Let's Dance with Ghost Stories, and You Dance on the Stairs Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Yuka's Call

TLed by: TanoshiKara

"Tomohirooo!! A call for youuuu!!"

"Okayyy! From who?"

"From Aunt Yuka"

I was a little shocked as it was from someone unexpected. I looked at the clock to find that it was already past nine.

......Feels like an unnerving call.

However, the voice I heard from the other end of the call was energetic as usual, which made me slightly relieved.

"Sorry for calling at a time like this! Were you studying?"

"Uh, n-no... Ahahaha."

It would have been nice if I could lie through my teeth that I was studying though... I feel pathetic about how small of a lie it would be and how little courage I have.

"That aside, is something wrong?"

"Yeap. Something small. Just wanted to ask Tomohiro-kun about that incident."

......I was shocked when she mentioned 'that incident'. ...

"D-D-Don't tell me Aunt Yuka...suspects that I am the culprit...!?"

"Wahahaha! That so? I must come and apprehend Tomohiro-kun if that is the case! That's not it though. I want you to tell me more about Miyoko Tanashi-san."

"Erm......I mentioned this before but I am from a different class, so..."

"Uh-huh, I heard that before. But, if I remember correctly, according to Tomohiro-kun, Miyoko Tanashi being cursed by 'The Bone' is THE rumor, right? So much so that even Tomohiro-kun, who is in another class, has heard about it."

"U-Uh-huh. ...That's right..."

"What does Tomohiro-kun think as a student of the same year?"

"What do you mean by what do I think......?"

"Anything is fine, even the rumors in class; Will you tell me about them? Just think of your aunt as a classmate. I wanna hear about the topics—anything at all—that are being discussed in school."

"............Hmmmm. ......I think that everyone was bullying Tanashi under the pretense of the 'Curse of The Bone'......"

"The details of the bullying were stuffing chicken bones into places like the desk compartment and bag and scribbling Bone, Bone, Bone, correct?"

"...Yes."

"That 'Curse of The Bone', when did it come into the picture? It looks like it became popular recently, but did it exist even before that?"

"N-No, I don't think so. I really think it is a recent occurrence."

"Was that incident, when a lot of the word 'Bone' was scribbled on the blackboards, the trigger, as I had expected?"

"............Hmm......I don’t think that is the case."

Let alone that not being the case, didn't we do it for that very purpose...

"........................I see......"

Words that easily suggest that she was probably clipping the phone to her ear with her shoulder and crossing her arms. For a while, my aunt was groaning, brooding over what to ask next.

That interval felt somewhat like......she had actually suspected that I was the culprit and was waiting for me to confess.

......No way that is the case...... After all, we were not involved in Tanashi's incident whatsoever......

"Erm......Aunt Yuka, what are your thoughts on this...? There's no way that it was an accident, right? ...Is it an incident as I had expected? Did someone push her off in the name of the 'Curse of The Bone'...?"

"Well, it is not like that has been confirmed though. I cannot deny that possibility, of course."

"Was there nothing such as leads from the inspection of the scene?"

"Hmmmmm, it was both raining and outdoors after all... The inspection of the scene does not yield as much of a game-changing find as society thinks. Have never seen a case like those in police officer dramas, where suspicious fingerprints were found or buttons dropped. Ahaha!"

"Then, has no leads been found for this case...?"

"......Uhhh-huhhhh... It is like that for now. We don't know anything; Not even why Tanashi-san went to a place like that in the rain. So finding the culprit from Tanashi's angle is hopeless. Only way now is to search for alibis meticulously."

"Search for alibis..."

"The act most likely took place during lunch break after all. This means there is a high chance that the culprit was one of the people who wasn’t in their classroom during that rain."

...Indeed, that is true. ......If an individual were to lure Tanashi out on that rainy day, they would also have headed to the prefab school building in that rain...

"Welllll, I won't deny the possibility that a perpetrator from outside got into the school. ......I think the probability of that is low though."

"This act was surely done by a student in the school, right?"

"I wouldn't use the word surely. I merely said the probability for it to be a perpetrator from the outside is low. There should at least be a reason for Tanashi-san to visit that place in that rain.  A person who knows the reason is very likely involved in the incident."

"...I see... So the police are planning to ask every student in the school about where they were during lunch break to confirm their whereabouts."

"The faculty is not willing to cooperate, so it'll be tough, but...that's the only way though... No other choice but to investigate meticulously, I guess."

"That's right, there was the incident where someone broke into Tanashi's house and pulled a prank, correct? Were there no leads from the investigation back then? Suspicious fingerprints or footprints, for example!"

"Hmmmmmm. Seems like it was decided at the time that the criminality of the incident was low, so it seems like they only questioned the family members and didn't collect any fingerprints. So there are actually no leads from that case."

"Rather than no leads......it feels like they didn't investigate anything..."

"Wahahaha! Tomohiro-kun does say some hurtful words."

