Nekomonogatari (White) : 056

It would be boasting of my city, but the library of the town we lived in was exceedingly rich in content. Our town being the size it was, it prided itself on the amount of books it had collected and, perhaps due to the librarian’s tastes or a penchant for the traditionalistic, its shelves were filled by sectarian works in place of best-sellers, giving the air of a museum instead of some local library.

I digress, but back when Oshino-san stayed in this town, I relied upon and borrowed books from here many times (as Oshino-san was not a resident, he could not procure a library card).

Although a fatal flaw existed in that it would close on Sundays, I always passed by this library when I was a child. While I had never sat myself down next to a wall to study, in terms of the necessary lessons of life, you could say I had learnt them all here.

All the things that my parents had not taught me.

I learnt them at this library.

All by myself.

More recently, this place was repeatedly used as Araragi-kun’s study, but even when it was Senjougahara-san’s turn to be Araragi-kun’s tutor, I would still come by here.

To be honest, by the time I was fifteen I had read most of the books collected here, but because I liked the atmosphere, the air of this establishment, I would come here even when I had no need to.

Not to mention that it was just the best place to study.

And while it might not be “my home”, it was one of the places where I would feel at ease.

Of course, I had not come here today “without need” — I came to do research.

“Hello, Tsubasa-chan.”

“Good afternoon. I’ll be having a look around.”

Greeting the library worker I knew by sight, I started by picking out five books which had been reliable in the past, and sat myself down on a chair by the window that was more or less my designated seat.

The task of converting entire book catalogues into digital databases, currently being advanced by various libraries, had not yet taken place here, meaning I had to investigate each book one by one.

They were all of them books I had once read before, but not even my memory was perfect and, to begin with, my memory could not be relied upon in this case.

After all, I was able to take things inconvenient to myself and cut them away from my heart.

That was what I had done.

To phrase it like Araragi-kun’s mother, I would turn my eyes away from things as I pleased.

Even the events of Golden Week, all those things I had done had been completely forgotten by me, and even now, I could not recall them entirely — no, it was more likely because I did not want to recall them.

I pushed these painful memories and tearful stress away from myself.

I pushed them away — onto Black Hanekawa.

…That was why my memories, my knowledge, and even my thoughts could not be relied upon at all — still, if I wanted to do something about this, if I still wanted to continue my vain struggle, I had no choice but to go wall-to-wall like this.

Line by line, word by word,

without turning my eyes away,

I had no choice but to read, to burn it all into my eyes.

“……Mmn,”

However, despite lingering until nearly the closing hour of the library — despite fishing through not just the first five, but in the end fifteen specialist works, there was not a single book that described the apparition, the abnormality called the Inflaming Tiger.

Having considered that it might have been my own mishearing, I took care to watch for similarly-named phantoms — for example, the Flaming Tiger, which seemed quite possible seeing as it caused the phenomenon of fire — but that was a miss (I did find the related Water Tiger, but that was basically just a Kappa, which was of even less relevance).

Hmph.

It had been done with the best of intentions, but ending up with results like these was truly pathetic.

I had been entirely under the impression that I would be able to simply refer to a large variety of references, as suitable for the topic, much as Oshino-san would do… but things did not go quite so smoothly.

In fact, was it really so impossible that there had actually been a proper description of the abnormality, and I simply overlooked it? The possibility that it had been written there, but I, not wanting to know, had turned my eyes away from it –

“…But if I start thinking like that, I just can’t trust anything, anymore.”

No.

Me being the way I was, nothing about my state of affairs could be trusted in the first place. I was trying to do something about this — trying to help in the midst of such a situation.

If nothing could be trusted, then I could instead employ said untrustworthiness.

If the library was of no help, I could try searching on the Internet, but to be honest, I was reluctant to attempt that approach. The Internet was an excellent medium for gathering facts on what was occurring right now, but there were far too many mistakes to be found when searching for information from the past.

More to the point, it was weak in terms of tales of the abnormal.

That being said, I might be able to find some sort of clue, and seeing as I had no other plans, there was no point in maintaining a prejudice against digital information — it was an approach that Oshino-san, who disliked machinery, would be incapable of, after all.

As I was inside a library, I had turned my phone off, but perhaps I could try searching once I got back outside.

Having made a decision, I went to return all the books I had picked out. I did not know just how correct my own memories were, but this at least was a simple task, as though I had memorized the location of all the books in this library.

“Are you by yourself today, Tsubasa-chan?”

Along the way, another worker, not the one who had greeted me, said this. She had seen Araragi-kun and I together many times before, so that was probably what she had meant with the question. She seemed to be under the impression that Araragi-kun and I were a couple, and, well, Araragi-kun did not seem to notice, so I did not attempt to correct this.

“Yes, I’m by myself today.”

As noted previously, I had been here by myself many times before, but it would seem I had not been very noticeable then (to this person’s eyes, at least).

“Hmm. Well, it’s almost closing time, are you done looking?”

“Yes, I’m done.”

There had been no results, but I certainly was done in terms of searching.

The worker glanced at the books I carried which I was returning to the shelves, and said, “that looks heavy.”

“I suppose once digital books have spread, people won’t have to worry about that weight anymore. Well, if it came to that, I suppose even the necessity of libraries would be in question.”

“I don’t know about that. I think it’ll be fine for now, as long as digital books never go beyond being computer images. Books are books, weight and all… books aren’t flat, but three-dimensional. Even if digital books do spread, just like how a collector of figurines would never say that ‘it’s enough to have just the photos’, it’s the bindings that truly makes the books, I think.”

The thought of digitalizing books was ridiculous.

It would be better to consider books and digital books in the same way as one would consider books and films — not as a transition, not as a progression, but in fact as a new species.

“Well, I hope so.”

As though she did not want to become involved in a deep discussion with some high schooler, the worker laughed lightly, looked at the titles of the books I was carrying,

“Are you interested in ghosts?”

and asked me, sounding mystified.

Well, they certainly did not appear to be books a dainty high school girl would devote herself to reading, so perhaps it truly was mystifying. The more experienced workers were already aware of my (indiscriminate) tastes in reading, but the one before me was still a newcomer.

“Yes, somewhat — it’s for a school project.”

Of course, I could not explain everything, so I dodged the question with a vague, uninteresting response.

“In that case, there’s something in the New Books section on that. Have you read it yet?”

“No — not yet.”

Not that she mentioned it, I had not checked there.

“There’s probably no time to read it now, but you can take it out.”

“Yes, I think I’ll do that.”

Although I said this, my expectations were low.

It would simply be too convenient for information on the abnormality I seeked to be on the very last book which I was just about to overlook — then again, as the saying went, it did not hurt to try.

I borrowed the book recommended to me and left the library.

“…Hm? Wait a second. A… new book, huh.”

New book — new species.

When I put the borrowed book into my bag, it suddenly occurred to me — wait, no, it would be strange to say it occurred to me.

Gaen-san had said it at the very beginning, after all.

The abnormality that I would myself name —

“If there hasn’t been a single hint, even after this much searching… then what if, like Black Hanekawa, that tiger is a new species of abnormality — “

Nekomonogatari (White) : 055

Kanbaru-san was absent.

I ended up more or less rushing into the classroom just before the first bell rang (metaphorically speaking, of course, I would never run in the hallways. It was already quite — no, already very suspicious to be moving like I was in some speed-walking competition.) so I only visited the second-year classroom of Kanbaru-san during the recess after the first period.

“Oh, Hanekawa-san.” “It’s Hanekawa-senpai.” “Oh, it really is Hanekawa-senpai!” “The one Kanbaru-san is always talking about.” “It’s Hanekawa-san, Senjougahara-san’s classmate.” “No, Hanekawa-senpai’s the one who helped Araragi-senpai.”

…I was exceedingly well-known, for some reason.

I felt like hiding my face and running away, but managed to hold fast and asked about Kanbaru-san — and the response was as mentioned above.

It seemed there had not been any contact from her, not to her homeroom teacher, nor to her friends in the class (obviously though it might seem once I had considered it, it was a relief to find out that Kanbaru-san did actually have friends in her own year).

“Kanbaru-san’s a very diligent student, so it’s really rare for her to be absent without leave… we’re all very worried about her.”

“……”

It is often the case that the same person can gain different reputations within different communities, but there is an immense difference between the image Kanbaru-san had and, above all else, the image we had of her.

……No.

That was probably the way things should be.

It would be strange for someone to look the same regardless of the observer, like something stamped out — someone like me.

It was not obvious.

And it was not normal.

Someone who appeared to be an honor student to anyone who was looking — that was abnormal.

“Have you heard anything, Hanekawa-san?”

“Being asked this,

“No.”

was the only thing I could say.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know anything.”

Those words seemed to have had a rather cold ring to them, as the girl looked to be in utter doubt, and I retreated from Kanbaru-san’s classroom, feeling embarrassed.

Due to this, unfortunately for my teacher, practically nothing entered my head during the second period’s lesson — I was worried, after all.

Araragi-kun was, of course, absent as well. Just what had happened last night?

Well, truthfully speaking, nothing entered my head starting from the first period — after hearing from Gaen-san about Noble Minds Tutorial School burning down, I could not remain calm.

It was unthinkable that the place we were so fond of, not to mention where Araragi-kun and Kanbaru-san were supposed to meet, would be beset by fire.

Naturally, after I had parted with Gaen-san and Episode-kun, I checked the news online on my cellphone and confirmed that it was not a lie.

There was even an image attached.

A photo of that bare concrete building collapsed in a miserable pile entered my view — that memorable place where so much had happened.

It was now completely gone from this world.

I was wondering what Senjougahara-san would think if she found out about this, not to mention being taken by an extreme sense of the impermanence of the world, but on the other hand, when I took into account the current situation, it was clear that this was no time to be so sentimental.

What on earth — happened last night?

Are Araragi-kun and Kanbaru-san all right?

I was so worried that I could not sit still during lessons or recesses.

…And yet — the fact that I was able to continue taking lessons for the entire day without leaving early meant that, somehow, I firmly believed the both of them to be safe.

I found within myself the will to assert that those two were not hurt in the fire.

At first, I had not been sure if I could trust this feeling.

Perhaps I had simply believed in Araragi-kun and Kanbaru-san, that they could overcome any difficulties and, as such, did not need me to worry for them.

But that was not the case. It was not even worth considering.

Araragi-kun was simply a boy whom I could not calmly watch over from a distance in that way, as he was always involved in things possibly fatally dangerous, and he inclined towards not so much self-sacrifice as self-punishment. It was precisely because I knew him so well that it was hard for me to imagine him being safe in a situation like that.

And Kanbaru-san, unfortunately, was not so close to me that I could just simply trust in her safety (and considering the case with Senjougahara-san, I might even be seen as an enemy).

Why was it that I could be so sure of their safety — at the very least, in terms of my conviction that they had not been victims of the fire,

“…It’s because I know.”

I murmured.

I was on my way back from school.

Well, this was not the ‘way back’, to be exact — I was not returning to the Araragi house, but making a side trip.

“Yes, because I know — I know the fire that started had nothing to do with Araragi-kun or Kanbaru-san.”

I knew.

I didn’t know.

But the me who wasn’t me knew.

It was most likely that, yesterday night — when I had become Black Hanekawa, I had seen it, and I knew. I knew that the two of them were safe. I knew that after Araragi-kun and Kanbaru-san had met, they changed to another location — I knew that it was, more or less, an unrelated problem to the fire.

It was as Gaen-san had said.

This — was my case.

“… Besides, the fire’s — something to do with me as well.”

Three days ago, the Hanekawa house burnt down completely.

And yesterday, Noble Minds Tutorial School was in flames.

In just three days — two buildings that had been deeply connected with me had burnt down.

It would be absurd not to think of these two events as being connected.

Not to mention that both cases occurred immediately after I had seen the tiger — I could not help worrying about that.

Also, the cause of the fire at the Hanekawa house was unknown, and as far as I could tell from the news report online, the fire at the tutorial school was similarly of unknown origin. Seeing as they were both places usually without traces of fire, it was all the more reason to suspect arson –

“Arson… huh.”

The worst possibility passed through my mind.

The possibility that I, as Black Hanekawa, was the criminal. In other words, an arsonist.

Thinking back to the outrageous violence committed by Black Hanekawa during Golden Week, it was a perfectly realistic possibility.

To be certain, it was not true that I had not wished many times for the Hanekawa house to ‘just disappear’ — and in this situation, I could not deny that said wish had been granted.

You might even say the possibility was quite high.

However, I felt that this was incorrect.

Not, that something like this happening was impossible — but the part about this being ‘the worst’.

