The Tatami Galaxy

by Morimi Tomihiko

Mochiguma Translations

Translators: koiabi and eerabbit

Editor: Griffin The Tatami Third heel

n the to ears before the sring of m unior ear of college accomlished not a single thing of ractical use nstead of building health relationshis ith the oosite se studing diligentl training m bod and undertaking other actiities directed toards becoming a roductie member of societ isolated mself from omen abandoned m studies and let m health fall to ruin et desite haing struck out alread h is it that continued to labor aa hoing for the ieces to fall into lace must inuire of the resonsible art here is the culrit t is not that hae alas been in this condition as born ure as the drien sno and as charming as the infant rince Geni ith nar an imure thought in m head m radiant smile sread the light of loe across the hills and alles of m hometon am doubtful hether that is still the case toda Each time that look in a mirror fl into a rage asking h hae ou become like this s this the sum of our current eistence There are those ho sa that am still oung and that eole are things that ma et change o ridiculous t is said that the child is the father of the man nd ith this ear another one ill be added to m tent and the end of m slendid uartercentur outh ill soon aroach hat outcome then ould further clums efforts to change m ersonalit bring about t this stage if attemt to tist something that has alread set and hardened the most ll do is break it t this moment must ull mself uard into leading a resectable life must not aert m ees from the grim realit that lies before me nd et someho it is unbearable to look

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ince it is said that those ho interfere ith the romance of others are fated to be tramled to death b horses staed far aa from the lonel stables at the north end of camus f ere eer to aroach the horseriding grounds ould certainl be attacked b a band of ramaging horses hich ould um the fences and tramle me until the leftoer scras of m flesh ould no longer be fit een for sukiyaki or the same reason as deathl ​ ​ afraid of the oto mounted olice cors llo me to elain h as so afraid of horses as once notorious for being the estroer of oe lack uid dressed in the robes of a reaer traded m bo and arros for a scthe hacking aart the red threads of fate ith laser accurac ountless tears ere shed b oung loebirds as a result of m eloits This as certainl the height of derait of that much at least am aare ts ossible that rior to entering uniersit had trembled slightl ith ecitement at the ossibilit of ros associations ith members of the oosite se uring the first fe months of m college career such things ere hardl a stretch of the imagination but neertheless earnestl ledged to mself that ould not become a beast but ould instead go forth gentl and olitel courting beautiful maidens t an rate thought mself reared to oerlook men and omen throing aa reason to engage in eerimental natural hilosoh efore kne it though had lost all comosure and transformed into a scoundrel feeling nothing but o at the sound of those fateful red threads snaing t asnt long before came to inhabit back alles of broken loe here the scras of those strings floated in uddles of bitter tears and the one ho as resonsible for leading me don those athas of deseration as a desicable man ho as both m sorn enem and closest friend

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u is a student the same ear as Though he is a member of the electrical engineering deartment he hates electricit electronics and engineering is firstear grades ere so borderline that ondered if there as an oint to him being in uniersit at all e hoeer asnt concerned in the slightest ecause he desises egetables and adheres strictl to a diet of fast food he has the etremel eerie look and comleion of someone from the far side of the moon f ou ere to meet him the street late at night eight out of ten eole ould mistake him for a youkai The ​ ​ remaining to eole are certainl youkai themseles ​ ​ ruell beating the eak groeling to the strong selfish selfassured la a comlete demon neglecting studies lacking a shred of ride feeding off the unhainess of others he as able to eat three suare meals a da There is not a single art of him that is raiseorth f had neer met him m soul surel ould hae been cleaner for it eeing that in mind setting foot into the Misogi Moie ircle in the sring of m freshman ear as most assuredl a mistake

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t the time as still a sarkling freshman The cherr trees had shed their floers clad no in an inigorating erdant hue on entering the uniersit grounds each firstear as immediatel ressed ith club fliers ith so man that the could not be rocessed b a single erson mong those sundr fliers onl four caught m attention: Misogi Moie ircle a msterious call for disciles onaka oftball ircle and the uck at estaurant secret societ Each of these had its on air of susicion et as its on doora to a et unknon camus life and as filled ith inuisitieness thinking that no matter hich chose a fascinating future la ahead The onl reason thought this as because as a hoeless fool fter lectures directed m stes toards the uniersit clock toer t seemed that man circles ere holding ne member information sessions in that icinit round the base of the clock toer milled throngs of freshmen their faces still blushing ith srings of hoe as ell as craft circle members eager to re on those same hoes Thinking that among these countless circles la an entrance to the hantasmic illusion of the entrance to a ros student life andered around in a lightheaded dae The first thing noticed as a grou of students holding a billboard dislaing Misogi Moie ircle t looked like the ere screening a moie as a a of elcoming otential ne recruits n hindsight should not hae continued beond that oint M decision to oin the club that da must be attributed to the fact that as deluded b honelaced slogans like ets ae un Making Moies into holding unreasonable eectations n m ecitement at the rosect of a ros future making a hundred friends forget mself and from that da on embarked uon the ath of a beast acuiring not friends but countless enemies on entering Misogi as comletel unable to integrate into the irritatingl congenial atmoshere told mself oer and oer that this as merel a trial needed to oercome that b entering this abnormall cheerful grou ould attain a ros student life beautiful raenhaired maidens and eentuall the entire orld ut in the end m hoes ere crushed acked into a dark corner suddenl noticed a face of ill ortent aear beside me thought it as an eil sirit that onl someone of m delicate nature could see That as the first meeting beteen u and me

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fter that fateful encounter the net to ears fle b t as the end of m third Ma in uniersit sat in m beloed tatami room glaring at the desicable u lied in a boarding house called himogamo suis hich is located in himogamo umigaa had heard that the lace had burned don in the chaos at the end of the Tokugaa shogunate as rebuilt in eactl the same fashion and had not been renoated since f it hadnt been for the light leaking out of the indos one could be forgien for mistaking it for an abandoned ruin hen first isited this lace during the coo association tour after orientation thought had andered into oloon alled it ust looking at its crumbling ooden frame as enough to induce aniet and it as robabl sufficientl dilaidated that it could be laced on the list of aans mortant ultural roerties et if it ere to burn don doubt that anone ould een bat an ee Een the landlord ho lies to the east ould most certainl be relieed That articular night u had come to m residence for a isit The to of us gloomil guled don sake Gimme something to eat u demanded broke out m hot late and grilled some fish burgers but u deoured his in one bite and then roceeded to make een more etraagant reuests: ou got an real meat could go for beef tongue ith leeks right no n a rage shoed a siling hot fish burger into his mouth but after seeing great teardros roll silentl don his cheeks as obliged to forgie him t the start of the month after to ears of relentlessl ruining eer relationshi e came across in Misogi e had finall ithdran from the circle Though it is considered good manners to clean u after ourself u and combined our efforts in order to leae behind a mess muddier than the aters of the ello ier continued m association ith u but een after e left the circle he seemed to kee himself bus ith all sorts of schemes e seemed to hae a hand in the sorts circles and een in the actiities of the secret societ The real reason he came to m room that night as because he as also isiting a certain resident of the himogamo suis on the second floor u called that erson Master and had been coming and going from that residence since our first ear The reason that this miserable relationshi beteen u and hadnt alread been seered as not onl because e ere alas ushed into the same dark corners of the circles e oined but also because he as alas isiting m boarding house Een hen inuired as to the nature of this Master u siml ut on a loathsome obscene grin and refused to anser came to the conclusion that he as some sort of Master of mut Misogi and had alread comletel broken off relations but u ho seemed to hae ears eerhere constantl afted fresh gossi m a e had thron aa hat little honor e had left for the sake of our little reolution ut according to u our rotests hich e had risked life and limb for had brought no change to the circle ith a little hel from the alcohol became redictabl belligerent ince had been banished from the circle m life had fallen into a mundane ccle of commuting back and forth to camus o though felt a indictie eal stirring again ithin me anning flames as something that u as unconscionabl good at a still feel like doing that thing e talked about he asked his bod undulating like a sea cucumber eah Then its decided ll get eerthing read and be there at dusk tomorro ooking ecetionall leased he left to return to hateer hole he came from felt like d been had tried to fall aslee but the hinese echange students on the second floor ere haing a raucous gettogether hich made slee uite a difficult rosect eeling slight angs of hunger decided to take a tri to eko amen ising from m futon left m room to ander the darkened streets

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urel b chance that night met the god ho lied on the second floor of himogamo suis eko amen is a fabled ramen stand hich is rumored to make its broth out of cats but hether that is true or not the taste is unaralleled t is not m lace to disclose the location here it makes its freuent aearances so shall not ut the details into riting here oeer ill sa that it can be found in the area around himogamo hrine trembled as slured u the ramen aering beteen ecstas and terror at the incomarable taste nother customer came in and seated himself beside me glanced at him and as immediatel taken aback b his er odd aearance ressed in a dark blue yukata ​ and tengu geta he strangel resembled an ascetic hermit ooking askance at him from m ​ ​ bol seemed to recall seeing this fello man times in himogamo suis: a figure retreating u the creaking staircase a rofile out in the sunshine belo the clotheslines getting his haircut b some female echange student a silhouette at the communal sinks ashing some msterious fruit The hair on to of his egglantshaed head as as disheeled as if a thoon had ust blon through and there as an easgoing look in his ees t as difficult to tell ho old he as he resembled a middleaged man and et he ma ust as ell hae been a uniersit student f course didnt een imagine that he could be a god e and the shokeeer echanged leasantries like the ere old friends nce he turned to his noodles though he slured the entire bol u ith the force of iagara alls floing in reerse e drained his bol of broth before had finished eating it as racticall a suerhuman feat nce he had finished he turned to scrutinie me carefull fter a hile he soke ith a eculiarl oldfashioned elocution ou are a resident of himogamo suis are ou not eeing me nod he smiled looking uite satisfied am also a resident there leasure ikeise relied and on that note as uite reared to end the conersation oeer he continued to stare boldl at me and nodded knoingl muttering see so ou are the one Though as still feeling the effects of m reious alcoholic indiscretions neertheless felt ar of this oerl familiar fello or a moment considered hether he might not be the longlost brother as searated from ten ears ago but that as imossible seeing as had no brother to searate from in the first lace inishing m ramen stood u to leae but the man stood u as ell and fell into ste beside me ithout missing a beat roducing a cigar he lit u and roceeded to uff out smoke Though attemted to uicken m ace he managed to sta right beside me ithout seeming to eert himself in the slightest ne might hae thought him to be a iard hat a nuisance thought hen suddenl he soke again

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The sa time flies like an arro but it is a most eing thing ho the seasons come around one after another haent the slightest idea ho much time has assed since the creation of the heaens and earth but from the looks of it it doesnt seem to hae been er long at all or so man humans to hae been born in such a trifling amount of time is uite amaing nd the send each da laboring aa industrious creatures arent the ts uite slendid and must sa that am uite fond of them ut no matter ho endearing the are there are so man of them that it siml isnt ossible to commiserate ith them all nce fall comes e must again go to umo and dont make light of the train fare n the ast e ored oer eer matter uite carefull and een sent entire nights haing great arguments and disutes oer singular issues but these das e dont hae that kind of leisurel time to send o e siml toss eerthing into the esoled bo ithout een looking its uite a retched state of affairs o matter ho e rack our brains to ut these relationshis together clueless men let oortunities sli out from under their noses so that the omen that the should hae had in their gras become entined ith other men o ou see its orthless to een ra for some backbone ou might as ell tr to emt the ater from ake ia ith a ladle Ecet for the tenth month annauki e labor draing u all these schemes eer da There are those that do it ith a glass of ine in one hand hile icking at their noses ith the other using lots to decide eerthing but am far too earnest to decide the fates of these oor creatures like that gainst m better udgment get dran into their lies look at each one carefull orring about them as if the ere mself ometimes tear m hair out struggling to dra u an aroriate encounter ts almost like marriage counseling in a a s this hat a god should be doing That is h smoke too much m hair has become thin and h gorge mself on castellas hae to eat herbal medicine for m indigestion suffer from insomnia and ake before dan eer da and m a hurts on account of m stress The doctor sas that should take things eas but is carring the fate of so man humans something to be taken so lightl The other gods certainl arent so serious taking league cruises on grand sailing shis all the hile carelessl guling don chamagne in the coman of bunn girls The make fun of me saing things like That gu is hoeless o matter ho much e reason ith him he ont let loosen u and so forth can see through the act ou fools hat a disgraceful lot h is it that ear after ear am the onl one to undertake this business of connecting these threads of fate urel can be forgien for ondering h continue to alk this ath ont ou think so

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hat as this odd erson babbling on about ho are ou inuired stoing on Mikage treet ust east of here it meets himogamo ouleard cross from us the darkened Tadasu orest rustled around the long deserted road to himogamo hrine stretching to the north n the distant shrine grounds the orange glo of aer lanterns burned faintl god m good fello am a god he said nonchalantl ointing at me M name is amotaketsunuminokami come again amotaketsunomimokamoamotaketsunuminokami that is ont make me sa it again ll bite m tongue e ointed toards the murk shrine road idnt ou kno nd to think that ou lie right near himogamo hrine had isited the shrine before but this as the first had heard of this gods eistence oto abounds ith enerated ancient shrines but among them himogamo stands out as one of the foremost een being designated as a orld eritage site t as too much of a stretch to imagine that this man could be the god of such a rominent shrine at best he might be an immortal hermit at orst a god of oert There as no a he could be the essel of a god of himogamo hrine ou dont beliee me do ou he sighed nodded isaointing disaointing indeed he said not seeming disaointed in the slightest The night breee carried the seet scent of his cigar toard me cross the aenue the eerie murmurs of the forest ere making me uneas hile he as turned aa tending to his cigar began to alk aa hoing to make m escae uickl o good could come from associating ith this msterious fello ust ait a moment no he called out to me kno eerthing about ou our arents names the sour smells ou alas roduced as a bab our nickname in elementar school the cultural festial in middle school our fleeting first loe in high schoolof course that too ended in failure The ecitement or rather the shock ou eerienced from atching our first adult ideo our anderings as a ronin after failing our first round of entrance eams our das of sloth and ice after entering uniersit ou cant be serious kno eerthing he nodded confidentl or instance kno ho our attemt to eose the contemtuous behaior of a man named gasaki b screening a guerrilla film during a film festial ended ith ou oluntaril eiling ourself from the film circle nd the reason ou hae sent the last to ears in such a timid state Ththats because u inoluntaril blurted out but the man raised a hand to sto me accet that our soul has been tainted under the influence of u oeer thats not all is it The mortifing eents of the ast to ears suddenl ent hirling through m head like images on a reoling aer lantern ere in the sacred groe of himogamo hrine of all laces m heart as seied so ainfull b all these thorn memories anted to scream esite this managed to restrain mself like a roer gentleman The selfstled amotaketsunuminokami gaed uon me ith mirth as rithed in inner turmoil this is none of our business groled e shook his head uon hearing m ords Take a look at this rom ithin the folds of his yukata he roduced a dirt sheaf of aers and shuffled ​ ​ toards the fluorescent light of a nearb information board beckoning me to aroach alked toards him like a moth dran to a flame Each time he flied through the ledger he had roduced a hundred ears orth of dust fle into the air and here and there the ages ere ormeaten through and through The man licked his fingers for traction as he turned the ages no doubt ingesting a fair amount of dust as ell ere it is The lace he as ointing to as near the end of the book n the grim gre age brushstrokes selled out a omans name m name and us name The lettering as so terribl ostentatious it as as if hoeer rote it imagined himself some sort of oerful god hen autumn comes e gather at umo to match coules together urel oue heard of this am tasked ith hundreds of these issues among hich is this articular case ou understand hat mean dont ou haent the slightest eall no oure een more stuid than thought ou ere To summarie then am lanning to match this oman ou kno kashi ith someone the god saidn other ords it is a contest beteen ou and u The Tadasu orest rumbled and saed ith black gusts of ind

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The net da sat u in m must bed ust ast noon ecalling m idiotic actions of the reious night m face turned a modest shade of red ast night at the eko amen cart a god of himogamo hrine ho lied on the second floor of m boarding house had turned u claiming that he as lanning to match kashi and me together urel as letting m conenient fantasies get out of hand lloing loneliness to loosen the bands around ones heart and oerindulging in dadreams is shameless and certainl unbecoming of a gentleman eertheless the reious nights meeting ith that god did not seem remarkable in the least e hadnt erformed an miracles nor ere there an sudden crashes of lightning There ere no fo or bird familiars there to sho him deference t as nothing more than an ordinar case of a god shoing u to a ramen stand and sitting don beside ou omeho the lack of sectacle made it seem all the more conincing but that still asnt enough to roe anthing scertaining the truth ould surel be simle all ould need to do is ascend to the second floor and meet ith this socalled god face to face ut if the door oened and the god from last night aeared and asked olitel ho as ouldnt kno ho to resond r if he said ah got ou good ouldnt be able to look him in the ee fter that the rest of m life ould surel become a miserable donard siral of selfloathing ome isit me hen oue made u our mind econd floor end of the hall ut ant a rel ithin three das after all m a bus fello he had said fter haing done nothing but commute back and forth beteen the boarding house and camus for the ast to ears alloing mself to be thron into confusion b these delusions felt like a stain on m honor hanting uddhist mantras ceaselessl fought to kee these flights of fanc from carring me aa like a balloon rising into the Ma sk eaking of hich that selfstled god had said that he as going to umo to tie knots beteen coules ith the red threads of fate That couldnt ossibl be true could it rom m bookshelf fished out an enccloedia

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annauki also knon as the tenth lunar month is the time of ear hen the mriad gods gather at umo leaing the other refectures of aan unattended This is common knoledge een for someone like mself ithout going into too much detail about the eact breakdon there are roughl eight million gods hich euals about onefifteenth of the current oulation of aan mong that number there are certainl going to be a fe odd ones in the grou ust like ho een restigious uniersities hae their share of idiots riggling about The thing had been ondering as hat eactl the gods discussed at their gathering in umo imagined that it as things like strategies to counteract global arming or the globaliation of the econom or all the gods from eer corner of the countr to gather and send an entire month in discussion this must undoubtedl be an illustrious conclae embroiling the gods in heated debates concerning matters of great imort t is unthinkable that it ould inole getting together ith friends and haing unsaor conersations oer hotot ouldnt that ust be the same as a bunch of moronic college students That da in the boarding house as eered at m enccloedia a trul dreadful realit resented itself before m ees The tetbook detailed the heated matchmaking rocess the gods at umo used to link men and omen together t turns out the sole urose of the assembl in umo as to tangle the red threads of fate t looked like that shad god at the ramen cart as seaking the truth shook ith blashemous rage id the reall hae nothing better to do

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To get m mind off these things thre mself into m studies oeer hile glaring at m tetbooks began to feel that doing this as nothing more than a greed effort to recoer the last to fruitless ears of m life This unseeml conduct as a reudiation of m ersonal ideals and acting in accordance ith m rinciles gallantl ut m books aa This as erhas the most gentlemanl thing to do o that it had come to this had no recourse but to turn to u to roide me ith the reort that needed to turn in The ecret ociet had a rint sho herein one could order and acuire counterfeit assignments had relied on their serices for so long that ithout u to sere as an intermediar to get me hat needed from the rint sho ould be in er dire straits as orn out both hsicall and mentall M inabilit to etricate mself from u as also in art due to this illicit connection Though Ma had not et ended it as so humid that it alread felt like summer The indo as thron oen so ide that inited accusations of indecent eosure et the air inside remained stagnant n this must sace msterious substances commingled and fermented and like ambercolored hisk from the barrels at amaaki istiller ould surel intoicate anone ho entered this tatami sace een for a moment on oening the door that led out into the corridor the kittens that andered the boarding house titoed into the room meing boldl The ere so cute that almost anted to eat them u but ould not stoo so lo as to do such a saage thing as that Een if ere to be clad in onl a air of underants must alas act befitting a gentleman fter rubbing the slee out of their ees romtl chased them out losing the door floed don like a log tried to get lost in more licentious dadreams but that didnt go ell tried to think of as to seie the ros future of m dreams but that didnt go ell either Getting irritated at this that and eerthing else the onl thing that seemed to be going ell as the orsening of m headache took m frustrations out on the cockroaches that scurried through eer corner of m room smashing the unluck ones to smithereens ince had gotten u so late the da as siftl turning to dusk The ras of the setting sun ierced m indo further orsening m mood anted to be like the brooding oshimune like on the old T sho riding a magnificent hite steed along the shoreline under the golden sunlight nfortunatel the estroer of oe as afraid of horses Tormented b these unanted acillating thoughts m mind turned to the aroaching rendeous ith u elling on m frustrations seemed like a aste of time id reall beliee if continued ith this masochistic internal battle that someda the uddha ould ull u this dangling siders thread and at me on the head like in the legends of old n the end the siders thread might sna lunging me back into a tatami hell m light nothing more than entertainment for the uddha t fie in the afternoon the onl result of these gidd and masochistic delusions as that u came to find me sulking lltemered as eer see ere his first ords to me could sa the same about ou snaed in return us face as as grim as the boarding houses communal restroom though couldnt be sure if the faint smell of ammonia coming off him as ust a figment of m imagination e stared at each other to tentsomething miscreants under the seltering setting sun egatiit onl breeds more negatiit and it onl goes donhill from there as alread fed u ith it re the rearations comlete asked n rel u ust shook the lastic bag he as carring shifting the enomousl red green and blue tubes inside ell theres nothing for it ets go said

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u and left the oloonesue himogamo suis and ent out into the deserted streets roceeding don Mikage treet e assed the road to himogamo hrine and came to himogamo ouleard rossing the bouleard at the oto amil ourt the oi ridge across the amo ier came into ie The glorious eening ie of the crstal clear aters of the floing rier as asted on the to shockingl sinister looking ouths standing on the bridge olding our arms e gaed donstream There ere beautiful sunbathed leaes budding on both sides of the rier beneath the graduall darkening sk urther don the rier a stead stream of buses and cars could be seen crossing the Great amo ridge Een from this far aa e could faintl make out college students frolicking on the rierside oon that laground ould become a hell of agonied screams e reall are doing this arent e commented idnt ou sa esterda that ou ere reared to unleash diine udgement said u f course from our ersectie its diine rath To eerone else this seems like a stuid rank u laughed scornfull o oure going to orr about hat the think and turn our back on our on conictions That doesnt sound like the man ledged m bod and soul to hut u The onl reason he erbalied such sickening assertions as to ush m buttons and stir u a delightful argument for him to artake in eeing other eole argue ointlessl as this trolls faorite form of entertainment his raison detre esite outardl scorning his idioc staed faithful to m on conictions and took the initiatie lright time to do this ets go declared e crossed oer to the est bank of the amogaa ier and headed donstream here Takano ier from the northeast and amogaa ier from the northest meet the become the amo ier tudents call the usidedon triangle at the confluence of the to riers the amo elta rom sring to earl summer the location is often used to hold elcoming arties for incoming freshmen s e aroached the amo elta man laughing chattering eole seated on sreadout blue sheets came into ie ecoming een more cautious e hid ourseles in the darkness under the emachi ridge f e ere sotted b the caorting members of the enem cam as in the ancient attle of chinotani our audacious surrise attack ould come to naught took out the fireorks from the lastic bag and laid them out on the ground hile u roduced the arl eiss monocular he had borroed from me and sureed the oosite shore lit u a cigarette the fumes uickl disersing in the brisk eening breee father alking ith his children on the bridge gae us a susicious glance as he assed oeer this as no time for us to orr about assersb e ere obligated to follo through ith our conictions o does it look asked Eerone from our ear is there huehuehue ut dont see iima or gasaki h ould those drunkards eer be late to a art hats rong ith them huffed ithout those to theres no oint in a surrise attack h theres kashi kashi as a girl in the grade belo ours suddenl remembered hat had been ritten in that shad gods ledger last night kashi came too asked ook shes sitting on that embankment u there drinking a beer hes hanging out b herself like she usuall does rilliant ut she ould hae been better off not coming to such a stuid art almost feel bad about getting her inoled in all this riefl images of kashis intellectual aearance and elegant mannerisms ran through m head ha u sounded ecetionall leased iimas here natching the sglass from him traced iima as he alked through the ine trees and don the embankment atching as the ne students aiting on the beach greeted him ith cheers iima as gasakis righthand man in the Misogi moie circle and as one of our chief tormentors aing to listen to him nitick eer tin fla in our moies as one thing but being denied sots at film festials b his schedule maniulations as another e had to beg on our hands and knees ust to use the editing euiment e as unforgiable h must e endure this humiliation here hile he is celebrated and admired on the oosite bank Toda ould bring don the hammer of ustice and aenge mself for man ears of inustice ould not be content until sa him ailing and reenting his sins among the crabs on the beach as fireorks rained don uon him from the heaens ike a staring beast m breath became ragged and hea ith anticiation icked u a firecracker but u grabbed m hand ot et gasaki hasnt arried et dont care anmore iimas death ill be sufficient understand ho ou feel but our real target is gasaki ur argument continued for a hile us moties ma hae been imure but he had a oint Eending all our efforts on attacking iima a mere lacke ould be a comlete aste of our efforts or the interim decided to sheathe m sord To our frustration desite ho long e aited gasaki neer arried hile the ind histled our souls ere deel ounded oous laughter resounded from the direction of the beersilling enem cam n the other hand the to of us siml suatted motionlessl hile oggers and eole alking their dogs gae us odd looks eeing the stark contrast beteen our situation and the enems on the other bank added oil to the flames of m discontent f there had been a raenhaired maiden b m side ould hae been able to ait it out een huddled in the darkness oeer the erson beside me as u h as forced to huddle ith someone like an oldtime grifter hile a harmonious art as unfolding on the other bank here had gone rong as the fault ithin mself t the er least should be alloed a kindred soul to kee me coman if not a raenhaired maiden ure is cold oer here u remarked hut u Gosh that looks like a fun art hose side are ou on This is ointless lets ust head oer there ant to drink ith all those naelooking freshmen re ou lanning to betra me neer romised ou anthing did ou ust said a hile ago that ou ledged me our bod and soul did ou not id sa that must hae forgotten ou miserable ont look at me like that oure scaring me i get off me ut m lonel and this ind is making me cold ou lonel bastard aa fter a hile this imitation of a loers uarrel began to ear our atience thin Though gasaki as still nohere to be seen things had dragged on for long enough e could send him a cake srinkled ith bug corses later but tonight e ould hae to be content ith leaing a stain on his honor s eening fell e carried the fireorks to the shore u aded into the rier and filled a bucket ith ater

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krockets are things to be launched toards the sk The are absolutel not to be held in the hands launched toards eole or used to bombard eole on the other side of a rier haing a eaceful elcoming art for freshmen That can be etremel dangerous ould like ou all to aoid folloing in m footstes otithstanding the fact that this as a surrise attack attacking ithout arning is ust comletel against m stle shouted a challenge to the enem cam on the other bank eed us ell etcetera etcetera e ill no eact our reenge lease be careful of ​ ​ our ees aing said m iece obsered the eole on the oosite shore The ere all standing there dumbfounded mouths agae ith eressions that clearl said hat the hell is this f the didnt understand then ould make them understand uddenl on the to of the embankment the figure of kashi holding a bottle of beer caught m ee he mouthed the ord idiot and then leaing onl her astute critiue hastil retreated behind a ine tree The remainder of the artgoers sat on their sheets ees darting here and there comletel unable to fathom the situation o that kashi had taken refuge there as no need for me to hold back romtl signaled u to begin the bombardment fter e had been shooting off rockets for a hile e noticed some of the enraged uerclassmen beginning to slash through the rier ithout regard to getting soaked robabl attemting to sho off to the freshmen e had originall lanned to beat a gallant retreat to the sounds of screaming from the oosite bank but no the enraged uerclassmen ere crossing the rier ithout regard for getting soaked throing us into disarra e its time to go said ait ait e still need to ut out the flame urr hurr e still hae some rockets left too ust leae them e made a break for the emachi ridge but from the to of the embankment in front of us a erson came into ie charging toards us ith an etraordinaril angr eression on his face ou little shits elled a familiar oice hoa gasakis finall arried u eled hat terrible timing etting out a shriek u turned tail and fled in the oosite direction bandoning an sense of self resect he ran toards the Great amo ridge elling m sorr m sorr nimbl disaearing into the night as nearl nabbed b gasaki but ith the grace of a leoard slied from his gras and ran for m life after u hen are ou shits gonna gro u gasaki stood on the rierbank hurling a sermon after us e dared lecture me this omous rattling eacock as so filled ith righteous indignation that nearl turned around to face him but it as clear that the ustice of m cause ould be lost on the iolent masses arraed against me had no intention of subecting mself to such dishonor therefore this as not surrender: it as siml a tactical retreat u had alread made it to the Great amo ridge and as nearl out of sight o dreadfull fleet of foot as about to follo after him hen suddenl a hot mass hooshed into m back draing from me a gas of ain rom behind me a triumhant roar rose into the air it aeared that the enem forces had launched a engeful rocket at me and struck m retreating form suare in the back The eents of the ast to ears began to hirl through m mind like a reoling aer lantern

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had sent the to ears after entered uniersit fighting a fruitless ar Though took ride in the slendid battles had fought as the estroer of oe could not hel but to shed a tear t as a thankless thorn road traeled shall not enumerate the man eents that occurred after m matriculation that caused m brain to turn from a ros color to a dead shade of bluishurle There arent man tales to tell in the first lace and secondl hat ould come of an attemt to elicit emt smath from m readers n the summer of m freshman ear the unsurassabl shar blade called realit fell and m foolish shortlied dreams eaorated like morning de on the camus grounds fter that took a cold hard look at the orld and resoled to crack don on the nae dreamers around me More secificall decided to ruin the atha of loe for eerone else f a maiden in the east falls in loe tell her Gie u on that freak if a man has starstruck delusions in the est tell him ts useless ou ma as ell gie u no if the fireorks of loe bloom in the south uickl etinguish them and in the north tirelessl reach the gosel of celibac ue to m efforts as dubbed The Tactless ne las nothing could be further from the truth n fact as far more ercetie than anone realied but used that information to intentionall sabotage hateer could There as one other erson ho atched m struggles ith glee ho riled me u and laughed as stirred u the embers of conflict ithin the circle That someone as u The tendrils of his information netork reached eer nook and crann and there as not a rumor he as not aare of heneer thre oil on the fire he immediatel began to craftil sread malicious gossi to fan the flames until eer corner of the circle rang ith the discord and infighting that he loed so much e is eil incarnate a disgrace to the human race and certainl not one that anone ould eer asire to emulate Misogi had been established fairl recentl but alread had about thirt members hich meant thirt more enemies that had to deal ith There ere those ho uit the circle due to u and m actions nce as ambushed and nearl droned in the canals of ake ia nother time as unable to return to m on home and had to hide out in an acuaintances room in orth hirakaa hile he as aa on a tri nd once had een been too direct and brought a girl to tears in the middle of onoe treet ut ould not could not lose t goes ithout saing that if had lost back then eerbod mself included ould hae been much haier That being said didnt gie a damn hether or not u as ha

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To begin ith could not stomach the sstem behind Misogi moie circle n Misogi under omrade gasakis beneolent dictatorshi circle members eacefull created moies at his him a trul desicable setu Though at first dutifull carried out his bidding soon came to desise the organiation oeer it eed me to kno that fleeing the circle amounted to an admission of defeat ealiing that it as m dut to light the beacon of rebellion right under the noses of gasaki and his cronies began to shoot moies of m on f course ith none of the other members smathetic to m cause reluctantl enlisted the us serices M first ork as a tale of to men ho inherited the oosing reins of a legendar rank ar redating the acific ar and roceeded to ush ast their mental and hsical limits to crush each others ride: a moie trul oerfloing ith iolence ith us unchanging oh masklike eression m highoctane erformance and a neer ending stream of merciless ranks it as a film ithout rial n the final scene u ho had ded his entire bod ink and ith m head halfshaed suared off in a battle roale on the Great amo ridge urel this scene alone as orth the rice of admission till it as no surrise the moie as comletel ignored the onl erson ho laughed during the screening as kashi M second moie as atterned after hakeseares King Lear ith one man aering ​ ​ beteen the affections of three omen oeer e could not gloss oer the fundamental issue of not haing a single oman in our cast and the finished film ended u deiating ildl from the original lot of King Lear urthermore it ortraed our hilandering heros innermost ​ ​ thoughts ith such salacious detail that a storm of ilification as cast at us from the omen in the audience ho decried the film as some kind of aean to erersion kashi as the onl one ho laughed at the film M third ork as a surial moie dealing ith a man ho embarks on an endless ourne to escae an infinite rison of tatami rooms oeer most of the comments receied ent along the lines of aent seen this setting somehere before and This isnt een a surial moie The onl one ho had anthing ositie to sa as kashi The more moies that u and made the more the other circle members dre aa from us as if the ere standing around a camfire and ere afraid to get burned gasaki graduall became cold and indifferent to us and before long he began to comletel ignore us like e ere refuse on the side of the road The strangest thing is the more effort e ut into dethroning him the more oular gasaki seemed to become ts like e ere sitting on one end of a seesa heling ush him u though that realiation came too late n the end siml had not been cunning enough o terribl nae as

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aing successfull comleted our tactical ithdraal from the amo ier u and headed into ton to celebrate our ictor s rode m bike in the night ind felt oddl desondent ismounting e alked morosel through the streets of aaramachi The garish lights of the ton sarkled and illuminated the ink blue sk u suddenl turned toards the est end of the Great an ridge and entered an oldfashioned brush sho hile aited outside under the shado of the eaes efore long he came out looking chagrined ell id ou bu a brush ell see gotta gie Master iguchi a tribute e said he ants this fantastic kamenoko scrubbing brush thats suosed to be able to scrub aa an imurit ​ s there een such a thing uosedl eah butthe shokeeer laughed me out of the sho ll ust hae to find something else to resent to him ou sure are going to a lot of effort oer something this stuid ts tough since the Masters alas asking for stuff hirimen anshs sardines and emachi utabas mame mochi can deal ith but then he goes and asks for things like ​ ​ antiue globes and banners from usedbook fairs and seahorses and giant suids nd if bring him something that disleases him ll be eelled on the sot int no rest for the ear esite his ords u seemed oddl cheerful as he strolled ith me along iamachi Though this as suosedl a tactical retreat unleasant feelings of doubt clouded m mind and began to onder hether it had actuall been a defeat u had a deilmacare look on his face but couldnt be so irresonsible Tonights sortie at the amo elta had been meant to teach a lesson to the eers that e so thoroughl resented but no that could calml recollect the eents of the battle our enemies seemed to hae enoed themseles lthough there are man entertaining fights at drinking arties ours as for a cause loftier than the heights of Mt Eian eeheehee u suddenl snickered gasaki ut on a good sho tonight for eerone but things arent looking ros for him right no s that so asked u gae me a smug look Een as a doctoral student he deotes all his time to shooting moies and doesnt stud at all so he cant een conduct a single lab eeriment or test is arents decreased his alloance and ust recentl he argued ith his boss and uit his ob lso ust last month he broke u ith the girl he stole from iima es hardl in a osition to be lecturing anone o eactl do ou kno all this ana s e assed beneath a streetlight his eression turned sl ont forget hae ees and ears eerhere kno more about ou than een our loer does dont hae a loer ell m ust coering m bases ur real roblem is iima he said froning hat do ou mean u smirked ou dont understand ho much hes hiding do ou Enlighten me cant cant ts too terrible to ut into ords The Takase ier as shallo at this time of ear about as shallo as the moies that gasaki as obsessed ith massroducing till fuming stared at the lights of the ton tinkling on the aters surface esite gasaki haing the charisma of a threadbare mattress in the closeted orld of Misogi he reigned sureme as illing to bet that right around no all the freshmen eseciall the girls ere faning oer him and he as robabl as high as a cat on catni forgetting all about the troubles that dogged him Though he engaged in acuous debates about cinema and retended to be a gentleman the realit as that the onl thing that man as interested in as boobs n fact boobs ere the onl art of a girl he could see bitterl hoed that he ould become so lost in his tit fantasies that the rest of his life ould fall into ruin e sto sacing out called u snaed out of m reerie ust in time to see a assing oman ith striking eebros look our a and smile suael returned a smile and she alked oer to us To m eerlasting surrise the one she soke to as u ell good eening she urred hat are ou doing around here h nothing imortant distanced mself from the to had no intention of eaesdroing eseciall ith the a the atmoshere had become a little amorous ith all the traffic on the street couldnt hear their oices but from here as standing it aeared that the oman had inserted her fingers into us mouth and as robing around The aeared to be uite intimate not that as ealous at all ontinuing to gak at the to of them as utting me out so turned m gae toards the shos shrouded in the eaes of iamachi treet

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n beteen the bars and brothels a dark sueeed sort of house stood in the shados nder the oerhang an old oman sat at a ooden stall coered b a hite cloth she looked like a fortune teller The sign hanging off the front of the stall as inscribed ith all manner of arcane incomrehensible runes boe it the hags head floated in the gloom lit onl b the ha orange light of a small lantern t as a ghastl sight like seeing a raenous ghost hungering for the souls of assersb began to imagine all manner of misfortune befalling me: the shado of the old oman seemed to follo me eerhere ent nothing did ent right eole as eecting neer shoed u ossessions anished neer to be seen again failed courses that should hae been a cinch a thesis that as about to resent sontaneousl combusted fell into the canals of ake ia as caught b a snakeoil salesman on hi treet and so forth hile these ild thoughts ere going through m head the old oman noticed me looking at her he glared at me from the ink darkness ith gleaming ees draing me in ith her otherorldl emanations er susicious aura as strangel ersuasie and logicall thinking came to the conclusion that the diinations of someone ho alloed her suernatural aura to flo so freel could not ossibl be rong n m tentodd ears of life there had been but a handful of times here humbl took someones adice hat if that as the reason as stuck on this thorn ath unable to moe forard Though took fe risks in life asnt there a ossibilit that could choose the thornlined ath f onl had chosen to sto reling on m on udgment earlier m camus life certainl ould hae taken a different shae ould not hae entered the ared Misogi Moie ircle nor met the tisted u nor been branded as the estroer of oe ather ould hae been blessed ith onderful mentors and friends become accomlished in all the arts and sciences of course hae a beautiful raenhaired maiden at m side face a glittering golden future ahead of me and erhas een hae that allimortant ros student life in the alm of m hand That as the kind of life suited for someone like mself Thats right t asnt too late The sooner took a thirdarts obectie adice the sooner could escae this drear life into the life that as meant to lie moed m legs toard the old oman as if as being sucked in b her suernatural aura o hat is it that ou ish to hear The old oman mumbled her ords like her mouth as full of cotton giing the imression that the ere all the more aluable m not sure here to start eeing me at a loss for ords she grinned can see from our face that ou are er frustrated unsatisfied ou are not able to use our full talents our current situation is not suited for ou es thats eactl it ho me our hands The old hag took m alms and eered into them nodding aroingl ou hae much earnest talent in ou uickl tied m hat to her keen insight true master hides his skills and had hidden m talents for so long that een didnt realie had them an more or this old oman to sense those talents ithin fie minutes of meeting me must mean that she as no ordinar erson t is essential that ou not let oortunities sli aa n oortunit is nothing more than a faorable circumstance ou understand ut its difficult to take hold of oortunities ometimes the hide in laces ou dont eect and sometimes it is onl later that ou realie something that seemed like an oortunit as reall nothing at all ut in order to seie an oortunit ou must act ou look like ou ill hae a long life so sooner or later ou ill hae the chance s befitting her aura her ords ere trul rofound dont ant to ait foreer ant to grab m oortunit no an ou be a little more secific t m robing the rinkles on the old omans face contorted een further thought her right cheek must be itch or something but it turned out that she as ust smiling ts hard to be secific about the future Een if ere to tell ou about a recise oortunit it might er ell be tisted and ared b the machinations of fate until it as no longer an oortunit hen ou chanced uon it and that ould ust be a disserice to ou ouldnt it ate is something that changes from moment to moment ou see ut eerthing oue told me is too ague to act on s stood there in confusion she ehaled slol through her nose er ell ill refrain from seaking of things far ahead but can seak of things that ill soon come to ass idened m ears like umbo olosseum she suddenl hisered olosseum hats that t is the sign of an oortunit hen an oortunit arries it ill be accomanied b olosseum she intoned o are ou telling me need to go to ome ut the old oman merel grinned hen our oortunit comes ou mustnt let it sli aa ou mustnt fumble around aimlessl as ou hae been doing eie it boldl daringl f ou do ou ill no longer be unsatisfied and be able to embark on a ne ath though that ath ma hold hardshis of its on Then again eect that ou understand this uite ell didnt understand in the slightest but nodded ana Een if ou dont catch this one ou dont need to orr ou are a slendid oung man so someda ithout a doubt ou ill make it can see it Theres no need to rush ith that the old oman brought her diinations to an end Thank ou er much nodded to her and aid the fee hen turned around it as to see u standing behind me laing the lost lamb are e he said

