Baka-Tsuki - User contributions [en]

Gekkou:Volume 1 Bye-Bye

2011-10-26T22:28:49Z

SyQadelic:

==[Bye-Bye]==

Every now and then a train crossed the railway bridge. Each time that happened, the white railing I was sitting on started vibrating and an ear-shattering noise filled the tunnel.

I was under a railway overpass at the edge of a residential area close to my school, which I had chosen because there would be no passers-by even during the day, and was waiting for the time.

I didn't want to be interrupted by anyone.

Under the railway, where no sun reached, even the concrete's gray looked darker and more inorganic than usual. I shuddered even though it was still afternoon.

Probably due to the sound insulation of the concrete, the sounds of the vicinity seemed extremely far. When I silently held my breath, I was under the impression that I was in an isolated institution far away in no-man's-land.

That might be the reason why I didn't notice him until he was nearby.

On the boundary separating light and darkness, a tall man with the appearance of a gigolo grinned daringly, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

"Ya! Quite unexpected to have you call out me. What happened?"

His voice resounded from the concrete all around us.

"Oh, have you by any chance ''recalled'' some good piece of information concerning Youko-chan?"

He flicked the cigarette away, which then traversed a parabola before hitting the asphalt.

"But whew," he began while cracking his neck, "you sure have chosen quite a desolate place. Are you out for a duel with me today or what?" He crushed the cigarette with his caramel-brown shoes.

"Weak as I am, I would never feel inclined to a duel," I shook my head, "But I ''do'' want to settle things with you."

I restfully stood up and fixedly stared at the man a few meters from me.

"Let's put an end to it," I smiled.

"That's my line!" He closed one eye and grinned broadly, "Since you are the host, I'll let you have your say first."

Konan leaned on the wall and crossed his arms.

"I would like to start not with a statement but with a question."

"Oh, sure, sure. As many as you want, no need to be shy with me," he nodded easygoingly.

"Why did you become a detective?"

The next moment, he narrowed his eyes full of interest while stroking his chin.

"I don't want to be rude, but you aren't the type that acts out of a sense of justice."

"That sure ''is'' rude, whoa. Actually, I've taken to answering such questions with 'It's to save the day!' while flashing a cool smile."

Upon seeing my dumbfounded face, he laughed dryly.

"Being a detective is what I live for!" he suddenly made a serious face, "I chose a job where it's work and work throughout the year, all day long, and where I may lose my life due to a slight mistake. Because I'm still a civil servant, people insult me, calling me a tax parasite despite my poor salary. So why did I sign up for such a thankless job? You know, it's to see all kinds of people and their relationships in all kinds of situations, whether they're joyous or grieving!"

Konan stared into the air with an odd light in his eyes, originating from ecstasy.

"It's such a tremulous excitement when their masks crumble! It feels as if I were able to sneak a peek at the true nature of us humans. Bare emotions tell the truth much eloquently than any justification."

When he finished, I couldn't suppress a sneer anymore.

"Oh that's cruel, Nonomiya-kun. Now that I've answered seriously for once because you looked so stern! I bet you're thinking of me as some psycho now, aren't you?"

I immediately answered his scowl by shaking my head.

"By no means. Rather I was relieved to hear so much nonsense. It suits you, you know?"

"Oho, now that's an unconventional evaluation."

"I guess. After all, I am, too, a good-for-nothing like you."

"I know," this time he sneered, "Since the moment I've first seen you."

The second I saw his grin, I was convinced: as Tsukimori had assessed, we really were similar.

"So, anything else you want to tell me?" he crossed his arms.

"There's nothing I would need to tell you!"

"Oh? You acknowledge it just like that? What I've said until now about Youko-chan, I mean?"

Konan doubtfully raised an eyebrow.

"You're getting me wrong. I'm saying that my opinion hasn't changed in the first place."

"Despite all I told you?"

"Yes, despite all that."

"Oh you're a trip! You're joking, right? Didn't you agree quite a lot to my doubts?"

"Indeed, I did agree. Insofar that the case could also be viewed in such an interesting light. Thanks to you I could catch a glimpse of how professional detectives deduce things by drawing one logical conclusion upon another. But that's all. My confidence in Tsukimori doesn't get swayed just by your assumptions."

When I smiled, he glared at me for just a split-second.

"Those are all just your assumptions. Frankly speaking, they're just baseless products of your over-creative fantasy."

Konan stared at me expressionlessly.

"Didn't you say yourself that the rest of the police are treating this case as an accident? In other words, you are suspecting her on a personal basis, right? I don't know how excellent a detective you are or how high-ranked you are within the police, but that's what we call a 'grandstand play', you know?"

Since he did not react, I proceeded even further.

"As you have told me earlier, too, even in a small town like ours there are incidents every day, so is it not rather suboptimal for an 'official' to bother with Tsukimori and me? If you still insist on associating with us, you'll deserve the labeling as a tax parasite."

Of course I had a reason for getting that offensive.

"It's not in the interest of either of us to waste any more time on this. If you recalled what your original job is, I could carefreely return to my peaceful student life as well."

I was confident that he had no irrefutable proof. In other words, he had still not arrived at the "murder recipe". And without it, it was not possible to reasonably entertain suspicions concerning Tsukimori.

"You've done your best. But there are other things you ought to do. So, let's put an end to this already."

There was one more thing that backed me up.

No one would blame him for backing out of that case. The police was considering it as an accident; nothing hindered Konan from letting go. Konan had been free to proceed or withdraw from the very beginning. That's what I figured out.

"...you've got me there. You're completely right. Can't counter that," he pulled a new cigarette from the pocket of his jacket while smiling lopsidedly and put it into his mouth, "To tell the truth, the department chief and the station chief, well, let's just say the bigwigs, are bugging me all the time because they want me to do my work properly. My colleagues have already given up though, since it's nothing new for them, heh!"

A small light flared up in the darkness. Konan had lit the cigarette with a lighter advertising some sleazy product.

"...Can you figure why they still let me grandstand?"

He blew out a puff of smoke.

"It's because I'm capable!" he claimed confidently, "And do you know what makes me capable?"

He tapped on his forehead.

"My sharp intuition."

The next moment, his loud voice resounded through the entire tunnel.

"To get to the point! This ''excellent'' and sharp master detective ''Konan'' says this is fishy! You have to realize that a high school brat like you has no say in that whatsoever!"

His voice was reflected by the walls, by the ceiling, and rained down heavily on me. I felt as if I had been thrown into a bustling crowd.

"The point is! No matter what everyone else says, no matter if she herself denies it, ''I'' say she committed murder! So, Youko Tsukimori ''has'' killed her mother!" he finished, sucked in some smoke and blew it out contentedly.

"That's so unreasonable..." I managed to say, overwhelmed by his attitude.

"Unreasonable, indeed. But tell me, does the world work a different way? It doesn't matter what's right and what's not; the stronger one gets his way, right?" A puff of smoke was blown out of his bent mouth. "''Because'' I believed in myself and my intuition, and ''because'' I stayed true to myself, I was able to get remarkable results, you know. And ''because'' of those results, nobody can object to what I'm doing."

He showed a "grin".

"So, I'm sorry Nonomiya-kun, but I'm gonna do it the way I want—"

But it was his peculiar kind of grin that looked dead serious.

"—Because that's what I've chosen to live my life like."

When I took another glance at his "grin", I came to think that that way of smiling must be the embodiment of his nature.

Put crudely, Konan was a lunatic in a clown's disguise.

It's not easy to get by with an uncommon sense put to show. Therefore, he probably adapted to our society by acting frivolous most of the time.

That "grin" must have been a remnant of that madness which he could not conceal.

"Okay, it's my turn now," Konan crushed his cigarette with his heel.

He thrust his hands into the pockets of his tight slacks.

"Why are you so eager to defend Youko-chan?"

With a slow and firm pace, he drew closer on his long legs. Step by step, his leather shoes produced a reverberating creak that filled the passage.

"Don't you agree that it must be quite hard to believe so firmly in her without ''a lot'' of personal sympathy?"

I felt my stomach knot tighter and tighter at the sound of his steadily approaching footsteps. 

"I'm not deliberately defending her, really! But it's simply absurd to expect me to believe that a classmate of mine is a killer. Isn't it normal that I can't, and don't want to, believe your doubts?"

"Yeah, completely normal," he admitted casually. That was, however, only a preface to what was to come. "But come on, in spite of everything I'm still a detective, if I may say so myself. It's not absurd in any way if you were a little more doubtful about her, right? I mean, hey, ''the police'' are suspecting her, so there might be something to it! I think it wouldn't do you any harm if you agreed a little more with me, you know, admitting that I have some points that make her suspicious. There's no need be so dismissive about it, is there? Well, that's the opinion of an experienced detective who has witnessed all kinds of incidents, anyway. Now, what do you say?" said the experienced speaker Konan in a torrent of words with a peculiar intonation, giving the atmosphere around us his own touch.

"...I'm a cross-grained person, you know. I'm also a little contrary on top of that. Therefore, I don't want to simply nod to something that doesn't make perfect sense to me!"

As a natural consequence, my hands became sweaty and my voice got tenser.

"I guess so. It's already an established fact within me that you're that type of person."

I registered that his smile seemed very content.

"But while you sure are a cross-grained lad, Nonomiya-kun, you are ''not'' an idiot, and you don't lack common sense either. So I can't understand why you are so understanding to her. With that personality of yours, shouldn't you rather search for Youko-chan's flaws the more perfect she is? At least the Nonomiya I know is someone who doesn't believe anything he hasn't seen with his own eyes."

It's agreeable if you are understood because the other party shows interest in yourself by doing so. If it's interest from a capable person like Konan on top of that, it can't be a bad feeling.

However, I couldn't help feeling uncomfortable, for his assessment was just too spot-on. That nasty feeling of having my whole body closely scrutinized, from tip to toe, gave me a chill.

Before I knew it, Konan was standing right before me.

"In short, you know, I've already concluded that your unconditional support of Youko-chan is due to special feelings towards her. And well, because you love her so much whether she's guilty or not, you just don't care. You're like, 'I shall believe in her even when the rest of the world turns against us!', you see. Oh how great is the power of love. Whoa there, don't look at me like that! I'm not messing with you here. Actually, I quite like that way of thinking. No, make that 'I love it'!"

What a talkative man. It's not like I was dumbfounded; I was taking my hat off to him. I wondered if there was even a single person who didn't talk after being targeted by Konan.

"You are gifted with a superb imagination indeed."

"Well, it's a job that requires a good imagination."

A smile was on his mouth, a truly amused one.

"But there's one more. One more possibility why you could be protecting Youko-chan," his smile disappeared. "Namely, if you have certain proof that Youko Tsukimori has not killed anyone."

My consciousness was immediately drawn to the murder recipe.

"So... do you?"

"By no means."

"Too bad," he replied not regretfully in the least.

While my whole body was becoming stiff, he continued. In a most casual tone.

"By the way, I've been wondering—what's in that left breast pocket?"

My right hand reflexively grabbed at my left breast pocket.

Konan reacted on the spot.

He quickly pulled his hands out of his pockets as if drawing a sword and grabbed my chest the very next moment. After he had taken a large step towards me, my field of vision made a sudden turn.

I felt a blow on my back the next instant which then turned into pain that flashed through my entire body. The fierce pain caused me to heave one deep groan. My head started spinning and I became unable to move. However, despite the dull pain, I could hardly breath and couldn't even groan anymore.

It all happened so fast I had no clue what had just occurred to me.

By now I assume that he threw me down on the hard asphalt by using some technique similar to Haraigoshi, as it's called in Judo.

"I'm quite the feminist, you know, I don't want to be rough to the ladies. But on the other hand, I'm pretty much merciless towards guys!" he said casually as he sat astride me.

"...Ugh...you will get into trouble for this," I managed to squeeze out and scowled at Konan.

"No worries, no worries! As long as no one gets wind of it I'm safe!"

He didn't care in the least.

"Well, shall we take a look at what you're hiding there in that inside pocket?"

I firmly grabbed my jacket with both my hands.

"Oh? From your stubborn resistance I gather that there's really something in there that is related to Youko-chan?"

I shouldn't have averted my eyes when he came peeking deep into them.

"Ha! Bull's eye? My intuition sure is something! It's getting fun!" he laughed with an odd light in his eyes.

Konan tried to break my grip, which I, still stuck below him, frantically warded off with all my might.

"Whoa, whoa. You don't know when to give up!"

Konan scratched his head in a baffled way.

"Hah, there's no way around," he then muttered. "Believe it or not, but I was in high school once, too. Back then I was actually quite the naughty boy, you know?"

He suddenly started talking of his past for some reason.

"And well, the place naughty boys like us used to select for deepening our friendship with our fists was, oh surprise, desolate passages below railways like this one! Maybe you get now why I asked you right in the beginning if you wanted to have a duel with me."

I failed to see what he was getting at, which was exactly what unsettled me.

"Can you guess why we usually selected somewhere under a railway?"

That moment, the ground started shaking slightly. I felt with my back that apparently a train was coming our way.

"The reason is—screams get drowned in the noise of passing trains."

As he revealed that fact, a thunderous sound burst through the air, killing all other sounds.

"...you're joking... right?"

My words of shock were naturally drowned out as well.

The rattling of the train passing by above us shook my body. No, perhaps I was just trembling myself.

I felt the cold sensation of metal on my forehead.

Still utterly confused, I looked at what was in front of my eyes with a fixed gaze.

In his stretched out arm Konan was holding a black object. The cylindrical tip of that hard, black object was put on my forehead.

As soon as the thundering noise receded, giving way to the normal sounds, the man expressionlessly said, "If timed properly, that noise can even drown a gunshot."

I gulped down without knowing.

[[Image:Gekkou-261.jpg|thumb]]

''...no way. He may have a tendency to lunacy, but he won't possibly pull that trigger. This is bound to be a foolish performance to threaten me.''

That's what my mind told me anyway.

My hair, however, stuck to my forehead. My heart was pounding and my breath was running wild. In contrast to my logical thinking, my body was so tense that I couldn't even blink.

"Now let go."

I put all power I still had into my fingers.

"That's the spirit. Good boy."

My arms, however, were shaken off easily. Unfortunately, there had not enough power been left in me to resist him.

