Nanako-chan SOS (Part 4)
/
(Cafeteria)
"What. Arihiko, you came out today?"
"Ah, I've come. Although class was so boring I was hanging out in the cafeteria since morning."
"...... What is it that you keep doing that these days. Yesterday you just played basketball all day at the gym. Coming to school but not attending class, something smells fishy."
"You've got a strange sense of smell. It's just that I don't like staying at home. In the afternoon I come just for the attendance."
"Alright. Then I'm off for now."
"---Tohno. Are you scared of ghosts?"
"…… What's this all of a sudden? Are you seriously asking me that?"
"Yeah--, everything I ask is serious."
"Alright. Then I'll answer you, but which is it? Am I scared of becoming a ghost, or do I dislike the idea of becoming a ghost? Depending on which it is, the answer can change."
"Ah? What are you talking about?"
"What I mean is… Am I scared of a dead person coming back as a ghost, or do I not want to meet a dead person, which is it?"
"-------------Ah, as expected. You can sometimes be so strangely sharp that it's scary."
"What is that? You were talking about whether ghosts were scary, why are you suddenly bringing up talk about me?"
"No, that is, thanks to your question, I solved a riddle that was bugging me for a while. …… Definitely, that's scary. I wouldn't want to meet someone who had died."
"…… Hm. Is that why you don't like ghosts, Arihiko?"
"Something like that. But what about you, Tohno? Are you scared of someone who died coming back to life?"
"Sure. I might have become accustomed to zombies, but if it's unpleasant, it's unpleasant. Of course, there are some people I would like to meet if I could, so maybe I'm just arbitrary."
"People you would like to meet, like Buddha?"
"Usually, if the person is alive, it's not called a ghost but rather a wraith. …… But, what is it, Arihiko, do you believe in ghosts? Weren't you uncertain about all this occult stuff?"
"Ah--, recently some things happened, and I decided to try believing. …… Although whatever, even that's over."
"Over, you mean this ghost talk?"
Ah. To be honest I thought maybe if ghosts really existed, I could meet some people I wanted to. But, I realized that what I was worried about was truth itself."
"So, what are you saying?"
"That just like until now, I won't acknowledge things like ghosts."
3/
(switch to School Yard)
Play *2
Elementary school, fifth or sixth grade, about then was when it took place.
At our school, we had a thing called an exercise break.
Between second and third period all students came out to the yard to run around to the beat of music. It was a fun little event.
That day I had come outside to run as usual, when suddenly, while walking in front of me, he collapsed.
'Idiot, did you trip over a rock?,' I went over to him to make fun of him.
---But then I was shocked.
Because sitting down on the ground with nothing around him, he was suffering as if he were about to die.
He was brought to the hospital.
Then the next day, he came back to school as if nothing had happened.
When I paid more attention, I realized that these events happened pretty often.
I asked the teacher because I thought it was strange, and saying 'since Inui is friends with Tohno,' she told me something she wouldn't tell the other students.
That kid has some strange disease we don't know, and it seems every once in a while, his arms stop moving or his heart stops beating.
With such a young mind, I don't know how much of it I understood.
I just understood that it wouldn't be strange for him to die at any moment.
I definitely thought that it was just like how if you were walking on a very high bridge and your legs stopped responding, you would die.
(sunset)
With this opportunity, I truly thought that I would have to fight this guy.
I knew that on his way home he passed by the river bank, so setting it up was simple.
A surprise attack from hiding at the river bank.
He fell down with a punch.
Then, after making a confused expression due to the meaningless violence, he made a ferocious smile while attacking me.
Then, well, we just hit and were hit by each other.
After that idiocy ended, he said 'you always do whatever you feel like.'
At that I said 'yeah,' and proudly nodded.
Since humans don't know when they're going to die, it's a waste to not live happily.
To me or to him, anyway, to someone, I answered as if giving instructions.
He made a blank face, then just laughed as if he was happy.
His face might have been filled with bruises, but he had a good expression.
That must definitely have been a smile coming from within his heart.
Then, I felt something.
I decided to be friends with him for the rest of my life.
When I think about it, it's just a stupid story from when I was a kid.
