He had conversed with Takasato about this and that , and didn 't get to sleep until after two in the morning . In total , he 'd slept less than four hours . Hirose sat up absent - mindedly and saw that Takasato had already gotten out of bed . Not only that , but he 'd also put on his uniform already . " It doesn 't look like there are any people outside . I can use this opportunity to go . " Takasato smiled faintly and bowed deeply . " Thank you very much for all you 've done for me . " " Takasato , " sighed Hirose . Although Takasato 's presence had created problems for him , Hirose still didn 't want him to return to that home and to that mother . " You can go back , but the situation hasn 't changed . I 've been marked and if you leave , it would just worry me . Wouldn 't you feel this way ? " " Even if I went back , there would be no one to welcome me . Concerning my parents and my brother , it would be better for them if I wasn 't there . - Isn 't it the same for sensei ? " " Truthfully , I am a bit irritated , but I don 't feel it towards you . I feel it towards those people who were waiting outside , and towards those people at school , " said Hirose as he leaned his back against the wall . " But that isn 't because of you . It isn 't my wish for you to leave here . I actually feel much better when you are where I can see you . This is out of my own individual will . Were it me , I wouldn 't want to return to that home either , so it would be hard for me to bear you going back to that home . " " It 's better for my parents and my brother if I wasn 't there . Since I 'm a harmful child who gives people a bad feeling , my being near them will only cause them unhappiness . I know that 's what they 're thinking , so I feel like it 's a little better if I stay away from home . " " I 've been thinking , not going to school might be better , because bad things happen when I 'm with other people , and everyone is troubled . However , I 've never really known what to do , so when my junior high teacher recommended that I take the entrance exams for this school , I just took his suggestion . " Takasato said this with a bitter smile . " I think I was scared . Since I 've always lived my life without a purpose , I was afraid I 'd lose my footing . It was as if I was standing at the middle of a cliff . Since I didn 't have anything to hold on to , I was scared to lose my footing . I think I wanted to have the position of a ' high school student . ' " " I want to stop going to school and leave home . Working with people won 't be any different than going to school with people , and it 'll cause trouble for all the people around me , but I don 't think there should be much of a problem if I only do it for a short amount of time . Even though I might have to continuously switch jobs , I believe this kind of life is by no means rare . . . " Hirose didn 't know how to control his anger . His anger was directed at Takasato , but it wasn 't Takasato who had provoked him . He was mad because he couldn 't figure out why this person in front of him just couldn 't live normally , like most people do . He was even angrier that Takasato just weakly accepted this truth . " And then ? What exactly will you have grabbed onto ? " He was trying to undo his own foothold . He knew that if he didn 't have anything to hold on to , he would surely fall . Hirose sat in front of Takasato and looked at him . That 's absurd , he thought for an instant . To see the strange crags of a mountain in South America , that 's your only desire . Compared to the wishes of so many people who aimlessly cling onto their footholds , how small ! " . . . Forgive me . It was a cruel outburst of anger . " Hirose felt embarrassed and couldn 't help but look down . Or perhaps it was that he didn 't want to look directly at Takasato . " Can you wait for me a second ? I need to go out too . " " No . " Hirose shook his head . " I think I was probably just hoping you would be able to live a peaceful life . I hope you can walk a path of a happy life . But , what a happy life is really up to each individual person to decide . " " What I find a little regrettable is that you didn 't let go of that kind of life by your own initiative , but that you couldn 't help but let it go . Though , because of that , you go forward for the sake of your desires , " said Hirose as he opened the door to the bathroom . " After a few years , if you 've decided to go , please let me know . - I 'll send you a red umbrella . " Hirose patted Takasato 's shoulder and sent him off towards the classroom building . What will Takasato 's classmates think when they see him ? What will they say ? What will they do ? Hirose had originally intended to walk him to his classroom , but Takasato shook his head and refused . His expression was indifferent , like he was a martyr who had come to a resolution . Hirose followed the path to the special classroom building and purposefully avoided eye contact with others on his way . He had spent two weeks here naturally enough , but once that period of time had passed , the school returned to being a place where Hirose was seen as an outsider . He walked in a less populated hallway as he thought about this . Gotou 's expression