Boogiepop and Others
Dengeki Bunko
So what you're telling me is...
You're not currently pursuing your objective, so you have nothing to report?
You're just meeting with a guy.
Well, aren't you special, Camille?
So, are you having sex with him?
No, not yet.
Hurry up and let him do you!
Yes, sir.
Well, there's really no need to rush that mission,
but how's the other one going?
Have you gotten any clues?
No... Not yet...
You sure you understand your situation, failure?
There are countless others to replace you.
If you can't prove useful to the Towa Organization, and more importantly to me,
we can eliminate you immediately.
I-I know... Spooky E...
Hurry up and find them, then. They should be somewhere nearby.
For some reason, young girls keep talking about them.
They must know something.
It's your job to find out. Do you understand?!
I... understand...
Hey, what the hell?!
Let go of Orihata!
N-No!
Not bad, pretty boy.
Please don't. Please don't hurt Masaki!
Shut up. Does this kid do martial arts or something?
Or is he an MPLS?
Masaki isn't an enemy to the Towa Organization!
He's just a normal human!
I see. If he was actually an MPLS, I was going to be on my guard...
But if he's just a normie, I'll let him see my Spooky Electric powers.
Wh-What's with this guy?!
Masaki, run!
How's that? That should teach you a—
Too bad. That might work on a human, but it's useless against me.
Ori... hata?
Yes, it's me.
How are you feeling?
Huh?
What?
Why was I asleep here?
You must've gotten heat stroke or something.
Really? I don't remember anything, though.
I'm sorry. This is my fault.
I...
That's not true!
More importantly, we're supposed to be celebrating today.
Is there anything you want me to do?
Something I want you to do?
Yeah! I'll do anything, so ask away!
It's your job to find out. Do you understand?!
In that case... Will you do me a favor?
Yeah, sure. What is it?
You're pretty friendly with the girls in this area, right?
Huh? I, uh...
Have any of them ever mentioned anything about a mysterious reaper to you?
A reaper?
Yes. All the girls would've heard their name before.
"Boogiepop."
Karaoke
Tonkatsu
Fukadai Prep School
That's how you solve it. Get it now?
So when x is an imaginary number, then the range of y is... I have no idea!
I don't get it, Suema!
Come on, you just have to try harder.
What a strange painting.
Hm? Yeah...
Snow Falling in April
It's a weird painting.
Yeah, it's actually a bit disturbing. To me, at least.
So you don't like it?
It's not that... I feel as though whoever painted this doesn't like people like me.
Does that make me weird?
I think it's fine. I'm not surprised to hear that from you.
Um... Are you Suema Kazuko-san?
Yes... Who are you?
I'm Kinukawa Kotoe. I've been wanting to meet you.
Huh?
Kinoshita-san told me about you.
Kinoshita? You mean Kyouko?
Yeah! She told me that you were super reliable.
Uh... Well...
Please, help Jin-niisan!
Just like snow falling in April,
Snow Falling in April Asukai Jin
this request seemed to come out of nowhere.
Snow Falling in April Asukai Jin
Wh-Who? H-Huh?
Have a seat, Kinukawa-san.
Thanks...
You came here to ask her something?
Y-Yes... Sorry about this.
All right. I'll get out of the way.
T-Touka, wait!
Kinukawa-san is asking you for help.
Why not hear her out?
See you later.
All right, fine.
I guess I can't ignore you if you're a friend of Kyouko's.
Asukai Jin? You mean the artist who painted this?
Yeah. He's an instructor here, and my cousin.
Our parents aren't that close, though.
So, what's wrong with him?
Well, you're an expert on... when people suddenly act all weird...
Stuff like that.
"Stuff like that," huh?
Okay, so what's wrong with your cousin, Jin-niisan?
How do I put this... It's like nothing bothers him anymore.
Nothing bothers him?
Yeah. Deep down, he's a really nice person, so he was always troubled.
I'm not sure if I should mention this or not,
but his dad was his only close family, and he died in a really weird way.
How did he die?
Well...
You don't have to tell me. Is there anything else concerning you?
Other than that, he's been spending nights away from home lately.
He's gone at night?
Yeah... When I ask him why, all he says is that he's staying at a friend's place.
That's not exactly unusual for a young guy...
