Kara no Kyoukai Vol 3 Chapter 6

Part VI: Records in Oblivion

From it wafted the smell of green and the tiny whispers of insects.

And further still did I walk.

the company of children.

resolved to press home.

The forest children began to sing.

“It is when you linger.”

The chorus of cradles recited in melancholy unison.

The fog flowed together like purest milk behind me.

I know little of this eternity.

To a home far from this place.

And wrapped in the smell of green and the tiny whispers of insects,

They denied me home for an eternity.

Records in Oblivion - I

enough to bring a white cloud of breath with every whisper. Nevertheless,

a new year, my sixteenth one. Surely, for many people around the world

the one chance in a year they can share the warmth and sense of new

Not for me, though. In fact, New Year to me has become the time of the

in my room are in danger of my desire to hurl them against the wall and

away. Sadly, human hearts and memory are not such convenient things.

preparations to go to Miss Tōko’s office.

Insists that I dress in a kimono for the first shrine visit of the New Year.

one for the traditional clothing, so I ignore it and head out of my room to

“Oh, Azaka dear, are you going out?” my mother asks as I climb down

“Yes. Just going to meet someone who I owe a favor to. I’ll be home

household.

friendly ones, it seems. Still, I think for a while that it reflects my mood

eases my steps just a bit.

when, just like any other person, I actually looked forward to it. But it was

New Year when I went back to my real home for the holidays.

that my body was cursed with. I’ve never had any high grades in PE, and

/ RECORDS IN OBLIVION - I • 5

countryside when I was only ten years old. Since then, I only came home

back. My uncle treated me like his own adopted daughter, and raised me

where my constitution eventually improved to become normal and render

For you see, I have a brother, Mikiya Kokutō. And I love him.

close siblings, but the romantic sort of love between a boy and a

girl might be mistaken, and it would not be wrong to assume such a conclusion.

exactly what sort of affection I was entertaining. And though I can accept

comfortable lie I can tell myself, I cannot accept that my feelings for Mikiya

somehow spiriting him away from other people, never to let another see

fondness for Mikiya never wavered. I’ve known from the start that this was

time for a chance.

separate myself from Mikiya, all for the sake of building in him a propensity

don’t care what it says in the family registry. I left that behind long ago, and

Until then, though, I’d spend my days like a lady of manners. After all, I

plan so perfect even I have to marvel at its genius.

Pardon my words. It was three years ago, back in my junior high school

and I went back to the house when, of all the stupidest things to do, Mikiya

and this woman named Shiki Ryōgi were dating. And when I saw this, I had

a lovely cake, only for it to be beset by the desperate and hungry the moment

aloof before, would now be dating a girl, had never entered my wildest 

imaginings. I mean, think about it. He’d never even so much as looked that

I think I spent the next few days after that in a complete daze, sleepwalking

after that when, still in distress over what to do about the girl, I got wind

alone once again. I must confess that when Mikiya told me the news by

with the poor girl. Even though I only met her once, I remember her

I would be lying if I didn’t say that I felt some measure of relief. No girl of

graduate high school with recognition, and get myself into a sufficiently

eight—until the notion of my sibling relationship with Mikiya was severed.

only last spring, Shiki regained her consciousness. Mikiya was beside himself

to harden my resolve. I would say nothing to him about my feelings, but

more so than before. And from there, I picked up the pace. My choice

where tax bracket mattered more than grades when entering. This suited

eager to ingratiate himself with potential patrons by my presence in the

It’s been half a year since my entry there, and now I’m living another

actually planned to go to the shrine with Mikiya today, but that got soured

fickle such things tend to be in my life, and how she always seems to be at

I make my way toward the bay area, the sight of the once great factories

active steelworks, but by and large it is a place of rusted smokestacks and

still have asbestos flocked within ceilings. In the midst of it all stands the

/ RECORDS IN OBLIVION - I • 7

My tutor in the Art of magic, Tōko Aozaki, somehow got her hands on it

of sorts there, for her “business.”

my heels on the steps an echo. The first floor is a garage, and only Miss

the office where me and my brother Mikiya often end up in; Mikiya as an

and announce my arrival with a lazy greeting.

