Chapter 11: A dangerous liaison

This Wednesday there is a test but I won't be there. School can wait seeing that the President will be discharged from hospital and so here I am waiting in the lobby. Aoi isn't so lucky though, the encounter last Sunday had left her shrivelled and malnourished. Nevertheless, the girl is getting better and better, her mood also seems to be unaffected by the incident. Or maybe that is just the façade she put up in front of others, I am not as perceptive as the President to tell. She now also has a pet blue bird out of nowhere, the little creature just keeps following her around.

"Sei he is called" Aoi said as her classmate swooned over the little thing.

Something about it unsettles me, however, a sentiment shared by the President. The bird never leaves her side, that and its timing are all too unnatural. This led both of us to conclude separately that the thing is an apparition.

Speaking of the devil, here he is waving at me with a covered painting strapped on his back.

"Sooner than I expected, maybe you could make it to the exam" I said.

"I would rather not" The President replied in a smile most uncanny. There was something off about him. The President would still talk like normal, act like normal, laugh like normal and everyone would find him normal. Well, except for me who find all of it slightly off, not by much but enough to be, like I described before, uncanny "Anyway, let's get something to eat, I am starving. Did you have anything yet, Akihiko?"

"Nah, was waiting for you"

In case you want to know I am aware of apparitions. The President told me everything, including what happened to our vice-president. She is gone, and so is the rot he said with a sombre look on his face.

I guess it's now my turn to tell a story of my own too, that I already knew of them, and that we aren't the only players here.

It all happened last Saturday during club practice. The competition is coming up and the intense training routine meant that someone was to go down sooner or later. And the person to bite the dust was me… maybe that was an exaggeration. Our pitcher simply slipped and sent a high speed ball straight to my face. Aside from the concussion nothing serious happened but I was sent to the infirmary regardless.

"Are you there, Kitamura-san" I called out but there was no answer, our physician was nowhere to be found.

"Hm?" My teammate looked at me strangely "Who are you talking about?" He said curiously.

"Kitamura? The physician?" I replied which made him more confused.

"No, I never heard of him before. Are you alright there Akihiko?" He said worryingly "We… currently has no physician, why did I forget about that"

He sunk deep in thought for a moment but instantly snapped back to normal, it was as if something had yanked him back to this reality.

"Let me get something for your head" He said, seemingly unaware of our previous conversation.

In the end, nothing was really needed so I asked my teammate to go back first. The moment he left I shuffled the drawer only to find… nothing. Kitamura always gives out candy to all those coming to his infirmary. Because of that, this was always filled with treats of all kind. Now it was empty.

I looked around some more but there was no trace of our physician. I was going mad for a moment there, that is until I noticed something strapped under the table. A mobile phone!

Taking it out, I inspect the device but couldn't find anything outstanding, it was just a normal flip phone. Or that what I thought, seeing that next to nobody in this village has something like this. I only know the shape because the President had shown me one prior. Opening the thing, I noticed the language setting to be English which is a peculiar choice. Again, only a few people here understand it. Luckily, I happened to be one of them (the President isn't ironically).

Even so, all I saw was that the device was locked. After a good while of thinking, I couldn't figure out the password at all. Before I gave up and put that thing away, however, the screen lit up… an incoming call!

The caller was simply "Gas-chan".

Before answering, I take a look outside to see if anyone is around. To my absolute horror, there was.

A tall figure completely hidden under a brown duster with black gloves and boats. But most unsettling is his head which was covered by a black gas mask of sort. In his hand was another phone which was also lighting up. There was something menacing about the man, maybe because of his strange attire. Nevertheless, I could feel danger radiating from him.

Even through the visors I could feel his intense gaze. For a moment, I was paralysed with the thought of my own mortality.

At that very moment, there were sounds of shuffling as the door behind me was opened. Even though I tried not to, my head turn back with reflex anyway.

"Akihiko?" It was Makoto, my neighbour, and her two friends from the wind instrument club. They just finished practice apparently.

