Inochi no Tabekata 2 ch 3-2 Translation
3-2 Otogiri Tobi– End * Attachment • Point
——Where was that? Was it at a family restaurant? He also remembered riding a bus or something. Tobi Otogiri’s brother may have taken him to some shopping center. Was there a restaurant inside? If he remembered correctly, Tobi’s older brother chose a children’s lunch for him. It came with fried shrimp, hamburger steak, and fried chicken as well. It also came with pudding. Orange juice too. A small flag stuck in red colored rice. It felt very luxurious. He thought he asked his brother if he could eat it. His brother was laughing. It was decided.
“Tobi, you are special.”
For some reason, he remembered very clearly what his brother told him.
+++ + ++++
A car was flashing its hazard lights on a side road that the junior high students did not pass on their way home from school. It was a pretty big silver one-box car. It was not an unusual car. He often saw cars of the same shape in the morning. The car that Asahi Monika got into on the first day after transferring was a similar one-box car. Or rather, it was this car.
After school on the day after Asamiya gave them his smartphone at the supermarket food court, Tobi and Ryuuko were taken by Monika to ride in the one-box car. She told them that they didn’t have to come if they didn’t want to, but there was no reason to refuse now.
The spacious rear seats of the car had facing seats. It was not even a train, so they could sit across from each other.
There was one person in the driver’s seat and one in the passenger’s seat, and only one in the back seat. A man in a suit was sitting in the farthest seat.
“Nice to meet you. Tobi Otogiri-kun and Ryuuko Shiratama-san?”
He wasn’t sure how old he was, but he didn’t think he was young. He had a long face and was really smiling. The slightly nasally voice was quite loud in volume.
“Come on, come in, sit down, here, here, if you could, if you could.”
The man crouched down and recommended the seat across from him for Tobi and Ryuuko. Monika, who sat down next to the man, gave him a look that seemed to tell him to sit down quickly. When Tobi and Ryuuko silently took their seats, the sliding door in the backseat closed on its own.
“Well…”
The man unbuttoned and fastened his jacket as he sat back in his seat.
“Somehow, like this. I get nervous when I meet young people for the first time like this. Um, that’s right. Can we get the car going?”
The car immediately started running. Ryuuko had frozen completely. Anxiety was showing up on her face, and thanks to that, even Tobi became restless.
“It’s okay, Tobi. ‘Cause I’m here.”
Baku’s leisurely manner may be acting, but it was reassuring.
“Ah… That’s right.”
The man pulled out business cards from the chest pocket of his jacket. He pulled out two business cards from inside and handed them to Tobi and Ryuuko.
“I am called Kudou. Nice to meet you.”
“I-I’ll take it!”
Ryuuko accepted the business card as if she were worshiping it, but Tobi casually picked it up and read it.
“Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office…? Administrative section, section chief… Kudou Keiki.”
“I’m an official. To put it plainly, I’m a national civil servant, a public servant.”
Kudou smiled and rubbed his hands together.
“I am working day and night for the sake of the people. Well actually, I was planning on having someone else take care of this, but the schedule didn’t work out. Or rather, it's because that person insisted, this unknown person who happened to be convenient passed through instead.”
“...Um, what kind of relationship do you have with Monika?”
When Ryuuko timidly asked, Kudou widened his eyes, “Oh!”
“That’s right. Yes. I’m Monika-kun’s boss, or rather I’m her friend and guardian, and that’s the kind of relationship we have. In the end, Monika-kun is helping my friend and subordinate boss’s work.”
“Well, the boss’s boss.”
Monika glanced at Kudou with eyes that made him think he was a useless person.
“I don’t have parents. I have a guardian instead of a protector. I feel like I’m lending a hand to that person. At work, that guardian becomes my direct boss.”
“Monika-kun’s boss, and that boss.”
Kudou smiled and lowered his head. This man was basically a smile, but he smiled in various ways, such as narrowing his eyes, raising the corners of his lips, and showing his teeth.
“Who’s the guardian?”
Ryuuko turned around and looked at the driver's seat. Monika shrugged her shoulders and said, “Didn’t come.”
“Captain, it’s troublesome. That’s it. Ah, captain is like a nickname.”
“Is that like Monika, or rather, is it a unique relationship…?
“That’s right, Hapieva!”
Kudou clapped his hands together.
“I’ll analyze it here. Because it’s better to tell Otogiri-kun and Shiratama-san what’s going on. In conclusion, well, it’s not an SNS.”
“It just looks like an SNS.”
Monika followed in Kudou’s footsteps and explained.
There were many aspects that were difficult for Tobi to understand, but SNS was a tool for connecting and communicating with people who share the same hobbies and interests, as well as friends, using the internet. However, Hapieva was only connected to the user who uses it, that is, Asamiya, if it’s Asamiya. On the contrary, it was not connected to the network in the first place.
Hapieva was just a one-person app that looked like a social network. When Asamiya launches Hapieva and posts some kind of message, other users comment on it and ask questions. It just seemed that way. All other users were powered by artificial intelligence built into the app.
“...Wh-Why is that?”
