Hell Teacher Nube 50

When the unknown is locked away, it is supposed to stay that way...but something always goes wrong. When Kyouko ends up releasing the curse of a tragic ghost, she is stuck trying to stop it...or facing the worst consequence!

#50: The Red Vest

167.
Boy: Here is the forbidden classroom.
(TN: “Forbidden” is in Japanese “akazu”, which is literally “without opening”, but you’ll see why I made the figurative translation)
Girl: It hasn’t been opened in over 10 years already with the appearance of the monster…
Kyouko: That’s merely a rumor. That hamster ran into there.
Girl: Tsuyoshi-kun overturned the rearing cage~~~
SFX: Hera Hera
Kyouko: Did it run in from here…
Kyouko: Alright, leave this to me.
SFX: Goso Goso
Girl: Thank you, nice big sis.
Tsuyoshi: Dank-bou, nice butt big—sis.
(TN: Um…I nearly forgot about this but like Miki has her boobs, Kyouko…well OK, she hates admitting it but this becomes her own little running gag)

168.
Kyouko: It’s pitch-dark…
Kyouko: Kyaa
SFX: Dote Baki Baki
Kyouko: !?
Voice: …A red vest.
Voice: Will you wear it………….a red vest?
Kyouko: Eh?
Kyouko: He…hey, you, is this a prank! I won’t wear a red vest or anything!
SFX: Picha (drip)

169.
“Ghost Girl”: Will you wear the red vest……

170.
Kyouko: Kyaaaaaa!!
SFX: Dota dota | Gacha | Baki Gusha
Nube: What’s wrong!?
Nube: Kyouko!!
Kyouko: The…the…the Red Vest has…ap…appeared…
(TN: A while back in an Encyclopedia entry, there was a ghost story about a being known as “Akai Chanchanko”, which literally translates into “The Red Vest”. While I could go with the Japanese name due to it sounding a bit like a girl’s name [and yeah…it does look like a girl], I’m keeping the translated name for consistency…and because of what “it” does according to it’s legend)
Hiroshi: Ama—zing—you broke the door~~
Miki: You’re really a crude woman—
Kyouko: Whatever you—say is fine--!

171.
Nube: Mu?
Nube: Kyouko, was this rope cut by you?
Kyouko: Ah, yes. I tripped and cut it but…
Kyouko: It can’t be, was this rope yours, Nube?
Nube: Eh? No…well…in brief
Nube: No—this certainly in this way was how someone would play with it.
Kyouko: No~~~thing we could do on this again…
Miki: What’s a grade schooler playing with a kikkou binding?
(TN: A “Kikkou binding”, also known as “Kikkoushibari” or “tortoise-shell binding”, is a type of “outfit” usually used by females where they wrap rope around their body in a formation similar to a tortoise shell, ultimately covering up their lower privates while emphasizing their breasts)
Narrator: That day, there came to be heavy rain from the afternoon.

172.
SFX: Pass
Miki: Eh—so, Kyouko, did you answer the youkai’s question!?
Kyouko: I seemed to but…I shouldn’t have!?
Miki: I say you shouldn’t have: if that was the Red Vest, then isn’t it a famous ghost story! She’ll kill you by staining you in blood the moment you answer “yes” or “I’ll wear it”.
Miki: The corpse is dyed in blood on the top-half of their body, seeming as if they’re wearing a red vest…
Kyouko: Re…Really!?
Kyouko: So then, that rope was…
Miki: A barrier for sealing the spirit! I’m certain an earth-staggeringly evil spirit was…
(TN: “Barrier” is in reference to “kekkai”, a term usually used for spiritual or magical barriers to hold back spirits and such)
Nube: Hey—you two over there! What are you blabbering about--!

