2.35: Ferreting OutWe were sitting at the parasol that we’d cimed for ourselves, sitting down on the sand near Pon-chan, trying to calm him. I stroked his fur gently and drew him into my p. He stayed there, accepting the attention, but his little body remained tense, like he was listening at something only he could hear.

  Strangely, he stayed completely still for a bit.

  One minute he had been rolling in the sand, blissfully ignoring all our fun on the court as if pying in the grit was the most important thing in his life. The next, he froze, every muscle drawn tight, his nose pointed straight toward the far end of the beach, sniffing.

  “Maybe he sees a seagull or something moving over there,” Yuna suggested.

  “I don’t know,” I said quietly. “He usually only acts like this whenever he…” I gnced at Aoi and bit my lip. “Do you think that maybe—?”

  Aoi replied quietly. “Maybe. But I don’t see anything… Do you?”

  His tail was fluffed to twice its size. A low, almost inaudible growl rumbled in his tiny throat periodically.

  “Um,” Yuna said, watching him closely. “That looks like some kind of stress response to me. It sounds like you two know more about this than me.”

  “Yeah,” I said, unease creeping into my voice. “He usually does this whenever we find him at school after he runs off.”

  Yuna nodded slowly, thoughtful. “No one mentioned this behavior whenever he ran away before. If you were aware of it for a while, you should have. It could be indicative of a health issue. It’s critical to get medical treatment before symptoms worsen.”

  I flinched, my head hanging over. “...I know.”

  Aoi put her hand on my knee and added, “The little menace always got his hackles up over nothing. Stuff that we barely noticed.”

  “Yeah…” I nodded. “Every time he froze and puffed up just like this… it seemed to be over nothing… like he’s seeing things that don’t exist,” I hesitated, my fingers tightening slightly in Pon-chan’s fur.

  Aoi-chan narrowed her eyes, following the line of his gaze. “So don’t bme us. I’m responsible for keeping quiet about his antics too, Arisugawa-san. The same as always,” she added, scanning the shoreline, “there’s nothing over there… just an empty and peaceful stretch of beach with seagulls flocking.”

  I nodded slowly. Nothing stood out to me either. The only thing that stood out to me was some kind of a line of rock formations farther down the shore past the gulls, weathered stone worn smooth by years of crashing surf.

  Suddenly, Pon-chan sprang from my p and yanked hard at the leash looped around my wrist. His cws scrabbled against the sand as he bolted toward those rocks, ripping the leash from my hand.

  “Pon-chan, wait!” I fumbled for it with both hands, but it was too te. He was stronger than he looked. My chest seized. “Aoi-chan, I’m sorry! He pulled really hard and surprised me just now. I didn’t think he could get that kind of traction in the sand!”

  “Yeah. He’s a real escape artist,” Aoi said calmly. She stepped in close, her hand closing around my waist in a steadying squeeze. “It’s probably fine.”

  Riko jogged up beside us, her brow creasing as she watched Pon-chan race ahead. “Is he maybe…” She tilted her head slightly. “…leading us over there?”

  “Why should we care about the furball wanting to chase those gulls around?” Aoi muttered. “He’ll probably run back and start frolicking around us when he’s satisfied.”

  I was reasonably sure Pon-chan was after more than gulls or pying in the surf.He only acted like this when something felt wrong to him.That there was something he wanted us to see.

  A faint chill prickled over my skin.

  And at that moment he rushed through the flock of seagulls, scattering them. I thought that he might chase after one, but he completely ignored them, going through them like a bowling ball through pins. He kept running towards that rock formation.

  Yuna slung her bag over her shoulder. “I guess that disproves your theory,” she said dryly. “We should at least track him down. We’re his appointed carers. Kurosawa-sensei will be upset if we lose him.”

  Aoi scowled at nothing in particur. “It’s Sensei’s fault. Pon-chan smuggled himself into her bag. She left it unattended in homeroom near his cage.”

  “Don’t bme sensei for this. He could have smuggled himself in anyone’s bags before we left,” Riko growled.

