Writing Love Letters in the Enemy’s Toilet - A Vow of Eternal Love, Even After Rebirth (Transmigration) - Chapter 6

The next day, worried about how her father had been acting before their trip, Haruka went to the police to ask for help. She showed them the business card she had received at the hospital and said, “My name is Mitsutomo. I’d like to speak with Mr. Tanaka, please.”

She was taken to a reception room and waited for a while. Then, a man different from Tanaka came in and said, “I’ll be speaking with you instead of Tanaka.”

When Haruka said, “Now that I think about it, my father was acting differently from usual the day before it happened…,” the man interrupted her and replied, “If it’s about that case, we investigated it. There were no work problems, no debts, or any money issues, so it was treated as an accident.”

“But, still…” Haruka started to say, confused. However, the man stood up quickly and said, “The case has already been closed as an accident. Please leave now.”

Haruka tried to argue, saying, “Please investigate properly!” But the man refused to listen and turned her away at the door. “What is going on!” she muttered in frustration, but with no other choice, Haruka left the Totsuka Sakagami Police Station.

Haruka’s eyes grew moist as she said, “My mother didn’t even realize that my father might have been troubled about something. When she drove him to the station, they were still arguing, and they parted on bad terms. She’s regretted it ever since… and has been depressed since then.”

Hearing her story, Osada said softly, “That must be really hard…” Kuno added, “I hope your father wakes up soon.”

Haruka nodded. “But meeting the two of you gave me a little hope about my father. Do either of you know him? His name is Hideaki Mitsutomo. Does that sound familiar?”

Osada tilted his head. “Hmm… can’t think of anyone by that name. What about you, Kuno?”
“I don’t think I’ve heard that name…” Kuno began, but his voice trailed off.

“I see…” Haruka looked disappointed, but unwilling to give up, she took a small notebook from her bag.
“This is him, on the right,” she said, showing them a photo tucked inside.

Osada took the picture, looked at it carefully, then handed it over. “No, still doesn’t ring a bell,” he said, passing it to Kuno.

But the moment Kuno looked at the photo, everything around him was swallowed by darkness.
Osada’s voice began to fade away.

When Kuno came to, he found himself standing in the middle of a bamboo grove. It seemed he had wandered deep into some mountain. The wind rustled the bamboo leaves—kasa kasa kasa— and if he listened closely, he could hear the faint sound of a bell carried on the wind.

He started walking toward the sound. Before long, he came across a wooden sign that read:
PRIVATE PROPERTY – NO TRESPASSING!

Maybe people sneak in here to dig up bamboo shoots, he thought, and kept walking toward the sound of the bell.

The closer he got, the clearer another sound became— a voice chanting sutra, like a monk reciting prayers. Yet, no matter how he looked around, there was no one in sight.

“That’s strange… I swear the voice is coming from around here…” As Kuno glanced around, his foot caught on something.

He looked down and saw a piece of bamboo sticking out of the ground. Was this where someone cut bamboo? Maybe they’re using it for something… if so, someone should be nearby, he thought.

But as he listened, he realized something odd. Wait… the voice… it’s coming from the bamboo?

He leaned in close and pressed his ear against it— sure enough, the chanting was coming from inside the bamboo. No doubt about it!

Looking closer, he realized it wasn’t a cut stalk, but a hollow bamboo tube.

He pressed his lips to the opening and called out, “Hello? Is anyone there?” There was no answer—only the steady sound of chanting.

There’s definitely someone down there! He started digging around the bamboo with his hands.

But no matter how much he dug, his hands alone weren’t enough. Wait a second…
He remembered the wooden sign he’d seen earlier and hurried back.

Yanking it out of the ground, he returned and used it as a shovel, digging around the bamboo again.

After a while, the board struck something hard—clack! He brushed away the dirt with his hands and uncovered a large stone. The bamboo tube seemed to run into the gap beneath it.

Now, the voice was louder—clearer.

There’s no way I can move this stone alone… he thought, glancing around for help—but there was no one.

Guess I’ll have to dig around it instead. He began to dig sideways along the edge of the stone, and suddenly, the stone ended.

He dug deeper from that spot— then, with a crumble of soil, the wall collapsed, revealing a small dark hollow beneath the stone.

Now, the chanting was perfectly clear.

He peered into the darkness, but couldn’t see anything. So, he called out, “Is anyone there?”

“Who’s there!?” a voice shouted back.

“My name is Kuno!” he replied quickly. “I think I’ve gotten lost in this bamboo forest…”

“I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I’ll help you out of there!”

He widened the hole, and light streamed in, revealing a faint silhouette of a man inside.

“Come on, take my hand!” Kuno said, reaching out.

“Don’t interfere!” the man shouted, swatting his hand away.

“What are you saying? You can’t stay here! Let’s get you out!” But the man grabbed Kuno’s arm and said firmly, “I cannot leave. I am becoming a sokushinbutsu.”

“Sokushinbutsu…?” Kuno muttered. He remembered seeing something about that in a TV crime drama.

Now that the man was closer, Kuno could see his face more clearly.
This face… I’ve seen it somewhere before…

Then it hit him. “Mr. Mitsutomo… you’re Hideaki Mitsutomo, aren’t you!?”

The man’s grip tightened painfully.

“Ow!” Kuno cried out.

The man loosened his hand slightly and stared at him. “Who are you? How do you know my name?”

Kuno’s thoughts spun. Wait… just before this, I was at Café Original with Osada and Haruka… Right! Osada handed me a photo of Haruka and her parents… and then… Beyond that, his memory was blank.

“I’m not anyone suspicious,” Kuno said. “I recently met your daughter… Please, could you let go of my arm?”

“Oh… I’m sorry,” Mitsutomo murmured, releasing him. “Tell me… how are my wife and daughter doing?”

Kuno told him everything Haruka had said at the café—about the gas leak accident, how Mitsutomo had been unconscious ever since, and how his wife had fallen into depression.

Mitsutomo listened silently, then finally whispered, “I’ve caused them so much pain…” Tears rolled down his cheeks.

“So… I failed to die after all…” he said softly.

“So it was a suicide,” Kuno said. “Why would you do that…?”

“You’re better off not knowing,” Mitsutomo replied.

“In any case, let’s talk about this after we get you out of here!” Kuno reached out again.

This time, Mitsutomo grasped his hand silently.

The moment Kuno pulled him up, a pale blue light wrapped around them both.

“Re… mem… ber…” A faint voice echoed from somewhere far away.

“Remember…?” Kuno thought, his mind fading into darkness.

Yeah… I feel like I’m forgetting something important…