Monogatari Series - Volume 21 - Chapter 0.31

031

An epilogue, and also a prologue, if you will.

A future memory, a story after.

I finally saw Shinobu-chan~

This was not a rendezvous worth shouting to the world about, but it took much less time than I thought for Tsukihi-chan to notice my sweatshirt in her walk-in wardrobe. The following time she came over to play and return the sweatshirt, I saw Shinobu.

Once she entered my room, she leisurely took off her jacket.

‘I don’t know what happened, but I’ve already got you covered about the front door and the phone receiver~’

She said and flopped on the bed.

You wouldn’t relax this soon even in your own room… was what I wanted to say about her bullishness, but indeed, since Karen-chan’s graduation, Tsukihi-chan has not only become a representative of this area’s middle school girls, but with her caring personality, a leader, even.

I couldn’t thank her enough.

‘“It’s probably my dear friend Nadeko-chan entering the house and wreaking havoc, but she probably didn’t do it out of malice, so please forgive her, I’ll give her a good lesson”, that’s what I said~’

I don’t think I’m covered at all.

This kid might be good at taking care of people, but back in the day, she was nothing but relentless.

‘So I’ve come here to give you one. I have descended here. Oh, you can have those clothes on the hanger. Please, go ahead~ A commemoration of hikikomori Nadeko’s first outing. We’ll call it NadekoStyle~’

‘NadekoStyle…’

‘Let’s buy you some fitting shoes next time. I came here to give you une chaussure.’

‘You mean une leçon, right?’ [15]

‘Zzz…zzz…’

And she’s asleep. She really does whatever she wants, doesn’t she?

In face of my close friend’s antics, I gave a stilted smile.

‘I say, cease thy grimace.’

Right then, in Tsukihi-chan’s flat shadow, a human right hand appeared — no, it was not that of a human’s.

Nor a zombie’s right hand.

A vampire’s right hand.

More correctly, a former vampire’s right hand.

The girl with the golden hair and golden eyes — as if crawling from Tsukihi-chan’s shadow, the former Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade, Oshino Shinobu, made her entrance.

‘Oh no! Me grimacing my close friend has been witnessed!’

— Not.

Why would Shinobu-chan appear from Tsukihi-chan’s shadow?

Once feared as the King of Aberrations, Shinobu-chan was confined within a shadow since last June, but she shouldn’t be in Tsukihi-chan’s shadow, no?

‘Kaka. This person is after all my master’s fine sister — vampires art blood aberrations, meaning they can shuttle hither and thither twixt blood relatives’ shadows. However, such forceful attachment drains the shadow’s owner — so refrain from thy grimace.’

I see.

So that was why Tsukihi-chan slept as soon as she entered the room — no, for me, this was not because she was tired, but because this was fully in Tsukihi-chan’s character.

But, that aside.

Why would Shinobu-chan force her way into my room like this?

The scene was visibly palpable.

The same thought flashed across my head back when I was about to be crushed by the bookshelf; probably the same thought one has in moments of death… my heartrate increased tenfold.

An encounter such as this is already draining my lifespan.

But, against my drips of cold sweat, Shinobu-chan merely threw a sadistic glance.

‘Here, a souvenir for thee, Lady Forelocks. Nay, that’d be the former Lady Forelocks, no?’

Shinobu-chan revealed her fangs, and took out a paper bag filled with doughnuts.

‘S-Souvenir? Doughnuts?’

‘Mm. I wish to dine with thee. However, there are merely five to share — I had heard of thy powers of illustration and realisation. Might thou these doughnuts illustrate and perchance multiply their numbers?’

I thought with five, it would already be plenty for two — come to think of it, why is Shinobu-chan trying to have doughnuts with me all of a sudden? The spontaneity was bewildering, but resistance seems an unwise option here.

I quietly sketched the doughnuts from the paper bag.

Back when I was battling Divine Nadeko in the bookstore, I got to know the ins and outs of materialisation with those gym shorts — if it is only materialisation, I can do it on my own. But I must say, doughnuts are harder to draw due to their shape. Their softness is also more difficult to come across in a drawing.

