Vol. 5 Ch. 2 Ep. 20: True Form

This girl...is truly the legendary great prophet, Kuzunoha?

The mystical setting is fitting, but her delicate, adorable appearance belies that.

Fufu. It's only natural you feel that way.

After all, I am the founding president of the Hyakkaryouran, educated in the art of war, and beautiful and talented. You would be hard pressed to find the like all throughout Hyakkiyako's long history.

Oh? While the comparison is welcome, I'm afraid you've confused timelines.

I do not resemble Nagusa. Nagusa, in fact, resembles me.

For I've existed for many a century before Nagusa was even a thought in the womb.

So, Schale's Sensei.

I have much to discuss with you, but to begin...

You're late!

It is only now you come to see me, so many moons after Nagusa delivered my letter? The excuse of "business" can only carry you so far.

Perhaps you believed that a fox spirit like me is unaffected by time, and the neglect associated with its passing.

Hmm... Well, very well.

I suppose I prefaced my invitation with, "if there was someone you wished to save." I am aware of how all the students depend on and wait for you.

And if I were any judge of human expression, it would seem you've found your answer.

All right, all right. Enough of that.

You haven't forgotten, have you? You all wouldn't even be here if it weren't for me.

That being said, get out. I have a tome to discuss with Kuzunoha.

Yabuki Shuro...

Oooh, scary glare, Nagusa. What do you want?

Without the Hundred Lotus, all you can do is glare! Hmph!

Well, I did find the Twilight Temple thanks to you, so I guess I'll spare your little life.

Wh‑What?! Did you just...hit me?!

Children should not interrupt when adults are speaking.

Now, wait your turn.

Sh-She hit me... She doesn't even have the Hundred Lotus... How did she nullify the tome's magic?

*sigh* So not only are you a rude one, you're a fool as well.

I am the very essence of the Authority of the Presidency. Did you truly believe I would not be able to wield that which I created?

Your ignorance is astounding.

And you stand here on the grounds of the Twilight Temple, in the domain of the spirit realm. Did you think you could trust the ebb and flow of time? Of reality as you expect it?

Uwah... Uwaaaaaah...!

I-I'm telling on you to Kokuriko!

Fufu, like a child who thinks she can slay a dragon with a knife.

So, my successor, why do you once again tread upon these grounds?

It wasn't only to escort Sensei here, was it?

...

You denied my existence and left this temple. And yet, here you are. Do you now accept that I am the Kuzunoha of legend?

Yes. I won't deny your existence anymore.

It is your recognition that allowed me to wield the Hundred Lotus, as the Hyakkaryouran's rightful successor.

But...

...why wasn't it Ayame?

Ayame is more capable than me in every way possible. And she waited and waited for you.

So why? Why would you appear before someone like me, who is utterly incompetent and weak?

If you had acknowledged Ayame instead, if you'd bestowed the Hundred Lotus' Authority upon her...

...Ayame and everyone at the Hyakkaryouran could have been safe.

...Things wouldn't have changed the way they did.

And you believe this?

If Ayame had been the one to wield the Hundred Lotus, do you truly believe that she would have led everyone to their happily ever after?

That's...

Allow me to set a few misconceptions you have straight. It is not by my hand or permission that people pass through the Twilight Temple.

What you see here is an echo of the past. This place, my very existence... They are forgotten remnants that exist not in the reality from whence you came.

In this strange twilight where light and darkness cross, the past fades into a shadow, melds into the dark.

Those who chase the light of their past can never see its shadows.

And those who cannot face their shadow, shall never shine a light for others.

Only when one sheds the light of the past, unmarred by fear, can one best the darkness of their shadows.

And THAT is why, unlike Ayame, you and I met.

But still... I can't leave Ayame like that.

So I beg of you. Please...

How do I return Ayame to her true form?

...Her true form, you say.

Tell me, my successor. What was the real Ayame? This true form you seek?

The real Ayame...

My Ayame... She was like the sunlight at high noon, the irreproachable president of the Hyakkaryouran, always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone in need.

And is that an accurate reflection of her soul?

To you who knew her best, is that who Ayame was? Both inside and out?

That's...

That was a fine match. Thank you, Nagusa.

But with happy dreams...well, it's a harsh juxtaposition to the reality you end up waking up to.

You were never my friend, Goryou Nagusa.

Every living being dons a mask.

We fear hate, abandonment. So we wear our most agreeable mask and pray to be accepted.

It is a cost of society.

And when a mask is so perfectly fitted, the line between reality and fiction becomes blurred to outsiders.

Only the wearer knows where that line is drawn.

So I will ask you one more time. Who is this "true Ayame" you desire?

The Ayame...I desire...

I...have no answer to that. I'm not her.

I can't pretend to know who Ayame was underneath her mask.

But...even if I can't understand that, even if she pushes me away...

I still want to be by Ayame's side.

Spilt water will not return to its bowl, and the dead will never rise again. Likewise, you cannot return a changed soul to its former state.

Just as a flower cannot bear fruit until it withers, and in turn, that fruit will fall from the flower and rot. The world is unshakeable in its ways, the inescapability of cause and effect.

If despite all this, you still desire to save someone...

Fufu. Well, Sensei already knows this answer.

I've learned something of importance, though.

I discovered how it was that Hoshino was able to return to normal.

Unlike me, she was in an incomplete state, and it wasn't the Chroma that transformed her.

And in the end, she had to give up a part of who she was, a part of her nature...

That is how she could move forward.

If one can recognize who they are behind their mask, lay down their denials, and accept both the good and the ugly...

Then anyone can step into tomorrow.

My successor, do you wish to save Ayame?

Yes. I'll do whatever it takes.

Then the answer is right before you. Do not deny her.

What you cannot understand, you must not reject. When you wish to run and hide, you must face her with resolve. Only then will you find your way.

Do this, and you will be reunited with both your friend wandering in the twilight and the hand with which you once reached out to her.

...That's enough!

You think I came all this way for your stuffy old lecture?

Humans...ordinary humans...will never be able to understand each other!

If mouthing off that sort of nonsense were enough to be understood and saved, who would care about rumors?!

You have to worry about what people think behind their masks, and prove yourself even if it means getting hurt! Otherwise, no one will even pay you a second thought!

Otherwise...someone like me who doesn't even have a tome...ever since losing Inou's Phantom Records...

Inou's Phantom Records...?

Oh, that tattered ghost story book? What could you possibly need with that old thing?

Th‑That old thing...?

Since you journeyed all the way to the Twilight Temple, I shall impart some wisdom upon you, child.

The true value of a book lies in its story, not the gilded cover which houses it.

Understand that, and you'll one day have a tome of your own.

You're just dodging my question by spouting nonsense!

Nonsense...? Don't you know that all stories begin with a little bit of nonsense?

You have a long way to go before you become a true storyteller.

Ugh...

This is why I hate the Hyakkaryouran so much!