Grandfather... (1)
[We see a closeup of a small memorial shrine. There is a photo of an old man, and two lit sticks of incense.]
Shiratori-san has come to live here, at Narutakisou.
[We pull out further, and see Kozue kneeling before the shrine, apparently in her room.]
...surely, from here on out, things will grow busier...
[We hear someone pounding on the door.]
Voice: Kozue-chan!
...and fun days will visit us.
[Kozue looks over as Tamami pokes her head in the door.]
Tamami: If we don't go soon, we'll be late!
Kozue: OK, I'm going now!
...my heart is filled with such premonitions.
4. Comfortably
[We see the outside of a building topped with a sign reading "Imperial Design Vocational School." (2)]
"Good morning!"
"Morning!"
"Hey, did you finish your project?"
"Well, if I forgot, it would be a real problem!"
"Tell me about it!"
[Inside, we see that the speakers are three of Shiratori's classmates--two girls (one with short hair, one with long hair and glasses) and a boy with long hair in a low ponytail. (3)]
Ponytailed Boy: Knowing what it's like to be punished by Shirogane-sensei, NO ONE would forget...
Long-Haired Girl: That's a bit simple, isn't it?
Ponytailed Boy: Right, Shiratori?
[The three look over to our brave hero...who's drenched in sweat and shaking like a leaf.]
All three: UWAA?!
Boy: ...Shiratori, you...Don't tell me...
[Just then, the door opens.]
Shirogane-sensei (4): All right, everyone, please take your seats!
Boy: Ah...
Shiratori: !!
[Shirogane-sensei glides into the room, with a vacantly pleasant facial expresssion. She has long flowing hair with a bow on top, and wears a flower-print kimono.]
Shirogane-sensei: Good day, everyone! (5) Did you all properly do the project I gave you last week? As I told you last time, in spinning a good story, a good main character is absolutely essential. Everyone, mä~r...mär-mär-mär...MÄ~RCHEN! (6)
[She claps her hands and pauses, seeming to swoon with joy for a second...perhaps. Her facial expression still has yet to change from when she walked in the room.]
Shirogane-sensei: ...have you thought about such a main character?
[She brings one hand up to her face and tilts her head slightly.]
Shirogane-sensei: ...I don't think it's possible, but did anyone forget their project?
[Shiratori, trembling violently, slowly raises his hand.]
Shirogane-sensei: ...Oh my, Shiratori-kun! You forgot?
[From far off, a smiling Shirogane-sensei tilts her head to one side.]
Shirogane-sensei: My, my...
[From not so far off, Shirogane-sensei, still smiling, tilts her head to the other side.]
Shirogane-sensei: Well, well...
[Right in front of Shiratori, Shirogane-sensei--still wearing that same smiling face, though now overcast by shadow--lays a hand on Shiratori's shoulder, while skulls and flames dance in the background.]
Shirogane-sensei: THAT'S A PROBLEM.
[She takes him by the hand and leads him to the door.]
Shirogane-sensei: I'm sorry, everyone, please wait a moment.
[She pulls him out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.]
Long-Haired Girl: ...
Ponytailed Boy: It's like a condemned criminal being led to the guillotine...
Short-Haired Girl: Like an executioner...
[All three jump as a blood-curdling scream comes from the hall--and then...silence. Everyone sweats as the door slides open.]
Shirogane-sensei: Now, then!
[Shirogane-sensei glides back into the room--you can almost see the hearts in the air around her--with a...chastened? (7) ...Shiratori trailing behind her.]
Shirogane-sensei: Now then, I'll collect your projects!
Ponytailed Boy: [thinking] Shiratori...
Short-Haired Girl: [thinking] Shiratori-kun...
Long-Haired Girl [thinking] Shiratori-kun...
[Cut to a shot of the city.]
Ponytailed Boy: Still...
[Shiratori and his three classmates are walking home.]
Ponytailed Boy: To forget Shirogane-sensei's project--you've got some nice guts, Shiratori...
