If I had only caught the earlier train, Miki thought to herself. It was dark outside, but she would not have been able to see much through the rain-streaked window anyway. A dim reflection in the window showed her in profile, with her long black hair and a flat chin—people said she had her mother’s chin. The sun had just set, but the storm had turned twilight immediately into night.

  Her travel during a major storm was because she had slept in and missed her original bullet train from Tokyo to Hiroshima. That caused her to miss the regional train connection from Hiroshima to Odawara town. The rain had started in Hiroshima while she shopped at the station mall and waited for the next train. It was not supposed to let up until late in the evening. At least she had picked up a box of fancy red bean mochi, a favourite of her mother’s, from an outlet of a famous bakery at the mall.

  Miki’s head no longer hurt, and her hangover from the goukon the previous night had abated a few hours earlier. A couple of her friends from Tokyo University had convinced her to go at the last minute. The dating party would be fun, they said, and she did have fun, but she had received way too much attention from a smug guy who could not figure out she was not interested in his monologues.

  Miki saw only a couple of other people on the local train she had transferred to at Odewara Station. She decided earlier to surprise her mother at work instead of taking a bus and walking four blocks in the pouring rain to her mother’s apartment. The convenience store her mother managed was next to the train station at the foot of Mount Kumotawa.

  Why did her mother have to live way out in the countryside, she wondered. Miki couldn’t figure out why Mom had retired from the military to run a konbini, of all things. From her observations, mother seemed happy with her choice, even though she was a decorated master sergeant who had served in the elite Joint Special Operations Force (JSOF), a multi-national force of Americans and Japanese. Mother said the slower country life was a nice break from rigorous military life. Miki liked Odewara town, too. It felt like she was on holiday visiting a quaint tourist town. Many bicyclists started the picturesque Shimano Kaido route here to pedal across many islands on the Inland Sea, all connected by massive bridges.

  Her mother missed most of her childhood as she was often on foreign assignments, so her grandparents raised her. Yuriko visited her often, but it was awkward as relations between Yuriko and her parents were strained. She had joined the self-defence force at eighteen to escape a marriage matchup. Miki knew she couldn’t have done that and admired her mother for it. Still, everyone had worked hard to come closer together over time. They now enjoyed visiting each other after she began attending university.

  A musical chime sounded. “Next stop, Kumotawa Station. Next stop, Kumotawa Station,” the train driver announced over the speakers. Miki snapped out of her thoughts. She hastily put her smartphone away in her oversized purse and pulled her carry-on from the overhead storage. She extended the handle to roll it and walked over to the doors as the train slowed to a halt. She stepped out onto the train station platform by herself.

  A gust of wind blew a spray of cold rain onto her windbreaker and dampened her face even though she was under the train platform’s roof. It was a simple station, just two roofed platforms serving each direction for the trains and a small unmanned office. Miki walked down the platform towards the station exit.

  Looking off to the side of the platform, she could see the bright lights of the SuperQuickly store shining through the damp darkness, especially the bright red and white SQ road sign. She braced herself for the dash over when she noticed a big grey cat with white paws waiting by the exit. The cat was just sitting there, staying dry under the eaves. It looked up at her, stood up, and gave a “mreowww” of greeting.

  “Are you, Ghost?” Miki asked the cat. “Mother said there was a big grey cat at the store who comes and goes at will. She is very fond of you, you know. She said you remind her a little of a cat she once owned.” She thought it was odd that the cat had an English name, but it was better than calling the cat Yurei, which was Japanese for ghost.

  “Mrrrrp!” The cat’s tail was straight up in the air with a slight curl at the end. Strangely enough, she thought she saw two tails for an instant. When she blinked, there was only one tail again. A two-tailed cat was a nekomata, or demon cat, but this cat brushed against her in a friendly way.

  Miki bent down to pet the cat on the head and stroke its back. The cat seemed to enjoy it and continued twining around her legs. “You are a good cat. It’s been fun, but I have to go to the konbini now,” she said. I’m going to surprise my mother.” Pulling out a collapsible umbrella from her purse, she popped it open and steadied it against the wind.

  Ghost trilled and looked at the konbini. “You want to come with me?” Yuriko had told her the cat was very expressive. “My umbrella can cover both of us, so let’s go.”

