ANOTHER FILES – THE TOWER OF JUDGEMENT
file 01: the ghost of the clock tower (TRANSLATION NOTES)
-
That clock tower stood in the centre of the university campus –
The fifteen-metre tall brick tower had a room on the top floor. It was constructed like the lookout of a mediaeval castle.
However, the needles of the clock were stopped pointing at eleven fifty-five.
Though it was said that it had broken in an air raid or had been struck by lightning, few knew the truth.
There was a strange old rumour about this clock tower –
There was a large full-length mirror in the small room at the top of the tower.
It was said that the mirror was a doorway to the underworld and that you could reunite with the dead if you stood in front of that mirror at eleven fifty five –
However, nobody had ever confirmed that mirror.
Because those that reunited with the dead were taken away to the underworld –
-
1
-
The man silently climbed the stairs –
The stairs within the clock tower.
There was an atrium inside the tower with stairs that circled the walls.
With just the faint light of the torch in his hand, he went up the stairs one step at a time.
The smell of dust and mould assaulted his nose.
After reaching the midway point, the man stopped, feeling like somebody had called out to him.
He turned around and looked down the stairs, but it was dark and he couldn’t see below him. He didn’t plan on going back even if somebody had called him anyway.
– I need to confirm the truth.
That was the man’s strong will.
There was a room at the top of this clock tower. He had heard a rumour that there was a large full-length mirror there which you could meet the dead with if you stood in front of it.
The man wanted to confirm the truth of that rumour.
He knew that most of these rumours were false, but he had still stepped into the clock tower.
The man had somebody he wanted to meet no matter what. That person was somebody no longer in this world. A resident of the underworld.
After some time, he reached the top –
Unlike the stairs, there was a window that let in the light. Though it was night, the moonlight made it possible for him to see fairly well.
A circle had used this room in the past.
They had left behind an assortment of clutter, of course including things like desks and chairs.
In the front of the room – the wall with the clock – stood the full-length mirror, alone.
The oval mirror, supported by a pedestal, had curling ivy decorating the frame. It appeared fairly old.
The mirror’s surface was dirty with dust, but it let out an unsettling presence which made you think the rumour might be true.
However, there wasn’t anything strange about the mirror itself.
The man checked his wristwatch. It would soon be eleven fifty-five.
The man stared at the mirror.
In the gloomy world of the mirror, all he could see was the dreary room and his own face.
– So it was just a rumour, like I thought.
Just as the man gave up and was about to turn around, he thought he saw something move in the mirror.
He turned around with a start.
However, he didn’t see anybody there, of course.
‘Just my imagination…’
The moment he turned towards the mirror again, there was a loud thump and the window on the side opened.
A cold wind blew in.
Dust got in the man’s eyes, so the man covered his face.
He blinked a few times and looked up, and then he noticed that there was a dark silhouette in front of the open window.
It was probably human.
They wore something like a black hood over their head, so he couldn’t see their face.
The man backed away in shock.
'Please… I… was…’
The shadow spoke.
It was a voice so hoarse you couldn’t tell if it was a man’s or a woman’s.
'Wha…’
The man was so terrified that he tried to run away, but he stumbled and fell.
He bore with the pain and stood up, but the silhouette came to block his way, along with a foul smell.
The man held his breath and froze.
'Don’t be afraid… I… am your…’
The silhouette spoke.
When he heard the voice up close like this, he could determine its gender, even though it was hoarse.
'C-could it be… you’re…’
He could just see lips under the hood. Plump, bewitching lips turned up in a smile.
'I…’
The silhouette confessed the truth in the man’s ears –
Though they were shocking words, they deserved the man’s belief.
'You really are…’
Just as the man spoke, his consciousness slipped away into the dark –
-
2
-
Ozawa Haruka was on the south end of campus, heading for the prefabricated building behind Building B.
The autumn sky spread above her, no clouds to be seen.
The wind was chilly. With her short hair, her neck felt cold.
– Should I let it grow out a bit?
She had that on her mind as she reached the building in question.
The prefabricated two-storey building had ten small rooms on each floor and was lent out by the university for circle activities.
Haruka stood in front of the door to the Movie Research Circle at the very end of the first floor.
She wasn’t a member of the Movie Research Circle. The Movie Research Circle didn’t even exist.
The owner of the room, Saitou Yakumo, had tricked the faculty and had made the room his own – he was actually living here.
'Hey.’
Haruka called out as she opened the door.
Yakumo was sitting in the chair in front of the door while reading a book.
His skin was pale. Though he had a handsome profile, his hair was a mess, making him look wild.
Even though he must have noticed that Haruka had come, he didn’t even look up from his book, let alone greet her.
It wasn’t that he was in a bad mood. This was how Yakumo always acted.
Haruka sighed and sat across from Yakumo, but Yakumo still didn’t look away from his book.
'Hey. You could at least greet me,’ grumbled Haruka, at which point Yakumo finally looked up.
His almond eyes looked straight at Haruka.
'Was that a greeting?’
'Eh?’
’“Hello” or “How are you?” – I would recognise those as greetings, but all you uttered was “Hey” in a strange voice.’
'Strange voice…’
'Strange voice, as in a voice that is strange.’
'I know that.’
– He says such awful things.
'Then you have no right to complain.’
Yakumo looked back to his book.
Haruka wanted to argue, but there was a reason she couldn’t today.
'Um… There’s something I want to ask you about…’
As Haruka started to speak, Yakumo waved his hand to cut her off.
'I refuse!’
'I haven’t said anything yet…’
'It’s definitely some sort of trouble again,’ Yakumo said brusquely.
'Why do you think it’s trouble?’
'You don’t know?’
'I’m asking because I don’t know.’
'Because you’re a natural-born troublemaker.’
That’s not true – is what Haruka wanted to say, but Yakumo had hit the bullseye.
She had brought Yakumo a lot of trouble up until now. Trouble was the reason she had met Yakumo.
Haruka’s friend, Miki, had been possessed by a ghost, so she had gone to Yakumo, who was knowledgeable about ghosts.
Normally, Yakumo hid it with a black contact lens, but Yakumo’s left eye was dyed a vivid red.
Though Haruka thought there was no need to hide it since it was beautiful, people loathed those who were different from themselves – or so Yakumo always said.
Yakumo’s left eye wasn’t just red. It could see the spirits of the dead – that is, ghosts.
With that unique ability and his unusually bright mind, he hadn’t just expelled the spirit possessing Miki – he had even solved the murder case surrounding the issue.
Ever since then, Haruka had experienced various cases with Yakumo. They weren’t all ones that Haruka had brought to him, but it was true that many of them had been.
There was no helping being called a troublemaker.
Furthermore, she had indeed been planning on talking to Yakumo about some trouble, just as he had expected. And one related to spiritual phenomena at that –
'I know…’ Haruka said with a sigh.
'If you know it yourself, get rid of that trouble already. You probably just stuck your neck in yourself, right?’
Yakumo waved his hand as if brushing away a fly.
'Even if you tell me that, my friend looked really troubled… I can’t just leave them alone…’
'People call that meddlesome.’
'I know that.’
She understood that even without Yakumo telling her, but she just couldn’t say 'No’ once somebody asked her anything.
Though part of it was just her concern, it was also related to how she had lost her older twin sister when she was younger.
In contrast to her older sister who was kind and could do anything, Haruka had always felt inferior. After her sister died, Haruka’s inferiority complex had evolved in this unexpected way.
Nobody said this.
But still, she felt like it would have been better if she had died, instead of her sister –
She was afraid of being told that she was unnecessary.
She always stuck her neck in like that, but she couldn’t do anything on her own, so she always ended up relying on Yakumo.
– For some reason, I want to cry.
After a while, Yakumo said with a sigh, 'So what happened?’
'Eh?’
'You probably plan on telling me anyway even though I refused – ’
Yakumo propped up his chin with his hand, looking bored.
Haruka didn’t know what had brought about this series of events, but it looked like Yakumo would listen to her.
Though Yakumo said a lot of things, he was the type of person who couldn’t leave somebody who was troubled alone. That was one of Yakumo’s good points.
'What are you grinning about?’
Haruka hurriedly made herself look more serious.
'Thank you,’ Haruka said honestly, which made Yakumo frown at her look he was looking at something filthy.
'That’s creepy.’
'Creepy…. Don’t you think that’s rude?’
'I said it because I don’t.’
'Ah, of course.’
Haruka had tried to tell Yakumo off, but he didn’t care at all.
Though there were many things that she wanted to say, it would be troublesome if she made Yakumo’s mood darken.
'So?’ urged Yakumo.
'Actually… I don’t know the details either. I wanted you to come with me to listen…’
'So you took on the trouble without even knowing what it was?’
'Sorry…’
She couldn’t rebut that either.
'Honestly,’ said Yakumo with a sigh.
-
3
-
Ishii Yuutarou sat in his seat while facing some documents.
Ishii’s department, Criminal Affairs Division: Unsolved Cases Special Investigations, was in the detectives’ jurisdiction and investigated unsolved cases.
Though the name was splendid, in reality, they mainly did paperwork that piled up due to change of leadership or downsizing departments.
Of course, Ishii knew that paperwork was also very important, but it was depressing when that was all he was doing.
Though he knew it was imprudent, he still wanted something more exciting.
However, he wanted that to be as safe as possible.
He would rather not face knife-wielding suspects and be possessed by a ghost again, thank you very much.
'Tonkotsu[1], of course!’
The sudden yell made Ishii jolt.
He turned his gaze towards Gotou Kazutoshi, his senior detective, who was snoring away on a row of chairs.
It seemed like he had been talking in his sleep.
The documents Ishii had asked him to file were still on top of the desk.
Gotou was a man who believed in doing rather than thinking.
Ishii had a great deal of admiration for Gotou, who was a man of men. In the future, he wanted to be a reliable and broadminded detective just like him.
However –
Recently, perhaps because they hadn’t had any cases recently, Gotou did come to work, but he was always sleeping.
Since Ishii knew that Gotou did not like paperwork, he tried to make up for his usual uselessness here.
That said, the work would never be finished if Gotou didn’t help a little bit.
'Detective Gotou – ’
Ishii tried calling out to him, but there was no response.
'Detective Gotou.’
This time, Ishii shook Gotou a little.
'I can’t eat any more.’
Gotou shook off Ishii’s hand while saying something nonsensical, which made Gotou lose his balance and fall from the chairs.
There was an incredibly loud thump.
'Ow…’
Gotou sat up, rubbing his back.
'Are you all right?’ asked Ishii, but Gotou glared at him with the face of a demon.
'Was it you?’
'Yes?’
'Did you make me fall?’
Gotou walked right up to him.
Gotou already had a frightening face usually – seeing him up close like this doubled the intimidation factor.
Ishii let out an 'Eek!’ and backed away.
'Tell me – did you push me?’
'No, I… That wasn’t what happened!’
'What happened then?’
'I didn’t try to push you or anything, Detective Gotou – you just fell…’
'Stop mumbling!’
A fist crashed down on Ishii’s head. The shock made him see stars.
He wanted to explain, but saying something unnecessary to Gotou just after he woke up would only worsen his mood.
He decided to be happy it had ended with just one fist to the head.
With a sigh, Ishii went back to his seat – just as the internal line rang.
He picked up the phone and said, 'Criminal Affairs Division: Unsolved Cases Special Investigations Department,’ but he almost fumbled his words.
He wished that they’d make the name easier or more stylish, like something in a TV show.
<It’s Miyagawa.>
He heard Miyagawa Hideki, chief of the detectives, through the phone.
Though he had a small frame, with his fierce face and bald head, he was frightening enough that you might mistake him for a yakuza if you met him in the streets.
However, he wasn’t just frightening – he was a man so compassionate he wouldn’t lose to Gotou.
'Hello, sir.’
<You busy now?>
Though there was an incredible amount of paperwork that had to be organised, if Miyagawa was going out of his way to call them, it had to be a case of some sort.
'No, we’re fine,’ Ishii replied, glancing at Gotou. Gotou rubbed his eyes and lit a cigarette.
<Actually, there’s a case I want you guys to take care of.>
– As I thought.
'What is it?’
Ishii felt himself growing excited – it had been a while since the last case.
<Go to the address I give you.>
'What happened?’
<Detectives are on the scene already, so ask them the details.>
'Ah…’ replied Ishii, though h was confused, and Miyagawa quickly gave him the address.
Ishii hurriedly wrote it on a memo.
<I’ll leave it to you then.>
Miyagawa said just that and hung up.
Ishii couldn’t explain it, but an unpleasant feeling was growing within Ishii’s chest.
'Who was that?’ asked Gotou, startling Ishii into a jump.
'Ah, er, it was Chief Miyagawa. He told us to investigate this place.’
Gotou friend and clicked his tongue.
'That guy’s definitely just pushing trouble he doesn’t want to deal with towards us.’
'I wonder about that.’
Gotou and Miyagawa had known each other for a long time and both casually spoke ill of the other, but Ishii had nothing he could say from his position.
'Well, we’ve got the free time anyway. Let’s deal with it,’ Gotou said carelessly. He grabbed the jacket hung on the back of his chair and strode out of the room.
Ishii hurriedly chased after him.
He fell –
-
4
-
Hijikata Makoto sat at a table in the lounge of Meisei University.
It was just past the front entrance of Building A.
It was an atrium with a ceiling that went up three storeys and a large window that let in the light – it felt very open.
When she looked out the window, she could see an old brick clock tower. Even though the sun was so bright, it felt a bit creepy.
The passing students were energetic, with an innocent and refreshing air to them.
Watching them made Makoto feel like she had returned to her school days.
Though they hadn’t all been good memories, it was still moving.
'What sort of person are they?’ asked Makoto to Iwata Kunihiro, who sat next to her.
Iwata was a senior from when Makoto was in university. He had soft features and sometimes seemed a bit absentminded, but he was quite a shrewd man.
'Hm… They look like a regular university student, but they can be a bit strange… Well, I think it’d be better for you just to meet them rather than to listen to my explanation,’ Iwata said so quickly it was hard to hear.
'You’re making quite a big thing out of this,’ said Makoto, which made Iwata laugh dryly.
Well, Iwata’s words made sense. If she was going to interview him afterwards, it would be better to listen to him with a blank slate rather than any preconceptions from information she had heard beforehand.
Iwata, who worked a publishing company, had contacted her a week ago for the first time in a while.
He had asked her to interview an author.
Makoto worked at the culture department of a newspaper company. Though she was in charge of a culture column, she would publish an interview with an author about once a week. Iwata wanted her to put an interview with this author there.
Makoto had thought the work that Iwata sent was rather interesting and decided to interview the author.
The author was a university student – that was one of the points that had caught her interest.
Iwata had arranged things and chosen the interview location, which was why they were in the lounge of Meisei University.
'Hello.’
Makoto turned around and saw a young man there.
Because of his small fame and round, childish face, he could have been mistaken for a middle schooler, but his black eyes alone had a strong volition within them.
'Hi, Sakurai-san.’
Iwata stood up with a smile.
It seemed that the young man in front of Makoto was the author Sakurai Itsuki.
'It’s nice to meet you. I’m Hijikata from Hokutou Newspaper.’
Makoto stood up and held out her business card.
'Sorry, I don’t have a business card…’
Itsuki replied in a clear voice that contrasted with his appearance.
'Please don’t be concerned about that. I look forward to our interview today.’
'As do I – ’
With simple greetings finished, they all sat down. Makoto and Iwata sat next to each other with Sakurai opposite them.
'Makocchan, you thought that the person who wrote this was female, didn’t you?’ said Iwata smugly as he tapped Sakurai’s book, The Ghost of the Clock Tower, which was on the table.
'I did,’ Makoto replied honestly, now understanding why Iwata hadn’t wanted to talk about the author.
He had probably wanted to surprise her.
Just as he had planned, she was surprised. The Ghost of the Clock Tower had a female protagonist who used the pronoun 'watashi’[2].
The story was written as the diary of the protagonist, who had accidentally killed someone and was tormented by that guilt, falling apart psychologically.
The story described the woman’s mental state with such expression, so it had to be written by a woman – so Makoto had thought.
It hadn’t helped that the name Sakurai Itsuki could have been that of a man or a woman.
'I thought that he was a woman at first too, so I was shocked when we met,’ Iwata said with an amused smile.
'Yes, you were.’
'And on top of that…’
'Since we’re all here, would it be all right if we started the interview?’ interrupted Makoto before Iwata got started.
Once he began to speak, he never stopped – that was something troublesome about Iwata.
Iwata frowned, looking like he still wanted to talk, but in contrast to that, Sakurai smiled and responded, 'Yes, of course.’
He seemed like a pleasant young man, unlike his writing style.
Makoto got Sakurai’s permission to use a voice recorder, pressed the record button and began after preparing herself.
'The Ghost of the Clock Tower was very interesting.’
'Thank you very much.’
Sakurai looked rather nervous, perhaps because he was feeling conscious of being recorded.
First, Makoto would need to make him relax.
'I read it all in one go. It was thrilling experiencing the everyday slowly go out of control.’
'I’m glad to hear it.’
'The setting is novel too.’
'Is it?’
'Yes. I’ve never read anything like this before – ’
As Makoto said that, even Sakurai looked a bit embarrassed. His expression was a bit more relaxed now.
Makoto wasn’t just giving him lip service though.
Sakurai’s work, The Ghost of the Clock Tower, really contained a unique world.
The protagonist opened her eyes and realised that she had killed someone the night before – that was where the story began.
It was never explained why the protagonist had killed someone or how she had done it – none of the concrete questions.
Readers were drawn in by how the collapse of her everyday was expressed.
'I feel a bit embarrassed,’ said Sakurai, closing his eyes.
