Everyplace has a certain vibe, right?
The way people act, the objects around them, and the sounds they hear all play into how they decide to behave.
Usually, that’s why bullying happens too.
If someone sees a kid and says, “That kid seems dark and uncomfortable,” someone else might just agree with that.
When those agreements keep piling up, it eventually becomes a vibe.
Suddenly, that kid becomes the dark, uncomfortable one for everyone.
And here, right now, there was that same vibe.
A vibe of how in the world one should handle this situation.
Some might think they should help when they see someone else being bullied, but others might be desperate to just run away.
And when the person who created this situation is clearly not sane, it gets even worse. The repercussions could go beyond imagination.
Who in the world would think to chain someone up, stick a metal collar around their neck, and drive them into the ground? If Sota had been just an ordinary guy, he would have been furious the moment he laid eyes on this. It’s the kind of thing that would make the front page of the paper.
And at the same time, he may have thought he wanted to get out of here. Justice is great and all, but that kind of thought could get you seriously hurt.
However, Sota had already seen a glimpse of the ‘not ordinary’ side of the world.
Maybe that person isn’t even a ‘human’ at all. If they’re a Yōkai, they probably put this person in chains to keep them bound for some reason.
If the Kurosawa clan is related to Yuuki’s family, and if they’re from a similar background…
But then, that thought changed when he saw Yuuki move.
Yuuki approached the woman without hesitation. The pale woman, looking gaunt to the point her cheeks were sunken, lifted her gaze to Yuuki as she approached.
And just like that, the vibe shifted.
Following Yuuki, Fukuda moved, and Nanami trailed behind with a somewhat frightened expression.
Sota quickly stepped forward. He was the only man here; he couldn’t just stand around looking dazed at the back.
“……!”
It seemed Yuuki was trying to unbind the chains, but the woman grabbed Yuuki’s clothing tightly.
She pulled him closer while looking up at him. Tears were welling in her wide-open eyes.
“Who are you…?”
“I’m Yuuki Yuuka. I’m a friend of Kurosawa…”
“Ah…”
The woman’s grip loosened.
“Quickly, you should go. If you stay here—”
“Don’t worry.”
Yuuki said as he placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder and lowered himself.
“I’m friends with Koto Ne…”
“That won’t be the case.”
Yuuki’s voice sounded firm. That was Yuuki when he was determined.
To the woman who was now looking up at Yuuki again, he revealed the knife that he had been carrying on his shoulder up until then.
“No way.”
“I don’t know exactly about the Kurosawas. My grandfather didn’t tell me the details either. But still, I’m not completely powerless. I know how to fight.”
“Well, then you should go back even more.”
The woman said.
Tears were flowing from her eyes.
“Those people will be on higher alert…”
“…Yeah, we can’t stay here. For now, let’s focus on getting you out.”
Yuuki exhaled lightly and said.
“Are you… Kurosawa’s… no, Koto Ne’s mother?”
“…?”
The woman’s shoulders slumped.
“…Yes, that’s right. If that child is still thinking like that.”
Nanami covered her mouth with both hands. Fukuda looked lost on how to process this situation.
And as for Sota…
By chance, he had spotted the only clean, tidy spot in this old house.
There was a fish tank.
A goldfish from the festival that the Kurosawa had gotten was swimming inside it.
The water was clear, and so was the tank. Since Kurosawa disappeared, it’s anyone’s guess how long it’s been, but that child must have been diligently taking care of it.
“First, we need to deal with the chains.”
Sota said, moving towards where the chains were embedded in the ground.
Right. For now, let’s do what we can. The only person who knows where Kurosawa is, is us.
“……”
And the bound woman just stood there with a blank expression as if she couldn’t figure out how to accept Sota and his friends.
*
Even an adult woman, weakened as she might be, could probably muster quite a bit of strength if she tried to use all her power to break the chains.
She certainly wasn’t always this frail. There’s a good chance that when she was chained up, her physical condition was better than it is now.