looked complicated again . " It was mostly like it was as usual . Takasato was like he used to be , and the rest of the people didn 't act much different than before the incidents . In other words , something like ' put something at a safe distance , and it 's not my concern . ' " " Hm , " hummed Gotou softly . " The school that Takasato 's brother attends called me at home yesterday . They said that he was absent on Friday and Saturday without giving notice . They wanted to ask me whether or not I knew what was going on . " " I heard his father was absent from work without leave two days in a row as well . Afterwards , I think a coworker of his remembered the school that his younger son was attending and called to inquire , but the answer he ended up getting was that the kid had been missing school too . Someone wanted to contact them , but I don 't think there was anyone home , so that 's why they called me . " He 'd originally thought no one answered the phone because they weren 't home . That mother had said before , they had to spend their days with the storm doors closed . Hirose had always thought that they must have shut themselves up in their home and purposefully cut off contact with the outside world . However , could it be that even the father would stop going to work ? " Ah , I see . " Nozue clapped lightly and said , " Every time on my way to and from school , they call out and grab onto me . I think they even made a call to Tsuiki - san 's house . They keep saying , ' Tell us about the accident involving Mr . T and his fall ! ' They called three or more times too . " " Yeah , I 'm all right . " He sat down in the chair Hashigami unfolded for him . Nozue put a beaker of coffee in front of him . " Of course it was because of Takasato . The people in the classroom have done a complete 180 in their attitude toward Takasato . That 's why it feels weird . " " It was as he said . When those people who hadn 't originally cared much for Takasato saw him , they gathered around him and apologized for all things that had happened . The whole thing played out like a bad teen drama . " Nozue poked fun at it . " Oh Takasato , we were wrong . It was all a misunderstanding . We 're all good classmates , right ? - Did it sound like that ? " Tsuiki laughed . " Probably pretty close . I wonder if they 're all friendly now and eating lunch together . The number of people have increased since this morning too ! I don 't know why , but it 's eerie to see . " " That 's what Sakata 's saying . He keeps putting forward the notion that Mr . T is a very special person , so everyone should always give him the proper respect . He even presented a speech about it the other day , " said Nozue . Tsuiki sighed wearily . " That guy 's a weirdo . When the lunch break started , he came to look for Takasato as if he was particularly close to Takasato . I don 't think anyone 's been influenced by Sakata , but anyway , seeing it just gives me a bad feeling . " After saying this , Tsuiki looked at Nozue . " Although , Nozue 's performance just then was actually pretty realistic . It was like they really were respecting him . " Hirose once again sank deep into thought . What was the real meaning behind all this ? He couldn 't believe that Sakata 's influence was that great , and if that was the case , then what would cause them to change their attitudes ? " After school on Thursday , I saw Sakata sitting in a restaurant with a guy that looked like a reporter . He seemed to be really pleased with himself as he talked nonstop . I couldn 't hear exactly what they were talking about , but every now and then , I heard him say the name , ' Takasato . ' " Takasato came to the prep room not long after school was out . He first took a bow , and then walked in . Using a plain tone , he said simply , " I would like to leave school . " Gotou looked sincerely at him . " If a little distance doesn 't bother you , I 'll help you keep an eye out . Now that you 've already prepared yourself , why don 't you at least finish out to September ? " When it was time to go , they were protected by getting a ride from Totoki . At first , Takasato had politely refused , but he consented when Totoki told him , " Look at the news reporters gathered in front of the school . If you don 't let me give you a ride , I 'm going to give Gotou a ring . " The door to Takasato 's house was shut tightly . Perhaps no one was at home . There didn 't seem to be any reporters nearby . Hirose got out of the car and thanked Totoki . He looked at the mailbox installed on the metal gate and saw that it was so full of newspapers , they were sticking out of its narrow opening . Takasato unbarred the gate from the outside . All the storm doors for the windows facing forward were pulled down . At a glance , it looked like no one was home . " It looks like there really is no one home , " said Hirose . Takasato nodded . With an apprehensive expression on his face , he took a key out of his book bag . He unlocked the door and put his hand to the glass door . " I 'm back , " he said as he opened the door . The entranceway that Hirose had seen before was absolutely silent and devoid of presence . The flowers on the shoe rack at the back of the room were