Swimming {Open}

[Tomoko Hashimoto]

Tomoko would have liked the river more if there hadn't been a dead lady refusing to leave it.

Tomoko had spent the last four minutes cajoling, wheedling, and otherwise begging the ghost to leave, but she stayed under the surface, looking up at the exorcist with bored, wary eyes. Tomoko didn't go in the water, mostly because drowning victims tended to like to pull people in with them, but she had dressed in her swimsuit just in case. It was a simple black bikini, nothing fancy, and was concealed underneath a red-and-white striped tank top and a pair of canvas shorts. Her shoes were a little ways away, on the bank of the river. Tomoko, herself, was sitting on a large rock that jutted over the river and gave her a pretty good view of the ghost.

Tomoko drew her knees up to her chest and folded her arms over her knees, squinting at the dead woman below. Could she even hear her? The river was deep enough to drown in (obviously) but at this section it was only as deep as your thighs. Tomoko was hot and sweaty and this ghost was just not coming out of the river...

Hmmm. That gave her an idea.

She slid of the rock and waded in. The ghost made a grab for her ankles, but she stepped around the pale hands and grabbed the woman under her armpits, pulling her out of the running water.

The woman smiled, fading as soon as she broke the surface. Tomoko found herself grasping nothing but air. She stayed in that position for a few moments before crying, "That was it?" She didn't know what she was expecting, but she was mildly disappointed. She had kind of hoped that she could talk to the woman, but after being under the water for God knows how long, she probably would have been lacking in social skills.

Either way, the ghost had moved on. Job done, Tomoko realized that she was really bored. She liked the river, but Tomoko was a social human. She needed other people. Even if they were dead. The river was sort of dull without other people there.

[Raziel Och]

<sub>The sun broke through the canopy above Raziel’s blond head in shards, the river beside him babbling quietly. In the background, the songs of a dozen different birds filled the air, filling him with a great nostalgia. In the back of his mind, memories began replaying themselves as he remembered the afternoons where his father would bring him out to the woods, and teach him all about the birds that called it home. He couldn’t help but smile at the thought, shoving his hands into the pockets of his tacky board shorts.

It was one of those rare days where Raziel found himself with spare time and nothing to do; it was one of those rare days where he found himself away from Heaven’s Gate, for once. Truth be told, the boy felt terribly out of place in his white tank top and garishly dyed shorts. Why, he even dared to leave his short red oak staff at home, effectively making him blind to anything “otherworldly”. It was as if he was naked without his tunic and boots, rendered sightless without the familiar weight of his great grandfather’s stave in his hands.

Raziel slipped out of his sandals, looped them onto his index fingers, and waded into the river. The cold water made him shiver, but it felt nice in the muggy heat that permeated the air. He was never one for the heat, wearing shorts all the way into winter. Or, at least as long as he could before his mother demanded he wear proper clothing for once.

The icy water came up past his knee by then, but it barely registered to him. As much as he hated to admit it, Raziel was enjoying the weather and relishing the fact he had no responsibilities pressing on his mind. It was… different. But a good different, yet one he was afraid of getting used to.
He stopped in his tracks when he spotted a female with long, black hair a little ways down the river. She stood weirdly, with her arms posed as if she was yanking someone armpit-up out of the water. Finally, the stranger dropped her arms and cried, “That was it?” with disappointment dripping from her voice.

“What… are you doing, exactly?” He didn’t know many people who stood in the middle of rivers talking to themselves.</sub>

[Tomoko Hashimoto]

As soon as Tomoko heard the voice (rough, and unmistakeably male) she straightened up as if she had just been static shocked.

Oh shit. Someone saw. Tomoko felt cold, a coldness that had nothing to do with the chill of the river. She turned around, quickly, regretting her wish for something interesting to happen. She didn't quite look at the male. "Uh, me? I'm...practicing. For a play," she said. "I'm the part of Ophelia in Hamlet. I was just...going over my lines." It would have been convincing, but fear gave her voice a quaver, and Tomoko was unpracticed at lies in any case. She knew that regular people should not find out about her ability to see ghosts. Her mother had stressed this from the first ghosts Tomoko had seen - the fear that the family might be in danger because of a power they couldn't control. Tomoko sometimes stayed awake at nights, wondering if her uncle would eventually put two and two together and come after the family. There was enough evidence out there. That's why Tomoko never exorcised during the day - why she waited until night to go ghost hunting. So far, only one person not a client or inside the Hashimoto family knew, and he didn't count.

