The First Rumor: Spirit Photo Park
The First Rumor : Spirit Photo Park is the true first chapter of Twilight Syndrome: Search. Taking place chronologically before The Original Rumor it follows Mika Kishii, Yukari Hasegawa and Chisato Itsushima on their first outing investigating paranormal rumors around Hinashiro City. In this chapter they head to Park I investigating an alleged spirit photo, alleged soul sucking statues and An Eyeless Ghost. However some of these rumors turn out to be more than just rumors as the girls learn about the dark history of a Torii gate and the shrine that used to reside behind it.
Summary[edit]
The chapter opens with Mika Kishii talking with her classmate Kimika who tries to show her a photograph. Mika initially mistakes it for a lewd photograph of Kimika's boyfriend but is quickly shown it is in fact a spirit photograph. Mika asks to borrow the photograph claiming her senior is tangentially associated with famed psychic Kibo Akio. Kimika is initially hesitant but relents and gives the photo to Mika.
After class, Mika runs over to Yukari Hasegawa's class to show her the photo. Yukari is annoyed by Mika's sudden appearance and her eccentricities and Mika shows her the photo. Yukari dismisses it as nothing but a development error in the photograph, but Mika swears it is legitimate. Yukari asks for proof of it's authenticity but Mika claims she has used up all of her spirit medium abilities. Yukari calls over her classmate Chisato Itsushima who Yukari claims is a real spirit medium to inspect the photo. Chisato is unable to determine it's authenticity and claims she'd have to go where the photo was taken to know for sure. The picture is identified as being taken at Park I and the trio meet there later that night to investigate.
Yukari apologizes for getting Chisato roped into this to which Chisato says she doesn't mind. Mika tells them that the hot spot of paranormal activity is the Torii gate on the other side of the park across Koube Bridge. While the three check out a map of the park Mika tells them of the other rumors surrounding the park. She first tells them of the stone statues at the sculpture garden that allegedly come alive at night and steal the souls of the living. Second she talks of an eyeless ghost that walks around the park with a dog, Mika even claims that this very ghost chased her older brother while he was going for a jog.
Mika wants to check out the sculpture garden and Yukari relents, however Mika fails to guide them there and they get lost on the way. Yukari initially dismisses the statues as nothing more than regular statues but she begins to hear something that sounds like a whisper. Chisato and Mika do as well prompting Mika to make a recording.(On her Sony MD Walkman MZ-R3 no less!) After Mika's recording the sounds stopped completely. The trio attempts to follow the voices but find nobody at all.
Yukari begins to get nervous and notices that they are lost. The three girls encounter a large cluster of insects but manage to evade them on their way to the bridge. They arrive at said Koube Bridge and are consumed by a feeling of dread. The trio gets half way across when Mika decides to take a picture of Yukari and Chisato. On the other side of the bridge they hear a low gutteral sound which Yukari assumes is part of a drainage system. They soon arrive at the Torii gate they were talking about earlier, through it is nothing more than a parking lot. Chisato takes another photo, this time of Yukari and Mika. Yukari pressures the other two to leave but Mika asks Chisato if she can feel anything. Chisato turns white and also wants to leave as soon as possible. Mika complains that she wanted to verify the other rumors and Yukari accuses her of rumor mongering.
Chisato claims that she is sure that all the strange occurrences are because of the shrine's destruction. Yukari and Mika express that her intense demeanor is starting the scare them. Chisato notices how late it's getting and Mika says she needs to use the bathroom. Yukari and Chisato stay behind while she heads towards the restroom. Mika asks for them to accompany her because she is now feeling afraid but the other two decline. Mika and Yukari argue a bit but Mika storms off. While Mika is away Yukari asks Chisato if they should go home already. Chisato thinks it'd be rude to do so but Yukari doesn't seem to care. Yukari talks about how she feels that Mika dragged the two of them around all night and how she thinks Mika has an ego. Chisato asks if Yukari hates her to which Yukari says she doesn't. Chisato however voices her appreciation for Mika. Their conversation is cut short by Mika's scream and the two rush to investigate.
When they arrive they find that Mika is perfectly fine and only screamed because of the spiders in the bathroom. Mika uses the bathroom while Yukari expresses her desire to go home again, but at that moment Chisato and Yukari hear something. Mika immediately assumes it's the eyeless ghost and the three rush outside to check. They are approached by an older blind man with a dog. Mika demands to know what he's doing near the women's bathroom. He apologizes and says he was unaware it was the women's bathroom. Chisato tells Yukari that he is not a ghost. The old man apologizes and introduces himself as Sakai.