  “She’s right. Don’t say that, Aoi-chan!” I stamped my foot. “Please be more considerate. Pon-chan doesn’t know any better. I think that he sensed that we were leaving for a few days and didn’t want to be left behind.”

  Aoi flinched, then nodded, flushing. “…Yeah. You’re right.”

  Yuna spoke smoothly, nodding. “Mhm… If he’s reacting to something dangerous, it would be irresponsible to ignore him. And it would look much worse if he were injured.”

  “Of course you’d say that,” Aoi muttered. “Little Miss Stay-Hydrated. Here—” She dug into an invisible bag and shoved it at Yuna. “Antiseptic. Just in case you get your knees scraped up.”

  Instead of being angry or upset, Yuna ughed. “Don’t bme me for being prepared. It comes in handy, doesn’t it? I also have bandages, in case this turns out poorly.”

  Riko shook her head slowly. “What I don’t get about this is—if he were truly afraid of something, I’d expect him to run away, not toward whatever’s scaring him. That’s a natural reaction, an urge to flee or fight. But he starts fighting when we’re all perfectly fine… so to speak.”

  Yuna nodded. “Excellent analysis.”

  Riko smiled at Yuna, but then her gaze drifted back to the rocks. “That’s what bothers me. Nothing in this adds up. I want to know why he’s misbehaving.”

  Aoi nodded. “I’ll agree with that much of what you’re saying. If we understand why he’s doing what he’s doing better, maybe we can prevent it from happening again... And if it’s a health issue like you’re worried about, Arisugawa-san…” She shrugged. “We’ll deal with it.”

  “Yes,” Arisugawa-san said quietly. “I will inform Kurosawa-sensei afterward we retrieve him.”

  “And since we all agree that we can’t keep letting Pon-chan charge off into danger on his own,” I added, my voice tightening, “we should all be careful. There could be predators around, sharp rocks, or something else dangerous out there, not to mention the terrain.”

  Aoi, Riko, and Yuna all nodded in agreement as we rose and chased after him.

  Our cssmates watched us go with mild curiosity, but the teachers were too busy arguing about something we couldn’t hear. Kurosawa-sensei was lounging on a beach chair closer to the hostel with a group of boys clustered near her. No one stopped us as we followed Pon-chan’s tiny tracks leading toward the rocks.

  The sand grew cooler and damper beneath our feet as we neared the waterline. The sound of the waves grew louder, echoing off the stone.

  Up close, the rock formations were more imposing, jagged and dark, scoured by years of wind and surf. At the base of one, a narrow opening yawned where the tide had carved out a shallow cave.

  “Wow,” Arisugawa-san excimed quietly. “To think the ocean carved something like this… over hundreds, maybe thousands of years.”

  “Or maybe it’s something’s ir,” I said, half-joking despite myself. “Do any animals actually live in caves this close to the ocean?”

  “Yōkai,” Riko said, snorting.

  I frowned at her. “You’re not serious. Yōkai are made up.”

  “There are still plenty of mysteries in the world,” Riko replied, unfazed. “Lots of room for things that people don’t understand.”

  Yuna tilted her head, still considering the cave’s entrance. “If we’re talking realistically here, the most likely occupant would be a bear, though that would be rare this close to the water.” She paused. “If the cave were flooded, I’d say it was a shark or octopus living in there. But like this…”

  “Who knows,” Riko said lightly. “Maybe a sailor shipwrecked here a long time ago and never made it out. Or maybe there’s a serial killer using it as a hideout.”

  “What?” I whimpered, shivering.

  Riko peered into the darkness, unimpressed. “Either way, I’m going to take a look.” She gave a short ugh, already stepping closer. “If you’re following me in, watch your footing, everyone. The rocks will be slick, and the st thing we need is someone cracking their head open and waiting for the tide to come in.”

  Something was making loud noises deeper inside the cave. I could hear scraping and digging sounds, SCRITCH-SCRITCH-SCRITCH, echoing sharply over the stone.

  Riko cmbered into the cave carefully, picking her way across the piles of wet stones at the mouth.

  “Did anyone else hear that?” I said, frowning. “I think I heard Pon-chan digging around inside there. Or it could be something dangerous making those scraping noises.”

