Call Girl (2)
"—I'm in the void right now."
Tu. Tu. Tu.
The call with Mary cut off. Where the hell is the void? If it was some spatial storm, maybe, but a prank call in the middle of the night? What a bad omen.
I checked the call log. Caller ID restricted.
"Don't run away, you coward!!! Don't you dare run!!!"
I yelled into the empty air, veins bulging in my neck. If you're gonna prank call, be ready for payback!
That's when it happened, while I was screaming my lungs out.
Nina-nina-ni-gorilla-da~♫
Für Elise rang from Yuuki-kun's flip phone again. Caller ID restricted, as expected.
! ! ! ! ! !
You're not the type to run from responsibility like some lightweight, are you? As a veteran prank call fighter, I decided to get serious for this battle.
I hit accept.
"Hello."
"I'm Mary."
That bitch's voice.
"Agh. Didn't you already say your name was Mary?"
So frustrating. She ignores my questions and just spouts her own crap.
"I'm in the Tunnel Entrance right now."
Tunnel...? I started to speak but stopped. I had a hunch.
Ah. She means the tunnel connecting the outside world to the village? The one with the sign saying "No need for laws in this friendly neighborhood."
Probably?
"Mary. Are you on your way to Utsuromura Village right now?"
She hung up without even a short reply this time. Tu. Tu. Tu. Just the tone repeating.
I'm starting to get pissed. One-sided communication is against the rules. Time for some petty revenge of my own.
Nina-nina-ni-gorilla-da~♫
Two or three minutes later, the phone rang again. I ignored Mary's call. What're you gonna do if I don't pick up, Mary? What can you even do? Just waste your call credit.
I let Für Elise play on. But then it started glitching. Nina-nina-ni-gorilla-da-kkigi, kkigi, kkiiik~♫ Fingernails on a chalkboard mixed into the ringtone.
OH-NO-!
My eardrums are throbbing. 'Guh. Can't take this.' I clamped my hands over my ears, but the sound got even louder.
Hacking tool? Is she using one?
"What the hell is this crap?"
I picked up and complained immediately. She's been cheating non-stop.
"I'm Mary."
"Take your grudge out on that hat guy from the rice shop or whatever. Why're you messing with me?"
"I'm at the village entrance now."
She announces her location again and hangs up. The girl on the other end keeps hinting she's arrived in Utsuromura. From a realistic standpoint, isn't this super dangerous?
'N-No way...?'
The detective in me woke up. Reasons why Yuuki's phone had almost no previous logs. Why he came to his late mother's hometown like he was fleeing for summer break. Why Mary hides her number when calling. Why she tracked him all the way from Tokyo to this deep mountain village.
All the puzzle pieces clicked. The truth is always one!
The original Natsunashi Yuuki was being monitored by the psycho stalker Mary!
Yuuki-kun must've been handsome and kind like a visual novel protag. That's what attracted the yandere. Stalking eats at your sanity. He came to the countryside for some mental healing. No contact? Blame it on the phone being out of range.
But he didn't expect her to show up here. Should I ask the Utsuromura folks for help now? Nah.
'That voice is a bishoujo!' A bit delicate yet sharp, like a famous seiyuu (CV: Kutsukiming). My instincts don't lie. Mary is a total babe!
Bishoujo stalking a guy? Totally fine. Of course it's OK. Stalker or obsessed girl, if she's hot, otakus gotta call her yandere and simp hard—that's the true way.
Think about it: she came all this way just to see Yuuki-kun. Kinda admirable, right? But one-track-mindedness is bad, whether it's how you answer calls or love itself.
I decided to straighten out Mary's twisted attitude for good.
Nina-nina-ni-gorilla-da~♫
Yuuki-kun's phone rang again. I picked up Mary's call.
"I..."
She's about to say "I'm Mary" again. I've heard it so much, maybe I should introduce myself?
"I'm Kim Chang-seop, grad student. Saw a rec on the gallery for this Japanese rural healing VN Silent Story ~Endless Summer Break, hit play, and boom—possessed."
"Mary."
"Woke up as high schooler Natsunashi Yuuki? Body got younger, but IQ stayed the same!"
"I'm by the well now."
