Hell Teacher Nube 86

The maintenance and care of pets is a tough matter, especially when you may not know what you're getting yourself into. When Hiroshi decides to take such a responsibility, he may bring a calamity that just keeps multiplying...

#86: The Great Hatsuka Rat Riot!

168.
Salesman: Hatsuka Hatsuka they’re Hatsuka Rats. An ugly woman gets divorced in 20 days, a rebellious boy gets in the slammer for 20 days; an adulterous mother doesn’t come home for 20 days; a father gets fired in 20 days. Hatsuka Hatsuka, they’re Hatsuka Rats.
(TN: Aside all the weird foreboding of this “salesman” [who is somewhat of a recurring character], the name of the rats, Hatsuka, literally translates into “20 days”, thus their names, which in Japanese is “Hatsuka Nezumi” but here will be “Hatsuka Rats”; there is a tad more to explain but I’ll do so in the Encyclopedia)
Sign: Hatsuka Rats: 2 for 500 yen.
Salesman: Just a moment, handsome boy over there.
Salesman: You’re a man who handles a ball fairly skilled. Your future is as a Ramos or a Leonardo.
(TN: Both of these names are in connection to a couple notable and prominent soccer/football players at the time of this chapter:
-Ramos, also known as “Ruy Ramos”, is a Brazillian-born footballer who became a pioneer of Japanese soccer, being one of the first foreign players for Yomiuri FC (now Tokyo Verdy) in 1977 and ultimately becoming a Japanese citizen and even attempting in 1994 to assist the country to the World Cup (which they failed to qualify for unfortunately). He is now currently the executive director for Tokyo Verdy.
-Leonardo, referring to “Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo”, was a member of the 1994 Brazilian side that won the World Cup and a member of the J. League in the first year of operation (around 1994-1995, when this chapter was published) as member of the Kashima Antlers. He later became a star for notable Italian team AC Milan and currently is its manager.)
Salesman: Well, in the end, big shots all possess these: good-luck Hatsuka Rats. Here you go: with these, tomorrow you’ll get a hat trick.

169.
Rat: Chu—chu—chu—
(TN: “Chu” is the Japanese sound for a mouse or rat, usually seen in English as “squeak”)
Makoto: Wow, they’re Hatsuka Rats.
Hiroshi: Hehe, they’re cute—
Miki: Why did you buy that sort of thing again?
Kyouko: There is this old-guy who has a reckless mouth on the commuting route but…it can’t be those he was selling.
Hiroshi: N…no…
Hiroshi: They’re my good-luck Hatsuka Rats to end up like Ramos or Leonardo in 20 days; twenty-days.
Kyouko: I thought so…
SFX: Hiso hiso…

170.
Nube: Heh, Hatsuka Rats? Wouldn’t they be fine if you steadily take care of them?
Hiroshi: Right: that’s why we talk to Nube on those things.
Hiroshi: Their food will be leftover school meals; since we’re full of those.
Kyouko: Is this alright, Nube? For living things to be raised by that insensible Hiroshi…
Nube: This will be sentiment training for him. It’ll be good for him to raise living things.
Narrator: Two weeks after that.
Voice: Waa
Kyouko: They’re cute—they had six kids.
Rat: Chu—chu—chu—
Hiroshi: Yeah, yeah, right, they’re cute.
Caption: The aquarium is being used as a raising pen.

171.
Narrator: A month later
SFX: Uja…
Kyouko: That many in just a month…aren’t they overmultiplying?
Hiroshi: It’s fine—we’ll be bustling with this many. Oh—they’re cute, they’re cute.
SFX: Chu—chu—chu—chu—
Miki: Your care for them is terrible.
Narrator: Two months later
SFX: Uja uja uja
Noriko: Kyaaa~~they’ve escaped~~
Miki: They stink: do you properly wash them every day!?

172.
Caption: Three months later—
SFX: Uja uja uja uja
Student 1: What—do we do: there are just raising pens in the classroom.
Student 2: They’re squeak—squeak—(chu-chu) are noisy—
Student 3: You rat-man!!!
(TN: While Hiroshi is literally called as “Rat-Man” here, his appearance and the name he’s called suggests him as “Nezumi-Otoko”, a notable character from Shigeru Mizuki’s “GeGeGe no Kitaro”: a half-breed youkai/human who looks like a mouse in his appearance and is notable for the filth surrounding him and his cowardly nature.)

