Aika awoke to the gentle call of Rei's voice. Her eyes slowly peeled open, her back aching as she sat up straight in her chair. She realized she had slept at the dinner table. If the audible cracks in her neck and back were anything to go by, she was paying the price for it.

"Rei?" Aika yawned. "I don't even remember falling asleep."

Rei pulled up an adjacent chair and joined Aika at the table, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Me neither. We pulled an all-nighter."

Aika took a glance through the window, noticing it was nearly noon already. The sun shined like a light bulb in the naked, sapphire sky. She looked at the shadows, noting the sun sat directly above their heads, rather than at an angle.

"No word from Osamu or Yoko yet?" Aika asked.

"Nothing." Rei sighed, shaking her head. "I hope they're okay. We have no idea who we're dealing with."

"Lucrezia has a plan, Rei."

"Yeah, that she concocted without telling any of us."

"Good morning, ladies!"

Aika and Rei shot up onto their feet, startled by Lucrezia's sudden appearance.

"Again with this jump-scare shit?!" Rei cried.

"I'm sorry, Rei." Lucrezia said. "Aika, would you be a dear and open the door? Shinju is here."

"She is?" Aika questioned.

Aika rushed to the front door and flung it open. Three people sauntered towards the house, two of them being the Shoku Twins. The pallid twins surprised Aika with their rather casual outfit, consisting of denim short shorts and plain, white shirts tucked into them.

As eye catching as their new appearance was, Aika's gaze immediately shifted over to the third person, a young woman wearing a poncho, pair of black panties, panda ear warmers, and a peace sign necklace. Her heard of fiery, orange hair waved in the wind, while her sapphire blue eyes honed right in on Aika. A shiny white smile formed on her face as she clasped her hands together and bowed to Aika.

Lucrezia and Rei marched outside, eager to see the oddly dressed exorcist for themselves. Aika was all too mortified to say anything to this strange woman. She was immensely beautiful, like an angel plucked right from heaven and plopped down on earth where she didn't belong. However, her audacity to walk around in a long, white poncho and black panties threw Aika so incredibly off guard that her tongue practically turned to stone.

"Good afternoon, Aika, Rei. Lucrezia probably told you I was on my way. The name's Shinju Miyakawa."

"...Lucrezia, our friends were kidnapped by a millionaire madman and the person you've entrusted to save their lives isn't even wearing pants." Rei chided.

Shinju gasped in faux-shock. "Oh? Is this coming from the girl that nearly destroyed the world because she was jealous?"

Rei stood there in wide-eyed surprise, unsure of how to bite back at Shinju. Lucrezia covered her mouth in a poor attempt to hide her laughter.

"I know all about that little incident." Shinju said. "And I know Aika here...well, you know."

"Uhh...actually, I don't know." Aika responded.

"I know you don't know." Shinju said.

“All right then..." Aika muttered.

"Aika, Rei, Shinju is the most equipped to handle Satori." Akatsuki said. "Though she may have the aura of a hopeless, penniless bum, she is one of the best exorcists in all of Kyoto."

Shinju knelt down and squished Akatsuki's cheeks with her hand, turning her usual stone faced expression into that of a dying flounder fish. "All these years, and you still resort to passive-aggressiveness, Akatsuki."

Shinju stood and released a tired sigh. "The moment Satori took Izanami with him, this case became a personal matter for me."

"What? Why's that?" Rei asked.

"She's a distant relative of mine!" Shinju declared with a smile. "I'm a descendant of Mizuhame, one of Izanami's daughters."

"Hold on!" Rei recoiled. "Doesn't that make you a demigod or something?!"

"More like a tenth of a percent demigod, but yeah, I guess." Shinju said. "Please, just treat me as you would any other human being."

"You say it like it's so easy..." Rei muttered.

"Besides..." Shinju began. "I'm dying to meet this Osamu fella'."

"Why? Is it because of all the gossip about him lately?" Lucrezia asked. "It's all true, you know."

