The Place You Called From Chapter 5

The Ninth Comet

“Seems clear she wasn’t getting on well with her classmates.” 

The Aya I met that day was a totally different person from the Aya I’d met before. Before, she was always sleepy and bedheaded, so I saw all of her bad side. But in proper makeup and an ironed white shirt, she was no less charming than her sister. She probably knew full well that she was capable of presenting herself in a charming way, I supposed. No doubt, that excellent ability was fostered by the sense of inferiority her sister instilled in her. 

“But I dunno anything beyond that,” Aya shrugged. “Yui suddenly took to skipping class in the summer, her third year of middle school. But she hasn’t offered me any explanation for it. Not to friends, or to teachers, or to family. When our parents ask what happened at school, it’s always "Nothing.” Maybe decently smart kids just have a habit of taking all their problems on themselves, and not being able to rely on others.“ 

"Yes, she never was the type who itched to tell others about her troubles.” 

“Right. So sorry, Yocchan, but I don’t think you can be much help. I doubt our parents know any more than me, either.” 

Aya had a much friendlier attitude than previous meetings. One reason was probably that she was sleep-deprived then, but maybe her personality also depended on whether she’d put on makeup or not. When you have confidence in yourself, you can afford to be nice to others. 

I had a reason for coming to visit Aya again. While tailing Hajikano every night, I noticed many little actions and behaviors which overlapped with the Hajikano of the past. While she seemed so different on the surface, I could see how fundamental aspects of her hadn’t changed so much since back then. And as my conviction of that grew, a doubt also grew in my mind. 

Was Hajikano’s despair something caused by the birthmark alone? 

No matter what, I couldn’t see her as a person who would go as far as suicide over a single blemish. Because this was the same Hajikano who had been the only one to accept my birthmark back in elementary school. Can someone’s nature change that much in a year and a half? Or maybe it was as simple as being able to accept it on someone else’s face, but not on her own? 

Perhaps her despair had some deeper reason behind it. We might have been so fixated on the visible as to overlook what was really important. Maybe, in that half-year gap between the birthmark appearing and her starting to skip school, some significant event happened to her? 

If my theory, that her despair was rooted in something other than the birthmark, were correct, the first step to knowing the truth would be getting closer to Hajikano’s heart. So I first came to talk to Aya, the person closest to her. 

“If you really want to know, you’ll probably just have to ask her classmates directly,” Aya suddenly spoke after a long silence. “There’s probably at least one girl at your school who came from Mitsuba Middle School, right? Maybe she’d know why Yui got like that.” 

“I was considering that, too. But it’s summer break, so everyone is all scattered.” 

“Nope.” 

“Is that right? Well, I do in fact have plans to meet some friends from high school today. I can’t spare the time for you.” 

While the man stood there at a loss, his mouth half-open, Aya said “Oh yes,” as if she’d thought of a brilliant plan. 

“See, this guy needs to go around town to get information. Masafumi, you help him out. You’ve got all day, don’t you?” 

“Me?”, Masafumi balked, his voice cracking. 

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine.” 

His shoulders drooped. “Okay, I’ll do it,” he weakly replied. 

“But she seemed real fond of you. Ain’t she?” 

“But you’re something like that, right?” 

“I’m sorry. Thanks for helping today.” 

I parted with Masafumi there. He collapsed in the driver’s seat, said “I’m just gonna rest here,” and waved at me haphazardly. I went walking for about 20 minutes with the man in glasses, Yadomura, and arrived at his house. He went to call for his sister, then came back a few minutes later alone. 

“It seems she hasn’t come home yet,” he told me apologetically. “I’ll bet she’s gone to the woods.” 

“Woods?”, I repeated. “You mean the ones by the coast?” 

“Right. I think she’s there looking for ghosts.” 

Ghosts? 

I definitely hadn’t misheard that; Yadomura said “ghosts.” But touching on the subject of ghosts no further, he gave me very simple instructions on how to get to where he believed his sister was. I resolutely asked, “Um, what’s that about ghosts?”, and Yadomura answered with an ambiguous smile, “If you’re curious, you can ask her yourself.” 

After walking down the path between the rice fields, I found the entrance to the woods. The woods at night were something you never got used to with any number of visits. Especially if it was summer. Naturally, without any artificial light sources, only a tiny bit of moonlight came through the thick branches and leaves, and unending mysterious noises from all directions made you uneasy. It was honestly hard to believe that a student from a prestigious girls’ school had gone in here. 

Following the path, I found an open area that served as a crossroads. According to Yadomura, his sister should have been there. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw a small girl sitting on a bench formed from a stump. She wasn’t moving a muscle, so momentarily I thought she was part of the stump. 

