Chapter 2

Drawing arcs in the darkness, as if drifting, they travelled the land. A beckoning, invoked by the dead who rose from the grave, he who dispatched the will-o'-the-wisps.

The dead did not come after him. He but waited for him wherever he may go. Standing on the frozen land, vacant eyes open, he watched over him from his side as he struggled along that earth. With an ashen white face having lost its vitality, he was clad in yet more white burial clothes. In the glow of the will-o'-the-wisps they were a melancholy blue.

He dragged his feet as if to stall for time, daring to slowly approach forward towards it.

Even when finally beside him, the little brother said nothing. He was simply there with neither an outcry nor a word of malediction, and naturally without breathing a single sigh. Of course neither did he raise a hand to strike him, and he cast no stones.

He only waited to receive him. He looked as he did when alive, but with the pallor of death over him. His literally lifeless eyes had no light in them, a color well suiting the caverns they were, drawing him in closer. His powerless body was stationed there covered in burial garbs, coated in the mud of his grave.

Seishin's pencil ceased as he briefly sunk into his thoughts.

Even if the little brother had no plans of revenge, the older brother himself must have naturally believed that revenge was the reason he appeared.

Without a doubt his little brother had come to pull him into the same purgatory as himself.

When he'd first seen and became convinced of his little brother's rise from the grave, he must have been wild with fear and fled his little brother. ---He probably did.

But, he couldn't run from the Shiki. Wherever he ran away to, his little brother was there awaiting him. After repeating that cycle, he came to at last realize he couldn't escape. Thus when he took in the sight of his little brother, he'd obediently walk on towards him but (he willingly continued to walk towards his brother but), he was always in fear that it would be this time that his little brother would inflict the wounds of vengeance on him at last.

(Revenge...)

Seishin pondered as he looked over the paper. What was the 'revenge' he was imagining? Was he expecting the haunting to death that was so common in Japanese ghost stories? Or maybe something more straight forward, doing as he had, taking up a weapon and attacking him. Or maybe he was still deciding on his means of revenge, with this land as the stage.

For a time Seishin gazed at his writing, thinking that he wanted revenge to take on a fitting form. Something abstract--something vague. He searched through his memories of all times and places but he couldn't call to mind anything of that nature. As he searched his memory, he thought about whether he had any reference materials of that nature but that search again came up empty.

Seishin breathed a soft sigh, looking up at the office blackboard. He withdrew his consciousness from the manuscript (from the frozen wasteland), suddenly aware of the afternoon sunlight filling the office, the artificial chill of the air conditioner, and noticing the sounds of the cicadas beyond the window.

July 27th. Wednesday afternoon, there were two appointments for the day, but they were to be handled by Tsurumi and Ikebe. Seishin gathered his writing paper and returned it to the drawer. Turning the paper face down he placed a paperweight over it, closed the drawer and stood. Just as he was stepping out of the office, Miwako came by carrying a large kettle.

"Oh, are you heading out?"

"I am going to the library for a bit. --Mother, would you like me to bring you anything?" Seishin asked, Miwako giving a smile.

"I will pass. Have a safe trip."

With a nod, Seishin turned towards the entryway. Stepping out past the dirt floor, the midsummer rays were dazzlingly bright on the compound. The voice of the cicadas descended on him. The shrubbery were a lively green, and the foot path's stone paving from the mountain gates to the main temple, to the temple office driveway, and continuing to the head priest's quarters' entryway, was baked white. They must have known he was going out; an uncounted number of the old folks about had given polite bows and salutations.

"Oh my, Junior Monk." The voice came from a corner of the greenery. The old woman by the Japanese box tree at the entryway bowed her straw-hat wearing head to him. "Are you going out?"

It'd been a while since he'd seen that face. Did she take the trouble of coming because it was just before Bon? Seishin returned her greeting. "It's been some time. Thank you for coming when it is so hot."

"It's nothing. This year is the thirteenth anniversary of Ojii-chan's death, so I'll be counting on you again."

"Yes. Likewise."

"How is the Head Monk's health?"

A year and a half ago, his father Shinmei had suffered a stroke. Since then he had been living confined to the bed.

"Well, thank you for asking. He's been able to talk quite a bit recently."

"That's right fine to hear," said the old lady wiping her face with the towel around her neck. "That's right; just lately, I saw something wrote by you, Junior Monk, in some kind of magazine. It was an essay wasn't it? It was a short one, came across it in the hospital's waiting room."

