“How… how can this be happening?”
Shii had asked this for the third time.
How could nobody seem to care that someone had died? How could no one raise a suspicion?
To Shii, it was bizarre.
Yes, surely… both Sota and Shii had been through harsh experiences.
Just moments before, their mother had fallen, covered in blood. No matter how one looked at it, she had been family.
She wasn’t dead. She was still hospitalized, but it seemed impossible to have a proper conversation. They had said she went berserk whenever Sota or Shii’s names were mentioned, so it was better not to visit for now.
Thus, the concept of death was foreign to Shii. Especially when it came to someone around her dying.
Moreover—
“Older brother, don’t you think this is a bit strange? Ever since Koto Ne got hurt, no one… is telling us anything.”
Shii logically understood.
Sota cared for Shii. So, he might not want her to be shocked by such things. However, having hidden it that once, it might have led to a state where they couldn’t talk about it at all afterward.
What could be done? She could understand that much. She didn’t like it, but she could understand. Yet.
“Someone has died, how can this be?”
No one had even prayed for her soul.
At least, that’s what Shii thought. She knew in theory that there were people who die alone in the world, but she thought Koto Ne was different. She hadn’t really thought about death, but there should have been plenty of people to send Koto Ne off.
After all, weren’t there those who gathered during Christmas and summer vacation?
Even the people at her part-time job.
But how could it be that without a single funeral, she could just vanish as if she had never existed?
“…I’m going.”
“Shii?”
Sota was taken aback when he saw Shii abruptly push her chair and get up.
Shii wasn’t the kind of child who acted that way usually.
She always seemed careful, making an effort not to make the other person feel uncomfortable.
He understood the reason for that too. The mother who took Shii with her was not exactly the most positive person. The man who had stuck by that mother was also not.
What had happened to that man? He hadn’t heard any news after Kosuzu went to look for him. Would he have just left him alone? He thought they might have looked into it by now with the police involved. It seemed irrelevant, but…
Anyway, if it weren’t for the situation being like this, Shii’s action would have been something Sota, as an older brother, should have been happy about. Shii had… established a precious connection.
The problem was that this connection had ended in an unwanted situation.
“Where are you going?”
“To Senpai’s house.”
Shii said straightforwardly.
“I won’t understand until I check it myself. Who knows what kind of… entangled story there might be? It’s not like she’s dead yet, but there could be a circumstance where I need to tell people that…”
“….”
Sota and Nanami exchanged glances.
Had it been the usual Shii, she would have caught on immediately and subtly suggested they do something like have a meal together or grab a drink.
But Shii didn’t do that.
Instead, she hurriedly bolted up to her room as if anxious.
Thud thud thud. The urgent sounds of her steps, which Shii would never usually make, made Sota blankly look up at the ceiling.
“Sota.”
“Yeah?”
“This also involves Hagiwara Senpai, right?”
“….”
“Senpai didn’t show up today. Could it be…?”
Nanami’s face was serious, unlike her usual self.
Sota remembered that Nanami had once been entangled in this mess too. Not just entangled, but she had been in a dangerous situation. If Koko hadn’t shielded her, Nanami might not be here now.
And because of that, he knew what kind of being Hagiwara Senpai was.
After thinking for a moment, Sota nodded. Nanami nodded back.
Neither of them exchanged more words.
Sota got up from his seat and headed toward his room.
He had no intention of stopping Shii. Trying to stop her now would only worsen the misunderstanding.
His stomach twisted. He wished he had just told her from the start. To protect her from the more shocking story after the initial shock of the situation.
It had been a mistake.
No, it wasn’t just a mistake; it was wrong. It was fully Sota’s fault.
Because of his selfish judgment, he had missed even the moment to pray for his friend’s soul.
Nanami also stood up, starting to don the outerwear she had briefly hung on a chair.
“Nanami?”
“I’m going too, since I know her.”
The movements of Nanami buttoning her coat stopped for a moment.
Her head hung low, and after a slight struggle, she finally opened her mouth.
