Let's Dance with Ghost Stories, and You Dance on the Stairs Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Let's Dance With Rie Satou

TLed by: TanoshiKara

As for our approach, we decided to avoid meeting with Satou right away. That was because we thought that she would not give us the time of day, even if we, people she had not interacted with at all, came up to her out of nowhere.

We made a note to summon Satou and put it into her shoe locker. Its content was simple but threatening: ...Some people saw you at the prefab school building during lunch break that day. I do not want to believe that. That is why I would like to know your justification for your innocence. Please come to the back of the gym storage room after school. Should you not come, I would have no choice but to believe the witness’s account....

".........Will she really come when she sees this...?"

"It means come if you are innocent after all. She will if she wants to clear her suspicion and has enough of an alibi to do so."

"Even if it's a letter with no sender?"

"That's where we see how it goes. Let's switch to a direct approach if she doesn't respond to this."

Satou should have seen with her own eyes how the 'Curse of The Bone', a completely fictional tale with no basis, was enough to act as a trigger for bullying. ...So she should be afraid of having a rumor that draws suspicion to her spread during this period, which might lead her to face the same fate as Tanashi.

I am well aware that it is not a respectable method.

"Rather than that, how's the conversation gonna go if she does come?"

"For her not to provide a clear alibi, even during this period where she is under that much suspicion, means Satou is either the culprit or has an alibi which is hard to prove. From there, we can only try to tell the truth apart from the lies."

"Can we even tell them apart......?"

"...Don't know until we try."

"Oh............it started raining."

The rain clouds had hinted at it; Thinking it might rain, we brought our umbrellas along, so I was not surprised.

However, the most questionable thing was that the rain that day was looking to be about the same as that other day, which felt somewhat fated to me.

Is Rie Satou the culprit; Or is she not?

It was the seed we had sown. We must get rid of it and bring this all to an end...

............Satou came to the back of the gym storage room at the appointed time.

Hiroyuki and Tooru had looks on their faces suggesting that they had already deemed her as the culprit just because she came. However, this also meant that she had the proof to counter our argument, so it was not like things were settled.

"The people who wrote this; Was it you?"

Satou had a stern expression on her face.

Ever since that day, people have been gossiping behind her back, saying she was the culprit. She received that memo amidst all of that, so there was no way that she could remain calm.

She probably came here with the sole objective of stopping the spread of more rumors that would worsen her image in school.

"Thank you for coming. I will introduce myself just in case. I am Tomohiro Miyajima from A-class. It is nice to meet you."

"I don't care about your name. Rather than that, what's the meaning of this?"

.........The point she was snapping back at was slightly unusual. If she could boldly prove her innocence, her very first words would not have been those, but words denying the witness's account.

......No, it is too early to decide that.

"It is as written. That rainy lunch break. There was a person who saw you coming back from the prefab school building."

"No way there's a person like that. I didn't go outside after all."

"......Anyway, it seems like the person who saw you was unsure if that was truly you. They said they were ninety percent certain, but we thought that it would be unwise to report you to the police when there is still a ten percent uncertainty remaining. That was why we called you here today, to hear the truth from you."

"Oh yeah? Then tell that person. That was not me. ......Are we done then?"

"Then, Satou. ...Where did you go during lunch break on that day?"

"I've been telling it to everyone. I spent my time in the library after eating my meal. I passed the time there alone, so no one can prove it, though. It wasn't limited to that day. It is what I usually do."

"Can you prove that you were in the library for the entire time when the act took place?"

"The only fact here is that I was in the library. I'm sure someone who went to the library can prove it."

"No, nobody could prove it. I asked every person who visited the library, but no one said they saw Satou in the library during lunch break that day."

...When did Tomohiro investigate that!?, Hiroyuki and Tooru seemed to say, startled.

...Of course, I was bluffing.

"N-No way that was the case. I was there, so I was! A library is a place to pass time silently, you know. I couldn’t care less if there were others around."

"I'll change my question. Please prove that you were in the library."

"I have no way of proving that. It is not like I borrowed a book, so there's no borrowing record. I merely went there and spent some time reading."

"What book did you read?"

"......Why must I tell you that!"

"You should be able to if you did read. Please tell us."

"There's no need for me to answer a personal question like that."

"......Is that really true?"

"What...do you mean by really?"

"You can't tell us because you were not in the library, isn’t that right?"

Satou glared at us, menacingly. ......But she did not reply.

No one has proven what she asserts is her alibi—that she passed the time in the library, alone. If someone could prove it, the rumor that Satou was suspicious would not have spread this far.

There is a chance that it is the truth, but there is, of course, also a chance that it is a lie... Anyway...I can only push on ahead......

"Let's assume that you spent your time in the library that day. You ate your meal and went to the library."

"That's right. I've been saying that from the start."

"What did you do after that? You should be able to tell us how you spent your time there, even without the proof. Can we ask that of you?"

