Chapter 25

INTERMISSION Online Rumors (4) On the Ikebukuro information site IkeNew! Version I.KEBU.KUR.O Popular Post: [In a Different Sense] The Headless Rider being super-friendly [Urban legend is over] “I’m friends with the Headless Rider now.” (Rehosted from a personal blog) Guess what? I ran into the Headless Rider in Ikebukuro today! She was actually really cool! She’s really down-to-earth and even let me take a picture with her! Her favorite food is castella cake bites, and her favorite idol is Yuuhei Hanejima! It was so much fun. We talked about the latest shows and even went out to karaoke. I heard so many stories! I’m amazed. I’m getting the chills just remembering it. After meeting her in person, I’d say she’s just really normal. Apparently, she even reads manga. She’s just like everybody else. She said she won a raffle from a store and was on a vacation to Hawaii for the last six months! That counts as an alibi, right? I mean, how could you be abducting people from Hawaii? She feels really awful about all these weird rumors about her! Anyway, I can totally brag to my friends about this. Maybe I should introduce her to all of them, too. Wouldn’t it be crazy if we made a club to protect the Headless Rider? —(Original blog post has been deleted) Comment from IkeNew! Administrator Making friends immediately after returning, she is. What was that whole abduction controversy about…? This boy put all kinds of personal information up online, including a photograph—but abducted, he isn’t. If he doesn’t vanish, then the urban legend of the Headless Rider being a kidnapper will have no legs, in the end. How does it feel to be tricked by false stories? Feel foolish, do you? A very normal person, the Headless Rider is. Skeptical that there is really nothing under that helmet now, I am. If a proper legal identity she has, eligible to sue for defamation, she is. Though arrested first for traffic violations, she likely will be. By the way, a privacy bar over the boy’s face to protect his identity, I’ve placed. Although many green-haired teens there are in Japan, I doubt. And complain and bash all you want, stop talking like Yoda I will not. Against the slanderers of speech quirks and character building, I will fight. Admin: Rira Tailtooth Zaiya A selection of representative twits from the social network Twittia They sound like they’re really good friends. The rider was usually friendly, right? Had people riding on the bike a lot. What’s up with this article? IkeNew was the site spreading all those rumors in the first place. They never apologize for running false rumors. That’s just their style. Turn her in to the police! We don’t know that she actually kidnapped anyone. No, for riding without headlights. Oh, that. Good point. I don’t know—do you suppose the Headless Rider really isn’t the culprit after all? So the question becomes, Who’s really responsible for the kidnappings? If the people who vanished were chasing the Headless Rider, maybe it’s someone who bears a grudge against the rider. Why would you kidnap people because you had a grudge? To pin the crime on the rider, right? Hell of a grudge. I’m guessing those victims are never coming back, huh? Oh, right. If they show up alive, they’ll be able to prove the rider’s innocence. May they rest in peace. That’s really inappropriate. Sorry. This “Headless Rider” is a fake. Stop spreading this article. Looks real to me. The suit isn’t reflecting any light. You can do anything with a computer. It’s fake. Is there a reason you don’t want it to be real? Blocked. What? Just for that? So desperate… I bet this person really is trying to keep people from thinking it’s real. What if he’s the real kidnapper? *(The original poster deleted their account.) Where’s the original blog this came from? I can’t find it in a search. Good question. It was probably the right call to delete it. Don’t want to get in trouble with school. I’ve seen that guy around a lot in Ikebukuro lately. Yeah, he’s got really crazy hair. He hangs out with the Blue Squares, too. Wait, they’re still around? Yup. Meanwhile, the Dollars totally vanished. Dollars? Was that a gang? You serious? It’s only been two years. Look, I don’t keep track of what the motorcycle gangs are called. Not a motorcycle gang, a street gang! I hope that isn’t the real Headless Rider. Why not? It’s kind of disappointing, learning that they’re just a normal person. Just think about it scientifically. It’s impossible. You might think so, but let me dream, ok? What if it’s a supernatural phenomenon you can have a conversation with? I don’t know, it’s like finding out that the idol you like wears dorky clothes in private… What’s wrong with wearing dorky clothes in private? At the convenience store just now, I saw the boy with the green hair who was in the picture with the Headless Rider. Which store? I don’t know if I should answer publicly. If you follow me, I can send you a DM. Followed. (No more public twits after this point.)