Tokyo Exorcism Diary

“I’m fine, thanks for your concern.” Hoshino Gen’s tone revealed no discernible emotion.

Kiryu Rakuye hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking, “Senpai, I actually went to Nagano this morning to take a look. The entire school has been burned to the ground—just a pile of ruins now. Was the battle yesterday really that intense? Even you ended up passing out.”

Hoshino Gen shook his head without offering any explanation. He glanced at the hospital gown he was wearing, then swept his gaze around the room. Soon, he spotted his freshly washed and neatly folded school uniform placed on the bedside table. He looked at Kiryu Rakuye. “If I want to leave now, what’s the procedure?”

“Uh… You just need to notify the front desk and sign a discharge form.” Kiryu Rakuye blinked. “But, Senpai, are you really leaving now? The doctor said your condition isn’t great—you should stay for further observation!”

Hoshino Gen waved a hand dismissively. “Step out for a moment. I need to change.”

Kiryu Rakuye pursed her lips in slight dissatisfaction but obediently left the room.

—

When Hoshino Gen arrived home, he immediately heard the sound of a movie playing on the living room TV. The room was dim, with all the curtains drawn shut.

Liz and Hoshino Rin—who had returned at some unknown point—were curled up on the sofa under a blanket, watching TV.

As soon as Hoshino Gen stepped inside, Hoshino Rin tossed aside the blanket and ran up to him. “Onii-chan! Where have you been? You were gone for so long! Liz and I were so worried! If someone claiming to be your friend hadn’t called and said you were just handling something outside, I would’ve called Mom!”

Hoshino Gen, who had just changed his shoes, replied nonchalantly, “Do I need to report my whereabouts to you? If we’re talking about staying out overnight, I’m pretty sure you do it more often than I do.”

Hoshino Rin pouted. “That’s because of work.”

“I was working too—just for myself.” Hoshino Gen shrugged, sidestepping her as he walked toward his room.

Hoshino Rin watched his back disappear behind the door, looking pitiful. I even pushed aside work to come back out of concern for you…

—

Once back in his room, Hoshino Gen didn’t idle around.

The presence in his left eye had awakened. Once his greatest trump card against danger, it had now become the danger itself—a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.

Although that thing was undoubtedly terrifying, and although he wasn’t particularly opposed to letting it fester, Hoshino Gen still rummaged through his drawers and pulled out a stack of blank talisman papers. Arranging them into a bagua formation around himself, he dipped a brush into ink and swiftly drew runes onto the papers.

Before long, the originally bright yellow bagua diagram took on a black-and-yellow hue.

Adjusting his posture, Hoshino Gen sat cross-legged and began chanting in a low voice. A faint golden light emanated from the bagua diagram, and the runes on the talismans trembled, detaching from the paper and crawling toward him.

Black runes slithered across his skin like chains before ultimately converging upon his left eye.

When every last rune had been absorbed, the bagua diagram on the floor lost its luster.

Hoshino Gen stood up and walked to the bathroom mirror. Studying his reflection, he noticed two minuscule chains of runes crisscrossing within his vibrant blue left eye, forming an “X”-shaped seal.

Would this actually work? Hoshino Gen wasn’t sure. After all, the entity residing in his left eye wasn’t something he could hope to control. But maybe it was psychological—seeing the seal in his eye gave him a strange sense of relief.

Bracing both hands on the sink, he tilted his head back, staring at the bathroom ceiling with a soft sigh.

—

A knock on his bedroom door broke his daze.

Outside, a sweet and lively voice called out—unsurprisingly, it was Hoshino Rin.

“Onii-chan, are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?”

Hoshino Gen snapped out of his thoughts. Now that she mentioned it, he realized he hadn’t eaten in over twenty hours. His stomach felt completely empty, and hunger gnawed at him.

Getting up, he opened the door. Hoshino Rin stood outside, dressed in casual, cartoon-patterned loungewear with an apron over it—clearly planning to cook dinner herself.

Hoshino Gen asked, “What’s in the kitchen?”

“Hmm… steak, fresh beef, ham, chicken, pork, bread, lots of vegetables, and more meat. Basically, you can have anything! And if we don’t have it, we can order delivery!” She proudly listed off her options like a head chef.

Hoshino Gen thought for a moment before asking, “Can you cook Chinese food?”

Hoshino Rin blinked. Then, she shook her head. “Nope.”

“Then just make something you’re good at.” Hoshino Gen said casually.

“Oh, so Onii-chan likes Chinese food?” Hoshino Rin murmured, as if she had just obtained an important piece of intel.

Hoshino Gen didn’t deny it. He’d grown up eating it, after all. Over the years, he’d tried cuisines from all over the world, but he had yet to find anything as diverse or as suited to his tastes.

Just as he was about to retreat to his room and wait until dinner was ready, Hoshino Rin suddenly stepped closer—so close their bodies nearly touched. Hoshino Gen instinctively took a step back to maintain some distance.

However, Hoshino Rin seemed unaware of his reaction. She leaned in, her bright heterochromatic eyes intently fixed on his left eye.

“Onii-chan, what’s in your left eye? Why does it have an ‘X’?”

Hoshino Gen placed a hand on her forehead and pushed her face away. “You don’t need to know.”

“Oh.” Hoshino Rin pouted slightly, secretly grumbling that her brother was such a stingy person. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she hurriedly added, “Oh! Can you sit with Liz in the living room for a while? We were watching a horror movie earlier, and if I leave to cook, she’ll be all alone and scared.”

This time, Hoshino Gen didn’t refuse. He wasn’t doing anything particularly important in his room anyway. Plus, he did enjoy horror movies.

Taking a seat on the long couch, he left a good amount of distance between himself and Liz. But before he could even settle in properly or see what was playing on the TV, Liz suddenly hopped off her seat and plopped down right next to him—clinging to his arm as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“?”

Even Hoshino Gen was momentarily baffled. A single question mark slowly formed in his mind.

…Wait, since when were we this close?