Chisato asks Sakai if he is familiar with the area, he tells her that he in fact is familiar with the area. Chisato starts to ask him about the Torii at the top of the hill, she tells him that they took a picture up there. Sakai immediately tells her she should not have done that and to burn the photo as soon as possible. This startles Yukari and Mika. Sakai warns the girls that it is dangerous at night and tells them to go home. After Sakai's departure, Mika complains about his attitude and refuses to burn the photo much to Yukari and Chisato's chagrin. Mika again refuses.
Some time later at school Mika finds Chisato and excitedly shows her the developed photo from the previous night. The photo now depicts Yukari and Mika with their heads misaligned from their bodies. Chisato asks if she showed the photo to anyone else but Mika says she hasn't. Chisato urges Mika to destroy the photo again and tells her not to show it to Yukari. Mika again refuses seeing it as a trophy. Chisato then takes the photo from Mika and destroys it. Irritated, Mika leaves to tell Yukari what happened. Mika demands that Yukari reprimand Chisato but instead asks about the photo's contents. Mika then proposes that the two of them visit Park I again that weekend to continue the investigation. Chisato protests but is overruled.
On Saturday the trio return to Park I. While exploring the park Mika's pager rings. She says it's some friends that are having fun at a club in Tokyo. Yukari finds it odd that Mika would rather be at the park than at the club. The three girl then head back towards the Torii gate. Chisato checks an older version of the park's map and notices that there used to be a shinto shrine behind the Torii, where the parking lot is now. Chisato wonders if the shrine was destroyed to make room for the parking lot. Mika says that they probably wanted more room for parking to attract more visitors but Chisato is upset by this notion.
Mika stops a phone booth to call her friend and lies to them about her whereabouts. The trio presses onward to Koube Bridge once more but this time they hear a voice. Chisato urges them to look straight ahead and not look at the water but Mika runs off to take another picture. Mika snaps a picture but quickly trips and drops her camera into the water. Yukari reprimands her and the three run at Chisato's behest. No matter how far they run however the bridge keeps extending endlessly. The voices however stop and the trio is able to make it across.
On the other side of the bridge Mika starts asking Chisato about the voices and what they were saying. Chisato points out the connection between the removed shrine and the photo Mika took the last time they were there. Mika expresses her fear that she is cursed and Yukari, now very afraid says she wants to go home. Chisato is sure that the removal of the shrine is what is causing everything. Yukari and Mika accompany Chisato to the Torii once again and upon their arrival hear a terrible bloodcurdling scream. Chisato says that the voices what them to see something and tells everybody to listen with courage. The girls climb the stairs to the Torii once more but find not a parking lot but a desolate scene out of time. Chisato claims that they are feeling and seeing the emotions and memories of people that died there, that this area was a former execution ground. The trio deduces that the voices are clamouring for the return of the shrine.
Another scream ripples through as Chisato orders everyone to run. As the girls get back to the base of the stairs Chisato notices a semi truck sliding down the hill towards them. The truck crashes as everybody jumps out of the way. Chisato falls into the lake and loses consciousness and receives a vision of numerous spirits demanding the shrine back. When she wakes up Sakai is there and urges her to rest a bit longer. She asks about Mika and Yukari but Sakai tells her they are alright and went to call the police. Sakai tells her that there are many angry spirits residing in the lake that resented the destruction of the shrine. He claims that the lack of a moon that night is why the spirits were as active as they were. Sakai continues and tells her that 400 years prior the site of the shrine was an execution ground for criminals. He then corrects himself and says that defeated soldiers and common folk that opposed those in power were only labeled as such. Men, women and children were all executed atop the hill, their heads rolled down the stairs and into the lake filled with resentment. This happened so many times that skulls littered the bottom of the lake. The stench from the heads was so bad the government made the lake deeper to compensate, but everything in the surrounding area began to rot and die. With so many bad things happening in the area the lord of the area erected the Torii and the shrine atop the former execution ground.
Sakai finishes by saying that the spirits were calmed until the removal of the shrine and that people should avoid this place no matter what, but follows it up by saying that only eccentrics like himself tended to be there anyway. Chisato wonders what they can do but Sakai tells her that it isn't her job to figure that out and that others are coming up with a solution. Chisato thanks Sakai and he wishes her a good night. Chisato promises to come see him the following night to properly thank him. Chisato reunites with Mika and Yukari and the three depart.
The following day there was a newspaper article detailing the events of the previous night, the truck malfunctioned because of a gearbox issue. Chisato goes to visit Sakai at his home and asks one of his neighbors for directions. The neighbor tells her that Sakai died the previous night of an illness and that it was the day of his funeral. One month later the shrine was rebuilt atop the hill in the center of the parking lot and the paranormal activity at the park ceased.