............I thought the police were a lot more amazing than this, but... From listening to Aunt Yuka, they probably have not found any leads at all. ...No, that is why she called me. It is precisely because she could not find any leads at the scene...that she had no choice but to ask people who commute to that school and are familiar with the situation.

"Welllll, your aunt will try a little bit harder on my end! Oh, looks like the food delivery is here! See you, I will cut the call now!"

"Ah, okay! Please do your best!"

"Right, right, right, right. Sorry, but one last thing, okay? I need you to tell me honestly. Just one thing, alright?"

"What is it?"

"You see, your aunt? ......I think that that blackboard scribbling incident was the start of everything. I think that I should revisit it. The 'Curse of The Bone' trending in the school was only a fairytale created by a group of students, partly as a prank. ......I think that it suddenly got bigger and went amok at some point in time. The fairytale that they created got bigger and bigger after all! They might have been expecting that it would take root in the school even after they graduate."

"I-I...I wonder...... I don't know......"

"As expected, these sorts of curses only get cool when there are deceased victims, right? ......There is also the possibility that the very first culprits might have done it for fun."

"Th......There's no way some person as evil as that is in my school..."

"I want to think that. The situation, though, is that everyone got involved in Tanashi's bullying and no one stopped it, right? There is enough of a chance for the presence of a nasty person. And from what I hear, the bullying also involved violence like wearing a skull mask and beating her, correct?"

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

"That is why your aunt thinks that I should, to the best of my ability, look into the alibis for the day of the blackboard scribbling incident. .........About that."

For a second, my heart stopped... Even though I had steeled myself for such a development.

"...Tomohiro-kun, you only commuted to school early in the morning on that specific day, right...?"

Eh......Ah............Erm...............

"Why did you only commute to school early in the morning on that day? ......Can you tell your aunt the truth......?"

......Boldness and timidness swirled in my mind...

I should be able to lie boldly. ......After all, I didn't do anything to Tanashi. I have not laid a finger on her seat, let alone lay a finger on her. I have not pulled a prank on her. ......So it is no fault of mine. That is why there is no reason for me to go out of my way to confess about the scribbling prank I played that day.

But......is it really alright for me to lie in a situation like this......? According to the rumors, Tanashi is still unconscious and in critical condition. ...This is downright attempted murder. The 'Curse of The Bone' has long since surpassed the realm of a prank. It has then reached the point where it finally threatens human life.

I feel remorse for creating that Curse Deity. ......I wish for the 'Curse of The Bone' boom to go by quickly and for it to be forgotten. So isn't it best for me to cooperate with Aunt Yuka, even if it's just a small step, to put a swift end to this incident?

Also, although I said I was not involved in Tanashi's incident, it is not like the responsibility for being the trigger of Tanashi's persistent bullying will disappear... At this point, wouldn't it be better to prove my innocence by making an honest confession?

............But what would Hiroyuki and Tooru think if I confessed on my own? They would surely call me a traitor. I would also be called out to school and receive a stern scolding. ...It would also not stop at a scolding. It would no doubt be written in our academic report which would adversely impact our future......

But that is our just deserts, right......? It was the crocodile we raised. It grew up and attacked people. Wasn't it the crocodile that attacked, and aren't we, the people who raised it, guilty...? But if that were the case, then what about the tons of other people who bullied Tanashi? Aren't they all at fault? At least I didn't do anything at all to Tanashi. But many B-class students probably got involved in Tanashi's bullying for fun. Those people are probably a whole lot worse. It is weird for us to be the only ones to take the blame.

......Ahh, isn't that excuse the very definition of the 'Curse of The Bone's' lightening of one’s guilty conscience! Using that as an excuse is a no-go, a no-go... That will be the same as me being taken in by the curse......

"Tomohiro-kunnnn? Why did you commute to school early in the morning on that day again?" My aunt asked again.

......However, I still had not decided what to do. In the end...I repeated the vague lie I told on that day once again.

"I-I told you that day, didn't I...? I had a little meeting with my friend from the soccer club......"

My aunt did not reply.

Was she a distance away from her phone?

Okaayyy!, or so I could hear my aunt replying from afar.

"Okay, sorry, sorry! Then Tomohiro-kun is not involved at all, right?"

"Y-Yes!"

"I see! Then it's fine. I'm really sorry for asking something weird! I’ll try investigating on my end. See you!"

*click*

With that, Aunt Yuka's voice was cut off.

......I felt no relief from being able to deceive her on this occasion.

If my aunt got serious, she would probably investigate my excuse, the 'Soccer Club friend'. ......If that were the case, she would soon find out that there was no such meeting at all.

Will I tell even more lies at this point, even as I am being tormented by regret...

I hate being called a coward. However...how can I say I am not when I am witnessing this indecisiveness of mine?

...No words came to my mind; Only a sign from deep within my heart...

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