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Going out into ton that night as us idea rarel came here after sunset because disliked the hustle and bustle u on the other hand engorged himself on eil thoughts and sauntered around nightl looking for trouble e had been moaning about anting to eat beef tongue ith leeks for some time so e ent to the second floor of a yakiniku lace on iamachi treet to get some actual nutrition ​ ​ hich as sorel lacking from our usual diets ordered some egetables to go along ith the meat but as munched on some siling shiitake mushrooms u eed me as if he ere itnessing someone shoeling horse dung into his mouth Those are some rett nast things oure eating there Those are mushrooms ou kno ittle bron clots of fungus cant beliee oure eating those hat are those nast little hite gills on the bottom for h are the een there nfuriated at ho he ignored the egetables and onl ate meat ried oen his mouth to force scorching hot onions don his throat e as absolutel committed to his unbalanced diet and had neer seen him eat a roer meal before ho as the girl from before e looked nonlussed ou kno the one ou ere talking ith in front of the fortune teller ressed That as anuki he said taking another bite of beef tongue hes an acuaintance of Master iguchi and a good friend of mine he as on her a home from her English conersation school and inited me to go drinking ou shameless bastard o oure tring to be Mr oular f course the ladies neer gie me room to breathe ut had to courteousl decline h ell hen she gets drunk she has an unfortunate habit of licking eoles faces Een our dirt mug es een m adorable face ts ho she shos her loe f someone ere to lick our face thed robabl contract an incurable disease hat an etraordinaril reckless oman e continued this stuid banter as the meat siled on the grill hat did that fortune teller tell ou u leered Een though it had been a ortentous seech about ho should lie m life u ulgarl dismissed it guessing t as about our loe life asnt it hat a aste of time e ket breaking m dee train of thought b reeating insults like gh oure disgusting and hat a erert like a broken record Eentuall got so angr that shoed a halfcooked shiitake into his mouth and e both lased into silence The old oman had said something about a olosseum but had neer had anthing to do ith ome or ith the olosseum o matter ho hard searched through m memor couldnt come u ith a single connection till hateer it as that olosseum referred to ould surel aear in the future ut hat eactl ould it be f didnt come u ith a lan of action no ould surel let et another oortunit sli through m gras The rosect filled me ith unease The restaurant as croded ith oung faces that looked like the had been high school students onl a fe das ago The must hae been attending one of the man elcoming banuets for incoming freshmen that ere being held all oer the cit t ained me to remember that had once been a freshman if onl for a brief eriod selfconsciousl brimming ith hoe for the future oure ishing our college life had been better arent ou u suddenl cut to the heart of the matter snorted but maintained m silence ts useless he sighed biting into his beef tongue hat is o matter ho ou laed it ou ould hae eentuall ended u the same a To hell ith that certainl ould not hae Theres no oint ou ust hae one of those faces hat face ou kno like ou ere born under a bad sign cursed to neer lie a fulfilling college life ou hae some nere saing that ou should look in the mirror more u leered becoming een more youkailike hae full come to gris ith realit of ​ ​ m starcrossed birth am enoing m orthless life as a student as much as can o reall sticks and stones and all that sighed ts because oure like that that turned out like this ont ou eno asting time like this eer da hat do ou hae to be unha about Eerthing thats hat This disagreeable state find mself in is comletel our fault ee not ulling an unches are ou f hadnt met ou m life ould hae been so orthhile ould hae done ell in class gone out ith raenhaired maidens and enoed a onderful life ithout a single cloud hanging oer me That much is certain Those arent magic mushrooms oure eating are the ts onl toda that hae trul realied ho much m student life has gone to aste ot that m tring to make ou feel better or anthing but think that no matter ho ou led our life ou ould hae run into me all it intuition t an rate m doing eerthing can to corrut ou ou cant fight fate e lifted his ink dramaticall ou and are bound b the black thread of fate shuddered imagining mself sinking to the itchblack deths of the sea bound to u like a ham b a dark thread u smiled contentedl at m discomfort and took another bite of beef tongue amned youkai ​ ​

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ith the tactical retreat from the amo delta the fortunetellers uling ords and u eighing heail on m mind soon drank m cu dr kashi is still a member of Misogi isnt she groaned but u shook his head ctuall heard that she uit ust last eek arentl een gasaki as begging her to sta eall Thats right after e left hes robabl onl there tonight as an alumnus of the circle hat a loal oman ou sure do kno a lot about this ell did hae a drink ith her the other da since e are fello engineers ou bastard ulling a fast one like that thought about kashi siing a beer amongst the ine trees indifferent to the idiots on the rierbank belo hat about kashi u suddenl asked hat about her until no the onl retched soul caable of understanding someone as moronic and reugnant as ou has been ours trul uiet ou but she could robabl understand ou This is an ecellent oortunit f ou dont grab hold of this no oure robabl too far gone to hel he grinned aed m hand to grab his attention o listen here dont ant a girl ho can understand someone such as mself ant someone ho stos ou dead in our tracks someone hose daintiness and refinement are ositiel dreamlike a raenhaired maiden hose head is filled onl ith beautiful things oure still going on about that selfish cra hut u and leae me alone oure not still ound u about getting dumed b ohinata during freshman ear are ou eak not that name in m resence h kne it ou reall dont let things go easil f ou continue to seak ill bake our face on this grill right no announced oure about the last erson d ant to talk about loe ith u suddenl sat u in his chair and laughed scornfull Then guess this oortunit is mine ll become ha instead of ou Thats imossible for someone as eil as ou kashi has a good ee for eole lus bet ou alread hae a girlfriend oue been hiding from me ehe hat are ou snickering about ouldnt ou like to kno

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hile this irritating echange as going on suddenl remembered m surreal chance meeting ith amotaketsunominokami at eko amen uring that etraordinar et highl susicious meeting that arrogant selfstled god had hinted that he as eighing u and me on a scale t had been so fish that had comletel dismissed it from m mind Tring to think rationall through m alcoholinduced hae ondered hether the god had redicted this entire chain of eents o that couldnt be ossible t as shameful for me of all eole to be so lonel that ould be caught u in such a conenient fantas it as reosterous to think that ould become romanticall inoled ith a raenhaired maiden like kashi ut it as still mstifing That god had laid out the traails of m life hinted at m thorn shameful ast and on to of that guessed recisel the eact situation as currentl going through There as no elanation for this erhas that god as the real deal erhas he reall did go to umo b train each autumn to eae and unrael the red threads of fate hile as thinking all this m ision had gentl started eaing sidetoside and b the time realied ho intoicated had become u as gone e had stood u saing something about going to the bathroom but hadnt come back t first didnt think much of it alloing m thoughts to gracefull drift hither and on like a balloon oeer after fifteen minutes had assed and u still hadnt returned became infuriated thinking about ho he had skied off leaing me inebriated earting like a sring breee and leaing others to deal ith the bill as a secialt of his amn it not again ust as as muttering under m breath u came back and sat don ts about time said ith relief looking at the erson seated across from me t asnt u ome on eat u f ou ant to eat more oull hae to hurr kashi said matteroffactl as she began to grill the remaining meat

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kashi as a student in the engineering deartment a ear ounger than me ot one to mince ords she as resected but largel aoided b her eers as uite fond of her not least because she asnt afraid to cross sords ith gasaki if the situation called for it ielding her raorshar tongue she as more than a match for gasaki e as alas afraid of haing his charismatic image inured and though her cool intelligent demeanor as certainl to be desired to sa nothing of her breasts he soon learned not to seak to her too carelessl n the summer of her freshman ear gasaki lead an eedition on Mount oshida shooting another one of his unintelligible moies The freshmen ere shooting the breee during a lunch break ne of them casuall asked kashi hat do ou do on the eekends ithout een looking u she ansered h should tell ou fter that no one asked her about her eekend lans heard about that echange some time later from u and roudl thought to mself kashi ou ust kee doing our on thing had no clue h someone so leelheaded ould be in a club as biarre as Misogi oeer she as as er good at lanning and etremel intelligent able to uickl figure out ho to use an iece of machiner ou ut in front of her Thus desite the fact that eerone gae her a ide berth she as highl resected Though u and ere generall left alone as ell it as a bit of a stretch to comare ourseles ith kashi considering that e to ere uniersall desised ut een she as unielding and unaroachable as a medieal Euroean fortress had a single eakness ast autumn due to a shortage of aailable hands as forced to grudgingl hel out ith a moie roduction s usual the location as Mount oshida kashi her face imassie as that of a artime censor as installing audio euiment u on a tree hen she suddenl shrieked as though she ere a character from a manga and tumbled out of the tree siftl ran u and caught her or rather as suashed b her falling form hile tring to escae he clung to me her hair disheeled franticall aing her right hand about t seemed that hile climbing the tree she had grabbed a branch that as uneectedl suish n her right hand she as clutching a gigantic moth arentl she as deathl afraid of moths t suished it suished she hisered oer and oer her en tire bod trembling her face as ale as if she had ust seen a ghost ormall she alled herself off from the orld and the fascination felt seeing such a erson sho a moment of eakness is indescribable t that moment the estroer of oe er nearl fell in loe The orldl assions hich had thought had suttered out back in m freshman summer suddenl ignited but firml held back m feelings and chialrousl comforted kashi ho as still muttering incoherentl t as hardl likel that she harbored an smathies toard the futile ar that u and aged he cast a cold ee on the ostentation of the moie circle but she ould neer go so far as to stir u an trouble ith regard to the moies that u and made kashi siml said oue made another idiotic moie again haent ou he reeated that hrase a total of three times ell counting our final masteriece four times ur last moie made this sring as the onl one that she actuall disliked This time she added This one as uestionable

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kashi h are ou here erent ou ust at the amo elta r as it that ou could resist our carniorous lust no longer giggled but she siml scoled and ut a finger to her lis ou reall are clueless ae ou alread forgotten that the circle likes to hold eents here kno e been to a lot of those mself fter the art at the delta as oer gasaki anted some meat and brought all the freshmen here There sitting oer there no he ointed toards the entrance got on m chair and stood on titoe straining to look aboe the artitioning screen Thell see ou kashi said sharl so slunk back don into m seat o could the gorge themseles on meat after a art those insatiable brutes ont the hae an ride in their agricultural heritage groused but she ignored me Things ill get inconenient if oure caught here f its a fight the ant ll gie it to them f can m uite sure ill lose oull be luck to get a sing in eect oull be red as a cherr b the time oure done getting sanked in front of all those freshmen ome on finish eating the rest he thrust a iece of meat at m face her on cheeks bulging eeing m slightl astonished eression she blushed and said orr its been some time since last had meat er aetite didnt seem to be diminished b her embarrassment as alread full so told her to eat the rest m going to go home no hat about u ae ou seen him u alread escaed out the back door The dont call him ellobellied u for nothing n ancient times the arm of Takeda of ai as reuted to be as sift as the ind f u had lied back then he might een hae oined it if onl for the seed ith hich he fled eer engagement e alread settled the bill f ou go out the front oull be seen b gasaki and the others so go out the back e asked the staff to let ou out that a kno them uite ell ou see as so amaed at ho thorough she as that ust nodded meekl and handed her the mone for the bill oe ou one eer mind that ust make sure that ou kee our romise she said sternl hat romise cocked m head but she ust aed dismissiel eer mind for no ust get out of here need to get back to them soon guled don the rest of m oolong tea and nodded in gratitude icking m unstead stes carefull ducked ast the artition and out into the dark corridor n older lad earing a hite aron stood b an eit marked T and oened the door as aroached muttered m thanks to hich she murmured oor dear ou hae it rough dont ou ondered ho much kashi had actuall told her utside found mself in a dark and cramed allea Eiting onto the streets of iamachi looked around for u but he as nohere to be found

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llo me to elaborate on m final film roduction ith the return of sring m frustrations reached a ne eak gasaki as relentlessl aing his big stick and ordering eerone around ithout so much as a hint of letting u ike an infant sucking on a acifier he suckled at the teat of authorit hile greedil eing all of the freshman tits around him n their turn the freshmen ere catiated b gasakis laughable charisma and aeared content to aste their erfectl good school das under the thrall of gasakis itiful cult of ersonalit The ere in deserate need of a cold dose of realit and decided that ould take on that most unleasant and thankless dut reared to moies to sho at the sring film festial that as being held for rosectie ne members The first as a dramatic reading of the asuno oichi scene from The Tale of the Heike erformed in a threadbare room b none other than u The ​ uerclassmen led b gasaki unanimousl reected it as hardl surrised ou can shoot hateer the hell ou ant gasaki said from the darkroom ust dont get in the a of the recruiting efforts thundered back ith a seech that ould hae made inston hurchill roud silencing the dissenters and inning m film a sot at the festial forcing them to allo m screening The ma hae sensed that this ould be m last gas n secret had reared a second film This one as a uet sho based on The Tale of Momotaro but the old coule that ​ ​ found the bo for some reason gie him the name Masaki instead rom there Masakis ile ourne begins Masaki starts the nigashima moie circle and uses drugged dumlings to force the underclassmen to do his bidding e aes lrical on his ared orldie and theories on loe he ogles omen ho are brought to him b his faithful dog monke and heasant though outardl he is the er model of a modern gentleman this is merel the mask under hich his outrageousl lecherous ersona hides e feasts on debaucher and eentuall creates and reigns oer the Masaki ingdom n the end to chamions of ustice come along de Masakis bod comletel ink roll him inside a bamboo mat and thro him into the amo ier restoring freedom to the gala n the surface the film seemed like a runofthemill black comed based on Momotaro ​ ​ so did m best to gie it some genuine entertainment alue oeer Masaki as gasakis gien name and gae all the other characters the names of their reallife counterarts This moie though framed in the Momotaro stor as nothing less than an eos on gasaki ​ ​ as comletel reliant on u to get the inside scoo on gasaki u as ri to gasakis deeest darkest secrets including some that een one such as mself ould be loath to reeal hae connections in the nformation ureau as all he ould sa but his methods ere still a mster eulsed b his derait redoubled m efforts that might be rid of him as uickl as ossible n the da of the screening had u sa the Tale of the Heike film ith Momotaro: ​ ​ ​ The Jōgasaki Story before the screening started Then under coer of darkness slied out ​ of the building

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fter escaing the yakiniku lace in iamachi rode m bike north on aabata treet ​ ​ The lights of the cit glittered on the other bank of the sollen amo ier like a scene from a dream itting on the rierbank beteen Great an ridge and ike ridge as the usual herd of coules saced out at er regular interals aid no mind to it ho ould a an attention to that nd after all m a bus erson ket riding m bike and soon both the lights of the shoing district and the amo ier coules one faded into the night Een at this hour the amo elta still bued ith actiit sarming ith emtheaded students u to no good n the north bank of the rier could see the dense groes of oi ark ith the cool night air hisering against m face edaled on toards himogamo hrine leaing the amo elta behind The himogamo shrine road as itch black arked m bike at the entrance to the road and alked into the gloom of the Tadasu orest n the distance sa the small bridge had leaned against hile drinking ramune at last summers himogamo hrine book fair The horseriding grounds run arallel to the shrine road uring the book fair the ere crammed ith tents filled ith eole traling through for books ince it as ust a short stroll from himogamo suis isited almost eer da o the darkened grounds ere eeril emt as if the bustle of those das had been nothing more than a dream The book fair as here first met kashi That da basked in the summer atmoshere on the sraling grounds drinking ramune under the sunlight filtering through the trees and brosing the ros of tents lined u ​ around me There ere so man boes filled ith must tomes it made m head sin number of folding stools ere set u in the field occuied b eole ho like me aeared to be oo from all the books stacked around them found a chair of m on and sat don to take a breather took out a handkerchief to ie aa the seat beading on m bro in the seltering ugust heat n front of me as a sho called Gabi sed ooks and sitting on a metal folding chair in front of it as kashi ‘Isn’t that one of the underclassmen from the circle? thought to mself t ​ ​ aeared that she as minding the sho t the time she had ust entered Misogi but both her skills and aloofness ere aarent to eerone stood u and began brosing through the booksheles hen glanced oer and made ee contact ith her she bobbed her head slightl ended u urchasing a co of ules ernes Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the ​ Sea s began to alk aa she ran after me ​ Take this she said offering me a fan inscribed ith the ords himogamo sed ook air anning m seatbeaded face alked off into the Tadasu orest the book dangling from m hand

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The net da oke u in the eening and ent to a caf near emachi to hae dinner n m a ast the amo elta could see the re on the mountain illuminated in the ding afternoon light This ould robabl be a great lace to atch the kuribi festial bonfires started dadreaming about atching the aimoni fires here ith kashi but standing there in ​ ​ the cool eening ind and imagining things as doing nothing to fill m bell so left it off there Giing u on m delusions returned to m tatami room and started reading Twenty ​ Thousand Leagues Under the Sea ut hoeer much tried to lose mself in flights of fanc ​ ithin that classic adenture the onl things that came to mind ere the usual delusions The fortune tellers rediction and the sudden aearance of amotaketsunuminokami must someho be related or so imagined turned the ord olosseum oer in m mouth still didnt see hat oortunit as suosed to grab hold of s night fell u came calling ice going last night he remarked nd oure as fleet of foot as eer e lighten u ill ou he shot back ou dont hae a girlfriend ou ere oluntaril eiled from the circle ou dont stud at all hat on earth do ou intend to do ith our life oud better atch our mouth or ll bash our skull in ou ash m skull in m etrified e grinned brought ou a little something so cheer u huh hats this castella got a ton of them from Master iguchi and sharing is caring right cant beliee oure actuall giing someone something ell the a see it theres nothing sadder than cutting u and eating a big castella like this all b our lonesome ust anted ou to taste true solitude h get it eah ll eat an etra heling ust for ou or once u decided to talk about the Master The other da the Master decided he anted a seahorse so got a tank from the garbage dum and brought it to him ut hen e tried to fill it ith ater it broke and all the ater came gushing out The Masters room got comletel flooded old on heres his room ts right aboe this one as suddenl seied ith fur ust recentl hile as out and about m ceiling srang a leak hen came back the trickling ater had soaked all of m books and the ink on the ages had run together into an unintelligible mess ot onl that but m comuter as also destroed and eer single electron that made u m data as ashed out to sea f course this incident selled the end of hateer academic comeback might hae hoed to make had anted to march u and lodge a furious rotest but decided that getting entangled ith the unidentified resident of the room aboe me as too troublesome and in the end left the account unsettled o that as our ork m sure the destruction of our orn librar as no big deal he braenl asserted ll right get the hell out of m room hae more imortant things to do as alread on m a m going to the masters lace for blind hotot tonight ana kicked the smirking bastard out into the halla and as at last able to breathe a sigh of relief

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The night began to ear on hile listening to the burbling sound of the coffeemaker eed the castella u had brought u had intended me to fall ictim to m loneliness but had no intention of giing in fter the coffee boiled cleared m mind before calml eating the castella The seet aroma of the cake brought back ha memories of childhood s cheed as struck ith the realiation that it reall as uite tiresome to be eating this large castella alone t ould be much referable to be siing black tea elegantl ith agreeable comanionshi erhas ith someone like kashi but definitel not u kashi as astonished that as een haing these thoughts had been shaken b the man uneected eents that had haened oer the ast fe dasthe retreat from the amo elta the irksome meddling b that god the fortunetellers msterious rohec meeting kashi at the yakiniku lacethat m oers of reason ere dissoling like a sugar cube ​ ​ Though as far from burning ith the assions of loe this sudden temorar ining for comanionshi mostl certainl contradicted m on creed as it not b scorning those shameless intemerate students ho ere unable to bear their on loneliness that had on m infamous reutation as the estroer of oe as it not b struggling through this ceaseless battle that had snatched ictor from the as of utter defeat Then guess this oortunit is mine ll become ha instead of ou That as hat u had said in the restaurant didnt trust anthing that the susicious god said and as sure that someone as shar as kashi ould neer be fooled b a ererted malnourished youkai such as u n the other hand she did seem oenminded ​ ​ enough to be ha in such a relationshi ome to think of it both she and u ere in the engineering deartment and the ere also emembers of the same circle f ust stood idl b the unthinkable might haen and u and kashi might reall become romanticall inoled This had nothing to do ith m ersonal heartache: kashis future as at stake boe me a moth had someho entered m room and as fluttering around the brand ne fluorescent light Through the alls could hear a man and a oman talking training m ears discerned that the hushed endearments and stifled giggles ere coming from the adoining room alked out into the halla to inestigate and though the indo aboe the door as darkened ith m ear ressed to the all could hear them hisering seet nothings to each other The erson ho lied in that room as a hinese echange student as sure that leaing the mainland and crossing the sea to come to an unfamiliar land must hae been difficult or the to of them to find comfort in each other as a natural human instinct and something that as not in a osition to criticie That much understood and et couldnt ust leae it alone ut not being able to understand the language couldnt gie mself the small o of eaesdroing on the loers talk coming from the darkened room bitterl cursed mself for not haing studied hinese as a second language and in frustration returned to deseratel deouring the castella as losing as reall losing to m loneliness began ildl gnaing the castella again as if to sho an inisible audience ho much fun as haing sitting in this emt room b mself but after a hile regained control of mself olding back the tears that threatened to ell u from the emt hole inside me ut don the halfeaten castella Then did a double take iciousl cheed u it looked less like a songe cake and more like an ancient oman “olosseum murmured ​ hat an absurdl roundabout rohec

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The da left the circle ran into kashi The sring film festial as being held in one of the lecture halls fter starting u the Momotaro film uickl left the hall under coer of darkness and alked to the circles clubroom s stuid as gasaki as een he ould gras the true meaning of the film after a fe minutes t as clear that if as caught ould be strung u b his lackes so left uickl to collect m belongings from the clubroom n the golden ras of the setting sun the blossoms on the trees gleamed like magical sugar cand had no clue h had staed in this ridiculous circle for to ears but no that as reall leaing as starting to get sentimental u had beat me to the clubroom and as alread stuffing his things into a backack like a youkai scrounging for human bones had to admire him for his uncann abilit to alas ​ ​ be the first one out of the gate ou sure got here uickl commented ell ou kno ho ust hate being in stick situations o oint in sticking around so figured d make like a tree and leae though it seems ee alread cut ourseles a big slice of trouble ou dont sa tossed most of m things into m bag but decided to leae m collection of manga and noels as a arting gift ou dont hae to leae the circle ith me ou kno commented oue got a lot of nere saing that considering ou made me hel ou t ould be ointless staing here b mself ouldnt it he huffed nd unlike ou hae diersified m camus ortfolio so still hae lots of laces can go ou kno e alas ondered hat kinds of other things ou do ell m a member of a certain secret societ the Master alas has something for me to do m also art of a religious circleand m loe life is etremel bus ait thought ou ere single is lis curled uard but he said nothing hats ith that smirk on our face ouldnt ou like to kno s e rummaged through the room u suddenl hisered omeones coming and srinted out of the room before could tell him to ait hat incredible seed ust as grabbed m bag to follo him out kashi entered the room h kashi he took a large sig from the cola bottle she as holding and froned at me oue made another idiotic moie again haent ou she said atched art of it id the sto the screening ell the ieers found it interesting so theres no a the could ithout making a scene ut iima and a fe others are ou looking for ou no Thell robabl be here soon suggest ou flee if ou dont ant to get beaten to death see ell as long as the audience enoed it he shook her head liked the ones ou made before This one as uestionable ell this one as ust a hitandrun er ees ent to the bag as holding re ou uitting the club f course guess it cant be heled considering hat ou did this time oue blon aa the last shreds of hat honor ou had here gae a hollo smile e been looking forard to this for a long time oure a moron suose oure right That moie as suosed to be us Heike moie asnt it anted to see that ​ ​ f ou ant to can sho it to ou eall Then its a romise eah net time ut its reall not good at all ts a romise she insisted m leaing m manga here so make sure to read them for me nd ust like that left the sace here had sent the ast to ears struggling and grinding mself into dust behind s long as m last masteriece had dealt a blo to gasakis standing as content ut somehere in the back of m mind kne that as imossible t the door turned to look back kashi as sitting there reading m manga ell kashi bid ou fareell o not be fooled b gasakis lies he turned and glared at me o look that stuid to ou t that moment sa iima and a fe other bran fellos charging toards me ithout reling turned and fled for m life

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sent a restless night ith m loneliness and m reason battling it out like to eenl matched chamions in the corners of m mind n the morning headed toards camus but as reoccuied ith so man things that the da assed b in a blur fter minutel analing each facet of the situation eentuall came u ith a foolroof lan of action not alloing m concerns oer hether might be oerthinking eerthing to get in the a of a decisie analsis eighing the lies of kashi u and mself on a scale considered the man ossible aths and outcomes To the uestion of ho desered to hae a ha ending came u ith an anser astonishingl uickl also ondered hether it as too late for someone ho recked relationshis and risked death b horse to change his ath t as a er difficult uestion to anser

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made m a home from camus as tilight fell oer the cit shut mself in m room to collect m thoughts one last time aing made u m mind left m room and ent to go see the god Though had lied in the suis for to ears this as the first time had gone to the second floor The corridor as littered ith assorted belongings and as een more filth than the first floor t as like alking on a croded donton street and the further ou ent in the dimmer it became as if ou ere icking our a through a back alle in iamachi arried at the end of the hall room n front of the door ere scattered an armchair ith ottoman a dustcoered fishtank a discolored eroon frog figurine and a banner from the book fair among arious other obects There ere so man things that there as hardl a lace to stand or the domicile of a god there as certainl a lack of decorum anted to flee from the chaos and return to the tranuilit of the first floor to lie out m das out in eace but at the same time hated mself for haing such foolish hoes There as no name on the doorlate t an rate if this turned out to be a rank told mself ould ust laugh it off Gathering u eer ounce of manl resole could muster knocked on the door ahhoit ith a loud sill an the god oed his head out h its ou ell hat hae ou decided he said sounding like someone ho as tring to figure out his eekend lans u is unaccetable ick me for kashi instead e smiled er ell ait in that chair for a bit e ithdre into the room could hear him rustling around inside had no intention of sitting in that dustcoered chair so ust stood in the halla fter a hile he came out of the room saing ell lets go ollo me

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here ere e going urel it asnt to offer a sacrifice at himogamo hrine shiered ith misgiings behind him but instead of going toards the shrine he roceeded urosefull ast the lights of himogamo ar and headed south s folloed in beilderment e assed b emachianagi tation before heading don the rier to madegaa treet and stoing on the east end of the Great amo ridge e looked at his ristatch hat are e doing asked arehensiel but he siml ut a finger to his lis usk had alread fallen and the amo elta as once again occuied b boisterous students The amo ier as sollen due to the recent rains its surface shimmering like gilded siler ith the reflections of the streetlams that ere flickering on one b one o that the da as fading madegaa treet as bustling and the Great amo ridge as acked ith the daling lights of assing cars The orange lams that dotted the bridge burned msteriousl in the night or some reason tonight the bridge looked afull ide hile stood there trembling the god gae me a allo on the back o go and cross the bridge h isten ell kashi is going to come from the other side Talk to her ask her out to a caf or something uite a romantic ie here ouldnt ou sa Thats imossible cant h dont be so melodramatic o go on get going hats going on idnt ou sa that ou make these matches hen ou go to umo in the fall snt it ointless to do anthing before ou do that hat an insufferabl logical erson ou are Een though e do make those matches its still imortant to ut all the ieces in lace o go ith a gentle ush from him started stumbling across the bridge t as reall uite irritating to be treated like a fool rom behind he called h oull run into a strange erson before ou get to kashi but a him no mind assed a number of strangers as alked but before long came across a familiar sinister face floating in the light of one of the lams b the guardrail a demonic isage that ould neer forget as long as lied h as he here glared at him but u siml smiled hoed oer and unched me in the stomach of gased but he siml alked off toards the east stood right at the center of the bridge doubled oer and clutching m stomach ith the amo ier floing beneath me er to the south at the mist ends of the rier the faroff lights of hi treet blinked and sarkled like gems t that moment kashi came alking b attemted to strike u a casual conersation but suddenl froe u s her senior normall had no issues ith echanging ords ith her ut no that as throing aa m reutation as the fearsome estroer of oe and attemting to build a relationshi of m on m bod suddenl became as stiff as concrete and m mouth as as dr as the surface of Mars M ees ere unfocused and gased as if had forgotten ho to breathe had neer felt or acted so ulnerable before and ould almost gladl hae thron mself into the coursing aters of the amo ier and be ashed out of oto to escae kashis enetrating gae Good eening she said a little susiciousl ere ou able to make it out of the restaurant safel es thanks to ou ut for a stroll es es nd on that note m creased gra matter suddenl stoed orking The silence as golden ell hae a leasant eening she said beginning to alk aa t couldnt be heled s someone ho had alas interfered ith others romance hadnt a clue as to ho to actuall alk that ath mself couldnt suddenl be eected to gambol on the atha of loe hen m heart as oergron ith the thorns of ride t the er least needed a little more rearation This ould be all for toda silentl atted mself on the back for a ob ell done s kashi and ent our searate as e ere startled b the sudden aearance of a goblin striking a dramatic ose on the handrail right beside us t as u t as imossible to guess hat he as thinking bathed in that bright orange light but it as an uncann sight e stared u at him dumbfounded hat the hell are ou doing u there said e oened his ees ide and leered raaciousl at us ou didnt think ou ere done did ou oure unbelieable urn not the diine command roceed don the atha of loe suddenl remembered and looked toards the east end of the bridge amotaketsunuminokami as still standing there ith his arms folded eering at our echange ith great interest ou mean to sa this as all our tricker u felt m stomach dro get it no ou reall had me going hat is this hats going on kashi hisered to me idnt ou make an oath to the god of himogamo hrine he accused ou must grab hold of that oortunit no ant ou see it kashi is right net to ou ee our nose out of it f ou dont act no m going to um ith those absurd ords he turned his back on us and sread his arms as if he ere going to lea out into the oid ait a minute hat does m loe life hae to do ith ou uming ou kno m not reall sure he admitted kashi tried to ersuade him as ell u the rier is sollen right no f ou um oure going to dron hile this biarre echange as going on screams suddenl came from the amo elta to the north The students at the art ere in an uroar running this a and that hat is that said u crouching don eaning oer the handrail to look could make out hat looked like a dark cloud stretching from the oi ark forest to the delta t bued loudl as it gre larger eneloing the entire delta The eole inside the cloud ran around franticall flaing their arms and batting at their heads e gaed at the scene mesmeried as the dark cloud began to cree oer the surface of the ater toards us The noise from the delta began to become een more tumultuous The cloud ket ouring out of the ine trees t as an incredible sight lutterflutterflutterflutterflutter ent the suirming cloud as it rolled toards us like a caret rising aboe the ater billoing oer the handrail and buring the Great amo ridge like an aalanche GEEEEEEEEEEE kashi shrieked t as a giant sarm of moths

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The net da the moth lague made the front age though nobod kne here the moths had come from tracing their route it aeared that the sarm had originated in the Tadasu orest that is to sa himogamo hrine but man uestions ere left unansered or instance there as no elanation for h all the moths in the forest ould simultaneousl decide to migrate There as an alternatie rumor going around that the moths had actuall come from the neighboring umigaa ton but that elanation as een more confusing t aeared that the neighborhood around m boarding house had been inundated ith moths for a brief hile as ell hen returned later that night the corridor as littered ith moth corses had forgotten to lock m door so m room as careted ith them as ell but reerentl gathered the corses and buried them

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s moths thrummed around me filling the air ith glittering scales and occasionall attemting to force their a into m mouth fought m a through the sarm to kashi and gallantl shielded her from the orst of it eing originall from the cit had formerl neer had to coeist ith bugs but after to ears in the boarding house had become intimatel acuainted ith all sorts of arthroods Een so the sheer number of moths that night as utterl oerhelming The drone of beating ings cut us off from the outside orld as if it ere not moths but a sarm of inged ims assing oer the bridge t as nearl imossible to see anthing hat little could see through m suinted ees as limited to the moths dancing in the orange light of the streetlams and kashis shining black hair fter a hile the sarm moed on leaing onl a fe stragglers flitting here and there kashis face as ashen as she franticall brushed herself off all oer shrieking re the on me re the on me before srinting aa aa from the rithing moths still dotting the ground ith frightening siftness toards the east end of the bridge and collasing to the ground in the soft light of a caf The caret of moths slol rolled don the rier toards hi suddenl noticed the yukataclad god standing net to me stretching to look oer the guardrail is face crumled ​ but it as hard to tell hether he as cring or laughing That fool u e reall fell off didnt he he remarked

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The to of us ogged don the embankment on the est side of the bridge n front of us the amo ier thundered b t as so sollen and ide that the surrounding shrubber as being ickled in the ater e aded into the ater and aroached the underside of the bridge something seemed to be riggling in the shados of the illars u clung there deseratel like a discarded iece of trash tring not to be set aa The ater asnt too dee but it as sift so the god as nearl set off his feet desite his suosedl diine oers ith some difficult e made our a to u ou moron elled hile being drenched b the sra u siml laughed through his tears eehee caught something and held out his arms triumhantl e as clutching a lush tedd bear t came floing right to me he said himering ith ain ehold unorth u turns ain into rofit e still the god commanded f course master M right leg hurts a lot he meekl submitted oure us master asked ndeed smiled the god The godus master and icked u u o atch the leg he demanded ungratefull as e dragged him to the shore kashi as also on the rierbank though she had suffered a considerable shock from the moths she as shar as alas and had alread called for an ambulance o she ust sat on a bench holding her ale face in her hands e rolled u like a log u the beach then began to dr our clothes shiering ith cold t hurts it hurts el me moaned u h shut it oure the one that climbed the railing to begin ith snaed The ambulance ill be here soon so ust deal ith it a little longer u ou sho a lot of romise us master said Master thank ou er much ut hen told ou to break a leg didnt mean it literall ou kno hat an incorrigible fool u la there sobbing fter about fie minutes the ambulance arried at the Great amo ridge us master ent u the embankment to fetch the EMTs ho romtl raed u in a blanket and set him on a stretcher ould hae been oeroed if at that oint the thre him into the rier but the of course being rofessionals did not distinguish beteen their atients ithout saring a thought on us eil doings the unctiliousl carried the stretcher back to the ambulance shall accoman u said his master climbing into the ambulance The sirens soon faded aa into the distance

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t last onl kashi and ere left kashi still had her face buried in her hands as shiered in m drenched clothes still held the tedd bear that u had found hile clinging to the bridge t looked dolefull u at me as sueeed it ringing the ater out t as reall uite a handsome bear re ou oka asked kashi reall cant stand moths she moaned ell ould ou like some coffee to calm don as certainl not making a craen attemt to take adantage of her fear of moths as siml concerned b the lack of color in her face bought canned coffee from a nearb ending machine and drank it together ith her and graduall color returned to her face he ket sueeing the bear looking dumbfounded This is a Mochiguman isnt it she said hats a Mochiguman asked he told me about her collection of tedd bears all of hich ere identical to this one There ere fie of them and since the ere all soft and suish like mochi she named them ​ ​ Mochiguma s a unit the ere called luff uadron Mochiguman and she sent man das comforting herself b oking at their furr behinds oeer last ear at the himogamo hrine book fair one of them had fallen off of her bag and had been lost eer since Then this is the one ou lost ts amaing isnt it h ould it be here of all laces t as robabl ashed don here b the rier seculated u found it but m sure ou can ust take it home he gae me a dubious glance but sat u straight after a moment looking ha that her bear collection as comlete again he seemed to hae comletel recoered from the moth attack u inited me to the caf toda and then he told me to cross the bridge onder hat that as all about eats me ut hes fascinating isnt he once sa him run back and forth across the akumanben crossing aing a huge errari flag ont get close to him oull get infected b his stuidit kashi hmmhmmed nodding her head think its too late for ou s far as can tell oue alread been infected b him or a moment as taken aback but then said ust remembered emembered hat idnt sa ould sho ou the moie as talking about the biarre moie had made ust before leaing the circle of u reciting a stor from The Tale of the Heike ​ ​ Thats right she said looking leased e agreed to meet the net eek so could delier the moie to her e met at the Madoi restaurant to the southest of the akumanben crossing and incidentall decided to hae dinner together The moie is of decidedl mied merit and hile am firml in the nasaers cam at least kashi enoed it

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To describe ho the relationshi beteen kashi and deeloed after that ould deiate from the urose of this manuscrit conseuentl ill refrain from recounting those eents here am sure m readers ould rather not aste their time reading such contemtible stuff There is nothing more boring than telling a stor of reuited loe

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t is true that after Master iguchi absconded a great man changes entered m life hoeer ould be eed if that ere to be interreted as a indication of m actions am not so naie as to so easil oerlook the mistakes of the ast n occasion ould consider magnanimousl embracing m ast self erhas things ould be different if ere a oung lad but ho ould ant to embrace a disgusting tentsomething man like mself rien b this indignation refuse to absole m ast self of these sins couldnt shake off the feeling that choosing to become a discile in front of that fateful clock toer that da had been a mistake hat if had chosen a different ath f had resonded to that call for disciles or chosen the softball circle or een entered the secret societ m ast to ears certainl ould hae been uite different t least it is lain m life ould not hae been as tisted as it is no erhas that eer elusie ros student life ould hae been in m gras could not bring mself to den that the ast to ears had been full of mistakes and missed oortunities boe all m unfortunate mistake of meeting u ould surel haunt me for the rest of m life

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u as for a time admitted to a hosital beside camus t as uite delightful to see him straed don to the hite hosital bed ing to his alread ghoulish comleion it aeared as if he had contracted some incurable disease though in realit it as merel a broken bone n fact he as robabl luck to get off ith ust a fracture sat there gloating as he grumbled about his inabilit to artake in an of his usual icked habits but heneer got tired of his bleating stuffed a slice of castella in his mouth to shut him u could hardl beliee that he had dragged his Master into his idiotic lan ointlessl broken a bone falling off the bridge ust to get kashi and me together one of us could eer hoe to understand hat he gained out of all this Then again e didnt need to hoe oue learned our lesson about sticking our nose into eoles business said hile stuffing m cheeks ith castella but he shook his head ont be ridiculous hat else ould do ith mself hat an incurable character demanded to kno hat as so interesting about toing ith an innocent erson like me

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is customar youkailike grin floated to his face ​ ​ ts ho sho m loe dont need that nast stuff relied The Tatami Masochistic roro ar

n the to ears before the sring of m unior ear of college accomlished not a single thing of ractical use nstead of building health relationshis ith the oosite se studing diligentl training m bod and undertaking other actiities directed toards becoming a roductie member of societ isolated mself from omen abandoned m studies and let m health fall to ruin et desite haing struck out alread h is it that continued to labor aa hoing for the ieces to fall into lace must inuire of the resonsible art here is the culrit t is not that hae alas been in this condition as born ure as the drien sno and as charming as the infant rince Geni ith nar an imure thought in m head m radiant smile sread the light of loe across the hills and alles of m hometon am doubtful hether that is still the case toda Each time that look in a mirror fl into a rage asking h hae ou become like this s this the sum of our current eistence There are those ho sa that am still oung and that eole are things that ma et change o ridiculous t is said that the child is the father of the man nd ith this ear another one ill be added to m tent and the end of m slendid uartercentur outh ill soon aroach hat outcome then ould further clums efforts to change m ersonalit bring about t this stage if attemt to tist something that has alread set and hardened the most ll do is break it t this moment must ull mself uard into leading a resectable life must not aert m ees from the grim realit that lies before me nd et someho it is unbearable to look

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The rincial character of this memoir is none other than The other lead laer is one Master iguchi eteen these to atricians is inserted a minor character of diminutie stature u n the subect of mself there is little else to sa than that am a roud thirdear uniersit student oeer to suit m readers shall consent to describe m aearance et us take a ourne through oto rom aaramachi an ou stroll est along the shoing arcade The crods are out in force on this fine sring eekend s ou glance through the indos of the gift shos and tea houses ou suddenl see a raenhaired maiden the kind that makes our heart ski a beat coming our a hes so radiant that eerthing around her ales in comarison er cooll brilliant ees turn to a man alking beside her e is in his earl tenties his ees clear his bro firm a refreshing smile alas on his lis o matter hat acrobatic angle ou insect him from it is imossible to find an flas on his intellectual face e is about cm tall and ell built but ith nar a trace of the brute in his fine frame e has an eas gait and et there is confidence in each ste e is flaless in eer resect and alas has a leasant aura about him f there is a gold standard to udge a man b he is it lease ould like ou to imagine that erson heneer ou think of me am doing this solel for the conenience of m readers and as such am certainl not ortraing mself as more beautiful than am in real life or tring to make high school girls go gaga oer me or scheming to become class reresentatie and receie m diloma directl from the hands of the uniersit resident at graduation o dear readers lease engrae that image eactl as hae ust described it into our heads and think of it heneer ou think of me ts true that there is no raenhaired maiden beside me at resent and there ma also be a fe other oints of difference as ell but those are minor uibbles ts hats on the inside thats imortant

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et us continue to the matter of Master iguchi lie in room of himogamo suis a boarding house located in himogamo umigaa that resembles oloon alled it hile he lies a floor aboe me in room or to ears until our abrut arting at the end of the Ma of m third ear here as his arentice neglected m studies to ractice asceticism et in the end learned onl useless things and imroed the most orthless arts of m character hile simultaneousl neglecting the better arts t as idel rumored that Master iguchi as an eighthear student is rolonged resence on camus had granted him an aura of mster like that of an animal that has lied much longer than as normal e alas had an eas smile on his egglantshaed face hich someho gae him the ague imression of a nobleman oeer he alas had a la bush of stubble srouting from his chin e alas ore the same blue yukata ith an old umer ut on oer it during the ​ ​ inter ith that garb on he ould often be found at a stlish caf siing a cauccino e didnt on an electric fan but kne a thousand different laces to cool off during the dog das of summer is hair as fantasticall disheeled as if a thoon had made landfall on his head and left eerthing else untouched e often uffed on cigars ccasionall he ould dash off to school as if he had ust remembered that he as a student but b no there as robabl no a he could get enough credits to graduate Though he didnt seak a ord of hinese he as uite friendl ith the hinese echange students ho lied in the boarding house once came across him haing his hair cut b one of the hinese girls had lent him a co of ules ernes Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea almost a ear ago and he as still leisurel ​ ​ fliing through its ages refusing to return it n his room as a globe that he had stolen from me meticulousl dotted ith ins didnt learn until later that those ins tracked the oage of the autilus around the orld Master iguchi neer actuall ut forth an effort to accomlish anthing being too absorbed in his grand a of liing eending on ho ou looked at it it as either a cultured hilosoh buoed b a fearsome stoicism or the innacle of foolishness

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astl e come to u u is a student the same ear as Though he is a member of the electrical engineering deartment he hates electricit electronics and engineering is firstear grades ere so borderline that ondered if there as an oint to him being in uniersit at all e hoeer asnt concerned in the slightest ecause he desises egetables and adheres strictl to a diet of fast food he has the etremel eerie look and comleion of someone from the far side of the moon f ou ere to meet him the street late at night eight out of ten eole ould mistake him for a youkai The ​ ​ remaining to eole are certainl youkai themseles ​ ​ ruell beating the eak groeling to the strong selfish selfassured la a comlete demon neglecting studies lacking a shred of ride feeding off the unhainess of others he as able to eat three suare meals a da There is not a single art of him that is raiseorth f had neer met him m soul surel ould hae been cleaner for it eeing that in mind becoming a discile of Master iguchi in the sring of m freshman ear as mostl assuredl a mistake

