Meguro-ku,
Tokyo
We visit the Iwamoto family on the second block. They lived in that area for a generation.
Now, the house is owned by the third generation, Iwamoto Yuji-san, his wife, and his only son. The Iwamoto family is a very nice family. I'm a little relieved.
"My family lived in this area for generations. I'm the third generation living here. So, we know this area well." Iwamoto-san laughed. "Everyone around this area knows about the accidents 50 years ago. " he nodded. "At that time no one ever wanted to walk around the third block. Especially the families who had kids around five to seven years old," he said. "When I was five years old the accidents still continued, so my parents never let me go outside."
"But, only the children on the third block went missing, right?" I asked, furrowing my brows.
"Yes." he nodded. "But we were also very scared. The children just started go missing and they found them dead." he took a deep breath as he remembered what happened in the past.
"At that time, did you ever hear about someone suspicious or anything else about the accidents?" I asked while taking notes.
"I don't really remember. " he shook his head. "But because the accidents keep happening until I entered junior high, I heard about the rumor. Like the land was cursed, or the family is cursed, and the house is haunted. But, it's just rumored, I guess."
"Do you know Morishita-san from the third block?" I asked, maintain eyes contact with him.
"My parents have a good relationship with the Morishita-san family. " Iwamoto-san smiled. "My grandparents really like Khaki, so my mom sometimes goes to the Morishita family to buy that, but they never take our money and just give us for free."
"Do you mean the Khaki in the front of Morishita residents?" Rui asked.
"Yes that's the one." he nodded. "They're a really nice family. It's just sad that they passed away so suddenly. Oh, I heard there's a new family living there? Is something strange happening to them?" Iwamoto-san glanced at us.
"Something strange?" I asked. I don't know why, but Iwamoto-san looks nervous. He looks like he has something he wants to tell us.
"Iwamoto-san, whatever is on your mind right now, please tell us. " I said. "Even if you think it's something impossible, we'll listen to you carefully, so we can conduct our research in the right way. We are especially dealing with a strange case though." I smiled, trying to convince him.
"It's not my husband, but that happened to me and my son." the wife started to talk when she entered the living room with his son while bringing tea and snacks. She put them slowly on the table and sat with her husband, while her son leaned on the wall.
"What exactly happened?" I stared at his wife.
"About the Khaki that my husband talking before, actually in summer last year, exactly on August 20th, we visit Morishita-san to give them souvenir we got from our trip. They always give us the Khaki for free and they're really nice couple, so sometimes I stop by. " his wife explains.
"We bought a lot of souvenirs for them, so I come with my mom to help carry them. " the son added. "At that time the Morishita couple welcomed us and we even had tea with them," he said. "But, it's was exactly the week after, I passed the Morishita house while heading to school for my summer club activity, I saw their son and his family cleaning the house. I greeted them and they told me to give the message to my family that his parents passed away in a car accident."
"They said they passed away on August 13th." his wife's face looked worried.
"Eh?!" I'm startled. "But, you said you visit Morishita-san on August 20th?"
"Yes. We really meet and talked to them. I went with my son and we really gave the souvenirs to them." the wife said. She said as she tried to convince me that the story was not a lie.
"Do you think that what we saw was a ghost?" the son asked. He stared at me and I didn't see any fear on his face. He's just curious.
I smiled. "Old legends say that the spirits of the dead will wander until 49 days before they leave this world. So, maybe what you saw was indeed the Morishita couple's spirit," I explained the possibilities of what they experienced.
"But, we are not a psychic medium." his son looked at me with a doubtful look.
"Sometimes even normal people will have a chance to see a spirit. You heard people saying that they feel like someone watching them or following them, or saw a silhouette of a person passing by them, right? It's a normal reaction when a spirit is around. " I explained. "But, in this day, maybe it's just some stalker though." I chuckled, so does Rui. The atmosphere is more relaxed again.
"I see." the son nodded. "Actually it's not only the Morishita couples who are in the house at that time, right, Mom?" he said while looking at his mother.
