[Satori Effect] Day 1: The Day I Met a Monster

The first rays of morning sunlight shined upon Izanami's sleeping face and shoulder length, bobbed hair, rousing her out of her rest. She slowly sat up in bed as she rubbed her knuckle against her tired eyes. She parted the pink curtain slightly, revealing the landscape of rolling, green hillocks and distant, ice-capped mountains outside. It was another beautiful day in the Hokkaido countryside. A satisfied grin crept across her face as she folded her raven hair behind her ear.

Hearing tired groans behind her, Izanami closed the curtain again. She turned her head to gaze upon the sleeping faces of Yoko and Tsukiakari, but noticed an empty space in the large, white bed.

"He's out again, huh? Guess I'll make breakfast." Izanami said.

Izanami went downstairs and started her day. Hanging scrolls depicting the crests of the Ashikaga, Senkumo, and Akiyama clans decorated the wall as the sunlight poured in and glared off of the polished, wooden furniture. Izanami whistled an improvised tune to herself as she turned the stove on and grabbed a plastic carton of eggs from the fridge.

(My name is Osamu Ashikaga. And, technically, I have three wives now. We may have met before, right? You were probably with me about a year ago when I lived in that neighborhood in Kyoto. Well, as you may remember, we live in Hokkaido now. It's nice and peaceful here. However...)

Osamu stood in the front yard, pacing back and forth with his cell phone to his ear. The morning wind furled through his wavy lion's mane of raven hair and his form-fitted tie dye shirt. In his other hand, he held an unfolded letter addressed to him.

"Hey, Lucrezia." Osamu sighed. "Do you have a minute?"

"Oh, Osamu! It's been a while since I heard from you! I hope you and the girls well." Lucrezia sang.

"Yeah, we're doing all right up here in Hokkaido. It's really beautiful."

"It's good you guys were able to get out of the city for a while."

"What have you been up to this past year, Lucrezia?"

"Oh, me? The usual exorcist routine. Investigating relics, banishing spirits, all that jazz."

"Do you do all of that by yourself?"

"Not at all. I lead my own unit, actually. There's two others besides myself."

"That sounds really organized."

"The exorcists have been around for centuries, ever since the end of the Warring States period, actually. I'm surprised Tsukiakari or Izanami haven't told you more about it."

"Well, they've told me a lot about what happened during the Warring States, but not really what came after that. I did hear from Gekko that you’re basically the head-honcho of the exorcists in Kyoto. She mentioned your survived some big earthquake and came back like a decade later.”

Lucrezia snickered. "Is that so?"

"Anyway, Lucrezia, there's something I need to ask you."

"What is it?"

"You said I could call you if I ever found myself in trouble, right?"

"...Are you in trouble, Osamu?"

"I think I am. I'm not sure if I should take this seriously. I wanted to ask for your opinion. See, I got this letter today, sent by someone named Satori Sentani. It's an invitation to his mansion. He's threatening to kill everyone I love if I don't accept it."

"Satori Sentani, you say?"

Osamu suddenly heard the kitchen window slam open. He turned and saw Izanami waving to him from inside, a dish towel draped over her shoulder.

"Breakfast is ready, Osa! I made waffles!" Izanami sang.

"Thanks! I'll be there in a few minutes!" Osamu replied. "Did you say something, Lucrezia?"

"It's most likely nothing. I wouldn't worry too much about it, Osamu."

"Lucrezia, they sent this to my house."

"No, they didn't. The Shoku Twins did."

"I...what?" Osamu recoiled.

Izanami finished laying out utensils, plates and cups at the dining table as Tsukiakari came skipping downstairs. The war goddess suffered from a severe case of puffy bed hair, her crazed appearance getting a snicker out of Izanami.

"What?" Tsukiakari questioned.

"It's nothing." Izanami said. "Is Yoko up yet?"

"Yeah, she's just washing her face. Pancakes for breakfast?"

"Yep!" Izanami sang. "With strawberries on the side! I also took out the chicken for later."

"Oh, thanks." Tsukiakari yawned as she sat at the table. "Where's Big Head?"

"He's outside. Sounds like he's talking to Lucrezia on the phone." Izanami answered as she poured orange juice into Tsukiakari's glass.

"The exorcist bitch?"

"Gekko!" Izanami exclaimed disapprovingly.