“I was terrified when I heard the news about her. You know, I saw how they fought back then. And now, that someone like that has ended up like this, it makes me feel all alone. The reason I came here wasn’t to worry about someone, but maybe because I wanted someone to lean on.”
Then she lifted her head.
Nanami’s expression was rigid.
“Isn’t it strange? When a friend dies, the first thing to think about should be… something else.”
“Nanami.”
“So I want to go too. It feels a bit late to go now, but… still. I want to go, I don’t really know what I want to do, though.”
Sota briefly looked at Nanami and nodded.
Just as they finished that exchange, they heard hurried footsteps coming down the stairs again.
“Older brother.”
“Okay, Shii. Let’s go.”
Sota said as he wrapped a scarf around his neck.
Right.
In truth, Sota had no right to blame Nanami.
Because he had been thinking the same thing.
When witnessing a person’s death, the first thing to do is to mourn for that person. Not to worry about safety here and hold secrets from someone.
The three hurriedly headed towards the entrance.
In the meantime, no one had brought up any conversations.
*
“Wow, we’re so far away,” Sota thought.
They had been here before, but back then, he had chatted happily with Shii, not realizing the lengthy distance.
It surely was a long road for daily commuting to school.
Koto Ne had chosen to walk this long path every day because she wanted to go to that school. Even in those circumstances.
And yet, Sota didn’t know that there was someone suffering right nearby.
Or perhaps, had he been pretending not to know? He hadn’t fully empathized while knowing.
Shii, Nanami, and Sota sometimes showed discomfort, but neither of them suggested turning back.
After about an hour on the train, they arrived at Omiya Station.
That wasn’t the end of it.
They could either take a bus or walk up for 30 more minutes.
“….”
As they walked that long road, the children’s faces became darker.
Normally, Koto Ne had an image that was not merely bright.
But once he walked this path, he felt it for the first time.
Koto Ne, even in that situation, must have simply not said that she was suffering.
Could it have been the same in her last moments?
Thinking she was in pain but merely saying she was fine to others?
…Now, it was impossible to find out.
“Ha.”
Shii sighed. Her breath rose lightly in the air.
In the distance, the old house where Koto Ne and Koko had lived was visible.
A dilapidated building that seemed decades old.
The sky was already dim, and the gloomy atmosphere felt more intense.
However.
“….Ah.”
The light was on in Koto Ne’s room.
Only that place in the apartment.
Could Koko possibly be there too?
The three glanced at each other briefly before quickly moving their feet.
*
“Stay here?”
“If you want somewhere else instead of this room, I can arrange that.”
“….”
Yuuki looked at Kagami in front of him with a bewildered expression.
He didn’t know her exact intentions. It was one thing to call him out of the blue, but why suddenly say something like this?
Just when he had calmed Mako down and was about to head home, Kagami contacted him.
The message was to come to Koto Ne’s house.
And as soon as he arrived and sat down, Kagami said that.
From now on, he was to stay here for a while.
“I know you’ve stayed here before.”
“That’s true but…”
That incident was actually about Yuuki running away.
The entire situation was different to begin with.
“When will Koko come back? Who knows how long it might take to find the body?”
But Kagami kept talking calmly.
“Also, it takes a long time to go back and forth from Tokyo to here, right? It’s awkward to move those corpses to Tokyo too.”
“….”
Yuuki couldn’t refute.
“So… what’s the guarantee that this place is safe?”
That was the only response he managed to come up with.
“Bringing people from the lady’s side is fine. There are lots of rooms anyway.”
This was also negated by Kagami’s words.
“And, well, there’s certainly a chance that other people might attack us here… Ah, yes. There probably will be an attack for sure at least once.”
“If that’s the case—”
“But if there is an attack, it’s going to be your side, not mine.”
Kagami spoke swiftly, not allowing Yuuki to refute.
“I know how to deal with it and I’m somewhat prepared. I took the mirror back, you know?”
“….”
“In that case, we’d logically choose the bigger possibility which would be your side. Your sister, of course.”
Yuuki was left speechless in a different sense.
“Do you dislike being here? I thought there were some memories left in this place.”
