Chapter 6: Alive
Nagano, August 2006
Gene stumbled into the reception area and planted his hands on his knees. He gasped for air.
"What happened?" Noll said, rising from the chair.
Gene raised his head.
"It didn't work! That cashpoint wouldn't take my card!" He blurted out.
Noll turned to look back at Nakata, who stood next to him with an incredulous expression.
"…And you were certain it could take international cards?"
Nakata scratched the back of his head with a difficult expression.
"Not quite... We hardly have any international visitors coming over here, to tell you the truth."
Noll sighed. They were in the middle of a rural area in Nagano after all.
"Are there any other alternatives?"
The man folded his arms.
"I would send you to the ATM in the post office nearby, but it's already past closing hours. Otherwise, I could have taken you to the next nearest convenience store, but unfortunately the road is blocked now," Nakata said, taking the road incident into account.
Gene stared at the receptionist.
"What about the train station? It shouldn't be far from here, right?"
"A little less than half an hour by car due to traffic jams," Nakata replied.
Gene groaned.
"That can't be."
Noll put his free hand on his forehead, tapping lightly against it with a finger.
"That will be a problem..."
"Um, how much do you have on you if I may ask?" Nakata asked.
"900 yen in total," Noll said, running his hand through his hair.
The man grimaced. "That isn't much..."
Gene dropped down on a chair and whined.
"Argh, I'm tired and hungry! Worst day ever!"
"...It could have been worse," Noll muttered flatly.
Gene stared at him with a frown, then his eyes went down to Mayumi's book.
"Wait!"
He pried the book out of Noll's hand, got up and walked up to Nakata with a wide smile.
"How about I'll give you this book in exchange for money?"
Nakata put on a displeased expression at this suggestion.
"I told your brother I read the book already..."
"Pleeeease. You could sell it for more. It's brand new."
Nakata frowned.
"It's only a paperback. It won't cost much more than 500 yen, I estimate."
"Seriously?"
He held out a hand.
"Give me that book. The price should be written on the back cover." Nakata pointed out a number on the back. "See? It's only 438 yen excluding tax!"
However, Gene didn't give up.
"But if you round that up a little, it's just enough for one night~" He said with a wink.
Nakata didn't take it too well and put a foot down.
"Young man!" he said, glaring at Gene. "We do not haggle around here."
This man seemed to have a short fuse, so Noll interrupted.
"Excuse me."
Gene and Nakata turned to look at him.
"Yes?" Nakata said.
"Are there any abandoned buildings around here?"
"Abandoned?" Gene said, knitting his eyebrows together
They stared at him for a moment. However, Nakata looked a strangely uneasy. His jaw lowered.
"So there is one?" Noll said, gazing intensely at the man.
"Well... There is an old elementary school building. It was closed about three years ago…"
His voice trailed off.
"Are there any rumours about it?"
"Rumours, such as?"
"Hauntings."
Nakata's face froze.
"No..." He shook his head. "Why do you ask?"
Noll smiled a little, and briefly glanced at a confused Gene.
"Just asking. Perhaps it would be nice to spend a night there."
Nakata scowled.
"...Hey, you better not sleep there."
Noll shrugged. "At least we'll have a roof over our head."
The receptionist's face grew red.
"...Damn it, alright. I'll ask my boss," Nakata said, and left through the backdoor.
Gene gave him a look.
(I didn't know you were keen on ghost hunting. Homesick?)
Noll shrugged. (Not particularly.)
Gene sighed.
(We could have asked him to drive to us to the train station instead.)
(I know, but who would go with him?)
Gene grimaced.
(I can't be arsed to do so. I'm knackered.)
(Same.)
Soon enough, Nakata returned with a middle-aged woman.
"This is my boss, Kobayashi-san."
Her eyes glittered when she saw the twin brothers.
"Oh my."
Noll stared at his brother.
(The floor is yours.)
Gene put on a pleasant smile, and proceeded to tell the woman a sob story.
About his poor younger brother Noll who fainted on the way to the campsite. How he carried Noll up to the store in Village A. How he begged the store owner for a space to rest. How they ran out of money, because he wanted to take great care of Noll by giving him something to eat and to drink. How he gently guided his brother through the mountain forest to Village B because the road was blocked. Gene claimed this was a true story which could be verified by the old man in the store in Village A.
It was completely exaggerated in Gene's favour, but it worked. Not to mention the sight of two cute twin brothers had swayed the heart of the woman. Gene was a great charmer and an even better liar, so Noll could always count on him for taking care of those kind of things.
