Ghost Hunt:Volume 7 Chapter 6
Ghost Hunt Volume 7 Chapter 6: 5.30pm to 8pm
1
“It’s alright, it’s alright.”
Only when I heard John’s voice did I carefully open my eyes.
“Open your eyes, it’s alright, just look in a different direction and it’ll be fine.”
Encouraged by John’s gentle persuasion, I opened my eyes with fear; what appeared in front of me was John. John’s body just blocked the doorway – like this I couldn’t see inside, and I gently let out a breath.
– It stank! Masako and Yasuhara held each other’s hands and slowly retreated along the wall and also stood where they couldn’t see inside.
“John, take them to the entrance hall.”
Came Bou-san’s voice from inside.
“Right. Come on – let’s go back.”
John’s strange accent triggered my mixed sobs and laughs.
Holding on to John we went back to the entrance hall through the barricade. There were windows on the left side of the entrance hall facing the field; I stuck my nose through where the glass was broken and took a deep breath.
The damp smell of rain was so refreshing.
After a very long time, only after it had already turned dark outside the entrance hall, did Bou-san and Naru return. The moment the pair of them entered the barrier I smelt a mild stench. After such a long time, to see them both return, finally allowed me some peace.
“What’s the situation now?”
Upon hearing John’s enquiry, Bou-san shrugged.
“It’s still good; I think it’ll scare the young ladies to death if they had to pass by that area, so we used the gym mats from the next classroom to cover it.”
Gr—great – thanks, Bou-san.
“Is that, as expected – a body?”
At this point, Bou-san nodded his head tiredly.
“It’s already in that state, so it couldn’t possibly still be living. – It was an adult!”
This made all of us very surprised.
“Adult?”
Bou-san and Naru slumped exhaustedly onto the concrete floor.
“Water, -- right, it was an adult; it wasn’t just children who disappeared.”
“Takigawa-san, which is your cup?”
“The one with the dragon printed on it. – Because a child had disappeared, adults came up to this place to search. After that, a group, like ours, was sealed in. Amongst them one person disappeared, after which there was no meaning for them to continue searching. Hence the body was abandoned here. – the above is Naru’s theory.”
– I increasingly felt that that group was the lowest of the low; if they had told us beforehand then we wouldn’t be caught unprepared like this. Both the Village chief and that assistant were unforgivable.
Yasuhara poured the tea and handed the cups to Bou-san and Naru.
“Here, Shibuya-san’s is the cup with the fox right? – And then? What about Matsuzaki-san and Lin-san?”
“Because I didn’t see all the way inside, I can’t be sure, but it looks like they weren’t there.”
“– there was only the body? –”
“I don’t think I saw a living person.”
What strange words. I glared at Bou-san.
“Does that mean that there was a living animal then?”
The moment the question left my mouth, Bou-san’s expression changed.
“To say what there was – I really didn’t see it clearly.”
“What?”
“What it was, I don’t know either; to say ‘what’–”
– What was Bou-san talking about—?
“Although I don’t know what it was, if I were to describe it with the vocabulary I can use, then what I saw was a ‘hungry ghost’.”
“Ai—?”
“—a ghost which was about the size of a child.”
2
For a moment, everyone was silent.
“What is a hungry ghost?”
“In Sanskrit it is called a preta, which transliterates from ‘Pra Ita’. Literally, it means ‘one who is gone forth’, translating from the Chinese it simply refers to a ghost, which I think is more accurate. What we call a ‘ghost’ really refers to a deceased person; because it awaits its descendents to offer food, it is known as a ‘hungry ghost’. – On this topic, at the very beginning –”
“Were there such things in the past?”
“This theory was spread by Buddhism. It refers to ghosts of people who were evil while they were still alive, who reap their karma as hungry ghosts, which are spirits that have to continuously endure the pain of hunger. Their bodies are very thin, their necks as slender as a needle. Even if they came by some hard-to-find food, they are unable to swallow it; if they forcibly ate it, the food would turn immediately into fire – something completely inedible.”
“Scary–”
“Maintaining their constant endurance of the pain of hunger, the dead for whom burial was not held and whose identity is thus unknown are known as ‘hungry ghosts’. They are normally described as small ghosts which have limbs like dried twigs, and bellies bloated outwards like a large drum.”
– As expected, Bou-san is a monk after all. I was already gasping in admiration.
“Then… then is there a hungry ghost up there?”
“I only saw something like that; I don’t believe that a child had committed a sin that deserved the punishment of becoming a hungry ghost. Firstly, I don’t believe in hungry ghosts and stuff – that is just a product of people’s imagination. – But if the children were starved for some reason, that might be why I saw that image.”
He said, as he directed his gaze towards the ceiling with an extremely serious expression.
“It looks like this really is the field where Takigawa-san can showcase his abilities.”
When Yasuhara said that about him, Bou-san wrinkled his brow.
“Isn’t there a festival to feed the hungry ghosts? That is for the exclusive purpose of appeasing the hungry ghosts, isn’t it?”
“Unfortunately, this is simply for commemorating the dead – the type that is performed during the Feast of All Souls / Hungry Ghost Festival(15th day of 7th Lunar Month).”
“Oh, that, - I didn’t think it would actually be that.”
“Right! That… when the corpse fell down it appeared like there was someone moving above the ceiling boards, wasn’t there?”
When he heard my words, Bou-san quietly replied.
“It looks like it.”
“Could it be – is it that?”
“It could be; I don’t know the real situation either! All I know for sure is that this place is very dangerous, and the earlier we get out the better!”
We sank once more into silence. That we had to get out as soon as possible was common knowledge. But what about how to rescue Lin-san and Ayako?
“Let’s relax a little! To continue in silence like this wouldn’t change anything. Whose cup is the one with the swan?”
John raised his hand when he heard Yasuhara’s words.
“Thanks, that’s mine.”
“No need for thanks, no need; whose is the one with the rabbits?”
– Rabbits.
Masako replied, somewhat reluctantly.
“It’s Matsuzaki-san’s.”
“Following that –”
Yasuhara’s expression had changed slightly. He poured tea into all the cups.
“Thanks.”
No one’s hands contacted those 2 cups.
“Young man, you are shaken deep inside, aren’t you?”
“Ya la! And you expose me once again.”
“It looks like you haven’t had enough practice.”
“All in all I’m still an inexperienced young man! I really want to mature into an impressive man like you, Takigawa-san.”
“I’m currently in a bad mood, so don’t make fun of me.”
Yasuhara smiled and said,
“Hey hey… did you choose this one?”
“Ah?”
“I’m only curious whether you’re objecting because you’re in a bad mood, or if you’re objecting to my youth?”
“I say, you fellow…”
“You mean to say you admit you’re a middle aged man –”
“In any case this old man is Japan’s number one…”
“That’s Mount Fuji!”
“In any case this old man is Momotaro’s subordinate—” (J-C tl’s note: then wouldn’t Naru be Momotaro? Lin is the dog, then who is the monkey?)
“That’s Mr Pheasant!” (tl/n: The tale of Momotaro is told in Japanese folklore – Momotaro’s subordinates are the pheasant, the monkey and the dog.)
“Any- any how, my breakfast—” (tl/n: my guess is that they are starting to sing nursery rhymes here.)
“I ate a bun for breakfast. – This is forcing it a little.”
“Yeah…”
Grin!
That humans can still smile in a situation like this, really is impressive.
I thought while I smiled.
I reached my hand out to the side, and picked up the cup that was between mine and Yasuhara’s.
3
“This cup is mine.”
It was a little girl who held the cup.
…
– This child…
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