phone from his ear.

“Hey, why are you so scared? Is there really something inside the Jailhouse?” Anna asked when she saw the deeply troubled look on his face.

“I told you yesterday: a monster lives there. If we don’t hurry, their lives could be in danger,” Shun answered, his grip tightening on the receiver in his hand. His tone was dead serious. He didn’t seem to be joking at all. “It’s a long shot, but I’m going to call Smile’s main office and see if I can talk to Takuro’s father directly.”

Shun hit a different button on the speed dial and closed his eyes as if he were praying. He was bouncing his leg, indicating just how anxious he was.

Why does he conveniently have Takuro’s home phone and Smile’s office on speed dial?

Anna couldn’t help but wonder what was really going on as she watched Shun from the side. Had he known this was going to happen? It seemed strange he knew about the door, too. Only someone who’d actually been in the Jailhouse could know that it wouldn’t open from the inside.

“Oh, hello?” Shun spoke into the mouthpiece.

Unlike earlier, it seemed he’d gotten through to someone this time. But that wouldn’t be the end of his problems.

“Um... I’m a classmate of the president’s son. He’s been in an accident... I need to speak with his father right away.”

His voice was faltering, which actually sold the story more in Anna’s opinion. She was hoping whoever was on the other end of the line would buy it too.

“Damn.”

Shun sighed and hung up the phone. Takuro’s father was apparently on a business trip and couldn’t be reached until later in the evening.

“If we can’t get the key, we’ll just have to get in some other way.”

“How?”

“Let’s ask the teacher.” Shun pressed another button and then handed the phone to Anna. “Sorry, but could you explain things to him? He’s bound to listen to you over someone like me who’s been skipping school.”

“Oh... Okay, sure.” She gave a quick nod and took the phone. “Don’t get your hopes up, though.”

Anna recalled the events of the past few months as she listened to the phone ringing. After accidentally witnessing Takuro bullying Naoki, she’d submitted an anonymous letter about it to their homeroom teacher. But all he’d done was call the two boys into his office to talk to them. There was no way the truth would ever come to light like that. And in the end, nothing changed. Nothing until the accident on Christmas Eve.

The teacher’s not going to be of any help this time either...

He eventually answered the phone, but his response was about what Anna had expected.

“How did they get into the building?” he asked.

His unconcerned tone told Anna that he wasn’t taking this seriously, and that irritated her. But she couldn’t really blame him. If she hadn’t met Naoki, she never would have believed anything about a monster, either. Even now, she still wasn’t sure she did. A man-eating giant just sounded too far-fetched to be real.

“They used a key to get in? Huh? So Takuro’s father owns the place? Well, well. I didn’t know that.”

In contrast to their homeroom teacher’s nonchalant tone, Anna’s grew forceful.

“Sir, the Jailhouse is off-limits, is it not? We have to get them out of there.”

“Yes, but if it belongs to Takuro’s family and he’s with them, I don’t think there’s any cause for alarm.”

“But—”

“Besides, I doubt Takuro would be doing anything he shouldn’t, so why don’t we just leave them be?”

It was no use. He was useless. Deciding that talking to him anymore would be a waste of time, Anna hung up in the middle of a sentence.

“Sorry. It was no use. What do we do now?”

Anna was confused, but it was clear Takuro and the others were in some kind of danger. For so long, Anna had lived thinking violent, untimely deaths were the domain of newspapers, TV shows, and novels—the world of fiction, far removed from reality. But she’d learned the truth last Christmas Eve.

Misfortune was like a contagious disease. Tragic events would often strike one after the other. That was why, even in modern-day society, the practice of exorcism still lingered. People genuinely believed they could be haunted. There were always those seeking refuge in some religion or another. People like Anna, who felt like their very existences were the cause of misfortune around them. Tragedy actively sought them out, it seemed.

Anna stroked her arm and shivered. Shun’s room should have been warm and cozy, but she felt horribly cold. She recalled Kota, wandering the school courtyard without a face. The goosebumps on her arm worsened. She knew better. Misfortune begets misfortune.

Who’s going to die next? Am I doomed to just sit on the sidelines and watch it happen again?

“What do we do, Shun?”

Anna didn’t want to lose anyone else, but she didn’t know how to stop it from happening.

“Well? What do we do?”

She unleashed her frustrations on Shun. He took the brunt of the blow head-on, and answered her without recoiling.

“All we can do now is figure out something ourselves.”

Anna was shocked. Just a week ago, Shun had scarcely been able to even look someone in the eye. But now he was speaking calmly, totally collected and in control—the polar opposite of panicking Anna. People didn’t just change like that overnight. What could have happened to him? Anna could only stare in disbelief at Shun’s face.