Monogatari Series - Volume 28 - Chapter 1.12

012

If Ononoki-chan hadn’t said so in advance, I probably would not have realized that it was ever a library, for the room was gloomy and dusty, as though not just the books but also the air itself had deteriorated. And in that room, Kagenui-san was squatting atop a book stand, as ill-mannered as ever—since her curse was “being unable to walk on the surface of the Earth”, if we were in a building with a roof above us, then no matter how worn or crumbling it was, I figured it would be not the Earth’s surface but the floor. Well, perhaps it had simply become a habit for her.

“Haha. Video calls ain’t so bad, but you do give off a different impression in person, Araragi-kun. Really feels like you did turn twenty.”

So even in this gloomy room, my image quality had still improved… The era of 5G couldn’t come soon enough. It was about a year since we’d met in person, but really, I only ended up seeing this person in scenes of carnage, didn’t I.

Perhaps she was an incarnation of carnage.85

Or perhaps it was me.

“I haven’t grown any taller, though. It’s unfortunate, but it seems this is as tall as I’ll get. Though it seems we’ve both grown out our hair a bit.”

“It’s lookin’ like the former Heartunderblade grew a little, though.”

Of course she wouldn’t miss that detail.

It made me anxious… I’d tried to be conscious of picking an age that wouldn’t incur Kagenui-san’s wrath while still being older than Ononoki-chan, but thinking back on it now, it felt like kind of a sneaky decision.

It felt more like I’d incur her wrath for playing such a cheap trick.

If we really did just want to slip through the midway point of the twin-demic, would it have actually been correct to straightforwardly aim for a twenty-year-old form…? Now that we were meeting up like this, Kagenui-san would probably be displeased by us trying to get on her good side.

This was yet another archaic viewpoint, but it seemed very true that there were things you could only realize by meeting face-to-face instead of through remote work.

“Hm. Well, it ain’t really my place to apologize for not staying in contact. Yotsugi, you can go back. Good work. Get some rest for a bit.”

“Understood. Onee-chan, you should also get some rest when you get the chance.”

Unusually, Kagenui-san imparted words of appreciation towards Ononoki-chan, and even more unusually, Ononoki-chan responded with thoughtful words in kind—so that was the sort of situation we were in, huh.

And, retracing her steps to exit the room, the corpse doll looked back and murmured, practically to herself,

“It would be empty words to say the same to you, oni onii-chan,”

before departing for the room of coffins downstairs—once again, I’d been condescended upon by that tween girl.

Even though all I’d done was cling to her back, it wasn’t like I wasn’t tired from the long-distance travel, but I couldn’t exactly go and sleep in the same bed as Ononoki-chan.

It was going forward that my resolve would be tested.

I would have to remain alert.86

“Sheesh, how long will it take for Ononoki-chan to start respecting me?”

“‘Tis impossible for you to earn the respect of anybody.”

After that flat denial, the thirteen-year-old Shinobu then said,

“Kagenui,”

facing forward.

It was regrettable, but even if it was just after I’d read The Betrothed, I couldn’t hold a session of pleasant chatter when we were up against Kagenui—this was one person we couldn’t mess around with.

The risk was too high.

It would be different if this were still a remote conference, but in person, it would be one of those physically violent manzai acts… I had to agree that in this respect, there were merits to online meetings.

“To be straightforward, I would like to be allowed to meet my sworn friend—I will help you out in any way you would like me to, so first off, would you step aside and let me talk with Deathy?”

Ooh, her request had come abruptly, but it was very direct.

Her tone of voice remained presumptuous, but that was inevitable considering she was the former King of Oddities. However, Shinobu had not once bowed her head to the specialist Oshino, not even when her limbs had been severed from her… Had she grown in a way beyond just the appearance of her age?

Or was it because her sworn friend was her sworn friend?

“Well, I ain’t gonna get in your way, and that was why I called the two of you over in the first place, but you’ll have to go along with our arrangements. There are some precautions—after all, you wouldn’t wanna be the one responsible for finishing off that Deathy of yours in her sickbed, would you, former Heartunderblade?”

“...Fine.”

Though her demand was gently (relative to Kagenui-san) brushed aside, Shinobu did not throw a tantrum or stomp her feet in frustration… I could tell that she was willing to compromise on what she could.

