Both of Big Brother Koyomi's parents work.
i've asked before what they do, but both he and Tsukihi just gave a vague answer, like "Well, they're civil servants. Yeah, civil servants."
Their stories were completely straight.
It's kind of suspicious.
There must be more going on behind the scenes.
i secretly wonder if they're involved in some shady line of work.
But whether or not there's anything behind the scenes or in the shade, i do at least know that they don't work from home and aren't there in the afternoon—which is also when Koyomi, Tsukihi, and Karen are at school, obviously.
Tien again, there's no guarantee any of the three siblings are out given their surprising tendency to skip school, but if they're skipping, they should be somewhere saving people or something. So either way,
they shouldn't be home.
In other words, the Araragi residence is empty in the afternoon.
Completely empty.
so if i'm going to sneak in, afternoons would be much better than nights.
"Hsshh, hsshh—you know, they do say that afternoon burglaries are more common than nighttime ones. And you know what else they say? Leaving your door unlocked or your windows open makes it harder for robbers to come into your home. Not because you're appealing to their sense of kindness, but because it actually makes them think someone's home."
Nadeko doesn't even nod in response to the Serpent's words— how could i to a piece of knowledge he pulled out from Nadeko to present to Nadeko?
What follows, though, is Mister Serpent's opinion rather than any knowledge.
"I wonder if you aren't the same way—getting people around you to protect you by making a show of being defenseless and harmless. Of course in your case—someone really is home."
"Can we please stop having these meaningless conversations, Mister Serpent?"
"Hmmmm?"
"Nothing's going to come from talking like this. All that's left to
do is search Big Brother's home to find your corpse... We can do that fine without opening our mouths."
i notice that i said "corpse" and not "object of worship," but i don't even feel like resaying it. Nadeko just looks up at what's in front of her—the empty Araragi residence.
So, how should i break in?
"And anyway...are you sure, Mister Serpent?"
"Huh? About what?"
"About your cor.. .object of worship being inside Koyomi's home.
Are you really sure this isn't another malfunction?"
Nadeko voices her doubts, and i think anyone would after the chain of events that took place yesterday as a result of Mister Serpent malfunctioning.
It's not even just in case.
"No, no, like I said, something came out of that malfunction—in fact, you could say this is going exactly as planned. Koyomi found you thanks to it, and you were able to get into his home, which is when I noticed where my object of worship is."
"But...you didn't do anything in Big Brother's room, not even malfunction."
"I was doing everything I could to hold myself back. You know I can't start vibrating in front of other people—that's why I was silent the whole time we were in that room."
So it wasn't just because we were around other people—true, Mister Serpent didn't talk even when we were alone in the room after Miss Shinobu led (hauled) Big Brother out of it.
i guess he was spending energy then?
"Oh. .. Is that why you didn't try to save Nadeko from Tsukihi's scissors?"
"Well, that's not something I could do anyway."
"Still.. .how strange. Why is your object of worship in Big Brother's room?"
It is strange.
As far as i know, collecting "anteeks" isn't one of his hobbies...
"Did Koyomi or his family take your object of worship from the shrine?"
"No, I doubt that's what happened—the timeline doesn't match up. Probably, my object of worship was taken somewhere, and someone found it before I could...and entrusted it to Koyomi."
Right, Big Brother seemed not to know about that shrine being there—and neither did Nadeko until she looked into ways to get rid of the "charm" placed on her.
"But entrusted. By who?"
"Beats me—probably some Hawaiian-shirted expert?"
“…”
Despite Mister Serpent's incurious and offhanded delivery, he sounds pretty sure,
But wait, an expert who wears Hawaiian shirts...
Isn't there only one person in Japan like that?
"'Whatever the case, though, there's no guarantee. Who knows, I could be malfunctioning again. Just hurry up and get in there to take a look around, Nadeko."
"Could you please not sound so casual about it?"
Hearing that is disheartening.
The thing is actually indoors... He's been using words like "burglary" and "robbers," and that describes exactly what Nadeko is about to try and do.
The sensible thing to do would be to ask Koyomi or Tsukihi and get permission to come inside, but... Koyomi is always with Miss Shinobu, and Tsukihi is just scary, even if you don't count what just happened... The fact is, it's hard to ask either of them. Explaining why would be hard, too.
So Nadeko's only option is this sham burglary.
No, i really am trying to take something from inside the house.
It's pure burglary.
"Okay! Nadeko will do her best."
i'd look suspicious loitering outside for too long (Nadeko is still in a school uniform so the police could easily come pick her up).
Making up her mind, Nadeko opens the gate to the Araragi residence and enters the premises.
Boldly.
Like i live there.
...i can't believe that Nadeko, who's "dedicaited" her entire life to being quiet and out of sight, is doing such a thing... Can i thank Tsukihi cutting Nadeko's bangs for this, too?
i don't know. Nadeko doesn't know herself anymore.
“…”
But the wind is suddenly taken out of Nadeko's sails when she discovers that the front door is locked after all.
Double-locked, at that.
It seems kind of like a new door, though i didn't notice yesterday because of how dark it was—could they have remodeled recently?
"What to do, Mister Serpent..."
"Feh... Remodeled, remade, it doesn't matter to me—nice try, but you can't keep out a god."
"Huh…”
What, is he going to use his aberrational powers to blow down the door the way Nadeko did at school with a rolling savate? i 'd rather not do something that would just lead to more trouble down the line...
Speaking of which, they say that vampires and ghosts and stuff can't enter into enclosed spaces unless they have permission from someone inside—is that not the case for Mister Serpent?
Oh.
But speaking of sealed-off spaces—
Clang! Clang!
Just then.
Nadeko hears sounds coming from inside as she's thinking aloofly to herself—i don't have to check to know that it was the sound of the locks being undone.
i fearfully open the front door—and white snakes come wriggling out. Two of them—Nadeko tries to move her feet out of the way as fast as she can, but the snakes are already gone by then.
Yes.
Just like the hallucinations that appeared in Nadeko's shoe cupboard and inside her desk.
"Sealed-off spaces? They don't mean a thing to me—I'm able to nullify any barrier."
“…”
That's very heartening to know in committing a burglary.
So it seems like those snakes weren't just hallucinations—and now that i mention it, i didn't just see them, i think i felt them too.
i hurry inside to the entrance, close the door, and lock it back up.
i'm being brisk like never before.
But when i think about it more, i shouldn't have locked the door and in fact shouldn't have opened it. Instead, i should have left the house as soon as i possibly could—even putting any ethical questions aside.
An aberration that nullifies any barrier. That lurks in sealed-off spaces.
If only i thought about what that meant.
But not able to find the time now that Mister Serpent is vibrating, no, quaking—what an incredible reaction, he's spinning furiously on Nadeko's right wrist.