Editing Hyouka:Volume 6 4 (section)

=== 5. ===
 
 
 
With that, I told him the gist of what had happened up until now. About how Asanuma-san asked me to join her project last Monday. About how her manga was going to be used as a tool in the Manga Society's faction warfare. About how I, in order to figure out the page count, asked for some time to figure things out.
 
I told him about how, on Tuesday, I felt like Hani-san was keeping an eye on me while I worked in my notebook in the classroom.
 
About how, on Wednesday, I learned that Asanuma-san's plan was discovered. About how Hani-san had become the club president before I even realized what was happening.
 
And now today, about how I left the classroom because of Hani-san's message, leading to my notebook being stolen while I was away.
 
After I finished speaking, Fuku-chan stayed silent, deep in thought. Even I was trying to put everything into order in my head as I told him what had happened. Finally, he smiled bitterly and said, "I guess you were followed, huh."
 
I think so too. Up until yesterday, I was preparing the manga in classroom 2-C, and yet, even though I switched to the earth sciences lecture room today, how was she able to pinpoint me here? The only thing I could think of was that she had followed me.
 
"If I continued to work on it in the classroom, this probably wouldn't have happened."
 
"I'm not so sure about that," Fuku-chan said, his arms crossed. He mulled it over in his head for a bit and then continued, "You said that on Wednesday, too, you were following what Hani-san said, right?"
 
"Yeah. She told me that Asanuma-san was getting cornered by the others, so I went to the Manga Society. She was telling the truth then."
 
"At that time, I'm guessing you left your notebook out in the classroom, right?"
 
Did I? I tried to think back.
 
Although I hadn't drawn anything yet, I wouldn't leave my notebook with the manga's story in it out on my desk like that. I'm pretty sure I remember putting it in my bag. After that, I probably took the bag with me to the clubroom.
 
Wait, no. I'd planned on coming back to the classroom, so that's not what happened.
 
"I put the notebook in my bag, but I left my bag in the classroom."
 
"That means she had the chance to steal it yesterday, then."
 
I see. That hadn't occurred to be, but he was exactly right. Not only that, but we were the only two in the classroom at the time. All she had to do was wait a little bit after I left for the Manga Society, and stealing my notebook would be a piece of cake.
 
Before realizing it, I muttered under my breath, "Then why..."
 
Fuku-chan nodded deeply. "That's exactly it. 'Why.' Why did she have to steal your notebook today?"
 
"To sabotage Asanuma-san's manga, right? Why else would she do it?" I responded, a little spitefully.
 
Fuku-chan, however, shook his head. "I'm not so sure about that. I started to think about something while you were telling me that story. Doesn't it seem similar to Houtarou's thing a bit ago?" he said quietly.
 
Oreki's?
 
What does he mean by 'a bit ago?'
 
Fuku-chan and Chi-chan... that's right, we were reading Oreki's book report. That was pretty fun. It feels like it was already so long ago. If I remember correctly, it was done on "Run, Melos," and it was about who was trying to stop Melos from reaching the city. I had no idea what about it was similar to my situation, though.
 
"What's the same, exactly?" I asked.
 
"The part about Dionysus and the bandits."
 
"Dionysus is the god of wine."
 
"Oh wait, you're right. I mean Dunamis... actually no, that's an angel."
 
"Really?"
 
"I think he's an angel of power? Anyways, let's just call him the king. When I heard your story, it reminded me of the passage in Houtarou's book report about the king and the bandits."
 
In his analysis, I'm pretty sure Oreki disagreed with Melos' theory that it was the king who hired the bandits to kill him and impede his progress to the kingdom.
 
"How is it related to me?"
 
"Do you remember his point? Houtarou wrote that because the king genuinely believed Melos wouldn't come back, there was no reason why he'd try to prevent his return. That kind of reasoning is just like him. I definitely got a good kick out of it."
 
I also smiled.
 
He continued, "So this is what I think, personally. Even if Melos managed to make it to the kingdom, the king doesn't lose anything. Melos probably wouldn't return, but even in the one-in-a-million chance that he did, the king wasn't in a position to really be affected by that. That's why, even if you look at it from this perspective, it's clear that the king wasn't the one who hired the bandits."
 
I can see how that made sense. If the king wanted to continue believing that 'you can never trust anyone' no matter what, and it was possible that Melos might challenge that conviction, I could see how the situation would change, but in the actual story, I'm pretty sure that wasn’t the case.
 
"Now with your situation," said Fuku-chan, "Hani-san seems to genuinely believe that there's no way Asanuma-san will complete the manga. And the thing is, even if it is successfully completed, I'm thinking it wouldn't bother her at all."
 
"What do you mean? If the manga is successful, then she and the others will have to quit the club."
 
"Hani-san proposed that herself, though, didn't she?"
 
Well yeah, but...
 
Fuku-chan lightly scratched his cheek. "I've been hearing a lot of stories about the Manga Society. Now that I've heard your account too, I'm starting to think that there's no longer any way to keep the club from splitting. All this talk about stalking, spies, and a coup d'état... there's clearly something messed up about this situation, even if you compare it to the rest of the strange clubs at this school. As far as I'm aware, the Manga Society is a pretty massive group with over thirty people, if you include the freshmen. Even if you split it into two, both groups would still be larger than the average club. I think your club president, Hani-san's goal was to make it possible to do this and to make two normal clubs... What's your take on this, Mayaka? Am I off?"
 