Not a subversive attitude, but a reasonable one.87

It seemed that it really was no exaggeration to say that Suicidemaster was to Shinobu as Hanekawa was to me (though I was made to retract that statement).

Then, she was even liable to prostrate herself.

Though I didn’t want to see her go that far.

“So? What are the precautions? For the record, both I and my master are resolved to die from the anti-vampire virus if need be.”

“Eh, now hold on, Shinobu-chan, I wouldn’t say I’m resolved to die…”

“It ain’t just limited to now, but when people make decisions, they tend to choose between the two options of life and death. But it’d be good for you to realize that it ain’t uncommon to end up livin’ on while sufferin’.”

Ignoring my lack of resolve, Kagenui-san responded as such—she was making it sound like Suicidemaster, or the other vampires fighting their illness, would end up that way.

“Nah, I’m talkin’ more in general. The elderly might be at higher risk for the novel coronavirus than the younger folk, but part of that is because improved medical care for the elderly has allowed for an aging society, right? Even if you’re not an immortal oddity, these days you can live as much as a hundred years, just like Yotsugi. Kinda ironic that the development of medical care has put strain on that very medical care, hm?”

Kinda like how vampires that have lived too long will resort to suicide, said Kagenui-san, making a statement of ridicule towards not Shinobu but all vampires as a whole—on the other hand, there was a balance, or rather, an imbalance formed from the declining of birth rates.

There was no kind of virus, and perhaps no kind of beauty, that could steal away a life that hadn’t been born—that was what came to mind as I recalled that barren country.

“If we are speaking of irony, then what could be more ironic than you, who has made it your purpose in life to pulverize immortal oddities, now being in charge of an isolation ward? It’s the most biting irony.”88

It seemed that Shinobu could not remain nonchalant when it came to the dig at the affliction that affected all vampires, their suicidal impulses, and naturally she retorted—hold on, the affliction that affected all vampires?

Shinobu herself had come to Japan in order to die—

“That’s true. Even a free spirit like me can’t go around doing only the work that I want to. Well, in times like these, I really should be thankful that I have work to do at all. Can’t be choosy about my work or my methods.”

By her methods, did she mean how she called us amateurs over to Europe? It seemed she was aware that it was a bit of a bootleg method—or maybe she was just taking the attitude of, if you’ve eaten poison, may as well lick the plate.89

Poison…

“...Kagenui-san, for how long have you been in charge of this job? You’ve said that you had already been in Europe before they halted the entering and leaving of Japan, but specifically… Had the novel coronavirus already been discovered in Japan by that point?”

It probably wasn’t a very meaningful question, but I was still curious. Since Shinobu had finally taken on a humble position, it would be worthless for an argument to break out, so part of my intention had been to read the mood and cut into the conversation—but it was also a good idea to understand exactly when this phenomenon had begun.

The timing of the infection’s appearance, or rather, its outbreak.

At what point in the timeline was Suicidemaster hospitalized in this “Corpse Castle”?

“I was called over here before the pandemic. However… Suicidemaster was in this condition even earlier than that.”

It was as though she had seen through the intentions behind my question, but Kagenui-san responded all the same—but, even earlier?

“Apparently her health had been pretty bad for a while. Former Heartunderblade. Were you already aware of that?”

“...She never told me directly, though.”

It was Shinobu’s begrudging way of saying yes.

It was nice to see her being honest, but… Huh?

“Are you saying, when she came to Japan last April, Suicidemaster was already in bad shape?”

“Like I said, it is not that she said so herself. We did not discuss the matter at all. I had already known from before about her anorexia. Yet, being her direct lineage, I could see that she had unmistakably grown weaker, just as Kagenui had seen it.”

So, following that unidentifiable “just because” intuition, she dared to compel this journey into occurring—while the infection and so on was beyond her expectations, there had been enough foreshadowing for her to believe that something had happened to her sworn friend.

“Then, by that point, Suicidemaster was already infected with the anti-vampire virus—”

“—Nah, that ain’t it. Definitely not. If that were true, the regions with the infection would be much more extensive—including Japan. But by the time I was called down from the North Pole, it was clear that Suicidemaster in her six-year-old form was already showing symptoms.”

