003
I see, I understood my role here, I was there to be the hostage for a fugitive. If I’d been told that beforehand I could have prepared for the role, but to just have it suddenly shoved onto me like this, I had no idea how to react.
I didn’t have any plans to appear in a tragicomedy like this—but maybe I had been so preoccupied with aberrations lately that I stopped being on guard against fugitives? Maybe I should seriously reflect on this.
Anyway, back to Mutou Iori.
As often happens, she was on the run from false accusations for crimes that she didn’t commit—and it wasn’t the police that she was running from.
Humanity’s Strongest Contractor.
Aikawa Jun.
... I know that person.
I just met her recently.
Rather than meeting her, I was almost killed by her.
I couldn’t believe it... Was it really possible to have a connection like that?
“To keep things brief; I’m a demonic killer who has been banned from killing humans. I promised to not kill any more humans and so
Aikawa-oneesan overlooked me.”
“Oh, I see. Makes sense.”
It didn’t make any sense.
What a stark and bloody way of viewing the world.
Even in a shortened form, I still didn’t want to hear that.
And if she said “not kill any more humans”, did that imply that she killed humans previously?
This fugitive... If Mutou had a worldview like that, then even if calling herself a demonic killer was just a cheeky little joke, my life was still in great peril of being snuffed out at any moment.
“Ever since then, Iori-chan has done her best to avoid killing people.
Aren’t I a good girl?”
“Yeah, a good girl. I wish you could be my junior.”
Neither my junior nor I are exactly normal, but still, we’re not demonic killers.
“And in spite of that, currently, I’m being suspected of something that I didn’t do. I’m suspected of being the killer in a murder case—and if things stay on like this I’m going to be deemed in violation of my agreement and Humanity’s Strongest will come to put me down. And so I’ve fled to here.” “...”
“Suspecting me just because I’m a demonic killer... It’s not fair!
Right?”
“...”
It seems reasonable to me to suspect someone who is called a demonic killer, but that hardly seems like a constructive opinion to voice in this context. I’ve almost been killed purely for my vampiric nature, so it’s not as if I can’t understand her view... Still, that’s probably not something I should be focusing on right now. No, what I should be thinking about right now is how I can get through this situation unharmed—and on top of that, how to release this demonic killer back to her own worldview.
Damn, this is just like when I met Humanity’s Strongest. Lately it seems like more than half of the people that I meet leave me wondering “How can I make it home alive?”... Normally, when someone imagines their dream collaboration, they think of a quiet, idyllic scene, and yet...
For some reason all of my collabs seem to be turning into VS scenes.
It’s not a dream collaboration, it’s a nightmare.
“So, I’m sorry to have to say this, but since you’ve seen my face, Koyomi-oniichan, you’ll have to stay here and hide with me. Even an old ruin like this can become a home. Want some candy? I have juice too.”
Seemingly unbothered by my obvious problems with the situation, Mutou came over to sit beside me. I could see a stack of convenience store bags in the corner of the room, so I guess she really did have candy and juice. Still, to ruthlessly litter the room where I had made memories... And she says this can be a home.
Oh, and the reason that she knows my name is because apparently, while I was unconscious from her kick, she went through my belongings. She’s quite the young criminal. Although that doesn’t explain why she decided to call me “Koyomi-oniichan”.
“... I make it a policy not to eat snacks.”
“I see. But I think it’s a good idea to eat when you have the chance. I mean... You can’t go back home now.” Scary.
How could she take away my freedom to return home as if it was nothing? ... Then again, Mutou did knock me unconscious with a single kick even though I’ve gone through more than my fair share of fights.
Yeah, I think it was a good idea to do what she said.
“Well I will have some candy. Aahn~”
“...”
Even if you open wide...
But then again, while I can’t be sure whether what she told me was the truth, I figured the least I could do was offer some support to a girl without hands. Now was probably the time to show that I was willing to cooperate. So I grabbed a convenience store bag and took a snack out of it at random, then tossed it into her mouth. As I tossed it, I asked... “So, Mutou, could you tell me a bit more about your situation?” And to follow it up:
“I may not look like it, but I’m actually a bit famous at my school for running a Boy Detective Agency. I’ve cleared the names of nearly 100 falsely accused classmates.”
“Wow. So Koyomi-oniichan goes to a school with nearly 100 students who have been accused of crimes... And he’s in a ‘Boy Detective Agency’ even though he’s in high school.”
