Once upon a time, in the heart of Japan, there was a young fighter man who was hired to be a servant in a big, traditional Japanese house. He worked there during the day, but one day the owner needed to go out of town and the servant was asked to do the night shift. He agreed to it and took the responsibility of protecting the house during the night. As the night came, the servant was glad to see he wasn’t alone, there were some women would work with him that night. He felt a more comfortable with their company.

The sky grew darker and the wind howled, the rain began to pour down in torrents. The servant lit his lantern and made his way through the dimly lit hallways, making sure all the doors were locked and secured aganist the storm. As he passed by the shrine, he discovered that the door was open. He looked inside and saw no one there. He thought the wind must have opened the door, so he closed it and continued with his patrolling.

But as he came back to the shrine, he found the door open again.

This time he thought someone had gone inside, so he decided to check. As soon as he crossed the threshold, he felt a chill in his bones, and his lantern flickered and died. He was surrounded by darkness. He fumbled for a match to relight his lantern. Suddenly, he sensed a presence behind him. A cold hand touched his shoulder. He screamed and spun around.

The lantern flickered back to life, revealing a ghastly sight: numerous women lay motionless on the ground, their blood spreading around them. Overcome with shock and horror, he fumbled and dropped the lantern, retreating on all fours. As he crawled away, he felt a sensation brush against his back, prompting him to spin around. To his surprise, he recognized one of the women he had worked with that night. Shaken and trembling, he gestured his hand towards the gruesome scene in the shrine, struggling to find his voice.

But as he looked back, there was nothing there. Both the man and the woman were confused. The man tried to explain what he had seen, but the woman couldn't comprehend it. They went back to their room after chatting for a while. That night, the man couldn't sleep, he kept thinking back about the scene until sleep finally overtook him.

The next morning, the owner returned, and the servant mentioned that he wanted to thank the women who had worked with him that night but couldn't find them. The owner was astonished by the servant, he said:

"What are you talking about, you are the only one I hired."

Kaito finished recounting his stories to his two listeners. Sakura's face was drained of color.

"So..soo...that means the women he met were...?" she whispered, her voice trembling.

Boro's expression turned stern. "Ghost." he replied firmly, his face darkening.

Sakura let out a scream and flung herself at Kaito before her, her face filled with terror.

Earlier, while cleaning the shrine, Sakura and Boro had taken a break to ask Kaito to tell them some stories about the shrine. Kaito had regaled them with tales of the cursed sword and the lucky outfit, until Boro mentioned the red stains on the lanterns.

"Calm down, Sakura," Kaito soothed, patting her back gently. "It's just a story."

Sakura sniffled, her fear slowly subsiding. "That story was too scary," she said.

Kaito turned to his two companions and said, "Don't be scared, guys. Did I tell you that I've cleaned the shrine multiple times? The story is just a rumor that's been circulating in the dojo. I promise you there's nothing to worry about."

"But how do you explain the stains on the lanterns?" Boro asked.

Kaito furrowed his brow, thinking carefully. "I'm not sure, but it could just be some natural discoloration over time." he said uncertainly.

Sakura nodded in agreement.

"Yes, you’re right." She said, trying to reassure herself.

Boro remained silent. The displeasure on his face was evident, he clearly wasn't satisfied with the answer.

"Doesn't it feel like the temperature has dropped?"

Sakura wrapped her arms around herself, shivering slightly. Her eyes were glancing around the dimly lit shrine. She and Boro were still wearing their training outfits, the thin fabric doing little to ward off the chill. They had only practiced for a short time before deciding to help Kaito clean the shrine.

Kaito noticed Sakura's discomfort and quickly set about lighting a few more lanterns to brighten and warm up the room. He hoped the gentle glow would provide some comfort for them against the raging rain outside. The weather had gotten worse since they arrived. The wind howled like a pack of wolves, rattling the doors and windows, while the rain lashed against the roof and walls like a relentless enemy. Thunder rumbled in the distance, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

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Feeling the unease in Sakura and Boro, Kaito suggested, "Perhaps we should call it a day."

Sakura looked like she wanted to argue, but the idea of returning to the warmth of her home was too tempting. She hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"I'm fine." Boro said, his attention still fixed on the medium-sized black wooden box lying on the ground before them.

Without wanting to keep everyone waiting, Kaito's voice was low and serious as he slowly lifted the lid of the box with both hands, "Let's see what's inside."

The box was gradually opened, the hinges creaking in the eerie silence of the shrine. Light struggled to penetrate the pitch-black interior, and for a moment, Kaito, Sakura and Boro could only see something black and white, but the details were unclear.

"What is that?" Kaito asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Boro brought the lantern closer, illuminating the contents of the box.

"Aaaaaaahh!"

Second time in a day, Sakura let out a loud scream, but this time instead of running to Kaito, Sakura fell back and scrambled away, her face twisted in terror.

