Mushi:Vol1 Ch2
Night 2: The 15th November Incident
She had nothing important to her.
Or, maybe she did, in the past. But not anymore.
A millennium – it seemed so long to live for, yet, so short to destroy. Happy memories, hopes, miracles; all these warm, gentle feelings would gradually fade with the ebb of time, until, in the end, the only thing left was a cold, empty void. An empty shell, containing nothing but an Apple, stored within the void in her body. There was no reason for her to continue living, except living itself. She was like an ageless monster - how could she ever be called a human?
That’s why she couldn’t smile.
Because there wasn’t a single happy, blissful, or treasured memory, for her to smile at.
Something that did not smile, that did not have something important in life – could such a thing be regarded as "human?"
“Who are you? What are you planning to do?”
-- As usual, whenever such a question was asked, she would find her words stuck in her throat.
Her shoelaces weren’t tied well. That was to be expected – after all, it was a long time since she engaged in such a pointless activity. Gankyuu Eguriko stood before Kannonsakazaki Private High School’s shoe closet, withdrew a pair of indoor shoes, and proceeded to sit on the wooded floor to tie up her laces in a butterfly knot. After trying for 10 minutes, though, she still couldn’t get it right. She could vaguely remember being good at it once, but, she couldn’t remember how to tie it right.
The only memories she had in her memory bank were ones filled with intolerable anguish, which seemed to pin her down with feelings of helplessness. That was why Guriko always tried to forget her past.
There was still quite some time before school began, as evident by the empty stairways. In order to practice her butterfly knots, Guriko made it a point to come to school earlier. No matter how hard she tried, though, her shoelaces never resembled anything other than a pile of upsetted noodles, which left Guriko deeply disheartened. She never even realized when “he” stood before her.
Focusing on tying her shoelaces with her head bended low, it wasn’t until she was covered by his shadow did she realize someone was standing before her. Guriko slowly raised her head.
It was a tall man, with a handsome face. It was the first time Guriko had seen someone with such perfect features, but, even then, appeared aloof and indifferent. Being an immortal, she didn’t need something like attraction or infatuation of the opposite sex, nor did she need petty little things like love – those feelings she once had were now long gone.
However, she found herself shuddering involuntarily.
She didn’t know why.
“…… Are you waiting for me?”
Guriko said silently. It was such an un-cute reaction.
She had left behind all her cute, innocent, Usagawa-Rinne-like reactions, a long, long time ago.
“I never thought you would be here this early. Having problems with your shoelaces?”
The man – Sakaki Guryuu, shifted his gaze down towards Guriko’s messed up, noodle-like shoelaces. He then kneeled down, swiftly untied her shoelaces, and gracefully whipped by a butterfly knot.
He then looked up at Guriko (who had sat up straight by now), and said, coldly, “Don’t you even know such basic things?”
“S-shut up! Why are you here?”
Damn it, Guriko thought. She never would have imagined being saved by this guy, and, for a second there, she was actually slightly happy. Even though she knew that being nice with this guy wouldn’t bring her any good.
Even though she knew that it was impossible to be friends with him.
Even though she knew that, no matter how much, how often she wished for it, it was impossible for feelings to surface.
This was something Guriko was very clear with.
Guriko shifted her gaze from Sakaki’s face, and lowered her head. Sakaki immediately stood up, his chest puffed up, bent his back backwards in an arrogant stance, and looked at Guriko.
“Like I said earlier, I want to know who you really are, what you really want, and why are you really doing this.”
It was a smooth, clear, yet loud voice. It was the voice of a dominator, a person who was clearly a class above others.
Guriko didn’t feel the slightest bit intimidated, though.
“There’s no need for you to know.”
“Even so, you still have to talk… Don’t make me use brute force.”
“You think you can actually beat me?”
Oh boy, what a bother.
Why did I say something like that?
Guriko slowly hoisted her sailor-uniform-clad body up, glaring at Sakaki’s face. Sakaki returned her glare with an intense, fiery, emerald stare.
People with beautiful eyes would always end up being beautiful.
Guriko averted her gaze and picked up her bag.
“…… Why do you want to know? Are you curious? Or interested?”
“Neither. I’m doing this out of love and commitment.”
“…… You’re worried about Usagawa Rinne?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm…”
What a resolve. How could he afford to answer so willingly?
Did he really love her that much?
Guriko gave him a small smile.
“…… How admirable. Both you and Usagawa.”
“What?”
“Nothing. I’m talking to myself.”