Ryuuko’s eyes were about to start spinning. She looked confused. Tobi thought it was strange too.
“Like a game?”
“Maybe so, maybe not.”
Monika folded her arms and swayed her thick hair.
“But Asamiya had a recurrence after he started using this app. There’s no doubt about it. He didn’t remember installing it himself, and a virus called a backdoor was installed, and the smartphone containing Hapieva was invaded from the outside. It can be done. Since traces of the intrusion are erased, it is difficult to trace. It is crafted so that the exact date and time of installation cannot be determined.
“Ngaaaaaa….!”
Baku cried. Ryuuko held her head.
“...Hey something is about to explode…”
The same went for Tobi. His head hurt.
“It’s a very suspicious and dangerouuus app, isn’t it?”
Kudou said while smiling. Looking at the man's face, he can’t tell if the situation is serious or not.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything that looks like it on the internet, and there are suspicions that someone put it directly into the smartphone. If it’s done at school, it’s either a teacher or a student, right? I don’t have any connections with the teachers, so I’m thinking about doing something about that, but the problem is the students.”
Kudou suddenly covered his face with both hands and bent forward.
“...It’s troublesome. I’m in trouble. Isn’t junior high school a kindergarten for junior high students? It’s obvious. I’m a humble civil servant, but I’m not a police officer. The police are also quite difficult to get their hands on at school. They’re not even the police. I’m already in trouble…”
“Could you help me?”
Monika looked down on Kudou with a sideways glance that looked like contempt.
“It’s the same as before, same as before. I’m not doing this for fun. For the time being, you work. I’ll even pay you.”
“Fufufuu…”
Kudou leaned forward and only raised his head.
“Of course, we will also pay you a reward. To do that, you have to sign a contract with us. You’d be a public servant, so you can’t do it arbitrarily.”
“...Eh?”
Tobi turned his gaze to the car window. Were the windows of this car called smoke windows? From the inside, it was dark outside, and from the outside, it was impossible to see the inside. Where was this car going now? He got into this place, but was it good? The Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office. Civil servant. To begin with, was what Kudou said true?
“By any chance, are we—”
Ryuuko hugged the pochette, which must have held Chinuraasha, and leaned forward.
“Are we being scouted by a secret organization…?”
+++ + ++++
Aside from cooperating with the investigation, they decided to put the contract on hold. He didn’t know how much the pay was, but the money was honestly attractive to Tobi. It seemed that Monika also didn’t have parents and had a guardian, so it wasn’t impossible to make a contract. However, it would be troublesome to explain to the staff of the facility. Was it really okay to trust an enigmatic adult like Kudou? He couldn’t help but feel like he had a lot to think about.
Ryuuko also seemed to have a high hurdle when it came to talking to her grandparents, but she still seemed enthusiastic about the investigation.
The weather was bad the next morning. By the time Tobi left the facility, it started to rain lightly, and Yagarashima-sensei in front of the school gate was wearing a kappa. The kappa had a flashy plaid pattern, and he was teased by the students, saying things like “Yagii, you’re so cool”, “You hurt my eyes, Yagii”, and “Isn’t that against the school rules, sensei?”
“This is my wife’s! It’s good! My wife and I are the same size!”
Yagarashima replied like that.
Ryuuko was waiting at the shoe box. When he and Ryuuko headed to the classroom together, they ran into Asamiya in front of the stairs. Asamiya had probably waited for Tobi as well.
“Somehow, I’m not feeling well without my smartphone…”
“You don’t know the time or date?”
“Surprisingly. Time, I’m in trouble because I can’t see it at a glance.”
“I see. I wear a watch.”
When Tobi showed him the wrist watch he was wearing on his left wrist, Asamiya had a face of, “huh?”
“How much did it cost?”
“It’s relatively cheap. If you go to a recycle shop, it won’t cost you 1,000 yen.”
“Really? Maybe I should buy one too. It looks pretty cool, I like it.”
He didn’t feel bad when he said that. Tobi bought it after examining it in his own way.
Ryuuko stared intently at Tobi’s watch. It was a little embarrassing to be watched so much, and he was a little worried that Ryuuko would fall over.
“People who wear watches are kind of grown up, aren’t they?”
“...Yeah?”
“Oh, I see.”
When Asamiya agreed, Ryuuko puffed out her chest with pride, “Isn’t that right!”
“I admire it. I want to wear a watch when I grow up.”
“If it’s cheap, and I think I can buy it, can Shiratama also wear it?”
“No, no. It’s still too early for me. If I don’t grow up before that, I’m sure it won’t suit me.”
“...Does it not suit me?”
“It’s a perfect match for you, Tobi.”
“Otogiri, you’re a bit grown up.”
“A little bit!”
“I don’t think so…”
“Heh! Tobi’s still a scared little kid!”
Baku interjected, and Ryuuko softly laughed.
Asamiya can’t hear Baku’s voice. The semi-transparent zingai was tightly wrapped around Asamiya’s neck. Maybe that was how he protected his master’s vital points.