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t the time as still a sarkling freshman The cherr trees had shed their floers clad no in an inigorating erdant hue on entering the uniersit grounds each firstear as immediatel ressed ith club fliers ith so man that the could not be rocessed b a single erson mong those sundr fliers onl four caught m attention: Misogi Moie ircle a msterious call for disciles onaka oftball ircle and the uck at estaurant secret societ Each of these had its on air of susicion et as its on doora to a et unknon camus life and as filled ith inuisitieness thinking that no matter hich chose a fascinating future la ahead The onl reason thought this as because as a hoeless fool fter lectures directed m stes toards the uniersit clock toer t seemed that man circles ere holding ne member information sessions in that icinit round the base of the clock toer milled throngs of freshmen their faces still blushing ith srings of hoe as ell as craft circle members eager to re on those same hoes Thinking that among these countless circles la an entrance to the hantasmic illusion of the entrance to a ros student life andered around in a lightheaded dae The first thing noticed as a grou of students holding a billboard dislaing Misogi Moie ircle t looked like the ere screening a moie as a a of elcoming otential ne recruits oeer as didnt hae the nere to introduce mself ket circling the clock toer scrutiniing one of the fliers as holding n it as ritten in large bold letters isciles anted lairoance to find the fated maiden ithin the crods of Gion and ears hich erceieth een the sound of cherr blossoms falling into the canals earing eerhere ithin the caital assing freel beteen heaen and earth n the land of the gods he is knon to all feared b all master of all is name is iguchi hintaro ome oung ones ho hold romise ssemble on the thirtieth of ril before the clock toer o hone number f all the dubious fliers in the orld surel there as none that could match this nd et began to think that b steeling m neres and uming headlong into this brae ne orld ould la the foundation of the glorious future that as sure to come mbition as not a ice but going don the rong ath ould surel lead to ruin s scrutinied this flier a oice suddenl called out to me M good fello turned around and as greeted ith the sight of a er odd erson ho had been standing behind me Though this as a college camus he as earing a threadbare yukata uffing on a cigar and ​ ​ sorting a fie oclock shado on his scruff egglantshaed face couldnt tell hether he as a college student or not Though he radiated a fundamentall susicious aura for some reason his bearing and his roguish endearing smile gae him the demeanor of a nobleman This as Master iguchi see oue found m flier am currentl seeking disciles hat kind of disciles ome come no need to be so hast This is our senior discile eside the Master stood an eerielooking fello ith a face of ill ortent or a moment thought he as a hellsan that onl could see m u leased to meet ou he said Though he is our mentor he onl has ou beat b minutes Master iguchi chuckled drl Though e ould go on to isit bars hundreds of times the onl time as eer treated b Master iguchi ould be that first time s as not accustomed to drinking became rather boisterous and immediatel hit it off ith Master iguchi uon learning that he lied in the same boarding house as e ent back to his tatami room and together ith u started heatedl discussing some imenetrable toic t first u as uiet as though he ere eath himself standing ominousl at our bedside but he soon started to babble on on the subect of tits e argued assionatel about hether the breasts that e sa ith our ees ere real or not and eentuall discussing the matter in terms of uantum mechanics t this oint Master iguchi stated t doesnt matter hether there real or not hat matters is hether ou beliee the are oon after this rofound statement lost consciousness Thus became Master iguchis discile and became acuainted ith u hat kind of discile as That as a uestion to hich een after to ears still did not kno the anser

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ssociating ith the eccentric Master iguchi meant that loft ideals like erseerance humilit and decorum ent right out the indo Een if ere to confront him ith these slendid rinciles in the end neither of us retched beings ould gain anthing The first thing had to learn in dealing ith him as the concet of tribute This meant food and sundries The onl ones ho ent in and out of the Masters room ere me and u kashi and a dental hgienist named anuki et at times the Master ould deend solel on us for of his food suose he consumed the morning de for the other onder hat he ould do if e all ere to suddenl cut all ties ith him nl a noice ould think that he ould lift a finger to hel himself n fact losing his food source ould onl make the Master een more regall determined not to make an effort: such as the unarallelled resole of the Master attained through his rigorous ascetic lifestle f a shortage of food as all it took to make him deserate he ould alread hae acted gien the hard times he had fallen on on to of his lackluster academic results mere famine ould hardl be enough to erturb him uch as the art of the Master: to conince us that he ould rather stare to death than ut in the effort to hel himself Een if e ere to sto sending him food e erent certain that he ould actuall get hungr at all t seemed that he had the mstical oer of being able to stae off angs of hunger siml b uffing on his cigar e students hae managed to attain such a state of mind t as hard to imagine such a erson being afraid of anthing but there as a single incident here he admitted to being afraid ot onl did he refuse to return that book he had borroed from me he also neer returned librar books hen brought u the fact that his books ere due si months ago he siml relied Thats right Thats h m afraid of the ibrar olice s there such a thing as ibrar olice asked u There is he relied ith a look of dread ts an organiation that uses the most inhuman methods to forcibl retriee oerdue librar books iar ou got me

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ne night found mself art of a clandestine gathering on the oshida hrine road in the ako ard Though man high school and college students come here to ra for success in their eams each ear its said that oshida hrine has the mstical oer to automaticall make anone ho does so fail their eams and that half the ater in ake ia is comosed of the tears shed b all the souls ho are forced to take a ga ear on account of failing to make it into their dream schools maintained a resectful distance from the shrine but een that recaution didnt kee all m grades from sliing aa like so much sand through m fingers The magic of oshida hrine is certainl not something to be trifled ith Gien ho man credits as missing did not ant to so much as ste foot onto the shrine grounds but due to a series of unfortunate eents as comelled to attend this midnight coen on the shrine road t had been to ears since had entered uniersit o that Ma as almost oer it as seltering during the da but hen night fell the air turned cool lluminated onl b the glimmering light of the camus clock toer onoe treet as all but deserted onl the occasional nocturnal student slithered b f this had been a nighttime trst ith an artless raenhaired maiden ouldnt hae minded aiting here all alone at all n fact robabl ould hae felt a sheeish ecitement oeer tonight as here to see u a filth blackhearted chromosomebearing youkai anted to ust bail on the meeting and leae ​ ​ no but if did ould lose m standing ith Master iguchi eluctantl aited u as suosed to come in a car borroed from an uerclassman in his circle called iima hiled aa the minutes b imagining u accidentall running off the road and being smashed into a million little ieces fter some time a little round car came trundling don East chi treet and stoed near the main camus gate rom ithin a dark figure hoed out and started alking m a to m great sorro it as u Good eening id ou ait long he asked leasantl Tonight his demeanor as een more susect than usual as though the harbinger of a most imminent doom: he could scarcel hide his anticiation toards hat as about to transireThis as a erson ho sated himself on three meals of other eoles misfortune eer da ee in mind that the immoral shameless lan for tonight as solel this mans idea and as not in an a suggested b me am the olar oosite of him: a eritable saint a man of irtue as onl doing this for the sake of the Master e got in the car and started driing toards the mae of residential districts to the south u as in a er bubbl mood kashis refusal almost sank the entire lan man f all the laces to go soft am right Most ustanding eole ould be oosed to this eseciall me This again ou kno ou actuall eno it on the inside s if ould m onl here on the Masters orders dont forget that reeated ou do realie this is illegal dont ou: eall no he tilted his head but the effect as less cute than eerie most heinous crime Tresassing theft kidnaing reeled them off idnaing onl alies to humans doesnt it ere onl stealing a loe doll ont sa it so lainl se code ords or something ou sa that but kno ou reall ust interested in seeing it ourself e go back a too far for ou to be able to hide that kind of thing from me ou robabl ant to touch it too hat a er ou are e leered suggestiel at me ine m leaing made to undo m seatbelt and oen the door at hich he hastil backedaled ith the most soothing oice he could muster ll right all right he said That as uncalled for heer u huh ts all for the Masters sake after all

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The origins of the conflict hae long since been lost in the mists of time but Master iguchi called it the Masochistic roro ar ll could glean from the name as that it as some sort of unciilied suabble bout fie ears ago Master iguchi and a man named gasaki had had a falling out and ith one thing leading to another the neighborhood as soon eneloed in the flames of ar hich continued een to the resent da ometimes Master iguchi ould out of the blue remember to harass gasaki ho ould return fire this ccle reeated oer and oer Each successie generation of the Masters disciles as called to toss aa its dignit and chamion his cause in this imbroglio as no ecetion The onl one ho shoed an enthusiasm toards this dut as u ho aeared to be in his element gasaki as the head of a certain moie circle and as a doctoral student ielded considerable oer but alas u as also a member of that circle ast autumn u had used eer trick he had u his sleee and actuall eelled gasaki from the circle s befitting his underhanded nature u had goaded iima ho as also art of the circle into ulling off a cou dtat gasaki still bore a grudge against iima the ringleader of the consirac but had no clue that it as actuall u ulling the strings behind the scenes ot knoing hat to do ith himself after being kicked out gasaki reneed the ageold ar ith Master iguchi Things escalated from minor sats and finall culminated in ril of this ear ith Master iguchis beloed blue yukata being ded ink Master iguchi ​ ​ ordered u to draft a lan for a counterattack u dislaing his cunning as the lieutenant of darkness came u ith a lan most ile t as called eration: idna aori

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gasaki lied at the foot of Mount oshida in a recentl rebuilt charming tostor aartment building net to a bamboo groe in oshida himo ich u and left the car and hid ourseles in the shados of a concrete all net to the aartment felt like an agent from the deths of hell and as sure that gasaki ould hae agreed onsidering that e ere stealing his most beloed treasure e could hardl rotest if he ere to call us hellions sent from the abss u eeed oer the to of the concrete all gasaki lied on the second floor on the south side of the building and the lights ere still on inside his lace hats he still doing in there note of frustration cret into his oice ere in a bind if kashi doesnt hold u her end of the deal feel kind of bad for her e shouldnt hae forced her to hel us hat hes one of Master iguchis disciles as ell and e need her for this hen it comes to idiots theres no difference beteen males and females e stood in the alle tring not to moe suirming in the darkness here the streetlights couldnt reach f e ere sotted b someone thed surel reort us The longer e stood there the more felt mself being olluted b us foul influence f it had been a raenhaired maiden b m side crouching here in the darkness ouldnt hae been such a big deal nfortunatel it as u h did hide mself net to this sinister fello id go rong somehere as the fault ithin mself t least gie me someone more likeminded to mself if not a raenhaired maiden m starting to get orried t looks like the schedules gone ar Theres no a kashi ould cooerate in a crime like this ets ust call it a da e cant ee alread gone to the trouble of borroing iimas car theres no a e can gie u no u froned and clung to the all like a gecko o hat eactl haened beteen Master iguchi and gasaki anho h are the continuing this ointless battle nd h the hell do e hae to do this comlained The Masochistic roro ar nd hats that eats me u cocked his head dont understand it either o basicall ere asting our recious outh fighting a ar that nobod remembers the reason for snt there something else e could be doing This is art of our training to deelo ourseles as human beings Though its obious that standing around here ith ou is a aste of time Thats hat m saing ont look at me ith those ees i sto clinging to me ut m lonel and this ind is making me cold ou lonel bastard aa illing time in the darkness ith this mocker of a loers uarrel as not much of a distraction nd for some reason it felt like had done this before hich began to frustrate me e haent e had a conersation like this before o a not something this dumb ts robabl ust d u uddenl u crouched don folloed suit The light in his room ust ent out e held our breath as a man came traming don the stairs e ent to the bike lot and heeled out a scooter had seen him seeral times before and no matter ho looked at him he seemed to be a slendid fello ith a lot going for him not like one to aste time on something as sill as the Masochistic roro ar omared to his oerfloing italit the onl thing that as oerfloing from us as rotten uices hat a stud sighed ou cant udge on aearances ou kno e looks good on the outside but the onl thing that goes through his head is tits oure a fine one to talk o rude ll hae ou kno that restrain mself roerl hen think about breasts bliious to the to of us standing net to the all arguing about breasts gasaki ut on his helmet straddled his bike and rode off toards the east e ooed out of the darkness and ent around to the stairs e ont be back for a hile u giggled here is he going arafune af on hirakaa treet ell be aiting there drinking coffee for at least to hours but hat he doesnt kno is that kashi is neer going to sho u hat a moron ell that sucks o lets get to ork e ascended the stairs o e had free access to his room ecet that neither of us kne ho to ick a lock or that u had gone through gasakis egirlfriend and surretitiousl obtained a co of the ke t asnt ust the matter of the lock u kne absolutel eerthing about gasakis riate life nce hen gasaki as echanging letters ith a oman u een got his hands on the letters themseles such as his meticulousness e ho controls information controls the orld e as fond of such acrobatic saings and in his notebook almost like the eibonsha orld Enccloedia in its thoroughness ere carefull ritten don the deeest secrets of arious eole heneer thought about this as oercome ith the urge to run as far aa from this tisted indiidual as m legs ould take me on oening the door e ere greeted ith a kitchen and a tatami room ith ooden floors across from us as a glass door artitioning off the rest of the aartment u slid in first his eerienced hands deftl finding the lights as if he as used to coming into this aartment hen mentioned this he nodded e as the circle leader after all e still makes me come oer sometimes so he can comlain to me and that usuall takes a hile ts uite a ain he relied matteroffactl ou scoundrel d rather ou call me a strategist didnt ant to get too inoled in this crime so like a gentleman steed ast the front door but ent no further ome on this a u urged but stood m ground ou go look for it m not going ast here ts onl manners after all ere alread here arent e ell if ou still ant to la the gentleman at this oint suit ourself Giing u the disute u ent further into the aartment alone rom the dark reaches of the back room could hear him rustling around folloed b the sound of him stumbling oer something resentl he started to chortle and talk to himself sounding irritatingl leased ome on aori dont be sh um that loser gasaki and come along ith me fter a short hile u emerged into the kitchen carring a oman beneath his arm M a ust about droed to the floor This is aori he announced amn didnt reckon on her being so hea

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Man eole mself included are aare of the eistence of the miserable things called utch ies otherise knon as se dolls t the time disdained them as obects bought eclusiel b sobbing itiful men unable to resist their carnal desires n Ma u learned that gasaki secretl had a utch ife of his on This as no ordinar se doll: it as made of suerremium ualit silicone and cost oer one hundred thousand en e insisted that it as onl roer to call it a loe doll f ou ere to sa that gasaki had been drien to the deths of desair b suddenl being kicked out of his on circle as ell as dumed b his girlfriend and had succumbed to his loneliness it might be understandable if unlikel for him to imulsiel bu such a thing ut that as not the case t seemed that gasaki had oned that loe doll for at least to ears n that time he had also been romanticall inoled ith real omen so in a sense ou could sa that he as a hardcore loe doll fanatic t as hard for me to imagine it iing ith and cherishing a loe doll is a secial thing t has absolutel nothing to do ith hether ou hae a real girlfriend or not ts a er refined sort of loe something a brute like ou ho onl sees a loe doll as a tool could neer understand ince it as u saing this as rett sure that all of that as malarke nd et the loe doll called aori that u dragged out as so beautiful so euisite could hardl beliee it as ust a doll er black hair as combed neatl and her elegant clothing as roerl buttoned u er dream ees gaed gentl at me unconsciousl blurted out o thats u raised a finger to his lis hissing hhh ot so loud e almost looked roud as if to sa ere she is f oure not careful ou might fall for her e laid her don on the kitchen floor ith some difficult as though she eighed as much as a real erson t as like an illustration from a hoaera horror noel brought to life: a reulsie youkai crouching beside a sleeing beaut ​ ​ ome on e need to get her to the car neectedl businesslike in contrast to his aearance u urged me to ick aori u he siml la there smiling seetl er skin looked ust like regular skin and as soft to the touch er hair as carefull groomed her clothes ere arranged ith nar a thread out of lace ou might hae thought that she as a lad born into nobilit froen in time as she gaed istfull into the distance s stared at her became aroused mean aroused to anger Though asnt ersonall acuainted ith gasaki had to admit that this as a er insular but refined sort of loe aori had such an elegant eression on her face it as imossible to imagine her leading an sort of corrut lifestle er smoothed hair her immaculate clothing eerthing indicated the deth of gasakis loe for her brigand like u ho sa her onl as a tool for seual gratification ould neer understand To ruin the delicate graceful orld that gasaki and aori had constructed ould be an unforgiable crime a mortal sin een ere it under the Masters orders t as outrageous to snatch her aa from here ho had thus far alked this barren ath ithout uestioning Master iguchi could not sallo the cruel act in front of me Master ust cant do it seied u ho as still gleefull aing her all oer b the laels to that h ont let ou la a finger on her gasaki lift our head u and kee alking on our on ath The future is hat ou make of it let out an encouraging ell in m heart f course it as directed toards aori as ell

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That night returned to m residence dragging u behind me ho as still making all sorts of dissenting cries like a small animal lied in a boarding house called himogamo suis hich is located in himogamo umigaa had heard that the lace had burned don in the chaos at the end of the Tokugaa shogunate as rebuilt in eactl the same fashion and had not been renoated since f it hadnt been for the light leaking out of the indos one could be forgien for mistaking it for an abandoned ruin hen first isited this lace during the coo association tour after orientation thought had andered into oloon alled it ust looking at its crumbling ooden frame as enough to induce aniet and it as robabl sufficientl dilaidated that it could be laced on the list of aans mortant ultural roerties et if it ere to burn don doubt that anone ould een bat an ee Een the landlord ho lies to the east ould most certainl be relieed t as the ee hours of the morning b the time ascended the stairs ith u lied in room on the first floor but Master iguchi lied aboe me in the deeest recesses of the second floor room Through the indo aboe his door e could see that the lights ere still on it aeared that he as aaiting our triumhant return To be honest felt bad for betraing his eectations and tossing the ro ar aside ould need to bring him something to lacate him oened the door to find Master iguchi and kashi sitting on the floor facing one another t first it aeared as if the Master as lecturing his discile but in fact it as kashi ho as giing the Master a stern dressingdon hen she sa us enter emthanded she gae a sigh of relief ou aborted the lan then silentl nodded hile u ust sulked elcome back gentlemen Master iguchi said suirming uncomfortabl in his seat ushed u aside and gae a full account of hat had haened Master iguchi died his head slightl and lit a cigar and assed a second to kashi together the let out a long uff n our absence t looked as if the had had a long debate ending u ith an oerhelming ictor for kashi ell suose things turned out for the best tonight the Master conceded u oened his mouth as if he as about to rotest but the Master thundered EE ll things hae their limits ertainl the incident ith m yukata being ded ink as ​ ​ highl regrettable oeer it is also true that tearing aart the long ha union of gasaki and aori in such a coardl fashion ould also be an eceedingl cruel thing to do Een if she is a doll u interected ut Master thats not hat ou ere saing before e uiet u kashi snaed t an rate the Master continued this as a breach of the rules that gasaki and set don ot onl that but it as a grieous aberration for us imonderous beings ho seek to traerse the firmament got too rash thinking about the tragic loss of m yukata ​ ​ e let out a sorroful uff of smoke re ou satisfied he ut to kashi am she relied Thus eration: idna aori as no more u under our three combined ic gaes made hast rearations to leae uh hae a banuet tomorro night at the amogaa elta ith m circle o man things so little time he said huffil ith all the coniction of a fish burger m sorr u cant make it tomorro kashi said he as also a member of the same circle as him h not need to do research and get to ork on m reort hats more imortant our studies or the circle u dre himself u ou need to come to the banuet refuse kashi curtl resonded u deflated as uickl as he had uffed himself u Master iguchi smiled ou are uite intriguing he said raising kashi

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The eening after the aori kidnaing attemt alked along Great an ridge m mind galloing oer m memories of the last to ears The mugg summer heat had finall let u and a cool breee as bloing b There as a nearinfinite number of things that regretted doing but the one regretted most as meeting Master iguchi in front of the clock toer f hadnt met him there someho things ould hae been different d thought about going into the Misogi moie circle or the onaka softball circle or een the uck at hinese estaurant secret societ o matter hich had icked certainl ould hae become a much more orthhile holesome erson s night fell oer the ton lights flickered on one b one surring me further along this train of thought but dismissed it from m mind and steed into an oldfashioned sho near the est end of Great an ridge as here looking for a kamenoko scrubbing brush on the ​ ​ Masters behalf ccording to the tale that Master iguchi sun me the kamenoko brush had been ​ ​ roduced for oer a hundred ears b the ishio hoten o using coconut and hinese indmill alm fibers n the turbulence at the end of the acific ar the secret techniue as stolen b a medical student ho used the fibers of a certain te of alm hich gros onl in Taian to roduce and sell his on kamenoko brush The brush aarentl uses the an der ​ ​ aals force to bind dirt to the innumerable firm incredibl fine bristle tis at the molecular leel effortlessl lifting off an sort of dirt or grime: the ultimate cleaning eaon ue to ressure from other firms hich feared that such aesome oer ould adersel affect soa and detergent sales the brush as neer sold on the massmarket but its said that een no the msterious brush is still being roduced in secret Master iguchis chambers ere so sualid as to be nearl unliable f a cloistered oung lad ere to gae into the filth of the sink guarantee that she ould faint on the sot eer before seen lifeforms continued to secretl eole in the corners of the sink and hen ointed this out as told b the Master that the kamenoko brush as reuired to clean the ​ ​ sink and that needed to get it or face ecommunication anted to tell him to ecommunicate me on the sot ence m isit to this sho tonight hich carried a ide ariet of scrubbing brushes s haltingl elained that as looking for this magical brush the shokeeers mouth slol curled into a smirk f course een couldnt take this seriousl ell no dont think e got anthing like that in back the shokeeer chuckled fled into the crods outside on an treet to escae his mocking stare There as also m failure to kidna aori t this rate ust anted to ecommunicate mself andered toards aaramachi treet assing in front of the famous achinko arlor here a grou of ronin lotting to burn don oto ere attacked b the hinsengumi in olden times t as rather mstifing as to h the ould choose to hatch their lan at a achinko arlor couldnt return to himogamo suis ust et Een if couldnt find the mstical scrubbing brush needed to find something else that ould aease the Master erhas a fine uban cigar ould do the trick or fresh fish from ishiki Market orried out of m mind tottered south don aaramachi treet s the night rogressed the crods gre larger further aggraating m distemer droed into a sho called Gabi sed ooks ooks to brose for a bit but as soon as steed foot inside the rorietor hose face resembled a boiled octous gloered at me and shouted ere closed ut out out driing me off as if as a enomous insect as something of a regular here and hile treating all customers euall is an admirable olic it as frustrating all the same ot knoing here else to go alked through the chasm of buildings and into iamachi u had said that he had a banuet ith his circle tonight That bastard as robabl surrounded b adoring freshmen and haing the time of his life at this er minute hereas had failed to find Master iguchis socalled mstical brush been chased out of the refuge of the bookstore and as doomed to ander the crods alone urel this as an inustice of the highest degree s brooded near one of the footbridges on the Takase anal sotted anukis face in the crods of iamachi immediatel ducked m head and retended to be ust another flustered edestrian tring to light a cigarette hoing that she ouldnt notice me anuki as a msterious dental hgienist ho also freuented Master iguchis lace and odds ere she as sauntering around iamachi looking to get lastered The one time had the misfortune of running into her donton sent the night being dragged from iamachi to ontoch like a helless catie being dragged behind an outlas horse in one of those old esterns and hen came to as collased on the ground alone near Ebisugaa oer lantThankfull it had been summer or ould hae froen to death under the bare trees Tonight ould rather not be dragged around on an endless night of hell and be oisoned half to death ith coffeeinfused shochu ducked m head out of sight and anuki assed on ​ ​ b breathed a sigh of relief but then again it asnt like had anthing else to do t as at that moment ust as resoled to eel mself from Master iguchis discileshi that met the old lad

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n beteen the bars and brothels a dark sueeed sort of house stood in the shados nder the oerhang an old oman sat at a ooden stall coered b a hite cloth she looked like a fortune teller The sign hanging off the front of the stall as inscribed ith all manner of arcane incomrehensible runes boe it the hags head floated in the gloom lit onl b the ha orange light of a small lantern t as a ghastl sight like seeing a raenous ghost hungering for the souls of assersb began to imagine all manner of misfortune befalling me: the shado of the old oman seemed to follo me eerhere ent nothing did ent right eole as eecting neer shoed u ossessions anished neer to be seen again failed courses that should hae been a cinch a thesis that as about to resent sontaneousl combusted fell into the canals of ake ia as caught b a snakeoil salesman on hi treet and so forth hile these ild thoughts ere going through m head the old oman noticed me looking at her he glared at me from the ink darkness ith gleaming ees draing me in ith her otherorldl emanations er susicious aura as strangel ersuasie and logicall thinking came to the conclusion that the diinations of someone ho alloed her suernatural aura to flo so freel could not ossibl be rong n m tentodd ears of life there had been but a handful of times here humbl took someones adice hat if that as the reason as stuck on this thorn ath unable to moe forard Though took fe risks in life asnt there a ossibilit that could choose the thornlined ath f onl had chosen to sto reling on m on udgment earlier m camus life certainl ould hae taken a different shae ould not hae become the discile of the enigmatic Master iguchi nor met the tisted u nor let the ast to ears of m life go to comlete aste ather ould hae been blessed ith onderful mentors and friends become accomlished in all the arts and sciences of course hae a beautiful raenhaired maiden at m side face a glittering golden future ahead of me and erhas een hae that allimortant ros student life in the alm of m hand That as the kind of life suited for someone like mself Thats right t asnt too late The sooner took a thirdarts obectie adice the sooner could escae this drear life into the life that as meant to lie moed m legs toard the old oman as if as being sucked in b her suernatural aura o hat is it that ou ish to hear The old oman mumbled her ords like her mouth as full of cotton giing the imression that the ere all the more aluable m not sure here to start eeing me at a loss for ords she grinned can see from our face that ou are er frustrated unsatisfied ou are not able to use our full talents our current situation is not suited for ou es thats eactl it ho me our hands The old hag took m alms and eered into them nodding aroingl ou hae much earnest talent in ou uickl tied m hat to her keen insight true master hides his skills and had hidden m talents for so long that een didnt realie had them an more or this old oman to sense those talents ithin fie minutes of meeting me must mean that she as no ordinar erson t is essential that ou not let oortunities sli aa n oortunit is nothing more than a faorable circumstance ou understand ut its difficult to take hold of oortunities ometimes the hide in laces ou dont eect and sometimes it is onl later that ou realie something that seemed like an oortunit as reall nothing at all ut in order to seie an oortunit ou must act ou look like ou ill hae a long life so sooner or later ou ill be hae the chance s befitting her aura her ords ere trul rofound dont ant to ait foreer ant to grab m oortunit no an ou be a little more secific t m robing the rinkles on the old omans face contorted een further thought her right cheek must be itch or something but it turned out that she as ust smiling ts hard to be secific about the future Een if ere to tell ou about a recise oortunit it might er ell be tisted and ared b the machinations of fate until it as no longer an oortunit hen ou chanced uon it and that ould ust be a disserice to ou ouldnt it ate is something that changes from moment to moment ou see ut eerthing oue told me is too ague to act on s stood there in confusion she ehaled slol through her nose er ell ill refrain from seaking of things far ahead but can seak of things that ill soon come to ass idened m ears like umbo olosseum she suddenl hisered olosseum hats that t is the sign of an oortunit hen an oortunit arries it ill be accomanied b olosseum she intoned o are ou telling me need to go to ome ut the old oman merel grinned hen our oortunit comes ou mustnt let it sli aa ou mustnt fumble around aimlessl as ou hae been doing eie it boldl daringl f ou do ou ill no longer be unsatisfied and be able to embark on a ne ath though that ath ma hold hardshis of its on Then again eect that ou understand this uite ell didnt understand in the slightest but nodded ana Een if ou dont catch this one ou dont need to orr ou are a slendid oung man so someda ithout a doubt ou ill make it can see it Theres no need to rush ith that the old oman brought her diinations to an end Thank ou er much nodded m thanks and aid the fee turned around onl to find kashi standing behind me little lost lamb are e she said

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kashi started isiting Master iguchis room last fall fter u and me she as his third discile he had also oined one of us circles eentuall becoming his righthand oman Thus their to fates became intertined and so almost ineitabl she became one of Master iguchis disciles kashi as a student in the engineering deartment a ear ounger than me ot one to mince ords she as resected but largel aoided b most eole heneer she encountered something she deemed illogical she as alas reared to debate the oint ith her bro rinkled underneath her short black hair There as something a little distant in her ees and she rarel shoed signs of eakness t as befuddling h she ould choose to become friends ith u and h she ould become a assal of Master iguchis tatami domain uring the summer of her freshman ear another freshman had carelessl asked her kashi hat do ou do on the eekends he relied ithout een looking u h should tell ou fter that no one asked her about her eekend lans heard about that echange some time later from u and roudl thought to mself kashi ou ust kee doing our on thing ut een she as unielding and unaroachable as a medieal Euroean fortress had a single eakness ast autumn ust after she had become Master iguchis discile ran into her in the lobb of himogamo suis and e ascended the stairs together to go isit the Master kashi as alking in front of me her back ramrod straight as though she ere an artime insector hen she suddenl shrieked as though she ere a character from a manga and came falling headlong don the stairs in front of me siftl ran u and caught her or rather as suashed b her falling form hile tring to escae he clung to me her hair disheeled but couldnt hold her u for er long and e both tumbled don the stairs to the corridor frail moth fluttered aboe our heads hile e ere climbing the stairs it seemed that that moth had decided to alight uon kashis face he aarentl as deathl afraid of moths t suished it suished she hisered oer and oer her en tire bod trembling her face as ale as if she had ust seen a ghost ormall she alled herself off from the orld and the fascination felt seeing such a erson sho a moment of eakness is indescribable t that moment ho as her senior discile and mentor should kno better er nearl fell in loe kashi continued to mutter incoherentl hile chialrousl comforted her

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s e alked along elained the stor behind the kamenoko brush to kashi hile ​ ​ she froned smatheticall Master iguchis reall asking for the imossible this time bet hes still liid ith m failure to kidna aori last night surmised but she shook her head dont think thats it this kidnaing thing isnt like him at all e seemed reentant after told him as much last night onder about that t as ou ho decided not to go through ith the lan asnt it ould hae been rett disgusted ith ou f ou hadnt turned back ut didnt ou hel out u ith distracting gasaki o didnt do anthing n the end the Master had to call him see esides doing things that make us feel bad is against the Masters teachings isnt it omeho it sounds more conincing hen ou sa it he smiled rl and gae a little satisfied toss of her short black hair failed to kidna aori and no cant find the brush t looks like m das as a discile are oer sighed o oure not done et she said firml starting to alk een faster er confident stride reminded me of herlock olmes hereas scurried after her like a timid deserate client calling on the office on aker treet e been ondering about it for a little hile but hat eactl haened beteen Master iguchi and gasaki she inuired as e icked our a through an alle toards aaramachi gasaki as in our circle asnt he ou neer heard anthing from him ot a hiser ell the onl thing kno is that its called the Masochistic roro ar There must hae been some reall etraordinar eent to begin ith he suddenl stoed in front of the sho had isited ust a hile ago Gabi sed ooks The sourfaced sho oner as shutting u the store but hen he sa kashi a broad smile aeared on his face t as as if he as the old bamboo cutter seeing rincess agua for the first time arentl kashi orked arttime at the bookstore and also droed in heneer she as in the area to chat Een so make this crust fello melt like a marshmallo as no mean feat The difference beteen this man and the man ho had chased me out earlier as like night and da hile looked at the comlete collections of eda kinari dislaed in the sho indo kashi talked to the sho oner ho nodded and listened attentiel t last he shook his head aologeticall and ointed toards the est ts not here ets kee looking kashi said to me and our search for the kamenoko ​ brush ound its a est e crossed aaramachi treet and alked along Takoakushi treet entering the croded hinkgoku shoing arcade rom there folloed as she headed into an alle ​ ​ stretching toards Teramachi and straight into a second hand goods sho ith old suitcases and electric lams lined u along the front laed around ith a tin submarine in the corner hile kashi inuired about the brush and as directed to a general store in ishiki Market trundled along obedientl behind her as she ent to the est end of the market and talked to a married coule tending a dim cluttered store this time she receied information about a man on ukki treet ho might kno about the brush ​ ​ s the da faded e crossed hi treet assed south b ukki Temle and alked ​ ​ ​ ​ back toards the east n contrast to the crods around hi there ere fe eole out and ​ ​ about here and the streets ere uiet kashi stuck her head into a sho ith its shutters halfclosed and called out Ecuse me he mentioned the sho in ishiki and as receied faorabl calling me in as ell ssorted odds and ends ere laced all oer the dirt floor The thin cranelike sho oner flicked a sitch bathing the store in an orange glo here did ou hear about that he inuired told him about Master iguchi and m deserate task The sho oners thin chiseled face looked een more dignified in the orange light and m ae of him as such that could barel seak fter a moment he turned and ent into the dark recesses of the sho returning shortl ith a aulonia bo e oened the lid ith little fanfare reealing an ordinarlooking kamenoko brush ​ ​ This is it he stated handing the bo to me o much ill it be asked The shokeeer suinted at me ets seell make it tent t housand en o matter ho magical these alm tree fibers ere there as no a as aing tent thousand en for this brush f it as going to be that much ould much rather choose to be gloriousl eelled ecused mself b saing that didnt hae that much mone on hand and left the sho thinking about the fate that aaited me o hat are ou going to do re ou going to bu it kashi asked as e alked don hi treet ​ ​ ike hell ill Tent thousand for a brush omething like that is meant to be used in fanc restaurants like the himogamo aro restaurant not to scrub the sink in a filth tatami room ut didnt the Master command ou to retriee it Might as ell be eelled noing him he ont let ou go that easil o he has ou us there too ts robabl about time he let me go anho to being so essimistic lease ll talk to him for ou m counting on ou

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ince had become a discile had endured a great man of Master iguchis unreasonable demands o that think about it hae no idea h asted so much time doing his bidding considering that most of the trials underent ere utterl meaningless There are man uniersities in oto and of course man students as ell s students of oto e ere honorbound to sere the cit or so the Master insisted ain or shine u and sent hours sitting on a cold stone bench along the hilosohers alk absorbed in ishida itaros hilosohical treatise n nuir into the Good discussing incomrehensible statements such as rom this ersectie on mental henomena ercetion is a kind of imulsie ill ur time as thus sent on the utterl unroductie goal of becoming a tourist attraction and on to of that m stomach hurt from constantl sitting in the cold tried ith all m bod and soul to continue but b olume one chater three entitled ill had comletel burnt out t first our faces ere stoic but e began to find it harder and harder to kee it together e encountered a assage that read riginall organisms erform arious moements in order to resere life ere u reeated ari ous moements in order to resere life The indecent smile rising to his face as a clear indication of ho inordinatel ecited he as becoming ithout a doubt he as absorbed b some shameful fantas brought about b his chromosome fter haing been forced to read incomrehensible orks of hilosoh all da long in this uiet neighborhood his dark urges had riened like a bulging bunch of graes and n nuir into the Good had been transformed in his mind to Technical omendium of e okes f course an thoughts of continuing our hilosohical ursuits ere dashed f e ere to roceed to the fourth chater on religion e ould surel begin to blasheme eerthing around us becoming unfit to alk among societ at large t as robabl a good thing that our determination fortitude and mental strength gae out before e sullied the good name of ishida itaro an further The Master as a errari fan so heneer a errari on an race as forced to shoulder the unleasant task running back and forth diagonall across the akumanben intersection hile bearing a huge red flag ith the rancing horse insignia simultaneousl tring to aoid becoming a smear on the bumers of assing cars had originall lanned to make u do it but since he as the one ho had scrounged the flag u and resented it to the Master in the first lace neer had a chance urthermore u often agitated the Master before running off leaing me to bear the brunt of the Masters cariciousness n the end as the one ho sread the light of errari oer the orld assing cars hurled insults at me hile edestrians siml stared at me ith scornful ees driing me further into thoughts of iolence

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The Master alas hungered for ne things is aetite matched the greatness of his stature but in the end it as alas u and ho had to sul him ith these things t asnt ust food alcohol and tobacco e roided him ur sundr offerings included coffee mills folding fans and a arl eiss monocular e on at a draing in the shoing district Een the co of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea that he had been absorbed ​ ​ in reading for the ast ear as originall mine: had bought it at the himogamo hrine used book fair intending to arm mself u ith the classic tale of adenture during the long chill autumn nights but at it had someho fallen into the Masters hands Getting him snacks like emachi utabas mame mochi hogoins yatsuhashi sea urchin crackers and ishimura Eisei ​ ​ ​ ​ oro crackers as all ell and good but hen he decided he anted a banner from the used book fair and a giant eroon frog statue as left scratching m head ater hen he asked for a lifesied amen ider figure a tatamisied fish cake a seahorse and a giant suid as brought to m knees here as suosed to find a giant suid e had once been told to go to agoa to get miso katsu hold the katsu but had to ​ ​ ​ ​ to ti m hat to u ho actuall ent all the a there and back on the same da the a had once gone all the a to ara ust to get the crackers used to feed the local deer hen Master iguchi said that he anted a seahorse u dug u a fish tank from God knos here and filled it ith ater but as he as utting in the grael and ater lants an ominous cracking sound came from the tank and suddenl all the ater came ouring out like a miniature iagara alls The Master laughed atching u and scrambling around the flooded tatami room fter a hile he remarked ont the ater be leaking through to the floor belo robabl considering ho rundon this building is u facealmed The erson belo us is gonna be rett issed hat should e do old on thats m room eled u looked relieed h no need to orr then eak on sa The ater ended u leaking all the a through the floor comletel soaking m room The driing ater melted all m books together into a sodden mess so that it as imossible to tell erotica from educational materials ot onl that but the electrons residing in m comuter ere all set out to sea and along ith them m recious data and media files as ell biousl this incident as the death knell for hat scholarl asirations still ossessed ithout another ord about the seahorse Master iguchi said ant a giant suid and tossed the fish tank that u had obtained out into the corridor to gather dust To distract himself from further thoughts about sea creatures Master iguchi confiscated m co of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and had refused to gie it back for almost a ear ​ no nce again as the one getting the short end of the stick

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mong the man follies of Master iguchi the fierce Masochistic roro ar ith gasaki stands out as one of the most seere nder the Masters orders e dre oer gasakis namelate blocked his front door ith an old refrigerator and sent him a number of chain letters n retaliation gasaki glued the Masters geta to the floor sent balloons filled ith black eer into the room and had tent ​ ​ serings of sushi deliered to us under Master iguchis name Master iguchi asnt erturbed in the slightest hen he receied the sushi and roceeded to inite a number of foreign echange students oer for a sushi art f course he as uite calm and collected about the hole thing but he made u and me foot the bill t the end of these to ears of training if one ere to ask me hether had imroed mself as a oung man ould regrettabl hae to resond that had not s for h sent all m time doing these things suose it as solel to lease Master iguchi heneer e made fools of ourseles doing some meaningless actiit he looked absolutel delighted f e brought him something that leased him he ould tell us ou hae come to understand as ell and huge grin ould sread across his face The Master neer abased himself alas conducting himself ith an air of utmost dignit et hen he laughed he looked as oen and innocent as a child ith ust a smile the Master could hae u and me at his beck and call anuki called that secial oer iguchi Magic

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The da after the search for the kamenoko brush as olted aake b a loud raing ​ ​ at m door t as onl seen in the morning an hour that most college students ould consider the middle of the night oened the door to find Master iguchi standing outside in the halla his hair fri and disheeled but his ees gleaming o ou een kno hat time it is or a moment the Master as silent standing out in the cold halla clutching a rectangular obect to his chest uddenl great teardros began elled u in his ees his li uiered and egglantshaed face crumled as he et and scrubbed his ees ith the backs of his hands like a bullied child e finall managed to choke out e finished e finished it inished hat nerousl rodded This e reerentl held out the rectangular obect in his hands t as ules ernes Twenty ​ Thousand Leagues Under the Sea ​ This morning the ourne hae been on for the ast ear has ended as so moed anted to let ou kno nd of course to return the book as ell or a moment it looked like he as going to collase but the a that he stood there ith tears streaming don his face couldnt hel but commiserate ith him oer the end of his tentthousand league ourne e handed the book to me ologies for taking so long trul ut it reall as a onderful ourne he sighed the a e been so catiated b the book that haent had time to eat ont ou oin me for a bol of gydon ​ ​ Together e ent out into the chill morning air and headed toards a gudon lace near akumanben

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fter finishing breakfast Master iguchi strolled off toards the amo ier hile aid the bill for both of us found him standing b the rier stroking his unshaen chin and staring contentedl at the ha Ma sk stretching out aboe us ice eather isnt it he remarked e alked oer to the amo elta Master iguchi assed through the ine trees and descended the embankment Eiting from under the trees the sk looked so ide and ast it felt like e ould be salloed u ars and edestrians rushed to and fro on the Great amo ridge in the daling morning sunlight Master iguchi stood at the oint of the delta as if it ere the ro of a shi and lit a cigar rom the left the aters of the amo ier floed b and from the right the aters of the Takano ier The oined in front of Master iguchi and roared their a south ith breathtaking fur The riers sollen from the recent hea rains submerged the green shrubber that gre along the banks Taking a uff the Master said ant to go somehere far aa Thats uneected s far as kne he had neer been aa from his tatami room for more than half a da e been considering it for uite some time but it as reading Twenty Thousand ​ Leagues that made u m mind oon it ill be time for me to ride the aes of the orld ​ ae ou been saing u f course not he laughed coughing out smoke e suddenl seemed to remember something That reminds me the other da hile as on camus met a fello used to drink ith during m first to ears of college said hello but he seem ha to see me at all hen he asked me hat as doing told him that as retaking m German class but he hurriedl took his leae after that f he as our classmate as an undergrad then hes robabl orking on his doctorate b no o b no it ould robabl be akard to meet someone hos technicall his underclassman no h on earth ould he feel akard ts not him that had to retake a ear dont understand nd thats h oure the Master e ut on a knoing eression ack hen as a freshman the Master had arned me nder no circumstances must ou reeat a ear la ideo games or la mahong therise our student life ill go to aste had folloed that teaching faithfull and neer once died m hand into an of those things but someho m student life had still gone to aste tried to ask the Master about that once but couldnt e sat don on a bench on the embankment ince it as unda morning there ere lent of eole ogging or taking a stroll b the rier hile as looking for the kamenoko brush in an ent to see a fortune teller ​ ​ mumbled oue hardl started life et oue alread gone astra he smiled h oue hardl een left our mothers omb et dont ant to aste m last to ears here looking for brushes or fighting the Masochistic roro ar or looking for brushes or listening to us filth or looking for brushes ou neednt be orried about the brush ont eel ou he reassured me oue done slendidl these ast to ears eer mind the net to ears m sure that oull be able to make a grand mess out of our net three or een four ears n fact guarantee it d rather ou not sighed f hadnt met ou and u ould surel hae led a much more meaningful life ould hae studied hard gone out ith raenhaired maidens and enoed an untainted student life Theres no doubt in m mind about it dont think oure uite aake et e come to realie ho much hae asted m life should hae thought more about hat could hae achieed choose oorl during freshman ear hae to grab hold of the oortunit hen it comes around again and escae into a ne life hat oortunit olosseum or something like it Thats hat the fortune teller told me olosseum dont reall kno hat it means either The Master scratched the stubble on his chin scrutiniing me carefull The iercing eression on his face made him seem almost regal t certainl didnt suit the crumbling tatami room he inhabited in himogamo suis t as more like the face of a rince ho had been shirecked on the eto nland ea and borne b the currents to a solitar tatami island nd et he refused to thro aa his threadbare yukata and made his throne the ​ ​ discolored tatami mats of his room ou cant use a ord like oortunit as if it is limitless hat regulates our eistence isnt hat e can do but rather hat e cant do he roclaimed o ou hae the oer to become a bunn girl r a ilot an ou become a carenter or a irate sailing the seen seas o about a master thief stealing aa the treasures of the oure hat about the deeloer of a suercomuter o e nodded thoughtfull and in a rare gesture offered me a cigar gratefull took it and fumbled around tring to light it Most of the suffering in life results from dreaming of the life e ish e had Tring to rel on something as unreliable as our inner otential is the root of man kinds of eil ou must recognie that ou are ou and ou cannot turn into anone else but ourself hat ou call the ros student life is unachieable guarantee it esign ourself to our fate ou dont hae to sa it that a ou must face the orld unflinchingl Tr to learn from u ot in a million ears o dont be so etulant ust look at hat he is es certainl an incorrigible fool et he is confident in eerthing he does genius ho orries about eerthing ill most certainl be less satisfied ith life than a fool ho is selfassured m not so sure about that mmell there are ecetions to eerthing suose e sat in silence for a time atching the sun shining beteen the ine trees onsidering that boasted an aerage of ten hours of slee a night as deseratel short on m slee uota and being bathed in the arm sunlight started to make me feel slee The Master hadnt gotten an slee either and as looking tired himself e sat there on the amo elta to strange little men in a trance ruining the beautiful unda morning for eerone else hall e return es lets n the a back to himogamo suis e assed b the road to himogamo hrine ou must settle don therise oull neer receie our inheritance the Master suddenl said as if he as talking to himself hat inheritance asked confused but he ust smiled and continued to suck on his cigar

