It's starting to look a little better.
Want to take a break?
Yeah, let's!
Your cleaning skills are amazing.
Perhaps I make my room messy
just so I can see your skill.
That'd be a pain, so cut it out.
You'll make a great wife.
I don't want to be a wife!
I'd almost want you as my wife...
No,
I wouldn't want you for a husband.
Then you'll marry me?
If our positions were reversed.
But either way, Senjougahara would kill you.
Well, she'd probably kill me, too.
But you know, Araragi-sempai...
You and Senjougahara-sempai
make a good couple.
However,
I think you'll end up marrying Hanekawa-sempai.
Don't say that!
And you'll have me for a lover,
Koyomi Tsubasa
Suruga
Nadeko
and maybe Sengoku-chan as your #3?
Koyomi Suruga
Following that logic,
Nadeko
Tsubasa
Mayoi
I'm really in love with Hachikuji.
Th-That isn't true...
I'm marrying Senjougahara someday.
Cold Sweat
I don't know what to say
about your dream proposal.
But still, Araragi-sempai,
if I really pursued you, you couldn't refuse.
T-To marry?
Nope.
To be your mistress!
I would refuse!
It's easy for girls to
take advantage of your kindness, so be careful.
That's what I mean.
For now, that's all it is.
I like our current relationship.
I wouldn't do anything to endanger it.
But should you ever do anything to hurt Senjougahara-sempai,
I'm certain I would...
Actually, if I married Hanekawa,
wouldn't Senjougahara kill her, too?
I wouldn't want that.
Didn't I tell you?
I'm more grateful to Hanekawa than to anyone else.
Well...
Hanekawa-sempai...
Hanekawa-sempai and Senjougahara-sempai...
Well, I don't think you should worry about that relationship.
What?
They have their own little world, you know.
I'm not terribly pleased about it.
But since those two are happy with it,
it isn't my place to say anything.
Oh, Kanbaru...
Wanna play this, while we take a break?
Oh, Hanafuda!
Shishinden
I forgot I had that.
But I don't know the rules.
I just bought it on a whim, at a department store.
Oh, I see...
Then we can't play.
No, that's not true, Araragi-sempai.
If you teach me, I can play!
It may surprise you,
but I'm good at learning the rules to games.
What's wrong, Araragi-sempai?
This round, you're the parent.
Sorry...
I've got a four-hand.
That's six points.
Koyomi Suruga
So, yeah...
That was a rare hand, so let's end it here.
Wait! Grr...
We still have one match left.
Don't get so mad...
Bracelet! Bracelet!
It's just a game.
How can you win without even taking it seriously?!
But I am winning.
It's just a game.
You should enjoy it...
For example, look at Sengoku.
She taught me something called "Twister."
She lost to a total newbie like me,
but she still seemed really happy.
Araragi-sempai,
it seems you've not yet recognized
the true final boss's existence.
What are you talking about?
Nothing.
It's not for me to say anything.
Kanbaru?
What is it, Araragi-sempai?
We should decide a punishment game first.
You're certainly in a hurry.
And I intend to ask for a sexual pact...
I mean, sexual act.
I see.
You can order me to die, if you want.
Never, ever, start gambling!
Episode 3: Karen Bee, Part 3
I asked Kanbaru about something I'd been wondering...
What she tells her family
about her left arm.
I tell them it's injured.
I don't think it's something I could really explain.
But does that work?
Unlike my vampirism,
your left arm is something they can see.
Well, my grandma and grandpa
do worry about me, naturally.
But despite everything, what happened with
my mother puts a wall between me and them.
So they never ask anything
I wouldn't want them to ask.
Either way, I only have to tolerate it
for a few more years.
Are you a child from this household?
No...
Actually, I'm not.
I apologize.
I haven't introduced myself.
The caution you've shown a total stranger is extremely appropriate.
Treasure it.
My name is Kaiki.
Kaiki?
Yes.
"Kai," like a mound of clamshells.
"Ki," like a dead tree.
My name is Araragi.
The kanji are, uh...
No need to explain.
It's a name I just heard said.
But I suppose if I'm a dead tree,
you must be a sapling.
Well, if you need something at Kanbaru's place...
You're polite, for a child these days.
And kind, too. Interesting.
But your kindness is wasted on me.
And I've no particular business with this household.
However...
I'd heard that the Gaen child lived here.
I haven't anything to do here, but I thought I might take a look.
