Monogatari Series - Volume 21 - Chapter 0.15

015

Honestly, I never imagined the day I would be back here again.

For the school, I am still enrolled there; even without today’s incident, I might return there for some admin or other, whether I wanted to or not — but, even though it is practically next to where I live, even though it is a home my friends live in, if this had not happened, I would probably have never set foot in the Araragi household for the rest of my life.

Even Tsukihi-chan, someone who accidentally throws away her delicacy the day the bins get collected, even she can find the time to visit, but since I have stopped stepping out of my room, she has not invited me to her place.

Even today, when I was running after the four Sengoku Nadekos, I must have subconsciously avoided going near the Araragi house — that was why Gentle Nadeko could have been thinking along the same lines; there is sound reasoning behind such a theory.

Furthermore, to hide in a place the pursuer is unlikely to approach does not, from the escapee’s point of view, feel wrong — given that, although I might not be beating them at their own game, if I were to set up an ambush there first, I think there is a high chance I can catch Gentle Nadeko.

That was the most I can extract from my own daft head.

Well, it was only contrived to justify the idea that suddenly appeared…

With that, I stepped back on Ougi-san’s bike, and went directly towards the Araragi household, though as I raced against that headwind and arrived, the thought of ‘hmm, but is that really the case’ kept nagging me.

My not-exactly-bright head had a decent idea for once, so I went with it. But Gentle Nadeko trying to approach the Araragi house yet never reaching it was what my deduction implied; if I went forward, not only would I be first, but that kid would probably never come.

This is Gentle Nadeko we are talking about, right?

I wonder what would happen.

If my thoughts of ‘never getting near the Araragi household’ were what I have in common with Gentle Nadeko — just as Fawning Nadeko did not go to my year 2 class, but to year 3, class 5 — then between Sodachi-onee-chan’s ‘showing myself to the world’ me and ‘introverted and timid’ me, which me would possess a stronger feeling of ‘I do not want to be here’?

Even with a heavy heart, I still got there, so even with a time difference, this should be within Gentle Nadeko’s ability eventually; at least, that was what I thought…

However, that self of mine could have decided to something completely unexpected. That doubt still lingered within me.

Please don’t tell me there was no point in coming here.

I do not want to leave empty-handed.

The only thing I can rely on was something I cannot imagine happening again today: the curious but real image of me inside the Araragi household, half-naked, wearing only gym shorts — therefore, whilst reasoning that Gentle Nadeko would come here was rather forced, I had to be forced, given the situation.

I stepped off the difficult bike, and looked upwards towards the Araragis’ house — of course it would be, but nothing has changed since the last time I was there.

I do not miss it at all.

Whilst it was about the same gap, this felt different from being absent in middle school — this may seem a strange metaphor, but this felt like a field trip to an ancient castle.

One does feel a sense of history, but it was one divorced from my current self, a history that bears no relevance — no, this was merely using some other words to replace ‘missing’ the place.

Or ‘poignancy’, for that matter.

It was probably protecting myself from those wounds that have cut so deep.

Anyway, what is fortunate for me is that I am not bathing in a sea of thankfulness — whether divorcing past events from my current self was the right thing to do, I can leave for another time.

I should focus on setting up an ambush, against my past self.

Ambush.

Considering the possibility of being found out by the Araragis, I have to find somewhere nearby to hide… it was a normal weekday, so everybody should be at work or in school, but the Araragis could do something out of the ordinary.

I shall rely on my experience; my painful experience.

Well, having them spot Present Nadeko is still better than having them spot Bloomer Nadeko… mm?

As I was pondering on what to do whilst loitering around the front gate of the Araragi household, I noticed something. I noticed a little something.

The entryway. The front door of that entryway.

An odd sight visible from afar, that was what was near the doorknob — no no, I must remain calm.

Perhaps I saw things wrong.

When something happens that defies logic, one must look closer for confirmation.

I leant the bike by the front door, and entered the Araragis’ property. Unlike stepping inside the middle school, this moment marked the time when I committed trespassing, though by the looks of it, that was already happening.

Yes.

My ambush might have come too late — from the Araragi household’s front door.

