Island of the Corpse-Eating Butterflies: Early March

Chikatora Yasu, a graduate student in cultural anthropology, had just submitted his research paper on the folk belief of the 'Shichinin Misaki' (Seven Misaki). Feeling lighthearted, he gathered his seminar colleagues to enjoy a drinking party. All that remained was to practice his speech for the research presentation scheduled for March 24th.

As they were making noise at the bar until around the time of the last train and the mood was shifting toward calling it a night, Yasu's smartphone rang.

What could it be at this hour? he thought, looking at the screen with a pleasant, still-tipsy feeling. He had intended not to answer if it was a withheld number, but his eyes widened at the unexpected caller. Instead of feeling happy or nostalgic, he answered the phone with a smile mixed with curiosity and a sense of novelty.

Hello?

After a brief silence, a hesitant, thin male voice replied.

Yasu...?

Yasu felt that a call from Masahiro Katano, whose name was displayed on his smartphone, was the most interesting thing to happen in a while.

Katano, it's been a while. What are you up to now?

The Hiroshima dialect he had grown up with slipped out unintentionally. Yasu was born in Tosa, but moved to Hiroshima with his parents. Since then, he had chosen to stay local through elementary, middle, high school, and university.

Static-like noise could be heard from the other side of the phone. It grew loud, then faded away. It was a rhythmic noise. Since it was faint enough not to hinder the conversation, he continued talking.

He couldn't hide his curiosity. Because of the alcohol, any sense of restraint had completely vanished.

You suddenly quit the graduate program a year ago, so I was surprised. You didn't say a word, that's cold of you. What happened?

Katano began to speak haltingly in response to Yasu's words, but the content was something that tickled Yasu's curiosity in a different way.

More importantly, why don't you come visit Shijiki Island sometime? Did I ever tell you about the rare butterflies on the island where I live?

Now that you mention it, you did say something like that. You're not talking about some common butterfly you can find anywhere, are you? You know my dream, right? To name a new species after myself. And then become famous.

I know. We always talked about it, didn't we? But I never really went into detail...

Yasu felt a little irritated by Katano's reluctance to share information about the butterflies and urged him on.

Hey, what kind of butterfly is it?

It's called the Shijiki butterfly. It only inhabits Shijiki Island. It's a carnivorous butterfly.

A Shijiki butterfly? Hasn't someone already given it a Japanese name? Besides, there are other carnivorous butterflies like the rice-a-tat (Goi-shi-shijimi). Are you sure you aren't mistaking it for that?

There is already a butterfly called the paddyfield, which eats aphids when it is a larva. As an adult, it sucks the secretions of aphids.

"The islanders have called it the 'Shijiki-cho' since long ago. Many scholars have come here, but they all gave up because they couldn't catch the butterfly. This butterfly eats corpses even as an adult, so it's also called the corpse-eating butterfly."

"Adults eat corpses too? Do they suck the juices from animal carcasses? There are already butterflies that feed on the putrid juices of animals."

"Not animals. Human carrion."

"Humans? You're not trying to pull my leg, are you?"

Yasu questioned him with half-belief, but Katano remained stubborn.

"I'm not mistaken. The Shijiki-cho is the only butterfly that is blood-red and swarms on corpses."

There are two types of lycaenid butterflies with red wings. The Japanese hairstreak and the small copper also have red wings, but they are closer to orange or slightly brownish. He had never heard of a bright red paddyfield butterfly.

This could be a new species of butterfly...

Yasu felt an excitement that made his blood boil and press against his chest. However, he didn't want Katano to realize that over the phone. He steadied his breathing before answering.

"Well, if you're going to go that far, I suppose I could go. But it's pointless if they only swarm on corpses; it's not like you find corpses that often."

If it were the old Katano, he would have been happy even if Yasu had replied with such an arrogant attitude, but the man on the other end of the line was strangely quiet.

"Actually, there is a strange ritual on March 22nd, and a drowned body always appears the next day. Many people have seen the butterflies swarming on those drowned bodies. Everyone on the island knows about it."

"What kind of strange ritual?"

"There is a day when a vengeful spirit called Misaki-sama wanders the island... the Wadatsu settlement. The Shijiki-cho swarm on the people who were dragged into the sea and killed by that vengeful spirit. If I recall, Yasu, you were researching a yokai called the Seven Misaki. Misaki-sama has a similar legend. I don't think you'll regret coming."

He had already finished and submitted his research paper, but he was still interested and wanted to investigate this mysterious yokai a little more. Besides, the name Misaki-sama itself made him feel that it was definitely related to the Seven Misaki.

If he could gather information about Misaki-sama while catching the Shijiki-cho, it would be a good harvest for his future research.

He was already inclined to go, and though he felt he had been skillfully manipulated by Katano, he now had a reason to go. Misaki-sama was one thing, but above all, it was the Shijiki-cho, a butterfly untouched by the hands of scholars. If he could find it and bring it back alive, his dream of discovering a new species and naming it after himself would come true.

"If you're coming, please make sure to arrive before the 22nd. I'll welcome you."

The phone went dead as soon as he finished speaking. Yasu was surprised, as he had expected him to ramble on as if he were reluctant to hang up.

That aside, what Katano had said was more than enough to excite Yasu. Opening his planner and checking his schedule before the 22nd, he found that, luckily, he was free from the 19th to the 23rd. It felt as if it were fate that he was meant to go to Shishiki Island on these days.

A good omen. The expectation that everything might go well rose up to his throat.

He felt no small amount of satisfaction that Katano, who had suddenly vanished a year ago and dropped out of graduate school without anyone noticing, had reached out like this, unable to forget Yasu after all.

***

It was a darkness through which one could walk if they felt their way. The pale moonlight illuminated the room from the veranda, and the tatami room, with its deep indigo hues, emerged from the darkness of the night.

In the center of that room was the darkly shadowed figure of Katano. Even though the moonlight poured down fully upon the faint young man, the light seemed to be absorbed as it hit his body, as if it had been crafted by kneading the darkness of the night. His fragile, delicate form was like a shadow.

Katano's face was turned toward the back of the room, where the darkness was like spilled ink. One could feel the breathing of something lurking within that deep, thick darkness. It was like a black pulsation. It was quiet, cold, recumbent, and closer to a more primordial darkness.

Katano whispered toward something that should no longer exist.

"Yasu is coming to this island..."

Though his mouth was faintly smiling, his eyes were like pitch-black jewels devoid of light. He stared into the darkness and repeated the words over and over. It was as if he were savoring how long he had waited for this moment.

In the corner of the room, outside of Katano's line of sight, was the pale, woman-shaped figure formed by the moonlight. Only her face was slightly hidden in the shadows of the darkness, making it invisible. She was sitting quietly in a formal kneeling position, holding a baby to her chest. That woman, too, was nodding, her head moving slightly up and down.

Both Katano and the woman were melting into the darkness, yet they both looked somewhat satisfied.

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