I could not put it into words, but I got the feeling that an even worst conclusion was already prepared further along in this story. A conclusion that I had been turning my eyes away from — as though it was relentlessly lying in wait for me, its jaws held wide open.

Yes, the truth.

An inconvenient truth — was lying in wait for me.

That was the path I now walked.

“Now would be the time — to turn back, I guess.”

Right now.

If I could close my eyes — turn my eyes away just for a little while,

if I could just make it to tomorrow, I would be able to go on without encountering the truth.

Thing would be as per usual.

I would be able to continue as the Hanekawa Tsubasa I had always been.

As the best friend of Araragi-kun, as Hanekawa Tsubasa — as myself,

I would be able to remain.

Without any change.

“…But,”

But.

But, but.

I did not know what Araragi-kun was fighting against right now.

However, he was unmistakably fighting against something — together with Mayoi-chan and Kanbaru-san, and lending the aid of Shinobu-chan, putting his life on the line as always.

In that case, I too shall fight.

If it did not mean running away, then I would not turn my eyes away, either.

Now was the time to come face-to-face — for me,

and my own heart which had been cut off from me.

This — was probably that kind of story.

“Yes… that tiger,”

It was on that day when the new trimester started.

I was on my way to school when I saw — that giant tiger.

“All of this started after I saw that tiger.”

That was the feeling I got.

I could not be certain at all.

But I was.

I knew.

“Gaen-san called it… the Inflaming Tiger, didn’t she?”

That would be the first angle of approach.

I had reached the library.

Nekomonogatari (White) : 054

She called herself Gaen Izuko.

With those big clothes on her small body, she looked liked a lady just about worn out of shape — of course, having failed to perceive Episode-kun’s age just moments before, I no longer felt much confidence in making guesses on anybody’s age.

I would have believed it if I had been told that she was in her twenties, but if she really was Oshino-san’s senior, then she must be over thirty at the least, though to be honest, she looked to me like she was in her teens.

Actually, despite all that I have said, she seemed so full of composure that trying to determine her age seemed rather meaningless — she possessed an air of aloofness.

Imagine that, if an excellent work of art were plopped down before her, she would think it unrefined and meaningless to consider the time, era, place in the world it had been created in, or perhaps even who its creator had been — she held that sense of resoluteness which permitted no dissent.

As such, despite her clothes being worn out of shape, she appeared splendid — while if a normal person tried wearing XL-size clothes on an S-size physique, it would simply give the impression of someone with a ‘loose’ sense of fashion, frankly, it looked refined on her.

Although she wore her baseball cap sideways and stomped on her sneakers like they were flats, it looked neither rough nor unrefined, but utterly as though it was an aspect of her personal fashion.

“Hey, Sode — you never got to our meeting place so I came to pick you up. When I did, it turned out you were hitting on someone. Sorry for the interruption.”

That was the first thing I heard from her.

She said this with a charming smile.

The way she spoke felt very off — like she was somehow providing a detailed exposition on her own actions.

It felt like she was trying to cover this sensation with her smile.

“Hmmn? Oh? And this is…?”

Then, she looked at me.

“…Hanekawa, Tsubasa-san… isn’t it?”

“Oh, yes — “

Being told this before I had even named myself — I was taken aback.

Of course, I had already been shocked after being taught by Episode-kun that she was Oshino-san’s senior — and even if she did hear about me from Episode-kun or Oshino-san, there should have been no way she could have known I was Hanekawa Tsubasa now that I had cut my hair. Not without something like a vampire’s ‘sight’, at least.

” — I am.”

“My, my, this is unexpected. Thanks to me deciding on a whim to actually act for once, I got a chance to meet you. That makes me very happy, Tsubasa-chan. I doubt Meme said anything, but I am someone called Gaen Izuko. I was his senior. He called me Gaen-senpai. A lot of cases where I’m called ‘Senpai,’ me.”

Said she.

She really did have a strange way of speaking, if I could put it that way.

Actually, this was all-in-all a somewhat strange self-introduction.

“Don’t saying I’m hitting on her, Gaen-san — I just saw someone really nostalgic and went for a stroll down memory lane with her.”

Said Episode-kun, appearing displeased (though it was surprising to me that he actually did ‘just’ want to do that) but Gaen-san said, “Well, that doesn’t make any difference.”

It really did seem to make no difference to her.

“Once you’re done that stroll or whatnot, what say we go — we’re racing against the clock here, hour by hour. Yotsugi should be here before long, but we haven’t got time to wait.”

“Yotsugi? Who’s that?”

“It doesn’t matter to you, Sode. Though that’s not the case for everyone, and it’s not the case for me. Well, to be honest, I thought that Meme or Deishuu would come. But those two just can’t help being wanderers. I don’t want Yotsuru here, by the way, not in the slightest.”

“You really do only talk for your own sake, don’t you — don’t just start talking like everyone already understands what you’re going on about.”

Episode-kun did not attempt to hide his discontent but, as though this reaction were of no concern to her,

“Tsubasa-chan,”

Gaen-san said to me.

There was too much liberty in the way she talked.

“Normally, I would be trying to get myself involved into your conversation with Sode, maybe even buy you both juice from the vending machine if you were so inclined, seeing as I’m the adult here, but the situation is as you’ve just heard. Sorry, but I’ll be taking Sode with me.”

“Oh… right.”

I did not mind that.

In fact, if she were to take him away, inside, I would feel like patting my own chest in relief — all things being considered, he was still rather scary (actually, the memory of the moment when I had been killed escaped me, but my body remembered. My stomach hurt.) and I was in the middle of my way to school, which I still had to go to.

It would more troublesome if she had offered me juice.

“So I can’t give you any help on your tiger problem at the moment. You’ll have to do something by yourself.”

“Huh?”

My — tiger problem?

Wait… why does she…?

She must have heard me when I was talking to Episode-kun from before — no, that would be quite a contrivance, given her distance.

It would be a contrivance — though on somehow another level compared to when she had guessed my name before.

And it felt different from mind-reading.

I had not thought about the tiger while talking with Gaen-san, after all.

“Hm? Why the strange look? It’s not that surprising that I know about the tiger, is it? There’s nothing I don’t know.”

“Nothing — you don’t know.”

“Yeah.”

She said,

“I know everything.”

brimming with confidence.

As though she really did know —

As though she had a grasp on the entire story,

she said.

“Well, you’ll be facing off against that tiger by today or tomorrow, I’m sure. Soon, you yourself will name it, that abnormality with unprecedented, unparalleled power, the Inflaming Tiger. But no one will help you. You will be saved by no one. Because it is your own problem. It is not my problem, nor the problem of the boy you love.”

“Wha — “

I lost my words at ‘what’.

The boy I love?

“I mean Araragi-kun. You’re not saying you don’t know him, are you?”

Gaen-san said, as though this were something extremely obvious and part of common knowledge — as though it were something anyone besides me would know.

In fact,

“You really don’t know anything, do you, Tsubasa-chan — “

she said this as though she was looking down on me, as though she was scorning me.

As though she pitied me — as though she sympathized with me.

As though she was looking at a pathetic child,

she said.

(I can’t think of a way to translate the pun in the next line into English. Sorry.)

“You don’t even know that you don’t know anything. You’re ignorant (無知 muchi) to your own ignorance in being ignorant, I suppose. Ahaha, if I keep repeating ‘ignorance’ like that, it sounds like I’m talking about your curvy and busty (むちむち muchimuchi) body. Lewd, isn’t it? I’m the slim type, so it’s really something to be envious about.”

“……”

“That being said, it would be better to not know than to know you don’t know — even the brainless scarecrow had lamented nothing could be more unbearable than knowing the truth that you were a fool.”

“…What do you,”

I said. My voice was shaking.

I did not know why my voice shook.

Even when I had been facing Episode-kun during spring break — my voice, my body did not shake like this.

“What do you — think you know about me?”

“I know everything. And that’s why,”

I know everything, repeated Gaen-san.

Again and again.

As though she had repeated that line many times before.

As though she were simply saying ‘good morning’ or ‘good night’ or ‘thanks for the meal’ or ‘I’m done eating’.

Repeating.

Repeatedly.

Repeating.

“I know that you don’t know anything. But that’s nothing to be ashamed of, because nobody in this world knows anything. They live on, lying while unknowing. You are not an exception, nor are you special.”

“Not an exception — not special.”

“You like it when people tell you that, don’t you?”

Said Gaen-san.

Of course, as though she was looking down on me.

“I know.”

“……”

“And naturally, I know all about the ruins of that tutorial school, that memorable place for all of you including Meme, burning up last night… ahh, and once again, I speak of information you do not yet know. Isn’t that right, ‘I-Know-Nothing’ Tsubasa-chan?”

Nekomonogatari (White) : 053

They had a rule where everyone ate breakfast together.

…Though as far as I knew, this was a rule that Araragi-kun constantly broke, but there was no reason to question that right now.

He likely had not wanted to tell me, and I did not want to say it either, but it would seem that gauging the amount of distance there ought to be between himself and his family was awkward for him — how much he distanced himself from Karen-chan and Tsukihi-chan did not need to mentioned, but not even his father and mother were exempt.

But, well, after taking into account the new information regarding both his parents being police officers, I felt there was a slightly different implication to this.

First, his mother.

Before I went to school — it’s further than the middle school attended by Karen-chan and Tsukihi-chan, so I left about thirty minutes beforehand — I stopped at the entrance, said ‘I’m off’, and raised my hand toward the doorknob,

“Hanekawa-chan,”

but then,

she raised her voice.

“I don’t know what sort of situation your family is in, and I’m not thinking of asking you about it now, but please don’t think that, right now, without your parents by your side, it’s normal for you to say, ‘I’m off’ while you are leaving our home. At the very least, please don’t think that.”

“……”

“We can treat you as a guest, but we can’t become your family. No matter how much Karen and Tsukihi want you as their sister. Oh, but don’t get me wrong — you’re not troubling us. Karen and Tsukihi are happy, too — and you’re Koyomi’s friend, so we want to do as much for you as we can. After all, from what I hear from him, you were the reason he started studying seriously.”

“…That’s,”

not true, I answered.

I don’t know how to put it, but Araragi-kun’s mother — she resembled him, but I felt that her eyes belonged to someone who had reached some sort of enlightenment.

Like she had achieved something.

I saw the way she was, and even taking away the part about being a police officer, I got the feeling I understood why he found it so hard to deal with his mother.

“I’m sorry. I must have made you worry somehow — but my family isn’t too much of a problem. We just, well, you could say we don’t get along well…”

We were in discord, you could say.

We were distorted, you could say.

“…that’s all.”

“Parents not getting along with their child, that’s nearly abuse in itself, you know.”

That’s why.

Said Araragi-kun’s mother.

“Always look for help whenever you’re in trouble. It doesn’t matter if it’s public service, or even Koyomi. He can be dependable in his own way.”

“Yes…”

I — knew that.

I knew very well, just how dependable Araragi-kun could be.

I had always known — and yet,

I tried my very hardest not to depend on him.

I got on without depending on him.

“It’s not wrong to not have a family, but if you do, it should be something you’re glad for. That’s what I believe. As a mother.”

“As — a mother.”

“Hanekawa-chan, when bad things happen to people, it’s all right for them to run as far away as possible, but it’s not running if you just turn your eyes away from it. As long as you say that your situation is fine, no one from outside can do a thing — but how about you try just going for it first?”

With these words, Araragi-kun’s mother showed me out — it was quite a long, ‘take care’.

Goodness.

Powerful people, really, mothers — that was the humorous impression I got.

I felt like I had been beaten and bruised.

But it was not a bad feeling.

…’Mother’, huh.

That — was something I had no concept of, even at this age.

I wondered.

What exactly had I been doing all this time?

Not just at night — but in the afternoon, in the morning.

“Turning my eyes away from it isn’t the same as running away — huh. Deep words.”

I felt completely moved.

Rather than Araragi-kun, those words felt more like something Oshino-san would say.

As such, I headed to school while continuing to contemplate those words — but, along the way, I found myself face-to-face with a sight that, quite aptly, I wanted to ‘turn my eyes away from.’

No, really, I almost wanted to turn around on the spot and walk back the way I came.

A boy with golden hair and golden eyes was walking on the same path as mine — from his height he seemed to be around the same age as me, but judging from his baby face, with some vestige of youth still clearly remaining but not enough to be described as child-like, he looked to be a middle schooler.

However, for a middle school boy — his eyes, those golden eyes that appeared to constantly be glaring forward, were far too ill-natured.

Although — perhaps, unlike spring break,

it was already an improvement, appearance-wise, that he was not shouldering a gigantic silver cross.

“…Um,”

I really had considered changing my direction, but just before I could make the decision, he had noticed me.

With a ‘hmph.’