also completely withered . Then , an offensive smell struck their noses . After Takasato opened the paper door directly in front of them , that foul air became stronger . The situation was beyond unusual . Hirose tried to stop Takasato who was hurriedly taking his shoes off so he could run inside . " You should stay here . " Takasato shook his head and rushed into the 3 - tatami - wide room . Hirose followed him in . After opening the sliding screen on the right side of the room , it revealed the hallway . The atmosphere inside was entirely still and emanated a dense , almost sticky stench . " Takasato , it 's better if you don 't go in there . " Hirose grabbed onto Takasato 's arm to stop him as he tried to dash toward the hallway . " Let 's call the police . It 'd be better to wait until they got here before we did anything . " " What 's that sound ? " asked Takasato as he turned his head to listen . He then walked toward the back of the hallway . " Mother ! " he shouted . They suddenly heard a noise that sounded like a heavy object swinging about . Hirose and Takasato looked at each other , and the first to make his way down the hall was Hirose . The hallway was covered in a thin layer of dust . A sound continued to come from the end of the hall . One step into the hallway and the stink became even more pungent . Even if they breathed through their mouths , the rotting odor still stung into their throats . Hirose followed the noise into the back of the hall . On one side not far from the front of the hallway was a glass garbage window , and on the other side was a paper door . The storm doors for that window were not pulled down and were covering only a part of the curtains . The sunlight streamed into the hallway between the lightly patterned curtains . Hirose stood in front and carefully peeked into the nearest room . The very first thing he saw was two linked Japanese - style rooms that looked together like a Western - style living room . The noise came out from the back of the house once again . Hirose opened the door gently . Before he had even had a chance to open it completely , something flew at his face and he staggered back . Something had flown out of the crack between the door and the wall . In an instant Hirose put up his arms in defense , and then realized it was a swarm of bugs . There was a thick stench inside . Hirose once again put his hand to the sliding door he had opened just a crack , and pushed it wide open . Once it was open , he saw a 4 . 5 - tatami - wide room . The storm doors for the facing window had also not been closed , and though the curtains were shut , a bright light still filled the room . There was a flower vase on top of a shelf , and there was a desk . Another sliding room stood half - open to the adjacent room , which was also filled with light . In the room , they had seen the bodies of Takasato 's parents , and in another room they 'd found the body of Takasato 's brother . They all looked like they had been attacked as they slept . The posture in which they died looked like they were trying to jump out from under the covers . There was no doubt it was a violent death . A long string of maggots on the carpet had eaten away at the corpses here and there to reveal white bone . It was latter part of summer and the temperature was warm , so the degree of decomposition was likewise high . And even Hirose could tell , because the bodies weren 't in any natural human position , that it could not have been either suicide or an accident . The police officers called for Hirose . Takasato looked into space as if he was in a catatonic state . The officers were asking for Takasato to identify the bodies , but there was no way for much to be confirmed . The only thing was a gold ring on the hand of one of the bodies that had already decayed beyond recognition . Takasato replied quietly , " I think that 's my mother 's wedding ring . " They went to the police department to give statements . Because Takasato 's house had been closed up for such a long time , the stench of decay was especially strong . There was no way for anyone to stay there for very long . When they headed back , they were given a ride in a patrol car . The area around the police department was packed with members of the news media , so a nice - looking , plain - clothes police officer took them to the police car at the back entrance . He draped a coat over a silent Takasato 's lowered head , and then said to the reporters gathered in front of the gate , " Please consider that he 's a minor . " It was well - meaning , but Takasato still looked like a criminal being escorted by the police . There were only two or three reporters in front of the apartment . The rest of them were probably at the police department or Takasato 's house . Hirose purposefully let them ensnare him in order to scatter their attention . Takasato used this opportunity to slip inside . Gotou came by to see about him after it had become dark outside . Seeing that Gotou was coming , Takasato bowed deeply . Other than that , he remained silent . " This has got to be hard for you , Takasato , " said Gotou . Takasato didn 't say anything . Gotou looked at Takasato with a pained expression , and then turned around