Ju-On

by Kei Oishi

  “Please, just talk to us.”

  Igarashi bowed deeply again. Kyoko looked at his face.

  Detective Igarashi was still very young. He was probably not even thirty yet. So young, but soon he would fall victim to that woman.

  “How old are you?”

  Igarashi lifted his head and looked at Kyoko as if he didn’t understand her question. Then he said, “I’m twenty-nine years old.”

  “Really? Are you married?”

  “Yes, for three years now. Um, what does that have to do with … ?”

  He wondered if he had misunderstood her intentions. He touched his hair lightly in embarrassment and smiled, his teeth shining whitely.

  “Do you have any children?”

  “One, with the second on its way in the summer. Um …”

  Kyoko licked her lips silently. The crowd of people going home from work flowed around her and Igarashi.

  “Toyama-san?”

  “All right,” said Kyoko. “I’ll tell you what happened.”

  Hearing her answer, Igarashi smiled happily. It was an innocent, childlike smile.

  She could have just refused. But her sense of justice as a former police officer, no, as a human being, would not allow her to. Yes, she could not just sit by and watch this young man, who had not yet accomplished anything in his life, who still had to support his family for years and years to come, die.

  Kyoko got into the car with Igarashi and they headed to the police station. But, she had no intention of helping to solve the case. She just didn’t want to see any more victims. She was determined to convince them to give up on the case.

  “Mind if I smoke?” asked Nakagawa, already lighting his cigarette before Kyoko could nod. But at least he asked. When she was a detective, none of her colleagues would bother asking before lighting up.

  “Okay, Toyama-san, tell us about the Saeki case that you were working on five years ago,” said Nakagawa, looking up and blowing smoke toward the ceiling.

  Kyoko nodded slightly and looked at the yellowed walls. She began.

  “I’m sure you have already felt this, but that was no normal case.”

  “What do you mean?” Nakagawa immediately said.

  “That’s because the one responsible for the deaths was not a living person.”

  As Kyoko said this, Nakagawa’s eyes flew open in surprise, then he looked at Igarashi, and laughed.

  “I’m not sure I understand what you mean, Toyama-san. Who is responsible?”

  “Kayako. Kayako Saeki, the woman who was killed by her husband, carved up with a box cutter, and stuffed in the attic five years ago. She is the one responsible for all of the deaths.”

  Nakagawa almost said something in response, but swallowed his words, and merely said, “Please continue.”

  As Kyoko told her story, Nakagawa sat with his arms crossed, staring at the ceiling and walls, exhaling smoke. Every once in a while, he would cast a cold glance at Kyoko, and give a snorting

  laugh through his nose as if he was dealing with the ramblings of a crazy woman.

  Although she had expected it from the beginning, Nakagawa’s attitude gave Kyoko a deep sense of powerlessness.

  “Well, what?” Nakagawa demanded.

  Kyoko tried to continue, but Nakagawa stopped her by thrusting his hand out toward her.

  “Toyama-san, you truly believe that all of the murders in that house were committed by the curse of Kayako Saeki, who was herself murdered by her own husband five years ago? You, a former detective, actually believe such unscientific bullshit?”

  Nakagawa glared at her with as much scorn as he could muster. Kyoko decided to stop talking.

  Just as she had thought, it was impossible. Nothing she could say would convince him.

  But, the presence of Igarashi, who was still sitting next to Nakagawa, stopped her from standing up and leaving.

  Igarashi was looking at her with frightening seriousness. His eyes were like those of a guerilla soldier grilling a prisoner for information to use in a small-scale attack on a superior force, trying to absorb all the information he could to increase his chances for survival. He was staring at Kyoko’s face with such serious eyes.

  Kyoko looked not at Nakagawa, but at Igarashi.

  “I know this sounds unbelievable, but the only choice you have is to believe it. At first, even I did not think of such an unscientific answer. But the deeper I delved into the case, it was the only possibility that came to me. Everyone else involved in that case is dead. You are already no doubt aware of that fact. Yoshikawa-san, Kamio-san, Iizuka-san, all of them worked here, and they

  are all dead. They all died at the hand of that woman, Kayako Saeki.”

