“This might sound crazy… but I feel like I have some ties to this hospital… like I was meant to be here somehow. I saw this vision…” You begin telling Amanozaki about what you saw when the black woman grabbed you: the empty swimming pool, the fatal fall, and the girl that looked like Uehara.
When you finish, she sighs and says, “That’s not all too unusual. The dead, especially the powerful ones, are a mass of psychic energy that can easily imprint onto the living. That’s why you hear all those stories about seeing the ghost’s living memories, right? That’s probably what happened here: you saw its memories, from its perspective. I’m… not too sure about that girl,” – from the displeased tone in her voice, you know that she is talking about Uehara, “–but perhaps our ghost met her before. In terms of perspective you were never in Uehara’s spot, were you?”
“Well, no,” you admit. “I sometimes found myself in the man’s place.”
“Then the man is the ghost,” concludes Amanozaki. “Nothing complicated to see here.”
“But the ghost was female…”
“Well, I couldn’t tell whether it was a guy or not, with all those disgusting black stuff swimming around it” she snorts. “Are you sure it’s a woman?”
It certainly felt that way, but…
You shake your head, applying the finishing touches to Amanozaki’s wound. A pretty neat job, if I say so myself, you think with a little hint of pride as you wrap-up the bandaging. She winces a little when you tighten the knot, almost pulling away from you on reflex.
“Heh, you’re actually pretty good at this, aren’tcha?” Amanozaki examines your handiwork and smiles. “Are you some sort of back alley doc?”
You don’t know, and you shrug.
“Playing mysterious, eh? Anyway, what do you want to do now, Shinoseki?”
“Me? I…”
“The way I see it, we got two choices,” says Amanozaki as she holds up two fingers in the shape of a V. “One, we go and exorcise the big bad bitch for good and get the hell outta here. Two, we sit here and wait for people to come help us.”
“Exorcise? Can you really do it?” you ask.
“I’m… not sure,” she admits after a brief pause. “I’m not that dumb that I’d think table salt is going to work on something with that much power. If I can get my hands on something that belonged to the spirit, however, I might have a ritual or two that could do the trick. Any ideas?”
Something that belonged to the spirit… since I don’t know who it is, that would be difficult to find, and combing the entire hospital might be too risky a course of action, but how else would I find something related to the spirit? You rub your chin, lost in thought. Wait, maybe…
“How about the place where it died?” you ask.
“Where… you mean the pool?” Amanozaki catches on quickly enough, and she frowns. “Not going to rule that out, but…”
“The tiles were coloured differently; they might have been added in later. It could also be the location of death. Maybe we can find something there.”
“Well, if you don’t have any more ideas, it could be a good place to start…” mutters Amanozaki. “Bloody dangerous, though.”
“Uehara or Mitsuki… they might be in danger too,” you point out. “Perhaps we should look for them instead?”
Amanozaki yawns; she is looking extremely tired “Maybe, but it’s too risky. We don’t even know where they are now.”
***
23:15
A. Head out to exorcise the ghost of the swimming pool; you refuse to be trapped here any longer.
B. Venture forth to search for Uehara. She ran off with a strange talisman; it could be something to do with this place.
C. Venture forth to search for Mitsuki. She was kidnapped by some nut; who knows what she is undergoing even now?
1. Let her sleep: you will head back out into the hospital on your own. She should be safe napping here.
2. Force her to stay awake and come with you: you need her along for the operation.
3. Watch over her while she sleeps. There does not seem to be any rush.
***
D. Stay inside the room and wait for help to come. It’s too dangerous outside.
***