Chapter 65 – Utsurobune

Hoshi's POV

 I began to catch up with that fancy-looking woman, but when I arrived near her, she turned around me with a positive smile. She then said something in a language that I don't understand at all. Kuro then felt that something is not right with her. That's because he sensed some bad and ghostly aura from her and told me about it. So, I looked directly at the woman and try communicating in English, "What?" The woman repeated her response in her own language.

Still, me and Kuro don't understand a single thing she said to us.

 "What?"

But then, the woman vanished before us.

This stuns us.

 "What?"

 "No way…" Kuro added, "…was she a yokai, too?"

Third person POV

 Then, Hoshi's group came to him and asked what he was doing there. Upon hearing that, Hoshi snapped out of it and turned around. "Oh, hey guys, I'm just looking for something."

"What something?" Sha raised an eyebrow.

Hoshi then tried to convey what he had just seen moments ago, including the woman's strange language.

It worked, but his group didn't understand about the woman.

 "Okay, what?"

 "She must be a rich and fancy woman."

 "Yeah…"

 "I know…" Hoshi responded while trying to comprehend his recent encounter with the mysterious, vanishing woman, "…it's weird, even her language."

 "We understand, brother." Mariya placed her hand on his left shoulder for a couple of seconds. "We loved supernatural stuff, so we could just discover what you had said and described soon, okay?"

Hoshi eventually nodded with positive confidence. "Yes."

Kuro nodded, too.

With that, they all left Kitano-cho, and went to Ikuta Shrine, one of the oldest shrines in Japan. There they all entered in and explored around, especially its small "Ikuta forest". In the latter, all of them relaxed under its nature. This really relaxed their minds from walking and the busy urban environment. Luckily before going to the shrine, some of them bought snacks like delicious Takoyaki balls and ice cream, so they would have something to eat while relaxing on the green grass and under the trees. This lasted until 5:32 p.m., when they packed up, threw their trash in trash bins, and left the shrine place, before catching a train back to Osaka city. Their visit might not be all of Kobe City, but all of them had a great time.

 And as he sat next to Taro on the train to Osaka city, Hoshi began to think about the mysterious, fancy-looking woman at Kitano-cho while looking at the afternoon outside of the train via a window. He and Kuro are now fascinated by that entity, and both decided to do some research on her and her origins and possibilities as a yokai at the Takada estate tomorrow. At the same time, the woman from last time, who was called Utsurobune no Eruke by some people outside of Kobe City, was now entering the Dutch Museum and Fragrance House after sundown, looking and glancing at the displayed items there. She seemed to be happy to see such vintage things. But why she was there?