Kaito and Boro continued to stare at the contents of the box, their expressions grim and uneasy. They wanted to say something, anything, but their words caught in their throats. What they saw was bone, human bone. Some were fractured, others were whole. A skull lay among the jumbled mess, its empty eye sockets staring back at them. Kaito's hand continued to dig inside the box, as if compelled by some unseen force, until he commanded it to stop.

"Senpai, do you know what's—" Boro began to ask before Kaito cut him off.

"No," he said immediately, his tone firm and unwavering. He felt a sense of dread and unease creeping up his spine. "Like what I've said before, this is the first time I've seen it. I don't know who put the box here or when it was placed here."

Boro nodded weakly, his face ashen and his expression hollow.

"Tonight, I will ask my father if he knows anything about this," Kaito said, looking at each of them in turn, trying to reassure them. Then he turned back to the box, intending to close it and end this terrible experiment. But before he could do so, Boro stopped him.

"Wait, there is something written here," Boro said, using the lantern in his hand to light up the center of the box’s bottom lid. There was a word written in sharp, uneven strokes.

"Yu.u..ko?" Boro read slowly.

"Yuuko, Yuuko,"

Kaito repeated the same word over and over again. He was alone in his family library, unable to shake the feeling of familiarity he felt towards the name he and Boro had discovered in the box earlier. Instead of seeking out his father for answers, Kaito had decided to uncover the truth himself.

The room was shrouded in darkness, the storm outside had cut off the power. Kaito had to rely on the light from his phone to aid his search. He scanned the titles of the books on the shelves, unsure of what he was looking for but confident that he would recognize it when he saw.

The interior, with its Japanese decor, was barely visible in the dim light of Kaito's phone. As he made his way further, Kaito stumbled over the tatami mats(1) on the floor, his hand reaching out to grasp the chabudai(2) for balance. The walls were adorned with indiscernible shadows, once beautiful calligraphy scrolls and paintings now mere silhouettes in the dark. The room was rarely used by anyone in Kaito's family, except for his father who had a passion for reading and collecting books. The servants hired by his family still cleaned the room regularly to maintain its pristine condition.

After a while of searching, Kaito found himself standing before a tall shelf, which filled with volumes that appeared ancient. His hand hovered until it landed on a book with a red cover titled " Generation and History of Nakamura." It was a family book, a recounting of the Nakamura family's lineage throughout the generations.

As Kaito opened the book, a loud crack of thunder echoed outside, as if warning him something? With his phone flashlight in hand, Kaito quickly flipped through the pages, taking in each detail. The book was meticulously written, chronicling the lives of his ancestors and their roles in Japanese history. Many were famous samurai, their stories and achievements etched in the pages before him. Kaito could feel he was getting closer to the answers he was searching for.

But, Kaito's hand halted abruptly as he attempted to turn the next page.

"What?" he exclaimed in surprise, eyes widening as he realized that many pages were missing from the section he had reached. which appeared to be around the Edo period(3). The pages had been removed with such precision that there was no trace of their existence. He furrowed his brows, wondering who and why would do such a thing. Was it related to the person named "Yuuko"?

The storm outside continued to rage, the rain and wind battering against the glass windows. Inside the room, Kaito felt as though he was caught in an invisible storm, his heart beating faster with each passing moment.

He knew he couldn't solve this alone. With a sense of urgency, Kaito decided to take the book and seek out his father for answers. As he turned to leave, something caught his eye. In the corner by the sliding door, sat an "animal" in the darkness. Kaito used the word "animal" because he didn't want to believe what he was seeing. It was sitting with its legs closed, its black hair falling to hide its face.

BUM!

A loud boom of thunder shook the room, illuminating the inside for a split second. Kaito recoiled in horror as he realized it was not an animal, but a girl. Her skin was as pale as death, and she was so translucent that he could see the wall behind her. Kaito's blood ran cold, and he stumbled back. The thing that should not exist was right in front of him.

The girl seemed to realize that Kaito was staring at. Slowly, it stood up and began to approach him. Kaito backed away on all fours. Each step she took sent chills down Kaito's spine, and he found himself retreating until he was backed into a corner.

"Don't come any closer!" he screamed, but the girl continued to advance.

With each step, she seemed to become more solid, more real. And when another bolt of lightning flashed outside, the face of it was completely showed, that was a beautiful face. However, Kaito was already blacked out.

Note:

(1): Tatami mats are traditional Japanese flooring made of woven rush grass over a core of rice straw.

(2): Chabudai is a low table used in traditional Japanese homes for various purposes, including dining, studying, and playing games. The table usually has short legs, and people sit on the floor to use it.

(3): The Edo period in Japan (1603-1868) was a time of peace, economic growth, and strict social hierarchy. It saw the rise of the samurai class and cultural flourishing, but also isolation from foreign influence. It ended with the Meiji Restoration in 1868, marking the start of modernization and the end of feudalism.