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V9 Story II – Part 02

The familiar estate lay buried in snow, white puffs falling silently. Yusuke’s hometown was a place with few houses, many of them vacant. His family’s property, surrounded by long earthen walls, was particularly isolated, with nothing but desolate fields beyond.

The walls were eroded, and snow had settled on the roof tiles. Gray clouds covered the sky. The sunlight that the hawk had witnessed earlier was already gone, and the world had lost its colors.

The sight of gray and white created a stark contrast. The icy air bit sharply into my lungs. Everything felt like a reproduction of the past.

The voice of the skull—its never-ending laughter—echoed in my mind, addressing someone it resented.

“Go mad and die.”

I swallowed hard and stepped out of the car I had borrowed from Mayuzumi. I could only rest my left hand on the steering wheel, and using the gear stick was out of the question. It had been a shaky ride, but I managed to avoid an accident, much to my relief. With Shirayuki accompanying me, I continued on foot.

Another car sat abandoned in front of the estate’s gates. There were tire tracks on the poorly maintained road, cracks on the windshield, and dents on the body. A bloodstained baseball bat lay inside.

It was clear that Yusuke came here. We needed to hurry. I quickened my pace.

We entered the estate through the open gate. There was no one in sight; it seemed Saga Yujiro’s third wife, Ayane, was not home. She had married Saga Yujiro for his wealth, so she would have no reason to stay in the countryside if he were to pass away.

However, a nagging doubt lingered. There were no signs of the estate or land being put up for sale, no indications of anyone responsible for managing the property.

Suppressing the questions, I continued forward, heading to the vast Japanese garden.

The desolate garden was a mere shadow of its former self. The carefully laid moss had started to peel away, and the stream had dried up. Branches of trees had grown too long. As we walked through the garden, weeds poked through the snow with each step, possibly carried by the wind. Fast-spreading grass grew here and there.

The towering pine tree in the center was the only element that remained strangely unchanged.

I recalled the image of the hanging corpses, two bodies lined up like fruit.

It felt as though the corpses were still swaying from the branches. I shut my eyes tightly and opened them, but there were no new corpses. The pine tree stood in silence.

Yusuke hadn’t hanged himself.

My knees buckled, crashing to the snow. Pain coursed through my bitten leg, and the snow soaked into my suit. Shirayuki hastened to put a hand on my shoulder, but I did not lift my head up.

Hot tears burned my numb cheeks. I was genuinely relieved to find no sign of Yusuke’s body. At the same time, I remembered Hirugao’s gruesome transformation.

As much as I hated it, I had grown accustomed to seeing human corpses, but…

I didn’t want to see any more familiar faces as lifeless bodies. I didn’t want him dying without even knowing what happiness truly was. I prayed for Yusuke’s safety, holding onto that hope as tightly as I could.

I wished for peace around me. At the very least, I hoped that the people I knew would find happiness. That was all.

I pushed myself up from the snow. It was too soon to relax. I had to confirm Yusuke’s safety. I glanced around the garden, but the snow-covered landscape was eerily silent. It looked like everything had perished.

I turned my gaze toward the mansion, furrowing my brows. Some of the sliding doors were left open. Could Yusuke be inside?

But something felt off. There was a distinct absence of people inside. No snow on the tatami mats, no wet marks, no signs of anyone going inside. There were no silhouettes in the darkness indoors, but the shoji had been left open.

It was as though every occupant of the house had suddenly fled, abandoning everything.

“Where is Mr. Yusuke? This place feels like a haunted mansion.”

“Yeah… Where is he?”

Suddenly, the image of a person in a raincoat flashed through my mind. I remembered them holding a crow’s corpse. How they led us to a small annex in the far corner of the garden. Yusuke might be there.

As I kept moving, I saw something strange out of the corner of my eye. There was something in the shadow of a lantern in the distance. A dog-like figure was crawling on the snow. It had four legs but left no footprints.

The dog’s form seemed blurry and vague, and I couldn’t make out its fur. But it was apparent that it was severely overweight. The plump shadow wandered around the lantern. A long rope was tied around its neck, but I couldn’t see where it led as it disappeared from my view.

The dog leaped and dashed beyond the sliding door. It ventured deeper and deeper into the mansion until it vanished from sight. I swallowed. I might have just witnessed something profoundly unsettling.

Goosebumps prickled all over my body, and the baby clapped its hands delightfully. There was no time to think.

I walked on, trying to shake off the chill.

---

The annex, though simple, stood in harmony with the garden. Snow had piled up on the roof tiles, and the sliding doors were shut. There were no lights on.

It was impossible to tell if there was someone inside. I put my hand on the door and pulled it to the side. Dry and chilly darkness spilled from within. My eyes, accustomed to the whiteness, were filled with dark.

We entered with our footwear on. Skeletal remains of animals, like crows with outstretched wings and empty-eyed dogs, lined the shelves. The sight resembled a graveyard.

The interior of the annex had an unexpected Western style. The wooden floor was cold underfoot. A desk lay in a corner, looking like it had been kicked. My gaze settled on a foldable bed, and my breath caught.

Someone was crouched behind it, hiding. My heart raced. I was both shocked and relieved.

I called in a trembling voice, “Yusuke?”

He did not move. Yusuke was clutching a bag made of unfamiliar cloth, seemingly frozen in place.