Huh, I didn’t think she was the type to play the straight man. She seemed kind of out of it, so I assumed she’d be the fool of our comedy duo, but I guess she was born to play another role.
“So how about it? Let this witty boy detective lend you a hand!”
“A witty boy detective, huh. That’s not a very good image. Hmm. I appreciate the offer, but I think I’m going to pass. Juice.”
“... Okay.”
So she’ll turn down my help, but she’ll still demand juice... I was thinking about how impossible this demonic killer was to read as I opened the bottle for her to drink.
Well if I can’t read her, then I can’t read her... It was probably more important to not let myself become a victim of Stockholm syndrome. “It’s pointless anyway. I was thinking if I’m going to be suspected of murder, then maybe I should just go on a killing spree instead of holding back.”
“Don’t think like that. Don’t give up.”
I tried to persuade her, arguing like a human rights lawyer.
And since I was the one closest to hand should she decide to start killing, I was fairly desperate in my attempt.
“I’m sure that your family will believe you, Mutou.”
“My family would believe that I was the killer. In fact, if they found out that I wasn’t, they’d probably scold me for it.”
“... Just tell me about it. I’ll figure something out.”
Everything I learned about the culture she came from made it sound all the more repulsive, and my attempts to convince her were becoming increasingly weak, but maybe having something to drink changed her mind somehow, because Mutou suddenly said, “Very well, then I will tell you what happened in a literary fashion”.
Whether they’re a demonic killer or not, the ways that women think continue to be impossible to understand.
“I am overflowing with writing talent, after all. Ufufu. I’m going to get a Nobel Prize for literature.”
“Please don’t do the literature angle. If possible I’d prefer a pop style.”
“Pop, huh... Okay. In that case I will aim for the light novel literary award.”
A light novel literary award?
That probably exists.
“Hey! It’s me, Mutou Iori! I’m a rambunctious, high-energy seventeen-year-old! Something totally crazy happened to me recently! Wanna hear about it?”
“Okay. Numbered list. Please tell me what happened in the format of a numbered list.”
Wow, Mutou’s concept of a light novel was outdated.
That’s certainly quite the writing talent.
“Really I’m just a seventeen-year-old girl who’s always in the way and always ready to kill, but hey!”
“Saying ‘but hey!’ like that makes it sound like a joke. Anyway what is the ‘totally crazy’ thing that happened?”
“Okay, okay. Koyomi-oniichan is so demanding. How troublesome.” Mutou looked like she was having fun though.
Maybe she was just happy to have someone to talk to, since she’s on the run.
“Okay, so you wanted a numbered list? Well there are five key points to this situation.”
“Okay, five points.”
“① The victim is Kino Daichi. He’s a fifteen-year-old boy. ② He was killed with my large scissors. ③ More than ten people claim to have seen me kill him. ④ The Kino Division and Zerozaki Clan are currently at odds with each other. ⑤ I’m a demonic killer, so even if we were not at odds with the Kino Division I’d still want to kill him.”
“Mhm, mhm. I see.”
① The victim is a fifteen-year-old boy. ② He was killed by Mutou’s large scissors. ③ There were many witnesses. ④ There was also motive. ⑤ Mutou would kill even without motive...
“Mutou.”
“Yes? Have you already solved it, boy detective?” “I’ll go with you, so turn yourself in.” That was the only possible response.
How could she possibly avoid being found guilty for this? There’s an overabundance of evidence.
“Unfortunately, in our world there is no such thing as turning yourself in.”
“What world is that?”
Are you from the Middle Ages or something? Actually no, I bet you could turn yourself in during the Middle Ages.
“What we do have is vigilantism. But I can understand why this isn’t something you’d want to hear, Koyomi-oniichan. Until recently I was a person like you as well. If you don’t wish to hear any more about my world, then let’s end it here.”
“... It’s okay. I’m fine, keep going.”
I put up a front of being fine—but it was a bluff.
“So what? What was it? The victim is Kino Daichi? Of the Kino Division? Hahaha, they sound pretty weak.”
“They are poisoners who use any and every poison or disease. They’re a group of pros who could destroy a town of this size in about three days.”
Endure it. Get through this.
I’d already learned something new from talking to her. I figured that if I made a mistake in how I dealt with her, then I might not have been the only victim. Not a great thing to learn, but...
