# 605
Chapter 606: The Ghost-Catching Game
The old woman and the young girl walked slowly to the vermillion torii at the entrance of the shrine and bowed deeply in reverence.
Then they straightened, passed beneath the gate, and stopped at the temizuya purification fountain. After scooping water with a wooden ladle to rinse hands and mouth, they approached the statue of Daikokuten, chief of the Seven Gods of Fortune.
A long queue already stretched before the image.
Clear bell-ringing echoed through the precinct as the pair shuffled forward. At last they stood before the god.
Yuzuri Nana and Granny Tsuru stood side by side. They bowed lightly, then Nana reached up, caught the hanging bell, and gave it a gentle shake.
Clink—!
The chime rang out. She slipped a five-yen coin into the offering box—payment for the gods’ friendship.
They lifted their eyes to the statue, bowed twice, clapped twice, bowed again.
“Great and kindly Daikokuten, accept our prayer.
War-god from the other shore, scourge of every evil, you bring peace and joy to the world and drive away misfortune… Let calamity pass us by, grant us happiness and hope.
May your blessing-light cover the earth.”
Nana finished, straightened, and exhaled.
Beside her, Granny Tsuru remained bent, silver hair brushing her wrinkled cheek. In a whisper only she could hear:
“Let little Yuzuri have a bright and happy future…”
Nana didn’t catch the words; she tugged the old woman’s sleeve.
“Granny, we should go. People are waiting.”
Granny Tsuru rose, smiled, and together they turned away.
They had barely reached the torii when Nana froze.
Across the street four or five men lounged in a haze of cigarette smoke, eyes roving as though hunting something.
Nana’s whole body gave a small, sharp tremor.
Granny Tsuru glanced at her. “What’s wrong, child? Feeling ill?”
“N-no.” Nana’s face had gone pale.
She hesitated, then looked up earnestly. “Granny, I want to buy something in one of the shops. Could you go on ahead?”
The old woman blinked.
“Please?” Nana urged, voice tight.
“All right…”
Granny Tsuru didn’t understand, but she nodded.
Nana forced a smile, waved, and darted toward a side-stall, vanishing from sight.
The old woman shook her head and started down the street, shuffling toward the container housing.
Across the way the men watched her, then flicked their gaze back to the gate.
“Said the girl went in with an old biddy—where is she?”
“Only one exit. High walls everywhere. She has to come out here.”
“Wait. Any minute now.”
Inside the precinct Nana peered from the corner of the souvenir kiosk. The same figures still loitered outside; her face crumpled.
“Still there…”
White walls rose on every side—too high even for two grown men to boost each other over, and no trees to climb. Only the front gate.
She gnawed her lip, eyes calculating.
“Hey, kid—buy something or move! You’re blocking customers,” the stall-owner barked.
Nana spun, finger to lips in a fierce hush. Her gaze swept the shelves; she nodded decisively.
“I’m buying!”
…
“How long does it take to pray?” the toughest man snarled, standing. “We go in and grab her.”
“Bro, you crazy? Causing trouble in a shrine’s a major crime.”
“We’re yakuza—our heads are already priced. Scared of cops?”
“It’s different, man!”
A younger thug sprang up. “There! She’s coming out!”
All heads snapped round. A small figure in a black rain-cape shot down the steps and sprinted across the street.
The leader blinked.
“She spotted us—kid’s trick.” He sneered. “After her!”
Before he finished, three more caped shapes burst from the gate, laughing and chasing one another in the opposite direction.
Identical black capes, faces blurred by speed—four targets, four directions. The gang gaped.
“Which one, boss?”
“Split up!” the leader barked, then hesitated. “No—three of you chase those; I’ll watch the gate.”
The others scattered. After a moment the leader cursed, strode through the torii and began combing the shrine itself.
No violence inside, but looking around couldn’t hurt.
He searched every corner—no girl. Furious, he clawed his scalp.
His phone rang.
“Yeah?”
“Boss, I nabbed the first kid—turns out it’s a boy. Not her!”
“What the hell?”
“The kid says some girl his age paid them two lollipops each to play ‘ghost-catching’ in rain-capes—said it’d be more fun that way…”