Monogatari Series - Volume 21 - Chapter 0.06

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So that’s it.

I could finally nod.

In understanding.

I could see what Ononoki-chan is getting at — what she wants me to do is something like ‘The Five Doraemons’.

‘The Five Doraemons’.

One of the most ambitious chapters in the renowned children’s manga Doraemon that tackles time paradoxes.

Even if one has not read it, it is a classic on the same level as ‘Goodbye, Doraemon’, ‘A Grandmother’s Recollections’, or ‘Nobita’s the Night Before a Wedding’, so everybody should already be familiar with it; I shall not waste too many words introducing it, but in essence, Doraemon uses a time machine to bring future versions of himself, five in total including himself, to finish Nobita’s colossal amounts of homework.

But for me, I do not have a time machine, so I have no way of summoning myself two hours in the future, or myself four hours in the future, but Ononoki-chan said there was another way to approach it.

She continued her thesis.

‘Don’t you remember? The first time I visited your room — back then, I asked you to draw a slug. In order to fool Araragi Tsukihi, I took what remained of the Slug Tofu from you, then used my professional skills to materialise it, although the Slug Tofu you drew proved more powerful than I thought, and became a super Slug Tofu…’

‘Huh… mm, that was something you did.’

‘Whilst this undoubtedly proves Araragi Tsukihi’s menace, this was also proof of your illustration skills. Or perhaps potential. The reason I have come to your house and modelled for you often since is not only to thank you for letting me rant, but also because I sense something oddballish from you.’

‘Oddballish?’

A word that filled me with glee, but sadly, she did not mean what I thought she meant.

‘Your talisman rivals talismans drawn by local experts; that is your risk.’

‘I don’t want to draw talismans…’

I had a tough time precisely because of talismans.

I never expected Ononoki-chan to visit my room often for this reason.

Turns out the ‘odd’ in ‘oddballish’ was oddities related…

And ‘risk’ —

When for me, talismans were the things that posed the biggest risk.

Now that I am a subject of surveillance, does that mean I am the same as Tsukihi-chan?

I’m the same as Tsukihi-chan. That’s a horrifying thought.

‘For shapeless demons, visualisation is key to their form, whether for Toriyama Sekien or Toriyama Akira.’ {E}

This is the first time I have ever heard Toriyama Sekien and Toriyama Akira put in the same sentence — well, as far as their influence goes, both represent the zenith of their crafts.

Visualisation, huh.

‘In prose you always get a feeling you can’t put your finger on, but once there is an illustration, everything becomes easier to imagine, doesn’t it? Sherlock Holmes’ iconic deerstalker cap was in fact added in by the illustrator, but now every time you see one, you’d think, “oh, a detective”, don’t you?’

The deerstalker thing was very well-known, but haven’t we gone off track?

No, if this is part of me learning how to draw, then it is still on topic — ghost stories, originally purely word-of-mouth, gain significant meaning when given shape and form via illustrations. Besides, literacy in Japan back then must have been a lot lower than it is now.

‘Mm. Wouldn’t you say that the popularity of Vocaloid’s Hatsune Miku comes from her character design matching her powerful features? On the other hand, the story has it that Akage no Anne was originally going to feature a blonde girl on the cover. Maybe it wouldn’t have been a problem were it not for the title meaning “Red-haired Anne” — and speaking of, titles and names are also paramount. “Hatsune Miku” means “the first voice of the future”.’

She really likes Hatsune Miku.

I had never heard that about Akage no Anne.

Although I think in its original English it was titled Anne of Green Gables?

‘Which, bringing me back to what I was saying, I want to test how odd your talents are; how much energy lies within your illustrations — and if your self-portraits can be successfully conjured as shikigami, then I would introduce you to Gaen-san.’

What good does that do for me?

This Gaen-san played an important role in me becoming a god, didn’t she?

I do not mean this as an accusation, but when I think of what she makes of me… honestly, I do not want anything more to do with her.

