I froze, not sure what I should say. A few scenarios played out in my mind.

First scenario: There’s a villain in the tunnel! You know about it, right? I’m a sentai hero! I can defeat it! Let me go with my partner, and the problem will be solved!

Then the officer would respond, “Are you an idiot? There’s no such thing as monsters! Nothing is hiding in that tunnel! Sentai are fake! You’re no more of a ranger than I am a professional wrestler!”

Second scenario: I punch the officer in the face and he goes flying across the platform, I flip over the chain and we run into the dark tunnel.

They run after us in force.

Third scenario: Ah, I’m sorry! I’m just a little crazy... don’t mind me!

He would say, “What about your daughter, over there? If you’re so crazy you’d take your daughter into a train tunnel, you're dangerously insane.”

And then I will end up in jail or a sanitarium. Rui goes to a juvenile detention center until they run an identification check on her and discover that we’re not related. We might be released, but not until at least twenty-four hours had passed. Therefore, I would go insane and become a full noh-face. Escaping would not be impossible, but by then it would be impossible to regain my humanity.

Fourth Scenario: Hahahaha, sorry, I was running after my daughter here! She’s such a handful, such a wild child. I’m so deeply sorry for her behavior!

The officer would blink and nod, laughing. “I understand, I have a daughter too. She’s such a troublesome kid, too!”

Oni would jump kick me from behind and I’d go flying clear across the platform, to bounce off a wall and slam down onto the train tracks. The train comes barreling into the station to hit me, knocking me clear through the tunnel, and I would likely die.

My brain froze. It was such a dilemma. No matter what I did, I was doomed!

....

.......

“That’s enough!” The policeman harshly pulled me away from the chain. “You’re messing with me! You're under arrest for causing trouble in the station and resisting arrest!” He swiftly slammed me down onto the pavement after kicking my legs from beneath me. I hit the ground hard, with so much force, the plastic of my helmet bounced. I thought it would crack. He pulled my arms behind my back.

Doing nothing was the last scenario I hadn’t played out in my mind beforehand. I knew how poorly it would go. “W--”

“Daddy! Officer, please don’t hurt him! I was running away! I’m so sowwy!” I noh-gaped as I looked up at Oni’s face. She was in tears. Her face was red. She fell to her knees by my side, sobbing. “Uwaaaaaaa! Please, Officer-san! Spare us! He was trying to keep me from running into the tunnel. I thought it looked really neat and I wondered where trains were born! I-I-I… just wanted to know!” Rui offered the officer her cutest pair of puffed cheeks. My brain froze again. T-trains... Their birth? I imagined what could give birth to trains. My mind recoiled violently from the strange images that came to mind.

“P-please daddy! Did he hurt you? Oh, no! Mommy will hate me! I got you hurt so much! I love you so much! I promise I’ll never be a bad girl ever again!” Rui cried the most convincing crocodile tears I’ve ever seen.

I felt intense admiration for Oni, but my fear of her deepened to the point where I wasn’t sure I was more afraid of her than Noh-face. Onnnnnniiiiiiiiiiii!!!