"...........................I can tell you that, but on one condition."

"Condition, you say. Let's hear it."

"I spent my time alone in the library, so it will not become the proof you are hoping for, no matter how much I explain. I'll say if you promise to believe me, though."

"Hmm, well, there is no helping it if that is the only proof you have."

"If I tell you, you have to believe me. No saying that I have no proof."

"......We understand. Please tell us then. You went to the library after your meal. What did you do after that?"

"I went in. ...You know there's a week's worth of newspapers all bundled up? I read all of that."

"Newspapers. What were they called?"

Satou said the names of three major newspapers. She did not hesitate at all.

"Why did you even read three?"

"Because every newspaper has a different perspective. The articles are totally different, even if they are about the same incident. That's why reading and comparing different newspapers allows me to get closer to the truth, and that's interesting."

"I see. And after that...?"

"That was all. As I was reading, it got noisy all of a sudden, and I learned that someone got seriously wounded at the prefab school building's stairway. I then left the library and joined the onlookers. That was it."

"......Did nothing else happen?"

"Reading three newspapers leisurely takes quite a lot of time, you know. Other than that, I could only hear the sound of rain; It was the same old quiet library."

".............................."

I glanced at Hiroyuki and Tooru to check on them; They were listening silently and carefully. I managed to gather, from their expressions, that they were desperately trying to discern if there were any inconsistencies with Satou's claims.

Amidst this, Tooru raises his hand. He had a question.

"Can you tell us about the article you were reading?"

".....................I'm sorry. I don't remember."

"T-There's no way you don't remember...! You would remember some of its content if you were actually reading it, right!?"

It seems like Tooru thought this was the point to shoot her alibi down. However, Satou had a calm expression on her face.

"Several days have passed since then, and I have also been reading newspapers every day, so my memories might get mixed up. .........If I make a mistake while trying to force myself to recall the article, you would treat that as evidence for lying, right?"

"Well, even so, you would at least remember a little, right!? Not being able to tell us is-"

"Tooru. On the contrary, it's a lot more unusual for her to go on and on about the article. ......What Satou said is more natural."

"...............Urk."

Hiroyuki raises his hand next.

"T-Then, you would be able to tell us the number of students in the library, right!?"

".........I can only say that there were about the same number of students. I can't count them one by one. ......And, even if I got the number right, can you determine if it really is correct?"

Satou snapped back this time. She was beginning to see through us, understanding that we had no evidence, and was only trying to shake her up to see if she would let her guard down. It seems like Tanashi was a smart girl, so, as a person who argues with her regularly, Satou's intelligence is definitely not bad as well.

...Anyway, I now know that our naive prediction that she would slip up if we called her here didn't come to pass......

".........Any other questions? If there are none, then I'm heading back. The rain is only getting heavier after all."

It was as Satou said. The rain was heavier than it was earlier. I could hear rumbles coming from afar. It was natural not just for Satou but for anyone to be reluctant to stay any longer than necessary.

Questions?, or so Satou repeated, but we were at a loss for words...

"...I am sorry for calling you here on a rainy day like this."

"...Fortunately, since it's raining, I'll add to what I said earlier, okay? ......It was raining nonstop that day. So, if I were the culprit, I would have been dripping wet. Where would I dry my hair after pushing Tanashi off and returning to the entrance? Where would I change out of my drenched clothes? Absolutely impossible! Don't the boys run around in the school building during lunch break? Where in the world could I have done all of that without any of them discovering me!? Some people are saying that I went somewhere, wiped myself down with a towel I had prepared beforehand, and changed out of my clothes, but could they explain how I could actually do that!! Where? Which room? How could I without anyone finding out!? Won't you tell me? I couldn't right!? It's impossible!! And you boys probably don't know, but once people with long hair like me get their hair wet, it won't dry easily. There's no way that no one would be suspicious if I wiped it with a mere bath towel. That situation, in particular, is one where I would have to use a hair dryer as well and take my time to groom it, or I can’t make it unnoticeable!"

"No, there are ways you could have gotten outside without getting drenched......for example, you could have worn a raincoat or something, right!?"

"Was there anyone who went to school in a raincoat? Are you gonna say that I prepared that as part of my plan as well? Enough with that!! If you're gonna say so, then show me the evidence—the raincoat!! Don't go demanding evidence only from me, and show me the evidence as well!! And, you were looking when I was at the prefab school building, right? So didn't you already see if I was under an umbrella or in a raincoat? Isn't that question weird, then? Isn't that the evidence that you didn't see a suspicious individual!!"

Hiroyuki meant to get back at Satou using the raincoat theory, but his eyes were now shut tight due to his devastating defeat...

Satou truly is smart. ...A questioning from let-downs like us, who relied on the momentum of the moment, did not even serve to shake her up......

"If your witness account was all made up...then I guess you don't need me here anymore. I shall report this cruel, blackmail-esque prank to the teachers."

".....................I apologize for lying. I am very sorry."