“So? The Zerozaki Clan... Your family and this Kino Division are against each other... And to put it in the most blunt terms, does that mean they’re killing each other?”
“Yes. But, and this is an important distinction, I am not a part of that mutual killing. Because I have been banned from killing by Aikawaoneesan. Therefore in a battle I am useless.”
Yes, that makes logical sense. Even if that isn’t enough to remove suspicion from her...
“There were witnesses, right? Are all of them lying?”
“No, in this case the witnesses aren’t all that important—after all, the first of the “Cursing Name” families, the Tokinomiya Hospital, was involved in this battle.”
“Hospital? So are they doctors who save victims who have been poisoned by the Kino Division?”
“They are people who can control the hearts and minds of others.”
“...”
And we’re not talking about aberrations, right? I’ve heard that vampires have a “fascinate” ability...
“So the witness statements aren’t reliable at all. They can create as many witnesses as they want. In the past something similar happened—so the goal of the Tokinomiya Hospital is probably to make it seem like I’ve violated my ban so that Humanity’s Strongest Contractor will come to put me down.”
“But if you’re not involved in the fighting, then having Jun-san come to kill you... Wouldn’t that have no effect on the conflict itself?”
I didn’t have the best grasp of the power balance between these factions, but... From what I gathered so far, it didn’t seem like there was any reason to go to so much trouble just to have Mutou removed from the conflict.
“But that’s not the case. The Zerozaki Clan has the habit of destroying anyone and anything related to any event which has caused harm to a member of the clan. They act without regard to potential losses that they may incur.”
“Is your family made of giant hornets?”
Feeling great relief that I had not tried to force my way out of this house and escape, I accepted her explanation. If you think about it from that perspective, then having Mutou “dealt with” by Jun-san would mean that the entirety of her clan would be taking on Humanity’s Strongest.
For the opposing groups, being able to use Jun-san, the ultimate joker, in such a way, would be the next best thing to making an ally of her. Furthermore, since Mutou is a new member of the clan and is no longer taking part in the killing, she becomes an easy target. She isn’t with her comrades to create an alibi for her whereabouts.
“Yes. For the Tokinomiya Hospital I would have been a perfect target. Even if I was outside of the sphere of conflict, I wasn’t entirely removed from it. I’m sure they learned of my existence during one of the battles.”
“I see... Well this at least establishes why someone would want to frame you.”
Of course that didn’t prove that Mutou was innocent... And given my own situation with her, I wasn’t so sure that the word innocent could really be applied to her in any sense. In truth, she could have broken her promise to Jun-san and murdered someone, and then feigned innocence or had her own mind manipulated to plead innocence to me, but ultimately, I was her hostage so the only thing that I could do was believe her.
“So with all of that said, ultimately it comes down to point number 2 in your list. Your scissors which were used to commit the murder. That isn’t something the Tokinomiya Hospital could recreate, right?”
It’s not as if I know enough about the Tokinomiya Hospital to really comment on what they could or couldn’t do, but based on what I’d heard so far it didn’t seem like they could create physical evidence.
“Yes. To be more specific, the member of the Kino Division had his heart stabbed with a blade and the opening to the wound matches the shape of my scissors—the blade of ‘Mind Render’.”
I couldn’t help but wonder if they had coroners among their number (of pro players?), but I guess what’s more important is that the wounds made by her scissor blade must be very unique. I could see the scissors, and they did seem to be unusual in their shape.
“Mutou, could I see it again?”
“My spats? If that’s what you want, I don’t see why not.”
“No. The scissors.”
“That’s more or less the same thing. Go right ahead, flip my skirt up.”
She stood up and placed her thigh in front of me. Flip up my skirt— what kind of situation did I get myself into.
“If you’re too embarrassed to do it yourself, then I could use my teeth to hold my skirt up.”
“That’s not any better.”
I hesitated, but decided to lift her skirt myself. The spats are bad enough, but being this close to a girl’s thigh is enough to make my heart race even if she isn’t a demonic killer.
“Thanks to the spats you can really see the shape and form of the thigh.”
“You’re voicing your thoughts, Koyomi-oniichan.”
“High praise for Araragi Koyomi! ‘The First Mystery of the Year Solved in a Flash!’“
“You’re voicing a review, Koyomi-oniichan. And that’s not a very good review. My thighs have no mysteries.”
“‘The culprit was... the reader?!’“
“That’s been done too many times.”