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o one knos hat the future holds n the midst of this bottomless darkness one must unerringl seie the things that are of adantage to him To imart the alue of this hilosoh uon us Master iguchi roosed e hold a blind hotot in the dark The abilit to accuratel ick out our desired food een in the dark is an essential skill to surie in todas cutthroat societ or so he said but had m doubts That night u anuki and shoed u at Master iguchis tatami room for the hotot ue to an aroaching reort deadline kashi as unable to come also insisted that had a reort due concerning an eceedingl comle eeriment but m cries fell on deaf ears learl as the ictim of this seist societ ont orr ll make the roer arrangements ith the rint sho u said but reling on u to get me forged reorts from the rint sho as hat as driing m scholarl ursuits into a donard siral Each of us brought our on ingredients but e ere forbidden from discussing hat the ere until e ut them into the ot u ho as still fuming about the failed aori kidnaing announced ith a reulsie grin ou can ut hateer ou ant into a blind hotot ou kno noing u began to fear for m life u detested egetables but aboe all refused to recognie mushrooms as an edible food so naturall brought a loel assortment of mushrooms anuki also had a mischieous smirk on her face t as so dark in the Masters room that e could hardl make out each others faces The first ae of ingredients as emtied into the ot Eat u eat u Master iguchi encouraged us ts not een cooked et though obected ont orr about that ust eat hateer our chosticks touch he ordered b a of rel Meanhile anuki had cracked oen a beer t doesnt taste like beer at all in the dark she grumbled cant get drunk hen cant see anthing

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first met anuki in the summer of m freshman ear through Master iguchi ince then often encountered her in the Masters room he as beautiful et her eression as reminiscent of that of the ife of a militar commander from the engoku era o erhas it ould be more accurate to sa that she as more like a commander herself There as much ambition in her face f times hadnt changed it seemed to me that she could hae become a feudal lord able to cut me and u in to on a him er faorite foods ere alcohol and castellas anuki orked as a dental hgienist at ubouka ental linic near Mikage ridge he had inited me to go there once or tice but couldnt stomach the idea of ling there defenseless ith arious rods and ies being stuck in m oen mouth furthermore couldnt shake the mental image of anuki ielding a blood naginata to scrae laue off m teeth ​ ​ u and had debated the nature of the relationshi beteen anuki and Master iguchi man times before There ere signs that anuki as Master iguchis girlfriend but e couldnt tell for sure either as she his discile and of course there as no a she as his ife t as uite a mster anuki as the same age as Master iguchi and also seemed to be an old acuaintance of gasakis gasaki often ent to her clinic for checkus as ell so the had crossed aths man times oer the ears t asnt reall clear hat had gone don beteen the three but hat as certain as that that anuki kne hat had haened to cause the Masochistic roro ar beteen gasaki and Master iguchi u and had once schemed to get her drunk so e could ask the articulars but she had turned the tables on us fter that e neer tried to ask her anthing again

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Eating things that ou cant see is feels eirder than one might eect dding to m unease as u hose erson is malice crstallied into its urest form e started eating after the hotot as cooked through but each successie bite of food at least hat hoed as food as an uhill battle E hats this mush thing anuki shrieked as she flung hateer it as m a causing me to cr out in surrise as it hit me suare on the forehead thre it back toards here thought u as sitting and as rearded ith a el for m troubles fterards e realied that it as actuall ust a lim noodle though in the dark it seemed more like a long thin orm hats this n alien umbilical cord u ondered ou ut it in didnt ou ou eat it refuse Gentlemen ou mustnt la ith our food Master iguchi commanded like a father scolding his children shaming us into silence fter a little hile u suddenl suealed hats this t feels like a mushroom arentl he had stumbled uon one of m shiitake tras snickered and ulled u something that looked like a thumbsied demon M heart almost stoed but uon further insection realied that it as ust a firefl suid s e rogressed to the third course noticed that for some reason the food had gotten susiciousl seet in addition to letting off a faint odor of beer u ou bastard ou ut in red bean aste didnt ou shouted e giggled gleefull adding ut the beer is from anuki isnt it ehe ou could tell it as me ut it deeens the flaor dont ou think ts alread so dee cant tell hats hat anmore comlained ts almost like one of those underater canons anuki laughed ust ant to let eerone kno that it asnt me ho ut the marshmallos in u said uietl cheed on a red beanflaored shrim and then bit into a marshmallocoated iece of cabbage eeked at Master iguchi ho as sitting beside me he seemed to be in his element erfectl ha to munch on hateer came his a started telling the stor of ho kashi had derailed the aori kidnaing anuki cackled kashi as right kidnaing aori ould be a too mean u soke u sounding hurt Think about all the erfect lanning ut into that lus gasaki ded the Masters yukata ink asnt that rett mean too ​ ut ou hae to admit it as rett funn gasaki is such a oker u sank into astonished silence becoming one ith the darkness t his best he alread blended into the shados but no it as imossible to een ick out his silhouette oue knon each other for so long too anuki mused icking him out of the circle as definitel oerkill That as our doing asnt it u he looked ointedl in his direction but he ust sat inisibl in the shados and didnt resond gasaki couldnt fool around in the circle foreer the Master declared es too old for such childish astimes anuki snorted ure like oud kno t this oint e ere all stuffed from eating all manner of unknon things so e turned from eating to discussing arious matters anuki continued to chug don beer after beer hile u as still in a foul mood and refused to seak u h arent ou saing anthing The Master sounded uled re ou still here eeing that u maintained his ston silence anuki said gail f hes not here then lets talk about his girlfriend u has a girlfriend uiered ith rage Thee been going out for like to ears hes in one of his circles and she sounds like a reall seet olite girl but e neer actuall seen her u called me for adice once because he thought she as going to dum him and he cried to me oer the hone the entire night Thats a lie thats a filth lie rom the darkness u suddenl started screeching in rotest h there ou are the Master said delightedl ell o are things ith her no anuki asked inoke m right to remain silent said the oice from the shados hat as her name inuired the Master anuki thought for a moment think it as like iko ut there u started rotesting again elling inoke m right to remain silent and ant a laer anuki ust laughed and left off the rest of her sentence o could ou flirt ith her behind m back ou lecherous bastard asked indignantl but he ust innocentl relied dont kno hat oure talking about hile glared in his direction the Master continued to forage in the ot h m came his muffled oice from beside me This is rett big nd kind of sring too There as note of sketicism in his oice but he tried to take a bite ana This isnt food he murmured utting inedibles in the ot is against the rules is it not hall turn on the lights stood u and flied the light sitch us a droed as did anukis cute lush tedd bear sat on the Masters late drenched in broth hat an adorable tedd bear anuki eclaimed ho ut this in the Master inuired ts obiousl comletel inedible oeer neither u or or anuki had an knoledge of it o one susected u because it as clear that he ould neer think to use something that ure and chaste for his eil schemes ll take it anuki declared and she ent to ash it carefull in the sink

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anuki is a delightful erson but a ain to deal ith hen she drank too much er face ould get aler and aler her ees ould glae oer and she ould slol deliberatel start to lick our face dmittedl running aa ith u from anuki as she tried to in us to the all as rather eciting f course as a gentleman it ouldnt be roer to get too ecited oer something as altr as getting m face licked b a oman though Master iguchi seemed to find the hole thing rather amusing fterards anuki inited me to slee beside her romising to gie me an entire castella that she had receied from her boss at the dental clinic but firml refused Eentuall us dirt isage doed off into dirtier dreams and een anuki calmed don and began to nod off am going on a ourne the Master said in a singsong oice e hadnt drunk er much himself but b some msterious mechanism the more anuki drank the more intoicated he became here are ou going anuki asked raising her blear face or no intend to circumnaigate the orld though dont kno ho man ears it ill take ill ou go ith me anuki could use someone ho can seak English ont be ridiculous thats asurd ​ ​ os our English Master inuired ont be fooled into learning that language so easil ut hatre ou gonna do about ou kno said anuki ot to orr hae made rearations eaking of hich its alread ast tele must go eat at eko amen hould e ake u The Master shook his head eae him be the three of us ill suffice e inked ere going to meet gasaki

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Master iguchi strolled leisurel through the shados of Mikage treet in front of himogamo hrine t as comletel deserted at this hour ith onl the rustling of Tadasu orest and the occasional car assing along himogamo ouleard to break the silence uietl folloed the Master hile anuki stumbled along behind us though she seemed to hae finall sobered u o m good fello Master iguchi said ith his egglantshaed face crinkled into a grin am going to make ou m ro ro for hat asked startled The master chuckled ead ourself h arent ou icking u u has his on art to la t is rumored that eko amen makes its broth out of cats but hether that is true or not the taste is unaralleled as still full from the hotot but at the thought of eko amen decided could eat one more bol The eko amen cart stood alone in the darkness a solitar light bulb illuminating the elcome sight of arm steam rising into the cold air The Master sniffed in anticiation and ointed at the cart ith his chin There as alread a customer sitting on a folding stool and talking to the shokeeer s e aroached the shokeeer glanced u and greeted us ith a casual o The customer straightened u and looked around at us his finel chiseled features illuminated b the orange light oure late dude called gasaki M aologies gasaki its been so long oe ou been anuki nodded toards him e neer better kno hat mean e flashed a gleaming hite smile e sat don at the counter but sace as somehat limited and ended u being sueeed off to the side hat eactl as this gathering all about d neer seen Master iguchi and gasaki together in one lace so this had to be for something imortant Thus the curtains rose on the iguchigasaki econciliation egotiations ell think its about time e ended this said Master iguchi ounds good dude agreed gasaki Thus the iguchigasaki econciliation egotiations came to a conclusion

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t lasted for a hile this time huh the shokeeer commented ad to be hat at least fie ears dont remember dude gasaki shrugged lmost eactl fie ears think ur redecessors had their negotiations around this time of ear Master iguchi conectured h gotcha ie ears eactl then the shokeeer nodded hat haened to those gus M redecessor got a ob at a courthouse in agasaki since that as his hometon nd ours gasaki ho knos e as rett all oer the lace so hae no clue gasaki said haent talked to him since he droed out feel like he as a lot more like iguchi disconnected from realit ou kno onder h he ended u being our Master anuki said eats me guess it ust haened that a said gasaki ith a r chuckle Meanhile the shokeeer sered u the ramen hile the continued to conerse familiarl among themseles uietl slured m ramen on the other side of the mosuito net astounded that the ere all so friendl ith the shokeeer That gu gasaki suddenl said looking in m direction Mm es m ro the Master said roudl claing m shoulder s ours not coming tonight That dumbass he said he couldnt come because he had a romise to kee see smirk rose to gasakis lis es one loose cannon ou kno hae no doubt hell be a sick ro our dude had better be read look forard to seeing it e ll make sure to bring him to the duel all right ehind the clouds of steam the shokeeer laughed o oure actuall going to duel aturall The uel on the Great amo ridge is tradition after all said the Master

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fter the amicable conclusion of this uling conersation gasaki gallantl rode off on his biccle Master iguchi aned loudl and said suose its time for us to to kick u aake from his beaut slee Master dont understand hats going on said hats a ro ll elain it to ou tomorro m too tired tonight nd he set off back toards himogamo suis as tasked ith taking anuki back to her aartment on aabata treet he as still softl cuddling the tedd bear from the hotot as she alked along the dark road looking less like a militar commander than a lonel reoccuied girl s e alked along silent Mikage treet turned m mind oer the eents of the ast fe hours gasakis rett cool isnt he said anuki snickered es not that different from iguchi ou kno eall e doesnt reall seem like the te to engage in a rank ar ith the Master e actuall enos it a lot he ust doesnt sho it That sounds kind of hard to beliee ctuall hes neer reall had an friends besides iguchi he fell silent and suashed the tedd bear to her bod ts mournful ees stared blankl at me t last e aroached the Takano ier Mikage ridge is a snug round sort of bridge from hich ou can see aimoni mountain to the east heneer the on festial comes around the bridge is acked ith eole ho come to see the aimoni bonfire ncidentall ​ ​ hae et to see an of the kuribi bonfires anuki still hadnt said another ord and couldnt shake off the ominous feeling that this as the calm before the storm t as like some foul creature had built a nest inside her and as finall about to come riggling out er face as ale as if she ere thinking etremel hard and her lis ere ressed together though trembling slightl he looked like she as about to come to some sort of lifechanging decision re ou not feeling ell anuki inuired timidl he smiled ehe ou noticed he suddenl grabbed the guardrail on the bridge and nonchalantl elegantl loosed a smooth stream of omit er ees folloed the ramen she had ust eaten ith great interest as it floated don toards the rier n that moment of eakness anuki let go of the tedd bear and it rolled off the guardrail he cried out and started to climb onto the guardrail ith hat little strength ossessed in m frail bod it as all could do to hold her back and kee us both from folloing both bear and ramen off the bridge The little tedd bear sadl tumbled oer and oer like it as in a reoling store disla as it fell making one last aeal before it finall hit the surface of the rier ith a faint lo hhh its gone she sighed sadl letting her chin rest on the guardrail onder here hes drifting off to she said in a singsong sort of oice rom here itll go toards the amo elta and then into amo ier and then into the odo ier and then finall into saka a elained kindl he snorted and stood u ine go here ou lease she shouted melodramaticall inadertentl sraing sit eerhere felt sorr for the tedd bear

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fter escorting her to her aartment returned to himogamo suis s turned don the hall sa hat thought as a filth loathsome beast sitting in front of m door but it turned out to be u Go back to our on lace snaed but he relied ont be so heartless and barged into m room collasing onto the floor like a cadaer ou gus abandoned mehered ou all run off to eko amen o fair as lonel so lonel thought d disaear obods stoing ou e blubbered on for a hile but eentuall gre tired of it and ent to slee tried to ush him off to one of the dust corners of the room but he mumbled something and refused to budge or m art craled into m futon and fell dee into thought d become the Masters successor but hat eactl as this Masochistic roro ar business about hat as the histor beteen Master iguchi and gasaki hat did tomorros duel on the Great amo ridge inole id the shokeeer from eko amen hae anthing to do ith it as going to be forced to continue this battle of ranks ith gasakis successor as there an a out of this hat kind of erson as gasakis successor hat as going to do if he as the te of erson that beat the eak groeled to the strong as selfish and la and a comlete demon neglected his studies lacked an shred of ride and gorged himself three times a da on other eoles unhainess got u and listened to us breathing terrible bitter remonition sread bitterl through m chest it as so aarent that there as no a could ossibl den it as so dissatisfied ith m resent situation that had gone to the trouble of consulting the fortune teller in iamachi so ho had this haened asnt as suosed to grab hold of an oortunit and escae into a better life nd et as breaching the eent horion of a lightless black hole from hich there as no hoe for escae u turned oer as la there in torment an irritatingl eaceful eression on his face

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The net da kicked a still halfaslee u into the halla and left for camus nable to sto thinking about the duel on the Great amo ridge that ould take lace later that eening rushed through the lab eeriment as conducting and hurried back to himogamo suis ent to call on Master iguchi but the blackboard that hung on his door said TG o doubt he as cleansing himself in rearation for the duel hich la ahead returned to m on room and listened to the burbling sounds of the coffeemaker hile staring at the castella that anuki had gien me the reious night n retrosect it as reall uite cruel of her Eating an entire castella b oneself is a trul dismal task entirel unbefitting a roer human being t ould be far more leasant to take it at teatime ith agreeable coman and uite uneectedl found mself thinking about kashi o that had been selected as the unha successor of this biarre Masochistic roro ar and forcibl laced before the door of an een unhaier future alloing mself to indulge in these fantasies as one of the fe escaes had left am not unaare of m shame boe m head a large moth that had gotten in fluttered around the fluorescent light remembered that kashi hated moths romting me to idioticall relie the seet memor of the to of us tumbling don the stairs cut u the castella ith a fruit knife and stuffed m cheeks ith slice after slice groaning to mself ust as as about to reach for m collection of erotica to tame m ulgar urges a knock came at m door s soon as oened the door kashi let out a shriek and leaed backards t first thought m carnal urges had set m face aflame ith assion but realied that she as staring in terror at the moth flitting behind me carefull droe the moth out and courteousl shoed kashi inside Master iguchi called me to inform ou hell come at dusk t doesnt look like hes in his room she told me briefed her on the reconciliation negotiations that had occurred last night beteen Master iguchi and gasaki Things reall got moing hile as bus ith the reort huh suose e failed as a discile she sighed ont orr about it it all haened so suddenl oured a cu of coffee and handed it to her he took a si and said brought something for ou rom her bag she roduced a aguel familiar aulonia bo oening it to reeal the fabled kamenoko brush that e had searched for uietl nestled inside o the ​ ​ Master ont eel ou right as moed to tears b dedication m sorr m so sorr sniffed ts fine she relied ellould ou like some castella offered he acceted a slice and took a bite reall do feel aful for haing ou hel me out like this eseciall hen ou ere bus ith the reort es ust barel comleted it on time hat kind of reort is it oure in engineering arent ou m in the structural engineering deartment The reort as on the histor of architecture istor of architecture es rote about oman architecture like the temles and the olosseum olosseum t that moment a knock came at the door and Master iguchis oice floated through the air M good fello it is time for the duel

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The Masters face as still slick from his bath albeit coered ith the usual caret of stubble as ust in the bathhouse ith u he said here did he go e ent to gasakis lace t seems that he is actuall gasakis discile hat an interesting fello he cackled ulling his arms into his sleees e as also the one ho ded m yukata ink ​ ​ f course m sure that most of m readers figured this out alread u began to riggle his a into gasakis confidences last fall after gasaki as kicked out of the circle e listened to gasakis comlaints smatheticall cursing the retch ho had oerthron him neer mind that the sneak ho had masterminded the cou as u himself Thus u ormed his a into gasakis heart and secured his lace as a trusted confidant Each da the became more tightl intertined and as soon as gasaki learned that u as Master iguchis discile he asked him to become a s a reuest to hich u simeringl acuiesced Through these conoluted machinations us nefarious designs began to unfold nder Master iguchis orders u dumed an assorted umbo bag of bugs into gasakis mailbo conersel under gasakis orders he ded the Masters yukata ink and ​ ​ thus dashing to and fro he lied the conoluted life of a double agent biousl u as the onl one utting an real effort into this ts hard to sa hat he meant to gain b throing all his energ into alking such a erilous tightroe t certainl as an enigma but one that is robabl best left unsoled realied that he as gasakis s but it as amusing so left him alone the Master chortled o basicall eerthing as his doing said nd the to of ou ere dancing in the alm of his hand hae to admit m imressed ith him said kashi es uite the Master said not missing a beat hat an incorrigible fool n the histor of the Masochistic roro ar there has neer been such a feat is name ill surel go don in histor h a castella ithout een aiting for an initation he scarfed don a slice n high sirits he announced ell then tonight is the uel on the Great amo ridge Master hold on a second e nodded knoingl ou ant to kno the details suose t is time to elain the origins of the Masochistic roro ar

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hat is the Masochistic roro ar This inconseuential et noble conflict can be traced back to before the acific ar ome sa that it started from a high school loe rialr others from a nigori sake ​ ​ ​ drinking contest hicheer it is the details hae been lost to histor The original battle dragged on oer a long eriod as both articiants ere still in school and fought incessantl t ent on so long that een as graduation season aroached no conclusion as in sight The arring arties hose names hae been lost oer the ears had alread gien u on soling the roblem before the graduated The obious solution ould be to make eace but the obstinate air surned the thought of reconciliation et the ere both so tired of it that the didnt ant to go on fighting either and their ride ould not allo them to let it go unresoled The surrise solution the eentuall came u ith as to force to underclassmen to fight in their lace as roies nd that as ho the long unbroken histor of the camuside ar began Though nobod knos ho the ar as fought back then its clear that een then the unritten rules of engagement consisted of ulling off ett ranks There need not be an enmit beteen the to articiants the onl rule is that the must fight The ne roies siml continued to fight ithout ending the ar ust as their redecessors had the didnt kno hether or not the should end the ar Eentuall the handed oer the reins to a ne set of roies ostoning the end een further s the acific ar ended in defeat as aan as rebuilt during the ostar reconstruction eriod as college camuses ere eneloed ith iolent student rotests the ro ar raged on ithout an concern for the goingson in the orld at large The reason for the ar as comletel forgotten and onl the form as assed on and oer man ears and reetitions a set of traditions deeloed to regulate the actions of the articiants n the latter half of the s the eko amen cart became the designated location for the negotiations and inheritance ceremon fter the combatants fought the closing duel on the Great amo ridge the ould hand oer the reins to their roies The ne roies ould then carr on their on battle as long as the could and then elect those the udged to hae romise as ne roies of their on to succeed them That da u became gasakis ro and Master iguchis ince the ar as based on roies harassing each other it had come to be knon as the Masochistic roro ar To be recise it as actuall the Masochistic rororororororororororororororo rorororororororororororororor oar as u and ere combatants of the thirtieth incarnation of the ar Master iguchi and gasaki ust haened to be chosen as the tentninth roies There asnt actuall an bad blood beteen them Either eer ro had disliked the idea of ending the tradition or the siml ust didnt kno ho to end the ar n other ords this ar as utterl meaningless

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s this a oke f ou dont become m ro then gasaki and ill neer be reconciled u is such an orner fello that m sure itll be orth our hile oue got to be kidding me Master iguchi suddenl fell rostrate to the ground before me hardl thought this as a tradition orth all this effort to rotect but seeing him beg me like this couldnt sa no anted to cr knoing that a ros student life as once again sliing out of m reach ine muttered The Master raised his head and nodded looking leased kashi ill ou be the itness need ou to ensure that both of them fulfill their duties honorabl and kee the eace if things get out of hand understand she curtl nodded There as no turning back The Master let out a sigh of relief and slumed to the ground o hae no regrets he murmured to himself e roduced another cigar and lit it u aing been forced to take u the mantle of this meaningless ar and throing aa an chance of grabbing hateer oortunit ould come m a began to mull oer hat la before me in this orthless decadesold conflict hen noticed kashi oking me insistentl he ointed at the bo containing the kamenoko brush ​ ​ Master hae the kamenoko brush kashi managed to obtain it for me ​ ​ s resented him ith the brush the Masters ees idened in astonishment and he gae a little gas but after getting oer his initial shock he looked aologetic m sorr he said ll be leaing after the duel is oer kashi gased in shock o ou reall are going to go circumnaigate the orld t still sounds cra to me said ut he ust shook his head t as for that sole urose that decided on a ro ont be going back to that tatami room for a hile an ask ou to clean it u for me elfcentered to the last see suose so he chuckledook at the time e need to get to the Great amo ridge ts m last battle ith gasaki after all s e ere about to leae the room anuki came rushing in comletel out of breath h good made it she heeed ran here as soon as got off ork as beginning to think ou erent coming to atch ant to see it ith m on ees though its a rett ointless sort of battle nd so e set off for the Great amo ridge

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s e reached the east end of the Great amo ridge Master iguchi rolled u the sleee of his yukata and consulted an oldfashioned ristatch ​ ​ The afternoon had alread gien a to indigo tilight and the amo elta as alread buing ith merrmaking students t as robabl a elcoming banuet for incoming freshmen ome to think of it had not been to gatherings like that for the ast to ears The roaring amo ier as sollen from the recent rains its surface gilded ith siler from the streetlights that ere beginning to flicker on one b one s the da ended madegaa treet came alie and the Great amo ridge as acked ith cars hite and red lights glittering in the falling darkness The orange lights that dotted the thick guardrail on the bridge shone diml msteriousl through the night or some reason tonight the bridge looked afull ide h here the are the Master said sounding leased and started alking toards the center of the bridge rom the other side of the bridge could see gasaki alking toards us ith u at his side The to arties glared at each other all the a meeting at the eact center of the bridge elo us the raging rier thre u hite sheets of sra To the south beond the black eanse of ater the distant lights of hi district glittered like recious gems ell if it isnt kashi gasaki said looking surrised Good eening she nodded back ou kno iguchi became his discile last fall hes ust an obserer toda This is the ro hom ou met esterda the Master said ointing at me the a isnt our ro oer there m on discile u gasakis smirked ou thought he as our man didnt ou ut he as actuall m s the entire time hocking right dude ou got me the Master smiled ruefull lright then ets do it The air suddenl became incredibl tense s e looked on gasaki and Master iguchi locked glares ith each other nder the glo of the lams on the bridge gasakis chiseled features could hae belonged to one of the our itokiri of the akumatsu u stood beside him his gloom grin onl adding to the effect Meeting the enem as Master iguchi his egglantshaed face looking as stern as it could s he stood there haughtil his arms nobl folded across the front of his dee blue yukata ​ ​ could feel an ineffable igor radiating from him The to oonents looked like might rials arraed against each other in an eic shodon hat sort of battle as it going to be e aited there ith bated breath aaiting the net deeloment t last anuki alked beteen them and choed the air ith her hand as if cutting an inisible string that linked the to ka get it oer ith alread or a duel that as going to end fie ears of conflict that sure as a disaointing introduction gasaki bent his knees hile u hastil scurried to the rear kashi and folloed suit Master iguchi stood comletel motionless gasaki ushed his left alm in front of him toards the sk hile his right hand as in a fist at the side of his aist as if he ere about to lea toards Master iguchi n resonse the Master unfolded his arms and made strange esoteric signs ith his hands as if he ere chanting mantras ets go iguchi gasaki snarled ndeed relied the Master or a moment eerone stoed breathing Then the to of them suddenl srang into action ock aer cissors gasaki dramaticall crashed to the ground ll right e hae a inner anuki started alauding b herself kashi oined in a beat or to after as too dumbfounded to moe on so oull be the one to make the first strike the Master told me The uel on the Great amo ridge as nothing more than a game of rockaerscissors to decide hich ro ould strike first

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ell ell thats a burden off m shoulders the Master sighed looking u into the eening skies ith his arms crossed in his usual unflaable manner gasaki stood u as if nothing had haened a nonchalant eression on his face Master iguchi took out a cigar and offered it to him gasaki took a uff and asked lright iguchi hat are ou gonna do no oure the one that anted to ut an end to it ill fl off into the orld e anuki iguchis souting schobabble again ont mind him hes ust an idiot anuki relied ant to go drinking uring this echange the Master abrutl smiled and leaned oer to hiser in m ear o in all likelihood ill neer see ou again uh o m going to gie ou m globe Gie meait it as m globe in the first lace as it reall o he reall intended to disaear off somehere s tried to find the ords to anser him screams rose u from the amo elta to the north The students at the art ere in an uroar running this a and that eaning oer the handrail to look could make out hat looked like a dark cloud stretching from the oi ark forest to the delta t bued loudl as it gre larger eneloing the entire delta The eole inside the cloud ran around franticall flaing their arms and batting at their heads e gaed at the scene mesmeried as the dark cloud began to cree oer the surface of the ater toards us The noise from the delta began to become een more tumultuous The cloud ket ouring out of the ine trees t as an incredible sight lutterflutterflutterflutterflutter ent the suirming cloud as it rolled toards us like a caret rising aboe the ater billoing oer the handrail and buring the Great amo ridge like an aalanche GEEEEEEEEEEE kashi cartoonishl screamed t as a giant sarm of moths

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The net da the moth lague made the front age though nobod kne here the moths had come from tracing their route it aeared that the sarm had originated in the Tadasu orest that is to sa himogamo hrine but man uestions ere left unansered or instance there as no elanation for h all the moths in the forest ould simultaneousl decide to migrate There as an alternatie rumor going around that the moths had actuall come from the neighboring umigaa ton but that elanation as een more confusing t aeared that the neighborhood around m boarding house had been inundated ith moths for a brief hile as ell hen returned later that night the corridor as littered ith moth corses had forgotten to lock m door so m room as careted ith them as ell but reerentl gathered the corses and buried them

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s moths thrummed around me filling the air ith glittering scales and occasionall attemting to force their a into m mouth fought m a through the sarm to kashi and gallantl shielded her from the orst of it eing originall from the cit had formerl neer had to coeist ith bugs but after to ears in the boarding house had become intimatel acuainted ith all sorts of arthroods Een so the sheer number of moths that night as utterl oerhelming The drone of beating ings cut us off from the outside orld as if it ere not moths but a sarm of inged ims assing oer the bridge t as nearl imossible to see anthing hat little could see through m suinted ees as limited to the moths dancing in the orange light of the streetlams and kashis shining black hair couldnt een sare a glance to see ho eerone else as faring fter a hile the sarm moed on leaing onl a fe stragglers flitting here and there kashis face as ashen as she franticall brushed herself off all oer shrieking re the on me re the on me before srinting aa aa from the rithing moths still dotting the ground ith frightening siftness toards the east end of the bridge and collasing to the ground in the soft light of a caf The caret of moths slol rolled don the rier toards hi The others ere looking around around the area daed did the same glancing oer the sots of orange light dotting the bridge Master iguchi as nohere to be seen almost as if he had been borne aa b the sarm of moths t as a stage eit trul befitting our master Msteriousl u as also missing susected that hed lanned this hole sho from the start ude iguchi and u are gone gasaki said in amaement still sureing the bridge ine leae then said anuki to no one in articular still holding on to the guardrail as the eening breee afted b

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m going to go drinking tonight anuki declared ith her hands on her his oming gasaki ounds good he said ith a slightl distant almost lonel eression ut that card iguchi didnt een sa goodbe t ould hae been nice to hae the closure at least ts been some time since it as ust the to of us at the bar huh anuki came u to me and said Take care of kashi oka The to of them dearted chatting about the nightlife in iamachi alked to kashi ho as sitting don under the light of the caf re ou alright asked The Masters disaeared he looked u at me her face still uite ale ould ou like a cu of tea to calm don as certainl not making a craen attemt to take adantage of her fear of moths as siml concerned b the lack of color in her face he nodded and e ent into the caf in front of us onder hat haened to Master iguchi us gone missing too said taking a si of coffee ooking at m erleed eression she suddenl stifled a giggle es almost like a iard isnt he The a he ust fle off into the sk and disaeared he took a si ts ust like him onder here he ent ondered bet u had something to do ith it s e drank as suddenl reminded of the olosseum erhas her saing the ord back then had been the chance as aiting for f had been able to escae then and aoid being set u b the Master into the Masochistic roro ar surel ould hae been able to set foot uon a ne ath ighing loudl bemoaned the loss of m rosecolored future to kashi let it sli through m fingers groaned nd no nothing s going to change o no kashi shook her head oue grabbed hold of that chance alread ou ust haent noticed it et s e sat there the sound of an ambulance siren began to gro louder and louder ust as e thought it ould ass us it came to a sto on the est end of the Great amo ridge and the clatter of the aramedics ierced through the caf reall must eress m thanks for getting the kamenoko brush b the a ​ ​ boed m head grael and a smile floated to her still ale face The Master ended u leaing ana though m ust ha that it made ou ha suddenl felt a rush of emotion that as imroerl directed toards someone ho as m arentice Though it is uite beneath me to elain in great detail hat eactl those feelings ere at a loss as to hat should do ith those feelings sluttered out a single line kashi ould ou like to go to eko amen ith me

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To describe ho the relationshi beteen kashi and deeloed after that ould deiate from the urose of this manuscrit conseuentl ill refrain from recounting those eents here am sure m readers ould rather not aste their time reading such contemtible stuff There is nothing more boring than telling a stor of reuited loe

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olloing that incident Master iguchi disaeared off the face of the earth o one thought that he ould ull off such a dramatic escae ithout een saing goodbe still dont kno if he eer set off on his tri around the globe fter his disaearance it took kashi anuki and mself half a month to unenthusiasticall clean u room The kamenoko brush roed to be an immense hel but ​ ​ nonetheless e ere faced ith a daunting task anuki ecused herself earl from cleaning dut kashi as so disgusted at the accumulated filth that she retended to hae a anic attack in order to flee and u ho had come hobbling in on crutches to obsere our efforts thre u all oer the sink making our task all the more arduous M bitterness toards being forced into discileshi b Master iguchi reached a clima ust before he disaeared but no that he as gone felt that something as missing on seeing the ins on the globe in the Masters room marking the route of the autilus as so oercome ith emotion that felt an urge to nule the globe but refrained een hae m limits remoed the ins one b one ondering here Master iguchi as right no the a the fantastic kamenoko brush no resides in kashis room he has ​ ​ learned to use it uite effectiel

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later heard from anuki that gasaki had left the lab seeking to find ork somehere onder hat had become of that silent beaut aori hom u had endeaored to steal ra that she and gasaki are leading a blissful life together anuki continues to ork at ubouka ental linic bout to months after the Master disaeared ent in to hae m teeth eamined M isdom teeth had a fe caities romting anuki to ui o arent ou glad ou came urthermore as bestoed ith the honor of haing her scrae the laue off m teeth To her credit desite the haught look on her face her touch as both gentle and recise: the mark of a true rofessional omeone as roguish as me mentall ana could hardl imagine hat she ent through after the Master left but m sure she as er lonel Thence heneer she inited me to go drinking along ith u and kashi alas brael took u her offer t as alas a rough time

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Master iguchis sole orldl concern the Masochistic roro ar as handed oer to u and me could not hel but be filled ith gloom heneer thought about the unleasant task of continuing this ar until found a ro t the duel on the Great amo ridge it had been decided that ould make the first strike took adantage of us hositaliation to reaint the biccle he called ark corion bright ink t as so ell done that afterards ou could hardl recognie it as the same biccle hen u came out hobbling on his crutches and sa this he as isibl ruffled and huffil rode it off toards himogamo suis This is outrageous ou cant ust aint it ink ou ded Master iguchis yukata ink though ​ ​ Thats comletel different The hell it is m going to kashi to file a comlaint kno shell understand nd so it ent

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t is true that after Master iguchi absconded a great man changes entered m life hoeer ould be eed if that ere to be interreted as a indication of m actions am not so naie as to so easil oerlook the mistakes of the ast n occasion ould consider magnanimousl embracing m ast self erhas things ould be different if ere a oung lad but ho ould ant to embrace a disgusting tentsomething man like mself rien b this indignation refuse to absole m ast self of these sins couldnt shake off the feeling that choosing to become a discile in front of that fateful clock toer that da had been a mistake hat if had chosen a different ath f had gone into Misogi moie circle or chosen the softball circle or een entered the secret societ m ast to ears certainl ould hae been uite different t least it is lain m life ould not hae been as tisted as it is no erhas that eer elusie ros student life ould hae been in m gras could not bring mself to den that the ast to ears had been full of mistakes and missed oortunities boe all m unfortunate mistake of meeting u ould surel haunt me for the rest of m life

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mmediatel folloing the disaearance of Master iguchi u as admitted to a hosital beside camus t as uite delightful to see him straed don to the hite hosital bed ing to his alread ghoulish comleion it aeared as if he had contracted some incurable disease though in realit it as merel a broken bone n fact he as robabl luck to get off ith ust a fracture sat there gloating as he grumbled about his inabilit to artake in an of his usual icked habits but heneer got tired of his bleating stuffed a slice of castella in his mouth to shut him u h did u hae a broken bone et us return to that eening hen that sarm of moths oertook the bridge

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s moths thrummed around me filling the air ith glittering scales and occasionall attemting to force their a into m mouth fought m a through the sarm to kashi and gallantl shielded her from the orst of it n the other hand though u as comletel coered in moths that odd smile neer left his face and he siml stood there aiting for things to subside The onl thing he seemed to be orried about as his hair getting mussed t that moment he sa Master iguchi climb u on the guardrail of the bridge Through the storm of insect scales Master iguchi stood there ith his arms outsread as if he ere about to take flight aboe the ancient cit u tried to shout Master fe moths immediatel fle into his mouth and smothered his cries but he alked u to the guardrail ana and unthinkingl took hold of the Masters yukata uddenl the Master seemed to rise into the air ​ ​ and u felt himself being ulled u along ith him The Master looked don at him and though the air as flooded ith the sound of beating ings u insisted that the Master said to him u ou sho much romise onsidering it as u saing this obiousl didnt beliee a ord fter suosedl uttering those ords the Master slied through us fingers and disaeared u immediatel lost his balance and fell into the amo ier breaking his arm and being forced to cling to one of the bridge suorts like a discarded iece of trash until he as sotted b some cheerleaders from the amo elta The ambulance that kashi and had heard as e elegantl sied coffee at the caf had been called for us sake

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That elained us broken bone but asnt ersuaded in the slightest b us account of the Masters disaearance and susected that there as another side to this stor o oure saing that the Master as borne off on his ourne b that sarm of moths Thats right theres no other elanation m ust suosed to take our ord for it ae eer lied to ou ou think ould beliee that ou ould thro ourself at the Master to sto him The Master is er imortant to me he huffed indignantl f ou reall cared for him that much then h did ou kee oortunisticall sitching loalties beteen him and gasaki hat did ou mean b that said

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is customar youkailike grin floated to his face ​ ​ ts ho sho m loe dont need that nast stuff relied

The Tatami ugaroated ife

n the to ears before the sring of m unior ear of college accomlished not a single thing of ractical use nstead of building health relationshis ith the oosite se studing diligentl training m bod and undertaking other actiities directed toards becoming a roductie member of societ isolated mself from omen abandoned m studies and let m health fall to ruin et desite haing struck out alread h is it that continued to labor aa hoing for the ieces to fall into lace must inuire of the resonsible art here is the culrit t is not that hae alas been in this condition as born ure as the drien sno and as charming as the infant rince Geni ith nar an imure thought in m head m radiant smile sread the light of loe across the hills and alles of m hometon am doubtful hether that is still the case toda Each time that look in a mirror fl into a rage asking h hae ou become like this s this the sum of our current eistence There are those ho sa that am still oung and that eole are things that ma et change o ridiculous t is said that the child is the father of the man nd ith this ear another one ill be added to m tent and the end of m slendid uartercentur outh ill soon aroach hat outcome then ould further clums efforts to change m ersonalit bring about t this stage if attemt to tist something that has alread set and hardened the most ll do is break it t this moment must ull mself uard into leading a resectable life must not aert m ees from the grim realit that lies before me nd et someho it is unbearable to look

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fter to ears of comlete unroductiit became a thirdear college student n late Ma as caught u in a dramatic King Learesue affair ith three omen ill ​ ​ no tell all about this sordid incident hoeer kee in mind that this is neither a traged nor a comed f anone cries uon reading this tale the are either needlessl sensitie or hae had a seck of curr oder inconenientl enter one of their contact lenses ontrariise those ho read this account ith tears of mirth consider to be mortal enemies and ould chase them to the ends of the earth to eact m reenge throing them headfirst into a hot sring to boil as if ere rearing a cu of instant ramen s long as one is illing to learn een the slightest most triial thing can imart isdomor so some famous erson robabl once said though m sure that ou can al that saing to this series of eents

learned a great man thingstoo man to enumerate f had to ick to the ould be: one dont leae decision making u to our ohnson and to dont stand on the guardrail of the Great amo ridge s for the rest ou can read beteen the lines

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t as the dead of night in late Ma lied in a boarding house called himogamo suis hich is located in himogamo umigaa had heard that the lace had burned don in the chaos at the end of the Tokugaa shogunate as rebuilt in eactl the same fashion and had not been renoated since f it hadnt been for the light leaking out of the indos one could be forgien for mistaking it for an abandoned ruin hen first isited this lace during the coo association tour after orientation thought had andered into oloon alled it ust looking at its crumbling ooden frame as enough to induce aniet and it as robabl dilaidated enough that it could be laced on the list of aans mortant ultural roerties et doubt anone ould bat an ee if it ere to burn don Een the landlord ho lies to the east ould most certainl be relieed sat on the tatami mats of m domicile in room glaring at the fluorescent light oerhead hich as diml flickering in and out kne that needed to change it soon but ust couldnt be bothered to ut in the effort s as about to reach into m ornograh collection as disturbed b a loud knocking on m door: m desicable friend u had come to isit and an hoes had had for some nice uiet alone time ere dashed retending to be out tried to concentrate on reading but he continued to bark for me to oen the door e neer as one to sho regard for anone else nce oened the door as met ith us usual deilish grin moment of our time e said before he turned back toards the corridor and continued This a Miss aori do aologie for the mess t as disgraceful for him to be slinking around himogamo hrine at this hour ith a female comanion no doubt hoing to score ut een had the sense to hide m orn in the resence of a lad s hastil stuffed the materials back onto the shelf u came in glancing askance at me n his back he as carring a etite oman er beautiful hair saed back and forth but the sight of such a loel oman surrendering herself to a demon like u as nothing short of criminal hats rong is she drunk asked arehensiel hat are ou talking about he isnt een a erson as his baffling rel u sat her don against m bookshelf udging from the seat beading on his forehead she seemed to be fairl hea e rearranged her hair neatl and her face came into ie he as uite loel and her skin looked and felt as if it as real er hair as carefull groomed and not an article of clothing as out of lace he looked ust like a elltodo oung

lad ecet that she didnt moe so much as a muscle t as as if she had been froen in time foreer looking istfull into the distance This is aori u announced hat is she loe doll duh cant leae her in m room so need ou to take care of her for a hile ou barge into m room at to in the morning and no ou eect me to o no itll onl be for a eek hes ell behaed romise e smirked again nd look its all sunshine and floers in here no t least our gloom little room ill look a little brighter ith her here ont it

