Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?

A paltry 5,000 yen.

That was the monthly rent for room 106 of Corona House, a 25 year old two story wooden apartment building.

It"s true that its location quite a distance from the center of town lowered the rent, but having a six tatami [1] room with a kitchen, bathroom and toilet for 5,000 yen a month made it an extraordinarily cheap apartment.

On top of that, it was completely interest free.

Apart from room 106, the rent per apartment was actually about 10 times higher.

However, there was a reason why room 106 in particular was super cheap.

Every person who had moved in had, without exception, left just as quickly.

The shortest stay was three hours and the longest three months. Leaving on the third day was the norm.

Because of that, the rent kept dropping.

Starting the year at 10,000 yen, the rent had been cut in half before spring.

"Don"t treat that carelessly, Mackenzie. The contents of that box are more valuable than your life."

So said the boy moving into this super cheap apartment.

"You"re telling me that, Kou? Compared to you, I"m always careful."

"As long as you understand. Keep working, Mackenzie-kun."

"Yeah, yeah... Who"s helping who move, I wonder? Geez."

The one moving in was Satomi Koutarou, 15 years old.

His childhood friend Matsudaira Kenji, also 15 years old, called him Kou, and in return Koutarou called him Mackenzie.

After the entrance ceremony the day after tomorrow they would both be high school students.

The date was Sat.u.r.day, the 4th of April.

Due to his father"s sudden job transfer, Koutarou had begun to live alone that spring.

Koutarou had visited a real estate agency, which introduced him to Corona House.

Koutarou, who had grown up alone with his single father, did not want to be a burden and jumped on the offer before even hearing the reason for the low rent.

"Anyways, Kou, it was a good thing you managed to find a vacant room with this kind of timing, huh?"

"I was lucky. When my old man told me about the transfer the other day I seriously panicked."

Koutarou"s father"s transfer had been decided a little after the middle of February.

It had happened while Koutarou was waiting for the results of his high school entrance exam.

"That said, it couldn"t be helped that his co-worker was hurt and couldn"t go."

"Mm, That"s right."

Originally it hadn"t been Koutarou"s father who was supposed to go, but that co-worker instead.

However, the co-worker had had an accident that left him with a serious injury, and Koutarou"s father had to take his place.

"The transfer was sudden, but it might be a good chance for my independence. Besides, we"re already high school students; we should be able to take care of ourselves."

"How positive..."

"How about we celebrate the start of my journey to manhood?"

"What the heck is that supposed to be?"

Koutarou and Kenji carried a suitcase full of clothes into the building.

The two had been carrying luggage for a while now, going back and forth from the apartment to the moving van.

"Should I put the fridge next to the sink?"

A middle aged man in work clothes poked his face out of the apartment. He was the driver of the moving van and had been helping Koutarou and Kenji move.

"Yes, please!"

"Got it."

After hearing Koutarou"s answer, the man went back inside the room.

Koutarou and Kenji followed suit.

"To think this is 5,000 yen a month... It"s just too cheap."

As the pair crossed the threshold Kenji sighed.

"Jealous, aren"t you?"

"If I had known of this place, I definitely would have rented it."

The room was of a somewhat old j.a.panese style.

Past the entrance there was a hall with a hardwood floor leading to the inner six-tatami-mat room.

On the left side of the hall was a kitchen unit, and on the right were located the toilet and bathroom.

Though the room was old-fashioned, it was well-maintained and clean.

"Be careful, Kou, the suitcase is about to hit the wall."

"I know, I know!"

"We"ll see... We"re coming through, uncle."

"Oh, sorry about that Gla.s.ses-kun."

Squeezing past the man installing the fridge in the kitchen, Koutarou and Kenji reached the six-tatami-mat room.

The two wove between the cardboard boxes and furniture littering the room.

"Alright, what do we do with this suitcase?"

"Hmm... Let"s put it in the wardrobe"

"Alright."

Koutarou and Kenji worked together to heave the suitcase into the wardrobe.

As they stood up, the worker entered the room.

"That was the last of the luggage, wasn"t it?"

"Yes, this is all of it."

"Alright, then I"ll be taking my leave."

"Thank you very much!"

Koutarou, who was an athletic type, had been raised to respect his elders and naturally bowed to the man.

"The one bowing should be me; thank you very much."

The man smiled gently and bowed his head deeply, then left the room, leaving behind several doc.u.ments.

