Aoishiro
Chapter 16
Syouko: Nn...Nn...
When I opened my eyes, Yasumi was there. Yasumi, who was transparent.
Yasumi: Syouko-sempai, good morning.
Syouko: Good morning...what time is it?
Yasumi: Etto...sorry...
Yasumi didn't have a body right now. Since she couldn't even push a button on a cell phone, it would be hard for her to check the time.
Syouko: It's my fault. I'm sorry.
Unfortunately, when I tried to confirm the time, the battery had already run out.
Syouko: If you woke up first, you could've just woken me up too.
Yasumi: Sempai seemed really tired and even if you woke up earlier, I didn't think there was anything you could do.
Syouko: Well, that's true, but...
I left the small shrine and checked the sky.
The sky hadn't turned red yet, but it was closer to evening than noon.
Syouko: The storm...seems to have cleared though...
In the quiet atmosphere where the wind had stopped, it was like the impurities had been blown away. That quiet atmosphere felt heavy.
Yasumi: This is probably the condition that indicates "Kurou-sama is here."
Yasumi: It was also the same in the forest last night. The density of the "power" in the forest is really strong.
Yasumi: If I didn't have a proper vessel, it seems I would instantly be swallowed up and disappear.
Syouko: If that's the case, then don't go outside and please stay on the inside.
Yasumi: Ok....
Yasumi's body disappeared. She only returned inside her vessel, but it was like she was a real ghost. No...she really was a spirit.
Syouko: Geez...
Syouko: Because of this situation, we don't know where your physical body is either.
Yasumi: If it were Momo-chan, she'd say something like: "This is the same as relying on your nose to find the smell of vanilla beans in the middle of a curry restaurant."
Syouko: That's impossible.
Yasumi: Even if the environment weren't like this, my body might be in an area where there's a barrier against spiritual presences...
Yasumi: I couldn't discover the location yesterday, either.
Yasumi: Maybe it's also a guard against me returning to my body...
It might be a protection against bad spirits forcing their way into Yasumi's body...I hoped there was enough parental love so that such a precaution was put in place.
Yasumi: It's going to be evening soon.
Syouko: That's true...
I couldn't confirm the exact time, but it should be around that time judging by the light of the sun.
Yasumi: At this time, otou-san should already be where the ritual will take place.
Syouko: So there'll be no one at the mansion...?
Yasumi: Yes, that's true. Besides people in charge, this is a day where no one leaves the house. Since otou-san lives alone, the house should be empty.
While he's away, we should try to do something.
Hoping that Yasumi's body was still there, we headed to the mansion.
Yasumi: I feel a sense of "power" coming from over there...it seems to be coming from a single object.
Syouko: Is it Yasumi's body?
After entering the mansion, Yasumi left her vessel and became a transparent shape.
Syouko: Is your body ok?
Yasumi: This is a place which is hard to enter so it's as safe a place as the shrine.
In a stable barrier filled with "power", even if a large vessel entered, it wouldn't change.
Syouko: What about Nekata-san?
Yasumi: Otou-san isn't here so I'll go on ahead.
I couldn't see Yasumi's body anymore as she disappeared. I guessed for spirits, physical distance didn't matter. If Nekata-san wasn't here, then that one "power" that Yasumi felt was...
Yasumi: Sempai! Syouko-sempai, it's urgent! Please come here quickly!
Compared to when Yasumi had a physical body, "here" was a little hard to understand but I headed into the mansion. Because I'd come here once before, I didn't get lost.
And...lying down on the futon was not Yasumi's body, but...
Syouko: Wha....Why is Nami here!?
It was Nami, who should've been at Shoushinji.
Syouko: Nami! Hey, Nami! Get a hold of yourself!
Though I shook her and patted her cheeks, she didn't wake up at all.
Syouko: I wonder if this girl is also like Yasumi? Do you know if her spirit has left her body?
Yasumi: Etto, please wait a moment.
