“So this is…um, Saika.”
By means of demonstration, Anri allowed the tip of the katana to protrude just a bit from her palm.
“Ooh, that’s amazing. How does it work?” asked Saki, who was sitting next to her and staring with interest. Togusa peeked through the rearview mirror at the exhibition, and his jaw dropped with shock.
“Huh. That’s real strange,” said Seiji, without much apparent interest. True to character, Namie followed that up with “You don’t need to pay attention to her, Seiji” as she brushed her fingers through his hair.
But the most dramatic reaction by far belonged to Yumasaki, who first trembled when he saw the blade emerge from Anri’s hand. Then he began to emit an eerie moaning sound: “Ooh…ooooooooo…”
Lastly, he grabbed Anri’s wrist, staring at the blade closely. Tears began to drip from his eyes.
“Um, what…?” she stammered.
“The promised day has arrived at last!” he shouted. “I always knew that I would one day get the chance to earn supernatural powers of my own! And now…and now! Will I be able to have a Saika of my own?! If so, then I am not opposed to taking lessons from an iai dojo every day to prepare for the coming battle against the all-powerful enemy!”
His excitement flustered Anri. “Um…er… First, when you have the sword, Saika sends a curse seeping through you, trying to love humanity.”
Yumasaki abruptly came to a standstill. “Humanity? Like…three-dimensional humanity?”
“Three-dimensional…?” Anri repeated.
Kadota threw her a lifeline. “He’s asking if you mean actual living people, not just anime characters and whatnot.”
“Um…Saika has never shown an interest in manga or novels…as far as I know…”
Instantly, the boy deflated and let go of Anri’s hand. “Oh…I see… Then I respectfully decline my suggestion of having a cursed blade.”
“Huh?”
Anri was surprised to learn that he was being serious about “having” a cursed blade at all and failed to grasp where he was going with this. He looked at her apologetically and explained, “I would do almost anything to build a bridge to two-dimensional characters, but I’ve got better things to do with my time than help facilitate three-dimensional romance.”
Annoyed, Togusa turned to Yumasaki and said, “In that case, why couldn’t you use that cursed blade to make some hot woman your girlfriend?”
“Huh? Do I stand to benefit in some way by making a three-dimensional girl my girlfriend?”
“Honestly, I’m kind of amazed at how firm you are on your standards,” Togusa said, half in admiration.
“But all of that aside! I can’t wait to see Karisawa again so we can share in the joy of knowing that the cursed blade is the pathway to two dimensions! Let’s go rescue her as soon as we can! What are we doing, Togusa? Hurry up, hurry up, run, run, run!” He smacked the window.
“Shuddup!” Togusa bellowed. “Don’t get fingerprints on the window! I’m driving as fast as I can, but I can’t change a red light!”
While the driver and back seat passenger argued, Kadota glanced over his shoulder and said to Anri, “Just checking, but…if Karisawa turns out to be under that Saika thing’s control, can you do something about that?”
“…Yes. If I find the mother of Karisawa or the other people afflicted by Saika in town—in other words, the source of the possession—and I use my Saika to overwrite their curse and set them free, then they should return to normal.”
“Okay…well, on the rare chance that it’s actually the case, we’d appreciate your help with that. I’m sorry about this,” Kadota said, tilting his head forward into a bow from his awkward position.
Anri quickly waved him off. “Oh no…I was the one who got her involved.”
“What do you mean? You didn’t do anything. I don’t know whose fault this is, but you shouldn’t trouble yourself over it.”
“But,” she said sadly, lowering her face, “if we can’t find her Saika mother, then I’ll have to hurt Karisawa a bit…”
She looked forlornly at the blade protruding from her palm. Kadota asked, “Do you, uh…have to cut ’em to a point where it becomes life-and-death?”
“N-no, just the tip of the finger would work, I think.”
“Then there’s no problem. Karisawa isn’t going to be upset about something like that.” Kadota chuckled, trying to cheer her up. “I’m telling you it’s fine. You have my permission. I’ll take responsibility.”
Feeling the warmth of his words, Anri looked at Kadota through the mirror and said, “Um…”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you.”
“What did I just say? We’re the ones who need to thank you,” Kadota said with a smile. The image of Karisawa’s face floated into Anri’s mind. It was the same kind of warmth she felt when Karisawa said, “I can forgive you of everything.” Maybe Kadota and Karisawa were rubbing off on each other because they spent so much time together.
And then there’s me… I spent all that time with Ryuugamine and Kida, and I couldn’t do anything… I didn’t try to change myself…
And that was why she had to do something now. It was that resolution that led her to reveal the situation to everyone here in the van—but their reactions were far from what she feared might happen.
She imagined that when they learned her secret, they’d treat her like a monster, or suspect her of being the actual street slasher, or perhaps even subject her to some kind of medieval witch hunt.
But their reactions were so normal that it actually left her confused and shaken.
“Um, aren’t you…afraid of me?” she said, to her own surprise.
Yumasaki tilted his head, as though he couldn’t fathom why she would ask such a thing. Namie snorted and said, “I might look down on you for it, but I certainly don’t have a reason to feel afraid of someone as meaningless as you.”
“You don’t have a reason to look down on her, either, Sister.”
“Oh…I-I’m sorry, Seiji! That was just a saying—it wasn’t what I really feel!” she stammered when she caught the whiff of criticism in her brother’s stare.
Saki smiled and said, “It was a surprise, but I’m not afraid of you,” as simply as if they were talking about any ordinary topic.
Anri replied, “But I’m…I’m not human…”
Kadota butted in to say, “Listen, young lady.”
“Y-yes?”
“Would you dare say that around Celty?” he asked in all seriousness.
“…!”
She had no answer.
“She’s far less human than you are, but nobody in this group dislikes her.”
Namie looked displeased with that. “Well, I don’t—”
“Read the room, Sister.”
“…F-fine, Seiji. Don’t worry, your big sis is more than capable of being tactful.”
Kadota ignored their banter and continued addressing Anri: “Whatever it was like the first time, none of us are afraid of Celty now, because we know her. We know what she’s been doing, what makes her happy, and what makes her sad. Just maybe not as well as Shinra does.”
“…”
“When people are afraid of something, it’s because they can’t see the inside of what that is. Even a walking explosive like Shizuo Heiwajima doesn’t have to be scary to someone who understands exactly what it is that gets him pissed off,” he continued, drawing on another example. “So we’re all able to accept you because we know what kind of a person you are.”
“Uh…”
“Whether you were being sincere or polite, that accumulation of your interactions with others led to this result. Do you get that? So be confident in who you are,” he said, keeping his tone light. But even so, the words permeated her heart deep down.
Mika, who had held her silence in the seat ahead of her, suddenly turned around and bowed. “Anri…I’m sorry!”
“Huh? Huh? H…Harima?”
“The truth is, I knew. I knew you were possessed by that sword…”
“?!”
Anri’s mind went blank at the revelation.
“I don’t want to go into why, because it’s a long story…but in the end, I chose to go with Seiji over you… I knew that you were struggling with personal problems, but I never cared about anything but Seiji!”
That explanation didn’t actually explain anything exactly, and the mood in the car turned to awkward silence.