"Looking pale there, are you alright?" Another one of them, Aya, asked me.

Looking back, I couldn't see the masked figure anymore, the phone is also now silent. I fumbled to answer "I am fine, just had a little concussion, that's all"

"Did you hit your face?" The flute expert, Fumiko, chimed in "Not the face!"

Everyone let out a slight giggle, that girl really like to poke fun at the fact that I am apparently handsome. I also tried to laugh for a bit but the feeling of dread hadn't left me yet. I could still feel that person lurking around waiting. That guy is definitely dangerous, I need to get away from here lest somebody here get involved. I need to get back to town to find help.

"Are you girls going back to town?" I asked, trying to be as natural as possible.

"Yep" Aya answered "How about you?"

"Ah… yes" I replied. This is bad, at this rate they would accompany me back. I have to find a way to delay them "Oh Aya, it seems like Gorou wants to see you for something urgent. He is still practicing at the field so maybe you could drop by"

"Hm, what does he want with me… Oh well, since I am here, might as well"

Aya chimed in again, nudging her friend hip "Maybe he wants to confess or something"

"Probably not, anyway, be seeing you around, Akihiko" Fumiko laughed the possibility off.

"See ya, cutie!" Aya also said goodbye. Meanwhile, Makoto simply nodded at me in silent.

Good, it seemed like they would be going together. I took that opportunity to quickly leave. Feeling a bit guilty to abandon practice like this though. Nevertheless, this was an emergency.

The school that Saturday was mostly empty and so was the road back to town. A trek downhill devoid of people would be risky but maybe I could make a run for it. Or at least that was what I thought. There were sounds of footsteps behind me and turned out it was Makoto.

"Can I go with you?" She said so softly, I could barely hear it.

"It would be great but I need to run" Of course, I politely turned her down. She was fidgeting quite a bit, however. Makoto had always been a shy one. Everyone said that ever since high school started, she had become much more talkative, something I never got to witness. It wasn't that I don't get to see her, we are neighbours after all. But aside from her trying out some new hairstyles only to return to her old one recently, she was still the Makoto that I had always known, sweet but shy and reserve.

She clearly had something to say to me, however, I couldn't just leave her standing here like that. Besides, there were still some people around the school ground so it should be safe here at least.

"What's wrong?" I asked the nervous girl.

"Can I show you something, Akihiko?"

"Of course"

"Here" Makoto took out a coin in one hand and with just a flick it was gone. She showed her hand nothing was really there.

"Uh, where is it?" I looked around but couldn't find the item anywhere.

Smiling for a bit, Makoto reached for my ear with little difficulty and voila, there it was, the coin.

"Whoa" That was my first time seeing a magic trick of any kind so needless to say, I was impressed "How did you do it?"

"That's a secret!" Answered the girl, who seemed to have gained some confidence from successfully completing the act "And also… Happy birthday, Akihiko"

It took me a few moments to completely register what she was saying "Oh, I completely forgot about that" I scratched my neck, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"I knew you would" Said Makoto with a hint of playfulness "Hey, can I tell you something?"

I gave a nod. After a pause, she finally said what was on her mind for a long time now.

"I really like you"

It was short, sincere and crystal clear. It left me stunned, not knowing what to say. I truly didn't know how to answer, while she was still my neighbour and a precious friend of mine, I never really saw her that way at all. But just outright shooting her down would be cruel. It must have taken someone like her a great deal of courage to say something like that, I just didn't want to shut it all down.

"I'm sorry that was out of nowhere" She apologised "I just felt like if I didn't confess then, I would never be able to say it again…"

"It's fine, I understand" I truly do. Makoto had always been nervous, restless about me. Successfully doing that magic trick must have given her some confidence which she didn't want to waste… Guess I should give her a proper answer then.

