Reiji Hotei

Shadow Priestess Character Reiji Hotei "We gotta prove that we're not just a burden, right?" Kanji/Kana 布袋 齢児 Alias — Occupation Urban explorer Status Alive Cause of Death — First Appearance Chapter 9

Reiji Hotei is a character in Fatal Frame: Shadow Priestess. He is one of four members of the urban exploration group Moebius. They visit the abandoned Karasawa Elementary and run into the modern architecture class from Fujisawa University.

Reiji and the other Moebius members are trapped in the school by the Necromancer's Dark Seal. Reiji's friends Mikiko and Takeru are killed by ghosts, and Maya becomes overwhelmed by everything that has happened and passes out, forcing Reiji and the others reluctantly to leave her behind as they escape another onslaught of spirits. During a brief moment of safety, Reiji admits that he has a previous connection to the village: his grandfather was a priest at Karasawa Shrine.

When the group becomes divided over the solution to a puzzle, Reiji suggests splitting up in the hope of escaping the school faster. He is angry and frightened over the deaths of his friends, and believes the architecture class will protect each other before fighting for a stranger. Just as an argument is about to break out, Beniko steps in and offers to go with him. Almost as soon as they set off by themselves, they are attacked by a manifestation of ghostly hands, and Reiji abandons Beniko.

As he wanders alone, berating himself for leaving her, the ghosts of Takeru and Mikiko approach him, apparently alive. They tell Reiji he must have been having a nightmare, and Reiji gladly grasps at the illusion, but it is short-lived; he turns to see the ghosts creeping up on him from behind in their true forms. Finally they corner him, and he looks up to shadowy figure of Beniko emerging from the darkness. Reiji believes she is a ghost and begs her forgiveness, but she has somehow managed to survive, and slaps him for leaving her behind.

Reiji and Beniko are cornered by the pursuing spirits, but Mozu and Tsugumi arrive at the last moment to rescue them. They reunite with Sara and the others in the school grounds, and begin working to solve the Necromancer's final puzzle. Finally, Sara reveals that Reiji has unwittingly become a familiar of the Necromancer, Beniko, who used him to try and lead the others astray with false answers. Under her control, Reiji takes on a monstrous appearance and launches himself at Tousei, but when Beniko is defeated, he is restored to his normal self, with no memory of what happened.

The school begins to collapse. Reiji does not want to leave without Maya, but she arrives with Mozu and Tsugumi, and the survivors flee the school together. They escape through the swimming pool, which is connected by the waters of Mount Kegare to the grounds of Karasawa Shrine. In the final scenes of the manga, Reiji and Maya are shown standing together in a graveyard, offering prayers for their dead friends.