"You know how I feel about them, Izanami. For all we know, Lucrezia's just keeping tabs on us."

"If they wanted to do that, I doubt they would've let us move out of Kyoto. Besides, there are people like Shinju in the force, so it can't be all bad."

"Yeah, yeah. Yoko sure is taking her sweet time."

"Good morning to you too, Gekko." Yoko said, spooking Tsukiakari.

"Good morning, Yoko!" Izanami cheered.

"Thanks for the heart attack..." Tsukiakari sighed.

"You're very welcome." Yoko tittered as she kissed Tsukiakari's cheek and joined her at the table. "This looks delicious, Izanami!"

"Thank you!" Izanami bowed. "We're just waiting on Osa now."

Despite it being a cool, breezy morning, Osamu's forehead sparkled with sweat as he spoke to Lucrezia. He continued pacing back and forth, wiping his forehead with his wrist.

"Now, Osa, I understand this might cause you some panic, but please listen to what I'm about to tell you." Lucrezia pleaded. "That letter was delivered to the Shoku twins nearly a year ago. They've only just now delivered it to you."

"I don't understand! How do you know this?" Osamu questioned.

"Because I ordered them to wait." Lucrezia said.

"You...you what?!"

"A man named Satori Sentani came to Kyoto looking for you. He didn't know you had already left, so he gave that letter to the Shoku Twins. The twins came to me, and I specifically ordered them to hold off on sending the letter until Satori's time limit had expired."

"Lucrezia...why on earth would you do that? Does that mean I'm actually in danger right now?"

"That remains to be seen, I suppose. I get the feeling Satori doesn't want to hurt you. In fact, it sounded to me like he needs your help. Do me a favor, Osamu. Oblige him."

"Oblige a man who threatened the lives of the people I love? You're out of your mind! Lucrezia, why did you order the Shoku twins to wait a god damned year before giving this to me?"

"Simple! To get you killed."

Lucrezia hung up, leaving Osamu to panic on the other end. He sat down on one of the boulders in the front yard as his heart did backflips inside his chest. Absolutely none of this made any sense. Part of him hoped that his entire conversation with Lucrezia was just some sort of fever dream.

(Why on earth did she do that? To get me killed? Is Lucrezia seriously trying to kill me?)

"Oh shit..." Osamu said, looking towards the sky.

The gentle breeze turned into howling winds. A fleet of dark clouds on the horizon rolled ever closer to his home. Osamu slid his phone back into the pocket of his black sweatpants and hurried back inside. Closing the front door behind him, Osamu kicked his sandals off and met the girls at the dining room table.

"Finally, the pancakes were starting to get cold!" Tsukiakari complained. "What took you so long?"

"You could've just started without me." Osamu said.

"Well, that would've been rude. We're supposed to eat together." Izanami scolded as she pulled Osamu's chair out for him.

Osamu sat down in front of a plate of four, stacked pancakes, scrambled eggs, and chicken sausage. Though the spread looked delectable, he completely ignored his food as he dropped the letter in the middle of the table.

"What's that?" Yoko asked.

"That...is a letter from a man calling himself Satori Sentani. I'm not sure what's going on, but he's threatened to kill you guys if I don't accept his invitation to his mansion."

It sounded so ridiculous that Yoko had to pick up the letter and read it for herself. Sure enough, that's exactly what the letter detailed, but it still read like some sort of wild prank to her.

"Geez, is this what you're so spooked about?" Yoko chided. "Grow some balls, Osamu."

"I called Lucrezia to ask her if she knew anything. Satori sent this letter to me about a year ago. I'm only just getting it now."

"...Which is...the amount of time he said he'd wait..." Yoko sighed.

"Apparently, we had already left by the time Satori went out to deliver this letter, so he gave it to the Shoku twins instead. The twins gave it to Lucrezia, but Lucrezia had them hang onto it for a year." Osamu explained.

"...That's not good..." Izanami said. "Lucrezia wouldn't make a move like that if she didn't take the letter seriously."

"You're telling me this Satori guy is an actual threat?" Yoko asked.

"She definitely knows a lot more than she told Osamu. It's safe to assume we might actually be in danger." Izanami explained.

"You've got two goddesses on your side, Osa. I wouldn't worry too much." Tsukiakari consoled. "We survived storming the gates of Heaven together. What's one dude going to do?"

