Chapter 6 - Oninezumi: Starving Rats

1

Shun looked at Anna. It didn’t take long for them to realize the scream was Takeshi’s. No one else could possibly scream so pathetically.

But what had happened now? Shun was a little afraid to find out after just hearing Anna tell him Naoki’s ghost might be haunting the halls, but they couldn’t just abandon Takeshi. Shun returned to the entrance hall and started to sprint up the stairs. He thought Anna was following him, but it was then that he realized he no longer heard her footsteps. Turning around, he saw her standing at the bottom of the stairs looking up at him.

“...Anna?”

“Can you go on ahead? I’ll catch up soon.”

“Oh... Okay.”

He couldn’t ask her why. The tense air about her made him instinctually back down. Any hesitation he had was interrupted by Takeshi screaming again, followed by the sound of panicked footsteps running down the hall. Something was definitely happening.

“I’ll be waiting upstairs for you then,” Shun said and hurried to the second floor, leaving Anna behind.

The second floor was basically the same as the first. A long hall stretched to the east and west. Windows sat evenly spaced along the south wall, and just like the first floor, each one was boarded up so that there wasn’t even a chance of peeking outside. Shun quickly looked around but didn’t see Takeshi.

“Takeshi?”

He’d been so loud only seconds ago, yet now he wouldn’t even respond to his own name. Where had he gone? Shun took a moment to survey his surroundings. The red carpet continued up the stairs to a third floor, but he could swear the screams sounded closer than that. Shun was sure Takeshi had to be on this floor.

There was a line of doors on the wall opposite the windows. Unlike the doors on the first floor, these were all made of solid wood so there was no way to see inside the rooms. White panels were plastered on the upper sections of each door with unusual letters engraved into them.

...Huh?

The memory drawer in Shun’s brain rattled and shook. He’d seen this somewhere before, but he couldn’t remember exactly where. Pain pulsed through his temple. His eyebrows scrunched up tighter than they ever had.

Shaking his head lightly, Shun grabbed the knob to the door marked “ρ.” Unfortunately, this door was locked too and wouldn’t open. He knocked, but no one answered. It looked like his only choice was to check every room one by one. Wiping his sweaty palms on his pants, he moved to the next door. The panel on this one had a strange mark on it that looked like a traditional Japanese wooden sandal drawn from the side. He tried the knob. This time, surprisingly, the door opened with no trouble.

Hesitantly, Shun peered inside. The walls were illuminated by an orange light. The room was large enough to pass as a master bedroom, but it was only furnished with a wardrobe, a desk, and a bed. There was no sign of anyone having lived there. It looked more like a showroom or a hotel room. And though it supposedly had been abandoned for years, there wasn’t a speck of dust to be seen anywhere.

“...Takeshi, are you here?” Shun called out, but no one answered.

He stepped into the room, looking about. Just on the other side of the door was a lone sneaker. He stooped down and picked it up. The white design with green stripes looked familiar. It was the same as the shoes Takeshi normally wore. What was it doing here though? Remembering the giant figure he saw downstairs, fear seized Shun’s body.

Was he attacked by that thing?

Still holding the shoe, he dashed back out the door. Just then, he heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. Surprised, he dropped the sneaker.

“You really think he’s okay?” It was Mika’s voice. “You heard that scream. He could have been attacked by a monster.”

Mika, a firecracker who normally mouthed off to teachers and older students, was quivering in her boots.

“That’s ridiculous. Please keep your unscientific theories and your superstitions to yourself. There’s no such thing as monsters or ghosts,” Hiroshi responded in his usual calm demeanor, the complete opposite of Mika.

It was a relief to know he was safe.

“But you heard those weird noises by the entrance.”

“There was broken tableware scattered about the kitchen. The dishes and things most likely fell from the shelves. That’s all there is to it.”

“This place is abandoned. How could they just fall off the shelves?”

“There are many imaginable possibilities. The shaking of the Earth, aging cabinets, or even the change in the mansion’s air pressure from opening the front door. Any one of these things could have made the plates wobble slightly.”

“Then what made Takeshi scream like that?”

