The Third Rumor: The Last Train
The Third Rumor: Last Train is the fourth chapter of Twilight Syndrome: Search. This chapter follows Mika Kishii, Yukari Hasegawa and Chisato Itsushima's investigation into the rumors surrounding Murayamadai Train Station.
Summary
Some time after Mayumi Fujita's suicide; Yukari Hasegawa meets with Kazuya Kitamura in the hallway. Yukari asks Kazuya to meet her by the gate after school as the two of them have not seen each other recently. Kitamura gets agitated and reminds her that Mayumi Fujita is still on everybody's mind and the two should not be seen together. Yukari sarcastically calls him sensitive and calls him out for hitting on her in the first place. He agrees to call her later that night. Yukari tries to flirt with him but he quickly removes himself leading Yukari to call him a jerk.
Yukari arrives home that night and goes to her room, locking the door behind her. Yukari's mother knocks on her door and asks to talk with her. Yukari attempts to have the conversation through the door, but her mother finds it difficult to say what she wants to say. Yukari tells her to leave and that she needs to study, but her mother reveals she found a large sum of money (10,000 yen) in Yukari's school bag. Yukari lies that worked a part time job over the spring but her mother is not satisfied with the answer. Yukari's mother once again insists on having a face to face conversation fearing the worst, Yukari however is more angry about her mother going through her belongings. Yukari accuses her mother of not trusting her and her mother walks off. Yukari proceeds to eavesdrop on her mother while she makes a phone call. Yukari's mother calls Yukari's father and accuses him of no longer caring about his daughter after their divorce. She begs him to talk to Yukari but he doesn't seem to want to.
After her mother hangs up the phone Yukari calls Chisato, but her Chisato's mother answers the phone instead. She tells Yukari that Chisato isn't home yet. She then calls Kitamura, but it goes straight to voicemail. Yukari leaves a message reprimanding him for not calling and then hangs up. Finally Yukari calls Mika. Mika answers and is shocked that Yukari called her. Yukari asks her if she heard any interesting rumors and Mika says she'll tell her about them in person.
Later that night, Yukari meets up with Chisato and Mika at a small restaurant. The girls order food and Chisato asks Yukari about Kitamura. Yukari explains her frustrations with him and her mother. She then explains that she is embarrassed by her father as he pretends to call about Yukari only as an excuse to talk to her mother as he still harbours feelings for her. Chisato expresses her sympathy and assures Yukari that she is there for her. Mika then begins to tell the others about the mysteries surrounding Murayamadai Train Station. As the girls eat she continues on that numerous people have died there, most recently a man jumped in front of the train only to gruesomely be torn apart by the wheels. Yukari chides Mika for sharing such graphic details while they are eating, to which Mika apologizes. Mika explains that it is a local hotspot of paranormal activity. Yukari assumes that Mika wants to explore the station to which Mika corrects her and reveals she wants to take photos of the spirits to send to paranormal magazines. Yukari tells Mika that if she keeps up this kind of lifestyle she is going to die one day. Mika rebuffs her and confidently declares that her luck will keep her safe. Chisato reminds Mika of the first time they encountered ghosts and how dangerous it was. Mika decides to go on her own but the other two tag along to keep an eye on her.
On their way to the station Mika recalls a particularly horrific incident at Murayamadai where a child fell onto the tracks and was struck in front of her mother. Yukari expresses anger towards the mother for not doing anything to prevent it but Mika tells her she doesn't have any more information. Yukari begins to wonder why ghosts would be attracted to a train station which inspires Mika to call Aramata; a local paranormal writer and ask him. Yukari voices her apprehension but Mika ignores it promptly hopping into a nearby phone booth and calling him. Entertained by Mika's enthusiasm he helps her through her question. He explains that ghosts usually appear in extremely private places such as haunted houses for deeply personal reasons. He continues to explain that rumors of ghosts in public places such as parks, schools and even train stations are the result of urbanization. It's a result of a new kind of fear or strangers or outsiders existing not around places but within places. A sort of fear of strangers separated from the actual strangers surrounding people everyday. Mika concludes her call feeling somewhat confused and rejoins with the others. Yukari wonders how Mika became acquaintances with Aramata but Mika coyly tells her that it's a secret.
The trio arrive at Murayamadai station but the staff is still present despite the fact that the last train already departed. Unwilling to wait Yukari opts to climb the fence to get to the platform.