Tomoko tried to ignore the sick anxiety welling up. For now, she had to get out of the river area, to distract the - whoever it was. She sloshed over to the bank, making a beeline for her shoes as she studied the newcomer with her best detective's eye.

Her heart sank as she noticed how massive he was. He was tall, and thick, and looked like he could bench press Rhode Island. Tomoko might be able to outrun him, but if he wished her ill he would most certainly be able to injure her terribly. The hulking body was slightly downplayed by the glasses, which were unexpected, and the bad shorts he was wearing. The sandals were too much, and Tomoko snorted in laughter before she caught herself and clapped a hand over her mouth. For some reason, the picture of a large, muscly guy with flip flops was incredibly funny.

Well, at least she'd die laughing.

[Raziel Och]

<sub>((I need to draw a matching Tomoko doodle. o3o ))

Now that he got a better look at her, Tomoko was small of frame (especially compared to him, at any rate), and pretty of face, wearing a stripped tank top and canvas shorts that suited her. Though her excuse for why she was standing in the middle of the river with arms outstretched didn’t convince him. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed his now soggy sandals onto the bank.

“You’re practicing your lines in the middle of a river…?” he deadpanned, watching her dash out of said river and onto its rocky banks, headed for her shoes. Raziel hadn’t read a lot of Shakespeare, opting instead for Karl Russ’ The Speaking Parrots: A Scientific Manual, or The Birds of Britain by J.L. Bonhote. Needless to say, he never did too well in English class. He did, however, remember Hamlet. At least the important bits. “If you’re trying to perfect her death scene, I have to tell you that’s more than just a little morbid considering your current location.” And worrisome, after he gave it some thought. He crossed his arms, giving her a look, wondering if she was... affected in any way.

If he wasn’t mistaken, Raziel could have sworn he heard the smallest of quaver’s in her otherwise clear voice. He wasn’t that physically intimidating, was he? Granted, he did look older than he truly was, but that was no fault of his. It was his genetics, and Raziel held no sway over what nature dictated he should grow up to be.

Of course, to add insult to injury, Tomoko all but doubled up with laughter before she caught herself and clamped a hand over her mouth. Miffed, he regarded her with an annoyed look. What she happened to find so positively side-splitting was beyond him. They were in the middle of a forest, standing in (or in her case, beside) a river. He didn't find that situation quite as funny as she did.

“What are you finding so hilarious?” He asked after a moment of awkward silence.</sub>

[Tomoko Hashimoto]

{Bawww, Raz! He's such a cutie ;v; Man, I want to draw him so bad. And bam, matching Tomoko.}

Tomoko just shrugged as he commented on the river. "I wanted to get in her head a little bit. I'm not planning on killing myself, if that's what you're saying," she said slowly.

Great. Well, better he thought she was insane than anything else. She wasn't the most careful of people when it came to exorcism, so if he thought she was simply looney she could live with that. If he suspected anything else, she was in deep trouble.

She stared at her shoes, waiting for her legs and feet to dry before trying to put her shoes on. They were lace up, and Tomoko didn't feel like getting sand or mud in them. Without looking up at the blonde, she said quietly, "I just wondered what her last thought would be. What she'd say if she was here as a ghost or something. What would it feel like, being trapped under the water." It was true - she had wanted to talk to the "Ophelia" she had just exorcised for that exact reason. She wondered what it was to be dead. She wanted to know what it felt like, being a ghost under the water - or being a ghost in general. Ghosts never wanted to answer her questions, but they were pretty one-track minded. They wanted to move on. They didn't have time for silly questions. And this bothered Tomoko. She dealt with the dead almost every day, but there was a lot she didn't know about death. Her curious nature caused her to have lots of questions, nearly all of them without answers. "I'm not trying to perfect it," She added, a shade defensively.

She cleared her throat and looked at Raziel shamefacedly. "Nothing's funny," she said hurriedly. "Um. Sorry. The situation is just strange, is all." At least that was the truth. She felt bad. He wasn't unattractive, so it wasn't like she was laughing at his ugliness or anything. But his general ensemble was a bit silly, and what's more, he looked so uncomfortable in it. Tomoko was observant enough that she could tell when someone was obviously uneasy, and she had a feeling it came from more than just her. Just a hunch - Sherlock would have disapproved of the guesswork - but she gave the man in front of her a more careful scrutiny.

