The girl came home and left her bag by the door, barista's cap hung up on the rack. She'd clean things up later. First, she just wanted to flop onto the couch and unwind for a few minutes. What a day it had been!

  She rolled over and got out her phone, texting her friends. Had something changed recently? It was already evening. Her father wouldn't be home until partway through supper, and her mother was working late as well tonight, so dinner duty was on her. Normally, she'd be dreading it, tired from spending all day at school and then all afternoon at the cafe. But as of late, she suddenly felt more energetic than ever. She hadn't felt like that in weeks! She had to tell her friends about—

  "Eh?" She sat up. Someone was at the door. Another salesman? But when she opened the door, she saw anyone but.

  He was a tall, fair-skinned man, certainly not from Japan. Her own head only just reached his shoulder. He wore a black and purple vest with dress pants and leather boots. Warm brown eyes and dark hair, but what caught her eye was the wide-brimmed pointed hat and flowing long coat that reached all the way to his ankles—both stark pure white and trimmed with gold patterns.

  "That's a relief, someone's home," he said. There was only a faint twinge of a foreign accent. "Good evening! I'm Darius Lohrs." He held up a badge wallet—Binding Association, Head Manager of Public Relations Department.

  She snapped out of it. The badge was written in English. She couldn't read all of it, but she did get the first part. Binding Association… that was that crime investigation team from the government, wasn't it? She remembered looking it up before, but details on exactly who they were or what they did were so hard to find…

  "Yes, good evening," she said. "Is there something you needed of me?"

  "Oh, no need to be afraid." He stepped back with an easy smile, arms out low in a disarming gesture. "I'm not here for anything so big! I was only called out here on an anonymous tip. A few questions and I'll be on my way. I'd just like a moment of your time, if that's fine with you?"

  She nodded. Did one of her friends make a call?

  "So to begin with," said Darius. "Can you tell me what's been happening recently?"

  "It started a few weeks ago," she said. "I think it was around the time we went to, erm…"

  "Go on," he encouraged her. After a small glance around, he added in a faux-conspiratorial whisper, "This can all be off the books if you'd like. I'm here to help."

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  She hesitated, but that warm, earnest look gave her the nudge to go ahead and say it. "Shinjuku," she muttered. The ward had been shut down for a long time, and entry was trespassing, so—

  "Hm." Darius tapped his chin in thought. "What for, if you don't mind me asking?"

  He didn't sound like he minded? The girl took that as a good sign. "One of my friends used to go there often with her parents when she was young. She didn't want to take us with her, but I said it was better if she doesn't go alone, so we both went. After that… I just felt terrible since then. It always felt like there was someone watching me after I came back."

  Darius nodded along.

  "Things started going strange," she said. "I don't know if this is relevant…"

  "Go on. I'll listen to anything you have to say."

  "Thank you. I began misplacing a lot of things. My books went missing, or I'd find them chewed up or stuffed in sinks. My laptop died, the technician said it fried itself for some reason. And I kept finding bugs in my clothes when I come home from school."

  "What kind of bugs?"

  "Centipedes, I think? Or millipedes. It just kept getting worse, and it really got into my head more and more… I started wondering if someone was stalking me. And just a week ago, a car veered off the road and almost hit me during the rain. Then, a few days ago, I was working my shift when I went to check my phone, and my bag was full of this sticky purple gunk! I don't know how it got there, or who put it there, but it was really getting to me."

  "Thank you," said Darius, "this is all very helpful. I'm sorry to hear this all happened to you, though. How are you feeling right now?"

  "I'm actually… feeling better. While I was cleaning my bag, I suddenly felt like some big weight had just come off my shoulders. I don't know why, but I found myself thinking maybe things wouldn't be so bad. I've been in a really bad head space for a while, so having those thoughts come to me was a nice surprise. I guess it feels like the worst of it has passed."

  "I'm glad. Before I forget, did anything else strange happen that day?"

  "Umm, let's see… oh, there was one thing. When I came back from washing my bag, I thought I saw a girl appear inside a display case."

  "What do you mean?"

  "You know those displays at the mall where the stores show the mannequins? I saw a girl… appear in one of them. One moment she wasn't there, and then she was. I didn't see a door. It happened while I was looking right at it. The girl looked around, and then she walked through the glass like it wasn't there, and left."

  "Can you tell me what she looked like?"

  "Long black hair, a blazer, stockings… she looked like any high schooler."

  "Did anyone else notice?"

  "I don't think so. That was the last strange thing I can think of. I hope this helps. If there's still someone stalking me…"

  "You've been a great help," said Darius warmly. "I really appreciate it. Sorry about this."

  And then he drove his hand through her skull.

  Markings like black lightning burst to life, running up his arms. Stepping over the threshold of the house, he swept in and caught her in one smooth motion before she fell to the floor. Her eyes glazed over, staring blankly into nothing with a polite smile as if they were still in the middle of talking.

  Perfect. Nobody saw him. Faint ripples emanated over her forehead as his digits moved, phasing through her skin, feeling the memories passing between his fingers like sand. Now, he'd have to be picky about which ones he took. Too many holes in her memory would also leave her confused and disoriented. Balance was key, as always. The centipedes had to go for sure. The purple blood in her bag, and the sighting of that girl…