#On Ishii Street | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

amjustagirl · 2 years

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chapter one: there’s smoke in the air

chapters: 1 / 15 pairing: miya osamu x f! reader genre: romance, angst, fluff, inarizaki shenanigans wc: 4.3k summary: miya osamu does not dare to set fire to his heart. it burns anyway.

(next)

It’s the faint smell of smoke that sets off Osamu’s alarms.

He’s already closed the shop for the day, released his staff early even though ‘Tsumu and the kids are still sprawled across the expanse of his wooden counter. Because - well, if Tsumu’s decided to use him as reinforcement to look after his kids when Kaiyo (Tsumu’s long-suffering wife, the one woman with enough steel in her spine to make Miya Atsumu behave and act like a decent human being) is away on some fancy work dinner, then he can damn well help him clean up the shop instead.

‘Sides his staff deserve a break from ‘Tsumu’s spawn-lings.

Not that he doesn’t love his niece and nephew dearly - he does, he’d do anything for them, set his store on fire if need be - but Shino already shows every indication that she’s inherited ‘Tsumu’s pig-headedness and Kaiyo’s mischief, which is incendiary when paired with an angelic smile. Just last week, she’d managed to sweet talk his hapless part-timer Miyamura-san into tossing disposable chopsticks to her in some made-up exercise to improve her reflexes, leaving his kitchen floor looking like it’s been strewn with twigs and firewood. Kaiyo made her daughter pick up every last chopstick and pay him back with her own pocket money (he’d set the money aside in the fund he has stashed as a wedding present to her), but still.

And Shoma.

Five year old Shoma with wide, solemn eyes, and a penchant for toddling around the bustling kitchen, heedless to the danger of finely sharpened knives and bursts of hot steam around him. The kid doesn’t say much, just watches with rapt attention as rice is shaped into balls, fillings prepared with care and occasionally swipes a bite or two - and that’s all fine, but he refuses to be shooed out unless it’s time for a meal. His staff treat him like their mascot, but Osamu knows first hand it’s troublesome to have to work in an overheated kitchen with a child underfoot after nearly spilling a trayful of precious cod roe because Shoma was crouched by the rice cooker investigating the rice that Kita brought over right after harvestime.

“Can’t you just order pizza for them instead of dragging them all the way here?” he asks ‘Tsumu, who sticks his tongue out petulantly.

“Sho-chan wanted yer onigiris and Shin-chan complained she hasn’t seen ya in ages, so who am I to say no to them? ‘Sides - ” Atsumu hefts Shoma up, holds him out as if Sho-chan’s a lion-cub being presented to his future subjects (he really really hates that he’s watched every single disney movie with the kiddos, nevermind that Lion King made him sniffle - he’ll deny it til his dying day) - “are ya really going to say no to Sho-chan when he’s hungry for his favourite uncle’s lovingly made food?”

Damn ‘Tsumu for hitting his weak spots with a bulls-eye (or a carefully thrown set, but nevermind the volleyball references), because everyone knows Osamu would rather swandive out of a window rather than see someone hungry, let alone his five year old nephew who’s secretly his favourite (he’ll deny it til his dying day). So he turns away with a huff and signals his defeat by making yet another negitoro onigiri that he knows is Sho-chan’s favourite.

It’s at that moment the scent of something burning hits his nostrils.

At first, he wonders if it’s just stubborn old Ishii-san from next door who’s snuck out back for a quick smoke - the whole street knows that his wife’s banned him from cigarettes after his hacking cough led him to be diagnosed with early stage cancer - but he quickly surmises that that can’t be the case when even Atsumu frowns, mouth puckering with worry.

The famed twin telepathy that Gintama always marvels at (which Suna dryly terms as them sharing a single brain cell) comes into play the instant they actually see a tendril of grey smoke creeping out of his back kitchen. Atsmu rockets to his feet, stool clattering behind him as he grabs Shino’s hand, hauling Shoma off the counter and onto his shoulder, dragging both children out of the shop despite their protests. Osamu for his part dashes to the kitchen, and suspicion confirmed when he sees bright flames licking their way through his kitchen, he spares only a moment to rescue his precious set of knives forged by Kaiyo’s family, a famed knife makers in the rolling hills of Hyogo before kicking the door closed.

“Called the firefighters already. They’re on the way”, Atsumu calls from the counter, busy emptying the register of the day’s takings.

Osamu passes the knives over to him with a nod, sprinting to the back office to empty the safe, madly grabbing documents, licenses, cash, the hard-drive with his records, his laptop - Atsumu appears to help, magicking a bag out of nowhere to toss everything pell-mell into its depths - he even manages to grab the drawing the Sho-chan did of the shop when it first opened before Atsumu hauls him out.

“Ma’ll kill me if I let you barbeque in your own damn shop, you idiot”, he hisses. “You can replace everything else but - ”

A high pitched scream, panic ringing clear in the night air.

“DAD!”

Atsumu takes off, practically flies to where Shino is, Osamu following closely. She’s bawling, fists clenched to her side and it’s hard to make out what she’s saying through her sobs as she verges on the edge of hyperventilating -

“Sho - Shoma - ”

The blood in his veins turns into ice.

He glances around but whilst the street is rapidly filling with well-meaning neighbours and bystanders, there’s no little boy - no Sho-chan around even though he’s sure Atsumu gave Shino strict orders to keep Shoma with her on the street, trusting in little boy’s general compliant nature to keep him out of trouble.

Realisation slams into him a split second before Atsumu even catches on. Instinct makes him shout at Shino to keep her dad with her - because ‘Tsumu has a family that needs him, Kaiyo’s been through too much pain to lose her idiot husband to a random fire of all things, and Shino is only twelve and he doesn’t even want to go there but they’ll need to pull together if Sho-chan - he’s not going to entertain any grim thoughts in the seconds that he pounds through his shop, cursing the shadows that might hide a five year old -

“Shoma!” he yells, smoke seeping into his lungs. “Sho-chan!”

He can’t tell whether it’s the inhaled gasps of smoke or fear pooling in his chest that constricts his throat, making it harder to breathe. Shoma isn’t anywhere in the front of the store where flames are already licking at table legs and chairs, which means he has to delve deeper into the belly of the store - the kitchen, the epicentre of the blaze and fuck fuck fuck it’s already hot enough that he’s sweating through his shirt -

“SHOMA!”

Any normal kid should have fled the kitchen by now, but Miya Shoma exists to defy the odds. Osamu flings the door to the kitchen open, choking at the fumes and practically lunges forward when he finally catches sight of a small form, the scarlet of Shoma’s coat unswallowed by the smoke and shadows.

Only to be stopped short by an infernal groaning sound above him.

The sudden crash of a wooden beam into the ground a veritable stick of dynamite. It just makes an already dangerous situation yet more deadly.

“Fuck” he curses, picking his way gingerly in the direction of Shoma. He’s got to get them both out before Atsumu loses his mind and storms in, something he really needs to avoid because sure, his loved ones would mourn if he died today, but he doesn’t have a family of his own unlike Atsumu, so his life is worth less than that of his brother’s - stop stop stop - these grim thoughts are just slowing him down -

C’mon.

The way out isn’t blocked yet, they can both still make it out. It’s hot as the circles of hell, but he persists, pushing through towards Shoma who seems fine at the very least, crouched near the rice station - deemed thus for the numerous industrial rice cookers and wooden buckets where he carefully fluffs up his rice - all of that will burn into ashes, but there’s no time to mourn that either, they need to get out, stat.

The little boy weighs less than a sack of rice in Osamu’s adrenaline-filled rush to get out. Nerves of steel like his mother then, because he doesn’t even wail, and thankfully doesn’t put up a fight either, curling up his short limbs around Osamu’s neck and arms like a frightened housecat. The floor beneath him feels almost as if it’s caked in lava, scorching his heels through the soles of his feet so he runs for his life, precious cargo in his arms, the scant few steps between the kitchen and the safety of the streets outside never seeming so long before.

But he dashes through the wooden frame of the front door, doesn’t stop running until blonde hair comes into view, until he sees his twin’s face collapse in relief and sheer joy as he passes Shoma back to Atsumu, already crying -

“You’re so dramatic”, he says to rib his twin.

Or more accurately, that’s what he’d like to say because pain, red hot and blistering shoots up through the length of his arm into his shoulder, a million, billion, trillion times worse than the time he was stupid enough to try flipping tuna cheeks on a grill with nothing but his bare hands and a bucket of ice cold water in imitation of a street hawker he idolises.

So instead, he stumbles to his side, his focus already so bleary that his twin’s hoarse shouts don’t register. His head swims through the cacophony of ambulance sirens and the hubbub of the crowd that’s gathered, sinks between his hands as he tries to anchor himself, crouching low on the sidewalk. It’s awfully dark despite the fire burning bright in the night sky, he thinks to himself, before everything blissfully fades to black.

There’s a faint beeping in the background when he breaks the surface for air

Ripples of consciousness start to return to him in waves. A spark in the kitchen, his shop going up in flames. Finding Shoma despite the plume of black smoke, relief despite the ash in his mouth. Pain that only emanates as a dull ache.

He cracks an eye open.

A mirror image of himself stares back at him, albeit blonde.

“Samu”, Atsumu breathes, jumping to his feet to lean over the rails of the hospital bed. “‘Samu - d’you need water? Maybe I should call a nurse, get someone to check ya over - ”

Before Osamu can nod, Atsumu’s already reaching over to clumsily pour water from the waiting jug into a flimsy paper cup. He’s fed the water like a baby, and by the time he finishes the proffered water, which thankfully eases the parched desert in his mouth, Atsumu manages to wave down a passing nurse, who then drags a couple of doctors to this ringside show of him being subjected to a barrage of tests and questions that to determine that he’s still all there and hasn’t left his mind in his burnt down shop.

“M’fine” he croaks, after he’s finally, thankfully left alone. “Thought I might’ve died. But seeing yer ugly mug confirmed that I still got some ‘ways to go.”

“D-don’t joke about that.” To Osamu’s alarm, his idiot twin actually starts blubbering up. “Y-you gotta, - you gotta live a long life - you promised you’d show me that you’d have the better life, you’re not allowed to die yet - I still got a better life than you, you crazy scrub -”

He takes another sip of water before a terrible, awful thought hits him, steals his breath away.

“Is Sho-chan - ”

“He’s fine”, Atsumu cuts in, surreptitiously wiping his tears away. “Got some burns on his hands and they’ve stuck him in here for observation cos’ they’re concerned about smoke inhalation but he’s gonna be just fine.”

Osamu heaves a sigh of relief, a burden off his shoulders. “I was worried for a moment. Shouldn’t you be with your kid instead of lounging around by my side? Skiving again?”

Atsumu snorts wetly before barking out a laugh. “Kaiyo and I are takin’ turns. You better watch out when she comes up to see ya. She’s gonna weep and make a heck lot of noise before throwing herself at you, both to hug you and scold you for daring to get injured.”

He matches his twin’s snort. “Sounds ‘bout right for Kaiyo. S’okay, I’ll take the scolding like a big boy, but I’m glad the little guy’s okay.”

“He is”, Atsumu says, smile dropping. “Well - better than you - ”

“You better not start cryin’ on me again or I’ll call a nurse over to kick ya out - ”

“Piece of shit - I ain’t gonna waste my tears on ya!”

They catch each other’s eye. A beat - before they both burst out laughing or well, Atsumu laughs while Osamu wheezes until they get a stitch in their sides and knock fists to show their affection, the callsign of siblings who’ve reduced their collective brain juice to one cell apiece. No maudlin show of affection, a fistbump is enough for him, thank you, even with a near death experience.

“By the way”, Osamu says when the stitch subsides. “Did anyone figure out why Sho-chan literally ran back into a burning building?”

At that, Atsumu groans.

“What?”

“That little bugger snuck back in ‘cos he wanted to save some rice paddle he’d been storing there. Apparently he got it from Asami-chan, and he couldn’t bear to lose it.”

Osamu can’t help but cackle. It’s a running joke that Atsumu and Kita would inevitably end up as in-laws the way their respective wives keep arranging for play-dates between their children. Of course, it’s only natural since Kaiyo and Ichika, Kita’s wife, are best friends - in fact, Kaiyo claims responsibility for setting Kita and Ichika up in the first place, and so their matchmaking machinations seem to have spilled over to their children, evident from the way Asami would light up whenever Shoma visits the farm and bawls when he leaves, and the way Shoma follows Asami around like a duckling and happily plays along with all her tea parties.

“You should just consider Kita family at this point by now”, Osamu jokes. “It’ll be official in twenty years time anyway.”

“Both my kids are gonna end up with my captains’ kids”, Atsumu moans. “Shino’s gonna run away with Meian��s son at the rate we’re going. It’s so weird - how can I even try intimidating the kid when his dad used to make me run laps ‘cos I poked fun at Omi-omi just a bit too much during practice - ”

“Well at least it’s Shinsuke’s daughter that Sho-chan likes. Imagine if it were Sakusa’s kid.”

The twins share a collective shudder.

“I’m just glad they’re cousins instead, so no chance of that. Though - d’you remember when he kinda pitched a fit when he realised that we’d all be one big happy family cos he married Kaiyo’s cousin? I get to tease Omi-omi during family gatherings now!”

“I’m sure he enjoys that”, Osamu replies dryly.

“He does!”

“He definitely doesn’t”, a female voice declares definitively.

Atsumu brightens up immediately, leaping to his feet. “Baby! You came to see me!”

“I came to see ‘Samu not you, you big lug”, Kaiyo says as she blows in like a beautiful storm, arms full of bags bulging with tupperwares of food (which Osamu sniffs appreciatively at, hospital grub isn’t really up to scratch and he’s already missed breakfast), swatting Atsumu away playfully as he winds his arms around her, nuzzling her cheek. “Though I am here to relieve you so you can go grab lunch, Sho-chan’s asleep and I wanted to spend some time with my favourite brother in law - ”

“I’m your only brother in law”, Osamu remarks dryly but only receives a gentle tweak of his ear in reply.