She noted how he stood - back straight, head high, even when he was in a relaxed environment. Tomoko guessed military or police - which would explain quite a lot, now that she thought about it. Perhaps he was simply unused to going plainclothes. He seemed sort of young for the police, though, so military was more likely. If she had to guess his age, she would have bet money on late twenties. No ring, but his arms were slightly tanned. Obviously, he went without long sleeves quite often, although that detail did little to help her find out more about him.

She kicked at the water with a foot, hesitant to go back in. If she needed to run, it was better to be out of the water. She wasn't fast, but a head start never hurt anyone. It was probably obvious that she was inching away, slowly. Although she was curious about who he was. She couldn't help it.

"Well, what are you doing at the river?" She asked, to divert the attention away from her odd habits. Maybe she could talk her way out of this.

[Raziel Och]

<sub>((Only if I get to draw a thousand Tomoko's in return! :'D
djasdkjasdkj d'awwww TOMOKO
You make the cutest characters.))

A trickle of guilt knotted his stomach. So maybe he was a little rude in his commentary, and perhaps apologies were in order, but still. It wasn’t everyday he found others exhibiting such behavior, out in the open no less. Raziel wasn’t sure to make of the dark-haired girl, if anything at all. She was absolutely normal in appearance, had something of an athletic build and gave him the impression that she burned instead of tanned, what with her porcelain complexion. He may not have been any true judge of character, but he soon came to the conclusion she was merely some high school student, the fact of which left Raziel feeling old at his twenty-one years. And yet, there was something he couldn’t place about her. Something… different. He did not think about it for overlong, however.

Minutely, he titled his head to the left, regarding her curiously as she eyed her shoes. In a soft voice, she told him she was just wondering what it must have been like, to have been in Ophelia’s place. Her tone was nothing but defensive, laced with guarded derision. The way she was acting rubbed him the wrong way. Earlier before she made as if to run, and now she did not even look him in the eye.

He gave their surrounding area a quick glance around, looking for any sign of danger that could have possibly put Tomoko so on edge. The birds still sang, the sun was beaming down, and a breeze wafted through the branches. He found none, and his suspicion started mounting. His hand itched for the familiar feel of his staff, for he was feeling much too blind and too out of place without it. If he had his weapon with him, as odd as it would have been at that moment, Raziel would be able to tell exactly what was up. For now, he shoved such thoughts aside.

“It was probably my shorts, wasn’t it?” The blond gave himself a quick once-over, fingers tugging at the horrible board shorts, complete with a little pattern of bright yellow ducks. They were a gift from his mother; it wasn’t like he could just toss them to the wayside. That would only hurt her feelings and incur her wrath, neither of which he was too keen on doing. Fashion faux pas or no, Raziel was sure he could live with wearing them out in public. Even if it did make girls like Tomoko laugh at him. With heat rushing to his cheeks, Raziel threw his attention elsewhere, at least away from Tomoko’s round face. “They were a Christmas present.” He added lamely, as an afterthought.

Tomoko’s question caught him off guard, and for once the hot-headed blond was at a loss for words. He couldn’t exactly say he was taking a break from Heaven’s Gate, that he hunted creatures for a living (well, not exactly, but he was the sort to take things too seriously). “I’m… on a day off of sorts, I guess you could say.” He answered, shoving his hands back into his pockets as he rocked on his feet. “I like to go bird-watching.”</sub>

[Tomoko Hashimoto]

Tomoko looked him square in the eye. "Those are undoubtedly the strangest shorts I have ever seen." She said, and meant it. What adult wears clothing like that out in public? (Tomoko wasn't really one to talk, however - she often wore worse.)

And bird watching? How...unmanly. Tomoko briefly wondered if he was lying. She came to the decision that he might not be telling her the truth, but she was suspicious of the wrong part of the sentence. She wondered what he was doing here - bird watching was obviously not what he was doing. Her initial guardedness returned full force, and she asked carefully, "A day off from what, exactly?" It was innocent enough, and Tomoko took care not to let her question sound accusatory. He'd probably take it the wrong way, though.