Konan skillfully undid the first two buttons with one hand and slid the hand into my inside pocket.

When he pulled it out again, he was holding a small folded scrap of paper between his fingers.

"...a scrap of paper, huh. What will I find on there, I wonder?"

He concluded that I had entirely lost the will to resist and removed the handgun from my forehead, and unfolded the sheet with both his hands.

Konan skimmed through it with a serious mien.

As he was still sitting on me, I couldn't move while he was reading the letter, thus I was forced to keep on looking at the concrete ceiling, which was not exactly interesting.

"Oh time! Go by!" I wished silently.

"Let me confirm one thing... who has written this 'recipe'?"

He thrust out the sheet before my eyes.

"I don't know," I hissed and looked away.

"...So my hunch didn't fail me," he said with a convinced tone. "Judging by your reaction, '''you''' have written this, huh."

I kept silent.

"At the very first glance I thought that the letters looked very, you know, 'boyish', so I did consider the possibility! But I mean, what's written there just doesn't match the image I have of you, you know? ''You'' and this, huh... What did your face look like when you wrote it? Oh, please don't tell me you wrote it with that poker face of yours!"

It was probably the poker face I had maintained that caused him to suddenly embrace his stomach and start trembling with tears in his eyes. He chuckled as the intensity of his tremble increased like the speed of plane that was rolling on a runway. And then,

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He burst into a grand laughter. The plane had just soared into the sky.

His guffawing resounded through the tunnel. Laughter rained down on me from all sides with no mercy. I experienced the humiliation of being made a fool by a great mass.

"...aah, stop it, aah, I'm dying! I'm dying laughing! Aah, I haven't laughed like this in ages... I think for a while I'm gonna break out into a laughter just by recalling this," he said while still laughing with groans mixed in. "Aaa... I have to admit that that contrast got even me by surprise. Now that was something new. Never thought that you, our grouchy Nonomiya-kun, would write such an oh-so-sweet letter that would startle even the purest girl in love..."

Again, he was unable to suppress it and laughed out loud.

The title on the sheet he had thrust in front of me was—

—"Love Recipe"

The "Love Recipe" contained all kinds of flirt phrases and methods to win over a girl's heart. Words so sickeningly sweet that they didn't even lose to the taste of pancakes accidentally covered with a bottle of maple syrup, filled the whole page without leaving any gaps.

It was a sinister item indeed, of which a single bite would certainly cause nausea to any man like me without physical defense against sweet words.

If you write such a dangerous thing with your very own hands, with all your wit can offer, during an entire long night, then your life cannot be assured anymore. Even if you survived it, you would be scarred for life with a horrendous trauma.

An actual survivor states that living became hard just a few minutes after starting to write.

At last, satisfied with laughing, Konan asked me with a meek expression, "So? Do you want me to retire from the case now because of this?"

"It would be very much appreciated."

He grabbed my head with his hands and leaned over me. My dark field of vision became even darker.

"There's no way I could retire at such a half-baked state!" he declared from straight above with forceful eyes.

"But that's," I began and put on a confident smile. "That's only your view as a detective, right?"

"...What do you mean?"

A question mark appeared above him. Therefore, I grinned while answering his question.

"Right now you look extremely fulfilled!"

He could say what he wanted, but his eyes were sparkling like the eyes of a kid that had just arrived at an amusement park. To me Konan looked as though he was bursting with amusement.

"Haven't you had enough fun by now?"

Konan pondered over my words while stroking his chin.

He hadn't denied it when I said that it was not a sense of justice that made him choose the job as a detective.

What he had asserted, however, was that he wanted to enjoy humans and their relationships.

In short, Konan himself didn't care much if Tsukimori had killed her mother or not. Though finding out the truth was surely part of that hobby of his, it was by no means his personal goal.

So I thought about what his goal ''really'' was. The conclusion I came to was this:

From the moment I had realized that we resembled each other, I had felt that such an end was inevitable.

"...oh well, you got me!"

Konan spun his gun around his finger and stowed it away in the holster that was hidden under his jacket.

"My loss was decided the instant I laughed. After laughing badly like that I can't claim that I wasn't amused anymore."

When he stood up, he reached out his hand to me. I took it.

"Okay! I'll drop the case."

He then pulled me up onto my feet.

"...Thank you."

Words of appreciation automatically slipped out of my mouth. Apparently, I happened to be relieved.

Considering that we were similar, it wasn't hard to comprehend the principle of his actions, but I had no prospects of victory in terms of persuading him, an experienced speaker, into dropping the case. As a matter of fact, my first attempt had been beaten down by his overwhelming pressure.

Since the odds had been against me, I had prepared the "Love Recipe" as a trump card.

The main reason I had written it was to create unforeseeability. To surprise Konan with something that he would definitely not expect me to ever write. And finally, to take the wind out of his sails with that unforeseeability.

My vigorous resistance had not been played at all; I had wanted to keep my trump card for last, yes, I had even wanted to take it to the grave.

What I can say now is that I probably would have failed if I hadn't taken the bullet.

"Oh well, it was about time anyway, " Konan said while wiping off the dust on his suit with one hand. "Keep in mind that to the bigwigs this case is only a trifling incident that wouldn't even get into the news. Organizations, not only the police, have a tendency to avoid using time, money and workforce for trivial things, you know. After all, they wouldn't gain much for solving an incident no one cares about."

"Quite business-like, isn't it?" I followed his example and dusted off my uniform with both my hands.

"Indeed. If you think of it like that, maybe I'm actually something like an office worker," he nodded full of agreement. "Well, the point is that even I can't always keep running after every small incident, no matter how much everyone accepts it implicitly! I mean, come on, I'm capable, right? They want me on the big cases!"

He then folded the recipe and unaffectedly put it into the pocket of his suit.

"Hey, don't just stow that away in your pocket!" I hurriedly stopped him.

"Mh? What do you mean? That's ''mine'', isn't it?"

"No, it's ''mine''. Please return it to me."

"No chance."

"But there's no point if you have it, is there?"

"It's the treasure I dug up this time. It's an irreplaceable memento of you. I'm going to reread this recipe from time to time and remember you and the happy days we spent together."

"That's a lie. You're definitely going to make a fool of me!"

"Oh? I'm busted."

I could not help sighing, seeing he was as undaunted as always.

"Come on, isn't that quite a good deal? For just a mere scrap of paper I'll withdraw from this case! Now if that's not some outstanding treatment!"

"It's not a physical problem, but a very psychological one."

"Well, you should be able to take some scars as a boy."

Konan put on a wry smile as he lit on a cigarette.

"...even I think once in a while, you know, that I've got a bothersome personality. But we can't just change our hobbies or our values, right?"

I found myself agreeing with the musing Konan before me.

"They say it's possible to select one's way of life, but I think that's just a flowery lie. At least I could ''not'' choose another one. Choosing another way of life means throwing away all you've done so far and becoming a new self, don't you agree? I like myself the way I am now. So I have no choice but to stick to my current principles!"

Then he showed the grin that truly suited him.

"An acquaintance of mine said something similar. Something along the lines of the world's very setup being 'shit', so one should live by one's own rules."

"Oho. We would surely get on well."

"Yes, indeed. I don't know about her, but you would surely like her."

"So it's a woman?"

"Yes."

"Woho, definitely introduce me to her one of these days."

"If I find some time."

"By the way..."

"Yes?"

"—What was it really? What have you been hiding?"

I was unable to answer him right away.

Konan had assured me to drop this case. And he was surely not someone who broke promises.

But still I just couldn't bring myself to let anyone else know about the murder recipe.

However, Konan suddenly tousled my hair with his sinewy hand.

"Sorry. Forget that. That question was 'thoughtless' as you would call it, right?"

He blew some smoke toward the asphalt.

The railway started to creak, causing the entire tunnel to vibrate, and erased all other sounds around us.

During the time that allowed no other sounds, Konan made himself at home and enjoyed his cigarette, whereas I had my gaze fixed on the far away blue sky as if enjoying a nightly read.

At last, the train passed by and took its thunderous sound with it.

"Good luck, Nonomiya-kun. It was a short time with you, but I really enjoyed it!"

That was the first thing I heard again.

"I too... relatively enjoyed those days."

"Relatively?! Oh boy...," he said and leisurely walked towards the exit, his shoes squeaking. I silently gazed at his back as he waved his hand extravagantly.

"...Ah, let me correct one thing at the end." The footsteps stopped near the entrance of the passage. "Satisfied, my ass! Just so you know! I am not at all satisfied! I wanted to play much more with you and Youko-chan!"

He resembled so much a brat that didn't want his summer holidays to end that I had to laugh, "Oh boy...!"

"Goodbye."

"Yes!"

It was not farewell forever, but we weren't going to see each other for quite a while. We may live in the same town, but there wouldn't be many occasions to meet each other. Our separate ways had merely happened to cross by chance this time. That was the relationship between us, between Konan and me, two persons at different ages and positions.

"Right! I almost forgot—"

He quickly turned around and skillfully squinted one eye.

"Actually, I fancy women and men all the same!"

"......eh?"

He gave me a wave with his flat hand, "''Byeee!''" and disappeared into the light, leaving me behind dumbfounded.

"...'Bi'? Don't mess with me!"

I was sure it had to be another special bad joke of his and he was having his fun with me.

"How stupid," I shook my head.

I frantically tried to make myself believe that it ''was'' a joke, but I just couldn't do anything about the goosebumps I had gotten all over.

Geez, Konan remained a good-for-nothing to the bitter end. I had never met such a good-for-nothing in my entire life. There can't be many absurd people like him in the world. I figured that I may not meet someone like him again.

Therefore, it was a relatively regrettable farewell to me.

After raising my hand once, I turned around and walked towards the exit on the opposite side.

The time I left the tunnel, my mind was occupied with only her and no one else.

<noinclude>
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[[Gekkou:Volume 1 Hesitation|Hesitation]]|
[[Gekkou:Volume 1 Moonlight|Moonlight]]}}
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[[Category:Gekkou]]

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai:Volume 1 Tales of Momotarou

2011-10-25T01:11:32Z

SyQadelic:

'''Tales of Momotarou [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momotarou]'''

 

When I arrived at the club room, I found a maid standing inside.

“Whoa?!”

I was taken by surprise; without thinking I blankly greeted her.

“You have worked hard at school, Aniki.”

……He is our new club member, Yukimura Kusunoki.

He was wearing a folded pinafore, and a short skirt.

I couldn’t help but secretly take a glance at the white thighs underneath the skirt. Calm down Kodaka Hasegawa! He is a dude……!

…….But seriously, what perfect attire for him……

“Uwah gross. He just stared at him……”

From inside the club room, Sena looked at me and said.

Yozora was sitting on the sofa across from Sena.

“……Why is Yukimura dressing up like a maid?”

I finally remembered the question.

[[Image:Boku_wa_tomodachi_ga_sukunaiVol1_chp9.jpg|thumb]]

“This is part of the training to become a manly man.”

Yozora replied a matter of fact-ly.

“Dressing up as a maid is training?!”

Yukimura replied.

“Yozora-anego said that as a manly man, no matter what clothing he wears, his manliness cannot be masked. The day I am wearing this girly clothing but my manliness swells up and radiate out from my soul, will be the day I become a real man. Even though this is a difficult trial, I will do my best!”

“You are pulling your tricks again......!”

“You said this is a trick? I am not making things up.”

Yozora rebuffed.

“For a real man, even if he is dressed as a maid, his aura of manliness would still diffuse out……Yukimura, imagine Kodaka wearing the maid dress.”

“Don’t make this sort of strange imagination!!!!!”

Although I forcefully scolded them, but Yukimura still closed his eyes and started imagining.

“Buhaha, gross, that’s gross!”

Sena, who also imagined the sight of me in a maid dress, burst into laughter.

“Aniki wearing a maid dress.”

…………..

……

<nowiki>*Bo*</nowiki>

……Why is Yukimura blushing?

He opened his eyes.

“Indeed, even if Aniki wears a maid dress, he still looks like a delinquent.”

“Why would there be any maid-dress-wearing delinquents in this world?! Also as I said before, I am not a delinquent! How many time do I have to tell you?!”

Yozora ignored my objection.

“Yukimura, you finally understand the difficulty of this trial. You must strive to reach that level.”

“Yes. I will work hard with Aniki as my goal.”

“You don’t have to work hard in the first place……”

I tiredly said and casually sat down on the sofa.

And then, Yukimura poured a cup of coffee for me.

Without thinking about it, I subconsciously felt very content.

“……Having a maid in the club room is pretty nice, huh?”

Yozora, as if she read my mind, whispered to me.

“Well, it doesn’t have to be Yukimura……No, never mind.”

If one has to choose between Yozora, Sena, and Yukimura to be a maid, no matter what’s your assumption, Yukimura is still the best choice.

“Speaking of which, who brought the maid dress here?”

“It’s mine.”

“Yozora’s……? Don’t tell me you like to cosplay?”

“No. I bought it on ‘Yafoo! Action’ just in case I need it.”

“What kind of ‘just in case’ you had in mind……”

“Anyway, let’s put a stop to this talk about maid dresses.”

Yozora changed the topic.

“I suddenly remembered how Meat read out a snippet of an eroge a while back.”

“*Busu*?!”

Sena snorted out the coffee she was sipping.

“I, I beg you, forget about it please!”

Ignoring Sena’s tearfully sincere request, Yozora continued.

 

“This ability is very important for making friends- the ability to act!”

 

……I can tell she is about to say something very terrible again.

“Eh, act?”

“Yes. If you are good at acting, you would be able to be on the surface happily chat with someone you secretly despise. It would look as if you two are getting along very well. In case you need to ask him for a favour later on, being on good term would make this easier.”

Very terrible, indeed.

The first person to object to Yozora’s baloney, surprisingly, was Yukimura.

“But Anego, one of the core values of being a real man is to be true to oneself no matter what happens. Acting for the sake of hiding yourself is not something a real man should do.”

“Still young, Yukimura.”

“Please enlighten me.”

“Have you not heard of this saying before? ‘To learn something one must first learn its actions.’”

“……Is there really such a saying?”

But Yukimura looked as if he has very much been enlightened by what Yozora said.