Those far too ill-natured golden eyes perceived me.

Our eyes met,

seeing each other perfectly.

“Whoa, whoa, you — uh, what was it — yeah, you were the one from a while back who nearly got killed by me. Heh heh — that was hi-larious.”

He,

the half-vampire vampire hunter — Episode, said this, and pointed at me, looking overjoyed.

“…Hello.”

I bowed slightly.

“It’s been quite a long time… Episode-san.”

He did not seem to be troubled by any of the conflicting emotions I felt — but to me, this was very unpleasant, something which I could do nothing to help, and the tone of my words clearly conveyed this.

But I suppose it was not surprising.

As he said, it was just a while ago — just during spring break, when I was nearly killed by him.

Not that it would be an exaggeration to say that he did kill me — he had blown away half of my internal organs, after all.

Originally, he had come to this city in pursuit of Shinobu-chan, the legendary vampire, and ended up dueling Araragi-kun, who had become kin to Shinobu-chan — it was a very painful incident.

It had been my fault, unapologetically intruding in a duel between two men, but he was rather unapologetic himself.

“I heard that you went back to your own country soon after that… why have you come to this town again, Episode-san?”

I asked him timidly.

It occurred to me that he might have come back in order to try and ‘exterminate’ Araragi-kun or Shinobu-chan again — that this could be cause for the trouble Araragi-kun was now embroiled in.

Oshino-san, as the specialist, should have settled things on that end — but Oshino-san wasn’t all-powerful, either.

He might have made a mistake somewhere and exposed the two of them — but against my question, the half-vampire (fine even while under the sun, and able to move about in daytime) widened his grin, and,

“That’s hilarious.”

said this, laughing fiendishly.

“Don’t call me ‘Episode-san’ — I’m not the age for that kind of stuff, and not in a position to hear that kind of polite talk.”

“Huh?”

But he was a vampire, even if just a half — should his lifespan not be fairly long then?

“Just ’cause my lifespan’s long doesn’t mean I’m actually old, you know. You’re hilarious. It’s actually a secret, but it’s pretty funny so I’ll tell you. You’re actually a lot older than me — by now, I’d be six years old.”

“Six?!”

My shock was clear.

As though that was the response he had expected, Episode-san… no, Episode-kun wore a happy expression.

“It’s my birthday next month, so I’ll be seven then — my parent on my vampire side was a type of abnormality that matured really quickly, and I’ve got traces of that.”

“……”

“Anyway, don’t judge a person just by how they look — well, not that I’m a ‘person.’”

Episode-kun then brought the conversation to a close, so I had no way to confirm the authenticity of this.

It just felt like he was playing with me.

On the topic of not judging someone by how they look, though, I did not want him to explain his age, so much as I wanted him to answer why he was wearing a white, long-sleeved school uniform, just as he had done during spring break, despite the blazing August sun.

Perhaps he could not feel heat, as a half-vampire.

I see…

So he wasn’t a high schooler or a middle schooler, but a grade schooler in terms of age, younger than even Shinobu-chan or Mayoi-chan…

It would not even be odd to call him ‘Episode-chan’ rather than ‘Episode-kun’ by mistake, so he didn’t really have a baby face, but in fact looked older than he was.

I could not deny feeling that a hidden character trait was just revealed at this late stage for no particular reason.

Talk about your ‘nonexistent youth.’

“Oh, and why aren’t you carrying your cross?”

“Huh? Yeah. Duh. I’d kind of stand out if I walked around carrying that.”

Hmph.

It would seem that he did have some mindfulness regarding this, in some measure at least.

“…So, can you answer me now on why you’ve come to this town again?”

“Huh — ? You’re pretty fussy, aren’t you? Well, I do owe you one, so I was going to answer you anyway.”

Said Episode-kun.

Apparently, he considered ‘having tried to kill me’ as ‘owing’ me.

I felt slightly relieved.

“But I don’t even know why I’m here yet. I suddenly got called out and just arrived by the night bus — “

“The night bus…?”

That was oddly mundane of him.

What was he, a tourist?

“Anyway, you said you were called out?”

“Yeah, that happens too. I’m more or less a freelance vampire hunter. Not like Dramaturgie or Guillotine-cutter. I’m just a mercenary working for my own gains, and anyone who can pay can hire me.”

“You take jobs without hearing the contents first?”

“I get paid in advance. Besides, I couldn’t refuse this time. Well, the contents of the job makes no difference. You leave someone to me, whoever he is, and I’ll kill him so dead there won’t be anything left to treat.”

“…So, would you take a contract to exterminate a tiger?”

“A tiger?”

Surprised, Episode-kun’s face went blank.

“Uh… actually, I’m a hunter specialized in vampires, so a tiger’s a bit… what, did your general tell you to do something crazy?”

“My general…?”

Why did he know the story of Ikkyu Sojun?

I suppose the anime, which was recommended by the Ministry of Education, was popular even overseas.

Hmm.

In the end, no answer came for my question (I had wanted to get an answer from him any way I could, but if he didn’t actually know it couldn’t be helped), although I did feel that it was surprisingly easy talking with him.

Much had happened during spring break between him and Araragi-kun, so even though we only came in contact for several minutes, I already had some impression of what kind of character Episode-kun apparently was in advance — but now, meeting him under the sun, it came to me that he was this kind of person.

This was what people meant by, ‘something that appeared like ethereal, only to be whithered grass.’

He was an almost disappointingly normal boy.

While it was impossible to see him as only six or seven years old, talking with him on the roadside like this really felt as though I was dealing with a younger boy.

The white school uniform was just a kind of fashion, the product of his self-consciousness —

“But, still. You, Hanekawa Tsubasa, was it?”

However,

it would seem that, in his own way — he had a similar thought to mine.

“Compared to before, it’s like you — got really normal.”

“…Huh?”

His words, frank and without any embellishment, reveberated within my heart.

“That’s why, earlier, I — even with the ‘sight’ of a vampire, I couldn’t tell who you were for a second. Not just how you cut your hair or lost your glasses or stuff like that, but something more deep down — before, you felt really, how should I put it, really intimidating, or something like that. But it’s totally gone now, disappeared. Or maybe I should say it got cut off from you, without leaving any scars behind — “

“……”

I knew what he was trying to say.

It was something I had not considered until I had been told, though — after all, the me that Episode-kun knew, was the me from spring break.

It was the me from back when Black Hanekawa had not yet been born inside me — the me from before I had cut that dark part of myself away as an abnormality.

That was why — but, wait.

Just hold on.

Becoming normal, or becoming not intimidating, that sounded just like —

Speaking of which, I recalled what Karen-chan had told me in the bath yesterday.

You really aren’t pretentious at all, are you, Tsubasa-san — however,

that was not because I did not pretend, but because I could not pretend — I could not possibly pretend when I had already cut my own individuality away from myself, so it would of course stand to reason —

No, no.

That’s wrong. That’s even worse.

It would be — a bad idea, to consider this further.

Most likely — this line of thought led — to a truth that I would shield my eyes from –

“Oh,”

As though what he had just said was something he just wanted to mention for no real reason despite it being a shocking statement to me, Episode-kun seemed to have lost interest in the matter and, looking over my shoulder, discovered something.

With his vampire sight or whatnot,

he saw someone behind me.

“That’s her, right there — the one who called me out without even saying what it was about. Well, when I asked, it turns out she’s the senior of that aloha bastard, that Oshino Meme guy, when he was in university — seeing as we have a connection like that, I just couldn’t turn her down — “

And I — turned around.

Nekomonogatari (White) : 052

What just happened?!

052?!

It’s like we doubled our score in one night!

How can I not be worried about this?!

I can’t just let this one go! I can’t, I can’t!

What on earth is going on while I’m sleeping?!

Just how big of an adventure was there for it to jump 25 chapters?!

That’s a whole novel’s worth of plot not being touched on!

“……”

And so on.

Well, putting aside that sort of tongue-in-cheek fourth-wall perspective — now that we had come this far, even I began to feel it unnatural.

When I was in bed in those ruins, well, that could be forgiven.

I felt that, just as anyone else would, I had a sense of attachment towards the bedding I worked hard to make, that overflowing sensation towards something homemade, and that helped me to compensate and sleep a deep sleep — and it was not unthinkable that, as I had spent the day before in such severe conditions, being at Senjougahara-san’s home had a reversing effect and compensated for it, allowing me to sleep a deep sleep.

The former and the latter appeared to be contradictory, but when you consider them together, it was not impossible to consent to both points.

Just like those two episodes of Napoleon.

…However, putting aside when exactly I had thought of those episodes of the Emperor (it felt highly unlikely for them to be of my own conception — )

Sleeping soundly on Araragi-kun’s bed?

Me?

Completely relieving me of all the day’s stress?

Even mentally calming me down?

That was — just impossible.

Not that I wanted to put it this way, but I felt tense as soon as I got into the bed — shamelessly speaking, I was excited, and I could not sleep at all.

I was physically experiencing what Senjougahara-san had said about being unable to sleep in her father’s bedding, and so, I could not sleep comfortably at all — not to mention that I was currently wearing Araragi-kun’s pajamas.

You could even say I was feeling Araragi-kun over my entire body.

Speaking as a girl, the only deep sleep I could have like this would be one I never woke up from.

It might be an exaggeration to say I was completely unable to sleep, but all the same, it should have been quite shallow.

And yet — this feeling of refreshment.

An invigorating morning.

It was clearly — out of place.

It was clearly suspicious, and strange.

Clearly abnormal.

“….Hmmmn,”

I slowly rose and inspected myself — if something had happened to me, there must be some traces left over.

Was it just my imagination?

Was I simply more unabashed a person that I had thought, or not — I looked for some sort of proof.

Something must still remain.

And I found it immediately.

First, the pajamas I borrowed from Araragi-kun — aside from the soaking sweat that came from me during my sleep, there was a faint smell of earth.

The smell of ‘earth’ may be difficult to visualize, so perhaps it would be better to say the smell of the outside.

“…Did I leave the house while I was sleeping?”

Like a somnambulist?

Muttering to myself, I bent down and sat in an improper, cross-legged posture, just like doing calisthenics before a jog, and checked my feet this time — mainly, the soles.

But there was nothing there.

Just size 23.5 feet.

Beautiful, pure things.

“…But,”

Said I, and my eyes turned to the box of wet tissues on top of Araragi-kun’s study desk (though it was likely a very recent event that it began to actually be used for studying).

As expected, it was slightly off from its position yesterday.

By about three millimeters.

I got off the bed, and peeked into the garbage can next to the desk. As I had predicted, there were a few diposed, used tissues in it — dirtied by earth and gravel and such.

As such, I looked at my own hands.

They were pure, just like the soles of my feet, but — that was not the case in the gaps between my fingernails.

A small amount of dirt was clinging to them.

An awfully wild sort of nail art.

“They say the proof of a crime lies in the fingernails… but this is no joke.”

Saying this, I then headed towards the window.

Well, I could not be sure that I had left the room this way — but thinking back to the incident during Golden Week, I doubt I would have took the effort to conscientiously exit through the hall, down the stairs, and out the front door.

Being the closest exit, the window should be the most logical choice — and this speculation was proven correct, though only by pure luck, as the crescent lock of the window was left open.

I confirmed the night before that it had been locked, of course, before I went to bed.

It was an obvious precaution, after I had experienced just how angry Senjougahara-san could get at me — and yet, this.

In other words — someone opened the lock to this window while I was sleeping, and seeing as there was no one in this room but me, the one who opened the window could be none other than myself.

“Putting aside whether I’m a criminal or not, this does feel like I’m some culprit being cornered by a detective.”

In the first place, the culprits who appear in detective novels would never leave bits of evidence all over the place so conspicuously — not even the detective would be interested then. He would probably just leave the whole case to the officers of Scotland Yard — although,

unexpectedly, cases where the culprit was a Bakeneko were fitting enough for great detectives in the good old days — so I thought.

To deliver the final blow, I returned to the bed and held up the pillow.

It was Araragi-kun’s pillow — though that made no difference in this case.

If, when I had become that, I laid down for even just a moment –

“…There it is. The decisive piece of proof.”

I plucked out a single strand of hair from the pillow.

Hair is something which is constantly regrown regardless of gender, so a few strands will always fall out during sleep — though this was an obvious fact, the problem was that this strand was white.

White hair.

Or not — perhaps, in this case, it should be called white fur?

Yes, it was not like the hair from a human being, but the fur from an animal –

“So that’s it… I’m, turning again. Into the Hindering Cat… into Black Hanekawa.”

I did not want to believe it — or even consider it, but with the circumstances solidified to such a degree, it was pointless to escape from reality.

