Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 1

by Takehaya

  “Well, you know, I’m a ghost, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  Neither Koutarou nor Sanae had expected anything from Yurika, so they carried on like nothing had happened.

  “That’s why even if I try, I can’t eat anything, right?”

  “Well, I guess offerings might be the best you could do.”

  “But if I possess someone, I can taste what that person eats.”

  “Sanae, that method works better between people whose auras have similar wavelengths. Wouldn’t it be better to possess me or Yurika instead?”

  Kiriha had been listening in and decided to interrupt.

  “That’s true, but you saw how Yurika is. And I refuse to do it with you, Kiriha!”

  “Why?”

  “If I become indebted to someone like you, I know I’ll regret it!”

  “Well, well. Aren’t I hated?” Kiriha drooped her shoulders and smiled wryly.

  “That’s how it is, so... Please, Koutarou!”

  “What’s in it for me if I do? Besides, I don’t want to get killed when you possess me.”

  “Please! I won’t kill you! I just want to be able to taste food again!”

  “...Really?”

  “Yeah!” Sanae looked up and intently nodded. “Okay, well, I think it might make your shoulders a little stiff too.”

  “Stiff shoulders? Now that you mention it, people possessed by ghosts do tend to say that, don’t they?”

  “Oh, and if you let me possess you during dinner, I wouldn’t mind a truce! It’s a good deal, right?! If your shoulders get stiff, I’ll even give you a massage!”

  “A truce, huh...?”

  That was an attractive proposition to Koutarou, as it meant that he would only need to chase out two people for the time being. It would also mean that the most aggressive of them all, Sanae, would stay calm for now.

  And all I have to do is put up with stiff shoulders... All right.

  “Okay. I’ll accept those conditions.”

  “Really?!”

  “Yeah. Come on, I’m ready.” Koutarou tapped on his shoulders.

  “Yay!” Sanae’s expression eased up as she jumped straight at Koutarou.

  “Whoa!”

  “Thanks, Koutarou!”

  Even if she calls herself a ghost, she’s almost like a kid. Well, I guess she is a kid...

  That was how Koutarou felt as he looked at Sanae.

  Shortly after, the wardrobe door slid open and Yurika appeared with a red face as she silently returned to the tea table.

  “...”

  Though she had come out because she sensed that the matter had been settled, she was ashamed of her own behavior.

  “So do I just eat like normal, Sanae?”

  “Oh, yeah. Just wait a minute! I’ll possess you now!”

  But as usual, neither Koutarou nor Sanae paid any attention to Yurika. Kiriha also only looked at the two of them, not giving so much as a glance in Yurika’s direction. Normally, she would have complained and told them not to ignore her, but this time she was actually grateful.

  “Hup!”

  Sanae moved around behind Koutarou and clung to him with her arms wrapped around his neck.

  “Go ahead, Koutarou.”

  “Is this what it looks like when you possess someone? It’s quite different from what I imagined.”

  Koutarou could feel Sanae’s small body against his back. She was warm, and he could feel her breath on his ear. She was weak to things like charms, she could pass through walls, and she had her Poltergeist Attack. There was no doubt that she was a ghost, but Koutarou was having a harder and harder time thinking of her as one.

  “Yeah! Eat up, Koutarou!”

  Unaware of Koutarou’s feelings, Sanae was in a cheerful mood.

  “All right. Thank you for the food.”

  “You’re welcome. Well, I guess that’s not something I should say.”

  “Hahaha, what does it matter?”

  With Sanae on his back, Koutarou began eating.

  I wonder why...?

  Strangely, he didn’t feel anything negative.

  “Ah, Koutarou, this is delicious!”

  “I am honored by your praise.”

  “Kiriha-san made that one.”

  “Hmm... For someone with such strange clothes, your cooking is pretty normal. But the taste is a bit too strong.”

  “You think so?”

  “See, Koutarou? Even Sanae agrees. We’ll start weakening the flavor starting tomorrow.”

  “Ugh...”