"Well, that's part of it. Also, because you played such a cruel trick on him. You must have a lot of trust in that man"

Lucrezia smiled. "I would trust him with my life. Aika, Rei, come inside. It's about time we saved Osamu's hide."

Osamu emerged from the hall of mirrors, finding himself back in the seemingly endless hallways of the mansion. He closed the door behind him, sighing as he released the door handle. His hand shook and his fingers twitched. His entire upper arm tingled like there was ice in his veins. He slid his hand into pocket, the only thing he could do to suppress the tremors.

With so much to do and so little time to do it, Osamu marched down the hall in search of Kagutsuchi. Even if she struggled to remember anything about her past, Osamu didn't know where else to start. She was the source of the shikome's curse and of Satori's affliction. There had to be something he could get out of her.

He walked in her room, only to find it completely dark, and the light switches not responsive.

"Uh...Kagu? You in here?"

A single, fluorescent tube light flickered on, revealing Kagutsuchi holding the tube light between her legs, lighting up the right side of her body and casting a shadow on the left side. Kagu smiled and winked at Osamu.

"Kagu! You scared the hell out of me!"

"Oh, sorry!" Kagutsuchi giggled. "I heard your footsteps in the hallway and I wanted to surprise you! Well, Osamu? Do I look delectable?"

Kagutsuchi held the light side of the tube light just above her breasts, casting every part of her body below that point with shadow. "Do I look exquisite?"

Kagutsuchi licked the underside of the tube light as it rested between her legs like a ridiculously long phallus. "Do you think I could be the girl of your dreams?"

"Oi, Kagu. That's real tempting, but I have a policy against fooling around with a mother and her daughter at the same time. It's weird."

"Oh that's right!" Kagutsuchi gasped. "Since you're married to Mom, that sort of makes you....my...step...father..."

Kagutsuchi shrieked and covered herself, letting the tube light shatter on the floor. "Wait...but, isn't it okay if you're just a step-father?"

"Of course it isn't, don't be silly."

Kagutsuchi walked up to Osamu, managing to find him even in the dark. She blindly placed her hand on his chest, feeling his strong heartbeat pulse against her palm.

"Hey, Osamu. You're tense, aren't you? I can tell."

"Of course I'm tense! You're making this very awkward!"

"No, that's not what I mean. I get the feeling something happened."

"Yeah...Am I that easy to read?"

Kagutsuchi nodded. "For me, you are."

"A lot is at stake here. Especially now that I'm cursed too."

"Wait, what?!" Kagutsuchi recoiled. "When did you get cursed?! Was it me?!"

"No, no. A shikome bit me on the neck when Satori took me to his mirror room."

"Seriously?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Kagutsuchi cried.

"I haven't told anyone. I don't want the girls to worry."

"I don't know of any ways to reverse a shikome's curse. The only person who knew how to do that was my sister, Mizuhame. She was a goddess of water and rivers. I remember her being able to tame my powers after I was born. She died a long time ago, though..."

(I wonder...did Kagu...)

"I heard she has descendants, but they'd be hard to find now." Kagutsuchi said. "Apparently, Mizuhame helped Mom get out of the underworld. She fixed her up and restored her beauty as much as she could. That's why she can roam the earth and get married now."

"You were able to remember all of this?" Osamu asked.

"Honestly, I got most of this from one of Satori's books. I think it was called Engishiki? It helped me remember a little bit more about my family and Mizuhame. After I was born, Mom was...you know."

Osamu nodded. "Yeah..."

"Mom was on the verge of death, and even then, she only thought of me. She asked Mizuhame to look after me and control my powers as much as she could. Because of her, I didn't burn anyone else like I did my mother."

"The only person who knows how to reverse this is dead..." Osamu sighed.

"I'm sorry, Osamu."

(Like with Satori, I'm sure the progression of the curse is entirely up to me, isn't it? Satori should've died by now, but he had Bishamon's help in lengthening his lifespan.)

