Monogatari Series - Volume 25 - Chapter 8.04

004 

With all of the information assembled so far, it was hard to refute the conclusion that this case was beyond the scope of the boy detective Araragi Koyomi—the odds were seriously against Mutou being found innocent even if you put the best spin on the situation. And if Mutou was at a disadvantage, then I, her captive hostage, was too.  

I was at a disadvantage in regard to gaining my freedom.  

To be quite honest, at this point I was thinking quite a lot about passing this case from a fake detective, myself, to a real detective, Hanekawa Tsubasa. I could realistically do just that if I called on her, but in this scenario that was simply not going to happen.  

I couldn’t bring Hanekawa or anyone else into a situation with a demonic killer. And even if Mutou wasn’t a demonic killer, she was still from a worldview where violence and bloodshed are commonplace.  

It was just as Oshino Meme had said, though the context was different, I had to save myself by my own power. So... What to do? How could I get this knit-capped girl to be declared innocent? From witness accounts to physical evidence, everything was so perfectly lined up to declare her guilty that I was starting to see her knit beanie as a balaclava instead.  

“Ummm... So if that Tokinomiya Hospital group is involved, then it doesn’t really matter if we find an alibi for you, right? They can just change their memories?” 

“That’s right. You really do understand, don’t you. So are you a ‘Cursing Name’? Your name seems fitting. Are you the ‘Cursing Name’ 

Seventh Rank Araragi?” Oh shut up.  

So if suspicion fell on her because of the murder weapon, then the only way to clear that suspicion was by focusing on that aspect of the case... Mhm. But in this case, even if we couldn’t prove that she was innocent, if we could provide proof that someone else might be guilty, then wouldn’t that be enough? 

The murder weapon being “Mind Render” was the piece of evidence that indicated Mutou as the only possible killer.  

“Furuyari Zukin, was it? What if someone asked this grandpa to create the same thing again...?” 

“Grandpa? Oh? Why do you know that he’s an old man? I only told you that he’s a swordsmith.” 

“Stop trying to use that trope that comes up in every single mystery drama. I’m on your side.” 

I just assumed based on his name and his title that he was an old guy. Wait, does that mean he isn’t an old guy? 

“Oh no, he’s an old man. Well to be more specific he WAS an old man, but now he’s deceased. So if you’re asking if he could create the same blade again, the answer is no.” 

“Hm... But someone else could create a model of it, right? A model... 

like a fake metal sword...” Fake metal scissors. 

They wouldn’t be made by the same person, so no matter how much they try to duplicate it, they wouldn’t create a perfect copy... But they could certainly create something that’s close enough.  

“Yes. And of course I thought of that as well, but that really must be impossible. I told you, didn’t I? I carry ‘Mind Render’ with me at all times.” 

For a moment I didn’t understand her point, but then it clicked. 

In order to create a duplicate, they would of course need to see the original.  

Aside from the original creator of the scissors, and Mutou who carries them with her every moment of every day, any other person, if tasked with creating a duplicate of the scissors, would need to have the original sitting on their desk in front of them to study. But if they had access to the original, then they wouldn’t need to create a duplicate— they could just use the real blade to commit the crime.  

“Um... Is it possible that someone could take the scissors without you noticing, and then return them again before you realized they were gone?” 

“As you can see, they are held in a holster. It’s highly unlikely that I could have someone graze their hand against my spats once without noticing, let alone twice.” Then it’s impossible.  

But what if her ability to “notice” and “perceive” was taken from her by the mind manipulation skill of the other group? But then... If they were close enough to manipulate her mind, then they could just implant the command to go kill Kino What’s-His-Face and skip all of the other steps.  

Now I suppose it’s possible that they then removed her memories of having committed the crime, but that doesn’t really make sense. If their goal is to have Humanity’s Strongest and the Zerozaki Clan fight each other, then leaving the memories behind would probably help the process along.  

So it should be safe to assume that Mutou’s statement that the scissors never leave her possession is true... Wait, hold on? 

“Mutou. Have you heard this before? ‘You have the right to remain silent.’“ 

“...? Well, yes, of course. They say it all the time in mystery TV shows.” 

Thank goodness. She came from a worldview where turning yourself in wasn’t a thing, so it was possible that the right to remain silent might not have existed either.  