“I see. Although I am still not mature, but as I imitate the acts of real men, one day I too will become a real man. You are amazing, Anego. I understand fully now.”

He’s so easy to convince.

Then what about Sena-

“……Acting……Now that’s a good idea.”

“Why are you agreeing with her?”

I didn’t expect Sena, who acts as if the whole world revolves around her, to be interested in acting for the sake of others.

“When you are acting in a role, you might be able to discover hidden potential in yourself. From that you can become an even more amazing person. This is what Mitduki once said.”

“Mitduki?”

“Mitduki is obviously referring to ‘Tokimeki 7’’s Mitduki. The president of the drama club.”

“A game character!”

I stared at her and said.

“……But, when you think it, if you are so good at acting that you can with ease control your expression and actions, then you might be able to decrease the number of misunderstandings……”

……then?

It looks like we have aligned our interests in the same direction.

“It’s decided. The club activity for today will be to practice acting!”

Yozora lively announced.

“To practice acting……I guess we should do a play then?”

“Of course.”

“The script?”

“I have it prepared. My idea is that it’s best to start with something everyone is familiar with. So I brought this.”

Yozora took a few play-scripts from her bag and passed them to everyone.

“Fu, Yozora is pretty quick.”

Sena, in a rare act, appeared impressed.

I looked at the title of the script…………’Momotarou’.

“……Even though it’s true that everyone is familiar with this story...”

“But at our age won’t you feel embarrassed acting out ‘Momotarou’?”

Sena and I said disgruntly; Yozora calmly looked at us and said,

“You two are in no position to dissent. If you think you are, I'm going to broadcast that.”

“That?”

“‘The Sacred Blackstar’.”

“I, I love Momotarou! It’s unexpectedly deep, so much that even an adult can enjoy the fabulous tales of Momotarou!”

Sena forcefully smiled and said.

Yukimura, too, was nodding his head.

“Good choice, Sena-anego. The mainstream theory these days theorized that the tales of Momotarou took shape in ancient Japan, when the Yamato Dynasty and Kibi no Kuni were at war. Momotarou was likely based on the famous son of Emperor Kourei Tennou, Prince Hiko Isaserihi Kono Mikoto, who was active in the war. Although there is no substantial evidence, but in Muromachi period-“

“Stop, Yukimura! I know that you are knowledgeable.”

Yozora stopped him from continuing; Yukimura, who was a bit carried away in his speech, looked quite sad.

Is Yukimura a history buff?......

I suddenly had this question.

“Hey, but if we were to act out Momotarou, we are a bit short on people.”

The characters in Momotarou are Momotarou himself, the dog, the monkey, the rooster, the old man, the old woman, ogres, and one that is essential to a play- the narrator.

It is clear that the four of us here present here are not enough.

“Relax. I already considered this shortcoming and made appropriate adjustments.”

“Eh……In other word, you wrote the entire script?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t easy; I am proud of this work.”

“Well, as long as you didn’t deviate from the original story too much, I can accept this……”

“Good. Then let’s get started.”

Following Yozora’s declaration, I opened my playscript.

On its first page, it listed the characters.

 

“Characters”

-          Momotarou

-          Old Lady

-          Orge

-          Tree

 

“So few characters?!”

“This is the result of the limited number of actors we have.”

“Then what’s up with the ‘Tree’?!”

“I took out too many characters, so I sort of added one back.”

“The tree is obviously not needed!”

“Well then, let’s decide on the roles.”

Yozora ignored my complaint and continued.

“For fairness, we should draw to decide.”

Yozora took a piece of worksheet and made a few simple draws.

We all took a piece and decided our role.

 

“Characters”

-          Momotarou = Sena Kashiwazaki

-          Old Lady = Yukimura Kusunoki

-          Ogre = Yozora Mikaduki

-          Tree = Kodaka Hasegawa

 

“Right from the start I had a bad feeling about this; I end up as a tree……”

“Fu fu, I am the main character. Well, really this is an obvious choice. I too feel that Yozora would make a very good ogre. I shall banish you!”

Sena laughed contentedly.

“Fu, you are laughing for now Meat.”

Yozora unhappily replied.

“Then hurry up and get started. I think at this point everyone is already familiar with the story, so there won’t be any need for story introduction.”

We moved the sofa and the table to the corners of the room. In the middle of the room is empty stage, and we started the play.

“Kodaka, since you are the tree, so stand there from start to end.”

Sena ordered me to go stand by the wall.

“…………”

I wanted to say something, but I resisted and took a look at my play-script instead.

The first line is Momotarou’s line.

“……How come I have the starting line?”

Sena asked in surprise. Regardless, she followed the directions in the play-script, stood at the center of the stage, and spoke out her lines.

“Let, let’s see……. Once upon a time, there was an old lady who lived alone. One day when she was doing laundry by the river, suddenly from upstream a rice bucket sized peach flowed down. The old lady took the peach home, cut it open, and out came me from inside.”

“It’s first person point of view from Momotarou!”

“It’s just like those first person point of view novels where the main character does the narration as well. With this we can decrease the number of actors required by one. What a great idea.”

Yozora said somewhat proudly.

“No, wait a second. If you even took out the narrator, then why did you add ‘Tree’ back……Wouldn’t it be better to have me as the narrator instead?!”

After she heard my gripe, Yozora smacked her lips and looked at me.

“……What? That didn’t occur to you?”

And then Yozora irritatedly replied,

“…If we let the trees chat so much, the worldview is going to collapse. Next.”

She didn’t take in my words at all.

“Because I was born from inside a peach, I was given the simple name ‘Momotarou’. I lived aside the old lady and gradually grew up. Finally, that day finally arrived.”

“Momotarou, there are ogres on the island committing evil deeds. So terrifying.”

Yukimura, playing as the old lady, walked onto the stage. As if he didn’t plan on acting at all, he stiffly spoke out his lines.

Although the old lady was in a maid dress……

“Fu, whether it’s Yozora or some other stuff, I shall exterminate it!”

Finally it’s Momotarou’s first line (as oppose to the narrator’s). Even though Sena said the line with passion, it didn’t seem like she wants to follow the script at all.

“Is that so. Good luck.”

……And that’s the end of the old lady’s part. She hasn’t given Momotarou the rice dango yet……

Yukimura unsteadily walked toward me.

“How was it, Aniki. My lifelike acting.”

“………”

I didn’t know what else to say, so I chose silence.

“Incredible, Aniki! You have already become one with the Tree character. I still have much to learn.”

He looked at me respectfully and exited the stage.

Sena again came to the center of the stage and spoke her lines.

“With the old lady’s farewell, I left the village and embarked on a journey to the Island of Ogre. During the voyage, I witnessed the sacrifice of a dog, a monkey, and a rooster. But I left those aside and sped up my trek.”

“What have you done?!”

“The dog, the monkey, and the rooster are what people think of whenever one mentions ‘Momotarou’. I cannot just take away all their references. This is call respecting the source material.”

Yozora explained truthfully.

…… Having them showed up as corpses- what sort of ‘respecting the source material’ is this?

“Many things happened, and I have finally reached the Island of Ogre. The ogres on the island all charged against me, but I slaughtered them without trouble. And finally, I made it to the deepest part of the ogre king’s castle.”

……That’s fast……

“At last, I stood in front of the ogre king.”

At this moment, Yozora walked onstage.

“So you finally appeared, Yozora! Prepare yourself! If I kill you, all the treasures on this island shall be mine!”

Momotarou, looking absolutely like the antagonist, yelled. Yozora loathly stared back.

And then she started her emotional and lifelike acting,

“Why? How can you commit these cruel and inhumane acts with such leisure? We, banished by the Yamato Dynasty, are the last of our race. Not only have your kind banished us to this forsaken place, but now you even want to claim our lives……! With such level of coldblooded-ness, you humans are the real ogres!”

The line of the Ogre boss…… is so cool!

“Eh……What’s this plot development……”

Sena uncertainly continued her role.

“Shut, shut up! Did you not kill those innocent civilians?!”

“Nonsense! They were soldiers your kind sent to pillage the gold our ancestors painstakingly collected! All my people want is to live peacefully!”

“Is that right? No, be quiet! The existence of ogres is a sin itself! I, Momotarou shall weld my sword of justice and strike down you evil ogres! We shall decide who the ally of righteousness is!”

“With such atrocity walking on this green earth……and claiming itself as an ally of righteousness! Is there no justice in this world? I shall become the devil, and annihilate all living beings! Come, you dog of the dynasty. My name is Kokuten no Mikoto, the last emperor of Kibi no Kuni, the being that will bring destruction to this world!”

“Yozora wait a second! No matter how you look at it, the Ogres are the good guys! Furthermore, the name of the Ogre king is not mentioned any where in the script!”

Sena finally exploded with anger; Yozora laughed and said,

“When I was writing the script, I thought it is no fun writing a simple story that rewards the nice and punish the naughty; I made a few changes as a result. As for the name, I just came up with it.”

“That’s so cheap. Only you get to yell out those cool lines. I am the Momotarou, you know?!”

“What’s so cheap about it……There is no clear good and bad in this world. History is just a tool of the victors’. In other word, only the victor in this battle can describe itself fighting for justice!”

As Yozora yelled this out, a rolled up atlas somehow appeared in the hands. She whacked it at Sena’s head.

I looked at my play script. Its last page says ‘And so, Momotarou and Ogre began their duel. The side that makes the opponent cries first is the winner, and thus is the good side.” That’s all the page has.

What happened to practicing acting?

“Ow! Wait, it’s not fair that only you have a weapon!”

Looking at the tearfully protesting Sena, Yozora gave her another whack.

“Objection denied! I shall revenge for my brothers that you massacred!”

BokaBokaBokaBokaBoka!

“Aah, enough!”

Sena rolled up her copy of the play-script and started to fight back. However the loosely stapled playscript is no match for the rugged atlas. It fell apart quickly.

“Wait, ow, that hurt! Uuh! Aan! Uuuu….Idiot---!”

Sena finally escaped to offstage.

Yozora leisurely stood at the center of the stage; a vicious smile appeared on her.

“…… Just wait, human…… I have put a bloody end to Momotarou; your world is next!...... Fufufufufufufu…. Buhahahahahahahhaahaha………!............ The End!”

Yozora reverted back to her usual tone and said,

“So how was this tiresome play……”

I replied,

“It’s all right. It’s not as if we are acting in front of others.”

Yozora calmly said,

“But this is a pretty fun play. We shall put this as a Neighbor’s Club reoccurring event!”

Yozora alone contently wiped the sweat off her forehead; at the same time an expression of resentfulness appeared on Sena and my faces.

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</noinclude>

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai:Volume 1 Tales of Momotarou

2011-10-25T01:06:19Z

SyQadelic: For continuity's sake, let's use Aniki and Aneki

'''Tales of Momotarou [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momotarou]'''

 

When I arrived at the club room, I found a maid standing inside.

“Whoa?!”

I was taken by surprise; without thinking I blankly greeted her.

“You have worked hard at school, Aniki.”

……He is our new club member, Yukimura Kusunoki.

He was wearing a folded pinafore, and a short skirt.

I couldn’t help but secretly take a glance at the white thighs underneath the skirt. Calm down Kodaka Hasegawa! He is a dude……!

…….But seriously, what perfect attire for him……

“Uwah gross. He just stared at him……”

From inside the club room, Sena looked at me and said.

Yozora was sitting on the sofa across from Sena.

“……Why is Yukimura dressing up like a maid?”

I finally remembered the question.

[[Image:Boku_wa_tomodachi_ga_sukunaiVol1_chp9.jpg|thumb]]

“This is part of the training to become a manly man.”

Yozora replied a matter of fact-ly.

“Dressing up as a maid is training?!”

Yukimura replied.

“Yozora-aneki said that as a manly man, no matter what clothing he wears, his manliness cannot be masked. The day I am wearing this girly clothing but my manliness swells up and radiate out from my soul, will be the day I become a real man. Even though this is a difficult trial, I will do my best!”

“You are pulling your tricks again......!”

“You said this is a trick? I am not making things up.”

Yozora rebuffed.

“For a real man, even if he is dressed as a maid, his aura of manliness would still diffuse out……Yukimura, imagine Kodaka wearing the maid dress.”

“Don’t make this sort of strange imagination!!!!!”

Although I forcefully scolded them, but Yukimura still closed his eyes and started imagining.

“Buhaha, gross, that’s gross!”

Sena, who also imagined the sight of me in a maid dress, burst into laughter.

“Aniki wearing a maid dress.”

…………..

……

<nowiki>*Bo*</nowiki>

……Why is Yukimura blushing?

He opened his eyes.

“Indeed, even if Aniki wears a maid dress, he still looks like a delinquent.”

“Why would there be any maid-dress-wearing delinquents in this world?! Also as I said before, I am not a delinquent! How many time do I have to tell you?!”

Yozora ignored my objection.

“Yukimura, you finally understand the difficulty of this trial. You must strive to reach that level.”

“Yes. I will work hard with Aniki as my goal.”

“You don’t have to work hard in the first place……”

I tiredly said and casually sat down on the sofa.

And then, Yukimura poured a cup of coffee for me.

Without thinking about it, I subconsciously felt very content.

“……Having a maid in the club room is pretty nice, huh?”

Yozora, as if she read my mind, whispered to me.

“Well, it doesn’t have to be Yukimura……No, never mind.”

If one has to choose between Yozora, Sena, and Yukimura to be a maid, no matter what’s your assumption, Yukimura is still the best choice.

“Speaking of which, who brought the maid dress here?”

“It’s mine.”

“Yozora’s……? Don’t tell me you like to cosplay?”

“No. I bought it on ‘Yafoo! Action’ just in case I need it.”

“What kind of ‘just in case’ you had in mind……”

“Anyway, let’s put a stop to this talk about maid dresses.”

Yozora changed the topic.

“I suddenly remembered how Meat read out a snippet of an eroge a while back.”

“*Busu*?!”

Sena snorted out the coffee she was sipping.

“I, I beg you, forget about it please!”

Ignoring Sena’s tearfully sincere request, Yozora continued.

 

“This ability is very important for making friends- the ability to act!”

 

……I can tell she is about to say something very terrible again.

“Eh, act?”