"But...I did find out something about Satori's curse." Kagutsuchi said.

"Really?! What is it?"

"Well, Mizuhame was the one who acted as a countermeasure against me and my powers. So that means that we either need to find one of Mizuhame's descendants, or..."

"Or?"

"Or we'll have to go to the underworld and find Mizuhame's gourd. But obviously, that will be dangerous."

"Kagu, you're brilliant! So, all I have to do is go to the underworld, snatch that gourd, and bring it back?"

"I'm not exactly sure how she used it. I'm sure it had some form of holy water in it, but that's a big risk to assume the gourd even still has anything in it. Only Mizuhame or one of her descendants would know exactly how it works."

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Well, it's a huge start!"

Osamu excitedly kissed Kagutsuchi's cheek and ran off. "Thanks Kagu!"

Kagutsuchi stood rubbing her cheek, shocked by the sudden kiss. "Yeah, no problem, I guess."

Osamu gleefully ran through the hall, eager to tell Satori about the new development. He came to a full stop when he turned the corner and nearly ran into a shikome dressed in a white burial robe with her eyes closed. Osamu's chest tightened as he locked eyes with the demonic husk of a woman. The shikome's deathly stench and cold aura put goosebumps on his skin.

"Uhm...hi...I'm looking for Satori. Do you know..."

The shikome pointed down the hall, towards a spiral staircase the led up to a single room.

"Thanks..."

Osamu continued down the hall, and up the spiral staircase. Only when he proceeded past the shikome did he realize he wasn't breathing. His heart skipped a few beats as he took a deep breath, the hairs on his neck standing up.

(The aura around those things is truly something foul...)

Osamu knocked on the red door of Satori's bedroom. "Hey, Satori. You in there? I've got something to tell you."

"Ah, Osamu! Come in! It's unlocked."

As soon as he entered, however, Osamu was filled with dread. The room was lit by a red lantern, and dozens of severed arms and legs were suspended from the ceiling. Satori sat at a wooden desk in the center of the room, the left sleeve of his golden tuxedo empty. Osamu's heart nearly jumped out of his mouth as he surveyed the dozens of limbs dangling just above his head.

"Don't be scared. They're dead." Satori quipped.

Osamu reluctantly walked deeper into the room, being sure not to brush up against any of the severed limbs.

"The uh...the curse. It seems replacing my limbs is no longer a viable option." Satori said. "It will probably spread to my organs next. I sure hope you have a plan."

"I do. Kagutsuchi told me something interesting just now."

"Oh really? Please, do tell. I'm all ears."

"Basically, a long time ago, when Kagu was born, there was only one person who could counteract her powers, and that was her sister. Mizuhame, goddess of water and rivers."

"Really? Is this Mizuhame the key?"

"Well, she would be, but she's dead. She died a long time ago, according to Kagu. She does have descendants, but it would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack."

"So, I'm guessing there's an alternative?"

"Better. Even with Mizuhame dead, the actual solution might still be available to us. When Mizuhame placated Kagu and healed Izanami, she did so with a gourd that contained holy water. That gourd is still somewhere in the underworld.

"And how do we know the gourd won't just be empty? It's been a long time since it was last used, after all. Going down to the underworld for that kind of object would be a huge gamble on your own life, Osamu."

To Satori's surprise, Osamu had a sly smile on his face, as if all of this was a source of excitement for him.

"You wanna go, don't you?" Satori questioned.

"It'll heal us both and satisfy the conditions of our deal. I'm taking this shot. Tomorrow morning, I'm headed for the underworld. Is that all right with you?"

Satori laughed and nodded. "Sure. It's all right with me."

Looking at Satori in his increasingly weakening state, Osamu felt bewitched by the strange brew of curiosity and sympathy welling within him. Satori's usual air of reckless insanity was almost nonexistent in that room. His smile and smug expression had turned into a blank, forlorn stare of hidden anguish.

"Satori...how are you feeling?"