  “Really. I see. That will be all,” said Nakagawa, standing up. “I am sorry to have called you out all this way. You may leave now.”

  “Wait! Please wait,” cried Kyoko frantically. There was no way she could bring herself to like this Nakagawa character. If she was partnered with him, she was sure she’d go crazy. He was a spiteful man. But… that didn’t mean she could just sit by and watch him die. She was tired of all the deaths.

  “You have something else to say,” said Nakagawa as he sat back down in his chair and lit another cigarette. “Don’t tell me you want to call in a medium to exorcise the house,” he said as he blew smoke in Kyoko’s face.

  “I think you should just call off the investigation,” said Kyoko as she choked on the smoke. “If that is impossible, then you two should resign from the police force.”

  “Resign?!”

  “Yes. If you value your life, you should just quit. If you don’t, then you and the young detective there will both end up dead. Is that what you want?”

  “Give me a break,” yelled Nakagawa as he pounded the table with his fist. But Kyoko did not stop speaking.

  “Nakagawa-san, I’ve given up on trying to convince you. But you, Igarashi-san, right? You know what I am talking about, don’t you.”

  Igarashi did not nod. His lips just shivered.

  “Igarashi-san, at least you should drop this case. Do it for your wife and children. If you don’t—”

  “Shut up!” shouted Nakagawa again. “I don’t want to hear any more about it. Leave. Get out of here now!”

  There was no hope here.

  “I am sorry I wasn’t able to help,” said Kyoko as she stood up.

  This is the last time I’ll come here, no doubt, she thought, as she took another look at the yellowed walls. Then she looked at the young detective, Igarashi’s face, the young man who was about to become a father for the second time.

  “Igarashi-san, you understand, right? You don’t want to die, do you?”

  But Igarashi kept his gaze cast down, not looking into Kyoko’s eyes.

  There’s nothing else I can do. This young one will surely meet his end very soon.

  As she opened the door to leave, Kyoko heard Nakagawa behind her.

  “What a waste of time. Something’s wrong with that woman.”

  Igarashi

  Just as Kyoko Toyama left the interrogation room, Igarashi’s colleague Murata entered, and reported to Nakagawa and Igarashi that Yukio Hirohashi had just been found dead in the restroom of the care center. “The cause of death seems to be a heart attack.” As he listened to Murata, Igarashi felt his heart beating so fast it seemed it would burst.

  “It seems that heart attacks are all the rage these days,” laughed Nakagawa to Igarashi. But Igarashi could not laugh back. It was all he could do to keep his fists clenched beneath the desk, so Nakagawa would not see him shivering.

  It was almost ten o’clock.

  He was not sure if it was appropriate to call a woman living by herself at this time oi night. But, he couldn’t wait until the morning.

  Daisuke Igarashi dialed the number he had written down in his notebook. After the phone rang about five times, he heard someone answer.

  “Yes, this is Toyama,” the female voice said. Igarashi found himself r
emembering Kyoko’s pretty face, her lips shiny with lip gloss, and her eyelashes curved upward.

  “Urn, this is Igarashi.”

  “Igarashi-san.” At first she did not remember who he was, but she soon recalled, “Oh, Igarashi-san, from the police force. What’s wrong, this time of night?”

  “I am very sorry about calling so late. Actually …” He did not how to put it. “Urn, actually …”

  As he was searching for words, she said, “Igarashi-san, you believe me, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I do,” he said, weakly. “But, I don’t know what to do about it.”

  The phone was silent for a moment. Kyoko Toyama seemed as if she was thinking of something.

  “Urn, Toyama-san,” Igarashi could not stand the silence.

  In response, Kyoko said, “Igarashi-san, can you come over here now?”

  “Yes, I can.”

  “Do you have your own car?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, please come right now. And, if you have one, can you bring a plastic jug?”

  “A plastic jug?”