'The descriptions are fantastic as well. Is this your first work?’
After getting Sakurai to go at her pace, Makoto asked him a question.
'No, I’m part of the literature circle.’
'The literature circle? What sort of activities do you do?’
'Normally, we just get excited talking about authors we like, like Akutagawa or Dazai, but we regularly publish something like a fiction magazine.’
'A magazine? That’s rather full-scale.’
'Calling it a magazine would be a bit much. It’s more like a booklet – ’
Makoto thought it was quite something already for the circle to create something that had actual form, when many circles just played around.
'Are your works published there as well, Sakurai-san?’
'Yes…’
'I’d love to read them.’
After Makoto said that, Sakurai shook his head.
'No, they really aren’t anything that I could show anyone.’
'You don’t have to be humble.’
'No, they really are awful.’
'But you’ve written such a wonderful book…’
Makoto looked at The Ghost of the Clock Tower on the table.
'I didn’t write that – ’ said Sakurai, looking troubled.
'Eh?’
Makoto looked at Iwata in shock.
Iwata seemed to already have known that, as his expression was just as cool as before.
'What on earth did you mean by those words?’ asked Makoto, choosing her words carefully.
'Exactly what I said,’ Sakurai said matter-of-factly.
Makoto was even more confused.
'Sakurai-san, you didn’t write this work – is that what you’re saying?’
'Yes, that is what I’m saying.’
– A ghost writer?
Makoto shook away the suspicion that came to her.
Celebrities might use ghost writers, but that was only after they had built up popularity with their own name.
It would be strange if that were the case here.
'Are you saying that this was plagiarised or that there was a ghost writer?’
'Yes,’ said Sakurai with a nod.
This would completely change the direction of the interview.
Makoto looked beside her again. Iwata looked as cool as always. He even looked like he was enjoying the situation.
If what Sakurai said was true and there really was another author, the editor wouldn’t be able to stay calm like this.
'Who wrote it?’ asked Makoto after taking a deep breath to calm down.
Sakurai looked at the clock tower outside the window. The smile left his face.
After a silence, Sakurai said just this.
'A ghost.’
'By ghost, do you mean the spirit of somebody who died?’ repeated Makoto.
Sakurai responded with another nod. 'Yes.’
– Is he one of those?
Makoto understood now, though she lamented it.
Though it was the first she had heard of a ghost writing something, she had often heard things like 'I saw the words in a dream’ or 'I felt like somebody else was in my head when I was writing’.
It was impossible from a normal point of view, and it was never actually like that. It was just that the writer fell in a sort of trance when they started writing.
'A ghost? That’s an interesting feeling,’ said Makoto, but Sakurai shook her head.
'No, it wasn’t just a feeling. A ghost really did write this.’
'But…’
'Look, you can see that clock tower, right?’
Sakurai pointed at the clock tower outside the window.
'Yes.’
'The ghost living in that clock tower made me write that work – ’
Sakurai’s trancelike expression made a chill run down Makoto’s spine.
-
5
-
Haruka sat next to Yakumo at a table by the window in the canteen.
It was already past lunchtime, so there were few people and the kitchen was closed.
'Why do I have to come all the way out here?’ grumbled Yakumo as he propped his chin up with his hand, looking bored.
'It’s nice sometimes as a change of pace, isn’t it?’ said Haruka with a shrug.
She had thought about meeting in the Movie Research Circle room, but Yakumo had complained when they had done that during the 'tree of deceit’ case.
In the end, Yakumo complained no matter what she did.
Just as Yakumo was about to complain again, a female student entered the canteen.
She was the person they were waiting for – Koike Kanae.
'Kanae – ’
Haruka raised her hand and Kanae’s expression brightened immediately when she noticed. She ran over.
Though she had beautiful futures, her shoulder-length hair was ink-black and she had little makeup on, so she left a plain impression.
She had a reserved personality as well, so she didn’t stand out much.
However, that was just her being considerate of others. She was a woman with incredibly firm beliefs.
Haruka liked that part of Kanae.
'This is Koike Kanae-san, who is in the same lecture as me. This is Saitou Yakumo-kun – ’
Haruka introduced the two to each other.
'Hello,’ said Kanae, but Yakumo gave no response at all.
Kanae looked troubled, so Haruka said, 'This is how he always is,’ urging her to sit down.
Yakumo still looked displeased, chin in his hand.
Perhaps because of his attitude, Kanae was nervous. That said, if Haruka pointed that out, it would only make the mood worse.
'So, we’d like to hear your story in detail,’ said Haruka.
Kanae nodded and started speaking, though she looked concerned about Yakumo.
'Have you heard the rumour about that clock tower?’ Kanae looked outside the window.
From where Haruka was sitting, the other school buildings got in the way so she could only see the very top of the tower.
'Rumour?’
Haruka cocked her head.
She had been at this university for almost three years, but she couldn’t remember hearing any rumours about the clock tower.
'Yes. People say there’s a big mirror in the room at the top of the tower, and that it’s connected to the underworld…’
'The underworld?’ asked Haruka, which made Yakumo snort derisively.
'The underworld is believed to be the place where the dead live.’
Yakumo’s explanation brought a memory back to Haruka.
Even in the Izanagi and Izanami legend, the underworld was where the dead Izanami was said to live.
'So it’s connected to the world of the dead?’ asked Haruka, to which Kanae nodded.
'Can you really have something like that?’ said Haruka in her shock, at which point Yakumo’s cold gaze turned her way.
'Are you serious?’
'What?’
'Not even elementary school kids would believe that now.’
It was exactly as Yakumo said, but there had to have been a nicer way of putting it. However, it was pointless to expect that from Yakumo.
That said, after Yakumo said that, Kanae had gone silent and was looking down. They would get nowhere like this.
'Putting aside whether the rumour is true or not, could you tell me the rest?’ urged Haruka.
Kanae nodded and continued, 'There’s more to the rumour surrounding the clock tower – ’
Haruka felt like a shadow covered Kanae’s eyes as she said that.
'More?’
'Yes. If you stand in front of that mirror at eleven fifty five, you can see somebody who’s died once more…. but….’
Kanae dropped her gaze to the table.
'But what?’ asked Haruka, but Kanae said nothing. She just kept looking down.
How much time passed? After a long silence, Kanae looked up suddenly.
'You get taken to the underworld too – ’
Kanae’s eyes were strangely bright now, as if something had possessed them.
Haruka glanced at Yakumo.
She was sure that he would be smirking as if to say it were all a joke, but unexpectedly, he was listening carefully as well.
Putting aside whether Kanae’s rumour was true or not, she wouldn’t have come for advice just after hearing a rumour.
'Could it be that you went to that clock tower, Kanae?’ asked Haruka.
Kanae nodded. 'About two weeks ago, I ended up going to check whether the rumour was true…’
Kanae’s voice grew quieter.
'How pointless – you got wrapped up in trouble because you went to a place like that just to amuse yourself.’
Yakumo’s words dripped with disgust.
From Yakumo’s perspective, since he could see the spirits of the dead, going to spiritual spots for fun was unforgiveable.
Kanae looked down, perhaps sensing the unpleasant mood.
At this rate, the conversation would stop. 'So did you go yourself?’ asked Haruka, forcing the conversation to go forward.
'I went with a senior from my circle…’ replied Kanae in a quiet voice.
'And you saw something on top of the clock tower then?’ asked Haruka
Kanae shook her head, still looking down. 'I didn’t see anything. At first, I was too afraid to go inside… but Nishizawa-san, who was with me, went to the very top.’
'Is Nishizawa-san the senior you went with?’
'Yes.’
'And Nishizawa-san saw a ghost there?’
'I was waiting outside the tower when I heard a scream…’
'A scream?’
'Yes. I was afraid, but I thought that something might have happened to Nishizawa-san so I went inside the clock tower. I went up the stairs to the very top room, and then…’
Kanae bit her lip, looking pained. After a silence, she said, 'Nishizawa-san was collapsed there…’
'How was Nishizawa-san?’ asked Haruka as she held her breath.
'It looked like he had just fainted, so I kept asking him if he was OK, but at first there was no response at all. After a while though, he woke up.’
'And that senior said he saw a ghost then?’ asked Haruka.
Kanae nodded. Her lips were trembling slightly. Haruka placed a hand on Kanae’s shoulder.
Kanae had experienced something so frightening two weeks ago, but Haruka hadn’t noticed at all until Kanae had told her. She felt pathetic.
'There’s still more to the story, right?’ asked Yakumo with a yawn, sounding bored.
Kanae looked up slightly.
'What do you mean?’ asked Haruka. Yakumo sighed.
'I mean what I said. If that were the end of the story, we wouldn’t need to be here.’
That was true. Right now, the story was just about a ghost sighting. Though that was frightening, that would also be the end of the story.
'Ever since then, Nishizawa-san has been strange.’ Kanae’s eyes were slightly wet with tears.
'What do you mean by strange?’ asked Haruka.
Kanae bit her lip before continuing. 'No matter what anyone asks him, it’s like he’s somewhere else, and he doesn’t eat at all. Though he’s always been thin, he keeps getting thinner… At this rate, Nishizawa-san might…’
Kanae clutched her hand to her chest, as if to stop her trembling.
According to the rumour whispered about the clock tower, those who reunited with the dead were taken to the underworld themselves – in short, they died.
Kanae was probably worried about that.
'Hey, Yakumo-kun, let’s do something for her,’ said Haruka, which just made Yakumo let out a dramatic sigh –
-
6
-
'Man, what a pain,’ grumbled Gotou as he lit his cigarette from the passenger seat.
In the driver’s seat, Ishii just gave a vague 'Mm’ in reply.
'Who just tells somebody to go to a case without explaining anything?’
’S-sorry.’
'And you should’ve asked about the details.’
'Even if you tell me that, I was told to ask at the scene…’
'You were told to? Think for yourself sometimes!’
Gotou hit Ishii’s head.
'Sorry,’ repeated Ishii.
Though he had a slender face and wore silver-framed glasses that made him look intelligent, Ishii was incredibly timid.
Even though everything would be fine if he could just be confident and say what was on his mind, he always backed down, too concerned about what others were thinking.
Gotou always felt somewhat irritated when he saw Ishii like that. If only Gotou could teach him – but no, Gotou, clumsy himself, just ended up reprimanding him.
Sometimes he thought that it would be better for Ishii if he were paired with somebody else.
'This appears to be the place.’
While Gotou was thinking thoughts that were unlike him, they had reached the location. Ishii parked the car by the road.
Gotou got off the car and saw that they were at an intersection at the foot of a slope –
If they kept going up, they would reach Meisei University, the school Yakumo and Haruka went to.
He saw two men in suits at the traffic light. One was tall with a firm body and chiselled features – Shinoda Hisao.
Shinoda had been with Gotou when he was in investigations. They were about the same age.
Though he looked like a nice middle-aged man on the outside, on the inside he was arrogant, delighted in others failures and sucked up to his boss. Gotou couldn’t get along with men like him.
Gotou had never talked to the other man, but if he remembered correctly, his name was Onodera. He was a pale, small-framed and slender man in his late twenties.
Gotou walked towards them.
'Oh, it’s you, Gotou? Looks like you’re doing well,’ Shinoda said, noticing Gotou.
It was a sticky and disagreeable voice. He was probably mocking Gotou, who had been thrown into the Unsolved Cases Special Investigations department after causing a number of problems.
However, Gotou didn’t care at all.
'That’s the only good point.’
'I’m glad. I wish I could transfer over – I’m so busy I can’t even sleep.’
Shinoda’s smile was mocking as well. It looked like he really wanted to make fun of Gotou.
'I’m glad you’re busy, though I heard that your solve rate is rather low… Slacking off?’ said Gotou, which made Shinoda’s face twitch.
Though the Unsolved Cases department was a plum job, they had solved quite a few cases.
Of course, it wasn’t just Gotou. It was because they had had Yakumo’s cooperation and his power to see the spirits of the dead. It was still true that he had results though.
'It’s because you go over people’s boundaries like that that you get demoted.’
Shinoda’s tone was much rougher now, probably because Gotou had really got on his nerves.
– What a simple guy.
'It’s no help if you worry about boundaries and just increase the number of unsolved cases.’
'What?’
'What? Wanna go?’
Ishii interrupted just before it became a fight.
'Detective Gotou, let’s calm down.’
'Shut up. He’s the one who tried to start a fight.’
'But fighting here will solve nothing.’
'I know that.’
It was just as Ishii said though.
They’d get nowhere fighting with a detective whose only skill was his pride. Gotou’s fist had nowhere to go though.
There was no helping it – he dropped it on Ishii’s head.
'Why me…’ said Ishii, looking like he might cry at any moment.
Why? Because Gotou was in a bad mood, that was all. Gotou snorted and looked the other way.
'What happened?’ asked Ishii, bringing up the matter at hand.
Shinoda had his arms crossed and looked displeased, perhaps still holding the earlier altercation in his mind. He made no move to speak.
Onodera smiled wryly at Shinoda and then said, 'Rather than explaining, it would be better if you took a look – ’
Onodera pointed at the traffic light.
'What’s that?’ asked Gotou without thinking.
He hadn’t noticed because of his argument with Shinoda, but the area around the light was on was in a terrible state.
It was dyed red, as if – it had been dyed with blood.
'Eek!’ shrieked Ishii as he leapt back.
'Don’t make a fuss!’ Gotou hit Ishii’s head and bent down to look.
'This blood?’ asked Gotou.
Onodera shook his head. 'Forensics sent a report earlier. It appears to be oil-based paint.’
'I see,’ said Gotou. When this was discovered, people had probably thought it was blood. There was no sign of an accident, so there was a possibility that there was a case somewhere.
But this wasn’t blood – it was just paint. This was just an ill-natured prank then.
And the Unsolved Cases Special Investigation department had been dragged into this.
– Don’t screw with me!
Just as Gotou was about to complain, Shinoda and Onodera left the scene.
-
7
-
Haruka, who had stopped in front of the clock tower, looked up at it towering over her.
It was made of brick. The square tower had a red triangular roof. The clock on top was stopped at eleven fifty-five.
Perhaps it looked more unsettling than usual because of Kanae’s story.
'What are you spacing out for?’
Yakumo didn’t seem anxious at all even though they were about to go towards a clock tower rumoured to have ghosts.
However, now that Haruka thought about it, Yakumo saw ghosts every day. This was probably nothing to him.
At the same time, a question came to Haruka.
'Hey, Yakumo-kun, have you ever seen a ghost in the clock tower before?’
If the rumour was true, it wouldn’t be strange if Yakumo had seen a ghost there in the past.
'Never.’
An immediate reply.
'So the ghost thing must be just a rumour?’
'You really are hasty.’
Yakumo shook his head in exasperation.
'Hasty… You’ve never seen a ghost there, so there aren’t any there, right?’
'Sorry, but I’ve never gone up the clock tower.’
The university campus was fairly large. There were many places you would never go if you had no need to. The top of the clock tower wasn’t a place you would just pass by.
But –
'There’s a window.’
Haruka pointed at the window at the top of the clock tower.
It wouldn’t be strange if you saw somebody’s figure from there.
'I can’t see anything with the window low that,’ said Yakumo, still exasperated.
It was true that the window Haruka had pointed at was cloudy with dirt.
'You’re right…’
Yakumo had already started walking towards the clock tower while Haruka was still talking. Haruka ran after him as if she were being dragged along.
In front of the clock tower, there was a large wooden gate. The double doors had rusty handles.
Yakumo reached towards one of them.
Haruka felt nervous, hands sweaty with the prospect of entering the tower imminent.
'What are you doing?’
Haruka leapt at the sudden voice.
She turned around and saw a uniformed university security guard.
He was probably in his mid-twenties, young for a guard. He had hollow cheeks and was very thin.
'We just thought we’d take a look inside,’ Yakumo said calmly, in contrast to Haruka who was at a loss for words.
'Entry is prohibited because an accident occurred there previously,’ declared the guard in a very businesslike voice.
'An accident?’
'I only came recently so I don’t know the details either, but it seems a female student fell to her death – ’
Haruka felt a jolt upon hearing the guard’s words.
Perhaps the ghost of the tower was the women who had fallen.
'That’s too bad. I just wanted to explore a bit…’ said Yakumo with a smile.
'In any case, the gate is locked, so you can’t go in.’
The guard said just that and turned on his heels to leave.
A woman had fallen to her death here – they had received this new information, but they couldn’t go in if it was locked.
'What are we going to do?’ Haruka asked Yakumo.
'Go in, of course.’
'But it’s locked…’
'Did you forget? Your friend still went inside despite that.’
That was right. Kanae had gone inside the clock tower. But from where?
Before Haruka could ask, Yakumo began to walk around the tower.
Though Haruka didn’t understand, she followed Yakumo anyway.
Haruka hadn’t noticed at a distance, but up close, she could see that the walls of the clock tower had an emergency ladder built in.
'Are you going to climb this?’
Yakumo sighed.
'I wouldn’t do something so troublesome.’
'Then what are you going to do?’
They had reached the back of the tower. There was a small steel door there.
A chain and padlock were at the foot of the door.
Somebody might have forced it open. Kanae had probably gone in this way.
'Let’s go.’
Yakumo said just that and slowly opened the door.
There was the unpleasant sound of rusted metal grating.
'Are you really going to go?’
Yakumo ignored Haruka’s question and went inside.
Haruka hesitantly followed.
She felt the urge to cough immediately.
The air was stagnant. It was like they had stepped into a different world.
She could barely see anything with just the faint light from the door.
'It’s pitch black.’
'I know that without your saying it.’
Yakumo took a pen light out of his pocket and turned it on.
Though it wasn’t much help, it was better than nothing.