  Kiriha joined in as well, and they happily continued eating together.

  “...That looks delicious.” Yurika looked on in regret. “Compared to that, my instant noodles...”

  Yurika felt a sad emptiness as she peeled open the lid to her cup of instant noodles and the fragrance of artificial seasoning wafted up.

  “Ah...”

  Disappointed by the smell, Yurika’s hand twitched and she only tore the lid halfway off. She tried to remove the rest, but couldn’t manage to get the whole thing off. It only made her cup of instant noodles look even sadder.

  “Today has just been terrible...”

  As Yurika spoke, she snapped apart her disposable chopsticks in an uneven fashion, giving them different shapes.

  “Koutarou! Miso soup! Miso soup!”

  “I got it. Just calm down a little.”

  “Be careful, Koutarou. It’s hot.”

  Looking on at the three of them eating dinner so happily, Yurika reached into her instant noodles with her odd chopsticks.

  “Why is it always me?” While grieving, Yurika slurped up her cup of noodles alone. “They’re even soggy...”

  Today’s 98 yen instant noodles tasted saltier than usual.

  “Well then, now that we’ve eaten, let’s get back to business.”

  “Business?”

  Kiriha asked Koutarou what he meant as she poured some tea.

  “We’re talking about throwing you out.” Sanae chimed in.

  Even after eating, she was still clinging on to Koutarou. With her chin resting over his shoulder, she grinned at Kiriha.

  “Sanae, you want to keep living here, so you’re chasing everyone else out, right?” Koutarou asked.

  “Yeah. Well, you and I have a truce at the moment.”

  “All right. And Kiriha-san, you want this room so you can rebuild an altar.”

  “That’s right.”

  “And Yurika, you want to hold a cosplay party here with your friends.”

  “You’re wrong!”

  “Lastly, I live here, so I don’t want to move out. I can’t get a place like this anywhere else for just 5,000 yen. Besides, if I just hand this room over, there would be a lot of trouble.”

  If Koutarou moved out, rumors of there being a ghost would spread even further. Even worse, a surface invasion would begin or a cosplay party would be held.

  As Shizuka’s friend, Koutarou wanted to prevent that from happening. He understood why the place was so precious to her.

  “Please listen to me! There really is danger approaching!”

  “And not everyone wants to fight it out directly... even though I could hold my own in a fist fight.”

  “It’s not my intention to harm anyone.”

  “Yeah, and we have a truce.”

  “I’m not going to hold a cosplay party!”

  “And none of us have any intention of backing down.”

  “Of course not.”

  “This is my home!”

  “It’s dangerous! Everyone, please get out of here as fast as possible!”

  “That said, Koutarou, we need to settle this in some way. The prolonged negotiations with you aside, there are another two people here. At this rate, progress will come to a halt altogether. It’s clear the discussion isn’t getting us anywhere. That’s why we’ll need to resolve this swiftly with a method that everyone can agree on.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. But what should that metho
d be?” Koutarou agreed with Kiriha and looked around.

  If only Mackenzie were here at a time like this...

  Thinking wasn’t one of Koutarou’s strong suits. In a situation like this, he’d love nothing more than to borrow Kenji’s brain. That said, he couldn’t just call the cops. If he brought up a ghost, the underground people, and cosplayers, they’d be more likely to take him to a mental institution. Koutarou couldn’t rely on outside help.

  “Please listen! I can’t accept this! Why am I the only one you won’t believe?! The magical power that’s gathering here is dangerous!”

  “Does anyone have a good idea? We need a method everyone can agree on.”

  “That’s a tough one...”

  “Hmm, a fair method, huh? Hey, Koutarou, how about this? We play some kind of game, and if you lose, you leave.”

  “Like I said, I can’t accept this! Please listen to meeeee!”

  “Deciding things fairly with a game is a good idea. There are many historical examples of competing over territory using games,” Kiriha agreed.

  “Wait up! I don’t want something this important to be decided by a game!”

  Kiriha was on board with Sanae’s idea, but the same could not be said about Koutarou. He knew that Kiriha was smart. And that he wasn’t.

