MaruMA:Hajimari:Murata

Hajimari no Tabi Special Short Story: Murata Ending

Text: Tomo Takabayashi
Illustration: Temari Matsumoto

"I'm Murata! "

"And I'm Shibuya"

"And together we're 'The Murakenzu'! This is the skit show of the twin lawyers, 'The Murakenzu'."

"No, wait, lawyers don't make skits. Or rather, we're not twins~!"

"By the way Shibuya, you sure did it, huh?"

"Yeah, I sure did! I can't believe that I won a raffle at the shopping mall for a group trip to Hong Kong, to stay at a really luxurious hotel for 3 nights and 4 days. Wow, I can't believe that sort of amazing prizes actually exist. On top of that a group trip! I can't believe it! There isn't a more appropriate prize for someone who has a team."

"Well, as someone who's been to Hong Kong before I have to say..."

"What's with you, sounding so high and mighty all of a sudden!?"

"Even if Hong Kong welcomes tourists, that doesn't mean you can go anywhere you please. If you leave the main routes and go to far away places, there are many stores where tourists aren't welcome."

".... So you mean places you can't go in without being invited?"

"That's right, and you also have to be careful with tap water. If people who aren't used to it drink it, their Paraguay will end up hurting. Yeah, and the capital of Paraguay is...?"

"Huh? Paraguay?"

"Bubuunn~(buzzer) It's Asuncion!"

"Hey, you do know that the trip I won is for Hong Kong, not Paraguay, right?"

"So, what are you going to do with it? What group will you take? You won't tell me you want to take all the friends in your circle, right?"

"No, I won't.... or rather, I guess I can't say it now. I'll go with the team, after all it's a group trip."

"Won't you need a walking GPS of Hong Kong? It's really convenient to take one with you on a trip."

"You don't need to say it like that. The MANAGER is also part of the team."

"Yay! You're a really nice guy, aren't you!?"

"Ah, c'mon now! Don't hug me! Don't hug me in the middle of the street! We're going to fall into oncoming traffic! Gya, Murata! The frames of your glasses are hitting me and it hurts!"

"You're so exaggerated, Shibuya."

"I'm not exaggerating, it really hurt. The frame was hitting my scapula,.... speaking about scapulas, my mom you know?, she was really excited thinking that perhaps my brother and I would have wings. She thought that around the area of the scapula, we'd have wings like that of a devil. "

"Wings? Do you have wings? "

"I don't! Isn't it obvious!? Besides you've seen me many times, so stop trying to get a feel where there's nothing to feel. Besides if I had wings I wouldn't be able to put on normal clothes."

"Maybe they're usually hiding."

"Wah~, what am I ? A trick master? No way!"

"In other words, your mother thought that earth mazoku had wings. But simply by looking at the back of the person she was going to marry she would have been able to see whether or not he had wings."

"Right? But my mom couldn't quite understand that my father was actually a mazoku. After all he was a self-proclaimed guy with a pretty loose personality that came from the FINANCIAL WORLD."

"Uhm.... Rather than being pretty bad, it's better to be really bad. That's more impressive (kakko ii), don't you think? I'd like to ask that to 'Taro Imo'. Besides, if we're talking about parts that are a little loose, the person who brings in all the money to the Shibuya household may be referring to 'crying easily', 'not having much money' or 'being a little fat'."

"Who is Taro Imo.... ? But my mom, you know? Even though they're called mazoku (demons) she believes that they're dreamlike beings. She thinks that all beings with supernatural powers are mazoku."

"Ahh, like that TV show about FBI detectives with supernatural powers."

"Right, right, right. Although if you ask me I'd prefer a normal detective that investigates something step by step over a detective with supernatural powers any day."

"Right, investigation is the most basic part of the job, MISTER MOUNTAIN!"

"MISTER MOUNTAIN's intuition is also important."

"So what do you think, Shibuya? Do you think that a mazoku is like a SUPER SPECIAL MIRACLE HERO?"

"No, but I think that among professional sportsmen, there are many mazoku. In the Major Leagues there must be many of them."

"Ehh~? Then there must be many of them in soccer, too."

"There must be! Maybe the 'best shooter' and the 'player who scores most goals' are mazoku!"

"Then, there must also be mazoku in sepak takraw (game)."

"Yeah, for sure! And for example in baseball, the players that steal bases and the best pitchers must also be mazoku."

"Then, in the sumo arena there must also be some...."

"It's obvious, isn't it? The Best 9 must all be ma...."

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