Haruka could see stairs in the gloom.
'Be careful,’ said Yakumo, turning around.
Haruka felt happy that Yakumo, who was always so brusque, was being considerate.
'Ah, OK.’
After Haruka replied, Yakumo started climbing the stairs. Haruka followed him.
There were no windows to light the way. Even though it was day, Haruka wouldn’t have been able to see her feet without the pen light.
Step by step, it grew harder to breathe.
'Why did they build a clock tower anyway?’ asked Haruka as she paused for breath.
'To see the time, of course,’ Yakumo replied flatly.
Though Haruka could only see his back, she was sure that his expression was mocking.
'I know that, but you don’t need to go and make a tower, do you?’
'Do you know how many years ago this tower was made?’
Even though Haruka was the one who’d asked a question, a question came right back to her.
'I heard it was when the university was founded…’
'Correct. This university was founded about eighty years ago. Do you understand what I’m saying?’
'No.’
'Eighty years ago, people didn’t have a way to tell the time easily – ’
'Oh!’
Finally, Haruka understood what Yakumo was saying.
Now, everyone had a wristwatch or mobile phone to check the time, but that hadn’t been the case in the past.
That was why they needed a tall clock tower that people could see from a distance.
'Without anyone noticing, we’ve stopped looking far away… It’s kind of sad.’
Yakumo stopped in his tracks.
'That’s unusually philosophical for you.’
When Yakumo turned around, his expression was blatantly scornful.
'That’s not what I…’
Haruka felt embarrassed, as if she had said something cheesy, and looked down.
Yakumo went back to climbing the stairs.
'Honestly,’ muttered Haruka with a sigh before she went after Yakumo.
Finally, they reached the end of the stairs and arrived at the room at the top.
There were windows on three of the four walls, so it was fairly bright. When Haruka looked up, she saw a ceiling with naked beams and a hanging light bulb.
There were desks and chairs in the corner of the room with other mysterious clutter.
'It’s a bit of a letdown,’ said Haruka.
Yakumo looked disgruntled.
'Letdown?’
'I mean… I thought it would be more frightening since a ghost was supposed to be here…’
'What is your standard for frightening?’
'Standard? Well, dark and gloomy… anyway, that sort of atmosphere.’
Yakumo glared at her.
'What do you think ghosts are?’
'Dead people…’
'Yes. The spirits of people who’ve died. In short, ghosts aren’t monsters.’
Haruka could understand what Yakumo was displeased by now.
Thinking that ghosts came out in dark and gloomy places was the same as treating them like monsters.
Yakumo, who could see the spirits of the dead, didn’t treat them that way.
Though the living and the dead were different, they were both human – that was what Yakumo thought. Haruka felt ashamed of what she had said, which had been close to prejudice.
'Sorry…’
Though Haruka gave an honest apology, Yakumo didn’t reply. He just looked at the mirror against the wall with no windows.
It was an old mirror, with an ivy decoration entwining the frame.
It was dirty and dusty, so their reflection looked like it was in fog.
'This is the mirror connected to the underworld then,’ said Haruka, which made Yakumo sigh dramatically.
'You still believe that joke?’
'That’s not it. It’s just kind of creepy…’
Though Haruka didn’t believe the door, in an unsettling atmosphere like this, she could understand why a rumour about the underworld would come about.
'In the past, people thought that mirrors didn’t reflect but rather showed another world.’
'Really?’
'That was why they would be put on altars or used in rites. Rumours like this one about a connection to the underworld have been around for millennia.’
'Oh?’
Haruka looked at the mirror again.
It was strange how the mirror looked almost divine after hearing what Yakumo said.
'So could you see anything?’ asked Haruka as she stared at the mirror.
'No, nothing…’
'Then there’s no ghost here?’
'Why do you rush to conclusions?’
'But…’
'I just don’t see any now. It might be different at a different time.’
'That’s true.’
It was just as Yakumo said.
Ghosts didn’t always stay in the same place.
'Furthermore – the ghost may have possessed a student that has been acting strange.’
Haruka felt a chill run down her spine.
If that was the case, they had to hurry or that student would be in trouble, just as Kanae feared.
When Haruka told Yakumo that, he ran a hand through his hair in irritation.
'First, we need to go meet that man – ’
'Right.’
'Bring him to my room.’
After Yakumo said that, he started walking towards the stairs.
Haruka could probably bring the student if she talked to Kanae again, but –
'Yakumo-kun, what are you going to do?’
Yakumo could just go with her to make this less complicated.
'I’m going to investigate from a different angle.’
'Different angle?’
'Yeah. If there really was a ghost here, then perhaps…’
Yakumo turned around and looked at the mirror again.
Though it was just for a moment, Haruka thought that she saw a dark shadow move inside the mirror.
-
8
-
'Who on earth did this…’ murmured Ishii as he looked at the splattered red paint.
The traffic light covered in red paint looked unsettling, aided perhaps by the sunset.
The cars on the road continued, either unconscious of the paint or ignoring it.
'Some random guy,’ Gotou said carelessly. It looked like he had lost his interest in the case.
He took a cigarette case out of his jacket pocket and took out just one cigarette.
'It’s illegal to smoke on the road,’ said Ishii.
'I know that,’ Gotou replied with a click of his tongue. He just held the unlit cigarette in his mouth.
'I wonder why they did this.’
Ishii looked at the red paint on the traffic light pole.
Though he often heard of people drawing or writing with spray paint, what was the meaning of just splashing paint like this?
Ishii just couldn’t think of a reason.
'Is this…’
Gotou’s mobile phone rang, interrupting Ishii.
'Who is it?’
Gotou answered the phone without checking the display.
It wasn’t that he was in a bad mood – this was how he always answered the phone.
'What? Shut up! You can’t say anything about other people either!’
From the tone of Gotou’s voice, he was probably talking to Saitou Yakumo.
Even though they argued like that, they still relied on each other. It was strange.
Ishii’s eyes wandered to the intersection.
There was a woman standing there.
As she was turned away from him, he couldn’t see her face, but she was slender and tall.
She didn’t cross the intersection. She just stood there.
– What is she doing?
While Ishii was pondering this, the light turned from green to yellow.
Still, the woman didn’t move. If she didn’t hurry, the light would change.
'It’s dangerous!’ Ishii called out.
The woman didn’t move at all, as if she hadn’t heard Ishii’s voice.
The light turned red.
Soon, the lights for the road in the other direction would turn green.
Though there were no cars waiting there, it wouldn’t be strange if she got hit standing in a place like that.
'Please cross already!’ shouted Ishii.
Still, the woman didn’t move.
– Why?
Ishii anxiously looked left and right.
He saw a large truck coming.
The truck didn’t slow down, as if the driver hadn’t noticed the woman standing there.
– This is bad!
Ishii reflexively ran towards the woman.
He tried to grab the woman’s arm and pull her back to the side of the road, but –
Ishii’s hand went straight through the woman.
'Eh?’
The woman had disappeared.
– What on earth just happened?
Ishii heard a horn going off in his confusion.
When he looked up, he saw the truck coming near him.
'Eek!’
Ishii ran back. In his rush, he lost his footing and tumbled on the asphalt.
He heard the sound of screeching brakes and tires.
– I’m going to die!
Ishii was sure of it.
He didn’t know what happened, but he found himself curled up on the side of the road.
'Idiot! What are you doing!?’ yelled the truck driver, before driving away.
Ishii was still in shock as he watched the truck go.
What on earth had just happened? There had definitely been a woman in the intersection, but she had disappeared. Had it been an illusion?
As if to respond to Ishii’s question, he suddenly felt a warm breath on his ear.
A chill ran down his spine. He turned around.
Standing there –
The woman from earlier.
'Ah…’
Ishii was so frightened he couldn’t breathe.
He hadn’t seen it when she was turned around, but –
The woman’s face was half crushed, with an incredible amount of blood pouring out.
Drip, drip, drip –
Dark red blood fell from her chin.
<…>
The woman said something in a thick voice.
It was like a damaged CD, choppy and impossible to make out.
Still, Ishii could understand the feeling behind it.
'Aaaahhh!’
Ishii covered his ears and shut his eyes as he screamed as loud as he could.
He felt like the woman in front of him would draw him into a deep and growing darkness if he didn’t do that.
Thump –
Suddenly, a dull pain ran through Ishii’s head.
'Ow!’
He opened his eyes. Gotou was standing right in front of him.
'Eh? Detective Gotou…’
'Don’t just say “Eh”!’
Gotou hit Ishii’s head again.
'Er, um…’
'What are you doing? You suddenly ran into the middle of the rood. You were about to be run over.’
'No, that’s not it. Just earlier, a woman was…’
'There’s nobody there!’
Another fist came down.
Ishii hurriedly looked around. Just as Gotou said, there was nobody there.
'But I’m sure…’
'Stop babbling nonsense!’ said Gotou with a click of his tongue.
This made no sense. Ishii had seen her. Perhaps she had been –
'Let’s get going already.’
Gotou said just that and started walking.
'Going? Where to?’
Ishii hurried after Gotou.
'Request from Yakumo.’
'From Yakumo-shi?’
If Yakumo was asking, it was probably something to do with spiritual phenomena.
'His usual “Check if anybody died here” thing.’
'That’s fine, but what about this case?’
'After, after – ’
Gotou waved a hand as if brushing away a fly and walked off.
'But…’ Ishii was hesitant and stopped walking, but then the woman from earlier came across his mind.
He definitely didn’t want to stay here alone.
'Please wait!’
Ishii hurriedly ran after Gotou.
– He fell.
-
9
-
'Hello – ’
Makoto visited the Movie Research Circle room.
She had made an appointment beforehand, so the person she was looking for was in his usual seat.
'Come in,’ Yakumo said casually.
Though he had beautiful features, he always looked like he had just woken up. With his distant attitude, it was hard to guess what he was thinking.
Makoto usually came to this room when Haruka or Gotou and Ishii were here.
Being here one on one with Yakumo made her feel strangely nervous.
'Sorry for coming so suddenly…’ said Makoto.
She had met Yakumo because of a certain case.
During that case. Makoto had the unusual experience of being possessed by a ghost. She could have died then, but Yakumo had saved her.
Ever since then, she often met up with Yakumo, helping out with cases Yakumo was investigating or discussing spiritual phenomena.
'Please sit down,’ urged Yakumo, so Makoto sat opposite him.
'I wanted to ask your opinion about something.’
'It is a request from none other than you, Makoto-san. If my opinions are acceptable, I will listen to anything you have to ask,’ Yakumo replied politely.
Since he said it so flatly, Makoto couldn’t tell if he meant it or not, but she would just feel awkward if she left without saying anything now.
'Actually,’ Makoto began, 'this just happened earlier, but I was interviewing an author.’
'Is that so?’
'The author is still new with only one book, so you might not recognise the name. Sakurai Itsuki.’
After Makoto said that, Yakumo slowly stood up and moved to the corner of the room to take a book from the top of the refrigerator.
'This is the book in question then – ’
Yakumo placed Sakurai Itsuki’s The Ghost of the Clock Tower on the table.
Things would go quickly if he had already read the book.
'What did you think of the book?’ asked Makoto, which made a difficult expression appear on Yakumo’s face.
'Do my feelings have something to do with the matter?’
Though they weren’t directly related, Makoto wanted to discuss the work’s author today. She wanted to know what Yakumo felt before she gave him any preconceptions.
After Makoto told Yakumo that, Yakumo thought for a moment before saying, 'This is just my opinion, but – it is a very interesting idea. Though it’s rough, the prose is detailed and sucks you in. However…’
'What is it?’
Makoto leant forward slightly.
'Something bothers me.’
What is it?’
'I’m rereading the book because I can’t explain it well,’ said Yakumo with a shake of his head.
To be honest, that was how Makoto felt as well. Something bothered her – she had thought that the interview would explain it, but now she had a new question.
'So what is it about this novel that brought you here?’ asked Yakumo.
She didn’t come to review the book. Makoto opened her mouth once more.
'The author of this book is a university student. A fourth-year in the literature circle.’
'Is that so…’
Yakumo opened the book to the back of the cover with the author profile.
'Are there no rumours on campus?’
'There are very few people now that are interested in books. There wouldn’t be a rumour unless the author went around declaring it.’
'That’s true…’
Just as Yakumo commented, it was a simple fact that nowadays many young people were not interested in books.
Furthermore, though there were many students at university, if you weren’t in the same seminar or circle, everyone was a stranger, just like a passer-by you might meet in town.
Like Yakumo said, unless the author declared it himself, most people probably wouldn’t notice.
'So what about this author then?’ asked Yakumo.
'The author said something strange during our interview.’
'Strange?’
'Yes. “I didn’t write this book. A ghost made me write it.” That’s what the author said.’
'A ghost?’
'Yes.’
'It isn’t just some performance?’ said Yakumo, running a hand through his hair.
'That’s what I thought too at first, but…’
'What is it?’
'Something didn’t click for me.’
'Didn’t click?’
'I thought that a woman wrote this novel, but…’
'It was actually written by a man,’ finished Yakumo.
'Yes.’
There were some authors who wrote like women while being men, and vice versa.
However, Makoto just couldn’t accept that a man had written this.
It was just a gut feeling, so she couldn’t put it into words, but that was something she just couldn’t accept – it just felt a bit off.
'Makoto-san, could it be that you already have a theory about this case?’ said Yakumo, almond eyes narrowed.
That was Yakumo’s perception for you. Makoto couldn’t hide her thoughts in front of him.
A theory had come to Makoto after hearing Sakurai’s story. It was so odd, but she just couldn’t stop thinking about it.
'Would it be impossible for a ghost to really have written it?’
Makoto asked the question just as it came to her.
That was what she had come to ask Yakumo.
She couldn’t just write an article without proof about how Sakurai had had his story written by a ghost.
'In short, you think that a ghost possessed Sakurai-shi and made him write the novel,’ said Yakumo.
Makoto nodded.
She knew it was crazy, but she had still it, perhaps because Sakurai hadn’t looked like he was lying.
Yakumo crossed his arms.
It wasn’t that he had lost his interest. He was probably thinking.
Makoto held her breath as she waited for Yakumo’s answer.
It was likely that Yakumo was the only person who could answer this question, as somebody who could actually see the spirits of the dead.
'I can’t deny the possibility – ’
Yakumo said just that after a long sentence.
'Is it really…’
Makoto couldn’t hide her surprise, even though she was the one who had asked the question.
'I am just talking about the possibility. During possession, the spirit’s memories and feelings flow through the person being possessed. It isn’t impossible if we think of it as an extension of that.’
Makoto understood after Yakumo explained.
She had been possessed by a ghost before too. She had shared the ghost’s memories and feelings then.
'Then…’
'In any case, it is too early to come to a conclusion. In order to confirm this, it would be necessary to meet Sakurai-shi himself.’
'Could I ask that of you?’ said Makoto, leaning forward.
Yakumo smiled dryly. 'I wouldn’t mind.’
'Thank you very much.’
'However, there is something I want to check before meeting him.’
'Check?’
'Yes. You said that Sakurai-san was in the literature circle. I would like to read his past works if there are any.’
Makoto understood after hearing that.
By reading Sakurai’s past works, Yakumo could probably gather some information.
'Furthermore, I’d like to know if there were any changes in his life.’
It was true that if Sakurai had been possessed that he must have acted differently in his day-to-day life.
'Understood. I’ll ask around – ’
Makoto stood up, but Yakumo called out to stop her.
'Did Sakurai-shi say that he saw the ghost which made him write the novel?’
'I don’t know about that, but he said that the ghost in the clock tower at this university wrote it.’
After hearing Makoto’s words, Yakumo’s expression grew grim.
'The ghost of the clock tower again…’ murmured Yakumo in a low voice.
-
10
-
Haruka sat at the same table by the window in the cafeteria as earlier and looked at the clock tower, with the sunset lighting it –
However, she wasn’t just idling time away.
After parting with Yakumo, she contacted Kanae. She was going to bring Nishizawa, who had gone up the clock tower and was possibly possessed by a ghost.
Though nothing big had happened yet, Haruka felt unsettled.
She couldn’t explain why she felt that way.
Her heart was beating strangely, and she just had a bad feeling about this.
'Haruka – ’
Haruka looked up and saw Kanae standing there.
She had brought a young man with her. This was probably Nishizawa.
He was incredibly thin with hollowed cheeks. His eyes were a bit bloodshot and he had shadows underneath them.
He was pale as well – he looked sick. Haruka understood why Kanae was worried.
'This is Ozawa Haruka-san. Nishizawa Yasunobu-senpai – ’
Kanae neatly introduced them to each other and urged Nishizawa to sit with her opposite Haruka.
'So what did you want to talk about?’ said Nishizawa, brows furrowed in suspicious.
The atmosphere grew heavy just from those words.
'Um…. Haruka knows somebody who’s knowledgeable about ghosts… so I thought maybe we could get him to look at you, Nishizawa-san…’
'You’re still on about that? Kanae-chan, you’re a bit strange,’ Nishizawa interrupted.
'Eh?’
Haruka was at a loss for what to say.
It seemed like Kanae had brought Nishizawa here without explaining the situation.
'Sorry,’ Kanae said quickly with her head hung.
Haruka didn’t know who that apology was directed to, but the mood was terribly dampened.
'Sorry for taking up your time. Kanae-chan believes this rumour, see, and she’s just a bit too worried,’ said Nishizawa after a silence, shaking his head.
'Excuse me… but what are you talking about?’ asked Haruka.
Nishizawa sighed. 'I climbed the clock tower with Kanae-chan. It’s true that I saw something like a ghost then, but that’s all.’
'Eh?’
'But Kanae-chan got really worried and seems to think I’ve been possessed…’
'Is that so…’
Haruka was a bit confused about where this conversation was going.
