Shiki Novel Translations 3.7.1

[sinnesspiel]

Chapter 7
 

1

It was two days after Setsuko's funeral, October 13th, just coming on noon that Yasumori Atsuko of the Maruyasu Sawmill brought Yasumori Tokujiro in for an examination at the Ozaki Hospital. 

"Since losing Setsuko-san, now Tokujiro Oji-san is all alone you see, we were going over to take care of him but ever since the funeral he's been so pale. I thought it was only natural but it seemed like if I wasn't careful he might only get worse, so."

Toshio nodded at Yasumori Atsuko's words. It was another case of that. Indeed all of the symptoms were present. Going by the blood test results the first stage had passed. They'd attacked twice, maybe three times, Toshio calculated in his thoughts. It was possible it started directly after Setsuko had died. 

"To the treatment room," Toshio noted to Kiyomi. "1000ml lactated Ringer's solution, 15 minute checks."

"The catheter?"

"18G."

Tokujiro did not respond as Toshio instructed motioned about the room. It was Atsuko attending to him who seemed more worried. Even when Toshio plunged the catheter needle into him he only faintly furrowed his face without showing any particular sign of emotion.

"About Setsuko-san?" While treating him, Toshio spoke to Tokujiro. "She had said she had seen a dream of Nao-san. She wondered if she was coming to pick her up, she'd said. I told her it wasn't good to say such defeatist things, but none the less." 

When Toshio said that, Tokujiro showed only the faintest reaction.

"Ah...... Nao-chan, huh? ...... I saw her too."

Tokujiro's face looked somewhat blessed.

"A dream of Nao-san?"

Mm, Tokujiro nodded. After nodding he gave no further response. 

"You can't get weak hearted," Toshio said to Tokujiro, looking to Atsuko.  "I do think it'd be best to have him hospitalized, though."

Before Atsuko could answer, Tokujiro cut in. 

"I won't."

"Tokujiro-san?"

"I'll pass. I won't be hospitalized. I won't go anywhere. I have to watch the family altar."

Atsuko soothed him saying that she could see over the family altar if that was the problem but Tokujiro distinctly declared that "I won't." 

"Being hospitalized didn't help Setsuko, and with the family altar and work I can't leave the house empty. Just let me be."

Toshio furrowed his brows. It wasn't at Tokujirou's topic. He was uneasy about how he said it. Patients being able to have a firm will at this stage was rare. Almost all showed an attitude of 'do whatever you want.' It was like it was another person's issue. That meant that so distinctly expressing any will was strange, and in spite of that the way it was said was strained, almost as if reading off memorized lines from the odd sound of it. 

Is that your own will, Toshio wanted to ask. Or did somebody---did Nao give you detailed instructions to say that? If Atsuko and the nurses weren't around, by all means he would have asked him.

"As far as Setsuko-san's case, all I can do about it is apologize but Tokujirou-san needs to be hospitalized too. If I don't have you hospitalized, I can't give relevant treatment. I know how you feel but I wonder if I couldn't at least have you stay for two nights? If after that, you want to go back home no matter what, I'll let you do what you want, so."

If two days went without an attack, his consciousness would clear and probably return to normal wouldn't it, Toshio was thinking. But Tokujirou insisted "I don't want to." He exhausted his words trying to convince him but it didn't seem like Tokujirou was listening to his words at all. Atsuko said that she would at least look after the Maruyasu Sawmill but he said he didn't want to leave home. If the patient himself ultimately said no, he couldn't force him. There was no choice; with only a transfusion of Ringer's solution and an administration of CRCs he went home.

"I wonder if he'll be all right, Tokujirou-san, I mean." 

Giving a vague response to Kiyomi's uneasy words, Toshio entered the waiting room. After just a bit of hesitation he picked up the phone. After three rings, Mitsuo picked up the phone.

"It's Ozaki. Seishin there?"

"Right now he is working. What is it?"

