He could see the dead.
But it wasn't just that.
He could see what they saw before they died.
Every scream. Every horror. Every final breath.
He saw them when he was little…figures no one else noticed. Creeping across hospital walls. Whispering in the corners of his room. Wandering the street with eyes full of sorrow.
Souls with no peace.
Back in England, he saw them near his mother's grave. Crying. Begging. Bleeding.
And once their eyes met he saw the traumatic past of these creatures despite him not intending to.
He thought he was cursed. So his father—Alaris Ashbourne—had done some sort of ritual on his right eye with a priest before he was sent to Japan. He stopped seeing such horror since then but now here he was again.
His feet weren't on the ground anymore. He was somewhere else…he was in the past.
A quiet room. Tatami mats. Candlelight flickered gently.
A beautiful woman sat before a mirror, brushing her long black hair. Her reflection smiled. Her lips were full, her face flawless. The kind of beauty that didn't look real.
She wore a red kimono. Her eyes, though gentle, held something… hollow.
Then the door slammed open.
A man stormed in, dressed like a noble samurai. His face twisted with rage.
"You think I don't know?!" he roared.
She stood up, startled. "Please…my lord, it's not what you think!"
But the words never finished.
The man grabbed her. His katana flashed.
A scream. Blood sprayed across the walls.
The blade tore from the corners of her mouth to her ears.
She collapsed, choking, sobbing.
The man looked down at her, eyes full of hate.
"Who will think you're beautiful now?"
Then darkness.
But the scene didn't end.
Her body twitched.
She dragged herself across the blood-soaked floor, to the same mirror.
Her face was destroyed. Her smile ruined. But her eyes still shimmered. Not with fear now—
With hatred. With pain.
She whispered something over and over.
"Am I pretty…? Am I pretty…? Am I pretty now?"
"REI SNAP BACK!" Miyako screamed as she seemed to finally muster up courage.
He looked at Toma. He realized what he had just seen.
The woman used dagger-like scissors and attacked Toma…He luckily dodged.
"Help!" he screamed as he fell on the ground. The dagger now aimed at his head like a guillotine.
Rei's heart pounded like a war drum. His legs moved before he could think, sprinting across the shrine path, fear slicing through him like ice.
He didn't know what he could do.
But he couldn't let Toma die.
"KUCHISAKE-ONNA!" Miyako shouted again, her hand holding the sigil trembling. "Get away from him!"
And just then
a gust of wind swept through the shrine.
The air seemed to split with it.
A gloved hand caught the woman's wrist mid-strike.
A tall figure stood between Toma and the urban legend…elegant, controlled.
Ezio Valenti.
His black overcoat flowed like a cape behind him. The urban legend stepped back; candle tucked in one pocket, silver hand mirror now open in the other.
The flame of a match danced at his fingertips.
"To think I searched this entire country just to find you here," Ezio muttered, his golden-brown eyes scanning the woman's inhuman face. "It's difficult but I'll have to do it without Alyssa."
"Wha…?" Toma gasped, still on the ground.
Kuchisake-onna hissed. Her long hair floated as if underwater, and her once-beautiful face now twisted in fury.
Ezio stepped forward, calm and unreadable. From inside his coat, he pulled out a silver dagger with strange symbols on the blade. He opened a small vial and poured holy water onto it. The blade hissed softly, glowing a faint blue.
"I Ezio Valenti am here to exorcise you!," he screamed
Kuchisake-onna didn't wait. With a shriek, she rushed at him, scissors raised.
Ezio blocked her first swing, then slashed back. His moves were sharp and trained, but she was faster…unnaturally fast.
He cut her arm once, and steam rose where the holy water touched.
But it wasn't enough.
She snarled, grabbed his coat, and slammed him back against a stone pillar. His dagger slipped a little from his grip. Her scissors pressed close to his throat.
Ezio gritted his teeth. He wasn't winning this.
Suddenly, she stopped…her head tilting, her long hair falling like a curtain.
"Am I… pretty?" she asked, voice cold and broken.
Ezio's eyes narrowed.
In one quick move, he kicked her hard in the stomach, sending her crashing backwards into a stone lantern. and gave a crooked smirk.
"That mouth of yours might give me more satisfaction than the finest girls in Europe."
Miyako and Toma now reunited stared at him blankly.
Rei still scared yet trying to assess the situation couldn't help but think…"is this guy nuts?"
She let out a furious scream.
He gazed upon the now visible moon.
"This is a last resort but here we go…damn you Alyssa just when I needed you!." The man said to himself.
Ezio struck the match.
Held it to the thick white candle.
The flame caught instantly, unnaturally fast.
Moonlight had just broken past the clouds overhead.
Ezio pointed the small hand mirror at the urban legend.
And then, he spoke in a calm, chilling whisper:
"Bloody Mary"…She rushed him..he looked at her and smirked."bloody marry" as she was just about to touch him.
The kids saw in disbelief but Miyako was the most shocked one.
"BLOODY MARRY!"
As the last word left his lips, two pale, blood-soaked hands reached out from the surface of the mirror, moving like they were underwater.
Kuchisake-onna's eyes widened. She tried to step back—but it was too late.
The hands grabbed her shoulders and yanked her back. She screamed, scissors flailing, her body thrashing wildly. Her mask fell off, hitting the ground with a soft clatter.
Then, with a final, wet gasp, she was dragged into the mirror.
The glass rippled once.
And went still.
Ezio exhaled slowly, closing the mirror with a soft click, and slipped it back into his coat like it was nothing.
"Cursed things like her should stay in stories…no matter how beautiful," he muttered.
The shrine was silent once more.
Only the candle remained flickering in his other hand.
"…What the hell," Rei breathed, staring wide-eyed.
"Y-you a-are Ezio Valenti!"... "The A rank paranormal investigator" uttered Miyako.
Ezio smiled at her "well I see that I'm well known here at the local Japanese paranormal investigation department."
"What!?" Toma screamed before falling unconscious. Rei catched him as he felt his blood near his arms.
"H-he's injured we need to rush to the hospital!"
"Talk about yourself kid" said ezio with a smirk as he saw Rei's right eye now turned blood red.
"You saw it dint you?" Asked Ezio, "you saw how she died."
As the last thing Rei heard before falling unconscious.