Fuku-chan's always been interested in lots of different things; no matter the subject, he always devours everything he possibly can. Ever since he joined the general committee in high school, though, I feel like he's gotten more and more keen, especially about things like procedures and official organization, as well as about people's true intentions. Take Oreki for example. He doesn't work well with others, so while he's aware of the concepts, he doesn't really fully grasp things like emotional facades and the self-justification people use to protect themselves. Fuku-chan sees through all of it, and even then, he never changes in the process. I think that's really amazing.
 
If Fuku-chan said there was no saving the Manga Society, then there might truly be no more hope after all. Sure enough, the internal feuding had already reached the point of no return. I've never once thought that the club was better off splitting in two, but I can't say the same for Hani-san. Maybe she—
 
No, wait, there's a problem with that.
 
"If that were the case, wouldn't it be better for her to just quit the club without doing all this? Why doesn't she just take the fact that we were planning to make a manga and use that to kick us out without all the hassle?"
 
"I'm not so sure about that. If she left without a word, wouldn't that look like she was running away with her tail between her legs? She has to keep up appearances. On the other hand, if she wanted you guys to leave the club, it'd be virtually impossible for her to force your resignation using just that fact that you guys wanted to draw manga. If they went and cried to the club adviser about it, they'd be the ones getting yelled at—not you."
 
That's true. That'd be a pretty insufficient reason.
 
"I don't really know a lot about it," he continued, "but if the condition for you guys is to make <i>any</i> kind of manga, then that sounds like a pretty easy task, right?"
 
"I guess so, yeah. It'd be easy to make one if all we had to do was print it from any old printer."
 
"If the book is successfully completed, then Asanuma-san and the rest get to regain the honor they lost and everyone gets to break up on good terms. If the book doesn't get finished, then the fault lies entirely on Asanuma-san's group, and that becomes a reason to make them resign."
 
I understand his reasoning, but I can't see what comes after that. I started to raise my voice a little.
 
"But if that's true—if Hani-san's just like the king in Melos' story—then doesn't that mean she stole my notebook for no reason at all? If she stole it for fun, then doesn't that just make it bullying?"
 
I'm not saying it'd be okay if she had a reason, but if it really was out of pure spite, I wouldn't be able to sit still.
 
Fuku-chan stared at the floor and quietly muttered, "You're right. That's the one strange part. It really is frustrating... If it were Houtarou, he'd be able to think of something, no problem. Why did she do it? She shouldn't have anything to gain from taking your notebook."
 
Every now and then, Fuku-chan says something ridiculous like: "A database can't draw conclusions." He knows a lot about various topics and always knows about the latest rumors, but he's convinced it's because of that that he has a hard time finding the truth. All that sounds like to me is that he's already given up before he even starts to try.
 
Right now though, he was seriously trying to figure it all out. Instead of saying his usual catchphrases—things like "I have no idea" or "There's nothing I can do about that"—Fuku-chan was completely still, focusing all of his effort on finding the answer.
 
I was also racking my mind with him, but at the same time, I couldn't help but stare at him in silence.
 
Finally, he started to speak with an uncharacteristically furrowed brow. "We're definitely going to get your notebook back, Mayaka, but—and I can't exactly explain why I feel this way—how about we try to wait and see what happens?"
 
Speaking from a realistic standpoint, no matter how hard Fuku-chan tried, and no matter how close to rage incarnate I became, there probably wasn't any way we'd be able to get the notebook back today, considering Hani-san had likely already gone home. If she did steal the notebook just to harass me, then it was probably already in some trashcan, up in smoke, or in the river on its way to the sea by now. If that wasn't the case, then there was still a chance to get it back, but Fuku-chan wanted to sit back for now.
 
"I'm glad you're so confident, but why do you want to wait?"
 
Fuku-chan was terrible at getting his point across clearly.
 
"I've seen you draw your manga before, and I'm pretty sure it's not like you can't continue drawing it without that notebook, right? I understand you're pissed off, of course. I can't let it slide either, but if we approach this as objectively as possible, all you need is the time to rewrite what you lost."
 
He wasn't wrong. The notebook was pretty much only for my preparation, and it only took three days to make. Putting aside my emotions for now, it was nothing I couldn't salvage if I had three more days.
 
"If that's the case, then maybe Hani-san's goal was to buy time, don't you think? Maybe she wants to do something with those three days. Think about it; whenever someone gets kidnapped in one of those thriller novels, people always end up waiting for the culprit to contact them first. Let's try to wait and observe how things turn out a little more before we decide on what to do."
 
"Sure, but I feel like it also might better to stop her as soon as possible in case she's planning on doing something terrible."
 
"Yeah. If that happens, I'll protect you."
 
... It was pretty much impossible for me to not wonder if he'd be able to do anything like that in the first place, but then again, by that logic, I guess it was also pretty much impossible for there not to be part of me that completely trusted him. I nodded resolutely.
 
"Okay, I understand. I'll give it a little time. Is it better if I don't say anything to Hani-san tomorrow?"
 
"That's a difficult one. I get the feeling that she'll contact you if she has any demands, but who knows. I swear. I really wish Houtarou was here at times like these."
 
It's true that if Oreki were here, he might be able to connect the dots better than we could.
 
The thing is, I haven't once wished he was here instead. Thanks.