“‘The culprit was... the reviewer?!’“
“Well that’s quite novel.”
“Going to sell a million copies.”
“It won’t.”
We’ve left behind the mystery genre and created a derailment of literature.
If she was wearing stockings instead of spats I could have established a tear-jerker literature genre, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves—back to the topic at hand.
“The way that the holster wraps around her thigh is also really sexy...”
“You didn’t make it back to the topic, Koyomi-oniichan. Also that holster was originally worn by a strange old guy under his suit.”
Anyway... I focused on the large scissors, I think she called them “Mind Render”. Those large blades were quite out of place on a girl’s thigh...
“Hmm. They really are rather unique blades. But even if the murder weapon is determined to match these scissors, that doesn’t mean that you’re the one who did it. Someone could have just used the same type of scissor.”
“I’m afraid that explanation doesn’t work. ‘Mind Render’ is a oneoff. A swordsmith by the name of Furuyari Zukin used all of his skill to create these—there is not another pair of scissors like it in the world.”
A murder weapon of which only one exists. Which must be the reason that they had the scissors be the murder weapon, because it provides strong proof that Mutou did do it—right? If so, that leads me to my next hypothesis.
“In which case maybe these scissors really were used to commit the murder. However, they were not wielded by you, but by another player... Have you lent these out or left them unattended?”
Earlier she said that she would often forget to wear her prosthetics because they’re a pain to deal with, so if I extrapolate from that and assume that she can be a bit careless with her things, then it’s possible that someone used her scissors while she wasn’t paying attention.
But the demonic killer’s response ruined that theory.
“My scissors never leave my side. Literally.”
“... I see.”
That creates some fairly insurmountable evidence.
If this was a mystery novel, “There’s no way that the killer would use a weapon that would leave a mark that proves that they, and only they, could be the killer!” would be the obvious defense, but in the world where this girl lives that explanation wouldn’t work.
For factions that are at war with each other, murder is the name of the game. In a certain sense, leaving a calling card that names the killer is probably a very common act for a demonic killer—the only exception would be Mutou, as she is bound by her own unique rule.
But then, where does that leave us?
How can we possibly prove Mutou’s innocence when all of the evidence against her has been more or less confirmed? I’m starting to feel less like a human rights lawyer and more like a hotshot lawyer who can get people off regardless of their crime as long as he’s paid enough money.
“Um, Koyomi-oniichan.”
“Wait, just let me think for a while longer. I’m sure that I can find a way to free you.”
It perhaps wasn’t something that I should have been saying to a demonic killer, but Mutou responded in a fairly blasé tone, “Oh, well, that’s kind of you”. A few moments later, she continued.
“But could you put my skirt back down for now?”
“In which case maybe these scissors really were used to commit the murder. However, they were not wielded by you, but by another player... Have you lent these out or left them unattended?”
Earlier she said that she would often forget to wear her prosthetics because they’re a pain to deal with, so if I extrapolate from that and assume that she can be a bit careless with her things, then it’s possible that someone used her scissors while she wasn’t paying attention.
But the demonic killer’s response ruined that theory.
“My scissors never leave my side. Literally.”
“... I see.”
That creates some fairly insurmountable evidence.
If this was a mystery novel, “There’s no way that the killer would use a weapon that would leave a mark that proves that they, and only they, could be the killer!” would be the obvious defense, but in the world where this girl lives that explanation wouldn’t work.
For factions that are at war with each other, murder is the name of the game. In a certain sense, leaving a calling card that names the killer is probably a very common act for a demonic killer—the only exception would be Mutou, as she is bound by her own unique rule.
But then, where does that leave us?
How can we possibly prove Mutou’s innocence when all of the evidence against her has been more or less confirmed? I’m starting to feel less like a human rights lawyer and more like a hotshot lawyer who can get people off regardless of their crime as long as he’s paid enough money.
“Um, Koyomi-oniichan.”
“Wait, just let me think for a while longer. I’m sure that I can find a way to free you.”
It perhaps wasn’t something that I should have been saying to a demonic killer, but Mutou responded in a fairly blasé tone, “Oh, well, that’s kind of you”. A few moments later, she continued. “But could you put my skirt back down for now?”
------------------
3 As you can read for yourself in the second arc of Mazemonogatari, Jun Build.
4 While the Kino Division and some of its members have been introduced in Zaregoto and Ningen, this particular character seems to have been specifically created for this story.
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