Don't forget to read the first or previous part if you haven't!
In the last part, we met and talked with some witnesses, the victim's mother, their neighbor, and the boy who saw the kidnapping but claims an oni was behind it. But while investigating the park where the crime took place, our main man, Mr. Kogure gets harassed by children and then by a smug college student, who turned out to be Junya's brother's student. Now, we'll search for ways to confirm or disprove the boy's testimony and then receive a history lesson on onis. Let's begin, shall we?
Ms. Hitomi had just finished... examining someone. Ms. Hitomi emerged from the autopsy room wearing blood-red gloves and asked me with a straight face.
"Want to see it?"
"N-no, thank you!" Mr. Kogure and I seriously refused.
It seems that Mr. Kogure's consciousness almost took off just by looking at Ms. Hitomi's outfit. He has a very distant look in his eyes.
Ms. Hitomi's office wasn't much different from that of my brother. It seems that no matter where, all rooms used by researchers look similar.
The only difference is that Ms. Hitomi's room is filled with medical books while my brother's is filled with folklore books.
"Kogure-kun, coffee." Mr. Kogure, who had been ordered by his chin, stood erect and saluted with a "Yes!", then quickly began to make coffee.
She's so beautiful that you can't help but want to follow her lead. Amazing. [At this point, there's not even a point in commenting on Junya's obsession with gauging women's beauty.]
Just by waving her bloodstained hands and showing a complacent smile, men become spellbound.
"Here it is, Dr. Shikibu, your coffee!"
"Thanks, Kogure-kun."
Accepting the reverently offered mug, Ms. Hitomi took her place at her desk. She sat with her long legs crossed.
"So? What do you want this time? Any more strange corpses?"
"No, it's different this time. I'm here to talk to Ms. Hitomi about something..."
"...Ok. Let me hear it." I gave her an overview of the case and Ryo Kobayashi's testimony. Ms. Hitomi didn't interrupt me even once. She held her mug in her hand and listened attentively.
After finishing my story, Ms. Hitomi finally opened her mouth. "...I see. In other words, you want to confirm the veracity of the testimony where an oni appeared. Is that right?"
"Exactly, Doctor. I believe that you can prove that onis do not exist!" Mr. Kogure added in his own wishes.
"Ryou-kun's testimony is very vague, perhaps because of his fear. We're here to ask for your wisdom to clarify the ambiguity and completely deny the existence of onis."
Ms. Hitomi exhaled a sigh as if to say "This is idiotic", and then held up three fingers and declared, "I can think of three ways to do it right off the top of my head."
"Ooh!? Three, is that right!?"
"It's not that shocking. They're things that anyone could have thought of." Ms. Hitomi then raised her index finger.
"The first is using a polygraph."
"A polygraph...?"
"Correct. A so-called lie detector."
"I see! Using a lie detector, you can determine if Ryou-kun's testimony is true or not, right!?"
"...However, there's no guarantee that it will accurately diagnose them." Ms. Hitomi refuted her own proposal.
"The boy witness was shaking because he saw something scary, wasn't he? A polygraph is a machine that checks your heart rate and perspiration under stress to determine truth or lie... I can bet that the test results would be amiss."
"What is the second way then?" Ms. Hitomi held up two fingers in response to my words.
"The second way is to use brain fingerprinting."
"Brain fingerprinting?" Both Mr. Kogure's and my voice overlapped. Unfamiliar words kept popping up one after the other, and my brain felt like it was going to explode.
"It's hard to explain, but... Simply put, it's a technology that uses brain waves to measure whether or not certain information is being input into the brain."
"Let's say, for example, that my motorbike was stolen. The suspect is Kogure-kun."
"I-I would never do such a thing...!"
"It's an example, just an example. Let's say Kogure-kun is arrested and denies the charges, saying he's never seen my bike. In that case..."
Opening her desk drawer, Ms. Hitomi began rummaging around inside. What she took out was a photograph of her motorbike.
"They'll show the suspect a photograph that could be used as evidence, like this. If the suspect recognizes the contents of the photograph, special brain waves are generated---which are measured and used to see through the truth."
"OOH-!!" Our voices joined together in admiration.
"In this case, yes. If you show them a photograph of the boy who was abducted or a photograph of the scene of the abduction, and there's a response, then you can consider the witness statements to be credible."
"That's great! Let's go with that!" Mr. Kogure waved his fist excitedly. However, Ms. Hitomi shook her head again.