Shiratori: ...It's not like I meant to forget...After I moved, there were a few problems with the other residents...
Ponytailed Boy: After you moved? You moved?
Shiratori: Ah...yeah...the day before yesterday, I moved to Tokyo...
Short-Haired Girl: Wow...so you really did move to Tokyo after that, Shiratori-kun...
Ponytailed Boy: So, what do you mean, there were problems with the residents? Were they noisy, or...?
Shiratori: It would be nice if that was the extent of it...
[He sighs heavily, and bows his head.]
Shiratori: They're just bizarre people--
Kozue: Ah, Shiratori-san?
[Shiratori's head jerks up. Kozue and Tamami stand before the group, dressed in their school uniforms.]
Kozue: What a coincidence, to meet here! Are you going home?
Shiratori: O--Ooya-san?! Why are you here?!
Kozue: ? We always go along this road to and from school...
Shiratori: Eh...? Your school's around here?
[Ponytailed Boy leans in close.]
Ponytailed Boy: Oy, Shiratori...
Shiratori: Huh?
Ponytailed Boy: Since when do you know a beautiful girl like this?
Shiratori: Ah...she's the Ooya-san at the apartment where I'm renting a room...
Ponytailed Boy: What? Ooya...?!
Kozue: Ah...Shiratori-san, are these people friends of yours?
Shiratori: Ah...yeah. They're classmates from vocational school.
Kozue: Ah, I see! Pleased to meet you, everyone! I'm Aoba, the ooya of Narutakisou.
Long-Haired Girl: Ah...
Ponytailed Boy and Short-Haired Girl: P...pleased to meet you...
Kozue: Yes!
[Kozue stands, puzzled, as the three gawk at her.]
Ponytailed Boy: [thinking] ...Ooh, bravo...BRAVO!!
Short-Haired Girl: [thinking] God is unfair...
Long-Haired Girl: [thinking] If I had a little sister like this, I'd play dress-up every day...
Tamami: Ahem!
[They glance back at her, curious.]
Tamami: Everyone's Kozue-chan this, Kozue-chan that...
[Even as she smiles, a shadow draws across her face, and the three cringe back as a VERY familiar aura springs forth.]
Tamami: ...but you can't even notice a runt like me, eh?
Ponytailed Boy: [thinking] Wh...what the...I didn't even notice her...
Short-Haired Girl: [thinking] She certainly is stumpy...
Long-Haired Girl: [thinking] She looks like a Zashikiwarashi (8) ...
Tamami: ...
[Cue the aura again.]
Tamami: You just thought something very rude, didn't you?
Unforunate Trio: [thinking] Sh...she's sharp!
[They quickly take refuge behind the corner of the nearest building.]
Ponytailed Boy: Shi...Shiratori...Who's that mini-Shirogane-sensei...?!
Kozue: Mini...?
Shiratori: Ah...um, she's...
Tamami: Shiratori-san! I'm heading out here, so I'll leave Kozue-chan to you! Please be careful, though--Kozue-chan is "warm" both in good ways and in bad ways!
Shiratori: Huh?
Tamami: Later!
Kozue: Ah!
[And then she's off--zooming after Shiratori's hapless classmates, leaving after-images of herself in her wake. (9)]
Kozue: She left...
Shiratori: ...She won't get violent with them, will she?
Kozue: Of course not! She's not a girl who does things like that!
Shiratori: [thinking] What did she mean, "warm"...?
Kozue: At any rate, where did Tamami-chan...?
Shiratori: ...Shall we go home?
Kozue: ...Yeah...
[Back to Shiratori's classmates, cowering against a wall.]
Tamami: ...Darn it! And it was going so well, too...
[Tamami turns back from the corner of the building she'd been hiding behind and beams at the unfortunate three.]
Tamami: Everyone, thank you for your cooperation!
Ponytailed Boy: ...
[She turns back to the departing pair and sighs.]
Tamami: Ah, I'm so thoughtful...I'm such a good person...