Satori smiled. "My my, Osamu! Are you developing a crush on me? I'm flattered, darling!"

"Don't push your luck. I'm honestly curious about your health, for obvious reasons."

Satori stood from his seat, looking around at his wonderful assortment of spare limbs. "Every day is harder than the last, though you tend not to care the closer you get to your own death."

"I would think the opposite is true, especially if you have something you care about."

"Is it? Didn't you originally die for the sake of something you cared about?"

"Yeah, but what are you dying for?"

The question confounded Satori. He softly chuckled to himself and focused his gaze on Osamu. "You know, Osamu, when I was a kid, my dream was to be an astronaut. I wanted to hop on a rocket to space, feel the terrifying thrill and turbulence of blasting past the stratosphere at lung-tightening speeds. I had always wondered what it felt like to go from that turbulence to the sudden, floaty stillness of space. I wanted to know what it felt like to live, even for just a day, without the very earth bearing its weight down on me, keeping me grounded like a ball and chain."

Satori's eyes wandered off into the vast wonder of space, away from the confines of the room. "I wanted to see that massive, golden monarch we call the Sun. If I could, I'd even fly the girl of my dreams to the moon, just like Sinatra said. Whenever I thought of this, of taking even just a day to lose myself in that vast, infinite void we understand as Space..."

"...You realize that something other than gravity is calling you back." Osamu said. "If you're the kind of man who would leave behind the world, all of your money and riches, then I doubt you'd go back for it all. Something you find more compelling than the universe itself calls you back."

"So you're a psychologist now, Osamu?"

"No. I just...even with everything you've put me through so far, I can't believe that you are one-hundred percent evil. You were a little boy once. You had dreams once. You loved someone or something once."

"From our time together, you've also ascertained that I am a man who proudly shrouds himself in lies.”

"What are you hiding? You proudly flaunted Isabella's remains in front of me. You've shown me every nook and cranny of this mansion, a circus of extravagance and supernatural horror. What still remains that you feel you have to hide?"

"The reason why I've gone this far, suffer this much...and still consider it all to be worth it."

(The mystery you like to shroud yourself in only makes me that much more determined to unveil it all...)

"I'll find that gourd, Satori. I'll find it, and in exchange, I want you to show me the reason you are what you are. Deal?"

Satori, entertained yet again by the bold, nosy personality of Osamu, shook his hand with a smile. "All right, you've got yourself a deal."

Osamu went to bed that night sure that he had found an end to the mess that he was stuck in for the past few days. If he could cure himself of the shikome's curse, cure Satori of Kagutsuchi's curse, he could go home and get Isabella's remains back. The end was nearly in sight.

The following morning, back in Hokkaido, Rei, Aika, Lucrezia, Shinju and the Shoku Twins went over their findings in the dining room. Shinju plopped a manila envelope on the table and took her seat. Lucrezia opened it up and handed some of the photographs inside to Aika and Rei.

"I managed to get everything you asked for." Shinju said. "The blueprints for the mansion came straight from the Kinki Regional Development Bureau. I had Black Maria gather some aerial shots of the property while I snapped some pics from the ground. Sure enough, there's a full-blown shikome outbreak on the property. Satori seems to have them under control for now, though."

"Shikome?" Aika asked.

"Foul women from the Underworld." Lucrezia answered. "Ever seen Ring? They all look like Sadako Yamamura."

"Please, no." Rei shivered. "That movie freaked me out..."

"It's rare to see shikome outside of the underworld, though." Akatsuki said. "Where are they coming from?"

"From what I could gather, from Kagutsuchi herself." Shinju said, folding her orange hair behind her ears. "Didn't she have a similar set of powers back during the Warring States era?"

Omagatoki nodded. "Yeah, you're right! Remember, Sis? Kagu raised several people from the dead when she was the Phantom Maiden. It might be similar to what's happening now."

"I do remember that." Akatsuki affirmed. "Compared to the kind of destruction she wrought back then, this is child's play."

