(Note: Hifumiyo is written in Japanese as 一二三四, which is a count of numbers. "Hi" means one, "fu" means two, "mi" means three, "yo" means four)
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Takano-san has gone out with me on photo shoots everytime I came here.
She has discovered her own fun with cameras, and I'm happy to gain a friend who shares my hobby as well.
However, there was actually something else that's she's much more interested in.... and that is looking up the old history of Hinamizawa.
She pays frequent visits to local libraries and archives to sift through various literatures, and apparantly has become quite a knowledgable historian of the local area, particularly Hinamizawa.
When she's in a good mood, she would grab me and tell me stories about how Hinamizawa is used to be called Onigafuchi village, and how the villagers have performed various cruel ceremonies based on the belief of Oyashirosama.
It appears that she loves touchy stories like these, and that has given her an even more mysterious attractiveness.
...Unfortunately, I'm the kind that's not very comfortable with grotesque stories, so it's hard just to respond to her.
The stories of cruel ceremonies that has excited her so much, to be honest, I didn't really get them all that well.
Even then, I liked her shining eyes whenever she tells me these stories, and I don't dislike the time spent with her on these things either.
Tomitake: "Takano-san sure loves looking up these kind of things...!"
Takano: "My, it's because they're fun, you know? Don't you think it's a very exciting thing to unravel a hidden dark past that has been sealed away?"
Looking at Takano-san saying that with a smiling face, even a hidden dark past ends up sounding like something very fun.
...But of course, that's not true.
The dark past of Hinamizawa that she loves reading about is filled with various cruelties and atrocities that would remind one of witch hunts in the middle ages.
Takano: "Besides, they're very useful for the research on Hinamizawa Syndrome, you know? You don't have to always peek through microscopes to research things. The traditions of this village that has spent a long time together with this parasite could teach us something far more valuable, after all."
Tomitake: "You have a point.... Yeah, Takano-san sure is a passionate researcher."
Takano: "*giggle* Because, researching is my lifework. Don't you think it's a very fun thing to step into an unknown mystery and exposing a secret that nobody knew about? It tickles your intellectual curiosity. I think that's probably the greatest entertainment available only to us humans, who can feel joy from thinking. The first person who worked on this research, Takano-sensei, must've discovered something that fascinated him enough to make him devote his entire life to the research of Hinamizawa Syndrome as well....... I think, I'm the only one who understands that Takano-sensei's feeling....... Since Jirou-san is not a researcher, I wonder if that's too hard to understand for you? *giggle giggle*"
She has always been enthusiastic whenever she talks about the late Takano, an independent researcher who was the first person to notice the existence of Hinamizawa Syndrome.
I think that perhaps there's something here more than just admiration as a researcher.
...Now that you mention it, I noticed this.
If I remember right, Takano-sensei's full name is Takano Hifumi (高野一二三).
...And Takano-san is Takano Miyo (鷹野三四).
Both of them are Takanos, with 123 and 34....I felt like there's an amazing connection between them.
Although I don't know everything about Takano-san either, chances are her last name of Takano (鷹野) is a fake one.
......If that's the case, then it's possible she gave herself a first name that connected her to her admired researcher.
Tomitake: "I see....... Could this be the reason why Takano-san has Miyo as a name?"
Takano: "......Eh?"
Tomitake: "Well, I believe the name of the doctor that Takano-san admires is Takano Hifumi. And Takano-san's name is Miyo.... To continue on after 123, as 34. I just thought that maybe you have that name because you're continuing the research that he wasn't able to complete."
Takano: "..........................Where did you hear that from?"
Tomitake: "...Eh? No, ahahahaha, it's just something I made up just now.... Nobody really said anything like that-"
Takano: "*giggle*....... That's correct. For a slow person like Jirou-san, well done."
Tomitake: "Well, I knew that Takano-san admired Takano-sensei a lot, and sometimes you spoke as if you were his daughter or granddaughter who inherited his research legitimately. So it just felt like that to me, that's all....... Even book authors, you know, like Edogawa Ranpo, have pen names named as a homage to authors they admired as well. So I just though that maybe Takano Miyo is a like a pen name too."
Takano: "That's not true. Takano Miyo is my real name....... Although the taka in Takano shouldn't be the bird's taka (鷹 means falcon), but high and low's taka (高 means high)."
Tomitake: "Eh? Then, you really have the same last name as Takano-sensei? That's even more surprising then...! And to have Miyo (三四) as a real name.... Succeeding the research of Takano Hifumi (高野一二三) is Takano Miyo (高野三四).... It feels like a fateful coincidence...!"
Takano: "*giggle* Now there, Jirou-san, you're overstating things. It's not fate or anything. Because, he's my grandfather."
Tomitake: "................EH?!"