Stop music
Play *14
On the morning of a day off, I grabbed my blank head and went out to the kitchen.
Today, the plan was definitely for Tohno to come over to play some games. He said 'a maid in the new house is scarily good at games, and I'd like to try winning just once, so give me some training.'
"Just what is that guy doing?"
Anyway, I'm hungry, so I open the refrigerator to get some food.
"Agh-----!"
My mind goes white.
My drousiness immediately went away.
The reason would be that the refrigerator is completely empty.
"That damned brat……!"
I kick the refrigerator and leave the kitchen behind.
"Nanako, you ate everything in the fridge again, didn't you!"
(screen shakes)
I poke the horse that is sleeping inside the closet.
"Haut! What is it, an earthquake!?"
Nanako holds her head where it was hit and raises her face.
…… She claims that she has the ambition to rehabilitate others, but if you leave her alone, she just sleeps all morning. She's the one who needs rehabilitation.
"Hey, how long were you planning on sleeping? I told you I have a guest today, so hurry up and go into Ichigo's room!"
"What……? Ah, Arihiko-san, you sure are working hard in the morning."
It seems that she's not quite awake, as she quietly greets me and then tries to go back to sleep.
"You---you lazy bum! Get out right now!"
(screen shakes)
I grab Nanako's ear and pull her out of the closet.
"Ah, it hurts, it hurts! Arihiko-san, please don't pull on my ear. If it stretches out any more, I'll end up just like Dumbo--"
"Ahh, that would be good. Since you've come here, you've done nothing but eat, so you should at least be able to fly to make it even."
"Fly? I can do that."
"I know. Your body and your mind are always floaty."
"Wow, another insult. That makes it the two hundred and eighty-second time Arihiko-san has hurt my feelings."
"…… Ah, is that right. Jeez, you sure remember useless things. Since you're blue, pull out one or two useful tools once in a while. Being only a burden to the owner, what kind of ghost are you?"
"What? Blue? Useful tools?"
I guess Nanako doesn't know that world-famous machine. Well, it doesn't matter.
"It's nothing. Anyway hurry up and go to Ichigo's room. I'm having a guest over later."
"Ah, Ichigo-san's room. The stench of cigarettes is too strong there, so I'll eat in the kitchen. When the guest comes, I'll hide myself, so it's okay."
"…… You're acting like you're obeying, but really, you don't have any intention of listening to me, right?"
"What……? No, that's not true. Just, if you compare what Arihiko-san says and my abilities, there's such a great difference in ranking."
"----Hoho, why don't you explain that ranking some---"
The doorbell rang just then.
"Ah, he's here……! Argh, forget that, just get out of here! You got it, don't show your face in front of the guest!"
"…… Alright. I'm just a girl of the shadows anyway, my fortune is to do whatever Arihiko-san wishes………… Huhu."
"---You. If you wish, I can take you to the dumpster right now."
"Wow, talk about short-tempered. Arihiko-san, you won't be very popular with girls if you're like that."
"--------Ku."
"Whoa!"
I push her into the closet with the door and block it with a dresser.
(screen shakes)
"-----, ------!"
Clatter clatter, the sound of jumping about.
As a ghost, Nanako doesn't like getting locked up.
The doorbell rings a second time.
"Argh, wait just a sec----!"
If I keep responding to Nanako, it'll be sunset by the time I'm done.@ It's a little harsh, but I decided to keep her trapped like this.
In the afternoon, Tohno went back home.
'With this, I can win!,' he was saying while going home with a joyful face, but he'll probably come back tomorrow while crying.
"----Then."
I move the dresser and open the closet door.
Nanako comes out with a face stained with tears.
I expected her to complain like usual, but for some reason she seems different.
"What is it? Did a mouse bite your ear or something?"
"…………………"
No response.
Nanako looks up at me and,
Stop Music
"That person, he's like my master."
Said this random thing.
Play *2
"That guy just now is similar to your master? What does that mean, are you saying that your real master is about the same age as him?"
"No, physically they're completely different. Yes, since my masters have all been female. Arihiko-san is the first male."
'Although it's only temporary,' Nanako adds.
"That person just now had an air about him that was similar. That person is someone very scary."
