Karakasa (2023)

[bunniefuu]

ALL CHARACTERS, PLACES, ORGANIZATIONS,

AND INCIDENTS ARE FICTITIOUS.

Dammit.

No way.

Hi, it's Ayaka Kitagawa.

I contacted you on the shared house site.

I'm at the station right now,

but I forgot my umbrella.

Really? That would be great.

Of course. I'll be right here.

Thank you so much.

KARAKASA

Sorry!

You have to knock.

Knock first!

- Good morning.

- Morning, Ayaka.

- I'll make coffee.

- Thanks.

I don't drink coffee.

Then make your own.

Are you still angry at me?

Nanami, you drink tea, right?

Do you want to try the tasty tea

I got at work yesterday?

Yes! I love having a roommate

who is a full-time employee.

- Give me a sec.

- Sure.

Okay, breakfast is ready.

Wow! That looks... delicious.

You better eat it since Kyoko went through

the trouble of cooking for us.

I didn't say I wouldn't.

Let's eat.

- Let's eat.

- Let's eat.

How is it?

- Yummy.

- I'm glad.

Right? It's really good.

It's delicious.

I'll cook tomorrow, too.

I can't wait!

I can't tell her the truth

because she's so nice.

I'll cook starting tomorrow.

Thank you.

I graduated from

a junior college in Tokyo this spring.

I contemplated staying in Tokyo,

but I couldn't find anything

that I wanted to do there.

Once I realized that,

I wanted to leave right away.

I thought Atsume would be

the perfect place to find my purpose.

That's why I decided to move here.

I'll live as though it's my last day

and learn as though I'll live forever.

Hello?

Hello.

I bet you were on your phone.

No, I'm working hard.

My apologies.

So, where do you want to go today?

Let's see...

How about the museum on the hill?

A museum?

How about the rose garden?

I've wanted to go there.

I know where you're talking about.

I'd love to go.

We can take great pics.

Great. I can't wait.

I'll get off at 3 p.m.,

so meet me at the park near the cafe.

The park along the coast

under the overpass?

- That's the one.

- Got it.

I'll see you later.

Okay.

Ota, I need your help.

Sure.

Please, God of Heaven.

Please don't let it rain today.

Sorry, Ayaka!

Boss needs me to stay.

I'll be there in an hour.

I'll wait at a nearby cafe.

I'll treat you to an ice cream sundae.

Sweet!

Come in.

Thank you.

So, Ayaka hasn't been home

since yesterday?

I assumed she was with her boyfriend.

Her boyfriend?

This is a shared house.

Boys can't stay the night.

It's not a big deal if someone

doesn't come home for a few days.

She'll be back before you know it.

When you were gone

for a week not long ago,

didn't you post pictures of Guam

with your boyfriend, Nanami?

Oh yeah.

Is that normal?

I'll check if her stuff is still here.

Please don't take it personally.

Respecting each other's privacy

is necessary when living with others.

I get it, but she hasn't even

contacted work.

Shouldn't you be worried

if she hasn't been home,

even if you are just roommates?

Ayaka? I'm coming in.

Wait here.

This is Ayaka's parents' contact number.

May I?

The number you have dialed

is no longer in service.

The number is dead.

It's not unusual.

It's happened before.

Shared houses, including this one,

don't typically require

a guarantor or a deposit

or key money to move in.

So, people with unsteady jobs,

or family problems,

or young girls can move in

with a single suitcase.

But they only stay temporarily.

They'll move out after a few months.

Half a year at most.

They all have their reasons.

I don't like to pry.

Maybe that's Ayaka's case.

Her stuff is still here.

I don't think she moved out.

Okay.

She...

Ayaka said she found her purpose,

and that's why she works here.

- Besides...

- "Her purpose," huh?

She'll be gone by the time

she realizes it's hopeless.

I've seen so many girls like that.

If she's not in trouble, she'll be home.

I don't know...

I don't know her very well yet.

But we had plans to meet that day.

This is her last Instagram post.

This is near the park where I was

supposed to meet her yesterday.

It looks like she posted it by mistake.

I can't tell what it is.

It looks like a person.

Huh?

How?

It's creepy.

This might be connected to her somehow.

I'm contacting the police.

Okay. We'll look into it, too.

You don't think...

it's suicide, do you?

Nanami!

Ayaka never came back,

nor did she contact us.

Ever since Ota contacted the police,

they've been handling Ayaka's case

as both an accident and an incident.

What on earth was that creepy thing

holding the umbrella?

KEEP OUAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

YAMAGISHI-WARD, DESERTED HOUSE

There was a parking lot next to it.

That's it.

I didn't see it go in,

but the umbrella was there.

INCIDENLook.

"Yamagishi-ward family m*rder case?"

Let's see...

"The Yamagishi-ward family m*rder

refers to a homicide case that occurred

late at night on October 7, 2000,

in Atsume city of Shizuoka Prefecture."

"Shizuoka Police have

officially named the case

'The Yamagishi-ward family suicide.'"

"The elderly mother, Kazuko,

had lived alone in her house."

"Kazuko's newly divorced daughter,

Masumi moved in with her

bringing her 23-year-old son, Yoshito,

and her 12-year-old daughter, Kirari."

"Exhausted with life and divorce,

Masumi suffered a nervous breakdown."

"She drank alcohol daily

and would often yell late at night."

"Kazuko and Masumi would often

have a quarrel about Masumi's behavior."

"Soon, Yoshito withdrew from society,

and Kirari stopped going to school."

"Kazuko sought advice from her neighbors

about her grandchildren."

"After a while, no more arguments

were heard from Kazuko's residence."

"The neighbors rumored that

Masumi and her children had moved out,

but that was not the case."

"During this time, a woman

dressed in black was often seen

carrying an umbrella,

even in the absence of rain."

"The m*rder case came to light

when Kirari's teacher

paid a visit to the house."

"She found the brutally m*rder*d bodies of

Kazuko, Yoshito, and Kirari."

"The three were k*lled in their sleep,

stabbed in their eyes with an umbrella."

Does that mean that Masumi was the k*ller?

Was she arrested?

"After her arrest, Masumi was admitted

to a psychiatric hospital."

"She jumped from the roof screaming,

'The sky is watching.'"

"Masumi was found

hanging upside down in the air

with an electric cable

caught around her ankle."

"The cause of death was a heart attack."

"Perhaps it was the guilt of k*lling

her family or the fear of being watched."

That's all there is.

Wait a minute.

Masumi committed suicide, right?

Then what was it that I saw?

A ghost?

You're scaring me.

I have goosebumps.

Thank you for your time.

b*tch.

Hello.

Hello.

Hello!

Who is it?

Hello.

Hello!

Hello!

Hello!

Yes?

Hello. I'm Murakami,

and I work for Akira Trading.

Can you spare me some of your time?

I was just about to go out. What is it?

I want to share some money-saving info.

Do you eat out often?

Not really. Sometimes.

I have information that will allow you

to dine out at special prices.

- Coupons...

- No thanks.

I'm back.

Welcome home.

I'm back.

Ayaka?

I got caught in the rain.

Did you just come back, Kyoko?

Yeah. Why?

But you went upstairs, right?

Nope.

I'm tired.

- Want some?

- Sure.

A weird door-to-door salesman

came by today.

Not religious recruiting?

No, he was talking about

coupons for eating out.

He looked at me in a really creepy way.

Ew, gross.

You have to be careful.

Don't forget to lock the doors.

You're right.

I bet he'll come again.

Do you want edamame?

Sure.

It's nothing.

Kyoko.