Monogatari Series - Volume 24 - Chapter 2.26

026

The flat that the real Benihibari – Beniguchi Hibari – resides in on her own isn’t hard to find at all.

If anything, barely any effort is needed.

Because within the ‘moving out’ notice that Mitonon received there was, of course, her new address – since I only have an image of the postcard, part of the address was cropped out, but as long as I have a room number and the name of the residence, the rest would be unnecessary.

Come and have fun!

Whilst we won’t be following that imperative (an imperative that was addressed to Mitonon in the first place), we will be heading to her flat.

If there ever is a place with clues abound, that would be it.

Because no matter what, it’s certain that Benikujaku-chan once entered this flat and borrowed the suit in the entrance ceremony.

As an extra note, chances are she also helped herself to a bit of cash…I might be the one who footed the cafeteria bill in the end, but she did offer to pay for her coffee.

Well, not that it would’ve been much; the ‘thank you very much verily’ back then was probably genuine – it is true that humans need money to live, and that humans need money to survive.

It may be that Benikujaku-chan thought that once you’re an adult, you can do anything, but that’s not really the case – having some of that aforementioned money is a must, and even if it was me who was naked thanks to the torn children’s clothes, I’d have no idea what to do.

This is more than being stuck with the clothes one happened to be wearing.

Then again, it’d be a different story if she had a smartphone, but she’s in primary school – and besides, I couldn’t imagine those parents buying a phone for their children.

Running about town naked with only a spare key in the dead of night carries with it a great risk, though I can’t say if she had sound judgement at the time – the initial moments after I was turned into a vampire was also marked by some mild disquiet.

‘Streaking aside, how would she know where her older sister lives?’

‘If she had a spare key with her, then wouldn’t she have a memo of the address on hand too?…No, maybe she even memorised it and could rely on an internal map.’

Contradictions they may not be, but there are many additional small details that don’t feel right (how would one explain the front tooth in the postbox?), but I’ll leave it all for later – ultimately, if we get a hold of the person in question herself, then we wouldn’t even need to sweat the small details.

Ononoki-chan is no longer stopping me – she probably realised that there’s no point by this stage, and besides, if my instincts prove correct, then the nature of this case will be completely different.

The reason why I withdrew myself from any involvement last night was because, witnessing that tragic staircase landing, it was self-evident to me that the missing Benikujaku-chan was kidnapped – reporting and withdrawing was the promise I made in that instance.

But if the Impostor Benihibari I saw earlier today wasn’t an inquisitive kidnapper, but the one who’s always been perceived as a victim child, Benikujaku-chan, then this isn’t a kidnapping at all – which means there is no evil kidnapper to be served by justice.

If it was the work of an oddity – if the ‘Revolver’ was real, then, ugh, how do I put it, it’s…yes.

‘It’s up to us, then?’

It is so.

Whilst there’s yet to be any concrete evidence, and nothing to disprove that the small girl’s teeth wasn’t the work of an evil criminal, if we find Impostor Benihibari in Beniguchi Hibari’s flat, then we can put things to rest.

As well as ensuring her safety.

Come to think of it, that was my only goal – not to get to the bottom of things, not to solve some riddle, and of course, not to collect some supernatural tale.

I may have said that there’s no need to sweat the small details once we meet her, but if she isn’t willing, then I don’t plan on asking her questions either.

Given it was an oddity that caused this explosive growth, as the Oddity Slayer, it’s up to Oshino Shinobu to return things to where they were – like how she removed the Hindering Cat from Hanekawa Tsubasa via energy drain.

Though there are cases that would leave even an Oddity Slayer stumped, such as Kanbaru Suruga’s left arm, I’m sure she would welcome a challenge.

‘But say this I must: compared with mine appetite, the small girl’s will in returning as a small girl would be the real question.’

‘? I’m sure she wants to go back. She’s obviously confused, and every move of hers looks like she doesn’t know what she’s doing.’

‘Yet, as thou said, was it not her desire to grow into adulthood? Forsaking her home – as her elder sister did.’

‘……’

‘Bewildered she may now be, confounded as she may be, when she calmeth with time, mayhap she will deem it wiser not to revolve?…Just as I harbour no desire to return as Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade.’

Having been through thick and thin, the vampire decided to stick to being a young girl – conversely, would the small girl decide to remain a grown-up?

This, too, is something that may only be answered by meeting her in person – perhaps even she wouldn’t know.