Hell Teacher Nube 8

In stealing for a noble cause (pleasing his little sister), Katsuya has inadvertently summoned a youkai that wants to behead them! Can Nube find a way to stop a being who can turn anything into a blade like the sword it was formed from!?

#8: The Curse of Hatamonba (End)

27.
Hatamonba: I AM HATAMONBA…CRIMINALS WILL BE…BEHEADED!!
Katsuya: UWAAA!

28.
SFX: SHAAAAA
Katsuya & Manami: UWAWAWAWA…
SFX: GASHA GASHA GASHA
Hatamonba: THIEVES~~GIVE ME YOUR HEADS~~
SFX: SHARI SHARI SHARI SHARI
Dog: WAN WAN WAN
Hatamonba: HEAAAAD!
SFX: SLASH

29.
Manami: Big brother!! Why is that youkai chasing us!? Why is he calling for a “thief”!?
Manami: I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding. Big brother doesn’t have a reason to be a thief!
Katsuya: …………
Katsuya: Nube!
Hiroshi: It won’t open…
Katsuya: He went home already!
SFX: GACHA GACHA
Kyouko: So then—
Hatamonba: WAIT THERE, BRATS~~!!
Katsuya: We…we’ll be killed!

30.
SFX: BAN!
Hiroshi & Katsuya: WAA!
SFX: JII! DOTA BATA
SFX: BATAN!
Hiroshi: Teacher!
Nube: It’s good I remained with that thing around. I’ve put up a barrier…the youkai can’t enter…
Nube: Tell me…why were you chased by him? Why are you hiding this from me?
Nube: ……Can’t you say it?

31.
SFX: GASHA—
Hatamonba: HI~~HI HI
SFX: SHARI SHARI SHARI
Nube: ! That’s surprising! He broke the barrier and came in.
Katsuya: UWA—
SFX: SHARI SHARI SHARI / ZATSU
Nube: What business do you have with my students?
Hatamonba: I WILL BEHEAD THE CRIMINAL.
Nube: Criminal? What’s that about?
Hatamonba: BEHEAD! CUT CUT CUT--!
SFX: SHARI SHARI SHARI
Nube: He isn’t an opponent I can communicate talk with. You won’t lay a finger on my students.
Nube: Namu Daiji Daihi Kyuugu Kyuunan. Oni sealed by Byakue-Kannon, show me

32.
Nube: YOUR POWER---!!
SFX: SHAAAA
Nube: The…Oni no Te is!?
SFX BACHI BACHI / GYARI GYARI
Nube: Uaaaa!
SFX: GACHA

33.
Katsuya: The Oni no Te has…been repelled!?
Hiroshi: That’s…
Hiroshi: been stupidly discovered.
Katsuya: Mugyu!
Hatamonba: BRATS~~WHERE ARE YOU HIDING~~BEHEAD THE CRIMINALS~~
Hatamonba: WHERE ARE YOU~~~I’LL BEHEAD YOU~~
Kyouko: Whwhwhwhat do we do!?
Katsuya: He’s…gradually getting closer…
Hatamonba: HERE~~~?
Kyouko: HII!
Hiroshi: N…no, we’ll escape from the wind…
SFX: GA!
Hiroshi: !!!!!!!!

34.
Hiroshi: Hii
SFX: PISHA
Hiroshi: The…windows have become blades!
Katsuya: It’s his power...all items become blade edges…
Hiroshi: That’s! So…all the items around us are dangerous weapons…
SFX: SU--…
SFX: SHUBA!
Katsuya: !!
Hiroshi: The books and notebooks!
Hiroshi: Hii
Katsuya: Watch out---!
SFX: ZAKU ZAKU
Hiroshi: ! It…can’t be…
SFX: GISHI…

35.
SFX: GOTO GOTO GOTO GOTO GOTO GOTO
Katsuya: Gie—do…don’t come—Damn, that guy is having fun!
Hatamonba: HI HI HI…EVEN IF YOU RUN, ITS USELESS…I’LL BEHEAD…THE CRIMINALS~~
Manami: Ah!
Katsuya: Manami!
SFX: GARAGARAGARA
Katsuya: UWA—THE SHUTTER--!

36.
SFX: GUWASHAAA
Katsuya: GYAA!
Katsuya: TEACHER!
SFX: GISHI…GISHI…
Nube: You’re not hurt!?
SFX: SUBO / GASHA—N
Katsuya: Ye…yeah. Te…teacher, those wounds…
Katsuya: The…Oni no Te has been that wounded…
Hatamonba: HEAD HEAD HEAD~~!!
SFX: GARI GARI GARI
Katsuya: Teacher!
Nube: Ku…withdraw for the moment!

37.
Sign: Cooking Lab
Katsuya: Hatamonba…repelled the Oni no Te…
Nube: He is a being that has transformed into a youkai from a sword that had decapitated criminals in the Edo Period. A bewitched blade that can have the grudge of hundreds of killed criminals can’t be smashed, even by the power of the oni…
(TN: Nube refers to the blade here as a “youtou”, which I translated as “bewitched blade”)
Nube: So then, he said that all of you were criminals…what’s that about?
Katsuya: Manami!!
Manami: Owow…

38.
Katsuya: You skinned your knee when you fell…are you hurt!? Hold on, I’ll treat you now!
SFX: RIP RIP
Katsuya: I’m sorry! It’s my fault you have those eyes!
Manami: Why? Big brother isn’t bad…
Manami: Isn’t that youkai just chasing us selfishly…a criminal…big brother doesn’t have a reason to be bad. Manami believes in you.
Katsuya: I’m sorry…Manami…I’ve been silent until now but…I didn’t borrow that money from a friend…
Katsuya: I stole alms from the shrine of Hatamonba…it’s as he said…I’m a criminal thief…

