Editing Kamisu Reina:Volume 1 Kazuaki Toyoshina (section)

=== 4 ===

Names.

"TV", "tissue", "contact lenses", "dog", "baseball", "banana", "cloud", "atom", "light", "Ukraine", "Hozumi Shiiki", "Reina Kamisu".

They're all just terms given to objects for convenience's sake. The convenience of using them is not their only purpose, however; names bind concepts, they shape concepts, they draw attention to concepts, and they bring them to life.

<i>"Reina Kamisu"</i>—a multifarious phenomenon that kills her observers.

That is how I define "Reina Kamisu", while ignoring the lack of evidence, reasoning and common sense.

Well, well, there is one question that presents itself: While it is still acceptable to say that this phenomenon assumes different roles and eventually kills whoever perceives her, <u>there is absolutely no justification to link the phenomenon to the name "Reina Kamisu"</u>. However, even though the phenomenon varies for everyone, we all call it by the <u>same name without any hesitation or doubt.</u> She never called herself that, either.



I take the stairs to the second floor and notice Hozumi-chan standing by the door to my classroom. As I approach her, she notices me as well and we greet each other.

"Senpai. I brooded all night over your hypothesis," she immediately gets to the point. "As you said, the victims were already aware of the name 'Reina Kamisu'. <u>The name comes first.</u> Saito-san and Kogure-kun and Kimura-kun and Mizuhara-san and Wakui-senpai and your paths have all crossed somewhere. Which means <u>that you all had the opportunity to learn the name 'Reina Kamisu'</u>. I agree with the conclusion that you've drawn from that, Senpai."


"—<u>You become infected with Reina Kamisu by learning her name.</u>"


I nod.

"I'm sorry," I apologize.

Hozumi-chan shakes her head, "Don't worry. I wished for it myself."

Right—I made the mistake of telling her the name of "Reina Kamisu". I was careless. I seem to be constantly giving her trouble.

That being said, I'm pretty sure that learning Reina Kamisu's name alone does not automatically make her visible to you. This is supported by the fact that she hasn't shown up in front of Yuji-kun and his classmates even though they've heard her name.

There must be some sort of condition. As a matter of fact, the reason why I wanted Yuji-kun to lose interest in the matter was to prevent him from accidentally fulfilling that unknown condition. Wake not a sleeping lion (Reina Kamisu). The best protection against Reina Kamisu is losing one's interest in her.

"Senpai," Hozumi-chan says with eyes that let me foresee what she's going to say. "Let me warn you: it's useless to try telling me to back out of this matter."

As I expected.

"...I won't," I mutter, and she responds with a happy smile.

Geez...

"Oh, Yoshinon!" she calls out, still smiling brightly. Her eyes are directed at Yoshino-chan who is trotting toward us. "Morning Yoshinon!"

"Morning, Hozumi-chan," she replies.

"Hey," I greet her as well.

"G-Good morning... Toyoshina-senpai."

Again that difference in attitude.

"What's the matter, Yoshinon?"

"Ah, er, I only saw your bag when I went to our classroom, so I thought you might be here." With these words, Yoshino-chan scours her own bag and takes out something resembling a massive book.

With a blushing face, she holds it out to me.

"Hm?"

On a closer look it seems to be a graduation album.

"Um... I sneaked into my sister's room and borrowed her graduation album..."

Now that she mentions it; I completely forgot that I asked her to bring her sister's album from her time at the Junseiwa School.

"You're a master thief, Yoshinon!" Hozumi-chan jokes.

"Ew... she wouldn't have allowed me to take it otherwise... Um, Toyoshina-senpai, may I ask you to return it to me in the course of the day?"

"Yeah, fine by me. Sorry for bothering you," I apologize to her.

"A, n-no! It was a pleasure!"

It was...? Oh, I should just be thankful.

"All right... I guess I'm off to the library. I want to take a look."

"Huh? What about school?" Hozumi-chan asks, surprised.

"To be honest, I don't have time for that now."

After hearing my response, she (somewhat unsurprisingly) counters, "I'm going with you!"

"...Are you sure?" Yoshino-chan asks.

"Of course. I'm sorry, but can you tell them that I've overslept or something?"

"...Okay, I got it."

Since I'm well aware that it's no use trying to persuade Hozumi-chan, I keep out of their exchange of words.

"Okay, let's go senpai."

"Got it."