“I guess I’m off then”, Atsumu pats his back. “My turn to sit by the little rascal in case he decides to run away to Hyogo before Ichika and the girls come over, and it’s your turn to get nagged at anyway - ”

“Are you calling me a nag, Miya Atsumu?” Kaiyo asks archly.

Osamu has the pleasure of watching Atsumu turn sheet white as he backpedals furiously, assuring Kaiyo that she’s the best wife in the world, and he’d never think she’s a nag, and her scoldings are just her way of showing love - which is great, you can continue scolding me, c’mon I’ll even lie down and let you step on me, I probably deserve it anyway, until Kaiyo grows tired of his silliness and boots him out of the room.

“Don’t look at me like that”, he says, hands up in defence when she turns to him.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re undecided whether to scold me or cry over me, or worse, thank me, - ”

“Miya Osamu, you nearly died - ”

“I didn’t, just came out with a few burns or two, your kid damn near scared me to death though - ”

He’s interrupted by the press of shaking lips to his temple.

“Oh, ‘Samu - ”

“You’re not allowed to cry all over me - ”

She chokes back a broken sob, and Osamu will insist until he’s laid in his grave that his eyes remain bone dry. “C’mere”, he says roughly, opening his arms out as she climbs in beside him, laying her head on his shoulder. Her hand catches his, squeezing tight, saying what she’s left unsaid.

He has the honour of meeting Kaiyo first, besting Atsumu in that regard. Barely in their twenties when she stumbled into his ramshackle first shop - she, then a poor student on the lookout for a part time job to make ends meet, him, struggling to make a business from nothing into something. A prank on Tsumu is the first spark that explodes into a wildfire, one that tears through their lives. When it culminates in his twin stumbling into a marriage he definitely doesn't deserve and almost losing the only woman in the world with enough steel in her spine to match him, he’s always thought the only silver lining to the entire situation is that he gained her as a sister.

('D'you love her?' Atsumu demanded, when their marriage falters, almost irrevocably damaged by his own hands.

Osamu thinks of her struggling to hold down the fort as Atsumu jaunts off to Milan, juggling Shino and a full time job, gritting her teeth and holding her head high even as everyone else looks at her with judgement in their eyes, whispering about her, pitying her behind her back.

'Of course I do', he'd replied, as natural as breathing. 'She's my sister, you asshole. I hate that it’s my brother who’s causing her pain.')

A decade later, long after the grass has grown over the scorched earth, after Atsumu finally recognises the immense luck he’s had winning Kaiyo as his wife and puts in the backbreaking work needed to fix his marriage, that hasn’t changed. Time has only made them closer - she’s also been giving to him, generous with her time and help (having an accountant in the family makes filing taxes a breeze), a warm presence in his busy life, a listening ear with much more sense than his volleyball crazed brother.

So yes, he loves her. She’s family - it's only natural that he'd do anything for her and hers.

“He’s your boy - but he's mine too”, he says simply.

“You - ”, her voice breaks off, a little cracked. “You can’t say things like that and expect me not to cry, Miya Osamu - You can’t, you can’t”, he coughs in an attempt to hide the growing heat in his eyes, but it’s futile when she curls her fingers in his, when the sleeve of his hospital gown becomes damp.

“I was so, so scared when ‘Tsumu called me. When I heard you got hurt. And then I hear you got hurt running into a fire to drag Shoma out, I don’t think I could breathe properly until the doctors said you were fine - ”

“See, you’re cryin’ for nothin’ - ”

“Stop it! At least let me thank you properly - ”

“You don’t need to”, he says. “I’d do it again. Won’t even think twice about it.”

He yelps when she tries her best to crush his ribcage in her chokehold of a hug, especially since he’s still a little tender from the whole diving headfirst into a fiery inferno kinda thing. “I’m gonna thank you anyway”, she murmurs. “And at the rate I’m going, it looks like I’m gonna owe you in the next lifetime or two. Maybe we should make it three, just to be safe.”

“Nah”, he affects a drawl through his blocked nose and wet eyes. “I guess if you count that I’m responsible for settin’ you up with ‘Tsumu, consider us even.”

She smacks his good side. “Don’t say that about your own brother!” she scolds, but he’s relieved to hear the lilt of her laughter, clear as a bell.

“You and I both know he’s a piece of shit and you’re crazy for puttin’ up with him - ”

“Only I can bully him, you stop being mean -”

“Hey, I had to put up with him since we were in the womb - ”

She rolls her eyes as they fall into their familiar patterns of bickering, and he lets her boss him around, eyes gleaming when she lays out tupperwares full of food. Kaiyo isn’t the best of cooks, she’d admit it herself, but he taught her all he knew about making food, so he laughs aloud when he sees the familiar rice and nori combinations - deconstructed onigiris, she calls them, the ingredients packed on the side. He happily wields his chopsticks to scoop perfectly cooked rice up, screwing up his eyes in delight when he pops a jewel-like umeboshi into his mouth.

Food is a simple pleasure, it truly makes his belly sing. It also makes him fall fast asleep.

When he wakes, he’s greeted by some of his staff. It’s grown from just Kaiyo in his early days to a sizable crew, necessary to man the three shops he has dotted around Osaka - well, two now that one’s burnt down. Suzuki, the matriarch who mans his busiest store downtown in his stead with an iron fist, brings a cake with piped flowers instead of real blooms (she alone knows about his secret sweet tooth), Miyamura, the college aged part-timer who takes on far too many shifts to be good for his grades shyly slides over some homemade burn ointment from his mother in Kyushu, Morita and Ishida, his dynamic duo of cooks stationed in his second shop sneak in pints of beer to the horror of the nurse in attendant, and stoic Murata, who he’d sent home early that night, gruffly pats his back and wishes him well.

“I’ll need to adjust the schedule. And call the suppliers in the morning, cancel some orders if we’re only running two stores instead of three”, he frowns, fingers itching for his phone which Atsumu confiscated, correctly surmising that he’d be unable to just take a break, damnit Samu! You nearly died - which is annoying, because he does have arrangements to make.

“The lady boss is on it”, Murata says.

He can’t help but chuckle when Morita and Ishida start to recount an animated and likely embellished tale of Kaiyo taking over the reins, arranging schedules, browbeating suppliers, popping into the shops to reassure his regulars - all this in the afternoon, whilst he slept.

“I guess I should count myself lucky that you decided to walk into my shop ten years ago”, he tells her, when she returns to his side after dinner.

She huffs a laugh, arranging the pillows before she climbs in beside him again. “It’s a damn good thing I’ve been in charge of your accounts all these years.”

“It’s a good thing my brother married an accountant - ”

“Your filing system would be a mess otherwise. I can’t believe how many fishmongers I had to call today - all of them say don’t worry about a thing, just get well soon, except for Hara-san - who’s very grumpy by the way - it was super hard to stay polite, because he insisted on sending tuna to you, never mind that your shop is a burnt out husk - ”

He bumps her with his elbow, offers his good shoulder to her as a pillow. “Sounds exhausting”, he says lightly. “You sound like you need a nap.”

“I can’t believe you do this everyday”, she grouses, but she’s out like a light almost immediately. He curls a protective arm around her as she lets out a gentle snore, but even then he takes the opportunity to steal her phone and snap a surreptitious photo of her (a habit learnt from Suna, no doubt), sending it immediately to Atsumu with the cheeky caption - look at sleeping beauty right here. It’s rare that he gets to clown on Kaiyo, just a little bit. Besides, it’s fun turning the tables on her once in a while and siding with ‘Tsumu, she’ll pretend to rage about it when she finds out, and it’ll distract her at least from the situation they’re in.

There’s a hesitant knock on the door just as he’s about to fall asleep himself. He wonders if it’s the nurse, here to check on his burn dressings.

(it isn’t. it’s someone he hasn’t met yet. someone who may or may not play a starring role in this chapter of his life.)

The door slides open. You step in.

“Hi”, you say, then you bow.

(fire can be the catalyst of new beginnings, even as it destroys)

a/n: a dramatic first chapter! it may be helpful to read storm chaser in context (i.e. the story of Atsumu and Kaiyo), since that’s referenced quite heavily in this fic, but can be read as a standalone.

and as always, let me know what y’all think!

#haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #haikyuu angst #miya osamu x reader #miya osamu x you #osamu x you #osamu x reader #osamu x y/n #miya osamu x y/n #haikyuu romance #miya atsumu #inarizaki

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crimsonstonetranslations · 2 years

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Shinrei Tantei Yakumo volume 10 - file 02

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo novel translation

Volume 10 - Signpost of the Spirit

( prologue | file 01 - omen )

file 02 - confession

After getting dressed, Haruka left her apartment. At this hour, the trains were no longer running, so she headed in the opposite direction of the station and towards the main street to find a taxi.

Once she had caught a taxi and stated the name of the hospital she was going to, she leaned against the passenger seat.

I hope everything is alright.

Haruka could only pray, while the taxi engines roared as it began to move.

She turned to the car window, where all sorts of sights flashed by. The city view that should have been familiar to her now felt foreign.

Haruka recalled feeling this way before.

When Isshin had gotten stabbed.

At that time, she had prayed for Isshin’s safety as she gazed through a car window just like this.

Yet, her prayers hadn’t been answered.

Isshin’s life had been saved, but he had ended up brain dead and eventually had to leave everyone behind.

Could it be that Gotou-san was also—

No! Haruka yelled in her heart, getting rid of the thought.

Earlier, she had hurriedly left after receiving a call from Ishii, who had told her that Gotou had been in an accident, but she hadn’t heard any of the details yet.

It would be fine, once she reached the hospital, Gotou would surely yell, ‘you guys are getting worried over nothing,’ energetically.

Haruka tried to calm her feelings with that thought, but the more she did, the more anxiousness spewed from her chest.

Please get there soon, Haruka thought, continuously squeezing her sweating palms.

The lights at the front of the hospital were already out. Ones that could be seen from the windows had mostly been turned off as well.

The hospital atmosphere at night only heightened her anxiety further.

Haruka alighted the taxi and walked towards the designated entrance for nighttime visitation.

She declared her intention to visit a patient to the security guard. However, she had no idea what to answer when asked about her relationship to Gotou.

“Non-family members aren’t allowed...” said the guard with a sour look.

Debating here seemed pointless and she would have never been allowed to enter. As Haruka thought she had no other options but to wait outside, someone called out to her.

It was Yakumo.

“Yakumo-kun!” Haruka exclaimed in relief.

“You came as well, huh.”

“Yes. Ishii-san contacted me.”

“Is that so,” answered Yakumo, who then walked towards the security guard. After speaking for some time, he returned with visitor passes for two people.

Who knew what Yakumo had said to the guard, but with those, they could get in.

Haruka accepted her visitor pass and entered the nighttime visitation entrance with Yakumo.

“How is Gotou-san’s condition?” Haruka asked Yakumo as they walked along the dimly lit corridor.

“I was also just informed that Gotou-san had been in an accident. I don’t know about the details.”

The tone in Yakumo’s voice wasn’t as clear as usual. While it wasn’t visible on his face, Yakumo must have been shaken as well.

Yakumo and Gotou were always bickering with each other every time they met, but that was because they trusted each other.

Without a doubt, Gotou had to be an important person to Yakumo.

“Surely Gotou-san is fine,” Haruka spoke to herself as they got into the lift.

“We don’t know about that,” said Yakumo with a little sigh.

Yakumo was never one to speak freely before he had the chance to fully grasp the situation. However, at times like this, that attitude of his made Haruka grow more restless than ever.

The incident with Isshin flashed in her mind yet again. Why were her thoughts always going in the negative direction?

They got out of the lift and walked across a lengthy corridor before arriving at the waiting room.

The lights in the room shone brightly over the rows of sofa underneath. Even though they had arrived, Haruka’s anxiousness hadn’t gone away.

“Yakumo-shi. Haruka-chan.”

Ishii, who had been sitting on a sofa at one corner of the waiting room, called out to them as he got up.

“Ishii-san.”

Haruka and Yakumo walked towards him.

“Sorry for contacting you in the middle of the night like this,” Ishii politely bowed his head.

He shouldn’t have been apologising. If not for Ishii contacting them, neither Haruka nor Yakumo would have known about the accident.

Despite that, it was a habit of Ishii’s to apologise like this.

“Not at all. Thank you for contacting us.”

“So, how is Gotou-san’s condition?” asked Yakumo, cutting Haruka’s sentence.

Ishii’s expression turned gloomy.

The ominous feeling within Haruka rose even further.

“The operation was completed. They managed to save Detective Gotou’s life and he’s currently being treated at the intensive care unit. Atsuko-san is accompanying him.”

“Thank goodness...” blurted Haruka spontaneously.

They could feel more relieved if his life had already been saved.

“But...” Ishii spoke with regret in his voice and dropped his gaze to his feet.

This reaction….Haruka began to shake as her previously suppressed anxiety swelled in an instant.

“His condition needs further observation. According to the doctors, tonight is the critical period—”

Ishii sounded like he was about to cry.

“No way…”

Haruka couldn’t say anything more than that.

Wasn’t this almost like a repeat of when Isshin had gotten hospitalised?

Something cold spread within Haruka’s heart. Her head was spinning, until she felt like she could no longer stand.

Haruka turned to Yakumo and found him standing there with his usual expressionless face.

Although he appeared calm on the outside, the aura that Yakumo gave off was clearly different from normal. Whether it was anger, sadness, or lament—what could Yakumo possibly be thinking about right now?

The waiting room was filled with heavy silence.

They didn’t know how much time had passed before the door was opened and someone entered the waiting room.

It was Gotou’s wife—Atsuko. Her forehead was covered in bandages; it looked like she had been injured.

Even amidst the grave situation, Atsuko did not appear perplexed. She walked straight in their direction.

“Thank you for coming all the way here,” she said, bowing her head politely.

“No. Not a problem at all...anyway, how is Detective Gotou?” asked Ishii with a panicked expression.