“Yes. If you are good at acting, you would be able to be on the surface happily chat with someone you secretly despise. It would look as if you two are getting along very well. In case you need to ask him for a favour later on, being on good term would make this easier.”

Very terrible, indeed.

The first person to object to Yozora’s baloney, surprisingly, was Yukimura.

“But Aneki, one of the core values of being a real man is to be true to oneself no matter what happens. Acting for the sake of hiding yourself is not something a real man should do.”

“Still young, Yukimura.”

“Please enlighten me.”

“Have you not heard of this saying before? ‘To learn something one must first learn its actions.’”

“……Is there really such a saying?”

But Yukimura looked as if he has very much been enlightened by what Yozora said.

“I see. Although I am still not mature, but as I imitate the acts of real men, one day I too will become a real man. You are amazing, Aneki. I understand fully now.”

He’s so easy to convince.

Then what about Sena-

“……Acting……Now that’s a good idea.”

“Why are you agreeing with her?”

I didn’t expect Sena, who acts as if the whole world revolves around her, to be interested in acting for the sake of others.

“When you are acting in a role, you might be able to discover hidden potential in yourself. From that you can become an even more amazing person. This is what Mitduki once said.”

“Mitduki?”

“Mitduki is obviously referring to ‘Tokimeki 7’’s Mitduki. The president of the drama club.”

“A game character!”

I stared at her and said.

“……But, when you think it, if you are so good at acting that you can with ease control your expression and actions, then you might be able to decrease the number of misunderstandings……”

……then?

It looks like we have aligned our interests in the same direction.

“It’s decided. The club activity for today will be to practice acting!”

Yozora lively announced.

“To practice acting……I guess we should do a play then?”

“Of course.”

“The script?”

“I have it prepared. My idea is that it’s best to start with something everyone is familiar with. So I brought this.”

Yozora took a few play-scripts from her bag and passed them to everyone.

“Fu, Yozora is pretty quick.”

Sena, in a rare act, appeared impressed.

I looked at the title of the script…………’Momotarou’.

“……Even though it’s true that everyone is familiar with this story...”

“But at our age won’t you feel embarrassed acting out ‘Momotarou’?”

Sena and I said disgruntly; Yozora calmly looked at us and said,

“You two are in no position to dissent. If you think you are, I'm going to broadcast that.”

“That?”

“‘The Sacred Blackstar’.”

“I, I love Momotarou! It’s unexpectedly deep, so much that even an adult can enjoy the fabulous tales of Momotarou!”

Sena forcefully smiled and said.

Yukimura, too, was nodding his head.

“Good choice, Sena-aneki. The mainstream theory these days theorized that the tales of Momotarou took shape in ancient Japan, when the Yamato Dynasty and Kibi no Kuni were at war. Momotarou was likely based on the famous son of Emperor Kourei Tennou, Prince Hiko Isaserihi Kono Mikoto, who was active in the war. Although there is no substantial evidence, but in Muromachi period-“

“Stop, Yukimura! I know that you are knowledgeable.”

Yozora stopped him from continuing; Yukimura, who was a bit carried away in his speech, looked quite sad.

Is Yukimura a history buff?......

I suddenly had this question.

“Hey, but if we were to act out Momotarou, we are a bit short on people.”

The characters in Momotarou are Momotarou himself, the dog, the monkey, the rooster, the old man, the old woman, ogres, and one that is essential to a play- the narrator.

It is clear that the four of us here present here are not enough.

“Relax. I already considered this shortcoming and made appropriate adjustments.”

“Eh……In other word, you wrote the entire script?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t easy; I am proud of this work.”

“Well, as long as you didn’t deviate from the original story too much, I can accept this……”

“Good. Then let’s get started.”

Following Yozora’s declaration, I opened my playscript.

On its first page, it listed the characters.

 

“Characters”

-          Momotarou

-          Old Lady

-          Orge

-          Tree

 

“So few characters?!”

“This is the result of the limited number of actors we have.”

“Then what’s up with the ‘Tree’?!”

“I took out too many characters, so I sort of added one back.”

“The tree is obviously not needed!”

“Well then, let’s decide on the roles.”

Yozora ignored my complaint and continued.

“For fairness, we should draw to decide.”

Yozora took a piece of worksheet and made a few simple draws.

We all took a piece and decided our role.

 

“Characters”

-          Momotarou = Sena Kashiwazaki

-          Old Lady = Yukimura Kusunoki

-          Ogre = Yozora Mikaduki

-          Tree = Kodaka Hasegawa

 

“Right from the start I had a bad feeling about this; I end up as a tree……”

“Fu fu, I am the main character. Well, really this is an obvious choice. I too feel that Yozora would make a very good ogre. I shall banish you!”

Sena laughed contentedly.

“Fu, you are laughing for now Meat.”

Yozora unhappily replied.

“Then hurry up and get started. I think at this point everyone is already familiar with the story, so there won’t be any need for story introduction.”

We moved the sofa and the table to the corners of the room. In the middle of the room is empty stage, and we started the play.

“Kodaka, since you are the tree, so stand there from start to end.”

Sena ordered me to go stand by the wall.

“…………”

I wanted to say something, but I resisted and took a look at my play-script instead.

The first line is Momotarou’s line.

“……How come I have the starting line?”

Sena asked in surprise. Regardless, she followed the directions in the play-script, stood at the center of the stage, and spoke out her lines.

“Let, let’s see……. Once upon a time, there was an old lady who lived alone. One day when she was doing laundry by the river, suddenly from upstream a rice bucket sized peach flowed down. The old lady took the peach home, cut it open, and out came me from inside.”

“It’s first person point of view from Momotarou!”

“It’s just like those first person point of view novels where the main character does the narration as well. With this we can decrease the number of actors required by one. What a great idea.”

Yozora said somewhat proudly.

“No, wait a second. If you even took out the narrator, then why did you add ‘Tree’ back……Wouldn’t it be better to have me as the narrator instead?!”

After she heard my gripe, Yozora smacked her lips and looked at me.

“……What? That didn’t occur to you?”

And then Yozora irritatedly replied,

“…If we let the trees chat so much, the worldview is going to collapse. Next.”

She didn’t take in my words at all.

“Because I was born from inside a peach, I was given the simple name ‘Momotarou’. I lived aside the old lady and gradually grew up. Finally, that day finally arrived.”

“Momotarou, there are ogres on the island committing evil deeds. So terrifying.”

Yukimura, playing as the old lady, walked onto the stage. As if he didn’t plan on acting at all, he stiffly spoke out his lines.

Although the old lady was in a maid dress……

“Fu, whether it’s Yozora or some other stuff, I shall exterminate it!”

Finally it’s Momotarou’s first line (as oppose to the narrator’s). Even though Sena said the line with passion, it didn’t seem like she wants to follow the script at all.

“Is that so. Good luck.”

……And that’s the end of the old lady’s part. She hasn’t given Momotarou the rice dango yet……

Yukimura unsteadily walked toward me.

“How was it, Aniki. My lifelike acting.”

“………”

I didn’t know what else to say, so I chose silence.

“Incredible, Aniki! You have already become one with the Tree character. I still have much to learn.”

He looked at me respectfully and exited the stage.

Sena again came to the center of the stage and spoke her lines.

“With the old lady’s farewell, I left the village and embarked on a journey to the Island of Ogre. During the voyage, I witnessed the sacrifice of a dog, a monkey, and a rooster. But I left those aside and sped up my trek.”

“What have you done?!”

“The dog, the monkey, and the rooster are what people think of whenever one mentions ‘Momotarou’. I cannot just take away all their references. This is call respecting the source material.”

Yozora explained truthfully.

…… Having them showed up as corpses- what sort of ‘respecting the source material’ is this?

“Many things happened, and I have finally reached the Island of Ogre. The ogres on the island all charged against me, but I slaughtered them without trouble. And finally, I made it to the deepest part of the ogre king’s castle.”

……That’s fast……

“At last, I stood in front of the ogre king.”

At this moment, Yozora walked onstage.

“So you finally appeared, Yozora! Prepare yourself! If I kill you, all the treasures on this island shall be mine!”

Momotarou, looking absolutely like the antagonist, yelled. Yozora loathly stared back.

And then she started her emotional and lifelike acting,

“Why? How can you commit these cruel and inhumane acts with such leisure? We, banished by the Yamato Dynasty, are the last of our race. Not only have your kind banished us to this forsaken place, but now you even want to claim our lives……! With such level of coldblooded-ness, you humans are the real ogres!”

The line of the Ogre boss…… is so cool!

“Eh……What’s this plot development……”

Sena uncertainly continued her role.

“Shut, shut up! Did you not kill those innocent civilians?!”

“Nonsense! They were soldiers your kind sent to pillage the gold our ancestors painstakingly collected! All my people want is to live peacefully!”

“Is that right? No, be quiet! The existence of ogres is a sin itself! I, Momotarou shall weld my sword of justice and strike down you evil ogres! We shall decide who the ally of righteousness is!”

“With such atrocity walking on this green earth……and claiming itself as an ally of righteousness! Is there no justice in this world? I shall become the devil, and annihilate all living beings! Come, you dog of the dynasty. My name is Kokuten no Mikoto, the last emperor of Kibi no Kuni, the being that will bring destruction to this world!”

“Yozora wait a second! No matter how you look at it, the Ogres are the good guys! Furthermore, the name of the Ogre king is not mentioned any where in the script!”

Sena finally exploded with anger; Yozora laughed and said,

“When I was writing the script, I thought it is no fun writing a simple story that rewards the nice and punish the naughty; I made a few changes as a result. As for the name, I just came up with it.”

“That’s so cheap. Only you get to yell out those cool lines. I am the Momotarou, you know?!”

“What’s so cheap about it……There is no clear good and bad in this world. History is just a tool of the victors’. In other word, only the victor in this battle can describe itself fighting for justice!”

As Yozora yelled this out, a rolled up atlas somehow appeared in the hands. She whacked it at Sena’s head.

I looked at my play script. Its last page says ‘And so, Momotarou and Ogre began their duel. The side that makes the opponent cries first is the winner, and thus is the good side.” That’s all the page has.

What happened to practicing acting?

“Ow! Wait, it’s not fair that only you have a weapon!”

Looking at the tearfully protesting Sena, Yozora gave her another whack.

“Objection denied! I shall revenge for my brothers that you massacred!”

BokaBokaBokaBokaBoka!

“Aah, enough!”

Sena rolled up her copy of the play-script and started to fight back. However the loosely stapled playscript is no match for the rugged atlas. It fell apart quickly.

“Wait, ow, that hurt! Uuh! Aan! Uuuu….Idiot---!”

Sena finally escaped to offstage.

Yozora leisurely stood at the center of the stage; a vicious smile appeared on her.

“…… Just wait, human…… I have put a bloody end to Momotarou; your world is next!...... Fufufufufufufu…. Buhahahahahahahhaahaha………!............ The End!”

Yozora reverted back to her usual tone and said,

“So how was this tiresome play……”

I replied,

“It’s all right. It’s not as if we are acting in front of others.”

Yozora calmly said,

“But this is a pretty fun play. We shall put this as a Neighbor’s Club reoccurring event!”

Yozora alone contently wiped the sweat off her forehead; at the same time an expression of resentfulness appeared on Sena and my faces.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Boku_Wa_Tomodachi_Ga_Sukunai:Volume1_To_the_Tainted_Sadness|To the Tainted Sadness]]
| Return to [[Boku_wa_tomodachi_ga_sukunai|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Boku_Wa_Tomodachi_Ga_Sukunai:Volume1_The_Delinquent_Samurai_Returns_to_His_Mother_School|The Delinquent Samurai Returns to His Mother School]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai:Volume 1 Tales of Momotarou

2011-10-25T00:45:12Z

SyQadelic:

'''Tales of Momotarou [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momotarou]'''

 

When I arrived at the club room, I found a maid standing inside.

“Whoa?!”

I was taken by surprise; without thinking I blankly greeted her.

“You have worked hard at school, Big Bro.”

……He is our new club member, Yukimura Kusunoki.

He was wearing a folded pinafore, and a short skirt.

I couldn’t help but secretly take a glance at the white thighs underneath the skirt. Calm down Kodaka Hasegawa! He is a dude……!

…….But seriously, what perfect attire for him……

“Uwah gross. He just stared at him……”

From inside the club room, Sena looked at me and said.

Yozora was sitting on the sofa across from Sena.

“……Why is Yukimura dressing up like a maid?”

I finally remembered the question.

[[Image:Boku_wa_tomodachi_ga_sukunaiVol1_chp9.jpg|thumb]]

“This is part of the training to become a manly man.”

Yozora replied a matter of fact-ly.

“Dressing up as a maid is training?!”

Yukimura replied.

“Yozora Big Sis said that as a manly man, no matter what clothing he wears, his manliness cannot be masked. The day I am wearing this girly clothing but my manliness swells up and radiate out from my soul, will be the day I become a real man. Even though this is a difficult trial, I will do my best!”

“You are pulling your tricks again......!”

“You said this is a trick? I am not making things up.”

Yozora rebuffed.

“For a real man, even if he is dressed as a maid, his aura of manliness would still diffuse out……Yukimura, imagine Kodaka wearing the maid dress.”

“Don’t make this sort of strange imagination!!!!!”

Although I forcefully scolded them, but Yukimura still closed his eyes and started imagining.

“Buhaha, gross, that’s gross!”

Sena, who also imagined the sight of me in a maid dress, burst into laughter.

“Big Bro wearing a maid dress.”

…………..

……

<nowiki>*Bo*</nowiki>

……Why is Yukimura blushing?

He opened his eyes.

“Indeed, even if Big Bro wears a maid dress, he still looks like a delinquent.”

“Why would there be any maid-dress-wearing delinquents in this world?! Also as I said before, I am not a delinquent! How many time do I have to tell you?!”

Yozora ignored my objection.

“Yukimura, you finally understand the difficulty of this trial. You must strive to reach that level.”

“Yes. I will work hard with Big Bro as my goal.”

“You don’t have to work hard in the first place……”

I tiredly said and casually sat down on the sofa.

And then, Yukimura poured a cup of coffee for me.

Without thinking about it, I subconsciously felt very content.

“……Having a maid in the club room is pretty nice, huh?”

