Don't forget to read the first part, or the previous post if you haven't!
In the last part, Junya got a phone call from a mysterious stranger connected to a "certain organization" during the Witching Hour. It went just like those 3 AM content farm videos, except for the fact that something actually happened. That being a call for help to Junya's acquaintances and a fresh warrant for civilian cooperation, both sent by an unknown 'detective'. Also, Junya acted like a massive dork the moment he became alone with a woman. Now, the gang's reuniting to report back the evidence they found. Let's get into it.
After finishing my search in the library, I decided to meet up with my brother. It's very convenient to have a cell phone at times like this.
"Hey, Junya. Did you find anything?"
"Yeah. And how about you, brother?
"Everything's good here, too."
While my brother was in a good mood, Mr. Kogure looked ghastly and pale. Where in the world had he been taken to?
"We were investigating the Fox Mound that was struck by lightning yesterday and... found some pretty interesting stuff."
Brother proudly took out a piece of paper. Robust letters were written on the tattered sheet, which still bore scorch marks.
"It's a scripture about exterminating foxes."
"Exterminating foxes...!?"
"It appears that this school has been inhabited by fox spirits before."
"Ridiculous... such a scrap of paper has nothing to do with this case. Are you suggesting that the students were driven to suicide by this fox extermination scripture?"
Ms. Hitomi's words had a sharp sting.
"Hmph... So, what did you find?"
"A roster." Although she was prideful, she didn't put on airs as she calmly replied.
"A... roster?" It seems a supplementary explanation is needed.
"Mr. Kogure, in the list, we found Misa Sakita's class from when she was a first grader two years ago. And, within her classmates, we found the names of Yuka Kamiyama, Narumi Hasebe, and Kaori Itou."
"W-W-WHAT!?"
"I was surprised too. I had no idea they were connected back two years ago..."
"Quite so, sir... Well, even so, your wise insight is very impressive, Dr. Shikibu! I, the unworthy Souichirou Kogure, am very impressed!" [In case you're wondering whether he actually spoke this sentence, I'll explain. Here, Kogure uses a very humble version of 'I' that can also be used to refer to yourself as inexperienced/unskilled, and since he called out his own name, I chose to do the same but add a qualifier to show the intended meaning.]
"Thanks. But if you think about it calmly enough, you can easily figure it out. It's nonsense to assume that something is occultic just because it's a little strange."
"Pursuing the facts is the quickest way to the truth." Ms. Hitomi presented my brother with a challenging remark. Invisible sparks were flying between them.
Something beyond human knowledge is at play in this case... or so I feel like.
However, Ms. Hitomi is determined to judge things from a scientific perspective.
I believe I should emulate that attitude as a police officer and as a rational person.
While we were impressed, my brother and Ms. Hitomi were engaged in a heated argument.
"S-sir! Shouldn't we stop them!?" Mr. Kogure nervously wobbled his huge body.
"It's alright, Mr. Kogure. That's how those two communicate."
"S-sigh... That's a world I cannot understand..."
"Well, let's leave the two aside for now, Mr. Kogure. It seems that this case and foxes are inseparable."
"Y-yes, sir..."
The setting sun shines red on the school building. The students of Hanamine High School had finished their afternoon classes and were leaving the school, except for those who were involved in club activities.
After we joined up with the others, we continued to investigate the school as inconspicuously as possible.
"......please come forth. Mr. Kokkuri, Mr. Kokkuri, please come forth..."
"Mr. Kokkuri, Mr. Kokkuri, please come forth..."
...Where did that come from? The voices of female students playing Mr. Kokkuri echo through the empty school building.
Although they weren't speaking loudly, their immoral and stealthy words still reached our ears.
"Despite the school rules forbidding Mr. Kokkuri..."
No amount of school rules can hold back boys and girls at an impressionable age. What matters more now is who's playing Mr. Kokkuri.
"...you should do it too..."
"...b-but even Narumi and Kaori..."
"...you're still saying that stuff...?"
The girls' whispers overlapped with each other. The volume was getting louder and louder, indicating that we were getting closer to the place we wanted to reach.