"Sorry, but when he's finished could you tell him to contact me? The Yasumori's Tokujirou-san fell, tell him."

"Tokujirou-san did. ---Is he all right?"

"He's really not doing all right is the thing. I suggested he be hospitalized but he wouldn't agree to it. If he can I'd like Seishin to convince him. If he still says he doesn't want to no matter what, then I want him to help him out and make sure he can sleep through the night properly, tell him if you could. If you say that he'll know what I mean."

Sure, Mitsuo said, not sounding convinced by his explanation, but Toshio said that he was in the middle of examination hours and hung up the phone. 

He said he didn't want to be hospitalized, was insistent on staying home, but he couldn't imagine that was Tokujirou's own will. He had a sure feeling he was instructed to say that. When Setsuko was hospitalized, it was a problem for them. If the bunch of them all got together with a single goal, then from now on probably all of his patients would refused hospitalization. 

As he was thinking about it the phone rang. A woman's voice on the other end sounded frantic.

"Uhm---This is Shimo-Sotoba's Maeda."

"Maeda? Iwao-san's place's?"

Yes, the woman answered. It was Maeda Motoko.

"What's happened?"

"My husband is acting strange," Motoko said with her voice seeming hushed. "No, he hasn't collapsed or anything like that. It's the same as my father-in-law was. It looks like anemia but..."

Toshio nodded. "Please bring him in, immediately."

"That's," Motoko said, hesitantly. "My family..."

I see, Toshio said clicking his tongue. Motoko's mother-in-law Tomiko hated doctors. As a result, once Iwao had died, it had only become more resolute, he feared. 

"Your mother-in-law?"

My husband too, Motoko said letting out a heavy breath. Toshio knew the situation.

"Is your husband at work today?"

"Somehow he was able to take today off."

"Then I'll come by this evening."

I am counting on you, thank you very much, Motoko said, hanging up the phone with a relieved breath. She was happy that Toshio had judged the situation without having to make a fuss. Putting the phone down, Motoko peered into the living room. Her mother-in-law Tomiko was out in the fields. Her husband Isami was lying down seeming terribly sluggish. Even when she urged him to get into bed, he insisted there was no need. Because he had taken off work, she couldn't not cling to his arm and beg him somewhere out of Tomiko's sight. Motoko could by no means operate a vehicle, so she couldn't force her husband along to the hospital. That Toshio had known what she'd needed had been a relief from the bottom of her heart.

Motoko entered the living room and peered at her husband's face. Isami looked dubiously up at Motoko but seeming troubled by the effort he immediately closed his eyes.

"......For lunch, how about rice porridge?"

"Don't need it." 

Isami's words were blunt and low.

"But."

"Going one or two days without eating isn't that big a deal."

I see, Motoko said breathing a sigh. Her husband's pallid face, the way he spoke, it all exuded the same washed out feeling that Iwao had had. 

(It can't be.... Not him too.)

Motoko thought, shaking her head.

That shouldn't be, he wasn't like Iwao. She was worrying too much. That evening the doctor would come, so it shouldn't turn out like it did with Iwao. 

(Please, this is all I ask.)

If Isami were to go before her. Motoko didn't even want to think about what would happen after that. Strangely it was Kanami's face that passed through her mind. Instantly she had thought how much she didn't want it to be like that.

(That's the one thing I.... No.)

What was she afraid of? Unable to see the true form of her fear, Motoko stared down into Isami's face as if to be swallowed up by it.

Comments

Re: 8D

[mgnsh83]

I do agree with a lot of that, especially with the villagers' reactions and Seishin's. I believe that a lot of people would want to be the hero in a situation like Sotoba's and step up to whatever the threat might be, but it takes a person like Toshio to actually do it. Given Seishin's moralizing to Toshio over the death of the latter's wife, I do also feel he didn't want to kill anyone because it would be sinful. Yet at the same time, if I remember right (I could not be), Seishin also has a moment of, 'I hate what Toshio's doing, but at the same time, I can't hate or stay angry with him as a person because he's only reacting in the way he feels is best.' Kyoko's death was horrible, but while some people are ready to paint Toshio as a total monster because of it, I can kind of see what his mindset was and why he had that reaction. Would a monster have asked for her forgiveness, as he did in the manga before she woke up?