"Right then, that"s the first part done..."

"Here, Mackenzie."

As Kenji was pushing up his gla.s.ses, Koutarou threw him a plastic bottle of tea.

"Whoa, thanks."

Having been with Koutarou for a long while and therefore being used to this, Kenji caught the plastic bottle without trouble.

"It"s a bit lukewarm since the fridge was just installed..."

As he said that Koutarou reached into a plastic bag and pulled out his own bottle of tea that he had purchased a while back from a nearby convenient store.

"I know!"

They opened their bottles and drank at the same time.

"Ah... I feel alive again!"

Koutarou sat down on one of the cardboard boxes while Kenji leaned against a wall next to the entrance of the room.

Kenji looked over at the calendar hanging up on the wall.

"Time sure flies fast... The day after tomorrow is the entrance ceremony!"

"That"s right, I need to unpack everything I need today."

Koutarou also looked at the calendar he had hung up, as well as a clock he had placed there the first day he had visited the room.

"Hmm? Can"t you just do it tomorrow?"

"I"ve got some part-time work to do tomorrow."

"Why do that? Can"t you at least take a day off while you"re moving?"

Kenji stared at Koutarou in amazement.

"There"re a lot of necessities needed in the early spring. Don"t lump me together with you people who live with your parents!"

"Still, your old man left you some money, didn"t he?"

"I don"t want to touch that unless I have to. That"s what living is all about!"

"... I don"t care if it"s for living or whatever, but if you collapse don"t tell me I didn"t warn you..."

"Unlike you brainy people, I have absolute trust in my stamina."

"Yes, yes, whatever you say..."

Kenji shrugged and sighed at Koutarou, who was puffing up his chest proudly.

"So what time do you start tomorrow, Kou?"

"In the morning, like always."

"Alright, I"ll pick you up as usual."

"Please do."

The two of them actually worked at the same place.

When they had pa.s.sed the high school entrance exam they had both applied for the same job.

As luck would have it, they were both hired and had already started working.

"...Hey Kou, will you be able to wake up on time when school starts?"

"No problem, no problem."

"As someone who needs me to wake them up every weekend to go to work, you"re not very convincing..."

"Don"t be so harsh!"

Since work during the weekend usually started in the morning, Kenji waking Koutarou up was a common occurrence.

"I"ve started living on my own; I"ve joined the ranks of adults. I can"t act like a child forever."

"Does that mean I don"t have to pick you up tomorrow?"

"This and that are two different things, Mackenzie-kun. You would do well to pick me up tomorrow."

"As expected..."

Kenji"s shoulders dropped in amazement.

"Thanks as always, old man."

"... All my motivation just vanished."

"Don"t say that; you"re young after all!"

The doorbell at the front door rang.

"Hmm?"

"A guest?"

Just before Koutarou could answer, the door opened and the visitor stepped in.

"h.e.l.lo! Is Satomi-san at home?"

The voice of a girl resounded through the building.

It was a voice Koutarou had heard before.

"Oh, it"s the landlord."

"Landlord?"

"Ah... Yes, I"m coming!" Koutarou answered as he jumped up from the cardboard box he had been sitting on.

Kenji likewise stopped leaning against the entrance of the room.

"That"s a pretty cute sounding voice!"

"Come on, Mackenzie; you"ll be surprised."

"Alright!"

The two of them headed for the door together.

"h.e.l.lo, Landlord-san!"

"h.e.l.lo, Satomi-san."

Standing in front of the entrance was a girl wearing an ap.r.o.n over her normal clothes.

As she greeted them she bowed her head gracefully.

She was about the same age as Koutarou and Kenji, with a few traces of childhood left on her face.

Her long hair was tied back with a large ribbon, giving off an impression of a refreshing and healthy girl.

"Eh? Landlord? This girl?"

"That"s right! This person is the landlord of Corona House. Surprised, aren"t you, Mackenzie?"

"Ye-Yeah..."

Kenji looked on amazed and nodded.

The word landlord and the cute girl he was facing did not connect in Mackenzie"s head, leaving him astonished.

"I was surprised at first too."

"Everyone is surprised at first. Fufufu..."

The girl smiled gently and turned towards Kenji.

"Nice to meet you. I"m Corona House"s landlord, Kasagi Shizuka."

