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Enter Hikari

In the quaint town of Fujinota in rural Japan, a wave of major news stories swept through—rumors of new otherworlders, the Prime Minister’s announcement of a large-scale development project, and corruption allegations involving an active parliamentary secretary.

From the early hours, media reporters scurried around, and curious individuals from far and wide flocked in search of details on the otherworlders. Bureaucrats and prosecutors from Tokyo discreetly paid a visit as well.

Among the crowd was a young journalist from Nitto Shimbun named Hino.

“Ugh, why did I have to come all the way to Y Prefecture?” grumbled Tamaru, the young photographer.

Dubbed the Rising Sun Duo in Nitto Shimbun, Hino and Tamaru were usually recommended for jobs that required all-out effort. Staff often remarked how odd it was to see people with such energy in the 21st century.

“Careful with your words now. This is an order from the chief.”

“Sure, ‘chosen for the job’ has a nice ring to it, but it’s really just the chief taking out his anger after being chewed out by the brass. I’m only here because I started working around the same time as Sasakura.”

“Ah, the one who brought the footage.”

The dinner footage between Tokigawa and the Marumigawa Estate president had already been deemed as authentic and broadcasted on mainstream television.

“Are you going to look into that story here in Fujinota?” Tamaru asked.

“No,” Hino replied. “I heard that the president of Marumigawa Estate is under police investigation, and another reporter is already covering that. As for Mr. Tokigawa, his whereabouts are unknown. Well, his case is hopeless. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s hanged himself by now.”

“Whoa. That’s not something to joke about.”

“He did something shady. Same with our company. When it looked like an alum might penetrate the government, we toned down the coverage and kept writing articles singing praises for the ruling party.”

“So, is the article going to be about infiltrating the government?”

“Nah. If only our bosses had that kinda backbone. Anyway, that’s not what we should be doing. Besides, our branch here in Y Prefecture has already gathered the materials they need for that story.”

“So, why did they send us here?”

“Considering our reputation and title as the Rising Sun Duo, it has to be something ordinary folks can’t handle.”

Hino pointed at the Doyama residence, a luxurious mansion. Police cars were parked in front of the gate, with officers sternly glaring at the press.

The Rising Sun Duo had staked out in front of the Doyama residence for five days, but the results were unsatisfactory. Police urged the media reporters and enthusiasts to disperse, and the locals eyed them with disdain. Even reporters from the Y Prefecture branch not only refused to cooperate but also claimed they were here to steal their jobs.

The person of the hour—old man Doyama—never left the mansion, and meals were delivered by a housemaid—reporters swarmed her but the police turned them away. There were no visitors at all.

Stakeouts for a scoop were a piece of cake. During stakeout showdowns with authorities, they would sometimes wake up dozing detectives while they were monitoring criminals, providing them information. In other words, five days without results was not a big deal.

“I can’t stand this anymore.”

Hino, however, was in a foul mood.

“What’s wrong? It’s not like you to throw in the towel.”

“I’m not throwing in the towel. I just don’t like the lack of response.”

“Response?”

“There were times when we followed detectives on stakeouts for days, even sneaking into abandoned buildings. We stood like scarecrows all night in the falling snow. But back then, we actually got results.”

“Right.”

“But even if we stay here, I don’t think Doyama will do anything. For that old man, passing time holed up in his house is likely no big deal. Even before this, he apparently rarely went out. There’s really nothing here.”

Hino flipped through his notebook, which contained information about the Doyama residence he had gathered from the neighborhood. He preferred using an analog notebook, considering the unpredictability of smartphone batteries and the risk of damage in accidents. Notebooks would be rendered useless if thrown into fire or water, but the same applied to a smartphone.

“So, staking out the Doyama residence yields nothing. It’s probably more worth it to track down his son’s family abroad.”

Senior reporters were already on that trail.

“That makes sense,” Tamaru said, taking a bite of cheesecake. “But why are we sipping tea in this hip café?”

The duo were in a café near the Doyama residence. At this early hour, they were the sole patrons.

“I’m wondering what our next move should be,” Hino pondered.

“Seriously? We just look like a couple of sorry guys slacking off and having tea. That, or a duo who lost their jobs and hit rock bottom.”

“Why don’t you think of something, then? You’re supposed to be the best young photographer at Nitto Shimbun.”

“If I’m the best young photographer, then you’re the best young journalist.”

At that moment, a girl suddenly stopped beside them. It was almost as if she hadn’t been there a moment ago and materialized out of thin air—a girl who could vanish in the blink of an eye, like a ghost.

