Chapter 110: True or False, One Toss Reveals (Seventh Update, Please Subscribe)
At the Chihaya residence, Kamihara Shinji sat on the sofa, pen and paper in hand, jotting down the recent events. Frustration gnawed at him. Reviewing the sequence, he realized he’d made a critical error. The doll likely never left apartment 8003. Though he’d searched the room out of caution, it was cursory at best.
Beyond that, he’d fallen into a simple mental trap, blinded by the axiom that wild anomalies lacked emotion or intellect. This anomaly had played him, hiding in plain sight. While anomalies lacked true sentience, they could mimic it. This doll anomaly killed through “impersonation,” likely storing a “persona” for each victim. When Kamihara exposed its ruse, it probably adopted the behavioral patterns of a past victim, using that persona’s traits to escape. This hypothesis drew from his experience with Your Turn.
In hindsight, the anomaly likely fled from 8003 while he chased it. Surveillance showed no doll leaving, making pursuit now a fool’s errand. Though speculative, Kamihara recalled the doll’s convincing portrayal of Chihaya Mashiro. Without its fatal flaw, it was nearly indistinguishable. That flaw was subtle—ordinary people wouldn’t suspect their loved ones were anomalies. He felt this theory neared the truth.
Scribbling and pondering, his brow furrowed. Chihaya Masato and Rinako, seated beside him, watched tensely. Across from them, Mashiro’s face remained flushed, a persistent rosy glow since her rescue.
“Mom…” Mashiro began, but Rinako cut her off with a glare. “Quiet! We don’t know if you’re real. Wait until Shinji’s done—then you can talk.”
“Oh.” Mashiro shrank back, aggrieved. She glanced at her father, but Masato stared at the ceiling, avoiding her. Wanting to nudge Kamihara, she couldn’t muster the courage to meet his gaze, let alone speak.
“Sorry for the wait,” Kamihara said, reviewing his notes for errors before addressing the family. “I’m done.”
“No rush—there’s plenty of time tonight,” Rinako said with a smile. “Your work comes first. If you need to write more, don’t let us hold you back.”
“It’s all recorded,” Kamihara replied, his tone and demeanor now distant, unlike his earlier warmth at the Chihaya home. Masato was prepared for this shift; Rinako struggled. The boy who’d sweetly called her “Sis” now felt like a stranger. She opened her mouth but stayed silent, understanding Kamihara’s earlier charm was a tactic to investigate Mashiro. The loss of her “son-in-law” stung, but it was human nature.
Ignoring their sentiments, Kamihara pulled the Fate Coin from his pocket, placing it on the coffee table and sliding it toward Mashiro. His gaze fixed on her, he retrieved a sheet from his bag listing recent strange incidents. “Help me out,” he said evenly. “Use the coin to check which locations on this list are dangerous.”
Rinako interjected, “Shinji… can Mashiro help with that later? First, confirm if she’s really our daughter.”
“Didn’t you already test her?” Kamihara teased. Masato and Rinako had probed Mashiro again, only for her to exasperatedly insist she’d survived the anomaly and was their true daughter. Yet, their doubts lingered.
Not prolonging their suspense, Kamihara smiled and explained. “When I came here, I thought Chihaya was dead because I found the Fate Coin under her pillow. She’d shown it to me before, and I’d touched it. She said only she could use it as its owner. But when I picked it up, I realized I could use it. That’s why I believed your daughter was gone.”
This was why he’d avoided giving Rinako false hope—convinced Mashiro was dead, he saw no point in comfort, preferring harsh truth over fleeting hope. But when the doll in his pocket became Mashiro, the coin reverted to its inert state, unusable by him. The real Mashiro had returned. This suggested she’d been trapped in the doll, confined in a sealed space.
A paradox emerged: if he’d used the coin while Mashiro was trapped, who would its “owner” be upon her return? Him, Mashiro, or both? Kamihara dismissed the question—he’d never toss the coin, unwilling to sacrifice his memories for its power.
Mashiro had explained her ordeal to prove her authenticity. Days ago, during Kamihara’s psychological treatment, the empty Ghost Club left her anxious and insecure, fearing he’d abandoned school. She emailed him, but his brief, cold replies deepened her panic. One night, half-asleep, she heard a voice offering to bring Kamihara back if she agreed. Thinking it a dream, she consented. Upon waking, she was a doll, her body hijacked by the anomaly mimicking her life.
As a doll, she saw through the impostor’s eyes, a helpless observer. She longed to scream to her parents or beg Kamihara for help but was voiceless. Each passing day brought growing suffocation, a creeping certainty that prolonged entrapment would kill her, turning her into a true doll. In her despair, Kamihara’s suspicions and pursuit saved her.
Masato and Rinako ached for her suffering but, cautious, sought Kamihara’s confirmation. “Simple,” he said. “Toss the coin. If you lose memories, you’re the real Chihaya Mashiro.” The anomaly had dodged using the coin with excuses, unable to wield it.