"Oh poor you~ I'm not letting two boys sleep on the road after such a rough day~ I'll give the book for my granddaughter. We watched the film in the cinema last week and we absolutely loved it!"
Behind her Nakata groaned.
"We don't need to do this!" He protested, flailing his arms as if to make a point. "I could bring them to the ATM at the train station today."
His boss looked him straight in the eye.
"That's a matter for tomorrow!" Kobayashi insisted, and gesturing a hand in the direction of Noll and Gene. "These boys look tired, and they've been through enough for today. Children need to be taken care of. Look at how pale and skinny they are!"
Noll resisted an eyeroll. They always looked like this.
In the end, Nakata begrudgingly agreed to giving them a spot at the campsite. The twins handed over the book and their last yen to Kobayashi.
Gene smirked a little.
(It's a good thing Mayumi gave us that book.)
(Yeah...)
In the next hour, they proceeded to set up their place not too far away from the reception building. They even managed to get a tent and two mats, because Kobayashi took pity on them (the woman seemed to be very fond of children). They slowly managed to set it up. After that they laid down on their mats for at least half an hour.
It wasn't until Gene started to whine for food that Noll woke up for a short moment. Gene got up and left. The faint smell of barbeque meat and sauces entered his nose.
Noll groaned and rolled over.
If their parents knew about their penniless state, they'd never hear the end of it.
He closed his eyes once again and tried hard not to think about his empty stomach.
Later, Noll heard some female voices through the sound of the breeze rustling the leaves around him.
"What? He's more handsome than you?"
He was about to ignore the voice until he heard a familiar voice talking back.
"Of course!"
Gene?
A ray of the evening sunlight entered the tent.
"My younger brother is over here. See?"
The female voices started laughing.
"Oh my god, they're twins!"
Noll opened one eye. Six or seven teenage girls staring at him through the opening of the tent. They were very noisy.
He groaned when he saw his brother peeking in.
"Gene."
(Be pleasant, Noll. Don't ruin my plan. I'm trying to scavenge some food here.)
Food.
They needed food.
Noll tried his best smile.
The girls squealed instantly.
"Handsome, isn't he?"
"Stop teasing us!" One girl cried out.
(But why are there so many girls...)
(Well, I talked to one girl, she got her friend, then all of them started to follow us. Isn't it amazing?)
Gene was about to pull him out of the tent, but Noll shoved him away. He'd get out of the tent by himself.
(Where's the food, Gene?)
(Patience, Noll.)
Gene turned to look at the girls again.
"So here's a funny story," he said, attracting their attention. "We ended up giving the camping site all of our money to get a spot for tonight."
"Huh?! How come? Isn't there an ATM at the convenience store?"
"Oh, there was. But it didn't take my international card."
They blinked in confusion, and exchanged glances.
"…You're not from Japan?"
"We're from England," Gene said with a little smirk.
"FROM ENGLAND?" The girls simultaneously shrieked.
Then various comments followed about how they thought they were Japanese.
Gene looked very pleased, but Noll felt like he was dying on the inside. Why were they freaking out over something like this? He didn't want to be treated like an exotic animal.
As if on cue, he turned to look at Noll.
"Well, I'd tell you more about us, but me and my poor brother are really hungry..."
Then, to score some sympathy points, he proceeded to tell them a short version of the sob story he told to Kobayashi. Hearing this, the girls scattered into different directions to scavenge food for them.
The momentary silence brought Noll relief.
Gene stretched his arms into the air.
"I did it!"
Noll rolled his eyes,
"No, you've overdone it."
Gene shrugged.
"I thought it was best to make complete use of our assets," he said, then blinked at something in the distance. "Ah."
Noll looked to the side. Someone was approaching them. It was the receptionist.
Nakata stopped by the tent with a wicker basket. Its contents were covered by a red-striped tea towel.
"From my boss."
He put the basket in front of them without another word, and left.
"Uh. Thanks."
Gene and Noll exchanged glances before pushing it into the tent. Noll lifted the tea towel. They stared at the contents, but not for long.
Suddenly, Gene sent a panicked message back into his mind.
(NOLL. HIDE THE BASKET. QUICK.)
He pushed the basket further into the tent and stood up.
Noll watched Gene wave at someone in the distance with a big smile on his face.
"We have enough. Send them away," Noll said.
(I don't care. They might bring some delicious things.)
Noll sighed in resignation and put the basket behind him. How long did he have to endure this?