  “Tachibana is really set on this,” Aoi-chan said, frowning. “We’ll go in just a little. Spelunking is kind of fun anyway.” Her voice got louder as she yelled, “Don’t go in too deep, Tachibana.” She looked at me and took my hand, squeezing it. “Sumire, stay with me, okay?”

  “Hurry up if you’re coming in!” Riko called back as she navigated herself over the rocks. “I don’t see anything yet, but the cave is surprisingly deep.” She grunted.

  “Okay,” I said softly. “Keep your eyes open for anything weird so you don’t walk straight into it,” I yelled.

  Aoi-chan said, smiling warmly. “Such a little mother.” She gave my hand another little squeeze.

  “Ehhhh?” I blushed.

  Yuna giggled as she flicked on the fshlight function on her phone. “The ambiance is really something else in there,” she said. “Very creepy. Ten out of ten.”

  We carefully climbed down into the cave. It swallowed us as we crept our way down. Loose rocks and shells clicked free underfoot all the time, sliding away with loud clicking sounds.

  The ambient noises of the beach carried into the cavern, waves crashing mostly, echoing off the passageway, but in between those sounds I could faintly hear water dripping somewhere deeper inside. The air was cooler and wetter here, heavy with the scent of salt mixed with a musty undertone.

  We caught up to Riko quickly. She was leaning against the cavern wall, grinning fearlessly. “Gd to see that you all decided to come along.”

  Aoi-chan nodded, smiling at her, almost approving of her guts.

  Our footsteps echoed against the uneven rocks strewn across the cavern’s floor, making grinding and crunching noises as we moved farther in together. The light from the entrance gradually faded, entirely repced by Yuna’s thin phone’s light beam and faint reflections glimmering across the wet stone surfaces.

  The beam from Yuna’s phone swept across the passageway and finally fell on Pon-chan as the passageway widened. His fur was fully bristled now, his tail standing straight out like a bottlebrush. He scampered deeper inside, almost like he was teasing us, darting just far enough ahead to stay out of reach.

  “Pon-chan!” I yelled.

  My voice ricocheted wildly through the cavern, and I flushed immediately, a spike of unease twisting in my chest as I wondered if I’d just announced our presence to whatever he was following.

  We hurried after him through a mix of sand and loose gravel crusted with sea salt and other minerals. Large structures clung to the rock walls in pces, pale and bulbous, uncomfortably looking like strange cocoons growing straight out of the stone.

  “Maybe this is some kind of an alien nursery.” Riko commented. “Watch those things carefully. Something might burst out and wrap around our faces… and then it’s game over.”

  “Yaiiiiiiii…” I yelped, hiding behind Aoi, sweating.

  “Don’t be silly. They’re just rge deposits of minerals.” Yuna giggled.

  “Don’t scare my girlfriend.” Aoi muttered sharply.

  Riko cackled in a way that didn’t make me feel any better as she led the way deeper.

  When we found him again, he looked much the same… but if there was a change he was a bit more puffed up, his fur standing straight on end. He was staring into the darkest part of the cave, where the rock folded in on itself and formed an alcove the phone’s light barely dispelled.

  Weird…

  “... I-If only he could talk to us and let us know what’s going on,” I muttered, moving from behind Aoi, still holding her hand, my palms extremely sweaty.

  Pon-chan gnced back over his shoulder at us and answered with a string of angry ferret noises.

  “If a ghost lived down here,” Riko said casually, peering into the shadows, “this would probably be its favorite spot to haunt. Check if there are any other caverns branching off from this chamber, Arisugawa-san.”

  “Don’t talk about ghosts so casually like that,” Aoi-chan snapped, shooting Riko a gre. “You’re just scaring Sumire-chan worse.”

  “Ah… sorry.” Riko blushed, barely visible in the dim light cast by Yuna’s phone.

  Yuna swept her fshlight across the walls, examining every uneven surface and dark crease.

  I squinted and leaned forward a little, trying to see past the gloom. “I’m fine,” I muttered. “I’m not that fragile. I can handle scary things.” I let go of Aoi-chan’s hand.

  “Oh, really?” Aoi-chan giggled.

  Then something poked at my backside.

