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V10 Story II – Part 05

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch.

A mechanical and ominous sound invaded my ears. Someone, somewhere, was digging through dirt.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch.

Someone kept digging, as if attempting to bury a corpse.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch.

Or perhaps…

It was someone unearthing a grave.

And then, I woke up, emerging from a sleep as heavy as mud. The cold air cut through my skin, and the darkness felt frozen.

The room was oddly chilly. Strangely enough, no one was waking up. Yusuke’s sneeze and Nanami’s quiet breath interwove with the unearthly sound from my dream, tearing through my eardrums.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch.

Someone was digging dirt with relentless determination.

I opened the sliding door of the closet, and my eyes widened. A blue shadow was moving around in the room.

Moonlight spilled onto the white curtains, fluttering in the breeze from the wide-open window.

Inspecting the futon, one spot was vacant. I quietly approached the window and ventured outside.

Barefoot, I stepped onto the garden dirt. The wet grass felt cold underfoot, and my skin stung.

A large moon hung in the clear, night sky. As I surveyed the dimly lit garden, my breath caught in my throat. A hunched, emaciated figure was bathed in a bluish-white glow, evoking the image of a sickly animal. Its arms moved mechanically back and forth, slender fingertips wet with soil. She repeatedly, almost madly, dug into the ground.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch.

Nails peeled, flesh scraped. Yet, she continued to dig into the dirt. Finally, my mind caught up. I leaped towards her, grabbed her wrists, and pulled her injured hands from the ground.

“Calm down, Yuina-san! What are you doing?!” I shouted, but she didn’t respond.

Yuina swung her arms, and without a word, bent over the ground again. Her eyes were dark and murky. It finally dawned on me.

She was half asleep.

“Yuina-san!”

Smack!

I raised my hand and lightly slapped Yuina’s cheek. She blinked. Consciousness returned to her eyes. She tilted her head.

“Huh? Wh-What?” she muttered out loud in confusion. “Why… Ah!”

Studying her hands, she shrieked. Her fingers were smeared with dirt and blood. In addition to the pain, an awareness of the cold seeped in. Surveying the surroundings, Yuina shivered.

“O-Odagiri-san, wh-what… wh-what was I doing?”

“Yuina-san… Is it possible that the sounds you heard every time you slept weren’t just hallucinations?” I asked, staring at her hands.

I recalled her account. On top of the digging, she mentioned smelling and feeling the ground. This explained the identity of the sound.

“You were unconsciously digging through dirt. Like you were sleepwalking.”

She heard nothing when she was staying at a hotel because there was no dirt to dig. Then, a question popped in my mind.

Examining her fingertips, nails peeled, she said, “B-But this is the first time I’ve seen this much blood.”

“This much? So this had happened before?”

“Y-Yeah. My palms were scraped pretty badly a few times. But there’s nowhere to dig dirt around my house! I swear.”

She raised her mud-stained fingers, the dirty tips catching the moonlight. The dirt slowly came off.

“There shouldn’t be,” Yuina muttered dumbfoundedly.

The lights in the apartment flickered on. I could hear the voices of Nanami, Aya, and Yusuke. They had noticed Yuina’s absence and were calling her name. We stayed still.

Even as I stared at her dirty hands, I found no answer to the questions. Perplexed, we just sat there, covered in dirt.

“The answer was well within expectations, no? What else did you think could be the cause?” Mayuzumi said coolly, tilting her cup.

Rich hot chocolate disappeared down her throat. She propped one elbow, looking bored. A silver rosary-like adornment gleamed on her wrist.

“Soil has its own smell and texture, and it can stick to your body. And you can only hear the sound when you’re asleep. All these conditions are met. There’s no other explanation for the cause of the sound than yourself. Did you really have to see for yourselves to come to that conclusion? Do you have dirt in your heads or something?”

Confused, we had found ourselves back in the office.

After Yuina’s treatment, Nanami and Aya stayed in the apartment. Yusuke, who returned to the office after treating Yuina, sat on the couch. Yuina was hanging her head with an ashen face. She couldn’t believe that she herself was the cause of the sound. Mayuzumi, however, showed no concern for her.

“So what if you were digging through dirt?” Mayuzumi said dispassionately. “You now know the cause of the sound. But while your understanding of it has changed, the current situation remains the same. Nothing will change.”

“But there are still unanswered questions,” I replied. “There’s no place in her house where she can dig through dirt. Is the cause of the sound really just that?”

“No place to dig, huh? But she was digging. That’s the only thing we’re sure of. What’s important for you guys is not where she’s digging.”

Mayuzumi raised her index finger, her black-painted nails glistening. Then, she raised another one.

“There has to be a reason why she digs through dirt. One is to bury something, the other is to dig something up.”

“Which one applies to you, I wonder?” Mayuzumi’s lips twisted into a small smile.

Realization dawned on me. She had an idea of the reason behind Yuina’s behavior. But then suddenly, boredom filled Mayuzumi’s eyes. She lay down again, ready to sleep.

“Mayu-san, do you perhaps have a guess as to why she’s digging through dirt?”

“Of course, Odagiri-kun. There was one thing that bothered me. But there’s no need to check anymore. He’s already in a cage. There’s no point in dealing with trouble.”

“He’s already in a cage.”

The words sent a chill down my spine. I could only think of one person in a cage—Asato. After I met him at the hospital, he was recaptured and returned quietly to the underground cell.

Even though he himself took down the guards, it seemed he had no intention of leaving. I felt a complex mix of relief upon hearing that news. However, Mayuzumi’s sudden revelation left me confused.

What does Mayuzumi know? Can I count on her help?

Before I could ask, her thick red lips curled up into a sneer. Her finger glided over her porcelain cheek.

Her luxurious kimono swayed. She lifted herself up on the couch languidly, facing me. She fiddled with her long, black hair.

“I’m bored. So bored. This is your break.”

“Therefore, there’s no point in dragging it out. Let’s finish it quickly.”

“As clean and smooth as the sound of bones breaking.”

She snapped her fingers, and everything burst. My red vision distorted subtly, melting into the floor, like an overripe fruit reaching its limits and spilling its seeds. The scarlet woman’s image swiftly faded away.

Mayuzumi closed her eyes, ready to sleep.

“Mayu-san, do you perhaps have a guess as to why she’s digging through dirt?”

“Of course, Odagiri-kun. I suppose refusing over and over would only get exhausting. There is one thing that bothers me. Very well. I will take the case.”

Mayuzumi’s smile deepened. Her black dress swirled as she stood up. She looked like she was visiting a grave.

Staring at the silent Yuina, she said, “Shall we go to your house, then? We will take a look.”

Her disturbing smile terrified Yuina.

“And find out what’s at the bottom of the dirt.”