With that said, Guriko looked at Sakaki, and said in her pure voice, “Instead of being cautious towards me, why not you be on the lookout for ‘Mushi’ instead? I didn’t manage to kill Usagawa, and won’t ever attempt to again. Those ‘Mushi’, on the other hand, won’t give up the Apple so easily.”
“Mushi…”
“Yes.”
Mushi – the name of the enemy.
Guriko put on a stern face and stared at Sakaki, as if trying to bore a hole in him with her gaze.
“Those guys are ‘Mushi’ – not only are they everywhere, they will stop at nothing to achieve their goal.”
Don’t let your guard down – That was what Guriko silently thought.
In charge of class 1-B was a teacher named Sakaki Guryuu. Due to his dignified elegance reminiscent of Pan Yue, the teacher was the highest-level human alive. Though classified as a history teacher, he also teaches the other subjects. “Are we back in elementary school or something?” Sakaki’s students looked upon this matter in a variety of ways. The reason why he does this lies with Usagawa Rinne, as he wished to spend as much time with her as possible. Thus, no matter if it’s health, physical education, or music, he indiscriminately taught; and not only that, but none of his teaching had even the slightest imperfection. Class 1-B’s steady rise in grades was obvious to anyone who would bother to check. In addition to his handsome features and artistic talent which were mostly wasted in his teaching profession, he was, though a bit cold, on the whole honest and kind, earning him his students’ approval and confirming his status as a superior being. Envious teachers who gave long lectures instead of holding meaningful discussions took to calling him Neptune King, lord of the perfect ones; although, the students who grew up in a later generation usually had no idea what that meant.
Yet, this superhuman Sakaki Guryuu had a problem one wouldn’t expect of a person like him. That problem was his “religion” of “worship-Usagawa-Rinne-above-all-else”; in other words, his “the-world-revolves-around-Usarin-kakka” ideology. His love for this student was extraordinary, and in fact, it was for the sake of staying near this love that the man named Sakaki Guryuu bothered to obtain a teaching license. This love was already common knowledge at Kannonsakazaki High School, and since he was the type to do whatever it took to achieve his goals, his teaching license was naturally obtained through force, influence and authority. And just as naturally, during lunch break, he was in 1-B’s classroom eating with Usagawa Rinne; truly, the man lacked shame. What part of Usagawa Rinne could have caused such a perfect man to fall to such a state? Does she have some sort of relation to Yan Guifei!? Many rumors on the matter spread throughout the school’s student population. For all these reasons, Sakaki remained a main topic in gossip. One ordinary lunch in the class taught by such a man—
A unique event occurred, which was remembered as “The November 11th Incident.”
Hurry up.
Why won’t he come already? Usagawa Rinne thought to herself.
Monday, November 15th. Thankfully, the classroom that day was quite warm; Rinne smiled calmly, and put two lunchboxes on her desk as she waited for Sakaki Guryuu.
During lunch, Sakaki always disregarded the school lunches and came to the classroom to eat and chat with Rinne. Rinne loved to cook, and never found it troublesome to cook for two.
Yet, once in a while, she still felt that, compared to the standard student-teacher relationship, what she did was a bit odd. Sakaki grew up sheltered in an incredibly wealthy household, and the resulting lack of common sense caused people to occasionally react to his actions.
Secretly, though, Rinne found this cute. She shouldn’t have felt this way, but seeing that the almighty, flawless Sakaki can sometimes act strange made her feel a bit relieved. Sakaki Guryuu was still a human, just like her. Since it allowed her to think such thoughts, Rinne liked that awkward side of Sakaki.
“Like”—Rinne liked Sakaki. Sakaki was a teacher, and Rinne was his student. Despite this difference status, or rather, this wall between them, the two loved each other. That was their trust, and their mutual understanding, it was thanks to those that they would be able to find happiness.
Usagawa Rinne was happy.
She worried sometimes.
But, she was undoubtedly happy.
It was noisy. Even if one gathered Kannonsakazaki High School’s most intelligent students into the classroom, lunchtime would instantly reduce them into rowdy noise-makers. This wasn’t exactly new for high schools, so the floor and walls were a bit unclean and many wondered which past students wrote the messages found scribbled in places. Though orderly people would surely be disgusted by such a classroom, Rinne actually liked it. She felt it allowed one to understand the importance of the room’s history, and know more about the people who used to use it.
A cold wind blew in, causing the windows to burst open. Rinne realized that, though it looked warm, it had long since begun to transition to winter. At this point, Sakaki Guryuu showed up.
