Chapter Text
“Okay! According to my intel, this is the place!”
Sasaki came to an abrupt halt in front of a vacant storefront.
“This convenience store shut down two months ago after a series of salmonella outbreaks. Three days ago, a young boy disappeared at a nearby park and was missing for three hours before he was eventually found inside the locked store,” she said in the spooky, hushed tone of voice she used whenever she described a case.
“Itadori, you getting anything?”
Yuuji closed his eyes and furrowed his brow, doing his best to reach out with his senses.
“No, I don’t feel it,” he shook his head. “But I’d need to get inside the store to know for sure.”
“It’s locked.” Iguchi tugged on the door handle.
“Well, the glass isn’t too thick, I could definitely break it easily,” Yuuji mused, “but I don’t really wanna—”
“Yo! They left the back entrance unlocked!” Sasaki’s voice called out from around the side of the building.
“Oh! Well that makes things easier!” Yuuji jogged over to join her, Iguchi on his heels. “Wait, then do you think the kid just wandered in? Y’know, if the door was unlocked to begin with.”
“Hm…” Sasaki took a step back as if to examine the door for answers. “It’s more likely that they forgot to lock the door back up after they got the kid out, don’t you think?”
“And even if the missing kid turning up here was unrelated, there’s still the salmonella outbreaks to investigate,” Iguchi added.
“Oh yeah! Let’s not forget to check for traces of salmonella while we’re here.”
“How are we gonna do that?” Yuuji asked as he held the door for his senpai and followed them into the store. “I guess I could lick some stuff and we can wait to see if I get sick…” Though, if I did, I'd have to stop visiting grandpa until I’ve recovered…
“While I admire your courage, Itadori, we won’t have to resort to that. I happen to be acquainted with someone in the science club who owes me for lending them my notes last year. We just need to swab some surfaces and they‘ll develop cultures and test those for salmonella.”
“I’m impressed, Sasaki-senpai, you’re really thorough— oh!” Yuuji paused where he had been making his way down what had once been a refrigerated aisle.
“Getting something now?”
“Yeah!” Yuuji closed his eyes again. “It’s pretty faint, but I think it’s strongest right here.”
“Nice! I’ll swab the shelves around here.” Sasaki skipped over and clapped a hand on Yuuji’s shoulder. “Don’t you dare leave us, Itadori, I don’t wanna go back to stumbling around blindly like we did before we had your sixth sense on the team.”
Yuuji grinned at the praise. He had never been much of a believer in the supernatural, but he had never truly been a skeptic either. He had joined the club simply because it met more infrequently than other clubs and let out early enough that he could make it to the hospital before visiting hours ended, but thanks to Sasaki and Iguchi’s enthusiasm, the club had turned out to be much more fun than he had expected. His clubmates had initially just been happy to get a third person to meet the minimum member quota, but after the discovery that Yuuji seemed to be able to sense supernatural phenomena like a sixth sense, club activities had become more exciting. More and more, Yuuji found himself invested in their investigations, even if they had yet to witness anything more supernatural than flickering lights, ominous mist, and maybe some spontaneously combusting homework, though they had arrived too late to find out if that had really been the case or if the student had done it herself.
Even with the minimal evidence they had, Sasaki and Iguchi had agreed that Yuuji’s Creepy Feeling definitely pointed them in the direction of inexplicable occurrences, and Yuuji was happy to come along on their investigations in order to confirm or deny the Feeling’s presence.
***
“The park’s right down this way,” Sasaki announced, pointing down a residential street.
“By the way, Itadori,” Iguchi said as they made their way down the quiet street. “Did you ever check out that creepy Stevenson screen?”
“Oh, that? It stopped feeling weird yesterday. I went by to check it today during lunch, just to be sure, and it was empty.”
“Interesting.” Sasaki took a note on her phone. “We should monitor that area. Would you be able to do a weekly check-in there for a bit, Itadori?”
“Sure!”
“Through here,” Sasaki instructed, glancing between the map on her phone and the walkway between two houses she had indicated.
It was a pleasant suburban neighborhood lined with medium-sized houses, most one or two stories tall. The houses were close together and only had some patio space in the way of land, but many had the limited space tastefully adorned with potted plants, shrubs, or small trees. Yuuji took a deep breath of the evening June air, crisp but not cold, perfect hoodie weather, in his opinion.
A large boulder with the name of the park carved into it announced their arrival. Beyond a thin line of trees was a small and rather unassuming public park. At the end closest to them, there was an aging play structure and the rest of the park was just a grassy field. A walking path went around the perimeter of the park, covered in a few places for protection from rain or sun.
“Oh, wait.” Sasaki stopped short of walking through the park’s entrance, holding up her hand to signal to the others to do the same. “The sign here says to keep dogs on a leash, and we didn’t bring one for Itadori.”
“Hey!” Yuuji pouted, knowing that his sad puppy look probably wasn’t helping his case.
“It’ll be fine,” Iguchi said, ruffling Yuuji’s hair. “We’re the only ones here right now so he won’t be a disturbance.”