and spoke to Hirose . " Did the police tell you when they died ? " Hirose said nothing further . The bodies that he had seen for himself looked as if someone had through some ill intent , tore the people upuntil they no longer resembled people . When he saw the corpses , it gave him no small shock . Though they were called bodies , they might actually be better described as the wreckage of a confusing clay work made with human flesh . " Is that so ? " Gotou murmured to himself as he searched about the area around his waist . There was no towel at his waist because he was wearing a suit that he didn 't often put on . Gotou irritatedly wiped his hands on his pants . " Were his only family members his parents and his brother ? What about relatives ? " " It 's being left up to the police . I heard that there 's some communication between some funeral home and the police , so through an introduction by the police , the funeral home will take care of it all . Anyway , the autopsy itself will take up at least most of tomorrow . The wake and the funeral won 't happen until the day after tomorrow at the earliest . " After Gotou left , Takasato finally opened his mouth . It wasn 't until then that Hirose suddenly understood that Takasato had not been in a daze because he had lost his family all at once . Takasato asked Hirose , " Was it all because of me ? " To speak of those who harmed Takasato , there were none that did so more than his own family , and as for retribution , Takasato 's mother ought to have been the first victim . They could never have overlooked her . The only reason they had waited until now was because of some extenuating circumstances . Though Takasato 's family were his enemies , Takasato had needed them . They were able to protect him and guarantee his very basic living necessities . Now , however , they were no longer essential - and that was because of Hirose . Hirose thought about it . It was three nights ago , on the day that the students jumped off the roof of the school . That night Hirose had heard a voice . He remembered saying something back , but he hadn 't been able to recall what it was exactly . It came to him now . No , Hirose 'd responded . Takasato 's family died that night . Was there some meaning to this happenstance ? Did they accept the fact that Hirose was not an enemy , making the existence of Takasato 's family no longer a requirement , and so proceeded to purge them ? Could it be explained thusly ? " At the very least , it 's not your fault , no matter who did it . " No matter if the attackers were those creatures . " Because you 're a victim . " The next morning , Hirose was woken up by the sound of knocking on his door . Half - asleep still , he undid the door chain and opened the door . A microphone was shoved in his face . Hirose shut the door at once . On the other side he could hear their voices like a whirling storm , " Let us talk to Takasato ! " A similarly awakened Takasato was looking over through the opened glass door . Hirose thought , He 's been discovered . Did the police leak it ? Or was it someone else ? Will this commotion continue for a long time ? Once the telephone started ringing , it pretty much didn 't stop . According to the determined plan , the police were going to call them , so Hirose couldn 't disconnect the phone . He covered his head , not knowing what to do . To cover up the noise from outside , he turned on the television . Almost all of the morning talk shows were talking about the same thing . " Having been left alone , he is now residing at the home of a senpai , a student teacher . " Behind the female reporter giving these details with a stern expression was Hirose 's apartment building . Hirose impatiently changed the channel , but the result was that he saw his name again . " At the very least , throw that child out . He 's not your responsibility . He 's pulled you into his mess , and you 've even gotten your name reported . " The landlord and some of the neighbors called as well . Most of them did so to complain . They said , " How are we supposed to live like this ? Find a way to get rid of those reporters ! " He even received phone calls from complete strangers : a woman who wouldn 't blame him if he threw Takasato out of his home , a man who threatened him saying that hiding Takasato would incur a divine punishment , and furthermore people who expressed sympathy , encouragement , suspicion , criticism and blame toward Takasato . " Since he was little , he has been continuously followed by a series of accidents and deaths . Some say that he 's cursed , and it was because of this that things deteriorated between parent and child . " This is what the reporter said on a noontime talk show . Hirose turned the television off . However , after he did so , Hirose was seized with an uneasiness that something unexpected would happen because he didn 't know what was going on outside . He put up with it for a little while , but it got to such a point that he couldn 't stand it anymore , so he turned the television on again . He repeated this several times . The police called to say that the autopsy had not gone smoothly and that they would probably have to wait until tomorrow afternoon before the remains