"Pl-Pleased to meet you. I"m Matsudaira Kenji."

"Hope we"ll get along well, Matsudaira-san."

"Yes, likewise!"

Kenji and Shizuka bowed to each other.

"Landlord-san, this guy is my childhood friend."

"Oh, is that so?."

"You"ll probably see him around here in the future, so please call him Mackenzie."

Shizuka blinked a couple of times and looked at Kenji.

"You"re j.a.panese, aren"t you? With a name like Matsudaira..."

"Ah, yes, Of course he"s j.a.panese. His full name is Matsudaira Kenji, but if you shorten it you get Mackenzie."

"I see, "Ma" and "Kenji" become Mackenzie."

Satisfied, Shizuka put her hand to her mouth and started laughing.

"That"s just what Kou calls me!"

"So would you prefer it if I called you Matsudaira-san?"

"No, Mackenzie is fine; I"m already used to it, after all."

"Got it, Mackenzie-san."

Looking at Kenji shrugging his shoulders, Shizuka started laughing once again, her long hair and ribbon waving gently.

"That"s right; Landlord-san is starting at Kitsushouharukaze this year as well."

"Heh, what a coincidence."

"With a bit of luck, we could end up in the same cla.s.s!"

"Fufu, let"s get along at school as well."

Shizuka bowed politely once again.

"So Landlord-san, what business do you have with me?"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot!"

Shizuka clapped her hands and pointed at the window behind Koutarou and Kenji.

"Actually, a little while ago I saw the moving van leaving from my window, and I figured it was time to help."

"From your window?"

"Yes Mackenzie-san, I happen to live in the room above."

"Isn"t it great, I"m sharing a roof with the cute Landlord-san?"

"Well..."

Shizuka looked on with a smile.

"You"re flattering me, Satomi-san."

"...Of course you"re sharing the same roof; this is an apartment, after all."

"It"s a matter of feelings!"

"Fufufu, the two of you sure get along well... Oh, that"s right, I came to help. Unlike with the physical labor from before I should be able to help from now on."

"That would help a lot, Landlord-san. Kou is good at breaking stuff and leaving a mess, but bad at cleaning up."

"Hey, Mackenzie! Don"t say disrespectful things!"

"It"s the truth though. You constantly trouble me."

Kenji let out a big sigh while adjusting his gla.s.ses.

"Then Mackenzie-san is always...?"

"Yes, I"m always having a hard time."

"I am grateful."

"... Only grateful though. Oh yes, Landlord-san, I have something I"d like to ask, if that"s alright."

"Yes, what is it?"

Shizuka smiled and nodded.

"Why is the rent for this room only 5,000 yen?"

"O-oi Mackenzie! Don"t just suddenly ask about that!"

Koutarou, who was aware of the circ.u.mstances, began panicking.

"That"s because I want to know. With this great of a room and a reliable landlord, I can"t find anything wrong with it."

"But you know, this apartment was left behind by Landlord-san"s parents, and-"

"I don"t mind, Satomi-san."

Koutarou was worried about angering Shizuka, but she smiled calmly and shook her head.

"Mackenzie-san"s worries are justifiable. Fufufu, besides, haven"t you noticed that Mackenzie-san is worried about you Satomi-san?"

"Landlord-san..."

"Besides, there"s not much I can do in this matter."

"Ha, haah...."

Koutarou nodded with an apologetic look on his face and Shizuka turned back to Kenji.

"Actually... In this room... They appear."

"Appear? What appears?"

"The rumor is that a ghost appears in this room."

"A gh-ghost!?"

A surprised Kenji started hastily looking around the room.

"I haven"t seen it myself yet, but every tenant here does... And they don"t stay for long."

"A ghost... That"s hard to believe, though..."

"I think so too... But that"s what every tenant has said when they moved, so it"s the truth."

Kenji was perplexed and smiled bitterly at Shizuka as he dropped his shoulders. Koutarou, on the other hand, puffed out his chest and grinned.

"Leave it to me Landlord-san! I won"t be beaten by a ghost!"

"That"s so reliable. Please live here long enough to erase any rumors of ghosts."

"Of course!"

"But to think there"s a ghost in this room..."

A still unconvinced Kenji took another look around the room.

"Nothing will come from thinking on it too hard, Mackenzie. The landlord has come over, so let"s start unpacking."

"Ah, you"re right."