'Does it look like I’m possessed, anyway?’ said Nishizawa, spreading his arms wide.
Though he did seem a bit too thin, from how he was talking, Nishizawa didn’t look possessed.
Haruka couldn’t see ghosts like Yakumo so she couldn’t be certain, but she had seen many possessed people before. When she compared Nishizawa to those people, she felt that he was a bit different.
'You don’t,’ said Haruka, which made Kanae look up.
'But I have a bad feeling. Like something really bad is going to happen…’
'You’re thinking too much,’ said Nishizawa, seeming half-exasperated.
'I want to think that was as well, but I’m sure…’
'I said it’s fine. I’m really OK. I only saw something that looked like a ghost anyway – I didn’t see it clearly…’
'But you fainted, didn’t you?’
'Yeah, but… nothing happened after that, right?’ said Nishizawa nonchalantly.
Haruka wanted to speak up for Kanae, but since she wasn’t saying anything, Haruka felt like she’d just be meddling if she said anything else. It wasn’t like she had the right to say anything, but –
'I understand. Thank you very much.’
Haruka bowed her head politely to Nishizawa.
Continuing this wouldn’t get them anywhere.
'No, not at all. Sorry if I worried you or anything,’ Nishizawa said cheerfully as he stood up.
Nishizawa was about to leave, but then he turned around, like he had remembered something.
'If you find anything out, tell me, OK? I’m interested too – ’
Nishizawa said just that and left.
'Sorry…’ Kanae said quietly.
There wasn’t anything to apologise for. It wasn’t like Kanae had lied, and Haruka could understand why she would believe the rumour and feel anxious.
However, Nishizawa himself didn’t seem to think there was any problem and didn’t want any help, so there was nothing else they could do.
'Don’t worry about it. Anyway, we’re in the cafeteria, so want to eat something?’ said Haruka to cheer Kanae up. Kanae smiled slightly.
Kanae didn’t usually show much emotion, so the smiles she sometimes showed made her seem very cute.
Then, the two of them bought sandwiches and began an early dinner.
'Hey, Haruka, that person you brought – ’
'Ah, Yakumo-kun?’
'You like him, right?’
It was so sudden that Haruka almost spat out the sandwich she was eating.
'No, no. It’s not like that.’
Kanae laughed as she watched Haruka fervently deny it –
-
11
-
Makoto stood in front of the door of the research room on the fifth floor of Building A, Meisei University.
When she knocked on the door, a man’s voice replied. 'Come in.’
'Pardon my intrusion – ’
Makoto opened the door and went inside.
The room was small, just four tatami mats in side, and kept clean, with only bookshelves and a desk.
The man sitting at the desk looked up.
He was probably about forty. Though he had a long face, he had well-defined features. He was the Japanese literature associate professor, Onda Shuusuke.
'If it isn’t Hijikata Makoto-san – ’
Onda gave her a friendly smile.
'You remember me?’ said Makoto, surprised.
After leaving Yakumo’s room, Makoto had gone to the faculty area to investigate the literature circle.
She had been surprised when she saw Onda’s name under faculty member in charge.
When Makoto had been a university student, she had been in Onda’s seminar. It was a surprising coincidence.
The nostalgia had helped bring her here this quickly.
'Of course I do. You were a great student, Hijikata-san.’
'I won’t give you anything even if you flatter me.’
'You got me,’ said Onda with a laugh.
Makoto felt relieved seeing that he hadn’t changed.
The last time she had seen him was since her graduation, but she had seen his name on the news when she was still a new employee at the newspaper company.
The painful memory flashed back in her mind, but she shook it away.
'Professor, when did you come to this university?’
Onda hadn’t been at Meisei University before.
'Ah… About two years ago, I think. A number of things happened.’
'I see…’
Though Makoto understood, she felt like the mood had grown heavier.
'So why are you here today? You’re not the type to come all the way just to talk about the old days.’
'Even I feel nostalgic every once in a while,’ objected Makoto, making Onda smile slightly.
'It looks like your need to object is the same as ever.’
'Is that how you saw me, Professor?’
'Am I wrong?’
Onda laughed again. His friendliness was what had made him so popular with the students when Makoto was at university.
'I’ll confess. I actually heard that you’re in charge of the literature circle, Professor – ’
After Makoto said that, Onda nodded. 'Sakurai-kun then.’
'You knew about it?’
'Of course. A student in my circle debuted as an author. And while still at school, at that,’ said Onda with a smile.
The university had a lot of students, so lecturers and students often didn’t have a close relationship, yet Onda was a professor who looked after his students well.
When Makoto had been worried about employment, Onda had called out to her, saying, 'Is something bothering you?’
Makoto pushed away her nostalgia and looked at Onda again.
'Actually, I came to interview Sakurai-san earlier.’
'Is that so? He’s an honest and serious student. He’s very fervent during circle activities too,’ Onda said, smiling.
'Did he consult you while writing his novel?’
'No, since I leave the circle on its own a lot of the times. There’s not much I need to say.’
'That’s true…’
Just as Onda said, faculty in charge of circles usually just dealt with necessary paperwork and stamped things when necessary.
'What about him?’ asked Onda.
'It isn’t anything important… But he said something odd…’
'Odd?’
'Yes. He said that he didn’t write The Ghost of the Clock Tower – that it was written by the ghost living in the clock tower.’
Makoto’s words made Onda laugh aloud.
'That is really strange.’
'Isn’t it?’
'But you don’t have to take that seriously. He probably just wants to stand out.’
'Perhaps,’ agreed Makoto, but she didn’t really believe it.
Perhaps it was because Yakumo’s words from earlier were sticking with her.
'But wow, Hijikata-kun, you really are a journalist – ’
After a silence, Onda said just that.
'What do you mean?’
'I specialise in Japanese literature. I tend to investigate works from the words within them, but Hijikata-kun, you look from who made it and how it was written.’
'Now that you mention it, it’s true,’ said Makoto with a wry smile.
Even though it would be fine if she just enjoyed reading and talking about how wondering the story was, she always ended up following cases around.
'If you’re interested, want to read Sakurai-kun’s old work?’
'Do you have it?’
'Our circle puts out a literary magazine every quarter. Though it’s more of a booklet than a magazine ’
Onda stood up and pulled a few volumes from the bookshelf. One of them had Clock Tower written on the cover.
'This is…’
'The name of the magazine.’
'Why is it called Clock Tower?’
'Before I came here, the circle room was the top of the clock tower.’
'Is that so?’ said Makoto in surprise.
'Yes. Perhaps that’s related to why Sakurai-kun mentioned the ghost of the clock tower.’
'Perhaps,’ repeated Makoto, though she was thinking of another possibility.
-
'Sorry to bother – ’
Gotou opened the door to the Movie Research Circle room.
'If you know you’re a bother, please go home,’ replied Yakumo, the owner of the room, with an incredibly annoyed expression.
– What an irritating guy.
'You’re the one who told me to come!’
'I don’t remember telling you to come. I just requested that you investigate something.’
What kind of quibbling is that? After I’ve gone out of my way to help, he gives me this attitude –
'You really say whatever you want.’
'Because I’m talking to a bear. I don’t mind keeping you company if you learn how to speak human.’
'You… Just because I give you the chance, you say anything you want…’
Gotou raised his fist, but Yakumo was relaxed –
'What will you do? Would you like to see what will happen is a detective currently on the force assaults a civilian?’
Yakumo’s light tone got on Gotou’s nerves.
'Yeah, I’ll try it – ’
Just as Gotou was about to let his emotions get the better of him, somebody grabbed him from behind.
It was Ishii.
'Detective Gotou, you can’t!’
'Shut up! I won’t feel better until I punch this guy!’
'Please calm down!’
Yakumo was smiling, seeming to enjoy seeing Gotou and Ishii fight with each other.
It just made Gotou’s anger wither. He flung Ishii’s hand away from him and sat opposite Yakumo.
Ishii fell to the ground and rubbed his back while saying 'Ow’, but he got up as well as sat next to Gotou.
'Ishii-san, what’s the matter? You look a bit off-colour…’ asked Yakumo once they had settled down.
Even though Yakumo seemed apathetic, he was always watching people carefully.
'Ah, er, no…’ Ishii tried fruitlessly to hide it.
'He said he saw a ghost earlier,’ Gotou replied.
'A ghost?’
'Yeah, when we were investigating another case, he saw a ghost at the intersection. He panicked and almost got hit by a truck.’
'Sorry,’ said Ishii. He looked small and ashamed.
'I see. Let us confirm that afterwards. That would make you feel at ease, wouldn’t it, Ishii-san?’
'R-really!?’ exclaimed Ishii, almost leaping up.
Even though Yakumo was always so slow to act, he was strangely quick sometimes. Another thing that made Yakumo Yakumo.
'So how about the request I made?’ asked Yakumo.
Finally, they reached the topic at hand. Gotou hand Yakumo a file.
'It took some time,’ Yakumo said without holding back.
It was past ten at night. It was true that it had taken some time. But Gotou and Ishii hadn’t been playing around. They had been caught in a traffic jam on the way back from the slope.
Yakumo wouldn’t care even if Gotou talked about that.
'My bad.’
'My, aren’t you being honest today?’
'Don’t need to hear that from you.’
Yakumo chuckled slightly and then started looking through the files with a serious gaze.
Yakumo had requested a record of people who had died within the university in the past. Though there had been no murders, there was just one suicide.
It had happened three years ago –
A woman named Mizuhara Noriko, who had been nineteen at the time.
To be honest, it was intolerable. Why did she kill herself when she had her whole future in front of her –
It was too late to think about that now, but Gotou couldn’t help but think about it anyway.
'What is it?’
Yakumo looked up at Gotou.
'Nothing. More importantly, is this another case from Haruka-chan?’ asked Gotou, leaning back on the chair.
Yakumo was investigating the case because it had something to do with ghosts.
'Well, something like it. She always picks up trouble, after all,’ said Yakumo with a sigh.
Ishii didn’t seem to like Yakumo’s tone and had a discontent expression on his face.
'So what trouble is it this time?’
'Two students experienced a spiritual phenomenon. One of them has been acting strange ever since, apparently,’ replied Yakumo, eyes still on the materials.
'That’s kind of vague.’
'I haven’t met the student myself yet.’
'Why not?’
In cases like these, Yakumo always met the person first thing.
'It wasn’t a request from the person himself. One of his friends asked her to ask me.’
'What a pain. Why not just meet the guy and get it over with?’
'I understand that without having to hear it from you, Gotou-san.’
'Ah, that so.’
Yakumo always spoke in a way that got on Gotou’s nerves.
Gotou thought about complaining, but he decided against it. He didn’t want to think about what Yakumo would retort with.
In any case, this case was probably why Yakumo was investigating deaths at the university.
Yakumo had said this before.
Spirits of the dead were bound to places they had feelings for or the places they died at.
'The clock tower – ’
After a while, Yakumo shut the file and said that.
'What?’
'You really are an idiot. That’s where the woman in the files committed suicide,’ said Yakumo in exasperation.
'How can I tell if you only say half the sentence?’
'I don’t know about that,’ Yakumo said, looking at him mockingly.
Gotou had glanced at the file before coming, so he knew the basics.
Mizuhara Noriko, the woman who had committed suicide, had been found, bloody, by a male security guard.
Though she had been taken to the hospital immediately by ambulance, she was confirmed dead.
The window of the top room of the clock tower was open, so it was determined that she had fallen from there. There was no sign of a struggle, and she had appeared to be troubled, so the police determined it a suicide –
'Could it be that the ghost in this case is said to appear at the clock tower?’ asked Ishii, who had been silent up until now.
'It appears that way.’
'Then that woman…’
Ishii’s voice shook.
It was true that it was likely from the evidence they had.
'We can’t confirm that yet.’
Yakumo shook his head.
'Too early, eh?’
'Well, yes. Furthermore… The rumour about the clock tower also bothers me – ’
Yakumo propped up his sharp chin with his hand and let his gaze wander as he thought.
'It’s not just a rumour about ghosts?’ asked Ishii.
'It isn’t. There is a large mirror in that clock tower which is said to be connected to the underworld. If you go there at eleven fifty-five, you can reunite with somebody who is dead. However – ’
There, Yakumo stopped. The atmosphere grew heavier in that instant.
Unable to bear with the silence, Gotou and Ishii exchanged a glance.
What was the condition to meeting the dead person? Gotou couldn’t think of anything.
'It is exchange for your own life – ’
Yakumo had perfect timing.
Ishii let out a shriek and looked like he might faint at any moment.
'I said, shut up!’
Gotou hit Ishii, but he had been about to shout himself. The way Yakumo had spoken had been really frightening, maybe because Gotou had been so focussed.
'Do you plan on going to the clock tower?’ Gotou asked.
Yakumo smiled. 'Of course.’
'Is it OK?’
'Gotou-san, are you also the type of person who believes in rumours?
'No, that’s not it… but I just have a bad feeling…’
Gotou couldn’t explain it, but it was a fact that his heart was beating strangely.
'Gotou-san, nothing is ever more wrong than your gut.’
'What!?’ shouted Gotou, but Yakumo just raised a hand.
'It’s a little noisy…’ he said with a stern expression.
Gotou held his breath and tried to listen, but he heard nothing.
'Aren’t you imagining things?’
Yakumo ignored Gotou and stood up, leaving the room.
– What the hell is he doing?
Gotou exchanged glances with Ishii and then stood up to follow Yakumo.
'What? What is it?’ said Gotou once he went outside.
He saw a red lamp in the distance. It was just under the clock tower.
'Is it some sort of incident…’
While Ishii was light-heartedly speaking, Yakumo had already started running.
'Let’s go!’
Gotou ran after Yakumo.
– What the hell happened?
This was just after Yakumo had started looking for the ghost of the clock tower. Gotou didn’t want to think about it, but he definitely had a bad feeling.
No, he’d think about it later. Right now, he had to hurry –
Gotou reached the clock tower and was at a loss for words.
The inside of the clock tower was lit up by the lights set up by the police.
It was surrounded by yellow tape that read NO TRESPASSING.
Since it was late at night at the university, there weren’t many curious onlookers, but security stood guard.
Something big must have happened.
'What happened?’ Gotou asked a nearby guard, showing his police ID.
'It’s a murder.’
The moment the guard said that, Yakumo’s face paled.
It would be absolutely correct to say his face turned white. He immediately ran under the yellow tape and tried to go inside.
'You can’t enter.’
The guard immediately pushed Yakumo back.
Still, Yakumo tried to force himself in. He pushed the guard back.
– I can’t watch.
'Wait!’
Gotou grabbed Yakumo7s arm and pulled him back.
'Calm down!’
’…’
Gotou knew what Yakumo was imagining even without his saying it, but that was exactly why he had to stay calm.
'I’ll go look at the scene. You wait here.’
If Yakumo acted up here, it would just delay them from getting to the scene. He had to bear with it for now.
It looked like Yakumo wanted to say something, but finally, he said quietly, 'All right.’
'Let’s go!’
Gotou called out to Ishii behind him and then went past the yellow tape.
In that instant, he felt something strange, as if he had stepped into a different world.
His heart started beating more quickly. His palms were sweaty.
The detectives appeared to be gathered behind the clock tower.
Gotou walked around and found a woman sitting with her back to the wall.
'H-Haruka-chan!’ Ishii said in shock.
Gotou sighed in relief upon seeing that, but noticed immediately afterwards that something was strange.
She was as expressionless as if her face had frozen. Her eyes were hollow, looking into the distance.
Now that he looked more carefully, he saw something like red paint on her cheeks.
'Oi! Haruka-chan!’ Gotou said, but she didn’t move, let alone respond.
– This is strange. What the hell happened?
Gotou was about to walk up to her, but two men in suits got in his way. He had just met them earlier this evening – Shinoda and Onodera.
'What are you doing here? This isn’t your place,’ said Shinoda, high and mighty as always.
It wasn’t something that had just started now, but it seemed like he really did hate Gotou.
'Shut up. That girl’s an acquaintance of mine.’
Gotou tried to push pas, but Shinoda wouldn’t budge.
'Then I really can’t let you go,’ said Shinoda with a glare.
'What?’
'She’s a suspect in this case.’
Gotou was stunned by Shinoda’s words.
Earlier, the guard had said it was a murder. If Haruka was a suspect, that meant there was a possibility that she had killed someone.
'Haruka-chan would never do that!’
Ishii rebutted before Gotou could.
'Yeah! There’s gotta be some mistake!’ added Gotou.
Shinoda sighed in exasperation as he looked at the two of them.
'No matter what you guys say, there was a witness.’
Shinoda turned his gaze towards a man talking with detectives a little ways away. The man was in uniform, probably a security guard.
'Don’t be ridiculous!’
'I know how you feel, but please calm down.’
Onodera spoke calmly, the complete opposite of Shinoda. However, Gotou couldn’t just calm down because he was asked.
'Shove off! I’m going to talk to her!’
Gotou pushed Shinoda away, but this time Onodera stood in his way.
'Please stop. If you are an acquaintance of the suspect, you really shouldn’t meet with her now!’
'Shut up! I told you to shove off, so shove off!’
Gotou started fighting with Onodera.
Soon, Shinoda joined in, and before anyone noticed, the detectives in the area had joined in as well in the commotion.
-
NOTES:
[1] Tonkotsu is a type of ramen broth made with pork bone. It is rather thick and looks a bit creamy.
[2] 'watashi’ is a pronoun that can be used by men and women, but is more common among women in casual situations than with men. For reference, (if I remember correctly,) Haruka and Makoto both use 'watashi’, Yakumo and Ishii use 'boku’, and Detective Gotou uses 'ore’.