I think the shikis' explanation to kill humans would have been more of a viable one if they actually needed to kill humans in order to survive, not just take some of their blood periodically and decide whether to leave them human or not. The way I interpreted it in the narrative was that Sunako and her people wanted to turn people more out of a desire to have a place they could call their own, rather than strict necessity. While it's understandable, it's also selfish to a point--certainly Sunako and Chizuru remember what it was like to be human at some point themselves, and the break with that humanity that becoming a shiki caused them? Yet at the same time, many in their position would feel that need to have a sense of belonging and community. That's another plot tactic that I applaud Shiki on. Nothing is clear-cut and the reader/viewer needs to decide what might be right and wrong based on their own beliefs and values.

Sunako and Seishin clashing after they've been together awhile would be entertaining from a reader/viewer standpoint, but to me, so too would be another encounter between Seishin and Toshio. People could (maybe rightfully) argue that Toshio wouldn't walk away from it alive or even human anymore depending on what happened, but he's proven himself to be clever so maybe it wouldn't be a clear case of who won or lost if it did come to pass. If Seishin and Sunako did come to blows, I can easily see what you're saying. Sunako has a child's body and strength. She needs to sleep when the sun rises. Seishin doesn't have those restrictions, so if push really did come to shove, all he'd need to do is wait out the sunrise and get a stake.

Re: 8D

[(Anonymous)]

8D -- I now see him as sacrificing part of his humanity for doing it, because if not for him, no one would do it ever. For me, at the very least Toshio doesn't torture Kyouko out of spite or just being a plain mad scientist. He's also dead exhausted and desperate to add into account. That being said, if you ask me, I still cannot accept what he does. This is purely my own business because it's my moral values speaking (which don't necessarily align with collective values), so were I there, I wouldn't so openly begrudge him for it because I don't have the right to. I like Toshio and am very fond of him, but truthfully he can be very trying at times because he's so against some of my values.

I agree with that. If they truly kill people out of real necessity and not for some political agenda, I figure many people will have an easier time understanding and accepting what they do. Not saying they don't have the right to be angry, because they still do. I also agree with your interpretation and I believe it's really implied like that at some points in the manga/anime. The novels may show us more too.

Aha, another Toshio/Seishin encounter is also high up in my wishlist, and I certainly believe they will. Even knowing Seishin's a jinrou, I don't really think Toshio would do anything about it unless Seishin's up to some bad plan. I do think he'll keep a close watch on his person though, because with the Shikis you just don't know. If they once more came at breaking point, I think it'll be more heartbreaking in some ways to see two people who try to go at each other's throat because they don't feel like they can coexist but in all truth they don't have personal grudge at one another. I think at some point Toshio does have slight personal grudge at Seishin, which is understandable, but I don't think he'll live on that and/or act based on that. Reading Toshio's parts is very interesting to me because like Seishin he's the type who hides his real heart. He may have short temper and whine a lot, but he'll never share his emotional turmoil with anyone. In short, I really want to read more of his monologues and dig deeper into his head. The novels so far have allowed us to get a glimpse of it, but not exactly close to my satisfaction.

I do sincerely believe that Sunako's time will come to end. She's old and thus now it's the time of the young. I think even if Seishin is more superior biologically than Sunako, she has a lot more experience and unlike real lone wolf Seishin Sunako actually knows how to obtain comrades and build an army. Sunako knows how to inspire people and get under their skin rather like Toshio. I think this is a talent we should fear. Which means things will likely get even more intense and interesting.