After saying goodbye to Yoshino-chan, we head together to the library room. As we walk there, I sneak a peek at the thick album.

Well, I don't expect us to discover anything in this album. It's unlikely that the group suicide over there is connected to Reina Kamisu in any way. Even if she were, I would be surprised to find anything valuable in an album.

However—I was entirely wrong.




Within a mere 5 minutes after taking a seat next to each other, we spotted something.

The heart of the graduation album, the group picture of all members of the class, contained several parts that differed significantly from the rest in terms of size, exposure, background, and so on.

Because of our prior knowledge we can tell why that is. Most if not all of these parts belong to—

—the suicide victims.

"Senpai?"

"Hm?"

"I don't want to sound silly, but..."

"Yeah?"

"Aren't there too many pretty girls over there at the Junseiwa School? I'm kind of jealous."

Honestly speaking, I was too focused on the disagreeing parts to notice. Now that she mentions it, though, I can see that there are indeed a lot of pretty girls in the photo.

"Not only wealthy but also cute and clever... that sure makes me doubt if God really doesn't give with both hands, as the saying goes," she comments.

"I don't think that you need to hide, though, Hozumi-chan."

"Ah, don't mind me. You don't have to pay me lip-service."

That wasn't meant as lip-service.

"Anyway, it's only normal that there would be lot of pretty girls at a renowned all girls' school," I say.

"Why? Because only those sorts of girls aim for such a school?"

"I suppose that's not exactly wrong, either, but consider this: looks are heavily influenced by the genes of one's parents, right?"

"Yes, so?"

"And here's the point: Bigwigs almost exclusively get themselves beautiful wives," I conclude.

Hozumi-chan claps her hands together once.

"The scales fell from my eyes."

You actually wondered about it?

I decide to let her be and flip the page.

—I stop midway.

"What's the—" Hozumi-chan asks, only to cut off when she sees the picture I found.

I continue in a mutter in her place.


"—Reina Kamisu."


That name is written there indeed, but we would have held our breath—and be enchanted—either way.

Because the student depicted—

"—It's almost absurd how beautiful she is," Hozumi-chan remarks.

Precisely. She stands out even among the many other pretty faces. If one were to compare her with a diamond, the other students would be crude stones in comparison. As much as I hesitate to admit it, Hozumi-chan wouldn't leave the slightest impression on me if she stood next to the girl in that picture.

For a while, I am completely taken aback by the photograph and the sheer beauty of the Reina Kamisu in it.

But in reality, that isn't of any import; <u>the picture poses a problem that is much more severe.</u>

"I don't get it... <u>why can we see Reina Kamisu in this picture</u>?"

Hozumi-chan gives me a puzzled glance.

"Reina Kamisu is just a phenomenon. She does not possess a body."

"...Maybe she shows in pictures?"

"Even if that were true, she wouldn't get an entry in an album unless someone actually perceived her."

"Which means that..."

I look at the picture again.

<u>She does not resemble Shizuka;</u> but she <u>does resemble</u> the "Reina Kamisu" I know.

"I think we're on the same track, Hozumi-chan."

"Yes..."

"Most likely—"

Those two Reina Kamisus are <i>not</i> equivalent to each other; that's clear just from their looks.

They are, however, both <u>absurdly beautiful</u>.


"—the Reina Kamisu in this picture is a human."



In the end, we didn't attend our classes and instead went straight to Yoshino-chan's address without any notice to her; we wanted to question her sister about Reina Kamisu.

How come the girl in that picture was also called "Reina Kamisu"?

It might be just a coincidence; that would be the most plausible explanation.

The name given to the phenomenon might just have happened to match that of an existing person. But then again, Reina Kamisu is by no means a common name. Moreover, the real person is brought into connection with a group suicide, while the phenomenon entices into suicide, and on top of that, they're both absurdly beautiful and look alike. That's about as crazy as pulling off two royal straight flushes in a row at the beginning of a poker match, but still more down-to-earth than winning the lottery jackpot.

However, I don't know about Hozumi-chan, but at least I discarded that possibility rather quickly.

Because <u>I've actually seen "Reina Kamisu"</u>.

I'm certain that anyone who has seen her will agree with me: There is a definite link between the girl in that picture and the phenomenon that shares her name. That's more certain than that bull dogs and chihuahuas are of the same species.

"By the way, the buildings around here are quite something, aren't they?" I say with astonishment.