“Mmhmm. Happy New Year,” says Miss Tōko with an equally languid

Somehow, the usual severity that Miss Tōko commands doesn’t seem

and black trousers, it makes her seem more in control, if anything. With her

actually a woman.

with a characteristic lack of restraint from behind her work desk.

I’m even in today instead of gallivanting about with Mikiya?”

That’s strange. It’s very rare for Miss Tōko to involve me in her business.

taking a seat for myself.

She puts her hands behind her head and leans back on her chair. “Just

Oh, for heaven’s sake. I can tell from her tone that she’s not at all serious

“No, I haven’t. And it’ll be that way until after high school, at the very

you so anxious to ask me?”

the same question with Kokutō present. I suppose I still wonder how totally

adopted. Ever considered that?” The tips of her lips rise into that familiar

“Now I really don’t know if you’re joking or not,” I reply, but holding in 

the frown I was supposed to make at her. As if she somehow still read this,

“Ah, Azaka, you carry yourself with such scholarly grace, but sometimes

I need to get it out of my system at least once a year, shouldn’t I?”

what was it you really wanted to talk about?”

Academy, right? The way I hear it, something interesting happened to class

Class D? I think I have a hunch what she’s talking about. “The class with

little about the goings-on in class D.”

I have, at least.” Miss Tōko frowns, like she’s wracking her brain for something

some miscommunication between me and her.

“So you don’t know,” she sighs. “Guess I should’ve expected it, seeing

class D would know more, I suppose,” she concludes. “Anyway, let me tell

Miss Tōko begins to tell the story of a strange incident that happened

Girl’s Academy’s senior high school class 4-D had some kind of argument,

to happen at Reien, which is, at the best of times, eerily still and silent that

world, strikes me as supremely odd. Worse, I never knew about it, a fact

class from each other, and their tendency to cover up anything that might

“That’s horrible,” I say, after Miss Tōko is done with the story. “Are their

“Nothing too serious. I’m actually more interested in the fact that they

“Yes, I see what you mean. Reien is generally not the place you’d find

it must have been something serious, or something far back in their past.

/ RECORDS IN OBLIVION - I • 9

tidbit here. No doubt you’re wondering why you didn’t know about this

largely isn’t their fault this time. It’s just that it wasn’t immediately reported.

records did she find the names of the two girls, and the cause of

hiding the incident.”

one of the only two in its history. But he’d already left, having taken responsibility

and replaced, not by a nun as per usual, but by…

Miss Tōko offers a nod.

fellow took to the job well, and became trusted by everyone almost immediately.

he supposedly couldn’t recall anything about the incident happening

to even make the guy remember. She couldn’t pry a thing out of Satsuki,

struck the Mother Superior as a man to tell stories. Since he’d proven his

Superior had to let him go.”

It just doesn’t seem possible. At the same time, I myself can’t see a reason

“As for the reason the students took a stab at each other in the first

the two girls started arguing in the classroom just after class when people

old secrets they were keeping from each other. And here’s the kicker. When

forgotten.”

“Ridiculous, I know. These girls were childhood friends. The Mother

got out and ruined all that. I think they both said when they were questioned

and at first they couldn’t figure out anything about what the letter was 

referring to. Then, of course, they later understood what it was about. It

each other, and found out that both had been sent a letter of the

each other.”

in a letter sent by someone who they didn’t know, somewhere in

“You’re thinking this is a new case, aren’t you, Miss Tōko?”

threats, no demands. Not even a stalker could watch both girls 24/7 enough

hand in all of this, I wouldn’t be surprised. I only wonder what the ultimate

The ominous tone of the story starts to sink in. Discounting the damaging

receive letters about your life at first and not know where they’re coming

about you containing facets of your life that even you didn’t know about,

you day in and day out. The paranoia that gripped the two girls must have

suspicion.

“Yep. Fairies, they say,” Miss Tōko states succinctly.

what she just said registered in my voice or not.

many students in Reien say they see them? I suppose you really aren’t gifted

Fairies, they say, will play beside your pillow at night, and when you wake

as cleanly as though they never happened. If it’s true, and not just some

gut tells me there’s a connection to this and the incident in class D,” she

Though I still study the Art under her guidance, and I’ve seen wonders of

story hard to believe.