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u is a student the same ear as Though he is a member of the electrical engineering deartment he hates electricit electronics and engineering is firstear grades ere so borderline that ondered if there as an oint to him being in uniersit at all e hoeer asnt concerned in the slightest ecause he desises egetables and adheres strictl to a diet of fast food he has the etremel eerie look and comleion of someone from the far side of the moon f encountered on the street late at night eight out of ten eole ould mistake him for a youkai The remaining ​ ​ to eole ere certainl youkai themseles ​ ​ ruell beating the eak groeling to the strong selfish selfassured la a comlete demon neglecting studies lacking a shred of ride feeding off the unhainess of others he as able to eat three suare meals a da There is not a single art of him that is raiseorth f had neer met him m soul surel ould hae been cleaner for it eeing that in mind setting foot into the onaka softball circle in the sring of m freshman ear as mostl assuredl a mistake

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t the time as still a sarkling freshman The cherr trees had shed their floers clad no in an inigorating erdant hue on entering the uniersit grounds each firstear as immediatel ressed ith club fliers ith so man that the could not be rocessed b a single erson mong those sundr fliers onl four caught m attention: Misogi Moie ircle a msterious call for disciles onaka oftball ircle and the uck at estaurant secret societ Each of these had its on air of susicion et as its on doora to a et unknon camus life as filled ith inuisitieness thinking that no matter hich chose a fascinating future la ahead The onl reason thought this as because as a hoeless fool fter lectures directed m stes toards the uniersit clock toer t seemed that man circles ere holding ne member information sessions in that icinit round the base of the clock toer milled throngs of freshmen their faces still blushing ith srings of hoe as ell as craft circle members eager to re on those same hoes

Thinking that among these countless circles la an entrance to the hantasmic illusion of the entrance to a ros student life andered around in a lightheaded dae The first thing to catch m gae as a grou of students holding a billboard dislaing Misogi Moie ircle oeer as didnt hae the nere to introduce mself ket circling the clock toer uddenl another grou of students holding a sign saing onaka came into ie The onaka oftball ircle borros a sot on the field to la softball eer eekend ractice is not mandator and other than the occasional scheduled game members are free to do as the lease The arm snuggl name and leisurel agenda immediatel struck a chord ith me lus there seemed to be a large number of girls in the circle as ell did not la sorts in high school but neither did articiate in an cultural actiities siml holed mself u ith a grou of likeminded fellos refraining from doing anthing that reuired effort Getting some eercise might not be so bad thought eing in a serious athletic club might be too arduous for me but onaka as ust a circle esides as more interested in friendl socialiing not chasing a little hite ball da in and da out orring about reaching the national chamionshis areell gloom high school das from here on out ould be breaking a refreshing seat hile making a hundred friends ith a little effort ould soon be conersing ith fair maidens as easil as if e ere tossing a ball back and forth as of course interested in learning ne skills not conersing ith girls but if girls ere attracted to me because of m ne skills naturall had no intention of refusing That’s right don’t e shy silentl caoled uiering ith anticiation ​ reeat: as a hoeless fool Thus entered onaka and as made to realie ho bitterl difficult refreshing socialiing trul as The atmoshere as so much more unbearabl leasant than had imagined that as unable to gro accustomed to it t as so embarrassing could hardl stand it Though attemted to blossom into a beautiful social butterfl it as hard enough ust breaking into the cocoon of conersation in the first lace the time realied that had to be sociall adet to add to the conersation it as alread too late and soon lost m lace ithin the circle o siftl m dream as shattered oeer still had one kindred sirit ithin the circle is name as u

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u began to comlain about ho hungr he as after carring aori all this a uddenl oercome b an irresistible craing for eko amen the to of us eited himogamo suis and alked through the ink darkness to the cart eko amen is a fabled ramen stand hich is rumored to make its broth out of cats egardless of fact or fiction the taste is unaralleled hile u slured his steaming ramen he told me about the doll aori hich he had stolen from her oners aartment on his Masters orders

ouisnt that a crime s it e shrugged biousl ant no art of it ut aoris oner has been friends ith the Master for at least fie ears m sure hell understand lus he added ith an indecent grin kno ou ant to tr liing ith her can tell ou asshole ont look at me ith those ees i sto clinging to me ut m lonel and the night air is chill ou lonel bastard aa hiling aa the time uarreling like to loers in front of the eko amen cart soon began to feel comletel ointless nd for some reason this scene seemed frustratingl familiar e haent e had this conersation before o a not something this dumb ts robabl ust d u s e continued to carr on our idiotic conersation aering beteen ecstas and terror at the incomarable flaor of eko amen a ne customer came u beside us glanced at him and as immediatel taken aback b his er odd aearance ressed in a dark blue yukata and tengu geta he strangel resembled an ascetic hermit ​ ​ ​ ​ ooking dubiousl at him from m bol seemed to recall seeing this fello man times in himogamo suis: a figure retreating u the creaking staircase a rofile out in the sunshine belo the clotheslines getting his hair cut b some female echange student a silhouette at the communal sinks ashing some msterious fruit The hair on to of his egglantshaed head as as disheeled as if a thoon had blon through and there as an easgoing look in his ees t as difficult to tell ho old he as he resembled a middleaged man and et he ma ust as ell hae been a uniersit student h Master didnt realie oud be here too u boed his head as he slured his ramen es ell late night craings must neer be denied The strange man sat don and ordered a bol o this as us Master u aid for the Masters ramen hich as a rare sight considering ho miserl he usuall as gasaki has been dealt a serious blo ith this moe ed neer imagine in a million ears that hed come home from a caf to find aori had run off on him u soke ith great coniction but the Master froned and lit a cigar kashi came b earlier to tell me that e ere going too far gain he insisted that tramling on someones emotions is not a oke een if there in loe ith a doll think shes een reared to eel herself The Master scratched his scraggl beard uh ouldnt eect a tombo like kashi to be so softhearted ut ou gotta ut our foot don ou cant be soft on her ust because shes a girl

ts a little difficult to stom m foot earing geta like these ​ ​ ut alread brought her back from gasakis lace refuse to take her back Then here ill e leae her is room u ointed at me silentl boed m head The Master looked at me ith a surrised eression rent ou a resident of himogamo suis Thats right see Much obliged for the assistance

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e returned to himogamo suis u left in the car that he had used to transort aori hile his Master ordlessl boed to me and ascended to the second floor hen returned to m room the lifesied doll as still leaning against m bookshelf dreamil gaing into the distance u and the Master had been muttering to each other the entire a back eentuall deciding that since the had alread taken her the ould ust la lo and see ho things turned out ut rather unreasonabl not once did the bother to consult the actual erson in hose room la the doll u looked smug as his oinion had eentuall reailed hile the Master looked as if he had neer harbored an doubt about the matter in the first lace had been outfoed fter u and left the onaka softball circle e had continued to associate ith each other Though u had left one circle he seemed to kee himself bus ith all sorts of schemes hether it as as a member of a msterious secret societ or as a resected figure ithin the moie circle he neer seemed to run out of things to do e also religiousl isited the man he called Master ho lied on the second floor of himogamo suis u had been coming and going from that residence since our first ear The reason that this miserable relationshi beteen u and hadnt alread been seered as not onl because e ere alas ushed into the same dark corners of the circles e oined but also because he as alas isiting m boarding house Een hen inuired as to the nature of this Master u siml ut on a loathsome obscene grin and refused to anser came to the conclusion that he as some sort of orn lord sat on m tatami floor and stared at aori ho had abrutl become m ne roommate t as all uite irritating though had to admit that she as a er charming doll aori admit that its a little dirt but do make ourself at home said out loud had to admit that it as stuid een for me so laid out m futon and ent to slee

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fter the intrusion into m room b aori the motionless beaut the heels came off m reiousl tranuil eistence n the sace of onl a fe das m life as tossed around b a series of biarre icissitudes as though it ere a to boat bobbing around on a raging sea eentuall sitting me on out a ne course to arts unknon t as all us fault

The net da oened m blear ees from ato m futon and as taken aback b the sight of a rimlooking oman sitting against m bookshelf oman in m roomthis as a shocking unrecedented eent ast night must hae been flirting ith this roer oung lad and the sarks that fle beteen us had resulted in her staing the night in m room and this morning she had oken u earlier than me and the memories of last night had all come flooding back and so utterl distraught she leaned back against the bookshelf too shocked to moe and no ould hae to take resonsibilit and after some heartfelt discussion e ould decide the right thing to do as to get married and ould end u droing out of school and unable to kee u ith the bills ed find ourseles in oert and unable to bear the ignomin shed alk out me and utterl destitute ould die broken and alone ild chain of eents raced through m head like a reoling lantern as sraled on m futon trembling like a neborn fan thinking that as comletel screed until recalled the true eents of the last night and remembered that aori as ust a doll The shock of this realiation finall oke me u aori had not moed an inch since last night greeted her ith a Good morning breed coffee and grilled a leftoer halfeaten fish att for breakfast s ate unthinkingl began to conerse ith her kno this cant be eas for ou either aori t must be hard for ou to lie in such a cramed dirt room ith aell a gu like me us such a erk isnt he es neer once in his life sared a thought for someone else and all he does is feed off other eoles miser guess his arents didnt gie him enough loe during his outh ou dont sa much do ou ts a shame such a loel morning as this and oure ust sitting there sulking ome on kno oue got something to sa f course she didnt sa a ord finished the fish att and guled don m coffee t as a glorious eekend morning and certainl asnt going to send the da shooting the breee ith a doll had m on life after all fter a fe das of rain the sk had finall cleared u and had oken u earl for once so decided to go out to do m laundr The laundromat as donton ust a fe minutes alk aa from himogamo suis dumed m clothes into a machine and then alked out to bu a can of coffee hen returned the laundromat as still emt and onl m usual machine on the left as running asking in the glorious morning sunbeams drank the coffee and smoked a cigarette hen m laundr as done lifted the lid of the machine and as met ith an unleasant surrise M faorite briefs ere nohere to be seen n their lace la a small lush tedd bear The bear and glared at each other for a fe moments o biarre ould hae understood if it ere omens lingerie but hat as the oint of stealing the gre briefs that someone like me had orn for to steadfast ears The onl thing that could ossibl be gained from such a deed as utter disaointment urthermore the thief had left behind this cute tedd bear further deeening the mster hat kind of message as the thief tring to send t as robabl a hidden confession of loe ut dont need the loe of

someone ho ould steal m underear ant loe from someone ho uts m head in the clouds someone hose daintiness and refinement are ositiel dreamlike a raenhaired maiden hose mind is filled onl ith beautiful things checked the other ashing machines and een the drers but m underear as nohere to be found stamed m feet in frustration t as stuid to consider reorting this to the olice honestl didnt ant to uncoer the kind of erson ho ould commit this sort of act clutched the tedd bear and started making m a back home artiall because it ould irk me to hae to go back emthanded eriodicall flared u in anger but there as nothing could do let out m rage b suishing the bear beteen m fingers

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fter the theft at the laundromat furiousl stomed back to m room m face uffing out like a fish att uring the afternoon the blaing sun turned m room into a sauna but as it as not et afternoon it as still cool aori as still sitting b the bookshelf atientl aaiting m return ooking at her serene eression felt m fur begin to eaorate u claimed to hae stolen her from someone imagined that unluck someone must be franticall searching for her right about no ased on her tid aearance he must hae amered her like a rincess t didnt feel right ust haing her sit there listlessl laced the co of Twenty ​ Thousand Leagues Under the Sea had bought from the himogamo hrine used book fair in ​ her la to dra out her hidden allure o she looked as if she had borroed a corner of m room to get lost in a fantas of the high seas a eritable intellectual raenhaired maiden o one ould disturb this lace though then again no one ould ant to enter this room in the first lace aori and ere alone here o one as here to ubraid us if e decided to fool around a little ut courteousl held back silentl commending mself for m incredible restraint n the first lace she as here because of u and didnt ant to get caught tring anthing funn and gie him an ecuse to gloat sat at m desk and tring to forget about the underear thief oened a letter had receied the reious da The author of this letter as a female eaders do not be surrised that as articiating in an echange of corresondence The oung lads name as iguchi eiko and she lied b herself in doi he orked in the office of an English conersation school in hi aaramachi er hobbies ere reading and gardening she rote enthusiasticall about the floers she gre on her eranda er handriting as euisite her comosition imeccable oeer had neer een met her

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Though it as er oldfashioned loed riting letters and had earned since as a outh to hae a en al ll the better if m artner as a oung lad though in truth as there

an other sentient life orth corresonding ith other than a floering oung maiden uch as the urit of the corresondence so earnestl desired There are to rules one must abide b: one the letters must be handritten and to under no circumstances must one meet ones eistolar comanion This second oint is aramount t is of course natural as a male to be oercome ith the desire to meet the oung lad ou are corresonding ith ut this is eactl here ou must ractice restraint f things go oorl all the effort ou ut into cultiating this elegant relationshi ill hae been for naught The idea to begin an elegant echange of letters came to me uite out of the blue oeer finding a oung lad had neer seen before to begin the corresondence ith roed to be more difficult than had eected ending a letter to a random address and raing that a suitable girl haens to lie there is an unrefined een degenerate act and consulting the oto branch of the aan orresondence ociet ould not fit m ersonal aesthetic hen confessed m hidden desire to u he immediatel branded me a erert oure ust tring to get off b sending some random girl nast letters arent ou ou reall need to make sure our en is in check ou literar ehibitionist d neer do anthing like ome on kno ou too ell ou send half the da tring to get off hut u uite uneectedl it as because of u that as able to begin m longaaited corresondence n the autumn of sohomore ear u hose literar tastes etended no further than the discolored curtain at the end of the adultsonl section in a bookstore gae me an altogether ordinar looking noel e said hed icked it u from the hundreden bo at a usedbook store in madegaa and no that he as done ith the grubb little olume he as duming it on me The noel lodded through the traails of a stodg loelorn student and as about to toss the drear olume aside hen something caught m ee eatl ritten on the last age as an address and a name ormall either the oner or someone at the bookstore ould erase this sort of thing before the book as sold but it looked as if the had oerlooked this one realied that this as m chance This had to be some kind of diine interention o else ould be resented ith a onceinalifetime chance to begin a corresondence ith an unseen maiden n retrosect didnt hae an eidence to suggest that she as a outhful demoiselle This as to sa nothing of ho came to the conclusion that she loed books as a little resered and furthermore ho beautiful she as suose it ould be fair to call me a erert ut hae neer been one to sh aa from such labels if the occasion calls for it rushed out to the emachi shoing arcade and bought stationer that as beautiful and sincere enough to comensate for the shamelessness of m acts had the good sense to realie that since this letter ould be coming comletel out of the blue ould do ell to limit its contents to harmless conersation o doubt ould be reorted to the olice immediatel if ere to introduce mself b ouring out the innermost

longings of m soul first aologied for sending such an uneected letter humbl adding that as a er diligent student and that had alas dreamed about engaging in a corresondence of letters Then gae m imressions of the noel had ust finished reading neither raising nor criticiing it ithout een once mentioning anthing about eecting a rel n oerl long letter ould seem susicious so after riting draft after draft as able to condense it into a sheet and a half fter comleting it read it oer and unable to detect een a hint of insincerit through the eneer of earnest enthusiasm modestl congratulated mself for riting a masteriece n their most ure form letters trul are things that come from the heart n todas icked societ reling to a letter from an unknon sender reuires a fair amount of caution all the more if ou are a guileless oung lad illed mself not to be disaointed if a rel neer came but to m great delight one did Thus from this almost susiciousl fortunate series of eents a corresondence that ould san half a ear began t ould end in Ma in utter heartbreak

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ear Sir

ith the end of the oi estial the weather seems to hae taken a humid turn It feels as if we hae entered the dog days of summer though the rainy season has yet to egin Since I am not fond of such sweltering conditions I do hoe the rain comes uickly There are many eole who say that the rainy season is dreary and dam ut I find the reassuring atter of raindros outside rather soothing My grandarents hae a numer of hydrangeas at their home and since I was a child I hae always enoyed whiling away the hours watching them loom from the eranda n your recommendation I hae egun to read “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and hae reached the third section I had once thought it a children’s ook ut it is uite a rofound noel I find the aura of mystery around atain emo uite intriguing ut if I had to say my faorite character is the haroonist ed Land I ity him eing locked u in the sumarine without the freedom to moe around The rofessor and onseil are suected to the same conditions ut they seem to e enoying themseles only ed Land seems to e frustrated with the situation and efore long I found myself rooting for him r erhas it is ecause I am as much a glutton as he If I might e so old as to make a recommendation of my own may I suggest L Steenson’s “Treasure Island? ou may hae already read it ut it was one of my faorites as a child My work has een uite ordinary with nothing in articular to seak of ecently a rofessor who lied here in Jaan for three years returned to his home country and his farewell arty was held at an Irish u on ike Street I am currently not of age to drink alcohol ut the Irish food they had was uite delicious The fried fish in articular was ery good

The rofessor was from San rancisco and he told us that if we eer went to that city we were welcome to isit him He is in his midthirties ut is aarently returning to college I hae always dreamed of studying aroad ut with how usy I find myself resently it does not seem that that will come to ass I aologie if I oerste myself in saying this ut I feel that eing ale to study whatsoeer you lease in college is a marelous thing I am certain one such as yourself will use the many oortunities you are lessed with to etter yourself s you continue on and face further trials and triulations in your third year of college this sring I encourage you to eliee in yourself and do your est Howeer as your welleing is of utmost imortance lease do not oereert yourself ou said that you enoy eating fish atties ut lease ensure that you are eating a alanced diet and do take care of yourself roerly n that note I shall ring this letter to a close I humly await your rely

ours Sincerely Higuchi Keiko

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s the afternoon ore on m room became rogressiel muggier The hotter it became the more irritated became and m fur at the laundromat underear thief boiled u again rom m corner of the room stared at aori ho as enthralled in her book and suashed the lush bear hich had been sitched for m underants To get m mind off these things thre mself into m studies oeer hile glaring at m tetbooks began to feel that doing this as nothing more than a greed effort to recoer the last to fruitless ears of m life This unseeml conduct as a reudiation of m ersonal ideals and acting in accordance ith m rinciles gallantl ut m books aa This as erhas the most gentlemanl thing to do o that it had come to this had no recourse but to turn to u to roide me ith the reort that needed to turn in The ecret ociet had a rint sho herein one could order and acuire counterfeit assignments had relied on their serices for so long that ithout u to sere as an intermediar to get me hat needed from the rint sho ould be in er dire straits as orn out both hsicall and mentall M inabilit to etricate mself from u as also in art due to this illicit connection Though Ma had not et ended it as so humid that it alread felt like summer The indo as thron oen so ide that inited accusations of indecent eosure et the air inside remained stagnant n this must sace msterious substances commingled and fermented and like the ambercolored hisk from the barrels at amaaki istiller ould surel intoicate anone ho entered this tatami sace een for a moment on oening the door that led out into the corridor the kittens that andered the boarding house titoed into the room meing boldl The ere so cute that almost anted to eat them u but ould not stoo so lo as to do such a saage thing Een if ere to be clad in onl a air of underants

must alas act in a manner befitting a gentleman fter rubbing the slee out of their ees romtl chased them out floed don and still tired from getting u so earl fell aslee before kne it the time started aake the sun had almost set and m da off had almost comletel gone to aste The onl a could salage the da as b going to English conersation class and that as draing near made read to leae m room ecause of the suffering had eerienced in onaka as sketical at the rosect of articiating in circles again f course that left me ith lent of time on m hands Miss iguchi had mentioned that she orked in an English conersation school and insired b her letter last fall had begun to attend an English school in aaramachi an ncidentall there ere no omen b the name of iguchi orking at the school attended m going out aori ook after things hile m aa he seemed engrossed in her book and didnt een look u The isage of a maiden lost in the fantas orld of books as trul a loel thing to behold

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rode aa from himogamo suis on m biccle usk as settling oer the cit and the sk aboe the is clouds as tinged ith ink chill eening breee as bloing biked ast himogamo hrine leaing the shrine road and crossing Mikage treet fter that rode into the area beteen aai ridge and emachi ridge rom the est flos the amogaa ier and from the east the Takano ier The merge at this sot commonl knon as the amo elta t this time of ear the area bustled ith elcoming arties for ne college students too came here as a freshman after entered the eculiar onaka softball circle but as unable to oin in on the conersations and sent the entire night skiing stones across the rier b mself s rode ato the cool embankments along the est bank beteen emachi ridge and Great amo ridge let m selfflagellating side get the best of me and turned to look at the merr students on the other side of the rier sotted u mingling in a crod of animatedl chatting ouths there as no a to mistake his ominous silhouette M bike came to a screeching halt u aeared to be liing it u in the middle of a grou of freshmen from his circle blissfull unaare of ust ho horribl asted m da had been The difference beteen m side of the rier and his as like night and da t as a dark da indeed hen such innocent untainted freshman flocked to that filth youkai of a man There as no stoing the sread of ​ ​ his corrution sat there glaring for a hile but feeling an unsatisfied gurgle from m stomach ulled mself together and began edaling once again

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the time got out of class night had fallen

stoed b an iamachi to slur u a bol of agahama ramen then continued don iamachi treet s alked thought of u feeling a leaden eight descend don uon the ramen in m stomach or the last to ears he had been at the center of m limited social circle constantl disturbing the eace of m tatami eistence ho else ould be selfish enough to barge in in the middle of the night force a loe doll on me and anish as uickl as he had come The real roblem though as that he as een no corruting m onceure soul The more interacted ith him the blacker m on heart became could racticall feel m mind aring ith eer second e sent together continued to ander aimlessl along the Takase ier smoldering ith resentment t last m feet came to a halt n beteen the bars and brothels a dark sueeed sort of house stood in the shados nder the oerhang an old oman sat at a ooden stall coered b a hite cloth he looked like a fortune teller The sign hanging off the front of the stall as inscribed ith all manner of arcane incomrehensible runes boe it the hags head floated in the gloom lit onl b the ha orange light of a small lantern t as a ghastl sight like seeing a raenous ghost hungering for the souls of assersb began to imagine all manner of misfortune befalling me: the shado of the old oman seemed to follo me eerhere ent nothing did ent right eole as eecting neer shoed u ossessions anished neer to be seen again failed courses that should hae been a cinch a thesis that as about to resent sontaneousl combusted fell into the canals of ake ia as caught b a snakeoil salesman on hi treet and so forth hile these ild thoughts ere going through m head the old oman noticed me looking at her he glared at me from the ink darkness ith gleaming ees draing me in ith her otherorldl emanations er susicious aura as strangel ersuasie and logicall thinking came to the conclusion that the diinations of someone ho alloed her suernatural aura to flo so freel could not ossibl be rong n m tentodd ears of life there had been but a handful of times here humbl took someones adice hat if that as the reason as stuck on this thorn ath unable to moe forard Though took fe risks in life asnt there a ossibilit that could choose the thornlined ath f onl had chosen to sto reling on m on udgment earlier m camus life certainl ould hae taken a different shae ould not hae entered the cultish onaka softball circle nor met the tisted u ather ould hae been blessed ith onderful mentors and friends become accomlished in all the arts and sciences of course hae a beautiful raenhaired maiden at m side face a glittering golden future ahead of me and erhas een hae that allimortant ros student life in the alm of m hand That as the kind of life suited for someone like mself Thats right t asnt too late The sooner took a thirdarts obectie adice the sooner could escae this drear life into the life that as meant to lie moed m legs toard the old oman as if as being sucked in b her suernatural aura o hat is it that ou ish to hear The old oman mumbled her ords like her mouth as full of cotton giing the imression that the ere all the more aluable m not sure here to start

eeing me at a loss for ords she grinned can see from our face that ou are er frustrated unsatisfied ou are not able to use our full talents our current situation is not suited for ou es thats eactl it ho me our hands The old hag took m alms and eered into them nodding aroingl ou hae much earnest talent in ou uickl tied m hat to her keen insight true master hides his skills and had hidden m talents for so long that een didnt realie had them an more or this old oman to sense those talents ithin fie minutes of meeting me must mean that she as no ordinar erson t is essential that ou not let oortunities sli aa n oortunit is nothing more than a faorable circumstance ou understand ut its difficult to take hold of oortunities ometimes the hide in laces ou dont eect and sometimes it is onl later that ou realie something that seemed like an oortunit as reall nothing at all ut in order to seie an oortunit ou must act ou look like ou ill hae a long life so sooner or later ou ill hae the chance s befitting her aura her ords ere trul rofound dont ant to ait foreer ant to grab m oortunit no an ou be a little more secific t m robing the rinkles on the old omans face contorted een further thought her right cheek must be itch or something but it turned out that she as ust smiling ts hard to be secific about the future Een if ere to tell ou about a recise oortunit it might er ell be tisted and ared b the machinations of fate until it as no longer an oortunit hen ou chanced uon it and that ould ust be a disserice to ou ouldnt it ate is something that changes from moment to moment ou see ut eerthing oue told me is too ague to act on s stood there in confusion she ehaled slol through her nose er ell ill refrain from seaking of things far ahead but can seak of things that ill soon come to ass idened m ears like umbo olosseum she suddenl hisered olosseum hats that t is the sign of an oortunit hen an oortunit arries it ill be accomanied b olosseum she intoned o are ou telling me need to go to ome ut the old oman merel grinned hen our oortunit comes ou mustnt let it sli aa ou mustnt fumble around aimlessl as ou hae been doing eie it boldl daringl f ou do ou ill no longer be unsatisfied and be able to embark on a ne ath een though that ath ma hold hardshis of its on Then again eect that ou understand this uite ell didnt understand in the slightest but nodded ana

Een if ou dont catch this one ou dont need to orr ou are a slendid oung man so someda ithout a doubt ou ill make it can see it Theres no need to rush ith that the old oman brought her diinations to an end Thank ou er much nodded to her aid the fee and turned around to find a oman standing behind me little lost lamb are e anuki said

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anuki is in the same English class as am e had been acuaintances since oined the class during the reious fall si months ago but our relationshi etended no further than the classroom door had tried man times to acuire her transcendental skills but each attemt had ended in failure anuki seaks an eceedingl freefloing almost nonsensical sort of English The raidfire ords she sits out dance freel in the air and desite her atrocious grammar transcend the normal rules to connect and organie themseles into meaning in the reciients head ts racticall magic n the other hand hile carefull olish m choice of ords inside m head the conersation moes on ithout me so that b the time m read to release m grand roclamations to the orld its alread too late This attern reeated itself endlessl f must seak ithout erfect grammar ill roudl choose to be a silent obserer foreer looking on and neer leaing rom hat had gathered during the classroom selfintroductions anuki orked at a dental clinic uring class e gae seeches about hateer toics e ished but anuki usuall ontificated on teeth er the ast si months alone her dental ocabular had gron at an alarming rate and corresondingl the dental of the rest of the class had risen seeral oints hich as certainl not a bad thing inariabl chose to seak about us misdeeds since he comromised the entiret of m social netork as initiall reticent to seak of his foul crimes in such a cosmoolitan forum but m classmates gae m halting ords an uneectedl arm elcome nd so E became a stale of the class each eek The ere robabl ust interested in listening to gossi fter a fe eeks of this anuki called out to me one da after class stonishingl it turned out that u as one of her acuaintances e as a atient at the dental clinic here she orked and the Master uon hom u freuentl called as also an old friend of hers mall orld huh she commented e began to comlain about us shift ersonalit and soon hit it off ith each other

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fter buming into each other in front of the fortune teller anuki and headed into one of the man bars in iamachi t seemed that she had made lans to meet someone in iamachi after class ended but as suddenl oercome ith a ae for reulsion for the erson she as suosed to meet

but she still anted to drink een though she didnt ant to run into this erson but she still really anted to drinkuntil as she alked along debating she sotted m lost figure there in ​ the street uck me luck me she sang as she skied don the aenue The bars ere all acked since it as the eekend f course there ere alas lent of students but this eekend as eseciall bus since there ere arties being thron to elcome ne students ere and there glimsed faces that looked so oung the could onl hae been in high school a fe das rior e raised a glass to a bleak future for u mong the countless seeds of gossi that eist in the orld u as articularl good as a conersation starter because there as no end of things to comlain about hen it came to him es alas screing things u for me kno right Thats his faorite thing to do The onl reason he eists is to mess ith other eoles lies eah but he alas kees his on life on the don lo eah eah dont een kno here he lies The bastard is alas initing himself into m lace but heneer ask him he ust ont tell me ctuall e been there before eall eah e lies in a studio in doi like a little bit off hirakaa treet in a building that looks like its made out of cand u gets a rett generous alloance ou kno feel sorr for his arents God he isses me off ut arent ou his best friend she asked giggling e alas talks about ou hat does he sa cautiousl asked diml imagining u ith that inscrutable smile of his There as a chance that he had hisered some oisonous alternatie facts into anukis ear and had to firml clear those u lot of things omething about ou to leaing the same eird circle together h That art at least as true

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onaka the circle had stumbled into as like the name sounded as snug and co as a cloud floating in a ha sring sk er and loer classmen alike addressed each other ith the utmost familiarit and there as no distinction of rank or title There ere no leaders or folloers no hatred or sorro Eerone built a communal atmoshere of loe heling and cooerating ith each other as if the ere tossing little hite balls back and forth t as the te of lace that in no more than a eek ould hae ou fliing tables to break the monotonous leasantness n eekends the circle ould resere a field to toss a ball around and thus all did as go to communal lunches and tedious ecursions as the eeks lodded on from Ma to une to ul o could ossibl learn the nuances of sociabilit in such an insiid lace t as imossible M atience as soon stretched to its limits

o matter ho much time sent there neer felt like fit in Eerone as alas smiling making olite conersation refraining from disagreement neer once alloing anthing that could be considered rofane or crude to ass their lis Each ersons demeanor as so alike to the net that it as imossible to distinguish one from another or to match names to faces heneer tried to sa something eerone ould aste a kind smile on their faces and sink into silence The single erson ith hom could feel an sort of kinshi as u e had managed to obtain a lace in the circle ith his curious conersational deterit but desite his best efforts he couldnt ull off an innocentlooking smile each time he tried to do so he onl succeeded in looking more like a youkai as if he couldnt uite hide the eil lurking ithin ​ ​ himself is as the onl name in the circle that could remember or rather the onl one couldnt forget That summer e ent to a forest on the otosaka refectural border for a threeda tri oftball ractice as merel a retet: in realit it as ust another friendl bonding session onsidering ho cloingl amiable the atmoshere in the circle alread as hardl sa the need for another feelgood kumbaa camout ut on the second night after a meeting in the outdoor recreation center e ere staing in one of the uerclassmen introduced a strange middleaged man hom had neer seen before t as uite uneected e as a chubb man ith fat marshmallo cheeks and his sectacles ere so minuscule that the ere almost buried in his face The man began to seak about loe and the ills of the modern age and the coming battles e ould hae to fight deliering each thundering line ith great eal is ague oerbearing seech ent on and on but it as imossible to etract an meaning from his ords ho the hell is this ondered taking a look around me but eerone else as sitting there listening to his ords ith rat adoration on their faces nl u ho as off to the side in front of me sat there aning fter a hile the man began to oint out indiidual circle members ho stood u and began talking about themseles ome of them soke about ersonal troubles hile others gushed about ho grateful the ere to be in the circle ho luck the ere to hae been inited ne girl een started eeing the fat man consoled her in a er indulgent tone Theres nothing rong ith ou beliee in ou and eerone else here does too t the chubb mans urging u got to his feet ou kno after entered college as so unsure of mself but thanks to entering this circle feel like e been able to adat much better eing ith eerone here feels like home to me ts trul an amaing thing he said earnestl as if his earlier aning had been nothing but a sham

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nd then hat haened anuki ressed me note of etulance had cret into her oice no doubt due to the alcohol she had ust imbibed

hen the asked me tried to sound enthusiastic but the fat man said he ould be coming b m room for a chat so thought d steed in it o instead of going back to m room aited in the bathroom until the lobb as emt and then ent outside h and then ou met u didnt ou Thats right s snuck out the front entrance of the recreation center us form loomed from the darkness like a rimordial sirit that had lain dormant for man centuries in the forest soon realied that it as u but didnt let m guard don coninced that he as an agent disatched b onaka intent on trussing me u and deliering me to the fat man erhas the intended to thro me into a fetid underground torture chamber and make me relie m first loe in high school as ell as all the rest of m deeest most embarrassing secrets f so the ould uickl find ould not go don ithout a fight uickl u hissed as glared at him oure running aa right et me come ith ou nd so e reluctantl oined forces and slied into the murk forest The road from the recreation center don to the illage at the bottom of the mountain as itch black but luckil u had brought along a flashlight had to admit that he alas came reared had left m bag back in m room but hadnt acked anthing too imortant ana Each time a car came our a e fled into the trees aiting ith bated breath until the lights receded into the distance ell that sounds like uite the adenture anuki eclaimed sounding oerl amaed ell mabe e robabl could hae ust staed the night ithout too much trouble ut asnt it a cult ell eah The called me once after that but haent heard anthing from them since guess the erent too interested in me Mabe hat haened after ou got off the mountain ell e reached the farms at the bottom and crossed through the fields e thought e might be able to hitch a ride from someone on the higha but since it as the middle of the night there erent a lot of cars and the ouldnt sto anas f sa to eirdos tring to hitchhike on the side of the road ouldnt sto either Mm that sucks nas e ket alking and reached the nearest rail station b folloing the signs t as reall far since e ere in the countrside t as around four in the morning b the time e got there but e ere so aranoid that the ould send someone there to search for us that e folloed the tracks to the net station to thro them off t as like the train scene from Stand y Me hen e got to the station e got some canned coffee and chilled for a hile ​ then boarded the first train back here Thats must hae been ehausting slet like a log on the train couldnt take another ste nd thats ho ou and u became friends o ouldnt call it a friendshi er se he tittered ou kno u is surrisingl innocent in some as eah ell e got some magic beans to sell ou

o m serious aent ou heard the stor about his girlfriend n disbelief unconsciousl leaned forard ishis girlfriend ​ ​ eah e met her in the moie circle back hen he as a freshman The Master hasnt seen her and haent either think he doesnt ant her to see his other side ts kind of messed u but someho think its adorable e een came to me for relationshi adice once That rat anuki smirked atching me uier ith anger hat as her name again cant remember

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et e headed to one of anukis faorite haunts a bar called Moonalk in ontoch The more e gossied about u the more e oened u to each other eaking ill of a third art ho isnt resent has the odd effect of creating a feeling of intimac The conersation eentuall turned to the theft at the laundromat omeone must reall hae anted our underants she cackled shaking her head ut ou dont understand losing this much underear sucks ​ ​ The night as earing on et anuki shoed no signs of tiring as beginning to feel fatigued from the unrelenting noise of a night on the ton and the alcohol as beginning to take its toll s anukis ees began to gleam ith a dangerous intoicated light started to earn for m tatami room anted to go home forget about all m troubles and curl u in m futon ith some stimulating reading material ut things ust erent going m a ince e lied close to each other e decided to share a tai home anukis ees gloed eer brighter and began to fear that had lost control of the situation s the lights of the cit darted b outside the indo she sighed heail and looked in m direction as if she ere regarding her re er aartment as on aabata treet near Mikage ridge guided her unstead feet all the a u to her door at hich oint she inited me in for some tea that time had lost track of ho as here had come from or here as going eeling utter hoelessness at the thought of being traed foreer b mself ithin the flo of eternit stood there trembling like an abandoned cat in the rain

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rom the moment assed oer the cursed threshold of ubert m ohnn had remained in a constant state of miser ther gus ohnnies ere robabl free to moe as the leased unconcerned ith aearances oeer ossessed as he as ith a master like mself m ohnn as forced to coer u his true otential unable to indulge in his naughtier comulsions iscretion is indeed the better art of alor et a ohnn as igorous as

mine couldnt be satisfied ith such a hollo eistence foreer heneer he sensed an oortunit he ould raise his head haughtil and tr to reassert himself e brah isnt this here come in he clamored Each time he raised his oice reroached him The oortunit isnt here et and ordered him to sta ut e are ciilied eole liing in a modern age and am a gentleman ith man matters to attend to did m best to conince him that didnt hae time to let him fool around ith omen because as orking toards giing him a ermanent home in hich to la to his hearts content o hens this fucking oortunit gonna come he grumbled ont condescend to me bro ont be like that ts not m fault hae to look don on ou ou kno o oure saing oud rather think ith our brain instead of ith me hit being a brain must be nice to sulking its embarrassing mh guess nothing comes to those ho ait huh he muttered falling don liml t asnt like didnt understand ho he felt and it as heart renching to see him ith no light at the end of his tunnel The louder he holed the more realied ho similar e ere lone oles doomed to a life of solitude M smath for him increased all the more and as thought about ho his talents ere being asted on mere dadreams and fantasies often found it difficult not to shed a tear ont cr he ould sa m sorr as being selfish orr ould mutter nd so ohnn and ould make our eace That is daresa an accurate reresentation of m outh

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anukis room as er tid and the furnishings ere surrisingl sarse t felt like she could easil ack u and moe anhere at a moments notice something that made me a little enious t as so different from m on room filled ith chaos and bedlam orr think had a little too much to drink anuki laughed taking out some herbal tea and utting on the ater to boil That msterious glint as still in her ee hile asnt looking she had taken off her coat and as earing a simle longsleeed shirt hen did that ​ haen? ondered ​ he oened the glass door to the eranda from our osition oerlooking aabata treet could see the trees lining the Takano ier ts so nice here b the rier The cars are kind of nois though she commented f ou climb u to the roof ou can see aimoni to the east oeer at that moment aimoni as the furthest thing from m mind inding mself alone ith a oman siing tea in her room realied that ould need to naigate carefull in order to come out of this clichd redicament ith m gentlemans honor ​ ​ intact ou could almost hear a slight reing sound as m brain ent into oerdrie oring through m internal databank of histor hsics scholog biochemistr literature and een

seudoscience to find an aroriate resonse thought if u ere here there ould be no need for all this tension and eerthing could roceed normall Een so anuki as being far too careless t as incredibl risk for her to bring me to her room this late at night ertainl had been her classmate in English school for half a ear no as also the best friend of u hom she as also acuainted ith ut anone ith an ounce of common sense ouldnt hae felt safe until the had trussed me u like a turtle hung me uside don from the balcon and lit a slo fire underneath me hile fretted for her safet she blithel started chatting about the erson she as suosed to meet tonight as surrised to hear that her drinking artner as originall going to be none other than r ubouka from the dental clinic and een more surrised to learn that the good doctor alread had a ife and kids n m ees it as unforgiable for such a erson to abuse his osition and arrange for a trst ith another oman but since anuki had been orking for him for a long time decided that a scurrilous oungster such as mself couldnt understand the nuances of a relationshi beteen to consenting adults Though resoled not to olunteer anthing on this toic that could be taken the rong a she continued to talk about him and eentuall asked for m adice guess standing him u in iamachi as kind of a shitt thing to do she fretted s lased into silence anuki sidled u to me h so tense e alas been like this iar Those rinkles erent there ust a minute ago she crooned leaning u to m forehead Then she tried to lick m face erked back comletel astonished ut her ees ere burning ith a strange light and she grabbed hold of me once more

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t that moment noticed four things about the situation umber one: the soft sellings on anukis bosom ere ushing u against me attemted to deal ith this situation calml but as one might eect it as eceedingl difficult desised the abilit of those feminine cures to comletel confound us men: for man ears had conducted etensie isual research on this matter but had et to roide a satisfactor anser as to h such cures hose onl redeeming feature as their softness ielded such oer oer us aced ith the oer of anukis breasts had to admit that as aroused b the situation but had no intention of letting these mere rotrusions of flesh ruin the urit had sent so man ears rotecting To do so ould be unforgiable umber to: as leaned m head back to escae anukis robing tongue noticed a bulletin board coered in hotograhs on the all aboe me M attention as dran to one hoto in articular hich seemed to hae been taken during a tri abroad in tal ictured as the olosseum and in site of the situation currentl faced the fortune tellers ords flashed through m mind as the oortunit as looking for right in front of me

umber three: haing glimsed the goods ithin his gras ohnn had reared his head again and as attemting to assert his dominance ts m time brah he eaculated tried to control him but he shouted f this aint our chance hat the fuck is hich had to admit as a fair oint e aited long enough ts m time to shine umber four: along the left all through the kitchen as a bathroom f could make it in there it ould be an ecellent lace in hich to regain m comosure and eather the storm anuki ket raing herself around me tring to lick m face hile m mind as hiing itself this a and that ohnn ket riggling around restlessl tring to make his a to here the action as aing marshalled eer ounce of lust in m bod he as leading his folloers to tr to take control hile general headuarters as still holding out ohnns faction as ounding on the door hat are ou doing This is our chance This isnt hat e ere romised ee ithin headuarters stoicall blocked out their cries and contemlated the camaign ma in front of me an ou reall call someone ho lets himself be ashed aa b these fleeting desires a ciilied erson brooded here is m ride if take adantage of an intoicated oman like this dont een kno her that ell n resonse to m solemn remonstrations ohnn raised his fist to the skies and began to ound furiousl on the iron gates of m headuarters ou gotta do something he screamed ont ou understand ho imortant that first ste is f ou cant do it then let me take oer hats the oint of ust acting resering m honor is the most imortant act of all relied ohnn decided to change tack adoting a leading tone ome on hat kind of dude gets so obsessed about his chastit hat ou think someones gonna gie ou a medal for being a irgin ou could oen u a hole ne orld b doing this man ont ou ant to see hats on the other side do ut no isnt the time uck the time dude this is it The olosseum as right there ts ust like that old ​ ​ oman said isnt it hether or not should take that chance is u to me ou hae no right to make that decision ghhhh ude m so sad m so sad dude teeling m resole inched along the all tring to escae from anuki ho as still clinging to me e shuffled along the floor like some eotic animal slol crossing the room and slithering into the kitchen ook a cockroach cried anuki umed and hirled around and taking adantage of her momentar distraction stood u and srinted into the bathroom slamming the lock home Though this as meant to rotect m honor it sure didnt look that a rom ithin me ohnn let out an anguished hol

