Welcome to the Shibasaki Detective Agency.
My name is Rui Maruyama, for today case, I will be one of your investigators.

I work for this agency for years already. Well, the office opened for years though.
I love everyone in the office, especially Naomasa-kun. No. Don't get the wrong idea, it's because he always gets me permission when I need to work at my part-time job.

My part-time job? I don't brag about it, but I'm a model for top fashion magazines.
I'm a telepath. But, don't worry because I can't reading the human mind.

***

Shirokane, Minato,
Tokyo

"My name is Rui Maruyama and I will be your investigator," I smiled, "Could you please tell me more specific about what happened?"

Today a client, the principal of Keijo private high school, Murakami Hiroto (58th), comes to the office with his students, Sato Asahi, second-year high school student, who is the leaders of the track team, and Aizawa Keigo, second-year high school student, president council of Keijo high school.

They told us since summer break over and new semester beginning, a lot of "strange" thing happened in their school.

"Our school is in a bad condition right now. A lot of students refused to come to school ever since summer break over because they experience a strange accident in the school, " Murakami-san explained. There are wrinkles in his forehead. And he looked tired too, there's dark circles around his eyes.

"When you say a strange accident, what is exactly happened?" I put the tape on the table, took a small note, then looked at them. The three of them look very tense. The principal repeatedly wiped the sweat on his forehead.

"Murakami-san, you don't need to feel tense, just relax," Ayako said while putting the teacup slowly on the table for the three of them. She then looked at them with a smile.

"We understand this is not something you normally experience. But, we are sure there will be a solution," Yui who sat next to me to help the interview smiled softly.

I then stared at them. Murakami-san and the two students looked at each other and sighed with relief. Well, It's good to have female staff. I'm not very good at calming down the men. I'm more talented and experienced in calming women's hearts. Of course, I prefer women.

"Since school starts, one of the students began to experience odd thing whenever she used a restroom on the second floor. The student said she often hear someone using one of the toilet rooms, but when another student coming to using the toilet, there no one there. And every time the student passes the restroom, there is always a sound of dripping water, even when there no one there," Murakami-san said it in a voice that slightly trembled.

"A ghost in toilet rooms, I see, " I nodded while writing on a small note, "What happened next?" I looked at them.

"That happened in the language room, the student sometimes heard a static and voice of someone laughing. And there's a student who said the human anatomy from the biology room passed on the hallway," Murakami-san said.

I looked at them for a moment, then went back to writing, "Strange voice in the language lab and human anatomy?" I murmured, "You say the accident happened after summer break over, before that, there is no strange thing happened on your school?" I looked at them seriously.

"No. Everything is fine before the summer break. Our school is a private high school with a good reputation, we always joined the national tournament every year and win some medals.  Our student always work hard and lively, we keep a good relationship between student and teacher, so I'm really frustrated now," Murakami-san again wiped the sweat of her forehead. And when he took the teacup, I could see his hands trembling.

"What do you think the reason for the strange accident?" I asked again.

Murakami-san looked at the students who come with him. It seems that, compared to Murakami-san, the students knows more about the situation. And it seems, the strange events only occur to students.

"Actually there is a summer camp that held on the school. So, we stay for 1 week at the school for summer training. The soccer team, basketball team, track team, and athletic team, and the student council members. The teacher of each club come too. Our school will be joined in winter national competition this year, " The one who talks is the president of the student body council, Aizawa Keigo.

"Is something happened in the training camp?" I asked while looking at the two students. Aizawa-san sat up straight. He looks like a very reliable person. Maybe because of that, he was elected as president of the student body council.

"We playing Hyaku Monogatari on the last day of the training camp," he said, "We doing that for the test courage. Actually, we want to play kokkuri-san, but Asahi-kun said since at that time is a full moon, we should play Hyaku Monogatari," Aizawa explained, he seems nervous.

"Hyaku Monogatari?" I'm a little surprised, "How are you doing the Hyaku Monogatari?" honestly, I have a bad feeling about this.

Hyaku Monogatari is a classic game. Actually, the game is not very popular today, because it is a little complicated.

"All the student in training camp joins the game. We playing right at midnight and we already told the teacher about that too. The teacher sleep on the first floor, when we student sleeps on the second floor. And the student council member who is doing night patrol," Aizawa-san explained.