I thought so, too!
But one time, I found some dark stains
on his clothes when he came home in the morning...
Stains?
Yeah, like blood...
Jin-niisan didn't have a scratch on him, though.
I want to talk to the police, but that'd probably make things worse...
Suema-san?
Right. I'm listening.
Because of my past, I've been yearning for something.
I don't know what to do anymore...
U-Um, Kinukawa-san...
Could you let me handle this?
I've longed to take on the darkness myself.
So a normal guy wandered around all night and came home with blood on his clothes?
He sounds like some kind of vampire.
I need to find some kind of clue...
Huh?
Isn't this... the girl who committed suicide?
Minahoshi Suiko?
Why did Asukai Jin draw a picture of her?
But Asukai-sensei, we really are friends. We don't hate each other.
Right, Yuriko?
Y-Yeah.
I'm not saying it's just you two specifically.
Most humans hold some kind of grudge against others,
and you two are no exception.
But... I mean...
What's the matter?
Um... Are we really going to do this?
Everyone else has.
Do you not want to? I won't force you.
No, let's do it.
Y-Yuriko...
Let's let him do this. I don't wanna end up just some normal examinee.
What will it be? This is all up to you.
Could you order me to do it? Then I...
No. The Imaginator can't force anyone.
The Imaginator?
You can influence events, or you can be swept along by them.
It's one or the other.
Can it just be me, then, Sensei?
You'd need another partner besides Kitahara-kun, then.
I'll find someone!
Okay, fine... I'll do it. Please do this, Sensei.
Very good.
I'll respect your decision.
What? What's going on?
Whatever I just witnessed was beyond my comprehension.
But as the three of them left the room,
I definitely heard what the two girls whispered...
Sensei, we're not afraid of anything anymore.
Yes. I feel like we can change the world for you at this very moment, Sensei.
What do you want to do, Suema?
Shinyou Academy High School Division Orientation
Oh, yeah... I guess it is right after vacation.
I'm sure it's a bunch of students getting fitted for uniforms,
plus orientation and stuff.
Definitely not the time to be asking around about a girl
who committed suicide, huh?
Wanna try again another time? I don't mind either way.
Yikes...
What's the matter?
The disciplinary committee president's here.
Huh? What's this about Niitoki-san?
Er... Some stuff happened...
Stuff?
Sorry. I'm gonna head home.
H-Hey!
Jeez...
Good morning, Suema-san.
Oh, good morning.
Shinyou Academy High School Division Orientation
What brings you here today?
Uh... Well, you know...
What are you doing here, Niitoki-san?
Hey, was that Miyashita-san with you?
Huh? Y-Yes...
She was avoiding me, wasn't she?
Do you guys not get along?
Oh, no. It's nothing like that.
Just, you know... Stuff happened.
Could this be about a boy?
You're as intuitive as ever.
Yes. Her boyfriend rejected me.
Oh, the designer guy?
Yup. That's him.
I've completely given up, though.
Then Touka's got no reason to worry...
If that's the only reason.
Is there something else?
I happen to know who she really is.
Huh?!
Oh?
You're new students, right?
Orientation's about to start. You should hurry.
Let's go, Anou-kun.
B-But I, uh...
I can't help but wonder... What am I doing here?
What do you mean? You're going to be late...
It's just... In exchange for coming here,
I feel like... I lost something really important to me...
I can't shake that feeling.
Hey, is he okay?
Anou-kun's been through a lot this past year.
I'm pretty sure I haven't, like,
lost anything, but...
It feels like it was something really important...
What?! What's wrong?!
Pull yourself together, Anou-kun!
Huh? What?
Why am I crying?
I'll escort him to the nurse's office. Could you come with us, too?
Oh, sure.
So, sorry about this, Suema-san. I'll talk to you later.
S-Sure. I have something I need to do, too...
Shinyou Academy High School Division Orientation
Adolescence is filled with emotions.
It's very fragile... and very precarious.
I mean, I've read plenty of books on abnormal psychology,
but I have absolutely no idea what goes through the minds
of people who commit suicide.
What happened in Minahoshi Suiko's case?
Did she really mean to kill herself, or...
Um...
What is it?
Er... I'm going to sound stupid if I've got the wrong idea,
but if you're going to jump, I really don't think you should.