Yozora, as if she read my mind, whispered to me.

“Well, it doesn’t have to be Yukimura……No, never mind.”

If one has to choose between Yozora, Sena, and Yukimura to be a maid, no matter what’s your assumption, Yukimura is still the best choice.

“Speaking of which, who brought the maid dress here?”

“It’s mine.”

“Yozora’s……? Don’t tell me you like to cosplay?”

“No. I bought it on ‘Yafoo! Action’ just in case I need it.”

“What kind of ‘just in case’ you had in mind……”

“Anyway, let’s put a stop to this talk about maid dresses.”

Yozora changed the topic.

“I suddenly remembered how Meat read out a snippet of an eroge a while back.”

“*Busu*?!”

Sena snorted out the coffee she was sipping.

“I, I beg you, forget about it please!”

Ignoring Sena’s tearfully sincere request, Yozora continued.

 

“This ability is very important for making friends- the ability to act!”

 

……I can tell she is about to say something very terrible again.

“Eh, act?”

“Yes. If you are good at acting, you would be able to be on the surface happily chat with someone you secretly despise. It would look as if you two are getting along very well. In case you need to ask him for a favour later on, being on good term would make this easier.”

Very terrible, indeed.

The first person to object to Yozora’s baloney, surprisingly, was Yukimura.

“But Big Sis, one of the core values of being a real man is to be true to oneself no matter what happens. Acting for the sake of hiding yourself is not something a real man should do.”

“Still young, Yukimura.”

“Please enlighten me.”

“Have you not heard of this saying before? ‘To learn something one must first learn its actions.’”

“……Is there really such a saying?”

But Yukimura looked as if he has very much been enlightened by what Yozora said.

“I see. Although I am still not mature, but as I imitate the acts of real men, one day I too will become a real man. You are amazing, Big Sis. I understand fully now.”

He’s so easy to convince.

Then what about Sena-

“……Acting……Now that’s a good idea.”

“Why are you agreeing with her?”

I didn’t expect Sena, who acts as if the whole world revolves around her, to be interested in acting for the sake of others.

“When you are acting in a role, you might be able to discover hidden potential in yourself. From that you can become an even more amazing person. This is what Mitduki once said.”

“Mitduki?”

“Mitduki is obviously referring to ‘Tokimeki 7’’s Mitduki. The president of the drama club.”

“A game character!”

I stared at her and said.

“……But, when you think it, if you are so good at acting that you can with ease control your expression and actions, then you might be able to decrease the number of misunderstandings……”

……then?

It looks like we have aligned our interests in the same direction.

“It’s decided. The club activity for today will be to practice acting!”

Yozora lively announced.

“To practice acting……I guess we should do a play then?”

“Of course.”

“The script?”

“I have it prepared. My idea is that it’s best to start with something everyone is familiar with. So I brought this.”

Yozora took a few play-scripts from her bag and passed them to everyone.

“Fu, Yozora is pretty quick.”

Sena, in a rare act, appeared impressed.

I looked at the title of the script…………’Momotarou’.

“……Even though it’s true that everyone is familiar with this story...”

“But at our age won’t you feel embarrassed acting out ‘Momotarou’?”

Sena and I said disgruntly; Yozora calmly looked at us and said,

“You two are in no position to dissent. If you think you are, I'm going to broadcast that.”

“That?”

“‘The Sacred Blackstar’.”

“I, I love Momotarou! It’s unexpectedly deep, so much that even an adult can enjoy the fabulous tales of Momotarou!”

Sena forcefully smiled and said.

Yukimura, too, was nodding his head.

“Good choice, Sena Big Sis. The mainstream theory these days theorized that the tales of Momotarou took shape in ancient Japan, when the Yamato Dynasty and Kibi no Kuni were at war. Momotarou was likely based on the famous son of Emperor Kourei Tennou, Prince Hiko Isaserihi Kono Mikoto, who was active in the war. Although there is no substantial evidence, but in Muromachi period-“

“Stop, Yukimura! I know that you are knowledgeable.”

Yozora stopped him from continuing; Yukimura, who was a bit carried away in his speech, looked quite sad.

Is Yukimura a history buff?......

I suddenly had this question.

“Hey, but if we were to act out Momotarou, we are a bit short on people.”

The characters in Momotarou are Momotarou himself, the dog, the monkey, the rooster, the old man, the old woman, ogres, and one that is essential to a play- the narrator.

It is clear that the four of us here present here are not enough.

“Relax. I already considered this shortcoming and made appropriate adjustments.”

“Eh……In other word, you wrote the entire script?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t easy; I am proud of this work.”

“Well, as long as you didn’t deviate from the original story too much, I can accept this……”

“Good. Then let’s get started.”

Following Yozora’s declaration, I opened my playscript.

On its first page, it listed the characters.

 

“Characters”

-          Momotarou

-          Old Lady

-          Orge

-          Tree

 

“So few characters?!”

“This is the result of the limited number of actors we have.”

“Then what’s up with the ‘Tree’?!”

“I took out too many characters, so I sort of added one back.”

“The tree is obviously not needed!”

“Well then, let’s decide on the roles.”

Yozora ignored my complaint and continued.

“For fairness, we should draw to decide.”

Yozora took a piece of worksheet and made a few simple draws.

We all took a piece and decided our role.

 

“Characters”

-          Momotarou = Sena Kashiwazaki

-          Old Lady = Yukimura Kusunoki

-          Ogre = Yozora Mikaduki

-          Tree = Kodaka Hasegawa

 

“Right from the start I had a bad feeling about this; I end up as a tree……”

“Fu fu, I am the main character. Well, really this is an obvious choice. I too feel that Yozora would make a very good ogre. I shall banish you!”

Sena laughed contentedly.

“Fu, you are laughing for now Meat.”

Yozora unhappily replied.

“Then hurry up and get started. I think at this point everyone is already familiar with the story, so there won’t be any need for story introduction.”

We moved the sofa and the table to the corners of the room. In the middle of the room is empty stage, and we started the play.

“Kodaka, since you are the tree, so stand there from start to end.”

Sena ordered me to go stand by the wall.

“…………”

I wanted to say something, but I resisted and took a look at my play-script instead.

The first line is Momotarou’s line.

“……How come I have the starting line?”

Sena asked in surprise. Regardless, she followed the directions in the play-script, stood at the center of the stage, and spoke out her lines.

“Let, let’s see……. Once upon a time, there was an old lady who lived alone. One day when she was doing laundry by the river, suddenly from upstream a rice bucket sized peach flowed down. The old lady took the peach home, cut it open, and out came me from inside.”

“It’s first person point of view from Momotarou!”

“It’s just like those first person point of view novels where the main character does the narration as well. With this we can decrease the number of actors required by one. What a great idea.”

Yozora said somewhat proudly.

“No, wait a second. If you even took out the narrator, then why did you add ‘Tree’ back……Wouldn’t it be better to have me as the narrator instead?!”

After she heard my gripe, Yozora smacked her lips and looked at me.

“……What? That didn’t occur to you?”

And then Yozora irritatedly replied,

“…If we let the trees chat so much, the worldview is going to collapse. Next.”

She didn’t take in my words at all.

“Because I was born from inside a peach, I was given the simple name ‘Momotarou’. I lived aside the old lady and gradually grew up. Finally, that day finally arrived.”

“Momotarou, there are ogres on the island committing evil deeds. So terrifying.”

Yukimura, playing as the old lady, walked onto the stage. As if he didn’t plan on acting at all, he stiffly spoke out his lines.

Although the old lady was in a maid dress……

“Fu, whether it’s Yozora or some other stuff, I shall exterminate it!”

Finally it’s Momotarou’s first line (as oppose to the narrator’s). Even though Sena said the line with passion, it didn’t seem like she wants to follow the script at all.

“Is that so. Good luck.”

……And that’s the end of the old lady’s part. She hasn’t given Momotarou the rice dango yet……

Yukimura unsteadily walked toward me.

“How was it, Big Bro. My lifelike acting.”

“………”

I didn’t know what else to say, so I chose silence.

“Incredible, Big Bro! You have already become one with the Tree character. I still have much to learn.”

He looked at me respectfully and exited the stage.

Sena again came to the center of the stage and spoke her lines.

“With the old lady’s farewell, I left the village and embarked on a journey to the Island of Ogre. During the voyage, I witnessed the sacrifice of a dog, a monkey, and a rooster. But I left those aside and sped up my trek.”

“What have you done?!”

“The dog, the monkey, and the rooster are what people think of whenever one mentions ‘Momotarou’. I cannot just take away all their references. This is call respecting the source material.”

Yozora explained truthfully.

…… Having them showed up as corpses- what sort of ‘respecting the source material’ is this?

“Many things happened, and I have finally reached the Island of Ogre. The ogres on the island all charged against me, but I slaughtered them without trouble. And finally, I made it to the deepest part of the ogre king’s castle.”

……That’s fast……

“At last, I stood in front of the ogre king.”

At this moment, Yozora walked onstage.

“So you finally appeared, Yozora! Prepare yourself! If I kill you, all the treasures on this island shall be mine!”

Momotarou, looking absolutely like the antagonist, yelled. Yozora loathly stared back.

And then she started her emotional and lifelike acting,

“Why? How can you commit these cruel and inhumane acts with such leisure? We, banished by the Yamato Dynasty, are the last of our race. Not only have your kind banished us to this forsaken place, but now you even want to claim our lives……! With such level of coldblooded-ness, you humans are the real ogres!”

The line of the Ogre boss…… is so cool!

“Eh……What’s this plot development……”

Sena uncertainly continued her role.

“Shut, shut up! Did you not kill those innocent civilians?!”

“Nonsense! They were soldiers your kind sent to pillage the gold our ancestors painstakingly collected! All my people want is to live peacefully!”

“Is that right? No, be quiet! The existence of ogres is a sin itself! I, Momotarou shall weld my sword of justice and strike down you evil ogres! We shall decide who the ally of righteousness is!”

“With such atrocity walking on this green earth……and claiming itself as an ally of righteousness! Is there no justice in this world? I shall become the devil, and annihilate all living beings! Come, you dog of the dynasty. My name is Kokuten no Mikoto, the last emperor of Kibi no Kuni, the being that will bring destruction to this world!”

“Yozora wait a second! No matter how you look at it, the Ogres are the good guys! Furthermore, the name of the Ogre king is not mentioned any where in the script!”

Sena finally exploded with anger; Yozora laughed and said,

“When I was writing the script, I thought it is no fun writing a simple story that rewards the nice and punish the naughty; I made a few changes as a result. As for the name, I just came up with it.”

“That’s so cheap. Only you get to yell out those cool lines. I am the Momotarou, you know?!”

“What’s so cheap about it……There is no clear good and bad in this world. History is just a tool of the victors’. In other word, only the victor in this battle can describe itself fighting for justice!”

As Yozora yelled this out, a rolled up atlas somehow appeared in the hands. She whacked it at Sena’s head.

I looked at my play script. Its last page says ‘And so, Momotarou and Ogre began their duel. The side that makes the opponent cries first is the winner, and thus is the good side.” That’s all the page has.

What happened to practicing acting?

“Ow! Wait, it’s not fair that only you have a weapon!”

Looking at the tearfully protesting Sena, Yozora gave her another whack.

“Objection denied! I shall revenge for my brothers that you massacred!”

BokaBokaBokaBokaBoka!

“Aah, enough!”

Sena rolled up her copy of the play-script and started to fight back. However the loosely stapled playscript is no match for the rugged atlas. It fell apart quickly.

“Wait, ow, that hurt! Uuh! Aan! Uuuu….Idiot---!”

Sena finally escaped to offstage.

Yozora leisurely stood at the center of the stage; a vicious smile appeared on her.

“…… Just wait, human…… I have put a bloody end to Momotarou; your world is next!...... Fufufufufufufu…. Buhahahahahahahhaahaha………!............ The End!”

Yozora reverted back to her usual tone and said,

“So how was this tiresome play……”

I replied,

“It’s all right. It’s not as if we are acting in front of others.”

Yozora calmly said,

“But this is a pretty fun play. We shall put this as a Neighbor’s Club reoccurring event!”

Yozora alone contently wiped the sweat off her forehead; at the same time an expression of resentfulness appeared on Sena and my faces.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Boku_Wa_Tomodachi_Ga_Sukunai:Volume1_To_the_Tainted_Sadness|To the Tainted Sadness]]
| Return to [[Boku_wa_tomodachi_ga_sukunai|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Boku_Wa_Tomodachi_Ga_Sukunai:Volume1_The_Delinquent_Samurai_Returns_to_His_Mother_School|The Delinquent Samurai Returns to His Mother School]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Rental Magica Volume 1: Chapter 1

2011-10-16T23:47:30Z

SyQadelic:

{{TOCyears|startyear=1|endyear=4}} 

==Chapter 1 - Magicians for Rent!==

===1===

'''Well then, let us begin a story of magic.'''

<br><br>

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"

Iba Itsuki screamed, almost fainting.

Falling on his bottom in an alleyway late at night, the pain coursed through him. A plastic bucket next to him tipped over, splashing the pants of his school uniform with kitchen waste.

"Ah... ah... ah... ah..."

However, completely ignoring that, Itsuki looked up with a dazed expression, pressing the eye patch over his right eye against his face.

He was a boy who looked a little younger than his actual age.

As if to display his personality, his hair was short and wasn't dyed or gelled, and even though it was a holiday, he wore his school uniform. The one exception to his bland appearance was the eye patch covering his right eye like a pirate; though for a young boy to wear it, it came off looking quite ridiculous.

Now, this boy had a serious reason for pressing on his eye patch.

With his left eye, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

If someone else had looked around, they wouldn't have seen anything to be afraid of. In that dark alleyway, they wouldn't have seen the shadow of anything other than the young boy.

If they were a normal human that is.

"..."

However, Itsuki could ''see'' something with his right eye.

Through the eye patch, through the palm of his hand, he could ''see'' them clearly.

... Red eyes.

The blazing red eyes glared at Itsuki from three meters above. There were six eyes in all—two on each head.

It was a massive, fearsome three-headed dog.