`"......? Then again, he is sort of scary. So, what exactly do you find about him that's similar?"
"They're the same in that they've both died."
The ghost spoke bluntly.
"--------"
'They're the same in that they've both died,' this is another magnificent leap in thought.
Nodding while thinking 'this sure is queer,' I found that Nanako was staring at me.
"What is it. You look like you want to say something."
"…… Hah. I thought that both Ichigo-san and Arihiko-san were quite philosophical, but I didn't expect this much. Arihiko-san, you're pretty astute, aren't you? Even then, don't you find that person scary?"
"What are you saying. Are you saying that if you're astute, you should find him scary?"
"Yes. He doesn't seem like a bad person, but he is someone who shouldn't exist. Someone like that can't be mixed in with regular people, and he will cause trouble for those near him. …… So, someone as astute as Arihiko-san should know that it's dangerous to be with someone like that."
"Dangerous, huh. Are you saying I'll be sucked into something annoying?"
"……………"
Nanako doesn't answer.
For some reason, I know what she wants to say.
Accepting that for now, as a kid, Tohno was definitely dangerous. Tohno himself had no problems, but the kids sitting near him asked to have their seats changed, without exception.
That's because with a child's mind, they were afraid of the tension surrounding him.
To put it into words, some of the kids sitting next to him might have said 'I don't get the feeling that he's alive.'
Growing up, that disappeared, but as a kid, he had given off a feeling of danger for no reason.
All the way through elementary school, just him being in the classroom spread about a strange feeling of tension.
It wasn't about Tohno, but about oneself.
Maybe it was because Tohno was someone who might die at any moment, but looking at Tohno made one feel as if death was very near.
To children who never once thought about life and death, Tohno, who made them feel true death, must have looked scary.
…… Well, the only people who clearly understood it were myself and---a girl named Yumizuka.
"A normal person isn't fit for him. It's true, when I'm around him, it feels like I might die by some freak accident."
"…… Yes. Furthermore, people like that only pull in others who have noticed that fact.
Arihiko-san, if you're around that person, you really might die in some freakish fashion. For example, maybe while walking home drunk, you might fall down an open manhole and die."
"…… You have quite the imagination. That's definitely an absurd accident that might or might not happen.
But an accident like that can happen anyway. I don't care about such things. Since I'm alive, when it's time to die, I'll die."
"...... Arihiko-san doesn't seem to fear dying. Why is that?"
Nanako genuinely questions me for the first time in a while.
Actually, no, this is the first time she's genuinely asked me something.
"The reason I don't fear dying? Maybe it's because as a kid, I went through an experience that nothing could be scarier than. Ah, I'll say it now, but it's not some ghost story."
"Whaat!? You went through something so scary that you wouldn't even fear death!?"
Nanako is shocked and enters into deep thought.
As if thinking of something, she claps her hands and raises her face.
"Ah, you must have been kidnapped when you were young! The kidnapper was someone as strange as my master, so he threatened young Arihiko-san in many different ways, and that was as scary as a trial for heathenism!?"
"Oh, not quite, but it's close."
"Wahwah, that's so sad--! Due to that violence, Arihiko-san's nature was all twisted, and that's why you have such a brutal personality now--!"
Wahwah, Nanako cries.
I'll say it now, but she's definitely not crying from sympathizing with me.
"But to become unafraid of death because of that, I don't think that's right. Arihiko-san, when you were kidnapped, was your family unable to pay the ransom, and so you were almost killed?"
"Ah--, that's not right either, but it's close. The situations are quite similar."
"Ooh? You keep saying that it's not right but close, so it's hard to tell. Can't you tell me simply like Arihiko-san usually does?"
"--------"
Did she say that I was simple?
I'll have to settle this with her, but really, saying that I'm simple isn't wrong either.
Music: Stop
"Well, to put it bluntly, I wasn't kidnapped. I was just involved in an accident."
"You were just involved in an accident?"
"That's right. Before, we used to live in a high class apartment building, but for some reason it collapsed. The entire roof collapsed all at once and it was flattened, but thankfully and luckily the wreckage made a triangle and I survived by being stuck in it."