The sun, which had just started to gain a bit of color, shone through Yasumi's hand as she added hers to Nami's and attempted to slip into Nami's body.
Yasumi: Nn...nn.....
Yasumi: As I thought, entering a person's body like this is something I'm not used to and it's an uncomfortable feeling...
A person watching this would have an uncomfortable feeling too, but to the person doing this who also has the sensation of feeling the act, it would probably be even more uncomfortable.
Yasumi: Nami-chan...is only sleeping. Nami-chan's spirit is definitely in there.
Syouko: That's fine if it's so, so let's contact Shoushinji first...
I took out my cell phone intending to contact them and...
Syouko: The battery's empty.
Yes, that's right. I couldn't check the time on my cell phone which I forgot to charge.
Syouko: Yasumi, I'm going to borrow your house's phone.
I didn't wait for a reply and left the room where Yasumi was staring at Nami with a serious face.
In Nekata-san's room, I found a black telephone that wasn't often seen anymore. My father was also a wealthy person, but maybe it was due to work that since a long time ago, we used things like faxes and a dial telephone was unusual.
I had a bit of hope that there'd be a phone charger, but in this case, the owner might not even have a cell phone. It gave an impression that the person didn't receive a lot of phone calls. I carefully turned the dial, which I wasn't used to, and called Aoi-sensei's cell phone, who was at Shoushinji. I was worried about what to do if she refused to answer a call from an unfamiliar number. After a short call, Aoi-sensei answered the phone.
Aoi: Hello...this is Aoi?
Syouko: This is Osanai. It's Aoi-sensei, right?
Aoi: Eh? Osanai-san? This doesn't seem to be from your cell phone, so are you in some kind of trouble over there!?
Syouko: Etto...about that...
There was a huge mound of problems, but where to begin, and how much to say? Anyways, there should remain a record of this call from Nekata-san's house to Aoi-sensei's cell phone. So Yasumi and my whereabouts after this would have a large connection to Nekata-san and it would act as some proof and maybe some insurance. In the worst case...
Syouko: The battery on my cell phone ran out so I'm borrowing the phone at Nekata-san's house.
Aoi: I see. So that's how it is.
Aoi: So, you wvere able to sleep in a place with a roof yesterday, right? How are things going now?
Syouko: Etto...the weather has settled down a people? So, right now...there's no problems.
Aoi: I see. That's good then.
Syouko: It seems something's happened on your side though...
I lied badly.
It wasn't a lie but, I didn't want to give anything away while I was asking questions. When I first called, my voice was filled with tension too. It might have been my imagination though.
Aoi: True, it's awful. Last evening, after you two disappeared, Nami, who was there until the evening, couldn't be found!
Aoi: It's because she was attached to you two...
Aoi: I'm sorry.
She was wandering around looking for us and disappeared...
I didn't know how many times Nami came looking for me during the night, so I guess it couldn't be helped.
Aoi: Anyways, there was a large storm yesterday too, so if she went near the ocean, it'd be bad. The mountains would also be bad...
Aoi: Right now, Sakurai-san is helping to find Nami-chan too.
Aoi: I wanted to tell you two also, but the battery on your cell phone ran out I guess.
Aoi: And also, calling Nekata-san, who is busy right before the festival was a little...
Syouko: Sensei, about that matter, landslides are dangerous so please contact Ayashiro and company and call them back.
Syouko: Nami-chan is sleeping here right now.
Aoi: Eh!? Wait a minute, what do you mean!?
Syouko: I don't understand either. When we woke up, she was already here...
Really, geez.
Syouko: I thought it could be a twin, or someone that resembles Nami, but if you said Nami disappeared from over there...
Aoi: Then Nami-chan over there has a high probability of being the real one...right?
Aoi: Osanai-san, I'm sorry, but could you put Nekata-san on the phone?
Syouko: About that, when we woke up, he was no longer in the mansion.