It was several times taller than Itsuki, with stiff black skin, and hellish red eyes—not to mention the three heads that almost spanned the whole width of the alleyway. Each of the heads had a strong demonic presence, as if even just looking at it would cause your soul to be snatched away.

... ''It perfectly matched the figure in the reference documents.''

"... A-Ah, um..."

''"GARAAAAAAAA"''

Burning hot breath emanated from the left and right heads. Just the passing wind of that breath made Itsuki's hair stand on end. Any hotter and he'd have been burned to a crisp.

Naturally that would be the case.

It was like a fusion of its ancient ancestor who guarded the gates of the underworld and the Black Dog that strode through Europe. According to the reference documents, its breath's maximum temperature was two thousand or three thousand degrees. No matter what, any human would be turned to ash in an instant. Such was the nature of magical beasts.

However, if we are talking about humans with a magical eye, perhaps they had some method of resistance...

Immediately after, 

Itsuki waved his hands in front of his face with all his might.

"No... um... I-I definitely taste horrible!"

With all of the desperation of a grade schooler being extorted by a middle schooler, Itsuki vigorously shook his head.

... Correction.

He had absolutely no way of resisting at all.

''"GRYYYYIII?"''

''"JRYYYYIII?"''

''"ZRYYYIIII!"''

The three heads examined Itsuki from different angles.

It looked like they were arguing over which head would get to eat him. Or maybe they were just trying to decide how to cook him.

"Uh, uh, ahahaha...!" Itsuki let out a dry laugh.

As if pleased with the reaction, the three heads smacked their pure white teeth together.

They were laughing.

With a twisting sound, something cold grabbed onto Itsuki's back. 

"Awaawaawwawaa!"

As he let out an incomprehensible scream, Itsuki flailed his arms and legs.

At the same time, the demon dog jumped.

It was unbelievably nimble. Even though it seemed to rub against the sides of the narrow alleyway just by walking, it had kicked off the walls two or three times and landed behind Itsuki.

"Wh-Whaaaa?"

His eyes widened to the size of a dinner plate.

However, he had no time to be astonished. Within a moment, Itsuki's field of vision was enveloped in pure red.

It was a pure red, burning, terrible-smelling...

tongue. 

''*Lick*''

"..."

''*Lick, lick, lick, lick...*''

"....................eh?"

He opened his eyes.

Through the sticky saliva, he saw the demon dog panting and wagging its tail. The dog wagged its tail with all the eagerness it could muster, as if this was the happiest moment of its life.

"Wawawawawa!"

The three heads licked Itsuki's face over and over feverishly.

From behind, a jolly voice rang out.

"Oh, as expected of you, President, being the first to arrive."

"... Hey, Nekoyashiki-san."

Itsuki, covered in slobber, turned around. He saw a young man holding a folding fan.

He was a head taller than Itsuki, had bleached silver hair and long, thin eyes that stretched to the bridge of his nose. His figure seemed to personify the word "beautiful." However, his Heian-style ''haori''<ref>A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haori#Accessories_and_related_garments Haori] (羽織) — a type of traditional Japanese over-robe.</ref> and folding fan easily destroyed any traces of that beauty.

Also, just as his name implied<ref>Nekoyashiki (猫屋敷) means (猫 : cat) (屋敷 : mansion)".</ref>, from within his haori, ''they'' popped out here and there...

''"Meow"''

''"Meorw"''

''"Mrrow"''

''"Me~oww"''

... four in total: white, spotted, black, and calico cats.

"Mm... there, there. I was a bit caught up with feeding these children, so I ended up coming late. Cats are good, they are. Treasures of humanity. Treasures of the Earth. No, no, space... space-time; no, the treasures of ''alaya-vijnana''<ref>The Buddhist concept of "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaya-vijnana Eight Consciousnesses]," or the consciousness forming the base of all human existence.</ref> they are! The saying that a cat is worth a thousand gold pieces is stingy, for in the opinion of myself, Nekoyashiki Ren, they are worth ten thousand... no, a million!" 

"Uh... rather than discuss cats, what the heck is with this dog?!"

Itsuki complains while the demon dog's rough tongue continues to scrape against his skin.

In contrast, the man festooned with cats placed his folding fan against his mouth and tilted his head to the side.

"Hm? What about it? You heard that it likes people, right?"

"Likes... people?"

That kind of went without saying. Except that rather than liking people, Itsuki had the impression that it liked ''to eat'' people.

"Oh, President. Once again, it looks like you only skimmed the reference papers. This time it's a pet search. Got it?"

"P-Pet?" Itsuki parroted involuntarily.

"Though it's only a subspecies of the descendents of Cerberus, it still makes an ideal familiar. It ran away while being transported. Looks like we've finished our request, haven't we?"

"..."

Itsuki said nothing.

However, there was a visible change in the demon dog.

''"GRYYYYYY?"''

Suddenly letting go of Itsuki, the dog let out a howl, wary of the man and the cats. It heaved its body around.

"My, my, Ultros-san!"

It had incredible agility.

Ultros, the demon dog, rushed down the alleyway faster than Nekoyashiki could even shout.

''"—Cleanse, purify—"''

This time, a lisping but cool and clear voice echoed down the alleyway.

''"Cleanse, purify. Amidst woven pattern of rock and cloud, blade of the wise great god, disperse all misfortune, the Buddha in Heaven..."''

An evergreen branch adorned with white strips of paper—a ''tamagushi''<ref>A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamagushi tamagushi] is a traditional Shinto implement</ref>—moved in the darkness. As it waved, the demon dog jumped far back, returning to where Itsuki stood. It hung its head and whimpered as if it was discovered by its master while it was making mischief.

"Huh?"

Itsuki blinked.

At the other end of the alleyway stood a young lady with pigtails. Actually, she looked to be about eight. Rather than a young lady, she could more accurately be called a little girl.

Her clothes looked a bit like Ren's. She wore a pure white ''chihaya'' with a crane design, together with a crimson ''hakama''. That is to say, a ''miko'''s<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miko Miko] (巫女) are traditional holy women of the Shintou religion.</ref> outfit. She had a red schoolbag on her back and apparently had come directly from school.

"Enough, Nekoyashiki-san. Didn't you hear that this one gets timid when it senses other magical beasts' spell powers?"

Puffing out her cheeks, the little girl stood with her arms akimbo.

Her name was Katsuragi Mikan. A third year elementary school student; she was an employee-under-contract in the ''Shintou''<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shintou Shintou] (神道 ''lit: way of the gods'') is the popular mythological tradition of Japan.</ref> department. That is to say, this was her part-time job.

"Ahaha. An honest mistake."

The young man called Nekoyashiki Ren let out a carefree laugh. He was the acting senior managing director and head of the ''Onmyoudou''<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onmyoudou Onmyoudou] (陰陽道) is a traditional Japanese occult system of thought that mixes ideas from many Asian philosophies.</ref> department. He was said to be the main force behind and leading '''<Astral>'''.

"Well then, shall we leave the last part to our President?"

"Eh, me?"

Itsuki's eyes were still spinning as Nekoyashiki handed him three seals. Complicated symbols danced across the surfaces of those slips of paper. If you showed those seals to someone even slightly versed in calligraphy, their eyes might have flown wide in amazement. However, they had no effect on the current Itsuki, whose eyes were already wide open.

"So... you've gotta stick them to its heads. If I go any closer, it'll get scared and run away again."

"..."

Itsuki held his breath.

He looked several times from Nekoyashiki to the demon dog and back. He thought of asking Mikan to do it, but she was on the other side of the dog.

"U-Under...stood."

With a completely pale face, Itsuki nodded like a puppet.

"Good luck, President Onii-chan," Mikan said, smiling. 

"Ah... ahahaha." A dry laugh leaked out of Itsuki as he stepped closer and closer to Ultros.

''"GRYYYYYYYY?"''

"I-I-I-It's alright. I won't hurt you..."

''*Pat*''

The first one.

With that, the left head drooped and fell comfortably asleep.

''"JRYYYYYYYYYY"''

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I'm not doing anything... just sticking some seals here..."

''*Pat*''

The second one.

''"ZRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?"''

"......!!!!!"

Just as he affixed the third one, Itsuki lost consciousness. For real this time.

"O-Onii-chan, President Onii-chan?"

"My, oh my!"

''"Me~eorw?"''

Itsuki felt as though voices were calling him from far off.

Bye bye. See you later. Thank you.

===2===



"...!!!"

Itsuki opened his eye.

For a moment, he didn't know where he was.

He looked around. It was red.

He was in the classroom at sunset.

One of his classmates was looking at him with a tired face.

"Hey, Ibaitsu?"

Yamada tried calling him from the seat next to him. Yamada was the ''goban''-faced<ref>i.e. his face looks like a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_equipment#Board Go Board].</ref> "hope" of the physics club. Incidentally, he was called the "hope" because he had won the physics club fighting game tournament during the new student welcoming ceremony without a single loss.

"Of course, you finally wake up after sleeping straight from the beginning of first period to the end of supplementary lessons. Have you ever considered that you might be possessed or something?"

"Wow... I was out of it for that long?"

"Yeah, you were making some amusing moans all through class. No one felt like touching you." Yamada goggled his ''sanpaku''<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanpaku Sanpakugan] (三白眼 ''lit: three whites eyes'') refers to when the iris is small, with white showing between the iris and lower eyelid.</ref> eyes at Itsuki. "You were talking about a three-headed, monster dog or something. Did you wander out at night after watching a horror film? Something like 'Terror! Flying Killer Tomato V.S. Ed Wood?'"

"I don't think there was a dog in that one."

"Forget about it. You always faint during horror films anyway."

"Isn't that natural? They are kind of scary..."

"Heh, I still remember you swooning during 'Nobita's Great Adventure into the Underworld.'<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doraemon:_Nobita%27s_Great_Adventure_into_the_Underworld A Doraemon movie]</ref>"

"Ack!"

Oh, the trauma.

Ever since elementary school, every time he went out he ended up in some unfavorable situation. Just half a month after he entered this school, the whole class knew he was a scaredy-cat thanks to Yamada. Even the neighboring classes knew him as "The Guy Who Fainted from Watching Doraemon."

"Keheheheh!" After laughing like a demon for a while, Yamada asked, "So, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, you've looked a little funny since last week."

Yamada lowered his eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"F-Funny?"

"Yeah. You're normally out cold, but recently you've been doing it a lot more. Have you taken up some kind of weird part-time job or something?"

"Mm... sort of..."

Giving an ambiguous laugh, Itsuki rubbed his cheek.

"Well, whatever. I thought you were gonna go with your Uncle Kusakabe to America, weren't you?"

"I can't do that. I've got to hold down the house here and I don't want to cause him that much trouble..."

"Well it's too late for that now. And after you guys had been living together for several years..."

"Well, just go with what's logical, I guess."

Yamada sighed at Itsuki's words.

"Man, you're a good guy in a weird place. I don't really much care about that, but at least visit us once in a while. ''Aneki'''s<ref>Yamada's Older Sister – More about [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_honorifics#Familial_honorifics Familial Honorifics]</ref> always saying you should show your face more."

"Yeah, thanks," Itsuki said meekly.

Yamada dropped his shoulders tiredly. However, he suddenly tilted his head.

"Oh yeah, I heard from ''aneki'', your father's case has been wrapped up, right? A lawyer sent some kind of letter. So they found your dad after all?"

"Uh..."

Seeing that Itsuki was having trouble putting his thoughts into words, Yamada tapped the back of Itsuki's head.

"Hm, I guess that was asking too much. Well, if you really want to know, then just call your sister."

Yamada was totally shameless.

Itsuki shook his head, giving a wry smile.

"It's okay, I don't really mind. Since it's already been seven years since he went missing, I've just thought of him as dead."

"... I see. That bad, huh?"

"I really don't have any feelings about it, though. I've been living with Kusakabe since before he went missing, after all."

"Yeah, you've really got nothing to complain about there... Man, if I could live with Yuuka-chan..."

"Hush, lolicon."

"You shut up, greenhorn!"

As they were talking, Itsuki's cell phone started rumbling in his pocket.

When he saw the caller ID, Itsuki's heart lurched.

"Ack!"

"Hm? What's wrong? Take it if you need to."

"Y-Yeah..."

Gulping down a huge gob of saliva, he pressed the talk button.

The moment he did...

"Oh, President!"

"Huh?"

Yamada's ears perked up.

"Hey... Nekoyashiki-san, what is it?"

"Along with the succession procedures I told you about, we've got a new employee coming in. Can you swing by here tomorrow, President?"

"Uh, yes... I understand, but..."

"Also, I need you to sign the documents confirming the capture and return of Ultros the other day."

"Y-Yes... Understood. Well, see you later."

As he cut the call, just as he expected, Yamada was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Ibaitsu... did someone just call you... 'President'?"

"N-No... it was just a wrong number."

"And you answered it?"

"That's, uh... s-sorry. I have to go home now!"

"Wait up, Ibaitsu!"

Standing up in a panic, Itsuki grabbed his school bag and ran away.

When he left the classroom, it was already evening.

People who have disappeared are dealt with as deceased after seven years, according to the law.

Iba Itsuki knew this because of a particular letter he had received.

"Oh... it's about dad."

Printed on a pretty, white envelope that seemed like it would be a waste to throw out was, "Regarding the Inheritance of Iba Tsukasa's Assets".

Though it was kind of cold of him, Itsuki hadn't even thought about his father until receiving the letter. Since his father had gone missing a long time ago, when Itsuki was still too small to remember, he had been given to his uncle and his uncle's wife to be taken care of. Since they had treated him just like family, Itsuki pretty much considered them to be such.

Itsuki's uncle had raised him perfectly well.

He gave both Itsuki and his real daughter, Yuuka, the same amount of affection, and even though he knew that Itsuki could see things like ghosts and monsters, he didn't fear Itsuki or give him any flack for it even once. Rather, saying it was for self-defense, he gathered lots of reference and information books for Itsuki. To Itsuki, who was often chased by monsters because of his weak appearance, the reason he was able to live for so long was thanks to his uncle.

— As a result, aside from occasional bouts of fear and bullying, Iba Itsuki led a decidedly peaceful and average life.

But now...

For the first time, Itsuki resented his father and uncle a little bit.

That's not to say that such resentment was undeserved. After all, there must have been a reason why he was given to his uncle. When the letter came, he refrained from speaking about it to his uncle (who was now in America) out of concern over the issue.

