Chapter 10: Kimura’s Ordeal (Part 6)

“Kimura might have intended to destroy the cave,” Itō began, his voice heavy with the weight of the story, “but without proper tools, it was less destruction and more… a desperate, furious rampage. After he’d vented that raw anger, with the first light of dawn, he scrambled back down the mountain and caught the earliest train home.”

“His parents, naturally, knew instantly he’d sleepwalked again. This time, the dam broke. Kimura confessed everything – the cave, the bones, the statue, his own terrifying theories about the ritual and the entity. But his parents… they couldn’t, or wouldn’t, believe in anything supernatural. To them, it was all just a manifestation of extreme stress, his mind cracking under some unseen pressure.”

“That same day, his father took him to a doctor for the first time.”

Itō Takuma spread his hands in a gesture of utter helplessness. “As you’ve all probably guessed, the doctors were useless. And, with a grim predictability that settled like a shroud, Kimura sleepwalked again that very night.”

Ōgami Yōsuke ticked off the events on his mental checklist. “The Saturday night before last – first time. Sunday before last – second. Last Monday – third. And this was Tuesday… the fourth time.”

“And,” Itō Takuma added, his voice dropping to a near whisper, “the last time he was seen outside his home.”

“To put it bluntly, after Kimura finally succumbed to exhaustion that night, the dream returned. The same oppressive darkness, the same chilling sense of being pulled. Only this time, he said, the voices calling his name were stronger, more commanding, impossible to ignore.”

“When he jolted awake, the horror was absolute. He was standing at the very entrance to the cave on Mount Karasu-Go.”

“A few more steps, and he would have been swallowed by the darkness within.”

Kana hugged herself, a visible shiver running through her. “Just hearing about it… makes my skin crawl. I can’t imagine what he went through.”

Itō Takuma nodded, his eyes distant. “Kimura told me, in that moment, standing at the threshold of that cursed place, it wasn’t just terror he felt. It was this profound, soul-crushing weariness. Not physical, but a weariness of the spirit. A horrifying certainty that no matter what he did, no matter how hard he fought, he couldn’t escape this… this thing that had latched onto him.”

“The ritual, he was convinced, was in motion. That evil god, or whatever it was, had its claws in him and would not let go. He’d been summoned to the cave entrance in his sleep. The next time, he knew with chilling certainty, he would go inside. He might even, lost in the depths of that unnatural sleep, unconsciously complete the ritual himself, offering his own life as the final sacrifice.”

“Kimura said his father dragged him to doctor after doctor, but they were all the same. Clueless fools, he called them, spouting the same useless platitudes about stress and anxiety. None of them could offer a shred of real help, a sliver of understanding.”

“All I could do was listen, try to offer some comfort over the phone, as useless as I felt.”

“And then, out of the blue, he said it… ‘Takuma, you need to be careful.’”

Ōgami Yōsuke’s head snapped up. “Kimura-san warned you specifically?”

“He did.” Itō Takuma’s gaze was troubled. “I didn’t really take it to heart at the time, not truly. But this whole idea… that just knowing the story can bring misfortune… it wasn’t just something Fujita and I pieced together after… after what happened to us. Kimura had hinted at it, even before.”

“What did he say? How did he put it?” Takada Shōji leaned forward.

“Kimura was convinced that this evil god, this entity, was a being of pure, unadulterated malevolence. He started to worry that its influence might spread, that people close to him could also become targets, experiencing strange accidents, or worse.”

“And aside from his parents, his closest friends in the world… were me and Fujita.”

“Of course, back then, I dismissed it. Selfish, maybe, but I figured, hey, Fujita and I hadn’t been in the cave, hadn’t touched anything. If this thing wanted revenge, or whatever its game was, why would it come after us?”

“Kimura was quiet for a long time after I said that. Then, he said, very softly, that unlike anyone else, Fujita and I knew. We knew about the evil god, we knew about the ritual, we knew every detail of what he’d seen and done. And maybe… maybe just carrying that knowledge, that terrible secret, was enough to paint a target on our backs.”

A heavy sigh escaped Itō Takuma. “It was only after Fujita and I both got hurt, after we’d become part of this nightmare ourselves, that Kimura’s warning came crashing back. That’s when it all clicked. That’s where the whole ‘knowing the story brings misfortune’ thing really solidified. Some of the older guys on the soccer team, they’ve asked me what happened to Kimura, what this is all about. I’ve brushed them all off with that same warning. I don’t want anyone else dragged into this.”