".........You would apologize sincerely, huh? ...Fine, I'll forgive you then."

The dull rumbling of lightning echoed from a distance. ......To me, it sounded like the signal that it was game over. When Satou was not looking, Hiroyuki lowered his head, the expression on his face made it seem like he was praying to whichever deity he could think of. It seemed like he felt responsible for his mistake, which ruined everything.

"I'll head back then. ......Goodbye, umm, Miyashita, was it...?"

"......It's Miyajima."

"Goodbye, Miyajima. I'll not tell the teachers about today, but you better not talk to me ever again. Just so you know, I'll tell the teachers immediately if you talk to me about this sort of weird thing again. Don't forget that I have the threat letter that you wrote."

That's right. The threat-like memo remained in her hands. That is why this was a gamble...

".........We understand. We shall keep our promise. We shall never talk to you ever again."

"It's a promise that a male said out loud. You must keep the promise, alright? .....................Bye."

Satou turned away. ...Her long hair, even by her standards, fluttered in the air; Without the need to elaborate, she made it amply clear that she never wanted to meet us ever again.

...I said my actual, final words to her.

"......But I apologize! Please, for just one last time! Please let us ask about the same thing again. You spent your time in the library during lunch break that day. You then read three major newspapers in the silent library, so silent that you could hear the rain. You spent your time there until the uproar from Tanashi's incident. Is that right!?"

"I said it was so many times already! And believing it without asking for any proof was the condition, okay!! You're being a bother for asking so many times!"

"Yes! It was a promise about believing without asking for any proof. That's why I believe you!! That's why-!!"

"That is actually the evidence that you were not in the library, Satou."

It was not like the rain got heavier all of a sudden, but I had hallucinated and thought that the sound of the rain got louder.

...Satou stopped in her tracks. She did not even turn back. It was like she was a wound-up toy with its spring unwound.

"............There was no way the library was so silent that you could hear the rain that day, Rie Satou."

"..............................What did you say............?"

"If you were really in the library that day......you would have known that a huge argument broke out between the boys, who acted like they were playing table tennis, and the girls, who wanted to spend their time quietly. They were arguing the entire time until they knew of the uproar from Tanashi's incident and understood that it was not the time for that. That is why there was no way that the-library-was-silent...!!"

"................................."

It took quite a long time for Satou, who stopped in her tracks, to turn back to us. ......It was then...that everyone there understood what that meant.

".........Satou. Won't you tell us the truth?"

".............................."

Satou had a bitter expression on her face. Seeing that, Hiroyuki, certain that Satou had finally slipped up, snapped at her.

"B-Be honest and give yourself up damn it!! The evidence that you pushed Tanashi off has been exposed!!"

"..................Evidence? What evidence?"

"Urk......A-A......Anyway, the police are gonna find the evidence sooner or later!! You'll not be able to get away, I assure you!!"

".........Fufufufu......Ahahahahahahaha!!"

Satou's laugh was odd. ......It was definitely not from the calm and collected Satou from before. ...However, it did not seem like a laugh from a person who had given up all hope and was acting rashly.

"Why not leave it to the police, then? If the police can find the evidence, I'll let them apprehend me however many times they like. But, there's no evidence, you know?"

"............There's...no evidence, you say......? Why's that!!"

"After all, I never did push Tanashi off!!!"

"You're still gonna act dumb even at a time like this!! All that talk that you were in the library has long been exposed as a lie!!"

"That’s true. You have seen through the lie that I spent my time in the library during lunch break. ......So what about it?"

"What about it, you say......"

"Assuming that it's a lie, are you saying that it becomes proof that I am the culprit?"

"................................."

Even Hiroyuki and Tooru never thought that Satou would still be haughty even at this point. ...All of us thought that she would give up and admit it.

"I...If you are not the culprit, then why did you lie!!"

......Satou let out a slight smile and shut her eyes. To me, her expression was like that of a magician teasing the children who were pestering them to divulge the trick to their magic.

"I understand. ............I'll tell you everything."

"So you're admitting that you're Tanashi's killer, huh!!"

"............Wrong. ...It'll be proof that it is impossible for me to have killed Tanashi."

"Pr.........Proof, you say..................?"

A clear reason why Satou was not involved in the act; In other words, the reason why she did not mention her alibi and allowed herself to be subjected to this much suspicion.

Is it possible that this girl has an actual alibi, did not disclose it, and intentionally told a shoddy lie to hide it......?

I understand a culprit telling a lie to prove their alibi. But I don't know what to think of lying, when one is innocent, to hide one's alibi......

We could do nothing but feel overwhelmed by this unforeseen development.

"I'll be honest with you, so I want you to be honest with me as well. Say, Miyajima. ............That talk about an-argument-in-the-library. ...Was that true? ...............Wasn't it just a bluff to trip me up........................?"

"............................................."

"..................................................."