As expected, the girls brought a variety of things. Mostly leftovers from barbeque meals, various snacks, breads, salads. Some girls apologized, because these were leftovers. But Gene couldn't look anymore happier. Noll could nearly imagine a lone dramatic tear of joy rolling down his face.
"What a feast."
Noll didn't complain. His twin brother was useful for charming people into giving them food.
Having good looks certainly helped, but it felt like they came over to see because of the fact they were twins. Some even asked them the usual dumb twin questions. Then they started asking questions about England, and Gene in turn asked them things about Japan.
None of these questions mattered to him. He quietly ate in the tent as Gene entertained the girls.
(Send them away already!)
(Quiet Noll.)
"So, what are you guys doing tomorrow?" One girl asked.
"I don't know about Noll, but I think I'll go for a swim in the lake."
They squealed again and their faces reddened. Noll didn't want to imagine what they were thinking.
"Oh bummer, I'm leaving tomorrow morning." Another girl muttered.
"But what about that haunted school dare, Hinako? Didn't we promise the other guys?" Another one pointed out.
"No way!"
"Why would we? I'd rather go for a swim with these two."
That got his attention.
"Haunted school?" Noll prompted.
"Yeah, there is one, but I don't think anyone is going."
"It's just a suggestion. As if Daichi would go, he's playing the tough guy, obviously!"
That wasn't the information he wanted!
Then Gene skilfully managed to steer the conversation into the direction he wanted.
"What's this about a haunted school?"
"There's an abandoned school nearby," the tallest girl said. "But we've been warned not to go there. "
"That's really interesting." Gene said. "Don't you think, Noll?"
"Are you going?"
Noll shrugged a little.
"Perhaps."
"Then I'll give you a tip. Don't tell the man at the front desk. He got really mad when my brother brought it up!" One of the girls said.
Noll grimaced. That had to be Nakata.
"Yeah, what's his problem? No harm if we take a small look!"
They all nodded.
Gene gave him a sideway glance.
"Um anyway," he said. "I suppose it's for the best if none of us go. I mean, we don't want any trouble with the staff, right?"
The girls easily agreed. It seemed they were more keen on swimming in the lake. With them.
Later, Noll pressured Gene to chase the girls away because they were bothersome. He couldn't handle their company for more than a few minutes and he was still very tired. In any case, Gene managed to 'dismiss' the group of girls by saying that his poor twin brother needed some rest.
After that was over Noll took a moment to recollect his thoughts. He laid on the mat as Gene sat beside him at the entrance of the tent.
Would he tell Gene? Would there even be a need? Something inside of him said 'no'. He didn't need to know how much uncertainty and misery he would have caused to their parents.
He looked up at his brother. Gene looked out over the campsite with a content smile.
It's fine like this. He doesn't need to know.
Noll closed his eyes.
After a while he felt a thin cover over his body. He opened his eyes to see Gene lay beside him.
"Noll... I want to stay here."
Noll raised an eyebrow, unsure what he meant.
"I want to stay in Japan." Gene clarified. There was a soft smile on his face.
"Why?"
"You know already. We've seen so many interesting things and interesting people. Don't you want to stay and see more?"
He couldn't say no to that, but he couldn't voice an agreement either.
Gene sighed and continued, "You're lucky... You've got a whole year to yourself until you can enter Cambridge University."
Noll stared at his face. He did apply, but because of age restrictions he could only enter university when he turned seventeen. Until then he would do research at the laboratory.
"You should do whatever you want," He merely said.
"...I can't do this alone." Gene muttered.
"Hm."
Gene turned to lie on his back. He remained quiet.
Noll closed his eyes.
After a few minutes, he heard Gene's voice again.
"We need more people. You need it too."
"What do you mean?"
"More people who can work with us."
"How come?'
"Because I keep thinking about the tree spirit..." Gene said. "I was apprehensive for no reason. It was completely harmless. Its tree was dying. I only realized after passing right through it."
How odd. A dying tree in summer.
"Because you're not familiar with them."
"I think this is what Madoka meant. We need a different environment, step out of our comfort zone and surround ourselves with different people. People with different backgrounds."
Noll snorted.
"Like the old men we've encountered so far?"
Gene chuckled.
"Not necessarily old people. I think we also need young people like us, who are the new blood in their respective fields."
Noll didn't know if he wanted this. But it didn't sound bad either.
Gene continued. "Also... I'm really sorry about earlier."
He smiled a little. So, Gene still felt bad about leaving him at the bus stop?
"It's fine already. Sleep."
"Okay."
Gene yawned and turned on his side.
"I'm really glad you're here with me."
