The climb back up was a struggle for Taryn.
Going down was so much easier than going up. Having to lift her body weight was a strain on her neck and shoulders. What’s more, she couldn’t even look up to see if they were getting close or not. Probably for the better, but it was why she wanted Robert to go first. The fact that he was so insistent that she go might have been due to his worries.
Worries that, as much as she wanted to press him on, he had about her and the new information she dropped like a nuclear bomb.
Yet that wasn’t the only thing.
Robert was grappling with something else entirely. Something that he wasn’t sure about telling. She noticed this when Robert saw the photo but quickly backed away from that line of thought. As though he was worried about her reaction. Or maybe that wasn’t it at all. Perhaps he was just concerned. That was probably it, given all that happened, and all that she told him, it was the most logical reason for his reaction. Yet something about that nagged at her.
Before she got the chance to ask him, though, she smacked her hand when reaching upwards. The way up was shorter than the initial way down.
“Ow…” she said as she shook her left hand.
“You okay?” Robert asked, looking up.
“Yeah, I just hit my hand on the exit.” She told him.
“Weren’t you looking up?”
She didn’t answer, merely clearing her throat as he realized why.
“Right. Neck. Sorry…”
She then shifted her body slightly, giving herself a better angle to look up. What she saw was a latch, the part that she hit her hand on, and a handle. Grasping it with her left hand, she pushed up. At first, she thought that there would be some resistance but found that it gave little to no effort at all. When she pushed it open, she was greeted with the interior of another Shrine.
Once she pulled herself out, she turned to help Robert before closing the trapdoor. When she had, it was then that she got a better look around their new surroundings.
The Shrine itself was of a decent size, slightly bigger but was in grave disrepair, a deep contrast to the Shrine at the top of the village. The wooden floor beneath their feet was worn-out and cracked as were some parts of the walls.
Through these cracks, the glow of the late afternoon sun shined through like a colander while remnants of rainwater continued to fall from an ending storm. As the summer air was now a bit cooler and held the heavy scent of rain.
Even the roof showed signs of age and decay, with vines and moss growing all over the place, encasing parts of the dilapidated building in green. The grass had even taken root along some of the old floorboards that creaked and groaned with every careful step they took. This Shrine was not elevated off the ground like the one on the hill, meaning it was built at a later date than the first Shrine.
Along the walls, there were paper sutras to ward off evil and misfortune. They were worn, some torn or missing, while those that remained were almost bleached and faded from the sun with what little writing seemed to be barely visible to the human eye. Above them were ropes that had been dyed red now faded in colour and left to rot, falling apart in countless strands attached to a dilapidated roof. Some had fallen, scattered across the floor from when they once hung, as a large bell once used for prayer, covered in a thick layer of rust and moss resting on the old wooden floor.
Even the large stone statue in the middle of the Shrine was not left untouched by the ravages of time. A deity carved from stone that had now been overtaken with thick green moss that was supposed to be up in prayer had been broken off at the wrist and now lay chipped and broken at its feet. The stone statue was large, possibly depicting a woman, or perhaps even the priestess who sacrificed herself for the village. It looked a bit similar to the one in the other Shrine, however, was missing the Shinto hat, and instead had what looked to be a diadem, and even the clothes looked more feminine.
From what Tryn knew in Japanese history, those who were Shrine Maidens, dressed in the same garb as the men, wearing traditional shōzoku, though rare. So why the change here? Maybe it was someone’s interpretation of the Priestess herself? It seemed a bit contrived, but given that it happened a lot in history, it wasn’t all that of a surprise.
Yet it was the ware and broken nature of this statue that held her attention, left and forgotten as moss slowly crept to cover it like a blanket.
Seeing this made Taryn feel sad that such care and attention to detail were now left to fend for itself in the elements without anyone knowing it was here. From the looks of things, they were the only ones who had made it out from the underground as there were no other signs saying otherwise.
Robert merely looked at her observing the statue and their surroundings, mulling over his thoughts before breaking the silence. “Hey Taryn, there’s something I want to ask you. Before we head back to the mansion. It’s about… it’s about Toya. What’s your take on him? What do you think?”
Taryn was quiet for a moment. He wasn’t even sure if she’d answer before she let out a breath and responded. “If you asked me before I started suspecting him of being involved, I’d say that he seems nice. Considerate even, but now? Now I’m not too sure; I’m not even sure if it was all an act or if he was genuine in his interactions with me. Part of me wants to say that it’s an act. That he was faking it. But I… I don’t think any of it was, is. He seems to care genuinely about me and my well-being but I don’t know why.”
