This is the 24th Chapter of The Summer Hikaru Died manga series, written and illustrated by Mokumokuren.
Synopsis[]
Ever since he lost his head, something’s seemed off about “Hikaru”...almost like his instincts are taking over. The boys try to continue their investigation, but “Hikaru” suddenly loses control?! Their friendship aside, can Yoshiki even make it out alive?[1]
Plot[]
"Hikaru"'s insides begin to leak out of his eye and neck. Growing uneasy, Yoshiki stumbles back and starts to run away, but "Hikaru" chases him down the hallway. Yoshiki stops at the stairwell because he hears students downstairs and doesn't want "Hikaru" to be discovered. When he turns around, "Hikaru"'s insides have grown in size and begin to engulf Yoshiki. He sinks back against the wall, realizing that "Hikaru"'s physical appearance was just a shell that was comforting him this whole time. Though he feels afraid, Yoshiki notices that the insides don't feel as gross as he remembers, and that he must've already been mixed a great deal.
When he calls "Hikaru"'s name, "Hikaru" slowly comes back to his senses and his insides retreat back into him. They sit on the floor, staring at one another. Asako, who had been watching from the bottom of the stairwell, quietly turns and leaves.
After nightfall, "Hikaru" and Yoshiki visit the Indou's shrine. "Hikaru" tries to apologize for what he did earlier today, but Yoshiki brushes it off – saying that "Hikaru"'s almost killed him multiple times already, so it's not a big deal to him anymore. He also reminds him that he tried to stab "Hikaru" once, so they're even. To move things along, he asks for the shrine key, which "Hikaru" provides.
When they enter the shrine and turn on their flashlights, they find both sides of the room are completely covered with wood carvings of human heads. "Hikaru"'s head begins to hurt, and he recalls one of Hikaru's memories in this room with his father: Kouhei told him the heads have been offered to Unuki-sama by the villagers in exchange for wishes for abundant harvests, the end of plagues, and so on. He explained that offered heads disappear immediately, so wooden replacements are made to memorialize them in this shrine. Many of them were the sick or elderly who chose to offer their heads, but many others were forcefully beheaded by the villagers, which Kouhei called the village's sin. He reminded Hikaru to never forget this and mentioned that this applies to the Indou's sin as well. His recollection of this memory ends, and "Hikaru" explains all of this to Yoshiki, but the question remains of what the Indou's sin is and why heads came into the process in the first place. Yoshiki considers someone who was close to Kouhei that he could ask instead.
At school the day before summer break, "Hikaru" skips a school assembly and stays in a classroom by himself. He considers all the lives that have been offered to him, and whether he's dangerous to Yoshiki. His thoughts are interrupted by Asako, who joins him in the classroom. She tells him that she saw what happened by the staircase the other day, so she knows he isn't the real Hikaru. "Hikaru" smiles sadly and says it's not smart of her to admit that straight to his face. She says she isn't going to tell anyone what he is, even though she finds it strange and scary that Hikaru is gone and Yoshiki is still acting like nothing's wrong. She starts to cry, admitting that she can't hate the new "Hikaru" either. "Hikaru" apologizes for impairing her ability to hear out of her right ear and assures her that he promised Yoshiki to not kill anyone else. Asako asks if Hikaru is still alive, but "Hikaru" confirms that the body is just a corpse. When Asako cries harder, "Hikaru" wipes her tears and realizes that Hikaru was supposed to be mourned like this, but no one else will ever grieve for him because "Hikaru" is here. He realizes that if he wasn't here, then Yoshiki could've mourned properly, moved on from this, and thought about his future.
On the way home from school, "Hikaru" asks what kind of person Indou Hikaru was. Yoshiki says he was like a manga protagonist: hated studying, sociable, disliked by seniors, well-liked by juniors, and the girls he liked often started dating other guys. In Yoshiki's perspective, he was strong, never worried, and never cried even though he probably wanted to. "Hikaru" suddenly parts ways with him.
Once he's home, Yoshiki goes to knock on his father's study. Instead of going home, "Hikaru" rings the doorbell to Kurebayashi's place. She opens the door and sees "Hikaru," drenched from the rain, standing there with a depressed look on his face.
Character Appearances[]
- Tsujinaka Yoshiki
- "Hikaru"
- Yamagishi Asako
- Grandfather Indou (mentioned)
- Indou Hikaru (off-panel; flashback; mentioned)
- Indou Kouhei (flashback; mentioned)
- Tadokoro Yuuki (mentioned; hypothetical scenario)
- Maki Yuuta (hypothetical scenario)
- Saitou (flashback)
- Tsujinaka Toshinori
- Kurebayashi Rie
Gallery[]
-24.png "Indou family hall (outside)-24.png (5.29 MB)")
-24.png "Indou family hall (inside)-24.png (4.98 MB)")
References
- ↑ Rakuten Kobo: The Summer Hikaru Died, Chapter 24
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