It was hard to tell when she’d contracted the disease, then…

To try and understand it by forcibly comparing it to the novel coronavirus, then did Suicidemaster, already weak from her unbalanced diet, meet the conditions for the onset of the anti-vampire virus more than other vampires? And that would mean the moment of her infection differed from the onset of her symptoms…

Last April, I thought it would be tactless to listen in on Shinobu and Suicidemaster’s conversation and chose not to do so… I myself had not really held any honest conversations with Suicidemaster.

She felt more like the friend of a friend.

Or perhaps the relative of a relative.

What mattered was that I knew nothing about her.

“But I can say this much. At that time, Suicidemaster knew that her death was imminent, and visited Japan to see the face of her sworn friend, the former Heartunderblade, one last time—she wouldn’t say it like that herself, and I’d bet she didn’t tell you that at all, but that’s a fact.”

"............”

At that declaration, Shinobu did not make a particularly surprised face—she probably really hadn’t been told that, but it was likely she’d guessed as much by that point last year.

The time of death.

If, in this episode, Shinobu had come to see the moment of her sworn friend’s death, then in the previous episode, Suicidemaster had come to see her sworn friend before she died.

So as to not leave any regrets.

“So, if she’d already been infected as of last April, then even if there were no travel restrictions or close surveillance, Suicidemaster wouldn’t’ve made the trip. As long as there was the risk of passing it onto the former Heartunderblade—that’d only be if she was aware of it, but at the very least, the two of you haven’t died yet, right?”

It was unthinkable as a clinical trial, and it was unthinkable as expertise, but, well, it was true—although, given that we’d brazenly entered into this infected region, it was possible that that was no longer the case.

“I’ve heard that the fatality rate is one hundred percent, but what exactly are the symptoms exhibited after having contracted the anti-vampire virus? Apparently you don’t turn into ashes…”

“Things start to weaken all over the place, but the most extreme one would be dehydration. You can’t take in blood or water, and once you’re on the verge of death, you’ll end up shriveled like a wrung-out rag.”

Dehydration was also a symptom of the novel coronavirus, but since it was primarily a respiratory illness, it didn’t go that far—as long as there was no link between the two illnesses, but wait, hold on. What would happen if you were infected with both at the same time?

You wouldn’t be able to breathe, and you wouldn’t be able to drink water?

We’d put into practice our first doping after a whole year after the careful decision to try and avoid either disease, but hadn’t we actually ended up increasing the risk of contracting either of them? The saying went, if you run after two hares, you will catch neither, but rather than that, weren’t we being bitten by both of those hares?

“It’d be ideal if there turned out to be viral interference, which made it impossible to be infected by either of them…”

“My master, it is not as though you have ever attained an ideal even once in your life. Kagenui, do you mean to say that, even if the corpse of a vampire does not disappear, they do not preserve their original form?”

“Yep, it’s not a pretty sight. This’d be a weird way to put it for a vampire, but they’re left mere shadows of their former selves.90 If you’re interested, feel free to take a gander at any of the coffins you like.”

Coffins we like…

And, wrung-out rags, huh… As someone with the experience of being wrung out, it was a comparison that hit close to home.

“Then, I shall confirm that rag-like state, not with the corpses, but with Deathy herself,”

said Shinobu, not losing sight of her original goal.

“Does Deathy happen to know that I am here?”

“I did tell her ‘bout it, but she’s practically comatose, so I dunno if it got through to her… Former Heartunderblade, if you’re thinking that donating your own blood will help her get better, then sorry. Like I said, she’s incapable of taking in any fluids, not just blood. Even by feeding cups or IV drops, it all gets regurgitated.”

“...Does that mean she cannot eat food, either?”

“That’s right. Though, for the record, it ain’t like she’s lost her sense of taste or smell—she could sense the taste when we tried giving her tomato juice. But she just couldn’t swallow.”

Why did she use tomato juice for her example?

Was it because people used to think it was poisonous in the past?

“If she drinks anything, it gets spit back out. Like some foreign substance, she couldn’t swallow it down—as if the immune system was working against moisture itself, ‘stead of viruses.”

Being afraid of water happened to be a symptom of rabies, so it really did feel like a vampire-like symptom… But it felt like a terrifying disease even just thinking about it.

It had been kept from us for the sake of information control, but if I’d heard all those specifics, I probably would have been a bit more hesitant to make the trip here.

