Kanako found the forgotten key within herself when, in passing, she heard someone mention the name of a certain game.
"Kamaitachi no Yoru?"
The moment she heard the murmur, she found a key dropped in a gap between the folds of her memory. She didn't recognise it at all, but upon retracing her memories, she discovered a closed door. She put the key into the lock, and it fitted perfectly.
Excited by the prospect of recalling bittersweet memories, Kanako opened the door and went inside―but the place she found herself in was an entirely different world. The room, seeming to her like a closed-off basement, was so dark that she couldn't see a thing, dank, clammy, and smelling of dust and rot. It felt unpleasant, as if she'd stepped into the womb of a snake, which she hated so much.
I can't believe I have such a disgusting memory inside my head, she thought. Then, she saw a dull light slice through the darkness. In an instant, countless snakes that had been nesting within the darkness shot out of it, enveloping Kanako.
"Kamaitachi..."
When she was young, people from the town where she lived had been killed, their throats slashed open. Since they were all good people no one would have any cause to bear grudges against, the mysterious murders were christened 'The Kamaitachi Killings' after a legend that had been told in the town for many years.
In the end, it turned out that the killings had been committed at random by a mentally ill man wielding a sickle, but until the perpetrator was caught, Kanako, who had only recently started elementary school at the time, was deeply mentally scarred by the event. Each night, when she closed her eyes, wind would blow against her from out of the darkness, and the next thing she knew they were dead, their throats sliced open―her friends, her family, and even Kanako herself...
"Nooooooooooooooooooo!"
She would scream and cry out in the middle of the night. Her parents took her to the doctor, who erased her memories of the event using hypnotherapy. She had forgotten all about the phenomenon of 'kamaitachi', and even the fact that such a word existed at all. That is, until...
"There's a character in the game with the same name as you."
No way, she thought, but the momentary recollection of 'kamaitachi' began to ooze throughout her brain, the discomfort spreading. She tried her hardest to ignore it, but her unease and irritation blossomed along with the returning of her memories.
Reluctantly, Kanako tried playing Kamaitachi no Yoru for herself. While it was true that the Kanako in the game shared her name, their personalities couldn't have been more different. I'm not that vain, she thought. I'm not that flashy.
But that was only the beginning.
Kanako used her paid time off to visit an isolated island that summer, where she met other people who, like her, had appeared as characters in the game. Furthermore, the mansion they'd been taken to was a creepy place that even had a bloody sickle sticking out of the wall next to a window.
She had a bad feeling about it, an ominous premonition... Which turned out to be right on the mark, and a tragedy occurred in real life. The tragic, fateful murders, stemming from an old grudge, destroyed Kanako mentally.
Emotionally scarred and confused, Kanako fled back to the city, but all that awaited her there were madmen cloaked in hypocrisy without a shred of kindness in their hearts. Though they approached her with concern, each and every one concealed a madness filled with curiosity within, gradually wounding Kanako and beating her down.
Everyone and everything other than her was sick. There was no way she could live alongside them. So, in order to protect herself, Kanako quit her job, moved away, and shut herself up in her apartment. It was the only way she could manage to preserve her sanity.
Then, one day, she met―or, to be more precise, was reunited with―a man who seemed like the only normal person in the world. She began working for him, and before she knew it, he had become part of her life outside of work, too. But this peaceful life was shattered within six months by the man's suggestion: "Let's go back to Mikazuki Island."
Kanako couldn't even conceive of returning to that place after the terrible tragedy that had unfolded there. She wasn't the only one, either―the man, and the rest of the group who had been there with them, surely felt the same. Just like her, they must have been surrounded and tormented by the curious stares of the mad public following that grisly incident. So how had they managed to bring themselves to come back here?
It was crazy. They were all out of their minds. Just like the rest of society, the people who'd been to Mikazuki Island had gone mad. Belatedly, she realised that she was the only sane one.
But maybe, without even realising it, that madness had infected even her. Otherwise, she would surely have responded with a definitive 'no' when Yosuke Mikimoto―the man she had believed to be the only normal person out there―asked her to go with him, rather than nonchalantly come along like this...
I have to be normal again, quickly. Somebody, please, save me...
Locked away all alone in her room, Kanako lay on the bed, trembling. Straining her ears, she could hear the faint sound of voices from downstairs. Those people, who had been through such horrors, were making themselves at home and gearing up to dine happily together as if rekindling old friendships. She couldn't comprehend how they could act like that. There was no doubt about it: everyone aside from her was crazy...
"I was thinkin' the same thing."
Kanako sat up in bed at the sudden voice. She was sure she'd locked the door, and yet there was a young woman standing against the wall.
"Are you Natsumi?"
Natsumi nodded, looking at Kanako with sympathy. "An' who wouldn't? You'd have to be nuts to come back to this cursed island. They've gotta be dealt with decisively."
"'Dealt with'?"
"Ahaha. Don't play coy with me."
Natsumi grinned mischievously. The sight of her smile brought a sense of peace to Kanako's heart for the first time in a long while.