“…After seeing that thing downstairs, it’s a bit hard to think like that. It’s enough to make me feel sad knowing that those kids have lived here.”
“That thing downstairs was what allowed those kids to become ‘sisters’. Well, let’s save that for later.”
Kagami dug into her pocket and pulled something out, placing it down on the table.
It was… a bell. An old bell that had been created a long time ago.
“Previously, I barely managed to secure this during the process of fighting against my sister who was trying to split away. There’s only this one, but it should be enough to perform the ceremony.”
“….What has stopped you from coming to look until now?”
Though his answer was lacking,
“Using one bell for ceremonies isn’t how it’s usually done. Don’t you think? You’ve probably seen the ones that shrine maidens often carry.”
As soon as Yuuki nodded, Kagami continued her explanation.
“The reason for not coming to find it was simply that there wasn’t a need for us to search. We’d probably judge that nothing remarkable would come from us making a big fuss. Koto Ne’s existence was merely a failed product to my sister. Since we were no longer in the mindset to try something more, it was deemed to merely rot away.”
Kagami let out a small sigh.
“Now the story is different.”
Her gaze was directly focused on Yuuki.
“….”
“So I hope you will stay here if possible. Koko will probably arrive soon. Then, we can immediately start the ceremony.”
“….What about mom?”
“She should be arriving here too. Well, we have defensive measures ourselves, you know. The situation has led to this. It should not have passed like this for my sister.”
“Do you mean you wished Koto Ne wouldn’t die?”
“That’s right. Then she could have possessed that body herself. What my sister wants to do is somewhat similar but also different from the aims we had until now. A world where everyone escapes the fear of death and lives forever. Kosuzu wanted to be the one ruling over it. She had a personality that couldn’t stand to see someone above her.”
Kagami chuckled.
“She even tried to abduct people for that experiment. Although it seems she gave up halfway.”
“….”
“There’s no need to be too embarrassed. It’s a common dream for everyone, isn’t it? It’s just that my sister thought she had a chance to fulfill that dream. In reality, there was a possibility. But when Koto Ne woke up in the middle of it, she tried to change the plans and everything went awry.”
Kagami took the bell she had placed on the table back into her pocket.
“But she’ll come. My sister will need more time. If she is alive, she’s bound to work for that goal. At that moment, if the lady is here, this place would be the target. Whether it’s having two separate points that could be attacked or reducing the chances to focus on one. Which one do you think is better? Ah, yes. One more positive point. This place is under governmental surveillance.”
Yuuki wished to refute something, but ultimately acknowledged that he had nothing to argue.
“Then, I’ll take it as you agreeing. You’ll stay starting today. I will ask them to send your belongings, as this place… you know? Has everything necessary for living.”
Yuuki opened his mouth.
He had nothing particularly to refute, but he still wanted to at least try.
But before Yuuki could say anything,
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
As Kagami said so, the door opened slowly.
“…Yamashita Senpai?”
Shii, who entered with wide eyes, called out to Yuuki.
“I didn’t call anyone.”
As Yuuki looked at Kagami right away, she shrugged her shoulders and said,
“But timing is just perfect… Ah.”
As Kagami said this while looking at Shii and Sota, her gaze turned to the last person entering, Nanami, tilting her head.
“Um…”
As if she hadn’t expected anyone being inside, Nanami hesitated to step in.
“Well, that’s fine. Just come in. Since you’ve made it this far, I can’t just send you back.”
Kagami sighed heavily and said.
*
Yuka headed for the mountains of Saitama.
In fact, there was no specific basis for this. She didn’t know how far Koko could move, and it was already too late since time had passed; Koko could have gone anywhere in Japan by now.
What she was living on, whether she got any rest.
All this time, she hadn’t been able to think of Koto Ne because of the sense of loss, but Koko’s situation was serious too.
Was she dragging Koto Ne’s corpse around here and there? If she weren’t in good condition… who knows what terrible things could have happened to her?
Yuka came here hoping for one thing.
This was the place where the most memories of Koto Ne and Koko remained. Since it had been ruined in Tokyo, she didn’t think they would be there.
Choosing the mountains stemmed from a belief that they would have chosen a deserted, remote area without people.