[Seeing her preoccupied, Shiratori's classmates begin to tiptoe away.]
Tamami: [without turning around] ...and where do you think you're sneaking off to?
Classmates: [thinking] Somebody, save us!!
[Meanwhile, Shiratori and Kozue have gotten off the train...]
Kozue: ...by the way, Shiratori-san, how well do you know this area?
Shiratori: Barely at all, as of yet. Momono-san showed me a convenience store nearby the day before yesterday, but that's about it.
Kozue: Well then, on the way back, shall I show you around?
[The two stop under a sign reading, "Futaba Ginza." (10)]
Kozue: Let's see...first, the shopping district is in front of the train station.
[The two enter the district.]
Kozue: In general, anything you need for everyday living can be found here.
Shiratori: Is there a bookstore, too?
Kozue: The bookseller is a little further...
Voice: YO, KOZUE-CHAN!
Kozue: Ah, oji-san, (11) good afternoon!
["Oji-san" is an older man with hairy arms, a small goatee, and spiky black hair held back by a headband. He's wearing a short-sleeved shirt with the kanji for "8" on the chest.]
Oji-san: I got some good daikon (12) in today! Do you want one?
[He blinks as he notices Shiratori.]
Oji-san: Hm? Who's that guy? Perhaps he's Kozue-chan's...you know?
[Shiratori's face turns red, but Kozue just looks on, puzzled.]
Kozue: What's that?
["Oji-san" laughs.]
Oji-san: Don't play dumb, Kozue-chan! I'm asking if he's your good person!
Shiratori: Uh...
Kozue: That's right! Shiratori-san is a good person!
Shiratori: O--Ooya-san...that's not what he...
Oji-san: Oh, you said it! All right, then--
[He offers Kozue a daikon.]
Oji-san: This is a wish from this old man. (13) Take it!
Kozue: Eh? But...
Oji-san: It's fine, don't hold back! But still...thank goodness!
[He rubs away a tear with the heel of his hand.]
Oji-san: Being an ooya with such a young body...would your youth coldly pass you by...this old man was worried!
Kozue: ...??
Shiratori: Eh...
Oji-san: Take care of Kozue-chan! If you make her cry or something, I won't acknowledge you!
[He waves as they walk away. We see that the sign on his shop reads "Greengrocer: Yaonaga." (15)]
Kozue: What was he so happy about?
Shiratori: Ah...um...
Voice: Hey! Welcome back, Kozue-chan!
[The speaker is a young woman with a black-and-white pattered kimono and a bandana over her head, covering most (but not all) of her pale hair, which flows freely down her back. She's holding a small bag labeled, "Traditional Flavor: Akandou."]
Woman: I thought you'd be coming about now, and I baked you a big one...eh? Who's that?
Kozue: Ah! This is Shiratori-san...
[The light bulb comes on over the woman's head.]
Woman: Ho-ho! Kozue-chan--he's your good person, right?
Kozue: That's right! Shiratori-san is a good person!
Shiratori: But Ooya-san! That's not what she's...
Woman: I see, I see...at last, spring has come for Kozue-chan as well!
[She hands Kozue the bag.]
Woman: Now, this is from onee-san (16) to celebrate!
Kozue: ?
Shiratori: [thinking] Are there nothing but people like this around here...?
[Kozue is still puzzling over the matter as the pair walk on.]
Kozue: ...Why is everyone acting like this today?
Shiratori: Ye...yeah... [thinking] As I thought...she doesn't know what "good person" means...
Kozue: Ah! Shiratori-san, this is the bookseller I told you about earlier.
[The sign over the building reads, in English, "Book On."]
Shiratori: Eh--ah...
Kozue: Shall we go in and look for a little bit?
[Inside...]
Shiratori: Well, now... [thinking] They've got a pretty good selection of picture books--having a bookstore like this nearby will be pretty convenient... [out loud] Say, Ooya-sa--
Kozue: ...
