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volume 6
chapter 34
By Natsuki Takaya
Hana to Yume Comics
publisher: Hakusensha
ISBN 4-592-17166-7
390 yen
p. 97
(The scene appears to be taking place directly after the funeral of Kyou's mother. Kyou looks to be only about 6 or 7 years old?)
It appears to have been suicide.
But it seems they don't know that for sure.
So she committed suicide because the suffering caused by having a son possessed by the cat was too much......?
The poor thing.
If only her son hadn't been born possessed by the cat, then this would never have...
Kyou: (directed towards the gossiping voices) ...Shut up.
That child doesn't cry.
Even though his mother's just passed away.
Even though he was the one who drove her to suicide.
Kyou: (his face is turning red with anger) Shut up...! It's not my fault!! It's not my fault!!
Kazuma: (walking up to Kyou) That's true.
p. 98
Kazuma: I know...
p. 99
(Kyou looks at Kazuma with wary eyes.)
Kazuma: How do you do? I'm Kazuma Souma...
Kyou: It's not my fault..... It's not my fault......!! It's not my...
Kazuma: ---It's alright. (he lowers himself to Kyou's eye level) It's alright. I know.
p. 100
(Kyou starts to cry uncontrollably.)
Kazuma: Kyou......? Would you like to come live at my house......?
(An unknown amount of time passes.)
Kazuma: I may not look it, but I'm the head of a karate dojo. If you think you might be interested in karate, you should try it.
Kyou: Why this person decided to take me in, whether it was out of pity, or an order from above, I had no idea.
Neighorhood Woman A: (to her friend)Look...it's Kyou.
p. 101
Woman A: Kazuma-kun really is taking care of him.
Woman B: But...I feel sorry for Kazuma-kun. Being a father must be overwhelming for him.
Woman A: Definitely... And he's still so young. Why would he...
(Kyou glares at the two woman.)
Kyou: I had no idea why, but...
(Kazuma suddenly picks up Kyou and holds him up high.)
Kyou: ?! ?!
Kazuma: From now on, we'll have to make sure you breathe air from higher up places.
(The two women look taken aback.)
p. 102
Kyou: He was the first person to show me the "outside" world.
(Kazuma and Kyou are looking at a train pulling into a station.)
Kyou: Wh-what's that?!
Kazuma: It's a train.
Kyou: A train?
Kyou: He pulled me by the hand.
(Kazuma and Kyou are sitting on the dojo floor. Kyou's legs are painfully numb from sitting with his legs tucked underneath for so long.)
Kazuma: Building up your mental powers is another aspect of training. Endure it.
Kyou: He stayed by my side.
(Kazuma and Kyou are in the bathtub together.)
Kyou: H-Hey, you're a "teacher" aren't you? [Translator's note: Kyou uses the word "shishou" here, and even though it's really starting to sound like a bad kung fu movie, perhaps a better word in this case would be "master"]
Kazuma: Huh?
Kyou: They call karate instructors on TV "teacher". So you're a "teacher" too, right?
Kazuma: (laughing a little) Well, that may be true, but I don't think any of my students would do me the honor of calling me that.
p. 103
(Kyou arrives home from school. Kazuma is in the yard chatting with two of his students.)
Kyou: (looking a little shy) Tea...teacher...
Kazuma: (looking surprised at first, but then smiling warmly) ...Welcome home, Kyou.
(Kyou's face lights up with a 100-watt smile.)
Kyou: I can't explain how much I was saved by him.
p. 104
Kyou: I wish he were my real father.
(Kyou and Kazuma are sparring. Kyou has reached adolescence.)
Kyou: But if I told him that, I wonder what his reaction would be? Would he laugh? Or look upset? ...Or would he just stand there silent? It may be that he was only raising me out of pity or because he was nice. What if he laughed it off and said, "You misunderstand." What if that made him look at me as a nuisance? What if it hurt him?
(Kyou is now in junior high, being held after school by a teacher.)
Teacher A: (standing over Kyou who is sulking at his desk) Why do you always try to solve everything through violence? Just because someone teased you about the color of your hair.
Teacher B: (walking into the classroom) His father is coming. He seems to be the one who raised him... but how on earth has he been raising him is...
p. 105
Hearing that, Kyou remembers what some neighborhood women said: Taking in and looking after a child possessed by the cat. Don't you think Kazuma-kun is a little strange?
Kyou: (yelling at the teachers) ......You're wrong...He is not my father!!
(Kazuma stands outside the classroom, poised to open the door.)
Kyou: Because of me, he had received more than his fill of back-stabbing gossip and injury to his reputation. But even so, he continued to raise me. What more could I hope for?
p. 106
Kyou: I didn't want anything bad to be said about him anymore. I didn't want to become a burden.
Kyou: (still yelling at the teachers) Don't ever treat me and Teacher as if we were father and son again!
Kyou: He didn't have to be my father...if being my father meant he would get hurt.
(Kyou slowly opens his eyes. He is in his room. The sun shines through the window. Looking down, he sees the bracelet on his wrist.)
p. 107
(Kyou changes and runs downstairs. He slams open the living room door. Shigure is there, reading a newspaper.)
Shigure: 'Morning.
Kyou: ...... Teacher... Where...
Shigure: He left for home.
Kyou: What?!
Shigure: Touru-kun went with him to see him off.
p. 108
Kyou: Why...why did he do that......
(Kyou runs out of the room.)
Kyou: Why are you going home without saying anything?