Although he couldn’t see them, Asamiya had a zingai recurrence. If he confided in Asamiya about the zingai, things could go smoothly. But would he believe him? No matter how much Tobu and Ryuuko spoke politely, Asamiya himself can see zingai. He couldn’t even hear the voices of zingai. He felt like it would be difficult.
Monika was in her seat lying face down on her desk.
“Good morning, Monika!”
When Ryuuko called out to her, she looked up, but she seemed sleepier than usual.
“...Ah— Good morning. You’re lively, huh? Even though it's raining…”
“Maybe the air pressure is too low?”
When Asamiya asked, Monika fell down on her desk again.
“...Well–yeah. I’m sleep deprived. Can’t we just say that?”
She immediately raised her face again.
“Should we proceed from the place where the possibility is high?”
“D-don’t overdo it.”
In response to Ryuuko’s worried expression, Monika twitched her eyebrows and mouth. Did she mean to laugh at it?
“You should buy the hardships you had when you were young.”
“You’re saying old-fashioned things, aren’t you.”
Monika put her chin on her desk and snorted as Baku teased.
“The fruits of hard work must be sold at a high price.”
+++ + ++++
The cold rain fell on and off, with occasional glimpses of clear skies. Tobi quickly fished all of the non-staple school lunch, and he left the classroom with the butter roll and Baku in his hands. It was okay for him to eat it all in the classroom, but maybe it was a habit, and he couldn’t calm down. Since it was raining, Tobu crouched in front of the shoe boxes and ate the butter roll. After lunch time, Ryuuko and Monika arrived. Their investigation started.
“There are quite a few students who are almost guaranteed to recur, but Itoha Hiiragi is still a group.”
According to Monika’s opinion, Hiiragi’s butterfly zingai are highly dangerous, so they should be investigated as a priority.
“But Ryuuko is the only one who can talk normally with Hiiragi.”
“Leave it to me. I feel like I’m riding a big ship. For now, I’m going to start by asking if she knows of an app called Hapieva.”
“Is that fine? Ryuuko, we’re counting on you.”
“You’re counting on me… Is that true?”
“Yeah. I want you to become an external collaborator. You can earn more than a high school student at a part-time job.”
“Wh-what?”
“There’s a duty of confidentiality, but on the contrary, I don’t have to hide anything anymore. Putting aside the fact that I don’t care if it’s a complete stranger, it’s kind of annoying if you have that kind of thing between friends.”
“Between friends—”
Ryuuko kept nodding her head.
“I see. Seriously, I’ll think positively.”
“Tobi too.”
Monika glanced at him. Tobi didn’t say anything. He was thinking about it, but he was confused.
Kudou Keiki.
Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office.
Zingai.
Things most people can’t see. Sometimes they cause serious incidents. There’s an organization investigating them, and apparently the country is involved.
It was strange, or rather frustrating. Kudou gave him a business card. It was still a lie.
However, even if a zingai hurts someone and kills them, for most people it would be a suicide, or, at best, a suspicious death. Is that fine? It was not good, so adults like Kudou may be moving. Even though Monika was still a junior high student, she helped out with their work.
She also lent her powers to Tobi. Ryuuko too.
It was already pragmatically so. Once a contract was signed, the form would be in place and the reward would be paid. Tobi is currently living in a facility, but eventually he would have to leave. Money was probably better than nothing. He was sure it’d be useful in searching for his brother.
Maybe Tobi should accept Kudou’s offer after all. As he climbed the stairs and was about to enter the second-floor hallway lined with second year classrooms, he heard a familiar voice.
“Bye-bye~~ I-to-ha! Ruka-chin will come to play again~...!”
A girl wearing glasses was standing in the doorway of the second-year classroom. It was Shizukudani Rukana. Waving at someone in the classroom.
‘Itoha,’ Shizukudani had said.
Did she mean Hiiragi Itoha?
Shizukudani turned around and turned to face Tobi. Shizukudani was not alone.
She was accompanied by a smooth, four-legged zingai.
“Oh–!”
Shizukudani laughed. Or rather, it was originally a smile. With a big smile on her face, Shizukudani started skipping. The zingai followed Shizukudani by jumping on its four legs.
“Shiratama-dango~! Tobi-Tobi~! Moni-Moni is also here, right? Hahah—!”
“...Shi-Shizukudani-san.”
Ryuuko’s eyes widened in surprise. Or rather, she was trembling with fear. To be honest, Tobi was also a little scared. Occasionally, some students pulled eye-catching pranks at school. However, Shizukudani felt different now.
“Yay!”
As they passed each other, Shizukudani demanded a high-five from Ryuuko. When Ryuuko responded, “Ha, hah!” Shizukudani continued without slowing down her skips.
“...What was that?”
Even Baku seemed to think she was.
“That girl, she’s not a recurrence, is she?”
Monika was making a grim face. Ryuuko shook her head.
“Ah, yes, Shizukudani, since she was in first grade.
“Should I mark it after all? It’s pretty big.”
Big. What was Monika referring to when she said that? Tobi instantly realized. Shizukudani’s zingai. Of course, he’s never measured it accurately, but at first glance, it was about the size of a human’s upper body. When he first saw it, he was startled.
“That size for people who can’t see them. Is there such a thing?”
