The first thing I felt was the sun shining on my face.

...What?

I was looking at an empty alleyway. There was no monster anywhere. Looking around, I found myself back on the crowded street. People gave me strange looks as they passed by.

Embarrassed, I got up from the ground.

But what had just happened? I couldn't wrap my head around the situation.

I looked back at where I thought I had come from but saw no alleyway, only a wall.

Was it a dream? Did I collapse from the heat? Wait. There's a way I can check.

I quickly opened my bag, and sure enough, I found the two drinks from the alleyway. I stood there for several minutes, thinking.

_________________________________________________________

When I managed to find my way back to the Ninjatendo Store, she had already gotten the game and was waiting for me outside.

"What in the world took you so long? Are you okay?"

Mika looked at me with concerned eyes, which meant that she was extremely worried, as she would usually tease me.

"Honestly, I don't even know myself."

Mika stared at me for a little longer, before asking "Did you get lost? Or did you run into trouble?"

There's no way I can tell her about the thing that chased me. She would never believe me, not in a million years. She'd think I hit my head or something. I thought back to how the alleyway disappeared.

"Uh... I guess I got lost?"

Mika sighed with relief and hit me on the head again. Ow.

"Don't worry me like that. I can't believe I can't let you out of my sight, not even to buy drinks!"

Right. Drinks. That's what I was doing, to begin with. I handed her the CC Lemon, before downing the entire milk tea in one go.

"Wow. You must've been super thirsty."

_________________________________________________________

We made our way back to Mika's house, and I took a much-needed shower. When I walked into her living room, she had already booted up her Switch. She looked up at me with an impatient face.

"C'mon, let's get started already!" She tapped the pile of snacks from her stash. "I've already got all of the food."

Deciding that distracting myself from today's events would be for the best, I walked over to join her.

After a couple of hours, there was a loud sound coming from my bag.

"Ring ring ring!"

"That's probably my mom. I think I have to go home for dinner now."

Mika's face filled with disappointment. I felt slightly guilty, but after what happened today, I absolutely did not want to go home after nightfall. I helped her clean up and thanked Mika and her mom for letting me over before walking out their apartment door.

"Don't forget, we're going shopping for supplies for school tomorrow!" Mika called out.

That's right. I almost forgot. Looking forward to another outing with Mika, I waved back at her.

"See you soon!"

When I got home, I was greeted with the strong and welcoming smell of curry, but I didn't feel like eating.

"Are you alright Yuri? You're hardly eating anything."

My mom knocked me out of my daze, and she looked at me with concern.

"H-huh? Oh, I'm fine. I just ate a lot of snacks at Mika's house."

That wasn't the case, however, because I didn't feel hungry at Mika's either. The thought of the monster's eerie face made me feel sick.

"Now that I think about it, aren't you two starting high school soon?" My brother Kenta asked.

"Yep! I even got into my dream school, and with Mika too!" I was momentarily filled with pride, and it wiped the dark thoughts away.

My dad smiled brightly at these words. "That's amazing, Sayuri! Kenta's also starting his second year of college! Why don't we go to a nice restaurant to celebrate?"

My mom clapped her hands. "That's a great idea! Where would you like to go, Sayuri?"

I thought for a bit, before saying "I think Sukiyaki would be good. Also, can I go shopping with Mika at the mall tomorrow to prepare for school?"

"Of course! Make sure to make the most of your last week before you're busy with school again."

After brushing my teeth and changing into my pajamas, I sat on my bed writing in my diary, a nightly ritual that let me write about my day. Random books and journals littered my surrounding room.

Writing was my hobby, as I have so many thoughts and ideas that writing them down lets me properly process them. But even writing didn't stop the thoughts from racing in my head today.

What in the world happened in Akihabara today? I reimagined what I so narrowly escaped, and attempted to describe it in my diary. But words couldn't do it justice. The shadows in my room seemed to grow, and I was filled with anticipation. Absentmindedly squishing the cheeks of a Komasan plush, I resolved myself. I have to go back and investigate.

...Not.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

What am I, one of those stupid characters from horror stories? If I go back there and do end up finding that horror again, I would probably die. That's a no from me.