"Ah," said Seishin with a bitter smile. The director of the Ozaki Hospital knew that Seishin would hate it, so he went through the trouble of buying the magazine that had the article in it and sat it in his waiting room. Seishin offered no comment, replying only with: "Is that right."

"Oh my, and now I've kept you! Do take care," said the old woman bowing her head deeply. He returned her bow and went from the driveway entrance to into the garage where he got in the car. The library wasn't so far one would need to drive, rather it was the perfect distance for a walk, for a change of pace, but right then the sun's rays were raining down incessantly. Furthermore if he went through the village in mid-day on foot, he would be caught at each parishioner's house one by one and would never get anywhere. As he was in a mood to hurry, he used the car.

While driving he rolled down the windows and turned on the air conditioning to chase the hot air out. The elderly saw him off. He may have had a side job in writing literature but Seishin's profession was that of a monk. They were the village's chief temple and ever since his father had fallen ill, Seishin bore the weight of the temple's families.

Receiving the formal salutations from the elderly, he slowly passed through the grounds towards the belfry before getting onto the private road. The stone stairway path down from the mountain gate wasn't long but that of course was not possible for a car to traverse. Thus a private road was established by the belfry. Following it, the road came out at the lumber yard adjoined to the Maruyasu sawmill. The private road's concrete was baked white and the voices of the cicadas forming an umbrella over the path were dry. It was a quintessential seething summer scene.

There was unusually little rainfall this year and the heat was atrocious. The car drove towards the east, onto the village road that followed the river, where the water level was low and the riverbed's dry planes had grown as a result. The rainy season dawned as it was without a proper rain. The town of Mizobe had appropriately river-like rivers but this mountain stream was fed only by the Omi River. With a water shortage downstream, Sotoba drew out water from the river. There was damage from the heat. It had been a harsh summer.

[TL/N:- Villages, Towns; Mizobe, annexations, Sotoba vs. Sotoba Village

 - Government and addresses in Japan are arranged, from top down: Nation (Japan, the country), Prefecture (47 total), to Municipalities. Think federal, state, county, for Americans.  

Municipalities are either designated as cities, towns, or villages based on population, among other factors. Because it cuts down on red tape to pool resources, there is a push for annexation; thus, Sotoba was absorbed into the larger nearby town of Mizobe and should technically not be designated as a village any longer. Cities are generally broken down into wards or towns listed on mailing envelopes, then district, blocks, and house numbers.  

While a 'town' can be a direct breakdown of a prefecture, breakdowns of cities are also called towns, as a carry over from the tendency of towns to be built on the outskirts of cities only to be annexed later. The seven portions of Sotoba, Kami-Naka-Monzen, Shimo-Sotoba-Mizuguchi, and Yamairi are translated as neighborhoods or communities.]

Following the stream south, he went past the vicinity of the first bridge that went towards the shrine. On the other bank of the river was the grove of the village shrine so green it practically stung the eyes. Going further down the village to second bridge, to the urban heart of Sotoba, was the region between the second bridge and the third bridge. The third bridge was formerly known as the boundary of Sotoba.

Sotoba was originally a village settled on temple grounds, opened by woodworkers, and until the temple territory was split up, all of Sotoba was one neighborhood hamlet. Surrounded by mountains on three sides, the gathering of six neighborhoods, with an added scattering of houses in the northern mountain territory added as another territory, the seven were generally referred to as "the village of Sotoba." In recent years it was annexed into the town of Mizobe, all lumped together into one portion of Mizobe called "Sotoba," but the villagers and those surrounding the area still called it a village, and the post office designation still read village, so the seven neighborhood names lived on.

There were just under four hundred houses, and the population was only 1,300 people making for a very small village but it still had the assets from when it had been run with a village's structure, and it was maintained if only so that it could continue to keep up appearances as a village proper. The community Seishin approached held one of such maintained facilities.

Near the second bridge's vicinity came into view the old style building beside the village road, made of wood with a tile roof. This building that resembled an old fashioned school was once the village town hall and was now the community center. Since the village was annexed into Mizobe, the town hall was now being used as a community center, and one portion became a library. One might think it obvious to write off the collection of books as the meager collection expected of a country library, but in this Sotoba was extraordinary. The temple, the Ozakis, and the Kanemasas's predecessors had arranged for the donation of a rather large collection of books, and when the Kanemasas left the village, they had donated a large sum of books and archives that Seishin made use of. Of course, there wasn't much in the way of light reading material, so it wasn't very popular with the villagers.