"The bigger question is why Lucrezia would purposefully set us up like that." Yoko chimed.

"Because exorcists are snakes. Told you, Izanami." Tsukiakari said.

"That's enough, Gekko." Izanami scolded.

"Lucrezia said she did it to get me killed. But she also said Satori most likely doesn't want to hurt me, he just needs my help." Osamu said, yet to take a single bite of his breakfast. "I don't know what the hell is going on, guys."

"What's going on is Lucrezia betrayed you!" Tsukiakari shouted. "Go figure, an exorcist turns out to be a backstabber."

"What's your gripe with exorcists, Gekko?" Osamu questioned.

Tsukiakari slammed her fist on the dining table and leaned forward. "Where should I start? How about when they tried to murder one of my best friends at her own shrine? Is that a good enough reason for you? No? Then how about when they continued to chase her down in the wilderness, in the middle of winter? Or maybe I should tell you that they got the inspiration to create the Exorcist Program from the Man in Black. Know who that is?"

"No..." Osamu admitted.

"An old enemy of mine during the war." Tsukiakari began. "He abducted a girl who I loved like a sister and he beat, raped, and tortured her for weeks. He then abducted me and did the exact same fucking thing. We were locked in a cage with bolts driven through our ankles so we couldn't walk. 

"He fed her maggots and cockroaches because she was no malnourished that she would eat anything just to stop her hunger pangs. Hey, wanna hear about how he ordered his men to pin her down and rape her while I watched? How about the one where he strung her up and beat her with a hammer so badly that she couldn't eat without vomiting it all up? 

"I had to piss him off on purpose, enough for him to kill me so I could reincarnate back home. That was the only way I could escape, and he didn't even make that easy for me."

Everyone was stunned silent.

"I'm sorry." Tsukiakari sighed. "I've made my peace with everything that happened back then. Killing Bishamon helped me do that. It's just painful knowing that bastard's legacy lives on, and that it came back around to screw us all over in the end. First they try to kill Inari, now Lucrezia is putting you in harm's way. But now you know. That's why I have a little bit of a bias against exorcists."

Yoko rubbed Tsukiakari's back to calm her down. "You're more than justified to feel that way, Gekko. I think...Osamu just doesn't want us to take out hundreds of years of pain on someone who didn't have anything to do with it."

Tsukiakari nodded. "I guess you're right."

"Lucrezia did this for a reason. She doesn't strike me as evil, but...I just don't know anymore." Osamu said. "We just need to find out why."

The sound of rushing water startled everyone. Osamu initially thought it was raining, but the sun was still shining outside and the clouds he saw earlier were still a ways away.

"Is the hose leaking again?" Tsukiakari asked.

Osamu stood up and pushed his chair in. "I'll go fix it. You guys can keep eating."

Now was definitely not the time for a leaky hose. Osamu groggily slipped his sandals back on, thoroughly exhausted from his conversation with the girls. He stepped outside and closed the door behind him. He was immediately petrified by what he saw. The hose wasn't leaking, it was being manned by a complete stranger watering the purple chrysanthemums and scarlet roses in his garden.

The stranger turned around, revealing his youthful face, shaded by his golden top hat. He dusted off his golden tuxedo with his left hand before lifting his top hat off of his head in salutation. Despite being maybe only slightly older than Osamu, this stranger had a head of shoulder-length hair as silver as moonlight itself.

"Ah, good morning!" he sang with an upbeat tone. "I hope you don't mind my intervention here. It's been a hot summer and your chrysanthemums were just begging for some water."

"...Who the hell are you?" Osamu asked.

The young man turned the hose off and tossed it to the side. He removed his black glove and extended his hand as he approached Osamu with a friendly smile on his pale face. As he stepped closer, Osamu noticed his eyes were two different colors, one brown and one blue.

"Satori Sentani. You kept me waiting, Osamu."

Osamu stepped back, keeping his eyes trained on Satori. "You sent me that letter?"

"The letter that you so rudely ignored? Yes." Satori quipped, slipping his hand back into its glove.

"I don't know how the hell how you found out where I lived, but I want you off my property! Now!" Osamu shouted.

Satori clicked his tongue. "Osamu, I'm trying my best to remain peaceful."

"This whole thing is some stupid misunderstanding! I didn't even receive your letter until now!" Osamu explained.