  I screamed, snapping to attention, jumping out of my skin and grabbing at whatever it was, only to find Aoi’s wrist there.

  “See?” she giggled.

  “Mou… baka! Don’t mess around like that!” I stamped, blushing.

  “Okay,” Aoi said, still far too amused.

  I didn’t see anything at first. Just inky darkness, nothing more than expected.

  But then my breath caught. A thin, cold awareness crept up my spine, sharp enough to make my scalp tingle as my eyes fell on a corner where the air and darkness felt thicker. It was struggle to keep my eyes on that spot.

  “... Maybe this cave actually is haunted.” I gasped.

  “You think so?” Riko asked.

  “I don’t see anything.” Yuna said as she cast her phone’s beam around.

  “There…” I pointed, my arm twitching.

  “Where?” Yuna asked, fshing her phone my way and following my arm and fshing her fshlight that way. There was a spot that resisted light where I was pointing.

  My eyes insisted that there was nothing but stone and shadow… but..I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was there all the same.

  I tried looking away, but whatever it was lingered at the edge of my vision. Not a clear shape exactly, just the impression of a presence. It was tall and narrow, a shadowed presence that refused to come into focus no matter how hard I tried.

  I swallowed hard.

  “Do you see it?” I whispered.

  “See what?” Aoi-chan’s voice dropped low and careful. I could feel the tension in her stance in front of me, like she was ready to move the second I might need protecting.

  “There’s… there’s something that looks faintly like a human shape in there,” I said, my voice trembling. I was already annoyed with myself for how it came out. I sounded way too jumpy, like I was letting the dark get to me. “Whatever it is, it’s right there. In the shadows. It’s like…”

  And yet, I was still skeptical. Like my brain couldn’t decide whether it was just shadows in a recognizable shape or an actual person’s figure.

  My chest tightened. Old fear tried to rise up, but it faded. It felt like it was a memory associated with that little muted voice inside me.

  I blinked as the thing shifted and blurred, snapping into nothing and Yuna’s phone’s beam revealed the irregur and jagged cavern wall.

  “It’s gone,” I murmured.

  “I didn’t see anything,” Riko said calmly. “Your imagination is probably making you see things.”

  “Pareidolia,” Yuna added with a small shrug. “It’s in human nature to see faces and shapes in nature. Our brains transte what we see for us incorrectly. I didn’t see anything either.”

  “Did you see it, Aoi-chan?” I asked.

  Aoi-chan hesitated, then shook her head. “No. I didn’t see anything. Still…” She exhaled softly. “At least it’s over, right?”

  …

  Pon-chan suddenly let out a strange, strained noise, sharp enough to make all of us jump out of our skins.

  He stared so hard I was afraid he might have a heart attack. He saw something in there. I was sure of it, because I had seen something too.

  “Check that spot again!” I yelped.

  Yuna swept her phone beam across that same alcove again. The wall was fully revealed again.

  Riko scrambled over to examine it directly, peering into the crevices, feeling around with her hands. “I don’t see any bodies hidden here. No traces of bloodstains. So we can be reasonably sure nothing is using this cavern as a den, and there’s probably no serial killer lurking in the shadows.” Riko concluded.

  Yuna giggled. “Honestly, the most dangerous thing down here is the mildew.”

  “Nnnn... that would be reassuring to hear,” I muttered, “if I weren’t about ninety-eight percent sure I saw something earlier.”

  Riko gnced down at Pon-chan, then back into the dark. “Yeah… and Pon-chan seems to agree with you. He still hasn’t calmed down. But what is going on? Did we ever check him for rabies or some kind of other neurological issue?”

  “As far as I know, he hasn’t been evaluated for any neurological or behavioral issues,” Yuna said with a small shrug. “Although that’s not really something that the nurse’s office handles. But maybe it’s something we should suggest to Kurosawa-sensei.”

  Yuna tilted her head, studying Pon-chan. “Maybe he’s reacting to a sound on a frequency that we can’t hear. Animals have much sharper hearing than we do,” she said thoughtfully. “But that’s what’s strange. This cave doesn’t go any deeper than this. There aren’t any passages beyond this chamber.” She paused, then added, “So maybe it’s a smell that we’re not detecting instead. Animals notice things like that long before we do and long after.”

