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sparklyjojos · 6 years

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Let’s Read & Suffer: Tsukumojuku by Maijō Ōtarō [part 16]

Today`s recap: In which a curse is lifted, and the case of the four fires explained. [tw: mentions of csa and incest, gore, however-do-you-tag-phantom-pregnancy]

STORY 5 PART 6

Tsukumojuku and Rie headed to Inagi, still hearing the house burning and sirens in the distance behind them. The triplets were sleeping in their arms. (A proof of Tsukumojuku’s and Rie's faith and peace. Proof that they could protect them.)

[There's a long fragment in which they just walk by the quiet Tamagawa river, and Tsukumojuku's making sure the kids are comfortable, and it's really sweet and with melancholy-inducing scenery descriptions.]

At one point Rie said, “I love you, Tsutomu. Thanks for the help, earlier. That was really scary.”

He had no doubt in that moment that the children really were theirs. Conceived 2 years and 8 months ago, born a year and 10 months ago. [Yeah, so... if he’s 17 now then he really was 15 or less when Rie’s adult ass decided to fuck him. Ugh. Nope.] Rie's father had died 4 years ago, when she'd been living in an all-girls college in Nagoya. After her father's funeral, she returned to Nagoya, graduated and worked as a designer, and then met Tsukumojuku.

When 12 years ago her parents had separated, she chose to live with her father, apparently being on good terms with him. She said that she loved him only as a father, but apparently she thought it’d be easy for someone else to get confused about the nature of that relationship (?).

But Rie still had doubts, and considered way too many possibilities, and the existence of those possibilities was upsetting her heart. (But those things didn't happen, and therefore couldn't have happened. He wanted to say this out loud... but this line had got thrown around so much by him already that he’d just be repeating himself, so he--

Wait, no. He had only ever said things like that in Seiryoin's Stories. Not yet in reality. It had never actually happened.)

“Don't get caught by the police, Tsutomu,” Rie said.

“I won't.”

“You're such a looker. Take the sunglasses off. It's dark, so I'll be fine.”

He did, and they kissed.

“Poor Tsukumojuku,” she said.

–

They got through a bridge and caught a taxi to Rie's mother's house. Tsukumojuku put the kids to sleep and headed back to Chofu to “sort some things out”, and said, “...I love you, Rie,” which sent her into a crying fit because apparently he’d never told her that. [Hey, Rie? You know what you can do to get a serious relationship? Hook up with a goddamn adult, you kid-diddling fuck]

Back in Chofu, the fires were still burning. Since there were four of them, there must have been three other “Angels” beside Seshiru.

Before their still burning house there was a line of policemen. It seemed they’d found Seshiru's body.

(Tsukumojuku now doubted that Seshiru had actually wanted to kill Rie or the kids, more likely just hold them hostage to get Tsukumojuku to show up.)

Tsukumojuku then found Seshiru's car (an Alfa Romeo, which, sure). In the passenger seat Serika was sleeping, traces of tears on her face. She must have already learned that Seshiru had died. Judging by the state of her body, she was heavily pregnant.

That moment could be the only occasion to fulfill the second curse.

...But his curse was already effective as just words. It didn't have to exist in reality. It hadn’t been necessary for Seshiru to die, too; he only died because he threw all these awful words at Rie. (Dear Seshiru. He didn't really want to kill Seshiru.)

...Let's leave Serika and her child alone.

Carefully ignoring her presence, Tsukumojuku found four stacks of paper in the car: Seiryoin's Stories. He opened the door just slightly and took them--

“Gajobun,” Serika said quietly. “Please forgive Seshiru.”

“...I killed him.”

“I know. But I want you to forgive him.”

“It doesn't matter if I do if he's dead.”

“You're wrong, Gajobun. ...and there are still things left to resolve. You know who my child is?”

“It’s Seshiru's.”

“No, Gajobun. It's yours. And it's triplets--”

But Tsukumojuku didn't have any of this bullshit, touched her stomach and well, that definitely wasn’t a kid in there, but something square and hard. A book? So he took out Seshiru's knife and cut open her stomach and pulled out three books wrapped in plastic bags and they were all signed by Seiryoin Ryusui and carried the names

TSUKUMOJUKU

KATO SESHIRU

SUZUKI TSUTOMU

...Tsukumojuku suddenly returned to reality, staring at Serika’s intact stomach.

What just happened was an illusion. It must have been a dream, again. Desperate to finally wake up from that dream, he took off the sunglasses, pulled out the knife and cut deep into the sides of his face, and, uh, kinda cut his face off like a mask because that’s the kinda book we’re working with here. Serika was understandably freaked out until he told her that he was alright and that they could now talk without the risk of her fainting. [...there are less drastic ways to do this, you know]

When he brought up Serika’s kids again, she just laughed and explained that that earlier had been a joke, she wasn't actually having kids; it was a false pregnancy. “What is inside there is merely my dream. Something I just imagined for the past nine months. Amazing, isn't it? The power of human dreams and belief.”

“...then, whose children did you want to have?”

She explained - at first Seshiru's, then Gajobun's, with time both of them, but she wasn’t actually having any kids, so it didn't matter, right? And if she’s lonely after the false pregnancy resolves, she can just fall in love with another imaginary man and have an imaginary child with him.