The two grown men were taken aback, but what astonished them more was that she was a stunning girl dressed in jirai-kei fashion you would likely find in Harajuku. Her long black hair and dark eyes were undeniably Japanese, but she had unusually fair skin that accentuated her beauty.

“Are you guys from Nitto Shimbun?” she asked.

“Uh, yes, that’s correct!” Tamaru replied. His face said, “Even in the sticks, there are stylish girls in chic cafés, huh?”

But Hino didn’t see it that way. Despite his reputation, he was a journalist.

“Um, are you from around here?” he asked, his eyes sharp.

“Yes.”

He felt like he’d seen her somewhere before. On TV? In a commercial? If she was this pretty, she was probably associated with a talent agency, but he was not familiar with that field.

“Do you have an interest in newspaper reporters? If possible, we would like to ask a local some questions.”

The girl shook her head. Hino found her strange. He could see her, but his perception of her seemed hazy. Almost like a ghost that would vanish if he looked away.

“Are there many Nitto Shimbun people here?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I think so,” Hino replied. “We also came from Tokyo.”

The girl nodded. Her face seemed to say that she knew. Hino became even more puzzled.

“My name is Hino and this is Tamaru. He’s a photographer.”

“Hi!” Tamaru greeted her as if speaking to a foreigner, waving his hand.

Normally, Hino would ask him what he was doing, but suddenly, he wondered if she was a foreigner. Indeed, she looked like she could be of Nordic descent.

“Um, may I have your name?” Hino asked, handing her a business card.

The girl took it. “Hikari.”

“I see. Do you live around here, Hikari? What are your thoughts on the recent otherworlders commotion?”

“I’m more curious about the relationship between Nitto Shimbun and the parliamentary secretary, Mr. Tokigawa.”

“That hits a sore spot. Are you keeping up with the news? That’s impressive.” Hino hesitated for a moment and continued, “It relates to our company’s internal affairs, and since the investigation is still on-going, I can’t really share details that easily.”

“…”

“But if you know anything about the new otherworlders or Mr. Doyama, and you’re willing to share, I think I could tell you a bit more,” Hino proposed.

Tamaru looked at Hino with disbelief. His face said, “Are you seriously making a deal with this girl?”

“What I know,” the girl mumbled. “Well, what do you want to know?”

“Let’s see. If you’ve met Mr. Doyama, I’d like to know what you talked about. Or any information you have about what happened on the day the new otherworlders appeared. Just share whatever you can.”

Considering the proximity, there was a chance she might have had some interaction with Mr. Doyama. Hino didn’t expect much. He thought they had all the information they could possibly gather from their interviews.

“On the day Mr. Doyama’s house was attacked, there was an explosion near the water purification plant. The police were investigating that, so the initial response to Mr. Doyama’s report was delayed.”

“What?” Hino was taken aback, not anticipating such information.

He swiftly connected the dots. The attackers at the Doyama residence had been apprehended, and the police were boasting about fulfilling their duties, but no one knew about any explosion that night. The police had kept it under wraps. Why? Because they didn’t want it known that they were late in responding to the attack at the Doyama residence due to dealing with the explosion incident.

“Now it’s your turn,” the girl said.

“Huh? Oh, uh, wait. Who are you?”

“Answering my question with a question is against the rules.” The girl subtly furrowed her lovely brows.

Hino swallowed hard under the gaze of her melancholic eyes. “A-All right. Um, so you want to know about Mr. Tokigawa’s case?”

“Preferably, I want to know about the newspaper reporter Ayano Sasakura, who exposed the incident.”

“Ah, her.”

Hino frowned in displeasure at the thought of the female journalist who joined the company at the same time as him.

“That’s an odd thing to be curious about. Either way, people in our company don’t like her because she leaked that scoop to another company.”

“Where is she now? Does she still come to the office?”

“No, she’s disappeared. Maybe she used that scoop to make a deal and joined another media company.”

“So, you don’t know where she is.”

“Well, no. Our editor is desperately searching for her, but to no avail.”

“What kind of person was she?”

“What? What kind… Hmm, like a rich girl. Calm and very polite, but incredibly slow. No initiative. That kinda girl. If she had been in the cultural affairs department, she might have written good articles, but I don’t know how she ended up in the society department. We joked that maybe HR made a mistake. She had an accident and fell into a coma or something, and she finally returned to the office about two months ago.”

“Do you know what kind of accident she had?”

