Paranormal livestream

Tokyo Metropolis, Adachi Ward.

Adachi Ward was Tokyo's poorest and most chaotic ward, firmly entrenched in last place among its twenty-three wards in both economic conditions and public safety.

Located in northeastern Tokyo, Adachi Ward was also on the outskirts of Tokyo Metropolis.

At seven in the evening, a group of young men and women stood talking outside the fence surrounding an abandoned shopping mall in Adachi Ward.

"Hi, everyone! You're watching 'Trainee Shrine Maiden Katori-chan's Grand Adventures.' Look, the mall behind me is today's destination. It was built toward the end of the bubble economy era, but the operators ran out of funding. Then, to make matters worse, a fire broke out, and the mall was eventually abandoned."

The speaker was a sweet, cute-looking girl of around twenty with a hime cut, wearing a modified red-and-white shrine maiden outfit. She held a selfie stick in one hand and spoke into the camera.

Beyond the fence and the tangled shrubs and weeds stood an enormous Western-style mall, dilapidated and long neglected.

"It's been abandoned ever since it closed, and sinister rumors gradually started spreading. I've even heard that people have gone missing here recently. Today, we're going to get to the bottom of it!"

Abandoned for over thirty years, the mall had become a haven for birds and beasts. Unidentified creatures cried mournfully in the night wind, and beneath the cover of darkness, the building exuded a sinister, terrifying air, like a vampire's castle from legend.

"We also have a special guest today. Ta-da! Everyone, look over here."

The camera turned toward a handsome young man with dyed blond hair.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Hayama Takuya. This is my first adventure livestream with Katori-chan, so I'm a little nervous." The handsome blond flashed a sunny smile and greeted the camera.

Katori-chan said in her sweet voice, "Hayama ranked among the platform's ten most popular singing-and-dancing creators last year. I'm truly flattered that he's collaborating with me."

"Oh, not at all. I've always been interested in paranormal adventures, so I'm really excited to collaborate with you too, Katori-chan."

"Without further ado, let's get going."

A crew followed behind them. The group explored along the fence outside the perimeter wall for a while before finally finding a hidden gap. Stepping over a section of fence that had been knocked down and through the wildly overgrown grass, they made their way inside.

The abandoned mall occupied an enormous area. Its peeling walls exposed the grayish-white surface underneath, and its decor had a distinctly last-century style with a touch of foreign flair. A marble angel statue stood at the entrance, but years of exposure to the elements had worn away its face and broken off most of both wings.

The group stopped at the main entrance. Looking inside, they could see only pitch darkness, with piles of debris looming like ghostly silhouettes. The sight alone made their skin crawl.

Any normal person would instinctively recoil from entering a place like this.

"Caw!"

Just then, a crow perched in the treetops let out a piercing cry, startling the group.

"Why is there a crow here? What rotten luck!" Hayama Takuya couldn't help complaining.

"You shouldn't say that. Crows are sacred birds in the Island Nation, messengers of the great goddess Amaterasu. When Emperor Jimmu lost his way in Kumano, a crow guided him out of the mountains. Crows were deified because of that, and they're worshipped at Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto."

Katori-chan bowed her head toward the crow, clasping her hands in prayer and silently murmuring something.

"May Yatagarasu watch over us, so this trip goes smoothly and nothing unexpected happens."

Hayama Takuya watched her with a trace of disdain hidden in his eyes. Just look at what you've done to your shrine maiden outfit. The neckline's so low that your cleavage is showing. Even if gods really existed, they wouldn't protect a fake shrine maiden like you.

Still, he knew this was part of Katori-chan's persona, so he said nothing more.

The two carried flashlights, followed by a three-person camera crew. All five headed inside together.

Dust and the musty smell of decay filled the abandoned mall. As their flashlights swept back and forth, they revealed assorted debris, bricks, and tiles-the last merchandise left in the building.

As they explored deeper inside, Katori-chan addressed the livestream in a low, mysterious voice:

"Several people died in the fire that broke out here back then. Ever since, there have been rumors that the mall is haunted, and several people who took it over afterward also met with accidents. Our plan today is to make our way all the way from the first floor to the third and explore every room to find out what really happened back then."

Katori-chan vividly recounted the mall's history while the camera occasionally swept across the darkness around them. The eerie, terrifying atmosphere quickly carried over into the livestream, effectively stirring the viewers' emotions.

By comparison, Hayama Takuya was little more than a supporting act.

As they rounded a corner, an enormous, vicious-looking face over three meters tall suddenly appeared on the wall!

"Eek!"

Katori-chan let out a scream, bringing the livestream to its first little peak.

A closer look revealed that the face was merely graffiti painted on the wall. But it was so lifelike that, amid the abandoned building's eerie atmosphere, suddenly coming upon it would naturally give anyone a fright.

Katori-chan's pretty face went deathly pale, her eyes brimmed with tears, and her ample chest heaved as though it might burst out of her clothes. One hand clung tightly to Hayama beside her.

Viewers showered her with tips to comfort her.

Watching the woman's convincing performance, Hayama Takuya felt rather impressed.

In fact, they had already scouted this abandoned mall several times. People who made paranormal livestreams generally didn't believe in supernatural beings, but venturing into remote, deserted places still carried risks, such as wild animals, venomous insects and snakes, or even fugitives. Anyone with a little professionalism would do their homework beforehand.

This paranormal livestream was scripted and had been rehearsed too.

The enormous face was also in the script. They had painted it beforehand as the first staged scare.

After all, how could an ordinary exploration livestream have so many surprises? Without surprises, how could they stir up the viewers' emotions and coax them into subscribing and tipping?

"Don't be afraid, Katori-chan. It's only graffiti. Even if something does happen, I'll protect you." Hayama Takuya put on a composed expression and reassured her in a gentle, charming voice.

He was beginning to understand how Katori-chan, the paranormal-exploring shrine maiden, had become so popular. In such a creepy atmosphere, a girl looking so helpless and pitiful really could awaken a man's protective instincts.

It was already the twenty-first century, the fourth year of Reiwa. Who still believed in demons and ghosts? The viewers were probably all there to see Katori-chan's frightened expressions and the generous expanses of pale skin she showed.

I wonder if I can get Katori-chan's number after this stream and ask her out.

Hayama glanced downward out of the corner of his eye, his mind wandering into fantasies.

They spent half an hour exploring the first floor without encountering anything unusual, but everyone on the livestream crew knew that the crucial part was coming next.

They continued forward and came upon an abandoned children's toy store. A red toy car lay overturned at its entrance, conspicuous against its surroundings.

The two stopped at the entrance for a short rest.

According to the script, another crew member had already slipped inside and would emerge to cause trouble once they arrived. Frightened, the two would split up and flee to the second floor, then explore separately through a series of prearranged horror scenes before finally reuniting on the third floor.

But five minutes passed, and the person scheduled to appear still hadn't shown up. Hayama Takuya was growing impatient.

Drip.

Drip.

A drop of dirty water landed on Hayama Takuya's face, nearly making him swear aloud.

"Does this dump leak too? But why is it warm?"

He wiped his face with his hand and found it smeared bright red. Hayama Takuya couldn't help looking up at the ceiling.

"Aaaaaaah-!!!"