“Just as the doctor had said, his consciousness hadn’t returned. Tonight is the critical period,” explained Atsuko.

Perhaps Ishii had purposely asked Atsuko out of wishful thinking that he had misheard the doctor and that Gotou’s condition had turned out differently.

As expected, Ishii looked utterly disappointed, slumping listlessly after hearing Atsuko’s explanation.

“What should I do…?” said Ishii, struggling to even voice out his words.

Haruka felt the same. She wanted to do something for Gotou’s sake, but she was powerless.

“We can only leave my husband in the doctors’ hands,” said Atsuko in resilience.

That’s right. In her mind, Haruka understood that well, yet her heart remained restless.

“Rather than that, I want all of you to help Nao—” requested Atsuko, bowing her head once more.

Did she mean that she had wanted them to look after Nao while Gotou was hospitalised? Haruka had thought so for a moment, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Did something happen to Nao?” asked Yakumo.

Atsuko nodded firmly. “She disappeared.”

Atsuko’s voice echoed within the waiting room.

Again, their surroundings were swallowed by silence.

After some time, Yakumo frowned and asked, “What does that mean?”

“Gotou got into an accident when he was chasing after Nao after she had broken out of their home,” a voice suddenly said. They turned to the direction of the voice and found Eishin standing there.

Haruka felt an ominous feeling at the sight of Eishin being in the hospital in his priest robes. However, now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

“What do you mean?” asked Haruka.

“Hm,” Eishin nodded before continuing. “While it remains a speculation, Nao might be possessed by a ghost. Because of that, she had lost her reasoning and ran away from home. Otherwise, I don’t have an explanation for Nao’s actions.”

“So she really was...”

Today Gotou had come to discuss that Nao might have been possessed. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been able to confirm it as Yakumo’s left eye couldn’t see. This incident might have just proven that Nao was indeed possessed by a ghost.

“Sorry—” said Eishin, bowing deeply.

“Why are you apologising?” asked Yakumo.

“Looks like Nao was possessed because Gotou had been investigating the spiritual phenomena at the apartment.”

Gotou had stated the same possibility.

“And the person who had asked Gotou to resolve the spiritual case was none other than me,” said Eishin with a pensive expression.

So that was why Eishin was apologising. Had he not brought that case to Gotou, Gotou wouldn’t have gotten into an accident, and Nao wouldn’t have disappeared either.

He seemed to be blaming himself. Even so, the further they pried into this, the more everyone would think that this incident had been their own fault.

It was the same for Haruka.

When Gotou had consulted them, they had given up on the basis that Yakumo’s left eye hadn’t recovered. Had they investigated further then, they could have been able to prevent this incident.

Haruka’s shoulders grew heavy at the thought.

“I have requested a search investigation, so the police should be tracking her whereabouts right about now,” Ishii added.

Haruka felt grateful to Ishii’s prompt action, but she didn’t think the police would be able to find Nao.

The reasoning was clear.

Nao hadn’t disappeared out of her own will, nor had she been kidnapped. It was likely that she had been possessed by a ghost and now went into hiding out of the ghost’s will.

To determine where Nao was, they needed to figure out the identity of the ghost possessing her and what their intentions were.

Because of that, there was no other way to go but to solve the spiritual phenomenon that Gotou had been investigating.

Surely Yakumo had reached the same conclusion.

Haruka turned to Yakumo’s direction.

However, Yakumo only mumbled with a lifeless expression. “Is that so...”

Ishii sat alone on a sofa in the waiting room, spacing out while staring at the ceiling—

No visitors were allowed to see Gotou and as Ishii wasn’t a family member, he couldn’t even enter the intensive care unit.

Yakumo and Haruka couldn’t do anything either, and eventually went home.

What should I do?

Ishii tried to think about it, but nothing came to mind.

While he was never a bright person, Gotou’s accident had shaken him so much that his brain couldn’t function normally.

Gotou was a person that Ishii had been looking up to. The man was determined to never submit to anyone and possessed an ability to make decisions based on that belief. He also had a strong willpower, sacrificing himself for the sake of others.

Those were qualities that Ishii didn’t possess.

That had been the reason why he admired Gotou and continued to chase after his back. Had it not been for Gotou, Ishii would have quit the police force a long time ago.

He was able to push through difficult times thanks to Gotou.

Gotou usually treated him roughly, but the thankful words he had occasionally received from him greatly comforted Ishii’s heart.

Whenever Gotou had needed him, Ishii had been especially overjoyed from the bottom of his heart.

If Gotou were to die, perhaps he would no longer be able to stand on his two feet.

He would certainly fall down easily, like a tree that had lost its roots.

“I...” Ishii couldn’t hold back the anxiousness that plagued him. He covered his face with both hands and curled himself up.

His body felt like it was shrinking over and over, to the point that he thought he was about to disappear.

At that moment—

“Ishii-san,” a kind voice called out to him, then a hand gently touched his back.

Ishii lifted his face and found Makoto sitting next to him—he didn’t know how long she had been there—stroking over Ishii’s hunched back.

“Ma-Makoto-san...”

“Sorry. I wanted to come earlier, but I was held up by the security at the front...” Makoto smiled bitterly.

“No, it’s fine.”

“How’s Gotou-san’s condition?” asked Makoto.

Upon hearing a warm, familiar voice, Ishii’s anxiousness began to subside.

“The truth is—” Ishii began to explain Gotou’s condition, along with everything he knew.

He further added how Nao had disappeared and that it might have been related to the spiritual case that Gotou had been investigating.

Makoto listened attentively to Ishii’s jumbled explanation without rushing him.

Once Ishii had finished telling her everything, Makoto mumbled with a solemn expression. “So that’s how it is—”

“What should I do...?” Ishii said unknowingly.

Ishii didn’t actually want to say that. When Yakumo and Haruka had been present earlier, he had tried to hide his weakness with all his might.

Yet, without realising, he had lowered his guard in front of Makoto.

“Ishii-san...”

“If something happens to Detective Gotou, I...” Just like that, he nearly cried at the thought of the worst outcome.

“Let’s just believe,” said Makoto with a friendly smile on her face.

“Eh?”

“Right now we can only believe. Isn’t that so?”

Makoto was right. There was no use being depressed at the worst case scenario that hadn’t even happened yet. At this time, he could only believe that Gotou would be fine.

“That’s true,” Ishii replied with a nod.

Makoto happily chuckled. “Now, let’s do what we can for Gotou-san,” said Makoto energetically.

Ishii agreed with her. But—

“What can we do?”

Ishii had been wondering since earlier, without finding an answer.

“I suppose...look for Nao-chan.”

“Nao-chan...?”

“Yes. if Nao-chan isn’t found by the time Gotou-san regains his consciousness, we’ll get scolded badly.”

Ishii realised it upon hearing Makoto’s words.

True. A mere punch wouldn’t be enough to settle it.

“You have a point,” Ishii said in agreement. Despite that, there wasn’t a lot he could do in this situation. It would be impossible for him to find a missing person alone. He could only participate in the search organised by the police, although he probably wouldn’t be of much help either.

No, he could not be weak hearted.

Whether his presence was of any help, all he could do now was to do his best searching for Nao.

“I will participate in the search right away,” Ishii stood up enthusiastically. However, Makoto stopped him.

“I don’t think it’s of any use to search using normal ways,” Makoto turned to stare at Ishii.

“What do you mean?”

“Nao-chan’s disappearance was tied to the spiritual phenomenon that Gotou was investigating, right?”

“That’s true…” Ishii was uncertain, but he had thought of the same possibility as Makoto.

“Also, there’s one thing that bothers me.”

“What is it?”

“You said that Gotou-san was investigating a spiritual phenomenon that had been occurring in an apartment, right?”

“Yes.”

“Could it be the same apartment as the one we had gone to previously?”

“Eh?” Ishii spontaneously exclaimed.

He thought that Makoto was jumping to conclusions.

Just because the spiritual phenomenon happened in an apartment, it didn’t guarantee that it would be at the same apartment building they had visited. Countless apartment buildings existed in this world.

“Don’t you think the timing is a little off?”

That was fair, the timing was too good to be a coincidence.

“B-but...”

“Besides, think about what Sayama-san had said.”

“What Sayama-san said?”

“Yes. Didn’t he say that the spiritual phenomenon had also occurred in other apartment units?”

Upon hearing Makoto’s explanation, Ishii gulped audibly.

Sayama had indeed said something along those lines. It’s possible that just as Makoto suspected, the apartment building tied to Gotou was really the same one that they had gone to.

If that were the case, it meant there was more than just one ghost.

Perhaps there was a large, terrifying creature lurking there. The thought of it frankly terrified Ishii.

“I am going to investigate the spiritual phenomenon at the apartment once more. You too, Ishii. You can try to trace Nao-chan’s footsteps while keeping in mind that this is related to a spiritual phenomenon. How does that sound?” said Makoto firmly.

“Alright. But can I really do it?”

Ishii had thought that his resolve had returned, but either way, he still didn’t feel confident about himself.

“What are you talking about? You’re the only one who can do it,” said Makoto with a smile.

How could Makoto always put her trust in a weakling like him? Ishii couldn’t help feeling puzzled about it.

“Hey, Yakumo-kun—” called Haruka.

Yakumo stopped and turned around.

His face was lit by the streetlights.

Yakumo had pale white skin, but he looked even paler than usual today. It couldn’t have been solely because it was nighttime.

“What?” Yakumo responded back in annoyance.

Maybe he had predicted what Haruka was about to say.

“Isn’t there any way for us to look for Nao-chan?” stressed Haruka.

As Atsuko had said, they could only entrust Gotou’s care to the doctors. But when it came to searching for Nao’s whereabouts, they should be able to do something too.

To Haruka, there were two things that they could do now: to believe that Gotou would make a full recovery, and to find Nao before Gotou regained consciousness.

“Ishii-san has requested for a search operation,” said Yakumo, making Haruka question what she just heard.

“That’s true, but we can also...”

“It’s better to leave it to the police,” Yakumo shook his head slightly.

“But...”

“Even if we search carelessly all over the place, we won’t be able to find Nao-chan.”

“That’s not true.”

“Impossible.”

“Why are you giving up?”

“I’m not giving up. Everyone has their own roles to play. Unfortunately, right now we can only wait.”

“How can we just sit and wait? There must be some way to find Nao-chan.”

“What way? If you act carelessly, you’ll only get in the way of the police,” said Yakumo flatly.

Haruka was flabbergasted.

In previous cases, Yakumo had always acted without caring about the police’s movements. Why would he say such a thing now?

Yakumo’s presence felt awfully distant.

“Aren’t you worried about Nao-chan?”

“Of course I am worried.”

There was irritation in Yakumo’s voice.

“In that case…”

“I know what you’re about to say. If Nao’s disappearance was in fact related to the spiritual phenomenon that Gotou investigated, we may be able to track her whereabouts from that direction. That’s what you’re thinking, right?”

Haruka answered him with a firm nod.

Haruka didn’t understand. Why wasn’t Yakumo taking action if he had already known that?

“My left eye can’t see,” said Yakumo while reaching for the eyepatch over his left eye. While only slightly, his white fingertips were trembling.

“I know.”

“Then you should’ve understood, right? As my left eye can’t see, I can’t track Nao’s whereabouts from a spiritual phenomenon,” emphasised Yakumo.

His argument was right. However, that wasn’t what Haruka had wanted to say.

Certainly, his red left eye had a major contribution to the cases he had managed to solve, but it hadn’t been the sole factor.

Aside from that, the Yakumo that Haruka knew wouldn’t have given up this easily when a person he cared about was in danger.

Yakumo had always marched forward without giving up. That was why—

“Even if you can’t see, there has to be a way for us to do something.”

“In that case, please tell me, what is this way you mentioned about?”

“That’s...” Haruka couldn’t answer straight away. She had been onesidedly urging Yakumo despite not having a plan herself; it looked like she had acted unfairly.

“I don’t know what you’re expecting, but right now I can’t do anything.” Yakumo looked down as he hung his head.

Haruka had never seen Yakumo so demoralised.

Perhaps the man was experiencing an overwhelmingly vivid sense of helplessness.

The red eye he had always hated was now unusable. Yet, now that his left eye was gone, he felt as if his life had already lost its meaning.

Haruka didn’t know what to say to Yakumo as she was aware of that fact.

Surely Yakumo wouldn’t want any halfhearted words of comfort, and Haruka had no intention to say those things either.

“Why did you decide that you can’t?”

“It wasn’t for me to decide, it’s just the truth. There’s no way I can solve the mystery of a spiritual phenomenon without being able to see.”

“That isn’t true.”

“What isn’t?”

“Because...all this time, you were able to solve cases not solely because of your ability to see ghosts, right?”

Yakumo had a sharp ability in reading and analysing all sorts of situations. So far he had been utilising that skill to solve all sorts of cases.

This time around, too, even if he couldn’t see ghosts, he should still be able to analyse the situation and reach the truth eventually.

“I’m not that amazing,” said Yakumo with a depressing sigh.

“That’s not true. You’ve been solving cases faster than the police could.”

“As I said, you’re thinking too highly of me.” Yakumo shook his head.

Haruka could hear Yakumo impatiently gritting his teeth.

He may have gotten annoyed from not having his feelings understood.

“You’re mistaken.”

“What am I mistaken about? I have been able to solve cases due to my advantage of being able to see ghosts.”

“It wasn’t just that.”

“It was only that.”

“..........”

Haruka was at a loss for words. She wasn’t able to express the feelings residing within her. She didn’t know how to explain it, and she felt that she would hurt Yakumo’s heart if she said anything more than this.

Is that really so? A voice within her head spoke.

The real reason Haruka had shut her mouth must be because she had wanted to protect herself so that Yakumo wouldn’t hate her.

This wasn’t the first time.

It wasn’t just with Yakumo, Haruka had never spoken truthfully about her innermost feelings as she had always feared being hated by others.

That was why, to this day she couldn’t express her hidden feelings towards Yakumo.

