Chapter 199: Yūmi Island (V)

Chapter 199: Yūmi Island (V)

The girl, Hayasaka Muko, revealed the secret of her origins.

Her mother, Hayasaka Taeko, had once been a follower of Shinzaki Tenrikyo.

That woman bore a child after being violated by Hayashizaki Ichi, the founder of Shinzaki Tenrikyo. That girl was Hayasaka Muko herself.

“I grew up around that man since I was little. He never recognized me as his daughter…”

Hayasaka Muko’s voice was thick with hate.

“Plus, the cult felt just like a prison to me. I only went to elementary school. I was brought here right after, with no junior high.”

For Hayasaka, this island was truly a prison. She and the other members were prisoners locked inside.

Her mother, Hayasaka Taeko, was also a member. She died years ago. That poor woman was an orphan. Her only family was her aunt’s family, who raised her.

The whole family deeply believed in Shinzaki-kai, which Hayashizaki Ichi founded early on. They were very active when Hayashizaki almost went to jail. Later, including her aunt, the whole family became leaders in Shinzaki Tenrikyo.

Hayasaka Taeko was an introverted but very beautiful woman. She was forced into Shinzaki Tenrikyo.

Her aunt’s family, who raised her, were all loyal followers of Hayashizaki Ichi. Living in that environment, she had no choice but to join too.

After becoming an adult, Hayashizaki Ichi focused on her. She became the founder’s woman.

In a closed cult like Shinzaki Tenrikyo, the founder had the highest power. He was the king of the whole group. Hayasaka Taeko, unwilling, had no way out.

She was an orphan too. Fighting alone would anger her aunt’s family and leave her homeless.

“My mother was never happy while alive. Even though Hayashizaki provided for her materially, she hated that man deeply.”

Because of her mother, Hayasaka Muko hated Founder Hayashizaki Ichi. She also hated Shinzaki Tenrikyo intensely.

But she’d lived here since childhood. She had no money and no way to leave the island.

“I don’t want to stay on this island forever. I don’t want to waste my life here as some puppet. Or prisoner.”

Clear tears rolled down the girl’s beautiful eyes. Hayasaka Muko gripped his hands tightly, as if clutching her last hope of rescue.

“Please, Mr. Shusu. I can’t stay on this island anymore. I must leave. Or else… I’d prefer to die by my own hand.”

Yuki sighed in response.

“Don’t be so upset, Miss Hayasaka. No person or organization can force you to stay on the island. I will definitely find a way.”

“But… I don’t have much time.”

Hayasaka Muko wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Soon, the cult will force me to marry Kuzunoki. He’s one of the leaders. It’s part of the ‘sacred marriages’ they arrange. They tell every member to form partners under the founder’s guidance.”

“You mean Kuzunoki?”

Yuki showed surprise. He thought of that tall, thin middle-aged man. The guy was almost old enough to be Hayasaka Muko’s father.

“Yes. Mr. Kuzunoki divorced long ago. Hayashizaki thinks I’m old enough at seventeen. So he wants to assign me to Kuzunoki as his wife.”

It was… a ridiculous decision.

Thinking carefully, Hayasaka Muko was Hayashizaki Ichi’s own daughter.

Kuzunoki was Hayashizaki’s trusted aide, a cult leader. Hayashizaki was clearly doing this to strengthen his control.

“I won’t marry Kuzunoki.”

The distress on her face was plain, even to Yuki.

After hearing Hayasaka Muko’s confession.

The empathetic Yuki felt deep pity inside.

To him, Hayasaka Muko was still just a child, like his own daughter Hina.

He divorced his wife long ago. The child went to his wife.

Yuki only saw his beloved daughter once a month.

Thinking of her made Yuki’s heart feel soft.

“I understand. I’ll find a way to get you off the island as fast as possible.”

He said it, but Yuki had no great solution. Also, he came with an important mission: to expose Shinzaki Tenrikyo’s evil truth.

(Hayasaka Muko… would actually make a perfect opening. She must know a lot of inside information.)

Yuki thought it over. It seemed a good chance. If he could uncover the cult’s reality and write a powerful article, he’d expose the truth and also help Hayasaka Muko at the same time.

“Miss Hayasaka.”

He straightened his posture, speaking softly, “You must know some inside secrets about the cult. I’m a reporter. I will expose the cult’s crimes. If you know anything, please tell me.”

A reporter’s pen was a weapon.

Yuki firmly believed that.

“Mr. Shusu, please just call me Muko.”

Hayasaka Muko smiled faintly, a small dimple appearing at her mouth.

Over the next half hour.

Hayasaka Muko shared much information with Shusu Yuki.

“Mr. Shusu, that list Kuzunoki gave you… it can be useful too…”

Muko said seriously, “The people on the list went through screening… But some share my feelings. Others have doubts about the cult’s ways. They do exist.”

“So Muko, you know who those people are? Please tell me whose interviews I should seek.”

To write truthful reports.

Shusu Yuki knew what he must do. He needed to interview other members himself to gather more proof.

Their testimonies would become the hard evidence to crush Shinzaki Tenrikyo.

“Okay, I do know a few. I’ll tell you about them.”

Hayasaka Muko and Yuki continued planning.

She described how the cult controlled members, restricted freedom, and tricked money from members too.