"…Yeah."
Gene awoke to the buzzing sound of cicadas. The faint morning light reached behind his eyelids. He groaned, rolled over and bumped into another warm body. Gene opened his eyes and found his brother still soundly asleep.
Time to go to the bathroom.
He slowly got up, taking care not to wake Noll, and walked into the direction of the reception building. Most people seemed to be sleeping as Gene had the bathroom for himself. While washing his face with water, Gene pondered over what to do for the rest of the day. Perhaps he could take a walk on the path along the river nearby. But Noll probably wouldn't be keen on taking a morning stroll along the many tents. Gene sighed. He couldn't deny it was bothersome that they attracted so much attention.
Come to think of it, the girls planned on going to the lake at noon.
Gene dabbed his wet face with a towel.
But there was something else: the abandoned elementary school.
Gene had been surprised when Noll brought it up in front of Nakata. During the entirety of their trip Noll did not show any intentions of getting into ghostly adventures. It was simply too dangerous to go off on their own without at least one other person around.
However, it bothered Gene more that there was indeed a school which was rumoured to be haunted. The rumours had spread among the tourists, and even made Nakata nervous. Something was going on. It enticed his curiosity… Yet, at the same time a certain sadness lingered on the fringes of his mind. Why would an elementary school be haunted?
Gene stepped out of the bathroom and found a frowning man outside the door.
Speak of the devil.
"Nakata-san?"
Nakata briefly sighed and handed over a plastic bag.
"Here's some onigiri."
Gene took it in the bag in his hands.
"But isn't it a little too much? We hardly paid after all…"
Nakata looked away.
"Kobayashi-san said that her granddaughter was very happy with the book. You may freely go after checking out."
"Uh thank you very much…" Gene said, gazing up at the man with a look of appreciation. He didn't seem like a bad person.
Nakata narrowed his eyes a little. "Don't get into trouble."
He turned around and entered the reception building.
"Uh, okay."
Gene stared into the bag. Two onigiri. It wasn't much this time, but luckily they still had some leftovers from yesterday. On the way back to the tent, his thoughts returned to Noll. Something happened, Gene thought. But what? He couldn't figure it out. Normally he could easily sneak a glance at the surface of Noll's thoughts. But this time there was nothing. His thoughts were hidden away. Down the surface, sunken deep into the depths. Yet, Noll didn't seem troubled at all.
He found Noll sitting in front of the tent with a faraway stare.
Gene shook his head lightly. No, Noll was probably thinking deeply about something, as he usually did whenever he buried himself in research. Hopefully it would be about what he suggested last night.
Their eyes met. Gene let out a breath and smiled.
"Morning, Noll."
Gene placed the plastic bag in front of his brother. He took out the triangular seaweed onigiri and passed it to Noll.
"Let's dig in!"
Gene ate the salmon onigiri with mayonnaise, while telling Noll about his encounter with Nakata just earlier.
A few minutes later they heard some familiar voices. Gene turned and spotted two girls around their age. They had been here yesterday. One of the girls had a plastic bag in their hand, presumably containing even more breakfast items.
Gene let out a happy sigh.
"Getting breakfast from girls is the best…"
Noll sighed wearily.
"Isn't Luella enough for you?"
Gene winked and got up.
"She's Martin's girl. Doesn't count!" he whirled around. "- Good morning!"
After some small talk the girls handed over a plastic bag. They asked whether they would come to the lake this noon. To his dismay, Noll cut in and said they would 'think about it' with a fake smile. The look in his eyes said it all - Bugger off.
The girls didn't seem to notice Noll's bad mood. They giggled and left quickly.
Gene recognized this behaviour. Flirting. That's why they came in a pair. One twin for each girl.
"Why'd you say that?"
"I've had enough of them," Noll said.
"They seemed nice."
"Because they got us breakfast?"
"Hmm."
Noll narrowed his eyes.
"Gene, don't do it anymore."
"What?"
"Flirting."
Gene scoffed.
"Hmph. I wasn't flirting with a specific person. If you're flirting with everyone, you're flirting with no one!"
"What?"
"You don't get it, do you?" Gene said as he stuck a hand into the plastic bag and searched for the next breakfast item. "I treated every girl the same. There's nothing behind it."
Noll gave him a withered stare.
"…Have you forgotten about her already?"
He blinked at Noll's question.
"Who …Mayumi?" Gene said as he pulled something out of the basket. "Ah! Yakisoba bread!"
Noll looked away.
"No, never mind."