“There is.”
Monika answered without hesitation and started walking.
“Infinite variety. Same as humans.”
“That’s troublesome.”
Baku said it like it was someone else’s problem. He wanted it to be Tobi’s, who carried that troublesome backpack.
He was surprised by Shizukudani, and was curious, but for now, it was Hiiragi Itoha. Tobi looked around the second year classroom through the door Shizukudani had looked through earlier. Itoha sat in the front seat, and two female students were standing nearby. Including those girls, there were about ten students in the classroom. The air was heavy. For example, someone was arguing, and everyone other than the involved parties were watching the situation awkwardly. That was the atmosphere. Was it Shizukudani? Shizukudani did something. Was that how this happened? Tobi gasped.
Suddenly, Hiiragi’s long hair was pulled up. Was it her hair? No. That was not her hair. The black wings had blue stripes. A little butterfly. Not a real butterfly. Zingai butterfly. The zingai butterflies that had perched on Hiiragi’s hair flew off all at once. Hiiragi originally had two zingai butterflies. But there were definitely more than two. Four butterflies? More than that.
“That’s why—!”
Hiiragi shouted.
“Don’t be nice to me! Don’t mind me! I’m telling you to leave me alone…!”
Her voice turned inside out and broke down. The two girls who were by Hiiragi’s side retreated. Those two must have been surprised and overwhelmed by Hiiragi’s threatening attitude. They couldn’t see the butterfly zingai attacking them. If they had seen them, they should have run away. How many sets of wings did he count now? It’s increased. One set split into two, two split into four, and the zingai butterflies flocked to them
The two groaned, “Uh—” and collapsed. The small zingai butterflies stuck to their faces. Even on their necks and hands where skin was exposed. Tobi, Ryuuko, and Monika could see them. They were invisible to the students in the classroom. Two of their classmates had suddenly fainted, even though they couldn’t see the zingai butterflies. Some students shouted something, and some students left their seats. A male student tried to run up to the two who were lying down.
Hiiragi looked at the male student. Her eyes were bottomless pits. Immediately, several zingai butterflies left the female students and flew towards the male student. The butterflies fluttered and didn’t seem to be very fast. But it was almost instant. The zingai butterflies were obsessed with the male student while he was watching. The tiny zingai butterflies landed on his cheeks, the tip of his nose, and his chin one after another.
“Nghh…”
The male student collapsed and fell on his bottom. With that pace, he hit his head on the desk, “--Ow” and rolled the whites of his eyes and fell to the floor.
Monika muttered something. He couldn’t hear it clearly, but maybe it was ‘runway.’ ‘Run away.’ Run away?
“No way, Tobi-....!”
Baku howled. But, this, what should he do?
“Hiiragi-san!”
Ryuuko tried to rush into the classroom. Hiiragi glared at Ryuuko before Tobi could stop her. Hiiragi’s face was distorted so badly that the outline changed. The two deep, gaping holes looked more like they were trying to suck Ryuuko in than they were glaring at her.
The zingai butterflies flew. At first it was one. It split into two sets of wings with a pop. Two became four. It was trying to break up further. Eight sets. Double that. Monika grabbed Ryuuko’s arm and pulled her.
“Evacuate at once…!”
“Can you make it in time!”
Baku went on a rampage. That’s right. As Baku said, they won't make it in time. So Tobi didn’t pull Baku’s strap. He wouldn’t stop Baku. On the contrary.
“Go…!”
“OoshaAaa!”
Baku slipped off of Tobi’s back and jumped into the classroom in front of Ryuuko and Monika. Baku was now standing on two legs with his back to Tobi and the others. He also had two arms and large, four-fingered hands. For some reason, he had eyeballs on the back of his hands. His long head looked like a cylinder. He wore a long, cloak-like garment of a fabric similar to the backpack.
“Ha…” Ryuuko uttered a sound that was neither her breath nor her voice, and Monika whispered “transformation.”
“AAaaaa———N….!”
Baku puffed up his tube-like head, opened his mouth wide, and gulped down sixteen or so of the zingai butterflies that went by.
“Mmm—.....!”
Then, he slapped his abdomen with his big hand.
“That kind of thing doesn’t even help my stomach!”
“...He, he ate them.”
Monika was clinging to Ryuuko, who she should have been trying to pull. Ryuuko moved her mouth quickly, perhaps wanting to say something, but her voice didn’t come out.
“—h-h-h…..!”
Hiiragi’s breathing became extremely rough. She covered her ears with both hands and bent over. Hiiragi couldn’t see her zingai. But did she feel something?
Those butterflies were also zingai, so they must be trying to protect their master, Hiiragi. Tobi didn’t know the circumstances, but they must have tried to eliminate Hiiragi’s friends and classmates who were a threat to her. The zingai butterflies were eaten. A further threat had emerged.
“H-H-H-H-H….!”
The zingai butterflies that had been attacking the two fallen girls and the boy who had hit his head exploded into the air, spread out, and flew around. The unharmed students were confused. They cause a commotion. They were attacked by the zingai butterflies one after another. They fell one after another.
