Chapter 5

It is 10 a.m. in the morning, and the next day has arrived. Luna was standing outside Naoki's apartment door, waiting for him. After a few minutes, the youngster emerged from his unit and welcomed Luna with a bright smile.

"Good morning, Luna!"

He was dressed extremely nicely in a tuxedo with his hair brushed back.

"Are you going somewhere? Maybe on a date?" Luna inquired, to which Naoki responded with a chuckle.

"Just work. I own a company," he said, adjusting his tie and dusting his suit. "Do I look strange? It's been a while since I've gone to work in a suit."

"Not at all; you look very handsome."

"Did you need something?" he inquired.

"I heard from Kazuo that you were going to the company I work for to report about what happened to Sugihara-san and your plan for my ex-boss, so..." He could see where Luna was going with the conversation just by listening to her talk.

"Sure."

Luna was taken aback by the boy's rapid agreement without having heard the request she was about to make. "I haven't said anything yet, though."

"I can tell by your expressions; I don't mind having company, but if you plan on visiting your department's office, please be cautious of the rapist."

What Luna anticipated would be a lengthy process of persuading the boy was cut short. Kazuo had warned Luna the night before that Naoki might not want her to accompany him, especially after what she had done to Asahi before fleeing with Sugihara. And, just as Kazuo had warned her, instead of refusing her, she was cautioned and allowed to accompany him.

Naoki, being the busy man that he is, had work calls during the ride, and Luna tried not to listen to his conversation. But she couldn't help herself, and the more she listened to him talk about his career, the more charming he became. Instantly when they arrived, he was greeted by the right hand of the higher uppers of the company.

"Welcome back, Fujioka-sama."

"I have an important discussion I would like to have with the CEO," he said solemnly.

"Right away, sir, please follow me."

The tense atmosphere created by Naoki's intimidating aura made Luna realize just how frightening the young man is at work. She is used to seeing his humorous side, where he often smiles, laughs, and jokes around, but this is an extremely different vibe. He seemed to be consumed by seriousness itself.

Luna and Naoki followed the man up to the CEO's office on the top floor. She knew they'd talk about the incident, so she decided not to get in the way of two businessmen. Furthermore, she will not understand their talk, so her stay will be meaningless. Before they move any further to the CEO's office, she calls out Naoki's name.

"What's wrong, Luna-san?"

"I'll go pack up my stuff at my department."

"I see. Alright then, but please be careful and call me if you need help; I'll head down to your department once I'm finished here," Naoki murmured softly before entering the CEO's office.

The CEO was standing near the desk as Naoki entered the office. When the CEO saw him walk in, he smiled broadly and bowed while greeting him.

"There's no need for formality, Chiba-san," replied Naoki as he sat down with the CEO. "I came here to talk about a very important topic."

"And that is?"

"It's about the head of this company's digital arts department, Chiba Asahi, your son."

The CEO sighed as he heard his shareholder call out his kid. He was aware that his kid is stubborn and does not listen to other people's opinions, but no matter how many times he scolded him for his attitude, he was always ignored.

"I apologize if my son has been rude to you; he does not mean it that way."

"Oh, he didn't do anything to me, but instead did something unforgivable to a friend of mine. A crime."

"A crime? Now, Fujioka-sama, it's not good to accuse my son of being a criminal. I know him; it's true he's done some stupid things, but he's not the type to commit a crime."

"It appears you don't know your son at all, then," he says, pulling up a video of the crime scene from last week on his phone and showing it to him. "This video is from the CCTV camera in front of your son's office, and he has not only sexually harassed or used his power to harass my friend, but he has also raped her twice in the last two weeks."

As the CEO watched the video, he was horrified to see his son half naked and to hear Sugihara's calls for help. It felt like a nightmare.

"This can't be..." He refused to accept that this was his son. He didn't want to believe his son would do such a thing. He simply didn't want to believe it, but after seeing the proof, he knew he couldn't save him.

"I contacted the police a day before, and they'll be arriving soon to arrest your son; if that bothers you, you might want to look for another shareholder."

Naoki then stood up and left, placing his phone in his suit pocket. But before he could get to the door, the CEO jumped out of his seat, ran in front of him, and kneeled and begged.

"Please, please forgive my son. You don't have to continue being the company's shareholder, but please don't arrest my son! What about his future? Please think about his future!" He then bowed as he begged repeatedly.

Naoki felt increasingly enraged by the CEO's reaction. Even though he was aware of his son's actions, he still begs forgiveness. As much as he wanted to erupt the rage and reprimand the man, he didn't want to make a scene.

"Disgusting," he murmured, staring at the man who was still on his knees. And with that, he sets off to find Luna.

Luna, on the other hand, was busily packing Sugihara's belongings in a cardboard box after she had finished packing her own. Surprisingly, it's only been a few minutes since she began packing, but the crew remains calm and unconcerned. Luna appreciated the fact that no one had turned her into Asahi. She wishes to pack as quickly as possible before the rapist emerges from his office and notices her.

