act44side

A familiar female voice emanates from the TV. The fear in Momoka's heart slowly eases, and she peeks out from behind the giant pillow in an attempt to see the screen more clearly.

We are at a crucial crossroads.

I understand. However... we do not have evidence of her meeting Tessai in private.

Mio-san? And Mifune, the chairman of the group?!

Why is it playing on the TV? A recording, or a livestream?

Momoka rubs her eyes.

Mio, she's out of control.

Even if this wasn't on Tessai's orders, if it happened once, it'll happen again. So do what you did before—make her vanish quietly, without a trace.

Mifune-san, now is not the right time.

You're still pleading for mercy on her behalf.

If she were to suddenly disappear now, we'd have to pour much more effort into controlling the media narrative, which might derail your plan.

Must you always wear that pitiful expression?

Since you have a soft spot for her, fine, just find any excuse to terminate the contract and force her into retirement... Oh, right, and find a way to get her infected with Oripathy.

Mifune-san, I——

You have two paths to choose from. Take your pick.

Don't forget—out of a house full of trash, she just had to pick up that broken blade. We searched everywhere and couldn't find it, so we had no choice but to hastily forge a fake one.

Even if she didn't do it intentionally, that changed everything.

Right...

Oripathy... Mifune-san... is telling Mio-san to...

Who does he want to infect with Oripathy?

What was that business about a broken blade...? I picked up a broken blade in a house full of garbage?

After falling out of the Haunted House, Momoka quickly changed outfits, wrapping her dirty clothes into a bundle, and left the filming location.

The 'stick' was most likely wrapped up with the bundle of dirty clothes.

When Momoka stands up and goes to the entrance, she takes the stick-like thing out of her dirty clothes.

And the 'stick' is indeed a broken blade.

'...changed everything'? This broken blade changed everything?

Every instinct tells her to hurl the blade out the window, as far as she can. But she knows it will only make things worse.

I'd better hold onto it. If there's someone out there that wants it, I can always return it, or at least...

She can't tell if it's because she picked up that blade in the Haunted House, or because of what Mifune said on the TV—but a shiver crawls up her spine and all the way to the top of her head.

She turns the desk lamp on and off... and then on again... and off again.

With the light on, she's afraid someone will see her shadow in the window.

With the light off, she's afraid some intruder will burst in, under cover of darkness.

They're talking about how they'll get rid of me? Just because of what I posted online? Just because I picked up a broken blade?

Am I gonna get disappeared? Infected with Oripathy?

No way. I must have it wrong. They didn't even mention my name—

Suddenly, she hears footsteps coming from downstairs. They sound familiar, steady, and fast.

All of this has pushed Momoka to her breaking point. She can guess who is coming, but with every footstep, she backs a little further away...

...All the way to the window

...Momoka?

I figured you were sleeping, so I just let myself in.

But you always knock three times first.

The one you're going to... dispose of, it's not me, is it?

Dispose of you? Momoka, you—

The person you were talking about murdering, or infecting with Oripathy... it's not me, right?

Mio-san, I have no idea why, but just now, my TV tuned itself to a weird channel and broadcast a conversation you had with Mifune-san... about getting rid of someone.

All I know is that our agency is part of the Kinseki Group, and that the Kinseki Group and the Kinsekikai's finances are linked. I thought there wasn't any more to it than that...

So you weren't talking about me, right?

Momoka, come with me. There's still a way out of this.

So you <i>were</i> talking about me?!

I... need to clean up here. I still have so much more cleaning to do. I'm going to close the door now. You wait outside for me, okay?

She may have said she was going to close the door, but Momoka is too afraid to even take a step forward.

Mio remains standing in the doorway.

I'm going to help you.

No. You don't need to help me. I'll take care of it myself.

I'm going to help you.

Mio-san, don't...

...I'm going to help you, Momoka.

She says that same line for a third time, with the same blank expression on her face. In that instant, her very presence, once warm and familiar, becomes terrifying.

Momoka takes a few breaths, and to her amazement, finds herself...

...opening the window and jumping off the second floor.

Excuse me, sir, but a unicycle passed by your shop just now. Did you happen to see which way it was going?

A unicycle? I didn't see any unicycle.

Besides, Nita Street is just up ahead—it's jam packed with people. There's no way anyone would be riding a bike in that direction.

It's not a normal unicycle, it's a small—

Small? How small?

Very small. It zooms by so fast, it's a blur. There's a little helmet floating in midair above the unicycle as well.

Wait... isn't this the oden yatai I was at last night?

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tooru Moriuchi.

Are you sure you're chasing 'a unicycle with a small helmet floating midair above it'?

I sure am.

That's... not good.

The unicycle you were chasing is known as the Wanyuudou. They say It often appears together with the Ao-Oni of the Haunted House. Some even believe they're actually one entity.

You know a lot about kaidan?

There is no one on this whole street that knows kaidan better than I do. And that's not just a boast——it's true.

Why?

I'm looking for someone.

Well, I hope you're not looking for some Ao-Oni from twenty years ago.

Haha. Of course not.

I'm looking for <i>kami-sama.</i>

Kami?

Yeah. I think all the funny stuff going on around Mitsukue has been tricks played by these kami-sama. And I'm looking for one of the many out there.

You don't believe me?

Oni are more familiar into monastery-type stuff.

Besides, I'm finding it hard to guess what sort of kami-sama would be so bored as to hop on a unicycle and curse my house.

Haha, sounds like most other Oni I know.

Why are you looking for this 'kami-sama'? Do you think one of them's cursed you?

The opposite, actually. Did me a solid once.

But one day, It just vanished.

Could it be the Wanyuudou?

Maybe? Can't say for sure. After all, I can't tell what the unicycling kami-sama looks like.

So, mind doing me a favor?

If you see the Wanyuudou, or are even... lucky enough to see Its actual form, help me check if It looks like this.

Moriuchi pulls out a ring of keys from his pocket, with a tiny keychain attached.

A maneki-neko? Isn't that a mascot Higashinese Felines created based on Feline Beast Stewards?

The kami-sama I met practically looks the same, apart from the size difference.

Hoshiguma-san, since you're no ghost, then I wager you're after this Wanyuudou to figure out what's up with your house, yeah?

Taishou, I never introduced myself to you.

Are you one of the Kinsekikai?

(Shakes head) Naw. Why would anyone from the Kinsekikai set up a yatai here?

An informant for the cops, then?