"I was surprised, too, when I first visited Yoshinon. Would you believe me if I told you that her mom showed up with a Porsche to fetch us?"

"A Porsche? Not bad."

"But Yoshinon's still normal; I heard that a large part of the households in this vicinity have their own limousines and drivers."

Limousines, hm? Sounds like a distant world to me.

Now why would so many inhabitants of that comfy distant world end their lives? They were blessed with both wealth and beauty, and must have been devoid of worries. They had everything that is needed for a happy life.

However, "happiness" is entirely subjective.

A single issue can be perfectly enough for an individual to become unhappy. For example, if the boy or girl you fancy gives you the cold shoulder, you might feel hapless even in a blessed environment. Such an environment amounts to nothing when it comes to fending off the feeling of misfortune.

Therefore, if there was a cause of some kind, it's entirely possible that even an inhabitant of that distant world committed suicide.

—Reina Kamisu. Did <i>you</i> create that cause? Will you seduce me into suicide as well, as you did with the students of the Shikura middle school?

How?

I try to recall "Reina Kamisu" as I remember her; an absurdly beautiful girl that resembles Shizuka.

What is the role I give to Reina Kamisu? What do I need? <i>Who</i> do I need?

Hm?

—<u>Who do I need?</u>

"———"

Reina Kamisu: a phenomenon that takes on various roles. <u>Who resembles Shizuka</u>.

"Senpai? What's wrong?" Hozumi-chan asks because I suddenly stopped.

Who do I need?

The answer's obvious: Shizuka. I only need Shizuka.

Having finally found the puzzle piece I was looking for, my rusty faculty of thought is set in motion again and starts to restlessly hunt down answers. Answers, answers, answers... the answers I seek sum up like a snowball.

This leaves me with one more thing that I need: confirmation. Something to prove my answers.

I see.

I see now! I found out, Reina Kamisu!


I raise my head with conviction.

As I thought.

Behind Hozumi-chan, next to a house that looks like a pompous show house exhibition—


—I see Reina Kamisu.


"I see. So we only have to wish for her to show up. Because—"

I put on a grin.

"—Reina Kamisu is <b>here</b>."



I walk past Hozumi-chan and head toward Reina Kamisu.

"Senpai!" she shouts out, visibly anxious about my strange behavior.

"Stay away! You must stay away!" I command her as I turn around and scowl at her.

She steps back because of my hard tone.

Yes, that's the spirit.

I do not care about Hozumi-chan anymore. She's no longer needed.

"Don't get in my way!" Leave us alone.

This is what I wished.

This is what I wished Reina Kamisu to be.



"I missed you, Reina Kamisu," I say as I catch her in a dark back street.

She responds with a smile—an absurdly beautiful smile, much like Shizuka's.

"Let's begin with the reason why I didn't notice you up to now, shall we?"

Reina Kamisu listens silently to me.

"You are a phenomenon that only becomes perceivable by us becoming aware of your existence. There seem to be multiple requirements for that, like knowing your name, but it's safe to assume that I've fulfilled those, since I've seen you once before. Then why is that I haven't been able to see you ever since?"

I am almost glaring at her as I continue.

"<u>It's because I started to consider you a phenomenon</u>."

Her cheeks move slightly, but apart from that she stays absolutely silent.

"When assessing a mysterious phenomenon like you from a perspective that is grounded on common sense—<u>and only then</u>—it becomes impossible to admit your existence. Basically, common sense imposed a filter on me that operated in my subconsciousness and prevented your data from getting to me. In order to perceive you nonetheless, it's thus necessary to either remove that filter or to shift one's perception of you to something different from a phenomenon."

This time around, Reina Kamisu gives me a clear response. She nods.

"You appeared before me with a certain role. I am aware of that role by now. One part of it is to help me arrive at the answer I was looking for," I explain while thinking back at the burning question that plagued me at the time of our first encounter. "But let me ask you something first: Who is that Reina Kamisu in the picture I saw? How is she related to you?"

"She's a person called 'Reina Kamisu'."

I heard her voice for the first time; it's as beautiful as expected.

"Is she someone else than you?"

"Yes, I suppose she is. In the sense of being a different being."

"<u>What to you mean by different being?</u>"

She replies to my question with a smile, "She is what you might call my roots, you know."

"Your roots...?"