Sakaki’s hair was not as neat as it usually was, probably since he’d rushed here.”
As soon as he opened the door, even before walking in, Sakaki shouted, “Sorry I’m late—”
“It’s not a problem. I don’t mind.”
Rinne smiled while gently responding. Though she actually worried a great deal over Sakaki’s tardiness, she did not show it. Sakaki, still with an apologetic expression, passed through the students who quieted down after seeing their teacher appear, walked toward Rinne’s desk, grabbed a chair, and sat down. “I’m truly sorry, Usarin-kakka. Someone came to see me at a horrible time. Some education committee people or something, it was some old guy who looked like he’d fall dead at any moment. He kept going on and on without getting anywhere; he probably had bad hearing and the Director of Education dumped him onto me.” Sakaki thought nothing of saying these harsh words, and he gave a sigh.
“Ugh! But if you think about it, why did they have to send someone to me? And during lunch break at that. The office is probably trying to punish me.” Rinne held back a laugh.
Sakaki’s confused expression was just too cute.
“Sensei, it’s best if you don’t think someone wants to punish you or is badmouthing you, since that’ll lead to paranoia and just thinking about it will make you uncomfortable!”
“True, what you say makes sense. Haha, I can’t tell who’s the teacher here, Usarin-kakka.”
Rinne doesn’t know for what unclear reason Sakaki decided to call her “Usarin-kakka.” At least, “Usarin” was an abbreviation of her name “Usagawa Rinne,” but why do the Japanese love to shorten all proper nouns? Like personal computers, sexual harassment, or convenience stores. Even the name “Guriko” was an example.
Rinne thought of the mysterious transfer student called Guriko who killed herself, though Rinne barely remembered the events of that night. She was watching TV, and her door was suddenly opened. As she turned around, something was forced into her eye, and she lost consciousness. When she woke up, Sakaki was by her side, her room was filled with blood and… everything else had been forgotten.
What had she gotten into? Who exactly was that Guriko girl? Rinne did not understand what happened at all, though she didn’t particularly want to delve more deeply into the matter. Only when her life with Sakaki was threatened did she feel at all dissatisfied. If Guriko had actually wanted to kill her, that would be truly scary, since Rinne understood far too well the pain of death.
Yet, to worry endlessly over a fear of death would be too foolish, and Guriko didn’t show any signs of acting again, so Rinne wasn’t particularly on guard despite the fact that only two days and a weekend had passed.
Besides, no matter what happened, Sakaki would protect her. That was their agreement.
With blissful emotions dominant, Rinne opened a lunchbox and chatted with Sakaki about trivial topics. Rinne’s poverty prevented her from making anything luxurious, but Sakaki still seemed satisfied. He seemed like a young child with clasped hands saying “It’s started!” while actually starting to enjoy himself, and Rinne couldn’t suppress her smile. Like this, the two calmly passed their time.
While stuffing his face with green beans, Sakaki merrily said, “By the way, how’s that wall that got blood splattered all over it? Has it been cleaned up yet?” Rinne poured some tea, drank it in one gulp, and answered, “Well, since the blood also had fat in it, washing it with only water wouldn’t work. Even wiping it with a rag probably wouldn’t work, so I put new wallpaper over it.”
“Wasn’t that expensive?”
“Yup, I used up all my saving. Since the tatami was also dyed red, I had to swap that out too. That was expensive too. For a poor student, spending that much is fatal.” “I can never forgive that Guriko. But back to the main point, why don’t you get her to pay for you?”
In front of Sakaki who honestly seemed angry, Rinne merely shrugged her shoulders.
“So Sensei would be the one to start this! But—Guriko’s probably more poor than I am. She seems homeless, and besides, she even said that she can’t afford stationery.”
“…Do you two talk often?”
“We sit next to each other. She never seems busy after class, so I talk to her.”
Rinne’s naivety nearly caused Sakaki to faint.
“Your lack of concern for your safety always shocks me, Usarin-kakka! Don’t I always tell you not to talk to her? And that talking to her will get your eyes gouged out?” I will gouge out your eyes!
Guriko had actually uttered those words.
But still, Rinne was not afraid.
“Something like that’s obviously a joke. I know for sure she’s just lonely. She avoids other people since she doesn’t want to hurt them; I’d know since I used to be like that. I think Guriko actually wants to interact more with other people.”
Rinne truly thought this, but Sakaki’s reaction was subtle.
He sighed while looking up at the ceiling.