‘It’s like that; like the “Multiplication Liquid”.’

I tried lightening the mood by bringing this up with Shinobu-chan, self-proclaimed devout fan of Fujio Fujiko.

‘If thou art comparing, the “Duplicating Mirror” mayhaps prove more apt.’

She corrected.

I really am bad at flattering people, aren’t I?

‘Speaking of “The Five Doraemons”, if one can bring oneself two hours into the future, could one not then bring Doraemons four hours, six hours, and eight hours into the future?’

The fanatic started her rant.

I cannot take it much longer.

‘Whilst I do not dispute that Doraemon representeth the peak of manga, for a children’s manga, to require it be excessively infused with lessons or be bestowed a masterpiece does not sit well with me —’

I cannot listen to this. Shut up.

Whilst not due to my distraction, the doughnuts did successfully materialise from paper, but the taste was an abject failure.

I gave half the materialised doughnuts to Shinobu-chan; they ended up tasting like clay — not clay, but paper clay.

I feel sick now.

I should imagine Shinobu-chan enraged, alert.

‘Hmph. So foodstuffs are a no, then. My powers of creation are the same; organic material is beyond the likes of me. Then shall we experiment further with machinery? Take something whose insides are unknown — a television, for instance — draw it, and see if we can get a picture on it.’

But she seems unfazed… experiment?

Yes, in fact, what followed next was experimentation — what can be materialised, will they retain their functions, what errors there may be in reproduction. Something tangible would be great, but imagery from legend will also do; what would happen if one drew a magazine with only the cover, or if one drew a time machine, or a live animal, or a lifeless sample; a small elephant, a gigantic ant, a handsome boy…

So on and so forth.

Instead of saying this was a micro analysis, this was more a macro experiment on everything, where hairs were practically split — I did not understand the meaning behind this; I thought she was toying with my drawing halfway through, I then even doubted if she was trying to test the limits of my drawings for a future duel, but in the end, I finally realised: Shinobu-chan pretended to experiment with me, her former sworn rival, but what she was trying to do was lecture me on how to harness this talent that no normal person has.

Shinobu-chan taught me like she did not care at all, but I knew she was passionate, from the amount of details she went into — doubtlessly she is formulating something of her own too.

To avoid becoming addicted to this power and going berserk, I am looking towards the future and making my own plans too, with taming this power as my first priority — but having had such an acrimonious past, or to put it more bluntly, having nearly duelled to the death, yet displaying such confidence and arrogance, does make her feel like a vampire who has lived six hundred years.

Her generosity is on a scale fifteen-year-old me cannot begin to imagine — be it duels to the death, to assist, or to forgive, she has probably experienced all of them countless times.

I thought I had deeply hurt Shinobu-chan, but for her, this was probably not even a scratch — there would only be one person in this world who can even do such a thing.

‘Alas, there is not much I can offer regarding the use of shikigami, for I have created kin twice, and twice they returned a failure.’

Ultimately, she ate all five doughnuts she had brought over; just as she was about to return to Tsukihi-chan’s (still sleeping soundly) shadow,

‘U-uh, Shinobu-chan!’

I stopped her.

Not because I had to; more than that, I felt there was no need to go through old scars, and I did not know if she would give a proper answer in the first place.

Even so, I felt compelled to ask.

To ask Shinobu-chan, the one who gave me that comment last year.

‘Hm? What is it, pray tell?’

‘Do I still, as you said, just happen to be cute?’

I asked with my all, bracing myself for imminent death.

‘…What…’

She tilted.

‘What, who said such a thing? Turns out there are people who say things off-the-cuff as so.’

‘……’

Was she pretending to be dumb?

Or had she really forgotten?

Is this what is known as ‘even if the speaker forgets, the listener remembers’? — no, but that might not be the case.

I only knew later that Shinobu-chan’s first kin had resurrected not long ago, and she had a tough time facing this ‘failed work’.