“You sure it’s not because of that kiss he gave you that makes you think that way?” he asks with an almost teasing note as he arched a brow sarcastically.
She returned his look with one unimpressed as her tone of voice became flat. “Really? That’s what you think? A single kiss is not going to cloud my judgment of a person. Besides, you said that he was always watching me. Rachael also said something similar a while back after we had that fight.”
“So how come you didn’t notice right away?”
She looked back at the statue. “Probably because I’m used to it. When you’re constantly in the limelight like my family, you often learn to ignore people when they stare at you. I was doing it on a subconscious level without even noticing it. More often than not, I merely assumed he was just looking at me because of my eyes. A lot of folks in Tokyo kept looking at me when I wasn’t wearing sunglasses, so I figured he was doing the same.”
That he could understand since her eyes could be seen as pretty unusual depending on the light that her eyes reflected. And with the dark blue ring that encircled the light blue of her eyes, would often get people staring since it was very prominent.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Oh, right... that makes sense.” he trailed off, not saying anything else.
She frowned at that. “Why do you ask?”
“No reason, really. I guess, well, because you seemed to kind of like him?”
“I’ve known him for no more than a week or so. And yeah, he’s been nice to me. But I’m not going to throw myself at him if that’s what you mean.” She continued to watch him. Something was off. “Where is this coming from, Robert?”
“I just…” he hesitated. “I just think you should be careful of him, that’s all.”
Her brows furrowed at his words. Why was he being so vague? Just what was it that Robert couldn’t bring himself to say aloud? “Robert, why can’t you just tell me what it is? You’ve been acting weird ever since you followed me back to the car.”
He hesitated again, eyes drifting to her, then looking away to the old rotting floor. “I’m just worried, okay? I’m worried about you. After everything that’s happened, that we’ve seen. Anyone would be after that.”
There’s something else. Taryn thought with slightly narrowed eyes, yet felt that even if she were to try and push, it would do little good. Considering she planned to make sure that they would leave as quickly as possible, she could ask Robert later. She didn’t want this to become a fight on accident after they seemed to be more or less on better terms. “Yeah, your right, anyone would be.” She then turned her attention toward the door that would lead to their freedom. Looking at it, it didn’t seem to be locked from the other side. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Right,” Robert closed the short distance and helped with the door. It opened with just a bit of force given how old it was; it nearly broke from being opened from the other side. “Finally, I didn’t think I’d miss the outside this much—” the remainder of what he wanted to say didn’t get the chance to come out, for Taryn had quickly covered his mouth with her hand. The look on her face said it all. Someone was nearby. She heard someone.
When she lowered her hand from his face, Robert held his breath. Taryn, on the other hand, moved silently to the trees that obscured them and the old Shrine. She pressed her front to a nearby tree and peered over as Robert went and did the same to a tree just a bit aways from her.
What they saw were several graves. All of them looked to be meticulously maintained. She had seen them once from a great amount of distance when they first arrived. Only silence greeted them as they waited. Then someone stood tall from kneeling in front of one of the larger graves that looked to be situated in the middle.
It was Toya.
A sombre expression was on the man’s face as he seemed to be looking in between two particular graves as his hand extended to the larger of the two, his head lowered as he said something, but it was so quiet it was impossible to hear.
Well shit. Robert thought before glancing at Taryn, who kept her eyes on the man. He picked up a nearby branch and poked her with it. When she looked his way, he moved his hand in sign language, something that he, Taryn, and several others from their school picked up to speak on the same level as a deaf student in their class when they were in high school.
Though they only knew the bare minimum of it and would do the rest through simple gestures. “What do we do?” he motioned to her. “About him?”
They hadn’t done so in the tunnels, for there seemed to be no signs of anyone in the underground beside them. If there were, they would have done something like this to communicate or write on the ground with a stick in the dirt.
“Wait.” She motioned. “Wait and see.”
Robert hated that, but he also knew the gravity of the situation. If he or they did anything that could be seen as suspicious, they’d be screwed. Robert soon fell silent as he looked back to Taryn once more; she had crouched down, one knee on the ground. Her right hand braced along the tree as her left remained on the ground to keep her steady as her breathing began to slow down. At the same time, her eyes remained utterly fixed on Toya’s figure. Not caring if the rainwater dripped off the quills of the pine trees, even when the drops hit near her eyes. The longer she remained looking like that, unblinking, the more Robert couldn’t help but think that it was like an animal watching its prey.
Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait long. After a few more indiscernible words, Toya fully stood up and left, heading back inside the mansion. They stayed a bit more before moving from their spot behind the trees.
Taryn paused when going through the graveyard, since there was no other way around, stopping briefly at the two graves where Toya stood. The names were visible and clear as day.
Chiyoko Kitsutsuki on the larger grave.
Nezuko Kitsutsuki on the smaller one next to it.
Taryn frowned but did not comment on it. Reaching the landing of the mansion, Taryn took off her boots. “I’m going on ahead.” She told him as Robert began to do the same with his shoes only to stop and look at her. “Rachael and those who work in the mansion are looking for me, I’m sure.”
“Will you be okay?”
“I should be,” she gave a reassuring smile. “Just watch yourself.”
“Yeah…” was all he said as she walked off and headed around the corner. Only for him to grip his knees so tightly that his fingers bit hard into the fabric of his jeans. Why haven’t I told her yet? His thoughts screamed. Recalling the photo that Taryn showed him and his interaction with the man himself. Right then was perfect! He could have just spat it out, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.
He had been seesawing back and forth on the idea the whole time until that point.
When she collapsed in that room, Robert couldn’t bring himself to say it. His worry about how she would react nagged at him. What if what he had to say somehow caused something similar? It was ludicrous given how she handled what she had to go through in that damn room, but it persisted.
Shit. Robert cursed. Screw it! He snapped at himself as he stood up. Grabbing his shoes, he went to follow after her. “Ta—” Taryn’s name was right on the tip of his tongue as he opened his mouth to call out to her as he was about to pass the corner. Only he didn’t get the chance to say it. He only uttered one syllable of her name when he stopped dead in his tracks and took several steps back to be on the other side of the corner. Shoes in one hand, mouth covered with the other.
His gaze was watching from just around the corner.
Toya was there, looking down at Taryn. He practically towered over her with his tall height as his back faced Robert.
Toya looked at Taryn, and while she looked at him, not a hint of fear or worry on her face was shown. Robert had no clue what the man’s expression was like, but judging by her expression, perhaps he wasn’t angry or suspected anything at all.
He’s furious. Taryn thought. Toya’s expression showed nothing, but his eyes were filled with so much anger. With how his eyes were, Taryn could see the change in them. How hyper-focused he was on her with just his stare alone.
“Where?” he asked her, his gaze unmoving. “Where did you go?”
She looked at him. “I went around the village then walked along the outer perimeter of the mansion, mainly stuck to the woods.”
“All day?”
“Yes,”
“Why?”
His questions were short and biting, he seemed to be holding back just how angry he was. Did he think that she had disappeared without a trace? But she needed to answer with something.
“I needed…” she let out a breath. “I needed some time to myself. After what happened, I couldn’t stay in this place.” She brought her hand to her throat. “For obvious reasons…” when she glanced at him, his expression remained the same, but the look in his eyes had become different—something she couldn’t place.
Was it remorse?
Or guilt for what happened to her at the hands of the Doll, she wasn’t sure. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. I just… needed some time alone. Some time to myself.”
Without a word, his hands reached out to Taryn, Robert opened his mouth to shout only to stop when Toya embraced Taryn in a hug.
“I was so worried about you,” he said as he held her tightly to his chest. “I thought something horrible happened. Even your friends had no idea where you could have gone.” Pulling away slightly, he ran his hands over her face in a loving concerned manner. “And look at you, completely covered in dirt. Are you hurt anywhere?”
Hearing that, and his sudden hug, made her suddenly think back to how the people closest in her life would constantly fret similarly. For him to do something like this surprised her. “I’m all right,” she told him as she grasped one of his hands. “I tripped on a root and landed on my side and back, but that’s it.”
His thumb rubbed against her cheek, trying to remove some of the dirt in question. “Honestly, you should have at least said something to someone. I’m sure your friend is going to be angry when she learns of this.”
Taryn gave a short laugh as he removed his hands from her face creating distance between them again. “I don’t doubt that she will. Well, her and Mei, I’m sure she’ll be just as angry or even more given my neck is still recovering.”
“You mean Kurosawa-san?” he inquiered.
“Yes, I’m sure she’s just as worried. Do you know where she would be? I’d like to give her a popper apology after I get cleaned up.” She said as she began to head down the hall, moving away, hoping the man would follow after her to give Robert the chance to move on as well. “Or should I do it now?”
“She’s not here.” Taryn stopped in her tracks and turned back to face Toya. “Kurosawa Mei is no longer employed here.”