Seeing that I can't quite follow her, she expands on her explanation, "...Why do you think I was given the name of 'Reina Kamisu'?"

I consider her question. The phenomenon said that the person was her roots, her origin. In other words, the person named Reina Kamisu existed first? So the phenomenon came to be only recently? That doesn't sound plausible to me. I feel that the phenomenon she represents has always existed, just without anyone finding a way to perceive her—

"—Oh, I got it."

"Did you?"

"Your name made you perceivable, just like we become explicitly aware of the concept of air by giving it the name 'air'. Put another way, <u>the phenomenon Reina Kamisu exists because we gave it that name.</u>"

"Exactly."

That explains why she spreads through her name.

"But why 'Reina Kamisu' of all names? Was there no alternative?"

If the Reina Kamisu in that album was a normal person, then there is no reason why "Shizuka Wakui" or "Hozumi Shiiki" or "Yoshino Mitsui" couldn't serve as a namesake.

"That's because her existence was singularly close to mine."

"Close...? Do you mean you blended into other people's perception of her? Similar to how a non-technical person won't be able to differentiate between a computer screen and a TV?"

"You've guessed right."

"But then... in what way did the human Reina Kamisu resemble you? In the way that she also caused others to commit suicide?" I ask.

"That's not correct. When people correctly perceive me, they tend to despair. I'm not responsible for that."

"Then what else makes her similar to you?"

"Just look at me. It's our outward appearance."

"Your appearance?" I frown. "I admit that the photo of your human counterpart resembled you, but your appearance is variable. It changes depending on the observer. It's not possible to resemble something that doesn't maintain its shape."

"But <u>you just admitted that we resembled each other</u>, didn't you?"

My eyes widen. I nod.

"Let me summarize," I say.

"Don't let me stop you."

"You're beautiful. Absurdly beautiful."

"Thank you."

"And that's also the impression you make on everyone as a phenomenon."

"That's not quite correct," she argues.

"What do you mean...?"

"I don't <u>give off</u> an impression of beauty. I am beauty itself."

"...I'm afraid you lost me."

"Have you ever heard of the Theory of Forms?"

"I'm familiar with the name, but I don't know what it means exactly."

"For example, take an elephant and picture it to yourself."

I do as she told me and imagine an elephant. The first thing that comes to mind is its long trunk, followed by a picture of its large ears and tusks. The elephant is big and gray and has thick skin. It uses its trunk skilfully to pick food.

"Are you done?"

"Yes."

"So where did your image of an elephant come from?"

"Where from...?"

Of course from the information stored in my brain. However, it's impossible for me to tell from which elephant exactly that impression originates. It might be one of the elephants I've seen in the zoo in my childhood, or it might be one from the TV or a book, or perhaps even from someone's description of an elephant.

"All right," she continues, "now imagine you saw an elephant right before you. Would you recognize it as one?"

"Most certainly."

"All right," she says, "now imagine you saw a beautiful person right before you. Would you deem her beautiful?"

I sneak a peek at Reina Kamisu.

"Of course."

"But how do you decide whether or not a beautiful person is beautiful?"

"By—" I pause to consider the hint she's given me. "—comparing her to my image of a beautiful person and see how close she is, maybe?"

"Correct."

...So is it like this...?

"Reina Kamisu, you are my very image of a 'beautiful person.'"

"Right, I am your archetype of beauty. That's why I look more beautiful to you than anyone else."

I see, that's why Reina Kamisu resembles Shizuka; after all, Shizuka constitutes a great deal of my image of a beautiful girl.

Okay, it looks like I was slightly wrong with my original hypothesis. I thought that Reina Kamisu's <u>resemblance</u> to Shizuka originated from her second role to me.

"My existence is detached from space and time, and is to be found in the world of Forms. Not that the Theory of Forms expresses precisely what I am, but it's close enough. I'm only using this term because there is no other name for it, just like there is no other name for me. But I do indeed exist on the back side—or front side!—seen from you."<!-- I honestly have no idea what she means -EEE -->

"In other words... you live in another world?"

"I don't know if it's really <i>another</i> world, but I suppose for the current mankind, who only believe what they see, it actually is another world. My being is entirely dependent on you, so if you define me as non-existent, then there is no world for me to live in. What will never change, however, is that I <i>do exist</i>."

"...I think I roughly understand what you are. But then I have a hard time comprehending how the girl in that picture could resemble you."