  Both of them walked into the rain. They stopped at the intersection where the main road from Odewara town paralleled the station and konbini, and the road down from Mount Kumotawa to the coast met. Miki checked for traffic before crossing and noticed the cat doing the same. Her umbrella kept them both fairly dry, but the occasional gust of wind came down the mountain to spray them with rain. Miki’s shoes and the cat were getting wetter than they should.

  They crossed over into the big empty parking lot in front and to the side of the konbini. The lot served both the store and the trailhead for the main path up to Kumotawa Shrine. Miki kept a steady pace with her luggage in tow and the cat at her side. Halfway across the parking lot, another gust of wind came down the mountain and spattered her with sideways rain. Her umbrella was held, but she thought she heard a distant crying in the wind. She stopped to look for the source of sound.

  It was pitch black in the countryside around her. The only bright splashes on the canvas of night were the lights from the station, the intersection, the konbini, and the lit torii gate behind the store. The vermillion torii was made up of two large round posts with several crossbeams at the top, their ends angled out like the bow of a boat. It was lit by a single floodlight and marked the beginning of the path up the mountain to the shrine.

  The rain obscured the distant torii. When Miki looked at it, she thought she heard the distant crying of a child again. It was hard to make out through the wind and rain. Who would be out in this weather, she thought, someone caught in the rain coming down the mountain? She almost put it up to her imagination when she heard it again. This time, she thought she saw a faint bluish light on the trail behind the torii. It bobbed and flickered like a flame, then went out.

  “I wonder if someone needs help there,” she said to the cat, even as a subtle shiver ran down her back. Why am I talking to the cat, she wondered. She knew about the legends of Mount Kumotawa, but dismissing them as superstition was difficult when she was alone in the stormy darkness. Taking a deep breath, she decided to walk closer to the gate just to get a better look before going to the store.

  She began walking towards the gate. After a dozen paces, the cat raced out in front and turned to face her. The cat was hard to see in the low light, but she heard it growl and hiss at her. Its fur bristled out, and it hissed at her again, clearly showing its fangs. Its tail swished violently back and forth, and for a moment, she thought there were two tails again.

  Startled, Miki took a step back. “What’s wrong with you, Ghost?” She tried to sidestep around the cat.

  Ghost shifted to stay between her and the gate and hissed again, even swiping at the air with its claws out, something that was uncharacteristic for a cat.

  Nervous now, Miki stepped back and slowly angled towards the convenience store while keeping a wary eye on the cat. Ghost was now soaking wet and no longer hissing but followed her at a distance. She felt so relieved when she finally entered the light being cast out through the big glass windows of the store. The doors chimed, sliding open for her.

  “Welcome to our store!” Yuriko looked up from the front counter, where she was reviewing an inventory listing when the door chime announced someone had walked into the store. She was surprised to see her daughter walk in. “Miki!”

  “Mother! I’m so glad to see you.” Miki let her umbrella drop to her side and looked over her shoulder to see the doors close behind her.

  Yuriko, in her red and white paneled konbini uniform and black pants, came out from behind the counter. Her daughter sounded nervous or distressed. “What’s wrong? You’re supposed to be at the apartment.”

  “It’s that grey cat you told me about! It hissed at me, and I thought it was going to attack me.”

  “You mean Ghost?” Yuriko firmly hugged her daughter, not caring she was a little damp. They were about the same height, and she looked over her daughter’s shoulder to keep an eye out the door. “Everything will be okay now.”

  Yuriko felt her daughter relax in her arms. “Ghost was so friendly at first, but halfway across the parking lot, he started acting strange when I was heading for the torii.”

  “Why were you heading to the torii? It’s pouring out there.”

  “I thought I heard a crying child. It was really faint.”

  “Really? Did you see anything?”

  “There was a bluish light that vanished. It was kind of spooky out there with the storm. I thought about onibi for a moment and then realized it must be a flashlight. Someone might be in trouble. We need to check.”

  “Hmmm,” Yuriko was sensing trouble. Onibi were a Japanese version of a will-o-wisp, supposedly the spirits of dead people or animals. “I’m sure it was nothing,” she said calmly. “It’s likely some kids pranking.”

  “You think so?”