My emotions fluctuated between relief and fear. Was he dead? Just then, Yusuke lifted his head, and he glared at me.

Yusuke lunged for the sliding door, pulling it shut with a loud bang. The window glass rattled. He stood still briefly, then suddenly collapsed to the floor. Still clutching the bag, he crawled like a snake, his eyes empty. What had happened?

“Yusuke! It’s me! What happened here?”

“Why… this… ning…”

He was muttering something deliriously. Shirayuki knelt down and placed a hand on his shoulder. But Yusuke was unresponsive.

“Why is this happening? It’s weird. It’s just wrong. Why does this have to happen now? Fuck. Why, why, why? I… I want to die. Why is this happening?”

The heavy bag rubbed against his stomach, and something inside rolled around.

He banged his head against the wall and fell still, curled up like a fetus, clutching the bag. His arms and legs twitched sporadically, as if shivering from the cold.

“Yusuke! Hey, Yusuke! Are you okay?!”

I grabbed his shoulder. His tense body felt feverish. Shirayuki went to the bed to fetch a blanket and covered him with it.

I examined the wound on his hand. The shallow gash from the chain had coagulated unevenly, with some parts festering. But he wouldn’t let go of the bag, making it impossible to treat him.

One thing was certain: Yusuke was alive. The worst-case scenario had been averted. But something was off. He was distraught, but in a completely different way this time. It was as though he had seen something absolutely terrifying.

“What should we do? I can draw a tiger and move him out,” Shirayuki suggested.

I glanced at Yusuke, who was trembling slightly. We couldn’t leave him like this, so I agreed. I placed my hand on the sliding door as Shirayuki knelt down to write the characters.

I opened the door to make way for the tiger. A gust of cold wind rushed in, stinging my cheeks. Bright white light flooded the room, accompanied by a hollow, eerie sound.

Ooooh, ooooh, ooooh, ooooh, ooooh…

It sounded like a dog howling in the distance, but held a distinct depth for a mere sound created by the wind. It also sounded like the agonized cries of a wild animal.

The eerie sound persisted, and I listened to it dumbly. Then, the door slammed shut.

Bang!

My hair, blown up by the wind, fell back down seconds later.

Watching me with bloodshot eyes, Yusuke screamed, spitting his words, “Are you trying to get hanged?! Do you want to become a skull?!”

“…What?”

“If you open the door, you’ll get hanged too. They will clap as they cheer you on, then you swing around. I don’t want to become a skull that laughs. Hanging yourself and others hanging you are two different things!”

Yusuke bit his tongue, drawing blood that dripped down his chin. My eyes widened, and Shirayuki paused what she was doing. I let go of the door and raised both hands, waving my palms to show them.

“All right! All right, I won’t open it anymore. Look, I’ve let go of the door. Come on, calm down. Breathe slowly, like that… Are you calm now?”

Yusuke took several deep breaths, then turned his face away from the sliding door and moved. He picked up the bag he had dropped and sat down on the floor. He ruffled his hair with one hand.

“At first, I didn’t mind. But no. No way. At least let me choose how to die. Give me that much.”

He hugged his knees and buried his face in them.

“At least grant me my last wish,” he said tearfully.

I didn’t fully grasp what he meant by those words, but one thing was clear: he hadn’t abandoned his suicidal thoughts. I shook my head at Shirayuki.

Forcing Yusuke onto the tiger and rushing him out could lead to panic. It was risky to take him outside without fully understanding the cause. I recalled the distant howling of a dog from earlier.

A sick dog somewhere must have been making that noise. What could the four-legged shadow I saw in the garden be?

“Shirayuki-san, do you think that voice from earlier was from a dog?”

“Voice? What are you talking about?”

Shirayuki tilted her head in confusion; she didn’t hear the animal’s voice. Could it be that only Yusuke and I could perceive the dog’s voice?

“I don’t want to be killed by that guy,” Yusuke mumbled. “Anything but that.”

Who was he referring to exactly?

The room was enveloped in silence. The situation was at a standstill, but I couldn’t just sit idly by and do nothing.

Yusuke was hanging his head. I placed my hand on the sliding door and opened it slightly. Though Yusuke reacted, he didn’t look up. I moved my ears to the gap.

A hollow sound drifted in the crisp air.

Ooooh, ooooh, ooooh, ooooh, ooooh…

My hair bristled at the peculiar sound. I pulled my ear back from the gap and glanced at Shirayuki. She was rubbing Yusuke’s back.

“Shirayuki-san, I’m going outside for a bit. Please stay by Yusuke’s side.”

“I will go with—” She stopped her brush and looked at the trembling Yusuke.

Both of us understood that leaving Yusuke in his current state was too dangerous. Besides, Shirayuki couldn’t hear the dog’s voice. I was the only one who could confirm the source of that howling.

“It’s okay. If it gets dangerous, I’ll call you immediately. Please look after Yusuke.”

Shirayuki stared at me gravely for several moments, then nodded. I nodded back.

I put my hand on the sliding door and silently opened it, slipping through the crack.

The cold air pricked my skin. I closed the door behind me, shutting out the darkness. I stood in the brilliant white snowscape.

I surveyed the colorless surroundings. A howl rose again, inviting me.

Ooooh, ooooh, ooooh, ooooh, ooooh…

Clenching my right fist, I started walking toward the source of the sound.