“There’s no point in wasting brain cells on that when we can just go ask him directly.”

Mounting the top of the stairs, Hiroshi looked in Shun’s direction. Mika, hiding behind him, cautiously peered around. For some reason, Takuro wasn’t with them.

“Hiroshi, I found Takeshi’s shoe!” Shun said, pointing at the sneaker he’d dropped by accident.

“I see. It’s quite likely Takeshi is in that room then.”

Hiroshi picked up the shoe and walked over to the door Shun had come out of. He then looked back and forth between the shoe and the room while muttering to himself.

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone here, though—”

“There.”

Cutting Shun off, Hiroshi pointed to the wardrobe standing in the corner.

“Huh? How do you know?”

“How can you tell?”

Shun and Mika both had questions. Hiroshi pushed up his glasses before explaining.

“It’s simple,” he said as the corners of his lips curled upward. “This sneaker is quite worn out. The insole is all ragged.”

Shun held his nose and looked inside the shoe. Just as he’d said, the insole was shredded in places and even the brand logo was nearly unreadable.

“There’s a piece of the insole on the floor in front of the wardrobe,” he said as he walked over toward it.

Shun and Mika followed.

“A piece of it stuck to his sock must have come loose as he jumped in this wardrobe to hide after losing his shoe in a frantic scramble.”

A crucifix pendant was tied around the wardrobe handle. The figure of Christ nailed to the cross looked up at them with empty eyes.

“Takeshi, do you mind if I open this door?”

Hiroshi knocked on the wardrobe door, but no answer came.

“Takeshi, if you’re in there then come out!” Mika shouted.

She ripped the crucifix from the door and hurled it open, revealing a quivering, huddled mass of a human being. Just as Hiroshi had deduced, Takeshi was hiding inside the wardrobe. Curled up like a child, he was shaking uncontrollably.

“What’re you doing in here?”

Mika looked at him with disdain. Even so, Takeshi didn’t respond. He kept his head between his knees and continued to tremble.

“Hey... Say something already.”

Grabbing the back of his collar, Mika tried to pull him out of the wardrobe, but Takeshi stubbornly refused to move.

“I’m sorry, Naoki. Forgive me... Forgive me...” he murmured weakly from between his knees. “I told him to stop. But... But Takuro...”

“Are you sure about this?” Mika bent down and drew close to his ear. “Say any more and Takuro might kill you.”

She may have been trying to keep quiet, but Shun heard her loud and clear.

“Takeshi. Could you tell us what happened?” Hiroshi asked.

Takeshi finally lifted his head.

“I... I saw...” he murmured with a raspy voice, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“You saw something? What was it?”

“Blue... Blue...”

Shun’s eyes went wide at his response. Had he seen the giant too?

“Hey, Takeshi. Was it—”

“Ew! What is that?” Mika shouted as if to drown out Shun.

Following her gaze, Shun and Hiroshi spotted a creature about the size of a fist as it cut across the room heading for the door. It had a pointy tail like a rat’s, but it was covered in blue fur. Shun had never seen any rat like that before.

“What a curious creature,” Hiroshi uttered as he quickly dashed out of the room after it.

“Wait a minute. Don’t tell me you screamed because a rat scared you,” Mika said wearily. “I knew you were a coward, but I didn’t know you were a baby. Your screaming took about three years off my life, I’ll have you know! What an idiot. For all I care, you can just stay there crying,” she spat as she slammed the wardrobe door and turned to leave.

“No!” Takeshi cried, looking utterly miserable as the door shut on him. Shun thought he’d burst out of the wardrobe, but the door remained shut.

Was it just a rat that scared him? Shun cocked his head quizzically. Certainly Takeshi was a coward, but this level of fear seemed unnatural even for him.

He must have seen the giant...

Suddenly Shun felt something rushing past his feet. Looking down, he saw the rat from earlier dash between his legs. The strange creature climbed the table, jumped to the bed, then turned toward him.

“What is that?”

