Case File: "Forest Investigation – Unnamed Client"
Date: July 2, 2025
Location: The Child's Room
Investigator: Itsumi Matzuri
I don't know what the hell is going on anymore. I'm sitting here, writing this, and for the first time since I got trapped in this nightmare, I'm not terrified for my life. There's a little girl here—Yurei, I called her—and she's not trying to kill me, haunt me, or throw me through a wall. She just wanted to have tea. In this place, that's about as close to normal as I'm going to get.
But it's weird. Too weird. She looks so much like my cousin Yurei that it's almost painful. Same black hair, same blue eyes, same innocent smile. It's like someone took my memories and twisted them into something new, something cruel. I keep telling myself it's just a coincidence, just my mind playing tricks on me, but I know better. This house, this whole place, it's designed to fuck with me. And it's doing a damn good job.
I keep thinking about the real Yurei. I was just a kid, maybe ten or eleven, and my mom left me in charge of her for the afternoon. I was supposed to be watching her, but I got distracted—talking to a friend, laughing about something stupid. I turned my back for two minutes, maybe less, and that's all it took. Yurei fell, hit her head on the corner of the table. There was so much blood. I remember screaming, running for help, but it was too late. We got her to the hospital, but the doctors said the damage was too severe. She died that night.
Everyone blamed me. My family, my parents, even my friend's parents. "You should have been watching her, Itsumi. You're the oldest. It's your fault." Like I wasn't just a fucking kid myself. Like I didn't already hate myself enough for what happened. I spent years carrying that guilt, letting it eat away at me. Maybe that's why I became a journalist—always chasing the truth, always trying to make up for the one time I failed to protect someone.
So seeing this girl, this Yurei, sitting across from me, smiling and pouring tea like nothing's wrong—it's like the universe is playing a sick joke. Like it's reminding me that no matter how far I run, I'll never escape my past. I want to ask her if she remembers, if she knows who I am, but I can't. What would be the point? She's not really Yurei. She's just another ghost in this fucked-up house.
Still, I can't help but feel… something. Not hope, exactly, but maybe a little less alone. For once, I'm not being hunted. For once, I'm not the target. It's almost enough to make me forget where I am, what I've been through. Almost.
But I know better than to let my guard down. This place doesn't do kindness. It doesn't do mercy. Sooner or later, something's going to come for me again. Maybe it'll be the bull, maybe the ghost woman, maybe even Yurei herself. Hell, maybe I'll just lose my mind and finish the job myself.
If anyone ever reads this, don't let your guard down. Not even for a second. This place remembers everything you've ever done, every mistake you've ever made. And it never lets you forget.