Yakumo hadn’t been the only one hiding within his shell. Haruka was the same. Even after knowing that, she still couldn’t voice out her thoughts.

“Because I can’t see ghosts anymore, I’m just an ordinary person now,” said Yakumo softly, like a whisper.

“All people are just ordinary people…” Haruka added, but her words came out shallow.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“But...”

“That’s enough,” Yakumo said harshly, rejecting any further arguments.

Haruka suddenly felt as if an invisible wall had stood between Yakumo and her.

“Sorry, but even if you put your expectations up, the me right now can’t fulfil those expectations,” said Yakumo, laughing at himself. A dry laugh that Haruka had never heard before.

Haruka and Yakumo stared at each other for a while afterwards. Perhaps Yakumo was waiting for something.

Even so, Haruka didn’t know what he was waiting for.

After a long silence, Yakumo turned his heels and walked away.

Wait!

Without being able to say that one word, Haruka could only stare at Yakumo’s back, which grew further and further away.

She thought she had understood Yakumo’s pain and sadness after they had gone through many things together, but right now Yakumo’s figure was turning invisible until she felt as if she had imagined it all along.

It wasn’t long until Yakumo’s silhouette blended into the darkness and disappeared from Haruka’s sight—

Ishii arrived at the crossroad where the accident had taken place.

This was where Gotou had gotten into an accident.

The crime scene investigation was over, yet the markings drawn in white chalk on top of the asphalt remained. Combined with the pool of blood which appeared black thanks to the moonlight, it rumbled Ishii’s heart.

Makoto had said she would look for information on Nao through investigating the spiritual phenomenon. Meanwhile, Ishii had decided to search for Nao using his position in the police force, and that was why he had come here.

He turned his gaze forwards a little and noticed the tire tracks created by the sudden braking of the car.

The person who had been driving the car was a man in his thirties called Sasaoka. He worked as a subcontractor for a delivery service. The accident had happened on his way home after work.

According to Sasaoka’s testimony, he had hit the brakes immediately when a person had suddenly jumped in front of the car, but he had been unable to evade in time.

These tire tracks supported that testimony.

Had Sasaoka not hit the brakes, Gotou might have died on the spot. Ishii shivered at the thought.

Ishii recalled Eishin’s account of how Gotou had gotten into the accident when chasing Nao.

To tell the truth, Ishii had been worried upon hearing that Gotou had planned to adopt Nao. The primary reason had been his uncertainty towards whether familial love would flourish after Gotou had suddenly become an adoptive parent.

That worry had turned out to be for nothing.

Anyone could see that Gotou loved Nao just like a biological daughter.

In this era, there had been unfortunate cases where parents killed their own biological children. However, Gotou had sacrificed his body to protect Nao, who wasn’t his biological child, without hesitation.

Hence, for Gotou’s sake, they had to find Nao no matter what.

Even with that determination, Ishii didn’t know where to start.

“So you’re here after all,” said a voice, startling Ishii as he turned around.

Miyagawa was standing there. His hands were stuffed into his pant pockets, an unlit cigarette sticking out of his mouth.

“M-Miyagawa-san!”

“So surprised. You think I’m a ghost?”

“Eh? Are you a ghost?”

“How can I be,” said Miyagawa as he poked Ishii’s shoulder.

“That’s true.”

“So, how’s Gotou?” Ishii spontaneously looked down at Miyagawa’s question.

Frankly, he was tired of having to repeatedly explain the reality that he still refused to believe. Despite that, he couldn’t just stay silent and began explaining the current situation.

“He will be fine,” Miyagawa mumbled after hearing Ishii’s story.

Ishii questioned Miyagawa’s mental state; how could he still be optimistic after hearing all that?

“B-but...”

“Gotou won’t die just from a car crash.”

“I want to think that way too...”

“No need for excuses, just believe in him. If you continue to act like that, he’s going to scold you again,” Miyagawa dragged Ishii’s shoulder to his direction. Despite his small stature, Miyagawa’s hand was strong.

Ishii had decided to believe that Gotou would fully recover, but he still couldn’t discard his pessimism entirely.

He realised that after hearing Miyagawa’s words.

I shouldn’t be like this. As Miyagawa had said, who knows what Gotou would say to him.

“Yes!” Ishii answered loud and clear.

“That’s a good expression.” Miyagawa smiled widely, then patted Ishii’s shoulder. “Geez. That man has been nothing but trouble from the start,” grumbled Miyagawa as he lit his cigarette.

Ishii felt deeply consoled by his superior, but he now realised that Gotou was also an important person to Miyagawa.

He had heard that Miyagawa had been the one supervising Gotou at the beginning of his career.

From conversations between Miyagawa and Gotou that Ishii had often heard, he could feel that their relationship was more than a mentor and his disciple. Ishii sometimes felt jealousy over it.

“What are you looking at?” asked Miyagawa, blowing a puff of smoke upon noticing Ishii’s stare.

“Ah, no, it’s nothing,” Ishii hurriedly turned his gaze elsewhere.

Miyagawa reached for his cigarette and stared at its burning end. “Ah, that’s right. No smoking on the street, huh,” he said with a bitter smile before putting out his cigarette onto a portable ashtray.

His superior normally wouldn’t break the rules like this. While he looked calm, Miyagawa must have been shaken too, enough for his tough act to be seen through.

“Anyway. Let’s go quickly,” ordered Miyagawa who had already started walking.

“Go? Where to?” Ishii hurriedly chased after him.

“Don’t talk as if you don’t know. Gotou’s adopted daughter disappeared, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then we’re going to search for her.”

Ishii had no issues with searching for Nao.

In fact, he had come here with that purpose. However—

“But how…?”

“For God’s sake. Toughen yourself.” Miyagawa slapped Ishii’s back.

His spine straightened from the pain.

“O-ow.”

Without heeding Ishii’s complaints, Miyagawa pointed at the convenience store at the end of the street.

“Security cameras,” he said.

Realisation came upon Ishii.

Gotou had gotten into an accident here while chasing Nao. That meant Nao had also been roaming around here.

Security cameras at convenience stores were typically used to monitor the interior of the store, but depending on the angle, sometimes the street could also be within view of the recording.

In the last few years, there had been a number of cases solved thanks to these cameras.

By reviewing the convenience store security footage, they might be able to find out what Nao had been up to after the accident.

“So that’s how it is. I am going to speak to the store employees immediately.”

“There’s no need to. I have already asked for their permission,” Miyagawa laughed proudly.

Yakumo sat in his chair, eyes staring blankly into nothing but empty space.

The Movie Research Circle clubroom was filled with silence.

Yakumo removed the eyepatch from his left eye, covered his right eye using his palm, and opened his left eye.

Previously, he had been able to see a glint of moonlight that had made its way inside the room, but now his eyesight was pitch black.

The absence of sound further amplified the darkness.

All this time, his left eye had seen sights unlike what he saw through his right eye. A realm where clusters of emotions of the dead—ghosts—had existed.

Yakumo hated that from the bottom of his heart.

He had to endure being treated like a monster countless times because of his red left eye. Whenever he saw himself in a mirror, he would feel the urge to gouge out that red eye of his.

Having to see ghosts on each and every passing day had forced a burden onto his mental state.

Ghosts who wandered on earth after their deaths all had their own intentions for doing so. Be it that they had died from an accident, illness, suicide, or anger, most left a lingering attachment to this world.

That’s the reason they wandered, primarily out of negative emotions like vengeance, hatred, or anger.

Yakumo’s mental state had been drained to its limit as he had to bear witness to such emotions without understanding why.

He had been at a loss on what to do and could only live out his days in fear of seeing ghosts.

There had even been a time when he had kept himself locked inside his room, as the boundaries between the world of the living and the realm of the dead had become so faint that the idea of going out terrified him.

Had his red left eye ceased to exist, perhaps he could have lived more peacefully. The thought had crossed his mind countless times.

That wasn’t the only reason Yakumo hated his left eye. This red left eye was the very proof that he had inherited that man’s blood.

The blood of Unkai—his biological father who had two red eyes.

Furthermore, Unkai had been the older half-brother of Azusa, Yakumo’s mother.

Cursed blood flowed viscously within his body. Just thinking about it made him shudder with nausea.

He felt hatred towards himself when he remembered how the blood of the man who took pleasure in manipulating and crushing other people’s feelings flowed inside him.

It had been the reason why he had always kept his distance from others. He felt that they, too, would become a victim of the curse he carried had they stuck around him. After all, Nao’s mother—Akemi—had died after getting involved with Yakumo.

Without realising, he had ended up hurting those who had crossed paths with him. Like a hedgehog’s dilemma.

He refused to have anything to do with romance for the same reason.

No way a cursed human such as him could be allowed to like someone.

Had he done such a thing, the person he liked would suffer as well. The idea was more painful than anything else.

Let alone having them bear his children. That would be the same as passing down the curse to the future generation.

This curse of the red eye had to end with him. He still had that very mindset to this day.

Suddenly, Haruka’s face flashed through Yakumo’s mind.

Haruka, whom upon seeing Yakumo’s red colored left eye, had said, “beautiful”.

It hadn’t been a mistake at all. That woman had really thought that way. Who knows how much Haruka’s words had saved Yakumo.

For the first time, Yakumo had felt acknowledged, because the red eye that he so despised had been regarded as beautiful.

Somehow, ever since he had heard those words from Haruka, Yakumo had been able to come to terms with his red eye better than ever before.

His rising involvement with spiritual cases had been a testament to that fact.

Sure, it had been due to Haruka gathering all kinds of trouble and bringing them over to Yakumo. But that hadn’t been the only reason.

Yakumo had been awakened to the fact that his red eye was more than just a curse. That his eye had the ability to help people too.

Obviously, he couldn’t save everyone he saw. Sometimes, he would do everything he could, yet his hopes would remain unfulfilled.

Despite that, he had been able to connect countless people’s feelings, from which hope had emerged.

With Haruka’s presence, his hatred towards himself had lessened. It had led him to think that he was allowed to be in this world, too.

If his left eye hadn’t been red in the first place, what would his relationship with Haruka be like?

The question popped into his mind.

Would he be able to enjoy his youth like the average university student?

No.

That would be impossible.

He had met Haruka because of a spiritual phenomenon.

In other words, had his red left eye never existed, he would have never met Haruka in the first place.

His life would have certainly come to an end without ever knowing Haruka’s existence. Even if they had been able to meet, their relationship would have been completely different from the way it was now.

It had been thanks to his red left eye that he had known the existence of Haruka’s older twin sister, allowing him to touch the woman’s heart.

And not just Haruka alone.

Perhaps he would have never met Gotou, either.

Yakumo had first met Gotou when he had nearly been killed by his mother—Azusa. Without his red eye, he would’ve never had to experience that murder attempt.

If he hadn’t been able to see ghosts, Gotou wouldn’t have paid him much heed either.

It was the same for Ishii and Makoto, too.

He had the chance to meet them because of his red left eye.

Were he to pursue the origin of it all, if the man with two red eyes that he detested so much had never existed, he would never even be in this world.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t bring himself to forgive that man.

His red left eye was undoubtedly a curse. Hence, he was still maintaining his distance from Haruka and Gotou.

However—

At this moment in time, Yakumo longed for the red eye he had intensely loathed. He needed it in order to find Nao.

Yet, that was a selfish request.

To yearn for the red eye would be no different from demanding assistance from Unkai, whom he abhorred.

Whatever happened, he would never acknowledge that man’s existence.

Maybe that had been the reason why his eyesight had yet to return.

Because Yakumo rejected Unkai��s existence.

That was why he wasn’t able to see—

But, acknowledging Unkai’s existence meant forgiving all his wrongdoings thus far, bringing himself closer to Unkai.

And that was…a terrifying idea.

He might fall into the same darkness as Unkai because the cursed blood within his body—that he had been repressing intensely—would awaken.

Still, if Nao couldn’t be saved otherwise, perhaps he had no choice but to do it.

Is that really true?

Yakumo threw the question at himself, but there was no answer.

“I…”

Yakumo leaned against the chair and turned his gaze upon the ceiling.

He ended up losing sense of his own identity.

Right now, he just wanted to disappear.

That was the only thing he wished for—

Ishii stared intently at the monitor screen—

Right now, he was in the gas station staffroom.

They had reviewed the footage from the security cameras last night. Just as they had expected, Nao’s presence had been caught on camera.

Even if only for a moment, they now knew which direction Nao had walked away. However, they still had no idea where she had gone afterwards.

That was why Ishii and Miyagawa had decided to split up to confirm the security footage at the convenience store, gas station, as well as residential homes along the street.

They had been following any traces of Nao from the crime scene while adding markers on the map. Yet, they had hit a dead end.

The reason was simple. Nao had gone to a deserted road.

There hadn’t been a single security camera along that road, so they couldn’t determine where Nao had gone.

Despite that, they hadn’t given up yet.

Miyagawa and Ishii had been reviewing security footage based on their estimation of where Nao could have gone from the direction she had walked to.

This gas station was one of them.

After hours of analysing security footage, Ishii let out a sigh.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t seen any sight of Nao from the gas station security footage.

“She isn’t here either, huh...” Miyagawa, who had been next to him, said in disappointment.

“Yes…”

“Looks like finding her is going to be difficult,” grumbled Miyagawa.

They had been tracing Nao’s whereabouts since the night before without an inch of sleep or rest. Ishii understood that Miyagawa had gone pessimistic out of exhaustion, but they couldn’t just give up now.

Without a doubt, other police officers were conducting their search as well. Even so, Ishii felt that it was his duty to find Nao.

“Let’s proceed to the next location.” With both hands, Ishii slapped his cheeks in an attempt to keep himself motivated.

“Good grief. Since when did you become so enthusiastic?” commented Miyagawa, shaking his head.

“Eh?”

“I had thought you were weak-willed.”

Miyagawa laughed bitterly.

Ishii couldn’t deny that he was weak. His old self would have complained as well.

