Otorimonogatari

by Nisioisin

  A bicycle. Basically a light car. Not a so-called granny bike like what Big Brother Koyomi rides (to judge from it, he isn’t particular about bicycles in the least), but a fairly stylish BMX bike.

  Nadeko freezes and thinks, Ah, so i’m just going to get run over like this, i’m probably going to be sent to the hospital with broken bones, it looks like it’s going to hurt, but i won’t have to go to school for a while, maybe Big Brother will come to visit, Nadeko had better get her best pajamas ready─this “kalaidoscope” of images from the future runs through Nadeko’s head, but the rider of the bike continues:

  “Watch─me go!” and turns the bike’s handlebars in a somewhat unreasonable direction.

  Imagine a T created by the bike’s front wheel and its frame.

  While the brakes may not have been applied in time, this was, structurally speaking, no different from the bike slamming into a wall.

  Honestly, i think you could have dodged a person as petite as Nadeko with nothing more than a slight tilt of the handlebars─but i’m sure the rider was desperate.

  The front wheel stops, but the back wheel continues on.

  It leaps into the air.

  The bike ends up clearing Nadeko’s head…no, grazes it even as it misses her.

  One Leap─there’s no such manga, though.

  After that, both the bike and its rider go sliding along the asphalt like two spinning fireworks─but not only does Nadeko have no broken bones, she isn’t even scratched.

  Still, i’ve turned pale.

  …While it all happens in a moment, Nadeko’s never been more scared in her life─it was a terrifying experience. Yes, monsters and ghosts and those kinds of things are scary, but the real, concrete fear that is a traffic accident instantly outdoes those kinds of psychological scares.

  If only for a moment, i forget the meloncholy Nadeko feels on her way to school.

  “A-Are you okay?!”

  Nadeko suddenly comes to her senses and runs toward where the bike lies sideways on the street─not because i’m worried about any damage to the bike itself, of course, but because i’m trying to get to the girl sandwiched against the ground by her bike.

  It’s a girl.

  While the Road Traffic Act would fault the rider for not looking both ways before speeding forward, it’s also true that Nadeko wasn’t paying attention when she was walking─no, i’m worried no matter whose fault it is.

  Of course i’m worried, someone has fallen to the ground. You could say that she just fell over on her bike, which isn’t much of an accident, but it could be a big deal if she hit her head.

  It might be a good idea to call an ambulance.

  Nadeko doesn’t have a cell phone, though.

  Pay phones have been disappearing from town lately, too, so in order to call for help, i would have to run into one of the homes around here and─oh, but Nadeko isn’t able to talk to people she doesn’t know.

  In that case, she’d have to go back home first and─

  “─I’m good!”

  “Aaah!” i scream.

  Just as i run over to the girl, she suddenly sits up as if she has a spring-loaded torso. No, while i likened it to a spring mechanism due to the momentum, Nadeko would say she seemed more like a zombie─because the girl was definitely limp and immobile a second earlier.

  Yes.

  Like─all of the times that Koyomi is dead.

  …

  i have to say, “all of the times that he’s dead” is a pretty unique phrase.

  “Are you hurt, Sengoku?” the girl looks at Nadeko and asks.

  She has a pleasant smile on her face. She looks very likable.

  But Nadeko can’t help but be anything but afraid of that smile─because.

  “Hmm? What’s the matter, Sengoku? I thought I managed to dodge you, but don’t tell me I grazed a hair or two on your head! Well, I’m real sorry if I did, Sengoku.”

  “Wh-Why…”

  i have a hard time voicing the word. No, Nadeko is reserved and shy and ends up talking to everyone this way… But i have an even harder time saying anything to this person today.

  i’m “inordinetly” afraid.

  i guess you can put it that way.

  “Wh-Why… Nadeko’s name…”

  “Hm?”

  “Why…do you know…Nadeko’s name?”

  “Hmmm?”

  The girl’s eyes open wide.

  She has on the same likable smile, but─it’s clearly stiff.

  It’s like her face is telling you how much she just messed up.

  “That’s right!” she exclaims, looking up to the sky. “Agh, I haven’t met you yet, Sengoku!”

  “Huh?”

  “Sheesh… I got the order all wrong… This is all because I’m having such a tough time finding Hachikuji… There’s something way too irregular about that girl. What a nuisance. Oh, what should I do?” the girl says, getting up and doing the same for her bicycle.

  She starts anew.

  “Nice to meet you, cute missy!”

  She’s too late by any measure.

  Though i am “bold over” by her guts.

  “My name’s Ogi Oshino!”

  “…Oshino?”