He breathed slowly, then continued the explanation. Sato Asahi the leaders of the track team, could only stare at Aizawa-san with an anxious look. He tightened his hands tightly.

"We Prepare three rooms. Our classroom only separated with a sliding door, because sometimes, two classes joined in the study. We used the second-year classroom, class 2-1, class 2-2, and class 2-3. Then we place a mirror on the table on the class 2-3. After that, we gather together all students and enter the first room, class 2-1, with candles," Aizawa-san started to feel anxious.

But, he keep continues his story, "We take turns telling a ghost story. At the conclusion of each story, the student must travel, in darkness, from the first room to the third one with one candle. And when reaching the third room, the student must extinguish the candle they hold and look at the mirror and then return to the first room. The ritual keeps going while the previous student is traveling. We doing that until the final candle is extinguished and waiting what will happen. But, nothing happened. So, we think that it only normal peoples telling each other ghost story,"

"Maruyama-san, do you think that happened in our school because the student doing Hyaku Monogatari?" Murakami-san asked, "When I'm still young, we are forbidden to play that. We believe that the spirit will come and cursed," he looked really worried.

I nodded, then looked at them, "Unlike many of the Japanese ritual to a summoned ghost. Hyaku Monogatari has deep roots. In the west, the game like that is popular too, they call the game is The Gathering of 100 Supernatural Tales. The chances that ghost appears is depending on how you doing it, but most of the people avoid doing that for the test of courage," I explained.

Their faces looked scared looking at me. Murakami-san wiped his face again, "So, what happened in our school, it's because the student playing the games?" he asked again.

"Old legend believes, that when you tell each other ghost story, the low spirit will gather, and when the low-level spirit gathered, the high-level spirit will come as well. Spirit is very sensitive to absorb the energy around them," I said.

"What do you mean?" Aizawa-san asked in surprised.

"For example, in some cases when you talking about someone who committed suicide in the same location that accident happened, sometimes the spirit who committed suicide will be coming, maybe because they heard peoples talking about themselves, and they will try to possess the people who tell the story," I explained.

"But...we don't do that in the purpose of calling or gathering the spirit," Aizawa-san said with trembling voice.

I took a deep breath, "You said that at first you want to play the Kokkuri-san, but then you decide to play Hyaku Monogatari. When you want to test courage during the summer, don't the choice is to walk around the school at midnight?" I looked at them, "And Sato-san, Aizawa-san said that you are the one who recommended to playing Hyaku Monogatari. Why and where do you learn that?" I asked.

Sato-san flinched, "When...when I'm in the first year, I visited my grandmother in the countryside. At that time my cousin who lives there, invite me to play that game with his friends from school. He said it's normal there, that they playing that in the summer when full moon. But, nothing happened in the end. So, I think they are doing it only for fun. I told the story to Kaname-sensei, and he said why we don't do that rather than wandering around, " Sato-san is the leader of track team.

Became the leader of a club, which means he is the best one. And most of them are cheerful and confident type students. But, Sato-san has been trembling since coming here. He always clenched his fists hard. Maybe, he's under pressure?

"When you coming to our office today, is the strange thing still happened?" Yui asked.

"Yes. Is it even worse? And the strange thing only happened to the student who did the Hyaku Monogatari, " Aizawa-san said.

"Only the student who join the game?" I looked at them, more confused.

"Yes. Even the soccer team captain refuses to come back to school. He said that he always injured on the same spot of his body, but it's not like he can't playing soccer anymore, it's just after the training...there always handprint in his leg," Sato-san explained.

"And the Secretary of the student council, last week she just falls from the stairs on the second floor. She said someone pulls her back, but she is not the type of person that makes people want to hurt her. And about when she joined the Hyaku Monogatari, she tells a story about a woman who falls from the stairs in the station and haunted the area, " Aizawa-san added.

"There is still a lot of things happened. Maruyama-san, I wish that you can help us," Murakami-san looked at me. He really defeated.

"Sure. It's our job to solve the unsolved cases. First of all, we will come to your school to do an investigation. So, please gather all the student who envelops with the Hyaku Monogatari game. And we need a vacant room for our equipment too," I smiled.

"Yes. We will prepare that for you. Thank you very much," his face brighter, and so the students.

You never know, that telling a ghost story can get you into trouble.