"The thing is, this technology's still being researched. There has been a case of false accusations being cleared by brain fingerprinting, but this single case happened in the US. It's not yet at the practical stage."
"Mm-hm~. Things aren't going very well, are they?" Crossing his arms, Mr. Kogure groaned.
"That brings us to the third plan. This may be the most practical, as the third one is to perform {retrogressive hypnosis}."
"Retrogressive hypnosis...?" I've heard of hypnosis, but what does retrogressive mean?
"Simply put, you can hypnotize people into remembering things they've forgotten."
"How is that possible?" I asked Ms. Hitomi in surprise.
"It's becoming feasible, more or less. In Japan, even if you get testimony through hypnosis, it's still only usable as a reference."
"In South Korea, it's frequently used in investigations, helping to solve hit-and-run accidents. It's also used as evidence in court, so it must be effective in its own right."
"For example... If someone witnesses an accident, they don't usually remember the license plate number, do they?"
I nodded, "Well, it can be seen only for a moment, can't it?"
"But often, witnesses only 'don't remember' it, when in fact they did see it. That's when retrogressive hypnosis can be used to trigger their memory of what they saw at the time of the accident."
"The witness is hypnotized to re-live the accident in his memory. Then, by asking the question, 'What was the license plate number?'..."
"The witness answers with the number?"
[The entry is for retrogressive hypnosis, not for general hypnosis, by the way]
"Exactly. Also, it's generally accepted that people in a hypnotic state are incapable of lying. So if your witness is hypnotized and still testifies that he 'saw an oni', then he must be telling the truth."
Mr. Kogure stood up, looking very excited. "You're mischievous, Doctor! If you had such an amazing method, why didn't you tell us about it right away?"
"Calm down, Kogure-kun, there's naturally a reason as to why I raised three plans. I can't recommend this one either. If there was a plan that really worked, I would only mention that one."
"We can't use retrogressive hypnosis!?"
"It's a well-established technique, but I can't approve of its use. That boy's scared of the oni, isn't he?"
When questioned by Ms. Hitomi, I replied. "Yes. He seemed very frightened. I heard that he missed school too."
"Retrogressive hypnosis is a procedure that reawakens memories. It means you'll be putting the boy through that scary experience again. Do you know what that would be like for him...?"
Ms. Hitomi's fears are well-founded. As a doctor and a human being, that would be the natural decision. However, the only person who has seen the face of Yuusuke-kun's kidnapper is Ryou Kobayashi-kun."
I want to bring back his memories and ask him what he saw. It seems Mr. Kogure had the same thoughts. We drew closer to Ms. Hitomi, who we respected and loved.
"But, Doctor Shikibu! We have to rescue the kidnapped child! To do that, we need more than a little information!"
"Still, I wouldn't recommend it. He saw something terrible, even if wasn't an oni. However, he can't remember the details. I think he would be happier that way."
"When fear reaches a breaking point, people have a self-protective instinct to completely forget such memories. It isn't in that person's best interest to force them to dredge up those memories that have been locked away."
Although she indifferently spins her words, I felt a somewhat sad undertone. Perhaps Ms. Hitomi has a past that was sealed away because it was too painful...?
"...But this is just my personal opinion. With hypnosis, it might even be possible to block the memory of seeing that terrifying thing. ...I won't stop you if you insist."
"...What do we do, sir?" It's not easy to take action when you've been told that much. I hesitated.
Using retrogressive hypnosis, it would be possible to find out whether or not the oni exists and to hear the detailed circumstances of Yuusuke-kun's abduction. However, the possibility of putting a burden on Ryou-kun cannot be ignored.
Should we try retrogressive hypnosis on Ryou-kun...? [Textures broke, lol]
⬢ >Let's force him to do it.
>Let's get his parents' consent.
⬢ >Let's give up.
We should be reasonable here and not decide for others.
>Let's get his parents' consent.
"Let's discuss this with Ryou-kun's parents. We should ask for their consent for this examination."
"What are you going to do if they object?"
I answered Ms. Hitomi's question decisively. "Then we have no choice. We'll give up and look for another approach."
Ms. Hitomi gave a small smile. "Right. If his family agrees, I'll ask a doctor I know who studies hypnosis to help you."
We thanked Ms. Hitomi and headed for Ryou-kun's home.
