Kara no Kyoukai:Void Shrine

Garan-no-Dou

/1

Aozaki Touko first heard the story of the person called Ryougi Shiki on a nice afternoon not long after they had just entered the month of June.

The origin of it all was that the new employee she had just hired on an impulse was Ryougi Shiki's friend, and as a way to pass the time she lent an ear to his story.

According to his tale the person called Ryougi Shiki fell into a coma state after a traffic accident 2 years ago. She was retaining her life functions but there was no possibility of her waking up. Not only that but the growth of her body also seemed to have stopped. At first Touko couldn't believe this apparent contradiction, how could a person's life fuctions continue while they've stopped growing?

"... Hmm, the only living organisms that don't grow are dead things. No, the pressure of time even affects the dead. A corpse passes through the growth called decay and returns to the earth. The only thing that moves but doesn't grow would be that wind-up doll you brought in and set loose a while ago."

"But it's true. After the accident it looks like she hasn't aged a bit. Are there any other cases where a person is in a coma for which there's no explanable cause Touko-san?"

At the new employee's question Touko goes 'hmmm' and crosses her arms.

"Let's see. There was that famous one in that country over there. Where a newly married woman in her twenties fell into a coma. She woke up after fifty years had passed, don't you know that one?"

In reply to Touko's words the new employee says no and shakes his head.

"Uh, how was that person when she woke up?"

"Extremely normal. As if she hadn't been sleeping for 50 long years. Her mind was revived just as it had been in her twenties, apparently it made her husband sad."

"--- Eh? Sad, how come? His wife's recovery should be a joyous occurrence."

"The thing is, her mind was still just as it was in her twenties but her body had grown old into it seventies. Even in a coma state, leaving something alive means degrading it, you can't do anything about that.
So this seventy year old granny is always urging her husband to go out as if she's till in her twenties. The husband has lived the seventy years normally so he's normal. The problem is the wife. Because fifty years have flowed past without her knowledge, she can't accept the fact no matter how you explain it. It's not that she doesn't want to accept it, she really can't conceive of it as the truth.
It's a tragedy among tragedies. They say that the lady who wanted to go out to play with that wrinkled face of hers was persuaded not to by her husband who was in tears. They also say that he had this thought: If it was going to be like this it would have been better if she hadn't woken up at all.
How was it? This dream-like tragedy, it's actually something that happened in the past. Was it useful?"

For a wonder he actually nodded in response to Touko's sarcastic question.

"Oh, are you onto something?"

He gave a small nod to the impishly smiling Touko.

"...Yeah, a little. I'm thinking it might be like this. That Shiki might be trying not to wake up."

"It sounds like there's a past there. Good. Since I'm bored shall I listen to the story as a way to pass the time?"

He gets angry at Touko who really thinks of it as just another way to kill time and turns away.

"No thank you. Touko-san, your insensitivity is a real problem."

"What, you are the one who brought it up. I understand, so spill it. It's not just a whim for me either. That Azaka, every time she rings it's Shiki this and Shiki that. If I have no idea as to what kind of person this Shiki is I can't reply can I?"

At the mention of Azaka's name he gets a sour face.

"I've been meaning to ask you for a while but, how did my little sister come to know you Touko-san?"

"One year ago at a tourist spot. I got caught up in an impossible situation and my cover was totally blown."

"...Well, okay, but Azaka is a very naive child so please avoid that talk of what's there and what's not around her. Since she's in that period where I'm worried about her even without her getting involved in all that."

"Azaka... Naive? Well, your relationship with your little sister is your problem so I won't get involved. Instead share that story about that kid called Shiki."

Unable to withstand Touko who had pushed herself onto the desk he began talking.

About his friend Ryougi Shiki's personality and her unique character.

During high school he and Ryougi Shiki were classmates.

He had a relationship with the name Ryougi Shiki before entering high school and after getting put in the same class as her, became friends. The only person to have a friendly relationship with Ryougi Shiki, who didn't want any friends, was him.

But, after the street murders during the first year of high school, Ryougi Shiki began changing in a strange way.

She confessed to him that she had a dual personality, and that her other side enjoyed murder.

To be truthful, how R. Shiki was connected to the street murders two years ago is still a mystery. Before anything could be confirmed she had an accident in front of his eyes and was moved to hospital.

During the first days of March, on that cold night of the falling rains.

That kind of story about someone's life. Touko treats it as just another story told over a beer, but as the story progresses the smile disappears from her face.

"--- That's all there is to know about the relationship between Shiki and me. Although the story is already two years old."

"--- So is that why her growth has stopped? Stocking up her life. It's not even as if she's a vampire."

Heh, Touko smirks with the end of the lips curled up.

"So, how do you write that kid's name? It would be in kanji wouldn't it?"

"Shiki(I can't write kanji) from (same here), why?"

"Is it the Shiki of Shikigami(kanji AGAIN?)? And her family name is Ryougi at that. That's just perfect."

Rubbing out the cigarette she had been biting on the ashtray, Touko stands up as if she can't tolerate something.

"Was that hospital in the suburbs? This is getting interesting... I'll be right back."

Without waiting for a reply Touko leaves the office behind her.

