She had actually come from Tokyo to drive a taxi in the countryside, and now she had picked him up again. What a coincidence?
"You drove me back in Tokyo before, and now you're giving me a ride again. That's really too much of a coincidence," Hikari said with a smile.
The female driver also smiled. "It really is quite a coincidence."
Hikari added with a bit of admiration, "And your memory is way too good. You still remember it so clearly."
"Haha, it's nothing!" she said, waving her hand with a laugh.
"And also, your back is really tall. You must be quite tall, right?", Hikari said.
"Hey, if you say it like that I'll get embarrassed!", the female driver said shyly, "But it's true. Because of my height, I'm actually pretty famous in my hometown village. Not in a good way though. It's quite a headache."
"Haha!", Hikari chuckled.
"Alright, enough idle talk. Handsome Tokyo Boy who I have fate with, where are you heading?", The mature female driver shifted gears and stepped on the gas as she asked.
"To Shubei Town. I want to catch a ride from there back to Tokyo," Hikari said.
"Okay. But you're going back to Tokyo today already?", The pretty driver tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and started the car, smiling as she asked.
"Yeah," Hikari nodded.
"You came back to the countryside this time to see someone, right? Have you said goodbye to them all?", she asked casually, like those drivers who enjoy chatting with passengers.
Hikari nodded, "Yeah. I've seen them all and said my goodbyes."
"That's good then," She smiled and nodded too.
After that, she didn't say anything more, and neither did Hikari.
He leaned back against the seat and relaxed while playing on his phone.
The beautiful mature driver continued driving, occasionally glancing at the rearview mirror above, who knew whether she was checking traffic behind or observing this rare Handsome Tokyo Boy.
After driving for dozens of minutes, the two remained silent.
The tall driver seemed to find the atmosphere a bit dull and suddenly said, "It'll still take quite a while to reach the destination. There's so much road left. It feels boring. How about we chat and find some fun?"
Hearing her speak, Hikari put down his phone and looked up, "What would you like to talk about?"
She turned her head and looked at his clean and handsome young face, then suddenly smiled, "How about… we tell some ghost stories? Just to pass the time."
Seeing her staring at him, Hikari smiled, "Ghost stories? Sure. I quite like listening to ghost stories too."
"You go first. Don't you boys love telling ghost stories to scare girls? Tell one first and see if you can scare your Onee-san," she said with a smile.
"You were the one who suggested ghost stories, and now you want me to start?", Hikari shook his head with a laugh.
"But alright. I'll start."
Without much hesitation, he thought of the strange twisted "Yamanoke" he had encountered in Ino Village a few days ago.
He began slowly, "Once there was a couple driving through the countryside on a road trip. By the way… it seems like they were driving on this very road we're on now."
"On the way, they encountered a monster whose body was twisted like a knot."
"After a struggle, they barely managed to escape."
"But in the end, the girl had already been violated and possessed by the creature called Yamanoke. After they escaped back to the city, the boy gradually began to notice something wrong with his girlfriend."
As he spoke, the mature driver raised a hand to cover her mouth, as if frightened.
"Wow, that's such a scary story!"
"Especially that Yamanoke thing. You described it so vividly, like you've really seen it before. That's terrifying!"
Seeing her reaction, Hikari smiled.
After looking shocked for a moment, she smiled again and said, "Alright, my turn now."
"I'll tell you a story called Hachishaku-sama."
Hearing that, Hikari immediately smiled, "Hachishaku-sama? I've heard that one too. I'm quite interested in urban legends."
She shook her head and smiled, "Don't rush. Listen to me first. The version I'm telling is brand new. A version you've never heard before."
"Don't interrupt. Let Onee-san tell you."
"Once upon a time, there was a ch!ld. Let's call him L-kun."
"It was a hot summer. Because of work matters, L-kun's family took him back to his grandfather's old countryside home."
"After returning to the long-lost countryside, the lively and energetic L-kun went alone into the yard to catch crickets."
"He was very serious about catching bugs, thinking that if he caught the strongest one, he could win in cricket fights against the local kids."
"But just as L-kun caught a strong cricket and was about to put it into the cage, something strange happened…"
"Pop!"
"…"
"A strange sound suddenly broke the summer silence. Then that strange sound rang out again and again!"
"Pop!"
"Pop!"
"Pop!"
"At first it sounded like autumn cicadas, but if you listened carefully, it was more like a baby's cry."
"L-kun was drawn by the sound and slowly looked up."
"And then he saw an unforgettable scene, a towering female figure standing outside the fence."
"She wore a straw hat and a white dress. Her figure was graceful, her aura mysterious. Yet she was unbelievably tall, much taller than the fence that already stood taller than an adult man."
"L-kun was terrified and ran back into the house. Because of the backlight, he couldn't clearly see her face, but her bright eyes left a deep impression on him."
"At night, before sleeping, L-kun tightly shut all doors and windows. But just as he was about to fall asleep, a figure suddenly appeared in the room."
"'Don't look! Don't look!', L-kun closed his eyes tightly and repeated to himself. But the woman suddenly appeared and reached out to hold him in her arms."
