Tokyo Exorcism Diary

Hoshino Gen and Takasugi Yusuke couldn’t help but turn their heads toward the source of the voice.

Asaba Shinichi chuckled, eyes crinkling with amusement. “‘Also,’ huh? That’s an interesting choice of words…”

“It’s because we’re here to do a feature on that village too!” Ryouko’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the three of them. “You guys came for the same reason? And all the way from Tokyo, no less—has word about that place really gotten that big?”

“Well, in a certain sense… yeah, it’s gotten pretty famous.” Shinichi pulled his hand away from his cheek just as the girl in the chef’s hat arrived with a tray, placing three steaming bowls of noodles in front of them.

She turned with a smile to the neighboring table. “Yours will be ready soon too. Just a moment longer.”

Then, she slipped back into the kitchen.

The group of five at the next table didn’t seem to mind waiting. In fact, they seemed far more interested in Hoshino Gen and the others. The boldest among them, Ryouko, spoke up excitedly, “Hey, since we’re all headed to the same village, why don’t we team up?”

“Ahaha~ I’ve got no objections,” said Shinichi with a lazy glance at the two already busy slurping their noodles. His voice dropped to a languid murmur. “And I doubt they do either.”

Hoshino Gen and Yusuke remained silent. Whether it was because the noodles were too good or because they simply agreed with Shinichi’s words, it was unclear.

And just like that, the idea of exploring the haunted village together had erased any lingering distance between the two groups. Or at least, it felt that way to the students from the next table. Either way, the rainy-day quiet of the little shop had gained a spark of life.

Through brief exchanges—mostly between Shinichi and the more talkative students—they learned that the group were college students from Sapporo, taking advantage of a school break and driving out here on their own.

When they heard the three hadn’t found a place to stay yet, the students enthusiastically offered to take them to the inn they were already booked at after lunch.

The portions weren’t large, and even with the soup drained to the last drop, everyone finished quickly.

As they left, Hoshino Gen trailed at the back. Just as he reached the door, he stopped and turned to look at the smiling waitress still standing behind the counter. He smiled back and pointed to the straw decoration hanging in the window.

“That scarecrow’s really beautiful. I like it a lot. Can I buy it?”

“Nope,” the girl said cheerfully, her tone final and unwavering.

“I see.” Hoshino Gen gazed at her for a moment longer. She met his eyes, unflinching.

…

The inn the students led them to was on the west side of the town—a run-down, old-fashioned Japanese inn.

There were no standard hotel-style rooms with double or twin beds. Only traditional rooms with sliding wooden doors and tatami floors.

The five Sapporo students split into two rooms—three girls in one, two guys in another. Hoshino Gen’s group took a single room for the three of them.

The innkeeper was an elderly woman with a full head of white hair. After registering and paying for their rooms, she shuffled out from behind the counter with the help of a cane and guided them, stooped over, to their respective rooms.

As always, Hoshino Gen brought up the rear. Just before stepping into the corridor leading to the rooms, he looked back once more at the counter—where a small, faceless scarecrow doll hung, its straw yellowed and slightly blackened…

Inside the room, the three men remained silent, just as they had outside. Not a word until the sliding door clicked shut.

Then Hoshino Gen flicked his wrist, scattering six paper talismans that floated to the walls, ceiling, and floor, sticking firmly in place.

Shinichi let out a long sigh and plopped down onto the tatami with a grunt.

“Man, that was stiff. What is it with this town? Looks totally normal, but gives me the creeps.”

Even Takasugi Yusuke relaxed ever so slightly, sitting cross-legged on a futon with his usual grin.

“I feel it too. Something about this place feels… wrong. It gets under your skin.”

Hoshino Gen didn’t sit. He leaned against the door with folded arms, looking down at the two from above.

“It’s obvious. The village isn’t the only place with problems—this whole town is problematic.”

As he finished, he pulled another talisman from somewhere, fiddled with it casually until it folded itself into a paper crane, which then passed cleanly through the wall and fluttered outside.

“Oho! Getting to work already?” Shinichi grinned. “Guess I’ll join in too.”

The light in the room was warm and golden, casting soft shadows on the floor. But out of the three men, Shinichi’s shadow was noticeably darker—more like a bottomless black pool than a simple absence of light.

A pitch-black crow clawed its way out of his shadow, took flight without a sound, and vanished through the ceiling.

Yusuke gave a casual shrug. “Can’t fall behind, huh?”

Without a word, a faintly translucent hamster appeared by his foot. It scratched twice at the floor—though the wood remained unchanged, it vanished through it as though burrowing into earth.

Outside, the rain poured down. The paper crane, the dark crow, and the ghostly hamster—three very different familiars—disappeared into the storm without hesitation.

However—
“Squeee!”

A shriek from the hamster. The moment the rain touched it, it spun around in a panic and darted back under the eaves.

The crow and the crane didn’t even make it that far. The crow hit the rain and splattered into a puddle of ink. The paper crane disintegrated mid-air into ash.

At the same time, the three inside the room stiffened. Their eyes met.

Shinich clicked his tongue. “Even the rain’s cursed… Gentlemen, this place might be a hell of a lot more dangerous than we thought.”

Hoshino Gen and Takasugi Yusuke didn’t respond—but just then, there was a knock at the door.

Being closest, Hoshino Gen slid it open.

Standing outside was Ryouko, grinning wide at first before addressing them properly.

“We’re starting a game over in our room. You three pretty boys wanna join?”

She added with a slightly mischievous smile, “It’s a really fun one—King’s Game.”

King’s Game—where everyone draws lots, and whoever draws the King gets to command the others to do anything they want. Usually played in nightclubs or at parties, it’s essentially a flirty, tension-charged social game popular with young people.

The three men, who had just failed miserably in their mystical reconnaissance, exchanged a glance—and then all turned to Ryouko with perfectly pleasant, charming smiles.

And faced with three gorgeous guys flashing her that kind of smile all at once, even the bold, boyish Ryouko couldn’t help but blush.