“Hey, Gajobun, are things going okay with you and yor wife?” she asked.

“Yes.

“Are your kids cute?”

“...cute indeed.”

“I see. ...maybe it is better to create things like family just using own imagination.”

Tsukumojuku said nothing to that, instead telling her to get out of the car and run, since the fire was still spreading through the neighborhood.

“I'm sorry, Gajobun. I'm truly sorry. I mean... for that last day in Fukui. I didn't expect you to come in. And I didn't want things to end like they did, with Seshiru.”

“I don't mind.”

“And... sorry for bothering you. For all those horrible things I did to you. I'm sorry for everything.”

“And I remove my curse. I want you and your children to live in happiness.”

She said that she’d been blessed like God blessed Abraham, talking about children as many as stars in the sky and sand on the seashore, and that they would take possession of the cities of their enemies [Genesis 22].

He put his face back on [...that works], made sure that Serika escaped safely, and by himself headed for the Daiei Studio.

–

[Brief mention about snooping around in Daiei Studio, near the primary school and the health center, where fires occurred. Also he had to sew his face back in place before talking with the police, yeah, thank you for this completely necessary detail, Maijo.]

Tsukumojuku explained to the police that the four fires were all the fault of Inugami Yasha, aka Kato Seshiru. It'd be impossible to arrest him for all the four fires, since they were in four different places and if you don't find proof of how it could have been done, good luck in court. If there were three other fires, everyone would think three other people were involved. However...

Tsukumojuku showed everyone seven burnt charcoal arrows. He had found three of them outside what remained of his house. Seshiru must have ignited and released them, and thus set the house on fire sorta on a timer. The three other fires weren't impossible to make if he was quick, and he did have a fast car.

Tsukumojuku also said that he had caught Seshiru red-handed when returning from the hospital, and fought him, and was forced to kill him in self-defense, sorry!, and as for that “Here is Sodom” written on the wall, this was just random gibberish that nobody knew the meaning of, you know?

–

Tsukumojuku returned to the house of Rie's mother. There he read three letters he found on the arson scenes; all had been wrapped in aluminum foil around the arrows so they wouldn’t burn.

“Oh, what's that?” Rie's mother inquired.

“Somebody's joke.”

“There's your name written here?”

(Indeed, the three letters said:

'THE CRIMINAL OF GENEIJO IS GREAT DETECTIVE TSUKUMOJUKU'

'THE CRIMINAL OF GENEIJO IS SEIRYOIN RYUSUI'

'THE CRIMINAL OF GENEIJO IS DAIBAKUSHO CURRY')

“Well, but I'm not a great detective, and neither am I called Tsukumojuku. I'm Ishida Tsutomu.” [Ishida is Rie’s surname]

And he threw the letters into the garbage.

The truth was, Seshiru had only set one house on fire, but at that time, something else had happened.

Inside the Castle, somebody figured out the criminal's name and wanted to pass it to the people outside by writing a letter, wrapping it in foil and attaching it to an arrow. A lit charcoal arrow was perfectly visible in the night, especially if it set a small fire where it hit, so it’d attract attention. Unfortunately, the criminal discovered that plan and released his own fire arrows in different directions to divert attention -- and these three arrows caused the fires.

To hide the existence of the letters, Tsukumojuku had pushed the responsibility for all those fires onto Seshiru. (He probably wouldn't mind, being dead and all.)

While he was pondering about the letters, the real Tsutomu called them, which was unsettling since he shouldn’t know how to contact the mother-in-law’s house.

“How do you know my number?” Tsukumojuku asked.

“Hahaha, I'm not a great detective for nothing, you know.”

“...A great detective?”

“Daibakusho Curry. Pleased to meet you.” Like in the Stories, then.

“Tsutomu, do you know who Seiryoin Ryusui is?”

“Of course I know. It's me.” Tsutomu then told him to turn on the TV. There was some news about a big fire... but not any of the ones in Chofu.

In Nishi Akatsuki, the Kato house was burning, and written on its front wall was,

HERE IS GOMORRA

“You did that, big brother,” Tsutomu said. “I don't yet know how, but I’m certain you did it.”

Tsukumojuku tried to defend himself, and asked why on earth would Tsutomu send them the Stories, but Tsutomu had no clue what he was talking about. Wait, but he had said his name was Seiryoin?...

“I don't quite understand what’s going on,” Tsutomu said, “but this was the name you once gave me. Did you forget about it?”

“...”

“Whatever. I'm going back home with everyone now. ...Catch you later.” [Hopefully not literally.]

In the end, the house had burned down, but everyone -- Tsutomu, Mr. Kato, Takashi, Heisuke, Shiono -- were safe.

---

IMPRESSIONS:

*remembers Serika has a little kid in Jorge Joestar* Hum.

Welp, the universe seems to be glitching once again on Tsukumojuku. Hopefully this won’t end badly. (It usually leads to some unnecessary gore, so...)

I aggressively don’t care about Rie, sorry book but you can’t make me like her if she thinks fucking middle-schoolers is okay. Same goes for her mom who seems to be just fine with this situation too.

I don’t understand who Seiryoin is and at this point I’m afraid to ask.

>>>>NEXT PART>>>>

#sparkly reads tsukumojuku #long post #maijo and jdc stuff

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