Midnight Chase of Ghost Nurse

Kurosawa Cannele

Part 1: Where On Earth Did He Disappear To? From This Closed Toilet?”

Now, run. Run.

Are you scared? Are you afraid?

“Waaait for me~!”

Howling from the depths of my throat, I continued to pursue “that person”.

It’s midnight at school right now.

Of course, there are no lights on. In the darkness, a man runs frantically down the hallway.

“Yihihihi,” I cried out as I pushed the stretcher.

He must be terrified of me.

Normally, something like “me” shouldn’t exist at all.

A long-haired nurse dressed in a pure white uniform.

It’s the infamous “Ghost Nurse”.

This is a very scary ghost story.

A man who has forgotten something at school sneaks into the school building after school hours. It’s night time, so the hallways are dark and he can’t see where he’s going.

Up ahead, he encounters “something unbelievable”.

A rustling sound, as if something is being pushed.

What appeared was a “nurse”.

Someone who shouldn’t normally be in a school. Wearing a pure white nurse’s uniform, she was pushing a stretcher with both hands.

“Fooooound yooou~”

When the “nurse” he encounters makes eye contact with him, she shows a terrifying expression.

Let’s shake it off somehow. Let’s hide somehow. With these thoughts in mind, the man ran desperately.

Then, he jumped into the “restroom” at the end of the corridor.

To the very last stall. He closes the door and desperately holds his breath.

Immediately afterwards, there is a bang.

“Where are you~?” the nurse asked persistently.

The sound of footsteps drew closer.

“Not in heeere~”

The first stall is opened.

“Not heeere either~”

A second stall was also opened.

There are three stalls in the toilet.

It’s no use, the man realizes.

But he can’t hear the nurse’s voice. Why doesn’t she open the door?

The man felt relieved, thinking that at least he was saved.

Then, he suddenly looked straight up.

A nurse was peering at the man from above the door.

“Found yooou~”

This is truly the most terrifying ghost story.

The Ghost Nurse. That’s me now. Pushing a stretcher, a platform for transporting patients, I relentlessly pursue people.

Today again, some foolish prey appeared.

“Yihihihi,” I laugh from the back of my throat and continue to follow the man’s back.

About five meters away, a man in a pure white jacket runs down the hallway.

Immediately to the right is a staircase that leads down. He passes by it and runs further in.

Then he walked through the door.

Into the men’s restroom.

Poor thing. That’s where you choose.

So, I have to live up to your expectations.

Still pushing the stretcher, I head for the door to the men’s restroom where the man had gone.

It’s a bit of a hassle to get in. I put the stretcher aside and pulled the door open outward as forcefully as possible, trying to make as much noise as possible.

The stretcher is covered with a pure white cloth, with some cotton or something underneath to make it look like they’re carrying a human corpse.

Now, this is where the real action begins.

There are three stalls in the men’s restroom.

There was a sound of water from inside. The sound of the toilet flushing echoes from the three stalls.

I opened the door all the way and pushed the stretcher into the men’s restroom.

Now, where was he hiding?

“Not in heeere~”

I open the first door and see that there’s nothing inside.

The toilet is really noisy. I can still hear the water gurgling.

“Not heeere either~”

I open the second door and see that he is not hiding there either.

Hehehe, I almost burst out laughing.

There is only one stall left. I bet he is trembling with fear that the door might be opened.

Okay. I’ll give you a good scare.

Trying to make as little noise as possible, I quietly enter the next stall.

My back hurts. I have to use a stretcher to support myself, or it puts a lot of strain on my back.

I lowered the toilet seat lid and put my feet on the edge.

Then, slowly, I placed my hand on the edge of the stall.

Now, let’s take a peek.

With that in mind, I turned my head into the stall.

“Huh?” a voice came out immediately afterwards.

I couldn’t believe the sight before me, and my eyes widened in shock.

“He’s… gone?”

That’s strange. What does this mean?

In the middle of the night, I found an intruder in the school building. Following the ghost story, I chased after the man as he ran away.

