Kumiko came to a stop beside Mr. Kimura and watched him extend his arm to ring the doorbell. It chimed four times before a man who appeared to be in his forties answered. "Who are you two? Why are you here?"

A hand jabbed into her side, and she remembered that it was time to bow. She did so while allowing Mr. Kimura to make the introductions.

"My name is Futoshi, and I'm a friend of Chikako. Is it all right if I talk to her at this hour?"

The man gave them a rightful frown of disapproval, then turned his head. "Mother! That old man is here to see you again!"

Rapid footsteps sounded from within the house, and soon enough, a short but dignified old woman arrived at the door. Her supposed son moved aside and disappeared to join the rest of the family, allowing them to speak together in private.

"Well, this is our next meeting," Chikako greeted with a knowing smile, tossing two pairs of slippers out for them. "Did you look forward to it as much as I did?"

"Stop it, Chikako," Futoshi whined like a short-tempered teenager.

The old woman turned to look at Kumiko in amusement. "And who is this pretty girl?"

"My... tenant. Her name's Kumiko."

Chikako made a strange grunt like she was trying to hold back laughter, which Kumiko found odd indeed. "Nice to meet you. What brings you here?"

"We're looking for books on the supernatural and occult."

"Is that so? I suppose something's happened that's beyond your understanding..."

"You're right. It has," Futoshi answered through clenched teeth, apparently feeling just as uneasy about this situation.

"Well, come on in. Do ignore my family if you can..."

Chikako retreated inside, and Futoshi turned to Kumiko expectantly.

"Aren't you going to enter?"

"No. You first," Kumiko said firmly, knowing that walking ahead might allow him a chance to flee.

"Fine." He entered the house, and she followed him while trying to avoid staring at the middle-aged couple who were busy watching the news. Chikako stopped and gestured at the large bookshelf in front of them.

"Take your pick, and don't make too much noise."

Kumiko nodded in understanding and knelt down to start at the bottom while Futoshi browsed the top shelves. Her fingers brushed against each book's spine until she caught sight of a title that filled her with both excitement and dread.

It was none other than The Illustrated Demon Horde's Night Parade by Toriyama Sekien, and further observation led to her noticing the rest of the tetralogy as well. Unwilling to overlook such a trove of information, she pulled all four books off the shelf before gazing up at Futoshi.

It turned out that he was engrossed in a book of his own, so she called out to him in a hushed voice. "Kimura-san, look what I've found here..."

"Huh?" He looked down at the collection in her hands with a strained smile. "Good work. Are you done?"

"I'd say so."

"Well, shall we go, then?"

"Sure..." Kumiko stood up and turned around to find the couple on the couch staring at her in suspicion. In the doorway stood an adolescent girl with chin-length bobbed hair who resembled them both and was likely their daughter.

"Who the hell let you two in?" the teenager asked with folded arms, prompting both of her parents to gasp in horror.

Kumiko opened her mouth to explain, only for Chikako to re-enter the room and speak instead. "Mind your language, child. These are my clients."

"Well, I don't trust them one bit."

"Shush." Chikako placed a finger to her lips and nudged the girl out of the living room. "Don't you still have a practice exam to work on?"

Once the girl was gone, she turned back to face Kumiko and Futoshi, the latter of whom spoke up to ease the tense atmosphere.

"Thank you for your help. We'd best be going now..."

"Right," Chikako said with a slight jolt as if she'd just remembered their reason for visiting. "You may take those books, but if they aren't returned within a week, I'm hiring a hitman to eliminate you both."

Futoshi gave a half-hearted laugh. "Surely you don't mean that?"

"I'm serious. Those books cost a fortune," Chikako stated with a stern expression that made Kumiko even more uncomfortable. "Now, off you go..."

The two of them stumbled out into the night and tried stepping back into their shoes. Futoshi succeeded first, so Kumiko settled for shuffling after him.

******

Tsutomu wasn't sure if the other passengers on the bus had stared because of his handsome face, inappropriately long hair, or the fact that he was wearing house slippers.

But none of that mattered now that he was safely inside his former house. Everything was just as he remembered, and the electricity and water were luckily still functional.

After a simple dinner, he headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

He set his alarm to ring in about seven hours, then leaned forward to rub at his sore feet and noticed the chafing between his first and index toes, which must have come about from the thongs of his slippers rubbing against his skin as he ran.

He would need to apply some ointment to the area, so he stood up to shuffle back toward the bathroom, only to witness something that defied all logic.

It began with a hiss that prompted him to look down and gasp in confusion at the wisps of steam drifting from between his toes. He wiggled them, and to his further bewilderment, the cracks in his skin sealed themselves shut before the redness itself faded.

******

Author's Note:

- The Illustrated Demon Horde's Night Parade, or Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, was written and illustrated by artist and poet Toriyama Sekien and published in 1776. It was initially intended to be a parody of popular reference works of the time but eventually came to be seen as a definitive guide to Japanese mythical beings.