It was no good continuing to deny the truth, as I had done on the day before the Cultural Festival, even when cat ears were sprouting directly from my head — thinking this, the possibility suddenly hit upon me, and I confirmed my own appearance with the mirror on the desk.

It’s all right, they’re not growing out.

Not yet.

…I utterly digress, but it came to me that Araragi-kun, having a mirror equipped on his desk at all times, might surprisingly be something of a narcissist.

What a strange boy.

Well, pressing on.

“But, now that I’ve considered everything in order — besides the cat ears, this is pretty different from the time before, and the time before that. I didn’t get those telltale headaches, and I’m turning back to normal, even though Araragi-kun’s not here…”

It became all conjecture from this point on, but it was highly likely that, during the night I spent at the ruins, and the night I stayed over at Senjougahara-san’s home, I took on my ‘Black Hanekawa’ form — it was all conjecture, but I was 90% certain that I was correct.

Only this line of thought could explain my feeling of ‘freshness’, after all.

And yet — I was turning back.

I turned back into myself.

“Maybe I’m getting used to turning into Black Hanekawa… just like how Araragi-kun learned to use his vampire immortality.”

Immortality…

I wonder why it was that some part of my mind got hung up on that word — hmm, it’s not very clear.

Honestly — what had happened while I was sleeping?

It was for certain that something had happened.

Something, extremely important…

“…But I can imagine why I’m turning into Black Hanekawa again — “

The fire at my house.

It could be nothing else.

Black Hanekawa was the incarnation of my stress — my inner personality, embracing the emotions that I could not.

“I’m not just rampaging about to release my stress… if that were the case, the traces I left behind would be a lot more visible.”

I felt that this was just a hopeful observation, though.

At any rate, it gave me a bad feeling that there were blanks in my own memory.

“Oh, no… I wonder if Black Hanekawa-chan can take care of this stress.”

Playing the fool, I began to change.

There may be no point in escaping from reality, but confirming the reality of Black Hanekawa did not change the other fact that nothing could be done from my side under the present circumstances, so I had no choice but to go to school.

Neither Araragi-kun nor Oshino-san, the ones whom I ought to consult, were here.

Due to the anxiety of having my home burn down, I could simply be absent again — this did not escape me, but now that I had confirmed I was simply pushing said anxiety onto someone else, I found it difficult to do so.

And, to be honest, I wanted to ask Kanbaru-san whether she had managed to meet Araragi-kun yesterday, and if he was safe — not knowing her phone number or e-mail address, I had no choice but to contact her directly if I wanted to ask her anything.

“I guess I can ask her through Senjougahara-san as well… but she’s sharp, so she might suspect that I’m turning into Black Hanekawa again.”

No.

Seeing as it’s her, Senjougahara-san might already be suspecting it.

I got the feeling she had insinuated something earlier…

Well.

Just as I was finishing changing,

“Hanekawa-san — !”

I was shocked by Tsukihi-chan’s voice coming from the other side of the door.

Oh, no.

Was I talking to myself so loudly, even though I was in someone else’s home?

Did she hear me?

Though that did not appear to be the case, thankfully,

“Did you wake up yet — ? If not, then wake up now — ! It’s time for breakfast!”

as Tsukihi-chan continued.

“It’s a rule at the Araragi house for everyone to eat breakfast together — !”

“…Okay, got it — !”

I answered her.

“It’s all right, I’m up. I’ll be right there.”

“Okay — !”

Her lovely voice rang out, and I heard the sound of footsteps walking down the hall.

Huh.

That was something of a disappointment.

Araragi-kun had always expressed his sisters’ morning routine of waking him up as ‘beating him up’, as though it was quite a bother, but what exactly was so bothersome about such a lovely act?

Geez, he shouldn’t do that.

The way he put it, you’d mistaken believe he was attacked with crowbars in his sleep.

Thinking this, I confirmed my appearance with the mirror once again, with contact lenses in one hand for when I stop by the bathroom before heading down to the living room, and left Araragi-kun’s room.

Nyah.

Nekomonogatari (White) : 027

Mistress finally fell asleep after 12 o’clock, so as usual, it’s my turn on the stage nyah.

But, nyah, to think I’d wake up in that human bastard’s room, this reminds me of Golden Week nyah.

A quirk of fate. All the myriad ways we have been brought together nyah.

Mistress feels bad about this too nyah.

It’s not that I can’t understand the real motive behind Senjougahara Hitagi’s mediation, nyah, not that I’m sure I’m right about it, but anyway, on that front, it’s just frustrating nyah.

Not that I can do anything about this nyah.

In the end, I’m no one but Mistress herself.

I can’t do anything that Mistress wouldn’t nyah — it’s a sad feeling of powerlessness, now that I think about it nyah.

“Now then…”

I got up from the bed, got on all fours and stretched my bed — it’s what cats do nyah — and then said this to confirm with myself.

“…But, what’s this all about? Seeing as I’m out like this nyah, it must mean Mistress is feeling some sort of stress again… but I don’t know exactly what it is nyah. I thought it must’ve been because of that fire at her house, but seeing as I’m still coming out even now, it looks like it’s not just about the fire nyah — “

Apparently, this is how the me this time is going to be.

During Golden Week, I was pretty much just like Mistress, and before the Cultural Festival, I was so connected to Mistress you could’ve called me her inner personality — but this time, it looks like Black Hanekawa is almost completely cut off from her in terms of her personality nyah.

Have I gained independence as an abnormality thanks to coming out so many times nyah? I’m pretty bad in the head, so I don’t really know, but if that annoying Aloha were here, he’d probably have a different explanation.

“But the times when I come out sure are getting convenient nyah — it’s actually flexible the way I only appear when Mistress is sleeping nyah. The last two times, he had to work pretty hard just to get me back inside. Nyahaha, he even needed help from that bratty little vampire nyah.”

“And of whom do you refer to as ‘bratty little vampire’?”

“Nyah?!”

Someone answered my monologue nyah.

I can see it now, but, at some point — or is it ‘at some point’? She was sitting in the room, no, on top of the room, on the ceiling, with her arms around her knees, like she had been there since before the universe began nyah.

A little blonde girl.

It was that Oshino Shinobu nyah.

When I saw her before, she had a helmet with goggles on, but it looks like she stopped wearing it nyah.

And on top of that.

When I saw her before, plus that time during Golden Week, she was expressionless, but now — how should I put it, she’s looking down on me with a terrible smile on her face nyah.

…Even though she’s got what passes for a smile now, I wonder why it was that she was cuter when she didn’t have an expression on her face nyah.

“Hmph,”

The vampire went ahead and said.

She’s totally puffed-up nyah.

Actually, I’ve fought her twice and lost both times, so of course, she really can do as she pleases — it doesn’t matter whether I’m Black Hanekawa or a Hindering Cat, because as an abnormality, I can’t even reach the sole of her feet nyah.

“Long has it been, cat — it is not known to me why you skulk in the chamber of my Lord, but to seek the reason behind the appearance of an abnormality would be tasteless, I suppose.”

I am not like that Aloha brat, said the vampire.

Hmmmn.

I thought about asking her, ‘why are you here?’ but I guess that goes both ways nyah.

“Wait. Nyah? Weren’t you supposed to be locked up in that human bastard’s shadow nyah?”

That’s how it was supposed to be nyah.

If Mistress recalls correctly.

So, seeing as she’s here, it’s strange for that human bastard to not be — he’s not sticking to the ceiling nyah.

I’m not seeing anything scary like that right now nyah.

“Correct — but a slight irregularity has befallen me.”

Said the vampire sitting on the ceiling nyah.

“At this moment, the pairing between myself and my Lord — in other words, between Oshino Shinobu and Araragi Koyomi has been severed.”

“Been — severed?”

Nyah? I tilted my head.

What’s that supposed to mean nyah?

“By which I meant we have been returned to how we had been before the arrival of that Aloha brat — no, things have worsened even further. Alas, I know not where my Lord is, nor of his condition. I am completely in the dark…”

Stopping in mid-sentence, the vampire snorted and looked at me with scorn nyah.

“Confiding in you will make hardly any difference.”

She just went and gave up nyah.

Not that it wasn’t the right decision nyah.

I don’t even understand conversations beyond three lines nyah.

Anyway, it seems that human bastard is really in quite the predicament right now — I mean, seriously, isn’t he in a pretty serious situation if he got cut off from this vampire nyah?

Like that time with the Monkey.

Just what is going on with him right now?

I haven’t got any reason to worry about him (actually, I hate the guy nyah) but if Mistress finds out, she’ll definitely worry nyah — in that way, it’s pretty good timing that it’s me who’s out, as in, while Mistress is sleeping, when this vampire showed up.

“It had occurred to me that perhaps my Lord would return home, but it was a faint hope. And now, to suffer your presence as well. Edo no kataki o Nagasaki de utsu.”

“……”

Even I know she’s using that proverb wrong nyah.

Though I get what she’s trying to say nyah.

Nyah, I’m not built for this sort of thing, but let’s see if I can’t help her out.

Not with correcting the proverb, but with the human.

“Your Lord or whatever should be at that tutorial school tonight, at around 9 o’clock nyah. A meeting with that monkey woman nyah.”

“A meeting? With the monkey? What purpose could she serve at such a late — aah, I see. Yes, it is clear to me now that even my Lord possesses some presence of mind in this. Rather than choosing an abnormality, that lass is conscious of her own heredity.”

“Her heredity?”

“Well — quite the news this is, what you have just told me. It was no fool’s errand, after all. You may receive my praise. I fancied sucking your blood to stave off the boredom, but as a symbol of my gratitude, I shall refrain.”

She’s got some outrageous thoughts going through her head nyah.

Close one nyah, close one.

“Or rather, would it not be well of me to do just that out of gratitude? You are her stress, and if I absorb you, it should provide her some reprieve — in some measure.”

“Hah. I’ll have to say no to that nyah.”

Now that she mentioned it, that was exactly the case, and in fact, it was thanks to her sucking me out that Mistress got ‘saved’ the last two times — but things are a bit different this time nyah.

The difference between the me this time and the mes from before.

It must be the fact that I have a fully-fledged mission nyah — not a reason, which would befit an abnormality, but a mission, something most unlike an abnormality. Not that I know what it is yet, though.

But there must be something nyah.

“Hmph. I see. You are some new species of abnormality, something that neither the Aloha brat nor I are well versed in — but let us give you a light evaluation, shall we? To wit, the you in the now and the you hitherto are similar to the Terminator and Terminator 2.”

“That example’s very easy to understand nyah, but is it something a vampire like you should use…?”

She follows trends and fads. Surprising nyah.

Did that human bastard let her watch it nyah?

“Well, whichever the case, my drawing of your blood is only a cure for the time being, or rather, something to tide you over, and nothing more. Not a hand you should be keen on using again and again.”

“That’s true nyah.”

I agreed nyah.

When it comes down to it, I of all people know best just how meaningless ‘a cure for the time being’, a brute force solution is nyah.

Plus — I musn’t forget nyah.

Though I’m coming out like this openly, I’m nothing more than Mistress’ inner personality, so I shouldn’t be so open.

I should be scanty.

And steathy nyah.

“Yet, the outside, and inside… but two sides to the same subject, they are. Well, perhaps I overstate, but at the least, you are akin to a piece of reversible garb. You give me the impression of one performing a fool’s errand, much as my Lord does, or rather, two fools arguing in a circle.”

“Hmn?”

“Well, this is but a trite story, the kind your Mistress has naturally filling her databank with, but this is of my own recollection, with its own significance, so quiet down and listen. An anecdote of Napoleon I, this — he slept for only three hours a day, says they.”

“Ahh,”

True, that story is part of Mistress’ knowledge nyah.

Actually, it’s so famous, it’s a story that anyone would know nyah — even that illiterate human bastard would know nyah.

It’s actually pretty incredible, the way she said it’s ‘of her own recollection’ nyah.

“So what nyah? Does that have anything to do with the way I’m coming out while Mistress is sleeping nyah?”

“No, I did not mean to join the two. But, listen all the same.”

“I’m listening nyah.”

“Meanwhilst, the Emperor was famous for his love of baths. Spent more than six hours a day in it, says they. In this day and age, he would be Shizuka-chan.”

“……”

We’ve gone from ‘Terminator 2′ to ‘Doraemon’ nyah…

Something’s wrong with the way her knowledge leans towards one area nyah.

“Of this matter much has already been said, but in time, even Shizuka-chan will be regulated… actually, she is well and truly under regulation already. And now that we are on this subject, it makes me recall how risque the ED sequence of that nostaglic series, ‘Perman’ was. Pako always had her panties out on full display… but I suppose that at this point, though it was which I have just recalled, such spectacles as these were already being regulated, even before the proper laws were set. A sad tale, truly.”

