Monogatari Series - Volume 24 - Chapter 2.08

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With her saying that, it did happen – no, it’s just a rumour, and it’s the kind of rumour that sends a shudder down my spine, so I’m not quite how true it is…the story was, with her family house burnt down, Hanekawa went to the ruins and spent the night there, before Hitagi found her with her own dogged persistence.

And as for those ruins, that is, the abandoned cram school, it too went up in flames, just like Hanekawa’s house, so chances are Benikujaku-chan won’t be hiding there, though there is some possibility that she’d be lurking in some other ruin.

Hanekawa’s…how do I put it, ‘sense of danger’ back then, or more specifically her lack of, could be analogous to that of a naïve child…

‘Speaking of, wasn’t that originally Oshino’s hiding place? If you can manage to get a hold of him, then you can ask him to tell you what other ruins there are.’

‘Doth that not make him a specialist o’ ruins? However, it was also thanks to him that my life was saved.’

‘Indeed. At the very least, she’d want to avoid rain and wind, so she’s probably somewhere with a roof over her head.’

Rain…I don’t know what the weather’s like the next town over, but I do know that rain is physically draining to deal with.

Back then, Hanekawa…it was to leave her burnt down house, but in a way, it too was running from home…

After that, she was found in the ruins having slept with a cardboard blanket, and after that she went to the Senjougaharas and the Araragis…how about this?

What are the chances that instead of going out alone, that year five girl found an understanding friend’s place to lodge in?

Suppose the lost cow can be avoided by a simple ‘sorry to disturb’ at someone else’s house…

‘It may feel like a forbidden trick, but it is a simple solution that might actually work. Oh these crafty human beings with their crafty imagination…’

‘Don’t start saying things a god would say. I’m interviewing you as a lost cow.’

‘However, Benikujaku-chan wasn’t affected by a lost cow, so I wouldn’t say I know what happened to her. I may be a god, but I’m not omniscient.’

Hachikuji said, ending with a statement not unlike Hanekawa’s.

I don’t know everything, I just know what I know.

‘……’

Although now I’m perplexed.

Why did Shinobu say that former class representative could serve as reference then?

Some odd advice for her to give, given that she’s half-dragged into this against her own will, but that’s not the thing I’m surprised of…after all, Shinobu being disinterested is, in a sense, nothing new.

No, the thing that’s made me quizzical was her choosing that episode with the former class rep, and not the many other episodes we went through.

I only realised as she was saying all that, so I don’t intend to brag here, but Shinobu should’ve noticed it far sooner than I did – she’s been there herself, after all.

Leaving home, becoming lost.

Self-discovery would be another way of putting it.

Having went on excursion after excursion, to country after country, after Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade’s downfall that transformed her into Oshino Shinobu, she went missing once – since it was a young girl who went missing, I panicked like no other back then, and went all over town searching for her.

On that front, I remember working with the Hindering Cat too – but unlike this time, the line-up we had searching for her wasn’t stellar at all.

No, then again, the cat did manage to find Shinobu after all, so I guess you could say we had the perfect team. It’s all about having the right people at the right place at the right time…

Anyway, Shinobu has a far better example in her memory in the form of herself, so why would she bring up Hanekawa and not that time?

Could it be because I wasn’t at town, so she thought I didn’t know?

In fact, I had already learnt about that episode directly from one of the participants, Senjougahara Hitagi – she was very smug about it too.

See how tangled I am with Hanekawa?

Was the kind of feeling she went for.

But anyway, going back…then again, if you ask me whether Shinobu’s eventual hiding place could help in finding Benikujaku-chan, the answer’s a solid no. And as far as Shinobu is concerned, that episode of ‘self-discovery’ could be a shameful one she doesn’t want to bring up, so the reason why she didn’t say anything about that was purely because she didn’t want anyone saying anything about it.

Then I’d best avoid that topic too.

Benikujaku-chan’s more important right now.

Shinobu went quiet, so Hachikuji continued her lecture on lost children as a pro.

‘I never thought those ten-plus years of being tied to the ground could come in useful like this right now.’

She murmured quietly.

It may have just been an offhand remark, but if Hachikuji thinks that, then this discussion with her has gained additional significance.

Hachikuji was killed about eleven years ago on mother’s day by a traffic accident, when she was on her way visiting her mum’s house from her father’s house – it wasn’t the case with Shinobu, and I dare not link what happened then with Benikujaku-chan, but she could be heading toward the same fate.

I’ve been working on the assumption that she wasn’t kidnapped, but if it turns out Benikujaku-chan couldn’t make it out alive, then in the end, what was the point of doing all this?

Compared to making her way back home, making it back alive is far more important – in order to repay Hachikuji’s help, I found within myself a new wave of determination.

‘– Unlimited Rulebook.’

With those two words, Ononoki-chan returned back to this town – launching herself backwards, her skirt in the air, landing splendidly with her heels.

That was quick!

It felt almost like a boomerang the way she did it!

‘I’m back. I’ve found where the Beniguchis live.’