[Fade to black]
We explained retrogressive hypnosis to Ryou Kobayashi-kun's parents. We did not conceal the knowledge that Ms. Hitomi had given us.
The fact that the truth may be revealed by putting Ryou-kun into retrogressive hypnosis, nor the fact that it will also bring back his memories of that time, making Ryou-kun feel terrified all over again.
After providing all this information, his parents consented, saying "Please do so". Ryou-kun himself also agreed... It was a courageous decision to face his fears.
Thus, it was decided to apply retrogressive hypnosis to Ryou Kobayashi-kun.
Then, the next day---
The person who'll perform retrogressive amnesia is Ms. Hitomi's {colleague}, {Professor Matsuura} of the Samone University Hospital. Ms. Hitomi commented that he was a unique figure, both a medical coroner and a researcher of hypnosis.
I don't like to say much about people's looks, but once you meet this Professor Matsuura, you're unlikely to forget him. Of course, this is not a compliment.
The parents, who had accompanied Ryou-kun, anxiously saw their child off as he lay on a sofa before retreating to an adjoining room.
Ryou-kun's quite nervous, probably because he's in an unfamiliar place and surrounded by strangers. His arms and legs can be seen stiffening.
Professor Matsuura, incessantly stroking his greasy hair, spoke softly to Ryou-kun.
"Don't worry. This won't be painful." He said quietly in a hushed voice.
"Come now, breathe easy. Please relax. Take a slow, deep breath." Professor Matsuura spoke in a relaxed tone.
"There's nothing to be afraid of... Trust the doctor... Please open your heart." Looking into Ryou-kun's eyes, Professor Matsuura continued to speak.
"What hypnosis needs is mutual trust. Only when there's trust will there be a greater chance of successful treatment." This was probably addressed to us, not Ryou-kun.
"Now, fix your gaze on this."
Professor Matsuura took out a small pendant-like object from the pocket of his white coat. It had a diamond-shaped piece of metal attached and looked like something mediums or psychics might use for dowsing.
Originally, the dubious tools called dowsing rods were used to search for underground ore and water veins...
Well, that's not important now. Let's focus on what Professor Matsuura is doing.
"Without moving your head... Without moving your eyes... Keep staring straight ahead and follow the pendulum's movement in your mind."
Saying this, Professor Matsuura slowly began to wave the pendant. This is a typical hypnosis scene as seen on TV programs.
"That's a technique called the 'gaze method'." Ms. Hitomi gave us a supplementary explanation. When setting up a hypnotic state, focusing on this sort of monotonous movement seems to be one of the fundamentals of hypnosis.
"Gradually, your consciousness becomes more and more distant. Your eyelids become heavier..."
Five minutes later---
Ryou-kun was left dazed, with a vacant expression on his face.
Professor Matsuura nodded once, looking satisfied.
"Now, I'll move to retrogressive hypnosis. Is that alright with everyone?"
We caught our breaths and nodded.
[Fade to white]
I saw it. Hidden in the park's bushes...
A boy was playing alone. She came there, that woman...
"Let's go." The woman held out her hand to the boy.
"Let's go, together." The boy joined hands with the woman...
No, no, no. You can't go.
At that moment, I ended up being seen... That person's eyes...
Those eyes... Scarlet red... just like blood...
I can't move.
If I move, then I'll definitely... be eaten whole.
Because, that person is...
...An oni...
"IS SOMEONE THERE?"
"UWAAAAAAHHH!!"
Suddenly, Ryou-kun shouted. "Professor Matsuura, quickly calm him down!" At Ms. Hitomi's words, Mr. Matsuura hurriedly spoke to Ryou-kun.
"E-everything's all right. It's not scary, don't be afraid. You are safe. Take a slow, deep breath... the doctor will count to three, and then you won't feel scared anymore."
"One, two, three--- Done!"
Then, as if he had been switched off, Ryou-kun became quiet. Now I understand why Ms. Hitomi was so negative. "So this is retrogressive hypnosis..."
"Professor Matsuura... Is everything that Ryou-kun said the truth?" Mr. Kogure is understandably tempted to ask this question. I feel the same way.
The woman who came into contact with the kidnapped boy. That woman was... An oni, leading a boy by the hand and taking him away--- It's impossible to believe such a story.
Professor Matsuura said confidently, his large owl-like eyes darting about restlessly. "It's unquestionably true! There can absolutely be no mistake! This boy saw an oni!"
