Supernatural Investigation 101: Chronicles Of Nakashima Wakana

At the train station, Minami Sei and Nishimura Soichiro come out of the office after questioning the station master about the death of Okuyama Hiroya, the second son of Okuyama Yasotaki. 

"The toilet door was locked from inside." Nishimura Soichiro glances at him. "What do you think about that?"

"The deaths are odd," Minami Sei replies with a calm voice. It's strange that the person didn't scream when his stomach was being torn. Otherwise, someone would have noticed in a train. "However, we can't rule it as a supernatural one yet. Someone could have drugged him."

Nishimura Soichiro chuckles. Nakashima Wakana is too emotional and this guy is too cold. They balance each other out. "Who could rip his belly and take the inside out? In the post mortem report, they didn't find any drug inside his body. It's same with Okuyama Yasutaki's body."

Looking for the supernatural cause should be the last reason. Sei sighs. An animal wouldn't be able to enter a locked toilet. Then again, what kind of animal could do that? There was no bite mark in the body. "If it is supernatural, we still need to find out who did it."

"I like your attitude." Nishimura Soichiro gives him an approving nod. "Whether it's a ghost, spirit, or demon, they aren't much different from humans. They usually have d.e.s.i.r.es, grudges, or some other motive."

Even ghosts have motives. What kind of motive does this killer have? It seems quite personal. There are only two members left in the Okuyama family -- Okuyama Akeno and Okuyama Mikio. Sei turns to Nishimura Soichiro. "It started after Okuyama Shun died. Do you think that it's related to him?"

"It's too early to conclude that." Nishimura Soichiro tells him, "Death of Okuyama Shun… was it natural?"

***

"What did you see inside, Miss Nakashima?" Choi Minho asks her with a solemn voice. 

"Inside…" She looks at the iron gate. They are a little far from the mansion, but it's still visible. "Ms Okuyama and her son are sick. I couldn't sense the ghosts that you mentioned, but I felt that there's something strange about Okuyama Mikio."

Anyone could see that there's something wrong with Mikio. Choi Minho gestures her to walk beside with him. He maintains some distance between them, although she is back to her usual self. It's beneficial for him to not forget why she became like this. "Instead of observing the dead ones, you should always look carefully at the living ones. When you are working in cases that might or might not have supernatural causes, you will always come across one or two ghosts or otherworldly creatures. There's no lack of them. They always hide in plain sight. Not all of them are hostile toward humans, but you can't ever let your guard down."

She must not let her guard down. Wakana gives him a grave look. She won't let her guard down in front of him for sure. Who knows what this guy might do next?

"Three men died in a short period. That is enough to make anyone think that this family is affected by spirits." He takes a deep breath. She's not listening to him. Her attention is worse than the attention of a goldfish. He won't bother listening to her thoughts that might influence him again. "Miss Nakashima, you should stare at your lover like that."

"I was just…" Wakana looks away, blushing. She was just curious about the strange glow in his eyes. Why is he making it sound like that? "So, is the cause supernatural?"

He doesn't answer the question. "Tell me what you think about Ms Okuyama."

Wakana creases her forehead. The woman was grieving. She lost both her husband and two sons in a short period. "She talked fondly of Okuyama Shun."

He raises his brow. "Is that all?" 

Isn't that all? There's more? She scatches her chin, thinking hard. He didn't let her touch Ms Okuyama. What did she feel when she was sitting close to that woman? Ms Okuyama was sorrowful about the death of her husband, but she smiled when she talked about Okuyama Shun. "There was guilt in her eyes."

"What else?" He stops walking and turns around to face her. "If you give me the right answer, I will fix your ability." 

So, he's not going to help her if she gives a wrong answer. Wakana releases her breath. Her ability would become normal after a few months anyway. However, she needs them right now. What else did she notice in Ms Okuyama? When she was living in the village, there was a family that got into an accident. The young woman was the sole survivor. That woman lost her both husband and daughter. Wakan still can't forget how much that woman cried at the funeral. Even after the months, that woman didn't stop mourning. The pained look in that woman's eyes never left.

"Mothers usually cry the most for their children." She frowns hard. Ms Okuyama's reaction is rather mild toward her Shun's dead. Is it because he died due to illness? Still, Ms Okuyama was lacking something when she was talking about Shun. 

"She's lacking desperation," Wakana raises her head to meet his eyes. "After losing two sons, she should be desperate to save her third son. But her actions seemed half-hearted. If something like this happened to my family, I wouldn't be able to stay still. I might have gone mad already. I understand that not everyone is the same. Why was there guilt in her eyes when she was talking about Shun? He died of illness."

"Why, indeed?" Choi Minho tilts his head. "She cried more for her husband. Her second son was never mentioned. Doesn't this give you an idea about this family?"