  “Yes. I’ve been here all day. Some teens did head up the mountain in the afternoon. I’m surprised anyone is still out there with the rain, though. No one is going up or down.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Why don’t you get a coffee or tea and sit down in the dining area? You look like you could use a warm-up. You can tell me more in a minute.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  The doors chimed open again, and a waterlogged Ghost walked in, his fur hanging down and dripping on the floor. Once he was inside, he shook off a big spray of water all around.

  “It’s the cat!” Miki backed up a step.

  “Ghost!” Yuriko was half glad to see the cat and half angry at him for scaring her daughter.

  “Mrreowww…” Ghost called plaintively.

  “All innocent now, I see. You scared my daughter. That wasn’t very nice, but I’m sure you were trying to protect her.”

  “Mrrrp.” Ghost raised a front paw and began licking it.

  “You should say sorry to her. Please apologize.”

  Ghost stared at Yuriko for a moment, then looked over at Miki. The cat began purring loudly as he approached her.

  “Don’t worry, Miki,” Yuriko reassured. “I think he is saying sorry.”

  Miki wavered but stayed still. The cat looked up at her and began to rub its face against her leg.

  “You can be friends again now.”

  Miki gave Ghost a quick pat on the head, and the cat head-butted her leg in return. “Is the cat really listening to you?”

  “Sometimes he does,” Yuriko said. “I don’t know what got into Ghost, but he is a good cat. I’m sure he was trying to get you to come in here. I’ll call the police about the light. I know the officer on patrol right now, and he could take a quick look around.”

  “Yes. They could make sure everything is okay.”

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “I’ll do that. Ghost, you come here. I’ll dry you off first. You’re going to drip water all over the store.” She grabbed a fresh towel from behind the counter and started to rub the cat dry. Ghost even rolled over and held his paws up in the air to let her dry his tummy and cocked his head to give her a look that said, ‘What are you waiting for?’ The pose reminded Yuriko of Tama, her long-dead calico cat. She was strangely familiar with this cat, who shared many mannerisms with Tama. When she was sure her daughter couldn’t hear her, she whispered, “Thank you for keeping my daughter safe, Ghost.”

  *****

  Goro’s patrol car pulled into the parking lot with just the lights flashing. He put on a bright yellow raincoat that wasn’t buttoned up and dashed into the konbini through the pouring rain.

  “Good evening, Goro,” Yuriko said as she met him at the front. She walked him over to her daughter, who was having a cup of freshly brewed coffee while seated at the dining counter against the front window. She was talking with the other employee who was on tonight.

  “This is Sergeant Noguchi-san, Miki. He is a good friend of mine.” She waved towards her daughter. “This is my daughter Miki, and the other girl is Ayako Hayami, my new part-timer. Ayako is a senior at the local high school and a member of the Gun Girls Auxiliary there.”

  “Good evening, Noguchi-san.” Miki and Ayako spoke out at the same time, giving slight bows.

  “It is good to meet both of you,” Goro said. “Miki, you certainly do resemble your mother. She has told me a lot about you. Getting into Tokyo University isn’t an easy task. And Ayako, it is good to meet you in person. Yuriko told me you want to join the National Police. I can give you some tips later when we have more time.”

  “Thank you, Noguchi-san,” they both replied.

  “Please, just call me Goro.” He pulled out his notepad and looked at Miki. “I understand you saw and heard something strange. I’m going to have a look, but I need to take a quick statement, so let's start at the beginning.”

  Goro began taking notes and asking follow-up questions. Miki was telling the story pretty much like Yuriko had already heard. Yuriko listened in for a few minutes, excused herself, and went into the back office to pack supplies.

  Yuriko emerged from the office wearing a hooded yellow raincoat. A large medical bag was slung over her shoulder, and she held a large baton flashlight. Goro turned around when he noticed Miki's surprised expression.

  “You’re coming with me?” Goro asked. “You think that is necessary?”

  “Yes. Why are you going with Goro?” Miki asked, her eyebrows pinched together with worry. “You’re not in the army anymore, Mom. Isn’t this a matter for the police?”

  “It’s probably nothing, but two sets of eyes are better than one,” Yuriko replied. “Besides, if someone does need help, I’ve got more medical training than Goro.”

  “She’s helped the police here before,” Goro added, “Your mother is very capable.”