"There is no possibility of it being a lie... Is that what you're saying?" In response to my question, Professor Matsuura nodded.
"Uh... I still don't quite understand myself, how can you be sure that this boy's words are 100% true?"
Mr. Kogure tilted his thick neck to the side. Professor Matsuura eagerly moisturized his massive lips with his tongue and began to speak elatedly.
"Human memory, whether we can remember it or not, records everything, just like a security camera."
"Retrograde hypnosis is a procedure in which the subject is put into a hypnotic state so that they can search one's mind for past memories--- As if they were rewinding security camera footage."
"I see...!" Mr. Kogure nodded broadly, maybe the security camera analogy made it easier for him to understand.
"Hypnosis operates on a person's unconscious mind. What is unconscious cannot be influenced by one's will."
"In other words, just as a security camera cannot of its own volition tamper with the images it records. The testimonies derived from retrogressive hypnosis are, for these reasons, 100% true. Simply put..."
Professor Matsuura's eyes widened as he pointed at Ryou-kun. "This boy saw an oni!"
"Onis are real...?" I looked at the face of the boy quietly lying atop the sofa.
The Existence of Onis
Do onis really exist...?
>I think so...
>They can't possibly exist...
Grounded route first, as always.
>They can't possibly exist...
But Ryou-kun saw one. What was the oni he saw?
>Probably an optical illusion.
>Someone in a costume?
...Okay, let's go a little crazy, but just this once.
>Someone in a costume?
A costume...? But why do that?
>To disrupt the police's investigation?
>They're a cosplay enthusiast?
...I lied, let's go crazy, twice. But only twice, I promise.
>They're a cosplay enthusiast?
...A cosplay enthusiast?
Well, some kidnappers might be like that, but... that's quite a rare case.
Usually, when criminals wear a disguise of some kind, the main purpose is to conceal their identity or to disrupt an investigation.
In fact, we're so swept up in demon information that we're having a hard time getting to the truth.
It's just that...
There's a single point from the previous question that's strange.
It is "Why would a woman in a demon costume kidnap a child...?"
I mean, if someone with such a frightening appearance approached them, the child would be the first to run away. That's out of the question for a kidnapping.
Which means...
>We can't rule out the possibility it's real. (Conclusion)
>Couldn't it be an optical illusion? (Conclusion)
Considering the only supernatural aspect was the glowing eyes, maybe some light reflected off them or something.
>Couldn't it be an optical illusion? (Conclusion)
I just can't believe that demons were real. There's surely a trick here...
I'll definitely be going to find out just who the demon woman Ryou-kun saw is and what she's after.
My resolve has been renewed.
By the time we returned to the MPD after Ryou Kobayashi-kun's retrogressive hypnosis treatment, a considerable amount of time had passed.
Professor Matsuura's suggestion seems to have removed the fear that had bound him. Hypnosis has a bad image, but I was impressed that there are good ways to use it.
"Ah!! There you are!!" The voice of an over-energetic woman stopped us at the main entrance.
"Jeez!! Where have you guys been!?"
"Ms. Yuuka!?" Damn, I completely forgot about her.
She did certainly say something about "Wait just one day!!" when we parted yesterday.
"You owe me for keeping me waiting this time. Now let's go. You want to know about the demons, don't you?"
"Where are we going?"
"Professor Kirisaki's office!" When she said that, Ms. Yuuka quickly rushed out, leaving me and Mr. Kogure in a daze.
We got into Mr. Kogure's private car and drove to my brother's office. On the way, I explained the incident to Ms. Yuuka.
She had an interest in the part where we used retrogressive hypnosis to question a witness.
"So you're saying... that the oni in this case is real? It's not just a rumor?"
"Well, for that boy, at least..."
Ghn. As if ignoring my reluctant reply, Yuka clenched her fists. "It's too wonderful! I can't believe demons are real...!"
"What's so wonderful about it?!" Mr. Kogure complains with a bitter look on his face.
"Oh? Could it be that the mysterious huge old man is a little scared?" Ms. Yuuka asked teasingly.
"Who's mysterious!? I'm a 27-year-old bachelor! Not an old man! And I'm not scared!" No, that's a lie. Mr. Kogure is extremely scared.
"Honestly, you're out of your mind for an oni...!? But, I'm not a coward in the least. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm a big fan of ghost stories and such..."
Ms. Yuuka leans forward from the back seat and grins. It seems that she has already seen through his true identity.