Urged by Koutarou, Kenji returned to normal.

"Kou is thick headed, so he"ll probably be fine even if a ghost appears."

"Those words hurt..."

"That"s on purpose!"

"I know... Well then, shall we get started, Landlord-san?"

"Of course, Satomi-san. It looks like I won"t have to do much, though; the two of you make a great team."

Looking at Koutarou and Kenji going back and forth, Shizuka started laughing.

"Is that so?"

"Landlord-san, please don"t say such a terrifying thing..."

"Mackenzie, you don"t have to put it like that, do you?"

As Koutarou and the rest were buzzing about, they unpacked the luggage.

Thanks to the cooperation of Kenji and Shizuka, enough luggage had been unpacked to settle in before dinner time.

"I"ll be going home now. You have work tomorrow, so keep the unpacking to a minimum and get to bed, okay?"

"I know, I know... Oversleeping would be bad, right?"

"Your "I know" is the least trustworthy thing I know of, though..."

Kenji sighed once more as he put on his shoes, which were scattered about at the entrance.

"Then I"ll also be going now, Satomi-san."

"Landlord-san, you don"t have to call me Satomi-san, we"ll be cla.s.smates the day after tomorrow."

"Hmm, okay... Satomi-kun."

"Yes, that way"s better."

"Okay, then I"ll call you that."

Shizuka smiled brightly and put on her shoes, which had been left neatly arranged. At the same time, Kenji opened the front door.

"Thanks a lot for today, Landlord-san."

Hearing Koutarou"s thanks, the both of them exited through the door.

"No need, I was glad to help."

"... No thanks for me, huh?"

"You"re more of a give and take kind of guy."

"I don"t think so though..."

"Well then, Satomi-kun, goodbye."

"Goodbye, Landlord-san."

"Hurry up and get to sleep."

"I get it, I get it!"

With a bang of the door Kenji and Shizuka vanished.

The lone Koutarou started unpacking once more after eating the bento[2] he had also bought at the convenience store.

"Hmm... Now what to do with this bat... I can"t just treat this like any old bat, after all... And I can"t just leave it in the umbrella stand either..."

Koutarou was holding the bat in his hand, thinking of a place to put it. The bat was signed and had been used by the so called G.o.d of Batting, the legendary Slugger.

It was one of the treasures Koutarou valued the most.

"Alright, I"ll get a stand to decorate it, but for today it"ll have to make do in the corner."

Koutarou put down the bat and opened up a new cardboard box.

"Now, what was this again?..."

He ripped off the tape and peeked inside.

"More treasure, huh..."

Contained within the box were trophies, certificates, commemorative shields, and his beloved glove.

These were all keepsakes from Koutarou"s middle school era.

"Oh? What"s this doing in here?"

Among the trove of keepsakes was one item that didn"t fit in with the rest.

"I"ll need to find a good place to put this..."

It was a knitted sweater. Koutarou picked up some nearby paper, neatly wrapped it up, and put it in the back of the wardrobe with his suitcase.

"And that"s that."

Koutarou clapped his hands as he stepped away from the wardrobe.

Suddenly, the cellphone he had left charging in a corner of the room started ringing.

"Hm? Is that the old man?"

There was only one person with that ringtone among Koutarou"s contacts.

Satomi Yuichirou.

The name that appeared on the cellphone"s screen was Koutarou"s father"s.

Koutarou picked up the phone and placed it next to his ear.

"h.e.l.lo, old man?"

"Oh, there you are Koutarou."

The voice on the phone was indeed Koutarou"s father, Yuichirou.

"How"s it going over there? Have you unpacked all your luggage?"

"Slowly but surely. Mackenzie and the landlord helped me out, so it"s at least habitable."

"I see. Did you thank both of them properly?"

"Of course. How"s it going on your end?"

"I"m living in the dormitory, so even if I don"t do anything dinner will be served and the bath will be prepared. If they washed my clothes as well, there would be nothing to complain about."

"Good. You"re worse than I am at living on your own, so I was a bit worried, old man."

"Hahaha, that"s true..."

The Satomi family consisted of just Koutarou and Yuichirou, and Koutarou had been doing almost all of the housework on his own.

Of course, he wasn"t necessarily good at it.

Even so, if Koutarou hadn"t done it, Yuichirou would have just made a bigger mess.

Yuichirou was a man who was terrible with housework.

