Tokyo Exorcism Diary

Hoshino Gen glanced around the bustling street outside the restroom. The lively flow of people continued unabated.

After standing in place for a few seconds, he rubbed his temples with a groan, the lingering aftereffects of the human-ghost contract still leaving his body weak.

Any unexpected event deviating from his plans in this state would inevitably irritate him.

Still, there was no way around it. He was the one who had brought her out. Now that she was missing, he had to take responsibility—even if it was only for the Kawasaki H2 his sister had given him.

Taking a deep breath to calm his irritation, Hoshino Gen began to analyze the situation.

He had taken a loli out, and now, on the way back, she had vanished.

There were two possibilities:

The loli was mischievous and had snuck away while no one was watching, either heading home or hiding nearby to enjoy seeing him panic.
Loli had been abducted or kidnapped.

Hoshino Gen thought the first scenario was more likely. Given Liz’ inexplicable hostility toward him and her bratty temperament, pulling a prank like this wouldn’t be out of character.

If that were the case, he figured it would be better not to go home today. Otherwise, he feared he might lose control and do something everyone would regret.

Suppressing his emotionally charged assumptions, he shifted his focus to the second, verifiable possibility. Scanning his surroundings, he quickly spotted several surveillance cameras, including one mounted under the eaves of a nearby Gucci store.

Without hesitation, Hoshino Gen strode toward the store.

After explaining his situation to the staff, they readily agreed to let him review the security footage.

The footage revealed what had happened outside the restroom while Hoshino Gen was washing his hands:

Liz, the golden-haired loli, stood obediently by the restroom door, an image of perfect behavior entirely at odds with how she acted around Hoshino Gen. Then, a couple that looked vaguely familiar to him appeared on the footage.

The couple approached Liz warmly, like an older brother and sister greeting a younger sibling. The man positioned himself so that his body partially obscured Liz, while the woman bent down to speak to her.

From the camera’s angle, only Liz’ slender legs beneath her dress were visible. A moment later, Liz suddenly slumped into the woman’s arms. The woman naturally picked her up and handed her over to the man, who carried Liz on his back as they left.

“…” Hoshino Gen remained silent, while the store clerk beside him gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.

“Sir… sir, this is abduction, isn’t it?” The clerk’s voice trembled with disbelief.

Hoshino Gen lowered his gaze, and a faint crimson glow seemed to flicker in his left eye.

“It could also be kidnapping,” Hoshino Gen said flatly before turning to leave.

“Wait, sir! Should we call the police?” The clerk, clearly a kind-hearted person, offered her assistance despite having no obligation to get involved.

“Do as you like,” Hoshino Gen replied, his left eye glinting crimson as he exited the store.

Under normal circumstances, even if Liz had been attacked in broad daylight, Hoshino Gen wouldn’t have batted an eye. But these scum had chosen the worst possible time to mess with someone under his care.

Returning to the children’s clothing store where he and Liz had been shopping earlier, he retrieved a strand of golden hair from one of the outfits Liz had tried on. He slipped it into his pocket as a precaution.

Outside, Hoshino Gen pulled his phone from his jacket pocket with his left hand, lightly tracing the red emblem on his wrist as he whispered, “Michiko.”

zzzz—.

A faint crackling sound came from his phone, and soon, Michiko’s slightly fatigued figure appeared on the screen.

“Hack into the nearby surveillance cameras and gather footage of the blonde-haired girl who was with me, starting from 10:01 AM today. Send me everything.”

Without a word, Michiko disappeared from the screen. Moments later, Hoshino Gen’s phone began receiving a series of video clips.

…

Tracing the surveillance footage, he followed Liz’ movements through streets, subways, trains, and taxis until the trail ended at a quiet rural road.

Looking up from his phone, Hoshino Gen surveyed his surroundings, which matched the final clip’s scenery perfectly. Suppressing his irritation, he called his sister, Hoshino Rin.

The phone rang several times before a faintly chaotic background noise gave way to Hoshino Rin’s sweet, lilting voice.

“What’s up, big brother?”

“What’s Liz’ full name, including her middle name?”

“Huh?” Hoshino Rin sounded startled but obediently answered, “Liz Angelina Joanne Isabelle. Why?”

“When was she born?”

“Uh… April 12, 2014.”

“What time?”

“Hmm… around 8 PM, I think. I was at the hospital when she was born.”

“Got it.”

“Wait, is something wrong? Why are you asking about this?” Hoshino Rin’s tone grew anxious.

“Just a small matter. I’ll handle it.” Hoshino Gen hung up before she could ask more questions.

He pulled out a blank yellow talisman and a small brush from his inner pocket but hesitated. Without proper ink or even ordinary ink, using his own blood was the only option.

Sighing, he bit his finger and let the blood bead at the tip. Carefully, he inscribed Liz’ birthdate and Eight Characters of Birth on the talisman, then added the golden hair he had kept.

With a light touch of his fingers, the talisman trembled and floated like a butterfly, drifting on the breeze as though guided by unseen forces.

Hoshino Gen, now visibly paler, followed the talisman’s path with shaky steps.

…

The talisman came to rest near an abandoned building. Hoshino Gen, holding a makeshift wooden club he had picked up along the way, folded the talisman and stuffed it into his pocket.

Just then, his phone vibrated with an incoming call from an unknown number.

He answered calmly, and a deep male voice came through.

“We’ve got your sister. If you ever want to see her again, you’d better tell your family to prepare two million dollars. Deliver it to the greenery by the side of the crossroad on Nagano Prefecture’s Kido Road. Don’t try anything clever, don’t call the cops, and don’t even think about ambushing us. There’s more than one of us, and this is your only chance to see that cute little sister of yours alive.”

“Hey, kid, can you understand Japanese? Come on, say hello to your big brother!” Perhaps the person on the other end was worried that Hoshino Gen might suspect this was a scam call, so they had Liz speak to confirm that everything they said was true.

A sharp cry of pain from Liz followed.

The call was quickly ended. HoshinoGen stared at the call-ended screen, his expression unchanged. After all, to him, it didn’t matter what happened to Liz—so long as she was still alive.