Shiratori: [thinking] Ah...she's looking at cookbooks...That reminds me--that girl Asami said Ooya-san was good at cooking...I wonder what kind of recipes she's looking at?
[Shiratori walks over and sees the cover of the book Kozue is reading. There's a picture of a scruffy-looking man fishing on a deserted island--and the title? "Survival Cooking."]
Shiratori: [thinking] Wha...WHAT'S SHE READING?!
Kozue: 1,000 yen...what should I do...
Shiratori: [thinking] AND YET SHE FULLY INTENDS TO BUY IT?! [out loud] O...Ooya-san, why are you buying that book?
Kozue: Eh? Ah, it might come in useful sometime!
Shiratori: [thinking] I see... [out loud] "Sometime"?
Kozue: Like, if we were stranded on a mountain, or...
Shiratori: [thinking] Somehow or other, I understand what she meant by "warm"...How to put it...inside Ooya-san's head, it must be something like this...
[Shiratori pictures the top of Kozue's head as a hot spring, with a couple of cute animals soaking in the heat...]
Shiratori: [thinking] It's no different from something being able to be preserved at a good temperature...
[He shakes his head.]
Shiratori: [thinking] Even if I say so myself, I shouldn't think rude things...
Kozue: Ah...
[She picks up another book--this one entitled, "Big Pots for Business Use."]
Kozue: ...This one's good, too...
Shiratori: [thinking] Why business use...?!
[They walk out of the store--Kozue satisfied, and Shiratori dazed.]
Shiratori: You bought them both after all...
Kozue: It'd be nice if a day came where they were useful, wouldn't it...
Shiratori: [thinking] Warm...definitely warm...
Kozue: Ah, Shiratori-san! If we turn right on this road, there's a park a little further down. If you don't mind, shall we try going there?
Shiratori: Ah, OK...
[At the park...]
Shiratori: Whoa...it's a splendid park, isn't it?
Kozue: This is a place of rest for the people who work at the companies around here.
[They look up at the sky.]
Shiratori: Wow...Somehow, just in this place, the sky looks so broad...
Kozue: That's true. In this area, no matter where you go, there's nothing but buildings...
Shiratori: ... [thinking] Ooya-san...looking at her like this--she's a cute person, after all...without thinking, she charms you...
Kozue: What is it?
Shiratori: Eh--
[He looks away, embarrassed.]
Shiratori: It's...it's nothing!
Kozue: Oh?
[Just then, something else catches her attention.]
Kozue: Ah...
[A woman with short hair, dressed like maid, is on her hands and knees, searching frantically.]
Maid: Not here...not here...waaaaaaah!...Oh, where did it go...
Kozue: Um...did you drop something?
Maid: Eh?
[She looks at them, wide-eyed for a moment...then, she begins to cry again.]
Maid: *sob* Yes, that's right...Somehow, it seems I lost something very important right around here...I've been looking for it for some time, but I can't find it at all...
Kozue: That's terrible...if you don't mind, I'll help you look.
Maid: Wh--really? Thank you, stranger...!
Kozue: So, then, what was it that you dropped?
Maid: A lottery ticket...
Kozue: A lottery...ticket?
Maid: Yes, about this big...
[She gets back down on her hands and knees, continuing to search as she speaks.]
Maid: You see, right now they're having a drawing at the shopping district in front of the station...it's a ticket for that.
Kozue: Ah! In that case, I have a ticket for that too--why don't I give you mine?
Maid: ABSOLUTELY NOT!
Kozue: ...?
Maid: It has to be that ticket...when I got it, I felt vividly that that ticket...!! I have a premonition--if I use that ticket, I'll win... (First class...warm seas...two nights and three days...)
[And so, with a strong wind blowing, they look.]
Shiratori: [thinking] With a wind like this, anything paper will fly away...Somehow, wasting time like this to find one lottery ticket at best feels very sour...
Maid: [thinking] I wonder if we'll find it...
Kozue: Ah!
