act44side

Momoka wails even louder as she imagines failing to pull off a countersteer.

She can already picture a scenario in her head where she pushes too hard, sending Ghost-san and herself flying straight into the yakuza's hands—

AhhhhHHHHWHATEVER!!!

Sparks fly from the vehicle, but it still manages a thrilling turn around the corner.

Now going straight, Momoka bites her lip, and grips the throttle tightly. The tremendous velocity even blows her tears off her face into the breeze.

The clamor of their pursuers gradually fades away.

Where are you going? I'll make sure you get there safe and sound, before I head over to the shrine to help the Taishou out.

Did Moriuchi-san... ask you to do something?

To chase a kaidan I saw with my own eyes. A unicycle ridden by an invisible being. Told me to look for it at the shrine.

It appeared next to me in the middle of the night, and I chased it all the way to his yatai, before you came to us.

In the middle of the night... a k-kaidan...?

Scared? Then let's split up.

No, I'll go with you. I can't go home anymore, much less the agency...

There's... nowhere else for me to go.

I can't go with you?

You can. But keep your voice down, or you'll draw in those guys again. Done with all your screaming now? Does your throat hurt?

Not at all! I've had vocal training, you know! Even when I'm not on stage, I do as I'm taught to prevent damage to my vocal chords!

That so?

You're... back?

Just doing a bit of work... brought something back here.

Did Kinbee ask you to send me something again? I won't be able to use it, so go back and leave me to my work.

Hoshiguma's shield. 'Hannya', right?

You met her?

Even if I didn't, I've heard enough of her from you over the past few years.

Take that strange mask off your face.

Why do you care what I wear?

Didn't Kinbee tell you to put that on when you went over to his place?

I said you were too honest with your emotions, and lack the composure of a leader. All you did was throwing tantrums at home and scratching the shoji screen doors with your worthless bokutou.

He tells you to hide your emotions, and you put this on like a good boy? Do you even know what could be hiding inside that mask?

I don't care if it's rigged with bombs and blows up my face one day, it's none of your business.

<i>Omae!</i>

Leave. I want you and your lousy mask out of my sight.

Leave? Me? What about my mother?

What about her?

Today is the day she died, Chairman Tessai!

Today?!

You forgot everything. All you think about is your reopened forge.

That's no excuse for you to hang around with that viper Kinbee.

Viper? And how did Kaa-san die again? What did he do when she died? What did <i>you</i> do? If he's a viper, what does that make you?

Shut up—

What are Kaa-san and I to your Kinsekikai?!

Forget it, there's nothing for us to discuss.

I'm going in to pay my respects to her. Don't get in my way.

What—

What is it?

Mifune-san... showing up on TV after all these years?

That was a fun pachinko sesh! Tomorrow, I gotta run over to the shrine, so today... up the stairs to my room, and it's time to catch some Zs!

I lost seven thousand five hundred mon today. That means, for the rest of the month I still have...

Huh. Barely enough to get by.

Alright. Well, I should've asked Old Man Tessai for my pay for looking after the parlor.

As long as I don't think about how much I've lost, pachinko's always a fun time.

Face wash done, TV's on, terminal charging...

Huh?

News jacking? What's going on?

Wait, why's he—

Kichisei jumps up from her futon and stares at the screen in shock.

Kinbee?!

Logs, cache, hardware traces...

All traces clean.

From terminal placements to signal hijacking and the aftermath... the whole process took about... two hours?

Everything that had to be verified's done. The broadcast, linking to live monitors, and live subtitles. All okay.

There were minor glitches from signal fluctuations, but they weren't anything unmanageable. A little workaround here and there and it should be all good to go next time. <i>Kanpeki!</i>

I'm so tired. I wanna sleep.

Locking in for two hours straight is my limit. I'm so sleepy.

No, I can't sleep here. Even a Kinseki Channel employee taking a nap in here would be pretty suspicious.

I have to go back to that cramped and lousy office—

Huh? An interim broadcast?

Uh oh! I gotta hide!

Yes, I'm here. Let me test the machine...

What? No, I'm the only one in here.

Right, yes.

All's set in place. The broadcast can start at any time.

Mio-san? What a rare sight.

I recommend the chikuwa, but the burdenbeast tendons and fowlbeast eggs are must-tries too. If you fancy something lighter, may I suggest our daikon or konbu knots—

Don't play dumb, Moriuchi. Where's Momoka and the Ao-Oni?

How would I know?

Just give me a number. The Kinsekikai can afford it.

I only sell oden here. How could I possibly know where my customers go after filling their bellies?

An appropriate pushback is understandable, but an excessive defiance means refusal to cooperate.

No, no, I would never.

I don't get it, s'all. She's just a showgirl at your mercy, without any kin in the city. Where could she possibly run off to? What harm could she do to your Kinsekikai?

Are you trying to pull information out of me?

I wouldn't dare.

Mio-san, I'm sure you've known her for a long time, even longer than I've known her.

She got to know me because my oden's yummy, and I know all about the kaidan in the city. I only offered a few comforting words and to be honest, we're not that close at all.

But I can tell she's just a lost little lass being pushed around with no bad intentions. I'm sure you've spent way more time with her, so what say you?

I see you're insisting on your silence.

C'mon, let's not put it that way.

How about, helping me leave a good review for this spot? Something about this place being a rare gem, and a great bang for your buck.

Why not have some oden to appease your hunger and mood?

Chikuwa, tendon, egg, daikon, and konbu knot. One of each.

Mio-san, you...?

So you had no intention of giving me a free meal? I see how it is. Fine for Momoka, but not for me.

What? No! I just thought you'd never allow me the honor of serving you my humble cooking.

Here you go.

<i>Itadakimasu.</i>

She claps her hands and dips her head before her meal, then takes the chikuwa from the paper cup for a nibble.

It's hot—

The noise echoing down Nita Street suddenly dips in volume.

Pedestrians fall silent at the exact same moment, like fowlbeasts on a single tree suddenly stopping their chirping.