could be returned . Hirose called the funeral home and explained the situation to them . Afterwards , he turned off the ringer and pulled out the cord for the bell so that it wouldn 't ring anymore . " I know it would have been best if I 'd never come back at all , but it would be great if I could go back . " Saying this , Takasato bowed deeply again . " Please forgive me . I don 't know how to get back . " Hirose sighed . He knew all too well what Takasato was thinking . This isn 't his world . He should be living in another world , so it was hard for him to fit in this one . Though this is what Hirose said , he knew that it wasn 't incredibly persuasive . Had he not had anything to do with Takasato , then he wouldn 't have been caught up in all of this . This was an idea that had yet to be resolved . Hirose thought , Takasato 's blaming himself , but he couldn 't very well abandon him like that . The air conditioner was on , but the atmosphere in the room was still humid and heavy . Hirose said , " Why don 't we open the window a little ? " and Takasato stood up . He pulled back the curtain a bit and opened the window . Voices came in from outside . Hirose jumped up and ran to the window . There was a man with a camera standing on the weir across from the window . Hirose took Takasato 's arm and pulled him from the window . He heard camera shutters sounding out successively as he closed the window , and when he closed the curtain , another voice rang out . Takasato 's face became pale . Hirose patted his shoulder . He earnestly patted the shoulder of a Takasato who had covered his face . He scolded himself for not being able to do anything more for Takasato . The one who asked this was Takasato . The police officer who was with them cocked his head and said , " About that . . . I think they came to the conclusion that it was an animal attack . I believe they 'll give you a more detailed explanation in a bit , but I think they said that they were killed by a dog or another such animal . " " I asked a specialist to come take a look , but he found that the teeth marks are not that a feline . In a certain way , they looked more like those of a canine . The results are inconclusive . Now it 's up to the police investigation to resolve this issue . " The remains were sent to the crematorium to be cremated . There was no point in preserving the bodies since they no longer resembled their original shape . It was in this way that Takasato carried the ashes of three people back home . The funeral home had arranged for both the wake and the funeral to take place at a temple near where he lived . In order to accommodate the investigation , Takasato couldn 't stay in his house for the time being . Riding to the temple in a car that belonged to the funeral home , he saw the press corps in front of the temple gate and a number of mourners waiting inside the main hall of the temple . Not long after Gotou and the others had arrived , some friction arose among the guests . The question was in who would adopt Takasato . At first , everyone distanced themselves from this idea and were against adopting him , but then they thought of the fact that because the land around this area was under heavy development the past few years , the price of property was currently in the midst of rising very quickly . Takasato 's family had been a farming family up until his grandparents ' generation and more or less had possessed a lot of arable land . After his grandparents passed away , all of it was either sold or leased . The land that was sold was probably converted to liquid assets , while the leased land could likewise be turned to money . This is the one thing they were all thinking about . " I suppose I could adopt him . " They began to squabble unreservedly . Takasato watched this carry on in front of him with nary an expression on his face . Gotou sat next to the bell tower . " At first they were all shunning him and now they 're fighting over him . Watch , when they start thinking about the rumors , they 'll just go back to shunning him . " " We waited there until the remains had been burnt into ash . Takasato mourned the departed and I worried over the bereaved . - Why do they all act like that ? " " It 's the same with the people outside . Are there people happy over the rumors of a curse ? Why don 't they get it ? If they 're scared , they should stay away . They have more than an excuse to ignore this person 's existence or cut off contact . Why do they purposefully get themselves involved ? Why can 't they leave us alone ? " " We 're living because we were born . We can 't abandon our existences , so we work hard to live on . It 's not as if we like it this way . We can 't understand the reasoning of others . The world that people have created for themselves is uncomfortable . But , it 's not as if we could leave if we wanted to - " " Really , it would have been good if we 'd never returned , but we did . How great would it be if we were able to go back ? But we don 't know how . This world doesn 't make sense and is full of cruelty . There 's no way for us to blend in . " " Yes , maybe . Or perhaps it 's all in my head . But , I 'm quite sure that in the past you would never have so easily