  “So Koutarou, would you rather have us all fight it out? Or continue with an endless discussion?”

  “A fight... A discussion...”

  After looking at Sanae and Kiriha, Koutarou gave up the idea of a fight. And after looking at Yurika, he gave up on a discussion.

  “Guh, it looks like there’s no other way.”

  Despite having fought on the day they met, Koutarou didn’t want to hit Sanae now. Because of that, the exorcism tools he had gotten from Shizuka were still sitting in his bag. And while Kiriha was saying preposterous things, he felt the same about her. Finally, Koutarou simply didn’t think reasoning and discussion would work on Yurika.

  “A game, huh? A game...”

  Though Koutarou’s shoulders had drooped in discouragement, he soon shook his head to snap out of it and looked at Sanae.

  “All right, Sanae. Say we decide to play a game. What would it be?”

  “How about an easy one like rock-paper-scissors?”

  Sanae put up a finger and slightly tilted her head. However, Kiriha shook her head at Sanae’s suggestion.

  “Rock-paper-scissors wouldn’t be good. It’s too simple and it relies too much on luck. In order to convince everyone, it needs to be something that focuses on our skills.”

  “That said, we can’t just use shougi or chess, right? There are pros and cons to everything.”

  “I haven’t played either.”

  “So a game that even a beginner could play that has an element of luck, but where player ability would ultimately come out on top in repeated plays... It might be a classic, but how about card games?”

  “Card games?”

  “Well, it doesn’t just have to be card games.”

  “I’m fine with that. I played a lot with papa and mama.”

  “Fine, just fine... Call it cosplay or whatever you like. Anything is fine as long as you get out of this room.”

  Koutarou looked at the three girls and nodded.

  “All right, it seems like everyone agrees, so let’s go with that. My lifestyle is on the line here. I want to finish this ridiculousness as soon as possible.”

  Koutarou couldn’t hit Sanae, who was clinging to his back and smiling. That said, he didn’t have the confidence that he could last forever against Kiriha’s plans. Nor could he think of a way to convince Yurika to get out. This was a last resort to Koutarou.

  “No objections. So Koutarou, what kind of card games will we play?”

  “Well...”

  “Koutarou, how about all four of us take turns picking games? That way it’s more fair.”

  “In that case, we’ll need to have points for the placings.”

  “Indeed. We’ll need at least enough points for everyone to get a turn.”

  “Waaaaah... In the end, nobody would even listen to my opinion...”

  “Hey, Koutarou, since we have a truce, we should work together. It’ll be easier that way, and you and I can just work things out afterward.”

  “You’re on. If we just play normally, we’ll probably lose to Kiriha-san.”

  “Kiriha-san, those two are teaming up.”

  “That’s the kind of thing that happens in territory disputes. Heh, looks like I can’t underestimate them. How about we work together to defeat them?”

  “Y-Yes, please!”

  Thus the games to determine the owner of room 106 began.

  Commence Invasion

  Wednesday, April 8th

  Birdsong came through the window with the floral curtain. The curtain was something else Shizuka had prepared alongside the futon cover when Koutarou moved in.

  “Uwah, it’s already morning, Koutarou...”

  Having finished up already, Sanae pulled the curtain aside and looked outside to see a clear blue sky and sunshine lighting up the neighborhood. On top of the utility poles were a couple of small birds singing. It was a normal, everyday morning.

  “It’s already past 7 AM, huh?”

  Koutarou rubbed his tired eyes and looked through the window. His eyes met the blue sky and clear sunlight. The sunlight passed through Sanae’s body as she stood in front of the window, and lit up the tatami mats. Koutarou thought of Sanae as a real person, but it was times like this that he was reminded that she was a ghost.

  “Another all-nighter...”

  It was now Wednesday, April 8th. And as of today, Koutarou had pulled three all-nighters in a row.

  “Sorry, Koutarou. With this card, I’m out too.”

  “Uwah, really?!”