Maid: Did you find it?!
Kozue: A cat...
Shiratori: ...
Maid: *weeps* Are you seriously looking...?
Kozue: S-sorry...I'll look seriously...
Maid: Please do...
[As Kozue crawls along, she sees a can lying on the ground. She picks it up--and as she does, she sees a bottle lying nearby, so she picks that up, as well. And then, she sees still more litter...Shiratori and the maid watch as she gathers it up, and dumps it in a trash can.]
Maid: Is she doing that on purpose? It's on purpose, isn't it?
Shiratori: Um...
[Night falls...]
Shiratori: [thinking] Ah...the day's over...well, if we just keep searching like this, we should give up...if we don't get home soon, I'm going to have problems with my project--if I forget it next time, she'll kill me!
[He turns to look over at Kozue.]
Shiratori: Ooya-san, it's gotten dark, so we should get hoOOOO--?!
[Kozue, like Shiratori, is down on her hands and knees, searching. She's facing away from him...and the skirt on her school uniform is very short.]
Kozue: Not here...eh? Did you say something, Shiratori-san?
[Shiratori has put some distance between them, and is doing his best to stanch his nosebleed.]
Shiratori: Wh...white...
[Kozue crawls over to him.]
Kozue: Shiratori-san?
Shiratori: White...er, that is, nothing! I didn't see anything!!
Kozue: ?
[She looks at him, puzzled...as Shiratori has the bad fortune to look down slightly.]
Shiratori: [thinking] This...from this angle...
Kozue: ...Shiratori-san?
Shiratori: Ah...
[His face turns red, and he flees.]
Shiratori: No...NOTHING!
Kozue: ?
[Shiratori takes shelter behind a bush, and hits himself in the head.]
Shiratori: [thinking] No good, useless...! Looking at Ooya-san like that--
Maid: Um...
[Shiratori looks over--and, to his alarm, sees the maid, wearing an expression of deadly gloom.]
Maid: What sort of laid-back things are you doing in a place like this? You two aren't really looking, are you...
Shiratori: Wha...of course we are!
[The clock reads just after 8:00 when the maid finally heaves a heavy sigh.]
Maid: If we can't find it just looking like this...it's probably flown somewhere far off, or it was picked up by someone somewhere...
Kozue: I'm sorry we weren't of any use...
Maid: Ah, don't worry about it!...Or, rather, I'm sorry for making you spend so much time helping me look...Really, thank you...!
Shiratori: [thinking] Whew...finally, we can go home...
Maid: Oh, yeah! As a way of saying thanks, how about some confections?
[She walks over to a basket sitting on a bench.]
Maid: Do you two like sweet thi...huh?
[Sitting inside the basket--atop everything--is a lottery ticket.]
All three: ...AH...
Shiratori: ...um...
Maid: I...I'M SO SOOOORRRYYYYYYYY!! I DIDN'T NOTICE!
Shiratori: "Didn't notice"...
Maid: I thought I'd just put it in my pocket...but to think it was in the basket--even O-Shaka-sama (17) or the unknown Buddhas...
Kozue: ...
Shiratori: You've got to be kidding me...
Kozue: So it wasn't lost after all?
[She claps her hands, and beams.]
Kozue: That's great, isn't it!
Maid: Ah...ye-yeah...thank you...
[Kozue and Shiratori see the maid off, then start home again.]
Shiratori: Sheesh...what a troublesome person...
Kozue: But, it's great that she found it...I hope she wins that lottery!
Shiratori: ... [thinking] Somehow...what Tamami-chan said that time, about her being warm in a good way...I understand, a little.
Kozue: Lotteries are so exciting, don't you think? The clattering, revolving around that instant--!
Shiratori: [thinking] All the harshness in the atmosphere, in the heart...it's like she takes them and wraps them up in a little ball.
[He glances over at her out of the corner of his eye.]
Shiratori: [thinking] Such...warmth...
[He turns to look at her more fully for a moment, then turns away.]
