Chapter 6:
Marii’s Rival
YOU PROBABLY get the point by now, but Marii Yukari thinks humans look like robots.
I found that out by coincidence, but she generally hides it. She’s learned from experience that people will think she’s weird, and it causes unnecessary trouble.
That’s her intention, anyway, but things are easier said than done. Her unique perspective inexplicably makes her act in pretty strange ways. She’s known as a weirdo not only in school but throughout the entire neighborhood.
That doesn’t mean people don’t like her—in fact, they love her. Our class treats her kind of like a mascot. Her eccentricities are actually kind of amusing, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise. She’s so cute that her bizarre words and actions only highlight the vibe that she’s kind of like a harmless pet.
I’m not trying to say this world is all about looks, but you have to admit that appearances are pretty critical to our decision-making. That gives Yukari a lot of trouble as someone who thinks she’s interacting with a bunch of robots. As for the rest of us, living beings have an instinct to protect things that are cute in order to keep on passing our genes down. It’s the way of the world, you could say. So it’s no wonder that Yukari’s well liked: I don’t think there’s anything wrong with me for always paying attention to her.
However, another truth about this world is that there will always be strange people who just can’t accept others. Some people have it out for her. It’s not that they all want to hurt her, but more that they find Yukari…irritating. Foremost among them is a girl named Tenjou Nanami.
Tenjou would get on Yukari’s case over anything and everything. She wouldn’t even necessarily wait to naturally come across her in the halls—heck, she’d come all the way over to our class for no reason during breaks sometimes. She was never violent toward Yukari, but she’d block her way, take her notebook, taunt her like a child…
“Oh my, it’s been a while, hasn’t it, Mari?” Tenjou would call Yukari by her family name, but she pronounced it as if it was her given name with a shortened final syllable. “How’s that third eye they say you’re hiding on your forehead?”
“I’m not hiding a third eye!”
“Oh? Is that so? Ah, that’s right. You had it in your past life, and now you’re fighting the demons night and day without it. I suppose the exorcist’s seal etched into your arm must be aching right now.”
“I don’t have anything like that…”
Let’s just say it: the way she picks on Yukari is really childish. It’s much more like a playground squabble than actual bullying. People generally don’t do anything to stop it—that includes me—because the whole thing feels too silly in the first place. Plus, Yukari was trying to be friends with Tenjou, so when you try to stand up for Yukari, she ends up defending Tenjou anyway. It’s this weird triangle that makes you out as the stupid one for getting involved. That’s why people usually sit and watch as Tenjou picks on her.
But there was one time when Yukari fired back at Tenjou in anger.
“Why don’t you go back to your homeland?” Tenjou had asked.
“My homeland…?”
“You’re a Marian, aren’t you? You’re a Marian from the planet Mari. What are you doing still on Earth? Don’t you think it’s about time you went back to your home? What, are you planning an inva—”
“I’m an Earthling!” Yukari shot back strongly.
Her exclamation was loud enough to bring the lunchtime noise of the classroom to a complete halt. Yukari usually didn’t like being the center of attention and would shrink from notice, but this time was different. Barely seeming to notice the eyes on her, Yukari continued on.
“I-I’m not a Marian! I’m an Earthling born on the planet Earth. I’m Japanese!”
“I mean, whatever…”
“Enough already!” I interrupted. “This isn’t even your classroom, Tenjou. Don’t come here to start trouble.”
Tenjou shot me one heck of a glare as she loudly marched out of the room.
I broke character and chased after her. Feelings were swirling in my chest, ready to burst free. Most days, I’m sullen and don’t know how to express myself: maybe that’s why, when I get overwhelmed like that, I can’t control my reaction. On this occasion, I saw Yukari grimace, an unusual expression for her.
It’s things like this that get me heated.
I guess Tenjou realized I was coming, because she was waiting for me at the bottom of the staircase, alone. Before I could ask her anything, she said to me, “Your name was…Hatou? Do you know about her eyes?”
If she was asking that, she clearly knew about them herself.
