Interviews with Monster Girls
Shibasaki High School Entrance Ceremony
I thought I'd be able to hide that I'm a snow woman in high school.
If word didn't get around that I was a demi,
maybe no one would approach me out of curiosity.
If I kept my distance,
maybe my nature wouldn't cause problems for anyone.
But...
When I got overheated during PE class,
Kusakabe?
You okay, Kusakabe?
Do you feel sick?
someone was about to touch me, so without thinking, I...
I'm a snow woman!
Huh?
I'll be okay once I cool down.
But I ended up fainting and being carried out on a stretcher.
Stretcher! Someone get a stretcher!
Snow Woman-chan Is Cold
Have you hidden the fact that you're a snow woman all your life?
No, not before I came here.
Until I started high school,
I lived in a rural town, with lots of snow.
Back then, I didn't hide it at all.
When my temperature got low,
I occasionally emanated cold air or my tears became ice, but that's all.
No one else was affected,
and I considered it a minor thing.
So I never had any problems with my nature as a snow woman.
Then, something happened between moving here and starting high school?
Exactly.
It was right after I moved here.
At the time, I was really depressed.
I was so worried about how I'd fit into a new environment...
And I was separated from the friends I'd known since middle school.
I'd always lived in the country,
so I wasn't sure if I could make it in the city.
I was scared.
I wished I could dissolve into the hot water, like in a fairy tale.
As I thought about all that,
something suddenly felt strange.
Ice formed in your hot bath?
It spooked me.
The ice melted quickly,
but if I'd put out enough cold air to freeze hot water...
The idea was absolutely terrifying.
If I directed that cold air at someone, what would happen?
When my high school life began, I was still stressed about that.
As long as I avoided contact with everyone, I thought I'd be fine.
And that's why you started steering clear of others?
I'm scared...
I don't know how dangerous I really am.
If I knew that, and could convey it to people,
I could proudly tell everyone that I'm a snow woman.
Cold air freezing hot water...
How do you normally take baths?
Eh?
Oh, I mean, what's the water temperature?
Do you take them with family members?
The same way as everyone else.
About 40 degrees Celsius...
But people say I take relatively short baths.
And what was that bath like?
Was the water any cooler than usual?
No, I don't think so.
All right...
You said your tears also turn to ice?
I wasn't crying or anything.
The piece of ice just floated up, all of a sudden.
I see...
What about sweat?
Maybe the bath made you sweat, and that froze?
Actually, I almost never sweat.
It might be more accurate to say that I can't sweat.
I can't do it like everyone else.
My... sweat glands?
Right, the glands that secrete sweat.
Evidently, I have very few of them.
I understand.
It isn't as if I don't sweat at all, but...
Then, is it possible your sweat froze?
My sweat hasn't ever frozen before.
It seems strange it would only freeze this time...
That's true.
My tears can freeze anytime, though.
I'm sorry to spend the whole lunch period talking about this!
Sensei?
Huh? Oh, no problem.
Sorry to keep you this long.
You can go back to class.
Excuse me.
Oh, Kusakabe...
Yes?
If you're okay with it,
would you come see me after school?
Sure.
Kusakabe-san!
Takanashi-san! Machi-san!
Did you have lunch together?
Yep.
Next time, you should join us.
Talking with Takahashi-sensei?
About something specific?
Yeah, but I think I said some weird things and worried him even more.
Nah, don't worry about that!
Sensei always wants to talk to demi-chans, right?
Yeah.
I hope so.
Oh, right. Want to get some ice cream after school?
Ice cream?
That's kinda out of nowhere.
Recently, I found a great place.
How about it?
Well...
I'll think about it.
See you.
The cold air her body generated
snow woman
snow woman stories snow woman soft
created ice, without lowering the water temperature.
snow woman
snow woman — Wukupedia
Is that even possible?
And her tears freeze anytime...
Antiques and Ghost Stories
Well, for now,
I guess I'll check folklore first.
Koizumi Yakumo Antiques and Ghost Stories
Oddly enough, all the legends about snow women are kind of sad.
I did some more research on snow women.
Their appearance is basically the same in every legend.
Beautiful women, dressed all in white, with long hair.
Some describe elderly women.
All share a basic template.
The snow woman approaches a man, not telling him that she's a snow woman,
and she asks him for something.
If he refuses, she does something mean.
Or if he befriends her, an accident occurs, and she disappears.
Some minor details vary by region,
but they're all basically one or the other...
Oh, sorry—
Kusakabe!
Yes?
Do your feet get cold when you're nervous?
Huh? Yes, actually, they do.
I guess I get cold easily.
I see.
Eh?
I'm about to tell Kusakabe something that might really hurt her.
But I want her to overcome it. If she can, then...
Sorry about that.
Yes. I mean, it's okay.
