This is the 28th Chapter of The Summer Hikaru Died manga series, written and illustrated by Mokumokuren.
Synopsis[]
Still processing their encounter with Tanaka, the boys get a ride home from Kurebayashi. In her car, they wonder—What is the nature of the “hole” Tanaka mentioned, and what does it have to do with the strange bands in the sky?![1]
Plot[]
After asking Kayo-chan to look after her mother-in-law and daughter, Kurebayashi goes to pick up "Hikaru" and Yoshiki from the train station. "Hikaru" notes that the glowing bands in the sky are gone. Kurebayashi explains that they were probably a sign of "dispersion". The hole in Kubitachi isn't just one, but more likely is split up into several holes that are connected to one another. The bands they saw were tons of impurities traveling between the holes like a highway – it's always present, just not always visible. At "Hikaru"'s question, Kurebayashi confirms that closing up these holes will cause the bands to disappear permanently and reduce the number of impurities in the area.
She says that if the hole hadn't divided, the town's current situation would've happened much sooner. The impurities split into 3 streams coming out of the main hole in Kubitachi, and they dispersed to the 3 holes (one each in Ashidori, Udekari, and Kibogayama) in other areas. Because of this, the widening of the original hole in Kubitachi was slowed. Yoshiki theorizes that burying sacrifices' body parts as far apart as possible[2] might have been done to make the hole disperse. Kurebayashi suggests that the land itself was used as a sacrificial doll to beat their sins and spiritual impurities. They wonder why the abandoned regions of Kibogayama (Udeiri and the southern region) don't have holes. Kurebayashi suggests that impurities prefer to appear in places where people live, so even if there were holes in those areas, impurities wouldn't come out.
Kurebayashi asks if they asked "the mystery man" how to close the holes, but Yoshiki says that he turned him down. "Hikaru" remarks it'd be easier to figure out if they could ask Hichi-san. Yoshiki takes it out of his bag, recalling how Tanaka gave it to them before they left. He explained that it's now an extremely powerful talisman that will protect its carrier from evil.
In the present, "Hikaru" posits that other people's heads were swallowed up by the hole and disappeared, but Hichi-san's head is still here because it was offered to Something. However, that leaves the question of why the rest of the body parts that were buried didn't disappear into holes as well. "Hikaru" assumes that the location of the holes in the other towns are where the bones were found. Though Kurebayashi expresses agreement with this, she trails off, looking very troubled.
They stop at a drugstore in North Kibogayama so that Kurebayashi can buy toilet paper before the stores close. While they're waiting, "Hikaru" asks Yoshiki if he's afraid of him. Yoshiki is unsure in his reply, and "Hikaru" cautions him that since he's not going back to the mountain, it means he might attack Yoshiki again eventually. He encourages Yoshiki to hold on to Hichi-san for protection, even though it won't prevent him from getting "mixed up". Yoshiki is resolves to stay with "Hikaru", not for anyone else's sake but for his own sake.
While Kurebayashi pays for her purchase, she reflects on how the boys remind her of her own son, Iori. When he left home, he told her that everything was her fault to begin with.
Outside, "Hikaru" shows Yoshiki the social media posts that their friends have made since summer vacation started. Asako already finished her summer homework and Yuuki has been spending time with her younger sisters. However, they pause on Maki's update, who had posted a photo of his bedroom. In the background, there are a pair of gaunt legs sticking out from below his window's curtain.
Meanwhile, Maki is up late working on his summer homework. He takes leans back in his chair and sighs, looking down at the floor. Underneath his desk, he notices a very similar pair of legs to the ones shown in the photo. Disturbed, he directs his gaze away and instead finds another pair of feet sticking out from underneath his bed, and the original pair behind the curtain. Maki puts his head in his hands, exasperated as he asks to be given a break.
Character Appearances[]
Gallery[]
TBA
References
- ↑ Rakuten Kobo: The Summer Hikaru Died, Chapter 28
- ↑ Chapter 24 (Vol. 5)
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