Masho no Ko

魔性の子

by Ono Fuyumi
published by Shinchosha

Hirose, a student teacher, discovers a strange boy in his class. Takasato is isolated, feared by the other students for the horrific retribution that occurs every time anyone harms him. While Takasato himself harbors no ill will, the halfseen creatures that lurk in the shadows around him see things in much harsher terms. They've been with him ever since he vanished for a year and two months while he was a child. As the retributions escalate, Takasato's reputation is picked up by the media, and there is soon no place left for him in this world. Meanwhile, a mysterious ghostly girl is asking strangers if they know where Taiki is...

Written before Twelve Kingdoms, elements of Masho no Ko were later worked into the arc plot of that series, but this is a horror novel, and the tone of events is completely different. Like Ono Fuyumi's other work, this is a long slow build that suddenly explodes into a series of escalating, nightmarish twists. The sort of book you really should save for summer, since it can make any room feel cold.