Part 61: Tae is located.

Update 61


Since Tae is to be tracked down, Ginza seems like a good place to start.


But guess what? ANOTHER GODDAMN EARTHQUAKE. That's getting rather ridiculous.



"Hmmm..."




"The 'king' is Abaddon, of course, which is Hebrey for 'abyss'. And the pit where King Abaddon dwells supposedly opens when the people's despair becomes 'the key'. Narumi thinks all that despair caused by the luck locusts will allow king Abaddon to descend upon the Capital."




Owner of Shin-Sekai: "It's not often my establishment is brightened by both of you at once. This isn't some sort of emergency, is it? Please do let me know if I can be of assistance."
"Awful kind of you... We're actually looking for Tae."




"I see... A dead end already, huh? "




"Let me think... Is there anyone who might know where Tae is?"




As a matter of fact, this dude seems to know were she is.



Drunkard: "Yeah, I might know where she is... But my throat's so dry, I'm havin' trouble talkin'."




"Raidou... There's no way I'm letting you pay for these. I might have a pretty stiff tab, but I can be generous all the same. We'll just write it off as an expense. That way, we can stick Mr. Narita with the bill."




>The drunkard chugged the Midas Pop.




Drunkard: "That hit the spot... Thanks, kid. I needed that. So, get this... I've had my wallet stolen every day for a week now."
"A week? That's too unlucky to be normal. Maybe the luck locusts are causing this too?"




Drunkard: "But then you showed up and bought me a drink. Heh... Maybe the world ain't so bad after all."




Drunkard: "You were askin' about the Asakura dame, right? You ever been to Ishigami-Cho? It's a tiny place... Just a shrine and not much else. But for some reason, there's been a young dame going there all the time. Walks up and down town with that camera in hand. That's all I know. Sorry if it ain't helpful."
"A young woman carrying around a camera? That fits the bill for Tae, all right. Ishigami-Cho... Hmm. We'll have to take the streetcars."



Hm, he is here as well. Let's see what he has to say.

"Everything in this world can be a spark for your way of life... Even in everyday conversations... Every word you say may open the door to a new and different future. I look forward to seeing which potential future you'll unlock."




New area! Hooray.



Huh? Didn't ya hear...? Ya should stay away from Ishigami-Cho! They say earthquakes are caused by Mr. Catfish and his temper tantrums, ya know... Ya should wait until that old fish cools its heels a bit...

Wait what? Catfish?


Stubborn woman: "I went to Ishigami-Cho for myself to see that thing from the ground... It was quite impressive... But I heard it was just leftover from a movie shoot. Why wouldn't the papers have known that?"




Well, whatever she is talking about, we'll see in a moment.




*gasp* New ASSETS!




Concerned-looking policeman: "Huh? Oh, you don't know... Well, if you keep moving, you'll see it. But once you see, pelase move on. We're still investigating."




Long-faced grandmother: "I know most of the locals and the regular visitors we get. But that fox-eyed girl there... Well, her I've never seen. How could a little girl like that be here by herself? I asked her where her parents were, but she didn't make a peep."





Ishigami-Chi expert: "But that's not it at all. What's really going on... Is a curse. You see, Ishigami-Cho gets its name from a miraculous stone that was found here many, many years ago. In cold weather, the stone would crack, but when it wrmed up, the stone regained its shape. It was truly a miraculous stone. The people used to believe it was the incarnation of a god. They said that whoever disturbed the miraculous stone would be cursed with a mysterious illness... There's still a shrine to the miraculouas stone in Ishigami-Cho. I'll wager some know-nothing outsider came and tampered with it..."




Hooray, yet another earthquake.




>Its expression seems somewhat sad.




Ah, so this is the girl mentioned by the old lady.



But she is apparently mute.



Rude student: "I heard they where shooting a flicker in Ishigami-Cho. Good thing I made it in time to watch 'em. But I thought that area was... Well, they probably got permits for it."
Inner Voice: "Wasn't there... a shrine over there? A huge prop like that has to be encroaching on the shrine's property..."



Oh. That thing. That doesn't look like a prop.



"Oh, Narumi... And Raidou too! You here because of that phone call? Huh... I forgot to mention I was in Ishigami-Cho, but you still found me. Nice detective work, boys. You came just in time. Feast your eyes on this..."




That looks like a giant nail.




"The locals are saying that thing up and came out of the ground... "




"Is this... the 'really big thing' you told me about over on the phone?"
"More excellent detective work, Narumi. I was researching that tower and came across some local Ishigami-Cho lore... They say there's a giant catfish that lives beneath Ishigami-Cho and causes earthquakes. Just like that... People here seem to think those quakes are being caused by the giant catfish. That tower is supposed to pin down the giant catfish so it doesn't cause any trouble. Kind of like spiking' an ee'ls eye to the cutting board to prepare it for cooking."
"Huh... So that tower is acting liek a spike to stop the giant catfish from thrashing around... "
"Hey, you're too good a guesser! You're starting to steal my thunder here... "
"Sorry, Tae. Keep going."
"So with the tower popped up out of the ground like that, the giant catfish is loose... And that's supposedly the cause of these quakes we're feeling. But what I think is... This kind of folklore? It's actually a warning to future generations about mystical phenomena."





"This is just my hunch, btu... The Lord Ishigami that the folklore talks about... It's probably actually the god Ishigami that confines the giant catfish. If we do some research on Lord Ishigame, I bet we'll dig up more on the tower and the quakes."




Or maybe she is wrong? Eh, it is a myterious, nail-shaped tower, but a giant catfish? Doubtful.




She seems to be surprised by the query. Maybe Tae was actually on the right track?








My oh my, she is psychic as well.



"Raidou? You... Know this girl?"



Fox-eyed girlThe tower that's protruding from the earth... that is Ishigami. You can go inside Lord Ishigami if you want.





Oh my!




"That dame wouldn't say 'boo' to me when I tried to interview her. So the tower itself is Lord Ishigame? I never thought of that. Hey sweet-cheeks, think you could tell me more of that story?"






Aw.



And then the girl GOES RIGHT THROUGH TAE.





So clearly, the fox eyed girl is not a regular psychic girl at all. UNLESS the regular set of psychic powers involves also phasing through shit, but no, that's more Kitty Pryde's power isn't it?
Hell, is there even another character in Marvel Comics with Shadowcat's powers?



Welp. That is certainly a way to invite someone.




She is all wobbly when this happens.






She appears to be alright, only wobbly.

Of course that's no fun.



Sudden earthquake, mixed with previous wobblyness due to a GODDAMN GHOST PHASING THROUGH HER equals...



Ayup.






"Leave Tae to me. I'll take her back to the office. It's all yours, then. Good luck, Raidou..."





Next: Inside Ishigami.