That's what I mean, Oshino said.
Senjogahara hardly looked convinced.
It certainly wasn't a convincing line of reasoning.
Not from her standpoint.
"But, missy, consider yourself as being on the luckier side of misfortune. Araragi over there didn't just encounter something, he was attacked. By a vampire, at that. What a disgrace for a modern-day human being."
Get off my case, man.
As far off as you can.
"You're in fine shape compared to that, missy."
"And why is that?" Senjogahara asked.
"Because the gods are everywhere. They're everywhere, and they're
nowhere. It was around you before you became the way you are—and we could just as well argue that it wasn't."
"That almost sounds like a Zen koan."
"It's Shinto. Maybe Shugendo," Oshino said. "You'd be wrong, missy, to think that you became the way you are because of something you did—it's just that your perspective shifted."
It was so from the beginning.
that was barely any different from what the doctors
who'd thrown in the towel maintained.
"My perspective? What are you trying to tell me?"
"I'm saying that I can't stand you playing the victim, missy,” Oshino abruptly unleashed some harsh words.
Just like he'd done with me.
Or like he'd done with Hanekawa.
I was concerned about how Senjogahara would react— but she didn't reply.
It almost seemed like she was meekly accepting it.
"Huh." Oshino sounded impressed as he took in her state. "Not bad. I was sure you were some stuck-up princess."
"Why—did you think so?" Senjogahara asked.
"Because most people who encounter the Crab of Weight are like that. You don't come across it by choice, and it's normally not a harmful god. It's not like a vampire."
Not harmful?
It's not harmful—and doesn't attack?
"Nor does it actually possess people. It's there, that's all. Unless you, missy, have some wish, it doesn't manifest. Mind you, I'm not gonna dig that far into your circumstances. It's not as if I want to save you.”
She was—going to get saved all on her own.
Oshino always said that.
"Stop me if you've heard this story, missy. It's a fairy tale from another country. There was once a youth. A virtuous lad. In town one day, he comes across a strange old woman, and she asks him to sell her his shadow."
"His shadow?"
"That's right. The very shadow that grows from your feet when you're in the sun. Sell it to me for ten pieces of gold, she said. The lad agreed without a moment's hesitation. For ten pieces of gold."
"...Then what happened?"
"What would you have done, missy?"
"Who knows—it's hard to say without being in that situation. I might sell it, and I might not. It would depend on the price, too."
"That's the right answer. People sometimes ask which is more valuable, your money or your life, but that's a flawed question. 'Money' could mean one yen, or it could mean a trillion, while on the other side, not all lives are equal across individuals. I utterly detest the vulgar dictum that all life is equal. But putting that aside—the lad couldn't imagine that his shadow was more valuable than ten pieces of gold. Why Would he? In what way does not having a shadow inconvenience you? It wouldn't handicap you in any way."
Oshino continued, gesticulating. "But here's what happened as a result. The lad is persecuted by the townspeople and his own family. It creates discord with those around him who say—it's creepy not to have a shadow. Of course they would, because it really is. People talk about a creepy shadow, but not having any is much creepier. Something that ought to be there not being there—right? In other words, the lad sold what ought to be for ten pieces of gold.'
“…...”
"He searched for the old lady to get his shadow back but couldn't find her no matter how long or hard he tried—so tells the tale, flourish of music.
"And—" Senjogahara responded, her expression unchanged, "and what's your point?"
"Eh, there's no point. I just thought that, well, maybe it would strike a chord with you. The lad who sold his shadow and the lass deprived of her weight, you see?"
"It's not—as if I sold it."
"That's right. You didn't sell it. It was a barter. Losing your weight might be more inconvenient than losing your shadow, but in terms of not fitting in, it's the same. Still—is that all?"
"What do you mean?"
"Is that all, is what I mean." Oshino clapped his hands before his chest as if to say he was done with the topic. "Okay. Understood. You want to recover your weight, and I'll help. You obtained Araragi's introduction, after all,"
“...You're going to save me?"
“I'm not saving you, But I can help.”
Let's see, Oshino said, checking the wristwatch on his left arm.
"The sun is still up, so go back home for now. Once you're there cleanse your body with cold water and change into a clean set of clothes' okay? I'll make my own preparations in the meantime. Since you're classmates with Araragi, you must attend that buttoned-down school, but will you be able to leave home in the middle of the night?"
"I can do that much,"
Then can we say to meet here again at midnight?"
"Fine—but a clean set of clothes?"
"'They don't have to be new, but your school uniform won't do. You wear it every day.
“...And your fee?"
"Huh?"
"Please don't play dumb. You're not saving me as an act of charity, are you?
"Hm. Hrm." Oshino turned to look at me, appraisingly. "I guess I'll take one, missy, if that would make you feel better. All right, then, a hundred thousand yen."
“…A hundred thousand yen," Senjogahara parroted the sum. "A hundred thousand yen—huh."
"You can make that kind of money in a month or two working part-time at a fast food place. I think it's reasonable."
“...This is nothing like the treatment I got," I remarked.
"Was it not? I want to say that it was a hundred thousand yen for missy class president, too," Oshino countered.
"I'm saying that you charged me five million yen!"
"What do you expect? That was a vampire."
"Stop chalking everything up to vampirism! I hate when people rely on fads like that!"
Brushing away my complaints, Oshino asked Senjogahara, "Can you pay it?"
"Of course," she replied. "Of course, without fail."
And so—
And so now, two hours later, here we were.
At Senjogahara's home.
I took a look around—another one.
A hundred thousand yen isn't a small sum by normal standards, but her single-room abode made me think it was a particularly large one for Senjogahara.
There was nothing there other than the dresser, the low table, and a small bookshelf. Considering how voracious a reader she made herself out to be, her collection was meager, which meant she probably relied heavily on used bookstores and libraries.
Like the struggling student of yore.
Well, I guessed, that's actually what she was.
She said she was even on financial aid.
According to Oshino, Senjogahara got off easy compared
But I wasn't so sure.
Yes, being attacked by a vampire is no joke for the threat to and the trouble you end up causing. More than once I thought things would be easier if I were dead, and even now, after a single misstep, I find myself feeling that way.
So.
Maybe Senjogahara was on the luckier side of misfortune. But— given what Hanekawa had told me about Senjogahara the middle schooler, it felt wrong to box it up so tidily and see it that way.
The two weren't equal, to say the least.
Then a thought came to me.
Hanekawa—what about Hanekawa?
Tsubasa Hanekawa's case.
A woman whose first name meant "wing," and whose last name started with another character for the same, a pair of mismatched appendages.
Just as I was attacked by a demon and Senjogahara encountered a crab, Hanekawa was bewitched by a cat. That's what happened during Golden Week. It was so intense that it felt like the distant past as soon as it was over, but it had been just a few days.
Hanekawa, though, barely had any memories of Golden week and seemed only to know that it was thanks to Oshino that she was fine, or maybe she knew nothing at all, but at any rate— I remembered everything.
It really was an awful case.
And that's coming from me, who had dealt with a demon at that point. I’d never imagined that a cat might be scarier than a demon.
So from the perspective of being life-threatening and all, you could simply say that Senjogahara’s case was less dire than Hanekawa’s— but considering what Senjogahara must have felt to get where she was now…