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hats rong ot feeling ell anuki airil asked from the other side of the door m fine ll ust be a second ansered straining m ears fter a hile heard her return to the liing room ecure on m throne thought about the three omen sirling around me ne as a etunseen en al another as a silent loe doll and the third as this inebriated oman ho as tring to lick m face n the other hand during the last to ears had sent on the sidelines had neer eerienced anthing as sensational as this h this sugarcoated life erhas the inds of change had begun to blo hen u brought aori to m room rom no on m life ould be filled ith rendeous ith the fairer se m calendar acked ith aointments for loers trsts and m throat cracked and bleeding from hours uon hours of hisering seet nothings Een ust thinking about it as tiring started to lose m nere and the rosect began to seem more like an arduous trek u Mount iei f didnt lan on becoming a maen of the seual arts ould need to narro it don to one mong the three omen one of them as a silent maiden and een had to admit she as not a contender nother according to m hilosoh of corresondence ould neer be able to meet This of course left onl anuki ust as the fortune teller had redicted had seen a icture of the olosseum right here There had to be a deeer meaning to this deeer than the act of surrendering control of the loer half of m bod as ohnn as insisting do t as recisel because this could be m oortunit that ould ait here rotecting m gentlemanl recets until anuki returned to her senses rom there ould use the roer channels to reoen negotiations for our consensual union Een if she as drunk she ouldnt tr to lick the face of someone she as totall uninterested in onsidering ho eccentric she as it asnt surrising that she ould sho interest in someone like me een if it as onl idle curiosit ere and no ould get a fresh start grab hold of this oortunit and set off toards a shining golden future had faith in m on untaed otential it as merel forgotten not lost omosing mself aited until ohnn calmed don then eited the bathroom to find anuki face don in the center of the room snoring like a air of bellos decided to ait until she oke and sat don beside her

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esite m best efforts to sta aake began to doe off robabl because of the alcohol had been leaning against the all but at some oint slumed to the floor finall oke u rubbing the slee from m ees ith a slight sense of unease to find a demon sitting riml in front of me nce had oercome the urge to um u and shriek took another look and realied that it as u o strange as sure that had been in anukis room et here he sat before me erhas u had been hiding inside the shell of anuki the ental gienist the

entire time Then that ould mean that had been getting licked b uanuki and as about to begin negotiations for an unhol union ith this ile hbrid h the hell are ou here finall said u brushed an imaginar seck of dust off his head as called aa ust as things ere heating u ith m recious underclassmen een had to call a tai here ae some consideration lease had no clue hat he as talking about hat mean is anuki is a dear friend of m Master but she has a single eakness hen she gets drunk the heels tend to come off if ou catch m drift hats that mean t aears that ou ere licked That iscorrect suall she behaes herself but it looks she had a little too much fun ith ou tonight hed like ou to consider hat haened tonight ater under the bridge uh as dumbfounded he ould like me to cone her aologies to ou though its a little late for that s if to rotest his ords a loud retching sound came from inside the bathroom t seemed that anuki as barricaded in there aing the rice for her earlier oerindulgence o h are ou here he asked me to come here and elain eerthing to ou on her behalf could hardl leae one of the Masters oldest friends in a bind had seen anuki licking m face as a turning oint in m life but no that the ig as u felt rett foolish riatel thanked m luck stars that hadnt lost m senses and done anthing rash till it as irksome to think that u as the one to douse me ith a cold slash of realit ou didnt tr anthing funn did ou he asked othing ustgetting m face licked eah ouldnt eect much out of ou ou robabl freaked out and locked ourself in the bathroom as soon as she came at ou didnt ou f course didnt made sure she as oka like a gentleman h m sure ou did ackass o no dont udge her too harshl hes getting her ust deserts ith Mr Toilet mean ou oure the ackass lease dont get me mied u in this Eer time something bad haens to me oure almost alas there ou miserable est las the ra of sunshine h do ou think etricated mself from a loel little banuet to come all the a oer here ts because felt it as m dut as a friend to comfort ou in our hour of need dont need our it oure the reason m een in this mess

Most eole ould be embarrassed to een sa something like that but ou almost sound like ou actuall beliee it f hadnt met ou m life ould hae been so orthhile ould hae done ell in class gone out ith raenhaired maidens and enoed a onderful life ithout a single cloud hanging oer me That much is certain oure still drunk arent ou ts onl toda that hae trul realied ho much m student life has gone to aste ot that m tring to make ou feel better or anthing but think that no matter ho ou led our life ou ould hae run into me all it intuition t an rate m doing eerthing can to corrut ou ou cant fight fate e lifted his ink dramaticall ou and are bound b the black thread of fate shuddered imagining mself sinking to the itchblack deths of the sea bound to u like a ham b a dark thread nas oue been going out ith someone for to ears haent ou n the mark arent cried triumhantl n odd smirk came to his face accomanied b a soft chuckle hats so funn demanded ouldnt ou like to kno cant beliee a agoff like ou gets to run around haing fun behind m back alm don ere getting a little offtoic arent e ust retend tonight neer haened and accet this e ointed to a small ackage hats that castella onsider it a token of aolog from anuki ith humblest regards he said unctuousl like a sales clerk lotting to take oer the store

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ight as creeing oer the horion as alked through ton There as a desolate morningafter atmoshere lingering in the emt streets and the morning chill nied at m skin stood in the middle of Mikage ridge hugging mself to sta arm and looked at the greener coering both banks of the Takano ier t felt refreshing being able to ie such a leasant morning scene for once and it as onl ith a hea heart that returned to himogamo suis Eerthing felt ust a little bit drearierthe broken fluorescent light in the entrance hall the ooden shoe rack the dustfilled corridors ith leaden footstes shambled through the chill hallas to m room and collased into m stilldisheeled bed n the armth under the coers of m futon thought back on the man eents that had transired oer the course of the reious da t as most usetting that u had turned u at the er end olting me aake from m fleeting dreams of a future ith anuki before the dan had een arried but suosed this merel signified a return to suare one in the Game of oe uch a commonlace eent as hardl orth fretting about ounded ride as a small rice to a for an entire castella ould be atient ut couldnt take it

couldnt fill the hole in m heart rom under the sheets snuck a glance at m silent roommate s usual aori as resting against the bookshelf serenel reading Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea got ​ ​ u and caressed her hair t felt as if as cuddling a real raenhaired maiden lost in her book and a sudden ae of consternation came oer me ou idiot muttered to mself and retreated back into the futon t as athetic that had deluded mself into thinking that lied in the das of ine and roses erhas if had trusted the fortune tellers rohec and let ohnns urges come to a head ith the intoicated anuki a ne life might actuall hae oened itself u to me o that could not be refused to accet it elations beteen men and omen should be conducted in a formal manner not tied together on a him like a shoelace had thought that eerthing had started to change once u brought aori here but of the three omen reoling around me anuki had suddenl droed out of the running that dream had lasted no more than half a da That left m en al hom could neer meet and the oman ho lied ith me and et as not alie n other ords there as no one left ould face this cold realit unflinchingl s long as ut m mind to it could accomlish anthing hile la there in m futon gaing at aori ohnn gae a sudden suirm but closed m ees and fell into merciful obliion

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oke u at dusk and alked to a caf near emachi to hae m dinner s assed the amo elta the setting sun clearl illuminated the aimoni character this area ould be an ecellent antage oint from hich to ie the bonfire stood there imagining hat it ould be like to see the fires ith Miss iguchi eiko but discouraged b the cold eening ind and a soft grol from m stomach reluctantl broke the dadreams off at a good sot fter ent back to himogamo suis sat at m desk and concentrated on riting a rel to Miss iguchi seeking refuge from the restless thoughts buing around m head

ear Miss Higuchi

Summer seems to hae come early this year as this sweltering weather seems to continue without end The air is close in my oarding house making it intoleraly hot Sometimes I feel like stringing u a hammock in the corridor ut I can’t uite ring myself to go that far It is uite difficult not eing ale to study in the dormitory until summer ends Soon enough I think I will find myself sending a lot of time in the lirary There will e few distractions there so I hoe that I will e ale to e ery roductie I’m glad that you are enoying “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea hen I was reading it I had a world ma y my side to track the ourney of the autilus in the ook oing that made me feel almost as if I was also emarking on a nautical oyage around the world I

recommend that you try it for yourself I hae not yet read Steenson’s “Treasure IslandI shall look for it in a ookstore The alance in classic adenture noels is uite suer: sometimes you’re on the edge of your seat while at other times you feel utterly relaed as you fli through the ages Though they are adentures they’re not too loody which is something that I can areciate I’m not sure eactly what Irish us are like though I hoe to isit one someday Since I send so much time either at school or at home I hae had ut few chances to go out into town as of late Since sring semester egan I hae een ery usy going to las and lectures rom the outside my schedule might look demanding ut I find each day actually uite fulfilling The world of science is a wonderful lace hen Jules erne was writing his noels in the th century he couldn’t ossily hae imagined how far we would come I must say that I regret that the mountains of knowledge hae grown so tall that is imossile to clim them all Howeer it is recisely this to which we owe the luuries of our modern lies so I mustn’t e so cynical s you reiously wrote I am making the most of the oortunities that I hae een lessed with and seeking to imroe myself in any way I can f course my health is ery imortant and I try to get eercise at eery oortunity I ut care into lanning my nutrition as well I would like to clear u the misconcetion that has arisen regarding my diet in articular regarding fish atties which I certainly do not susist on eery day n the contrary I am the sort of man who would not alk een at eating owls of aloe yogurt if need e I am sure you are uite usy yourself ut lease accet my est wishes for your health

Sincerely ours

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nodded ith satisfaction and ut don m en There ere a fe embellishments here and there but all in all it as a tasteful iece of ork Een hen the ords as riting ere less than sincere came to beliee in them as ut en to aer hile rote as transfigured into a model student but no sooner had the ink dried that reerted back to m old uncultured self like aking from a dream emembering ho reall as as ainful ho braen een for me to rite things like seek to imroe mself Though had the ill to do so the ath as shrouded in darkness o eactl as to imroe mself couldnt shake the feeling that as onl building u the arts of mself that no one anted to see laced the finished letter into an eneloe then reread Miss iguchis letter he mentioned that she enoed the rain season and looking at hdrangeas through the raindros he felt sorr for the haroonist in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea ​ ​ being locked u inside the submarine nd she asked me to take care of mself Me ondered hat kind of erson she as

Though had ritten the letter to distract mself ho ironic it as that no m heart ached all the more ressed her letter to m chest and heaed a sigh t as a reolting disla een for me and uickl snaed back to realit to realit absentmindedl stroked the tedd bear had icked u at the laundromat esterda feeling oddl comforted b its softness as becoming uite fond of this cute little bear so decided to gie it a name fter about fie minutes of thought because it as so soft decided to name it Mochiguma

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That night u came to isit rudel demanding to kno hether had fooled around ith aori o hen are ou going to get this thing out of m room oon soon he grinned re ou sure oure not secretl enoing liing ith her ook ou een gae her Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea to read ​ ​ hut u shut u right no dont ant ou to eer oen our mouth again ell thats not er nice f couldnt make a little chitchat then d be so lonel d die Thats the idea n the fliside as long as can fla m tongue ont die een if ou kill me e ent on to talk for a er long time about a magic kamenoko brush hich used the ​ ​ an der aals force to bind dirt to the innumerable firm incredibl fine bristle tis at the molecular leel effortlessl lifting off an sort of dirt or grime is Master had charged him ith finding this thing Thats stuid theres no a that thing eists o assure ou that it does m not surrised oue neer heard of it arentl it as so effectie that all the detergent makers lobbied against it so its neer been sold idel na if dont find it ou sure are asting a lot of time and effort on this nonsense ts tough since the Masters alas asking for stuff hirimen anshs sardines and emachi utabas mame mochi can deal ith but then he goes and asks for things like ​ ​ antiue globes and banners from usedbook fairs and seahorses and giant suids nd if bring him something that disleases him ll be eelled on the sot int no rest for the ear u sounded strangel cheerful as he said this The other da the Master decided he anted a seahorse so got a tank from the garbage dum and brought it to him ut hen e tried to fill it ith ater it broke and all the ater came gushing out The Masters room got comletel flooded old on hat room does our Master lie in ts right aboe this one as suddenl seied ith fur ust recentl hile as out and about m ceiling srang a leak hen came back the trickling ater had soaked all of m books and the ink on the ages had run together into an unintelligible mess ot onl that but m comuter as also destroed and eer single electron that made u m data as ashed out to sea f course this incident selled the end of hateer academic comeback might hae hoed to make

had anted to march u and lodge a furious rotest but decided that getting entangled ith the unidentified resident of the room aboe me as too troublesome and in the end left the account unsettled o that as our ork m sure the destruction of our orn librar as no big deal he braenl asserted Get out of here e got things to do ll right m leaing m going to the masters lace for blind hotot tonight ana e held u a lastic bag filled ith ingredients s he turned to leae his ees fell uon the tedd bear sitting net to m T e icked it u and gentl sueeed it hats an adorable thing like this doing in our room found it an hae it h ant to tr utting it in the hotot tonight re ou stuid ou cant eat that ell itll be dark so mabe someone ill mistake it for a bit of mochi and ut it in their mouth ot eerones as dumb as ou f ou dont gie it to me might sill some ater again ustairs onder hatll haen to all the recious magaines in our closet ine fine take it shouted t as heart renching haing one of the fe comforts in m life taken aa but ust anted to get u out of m room eheheh Thank ou er much ont go messing around ith aori no hut u and leae fter he left suddenl felt er tired raed to the god of himogamo hrine that u might choke and die on that tedd bear

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fter sending the net da buried in lectures and labs ent to af ollection for a dinner of mentaiko saghetti fterards alked along madegaa treet and atched as the ​ ​ budding trees on Mt oshida sarkled like gold underneath the setting sun hh tottered off don the road toards Ginkakui ntrusie thoughts are a er real thing ue to aoris eretual resence in m room as ell as anukis aggressie adances the shackles around m heart had loosened a little n other ords it had become harder for me to resist the sasms of loneliness that sometimes oertook me n m head eighed Miss iguchi and aori on a scale for the moment utting aside the fact that relationshis ere far too comlicated to siml eigh against each other or one thing there as a ast difference beteen human being and humanoid doll lus had alread been acuainted ith Miss iguchi for half a ear een if onl through letters nd

furthermore aori as tainted ith us foul crimes The scales tied heail toards Miss iguchi and accordingl m heart normall as lacid as the acific cean began to tremble onseuentl turned m stes toards the residence of Miss iguchi hom had forbidden mself to meet in the first lace dont kno hat came oer me ut if hadnt decided to go to her home then and ierce the eil of mster as sure that a far orse fate aaited me t as imossible to decide hich as the orse oison s if ulled along b m longing for human coman reached hirakaa treet The ide intersection at hirakaa and madegaa as filled ith cars assing back and forth The chill breee continued to blo augmenting m sense of isolation The cherr trees lining the hilosohers alk on the other side of the intersection had shed their sringtime glor and no onl their leaes remained in the dim tilight m ust going to see hat kind of lace she lies in m not een going to meet her mumbled unconincingl to mself nd thus made m a toards that unseen forbidden home of Miss iguchi hite Garden doi

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urther south don hirakaa treet located the doi bus sto and from there started meandering around the adacent neighborhoods had gotten her address from her letters but not haing looked it u on a ma had to rel mostl on intuition to find it ithout a recise destination in mind aimlessl andered the graduall darkening streets n the back of m mind ondered hether it might be better to not find it after all and urosel aoided asking anone for directions s continued to alk the uiet neighborhood thinking about the eaceful life Miss iguchi must lead in these streets made me feel a little better fter half an hour of ointless andering began to reflect on ho ungentlemanl this all as erhas it as better to gie u no and head home as the sun had almost set so it ould be ise to head home soon ut at that moment suddenl caught sight of hite Garden doi The building as neatl tucked aa a large hite aartment building that looked as if it ere made of cand The difference beteen it and m on himogamo suis as like night and da ut no that had found out here she lied hadnt the slightest clue hat to do nonchalantl glanced at the mailbo but her name asnt listed The front door as locked so there as no getting inside but could see the first floor corridor here she lied from across the fence er room number as so it as robabl the second door from the left s stared at her closed door the horror of the sins as committing suddenl came crashing don uon me and almost decided to flee before she sa me Then again since kne she ouldnt recognie me either m mind as comletel torn s stood there aering beteen loneliness and selfloathing the door to room suddenl oened almost ducked don to hide but couldnt resist the oortunit that had suddenl resented itself before me

laid ees uon Miss iguchi The Miss iguchi sa then looked rather eculiar er face as gaunt and ale like the face of a erson from the dark side of the moon and ust looking at her her sl almost imish smile felt as if as beckoning misfortune to strike me t looked ust like us face The ere like to eas in a od n fact the onl a it could be this similar is if it ere the actual face of u The ords there is no God silentl formed on m lis There as no mistaking it t as u ot saring a glance in m direction he alked out the front door and heeled out the biccle he called ark corion from the bike rack idden in the shado of a all uiered like a lum of ell as he rode off toards hirakaa treet a mocking sneer on his face The aartment comle as definitel Miss iguchis hite Garden doi either had mistaken her room number nlikel as it as it as ossible that she and u ere acuaintances ut ere the so close that he ould isit her room o asnt so foolish as to beliee in such a coincidence Een a god ouldnt dream u such a conoluted scheme Then hat other reason could there be t suddenl daned on me that u had neer told me here he lied ere as in doi nd to nights ago anuki had been telling me something in that bar in iamachi e lies in a studio in doi like a little bit off hirakaa treet in a building that looks like its made out of cand f hat anuki said as true then it as safe to conclude that hite Garden doi room as us residence hich meant that Miss iguchi lied in the eact same residence alloing this bitter conclusion took a lot of mental fortitude it ould take more than a soonful of sugar for this medicine to go don Miss iguchi eiko did not eist or oer half a ear had been corresonding ith u

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nd so m corresondence ith Miss iguchi came to an abrut end There could be no crueler conclusion Through the darkened streets reeled stumbling ast camus as made m a home The dark edifice of the suis loomed in front of me ominousl as if reflecting the ston darkness in m on heart slid oen the door and alked inside n diml lit corridors something as making a hissing sound n further insection it turned out to be a rice cooker that someone had lugged into one of the outlets in the hall as in no mood to allo this minor theft of electricit and iolentl ried the lug out no doubt ruining someones dinner before retreating into m room slamming the door behind me

s usual aori as seated in a corner of m drear room engrossed in her book M dream of being ith anuki had ended Miss iguchi had neer eisted in the first lace and no the onl future for me la in silent aori icked u the castella anuki had gien me facing off against the rectangular astr in the center of the tatami room Tring to forget it allthe softness of anukis breasts the man letters had echanged ith Miss iguchi decided to make this cake m dinner and ithout een cutting it started to deour it This is hat ou get for ignoring me ohnn sneered hut u dont ant to hear it Eerthing ould hae orked out if ou had let me take care of things at anukis lace t least ou ouldnt be shut u here in our little room again dont beliee ou ell no all ou hae left is aori ouhat are ou thinking ome on no oure not still tring to kee u this gentleman cra are ou Get oer ourself lets ust hae fun for once m not een asking for a lot not that m eecting a hole lot from ou anas ohnn seemed to be lanning on doing something ulgar to aori and as euall deserate to sto him f gae in no the honor had saed b barricading mself in anukis bathroom ould be forfeit couldnt allo mself to greedil lust after her unresisting form like a redator feudal lord in a eriod drama s ohnn and continued to trade barbs aori continued to uietl read ou neer fail to disaoint do ou ohnn sat ts not m fault its u rotested continuing to eat the castella slol came to the realiation that the er act of eating an entire castella b mself as doing nothing more than driing me further into m on ersonal hell of anguish and isolation M face contorted as cheed struggling to contain the fur elling u inside me amn u onsidering hat had haened ith anuki and iguchi eiko it as clear that as ust dancing in the alm of his hand That miserable fiend here as the fun in an of this Then again that as a foolish uestion to ask ttemting to understand his behaior from the ersectie of a normal erson as a fools errand e as siml that te of erson someone ho ould eat three meals a da of other eoles unhainess o that thought about it he had been feasting hail off me for the last to ears had alas been diml aare of this fact but no it as crstal clear u desered to die ould grind him into instant coffee s made u m mind the ceiling of m room shook slightl ome sort of commotion as coming from ustairs in us Masters room could make out the sounds of a uarrel someone as staming their feet The broken fluorescent light flickered as it saed and the moths took flight in a anic lunging m room into a hantasmagoria of alternating light and shado t as almost as if as in the midst of a temest s aced around m room in a fren holed obscenities at u from banal rofanities to eschatological maledictions as cring f course not thats absurd ould

neer do such a thing had lent of reasons to do so but ouldnt allo a single tear to fall until had ground u u ohnn think m going cra ell looks like oure done eh This is hat ou get for calling me an idiot and shoboating ith all that gentleman cra m done talking oure doomed to ander around this tatami rison ith me for all of eternit said ohnn the one erson ho ould neer leae me Gentleman idiot its all the same in here agree this sucks ell then een if she is a fake e might as ell hae some fun ith aori e theres the rub that ohnn as leading me to gaed at aori leaning against the bookshelf reading Twenty Thousand Leagues ​ Under the Sea er silk black hair framed her elegant face as she eered at the ages ith ​ limid ees oe comes in man forms but hen one anders into such a claustrohobic mae as this one is bound to lose ones a eseciall for a erson such as mself ed into temtation b ohnns hisering and aoris elegant demeanor ondered hether throing aa hat little ride had left ould be orth it aught in the throes of m inner struggle reached out m hand and stroked aoris hair t that moment heard the thunderous sounds of someone ounding don the stairs eected the sounds to fade toards the front entrance but instead the came don the corridor toards m room s ondered hat as going on the door to m room as iolentl kicked oen ou man burst into m room his ees filled ith murderous intent s later learned this as aoris oner a man ho as engaging us Master in a msterious conflict called the Masochistic roro ar is name as gasaki

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The to of us should hae found common ground against u hoeer our first meeting did not begin ith a harmonious handshake arks fle as e engaged in a fullon fistfight ince as too roud to resort to brute force though it as mostl a onesided affair ith me on the receiing end as battered into a corner comletel beildered as to hat as going on hile m faorite luck cat figurine as knocked off m T ohnn ho onl a moment ago had been riggling lustfull for aori screamed like a little girl and died for coer ertainl a shameful disla of coardice from m ride and o ehind the figure that toered oer me us yukataearing Master calml steed ​ ​ oer the threshold girl came uffing in behind him shouldering him out of the a seemed to remember haing seen her somehere before gasaki she snaed ou cant ust come in fists fling like this he heled me u re ou oka m sorr about all this its all a misunderstanding nused to haing m door broken don and being saagel assaulted rose to m feet in m most dignified manner and held the dam handkerchief that she handed to me to m

bruised a The girl icked u m luck cat figurine and said aologie for the sudden intrusion M name is kashi gasaki oue got it comletel rong us Master said es not art of it gasaki asked susiciousl ot at all e as merel entraed b u relied kashi M bad gasaki aologied but he turned uickl to aori e looked relieed to find her unharmed loingl stretching out his arm to stroke her hair as if she as his on child f had done anthing untoard shuddered to think of hat ould h ae haened gasaki robabl ould hae rolled me u in a bamboo mat and tossed me into the amo ier hile gasaki and aori ere haing their emotional reunion us Master loed don on m chair as if he oned the lace and lit u a cigar seemingl disinclined to elain hat as going on as left comletel in the dark

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eeing that u has absconded for the time being can e consider this all ater under the bridge said the Master Things ere neer suosed to go this far ell since did get aori back safel suose no harm no foul ut m going to hae a talk ith that unk u cant beliee he broke into m room dude gasaki said rather forcefull e seemed to be as angr as as u ill be here soon enough oil him mash him stick him in a ste though no matter ho ou slice him m afraid oull find him uite inedible said the Master rather irresonsibl Thats right u started this so he needs to anser for his actions kashi declared rinking in the situation m fur at u began to bubble u once more t all took a deeer meaning no that had come face to face ith gasaki ho had also suffered greatl at the hands of u h is that a castella the Master asked looking greedil at the remnants of the castella had been eating b mself sliced off a bit of uneaten cake and gae to him hich he roceeded to deour ith great gusto gasaki scoled at him hat a shitsho man as so coninced he as m double agent o nae ou reall think u is that straightforard Master iguchi smiled and stood u o think ill return to m room old on ho am suosed to bring aori back gasaki obected beliee u borroed a car from someone said kashi nbelieable orr dude m gonna need ou to hold on to her for a little hile longer until get a car houldnt be an later than tonight gasaki said to me a little aologeticall ure nodded us Master steed out of m room and atched the entrance to the boarding house still smoking his cigar fter a hile he called out u oer here oer here ome here for a moment he beckoned

gasaki and simultaneousl leat to our feet and clenched our fists reared to ulerie u Master hat are ou doing in this igst e eered inside but the moment he sa the to of us standing there seething he turned tail so uickl he almost fell oer is sith sense for danger as usual as on oint n his haste to escae he kicked the rice cooker had unlugged earlier t tumbled don the hall clanking noisil m sorr m sorr he ailed as he srinted don the hall f he as going to aologie then he shouldnt hae done anthing in the first lace Motherfuckerrrrrrr gasaki and belloed as e ursued him kashi and the Master folloed

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hen it came to running aa u as orldclass and he shot through himogamo umigaa like a bat out of hell s fast as ran gasaki graduall outaced me and finall etered out as assed the tinkling lights of himogamo ar on m a toards to emachianagi tation kashi came riding u on a biccle behind me ets incer u at the Great amo ridge lease go to the est side of the bridge she said cooll atched her admiringl as she rode off to encircle u tires screeching Tring not to be too leased ith mself for not haing collased et struggled on to oi ark u and gasaki must hae turned toards aabata treet eeing the amo elta right in front of me crossed the emachi ridge to the est bank and anted as made m a south on the embankment finall reaching the est end of the Great amo ridge usk had alread fallen and the amo elta as once again occuied b boisterous students t as robabl a elcoming banuet for ne students ome to think of it had sent the ast to ears comletel aoiding such things The amo ier as sollen due to the recent rains its surface shimmering like gilded siler ith the reflections of the streetlams that ere flickering on one b one o that the da as fading madegaa treet as bustling and the Great amo ridge as acked ith the daling lights of assing cars The orange lams that dotted the bridge burned msteriousl in the night or some reason tonight the bridge looked afull ide s alked across the bridge still tring to catch m breath u came srinting toards me from the other side kashi had successfull lured him in felt suremel satisfied at haing outitted him u elled sreading m arms out e came to a sto ith a r smile on his face gasaki came running u from the east end of the bridge but he as gasing for breath as ell kashi folloed close behind him u as inned right in the middle of the bridge ith the amo ier floing b right beneath us er to the south beond the murk stretches of the rier the faroff lights of hi treet blinked and sarkled like gems el me ere friends right he leaded to me clasing his hands M humblest regards Miss iguchi t as fun sneered

or a moment he tried to feign innocence but he soon realied it as no use didnt mean anthing b it he caoled ts all ust fun and games isnt it ou laed me for a fool ts no use oure dead ou ill me ou ouldnt gasaki and kashi finall reached us u ere going to hae a talk gasaki said grael esite the fact that he as cornered u someho managed to ull off a smile uddenl he turned and leat nimbl u to the guardrail The lanterns that lined the bridge lit his face ith an orange glo from belo making him look ghastlier than had seen him in a long time or a moment it seemed like he ould fl off into the sk like a inged demon and make his escae f oure going to hurt me then ll um off the bridge he declared rather unreasonabl m not coming don until ou guarantee m safet oure hardl in a osition to bargain for our safet ou halfit said Think about hat oue done added gasaki kashi sa something m our mentor ou kno u cried in a heedling tone but kashi ust shrugged and said e got nothing ae eer told ou ho attractie ou are hen oure frank like that lattering me ont get ou anhere u inched toards the edge and sread his arms as if he as about to fl off into the night ine m going to um no he screamed ine go ahead um ts about time said ust disaear into the rier alread Then ed both finall be able to hae some eace and uiet oure not uming dude gasaki scoffed ou loe ourself too much eah ll sho ou u oed et for all his ords he ust stood there s e stood there shouting back and forth screams suddenl came from the amo elta to the north The students at the art ere in an uroar running this a and that hat is that said u crouching don eaning oer the handrail to look could make out hat looked like a dark cloud stretching from the oi ark forest to the delta t bued loudl as it gre larger eneloing the entire delta The eole inside the cloud ran around franticall flaing their arms and batting at their heads e gaed at the scene mesmeried as the dark cloud began to cree oer the surface of the ater toards us The noise from the delta began to become een more tumultuous The cloud ket ouring out of the ine trees t as an incredible sight lutterflutterflutterflutterflutter ent the suirming cloud as it rolled toards us like a caret rising aboe the ater billoing oer the handrail and buring the Great amo ridge like an aalanche GEEEEEEEEEEE kashi shrieked t as a giant sarm of moths

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The net da the moth lague made the front age though nobod kne here the moths had come from tracing their route it aeared that the sarm had originated in the Tadasu orest that is to sa himogamo hrine but man uestions ere left unansered or instance there as no elanation for h all the moths in the forest ould simultaneousl decide to migrate There as an alternatie rumor going around that the moths had actuall come from the neighboring umigaa ton but that elanation as een more confusing t aeared that the neighborhood around m boarding house had been inundated ith moths for a brief hile as ell hen returned later that night the corridor as littered ith moth corses had forgotten to lock m door so m room as careted ith them as ell but reerentl gathered the corses and buried them

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s moths thrummed around me filling the air ith glittering scales and occasionall attemting to force their a into m mouth fought m a through the sarm to kashi and gallantl shielded her from the orst of it eing originall from the cit had formerl neer had to coeist ith bugs but after to ears in the boarding house had become intimatel acuainted ith all sorts of arthroods Een so the sheer number of moths that night as utterl oerhelming The drone of beating ings cut us off from the outside orld as if it ere not moths but a sarm of inged ims assing oer the bridge t as nearl imossible to see anthing hat little could see through m suinted ees as limited to the moths dancing in the orange light of the streetlams and kashis shining black hair fter a hile the sarm moed on leaing onl a fe stragglers flitting here and there kashis face as ashen as she franticall brushed herself off all oer shrieking re the on me re the on me before srinting aa aa from the rithing moths still dotting the ground ith frightening siftness toards the east end of the bridge and collasing to the ground in the soft light of a caf The caret of moths slol rolled don the rier toards hi suddenl noticed gasaki standing beside me obliious to the rithing moths entangled in his hair looked around in the soft orange light of the lanterns illuminating the bridge s if he had made a grand escae borne on the ings of those moths u as nohere to be seen That dumbass reall fell off gasaki muttered looking oer the guardrail

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gasaki and descended don the embankments from the est side of the bridge n front of us the amo ier thundered b t as so sollen and ide that the surrounding shrubber as being ickled in the ater

e entered the ater and aroached the underside of the bridge something seemed to be riggling in the shados of the illars u clung deseratel like a discarded iece of trash tring not to be set aa The ater asnt too dee but it as sift and gasaki as nearl set off his feet ith some difficult e made our a to u ou moron elled hile being drenched b the sra but he siml laughed through his tears mon h dont e ust call it all ater under the bridge he uied ou dont kno hen to shut u dude gasaki said es sir M right leg reall hurts a lot u said meekl ith hel from gasaki raised u to his feet o atch the leg he demanded ungratefull as e dragged him to the shore kashi as also on the rierbank though she had suffered a considerable shock from the moths she as shar as alas and had alread called for an ambulance o she ust sat on a bench holding her ale face in her hands e rolled u like a log u the beach then began to dr our clothes shiering ith cold t hurts hurts el me he moaned h shut it oure the one that climbed the railing to begin ith snaed The ambulance ill be here soon so ust deal ith it a little longer glanced at gasaki ho as kneeling beside u and had to sallo m anger f course no that he had broken his leg een asnt reall thinking about dragging u to himogamo suis and grinding him u into coffee efore long us Master ambled don the sloe toards us e had certainl taken his seet time alking oer from himogamo suis h as ondering here ou had all gone u got himself hurt iguchi t looks like a broken bone said gasaki hat a miserable fello obsered the Master ut Master did all this for ou u cried iteousl u ou sho a lot of romise the Master said Master thank ou er much ut hen told ou to break a leg didnt mean it literall ou kno hat an incorrigible fool u la there sobbing fter about fie minutes the ambulance arried at the Great amo ridge gasaki ent u the embankment to fetch the EMTs ho romtl raed u u in a blanket and set him on a stretcher ould hae been oeroed if the at that oint thre him into the rier but being rofessionals the did not distinguish beteen their atients shall accoman u said his master climbing into the ambulance The sirens soon faded aa into the distance gasaki mentioned something about getting a car to ick u aori seemingl haing forgotten about u alread and dearted the rierbank t last onl kashi and ere left kashi still had her face buried in her hands as shiered in m drenched clothes re ou alright asked her reall cant stand moths she moaned

ell ould ou like some coffee to calm don as certainl not making a craen attemt to take adantage of her fear of moths as siml concerned b the lack of color in her face bought canned coffee from a nearb ending machine and drank it together ith her and graduall color returned to her face started talking about m troubles ith u eentuall coming to the eents of the ast fe das ut hen soke of ho angr as ith u for inenting Miss iguchi and toing ith m heart as he had done she uneectedl aologied m terribl sorr but had a hand in that as ell u asked me to be a ghostriter for him ou see hat read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea like ou suggested ​ ​ ide smile aeared on her face our letters ere er good There ere a lot of lies in there but the ere good nonetheless ou noticed Then again as ling as ell so h dont e call it een she said uddenl ith a smile on her stillale cheeks she blurted out e met at the himogamo hrine used book fair didnt e o ou remember

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That as one ear ago at the himogamo hrine used book fair The horseriding grounds run arallel to the shrine road uring the book fair the ere crammed ith tents filled ith eole traling through for books ince it as ust a short stroll from himogamo suis isited almost eer da That da basked in the summer atmoshere on the sraling grounds drinking ramune under the sunlight filtering through the trees and brosing the ros of tents lined u around me There ere so man boes filled ith must tomes it made m head sin number of folding stools ere set u in the field occuied b eole ho like me aeared to be oo from all the books stacked around them found a chair of m on and sat don to take a breather took out a handkerchief to ie aa the seat beading on m bro in the seltering ugust heat n front of me as a sho called Gabi sed ooks and sitting on a metal folding chair in front of it as a girl ith her eebros knit as if dee in thought stood u and began brosing through the booksheles stood u and began brosing through the booksheles hen glanced oer and made ee contact ith her she bobbed her head slightl ended u urchasing a co of ules ernes Twenty Thousand Leagues Under ​ the Sea s began to alk aa she ran after me ​ Take this she said offering me a fan inscribed ith the ords Eening reee sed ook air anning m seatbeaded face alked off into the Tadasu orest the book dangling from m hand

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That night gasaki reclaimed aori and the air resumed their tranuil loing lies together ccording to u gasaki as oular ith real girls as ell and had a series of relationshis hen u had been in the his circle ooking at his handsome features it asnt hard to imagine hat couldnt understand as h someone ith so man omen to choose from ould choose to deote himself to aori e had alread been liing ith aori for to ears so he as rett committed iing ith and cherishing a loe doll is a er secial thing eal girls are a comletel searate issue ts a er refined sort of loe something a lolife such as ourself ho onl sees a loe doll as a se to could neer understand he snidel lectured aing lied ith aori for four das could see here gasaki as coming from but that ath as not one a knae like me as meant to tread n the end ould rather choose a raenhaired maiden a liing one erhas someone like kashi us Master continued to lie on the second floor of himogamo suis and ould occasionall bum into him las earing his dark blue yukata he serenel doddered around ​ ​ doing hateer he leased like a ensioner kashi often came to isit him The Master alas does as he leases Thats hat makes him so grand in his on fashion she declared The Master een etended me an offer to become his discile hich considered for a time To things gae me ause The first as that hadnt a clue hat ould be a discile of The second as that if did become a discile ould become us underling fe das earlier had artaken of a hotot in iguchis room and ran into anuki there mall orld huh she eclaimed still didnt kno er much about the conflict beteen gasaki and iguchi hich as the hole reason the aori kidnaing lot had occurred in the first lace een though kidnaing as aarentl against the rules hile u as in the hosital kashi took u his mantle slendidl sneaking oer at night and conerting gasakis bike into a fieheeler

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fter this incident began to get closer to kashi guess ou could sa that there as a siler lining to us ickedness after all though that hardl meant all as forgien Getting more material for E at the English conersation school as hardl a fair trade for hat had gone through though m classmates ould surel listen areciatiel to this latest round of gossi

To describe ho the relationshi beteen kashi and deeloed after that ould deiate from the urose of this manuscrit conseuentl ill refrain from recounting those eents here am sure m readers ould rather not aste their time reading such contemtible stuff

There is nothing more boring than telling a stor of reuited loe

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t is true that folloing this incident a number of changes entered m life hoeer ould be eed if that ere to be interreted as a indication of m actions am not so naie as to so easil oerlook the mistakes of the ast n occasion ould consider magnanimousl embracing m ast self erhas things ould be different if ere a oung lad but ho ould ant to embrace a disgusting tentsomething man like mself rien b this indignation refuse to absole m ast self of these sins couldnt shake off the feeling that choosing the onaka softball circle in front of that fateful clock toer that da had been a mistake hat if had chosen a different ath f had chosen the Misogi moie circle or resonded to that call for disciles or een entered the secret societ m ast to ears certainl ould hae been uite different t least it is lain m life ould not hae been as tisted as it is no erhas that eer elusie ros student life ould hae been in m gras could not bring mself to den that the ast to ears had been full of mistakes and missed oortunities boe all m unfortunate mistake of meeting u ould surel haunt me for the rest of m life

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u as for a time admitted to a hosital beside camus t as uite delightful to see him straed don to the hite hosital bed ing to his alread ghoulish comleion it aeared as if he had contracted some incurable disease though in realit it as merel a broken bone n fact he as robabl luck to get off ith ust a fracture sat there gloating as he grumbled about his inabilit to artake in an of his usual icked habits but heneer got tired of his bleating stuffed a slice of castella in his mouth to shut him u hoe oue learned our lesson about sticking our nose into eoles business said hile stuffing m cheeks ith castella but he shook his head ont be ridiculous hat else ould do ith mself hat an incurable character demanded to kno hat as so interesting about toing ith an innocent erson like me

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is customar youkailike grin floated to his face ​ ​ ts ho sho m loe dont need that nast stuff relied

round the Tatami Gala in Eight as

n the to ears before the sring of m unior ear of college accomlished not a single thing of ractical use nstead of building health relationshis ith the oosite se studing diligentl training m bod and undertaking other actiities directed toards becoming a roductie member of societ isolated mself from omen abandoned m studies and let m health fall to ruin et desite haing struck out alread h is it that continued to labor aa hoing for the ieces to fall into lace must inuire of the resonsible art here is the culrit t is not that hae alas been in this condition as born ure as the drien sno and as charming as the infant rince Geni ith nar an imure thought in m head m radiant smile sread the light of loe across the hills and alles of m hometon am doubtful hether that is still the case toda Each time that look in a mirror fl into a rage asking h hae ou become like this s this the sum of our current eistence There are those ho sa that am still oung and that eole are things that ma et change o ridiculous t is said that the child is the father of the man nd ith this ear another one ill be added to m tent and the end of m slendid uartercentur outh ill soon aroach hat outcome then ould further clums efforts to change m ersonalit bring about t this stage if attemt to tist something that has alread set and hardened the most ll do is break it t this moment must ull mself uard into leading a resectable life must not aert m ees from the grim realit that lies before me nd et someho it is unbearable to look

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n the sring of m unior ear shut mself in m tatami room t asnt the sringtime blues or that had deeloed etreme social aniet merel ished to isolate mself from the outside orld in this tranuil sace and forge mself ane had ut the ast to ears to utter aste ruining an rosect of a bright future to sa nothing of m grades o facing an uncertain third ear found that uniersit had nothing to offer me belieed that hateer arduous training undertook must take lace right here in this tatami room Teraama hi once said Thro aa our books and go out into the streets ut back then thoughtGo out into the streets and do hat

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This account concerning the matter of the tatami room as ritten to raise uncomfortable truths among the general oulace nl a fe das ago as traed and forced to ander an endless mae of tatami rooms and during this time as comelled to onder the nature of this matter until anted to um off the egon aterfall ho loed the tatami so much embraced the title of Tatami deologue Eerhere ent commanded resect and adoration eole turned their heads to atch me and the raenhaired maidens hisered among themseles heneer assed b Thats the famous Tatami deologue o hes so cool ut the da came hen een the Tatami deologue had to leae his tatami nest hat ould drie out someone ho as so steadfast in his deotion Those articulars are hat intend to seak of

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The main cast of this manuscrit consists solel of mself ts uite deressing but its mostl ust me

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t as the end of m third Ma in uniersit lied in a boarding house called himogamo suis hich is located in himogamo umigaa had heard that the lace had burned don in the chaos at the end of the Tokugaa shogunate as rebuilt in eactl the same fashion and had not been renoated since f it hadnt been for the light leaking out of the indos one could be forgien for mistaking it for an abandoned ruin hen first isited this lace during the coo association tour after orientation couldnt hel but onder if had andered into oloon alled it ust looking at its crumbling ooden frame as enough to induce aniet and it as robabl sufficientl dilaidated that it could be laced on the list of aans mortant ultural roerties et if it ere to burn don doubt that anone ould een bat an ee Een the landlord ho lies to the east ould most certainl be relieed still remember hat haened the night before embarked uon m adenture as if it as esterda as sitting alone in m residence in room sullenl hiling aa the hours hen uneectedl u came calling Eer since had met him in freshman ear had been inetricabl entangled ith him as too roud to associate ith lesser beings so after uitting the uck at hinese estaurant secret societ the onl erson ith hom had regular contact as this odious im Though detested him for besmirching m soul couldnt uite ash m hands of him u often isited one iguchi hintaro a resident of the second floor of himogamo suis e called this erson Master and each time he came to isit could be sure he ould sho u on m doorste as ell like hat oue done ith the lace he commented ou dont hae a girlfriend ou dont go to class ou dont hae an friends hat on earth do ou intend to do ith our life oud better atch our mouth or ll bash our skull in ill me ould ou reall do that Thats cruel of ou he leered the a came here to nights ago but ou ere out ou erent aoiding me ere ou as at a manga caf that night deoting mself to m studies brought a girl named aori to meet ou but since ou erent here had to take her somehere else hat a shame dont need an introduction from the likes of ou ome on dont sulk like that ere this is for ou hats this castella got a lot from Master iguchi so m ust sreading the ealth oure actuall giing someone a gift m shocked ell the a see it theres nothing sadder than cutting u and eating a big castella like this all b our lonesome ust anted ou to taste true solitude h get it eah ll eat an etra heling ust for ou the a heard from anuki ou ere at the dentist the other da erent ou rm hat of it bet our teeth are full of caities o dont be ridiculous t as a much more serious condition ull ccording to anuki onl an idiot ould let his teeth deca that much he said our isdom teeth are halfa gone alread u as still art of the secret societ had left behind in fact he had risen to a leel ith considerable control esides that it seemed that he had his hand in a number of other actiities as ell none else ould think to use all that energ for the good of societ but u ould start to comlain about his aching oints if ou so much as mentioned the ord altruism in front of him s this ho our arents raised ou to behae demanded t is a earl from the Masters teachings hat kind of Master ould sa that t ould take a lifetime to describe him is is a trul rofound eistence e aned and stretched The other da the Master decided he anted a seahorse so got a tank from the garbage dum and brought it to him ut hen e tried to fill it ith ater it broke and all the ater came gushing out The Masters room got comletel flooded old on heres his room ts right aboe this one as suddenl seied ith fur ust recentl hile as out and about m ceiling srang a leak hen came back the trickling ater had soaked all of m books and the ink on the ages had run together into an unintelligible mess ot onl that but m comuter as also destroed and eer single electron that made u m data as ashed out to sea f course this incident selled the end of hateer academic comeback might hae hoed to make had anted to march u and lodge a furious rotest but decided that getting entangled ith the unidentified resident of the room aboe me as too troublesome and in the end left the account unsettled o that as our ork m sure the destruction of our orn librar as no big deal he braenl asserted ll right get the hell out of m room hae more imortant things to do as alread on m a m going to the masters lace for blind hotot tonight ana kicked the smirking bastard out into the halla and as at last able to breathe a sigh of relief Then m thoughts began to drift back to the sring of m freshman ear