He couldn’t look away from the strange thing. The blue rat’s head was abnormally large, like a super deformed cartoon character. Perhaps if it had been a cartoon it would have been cute, but it was just creepy to see in real life. Two monstrously large eyes sat in its freakishly large head. They were so big that it looked like they might fall out at any moment. The creature stood on the bed on its hind legs, bared its front teeth, and howled like a monkey. Was it a defensive behavior? The rat creature didn’t appear to feel threatened. No... It was more as if it was taunting them.

2

The rat’s massive, unblinking eyes glared at Shun. He was so stunned that he simply stood in front of the wardrobe, unable to move, think, or react. The same went for Mika, who had been heading for the door. She stood frozen, staring at the bed and whimpering the same thing over and over.

“No way... No way. There’s... just no way, right?”

Shun felt like his brain had stopped working. It was like he simply couldn’t process the situation or there was something supernatural keeping him glued to the spot. Either way, he couldn’t look away from the rodent monster. Great globs of drool dripped from the rat’s bared front teeth. Just as he was starting to fear it might devour him...

“Unfortunately it was too quick and I lost it,” Hiroshi said with a sigh as he returned from his unsuccessful rat hunt.

“Hiroshi... Over here,” Shun finally managed to say. Hiroshi’s return seemed to bring him a little back to his senses.

Hiroshi looked to the bed and raised an eyebrow.

“What the...”

His words were slow and weighty. Had he also been paralyzed by fear like Shun and Mika?

“How fascinating.”

His eyes lit up.

“This rat must have been born with a mutation. The blue grasshopper I saw outside was a strange shape as well. Perhaps there’s some environmental factor like chemicals or radiation that’s causing these changes in their genetic data. Oh, there is the chemical plant right next to this mansion. There could be a connection there.”

“Radiation? My god...” Finally returning to her senses as well, Mika shook her head violently. “That’s going to affect us too, right? No thank you! I don’t want my face to end up like that little monster’s.”

Shun thought she was making a joke to disguise her fear, but the panic written all over her face was quite obvious. She was apparently really worried about this.

“It’s okay. Scientifically speaking, that’s not how it works. However, if there is a source of radiation in the area that exceeds acceptable limits, we shouldn’t stay here long. It would be a good idea to get away from this mansion as soon as possible.”

“Then let’s go now,” Mika said, immediately turning and marching toward the door again.

“Go ahead,” Hiroshi replied, his eyes still fixed on the bed.

“What? You’re not leaving?” Mika asked, looking over her shoulder.

“I’m going to observe this rat for a little longer.”

“Huh? Ew. Stop it. That’s gross.”

She was visibly disgusted at the idea, but it was soon clear that Hiroshi didn’t much care. Slowly but surely, he approached the rat to try and capture it.

“What about you?” Mika asked, turning to Shun.

“I’d like to go home too, but...”

He realized this was the first time he’d ever really talked to Mika. His nerves got to him and his tongue felt heavy. Mika didn’t know that the front door was locked yet. They’d have to find another exit if they wanted to leave the mansion. He wanted to tell her, but the words just wouldn’t come out.

“Oh, for crying out loud! Every one of you is useless!” Her irritation finally boiled over as Shun remained silent. “You can all do whatever you want. I’m leaving. Bye.”

She flippantly raised her right hand and stormed out of the room. Hiroshi, who didn’t even seem to register her leaving, reached out for the rat-like—no, the deformed rat. His middle finger was just inches from its face. The rat’s nose wiggled as if warily sniffing Hiroshi. Its giant eyes twitched nervously.

The moment Hiroshi lifted his other arm to try and capture it, a strange sound came from underneath the bed. The rat immediately ran from Hiroshi’s hands and slipped under the bed. However, Hiroshi wouldn’t give up that easily. He quickly stood up and shoved the bed aside.

“...!”

Shun was so shocked he couldn’t even scream. A growling sound came from deep in his gut. He suddenly felt sick and collapsed to his knees. Over two dozen blue rats were crowded together under the bed, chewing on something. They all had giant heads like the first, with eyes so large that they took up half their faces.

“...What is going on here?”

Even Hiroshi was stumped. He covered his mouth with his right hand and slowly began backing up. It wasn’t the mass of rats he was afraid of. It was what they were feeding on: a human arm, severed at the elbow.