Chapter Text
Kisaragi Station is a semi-popular urban myth floating on the internet which recently received a feature on OOParts, an unknown and mysterious train station near the mountains which supposedly spirits away any living passenger that happens to board the train that makes a stop there. Most say that stumbling upon this train station is done completely on accident, since Kisaragi Station doesn't actually exist, anyone who rides a train in the general area has the chance to board the legendary train en route to Kisaragi Station while some think that the station actually does exist as an unfound remnant of the Meiji era.
Users of an online forum linked Kisaragi Station to The Underworld myth, theorizing that the station is a space that exists in between realms, serving as a pathway to Yomi from Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni. To escape such a place, all one has to do is go back the way they came. Spending a prolonged period of time or going even further within these spaces is extremely dangerous, the living do not belong within the spaces meant for the dead.
Brave individuals or paranormal streamers aiming to make a big hit trek into the forest by T Mountain to make an attempt at finding Kisaragi Station but unfortunately for them, paranormal happenings do not often happen to those who seek it. Most times anyway. Even then, the way to Kisaragi Station isn't in the mountains.
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Kazuo Yashiki can admit to himself that he has a severe guilt problem. It has existed since his teenage years from when he first learnt that to deal with the dead, sometimes one has to make "Necessary Sacrifices." Whether it be something as simple as his own personal belonging, someone's last remaining memento of their loved one and even a living breathing human. This is what was taught to him and Saya by their parents, "No shortcuts can be made when ridding spirits, purification at all cost lest the curse they bring fester and infect all that live."
This guilt problem only got worse after the Death Mark incident, opening up Mary's box brought suffering, a severe miscalculation made by a man who underestimated the dolls burning hatred and will to enact vengeance. All the times the mark bearers had to deal with spirits-suffering the mind-numbing buzz of amnesia while they were at it, the students of Konoehara he failed to save and all the people left in the aftermath of these occasions that he wasn't able to support. The memories pound at his head and heavy on his heart, 'If only' scenarios were a constant during the months after.
The Mark Bearers, as if by instinct, knew that he would be having some problems so they made sure to drop by quite often. If it wasn't Shou, then it was Ai, Tsukasa would usually tag-along with Moe while the Eita-Suzu duo lived relatively farther away so they were accompanied with Christie and her car. Daimon walks to the Kujou Mansion, claiming that he better 'Get his steps in if he wanted to stay in Yashiki's life' at least three times a month. An odd visit from Hiroo, usually to show him a scientific fascination and Yasuoka whenever woman decides that she wants to give a fortune reading becomes an uncommon but still expected occurance. Banshee raids his kitchen on the semi-regular and Mashita has basically made the Kujou Mansion his main home at this point.
Kazuo's pot for boiling water is always warm, one of many signs that Kazuo is no longer alone. The disproportionate amount of coffee bean to sugar purchases and wrinkled sheets of various rooms within his home might be an annoyance to anyone else but he can't help but feel comforted by it. 'They'll be here to stay, won't they?' a thought appears in Kazuo's mind, fond and hopeful in tone.
An unbreakable bond is what the group has and he wouldn't change a thing. Though he does wish that they would be slightly less willing to accompany him on his spirit hunting jobs, even Shou and Hiroo would strong-arm him into bringing them along if they knew Kazuo would be going alone.
He's sure Saya would be proud, she did always get on his case for running away whenever socialization was involved. Now she wouldn't have to worry about him forgetting to eat for a week again or sleep once every three days. She now has a gaggle of people to worry about him for her. Truly though, isn't he a bit too old for such things? while the others might disagree, he's perfectly capable of managing himself in his opinion.
Even the kid's from Konoehara, whom he thought would be the ones who were most likely to hold something against him, visit him once or twice to make conversation, even if its usually one-sided, especially if Haruaki or Michiho -who usually brings Douryou along- were the ones to come. He got introduced to Akira Kijima and Seiji Amanome properly by Hazuki after an incident involving an attempted wrestling match initiated by the UG fighter. Once a proper take out and verbal smack down by Mashita -whom was accompanying him in the garden- was made, Hazuki and Amanome decided then that they needed to save their friend. Overall within the span of a decade since the Mark incident, Kazuo Yashiki's life has gone through a drastic change from the solitary life lead by Kujou Masamune. A change that he doesn't mind all that much.
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Public transport is not something that Kazuo Yashiki was used to, all his life he was driven and on the off-chance this wasn't the case, he had a license and a van so getting around was never really a problem. He hasn't ridden public transport since the Kashima case and wasn't planning to until today.