By the looks of it, that sentence that frustrated me for over half a year, that made me ponder, that even made me prepare for a future comeback; that might really have been when Shinobu-chan was down, when she was trying to let it out, a careless remark.

Not off-the-cuff.

…It was still cruel though, and even then, that sentence hurting me was still a fact, but for some reason, I felt let down, the same kind of feeling one has when a curse is lifted casually, without effort.

Indeed.

One cannot retract past words, but to accuse them with ‘did you not say this back in the day’ or ‘you did not believe in that back then’ is to disallow any room for change — splitting out past selves as if they were someone different is obviously wrong, but to rely on one’s past self is also an act of stagnation.

Even for the one listening, those who forget will still forget.

To be deeply hurt by something so trifling, to give a random remark more weight than intended — really nuanced this is, communication.

‘Ha.’

Shinobu-chan reclined and laughed heartily.

‘Ha! 

‘Ha ha ha! 

‘Ha ha! 

‘Ha ha ha ha ha!’

Hold on, you laughing this loud would disturb the neighbours — people would think that a hikikomori is laughing aloud on her own.

‘If some eejit were to utter something so asinine, bring them forth to me. I can guarantee. As one who hath lived six hundred years as the King of Aberrations, as the Iron-Blooded, Hot-Blooded, Cold-Blooded vampire, thou hast slaughtered me thousands of times, steppest down from thy divine throne, and gave up great power, determined to be human again, and hath lived merrily since then; how art thou merely happen to be cute? — thou art more than cute, and a hundredfold more irritable.’

‘Irritable —’

‘Mm. I know not if that is of beneficence, but for thyself, even if thou art reincarnatest a hundred times, thou shalt likely remain an irritable fellow.’

Shinobu-chan seems to be the one irritating me.

Surely that was not off-the-cuff either?

I am reminded of Oshino Meme-san’s catchphrase, ‘did something good happen?’, as Shinobu-chan quietly slipped back into Tsukihi-chan’s shadow.

This may not have been exactly reconciliation, but the days of conversing like this with Shinobu-chan have returned. Let us have a proper, long chat next time, and talk about manga.

Although I escaped out of fear this time, maybe someday I could also chat with Senjougahara-san — all thanks to Ougi-san (this was a dig at him), I already know where she lives and where the Tamikura Apartments are… I do not ask for her forgiveness, but I do want to know what Senjougahara-san is really like.

Why Senjougahara-san phoned the Araragi house landline back then was another mystery left unsolved.

After that, Tsukihi-chan slept until evening, and even had dinner before she went back, but Ononoki-chan seemed to have just missed her, and went in my room through the window, as usual.

Rather than say just missed, she purposefully missed her — reason one being, she cannot let Tsukihi-chan know that she is a moving doll; reason two simply being she detests Tsukihi-chan.

‘Yay~ Peace peace~’

She seemed to have completely recovered from her injuries during that riot, including the hair — short hair really suited her too, though.

No matter, as long as she’s fine.

By the way, I nervously visited the bookstore that got turned upside down thanks to my duel against myself the next day (typical of a criminal, returning to the crime scene), and it was open, business as usual.

I was completely speechless.

I thought I was dreaming, but I guess as Ononoki-chan said, this was the work of pros cleaning up.

Fascinatingly clean.

For the people who deal with all sorts of aberrations or oddities day to day, this panic caused by me was probably a mere tempest in a teacup — even so, I still think cleaning up was definitely not an easy job.

To think that my immaturity has caused so much trouble, I still felt somewhat guilty.

‘No need to mind. For Gaen-san, this is an investment.’

An investment? I don’t quite understand.

Anyway, with everything that had happened from last year up until now, I really should meet Gaen-san once and for all, shouldn’t I.

‘Mm, Naddie. I came here to talk to you about that. I bring you good news.’

Ononoki-chan said, as she plopped herself on the bed.