The man runs into the restroom, and I corner him.

“So far, so good, right?”

I look around the men’s restroom.

There is only one entrance door, where the stretcher is placed, and currently, it is not possible to freely enter or exit.

“There are three stalls, right? But he’s not any of them?”

I open the doors one by one.

But the man was nowhere to be seen, and he wasn’t hiding behind the door.

“All that’s left is the window, though.”

I approach the glass window at the back. It is locked with a crescent lock, and there is no sign of it having been opened.

I am currently on the third floor. I don’t think he can get out from there in the first place.

“What do you mean?”

Unable to understand, I looked around the men’s toilet again.

My back hurts. I look towards the nearby urinal, but there is no space large enough for someone to hide.

“Eh? What do you mean?”

All the sounds around me disappeared. The loud squeal of the toilet flushing also stopped, and only my footsteps echoed throughout the restroom.

“Where the hell did that guy disappear?”

There is only one entrance. There is nowhere to hide. There is no sign that the window has been opened.

“In other words, this toilet was a ‘closed room.'”

Suddenly, a man disappeared.

“For now, let’s turn on the lights.”

The dark is not good. I press the switch on the side of the door to turn on the fluorescent lights on the ceiling.

“As I thought, he’s not here.”

I put my hands on the wall and looked around the space.

Naturally, wrinkles began to form between my eyebrows.

I don’t understand.

Gradually, sweat began to form down my spine.

“No way, unless it’s a ghost.”

It should be impossible to escape unless you can slip through a wall.

Once again, I carefully examined all three of the stalls. I also opened the cleaning supplies closet next to them, but found only a mop and a bucket inside.

“N, no way.”

I pull in the stretcher and close the toilet door.

“Hmm?” I dropped my eyes and looked at the floor near the entrance.

A jacket was on the floor. It was the white one that the man had been wearing.

“I knew it, I wasn’t mistaken, right?”

I definitely followed the man and saw him go into this restroom.

But for some reason, the man disappeared, leaving only his jacket behind.

“What do you mean?”

I don’t understand. I don’t understand. I don’t understand.

Shaking my head, I close my eyes for a moment.

Not yet. Don’t give up just yet.

Surely there must be some kind of trick.

“Okay, if that’s what you’re up to.”

I have pride, too. I won’t let humans look down on me.

“Hide and seek”. Yes, this is that kind of thing.

If so, that’s my specialty.

“Now, where could he be hiding?”

I deliberately make noise and open and close the door of the stalls again.

This incites fear. If there is a startle, I hear it right away.

“A quiet one.”

I wonder if that guy has a lot of guts. If a mouse were hiding there, making a noise would scare it out.

“Well, I guess there’s no other way.”

I can’t afford to waste too much time.

It’s sudden, but I’ll use my “secret trick”.

“Ready or nooot~?”

A grin forms on my lips.

This is the ultimate “hide and seek” winning strategy.

By using this technique, I was always undefeated in the village.

“Ready or noooooot~?”

This is how I call out over and over again.

Normally, you’d hear ‘Not yeeet!’ or ‘Come find me!’ in return.

All you have to do is listen carefully. By doing so, you can pinpoint the hiding place and easily find it.

I put my hand to my right ear and concentrate on hearing any noises.

But there was no response.

“Ready or nooot~?”

Again, in a gentle voice.

Silence.

“Dammit!”

In frustration, I kicked the door of the stall.

“Ku,” a voice comes out in reaction. I overexerted myself and put a strain on my lower back.

What the hell is this?

I said, “Ready or not~?” but he ignored me. And he continued to hide somewhere.

I wonder what kind of nerve he has.

Really, what’s going on?

Close your eyes. Take a deep breath.

However, I immediately regretted it, as my whole body was filled with the smell of the toilet.

Slowly, the heat builds up in my head.

What should I do? Should I go home now? Should I give up looking for him and just leave this restroom?

But it’s also kind of unsettling. The person who was supposed to be there has disappeared. If I can’t understand what’s happened, I’ll be left feeling uneasy for the rest of my life.