ANOTHER FILES – THE TOWER OF JUDGEMENT
file 01: the ghost of the clock tower (TRANSLATION NOTES)
-
That clock tower stood in the centre of the university campus –
The fifteen-metre tall brick tower had a room on the top floor. It was constructed like the lookout of a mediaeval castle.
However, the needles of the clock were stopped pointing at eleven fifty-five.
Though it was said that it had broken in an air raid or had been struck by lightning, few knew the truth.
There was a strange old rumour about this clock tower –
There was a large full-length mirror in the small room at the top of the tower.
It was said that the mirror was a doorway to the underworld and that you could reunite with the dead if you stood in front of that mirror at eleven fifty five –
However, nobody had ever confirmed that mirror.
Because those that reunited with the dead were taken away to the underworld –
-
1
-
The man silently climbed the stairs –
The stairs within the clock tower.
There was an atrium inside the tower with stairs that circled the walls.
With just the faint light of the torch in his hand, he went up the stairs one step at a time.
The smell of dust and mould assaulted his nose.
After reaching the midway point, the man stopped, feeling like somebody had called out to him.
He turned around and looked down the stairs, but it was dark and he couldn’t see below him. He didn’t plan on going back even if somebody had called him anyway.
– I need to confirm the truth.
That was the man’s strong will.
There was a room at the top of this clock tower. He had heard a rumour that there was a large full-length mirror there which you could meet the dead with if you stood in front of it.
The man wanted to confirm the truth of that rumour.
He knew that most of these rumours were false, but he had still stepped into the clock tower.
The man had somebody he wanted to meet no matter what. That person was somebody no longer in this world. A resident of the underworld.
After some time, he reached the top –
Unlike the stairs, there was a window that let in the light. Though it was night, the moonlight made it possible for him to see fairly well.
A circle had used this room in the past.
They had left behind an assortment of clutter, of course including things like desks and chairs.
In the front of the room – the wall with the clock – stood the full-length mirror, alone.
The oval mirror, supported by a pedestal, had curling ivy decorating the frame. It appeared fairly old.
The mirror’s surface was dirty with dust, but it let out an unsettling presence which made you think the rumour might be true.
However, there wasn’t anything strange about the mirror itself.
The man checked his wristwatch. It would soon be eleven fifty-five.
The man stared at the mirror.
In the gloomy world of the mirror, all he could see was the dreary room and his own face.
– So it was just a rumour, like I thought.
Just as the man gave up and was about to turn around, he thought he saw something move in the mirror.
He turned around with a start.
However, he didn’t see anybody there, of course.
‘Just my imagination…’
The moment he turned towards the mirror again, there was a loud thump and the window on the side opened.
A cold wind blew in.
Dust got in the man’s eyes, so the man covered his face.
He blinked a few times and looked up, and then he noticed that there was a dark silhouette in front of the open window.
It was probably human.
They wore something like a black hood over their head, so he couldn’t see their face.
The man backed away in shock.
'Please… I… was…’
The shadow spoke.
It was a voice so hoarse you couldn’t tell if it was a man’s or a woman’s.
'Wha…’
The man was so terrified that he tried to run away, but he stumbled and fell.
He bore with the pain and stood up, but the silhouette came to block his way, along with a foul smell.
The man held his breath and froze.
'Don’t be afraid… I… am your…’
The silhouette spoke.
When he heard the voice up close like this, he could determine its gender, even though it was hoarse.
'C-could it be… you’re…’
He could just see lips under the hood. Plump, bewitching lips turned up in a smile.
'I…’
The silhouette confessed the truth in the man’s ears –
Though they were shocking words, they deserved the man’s belief.
'You really are…’
Just as the man spoke, his consciousness slipped away into the dark –
-
2
-
Ozawa Haruka was on the south end of campus, heading for the prefabricated building behind Building B.
The autumn sky spread above her, no clouds to be seen.
The wind was chilly. With her short hair, her neck felt cold.
– Should I let it grow out a bit?
She had that on her mind as she reached the building in question.
The prefabricated two-storey building had ten small rooms on each floor and was lent out by the university for circle activities.
Haruka stood in front of the door to the Movie Research Circle at the very end of the first floor.
She wasn’t a member of the Movie Research Circle. The Movie Research Circle didn’t even exist.
The owner of the room, Saitou Yakumo, had tricked the faculty and had made the room his own – he was actually living here.
'Hey.’
Haruka called out as she opened the door.
Yakumo was sitting in the chair in front of the door while reading a book.
His skin was pale. Though he had a handsome profile, his hair was a mess, making him look wild.
Even though he must have noticed that Haruka had come, he didn’t even look up from his book, let alone greet her.
It wasn’t that he was in a bad mood. This was how Yakumo always acted.
Haruka sighed and sat across from Yakumo, but Yakumo still didn’t look away from his book.
'Hey. You could at least greet me,’ grumbled Haruka, at which point Yakumo finally looked up.
His almond eyes looked straight at Haruka.
'Was that a greeting?’
'Eh?’
’“Hello” or “How are you?” – I would recognise those as greetings, but all you uttered was “Hey” in a strange voice.’
'Strange voice…’
'Strange voice, as in a voice that is strange.’
'I know that.’
– He says such awful things.
'Then you have no right to complain.’
Yakumo looked back to his book.
Haruka wanted to argue, but there was a reason she couldn’t today.
'Um… There’s something I want to ask you about…’
As Haruka started to speak, Yakumo waved his hand to cut her off.
'I refuse!’
'I haven’t said anything yet…’
'It’s definitely some sort of trouble again,’ Yakumo said brusquely.
'Why do you think it’s trouble?’
'You don’t know?’
'I’m asking because I don’t know.’
'Because you’re a natural-born troublemaker.’
That’s not true – is what Haruka wanted to say, but Yakumo had hit the bullseye.
She had brought Yakumo a lot of trouble up until now. Trouble was the reason she had met Yakumo.
Haruka’s friend, Miki, had been possessed by a ghost, so she had gone to Yakumo, who was knowledgeable about ghosts.
Normally, Yakumo hid it with a black contact lens, but Yakumo’s left eye was dyed a vivid red.
Though Haruka thought there was no need to hide it since it was beautiful, people loathed those who were different from themselves – or so Yakumo always said.
Yakumo’s left eye wasn’t just red. It could see the spirits of the dead – that is, ghosts.
With that unique ability and his unusually bright mind, he hadn’t just expelled the spirit possessing Miki – he had even solved the murder case surrounding the issue.
Ever since then, Haruka had experienced various cases with Yakumo. They weren’t all ones that Haruka had brought to him, but it was true that many of them had been.
There was no helping being called a troublemaker.
Furthermore, she had indeed been planning on talking to Yakumo about some trouble, just as he had expected. And one related to spiritual phenomena at that –
'I know…’ Haruka said with a sigh.
'If you know it yourself, get rid of that trouble already. You probably just stuck your neck in yourself, right?’
Yakumo waved his hand as if brushing away a fly.
'Even if you tell me that, my friend looked really troubled… I can’t just leave them alone…’
'People call that meddlesome.’
'I know that.’
She understood that even without Yakumo telling her, but she just couldn’t say 'No’ once somebody asked her anything.
Though part of it was just her concern, it was also related to how she had lost her older twin sister when she was younger.
In contrast to her older sister who was kind and could do anything, Haruka had always felt inferior. After her sister died, Haruka’s inferiority complex had evolved in this unexpected way.
Nobody said this.
But still, she felt like it would have been better if she had died, instead of her sister –
She was afraid of being told that she was unnecessary.
She always stuck her neck in like that, but she couldn’t do anything on her own, so she always ended up relying on Yakumo.
– For some reason, I want to cry.
After a while, Yakumo said with a sigh, 'So what happened?’
'Eh?’
'You probably plan on telling me anyway even though I refused – ’
Yakumo propped up his chin with his hand, looking bored.
Haruka didn’t know what had brought about this series of events, but it looked like Yakumo would listen to her.
Though Yakumo said a lot of things, he was the type of person who couldn’t leave somebody who was troubled alone. That was one of Yakumo’s good points.
'What are you grinning about?’
Haruka hurriedly made herself look more serious.
'Thank you,’ Haruka said honestly, which made Yakumo frown at her look he was looking at something filthy.
'That’s creepy.’
'Creepy…. Don’t you think that’s rude?’
'I said it because I don’t.’
'Ah, of course.’
Haruka had tried to tell Yakumo off, but he didn’t care at all.
Though there were many things that she wanted to say, it would be troublesome if she made Yakumo’s mood darken.
'So?’ urged Yakumo.
'Actually… I don’t know the details either. I wanted you to come with me to listen…’
'So you took on the trouble without even knowing what it was?’
'Sorry…’
She couldn’t rebut that either.
'Honestly,’ said Yakumo with a sigh.
-
3
-
Ishii Yuutarou sat in his seat while facing some documents.
Ishii’s department, Criminal Affairs Division: Unsolved Cases Special Investigations, was in the detectives’ jurisdiction and investigated unsolved cases.
Though the name was splendid, in reality, they mainly did paperwork that piled up due to change of leadership or downsizing departments.
Of course, Ishii knew that paperwork was also very important, but it was depressing when that was all he was doing.
Though he knew it was imprudent, he still wanted something more exciting.
However, he wanted that to be as safe as possible.
He would rather not face knife-wielding suspects and be possessed by a ghost again, thank you very much.
'Tonkotsu[1], of course!’
The sudden yell made Ishii jolt.
He turned his gaze towards Gotou Kazutoshi, his senior detective, who was snoring away on a row of chairs.
It seemed like he had been talking in his sleep.
The documents Ishii had asked him to file were still on top of the desk.
Gotou was a man who believed in doing rather than thinking.
Ishii had a great deal of admiration for Gotou, who was a man of men. In the future, he wanted to be a reliable and broadminded detective just like him.
However –
Recently, perhaps because they hadn’t had any cases recently, Gotou did come to work, but he was always sleeping.
Since Ishii knew that Gotou did not like paperwork, he tried to make up for his usual uselessness here.
That said, the work would never be finished if Gotou didn’t help a little bit.
'Detective Gotou – ’
Ishii tried calling out to him, but there was no response.
'Detective Gotou.’
This time, Ishii shook Gotou a little.
'I can’t eat any more.’
Gotou shook off Ishii’s hand while saying something nonsensical, which made Gotou lose his balance and fall from the chairs.
There was an incredibly loud thump.
'Ow…’
Gotou sat up, rubbing his back.
'Are you all right?’ asked Ishii, but Gotou glared at him with the face of a demon.
'Was it you?’
'Yes?’
'Did you make me fall?’
Gotou walked right up to him.
Gotou already had a frightening face usually – seeing him up close like this doubled the intimidation factor.
Ishii let out an 'Eek!’ and backed away.
'Tell me – did you push me?’
'No, I… That wasn’t what happened!’
'What happened then?’
'I didn’t try to push you or anything, Detective Gotou – you just fell…’
'Stop mumbling!’
A fist crashed down on Ishii’s head. The shock made him see stars.
He wanted to explain, but saying something unnecessary to Gotou just after he woke up would only worsen his mood.
He decided to be happy it had ended with just one fist to the head.
With a sigh, Ishii went back to his seat – just as the internal line rang.
He picked up the phone and said, 'Criminal Affairs Division: Unsolved Cases Special Investigations Department,’ but he almost fumbled his words.
He wished that they’d make the name easier or more stylish, like something in a TV show.
<It’s Miyagawa.>
He heard Miyagawa Hideki, chief of the detectives, through the phone.
Though he had a small frame, with his fierce face and bald head, he was frightening enough that you might mistake him for a yakuza if you met him in the streets.
However, he wasn’t just frightening – he was a man so compassionate he wouldn’t lose to Gotou.
'Hello, sir.’
<You busy now?>
Though there was an incredible amount of paperwork that had to be organised, if Miyagawa was going out of his way to call them, it had to be a case of some sort.
'No, we’re fine,’ Ishii replied, glancing at Gotou. Gotou rubbed his eyes and lit a cigarette.
<Actually, there’s a case I want you guys to take care of.>
– As I thought.
'What is it?’
Ishii felt himself growing excited – it had been a while since the last case.
<Go to the address I give you.>
'What happened?’
<Detectives are on the scene already, so ask them the details.>
'Ah…’ replied Ishii, though h was confused, and Miyagawa quickly gave him the address.
Ishii hurriedly wrote it on a memo.
<I’ll leave it to you then.>
Miyagawa said just that and hung up.
Ishii couldn’t explain it, but an unpleasant feeling was growing within Ishii’s chest.
'Who was that?’ asked Gotou, startling Ishii into a jump.
'Ah, er, it was Chief Miyagawa. He told us to investigate this place.’
Gotou friend and clicked his tongue.
'That guy’s definitely just pushing trouble he doesn’t want to deal with towards us.’
'I wonder about that.’
Gotou and Miyagawa had known each other for a long time and both casually spoke ill of the other, but Ishii had nothing he could say from his position.
'Well, we’ve got the free time anyway. Let’s deal with it,’ Gotou said carelessly. He grabbed the jacket hung on the back of his chair and strode out of the room.
Ishii hurriedly chased after him.
He fell –
-
4
-
Hijikata Makoto sat at a table in the lounge of Meisei University.
It was just past the front entrance of Building A.
It was an atrium with a ceiling that went up three storeys and a large window that let in the light – it felt very open.
When she looked out the window, she could see an old brick clock tower. Even though the sun was so bright, it felt a bit creepy.
The passing students were energetic, with an innocent and refreshing air to them.
Watching them made Makoto feel like she had returned to her school days.
Though they hadn’t all been good memories, it was still moving.
'What sort of person are they?’ asked Makoto to Iwata Kunihiro, who sat next to her.
Iwata was a senior from when Makoto was in university. He had soft features and sometimes seemed a bit absentminded, but he was quite a shrewd man.
'Hm… They look like a regular university student, but they can be a bit strange… Well, I think it’d be better for you just to meet them rather than to listen to my explanation,’ Iwata said so quickly it was hard to hear.
'You’re making quite a big thing out of this,’ said Makoto, which made Iwata laugh dryly.
Well, Iwata’s words made sense. If she was going to interview him afterwards, it would be better to listen to him with a blank slate rather than any preconceptions from information she had heard beforehand.
Iwata, who worked a publishing company, had contacted her a week ago for the first time in a while.
He had asked her to interview an author.
Makoto worked at the culture department of a newspaper company. Though she was in charge of a culture column, she would publish an interview with an author about once a week. Iwata wanted her to put an interview with this author there.
Makoto had thought the work that Iwata sent was rather interesting and decided to interview the author.
The author was a university student – that was one of the points that had caught her interest.
Iwata had arranged things and chosen the interview location, which was why they were in the lounge of Meisei University.
'Hello.’
Makoto turned around and saw a young man there.
Because of his small fame and round, childish face, he could have been mistaken for a middle schooler, but his black eyes alone had a strong volition within them.
'Hi, Sakurai-san.’
Iwata stood up with a smile.
It seemed that the young man in front of Makoto was the author Sakurai Itsuki.
'It’s nice to meet you. I’m Hijikata from Hokutou Newspaper.’
Makoto stood up and held out her business card.
'Sorry, I don’t have a business card…’
Itsuki replied in a clear voice that contrasted with his appearance.
'Please don’t be concerned about that. I look forward to our interview today.’
'As do I – ’
With simple greetings finished, they all sat down. Makoto and Iwata sat next to each other with Sakurai opposite them.
'Makocchan, you thought that the person who wrote this was female, didn’t you?’ said Iwata smugly as he tapped Sakurai’s book, The Ghost of the Clock Tower, which was on the table.
'I did,’ Makoto replied honestly, now understanding why Iwata hadn’t wanted to talk about the author.
He had probably wanted to surprise her.
Just as he had planned, she was surprised. The Ghost of the Clock Tower had a female protagonist who used the pronoun 'watashi’[2].
The story was written as the diary of the protagonist, who had accidentally killed someone and was tormented by that guilt, falling apart psychologically.
The story described the woman’s mental state with such expression, so it had to be written by a woman – so Makoto had thought.
It hadn’t helped that the name Sakurai Itsuki could have been that of a man or a woman.
'I thought that he was a woman at first too, so I was shocked when we met,’ Iwata said with an amused smile.
'Yes, you were.’
'And on top of that…’
'Since we’re all here, would it be all right if we started the interview?’ interrupted Makoto before Iwata got started.
Once he began to speak, he never stopped – that was something troublesome about Iwata.
Iwata frowned, looking like he still wanted to talk, but in contrast to that, Sakurai smiled and responded, 'Yes, of course.’
He seemed like a pleasant young man, unlike his writing style.
Makoto got Sakurai’s permission to use a voice recorder, pressed the record button and began after preparing herself.
'The Ghost of the Clock Tower was very interesting.’
'Thank you very much.’
Sakurai looked rather nervous, perhaps because he was feeling conscious of being recorded.
First, Makoto would need to make him relax.
'I read it all in one go. It was thrilling experiencing the everyday slowly go out of control.’
'I’m glad to hear it.’
'The setting is novel too.’
'Is it?’
'Yes. I’ve never read anything like this before – ’
As Makoto said that, even Sakurai looked a bit embarrassed. His expression was a bit more relaxed now.
Makoto wasn’t just giving him lip service though.
Sakurai’s work, The Ghost of the Clock Tower, really contained a unique world.
The protagonist opened her eyes and realised that she had killed someone the night before – that was where the story began.
It was never explained why the protagonist had killed someone or how she had done it – none of the concrete questions.
Readers were drawn in by how the collapse of her everyday was expressed.
'I feel a bit embarrassed,’ said Sakurai, closing his eyes.
