act44side

Besides, when a gangster goes mad and kills himself, the yakuza practically welcome the cops to investigate, just to watch them come up empty and leave in frustration. There's no reason for them to forge evidence.

Unless Sanoguchi didn't kill himself. Unless Kinbee...

...Murdered him.

Momoka stands there, stunned.

She stares at Hoshiguma. The expression on Momoka's face is even more blank and stunned than Moriuchi's. It's as if she's awakening from one nightmare, only to step into another one.

You're joking, right?

Those kaidan tales… the ones that scared me half to death… how could they not be real?

The agency might be shameless, but there's no way that all these years, they've been fabricating… all… sorts… of…

And... Sanoguchi... his death was suspicious... but the others...

Her voice grows softer and softer... then stops.

She subconsciously looks to Moriuchi, who intentionally avoids making eye contact.

She suddenly realizes that she has been looking at Moriuchi because she thought he shared her pain, while he averted his gaze because he didn't want to admit the truth.

So all those businesses that closed after I visited them...

Those livestreams where I did as I was told, and weird things kept happening where people got hurt...

Those eerie noises, the ghosts, the fleeting shadows... Were they… all fake?

Even the Ao-Oni and the Haunted House, the legends I believed so completely, the ones that scared me out of my wits these past few days, the starting point of all the tales in Mitsukue… were they all… fake?

Momoka Hanyuu, the singer wrapped up in kaidan tales, my agency never even cared about my career?

To them, I've been nothing more than a... cover for the Kinsekikai?

That can't be right. Can it, Moriuchi-san?

Moriuchi-san...?

It's an ambush! Get behind me!

Momoka is still frozen in place. Hoshiguma steps forward, positioning the Hannya mask between her and the collapsed Moriuchi, shielding them both.

As if in answer to Momoka's question, the surface of the shield crackles with a flurry of tiny explosions.

Kami-sama, check on Moriuchi. Was he poisoned or struck by something?

There's a burn mark on his neck, and this thing here fell on the floor.

Isn't this a flash drive you use to move data between terminals?

I've seen people throwing these things at electronic equipment to disable it, but lately, they've been throwing them at people instead. Why?

Ninja?!

Don't try to resist.

Who sent you?

That's not important. Come with me.

There's no way Mifune-san sent you. Right?

That's the first time I've heard anyone ask that question.

Please tell me! The kaidan tales are all true! My career isn't being used as a cover for Mifune... errr... Kinbee!

The ninja replies only with a weapon, which looks somewhat like a blade but different. The blade has yet to move, but remains pointed squarely at Hoshiguma's chest.

Spies, schemers, arsonists, even assassins—people who spend their entire lives in the shadows, never daring to show their true faces in public.

Since the national wars several centuries ago, these people, who call themselves 'ninja', have moved through the hidden currents of history.

Since then, countless figures of power: daimyo, kugyou, zaibatsu magnates, clan leaders have all assembled their own shadowy organizations.

Wuh?!

You hid yourself well, but you're not quick enough on the draw.

Hoshiguma plants a foot on the flash drive she's just blocked. It gives a sharp electronic whine, then bursts apart with a loud pop.

Keeping up with the times, huh? A flash drive with a high-voltage charge. Works on both people and machines?

The two ninjas exchange a glance. One draws a short blade, the other a long sword, and together they lunge at Momoka from opposite sides.

You can't leave well enough alone!

Hannya spins in Hoshiguma's hands, a blazing circle of fury. The long sword's edge strikes it and buckles, shattering to pieces. The ninja with the dagger dives to the ground, dodging the whirling shield before it can shred limbs.

Only then does the third figure, hidden all this time in the shadows, appear—sending a cluster of flash drives silently hurtling toward Hoshiguma's unprotected head.

It's too late to call out a warning, so Momoka leaps to her feet, trying to imitate a movie scene. She swings her shoulder bag in an attempt to bat the little drives back.

Momoka takes a direct hit.

There is a faint crackling sound. She doesn't even have time to cry out before she crumples to the floor, limp as a rag, just like Moriuchi.

Gah!

Momoka!

You're the last one standing. You either come with me, quietly, or you end up on the floor like them.

Overestimating your own abilities is never a good thing.

Enough talk. Have at you!

The projectiles come from every direction, expected and otherwise, only to shatter against the whirling Hannya.

She's trying to run while carrying the other two on her back. Stop her!

Hoshiguma charges the nearest ninja head-on. The black-clad assassin slams into the shield, snapping many ribs.

She is about to break through the encirclement when her shoulder suddenly feels light. Something has yanked Moriuchi up into the air.

A hook?!

Moriuchi is still dangling in midair when Momoka is snatched up, like a doll caught in a crane machine.

Hannya slices through the rope attached to the grappling hook. Momoka drops safely into Hoshiguma's arms, while the oden yatai owner is flung by the momentum and lands in a heap in front of his own cart.

One of the ninjas seizes the oden man, leaps into the air, and vanishes among the buildings of Nita Street.

H-Hoshiguma...

You came to pretty quickly.

My neck really hurts...

Looks like some scorch marks. I think you got zapped. Rinse it and cover it, and it shouldn't leave a scar.

There might be more attackers coming in from Kajimachi. Do you have somewhere we can lie low for a bit?

My place, but I bet Kinbee's already sent guys over there...

Doesn't matter. We'll hide in plain sight. They won't expect us to go there. And if someone is there, we'll just go somewhere else.

Perfect. That way, I can bring Hasuke along too…

Hasuke?

Never mind, I'll explain later. The longer we stall, the more goons will show up. Which way to your place? Let's go.

Kami-sami, you—

...Are already gone.