Ch.93Chapter 14. Accident (8)

I decided to go with Yuka, but there was one problem.

We couldn’t visit the scene until the incident actually happened.

There was no way to follow the fire cart itself. How could we possibly track a yokai that supposedly comes from hell to steal the bodies of sinners?

The best approach would be to visit the “fire scene” itself.

Once a yokai enters this world, it can’t immediately return to its own realm. It creates a nest to secure space, then expands its territory by moving or enlarging that nest.

In the case of the fire cart, after taking a corpse, it would slowly return to its world and then come back to ours repeatedly.

…Even if we couldn’t find it now, if we kept following the traces, we’d eventually encounter it.

But only after the deaths of Sasaki and Shii’s mother and her husband.

And worse, Sasaki and Shii would somehow get caught up in it too.

I understand why Kosuzu is after me now. But I wonder why she targeted Sasaki and Shii in the original timeline when I wasn’t around?

Was it really because of Sasaki’s blood? I’ll need to wait and see about that.

Anyway, I hoped I could somehow find the fire cart before such a situation unfolded.

“Meow.”

“Kuro!”

As soon as I got home, Koko ran to Kuro and hugged him tightly.

I was a bit startled seeing cat hair getting all over her black uniform, but I had no intention of stopping her.

Today was Monday.

The sports festival would be next Saturday. The cheerleading practice was progressing quite smoothly.

I wasn’t particularly good at dancing, but I wasn’t terrible either. Though my physical abilities weren’t exceptional, I had better rhythm than in my previous life, probably because I was good at singing.

It would likely be nearly perfected by next Monday.

As for Koko… rather than dancing well, she danced joyfully. The children liked that about her. Perhaps more children were friendly with Koko than with me.

No, definitely more. That’s just the kind of person Koko is. Someone you naturally want to help when they’re beside you.

“Koko, you need to wash up.”

“Okay!”

When I put my bag down on the floor and spoke, Koko put Kuro down.

Kuro, who had been rudely awakened from his nap on the blanket, shook his body with an annoyed expression and fled to the corner of the room.

Just like a cat.

*

After making fried rice for dinner for the first time in a while, I helped Koko with her school homework. Then we lay down in bed together.

Just having another living being in the house besides myself meant I never felt bored or lonely. Even without deep conversations, there was something reassuring about it.

The nights were getting a bit chilly now, so there was no need to open the window.

Of course, I wouldn’t be cold at night. Koko always stuck close to me, and Kuro always claimed a spot on my stomach or chest.

As I slowly stroked Kuro’s back on top of my blanket, a certain memory suddenly came to mind.

I slipped my hands under Kuro’s armpits and lifted him slightly.

“Meow.”

Perhaps because he was almost asleep when I woke him, Kuro showed an extremely annoyed expression as I dragged him in front of my face.

Though the ceiling light was already off, Kuro’s eyes shone brightly in the light coming through the window.

“Kuro.”

“Meow.”

“Can you find yokai or something like that?”

“Meow?”

…

What am I thinking?

I sighed softly and placed Kuro back on my stomach. Kuro made another dissatisfied meow, but didn’t run away, instead curling up on my stomach.

“Kotone?”

I turned my head at the voice beside me and saw Koko looking at me.

“Do you really need to find it?”

Koko asked.

“…”

Koko could always find me wherever I was and follow me. At incredible speed too.

I don’t know how she does it. I don’t know if it only works for me or for all beings.

For a brief moment, I considered asking Koko to find that yokai.

But strangely, even though I knew it was a perfectly reasonable and plausible idea, I was extremely reluctant to say it.

Why?

Probably because I was projecting my little sister onto Koko.

I was afraid she might get seriously hurt or die doing something dangerous when I wasn’t watching.

If she were an ordinary person, I might have felt more at ease.

I’ve learned roughly how people die and how they can survive. I’ve even worked in related fields.

So I could clearly say, “Don’t do this.”

But Koko—

I think of her as a person. I treat her as a person. But I’m also clearly aware that she’s different from ordinary people.

That’s why I hesitated to put Koko on the front lines of battle, not knowing what her weaknesses might be. If for some reason Koko died fighting an opponent alone, I wouldn’t be able to bear it.

“No, it’s okay.”

We still have time.

“Is it okay?”

“Yes. It’s okay.”

“Okay.”

And…

I probably shouldn’t say this, but…

The people who fall victim to the fire cart are basically evil people.

I don’t think I have the right to choose whose life matters more, but even someone like me has people I care about more than others.

I had no intention of risking Koko’s life to save those people.

Koko lay on her side, curled up and pressed against me.

The blanket I first got when I started living in this house was for one person, so originally Koko couldn’t share it. The one I bought for Koko was also for one person.

But Koko slightly overlapped her blanket with mine to make one large blanket.

I could feel Koko’s forehead touching my right arm.

She would probably soon fall asleep with regular breathing.

“…Kotone, good night.”

Koko said in a small voice.

“Good night to you too.”