Someone already jumped from there before...
I mean, I know it's not as simple as saying if you stay alive,
good things will eventually happen.
But you know... I mean...
Even if you die, the thing you hate isn't going to go away.
So... how do I put this?
Dying is useless. That I can say for sure.
It's... useless?
Yes.
But I... want to die.
Are you being serious?
I see. You can't now, though.
Because I found you.
I'm sorry... Suema-san.
Huh? You know who I am?
Yes. Someone I know goes here, and they told me about you.
I see. Well, I can only imagine what they told you about me.
I'm sorry.
It's nothing to apologize about.
Um... Suema-senpai.
Yes?
What do you think about Boogiepop?
Huh? What do I think about them?
Boogiepop?
I've never heard of them. What is that?
They're called a reaper.
A reaper...
Yes. Boogiepop kills someone when they're at the height of their beauty,
before they can become ugly. That's who they are.
Huh? So what about them?
Sorry, I hope I don't offend you, but I'm not really fond of those rumors...
You don't believe them?
No. I'm more interested in criminal psychology and reality.
So rumors like that aren't my cup of tea.
I see.
But... How do I put this?
Imagery like reapers and stuff like that is pretty common.
It's typical adolescent imagery.
Everyone's anxious about something,
so sometimes they feel like they want everything around them to be destroyed.
Masaki, why don't you try becoming Boogiepop?
Huh? Me?
Yes. I'm sure you can do it.
Huh?
Adults say irresponsible things like,
those periods of anxiety are just a phase and we'll all just get over it,
but it's never that easy, of course.
That's why Boogiepop exists.
Huh?
I think that's why they exist. To protect an unstable heart and to keep it like that.
Do you think they actually protect?
Yeah, I think that's how it is.
Wait a sec... You want me to become a reaper?
Don't worry. The reaper thing is just a rumor.
On the contrary, I actually heard they help people more than anything.
Help people? What do you want me to do?
Anything.
Anything?
You're strong, Masaki.
I'm sure you can become Boogiepop.
But... I'm pretty sure they won't protect me.
Senpai, can I talk to you about something?
Sure.
I think... this boy likes me.
But I...
I'm no good. I can't do something like that.
Ah...
I feel bad.
I'd love to do anything for him if I could, but there's nothing I can do.
Instead, I'm causing all sorts of trouble for him.
I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me.
I'm in no place to ask you to do something like that.
I'm sorry, Masaki.
I'm really sorry for asking you to do something so ridiculous.
Will it be fun for you if I become this Boogie-what's-it?
Huh?
In that case, sure, I'll do it!
I still don't really understand, but if it's something I can do...
Really?
Yeah! We're friends, aren't we?
I'm sorry, Masaki.
What should I do?
If this goes on, he's going to hate me.
Is that why you want to die?
I'm not supposed to let anyone hate me.
That's the only reason I'm allowed to be alive.
Well, that's impossible.
Huh?
It's impossible to live without someone hating you.
Because being alive means that you have to come into contact with other people.
No matter how hard you try, you'll eventually end up hurting someone.
B-But...
I'm sure someone's already come to hate you. I'm certain of it.
Wh-What do you mean?
That's just the way things are.
Going through life believing that no one could possibly hate you is detestable.
There's an author named Kirima Seiichi, and in one of his books, he said,
"There is definitely something out there.
Something that makes people believe that they have to know their place in life."
"If there is anything that gives value to human life,
it is the struggle with that something.
In the battle with the Imaginator that does your thinking for you, 'Versus Imaginator'...
That's the starting line upon which all humans must stand."
Basically, humans are all bound by the chains of common sense far more than we realize,
and that makes us suffer.
Chains?
If we're being bound, we have to break free.
That's what that means.
I'm sure you have some kind of rules you have to abide by.
Yes...
This might sound harsh,
but I think you're missing the concept of that struggle.
You have to have that.
Right...
You can die after you fight.
You're right.
I'm not sure if I can do it, but...
I'll give it a try.
Thank you very much.
Sure. Good luck with everything, Orihata-san.
Thank you.
Oh, Senpai...
Yes?
If the one I have to fight is Boogiepop...
Should I still fight?
Fight, no matter what.
Okay.