“Good evening,” I said to her, unable to see her face. “Your brother told me about this place. I’ve been looking for a student from Mitsuba to ask them something.” 

After some time, a reply came from the darkness. “Then your journey is over. Good job.” 

“Do you know a girl named Yui Hajikano?” 

“Yui Hajikano…”, she repeated, as if to get a handle on the sound of it. “Yes, I know her. The girl with the birthmark on her face?” 

“Right, there’s a big birthmark on the left side,” I confirmed, resisting the urge to jump with joy. “I’d like to ask some things about her -” 

She interrupted me. “That’s all I know. We didn’t particularly mingle, and we were in different classes, so I know nothing about Miss Hajikano. From seeing her in photos and my yearbook, I remembered her name for her distinctive birthmark, but I’ve never once spoken with her.” 

“…I see.” 

I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice as much as I could, but Yadomura’s sister picked up on it easily. 

“I’m sorry. I would love to introduce you to an acquaintance, but I’m poor at socializing, so I don’t have any such person to send you to.” 

“No, it’s fine,” I said as cheerfully as I could muster. “Actually, I’m more interested in hearing about this ghost thing.” 

After a pause, she spoke bitterly. “Did my brother mention that?” 

“Yeah. You’re searching for ghosts here, aren’t you?” 

“…I don’t honestly believe in them, necessarily,” she said as if pouting. “And it doesn’t have to be ghosts, either. A UFO, some ESP, a cryptid, anything would do. Essentially, I’m waiting to find a fissure in the world.” 

I pondered her words. I reasoned that those could be reworded as “things which go beyond human understanding.” 

“Say, mister,” she said to me - I wonder if she misunderstood me to be her elder. “I do understand, you know, that the things people call ghosts are just illusions their brain shows them. But even if it’s an illusion or a hallucination, I don’t even care. If I can witness just one thing that exists outside the laws of reality, I think it would serve to give just a little bit of meaning to my life.” 

Then she went silent as if to think for a moment. My eyes finally adjusting to the light, I could see her now. She was a doll-like girl, whose long hair going down to her waist gave an impression of being somewhat heavy. 

“…In other words. If even just once, you saw the toys in the toybox get up at night and start talking, wouldn’t that change the meaning of every toy you ever saw afterward? That’s the kind of revolution I’m awaiting.” 

She went on explaining her reason for looking for ghosts using various such examples for nearly twenty minutes. And once she reached what seemed like her conclusion, she suddenly fell silent like running out of battery, and muttered something. 

“I’ve talked too much.” 

She sounded like she wanted to fade away. If it weren’t so dark, I’m sure I would’ve clearly seen her blushing. 

“It was very interesting,” I told her, not actually being sarcastic at all. 

Her voice grew even weaker. “I usually have no one to talk to, so when I have the chance, I talk too much. When I get home, I’ll have a serious reflection session.” 

“I know how you feel.” 

I’d failed to mention it to Yadomura’s sister, but to tell the truth, I also had experience passing by the coast in search of something, though it wasn’t ghosts. 

It began with a strange occurrence at the beach. 

It was in the summer, and I was seven. I’d come with a friend to the beach and was walking along the waves barefoot as usual. At the time, I liked stepping on the flattened sand after the waves retreated, so I spent as long as I could doing it as long as nobody stopped me. 

My friend, meanwhile, got tired of this simple game quickly and began to seek new excitement. He rolled his pants up to his knees and began walking toward the open sea. Not thinking deeply about it, I followed behind him. 

“Want to see how far you can go?”, he said. “Even if we get wet, we’ll dry off before we get home in this weather.” 

“Why?” 

Chigusa lowered her head. “Because it’s embarrassing,” she quietly murmured. 

After reading through the script three times, we decided to take a break. I bought juice from a vending machine, and on returning to the table, four men with bright hair and gaudy outfits were laughing next to us. 

“Let’s switch locations,” I said, and Chigusa nodded. 

I snuck a glance at her face. The look she was giving the men was terrifyingly cold. 

I felt uneasy wondering what she would think if she knew I used to be one of those people. Surely she would give the same cold glance to me, wouldn’t she? 

We finished up practice and took a stroll down a path by a river. I casually looked over to the other shore of the sparkling river. There, I saw children walking on a hill made silhouettes by the backlight of the sunset, and wires connecting steel pylons painted a distorted musical score in the sky. 

Suddenly, a plan came to mind. 

I came to a stop and ceremoniously said, “Hey, Ogiue.” 

“Yes?” Chigusa turned around forcefully, showing me a broad smile. “What is it?” 

