Ch.118Chapter 18. Repayment (9)

In [Tokyo Slayers], mirrors have never been a major element.

This is because the novel’s content mostly features yokai and people who hunt them and send them back, as the title suggests, focusing primarily on action-driven storylines.

While that was true for [Tokyo Slayers]…

Yes, in other novels or manga, mirrors often appear as key elements. Stories about other worlds beyond mirrors, people trapped inside mirrors, or settings that completely defy the basic laws of optics are quite common.

Perhaps this novel had such a setting too.

“Since then, I’ve thought about it deeply.”

Kagami approached the woman while speaking calmly in her usual tone, addressing no one in particular.

The woman covered her face with her hands and stepped back.

“Beings from the other side need to exert such great effort to maintain their form in this world, yet why can those created by my sister exist in their current state?”

What could be heard was a horrific sound.

It was an inhuman shriek. Such a sound was coming from the woman’s widely opened mouth.

“Stop, stop it!”

The woman shouted, abandoning the composed atmosphere from just moments ago.

Kagami remained completely calm.

“Even if there were a way to summon power, they would fundamentally be beings of ‘this side.’ Even if they could use yokai powers, their physical bodies would be of this world. So what allows them to exist outside the rules? Well, there’s only one answer. The same power as the beings we believe in.”

Things like the sword made from my blood, or beings like Chi that move like living creatures despite clearly not being alive. The power that allows such things to exist in this world, also beyond the principles known to ordinary people.

But clearly a power of ‘this side’ as well.

“Then the conclusion is simple. That body you possess is merely broken. A being that no longer breathes. Isn’t that right?”

“Shut up!”

“You maintain minimal form because you need to use it, and borrow power from the great ones because you need to be stronger than ordinary people. How ingenious.”

Glance. Kagami’s eyes looked at Koko.

“Did you repurpose part of the failure? Indeed, my sister would be capable of such thinking. How you ‘joined’ it, how you made it controllable. There’s still much to uncover.”

Kagami looked back at the woman.

The woman seemed to be losing strength. She was now sitting on the floor.

“But beyond all that, your essential nature is that of one already dead. What’s inside shouldn’t exist in this world at all. Go back. I’ll show you the path where you should be.”

“Ugh, you, pretending to be some kind of shrine maiden…!”

“My. Is it because of how I’m dressed that you think that?”

Kagami was still wearing the same outfit she had on when taking orders at the bar.

…Indeed, she didn’t look like someone who would possess such a mirror.

“But I am definitely a shrine maiden. My name is Kagami, after all. A mirror, right? Where deities can temporarily reside.”

Strong light shone from the mirror again.

An intense light that seemed capable of burning everything before it.

And with that light shown, it was over.

*

What followed was also screaming.

However, these were screams from different people than the woman’s cries.

Well, if a woman’s corpse with a mouth torn to the ears suddenly collapsed before your eyes, even I would scream.

I’d like them to think it was just a doll, but once someone starts screaming and attention turns this way, it’s meaningless.

Fear spreads easily. Someone nearby hears the scream, sees the cause, and screams again, and again, and again…

The fortunate thing was that the number of people drinking until late after the trains stopped running wasn’t as many as those who had filled the streets hours earlier.

It was much darker now, and there were definitely fewer people around.

Though not few enough to just ignore.

“…”

Kagami quietly looked at the fallen woman’s corpse, then pulled out a white cloth from somewhere and covered the mirror.

Just before it was covered, that mirror appeared to be just a mirror. It wasn’t the type where mercury is applied to glass to create a perfect reflection.

It felt more like looking at a well-polished metal surface.

We looked at each other for a while without saying anything.

“…I’ll need to wash these clothes.”

That was the first thing Kagami said.

Indeed, my clothes were soaked with blood.

Since my school uniform was black, it just looked wet for now, but the bloodstained parts would probably become blotchy over time.

I wonder if it would be okay if I washed it quickly before it dried?

“And you two as well.”

Kagami turned to Kaoru and Izumi, who were sitting on the floor after falling on their backsides.

“I don’t think you can go home in those clothes. Since the last train has already left, how about staying overnight?”

The two nodded at Kagami’s suggestion.

Their eyes, looking up blankly, were full of questions.

They must find both the current situation strange and Kagami’s sudden change in attitude puzzling.

…She had maintained her act as an abusive mother even in front of Yuka, who knew almost everything.

Perhaps she thought she couldn’t just let things go after showing such a precious item.

“Kotone.”

Koko, who had approached without me noticing, extended her hand to me.

I took her hand and stood up. Though Koko was as delicately slender as I was, she supported my weight firmly like a solid tree when helping me up.

I carefully removed the hand I had been pressing against my neck.

…Good. There was still some bleeding, but not enough to make me collapse from blood loss.

“Please be satisfied with a shower for washing. I’ve kept blood packs just in case, but it would be troublesome if you fainted in the bathtub beforehand.”

“…”

I nodded while covering my wound with my hand again.

