Another, Novel 02

by Yukito Ayatsuji

  Both of the people who’d died in August were students in Class 3. Moreover, the two of them had both died on the same day: August 9. The way they’d died was also the same: “Accident.”

  “Two students died on the same day in an accident…”

  The link was easy to see.

  “Was this on the camping trip over summer break?”

  Mr. Chibiki nodded without a word, so I went on, “Some sort of accident happened on the trip, and the two of them died. But during the same trip, something happened that made the ‘disasters’ for that year stop…”

  “If you look at the space at the bottom of the page, the name of ‘the casualty’ isn’t written there, is it?” Mr. Chibiki said, directing my attention. I looked and saw that, indeed, there was nothing written there. “I wasn’t able to confirm who the ‘extra person,’ or in other words ‘the casualty,’ was for that year. Since the ‘disasters’ stopped partway through, I wonder if perhaps the ‘extra person’ disappeared without waiting for graduation. And maybe the traces of his or her presence that year had also disappeared at the same time. There was no precedent for the situation, so I didn’t know what was going on, either. By the time I sensed that’s what may have happened and did my research, the memories of those involved had already faded and there was no one left who remembered the name of the ‘extra person.’”

  “Hm-m-m.”

  I pressed a hand to my forehead and mulled over this information, while beside me Mei asked, “But, in any case, it is true that the ‘disasters’ for that year ended in August, right?”

  “That’s right.”

  “The major question is why—and how—did they stop?”

  “Right.”

  “You’re saying you still don’t really understand the ‘why’?”

  “Not clearly, no. All I know is at the level of rumor or conjecture.”

  “Rumor or conjecture?” I asked. “Saying what?”

  Mr. Chibiki creased his brow in a pained look as he ran his palm over his straw-like hair.

  “Just as you said a few moments ago, Sakakibara—the camping trip took place at the overnight facility belonging to the school at the foot of Yomiyama.”

  “Is that facility still there?”

  “It’s been maintained. The building is called the ‘Sakitani Memorial Hall,’ and it’s still used from time to time for club camping trips and that sort of thing. Though I’m sure it must be quite dilapidated by now. Incidentally, there’s an old shrine partway up the slope of Yomiyama.”

  “A shrine?”

  “It’s also named after the mountain: Yomiyama Shrine.”

  “Yomiyama Shrine…” I murmured, looking over at Mei. She nodded without a moment’s thought. I could see she already knew that the place existed.

  “During the camping trip, everyone went to visit that shrine, they say. Apparently it was the head teacher’s idea.”

  “When you say they visited the shrine…” I tilted my head to one side. “You don’t mean there was some kind of divine intervention, do you?”

  “Some people make that claim, actually.” Mr. Chibiki’s tone was cold. “‘Yomiyama’ was also the last name of that boy Misaki who died twenty-six years ago, after all. Not to mention that people have long suggested that the mountain’s name could have come from ‘Yomi,’ the name for the land of the dead. Yomiyama as the Mountain of Yomi. There are even oral traditions that claim the shrine built there is—how shall I say—a ‘linchpin’ separating this world from the next. That must have inspired the head teacher at the time to make the suggestion.”

  “And that’s why the ‘disasters’ stopped?”

  “That’s what some people say. Didn’t I say that?”

  “But then, wouldn’t that mean all someone would have to do in an ‘on year’ is visit the shrine?”

  “Indeed. And naturally, there appear to have been people who had the same thought in subsequent years,” Mr. Chibiki informed us, his voice still cold. “It seems, however, that it had no effect.”

  “So then…”

  “That’s why I say it’s ‘at the level of rumor or conjecture.’ In the end, I don’t completely know why or how they did it.”

  “So you’re saying the visit to the shrine didn’t change anything?”

  “No, you can’t draw such a conclusion so easily.”

  “Meaning what?”

  “Visiting the shrine may be a ‘condition.’ Or, for example, it’s also plausible that visiting the shrine had an effect because more than a certain number of people went in the first part of August, before the Obon Festival.”

  “I guess that’s true.”

  “Though of course we can’t deny the possibility that it was something else.” Mr. Chibiki fixed his gaze on my face, then shot a glance in Mei’s direction before continuing. “When Ms. Mikami came by today, this is actually what we talked about. Why and how the ‘disasters’ stopped fifteen years ago. We went over much of the same ground as we’ve just done, and she seemed to think of several things on her own. She was nodding and tilting her head all the time, and at the end she kept saying ‘I see’ and ‘So that’s what that was.’ It sounded like she was talking to herself…”

  Mr. Chibiki cut himself off for a moment, and then went on: “Given how she was acting, there may be a similar camping trip this August.”

  Then he fixed his eyes on my face again.

  “She had some bitter experiences two years ago, as well. Considering that she’s been appointed the substitute head teacher after Mr. Kubodera’s death, she must be desperate for a solution.”

  I could offer no response. I heard a quiet sigh from Mei. Mussing his hair, Mr. Chibiki said, “Assuming that’s what happens, the question then is: how many students will participate?”

