Chapter Six: Main Island/Divine Land Reunion (1)
Thursday, October 17, 2019, 4:15 A.M.
The Divine Land was a pitch black silhouette against the pale moonlight.
Almost two hours had passed since Yuki and the others had crossed the gravel bridge and set up surveillance on the main island.
Thanks to the clear sky and the moon, there was no way they'd miss anyone coming down the gravel path. 5:16 A.M.... If they could just hold out until then, the Visitor would be confined to the Divine Land.
“I wonder what happened to Professor Motegi. I hope he's okay.”
Saijou suddenly spoke as he sat on the concrete slope. Kikyo answered with a laugh.
“Of course he isn't; he was attacked by the Visitor and killed like a dog! I wouldn't be surprised if that monster is wearing his skin as we speak.”
He seemed to relish in the thought as he took a deep drag of his cigarette, releasing it with an equally deep exhale. Purple smoke floated across Yuki's view of the sea.
...Once the Visitor was confined to the Divine Land, there would no longer be anything between him and his revenge, no more danger to the innocent bystanders. Even in his original plan, killing Kikyo and Koga was to be saved until the second night, so things could be placed back on track.
Just as he was beginning to think that, Saijou, who was sitting in front of him, suddenly turned around.
“Doesn't that smell bad?”
It was right after he said it that the smell hit Yuki: a throat-blockingly intense stab of smoke floating on the breeze. It was clearly more than cigarettes or mothballs.
Saijou's eyes slowly widened.
“...Fire?”
Yuki also turned around and saw the sky behind the small mountain faintly glowing red. ...He couldn't quite tell where, but somewhere on the western half of the island, there was a fire.
Yuki turned back to the gravel path and took out his transceiver.
“If you can hear me, please respond.”
He sudden move made Fuwawa wiggle in the bag and make a little noise.
“I hear ya. Doc Motegi show his face yet?”
It was Yanagawa.
“No, but it looks like a fire broke out somewhere on the main island. Please go out and check the situation.”
“A fire? It ain't anywhere near the old community center... Hey! 'Parently there's a fire somewhere!”
That last bit was probably aimed at Mikumo and the others with her. After some silence, Yanagawa called again, sounding dumbfounded.
“Yer right... the high ground behind the community center's redder'n a fox in a pepper patch.”
Yuki felt a shiver down his spine. He heard Mikumo's voice.
“The cemetery's burning.”
It was the place Yuki had named as the answer to the code. There definitely hadn't been any lightning strikes that night, and the air wasn't that dry. Could a natural fire really have started under these circumstances? Or...?
Mikumo continued, audibly in the grip of fear.
“What'll we do? The Visitor is on the main island, and it burned the whole cemetery to destroy the material explaining how to defeat it. ...What should we do?”
Yuki took a deep, steadying breath, then spoke into the transceiver.
“As you said, it's very likely that the Visitor remained on the main island and only pretended to cross over to the Divine Land. But I think it's too early to say for certain.”
Even as he explained that, he never took his eyes off the gravel path. He heard Kikyo muttering to himself, his face contorted.
“Hey, hey, hey, stop making excuses. You screwed it.”
Yuki continued, never taking his finger off the talk button of the transceiver.
“If it wasn't the Visitor that started that fire, and we allow it to distract us from protecting ourselves or keeping watch over the gravel path, everything we've done will be for nothing, won't it?”
Having said his piece, Yuki waited for Mikumo's response.
“...Even if you say that, there is a possibility that the Visitor started the fire, isn't there?”
Of course, he'd considered the possibility.
“Even if it was the Visitor's doing, I'd say the same thing. If the Visitor just wanted to destroy the cemetery, there's no reason it needed to make a fire large enough to be seen from where we are. I'm also concerned that the fire was set during low tide. It's almost as though it's deliberately trying to interrupt our watch.”
“I understand all that in theory. But don't we still have to protect my grandmother's materials?”
Yuki gave slight laugh.
“Oh, that was just something I made up, so don't worry about it. There's nothing there to protect.”
Although he forced lightness into his voice, Yuki was actually certain that the materials had been hidden in the cemetery. Still, for now he had no choice but to stay the path and pray the materials were still safe.
When he didn't hear back from anyone on the main island, he continued.
“...Thus far, there's been no indication that the fire will spread to the former community center, right?”
This time it was Yanagawa who responded.
“The sky's already startin' to turn less red. The smoke's also gone an' thinned out to almost nothin', so I think it's goin' out on its own.”
“Good. Keep staying close to the former community center. That should be the safest place on the island.”
“You three'll keep yer eyes on that gravel path, won'tcha?”
Afterwards, they decided that, in the unlikely event the fire did spread to the former community center before Yuki and the others rejoined them, the four people in the former community center would move as a group to the port.
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