173.
Nube: As punishment, do this Repetitive Side-Jump 200 times!
(TN: “Hanpuku Yokotobi”, which I ended up translated as “Repetitive Side-Jump”, is a typical exercise usually done in part of athletics for females in Japan…but I’m not sure if this was really translated as well as it could have)
Miki: Gege
Kyouko: What is this complex Repetitive Side-Jump!
Nube: Do it quickly without complaining!
Voices: Hi—demon—
Kyouko: Ku~~~owow…my legs are like rods. Wasn’t that for just talking a bit~~
SFX: Za—
Kyouko: Speaking of this basis, it’s because Nube is being hazy about that room.
SFX: ZA—
Miki: Right: however it seems there was some sort of seal in that room.
Kyouko: Ara…a dog. It’s pitifully within this heavy rain…
Miki: It’s a stray.
Kyouko: Come here, come here.
SFX: Za—za—
Kyouko: !!

174.
SFX: Za—za—
Kyouko: The Red Vest!!
Miki: Eh!? What? Isn’t it an ordinary dog…
Voice: The red vest…
Red Vest: …Will you wear…the red vest…
SFX: Za—za—
Kyouko: Noooo!!

175.
Kyouko: Lo…look over there, I saw it here, no~~!
Miki: Wh…what—isn’t there nothing…
Nube: So you saw it after all, Kyouko…
Kyouko: Nube!!
Nube: Yes…the spirit of the Red Vest was one sealed by me. No…it should have been done as a shield.
Nube: It was 30 years back…there was a shy girl. She was just always transferring schools with the circumstances of her parent’s work and didn’t even have one friend.
Nube: She was always the target of shady bullying in the schools…in a situation where she didn’t even have a party she could discuss this with, she was trapped with a mistrust of people.
Nube: And then finally

176.
SFX: Ka
Paper: Will
Nube: And thus so she could clear her resentment of being bullied even after she became a ghost…she came to wander throughout Japan as “The Red Vest Spirit”, killing without discrimination those who came near her…
Nube: She came here two years ago. I made a barrier in an empty classroom and trapped her, was making her rest in peace with a prolonged exorcism…
Kyouko: That barrier was cut by me…
Nube: Her form will only be seen by you for answering the question. And thus she’s aiming for just you. I plan to find her as well; until then, you can never be alone!
Kyouko: Right…
SFX: Goo—
Broadcast: The bank of the Doumori River has been broken and water is flooding out! Please find shelter immediately!

177.
Nube: With the splitting of the roads, the children from 1st Chome to 7th Chome will be staying at the school…
(TN: “Splitting” is the Japanese word of “bundan”, which is “dividing in two parts”; with the water flooding out of the river, that is what is splitting said roads)
Student 1: This is like a field trip—
Student 2: Is my house alright~~
Kyouko: This is bad: I can’t go home at this time…but I’m relieved with Nube here…
Nube: Right, understood. I’ll go immediately.
Nube: The River at the side of the school seems to be flooding. I have to go pile on sandbags.
Kyouko: You’re going, Nube!?
Ishikawa: We’ll return immediately.

178.
SFX: Kochi kochi kochi
Kyouko: Nube is late—what is he doing? Hey, I’ll wake—Hiroshi.
Kyouko: Hey, Hiroshi—No…are you really asleep?
Kyouko: Miki~~~Miki is~~
Kyouko: Weird, I can’t hear one breath of sleeping…
SFX: Picha…
SFX: Picha…picha…

179.
Kyouko: It’s her; she’s come. No~~come back quickly, Nube~~
Red Vest: Will you wear the red vest~~~
Red Vest: Will you wear the red vest~~
Kyouko: She’s looking at the faces one by one…sh…she’s looking for me……
Red Vest: Will you wear……
Kyouko: Sh…she’s getting closer…wh…why isn’t anyone waking—everyone’s asleep like magic was casted on them…
Red Vest: The red vest……

180.-181.
Red Vest: Will you wear the red vest…
SFX: Nita
(TN: Creepy two-page spread is creepy)

182.
Red Vest: Will you wear~~~
SFX: Gashi
Kyouko: Kyaaaaaaaaa
Red Vest: The vest~~~
Kyouko: Noooooo
SFX: Shuuu
Nube: Kyouko!!
SFX: Don don
Sign: Emergency Exit
Kyouko: Nube!!
Ishikawa: What are you doing, teacher!!
(TN: The “teacher” here probably should be “Nueno” since he ended up using Nube’s title of “Teacher” here instead of his name…but somehow it doesn’t seem right to me)
Nube: The key is from the inside…s**t, it won’t open!

