“You’re not a ghost,” the guy whispers after one last swallow.
I bite back the urge to be sarcastic, lowering my voice instead to try to sound soothing. “No, I’m a friend of Kagura’s. You’re with the Ghost Haunts crew, right?” A weak moan is his answer. “I’ve been looking for you guys. Do you know where the others are?”
“The shrine. They’re heading to the shrine…”
“I’ve been to the shrine. It’s boarded up.”
The man tries to shake his head, but he mews in pain again. I take the rolled-up futon and prop it behind his back. There isn’t much in the way of blankets, so I’m relieved the house is sturdy enough to stop the cold drafts from outside.
“A…nother way,” the man gasps. “There’s another way…”
“Another way into the shrine? Where is it?”
“The dolls,” the man sobs. “Miss Kino…”
His strength gives out, and he lapses once more into unconsciousness.
I stare at the overhead ceiling, scowling, like maybe the answer is going to leap out at me from there. Then I look through my backpack and bring out the camcorder. My skin crawls at the thought of the video, but I can’t bring myself to delete it, under the absurd, twisted notion that it might still have useful information that I missed the first time.
I play the second video again, fast-forwarding through Kagura’s interview until I come to the part I’m looking for. “He possessed a rough map, supposedly of the village itself. I can’t vouch for its accuracy, but certain houses were marked with names—seven in all,” Kagura is saying. “These were believed to be the family residences of the seven girls who had been sacrificed—”
I hit the fast-forward button and release it. “I’d like copies for all of us before we set out, if you don’t mind,” Garrick says this time. “It might not be accurate, but it’s the best lead we’ve got.”
Bingo.
Pawing through an unconscious man’s pants while he’s still wearing them does not rank up there as one of my greatest moments, but given what’s at stake, I mumble an apology and dig into the sleeping man’s pockets like my life depends on it. I find a lighter, his wallet (driver’s license puts his name as Alan George), and a piece of paper that I unfold eagerly.
A “rough sketch” is right. The only houses listed on the map are the girls’ residences, but based on my last exploration outside, I know there are a lot more houses than this, and none of them had any family names written on their front porches. Okiku seems to be able to detect where the ghosts are, so I figure I’ll let her do the guiding if I need to.
All the houses look the same to me anyway, so I focus on the shrine to get my bearings, then work from there. If this map is accurate, then the house we are in must be the Oimikado household, which explains a lot. The ghost I saw earlier must be the elder Oimikado, and his daughter the last to be sacrificed.
But what happened to her? The list implies that the seventh ritual hadn’t been completed. Where is the girl now? Is she one of the spirits roving this village, or did she manage to escape?
I scan the map again to compare it with the list. The kanji of the girls’ family names match the houses mentioned, which bolsters the credibility of both. But is there something in these houses we’re supposed to find? And for what? Hiroshi Mikage’s residence isn’t marked, and I’m assuming the most important man in the village gets to have a palace of sorts. Why isn’t it indicated here?
All girls eight through twelve shall bring their hanayome ningyō, each in their likeness. When the door closes, the sun shall die. When it is reborn anew, she whose doll is honored shall be chosen, and she must be willing.
I’m pretty sure that was how they selected the girls for the ceremony. If the families in Aitou village were as traditional as they sounded, they would have kept their daughters’ dolls. They would have found places of honor for the dolls in family shrines, where they would have been protected and worshipped along with the other gods.
It also meant that if these daughters are still prowling the village, the only vessels capable of containing them will be these dolls, if any of them still remain.
“Oh shit.” I whisper. To close the hell’s gate, seven rituals are required, and at least six have already been carried out. Six girls meant six dolls. I now understand the purpose of one-man tag in this village. To contain their ghosts, I’ll have to play with each of them.
“Oh shit,” I say again, just because I can. The thought of playing another game of one-man tag is enough to make me weep, let alone six more.
“Okiku, can you tell me her name—right here?” My finger hovers on the sixth name on the list.
“Uchiyama Yukiko.”