“Is it okay if I ask you something sort of weird?” 

“Ask me something?” Chigusa awkwardly averted her eyes from me, staring at the ends of the hair draped over her chest. “Yes, of course.” 

“To tell the truth, I have an earnest request of you.” 

“Only if you have the time, I mean.” 

“What do you mean?”, I asked. 

“I mean that there’s no need for you to go all the way out to Mitsuba High, Fukamachi,” she answered. “For you see, the girl standing before you now was indeed a graduate of Mitsuba Middle School. What’s more, she was in the same class as Hajikano in her third year.” 

Now that she was telling me this, I realized it wasn’t that strange. In fact, I should have tried asking her first thing. If there was anyone I knew at Minagisa High that struck me as being Mitsuba-esque, it would be none other than Chigusa Ogiue. 

“Well, Ogiue, do you know why Hajikano ended up -” 

“I understand. Thanks.” 

“And also…” Chigusa’s tenseness eased up into a grin. “In exchange, I will ask a request of you, too.” 

Tall sunflowers planted in a field cast thick shadows on the road from the western sun. The blackened heads of the sunflowers all facing west looked like countless giant eyeballs. 

Sunflowers chase after the sun in the process of growth. By the time the flowers open, they stop moving; by the time they produce seeds, they bend down as if bowing. After running around without principle seeking light, in the end they just stare at their feet and wilt. Feels like an allegory - so I think every time I see sunflowers. 

Chigusa began to speak slowly, choosing her words. “I may have spoken somewhat arrogantly, but in truth, the information I have is rather meager. All our classmates would say the same if you asked them. I believe they all know only as much as I do.” 

I nodded and urged her to go on. 

“You may be aware already, but that birthmark of Hajikano’s appeared suddenly in the winter of her second year of middle school. At first, it was as small as a speck. However, it grew by the day, enlarging to its current size in less than a month. Hajikano herself acted as if the birthmark did not bother her, but the change had an impact on the people around her in many ways. For those who felt pity for Hajikano, there were also those who laughed and said it served her right, and some simply lamented the loss of one of her beauties. But on the whole, I believe people were mostly sympathetic.” 

Here, Chigusa took a break. 

“Fukamachi, perhaps you’re wondering if the appearance of that birthmark resulted in bullying at an all-girls school?” 

“I am fine. I like to walk, you see.” 

“I do, too. Thanks for today. I’ll see you later.” 

“A cruel thing?”, I repeated. 

Chigusa grinned wide. “It was a joke. Goodbye.” 

At the time, I didn’t think very deeply about what “cruel thing” I’d done to her. I decided it was a meaningless joke and forgot about it right away. 

If I were in a position to be more calm and objective, I probably could have easily figured out the meaning of it. But my head was filled with Hajikano, so I couldn’t even afford to consider the possibility of someone showing me good will. Cruelty is less often something done consciously, and much more often done by unmindful people. 

* 

I visited Masukawa Hotel again that night. For the past few days, I’d been taking an approach of not tailing Hajikano from her house, but lying in wait at the ruins. Even if there was a light rain, or it was windless and sweltering, her feet never carried her anywhere besides those ruins. Knowing that, there was no need to risk tailing her. 

I’d long since achieved my original objective of learning why she left the house night after night, to deepen my understanding of her. In essence, she liked watching the stars at the ruined hotel. It was futile to try and extract any more information out of her actions. And yet I’d continued tailing her, night after night. 

My first priority now should have been to learn what events took place in the “blank four days” Chigusa told me about. And indirect means such as asking around and tailing were insufficient. For it remained an incomprehensible mystery even to Chigusa, who was as close to Hajikano as anyone at the time. 

I couldn’t think of any option but to ask her directly… Though conscious of that fact, most likely I was unable to take that plunge because I wanted to watch Hajikano look at the stars from the shadows forever. 

“Right. Bye then.” 

The call ended. I took a shower, put on my uniform, had a breakfast of salmon slices and wakame miso soup while listening to the radio, and left the house with minimum luggage. The forecast seemed to call for another midsummer day, and piercing sunlight burned my skin. 

The faculty room at Minagisa High seemed to be conserving energy even in this heat, so the non-air-conditioned room was just as hot as outside. The staff faced their desks with emaciated looks, and the plants by the windowsill were the only lively things in sight. 

Kasai was waiting for me outside the room. Sure enough, he took me to see another faculty member. The one who called for me was Endou, the guidance counselor. He had a striking appearance - a giant body tanned black and a shaven head - that earned him many nicknames among the students, but nobody would say them in front of the man himself. Not only would Endou get irritated by the most minor of things, he was dreadfully threatening; once every few days, he would berate students who came late and make them get on their knees to apologize, or shout at girls whose skirts were a little too short and make them cry. You probably need one such person at a school, I feel, but he was someone you’d definitely want to avoid if you could help it. 

