Hell Teacher Nube 119

The birth of a supernatural being is a strange scenario, where even it may not know everything about it's own existence! When a mysterious new youkai appears in Doumori Elementary, is she merely a flirt...or a black widow?

#119: Jorougumo

109.
Narrator: 2 A.M.
Dog: Wao~~~n…
Narrator: The birth of a youkai is within the silence where even the plants are asleep. They occur where it can never be perceived by human eyes.
SFX: Shuuu…shuuu…
SFX: Shuuu…shuuu…
Narrator: Tonight…a female spider that has lived 20 years will…again
SFX: Shuuu…shuuu---

110.
SFX: Shuuu…shuuu…

111.
Kyouko: The weather is in good spirits—
SFX: Poka poka
Nube: Spirits.
(TN: This probably has to be one of the funniest gags in the series, but it really only works in Japanese. The original joke involved Kyouko stating “ii youki ne—“, where the “youki” she states is Japanese for “weather” or “seasons” so it sounds like “this is good weather”. But then Nube appears out of nowhere pronouncing “youki” as in the “spiritual energy” generally seen as the source of power for many youkai. I attempted to make the joke work by having Kyouko merely saying the “weather is in good spirits”…and thus leading easily to Nube’s random appearance saying “spirits” thinking it’s about a youkai as opposed to a feeling of niceness outside)
SFX: Nu
Kyouko: What, from this early in the morning?
Nube: I’m feeling a strong youki in the school. It seems like a youkai.
Nube: If you see something suspicious, let me know.
Caption: Half-asleep
Kyouko: It’s you.
Miki: Pajamas…
Kyouko: Really, enough.
SFX: Kii…
Hiroshi: N?

112.
“Spider Girl”: Hey. Wan—na—play?
SFX: Kii…kii…
SFX: Po
Caption: Struck by nails!
Kyouko: Wh…who is she? It’s a girl we haven’t seen…a 5th-year?
Miki: It’s best we don’t go to her.
Hiroshi: How about we go and do that for a bit?
Katsuya: I’d like that, president! (Dehehe…)
Kyouko: Hey, Hiroshi!

113.
Kyouko: Weren’t you going to play volleyball with us!?
Hiroshi: Shut up—the two of you should play that?
“Spider Girl”: Hey—How do you play with this?
Hiroshi: Eh? You don’t know? You’re kidding.
Katsuya: Al—right, we’ll spin it.
Hiroshi: Kya kya, he—re, spin, spin.
“Spider Girl”: No—o, I’m sca—red.
Katsuya: He he—how—is that spinning feeling?
Kyouko: ……there’s something…offensive about this~~
Miki: What is this: in spite of that woman being flat-chested, she’s acting child-like.
(TN: This is a weird comment here: Miki actually does refer to “her” as a “woman” (and flat-chested…but Miki’s a 5th grader with knockers so that’s for the course), yet states that the actions behind her behavior is being “burikko”, which is a Japanese phenomenon of a grown woman acting child like in her behavior and even adopting a girlish voice in an attempt to be “cute”)
“Spider Girl”: Hey—hey—now how do you use this?
Hiroshi: Al—right
Katsuya: Hahaha…
Kyouko: We’ll—do this!!
SFX: Pyo—n

114.
“Spider-Girl”: Over there seems interesting.
SFX: Hyoi | Dokaa!
Hiroshi: Al—right, it’s a contest—
“Spider-Girl”: This is my specialty—
SFX: Ki—n…ko—n…
Hiroshi: Ah, class-time.
“Spider-Girl”: Let’s play more.
Katsuya: We can’t: break time is over.
“Spider-Girl”: Then we’ll play again.
Hiroshi: That’s fine. You’re cool. What’s your name?
Itomi: U…m…I’m Itomi.
(TN: A silly note: “Itomi” literally translates into “string beauty”…which is appropriate for a spider-girl youkai)
Katsuya: We’ll do so next break period.

