Chapter 313: Gyo (Patreon)

Amamiya Rin picked his phone up off the coffee table and opened the call log.

Nearly ten missed calls. Fujino Terumi had called five times, from yesterday afternoon through the evening.

Kazami Junya had called once, yesterday at noon. Igarashi Sakuko had called once, the evening before last.

There was one more missed call with no contact name. He had no idea who it was.

Rin skipped the unknown number and dialed Fujino Terumi first.

Beep… beep… beep…

Nothing but the dial tone.

It rang seven or eight times with no answer.

Rin waited a moment, then dialed again. Same result.

He set the phone down, his gaze darkening.

Fujino Terumi wouldn't ignore a call for no reason. Knowing her, she'd have picked up the instant she saw his name. Either her phone wasn't with her, or she couldn't answer, or… she could never answer again.

A real worry gnawed at him, but there were still a lot of calls to make. He could have a Tomie go and check on her… never mind. He'd better go see for himself later. The Tomies would probably refuse a job like that.

Rin picked the phone up again, found Kazami Junya's name, and pressed the call button.

This time it connected after two rings.

"Amamiya! You finally called back!"

Kazami Junya's voice came through the receiver, relieved, with the clatter of keyboards and the hum of a printer in the background.

"Where have you been these past few days? I called you a bunch of times and nobody picked up. I thought you'd gone down too."

"Something came up. My phone broke."

Rin didn't elaborate.

"How are things on your end?"

"Big changes!"

Kazami lowered his voice, as if leaning in close to the mouthpiece.

"Our department got merged. The Police History Compilation Office was formally placed under the newly founded Ultra Guard as of yesterday, and the office moved from the basement of the Metropolitan Police Department to a standalone building over in Shinjuku. Inspector Indou is now a special advisor to the Guard. Kogure and I both had our postings transferred, and our titles changed. The work's the same, of course."

He paused, then asked Rin:

"Amamiya, are you interested in joining the Ultra Guard?"

"No. I prefer my freedom."

Rin refused flatly.

Ultraman's human hosts all end up in the Defense Team? That classic trope, he had no intention of playing along.

"Figured as much. That'll make pulling archives a bit inconvenient for you, though. But I hear the higher-ups are planning to set up an Ultra Guard website that anyone can log into, and they'll make some of the non-contagious files public. You can look there."

Kazami didn't push. He sighed, then moved on to the more important matters.

Rin could understand it. The department had changed, and the old arrangements obviously wouldn't be recognized by the Ultra Guard.

Still, it was a minor inconvenience. Kazami had higher clearance now, too.

They chatted a bit more. Kazami seemed busy, since the Ultra Guard was newly established and there was a lot to sort out, so Rin hung up and called Igarashi Sakuko next.

She picked up almost immediately.

"Mr. Seven!"

Igarashi Sakuko's voice was bright and bouncy, brimming with excitement she couldn't hide.

"You finally answered! I called so many times!"

"What's up, Sakuko?"

"Good news! Hinako and I both joined the Ultra Guard!"

Sakuko cheerfully shared her news with Rin.

"Hinako is a special advisor to the Guard now, and I'm her adjutant. We're about to head to Yokohama. Yesterday we got a report that a psychic spotted a huge four-limbed monster fish over the Yokohama port district, swimming through the air like some kind of flying spirit creature. The Guard decided to make it our very first mission."

"A four-limbed monster fish? At the port?"

Rin mused.

Fish and a seaside city. The first thing that came to mind was, naturally, Junji Ito's long-form manga Gyo, in which schools of fish infected by bacteria grew mechanical legs, came ashore, and invaded the human world.

The things themselves weren't hard to deal with, but if they spread, the contamination would be severe.

"Igarashi."

After thinking it over, Rin gave Sakuko a serious warning.

"About fish anomalies: I know of a bacterium that can turn fish into legged war machines. It's a sin this country committed in the past, and it's extremely contagious. If I'm right, you absolutely can't let your guard down."

"Bacteria… I understand!"

Hearing Rin's words, the line went quiet for a moment, and then Sakuko's tone grew heavier.

The Ultraman tokusatsu series had never lacked plots like this. Rin didn't need to say more. Sakuko already knew exactly whose sin this was.

"I'll pass it on to Hinako and the Guard."

Sakuko answered earnestly.

"If it's necessary, I'll come over once I've dealt with things here."

Rin said, still worried.

The fish weren't strong fighters, but they were highly contagious. Unfortunately he had far too much on his plate right now to go help immediately.

"No, no, you don't need to!"

Sakuko said hurriedly.

"Hinako is really strong, and the Guard recruited a lot of psychics this time. We'll be fine. You take care of your own business, and leave this to us… If possible, I hope this can be handled by humans, by this country."

Resolve showed in Sakuko's words. In her view, the sins this country had committed were best settled by this country, no matter how much effort it cost.

As for Ultraman Seven, it was best that he act only when things spiraled out of control. Otherwise, sooner or later, humanity would disappoint Ultraman.

"I see. I understand. Stay safe."

Rin said solemnly. He respected Sakuko's will, and he chose to trust Shimizu Hinako's strength.

Besides, there was no other way. Humanity couldn't rely on him entirely. He wasn't omniscient or omnipotent.

After hanging up on Sakuko, Rin's gaze fell on the last remaining unknown number on the screen.

He dialed, and the call connected quickly.

"Hello?"

A man's voice, unfamiliar, with obvious exhaustion and barely concealed agitation.

"Hello, this is Amamiya Rin. I saw that you called me."

Rin greeted him politely.

"Amamiya Rin? I've finally reached you. I'm Kirisaki Suimei, Mamiya Yuka's teacher."

"Professor Kirisaki. Thank you so much for the lead you gave us last time."

Rin immediately placed the man. Mamiya Yuka had mentioned him: a professor of folklore at a university. The child's remains bearing a layered curse last time had been traced through this very teacher's help.

By now, through the shared information of the [Tomie Network], he knew that the Tomie dispatched to Aomori Prefecture had already found some traces locally. Thinking it over, it would probably be very soon…