“In other words, whether you’re a suspect or even if you’ve been charged with a crime, you don’t have to say anything that could incriminate yourself. If you just retract the statement that ‘Mind Render’ never leaves your possession, then the reason to suspect you falls apart, right?” 

To go a step further, she could even give false statements like, “I lost it three days ago”, “I put it in one place, but I found it in another”, or “I left it in another room when I went to take a bath”. Now normally I wouldn’t suggest such a thing, but since lives are on the line I think lying is okay.  

Even if that wasn’t enough to completely remove all suspicion, it would’ve at least gotten us out of this dire situation. Of course, Jun-san could read minds, so how we’d get beyond that is another problem... 

But Mutou proved that I didn’t need to think so far ahead. 

“No, I can’t lie about that.” 

What? I couldn’t help but lean forward.  

She couldn’t lie? That mustn’t have been because she was just an overly honest person. Unable to turn herself in, but also unable to lie? 

What kind of logic was that? 

“Y-You know your life is on the line, right?” 

“Koyomi-oniichan. For me, keeping ‘Mind Render’ on my body at all times is something that I must stake my life on. That’s how I show 

my respect—no, love—for its former owner, Soushiki-san.” Mutou explained in an unwavering tone.  

Love. 

Is that the familial love that they talk about? The love of the Zerozaki Clan? 

If so, that would certainly overcome any issues of profit, loss, or self-interest.  

“So it’s fine, Koyomi-oniichan. You don’t have to think about it so hard. You don’t have to worry. I’ll do something to take care of myself.” 

Mutou smiled as if to comfort and encourage me, and while I did feel a form of admiration for the way that her family worked, and I would’ve been willing to respect that in another circumstance, I really wished she remembered that my life was also on the line. 

“Oh, that’s right. Want to join the Zerozaki Clan then?” 

“I’m pretty sure it’s not so easy to join your family.” 

“Anyone who is a demonic killer can join.” 

“Then since I’m not a demonic killer, I cannot join.” Maybe if they accepted vampires.  

I rubbed at my neck as I thought that—I’d slept on my neck wrong during my brief nap on the floor of the room, but the gesture had nothing to do with that. 

I was touching the scars on my neck. 

During spring break I had been bitten by a vampire, and now I had these scars—and at that time I was taken from my normal daily life and thrown into the depths of hell. I wonder if it was the same for Mutou?  

She should have been a normal high school girl like any other, but then one day she was slapped with the label of demonic killer, and she had to throw away her entire normal daily life as well as her hands—if the only thing that saved her in that time was the family that she gained, then even a dishonest girl would become honest in regard to that one thing. 

It’s not something that I can understand, but I can accept it.  

While I was able to get through my own ordeal without having to quit school, my life since that spring break has changed. It’s probably safe to say that I no longer operate on the normal sense of ethics.  

Mutou had said that it was something that she had to stake her life on—and I gave away mine. 

So... 

“...” 

Hm? Scar?  

That’s what was left after the night when Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade bit me—it’s the scar of having her vampire fangs buried deep into my neck.  

If you wanted to view it from a romantic angle you could call it a kiss mark, but if you weren’t trying to put a spin on it you’d just say bite mark.  

“Bite mark...” 

If we’re talking about knowledge from mystery novels, then taking a bite mark and finding the “culprit” to be the legendary aberration slayer would be possible, right? But that wasn’t what I needed to think about... For instance, if this scar indicates her fangs, then... 

“Mutou.” 

“Yes? What is it, Koyomi-oniichan?” 

“Could I lift your skirt up again?” 

“That’s one hell of a sentence to take out of context.” 

Mutou stood up and presented herself to me once more, saying “Go right ahead”—she did it with an air of impatience that all but said, “It doesn’t matter how much you look, you’re not going to find anything.”  And that’s exactly right.  

It’s pointless. Checking her leg once again. 

No matter how much I look. 

But I had learned through my own bitter experiences that there is more to the truth than what you see or hear.  

I lifted Mutou’s skirt.  

And then I leaned forward and sniffed the scent of the demonic killer’s spats-clad thigh—and received a knee to the face.  

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5  Pun between 不利 (furi, “disadvantage”) and フリー (furii, “free”).