He wondered if the butterfly zingai were sucking up not nectar, but something like the student’s spirits. They increased. They were still increasing. Repeatedly splitting, the zingai butterflies multiplied. From the black hair of Hiiragi, something like caterpillars crawled out one after another, changed their shape in the blink of an eye, shed their skin, and became a butterfly. How many zingai butterfly were there in total now? He couldn’t count them.
“In that case, I’ll eat them up. That’s fine, right Tobi…!?”
Baku turned his cylindrical head, which had only a mouth for eating, and groaned. Tobi grabbed Baku by the collar, forced him out of the classroom, and quickly closed the door.
“No, no not at all, you can’t eat them all…!”
“Aah!? Why!”
“---T-the back door!”
Ryuuko raised her voice and said. Sure enough, the front door was closed, but the back door was open.
“Otogiri-kun!? Shiratama-san…!?”
He heard a man’s voice. Looking up, a janitor in work clothes came running up the stairs. It was Haizaki. He had a weasel on his left shoulder. It looked like a weasel, but it wasn’t a weasel. That was Haizaki’s zingai. Was it Oruba? Monika started running.
“Oji-san, withdraw…!”
Was she going to close the door behind them? Ryuuko, who was behind them, shouted, “Monika!” From the open door behind them, zingai butterflies started flying out.
“Oruba…!”
Haizaki rushed forward. There was no weasel like Oruba. Where did he go? The right leg. Haizaki’s right leg was covered with something different from his work clothes, be it leather or fur. That was Oruba. Oruba was there.
Haizaki passed Tobi and the others at the speed of a small jet plane and held Monika.
“----Nn…!”
“Tobi Otogiri…!”
As soon as he shouted that, he kicked the floor with Oruba’s right leg while still holding Monika. He jumped backwards. Even athletes who set the world record for the high back jump can’t jump like that. That was incredible jumping power.
“Woaah…!”
Baku charged in to replace Haizaki, and he was attacked by the swarm of butterfly zingai that were trying to attack Monika. The zingai butterflies that couldn’t be eaten were caught with his large hands. Meanwhile, Tobi closed the back door. From the other side of the door, he felt something like a vibration, though it was not a vibration. Butterfly zingai? Were they hitting against the door? Looking up, Ryuuko was holding the front door while trembling.
“B-but, there is a person inside…! Hiiragi-san too, we can’t just leave her like that…!”
“How will we…!”
Haizaki was on one knee, still holding Monika. It seemed like he was asking Monika.
“One person had reoccurred and gone out of control! There are victims too! Put me down…!”
Monika struggled. Haizaki let Monika stand up. Her thin eyes were wide open.
“Okay, you should report it upstairs and order an evacuation! Give a reason like a gas leak or something! I’ll be here!”
“Why, Oji-san?!”
“As of today, I’m undertaking my survey of the teachers, Ask the manager for details!”
“...The Otter is back!”
“I’m an outside collaborator. I’ll do my best not to hold you back. Now, go!”
What were those talking about? Tobi didn’t know anything about it. But Monika seemed to be leaving. Haizaki stayed. So what should Tobi and Ryuuko do?
“I’ll be fine! Okay?”
Haizaki ran up to Tobi, who was holding the door behind him.
“I’ll take the recurring person out of there. There are still students in the gym, so yeah, take them to the multi-purpose room. If zingai attack, feed them to your zingai. If you don’t eat them all, she won’t be in the worst condition. Once the recurring person and zingai are out, the students inside can be safely rescued. Okay? Got it?”
Tobi nodded. “Leave it to me,” Baku breathed. He wanted to eat and couldn’t help but want to eat. Besides, he was going to help people, so nobody would complain.
“I-I’ll…!”
Ryuuko’s voice sounded like a yell. Since it was lunch break, there were other students in the corridor. It was quite noisy, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Once I give the signal, get out of here! You can run away!”
Haizaki said, “Three!” and raised his right index, middle, and ring fingers.”
“Two, one—”
He folded his ring finger first, then his middle finger, then said, “Let’s do it!” He plunged into the classroom.
“Get down, Tobi!”
Baku yelled. Tobi did as he was told. Ryuuko was running towards the stairs. Zingai butterflies overflowed from the back door, and the front door opened of its own accord. Each butterfly was so small that they were about the size of the end of his thumb. But the numbers were amazing.
“—UOooo…!?”
Baku flinched for a moment. One moment. He immediately lifted his tubular head, opened his mouth, and began to eat the zingai butterflies. While jumping and eating the zingai butterflies directly, the butterfly zingai he caught by swinging both hands around were also steadily brought to his mouth. Not all of them. After all, there were a lot of them, and the zingai butterflies flew around, so he couldn’t help but miss them.
Haizaki jumped out of the front door. He held Hiiragi firmly of his size. Haizaki kicked Oruba’s right leg against the wall instead of the floor. With one kick, he could go several meters, and this time he kicked the floor. Haizaki headed towards the stairs. A flock of black zingai butterflies chased Haizaki. They were not pitch black. A bright blue stripe pattern shimmered. It was like a starry sky. A beautiful yet terrifying starry sky drifted down the corridor, trying to swallow Haizaki.
