Let's Dance with Ghost Stories, and You Dance on the Stairs Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Dear The Bone

TLed by: TanoshiKara

"This is Snake. One armored car; No signs of other enemies once we let that pass!"

 

"Fox here, no problem here...Car has gone past!"

 

"......Ohhhhhh...This is amazing; there's a lot inside again!"

 

Only a little over a week has passed since we emptied its contents the other day. Even so, there is about the same amount as last time.

 

"A...mazingg......Wow, it really is amazing, right...!"

 

"Say, aren't we the priests of 'The Bone'? Demon priests!"

 

"What's this? .........An envelope?"

 

Mixed in with the coins was a folded envelope. There was nothing written on the cheap-looking brown envelope. However, it had the thickness of an envelope with something in it.

 

Could there be several bills inside!?, or so we said out loud, but, in our minds, we thought that it was probably some lame paper with scribbles on it.

 

That was why we were at a loss for words; It was because we actually found ten thousand yen bills in it. Furthermore, it was just one or two......A total of fifty thousand yen was in it.

 

After a considerable period of silence, Hiroyuki was the first to say something.

 

"W......Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa......what is this? Is this for real......?"

 

The first thing that came out of his mouth was not the elation of receiving such a large sum of pocket money.

 

"A...Ahahahaha. Seriously, seriously! Ridiculous! Would you normally believe in something called 'Curse of The Bone'!? Would you even put fifty thousand normally!"

 

If someone put in a five hundred yen coin, I would think that they were generous and were probably dating someone. However...using this five hundred yen as an analogy, if someone put in a hundred times of this, then...it would mean that they are a deviant that is a hundred times off the generosity scale.

 

Would you put in a sum as large as fifty thousand for a mere school's ghost story? Seriously, this is creepy..., or so the three of us undoubtedly thought.

 

However.........the me of the present could kind of understand their feelings. Even if it did not leave the boundaries of a prank for us......the person who put in this money believed that it was a 'Curse' worth offering fifty thousand yen.

 

This huge gap made me realize, like never before, that the 'Curse of The Bone' had left our hands and was growing. I think...that I am the only one who has thought this far.

 

Hiroyuki and Tooru calmed down after a while; they then became ecstatic over the huge sum of pocket money they could not get even over the New Year before moving on to talk about how to split the fifty thousand yen.

 

...Pondering over such a thing might be the proof that I am a coward. If it was a person like Aunt Yuka......she would no doubt be like Hiroyuki and Tooru, shouting, Lucky!, and being overjoyed about it...While I felt a slight admiration for Aunt Yuka's heartiness, I also felt pathetic that I could not feel genuine happiness about this situation.

 

There should have been nothing else in the envelope, so I tried turning it upside down and shook it.........When I did this, *suton*. A small piece of folded paper fell right out.

 

What is that...?

 

Picking it up, I felt that it had a rough texture. It was like someone had applied starch glue over paper and blew it dry. That was the texture it had.

 

Probably scribbled that Skull Teru teru bouzu or something, or so I predicted before taking a look.

 

Trying to turn that art into a topic, I showed Hiroyuki and Tooru that piece of paper before unfolding it in front of them.

 

......However, it betrayed my expectations. Written on it was something that all three of us could never have predicted.

 

"...Urkk........................" Someone groaned.

 

We may not have had such a repulsive experience if this paper was the only thing in the envelope...However, when we thought about how fifty thousand yen was in it as well......the content was not one that could be laughed off.

 

 

 

[Please curse Miyoko Tanashi]

 

 

 

That was the message written on that piece of paper. Written was not the right word for it. This was because they were all words that were cut out and pasted from newspapers. It felt like some kind of threatening letter, making it even more repulsive.

 

 

In other words, there was no mistaking that the fifty thousand yen......was meant for the cost.

 

Every one of us was speechless for a while, so much so that we even forgot to breathe... Unable to bear the silence, Hiroyuki eventually snatched the piece of paper from me and stared at it before Tooru snatched it and stared so hard that he might burn a hole through it. I then got it back, and I too stared at those words once again.

 

......There were no signs that it was a joke... I could feel a clear 'malice' that wanted us to curse a person known as Miyoko Tanashi.

 

Aunt Yuka's words came to my mind once again.

 

[I think that it was merely a student's mischievous mind that created the fictional existence known as The Bone. However, if there are already people who believe in the curse, then a deity has already possessed the existence known as The Bone......In other words, it can be said that there already exists a Curse Deity called 'The Bone]

 

...Although it was this late into the game, I started to have doubts as to whether the others passed the 'curse' off as a prank just like we believe it is.

 

This fifty thousand yen was offered to the deity known as 'The Bone'. Wouldn't taking this money for ourselves mean that...we were going to face the wrath of the 'Curse of The Bone'......? No, rather than this; Wasn't there a rule for straw doll curse rituals where one had to kill the person who saw them do it? ......If the person who put in fifty thousand yen knew that we saw this piece of paper......We look at the five ten-thousand yen bills......We now knew the meaning that amount of money had, one that went beyond common sense...