That was probably not a lie either. When I woke up in the Tsubaki Shrine, there was a high probability that Nekata-san had left the mansion. After all, this was the day of Kurou-sama's festival...
Aoi: That's true. It's expected that today would be a busy day.
Aoi: Ok. When Nekata-san returns, contact Shoushinji...
Aoi: When it's an appropriate time, let us know the situation.
Syouko: Understood. On that side, could you please call everyone and apologize to them on behalf of Yasumi and me?
Aoi: About that, how's Aizawa-san doing?
Syouko: She's over there looking over Nami.
Yasumi: Sempai, could you please come here...
After the phone call ended, I returned to the room where Nami was sleeping. Yasumi's face had lost her serious look.
Syouko: What's wrong?
Yasumi: Maybe Nami-chan is Yasuhime-sama.
This child was Yasuhime-sama?
Yasumi: Yasuhime-sama looked like she was thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen, right?
Nami looked to be about ten to twelve. In the past, people would've counted like that also.
Syouko: But it still doesn't add up.
And also, that person I "saw" in that dream filled with bubbles, was that Yasuhime-sama? So Nami shouldn't be Yasuhime-sama...
Syouko: It doesn't match though...
If the word Yasuhime-sama wasn't used to indicate a particular person, but a title used to indicate Kurou-sama's miko...then age and outward appearance wouldn't be a discrepency.
Syouko: But, if this child were really Yasuhime-sama, then...
If this child has returned here, then Nekata-san, who needs a sacrifice in order ot make the hinokusuri, would be able to make it once again.
And also, Nekata-san was going to use me, who could endure the hinokusuri, in place of his daughter as a sacrifice...
But because of Yasumi's clever tactic, I was able to safely escape. So if the ceremony were going to take place, he would need a different sacrifice...
Yasumi's body was left behind in Nekata-san's hands.
It wasn't the body of the eldest child that was fated to be a sacrifice, but it the body of the younger twin sister whose blood didn't differ in the slightest.
Syouko: Right now, Yasumi's body might be in danger!
I was concerned that the body wasn't in the mansion.
Syouko: Yasumi! Let's go before the ceremony begins!
Syouko: Do you know where the ceremony is going to take place!?
Yasumi: Yes! The book said it would take place in an underground sanctuary!
She was saying it was written in the ancient documents we found yesterday.
Syouko: A hidden, underground sanctuary...is it?
No matter how much people were going to stay in their houses and not go outside today, it's expected that a living sacrifice wasn't going to be offered at a place where people could see.
Syouko: What about the entrance? Is it in one of the numerous caves?
Yasumi: There's a path that connects to the mansion, so it didn't have to be kept a secret...
Yasumi: The entrance is in a cave on forbidden land so normal people wouldn't enter...
Syouko: So the problem is?
Yasumi: The location of the entrance was written, but that's where it ends and the direct path after that isn't written...
Yasumi: It was originally a complicated place, and the rising and ebbing tides create and hide paths.
In the worst case, there might be an accident and surrounded by water with no place to escape, one might drown.
Syouko: Geez...that's troublesome.
Syouko: Anyways, time is precious. Let's first head to the cave.
Yasumi: Going there is fine, but Syouko-sempai.
Yasumi: What about...Nami-chan...?
Syouko: We can't just leave her, right...
Yasumi and I knew what sort of treatment Yasuhime-sama would receive. If this child were Yasuhime-sama, to have her living blood wrung and made into medicine...
Syouko: .....
I didn't have any objections to taking Nami away from this mansion.
Syouko: Though she's small, she's not a complete child. Even if I carried her on my back, I'd have a limit...
Yasumi: We don't know what's going to happen from now on.
We don't even know if we ourselves would be safe after we head towards the underground sanctuary.
Syouko: The little shrine in the Tsubaki Forest...why don't we bring her there first?
It should be safe there.
Yasumi: .....
Syouko: What's wrong?