said that you couldn 't blend in . It used to be hard for you to talk about this . " " She insisted she was an abandoned baby and that her parents weren 't her real parents . But she actually looked a lot like her parents . Despite this , she maintained what she said through graduation . " Hirose listened , not understanding . Gotou looked at him and said , " Listen , everyone feels like this isn 't the place that they really belong sometimes . I feel like everyone 's said before : I want to go home . People also say that there 's no place that they can return to . This is because everyone wants to escape from this world . " " You suppose that if you could only flee from this world , you 'd find one where you would feel comfortable in . You think there 's a happy world out there that 's prepared especially for you , that suits just your needs , that you can enjoy like a picture . . . . There 's no such thing . Nothing like that exists , Hirose . " " That 's a fairy tale , Hirose . Sometimes there 's hardship in life , and everyone wants to escape from it at some point . I understand this . I know what it feels like to want to escape to a fairy tale . That way you won 't be a bother to other people , and I can 't say that it 's bad to think that way . But , people have to live in reality . People have to face reality and find a point of compromise somewhere . Even if the fairy tale seems harmless , you have to throw it away someday . " " And that girl really believed that she had been an abandoned baby . " Gotou looked down . " You said before that you don 't feel bitter toward other people , right ? You said you 've never wanted anyone to just disappear . " " I think that 's a lie . You dream about returning to that world to make yourself feel better , so that you don 't feel bitterness toward others . That 's just two sides of the same coin , Hirose . " " The front side and the back . There 's another implication in your thinking . I want to go back because I don 't belong in this world ? If you think about it another way , it means that you want everything to disappear . " " Make this world and all the people in this world disappear . Make everything that isn 't a part of my dream world go away . - Isn 't that what it means ? " Gotou looked at Hirose . " What 's the difference in wanting someone you don 't like to vanish and dreaming about a world in which they don 't exist ? They 're just two ways of saying the same thing . You understand what I 'm saying , don 't you ? " " Then what about Takasato ? If it 's just dream , then where did he go for a year ? What was he doing for a year ? What did he eat to stay alive ? When he came back , he was taller ; how did that happen ? " Gotou nodded . " I don 't believe in that world nor do I believe in the immortal soul . Likewise , I don 't believe in spiriting away or anything like it . It 's undeniable that Takasato disappeared when he was little , but it wasn 't a spiriting away . In reality , strange things seemingly happen all the time . I think Takasato was simply kidnapped and spent a year wherever he was taken . He just doesn 't remember it anymore . " Hirose thought he found a hole in Gotou 's argument . " Then what are those things ? What are those things that stay by Takasato 's side ? Is it by chance that all these people around Takasato keep dying ? " Hirose said this partly triumphantly , and Gotou nodded quietly . " That 's just it , Hirose . That 's where Takasato is difficult to understand . No matter how I try to deny it with my logic , there are still parts of him that I can 't . That 's why I say that Takasato is a different kind of person . " " In regards to your dream , I can deny it to the end . I can 't prove to you that it 's purely a dream , but then neither can you prove to be that it isn 't a dream , right ? This is where you and Takasato differ . Don 't let Takasato lead you astray . You can sympathize , but don 't have the pleasant dream that you are compatriots . " " I can 't completely deny Takasato 's dream . The way I see it , you 've been chasing that dream nonstop . You 're letting Takasato carry the burden of your own dream and asking Takasato to prove for you the existence of that world . This doesn 't do you any good , Hirose . " " People are dirty and base creatures . That 's our destiny as humans . Once we are born human , there 's no escape from this fate . There 's no one without an ego , and no one without selfishness . " Hirose hung his head and thought , He never understood me either . He 's not the friend I thought he was . This man is just another person from this world after all . It 's so far , Hirose thought . Why is that world so far away ? If only I could get back there . I want to go back so badly , back to that paradise full of blossoming white flowers - I want to go back . This isn 't my world . Because , no one understands me . - Disappear . Everything would be solved if only this world vanished . Those who comprehend me are in other world . Hirose held his head for a long time murmuring to himself , when he suddenly started sensing some doubt . It was a very small doubt , so small that he couldn 't put it into words . It felt almost like discomfort . Toward what do I feel