Supernatural Investigation 101: Chronicles Of Nakashima Wakana

The strong odour in the room makes her queasy. Where did she enter? It smells like someone had died in here. Could he have killed Ms Okuyama?

Pressing her ear against the door, she waits. Nothing happens in the next several minutes. She rests her head against the door and releases a breath. 

Maybe he went away. 

When she straightens her back, she flinches. A chunk of her shoulder is missing. She can't rest. It's not over yet. The murderer is right outside the door. Wakana slaps the wall, searching for the light switch. She stumbles across the cabinet, hitting her forehead. "Ugh!"

The temperature of the room falls down a few degrees, making her shiver in cold. She senses a presence standing right behind her. A bead of cold sweat rolls down her spine. A ghost? A demon? Is it Okuyama Mikio? She can't tell. Looking back is not even an option. 

She glides her hands over the wall, desperately searching for the switch. The presence is not moving. She's feeling like she's being watched by something sinister. Where is the damn switch? She slams on it when she finds it. 

The lights are turned on and the presence is gone. 

Wakana turns around -- her blood freezes, her ears buzz, her heart becomes still; dead bodies of men and women are lying with their stomach torn, clothes drenched in their blood, arms still inside their own bellies, and mouths full of flesh.

Did they do this to themselves? 

Ms Okuyama's body is also there; however, her arms are not inside her belly or covered with blood. Ms Okuyama's eyes are wide-open, glassy, and filled with horror and shock -- the tail of her intestine hanging out of her mouth. 

She covers her mouth and runs to the corner of the room, throws up everything that she ate this morning before she left the hotel. The sour and pungent smell makes her retch until she is panting for air. 

The crime scene is tainted because of her. 

Don't touch anything. Don't look at the dead. It's best not to find out how they were killed. 

It would have been better if she had not turned on the lights. Being aware of the corpses behind her is making her s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to the emotions in the room: starvation, helplessness, extreme grudge, and hatred; raising the hair on her skin, blurring her sight, she hears the loud screams of a man.

"Am I not your son?" She shouts at her father. "I am dying, Father. Take me to the hospital, please."

The man isn't her father. She isn't his son. But she's already inside someone's memory. Thankfully, she still has the awareness that she is Nakashima Wakana. 

"You are going to die anyway." She can't see the old man who is speaking to her with a harsh tone. "Why should I take you to the hospital?"

"It hurts." She clutches her abdomen. "If I get the surgery, the pain will--"

"Your diabetes has taken away your eyesight. You can't go to work and earn for your surgery." The voice is solemn with a hint of despondency. "I heard that the surgery won't cure your disease. I am a businessman. I only invest if I see some hope."

She grabs his ankle. "I will pay you back. I swear it, Father. Have I ever lied? Please pay for my surgery. It's too painful. I can't eat or sleep… please, I beg you."

The man clicks his tongue and jerks her hand away. Wakana hears the sound of footsteps fading. The door is closed. The waves of pain come and go, numbing her mind. She can't make sense of anything. She's dying for sure and nobody cares if she lives or dies. 

"Shun…" 

A cold but gentle hand strokes her hair. She opens her eyes slowly. The voice is familiar. Her sight is completely gone. Wakana whispers, "Mother, save me. Please save me. I don't want to die."

The woman sobs. That's all that woman does. Wakana can't move her arms or legs. The floor is cold. The woman is gone. After some time, she hears the door open again. A plate is pushed in her direction -- it stops only an arm-length away from her -- the door is closed. 

She can't move her legs. A foul smell wafts into her nose. She realizes that it's coming from her body. Infection? She's too hungry to care. Wakana crawls toward the plate, grabbing the rice with her dirty hands. She shoves it inside her mouth. The pain returns, making her nauseous. She vomits on the plate. Too tired and weak to move, she collapses on the floor. 

How many hours have passed? She's been screaming, beseeching them for mercy. Maybe it's been days or months. The pain in her belly is making her crazy. The horrible days aren't over. Her belly is burning. 

"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!" 

"Can't you stop screaming?" Okuyama Mikio barks at him, "I can't sleep because of you."

"Mikio, it's cold." Okuyama Shun beseeches. "Brother, please help..."

"What's this? Did you poop here?" His youngest brother's tone is filled with disgust. "Your room smells like shit."

"Give me food." He pleads with a weak voice. "I am thirsty… Water."

His voice isn't heard. The door is slammed shut. Desperate and starving, Okuyama Shun's hands reach for anything on the floor. Knowing that it's not something that he should be eating, he swallows it to curb the agony in his belly. 

"Gross!" Shun hears his second brother's voice. He blinks his eyes. There's only darkness. 

"Matsuo…" Shun hasn't heard from his second brother for a long time. "Take me to the hospital, my brother. I don't want to die." 

His pleas are ignored. 

"Mother, why is he eating his poop when there's food here?" 

"Who will feed him? He smells bad, Matsuo. I can't get close to him… Why is my son suffering so much? My heart cries for him."

"Father dismissed all the servants. No servant would be hired until he's dead. I have to do this instead of them." Coldwater splashes over Shun's body. He whimpers, convulsing his body in cold, trying to avoid the cold water. He doesn't even have the strength to crawl away. "Don't move around. Your body is covered with your vomit and faeces. "Aish! Why do you keep moving? Do I have all day? You should die already."

After the cold torment is over, someone takes off his clothes and covers his body with a blanket. Shun inhales the scent of food. He can't tell or see what it is. He can't reach for it. With his head toward the plate of food that is within only his arm's reach, the light in Shun's eyes fades away like the last rays of sunlight.

***

Nishimura Soichiro frowns at the gate. He can't see any guard. The gate is not locked either. That's odd. He glances at the CCTV camera for a moment. Maybe he should check this later. This case might be related to possession. After talking to the nurse who was friendly with Okuyama Shun, he already has a grasp of the situation. 

Okuyama Shun's father was a wealthy businessman, but he was a miser. He didn't want to spend a penny on his children. Okuyama Shun's mother was a devoted wife; however, she wouldn't take a step out of the house without her husband's permission. Okuyama Matsuo and Okuyama Mikio started working as soon as they dropped out of high school. Three brothers paid for their food expenses in the Okuyama Mansion.

Okuyama Shun had been suffering from an incurable pancreatic disease. His health interfered with his personal and work life. When the disease progressed, he started working harder to pay for his surgery that would have given him some relief. 

The nurse didn't know what happened after that. Nishimura Soichiro makes a guess about the story. Okuyama Shun couldn't work anymore. His family didn't want to support him. He must have died without treatment. That's how the grudge is formed.

When people die after suffering for a long time from a disease, they often die with regrets or grudges. 

But Okuyama Shun's grudge toward his family was too strong. His soul turned demonic as a result. He must have been possessing his family member one by one. If his guess is correct, it should be Okuyama Mikio. 

After finding out the grudge, resolving it is the biggest hurdle. He wanted the youngsters to understand that. Nishimura Soichiro sighs. There's not much time. He has to find out what does the dead wants. He takes long strides toward the mansion. To his surprise, the door opens before he could push it. Choi Minho comes out with Nakashima Wakana in his arms.

He gasps when he sees the blood on her body. "What happened?" 

"I thought that she would go to the train station or somewhere else." Choi Minho's voice falters. Though he has healed her body, her mind is… "The grudge is transferred to her, Nishimura-sama."