Gene felt a pang of sadness as he realized who Noll was talking about. He didn't want to think of her anymore. He didn't want to see her anymore. Gene looked down at the bread and broke it into halves.
"Stop complaining, Noll. Here's your share."
Gene put half of the yakisoba bread in Noll's hands.
After they finished eating the bread, Noll went to the bathroom. Gene began to pack the remaining foodstuff into their backpacks. It had to be eaten on the train journey back to Tokyo.
After Noll returned, Gene asked: "Do you want some tea? There's a water cooker near the front desk. "
Noll nodded.
"Okay, be right back."
Gene got up and left.
When he arrived at the building, he heard voices talking above him from an open window. He recognized Nakata's voice.
"Someone should keep an eye on them. What if they disappear?"
That caught his attention.
Gene stopped and looked up at the open window above him.
"Why? They're very sweet boys." That was Kobayashi.
"Those boys seem like troublemakers. One of them asked if I knew of any abandoned buildings to sleep in."
Kobayashi made a strangled noise.
"What! You can't be serious."
Gene grimaced. They were talking about him and Noll...
"...Ma'am, as you know," Nakata continued. "Kids tend to explore boundaries, such as going to dangerous spots for a dare. I wouldn't put them past that."
There was a silence.
"Goodness, I'm glad I gave them a spot here. What if they went missing too?"
"Yes, they'd better not go to that school."
Gene frowned. The school did seem to be haunted. Noll was oddly enough right on the mark.
"...But don't tell them. The rumour might spread."
Nakata's voice went cold. "I don't think keeping quiet is the solution to all of this."
"Are you telling me to against the village chief?"
The conversation continued in a heated manner, but Gene had heard enough.
He knocked on Noll's 'door' and slowly walked into the reception room.
(Noll. Are you still interested in that school building?)
(Why?)
(I overheard the Nakata and Kobayashi talk. Seems like some people went into the school building and never came out.)
Gene greeted the young lady at the front desk.
(Might be worthwhile.)
(Nakata is onto us though.)
He stood in front of the water cooker and pretended to check the various tea bags in the box.
(Find out where it is. I'll take our backpacks.)
(Roger!)
Gene set his sights on the young woman at the front desk. He approached her with a warm smile.
"Excuse me? I have a question."
A few minutes later he found Noll outside the reception building. It didn't look like Noll had bothered taking down their tent; he had only brought their backpacks.
"Where is it?" Noll asked as he handed over Gene's backpack.
"It's in ...Katsuyashinoda. A thirty-minute drive with a car," Gene said. "I didn't want to alarm the front desk lady any further, so I told her that we'd go to the train station instead."
Noll put his thumb under his chin. "That's far from here."
"Yeah. Nakata will catch up with us once he hears about this. Do you still want to go?"
Before Noll opened his mouth, Gene suddenly spotted something behind him. There was a family of three in the car park. The daughter of that family ran up to them. She smiled and waved.
Gene waved back.
"Hey, Hinako!"
"I thought you guys went swimming. Are you leaving already?" she asked.
"We were planning on going to that haunted school first," Noll said.
"Really?" Hinako said. "But I heard it's a far walk from here."
"Yeah, it should take a while to get there. I'd really, really would like to go there, but we need to return to Tokyo today as well..."
Hinako blinked and looked back at her parents. "In that case I could ask my parents if they could drop you off there."
Gene and Noll exchanged glances.
"Well, if you could, that would be great."
As it turned out, Hinako's parents were kind enough to give them a drive to Katsuyashinoda. Gene told them that they were going to sightsee some nature in the area, so they didn't question the brothers' intentions that much. The car left the car park, and passed the campsite. Noll quietly looked out of the window, seeing a small river and some wooden huts. In the meanwhile, Hinako and Gene talked all the way through the short trip. They exchanged emails and promised to stay in contact.
The car stopped near a relatively narrow path after a short drive up the mountain. Gene and Noll got out and thanked Hinako's parents. Then they said their goodbyes to Hinako. Hinako's face flushed red after Gene winked at her behind the car window as the car pulled up and drove away. Seeing this, Noll resisted the urge to kick his brother's behind. Nothing good would come out of this.
"Let's go," Noll said, and turned into the direction of the winding, narrow path. They could vaguely see the school compound through the trees. To the other side two or three residences were visible. Two of the houses appeared to operate as shops as well. At closer inspection, the windows were closed and there was no sign of inhabitation.
"I wonder what kind of shops these were," Gene muttered, helplessly narrowing his eyes at the signs that he couldn't read.