Satou still had a smile on her face. ...However, I could also feel some sense of resignation and resolve to tell the truth.

She has already admitted to slipping up and has decided to tell us everything on top of that. So she might be testing if we are worthy individuals to share the truth with... Therefore, I decided to accept this 'Gentleman's Agreement'...

"........................That's right. It was a bluff. I'm sorry for lying."

It seems like Satou never thought that I would admit it. She had a blank look on her face for a moment before she chuckled.

"I lost to you. .....................So there are smart people even among the boys."

"..................My deviation score is average."

"I guess this is what they call bravery? Aren't you a gutsy one! I like you even more now."

Satou signaled to us that she had given up and smiled once again.

That exchange did not look like one where a culprit had steeled themselves after their lie had been exposed...and Hiroyuki and Tooru looked at her with eyes expressing slight doubt.

"Before I tell you the truth, I want you to promise me something."

"Hey, hey, you trying to say that there are more conditions even at this point!"

I stopped Tooru and allowed Satou to elaborate.

"I'll tell the truth. I think you will surely understand that it was impossible for me to kill Tanashi. And, if you are convinced by it, I want you to tell everyone that it is impossible for me to be the culprit. ......But, I don't want you to talk about 'Why she is not the culprit'. And, no asking me, 'Why?'."

"If you can prove that you're not the culprit, we'll forget about the truth you are about to tell us."

"............Thank you. Follow me then. I think it's faster to explain at the location itself than talk about it here." Satou said, telling us to follow her as she turned to face the school building.

We thought Satou would definitely go to the prefab school building, but she changed into her indoor shoes upon entering. With no idea where she was taking us from there, we could only look at each other...

The inside of the school building after school was silent, almost like it was deserted. ...The only sounds we could hear were the sound of rain and the occasional sound of distant thunder mixed in with it. ......The corridors, which should have been lit by fluorescent lamps, seemed dimmer than usual.

Satou kept climbing the stairs. She then went further up the stairs, past the highest floor, the third floor.

.........Does she plan to go up to the rooftop?

The stairs from the third floor to the rooftop are off-limits. Such a notice was hanging down from the Polyethylene tape that was put up to cordon off the railing.

Satou crawled under it without hesitation and told us to follow her.

The stairs to the third floor were clean as the students cleaned them every day, but there were no students assigned to clean the stairs from the third floor to the rooftop, so they were so dirty that they did not feel like an extension of the same stairs.

"......Don't tell me this Satou girl......plans to kill us by pushing us off the rooftop as we have come to know her inconvenient secret..."

"B-Bring it on, damn girl, underestimating us...!!"

"We have three people on our side. She would not plan to do that."

"Then, don't tell me......she plans to commit suicide by jumping down after admitting everything..."

"......I don't think that she's thinking of doing that."

It did not look to me like Satou would do that. She led us here to prove that she was not the culprit. ...And, if Satou did want to do that, she would exude a similar kind of nervousness and murderous intent. I could feel that the current Satou had a certain resolve to her, but a murderous intent, just like one from a cornered rat would bite a cat, was one I could not sense from her.

That was why I felt that it was fine to follow her.

"The rooftop is off-limits, right...?"

"It's fine. These stairs are beside the extracurricular classrooms, so there are very few people on the third floor. That's why we can get up to the rooftop without anyone noticing."

"......Ahh, come to think of it, it seems like some delinquent smokers used the landing of the rooftop as a hangout spot for a while."

"Huh, but that was found out, right? It was because of this that not only the rooftop, but the stairs to the rooftop became off-limits, wasn't it...?"

It seems like Satou also heard what we were saying.

"......That's right. There was that case where the delinquent smokers used this place as a hiding spot, so a teacher would come here to check regularly. That's why no students come here anymore."

Satou, who climbed up those stairs that no one got near to without hesitation, and we, who followed along. ...The rooftop's landing and the glass door leading to the rooftop eventually came into view.

A notice was pasted on the glass door: 'The rooftop is off-limits to students! Second Shishibone Student Council'.

However, Satou unlocked the glass door without even the slightest hesitation and opened it. The outside air rushed into the landing.

With water not seeping into the floor of the rooftop due to its green coating, the rooftop felt like it was being pummeled by the rain, even more so than the garden on the first floor. Speaking of, we left our umbrellas in the umbrella stand at the entrance. Even though we would need umbrellas to go out onto the rooftop in this rain. However, Satou did not seem concerned; She walked through the glass door and got out onto the rooftop.

...No, getting out onto the rooftop was not an apt way to put it. She did get out onto the rooftop, but she started walking along the outer wall of this stairwell.

"......I see. The roof does jut out quite a bit. ...No wonder we can get out onto the rooftop without umbrellas."

"Over here."

Satou called us over. It seemed like we were heading to the back of the stairwell.

"Let's go and take a look."

I went first, walking along the outer wall and rounding the corner of the stairwell.