[Note: Updates will now be scheduled for evenings.]
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 111: The Augmented Information Booklet
“President! I thought I’d never see you again.”
With one coin toss, Chihaya Mashiro lost her memories. Opening her eyes, they brimmed with fear and despair, a hopelessness for the future. But seeing her parents and Kamihara on the sofa, she froze. Tears spilled instantly. Though disoriented, she knew Kamihara had saved her.
Overwhelmed, she lunged to hug him. Kamihara sidestepped coldly, leaving her to flop onto the sofa like an ostrich. Masato and Rinako, watching their daughter, were torn between amusement and exasperation. They now believed she was their true Mashiro.
Rinako, however, felt a pang of jealousy as Mashiro sought Kamihara first. She approached, tweaking her daughter’s arm before stroking her hair apologetically. “If only I hadn’t accepted Suzuka’s doll.”
She now knew the doll was the culprit. Masato, pondering, turned to Kamihara. “Kamihara-san, do you think Suzuka might…” He trailed off.
Kamihara understood, offering a faint smile. “I already visited Suzuka’s home with the Metropolitan Police. The doll was a gift from a thrift shop owner. When you moved in, Suzuka passed it to you shortly after receiving it.” He’d questioned the shop owner, using spiritual power to detect lies. None were found. The owner had found the doll on the roadside and, living elsewhere, escaped its influence.
Masato flushed, embarrassed. As a mature adult, he’d only now considered this, while Kamihara, a high schooler and police inspector, had acted swiftly. Initially distracted, Masato now marveled at Kamihara’s prowess, likely tied to his supernatural abilities, but impressive for an ordinary person’s perspective.
“Kamihara-san, it’s getting late,” Masato said. “Why not stay the night?”
Rinako nodded. “Yes, Shinji, after tonight’s ordeal, stay over.”
“Alright,” Kamihara agreed without hesitation. “Even if you hadn’t asked, I wasn’t leaving.” He needed to ensure the doll didn’t return or was still lurking in the apartment—both were possible.
Mashiro stood from the sofa, sensing a gap in her memories. Realizing another loss, she mumbled, embarrassed, “I’ll get my diary.” Returning from her bedroom, her face blazed red again. Her diary revealed that over an hour ago, she’d been saved. Kamihara had told her to dress, and, habitually journaling, she’d recorded everything, eager to fill the gaps from her doll-bound days. But why had she noted hugging Kamihara unclothed? Mortified at her past self, learning he’d stay overnight sent her thoughts spiraling.
Seeing Kamihara’s calm detachment, she steadied, recognizing his lack of romantic interest. Touching her chest, she felt a hollow ache but accepted this as the president she knew.
When Mashiro returned, Kamihara addressed her. “Chihaya, toss again. Same as before—check if the listed locations are dangerous.” Masato and Rinako stayed silent. Though convinced she was real, Kamihara’s warning about the doll’s impersonation lingered. If this was a ruse, future risks loomed. A positive toss revealing dangerous sites would let Kamihara verify them tomorrow, ensuring certainty.
“Okay,” Mashiro agreed. Her luck held. The coin landed heads.
“Seven locations are dangerous.”
A lead? Kamihara studied her. “When it landed tails, how many days’ memories did you lose?”
Per the Fate Coin’s “Day” ability, memory loss meant the information depth was under thirty days. He wasn’t sure if he was disappointed—Small Eye detected anomalies in twenty-two days, suggesting anything around that was likely an anomaly.
Mashiro avoided his gaze, mumbling, “About two or three days.” Her diary stopped in late April, and during her doll entrapment, despair dulled her sense of time. Despite memory loss, she retained doll-bound recollections, indicating a longer duration, confusing her. The diary hinted at the days trapped, but gaps left her estimate vague.
Two or three days disappointed Kamihara. Taking the list, he noted her marked danger spots, likely grudges or spirits. “Thanks,” he said. She’d helped, regardless.
Watching their distant exchange, Rinako shot Masato a look. He ignored it, understanding her intent but wary. Kamihara, a supernatural operative, faced constant danger—a risky path for their daughter. Rinako saw it differently: Mashiro’s coin tied her to this world’s perils, and staying near Kamihara might be safer.
“Shinji, you must be exhausted,” Rinako said warmly. “Your clothes are filthy—want to clean up?”
Kamihara glanced at his smoke-stained uniform from burning figurines. After a pause, he nodded. Before entering the bathroom, he pulled a booklet from his bag, a gift from Master Genkai, now filled with his notes on anomalies, distinguishing ghosts, grudges, and anomalies, plus rule-based items. He handed it to Mashiro. “Read this. It’ll help you understand this world.”
As Ghost Club president, leaving a member ignorant was negligent. Mashiro accepted it solemnly, asking hopefully, “Can I show my parents?”
“Yes.”
[Note: Created a Chihaya Mashiro character profile—check it out and give it a like!]
(End of Chapter)
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