“Also, Hayashizaki Ichi and his people… they’ve gone mad. They really think they can talk to beings from higher dimensions. And they force tattoos of special patterns on every member’s back…”

Muko turned around. She lifted her white robe, revealing her porcelain-pale bare back.

Strange markings covered her skin. They looked like tribal patterns.

“Hayashizaki and the others believe these ‘tattoos’ link humans to the higher-dimensional worlds… There are ancient ruins on Yūmi Island… They got ideas from broken relic pieces. They think it will change humanity’s path.”

Hayashizaki Ichi and his followers had mental problems. They clung desperately to his theories.

His main theory centered on Yūmi Island itself — he called it a powerful spiritual site. Only in such a place could people connect with extraterrestrial beings from higher realities.

One main way to connect was using these “tattoos” from ancient ruins to perform a long-lost ritual.

“They say completing the ritual grants powers to travel different worlds. Ha! But that’s just Hayashizaki and his people making things up.”

The two in the cave never noticed the third person standing outside. Fang Jing had followed Shusu Yuki to this cave, stumbling upon his secret meeting with Hayasaka Muko.

This secret talk stirred Fang Jing deeply.

He sensed some hidden, unknown truth buried in their words.

————————

Midnight.

Osawa Kyotaro was woken up by the urge to pee. He opened his mouth and felt it was dry and parched.

“There should be one bottle of beer left!”

He picked up the canned beer on the table and chugged it down in one go.

He raised his head and looked toward the ceiling.

The ceiling was darker than the floor, everything in the shadows blended together. He stepped barefoot on the tatami.

The surface of the apartment’s tatami was woven from rush grass, each strand having fine textures.

He stood up, intending to go relieve himself.

He looked at the other resident in the room, Associate Professor Tomatsu, who was lying on his side on the other bed, hugging a pillow and snoring loudly.

In the middle of the night, after stepping into the hallway, he found it was dim outside, with only faint moonlight filtering through the clouds, hazy and unclear.

The bathroom was on the left side of the first floor of the apartment, a simple old-fashioned toilet shared by both men and women.

After finishing up at the urinal, Osawa pulled out a cigarette and lit it with a lighter.

It was at that moment that Osawa had a strange feeling. The door of the toilet had a frosted glass panel; although he couldn’t see outside clearly, if someone passed by, a silhouette would appear.

And right at that moment, he glanced casually and noticed a shadow passing by the door.

At this hour, someone else was coming to use the toilet.

He washed his hands briefly and pushed the door open to step out. Just as he pushed the door, a series of tapping sounds came from the hallway, as if someone had run past.

Osawa had a cigarette in his mouth and looked around curiously, but there was no one in sight.

Weird!

He muttered to himself and was about to walk away when he heard footsteps again.

He turned to look behind him, but there was still nothing.

Osawa didn’t pay it much mind and started walking back to the second floor to sleep.

Tap!

As soon as he lifted his foot, footsteps sounded behind him.

Tap!

And when his foot landed, the sound stopped.

Osawa Kyotaro realized something was off.

But he steeled himself and kept walking forward.

The footsteps seemed to follow him. As soon as Osawa took a step, they would sound. When he stopped, the footsteps would stop too.

Instantly, a chilling cold crept up his spine, vertebra by vertebra.

Osawa, with the cigarette in his mouth, stiffly turned his head to look behind him.

The first-floor hallway was empty.

Only the bathroom door at the end was swaying slightly.

Sweat beaded on Osawa’s forehead, and fear made his heart sink.

He gritted his teeth, ignored everything, and desperately ran to the second floor.

He ran back to his room in one breath, shut the door tightly, and finally let out a long sigh.

Come to think of it… what was that just now? The footsteps seemed to have been following him all along, as if they had trailed him up the stairs.

He glanced down and noticed a large gap beneath the wooden door.

Osawa remembered the footsteps and wondered if someone was playing a prank on him.

The young college students were a likely possibility.

Those kids often acted without respect, and it wouldn’t be impossible for them to try to scare him at night.

Thinking this, he doubted his earlier experience again.

So, Osawa mustered his courage, pressed his body to the floor, and put his head close to the door gap, intending to peek outside.

Through the gap, he still saw nothing.

Phew!

It really was a false alarm. No one, good—it was all in my head, it can’t scare me.

Just when he really thought it was his imagination, a voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

“What are you looking at? I’m already inside.”

Osawa’s reaction, of course, was to turn around abruptly, but the room was pitch black, and there was no one.

“Is that… Tomatsu?”

He asked into the darkness; the other resident in this room was Associate Professor Tomatsu.

But he sat up and saw Tomatsu still lying in his own bed, snoring, seemingly fast asleep.

“What’s going on! Did I really mishear?”

He slumped to the floor, leaning against the door, and let out a long sigh.

At that very moment, Osawa sensed a presence next to him, as if something was close to his face, breathing softly.

He turned his head and saw someone crouching on the other side of the door, in the corner of the room.

It was a figure.

He couldn’t make out the hair, clothes, or facial features, but he could clearly see the eyes.

The eyes weren’t like human eyes with bloodshot whites or pupils of varying shades; they were just completely white, staring directly at him.

The next second, those eyes were right in front of his face.

Then, another voice sounded in Osawa’s ear.

“I told you, I’m already inside.”

Without even a scream, Osawa Kyotaro lost consciousness completely in that instant.

The next morning, no one noticed his disappearance.

It was as if everyone had forgotten Osawa’s existence.