39.
Katsuya: I’ve wanted to be a good big brother but...these injuries to you…I’m the worst big idiot…
Manami: Big brother…
Katsuya: That’s the reason, teacher: I’m sorry…
Kyouko: Katsuya wasn’t silent being scared of your anger; he didn’t want Manami-chan to lose heart in him…
Nube: We can’t do anything about what was done now. Right now I’ll put off scolding you…
Nube: What can we do about him? He’s getting closer.
SFX: SHARI SHARI SHARI
Hiroshi & Kyouko: !
Hiroshi: Tetete teacher, what—do we do!?
SFX: SHARI SHARI SHARI SHARI SHARI SHARI
Kyouko: The Oni no Te is ineffective; we can’t win!
Nube: In truth his blade is strong…he’s unperturbed being attacked from the front…but we can defeat him if we aim for a section that is his human form outside the blade! If we can somehow attack from the side
Voice: TEACHER

40.
Katsuya: I’LL…BE A DECOY…!
Katsuya: Since I will draw him, you’ll get him from the side with the opening; please! Let me do this!
Katsuya: I can’t endure the injury that’s befalling my little sister and my friends that’s my fault! I’ll do whatever I can! I’ll take this responsibility! I ask this!
Nube: Katsuya…
SFX: SHARI SHARI SHARI

41.
Hiroshi: Hatamonba-san, the trouble is Katsuya alone…
Kyouko: We’re not connected to this; thus save us, huh, please?

42.
Hiroshi: Katsuya is confined in here. Boil him, bake him, do what you like…
Katsuya: UWA—STOP—I DON’T WANT TO DIE---!
Hatamonba: I WILL BEHEAD…THE CRIMINAL…
SFX: NITAA
Hatamonba: UHIHI…GUHI…GEHE…GEHEHE…
SFX: SHARI SHARI SHARI
Katsuya: Save me—dummies—good-for-nothings—
Hatamonba: USHASHASHASHA—
SFX: BA!!
Katsuya: WAA---!
SFX: ZAKU!

43.
Hatamonba: WHAAT~~~!?
Hatamonba: A MIRROR~~~!?
Voice: Here, Hatamonba!!
SFX: GOOOOO

44.
Hatamonba: GIEEEEEE
SFX: DOO!
Katsuya: !!

45.
SFX: HENA~~~HENA / SHUUUU
Hiroshi: You did it—the Oni no Te is the strongest after all!
Manami: Big brother!
Nube: You’ve done well, Katsuya!
Nube: Stealing alms I can see as shameful, but seeing your chivalrous figure now has made Manami-chan get a better opinion as well!
Hiroshi: He isn’t that chivalrous~~teacher!
Nube: Right…!
Manami: Even so, Manami rea~~lly loves big brother!
SFX: HIKU HIKU…

46.
NUBE-SENSEI’S GREAT YOUKAI ENCYCLOPEDIA

8. “Things” Transformed into Youkai

There’s a large split in youkai, there being two kinds. Things transformed from living things and things transformed from artificial objects. The latter are called “Tsukumogami”. Tsukumo can either be written “Missed Attachments” or as “Ninety-Nine”. In Japan, it is thought since long ago that “things” become youkai when 99 years have passed. This number is a basis thing, but it is true that things that have been used over a passage of long years change into youkai. Let me explain the principal of this.

Right now, I have one glass here. So then, does this glass have an objective existence? (in other words: in a place where no humans are there to use it, is a glass a glass?) The answer is no. The glass is a glass from how a human puts liquid into it and drinks it; if flowers were put into it, then it becomes a vase. The nature of a “thing” like that doesn’t vary in form, it has what is called “what it is used for”. That is, namely, “attachment”.

The sword of Hatamonba continued to be used for beheading criminals. Due to continuing to be used for the same purpose over too long a time, it has remaining just the attachment called “beheading” even when there comes to not be people to use it. There are many that are called “bewitched swords” (youtou) and “demon swords” (maken) which are born doing as such.

Don’t you have old tools in your houses? A TV used for over 10 years, the bureau used by your parents…they may already have transformed into youkai…

(TN: The “Tsukumo” comment refers to the two kanji combinations that “tsukumo” can be used, thus one kanji combo which directly means “missed attachments” and the other being “ninety-nine”)

TN: This was a freaky two-parter with all that was going on regarding the content and the story. For the most part I talked about Katsuya/Manami in the last chapter, but this two-parter does sort of show a definition of Katsuya's character type: the noble delinquent. Yes, he does bad things, but at the same time it's because of his own nature, doing bad even though he does have a good heart. While his personality hasn't really been defined yet (then again most of the students aside Kyouko and Hiroshi...and maybe Miki...hasn't really been developed too much so far), you can sort of see from where Katsuya can be a more interesting character compared to some we've already met and may meet soon enough. As for the story...well, it was weird seeing everything became blades...as well as discovering that Nube's Oni no Te isn't invincible like some would want. (though it's weird that it takes hundreds of criminal souls to make a weapon at this point to literally slice open the hand of an oni) The final strategy of Katsuya's trick to stop Hatamonba was cool though...as was his "punishment/reward" for doing so. (nearly getting killed but restoring potentially lost trust in his sister) I really do wish we had more of their relationship in this series defined (aside a few cameos and a chapter I inferred to in the last note)...but I guess with a large class of students, having outsiders...even little sisters...can sort of end up distracting you. (though as I said before: Manami is the good type of distraction...)