(flashback)
I will grasp your hand as you try to run.
To see if your life, Kyou, really is just a sorry affair that ended a long time ago.
(end flashback)
p. 109
Otherwise, you can never move on.
Kyou: (running to catch Kazuma and Touru) Why? I didn't even get to say anything to him, not even a word of thanks.
Kazuma: (turning to Touru) This is far enough, thank you.
Touru: Um......Don't you think it would be better to say something to Kyou-kun first? I know it's not my place to say, but......um...
p. 110
Kazuma: (smiling softly) ......I don't know what to say to him..... .......I first took Kyou in as a way of making up for what I did. Like Kyou, my grandfather was also possessed by the cat spirit. He was treated very badly, alienated by his entire family, and everyone in the clan spoke badly of him. And I was one of them.
p. 111
Kazuma: I only met face to face with my grandfather once.
(flashback)
Kazuma's Grandfather: (holding his hand out to a young Kazuma) Come here, Kazuma. I'll give you some candy.
Young Kazuma: (looking scared)No......I don't want it. I'll be cursed by it.
Kazuma's Grandfather: (smiling softly) I see...
Kazuma: (narrating) I said such an awful thing. But my grandfather smiled and forgave me. He was a gentle person.
p. 112
Kazuma: And then my grandfather died and I got older. Kyou was born, and I saw the environment surrounding Kyou through the eyes of an outsider...and I realized...how stupid and cruel it was. And that it was the exactly the same as how my grandfather was treated. Nothing had changed. So that's why I took him in as a way to make up for it. And by doing that, maybe I had also wanted to erase some of my own guilt...... But......But being in the same house and living together......At some point...
p. 113
Kazuma: He became dear to me... Whenever I saw him smile, I felt that attachment grow stronger. He became important to me, and I worried about him, and wanted him to have more happiness than anyone in the world. I felt almost as if I really were his father. But this time, I ignored his feelings, and took off his bracelet, and forced my will on his own.
(flashback of Kyou)
Kyou: (yelling)He's not my father!
(end flashback)
p. 114
Kazuma: These feelings would probably become a burden for Kyou. And that's why I don't know. I don't know what I should say to him. ...Hoping he would be glad that I forced my ego on him would be......so selfish of me ...Plus, I only created the opportunity. The one who really saved Kyou was you. Because of you, Kyou......
p. 115
Touru: But, is that really your ego? Because, for some reason, it makes me feel warm inside. I don't know what you'll think of me for saying it...I don't know, but now, at this moment, you look very much like a "father" to me.
p. 116
(Kazuma looks speechless.)
Kyou: Teacher!!
(Both Touru and Kazuma look up simultaneously. Kyou is standing a few feet away.)
Touru: Kyou-ku--
(Kyou starts running towards them.)
p. 117
(Kyou takes a swing at Kazuma, and misses as Kazuma steps back to dodge.)
Kyou: Why...
Touru: Kyo--
Kyou: (he turns and takes another swing) Why! (Kazuma turns to dodge again) Why are you going home without saying anything, like you're trying to run away from me??
p. 118
(Kazuma takes a swing at Kyou and hits him on the side of his head.)
Kazuma: (looking surprised?) Kyou......
Kyou: (still standing) Did you think I'd be angry or something? I...Are you tired of me?......
p. 119
Kyou: (looking away from Kazuma) I'm sorry......for always causing you so much trouble......for being difficult and and acting like a spoiled kid, saying that I wanted to go back to the dojo. For treating you like a place to escape......I'm sorry... But! I still have a long way to go, a very long way to go, but someday, someday, I will become someone who can walk on his own two feet, not hurting people or becoming a burden to anyone. And call you fa--(Kyou pauses and looks up Kazuma)................
p. 120
Kyou: I will become someone who is able to tell everyone that you are my dad, and say it with pride, that is the kind of person I will BECOME! (With the last word, Kyou takes another swing at Kazuma, who blocks it with his right hand. They stand there for a moment, staring at each other.)
p. 122
(Kazuma's expression turns into a smile, and his hand closes around Kyou's.)
Kazuma: ......For the longest time, we kept missing each other and never really connecting, but finally I think we've made contact.
p. 123
Kazuma: And surely...
(Kazuma pulls Kyou's hand and headbutt's him in the chest. Kyou flies backwards into a fence. Touru, who had been so far watching the exchange with her hands clasped to her chest, now spreads them wide in shock.)
Kazuma: But for now......
p. 124
Kazuma: (straightening his clothes and smiling)......You are still a troublesome son, Kyou.
Kyou: (picking himself off the fence and turning really red)........E........Even so, you didn't have to throw me like that!
Kazuma: Well, you should have been able to block that. Are you sure you're not turning soft?
p. 125
(Getting over her shock, Touru smiles brightly as she watches Kazuma and Kyou joke around.)
Kyou: (turning his head suddenly) Touru!
Touru: Huh!?
Kyou: Did you see that just now?
Touru: Huh? Um, yes!
Kyou: (looking very proud and happy) See? Didn't I say that my teacher was strong?
p. 126
Touru: (looking flustered)...Yes. Yes, you did. Yes!!
Kyou: ...The way you keep repeating that is kind of annoying. Alright, so I'll never be better than him.
Touru: What!!
Kazuma: (watching Kyou and Touru) And surely, it was all because of this girl. Because you, Touru-san, were here.
Kyou: It's true, though, isn't it?
Touru: (not wanting to answer) ........
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