“No, I don’t. Maybe a traffic accident. They said she wouldn’t wake up.”

“You were colleagues, but you didn’t even visit her?” She went for the throat.

“W-Well, uh… Why are you so interested in Sasakura?” Hino asked back out of curiosity. “Huh?”

He blinked, and he lost sight of the girl before her. Like she just vanished into thin air. It was almost as if she disappeared as soon as she got the information she wanted.

“Ah…”

Hino was a newspaper reporter. Despite his reputation, he was a journalist. He wasn’t exactly sharp. It had taken him some time, but he managed to connect the scattered pieces of information in his mind.

“Ah…”

And he arrived at one truth—a speculation, but to Hino, it felt like the truth.

“Tamaruuu! Get the cameraaaaa!”

“Huh? Wh-What’s going on? Wait, where did that girl go?”

“Stop talking and take pictures! Capture the interior of the café! Hurry up!”

“Uh, o-okay.”

Like other newspapers nationwide, Hino had replayed the video of the attack on the Doyama residence numerous times. He scrutinized it, hoping to uncover any hints or clues about the identities of the masked boy and girl.

Hence he realized it too late. It made sense to speculate that the masks not only concealed faces but also hid distinctive features, like scars or moles. Hino had assumed that the female mage’s beautiful and flowing silver hair was her characteristic trademark.

This speculation wasn’t exclusive to Hino. Most online theories echoed the same sentiment. Her face being pretty was a “wish” rather than a rational deduction.

“That girl just now was one of the new otherworlders!”

“Whaaat?!”

The Chinese-looking attackers who assaulted Mr. Doyama suddenly appeared to lose sight of the masked boy. If that was due to some kind of magic or supernatural ability, then perhaps, not only the masked boy but also the mage could wield it. Hino realized the truth after experiencing it first-hand.

“Did you get the shot?!”

“I-I did, but… Why take pictures of an empty café?”

“Just show me!”

“Ah!”

Hino checked the camera’s preview screen. One commendable aspect of Tamaru was that, despite unclear instructions, he would immediately act, and with a high-performance camera, adjustments could be made later. So, he had taken a wide-angle shot.

“Hmm…”

It was a photo of the tranquil, stylish interior. There was a cash register, and behind that, a surprised-looking staff member peering at them, likely due to Hino suddenly raising his voice. But that was it.

Hino sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “There’s nothing in the photo, huh.”

“N-No, wait. Look at this!”

Tamaru enlarged the entrance of the shop on the display. The door was half-open, revealing the outside through the gap. There was indeed a girl in black clothes.

“She’s there… She was there.”

Her face was turned to the side, and it was unfortunate that it was barely visible, but she was there.

“She was here! She was here, Tamaru!”

“W-Well, yeah, she was. What happened? I have no idea.”

“Luck is on our side.”

“What are you gonna do with this photo? And how can you be so sure she’s one of the new otherworlders?”

“I’m sure of it. Her name is Hikari. Just like Serika Tanoue, she came from Japan and crossed over to the other world!”

“What? The mage had silver hair and clearly seemed like someone from the other world.”

“A misdirection. That was a wig.”

“Maybe the black hair is the wig.”

“Idiot. We talked to Hikari just now. For real. With no problems at all.”

“I-I guess. For a moment, I thought she might be a foreigner, so I was surprised she spoke Japanese so well.”

“Think about it. The other members of the Four Eastern Stars can’t speak Japanese at all. But Hikari was proficient in Japanese. No doubt she’s Japanese!”

“I-I see!”

Even though the facts were entirely different, Hino, due to the difficulty of the Japanese language, had misunderstood, and since his reasoning was convincing, Tamaru also reluctantly agreed.

“Hikari mentioned that she lives around here, but if I had to guess, she probably lives in the Doyama residence. And somehow, she’s sneaking out without being noticed. The rest…”

Ayano Sasakura. Why was the girl so interested in Hino’s colleague?

“Maybe they know each other.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing. Anyway, we’re gonna get busy. We might have found a breakthrough!”

“Should I request backup from headquarters?”

Hino grinned. “Idiot. We might be the only ones in the company—no, the entire world—who knows about Hikari.”

She approached Hino because he was a reporter for Nitto Shimbun. He didn’t know why, but she wanted information about Ayano Sasakura.

“This scoop isn’t just an ordinary scoop. It’ll be a massive scoop that will blow the world away! We’re not sharing it with other reporters. You and I will make it happen!”

Hino shouted at the top of his lungs.