Tsugumi Shibata is standing at a railroad intersection with Ai standing across from her. The two stare at each other, but before Tsugumi can say anything, a train goes by and Ai vanishes. Later that night, Hajime, a journalist and Tsugumi's father, is in a cafe reading a magazine article on the Hell Correspondence as he waits for a celebrity whose secrets he intends to sell back to her. The celebrity, Seira Yamamoto, hands him a package of money in exchange for several photographs of her in a relationship with a man which Hajime swears are all he has on her and he tells her to be more careful. After the conversation, he tries to access the Hell Correspondence out of curiosity but cannot get the site to load. Meanwhile, Chie Tanuma successfully submits a name, Gorō Ishizu, to the Hell Correspondence and looks up at the window of a hospital room where her friend, Yuko, is in a coma from a head injury. In the sunset realm, Ai's "grandmother" tells Ai that she seems troubled. Ai says that she met a girl who seemed familiar. Ai's "grandmother" comments that she says the strangest things as the spider climbs down from the ceiling. Ai receives Chie's request.
The next day, Hajime and Tsugumi are eating breakfast when Tsugumi yells at him for working at the table. Tsugumi says that he isn't giving her good parental guidance which Hajime brushes off with a joke. Hajime asks Tsugumi about Hell Girl, but Tsugumi says she only knows the rumors. Hajime has decided to write an article about Hell Girl, but Tsugumi thinks he should drop the subject. Tsugumi's eyes go dull and she recites part of Ai's incantation for banishing people to Hell. Hajime realizes that this has something to do with Hell Girl. Chie is watching Gorō at his job at a hamburger shop. At a bar, Hajime talks to the barkeeper about his work and about Tsugumi. The barkeeper says that Hajime should spend more time with Tsugumi. Searching the Internet, Hajime finds the address of the burger shop where Gorō works. He walks in the doors as Ai walks out, not noticing him. Chie is sitting next to Yuko's hospital bed, recalling Gorō pushing Yuko off a balcony and Yuko landing on a car, hitting her head. Chie takes a bus home, but the windows turn red and a voice says "last stop." Chie gets off the but in the sunset world and Wanyuudo walks out of the front door of the bus. Hone Onna and Ichimoku Ren ask Chie of she really hates Gorō enough to want him dead. Chie says she does and Ai lays out the terms of the contract, giving Chie Wanyuudo's straw doll. Ren and Hone Onna warn her about the consequences of selling her soul for revenge, which is accompanied by a vision of being attacked by corpses in a pool of blood. Chie awakens with the straw doll at a bus stop. Meanwhile, Hajime is still working on his article and Tsugumi says that she won't try to stop him, but tells him to be careful. Tsugumi sees the burger shop where Gorō works from Ai's perspective.
Chie shows up at the burger shop and asks for Gorō, who is also the manager there. Chie tells Gorō that they need to talk as Hajime and Tsugumi drive out to the burger shop. Hajime says that Tsugumi shouldn't have come, but Tsugumi says that she's the one who's having the visions. Hajime says he owes Tsugumi a trip to a theme park, which cheers her up a bit. Gorō asks about Yuko, but Chie confronts him, saying that she saw him push Yuko. Gorō says that Chie is making serious accusations that she can't back up. Chie says that she and Yuko both knew that he was embezzling money from the burger shop and since Yuko was in love with Gorō, she tried to convince him to give back the money instead of calling the police. Gorō says that he has an alibi for the day it happened, but Chie says she's going to call upon the Hell Girl instead of the police. Gorō laughs at her. Chie says that he didn't care about Yuko at all and Gorō says that Chie was the one he was in love with. Chie pushes Gorō away, calling him scum, and he tries to strangle her. Hajime interrupts just as Chie unties the thread and Gorō runs off. Hajime hears Gorō screaming and runs over to find him being dragged into a display window that has seemingly liquefied and is flowing around him by a pair of fashion mannequins. As Gorō disappears, the window returns to normal, showing a pair of ordinary mannequins. Goro breaks out of the display case and finds the city deserted under a red sky. He runs off to find help. A girl calls Gorō over to a street corner as Ai rides forth. The girl reveals herself to be a bandaged and bloody Yuko. "Yuko" drags him over to a cliff where the sidewalk ends and tells him that they can both jump this time. Gorō manages to push "Yuko" over but suddenly finds himself falling in her place, looking up at Ai's minions. As Gorō falls, Ai banishes him to Hell. Gorō is chewed on by corpses as Ai ferries him through Hell's gate.
Hajime comes back empty-handed and offers Chie a ride. Chie and Tsugumi both see Ai, who Chie call "Ai Enma", but Hajime does not. Back at the hospital, Chie shows a still-comatose Yuko a picture of Gorō and shows her Hell's seal. Hajime continues his work while Tsugumi sleeps. A candle with Chie's name is lit.
This episode contains examples of:
- An Aesop: Ai gives one as she ferries Gorō to Hell.Ai: Abuse another's affections and you will be judged by those affections.
- Children Raise You: Tsugumi is a lot more responsible than Hajime.
- Dark World: Gorō is pulled into a dark, deserted version of the city with a red sky and a convenient cliff for him to be pushed off of where the next street over used to be.
- Full-Name Basis: Chie refers to Ai as "Ai Enma" despite Ai herself not saying her full name. This is the first time one of the characters uses Ai's full name.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Hajime may blackmail celebrities for money to make ends meet, but he genuinely cares for his daughter.
- Mid-Season Twist: This is the episode that introduces Hajime and Tsugumi. They gradually get more involved in events as the season goes on.
- Mind-Control Eyes: Tsugumi gets them whenever she sees through Ai's eyes.
- Red Sky, Take Warning: This episode marks the first time a Hell banishment uses a red sky.
- Scare Chord: One plays when "Yuko" reveals herself to Gorō during the banishment. Just a single, sudden low note from a piano played over the usual creepy music used for these scenes.
- Stealing from the Till: Gorō was doing this from a burger shop.