He pulled the car into the community center lot, one turn after the Ohkawa liquor store, and entered the building. Inside the antiqued building was a small hall and meeting rooms for gatherings, where each association and business would hold their meetings. Through the wide open windows, the sound of playing children's voices was heard. Attached to the community center was a children's hall that housed a nursery school, another business within the community center. The costs of the hall's frequent maintenance fell upon the temple---on the Muroi, Ozaki and Kanemasa households. The households of Muroi and Ozaki, and the Kanemasa house had always continued to support the village thusly.

Paying respect to the acquaintances he passed, Seishin headed towards the old library. Sitting behind the counter that was like an old world relic was the librarian, Yuzuki.

"Well, Junior Monk, good afternoon. Are you researching something?"

"Sorry for the trouble. Please let me in."

The library's collection of books was spread across two depositories in the building. As they seemed to be the type villagers would generally have no interest in, including the old archives, they were kept in a non-self-serve section. There was a rule against entry, but none the less in Seishin's case it was overlooked.

With a nod of his white haired head, Yuzuki took the archive key out of the desk drawer. Just as he had taken it out, two children from the nursery school came rushing to the counter. Giving a broad smile, Yuzuki took the books they held out and processed them for lending. Yuzuki was a gentle man, with an introverted personality and a reputation for being loved by children. He knew what children liked and often looked after and talked to them, making him known and loved as the "nice old man at the library."

"As expected, it's busy once summer vacation starts," Yuzuki said to Seishin with a delighted smile. "If only it were always like this. Children today have so many more fun things than books."

As Yuzuki said such, he looked to compare the children's room to the open stacks reading room. "Still, it's better on the children's side. As for in here, guests are as rare as a cuckoo's cry."

There was nobody in the reading room lined with books targeted to adults. Seishin came to the library often but he hardly ever recalled seeing a villager in the reading room. It was more common to see someone who liked books taking them out, or on occasion he may see people taking notes, usually a group of high school students, though only sometimes.

"As for yourself, Junior Monk, how is your writing going? When can we expect a new work?"

"Who knows?" Seishin prevaricated with a smile. "I'm just now finally getting started on one."

"Is that right?" said Yuzuki with a smile, inviting him into the office and towards the archives.

The distinguishing characteristic of the archives was the presence of old books, something Seishin liked. Entering the storage room and turning on the desk lamp near the door, he scoured the shelves. The books were precisely stowed according to the classification system.

If one met an unnatural death at the hands of their elder brother, and if that little brother were to take up revenge against his killer, what means would he take? The little brother by no means wished for revenge but the older brother should have been in fear that he did.

All the same, the little brother would not take revenge on him. Neither cursing nor blaming him, he only accompanied him. Since the first night, reappearing every night since, he continued that pattern.

At first he was afraid, and then he became despondent knowing his little brother had no intent to inflict harm upon him.

If his little brother had come for revenge, how much better it would be.

That was, of course, a fearful prospect in itself but,

If he would inflict injury on him thusly, if in trying to take his life away his little brother would become another killer like himself, if he would take up such actions for him, he was likely to draw a tangible sense of salvation from that.

But, his little brother did not.

The victim who would not try to inflict harm upon him made it clear there was no escape from his sin. His little brother was no killer. He was not a sinner. He was the only one who was a killer, a breaker of divine law.

(He...) Seishin thought as he turned the pages (may perhaps be in despair.)

He wanted his little brother to plot revenge and become the same repulsive being he was, to become a killer no different from himself. But, the little brother did not live up to his expectations. He knew he had no will to fulfill them by his little brother's empty stare. Unable to bear it he would lash out at his brother. ---He was sure to do that.

He lambasted him for being cowardly, unable to even take revenge, scorned him, even condemned him. And still

his little brother neither struck him nor lambasted him. He merely stood quietly by, his hollow eyes turned towards him.

His provocations had failed. He was only more stricken by this, and dropped to his knees before his little brother.

He prostrated himself in fear upon the earth, apologizing, clinging to his burial clothes and groveling for forgiveness.

