Chapter 5 - Crow's Footsteps

Furumura was the old district on the edge of Kagehara, abandoned years ago after landslides and disrepair made it unsafe.

A few rotting homes, a small derelict shrine, and rumors as thick as the woods surrounding it.

Furumura also had an old shrine, the shrine where the Kagurazaka no Yoru Matsuri festival used to be held till the landslide hit. After that, the villagers built a new shrine closer to the center of Kagehara.

But some people still remembered the old one.

They said the gods didn’t like being moved.

I reached Furumura. It looked just as eerie as ever.

There was no power here. The only light came from the narrow beam of my flashlight.

Most of the buildings were on the verge of collapse, buried under landslides, or rotting from years of neglect.

They said the dirt on the hills could shift at any time and bury whatever was left so officials sealed it off.

Even so, kids still sometimes sneaked in during the festival. Just to mess around.

I kept walking slowly, sweeping my light through broken windows, under fallen beams, between piles of rubble. Just routine... until I saw it.

Smoke.

Thin and wispy. Almost too faint to notice at first.

It curled upward from the direction of the old shrine.

“…The hell?”

I narrowed my eyes.

That shrine hadn’t been touched in years. I moved toward it, climbing over collapsed fences and weaving through narrow spaces between leaning houses.

Eventually, I reached the stairway. It was half-buried in dirt, but still there.

I climbed, boots crunching softly with every step until the shrine came into view.

It was worn down, half-covered in fallen leaves and dust. But something stood out.

Incense.

Three sticks. Still burning.

They were stuck into a cracked stone bowl on the old altar. The smoke curled upwards.

“Weird…”

I scanned the perimeter of the shrine, sweeping my flashlight across the trees and rubble.

Then I heard it.

Footsteps…

My grip tightened on the flashlight. I swung it around toward the sound, the beam cutting through the dark.

Nothing.

Another step. Closer this time.

“Who’s there?” I shouted into the darkness, my voice unsteady.

Silence.

Then — crackle.

My radio burst to life, making me jump.

“Sora-kun, requesting backup. There’s a fight breaking out over a gambling dispute.”

I let out a shaky breath and pressed the button. “Roger.”

I glanced one last time at the shrine, the incense still curling smoke into the still air. Then I turned and began heading back down the stairs.

Halfway through climbing over more rubble, I heard it.

A car engine and headlights

What…?

No. That’s impossible.

No cars should be in Furumura. The roads are sealed off. There aren’t even stable paths to drive on.

I scrambled toward the source of the sound, my flashlight swinging wildly.

But when I got there…

No tire tracks.

No engine noise.

No sign of any car at all.

Was I imagining it?

…

Right... The festival…

Takeda’s waiting.

The shrieks of the crows are so loud... I winced and covered my ears — but the sound was already inside me.

Am I still myself?

Or just a hollow thing… echoing who I used to be?

As I made my way back, climbing over the barrier, the festival slowly came back to life around me — lantern light flickering through the trees, voices growing louder, and the scent of grilled food and sweet sake rising with the smoke.

I arrived to see Takeda roughly cuffing a man.

“Took you long enough, Sora,” he grunted. “I had to deal with it myself. Useless.”

“Well... looks like you had a long night.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever. Just take this idiot back to the kōban in the patrol car. I’m gonna go smoke. I earned it.”

I sighed. “Yes, sir.”