"Huh?" "Hm?" "What's wrong?" "There was... someone with a scary face..." "You were able to see him?" "Ah!" "Stop crying, Shizuru." "See?" "Grampy will give you a piggyback ride." "Okay..." "Was that the first time you saw something like that?" "No..." "I saw them before too..." "But everyone else said there was nothing there." "It's probably for the best if I take care of Shizuru here for now." "You guys must be really busy with Mizuki just being born and all." "It's fine!" "Granny even says it's okay." "Don't worry about it." "Shizuru." "You can see things that no one else can see." "That's not really a bad thing, but it'll surprise and scare some people." "So... you must not talk about what you see to anyone outside of this house." "Sorry!" "Did I keep you waiting, Shizuru!" "?" "No problem." "Aki, did you find the notebook you were after?" "Yeah!" "Hm?" "Bro!" "Is that your brother, Aki?" "Yeah." "Eh...?" "His cram school isn't even in that direction." "When he is concentrating on his studies, he always acts like that." "It looks like your brother is having a hard time studying for the college entrance exams." "This is the last spurt for studying." "It can't be helped." "He is really getting absorbed into his studies." "(something that walks a person home)" "I told you to just forget about it." "From what you said before, it is something that follows him." "It is nothing that you really have to worry about." "Sometimes, it is a good thing to be followed by those things." "But..." "I've a bad feeling about this one." "That doesn't matter." "If he hasn't noticed it, then it's fine." "But it's Aki's brother." "If I don't do anything about it..." "Well, then!" "Why don't we have it possess me and have" "Grampy drive the spirit away from me?" "It's not like it's Death or anything!" "I don't think it'll get dangerous anytime soon anyway." "Ah!" "Just kidding!" "It was just a joke!" "I wonder if we can do anything about this... before it becomes something that is irrevocable." "Have you forgotten all the times I told you, when you were a kid, that things are not that simple?" "There are times..." "When something terrible comes if one of them is driven away carelessly." "Well, then, what are you planning on doing?" "There is nothing to do." "The best thing to do is just leave it alone." "Like you..." "I never tell anyone about these things, but, sometimes, I think that you have it worse than me because you can see those things." "If I were like you, Sis, and I saw something that was possessing the brother of my best friend," "I'd be so worried about it." "You can always talk to me about anything..." "Sis." "Thank you, Mizuki." "Aki!" "Hm?" "Are you going home now?" "Yeah." "I think it must have been after summer vacation ended." "That was when my brother started changing." "Unlike me, my brother is really good at studying." "Ever since he was little, he has always been at the top of his class." "That's great." "I almost wanted him to give me some of his smarts." "But... that type of person has worries just like everyone else." "It looked like he did worse than he thought he would on the national practice exam last summer." "After that, my brother totally changed." "He eats dinner in his room alone." "He won't answer any of my questions." "He is making everyone in our family go on edge." "He used to help me with my homework." "He used to tell jokes." "He used to be very nice." "I think he is stressing over this." "My father and mother tell him not to work so hard... but that is like throwing oil on an already raging fire." "Ah, Bro!" "Welcome home!" "Hello." "Ah..." "Hi." "Eh?" "Don't you have cram school today, Bro?" "I am feeling sick, so I'm going to study here." "Don't be too loud." "I'm sorry, Shizuru." "No problem." "Don't worry about it." "Thank you for today." "To tell you the truth, I didn't know what to do." "It is so hard for me to see my brother, who was so kind, turn into something like that." "I wonder if he will soon change back into the cheerful brother I knew." "I really wonder if leaving him alone, like" "Grampy says, is really the best thing to do." "I wonder if there is anything I can do for Aki." "Eh?" "Eh?" "Sis?" "What are you doing up so early?" "Sorry." "Did I wake you up?" "I heard you when I was on the way the bathroom." "Where are you going?" "I am going to the field where Grampy is." "You know he is helping people with the harvest now, right?" "Yeah." "I made breakfast, so go ahead and eat." "I will be back." "Sis..." "She left..." "I wonder if something happened." "Grampy!" "What's wrong?" "Something... is worrying me." "You said that the thing possessing Aki's brother... is something that is following him,right?" "Hey, I said to leave it alone!" "I... really don't know what to do..." "The thing that is possessing Aki's brother... has a hugely torn mouth." "I think it has gotten bigger, compared to when I first saw it." "There are two types of things that follow people." "The first type... is one that protects people on the way home so they can't be eaten by other things." "The second type... will eat the person it possesses if that person trips and falls." "It will kill the person it is possessing?" "It doesn't happen like that." "However, according to what you've told me, it looks like that thing has gotten bigger." "Eh?" "Maybe it has already feasting on his heart." "No!" "Is there anything we can do, Grampy!" "?" "Shizuru..." "You've seen so much." "You must have learned things from what you have seen." "This type of work is very delicate." "If I mess with them too much, they'll take an interest in me." "That will make it harder for me to work." "Three has to be a fine balance between being too strict and too lax, and there are those that can't be driven off as well as those that shouldn't be driven off." "If it is one of those, I won't even think of taking the job." "It's not like anyone is really good enough for this type of ritual." "But... it's not like I don't know how you feel." "You think that by pretending not to see the thing that is following