  Ayako tried to reassure Miki, too. “He’s right. She’s our combat coach at the GGA and taught us first aid, too.”

  There was a slight tremor in Miki’s voice. “I should have known old habits are hard to break for you.”

  Yuriko hugged Miki. “I know. I know. You’re worried about my safety, and I don’t blame you. But I’m not in the army anymore. I’ll always be here for my precious daughter now. If someone is pranking out there, they’ll be sorry—especially for picking on you. And if someone needs help, I’ll help them. I’ll be back before you know it. There’s probably nothing to find.”

  Miki kept her face emotionless and quietly nodded. “Be careful, mom. Come back soon.”

  “I will. Daichi, the night manager, will be in soon, and then we can go grab dinner at the Chinese diner we like.”

  Yuriko faced Ayako. “The store is in your capable hands. Please keep Miki company.”

  Ayako took the hint. “I want to ask her all about Tokyo U. I’ve never met anyone who went there and want to know what it is like.”

  Yuriko looked down at Ghost. “This is all your furry fault, so come on with us.”

  “Mrrreow!”

  “That sounded like a protest. You probably don’t want to get wet, so I’ll bring an umbrella, and you can ride on my shoulder.”

  This time, Ghost assented. “Mrreow.”

  Yuriko and Goro walked side by side through the steady rain. Visibility was poor with the darkness and the rain, even with both of them carrying powerful flashlights.

  “Your daughter is very concerned for you,” Goro casually commented.

  “I know. It is my fault for not being around for her when she was younger—my military career.”

  “Yes. You are a strong woman, and military life can be difficult. It could not be helped.”

  “I tried hard, but I could have done better,” Yuriko replied. “We get along well now, but this certainly wasn’t needed.”

  “I’m sure you did your best, which is why she is concerned for you. I’ve never had children, but I read people fairly well.” Goro changed the subject. “Ghost looks very happy on your shoulder.”

  “It's the driest place around, but he is a little heavy.” Ghost was crouched down on her shoulder, his claws dug into the thick woven strap of the medical bag, staying nice and dry under the umbrella. Every so often, his whiskers would rub against Yuriko’s cheek as he rubbed against the side of her face.

  “Do you think we’ll find a yokai?” Goro asked.

  “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You’re the veteran of this place.”

  “I guess. Everything seems different this year. There are too many yokai. This would be four in three months, counting Ghost. The Takamatsu Incident was the last bad one before all this nine years ago. I investigate yokai sightings every year, but I’ve only found one in the last two years since you’ve been here. You and the GGA girls have had some bad encounters. I think you all have bad luck.”

  “Or you’ve had good luck! We’ve been lucky no one has died so far,” Yuriko added. “But, you’re right, something’s different now. I’m betting there is a yokai here based on how Ghost behaved.”

  “Your daughter’s description of a flickering blue light makes it sound like an onibi.”

  Onibi had been reported on the mountain before, but it was usually after a Confluence when their world converged with another world temporarily. The convergence would shroud Mount Kumotawa in thick fog, and creatures could accidentally wander between worlds. The last Confluence had happened over a week ago, though.

  “Yeah,” Yuriko replied. “At least they’re usually harmless, just luring you somewhere or scaring you. But I don’t know about the crying. It could be a konaki-jiji.”

  “The old man who preys on isolated travellers by pretending to be a baby?”

  “That’s the one, but I think it has to be a folktale.”

  “Could be something else then.” Goro joked to cover his nerves. “I just don’t want to get spirited away.”

  “Don’t you worry, I got your back.”

  “Having you around reassures me a lot,” Goro sincerely replied.

  It didn’t take long for the two to reach the torii gate, a hundred metres behind the konbini. They stood in the pool of light from the floodlight on a nearby pole that illuminated the gate. Yuriko and Goro shone their flashlights up the stone-paved trail which led up the mountain and its forested slopes. They didn’t see anything or hear anything other than wind and rain. Goro called into the police station on his radio to indicate he was investigating a disturbance on the trail.

  “We’re far enough away from the store now,” Yuriko said. “Sorry, Ghost, but you’re going to have to come down.” The cat jumped off and moved up the path a little ahead of them. Yuriko folded up the umbrella to free up her hands.

