Psychic Detective Yakumo / Shinrei Tantei Yakumo

Volume 3 - The Light Beyond the Darkness

prologue

-

It was a quiet night.

-

Ozawa Keiko was driving.

The dark forest road turned and twisted with trees on both sides but not even one lamppost.

Though it was the shortest route home, she always tried not to take it since it was spooky.

However, today was different. She had to return home as quickly as she could to share the news.

Keiko put her hand on her belly. Though there was no bump now, new life dwelled within this belly.

This happiness she had never tasted before was far more exalting than she had imagined.

Her husband Kazuhiro would probably cry.

When Keiko glanced forward, a tree by the road shook with a rustle, and a dark shadow jumped out onto the road.

A person -

Keiko automatically stepped on the brakes.

The car stopped suddenly with an ear-splitting screech from the brakes and white smoke from the tires.

Though it had been an automatic reaction, the car did not hit anything.

- It's fine.

Keiko said that to herself, opened the door with a shaking hand and stepped out. She saw that someone had fallen, illuminated by the headlights.

There was a woman with long hair lying face down about five metres from the car.

'Are you OK?'

Keiko rushed over.

'Please hang in there.'

Keiko put her arms around the woman who was facedown and helped her up.

Her skin was incredibly pale. The bridge of her nose was pencil-straight. The woman was shockingly beautiful.

The hem of the skirt she was wearing was torn, and her shirt was also smeared with mud.

That wasn't all. The woman wasn't wearing shoes. Her bare feet were covered with dirt, and they were grazed all over.

She ran on a mountain road in her bare feet?

Why -

'Are you OK?'

Though Keiko had some doubts, she spoke to the woman once more.

The woman twisted her body in a way that looked painful and moaned.

She was alive.

'Please hang on. I will bring you to a hospital immediately.'

The woman slowly opened her eyes, like she was responding to Keiko's words. Though she was beautiful, she didn't feel alive. Her eyes looked like they belonged to a doll.

'... Save me... that man is coming...'

The woman's lips moved.

- That man?

'What happened?'

At Keiko's questions, the woman opened her eyes wide and distorted her face. She clung on to Keiko.

'That man...'

Her fingernails dug in as she spoke with a hoarse voice.

'That man?'