Ch.296If Side Story. Tokyo Slayers: Final Chapter (34)

It was only natural that the house would be in an uproar due to the untimely scream.

Souta quickly ran into the house and closed the door. It was clear that if other houses heard this noise, it would cause all sorts of headaches.

Of course, that didn’t mean he could completely block out the noise.

After closing the door, the screaming seemed to grow even louder.

“Brother…”

Shii clutched Souta’s clothes tightly.

The scream sounded somewhat different from one suffering in pain.

It wasn’t an instinctive sound, but rather one that seemed deliberately made.

…Souta himself didn’t know how he had come to distinguish such things.

But that made it seem even more dangerous.

“W-what’s happening!?”

Nanami, who had rushed out of her room in a hurry, was also in pajamas like Souta and Shii.

“Nanami.”

Souta looked at Nanami and quickly took Shii’s hand.

“Brother?”

“Shii, would you stay with Nanami for a bit? Nanami, can you protect Shii?”

“Uh, y-yeah, that’s not difficult…”

“Brother!”

“Shii.”

Souta placed his hands on both of Shii’s shoulders and said:

“I’m sorry. But I don’t know what might happen, and I can’t take you with me.”

“But…”

“I have a way to fight against yokai, like Yuka does.”

Souta lowered his gaze slightly to meet Shii’s eyes as he spoke.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll be fine.”

“That can’t be true…”

Shii said, holding Souta’s hand. One of Souta’s hands that Shii was holding was already wrapped tightly in bandages. Unfortunately, it was his right hand, which he used frequently, making Shii seem even more concerned.

“Shii.”

This time it was Nanami who spoke.

Though the two often fought, Nanami’s personality wasn’t so rough that she would pick fights even in situations like this.

“We’ll actually be more helpful if we stay apart.”

“…”

Although Nanami tried to speak as gently as possible, it seemed Shii didn’t fully understand.

While feeling guilty looking at Shii, they heard Yuka coming down from upstairs.

She held a sword in one hand—and was wearing shrine maiden clothes. In her other hand, she carried something that looked like a bundle.

Having visited Yuka’s room occasionally, Souta knew what it was. These were talismans that Yuka usually kept in her closet. Unlike the talismans she wrote fresh as needed, these were apparently less effective in various ways, but could be taken out and used immediately in emergencies.

“Shii, Nanami. I’m sorry to ask this, but could you stay in the room together? I think that would be safest.”

Had she heard the conversation from just moments ago? At Yuka’s words, even Nanami looked somewhat indignant, but soon nodded.

“Where’s Fukuda?”

Yuka asked Nanami.

“I told her to stay in the room. She probably… didn’t want to show it, but she seems a bit scared.”

“That’s understandable if this is her first time seeing something like this. Good job. Take Shii back to the room. I’ll put talismans on the outside.”

Yuka turned to look at Souta.

Her expression was rigid. Perhaps it was just Souta’s impression, but Yuka’s face seemed more tense than usual.

“Souta. Come with me.”

“Shii. Don’t worry and just wait. It’ll probably be over soon.”

Yuka didn’t specifically agree with those words, but Souta thought it was best to say that for now.

*

They herded Fukuda, Nanami, and Shii into the guest room attached to the living room and plastered it with talismans. Many more than usual. They even put a bundle inside the room and told them to stick them on various walls. “Don’t open the door until we come to open it ourselves,” they warned ominously, like something out of a horror story.

“Will this be enough?”

Though Souta felt bad about making Yuka’s house look gloomy with all the talismans, he couldn’t help but ask.

“…It should be fine.”

The old Yuka would probably have said “I don’t know.”

“The reason we’re keeping the children on the first floor is to give them a chance to escape somehow. I’ll put talismans on the front door and all around the living room too.”

“So you’re trying to keep them as far away as possible from those kids.”

“That’s right. If it comes… it will definitely be targeting Ms. Kurosawa. Just saying it’s not interested isn’t enough.”

So the meaning was to deliberately create a ‘place it doesn’t want to go’ so it would come straight to Ms. Kurosawa.

“Thank you, Yuka. Really.”

“…It’s what I need to do. And everyone got involved partly because of me.”

“It’s not your fault. Even if you had told us not to follow, we would have anyway.”

“Even so, it’s my fault.”

Yuka cut off Souta’s words and quickly moved.

The screaming had subsided considerably. Ms. Kurosawa had eaten here, but she hadn’t been able to eat properly, perhaps having been starved for too long.

It was natural that she would be exhausted after screaming for so long.

Heavy breathing and sobbing could be heard.

Had she had a nightmare?

According to Yuka, people who deal with yokai-related matters shouldn’t dismiss such things carelessly. The world of sleep is closely connected to the afterlife, and things that happen in that sleep world can often be prophecies or warnings.

“Let’s go.”

Yuka said. Souta nodded and followed.

The place they went was another room attached to the living room.

A place too small to be called a guest room. If anything, it would be more appropriate to call it a small storage room.

But there was no luggage or furniture in that room.

As if it had been deliberately prepared for such occasions.

Unknown kanji characters were written in cursive all over the floor. They formed a circle around Ms. Kurosawa, who was in the center of the room.

Talismans were attached here as well. Unlike the ones Yuka had hastily put up, these were attached regularly along the circle.

“What’s happening?”

Yuka asked as she entered the room.

Yuka’s grandfather and father, who were sitting opposite each other with Ms. Kurosawa in the center, looked at Yuka.

“…It seems she had a dream.”

Grandfather said.

“Did you say it’s coming this way?”

And he politely asked Ms. Kurosawa.

Ms. Kurosawa, who was lying face down on the floor breathing roughly, nodded.

Souta was a bit surprised to see her face. Her bangs were stuck to her forehead haphazardly, and her eyes were very red even in this somewhat dark place.

“It’s, it’s coming this way…”

Yuka and Souta looked at each other.

To be honest, Souta didn’t think that was reason enough to scream so loudly.

Although Yuka couldn’t win completely on her own, they wouldn’t be helplessly defeated in a situation with this much preparation.

Besides, hadn’t they already asked others for help? If they received help…

“…”

Suddenly, Ms. Kurosawa’s movements stopped.

As if she had forgotten even how to tremble.

She looked like someone who had forgotten how to move at all out of fear of what was approaching.

Yuka drew her sword and went outside the room.

Grandfather picked up the bow and arrows he had placed beside him and stood up. Only Yuka’s father remained in the room.

“It seems that what’s coming isn’t just what you saw today.”

Yuka’s grandfather said.

“It seems the story of the Kurosawa family is more complicated than we thought.”

As Souta was following Yuka’s grandfather out, he heard a sound.

This time, it came from the direction where Souta and Shii had been just moments ago.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone was knocking on the living room window.

“Oh.”

And Souta stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw that face.

Beyond that window was…

“…Kurosawa?”

“No.”

Yuka said, glaring at it.

“No, that’s…”

Beyond the window was Kurosawa.

As if asking to be let in, Kurosawa was tapping on the window with her hand.

With her hair covering half her face as usual, that figure in the middle of the night looked somewhat eerie.

But, yes. As Yuka said, something was strangely different. Souta couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different.

As they stood still without opening the door, that Kurosawa-like thing tilted its head, then lowered its hand.

And grabbing the living room window, it rattled it and said:

“…Let me in.”

It was Kurosawa’s voice.

“…Let me in.”

“Yuka.”

“…Wait.”

When Yuka looked toward her grandfather, he was holding his bow and nocking an arrow.

“It will probably come in soon. Get ready, Yuka. …Can you cut it?”

“…Yes.”

Yuka said, gripping the hilt of her sword.