Yasumi: If I possess Nami-chan, I might be able to walk normally.
Syouko: But, isn't that dangerous?
Syouko: Inside the vessel, your spirits might mix and you might cease to be yourself...
Yasumi: I...I think it'll be ok!
She clenched both her fists and spiritedly said that as she brought her transparent face close to Nami's sleeping face.
Yasumi: Then...I'm going to start!
Yasumi: Su...ha...su...ha...
Since it was a spiritual body, I didn't know if she were actually doing that, but Yasumi took a couple of deep breaths...
Her transparency increased and her features became indistinct. Nami's body was covered as she melted into it.
Syouko: .....
I assessed the situation by staring at Nami.
Nami's eyelids...the eyelids of Nami's body, fluttered open.
Syouko: ...How is it?
Yasumi inside Nami: Yes, I'm ok. It's mysterious but there isn't such an uncomfortable feeling as when I was possessing sempai.
She got up from the futon, moved her arms, and twisted her body.
Yasumi: I can move the body well too.
Yasumi: Maybe, if I have a constitution that makes it easy for my spirit to leave my body, then this girl has a constitution that makes her easy to enter.
Syouko: Easy to enter...?
Yasumi: I mean easy for a spirit to possess...
Yasumi: In reality, that explanation might not be correct, but from my understanding, that's what it feels like.
Yasumi: If a person's body is a vessel like a cup, then the spirit is equivalent to water poured into that cup.
Yasumi: If you take water from a different cup and pour it into a vessel that already has water in it...what will happen?
Syouko: It depends on the size of the vessel and the amount of water that was originally in it.
It was a concrete example to think about.
Syouko: Also, one more thing. I've said it before, but mixing things together is dangerous.
If it were the same type of water, then mixing them together wouldn't present a problem, but, take colored water for example.
If you mix red and blue water, it becomes purple water. If you mix white and black water, it becomes grey.
In drawing class...during watercolor painting, the water used to clean brushes is mixed with many colors and becomes an indiscriminate color.
Syouko: Then...it's like a very large container with the freedom to move around?
Living together with someone in a small room, and living with someone who is in a different room in an apartment are both "staying with someone in the same building", but the circumstance is very different.
Yasumi: It's extremely wide. Even with two souls, we're not crowded right next to one another.
If Yasumi were a type of shaman that could have her spirit leave her body, then Nami was the type of shaman that got possessed.
Yasumi: The divine shrine maidens of Japan were also mostly the type to be possessed.
Was Yasuhime-sama also like that? Was she a representation of a god that descended...?
Yasumi: I'm also not a tall person, but with Nami-chan's short stature, it's an uncomfortable feeling...
Yasumi: Though when I was ten, I should've been around this height.
Syouko: Speaking with Nami's voice, I also had an uncomfortable feeling.
Yasumi: ......!?
Yasumi and I stopped walking and without thinking, turned to face each other. Because it was Nami's face, it was expected that it felt sort of weird.
Syouko: So the reason Nami doesn't speak is not because she has a broken voice.
Yasumi: Now that you mention it, that seems to be true.
Yasumi: Heh...so Nami-chan has this kind of voice.
Syouko: Though what you're hearing and what I'm hearing should have some soft of difference.
Yasumi: Speaking of which, when you record your voice, until you get used to hearing it, it also sounds weird.
Enjoying the unusual experience of walking in another's body while heading towards the small tsubaki shrine, Yasumi remembered and said.
Yasumi: Ah, I touched upon this earlier, but...
Yasumi: As I thought, Nami-chan resembles Yasuhime-sama.She didn't know some things, but she also knew a lot of things.
Syouko: Eh.....
Syouko: This child is Yasuhime-sama.....really.....?
The Yasuhime-sama that I knew.
Syouko: Yasumi also saw it right?
Yasumi: Saw...saw what?
What exactly did I expect her to have seen? No one should've seen that ephemeral image except for me.