That's all.
Gaen?
Isn't that the maiden name of Kanbaru's mother?
Then her child would be Kanbaru Suruga?
But I've wasted my time.
I hardly feel any aura at all.
One-third, I'd say...
It won't cause problems if I ignore it.
No, I have no choice but to ignore it.
Unfortunately, there's no money to be made.
The lesson for me here is that
even if the truth is as one suspects,
it may still be worthless.
Um...
No...
He's totally different from that slacker, Oshino.
He was more like Guillotine Cutter.
Well, both Oshino and Guillotine Cutter
were totally different types, but...
I'll follow him.
Maybe it's intuition,
but I have a feeling that it's a bad idea to get involved with him.
Those strange, depressing funeral clothes.
But there was something far beyond that...
Something ominous.
Ominous...
And threatening.
A Threat
Hey! Senjougahara!
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!
Don't do things that will seriously depress me!
No Entry
Hey, Senjougahara.
I don't know any boy who'd neglect his studies,
to wander around here.
Well... Y-You've misunderstood.
Silence. I most certainly have not.
Running from my tutelage is one thing, but to run from Hanekawa-san's,
you must be a true coward.
I'm disappointed in you.
No, no.
Hanekawa's busy today, and couldn't make it.
I'm tired of excuses, incompetent fool.
In the end, you're all talk, Araragi-kun.
The fact that a man like you won my heart
will shame me for the rest of my life.
You say things that would drive any other man to suicide,
all like it's nothing, you know?
Insect.
Gahara-san! Gahara-san!
What is it, Churaragi-kun.
Don't say my name like an obscure regional Okinawa word!
My name is Araragi!
And that's Hachikuji's gag!
Sorry! I bit my tongue.
No, you did it deliberately.
I bit my tongue, and you can die.
She really did do it deliberately!
Don't get the wrong idea.
I actually hate human garbage like you.
Are you just taking advantage of your tsundere status
to say what you really think?!
But they say a woman's better off
with an unloved man, versus a man who loves.
That isn't quite right!
An Unloved Man
It's a joke.
Everyone loves you, and you're super-popular.
Watch your head.
Danger Zone
Danger
Stare.
Three. Or maybe it's five?
Wh-What's that?
The number of girls you've played with today.
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six, to be completely accurate.
Six
Grandma
So, with that in the open,
Danger Zone
Danger
everyone loves you, and you're super-popular.
Don't worry, Araragi-san.
Danger Zone
Danger
I may not seem it,
but I'm quite tolerant regarding adultery.
I'm not committing adultery.
I'm not even engaging in the "adult" part.
So regardless of what you play, with whom,
that is your choice.
But if any of it ever gets the slightest bit serious,
I'll kill you.
Danger Zone
Danger
Don't worry.
I won't let you die alone.
I'll send the other woman right after you.
Why don't you just die, too?
Then I'll send Kanbaru, so you don't get lonely!
What do you think Kanbaru is?
An underclassman I can use however I like.
A cruel definition, stated without hesitation!
A joke.
Kanbaru is a cute little underclassman.
And I don't believe in life after death at all.
I see...
I just wanted you to understand that
this is what it means to date me.
I get it.
I wouldn't cheat, anyway.
Okay.
Very well, then.
As long as you don't forget to whom you belong,
that's fine.
I put a decent amount of effort into being your woman.
If possible, I'd like you to do the same.
Effort, huh?
I am...
I've never forgotten to whom I belong.
I see...
By the way, Araragi-kun,
Danger Zone
that said, I'd like to be certain that you know this...
Speaking as a girlfriend, it's actually quite wonderful
to have such a popular boyfriend.
Too close to what she's really thinking!
Are you going somewhere?
I finished my shopping, and I'm heading home.
Speaking of which, what are you doing out here?
This isn't your normal territory.
Can't you tell?
Unfortunately, I've never studied the actions of microscopic organisms.
But if I had to guess regardless, given what I know about you,
I'd say you're returning from some misdemeanor.
Do you think I just go out and commit misdemeanors?
I'm on my way back from Kanbaru's.
I see.
You were committing misdemeanors at Kanbaru's.
I was not!
Oh?
I thought you saw Kanbaru naked.
I... I did not!
At least, not from the front.
I simply thought a minor detail like that wasn't worth sharing.
Come to think of it,
I saw a weird guy in front of Kanbaru's house.