173.
Hiroshi: Nube
Nube: Hm~~m…well, the permission for you to raise them was mine…
Nube: We’ll leave them at the town pet shop.
SFX: Burororo | Chu—chu—chu—chu—
Hiroshi: Right.
Voice: No no
Sign: Pet Shop Maruland
Pet Shop Owner: We don’t sell Hatsuka Rat and they multiply just like that. They absolutely aren’t handled by pros.
Hiroshi: Eh!
Nube: It seems so.
Nube: There’s chatter even among the pros…Hatuska Rat are such dreaded creatures? Hm~~m.
Pet Shop Owner: At any rate, if we’re talking of them, then what’s best is to use them as feed for a python but
Nube: Alright, so we’ll split them between males and females and distribute them for a bit to the other classes.
Hiroshi: That’s it: that would work.
Narrator: However the true terror was from there…

174.
Narrator: A little while later
Student: You’ve lied! They’re rapidly multiplying! Take charge of them!
Hiroshi: Uh…we still mixed up the males and females after all. It’s hard to distinguish them.
Hiroshi: I…I don’t take charge of commodity once it’s been distributed. Please take care of them with love.
Kyouko: It’s like corrupt business…
Narrator: As such, in every classroom, there came to be a problem with the over-multiplying rat.
Student: Stinks—
Voice: Kyaaaaa!!

175.
Student: They’re eating their friends!!
Hiroshi: How!? Didn’t you have feed?
Student: The student on duty was off.
Student 1: Originally they were your rats. Take them already!
Student 2: They’re hard to take care of; we don’t want them.
Student 3: They’re pitiful—
Narrator: The Hatsuka Rats were hated by all and came to not be taken care of sufficiently.
Narrator: They followed to their terrible end one after another. However, they never came to decrease in number.

176.
Narrator: And so—
Student 1: A health-care center is taking charge of them.
Student 2: They’ll be used for animal experiments.
Student 3: I’m certain they’ll be killed by poison.
SFX: Zawa zawa zawa
Hiroshi: Nube, this was the only way?
Nube: Yes: it was decided by staff meeting yesterday…
Deliveryman: Otto.
SFX: Don! | Chu~~
SFX: Tatata~~
Hiroshi: ……

177.
Hiroshi: We had been cursed…by them—
Narrator: And so the riot ended and everyone in the school forgot about the Hatsuka Rats. Until one day—
Ritsuko: Ara? That should be no trespassing and yet…
SFX: Kari kari kari kari
Sign: For Calamities: Emergency Food Storehouse
SFX: Gii…

178.
SFX: Zazazaza—zazaza—

179.
Ritsuko: Kyaaaa!!
SFX: Giro
Kyouko: What is it!?
Hiroshi: A Youkai!?
Hiroshi: Uwaa!!
SFX: Dododododododo
Nube: A large army of Hatsuka Rat!
Student 1: Gyaaa!
Student 2: Owww
Student 1: Hiii
Student 2: Run away—

180.
Announcer: Will all students in the school please take refuge in the outside campus with speed!
SFX: Gari gari gari gari gari gari
SFX: Dododo
Hiroshi: It’s my fault…they’re all angry after all.
Teacher: Ah, Nueno-sensei, a 2nd-year is locked in a classroom. They were in the AV room and hadn’t heard a sound.
Nube: What?
Hiroshi: I’ll go.
Nube: Hold on, Hiroshi!

181.
Sign: AV Room
Hiroshi: !!
SFX: Gari gari gari gari
Hiroshi: They’re eating away at the door…like they’re piranha.
Hiroshi: Hey, you rat!
SFX: Gon!
Hiroshi: I was bad! I apologize in this way! I’m sorry!
SFX: Gaba
Hiroshi: Therefore, I’m going to save them! Eat me instead.