Around where the doorknob was, there was a hole just big enough for a human wrist to fit in — a hole had been opened.

‘……’

I heard that this is a method burglars use for getting around crescent locks in windows… but this was the first time I have seen it used to pry open a heavy wooden door.

And besides, this hole was not neatly cut out — it looked like some wild beast clawing or biting out a hole; it was crudely dug through.

Ononoki-chan revealed that she had destroyed the Araragis’ front gate about a year ago with her ‘Unlimited Rulebook’… but to be destroyed twice in a year, what is with this house?

Having known Tsukihi-chan, I knew this long ago, but what was surprising was that, of all things, the couple living here are police officers?

But, even knowing that, even being familiar with that, I still needed to trespass even further — because.

Upon closer inspection, the hole in the door was holed out not with claws or fangs, but with a chisel.

A chisel.

Yes, a chisel.

I thought I got there first, but that was not the case.

It seemed that before I thought of it, Gentle Nadeko had already decided to come to visit the Araragi household — I wonder if that meant frustrated Present Nadeko was the more indecisive one?

Was this part of her character?

Of course, this could be the work of an entirely unrelated burglar, but to use a chisel to break through the front gate was not exactly the wisest move (instead of wasting energy on that, breaking in via the window would have been a hundred times faster), so this can be considered further proof that this was the work of my oblivious shikigami.

I cannot let this go on any longer.

My shikigami that looks like my double has started doing crimes — technically, it had already happened when she wandered around half-naked, but destroying property and trespassing goes beyond being excusable.

Obviously, if she hurts anybody in the process as well…

This would be more than what Fawning Nadeko did.

Gentle Nadeko isn’t gentle at all, is she.

I prayed that nobody was in the Araragi household, as I carefully and silently opened the front door, now uselessly dangling and only fixed by its hinges, and stepped inside, removing my shoes.

This bitch…

Dragging people into a life of crime.

Although, when I think about it, such complaints probably don’t make much sense — middle school Sengoku Nadeko trespassing into the Araragi household was, after all, not the first time it had been done.

Last October, no, it was already November by then, I slipped into the empty Araragi household just like now — whilst not with a chisel through the front door, Gentle Nadeko’s acts were at least somewhat consistent.

A child returning their parents’ debts.

In my case though, it was more the child not knowing their parents’ hearts — no, as an actual daughter, I could say the same for myself.

Given that it is a feeling I more or less know now, I should talk with my parents properly once this saga reaches its conclusion… I thought back to what Sodachi-onee-chan said to me, escaping reality once again as I always do with thinking, as I walked up the stairs.

Tip-toeing my way.

It might be somebody’s house that I am familiar with, but a long gap between visits really makes it feel like somebody else’s home — but so far, I do not feel there was anybody else in the house.

There were no other shoes down by the front door, so I am not surprised by that; everybody in the Araragi family seems to have gone out… consider it a bit of luck.

I guess even I get visited by Lady Luck from time to time.

Gentle Nadeko’s shoes were nowhere to be seen, though given that witnesses said she was moving around half-naked, I was not sure if she had shoes on in the first place — and, even though I took my sandals off, in trespassing, the trespasser obediently removing their shoes by the front door is not a given.

Naturally, even though I was sneaking like this, Gentle Nadeko could have left a long time ago — although that depends on what she was up to in the Araragi household in the first place.

I reached the upper floor, walking alongside the corridor — around someone else’s home like the back of my hand. Going past Tsukihi-chan and Karen-san’s shared room — though I’m not sure about that; Karen-san might have gotten her own room since entering high school — I stopped in front of the door at the very end.

The room I visited oh-so-many times.

The room I visited in so many forms.

…The room I should not be visiting right now, but seeing as I did go half-naked wearing only gym shorts in this room, then if Gentle Nadeko was still in this house, this was the first place I should look.

Perhaps… I should knock first?

Or maybe I should set up a sneak attack, sealing Gentle Nadeko before she had any time to react — if I could not catch her now, then I do not know what else I could do.

I took out the sheet of paper from my pocket, and had a small deep breath. Ougi-san was not by my side this time; I’ll have to face this alone — here I go.

Ready, set!