  “Yes, like a plastic kerosene can. If you have one, please bring it with you. You have the address of my apartment, right?”

  “Yes, I have it.”

  “Okay, hurry,” she said and hung up.

  Daisuke Igarashi slipped his cell phone back in his suit pocket. He noticed that his palms were sweaty. Exhaling, he recalled Kyoko’s appearance again. Her thin, finely shaped eyebrows; her sharp nose; her pink fingernails and bright-blue toenails.

  Kayako

  Coming.

  Someone s coming. Someone’s coming to this house to kill me.

  Kayako knew this.

  Who?

  No, it didn’t matter who. Aside from her son Toshio, there was no one in this world who needed her. Therefore, no matter who came, they were her enemy.

  Yes, they were undoubtedly Kayako’s enemies. And there was only one thing that Kayako could do about that.

  Kayako stared into the pitch-black darkness of the attic, and listened for sound from downstairs.

  Kyoko

  Half an hour after he called her, Igarashi rang Kyoko Toyama’s doorbell. Picking up the red-plastic kerosene can she had, she headed to her door. She slipped her feet into her old Nike running shoes. She was wearing faded Levi’s and a tight, black turtleneck sweater.

  She tied her sneakers tightly and stood up straight. She opened the door and saw Igarashi standing there.

  “Let’s go,” she said.

  “Urn, Toyama-san, go where?”

  “I’ll tell you in the car. Did you bring a kerosene can?”

  “Yes. It’s in the car.”

  “All right. We need to stop at a gas station on the way.”

  “Okay …”

  Kyoko got into the elevator, and Igarashi followed. They both remained silent in the narrow elevator, staring down at their own feet.

  When the elevator passed the eighth floor, a small, frighteningly white boy could be seen through the window on the elevator door.

  No, neither Kyoko nor Igarashi could see him. They were both staring down at their feet, and did not notice the boy.

  The elevator passed the seventh floor. There stood the white-skinned boy.

  The elevator passed the sixth floor. There stood the white-skinned boy.

  The elevator passed the fifth floor. There stood the white -skinned boy.

  The elevator passed the fourth floor. There stood the white -skinned boy.

  The elevator passed the third floor. There stood the white-skinned boy.

  The elevator passed the second floor. There stood the white-skinned boy.

  But, neither of them noticed him.

  Igarashi’s family car was a Nissan minivan. There was a child safety seat in the back, with a teddy bear and a stuffed animal rabbit beside it. In the rear window, there was a yellow sticker that read “Child In Car,” and Pocket Monsters stickers. There was a tiny pink shoe on the dashboard. I cannot let this man die, thought Kyoko.

  “First, stop at the nearest gas station,” said Kyoko as Igarashi pulled out of the parking lot.

  “Urn, I’ve got a full tank …”

  “No, we’re going to put the gas in the kerosene cans.”

  Igarashi licked his lips, but he did not ask any more questions. He knew then where they were going and what they had to do. After filling the two, twenty-liter tanks with gas, Igarashi pulled out and drove on, not even waiting for Kyoko’s directions.

  “You know where we’re going, don’t you?” asked Kyoko.

  Igarashi just stared hard out the windshield and nodded silently.

  Wide tape that admonished “Do Not Cross” was hung around the Tokunaga home. Stopping directly in front of the gate, they each grabbed one of the heavy tanks and got out of the car. Ducking under the police tape, they went onto the Tokunaga property.

  “Toyama-san,” called Igarashi from behind her.

  “What?”

  “No, nothing.”

  She opened the front door.

  In that instant, Kyoko shrunk back in fright at the unearthly atmosphere filling the house. The air was cold, but humid … and terribly ominous.

  The house was completely silent. It was pitch-black, save for a miniscule amount of light that could be seen coming through the windows. She flipped the switch on the wall, but the lights did not come on.

  Kyoko lifted her head and stared into the darkness.

  Here.

  She’s here.

  She’s waiting for us.

  Her feet scuffed, but Kyoko did not stop. She went into the house without taking off her shoes, opened the first door she came to, and poured gasoline all over the floor.