She pulled on her shoes, still taking care to look casual, although that sort of casual casualness was rarely very casual at all. In fact, first chance she got, she was going to run as fast as she could (which wasn't very fast) home. It wasn't very subtle, nor was it a very good tactic, but it would bring Tomoko closer to not being -

No, she couldn't do that. In every cop show she had ever seen, running was basically a confession that you had committed the crime. If she made a dash for it, he might use that as evidence for - whatever he was thinking that she was guilty of. She made a face as she considered her options.

[Raziel Och]

<sub>To say that Tomoko was in no way antsy would be to lie, to pull the wool over his own eyes. Something was getting under her skin, but he couldn’t tell what. Not that he was going to ask her point blank why she was as nervous as she was---that’d only make matters worse. Or maybe it was really all in his head, and he was the true nervous one. He chewed his lip thoughtfully, mulling it over as she pulled on her shoes.

By the way she made a face, Raziel inferred her assumption about bird-watching, about how it wasn’t exactly for men like him (or for men at all). She’d get along quite well with his mother, then. She never failed to tell him what a waste of time it was, how there was better hobbies he could be busying himself with. Truthfully, it helped keep the memories of his father alive, so he indulged in it. Raziel ignored her expression, and returned to her earlier question.

It was an innocent question, even he had to say that much. But that didn’t mean he was prepared for it, however deceptively simple it may have been. Awkwardly, he rubbed the back of his neck, throwing his eyes skyward. “Well, work, of course. I—uh--, see—“

“I help my mom out at her store,” he said with some difficulty. It wasn’t a complete fabrication, no, but it wasn’t entirely truthful. “and today’s my day off.”</sub>

[Tomoko Hashimoto]

That explained a lot. Tomoko felt a small pang of guilt - was she being too suspicious? Maybe he was just a honest-to-goodness regular guy. She was now becoming very, very curious about this person. She finished lacing up her shoes and once again took her perch on the outcropping rock, closer to where Raziel stood in the river. She drew her knees into her chest, lacing her fingers over her shoes. She was now nearly eye to eye with Raziel. Up closer, he didn't look as scary nor as intimidating as he had from several feet away.

"Where do you work? I mean, what shop?" She asked, genuinely interested. "Maybe I've been in there." And, for once remembering her politeness, added, "I think we got off on the wrong foot. Er, sorry - I'm bad when I meet new people. Shy, or something. What's your name?"

She could always run away later. Tomoko was absolutely certain that this guy was telling the truth - he had looked too shamefaced about working for his mother to be lying. And any guy that embarrassed about it was probably okay. Tomoko often felt the same way about doing shrine duties with her own family. He'd probably think she was schitzo, or maybe bipolar for switching from nervous to friendly in a second. Oh well. She could handle being called crazy. Not like she was going to see this guy ever again.

Now that she was closer, she could tell that he was human. No strange markings, no tails. She felt another pang of guilt - she'd have to learn to stop jumpig to conclusions. Not everyone she met wanted to kill her.

[Raziel Och]

<sub>Earlier assumptions and opinions were nasty creatures, Raziel was soon finding out.

So what, she may have been talking to herself and throwing her arms up to the heavens, but that didn’t really grant him the right to peg her as insane. Maybe she really was practicing for her part in some Shakespearean play; maybe her earnest desire to get inside of Ophelia’s head was actually genuine, and not born of some morbid death wish he merely fabricated.

Surprisingly enough, whatever had made the girl so uneasy before seemed to have gone. For the time being. She seemed infinitely more at ease than she did beforehand, a fact that suspended Raziel’s irrational suspicion. Lacing her fingers over her shoes, she drew her knees close to her body and asked Raziel about where he worked; that she could have visited his mother’s store once.

“Ah,” he spluttered, his cheeks reddening. Raziel was a terrible liar, hated the very act of it. “My mom, you see, she runs this small herbal pharmacy---sometimes she does acupuncture. Not many people know about it.” Taking note of how his legs started to ache, Raziel wadded out of the river and onto the bank. He sat down not too far off from where Tomoko herself did, and began to rub warmth back into his slightly numb calves. From the corner of his eyes, Raziel regarded Tomoko.

“I apologize myself. I’m not the best when it comes to… socializing, I know.” He said, watching the river before them. Every so often, he would catch the odd minnow or crayfish dart around. “I’m bit of a social retard, but call me Raziel Och.” Offering her a small smile, he met her eyes and asked, “What about yourself? I’d rather not call you ‘the girl I met standing in the middle of a river’, that’s a bit wordy.”</sub>

[Tomoko Hashimoto]

Tomoko pondered this new information. Acupuncture? That wasn't that embarrassing. Of course, she didn't know his mother. Maybe she was the embarrassing part, not the acupuncture.