Oh?
When did they hang a mirror in front of Kanbaru's house?
He was strange...
Kind of ill-omened.
Ill-omened?
His name was...
Kaiki?
Was that it?
Black Scene
Five
Four
Three
Two
One
7/30 Early Morning
Do you know this Kaiki guy?
I'd prefer that you not ask.
If I shouldn't, then I won't.
But that isn't really the case, is it?
If you have to do all this...
It was just to protect me.
Senjougahara kidnapped me
in order to protect me.
For you to go to these lengths,
it must be a big deal.
You think so?
Personally, I'd say that it's likely
that I'd kidnap you, with even the slightest of pretexts.
Yeah...
Kaiki Deishuu.
That's his name.
Kaiki is an uncommon name.
And if you saw him and "ill-omened" sprang to mind, that's him.
I know no other man who suits
that term so well.
Yes,
just as you know nothing at all...
I hadn't imagined he'd return to this town...
Surprising, inexplicable...
Honestly, I didn't expect it in the slightest.
What's he like?
It's unusual for you to have such antipathy
for someone.
Kaiki is a fraud.
You and Oshino-san solved my problem,
if you recall?
Yeah.
And did I not tell you?
How, before you introduced me to Oshino-san,
I met with five con men.
Three Four Two One Five
Kaiki was one of them.
The first.
I understand.
His feel was akin to that of Oshino and Guillotine Cutter.
Those two are similar by virtue of their expertise in the supernatural.
And Kaiki...
Kaiki Deishuu is just like them.
Regardless of whether he's for real or a fake...
He's a fake,
but he's a master con man.
My entire family and I have suffered greatly at his hands.
He did a few tricks, took our money,
and vanished without helping at all.
But that's a minor issue.
So, what isn't minor?
I do not
want you involved with him.
That's all.
I will no longer relinquish that which is important to me.
I won't lose anything else.
Therefore,
I am going to protect you, Araragi-kun.
Is this Kaiki that much of a problem?
Why do you want me to keep away?
Hmm...
He's too much for a man of justice like yourself.
A man of justice?
I'm not one of the Fire Sisters.
Until I know at least what he's after,
why he's returned,
I'd like you to please remain here.
No.
Even if he isn't here for any specific reason,
I'd like you to stay here until he leaves.
What if he moves here?
If he moves here...
Then you'll have to spend the rest of your life in this room.
Hey, Gahara-san!
Or...
I could kill Kaiki.
Wait.
I know. I'll go "click" on him.
"Click"?
Cute sounds do not make it okay!
Not Okay
And it isn't okay!
Anyway, what is this Kaiki guy...
Can I look at that?
Wait, you're groping around too much!
Where are you touching me?
It's hard to reach, deep in your pocket.
My pockets aren't that deep.
I see.
Neither your life nor your pockets are that deep, right?
Do you have to hurt me, to find my cell phone?
From: Younger Little Sister Subject: Help Me
Araragi-kun?
Where are you going?
I've got somewhere to be.
That's enough playing around.
Sorry, but I'm going home.
Do you think you can?
I do. It's my home.
And my family.
Koyomi Voice /Dialogue
Just so we're clear,
I'm not such a coward that I'd hesitate because I'm facing a vampire.
Nor kind enough to hesitate because I'm facing my lover.
I know that.
It's why I like you.
If you want to get past me, you'll have to defeat me.
Can you do that?
I can.
Those lines don't work unless they're said together.
Just as you claim to wish to protect me,
I have something I want to protect.
Do you expect those words to convince me?
They don't need to, right?
I don't know about that.
I'd prefer that you not consider me to be the understanding type of woman.
But, Senjougahara...
Then when you fell in love, what did you like about me?
Can you boldly claim to love me, even if I do nothing here?
Oh, no.
That's really cool.
If I were a man, I'd love you.
Stay a woman, and love me anyway!
I do.
Hello?
I'm busy right now.
N-No...
That's a misunderstanding...
I never said a word about that.
Wait a second...
You don't have to do that.
That wasn't the deal.
Stop, please...
Give me some time.
All right.
I'll do everything you say.
You can go home, Araragi-kun.
Are you sure?
I'm sure.
A-And Araragi-kun...
Well, you know...
I'm s-sorr... I'm sorry...
Hey, Gahara-san?
Who were you talking to, by the way?
White Scene
To be continued.
Hanekawa-san.