The splashing of the raindrops was worse than expected; My hair would not get wet, but my legs would probably be soaked if I stayed for a long time.

However, that was not the case when I turned the corner. It seems like this had to do with the direction of the wind. The rooftop in front of me was pummeled by the rain, but I did not get wet when I stuck my back against the stairwell's wall.

"......Ohhhhhh......... I see there's even a strange place like this, huh..."

"And it's at the back, so it's a blind spot. ......I see, it's the perfect spot for delinquents to hide and smoke cigarettes."

Hiroyuki and Tooru were amused by how it had a somewhat hideout-esque feel.

"This is a good place. .........In other words, this is Satou's hiding spot, I guess? It's off-limits, so it's no wonder you didn't tell anyone you were here."

"..................There are times when a girl wants some time alone."

"That's a personal question after all. I won't pry."

"Thank you. .........Miyajima's kind, huh."

For a while, the four of us silently bathed in the atmosphere of the hiding spot as we passed our time gazing at the rain pummeling the rooftop...

"But, you know, Satou. Didn't you say that you have proof?" Hiroyuki eventually said,

"......I did. Well, I did say proof, but it's not like I have photographic evidence from that day and time. It's something more dubious, like circumstantial evidence. But, I think it'll be enough of an explanation."

"...What's circumstantial evidence?"

"Means that it's not a piece of direct evidence, but a piece of indirect evidence. ...Its credibility pales in comparison to direct evidence, but depending on its content, it may be equal in credibility."

"Ohhhhh, as expected of an officer's niece..."

"That so?"

"......Yes. ...Well."

"I see. So, Miyajima's family is a household that excels in that field. I'm convinced. ..................Then, you might better understand my circumstantial evidence."

Satou walked slightly further, changing the spot she stood at.

"This is where I was on that day."

"Right."

"I have a quiz for you here, so I would like everyone to answer."

"...............?"

Is she still planning to mislead us even at this point in time...?

Hiroyuki and Tooru looked at each other once again.

"Tanashi's accident this time; Really unfortunate, wasn't it? ......Let alone fall all the way...to think that she, unfortunately, is now in a coma due to a buried shovel."

.........Only that shovel was, most likely, not buried by the culprit. There is no way they could push Tanashi off to land precisely on that spot. If they had a clear intent to murder, there is no way they would bet on such an unreliable method. They would have used a more reliable method to push her off. For example, pushing her off the rooftop instead of the second floor.

"What do you think ‘in a coma’ means?"

"......The state of sleeping endlessly and not waking up...?"

"Yeap. So, what does that mean?"

Hiroyuki and Tooru crossed their arms, unsure of what was being asked of them.

At that time, something crossed my mind......... That was......the basics of basics.

Isn't that the first question to think about in any accident or incident......!!

"...............I know. ...In other words......Tanashi, who fell and lost consciousness, could not have called for help."

"...Hahaha, that's obvious. She is unconscious after all."

"Then, who was the one who discovered Tanashi, who lay there, unconscious!?"

".........Eh?"

That's right. That day, we joined the onlookers and crowded by the windows along the corridor. Everyone looked at the prefab school building. We then saw the teachers heading for the prefab school building, which was how we knew that something had happened. However, no one knew what had happened. The trees blocked our view, and nobody could see the external stairway! The prefab school building's external stairway was surrounded by trees, preventing us from getting a good look at it from any of the windows on the first to third floors of the school building. That means no one in the school building could have found out that Tanashi fell and was unconscious.

"Even though it was not as heavy as today, no one would go out of their way to go near the off-limits prefab school building in a rain like that... So, the question now becomes: who was the first to discover her..."

".........I...I see...... Then......who...in the world...was the first person to find her...?"

"That's me."

"Huhhh!? W.........What do you mean by that!? Does that mean you were at the prefab school building during lunch break that day!?"

"Wrong. That means I saw that Tanashi had fallen even though I was at the school building."

"Ain't no way that's possible!? After all, the external stairway was surrounded by trees, so you couldn't have seen it from any of the windows in the school building...!"

I already understood, there was no need for Satou to say anymore. Indeed. It cannot be seen from any of the windows up until the third floor. ......But, it can be seen from the rooftop...

Realizing that I was the only one who understood, Satou let me have the spot she was standing at that day.

"..............................You're right............I can see it."

Although it is through the branches, I could see the prefab school building's external stairway and its surroundings better than any of the school building's windows. The rain that day was lighter than today, so she should have been able to get an even clearer view.

"......I have no choice but to acknowledge it. It is true that if it's from this location, you would be the only one, in the school building, who could notice that Tanashi was lying on the ground, without going outside in the rain..."

"This is my circumstantial evidence. ............If this is a lie, then please find me the person who went to the prefab school building in that rain, and found Tanashi coincidentally. But that would only mean that they're suspicious, though."

"........................Then Satou saw, from here, that Tanashi had fallen and informed a teacher...?"