“Baku…!”
Tobi also followed Haizaki. Behind him, a voice that sounded like Asamiya’s voice shouted, “Otogiri…!?” He couldn’t turn around. The multipurpose room was located on the first floor down the stairs. Haizaki was aiming for that. What should Tobi do? What could he do? What did Tobi want to do?
Haizaki was going down the stairs. Tobi saw something strange. He didn’t see it clearly. Haizaki must have kicked the floor with Oruba’s right leg and tried to jump all the way down to the landing. It was not Oruba’s right leg. Something grappled with Haizaki’s left leg. It looked like that. What was it? It was not human. Of course it was not human. It was not as big as a human. It was probably half a human.
“—Ah…”
Thanks to that, Haizaki lost his balance and was unable to jump to the landing or run down the stairs. He tumbled down.
Haizaki was holding Hiiragi. Tobi rushed to the bottom of the stairs. Were they okay? Haizaki. Hiiragi.
“Ha-Haizaki-san…!”
Ryuuko was not on the stairs going down, but on the stairs leading to the third floor, two or three steps up. From there, she leaned forward, overlooking the landing of the descending stairs. There was someone else on the stairs, not just Ryuuko. A bespectacled schoolgirl was sitting on the landing of the ascending staircase. Shizukudani. Why Shizukudani? No, right now, Haizaki and Hiiragi.
Haizaki was lying on the landing of the stairs going down. Perhaps he had tried to protect Hiiragi when he fell down, and he was holding Hiiragi tightly.
Tobi bent down involuntarily. The zingai butterflies. The zingai butterflies were flying overhead. Countless butterfly zingai flocked to Haizaki.
“Ugh…kuh…”
Haizaki hadn’t lost consciousness. Was he hurt somewhere? Or maybe it was because of the zingai butterflies. Unable to get up, Oruba’s right leg was trying to ward off the zingai butterflies that were approaching, but it was hot stones in water. Besides, quite a few zingai butterflies were already clinging to Haizaki. Like the students of second year class one, Haizaki was also having his energy sucked by the zingai butterflies.
“Tobi...!”
Baku bit a zingai butterfly that was trying to stop Tobi. Students were trying to gather here and there. The school broadcast chime sounded.
“Eh, emergency broadcast, students evacuate immediately, uh, outside, outside, hurry up!”
It was Monika. Wasn’t that Monika’s voice?
In front of the bathroom near the stairs, two or three zingai butterflies landed on the forehead of a female student who was looking up at the ceiling with a “—Huh?” The female student collapsed, and another female student who tried to help her wake up said, “Huh, wait!?” and also fell prey to the zingai butterflies.
“—There’s a risk of gas generation in the school! This is not a drill, so all students, please go outside, quickly!”
Immediately, several students tried to run down the stairs where Haizaki had collapsed. Tobi exchanged glances with Ryuuko and stood in front of the students.
“Th-This way’s not good!” “Because it’s dangerous. Use the other stairs…!”
“MUAAaaAAaaa!”
Baku ate every zingai butterfly that came near Tobi and Ryuuko. Tobi suddenly thought. To someone who can’t see zingai, what does this look like?
“There’s no end, they’re small…!”
“Keep it up!”
Who was that? At a time like this. What did they mean? Tobi was really pissed off. He didn’t know what was going on anymore, but he was doing his best.
“Do your best~ Don’t lose~ Fufufufufuu…”
He didn’t recognize the laughter. Tobi turned and looked up at the landing of the stairs leading up. He heard voices coming from there. He knew who it was. Ryuuko turned around.
“...Shizukudani—san?”
“Good job~ Shiratama-dango. Tobi-Tobi~.
He knew that Shizukudani was sitting there. Because he had glanced at her. Why was she in such a place? What exactly was that skip? Shizukudani must have something to do with Hiiiragi. What did she do? Shizukudani was not alone. Her zingai. Her smooth, four-legged zingai jumped over the stair railing onto Shizukudani’s shoulders. Where had that zingai been until now?
When Haizaki fell down the stairs, Tobi had seen something. It was a momentary event, but something about half the side of a human grappled onto Haizaki’s left leg.
Haizaki hadn’t messed up.
Something, exactly the size of Shizukudani’s zingai, interfered with Haizaki.
Shizukudani’s zingai hid behind its master. However it was not completely hidden. Four arm-like legs protruded from its master’s body. Furthermore, the zingai poked its head out from above its master’s right shoulder. It was both like a baby and an old man without wrinkles. Of course, it was neither a baby or an old man. In fact, they didn’t even look alike. That zingai had four eyes.
“Cipher.”
Shizukudance said so and made his whole face melt. She lifted her right hand and stroked the zingai’s head. As if to say, ‘I love this child so much.’
“Thank you for your hard work. My Cipher.”
“...She can see—”
Ryuuko muttered dumbfoundedly.
“I’m him.”
Tobi said. That zingai. Chipha. Was that the name? Shizukudani’s zingai, Cipher. He had grabbed Haizaki’s left leg and made him fall. And Shizukudani could see zingai. From the looks of it, it was nothing new. She could see them the whole time.