His mom nodded. "There is a little girl. Around five to seven years old. She's playing around the house."
"A little girl?" Rui and I looked at each other.
"When we asked Morishita-san, they said she's their granddaughter. " the wife said. "But, when my son meets with Morishita's son at that time, and when my son asks them, they said, they don't have a daughter."
"How was the little girl you saw at that time?" I stared at her seriously.
"She was wearing purple kimono, with short black hair, she looked like a Japanese doll, and she used an eye patch on her left eye." the wife said.
I felt something was wrong and widened my eyes. "An eye patch over her left eye?"
"Do you think the girl is a ghost?" the wife asked. The anxiety doesn't go away from her face.
"Did you talk to her?" I glanced at the wife and then the son.
"No, we didn't," the son shook his head. "She just wanders around by herself." the son said still leaning on the wall.
A little girl. Takao-san mentions that too. So, there's a ghost in that house?
"Excuse me, this is a list of the 49 victims of the accidents on the third block, do you recognized one of the girls like the one you saw at the Morishita house?" I give them the article that we found at the library before.
"No, she's not in the list. Right, mom?" the son looked at his mother and his mother nodded. "I wonder if it's a zhaziki warashi, you know the legend about the little girl who guards the house?" the son glanced at us.
"Zhaziki Warashi is a type of Yokai or house spirit who's believed to bring great fortune and riches to those whose houses it haunts. Is true their form is of a child's around five years old, wearing kimono, but the story and the legend said that they are not a harmful spirit." I explained.
"I see. Um...is there a possibility that a ghost would kill humans?" the son asked, he looked awkward and embarrassed.
Actually, I was surprised by a question like that. Rui and I peeked at each other.
"We never have valid evidence about that. " I smiled. "For example, after you heard a ghost story or watched a horror movie, sometimes you feel scared when you are alone, right?" I looked at him. "Some people even can't sleep all night and that make them feel tired the next day, and when you tell your friends, they may be said that the ghost is following you around." I explained, "A lot of accidents happen, like when you pass the road that rumors haunted, you may not be concentrated about your driving because you're feeling scared, and you end up in accidents."
"Ahh, you are right!" the son nodded. "I sometimes watch a movie about ghost hunting, are you doing the same thing?" the son asked again, he looks excited.
"Well, you could say that." I smiled. "We try to conduct our research like any other scientist. There is always a reason behind every supernatural or paranormal event. Even right now, you often see a television show or newspaper about supernatural or psychic, right? But, some people just think that it's a trick or fraud. The problem is a supernatural phenomenon just doesn't happen to everyone." I explained honestly.
"I see. But, after what happened to me and my son, it's impossible to say that it's just our imagination." the wife said while taking a deep breath.
I nodded. "You're right. People only believe when they experienced it themselves. Even if they are people who still believe that it was only their imagination."
"Do all parapsychologists see a ghost?" Iwamoto-san asked, he also seemed interested.
"No. They are not. Most of them are only normal researchers." I smiled.
"By the way, about the case that you're investigating right now, could you please tell us what happens after you find out the truth? I just can't feel ease since last summer." Iwamoto-san looked at me and Rui.
I nodded. "Because you also experienced unusual things and have something to do with the cases we handle, to get rid of your anxiety, we will explain to you when we finish investigation this case." I smiled.
"Thank you very much." Iwamoto-san and his family looked relieved.
We left Iwamoto-san's house and headed to Takeuchi-san's library.
I wonder if it's just a Zhaziki Warashi.
"Uhm, about the little girl they saw at the Morishita house, I never heard of
Zhaziki Warashi wearing an eye patch?" Rui said. He scratched his head.
"Well, Zhaziki Warashi's are usually known only by their pranks. They love mischief. " I said, "The mischief includes making phantom noises which sound like spinning wheels turning all night long, paper crinkling, and children's voices. Most hauntings involve a single ghost, while some involve multiple spirits."
"Just like what happened in the Takano-san house right now?" Rui murmured.
"We still need to do more research." I took a deep breath. "Let's go to the Takeuchi-san house."