Tokyo Exorcism Diary

“Ohh~ So that’s what it was—your little sister ran into a ghost, huh? I thought it was something serious.” Asaba Shinichi let out a melodramatic sigh, looking as if he was genuinely disappointed. Then he couldn’t help but burst out laughing. 

“I knew you were a siscon.”

As he spoke, he even wiggled his eyebrows and added with a mischievous grin, “So, how does it feel to bring bad luck to your own family?”

—For ordinary people, getting too close to someone like him, someone drenched in the aura of vengeful spirits with a mind half-corrupted by their influence, greatly increases the chance of being targeted by malevolent entities. This was common knowledge, more or less.

Which is exactly why Hoshino Gen had taken precautions—tattooing protective gold sigils on Shimizu Yuu when he hired her as his assistant, and handing out piles of talismans to Rin when they were at Shiratake Village.

From the very beginning, a voice in the back of his mind had told him not to care. They were the ones who insisted on getting close to him, after all. If anything happened, it wasn’t his responsibility. They weren’t children. They should be held accountable for their own choices.

But maybe… maybe it was that small, flickering light still buried deep within his already-blackened soul, chasing instinctively after the warmth.

Or maybe it was the echoes of his late master’s teachings that hadn’t yet been drowned out by corruption.

Whatever it was, in the end, he chose to quietly set up a few safety measures—for those who kept getting pushed away and yet still chose to stay by his side.

“Where is it?” Shinichi’s voice cut in again. He was holding a phone, glancing at Hoshino Gen as he asked.

Hoshino Gen nodded, already understanding what Shinichi meant, and turned his attention to the call.

“Where are you right now?”

…

“Chiyoda Ward, Tamayama-chō…”

A yellow talisman with bold black characters was pasted to the apartment door. Hoshino Rin sat on the floor in a duck-like squat, trying to regulate her breathing as she reported her exact location to her brother.

Then—she heard something shift just outside the door.
Within seconds, the sounds intensified. Glass shattering.
And from the phone, Hoshino Gen’s voice, low and quiet:
“Michiko, come back.”

The noise outside faded… only to be replaced by a slow, dragging shuffle.
A skin-crawling thud… thud… thud… steadily growing louder.

Hoshino Rin involuntarily scooted backward, voice trembling as she whispered into the phone,

“Onii-chan… I think it’s coming back again…”

“Don’t worry. It can’t get in.”
Her brother’s calm voice from the phone helped ease the tight knot in her chest.

But the footsteps didn’t stop.
They drew closer.
Closer—until they halted directly in front of the door.

Thunk—
A knock. Just one.

But before the echo could even fade, the talisman flared gold, cutting the sound off.

A few breaths passed.

Then came another knock.

Again, the instant it touched the door—flash, gold light repelled it.

Over and over, the ghost tried. Ten, maybe fifteen times.

Only then did it finally quiet down.

Silence settled over the room.

Aside from the faint static from the phone, the only sounds were Rin and Kaoru’s uneven breathing and pounding hearts.

The two girls stared at each other, frozen. Nearly five minutes passed like that.

Then—a sudden rush of footsteps, voices shouting as they approached.

“Target has vanished!”

“Check for injuries!”

Bam bam bam!
Someone knocked rapidly at the door.

“Anyone in there? This is the Special Affairs Unit! The area’s secure now!”

Hoshino Rin and Asahina Kaoru exchanged glances but didn’t respond, afraid it might be a trick—a ghost trying to lure them out.

Only when Hoshino Gen’s voice came through the phone again:
“It’s okay. You can open the door.”
—only then did Rin exhale in relief.

She used the wall to help herself stand, a little unsteady from sitting too long. Her legs had gone numb.

When the door opened, the two girls saw a group of five or six people in black uniforms scattered around the apartment—some in the kitchen, others in the living room—clearly searching for something.

Outside the door stood a young man and a girl.

And Rin recognized the girl instantly.

“Rin-chan~ Long time no see!”
Kiryu Rakuye waved excitedly, a bright smile on her face. “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

Rin blinked, surprised. Then it clicked.

“…Long time no see, Kiryu-san,” she replied politely.

“Wah~ You still remember my name after all this time? I’m touched~!”
Rakuye giggled, then glanced at the girl behind Rin.

“This must be Kaoru-chan from tky02, right? Just as gorgeous as on TV—no, even more so in person!”

Kaoru instinctively looked to Rin.
She wasn’t stupid. It was obvious that none of these people—including the bubbly girl—were normal.
And she had absolutely no idea how she was supposed to respond.

But it turned out she didn’t need to say anything.

Rakuye casually took a document from a nearby agent, stepped up to Kaoru with a suddenly more serious expression, and handed it to her with both hands.

“We’re really sorry about the trouble tonight, Asahina-san. But if possible, would you mind signing this non-disclosure agreement?”

Kaoru took the paper, dazed, and looked to Rin again for help.

Noticing her glance, Rin lowered her eyes to her phone—only to realize the call had ended at some point.

“Please don’t misunderstand,” Rakuye said gently. “We’re just asking you to help maintain social order by keeping everything that happened tonight strictly confidential.”

Then, she turned to Rin and smiled.

“You too, Rin-chan. I’m sure senpai already gave you the heads-up, but still—standard procedure and all. Just a reminder: stuff like tonight, you’re not allowed to tell anyone except senpai.”

“……”

Kaoru signed the NDA.

The team in black swept the apartment one last time, confirmed the vengeful spirit was indeed gone, and quietly withdrew.

Rin and Kaoru made their way back to the living room.
There were footprints in the dust on the floor.
The TV on the wall was shattered, glass shards scattered everywhere.

Kaoru glanced at Rin, opened her mouth, then closed it again.
She didn’t say a word.
Instead, she silently went to get a broom from the storage room.

Rin sighed softly and turned to fetch another cleaning tool.

Together, they began sweeping the wreckage away…