----And all the while, his little brother's hollowed eyes only gazed at that spectacle.

He stared back at his little brother, until without knowing when, he averted his eyes. His head hung in shame, in order to avoid his little brother's empty stare, and he set out, further from the hill where his little brother should have laid buried.

There was nothing left he could do. He could neither run nor chase him away, he could do nothing but monologue about forgiveness to his little brother while traveling the wasteland.

With his head hung low, and without turning to look at his little brother under any circumstances, while neither acknowledging nor denying his little brother's presence at the edge of his field of vision in which he was ever aware of him, he continued to walk.

The will-o'-the-wisps crept over the land, fluttering in the dry winds as they drew their arcs, illuminating his and the corpse's path. Taking in the highs and lows of the land with his gaze and the soles of his feet, they walked in tacit silence. Always in the corner of his sight was his little brother's flickering form, shadowed by the faint smell of death's rot. It would not allow him the mercy of forgetting his sin and all that was associated with it, nor even the mercy of wearing it down.

And perhaps in its own way that was his little brother's means of revenge.

No, if this was not a part of his brother's revenge, it may have been another part of his curse, along with the hill that never grew further away and that splendor at its summit.

---Therefore thou art cursed, no longer one of the land, an eternal vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

Rummaging through the books in the archive and taking down notes or just things that came to mind, by the time Seishin had left the archives, two hours had already passed. The summer sun's rays were beginning to fade to the hue of twilight.

"I'm sorry, about taking so long." Seishin called out, causing Yuzuki to turn from the children he was talking to.

No, no, he smiled, an illustrated encyclopedia of insects on hand, holding onto a paper sack the children had put a rhinoceros beetle into. They probably came to ask him what kind of bug it was.

It was a charming enough scene to bring a smile to Seishin's face as he returned the key to Yuzuki. He checked out three books. Just as he was saying his thanks, as Yuzuki told him to come by again at any time, there was a piercing, shrill noise. It was the sound of a car's breaks, then the sound of something tumbling.

Yuzuki's expression changed and he rushed to the window. Seishin followed after him, rushing, seeing the village road that was, due to a dip, at eye level with the window, and on the black car on that road. Lodged into its fender was a child's bicycle.

"Are you all right?!" Yuzuki shouted, a rare occurrence, his expression a rare one as well as he rushed out of the library. Seishin followed after him from the community center to the village road. Just as Seishin and Yuzuki came running, the driver had taken the bicycle in his arms and threw it to the side of the road.

"Is he hurt?!"

At the sound of Yuzuki's voice, three children that had been crouched at the roadside looked up. Catching sight of Yuzuki, they burst out crying. The driver didn't even bother to look to that scene, tossing the bicycle to the side of the street and moving back around the front of the car into the driver's seat. He seemed distinctly burdened by having to remove an obstacle from the car's passing.

"Hey, you!"

The one to come running out of the neighborhood liquor store was its shopkeeper, Ohkawa Tomio. Ohkawa's angry voice rang out as he rushed to the car, catching the driver's side door as he had tried to close it. A black Mercedes was a sight that had never been seen in the village. The driver was also an unknown face. He wasn't from the village. As if he didn't even realize the situation he was in, he stared forward with a glassy and emotionless expression.

"Anyway, get on out of the car."

The man gave no response to Ohkawa's demand. He appeared to be in his early fifties, and in fitting with the car he dressed as if he were influential and important, a man in good shape but never the less his eyes were muddled and lifeless. Seishin's immediate impression was that the man was dead drunk.

"You don't have half a mind to get out and check on the kid? Where the hell are you from?"

From what Seishin could see, the children weren't in critical condition. Even so, one was squatting and holding his leg, clinging to Yuzuki and wailing. Whether he was hurt or just surprised, if he could cry, then it wasn't a worst-cast scenario at least.

"What's wrong? Were you hit?" Seishin asked, and the child nodded. He was probably a lower primary school student. The bicycle thrown to the side of the road was a small child's sized one, and the back wheel was bent. As Seishin was taking in these details, there was the sound of the transmission releasing. As the car started moving, Ohkawa's angry voice raged out.

"Hey! You!"

Seishin was startled. The driver started driving with the door still open. With the door caught in his hand, Ohkawa, a man built like a giant, was being pulled along. The car kept on like that along the village road, swirving towards the river before pulling the door shut and speeding far off and away.