"Geez... In the first place, a journalist specialized in the occult? What were you thinking? What extremely poor taste." Mr. Kogure disapproved of her title.
"Where's the poor taste in it? It's a look into a world beyond the reach of human knowledge... I can't think of any other subject as noble as this."
I asked her something that bothered me a little. "What kind of cases have you been following?"
"Thank you very much for asking! I'm looking into all sorts of things! Will-of-the-wisps! UFOs! Crop circles! The other day I went to a tunnel famous for being haunted to take some spirit photography!"
"I knew it was in poor taste..." Mr. Kogure is in the driver's seat, his face contorted as if it couldn't get any worse.
"I don't know how you can go to those kinds of places. Besides, spirit photos are just optical illusions." Mr. Kogure is adamant in his denial of paranormal phenomena.
"That's not true, come on! There are lots of people who say they've seen ghosts in those tunnels, you know!?"
"I sometimes see white floating objects myself, but that's just my imagination. They are not ghosts!" Ms. Yuuka's eyes lit up like a treasure hunter who has found gold when she heard Mr. Kogure's words.
"Mr. Kogure! Have you ever seen a ghost!?"
"Why'd you suddenly become so respectful?" Mr. Kogure grumbles at her abrupt change.
Mr. Kogure being able to sense the supernatural is news to me too. "Inspiration is quite the special skill to have, Mr. Kogure."
"Sir! Please stop it. I told you they're just optical illusions." Mr. Kogure seemed to be deeply disgusted, but Ms. Yuuka was looking at him with envy and sighed, saying, "That would be nice~".
"Ms. Yuuka, since you're aiming to become an occult journalist, don't you have inspiration too?" In response to my question, Yuka shook her head sadly.
"Nope. Quite the opposite in fact. I'm not psychic at all."
"Then why do you specialize in the occult?"
In response to my question, Yuka's gaze wandered in the air for a while as if she was recalling something.
"Do you remember the disappearance of a girl from Inuyama Girls' School three years ago?"
While I was searching my memory, Mr. Kogure answered first. "Mh, I've heard of it. A high school girl and her teacher went missing, I think..."
"I heard that there had been similar incidents at that high school in the past, which made the headlines for a while." Mr. Kogure displayed good memory, although it would be rude to say it was unexpected.
"Yes, it's as if it was inspired by the incident that happened 40 years ago, when a female student and her teacher went missing too... I was a student there, and I was one of the parties involved in the case."
"Eh!?"
"W-what...!?" Ms. Yuuka's past made us raise our voices in surprise.
"I was born and raised in Tokyo, but during my time in high school, I was away from it for a short while." Ms. Yuuka said, looking somewhere far away as if recalling a distant past.
"My first friend in my first time there. That was the student who went missing at that time... Kaoru Haguro..."
Mr. Kogure, who had been taunting Ms. Yuuka earlier, fell silent at her serious expression.
"The year it happened, we were high school sophomores and we went to school at night to investigate the seven mysteries of our school... and there she disappeared from my life..."
The seven school mysteries. They're one of the most classic urban legends.
"The skeleton model that comes to life."
"The piano that begins to play by itself."
"The portraits with glowing eyes."
"The stairs that change their number of steps."
"The toilet you can't get into or out of."
"The gym where you can hear dribbling in the dead of night."
"The mirror that reflects a ghost."
They're a trivial rumor that can be found in every school, with some differences. However, it's precisely because they are so trivial that they are also of interest.
At that time, the girls must have done it just for fun.
"But, well, only that night... did I see it." Mr. Kogure made a weird noise with his throat.
"That time a black shadow suddenly appeared in front of me... I'm sure it was..."
"You're sure it was... what?" When I tried to ascertain her ambiguous words, Ms. Yuuka shook her head.
"I won't tell that just yet. Eventually... When I know that you guys are likely to believe my story, I'll tell you."
"I told the police about it at that time, and they didn't believe me. I was so frustrated and disappointed... Ever since then, I've been interested in the occult."
"Some day, I want to prove with my own hands that what I said was not a lie! That's why, as an (apprentice) occult journalist, I've been continuously pursuing the truth!"
...I see. Ms. Yuuka wasn't just chasing after the bizarre out of curiosity, huh? I feel like I've gained a little bit of perspective on her.
But only a little bit...
Shortly afterward, we arrived at Sumino University, where my brother is employed as a lecturer. After parking our car in the parking lot, we went straight to the professor's offices.