'The descriptions are fantastic as well. Is this your first work?’
After getting Sakurai to go at her pace, Makoto asked him a question.
'No, I’m part of the literature circle.’
'The literature circle? What sort of activities do you do?’
'Normally, we just get excited talking about authors we like, like Akutagawa or Dazai, but we regularly publish something like a fiction magazine.’
'A magazine? That’s rather full-scale.’
'Calling it a magazine would be a bit much. It’s more like a booklet – ’
Makoto thought it was quite something already for the circle to create something that had actual form, when many circles just played around.
'Are your works published there as well, Sakurai-san?’
'Yes…’
'I’d love to read them.’
After Makoto said that, Sakurai shook his head.
'No, they really aren’t anything that I could show anyone.’
'You don’t have to be humble.’
'No, they really are awful.’
'But you’ve written such a wonderful book…’
Makoto looked at The Ghost of the Clock Tower on the table.
'I didn’t write that – ’ said Sakurai, looking troubled.
'Eh?’
Makoto looked at Iwata in shock.
Iwata seemed to already have known that, as his expression was just as cool as before.
'What on earth did you mean by those words?’ asked Makoto, choosing her words carefully.
'Exactly what I said,’ Sakurai said matter-of-factly.
Makoto was even more confused.
'Sakurai-san, you didn’t write this work – is that what you’re saying?’
'Yes, that is what I’m saying.’
– A ghost writer?
Makoto shook away the suspicion that came to her.
Celebrities might use ghost writers, but that was only after they had built up popularity with their own name.
It would be strange if that were the case here.
'Are you saying that this was plagiarised or that there was a ghost writer?’
'Yes,’ said Sakurai with a nod.
This would completely change the direction of the interview.
Makoto looked beside her again. Iwata looked as cool as always. He even looked like he was enjoying the situation.
If what Sakurai said was true and there really was another author, the editor wouldn’t be able to stay calm like this.
'Who wrote it?’ asked Makoto after taking a deep breath to calm down.
Sakurai looked at the clock tower outside the window. The smile left his face.
After a silence, Sakurai said just this.
'A ghost.’
'By ghost, do you mean the spirit of somebody who died?’ repeated Makoto.
Sakurai responded with another nod. 'Yes.’
– Is he one of those?
Makoto understood now, though she lamented it.
Though it was the first she had heard of a ghost writing something, she had often heard things like 'I saw the words in a dream’ or 'I felt like somebody else was in my head when I was writing’.
It was impossible from a normal point of view, and it was never actually like that. It was just that the writer fell in a sort of trance when they started writing.
'A ghost? That’s an interesting feeling,’ said Makoto, but Sakurai shook her head.
'No, it wasn’t just a feeling. A ghost really did write this.’
'But…’
'Look, you can see that clock tower, right?’
Sakurai pointed at the clock tower outside the window.
'Yes.’
'The ghost living in that clock tower made me write that work – ’
Sakurai’s trancelike expression made a chill run down Makoto’s spine.
-
5
-
Haruka sat next to Yakumo at a table by the window in the canteen.
It was already past lunchtime, so there were few people and the kitchen was closed.
'Why do I have to come all the way out here?’ grumbled Yakumo as he propped his chin up with his hand, looking bored.
'It’s nice sometimes as a change of pace, isn’t it?’ said Haruka with a shrug.
She had thought about meeting in the Movie Research Circle room, but Yakumo had complained when they had done that during the 'tree of deceit’ case.
In the end, Yakumo complained no matter what she did.
Just as Yakumo was about to complain again, a female student entered the canteen.
She was the person they were waiting for – Koike Kanae.
'Kanae – ’
Haruka raised her hand and Kanae’s expression brightened immediately when she noticed. She ran over.
Though she had beautiful futures, her shoulder-length hair was ink-black and she had little makeup on, so she left a plain impression.
She had a reserved personality as well, so she didn’t stand out much.
However, that was just her being considerate of others. She was a woman with incredibly firm beliefs.
Haruka liked that part of Kanae.
'This is Koike Kanae-san, who is in the same lecture as me. This is Saitou Yakumo-kun – ’
Haruka introduced the two to each other.
'Hello,’ said Kanae, but Yakumo gave no response at all.
Kanae looked troubled, so Haruka said, 'This is how he always is,’ urging her to sit down.
Yakumo still looked displeased, chin in his hand.
Perhaps because of his attitude, Kanae was nervous. That said, if Haruka pointed that out, it would only make the mood worse.
'So, we’d like to hear your story in detail,’ said Haruka.
Kanae nodded and started speaking, though she looked concerned about Yakumo.
'Have you heard the rumour about that clock tower?’ Kanae looked outside the window.
From where Haruka was sitting, the other school buildings got in the way so she could only see the very top of the tower.
'Rumour?’
Haruka cocked her head.
She had been at this university for almost three years, but she couldn’t remember hearing any rumours about the clock tower.
'Yes. People say there’s a big mirror in the room at the top of the tower, and that it’s connected to the underworld…’
'The underworld?’ asked Haruka, which made Yakumo snort derisively.
'The underworld is believed to be the place where the dead live.’
Yakumo’s explanation brought a memory back to Haruka.
Even in the Izanagi and Izanami legend, the underworld was where the dead Izanami was said to live.
'So it’s connected to the world of the dead?’ asked Haruka, to which Kanae nodded.
'Can you really have something like that?’ said Haruka in her shock, at which point Yakumo’s cold gaze turned her way.
'Are you serious?’
'What?’
'Not even elementary school kids would believe that now.’
It was exactly as Yakumo said, but there had to have been a nicer way of putting it. However, it was pointless to expect that from Yakumo.
That said, after Yakumo said that, Kanae had gone silent and was looking down. They would get nowhere like this.
'Putting aside whether the rumour is true or not, could you tell me the rest?’ urged Haruka.
Kanae nodded and continued, 'There’s more to the rumour surrounding the clock tower – ’
Haruka felt like a shadow covered Kanae’s eyes as she said that.
'More?’
'Yes. If you stand in front of that mirror at eleven fifty five, you can see somebody who’s died once more…. but….’
Kanae dropped her gaze to the table.
'But what?’ asked Haruka, but Kanae said nothing. She just kept looking down.
How much time passed? After a long silence, Kanae looked up suddenly.
'You get taken to the underworld too – ’
Kanae’s eyes were strangely bright now, as if something had possessed them.
Haruka glanced at Yakumo.
She was sure that he would be smirking as if to say it were all a joke, but unexpectedly, he was listening carefully as well.
Putting aside whether Kanae’s rumour was true or not, she wouldn’t have come for advice just after hearing a rumour.
'Could it be that you went to that clock tower, Kanae?’ asked Haruka.
Kanae nodded. 'About two weeks ago, I ended up going to check whether the rumour was true…’
Kanae’s voice grew quieter.
'How pointless – you got wrapped up in trouble because you went to a place like that just to amuse yourself.’
Yakumo’s words dripped with disgust.
From Yakumo’s perspective, since he could see the spirits of the dead, going to spiritual spots for fun was unforgiveable.
Kanae looked down, perhaps sensing the unpleasant mood.
At this rate, the conversation would stop. 'So did you go yourself?’ asked Haruka, forcing the conversation to go forward.
'I went with a senior from my circle…’ replied Kanae in a quiet voice.
'And you saw something on top of the clock tower then?’ asked Haruka
Kanae shook her head, still looking down. 'I didn’t see anything. At first, I was too afraid to go inside… but Nishizawa-san, who was with me, went to the very top.’
'Is Nishizawa-san the senior you went with?’
'Yes.’
'And Nishizawa-san saw a ghost there?’
'I was waiting outside the tower when I heard a scream…’
'A scream?’
'Yes. I was afraid, but I thought that something might have happened to Nishizawa-san so I went inside the clock tower. I went up the stairs to the very top room, and then…’
Kanae bit her lip, looking pained. After a silence, she said, 'Nishizawa-san was collapsed there…’
'How was Nishizawa-san?’ asked Haruka as she held her breath.
'It looked like he had just fainted, so I kept asking him if he was OK, but at first there was no response at all. After a while though, he woke up.’
'And that senior said he saw a ghost then?’ asked Haruka.
Kanae nodded. Her lips were trembling slightly. Haruka placed a hand on Kanae’s shoulder.
Kanae had experienced something so frightening two weeks ago, but Haruka hadn’t noticed at all until Kanae had told her. She felt pathetic.
'There’s still more to the story, right?’ asked Yakumo with a yawn, sounding bored.
Kanae looked up slightly.
'What do you mean?’ asked Haruka. Yakumo sighed.
'I mean what I said. If that were the end of the story, we wouldn’t need to be here.’
That was true. Right now, the story was just about a ghost sighting. Though that was frightening, that would also be the end of the story.
'Ever since then, Nishizawa-san has been strange.’ Kanae’s eyes were slightly wet with tears.
'What do you mean by strange?’ asked Haruka.
Kanae bit her lip before continuing. 'No matter what anyone asks him, it’s like he’s somewhere else, and he doesn’t eat at all. Though he’s always been thin, he keeps getting thinner… At this rate, Nishizawa-san might…’
Kanae clutched her hand to her chest, as if to stop her trembling.
According to the rumour whispered about the clock tower, those who reunited with the dead were taken to the underworld themselves – in short, they died.
Kanae was probably worried about that.
'Hey, Yakumo-kun, let’s do something for her,’ said Haruka, which just made Yakumo let out a dramatic sigh –
-
6
-
'Man, what a pain,’ grumbled Gotou as he lit his cigarette from the passenger seat.
In the driver’s seat, Ishii just gave a vague 'Mm’ in reply.
'Who just tells somebody to go to a case without explaining anything?’
’S-sorry.’
'And you should’ve asked about the details.’
'Even if you tell me that, I was told to ask at the scene…’
'You were told to? Think for yourself sometimes!’
Gotou hit Ishii’s head.
'Sorry,’ repeated Ishii.
Though he had a slender face and wore silver-framed glasses that made him look intelligent, Ishii was incredibly timid.
Even though everything would be fine if he could just be confident and say what was on his mind, he always backed down, too concerned about what others were thinking.
Gotou always felt somewhat irritated when he saw Ishii like that. If only Gotou could teach him – but no, Gotou, clumsy himself, just ended up reprimanding him.
Sometimes he thought that it would be better for Ishii if he were paired with somebody else.
'This appears to be the place.’
While Gotou was thinking thoughts that were unlike him, they had reached the location. Ishii parked the car by the road.
Gotou got off the car and saw that they were at an intersection at the foot of a slope –
If they kept going up, they would reach Meisei University, the school Yakumo and Haruka went to.
He saw two men in suits at the traffic light. One was tall with a firm body and chiselled features – Shinoda Hisao.
Shinoda had been with Gotou when he was in investigations. They were about the same age.
Though he looked like a nice middle-aged man on the outside, on the inside he was arrogant, delighted in others failures and sucked up to his boss. Gotou couldn’t get along with men like him.
Gotou had never talked to the other man, but if he remembered correctly, his name was Onodera. He was a pale, small-framed and slender man in his late twenties.
Gotou walked towards them.
'Oh, it’s you, Gotou? Looks like you’re doing well,’ Shinoda said, noticing Gotou.
It was a sticky and disagreeable voice. He was probably mocking Gotou, who had been thrown into the Unsolved Cases Special Investigations department after causing a number of problems.
However, Gotou didn’t care at all.
'That’s the only good point.’
'I’m glad. I wish I could transfer over – I’m so busy I can’t even sleep.’
Shinoda’s smile was mocking as well. It looked like he really wanted to make fun of Gotou.
'I’m glad you’re busy, though I heard that your solve rate is rather low… Slacking off?’ said Gotou, which made Shinoda’s face twitch.
Though the Unsolved Cases department was a plum job, they had solved quite a few cases.
Of course, it wasn’t just Gotou. It was because they had had Yakumo’s cooperation and his power to see the spirits of the dead. It was still true that he had results though.
'It’s because you go over people’s boundaries like that that you get demoted.’
Shinoda’s tone was much rougher now, probably because Gotou had really got on his nerves.
– What a simple guy.
'It’s no help if you worry about boundaries and just increase the number of unsolved cases.’
'What?’
'What? Wanna go?’
Ishii interrupted just before it became a fight.
'Detective Gotou, let’s calm down.’
'Shut up. He’s the one who tried to start a fight.’
'But fighting here will solve nothing.’
'I know that.’
It was just as Ishii said though.
They’d get nowhere fighting with a detective whose only skill was his pride. Gotou’s fist had nowhere to go though.
There was no helping it – he dropped it on Ishii’s head.
'Why me…’ said Ishii, looking like he might cry at any moment.
Why? Because Gotou was in a bad mood, that was all. Gotou snorted and looked the other way.
'What happened?’ asked Ishii, bringing up the matter at hand.
Shinoda had his arms crossed and looked displeased, perhaps still holding the earlier altercation in his mind. He made no move to speak.
Onodera smiled wryly at Shinoda and then said, 'Rather than explaining, it would be better if you took a look – ’
Onodera pointed at the traffic light.
'What’s that?’ asked Gotou without thinking.
He hadn’t noticed because of his argument with Shinoda, but the area around the light was on was in a terrible state.
It was dyed red, as if – it had been dyed with blood.
'Eek!’ shrieked Ishii as he leapt back.
'Don’t make a fuss!’ Gotou hit Ishii’s head and bent down to look.
'This blood?’ asked Gotou.
Onodera shook his head. 'Forensics sent a report earlier. It appears to be oil-based paint.’
'I see,’ said Gotou. When this was discovered, people had probably thought it was blood. There was no sign of an accident, so there was a possibility that there was a case somewhere.
But this wasn’t blood – it was just paint. This was just an ill-natured prank then.
And the Unsolved Cases Special Investigation department had been dragged into this.
– Don’t screw with me!
Just as Gotou was about to complain, Shinoda and Onodera left the scene.
-
7
-
Haruka, who had stopped in front of the clock tower, looked up at it towering over her.
It was made of brick. The square tower had a red triangular roof. The clock on top was stopped at eleven fifty-five.
Perhaps it looked more unsettling than usual because of Kanae’s story.
'What are you spacing out for?’
Yakumo didn’t seem anxious at all even though they were about to go towards a clock tower rumoured to have ghosts.
However, now that Haruka thought about it, Yakumo saw ghosts every day. This was probably nothing to him.
At the same time, a question came to Haruka.
'Hey, Yakumo-kun, have you ever seen a ghost in the clock tower before?’
If the rumour was true, it wouldn’t be strange if Yakumo had seen a ghost there in the past.
'Never.’
An immediate reply.
'So the ghost thing must be just a rumour?’
'You really are hasty.’
Yakumo shook his head in exasperation.
'Hasty… You’ve never seen a ghost there, so there aren’t any there, right?’
'Sorry, but I’ve never gone up the clock tower.’
The university campus was fairly large. There were many places you would never go if you had no need to. The top of the clock tower wasn’t a place you would just pass by.
But –
'There’s a window.’
Haruka pointed at the window at the top of the clock tower.
It wouldn’t be strange if you saw somebody’s figure from there.
'I can’t see anything with the window low that,’ said Yakumo, still exasperated.
It was true that the window Haruka had pointed at was cloudy with dirt.
'You’re right…’
Yakumo had already started walking towards the clock tower while Haruka was still talking. Haruka ran after him as if she were being dragged along.
In front of the clock tower, there was a large wooden gate. The double doors had rusty handles.
Yakumo reached towards one of them.
Haruka felt nervous, hands sweaty with the prospect of entering the tower imminent.
'What are you doing?’
Haruka leapt at the sudden voice.
She turned around and saw a uniformed university security guard.
He was probably in his mid-twenties, young for a guard. He had hollow cheeks and was very thin.
'We just thought we’d take a look inside,’ Yakumo said calmly, in contrast to Haruka who was at a loss for words.
'Entry is prohibited because an accident occurred there previously,’ declared the guard in a very businesslike voice.
'An accident?’
'I only came recently so I don’t know the details either, but it seems a female student fell to her death – ’
Haruka felt a jolt upon hearing the guard’s words.
Perhaps the ghost of the tower was the women who had fallen.
'That’s too bad. I just wanted to explore a bit…’ said Yakumo with a smile.
'In any case, the gate is locked, so you can’t go in.’
The guard said just that and turned on his heels to leave.
A woman had fallen to her death here – they had received this new information, but they couldn’t go in if it was locked.
'What are we going to do?’ Haruka asked Yakumo.
'Go in, of course.’
'But it’s locked…’
'Did you forget? Your friend still went inside despite that.’
That was right. Kanae had gone inside the clock tower. But from where?
Before Haruka could ask, Yakumo began to walk around the tower.
Though Haruka didn’t understand, she followed Yakumo anyway.
Haruka hadn’t noticed at a distance, but up close, she could see that the walls of the clock tower had an emergency ladder built in.
'Are you going to climb this?’
Yakumo sighed.
'I wouldn’t do something so troublesome.’
'Then what are you going to do?’
They had reached the back of the tower. There was a small steel door there.
A chain and padlock were at the foot of the door.
Somebody might have forced it open. Kanae had probably gone in this way.
'Let’s go.’
Yakumo said just that and slowly opened the door.
There was the unpleasant sound of rusted metal grating.
'Are you really going to go?’
Yakumo ignored Haruka’s question and went inside.
Haruka hesitantly followed.
She felt the urge to cough immediately.
The air was stagnant. It was like they had stepped into a different world.
She could barely see anything with just the faint light from the door.
'It’s pitch black.’
'I know that without your saying it.’
Yakumo took a pen light out of his pocket and turned it on.
Though it wasn’t much help, it was better than nothing.