Of course, not everything goes exactly as planned. Asahi has emerged from his office and apprehended her. He grabbed her wrist firmly, injuring her, but she maintained a firm expression.

"And where exactly do you think you're going?"

All eyes were on them, and no one wanted to do anything but stand there and watch.

"I'm quitting this job, and so is Sugihara senpai, so if you have a problem, suck it," she said strongly, but her strength wasn't strong enough. Asahi was far too powerful, and when he observed Luna resisting, he tightened his grip on her, further injuring her.

"You, come with me," he raised his voice, his face near hers, and he aggressively dragged Luna while she fought to pull herself, fighting Asahi's attempts to take full control of her.

When she had finally released his grip, she used the opportunity to strike the rapist down. Employees could be heard gasping as they continued to watch. Some tried hard not to giggle at the satisfaction, while others feared for Luna's life.

Asahi was enraged as ever, and as soon as he stood up, he grabbed Luna by the wrist and pulled her again. Because Asahi refused to give up, the entire staff saw what he was doing was wrong and were now standing, and for the time being, they all tried to stand up for themselves and for Luna.

"Shut it if you don't want to be fired!" And with that, everyone returned to being fragile and afraid, their mouths closed in guilt. But before Asahi could take Luna any further, he was stopped by someone grasping the man's wrist. When Luna turned around to see who it was, she spotted Kazuo to her rescue. She couldn't help but huff in relief.

"Let her go."

"Who let a stranger in?" Asahi demanded fiercely, and just as he reached for Kazuo's wrist as a threat, the child grabbed Asahi's hand and twisted it. The pain Kazuo inflicted caused the rapist to groan in agony as he let go of Luna's wrist. Kazuo pushed the man away from Luna and stood between the two, protecting her. He then faced Luna with concern after hearing her hiss in distress.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, he just grabbed my wrist too tightly; I'm fine."

"Go finish packing your belongings; I'll stand guard while you do so."

Luna thanked Kazuo for his sacrifice and resumed packing much more quickly.

Asahi was upset at this point since Kazuo had just embarrassed him in front of his colleagues! Asahi chuckled as he watched them act lovey-dovey in front of him, which rapidly evolved into a wicked chuckle.

Everyone who saw him believed he was insane. Asahi glared at Kazuo, who returned his gaze.

"Get out," the rapist said, continuing to chuckle. When he saw the boy wasn't paying attention, he became enraged and yelled, "Get out!"

Before the rapist could grip Kazuo's wrist, Naoki arrived to the rescue with reinforcements.

"Don't move!" screamed the head chief, drawing everyone's attention as he approached Asahi and presented him with the warrant arrest slip. "Chiba Asahi-san, you are under arrest for sexual assault on Sugihara Chieko-san; please cooperate with us and do not resist."

"No! Don't touch me! I didn't do anything! Don't touch me!" he cried as he resisted arrest, prompting many police officers to assist the chief officer in removing him once his hands were cuffed.

"YOU! It's all your fault! You'll pay for this!" Asahi yelled at Luna, who shivered in rage at Asahi kept lying about not doing anything. Kazuo noticed Luna's frightening expression and took her hand in his, assuring her that everything would be fine.

Everything has calmed down, and the mission to apprehend Asahi was a success. That rapist received a 30-year prison sentence. Asahi was 29 years old when he was detained, so he'll be a grandfather by the time he's released.

After learning that Asahi has been sentenced to prison, Sugihara has decided to return home to her family. With her luggage and desk supplies, she stands by the front door to say her goodbyes.

"Thank you so much, Luna-san, Kazuo-san, for allowing me to stay here for two weeks."

They had found out Luna is three years older than Sugihara so they now call each other by their first name basis.

"I also apologize if I disturbed your relationship."

"What do you mean?"

"Aren't you both dating?" Chieko asked innocently, pointing to them both. The two were flustered and blushing as they stuttered.

Luna responded, "U-uhm... w-we're just roommates."

"Ah, I see," Chieko shortly replied, and judging by her expression, she doesn't believe them at all.

Her ride arrived seconds later. Yuki graciously offered to drive Chieko home, and the lady consented. They said their final goodbyes before returning to reality.

A month has gone by, and many good things have happened. Chieko has been learning taekwondo in order to protect herself when trouble arises. She despised being weak; therefore, this was the only way she could find to become stronger. She had also obtained a job in a healthy environment.

Luna, on the other hand, has been working in the same museum as Kazuo for the past two weeks.

Another week had gone by, and Luna was at the airport with Masako. Today is the day she will fly to the United Kingdom to study chemical engineering at Cambridge University.

