Chapter 30: Deception
The new funeral home had already held two wakes.
Tatsumi, "How's it going, Hayami? Is this funeral business working out?"
Hayami, a flamboyancy-obsessed shiki, was juggling chocolate bars.
"Of course! Things are going perfectly! So many people are dying these days; the temple just can't keep up! We held a funeral for Yoshikazu Tanaka three days ago, and today was Atsushi Ookawa's! It was a perfect spectacle!"
Tatsumi didn't look very pleased.
"Spectacle...? Are you sure that's a good idea? Whatever you've got in mind, you'd better spill it."
"Sure thing! Have a chocolate bar and I'll tell you everything!"
"I don't want any."
"Oh well, let me tell you about Yoshikazu Tanaka's funeral the other day! It started at 6, after the sun had gone down!..."
After explaining every single detail about the funeral,
"...And at the end, there are fireworks! The relatives' faces go red with joy...it's beautiful!"
"They're probably red with shame..."
"After the ceremony, the family members put the coffin on a bier, and carry it to the cemetery in the mountains. But!" Hayami opened the door behind him, "Tatsumi, look here! There's actually a small room behind the hall! Back here, we switch the real coffin with a fake one! And we leave the corpse here until we know if it will revive or not! This way, we won't have to waste time digging them back up!...It's brilliant!"
Tatsumi sniffed the two bodies.
"Yoshikazu will revive today. I can tell by the smell. Give the Ookawa boy another day or two."
"Ooh, just as I thought, a jinrou has a good nose! Well then, let's head to Yamairi!"
"...Whatever, Hayami, just tone the funerals down a little. Funerals are for the benefit of the surviving family and friends, so make sure they want to keep coming back here."
"...Got it, boss! Starting tomorrow, I'll do it like you said!"
Tatsumi noticed something. "...Huh. Some of the flowers are missing. Why..."
Yuuki/Koide Residence:
Tohru knew he wasn't the one who delivered the killing bite to Natsuno, but he still felt intense guilt.
Tohru:
Why do people offer flowers to the deceased?
Natsuno's been dead for more than seven days now. And Megumi and I come every day to put flowers by his window since he doesn't have a grave.
Sunako told me about her past, but didn't say anything after that but...I felt like there was more she wanted to say.
Even though it's painful, I still want to live. Don't you?
I'm sorry, Natsuno. This is the last time.
Even after all this...I guess I still want to live.
Goodbye, Natsuno. Goodbye.
The tree above him started rustling.
"Tohru."
Someone leapt down from the branch; It was Natsuno.
"Why are you here?!"
"I thought you were cremated!"
"I was about to be; but Connor busted me out before they had the chance."
"Natsuno..."
"Hey, I told you; stop calling me by my first name. Now listen, Connor is working on an antidote that'll free you..."
Town Hall:
Dr. Ozaki was puzzled; no one was working in the office.
"Anyone here!? Ah..."
The door opened, and coming through it was Takahumi Hirosawa.
"Oh my, if it isn't the Junior Doctor!"
"Why are you here? I thought you were living off your pension?"
"Not exactly. I stay here and help out part time! Because there's no one here in the day time!"
"No one? Unbelievable!"
"It seems that the chief doesn't feel well these days, and can only come here at night. And all the other workers are very sympathetic, so they'll only work at night as well. If you need any data, I can prepare it for you. But, if you're in a hurry, you can come after seven..."
Ozaki waited until it hit 7:00 P.M. When he entered the building, again, he saw many workers, busy as bees; It was just like a normal office scene. If it wasn't at night. He walked up to the front desk, and asked the guy there, "Excuse me, where's the public health officer?"
"He's not here. He disappeared, and we still haven't got a replacement. Can I help you?"
"I want to know the number of deaths here since September."
"Number of deaths? Zero."
"Zero?"
He then noticed something strange about them all.
Ozaki:
These people...could it be that everyone is...
So I see...the Town Hall has fallen into the hands of those people. To prevent someone from calling for help from the outside, perhaps they have taken care of the death certificates.
Ozaki was ticked off. "That trick won't work! There are even people who died in the government hospital outside the village! For example, the death of Mikiyasu Yasumori was confirmed in September along with his son's death! If you like, shall I bring the doctor who attended his deathbed at the government hospital?"
"Oh, you're talking about Yasumori Construction Company people? They moved out of the village before they died. They submitted the moving notification at the end of August." The man pulled out a signed moving notification. "So, when they died in September, they were no longer village residents. That's why the number of deaths in the village is zero."
Ozaki was getting fed up even more. "So everything was to hide the deaths in the village..."
"Do you understand now?"
"No, I don't. I wrote death certificates, too. These are copies of them." He raised up an envelope he brought in with him. "I'll take these outside of the village and cause a commotion by saying they don't match the family registers in the village. Then the matter will be publicly investigated and..."
He was stopped by a rather seductive voice; like one a movie's femme fatale would use. "That won't do. Doctor."
He turned to see curtains behind him, just as the lights went out. That's when they opened. On the other side was Mr. Kirishiki's wife, Chizuru.
"It'd be in your best interest to keep your mouth shut. I'm a gourmet. And you are my prey. But if you're going to cause us trouble," she snapped her fingers, summoning the now shiki librarian snatch the envelope. "I'll have you be food for these guys right here, right now. I'm Chizuru Kirishiki. I'm a shiki who picks on young, lively humans for her food." She sent him an air-kiss. "I'll visit you at your place in two days, Young Doctor Ozaki."
Outside,
Ozaki was concerned now. "Hmph...So I don't have much time left either, huh?"
Yuuki/Koide Residence:
Natsuno, "How much time do you need?"
Connor, "It would speed things up with a 'guinea pig,' y'know. At the very least, three days."
"Get to it then!"
"And where are you going?!"
"I've got something I should've done a long time ago."
Please leave a review, favorite, and/or follow.