  6

  “I have an announcement for everyone. I know it’s short notice, but I’ve arranged a class camping trip next month from the eighth to the tenth, for two nights and three days. It will be at Yomiyama’s…”

  Tuesday of the following week, on July 21. It had been as hot as a steam bath in the gym, where the assembly to close the first semester had been held. After we’d returned to the classroom, during the final homeroom before summer break—

  Just as Mr. Chibiki had predicted, these words came from the mouth of our substitute head teacher, Ms. Mikami.

  At this hour on this day, there weren’t even twenty students in the room. Some people had been out of school ever since Mr. Kubodera’s death, while others had come back once, only to leave again. Of these, some might have gotten their families’ understanding or cooperation and beat feet out of town, as Mei had suggested.

  There was a low-pitched murmur in the classroom at the sudden announcement of the camping trip. The turmoil in the buzzing exchange of students’ voices could clearly be heard: Why does she want to do this over summer break? From their perspective, not knowing the reasons behind it, I suppose it was a natural reaction.

  “I’d like you to think of this as a very important ritual,” Ms. Mikami said, not even attempting to quiet the commotion. “This is a very important ritual…It’s not mandatory, but I would appreciate the participation of those students who are able to come. Are there any questions?”

  She didn’t broach any further details.

  A class camping trip, to the same location and on the same days as the trip taken by third-year Class 3 fifteen years ago. If we all visited the shrine on Yomiyama during the trip, maybe the “disasters” for this year would stop. She had decided to have the camping trip, and yet maybe she was hesitant to make an announcement quite like that here in the classroom.

  Standing atop the teacher’s platform, Ms. Mikami’s expression seemed incredibly tense—maybe she was nervous. From another perspective, her gaze seemed utterly vacant somehow, too.

  I tried hard to guess at how she truly felt, despite my own agitation, but…

  “I’ll send you all a handout with the details in the next few days. A permi
ssion slip will be included, so please return your slips to me by the end of this month if you’d like to participate. Any questions?”

  That wound up being the sum of the explanation we got about the camping trip. A couple of hands went up to ask questions, but the way she handled them, they were as good as ignored…

  …In any case.

  This was how I—how we—went into our summer break. The summer break that would be our last in middle school—and ripe with the possibility that it might be the last of our lives.

  Interlude III

  Did you get the handout for the camping trip?

  Yeah, it came today.

  What are you gonna do? Are you going?

  Are you kidding? No way.

  But Ms. Mikami told us it’s a very important ritual…

  Come on, it’s not like it’s a crash course for test prep or something, you know?

  On the handout it says “Goal: To strengthen the bonds of the class.”

  What does that even mean? Why are they pulling something like this over summer break in an “on year”? Some people already left ’cause staying in Yomiyama is too dangerous. If we got into some kind of accident because we went on this camping trip…

  …Still.

  The safest thing to do is to not go anywhere. Just shut yourself up in your house.

  Maybe so…

  The outside world is full of danger, you know?

  …

  Still, why did this have to happen to us? It makes no sense at all. And what a waste of a summer break.

  …Yeah.

  If that transfer student hadn’t started talking to Misaki, you know the talisman would have worked, too.

  …Maybe, yeah.

  I think the tactical officers are at fault here, too. If they’d handled things right from the start…They could’ve explained to the transfer kid what was going on before he came to school or something.

  Yeah. But it doesn’t do much good complaining about it now.

  I guess. We didn’t believe people were actually going to die like they did, either, I suppose…

  Seriously. I never thought things would turn out like this…

  * * *

  The instruction sheet came for that camping trip.

  Yeah.

  What are you gonna do?

  Oh, I’m…uh…

  You’re not going?

  Er…no.

  Hey there, Mr. Class Representative, you’re a tactical officer, too, aren’t you? Aren’t you kind of obligated to go?

  Uh…But I…

  You scared? You think something’s gonna happen on this trip?

  No, it’s not that. I…

  I heard this is actually effective.

  Wha—? What do you mean?

  I heard this camping trip really means something. Ms. Mikami even said it’s a very important ritual. And actually, I talked to Sakaki about it after class, and he told me…

  * * *

  The eighth to the tenth. Those are the same dates as the camping trip fifteen years ago, right?

  Yes, that’s right.

  Are we going to visit the Yomiyama Shrine, too?

  That’s the plan, at least.

  On the second day? The ninth?

  That seems to be when they went fifteen years ago.

  But fifteen years ago, there was an accident that day and…

  I know. Mr. Chibiki showed me his binder. But, you know, since we’re giving this a try, I think we need to do everything we can to match the conditions from before.

  So then why didn’t you explain that to everyone after the end-of-semester assembly?

  Well, because…I didn’t feel confident enough.

  …

  I wasn’t sure if this really was an “important ritual.” Or if this would be capable of stopping the “disasters” for this year. Or how much hope I should let myself have. I struggled with it…So that’s all I could manage at the time.

  So you’re not struggling with it anymore?