Kasai went back to his desk, and Endou looked at me like looking at an inanimate object. Though the conversation took its time starting, asking any questions was strictly off-limits. Teachers like this hated students speaking up independently more thran anything. 

“Yosuke Fukamachi,” Endou mechanically read, glancing at the papers on his desk. Then he turned his chair around, re-faced me, and spoke threateningly. 

“What were you doing out late last night?” 

This wasn’t my first time being questioned by an oppressive teacher. I was called to the faculty room dozens of times in middle school, so Endou’s attitude could feel nostalgic to me, even. I could tell he was preparing to shout at me. Maybe he even had definite proof ready for it. 

Endou must have called me in to condemn me breaking into the ruins, I supposed. Was it getting around that a high school student was sneaking in there every night? 

“I was taking a walk outside,” I first replied. Lying wasn’t a good plan, but it wasn’t wise to reveal myself before knowing how much information he had. 

“You’re aware that by law, young boys aren’t allowed to go out past 11 without supervision, aren’t you?” 

“Then why did you think to take a walk?” 

I wanted to say “could there any answer to that besides "I wanted to take a walk”?“, but I swallowed it in my throat. I had no choice but to hang my head and stay silent. 

Endou broke the silence earlier than expected. "But let’s put that issue aside for now. Here’s the real question. Do you know of the ruined hotel at the foot of the mountain?” 

“Do you mean Masukawa Hotel?” 

“He went with me to see the stars.” 

“Yui Hajikano. Class 1-3, the same as him.” 

Endou paused and pondered with the pen for a while, but not seeming to know the kanji for “Hajikano,” settled for writing it in katakana. 

“Another law-breaker, then,” he snorted and closed the notebook. “So what were you there for?” 

“I went to see the stars,” Hajikano answered without timidity. “There’s little light interference there, so it’s ideal for viewing them.” 

“You like stars?” 

“Was there any interesting movement last night?”, he asked as if testing her. 

She thought briefly. “From about 1 to 2 AM, I saw a meteor shower. I believe about thirty meteors went by in an hour.” 

“Oho. Anything else?” 

Once we left the room, before anything else, I thanked Hajikano. 

“You saved me.” 

Without looking at me, Hajikano began to walk. Normally, I would have gotten nervous at this point, but her having just saved me from a predicament gave me a push. 

“So you noticed I was tailing you. Why didn’t you say anything?” 

Hajikano stopped and opened her mouth to say something, but ultimately thought better of it and resumed walking. 

“I feel bad about following you in secret. It’s not unreasonable that you’d be upset. But I’ve been worried since the incident in the park. Wondering if you’ll try anything funny again.” 

If I was giving her such blatant excuses, it probably would’ve been better to be honest and say something like “I like your singing, so I kept following you wanting to hear it again.” But I was focused only on clearing up misunderstandings and showing my good intentions, postponing the things I really wanted to say. 

If it were possible, I wanted to explain to her the reason my birthmark had disappeared. Since fourth grade, I was strongly drawn to you. I always thought that if I just didn’t have this birthmark, you would turn to face me. And one day, a mysterious woman called me and proposed as The Little Mermaid-style bet. I could have my birthmark removed, but if I couldn’t form a mutual relationship with you, I would turn to foam… 

Sigh. Is there anyone who would believe such a preposterous story? Even if she did believe it, depending on how she interpreted it, she might get the impression I made myself a hostage to force her to like me. From her point of view, it was “You have to love me or I’ll die.” I didn’t want to do something that equated to pointing a knife at my throat and demanding her love. So I said nothing more, and just kept walking alongside Hajikano. 

Hajikano looked toward me and let out a deep sigh. And as if running out of patience, she finally opened her mouth. 

“…I know you’re thinking of my sake deep down, Yosuke.” 

She went quiet after that, and took time choosing her next words. I kept my mouth shut, patiently waiting for them. 

“So I want to tell you my feelings as honestly as I can.” 

She looked at me head-on and spoke. 

“Don’t care about me anymore. It’s an annoyance.” 

Hajikano turned her back to me and ran. I quickly grabbed her hand and asked the last question I had in store. 

“I heard from a graduate of Mitsuba Middle School about your middle school days.” 

Our faces were so close, I saw Hajikano’s pupils dilate. 

“What happened to you in those blank four days last summer?” 