182.
SFX: Ki
Hiroshi: What…? They’re like they possess one will…
SFX: Zara
Hiroshi: Waaaaa!!
Nube: Even animals who are tied by one strong purpose become like they’re one spiritual being…Clearly they’ve become like they possess that will.
SFX: Ba!
Nube: But if you say one thing to this group heart, there is a method to drive them away…
SFX: Chu—chu—

183.
Nube: Namu Daiji Daihi Kyuugu Kyuunan Koudai Reikan Byakue Kanzeon…
Hiroshi: E/!? What’s with the Oni no Te…they’re not youkai.
SFX: Zabaa

184.
SFX: Kyu--!
SFX: Zazazazaza
Hiroshi: Th…they’re running away…why…!?
Nube: Because they saw an illusion: I communicated with the Oni no Te and gave an image that this school was sinking in a flood. Rats fear calamity and run away by instinct.
SFX: Zazaza—
Hiroshi: To where do they intend to run to?
Nube: To a place where they’ll think they’ll be safe.
SFX: Zazazazazaza

185.
Hiroshi: Will they all live healthfully…?
Nube: That’s impossible…they’ll be eaten by cats or die of sickness. The survivors will be merely several. Rather, it may have been better to have them killed in an instant but…I don’t know either.
Nube: Regarding animals, having them raised by humans is an unnatural thing. You can’t raise them without having firm knowledge…regarding animals that are painful to raise like Hatsuka Rat in particular.
Narrator: Right…Hatsuka Rats truly are hard to raise.
Salesman: Hey, handsome boy over there!
Salesman: Don’t you want to buy Hatsuka Rats?
SFX: Ni…
Narrator: Perhaps it may be best to never reach your hand for them eve if they’re being sold on some street corner…
(End of Vol. 10)

186.
RETURN OF THE GREAT YOUKAI ENCYCLOPEDIA

#21: Rats

Stories where there is a large outbreak of rat and they cause problems to people include “The Pied Piper of Hamelin”. In medieval Europe, there was a disaster with a large outbreak of rat which scattered around the plague, making their population decrease rapidly. A cause of this was the overkilling of cats with the witch-hunts, but the squalidness with filth of the cities of Europe was the principal source of it. Since they didn’t have garbage collection trucks like today at any rate, kitchen waste were thrown from their window to the outside. For that reason, there was a favorable environment without poverty for feed for the rat with just rotting garbage on the streets. These towns themselves were surrounded by castle walls and, without even the capability for expansion, the population was dense and there came to be a main cause for the certainty of garbage.

Well then, the increase in numbers with an earth-staggering energy is said to be “multiply like rats”. Again, a swindling technique of increasing membership one after another is said to be “a club of rats”. Why exactly are rat animals who multiply in number easily like this? Taking the example of a brown rat, they are said to give birth six times in one year, with 8 children per time. The children become adults in three months and again the children start giving birth. Going by this calculation, the rats that started as two come to multiply to 7,706 after a year. If left alone, there would come to just be rats all over the world. However actually, since they are eaten by cats or die of sickness, they don’t multiply as such. By this clever balance in nature, they are regulated as if there comes to always generally have the same numbers. Whenever this balance crumbles by way of humans, there comes to be a great outbreak of rats. Of course, this isn’t limited to rats; this is the same for all animals.

Raising animals is a good thing for humans, but it isn’t merely a good thing for the animal being raised. Why are you snatching them away in place of presenting them with tasty food and a warm bed? You may need to think about this sometimes.

(TN: A few things:
1. First of all, “nezumi”, the key word in this chapter and this entry, can stand for either “mouse” or “rat”. While either way could have been gone with it, the fact that this entry speaks in particular to aspects of rats, I made the youkai “Hatsuka Rats”, even though they nearly were “Hatsuka mice”.
2. It’s really hard to say how exactly the Bubonic plague emerged in Europe; while the perfect elements of plentiful food and a lack of cats helped, it also has a bit to do with the type of rat that carried the rat flea that carried the plague. This was the black rat (Rattus Rattus), which is the rat of problem as opposed to the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) who do carry disease but not the plague and whose migration into Europe and displacement of the black rat may have ended its reign.
3. The expression of “a rapid increase” in Japanese is actually “Nezumizanshiki ni fueru”. While I translated it as “to multiply like rats”, with “fueru” being “to multiply” and “nezumi” as “mouse”/”rat”, “zanshiki” or “sanshiki” is actually at the end of “mouse” with a meaning akin to “numerical expression”, thus it is “multiplication as in a numerical expression like the multiplication of rat”.
4. “A club of rats” in Japanese, which in Japanese is “Nezumikou”, has a better translation in English as a “pyramid scheme”.)