him, you are betraying your friend, right?" "You want to lessen the burden of this sin you feel, right?" "You were planning on using your friend to do that, and, even after that, you put this all on me." "It doesn't take any special trick or preparation for you to see them." "Pushing something like that on me is annoying." "I want you to remember that." "I'll take it out of your allowance." "Eh?" "The payment for the exorcism." "You want me to do it, right?" "Grampy!" "I think that it should be okay, but sometimes these things do leave after the first time." "If it is already too late, I'm not going to go through with it." "I don't care who your friend is after all." "Okay." "Shizuru," "I want you to remember this one thing." "They are always going to be there." "The only thing we cna do with them is set up negotiations, pray to them, and ask them to leave." "Do you understand?" "Yes." "Bro..." "It's okay, Aki." "Leave it up to my grandfather." "Okay." "I bet this place looks a little deviuos to you." "Eh!" "No!" "Well, then, that's great." "Just go ahead and relax." "People like me have a very old job, so we don't know how to deal with young people..." "However, you can think of this as a type of folk remedy." "I don't know what my sister said, but I am not sick." "Your family feels it." "They feel it in the air." "They know you are suffering." "Are you worrying about your grades?" "Did... you hear about that?" "Yeah." "But..." "I'm not the only one that is suffering." "At this time of year, every student is fighting it out." "You're right about that, but, in your case, your health is really going downhill." "I'm taking care of my own body!" "I'm talking about the root of your troubles." "You are running out of vitalilty." "The energy that you are putting into studying, you're doing it to pass the test for the school you want to get into, or to get a high score on the test, but, all in all, you are scared." "The fear of being overtaken." "The fear of tripping and falling." "The fear of being scoffed at." "In the beginning, you didn't think about those things, but, soon, the fear was the only thing you could think about." "You have to think that it is strange, but... you no longer have control over your own will." "You don't even have the energy to look around." "The only thing you are thinking about is walking and not falling down." "The only thing we have to figure is where the root of the problem is." "The root?" "A fellow student?" "Someone that you looked down on, huh?" "Oh!" "I see..." "His grades suddenly improved." "People act like that, huh...?" "Something like that is terrible for someone like you, who studies so hard." "Who told you that!" "?" "Did you ever tell anyone how you actually felt?" "Ah!" "I didn't hear it from anyone!" "I can see it!" "Well, anyway, I now have a chance." "It is time to chase away the one who has been chasing you around." "This oil lamp uses a wick made out of wisteria flowers, which were dried in the shade, and sesame seed oil." "In normal sunlight and under electric lights, they are able to hide from people." "This type of light is needed to see them." "And..." "I need to smear your eyes with water, left for one night, in a fortuitous corner of the house, mixed with peach juice." "Peaches are known for their ability to get rid of maliciousness." "In Japan's oldest histrorical records, it was noted that the god Izanagino Mikoto was saved by peaches, so he gave them the name Ohokamuzumino Mikoto." "You should look behind you." "There is something back there that has a really big mouth." "Pray to it!" "S-Shizuru!" "It's okay!" "Don't worry!" "Don't worry." "It won't do anything." "This thing only shows its real self when you fall down." "However..." "Even if you do fall, if you remain calm and look at it, you will find a way to deal with it." "Things like that don't like tobacco smoke." "Of course... it's not like it hates tobacco itself." "This is one of the ways to get rid of that thing." "Are you watching it?" "Are you?" "Ever since I was young, the only thing I could really do was study." "That is why..." "I'm always studying." "If my friends asked me to do something with them, I always refused." "However..." "If you really wanted it or not, in the end, you decided what was best for yourself and you went for it." "That is a wonderful thing." "That is something great that you should be praised for, but what is making you waver like this?" "I was so jealous." "They are... able to have so much fun..." "It looks like you are finally able to see what is around you." "There is nothing you have to worry about." "The road ahead of you is long, so you have to rest every so often." "But..." "You can just keep walking late." "Okay." "Let's move this guy off the road." "I humbly beg of you!" "I thank you for escorting this person, but he is already feeling grievously fatigued." "I ask you, Lord, to please rest on the side of the road for a little while." "You don't have to wait any longer." "Please hurry and move on ahead." "You need to ask it to go as well." "P-P-Please go!" "It's not there anymore, right?" "Yeah." "Grampy..." "Hm?" "If I... wasn't able to see those things..." "I would not be as close to Aki-chan as I am now." "It is all about perception." "People don't do what they do just out of a sense of guilt." "Eh?" "You always." "Spend too much time thinking about bad things!" "You are way too serious!" "You have to be careful!" "Something like that might end up following you soon." "Sis!" "It's getting cold... so why don't we go inside?" "Yeah." "How is someone like me, who can see those things, supposed to deal with other people?" "I just don't know yet, but..." "I hope that..." "Someday, I'll be able to answer that question for myself." "That's so funny!" "Hey!" "What's so funny!" "?" "Well, listen up!" "Huh?" "Why was I laughing?" "Eh?" "Are you okay, Mizuki?" "Eh?" "Err..." "What?" "I don't think I can laugh anymore..." "Stop with your jokes!" "I am going to get mad!" "Next time, Waraiyami." "But Sis!" "I can't remember how to laugh!" "Eh?"