“I knew you were way too naïve in judging others… You should know, the reason why I don’t think she’s kidding is because she’s already gouged out your eyes once!”
“Well, that's not wrong.”
Rinne, defeated, smiled and set her cup down with a “clank.” Sakaki seemed to hold extreme hostility towards Guriko even though she didn’t seem so bad to Rinne. She decided, Guriko must have had some overwhelming reason for removing her eyes.
“Actually, aren’t you going to eat? You’ve only been drinking tea so far.”
Sakaki couldn’t understand. Not only was Rinne’s food untouched, her lunchbox hadn’t even been opened. One couldn’t blame Sakaki for his surprise. Rinne stayed silent for a while.
“…I-I don’t know why, but I haven’t felt hungry or thirsty ever since Guriko almost killed me. To be honest, I haven’t eaten anything in about four days.”
“What—”
Sakaki felt his voice was particularly weak in saying this.
“Even so, I’m still not hungry. Hmm… is that weird?”
Rinne looked at Sakaki. Sakaki’s face was completely pale.
Sakaki already told Rinne about her immediate resurrection after her eyes were gouged out. But with this loss of appetite, this—wasn’t this disastrous!? It showed that she wasn’t human anymore.
After noticing the disappearance of her sense of hunger, Rinne’s fear led her to run repeatedly into her bathroom to check in her mirror that she hadn’t turned into a monster. If she had turned into one, Sakaki would definitely shun her, which to her was far worse than death or anything else, and so Rinne kept her lack of appetite hidden until then.
“Sensei…”
Rinne looked at Sakaki, who had yet to respond.
Rinne understood that there were some things even Sakaki had trouble understanding, but even if he understood nothing, she still wanted him to say, “That’s okay,” or “Don’t worry,” or something alone those lines. If only that would happen, she could continue to live on.
But—
The door was slammed open.
Guriko stood there. With wolf-like hair in a mess that must have been created by a typhoon, a bored, impatient expression, and ab intense pair of eyes, this was the transfer student—Gankyuu Eguriko.
Her gaze focused on the two sitting across from each other in the center of the classroom—Sakaki Guryuu and Usagawa Rinne. At that moment, her face showed her astonishment. For Guriko whose face was usually completely expressionless, showing shock like this was quite a rare occurrence.
This transfer student who recently dominated the school’s discussion, upon noticing the school’s best-known lovers, strode over, glared at Sakaki like a police officer would a vital witness, and indignantly asked, “Have you eaten?”
“…Huh?”
“I asked you a question. Did you eat this?”
Guriko’s expression was extremely focused. And thanks to her loud voice, the entire class turned to look. All of them though, “What… What? What’s that transfer student doing now?” The classroom suddenly became quiet, and though Sakaki found it strange, he still decided to answer Guriko’s question.
“Yes, I ate it.”
“Really?”
She murmured to herself.
Guriko suddenly lowered her head and pressed her lips against those of Sakaki Guryuu.
“Eh…” “Whoa…”
Sakaki’s eyes opened wide. Rinne’s face showed astonishment. The class fell into uproar.
“Ugh…” “Um… Ugh…”
Guriko held Sakaki’s head, and pressed her lips against his. Put plainly, she forcefully kissed him, in the middle of lunch, in front of the entire class. What exactly was she thinking? This mysterious transfer known as Gankyuu Eguriko stole a kiss from the teacher the second day after she transferred in, and she even did in front of the teacher’s lover, Usagawa Rinne. No matter her real motivations, in the eyes of the students, this was a war declaration against Rinne. They would inevitably interpret the situation that way. But, Guriko’s next action provided even less hope for peace.
“Clang—”
Of all the things to happen!
Guriko flipped over the lunchbox Sakaki was eating from, which was filled with food lovingly made by Rinne, causing all the food to spill out. Then, she took Rinne’s lunchbox and knocked that on the ground as well before stomping the food inside to mush. She ended by dropping the words, “Don’t eat this woman’s food!”
And because of this—
What do say now, coming up with an explanation would truly be difficult! Leaving things as such, Guriko pridefully left the stunned Sakaki and the pale Rinne. Every student in class with a cell phone, through calls or texts, passed their message along: Usagawa Rinne’s rival in love appears! On her second day after transferring, Gankyu Eguriko kissed Sakaki Guryuu, knocked down the lunch Rinne made for him, and ordered, “Don’t eat that woman’s food!” This will definitely be very interesting!
This was the “November 11th Incident” that has been passed down through the school ever since. For those living an ordinary high-school life, this was an unprecedented disturbance.
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