There, we go...
Is that hot water?
Yeah, a foot bath.
Now...
Eh?
How's the temperature?
It's all right.
Now, then...
Would you read this aloud for me?
I compiled some legends about snow women.
Is this necessary?
It's important.
As much as it pains me, I want you to read it and memorize it.
Okay.
"One night, amidst a raging blizzard, a beautiful woman,
with long hair and white clothes, came to a certain man's home.
Her body was as cold as ice.
So he tried to get her to bathe,
but she vehemently refused.
He forced her into the bath,
and she dissolved into the water.
Only a shard of ice remained."
Keep going.
All right.
"Two woodcutters lived in a certain village.
One winter night,
they were inside, sheltering from the cold,
when a woman clad in white, with cold eyes, appeared...
The woman breathed her white breath upon the older man,
and he was instantly encased in ice.
The younger man was so shocked, he could do nothing but watch.
The woman hovered over the younger man,
but she only smiled at him and didn't take his life..."
That's enough, Kusaka—
Kusakabe!
Yes?
Look at the water.
I-Ice?
Yeah.
This is definitely ice.
I was right.
You were?
See? This ice is your sweat.
Sweat? But I don't really...
This is the sweat produced due to emotional stress.
What they call a "cold sweat."
A cold sweat?
Remember when I asked if your feet get cold when you're nervous?
Yes.
Cold sweat usually breaks out on your forehead, palms, and soles.
Oh!
That's right. You sweat from the soles of your feet.
That's amazing.
How did you figure that out?
Based on the legends.
Most snow woman legends are sad stories
about unfulfilled love, isolation, and melting away into dew.
So I thought
that negative feelings and emotional stress
must play a major role in a snow woman's nature.
Then, sweat due to stress would probably freeze, as well.
Sorry to put all that strain on you.
Huh?
In order to prove my theory, I had to make you as nervous as possible.
I'm sorry.
N-Not at all!
I know you did it to assuage my concerns!
This does assuage them, right?
It sure does.
The ice in the bath was your cold sweat.
It happened because you were thinking about things that made you tense.
Meaning, you don't need to worry about the cold air you generate.
It's barely enough to cool hot water at all.
A snow woman's peculiarities are minor.
The way you felt about your nature in middle school wasn't wrong.
There's nothing to worry or stress yourself about, Kusakabe.
You aren't the kind of demi that would hurt anyone.
Don't worry.
Thank goodness.
I'm so relieved!
If a snow woman's unique traits occur as a result of negative emotion,
then they won't occur if she's happy and relaxed.
Warm tears don't freeze.
From now on, I hope you'll be able to shed lots of those tears.
What words would you use to describe my nature as a snow woman?
Hmm...
"The crystallization of bodily fluids released under stress," perhaps?
You're literally a "crystallization of sweat and tears"!
Um, I'm sorry I didn't know how to react to that.
No, it's fine... I'm sorry...
Um, what are you going to do with that frozen sweat?
Huh?
Since I have it, I thought I'd analyze its components at my college—
Analyze its components?!
Please don't!
That's no less than sexual harassment!
Huh? I can't?
Absolutely not!
But what's the problem?
You're so cold...
That's because I'm a snow woman!
I don't see Yukki in there.
Maybe she already went home...
Takanashi-san! Machi-san!
Yukki?
I'm so glad you're still here!
Why are you in such a rush?
Oh, well...
Let's go get ice cream!
Interviews with Monster Girls
Here's your mango ice cream.
Thank you!
Come again.
I will!
Th-The ice cream's really good, huh?
I-It sure is!
Yeah.
When I first met Yukki, I clung to her a lot...
But she didn't seem to like it,
so I put a little distance between us.
And then, that happened.
Yes, Yukki is a demi, but it doesn't matter!
You okay, Macchi? Is it hard for you to eat?
It's in a cup, so I'm fine.
Thanks.
Takanashi-san!
Yes?
W-Would you like... a taste of mine?
Huh? Are you sure?
G-Go ahead.
Y-Yay—
I-I'd love some...
Sure.
The mint is so refreshing and tasty!
I'm happy Yukki invited me,
I-Isn't it?
but I wonder how she feels about me.
Uh...
S-S-Sorry, Yukki! I ate too much!
No, it's okay.
Takanashi-san...
Um, there's something I want to apologize to you for.
Huh?
You realized that I avoided contact with others, didn't you?
So you stopped clinging to me, like you did when we first met,
and started to keep a distance.
I was really happy that you were so considerate.
But if you felt bad because of it...
I'm really sorry.
No, I didn't feel bad at al—
But it's okay now.
Huh?
When it comes to interacting with people, well...
I've reached a compromise with myself, I guess.
So,
from now on, you can touch me all you like.
You can even cling to me.