Yuuji ran a hand through his hair to try to put it back how it was, not that it had been particularly neat in the first place. With his senpai giggling at him, it was hard for yuuji to hold his pout, and eventually he cracked and chuckled along with them.
As soon as they entered the park, Yuuji could feel the creepy feeling faintly. Admittedly, he did feel a bit like a dog following its nose as he tried to determine where the feeling was the strongest.
“Under here,” Yuuji announced to his classmates, “It’s definitely the strongest down he— OW!”
Yuuji straightened up, rubbing the back of his head where he had smacked it against the platform of the play structure he had been looking beneath.
“That’s kinda dangerous, isn’t it?” Yuuji pointed out.
“In more ways than one,” added Iguchi, “The platform’s a sheer drop.”
Indeed, the edge of the platform that Yuuji had collided with had no sliding pole or climbing structure attached to it, nor did it have a railing and bars to keep kids from falling off. The drop was nearly a meter and a half, and the ground beneath was packed and hard and completely devoid of grass from being stepped on frequently.
“Do you think…” Sasaki’s stage whisper and the pensive face she wore indicated that she was formulating one of her theories, and the others listened eagerly to hear what she had come up with.
“A fall from the wrong angle off this ledge could be enough to kill a small kid, don’t you think?” Sasaki asked. “Like if the kid were to fall on their head, they’d probably break their neck, right? Maybe this place is haunted by the spirit of a child who died here, and they abduct other kids to be their playmates.”
Iguchi nodded solemnly, but Yuuji’s brow furrowed in doubt.
“I fell on my head from two stories up when I was five and I was fine, didn’t even have to go to the hospital.”
“I think you might just be a special case, Itadori.” Iguchi said, looking slightly alarmed.
“Definitely,” Sasaki agreed, “We saw you punch a hole in concrete by accident last week, you don’t count. Although… between your weird strength and sixth sense, you might be worth researching.”
Sasaki squinted at him, leaning in and adjusting her glasses to examine him.
“Did you grow up near a shrine? A graveyard? Or maybe your house was built on a sacred site…”
“I don’t think there’s a shrine or graveyard nearby, and I don’t know anything about the land the house is on, but I’ve lived there my whole life.”
“I see, and do you get the Feeling when you’re at home?”
“The Feeling? I guess I’ve noticed it at home, but only sometimes. It feels more like it’s coming and going, not like it comes from the house itself.”
“Interesting, a mobile spirit, perhaps?” Sasaki took notes on her phone as she spoke. “I’d need to examine the property myself to come to any kind of conclusion, though.”
“You’re welcome to come over and check out my place,” Yuuji offered. “You both can and I’ll make dinner! The house has been pretty empty lately so it’ll be nice to have people over. Would you guys be free Thursday after the club meets?”
“Yeah! Er… I mean, only if it isn’t too much of a bother for you, of course.”
“Nah, I’d be cooking for myself anyway, making a little extra is no big deal. Does that work for you, Iguchi-senpai?”
“Yeah it does, thanks Itadori.”
Yuuji beamed at the fond smiles his clubmates gave him.
Alright, back to the investigation,” Sasaki redirected their attention back to the play structure. “If the ghost really is just a kid who wants a playmate, I feel kind of bad trying to drive them out, but it’s a danger regardless, so…”
Sasaki rummaged around in her bag as she walked away from the group, eventually pulling out a small paper salt packet. She tore it open and sprinkled its content onto the ground beneath the structure. “That should do it. I guess I should get the platform too.”
“Is that just table salt?” Yuuji asked. “Does that work?”
“I don’t see why it wouldn’t,” she replied, “besides, I nabbed a bunch of these packets from restaurants in Shiogama last time I was there to visit my aunt, so they’ve gotta have some kind of special properties, right?”
Sasaki, being several inches shorter than Yuuji, barely had to duck to pass under the play structure. She used the ladder on the opposite side to climb up onto the platform. As she stepped onto it, the whole structure shifted slightly and made a groaning noise. It was definitely due for a fix-up or maybe a total replacement. Perhaps that would even take care of the ghost.
“Wait, Sasaki,” Iguchi called up to her, “maybe don’t put salt up there, kids could slip on it.”
“Oh, yeah, you’re right. I’ll just put a little in each corner, then. Nobody will be stepping there.”
“Good thinking, Senpai, the last thing we want is more ghost children.” Yuuji quipped, only realizing after the words left his mouth that perhaps that was a bit insensitive to say. His clubmates didn’t seem bothered, though, so he decided not to say anything about it.
“Well, that’s it for now,” Sasaki said as she slid down the slide to rejoin her clubmates, “Let’s get going, I still have homework to do and I wanna do a little digging to see if there was ever any news about deaths that occurred here.”
The ride back on the Nanboku line was uneventful, with Sasaki typing rapidly on her phone, probably writing up a mission report, and Iguchi scrolling on his own phone. Yuuji was left to let his mind wander, and ended up where it always seemed to go lately, with his grandfather in the hospital. He had visited earlier, after the at-school part of their club meeting had concluded, and met back up with his clubmates after visiting hours ended.