But the Yasuhime-sama that I knew was different from Nami, who appeared like the mermaid princess from a fairy tale.
No...now was not the time to pursue Nami's real identity.
With the end of the secret ceremony that Nekata-san performs occuring at the same time as sunset, we had to arrive before that finished at the underground sanctuary and retrieve Yasumi's body.
It was still light outside, but we had to hurry. We knew about the entrance, but we didn't know the exact path to reach the secret sanctuary.
Syouko: Then, let's stop by the small shrine.
Yasumi: About that sempai, why don't we head towards the sanctuary like this?
Syouko: While Yasumi is inside Nami?
Yasumi: Suppose...and this is really just a supposition, but in case we don't make it.....
Yasumi: In a shrine where no one goes, leaving Nami-chan there by herself would be dangerous, I think.
Syouko: .....
Nekata-san should know about the small shrine in the Tsubaki Forest.
Because, at that shrine.....
Syouko: .....
Yasumi: And also, you could say that we're taking Nami-chan.....Yasuhime-sama hostage, though I don't like saying it that way.
Syouko: If it's Yasuhime-sama's body, then Nekata-san also can't be too reckless.....?
It might be safer over there, but there was still a possibility.
Syouko: I guess we should avoid that then.
And also, Nami's steps were small so we would arrive at our goal faster if we left her at the shrine.
Yasumi: .....I understand. Let's hurry.
We returned to the small shrine in the Tsubaki Forest and left Nami lying down.
Yasumi, who left Nami's body seemed like she wanted to hug Nami before she returned to her vessel...
Yasumi: Without a body, I can't even give a goodbye hug.....
Brushing by with transparent arms, her eyes looks lonely.
Syouko: That's why we're going to retrieve your body, right?
Syouko: This isn't a farewell yet.
Yasumi: That's true. We'll surely come back to meet her.....
Syouko: Let's hurry.
I went through the green forest.
Leaving Nami sleeping in the Tsubaki Shrine, we headed towards the entrance to the underground sanctuary by way of a mountain trail.
Because it was the day of the festival, there wouldn't be people walking around so even if we took a normal road, we might not have seen anyone.
Well, just in case.
Within bad luck is mixed a little bit of good luck, so in reality, I was the only one that had to walk so this level of road was not a problem. I hurried up and passed the green forest.
Syouko: Over there, there's some light!?
Syouko: What, this rock...is glowing!?
They were like guiding lights. On the sides of the cave were rocks giving off a faint, blue phosphorescence.
That rock had coiled, geometric patterns carved into it, probably by some person since they stood up unnaturally.
Syouko: Anyways, it looks like this cave is the right one. If it weren't, there wouldn't be such a noticeable landmark.
The wet bare rocks reflected the light, and because of that even if we turned off our flashlights, it would probably be bright enough.
Syouko: This pattern, is the same as the one carved into the pedestal at the small shrine, right?
Yasumi: Yes.
With the same pattern as the small shrine on the forbidden territory belonging to Nekata, was there some connection with the Nekata ceremony ahead?
Yasumi: This is just like it was written in the ancient documents! If we go forward more, the entire passage will.....
Walking forward, the passageway changed again.
Up until now it was a natural cave with the exception of man-made rocks distributed here and there.
Ahead, all the rocks were man-made.
Giving off blue-white light, the coiled patterns were lined up and covering the side walls.
Syouko: This is also impressive.....
Yasumi: Uwa.....
Except for one thing, the structure was good and the weird molding was good, so if this was moved to an amusement park as an attraction, it wouldn't be a problem.
Syouko: The water is collecting on the floor.
If not for that.
Yasumi: Sempai, let's hurry! The ebbing tides are filling again!
If the waves fill, a portion of the road will be submerged and cause the passageway to become complicated.
Geez, if not for this.
But, the goal was near.....
That feeling, caused Yasumi and I to be silent.