Noll stared at the ice-cream refrigerator in front of the house. "A grocery shop?"
"Then the other one must have been a souvenir shop."
"…And abandoned somewhat recently going by state of the houses."
Gene turned and walked to the front of the half-open gateway. The gateway's metal frames had rusted.
"Strange." Gene pointed with a finger at the lock with keys hanging from it. "The keys are still here."
They went up the slope and arrived at a field, fully covered by weeds. The elementary school was located a small distance away from the gate. The forest was visible overhead.
"Ugh, I'd hate to be a student here. What kind of scenery is this!"
It seemed like a desolate place even if the weeds had been removed. Not to mention there was a stench coming from a small swimming pool.
Noll looked back at the gate. The building wasn't too far from the campsite. If people went missing, it's possible they came from outside the village as well.
Then he turned to look at Gene. Gene squinted at the building. From where they stood it probably was too far to see anything in detail. Noll went to stand beside him and stared at the wooden two-storey building. The glasses in the windows were all broken.
"What can you make of this?" He asked.
"What can I say? It's very derelict. Suppose Madoka would have liked this one."
He had to admit the school building looked unpleasant, and very much neglected. Just the way Madoka preferred her haunted sites. But that wasn't the assessment he wanted to hear from Gene.
"And?" Noll prompted.
"Definitely haunted!" Gene proclaimed.
"How much do you see?"
"Way too many. I reckon there's over ten at least. Possibly more."
Noll frowned. "So they're visible in the windows?"
"Yeah, they're staring at us." Gene lowered his voice. "Waiting for us to come."
"Hm, let's go."
They went over to the building, trampling through the weeds. Noll was relieved that he wore trousers instead of shorts..
"I wonder if Nakata is going to come get us." Gene muttered. "Front desk lady must have tipped him off by now."
"You think he's going to come?" Noll asked.
"He seemed worried." Gene stopped in the shielded entrance. "And I can see why."
The doors were open. As if it was made to look inviting on purpose. Just like the gateway.
"There's no one in the entry hall. I think they're waiting for us to move." Gene speculated.
Noll took his backpack off, put it down and retrieved a notebook.
"Are we going in? I might see something then."
"I'm going to stay here." Noll said. He wasn't going to lock himself in.
Gene raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?"
"I'll record the things I notice and corroborate it to your experiences," Noll said, "So get right onto it."
"Huh? Are you having a laugh?" Gene balked. "You're not actually sending me out there alone, right?"
His irritation rose. They came this far. Why was Gene chickening out right now?
Noll glared at his brother momentarily, then sighed.
"…It's a pity you hardly ever use your brains despite being intellectually gifted."
Gene twitched his eyebrow.
"Why you..."
"If you can do OBE, you might as well make use of it." He opened the notebook. "In the mean time I will record any interesting phenomena."
"Noll, you're impossible." Gene wheezed. "I just woke up. I can't do OBE when I'm wide awake. Let me live!"
"If you ever change your mind, do opt-in for a dissection of your brain. I'd appreciate it." Noll quipped.
Gene shot him a glare that evenly matched his own.
"Shut up about my brain and put me into a trance, stupid nerd!"
He took his backpack off and went over to a pole in front of the entrance.
"...Very well."
Gene sat against the pole. Noll kneeled in front of him and gave him a short instruction.
"Do a preliminary inspection before you start anything."
"Right."
After putting him into a trance, Noll stood upright and looked at the entrance. Nothing showed up, but he did hear strange sounds - human cries. It couldn't have come from the neighbourhood. Everything was too far away. He noted it down.
Gene stirred a little. Fifteen minutes had passed.
"Gene?"
His eyes opened.
"Children... No, gaki."
"What happened?"
"They showed up as children at first. I think I surprised them because there were no physical visitors in the building."
"What about the gaki?"
"I saw some around the corner. They were watching me from afar. Still hesitating I guess."
"What keeps them there?"
"I'm not sure. ...They must have died collectively on a certain date, if I guessed it correctly from the blackboard."
"What do you mean?"
"It's abandoned, rather than properly closed down. The tables in the classrooms still had notebooks in them." Gene said, and grimaced. "The biology room was particularly awful. They abandoned a dog there, I think."
Noll cupped his chin with a hand.
"I wonder why they left the things as they were."
Gene shrugged.
"How should I know?"
"...Have you found bodies?"
"No. If there were any, they must have hidden them well."
"You didn't look above the ceilings or in between the walls."
Gene smiled wryly.
"I prefer not to, honestly."