/ RECORDS IN OBLIVION - I • 11

“I can’t say anything about something I haven’t seen yet, but if there’s

them: Isolated in the sticks, where you can’t even hear the faintest whine

that don’t permit the latest in youth culture to seep into the institution

is deep and large enough to get yourself lost for half a day if you’re not

and pass the time staring at a clock’s minute hand and its lazy progression.

“Wow, I am surprised you know the campus so…intimately, Miss Tōko.”

This time, I make sure to have my voice sound truly astonished.

“Stop giving me that look,” Miss Tōko says with an eyebrow raised.

school gossip to an outsider? She’s the one that contacted me last night

there. I don’t exactly run a detective agency here, but I couldn’t turn down

out too much. I wouldn’t get a word out of anyone. So I thought long and

could do it for me… Azaka?”

to say. She looks at me with sharply narrowing eyes before she continues.

of when I say the word ‘fairy?’”

topic, at which point Miss Tōko chuckles.

make familiars in the image of fairies. But unlike familiars, the true fae are

of varying species. Such things may be goblins, redcaps, or the oni of our

stories of fairies causing mischief among people…even some stories where

forests to spirit them away for a week, replacing them with identical fetches.

empathy for the victims of their tricks. They are simply incapable of it. They 

do it because they deem it fun, not out of malevolence.

a letter seems to be out of their style. It indicates some kind of malice and

of fairy that you mentioned.”

the invisible world she seems to walk through with so much ease. And like

“So you’re saying they’re familiars, being controlled by some mage?” I

“Yes, and the kind borne from a captured creature, to be sure. The mage

with the memories of the students in Reien. To have this hedge wizard

mage. Or perhaps he doesn’t have such a complete command over his fairy

other things over them. But this rank amateur has showed his hand, and

your mentor to investigate the truth behind these incidents before winter

There we go. Miss Tōko finally says the words I suspected she’d been

sense her hidden implication: that I’d be going in there alone, against an

of reality with the Art. And she expects me to root him out. I try my best to

“Well, if it’s for the sake of more arcane knowledge, then I guess I have

some documents on the details of the situation, but before she can hand

since the moment I suspected what she would have me do. “But Miss Tōko,

you do.”

of mischief.

I can cook you up something far better than a pair of eyes.” Though she

meant.

Records in Oblivion - II

department…unfortunately, with her tagging along.

just didn’t notice.”

Walking astride me is Miss Tōko’s funny idea for something “better than

“Having you of all people to sneak into the school with me? For once,

“This sucks. I definitely got the short end of the stick this time, having to

We try to avoid looking at each other as we walk through a corridor

students here, right now she’s wearing the Reien uniform, a dress patterned

person. And yet Shiki wears it like an old glove. When I see her dark hair

can’t hide her slender shoulders and the pale whiteness of her nape, even

which of course, she is anything but. The entire thing gives me a faint feeling

“Azaka, those two girls were just staring at us.” And of course, like an

well. It hasn’t been the first time it happened today, and after a few looks, I

In an exclusive all-girls institution like Reien, the androgynous nature of

like Shiki in here, and her presence is bound to attract some kind of attention.

to her in some kind of childish attraction.

level are just rare, that’s all,” I caution to her. “It doesn’t have anything to

“There’s a surprising number of students for the winter vacation, don’t

“Ugh. It’s a boarding school, obviously. A lot of these people live far

14 • KINOKO NASU

well-stocked anyway, barely anyone heads to the main building. Unless you

Rules which are very, very strict, and the violation of which enough times

held one, and they won’t make an exception even if your parents themselves

which I found true with my erstwhile friend, Fujino. As a man of capable

a way to get her out whenever she wanted. As for me…well, certainly my

painter (which completely suited his mercenary motives for letting me go

Remove the religious veneer and Reien itself is little different from other

college, and with all the high expectations for the student body here, that

of my high marks, seeing me as someone they can proudly send off to

in this place might be a bit too focused on what numbers they can

the freedom to go out.

building, and that beside me, Shiki had been staring at it with listless eyes

fondling the cross hanging from her neck.

dedicated to being nuns, or whatever. Oh yeah, and didn’t we pass by a

with art in heaven and all that?”