It was a risky gamble. Generally, I would have wanted to ask this question carefully, after slowly easing up her heart and removing all the obstacles I could. Getting right to the heart of the matter at this point might not only not get me an answer, but make her even more wary. But it seemed I was running out of options. In any event, the question seemed to shake her. There was probably no other time I could talk about it. 

Ultimately, that question resulted in her showing me her first emotion-like emotion.

In the worst way, however. 

“…Why won’t you just leave me alone?” 

After two or three blinks trying to keep it in, a spilling teardrop fell down her cheek. Right afterward, the dam burst and tear after tear fell. She turned away to hide her face from me, wiping her cheeks with her palm repeatedly. She herself seemed bewildered by the tears. 

I was filled with guilt at the sight of it. I felt like I’d become an unbelievable villain.

As much as I struggled, maybe all I could do was hurt her. So I thought. 

Hajikano left like she was escaping, and I didn’t go after her. Hajikano realized that I was thinking of her deep down. She lied to keep me from being falsely accused. I’d clearly determined that the Yui Hajikano I’d loved still lived on in her now. She looked me head-on and did her best to be honest. And then she rejected me. 

What more could I do? 

Kasai called to me as I stood there in the hallway. He came out of the faculty room, saw me, and beckoned back inside with a quiet “Fukamachi.” 

As I stood in front of his desk with a hollow expression, Kasai spoke. 

“First, I need to apologize for something. I checked up on you and Hajikano’s relationship in grade school.” 

He bowed his head to me. “Seems you were good friends after all, just like you said. Sorry for doubting you.” 

I shook my head apathetically. “In your shoes, I think I would’ve been just as suspicious of me.” 

He took a handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe the sweat on his brow, then put it back. He pursed his lips, took a breath, crossed his arms, and leaned back in his chair. 

“I’ve been cautiously watching you these past three weeks. Without any real basis, I was waiting for you to slip up and show your true colors sometime. And I came to this conclusion - at least these days, you’re not the kind of guy people would have a strong grudge against. …So then, now I’m getting less and less sure. Why did Hajikano say she didn’t want to be in the same school as you? Plus, say she did hate you more than she could bear. Then why did she step in with Endou and send you a lifeboat? Why did Hajikano come from Mitsuba to this school in the first place? There’s too much that doesn’t add up.” 

He didn’t seem to be seeking the answers to these questions from me. I could only nod back. 

“Of course, even if we solve those mysteries, it’s too late. Fukamachi, I don’t think for a second you’re accountable, not anymore. In any event, this is a decided fact. I’ll be telling everyone after summer break, but I’ll tell you in advance.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“Hajikano’s withdrawing from Minagisa First High,” Kasai sighed. 

At this point, of course, it wasn’t as if I could realistically visualize my death. That wouldn’t be until half a month later, when I personally witnessed a person vanishing into foam. 

* 

I didn’t feel like going straight home, so I passed by my house. My feet naturally brought me someplace lively. Past the shuttered street, on a long quiet hill lined with bars and snacks, my aimless wandering brought me to a most unexpected reunion. 

While gazing at paper lanterns illuminating the stores red and gaudy signs, I thought I heard someone call my name. But I looked all around and saw no one, much less the source of the voice. Just as I determined it to be a misheard remark from inside one of the stores, I heard my name shouted more clearly. 

I looked up and met eyes with someone looking down from the second-floor veranda of a bar. Hinohara said “Wait there” and went back inside. A few seconds later, the upstairs light went out. I sat on the curb and waited for him to come down. 

Yuuya Hinohara was a friend of mine in middle school. On the night of our graduation, when the job-getters and high-school-goers had a four-on-three fight, he was one of them. Like me, he was proceeding to high school. 

Hinohara went to Minagisa South High School, a somewhat less reputable school than Minagisa First High, but he seemingly applied there simply because he had no real preference for where he went. Though far too intelligent to even begin comparing him to me, he didn’t aim for Minagisa First High because he only cared to attend a high school that was within walking distance. 

Maybe I’m not really one to talk, but Hinohara was a strange guy. Though his test scores were generally below average, he shocked everyone around him by ending up with around 90% in all his classes. It goes without saying that he was suspected of foul play, but by the latter half of his second year, the teachers had recognized the sheer strength of his dormant abilities. Such a waste, they said in unison. If he took his studies seriously, he could be at the top of the class. 

Hinohara, a man with no interest in improving his grades and showing his academic prowess, told me only once about his reason for only rarely taking things seriously. 

“I want everyone to get a taste of the irrational,” he said in a low, echoing voice. “I want them to know full well that there’s someone who can learn in three days what they spent a month on.” 

He was a m

Chapter end