Shizukudani had pretended she couldn’t see.
Why?
Why would she do that?
“What…”
Ryuuko shook her head. It was a swing that seemed to make a rattling sound.
“—Wh-what… are you… doing, Shizukudani-san, what are you doing there…?”
“With you guys as well, what are you doing? It’s just getting interesting. Don’t get in the way, stupid~”
Even though Shizudani cursed, she was still smiling. Why was she laughing? Getting interesting? Don’t get in the way? Cipher. Did that zingai do it on their own? That wasn’t it.
I don’t think so.
Shizukudani got up and went down one step, two steps, and looked down towards the stairs. Haizaki was collapsed. He was probably lying there. Haizaki’s appearance could not be confirmed. A tremendous number of zingai butterflies were covering Haizaki. What happened to Oruba, who was integrategrated with Haizaki’s right leg? What happened? He didn’t know.
Before he knew it, the zingai butterflies weren’t flying. Not a single one flew.
Were all the zingai butterflies flying at Haizaki? He didn’t know the boundaries between the zingai butterflies and the zingai butterflies that huddled their wings together. Were there borders? Haizaki was hugging Hiiragi. Haizaki and Hiiragi should be among those countless butterfly zingai.
Suddenly, a group of butterfly zingai swelled. It stood up, clad in a multitude of zingai butterflies.
It was her. It was Hiiragi Itoha. Hiiragi peeked through gaps between the zingai butterflies and turned around. There was a smile that was completely out of place.
“How are youuu~? I-to-ha. It’s Ruka-chin, isn’t it~?”
“...Rukana.”
“They’re beautiful, Itoha. It’s so beautiful that it gives me goosebumps. You used to love them, Ruritateha. Ah. Can’t you see them, Itoha? Disssappointing~”
“...What are you saying…”
“I told you, it’s okay.”
For a moment, all emotion escaped from Shizukudani’s face and voice. But her facial muscles quickly collapsed, and she was either laughing, angry, or was she sad, it seemed to be any of them, but it was none of them, a disgusting face was exposed.
“We were best friends weren’t we? I want you to be happy. Don’t lie all the time, let’s show the real you. Hey? Itoha~?”
Hiiragi covered her left and right ears with both hands covered in butterfly zingai.
“AAa—”
“Itoha~, [Find yourself] right! [Let’s find ourselves] right!?”
“AAAaa! AaAAAaaa!”
“[You can do it, you can do it]! [It’s not impossible] eh! [You just have to let go] oh!”
“Stop it, Rukana, stop it already…!”
The zingai butterflies clinging to Hiiragi’s body swayed and flew. The zingai butterflies that divided and proliferated recombined and a large zingai butterfly. The wings easily spread over a meter wide. It was almost the width of the stairs. Big. It was a giant butterfly. The upper side of the wings were black with a beautiful blue pattern. But behind that, it looked like a dead leaf.
The giant zingai butterfly flew. Instinctively, Tobi pulled Ryuuko up and crouched down. As expected of Baku, it seemed that he was only frightened by the fact that it was really big. The giant zingai butterfly passed over Tobi and Ryuuko’s heads, heading towards Shizukudani near the landing of the stairs.
“That’s right! Well, you’re trying to hurt me…!”
Tears welled in Shizukudani’s eyes like a dam had burst. She was crying. Despite crying so much, Shizukudani was still laughing.
“Itoha~ that’s your true nature! Seriously, the worst~...!
Shizukudani wasn’t the only one laughing. Cipher. That four-legged zingai had his mouth open. But, was it laughing? If the jaw joining was normal structure, it was definitely out of place. Just like a crocodile. Or rather, it looked like a snake trying to swallow something bigger than itself.
Cipher rose from the back of Shizukudani. It pounced on the giant butterfly zingai and bit into one of its wings. Cipher fell down the stairs along with the gigantic zingai butterfly. Eat. It was eating on the giant butterfly zingai.
“Uuugh…”
Hiiragi stumbled and Rukana cried.
“Well~, you see~, it was~! Me, foreeeeever! Itoha! I wanted to eat you! You will be mine! You will be eaten by me! I wish you would become a part of meee~…!”