“There’s a morning and evening service,” I reply, “and a mass on Sundays.

to Reien from elementary or junior high largely aren’t Christian,

law. The sudden influx of rich-but-not-necessarily-Christian families sending

decade, which, coupled with the number of parents not wanting to put

tone down the mission school vibe.”

“What a pain in the ass,” Shiki sighs. “I’m willing to bet God doesn’t care

To see her dressed in the uniform she’s wearing while wielding such a

subject.

Any weaving of the Art?” I ask as we continue to walk the campus grounds.

“Not a glance. Guess we’ve got no choice except to wait until tonight,”

and the stone walkways that adorn the school.

people. The mystic sight of her Arcane Eyes allows her to see ghosts and

sight grants her dominion over death and entropy, and it manifests for her

weave entropy into it and destroy it. Apart from that, her family claims a

still lived up to it exceptionally. Because of that, her reflexes are as fast as

In other words: a woman quite the opposite of my brother Mikiya.

annoys me the most. As a matter of fact, the entire reason for me taking up

was any normal girl, she would never measure up to someone like me. But

sense and took Miss Tōko up on her offer.

yet, so I spend my days here in the school, balancing my time between

Shiki the enemy, there is one truth about her that I have so far refused to

“I’ll have to spend the night in your dormitory, I imagine. Normally, I

this case I’ll have to lower my standards.” Shiki bookends the sentence with

See, the truth is that Shiki doesn’t really hate me. And I don’t really hate

of us, I would probably be the best of friends with her.

16 • KINOKO NASU

“It might be better for us to use what little time we have actually investigating

homeroom instructor, so just follow my lead. You’re my seeing-eye dog for

everyone you come across.”

“Old news. Mr. Hayama left the institution in November. The homeroom

school.” I start to walk back inside, heading toward the English language

“A guy teacher in an all-female school. I guess that must stir up some

I don’t answer her right away, but in her own crude way, she’s right. The

women, and men are seen as a hindrance to that growth. One of the main

because they think that a boy and a girl interacting at their age is a slippery

male teachers undermined that philosophy anyway.

practically a minefield in this place, so keep your voice down. Hideo Hayama

actual teaching license, but also because there were rumors that he’d sexually

“What? Why the hell wasn’t he out of here sooner, then?” Shiki asks

“The sisters and the Mother Superior were forced to turn a blind eye to

chairman is Ōji, but before he married into his wife’s family, he shared a

“Oh ho,” Shiki whispers conspiratorially. “The chairman’s estranged

becomes: why did he resign like he did.”

I turn back to Shiki and say, “Remember last November when we were in

in the high school. Only the dormitories of class C and below were affected,

/ RECORDS IN OBLIVION - II • 17

but Mr. Hayama was already long gone by then. Perhaps he ran.”

All the firemen were purportedly bribed, as were an ample number of the

of the school where their precious daughters went to after all. It took one

There was…someone that died in that fire.

“Very little to say about him, really, save for his being quite the polar

him. He started only last summer, and unlike Mr. Hayama, he didn’t have

enthusiastic to have him. From what I hear, she actually wanted to have a

but were able to speak Japanese. Of course, such people are rare. But Mr.

“So he’s one of those English teachers, I take it?” Strangely enough, Shiki

given her some kind of nervous allergy towards anything English related.

studying Mandarin now, and some South American language. It’s no secret

hard person to deal with.”

ourselves in front of the door to the English language teacher’s quarters.

of them are quartered in their own accommodations. This room is for the

used.

the door two times before opening it.

to us in the far end of the room, concentrated on the work at his desk.

enter from the overcast sky outside. Like any good professor, thick stacks of

a chair, or a cabinet, or peeking out from inside a drawer, all in some kind 

of order known only to him.

you about my business?”