  …I don’t know.

  …

  I don’t know, but if there’s even a slight chance this might work, that’s better than to keep doing nothing…That’s how I feel about it.

  * * *

  Maybe I’d better go on that camping trip after all.

  Why are you bringing that up again?

  Somehow I keep thinking, maybe it’ll save us.

  You think it might…save us?

  I heard a rumor about it. I mean, there’s that shrine on Yomiyama, right? They’re going there on the camping trip, and they’re going to do a purification ritual.

  Really?

  And there was a class a long time ago that got saved.

  Are you serious?

  I just heard the rumor.

  Hm-m-m…

  So what are you gonna do?

  Who do you think is going?

  Akazawa said she’s going. She said it’s her responsibility as a class representative and a tactical officer. Sugiura’s going, too.

  Sugiura is so Akazawa’s right hand, don’t you think?

  I think Nakao’s going, too.

  What, to get in with Akazawa?

  Totally! Oh, my queen, I shall accompany you!

  There’s just something pitiful about that guy.

  Speaking of, isn’t Mochizuki going, too? He’s in it for Ms. Mikami, though.

  He is so obvious. And of course Sakakibara’s going…

  I wonder if Misaki is.

  Who knows…

  If she’s going, I don’t think I want to.

  But it doesn’t matter anymore, remember? The talisman of her being “not there” is over now.

  That’s true. But c’mon, don’t you think she’s kind of, I don’t know…hard to be around? I feel like she looks at people so coldly.

  You can’t handle that?

  It’s not that I can’t handle it, it’s just creepy…

  …

  …

  …Back in elementary school, there was a girl in my class who looked a lot like her.

  You mean Misaki?

  Yeah.

  But isn’t she an only child?

  She had a different last name. But I’m pretty sure her first name was Misaki.

  Wo-o-ow.

  Sometimes I still wonder if they’re actually the same person…

  Where did she go to middle school?

  She moved away in fifth year. So I dunno.

  Did she wear an eye patch?

  I…don’t think she did.

  I heard Misaki lost her left eye when she was four.

  Really? Then I guess…

  Chapter 13

  July III

  1

  I started having bad dreams again.

  Different from the nightmares I was getting before. In these, I wasn’t blaming myself for the “disasters” starting and telling myself it was “all my fault”…

  Who is “the casualty”…?

  Dreams where I was alone in the dark, that question repeating constantly.

  Who is “the casualty”…?

  In answer to the question, different people’s faces appeared, one after another.

  Kazami. Teshigawara. Mochizuki. The guys I had kind of hung out with since transferring here.

  Maejima from the kendo club. Mizuno/Little Brother. Wakui, who sat at the desk in front of me. Akazawa. Sugiura. Nakao. Ogura…The boys and girls that I wasn’t on great terms with, but whose names I could match to a face with confidence.

  And then…There was Mei.

  And my other classmates from third-year Class 3—there were a lot of them. Which one of them was the “extra person” / “casualty” for this year?

  Their faces, bobbing up from the darkness in random order. One by one, the contours of their faces would break apart into goop, then morph into something ghoulish that gave off a rotten stench. Like the standard-issue scary faces done with special effects makeup from every horror movie ever. And then…

  The
face that always appeared last of all was none other than mine—the face of Koichi Sakakibara.

  My own face, seen only in mirrors and photos. Its contours broke apart goopily and I saw a ghoulish face more terrifying than any in this world…

  …Me?

  Was I…?

  Could I be “the casualty” who’d snuck into the class and not even realize it myself? Impossible.

  Raking my hands over my caved-in face, giving voice to an unsettling moaning sound…That’s where I would wake up. And that happened every single night…

  I couldn’t actually be “the casualty,” could I?

  I tried to challenge the possibility with anything I could think of.

  “The casualty” doesn’t realize that they’re “the casualty.” He or she exists because of the corruption/modification of memories that tells them “I’m not dead. I’m alive, like I always have been.” In which case…

  Doesn’t that mean it’s possible that it’s me?

  At the beginning of April this year, there were enough desks and chairs in the classroom. Then May started and they were short one set. Because I transferred in partway through.

  I was the student who had unexpectedly bumped the class up by one. And if that meant that I was the “extra person” / “casualty” for this year…

  Maybe I just wasn’t aware of it and had died last year, say, or the year before, and my grandparents and Reiko and my father and everyone else was forgetting that fact, and all the records had been doctored so that the details matched up…

  …Hold on a second.

  I shook my head firmly, and then pressed my palm against my chest. And so, verifying the steady beat of my heart, I calmed down and thought things over.

  The fundamental rules governing the “extra person” / “casualty” that Mr. Chibiki and Mei had talked about.

  “The casualty” for each year appeared at random from among the people who had lost their lives in the past to the “phenomenon” that had begun twenty-six years ago in third-year Class 3.

  The range for the “disasters” was restricted to members of the class and their blood relatives within two degrees. However, even when a person is within that range, if they’re in a location away from Yomiyama, they’re not a target.