Compared to the manga and TV anime versions, this story is more serious and contains many tragic elements. In the year of the once-every-sixty-years "Kishinraku" festival, a series of murders targeting 17-year-old girls born in the year of Kanoe-Saru (Metal Monkey) by oni (demons) has occurred. While heading to the Ibuki family after being asked for help, Kogami encounters twin sisters of the same age, Ibuki Hikaru and Michiru, at the foot of the Sasaki cherry tree. At the Ibuki residence, Kogami listens to the details of the incidents but discerns that the root cause lies not in "yōkai" (supernatural beings) but in "the darkness of the human heart." Unraveling the customs of the Kōshin-machi ritual, Kogami declares to Hikaru and Michiru, "As an exorcist, I can dispel evil spirits. But only you yourselves can dispel the darkness in your hearts."