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Holidays 8.31
Holidays
Baloch-Pakhtun Unity Day
Cow Chip Tossing Day
Crop Dusting Day
Day of Solidarity and Freedom (Poland)
Festal Day (Order of the Eastern Star)
Flag Day (India)
Hari Kebangsaan (Malaysia)
International Blog Day (a.k.a. International Day of Blogs and Bloggers)
International Day for People of African Descent (UN)
International Overdose Awareness Day
Limba Noastra (Day of Our Language; Moldova)
Love Litigating Lawyers Day
Merdeka Day (Malaysia)
National Box Car Day
National Dan Day
National Diatomaceous Earth Day
National HalfCut Day (Australia)
National Leslie Day
National Matchmaker Day
National South Carolina Day
North Borneo Self-Government Day
National Zoo Awareness Day (UK)
Opioid Misuse Prevention Day
Overdose Awareness Day
Princess Diana Memorial Day
Rabbit Rabbit Day [Last Day of Every Month]
Romanian Language Day (Romania)
Sărbătoarea (a.k.a. Limba noastră; Language Day; Moldova)
Take a Seat Day
Tank Day (Lešany, Czech Republic)
Walnut Day (French Republic)
We Love Memoirs Day
White Rose Day (Australia)
Withdrawal of the Last American Soldier Anniversary Day (Afghanistan)
World Distance Learning Day
World Sanskrit Day
World Solidarity Day
Food & Drink Celebrations
Bacon Day [also 12.30]
Eat Outside Day
Grape Blessing Day (Armenia)
Invent A New Sandwich Day
National Trail Mix Day
Vegetable Day (Japan)
5th & Last Thursday in August
National Banana Pudding Day [Last Thursday]
National Cabernet Sauvignon Day [Last Thursday]
Thoughtful Thursday [Thursday of Be Kind to Humankind Week]
Independence Days
Befshire (Declared; 2016) [unrecognized]
Kyrgyzstan (from USSR, 1991)
Malaysia (from UK, 1957)
Trinidad and Tobago (from UK, 1962)
Feast Days
Aidan of Lindisfarne (Christian; Saint)
Alter Ego Day (Pastafarian)
Aristides of Athens (Christian; Saint)
Cuthburh (Christian; Saint)
Dominguito del Val (Christian; Saint)
Fourth Onam (Rice Harvest Festival, Day 4; Kerala, India)
Frey’s Blot (Pagan)
Gai Jatra (Cow Festival, in remembrance of people who died the previous year; Kathmandu Valley, Nepal)
Henry (Muppetism)
Isabel (Christian; Saint)
Joseph of Arimathea (Christian; Saint)
Jouffroy (Positivist; Saint)
Nicodemus (Christian; Saint)
Paulinus of Trier (Christian; Saint)
Paul Reubens Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)
Raymond Nonnatus (Christian; Saint)
Roger Dean (Artology)
Wala of Corbie (Christian; Saint)
Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria (Christian; Saint)
Lucky & Unlucky Days
Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]
Lucky Day (Philippines) [48 of 71]
Premieres
All Or Nothing At All, recorded by Frank Sinatra (Song; 1939)
American Idiot, by Green Day (Song; 2004)
Andor (TV Series; 2022)
Bad, by Michael Jackson (Album; 1987)
The Big Sleep (Film; 1946)
Bolero (Film; 1984)
Bugsy and Mugsy (WB LT Cartoon; 1957)
The Commuter, by Philip K. Dick (Short Story; 1953)
The Constant Gardener (Film; 2005)
Document, by R.E.M. (Album; 1987)
Fly, by Dixie Chicks (Album; 1999)
Foundation and Earth, by Isaac Asimov (Novel; 1986) [Foundation #5]
Get Rich Quick (Disney Cartoon; 1951)
Goat’s Head Soup, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1973)
The Great Gildersleeve (Radio Series; 1941)
Jack Ryan (TV Series; 2018)
Only Murders in the Building (TV Series; 2021)
Orient Express, by Graham Greene (a.k.a. Stamboul Train; Novel; 1932)
Pluto’s Judgement Day (Disney Cartoon; 1935)
The Psychology of Intelligence, by Jean Piaget (Science Book; 1947)
Raising Demons, by Shirley Jackson (Memoir; 1957)
The Threepenny Opera, by Bertolt Brecht (Play with Music; 1928)
Wildest Dreams, by Taylor Swift (Song; 2015)
The World According to Garp, by John Irving (Novel; 1978)
Today’s Name Days
Paulinus, Raimubd (Austria)
Josip, Nikodem, Optat, Paulina (Croatia)
Pavlína (Czech Republic)
Bertha (Denmark)
Arved, Arvi, Arvid (Estonia)
Arvi (Finland)
Aristide (France)
Aidan, Anja, Paulinus, Raimund (Germany)
Bella, Erika (Hungary)
Aristide (Italy)
Aigars, Aira, Labite, Vilma (Latvia)
Raimunda, Raimundas, Vilmantas, Vilmantė (Lithuania)
Berta, Berte (Norway)
Bohdan, Paulina, Rajmund, Rajmunda, Świętosław (Poland)
Nora (Slovakia)
Ramón (Spain)
Arvid, Vidar (Sweden)
Aden, Aidan, Aiden, Ayden, Edan, Edana, Eden, Edina, Egan, Egon (USA)
Today is Also…
Day of Year: Day 243 of 2024; 122 days remaining in the year
ISO: Day 4 of week 35 of 2023
Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 24 of 28]
Chinese: Month 7 (Geng-Shen), Day 16 (Xin-You)
Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)
Hebrew: 14 Elul 5783
Islamic: 14 Safar 1445
J Cal: 3 Aki; Threesday [3 of 30]
Julian: 18 August 2023
Moon: 99%: Waning Gibbous
Positivist: 19 Gutenberg (9th Month) [Jouffroy]
Runic Half Month: Rad (Motion) [Day 4 of 15]
Season: Summer (Day 71 of 94)
Zodiac: Virgo (Day 10 of 32)
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