The Kumano Society

After returning to Jujutsu High, Suguru Geto did not go straight to Masamichi Yaga. He went back to his dorm first, set the rag doll on his desk, and stared at it for a long time. Then he turned it over and looked at the word "Kumano" embroidered on its back.

Human hair, black and very fine. He shone a flashlight over the characters from different angles and discovered a thin strand connecting the last stroke of "Kuma" to the first stroke of "no." It was not an embroidered stitch, but the length of the hair itself, extending from the end of the last stroke of "Kuma," winding into a tiny loop, then connecting to the start of the first stroke of "no." The loop was so small that he would never have noticed it without looking closely.

Suguru Geto took a photo with his phone and zoomed in. The loop wound around two and a half times, and at the center of the spiral was a tiny black dot, like a pinprick. He turned the doll over and found a matching hole on its front, in the same spot. It had not been pierced all the way through. The needle had gone from the back toward the front without puncturing the doll's face, stopping between the layers of fabric. Suguru Geto gently scraped a fingernail along the little hole, and the fabric split open.

There was a piece of paper between the layers. It was tiny, folded into a square the size of a fingernail. He pulled it out with tweezers and carefully unfolded it. A single line was written on it: Kumano Society · Meeting place · Ome · Abandoned mine.

Suguru Geto placed the paper under his desk lamp and read it three times. Ome, a city in western Tokyo, with many mountains and abandoned mines. He folded the paper, slipped it back between the doll's layers, and put the doll in his pocket.

The next morning, Suguru Geto told no one and boarded a train to Ome alone. There was no direct train from Jujutsu High to Ome; he had to transfer at Tachikawa. As he waited on the platform at Tachikawa Station, there were only a few people around: an old man dozing on a bench, a young woman talking on the phone, and a child chasing pigeons. No one was looking at him. But he felt someone's gaze. He turned around. Everyone on the platform was occupied with their own business.

The train arrived. He boarded and sat near the door. Outside the window, the scenery changed from city to suburbs, then from suburbs to wooded mountains. When the train reached Ome Station, he got off. The plaza outside was small, with only a bus stop sign and a convenience store. He bought a bottle of water at the store, then headed north along the road. The abandoned mine was in the mountains, about seven or eight kilometers from the station. He chose to walk rather than take the bus because he felt someone was following him.

After walking for about two hours, he finally saw the entrance to the abandoned mine. An iron gate sealed off the mine tunnel, with a rusty sign hanging from it: "Danger · Keep out." Vines filled the spaces between the bars, making it look as though no one had touched it in a long time. But Suguru Geto noticed that the lock was new. He crouched and examined the marks around the keyhole. Someone had opened this lock recently.

He went around to the side of the tunnel, where there was a ventilation opening. Someone had cut through the wire mesh, leaving a small hole. He crouched and shone his flashlight inside. The vent led into the mine tunnel, running about five or six meters before turning a corner. He squeezed in sideways.

The mine tunnel was dark. As the flashlight beam swept across the walls, he spotted light deeper inside. Suguru Geto switched off his flashlight and walked toward it. The tunnel widened here, the ceiling rose, and the walls on either side fell back, forming a sizable chamber. A long table stood in the center, covered with a black cloth. Several rag dolls rested on it, identical to the one in his pocket. A few lit candles stood beside them, their flames flickering in the darkness, making the smiles on the dolls' faces brighten and fade.

Someone stood behind the long table, their back to Suguru Geto. They wore a long black robe with a hood pulled over their head, hiding their face.

"You came." The person spoke in a low, level voice that gave no hint of age or gender. "I've been waiting for you for a long time."

The person turned around. Beneath the hood was a pale, almost bloodless face. The eyes were black, with pupils so large they nearly filled the irises. The lips were gray, their corners lifted slightly in the unmistakable smile of the rag dolls.

"My name is Hazuki," she said. "The president of the Kumano Society."

Suguru Geto looked at her. He could tell from her voice that she was a woman. Her face had no wrinkles, and she looked about thirty, but what lay in those eyes was not young.

"Did you take the four missing jujutsu sorcerers?" Suguru Geto asked.

Hazuki did not answer. She walked over to the long table, picked up a doll, and stroked the smile on its face with her fingers.

"I wasn't the one who took them," she said. "Tokieda was."

Suguru Geto's grip tightened on the Cursed Sword. "Tokieda?"

"Tokieda is looking for the Kumano Society. He thinks we killed his younger brother. But we didn't. The echo inside his brother's own body killed him. Tokieda refuses to believe that, so he needs a murderer. He chose us." Hazuki set down the doll and looked at Suguru Geto. "Those four jujutsu sorcerers aren't missing. Tokieda took them. He needs their cursed energy. The echo inside him is disappearing, and he needs cursed energy from outside to slow it down. Those four sorcerers are his nourishment."

Suguru Geto's mind went blank. "You're saying Tokieda is the culprit?"

"Not a culprit. A man with nowhere left to turn." Hazuki's voice was low. "The echo inside him is smaller than yours, and it's disappearing faster. He can't wait for you to make a decision. He needs time. So he went to those jujutsu sorcerers, extracted their cursed energy, and infused it into his own echo. He isn't killing them, only borrowing from them. Those sorcerers aren't dead. They simply have no cursed energy left. A jujutsu sorcerer without cursed energy is no different from an ordinary person. They're in a safe place now. Once Tokieda has used up that cursed energy, they'll recover."

Suguru Geto looked at her. "How do you know all this?"

"Because Tokieda told me." Hazuki picked up another doll from the long table and held it out to Suguru Geto. "He asked me to give you this."

Suguru Geto did not take it. He stayed where he was, looking at the doll. The smile stitched onto its face was identical to the one on the previous doll, but its eyes were not drawn on. They were sewn-on buttons. Two black buttons reflected a faint gleam in the candlelight.

"Where is Tokieda?" Suguru Geto asked.

"He went to find the last person." Hazuki placed the doll on the table. "The last portion of cursed energy. Once he has it all, he'll come to you."

Suguru Geto loosened his grip on the Cursed Sword. He did not take the doll or ask any more questions. He turned, walked back to the ventilation opening, and crawled out.

It was almost dark. The sun had sunk behind the mountains, and he stood beside the mine entrance, drawing great gulps of the outside air. The echo was still pulsing, but a little more slowly.

He took out his phone. No signal. He put it back in his pocket and headed down the mountain path. After about an hour of walking, his phone had reception. He dialed a number.

"Satoru," he said, "I need you to look into someone for me."

"Who?" Satoru Gojo's voice came through the receiver, carrying a hint of tension.

"Hazuki. The president of the Kumano Society. She might know where Tokieda is."

The other end of the line fell silent for a few seconds.

"Geto, where are you?"

"Ome. In the mountains. We'll talk when I get back."

Suguru Geto hung up and quickened his pace. It was almost dark, and he needed to reach the station before nightfall. Nights in the mountains were cold. He did not want to stay there.