115.
Nube: Mu
Board: Meso
(TN: Nube isn’t done writing so I can’t really translate what he’s trying to put up)
Nube: It’s strange.
SFX: Peta peta
Voice 1: Strange?
Voice 2: Nube, stop putting your necktie with your jersey.
Nube: You three smell of youkai. Did you meet with a youkai somehow?
Hiroshi: Eh?
Kyouko: Really? You can sense it on our bodies…
Kyouko: Ah! Right, that girl!
Miki: Ri—ght, I’m certain that’s s—o! That youkai is a man-seducer!!
(TN: I really don’t know if Miki is literally calling Itomi a “man-seducer” or just giving her the random name of “Otokotarashi” which has the same name…but that’s up to you to figure out)
Hiroshi: What’s that!? Itomi-chan isn’t some you—kai!
Katsuya: Ri—ght, ri—ght.
Kyouko: Wake up, Hiroshi! You’re being deceived!
Miki: Should I write a sutra on his body?
Nube: Did something happen?

116.
Miki: Ah—she’s seducing men other than Hiroshi and Katsuya! (Split her to being alone--!)
Nube: Hm—m, that girl?
Nube: !?
Nube: A red string!?
(TN: Without spoiling what’s going to happen, the “red string of fate/destiny” is a Chinese/Japanese legend where gods tie an invisible red string around ankles of men and women destined to marry)
Katsuya: Haa~~you’re great, Itomi-chan.
Hiroshi: This is the first time a girl has made my chest throb like this.

117.
Nube: The red string is connecting to the male students!?
SFX: Shuru shuru…
Akira: Grumble grumbe…
SFX: Pito
Akira: I…I’ll join too!!
SFX: Poi | Dodododo
Nube: Hey you! Come with me for a moment!
Miki: He~~y, Nube is angry!
Kyouko: He’ll punish you with the Oni no Te!

118.
Caption: Student Guidance Office.
Nube: You can’t deceive my eyes. You’re…not human are you!?
Itomi: Right, I’m the personification of a 20 year old spider!! I’m a you—kai!
SFX: Gabi—n
Nube: She said that cheerfully~~
Nube: What are you planning in deceiving the male students…are you taking them to yourself with your red strings!?
Itomi: Eh?
Itomi: I have that ability? I’m sorry, I know nothing yet since I was just born yesterday…
Nube: Eh? A youkai who was just born!?
Nube: So, you didn’t know why you possess that ability yourself?
Itomi: Right, why do I have that…
Itomi: Ah, I’ve got it.

119.
Itomi: I’m certain…it’s an ability I’ve been given by god so I can make many, many friends.
Itomi: Ya—y, ya—y, it’s a dreamy ability!
SFX: Gara
Kyouko: Nube!!
Hiroshi: How is she, is she a youkai?
Katsuya: She’s a human, a human!
Nube: This girl is human. I guarantee it.
Students: Eh~~hey look—
Nube: Well, this is fine…because she isn’t malicious…

120.
Narrator: However…by the next day…Itomi became the idol of all the male students of the school!
Nube: …This may be a problem after all…

121.
Caption: Library
Nube: An ability to make friends…that would be fine but.
Nube: This is said by every ethnologist: a youkai is a being invented by the human heart.
Book: Youkai Knowledge Research
Nube: The sense of strong feelings such as human’s anger, sadness, joy, fear and desire act and are born upon humans and animals. Therefore, youkai are said to take a form that’s close to human. And thus, there are many that are born from negative emotions such as sadness and fear which is a burden for them…and their abilities are presented for harming we humans…

122.
Nube: Yes…the ability of a yukionna, who is born of the terror of facing a snowy mountain, is an ability of freezing men and stealing their souls.
Nube: That girl’s ability too is…
Itomi: Haa…haa…this pain…someone…
SFX: Shuuu…shuuu…
Itomi: Save me…my body is…
SFX: Shuu…shuu---
SFX: Ka

123.
SFX: Bari bari bari bari
Itomi: Kyaaaa
SFX: Muku
SFX: Kara

124.
SFX: Shuu—

125.
SFX: Shuru
SFX: Zuri zuri
Nube: Stop that!!
Nube: Stop…Itomi…!
Nube: You can’t…kill humans…

126.
SFX: Shuuu
Itomi: …Th…
Itomi: Thank you…you’ve stopped me….
Itomi: That ability…wasn’t some ability for creating many friends…I feel stupid…
Itomi: A voice…there was a voice in my head…I am a Jorougumou…a youkai…born…from sucking the energy of terror and darkness of humans…I eat..humans…
(TN: As I mentioned in a previous entry of the Encyclopedia, “Jourougumo” = “Prostitute Spider”; more will be explained in the Weird File)
Itomi: If I don’t eat humans, I can’t become a perfect youkai…if I don’t eat, I’ll return to being merely an old spider and with my life-span…tonight…
Itomi: I’d die…