187.
Caption: Notification of the next volume
Hayame: Since this book is Volume 10—next is—u—m—that’s a lot.
Fish: Dummy.
Caption: …It’s Volume 11.
(TN: She may not be smart…but she is really cute, you have to admit that. Honestly I wish I could say we would be seeing Hayame again soon…but aside from a cameo from a chapter I really don’t want to get into now, we won’t see her focused on again for quite a few volumes. My guess: she probably got lost in some ocean current…poor girl does need help but she’s happy)

188.-189.
Caption: This is Doumori Town!? (Imaginary Drawing)
Nube: This seems to be Doumori Town: the stage for Nube!
Hiroshi: This was our town? I hadn’t known that!!
Kyouko: There are mountains, sea, a quarter with buildings; it’s an amazing town, from kindergarten to high school!
Lower Caption:
Note: This map is thoroughly an imaginary drawing. There is a possibility of modifications with the development of the story from here.
Map:
188 side (from top, right to left)
-Doumori High School
-Doumori Castle Ruins
-Center Quarter
-Daidara Bocchi
-Doumori Arena
-Yukime’s House
-Hatamonba Ruins
-JR Doumori Station
-Doumori Hospital
-City Hall
-Library

189 side (from top, right to left)
-Akira’s House
-Kitayama Shrine
-Doumori Temple
-Myoujin Shrine
-Makoto’s House
-Doumori Elementary
-Katsuya’s House
-Doumori Park
-Genkotsuya
(TN: We won’t know what this is until Vol. 11, but it translates into “Fist Shop”)
-Hippo Bread Shop
-Bathhouse
-Kindergarten
-Miki’s House
-Kyouko’s House
-Hiroshi’s House
-Doumori Middle School

TN: First of all, I would like to thank some of my knowledge in the Encyclopedia this time stemming from seeing the Pixar short "Your Friend, the Rat" tied to their film "Ratatouille". For those who haven't seen it, do so...now.

With that said...honestly it's hard to say what exactly the lesson of this chapter was. The biggest problem with this chapter is honestly this: the problem with the Hatsuka rats is that they're like normal rats...only supernaturally charged to breed way faster than regular rats. Considering this...why couldn't Hiroshi just buy one rat? Not two...obviously the problem stems from the fact that he got two rats...with one rat, there would be no breeding and no problem. Obviously the guy who sold him the rats was a swindler and made him get two to make the chaos in the chapter start, but with one rat, then there would have been no problem...and no chapter but that's besides the point. Another problem I had was this: until the rats overbred and just became way too populous, Hiroshi was actually doing a good job. He wasn't avoiding responsibility for the rats, he just couldn't handle the way they were multiplying and thus ended up getting dishearten with how the matter was going out of control. If they were normal rats and not the super-spiritual rats that bred super-quick, it wouldn't have gotten to this point and Hiroshi may have learned something. And the last real complaint I have for the chapter is this: are they trying essentially to say "just don't keep a pet?" Honestly the lesson that should be learned is this: know the rules before going into pet-keeping. (then again if you want to learn that rule in a horror setting, just see "Gremlins") The truth is that pets exist not because humans want to mistreat animals for their own pleasure but because of domestication and the way that the animals and humans get along with one another. Sure I can understand the problem with mistreating an animal leading to problems, but that shouldn't be against keeping pets altogether. If one knows the rules, they'll be fine...though honestly, Hiroshi was doing a good job until the multiplication problems started. If anything, there is one lesson to really be learned from this chapter: don't buy strange animals from guys on street corners. Ignore everything else but that.

Oh...and see "Your Friend, the Rat". Don't ignore that lesson either.