discomfort ? He pressed his hand on his forehead and began to think . She blinked her eyes slowly and felt as if she had heard a noise . What was strange was that she wasn 't drowsy at all . She looked at the alarm clock next to her pillow and saw that she hadn 't slept even two hours yet . Beside her , she saw her husband sleeping on his back in the futon . She sighed softly . For a while , she couldn 't fall back asleep . She just couldn 't get rid of her uneasiness . What will happen to them now ? It 's because of that child . . . When he was first born , he was so cute . He was the eldest son everyone was hoping for . The mother - in - law was an extremely strict woman and didn 't treat children especially well . For some reason , she was especially cold to this child . Despite this , the boy grew up not to be especially stubborn and quite gentle instead . He was intelligent , but also obedient and unassuming . Though he was still small , he 'd already sensed that her relationship with his grandmother wasn 't terribly good . Whenever his mother hid somewhere to cry , he would run to her side and comfort her with his small hands . She was left only with her second son , who was a year younger than her first . Just how much sorrow did she feel then ? Because of his grandmother 's rearing methods , he had slowly developed in a bad direction . He was a bit deceitful and very good at reading people 's expressions . More seriously , he had a violent nature . Although , as a parent she could never withhold love from him because of this , since she had given birth to him . Despite this , when she found out that her first had disappeared , she knew in her heart that she would rather it had been the other one . The child did come back , but he didn 't remember what had happened to him . She exhausted all methods in trying to help him recover the lost memory of that year , but the child 's memory persisted in resisting her . The discord between the two of them began here . At first her second son was injured , and then an accident happened to the kid next door . A half year after he was back , she began to think this strange , and not only her , but almost all the neighbors felt the same way . After a year had passed , this was already well - known . Everyone in the neighborhood turned a cold shoulder to them , and gradually their interaction with their neighbors became difficult . It was then that she heard about the rumor of the curse . Others kept that child at a distance and bullied her second son instead . At the time they were in the same year in school , but only her second son suffered from severe harassment . In junior high , her second son was beaten up by classmates , and it resulted in a torn eardrum . When she met with the bully 's parents , before she could even tell them off , they said , " It 's because of his brother hurting so many of the kids . " She swallowed her anger . She had to . The bully didn 't die , but if there really was a curse , it would have better had he fallen victim to it - she swallowed these words . However , her eldest was definitely a smart kid . His grades and his behavior were both better than those of his younger brother . Her second received an endless amount of supervision . In their third year of junior high when they were advised on which high school to attend , the teacher suggested that he choose the high school with the lowest scores , while her eldest was encouraged to attend a prestigious school in the suburbs . As she was laying on her side with her face covered , she heard a quiet sound next to her pillow . It sounded like breathing . She lifted her head to look beside her pillow , but all she could make out in the darkness was the white paper of the sliding door . She saw nothing else . When she looked away , she heard the sound of breathing again . It seemed a lot like the sound of a dog 's coarse breathing . She sat up and turned toward the area next to her pillow . She could now clearly hear long , rough breaths . She looked around attentively , but didn 't see anything . Wanting to turn the light on , she stood up . When she raised a hand to feel around for the light switch , she as if something suddenly grabbed her foot and tugged at it . She screamed as she fell to the floor . The foot that was being held was hurting as if in the artery . " What is it ? " Her husband had finally stirred and opened his eyes . Just then something squirmed in the darkness and rushed at her husband 's collar which had come out from under the covers . Her husband screamed as well and rolled out of the futon and onto the tatami . After a thick and heavy crunch , an arm fell onto the tatami , and the sound of water droplets on an umbrella followed . It was probably the sound of blood splashing upon some surface . The shade black creature chased after her husband . She look on in shock . Something enveloped her husband causing him to scream several times , each one weaker than the last as it joined a disgusting cracking sound . When the dark shadow got up , she finally saw the shape of her husband . His abdomen had been chewed through ; the potbelly that he had frequently worried about had become a big hollow . Even so , his body kept on convulsing .