“Well then, shall we go in?”

Kagami said that and led the way back to her bar.

I, Koko, Kaoru, and Izumi looked at each other before following her.

Four high school girls entering a bar covered in blood.

Wouldn’t anyone who saw us find it more lamentable than the corpse lying on the street?

…No, maybe not?

Looking back at the terribly mutilated corpse openly abandoned in the middle of the road, I entered the establishment.

*

Koko helped me wash.

“…”

And she also wrapped bandages around my neck.

With white bandages wrapped around my thin neck, and even my left wrist tightly bound with white bandages.

To someone who doesn’t know these are cut wounds, I look like a high school girl who’s been beaten up somewhere. Like a depressing heroine from that era with an excessively traumatic backstory.

In reality, I just fought with a yokai.

…

I probably shouldn’t use the word “just.”

Surprisingly, there were loose-fitting clothes available. Well, even Kagami dressed modestly when visiting our home. She probably wouldn’t wear revealing clothes in her daily life either.

“…Let’s go.”

“Kotone, are you okay?”

After I pulled down my sleeves to hide my injured areas as much as possible, Koko asked with concern.

I placed my hand on Koko’s shoulder and gently stroked it.

“I’m fine.”

Despite my words, Koko still looked worried.

I was being sincere though.

I really was fine. In fact, I felt somewhat relieved.

Of course, there was the issue with Kaoru and Izumi. They had been caught up in this.

Still, I’m not too worried about Kaoru. My condition when I was with Kaoru last time was much more serious than now, but Kaoru was able to quickly return to her normal self.

As for Izumi… well, we’ll just have to take care of her somehow.

At least it’s a significant achievement to have discovered something and confirmed that we can definitely stand against Kosuzu.

When Koko and I finished changing and came downstairs, most of the customers had already left.

They must have been terrified and left after seeing four high school girls soaked in blood enter.

Miki was still at the bar. Resting her chin on her hand with a languid expression and yawning, she seemed quite tough.

…Or perhaps she had lived such a tumultuous life that seeing something like this didn’t faze her at all.

“Kagami is over there~”

Miki, making eye contact with me, pointed to a corner of the establishment.

I could see Kagami sitting in one of the spots vacated by customers.

“…”

Somehow I feel reluctant to go.

Miki is a complete stranger, but Kagami is officially my mother. Even if it’s just on paper, there’s considerable discomfort from the title.

What daughter in the world would approach her own mother like this?

Well, I suppose there might be works like that too.

“…So.”

Not wanting to appear awkward, I approached while deliberately speaking a bit loudly.

“You said you understood what was going on, so what do you think?”

“What should I tell you first?”

Kagami, still wearing her work clothes, spoke while looking at me.

“First, let me tell you about the people I had prepared for you all. Actually, there were quite a few of our people in that street. Unfortunately, they couldn’t use their power.”

“…Because we entered another world?”

“That’s right. And I didn’t want to interfere with your plan.”

That was true.

If there had been several yakuza men hiding in that alley, the woman with the torn mouth might not have appeared.

“Unfortunately, we only had one way to enter from our side.”

“…That mirror.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Kagami nodded at my words.

“With something from ‘behind’ the mirror, you can block attacks from things ‘beyond’ the mirror. It’s a kind of portable barrier.”

“So the yokai side becomes ‘beyond the mirror’ and gets banished?”

“It’s originally used to send back the dead. Or to call them back.”

“…You can call them back too?”

“It needs to have that much functionality to be considered a tool of ‘communion,’ don’t you think?”

“…”

“Besides, all passages are originally two-way. The reason why the yokai’s barrier collapsed and people inside returned to the original world is simply because this is where we originally belong.”

Conversely, yokai return to where they belong.

“Why didn’t things from the other side pour out of that mirror at that time?”

“It’s difficult for them to find a suddenly opened hole from the other side. For example, let’s say a hole suddenly appeared somewhere in this world. And it’s a narrow hole that we can barely enter. Could we find and immediately enter that briefly opened hole?”

It might be a bit unreasonable to think that the beings on both sides have equal power, but if we consider the other side a “world,” it makes sense.

Since it’s the afterlife, if all dead people are there… the story might change again. Should I think of the afterlife as being that vast?

“So it’s also something that can’t be kept open for too long.”

I had to nod at that statement.

It allows easy access to the yokai’s nest and makes spirits and yokai return to their original world.

But conversely, if kept open too long, those on the other side will notice this hole.

When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back.

“Of course, whether beings from that side can move properly on this side is a separate issue. Usually, only insignificant spirits might come out.”

“Keeping it open means an unlimited number could come out. And besides…”

“Considering what we saw today, we certainly can’t keep it open indefinitely, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Originally, a soul cannot use a body unless it’s the owner. And a dead body at that. It sounds like something from a fantasy novel. And… that’s why they’re ‘yokai,’ I suppose.”

Undead are… yokai too, I guess. In a world with Cthulhu Mythos-like gods, it’s not strange at all.

