“How did you begin your work as a psychic? Surely you were not born into a family of exorcists… right?”
“Kukuku… finally you realize the full extent of my powers...” Amanozaki chuckles lightly before shaking her head. “No, there’s no need to play that role now, is there? Everything’s gone nuts and all… Heck, I’m surprised I haven’t followed suit. Why are you asking about me anyway?” She still seems fairly wary of you.
“Well, I… uh…”
“You’re not good at chitchat, I get it. Ah, why couldn’t I have met a rube like you before this?”
“Rube?”
“Never mind. Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to enlighten you a bit. I got into this line of work primarily because of Hidekata-sensei and Sakaki-sensei’s works. Have you heard of them? We’ve found Hidekata-sensei’s notes, if you remember.”
You do remember: a journalist who writes about occult matters. You nod.
“Sakaki-sensei’s been his long-time collaborator, and has written plenty of books about the psychic world. Anyway, a customer gifted one of their books to me. Got hooked before I knew it. I had already been picking up some tarot reading skills before that anyway… the customers love that kinda thing, and so did the girls. They liked my stuff since it was really accurate, the whole psychic side-business picked up, and before I knew it, I was playing it up for the public. That’s… about it.”
“So… does that mean you don’t really believe in what you do?”
“What are you, dumb? Of course I do!” she snaps. “This sorta work needs belief. You can’t pull it off otherwise. My fortune-tellings were accurate and well-received before I took on the name of Amanozaki Touko.”
“O-Oh, it’s a fake name,” you remark. Somehow, you aren’t too surprised – Amanozaki is a rather flashy name to be coincidental. “Then…”
“My real name is none of your business,” replies Amanozaki brusquely, and more than a little evasively. “What about you, then? All I know of you is your name, Shinoseki, and that you might be a lolicon.”
“I… I’m not a lolicon,” you mutter.
“Right, pull the other one. What’s the deal with you anyway? How’d you get here? Timid guy like you, I’m surprised you’ve lasted this long.”
***
23:14
A. "Hm... I need to adjust the bandaging a bit. H-Hang on, let me clean this up for you..."
B. “I was just… here for some medication… yeah. Then I got caught up with it. Probably just like all the others… Just your everyday, normal guy… haha…”
C. “To tell the truth… I don’t remember anything from before I woke up here. There are some - well, a lot of - holes in my memory.”
D. “This might sound crazy… but I feel like I have some ties to this hospital… like I was meant to be here somehow. I saw this vision…”
E. You interrupt her questioning by poking her a little harder than you are supposed to with the suturing needle.