Shiratori: Ooya-san, do people often tell you you're like the spring?
Kozue: ...Yes, once in a while, but...
[Shiratori chuckles.]
Shiratori: I thought so.
Kozue: ???
[Finally, back at Narutakisou--a visibly weary Shiratori opens the door to his room.]
Shiratori: Now, then, I need to quickly finish this project...
Momono: YO, WELCOME BACK!
[Momono, Tamami, and Johnny (with Haibara in tow) are all there. Tamami has the glasses; Haibara has a snack hanging from his mouth; and Momono--wearing a side-tied necktie like a headband--has a sake bottle in hand.]
Shiratori: ...AH?! Again, you went into someone's room without permission! (And on top of that, you're drunk!)
Momono: Come, come now! Wash common, I'll have you throw up!
Shiratori: ...huh...?
Momono: Heh heh heh...Up to now, you and Kozue-chan--just the two of you--what have you been up to, hubby? (18) Please let the sake fish (19) hear!
Shiratori: WHAT?! How did you...
[He looks over at Tamami, who has an all-too-innocent look on her face.]
Momono: Come on, come on!
Shiratori: [thinking] What kind of exaggerations did she tell them...?!!
[Back in her room, Kozue--once again kneeling before her grandfather's shrine--looks over at the loud laughter, clearly audible through the walls.]
Grandfather...today was a very fun day.
Kozue: [thinking] It sounds like everyone's having fun, too...
I hope that tomorrow will be a day just as fun...
[At the lottery drawing...]
Man: White ball. You win a pocket tissue!
Maid: WAAAAAH...?!
1 This marks the first time that we see the thoughts of someone other than Shiratori in narrative/voiceover. BACK
2 皇デザイン専門学校 ("Ou DEZAIN senmongakkou"): lit. "Emperor Design Vocational School." BACK
3 I run into a small problem, here. These three are recurring characters, but we never learn their names! So, to avoid any confusion, I hereby dub them Ponytailed Boy, Short-Haired Girl, and Long-Haired Girl. :P BACK
4 Would YOU dare call her anything else? :) BACK
5ご機嫌よう ("Go-kigen you"): lit. "In a good mood." A phrase for greetings and departures. BACK
6 Märchen: German for "fairy tale." BACK
7 Not to put too fine a point on it, but he looks like a cat who just OD'd on cream. BACK
8 座敷童 ("Zashikiwarashi"): A red-faced child spirit with bobbed hair. BACK
9 And I mean that in the most literal sense possible. Sometimes, I wonder if Tamami's half-alien. :) BACK
10 銀座 ("Ginza"): A shopping district in Tokyo. It's used here to indicate that this area serves a similar function for the Futaba area. BACK
11 おじさん ("oji-san"): Uncle. See footnote 4 from chapter 3. (The counterpart for "aunt" is "oba-san.") BACK
12 大根 ("Daikon"): Japanese white radish. BACK
13 おっちゃん ("Occhan"): Less-formal "oji-san," here used self-referentially. BACK
14 兄ちゃん("Nii-chan"): Less-formal "big brother." BACK
15 八百長 ("Yaonaga"): Used in this case as a proper name. (The first character in the name means 8, and is the same character that was on the man's shirt.) However, this set of kanji can also be read as "Yaochou," with a meaning of "put-up job" or "fixed game." :) BACK
16 お姉さん ("Onee-san"): Big sister, here used self-referentially. (And this is the last time I'm going to talk about these in a footnote! :P ) BACK
17 お釈迦様 ("O-Shaka-sama"): Shakyamuni. The Buddha. BACK
18 ダンナ ("Danna"): Master of the house; also "husband" in informal use. (In case her nonsensical babbling the previous line didn't make it clear, Momono is drunk as a skunk. :) ) BACK
19 酒のサカナ ("Sake no sakana"): lit. "Fish of sake." Did I mention Momono was drunk? :) I'm assuming this refers in some way to her drinking habits...I think. BACK