I was walking home from my friend Momoku's house. It was nothing unusual; I did this frequently. And even though it was two in the morning in Tokyo, I was not afraid. Momoku's house was not far from mine.

I was not afraid, that is, until I saw a woman wearing a surgical mask walking on the other side of the street. Again, not unusual- people wear such masks to keep others from catching their colds or sickness. And the woman was not strange or disturbing or noteworthy in any way… Except that she was. She could have been Momoku's mother, with her dark blue business suit and long dark hair.

Maybe it was just that Momoku and I had just finished watching The Audition, a singularly creepy horror movie. Maybe I was just nervous. I was just overreacting, making up stories where there were none.

Teke, teke, teke. Teke, teke, teke. I heard a scratching noise behind me- not directly behind me, back a few meters or so. Which, of course, brought to mind several ghost stories-the Teke Teke especially, the ghost girl severed at the torso. I walked faster. The teke, teke, teke did not advance any more quickly, but it kept always behind me. I noticed that the woman with the surgical mask on the other side of the street had disappeared. To keep my mind away from the maddening teke, teke, teke, I made up stories about the woman. She was a lawyer who had played flute in high school. She was a drug lord whose son was trying to usurp her empire. She was the great-great-great granddaughter of Czar Nicholas II.

Teke, teke, teke.

This was ridiculous. She was a woman with a cold, someone's wife, daughter, sister.

I was only two blocks away from my house. About to quicken my pace again, I was stopped in my tracks when someone tapped my shoulder. The teke, teke, teke had stopped.

I turned around slowly. The woman with the mask was behind me.

I nearly peed my pants.

"Ah, uhm, h-hello, s-senpai." I stuttered, trying both to seem polite and not show that this woman terrified me.

She stared at me for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was slightly muffled by the surgical mask.

Her question surprised me.

"Am I beautiful?"

I examined her face closely. She had large brown eyes, the color of pewamo. Her head, neck- her whole body- was thin and graceful. The surgical mask hiding the bottom half of her face did not detract from the effect.

"Yes, senpai. You're lovely."

"How about now?"

The woman lifted the surgical mask off her face. He mouth was sliced from ear to ear, dripping scarlet blood onto the sidewalk.

I took half a step backwards. I wondered for a split second how the mask was clean when she was dripping so much blood, but I decided that I didn't care.

"Am I still beautiful?"

I had to get away from this madwoman.

"Am I still beautiful?" her voice grew louder.

She pulled a knife from a fold in her navy business suit. She started advancing towards me, he high heels making a teke, teke, teke noise as they scraped against the pavement.

"Am I still beautiful!?" she roared.

Somehow I felt that saying 'no' was not an option.

"Yes, senpai! You are still beautiful!"

Teke, teke, teke.

I knew then that I couldn't outrun her, she was too close. And I suspected she would make target practice out of my back if I ran.

"Y-you're still beautiful, senpai." I repeated, terrified.

The woman's expression relaxed slightly as she smiled gruesomely. She held her blade to my face.

I was immobilized, paralyzed by fear.

She finally spoke, her voice soft and low.

"You can be beautiful, too."