‘Exactly. It is not an excuse to repay. That’s because, Sengoku Nadeko, unlike Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade, you have not been designated harmless yet. As far as results go, you didn’t do anything catastrophic; in other words, for an amount of time, this town kept its peace because of you, so there is still no consensus for what to do with you amongst the experts, though it would be no surprise to them if you were vanquished. Precisely because you’re no longer a god and pose no risk, it wouldn’t be strange if some people saw your demise as an easy career promotion.’

It’s a dog-eat-dog world.

Whilst it was an enormous transgression, to die not due to karma or punishment, but simply for someone else’s career is a fate I strongly resent.

‘Isn’t that right? So if Gaen-san knows of your odd talents, and you prove reliably useful to her, then that monster of connections could take you under her wing.’

An expert who sounds more like a monster.

Someone reliably useful… I don’t like the sound of that.

Something in her words seemed to have convinced me regardless… but, leaving aside any positives, this suggestion has at least no negatives for me.

Seriously though, it’s something I wanted to confirm too — whether it was true that my slug illustration materialised into something even Ononoki-chan couldn’t handle. How will I even accept that?

Risk.

For a manga drawn as if one’s life depended on it — because one’s life depended on it; for it to cause such a monumental incident once realised, once materialised into an aberration — even if it was not for their career, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they decide to eliminate me.

If such latent powers still exist within me, I must expunge all of it, or at the very least control it.

Therefore, this test can be considered a touchstone for me.

Hm.

‘Understood, I’ll try it… all I have to do is draw four of myself?’

Self-portraits; well, they are the bread and butter of drawing, so it was not going to be difficult. Before Ononoki-chan’s frequent visits, I actually posed in front of the mirror, or took pictures of myself, and sketched out my character dessins with me as my own model.

It’s just that,

‘Mm. However, could you introduce some variations to each design?’

Ononoki-chan requested.

‘If there is no way of identifying which Sengoku Nadeko is which, it would be quite a headache. Consider the worst-case scenario: five Sengoku Nadekos, but nobody can tell who the real one is. That’d be a big nightmare.’

That would not just be a big nightmare.

It would present a complete collapse of identity.

‘Though, real talk, there were cases when the shikigami, the agent, ended up replacing the onmyōji themselves. So even if they are Sengoku Nadekos, could you also ascribe different personalities to each of them?’

Quite a tough request indeed.

I guess this is akin to drawing twins in a manga: even though they look the same, there ought to be enough detail within for readers to differentiate between them.

The manga artist within me began rubbing her hands.

My motivation has mildly gone up.

‘Then we can start by giving them different hairstyles… aha’

A flash of inspiration.

I may not have a time machine to transport future mes back here, but I can easily draw past mes.

Although not as much as Tsukihi-chan, my hairstyle has changed quite frequently also — given that this is a ‘five-person project’, does that mean four hairstyles in addition to the very short style I currently have?

I pondered as I started sketching.

First and foremost, the longest.

Both in terms of the time I had it, and hair length itself.

‘Oh, fringe mode. I’ve never seen that, actually.’

‘Mm, that’s right. If I remember correctly, this version of me got called Lady Forelocks…’

I was teased for it often.

It did not cover my embarrassment at all.

‘Long fringes so that nobody could see your face… inward, Sengoku Nadeko at her mildest… then let’s call her Gentle Nadeko.’ {F-i}

Gentle Nadeko…

It sounds very mature and grown-up for adults, but it is still better than Lady Forelocks, so I will call her that.

Hmmm.

It is difficult to draw a face whose eyes are covered up by her hair… but this is me, this was something I did.

The eyes really are the windows to one’s soul. {G}

This is less approachable than even Ononoki-chan’s expressionlessness… if someone like this were in class, it is a bit spooky.

Frightful, even; how could a child like this be called cute?

Though to view it with such disapproval is probably self-torment on my part.

Well, I will fine-tune it when I am finalising it.

Next up.

The second me.

‘Hm? I’ve never seen this before either… holding back your fringes with a headband… so that’s a phase you went through. Ah, that. Was it the Sengoku Nadeko who desperately tried to approach and impress a Certain Someone?’

She knows, somehow.

Perhaps as a professional, in order to investigate someone who has got into trouble before, she ended up knowing my entire backstory.