“Like how you discover you’ve contracted the novel coronavirus after losing your sense of taste, vampires will discover they’ve been infected when they’re no longer able to suck blood. In other words, former Heartunderblade, the fact that you’ve grown to that thirteen-year-old form means that you ain’t infected at all. Since it means you got to enjoy sucking the blood of Araragi-kun.”

Though, once again, that only held true “three hours ago”.

Hm… Speaking of which, with Suicidemaster being quite the gourmet vampire, hadn’t she not consumed any real meal-like meals ever since drinking the luxurious blood of “Princess Beauty”? And, last April, in the end…

She’d already been in bad shape by that point… She’d already sensed that her death was imminent… Ah, I felt like things were about to fall into place, but they didn’t. Was it because of that notorious thing called jet lag?

“‘Twould be hell for the average vampire. Nay, ‘twould be hell for anyone. The idea of death by starvation, or death by dehydration—but rest assured. I did not think of attempting to cure Deathy with such simple methods, not the slightest bit. And this time, I will not suggest the plan of having her drink blood from the Blood Pond Hell, either.”

It was doubtful whether or not that was entirely true, but Kagenui-san shrugged off Shinobu’s words with a, “Is that so,” before continuing with,

“Well then, that’s all the precautions. If you’d like to visit your sworn friend now, then go on ahead,”

pointing towards the back of the library with her thumb.

“The demands of our coalition have made it so that only one person is allowed to see her at a time, but there’s no point in telling you that, right? You’re free to go together.”

Was it a guideline to prevent closeness?

The way she was putting it made us sound like outlaws—and she was breaking rules as if it were completely normal, this person. Well, in reality, compared to Kagenui-san on a business trip, we had definitely come to Europe via much more illogical means, and the fact of the matter was that there would have been no reason to come all the way to these ruined countries if we were going to be excluded anyway. However, I felt a bit of hesitation in regards to something other than that guideline—and this was my own personal hesitation, but was it really right for me, a half-hearted presence, to intrude between the reunion of two vampires, two sworn friends?

I felt so out of place that it felt like I was deserving of punishment.

Wouldn’t the appropriate thing to do as a twenty-year-old be to read the mood and take a step back, leaving it to the youngsters, or rather, the ones older than six hundred?

Shinobu might be bound to my shadow, but now that she was in her thirteen-year-old mode, it was possible for her to assume some distance from me, much like a cordless telephone and its handset—putting aside whether or not the comparison of cordless phones would, in the Reiwa era (compared to phones91), be conveyed well (compared to landlines92). And as those thoughts ran through my mind…

“My master. There is no need for those silly concerns,”

scolded the thirteen-year-old.

Even here.

My life consisted of nothing but being scolded by younger girls.

“If anything, ‘twould be easier if you were there with me. If this could be our final meeting, then I would like to formally introduce my master to Deathy.”

Well, it was true we’d left things rather uncertain last time. I had just gone with the flow. And Shinobu had wanted to show off a little, too.

“All right. I’ll stick with you. Since we only interacted in bits and pieces the other day, I did want to formally give my greetings, too. To your sworn friend.”

“Just do not say any weird things, like ‘golden-haired loli slave’ or ‘Araragi Harem’.”

She was properly nailing me down, as though driving a stake into my heart.

Plus, the Araragi Harem wasn’t even coined by me.

“And untie your twintails.”

“My hair isn’t even tied in the first place. For now.”

“If you can even talk to her when she’s in that state, then I’d like it if you can get as much info out of her as possible. Her and I aren’t exactly strangers, but I am fundamentally her enemy, so obviously she ain’t gonna speak her mind with me.”

Basically, it was what was known as contact tracing, right?—we’d been given an important, yet difficult, assignment. Perhaps things would be different if I were a medical student, but considering the infectious nature of the anti-vampire virus and Suicidemaster’s condition as she rested in the throne room, it wasn’t like we could hold a particularly long conversation in the first place.

“The hardest thing might be getting her to speak her mind—as Deathy is of the same ilk as me, she is herself a vainglorious vampire. Whether it was six hundred years ago or one year ago, she never once showed any indication of her weaknesses or her weakening.”

I see.

That was exactly what I’d expect from a friend of yours.