I laughed nervously at the thought, put away my diary, and turned off the lights. But the screaming and sight of the tall man tormented me in my dreams, and I hardly slept a wink.

I sat at the table the next morning, falling asleep and failing to eat my food. Dammit, I'm making my mom worried again.

"Are you alright, Sayuri? Did something happen?"

"No, don't worry. I'll be fine."

"Mmmm... alright." My Mom looked at me with suspicious eyes. "Sayuri."

"Hm?"

"You haven't seen anything strange recently, have you?"

Eh? Can she read my mind? Still, there's no way she'd believe me if I told her about the creature.

"Nope."

"Well, if you ever happen to see anything weird, tell your father and I, alright? Make sure to tell the police, too."

This struck me rather oddly, but I didn't question it.

"Alright, got it."

"Good. Now, have fun shopping with Mika today."

"Thank you."

I got up from the table, moved my dishes over to the dishwasher, and grabbed my belongings. Right before leaving, I remembered something important.

"Wait, can I have some more money? I'm almost out."

My mom laughed. "I was wondering when you would ask again."

_________________________________________________________

Shopping with Mika was pretty fun. But, as expected, we didn't just shop. We went around all kinds of places, such as arcades (yes, our addiction spread even to those) and cafes.

"Mika, look at this! They have Pokemon plushes!"

"Sayuri, I think you have enough of those."

"One more can't hurt..."

"Sayuri, fight me to the death."

"Don't word it like that, we're only playing Mario Kart."

The outing was so fun that I almost forgot about yesterday. Almost. It was enough to make me forget about the time, however.

[Yuri, I know you're having a lot of fun, but it's getting kind of late. You can hang out with Mika again soon, so you should come home, alright?]

"AH!"

"What is it, Sayuri?"

"It's already ten!"

"WHAT?" Mika checked her phone and groaned. "And I thought only you pulled things like this."

Ignoring her statement, I grabbed her hand and we ran out of the mall. Sure enough, it was nighttime. Oh no. My fears started to come back. What if we ran into another monster? But I reasoned with myself. That must've been a dream, Sayuri. You probably bought the drinks and then fainted from the heat.

Still, I couldn't calm myself down, and I fidgeted the entire time while we sat on the subway. The train arrived and we walked outside.

My heart sank. No. I can't do it. I'll just sleep in the station.

"C'mon, Sayuri. You can't fall asleep now, we're almost there."

Because her house was closer to the station, we walked to her house first.

I almost asked her if I could stay over, but I told myself that I was overreacting. Surely I was just imagining things earlier...

E-even if that monster was real, it was in Akihabara. Not here.

"Bye, Sayuri. I'll message you once I come back!"

Oh no. Now I was alone.

I walked along the empty street, and my legs involuntarily shook, no matter how much I resisted. Only a couple of dim street lamps lit my path, and would my luck have it, even the cicadas weren't making any noise, even though it was the middle of summer. I suddenly heard a noise behind me, and I nearly fell over from fright.

Large, yellow eyes made eye contact with me, paired with a cute, whiskered face. Thank god, it's just a cat. Nearly overwhelmed with relief, I walked over to the furry animal to pet it. But as I approached, the cat started to hiss.

"Oh don't be scared, I won't hurt you. If anything, you've saved me from dying of fright."

But as I got closer, I realized that the cat was looking past me. Surely not. This is such a cliché. Don't let it be there. I turned and was met with a pretty young woman standing underneath a street light, although I could only see her eyes. She was wearing a face mask, but her perfect, pale skin was visible, along with eyes that sparkled like gems. My god. All of you have to stop scaring me like that.

As I sighed and started to turn back towards the cat, the woman spoke.

"Am I beautiful?"

Huh? I was taken aback. Who asked a stranger that sort of question? I decided to answer her politely, and said "Well, I think you are."

The woman removed her mask and smiled, showing her perfect teeth. The smile somehow didn't fit her, and something felt wrong. The smile only grew, until the sides of her mouth ripped from ear to ear, revealing a maw filled with teeth like a shark's. Her voice, sweet like honey but now dripping with venom, asked "Even with this?"