"That's right. ......I didn't know who they were from this distance, though. I knew it was an accident, so I hurried back and told the first teacher I saw that there was someone who had fallen near the external stairway. The person I told was a science teacher, Ozawa-sensei. ...If you don't believe me, try asking Ozawa-sensei. I think he'll definitely testify that he knew of the accident after hearing it from me."

In a school, nothing can surpass an alibi that a teacher can testify to. ......This was impeccable as compared to a vague alibi like spending time in the library.

"After that, Satou then realized that you would either have to be at the scene or the rooftop, which should have been off-limits, to discover that Tanashi had fallen, so you had to hide the fact that you were the first to discover her and that you were on the rooftop..."

".................................I thought that I didn't need to go out of my way to reveal that I broke the school rules. ......I would be reaping what I sowed for being at a place that was off-limits, though..."

"......................................."

There was nothing off about Satou's excuse.

...Unless this girl called Satou is a swindler at birth, who can deceive people with a straight face, I cannot possibly think that she is lying...

We saw through Satou's lie about being in the library, but......we could not find the true culprit who pushed Tanashi off......

".........I'm sorry, Satou. It's not like I doubt you, but allow me to ask you a question."

"Go ahead..."

If Satou was truly the first person to discover Tanashi, she might have some sort of clue that would point us toward the true culprit. With our only suspect, Satou, removed from our list, we must search for our next lead without losing heart.

"Pardon me, but......how's your vision like Satou?"

"One point two and one point zero1. I don't think it's that bad, though."

".........The distance from here to where Tanashi fell down is quite far. I do find it somewhat strange that you were able to discover that Tanashi fell down at that location."

She would need to see through the branches of the trees at this distance. And, it was raining. Under those circumstances, it sounded to me like it was too much of a stretch to find Tanashi, lying on the ground, motionless.

"Actually, I............was looking when Tanashi fell."

"Huh......!!"

That statement caught us off guard.

If she saw the moment when Tanashi fell......if she saw that......!

"Of course, it was at this distance. I think I didn't notice when Tanashi was at the external stairway's landing. However, I noticed her when she was falling. ......You know, motionless things are hard to notice, but things that are moving are easy to notice, right? I didn't notice when she was standing at the landing, but I noticed the moment she started to fall."

"T-That's true......! But, that would mean that...Satou saw Tanashi's fall from the start to the end...! Then...didn't you see!? Didn't you see who pushed Tanashi off!!"

It was because of this distance that, should she have seen the fall, she would have stared while wondering what was going on. She would not be able to tell the teacher about someone falling without being certain after all.

If that is so, then who pushed her off? No, no, she doesn't even need to look at that moment. She should have seen someone running away from that location...!!

We wait for Satou's next words. However, Satou merely had a distant look in her eyes, as if she had her ears perked up to catch the sound of thunder from far away; She would not say the words we were waiting to hear.

".........You didn't see, or is it that you forgot...?"

".................................Say, Miyajima. ......I...can't trust......what I see."

"...You can't trust what you see......What do you mean by that?"

"You obviously know of it, right? ...The 'Curse of The Bone' thing."

"............I don't think there's anyone in school who doesn't."

"Tanashi was cursed by 'The Bone' and had been on the receiving end of that curse."

"Well, yeah. ...It was passed off as that, and everyone bullied her."

"Right. I also believe it was like that. A lot of pranks were pulled on Tanashi. I don't know who the culprit of every prank is, but I believe that every one of them was someone's doing."

"...That's only natural. Everyone used Tanashi as a scapegoat and bullied her. .........That is the reality of the 'Curse of The Bone' after all."

"Say, do you know? The talk about......how there were some pranks that were of no one's doing, the actual 'Curse of The Bone', mixed in with those that were played on Tanashi."

".........................................."

That rumor was one we heard about at the time. The one I heard about was how many bones came out from a bag that no one had messed with...I think.

"Yeah, I know that there are several of them. I only know about the rumor regarding the bag, though."

"The bag rumor? The one about how a bag, that no one should have messed with, was turned over at the end of the second period, and bones rattled and scattered onto the table?"

"Yes, it is that very one. There is the lingering doubt of whether it was actually possible for no one to tamper with it; Also, the person looking the entire time is also questionable."

"Erm, the person who looked at the bag the entire time is me."

".........Eh!?" We were astonished, caught off-guard as we had thought that nothing else from Satou would surprise us.

"My seat is at the back, to Tanashi's right, around the spot where a Keima2 could move to. ...Ah, B-class's current seating order was decided by drawing lots, so it's not like the rows for boys and girls are set as even and odd respectively."

"I understand that Satou can get a bird's eye view of Tanashi's seat from your seat. ......And?"

"...............That's why it's true, you know."

"What is?"

"...............I merely said what I saw."

"What do you mean by...what you saw?"

"I was looking the whole time......and no one actually messed with Tanashi's bag!!"