Tomoko didn't think her grandmother was a big "Eastern Medicine" person. But then again, there was a lot about her grandmother that Tomoko didn't know. Hell, Tomoko wouldn't be surprised if her grandmother ran the Mafia. But Tomoko had never been in the store, and she told him so. "We don't really use herbal anything, except maybe in tea. But we buy that at the grocery store," she said. "Anyways, acupuncture's pretty Chinese." Shrug. "Not really us. How long has she been doing that?" She asked, for conversation's sake.

"Raziel Och? Pretty unique name," Tomoko said once he had introduced himself. "I was worried I'd have to call you Four-Eyes or something." She did laugh a little at the mention of the wordy nickname. "Hah. No. I'm Tomoko Hashimoto. Call me Tomoko." She watched him poking at his feet for a moment, before beginning to play with her shoelaces.

Raziel, Raziel...For some reason, his name sounded very familiar. Worryingly familiar. Maybe she had gone to school with him? Naah, he looked too old. But there was this nagging feeling that she had met him before, or at least heard his name.

"Have I met you before?" She asked hesitantly but extremely directly. "I swear I've heard that name before today." She paused. "Maybe I have been in a herbal shop," she said slowly. The blank in her memory bothered her, and as a detective she was certainly not going to leave now.

[Raziel Och]

<sub>Acupuncture, was not really a practice many thought his family would take up, Raziel was well aware. His mother learned it from a friend of a friend and took to it luck a duck to water, so she had been practicing ever since. That was all he knew about it, or at least all his mother was willing to share with him. It was hard explaining it to people and most of the time they gave him confused looks as they took in the guy in front of them as if to say, “you’re kidding, right?”. He almost sighed in relief when Tomoko merely shrugged it off.

“I…I know,” he ran a hand through his hair, eyes scanning the forest in front of them. The breeze puffed and made the leaves on the branches shimmy, as if they were shivering from the sudden chill. “Not really something you’d think someone like me would do, right?” A wry smile twisted his mouth and he found himself chuckling. “She’s been doing acupuncture for a score of years now, though I’d be damned if I knew exactly how long.” Raziel recalled her practicing acupuncture as far back as he could remember, even when he was naught but a toddler.

When the dark-haired girl claimed to have met him once before, Raziel racked his memory. He couldn’t say he had ever seen her, let alone met Tomoko before today. He leaned back, resting his weight on the palm of his hands.

“No.” he cocked his head to the left, regarding her curiously. “No, can’t say we’ve ever met before.” Raziel wondered what would have made her say that. Being six foot three and fair of hair and skin weren’t exactly rare traits, however.

“But I’m sure there are more tall, blond guys in South Isle than you could shake a stick at. Maybe I just resemble someone you know?” Raziel suggested, pushing his glasses up his nose. He was sure Tomoko must have mistaken him for someone else. He had heard once, about a factoid that claimed there are five people in the world with near-identical looks. Broken nose or no, Raziel wasn't noteworthy in his appearance.</sub>

[Tomoko Hashimoto]

Tomoko chewed on the inside of her lip.

"Yeah, that must be it." She said after a moment. "More tall, blond guys in South Isle than I can shake a stick at," She echoed, staring at her feet. She still had that uncomfortable feeling that the problem hadn't been solved. It continued to nag at the back of her mind, and she scrunched her face up as she thought. There was someone in her class at school who sort of looked like Raziel. Yeah. That must be it.

A thought floated into her mind - He looks too in shape to do acupuncture, don't you think? Not really a job that requires that much muscle.

Tomoko tried to shrug off the new found suspicions floating into her mind. He could just be working out a lot. Maybe he liked being in shape! He was male, after all. Guys liked going to the gym, right? Tomoko exhaled loudly. It was like she wanted him to be a bad guy or something! He was a normal guy, at the normal river, doing normal things. She needed to stop demonizing every person she met. Not all of them would be a ghost, or a dickwad, or a member of Heaven's Gate. Tomoko almost felt embarrassed at how suspicious she was.