"Ohkawa-san, are you all right?!"

Ohkawa, who had been thrown into the roadside bushes made a face as he pulled himself up. With his rage clear in his expression he glared at the leaving car.

"Who the hell does he think he is!" Ohkawa snapped as if spitting out the words, turning to Seishin. "Junior Monk, did you see the plates?"

Seishin shook his head. It had all happened so fast that his mind hadn't gotten around to it.

"Didn't seem to be a villager, did he? Never seen a car like that. Damn it, bunch of good for nothings coming and going here lately." Ohkawa stared off in the direction the car had left, lamenting. "Anyway, we need to contact Officer Takami-san---" He suddenly said, turning as if he'd just remembered the crying children. "No, guess these kids come first. How're they?"

"It doesn't appear to be serious. But we should bring him to the hospital. I came by car, so."

Ohkawa breathed a sigh and crouched beside the children. "Now, no more crying. The Junior Monk's gonna take you to the doctor."

Agreeing with Ohkawa's words, Yuzuki comforted the children, patting them each one by one on the head.

"Damn, what a punk," Ohkawa spit out, turning to Seishin. "I'll leave the boy to you. I'll go to report to Takami-san."

Seishin nodded. The villagers must have heard about the fuss, as they started gathering.

The one who was injured was a child from Shita-Sotoba called Maeda Shigeki.

"Bruises and scrapes. He wasn't hit by the car, they're probably from falling off the bike," Toshio said looking at the X-ray. "The car itself couldn't have been going that fast could it? Doesn't look like he got any head injuries either, so he got off pretty light."

Seishin breathed a light sigh of relief. The local officer Takami who was looking at the X-ray from behind Seishin breathed a similar sigh. "That, it's good. --What a relief."

The only ones in the examination room were Toshio and Seishin, along with Takami. The family hadn't come yet. Seishin didn't know the child who had been injured. The boy himself gave his name and address, but when they called nobody was there. It was possible that they were out in the fields or the mountains. They had just contacted the neighbors to look for the family.

"Still," Toshio said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm not clear on what happened. You don't remember the car?"

Seishin nodded. "I don't think that it was a villager. I didn't know their face and such."

"Can you write it off that easy? You didn't know Shigeki-kun's face either."

"He isn't from one of the parish families, not that I know all of the kids of the parish either. At any rate, I think that car is a different matter. It was a black Benz."

"Ah ha," Toshio nodded.

Takami nodded as if thinking the same thing. "I see, I've never seen a Benz before. If we're talking about foreign cars in this village, only the Junior Doctor's wife's BMW comes to mind."

Toshio laughed. "Towada-kun from my office drives a Golf, and Nurse Shiomi-kun has a Mini."

"Whoops," said Takami, smacking his forehead.

"---But, well, it's true there're no Benzes around. If there was someone driving a car like that, the rumors would get around. But Takami-san, better look into it just in case."

Takami nodded. "Of course. It was a hit and run after all. And furthermore it shows ill will that they drove off dragging Boss Ohkawa by the door. But Doctor, there isn't anyone in the village who would do such a thing, either."

"Desperate times, desperate measures and all that jazz."

"But," Seishin interposed. "There was something off about the driver. I don't know how best to put it but... yes, it did seem like he was under the influence. And not as if he had been drinking alcohol but as if he had taken a drug."

Seishin recalled the driver's tired expression.

"That's, it doesn't sound like anyone from the village, does it?"

"Better not to make snap judgments like that, Takami-san. Seishin, have you ever even seen a drug addict?"

"I haven't, but he did seem to be drunk. Yet he didn't have the reddened face of someone who had been drinking. Ohkawa-san had said he didn't smell like alcohol either."

"Old man Taki said something similar," Takami said scratching his head with his ballpoint pen. "He said he had seen a car through the window at the water company. He didn't know the type of car but it was a big black one. It seems it was driving through the village weaving back and forth. Just when he'd wondered if they were drunk, there was that mess. He came rushing onto the scene, fussing that he knew there would be an accident."

"Hnn."

"If only the village had a branch office out here," Takami said with a huff. "He said it was going north, so if there were someone checking comings and going for the village, the way that car stood out, it would have been over before it started. Even though a call did come into the office, the patrol car rushing from there didn't make it in time. He's probably made his way around and escaped out of the village by now."