“Sorry to cut in while you’re talking about this like it’s someone else’s business, but it’s the ones like you for who regulations and laws are set nyah.”

Begging his pardon, but it’s probably not the time for her to be worrying about Mr Fujiko Fujio.

“True, true. Aye, but I ramble.”

“Yep. If this is what you had me shut up to listen to, it’ll definitely get cut during the editing nyah.”

But still, I still don’t know what this vampire is trying to say nyah.

It’s ??? to me nyah.

How little the Emperor sleeps, and how long he bathes for, they’re both famous stories nyah — they’re not quite anecdotes when you get right down to it.

“Well. When I came to know of these stories, a thought came to me.”

Said the vampire.

In a very dramatic tone.

“Come now, surely he must be sleeping in his bath!”

“……”

Oh.

I see, she’s trying to connect the two anecdotes — putting aside what the truth was (according to Mistress’ knowledge, the Emperor would work on his government affairs even in the bath) that’s one way to see it nyah.

“Thus, by joining these two, in a way, unnatural inclinations and considering them together, one may reach an exceedingly rational conclusion. As one would add one minus to another to produce a plus, if you add one mystery to another, you may reach a proper conclusion. In short, what I am conveying is that the matters which you consider to be separate affairs could be connected in unexpected ways — there is no meaning in considering the outside and the inside separately. Yes, you are Black Hanekawa, cut off from the personality of Hanekawa Tsubasa, that is not incorrect — but there is no marked difference between the two.”

Such is my belief.

Said the vampire — with a terrible smile.

“From my eyes, abnormalities and humans are not so unlike one another.”

“…I see.”

Hearing her say that,

made me feel a bit at ease — and very down nyah.

I’m — the same as Mistress, huh.

I already knew it, I recognized it, I even claimed it — but, now someone’s actually saying it.

“But… in that case, it’s turning out like a worse and worse idea to let you suck my blood nyah.”

“That is true. Best of all is a natural death. Both from an expert’s eye, and the abnormality’s.”

“So, vampire,”

I said.

I thought of something — after what the vampire just mentioned, I thought of something.

“If you want to thank me, how about answering one of my questions nyah?”

“Hmn? I do not mind — but do so with speed. I must hasten to return beneath my Lord. The clock strikes nine, but he may not remain in the same place — quickly, lest the useless fool truly does get himself killed.”

She looked like she was taking it easy, but apparently even she’s being driven up the wall nyah.

So I did as she said and got to the point.

“Do you know a tiger abnormality?”

“A tiger?”

“Yeah, a tiger nyah — “

A tiger.

Mammal of the family Felinae, order of Carnivora.

“– It’s prowling around town right now.”

“Of tiger abnormalities, there are numerous. Quite a few even from my own knowledge, but with what the Aloha brat knows — “

There are easily over fifty, said the vampire.

Nyaah.

That’s a problem nyah.

I don’t even know that number nyah.

“Nyah, I know what Mistress knows, too… but in that case, we can’t figure out which one it really is nyah. I know it’s a really bad one, but when it comes to its true identity, I can’t think of anything — “

“Yes, to bestow one a name is to gain a hold on one’s true identity — be it I, Oshino Shinobu, or you, Black Hanekawa. Knowing not the name, seeing not its true form — that is true terror. None can be more terrifying than the one who is none. Fear of an anonymous society, it did not begin in the present age. Are there no clues, besides being a tiger?”

“It’s a big tiger nyah.”

“Most tigers are big. A small tiger would be more telling.”

“Mmmmn, it’s really fast nyah. It got ahead of me in a flash nyah.”

“Most tigers are fast. An unmoving tiger would be more telling.”

“Mmmmn, and it talked nyah.”

“Talked?”

The vampire reacted nyah.

And very clearly nyah.

“A beast form abnormality, and yet it speaks — that is, shall I say, rare. But I feel that hearing this has made its true form even more of a mystery.”

The vampire said this, and stood up nyah.

Her feet are stuck to the ceiling, so I guess ‘stood up’ is a weird expression use.

And I guess you can say it was lady-like, or something, the way she skillfully clamped down on her skirt with her thighs to stop it falling nyah.

All her blonde hair got turned upside-down though nyah.

“To begin with, it cannot be that an unknown abnormality prowls this town without my knowing of it.”

“Hmn?”

That’s true, now that she mentioned it nyah.

She may let small fry like me do as I please, but if a really powerful abnormality like that thing was wandering around, there’s no way it wouldn’t catch the attention of this ‘No-Life King’ nyah.

This iron-blooded, hot-blooded and cold-blooded vampire.

All abnormalities are just a supply of food for her, after all.

“…But still, it’s not like you’re still like that now, nyah? I don’t really know, but since that human’s in a tough spot, and your pairing got severed — “

“All the more so. In such a predicament as this, I could not possibly fail to notice an abnormality — this is a bolt from the blue. Hmm, actually seen this tiger, have you?”

“Um,”

That’s, not true.

I did, but before –

“Mistress saw it nyah. So I did too.”

“Hence — that may be the point of contention. In short, it was an abnormality beheld by none other than the two of you — a tiger only the two of you can behold.”

“……”

“A possibility. Forgive me for not being of help.”

I shall consider again a way to show my thanks, said the vampire, who calmly walked along the ceiling and looked like she was about to leave the room through the window. She’s probably heading to that tutorial school nyah.

….Hmph, I thought.

She didn’t manage to tell me that abnormality’s true form, so there’s no reason to cosy up to her anymore, but nyah — it’s true that I wasted her time nyah.

On that front, I guess I’ll return the favor.

It’s not for that human though.

“Hey, vampire.”

“What is it, cat.”

“I’ll get you there nyah. It’s just a skip for me to get to those ruins nyah.”

“……”

“Don’t be so cautious nyah. I know you can’t fly right now — and your jumps aren’t big enough to be close to flying nyah. It’s not much truble for me nyah. But you can shave off thirty minutes.”

“……Hmph.”

The vampire.

Although she hesitated for a second (actually, she just looked like she really didn’t want to) she lightly fell from the ceiling and landed on the floor, or rather, the bed. It was really springy, so she ended up bouncing back up and flipping for no reason, but it was pretty amazing how she still managed to land properly nyah.

“Can I rely upon you?”

I thought that it was possible, very possible actually, that this proud vampire would reject my suggestion, but she pretty much made up her mind right away nyah.

I guess that’s just how serious things are nyah.

That’s it nyah.

Now that I think about it — although she told me about it right away, having her pairing with that human severed isn’t just a big deal, it’s unbelievably bad news.

I mean, doesn’t this mean that human’s lost his immortality nyah?

Seeing as she’s walking and sitting on the ceiling, maybe it means that, in reverse, her vampire traits are coming back — but that bastard losing his immortality is really bad nyah.

Isn’t his immortality how he even managed to survive this long?

Still.

“…Yeah, you can rely on me nyah.”

I nodded.

“But only as close as I can — that’s how Mistress feels nyah. Even if that human’s in a tough spot, she doesn’t want to get in his way nyah.”

“Oh? — I can’t say it is something that woman would have spoken, but that is a good decision. Aye, she’s suffered her share of pain this spring break, once and twice — thanks to her conceited and thoughtless actions, my Lord was plunged in even direr straits.”

“Mmn — “

I remember that too nyah.

I didn’t exist at the time, but — I have that memory nyah.

The way I see it, she didn’t just plunge him into direr straits, but nyah, that was more or less it, I guess nyah.

“To learn from one’s own mistakes is an unavoidable step. Do as you please. This is enough as aid.”

“Okay nyah.”

I held the vampire.

Carrying her like a bride nyah.

As soon as I touched her, my Energy Drain activated, but the vampire didn’t seem to mind nyah.

What nerves nyah.

I opened the window and put my foot on the windowsill. I’m barefooted as usual, but, nyah, I can just clean myself up when I get back nyah. Lucky enough, this room has some of those wet tissues that the human uses to clean the room nyah (he likes cleaning nyah).

Now that I come to it, how did the vampire get in this room nyah? It crossed my mind suddenly, but I guess asking that about an abnormality isn’t going to go anywhere — so I didn’t think anything, and just jumped.

I flew.

Heading for Noble Minds Tutorial School — but,

the vampire and I couldn’t head for that building nyah — although we could head for the place nyah.

I actually did aim for that area and jumped nyah.

It’s just that,

it’s just that — we couldn’t reach it.

When we landed, arrived — the building that should be there, the ruins of the tutorial school wasn’t there.

There’s only some burnt bits and pieces.

The ruins of the tutorial school, where Araragi Koyomi and Oshino Shinobu had once hidden, where Oshino Meme had lived for several months, a place filled with memories for Mistress and Senjougahara Hitagi, for Kanbaru Suruga and Sengoku Nadeko — were completely burnt down nyah.

Nekomonogatari (White) : 026

There had been, of course, some dispute.

Although their daughters had described them as possessing a hot-blooded sense of justice, the Araragi couple had good sense as befitting adults (and police officers) and it became a matter of whether it was a good idea.

However, after saying ‘it can’t be helped if that’s the case’, they allowed me to stay in the end, more readily than I had expected, though certainly not enthusiastically.

Karen-chan and Tsukihi-chan also gave their best in trying to persuade them — in that respect, they certainly did feel like the parents of Araragi-kun.

They both resembled him, after all.

On that note, while the resemblance among ‘family’ was of course a matter of genetics, apparently, the indirect aspect of having the same living cycle was also quite a factor. Seeing as they live under the same roof, go through life at the same pace and eat from the same menu, their bodies were made from the same materials, so it was easy to understand the logic that the finished products were similar.

In contrast, if the pace and menu were all different among individual members like the Hanekawa house, they would not resemble one another at all.

That would be why it’s said that there was a certain sense of identity in a family whose members resembled one another in appearance and personality — in that way, Araragi-kun’s family was a healthy one.

Seeing how they were during dinner, which they allowed me to take part in, made me feel it.

What it was to have a family conversation.

It was a very fresh idea, and I let myself become involved — although I winced somewhat at being persistently questioned by Araragi-kun’s mother regarding her only son.

After that, it was time for a bath.

Speaking of which, it had been three days since I used a bathtub.

It had apparently become some sort of rule for them lately, but Karen-chan and Tsukihi-chan came into the bath together — it was really too tight!

“You really aren’t pretentious at all, are you, Tsubasa-san.”

This was the conversation we had in said bathtub.

The three of us were tightly packed, like some sort of experiment in how many people one could fit into a telephone box, so in other words, it was far too cramped for any interpretation of sensuality, and within this space, Karen-chan said.

“I mean, maybe it’s just because I’m an idiot, but when I talk with smart people at school, a lot of them make me think, wow, you’re really smart. It’s like they go out of their way to string together really tough words, and bring up stuff that no one cares about. But you’re smart, Tsubasa-san, and you talk to me from the same level. That’s just really great.”

“That’s true.”

Tsukihi-chan joined in.

Her hair was quite long once she unraveled for the bath.

It would seem that the speed at which her hair grew was beyond Kanbaru-san.

Truly monstrous.

“But apparently, that’s how it really is, Karen-chan. People who really are smart… actually, ‘first-rate’ people who are good at stuff, whether it’s sports or whatever, sound surprisingly normal when you talk to them, and they totally lose that air they have. But it’s probably because they’re the real thing, so they don’t need to put on an act.”

“……”

There was some unease as I felt I was being praised, though it was true what Tsukihi-chan had said about ‘first-rate’ people having surprising degrees of normality, and she was correct in that regard, but in my case, that was not how it was.

I was not normal.

And — I was not smart.

I doubt anyone could be more pretentious, more embellished than me — I realized this during Golden Week, and before the Cultural Festival.

So much so that I wanted to refuse it.

So much so that I felt hatred for it.

“I’ve always thought about how things would look from a smart person’s perspective.”

Said Karen-chan.

“Like how, even if you look at the same thing, you could see something different. I mean, to me, pi’s just a list, but maybe, to Einstein, it’s actually a beautiful sequence.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.”

I answered vaguely.

The question was, in every way, difficult to respond to.

In fact, the sense needed to realize the worth and meaning behind mathematical beautilities such as pi, or the golden ratio, only existed within a small part of geniuses — however, I truly did not believe that cleverness was a requirement for it.

Even among clever people, there must be those who see pi as nothing more than a list, I thought, and the opposite must exist as well.

It was simply a matter of individual differences, and not a set condition.

The difference between the perspectives of Karen-chan and Einstein, and the difference between the perspectives of Karen-chan and Tsukihi-chan, probably did not have that great a difference in and of themselves.