“Okay,” I say aloud.

All I can do is come up with more tricks.

Foul play is foul play. If you do it poorly, it is a level of skill that is completely disliked.

“Come out, I’ve already found you-“

This is also a trick I invented a long time ago.

Even though I haven’t really found them, I say, “Hey, I’ve already found you,” and they’ll give up and come out on their own.

Well, how about that?

Wait for a few seconds.

Silence.

Tch,” I said, clicking my tongue loudly.

I can’t believe even this trick didn’t work.

But, if it’s a trump card, I have one more.

“Ah, I’m bored now, I think I’ll go home. Is there anyone here?”

What you should give is the fear of being left behind. Lost in the loneliness of continued hiding, the other person then comes out.

But again, there is no response.

“What is this, come on?”

Feeling annoyed, I went into the toilet stall.

I put my finger on the lever and let the water flow.

Come to think of it, right after I entered this toilet, I heard a lot of water running.

“Is there really a trick there?”

I went into the second, then the third stall, and turned on the water.

“Maybe there’s a hidden door?”

If you pour water in three places at the same time, a hidden door will appear, or something like that.

“No, there wasn’t.”

It was just a waste of water.

I’m sorry, people from the water department.

“I mean, what’s really going on?”

Just to be sure, I looked up at the ceiling.

Nothing. Nothing was hanging overhead.

I’m starting to get more and more scared.

Part 2: I Was a Gentleman Today

Needless to say, I’m not human.

As a “Ghost Nurse”, I travel from school to school, terrorizing any trespassers.

While pushing my trusty stretcher, I relentlessly hunt them down.

I’ve always been the scary one.

But this was the first time I had ever seen something like this.

“Was it a ghost or something?”

I gulped and took a deep breath.

I’ve had a “scary experience” once before.

This was at another school, and I was likewise wandering through the night.

Along the way, I heard a mysterious voice.

As I passed by the ladies’ restroom, I heard a voice coming from inside.

There definitely shouldn’t be anyone there.

“Do you like red? Do you like blue? Or do you like white?’

A chill ran down my spine.

There was something I couldn’t understand. I quickly ran away from the scene.

“Is something like that happening again?”

At this point, there’s no denying it.

I am terrified now.

Who the hell was he?

I caught a glimpse of him for just a second. He looked to be in his forties or fifties. He was a middle-aged man. His white jacket caught my eye, making him easy to spot even in the dark.

“Really, what kind of logic was that?”

Just to be sure, I also opened the toilet bowl.

Flush toilets. Unlike a pit toilet, a person cannot fall into it.

“Why did you run here in the first place?”

The layout of the school here. There is a staircase just before the toilets.

Since I was pushing a stretcher, I couldn’t chase him if he had escaped down the stairs. If he had gone down to the first floor, he could have escaped through the entrance, which would have been the most logical thing to do.

“He should know hiding in a toilet would trap him like a rat.”

But then he disappears.

“Hmm,” I say, walking over to the cleaning supplies closet.

I picked up the white jacket and wistfully stared at its surface.

“Why is this jacket the only thing left? Surely there’s a clue here.”

He must have used some trick, and this discarded jacket must have a trace of it.

“Hmm,” I keep nodding my head.

Just in case, I turned off the light in the restroom.

The same condition as when I first arrived. I examine the place again.

Then I opened my hand to the entrance door.

The door opens outward, towards the hallway.

At that moment, I exclaimed, “Oh!”

He got me.

Now I can see it clearly.

“This jacket is the only thing that I can see clearly even in the dark.”

Now that the lights were turned off, I could see the “facts” more clearly.

The white jacket he left behind. It’s the only color I can see clearly even in the dark.

“So, is this how he distracted me?”

I stepped out into the hallway and looked blankly from side to side.

In the darkness, I was constantly chasing the “white color”. All I could see was the jacket he was wearing.

“He got to this toilet and quickly took off his jacket.”

As I visualize the scene, I voice my theory.

“Then he threw the jacket into the men’s restroom.”