Tanashi had long been the scapegoat at that time. Apparently, Satou's group took the initiative (took the lead, led the charge?) to pull the pranks at first, but when the entire class eventually started pulling them as well, Satou thought that it was too much and pulled out, deciding to watch the pranks that the others pulled and laugh at the result instead.

A whole lot of pranks were pulled on her bag and her seat at the time, so Tanashi did not leave her seat for the entire day.

She sure got way more cautious, or so Satou thought as she watched as if it was someone else’s business.

There were many pranksters who tried to break through Tanashi's guard to pull their pranks, so it was amusing enough for Satou to watch them play out.

It was then that the incident occurred, just as Satou thought that no one had yet pulled a prank on that day.

"Wh-!! Who was it!?!? Who would do such a thing!!!" Tanashi shouted hysterically all of a sudden as she stood up from her seat.

Just as everyone wondered what was going on and turned their attention to Tanashi, she trembled as she flipped her bag over and emptied its contents on her table... Over ten bones rattled as they dropped out of the bag. That was a bizarre sight.

Ahh, the work of another prankster, or so everyone in class pretended to sympathize as they giggled.

It was the same for Tanashi. She was furious that they got her again, even though she protected her seat with utmost caution. She snapped at the people around her, one by one, questioning if they were the prankster...

However, Satou was the only one who saw the entire thing. No one had messed with the bag ever since that morning. There was no way for someone to stuff the bones in her bag!

"...............It's rude of me to say this, but it was comical. .........Tanashi herself believed that it was the work of someone else in the class after all. If she saw a girl showing any signs of laughing, she would grab her by the collar and intimidate her into answering by yelling, 'Were you the one who did it!? Weren't you the one!?'. ............But, only I know; Only I know that it was not the work of anyone in the class!!"

"No way... Then, are you saying that the 'Curse of The Bone' actually exists!?"

"............No, if that is true.....................No, that's impossible. ......Oh yeah, is it possible that it was Tanashi's own doing?"

If there was no opportunity for anyone to throw the bones in, it is reasonable to think that the bones were in her bag from the start. In other words, Tanashi stuffed the bones in her bag, together with her textbooks, and commuted to school with them...! This was a deduction that I had thought of when I heard about the incident where Tanashi's home was broken into.

"Of course, I did have that suspicion as well. But I do not understand why she would do that. I do not understand what she would gain from doing that!"

It is as Satou says. ...It was incomprehensible.

Even Tanashi should have known that the bullying she faced was not specifically targeted at her; That she was the unfortunate scapegoat, selected by the 'Curse of The Bone'. That is why she should have been able to, naturally, escape from being the target of the 'Curse' if she endured the bullying and waited for the pranks to die down.

Even so, she went out of her way to act like she was still being bullied, and as a result, it became the trigger that sent even more pranks and bullying her way.

Is it even possible that someone would want to stage the prolonging of their own bullying?

That was something I did not get at all.

"It being Tanashi's own doing is the best explanation for how the trick was prepared, but......No matter how I think about it; No matter how much I think about it, there is no reason for Tanashi to act in a way that prolongs the bullying she was facing..............."

".........Right. That's why I just don't think that it was Tanashi’s very own doing. No matter who did it, there was the malicious intent of prolonging the bullying!!"

"And, are you saying that that person with the malicious intent............has the power to stuff the bones into her bag without touching it............?"

......Even though I was the one who said it, I had no idea what I was talking about. ......However, that meant that I had to acknowledge the delusion that I once denied...

"That's why I......believe that it was actually the work of the 'Curse of The Bone'!!"

"......I......Impossible............"

Hiroyuki and Tooru wanted to laugh it off as utter nonsense, but there was no weight behind their words.

"And, you asked if I saw...Tanashi falling, right? ......Of course I did. I saw that Tanashi fell in a weird way."

"............Fall......in a weird...way.........?"

"It was not like she slipped on the rainwater and fell straight down. ............It was a really weird way of falling. It was as if...she was flying."

"Flying?"

"Right. ......It was like she was being pushed off by someone who was not there."

"Someone who was not there? Wait a minute, then the person who pushed Tanashi off was......"

"It was something that couldn't be seen!! I was looking at it closely, after all. For a moment, I didn't know what was going on, so I squinted my eyes over and over again. But, there was no one else besides Tanashi. That's why no one left; No one ran away. Tanashi was pushed off even though no one should have been there...!!"

".................................!!"

...We all thought that it was ridiculous. However, no one doubted that Satou was merely stating what she saw. That was because she definitely had the conviction someone would have when telling the truth. Rie Satou was literally telling us what she saw.

Miyoko Tanashi was alone on the landing and was pushed off by someone-who-cannot-be-seen...!

"............U.........Unbelievable."

"Or......is this also part of her acting?"

Satou did not say that sarcastically......she was seeking opinions about what she had just said.

"......Going out of her way to head to the off-limits prefab school building, on a rainy day, to jump off from the second-floor landing. ............I don't know her objective and the meaning behind that. If it were Tanashi's own doing, then she would have gained something from it."