Ms. Yuuka stood in front of the laboratory door and reached into her chest to take out the key.
"Oh, so you're not a child..." Hearing Mr. Kogure's tease, she blushed, even if only a little.
"I'm kind of scatterbrained... I often lose things. I don't want to lose this key, so I don't care if this doesn't look good. If you have a problem, I won't unlock the door, okay?"
"Sorry, sorry." I apologized on Mr. Kogure's behalf.
I also followed up by saying, "I think that shows your sense of responsibility."
She nodded in satisfaction, and then there was a click, "OK, let's enter."
As if ushering us into her own room, Ms. Yuuka entered the office.
"...So, I'd like to know first, how much do you guys know about onis?" Ms. Yuuka asked, searching through the bookshelf.
"At best, I know around the level of fairy tales... Momotarou, or Issun-boushi, or the like. Outside of that, I can't remember anything else. And you, Mr. Kogure?"
"At least, I've heard some bedtime stories about them from my granny during my childhood."
As she nodded at our conversation, Ms. Yuuka took out a file from the shelf. "Alright, I'll start by telling you what I found out after a day of research, okay?"
"I asked around in that park yesterday, and a rumor of an oni has spread amongst the children. But it seems it's still in the early stages. It hasn't spread to the next town over."
"You went to the next town over just to hear rumors?"
I see. She seems to have a thorough knowledge of the place, as expected of the person my brother had entrusted to keep an eye on things. She also has the mobility to do detailed fieldwork. It was a good decision to rely on her.
"The rumors of the oni that has been spreading around the area are as follows:"
"A woman appeared before a person going home alone at dusk. The woman was wearing a long white coat, even though it wasn't cold."
"It was evening, so her face was dimly lit, hence they couldn't see her well. However, her eyes, and only her eyes, glowed red in a bizarre way. Then the woman turned to the man and spoke."
"Let's go. Let's go, together."
Mr. Kogure and I looked at each other. Ryou Kobayashi-kun's testimony also stated that the oni supposedly said such a line.
"However, if the person who was called was an adult, they would be cut to pieces on the spot by the oni."
"And if the person was a child...?"
"The child would be caught. Running away is futile. They could run and run, but no matter how fast they are, when they turned to look behind, they would see a terrifying she-oni with horns sprouting from her head, holding a sickle in her hand and pursuing at tremendous speeds."
"And, in the end, the oni would catch the child."
"After being caught... what happens to them?"
"The oni has great jumping ability and would leap along the rooftops with the child in its arms and flee. Once the child is taken away, the oni devours them... without leaving any bones." [Screen flashes red, crunches can be heard]
Mr. Kogure and I gulped. The rumor says that the oni kidnaps children and eats them. If that's true, then Yuusuke-kun is...
But then, Ms. Yuuka added a comment in a cheerful voice, as if to wash away the gloomy atmosphere that had settled over us.
"This story of an oni chasing after you fits a very common pattern. The fear of being chased is something that stimulates our latent sense of dread."
"I've never heard of anyone who actually saw the oni even though they knew about the rumor. Well, except for that Ryou-kun, right? That is to say, the only thing that's certain about the oni's appearance is in his testimony."
Ryou Kobayashi-kun's testimony, huh...? He said her eyes were as red as blood. ...That's what really bothers me. I put my thoughts into words.
"About Ryou-kun's testimony, the only thing he saw was... the eyes of the woman who snatched Yuusuke-kun away."
"The thing is, she only showed a terrifying glare... How did he go from that to thinking she was an oni? If she had horns or something, that would make more sense, but she didn't."
"Hmph. Well, I guess so. But to explain it, I'll have to teach you the basics. ...First of all, yeah, what kind of oni do you know?"
It seems that Ms. Yuuka thinks she's our professor. From her tone of voice to her attitude, she's gradually approaching that of a teacher.
"Onis, hm...? The first that comes to mind is the depiction with horns and tiger shorts, right? What about you, Mr. Kogure?"
"That's about the extent of it for myself too. Also... yeah, they wield a club and roar, I feel."
As she looked at these poorly performing students, Ms. Yuuka nodded her head with an 'mm-hmm'.
"Well, I guess it's something like that. You wouldn't be wrong in imagining them looking like Mr. Kogure with striped tiger shorts."