  Kiriha pulled a card from Koutarou’s hand and then placed two cards on the tea table, emptying her hand. They were currently playing Sanae’s specialty, Old Maid, and Kiriha had just finished.

  “Ouch, just don’t end up in last place. Okay, Koutarou?”

  “I know.”

  While replying to Sanae, Koutarou reached out towards Yurika’s hand.

  “Ah! Auuuuugh...”

  As he did, Yurika shut her eyes and whined. Even if she hadn’t, Koutarou still would have been able to see right through her. She had a terrible poker face. If it weren’t for her alliance with Kiriha, Yurika would have run out of points long ago.

  “Hah!” Koutarou shouted as he selected his card.

  “U-Umm...” Yurika stammered. But hearing Koutarou’s voice and feeling a card pulled out of her hand, she timidly opened her eyes.

  “Waaauugh!”

  However, the only card remaining in her hand was the dreaded joker, laughing in her face.

  “All right! I’m out!” Koutarou completed his hand and threw his cards onto the table.

  “I...I looooost!”

  Koutarou rejoiced while Yurika sunk into gloom.

  “Which means I’m first, Kiriha is second, Koutarou is third, and Yurika is dead last.” Sanae recapped.

  “Indeed. With that, the points are back to where they started.” As Kiriha spoke, she wrote up the points on the score sheet now hanging on the wall.

  Like she said, everyone had twenty points each. According to the rules they had decided on, finishing in first place awarded three points, and finishing second awarded one point. Getting third place meant losing one point, and fourth place meant losing three. Functionally, there was a two point difference between each position. Everyone was given twenty points to start with, and once someone ran out of points, their punishment for losing would be having to leave the apartment.

  “No one even managed a single point lead.”

  “It seems our skills are well-matched.”

  Kiriha shrugged as Koutarou yawned.

  The card games had gone on for the entire night, but there was still no resolution in sight. The outcomes ended up cancelling each other
out, so no one was ever able to gain the lead. At one point, Yurika was about to lose all of her points, but she’d made an incredible comeback with a lucky streak. After that, the points were simply traded back and forth.

  “What are you going to do, Koutarou? It’s time to go to school.”

  Still standing by the window, Sanae pointed at the clock hung up on the wall. It was already past 7:30 AM, and Kenji would show up at any moment.

  “Everyone, can we pick this up after I get back?”

  “In reality, there’s no time to spare... but I don’t think there will be any danger during the day.”

  “I don’t mind. I too feel like resting for a while.”

  As Yurika and Kiriha agreed, the doorbell rang.

  “Hey, Kou! Are you up?”

  And there was Kenji.

  “Yeah, I’ll be right there!” After shouting towards the front door, Koutarou spoke in a hushed tone. “Everyone, please make sure Mackenzie doesn’t see you when I leave.”

  “It’ll make things complicated, right? I already know that.” Sanae answered as she turned off the lights in the room to make it look like there was no one home after Koutarou left.

  “Yurika, come this way a little more. The front door is in plain view from over there.”

  “Oh, s-sure, Kiriha-san.”

  The three girls moved to positions where they couldn’t be seen from the entrance. As Koutarou watched them, he started to get a bad feeling. The day before yesterday, it was Sanae. Yesterday, it was Sanae and Yurika. And now today, it was Sanae, Yurika, and Kiriha.

  Surely... there won’t be four tomorrow, right?

  “Nah, there’s no way.”

  Koutarou shook his head and smiled wryly. He fought back a yawn as he turned away from the three girls. He couldn’t be too slow. Kenji was waiting for him just outside.

  “Are you tired, Koutarou?”

  “Something like that. I’ll sleep at school.”

  “That’d be good. If you force yourself too much, it’s bad for your body.”

  “Goodbye, Satomi-san.”

  “Bye-bye, Koutarou. Come back soon, okay? I’ll be waiting.”

  “Yeah... See you.”

  With a third ceasefire in place, Koutarou left his apartment.

  “School sure is great. Being at home is so chaotic...”