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t the time as still a sarkling freshman The cherr trees had shed their floers clad no in an inigorating erdant hue on entering the uniersit grounds each firstear as immediatel ressed ith club fliers ith so man that the could not be rocessed b a single erson mong those sundr fliers onl four caught m attention: Misogi Moie ircle a msterious call for disciles onaka oftball ircle and the uck at estaurant secret societ Each of these had its on air of susicion et as its on doora to a et unknon camus life and as filled ith inuisitieness thinking that no matter hich chose a fascinating future la ahead The onl reason thought this as because as a hoeless fool fter lectures directed m stes toards the uniersit clock toer t seemed that man circles ere holding ne member information sessions in that icinit round the base of the clock toer milled throngs of freshmen their faces still blushing ith srings of hoe as ell as craft circle members eager to re on those same hoes Thinking that among these countless circles la an entrance to the hantasmic illusion of the entrance to a ros student life andered around in a lightheaded dae t as there that ran into uck at hinese estaurant secret societ thought it absurd that a secret societ ould adertise itself as such so blatantl on a flier but it as as learned afterards a real secret societ as aroached b the chief of the ibrar olice diision a man named iima e ore glasses hich automaticall made him look cleer and outardl he as uite elcoming but for some reason had the imression that he asnt reall being sincere iima took me to the la school courtard and began to make his case tll be fun and oull be able to meet a lot of ne eole he heedled considered his offer t as true that m social circle as eceedingl small uring the college ears it as imortant to mingle ith the students that riggled through the halls of this institution and broaden m horions for it as through these reeated interactions that ould build the ath to a shining future must admit that m reasons for oining the secret societ ere not limited to ractical considerations as intrigued b the mstiue of belonging to a secret societ reeat: as a hoeless fool hat is the uck at hinese estaurant ts urose is a riddle raed in a mster but of one thing am certain: there robabl is no urose The uck at hinese estaurant as siml a name for the tenebrous conglomeration of a number of smaller organiations the names and uroses of hich def belief The imortant ones then: the rint sho hich forces a stable of star students under house arrest to um out reort after reort for sale to other students in need the ibrar olice hich enforces the collection of oerdue librar materials and the heer iccle ors hich tends to the sacred dut of organiing biccles on camus f lesser imortance ere the school festial lanning secretariat the Eian Electric aila esearch ociet the illo Talk outh ommission the ohistr iscussion Grou and a number of other clubs research grous and een cults t as generall held that from a historical standoint the origins of the secret societ la in the rint sho thus the chief of the rint sho commanded the entire societ Though it as unclear hether such a erson actuall eisted there ere man theories ome eole held that it as a oung raenhaired maiden others that it as actuall an elderl la school rofessor and others still that it as a lecherous masked freak ho had been roosting under the clock toer for tent ears t an rate as merel a minion in the ibrar olice ho ould neer hae the oortunit to come into contact ith this erson t iimas initation oined the ibrar olice or the time being oull be orking ith him he told me ointing at an eerie fello of ill ortent standing underneath the cherr blossoms in the la school courtard or a moment thought it as a hellish aarition that onl could see That as m first meeting ith u

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Theres a famous noel about an ordinar man ho akes u one da to find that he has turned into a giant insect M on metamorhosis as not that dramatic oke u as the same old me in the same sualid room that had gone to bed in the reious da Then again some might not see a difference beteen me and a giant insect to begin ith The hour hand on m clock ointed to si but it imossible to tell hether it as morning or eening ondered the matter hile ling in m futon but had no clue ho long had slet riggled around for a bit before sluggishl rising from the bed ll as uiet breed some coffee and ate a bit of castella fter finishing m rimitie breakfast felt an urgent ressure on m bladder and got u to head to the communal restrooms near the entrance of the boarding house ening the door of m room steed onto a tatami mat o strange looked oer m shoulder M chaotic tatami room as right there ut on the other side of the door in front of me could see an euall chaotic comletel identical room t as as if as looking into a mirror assed through the door into the other room ithout a doubt it as m room The feel of the tatami mats hen la don the croded booksheles the broken teleision the riting desk had been using since as in elementar school the dustcoered sinkit as all familiar to me returned through the doora onl to be met ith the same sight Through long ears of ealous training had learned to control m emotions and kee a leel head but een as not reared to deal ith the abnormalit of m room cloning itself o that it as imossible to eit through the door the onl otion as the indo raing oen the usuall ermanentl closed curtain could see the light of a fluorescent lam through the frosted glass thre oen the indo and gaed uon the sight of m on room Gingerl steing across the indo frame eamined the furnishings of that room onl to come to the same conclusion returned to m original room and smoked a cigarette to tr to calm don Thus embarked uon m eight da eedition through that tatami gala

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M odsse took lace in a number of basicall identical tatami rooms ould therefore like m readers to hae a clear image of hat this room is like before roceed irst to the north is a door about as flims as an infants teething biscuit ts still coered ith a liel assortment of raunch stickers from the reious resident of this room eside the door is an absolutel filth sink and counterto filled ith hair stling roducts a ortable stoeto and all manner of rubbish ts guaranteed to ut off een the most determined chef ehementl refused to tr m hand at cooking in this dismal kitchen clinging to the old adage that a mans lace is not in the kitchen Most of the north all is taken u b a closet stren ith drab clothes unread books aers that cant bring mself to thro aa and an electric heater to kee the ic fingers of inter at ba among other odds and ends M ersonal reading material is also hidden there The east all is taken u b b booksheles besides hich are a acuum cleaner and a rice cooker neither of hich feel much inclined to use To the south there is a indo ith the cherished desk hae been using since elementar school occuing the sace beneath rarel oen the draers and hae long since forgotten hat lies ithin them The sace beteen the booksheles and m desk is a nomansland here unk that has nohere else to go is tossed refer to it as an eile to iberia had alas knon that someda ould hae to make a comlete sure of that chasm but someho could neer ork u the courage to enture in f ere to eer go in the chances of me eer escaing ith m life ould be eceedingl slim n the est side there is a broken T and a small refrigerator nd thus e return to the north all t onl takes a fe seconds to go around the entire room but it has come to feel like an etension of mself

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h did choose a tatami room in the first lace once kne a erson ho lied in a tatami room but he as een more aloof than me and refused to go to class instead sending his das absorbed in eideggers eing and Time ​ ​ e as so obstinate in his conictions and became so ithdran and set against the orld that last ear his arents had to come and take him home tatami rooms certainl eist ithin oto nbelieable as it ma sound near doi there are rooms that consist of to tatami oined endtoend f ou ere to slee in one of these hallalike rooms theres no doubt that our bod ould begin to stretch out Theres a frightening rumor on the street that there as a student ho sa rooms consisting of a single tatami in a certain lodging house near itashirakaas atist osital but the student msteriousl disaeared a fe das later and one b one his friends all came to untimel ends nd then there is the tatami room omared to or tatami rooms tatami rooms are elegantl organied ou can la out three tatami sidebside and then la a fourth across the ends of the three The remaining sace is filled b the remaining half tatami creating an inigorating suare eautiful isnt it To tatami can also make u a suare but the resulting sace ould be eceedingl cramed n the other hand if ou ere to make a larger suare it ould become as sacious as Takeda hingens laator and ou ould need to naigate it carefull lest some disaster befall ou fter entering uniersit became an ardent chamion of the tatami room and een tatami rooms eist but can the eole ho reside therein trul sa that the are fit to control such a sace o the kno each and eer distant corner like the back of their hand ith great oer comes great resonsibilit e humans are caable of controlling rooms no larger than tatami and those braen enough to hunger for more ill one da be met b a fearsome insurrection from some corner of the roomthis firml belieed

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M ourne through the tatami gala as about to begin but ould not rush off ust et analed the situation oer and oer and oer slol coming u ith the erfect strateg dmittedl as the te of erson to oeranale things until the oortunit had alread assed itting in the original room ondered m net course of action resectable erson ould not lose his cool no matter hat situation he as in fter some thoughtful deliberation icked u an emt beer bottle that u had left here a fortnight earlier fter relieing m bladder in it felt much better anicking ould not get me anhere ince had nominall become a third ear student had sent most of m time here in this room o hocritical it as of me to ant to escae this room hen had reiousl gone to such great lengths to aoid going outside s long as as not in danger had no reason to leae erhas the situation ould resole itself if siml settled don and aited leisurel erused m co of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and let m ​ ​ mind be transorted to that distant undersea orld fter tired of that took out a olume from m ersonal reading materials grased the roer instruments and transorted mself again this time to the orld of the somatic fter a eriod of determined effort tired of this as ell t occurred to me to turn on the teleision but it had neer been in good shae The image on the screen reoled like a inheel in a hurricane so unless ou ere a master of Magic Ee ictures it as imossible to tell hat as being dislaed stared at the screen until m ision as sinning f had knon that this all this as going to haen ould hae gotten the T fied sooner Eentuall the hands of the clock made a full reolution s heated u some leftoer bits of fish att it occurred to me that all had left as the castella There as also a bit of daikon but decided to leae that alone for no efore ent to slee checked the other side of the indo and door ust in case but as before onl sa the same tatami rooms floed onto m futon and stared at the ceiling h had become traed in this orld There as one hothesis could come u iththe curse of the iamachi fortune teller

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fe das ago had gone to iamachi to to kill some time fter brosing through Gabi sed ooks began to ander the streets That as here met the fortune teller n beteen the bars and brothels a dark sueeed sort of house stood in the shados nder the oerhang an old oman sat at a ooden stall coered b a hite cloth he looked like a fortune teller The sign hanging off the front of the stall as inscribed ith all manner of arcane incomrehensible runes boe it the hags head floated in the gloom lit onl b the ha orange light of a small lantern t as a ghastl sight like seeing a raenous ghost hungering for the souls of assersb began to imagine all manner of misfortune befalling me: the shado of the old oman seemed to follo me eerhere ent nothing did ent right eole as eecting neer shoed u ossessions anished neer to be seen again failed courses that should hae been a cinch a thesis that as about to resent sontaneousl combusted fell into the canals of ake ia as caught b a snakeoil salesman on hi treet and so forth hile these ild thoughts ere going through m head the old oman noticed me looking at her he glared at me from the ink darkness ith gleaming ees draing me in ith her otherorldl emanations er susicious aura as strangel ersuasie and logicall thinking came to the conclusion that the diinations of someone ho alloed her suernatural aura to flo so freel could not ossibl be rong n m tentodd ears of life there had been but a handful of times here humbl took someones adice hat if that as the reason as stuck on this thorn ath unable to moe forard Though took fe risks in life asnt there a ossibilit that could choose the thornlined ath f onl had chosen to sto reling on m on udgment earlier ouldnt hae been bullied around in the uck at hinese estaurant secret societ and been drien to barricade mself in m room nor ould hae met the tisted u ather ould hae been blessed ith onderful mentors and friends become accomlished in all the arts and sciences of course hae a beautiful raenhaired maiden at m side face a glittering golden future ahead of me and erhas een hae that allimortant ros student life in the alm of m hand That as the kind of life suited for someone like mself Thats right t asnt too late The sooner took a thirdarts obectie adice the sooner could escae this drear life into the life that as meant to lie moed m legs toard the old oman as if as being sucked in b her suernatural aura o hat is it that ou ish to hear The old oman mumbled her ords like her mouth as full of cotton giing the imression that the ere all the more aluable ell m not entirel sure ho to begin eeing me at a loss for ords she grinned can see from our face that ou are er frustrated unsatisfied ou are not able to use our full talents our current situation is not suited for ou es thats eactl it ho me our hands The old hag took m alms and eered into them nodding aroingl ou hae much earnest talent in ou uickl tied m hat to her keen insight true master hides his skills and had hidden m talents for so long that een didnt realie had them an more or this old oman to sense those talents ithin fie minutes of meeting me must mean that she as no ordinar erson t is essential that ou not let oortunities sli aa n oortunit is nothing more than a faorable circumstance ou understand ut its difficult to take hold of oortunities ometimes the hide in laces ou dont eect and sometimes it is onl later that ou realie something that seemed like an oortunit as reall nothing at all ut in order to seie an oortunit ou must act ou look like ou ill hae a long life so sooner or later ou ill be hae the chance s befitting her aura her ords ere trul rofound dont ant to ait foreer ant to grab m oortunit no an ou be a little more secific t m robing the rinkles on the old omans face contorted een further thought her right cheek must be itch or something but it turned out that she as ust smiling ts hard to be secific about the future Een if ere to tell ou about a recise oortunit it might er ell be tisted and ared b the machinations of fate until it as no longer an oortunit hen ou chanced uon it and that ould ust be a disserice to ou ouldnt it ate is something that changes from moment to moment ou see ut eerthing oue told me is too ague to act on s stood there in confusion she ehaled slol through her nose er ell ill refrain from seaking of things far ahead but can seak of things that ill soon come to ass idened m ears like umbo olosseum she suddenl hisered olosseum hats that t is the sign of an oortunit hen an oortunit arries it ill be accomanied b olosseum she intoned o are ou telling me need to go to ome ut the old oman merel grinned hen our oortunit comes ou mustnt let it sli aa ou mustnt fumble around aimlessl as ou hae been doing eie it boldl daringl f ou do ou ill no longer be unsatisfied and be able to embark on a ne ath though that ath ma hold hardshis of its on Then again eect that ou understand this uite ell didnt understand in the slightest but nodded ana Een if ou dont catch this one ou dont need to orr ou are a slendid oung man so someda ithout a doubt ou ill make it can see it Theres no need to rush ith that the old oman brought her diinations to an end Thank ou er much nodded and aid the fee Then like a lost lamb turned and andered back into the crods of iamachi ould like ou to take the fortune tellers rediction to heart

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Mabe this situation as brought about b that old omans curse f that as the case then erhas the ke to breaking this dreadful sell la in this olosseum resoled not to slee until had gotten to the bottom of this mster but before kne it had drifted off into eaceful slumber hen oke the hour hand as ointing to tele rose and ulled aside the curtains as met ith neither the blinding light of da nor the ink darkness of night nstead merel sa the ale light of the fluorescent lam in the other room had hoed that something ould change if ent to slee but the situation as eactl the same ening the door met ith the same results as before or the conenience of m readers ill label m original room oom The room on the other side of the door is oom and the room that lies through the indo shall designate oom sat crosslegged in the middle of the room and listened to the soft burbling of the coffeemaker f course had gotten hungr once again The castella as alread gone as as the last of the fish atties checked inside m refrigerator hoing that something had magicall aeared inside but all that as left ere some daikon so sauce and sices t as bereft of een that college stale instant ramen This as m reard for reling on a conenience store diet boiled the daikon and ate it liberall srinkled ith so sauce and shichimi togarashi ​ ​ caing the meal off ith a cu of coffee fter onl to das as out of food all had left as coffee and cigarettes o matter ho liberall used these to stae off m angs of hunger m ribs ould eentuall start oking through m skin ould stare to death alone and m rotting corse ould adorn this godforsaken lace for all eternit sat in a corner ith m head in m hands and attemted to use sheer illoer to get through the da but no amount of illoer could mask the rumbling sounds coming from m stomach ith no other recourse orked out a lan to sole m food roblem

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ollege students are filth animals hen ou think about filth ou think about mushrooms figured that could eat the mushrooms that ere robabl groing in the back of m closet ut after ulled out the orn cardboard and smell clothes discoered it to be an arid lace not suitable for groing mushrooms erhas could sread out m clothes on the floor srinkle them ith ater and cultiate mushrooms that a ut decided that if it came don to subsisting off mushrooms hich themseles fed off m on dirt clothes ould rather choose an honorable death b staration also thought of boiling the tatami mats and eating them there as robabl enough of m bodil fluids soaked into them that the had nutritional alue ut the had too much fiber t as clear that if ate them m boel moements ould become like the siftl floing canals of ake ia and ould be hastened to an untimel end moth had been sitting in a corner of the ceiling for the last fe das unmoing erhas could derie some rotein b consuming it Een an insect as still an animal f ere eer to be stranded on a mountain ould siml hunt for caterillars and orms to roast and eat oeer ould rather lick u dust in the corner of the room than consume this foul thing coered ith scales t ould be a grand sort of surial if had to cho off m ecess bod arts and eat them but since m bod as etremel streamlined and fuelefficient about the onl ecess meat had on me as m earlobes as about as edible as a sarroall bonesand besides ould rather not be talked about as the bo ho lied b eating his earlobes fished around the sace beteen the T and m desk and found a bottle of hisk bout half a ear ago u and had bought it for a bout of drunken reelr but it as a little too harsh for me and had lain there eer since halfemt n these deserate times een the fe nutrients this chea hisk contained ere aluable also found some eired itamins in a medicine bo in the closet ince as too roud to eat cultiated mushrooms the tatami mats the moth or m earlobes all had left to lie on as hisk itamins coffee and cigarettes as like obinson rusoe ashed u on this uninhabited tatami shore t least he had a gun to hunt ith but all had as this moth eertheless at least had running ater and furniture and didnt hae to orr about being attacked b ild animals t as a little ambiguous as to hether this actuall counted as surial sent that da rereading Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea defiantl taunting ​ ​ hateer merciless god as atching me from afar ince couldnt see the sun it as imossible to tell hether it as da or night so as unsure ho accurate the attemts made to demarcate each da from the net actuall ere hen closed the door and dre the curtains it felt ust like an other da and halfeected u to come bursting through the door to stir u another ruckus The single bright side amidst all this misfortune as the fact that had gotten m isdom teeth ulled to eeks earlier f hadnt ould robabl be cring out for a dentist and might een hae collased and died The teeth had gotten ulled at ubouka ental linic still adorned the to of m desk

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ear the end of ril m a had started to hurt so much that couldnt een slee at night selfdiagnosed the ain as a temoromandibular disorder brought on b stress onsidering the fact that as as delicate as a dandelion and the toll that m ascetic ursuit of enlightenment had taken on m bod ould hae eected this to haen sooner rather than later ll as as it should be n that moment as euhoric knoing that this as a trial that onl the chosen fe ould hae the riilege to undergo and fell don on the floor of m room in an ecstatic delirium ont be sill hat could ou ossibl be stressed about u said looking at me distastefull ou ust sit on our ass all da no that oue uit the societ ertainl to eerone else it seemed like did nothing but insisted that eerienced unbearable stress each da from ondering these thankless uestions on m ourne of selfdiscoer The ain in m a as roof enough of that Thats definitel ust a cait u bluntl told me o its not thats ridiculous ts not m tooth that hurts its m a eeing me continue to rithe in agon u referred me to ubouka ental linic mentioning that a beautiful hgienist called anuki orked there ut refused M life thus far had not been the most eentful but had oercome enough adersit to consider mself ersed in the as of the orld Een so retained a health fear of dentists oull neer get me in that chair Een if oull get to hae a beautiful oman stick her fingers in our mouth ou should be thanking me ll bet oue neer had the chance to lick a omans fingers before in our life and ou neer ill again ou should take adantage of our cait hile ou can this oortunit comes once in a lifetime ont lum me in ith the likes of ourself ouldnt ant to lick someones fingers anas ou fluting liar That makes me sound like an orchestra idiot a it right: fucking hateer ust make sure to go e seemed to be rather assionate about this ne night the ain suddenl sread to m teeth hich started throbbing as if a troue of fairies had gathered in m mouth for some kind of ossack danceoff had no choice but to take us adice t turned out that the ain asnt due to m bods fragilit or to m intense meditatie ractices: it as because of a cait in m isdom tooth s much as it ained me had to admit that us deduction had been correct fter leaing the secret societ hardl had an human contact at all and as a result m dental habits suffered as ell The rosect of tasting a omans fingers as not enough to entice me assure ou but it as true that anuki herself as a beaut ould guess she as in her late tenties er hair as ulled back in a tight bun making her alread dignified figure look een more imosing like the ife of a engokuera militar commander er dark eebros ere knit in concentration as she skillfull ielded a terrifing hirring instrument to adroitl scraing the tartar from m teeth as in ae of her calm imerturbable demeanor fter the rocedure as done told her that u had referred me here he seemed uite familiar ith him chuckling es so funn right Then she carefull handed me m tooth saddled u in cotton as though it ere a neborn bab folded the tooth u in a tissue and enshrined it on m desk staring at it eer da or some reason could neer bring mself to thro it aa

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omehere in the back of m mind as still sketical coninced that this as all ust a dream ut after three das there as still a tatami room sitting beond the door and another one through the indo Een couldnt ust sit there reading Twenty Thousand ​ Leagues Under the Sea an longer as scraing the bottom of the barrel as far as food as ​ concerned and as running out of cigarettes as ell had been hoing to aoid an reactionar actiit to resere m ride but m honor ouldnt mean much if as dead fter the last dregs of m coffee drained into m emt bell slol laed at a dish of so sauce hoing to distract mself from m hunger Touching uon a more intimate toic not that there as much for me to be embarrassed about at this oint couldnt ignore the call of nature een on a subsistence diet had deised an ingenious sstem here liuid aste ent into a beer bottle and hen the bottle got full ould siml dum it don the sink The bron stuff hoeer as another matter ushed oen the door to oom m boels straining There as a indo in this room as ell and ith m fingers crossed oened it to find that it continued on to oom Going back to the original room crossed through indo to oom and oened the door in that room finding that it continued to oom as ell Eactl ho far did this go on ut had more ressing issues to attend to fter considering ho best to roceed laid out some nesaers on the tatami mats took care of business then gingerl laced the lot in a lastic bag and tied it u o that the danger had assed began to think once again about m shortage of food and tobacco s things stood ould hae to come u ith a solution on m on hateer sort of orld this as could onl rel on mself

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The a soled both of those roblems as as follos entered oom The room on the other side of the door as unuestionabl m on: therefore ouldnt hesitate to use it as such etting foot into the room sotted a bo of cigarettes et sotted a fish att and castella things had thought ould neer see again also found the daikon immediatel grilled the fish att liberall srinkled it ith eer and roceeded to saor the onderful flaor of animal rotein for the first time in three das had neer eaten such a delicious fish att before or dessert cared off a slice of castella s energ floed through m bod it felt as if had been brought back to life looked through the indo into oom t struck me that the door in oom robabl continued on to oom hich continued on to oom and on and on into infinit hat an afull miserl infinite orld this as no lied in a boarding house larger than the entire orld nitiall fell into desair but the more thought about it the more fortunate it seemed Een if ate all the food in a room could siml moe to the net one to find another fish att and castella aiting for me nbalanced a diet though it as for the time being ouldnt hae to orr about staring couldnt ignore the fact that as sustaining mself off the castella had receied from u or to ears had unsuccessfull attemted to seer the ties that had bound me to him eer since our unfortunate meeting that sring da but this as the first time that he had actuall been of some use

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ear and a half after entered uniersit m tenure ith the ibrar olice came to an end s hae reiousl discussed the urose of the organiation knon as the ibrar olice is to track don those insolent urchins ho fail to return their borroed librar materials and forcibl retriee said materials f necessar e ould resort to brutalit to achiee our ends though inariabl brutalit as the choice of first and onl resort h the ibrar olice shouldered such a burden and ho the ere related to the school administrationthese are uestions that ou should not ursue lest ou befall some unfortunate accident esides the retrieal of librar roert the ibrar olice is charged ith one additional task: to gather an ehaustie dossier on marked indiiduals and use that information to arious ends riginall this information gathering as used to retriee books To track don here a target is at an gien moment his behaioral atterns must be obsered to coerce an unilling target into surrendering his materials once he is cornered knoledge of his ulnerabilities is essential ut as the archies continued to gro the organiation as seduced b the oer of all this knoledge The ibrar olice had abandoned its original rationale for information gathering and begun to eand decades before oined long ith the camus itself The ibrar olice intelligence netork stretched its tendrils oer eerthing in oto from haraenin in the north to din d in i cit in the south or illustratie uroses let us sa that the ibrar olice chief learned that one of his subordinates Mr tentone ears old as going out ith Ms tent ears old and for his on amusement decided to break u their relationshi t a sna of his fingers he could obtain hateer intel he anted about them such asMr is going out ith Ms but hes actuall haing a fling ith Ms from the tennis circle hose grades are eoardiing her chances of graduation sing that information he ould easil able to remotel control Ms and deal a fatal blo to the relationshi beteen Mr and Ms The ibrar olice as the onl organiation that could stand u to the colossal oer of the rint sho hich as deried b selling masses of forged reorts ince the rint sho chiefs true identit as shrouded in mster the ibrar olice chief as often considered to be the de facto leader of the entire uck at hinese estaurant secret societ hich as a erfectl reasonable assumtion t the time as merel an underling ith no acuaintance hatsoeer ith the chief s an underling m task as siml to retriee librar materials nfortunatel asnt er good at this ob ould often end u being bambooled b the siler tongues of m targets or een hitting it off and going out to drink ith them took to the ob like a duck to laa and the onl reason as able to achiee results as because of u u as a master of dirt tricks and he made use of eer one of them in the course of his ork: stakeouts crocodile tears decetion etortion ambushes and een theft f course his standing in the organiation began to rise and because as his artner so did mine found this all a great nuisance eseciall because as beginning to hae m doubts about the ibrar olice u as alread interested in collecting information and so he used his msterious connections to secure his lace as iimas righthand man s e entered our second ear iima assumed the mantle of ibrar olice chief and romoted u and me to eecutie ositions urrisingl u turned the offer don and instead moed to the rint sho eluctantl acceted the osition though ith ero motiation sent m das slacking off and soon became a manager onl in name iima as disgusted ith me and soon began to ignore me like as a ebble on the side of the road

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uring m tenure in the ibrar olice became acuainted ith a rather odd fello The inter of m first ear as assigned to retriee a biograh hich as oer half a ear oerdue The targets name as iguchi hintaro codename annauki and he lied on the second floor of m er on himogamo suis e as a strange indiidual in that he didnt seem like a student at all and et didnt think he as a fullfledged adult either could neer tell if he as in his room or not because if he as he rarel shoed his face nce barged in absolutel certain that he as inside but all found as a duck aimlessl andering about the room and nar a trace of m target e alas ore a threadbare dark blue yukata ​ ​ ith a srinkling of unshaen stubble on his egglantshaed face is eccentric aearance alas made it eas to find out here he had been but tring to contact him directl as like tring to catch smoke Man times ust lost sight of him in himogamo hrine or the emachi arcade ne night finall caught him at eko amen oue been stalking me for a hile haent ou he smiled e been thinking about returning it but m a slo reader ou see ell the due date as a long time ago es kno ts time for me to gie it u e slured our ramen in silence didnt let him out of m sight all the a back to himogamo suis need to use the bathroom he said once e arried steing into the communal laator aited for some time but he didnt come out Groing imatient looked inside but the room as deserted ran u to the second floor and ust like magic there as light shining through the indo aboe his door ounded on his door shouting his name but there as no resonse e as making a comlete fool out of me hile raged outside in the halla m thenartner u arried egging our ardon this is m Masters room he said o about ou let it slide this time ike hell ill ts no use nce hes borroed something its lost foreer f een u said it as imossible then had no choice but to thro in the toel had no clue hat kind of Master this as but if someone like u as his discile there as no a he as an sort of decent one Master good eening hae an offering for ou u entered the room and turned back to look at me orr he said ith a grin before closing the door in m face

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had been uttering around beteen oom and oom for about to das and still there had been no imroement in the situation or the time being tried to kee mself bus To kee fit strained through ushus and hat imagined ere indu suats doned basins of coffee and stuffed mself ith castellas hile deising ne as to reare fish burgers and daikon reread the descrition of the magnificent food in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea oer and oer until began ​ ​ to drool had alas enoed the seclusion of this tatami room but that had been because kne that could leae heneer anted nce oened the door ould be greeted ith the filth halla and ast that as the filth bathroom the filth shoe rack and finall the eit from this filth boarding house t as recisel because could leae heneer anted to that neer did Eentuall the realiation that as confined to this tatami sace started to eigh heail on me and comounded ith the lack of calcium from m diet m mood began to take a turn for the orse o matter ho long aited nothing ould change had no other choice: the onl thing left for me to do as set off on a ourne to the ends of this tatami orld sole this mster and if ossible find a a to escae t si oclock about a eek after m imrisonment in this asteland had begun still not knoing hether it as morning or night set off on m eedition rom oom had to choose hether to go through the door or through the indo decided to go through the door n other ords ould be moing through oom oom and so on for as far as this ath ould take me esite the fact that as literall embarking on a ourne to the ends of the earth didnt hae to muster u as much courage as such an odsse ould normall arrant since ould ust be traersing m on room oer and oer ouldnt hae to orr about ild animals or bliards or running out of food hence didnt hae to reare anthing o matter here as on m ourne ould be in m on room f got tired could ust cral under the coers of m on bed Though didnt meet an ild beasts did hae a number of frightening encounters n the first da crossed through tent rooms and et the rooms still continued on t felt like this as a fools errand and decided to sto there for the night

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n the third da discoered the secret to unlimited ealth hae reiousl mentioned the sace beteen m desk and the booksheles in the descrition of m room That da decided to dig in there for anthing that might be of use and in the course of m sure of that iberian asteland discoered a ragged allet that had been banished there nside it as a single thousanden bill sat in the middle of the room smoothed out the orn bill and laughed hollol hat use as this bill to me o that m orld had deoled from a caitalist societ into this utterl isolated tatami mae it might as ell hae been a scra of toilet aer ut hen moed into the net room found another allet and another thousanden bill as thunderstruck f it as the same in all the other rooms then ould make a rofit of a thousand en in eer room Ten rooms ould mean ten thousand en ne hundred rooms as one hundred thousand en thousand rooms as hat a rack et heneer escaed this orld ould be able to a off the rest of m tuition and lie comfortabl on this mone arousing around in Gion ould no longer be ust a dream fter that started to carr m backack ith me on m ourne and thre another thousanden bill into it ith each room that assed

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t first got bored after moing through onl a fe rooms and sent the rest of m time reading and indulging mself in dadreams tring to kee m sirits u een took the oortunit to sit at m desk and admirabl do some studing but as soundl defeated b the chrdinger euation ket recalling the old fortune tellers ords hat as this olosseum as firml coninced that she had laced a curse on me and it as clear that the ke to breaking the curse la in olosseum ut there asnt a olosseum anhere in m room hile traersed through this massie dimension looked for things that might be related to the olosseum but found absolutel nothing

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s continued this grueling ourne thought back uon the Mochiguma that had been m solace for a ear Though m heart had slol shrieled u oer the ears the memor of that soft tedd bear as still dear to m heart found the Mochiguma at the himogamo hrine used book fair last summer and it soon became er dear to m heart t as a gre song bear almost as soft as a bab and as tall as a can of soda ueeing it affectionatel as sure to bring a smile to m face and so alas ket it b m side fter left the secret societ and retreated to m room m onl human contact as ith the halfdemon u but een in that solitar eistence needed a comanion oeer a fe das before this ourne began the Mochiguma msteriousl disaeared at the coin laundromat as ashing off a fe stains that the oor bear had acuired in the course of liing ith me but hen lifted the lid at the end of the ccle found that someone had absconded ith m Mochiguma leaing a ile of unloable boers in its lace on further insection it turned out that those sad indelibl stained boers ere in fact m er on underants erhas ou merel imagined that ou ere ashing the bear and actuall came here to do our regular laundr ou ust got sick of doing ordinar laundr and fancied ourself ashing a tedd bear instead of our boring clothes thought to mself oure starting to lose it ut hen returned to m room m underants ere still in their usual sot as confused no in ossession of to identical sets of boers Een no that mster had neer been elained and ust had to lie ithout m Mochiguma andered around the room aimlessl hoing m Mochiguma as doing ell hereer it as

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nitiall counted eer room that occuied but somehere along the a gae it u en the door go in cross through oom n oen the indo climb in cross through oom n oen the door go in cross through oom n oen the indo slogged on endlessl Though continued to rofit a thousand en at a time still couldnt see an means of escae and deending on ho hoeful or desairing as feeling the alue of each bill icked u fluctuated ildl f couldnt get out of this orld then all the bills had been ainstakingl collecting ere ust orthless scras of aer continued to collect them een hen as on a mental donturn the action of someone ho as either a boundless sring of otimism or ell and trul destitute ate heas of castellas grilled fish att after fish att and soldiered on this lonel march ometimes ondered hether had actuall fallen into a hell of tatami rooms and as condemned to suffer like this for all of eternit Thoughts of m reious iniuities floated through m head and once or tice een collased oerhelmed b m embarrassment kne as going to hell shouted t last haing reached m breaking oint collased onto the tatami mat like a log and refused to march further began to read The urious aseook of Insector Hanshichi getting drunk off chea ​ ​ hiske and chainsmoking h is this haening to me shouted at the ceiling ecoming frightened at the silent alls ressing me in sang hat fe songs kne at the to of m lungs in an case no one as going to comlain about the noise almost stried naked ainted m bod ink and elled out the comlaints and obscenities had been suressing for so long but een though as comletel alone m oers of reason hadnt et comletel gone out the indo Then again under the circumstances the heels could come off at an moment e others kno ould hae been able to ithstand the ressure oeer did manage to make a discoer Though each room looked racticall identical around the tenth da of m ourne began to notice a fe differences here and there The contents on each of the booksheles differed so slightl as to be almost unnoticeable looked for a co of The urious aseook of ​ Insector Hanshichi but in that articular room the book did not eist ​ hat did this mean did not et kno the anser

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et me turn to the issue of hgiene on this ourne through the tatami orld loathed doing laundr and thankfull here didnt need to There as a set of clothes in eer room so heneer the clothes as earing got dirt could siml change into a ne outfit fastidiousl changed m underear eer da so oddl enough as actuall cleaner in this orld ithout laundromats t first tried to kee shaing but before long it got tiresome and gae u comletel or one couldnt een go outside een to a conenience store so there as absolutel no oint M hair got uite long as ell and after a hile m face resembled that of obinson rusoe ashed u on a tatami shore M beard and hair ere of secondar concern but the rest of m bod as another matter There ere coinoerated shoers in the corridor in himogamo suis but in this orld here corridors did not eist couldnt ust alk don the hall and get to those shoers as reduced to boiling ater ouring it into a ashbasin and etting a toel to ie mself off umming under m breath tried m best to retend that it as ust as good as a shoer but to little aail

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s had nothing else to think about sent a lot of time reflecting uon the asted ast to ears of m life t as too late to change anthing no but still regretted frittering aa so much time on such tomfooler fter broke u m artnershi ith u gained a reutation for being incredibl useless and soon became knon as the laiest manager in the histor of the ibrar olice Though all did as slack off as neer hunted don or threatened u ho had been the golden bo of the ibrar olice and as no art of the rint sho often isited me and it as robabl because of him that the oers that be decided to let m transgressions slide told u that as thinking about uitting but he merel laughed and brushed off m concerns ome on m sure oull find something that floats our boat if ou stick ith it o unhelful M second ear as a frustrating uncertain time and m resole to stick it out uickl aned n aer as art of the to brass so still attended the secret meetings and surrounded mself ith consiracies to kee u aearances but it all felt comletel meaningless ll the other societ members thought as an idiot and the reigning ibrar olice chief iima ouldnt gie me the time of da came to resent him deel Eer night dreamed about deserting the societ t asnt enough to ust leae outright anted m escae to be an audacious sho of defiance that ould go don in the annals of the ibrar olice n the fall of that ear let m lans sli as as haing a drink ith u dont think thats a good idea he said eah it all seems like a bunch of dumb college students haing fun but the ibrar olices information netork is the real deal ou dont ant to make an enem out of them ou think m frightened u flattened the the Mochiguma ling on the floor hich gae a sad heee as the air ent out of it oure going to become like this bear M butt uckers u ust thinking about it ike ou gie a damn ee that right there Thats h our reutation is in the gutter right no and m ulling off a miracle keeing anthing from haening to ou little areciation ould be nice dont hae anthing to thank ou for e its not like it costs ou anthing friendo The arm bubbling of the hotot as a comforting sound hen the loneliness of the autumn nights threatened to ierce m bones n the other hand the fact that u as the onl one illing to huddle around a hotot ith me as a serious roblem s a human being it as inecusable This as no time to be sulking ust because had had the misfortune of falling into this eird societ eond the confines of the secret societ a resectable camus life as aiting oure thinking about ho our student life should hae been so much better arent ou u said cutting to the heart of the matter ou kee fidgeting ou haent fallen for someone hae ou kno eole get reall embarrassed and selfconscious heneer there thinking about that sort of thing ont be stuid idnt ou ork arttime at the himogamo hrine used book fair see ou must hae had an encounter there ignored his insinuation and muttered should hae chosen a different ath ot that m tring to make ou feel better or anthing but think that no matter ho ou led our life ou ould hae run into me all it intuition t an rate m doing eerthing can to corrut ou ou cant fight fate e lifted his ink dramaticall ou and are bound b the black thread of fate shuddered imagining mself sinking to the itchblack deths of the sea tied u ith u like a hristmas ham u smiled contentedl at m discomfort and oed a bit of ork into his mouth iimas getting slammed too Een though e moed to the rint sho he still comes to me for adice hat does he see in a little bastard like ou M sotless character m siler tongue m discerning intellect m inning smile and of course m boundless loe for m fello man There are the kes to inning friends and influencing eole f ou need an more ointers feel free to ask hut u groled but u ust grinned broadl

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left those memories behind me and continued on m ourne The histor of the Earth is broadl diided into arious sans of time: the recambrian the aleooic era the Mesooic era and finall the enooic era t the beginning of the aleooic era as the ambrian eriod during hich the ambrian elosion occurred bringing man ne secies into being uring the urassic and retaceous eriods of the Mesooic era dinosaurs flourished on the earth did rather eno looking at ictures of dinosaurs hen as oung t the end of the aleooic era as the ermian eriod f ou look at the kani that make u ermian ou might imagine the surface of the earth inhabited b all manner of suirming creatures to be coered ith tatami mats n that eriod the orld as comosed of an uncountable number of totatami rooms s the orld entered the Triassic eriod at the adent of the Mesooic era the number of tatami increased b one ut as the dan of the dinosaurs arried the beautifull laid out tatami mats ere stomed into nothingness and the orld moed into the urassic eriod couldnt hel but think that the orld had turned into a large tatami room The uaternar eriod of the enooic era had ended relaced b the uadrassic eriod mass etinction had ied out life on Earth leaing onl me and the moth that clung to the ceiling o much for biodiersit s the last remaining human ould ander this tatami orld endlessl

The kani for ermian also means to tatami imilarl the kani for Triassic means three tatami There is no kani for urassic leading to the demise of the classical tatami eriods bemoaned the fact that no matter here looked ould neer find an Ee to m dam ut no sooner had this thought crossed m mind than did in fact meet a most uneected Ee

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t as about tent das into m ourne had lost track of hat room as in so shall call it oom aing sent half the da marching through room after room as becoming irritable took a rest and snacked on some castella hich had come to loathe entirel The fluorescent light in the net room aeared to be broken and flickered on and off intermittentl had alread seen a number of these dark rooms hich called cloud rooms alas assing through them uickl since the had an eerie aura about them fter finishing m break oened the indo and eered into the net room n one of the corners as a erson sitting and reading a book lichd as it ma sound m heart nearl umed into m throat er the ast tent das soken to nar a soul and at last on m solitar ourne through this solitar orld had finall met another erson ut fear oerhelmed m delight The girl reading the book as looking donards staring intentl at the co of Twenty ​ Thousand Leagues Under the Sea on her la er sleek black hair glimmered each time the ​ light flickered he hadnt een looked u hen oened the indo hich shoed a surrising amount of confidence considered hether she might actuall be a itch ho controlled this corner of the tatami orld f made one false moe might be turned into a steaming meat bun and deoured h beg our ardon stammered hoarsel he didnt moe nerousl steed into the room and aroached her he as uite loel and her skin looked and felt as if it as real er hair as carefull groomed and not an article of clothing as out of lace he looked ust like a elltodo oung lad ecet that she didnt moe so much as a muscle t as as if she had been froen in time foreer looking istfull into the distance aori gased almost too shocked to seak

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t as near the end of fall last ear iima ho had inelicabl become the head of the ibrar olice had turned into a schiohrenic a aranoiac making outrageous accusations ith no eidence trusting no one e had mobilied the ibrar olice solel for the ett goal of oerthroing the head of the Misogi moie circle a erson called gasaki There as rumors of beef beteen iima and this gasaki but some also hisered that his real obectie as to take control of this circle for himself and imress a girl ho as one of the circle members hateer the reason iima had set gasaki in his crosshairs The first ste of course as intelligence gathering Through the intelligence netork that as oen throughout the camus e amassed all sorts of information ertaining to gasaki mong the data e gathered as a hoto of a oman uring the ar council conened to deise the lan of attack this hoto as circulated among the staff and an emotionless oice soke u This is the target: aori That as iimas filth desicable lan To gasaki aori as orth more than gold or eels and if e kidnaed her then gasaki ould hae no choice but to bo to our demands The oeration took lace on the night before the school cultural festial hile the sounds of reelr could be heard all oer camus gasaki as aa at a gathering held b the circle leaing his aartment acant ith regretful glances back at the carousing as if to uestion h the ere being forced to articiate in this act seeral senior members of the ibrar olice slied through the night and gathered at oshida hrine mself included e linked u ith a societ member knon onl as the ockman and headed toards gasakis aartment The lan as for the ockman to gain entr to the aartment alloing the staff members to enter and steal aa aori the loe doll oeer e encountered a setback before e een got to the building mong us as a faithless retch ho uon realiing that this entire enterrise as a criminal offense comletel lost his nere and dedication to the lot That retch as me thre a tantrum and clung deseratel to a concrete all The other members had also been harboring doubts about the lan and hesitated after seeing m outburst M aeals for ustice began to in them oer and in a fe moments more iimas lan ould be ruined f course ho else ould decide to make an aearance at that moment but iima ou nimrods hat are ou dithering about he screeched mmediatel e ere diided into to factions: one that anted to roceed immediatel ith the lan and another that anted to flee blindl into the night f course as the entiret of the faction that anted to run aa or as ould refer to call it make a tactical retreat s scamered off into the night left the elegant arting remark cre our stuid lan iimas ees flashed like a serents and began to genuinel fear for m life careened through ton and hid mself in the festiities cursing mself for saing those ords n the end m resistance as futile and iima kidnaed aori anas ate that night in some underground nook of camus gasaki as forced to bo to iimas demands and ithin a fe das had ceded control of the circle he had founded and ruled ith an iron fist for so long heard that he shoered iima ith raise een going so far as to embrace him in ublic as filled ith outrage ould neer forgie the ibrar olice chief dont mean to brag but had some tricks u m sleee as ell uickl srang into action fleeing to a hiding lace that u had reared for me and there staed hardl daring to breathe uiering ith rage like a neborn fan