Mr. Kogure opened his mouth wide and his face turned beet red with anger, but he ended up looking even more like an oni, and I was about to burst out laughing. I, who was restraining myself with great effort, put my hand on Mr. Kogure's shoulder and urged him to suppress his anger.
"The common form of oni, as you two have just described, was developed around the Edo period (1603-1868), but before that time, oni were seen in many different forms."
"What do you mean by 'various'?" Mr. Kogure interrupted with a miffed look on his face, but Ms. Yuuka seemed unfazed and continued.
"Various means various. Originally, onis were called "mono" in Japan, written with the character for "concealed". They were unseen, hidden beings--- In other words, sort of like a spirit. They were also called 'those of the northeast'."
"In China, this original character was replaced by the one for the soul of the dead, and the word came to be read as oni."
"So you're saying that oni and ghosts were originally the same in Japan?" I raised my hand and asked.
"Uhm, they're a little different. Onis are more like spiritual beings, understand?"
"Is there a difference between a ghost and a spiritual being?" This poor student plied up more questions.
"You might want to think of it less like a ghost and more like a wicked animistic soul or something."
"Animistic soul...?"
"That's right! So, these spiritual beings, mixed with the traditional wicked gods, evil spirits, Buddhist evil deities, and the bandits that lurked in the mountains and terrorized the people of the cities, gradually formed the image of the oni that we see today."
"That's why, from the beginning, it never mattered what she looks like. So, going back to Ryou-kun's testimony, he said that the woman who kidnapped that Yuusuke kid had glowing red eyes, right?"
Ms. Yuuka looked into my eyes as if to check, and I nodded silently.
"It's true that some Buddhist onis have bright red flames shooting out of their eyes and mouths... But there's no way Ryou-kun would know that..."
That's probably true. Even I only found out about that from Ms. Yuuka just now. It's hard to imagine that Ryou-kun, who's still in elementary school, would know that.
"So, it occurred to me... Don't children have senses that adults don't have?"
"Let me put it this way... They can intuitively sense the essence of things, get it? I would say that they have unblemished eyes. That's why when he saw the woman, he sensed the presence of evil and instinctively thought she was an oni."
"But, well, it's too hasty to work out an answer with only that. Let's move on to the next consideration." Ms. Yuuka cheerfully held out her right hand. We had no choice but to study under her.
"Next, I'll present the characteristics of the female oni I actually obtained as a result of my fieldwork." She said, as if a drum roll was about to sound. Ms. Yuuka's completely in control of the scene.
"One, 'runs away when she notices other people'. Two, 'has short hair'. Three, 'is afraid of cigarette smoke'. ...So far, these three are all I found."
"What, that's all you got? That's not much of a clue, is it?" Mr. Kogure said a little ridiculously, while Ms. Yuuka wagged her finger from side to side with a tch-tch-tch.
"How naive! You musn't look down on rumors. Professor Kirisaki always says, 'rumors are a mirror that reflects reality'."
"If you can't see the truth behind the rumors, how can you solve this case?"
Mr. Kogure couldn't even make a sound after Ms. Yuuka launched her harsh counterattack.
" 'Runs away once she notices other people', 'has short hair', 'is afraid of cigarette smoke'."
"...Of these characteristics, the one that caught my attention the most was 'is afraid of cigarette smoke'."
"This is clearly a sign of weakness on the part of the oni. And it's specifically limited to only 'cigarette smoke'. Why is that?"
"In folkloristics, that's called a 'magical escape', and in essence, it teaches us a way to escape from evil. The myth of the 'Three Talismans' has a prime example."
"How very kind of them to go out of their way to tell us her weakness, right?" I said out loud my thoughts.
"Yeah. Several factors contribute to the spread of rumors, but two of the strongest are 'fear' and 'superiority'."
"Ms. Yuuka, what do you mean by superiority...?" I raised my hand and asked.
"Superiority simply means that the person who knows this information gains an advantage."
"Wait a minute! Shouldn't it be the opposite, with it being hard to spread advantageous information?" Mr. Kogure asked the obvious question.
"Well, you wouldn't really tell others information that gives out a large profit. But if it's slightly beneficial information or a secret trick, then it becomes pretty easy to spread."
"That sense of superiority of saying, 'Hm-hum, I've got a great deal for you. Do you wanna know? You wanna know? I guess I've no choice. Let me tell you.'! You know what I mean?"