The person who had changed him had been none other than Gotou. That was all the more reason that he couldn’t give up here.

“If you have the time to sit still and think, it’s better to start taking action…Detective Gotou often said that.”

“I was the one who had taught him that.”

“Is that so?”

“Well, since that was my line, I must follow through with it now,” Miyagawa laughed gleefully and stood up from the chair.

Perhaps a teaching was truly meant to be passed from one individual to the next, to eventually touch yet another person’s heart like this.

Thanks to the thought, Ishii was in high spirits all of a sudden.

They exited the gas station staffroom and as they were about to walk away, the gas station manager called out to them. “Detectives,”

“Yes?” replied Ishii.

“Was it a girl around seven years old that you were looking for? One with bob hair—”

“How did you know?”

Ishii and Miyagawa had requested the manager’s cooperation to search for a missing person. But they hadn’t specified who they were looking for.

And yet, the description had matched with Nao.

“I’ve just remembered. Late at night yesterday, a patron at the gas station had said that she had seen a girl walking alone.”

“Is that true?” urged Ishii.

The manager made a surly face.

“Oi, what do you mean by that?” asked Miyagawa, demanding an explanation.

“From what I recall, based on what the patron had said, she felt it was strange for a little girl to be walking around alone that late, so she called out to her.”

“And then?”

“Maybe the girl didn’t hear her for some reason, so she didn’t answer nor respond to the call, and simply walked away...So, I had thought that she could be the person you’re looking for.”

It was a reliable source of information that they had never expected.

Judging from the situation, the girl that the person had seen had to be Nao.

“Could we have the person’s contact information?” asked Ishii as he took out a memo.

If they had this person's contact information or address, they would be able to ask her to clarify this information directly.

“I think there’s no need for that. She’s right there,” said the manager who pointed at a small red car parked for a fuel refill.

How fortunate!

Ishii hurriedly approached the car and showed his police identification to the middle-aged woman sitting on the driver’s seat.

The woman was surprised by the sudden approach, but Ishii paid no heed and asked, “I heard that you saw a little girl walking alone last night?”

“Yes.”

“What did she look like?”

“I-I think she was wearing pink pyjamas.”

No doubt about it. Based on what Atsuko had told Ishii, Nao had been wearing pink pyjamas when she disappeared.

“Is this the girl you saw?” Ishii took out a photo of Nao and showed it to the woman.

Right as the woman looked at the photo, she immediately answered, “Yes, that’s right, this is the girl.”

It seemed that they had hit the mark.

“Where did you see her?”

“If you walk straight along that road over there, you’ll come across a bank. I saw her around that area,” explained the woman as she pointed over to the road in front of them.

“Over there, huh...” Ishii mumbled as he tried to picture the location.

“I thought it was strange as it was already late and she was barefoot, so I...”

Midway into her sentence, Ishii was no longer listening.

Ishii took out the map he had shoved into his pocket before spreading it out.

There were tick marks on the map at every location where Nao had been seen. Ishii then made a circle at the location he had just heard from the woman.

The place was close to the apartment that had been troubled by spiritual phenomena.

Can this merely be a coincidence?

As Makoto had suspected, Nao’s disappearance might really be tied to the spiritual phenomena at that apartment.

That made sense when considering that Nao had gone to the apartment not of her own will, but led by somebody else’s.

“What is it?” asked Miyagawa who arrived afterwards.

Ishii had just realised that he hadn’t told Miyagawa about the spiritual phenomenon that Gotou had been investigating.

He hurriedly explained everything.

“You should’ve told me that from the start,” scolded Miyagawa as he shoved Ishii’s shoulder.

“S-Sorry.”

“Well, whatever. In that case, it looks like we have to pay a visit to that apartment.”

“Yes!” answered Ishii.

They thanked the woman who had provided the information, as well as the gas station manager before returning to the car in a hurry.

The beacon of hope that he had nearly lost was now back in sight, giving Ishii a newfound motivation.

Makoto arrived at the cafe where she had agreed to meet.

The cafe was a franchise branch near the station.

As it was early in the morning, the place wasn’t crowded. After ordering a coffee at the counter, Makoto sat at a table next to the window.

Moments later, Eishin entered the cafe alongside a pregnant woman.

Upon noticing Makoto’s presence, Eishin casually waved, and proceeded to order a drink at the counter before approaching Makoto’s seat bringing a cup on a tray.

Makoto had contacted Eishin to question him on the spiritual phenomenon he had brought up to Gotou. Just as Makoto had suspected, the phenomenon occurred at the same apartment building as Sayama’s.

She had then requested Eishin to introduce her to the woman named Setsuko, who had been the real client behind the spiritual phenomenon problem.

“Thank you for coming all the way here. I am Hijikata from Hokutou newspaper,” said Makoto, offering her business card.

Setsuko accepted the card and weakly responded, “I’m Hirota Setsuko.”

She appeared exhausted; it couldn’t have been only because of her pregnancy. Makoto could easily tell how troubled she was by the spiritual phenomenon at her home.

To further confirm that fact, Setsuko could no longer stand being alone at home and had returned to live at her parents’ house around the area.

“Firstly, thank you for taking the time for this,” said Makoto to open the conversation.

“No problem,” Setsuko answered with a small voice, gently shaking her head.

Was she refusing eye contact out of shyness? Or was she mentally shaken by the spiritual phenomenon?

“I wanted to ask a few questions,” said Makoto.

Setsuko nodded with her eyes closed.

“Could you please describe in detail what sort of spiritual phenomenon is happening?” asked Makoto.

Halfway into being fed up, Setsuko sighed. “I have described it so many times. I heard strange sounds, the picture frame and vase vibrating as if an earthquake was taking place, the television turning on by itself...things of that nature.”

Setsuko’s story was similar to what Makoto had experienced at Sayama’s. In other words, a poltergeist phenomenon.

Poltergeist was the term for a phenomenon inside a house where untouched objects began moving on their own, strange sounds were heard, or sudden, frequent flashing lights were observed.

The phenomenon was widely known thanks to its depiction in Hollywood movies.

“Do these events happen every day?”

“Yes. Almost every day.”

“How about the timing?”

“Timing?”

“Yes. Did they only happen at specific times of the day?”

“I don’t know as I’ve never paid attention to the clock.”

“Is that so...then, did the phenomenon ever occur as you were performing a specific action?”

With every question Makoto asked, Setsuko’s expression became more tense.

Makoto had thought it was because Setsuko was in the middle of recalling a terrifying experience, but that didn’t seem to be the reason.

“Are you doubting me?” Setsuko lifted her head and glared at Makoto.

“No. It’s not like that...” Makoto hurriedly denied the accusation, but Setsuko remained upset.

“Eishin-san and his assistant were also present when it happened. So, I was not lying. Or are you also going to tell me that I’m suffering from neurosis, like what my husband had said?”

Makoto was dumbfounded. The conversation got carried away.

From the way Setsuko talked, her husband didn’t seem to believe in spiritual phenomena. While she had been feeling like he didn’t trust her words, Makoto’s relentless questioning finally made her explode.

Perhaps she had returned to her parent’s home not just because of the spiritual phenomenon, but also because she had gotten into a fight with her husband.

“Besides, I’m not the only person who thought there was a spiritual phenomenon,” Setsuko said in a rude tone.

“There, there,” Eishin attempted to calm her down. “Makoto doesn’t think that you’re lying.”

After Eishin gently pleaded with her, Setsuko grew calmer.

“Sorry, maybe my questions came out the wrong way. As Eishin-san had said, I wasn’t doubting you at all. I simply thought that we might be able to find out the root cause by understanding the details of the spiritual phenomenon,” explained Makoto.

Setsuko, who had finally calmed down after letting out her anger, softly answered, “I understand.”

“Allow me to clarify once more. The spiritual phenomenon only occurs during the daytime, right?” asked Makoto after drawing a conclusion.

Based on what Setsuko had said, it appeared that her husband had never experienced the phenomenon. That could only mean the phenomenon only happened when her husband wasn’t home.

“Yes,” Setsuko nodded.

“So the strange events had never happened at night?”

“Sometimes.”

“Sometimes?”

“Yes. When we were sleeping, I suddenly felt difficulty breathing and my body felt feverish. My husband refused to pay heed and simply said that it was due to hormone imbalance from the pregnancy, though,” said Setsuko bitterly.

Eishin and Gotou had also felt the vibrations and had heard the sounds, so the phenomenon must have really happened.

However, Makoto couldn’t comment about breathing difficulties or body fever. From Setsuko’s attitude, Makoto felt that she was getting overly sensitive.

“You mentioned that there were others experiencing the phenomenon, is that correct?” asked Makoto.

Setsuko nodded.

“May I know who they are?”

“My neighbour, Sasaki-san’s wife. Then, Kimura-san who lives downstairs. Maeda-san and Ashizawa-san have also said that they were experiencing the same thing at their home.”

Four apartment units?

Makoto swallowed her surprise.

Along with Sayama’s apartment, that was five units in total. It was strange for so many spiritual phenomena to occur within one building.

She had been involved with many cases tied to the spiritual, but it was the first time she encountered one as frequent as this.

“May I know their unit numbers?”

Makoto wrote down the apartment unit numbers that Setsuko dictated one by one.

Who knew whether these unit numbers would be the key to solve the mystery, but it could become something for them to work with.

“Were they experiencing the same phenomenon as you?” asked Makoto.

Setsuko nodded and answered, “Yes.”

Once Makoto had finished listening to her story, Setsuko excused herself first, leaving Eishin and Makoto.

“What do you think?” asked Eishin.

“To be honest, I can’t comment on anything yet,” Makoto answered openly.

“Do you think Setsuko was lying?”

“No, it’s not like that. I have also experienced a similar phenomenon. Furthermore, there is photo evidence, so there’s no mistaking that something is going on in that apartment building. However...”

“However?”

“Following Yakumo-kun’s theory, this phenomenon is odd.”

Ghosts were clusters of dead people’s emotions that shouldn’t have been able to exert physical influence. Yakumo had always said that with confidence and after working with him on multiple cases, Makoto had grown to believe that his theory was right.

And yet, this current phenomenon clearly had physical influence.

“Yes. You’re right about that,” said Eishin, touching his cleft chin.

Afterwards, Makoto and Eishin tried to rack their brains for a while, only to find themselves with more questions, halting any further progress from their discussion.

Haruka arrived at the hospital alone—

As she had to go through the nighttime visitor entrance the night before, she had to undergo numerous security checks. Today, however, she made her way in through the front entrance, so nobody stopped her.

She boarded the elevator at the front lobby, heading upwards to the seventh floor.

Even though I’m not allowed to visit.

The thought had only just crossed her mind.

Haruka coming to the hospital wouldn’t make Gotou’s condition any better, nor would it help solve the case.

Despite that, she couldn’t just sit still and not do anything.

She didn’t know what to do with that habit of hers. Coming to the hospital, too, was simply for the sake of her own self-satisfaction.

However, Atsuko had to be overwhelmed right now. Haruka thought that she might be able to help Atsuko out, even if just a little.

She could help her buy things, or run errands and such. She would feel restless if she didn’t do something, anything.

Prior to coming here, Haruka had tried to call Yakumo, but the call had been left unanswered.

Perhaps Yakumo hadn’t noticed the call coming in, but judging from his behaviour last night, he had probably ignored the call on purpose.

What should I do?

Sitting on the waiting room sofa, Haruka bent down and put her hands together in a prayer gesture.

“Haruka,” a voice suddenly called out to her.

Haruka lifted her face and saw Atsuko standing in front of her.

“Atsuko-san...”

“What is it?” asked Atsuko.

“Um...I thought maybe I could help out a little.”

“I see. Thank you.”

“Anything is fine. Is there something I can do?”

“Thank you, but there’s no need for you to worry like that. To be honest, I don’t have anything to do either.”

Atsuko sounded more cheerful than Haruka expected. It made Haruka feel as if the fact that Gotou was being treated in the intensive care unit this very second was all a dream.

In reality, Atsuko was likely forcing herself to act cheerfully.

“Is that so...” mumbled Haruka as she turned her gaze downwards.

Atsuka noticed Haruka’s expression, smiling in sympathy as she sat next to Haruka.

“What’s wrong?” asked Atsuko gently.

Haruka’s chest felt hot. At the same time, she felt hate for herself.

Despite the situation, Atsuko still worried for Haruka. Meanwhile, Haruka could only think of herself; she hated this fact.

She had wanted to help Atsuko, only to end up a burden for her.

“It’s nothing. Anyway, how’s Gotou-san’s condition?” asked Haruka, having changed her mood after burying her self hatred deep down.

Compared to last night, Atsuko had a much better look on her face. Seeing that, Haruka had hoped that Gotou’s condition had improved as well.

“The doctor said that the critical period is over, but he hasn’t regained consciousness,” said Atsuko.

Her side profile didn’t appear sad at all. Even though the situation was like this—

“Atsuko-san sure is tough,” Haruka abruptly said without realising.

“How so?”

“Because...don’t you feel sad?”

Gotou, her husband, was in between life and death because of the accident. Furthermore, her daughter Nao was missing.

If Haruka were to be in her position, she would have been a mess, crying uncontrollably.

“Of course I am sad,” said Atsuko lightly.

As opposed to her words, her tone was firm.

“Atsuko-san...”

“But crying won’t make my husband recover. It won’t make Nao return, either.”

“That’s true...”

Although her mind understood that, her heart couldn’t accept it.

Humans tend to get carried away by emotions.

“I can only entrust my husband’s care to the doctors, and leave Nao’s search to the police. There’s nothing I can do.”

For a moment, Atsuko’s face turned glum.

She was indeed forcing herself to look cheerful. Her hate towards herself reappeared as Haruka realised she had asked something inappropriate after only seeing what was on the surface.

“..........”

“Yet...that was why I thought I must be in good shape when they return to me.”

“In good shape?”

“Yes. If I’m not in good shape, the two of them won’t have somewhere to return to, right? That’s why since there’s nothing I can do now, I feel that it’s my role to make sure they have a place to belong.”

