Tokyo Exorcism Diary

The Hoshino household was unusually lively after dinner that evening. The crystal chandelier in the living room bathed the room in warm light, and a massive television occupying half the wall played Hoshino Rin’s latest variety show appearance.

Tillina and Liz sat on the couch, laughing as Hoshino Rin recounted behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Their cheerful voices drifted through the slightly ajar door into Hoshino Gen’s dimly lit bedroom.

Seated at his desk, Hoshino Gen stared at a strange, black chat window on his computer screen. A user with a blank profile picture had sent him a series of documents.

[Haunted School (1).docx]
[Haunted School (2).docx]
[Haunted School (3).docx]

These were the paranormal case files Hoshino Gen had requested from the Special Affairs Unit. The person who sent them made no effort to sugarcoat their contents, bluntly stating that the cases were high-risk and had been shelved for a long time. Whether to accept the mission was entirely up to him after reviewing the documents.

Hoshino Gen wasn’t the type to overestimate his own abilities. If the risk was beyond his capacity, he wouldn’t recklessly push forward. After all, he had learned his lesson in his previous life, when he had been relentlessly pursued overseas by a vengeful ghost…

Thus, reviewing the files thoroughly was a necessary first step.

Just as Hoshino Gen moved the mouse to open the documents, a knock came at his door, followed by his mother Tillina’s voice.
“Gen-chan, would you like some fruit?”

His finger paused briefly, and without turning around, he replied, “No, thank you.”

“Alright. Then how about coming out to watch TV with us? Rin-chan’s variety show is really interesting.”

“Sorry, I’m not very interested,” Hoshino Gen declined politely but firmly.

There was silence outside the door for a moment. Just as he thought his mother had left and was about to get up to lock the door to avoid any unexpected intrusions, her voice came again, softer this time.
“Remember to rest early. Goodnight, dear.”

Footsteps faded into the distance.

Hoshino Gen exhaled, not even realizing that his slightly tense shoulders had relaxed. He got up, locked the door, and returned to his desk. But the moment he sat down, he noticed that the screen had changed.

That familiar, soothing melody played, and in a warm, pink room on the screen, the adorable Chi-chan stood smiling at him.

Hoshino Gen was slightly surprised. Although he had told Chi-chan earlier, “If you have nowhere else to go, come back to me,” he hadn’t placed much hope in it. Vengeful spirits like Chi-chan typically acted based on their obsessions. Once their obsessions dissipated, their activity often became erratic or ceased altogether.

For Chi-chan to remember his words even after achieving her revenge was unexpected. But it was a good turn of events—it meant his plans could move forward.

After all, Hoshino Gen had already resolved to sign a human-ghost contract, stepping onto the path of a “forbidden spirit master.”

Smiling, he spoke to Chi-chan on the screen.
“Welcome back. As promised, I’ll give you a new ‘life.’ But first, are you willing to sign a contract with me?”

The little girl on the screen tilted her head, her face puzzled.

Hoshino Gen explained patiently, “Humans and ghosts are fundamentally different. Without a special medium to intervene, ghosts can have a detrimental effect on humans, making their bodies weak and their minds unstable. Similarly, suppressing their urge to harm can drive vengeful spirits into madness over time.”

A dialogue bubble appeared above Chi-chan’s head on the screen.
“If we sign a contract, will these effects disappear?”

“At least between the contracted ghost and the human, there will be no significant side effects,” Hoshino Gen assured her.

“Then I’m willing.” The text appeared in her dialogue bubble.

Hoshino Gen’s smile deepened.
“However, I must warn you: once the contract is formed, you’ll be unable to disobey my commands, and even your existence will depend on my will.”

A series of wavering ellipses appeared on the screen, but soon after, Chi-chan replied:
“I don’t mind.”

Hoshino Gen’s gaze softened. He reached out to touch her cheek through the screen.
“Thank you.”

Chi-chan didn’t respond, lowering her head slightly.

Hoshino Gen bit his index finger, a bead of blood forming at the tip. Raising his hand, he began to write strange, eerie runes in the air with his blood. Each symbol shimmered faintly with a divine golden light, arranged in vertical columns, right to left, resembling an ancient and enigmatic script.

By the time the final rune was complete, his hand had turned ghostly pale, and his face looked equally drained.

“Extend your hand,” Hoshino Gen instructed.

Chi-chan stepped forward in the screen, her small hand reaching out, as though breaking through the boundary of the monitor into reality.

Hoshino Gen pressed his sword-finger against her hand, and the runes floating in the air shrank, one by one, branding themselves onto her hand. Wisps of black mist escaped from the marks as Chi-chan’s expression twisted in pain, even her digital form glitching momentarily.

“Don’t resist,” Hoshino Gen whispered, sweat beading on his forehead. It was clear that the pain was mutual for both contract participants.

A low hum reverberated in his mind, and Hoshino Gen’s vision briefly went blank. When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a strange, translucent state inside a storage room filled with sports equipment—basketballs, soccer balls, jump ropes. It looked like a school facility.

But the real focus of his attention was in the corner of the room: a crying girl begging for mercy, and a man in a tracksuit with a twisted grin, advancing on her step by step.

Both the girl and the man were familiar. Chi-chan—or Hamada Michiko—and the culprit behind the “Net Phantom” case, Takatsu Yu.

Although it was his first time forming a human-ghost contract and he wasn’t sure what was happening, instinctively, Hoshino Gen knew what to do.

He glanced down at his semi-transparent body and shook his head with a wry smile. Even if this was just an illusion, the wish for a savior was palpable.

“If that’s your wish, I’ll fulfill it,” he murmured.

With a single step, Hoshino Gen closed the distance like an arrow shot from a bow, appearing behind Takatsu Yu. In the tearful girl’s astonished gaze, he threw a single punch, shattering the darkness in her heart.