When I saw it, I was under the illusion that he had entered here.

The toilet door opens outwards. He tossed in his jacket to catch my eye and quickly got behind the door.

After that, it will surely be a race against time.

“Before the door to the men’s restroom closed, he ran into the women’s restroom next door.”

This must be the truth.

“Damn, what clever action.”

When I entered this restroom, I heard a lot of water flushing. I assumed it was coming from the toilet stall, but the sound of water going through the pipes reverberated through the building.

“Did he go into the women’s restroom and flush the toilet in the stall closest to the men’s restroom to draw my attention to the noise coming from that restroom?”

I gritted my teeth and said in frustration, “Damn it”.

This is the “vanishing trick” he used.

But it’s probably too late.

He has run away from the school by now.

Darn.

Pushing the stretcher slowly, I walked to my ‘lair’.

I felt terribly tired. Even pushing the stretcher felt more tiring than usual.

The arts and crafts room at the end of the third floor. That is my current hideout.

I went into the preparation room and stood in front of the large mirror. I put the stretcher aside and stared at myself in the mirror.

“Seriously,” I said.

A pure white nurse’s dress and the black hair that covered my face. I had a “ghost” image that would frighten anyone who saw it.

“I’m scary, right? Very well done, isn’t it?”

I stare at myself in the mirror and take a deep breath.

Immediately after, there was a “Pong” sound.

The creepy woman disappears, and my “original form” appears.

Brown fur and four legs. And lovely round eyes.

I am Tanumi.

A cute little raccoon girl.

(Listen, Tanumi. Humans are scary. Don’t ever go near them.)

“Big Brother” said, his body trembling violently.

Tanukichi, my big brother.

Tanukichi, the eldest of our five siblings, has always been fascinated by humans. He was also very skilled at the art of transformation, and often told us that he was going to “rise to the occasion” by transforming into a human.

I can’t believe he turned out like that.

(Humans are scary. Humans are scary. Humans are scary.)

Big brother Tanukichi seems to have had some very scary experiences. He lost confidence in everything and continued to live a reclusive life in the village.

What the hell did he go through?

“Unforgivable”, I thought angrily.

Rather than having questions, I began to hate humans.

I can’t believe that Big brother Tanukichi, who was kind, would be pushed into such a corner. Even when I cheated in “hide and seek”, Big brother interceded when my younger siblings criticized me.

So I decided to avenge him.

(Tanuta, Tanuro, Tanumaru. I’m going to go for a while.)

I told my siblings and headed for the human city.

I disguise myself as a “ghost” that appears in ghost stories and inflicts fear on humans.

I’m going to make them pay for the crime of scaring Big brother Tanukichi.

However, the question remains.

“What was ‘that guy’ trying to do in the end?”

We feel more comfortable on four legs. We raccoons have a different skeletal structure, so we have a hard time walking on two legs. So if I don’t push on a stretcher, I wouldn’t be able to keep my balance.

He managed to escape.

But this was far too clever. When you encounter an existence like “me”, your head would normally be filled with fear.

And yet, instead, he played me right into his hands.

“Who the hell was that?”

People who sneak into schools in the middle of the night. Most of the time, it’s for a “test of courage” or to “find something they forgot”. Other times it’s for “theft”.

What purpose did he have in entering this school?

It’s midnight now, not the time when most people would be at school.

I don’t know. I wonder where he is and what he’s doing now.

And just like that, I let out a big sigh.

Suddenly, I noticed the stretcher on the side.

A pure white cloth is draped over the top, making it look like a thick and raised surface.

It’s stuffed with cotton, and I’ve disguised it to look like it was carrying a person.

But something felt off.

“Hmm?” I stare at the cloth.

This contour. It’s kind of weird, like the real thing.

Now I have four legs, so my eye level is different from when I was a nurse.

That’s why I noticed it.

“Hi” sounds.

The surface of the fabric was moving up and down.

It’s as if something is “breathing”.

My head starts spinning, thinking, “No way”.

That’s what happened in the men’s restroom.

