Chapter 138

Interlude I That girl—Hazumi—seems kind of dangerous to be around. She does? That’s what they’re saying. That it’s risky, perilous to get near her. Perilous? In what way? Like something bad will happen. So I heard it’s better not to get too close. But listen, Hazumi is one of the “non-existers.” No one ever talks to her at school anyway. That’s the rule… That’s not what I mean. This isn’t about being on campus; I’m talking outside of school. We can’t get near her? Even outside of school? There were a couple of girls who walked home with Hazumi a lot, right? Yeah, Shimamura and Kusakabe. They say that Shimamura got injured on the way home the other day. I heard she was hit by a bicycle. But she wasn’t hurt that badly, was she? Did you also hear that Kusakabe’s great-grandma—or someone like that—collapsed and had to get taken away in an ambulance? I didn’t know about that. And it happened just when she was talking to Hazumi on the phone, too. Do you think that was a coincidence? If it was her great-grandma, she’s probably already really old, so… But you know, Shimamura and Kusakabe seem to have gotten spooked, and neither of them wants to walk home with Hazumi anymore. Hmm. What do you think? This is pretty bad, right? I wonder? I’m not really sure… Hey, hey, we were right; she does seem dangerous. Hazumi, I mean. Did something else happen? You haven’t heard about the accident on the 30th? Accident? No… A student at First Yomi died in a motorcycle accident. First Yomi—the high school? Yeah, First Yomiyama High School, First Yomi. He was a second-year… …Apparently, the guy who croaked was a second-year in high school named Nakagawa. He was driving without a license or something. No, the story was that he was riding on the back of someone else’s motorcycle, and the car turning right blew through the intersection. The driver survived, but Nakagawa got thrown when the bike overturned, and the next car ran him over, crushing him. Oof, ouch. Are you sure he didn’t join a motorcycle gang or something? No, no, I don’t think those even exist anymore. But wow, that’s some bad luck. Yikes. And so? That Nakagawa guy, the high schooler, was he an acquaintance of Hazumi’s? Yeah, he was. So you see, I think she might really be unsafe… …Did you hear? Hazumi went to the wake for the high schooler who died on the motorcycle. So she really did know him? They knew each other from way back. Someone said he was the younger brother of her older brother’s best friend or something. Her older brother… He’s a college student. And it was his best friend’s brother? Hmm. Listen. There’s no way this is a simple coincidence, right? I wonder… An injury, a family member collapsing, dying in an accident…and they all happened in quick succession, too. Are you saying there’s some connection because Hazumi is a “non-exister”? I think there might be. But the thing with “non-existers” is only a rule for this class. The dead guy isn’t even related to anyone there. That’s exactly why I think it might be a possibility. A possibility…of what? I think it’s possible that Hazumi might be the “casualty.” You mean the “extra person” who joined our class in April? Yeah, exactly. No way… I really think she might be it. That’s why bad things keep happening one after another to people around her. Really? I don’t know if it’s true or not. Akazawa’s saying it isn’t, but… ………… But apparently, there’s no way to confirm whether someone is the “extra person” or not, no matter how we try. So she can’t rule out Hazumi for certain. ………… At any rate, it’s definitely best not to get too close to her. We’d better treat her like a “non-exister” at all times, even outside of school…