"Well, that's relieving to hear!" Shinju tittered, leaning forward with her elbows on the table. "Considering that even Tsukiakari had trouble fighting her back in her prime, I was a little worried about having to confront Kagutsuchi."

"If this is anything to go by, we can assume Kagutsuchi is far more docile than she used to be." Lucrezia explained.

"So, now that we have all of this, what exactly is your plan?" Aika asked.

Lucrezia put the photographs down and stood from her chair. "We have four objectives here: rescue Osamu and the girls, take custody of Kagutsuchi, deal with Satori, and vanquish the shikome. This will require a direct attack on the mansion. Shinju will go in for a frontal assault and clear a path for you guys. I'll sneak in through the back of the property and see about handling Satori while Shinju fights the shikome."

"I always get the short stick, huh?" Shinju tittered.

"I know you enjoy the action." Lucrezia said. "The Shoku Twins will come with me. I'll have you guys try to locate Osamu."

"Understood." Akatsuki said.

"I hope Big Brother Osamu is safe..." Omagatoki sighed.

"He's a lucky, stubborn guy. I'm know he's all right." Rei assured.

"So, when do we start?" Aika asked.

"Now." Lucrezia declared. "Well, first I have to make a phone call. Once we're all prepared, we'll head right over to Satori's mansion. The Shoku Twins can get us to Kyoto immediately."

"Wait, right now?! I feel like we're missing several steps of planning here!" Rei protested. "We don't know exactly how many shikome are on the property, we don't know where Osamu or the others are, what their condition is, or if their lives would be endangered by an attack! We also don't know if Kagutsuchi will be hostile to us or not! Omagatoki just told us she was Gekko's enemy in the past, right?"

"If Kagutsuchi was truly hostile to anyone, the shikome would be ravaging the entire city and Satori wouldn't be alive." Lucrezia explained.

"Since nothing seems to be fucked twelve ways from Sunday, we can assume that Kagu is either spreading this unintentionally or she's fallen from her prime, like Tsukiakari." Shinju elaborated. "There's no need to worry about her. Once I'm done with the shikome, I'll confront Kagu."

"Yes, that would be the best course of action." Lucrezia said.

"Lucrezia, if anything happens to Osamu because of this..." Rei growled.

"You're scary when you glare like that, Rei." Lucrezia laughed nervously. "Please rest assured that we have this under control. Everyone, go ahead and gather outside. I'd like to get this started immediately."

"This better work. Let's go, Aika." Rei said.

Lucrezia remained in the dining room as everyone vacated the house. She whipped out her phone, her Sailor Moon chain strap dangling against her bandaged hand. Osamu stood in the middle of Satori's garden of spider lilies when his phone vibrated in his jean pocket. Seeing Lucrezia's name pop up, he immediately answered.

"Lucrezia?!" Osamu shouted.

"...Geez, Osamu! Not so loud! You're gonna rupture my eardrum!" Lucrezia groaned.

Osamu suddenly felt the gazes of all the shikome in the garden crawling over him. He looks around, realizing that he had even startled them.

"Lucrezia, unless you get to explaining, I'm going to kill you the next time I see you."

"Whoa whoa, hang on, Osamu! Look, I know what it looks like."

"That you completely sold me and my family out to some dangerous, loaded madman?"

"Yes..."

"That you endangered our lives by exposing us to shikome and curses?"

"Y-yeah, that too..."

"That you abandoned us for five whole days without explaining anything?!"

"...Are you mad?"

"No, I'm just jolly! Do I sound upset to you? No, this is me having fun!" Osamu shouted.

"Okay, okay. I knew you'd be mad. You have every right to be."

"Talk, Lucrezia."

"Yes, I deliberately handed you and your family over to Satori, and I deliberately withheld his letter from you. The goal wasn't to sell you out or put you in danger, but to track down and capture Satori."

"What? Is he wanted or something?" Osamu asked.

"Well...to the exorcists, he is. He's in trouble with divine law enforcement, not the normal police. Let me explain..."