  Oshino? Oshino…

  Mèmè Oshino─Shinobu Oshino.

  No, that’s not it.

  She said her name was Ogi Oshino.

  i haven’t heard it before─could the family name just be a coincidence?

  “Uhh, how should I pretend that didn’t happen? I guess I just need to mention Araragi-senpai to her? Okay, then. Um, Sengoku, I heard about you from Araragi-senpai, my senior. You can tell by my uniform, right? That makes me his junior, and Miss Kanbaru’s junior, too. Not his jeweler, his junior. I’m a freshman at Naoetsu High.”

  “…”

  Her story’s full of holes.

  You could even say that she’s lost the plot.

  Anyone would find it hard to speak to someone like her, not just Nadeko.

  Still, Big Brother’s junior?

  Not his jeweler.

  And Miss Kanbaru’s junior─true, she’s wearing a Naoetsu High uniform, the same school that Big Brother Koyomi and Miss Kanbaru attend.

  Even i think i’m being stupid.

  That’s all it takes to make Nadeko relax a little. All i needed to hear is that this Class-A suspicious individual, suspicious as can be, goes to school with Koyomi, and she suddenly seems somewhat trustworthy. That’s what makes Nadeko think that really, i’m stupid.

  i doubt the thought brought any visible change in Nadeko’s attitude, though.

  i’m just nervously looking at the ground, like always.

  Not saying anything.

  When i’m quiet like this, most people give up and walk off somewhere, with a Forgeddit. That’s the “president” that’s been set.

  That’s the pattern. But.

  “Didn’t work, huh?” the girl─Miss Ogi─says, looking back up at the sky.

  She won’t give up on me, won’t walk off.

  She continues, like she’s “gryping.”

  “Look at that, I messed things up from the very start. Whatever. Your case is basically like a side story. I doubt it’ll turn out like it did with Tsubasa of the Hanekawas─um.”

  And then.

  Miss Ogi extends her right hand to Nadeko.

  “You see, I’m Mèmè Oshino’s niece.”

  “…”

  “I heard about you from my uncle, too─about how you were a victim. I guess it’s because Kaiki was involved, but you know, when it comes to aberrations, a pure victim is pretty rare.”

  However, adds Miss Ogi, her tone bright and clear.

  “People can’t be victims forever─Sengoku. There are just times when we’re victims and times when we’re victimizers, that’s all. Or do you still think of yourself as a victim?”

  “…”

  “No reaction, huh?” She shrugs. Almost like she’s having fun. “Yes, maybe you can always be
a victim if you act that way, looking at the ground, staying silent, not speaking a word─but how well is that going to go for you this time, I wonder?”

  “…”

  “This time─just might be an exception.”

  “…”

  “Yeah, it really is nice and easy being a victim. You get everyone’s sympathy, and they’re all so nice to you. You sometimes hear people talk about how we write off victims, but really, they’re just saying that the victimizers are victims, too─I think my uncle hated that way of thinking, but, well, maybe there are only victims in this world. In which case, if you turn it around again, then from the start, you mightn’t have been a pure victim, either─and who knows, that could come to light in this tale.”

  “…T-Tale?”

  “Uh huh,” Miss Ogi confirms. “Sengoku, don’t tell me you think your everyday life lacks any sort of narrative.”

  See ya.

  Miss Ogi gets on her bike─it seems like the fall didn’t cause any particular technical issues─spins the pedals, and rides kind of like she’s doing a stunt to leave the scene.

  Like always.

  i believe.

  Nadeko isn’t good at talking, so people give up on her and leave─always.

  She didn’t treat Nadeko to a Forgeddit, but the result was the same as always.

  The pattern that’s the “president.”

  It’s no surprise.

  It shouldn’t be.

  But.

  “…Hm?”

  Although it’s no surprise─i am left with the feeling that something’s a little off, really, only just a little.

  So slightly off that i’ll probably forget it by tomorrow and never remember.

  But despite my impression that we didn’t talk for that long, i notice that somehow─according to Nadeko’s watch, quite a lot of time seems to have passed.

  How do i explain it?

  Almost like time has been stolen away.

  i don’t think the conversation with Miss Ogi was so much fun that it made Nadeko lose track of time─so why is it?

  Why is it─that i feel like i’m going to have to talk to that person again─in time?

  No.

  To jump ahead, i’ll have as close as possible to no chance at all of doing that after this─because before Nadeko can meet her again.

  Big Brother Koyomi and i are going to end up fighting to the death.

  004

  By the way, Nadeko ignored Miss Ogi’s outstretched right hand a moment ago─but that’s not to say i didn’t actually look at it.