And—
“……!”
Yuka felt goosebumps crawling up her back.
At the same time, she felt a twinge in her chest.
Yuka had never felt such a sensation with Koto Ne and Koko before.
The only ones she felt that with were the monsters she needed to stab and kill with her sword.
But Koto Ne—
Crack!
Her cheek stung, and a moment later, pain rushed in.
“…I need to pull myself together.”
The cold winter wind brushed against her reddened cheek, making it tingle.
“I’m lucky to have found this place at all.”
She still didn’t know for sure. But at least there was a sufficient possibility she could be nearby.
She tightened her grip on the sword. If Koko or Koto Ne weren’t there, she would simply hack it up and search again. Over and over, time and again.
Even if it meant cutting down every Yōkai on this land.
And—
This time she wouldn’t swing her sword toward Koto Ne.
The questions remained.
What kind of thing were they trying to accomplish with Koto Ne’s corpse? She hadn’t heard.
How could she perceive the presence of the already deceased Koto Ne? She didn’t know.
But right now, that wasn’t what was important.
“I’ll go find her. The rest, we can think about later.”
Yuka muttered to herself and quickened her pace.
*
“……”
Now, there was hardly any strength left to make a sound.
Koko sat, hugging her knees.
Before her, Koto Ne lay still without moving.
Koto Ne… was fine. There was still a huge hole in her chest, but that was it.
Koko sometimes listened. To the sounds of conversation among the kids at school.
Among those were so-called ‘scary stories’.
There, people would say that once someone dies, they immediately turn stiff. The corpse becomes as hard as a rock and cannot move easily.
But Koto Ne wasn’t like that. She could still bend her joints. When Koko held her, her arms and legs drooped down.
She had become cold, but not yet entirely so.
So could it mean Koto Ne wasn’t dead yet?
“……”
She was hungry.
But she couldn’t move. If she moved here and turned her gaze elsewhere, Koto Ne might just disappear.
As if she would never be seen again.
“Uuu…”
Koko tried hard not to close her eyes.
With everything she had, she kept her eyes open and stared at Koto Ne who remained still—
Rustle.
From far away, in a place Koko couldn’t reach, she heard distant rustling sounds and got up from her place.
She rushed to Koto Ne. Trying to embrace her by slipping her hands under her back and knees.
But it didn’t work.
“Wha—?”
The thought of “why” didn’t even pop into her head.
Whenever someone came, she had been darting around here and there.
Too busy looking at Koto Ne, she hadn’t thought of hunting for something to eat.
She hadn’t been able to sleep, always alert.
All those things piled up and returned as a boomerang.
“Uuu…!”
Yet she struggled with all her might to lift Koto Ne and,
“Ah…!”
She fell forward.
“Koto Ne, I’m sorry!”
The height from which Koto Ne had fallen wasn’t significant, but Koko immediately apologized to Koto Ne.
There wasn’t time for this—
“……Koko.”
At that moment, a voice resounded.
Koko’s body froze.
Slowly, she turned her head.
And there stood—
“……”
Yuuki.
“Koko, are you okay?”
Yuuki approached with a sword in hand.
“Don’t come near!”
“Koko!”
Koko swung her hair wildly, but Yuuki didn’t dodge.
Slash. A long cut appeared on Yuuki’s arm. It wasn’t deep. Just a light scrape, barely bleeding.
But Koko felt sure she had wounded Yuuki.
“Uuuu……”
There was no strength left.
And also, Koko probably couldn’t kill Yuuki. Not just because she didn’t have the strength, but simply because she just couldn’t.
Instead, Koko desperately tried to shield Koto Ne’s body.
Her hair swung all around.
“……Koko,” Yuuki, with his eyes closed, gasped for breath.
Then he laid the sword on the ground.
“Koko, calm down.”
Yuuki said.
“I’m not here to harm you.”
“……”
But Koko didn’t listen.
She tightly embraced Koto Ne.
In one final act of utter effort, Koko dashed away.
“Koko…!”
She heard Yuuki’s shouting from behind, but she tried not to listen.
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