The sounds of my own heart beating overwhelmed me, as fear paralyzed my body. The only thing that moved was my mouth, in an open scream.

That was a mistake. Angered, the woman's arms seemed to stretch, until they split right down the middle, revealing sharp, bloody edges like pairs of scissors. A moment too late, I remembered a certain urban legend that my brother once told me.

"If you meet a beautiful woman alone on the street, you should be careful. If she asks you if she's pretty, whatever you do, do not say no, or she'll kill you. But if you say yes, she'll reveal her face, and ask again. Don't ever say no, or scream, because your life will be forfeit. But don't say yes either, because she'll make you look just like her."

I somehow managed to will my legs into moving, and I ran in the opposite direction of the Kuchisake-Onna. The cat ran with me, but it was much faster. The tall man who chased me earlier was real. But there's no way I'm getting lucky again. Tears filled my eyes. I didn't even try to look behind me this time. I knew it was coming. Adrenaline filled my body, but I felt like giving up and lying down. I turned a corner and met a dead end.

This was it. Collapsing against the wall, I watched the Kuchisake-Onna turn the corner and walk towards me. It took its scissored arms and opened them wide, leering at me as it slowly savored my fear.

I breathed heavily, too scared to even think about my family again. All I thought was that I didn't want to die.

Please, I thought. Please let this be a dream. But it was futile. I knew it was.

I couldn't even stop hyperventilating.

I was going to die in this pathetic state.

Well, it wasn't like how I died mattered.

And yet, a single line filled my mind. Was it from a book?

It is in the face of death that one's true self is revealed.

Even though nothing would come of it, I stood up.

What am I doing? It's not like I stopped being scared.

...The sound of my heart still pounded in my ears.

What does it matter if I'm standing or sitting when I die?

And yet, I steeled myself and stared the ghastly slit-faced in the eyes. A small sign of surprise showed, and the Yuuki Onna stopped, but not for long. It soon continued advancing, no longer grinning. It prepared to cut me down.

And then it happened.

My heart started to burn like it had been set alight. A bright line cut through the dark of the night, and I instinctively covered my eyes with one arm. Wind blew my hair back, and the Kuchisake-Onna flinched. As the light faded, I saw a glowing, light blue woman wearing robes standing in front of me.

Wielding a long naginata, the woman looked imposing, yet elegant. Long, flowing hair trailed from the back of her head, and the atmosphere grew strangely calm. She hovered slightly in the air and gave off small waves of sky-blue light.

The Kuchisake-Onna, threatened by the new presence, quickly sprung towards the woman, arms outstretched. I tried to shout a warning, but the woman moved faster than I could react. Blocking both of the monster's scissor arms with her naginata, the woman easily overpowered it and pushed it back. The woman raised her naginata in a counterattack and swung.

Traveling in a beautiful arc, the blade of the light blue naginata seemed to cut through the very air and cut off one of the Kuchisake-Onna's arms, which disintegrated into dust. Screaming, the Yuuki Onna tried to attack the woman with its other arm, but that too got cut off in the blink of an eye.

Amazing. Who was this woman? The way she glowed almost made her seem like... a guardian spirit. Or a god. Did my prayers work?

In a last-ditch effort, the Kuchisake-Onna opened its mouth wide, revealing hundreds upon hundreds of serrated teeth. With a dreadful scream, it thrust its mouth towards the young woman's face, threatening to rip her head off.

Thud.

The slit-faced woman's head hit the ground, and soon her entire body started to fade away.

"...men..."

I stared at the glowing woman in awe and disbelief. She turned towards me and smiled at me sweetly. Her face was extremely pretty, and her eyes were filled with kindness. I had only just met her, yet it somehow felt like I had known her all her life. Still smiling, she slowly faded away, and I was left alone in the night.

But my fear had melted away, and a strange calm filled me. I was safe.

I heard a rustling noise and saw the cat from before coming out of a nearby bush.

Aw. Looks like it was worried about me. It walked up to me and let me scratch its ears, giving off a soft purr. After a minute or two of bliss, I bid it farewell ("Goodbye, Mr. Kitty.") and walked home, no longer afraid.