"Probably. And with a bruised and scratched up victim."

"That's right," Takami muttered, before seeming to realize something as he looked up from his memo pad. "Say, Junior Monk. That couldn't have been the Kanemasa house's family's car, could it?

Seishin blinked. "Kanemasa---what?"

"They're the kind of people to build up that kind of house, doesn't it seem like they'd drive a Benz too?"

"However, nobody has moved into that house yet?"

"But, hey, there was talk about a moving truck coming in during the mushiokuri."

"But we're talking about coming and moving in," Toshio interrupted. "Since then, I haven't heard anything about them moving in, and it doesn't look like anyone's moved in either does it?"

"Do you think they may have moved in in secret?"

Toshio laughed in amazement. "You think someone could get away with that in this village? Even without the layout, that house's under so much attention that if there was even a hint of someone having moved in there, the next day it'd be all over the village."

"That's true, I guess. ... Then, the people of that house may have come to see how things were or...?"

"If that's how it is, it's not impossible I guess," Toshio said looking to Seishin. "But you saw his face didn't you? Later on, when the master of the house does move in, you'll know him if you see him."

"Only if I were to meet him right away," Seishin answered. It was a sudden affair, so fast that he didn't even think to read his license plate after all, so he was sure to be a bit unreliable. He recalled that something was off with his eyes but, if asked about the other features on his face he wasn't as confident.

Toshio gave an exaggerated sigh. "All that's left is to try asking the old bags at Takemura then. You said he came on the village road, that bunch watches who comes in don't they? If we're lucky they might even remember the plates."

Seishin and Takami exchanged wry smiles. The old folks in the neighborhood all gathered around the Takemura stationary shop's shop front. It wasn't as if they were truly conducting surveillance, probably, but when it came to those coming and going from the village they were unsettlingly well informed.

While wearing that forced smile, Takami scratched at his close-cropped hair. "At any rate, I will at least ask if there were any who had seen the car. It's, if we don't handle this well the culprit may get away."

Just as Takami was saying that with a mix between a mumble and a sigh, a shrill sound came from the direction of the waiting room. Immediately Nurse Ritsuko's face appeared in the examining room door.

"Uhm, Doctor. It's Maeda Shigeki-kun's mother."

"For now bring her into the treatment room and let her see Shigeki-kun. She should calm down once she sees him. I'll be right there."

"Yes," Ritsuko said with a nod. Hurried footsteps carried past the examining room. There was the stampeding sound of someone entering the treatment room partitioned off with a single screen, then the sound of a woman sobbing out as if an emotional dam had been broken.

While listening to that hysterical voice scream Shigeki's name, Toshio approached the treatment room. Seishin and Takami followed. There was the boy lying on the bed, the middle aged woman holding him to her breast, and another woman of the same age watching over the scene. She was one Seishin recognized. She was Yano Kanami of the Drive-in Chigusa.

Kanami was the first to notice Toshio. She gently nudged the woman who appeared to be Shigeki's mother, and that woman lifted her face. Looking at the three men in the room and comparing them, she suddenly released the child and stood.

"Is that the man who ran over Shigeki?!"

Her glare was aimed directly at Seishin, to his bewilderment. It was a ghastly sight, maybe because she came rushing at him, her face covered in so much sweat it was as if a bucket of water were dumped on her, her tangled hair sticking to her pallid face. Kanami stopped the woman rushing at him with a wordless scream, and Takami rushed up seeming flustered himself.

"Ah, no! It wasn't him, Ma'am. He's just the one who brought your son here."

"Then where's the culprit?!"

The boy who had been abandoned by the shrill voiced woman looked afraid now himself.

"Well, that is, he ran away."

"You're lying, he ran him over, didn't he!"

"Motoko." The one who called out to the screaming woman was Yano Kanami. "This isn't the one. See, he's the Junior Monk from the temple. Your family isn't part of the parish so you might not know him but I'm very familiar with him."

At those words Motoko looked up to Kanami as if a switch was flipped. Kanami wore an awkward smile. "So, you see? You can calm down."

"Then----" Motoko looked between Seishin and Kanami. "Who ran over Shigeki?"

"About that," said Takami approaching Motoko's side. "For now, let me tell you what we know. It seems like the culprit wasn't a villager."

Just as he was explaining that, Motoko's voice rung out in another wordless shriek. Looking as if she could faint any moment she turned to Toshio.