Lucrezia filled Osamu in on Satori's history with the exorcists and everything leading up to him tracking down Osamu, just as she did with Aika and Rei.

"So that's what all of this is for?" Osamu asked.

"I'm sorry for hiding this from you. You were our Trojan horse. In order to deceive Satori, I had to deceive you first." Lucrezia explained. "I've been spending these past five days tracking Satori down and putting together a plan of action. Your friends Aika and Rei are here, and the Shoku Twins too. I've also asked my subordinate to offer her assistance. Actually, it's more like she jumped at the opportunity once she found out you were involved."

"Huh? Do I know her or something?"

"No, you've never met her. It's just that you're famous among the exorcists, remember? Who wouldn't jump at the chance to meet the man who stormed Heaven? I guess you can consider her your first groupie."

"Don't talk as if I'm some sort of lowly rockstar. Listen, Lucrezia, your plan is fine and all, but things have gotten a little complicated."

"Yes, I know. Kagutsuchi is in his custody. How is she behaving, by the way? Is she hostile?"

"No, the complete opposite, actually. She doesn't remember much of anything about her Phantom Maiden days or the Warring States era. It's like she has amnesia. In fact, she had forgotten so much about it all that she and Gekko were able to make up and start over as friends. And of course, she made up with Izanami, too."

"Is that so? Well, that's actually quite wholesome to hear. It's good to know she's not hostile, too. That would've complicated things."

"Kagu isn't the reason things are complicated, though. I got bit, Lucrezia. One of the shikome bit me."

"What? When?"

"Yesterday."

"Shit..."

"Lucrezia? How long do I have?"

"That depends entirely on you. Satori has survived all this time, but I can't say for sure how long you'll have. It could be today, or maybe tomorrow. Osamu, that curse spreads fast. Once it takes hold of your body, you'll die."

"Here's the thing, Kagutsuchi told me that Mizuhame's gourd is still somewhere in the underworld. I'm planning to go down there and get it."

"Osamu, stop. That's a ridiculous idea. The underworld is a horrible, vile place. You might have a lot more than shikome to deal with if you go down there."

"I don't have time to wait."

"...Damn it. I'm sorry, Osamu. I wasn't expecting this to happen. Okay, you can go down there, but take my advice. Bring Izanami and Tsukiakari with you. Izanami should know the layout of the underworld very well, and of course Tsukiakari is a great fighter. This might actually work out well. If you're in the underworld with Izanami and Tsukiakari, you'll be safer than if you were in the mansion during the assault. It just means you only have to worry abut curing yourself, not Satori."

"Lucrezia...what are you going to do with Satori?"

"That's entirely up to him. Knowing him, he won't give up without a fight."

"If at all possible...please avoid killing him. I'm beginning to think he's not actually all that evil. Just as you had your reasons for doing what you did to me, I think he has his reasons too."

"I can't honor that request. It's my duty as an exorcist to see that he pays for his crimes. If that means killing him, then that's just what I'll do."

"I didn't realize you exorcists had the authority to kill people."

"It's rare, but we do have a bingo list of fugitives and criminals, many of them wanted dead rather than alive. After the stunt he pulled hiding Kagutsuchi from the exorcists, Satori became one of them."

"And? What's your plan with Kagutsuchi? You killing her too?"

"...I don't murder in cold blood, Osamu. If that's what you're insinuating, I would implore you to shut up. Everything I'm doing is going to be in Kagu's best interest as well."

"Can I trust you on that, that you won't harm Kagutsuchi?"

"Izanami would kill me even if I wanted to harm her. I'm trying to keep her safe. I promise."

Osamu sighed. "All right."

"I called you to explain everything, as a gesture of good will."

"Yeah, after the fact!"

"Sorry!" Lucrezia tittered. "Well, you're in the know now. Let's get to work, Osamu. Go ahead and make your way to the underworld. I'll get the assault started."

"All right. Good luck, Lucrezia."

"You too, Osamu.”