It is true that the second floor is an odd height. One would not know what would happen if it were the third floor or higher, but if it were from the second floor, there would be no risk to one's life, unless something really unexpected happened. It might be possible that Tanashi jumped off of her own volition.

But I still don't understand. What was her motive?

"If she jumped off, she would be covered in mud. If she were unlucky, she would have sprained something. What would she have gained from jumping-off-during-a-rainy-lunch-break knowing full well that that would happen…your thoughts......?"

"......There's none. Ain't no way there's a meaning behind doing something that ridiculous." Hiroyuki replied, his face lifeless for some reason as he stared listlessly at the sky.

It was undoubtedly the odd feeling of having to accept something that he could not understand that made him do that.

"I can't think of any as well. I don't even know why she would head to a place like that, alone, in that rain..."

"I don't know either. .........Unless someone called a person there using a letter, they wouldn't go out of their way to go to that place. ......Was a memo that called Tanashi there found during the police investigation? How about it, the niece of an officer, Miyajima?"

"...............Haven't heard about it. Aunt Yuka said that there were zero leads."

She was certain that there were no leads from Tanashi's angle. ...That was why she decided to revisit an almost unrelated incident, namely, the Blackboard Scribbling Incident...

"I see. ......I thought the police would have more clues about who the true culprit is. ......As expected, there are no clues at all, huh. ......It can't be helped. The culprit might be someone who can't be seen after all."

Satou sounded a little disappointed. ......After all, she would have been able to reject the creepy existence that she was about to acknowledge if she could at least get some clues about the culprit. 

".................................Does Satou...still believe even now......that Tanashi's incident was actually the work of the 'Curse of The Bone'...?"

"Yes." She asserted confidently.

...Satou, the person who shared a relationship most unfriendly with Tanashi; Who was once the leader of the group that directly bullied Tanashi, firmly acknowledged it......

"You know, it is immoral of me to say this.........but I'm afraid of Tanashi regaining consciousness."

"......Why?"

"Even if I saw Tanashi falling on her own,"

The dull sound of thunder resounded from afar......

"I felt that only Tanashi saw who the individual who pushed her off was."

Assuming that Tanashi regains consciousness, if she says something like the following.........

"I was pushed off by a Teru teru bouzu that wore a skull mask."

Would the police and the hospital staff laugh it off as her memory being jumbled up when she hit her head? However, Satou and we, who heard the truth from her, could no longer laugh it off.........

"......Well, I'll be heading back then. I'll worry my parents if I don't, after all."

"Okay. ............Thank you very much for telling us the truth."

"It's a secret that I was here. It's a promise, okay?"

"We promise."

"......Goodbye, then. May we never meet again."

"Please be careful on your way back. The school grounds are slippery."

"............Right. It would be bad......if I were to slip, fall from the stairs, and get a fracture at my neck............on my way back to the entrance."

...There was a sound resembling the snapping of several twigs, bundled up together, before a loud rumble followed. ...It seemed like the thunder was slowly closing in from afar.

Satou looked like she was saying her final words to us, but I could not hear anything as the thunderclap drowned them out... Satou's figure then disappears from the rooftop, making it seem as if she was never there in the first place, and we were the only ones left.

.........I no longer know what is up with this incident anymore.

We were not being deceived by Satou. Satou gave in and told us everything. And, Tanashi, who should know the truth, was still unconscious, preventing her from sharing it.

Who called Tanashi there and for what reason? And what did she see when she was falling?

Regardless of whether the answers to those questions would become clear, we could not do anything as long as the 'Curse of The Bone' was the explanation for this incident......

The rain could now be described as a downpour. Our vision worsened, and we could no longer see the place where Tanashi's incident took place.

If it rained this heavily that day as well, Satou would not have known about Tanashi's fall, and the unconscious Tanashi would probably have been hard to find.

Thinking about it this way.........it was as if the rain got lighter to allow Satou to be the only person who could testify that it was the work of the 'Curse of The Bone'.

...Hiroyuki and Tooru were still gobsmacked.

We created the 'Curse of The Bone'. And that curse had, finally, become an actual curse. It would never again be used as the trigger for some uncouth bullying. After all, it became a true curse. Even if we did not give that abomination form......that abomination gained its form from a scribble that someone in class drew—the skull Teru teru bouzu.

It would probably haunt this school for all eternity, desiring one sacrifice after another...

Until Hiroyuki said that we should head back already, we could only stare at the rooftop as the rain pummeled it......

1 - Japan uses decimals/percentages to measure vision, where 1.0 (100%) is average vision and 2.0 (200%) is the maximum, meaning very sharp vision. 1.2 (120%) here is vision that is slightly above average.

2 - The Knight of Shogi, a.k.a. Japanese chess.

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Feel free to comment/pm me if you find any mistakes. Thank you very much for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.