Re: 8D

[mgnsh83]

I also feel the same way about Toshio's motivations in regards to his wife. The manga shows that he was never wildly in love with her but married her due to social/family pressures. Nevertheless, what he did to her was so raw and inhumane, even if they were acts that weren't hate-filled. Sometimes the worst type of hatred and pain can come from ignorance and in the end I feel that's what Toshio was to a degree when it came to the shiki. He didn't want to know anything other than that they were monsters coming to ruin his village. The scene where he experimented on Kyoko showed some very important things: humans can be monsters just as well if not more than the supposed 'monsters', that shiki can feel the same range of emotions and sensations humans can, and that just because some would view Toshio as a hero, that doesn't mean that his acts aren't morally terrible.

I hope the novels do show us more in regards to Toshio's private self (although I get an inkling that it will focus more on Seishin's--he seems like he's the 'real/focal' main character in some respects) as well as any underlying motivations of the shiki that the anime/manga may have brushed over. I recall appreciating the manga because it went into some details that were more than a little confusing in the anime since they were skipped over. And yeah, I also agree that if Seishin and Toshio were to meet again, they would fight more because of what they are and not who they are. I can see Toshio wanting to put the matter of Sotoba to rest after everything that's happened but at the same time having lingering feelings of unease and 'what if' because Sunako and Seishin are still out there and maybe Plotting Something. I can also see him living somewhat of a lonely and isolated life after the happenings in his former village, since he doesn't have a family or close friends left anymore. He may put up a front as you said to show the people around him that he's coping well, but underneath, the buried feelings are anything but.

Sunako may be able to recreate the situation in Sotoba fairly quickly depending on where the pair of them end up, but it would also be interesting to see what might happen if Toshio investigated and met with Sesihin again; would Seishin be tired of Sunako by then and willing to possibly listen? Or would he have taken his damnation to heart completely and actively participate in the destruction of another village/people? I think that would be a hard call to make, but intriguing to see. Even the best leaders eventually do mess up or succumb to grandiose notions of power and that's when they're open and vulnerable. When that happens, all it takes is one person who knows them well enough or gets lucky enough to overthrow them and then nothing can save them. I feel that Sunako's time in that regard, as you said, will come, although the 'how' could be different.

Re: 8D

[(Anonymous)]

8D -- To me, humans are the real monsters. In this aspect, so are the hypothetical creatures who are capable of thinking and acting like humans do. Personally I don't see much difference between humans and shikis. Both are capable of the exact same things in the exact same degree. To me it leans more on who acts first, who provokes and who reacts. Regarding Toshio however I admire his moral consistency in not murdering humans, ever, while if you've watched 20.5 (but if I'm not mistaken some prior episode too) many around him have succumbed into doing it, just because the people they've murdered have been bitten by the shikis and have been controlled. The murderers believe these people have switched sides and that they may have become shiki themselves, despite Toshio roaring 'no!' if I'm not mistaken. You can see the horror on his face while witnessing such act.

The novels focus on multiple characters, but I think it's been deemed official that Seishin is the true protagonist. For Toshio's lack of monologue, I agree with this opinion that it's mainly because Toshio himself is not much of an introspective character, as he's much more of an action one, while Seishin is the exact opposite. Them coexisting is likely out of picture, so a final showdown between them would be the next best thing I can get from them. The sadder one to me would be them going their respective life direction without even knowing that the other is still alive post-Shiki period. I hate thinking about Toshio genuinely not knowing about Seishin being alive (he could very well expect that his friend wouldn't survive), and that's just one way to make him sad and depressed. Seishin is his lifelong friend and all. (Regarding Seishin though, I cannot exactly say anything because he seems to be a whole different person post-Shiki. He may have decided to ditch everything associated with Sotoba). Strangely I'm not worried about Seishin at all post-Shiki. I believe he'll pull through whatever it is even if it means he'll become a full-blown villain. It's Toshio I'm more worried about since he has deeper ties to Sotoba.

I want to see Seishin as a somehow-of-a villain as well.