The sound of water running loudly. The white jacket that had been thrown away for some reason. And the man who had vanished from the locked room.

I was convinced that “he” had hidden in the ladies’ restroom.

But what if that assumption is wrong?

“That guy” was really in that men’s restroom.

He ran into the restroom while I chased him.

Then he crouched still by the wall.

If he had kept his white jacket on, he would have stood out in the dark. So he immediately took it off and left it on the floor.

I also brought the stretcher inside, so he could crouch down next to it and hide for a little while.

What happened after that?

If he ran into the toilet, he would surely hide in a stall. With that preconceived notion, I headed straight for the stalls.

All he had to do was exploit the gap.

The noise was loud. The sound of the toilet bowl flushing was so loud that I couldn’t hear anyone moving.

In the meantime, he hid himself in a certain place.

“In other words, right here, right now.”

I stared intently at one point, at the cloth, which was constantly moving up and down, as if someone was breathing.

I flinched, wondering what to do. My steps were unsteady, and my body bumped into the edge of the stretcher.

The white cloth peeled off with a bang from the recoil.

Beyond that, our “line of sight” clearly met.

“Oh, have you found me?”

Directly above the stretcher was a grinning face.

　◇◇◇

“Hey, hey, do you know that story? The actual story.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s amazing.”

I overhear some young high school girls sharing gossip.

“There was a rumor that there was a ghost in the school toilets at night. A story about a ‘Ghost Nurse’ that would chase after people, but it turned out to be a ‘raccoon’, right?”

“Hmm,” I nodded to myself.

After all, it seems to have had quite an impact on the public.

A ghost roams the school in the middle of the night. However, its true identity is a “raccoon”.

This story will surely be all the rage in society for a while.

And at the same time, there is proof.

The ghosts that appear in the middle of the night really existed.

In other words, “my” honor will be protected.

My name is Higashi Satsuma.

I am 54 years old. A teacher by profession. I am the vice principal at a certain girls’ high school.

Needless to say, I am a clergyman, but a few months ago, I suffered a certain disgrace.

“Do you like red? Do you like blue? Or do you like white?”

One day in the middle of the night, I snuck into the school.

I went straight to the ladies’ restroom, planning to plant a “gentleman’s device” I had secretly purchased.

“Hey, what are you doing there!”

But, as bad luck would have it, I was spotted by a guard.

What happened afterwards was, in a word, the worst.

“No, I saw a ghost. It chased me into the school building!”

I couldn’t think of a better excuse. Before I knew it, I was saying something like that.

“So I was chased by a ghost through the school and had no choice but to run into the girls’ restroom.”

I thought I had heard a ghost story like that, about someone being chased by a ghost and passing out in the restroom.

I claimed to be a victim of this, but the public’s eyes were cold.

I want to restore my honor somehow.

If only ghosts really existed.

If I could catch it, I could get my priesthood back.

“I never thought it was a raccoon.”

I found a ghost nurse and deliberately made it chase after me.

In order to keep an eye on the other person for as long as possible, I hid on a stretcher and tried to infiltrate its hideout.

“Maybe I did something a little pitiful.”

A raccoon that can understand human language. When I caught it, it cried endlessly, “Biig brootheer!”.

But now the goal has been achieved.

My words are true.

I had really encountered a ghost in the past.

In other words, I’m a hero.

And a gentleman.

“Do you like red? Do you like blue? Or do you like white?”

I can’t help but hum it. An eternal question unique to us, “gentlemen”.

As I walk up the stairs at the station, my eyes are drawn to the young high school girls.

I am a clergyman. From now on, I will be guiding healthy young people again.

And now, the angle of the body is changing.

Currently, I don’t have a “gentleman’s device” at hand.

But I have two proud eyeballs.

A little more, a little more.

I like red, I like blue, but I still like white.

And that was the moment we moved onto “low angle”.

“Excuse me, can I talk to you for a moment?”

When I turned around, a station employee was standing there with a smile on his face.

I was a “gentleman” again today.

(End)