“For example, say there is a novel narrated in first person. If you tell it from a different viewpoint, it will become a completely different story, I think. It’s the same as how the Casebook as told by Dr Watson would feel quite different when told by Mr Holmes himself.”

Speaking of which, in the Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, a short story with an omniscient narrator also existed.

However, as it was from an objective point of view, it was not quite correct to say that it was a world which possessed correctness.

It was not necessarily true that God could not make mistakes.

For example.

He accidentally created humans.

……Although, now that I had had such intimate contact with the beauty of Karen-chan’s body, its muscles tightened by her training, and Tsukihi-chan’s lovely and contrastively younger figure, I began to wonder, ‘does Araragi-kun always get along with sisters like these?’, and could not help but gain something of an understanding into the reason behind his eccentricities.

And so on and so forth.

Then, I got up from the bath.

The underwear bought from the shop had been used up, and I thought I could live with reusing them for one night, but Karen-chan lent me a new pair of shorts.

She lent me a set of pajamas, as well.

It would be odd of me to act reserved now, so I meekly accepted both.

“Huh? But isn’t this men’s size?”

“Hm? Oh, that. It’s Nii-chan’s.”

Bwah.

I just put on Araragi-kun’s pajamas…

I looked at myself in the mirror.

What’s with this feeling, like I’ve done something I shouldn’t have?

On the other hand, if I were to take it off now, it would seem like I was strangely conscious of it — or, no, that was just an excuse.

Now that I had put it on, I felt some resistance towards taking it off again,

“Hmm, I see. The size is just right.”

and like so, I said something normal that couldn’t be amounted to an attempt to hide my embarrassment, and began brushing my teeth before bed.

Still, I really can’t tell Senjougahara-san about this, can I…?

After that, with the two leading me on, we headed to Araragi-kun’s room.

Now that I actually thought about it (though it was something I already knew without thinking), I had invaded the Araragi house with absolutely no permission from Araragi-kun, borrowing his pajamas and his bed. It would not be an exaggeration to call me some sort of ruffian who just did as she pleased.

Worse, he did not even know that I was here by permission of his family and his girlfriend.

I did think I should at least send him a message, but under the present condition, with me having no idea what situation he was in, I naturally hesitated.

I’m wearing your pajamas right now, Araragi-kun.

If I did send him such a message, assuming he could even receive it, I got the feeling it would have a considerably negative effect on whatever serious situation it was that he had landed himself in.

Besides, looking at the clock (I had noticed it when I was allowed in before, but Araragi-kun’s room had four clocks, for some reason. He didn’t strike me as that punctual a person…) it was already past nine. When it occurred to me that he was meeting with Kanbaru-san about now, I, oh, hm — well.

I hesitated.

“Well, good night, Tsubasa-san. You can use anything you want in this room.”

“Good night, Hanekawa-san. See you tomorrow.”

Said the Araragi sisters, and they went off, leaving me alone in Araragi-kun’s room, not knowing what to do.

Not that there was anything I could do besides sleep.

Even if I wanted to do my daily studies, I did not even have textbooks — they were lent to me by Senjougahara-san.

As I thought about perhaps going to the library tomorrow to borrow some books for school, I found myself glancing at Araragi-kun’s bookshelf.

Although Karen-chan said that I could ‘use anything’ in this room, I of course could not do as I pleased in Araragi-kun’s room. However, I could be forgiven for looking at the books on his shelf.

His lineup had changed quite a bit since the last time I was here — he told me that he did not throw away books, so it would seem he was the type to put unread books on the shelf and finished books in the closet.

There were many novels, surprisingly.

From the way he usually talked and conducted himself, you would think he read only comic books.

I took out a foreign novel at random and, afterwards, sat down on the chair facing the desk and read for about one hour. However, the feeling of Araragi-kun coming from the desk and chair meant the words did not enter my mind at all.

By the time I turned off the light and laid down on the bed, it was past eleven.

Even so, after realizing that I was currently putting my head on Araragi-kun’s pillow and sleeping in his bed while wearing his pajamas, it was impossible for me to sleep, and it was only after the hand had passed the hour mark that I managed to fall asleep.

I should not blame Araragi-kun.

It would be improper of me to think such a thing.

Nekomonogatari (White) : 025

The following conversation apparently occurred at some point.

“My, my, if it isn’t Karen-san. What a coincidence it is, meeting you at a place like this.”

“And you’re Senjougahara-san, right? Yeah, it’s a real coincidence, you running into me in front of my own house and all.”

“Yes, it’s almost as though I looked up the exact route you take to get home with the navigator in my cellphone and waited here to ambush you. Heheh.”

“Ahaha, there might really be people stupid enough to misunderstand it like that — the world’s full of idiots, y’know? It’s not often you find people as smart as me. I know, it’s a shame, really. Oh, but Senjougahara-san, what about school?”

“School? What’s that?”

“Oh, well, I guess it’s fine if you don’t know…”

“Oh, I jest. I do know, of course. Just a Gahara Gag. Due to some unavoidable circumstances I am on break today. Your school is still on half-days, yes, Karen-san?”

“Yeah. But you have really bad timing, Senjougahara-san. You probably wanted to see my brother by accident, but as luck would have it, he’s out right now — he went off somewhere just as the new term started. Well, I’ve gone soul-searching a second time myself, too. He should be able to fire off a Kamehameha by the time he’s back.”

“Going on a journey to find yourself doesn’t really involve that sort of training… never mind.”

“He should be able to fire off an Eva Ha by the time he’s back.”

“I doubt Araragi-kun has that kind of talent… oh, speaking of which, I just suddenly remembered, by which I mean it is quite a surprise to me as well, but did you know that there was a fire at Hanekawa-san’s house?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, what a foolish question that was. Araragi Karen, ally of justice, the fighter of the Fire Sisters by whose sole efforts the peace of this town is kept, not knowing of such an enormous incident? Unthinkable.”

“Uh? Oh, um, yeah, right. I knew that. Yeah, that was terrible. I was just thinking of maybe going to visit her and see how she’s doing.”

“Luckily, it happened while she was at school, so she wasn’t hurt. However, since she was burnt out of her house, she doesn’t have any place to sleep tonight.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Didn’t you know?”

“Oh, I know, I know. I was just thinking of bringing that up. Why did you say it first, Senjougahara-san?”

“I’m sorry about that. But how strange it is, really. A good girl like Hanekawa-san, with no bed for her to have a good night’s sleep in, in the whole wide world? Nothing could be more outrageous. Really, if justice truly existed in the world, I’d wonder what it was trying to do right now.”

“……”

“Well, thanks to this so-called ‘justice’ being all talk and no action, I actually took a day off from school today to help Hanekawa-san look for a place to sleep. Oh, speaking of which, you went to school just as normal, didn’t you, Karen-san? Did you have fun while Hanekawa-san was suffering?”

“……”

“Oh my, I’m sorry. There’s no helping the cause even if I talk to you about this. You may be Araragi-kun’s sister, but you’re just a middle-schooler, after all. It would be expecting too much for me to treat you like Araragi-kun. Onii-chan is Onii-chan, Karen-san is Karen-san.”

“……!”

“Yes, I really do have poor timing, don’t I? Why, if Araragi-kun were here right now, he would never abandon Hanekawa-san. But, for the, oh, ‘Fire Sisters’ (hah), well.”

“(Hah)?!”

“I’m so very sorry, I know you can’t do anything without your beloved brother around, so this sort of talk is just bothering you, isn’t it? It wasn’t my intent to trouble you, you know, not while you were enjoying life to the fullest, which is the exact opposite of what Hanekawa-san is doing right now. It’s perfectly all right for Hanekawa-san to suffer, yes? Well, we’ve been standing here talking for quite some time, but I should take my leave now. Seeing as I now know that, just like Hanekawa-san’s bed, justice no longer exists in this world.”

“Hold up!”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Hanekawa-san does have a bed… and justice does exist!”

………

Thus, Senjougahara-san dexterously maneuvered Karen-chan and succeeded in her scheme, or what have you — not that I thought it was exactly ‘dexterous’.

Rather, it felt something more along the line of picking up horseshoes for good luck during a lightning storm.

If anything she did had been scheme-like, it was making the simple Karen-chan, rather than the planner Tsukihi-chan, her target.

As such.

I arrived at the Araragi house.

In the living room of the Araragi house…

“Well then, just treat this like your own place, Tsubasa-san.”

“That’s right. Just think of this as your own home. Think it all you like, Hanekawa-san.”

Said Karen-chan and Tsukihi-chan as they got a drink for me.

They managed it deftly without needing any prior arrangements, dividing the tasks between Karen-chan who took out some chilled barley tea from the refrigerator, and Tsukihi-chan who took glass cups from the cupboard.

The teamwork of the Fire Sisters (hah)… I mean, Fire Sisters was, as could be seen, quite impressive.

They communicated without words.

One’s own home — huh.

This was actually not the first time I had entered the Araragi house — I had visited many, many times before. I still acted as Araragi-kun’s home tutor (though we did not study in the house, but at the library) and in particular, when Karen-chan had collapsed in a high fever, I made myself comfortable and stayed here until late at night.

However, how should I put it, late though it might be, this was the first time I was welcomed here as a ‘guest’.

I felt a strange sense of nervousness.

Or rather, I felt a strange sense of discomfort.

“……”

Araragi Karen-chan and Araragi Tsukihi-chan.

Araragi-kun’s little sisters.

The more I looked, the more they resembled him.

You could even say they were his spitting image.

Strange simile though it may be, they were like differently-aged triplets.

Of course, their personalities, or rather character traits, were quite different — Karen-chan was a combat sport enthusiast and boyish, while Tsukihi-chan seemed gentle, but was in fact very firm inside.

…What surprised me was that both their hairstyles had changed since I last met them.

Karen-chan’s characteristic ponytail had been cut off and now she wore a bob cut (she had straight bangs, like Senjougahara-san and I had had before) while Tsukihi-chan had her hair in a thick braid wrapped around her neck like a muffler (wasn’t that hot, during the summer?)

“Anyway, you’re just so icy, Tsubasa-san.”

Bringing only her own cup of barley tea, Kare-chan sat down on the sofa.

By ‘icy’, she likely meant I was being reserved.

“If you didn’t have a place to sleep, the very first thing you should’ve done was come ask me for help. I mean, really, I was just waiting for you to ask, Hanekawa-san. Well, I thought maybe it’d be hard for you to say it yourself, so I brought it up myself.”

She still did not realize that she had been manipulated by Senjougahara-san.

The lie, that she had known about the calamity at the Hanekawa house all along, was now more deeply believed by none other than Karen-chan herself. I wasn’t worried about her future, but only because she was plenty dangerous now as a middle-schooler.

“That’s right. Karen-chan brought it up herself!”

Saying this, Tsukihi-chan came soon after bringing cups for both herself and me. It would seem that she, smiling as she sat next to Karen-chan, had accepted Senjougahara-san’s proposal knowingly.

Yes.

She was quite devious, this one.

Karen-chan is in her third year of middle school and Tsukihi-chan her second year, by the way.

Sitting together like this and wearing the same clothes (the Tsuganoki No.2 Middle School uniform), they really did look like twins (though they had a height difference when they stood, so they no longer looked to be so.)

“By the way, this is called barley tea, right? Does it mean that if it works hard enough, it can become beer?”

Karen-chan suddenly threw off all reserve and began small talk.

She must have an incredible sense of distance when it came to interpersonal relationships.

It wasn’t a talk we should be having five minutes after I was welcomed into her home.

Please let me ease my tension first.

“Tracing it back, the raw material of both was barley, but barley tea is roasted, whereas beer is fermented, so, well.”

Putting aside whether ‘working hard’ was the correct expression, they certainly were relatives in terms of beverages. I had wanted to say that it was completely wrong, but, hmm, Karen-chan’s question was unexpectedly to-the-point regarding the essence of the subject.

“Hmmm. So I guess it’s no wonder that drinking barley tea gets you in a great mood.”

A disappointing conclusion, however.

Karen-chan gulped down the entire cup of tea in one go — she was quite hearty.

And actually, now that I looked at the cup closely, it was of a very high quality.

Was that Baccarat glassware?

Even if it wasn’t, all the same, it was almost disrespectful to call it a ‘cup’.

Moreover, judging from the way they were handled, Karen-chan and Tsukihi-chan did not know of the value of these cups…

Could it be that the Araragi family was wealthy?

“Well, at any rate,”

Said Tsukihi-chan, casting a sidelong glance at Karen-chan.

She seemed to be used to Karen-chan’s riotousness precisely because she was her sister.

“If you don’t have a place to stay, you can stay at our home for as long as you like. Conveniently enough, Onii-chan is out right now. You can just use his room.”