"Point taken."
Gene folded his legs closer to his body and wrapped his arms around them.
"Noticed anything on your side?" He asked.
Noll shook his head.
"Nothing in particular. Maybe some human voices."
Gene looked down with a glum expression.
"It's so sad… Why did so many children die?"
He went silent.
Noll briefly glanced at the gate again. They had to hurry up.
"Any idea about the cause?"
"They didn't die in this school. That's for sure. It might have been an accident."
"Then it occurred outside the school."
"On a school trip perhaps..." Gene added.
"But they returned here, because it's the only familiar place they knew - aside from their homes."
He frowned.
"Then what's keeping them there? It can't be the only reason."
Gene had a point, Noll thought.
"Do you think there's someone else involved?"
He blinked.
"…I don't know. I'll take another look."
Gene closed his eyes. This time he was gone immediately.
After several minutes, Noll heard noises. The noises did not come from the building. Noll glanced back the gate again. A car had arrived. Someone stepped out and closed the door.
Nakata.
At first he wore a shocked expression, but anger quickly settled in on his face.
"What do you think you're doing here!" Nakata yelled.
The man stepped through the weeds, fuming and cursing to himself along the way.
Noll braced himself as he looked down at his unconscious brother.
This could get bad. He had to let Gene do his job before they were taken away. This meant Noll had to hold a conversation. Holding a conversation was unfortunately one of his weak points.
Nakata stopped in front of them and folded his arms. The receptionist looked more intimidating than behind the front desk. He was clearly a man with plenty of physical strength.
"Answer my question. Why are you here?"
"To purify the spirits."
This took Nakata by surprise.
"Hah?"
"Exorcism."
Nakata was dumbfounded.
"…You're joking, right?"
"No, I'm not." Noll said. His glance flitted from Nakata to the entrance of the building. "This place is haunted."
Nakata's face went white.
"You don't disagree with me?" Noll looked up at him, intrigued.
"I…" Nakata started. "How do you know that?"
Noll pointed at Gene. "He's seen them. The children."
"Huh?" Nakata looked down at the sleeping boy. "Come to think of it, why is he sleeping there?"
"He's going to talk them and send them to heaven." Noll clarified.
Nakata's eyes went wide. "Why are you two doing this…?"
"The rumours caught my attention… and the way you reacted to my question caught my interest."
His mouth pursed together, but not out of anger. "This place is dangerous… I'm going to take you two out of here."
Nakata moved forward to Gene, but Noll stood in his way.
"It's fine if we stay outside the building." Noll insisted. "We're safe here."
"Even so, you can't be sure!" Nakata snapped.
"My brother might be annoying, but he knows very well what he's doing." Noll countered. "Ten minutes. Give him ten minutes."
He hated praising his brother like this, but to his surprise it seemed to work. Nakata folded his arms reluctantly. He finally appeared to back off.
"Okay, I'll stay here until he's done... I guess. Then I'll take you to the train station and hope I'll never see you the two here again."
"Fine."
Nakata sighed and looked at the entrance.
A minute passed before he said something again.
"I'm an alumnus of this school."
Noll's ears perked up at this revelation. He looked at Nakata.
His eyes seemed pained.
"I have so many memories of this school," he said. "...There was a guy in my class who regularly got into fights with the teachers. Sometimes he would get the entire class punished. I hated him for that. I avoided him for a long time, but he was good with people so my classmates liked him despite all of the trouble he caused."
He went silent.
"I don't know why I'm telling this to you..."
"Go on," Noll said. It would help him pass time.
"...We went to different middle schools. I happened to meet him again in high school. He changed... As if he had become a different person. We even became best friends, haha. When I asked him why he turned out like that, he told me he found something worth living for... A purpose of sorts." Nakata smiled softly. "That guy had found his purpose. It just seemed silly to me back then."
There was a long pause. Noll turned to look at Nakata.
Nakata was staring at the pavement with an impenetrable expression. He opened his mouth and in a small voice he said, "...He became a teacher at this school."
A tear rolled down his face.
"...What happened to him?" Noll said.
Nakata sighed softly.
"...Ah, you don't know right. Since you're from abroad. There was a landslide three years ago," he sniffed, pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and blew his nose. "A cliff facing the road crumbled because of deforestation and rain. It buried many houses and cars. They were on a field trip."
He took a moment.
"Everyone on the bus died."
"The entire student body?"
Nakata nodded.
That explains a lot.
"They held a memorial service, but these disappearances keep happening." Nakata said. "If it's true that it's haunted, then I wonder if he's here too."