his shoulder. He only swivels his seat around to face us. When his face

surprise me. In fact, I expected it. I too, reacted in much the same manner

“Ah, Kokutō. Yes, I have been informed. Please, both of you, take a seat.

smile he now wears. His age seems to be around his mid-20’s which, if true,

coupled with his black-rimmed glasses, easily make him look among one

D, I imagine.”

each other with box cutters.” My reply makes his eyes squint, his gaze

disconsolation.

little about what actually took place. My memory is vague, but I know

know I was there in the scene, but everything after that is unreliable, I’m

Why is this man and he so alike? So ready to throw himself at another

them don’t seem to be the kind of person that would harm anyone else,

“Sir, did you know the reason for their quarrel?” I ask, if only to make

“According to the other students, I was the one that stopped them, but

person many times, but this, I think, is the first time I’ve forgotten something

know. It’s possible it could even have been me. I was, after all, in the same

investigate me.” His brooding expression darkens as he says this.

It would seem suspicious to anyone that he was there when the actual

/ RECORDS IN OBLIVION - II • 19

the sensible progression from there. He doesn’t know what he did, if he

he lost. But while suspecting yourself might be reasonable, especially

and more about what happened would eat away at you, until you couldn’t

“But sir, couldn’t it be possible that some students of class 1-D were still

students?”

about it. Memory is a fickle thing, and I cannot rely on theirs just now to be

in the air. Regardless, I think you will gain little more from me by asking me

more questions left, I will be happy to answer them.” He smiles again, more

“Yes, let’s continue. You said that they don’t want to talk to you about

confide?”

even on the day I took charge of them. Maybe it is not my place to say,

are unusually quiet.”

other student could have stopped the two girls from cutting each other.

two? It could be an explanation. It makes everyone a suspect for the sender,

have seen the fight as the two girls outing each other as the real sender.

“No,” he replies slowly, letting it churn in his mind. “Not scared I think.”

“It would probably be more right to say that they are…reserved, maybe

nuance.

internal to the classroom, never coming from, or reaching any other third

“Sir, can your students be contacted at present?” I feel like I have no 

other recourse except to be direct and ask the students. The whole affair

likely by the second, and I’ll have to ask the people spreading the rumors

“There is no need to contact them. They are all here in campus, so you

That genuinely catches me off guard. All of them, here in school? Is that

“Perhaps later. For now, though, I have another engagement. I may have

The girl has been uncharacteristically silent for the last few minutes. I catch

notice Mr. Kurogiri staring blankly at me and Shiki, his gaze eventually falling

“Um, sir, is there something—” before I can finish and Mr. Kurogiri can

“Miss Azaka refers to me by name, sir. My name is Shiki. A pleasure to

of supreme will to even talk as gently as she does now, and I can’t tell if it’s

“Yes, your silence made you a bit conspicuous. I am sorry,” the instructor

“Perhaps. Only time will tell. I am touring the school’s facilities, you see.

“Clearly you’ve already found the uniform satisfactory. Do consider hastily.”

of positive delight beaming on his face, noticing every detail on her like an

A gentle knock on the door interrupts their conversation. Then a voice

“Excuse me.”

her almond eyes looking over the room with a cold detachment, and the

length black hair ripple slightly. Reien is already home to many fair looking

I wouldn’t forget the face of our student council president since last year.

and the long, thin eyebrows give her a countenance of stately command.

/ RECORDS IN OBLIVION - II • 21

“You were expected in the student council room at one o’ clock. Time is

 Without even batting an eyelash, Ōji berates the erring instructor. She

uses to rule the student council as tightly as she can. By the time I had

Fujino told me in the past, not even the sisters could touch her. And if the

she shares a surname.

who married into the family of his wife, will obviously have a large discrepancy

Ōji are plutocrats; old money families with their name on a building or

daughters, and their marriages are arranged, taking only the best grooms

the grooms to take the Ōji surname, while the daughters are brought up

empire. Such an upbringing has made Misaya Ōji a woman with a heart of

sense of justice. She shows no mercy to those who violate school regulations,

even devoutly Christian, and goes to the noon mass every Sunday without

“As strict as ever, Miss Ōji. Perhaps a more flexible view of time and

seat, Misaya Ōji watching his every move with visible impatience. Surely to

must be extremely vexating.

doubtful eyebrow as to our identity and presence. Realizing that we’re

that we shouldn’t press our luck, and had best get out now.