Clearing my throat, I reply with great sincerity, she deserved that "I'm sorry I've never noticed, but I don't see you that's way"

Hanging her head low for a bit, Makoto looked back up to me with a slight smile "Thanks, for the answer" She said "I should have given you this earlier, here"

The girl handed me what seemed like a book wrapped neatly in colourful papers.

"Happy birthday, Akihiko"

And with just that, Makoto ran back inside. Even though she turned away rather quickly, I could still caught glimpse of a shinning tear. It was hard, confessing all the while knowing the answer. Maybe that was why she never said this to me earlier. Instead, the girl tried to catch my attention, maybe she tried much more. But in the end, I never noticed their intention… Am I that dense, that cruel?

Biting my lips, I made a sprint back down to town, there were still things that needed to be done.

The moment I was out of sight of everybody, however, The figure burst out of nowhere. I tried to react but my mouth was covered my hands locked behind my back in an instant. His movements were lighting quick and with great precision. And with seemingly no effort at all, the figure dragged me to the side of the road, to the dense forest.

"No need to run, I am not going hurt you" His voice was deep, slightly muffled by the gas mask which must have some sort of speaker in it, I could even hear his breath "I just want to ask some questions that's all"

I tried to struggle to no avail, the man's grips were like steel. In the end, I stopped in resignation and gave him a nod, he let me go.

"Are you Gas-chan?"

I asked and could hear him sighing "Yes, that was what Kitamura called me. And you are… Akihiko from the unofficial Paranormal Activity club right"

"Wait, how do you know about that" I was taken aback but at the same time intrigued.

"The phenomenon you called the 'rot' has been here for decades now. You don't expect to be the only people interested" Gas looked straight at me and just walked away "Let's go, here isn't the best place to talk"

I contemplate running away but with the reflex this man had displayed, he could probably grabbed me just in time. But in the end, I decided to follow out of curiosity, this was after all a brand new lead.

"What do you know about it, this 'rot' thing" He asked, probably to test me.

"Well, all we know is that thing has influenced all over the school but is also contained there. There are those like me who can sense, basically one of our sense will feel something rotten, revolting. And that overexposure will overload all your senses, making them sensing the 'rot' constantly" I paused a bit in consideration before continuing "But recently, we found out that it can kill but the death is gradual, it would take a while before its effect to be permanent" That was what the President told me, somehow the person known as Dorian Grey could revert it, but only before a certain amount of time has passed.

"So you have stumbled upon a victim?" Gas asked with a hint of interest.

"Yes"

"And that person was revived, back from the dead?" He turned around and stared at me through the visors. The information I presented was new to him apparently. I replied with a nod.

The man stood still for a moment before busted out laughing "So you are actually useful! Guess me showing myself wasn't such a bad deal" The laughter soon stopped, however, as sudden as its entrance. Gas asked "So what did it, the reviving, was it an apparitions?"

"Eh, what do you mean?" This was the first time I heard of such a thing. Did Dorian fall into that category I wonder, while I never met the man, he did seem to be paranormal. In the end, I gave a confirmation nod "Are there other apparitions, aside from the 'rot' I means"

"Of course, only on this island though" He continued walking on "I heard this place was full of them, but now only three remaining, the first is Hitobashira"

"Wait, 'human pillar'? But I thought… all major constructions here were done after that practice has fallen out of use?"

"Ho, boy you sure know your history. Most folk here, including Kitamura, don't even what 'human pillar' is, much less dating it" Gas seemed impressed "I theorised that maybe because this island is rather isolated, maybe such a practice still persisted. But alas, it wasn't the case, do you know why, boy?"

Was that a test I wonder, it did seem like it "Because we only became reclusive recently some decades ago. Meanwhile, Hitobashira waned of at about the end of the 16th century. Back then, we were still quite active in trading and very much connected with the mainland" Now the only product we supply are seafood but the catch tend to be little and of lower quality, commerce here is in a crisis but no one would admit that.