  “I’d rather be overprepared, so I brought a few extra things from the armoury.” She opened up the medical bag and pulled out a compact pump shotgun with front and rear pistol grips. She flicked the mounted flashlight on and quickly rechecked the gun to make sure the chamber was empty. There were three shells in the magazine and four more strapped to the side in elastic loops.

  “The shotgun is loaded with incendiary shotshells, so it’ll look like it’s shooting flames. Fire is effective against an onibi. I also have a flash-bang and a frag in my pocket, too.”

  “Good thinking.” Goro nodded.

  “Do you hear that?” Yuriko spoke up. Ghost had definitely heard it and was alertly looking up the trail.

  The faint crying of a child was coming from somewhere further up the trail. “It’s definitely crying,” Goro confirmed. “Think it is a real child?”

  “I’d bet it isn’t, but there’s only one way to find out.”

  “I can lead,” Goro said a little too eagerly.

  “We’ll do it as a pair,” Yuriko could tell Goro was acting brave. “You take the right; I’ll cover the left.”

  “Okay. Let’s do that.”

  Yuriko was glad to have the Ghost ahead of them with his sharper senses. The paving stones along the trail were slippery in places as the rocks had been worn smooth by the countless footsteps of worshippers going up to the shrine. Once they moved into the forest, it was pitch black, with a low pattering drone from rain striking the pines and running off the branches. They steadily walked up, both with guns ready now. The crying could be heard sporadically but still distant.

  It was quite hard to see anything distant in the rain.

  After five or six minutes, Yuriko noticed Goro seemed to swing his flashlight around more than he should on his side of the path. It was as if he was seeing something at the edges of his flashlight beam. She kept hers focused on the path and only periodically scanned it around.

  “Don’t stress yourself out scanning around,” she said.

  “How do you stay so calm?” Goro asked while keeping his light pointed ahead. “I’ve worked with you a few times now, and you’re never nervous.”

  “I don’t know about that. I’m just able to focus on the mission more. After being in combat a few times, I think my brain figured it was the best way to stay alive.” Yuriko glanced over at him. “You’re nervous?”

  “More edgy.” Goro played down his nervousness. He didn’t want to seem weak in front of Yuriko, especially as she was so strong. “I can’t see anything in this rain.”

  “That’s good. It means you’re alert. I can’t see well either, but just look for movement.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  They were at least another hundred metres into the forest when they heard the crying again, closer now, but it was off to the side of the path.

  “Figures.” Yuriko was glad she wore boots. She motioned for Goro to move off the path, and they entered the trees.

  A short distance later, they could see a blue glow through the trees. The spherical light wavered in intensity and floated in the air at about the height of a human head.

  “Onibi?” Goro whispered.

  “Maybe,” Yuriko answered. The crying sobs of a small child could now be clearly heard from around the source of the light. “But I don’t like this. The crying doesn’t fit the description.”

  “Sounds like a real child. I have a bad feeling about this.”

  “Me too.” The cat had stopped moving forward and went into a crouching posture like she was ready to fight or pounce. Yuriko thought for a moment. “Let’s approach this directly. Advance a bit, announce you’re the police, and I’ll cover.”

  Goro hesitated before replying. “I’m not sure I like this plan.”

  “Can you think of a better one? We could flank it from two sides, too, but that’s harder to coordinate in these conditions. If it were really bad, Ghost would have run by now.”

  Goro was still reluctant. “I guess that makes sense…” he sighed. “You are the better shot.” He gripped his pistol a little tighter.

  Yuriko racked a shell into the shotgun’s chamber and fed a spare round into the gun. She shifted position to the side, held the shotgun in front, and nodded for Goro to advance.

  A long moment passed before Goro took a step forward. It was obvious he was the bait in his bright yellow raincoat. Goro slowly walked closer to the light, stopping around six or seven metres away. He shone his flashlight around and shouted. “This is the police! Do you require help!”

  The light went out, and the crying abruptly stopped.

  “Shit!” Goro exclaimed. He backed up and frantically looked around with the flashlight.

  There was a swishing sound in the trees above their heads. Ghost jumped backwards with a yowling cry.

  “Duck!” Yuriko shouted out. “It’s in the trees.” She couldn’t find a target.