“Araragi-kun’s — room.”

“Yep. It’s pointlessly got this pointlessly springy bed.”

I — knew that.

Moreover, this was the ‘essence’ of the scheme that Senjougahara-san had thought of.

It was difficult for me to express this, but it was impossible not to feel more than just a little guilt about this scheme which took advantage of Karen-chan’s and Tsukihi-chan’s innocent sincerity, as well as the Fire Sisters’ sense of justice — however, seeing as the way they felt was entirely a result of their own affections, I could not remain so coldly reticent.

Having thoroughly predicted how I would feel about this, Senjougahara-san turned this idea into her ‘scheme’ without letting me know.

So that, to the end, I would know nothing.

She took it upon herself to bear the role of the villain.

It was too much of a mystery to me, what kind of mental state she must be in having helped arrange for another girl (said girl being me, of all people) to stay at her own boyfriend’s home, but on that front, it was perhaps due to the intropunitive tendencies that she had had since long before and retained to this day.

She endured the pain.

That was what she had done for me.

When I thought this, the words of Karen-chan earlier finally pierced my heart.

Icy — reserved.

The first thing you should’ve done was come ask me for help.

I — was waiting to be asked myself.

Just like when Senjougahara-san had me stay at her home, I did not seek help on my own — surely, I thought, this logic was the complete opposite of what Oshino-san had said about people ‘getting saved all by themselves’.

Yes.

I had — given myself up to despair, probably.

I did not think of getting saved myself.

It also made me remember what Senjougahara-san had said to me this morning.

I simply accepted the lack of tastes.

I was dim to the darkness.

A failure as a living creature.

“…Tsubasa-san? What’s wrong? You’re spacing out. You got this really stupid look on your face.”

“……”

She really didn’t hold back with her words, did she?

What do you mean, a really stupid look?

“I guess it’s really a shock to have a fire at your place, huh? The only time I’ve ever seen something like that before was Nagasawa-kun from Chibi Maruko-chan.”

“…Oh, no, I’m fine.”

So I said.

I said I was fine — even though I couldn’t possibly be.

“But, all right, I’ll take you up on your offer and stay here — until Araragi-kun comes home, at least.”

I didn’t know when that would be but, well, it was simply a case of whether the ones whom I should call my father and mother found a place to rent, or that, would happen first.

I had no clue for either of them, so it couldn’t be helped no matter how deeply I thought about it.

“Thank you for this.”

“Same for us!”

“Let’s have a good time with this.”

Somehow, it happened in the course of shaking hands.

We managed to form some sort of ring.

Are we going to do ballet, or something?

I didn’t know how Senjougahara-san had explained the situation with the Hanekawa family (actually, Senjougahara-san herself didn’t know about the situation with the Hanekawa family) but I was honestly thankful that the two of them did not ask me about it.

“Let’s have a pajama party, Tsubasa-san!”

“I won’t be able to take you up on that.”

“Then how about play-wrestling, or something!”

“No, thank you.”

“Oh, I’m the oldest girl, so I’ve always wanted a big sister, y’know? Can I call you ‘Onee-chan’ while you’re staying here?”

Karen-chan said something that sounded rather like what Sengoku-chan had done.

Tsukihi-chan watched over Karen-chan with a smile — who would be able to tell who the older sister here was?

Then, I realized something.

Or rather, it was something which I had thought of from the very beginning.

“Oh, that’s right, seeing as I’ll be here for quite a while, I really should say hi to your parents.”

In all the times I had visited the Araragi house before, it was by the intent of Araragi-kun, or Karen-chan and Tsukihi-chan, and I had never met their mother proper — no matter how much Karen-chan and Tsukihi-chan wanted me to stay, if their parents refused, then I would have no choice but to leave.

Hmm, I wonder.

In dealing with a high school girl who slept here and there like some sort of refugee from the local net cafe, would the normal verdict of an adult with good sense not be to lecture her and persuade her to return to her parents’ home?

“It should be all right, I think.”

Said Tsukihi-chan.

“Papa and Mama are our parents, and Onii-chan’s parents, after all, so their personalities are pretty close to ours.”

“Oh… but,”

“They both have a hot-blooded sense of justice, so they definitely won’t tell someone in trouble to leave.”

Tsukihi-chan seemed very confident, for some reason.

Speaking of which, I had no idea at all what Araragi-kun’s parents were like.

Perhaps that was obvious, seeing as we had never met before, but it was telling that Araragi-kun had been reluctant regarding this topic — it was part of a high school boy’s biological nature to keep silent about his parents, so I had never been particularly bothered… and Araragi-kun did not seem to be good at dealing with his parents in the first place.

But a sense of justice?

Not to mention a hot-blooded sense of justice?

How unnatural.

“Hey, Karen-chan, Tsukihi-chan. For future reference, you told me before that your parents work together, right?”

“Yep.”

They nodded at the same time.

“They should be back at around six today.”

“…And what is it that they do?”

Their voices rang out at the same time.

“They’re police!”

……

So this was why Araragi-kun tried his best to hide it, I thought, and at the same time, I felt that Hell had truly frozen over.

Nekomonogatari (White) : 024

Intense feelings of self-hatred assaulted me as I made my way back.

I had thought of asking Kanbaru-san to let me go along with her, but seeing as the message had asked her to ‘come alone’ this was something I should refrain from — I knew that much, at least.

Thus came my indecision as to whether I should tell Senjougahara-san about this. As Araragi-kun was her boyfriend, telling her would be the proper line of thought, but it would definitely make her worry — and she was, in her own way, a girl likely to single-mindedly become angry at him.

I arrived at Warren Villa, still unable to come to a conclusion –

“Oh, welcome back, Hanekawa-san. You’re quite late.”

“Yeah, I went to the supermarket and bought some things to replace what I used this morning… oh,”

and,

when I opened the door, I noticed one more individual in the room with Senjougahara-san.

It was a man with silver-gray hair, knotted in the back.

With his elegant suit, he truly looked to be a serious person — to use an expression from another era, he felt like a corporate soldier.

Alternatively, his image suggested an attorney, or a bureaucrat, or something to that effect — but I knew differently.

I had heard from Senjougahara-san.

That her father was working as a consultant at some foreign-owned enterprise –

“Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

and,

he greeted me first.

He had been sitting at the table, but purposely stood up and bowed.

“I am Hitagi’s father.”

“Oh… um,”

I was perplexed.

In fact, Senjougahara-san had told me that her father would be coming back today, but I did not think that he would be back so early.

As expected from someone working at such a company, he was not tied down by time, and I felt an absurd sort of amazement.

“Hanekawa Tsubasa. Excuse me, I took the liberty of staying at your home last night.”

“I see.”

Senjougahara-san’s father nodded.

And then he became quiet — he felt to me like a taciturn sort of person.

He appeared to be an extremely, heavily silent man, though when I continued standing at the door without taking off my shoes, he gave me a glance, and

“Let’s make some tea.”

headed to the kitchen.

Then, he put a kettle on the stove.

With his words, and his actions, all tensions eased, and I managed to take off my shoes.

Caught my breath.

Without taking my eyes off her father, I sat down beside Senjougahara-san.

“I’m sorry, Hanekawa-san. Father finished up at work quicker than expected, so he came back earlier than I thought he would.”

Said Senjougahara-san in a whisper.

“No, it’s all right.”

I was the one who intruded in the first place, I whispered back.

“But if that’s the case, you could have just sent me a message or called me.”

“Oh, well, I wanted to give you a surprise.”

“……”

Consider me surprised.

To think that Araragi-kun had surprises like this sprung on him day by day, his life must be, despite appearances, quite challenging as well.

“Your father’s very stylish.”

I said.

Not as simple flattery.

I saw now, regardless of how serious she might have been, that Senjougahara-san’s self-proclaimed love for her father made sense — if you were to live together with such a father, all the males of your own age would probably appear as nothing but children.

That Araragi-kun had managed to succeed against eyes of such sharp taste, well, it was a complicated feeling, but he really was amazing.

It was common folklore that women fall in love with those who resemble their fathers, but in that sense, Senjougahara-san’s father, who was preparing tea leaves right now, and Araragi-kun were completely unlike one another.

They weren’t simply different types of people. You could even consider them of completely different dispositions.

Although Araragi-kun liked to maintain an air of coolness, and was even called a ‘motionless mute’, he actually quite liked talking — next to Senjougahara-san’s father, who was truly taciturn, they were two utter extremes.

Furthermore — tautological though this might be, Senjougahara-san’s father, while stylish, was stylish in that ‘dad’-like way, the kind of ‘father’ you could find anywhere, but not really as a ‘man’, so to speak.

As for what that indicated –

…No, no, I shouldn’t.

What could come of analyzing a friend’s father like this?

I thought I had already given up on doing these things.

Right.

It would seem the abrupt appearance of the ‘father’ had flustered me somewhat. I should have known better.

Not, that I was so amazing a person that I could tell myself ‘I should have known better.’

A normal girl — I was not, but regardless.

To begin with, of course I was flustered — after all, I did not even possess this image of ‘father’, of a ‘dad’.

There was one whom I ought to call my father.

But one whom I should call ‘Father’ — I knew of no such person.

I know nothing.

“Did anything out of place happen at school?”

As though declaring that the fact of her father being here was now closed for discussion, Senjougahara-san changed the topic of conversation.

This sort of pushiness she had really was an example I ought to follow.

“Out of place?”

“Did Araragi-kun come?”

That was what she had wanted to ask, apparently.

I was slightly lost, but feeling that it would be strange to hide anything, I told her of what happened at school.

“A message to Kanbaru?”

“Yep. Looks like the issue he’s dealing with right now needs Kanbaru-san’s help… at any rate, the message was too short, so I don’t know why he needs to call Kanbaru-san out…”

“How unpleasant.”

Senjougahara-san was surprisingly frank, saying this together with an expression of displeasure.

This wasn’t just single-minded anger. This was rage.

Moreover, she was enraged not by Araragi-kun, but by Kanbaru-san.

The tip of the blade was aimed not at her boyfriend, but at her underclassman.

I immediately regretted what I had said.

What would I do if this caused a rift between the Valhalla Combo?

“Leaving me behind to get asked for help by Araragi-kun, whatever shall I do with that woman? First, I’ll take her insides,”

“Senjougahara-san, your personality’s going back to before your rehabilitation.”

“Oh.”

Noticing this, Senjougahara-san pulled on her own cheeks and made a smile.

How pitiful it was, to see a smile forced like this…

“There’s probably a reason, I think — for that, I mean. He said there’s something he wanted to ask her, and besides, unlike the two of us, isn’t there still an abnormality remaining in Kanbaru-san’s left arm?”

“Yes — remain it does.”

The monkey’s paw.

Said Senjougahara-san.

“In other words, rather than Kanbaru — perhaps what he needed was Kanbaru’s left arm.”

“Well, it’s just a guess.”

I doubted that it was something so simple, but as a general idea, this possibility was quite high.

“If he really did need to lend the combat strength of Kanbaru — would that mean that things had unfolded into a battle yet again?”

“Well, that’s hard to say. But if we’re talking about combat strength, then Araragi-kun has Shinobu-chan right now — it’s not set in stone that he needs her help in a fight.”

They were all simply guesses.

Without knowing what situation Araragi-kun was currently in, Senjougahara-san and I would never be able to reach a conclusion no matter how much we talked.

“Well? What will you do, Hanekawa-san?”

“What do you mean?”

“Will you go to that waiting spot, or not? Regardless of his situation, if you go there, you’ll be able to meet Araragi-kun, no?”

“…I did consider that, but I don’t think I will. I get the feeling that I’ll get in the way if I do — “

“I see.”

Senjougahara-san nodded to my answer.

“Then I won’t go, either.”

“Really?”

Having been entirely sure that Senjougahara-san would insist on going herself, I had expected a very vocal argument, so rather than being unexpected, this felt more as though she had dodged my question.

And I was already thinking of ways to stop the resolute, insistent Senjougahara-san from going, too.

“I’ll take the lack of news as proof of his wellbeing — anyway, unlike the time with Kanbaru’s monkey, it doesn’t seem as though he is hiding anything. If anything, he is being quite upfront. If he sent a message to Kanbaru, he sent it knowing that she would tell the two of us.”

That was true.

However.

“…You’re not going?”

“I’m not.”

Answered Senjougahara-san, to my pointed question.

“Just like you, Hanekawa-san. I doubt I can accomplish anything but get in the way even if I go — and I feel that there are other things I can do, as well.”

The meaning behind the deep words she added was completely unknown to me — but for the moment, it seemed that was how it would be.

The lack of news was proof of his wellbeing.

And a testament to her faith in him.