This is news to me.
The original story was that Takano-san discovered the documents about the Hinamizawa Syndrome left behind by Takano-sensei after his death, and decided to continue his research.
Takano-sensei and her were supposed to be strangers to each other, I have never heard of them being related to each other by blood.
Takano: "I changed the word taka in my name because someone told me it would leave a bad impression if I just asked for funds to continue my grandfather's research, since it would look like I'm trying to pull funds to help out a family matter. That's why I never told anyone that Takano-sensei is my grandfather....... other than Koizumi-ojiichan, Jirou-san would be the first person I told this to."
Tomitake: "............Is......is that's so..........I see. I can understand a little better now why you showed enough passion for the research of Hinamizawa Syndrome to surprise even Administrator Irie."
I can understand everything clearly now.
......She has succeeded the reseach that her grandfather wasn't able to complete.
Takano: "Grandfather also searched for Hinamizawa Syndrome not only from a medical point of view, but from old documents and literatures as well....... Looking through the literatures of a village that has been living together with Hinamizawa Syndrome for hundreds of years can be far more valuable than peeking through even a microscope with hundred of times of magnification. That's what my grandfather has taught me."
Tomitake: "......I see. If that's the case, then your grandfather must be happy that you're continuing his research so wonderfully like this. He must be very glad to have such an enthusiastic grandchild following after him."
Takano: "*giggle giggle giggle* I hope so too."
Although I said something that would've normally earned me a tease from Takano-san, she didn't tease me, but simply nodded and smiled.
......There's no doubt about it, she really is the granddaughter of Takano-sensei.
Takano: "My grandfather is Hifumi as in 123. I'm Miyo as in 34....... Following after my grandfather, we have only finally counted the 3 together right now. And then, after counting the 4 after my grandfather......... we must reach the 5 that neither me nor my grandfather has seen yet. That is my duty, and the reason why I was born."
Tomitake: "That's why your name is Miyo, isn't it? I think it's a beautiful name."
Takano: "Thank you. Please don't tell anyone about me being his grandchild. I haven't told our clients about this either, I don't want any unnecessary problems from them knowing about this."
Tomitake: "Ahahahaha, yeah. I got it. This will be a secret between me and Takano-san."
Even though it's a small secret, I couldn't help but feel a slight sense of superiority from knowing that only I knew about it.
Takano: "............I have finally only counted the 3. I haven't even gotten to the 4 yet. The path of the research is still long and dangerous, but... I'll make it to the end. I will definitely expose the secret of Hinamizawa Syndrome."
Tomitake: "I'm supporting you too.......... Ahaha, that's supposed to be my job in the first place anyway though."
Takano: "Aw, you would've sounded cool if you didn't say extra things like that. Just saying "I support you" is good enough."
Tomitake: "A, ahahahaha...! I will, I will support you."
Takano: "It's too late to correct it now. You won't sound cool if you can't get it right on the first try. *giggle giggle*"
We laughed together cheerfully.
And after we finished laughing, as if to drive the point home, she became slightly serious, and said,
Takano: "So Jirou-san....... Remember to not tell anyone about me being the granddaughter, alright?"
Tomitake: "I won't. I promise."
Takano: "It's not that nobody must know about it...... It's just that if the clients found out and becomes displeasured by it, we might lose our fundings."
Tomitake: "I don't think that'll happen. I won't tell them to begin with...!"
Takano: "Are you sure? Are you really really sure...? I received my life for the sake of this research. My only duty is to complete my grandfather's research. To prove that the trampled research is something magnificant that will shock the world, and to make everyone praise my grandfather, who's perishing away under the earth... to have him ascend as a god. That is my reason for being alive and my goal............. Jirou-san..... If you were to accidently spill something that would get in the way of that, and create problems for the research...!!"
Tomitake: ".........D, don't worry, I'll forget what I heard here."
Takano: "............................................. "
Tomitake: "...Really.... No, I will never let anyone know."
Takano: ".................................."
Tomitake: "I keep my promises....... I will never tell anyone."
Takano: "...Are you sure, Jirou-san......?"
For just a bit, I felt something frightening in her.
I became afraid that she would get completely possessed by it, so I swore to the keep the secret first.
I can understand that her intellectual curiosity as a researcher and the feeling of wanting to complete her grandfather's research is stirring her passion for the research of Hinamizawa Syndrome.
......However, it looks like there's one more reason that's stirring her...... but it felt like something far too deep... something lying within a wound in her heart that shouldn't be touched by someone like me.
But still, earlier-
...When she said "cause problems for the research...!!", just what exactly was she going to say after that?
.........For me, I can't help but feel that it would've been something frightening and merciless.
I kept my promise with her... From this day on, we never talked about this topic ever again....