Natsumi was a nice person, but we hardly got to talk the last time I was here, because...
"I had that old geezer stickin' to me like glue, an' you had that tub of lard with ya."
"Right!" Kanako blurted out.
The sorrow that had soaked through her brain and begun to fester there was dispelled like mist under morning sunlight, filling her with a sweet sensation as though a thick trickle of honey had been secreted.
Ahh. I finally found someone who understands how I feel.
Tears of joy sprang to her eyes.
"This is what you wanted, ain't it?" Natsumi said with a smile, holding out an item she had been concealing behind her.
It was a scythe. A dull glint slowly began to seep into Kanako's mind.
Yeah. This is what I wanted. For a long, long time.
"It's all yours," Natsumi said cheerfully. "'Ere, take it."
Kanako timidly reached out a hand and took the scythe.
"Fits like a glove, don't it?"
Natsumi was right: it was as if she'd gripped it in her hand countless times before, the scythe almost seeming to cling to her palm.
"But what am I supposed to do with it...?"
"It's obvious, ain't it? You get rid of those assholes."
"It's not that simple. Even if they are freaks, if I did something like that, I'd be locked up."
"You ain't gotta worry about that. You ain't the one who's gonna do it."
"What do you mean?"
"Kamaitachi."
"Kamaitachi?"
"You're clever. You must've 'ad some idea."
Kanako felt as though an invisible sickle had been driven into her skull. Yes, she knew. It was all Kamaitachi's fault. She'd sensed it ever since Kamaitachi, who'd tormented her as a child, had reared his head before Kanako once more in the form of a video game, bringing the memories deep within her heart back to the surface: Kamaitachi held sway over Kanako's fate...
"Sorry, but would you mind me askin' you a favour first?"
"A favour?"
"Yeah. I want you to bring that old geezer to me. I mean, how dare 'e say 'e's gonna hold a memorial service for me only to go an' bring his ex along with? I know 'im. 'E's plottin' an all-out attack tonight to get back with her, I'm sure of it. So..."
"Fine. But how do I get to him? If I go out there carrying this thing around and someone sees me, it'll look really fishy."
"You're right. Those assholes are all crazy, but they're all obsessed with rubbish like who's the killer and what everyone's alibis are. It's so stupid. That's not what's goin' on 'ere. They just don't get it at all."
Chuckling, Natsumi knocked on the wall behind her. It promptly slid to the side, accompanied by a dull noise as it moved. Icy air and the stench of filth and rotten meat wafted out from within. Two elderly, kimono-clad people, their backs stooped, stood amidst the darkness beyond the door.
"Come with me."
Natsumi beckoned to her with a smile. Seeing Kanako's look of bewilderment, she jogged over and took her by the hand, as if guiding her towards an attraction at an amusement park. As Natsumi tugged her away, she could feel her body floating, like the sensation of being on a roller coaster as it began to hurtle back down towards the ground.
It lasted only for a split second. The next thing Kanako knew, she was standing beside the bed, Natsumi holding her left hand. To her shock, she saw herself lying flat on her back on the bed.
"Am I...?"
"Don't worry. We'll come straight back 'ere once we've killed 'im. We're Kamaitachi now."
"Hey, what does that mean? I've heard that a kamaitachi is when a change in atmospheric pressure creates a vacuum, but..."
Natsumi laughed out loud. "Of course that ain't true. It's all these two's doin'."
Natsumi pointed at the old people lurking within the dark gloom. They peered at Kanako with upturned eyes, twisted smiles upon their faces. Feeling a chill run down her spine, Kanako looked at Natsumi in confusion.
"I only found out recently myself, but these two bear a pretty crazy grudge. I mean, if you ask 'em what they've been through, I bet you'll understand why. So I've decided to help 'em out an' bring 'em as much peace as I can."
"Help them out?"
"Enough chattin'. Let's go. You ain't got nuffin' ta worry about. You're sleepin' over there, so no matter what you do, no one's gonna be suspicious."
With Natsumi still leading her by the hand, Kanako broke into a run. They went inside the dark door. Viscous, unnaturally cold air clung stickily to her. She couldn't see anything resembling light anywhere nearby, and yet there was a faint, glossy gleam all around, almost like the backs of beetles.
They weren't beetles. They were people turned to shadows―people known as 'tamed rabbits', who had served the Kishizarus, the island's former rulers. Those men and women, treated as inhuman and cruelly killed, cowered within the darkness, expressions of hatred upon their faces, squirming about and squeezing together in the confined space. Solitary sounds of shrill laughter, sobbing, screams and knocking were swallowed up by the darkness.
Merely walking past them, the intensity of their hatred was enough to make her dizzy. She felt like she might be sick. She felt as though if she let her guard down for only a second, countless snakes would coil themselves around her and suffocate her. It took everything she had to follow after Natsumi, her head inclined downward slightly.
"We're here."
Natsumi pointed to a corner of the darkness. The nearby shadows began to scuttle about like insects fleeing from the light. Light began to spill through the area they had vacated.