Kurogiri opens the door for us in a manner not unlike a butler sending off

I step out.

more help. A pleasant winter break to the both of you.” He gives us a last 

smile goodbye.

to see Shiki say that to Mr. Kurogiri. He only widens his eyes, not in surprise,

“Hmm? But I have not once given you a smile, my dear,” he says, though

After leaving the English instructor’s room, me and Shiki make our way

way there. Reien Girl’s Academy has a campus almost as big as a university,

high school, the gymnasium, and the dormitories are all located in separate

as much as possible. The distance between the school buildings and the

forest located on the grounds. Fortunately, a walkway with a roof exists so

After going through the quad, we find ourselves in this path toward the

over at her, and recognize that she seems a bit strange…more so than

what it must be.

the blue.

“Yet a bit handsomer than Mikiya, I’d say.”

Ah, so we agree. When I first saw Satsuki Kurogiri, I was taken aback—

and the atmosphere that they tended to exude. His trait of accepting

To people like me and Shiki, who can’t seem to help being disjointed to

shock.

bear to face: that I’ll never be normal like Mikiya. I can no longer remember

Somewhere, buried in the forgotten memories of my earlier years, lies the

/ RECORDS IN OBLIVION - II • 23

of my existence. Brothers and sisters aren’t supposed to entertain such

it’s my inability to remember that pivotal moment.

Kokutō, but still a man named Satsuki Kurogiri. Don’t mistake one for the

holds the same view. But instead of nodding, she frowns and murmurs.

away by themselves as she stops in her tracks, looking deep into the forest

of wooden building, maybe? What is it?”

for a long time, and it’s actually going to be torn down this winter break.

“Gonna take a look at it. Thought I saw something. Go on ahead without

time to venture into the wood.

I shout after her, but I realize it is futile. The brat is so willful, it’d take

“Azaka Kokutō?” Before I can start after her, I am stopped by someone

24 • KINOKO NASU

Got a new job for you, Shiki.

that set me up for a job that has so far been completely different from

Azaka’s school, Reien Girl’s Academy, but the task of rooting out its source

I, Shiki Ryōgi, joined Tōko Aozaki’s outfit some months ago purely on the

you can get from that objective without being a doctor and doing the polar

even as I think that, I recognize that despite the promises of opportunities

single person.

just by looking at them, but that didn’t pan out as well as I’d hoped. At the

couldn’t take her down. Not as she was at that particular moment. But we

live with.

however, so a hungry dissatisfaction had its grip on me. Surely it must

now. Besides, I had nothing better to do anyway. As I see it, there’s little

Academy and sleeping in Azaka’s dormitory out of boredom. At least in the

in this stuffy girl’s boarding school, posing as a touring prospective transfer

Azaka can’t see.

I realize Azaka doesn’t seem to be tagging along, I walk. Deeper into the

the shroud of green and brown that obscures my vision in all directions.

sunlight peeking through the treetops is a shade of gray more akin to mist.

The distance between the buildings of Reien Girl’s Academy is so unnecessarily

unchecked except among the most travelled paths. The majority of the

the school, try saying that there’s a school somewhere in the forest.

area with a familiar fragrance, the color and air of bittersweet ripened

almost intoxicated by it. Time seems to take its leisurely pace here, and

being apart from the world. I remember then the mage who made a building

from greater society. Both of them, I realize, are places isolated from the

Soon, I reach the building, which I now see is in the center of a clearing of

without recognizing its wooden make, and it sits breathless at the center of

end to come. The ground in the clearing is overrun with grass weeds, and

them as fast as I comfortably can without breaking the silence of the place,

Inside, I discover it isn’t as run down as its façade would have me

possibly because Azaka said this was the former junior high school

noise echoes across the desolate hallway, growing more indistinguishable

still audible even in such a dead space.

me to earlier. Satsuki Kur

Chapter end