 

"...Say......isn't this bad...?"

 

"...............It's fine... We didn't get seen by anyone, so ain't it a given that we're fine!"

 

There was no doubt that even Hiroyuki, who was acting the toughest, felt a slight sense of unease... That was why he replied to my weak-hearted words in such an irritated manner.

 

Hiroyuki grumbled while he totaled up the money. Declaring that the total amount could be divided by three, he split them into each of our shares. He then pushed each of our shares toward us, but...Tooru and I were hesitant about whether we should take them.

 

That cowardly mannerism of ours probably ticked him off even further. Hiroyuki forcefully stuffed his share into his pocket with a displeased expression on his face.

 

Seeing this made Tooru come to his senses. He then gathered up his share and stuffed it forcefully into his pocket as well.

 

...Although it was this late into the game, I was the only one who was still hesitant about whether I should lay my hands on this money.

 

"What is it, Tomohiro? You scared?"

 

"......Nah...not at all. I'm not scared at all."

 

"What are you afraid of when it's only this much, huh!"

 

"Take it, you're our comrade, right!? Ain't this our comrade's fair share!"

 

I did not think that the word comrade would be mentioned here. If anything, it merely looked like they themselves did not want to be the only ones to receive the punishment, so they called out to me to cross the line together.

 

I had the slightest bit of doubt as to why we should stuff a sum this small into our pockets while we were that afraid...However, it seems like I was still far too immature to put this into words.

 

"Sheesh, you sure are lacking guts, huh, Tomohiro!"

 

"I ain't lacking any! What's up with you! Don't ridicule me!"

 

Having something I was mindful of mentioned made me snap on reflex. I desperately gathered my share before putting it in my pocket.

 

Seeing that made Hiroyuki and Tooru break into a smile of what seemed like relief, as if I had carried out the rite of passage to becoming their comrade.

 

...I wonder what would have happened to our friendship if I continued to turn the money down without flying into an odd rage......

 

I began to feel like it was no laughing matter when I thought about that.

 

Eventually, I was the one who could not bear the silence this time, so I thought of a topic I could bring up.

 

"...T-That aside, who is Tanashi?"

 

"They're called Miyoko, so they're a girl, right? A girl in our school? She's not in our class, right?"

 

"Ahhhhhhhh...Erm, she's in our school, I think. I feel like there was a girl called Tanashi when we were first years. Never talked to her, so I don't remember what kinda person she is, though."

 

"Then she's in another class, huh......Then, is the person who put this letter in from the same class, I wonder?"

 

"Isn't that the case? She's from another class, so I don't really know if she's hated."

 

"Isn't it probably from a girl from the same class? A boy'll probably pay her back using his fists instead of offering fifty thousand yen to something like a curse, right!"

 

Wahahahahahaha, or so the three of us laughed, finally dispelling a little of that gloomy atmosphere.

 

However, it was then that Aunt Yuka's words came to my mind once again.

 

That's right... I feel like Aunt Yuka did say that curses are easier to popularize among the girls.

 

As Tooru said, it is not in a boy to put in fifty thousand yen to curse someone he hates. In the first place, I think that boys would settle things directly with the person they hate. There are not many who would resort to something as reliant on others as a curse......Much less an act like paying fifty thousand yen to plead to the deities.

 

"What should we do?"

 

"What do you mean...what should we do?"

 

"Well, you know, since they even put in fifty thousand yen so. Won't it feel bad if we didn't do something to repay them?"

 

"Ahahah! What do you mean by that? We gonna do an all-out attack on that Tanashi girl?"

 

"I do feel bad about doing this to a girl we don't know though..."

 

"Even Tomohiro took your share, didn't you? We're comrades, you know? Professional mercenaries, you know? We will carry out any operation if there's payment from our employer."

 

"Hell yeah, it's time for our new operation!!"

 

It seems like a new game situation has already begun between Hiroyuki and Tooru.

 

...If we attacked Tanashi using the curse, will a new setting be added to the 'Curse of The Bone' where a person will be cursed should a prayer be made? Even though The Bone continues to evolve and grow even now, even without us doing anything, it is becoming an existence that is beyond our control. On top of this......is it really alright for us to support it in becoming an existence akin to a Curse Deity......?

 

There was no mistaking that they would call me a coward if I were to be a wet blanket. That was why, for now, contrary to my inner feelings, I decided to conform on the surface.

 

Tomorrow, the two of them would, no doubt, set up targeted pranks on Tanashi, who was in another class...However, the girl who got pranked and the students around her would, most likely, not see this only as a mere prank. We were trying to spread empty bottles of Coke......

 

I had not yet realized that this prank was the entrance to something that could not be undone...

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