I replied to Koko.

Before long, both of us were able to fall asleep.

I didn’t dream.

*

In the end, I called Kagami, thinking I had nothing to lose.

[So, you’re asking me to find a yokai that might be related to your sister.]

Even though I called early in the morning, Kagami readily answered. Didn’t she say she ran a bar? I would have thought she’d be up all night and only able to sleep in the morning.

…Well, I haven’t always met Kagami at night. Maybe Kagami also has superhuman abilities.

Though I think the possibility is quite low now, I still consider that Kagami might be Nyarlathotep.

Since she’s related to outer gods, she could be pretending.

I was half-forcing myself to be suspicious, but I was a bit scared that if I trusted her completely, I might end up being used and discarded.

“Just let me know if there’s a fire. …Don’t you listen to police radio or something?”

I asked, thinking of American movies and dramas.

It was a movie that wouldn’t come out in this world for quite some time, but I’d seen it before. A movie about an amateur journalist who films traffic accidents and murder scenes to sell to broadcasting stations.

The reason the protagonist could quickly get to crime scenes was because he tapped into police radio. It wasn’t because he had special abilities, but because he bought a radio that could catch police frequencies.

[My, what a frightening suggestion.]

Kagami answered in a voice that didn’t sound frightened at all.

But her next words were somewhat serious.

[But if it’s related to your sister, the moment we move, they might notice and stop their activities. Would that be okay?]

“That’s fine.”

In fact, it would be fortunate if that happened.

Kosuzu has already revealed herself to me.

And she failed to kidnap me. She’s probably already moving quite cautiously.

If she stops her activities completely, I won’t have to worry. And there would be no reason for Sasaki and Shii to get involved.

[Then we’ll do that. …By the way.]

Kagami chuckled over the phone and said,

[You ended up asking for help after all.]

“…”

[Have you started to think of me as your mother a little?]

“…”

[I’m joking, just joking.]

When I didn’t say anything, Kagami responded playfully.

“…Don’t send people who might get killed. Just tell me. It’s safest if I check it myself.”

[You say that even though there’s someone safer right beside you.]

Kagami paused very briefly.

[Using a roundabout method when there are quicker ways means there must be a reason.]

As if knowing I had no intention of answering, Kagami continued immediately.

[Yes, I’ll contact you if there’s a fire. An email will be sufficient while you’re at school, right?]

“Yes.”

That ended the call.

I put down the phone that I had been holding between my ear and shoulder, and pulled up my socks to just below my knees.

“Good.”

I felt both uneasy and relieved at the same time.

“Koko.”

“Wha?”

Koko, who had been rolling around on the floor while I was on the phone, looked up at me. Kuro, who had been rolling beside her, also looked up at me.

…

Is he really a cat? I used to wonder if Koko was a person or a cat, but lately I wonder if Kuro is a person or a cat.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay!”

Koko jumped up from her spot.

Her uniform was a bit wrinkled, but… well, I decided not to say anything because she looked cute.

After going this far, I should hear something if anything comes up.

For now, I’ll try not to worry until then.

*

And for over a week, there was no contact.

Wondering if Kagami’s people might have missed something, I checked occult magazines, watched the news diligently, and even searched on the school library’s computer.

The world was remarkably quiet.

In a city as large as Tokyo, you’d think there would be at least one fire incident.

No, I’m not exactly hoping for one. Rather, I was relieved to confirm that nothing had happened.

“Alright, that’s it for today!”

Fukuda clapped her hands as she spoke.

It’s not a rule that a “gyaru style” character must have a good figure. But in many manga I’ve seen, tanned gyaru characters usually had good figures.

Harumi Fukuda was such a character. If she had actually appeared in a light novel, she would probably have been one of the top heroine candidates.

Moreover, with such looks and an energetic personality, she still had no dating experience—a setting that seemed deliberately designed.

When such a girl wore a cheerleader outfit, it was impressive in many ways. At least among the cheerleaders in our class, no one compared to Fukuda.

“Phew.”

I shook my head to clear those thoughts and let my arms drop.

Today was Friday.

Normally I would have gone to work, but the boss had decided to take a break from Thursday of this week until tomorrow.

I’m not sure why. It might be related to Koko and me. I had already told the boss about tomorrow’s sports festival.

We had already completely mastered the dance, so there was no real need for extra time, but well, it doesn’t hurt to be certain.

“Everyone worked hard. Don’t be too nervous. After all, the ones who need to give their all tomorrow are the students competing in the events, right?”

Fukuda’s words were met with light laughter.

A smile played on Fukuda’s face too.

Whenever I see such expressions, I wonder what Fukuda was like after losing Miura.

Could the atmosphere in this class have been this bright?

I’ve never lost a friend when I was a student. Not many people experience such things in the first place.

So I don’t know how long the depressing and heavy atmosphere would last after a child’s death.

Miura was popular and friendly with everyone in the class from the beginning of the semester, so the heavy atmosphere might have lasted quite a while.

