Mononohare: The Mystery of Shinjubiki

         In front of the cemetery—Ahem—my high school, it has been wholly devastated by an apparition called grim reaper that should have belong in the depths of the world dividing heaven and hell, instead, it was able to escape that place and has come to manifest a human being in order to transport everyone’s soul to the River’s Styx. And because of an apparition appearing out-of-nowhere, I can no longer remain calm but in fact, I am excited to banish that monster in order to save everyone.

         Like how a main character should be.

         “Enough with that smug face of yours.” Annoyed, Fūjin said.

         “But what am I supposed to do… I am already tired that I can no longer act. Didn’t you know that dressing you as a high school student took longer, which made everyone in this place have turned into corpses?”

         Well, it was expected that I would be the one to save everyone yet it’s not like it is easier to do that than say. Like cycling in an inclined path—which at first, it feels amazing but when you get back up that inclined path, it becomes tiring and difficult.

         “It was because you insisted.” She crossed her arm. “Anyway, why do you look so annoyingly depressed? You were just eagerly depressed back in the shrine.”

         “What’s the difference?”

         “The difference between the two of those is that right now, I don’t feel like sympathizing with you now.”

         “And you call yourself a deity?”

         But seriously though, Fūjin in a high school student’s uniform is just pleasing my sense aesthetically in which I could no longer take my sight away from Fūjin’s thighs and breast. I mean, it’s flat but why does it matter? If I can fondle them then that’s fine for me.

         Maybe I should tell her to become a high school student so we could walk and talk together, but knowing that she has to defend her shrine really is depressing. I can’t just force her to create a weakness in her place, even though I just dragged her away from her shrine—in which it doesn’t matter because in order to take over a shrine, the owner of that shrine should be killed.

         Oioi, who am I to say ‘killed’ like it’s a normal word?

         “Why are you staring at my legs that much?” After noticing my concentrated stares, she stomped at me with force that I couldn’t feel my face anymore.

         “Stop this, Fūjin.” I removed her feet at my face. “This isn’t the time to be doing something audacious!”

         “Says the person who crawled through here.”

         “…So what am I supposed to do to defeat Charon?” I stand up. “You can’t basically make me go barehanded, right?”

         “Right. So I’ll give you this Tibetan Knife.”

         As I kneel with my hands waiting to receive that knife, I felt the need to grin as to suppose that this scene is just an acknowledgement that I really am the main character—not Atsushi, but then again, to everyone’s perspective, they are their own protagonist.

         “This sheathe is very heavy. I can’t even balance it with one hand, even though I am strong enough.”

         “It’s like a claymore but smaller which would be tough on you.”

         “You’d expect me to use both of my hands for a knife like this?!”

         “What can I do? Just accept it or else we’ll never progress out of this situation.”

         Why does she even have this heavy knife? And how did she keep it?

         To be honest, this knife is oddly made. The sheath is covered in silver with a bizarre design of a flower which is very charming and cool, but I don’t really know why it had to look like it.

         I unsheathe the knife below the ground—fully knowing that if I unsheathe it above, It might fall because it’s too heavy to control.

         “This is steel, isn’t it?”

         “Yeah. Tibetan knives are typically bright and sharp—not to mention, the handles are made out of ox bones. At first, I thought it was weird but then I realized why.”

         “What do you mean?”

         “This Tibetan knife is manifested by an apparition—meaning, it’s pretty different from the others.”

         “By being heavy?”

         “Haven’t you realized it?”

         “What haven’t I realized? I am pretty sure this is the only thing that I can feel.”

         “That knife isn’t just any knife out there. It can cut every kind of metal and it can also kill an apparition. It’s very efficient, right?”

         Ugh… this is the kind of mining knife that miners should be using. And even if it can cut any metal or just anything, where would I use it in the first place? The only thing I found a plus in this one is its ability to kill an apparition which is very surreal.

         “You did say that if an apparition manifests a human or an object, they become more powerful and have the ability to interfere with one another.”

         “So now then, we will rush this place with full force and beat that old man.”

         “Oi, we can’t just do that without planning anything.” I blocked her from her path.

         “What are you talking about? Rushing on and defeating the enemy is enough to deal with this job.”

         “Are you kidding me, you noob!”

         “Then what do you have in your mind?”

         “In order to defeat the apparition, we should start by distracting it—and that is your job—so that I can rush from behind the apparition and then clang!”

         “It’s not even metal you are hitting.”

         “But bones are like metals, although metals are sturdier.”

         “Right, right.”

         “Listen to me…”

         I examined more of the lifeless body lying around everywhere without a single clue as to how Charon stole or transported the soul of each and every one of the students without getting noticed as Fūjin was just standing around, staring at a single voided entrance.

         As an amateur detective, there are many things that I want to examine. Like, most of the students' arms always have a stamp of darkness in it and it’s not just that, their emotions remain as to when their souls have been stolen—which is just an assumption.

         The important part is that I want to know what kind of panties those girls are wearing, especially when this is the perfect chance for me to snatch up an important clue in order to finally avenge myself for what happened when I was seeing the future.

         … I don’t want to remember it anymore. I don’t want to think that I have lost the virginity in my eyes. I am still innocent.

         Now then, just a single flip of the skirt… closer… warmer… and it’s…

         A BEAR PANTY!

         Yay—wait, what are you a seven years old child?!

         …So much for what kind of panties the girls are wearing and all I see in this one girl is a panty with a bear imprinted on it. Damn you, youth.

         “Are you done messing around, Shunichi? Come at me.”

         “What do you mean messing around?” I frustratingly approached her.

         This is a very important clue, you know.

         In front of us was a very bizarre entrance, covered in darkness spiraling endlessly like it doesn’t even exist in front of us yet it does and its tempting us to get inside. Likely, this must be the work of Charon but I don’t even know what it is.

         “I have a bad feeling about this.” Fūjin presaged.

         “What is this, Fūjin?”

         “As you can see. It’s the entrance to the dungeon that Charon is waiting for and I don’t even think it’s safe to assume that if we both enter the entrance, we will still be together.”

         “Are you seriously kidding me?” I then walked around to enter. “Not like it matters anyway so let’s go.”

         “Yeah—and I am worried about you!” Fūjin quickly stopped me using the wind.

         “Don’t you trust me?”

         “…We’ll… I do trust you…”

         “Then what are we waiting for—” I tried to enter again.

         “Wait!” Fūjin stopped me again. “Even though I have given you the knife. I am so not sure that you’ll be able to use it because you don’t seem strong enough.”

         “Listen here, Fūjin. You shouldn’t underestimate the main character in this novel, especially when this is just starting.”

         “The main character… pfft.” She grins.

         “Don’t laugh!” I prepared myself as I breathed in and out as I cleaned my uniform. “As you’ve said, we don’t have the time to spend worrying around. Fūjin, it was fun while it lasted… I am sure we will meet again in the next world.”

         I calmly walk slowly to the spiraling void of an entrance like I was looking to myself but that self of mine is a different person, an existence that’s the opposite to who I am today, making me think that maybe if I have chosen a different answer from the past.

         I wouldn’t have to be like this.

         I then set foot in the entrance as it pulls me in like a magnet.

         “…Be careful—” Fūjin’s voice was trimmed when I entered the entrance.

         Wait for me, Atsushi… without fail, I’ll save you and all the other students who have their souls stolen in there.