1:00 AM, probably

“How wonderful that the Moon is whole again…” Aya sighed. She had just risen from her knees, having finished the healing rituals over the unconscious Mr. Harada.

“Hm? Was there something wrong with the Moon?” Asagi asked, surprised.

“Of course there was! It split in two right at midnight—that had to be the sign from the prophecy…” Aya looked genuinely puzzled by the exorcist’s question. Asagi must have been so focused on the chase that she hadn’t even noticed such a minor detail.

“All right, for now things are calm. No demons nearby… aside from Tamamo…” She pointed at the fox darting around, sniffing here and there. “This is the perfect moment to catch our breath and think about what to do next.”

“I suggest we each briefly introduce ourselves,” Mr. Harada said concisely, sitting up, clearly restored by the rituals. “We all found ourselves in the same place at the same time”—he gave Robert a meaningful look—“and I’m certain that isn’t a coincidence. Understanding who we are may help us make sense of this increasingly complicated situation.”

Silence fell. Only Tamamo kept trotting from spot to spot, carefully sniffing everything.

“Um… maybe I’ll go first…” Aya spoke up. “I’m a shrine priestess from a temple that protects Tokyo from demons… well, part-time. Normally I work for my grandmother—we make tsukemono. Our umeboshi sell the best, you should stop by sometime and try them; I’ll ask Grandma to give you a discount… Oh, right—demons. Grandma knows divination and protective rituals; she taught them to me when I was little. My mom works for a corporation, my dad died of liver cancer a long time ago, and Mom says those are the real demons, not old women’s fairy tales, and that I should… ah, never mind. Anyway, Grandma reads the signs every evening, and for the past few weeks they all clearly pointed north, so she called her friend in Hokkaido. She said she had a granddaughter, so we all pitched in for the train ticket…”

“The trip really was long,” Asagi said, trying to fasten her torn jacket and hide her generously sized chest wrapped tightly in thin fabric. “But comfortable, and the views were beautiful. Thank you for helping with the ticket…”

Asagi looked around. Everyone was watching her now, waiting.

“Right… My name is Asagi Takahashi. Like Aya-san, my grandmother is a shrine priestess who protects all of Hokkaido from demons. We often go into the mountains to perform protective rituals—that’s where my experience comes from.” She glanced sideways at Tamamo, still running around. “Usually they’re small, annoying spirits, but sometimes there are very fast and very dangerous ones. I’ve trained in running and kendo my whole life, though instead of a bamboo sword I prefer my bokken.” She held up her wooden sword. “It belonged to my great-grandfather. Right after high school I started working as an instructor at my parents’ dojo. They’re always complaining that I spend all my free time with Grandma and that I still don’t have a boyfriend. I tell them everything comes in time, though I prefer not to mention demon hunting. Oh—right, I forgot to tell them I arrived safely in Tokyo…”

She pulled out her phone, dialed, and waited. Everyone watched in silence.

“What’s going on—no signal? We’re in Tokyo, aren’t we…?”

“Edo, you stupid idiot,” Tamamo snapped.

Asagi swung her sword at the fox, who scampered away.

“Right. We’re in the past.” She slipped the phone back into her pocket. “I wonder if they had more demons back then.”

“Don’t get too confident,” Tamamo growled. “You’ll be swarmed by the whole lot of them and they’ll all—”

She didn’t finish, because Asagi tossed a small stone at her.

The group exchanged glances again.

“Who’s next?” Kaguya finally asked.

“I suppose I am.” Mr. Harada stood firmly on both feet now. “My name is Yuto Harada. I’m forty-five years old. I’ve lived in Tokyo since birth. I was raised by my uncle; I don’t remember my parents. I’ve done many kinds of work but never stayed anywhere long. I’ve been close to organized crime, though I remain a civilian—I handle various matters for various groups. There was a small shrine next to our home, and I was always fascinated by it. I read a lot, and somehow questions about these things always found their way to me. Talismans, statues, and similar objects ordered by yakuza bosses and their subordinates usually passed through my hands first. I assessed their value and authenticity and built a reputation. Eventually I started buying and selling them myself. I never checked how these were obtained…”

“And Murata?” Kaguya asked, after translating for Robert.

“Unfortunately, I don’t know much. I saw an online listing for an ‘artifact from ancient times’ and thought it might be interesting. I bought it immediately for a very low price. Later that day I checked my email—several people asked if I’d resell it, and one offered an astronomical sum…”

“That email wasn’t from me, then,” Kaguya grimaced. “I wanted to buy it too, but I didn’t have the funds…”

“I replied to that buyer—Mr. Murata—that I would deliver the item as soon as the package arrived. Without waiting, he transferred the promised amount to my account. The package arrived in the morning; I arranged the handover with his men that same day. And then… you appeared. You tore the package from my hands and fled into the streets of Tokyo. I contacted my clients, who have connections across many services and companies, and based on the description we quickly found the hotel of that gai—I mean tourist. Unfortunately, I lost my temper. I apologize. Only now do I understand the broader context. The rest you already know.”

The group fell into deep thought—everyone except Tamamo.

“Do you know who the seller might have been?” Aya asked.

“Sadly, no. It was an ordinary online listing, one of thousands. It simply caught my eye. At first I even thought it was a cheap replica…”

“Kaguya-san?” Aya turned to her. “Can you tell us how you knew it was the hand of a true kami?”

“I… maybe I’ll speak last.” Kaguya hesitated. “Does anyone else want to say something? Any detail might help.”

“I am a fox demon, born of human fear. I have existed for centuries and caused countless tragedies, both in China and Japan. In the seventeenth century, by gaijin reckoning, some trickster trapped me in a stone, and another tried to exorcise me—you’ve seen how well that went. A few years ago the stone cracked, but it turned out hardly anyone in this world fears a fox demon anymore. Fortunately, I sensed Mr. Murata’s presence, and he took me into his household. Apparently many other demons live there as well, as you’ve seen. I’ll say no more—you wouldn’t understand anyway.”

Silence fell again. Tamamo’s insolence was starting to grate on everyone.

“My name is Kazuhiko Kazuma. I’m fifty-five. I’ve been a taxi driver for nearly my entire life. I have a wife and two teenage children, and this is the strangest day of my life.” Everyone turned toward the taxi, where Kazuma sat in the driver’s seat, fiddling near the dashboard. “And, uh… I think I just picked up a radio signal.”

“What?!”

“Someone’s talking to us. I’ll turn it up.”

“Greetings, visitors from the future! Come to me—I’ve been waiting a long time! Come quickly, I have something for you! I’ll give you guidance!”

Aya immediately pulled out her notebook and began taking notes.