If I told her Tsukihi-chan was sat there just now, she would probably leap up; but that was not important, my attention has been drawn more towards her ‘good news’.

What could it be?

A lost dog finally being found, something like that?

‘Whilst cleaning up, I reported your adventures of the day, which piqued Gaen-san’s curiosity towards your special ability — so I am here to ask for your help in a job.’

‘J-job?’

Is this about aberrations?

Is this about me?

‘Indeed. She said, looking at your results, she would like to see you helping her in her work regularly — such is the value she sees in you.’

‘W-wait a second —’

I panicked. I’m embarrassed. What is she talking about?

Ultimately, this special ability was what created this monstrous mess — worst things worst, Divine Nadeko could have stolen that seat and become god again; I had not done anything worthy of praise.

I had even half given up on getting designated harmless.

Despite this, I seem to have gotten scouted out of nowhere…

‘Don’t misunderstand. Your ability to conjure shikigami was not what Gaen-san appreciated — it was your cool in face of trouble. Compared to someone who never fails, Gaen-san places greater value on those who can kludge and claw back success from the brink of failure — which means your brief stint as a god was not for naught. In unusual, senseless situations that would put any person off, you faced them with bravery. To manage to retrieve four uncontrolled shikigami in a single day deserves far more commendation than those born with natural talent.’

Even with her paragraph, everything felt completely unreal.

I did not keep my cool.

All I did was panic all the way, didn’t I? — yes, Ononoki-chan was injured through the middle of all this, so I, the outsider, had to step up into the frontlines… wait.

Wait, what?

‘Could it be… that’s why you let me take charge, Ononoki-chan?’

This was not the only part.

When discovering Speedo Nadeko, to deliberately not end things swiftly with the ‘Unlimited Rulebook’, but to let her swim longer and wait for the big fish — which led to Ononoki-chan’s dismemberment — instead of handing over responsibility to me, might it be more accurate to say she handed those achievements to me?

As a professional, I would not have been surprised if Ononoki-chan had faster and sneakier ways of tidying things up, but she played support the whole time — was it to let me be the one who retrieved all four shikigami?

Whilst she made it sound like the goal was to end with a harmless designation, had Ononoki-chan actually set her sights even further in the beginning?

From surveillance to protection — and even to investment. Not only was I designated harmless — I could be upgraded as someone to invest in.

I drew all sorts of things throughout this incident — but the one tracing it all would be Ononoki-chan.

Although losing control of four shikigami would not have been part of the equation, I felt like Ononoki-chan had been leading me here this whole time — but for what, exactly?

What else…

‘Absolutely, Naddie. I am but a pro specialist, a severe, dry, businessman-like shikigami; someone working for the future of the industry, and making things easier for myself, hence my work in scouting prospective personnel. Now you know why I acted so close to someone like you, don’t you?’

Yea, I know.

I know Ononoki-chan’s bad at lying.

My parents ordered me to get a job once I finish middle school, but I am a talentless, reclusive, introverted, shy aspiring female manga artist with zero social skills; that was why the severe, dry, and businessman-like Ononoki-chan thoughtfully and diligently worked to find me a job.

‘You’re not an adult yet, so Gaen-san probably wouldn’t task you with something too difficult — of course, you can still keep working towards becoming a manga artist. Although there will be time constraints, consider them field trips; tour this incredible world, collecting and researching your material, not a bad deal, huh? It’s not a steady job, but I can guarantee you’ll have enough money to move out on your own.’

But Ononoki-chan never made things clear, she merely explained them as flatly as she usually did — whilst she seemed to imply that I should be the judge, having made such a detailed arrangement for me, there was no way I am messing up Ononoki-chan’s charitable present.

My, my, this is actually happening.

This was not the ending I expected from being coiled by snakes last year. I had recklessly pursued those glass slippers out of my own fantasies, being told that I lowered my head often without ever noticing what I was standing on, but now it seems like I have my own pair of straw shoes: one foot a manga artist, one foot a specialist.

Would that be shoes on a snake too? {Z}