By that point, I’d kind of figured out that Tenjou knew, considering how much she teased Yukari. She always sounded like she was mocking what Yukari saw. Both Tenjou and I knew that Yukari saw humans—other than herself—as robots, and about the fact that she’d never seen a human who looked like herself.
You should be able to imagine just how lonely that vista would be.
Yukari’s retort to Tenjou wasn’t “I’m a human.” She claimed to be an Earthling and Japanese, but not a human. She wasn’t able to claim that. So long as she couldn’t find anyone who looked like her, her heart would always stop her from truly feeling human.
My rage boiled up again, but my head somehow cooled off. My thoughts came into focus. I nodded slowly in reply. “Yes, I know. I know how Yukari sees other people…so you know too, huh? Then you have some nerve, Tenjou, to say things like—”
Tenjou shut me up immediately with an eerie smile as if she was sizing me up. “You’re right. I know plenty about her. Much more than you do, I’d wager—and actually, I think you barely know her at all.”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you sure you wanna know? If you plan to be her friend, you’re better off not knowing.”
“What are you—”
Before Tenjou could open her mouth, a voice from up the hall called, “Gaku-chan!” It was Yukari. She must have chased after me.
By the way, my family runs a naginata dojo. I’m a bit of a polearm wielder myself. I lack the spiritual discipline, though, so I tend to fight impulsively. Yukari might have been afraid I’d hurt Tenjou.
Seeing Yukari arrive panicked and out of breath, Tenjou violently scowled. Until that moment, I suspected that Tenjou didn’t really hate Yukari as much as she made it seem. At the time, I thought maybe she was acting like a little kid who couldn’t be honest with their feelings. But now I could see the grave and remorseful expression on Tenjou’s face as she looked at Yukari. And yet Tenjou was also somehow as cool as blue fire. Her face was stretched so taut, it looked like it could split apart at any second. It definitely seemed to be—no, it was a look of pure hatred. She was ready to practically spit at Yukari.
“Uh, um, Ten-chan…”
Tenjou’s expression shifted at Yukari’s murmur, but I didn’t know how to describe it. She bobbed her head subtly. Tenjou was…lowering her head? Perhaps she was apologizing for what just happened? It lasted for the briefest of moments before she raised her head again to glare at Yukari. She spat out deliberately, “You should know I’m never going to forgive you or accept you.” Then she sharply turned and began to walk away.
“Hey, Tenjou!” I yelled at her, partly because I was still pissed off, but most of all because I wanted to know what exactly she meant.
Yukari stopped me, though. “Please stop, Gaku-chan. It’s okay. You see, I did something to Ten-chan. She has every right to hate me for it. So it’s okay, really. Please don’t be mad…”
Tenjou started to turn back toward us for a second, but in the end, she went on her way.
As I watched Tenjou leave, I asked Yukari, “So I guess you two go way back, right? She knows all about you?”
“Yes. She knows me better than anyone.”
“But…you’re not friends anymore.”
“Oh! I still think of her as my friend, and honestly, I hope you can be her friend too.”
“Over my dead body. Count me out.”
“Oh, don’t be like that…”
Yukari looked up at me sadly, and I patted her on the top of head.
What exactly was it that Tenjou was treating as a mystery when it came to Yukari? Sure, I hadn’t known her that long; there was plenty I didn’t know about her. Whatever, I understood what was most important about Yukari: Even if she isn’t totally normal, Yukari is still a human just like me, and she’s my dear friend.
I don’t know what happened between you two, but you don’t get to tell me my own feelings, I thought in Tenjou’s direction.
Even after that day, Tenjou went on holding that bitter grudge against Yukari. She started teasing me too. Maybe it’s more like I was the one who stepped into the fray. Sometimes she faces off with me, even when Yukari’s not around. Come to think of it, she’s been doing that a lot lately. I’ll give her credit for not telling people about Yukari’s secret at least, but otherwise, we don’t get along at all.
And that’s how things have continued on between me and Tenjou Nanami.