His grandfather had been his usual self, grumpy and combative, but Yuuji couldn’t help but worry. Up until recently, his grandfather had been able to get up and move around the hospital room a little, but as of the week before last, he had become fully and permanently bedridden. It bothered Yuuji in a strange way to think that he would never get up again. There was a looming finality to the knowledge that his grandfather had already laid down for the last time. As the days progressed, there would only be more last times, until eventually Yuuji visited him for the last time, and soon after that he would take a breath for the last time. For all Yuuji knew, today’s visit had already been the last.
He physically shook his head to rid himself of the thought, clicking his tongue habitually to give him a sound to focus on instead. There was no sense in thinking like that. Yuuji’s job now was to do whatever he could for his grandfather in the time they had left. He would surely be scolded if his grandfather knew the kind of worry he was dwelling on.
***
“Itadakimasu!”
Sasaki and Iguchi sat across from Yuuji at the traditional low table his grandfather had always favored and continued to insist on using even as his aging knees and hips made it more and more difficult for him to sit at.
“Mmm!” Sasaki swallowed the food in her mouth. “This is amazing, Itadori! I don’t know if I’ve ever had curry this good.”
“Mmnn!” Iguchi agreed through his own mouthful.
“Thanks!” Yuuji grinned. “It’s grandpa’s secret recipe!”
“Well, tell him he’s a genius… if he’s still around. If not, I know some rituals…”
“He’s still kicking,” Yuuji chuckled in a way he hoped didn’t sound too sad. “But he really doesn’t need the ego boost.” Despite his words, Yuuji made a mental note to pass the message on.
After dinner, Sasaki announced that it was time to inspect the property. As it had gotten dark during their meal, Yuuji grabbed his grandfather’s high-power flashlight and handed it to Sasaki before leading the way around the outside of the house. The property was small. In the front of the house there were only a few meters between the stone wall that surrounded it and the house itself, and it was an even tighter squeeze around the sides, forcing the three of them into single-file. Sasaki’s flashlight beam swept across the narrow area ahead of them as they walked, eventually landing on the old shed as they emerged into the more spacious backyard.
“What’s that for?” she asked.
“I’m not completely sure,” Yuuji replied, tilting his head, “but I always kinda figured that that’s where grandpa keeps the gardening stuff. I don’t know where the key is, though.”
Yuuji walked up to the shed and pulled on the handle. Surprisingly, it swung open.
“Oh, huh, I figured he would’ve kept it locked.”
“What’s inside?” Sasaki asked, aiming the flashlight beam into the shed.
The shed was surprisingly and disappointingly mostly empty. There was only a rake leaning against the wall and a wooden toolbox sitting on a shelf near the door. Yuuji reached in and picked up the box, which was lighter than he would expect a toolbox to be, but definitely had a few things rattling around inside of it. The toolbox was very plain, unvarnished wood joined together at the edges in a precise but not particularly attractive manner. The only feature on the lid, apart from small shards of wood that looked like they would make nasty splinters, was a faded adhesive label that was peeling around the edges. He squinted at the handwritten kanji, nearly illegible from the low light and years of wear.
“Ka… or maybe Ko…” he held out the box in front of his clubmates. “Hey can either of you tell what this says?”
“Mm… I think it might say Kaori,” Iguchi suggested.
“Oh…” Yuuji’s brow furrowed. “Kaori is my mother’s name.” At least, he was pretty sure it was, but his grandfather didn’t talk about his parents very often, and when he did he tended to refer to Yuuji’s mother as “that woman,” distaste clear in his voice, so Yuuji had never pried.
“So this is your mom’s tool kit?” Sasaki asked
“Uh, I guess?” Yuuji shrugged.
“It’s locked.” Iguchi said, tapping the rusted padlock.
“I bet Itadori could break it no problem, though.” Sasaki nudged Yuuji with her elbow.
“I’d rather not.” Yuuji chuckled sheepishly. “I mean, she probably locked it for a reason, and besides, I don’t feel anything from it.” He took the box back and put it in its place on the shelf before closing the shed door again.
“Alright,” Sasaki said as she moved her flashlight away from the shed, “but make sure to tell us if you do feel anything.”
They resumed their lap around the house, Sasaki periodically stopping her flashlight on something and asking Yuuji about it. Yuuji didn’t mind, it was funny how focused Sasaki was on finding some evidence of the supernatural to explain Yuuji’s idiosyncrasies. When they came back around to the front of the house, Sasaki seemed a little disappointed to have found nothing of note. Yuuji promised he’d keep an eye out for anything strange and report it to the club.
“And you’re sure there’s nothing spiritual in the area that could have been the cause?” Sasaki prodded as she grabbed her bag from inside.
“Nothing that I know of,” Yuuji confirmed. The nearest shrine I can think of is that tiny one on the other side of where you live.”
“Well, I’ll do a little digging just to make sure. Ready to go, Iguchi?”
“Yeah, I am.” Iguchi nodded.
“See you at school, then, and thanks again for the meal.”
Yuuji bade his senpai goodnight and offered to walk them home, but they refused, pointing out that if he did that then he would end up walking back alone, whereas the two of them lived near each other so they’d be together almost the whole way. Yuuji acquiesced, but still watched them until their backs receded into the darkness to make sure they at least left his street safely.