I can't believe I'm getting involved in this sort of nonsense at a place like this, what kind of fate is this? Touko bites her lips.

/2

Ryougi Shiki's recovery was a few days later.

The fact that the situation doesn't even allow for the relatives to visit means that normal visits are out of the question.

Is it because of that?

The reason that the new employee is concentrating on his deskwork with a sulkiness which makes it seem that his whole person has undergone a change.

"It gloomy, too gloomy."

"Yes maam. A light, I'll obtain one that's suitable."

He replies without even looking at Touko.

There are times when a dutiful person will show absurdly eccentric conduct as a result of having missed something. Thinking this teen was of that sort, Touko spoke to him.

"Don't think so obsessively aobut it. You seem ready to just charge in their tonight or something."

"Impossible maam. That hospital, the security is nothing short of a research lab."

Compared to the casual way he replied, it seems as if he's carried out a pretty through investigation.

Touko shrugs thinking, well I can't let a brand new employee become a criminal.

"... I was going to stay quiet about this, but since you are so agitated I'll tell. I'm going to be working at the hospital as a stand-in from tomorrow. I'll find out how Ryougi shiki is so just sit tight for now."

"--- What?"

"It just so happened that I got invited as a doctor. Normally I would have refused but this time it's not as if it's someone else's business. Seeing as I dragged the story out of you I thought that I had to at least do this for you."

Touko speaks as if it's no big deal.

Rising up from his chair, he approaches Touko and grabs hold of her two hands. Voom, voom. The two people's hands go up and down. ... Not realising that this was an expression of his admiration, Touko stared at him with a stiff face.

"You have some strange hobbiese, don't you?"

"I'm delighted, in fact I'm stunned. There's a gentle and virtuous side to Touko-san like in other people after all!"

"... I realised I'm not like others, but I think it's better not to say things like that."

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking. Ah, so that's why you are dressed formally today. It look very smart, it really suits you. I couldn't recognise you!"

"... My outfits the same as always but, whatever, I'll accept the compliments."

It's useless to say anything, Touko realised and quietly folded things up.

"So dont do anything rash. Even without that sort of thing that hospital is strange. You will sit here and look after the office, got it?"

At that the till then hyperactive employee settled down.

"... Strange, you mean that hospital?"

"Yeah. There's a ward placed there for something. It seems like another magician was meddling with things. Of course the target wasn't Ryougi Shiki. If it was they wouldn't have held off for two years."

It was a whopper of a lie but the confident way in which she spoke meant he didn't suspect a thing.

"... Uhm, a ward. That's like the second floor of this building isn't it?"

"Yep. A ward is something of different levels which isolates a specified area. They range from ones that really create a wall to ones that cover the target area with an invisible barrier. The highest ranking wards are a form of subliminal coercion that goes, 'nothing has been done but no one approaches'. It's the same as this building. If you put in place a suggestion like 'Anyone who does not have a reason to come here will not be concious of this place', a ward will be formed which will continue to exist without anyone noticing. A ward that just mimics another world and makes people realise that something is wrong is the worst of the worst."

A strangeness which prevents you from noticing strangeness, that is her rule of vacancy. A ward which everyone ignores and passes although it's on the map. A world where a pre-eminent magician lives, appears to be just like any other neighbouring house.

But that ward, this new employee unconciously broke it. This building which he shouldn't be able to find unless he knew Aozaki Touko, he found too esily.

... Well, that is also the reason she hired him.

"... So, is that hospital's ward a dangerous one?"

"Try listening to what someone is saying. A ward itself does no harm. That word, it's originates from Buddhism. A ward is always something that isolates an area from the outside world. Although the word has somehow come to mean the technique by which a magician protects his or her body.
Understand? I said this just before but the best wards don't feel weird to a normal person. Shall we call it 'an idea which forces itself on the unconcious mind'. The best of the best reach the stage of 'disconnection of space', but if you go that far you are looking at mages not sorcerers. Currently there's only one mage in this country, so basically that kind of ward just can't be formed.
Well nothing that powerful was formed, but the ward placed around that hospital is pretty complex. It's good enough that even I didn't notice it for a while. There's a ward specialist that I know, this skill is at the same level as that guy.
... Well, among ward specialists there are a lot of philosophers. Most of them are well distanced from anything accompanied by violence so it should be alright nor now."

That's right, there's no danger in the ward itself. The problem is what is happening within the bounds of that space cut off from the rest of the world.

That hospital's ward is aimed inwards not outwards. In short, it's of the kind that makes it so no one notices no matter what happens within the building.

For example if a room was to explode in the middle of the night not one person would wake up because of the noise.

Touko didn't tell him that. Saying something about the time creeping along, she walked out with her eyes focused on the clock.

His voices catches on her narrow back.

"Touko-san. Shiki, take good care of her."

Alright, Touko says while waving. He asks her another trivial question even though she didn't even bother to turn around.

"Ah, yes. Touko-san, who's that ward specialist you know?"

Tock, Touko's feet stop.

She falls into thought for a second then swings her head around to pierce him with her eyes as she replies.

"Well, if it's a ward specialist of course it's a monk."