“Role...huh.”

Atsuko’s words stabbed into the deepest parts of Haruka’s heart.

To Haruka, Atsuko was indeed a tough woman. Entirely unlike Haruka, who was uncertain and didn’t know what to do.

“Haruka-chan as well, there has to be something only you can do, right?” asked Atsuko, peering on Haruka’s face.

“Is that really true?”

Amidst the current situation, she felt that there was nothing she could do.

“There has to be.”

“But...”

“My husband and Nao-chan aren’t the only ones suffering, right?”

“What do you mean, Atsuko-san...?”

“Surely you must know. Yakumo-kun is suffering too. Suddenly rendered unable to do what he has always been able to do, don’t you think he’s suffering because of it?” “You’re right...”

That’s true.

Yakumo hated himself for his inability to do anything now and was suffering as a result. Haruka had seen it firsthand and had felt that for herself.

“I think you’re the only one who can save Yakumo from his suffering.”

“I can’t...”

“If Yakumo were to pick himself up once more, perhaps he’d be able to find Nao-chan. That’s why, please support him, Haruka-chan.”

“To be honest, I’m not confident about it,” Haruka shook her head quietly.

“Why?”

“I don’t know what I should say to Yakumo-kun.”

“I think there’s no need for you to overthink about that.”

“Eh?”

“Me and my husband used to think that way too.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Thanks to our reluctance, we had been swallowing down the things we had actually wanted to say and kept trying to find the right words to say...in the end, we didn’t say anything to one another…”

“..........”

“But, we finally said the things we had been wanting to say for the first time during the incident with Isshin-san.”

“And that made you understand each other?”

“A little. I realised one thing then, I thought that I had been reluctant because I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but I was actually the one who was afraid of getting hurt...”

The same as me.

Haruka felt that her predicament towards Yakumo was caused by the same problem. She was scared of being hurt. She was awakened once more to that fact.

“I—”

An echoed scream interrupted Haruka’s sentence.

What?

Haruka stood up out of surprise.

“What are you doing?”

“Stop!”

“Quickly!”

Intense, heated yells were heard one after another, accompanied with shattering noises like the sound of falling plates.

What is happening?

As if answering Haruka’s question, the door to the waiting room opened.

“Eh?” Haruka was dumbfounded at the unbelievable sight ahead.

Gotou was standing in front of her.

The bandage wrapped around his head looked painful. One of his legs was in a cast. An IV drip tube was still embedded in his arm, and a respiratory tube remained attached to his nose.

In such a condition, Gotou walked while supporting himself against the wall.

It seemed that Gotou had escaped from the intensive care unit.

“Nao...Where is Nao?” asked Gotou, his voice hoarse.

He sounded much weaker than the usual Gotou, but his voice reverberated loudly within Haruka’s chest.

Gotou was still looking for Nao despite being in such a state.

He didn’t give a damn about what would happen to him. His powerful love was what moved his body.

“Nao...” said Gotou once more.

Haruka could see Gotou’s body collapsing from running out of energy afterwards.

Haruka and Atsuko ran over to support Gotou’s body, who nearly fell down.

The nurses hurriedly approached them.

“What were you thinking? You’re not supposed to walk yet!” yelled one of the nurses.

“Nevermind that, quickly transport the patient back to the room,” instructed another nurse.

A stretcher soon arrived. They then lifted Gotou onto the stretcher and immediately returned to the intensive care unit.

As she witnessed the chaos that had just unfolded, Haruka thought about what she should do.

After parting ways with Eishin, Makoto went to the real estate office.

The company, called Otone Real Estate, was responsible for the marketing of the troubled apartment. Its office was three stations away from the apartment itself.

As she had made an appointment in advance, as soon as Makoto entered the office, she was promptly ushered to sit down at one corner of the counter.

“Apologies for the wait. I am Miyama, the person in charge here,” a man in his thirties stood in front of Makoto as he offered his name card with a smile.

He had a slim face plastered with a business smile. The outfit he wore also appeared to be too tight, disproportionate with the watch that he was wearing.

“I am Hijikata from Hokutou Newspaper,” Makoto got up and offered her own name card.

Miyama looked puzzled. “You’re the one who came to talk about the Signpost apartment, right?” he asked with suspicion.

While Makoto had made an appointment, she had only stated that she wanted to ask about the Signpost apartment.

Miyama had probably thought that Makoto was interested in purchasing an apartment. He must have gotten confused when suddenly handed a name card from a newspaper company.

“That’s right. But I’m not here to buy an apartment.”

“No?”

“Yes. Actually, I would like to ask a few questions regarding the strange phenomenon happening at Signpost.”

“Strange phenomenon? What are you talking about?”

“There were multiple occurrences of spiritual phenomena reported at that apartment, right?” Makoto blatantly asked in a low voice.

“What? Please don’t say strange things all of a sudden,” said Miyama with a smile, but his expression was stiff.

“Before I came here, I’ve done my investigation. Several incidents of spiritual phenomena took place in that apartment. Furthermore, it wasn’t limited to just one or two apartment units. Surely there were complaints coming in, right?” concluded Makoto.

“Please stop this. We don’t in any way...”

“If you refuse to speak, I will have to write an article solely based on the residents’ testimonies. Is that fine with you?”

Makoto knew that her manner of speech right now was unpleasant. As if she was threatening him. Not to mention that the whole thing about the number of claims they received was merely her own assumption. She wasn’t even a tabloid writer. There was no way a newspaper would publish an article about ghosts.

Despite that, her strategy seemed to be proven effective. Miyama let out a long, defeated sigh.

“Who knows whether it’s true or not, but we have received such claims before,” His explanation was reluctant, but seeing she had managed to get him to start talking, now Makoto could just go along with the flow.

“What were the claims about precisely?”

“Lights turning on by themselves, sounds that were heard…I think there was one claim about items falling over despite the absence of an earthquake. Also, apparently there was a child loitering around.”

“Personally, I think there must be a reason why these things are happening…”

“Please hold on for a second,” interrupted Miyama. “Sorry, though I did hear stories about it, I’ve never witnessed them myself.”

“Have you ever gone there to confirm it for yourself?”

“Yes, a few times...but nothing happened,” said Miyama, sounding fed up.

“So in your opinion, those phenomena were merely the residents’ misunderstandings?” asked Makoto.

“Yes, pretty much so.” affirmed Miyama.

“But multiple residents have experienced them. Don’t you think that this issue can’t simply be called off as a misunderstanding?”

“Even if you say that...”

“Don’t tell me, there was an incident in that apartment before?” asked Makoto.

Miyama burst into laughter. “Please cut it out. That apartment was only built half a year ago. No resident has ever died there. Besides, not too long ago we were obligated to inform people about stigmatised properties in advance. And I am diligently following that rule.”

The intonation in Miyama’s voice sounded annoyed, while looking down on Makoto at the same time, but she understood what he was trying to say.

Since it was built just half a year ago, the majority of the residents were people who had only recently moved into the new building.

Even if an incident had taken place previously, real estate agencies had to inform potential buyers in advance.

Makoto had thought that she would be able to find the reason behind the spiritual phenomena if the apartment had been tied to some incident, but things weren’t turning out to be so easy.

And yet, another possibility crossed Makoto’s mind.

“Before the apartment was built, what had been on that land previously?”

While no incident had occurred at the apartment itself, something may have happened at its location before.

In other words, the ghosts weren’t bound to the units nor the building, but to the land—wasn’t that possible?

Makoto had often heard stories where strange events transpired following the relocation of temple gates or jizo statues while cities underwent improvement works, and how they ended up being returned to their original locations.

Once investigated, stories about how there had been a small temple or a cemetery in the middle of the fields tended to emerge.

Makoto had the idea that the spiritual phenomenon may have happened because they had moved something they weren’t supposed to during the construction of the apartment.

“Shopping mall,” said Miyama lightly.

“Eh?”

“As I said, before the apartment was built, there used to be a shopping mall there.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Well, around thirty five years ago the company who had been managing it went bankrupt and the shopping mall was abandoned to fall into ruins. The expenses to demolish it had been costly, so they had trouble finding a buyer…”

The land wasn’t too far from the station and was indeed a good location. So, the story of how there used to be a shopping mall there sounded believable.

She may not have been from the area, but for a moment Makoto had thought that she should have remembered if there had been a shopping mall there. However, as the shopping mall had gone bankrupt thirty five years ago, that explained why Makoto didn’t recall anything about it. She hadn’t even been born then.

“Recently, the railway company changed their regulations and caused an extreme spike in the land prices around that station. That was why we decided to build an apartment there.”

“I see,” Makoto accepted the explanation, but her feelings were all over the place.

If it used to be a shopping mall, it was hard to think of what could have possibly happened there that could cause the current spiritual phenomena.

No, maybe it wasn’t like that.

“Were there any accidents or cases that had happened at that shopping mall?”

“Who knows. I don’t know of any stories that far back.”

“But it’s entirely possible that an accident had happened at the shopping mall, and the incident became the trigger behind the current spiritual phenomena at the apartment. Don’t you think that’s likely?”

“Maybe so, but if we keep on worrying over past events like that, we’ll end up with no properties to build, right? After all, if we go back in time, people have died pretty much everywhere,” said Miyama with a shrug.

He had a point. If they were to trace back the past to no end, they would find people who had died in just about any location.

As Makoto thought she had met a dead end, an old man who had been working at the desk behind the counter slowly walked towards Makoto and Miyama.

“That land is cursed,” said the old man.

Apparently he had overheard their conversation.

“Cursed?”

“Yes. That’s why I was against the apartment being built,” spoke the old man again with an unhappy tone.

“Yamashina-san, please don’t say such unnecessary things,” said Miyama, who was about to send the old man away, but Makoto stopped him.

“Please wait. Do you know something about it?” asked Makoto.

The old man, who was called Yamashina, sat down next to Miyama.

Miyama looked displeased, but perhaps he thought there was no use in stopping them, so he only pouted in silence.

“There were lots of incidents years back, when they were building the shopping mall on that land.”

“Incidents?”

‘My older brother was involved in the construction work. He said that as they worked, machines kept on breaking, there were strange noises, things of the like. The workers were all terrified...“

“Such a thing happened...?”

“They had managed to complete the construction of the shopping mall, but upon opening, stories began to emerge of how children’s voices were heard from the security booths or lights that should have been turned off turning back on, there was no end to it. ”

It sounded just like the current phenomena at the apartment. That meant the string of phenomena had started over thirty five years ago.

“And as expected, the shopping mall could only survive for a few years before going bankrupt,” said Yamashina ending his story.

Based on everything she had just heard, most likely the cause behind this spiritual phenomena dated back to an event further behind in the past, before the shopping mall had been built.

“Um...before the shopping mall, what had been in that location?” asked Makoto.

Yamashina shook his head. “I don’t know about anything that far back.”

“Who knows...I didn’t see her,” claimed a man in his fifties wearing a blue uniform, who shook his head in great difficulty.

Said man was Takemoto, the apartment manager.

After the previous lead, Ishii quickly headed to the apartment and asked about Nao’s whereabouts to Takemoto as the apartment’s manager.

However, it had come to this.

“You really don’t know anything?” Ishii pressed on, but Takemoto’s response remained unchanged.

“Could she have gotten inside without anyone noticing?” Standing next to Ishii was Miyagawa, who tried to offer another perspective.

“The door locks automatically, so it couldn’t have been entered so easily.”

Takemoto had a point. This apartment’s entrance locks automatically. An outsider wouldn’t have been able to go in and out just like that.

In fact, even Ishii and Miyagawa had only been able to loiter around the building entrance as they couldn’t get in until they had come across Takemoto.

“She could have just followed behind a resident coming in, right?” said Miyagawa relentlessly.

That was undeniably a possibility. Even automatic locks had a blind spot.

“Well, that is true...But recently the residents here have been paying close attention to such things, so I hardly think that they would let a stranger follow them inside,” said Takemoto, his face full of doubt.

There had been a case where an outsider had blended in with building residents in order to bypass automatic locks and cause nuisance. Since then, apartment residents had grown vigilant of such events.

Ishii had even heard stories of how delivery couriers had to go back and forth to the front entrance to press the intercom bell of each unit one by one, whenever they had to make multiple deliveries to different units within the same apartment building.

“Besides, you were looking for a little girl in her pyjamas, right? If a child followed them inside like that, there was no way they wouldn’t be suspicious.” continued Takemoto with a serious expression.

Nao had been wearing pyjamas at the time when she had gone missing. An appearance that surely had to stand out. A little girl wandering outside with that getup certainly would have invited suspicion.

Despite that, they couldn’t be a hundred percent sure about it.

“Even so, the possibility isn’t zero,” Ishii continued to insist.

Takemoto’s face went even more glum. “Suppose she really did sneak inside the apartment, where would she be now?”

“That’s...”

“There would have been a commotion if she had gone into one of the residents’ apartments, not to mention I conduct inspections within the building every morning. If such a child was around, I would have noticed right away.”

“She could have hid somewhere you wouldn’t notice her,” said Ishii.

Takemoto snorted as if mocking Ishii. “And where would such a place be?”

“For example, water control facilities and the like,”

Such facilities had to exist within an apartment building as big as this.

“Well, there’s a control panel in the basement, but I checked those carefully as well. Besides, the door’s normally locked, so no one can get in or out.”

Upon hearing that, Ishii went silent.

On the contrary, Miyagawa hadn’t given up just yet.

“That may be true. However, it is still our responsibility to perform a search,” said Miyagawa with a glare.

Takemoto gave up and sighed. “Alright. In that case, let’s search around the building,” he said as he started walking.

Ishii exchanged glances with Miyagawa before the two of them followed after Takemoto.

“Thank you. If it were only me, I wouldn’t have been able to convince him,” said Ishii to Miyagawa as they walked.

“No need to thank me. It’s part of our duty,” Miyagawa replied.

To Ishii, Miyagawa’s figure appeared to glow as he said those words.