Yomikawa Tsuko tapped a thoughtful finger against her chin, her expression unreadable. “So, Kimura-kun. Last Wednesday. Did he sleepwalk again?”

“No.” Itō Takuma shook his head, a flicker of something almost like hope in his eyes. “When he called me, Kimura told me he’d figured out a way to fight back. A desperate plan, maybe, but a plan nonetheless.”

“He’d realized something crucial. When he managed to catch a few hours of sleep during the day, he slept like a rock. Deep, dreamless sleep. No shadowy paths, no whispering voices, and definitely no sleepwalking. It had been like that for a couple of days straight.”

“His theory? That this entity, this evil god, its power to summon its chosen sacrifice, was strongest, perhaps only effective, under the cover of darkness. So, his solution was simple, if drastic: flip his life upside down. Sleep during the harsh light of day, and force himself to stay awake through the long, terrifying nights.”

Ōgami Yōsuke nodded slowly, considering it. “It’s a logical countermeasure, in its own way. Disrupt the cycle. It’s possible that, over time, the entity’s influence might weaken, might fade.”

Takada Shōji, ever practical, chimed in, “And if that didn’t cut it, his parents could always physically restrain him, right? Tie him to the bed, use handcuffs. No matter how powerful this god-thing is, it couldn’t physically drag him out of the house then, could it?”

Kana shuddered. “Those are some extreme ideas. Wouldn’t it be simpler, safer, to just… run? Transfer schools, move with his whole family to a different city, get as far away as possible. Surely, even an evil god must have its limits, its range.”

A flurry of other suggestions erupted from the group. Takada Shōji looked towards Yomikawa, a question in his eyes. “Senpai, what’s your take on all this?”

Yomikawa’s mind, a cold, calculating engine, processed their well-meaning but ultimately… timid… solutions. Running away, avoiding the confrontation… that’s not how I operate. A different, more proactive strategy formed in her thoughts. If that statue hadn’t been so thoroughly destroyed… one might have considered… involving others. A carefully orchestrated repetition of Kimura’s actions, with a few new participants. If someone else were to inadvertently take his place as the designated sacrifice… well, that would solve Kimura’s problem rather neatly, wouldn’t it? And it might present a fascinating opportunity for further investigation…

But these were not thoughts to be voiced aloud, not to this particular audience. She offered a bland, noncommittal smile. “Well, everyone’s suggestions have merit. But speaking of Kimura-kun’s own plan… did it actually work, Itō-kun?”

Itō Takuma nodded, a brief spark of relief in his otherwise haunted eyes. “Last Friday, that was the last time I managed to speak with him directly. And yes, his method… it was working. Surprisingly well. He was forcing himself to stay awake all night, every night, then collapsing into an exhausted sleep during the day. A completely nocturnal existence. The only major downside, of course, was that school became impossible.”

“And, as you might expect, his parents weren’t exactly thrilled with this new lifestyle. They argued with him about it. Constantly.”

“He told me… he said they just didn’t get it. Couldn’t comprehend the sheer, mind-numbing terror he was living with. After that last sleepwalking episode, the one that took him to the cave’s mouth, every sunset brought a fresh wave of anxiety, of raw fear. The sight of his own pillow, his own bed, would trigger a spiral of suffocating unease.”

“The combination of these unending, bizarre experiences and the complete lack of understanding from his parents… it started to change him. I could hear it in his voice, even over the phone. He was becoming darker, more withdrawn, shutting himself away from the world. He even started to clam up with me, the one person who actually believed him.”

“After Fujita and I got injured over the weekend, I tried calling Kimura again. No answer. I called his house. His mom picked up. She sounded… broken. Said that for the past few days, Kimura had locked himself in his bedroom. Refused to come out. Refused to see a doctor. Refused to speak to anyone.”

“He was still sticking to his reversed schedule, sleeping during the day, prowling his room at night. It had gotten so bad, his mom had to start getting up in the middle of the night just to cook for him. If she didn’t leave a tray of food outside his locked door, he wouldn’t eat at all.”

“If they tried to get into the room, if they even suggested he come out, he’d just… explode. Agitated, shouting, raving from behind the door. His mom was at her wit’s end. All she could do, for now, was leave him be.”

“So, I think… I think that Tuesday night, the one where he woke up at the cave, that was probably his last actual sleepwalking trip. For now, anyway. He’s fighting it. With sheer willpower, and his own desperate, crazy method. Battling the summons of that evil god, all by himself. Utterly alone.”