However, it was still totally unexpected.

''... Man, Uncle, you're no fair!'' Itsuki lamented in his heart. ''To think that Dad was president of some magician company, and Uncle didn't even say anything about it! Not once!''

Not to mention that he would have to succeed his father as president once he died!

After eating ramen for dinner on the way home, Itsuki stopped in the nearby park and made a phone call.

"[Good morning]<ref>Written in English in the original text</ref>... oh, Itsuki ''nii-san''<ref>Informal for ''Older Brother''</ref>? What's wrong?"

It was Yuuka. Thanks to the time difference, her voice was sleepy. It couldn't be helped. Nine in the evening in Japan was still early morning in New York.

"Um... hey, is Uncle there?"

"He's on a business trip. He flew off somewhere to the Great Lakes. He hasn't been calling regularly either, so Mom's pretty mad."

"I see..."

"Hey, hey, when are you coming to visit, ''Onii-san''?"

He heard the sound of rubbing against a blanket on the other end of the line. It seemed like Yuuka had just gotten out of bed.

"It's no use until summer break. High school is too much, right now."

"I wish you could come to school here..."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not so good with English, unlike you."

"You'll get used to it in a month!" she assured him cheerfully. There was a difference in their mental abilities that Itsuki wished she would consider.

"... Yeah, yeah... Say, Yuuka, have you ever heard anything about some company called <Astral>?" he tried asking suddenly.

"Huh? What?"

A puzzled voice came back to him. But then Yuuka's tone turned serious.

"''Onii-san''... did you see something again?"

''Ack!''

Bull's-eye.

"N-No, it's not anything like that...!"

"Re~ally?"

"Yeah. Well, I'm going to go. International calls are expensive!"

"Talk to you soon, then!"

Cutting the connection, Itsuki took a deep breath. Yuuka was pretty perceptive. If he talked to her any further, he'd definitely be found out.

"... Of course I can't tell her I've been made a company president..."

Itsuki had a far-off look on his face.

He sat on the swings, kicking back and forth against the ground weakly.

Ruminating over the conversation at the mansion the week before, Itsuki heaved a sigh.

--The mansion.

That was the office of the magician dispatch company <Astral>.

It was a very small mansion, hidden among several other buildings, and you wouldn't notice it unless you already knew about it. After receiving the letter about his inheritance, Nekoyashiki gave him a big nod and handed him several documents.

There was a Transfer of Management Contract, an Inheritance Rights Contract, and several other papers with difficult-looking contents; but that wasn't the problem. He was uncertain about his father's appearance and past, which he was just beginning to learn about.

However, when he was handed the business card, the world turned upside-down.

On a card embossed with a crystal watermark, the title, "Nekoyashiki Ren - Onmyoudou Department Head" was printed along with the following in sepia-colored letters:

'''<Magician Dispatch Company ・ Astral'''

'''— We rent magicians to meet your needs>'''

''"..."''

Itsuki simply sat speechless for several seconds.

''"... Um, what exactly is this?"''

''"Can you read? We support customers with magicians from all around the world, versed in magic arts from ''kokkuri-san''<ref>Fortune-Telling game, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokkuri_%28game%29 Kokkuri], rather like a Ouija board</ref> to voodoo, to fulfill their requests. Though, we're a bit shorthanded right now."''

Smiling, Nekoyashiki fluttered his folding fan.

''"So, I want you to succeed to the position of president of this company."''

''"President-san, President-san~!"''

Itsuki's eye shrank to a dot.

''"—Hey, wait a second! I'm a high school student! I don't remember anything about my father at all, and what exactly does 'magician dispatch' entail?!"''

''"It's not a problem. So long as there's a guardian, even a high school student can manage a company."''

Holding a teacup in his hand, Nekoyashiki gave a flawless business smile and nodded. If he weren't covered from head to toe in cats, he could pass as an exemplary model of a businessman.

''"But why do I have to inherit anything?! Why don't you become president, Nekoyashiki-san? I'll sign whatever contracts or anything I need to in order to pass it on to you."

''"The fetters of industry don't really appeal to me."''

Nekoyashiki put on a cheap smile.

''"We got an order from the <Organization>; a strong recommendation that the head of the association—that is, the position of president—be a blood relative. If we ignore what they say, we can't do business, and tomorrow we'll all be wandering the streets."''

''"Bankruptcy? Restructuring? Bad debt?"'' Mikan said in a worried voice, looking up at Itsuki.

Then, the cats began to exert wordless pressure. Itsuki couldn't find the words to go against their adorableness.

''"Uh, um..."''

No words.

The floor under his feet began to rumble with a strange moan. If he refused rashly, the floor would surely break open and unleash some kind of horrible monster.

''"I... I can't use magic or anything..."''

''"Don't worry about it. It will be enough for now if you simply sign and stamp here."''

Nekoyashiki smiled and nodded.

Itsuki's avenues of escape were vanishing one by one.

Suddenly, Mikan grabbed the armrest of the sofa. Latching onto it with her small hands, her mouth formed a へ shape.

''"..."''

Wordlessness.

''"..."''

Silence.

''"..."''

Stillness.

Itsuki finally cracked.

[[Image:Rental Magica v01 pg37.jpg|thumb|''"Al-Alright..."'']]

''"Al-Alright..."''

He gave the slightest nod.

''"That's wonderful, President!"''

''"Onii-chan's a president~!"''

''"Meowowow! Meeeow!"''

Cheers came from all sides of the office.

Washed away by the sound of the cheers, Itsuki was crushed by despair.

"... A~ah..."

Heaving a huge sigh, Itsuki unsteadily hit his forehead against the swing's chain. Lowering his head, he looked like an old man on the verge of death.

''This is bad! This is really bad!''

No matter how he looked at it, it was bad. By some mistake, the class fool had become the president of a magician company. Even more of a mystery was his employees.

''"Along with Mikan and me, our board director, Hazel, is off touring Europe, and we've got a new employee coming in soon. We've also got three or so freelancers helping us part-time,"'' Nekoyashiki had said.

Since then, ten days had passed. Furthermore, in the days leading up to today he had gotten involved in a monster capture. Going home with heavy steps, it was natural for him to stop in the park.

It was a small park.

It was near his house and he would flee here often ever since kindergarten. It was in a dead zone formed by the school district, so almost no one came through. Occasionally, he would hide in the earthen pipe tucked away in the shadow of a tree and finally be able to sleep soundly.

"Even if I hide, nothing will change..."

He looked irresolutely at the earthen pipe. He struggled over whether he should really hide in it. Even if he went to America like Yuuka said, it wasn't likely that Nekoyashiki would give up on him.

— But, at a time like this, the earthen pipe was a place where he could ball up his misfortune.

After heaving his fifty-sixth sigh, Itsuki got up from the swing.

''Ping!''

Suddenly, it felt as though a hot, iron spike had pierced his right eye.

"--gh!"

It was just a hallucination, right?

Right?

Actually, it was a sensation like approaching death. Heck, it felt like death itself. Something had turned the park into a veritable hell in just a moment.

... He couldn't turn around.

No matter what happened, he couldn't turn around.

But he did. And there...

"You are the president of <Astral>, yes?"

"Uwa~ah!"

Itsuki jumped upon hearing the voice from behind him.

There shouldn't have been anyone else in the park. There were only two entrances and he hadn't seen anything pass through either of them.

Nonetheless, a girl stood before him.

[[Image:Rental Magica v01 pg41.jpg|thumb|I am called Adilisia • lenn • Mathers.]]

Like destiny, like a nightmare, she was chuckling.

"...ah."

Itsuki couldn't speak. Stuck on his butt, he simply flapped his mouth open and closed.

"My my..."

At his appearance, the girl smiled from ear to ear.

"Excuse me, but I did not want to intrude on your home, so I invoked a reading to link me directly to your location. First, at least look me in the eyes. I am called Adilisia • lenn • Mathers. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

Grasping the skirt of her pure black dress, she made an elegant curtsey.

She looked as though she had been pulled straight out of a western painting. She was beautiful.

Even in the night, her hair was a brilliant gold color, and it was set into vertical curls. Her strong, green eyes looked down at Itsuki. Here and there, complicated patterns of gold and silver thread adorned her dress. She seemed to be about the same age as Itsuki.

"...You-You are..."

As Itsuki struggled to regain the use of coherent speech, the girl smiled and waited.

However, her smile collapsed upon hearing his next sentence.

"... Reading? Are you an employee of <Astral> too? Then you're the new employee I was told would come to teach me?"

"No."

The girl's—Adilisia's—cheeks quickly turned a rosy crimson.

At the same time, another nasty pressure stabbed into Itsuki's right eye.

''Aah!''

With that pain, he knew.

This was spell power.

The origin of all these mysteries, the great "power" itself. That demon dog had been captured thanks to spell power, and it was coming from this girl without her invoking any spells.

"How dare you! To call me an employee of <Astral>...!"

Itsuki's skin began to go numb little by little, and Adilisia's spell power began to swirl. Under his eye patch, Itsuki's right eye seemed ready to explode.

"Uh... Did I say something wrong?"

"—!"

"Uwa!"

Seeing the girl's face freeze, Itsuki grasped his eye patch quickly.

"It can't be... you don't even know?" Adilisia asked in a too-gentle gentle voice.

"... Huh?"

"Are you telling me that you do not know the name Adilisia • lenn • Mathers?"

Itsuki's right eye, and his throat, hurt.

When he gulped, the gob of saliva felt like a stone.

... If he answered carelessly, he thought he would definitely die. He felt the touch of death through his individual hairs, creeping into the pieces of his soul. Thinking only of that feeling, he was like a poor little animal about to be eaten.

Feeling his heart thumping loudly, he desperately nodded his head.

"Y-Yes..."

"... Hmph. I see."

Adilisia's eyes grew dead cold.

"The president of <Astral>, when he hears the name 'Mathers'... does not know who that is?"

''I only just became the president!''

"..."

The girl glared at Itsuki, who simply nodded, unable to say a thing. He felt as if he were a frog being stared down by a snake.

"You aren't lying, are you...? Are you really Iba Itsuki?"

"Y-Yes, I am, but..."

His words caught in his throat, Itsuki looked back up at the girl before him.

Her fearsome spell power hadn't changed. However, the ghastliness about it had slightly diminished.

Between the two of them, there was a tired feeling.

"It is okay. It seems I have not made a mistake in reaching you, President of <Astral>."

Throwing back her golden hair, Adilisia let out a small sigh. She seemed to make all of her movements separately.

Slowly walking forward, she moved to Itsuki's side.

With all the pomp of a queen, she issued an order.

"Withdraw from the next offer."

"Off...er?"

Itsuki boggled his eye at her.

He was utterly un-informed about anything.

''Nekoyashiki-san, you said I would just have to sign and stamp, and everything would be fine!''

"Uh... sure..."

"Wonderful. If that is the case, then there is a way."

Saying this, the girl pulled a sheet of something from somewhere in her dress.

It was piece of parchment.

It was also kind of ominous-looking. The rough surface seemed to have veins of poison running through it, and the red letters scrawled across it looked sort of like human blood.

"Uh... um... this is..."

"Did you not just make your decision? If you do not understand my words, then we can negotiate this through the <Organization>. Everything will be fine with just one signature."

Adilisia smiled.

It was a flowery smile, but it made Itsuki break into a cold sweat.

"Sign...?"

"Yes, if you just pull out of the next job, everything will be fine."

She spoke in a whisper that could well have been that of Mephistopheles, who had stolen the soul of a philosopher.

However, Itsuki hesitated in taking the quill and parchment held out to him by Adilisia.

"What is the matter?"

"Nothing, it's just..."

Stiffening his face, Itsuki laughed ambiguously. As expected, he had no decision-making skills as president.

Unable to judge his appearance, Adilisia gave a single nod.

"If that is the case, allow me to lend you a hand."

"Huh?"

'''"--Come forth, Botis. Wise earl commanding sixty armies--"'''

A shrieking snake appeared in Adilisia's hand in a flash.

"U-Uwa...!"

In front of Itsuki, who had begun to shout, the snake's eyes twinkled brightly.

In an instant, Itsuki's voice was caught in his throat and his body became petrified.

"Now, let us continue."

''... Hunh?''

His body began to move on its own.

With empty eyes, Itsuki took the quill and parchment and his body obeyed Adilisia.

''Huh--!? This isn't good!''

His body neglecting his will, he took the quill and touched it to the parchment.

"... Yes."

A smile bloomed across Adilisia's face like a flower.

But then...

"That's as far as you go."

A third cold voice fell.

Yes—it fell to the ground.

===3===

Something sliced through the darkness.

With a swift gust, the parchment ripped in half. As the pieces danced through the air, they caught fire and burned to ash.

"Uwah!"

Itsuki reflexively waved his hand. Just as the parchment was destroyed, he regained control of his body.

"— Mistletoe Spear."

Picking up the small twig thrown at her feet, Adilisia looked up at the sky.

"Honami!"

Another character had appeared, floating in the night sky.

She sat horizontally on an old broom with her back to the moon. Her chestnut-colored hair was tied back with a ribbon. She wore a surprisingly large, pointed hat. Her fingers wrapped around a twisted oak rod.

— Yes, she had the appearance of a witch straight out of a fairytale.

However, the one thing about her different from a regular witch was that she was wearing a sailor uniform. It was surprising to see an innocent girl of about fifteen or sixteen wearing a pointed hat and a dark cape.

And though it was unrelated to the situation, Itsuki thought she was pretty.

If Adilisia was a magnificent jewel; then this girl was a single, painstakingly raised, blue rose. She didn't have the brilliance of a gemstone but her figure was unparalleled. She wasn't a sure winner but there was no counting her out of the race just yet.

"Aren't you overdoing things a bit, Addie? I think summoning one of the seventy two demons is going a bit too far."

From behind her thin-rimmed glasses, her ice-blue eyes smiled.

"Do not act overly-familiar with me, addressing me by such a name!"

Adilisia waved her hand widely.

She took on a belligerent demeanor, as if all her previous elegance had been a lie.

Anger flared up in her eyes. She seemed to be looking at an irreconcilable enemy.