No, even if her condition isn’t great and she can’t break out in one go, she could slowly shake it free over time, making holes until she escapes.
So of course the chains were buried pretty deep.
As Sota struggled to unbind the chains, he had one thought on his mind.
Why hadn’t Kurosawa thought about escaping from here?
There was only one possible reason.
The person here, who is the mother of Kurosawa.
It’s hard to tell how attached Kurosawa was to their family since they never spoke about it.
But surely, at least Kurosawa had an attachment strong enough not to go too far away from their mother.
Given how up until now, Kurosawa had essentially possessed ‘nothing’.
Or perhaps there was a much more serious problem at hand.
The chains could just be a mere symbol. A warning of what will happen if she attempts to run. Something much like a line drawn in the sand saying, “Don’t cross.”
“……”
Gritting his teeth, he lifted the metal spike that was fixed at the end of the chain with the kids.
Crack.
The worn-out wooden floor lifted slightly.
“Alright, just a bit more!”
“Urrrgh!”
Fukuda shouted, and the kids, who were holding the chain, leaned back with all their strength.
Thud.
And the metal spike popped out.
Or maybe I should say the middle broke off. Whether it was a matter of strength being improperly transmitted or problems forming within after being left there for so long, it could be that the initial manufacturing was defective.
The spike was broken off at the end.
“Got it!”
Yuuki shouted as he got up, grabbing Kurosawa’s mother’s arm.
“Come on, let’s go outside. We have to find Kurosawa. I know a safe place.”
“A safe place…”
Kurosawa’s mother muttered and shook her head. Her hair hung greasy over her face as she hadn’t washed properly. Ironically, that impression was very similar to Kurosawa.
“There’s no such place. If it were my sister, I’m sure—”
Sister.
Yuuki’s eyes briefly lingered on Sota. Sota nodded.
So it’s possible that Kurosawa’s disappearance is a family issue.
If that’s the case, he needs to move faster.
Sota had no way of knowing how the Kurosawa family operates, a family he doesn’t even know.
But at least, judging from the Yōkai he’d seen so far and the people who worship those Yōkai, it didn’t seem like they’d just keep Kurosawa around normally.
If they were people wanting blood, flesh, or hair…
“Let’s go.”
Yuuki thought it was pointless to keep talking anymore and pulled Kurosawa’s mother up from her spot. Then, somewhat awkwardly, he left Kurosawa’s mother in Fukuda and Nanami’s care.
“Yuuki?”
Sota realized something was off, seeing Yuuki holding a katana in one hand while pulling it out with the other.
“…Sasaki, can you watch the kids?”
Yuuki said as she pointed the blade towards Sota.
She wasn’t aiming for his neck or anything, as the tip was basically aimed at the ground.
But Sota understood what that meant.
“Wait, Sota!?”
As Sota grabbed the blade, Nanami shrieked in surprise.
“Uh, hey…”
Even Fukuda seemed surprised. But Sota calmly asked Yuuki.
“Is there something outside?”
“Yeah. I think… there’s one, but it seems weird. It moves as if there were many.”
“Is it coming through the door?”
“Probably.”
Sota turned around, bleeding from his hand.
The window wasn’t that big.
“I’ll try to make a path.”
“Please.”
Yuuki nodded in response to Sota’s words.
Sota dashed toward the window.
Luckily, this apartment wasn’t built very sturdy, and the window rattled quite a bit with just a touch.
Sota struck the window.
“Sota!”
“What are you doing?”
“They’re coming for us from outside… I’m sorry, this is my fault. I should have thought of this. It seems like this apartment was filled with those kinds of things all along.”
“Oh, oh no….”
Kurosawa’s mother clutched her head.
“What’s that…?”
“Do you know what that is?”
Yuuki asked.
“That’s… the flesh.”
“Flesh.”
Sota, who was touching the window, turned around when he heard that.
The woman who had been holding her head in despair said, “My children… they are similar to Koto Ne.”
Yuuki looked confused about how to respond to that.
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