“Then, why specifically a woman with a torn mouth?”

“Well, I don’t think it’s just… bad taste.”

Kagami said.

“Perhaps it was truly a being that was the original of the slit-mouthed woman. That would also match the story of the nukekubi.”

“…You mean they can take bodies from this world, but their form must be from the other world?”

“Even if that’s not necessarily required, it’s well-known that yokai often fixate on strange things. How about assuming it’s an instinct to follow what’s familiar?”

That made sense.

“It’s the same with vengeful spirits. Stories of souls who can’t leave this world because they’re fixated on one thing. If they are essentially the same as yokai, this case might be similar.”

I nodded.

And then there was a brief pause in the conversation.

“…What about the yakuza men?”

“They’re in front of the store. Are you underestimating Japan’s police force?”

“Why the police?”

“Too many people saw a horribly dead corpse left on the ground and blood-soaked teenage girls entering a bar.”

“Ah.”

That’s true.

From a common sense perspective, it would be plausible if the police had broken down the door within three minutes.

I did hear sirens while the shower water was running. I thought it was because of the corpse, but…

I suddenly felt sorry for the men who must be fighting with the police in front of the store right now.

“At this point—”

As Kagami was about to continue, there was suddenly a crashing sound from the second floor.

It wasn’t the sound of something rolling down… Rather, it was Kaoru stepping heavily on the stairs in her rush to come down.

With the speed expected of a track team member, Kaoru ran over and, upon making eye contact with me, bent her waist at a 90-degree angle.

“I’m sorry!”

And apologized vigorously.

I was momentarily dumbfounded looking at Kaoru, who then continued speaking.

“I was there and got in the way!”

…Well.

Still, she did throw the pomade can at the woman’s head at the end to divert attention.

If it weren’t for that, I would have been injured more severely. Koko would have been too.

Besides, if Kaoru and Izumi hadn’t been there, that woman might not have appeared.

It’s still difficult to know exactly what she was fixated on. Seeing that she appeared in front of Kagami and Izumi, it wasn’t “women alone.”

Perhaps she wanted to see people terrified by her face.

Miki, who had experienced all sorts of hardships, wasn’t surprised at all, so maybe that’s why she wasn’t interested.

That makes it a bit difficult to explain why Koko and I entered that nest in the midst of all this. Perhaps it was because we were with Kaoru and Izumi.

Oh, was she targeting Kagami?

I looked at Kagami. She still had her usual enigmatic smile, making it difficult to read her thoughts.

But considering the location where she appeared, and even the fact that the slit-mouthed woman was created in a way similar to the nukekubi, that seems to be the only explanation.

Wait a minute.

If she used vengeful spirits, does that mean Kosuzu… that person also has something similar to a mirror?

“I’m sorry!”

Hearing such a voice again, I turned my head to see Izumi now bowing to me.

“I didn’t know it was such a place and insisted on going!”

“…”

This person also… has a really strong mentality.

Isn’t the cliché for her to scream that I’m a monster and run away?

“No, it’s fine, both of you.”

I replied.

“We all made it out safely in the end. Perhaps it was because we were there that we were able to escape the situation.”

Looking back, if I hadn’t come, the two of them would have only been in danger.

Kaoru came to this place without much thought after reading a magazine, and Izumi followed her.

They couldn’t have thought such urban legends were real in the first place.

In that case, if I hadn’t been there, the two of them would have ended up like the first victims here.

“…From now on, please don’t just follow what those magazines say.”

“Ah.”

At my words, Kaoru quickly raised her head, but when I stared at her, her face soon deflated like a balloon.

“…Phew.”

I sighed and leaned back on the sofa.

Are the police and yakuza still having a power struggle outside?

I wonder how long it will take them to come in. I’d like to rest peacefully during that time if possible.

“Ah, right.”

“Kotone?”

When I suddenly stood up, Koko followed suit. I smiled at her, then quickly turned and went straight to the bar.

And sat down facing Miki.

“Hmm~?”

Miki, who had been dozing off, was startled awake by my presence.

“Excuse me, could I have your number?”

“Number~?”

Though still somewhat drowsy, Miki took my phone and entered her number.

“…Do you have any family? Brothers or sisters?”

I asked Miki as she was entering her number. I didn’t specifically mention an older sister. I didn’t want her to catch on immediately.

Being reported missing… was probably closer to running away from home.

After such an incident, she might have had a big fight with her sister, or felt too ashamed to face her.

Or got caught up in something even bigger.

“Hmm?”

Miki looked at me.

After staring at me for a while, she handed back my phone with her number entered.

“No, I don’t have any~”

I see, so she doesn’t have any.

Still, I decided to keep the number.

People can lie about anything. Especially in a situation like this.

And then, as I was turning back to Kaoru and Izumi, who were looking at me with puzzled expressions—

BANG!

“Nobody move! Police!”

I froze at the sound of police officers bursting in with loud shouts.

…It looks like it’s going to be a long night.

Well, I was prepared for that.