"...Even if that's the case, I still need your help." Satori said. "I know of your relatively recent exploits, how you saved a young girl from the clutches of death at the cost of her memories of you. How you squared off against Tsukiakari Senkumo and came back from the grave yourself. How you stormed Heaven and helped in the killing of Bishamon."

The air was immediately sucked out of Osamu's lungs, as if he was floating in the vacuum of space without protection. Utterly baffled, Osamu's eyes darted across the garden as sweat rolled down his temple.

"How...how do you know about all of that?" Osamu asked.

"Osamu, believe me when I say that my situation is urgent. I specifically requested your help because you have experience with the supernatural world now. It was an easy choice, considering how popular you've gotten."

"...You an exorcist, then?" Osamu question.

Satori bursted into laughter. "Heavens, no! I'm not one of those born again, hyper-devout freak shows. I do have my proverbial ear to the ground, though."

(This guy...he's not an exorcist? Then how does he know everything I've done? Just who is he?)

"Have I piqued your interest now?" Satori snickered. "Of course, if you don't want to hear me out, I'll be more than happy to drop the pacifist act. I think we'd both like to avoid getting blood all over your garden."

(I'd like to see him try. Yoko could probably take him all by herself, never mind Gekko or Izanami. But I've got no idea what this guy is capable of. I should keep my aces secret for now.)

"Fine." Osamu said. "Talk."

Satori lifted his top hat and glided his gloved hand through his silver hair. "I have someone in my possession, a woman, that cannot die."

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. No matter what she does to herself—burning, stabbing, jumping, hanging, you name it, she doesn't die. Her flesh heals anew. Not only is she seemingly immortal, but she's also cursed."

"Cursed how?"

Satori smiled. "Osamu, I implore you to accept my invitation and come see for yourself. If I told you what I've seen this woman do, you'd call me a liar."

(Immortal? Even Gekko and Bishamon were able to die. The only person I know that is truly immortal is Izanami. Is he really telling the truth?)

"You reached out to me specifically because you know I've dealt with goddesses before." Osamu said.

"Bingo!" Satori sang. "This is a situation that's right up your alley. Only you can help me with this. It has to be you, a man with the kind of weapons-grade luck that allows him to lay siege to Heaven and walk away unscathed."

"And if I refuse, you're going to 'drop the pacifist act'?"

Satori stepped closer. "I promise you, you do not want that."

"You could've just called an exorcist. They deal with this sort of thing regularly.”

"Yes, well, the exorcists and I don't exactly have a very good relationship, all right?"

"Oil and water?"

"Oh please." Satori chuckled. "Like ants to a carcass. I'm just trying to stop them from taking my last pound of flesh."

(Now that I think about it, Gekko and Izanami were searching for some old friends of theirs, weren't they? They reunited with the Shoku Twins, but there were two more they were searching for. One of them was named Inari. What if this is a lead towards one of them? I mean, immortality? That's definitely got to be someone supernatural. And besides...it doesn't look like I have that much of a choice.)

"Osamu! What's taking you so long?" Yoko asked as she stepped outside. She stopped dead in her tracks as she laid eyes on Satori. "Who the hell are you?"

Satori lifted his top hat and bowed his head. "Ah, you must be Yoko Akiyama. My name is Satori Sentani. I believe you've already received my letter, albeit late."

As soon as she heard the name, Yoko focused her piercing stare on him with murderous anger. "You're the bastard that threatened to kill us?"

"If it makes you feel any better, I want you to know that I meant it from the bottom of my heart." Satori chided.

Osamu stepped in front of Satori, as he could already feel the tension boiling between the two. "Yoko, can you get Gekko and Izanami out here, please? I think they should hear this too."

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't just have them kill this piece of shit." Yoko challenged.

"Because he says he knows a girl that's immortal, just like Izanami." Osamu explained.

Tsukiakari and Izanami joined Yoko outside, lured out by Osamu's statement. Tsukiakari crossed her arms, remaining skeptical while Izanami stepped forth and approached Satori. She had to hear it for herself, from Satori's own mouth.

"Is that true?" Izanami asked, her raven hair dancing across her face.

"As I told Osamu, she cannot die. She's tried to end her life a number of ways and none of them work. She comes out of it unharmed, as if nothing ever happened." Satori explained.