Haruka could see stairs in the gloom.
'Be careful,’ said Yakumo, turning around.
Haruka felt happy that Yakumo, who was always so brusque, was being considerate.
'Ah, OK.’
After Haruka replied, Yakumo started climbing the stairs. Haruka followed him.
There were no windows to light the way. Even though it was day, Haruka wouldn’t have been able to see her feet without the pen light.
Step by step, it grew harder to breathe.
'Why did they build a clock tower anyway?’ asked Haruka as she paused for breath.
'To see the time, of course,’ Yakumo replied flatly.
Though Haruka could only see his back, she was sure that his expression was mocking.
'I know that, but you don’t need to go and make a tower, do you?’
'Do you know how many years ago this tower was made?’
Even though Haruka was the one who’d asked a question, a question came right back to her.
'I heard it was when the university was founded…’
'Correct. This university was founded about eighty years ago. Do you understand what I’m saying?’
'No.’
'Eighty years ago, people didn’t have a way to tell the time easily – ’
'Oh!’
Finally, Haruka understood what Yakumo was saying.
Now, everyone had a wristwatch or mobile phone to check the time, but that hadn’t been the case in the past.
That was why they needed a tall clock tower that people could see from a distance.
'Without anyone noticing, we’ve stopped looking far away… It’s kind of sad.’
Yakumo stopped in his tracks.
'That’s unusually philosophical for you.’
When Yakumo turned around, his expression was blatantly scornful.
'That’s not what I…’
Haruka felt embarrassed, as if she had said something cheesy, and looked down.
Yakumo went back to climbing the stairs.
'Honestly,’ muttered Haruka with a sigh before she went after Yakumo.
Finally, they reached the end of the stairs and arrived at the room at the top.
There were windows on three of the four walls, so it was fairly bright. When Haruka looked up, she saw a ceiling with naked beams and a hanging light bulb.
There were desks and chairs in the corner of the room with other mysterious clutter.
'It’s a bit of a letdown,’ said Haruka.
Yakumo looked disgruntled.
'Letdown?’
'I mean… I thought it would be more frightening since a ghost was supposed to be here…’
'What is your standard for frightening?’
'Standard? Well, dark and gloomy… anyway, that sort of atmosphere.’
Yakumo glared at her.
'What do you think ghosts are?’
'Dead people…’
'Yes. The spirits of people who’ve died. In short, ghosts aren’t monsters.’
Haruka could understand what Yakumo was displeased by now.
Thinking that ghosts came out in dark and gloomy places was the same as treating them like monsters.
Yakumo, who could see the spirits of the dead, didn’t treat them that way.
Though the living and the dead were different, they were both human – that was what Yakumo thought. Haruka felt ashamed of what she had said, which had been close to prejudice.
'Sorry…’
Though Haruka gave an honest apology, Yakumo didn’t reply. He just looked at the mirror against the wall with no windows.
It was an old mirror, with an ivy decoration entwining the frame.
It was dirty and dusty, so their reflection looked like it was in fog.
'This is the mirror connected to the underworld then,’ said Haruka, which made Yakumo sigh dramatically.
'You still believe that joke?’
'That’s not it. It’s just kind of creepy…’
Though Haruka didn’t believe the door, in an unsettling atmosphere like this, she could understand why a rumour about the underworld would come about.
'In the past, people thought that mirrors didn’t reflect but rather showed another world.’
'Really?’
'That was why they would be put on altars or used in rites. Rumours like this one about a connection to the underworld have been around for millennia.’
'Oh?’
Haruka looked at the mirror again.
It was strange how the mirror looked almost divine after hearing what Yakumo said.
'So could you see anything?’ asked Haruka as she stared at the mirror.
'No, nothing…’
'Then there’s no ghost here?’
'Why do you rush to conclusions?’
'But…’
'I just don’t see any now. It might be different at a different time.’
'That’s true.’
It was just as Yakumo said.
Ghosts didn’t always stay in the same place.
'Furthermore – the ghost may have possessed a student that has been acting strange.’
Haruka felt a chill run down her spine.
If that was the case, they had to hurry or that student would be in trouble, just as Kanae feared.
When Haruka told Yakumo that, he ran a hand through his hair in irritation.
'First, we need to go meet that man – ’
'Right.’
'Bring him to my room.’
After Yakumo said that, he started walking towards the stairs.
Haruka could probably bring the student if she talked to Kanae again, but –
'Yakumo-kun, what are you going to do?’
Yakumo could just go with her to make this less complicated.
'I’m going to investigate from a different angle.’
'Different angle?’
'Yeah. If there really was a ghost here, then perhaps…’
Yakumo turned around and looked at the mirror again.
Though it was just for a moment, Haruka thought that she saw a dark shadow move inside the mirror.
-
8
-
'Who on earth did this…’ murmured Ishii as he looked at the splattered red paint.
The traffic light covered in red paint looked unsettling, aided perhaps by the sunset.
The cars on the road continued, either unconscious of the paint or ignoring it.
'Some random guy,’ Gotou said carelessly. It looked like he had lost his interest in the case.
He took a cigarette case out of his jacket pocket and took out just one cigarette.
'It’s illegal to smoke on the road,’ said Ishii.
'I know that,’ Gotou replied with a click of his tongue. He just held the unlit cigarette in his mouth.
'I wonder why they did this.’
Ishii looked at the red paint on the traffic light pole.
Though he often heard of people drawing or writing with spray paint, what was the meaning of just splashing paint like this?
Ishii just couldn’t think of a reason.
'Is this…’
Gotou’s mobile phone rang, interrupting Ishii.
'Who is it?’
Gotou answered the phone without checking the display.
It wasn’t that he was in a bad mood – this was how he always answered the phone.
'What? Shut up! You can’t say anything about other people either!’
From the tone of Gotou’s voice, he was probably talking to Saitou Yakumo.
Even though they argued like that, they still relied on each other. It was strange.
Ishii’s eyes wandered to the intersection.
There was a woman standing there.
As she was turned away from him, he couldn’t see her face, but she was slender and tall.
She didn’t cross the intersection. She just stood there.
– What is she doing?
While Ishii was pondering this, the light turned from green to yellow.
Still, the woman didn’t move. If she didn’t hurry, the light would change.
'It’s dangerous!’ Ishii called out.
The woman didn’t move at all, as if she hadn’t heard Ishii’s voice.
The light turned red.
Soon, the lights for the road in the other direction would turn green.
Though there were no cars waiting there, it wouldn’t be strange if she got hit standing in a place like that.
'Please cross already!’ shouted Ishii.
Still, the woman didn’t move.
– Why?
Ishii anxiously looked left and right.
He saw a large truck coming.
The truck didn’t slow down, as if the driver hadn’t noticed the woman standing there.
– This is bad!
Ishii reflexively ran towards the woman.
He tried to grab the woman’s arm and pull her back to the side of the road, but –
Ishii’s hand went straight through the woman.
'Eh?’
The woman had disappeared.
– What on earth just happened?
Ishii heard a horn going off in his confusion.
When he looked up, he saw the truck coming near him.
'Eek!’
Ishii ran back. In his rush, he lost his footing and tumbled on the asphalt.
He heard the sound of screeching brakes and tires.
– I’m going to die!
Ishii was sure of it.
He didn’t know what happened, but he found himself curled up on the side of the road.
'Idiot! What are you doing!?’ yelled the truck driver, before driving away.
Ishii was still in shock as he watched the truck go.
What on earth had just happened? There had definitely been a woman in the intersection, but she had disappeared. Had it been an illusion?
As if to respond to Ishii’s question, he suddenly felt a warm breath on his ear.
A chill ran down his spine. He turned around.
Standing there –
The woman from earlier.
'Ah…’
Ishii was so frightened he couldn’t breathe.
He hadn’t seen it when she was turned around, but –
The woman’s face was half crushed, with an incredible amount of blood pouring out.
Drip, drip, drip –
Dark red blood fell from her chin.
<…>
The woman said something in a thick voice.
It was like a damaged CD, choppy and impossible to make out.
Still, Ishii could understand the feeling behind it.
'Aaaahhh!’
Ishii covered his ears and shut his eyes as he screamed as loud as he could.
He felt like the woman in front of him would draw him into a deep and growing darkness if he didn’t do that.
Thump –
Suddenly, a dull pain ran through Ishii’s head.
'Ow!’
He opened his eyes. Gotou was standing right in front of him.
'Eh? Detective Gotou…’
'Don’t just say “Eh”!’
Gotou hit Ishii’s head again.
'Er, um…’
'What are you doing? You suddenly ran into the middle of the rood. You were about to be run over.’
'No, that’s not it. Just earlier, a woman was…’
'There’s nobody there!’
Another fist came down.
Ishii hurriedly looked around. Just as Gotou said, there was nobody there.
'But I’m sure…’
'Stop babbling nonsense!’ said Gotou with a click of his tongue.
This made no sense. Ishii had seen her. Perhaps she had been –
'Let’s get going already.’
Gotou said just that and started walking.
'Going? Where to?’
Ishii hurried after Gotou.
'Request from Yakumo.’
'From Yakumo-shi?’
If Yakumo was asking, it was probably something to do with spiritual phenomena.
'His usual “Check if anybody died here” thing.’
'That’s fine, but what about this case?’
'After, after – ’
Gotou waved a hand as if brushing away a fly and walked off.
'But…’ Ishii was hesitant and stopped walking, but then the woman from earlier came across his mind.
He definitely didn’t want to stay here alone.
'Please wait!’
Ishii hurriedly ran after Gotou.
– He fell.
-
9
-
'Hello – ’
Makoto visited the Movie Research Circle room.
She had made an appointment beforehand, so the person she was looking for was in his usual seat.
'Come in,’ Yakumo said casually.
Though he had beautiful features, he always looked like he had just woken up. With his distant attitude, it was hard to guess what he was thinking.
Makoto usually came to this room when Haruka or Gotou and Ishii were here.
Being here one on one with Yakumo made her feel strangely nervous.
'Sorry for coming so suddenly…’ said Makoto.
She had met Yakumo because of a certain case.
During that case. Makoto had the unusual experience of being possessed by a ghost. She could have died then, but Yakumo had saved her.
Ever since then, she often met up with Yakumo, helping out with cases Yakumo was investigating or discussing spiritual phenomena.
'Please sit down,’ urged Yakumo, so Makoto sat opposite him.
'I wanted to ask your opinion about something.’
'It is a request from none other than you, Makoto-san. If my opinions are acceptable, I will listen to anything you have to ask,’ Yakumo replied politely.
Since he said it so flatly, Makoto couldn’t tell if he meant it or not, but she would just feel awkward if she left without saying anything now.
'Actually,’ Makoto began, 'this just happened earlier, but I was interviewing an author.’
'Is that so?’
'The author is still new with only one book, so you might not recognise the name. Sakurai Itsuki.’
After Makoto said that, Yakumo slowly stood up and moved to the corner of the room to take a book from the top of the refrigerator.
'This is the book in question then – ’
Yakumo placed Sakurai Itsuki’s The Ghost of the Clock Tower on the table.
Things would go quickly if he had already read the book.
'What did you think of the book?’ asked Makoto, which made a difficult expression appear on Yakumo’s face.
'Do my feelings have something to do with the matter?’
Though they weren’t directly related, Makoto wanted to discuss the work’s author today. She wanted to know what Yakumo felt before she gave him any preconceptions.
After Makoto told Yakumo that, Yakumo thought for a moment before saying, 'This is just my opinion, but – it is a very interesting idea. Though it’s rough, the prose is detailed and sucks you in. However…’
'What is it?’
Makoto leant forward slightly.
'Something bothers me.’
What is it?’
'I’m rereading the book because I can’t explain it well,’ said Yakumo with a shake of his head.
To be honest, that was how Makoto felt as well. Something bothered her – she had thought that the interview would explain it, but now she had a new question.
'So what is it about this novel that brought you here?’ asked Yakumo.
She didn’t come to review the book. Makoto opened her mouth once more.
'The author of this book is a university student. A fourth-year in the literature circle.’
'Is that so…’
Yakumo opened the book to the back of the cover with the author profile.
'Are there no rumours on campus?’
'There are very few people now that are interested in books. There wouldn’t be a rumour unless the author went around declaring it.’
'That’s true…’
Just as Yakumo commented, it was a simple fact that nowadays many young people were not interested in books.
Furthermore, though there were many students at university, if you weren’t in the same seminar or circle, everyone was a stranger, just like a passer-by you might meet in town.
Like Yakumo said, unless the author declared it himself, most people probably wouldn’t notice.
'So what about this author then?’ asked Yakumo.
'The author said something strange during our interview.’
'Strange?’
'Yes. “I didn’t write this book. A ghost made me write it.” That’s what the author said.’
'A ghost?’
'Yes.’
'It isn’t just some performance?’ said Yakumo, running a hand through his hair.
'That’s what I thought too at first, but…’
'What is it?’
'Something didn’t click for me.’
'Didn’t click?’
'I thought that a woman wrote this novel, but…’
'It was actually written by a man,’ finished Yakumo.
'Yes.’
There were some authors who wrote like women while being men, and vice versa.
However, Makoto just couldn’t accept that a man had written this.
It was just a gut feeling, so she couldn’t put it into words, but that was something she just couldn’t accept – it just felt a bit off.
'Makoto-san, could it be that you already have a theory about this case?’ said Yakumo, almond eyes narrowed.
That was Yakumo’s perception for you. Makoto couldn’t hide her thoughts in front of him.
A theory had come to Makoto after hearing Sakurai’s story. It was so odd, but she just couldn’t stop thinking about it.
'Would it be impossible for a ghost to really have written it?’
Makoto asked the question just as it came to her.
That was what she had come to ask Yakumo.
She couldn’t just write an article without proof about how Sakurai had had his story written by a ghost.
'In short, you think that a ghost possessed Sakurai-shi and made him write the novel,’ said Yakumo.
Makoto nodded.
She knew it was crazy, but she had still it, perhaps because Sakurai hadn’t looked like he was lying.
Yakumo crossed his arms.
It wasn’t that he had lost his interest. He was probably thinking.
Makoto held her breath as she waited for Yakumo’s answer.
It was likely that Yakumo was the only person who could answer this question, as somebody who could actually see the spirits of the dead.
'I can’t deny the possibility – ’
Yakumo said just that after a long sentence.
'Is it really…’
Makoto couldn’t hide her surprise, even though she was the one who had asked the question.
'I am just talking about the possibility. During possession, the spirit’s memories and feelings flow through the person being possessed. It isn’t impossible if we think of it as an extension of that.’
Makoto understood after Yakumo explained.
She had been possessed by a ghost before too. She had shared the ghost’s memories and feelings then.
'Then…’
'In any case, it is too early to come to a conclusion. In order to confirm this, it would be necessary to meet Sakurai-shi himself.’
'Could I ask that of you?’ said Makoto, leaning forward.
Yakumo smiled dryly. 'I wouldn’t mind.’
'Thank you very much.’
'However, there is something I want to check before meeting him.’
'Check?’
'Yes. You said that Sakurai-san was in the literature circle. I would like to read his past works if there are any.’
Makoto understood after hearing that.
By reading Sakurai’s past works, Yakumo could probably gather some information.
'Furthermore, I’d like to know if there were any changes in his life.’
It was true that if Sakurai had been possessed that he must have acted differently in his day-to-day life.
'Understood. I’ll ask around – ’
Makoto stood up, but Yakumo called out to stop her.
'Did Sakurai-shi say that he saw the ghost which made him write the novel?’
'I don’t know about that, but he said that the ghost in the clock tower at this university wrote it.’
After hearing Makoto’s words, Yakumo’s expression grew grim.
'The ghost of the clock tower again…’ murmured Yakumo in a low voice.
-
10
-
Haruka sat at the same table by the window in the cafeteria as earlier and looked at the clock tower, with the sunset lighting it –
However, she wasn’t just idling time away.
After parting with Yakumo, she contacted Kanae. She was going to bring Nishizawa, who had gone up the clock tower and was possibly possessed by a ghost.
Though nothing big had happened yet, Haruka felt unsettled.
She couldn’t explain why she felt that way.
Her heart was beating strangely, and she just had a bad feeling about this.
'Haruka – ’
Haruka looked up and saw Kanae standing there.
She had brought a young man with her. This was probably Nishizawa.
He was incredibly thin with hollowed cheeks. His eyes were a bit bloodshot and he had shadows underneath them.
He was pale as well – he looked sick. Haruka understood why Kanae was worried.
'This is Ozawa Haruka-san. Nishizawa Yasunobu-senpai – ’
Kanae neatly introduced them to each other and urged Nishizawa to sit with her opposite Haruka.
'So what did you want to talk about?’ said Nishizawa, brows furrowed in suspicious.
The atmosphere grew heavy just from those words.
'Um…. Haruka knows somebody who’s knowledgeable about ghosts… so I thought maybe we could get him to look at you, Nishizawa-san…’
'You’re still on about that? Kanae-chan, you’re a bit strange,’ Nishizawa interrupted.
'Eh?’
Haruka was at a loss for what to say.
It seemed like Kanae had brought Nishizawa here without explaining the situation.
'Sorry,’ Kanae said quickly with her head hung.
Haruka didn’t know who that apology was directed to, but the mood was terribly dampened.
'Sorry for taking up your time. Kanae-chan believes this rumour, see, and she’s just a bit too worried,’ said Nishizawa after a silence, shaking his head.
'Excuse me… but what are you talking about?’ asked Haruka.
Nishizawa sighed. 'I climbed the clock tower with Kanae-chan. It’s true that I saw something like a ghost then, but that’s all.’
'Eh?’
'But Kanae-chan got really worried and seems to think I’ve been possessed…’
'Is that so…’
Haruka was a bit confused about where this conversation was going.