Through a membrane-like surface, she could see one of Mikazuki Hall's rooms―Kayama's room. Kayama sat facing an altar bearing a photograph of Natsumi, uttering strange sounds and brandishing a gohei.
"What an idiot. Let's get this over with, quickly."
"But, how?"
"It's easy. Just focus on 'im an' what you want to 'appen to 'im, then swing."
Obediently, Kanako thought, Die, you pervy, rich upstart of a president! and swung the sickle. Though it cut through the air with a woosh, the sickle's blade didn't reach Kayama, who continued to obliviously chant nenbutsu in a voice that sounded like a snoring pig.
"That'll do it. Ahh, much better."
"But... he's still alive."
"Don't worry. Kamaitachi don't cut the body directly; they just make it look like you've been cut. In reality, they snip the thread tetherin' the soul to the body. So long as the thread's cut, your job's done―from there, it's only matter of time. Come on, let's be gettin' back."
Natsumi abruptly spun around and headed back towards the dark passage. Kanako hurried after her. It was only then that she noticed the blood clinging stickily to the sickle...
Oh, so I didn't kill him. He was attacked by the kamaitachi. If so...
"Hey, do you mind if we make a quick stop on our way back?"
Natsumi turned to look back at her. Amidst the gloomy darkness, she could make out the wide grin on the woman's face.
"There someone else you 'ave in mind?"
"Yeah. I mean..."
Everyone here is crazy.
"You're right."
"Don't get me wrong. It's not that I hate them or anything. I just want to set them all free."
"I know. I've joined us up."
Natsumi gave a signal to the shadows lurking in the darkness, who let out sounds like that of a chicken having its neck wrung. They seemed to be crying out in delight. Were they so gleeful at more being added to their ranks to share and spread out their pain and suffering between them?
The darkness scuttled aside and became a membrane, on the other side of which she could see the dining room. The others carried on with their meal, completely oblivious.
"Is Kanako okay?"
"I'll make something light and take it up to her."
"How long have you and Kanako been together?"
She could hear Mari, Haruko and Toru coming out with idle nonsense.
"I don't need your concern...!"
Kanako swung the sickle she held two, three times. With each swing, the sickle gave off a dull clunk, growing more and more slick with dark red liquid. Splattered with invisible blood, Kanako felt her heart soar.
Their souls severed, the life gradually began to seep out of them and they writhed in agony, dying, with gaping wounds across their throats... Because that was the scene that had emerged so vividly within her head.
"Wow, Kanako! Wow! You're a natural with that thing."
The shadows' twisted glee joined in with Natsumi, singing Kanako's praises.
"All that moving's made me feel hot. I'd really like to get some air quickly."
"Yeah, sure."
Natsumi snapped her fingers. The shadows behind them slithered to their feet and moved aside. Beyond them, she could see a spiral staircase.
She began to climb it, making one loop around the staircase when she felt a tepid breeze against her face. The cloudy sky bore down overhead, dark and overcast. It seemed to be the roof of a building.
"Tokyo's that way." Natsumi pointed in the direction of it, letting out a yawn. "Come on down when yer done. I'm knackered. Gonna go get some rest," she said, and headed back down the stairs.
Kanako was glad. It wouldn't feel good to have someone else see her overflowing with hate.
Kanako turned back to face the direction Natsumi had pointed in. She could see the roiling sea, like spilled coal tar, stretching out as far as she could see beneath the cloudy sky. Far away, on the other side of it, lay Tokyo, and all of the people who had tormented her. Her lip curled, she began to yell out every one of their names, swinging the sickle in her hand each time.
"Die, president of my company. Die, all of the men and women who came sniffing around and prying about the incident. Die, die, die. You were the ones who reawakened those dark memories I'd forgotten..."
With each swing, the shadows cowering in the darkness all around―the souls bearing their grudges―were swept up in the wind and flew away. As they went, the sickle in Kanako's hand became soaked with a thick coat of blood, growing heavier, redder, and giving off a dull glint.
"Hahahahahahahahaha!"
Kanako's laughter and the shadows' eerie noises blended into a discordant cacophony―one that seemed to foretell a new tragedy that was to befall the island...
The following day, the baffling incident that had occurred the night before made the headlines on the TV news.
"Last night, Tokyo was hit by violent gusts. During the storm, several people died mysteriously. Each of the victims had had their throats slit open with what appears to have been a sharp blade.
"We reached out to the Meteorological Agency for comment, who told us that they suspect the culprit to be a kamaitachi."
"A kamaitachi is a natural phenomenon where changes in atmospheric pressure create an area of vacuum, injuring those who enter it. However, kamaitachi only inflict minor cuts at worst, and one claiming so many lives is a truly unprecedented event.
"One of the victims is Takemaru Abiko, a mystery writer who had been visiting Tokyo to promote a new video game..."
It is said that people referred to this tragedy-filled night as the 'night of the kamaitachi', and told tales of it for many years afterwards.
(Fin)