  “Igarashi’san, go pour your gas in the back rooms!”

  “Urn, this is arson, isn’t it? That’s a crime.”

  “Do you want to die?” she asked, and he just shook his head from side to side. “If you want to live, do as I say,” she ordered.

  Igarashi squeaked out a yes.

  Splitting up, the two of them poured gasoline all over the floor of every room on the first story. The whole house soon smelled of gasoline fumes, and it was hard to breathe.

  “Igarashi-san, are you finished?” Kyoko called out, when her tank was empty. But, he did not reply.

  “Igarashi-san! Igarashi-san,” she screamed, but still no answer.

  She got him . . .

  A cold shudder went through Kyoko’s lower abdomen. Panting now, she looked around the room. She stuffed her hand into the pocket of her Levi’s and grabbed her lighter.

  “Igarashi-san! Answer me! I’m going to light it up!”

  She listened intently. She heard voices coming from the second floor.

  Who could that be?

  The voices came from right above her. Igarashi? No, it sounded like young girls.

  Who’d be here at this time of night?

  Looking around again, she screamed Igarashi’s name. But again, Igarashi did not answer.

  Forcing her fright-frozen legs to move, she made her way to the stairs.

  No doubt about it now. She definitely heard the voices of young women coming from upstairs. Two, no, three of them. They were laughing merrily.

  Who is that? Who on earth is that?

  She couldn’t light the fire yet. She put her lighter back in her pocket. Fighting back a wave of nausea, she climbed the stairs.

  “Who’s there? Who’s up there?” she screamed up the stairs. But, no one answered. She only heard the girls, still laughing.

  “Answer me! Who’s there?!”

  As soon as she got to the top of the stairs, the girls stopped talking. And she heard a reverberating thud, as if something heavy had fallen to the floor.

  The door to the room at the back of the hallway creaked slowly open. From somewhere, she heard a horrifying sound, like someone was croaking in the back o( their throat.

 

  She s
et me up!

  Kyoko realized this in an instant.

  There were no girls here. The voices were an illusion, a hallucination, created by it.

  Kyoko tried to run back down the stairs. But she didn’t make it in time. In the next instant, Kyoko saw. She saw it, crawling out from the shadows of the open door.

 

  She stopped breathing and froze in terror.

  She couldn’t move. She couldn’t look away, or even close her eyes.

  It crawled toward her, like a chameleon, the ends of its wet, black hair dragging on the floor.

  “Iyaa! Stay away! Iyaaa,” said Kyoko, as if she could stop it.

  It lifted its bloodied face and looked at Kyoko. Blood poured from its split forehead and mouth, dripping onto the floor.

  “Kayako,” gasped Kyoko as she stumbled back. “You’re Kayako.”

  But, it did not answer. It merely continued croaking from the back of its throat as it crawled toward Kyoko.

 

  “Stay away!” Kyoko screamed in terror. “Stay away from me!”

  She felt fear. But, from within that intense horror, she felt another emotion welling up from the depths oi her soul, stronger than anything she ever felt in her life.

  That other emotion was rage.

  She didn’t know what had happened to Kayako. She didn’t know how terribly she had been killed or the extent of her hatred of society. But she could not forgive what Kayako was doing now.

  “Stop it, Kayako!” she screamed. It stopped moving. “Kayako, stop it. Stop this right now”

  Feeling the center of her brain go numb, Kyoko looked down at it.

  It was ugly. Not just its appearance, but its heart was ugly.

  “Kayako. Why are you doing this? What right do you have to kill innocent people?” screamed Kyoko.

  It lifted its bloodied face slowly. Blood dripped from its chin.

  Just then:

 

  Kyoko heard its voice.

  No, she did not hear it with her ears, but Kyoko nonetheless clearly heard its intentions.

 

  Kyoko, shivering, nodded.

 

  It started crawling toward Kyoko again, and Kyoko backed up even more. No, she couldn’t back up. There was no more floor behind her.