"I have already explained. According to the <Organization>, the next <Night> is going to be rather significant. It is no time for <Astral> to butt-in!"

"Okay," the girl called Honami gave a disinterested assent. "But still, for 'rather significant', <Goetia>'s youngest leader in history came all the way out to this Far-East back-country?"

"That is none of your business. I take on the work that I wish to do. That is all."

"Well then, I suggest you stop making passes at our president."

Honami shrugged.

Itsuki, watching from the side, could tell how much Adilisia had vested in whatever she was talking about. The pain in his right eye that he had forgotten about suddenly returned in full force.

Even so, the witch on the broom lightly brushed off Adilisia's words.

With that, he could tell that this person was of the same level or higher than Adilisia.

''...gh''

Finally realizing what was going on, Itsuki held his breath.

''Does this mean... that this is a magician showdown!?''

And of course, he was wide open in the middle of it. Not only was his life at risk, his soul was too.

However, he couldn't escape.

The spell power in Adilisia began to amass in far greater amounts than it had before. Once that power exploded, a magical battle of unimaginable proportions would begin.

Itsuki felt as though a drill was boring through his eye patch straight into his right eye.

More than the pain, though—he felt a horrible sensation that something was encroaching on his eye, as if it were being invaded.

Finally, the park itself seemed to turn into an alternate world...

"... Let us stop this. Tonight is not the time or place for this," Adilisia said, lowering her arm. "Since we are contracted to do the same work, we will unfortunately be in conflict. That is when we shall weigh our relative merits."

"Whatever."

"—!"

Adilisia bit her lip at Honami's blunt response.

However she immediately turning her head and chanted, '''"Come forth, Bathin, powerful duke commanding thirty armies..."'''

A pale, phantom horse was immediately summoned to her side. Then, as the night wind blew through the park, Adilisia's figure disappeared.

"A Solomon demon that transports people instantly? There's quite a crowd of them, aren't there?"

Giving a small sigh, Honami looked down at the park.

"This little spell power probably won't disappear quick. What was she planning to do if that turned into spell wave pollution...?"

Pushing up her hat while making a troubled face, she tossed a thin twig into each of the four corners of the park.

"Ah..."

Itsuki raised his voice.

The pain in his right eye disappeared in a flash. The spell power that remained in the park had just been wiped out with a cleansing ritual.

"That'll do it, probably."

The witch on the broom dusted off her hands.

She then lowered her gaze to Itsuki.

"Is your right eye alright?"

"Ah... ah, yeah."

Since it looked like she had been worried for him, he nodded quickly. Not a bit of pain remained.

"I see. That's great, then," she said nonchalantly. She slowly floated down and stood in front of Itsuki.

Standing right in front of him, the witch seemed even lovelier. Her chestnut hair mixed with the color of her eyes was probably because she was of mixed race.

Blood began rushing to Itsuki's head.

Walking up to him to the point that he could feel her breath, the witch held out a hand to Itsuki's cheek.

"Uwah!"

"You're bleeding."

She wiped a white finger below his eye patch. It was soft, pleasant, and smelled good.

She slid the finger softly across his eye patch.

"..."

The witch's eyes grew slightly narrow.

"Wh-What is it?"

"— Nothing. It's pretty sensitive, so you could have lost your eyesight from that spell power. Be careful. Also, take this. Nekoyashiki-san asked me to give it to you."

She pressed a small badge into Itsuki's hand. From the silver mirror decorated with a pentagram, it seemed to be a company badge.

"A company badge... so, I'm guessing you're an <Astral> employee?"

Not responding to his question, Honami turned her broom diagonally. It should have fallen over, but it floated in the air merrily while supporting the witch's petite body.

"— Honami Takase Ambler."

"Huh?"

"That's my name. We'll get to know each other for real tomorrow. Don't get seen going home like this, okay? ... President."

Smiling faintly, the witch's shape flew off somewhere into the sky.

The badge in Itsuki's hand sparkled, reflecting the light of the moon.

===4===

The next day.

Itsuki examined the badge as he sat at his desk in the classroom. He was, of course, unable to sleep at all last night and ended up going to school early.

''I wonder if there really isn't any way to get out of this.''

Itsuki began to worry again.

He felt almost disembodied. In regard to the demon dog incident and the park the night before, he felt as though he had died and come back to life. He had been involved in supernatural incidents before, but nothing like what was happening now.

''No, there's only one way.''

Holding onto the badge, he ran his hand across his eye patch.

He thought of when he had to start wearing it.

He didn't remember very well, but it was probably around kindergarten. He had been chased by a monster and he took a huge wound that could have cost him his right eye. His right eye was completely useless for a week and eventually became unable to tolerate light, requiring the use of an eye patch.

''... Though I can still see monsters with it, even though the patch is over it.''

Itsuki sighed. No matter what he thought, it was bad luck that he couldn't sell back. Rather, they were having a bargain on hemorrhages.

He tapped the badge on his desk, making it ring like a wind chime.

''I wonder if that girl's going to be at the office today,'' he suddenly thought, becoming glum again.

Nekoyashiki had told him to come to the office after school. However, wasn't that just stepping deeper into the swamp? At this point, the best he could come up with was calling Yuuka and flying off to America.

"What's that badge?" Yamada asked from behind him.

"Ack! Uh, it's nothing."

Flustered, Itsuki waved his right hand. He had apparently been lost in thought for a while. When he looked around, he saw the usual boisterousness that preceded homeroom.

Cutting through two or three meaningless conversations, the bell signaling the start of class rang.

The door rattled.

"—"

... Itsuki was frozen solid, right down to his individual brain cells.

In contrast to Itsuki's reaction, cheers began to echo across the classroom. Eighty percent of the male students and all of the female students were speechless, their eyes popping out.

It was because the homeroom teacher was leading in an unfamiliar girl.

No... correction...

There were ''two'' girls.

"Uh... I don't know if you've all heard or not, but these two transfer students will be joining our class from now on. First, introduce yourselves."

Itsuki didn't hear the teacher's sleepy voice at all. Probably because his ears wanted to refuse what he was hearing.

"I am called Adilisia • lenn • Mathers. I will only be here for a few months. But for now, it is a pleasure to meet you all."

"I'm Honami Takase Ambler. Nice to meet you guys."

Amidst the applause echoing through the room, Itsuki could clearly hear the sound of something shattering.

It was the sound of his peaceful life being smashed and scattered across the floor.

<span style="font-size: 300%;"><center>*</center></span>

Scene change.

Later that evening, a single man stepped into a certain park.

It was the park where Itsuki had first seen Honami and Adilisia the night before. There were no children left in the park and against the backdrop of the deep crimson sky, the rusty swing swayed forlornly in the wind.

"Looks like this is the place after all."

The man slackened his blank face.

He was a hard man to judge in a single glance. His delicate looks suggested he was in his twenties. And he wore a business suit with no peculiarities. He was about medium height. The length of his nose, the thickness of his lips, the size of his eyebrows, the deepness of his eyes—they all seemed to be about average.

It was as if his characteristics defied any attempt to characterize him.

There was one thing that didn't follow the rule: the L-shaped wires he held in each hand.

The two parallel wires occasionally twitched left or right and the man followed their direction precisely, as if he were remote-controlled.

This was the magical art of dowsing.

It used a person's subconscious to find hidden treasure or a source of water. It was one of the old magical arts well known in England.

"Yes, yes."

Nodding, the man stopped as the wires crossed each other between the jungle gym and the monkey bars.

As he did, the man touched a red pen to his tongue and made a notation on his small map.

It was a municipal map. It was a 1/300,000 scale reduced map with several X marks and small annotations scrawled across it.

"— Spell wave pollution class six to seven. It looks like someone tried to clean it up, but it seems to have revived afterward. The Ley Line<ref>Referring to the spiritual and metaphysical meaning of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ley_Lines Ley Lines].</ref> waves are all according to the calculations. The <Night> is near. Now, the participants..."

Folding up his map, the man took out a notepad.

He let out a sigh.

"<Goetia> and... <Astral>. Those are a couple of nostalgic names, eh?"

He seemed to be enjoying himself.

Even so, his eyes did not smile in the slightest. Only his lips stretched to either side of his face. It looked almost as if his mouth was a gaping slash.

The man's red, unpleasant shadow seemed to contaminate the ground of the park.

<hr/>

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<noinclude>
{{RentalMagicaNavbar|back=Rental_Magica_Volume_1:_Prologue{{!}}Prologue|forward=Rental_Magica_Volume_1:_Chapter_2{{!}}Chapter 2}}
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Rental Magica Volume 1: Prologue

2011-10-16T23:42:16Z

SyQadelic:

May, London.

Befitting the city's nickname, "The City of Fog", the boarding school's garden was wrapped in a deep, white mist that morning.

Stepping onto the damp ground in front of the vine-shrouded chapel, Honami Takase Ambler gripped her suitcase.

The familiar face of an old gentleman awaited her at the marble front gate.

"McGregor-sensei."

"Miss Honami. How about at least a goodbye before heading back to your hometown? I was almost deprived of conveying my regards to our best student in recent years."

The fog at their feet completely obscuring his cane, McGregor placed his bowler against his chest.

His Japanese was fluent.

Honami let out a brief laugh and likewise took off her tall, pointed hat. Ice-blue eyes behind thin-rimmed glasses appeared from under her chestnut-hued, semi-short hair. The pure white blouse and tight skirt were dazzling on her innocent, fifteen-year old body.

"I didn't wanna cause any trouble. You're working on your next thesis and all."

"Do not belittle me. How could one be a proper English gentleman if he did not see his pupil off at the gate?"

Stroking his orderly Colman moustache<ref>Type of moustache made famous by English actor, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Colman Ronald Colman.]</ref>, McGregor snorted lightly.

Honami smiled again.

He was that kind of person—showy and childish, but wonderful to be with. When he had suddenly approached Honami and asked her to teach him Japanese, he said, "I have no patience with accents. In any language, a historic, polite dialect most befits a gentleman." Several months later he underwent a total personality shift, right down to the BGM.  He even threw out occasional ''rakugo''<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakugo Rakugo] is a traditional form of comedic Japanese storytelling.</ref> and ''kabuki''<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki Kabuki] is a traditional form of Japanese theatre.</ref> nuances. Students unaware of the circumstances even spread rumors that McGregor had finally gone loony.

However, over the last seven years, he was the most helpful person to Honami.

"Well then, how about one last graduation exam from your former teacher?"

"Sure."

She quickly went over her equipment in her mind—it was all right. She had already airmailed all her large magical items, but she could handle the worst with what she had on her. If push came to shove, she still had the thing inside her suitcase.

"Now now, no hesitation. Rather, you seem already sufficiently prepared."

McGregor twirled his cane. If this were an old movie, he would probably start tap dancing.

"In a garden like this, there is no need to worry about spell wave pollution. There is little time before the plane arrives. Let us begin quickly."

Swiftly, he pulled something out of his pocket.

It was a small, ceramic goblet. There was an ''ouroboros''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouroboros] carved on the side and a candle lid set on top. It was an object often used in alchemical experiments.

"Your specialty, Egyptian magic?"

"This is your test. Naturally, you meet the aptitude requirements for a student. Thus I have raised the level of difficulty on your behalf."

McGregor casually released the wine cup.

In that instant, there was a change. Breaking apart with a sound, the cup released smoke, which billowed, pushing away the fog all at once, and surrounded Honami. As if it had a will of its own, the smoke rushed into her nose and mouth.

"...gh"

"The stuffiness you are feeling is a reaction to the Kabbalah Golem and sulfur, ''Tria Prima''."

McGregor observed calmly.

"I shall refrain from writing '''EMETH''' at this moment. Well then, how well can you handle an enemy with no true form?"

The smoke had already engulfed Honami's body.

According to McGregor's calculations, the smoke monster wouldn't stop until Honami had fainted. Of course he set it not to take her life, but it was possible that he had overlooked something. The smoke was designed to engulf her until all the air have been squeezed from her lungs.

However, the smoke suddenly stopped moving.

"Hm?"

McGregor frowned. A sprig of mistletoe had sprouted from the ground. It bound the smoke despite its shapelessness.

At the same time, a single arrow flew out of the smoke and struck McGregor's cane.

As the cane fell to the ground, it broke cleanly in half length-wise.

The letters '''EMETH''' were carved inside the cane, which had been held together with varnish, though the letter '''E''' had been marred by the arrow's impact.

"There's the spell's origin. Lying's the beginning of thievery, Sensei."

"Mistletoe Spear, huh? Again, a classic."

Waving his numbed hand, McGregor, who landed on his backside, gave a wry smile. The smoke had already disappeared. The girl, who was now holding her hand out to him, had no need to open her suitcase. It had been a ploy from the start, but as expected, she hadn't been forced to use her trump card.

"Aaaah, what a waste, what a waste...!"

Throwing off his gentlemanly façade, McGregor struggled to his feet.

"If you stay, we will waive all the research fees, and we will grant you unlimited access to our prized Grimoire. At least another year... no, half a year, please continue your studies here!"

"I'm happy that you value me."

McGregor sullenly crossed his arms.

"You have a lover in Japan or something?" he asked.

Honami's cheek's turned bright red.

"I-It's nothing like that!"

"Oh-ho!" McGregor joyously blew out his cheeks. "That's right, you said you had a childhood friend or something? It would be outside the bounds of gentlemanly behavior to leave it at that. Please tell me of your circumstances."

"Isn't what you're saying more like the reaction of a French gentleman?"

"Bah! It is a meaningless distinction." If any other English gentlemen had heard him, he probably would have been killed. "Well, whatever. For now, I am just happy to see the face of Miss Honami. 

"So, where exactly in Japan are you going? Isn't Celtic magic over there quite minor? I heard it's almost all Shinto and Buddhism pulling the strings."

"Yeah... About that... I made the decision to do this ten years ago. Take a look, Sensei."

Smiling mischievously, Honami handed McGregor a single business card.

Printed in sepia-hued letters on lavish paper stock with a crystal watermark was:

'''<Magician Dispatch Company • Astral'''

'''— We rent magicians to meet your needs>'''

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{{RentalMagicaNavbar|forward=Rental_Magica_Volume_1:_Chapter_1{{!}}Chapter 1}}
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