"Mr. Kokkuri, Mr. Kokkuri, please come forth..."
We arrived at the classroom where the voices were coming from. We thought we should wait and see what would happen, but the principal, upset with the school rules being violated, didn't allow us to do so.
The culprits were quickly found. Three girls in the classroom. Two of them were familiar faces. There was no one else in the room besides those three.
Yuka Kamiyama.
And Mari Horikawa.
The last person was a girl I'd never seen before.
"All of you! Mr. Kokkuri is prohibited by the school rules!" The principal gave a stern warning.
"...So?"
"W-what's with that attitude!?" The principal flinched at Kamiyama's irreverent demeanor.
"Detectives... you're still investigating the case?" It was Mari Horikawa who asked, seemingly without much interest.
"Yeah. The case hasn't been solved yet."
"Oh? But they committed suicide, didn't they, those girls?" As usual, she says it as if it were someone else's problem.
"Suicide, huh... But, some people don't seem to think so."
[The two other girls briefly appear on screen]
I looked around as I said this. Among them, only Yuka Kamiyama avoided my gaze and kept her eyes down.
As expected, she's hiding something.
"D-detective...? These guys, they're policemen...?" The unknown girl backs away with a frightened look on her face.
"What's your name?"
"K-{Keiko Yamano}..." She replied in a voice that sounded as if she was about to cry.
She's an athletic-looking girl with a short haircut, but at this moment, her body's trembling, and her eyes aren't focused. What is she so scared of?
(This is the girl who was trying to burn the Ouija board back then.) Mr. Kogure quietly whispered to me.
He nodded with a confident look on his face. We had only seen her once from afar, but how could he remember her?
However, the girl who was trying to burn the Ouija board on the day Kaori Itou died certainly had a short haircut, too.
It's not just the hair. The probability of them being the same person is quite high since she was trying to play Mr. Kokkuri despite it being forbidden in here.
This could be an opportunity. If we ask these women key questions, we are sure to get some kind of reaction.
If we can find out a way to make a difference out there...
Key Question
What connects these women to the case?
>Misa Sakita.
>Mr. Kokkuri.
Even if we were going down the supernatural route, them playing Mr. Kokkuri is a pretty circumstantial connection.
>Misa Sakita.
What connects these women to Misa Sakita?
>Mr. Kokkuri.
>They're classmates from two years back.
Again, very circumstantial.
>They're classmates from two years back.
Classmates... Could it be that they were the ones that played Mr. Kokkuri with her back then?
>Yes, they were. (Conclusion)
>Let's rethink this.
Makes sense if they were, I guess this is a good connection after all.
>Yes, they were. (Conclusion)
The rumors that Misa Sakita was playing Mr. Kokkuri. The fact that Kamiyama and the others were her classmates. And now, they were playing Mr. Kokkuri right before our eyes.
Once this information is combined, the questions to be asked of these women are self-evident.
"Perhaps... were you guys the ones who played Mr. Kokkuri with Misa Sakita?"
Keiko Yamano was moving as if to repel us. However, Mr. Kogure's large physique prevented her.
Her actions were a clear answer to the question. They did, after all, play Mr. Kokkuri with Misa Sakita.
Keiko Yamano, bound by fear, is so disorientated to the point of losing all tension in her body.
"It's over...! It'll kill us all...! It'll kill us like it did to Narumi and Kaori...!"
Narumi and Kaori. These are both the names of the girls who committed suicide. They're also the names of the other girls Misa Sakita played Mr. Kokkuri with...
"You're going to be killed!? Who's going to kill you!?" I demanded, shaking Yamano's shoulder as she lost her senses.
"Mr. Kokkuri..."
"Eh?"
"Mr. Kokkuri is going to kill us." Her voice was horribly cold.
Let's stop here. This may be a pretty big cliffhanger, but that's because the next part will be much longer. I can promise you that! Also, the other reason is that I want to have enough translated content to be able to post twice in a row without having to translate anything new. Don't worry though, everything's going along just fine over here.
Anyway, see you next time!
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