Monogatari Series - Volume 25 - Chapter 5.01

Chapter Illness- Kuroneko Bed

001 

Byouinzaka Kuroneko is a young prodigy. While she is the same age as myself, that is to say, 18 years old, she possesses an intelligence quotient I could never attain even in my wildest dreams. On top of that, her instincts are sharp and her footwork extremely light. A high schooler seemingly born exclusively for the sake of solving mysteries. 

However, my interpretation is that she was a prodigy and not a genius. Her characteristic name and constitution lead me to unconsciously think of a good friend of mine; however, Byouinzaka Kuroneko and Hanekawa Tsubasa are as different as they could be. I don’t hesitate when it comes to calling Hanekawa Tsubasa a genius, but I cannot bring myself to do the same when it comes to Byouinzaka Kuroneko, in the end she was that and only that, a prodigy. 

A child. 

You could even call her “an infant.” Although she looks mature—she is not. 

It might be appropriate to think of it as her exceptional wit exempting her from the necessity of becoming an adult. 

There is the cliché and poor loser adage that goes: “A genius after 20 years is just a person,” but regarding Byouinzaka Kuroneko you could say the opposite. Although it is obvious at 18, there is no doubt in my mind that her childishness will stay present even after turning 20 or 26 years old. 

An eternal prodigy. 

In other words, in addition to being a prodigy, she is also a nonconformist and a rebel; a type of person not present in Naoetsu High School. 

Thinking about such things, I felt that being intelligent isn’t always something good, that overthinking can be detrimental—though of course a thoughtless fool like me has no right to say their part in that. And even if I did, she wouldn’t brood over it at all. 

“What about you, Koyomi-kun, how can you manage to stay so indifferent towards mysteries? I cannot fathom what lacking an uncontrollable urge to think feels like. As for myself, I would rather choose death than let something go unexplained.” 

Hearing her shamelessly asserting that, I could only think how she had strayed away from the path of normality towards the path of eccentricity. However, if I said that Hanekawa Tsubasa was the only one that came to my mind when I met the girl that continued to be an innocent prodigy no matter how much her body grows—that would be a splendid lie. 

The discrepancy between her age and body. 

It would be an unpleasant lie if I said that I wasn’t reminded of the immortal vampire, the iron-blooded, hot-blooded, yet cold-blooded vampire—Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade. 

That said, between the vampire whose body stayed infantile and the girl whose mind stayed infantile, the parts that are broken were completely different.