Or conversely, since it was so early in the semester, the children might have almost forgotten about the incident by the end of the school year.

But I guessed that it would have remained a deep wound for at least Fukuda and Yamashita.

Fukuda’s eyes met mine as she looked around the class.

Like a true gyaru, Fukuda made a V sign at me. Surprisingly, it was a “gal peace” sign. Was that already a thing in Japan during this period?

“Tomorrow will be fun, right?”

Fukuda approached and asked me. I nodded.

It would definitely be fun. It would be a sports festival where all my friends would participate.

Interestingly, among my friends, everyone except Fukuda was representing their class in an event. None of them were doing cheerleading.

So there would definitely be friends competing against each other in the inter-class competitions.

While they might be indifferent about it, I found it interesting.

“Yes.”

As I nodded,

“Kotone!”

Koko excitedly ran to me.

“Did Koko do well?”

“You did well. You were cool.”

“Koko was cool!”

When I answered, Koko excitedly raised both hands above her head.

Koko was already in a great mood from being praised by the other children, and now being praised by me seemed to send her spirits soaring.

“Ah, over there.”

As I put my hand on Koko’s head, Fukuda pointed to one side of the field.

Yuka was walking toward us in her school uniform.

“Mako and Yuu’s practice must be over too.”

Fukuda said that, then told Koko and me,

“Let’s go change clothes.”

“Okay.”

I waved at Yuka, then pointed toward the school building.

Yuka nodded and waved her hand. As if telling us to hurry and change.

She seemed to be planning to wait until we all changed.

Well, whenever I didn’t have work, Yuka always walked home with me.

Koko, Fukuda, and I hurried to the changing room with the other children from our class.

*

“So nothing happened until the sports festival after all.”

“Yeah.”

I nodded at Yuka’s words.

Originally, whether it was a workday or not, I would walk home with Yuka. The path from school to the station was the same anyway.

However, recently, when our practice times ended differently, we would go home separately.

Today was the last day for practice, so Yuka’s class also seemed to have stayed late to practice.

…I wonder if Yuka has made many friends in her class?

I hope she made many friends during the sports festival practice. Now that she’s at least acquainted with Sasaki, she won’t be completely isolated in her class.

How would I feel if Yuka said she was walking home with other friends instead of me?

I might feel a little lonely. Although I had Koko beside me, Koko was more like a little sister than a friend.

“I hope nothing happens from now on either.”

When I said that, Yuka nodded.

Koko was humming a tune as she walked beside me. It was a cheer song adapted from a TV commercial jingle. So, as she was humming it now, it was just like the original commercial song… well, that sounds a bit strange.

Anyway, back to the fire cart.

I don’t assume that just because nothing happened until the sports festival, nothing will happen in the future.

I don’t know how much the original story has been twisted by my appearance, but Raiju came to this side even with me here.

If the fire cart is not related to Kosuzu, or if Kosuzu is actually targeting the fire cart, that changes things. In that case, the incident involving Sasaki and Shii will definitely happen.

“I’m looking forward to seeing you and Koko.”

“…You’re in a different class.”

“But—”

Bzzzz.

As Yuka was about to answer, my pocket vibrated.

The surroundings were quiet, so the vibration sound seemed particularly loud.

“Answer it.”

At Yuka’s words, I took out my phone as naturally as possible and looked at the screen at an angle where Yuka couldn’t see it.

The name “Kagami (かがみ)” appeared on the outer screen of the flip phone.

“…Hello.”

I flipped open the phone and put it to my ear.

[I found it.]

Without needing to ask further, that was the answer I received.

I immediately knew what she had found.

I unconsciously looked at Yuka. Yuka was quietly watching me. There was no change in her expression.

I wondered if she could hear the voice from the phone. Since Yuka was a hunter, it was possible.

…More importantly, the fact that I unconsciously looked at Yuka was already a mistake.

I stopped walking.

Meanwhile, Kagami told me the location.

She said it was a mansion not far from here. Within walking distance.

“…I understand.”

When I answered formally, Kagami paused briefly.

She must have immediately noticed that someone was with me.

[You have it tough.]

Kagami ended the call with a bitter laugh.

Click.

As I closed my phone,

“Who was that?”

Yuka immediately asked.

“…Someone I know.”

“…”

Yuka, who had been staring at me, seemed to decide not to pry further.

“Where are you going?”

“…”

There was no point in saying “home” here; Yuka wouldn’t believe it at all.

I had almost forgotten, but Yuka had already followed me before. And that was when we weren’t as close as we are now.

“…A fire scene.”

“I’m coming with you.”

Yuka said.

I looked at Koko.

Koko had stopped walking and was staring at me.

Koko is smart. Despite how she appears on the outside.

So, even if I told Koko to go home, she probably wouldn’t listen.

I briefly looked up at the sky.

The sun was slowly setting. The sky would probably be completely dark in less than 30 minutes.

…Well, at least the area around the fire would be bright.

I sighed softly and nodded.