He had grown braver thanks to Gotou’s training, but it seemed that he still had a long way to go.

“You’re amazing,” said Ishii, causing Miyagawa to jab his shoulder.

“Don’t say something unnecessary. Our job is to find Gotou’s daughter, no matter what happens. Just focus on that.”

“Yes!” answered Ishii, touched by Miyagawa’s words.

They walked all over the apartment building as Takemoto led them around, starting from the control panel basement room, where entry was normally prohibited, all the way to the rooftop. Yet, Nao was nowhere to be found.

As they returned to the apartment entrance, disappointment took over Ishii’s feelings.

He was hit by the fact that their assumption had been wrong.

“Are you satisfied now?”

Takemoto sounded proud.

His expression irritated Ishii.

Not towards Takemoto.

He was irritated at himself.

“Alright then. Ishii, let’s retreat for now,” said Miyagawa, gesturing with his chin for Ishii to follow him.

Ishii was about to follow him, but the question of whether he should give up at this stage made him lift his face.

“Um...Does this apartment have any security cameras?” asked Ishii to Takemoto.

“Yes, there are.” answered the man in question.

“Can you let us check the security footage?” Ishii pleaded.

Takemoto made a clearly displeased face. “You still think that the little girl is in here somewhere?”

“No. But from the camera angle, the road in front should be captured as well, right? The information that Nao—the missing girl—had been seen around here can be trusted. So we might be able to trace her steps from the security footage,” said Ishii, leaning his body forward.

Takemoto let out a long sigh. It appeared that he was still willing to help despite halfway being fed up.

Looking at Ishii, Miyagawa couldn’t help but smile.

Although the possibility of Nao being inside the apartment had diminished, Ishii had found a new hope.

Takemoto led them to the management room, and gave them access to review the security footage there.

Even the smallest thing would do. He wished for any signs of Nao’s presence. Ishii opened his eyes widely as he watched the security footage.

Unfortunately, the footage simply displayed the occasional cars passing by, with no change at all. He still saw no signs of Nao.

Perhaps his efforts were in vain after all.

Ishii’s spirits began to break.

He grew frustrated over his own helplessness, drooping his shoulders.

“No, not yet.” Miyagawa gripped Ishii’s shoulder.

His grip was so powerful that it was hurting Ishii.

“But...”

“Who knows what Gotou would have said if he were to find out that you had given up over something like this.”

Ishii’s once diminishing spirit began to burn again upon hearing Miyagawa’s words.

Miyagawa was right. He wouldn’t be able to face Gotou if he had given up just from this.

“You’re right. But...what should we do next...?” Ishii had run out of ideas.

“Field work is the foundation of a detective’s job.”

Field work—in other words, investigation through interviewing people.

They had discovered Nao’s last seen location from the information they had obtained at the gas station. Based on that, they would ask everyone within the area.

While it would be time consuming, they had no other choice. “Yes!” answered Ishii as he stood up.

Makoto returned to her office and entered the data room in the basement.

This room used to store all the old newspapers, but since everything had been converted to digital data, the newspapers lined across the shelves in this room were only those from the past five years.

Makoto sat in front of the computer. She began querying a search based on the address of the Signpost apartment. If an incident had happened there before, surely something had to turn up.

The results of her search soon popped up.

There was only a single relevant result.

The frequency of spiritual phenomena that had occurred at the site had Makoto assuming that something had to be there, and she turned out to be right.

She started reading the article displayed on the monitor.

On the 25th, early before dawn, the Michishirube orphanage at Machida city was burnt to the ground. Ten bodies of orphaned children were discovered from the remains. The cause of the fire is still under investigation…

Based on this article, apparently there had been an orphanage before the shopping mall had been built at the site.

And that orphanage had caught fire, costing the lives of ten children.

Among the various spiritual phenomena in the apartment, some mentioned hearing the sound of children’s voices.

This fire incident likely had caused them.

Makoto then typed in another search using Michishirube, the name of the orphanage, as the keyword.

Two articles resulted in a match.

The first article was from half a year prior to the fire.

Neighbouring residents reported suspicions of child abuse taking place at the Michishirube orphanage to the Centre of Child Consultation. An officer from the Centre of Child Consultation is currently investigating the matter.

Makoto held her breath without realising.

There had been child abuse at Michishirube.

The children’s voices at the apartment might be the embodiment of revenge from the children who had been mistreated.

Should that be the case, she felt that the incidents that had happened thus far made sense.

If she thought about it deeper, it was possible that the orphanage headmaster had burnt the place down to cover up any evidence related to the abuse.

And ten children had been killed in the fire. Her anger towards the orphanage headmaster—a man named Hirosawa Shozo—began to boil at the thought.

Makoto began reading the other article.

Kazue, wife of the Michishirube orphanage headmaster, discovered the body of her husband, Hirosawa Shozo, who had hanged himself at their residence and reported it to the police…

What’s the meaning of this?

For a second, Makoto doubted the contents of the article.

However, rereading it wouldn’t change what had been written there. The person who had been managing Michishirube, Hirosawa Shozo, had committed suicide after the fire.

It made Makoto’s theory on how Hirosawa Shozo had burnt the orphanage himself to cover up evidence on child abuse felt closer to be the truth.

With an incident as major as this, it wouldn’t be strange for a spiritual phenomenon or two to have emerged.

Still, the problem began at this point.

Even if they knew the cause, they wouldn’t be able to do anything without knowing how to resolve it.

This was where Yakumo’s expertise came into play.

Not only had Yakumo been able to determine the reason behind the dead’s lingering attachments, he had also succeeded in pacifying them.

Perhaps even Yakumo himself didn’t realise it, but his existence was like a lighthouse that had guided them through the dark.

It might all be because he could understand the dead’s feelings with his red left eye.

Makoto and the others could try with all their might and would only be able to go as far as figuring out the cause. They didn’t possess the key piece to resolve this case.

Like this, they wouldn’t be able to find Nao nor put an end to the spiritual phenomenon at the apartment.

She wanted to do something, but no matter what Makoto said, her words would never be able to change Yakumo’s heart.

There was only one person that Makoto knew who would be capable of becoming a beacon of light for Yakumo.

Even so, that person’s confidence was currently nonexistent, just like Yakumo’s. As Makoto thought that they had to do something, her phone rang.

Sayama’s name appeared on the phone screen.

“Hello?” said Makoto, answering the call, but there was no reply.

She was certain that the call went through. The sounds of heavy breathing from the other side of the call was proof of that.

“Hello? Sayama-san?” Makoto called out once more.

<...The situation has turned for the worse.>

The tone of Sayama’s voice from the other side of the call sounded urgent.

Sayama, who was normally a relaxed person, had rarely ever spoken in such a rushed manner. It seemed that something really serious had happened.

“What is it?”

“What are you saying?”

“That person? Who are you talking about?”

Makoto couldn’t grasp the meaning behind Sayama’s words.

The call ended abruptly.

Who was the person Sayama had mentioned? And what had he meant by not a spiritual phenomenon?

Makoto was left dumbfounded for a while, before changing her mind and dialling Sayama’s number back.

However, she could only hear the tone of the incoming call, with no one answering.

What is happening?

Makoto stared at her phone. An inexplicable sense of uneasiness plagued over her.

Ishii ran back and forth, asking around the nearby residences.

For quite some time, he had been doing field work by interviewing the people at each and every store as well as houses around the apartment while showing a photo of Nao in order to gather witness information.

Unfortunately, it hadn’t been going well.

His spirits began to dim alongside the sky that was gradually turning darker.

I shouldn’t give up over something like this.

Ishii tried to console himself, but with no results so far, it was to be expected that his spirits were at the point of breaking.

“Perhaps Gotou’s daughter really didn’t come around here,” grumbled Miyagawa.

Ishii had the same thought in the corner of his mind. Despite that, he didn’t dare speak of it.

“Maybe, yeah...” replied Ishii, whose body suddenly felt heavier from fatigue.

He was physically exhausted as they had been searching for Nao since the night before without sleep nor rest.

He was mentally exhausted as well. Especially from the disappointment that his analysis might be wrong after all.

Just how many hours have they wasted?

While they were running around like this, Nao might have travelled even further away. No, perhaps her life might even be in danger now.

What if Nao was already—

As Ishii began struggling to even stand, the sound of ambulance sirens filled the air.

The sirens felt closer and closer until the ambulance vehicle itself passed in front of Ishii and Miyagawa. Their eyes followed the back lights of the vehicle and saw that the ambulance was headed towards the Signpost apartment.

What is going on?

Ishii and Miyagawa exchanged glances before making a run, chasing after the ambulance as fast as possible to the apartment.

At that moment, Ishii fell—

“What the hell are you doing?”

“S-Sorry,” Ishii stood back up while rubbing the knee that he had bumped, before continuing to run.

As they arrived in front of the apartment, the ambulance was parked there as they had suspected, and a crowd was forming around the area.

“I’m sorry, excuse me,” said Ishii as pushed inwards through the crowd.

The first thing he saw as he reached the building entrance was the pool of blood spreading across the stone footpath.

Ishii spontaneously closed his eyes at the sight of that dark, red colour, lit by the rays of sunset.

Even so, there was no use in closing his eyes.

Ishii braced himself before opening them.

A man was lying face up.

The pool of blood he had seen earlier was the blood that had spilled from the man’s head.

Just by glancing at the amount of blood that came out, Ishii could tell that the ambulance was too late.

“W-Why…?”

Ishii grew even more surprised upon seeing the man’s face.

“What is it?” asked Miyagawa immediately.

Ishii couldn’t answer and simply moved his mouth like a goldfish looking for food.

“Oi, Ishii.”

Miyagawa hit his back so that Ishii could calm down a little.

“It’s Sayama-san...” said Ishii.

Miyagawa tilted his head. “Who did you say?”

Ishii had told Miyagawa about how he and Makoto had been investigating a spiritual phenomenon at the apartment, but he failed to mention that their client had been Sayama.

Ishii explained that fact, and Miyagawa’s expression tensed.

“Oi, oi. There’s no way that this is a coincidence.”

“I think so as well.”

Miyagawa was right.

The person who had asked them for help suddenly died at a time like this; how could they possibly brush it off as a coincidence?

But that wasn’t the only thing that surprised Ishii.

Ishii had only met Sayama yesterday. They weren’t familiar, and had barely even talked directly to each other.

The fact that someone who had been alive and laughing yesterday was now dead all out of a sudden shook him up.

“Was he killed by a ghost?” said Miyagawa with a face full of confusion.

“That’s…”

Ishii didn’t think that was the case. He denied that possibility based on the theory that Yakumo had always mentioned.

Yakumo, who could see the spirits of the dead, defined ghosts as clusters of emotions of humans who had passed. Because of that, ghosts weren’t capable of any physical influence.

Before, Ishii had doubted that opinion, but along with the growing number of cases he had solved with Yakumo, he began to feel that Yakumo’s opinion was right.

In other words, it was impossible for Sayama to have been killed by a ghost.

And yet, Sayama’s body was right in front of them. Furthermore, the phenomenon that Ishii had experienced at Sayama’s apartment unit contradicted Yakumo’s theory.

“Someone said he had jumped from above,” a voice from within the crowd was caught by Ishii’s ears.

Ishii spontaneously turned to look at the apartment building.

If he wasn’t mistaken, Sayama’s unit was located at the topmost floor, the eighth. It was nearly thirty metres above ground. One wouldn’t be able to survive falling from that height.

Had Sayama fallen from there? If that were the case, had he committed suicide?

No, that wasn’t it.

Ishii brushed off his own thoughts. He didn’t know what kind of person Sayama had been, but based on his condition during their interactions yesterday, there was no way he had committed suicide.

Then, had he been pushed by someone?

That didn’t feel like the case either.

A theory emerged in Ishii’s mind.

A ghost had clung to Sayama, who had then gone out to the balcony through the window. He had jumped not to die, but to escape out of fear of ghosts.

Even so, Ishii had no way to confirm his theory. There was only one person capable of doing that—

Saitou Yakumo.

“Ishii-san, what happened?” asked Makoto upon finding Ishii’s presence amidst the crowd as she tried to get closer.

“Ma-Makoto-san, why are you here…?”

Behind his glasses, Ishii’s eyes widened.

Once he had calmed down, Makoto quickly explained that she had hurried over out of concern after receiving a call from Sayama, who was behaving strangely over the phone.

“Is that so...” said Ishii in a lifeless voice, before closing his eyes.

Makoto could tell from the group of people gathering in front of the apartment that an incident must have happened. Not to mention, based on Ishii’s reaction just now—

Her instinct was telling her something had happened to Sayama.

After a moment of silence, Ishii began explaining.“The truth is,” he said with a pause, “it appears that Sayama-san had fallen from the apartment.”

“Fallen...?”

Makoto had guessed about there being an incident, but the words she had just heard were way beyond her expectation, leaving her dumbfounded.

“Yes. Apparently he might have fallen from the balcony of his own apartment...” said Ishii, lifting his gaze.

“Then, Sayama-san?” asked Makoto, but she didn’t need to think too hard to know the answer.

“Unfortunately…” Ishii shook his head listlessly.

Good grief.

The abruptness of the news made Makoto feel dizzy all of a sudden and nearly fell to her knees.

Ishii hurried closer to support her body.

“S-sorry,” Makoto apologised as she tried to stand up on her own, but to no avail.

Her body lost all of its energy as if her soul had detached from it.

“I think you should rest for a while.”

Ishii supported Makoto to the nearest bench.

“Thank you,” said Makoto who then sat on the bench, covering her face with both hands.

Makoto had only known Sayama through work. Even so, he had been someone close to her.

Sayama’s cheerful smile flashed through Makoto’s mind.

Despite his appearance, Sayama had been a dependable person when it came to his work. He had been kind, even caring towards Makoto. When they had met in the meeting room at that time, Makoto never would have thought that things would turn out like this.

It was as if there was a gaping hole in her heart.

Makoto was left speechless over the realisation that a part of her life had been snatched away.