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decided to sta the night in oom hen oke u still didnt feel like moing on et cratching m sideburns hich b no had gron so long that the had merged ith m beard ondered m situation s took a si of coffee m gae fell uon the dirt all behind the T Then had a reelation or oer tent das had been monotonousl going through the door and eiting through the indo erhas had siml been banging m head against the all all this time f reall anted to escae h hadnt literall broken through the all Mabe that as all it ould take to sole this entire roblem There as an echange student liing net to me but een if ere to suddenl come crashing through the artition m sure he ould ust laugh it off ith his continental largesse as reenergied at the thought of finall being able to escae eamined the all hadnt installed an air conditioner but didnt send m das drenched in seat ust to ut mself through some kind of noble suffering The alls of this boarding house ere like the stage backdros in the cultural festial: so thin and full of holes that could hear m neighbor and his girlfriend hisering seet nothings to each other as if as right net to them The moment installed an unit the residents of room net door ould feel a onderfull cool breee coming through the all Then the air ould flo to room then then The entire first floor ould be free to carr on their lies in comfort hile footed the enormous electricit bill o all m seat as about to a off did some ushus and suats to arm u and then took a rench to the all The artition dented easil and a small crack oened u eeling like ercules gleefull ounded aa ignoring the cloud of dust that billoed around me but after a short eriod of determined hammering tired gae one shar kick to the crack oening u a small hole about fifteen centimeters in diameter Through the hole could see the light of a fluorescent lam ll right croed idening the hole some more before craling through looked around onl to find mself in et another identical tatami room

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fter that continued to break alls tried and failed to break through the ceiling sa m hoes a and ane oened doors laed u so sauce oened indos slet for to full das got asted and thre u and heneer remembered broke more alls on m endless andering through this tatami orld The folloing are etracts from the scattered diaries occasionall ket oer the net tent das arentheticall the dates are based solel on m slee schedule in that orld The are b no means an accurate reresentation of the actual time that assed as could onl demarcate das and nights b hen ent to slee and oke u

a oke u at to reakfast as salted coffee and itamins dont kno ho man alls broke toda The alls that searate the rooms are fragile but no matter ho man smash through dont seem to get anhere till breaking alls makes me feel better t feels like can see the light at the end of the tunnel on the other side of the all guess m ust dadreaming ut mabe this endless tatami orld is a dream m dreaming dream dream M dream shining ros orthhile student life Thinking about that makes me feel deressed so had some hiske and fish atties and ent to slee Een in m dreams as eating a fish att Get it together ake or aslee its all fish atties t this oint m bod is robabl comletel made of fish atties and castellas

a oke u at four idnt feel like doing anthing toda so onl ent through a fe rooms rank some hisk Terrible hisk but sadl e gotten used to it

a feel stronger ont kno ho did it since haent set foot outside of these rooms t must be because all the allbreaking and suats did to kick the doldrums onder ho ou do real indu suats though Mabe the ones inented are actuall more effectie than the real thing erhas ill begin to sread these ne indu suats throughout the orld hen leae this lace

a ound something interesting in one of the rooms assed toda t as onl a small aulonia bo but found a kamenoko scrubbing brush inside tested it on the sink and all ​ ​ the filth came right off ithout an detergent This thing is suer effectie m onl assing through but ust on a him olished the sink to a shine hat an idiot am onder h each room has these small differences like aori hat causes them t first glance the all look like m room at first glance so ho do these little changes arise ont hae the interest or the mone to bu a loe doll and didnt een kno a brush like this could eist o strange

a oke at three dont kno if its afternoon or morning omeone lease tell me ffering a reard of en Toda ent running for the gold ut robabl shouldnt go too far ithout orienting mself first rom no on think ill sto breaking alls and return to moing through doors and indos Though m sure ill start thinking about the other side of the all and start smashing things again before too long had a dream hile as naing ne of the rooms as diided in half b the Great all of hina scaled it easil because it as a dream crossed it in a single ste hich is ridiculous since it can be seen from sace Then again it as a dream n the other side u as sitting there eating some deliciouslooking yakiniku could ust about taste salted beef tongue ith leeks but before ​ ​ could ut it in m mouth u snatched the meat right from under m nose e ate it all een if it as still ra and blood keeing me from getting a single bite suddenl oke u ith a lingering sense of frustration That bastard u Een in m dreams hes an asshole ut een subconsciousl still sort of miss him God of the tatami humbl beseech thee grant th humble serant a blessed morsel of meat a forget m lace ust a bit of roasted egglant or undercooked leeks or een ust the driings off the meat

a ended m traels a little earl toda and did some cooking crumbled u the castella and boiled it along ith a fish att Tasted a little strange but at least it as a change from the usual offee is the one thing that ll neer get tired of but dont kno ho much nutrition is in it This is a er imortant uestion Thinking about it made me selfconscious about the lack of egetables in m diet so started chugging itamins ant to eat something nutritious ant some seaeed ashed m hair in the sink and ent to slee h is it that ashing m hair in cold ater makes me ant to break don and cr guess cooling m head makes me deressed

a oure suosed to sta still and ait for rescue hen ou are stranded but ho man eole ould be illing to do that in a situation like mine f dont moe then ill run out of food rather uickl am a nomad andering this tatami orld in search of fish atties and castellas This grand adenture of mine feels neither grand nor adenturous nas ho ould look for me in this situation dont een kno ho to describe the redicament find mself in s it the orld that has disaeared or is it onl me f it as me then about a month has alread gone b in the real orld une has alread ended m like the tatami ersion of rashima Tar ut een he didnt hae it too rough since he ust sent all his time in the alace of the ragon ing M famil is robabl searching for me ad Mom m sorr for doing this to ou ut u ould neer think about looking for me es robabl ust laughing it off ith a bunch of cute underclassmen ondering here e andered off to m certain of it M grudge against ream u for dening me the salted beef tongue is still fresh

a hat ill do if reall cant escae this lace ll ust hae to brael make m on a here as a colonist alone ill inent other culinar creations ith castellas and fish atties ll begin farming mushrooms ll break don all the alls and construct a boling alle moie theater arcade and all sorts of recreational centers for mself ll create m on utoia m getting ecited ust thinking about it ts all so eciting so h am cring

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Throughout this miserable ourne had been lagued b the roblem of food deseratel anted to eat some rice Een a conenience store rice ball ould do no matter ho cold and stale it as ould trade a hundred fish atties ust to hae one f a freshl cooked bol of rice ere to be laced before me ould robabl dissole into a uddle of tears Thin miso sou from the coo store ardboiled eggs melets auted sinach Grilled mackerel auted burdock and carrot slices ermented sobeans Grilled eel on rice hicken and egg rice eef bols ork and egg rice ried rice eaeed Teriaki amberack Grilled salmon Egg foo oung hashu ramen Egg dro ramen ot soba ith duck breast Goa sou ried chicken akiniku of course urr teamed rice ith auki resh salad ​ ​ ​ ​ Miso cucumber slices old tomatoes Melons eaches atermelons ears les Graes atsuma Mabe ould neer taste an of them eer again ut een that thought ust made m mouth ater een more lmost eer da stumbled through this tatami mae deliriousl chasing after tantaliing hallucinations of the most delicious food ou could imagine until collased hat earned for most as eko amen eko amen is a fabled ramen stand hich is rumored to make its broth out of cats hether that is true or not the taste is unaralleled Thick noodles simming in that rich incomarable broth efore as imrisoned here used to go to eko amen in the middle of the night heneer the craing struck orld here could go to eko amen in the middle of the night To me that as aradise

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The other thing reall missed as a bath longed to um into one of the sacious baths in the ublic bathhouse and settle in for a good soak often thought about the ancient bathhouse that as donton ust est don himogamo ouleard heneer felt like a bath all had to do as ick u a toel and head don the street There as nothing like alking ast all the shos getting there before the eening crods arried and uming into an emt bath ith a slash and a shiteating grin on m face o longed to do that again ne da tried to construct a bathtub after a long march dragged out a fe cardboard boes from the closet dumed out their contents and disassembled them t took me about to hours to construct a makeshift bathtub from those materials alculating ho much ater could boil in the ot made the bathtub as flat as could so could stretch out inside it lining it ith lastic garbage bags in an attemt to aterroof it Then boiled ater in m ot and dumed it into the tub reeating until it as almost full s much as as looking forard to soaking mself the ater uickl became teid and there asnt enough room to submerge m entire bod so had to akardl edge m thin frame into that little cardboard bathtub couldnt hel but onder ust hat as doing The bathtub eentuall collased and all the ater came ouring right out into the room The most ainful thing as that no one as there to make fun of m athetic efforts f u ere here he ould undoubtedl roast me alie hat are ou doing Maggots eating our brain or something he ould sa

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ne morning oke u ith the sensation that someone as stroking m face ith a feather duster sat u in m disheeled bed To m great consternation m room as dancing ith moths suall there as ust the one moth sitting alone in the corner of the ceiling but toda it as oined b a number of comrades The ket trickling in one b one through the hole had knocked in the all esterda looked through that hole to find the room on the other side sarming ith moths as ell the air thick ith black scales hastil grabbed m backack moed to the net tatami room and shut the indo tightl behind me Each room onl contained a single moth but hen the all gathered together the made a giant sarm guess een moths got lonel o that the had discoered kindred sirits in hich to confide the ere all on a roadtri to recruit more members for their suort grou t made me a little ealous heaed a large sigh The moths could tell bad stories fall in loe and een sneer at those of their number that did n the other hand the onl one ho ould laugh at me for talking to mself and indulging in dadreams asmself Een the most selfcontained lifestle needed a little more than this s atched m ne leidoteran roommates enoing themseles began to feel een sorrier for mself

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et us briefl return to the eents of the reious autumn fter fleeing from the scene of aoris abduction barricaded mself in a hideout trembling ith fear ince had oenl declared rebellion iima ould likel moe the ibrar olice to crush me gasakis fate ould become m on M deeest and darkest secrets ould be osted on bulletin boards ould become a laughing stock eerhere ent and eentuall a bunch of thugs ould catch me de m entire bod ink and thro me into the uirokaku ueduct on the grounds of aneni temle ccording to u iima as searching high and lo for me iimas in hot ater too considering ho reckless his actions ere u informed me Things ere getting so bad that een the rint sho as thinking about steing in dared not ste foot outside of m hiding sot M lace of refuge belonged to none other than iguchi hintar the man from hom had reiousl attemted to retriee an oerdue librar book hen u first suggested that hide on the second floor of himogamo suis scoffed M lan as to ski out on oto entirel and ursue enlightenment out at ae Muroto orget running around like a headless chicken its much safer to hide right here Thed neer think to look right under their on noses see us ersistence coninced me and began to freeload in iguchis room sent m das laing a homemade naal battle board game ith iguchi or a hile u didnt sho u t didnt feel right being so obsessed ith some sill game hile m camus life as crashing don around m ears s morosel sent a submarine to the bottom iguchi roduced a cigar and attemted to cheer me u hin u us sure to straighten things out ont he ust betra me instead mm suose thats a ossibilit as ell he smiled ou neer can tell hich a the ind blos ith him This isnt funn ut did hear him sa that he as risking his life to kee ou out of harms a

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had been andering this mae for nearl fift das t as hard to beliee that in the real orld it as alread midsummer or hours all had eaten ere castellas and fish atties and itamins and coffee and daikon o sunlight ierced the indo anes no breee disturbed the stagnant air ithin these alls t had been so long since had held a conersation ith anone other than mself Een the ast amount of mone had accumulated no seemed odious to me and didnt ant to kee icking u these thousand en bills anmore een considered ust tossing aside the banknotefilled backack and continuing on ithout it hat a orld this as hat a orld The ground as coered b an unbroken laer of tatami mats There as no dan or dusk here no ind or rain The onl light here came from the ding fluorescent lam ith naught but solitude b m side alked heedlessl from one room to the net looking for the end of the orld broke don countless alls climbed through countless indos oened countless doors ccasionall ould inhabit the same room for seeral das in a ro reading books singing songs smoking cigarettes telling mself that after all asnt going anhere so there as no oint in tiring mself out ut after sending an entire da staring listlessl at the orn ceiling sitting there in that aful silence like as the last man on Earth began to feel a terrifing loneliness ressing in on me Making biarre food creations ith the limited ingredients that had folding endless hordes of origami cranes and samurai helmets restling in m underear ith ohnn riting essas doing ushus going back for round to ith ohnn laing ith a rubber band gunnothing did could hel me forget the realit of m situation othing comes to him ho aits aing barricaded mself in m tatami fortress eer since ashed m hands of the secret societ half a ear ago had thought mself someone ho could eist in solitude uite comfortabl hat ocock hadnt reall been alone omared to m resent eistence had racticall been a social butterfl had boasted of m solitude hen in realit as no more than a resumtuous child diing m toes into the tide on the shore of the sea of loneliness couldnt stand to be alone o matter hat need to escae this lace unsteadil rose to m feet and began ourneing through this tatami orld once more

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There as no one here ot a soul to talk to ondered hen the last time had soken to u as eeing m sirits u hile andering through this lace became harder eer da as did clambering through the countless indos no longer rambled on to mself or sang songs or een ied mself off certainl didnt feel like eating an more fish atties las the same tatami room las the same las the same o matter ho far ent this scener ould continue on foreer ll did as mumble the same lines oer and oer in m head

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hile leisurel laed m board game in iguchis room things ere moing raidl on the outside That scheming deil u had made his moe hile the assistant director of the rint sho as aa in okkaido for a conference u took adantage of his absence and eercised his oers as interim deut director ordering a halt to the oerations of the rint sho This had neer haened before in the histor of the secret societ and iima comletel forgot about me rushing immediatel to the rint sho u aeared before iima smiling unctuousl like a dishonest merchant The board of directors is concerned aarentl someone is lanning a mutin against them e are haing a meeting to address those concerns eer in his ildest dreams ould ima hae imagined that u as lanning to seie oer for himself hile u retended to discuss things ith iima he had alread laid the groundork for his scheme ith the other organiations ith the hel of an old associate of his in the onaka softball cult ho had connections throughout the societ negotiations ere uite simle n addition the head of the cultural festial lanning committee as his friend and his name as ell knon een among the more obscure research societies To seeten the deal u romised to shae off a large chunk of the cut from the rint sho that as suosed to go to the ibrar olice and distribute the funds amongst the other grous sing his connections from his ibrar olice das he made sure onl to recruit eole he kne ould rall to his cause Those he couldnt conince to oin him ere laced under house arrest on the da of the meeting b the heer iccle ors eeing his man tentacles encircling his re as nothing short of terrifing and iima as alking right into his tra The meeting as an oenandshut affair nce the truth came out that iima had used the ibrar olice to settle his ersonal grudge against gasaki the ote as unanimous to eel him from the secret societ e as unceremoniousl dragged out of the hall b members of the heer iccle ors before he had een rocessed hat had ust occurred hile the other members uietl moed to the net item on the agenda think u ould make a fine relacement roosed the onaka softball circle reresentatie ell gosh e got a lot of things on m late u said col retending to demur n the end it as decided that u ould become the head of both the rint sho and the ibrar olice

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The night that u as inaugurated as the ne ibrar olice chief timidl entured onto camus for the first time in a eek uring m selfimosed imrisonment the eather had gron fairl chill and the once colorful autumn foliage no la ding on the cold ground entered the la school building and descended into the underground lecture room here the meeting as being held itnessing the success of us cou dtat and the itiful conclusion of iimas reign fter the meeting as adourned and the other members left u sat alone on the lecture latform obsered his face from m seat in the corner of the room The room emt but for us to gre steadil colder and m breath condensed in hite uffs each time ehaled The nel minted iceirectoroftherinthocumibrarolicehief did not hae the sort of resence that such a grand title ould usuall arrant and as instead grinning in his usual imlike fashion oure a scar erson ou kno that said seriousl This is ust childs la he aned n an case oure off the hook no e left the underground auditorium behind and headed off to eko amen f course it as m treat nd so ashed m hands of the uck at hinese estaurant and set sail for sunnier climes r such as m intention but unable to ignore the fact that asting to ears of m life had set me back tremendousl secluded mself in m room again had hoed to uickl rid mself of the dreadful u as ell but that did not come to ass either That as because he as the onl erson ho eer isited me in m room

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u is a student the same ear as Though he is a member of the electrical engineering deartment he hates electricit electronics and engineering is firstear grades ere so borderline that ondered if there as an oint to him being in uniersit at all e hoeer asnt concerned in the slightest ecause he desises egetables and adheres strictl to a diet of fast food he has the etremel eerie look and comleion of someone from the far side of the moon f ou ere to meet him the street late at night eight out of ten eole ould mistake him for a youkai The ​ ​ remaining to eole ere certainl youkai themseles ​ ​ ruell beating the eak groeling to the strong selfish selfassured la a comlete demon neglecting studies lacking a shred of ride feeding off the unhainess of others he as able to eat three suare meals a da There is not a single art of him that is raiseorth f had neer met him m soul surel ould hae been cleaner for it nd et he as the onl real friend had

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M itiful march ent on ne da the booksheles of the room that staed in ere littered ith materials ertaining to moies The sace beteen m desk and the booksheles as scattered ith ideotaes had neer seen before n beteen sis of coffee and drags on cigarettes brosed through those taes and haened on one uon hich someone had crudel scribbled the title uel on the Great amo ridge lso ritten on the label ere the ords ET MG M interest iued inserted it into the t as an eceedingl strange moie The onl actors ere u and mself The film told the tale of to men ho inherited the oosing reins of a legendar rank ar redating the acific ar and roceeded to ush ast their mental and hsical limits to crush each others ride u ore an unchanging oh masklike eression hile m on erformance as ridiculousl oeracted and e dueled each other ith a string of merciless but surrisingl creatie ranks The final scene here u hose entire bod as ainted ink and ho had shaed half of m head clashed on the Great amo ridge as uneectedl griing s the credits rolled as still on the edge of m seat almost ashamed of m on reaction to it or some reason seeing us face for the first time in seentlus das made me get oddl emotional guess as ust feeling homesick fter the credits there as a makingof feature though the scenes ere obiousl staged u and sat in front of the camera haing scrit meetings and creating tasteless set backdros There as een a tadr section about audience reactions but the onl erson ho deigned to leae feedback as a oman ho said see oue made another idiotic moie recognied that oman from somehere ts kashi murmured

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The used book fair kashi Mochiguma Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea ​ ​ n the summer of m second ear arbitraril decided to ick u a nice uiet arttime ob lace in aaramachi called Gabi sed ooks as looking for arttimers to ork at the used book fair so thought d tr there dont a much groled the oner a man ith a face like a boiled octous orked there ith another arttimer kashi The bookstore oner as alas rude to me but heneer he talked to kashi he looked like the bamboo cutter finding rincess agua s for me as stuck dealing ith the boiled octous all da The horseriding grounds run arallel to the shrine road stretching north to south uring the book fair the ere crammed ith tents filled ith eole traling through for books There ere so man boes filled ith must tomes it made m head sin number of folding stools ere set u in the field occuied b eole ho ere oo from all the books stacked around them Though it as seltering there as something charming about the bu of cicadas that filled the air n m breaks ould ander oer to a nearb bridge sit on the handrail and o a ramune ondering ho sill it as for me to be slinking around in a stuid organiation like ​ ​ the ibrar olice met kashi eer da at the fair he had a refreshingl short haircut and er keen eebros her unflinching gae ierced ou right through and she gae off the imression that she didnt ull an unches he as rimaril tasked ith atching for sholifters though under that hakish gae no ouldbe thief ould een dare tr esite her intimidating demeanor a number of adorable lush tedd bears dangled from her bag fter e finished tiding u one eening sa her stroking one of the bears staring at it er hard as if she as restling ith some difficult hilosohical uestion hat are those inuired er face relaed into a smile This is a Mochiguma she relied he had fie bears in all differentl colored but otherise identical ollectiel the ere called luff uadron Mochiguman and she treasured them dearl The name Mochiguma as adorable and unforgettable in itself but the smile on her face as she told me hat the ere called as een more unforgettable n other ords to ut it frankl as man of ou hae likel guessed fell head oer heels for her The eening before the last da of the book fair as crossing that small bridge hen haened uon a Mochiguma ling on the ground kashi must hae droed it on her a home figured that d return it to her the net da but on that final da she didnt sho u The sho oner brusuel told me that she had some urgent business to attend to urchased Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea as a memento of the fair and left himogamo hrine ​ behind or the net ear cherished the Mochiguma as m on thinking that ould return it to kashi one da osing it at the coin laundromat hit me hard h ho nostalgic hisered staring at the froen image o f kashi roected onto the screen

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eeing kashis face breathed ne life into me The net da began to smash through alls again but as mutel hammered aa ith the rench m thoughts ere constantl on that ideotae had no recollection of eer haing made a moie ith u before and et there that tae as fter thinking for a moment had to admit that could definitel imagine mself doing that sort of thing n the ideotae label as ritten the ord Misogi dredged u memories of standing in front of that fateful clock toer back hen as a freshman The name of the moie circle hich had decided not to enter that da as Misogi asnt it nfinite rooms each differing eer so slightl from the last tae of a moie that had neer made ooksheles filled ith books that had missed the chance to bu kamenoko brush that had neer bought ​ ​ aori ho as the last erson ould hae eected to be liing ith me in m room ne da halted in the midst of m traels tanding in the middle of the room tilted m head u to stare at the ceiling finall understood the structure of this tatami orld as embarrassed that it had taken me this long to understand Each room in this endless mae as m room ithout a doubt ut the belonged to different ersions of me ho had made different choices in their ournes through life or the ast fe eeks had been traeling through fragments of arallel eistences rooms that onl eisted in arallel unierses ll m strength left me still didnt kno ho these rooms ere organied or h this orld had come into eistence or ho had stumbled into it ut no did realie one thing Een the smallest choices made had an imact on m future Through the countless decisions made each and eer da an infinite number of different fates ere born n infinite number of mes ere born n infinite number of tatami rooms ere born Therefore in theor the truth of this orld as that it had no end

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la don on m rumled bed and listened rom the ast uninhabited eanses of the tatami orld came the sound of absolutel nothing There as no one to talk to no one to tell anthing to had no one to cone this information to neither ast nor future There as no one to look uon me no one to mock me or admire me or slight me or fall in loe ith me There as no chance that such a erson ould eer aear in this orld as ust like the dust stagnant air in this tatami room hether it as the orld that had disaeared or hether it as ho had disaeared from the orld to me the onl thing that eisted in this orld as mself had traeled through hundreds of rooms but in the end had not met a single soul as the last man on Earth as there reall anthing for me to go on liing for

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f ere to eer get out of this lace ould do so man things ould eat delicious meals and slur u eko amen ould hang around hio aaramachi ould go see moies ould uarrel ith the octousfaced oner of Gabi sed ooks might actuall go to class and actuall a attention ould articiate in a ritual dance at himogamo hrine ould sa raunch stories ith iguchi on the second floor ould make an aointment at ubouka ental linic and get a taste of anukis slim fingers ould go console iima so unceremoniousl kicked out of the secret societ ondered ho eerone as doing and hether the ere enoing their lies in that humming bustling orld ere the doing ell as gasaki liing hail ith aori as u u to his usual tricks sreading discord for his on amusement as kashi staring at luff uadron Mochiguman still ondering here one of its members had gone r had she found it in some unfathomable lace anted to find out ut that ish ould robabl neer be granted

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felt something hard oking into m back umbling around behind me to see hat it as m fingers closed around the isdom tooth had gotten etracted at ubouka ental linic maniacal smile rose to m lis and rolled around cackling clenching m fist around that tooth h as this thing here This as oom as back here had started asnt sure here had gone rong but oer the ast eeks had returned back to the er room from hich had begun m ourne t as robable that dee in thought in some corner of this tatami orld had unknoingl turned mself around utting mself back here one of the rooms in this orld ere eactl the same but the sace beteen eer door and eer indo as like a reersed image in a mirror Thus it as ossible that had gotten mied u and thought that as moing forard hen in realit as traersing toards the direction that had ust come from Though had tried to maintain m bearing it seemed that had failed had ust comleted a ointless loo Een so had alread gien u hoe and so ust uietl acceted this ne reelation ling in m bed and absentmindedl laing ith m scraggl beard There as nothing for it but to reare mself for a solitar life in this orld forgetting the cherished memories of m ast life in the orld outside ould cease this barbaric behaior of breaking alls and lie the uiet life of a gentleman reading literature eaing in more titillating material at aroriate interals and concentrating on the eleation of the mind t an rate no longer entertained fantasies of escaing this endless tatami rison so ould comort mself as befitting a gentleman and aait m death ith dignit s ondered m future here fell aslee That as on the seentninth da

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oened m ees The hour hand on m clock ointed to si but it as imossible to tell hether it as morning or eening ondered the matter hile ling in m futon but had no clue ho long had slet riggled around for a bit before sluggishl rising from the bed ll as uiet fter m usual morning ritual of cigarettes and coffee rolled back onto m futon and ruminated not uite read to begin m da icked u the decaed isdom tooth that la near m illo and held the grisl troh u to the light m thoughts returning back to the old fortune teller in iamachi as still coninced that the old oman as to blame for this entire affair he had caoled me ith flatter about m earnest talent and laid this curse uon me hen had onl aroached her because of m longing for a better tomorro olosseum hat nonsense no longer desired a meaningful ros student life that recious treasure had once so coeted The more looked at the tooth the more grotesue it seemed and as amaed at ho long had aited to get it checked out The to of the tooth as holloed out and could see the inside as if it as a crosssection model The more looked at it the less it looked like a isdom tooth and the more it resembled an ancient oman edifice olosseum breathed suddenl heard a rustling sound coming from the halfoen indo efore een had time to turn m head a suirming black cloud came ouring into the room The sarm of moths had made it to oom on its great migration through the tatami orld The ket ouring in filling the room all the a u to the ceiling and et the stream shoed no signs of slackening started to anic and attemted to escae to oom ening the door gased for breath onl to find the cool air of the corridor floing into m lungs The dust ooden lanks of the floor stretched before me into the darkness n the ceiling the lighting intermittentl flickered and the distant entrance hall gleamed eeril under the hite fluorescent lights

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alked toards the entrance hall ignoring the moths that streamed out from the oen door behind me heard a faint hissing sound coming from a rice cooker that someone had lugged into an outlet in a corner of the hall The thought of a steaming hot bol of rice almost stoed me in m tracks but resolutel ket alking n the entrance hall m shoes ere still sitting in the shoe cabinet eited himogamo suis and andered south through himogamo umigaa The tilight indigo sk hung lo oer the buildings as the breee that histled through the alles softl caressed m face carring ith it an marelous indescribable scent t asnt the smell of an one thing in articular it as the smell of the outside the scent of the orld t asnt ust the smell it as the noise as ell: the rustling of the Tadasu orest the murmuring of the streams the sound of a bike assing through the night made m a through umigaa ith unstead footstes efore me the hard ashalt street stretched out endlessl took in the arm light from the street lights the lams on the houses the indos of the buildings assed the illuminated facade of himogamo ar and the silent houses lining the himogamo shrine road ars rumbled in the distance as the students carousing amongst the black ine trees on the amo elta came into ie crossed the road and entered the amo elta alking through the trees on the embankment sudden flood of emotion elled u inside me and broke into a halfrun brushing the rough tree trunks ith m hands The other students looked at me ith annoance as roughl ushed ast them but one glance at m shagg locks and beard and the turned back to their drinks s came out from under the boughs of the forest the ast canas of the tilit sk unfurled itself aboe me ran to the ti of the delta almost triing don the embankment and stood there dauntless as the aters rushed b as if as on the ro of a shi efore me the aters of the amo ier from the east oined ith the aters of the Takano from the est and the combined riers rolled their a ineorabl south The surface of the rier glimmered ith siler from the reflections of the streetlights that ere flickering on one b one n front of me the Great amo ridge stretched across the rier n its guardrails recisel saced lams thre orange light across the line of cars streaming endlessl across There ere eole alking across the bridge eole rithing on the amo elta eole eerhere looked The lams on the bridge the incandescent lights of the eihan emachianagi rail station the ros of streetlams the lights of distant hi the lights of the cars assing along the bridge eerthing glimmered like recious eels blurring before m ees hat as this feeling The night as alie t as like being in the midst of the Gion estial breathed the seet air dee into m lungs stared u at the sk as the last ras of the sun faded oer the horion scrunched u m face and unleashed a ra rimitie ell

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athed in loathing and fearful glares from eerone on the amo elta eulted in the fact that as here alie m not sure ho long stood there but graduall became aare of a groing clamor on the Great amo ridge rom the ti of the delta could see a great crod of students streaming onto the bridge from both sides of the rier elling and shouting ondered hat the fuss as about s looked on a man climbed u onto the guardrail of the bridge e seemed to be arguing ith the crod that stood before him ith the light of the lams dotting the guardrail could ust barel make out his face t as u e looked as if he as about to um off the bridge grinning and grating his his grotesuel Though hadnt seen him in eight das his imertinent imish face hadnt changed Een in m absence he had forge ahead on his on accursed ath ercome ith emotion elled his name but he didnt hear me hat lunac as he u to standing u there erhas it as art of a festial s contemlated hat as going on a shrill scream rose u behind me turned around to see a dark cloud shrouding the to of the embankment The eole inside the cloud ran around franticall flaing their arms and batting at their heads The fluttering black cloud continued to se forth from the ine trees heading relentlessl don from the ine forest directl toards me t as an incredible sight lutterflutterflutterflutterflutter ent the suirming cloud as it rolled don the embankment like a thick caret and engulfed me here stood t as a giant sarm of moths

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The net da the moth lague made the front age though nobod kne here the moths had come from tracing their route it aeared that the sarm had originated in the Tadasu orest that is to sa himogamo hrine but man uestions ere left unansered or instance there as no elanation for h all the moths in the forest ould simultaneousl decide to migrate There as an alternatie rumor going around that the moths had actuall come from the neighboring umigaa ton but that elanation as een more confusing t aeared that the neighborhood around m boarding house had been inundated ith moths for a brief hile as ell hen returned later that night the corridor as littered ith moth corses had forgotten to lock m door so m room as careted ith them as ell but reerentl gathered the corses and buried them susect hat haened is clear to m readers This is hat think uring m eightda soourn in the tatami orld the moths inside each of those rooms had gathered together into a large flock That large flock came into m room and from there streamed out into the orld

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gallantl stood m ground on the ti of the delta as moths thrummed around me filling the air ith glittering scales and occasionall attemting to force their a into m mouth Een so the sheer number of moths that night as utterl oerhelming The drone of beating ings cut us off from the outside orld as if it ere not moths but a sarm of inged ims assing b hat little could see through m suinted ees as limited to the shimmering aters of the amo ier the guardrail of the Great amo ridge and the silhouette of someone falling off that guardrail into the rier fter a hile the sarm moed on leaing behind the crod of shocked reelers ho babbled loudl about hat had ust haened mutel scanned the rier There as an obect entangled in the suorts of the Great amo ridge like a dark slim strand of kel t looked like u The students that remained on the bridge croded at the guardrail shouting oer each other e reall fell off h shit omeone hel him ah ust let him die ed ust come back to haunt us umed into the sollen amo rier and sloshed m a toards u as almost set off m feet a fe times but ket lodding toards u as comletel drenched but considering ho filth alread as it as more like taking a bath eentuall made it to the illar shouting re ou alright u stared at me for a hile then asked h ho are ou ts me its me e suinted at me for a fe more seconds until it finall clicked ut hats ith the obinson rusoe look ts a long stor eah ell as ou can see e got m on share of roblems an ou moe oooooooo ts no use omethings definitel broken ell lets at least get ou to the rierbank uch ouch thats here it hurts ome of the students from the bridge ran don to hel elling to coordinate the efforts Get him u Get that side ll get this side o be more careful eled u as e carried him to the shore large crod had gathered on the est bank of the rier t one oint nearl froe hen thought sa iima but at this oint there as no reason to fear him anmore Eerone gathered around u as e ut him don on the beach like a log iguchi arried looking unerturbed and asked no one in articular heres the ambulance kashis got it coered said gasaki tll be here soon eside iguchi anuki stared don at u ou rea hat ou so isnt that right she teased ing on that dark beach u moaned t hurts it hurts el me iguchi knelt don beside him failed u said in a small oice u ou sho a lot of romise the Master said Master thank ou er much ut ou erent suosed to literall break a leg hat an incorrigible fool ou are u la there sobbing number of imortantlooking eole steed out from the crod and started to talk amongst themseles alm ourseles u ont run aa iguchi thundered almost sounding angr ill bear the resonsibilit for him fter about fie minutes the ambulance arried at the Great amo ridge gasaki ent galloing u the embankment to fetch the EMTs ho romtl raed u in a blanket and set him on a stretcher ould hae been oeroed if at that oint the thre him into the rier but the of course being rofessionals did not distinguish beteen their atients ithout saring a thought on us eil doings the unctiliousl carried the stretcher back to the ambulance

shall accoman u iguchi said climbing into the ambulance ith anuki

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o much had haened hile as aa The stor of h u as chased don and cornered at the bridge is so comlicated that it ould take an entire book to tell it in full therefore shall rela it in brief Messrs iguchi and gasaki had been embroiled in a msterious feud called the Masochistic roro ar for a long time n midMa iguchi ordered u his underling to take reenge on gasaki for deing his yukata ink u decided to eact that reenge b ​ ​ stealing aori in imitation of hat iima had done last fall e had originall lanned to ut her u at m lace but since as missing entrusted her to one of the ibrar olice suerisors Mr nfortunatel Mr fell headoerheels into a forbidden loe ith aori and surretitiousl absconded from oto ith her in to u mobilied the ibrar olice on his on imeratie obtained a rental car and hunted don Mr recoering aori oeer once it came out that u had used the organiation for his on gain certain circles and societies that ere dissatisfied under the thumb of the ne iceirectoroftherinthocumibrarolicehief decided it as no or neer and aid off the heer iccle ors to occu the headuarters of the ibrar olice and rint sho iscoering that u had been sihoning off art of the reenue from the rint sho to bu food and drink for iguchi the began to make lans to recoer the lost mone from u iima ho had been aiting for a chance to aenge himself sensed oortunit and struck a deal to regain his lace at the to of the uck at hinese estaurant in echange for u e bullied some unior members of the Misogi moie circle into locating u ut that night u sensed something as afoot as he made his a home and instead of returning to his aartment hid in a ard in doi and called anuki ho relaed his lea for hel to iguchi Thence iguchi instructed kashi to eeditiousl infiltrate doi and etract u There as a tight dragnet encircling us aartment stretching from doi to Ginkakui but kashi deised a lan to ass through the canals of ake ia and u slied through that net undetected ressed into omens clothing at kashis insistence u eaded the infrared sensorlike ees that sarmed the area to the east of the amo ier and north of Marutamachi treet and crossed the Tadekura bridge finall reaching the safet of himogamo suis ack in iguchis room u had onl fleeting moments to catch his breath before his luck ran out and gasaki barged in haing discoered the theft of aori Thron back out onto the street u had nohere to hide from the roing ees of the societ e nimbl dodged his ursuers one b one but as at last cornered on the Great amo ridge and ith nohere left to run climbed onto the guardrail e stood there undaunted looking haughtil don at the crod f ou tr to do anthing to me then ll to um he cried m not going to come don until ou guarantee m safet n the end he fell off the bridge into the amo ier and broke his leg

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fter u as carried aa the crod on the rierbank began to diserse like an ebbing tide uddenl being thron into all this commotion after eight das of solitude beildered me and stood there for a hile absentmindedl stroking m beard ooking around the rierbank sotted a oman sitting on a bench er ale unsmiling face as buried in her hands alked u to her e are ou alright asked reall cant stand moths she relied the ghost of a smile flitting around her lis had susected as much hat as ith all the hubbub on the bridge uell its all too comlicated for me to elain oure an acuaintance of u es take it ou are as ell eah thats right e knon him for a long time introduced mself: lied on the first floor of himogamo suis and had knon u since freshman ear ere ou b an chance eer in the ibrar olice she asked oure the one from the seahorse incident arent ou eahorse incident Master iguchi ordered us to get him a seahorse so u roided him ith a fish tank ut as soon as e tried to fill it ith ater it shattered h kno hat oure talking about That as a rett bad eerience ut in the end Master iguchi neer got his seahorse hs that fter some more flifloing he decided that hed rather hae a giant suid instead dont think ou could raise one of those in a normal fish tank Een u couldnt sul one of those heard that he lacated the Master b buing a giant errari flag instead he started to rub her allid cheeks igorousl ould ou like a drink to hel ou calm don inuired as certainl not making a craen attemt to take adantage of her fear of moths as siml concerned b the lack of color in her face bought canned coffee from a nearb ending machine and e drank it together the a ho are the Mochiguma doing asked ell ut one of them has gone missing There she trailed off and looked er closel into m ees until m identit daned on her ou orked at Gabi sed ooks at the used book fair didnt ou beg our ardon didnt notice it as ou ou remember es remember ou but must sa thats an imressie beard ou hae no she said staring at me ttemting to describe m feelings in that moment ould be ointless truggling to eress those feelings ith actions blurted out the onl thing could think of kashi ould ou like to go hae some ramen

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s ate a flood of tears cascaded don m face taking the shokeeer aback t as m first eko amen in eight das s it reall that good kashi asked Mm mmh sobbed into m bol Thats onderful she nodded uietl sluring u her on noodles

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Those are the facts of m eightda tatami soourn couldnt bear to sta another night in a tatami room so for a fe das slet out in the hall found a ne boarding house in Mototanaka and moed there ith all due haste This time icked a tatami room making sure that it included a bathroom Een so ould sometimes catch mself reaching for a bottle to urinate in and for a brief moment relie those horrible eight das The strangest thing as that een though had sent so much time in there back here in the real orld hardl an time had assed at all t as less like rashima Taro and more like the dream of antan ut it hadnt been a dream The sarm of moths m disheeled beard and the backack filled ith thousand en bills ere roof enough of that aid for all m moing costs ith the mone that had collected in that bag

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To describe ho the relationshi beteen kashi and deeloed after that ould deiate from the urose of this manuscrit conseuentl ill refrain from recounting it here am sure m readers ould rather not aste their time reading such contemtible stuff There is nothing more boring than telling a stor of reuited loe

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t is true that after Master iguchi absconded a great man changes entered m life hoeer ould be eed if that ere to be interreted as a indication of m actions am not so naie as to so easil oerlook the mistakes of the ast n occasion ould consider magnanimousl embracing m ast self erhas things ould be different if ere a oung lad but ho ould ant to embrace a disgusting tentsomething man like mself rien b this indignation refuse to absole m ast self of these sins couldnt shake off the feeling that choosing the uck at hinese estaurant secret societ in front of that fateful clock toer that da had been a mistake f had chosen a different ath most certainl ould hae led a er different student life ut after alking those infinite tatami rooms oer those eight das had come to susect that no matter hat had chosen m life ould not hae changed much for the better hat frightened me the most as the thought that no matter here ent ould hae run into u t as ust as he said: he and ere connected b the black thread of fate Therefore ould neither embrace m ast self nor affirm m ast mistakes but for the time being ould consider both ater under the bridge

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or a time u as admitted to a hosital near the camus t as uite delightful to see him straed don to the hite hosital bed ing to his alread ghoulish comleion it aeared as if he had contracted some incurable disease though in realit it as merel a broken bone n fact he as robabl luck to get off ith ust a fracture sat there gloating as he grumbled about his inabilit to artake in an of his usual icked habits but heneer got tired of his bleating stuffed a slice of castella in his mouth to shut him u There as a constant stream of eole coming to isit him at the hosital: in addition to iguchi gasaki anuki and kashi also sa members of the moie circle friends from the softball circle the head of the cultural festial lanning committee the oner of one of the ubs the oner of eko amen and een a number of eole from uck at hinese estaurant To m utter shock een sa iima there The front of the hosital as guarded b a cordon of secret societ members da and night ensuring that u ouldnt tr to make an escae ne da as kashi and chatted at his bedside a beautiful girl came in carring a handmade bento lunch u uncharacteristicall became flustered and told us to get out utside his room kashi tittered imishl ho as that girl asked Thats ohinata he used to be in the moie circle ith u and me but it seems that she has been going out ith him since freshman ear dont beliee this e had a girlfriend dont kno ho he finds the time to go out ith her hen he sends eer aking moment scheming kashi said sounding amused u hates it hen other eole see them together suose he must retend to be a good bo heneer shes around glanced don the corridor t the end of the hall sa a man meaninglessl retending to feed tenen coins into a a hone is face seemed familiar and realied that he had been art of the grou that set out to kidna aori back in m ibrar olice das oticing me glaring at him he hurriedl slammed the hone don on the receier and dashed for coer heaed a sigh e kashi u has so man enemies itd be better for him to go into hiding for a hile ouldnt ou sa think oure right she grinned ll get it all sorted out

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eeing that u m onl friend for the ast to ears found himself in a bind generousl offered to hel him out ots of eole ust aiting for ou outside the hosital dont ou think o kidding hat do ou sa ou take a little tri until things hae cooled don a bit ll eenses aid of course b ours trul u eed me susiciousl hat are ou scheming ou cant fool me ou should ut a little more trust in our fello man There are goodhearted eole like me eerhere ou look nd honestl our ockets are robabl a little light these das no Thats rich coming from ou ont orr ust leae it to me h do ou ant to a for me so badl anas

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broad grin floated to m face ts ho sho m loe dont need that nast stuff he relied