As they laid down Masako's final luggage, the two pals hugged and said their goodbyes. Although Masako was hesitant to leave Luna alone, believing she still didn't have a place to reside, with Luna's assurance, Masako mustered the strength to leave her in Tokyo.

Thinking that was the only issue Masako had, Luna came across her buddy looking for someone, and Luna realized she was looking for her boyfriend. He hasn't yet arrived to accompany her. He said that he was too busy today. Luna felt awful for Masako, but she knew it was better if she left to concentrate on her studies.

"I'll come visit when I have the money," Luna promised.

"Thank you; please contact me if you require financial assistance; I'll transfer some funds right away!"

"Thank you," Luna chuckles, "but save your money for your future store; I'll be fine."

"Then contact me just to let me know how you're doing, or else I'll go insane overthinking stuff."

They exchanged one more hug before Masako entered the airport, and Luna grinned, saying, "Will do."

After a few months, it was already October, the month of Halloween. And the museum where Luna and Kazuo work has decided to make things a little extra special this month. This is to make the museum's attraction even creepier!

Luna had been selected to be one of the ghosts haunting the guests that night. The Seven Wonders of Japan, Spook Edition is the theme for this special, and Luna portrays the one and only Kuchisake-onna.

The Kuchisake-onna is a modern ghost whose name literally translates to "slit-mouthed woman." Legend has it that her husband punished her for her adultery by slashing her mouth open from ear to ear.

This spirit appears as a lovely young woman wearing a surgical mask and clutching a sharp instrument, such as a pair of scissors, thanks to that jerk. She approaches people at night and asks them a frightening question.

"Watashi, kirei desu ka?" she asks, or "Am I beautiful?" If you say no, she will kill you right away. If you answer yes, she takes off her surgical mask, displaying her hideous mouth.

With a huge smile and sharp fangs, she'll ask, "How about now?" A "no" response will result in the ghost dismembering you. If you say yes, she will make you "beautiful" by slicing your own mouth from ear to ear. A meeting with a Kuchisake-onna is invariably a lose-lose situation that ends in death.

And that is exactly what Luna will accomplish in her short performance. Luna is quite good at generating wicked chuckles and portraying ghosts or monsters. It must be one of the advantages of being a fan of horror, particularly mythology.

Luna is currently in the staff room, applying make-up and staring at herself in the mirror. Kazuo arrives minutes later, only to be met with the horror of Luna's cosplay.

He gave out a quick but loud gasp while flinching in a battle position, which made Luna and the make-up artist giggle.

Luna laughed as she said, "Is the makeup that scary?"

"Horu-san, you're way too good at your job!" Kazuo spoke as he placed his bag inside his locker, his heart still racing from the aftermath.

"Thank you!" Horu thanked him and excused herself to the restroom, leaving the two friends together. Luna continued to stare at herself, softly preparing her lines and her performance for later.

Minutes passed, and Luna became increasingly apprehensive. The presentation was approaching, and Kazuo could see Luna concerned about her performance.

"Calm down and breathe; you'll be fine," he says.

"But what if I forget to say a line?"

"You've been working on this for a month, Luna; you've got this!"

Luna was notified just then because there were only 30 minutes until the museum opened and began their special program. There are roughly seven staff members who play several famous ghosts from Japanese urban folklore and myths.

Luna had to stand in the corner of the room, facing her back to the guests, as a Kuchisake-onna role player. And when the light shines on her, she knows it's time to turn around and startle the two.

She'll ask both questions. If they tell her she's gorgeous, she'll remove her mask, reveal her slit mouth, and repeat the question again. If they say yes or no, they have three seconds to flee before she chases them down with scissors in her hand.

She gives her performance when each guest enters the haunted house, and she's doing very well for a first-time actor. She felt wonderful after each performance for some reason, and she returned to her place to await the next guest to scare.

While the next guests arrive, she hears a guy and a woman talking loudly until the light flashes on her.

It's showtime.

When she turns around, she sees someone she never expected to meet again at the haunted attraction. Jake, Masako's boyfriend, was there, with another female hanging from his arm.

Luna initially assumed they were only together due to the partner arrangement this museum had, much as she had with Yuki on her previous visit.

So, ignoring her thoughts, she continues with her show, and the girl screams uncontrollably as she continues to hug Jake's arm. The boy laughed at the girl's reaction and rubbed her on the back.

"Don't worry, honey, they won't hurt us." He said.

Honey? Honey?! To another woman than Masako? Luna was taken aback. She couldn't believe it when she saw her best friend's boyfriend clearly cheating on her with another woman and enjoying a date with her in the same area where Masako and him had gone!

This was an incredible sight to witness, and the more reality sinks in, the more concerned she becomes. Masako should be aware of this, but Luna didn't want to upset her. But how exactly?

She knows it's impossible for her, but she wants to find a way to tell Masako but at the same time she doesn’t want to see her suffer. She was in a pickle.