"The possibility addict who knows no impossible!攻略 routes are always one!"
Mary's delicate voice gets buried; I can barely hear it. In a shouting match, volume and speed win.
Tu. Tu. Tu.
Hung up. Fine. Let's keep going!
"Ha. Haa. Hey, bro. I can't take this anymore. Phone play-call?"
"I'm Mary."
"I'm a bitch."
"...Heading to you."
"I'm heading out~♡ Urya urya urat!"
PS concept. Buried her call with moans.
Tu. Tu. Tu.
She paused midway, right?
"Hello, this is Tanawa Public Opinion Research."
"I... Mary."
"We're conducting a survey on Skimpy Uniforms Mandatory Attendance to hear your valuable opinions."
"...Passing the cornfield... now..."
Survey concept. Rude electronic click to piss her off. As I gain momentum, Mary's voice gets more dejected.
Next Für Elise rang. The tune sounded weaker somehow.
"Mary, if you just spout your crap and hang up, I gotta play dirty too! There's a person on the other end! Face me properly. Mary!!!"
Now's the time. I bellowed after picking up.
"I!!!!"
Matching my volume, Mary screams back defiantly. Yeah! Come at me spirited!
"I!!!"
I fired back just as boldly, not backing down.
"Am Mary!!!"
"Natsunashi Yuuki!!!"
Our voices clashed evenly.
"Heading to you!!!"
/ "You!!!"
Our voices crossed.
"!!!!!!"
"Waiting for you!!!!!!"
My voice and Mary's, our souls, crossed in an X.
Tu. Tu. Tu.
The tone felt kinda refreshing. Was that my imagination?
Stalker? Fine. Even worse? Whatever. If she's a bishoujo, she's my攻略 target.
Mary. If you come here, I'll攻略 you with pride. As a VN master.
Come on over, rat - End -
Tsurugi, changed into her night watchman suit, yawned.
Nights in Utsuromura bring all sorts of yokai. The night watchmen, led by one of the Three Great Families, "Kiryuen," handle them.
It's harsh for a teen like Tsurugi, but if she proves her skill, she'll inherit secret techniques or a famed sword.
'Someday, like Mom and Dad, the Dragon God-sama will acknowledge me.'
The "Kiryuen" family's Dragon God-sama takes promising night watchmen beyond the mist to the otherworld.
The otherworld is where Utsuromura's gods dwell. Tsurugi's parents both earned that honor.
Tsurugi dreams of becoming a top night watchman. She chewed some grass to push through the grueling schedule.
"Ugh. Bitter. Can't live 'cause of Natsunashi Yuuki."
(º﹃º ) Swallowing the sleep-chasing grass made saliva drool out. Super effective, but nasty bitter.
And she even ate that fish-tasting bread because of him.
Well, she was tired from getting dragged around by Natsunashi Yuuki, sure.
'But somehow... he was different from the rumors.'
Yume's son. Natsunashi Yuuki. The one meant to take on Yume's role from 17 years ago.
Tsukikumuishi Yume was a great sinner, after all.
Tsurugi figured Yuuki had some scheme, but he really seemed to just be here for summer vacay in the countryside. Or to make friends.
It all felt genuine to her. Even the lost item Suzuki brought out.
But Yuuki's fate wouldn't change anyway...
That's when it happened.
A light flickered in the alley between houses. Definitely a yokai.
Shiiiing— Tsurugi slowly drew her katana and approached.
It was a creepy doll. At first, she thought it was one of the "Hoozure" family's puppets, one of the Three Great Families.
But no—a Western-style girl doll, the kind called "French doll." Influx from Yumeakashi! External yokai!
Golden twintails and huge eyes oozing malice, holding what outsiders call a "smartphone."
She slashed it in one stroke. As Tsurugi moved—
"I!!! Am Mary!!! Heading to you!!!"
The doll bellowed, shaking the whole area. With rock-solid resolve in her voice.
What the? Crazy?
No, all yokai are crazy, but...
"Kiryuen Style One Strike—True Dragon Sever!!"
You're this Tsurugi-sama's prey! Dragon coiled around the blade, perfect stance—
The smartphone flashed, and pababat— the doll vanished...
"Agh. For real! Nothing goes right!"