  Avoiding Miss Ogi’s eyes, casting mine down, i did see her hand─in fact, you could say her hand was all i could see exactly because i was looking down. Unless i was mistaken, Miss Ogi seemed to want to shake Nadeko’s hand.

  While she pulled hers back with a smile as if nothing happened, it’d normally offend people.

  No, i think i must have offended Miss Ogi.

  All of that hard-to-understand stuff she brought up before leaving, about victims and victimizers, about everyday life and narratives, might have been her way of spiting Nadeko for her rudeness.

  Making people feel uneasy by insinuating things is a common and effective tactic in conversations.

  But.

  Nadeko can’t do it.

  She can’t, even if it offends people.

  She can’t be touched by people.

  She can’t touch people.

  A handshake is out of the question, and i can’t stand physical contact like being tapped on the face or arm, either─it makes Nadeko flinch.

  It makes Nadeko flinch and flinch.

  No nudging Nadeko.

  That’s a Nade-no-no.

  i know i’m taking this too far, but i think i’d prefer getting hit.

  Because getting hit only takes a moment─there’s not enough time for us to mix.

  Mix what? Our temperature. Body heat.

  That’s right.

  Nadeko can’t stand other people’s body heat─she can’t stand the warmth of human skin. Nadeko can’t begin to stand her body heat mixing with somebody else’s.

  For example, the warmth from someone’s hand─or maybe the chill─from shaking it is just too stressful.

  It makes Nadeko break out in a cold sweat.

  To keep going into the details, that could be why Nadeko’s actually fine when people touch her over her clothes.

  “An excessive dislike of contact with others is a manifestation of a strong sense of self-consciousness. It would follow that while you seem quiet, Sengoku, you might in fact have a strong will that refuses to rely on others.”

  ─That’s what Miss Hanekawa told Nadeko when i asked her for advice, but i think she was being kind.

  i think she was being tactful.

  All i really am is a coward.

  Nadeko is even afraid of relying on people, that’s all.

  Of course, if you were to ask Nadeko how she saw it, everyone else seems a lot stranger─why do they do it?

  Why are they so ready to let their guard down around others? And to be touched?

  Nadeko doesn’t want people touching her, and she doesn’t lower her guard.

  All right, i’ve made it to school. i have arrived.

  Nadeko’s traffic accident with Miss Ogi (or Miss Ogi’s accident with herself, as it played out) didn’t make her late─while we may have spoken for a lot longer than i thought, Nadeko always leaves home quite early so that no matter what kind of trouble she encounters on the way to school, she’ll be fine.

  Of course, i only started looking out for trouble like this after what happened in June.

  Maybe i didn’t get any more cautious and am just being my usual timid self.

  …Speaking of which.

  i wasn’t too bothered when that happened.

  That experience of a snake wrapping itself around Nadeko’s bare skin─oh, right.

  It’s like i learned in science class. Snakes are coldblooded─so body temperature doesn’t really come into play with them.

  Today is October thirty-first. We haven’t seen snow yet, but it’s easily cold enough to say that it’s already winter─it’s so chilly out. In fact, snakes, which are reptiles, might already be hibernating.

  Nadeko enters her school and changes her shoes.

  From outdoor to indoor shoes.

  Nadeko can’t reach her Year 2, Class 2 shoe cupboard, second row from the top, without stretching a little─i wish i was a little taller every time i arrive at or leave school, in other words, every time i use this cupboard.

  Nadeko takes off her shoes, stands on the wooden slats next to the cupboards, and reaches.

  Nadeko’s fingers poke around the cupboard and─

  “Ee…aghh!” i scream again. It’s the second time today.

  Nadeko’s voice is usually small, but her screams are, of course, loud.

  While i froze when Miss Ogi nearly ran Nadeko over, her bottom falls right to the floor this time around.

  A somewhat indecent pose.

  A certain kind of observer might have seen a girl overstretching, losing her balance, and slipping on the smooth slats because she was wearing socks. Like a dummy.

  But it was something else. That wasn’t it.

  Unable to get up, Nadeko looks at her right hand─the hand that was just poking around her cubby.

  “…”

  Nothing seems to be wrong with her right hand, and Nadeko’s eyes turn to the cupboard next─but all i see is a plain old cupboard.

  Nadeko’s indoor shoes are poking out a bit.

  So she can’t see it.

  There’s no─white snake there.

  “…”

  But i could feel it.

  Nadeko might call it a familiar feeling─that of a snake wrapping around her bare skin.

  Soft yet hard.

  Smooth but scaly.