'Does it look like I’m possessed, anyway?’ said Nishizawa, spreading his arms wide.
Though he did seem a bit too thin, from how he was talking, Nishizawa didn’t look possessed.
Haruka couldn’t see ghosts like Yakumo so she couldn’t be certain, but she had seen many possessed people before. When she compared Nishizawa to those people, she felt that he was a bit different.
'You don’t,’ said Haruka, which made Kanae look up.
'But I have a bad feeling. Like something really bad is going to happen…’
'You’re thinking too much,’ said Nishizawa, seeming half-exasperated.
'I want to think that was as well, but I’m sure…’
'I said it’s fine. I’m really OK. I only saw something that looked like a ghost anyway – I didn’t see it clearly…’
'But you fainted, didn’t you?’
'Yeah, but… nothing happened after that, right?’ said Nishizawa nonchalantly.
Haruka wanted to speak up for Kanae, but since she wasn’t saying anything, Haruka felt like she’d just be meddling if she said anything else. It wasn’t like she had the right to say anything, but –
'I understand. Thank you very much.’
Haruka bowed her head politely to Nishizawa.
Continuing this wouldn’t get them anywhere.
'No, not at all. Sorry if I worried you or anything,’ Nishizawa said cheerfully as he stood up.
Nishizawa was about to leave, but then he turned around, like he had remembered something.
'If you find anything out, tell me, OK? I’m interested too – ’
Nishizawa said just that and left.
'Sorry…’ Kanae said quietly.
There wasn’t anything to apologise for. It wasn’t like Kanae had lied, and Haruka could understand why she would believe the rumour and feel anxious.
However, Nishizawa himself didn’t seem to think there was any problem and didn’t want any help, so there was nothing else they could do.
'Don’t worry about it. Anyway, we’re in the cafeteria, so want to eat something?’ said Haruka to cheer Kanae up. Kanae smiled slightly.
Kanae didn’t usually show much emotion, so the smiles she sometimes showed made her seem very cute.
Then, the two of them bought sandwiches and began an early dinner.
'Hey, Haruka, that person you brought – ’
'Ah, Yakumo-kun?’
'You like him, right?’
It was so sudden that Haruka almost spat out the sandwich she was eating.
'No, no. It’s not like that.’
Kanae laughed as she watched Haruka fervently deny it –
-
11
-
Makoto stood in front of the door of the research room on the fifth floor of Building A, Meisei University.
When she knocked on the door, a man’s voice replied. 'Come in.’
'Pardon my intrusion – ’
Makoto opened the door and went inside.
The room was small, just four tatami mats in side, and kept clean, with only bookshelves and a desk.
The man sitting at the desk looked up.
He was probably about forty. Though he had a long face, he had well-defined features. He was the Japanese literature associate professor, Onda Shuusuke.
'If it isn’t Hijikata Makoto-san – ’
Onda gave her a friendly smile.
'You remember me?’ said Makoto, surprised.
After leaving Yakumo’s room, Makoto had gone to the faculty area to investigate the literature circle.
She had been surprised when she saw Onda’s name under faculty member in charge.
When Makoto had been a university student, she had been in Onda’s seminar. It was a surprising coincidence.
The nostalgia had helped bring her here this quickly.
'Of course I do. You were a great student, Hijikata-san.’
'I won’t give you anything even if you flatter me.’
'You got me,’ said Onda with a laugh.
Makoto felt relieved seeing that he hadn’t changed.
The last time she had seen him was since her graduation, but she had seen his name on the news when she was still a new employee at the newspaper company.
The painful memory flashed back in her mind, but she shook it away.
'Professor, when did you come to this university?’
Onda hadn’t been at Meisei University before.
'Ah… About two years ago, I think. A number of things happened.’
'I see…’
Though Makoto understood, she felt like the mood had grown heavier.
'So why are you here today? You’re not the type to come all the way just to talk about the old days.’
'Even I feel nostalgic every once in a while,’ objected Makoto, making Onda smile slightly.
'It looks like your need to object is the same as ever.’
'Is that how you saw me, Professor?’
'Am I wrong?’
Onda laughed again. His friendliness was what had made him so popular with the students when Makoto was at university.
'I’ll confess. I actually heard that you’re in charge of the literature circle, Professor – ’
After Makoto said that, Onda nodded. 'Sakurai-kun then.’
'You knew about it?’
'Of course. A student in my circle debuted as an author. And while still at school, at that,’ said Onda with a smile.
The university had a lot of students, so lecturers and students often didn’t have a close relationship, yet Onda was a professor who looked after his students well.
When Makoto had been worried about employment, Onda had called out to her, saying, 'Is something bothering you?’
Makoto pushed away her nostalgia and looked at Onda again.
'Actually, I came to interview Sakurai-san earlier.’
'Is that so? He’s an honest and serious student. He’s very fervent during circle activities too,’ Onda said, smiling.
'Did he consult you while writing his novel?’
'No, since I leave the circle on its own a lot of the times. There’s not much I need to say.’
'That’s true…’
Just as Onda said, faculty in charge of circles usually just dealt with necessary paperwork and stamped things when necessary.
'What about him?’ asked Onda.
'It isn’t anything important… But he said something odd…’
'Odd?’
'Yes. He said that he didn’t write The Ghost of the Clock Tower – that it was written by the ghost living in the clock tower.’
Makoto’s words made Onda laugh aloud.
'That is really strange.’
'Isn’t it?’
'But you don’t have to take that seriously. He probably just wants to stand out.’
'Perhaps,’ agreed Makoto, but she didn’t really believe it.
Perhaps it was because Yakumo’s words from earlier were sticking with her.
'But wow, Hijikata-kun, you really are a journalist – ’
After a silence, Onda said just that.
'What do you mean?’
'I specialise in Japanese literature. I tend to investigate works from the words within them, but Hijikata-kun, you look from who made it and how it was written.’
'Now that you mention it, it’s true,’ said Makoto with a wry smile.
Even though it would be fine if she just enjoyed reading and talking about how wondering the story was, she always ended up following cases around.
'If you’re interested, want to read Sakurai-kun’s old work?’
'Do you have it?’
'Our circle puts out a literary magazine every quarter. Though it’s more of a booklet than a magazine ’
Onda stood up and pulled a few volumes from the bookshelf. One of them had Clock Tower written on the cover.
'This is…’
'The name of the magazine.’
'Why is it called Clock Tower?’
'Before I came here, the circle room was the top of the clock tower.’
'Is that so?’ said Makoto in surprise.
'Yes. Perhaps that’s related to why Sakurai-kun mentioned the ghost of the clock tower.’
'Perhaps,’ repeated Makoto, though she was thinking of another possibility.
-
'Sorry to bother – ’
Gotou opened the door to the Movie Research Circle room.
'If you know you’re a bother, please go home,’ replied Yakumo, the owner of the room, with an incredibly annoyed expression.
– What an irritating guy.
'You’re the one who told me to come!’
'I don’t remember telling you to come. I just requested that you investigate something.’
What kind of quibbling is that? After I’ve gone out of my way to help, he gives me this attitude –
'You really say whatever you want.’
'Because I’m talking to a bear. I don’t mind keeping you company if you learn how to speak human.’
'You… Just because I give you the chance, you say anything you want…’
Gotou raised his fist, but Yakumo was relaxed –
'What will you do? Would you like to see what will happen is a detective currently on the force assaults a civilian?’
Yakumo’s light tone got on Gotou’s nerves.
'Yeah, I’ll try it – ’
Just as Gotou was about to let his emotions get the better of him, somebody grabbed him from behind.
It was Ishii.
'Detective Gotou, you can’t!’
'Shut up! I won’t feel better until I punch this guy!’
'Please calm down!’
Yakumo was smiling, seeming to enjoy seeing Gotou and Ishii fight with each other.
It just made Gotou’s anger wither. He flung Ishii’s hand away from him and sat opposite Yakumo.
Ishii fell to the ground and rubbed his back while saying 'Ow’, but he got up as well as sat next to Gotou.
'Ishii-san, what’s the matter? You look a bit off-colour…’ asked Yakumo once they had settled down.
Even though Yakumo seemed apathetic, he was always watching people carefully.
'Ah, er, no…’ Ishii tried fruitlessly to hide it.
'He said he saw a ghost earlier,’ Gotou replied.
'A ghost?’
'Yeah, when we were investigating another case, he saw a ghost at the intersection. He panicked and almost got hit by a truck.’
'Sorry,’ said Ishii. He looked small and ashamed.
'I see. Let us confirm that afterwards. That would make you feel at ease, wouldn’t it, Ishii-san?’
'R-really!?’ exclaimed Ishii, almost leaping up.
Even though Yakumo was always so slow to act, he was strangely quick sometimes. Another thing that made Yakumo Yakumo.
'So how about the request I made?’ asked Yakumo.
Finally, they reached the topic at hand. Gotou hand Yakumo a file.
'It took some time,’ Yakumo said without holding back.
It was past ten at night. It was true that it had taken some time. But Gotou and Ishii hadn’t been playing around. They had been caught in a traffic jam on the way back from the slope.
Yakumo wouldn’t care even if Gotou talked about that.
'My bad.’
'My, aren’t you being honest today?’
'Don’t need to hear that from you.’
Yakumo chuckled slightly and then started looking through the files with a serious gaze.
Yakumo had requested a record of people who had died within the university in the past. Though there had been no murders, there was just one suicide.
It had happened three years ago –
A woman named Mizuhara Noriko, who had been nineteen at the time.
To be honest, it was intolerable. Why did she kill herself when she had her whole future in front of her –
It was too late to think about that now, but Gotou couldn’t help but think about it anyway.
'What is it?’
Yakumo looked up at Gotou.
'Nothing. More importantly, is this another case from Haruka-chan?’ asked Gotou, leaning back on the chair.
Yakumo was investigating the case because it had something to do with ghosts.
'Well, something like it. She always picks up trouble, after all,’ said Yakumo with a sigh.
Ishii didn’t seem to like Yakumo’s tone and had a discontent expression on his face.
'So what trouble is it this time?’
'Two students experienced a spiritual phenomenon. One of them has been acting strange ever since, apparently,’ replied Yakumo, eyes still on the materials.
'That’s kind of vague.’
'I haven’t met the student myself yet.’
'Why not?’
In cases like these, Yakumo always met the person first thing.
'It wasn’t a request from the person himself. One of his friends asked her to ask me.’
'What a pain. Why not just meet the guy and get it over with?’
'I understand that without having to hear it from you, Gotou-san.’
'Ah, that so.’
Yakumo always spoke in a way that got on Gotou’s nerves.
Gotou thought about complaining, but he decided against it. He didn’t want to think about what Yakumo would retort with.
In any case, this case was probably why Yakumo was investigating deaths at the university.
Yakumo had said this before.
Spirits of the dead were bound to places they had feelings for or the places they died at.
'The clock tower – ’
After a while, Yakumo shut the file and said that.
'What?’
'You really are an idiot. That’s where the woman in the files committed suicide,’ said Yakumo in exasperation.
'How can I tell if you only say half the sentence?’
'I don’t know about that,’ Yakumo said, looking at him mockingly.
Gotou had glanced at the file before coming, so he knew the basics.
Mizuhara Noriko, the woman who had committed suicide, had been found, bloody, by a male security guard.
Though she had been taken to the hospital immediately by ambulance, she was confirmed dead.
The window of the top room of the clock tower was open, so it was determined that she had fallen from there. There was no sign of a struggle, and she had appeared to be troubled, so the police determined it a suicide –
'Could it be that the ghost in this case is said to appear at the clock tower?’ asked Ishii, who had been silent up until now.
'It appears that way.’
'Then that woman…’
Ishii’s voice shook.
It was true that it was likely from the evidence they had.
'We can’t confirm that yet.’
Yakumo shook his head.
'Too early, eh?’
'Well, yes. Furthermore… The rumour about the clock tower also bothers me – ’
Yakumo propped up his sharp chin with his hand and let his gaze wander as he thought.
'It’s not just a rumour about ghosts?’ asked Ishii.
'It isn’t. There is a large mirror in that clock tower which is said to be connected to the underworld. If you go there at eleven fifty-five, you can reunite with somebody who is dead. However – ’
There, Yakumo stopped. The atmosphere grew heavier in that instant.
Unable to bear with the silence, Gotou and Ishii exchanged a glance.
What was the condition to meeting the dead person? Gotou couldn’t think of anything.
'It is exchange for your own life – ’
Yakumo had perfect timing.
Ishii let out a shriek and looked like he might faint at any moment.
'I said, shut up!’
Gotou hit Ishii, but he had been about to shout himself. The way Yakumo had spoken had been really frightening, maybe because Gotou had been so focussed.
'Do you plan on going to the clock tower?’ Gotou asked.
Yakumo smiled. 'Of course.’
'Is it OK?’
'Gotou-san, are you also the type of person who believes in rumours?
'No, that’s not it… but I just have a bad feeling…’
Gotou couldn’t explain it, but it was a fact that his heart was beating strangely.
'Gotou-san, nothing is ever more wrong than your gut.’
'What!?’ shouted Gotou, but Yakumo just raised a hand.
'It’s a little noisy…’ he said with a stern expression.
Gotou held his breath and tried to listen, but he heard nothing.
'Aren’t you imagining things?’
Yakumo ignored Gotou and stood up, leaving the room.
– What the hell is he doing?
Gotou exchanged glances with Ishii and then stood up to follow Yakumo.
'What? What is it?’ said Gotou once he went outside.
He saw a red lamp in the distance. It was just under the clock tower.
'Is it some sort of incident…’
While Ishii was light-heartedly speaking, Yakumo had already started running.
'Let’s go!’
Gotou ran after Yakumo.
– What the hell happened?
This was just after Yakumo had started looking for the ghost of the clock tower. Gotou didn’t want to think about it, but he definitely had a bad feeling.
No, he’d think about it later. Right now, he had to hurry –
Gotou reached the clock tower and was at a loss for words.
The inside of the clock tower was lit up by the lights set up by the police.
It was surrounded by yellow tape that read NO TRESPASSING.
Since it was late at night at the university, there weren’t many curious onlookers, but security stood guard.
Something big must have happened.
'What happened?’ Gotou asked a nearby guard, showing his police ID.
'It’s a murder.’
The moment the guard said that, Yakumo’s face paled.
It would be absolutely correct to say his face turned white. He immediately ran under the yellow tape and tried to go inside.
'You can’t enter.’
The guard immediately pushed Yakumo back.
Still, Yakumo tried to force himself in. He pushed the guard back.
– I can’t watch.
'Wait!’
Gotou grabbed Yakumo7s arm and pulled him back.
'Calm down!’
’…’
Gotou knew what Yakumo was imagining even without his saying it, but that was exactly why he had to stay calm.
'I’ll go look at the scene. You wait here.’
If Yakumo acted up here, it would just delay them from getting to the scene. He had to bear with it for now.
It looked like Yakumo wanted to say something, but finally, he said quietly, 'All right.’
'Let’s go!’
Gotou called out to Ishii behind him and then went past the yellow tape.
In that instant, he felt something strange, as if he had stepped into a different world.
His heart started beating more quickly. His palms were sweaty.
The detectives appeared to be gathered behind the clock tower.
Gotou walked around and found a woman sitting with her back to the wall.
'H-Haruka-chan!’ Ishii said in shock.
Gotou sighed in relief upon seeing that, but noticed immediately afterwards that something was strange.
She was as expressionless as if her face had frozen. Her eyes were hollow, looking into the distance.
Now that he looked more carefully, he saw something like red paint on her cheeks.
'Oi! Haruka-chan!’ Gotou said, but she didn’t move, let alone respond.
– This is strange. What the hell happened?
Gotou was about to walk up to her, but two men in suits got in his way. He had just met them earlier this evening – Shinoda and Onodera.
'What are you doing here? This isn’t your place,’ said Shinoda, high and mighty as always.
It wasn’t something that had just started now, but it seemed like he really did hate Gotou.
'Shut up. That girl’s an acquaintance of mine.’
Gotou tried to push pas, but Shinoda wouldn’t budge.
'Then I really can’t let you go,’ said Shinoda with a glare.
'What?’
'She’s a suspect in this case.’
Gotou was stunned by Shinoda’s words.
Earlier, the guard had said it was a murder. If Haruka was a suspect, that meant there was a possibility that she had killed someone.
'Haruka-chan would never do that!’
Ishii rebutted before Gotou could.
'Yeah! There’s gotta be some mistake!’ added Gotou.
Shinoda sighed in exasperation as he looked at the two of them.
'No matter what you guys say, there was a witness.’
Shinoda turned his gaze towards a man talking with detectives a little ways away. The man was in uniform, probably a security guard.
'Don’t be ridiculous!’
'I know how you feel, but please calm down.’
Onodera spoke calmly, the complete opposite of Shinoda. However, Gotou couldn’t just calm down because he was asked.
'Shove off! I’m going to talk to her!’
Gotou pushed Shinoda away, but this time Onodera stood in his way.
'Please stop. If you are an acquaintance of the suspect, you really shouldn’t meet with her now!’
'Shut up! I told you to shove off, so shove off!’
Gotou started fighting with Onodera.
Soon, Shinoda joined in, and before anyone noticed, the detectives in the area had joined in as well in the commotion.
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NOTES:
[1] Tonkotsu is a type of ramen broth made with pork bone. It is rather thick and looks a bit creamy.
[2] 'watashi’ is a pronoun that can be used by men and women, but is more common among women in casual situations than with men. For reference, (if I remember correctly,) Haruka and Makoto both use 'watashi’, Yakumo and Ishii use 'boku’, and Detective Gotou uses 'ore’.