"That feels a little good, doesn't it? That makes this kind of information easy to spread." Mr. Kogure nodded his head in agreement.
"And now that same thing is about to spread to Machida City, isn't it?"
"That's right. That's where the {cigarette smoke} becomes a problem."
"Why is cigarette smoke a problem?" Mr. Kogure raised his hand and inquired. It seems he brought himself to appreciate Ms. Yuuka's knowledge as well.
"Mind you, these rumors are circulating around children, remember? Doesn't it seem unnatural for children to "blow cigarette smoke" at the oni to repel her if they encounter her?"
"But a rumor is just a rumor, right?"
"N~o! Not at all!" Ms. Yuuka denied everything Mr. Kogure said.
"The ability or inability to put it into practice is a very important factor. Think about it. Let's say the rumormonger ---let's call them Michael--- Michael says, 'I hear an oni woman is going to appear. She's going to come running after you'."
"Hanako (temporary name), who heard this, was naturally frightened, so she objected, saying, 'I'll run and escape, I'll be fine!'."
"This is where the "superiority" aspect comes into play. Michael wants to be good at what he does by sharing the rumors. And the more scared Hanako is when she hears the rumors, the more superior he feels."
"That's why Hanako's 'I'll run and escape' isn't fun. Then, a new factor is added to the rumor. He says, 'The oni woman runs so fast you can't escape!'."
Regardless of why Michael and Hanako were chosen, Yuka's logical and methodical way of speaking is quite easy to understand.
"Now Hanako is going to tell her friend Jane about the very same rumor that Michael told her."
"Then Jane, who's not convinced, tells her off with "Then how do I escape?" Jane's a very determined girl, you see."
"No need to talk about pointless things." Mr. Kogure admonished in a sharp tone. Ms. Yuuka stuck out her tongue and laughed.
"Uhm, then, Hanako is flustered when Jane contradicts her, but she takes the liberty of adding her own original information so that the story will be interesting."
"She does the same thing as Michael, who did it to gain a sense of superiority. She says, 'If you throw candy at her while running away, she'll happily stop to pick them up, then you'll have a chance to escape!'."
"This is how rumors work. With sweets, it's easy for Jane to put this information into practice, isn't it?"
"It's the things that children can easily imagine, like candy, that make them realistic. Even if it is something that adults would laugh at, for children it's a serious matter and an important item that can save their lives."
"So, here's the thing---are cigarettes accessible to children?"
"That I know of---no." Mr. Kogure answered regretfully for some reason.
Yuka nodded in satisfaction and continued. "Right? In other words, you can't put it into practice. Then, let's try this simulation again, substituting it for cigarettes."
"Let's say that Jane rebuffed Hanako, saying, 'If running away from the oni woman won't help you, how can you escape from them?', Hanako immediately responded with, 'If you blow cigarette smoke on her, she'll be in pain and you'll be able to run away'..."
"Now, how would Jane react? She'd reply with, 'I can't smoke, so that way doesn't make sense', wouldn't she?"
"And Jane's interest would rapidly fade away. So the next time Jane tells someone else about this rumor, she'd create a new way to fight back, without smoking."
"In this way, unnecessary and uninteresting information is weeded out in the process of dissemination. In the end, what remains is the most interesting content that children can relate to."
"Hmm, I see. It certainly would be unnatural for children to bring up smoking as a way to repel oni. Such a method would never occur to them."
"That's right! That's why the cigarette element is so abrupt."
That's not to say that the 'is afraid of cigarette smoke' element could never occur among children. But, as Yuka claims, it's abrupt and unnatural for a children's rumor.
"A child may have really witnessed it. The oni woman---- No, the kidnapper being afraid of cigarette smoke." I didn't deny the possibility.
"I'll continue to investigate the rumors of the oni woman spreading around Machida City tomorrow. Junya-kun, you will investigate from another line."
Ms. Yuuka seems to be in a teacher's mood. She has changed how she addresses me from Mr. Kazami to Junya-kun before I knew it. Well, it's fine.
"Let's keep going tomorrow!" Ms. Yuuka's overly cheerful voice echoed through the school building and the night.
Let's end it here. This post was massive, to the point of breaking the record for most entries in a single post (14!). I found the things we learned in here pretty interesting, but the most important for the story are the fact that the oni's eyes glowed in some manner, and that she's definitely afraid of smoke. In what way will these pieces of info will show their importance? We can only find out by continuing forward!
See you next time!
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