Leaving that aside, unlike Gentle Nadeko, this Sengoku Nadeko was easy to draw, with no fringes hanging out the front and having a bare forehead.

I realised just now that having eyes makes plenty of difference. Consider this a new discovery.

‘Let’s call her Fawning Nadeko.’ {F-ii}

That’s cruel.

I am about to burst in tears.

‘This is the Sengoku Nadeko who wore the micro-bikini in that short story, right? {H} How else could you describe it other than fawning?’

Indeed, it could not be anything else.

Although I dismissed her mentioning the anime-based short stories, I caved in. We’ll just call her that.

With that name, I also gave her quite a flirtatious expression — titling is important, as Ononoki-chan said earlier, and only now did I fully realise its impact.

Gentle Nadeko and Fawning Nadeko, huh…

Deciding on names is pretty much now or never — but what shall I call the third me…

It flowed from my hand.

‘Ah. I’ve seen this before, it’s that. The Sengoku Nadeko when Araragi Tsukihi snipped off the fringes you’ve proudly held, right?’

‘Mmm… more specifically, after the snipping, when Karen-san repaired it for me.’

I will give her credit for detail, though.

No, I do remember, Ononoki-chan came to this town during this time, right? Is that why she remembers?

‘Mm, I play here often. But I saw it in the anime.’

You’re acting too freely.

‘This was the hairstyle you had when you caused that giant kerfuffle in the classroom, right? The same reason why you cannot go to school even now?’

Her saying giant kerfuffle was not something I wanted to hear, but it was one all right.

Memories, memories.

‘Your rage was as intense and out-of-place as if someone hit your berserk button, making you spill forth all your inner thoughts. {I} Then let’s call this Sengoku Nadeko Anti-Nadeko.’ {F-iii}

That name is pretty much official in the first place.

I heard that that was the name used in the anime audio commentaries (I was called that, and the culprit was none other than Tsukihi-chan). {J}

‘And as for the fourth Sengoku Nadeko, there’s no need to think about her hairstyle.’

‘Mm… there’s no other option.’

It is the only one.

The me who was worshipped at Kitashirahebi Shrine.

When I was a deity — when I was the serpent god.

Me then had a hairstyle even more avant-garde than Anti-Nadeko — after all, out of a hundred thousand strands, every single one was a snake.

An unbelievable character design.

Ridiculous.

It would be impractical to draw a hundred thousand strands (that’d probably take ten thousand hours), so I cut some corners here and there; consider this a manga technique.

Although frankly, I had a lot of fun drawing it.

The nib rolled on smoothly, as did my strokes.

‘Indeed, I’ve heard that for those who draw well, they prefer drawing creatures over handsome beauties.’

No, when I was drawing Gentle Nadeko, Fawning Nadeko, and Anti-Nadeko, I was not trying to draw a beauty — whilst excessive self-torment is no good thing, if I drew myself too attractively, that would also be a mood-killer.

‘I see. So by drawing yourself normally you end up looking cute.’

Ononoki-chan said, without reservation.

But ultimately, this is something I have to face — even though the attaching-a-photo-of-myself-to-my-submissions idea is dead in the water.

Right, all done.

Me as a medusa.

‘Let’s call her Divine Nadeko.’ {F-iv}

In the end, Ononoki-chan chose all the names.

Maybe she likes the feeling of making final decisions.

‘It’s alright if the team had six people in it, are you sure you don’t want to pop in DJ Nadeko?’

‘I say, that kid has never really existed, not even in the anime.’ {K}

‘Right then, Present Nadeko. {F-v} Could you then draw all four of them from head to toe? This will take more time, and it would help if you put in details. Put you heart into it — put your soul into it. When you’re done, I’ll apply my techniques to this sketchbook.’

‘Mm… uh, you just called current me Present Nadeko, didn’t you? Could you please not do that? I don’t want my real self to be called the same way as my shikigami.’

‘Understood’, said Ononoki-chan casually. I started with my pen — this could make or break the rest of my year, my future. Upon thinking that, I have to give it my all.

Draw, draw, draw, hyah!