Tsukiakari and Yoko stood by Izanami's side, pulling her away so Satori couldn't overhear them. Osamu joined them, leaving Satori to wait.

"You think he's telling the truth?" Tsukiakari asked.

"I don't know who this guy is, but he knows everything I've done in the past three years." Osamu said. “Everything, from saving Aika to storming Heaven with Gekko. He's in the know when it comes to the supernatural world. That makes me think he's telling the truth."

"If he really is being honest, there's only one person I know of besides for myself that would be immortal." Izanami explained.

"Holy shit..." Tsukiakari gasped. "Do you really think it's her?"

Izanami shook her head. "We'll have to see for ourselves first."

"You're thinking we should go with him?" Yoko asked, shocked.

"Lucrezia obviously did this for a reason. What if she lured Satori to us because she knew he had someone we've been looking for?" Tsukiakari questioned.

"I thought you didn't trust exorcists, Gekko." Yoko interjected.

"I don't." Tsukiakari responded. "But...there's no way all of this is just a wild coincidence."

"I hate to rush your family discussion, but I need an answer right now." Satori shouted. "You already kept me waiting a year. We're short on time now."

"Just a second, Satori!" Osamu responded.

"We're short on time?" Izanami repeated, puzzled. "What does he mean?"

"I don't know." Osamu said. "He said he'd give us the specifics only if we agreed to go with him."

"I really don't like this, guys. I don't like any of it." Yoko warned. "Just what the hell are we getting ourselves into?"

"I don't know." Izanami sighed. "But if he really does know someone who can't die, there's a good chance it's someone Gekko and I have been searching for."

"I hate to say it...but I think we really should take him up on his offer, Osa." Tsukiakari advised. "Anything goes wrong, if he tries anything funny, Izanami and I will protect you with our lives. Either way, we have to look into this."

Osamu bowed his head and closed his eyes, taking a moment to think as the wind brushed through the flowers, trees, and hair-like blades of tall grass in the distance. He retreated from the girls and walked back towards Satori.

"And the verdict is?" Satori asked.

"We'll go with you. This girl you have might be someone important to us. If it is, it's in our best interest to help her." Osamu explained.

Satori gleefully clapped his hands together. "Wonderful! We should leave right away! My mansion is in Kyoto, so you might want to pack an overnight bag."

"Hold your horses, weirdo." Yoko chided. "We'll need to make travel arrangements back to Kyoto. We'll need at least a day to get ready."

"Who do you think you're fooling?" Satori asked, sauntering towards Yoko. "Do you think that I don't know who that pale-skinned monstrosity next to you is? That's Izanami, isn't it?"

Izanami remained silent. There was no need to confirm it, for he clearly already knew.

"Yes it is, isn't it?" Satori said. "Yeah, that thing right there is responsible for more death and suffering than anyone I know. She makes Tsukiakari's massacre look like a toddler's temper tantrum. Everything she touches dies, everything under her shadow loses its color, and if I recall correctly, even the Underworld itself rejected her for fear of her abominable personality. Her one saving grace is her ability to teleport. You can go anywhere you want at the drop of a hat if you ask her nicely."

"Satori!" Osamu roared. "That's my wife you're talking about."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Satori insulted.

"Osamu, it's fine." Izanami said. "Yes, I can teleport, but only to places I know of or have been to before. I can't teleport us to your mansion."

Satori sighed as he slipped his hand out of his black glove. "Fair enough, Izanami. Not to worry. I can handle the transportation."

With a snap of his fingers, a dark, shadowy portal opened out of the ground in front of Satori. Osamu and the girls recoiled in shock as a pair of pallid hands reached out from the darkness, digging their nails into the dirt. A ghostly woman pulled herself out of the darkness, carrying the stench of decaying flesh with her. Her long, raven hair obscured her face, contrasted by her snow white burial kimono.

"What the hell is that?!" Yoko shouted.

"Shikome?! How are you controlling them?" Izanami asked.

"It's all part of the girl's curse." Satori answered. "These poor things used to be my assistants until she turned them into shikome."

"Izanami? Explanation please?" Osamu begged.

"Basically, those women live only in the Underworld. I've never seen them here on Earth before, nor have I ever seen a human control them. It's just not supposed to be possible." Izanami said.

"We definitely have to go with him now. The proof is starting to pile up, Izanami." Tsukiakari said.