"Shigeki--is Shigeki all right?!"

"As you can see, he's just fine," Toshio answered blithely. He was clearly more interested in Motoko's state. "Just some scratches and bruises. I took an X-ray just in case, and there's nothing abnormal. Tomorrow he'll be able to go do radio exercises and run amok."

Motoko blinked slowly, then, as if her body itself were not quite right, once again broke down crying. Toshio forced a smile and turned his eyes to Ritsuko, standing stock still with bewilderment. "If you ask me which is worse off, I'd said the mom at this point. Ricchan, calm her down and explain the state of his injuries to her."

"Yes," Ritsuko nodded. Toshio motioned for Yano Kanami, beckoning her to the examination room.

"You're Kanami-san from Chigusa, aren't you?"

"That's right. Motoko was working at the shop with me at the time."

"Ah, I see. The missus of the Maeda house seems a little distracted right now so for the time being I'll explain things to you. Later you can explain things to her if she doesn't seem to understand."

"Eh---yes," she said, then giving a smile to Seishin. "Junior Monk, I'm sorry about her. Motoko has been always neurotic about her children."

Seishin shook his head saying it was nothing as Kanami bowed her head. "You transported Shigeki-kun here, didn't you? I thank you very much. With Motoko in that state, please accept my thanks in her stead."

"No, think nothing of it. Motoko-san must be very distraught."

Kanami wore a troubled smile, as if to say 'really.' "Motoko's house is near the highway. I mean, there are a lot of accidents on the highway, aren't there? So, she can be prone to brooding sometimes about her children possibly being hit by an outsider driving down the highway or something like that. I really have no excuse for her."

"Ah," mumbled Seishin. Kanami had used the word "brooding" but for Motoko that may have been more of a fearful fixation. Once she heard her child was in an accident, her mind leaped to the worst circumstances imaginable, he didn't doubt.

"That is--Motoko-san must have been deeply worried."

"They're not any injuries to worry about at all. When he was first brought in, he was a little dazed from the shock but he calmed down quickly enough to give his name, address and phone number right and all. There wasn't anything out of place on the X-rays, so beyond the bruises and scrapes you can see, there's no outstanding injuries. Anyway, the victim himself was pretty surprised, and since he is a kid, he might not calm down for two or three days but he should be back to normal soon enough."

"Then, it really isn't anything serious is it?"

"Rather than saying he was hit by a car it'd be more accurate to say his back wheel was hit and that he fell over. He's a kid so it was a mental shock, I think he might have a fever from that too but it's nothing to worry about. If it does seem worrisome, I can prescribe a stabilizer if he's brought in for treatment."

"Yes," Kanami said with a relieved smile. "I'm relieved. I think Motoko will be relieved too."

"By the way," Takami interrupted. "Your place is right at the village entrance isn't it?"

"It is. It is but, what about it?"

"Well, you see, it's about the black Benz that threw Shigeki-kun off his bike, I was wondering if maybe you'd seen anything or..."

Kanami blinked. "A black... Benz, was it?"

"Yes."

"I saw it. Then, that's the car that got Shigeki-kun?"

"You did? ---Any chance you got the plates or..."

"No, I didn't. But a black foreign car going towards Mizobe did come into the parking lot."

"Towards Mizobe?" As Takami asked that, Seishin tilted his head in thought. The Drive-in Chigusa was at the intersection of the highway and the village, on the Mizobe side. If the car were going towards Mizobe and entered into the Chigusa parking lot, that would mean it had already been past the village road.

"Yes," Kanami said with a meek nod. "I heard a horn honk. And then, a black foreign car pulled into the lot from the highway bridge, grazing by a truck as it passed. Motoko had said 'what dangerous driving!' about them. That car turned around in the parking lot and went back towards the village. It was zigzagging as it drove..."

"Did you see the driver's face?"

"Yes. It was an unfamiliar face. I don't think they were from the village. I thought they must have overlooked the village road and gone past it. But he was driving so recklessly, the man driving himself seemed to be staggered or---" Kanami hesitated to speak. "Even though he was turning back, when he turned the steering wheel, his head lulled forward like this, tilting. I wondered if he was all right?" Kanami said, adding on uneasily: "It was an elegant car, even Motoko was saying that. That maybe that was someone from Kanemasa."