The Journalist
You find them waiting at the stairwell, cement steps disappearing into the shadows both above and below you. The moonlight refracts through the thick glass windowpanes that stretch from ceiling to floor, illuminating their uneasy expressions. Sakimura is the first to spot you: he waves uncertainly. Uehara’s eyes widen slightly at the sight of your blood-stained shirt – you must be a horrible sight, but there had been no time to clean up – but otherwise, she makes no comment or fuss about your condition. Instead, her demeanour is one of suspicion. “You made it. How did you escape the Nurse?” she asks.
“I…” –
a liability– You remember what he said, and nod your head slowly. “I had my book, of course.”
“That book… yes, it must be… that fabled book of the magical arts… the Book of the Dead!” breathes Amanozaki sharply. Meanwhile, Sakimura only looks on in benign bemusement, unable to follow all this talk about magic books.
“Actually…”
“The Necronomicon!” she insists.
“If you could defeat her with that book, why didn’t you do it earlier?” presses Uehara harshly. “You nearly got us all killed.”
If she’s going to talk like that… well, you didn’t ask her to come back and help, did you?
Ei sounds smugly satisfied. “I didn’t defeat her. I merely slowed her down thanks to the time you bought me… and that is why we should be moving
now,” you say firmly. “Where are the others?”
“That’s the problem. The corridor ends here, and we haven’t seen any signs of them,” sighs Sakimura. “Not sure where they are now… I hope Shiba and Kozaka are fine. Well, now that you’re here, we can finally go look for them.”
“But do we ascend into the unknown, or do we descend into the depths?” asks Amanozaki. “Ah, what a confounding conundrum!”
There is a polite cough, catching your attention. “I believe you are looking for some people that passed this way, are you not?”
There is a bearded man standing at the top of the stairs leading to the next floor. Dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and khaki pants, with a bulky camera hanging around his neck, he looks like a bookish tourist and entirely out of place here.
“That’s right,” says Sakimura, quickly taking charge of the situation before you can say anything. “There were two students wearing our uniform, did you see them pass by?”
“I did,” says the man as he descends the stairs. “There was a man and a woman with them, and a maid, too. They waited here for a while, but the woman convinced them to go downstairs. I heard her saying something about the cafeteria. It wasn’t long, though my watch has stopped running so I couldn’t tell you the exact time. If you run you might still be able to catch up with them. I am sorry, if I had known they had friends coming for them, I would have spoken out.”
“Thanks! Thank you very much… ah, how should we address you, sir?”
“I am Hidetaka Matsui, a freelance journalist.” The man nods and smiles. “It is certainly a strange place we find ourselves in, but do not give up.”
The man who wrote those notes. You have had a strange feeling from the moment you saw him. Your gaze drifts away from Hidetaka and meets Uehara’s eyes. She nods at you almost imperceptibly, conveying a meaning that you understand perfectly.
He is already dead.
“Hi-Hi-Hi-Hi…”
“Yes?” Hidetaka looks bemusedly at Amanozaki, who has her hands over her mouth.
Suddenly, she lets out a squeal that causes Sakimura to cringe. “Hidetaka Matsui-san! I’m yer biggest fan! That series y’wrote with Sakaki-san really,
really changed my life!” Amanozaki – unexpectedly – begins to behave like a more typical girl of her age, and her accent begins to slip.
“Oh, right,” laughs Hidetaka awkwardly, embarassed by the attention. “Thank you. I do try my best to convey the importance of the supernatural world, especially to a country steeped in tradition such as ours. Anyway, this does not seem to be the time for-“ he pauses, looking at the book Amanozaki has in her hand, and the pen being offered. “-alright, I’ll do an autograph. But you should be moving on soon… you need to meet up with your friends, don’t you?”
Amanozaki clutches the signed book to her chest with glee. It does not seem like she’s listening to him at all.
“
Anyway,” resumes Hidetaka, “I still have something to investigate on the upper floor. You should leave this place quietly if you can, as soon as you can. It will not do to disturb the spirits… this place has a rather long occult history, you know. Once awakened, the situation may turn quite perilous indeed.”
You think it is rather too late for that.
“Won’t you come with us, Hidetaka-san?” asks Sakimura.
“Oh, no, no. I need to get my investigations done before dawn. This place is scheduled for demolition after all, and I have to finish my work before the crew comes in the morning. I’m not
actually supposed to be here, you know. Neither are you. I have no idea what games you are playing, but please do exercise more caution.” He seems fairly serious, and his voice tells you that he will not change his mind easily. For all the advice that he offers, you think he doesn’t care enough to escort you in search for the others – there is a fire in his eyes that burns for something else. Truth, perhaps. Maybe mystery. Whatever it is, Hidetaka Matsui – or this shade of his – has his own investigation as the utmost priority.
With a wave goodbye, Hidetaka begins to walk up the stairs again, and Sakimura turns to you. “So, shall we make a move on, Leader-san?”
***
A. You go down the stairs to look for Kayano and the others. At times like this, their safety is your duty as leader. Deciding not to go after them right now may cause a rift in the group, particularly with Sakimura.
B. You are more curious about Hidetaka. Given that you now have exorcising the nurse as a major objective, any nuggets of information you may glean from the occult journalist could be vital. At a risk of displeasing the others, you lead them to follow Hidetaka up the stairs.
C. You spend time convincing Hidetaka to go downstairs with you. It is unlikely that you will succeed – not with your disposition – without using something that might shake Hidetaka’s belief to the core: you may need to tell him that he is dead. Hopefully he will react well to the news.
D. You have the tools to force Hidetaka to comply with you, whether he is dead or alive. You attack him from behind and take him hostage. Results are important here: you have no time to waste.
