Tokyo Exorcism Diary

Sasaki Ayane led Hoshino Gen to a quiet, incense-scented zen room.

The door was already open. Inside the room, thick with the scent of sandalwood, sat an enormous golden Buddha statue. Beneath it, Sasaki Shinichiro sat cross-legged, one hand propping up his face, the other playing absentmindedly with a string of prayer beads.

Ayane entered quietly, settling down on the cushion beside her grandfather in a formal seiza, her posture proper and precise.

Hoshino Gen didn’t go in. He leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, casting a sidelong glance at the room. Eventually, inevitably, his gaze settled on the prayer beads in Shinichiro’s hand.

Shinichiro seemed oblivious to their arrival. Eyes closed, he continued to thumb the beads in silence.

Time passed. Long enough that Hoshino Gen was ready to turn and leave—
That was when the old man suddenly spoke.

“Getting impatient already, boy?”

Hoshino Gen’s movement paused for a moment. He turned back to face Shinichiro’s back. He still wanted to hear what the old man had to say.

“Didn’t think that after holing up in this room for half a year, I’d come out to find someone like you running around Tokyo,” Shinichiro said, now turning around as well. He remained seated casually on the cushion, his expression hovering somewhere between a smile and a smirk. 

“Tell me, how’s a kid your age reeking of so much blood? That thing you’re carrying—now that’s something else. One wrong move and you’ll be beyond saving.”

Hoshino Gen’s expression didn’t change. For someone like Shinichiro, digging up information on the “not-so-secret” secrets of his life couldn’t be that difficult.

Shinichiro scratched his head and let out a sigh. “Tch. Never should’ve let those brats act on their own. Now the Sasaki family’s most precious little jewel is tied to a sinking ship like you.”

“That’s a bit dramatic,” Hoshino Gen finally said, lips curling into a faint, unconcerned smile. “It’s just an engagement, not a marriage. Legally and emotionally, there’s no actual bond between me and Sasaki-san. Even if it’s just in name, the Hoshino Group is already leveraging this connection to swap resources and align some interests with the Sasaki family. We’re probably both already profiting from it.”

“As long as things keep going like this, even if I suddenly kick the bucket one day, both families will have already gained plenty. At that point, even if the bridge between me and Sasaki-san collapses, it won’t be a huge loss. In fact, the Sasaki family could just repeat the same strategy and connect with another family. No marriage, no strings. No one could complain, right?”

Even Sasaki Ayane, who had been facing the Buddha the entire time, quietly clenched her pale fists at those words. Her already cold expression turned a few shades frostier.

Strangely enough, it was Shinichiro who burst into laughter, as if he’d just heard something absolutely delightful. Pointing a finger at Hoshino Gen, he grinned like a fox. “You’re a cold-blooded one, huh? Ruthless even to yourself. I like that. You’re exactly my type!”

Then, with a chuckle, he tossed the prayer beads toward Hoshino Gen. “Your logic’s sound. But the Sasaki family plays by the rules. Once something’s decided, we don’t go back on it. Hope you’re the same. If you ever betray little Ayane—don’t blame this old man for flipping the table.”

Hoshino Gen caught the beads. The moment his fingers closed around them, he felt a strange resonance coursing through his body—a harmony and tension, yin and yang intertwined.

“There are twelve relic pearls on that thing. They were left behind by a monk who, after death, became a benevolent spirit. He never harmed anyone, never did evil. Even after death, he chanted sutras for thirty years. When I was on the brink of madness, corrupted and defiled, I encountered him. He sacrificed himself to save me and entrusted me with those beads.”

“I’ve spent fifteen years in quiet cultivation since then. Never let them out of my sight.” Shinichiro’s smile deepened. “Take it as a little dowry for Ayane, from me to you. Heard you’ve been cozying up with the Asaba and Takasugi kids, planning something big. If you die out there, the Sasaki family would take a serious loss.”

Hoshino Gen stared at the beads for a long moment. Without saying a word, he finally slipped them onto his left wrist.

“Heh,” Shinichiro chuckled for some reason, then waved a hand dismissively. “Alright, it’s getting late. I won’t keep you for dinner. Ayane, go see your fiancé off.”

Turning back to the Buddha, he closed his eyes and fell silent once more.

Ayane’s lips twitched imperceptibly, but she still obeyed. She stood up and quietly exited the zen room.

Hoshino Gen glanced back one last time. Shinichiro’s figure, dwarfed beneath the massive Buddha, looked so small. For a fleeting moment, Hoshino Gen saw the shadow of another old man overlapping with him. He opened his mouth to speak—but nothing came out.

Following Ayane, they walked together through the nearly empty Sasaki estate. At the gate, a chauffeur was already standing by the Rolls-Royce that was always used to pick up Ayane.

Hoshino Gen got into the car, but just as he was about to shut the door, Ayane stopped him from the outside.

The girl met his eyes—beautiful, but distant. Her voice was frosty.

“Hoshino-san, I don’t know if people like you, with special abilities, view the world differently than the rest of us. But if we’re going to spend any time together in the future… please, at least try to respect my perspective.”

With that, she closed the door for him and turned away without another word.

Hoshino Gen watched her back disappear beyond the estate gates. Not until the car started moving did he finally look away.

“Sasaki…” he murmured, toying with the prayer beads before closing his eyes and leaning back in his seat with a long exhale.

…

By the time the car approached the apartment complex where the Hoshino family lived, Hoshino Gen was gazing absently out the window.

Then, his eyes suddenly sharpened.

—Dragging a suitcase, wearing a baseball cap, and radiating a low, disheartened energy as she climbed into a cab—

It was Hoshino Rin.

That girl… where’s she going? Work? Doesn’t look like it. No way she’d skip the Agency’s car service for a random cab. Especially with luggage…

While his thoughts spun, the taxi had already driven off.

Hoshino Gen’s eyes narrowed slightly. After a pause, he spoke up to the driver who was just about to pull up in front of his building.

“Wait. Could you follow that taxi that just left?”

The chauffeur blinked. As a Sasaki family employee, technically, his only job was to deliver Hoshino Gen back to his home. But… he was well aware of who Hoshino Gen was.

So he didn’t ask questions. Without hesitation, he turned the car around and smoothly began tailing the yellow cab down the street.