Let’s just leave it at these convenient explanations –

“…Though it would seem that it wasn’t only Araragi-kun and Kanbaru with abnormalities remaining inside them.”

“Huh? Who else is there?”

I tilted my head at her remark.

“Araragi-kun’s demon and Kanbaru-san’s monkey are the only abnormalities still around us, aren’t they?”

“That’s right, nyah.”

For some reason, Senjougahara-san answered with the inflection of a cat.

I felt like pressing the question a bit more, but at that time, Senjougahara-san’s father brought us tea for three, so our whispering talk was brought to a close.

Well, even had he taken slightly more time to brew the tea, the talk would likely have ended here regardless.

For it was then that I heard a knocking sound on the door of Warren Villa, Room 201 — they had no intercom, by the way.

“Ah, it seems they have arrived.”

Seeing the way Senjougahara-san stood up, it would seem to be an expected guest.

However, expected though they might have been, I did not know who they were, and my body stiffened slightly, but after Senjougahara-san opened the door and I saw the girls on the other side, I understood everything.

What the ‘scheme’ Senjougahara-san had spoken of yesterday was.

It needed no further explanations.

And them no further introductions.

On the other side of the door were Araragi-kun’s younger siblings, Araragi Karen and Araragi Tsukihi, the Fire Sisters.

Nekomonogatari (White) : 023

Senjougahara-san was most likely feeling frustrated.

In the end, I hadn’t understood even half of what Senjougahara-san had said, of what she had been trying to say, but even so, I got a feeling. That was what it felt like me.

And it really was just a feeling.

Nothing more than just a feeling.

It was lunchtime, and I left the classroom, heading to the cafeteria to have lunch — normally I would prepare a lunch box, but of course, I could only do so much in someone else’s kitchen.

No, after all the things Senjougahara-san had said to me, I probably wouldn’t be able to make lunch even in the kitchen of my own home.

My own home.

If that truly existed, then perhaps, like a normal person, my cooking would have this thing called ‘taste’ — I thought of such things.

And then.

“…Oh,”

After walking down the hallway for a while, a figure I recognize appeared directly before me — it was Kanbaru Suruga.

Kanbaru-san was coming from the other side, heading in the opposite direction as me (but even though she was just walking along, she seemed somehow happy. At this distance, I could tell that she was humming a tune) so she noticed me at the same time.

“Ooh!”

Said she, in a voice that was unthinkably loud for the hallway, and she ran up to me, at a speed that was unthinkably fast for the hallway.

An Instant Transmission-like speed.

The two tails of her hair arrived after a short delay.

“Well, well, Hanekawa-senpai! It’s been a long time, glad to see you’re still well!”

“…Yeah.”

She’s very energetic, isn’t she?

It wasn’t just cheeriness.

Not knowing how to respond, I simply nodded.

Judging from her reception, it did not yet reach her that there had been a fire at the Hanekawa house. Well, considering Kanbaru-san’s personality, it didn’t seem impossible for her to be this energetic even if she knew.

She was courteous, but she had zero consideration for others.

That was the personality of Kanbaru-san.

“I’m heading to see Senjougahara-senpai right now, actually.”

Said the courteous yet inconsiderate Kanbaru-san.

“Is she in the classroom?”

“Oh, um,”

This felt rather expected.

She did not even need to say it.

It never crossed my mind that Kanbaru-san would race over in such a manner due to a pressing matter concerning me — Kanbaru-san was essentially uninterested in anyone except Senjougahara-san.

To the point where she had applied for this school, Naoetsu High, simply to follow her.

Although Araragi-kun had apparently managed to widen that horribly narrow field of view of hers –

Well.

I did feel quite envious of her forwardness.

Or perhaps it should be called her single-mindedness.

At the very least, Senjougahara-san would not feel frustrated with her.

She was, strong.

She was heartening — would that not be how Senjougahara-san thought of her?

Kanbaru Suruga-san — Naoetsu High School, second-year.

The underclassman of Senjougahara-san since middle school (in other words, a schoolmate of mine from the same middle school, but I had not been acquainted with her then. I had simply, one-sidedly heard about her) and together, they were known as the Valhalla Combo.

They were the Valhalla Combo, due to the words ‘god’ (神) in ‘Kanbaru’ (神原) and ‘battlefield’ (戦場) in ‘Senjougahara’ (戦場ヶ原), and the ‘field’ (原) in both their names. I subsequently learned that Kanbaru-san came up with it herself. I had thought that it was quite a neat name, but after hearing that she named them herself, there was also the faint scent of disappointment.

She was one of the celebrities here, by the way. At this Naoetsu High, a private school aimed at future university attendants where sports and club activities were pushed to the side, she was an astounding star who guided the girl’s basketball team all the way to the nationals (though, to speak the bare truth, the teachers had seemed quite bothered by this. As though they wanted to say, couldn’t you see which way the wind was blowing?)

But, of course — as you could tell from the bandages wrapped around her left arm, she had already retired.

Monkey.

For Kanbaru-san, it was — a monkey, wasn’t it?

Even so, I thought.

When she had been active, Kanbaru-san had a short haircut as befitting an athlete, but the Kanbaru-san before me now had hair as long as I once had, though not yet long enough to be braided.

Putting aside the monstrous speed at which her hair grew — Kanbaru-san had become more,

girlish.

Or rather, she became more charming. So I thought.

The reason she became this way — was the same as the reason Senjougahara-san became that way.

It was likely because of Araragi-kun.

Widening her field of view — was it?

“Senjougahara-san is taking a break today… she has influenza.”

…Now I had become an accomplice.

It was unavoidable, though.

If you traced it back to the source, it had been a lie that Senjougahara-san told for my sake — the only choice I had was to tell the same story.

Perhaps it would have been all right to tell Kanbaru-san the truth, but honestly, she seemed like the talkative type.

She felt like the kind of girl who was too candid and would let slip things that were best left unsaid. Worse, she would not show any remorse.

She would not even bother to argue the point, but simply leave the door open behind her.

“Oh, influenza?”

Said Kanbaru-san, slightly shocked.

“So this is what people mean by the devil getting sunstroke, huh.”

“……”

That was a horrible way to talk about a respected upperclassman.

Courteous yet inconsiderate — or rather, as Araragi-kun would put it, Kanbaru-san was ‘courteous yet impolite’, and this just now was an easy-to-understand example.

Well, it’s likely that she was just simply using it as an expression (I doubt she understood the phrase’s true meaning).

This would be the moment when Araragi-kun unreservedly made a cutting remark and corrected her mistake, but as I wasn’t quite so intimate with Kanbaru-san, I simply returned a silent and vague smile.

Smile!

“…Oh, that’s not right.”

She understood.

It was a simple joy I felt.

But, hmm, it was difficult to gauge the distance with the friend of a friend (both on the Senjougahara-san route and the Araragi-kun route).

Although perhaps in this case, that friend being Kanbaru-san made it all the more problematic.

“Hmn, I see. So Senjougahara-senpai isn’t here, huh. Well, what should I do now?”

I had thought for sure that she would turn on her heels and return to her classroom once she found out Senjougahara-san wasn’t here, but Kanbaru-san instead folded her arms, appearing very troubled.

If I didn’t hurry to the cafeteria, the place would become crowded with the regular cafeteria students, but I couldn’t just leave Kanbaru-san here like this.

“Do you need something from Senjougahara-san? If you don’t mind, I can hear you out too.”

“Mmn — “

Kanbaru-san thought about this for a moment,

“Well, I guess you’ll do, Hanekawa-senpai.”

and said this.

…That was just plain rude.

She wasn’t even courteous.

I felt I really should call her attention to this,

“I got a message from Araragi-senpai just now, actually.”

but Kanbaru-san’s forcefulness silenced me as she immediately showed me the display of her cellphone.

Using cellphones in school, not turning it off while at school, or receiving a message ‘just now’, which would mean receiving it during lessons — all these things I had wanted to bring up were suppressed.

By the contents of the message displayed.

‘Come alone to the classroom second floor at 9 tonight, I need to ask something.’

“…What do you think this means?”

“What do you mean, what does it mean…?”

There was no room for interpretation in such a short message — it was unthinkable for there to possibly be any sort of code.

The tone of the message was rough (it should be ‘second floor classroom’) but that simply meant he was in a hurry –

“Doesn’t it just mean that he has some questions for you, so he wants you to come by yourself to the second-floor classroom at nine o’clock tonight?”

“So that is what this is.”

Hmm, uttered Kanbaru-san.

Her expression was serious.

“So I guess — Araragi-senpai is going to be absent today, too, huh?”

“Yeah — “

I nodded.

She was sharp in certain strange ways — or rather, she was mysteriously pinpoint at grasping the key matter of a conversation.

It’s really not something to be made light of.

” — Although in his case, it’s probably not influenza… he’s been on break ever since the second term started.”

Just to be sure, I asked our teacher about this, and apparently he wasn’t at school yesterday either. With Senjougahara-san, Araragi-kun and I absent at the same time, there had been a flurry of wild speculations among the class.

Wild speculations… I really wish they wouldn’t.

Please don’t flurry things.

Hmm, uttered Kanbaru-san once again.

“But this thing with Araragi-senpai is going to be a problem, too. Meeting ‘in a second floor classroom’ is way too vague. Does he know how many buildings we have here in Naoetsu?”

“No, not the school. He probably means that tutorial school.”

“Oh, I see.”

Said Kanbaru-san, as though she realized this just now.

She was dull in certain strange ways.

“But then, he could have just called me. I’ve been trying non-stop to call him for a while now, actually, but it wouldn’t get through.”

“……”

I stayed silent, of course, because I found fault with Kanbaru-san making callings inside school — not. It was because, due to this new information, I now had absolutely no idea what situation Araragi-kun was in.

I had thought that it was something related to Mayoi-chan, but… why would he call Kanbaru-san out?

It wasn’t just not like him…

It just didn’t make any sense.

“So basically… he’s asking me out on a date! He’s not picking up, so he must be preparing some sort of surprise!”

“Judging from the contents, don’t you think this is something a bit more serious?”

A ‘suprise’? Really? Her thoughts are so blithe.

It was all the more surprising that she was being serious.

How tiring it was just conversing with her!

“Ah, I see, I see. In that case, I understand. There was a book I wanted to read tonight, but if Araragi-senpai wants me, then there can be no other choice. I shall have to overcome all obstacles and answer his call!”

“Overcome all difficulties…?”

She said herself that she just had a book she wanted to read…

Her manner of speech was so exaggerated, not to mention so theatrical, that from the worst angle, the more serious she became, the more she appeared conversely to be mocking the speaker. Her personality was disadvantageous in that way.

It wasn’t frustrating.

But this sort of single-mindedness was worrying.

“Um, Kanbaru-san…”

“Hm? What is it?”

I had thought of saying something, but in the end, I couldn’t put the words together, and

“Be careful.”

and

“Please take care of Araragi-kun.”

were the only things I managed.

“All right. Now then. Thanks for teaching me so much, Hanekawa-senpai!”

“Oh, no… you’re welcome.”

“I heard about the fire at your place, so I thought you’d be feeling down, but it doesn’t look like that’s true, so that’s good! Just what I’d expect from you, Hanekawa-senpai!”

“Huh?”

So she really did know.

Amazing, the reception she gave me even while knowing this.

Or, no.

What do you mean, I don’t look like I’m down…?

“Well, stay safe!”

Kanbaru-san raised one hand, and returned in the direction she had first come from.

Not running, but walking.

I had thought of warning her about running in the hallway again, but apparently, she did not always run.

She possessed a troubling randomness.

“……”

Seeing as Kanbaru-san was now gone, I should be hurrying to the cafeteria — as under normal circumstances, I would also need to regain lost time — but I did not take a single step from where I stood.

What reverberated inside me — was not the final words of Kanbaru-san.

What entangled my mind was the situation Araragi-kun was in right now.

It was no mistake that Araragi-kun was in some sort of dillemma — that was already a definite fact. And yet, to call for Kanbaru-san in would mean that the ‘thing’ he wanted to ask Kanbaru-san was something necessary to escape from said dilemma.

He was not simply requesting help.

There was something much, much more serious.

“……”

That was why I felt it to be so absurd.

It must had been a necessity for Araragi-kun to send a message to Kanbaru-san, so to think that he would seek help, not from me, but from Kanbaru-san — that was absurb.

But I wonder.

The ‘frustration’ that Senjoughara-san felt was something that I understood very well and was about to consent to — but it was really completely unexpected for her to call me ‘white’ because of it.

Seeing as I felt envious of Kanbaru-san, who got a message from Araragi-kun.

And I certainly was angry.

I was angry — that Araragi-kun did not send a message to me.