Kazuo was headed to Kisaragi Station, whether it be in the mountains or separate space only accessible by train. A certain associate of his familiar with the online forums brought up a concerning discussion that took place there to him, added by the fact that there truly has been a spike in missing persons cases that took place roughly after they boarded a train. "C'mon Mister Yashiki! this is obviously something spirit related, the sudden resurgence of Kisaragi station in the forums, the unexplained disappearances and the bad ju-ju around the place is basically a spirits MO! I think we should check it out."
So here he was, standing on the platform and waiting for the train en route to T mountain. In all honesty, he was kind of excited. Not because of the potential spirit encounter, but the fact that this'll be the first time Kazuo will ride a train. Train's were fascinating, it's shape and speed, the concept of transporting a large amount of people from one place to another within minutes while driving would take an hour, the cute mascots they had and more. Trains were an integral part of society and they'll probably stay that way for a long time. All the more reason for Kazuo to deal with the problem as soon as possible, the longer he leaves it be, the more people will go missing.
Yashiki looks up at the clock, 2330. 10 more minutes before their train comes.
"It's way to early to be spacing out. Hey! Yashiki! your train's here!" a rough voice snaps me out of my thoughts, followed by a pulling of my coat into the train where we quickly take a seat. "So, how are we doing this? I'm gonna assume you aren't going to be train-hopping all day so give me the gist of it."
The train is empty, so talking should be fine.
"The forums say that after boarding a train that lands on any station close to T mountain, there'll be a chance to end up where we need to go. We'll know we've successfully entered when we feel that we're taking an abnormally long time reaching the next stop. Not long after, the train will finally make a stop. The station we arrive at will be desolate, not in the abandoned to nature sense but more in the free of any human presence type. The forum also said the place will be eerily silent except for the ringing sound of kagura bells and the slow beating of a drum when we've entered the area proper."
"But..." Kazuo continues. "We'll be checking out the mountain area first since it seems a lot more straightforward than the train portion. Apparently we need a series of coincidental events to happen, such as boarding the wrong train late at night at the stations near T mountain, stepping into the train using the left foot and so on."
"What a nit-picky ghost."
"Well most are don't you think? Occurrences usually involve certain 'rituals', Hanahiko required us stepping in front of a specific mirror and Shimi-O appeared when people go deep into the forest with a 'ready to face death' mindset. Fitting these prerequisites are what reminds spirits of their grudge, like poking a sleeping bear. The bear still exists but for as long as they remain asleep they'll be relatively safe to be around. Stumbling upon spirits by complete accident are still possible of course but most encounters can be chalked up to coincidence, it's why spirits are so dangerous. Can you imagine what would happen if we just let the spirits multiply? eventually we'll have a spirit-pocalypse where everything we do could end up with us being cursed."
"As much as I would love to be rid of those guys, you better watch yourself. Those things put a hamper on your thoughts more than the rest of us, you're nice Yashiki so that's inevitable. Whenever you deal with spirits, I notice that you tend to bring find a way to blame yourself, like you could've done something to prevent it. They're dead Yashiki, you weren't there when they died nor were you the one that killed them. Which is exactly why I'm here, someone's gotta catch you when you start spiraling." Mashita ends his words with a smirk.
"Ehhhh... Guess you're right, you're quite dear to me Mashita and I know that you wouldn't go away even if I beat you away with a broom. You'll keep coming back and I have no clue why. Even so I'm still grateful. Although you could stand to be a bit more patient waiting for your coffee, I know that you aren't the type to put sugar in but don't knock until you try it."
"You seriously don't know why I stick around? Well, you better get those gears in your brain going cause' I'm not gonna tell you unless I get really impatient. Also, I can still taste the sugar in my mouth from the first time you served me coffee. Aren't you old? You should really cut down the sugar old man. Get Daimon to give you a check up or something, I'm shocked you haven't keeled over yet from the amount of sugar you consume within a week. While you're at it, lock your doors dammit."
"My coffee is perfectly fine as it is, and I never know when someone wanting assistance will come through those doors." "Most burglars wouldn't think twice about robbing an unlocked mansion."
The way we slide back into comfortable conversation invokes a fuzzy feeling within Kazuo. Kazuo and Satoru, Mashita and Yashiki, the spirit-hunting power duo. Nothing can stop nor separate us whenever we put our minds together and we both know it. The smell of cigarettes, that gruff voice, those sharp eyes.
The train continues to run and Kazuo thinks that everything will be alright.