"Bingo!" Gas gave me a thumb up and continued "In the end, why he was called Hitobashira remained to be a mystery. Although that name was coined by a group of students apparently so the accuracy is certainly up for debate. I have no idea what it is actually to confirm. Who know, maybe it is actually a literal human pillar, that would be a sight though"

"Wait, students? How long ago was this?

I asked but he ignored my question "The second apparition is called Shoudan"

"As in 'promotion' (昇段)?"

"No, as in 'burning man' (焦男). And don't ask, I know nothing about it either"

"Sound like you don't really know much" I talked under my breath, kind of regretting going with this guy now.

"I could hear that you know" Somehow he could even with that gas mask which covered his ears "Anyway, the third and final one is your 'rot'… who thought of that name anyway"

"The others don't really remember but it was me actually" I said, raising my hand.

"Oh, that explain it" He said as we continued to cut through the forest

"What?"

"Why it is so lame" Gas casually threw that remark at me.

"Oi, that was uncalled for!" I reacted 'appropriately'

He turned around "Well, it is true. Saying 'rot' (kusa) just seems kind of short, kusa, kusa, kusa" The man said snidely "Don't tell me you take pride in that name"

"Well yes, it is concise, descriptive and sounds like a name!" I felt a bit insulted "What do you even call it then"

"Well, Kitamura called it 'the murderer' (satsujin), my source calls it 'the storm' (arashi). Well, my employer and me prefer to call it the warrior" He said in a slight condescending tone which could be heard even through the muffling.

I, of course, didn't let that slide "Why don't you just call him the warrior (bushi) then, using it in English is even cheaper. I mean that's the epitome of generic" I had no idea why I said this really since it's not like I am that well-versed in this matter. I just felt like that was the case I guess.

"And changing them to Japanese isn't!" Gas said sarcastically.

"That's because we tend to actually name stuff, not just calling them by the plus some word. Besides, saying it in Japanese sounds more varied" I replied, crossing my arms "All those names, I assume you and your employer are foreigners?"

"Oh wow, not only are you a history buff, know English but you are not a total xenophobe. I struck gold today it seems" He suddenly threw out a compliment which took me a few moments to realise.

"Thanks" I said, slightly flustered.

"But yes, I am not Japanese and you don't need to know where I am from" I had to admit this took a bit long for me to realise. His Japanese was perfect and the muffling kind of masked any sort of accent. It is such a coincident now that I think about it, the only two foreigner I know can speak so well, is this normal I wonder?

"You mentioned an employer… what are you and why are you here even?" I had to admit, this should have been asked way earlier. I was all too eager to learn more of the 'rot'.

"Well, before that, I wonder if you know this person… an Elizabeth Grey"

I certainly didn't expect to hear that name "Y… Yes"

Gas turn back to face me "You must have heard of her from Mr. O'Brien then. What do you know about her then"

… After an uncomfortable silent, I finally nodded. It had been too long since I last heard the President's family name. Actually, I only heard it once, it was the start of this school year. It was a new class but everyone already knew each other, all except one.

A Westerner, but he was far from my expectation. He was rather small and somewhat shy. His hair was scruffy and yellow, his glasses were quite foggy but behind them were the most brilliance shade of blue. The teacher introduced and completely butchered the pronunciation of his name. He tried to talk to the whole class but no one was interested, it must have been depressing standing there that day. Soon he just gloomily went to the seat the disinterested teacher had assigned.

No one cared nor turned his way, no one except for me. Even now, I could still remember our vividly our first conversation.

"I'm Akihiko. Your name, how do you pronounce it exactly" I asked, extending my arm for a handshake.

In that very moment, the transfer student's gloomy face lit up in an instant. He grabbed my hand, I could feel his hand trembling. His eyes shone brightly like the brightest gemstone, I could even see tears welling up. It was beautiful for a lack of a better word. That was the first time someone had ever acknowledge his existent ever since coming here, much less showing kindness. How could I leave him alone after that.