127.
Itomi: But…but…! I…can’t do it…!
Itomi: Eating everyone…and killing them…if I have to do that, I…I don’t want to be in this world!
Itomi: Tell…tell this to everyone…! It’s been a short time but…it was fun…
SFX: Shuuu…

128.
“Yukime”: Well…teacher…
“Yukime”: Can’t there be happiness…for a youkai…?
Nube: Namu Daiji Daihi Kyuugu Kyuunan Koudai Reikan…let this spider’s soul rest in peace
SFX: Paaa…

129.
Nube: And…have her reborn as a human in the future.
SFX: Shuuu…
Hiroshi: He—y, Itomi-cha—n. Where did you go?
Katsuya: Damn it—I didn’t ask her address and phone number!

130.
NUBE’S WEIRD FILES

#11: Jorougumo

It is also read as “The Binding Bride”. It’s a spider that is 17-25 mm in length that isn’t particularly unusual. It’s got its name because its limbs and torso are slender and feminine compared to the wasp spiders that are it’s similar allies. However what draws this spider out of the line of other spiders is the possession of an ability to take the form of a beautiful woman.

The Jorougumo that has taken the beautiful woman form temps men in a human form in the daytime, but when night falls it becomes a giant spider and attacks humans. It spits out a blue smoke and then changes into a small spider and sucks on human lifeblood. Within “Taihei Hyakumonogatari” there appears a story of Jorougumo who take the form of two beautiful women, mother and daughter.

(TN: A few things:
1. The “binding bride” part is also read as “Jorougumo” but is the literal reading of the other kanji combination for the youkai aside from the mentioned “prostitute spider”.
2. The “wasp spider” [Argiope bruennichi, known in Japanese as “Koganegumo”] is a spider found throughout Europe, Africa and Asia, notable for it’s yellow-and-black markings on its abdomen. Strangely, the male spiders of this species are smaller than the females.
3. “Taihei Hyakumonogatari” or “One-Hundred Tales of the Great Peace” is a collection of 100 tales collected in the year “Kyouhou 17” (1732) akin to the concept of the “Hyakumonogatari concept” we brought up back in chp. 100. The tale of Jorougumo is found within this particular collection.)

TN: There seems to be very few Nube chapter that seem to run the gauntlet of emotion from hilarious to heartbreaking in a single chapter. This one, luckily, is one of them, a chapter that just goes schitzo in emotion...but in a good way. It begins probably with one of my favorite gags in the entire series (the "youki" bit I mentioned), then has the cuteness of Itomi and her strange mystery and deception to the tragic ending where Nube has to let her rest in peace before it can turn into a monster again and the solemn ending where no one knows where she went except for Nube himself. Itomi is sort of a victim in the whole scenario of youkai being an effect of the humans who surround them: she sort of wished she only had the power to "make friends"...but the fact all her "friends" were male obviously drew suspicion until the climax where she turned into...that. (then again you should draw suspicion when you see a very cute girl on the swings with sparkles surrounding her...if anything from modern supernatural fiction has taught us anything, it's that sparkles are the ultimate horror...as cute as that scene was) My only real problem, though, is why she has to end up dying in order to rest in peace. Considering the whole aspect of the "yukionna" model mentioned in Itomi's scenario, it fails to recognize the aspect of the ones who can go beyond their original programming to become something more like Yukime. If Yukime can go beyond her base forms and survive, then Itomi should have done the same. But...the poor girl really couldn't stand seeing what she became so I guess she probably just didn't want to put up with it. There's a difference between a humanoid embodiment of snow...and a giant spider. I also sort of found weird how many girls were suspicious of Itomi (I mean...Ai? Ayumi!? Those two haven't been seen in forever!), but...at least it's not as suspicious as Nube running around in his jammies during school. (but that's par for this course)