Noll widened his eyes.
"That's..."
Possible. Entirely possible.
"Kirishima?"
There was someone in the window on the second floor. Nakata and Noll froze. It was a man. There was a sad smile on his transparent face.
At that moment Gene spoke.
"They're leaving. ...He wants to say goodbye."
Noll looked down. Gene's eyes were still closed.
Nakata grit his teeth. Anger replaced his sadness in a flash.
"He was responsible for those disappearances, right? I'll kick his sorry ass!"
Nakata ran into the building and went upstairs.
"Nakata-san! Wait!"
Noll followed him and heard a door creaking as he went up.
After turning the bend of the staircase, Noll found himself in front of a false wooden wall with a small door at the bottom centre. He looked through the gap and heard Nakata's footsteps on the staircase.
What a pain.
Noll crawled through the door and went up to the top of the staircase. He looked around until he found Nakata standing in front of one of the rooms with a shocked expression.
"Nakata-san…"
Noll stared into the classroom.
Kirishima stood there, surrounded by children. The children disappeared one by one. Then he smiled at Nakata and mouthed a 'goodbye'. Then he turned around and disappeared with the last child in his hand.
"He's gone..." Nakata said. He walked over to the window where Kirishima had been standing.
Noll waited.
"If he had stayed alive I wouldn't have been in so much pain." Nakata muttered. "And I don't know how many times I've seen the look in the faces of the children's parents. Every time I see them, I'm reminded of him. Damn it!"
The man started sobbing.
"Noll…"
Noll turned around and found Gene in the corridor.
"I assume it's safe now?"
Gene nodded and cried a little.
Noll sighed. He never knew how to comfort crying people.
"Good job."
"Thanks." He sniffed.
"Nakata is going to drive us to the train station. Let's wait for him outside."
"Okay."
Gene wiped his tears.
"They were best friends."
"I know. He told me." Noll said. "Let's go then."
They walked back to the entrance. Noll slowly took in his surroundings. It was the same as in the vision.
Noll and Gene waited in front of the building with their backpacks.
Nakata returned with puffy eyes.
"The building is safe. There won't be any more disappearances." Noll said.
"Good." Nakata sighed and looked up at the second floor. "That guy was a trouble to the end."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thanks." Nakata said with a tiny smile. "But I think I can move on now."
"That's great to hear." Gene smiled.
"Still!"
Gene nearly jumped out of his skin at the loud voice.
Nakata folded his arms.
"You boys gave me a scare! Running off like that! I nearly had a heart attack when I heard you were planning on going here!"
They muttered some half-hearted apologies.
The man huffed and turned around.
"Come on now. I'll drop you off at the station."
"Yes sir," Gene said.
As promised, Nakata gave them a car ride to the nearest train station. It took about ten minutes to get there. On the way, Nakata told them about the landslide, and the disappearances of children following a month of the incident. The children's bodies were rumored to be found in Katsuyashinoda - or more specifically in the abandoned elementary school. What's more, nearly all the victims were tourists from the nearby campsite and ski resort. About a year after, the village elders started to hush up the fact that these disappearances were happening regularly. It didn't sit well with Nakata.
The car stopped in front of the train station.
"What will you do, Nakata-san?" Gene said. "The bodies might still be up there."
Nakata let out a shaky breath.
"...Well, it won't be easy to get it out in the open." Then he glanced at the brothers with a small grin. "But that's none of your business. Just get out of here safely and enjoy the rest of your holidays."
Noll and Gene got out of the car. They watched Nakata's car drive away and leave their sight.
"I wonder if it will be alright to leave it like this."
"He'll manage," Noll said. "Let's find an ATM."
They stepped into the nearest convenience store they could find, and waited with baited breath in front of the ATM. The twins let out a sigh of relief when the cashpoint returned two banknotes of 10,000 yen.
Gene turned around with a serious expression.
"Noll. I need you to promise me something. Never ever tell Luella or Martin about this fiasco."
"I know."
"They'd kill us if they knew we were broke."
"Yeah."
They stared at each other.
Gene suddenly laughed out loud, causing the other customers in the store to look at them. But Noll didn't care. To think he would never see that laughing face ever again.
Author's notes
Alternative chapter title 1: Davis Twins: Broke, but Alive.
Alternative chapter title 2: Nakata, not just a background character!
Alternative chapter title 3: Eugene Davis, a womanizer at the mere age of fifteen (soon to be sixteen).
Alternative chapter title 4: Oliver Davis, officially done with Eugene and girls.