"Why don't you try to reverse the equation?"

"Reverse?"

"Don't think that Reina Kamisu resembles me—think that I resemble Reina Kamisu."

I don't get it. Isn't that exactly the same thing, except for the order?

<u>Except for the order...?</u>

The Reina Kamisu in the picture was a real person, and therefore had a constant appearance. The Reina Kamisu in front of my eyes, on the other hand, changes her visuals depending on the observer.

The human "Reina Kamisu" had an appearance that <u>nearly</u> everyone would find to be beautiful. That said, so many men, so many minds. In theory, it's perfectly possible that she's ugly in someone's eyes.

The phenomenon, however, must absolutely always be absurdly beautiful. That's her definition.

To rephrase this: there might be a person who considers the person "Reina Kamisu" as ugly, but the phenomenon as beautiful.

<u>The reverse is impossible.</u>

If I combine that fact with the fact that <u>both the phenomenon and the person look absurdly beautiful, and similar, in my eyes</u>...

"Don't tell me—"

I already knew that there was another condition apart from knowing her name. Those conditions are necessary to mix up the human Reina Kamisu and the phenomenon.

In other words, <u>people whose image of beauty does not match the looks of the human Reina Kamisu are not able to mix those two up</u>.

Put the other way—

"Only people whose image of beauty does almost precisely match the looks of your human counterpart are able mix you two up and create a link between the name and the phenomenon."

That is the second condition.

Reina Kamisu nods and adds to my explanation, "And as you mentioned beforehand, I will appear besides everyone who longs strongly enough for me, or more precisely for a replacement of somebody, to override the filter that is their common sense."

"But most people will eventually regain their common sense," I continue her intent, "and become unable to place you in the role they gave you. Which means that they will either lose what was vital to them, or despair because they notice that what they believed in was fake. And as a consequence—"



"—they are likely to commit suicide."



Reina Kamisu—so far I considered her evil in itself.

But I was wrong.

She is neither good nor evil; she just exists. She is just a purposeless phenomenon that is forced to appear whenever she is given a name.

That is the truth behind Reina Kamisu.

"Kazuaki Toyoshina," she says and I raise my head. "What role do <i>you</i> give me?" she asks <u>with a smile resembling Shizuka's</u>.

"...You planning to give me false hopes, just to make me despair in the face of the truth?"

"Perhaps. But you're not like the others, are you?"

"Not like the others? How so?"

"You are able to perceive me even though you realized that I'm a phenomenon. That's a remarkable difference, isn't it?"

That's true...

I'm already aware of what she really is. I'm not like the others who fell into despair as they approached the truth behind her being. The way to salvation is not going to abruptly break off.

If I give her the role of the person I crave for, I will be able to wallow in a soft dream.

Shizuka does not exist in this world anymore.

Then what should be my decision—?

My decision?

There's nothing to waver.

I, I—

I take the cross choker out of my pocket. I've already noticed what I'm supposed to use it for.

I take a step toward Reina Kamisu.

I won't return. I don't need to.

My final step—


"...Senpai."



—is stopped by that voice.

<i>Didn't I tell you to stay away? To not get in my way?!</i>

I turn around and glare at Hozumi Shiiki.

Though unsettled by the anger in my look, she continues to speak, "...Who were you talking to, Senpai?"

I don't answer her.

So at the end of the day, she won't recognize what's important for me; she won't take take the same path no matter how much she feels attached to me. She isn't worth much to me: neither is she able to substitute Shizuka, nor is she able to make up for her in the slightest.

"Reina Kamisu. Let's meet up tomorrow."

"...Where?"

"<i>That</i> place. I'm sure you understand, right?"

Reina Kamisu smiles at me.

"Senpai..."

I ignore Hozumi-chan again. Instead I take the graduation album out of my bag and hand it to her, "Return this to Yoshino-chan, okay?"

Wih these words I turn away from her.

"Senpai!" she calls out to me from behind. "I... I... what... what do I have to do?! What do I have to do... to walk the same path as—"

"Hozumi-chan," I interrupt her. "Stop bothering me or—"

With my back turned toward her,

"—I will kill you." I spit words of rejection.

I walk away.

I throw everything away.

I throw away even the foolish but gentle girl who has treated me ever so warmly.

I can no longer see anything.

I can no longer hear anything.

Therefore I can absolutely not hear the weeping behind me either.