Yukki!
Sheesh, that didn't take long.
I'm so glad.
I thought I'd made you hate me.
Of course not.
But I was so happy when you invited me to come here...
So...
Sorry, Yukki, but can I bite you a little?
Huh?
Y-You'll suck my blood—
N-No! No!
It's just, my teeth sort of itch sometimes, and I want to chew on someone...
Chew on?
Just a tiny bit, through your clothes!
All right, sure.
Really?!
Okay, here I come—
Nom, nom, nom, nom...
Hey, that tickles...
Wait, T-Takanashi-san... W-Wait, time-out!
Machi-san?
I've, also,
wanted to be friends with you for a long time, Kusakabe-san.
So I'm really happy.
Machi-san...
Anyway, once again.
Nom, nom, nom, nom...
Come on, you're doing this again?
Your hands feel so nice and cool!
You, too, Machi-san?
Back when there was still segregation and opposition,
legends about demis were born of emotions such as awe and fear.
That's why there aren't many happy, light-hearted legends about them.
Snow women, with their particular traits,
often met tragic endings in their stories.
But I don't believe snow women today
are fated to walk the path of their counterparts in legend.
Because at the very least...
Jeez, that's crazy!
...this snow woman is friends with a vampire and a dullahan.
There are no legends about a group like that anywhere.
When you want to bite people, what do you normally do?
I ask Himari.
Himari... Nom, nom, nom, nom.
Nom, nom, nom, nom...
Turn the page.
Nom, nom, nom, nom...
Wow, Himari-san must be really nice.
Thank you for lunch.
Hey.
Eating lunch together?
Sensei?
Hello.
Glad to see you're all such good friends.
Yes, Hikari and Kyouko have been wonderful to me.
Hikari? Kyouko?
Th-There's nothing wrong with me calling them by name, is there?
It's great that you're so close,
but just try not to get carried away.
Kusakabe and Machi should be fine.
But, Hikari, you'd better be a little careful.
Huh, what do you mean? No fair!
Why do you only use Hikari's given name?
Oh, because of Himari-chan.
Yep, yep.
You used "chan" for Himari-chan.
Uh... Good morning, Takanashi.
G-Good morning, Sensei.
Awkward.
Hikari-chan!
Yep!
That reaction seems annoying to do.
Hikari...
What's up?
O-Okay, I kind of get the idea.
Then, couldn't you use Kyouko's given name, too?
Well, I wouldn't mind that,
Kyouko...
Kyouko. Kyouko.
Actually, you can just call me "Machi."
Really?
Ha! She shot you down!
Huh? Hey! Hikari!
Nyah!
Are you sure?
Hold it!
Yeah, it's a little embarrassing...
No way!
Besides, my family name, Machi, sounds a bit like a given name,
so I'm happy to be called that.
For starters...
If you're going to talk about others with given names, start with her.
Aw, he caught me...
"Yukki" and "Macchi" are one thing.
But, well, Hikari...
What about Katou-sensei, the Japanese teacher?
Katou-sensei.
And Yachigusa-sensei, the school nurse?
Yachigusa-sensei.
See? You address all the others properly,
so why call only me "Sensei"?
You can't just call me "Takahashi-sensei"?
Huh? But you just seem like a "Sensei."
What does that mean?
I get it.
I totally get it.
By the way, what do you call Satou-sensei?
Sakki.
Sakki? Is she your friend now?
Was Kusakabe always that cheerful?
No idea.
Oh, Hikari-chan. Fifth period is P.E.
Oh, that's right! We have to change!
See you, Yuki-chan.
Yeah.
Bye!
Come on!
She's so boisterous.
She sure is.
Well, I'll get going, too.
Something wrong?
No, I mean, um...
It's nothing.
No?
Then, see you later,
Yuki.
Er, I thought maybe you wanted me to call you that...
Um, well,
I guess it doesn't matter what you call me.
H-Huh?
Man, I wasn't even thinking.
After Sensei barged in, I completely forgot.
Same here.
Hey, Takanashi...
What's up? We're kinda in a hurry.
Give me a nickname, too.
Uh, I'm not really sure I can...
Come on, it's cool.
Anything is fine, so just give me one!
Sorry. What was your name again?
You're in different classes. It happens.
Satake-kun...
Hmm?
Um, when I collapsed before, thanks for asking if I was okay.
Sorry it took me so long to say.
Also, sorry for being mean after you were kind enough to invite me to hang out.
So, would you like to hang out today, after school?
Maybe we could go for karaoke?
Sure... Sounds good.
Great! See you later!
Yes!
Oh? You're the only boy?
Satake-kun, is something wrong?
Next Time The Takanashi Sisters Are Undeniable
Next time on Interviews with Monster Girls:
The Takanashi Sisters Don't Fight.