"That embrace was unusually warm… Her full and soft chest made L-kun feel as if he had returned to his mother's arms…"
"'Good evening. Don't you want to look at my face?', the tall yet motherly woman whispered softly, holding L-kun tightly."
"L-kun slowly opened his eyes and saw a beautiful woman wearing a straw hat, with long hair reaching her waist, dressed in a white dress, hugging him tightly."
"'You grew up without parents, didn't you?' the tall woman asked with a smile. L-kun did not answer."
"She lowered her head, kissed his head, and held him tightly against her broad chest, giving him immense warmth."
"That night, L-kun felt unprecedented warmth and tenderness, as if his mother had always been holding him."
At this point, the mature driver suddenly paused for a long time.
Seeing her fall silent, Hikari smiled and said, "Go on. Why did you stop? This story doesn't seem very scary."
She looked up at him and smiled, "I'll pause here for suspense. I'll tell the rest later. The scary part is at the back. Now it's your turn, handsome guy."
Seeing her teasing expression, Hikari shook his head with a smile.
"Alright then. I'll tell one called 'The Doll's Story'."
Because he had encountered things like Yukino Mifuyu, the snow woman, and Hanako in the toilet, he had learned many stories about monsters and spirits before, so he could casually tell many.
After he finished one, she quickly followed with another.
"Since you mentioned dolls, I'll tell you one called 'The Twisting Top'."
"Then I'll tell you 'The Cow's Head'."
"Have you heard of 'Twist and Turn'."
"I'll tell you 'Monkey Dream'."
Hikari had a large reserve of stories, so he could speak casually.
But unexpectedly, she also had quite a stock. Each time he finished, she smoothly continued with another.
After five or six in a row, she seemed to run out.
Feeling the atmosphere was lively enough, she smiled, "Alright, I have to admit you really know your ghost stories. Then I'll continue the earlier story about Hachishaku-sama."
"Okay," Hikari looked at her smiling face and nodded.
"That night, the woman called Hachishaku-sama felt warmth for the first time. She learned for the first time what it meant to 'like' someone."
"She believed that the L-kun she showered with motherly love felt the same."
"She even made a promise with him that they would always be together, and she would give him the gentlest motherly love."
"But what Hachishaku-sama didn't expect was that after she let the parentless L-kun feel motherly love, he fled back to the city in panic and didn't return for many years."
"She couldn't understand. She couldn't believe that L-kun would abandon her."
"Alone again, she felt extremely lonely. She wanted to find him, but she was sealed in the village and couldn't travel far."
"Yet because of her intense longing, she couldn't endure it. She endured pain and torment and, day after day for ten years, struck at the seal."
"Finally, when her will was almost broken, she shattered the seal."
"But what she never expected was that when she finally found L-kun, now grown up, that handsome boy had completely forgotten her."
"She couldn't believe it. Heartbroken and desperate, she returned to the sealed place and hid, crying for a very long time."
"Until the boy finally returned to the countryside again. She appeared before L-kun once more with hope, wishing the boy from back then would recognize her."
"But even after returning to the old place, L-kun had no intention of greeting her or reminiscing."
"It was as if he had completely forgotten her existence."
"She had thought about him for ten whole years and even broke the seal for him!"
"Hachishaku-sama became furious and decided to take revenge on that utterly heartless L-kun!"
"Tell me, isn't that boy too much!"
As the excited words fell, the driver suddenly turned her body, tilting her head. Her long hair hung down, and her eyes were like black holes staring straight at Hikari.
Her mouth opened wide, making the terrifying sound, "Pop! Pop! Pop!"
But facing this horrifying scene, Hikari shook his head and suddenly laughed.
"Come on, Onee-san, don't do that. I'm timid. I'll get scared."
Though he said that, his face remained calm.
Seeing his unexpected calmness, Hachishaku-sama frowned slightly but maintained the terrifying tilted pose and pressed, "Answer me! Was that boy too much to treat Hachishaku-sama like that?"
Hikari smiled, "I don't think so."
"Huh?", She looked stunned, even forgetting to make the "pop pop pop" sound.
"Let me put it this way. In human society, there's something called protection for minors. During ch!ldhood, humans don't even have independent thinking ability."
"So no one would take a promise made with a human ch!ld seriously. What you did is basically no different from a crime. It's already generous that no one reported you. And you still want revenge."
Looking at the stunned driver, or rather Hachishaku-sama, Hikari remained calm.
From beginning to end, he had never been afraid.
Even before getting into the car, he had already guessed her true identity.
The giant footprints he had seen behind Ino Shrine during the courage test, the powerful strange aura that often lingered around him, plus the two overly coincidental encounters, and her unusually tall female body.
Though his ch!ldhood memory of Hachishaku-sama had long been buried and only vaguely resurfaced after she mentioned it, combining all these factors, he had already guessed who she was. So he wasn't surprised or afraid.
After hearing his words, Hachishaku-sama froze for a moment before coming back to her senses.
She stared at him coldly and said angrily, "So, Hikari-kun, you feel no guilt at all for abandoning me for ten years?"
"Mm," Hikari nodded without changing expression, "After all, I was just a ch!ld back then."
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