Her heart felt as if it was being ripped apart.

That pain quickly turned into sadness and the corner of her eyes began to swell.

And yet, her tears weren’t flowing. To repay what she had owed Sayama when he had been alive, she shouldn’t stop here.

Makoto suppressed her sadness before lifting her face, saying, “Why did things turn out this way…?”

“I don’t know the details of the incident yet. But the detective that’s handling the case seems to think that it’s highly likely that he killed himself,” Ishii’s explanation made Makoto spontaneously widen her eyes.

Sayama killed himself?

“Impossible!” yelled Makoto, her emotions exploding.

Although it hadn’t been Ishii’s own opinion, she tried to deny his words. Makoto ended up feeling guilty.

However, she still refused to accept it.

She didn’t know everything about Sayama. Even so, Makoto was certain that Sayama hadn’t been the type of person who would commit suicide.

“I don’t think this was suicide, either,” said Ishii, staring straight at Makoto.

His gaze made Makoto’s heart beat loudly.

Ishii was a kind person, but his reluctance towards those around him made him appear weak.

Despite that, he could stare with such sincerity like this—

“Ishii...”

“But, I don’t have any basis to say that this wasn’t a suicide either,” Ishii grimaced in frustration.

“I don’t know if this counts as a basis, but Sayama said something strange when he called me.”

“Something strange?”

“Yes. Why didn’t I realise all this time…It wasn’t a spiritual phenomenon—that was what he said.”

“Not a spiritual phenomenon?”

Ishii’s face looked dumbfounded.

Makoto felt the same way.

They had experienced the spiritual phenomenon at Sayama’s apartment for themselves. Setsuko and many others had also testified about experiencing spiritual phenomena. On top of that, Sayama had been the one taking ghost photos, insisting that the photos hadn’t been edited.

Yet now he had said that it hadn’t been a spiritual phenomenon. What was the meaning of this?

The more she thought about it, the less Makoto understood.

Moreover, after having said those cryptic words, Sayama had died. The questions that had been plaguing her mind ever since she had been on her way here grew more and more complicated.

“What is really going on?” Makoto’s words were directed at nobody.

“If only Yakumo-shi was here, we could have at least confirmed whether Sayama’s words were true, but...”

Ishii was right.

Yakumo, who could see spirits of the dead, would be able to determine whether the phenomena at this apartment had really been spiritual phenomena with a single glance.

Unfortunately, Yakumo’s left eye couldn’t see at the moment.

“We have no choice but to ask for his assistance,” said Makoto.

Ishii tilted his head, “Eh?”

Yakumo’s red left eye couldn’t see due to psychological influence. In other words, he had refused to see without realising it himself.

Knowing the life that Yakumo had led thus far, Makoto agreed that it would have been better for him to no longer be able to see.

Wanting to rely on Yakumo was merely their own selfish ego.

Even so, was it alright for Yakumo to continue running away like this? Makoto had that thought as well.

She believed humans would never be able to escape from their own fate. That was why she had written articles about her father’s own wrongdoings.

She had sacrificed many things to do that. And it had led to her standing where she was now.

Besides, right now they needed to find Nao. Only Yakumo would be capable of doing that.

And—

The only person who could support Yakumo, who was currently suffering, was none other than her.

Haruka stood in front of the door with <Movie Research Circle> written on its plate.

It was nighttime, so the atmosphere was quiet. There wasn’t a single student around, to the point that the crowdedness of the daytime felt like an illusion.

Haruka grasped tightly on the necklace with a red stone at the end of its chain.

The necklace that had been given to her by Yakumo.

Just how many times have I opened this door?

She had lost count.

Many things had happened each time Haruka had opened this door.

Among those had even been dire situations. Her life had been on the line more than just once or twice. She had felt copious amounts of sadness, she couldn’t remember the number of times she had cried.

Despite that, they had all been memories that were difficult to forget for Haruka.

When she had met Yakumo for the first time, it had all started by opening this door, too.

Yakumo had been pulling tricks over playing cards to win bets over other students’ money.

It had been a terrible first impression.

Haruka had thought that Yakumo was a cynical, cold hearted person, who never spared a thought for other people.

Yet she had been proven wrong.

Yakumo hadn’t been the only person whom she had met through opening this door. Gotou, Ishii, Makoto, Isshin, even Nao. Countless more encounters had emerged from this door.

Encounters with people that she would have never come across had she had gone through her university life normally—

Perhaps this door could even be said to be the beginning of everything.

And this could be the final time that she could ever open it again.

Her chest hurt so much at the thought, that she had difficulty breathing. Regardless, she had to open it anyway. Even if this would be the end of everything, it was the only thing that she could do now.

Haruka stood in front of the door with that preparedness in mind.

After letting out a sigh, Haruka opened the barrier that had been separating her from the Movie Research Circle room.

Yakumo appeared to be reading a book, sitting on his usual spot.

“So it’s you...” Yakumo said listlessly upon noticing Haruka’s arrival.

No different than usual—but to the short-haired woman, it felt incredibly disconcerting.

“What are you up to?” asked Haruka.

Yakumo narrowed his right eye slightly. “Can’t you tell just by looking? I’m reading a book.”

The usual answer.

This isn’t right.

“What are you doing at a time like this?” urged Haruka.

“At a time like this?”

Yakumo tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

Witnessing his attitude, Haruka felt an indescribable discomfort growing within her.

There’s no way you don’t know!

Yakumo was acting clueless even though he knew everything.

“You know what I’m talking about,” said Haruka in a harsh voice.

However, Yakumo’s expression remained unchanging. “I asked because I don’t know.” Yakumo lifted both of his hands in a joking manner.

The unsettling feeling from earlier ate away at Haruka’s heart even further.

“Stop lying to yourself. You know exactly what I meant.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Gotou-san was so badly injured to the brink of life and death. Despite that, he escaped from the intensive care unit because he wanted to look for Nao...”

Even though he could barely stand at his current state, Gotou was desperate to find Nao.

He was so determined to save Nao with no regard for his own safety.

“How foolish...” commented Yakumo in a low voice after hanging his head down slightly.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY FOOLISH?!”

Haruka’s yelling echoed throughout the room.

“Don’t yell,” mumbled Yakumo.

“YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S MAKING ME WANT TO YELL! NOT JUST GOTOU-SAN! ISHII-SAN AND MAKOTO-SAN ARE ALSO WORKING HARD LOOKING FOR NAO-CHAN, BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” Haruka yelled to match her anger.

She wished for her words to touch Yakumo’s heart—

She wanted Yakumo to realise what he had to do—

For that reason, Haruka no longer cared what Yakumo would think of her as long as she could make the man in front of her aware of that.

She had never forced her feelings like this onto Yakumo before. Someplace within her heart, she had deeply feared being hated by him. It was also why she had purposely been avoiding the subject of Yakumo’s left eye.

But now—

“Searching for Nao is the police’s work. Even if I make a move, I won’t be able to do anything,” said Yakumo, who shook his head lifelessly.

He’s still repeating the same thing.

“Why did you conclude that you won’t be able to do anything?”

“I can’t see ghosts any longer,” answered Yakumo.

He couldn’t make a move because he wouldn’t be able to do anything—Haruka couldn’t accept such a logic.

“So then what?” Haruka glared at Yakumo.

“You should know too, right? Without my red left eye, I can’t do anything.” Yakumo reached for his left eye, still beneath the eyepatch.

Not being able to see the things that he used to be able to see must have been a terrifying feeling. He must have felt uneasy, and his heart restless.

Yakumo might not have shown it on the outside, but he had to have been thinking about it many times.

Sorry for not realising… no. That’s not it. I realised all this time, but I didn’t do anything out of fear of being hated.

She should have discussed this with Yakumo much earlier.

A long time ago, she might have had an easier time doing it. But as the distance between them grew closer, Haruka became more and more fearful at the thought of separating.

As a result, she hadn’t been able to say it out loud.

Nevertheless, those were all merely excuses. She vowed to not make such excuses anymore in front of Yakumo.

“Why do you think that you can’t do anything? There has to be something only you can do!” shouted Haruka firmly.

“You have no idea.”

“About what?”

“Without my left red eye, I’m just a normal human being.”

Haruka felt as if she was being rejected outright. She felt like Yakumo was pressuring her not to say anything more than this.

The old Haruka might have shut her mouth by now upon hearing those words from Yakumo. Today was different, though.

“That’s right. Yakumo-kun is just a normal human being.”

“Then in that case...”

“No! That’s not the case!”

“What on earth are you saying?” said Yakumo while tilting his head.

No wonder Yakumo was dumbfounded. Even Haruka’s own emotions were all over the place. And yet—

“Why can’t you understand? With or without your left eye, Yakumo-kun is still Yakumo-kun!”

“........”

“Seeing ghosts or not, Yakumo-kun is still Yakumo-kun.”

“Don’t say such ridiculous things,” Yakumo snorted out a laugh.

An empty laugh that Haruka had never seen before.

“I…”

“You have brought over countless spiritual cases. All because I could see ghosts. Isn’t that so? Had I not been able to see ghosts, we would never have met. I could see ghosts, that was why you kept close to me, right?”

“How cruel...So that’s what you think of me?”

Tears began to fall from Haruka’s eyes along with that sentence.

It was true that they had met because of a spiritual phenomenon, and that she had brought many spiritual cases to Yakumo.

However, that wasn’t the entirety of it. Despite that—

“You’re trying to say there’s another reason behind your actions?”

“You’re right that our first meeting started from a spiritual case. Even afterwards, I was the one who kept bringing all sorts of trouble for you.”

“So you do know.”

“BUT I KEPT CLOSE TO YOU NOT BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE GHOSTS!” Haruka loudly yelled on the top of her lungs, feeling as if she was tearing her own throat apart.

Even Yakumo was surprised by it, leaning backwards slightly.

Letting her emotions explode like this must have made her seem like a crude woman. Not that she cared about such things anymore.

No matter what Yakumo thought of her, she couldn’t just remain silent and let Nao die.

Besides, she didn’t want Yakumo to stay hidden in his own shell while a loved one was in trouble, even if she had to be forceful.

Yakumo frowned, staring intently at Haruka.

Haruka took a deep, long breath, before clenching her fists and said, “Because of your red left eye, you had to experience countless sad and painful things…You disliked that fact, that’s why you withdrew into your own shell.”

“What are you implying?”

“All of it has led you to keep your distance from others and conceal your own weakness, no? If you’re by yourself, you won’t get hurt and won’t get others hurt. That’s what you think, right?”

“.......”

“But you’re actually scared of being lonely, so you can’t completely sever your ties with other people. If it’s to avoid hurting anyone, you could’ve just lived in solitude, but you can’t do it.”

“What cruel words...” said Yakumo with a sigh.

Haruka was well aware that she was being harsh. Even so—

“It’s the truth!”

“........”

“And yet, that’s precisely what makes you a good person! You know pain and sadness all too well, that’s why you couldn’t look the other way from those who are troubled! You continue to try and help people even if you’ll also get hurt in the process!”

“I’m a good person? That’s just your own imagination,” denied Yakumo.

Indescribable amount of sadness overflowed from within Haruka. Her tears began to flow nonstop.

“Don’t say something so sad...” said Haruka.

“Why are you crying?”

“How can I not? I’ve been saved by your kindness countless times, yet you called it imaginary...”

Not to mention Haruka’s twin sister as well. The person who had saved Haruka from her trauma had been none other than Yakumo.

That wasn’t all, either. When Haruka had nearly lost her life during the case at the water-gate, when she had gotten injured during the fake psychic’s case, and when trouble came along at her internship workplace, Haruka had been helped by Yakumo’s kindness on every single one.

“I don’t recall helping you.”

“That’s enough!” Haruka shouted as she hit the table with both of her hands.

Her body was shaking.

Anger and sadness came and went, stirring up a storm in her heart. However, she couldn’t break down just yet.

Haruka looked straight at Yakumo.

“No matter what you’re thinking, there’s no mistaking that I have been helped by you!”

“That’s why I said you’re imagining things.”

“Enough of it already!”

“.........”

“What I like isn’t imaginary!”

Haruka’s voice shook the nighttime atmosphere.

She didn’t want the cherished feelings that she had been hiding all this time reduced to mere imagination. It was too sad an idea to even think about.

Her vision, distorted from her own tears, had no way of telling her what expression Yakumo was wearing at that moment.

That didn’t matter.

She had told him all of these not for Yakumo to accept her feelings. She simply wished for Yakumo to regain his confidence.

With or without the red eye, Haruka’s feelings toward Yakumo remain unchanged. The same had to be the case with Gotou, even Ishii. Nao, too, loved Yakumo not because of his red eye.

Haruka wanted Yakumo to understand that.

“The person I like is someone who can’t be honest, and even when powerless, can’t throw away the desire to help people thanks to his own kindness. All of it has nothing to do with whether his left eye is red or not,” said Haruka, biting her lip.

Yakumo didn’t say a word. The air grew silent.

Amidst the overwhelming silence that felt as if she was drowning in it, Haruka began to calm herself down.

She had said everything she intended to say. The rest was up to Yakumo; what kind of decisions he would make.

Haruka realised the sharpness behind the words she had just thrown at Yakumo and was convinced he must’ve hated her by now. But it couldn’t be helped. If it was what it took for Yakumo to get back on his feet, and for Nao to be found—

Furthermore, whatever Yakumo thought about her wouldn’t make Haruka’s feelings disappear.

That’s why—

“I’m begging you, please don’t shut yourself off in a place like this. Please find Nao...” Haruka let out a final plea before opening the door and leaving.

The breeze of nighttime fall felt cold as it brushed her cheeks.

Haruka turned around to close the door. Yakumo had remained seated, but she couldn’t see the expression on his face.

The door then closed with a thud.

At the thought that she would never be able to open this door ever again, the sadness that she had spilled out earlier began to pool within her once more.

Things are better this way, said Haruka to herself.

In a slow pace, she walked away and left.

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