  She gnced around the alcove again. “If we took this more seriously, we’d probably have to report it to the police so they could investigate properly. But then we’d also have to expin why we were convinced something was here in the first pce.” She gave a small shrug. “And that might not go over very well.”

  “To put it simply,” Riko cut in quietly, “he’s just afraid for whatever reason. The simplest expnation is usually the right one.”

  Afraid.The word hung in the damp air.

  Yuna’s mouth twitched. “Animals do react before storms or earthquakes too. That sort of thing.”

  I stared at Yuna for a moment, then giggled. “You’re kind of rambling now, Arisugawa-chan.” I shook my head lightly. “I think we already decided that he’s just acting scared.” I added, dryly, “And maybe I’m too jumpy too.”

  Yuna blinked once. “…Fair.” She lifted a hand, covering a small ugh. “I might be overthinking everything. I just want to understand what’s going on with him.”

  I leaned down and grabbed his leash, securely tying it around my wrist and almost as soon as I did, I felt Pon-chan shuddering so violently that his leash rattled.

  “Pon-chan,” Aoi-chan said ftly, “that’s enough of all this nonsense. I’m done.” She reached down and firmly scooped him up against her chest. “Let’s leave.”

  Arisugawa nodded. “I think we’ve done about all we can here… although we didn’t learn anything at all.”

  “Yeah…” I said quietly, but then I flinched as something detached itself from that spot we’d been looking at.

  I had been gncing that way without realizing it, my brain insisting it was only shadows, just uneven stone. But detecting movement shattered that comforting lie. Whatever it was pulled free with a wrenching movement that made my stomach drop. I had the unmistakable sense of something rushing past us, threading through the space between Aoi-chan and me, making the leash swing.

  For a split second, something brushed against my face.

  It burned. Not pain exactly, more like a sharp, searing sensation that vanished almost as soon as it appeared, leaving my skin buzzing as whatever it was dissipated into nothing.

  Pon-chan’s agitation spiked instantly. He shrieked and writhed in Aoi-chan’s arms with shocking strength, twisting until her grip slipped. He hit the ground and bolted after the empty space where it had vanished to the end of his leash, tugging on my wrist. His whole body shook, his eyes locked on nothing I could see.

  Aoi stiffened, forcing herself to rex, letting out a sharp exhation as if she were brushing the moment off.

  I raised a hand to my face.

  “Um… am I okay?” My voice sounded thin to my own ears. “Will you shine your light on me, Arisugawa-san? My face felt… kind of weird for a second.”

  “Weird?” Yuna asked. “Don’t look directly at the light. Close your eyes so you aren’t blinded.”

  I nodded and did as she said, my eyelids glowing red as the fshlight passed over me.

  Then I felt a gentle touch on my cheek.

  I blushed immediately.

  It was an open palm, warm and gentle, and for a disorienting instant it felt uncomfortably simir to what had brushed my face moments earlier, but gentler and soothing in comparison. I opened my eyes to see concern etched across Yuna’s expression, her hand still resting against my cheek.

  “Ahhhhhh!” I blushed, flustering. I thought it was Aoi-chan for a moment.

  “You look fine,” Yuna said softly, peering into my eyes. “I don’t see any signs of irritation. You caught a little sun today, but it won’t turn into a burn. Just a slight tan.”

  Aoi strangely didn’t say anything about Yuna touching me like this. Normally she would have.

  “Did you see it too, Aoi-chan?” I asked as Yuna lowered her hand, although her fingertips traced down my cheek in a lingering way. She angled her fshlight away.

  “I didn’t see or feel anything,” Aoi replied evenly. “But like I said… we should get back to the beach.”

  “It’s really annoying and confusing. I was sure that we’d discover something important in here.” Riko shrugged, muttering.

  “Nor did I. And yet… it’s hard to ignore all the strange coincidences,” Yuna mused quietly.

  She turned and started walking back the way we’d come, her hands csped behind her back above her bikini bottom, her posture composed and firm.

  Relwing