Then again, she could be right. Best to just act normally until he criminalizes himself, she thought. Tomoko decided to take the usual American view on justice - innocent until proven guilty. There was probably nothing wrong.

The exorcist turned to face him, sitting cross-legged on the rock and leaning forward slightly, hands palm-down on the warm rock. "So. Acupuncture. Is it fun? I've only heard about it a little. I don't really see what good sticking a bunch of pins in someone does," she said, trying to change the subject. "Hell, I could do that at home." As Tomoko talked, she brushed a few strands of long, black hair behind her ear. "Why would anyone want to stick a bunch of holes in themselves? Do you bleed when the pins come out? Does it hurt? Does it scar? I saw on TV that some woman actually lit the pins on fire or something. That seems sort of counter-active to wellness or whatever. Do you get special training for it?"

Despite her suspicions, Tomoko was genuinely curious.

[Raziel Och]

Raziel didn’t do acupuncture himself, no, mostly he just played the part of the “good son” and helped his mother when she asked. That help usually involved him talking to first-time patients, or handing his mother the needles. But most of the time, he usually just kept her patients in order for she was never good for remembering faces or names. Yet his mother knew spot-on where all of the acupuncture meridians were on someone’s person. Raziel, on the other hand, didn’t feel all too great about shoving needles into some man or woman’s body, and couldn’t quite see the point to the practice at all. Personally, he felt the old medicine was bogus, and nothing more than a placebo effect. There was no true scientific backing for it, and if done by an untrained practitioner it was highly dangerous to boot.

It took no genius to tell that Anahita was hinting at her son picking up where she left off once she retired. And Raziel wasn’t sure how to say no, or if he even could. His mother was a tiny spite-fire of grudge-holding and manipulation. It was a wonder she didn’t stop him from joining Heaven’s Gate.

Despite himself, Raziel found that he was becoming comfortable around Tomoko, a fact he wasn’t sure if he liked or not. He preferred to have his guard up, things were just better than way. He shook such thoughts from his head, focused instead on the warmth of the river’s bank beneath his palms.

“Acupuncture… is a useless practice,” He said finally. He didn’t bother to hide the condescension in his voice; the way disdain dripped from his tones. “But I wouldn’t suggest ‘doing it at home’. It’s really dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing, actually.” Among the adverse effects of acupuncture, accidental puncture of any nerve wasn’t something you’d want to happen, let alone the threat of brain damage or stroke. Truthfully, he felt it was more of a risk than it was a benefit to one’s health. He had half a mind to tell his mother as much. But would he ever? No, not if he valued his life.

Raziel did his best to address Tomoko’s insatiable curiosity. “I’m not sure why anyone would want a bunch of tiny, tiny holes on their body. No, it doesn’t bleed when the needles come out; it does pinch but leaves no scaring. And that chick on TV was probably nuts—who the hell lights them on fire? Yes, there is training for it, but acupuncture is a useless, old medicine. Don’t do it.” The blond took a breath before settling his eyes (one green, the other brown) on Tomoko. “Does that answer your questions?” He laughed. He didn’t find her curiosity annoying. It was oddly endearing, in a way.

[Tomoko Hashimoto]

"Just about," Tomoko answered. She was impressed he had remembered them all.

She didn't say anything on the subject of acupuncture being a useless practice, though. In fact, what was more interesting was that the guy had two different colored eyes. She hadn't noticed them before, but now she was staring unabashedly.

"Are those real?" She asked, pointing at her own eyes, then at his face so he knew what she meant. "I've never seen anyone with eyes like those before. Those contacts? You know, wearing colored contacts can blind you." She uncrossed her legs and drew her knees back up to her chest, but kept her palms down on the rock. She was very fidgety in general. It was incredibly difficult for her to keep still - she liked going out, doing things, walking, pacing. Her near constant shifting of position was less unease and more pent-up energy jitters.

But back to the conversation. Tomoko looked away, embarrassed that she had been looking at him for so long, and instead took the opportunity to look around the river area. It was quite pretty. At least, the bits that didn't have dead people in were quite nice. Tomoko avoided one specific area like the plague - there were at least four ghosts of hanging victims at any one time. It was pretty macabre, especially at picnics. Nothing spoils an appetite more than people swinging from the trees into the potato salad. At least the river was pretty clear. And it was such a nice day! Tomoko could feel the black, suspicious mood melt away a little it. It was too sunny to be thinking like that.