183.
Kyouko: Noooooo, save me~~
Nube: Kyouko, Uho; use Uho! It’s the Repetitive Side-Jump you did today.
(TN: We’ll be finding more out about “Uho”, but it literally translates to “U Step” or “Yu Step”, as tied to a kanji (the first) that represents “Yu the Great”, one of China’s Three Great Emperors)
Kyouko: Eh?
Nube: It’s an exorcism method that disperses evil spirits!!
Kyouko: Hiiiii
SFX: Tan tan tan
Nube: Tenhou Hagan Kyomon Tennin Rentei Tenu
(TN: This is another spell so won’t be translating it)
Narrator: Uho is a magical walking art introduced by Onmyoudou and Shugendou; it utilizes its effect from its walking.
(TN: As I mentioned prior, Onmyoudou is an esoteric cosmology tied to concepts of Yin and Yang and the philosophies of Wu Xing using Divination. On the other hand, Shugendou is an ancient Japanese religion where enlightenment with the kami/gods are based on relationship between man and nature)

184.
Red Vest: Gieee~~
Red Vest: Oooooh……
SFX: Shuuuu
Nube: Kyouko!
SFX: Ba
Nube: I’m sorry I became late……it’s good…I taught Uho to you in advance.
Kyouko: Uuuuuuh

185.
Kyouko: Nube, that spirit…can’t that spirit rest in peace?
Nube: Aah…her resentment is still quite deep. But I’m certain she’ll rest in peace someday…the most pitiful is that spirit.
Nube: Are you in this place? Well, let’s go back.
Narrator: And so…even now the Red Vest is in the forbidden classroom of Doumori Elementary. That girl appeared and disappeared in many schools long ago. Is there a story of her in your school?
(End of Vol. 6)

186.
<YOUKAI KOGAL>

Creation: A youkai that is the changed incarnation of a concentration of feelings of girls who aren’t satisfied within society which blows drafts into the their hearts somehow even as things overflow them.

Commentary: Right. A Youkai that’s a Kogal--. I didn’t know…When Miki becomes a girl’s high scool student, I’m certain she’ll have this feeling—huh…oh brother…
(This small creation was interesting. I read it by magnifying it with a magnifying glass)
(TN: A kogal, pronounced as “kogyaru”, is in particular a style of female popular in the 1990s who was rather notable in their “high school appearance” with an appearance in a typical girl’s high school seifuku, but with short skirt, loose socks and typically dyed hair. It became popular around this time of publication after the airing of the TV special “The Kogal Night”. But an idea of a kogal being tied to the spiritual world…hmm… …maybe we should keep some of this info on hand for the future…just in case)

187.
Ritsuko: Everyone, don’t just read manga; you must study!
Nube: Um, uh—I had wanted to do the vol. 7 propaganda but…but I forgive you because this is sexy.
Caption: For that reason, see you in Vol. 7!
(TN: Yeah, I doubt Ritsuko could dress up like that too often…if ever…especially with Nube around…but take what you can get I say)

TN: This was a freaky chapter, made all the freakier by that whole two-page spread of The Red Vest's horrific mug sprawled out right before her attack on Kyouko. While I've seen two-page spreads used for all sorts of reasons, the usage just to elicit the height of horrifying emotion in this tale is just one of the freakiest usages I think I've seen in a manga. (especially in a manga magazine that prides itself on how big the tales become) For the most part, the chapter was well done, with Kyouko being forced to face a dilemma and figure out how to handle it even with a little bit of help from Nube. However, I do have one slight complaint that made the whole thing weird: while I do understand Nube and Ishikawa having to go out to dam the river...where are all the other teachers and officials watching over the students? Did Nube honestly leave all of the students alone with no one watching them all that time? I get it was to build to the climax and you could probably say it was the Red Vest influencing the rains and the flooding leading to all of the horror with the climax but the fact that all those students were able to get by without any adult supervision at all in the middle of heavy flooding seemed a tad off-putting to an otherwise strong, freaky tale.