  A ropey tentacle just missed Goro’s head with a swoosh. Off balance, he fell over onto his back, coating himself with mud, twigs, and pine needles. Pointing his gun and flashlight straight up, he looked into the canopy. The branches were thrashing violently, and his light came to rest on a mass of branches and twisting tentacles.

  The glowing orb came back on, but this time, they could see it was dangling at the end of a long appendage that extended from a vaguely squid-like creature with two long tentacles and a number of smaller ones. It was a mottled reddish brown, had two slitted eyes, and a large circular mouth full of rows and rows of pointy teeth. The creature was hanging from the larger branches of a pine tree with its many snaky limbs. The mouth gaped open wide, and it emitted a loud, strangely exaggerated crying noise.

  The two long tentacles swung towards Goro again. He screamed and fired rapidly as his legs tried to backpedal him away.

  Yuriko yelled, “Get back!” The shotgun fired at the same time. It was like a long jet of flame blasted out of the shotgun in a blinding flash that lit the area momentarily. Incendiary steel shot struck the creature in its centre of mass. The body of the creature seemed to burn with flame, and gouts of bluish blood sprayed out. The creature screamed and thrashed even harder, its appendages flailing wildly. Yuriko racked the shotgun and fired again, lighting the scene with another jet of flame. This time, she hit it in the mouth and set it ablaze. Before the flames could die out, she fired again and again, running the shotgun dry. The creature was thrashing less; its limbs moved sluggishly now or were limp.

  Goro had emptied his pistol and was back on his feet. He fumbled for a spare magazine as he backed away. The creature fell out of the tree with a gushy splat on the ground and was still. Its body smouldered with glowing burns in a few places. Yuriko kept her shotgun’s light on it while she fed new shells into her gun. She shot it once more just to be sure it was dead.

  “W-what is that?” Goro stuttered out. “It just missed me.”

  “Looks kind of like an ugly tree squid.” Yuriko didn’t get too close. “Smells like a squid too.”

  Ghost was certainly braver and was sniffing near the corpse. “Don’t get too close, Ghost.” The cat finished a brief inspection and walked away.

  “It cries like a child and hides in the trees.” Goro was overcoming his shock. “It’s like it preys on humans.”

  “It’s definitely an ambush predator—not an onibi—but I wonder what kind of world it came from.”

  “This one probably came through the last Confluence. I hope there aren’t more around.”

  Yuriko quickly swept the trees around them with her light. “There probably aren’t more. Ghost would have sensed it, but yeah, it’s a nasty creature.” She looked Goro over. “Are you hurt?”

  “It didn’t touch me. I think I’m okay.” He patted his sides briefly.

  “Good.” Yuriko gave a brief laugh. “You’re a mess though.”

  Goro looked over himself. His yellow raincoat was covered in pine needles, leaves, and mud. “Yeah. Maybe you should be the bait next time,” he glumly chuckled.

  ”I am sorry about that. Things didn’t turn out quite the way I planned. But seriously, you did well. You must have hit it a good dozen times.”

  A big smile appeared on Goro’s face from Yuriko’s praise. “Thanks, it means a lot to me.”

  “Welcome to the yokai hunting club,” Yuriko joked, noticing the effect of her honest praise. She knew her toughness and superior combat skills intimidated him, even if she thought they shouldn’t. Despite dating, they probably stayed just friends because of this.

  Yuriko popped some red flares to light the area and left them at either end of the monster’s corpse. “I’ll tag the coordinates and call this in. Central is going to have to send out a cleanup team.” She had another thought. “Damn. How am I going to explain this to Miki? Dinner is going to be a little late.”

  Goro put his hand on her shoulder. “Yuriko, I’ll take care of this incident. You need to spend time with your daughter. Don’t let this mountain ruin what you’ve rebuilt with her.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Thanks, Goro.” Yuriko embraced him. “You’re a good friend. I owe you one.”

  Goro reacted awkwardly to Yuriko’s hug, his hands raised at his side. Yuriko smiled when he firmly hugged her back. She thought it didn’t hurt to encourage the man a bit as he looked very happy at the moment.

  “Not necessary,” Goro said. “Let’s tell your daughter there were pranksters that ran away and that I have to follow up.”

  “Sounds like a plan. And thank you again.”