(Although he would latter vomit uncontrollably and was help by someone else, another sign of kindness from a person called Yuuko)

Since then we have become best friends. I now call him President and he now has supposedly a small ponytail, I find it more like a bun because of how scruffy it is (he is quite lazy when it comes to having a haircut). His eyes were still as brilliance as they were on the day we first met, although their shine is now directed toward someone else…

Anyway, my mind went a bit off track there.

"He didn't tell me anything about Elizabeth though… why do you want to talk about her?" Actually, the President told me everything he knew. I just didn't want to divulge too much information.

Gas continued to look at me, I could feel his eyes squinting behind the visors "So you are finally back down to Earth" I could feel my face redden from the embarrassment "Well, that Elizabeth was a scientist of sort. Not too long before the second World War, she moved to this island, for what I don't know"

He suddenly stopped and stared at me "What's the matter?" I asked.

"Nothing, just checking to see if you are still here" Gas replied in a rather sarcastic tone "Anyway, what important is that she brought her researches with her. Apparently, they were millennia ahead of the science back then. I am simply an errand runner who was sent here to fetch her artefact, that's all"

"Some very special canvases to be exact" His tone were quite playful but even through the gas mask, his next words were still strangely eerie "Do you happened to know about them?"

"No…" was my answer. I did know that they exist but that was all. Gas seemed satisfied and we continued in silent.

We soon reached a rather well concealed shack

"What is in there exactly?" I asked.

"In here" Gas turn back to me and paused a bit seemingly for effect "Doom"

He said it in a joking tone but it only made me more nervous. Inside there was a table and several cabinets. Gas opened one and took out several stacks of papers "You have given me quite a bit of info there, consider this a trade"

I looked directed to the bunch of documents which were just lists of high school students from… 1980 till now! At least they were nicely packed into years.

The one from the past 15 years were on one side with a huge note "Too many?" on top. Too many of what, students? Maybe, everyone here has lots of sibling and relatives, hence our tendency to call each other by name. I personally am an only child though.

That was when I notice the piles before 1993 are noticeably thinner. Grabbing one of them, I was puzzled by the finding. The number of students were much less, a third or even fourth of now. Also, for some reason, I couldn't seem to find many similar family names.

Was there some sort of natural disaster? Disease? What most noticeable is that the number instantly shoot up in just one year, after 1992 and they just kept increasing until now.

"What's the meaning of this" I asked, my heart filled with a sense of dread.

Gas was just standing in the corner, his hands crossed "Judging from your reaction, you must already have some theory already. Let's hear them, shall we"

There wasn't any sort birth control back then, still none now actually. And yet the number of students were surprisingly low back then, too low. Maybe schooling wasn't popular back then? That would make sense but if that was the case, then Gas wouldn't have shown me this.

Then, all those people, children back "They were all murdered… Is that it"

"Bingo"

"Was it the rot?" My question was met with a "Yes"

"Then how?" I continued "How come no one know of this, there is no record of this"

"Because there was none" Gas answered "Whenever your rot murder someone, that person is seemingly wiped away from everyone mind. No one remember them anymore. I couldn't find any records for junior high, likely because it was when all of the killings were committed. And all those who come close would have their mind wiped, right in front of you" What he said struck me hard as I remembered what happened to my friend earlier today, but then that also mean… "Of course, there are those who resist that effect, only to be killed themselves just like poor Kitamura"

There was total silence, enough to hear a pin fall. Gas then stood up and look at me, what he said next would send a chill down my spine.

"Now that you are in the know. Better watch your back, Akihiko"

The man looked at me, I wondered what was under his mask then. He put his hand inside the duster "This is your birthday, right?" I couldn't decipher the tone of his words. Gas suddenly pulled something out, startling me "Here you go, this is all I have on me"

It was a piece of chocolate, mostly eaten. I reached out my hand to take it, still silent. Looking at the piece, I could see bite mark, I ate it anyway with an unreasonable fear of retaliation.

The taste was bitter with strange hint of cherry.