"Living separately will be a good chance for you to find a good partner."

Koutarou wanted his father to remarry as quickly as possible.

He was worried his father would die from hunger or that his room would fill up with dirt if he didn"t.

"Guhahaha, that"s a bit..."

However that was not likely to happen any time soon.

The reason being was that Yuichirou was still in love with his late wife.

Koutarou understood this and did not voice any complaints.

"Hmm, well, it seems all is going well."

"You too, old man. Don"t forget to take out the trash."

"I know, I know."

"We"ll see about that."

Koutarou felt like he was able to understand how Kenji must feel around him.

"Well, I won"t hold you up anymore. Besides, I still have some more unpacking to do."

"I"ll do the same. Talk to you later, old man."

"Yeah; good night, Koutarou."

"Good night."

Koutarou casually hung up the phone.

"I was wondering what would happen when he suddenly brought up the job transfer, but..."

Koutarou plugged the charger back into the phone.

"Everything is going well for now."

He smiled, and after he"d taken a quick breather he began to put his room in order.

"Already eleven o"clock?"

Koutarou stopped as he noticed the clock approaching 11 P.M.

"I guess I"ll stop for today and go to bed. If I oversleep, I"ll never hear the end of it from Mackenzie..."

Koutarou had been busy moving these past several days, and on top of that, he had work in the morning.

Due to this, he decided it would be best to go to bed early.

"Alright, time to sleep."

Koutarou slid open the wardrobe and pulled out a futon with a floral cover that Shizuka had prepared for him.

With a grunt, he pushed aside a cardboard box and threw down the futon.

At that point he looked down at the futon.

"I guess I should spread it out properly..."

Having changed his mind, Koutarou properly spread out the flower-print futon.

He would feel bad for his considerate landlord if he just carelessly threw it about.

"There we go."

Having finished spreading out the futon, Koutarou turned off the light and crawled inside.

"Good night!"

Addressing no one in particular, Koutarou closed his eyes. He quickly fell asleep and began breathing calmly and evenly.

"Zzzzz..."

The only thing that could be heard in Room 106 was the sound of Koutarou"s breathing, which was about as loud as a ticking clock.

This sound would be drowned out by the TV in Room 105 or by Shizuka opening and closing the door in Room 206 above him.

But that only lasted until midnight. After 2 A.M., Koutarou"s relaxed breathing could once again be heard.

And then, another small sound could be heard in Room 106.

It was not Koutarou, who was in a deep sleep and not moving a muscle.

The noise was coming from the window. But it was not because the window was poorly constructed or because wind was blowing.

Despite that, the window kept rattling, with the sound growing continuously louder. After a few minutes the sound had become irritating.

"Zzzzz..."

But despite the sound, Koutarou showed no signs of waking up.

"Mmm... Mackenzie, just stop already..."

In fact, he began talking loudly in his sleep.

If such a loud voice wasn"t waking him up, neither would the window.

As if responding to Koutarou"s voice, the sound from the window stopped.

"Guehefuefuefue."

However, right as Koutarou began talking in his sleep again, the window rang out, almost as if startled.

After that, there was silence for a while. Koutarou had stopped sleep talking, and a few minutes pa.s.sed. Even so, the incidents did not stop.

A high-pitched sound resounded, as if a small gla.s.s bottle had fallen and broken.

However, the source of the sound could not be found inside the room.

The noise continued, and at the same time a baseball rolled across the tatami mat.

But the source of the sound could still not be found.

The noises continued, and they were increasing in volume, several times louder than the window from before.

"Hehehe, Mackenzie, you can"t handle Landlord-san? She is cute after all~"

Despite the commotion, Koutarou showed no signs of waking up; in fact, he began talking in his sleep once more.

"You"ve got good looks but no guts!"

As if to drown out Koutarou"s sleep talk, the mysterious noises grew even louder, and various things in the room started shaking.

As the room was at the height of chaos, furniture and boxes started rattling, with the sound growing even louder.

Even with loud noises right in front of him, Koutarou would not wake up.

Even his childhood friend Kenji had a hard time waking him up; these kinds of noises were nothing to Koutarou.

"Uehehehehe..."

The noise was interrupted by Koutarou"s sleep talk once more.

And if this noise was caused by someone...

"Stop with the rattling, Mackenzie!"

...That someone must have been amazed at Koutarou"s thickheadedness.