"God damn it...are we really doing this?" Yoko asked.

"Yeah. We're doing this." Osamu declared. "Yoko, pack some extra clothes and toiletries for everyone. We're going back to Kyoto."

Satori snickered as he tipped his top hat. "I'll be right here when you're ready to leave."

After packing their bags, Osamu and the girls reluctantly went with Satori and the shikome. In an instant, the group found themselves snatched away from the Hokkaido countryside and plopped right back in Kyoto, beneath blue skies and sweltering heat. They stood before brick wall and metal gate of Satori's mansion, which the shikome opened for them.

Satori waved his cane, pointing everyone in the right direction "Right through here, everyone."

(Here in a flash...so these women have powers similar to Izanami's...)

Beyond the gate was the courtyard, filled with a variety of roses, tulips, and spider lilies. A red maple tree rained its scarlet leaves over a small koi pond and small statuettes of a meditating Buddha lined the cobblestone walkways. The garden was sprawling with more shikome, all of them dressed in burial robes, but still tending to the duties they had when they were human. Osamu and the girls were left breathless by the sheer size and lavishness of Satori's courtyard alone. They hadn't even seen what lied inside yet.

"What exactly do you do for a living?" Osamu asked as they walked towards the mansion proper.

"Nothing exciting, I promise you. All of this came from manufacturing parts for automobiles and dabbling in the oil industry." Satori explained.

Satori led the way to the front door of the western-style mansion. It looked massive just from the outside, standing both tall and wide. If the amount of windows in the front of the mansion were any indication, Satori had no shortage of rooms available. The roof was black and walls white, and some of the windows appeared to be colored, like the ones back at the abandoned bowling alley.

"Right this way, please! Let's get out of this heat, shall we?" Satori proposed.

Two shikome opened the white, double doors to the mansion. Their ears were immediately bombarded by the thunderous sound of music. It was the live sound of swing bellowing out from deeper in the mansion, enticing, inviting, and intimidating all who entered. Everyone took their shoes off in the antechamber, then proceeded out into the front hall, which allowed access to the various different rooms in the mansion. The high, vaulted ceiling, colored glass, and reflective, marble floors almost made Osamu and the girls feel as though they had stepped into the world's most vain cathedral.

"Welcome inside!" Satori sang. "This place was built in 1978 and was completely renovated by yours truly! You can sit, stand, breathe, and blink, but for god's sake, wipe your feet and leave your shoes at the door, will you?"

"Osamu, I think I know what I want for Christmas..." Yoko said.

Satori led the group into the massive foyer, the music getting louder with every step they took. Dozens of shikome lined the double staircases, all of them playing a variety of horn instruments. Twelve golden chandeliers dangled above everyone's heads, six on the left side of the foyer and six on the right. The double staircase and black railing converged at the second floor, before a multicolored rose window. The colors splashed across the slick marble floor of the foyer, dazzling in everyone's eyes.

Satori seemed to be enjoying the bombastic music flooding the mansion a little too much.

"Oo! I'm getting the jitters!" Satori sang, skipping deeper into the foyer.

He skipped towards one of the shikome, who handed him his golden cane. Satori took it and thanked her by slamming it into the side of her head, cracking her skull for everyone to see.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Osamu screamed.

"Don't you worry, Osamu." Satori said.

The blow would've killed any regular human, but the shikome were already dead. With black blood pouring from her head and staining her burial robe, the shikome got up on her feet and bowed, as if nothing happened.

"Now then!" Satori began. "First, I have something I have to show you, Osamu! I'd like to remind you that this only happened because you made me wait so long. You and your wives weren't the first I targeted! I went looking for you all over Japan!"

"It's like I said before, this whole thing was just a misunderstanding!" Osamu protested.

"I'd like to believe you Osamu, but I had to make sure I had insurance before bringing you here." Satori explained.

"Insurance?" Izanami questioned.

"As it turns out, there was no need to kill anyone close to you." Satori said, smiling. "You had already lost someone."

Osamu's heart nearly skipped a beat. His hands balled up into fists so tightly clenched that his nails dug into palm. "Satori..."

"Isabella Bailey." Satori said. "A few days prior to visiting you, I had just come back from America. I was looking for this Isabella girl. I did promise to kill those you loved, after all. To think I spent all of that time tracking her down, only to find a tombstone with her name on it."

"Satori, you bastard!" Tsukiakari roared.

"'Here lies the most beautiful girl in the world. What a pity, at such a young age'. That's what it read." Satori tittered. "It's been about a year since you two have seen each other, hasn't it?"

Two shikome brought out a casket to the foyer, carrying it like pallbearers. They stood the casket up and loosened its lid, standing back as it fell to the ground. Satori smiled as the lid hit the floor. He kept his eyes focused on Osamu's face, waiting for the exact moment his heart would break.

He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to. But he was looking right at Isabella's skeleton. Though her flesh had long since been reduced to bone, her long, blonde hair and burial dress remained, as well as the various gifts Osamu and the girls sent her off with. Tsukiakari screamed in tearful agony while Izanami hugged her tight, both to comfort and constrain her. Yoko slapped her hands over her mouth as she fell to her knees, sobbing.

Osamu could only look on in sorrow. His beloved Isabella had been stolen from her resting place.

"Why?! She had nothing to do with this!" Yoko cried.

"You sick fucking bastard!" Tsukiakari sobbed.

"I warned you, Osamu. I warned you in that letter that if you didn't show up within a year, I'd start murdering those you cared about." Satori said. "It's just that I figured this girl carried just as much sentimental value to you dead as she did when she was still alive."

"How dare you!" Tsukiakari screamed. "I'll kill you!"

"No, Gekko! We can't!" Izanami begged.

"Oh?" Satori laughed. "Do you really want to do that? You kill me and these shikome here will lose all sense of control and eat everything that remains of her. I'd like to see you explain that to her mother and father. Once they eat her, who knows what they'll do to the girl I have in my possession. If she really is someone close to you, you'll be subjecting her to a lot of torment. She might be immortal, but she still feels pain."

As much as each of them wanted to ear Satori limb from limb, they knew they couldn't. Both the life of this strange, immortal girl and the remains of their beloved Isabella were at risk. Satori couldn't have picked better insurance to keep them all in line.

"Everyone...I know you hate this...but please...keep doing as he says..." Osamu pleaded. "Once all of this is done, we'll have Izzy returned to her resting place. Satori...please...close the casket."

"As you wish. Close them!" Satori ordered.

The shikome closed the casket and carried Isabella away. Osamu knew exactly why Satori chose to steal Isabella's remains. He knew it would hurt. He knew the scar left on Osamu's heart from her untimely passing was still healing.

(He wants us to be angry. He wants us to make a fatal mistake in our rage, so that we endanger both the girl and Isabella's remains. We can't give him the satisfaction. If we can just help him with this, we can uncover the identity of the girl and get Isabella back home. At least...that's what I'm hoping for.)

"Don't you worry, Osamu!" Satori said. "As long as you all help me out, I'll continue keeping these shikome at bay. They won't harm Isabella, nor you."

Satori climbed up the stairs and took off his hat. His white hair swayed around, and his eyes lit up with joy.

"You see, I'm short on time, so I desperately need this done. This girl I mentioned, I want you to gain their trust. I have a sickness, and that girl has a cure. I believe that only you can do it. The first step to fixing this mess is figuring out her name."

"You don't know her name?" Osamu asked.

"She's not really the talkative type." Satori answered.

"Why don't you just threaten her with death like you did to us just a while ago? Any girl would break and talk." Yoko suggested.

"Threats don't mean much to her. This girl wants to die. She just can't."

(She's...suicidal?)

"At the end of all of this, Osamu, if my life is saved, you and your wives will be spared. If I end up becoming doomed to my condition, you will all go to hell with me." Satori explained. "I chose you specifically because, whether you realize it or not, you have the keys to unlock her heart!"

Satori climbed to the very top of the staircase and then slid down the railing like it was a ride at an amusement park. As the shikome's jazz number reached its bombastic ending, confetti came raining down from above, poured upon the foyer floor by shikome on the third floor.

"So then, Osamu?" Satori began. "With our M.A.D. policy in place..."

(Once again...in that moment...I locked eyes with a monster. But at the same time, I was curious. Who was he? Why the different colored eyes? Why the shikome? This house, his wealth, his vast amount of knowledge, and this mysterious girl he needed me to meet? Just what am I getting into?)

Satori removed his top hat and bowed with a grin on his face. "Will you accept this mission?"