Irotoutoshi-hen Chapter 9

Irotoutoshi-hen Chapter 9 (第9話, Dai Kyuu-wa) is the ninth chapter of Irotoutoshi-hen.

Summary[]

On June 17th at the Kimiyoshi household, Satoko speaks to the rest of the Kimiyoshis and says that nobody should be bullying Polaris so they won't cause harm. Some people agree but Satoko's uncle Shokichi claims that they're just a cult using their shelter as a cover story. Satoko asks where he heard that from, and he says he heard in from his mother, who heard it from a customer at the shop; another heard it from a video. Satoko is confused when she hears about a video, and gets shown a video online talking about how horrible Polaris is. Satoko is skeptical since the video makers likely didn't do any research and are spreading misinformation.

Some of the members question Satoko siding with Polaris. She says she doesn't want to take sides, but she understands what it feels like to be on the other end of baseless criticism and has a downcast expression. The mayor says that even though they're leaving Polaris alone, Hinamizawans are still getting bullied, and Kisaku asks Satoko if she knows about the recent incident of dead crows being dumped in the villager Nakaizumi's house. Satoko says there's a possibility that wasn't Polaris's doing, but someone gets angry since nobody else would have reason to do that.

The mayor decides to give a strict order to the village saying not to mess with Polaris at all, and the meeting is adjourned. Kisaku tells Satoko that if Polaris ever crosses the line, he can't guarantee they'll be able to hold back. Satoko relays this to Rika over the phone, and she assumes that "crossing the line" would be the curse of Oyashiro-sama happening for the second time because of Polaris, or due to evidence that makes it seem like it. She questions if Kisaku would even stoop to murder for that reason. Satoko says her husband seems arrogant but he's warm hearted, but he has been getting frustrated recently. Rika agrees that he seems trustworthy, which is why she entrusted Satoko to him during their marriage in the first place. Satoko promises to keep investigating the Kimiyoshi family.

At the Sonozaki household, Tamaki asks Akane if anyone in the Sonozakis are trying to start trouble. She assures her that everyone is unanimous in pushing for Polaris to be treated as part of the village, but then gasps in realization. Mion questions her, and Akane begins to tell the truth. Meanwhile, Keiichi meets with Canopus at the Polaris settlement. Canopus commends Keiichi for coming alone, since they wouldn't allow other old Hinamizawa members to taint the Holy Mother with their presence. The Holy Mother herself soon enters, followed by attendants.

Keiichi introduces himself to the Holy Mother formally, and she requests that he not refer to her as "Holy Mother" since currently she's just an old lady serving as a representative of Polaris. Keiichi thus opts to address her by her real name Utsui. Keiichi talks about the growing animosity between Hinamizawa and Polaris and asks that Polaris not cause any more conflict. Utsui asks about the trouble that happened prior to Polaris settling in when their people threatened to become part of the town council, and Canopus affirms it. He says he was just defending the group against the town council's pressure, and never intended to actually carry it out. Utsui clarifies to Keiichi that Canopus is part of the Ring of Stars which serves as Polaris's vigilance committee, and they handle public relations on her behalf. Canopus has a strong desire to protect his family and tends to get aggressive. Keiichi brings up the cases of graffiti and illegal garbage disposal that have been occurring lately, and asks if there's anyone in Polaris who would attempt to cause conflict with the village. Utsui is certain that there's nobody like that. Utsui says that the group's doctrine of severing communication outside of the family can be misunderstood, and wants to explain it in more detail.

Utsui, Keiichi, and Canopus go for a walk through the Polaris settlement, where Utsui re-explains the group's purpose of becoming a shelter for domestic violence victims. Though they avoid contact with the outside world, they do acknowledge the important of being a part of society such as hospitals and shopping; Polaris is especially grateful towards Doctor Irie for taking care of everyone. The reasons they forbid contact with the outside world is to avoid forcing communication on people who've been hurt and distrust others, and to protect people from their abusers who might try to take them back. Domestic violence victims lose their independence and have trouble turning down coercive partners, and if their abuser contacts them, the victim may believe it was their fault and return to them. Polaris's doctrine allows them to turn them down without feeling guilty. However, they only forbid forcing bonds on others, and people are free to make bonds themselves. The more faithful members see bonds as evil, but Utsui believes that thoughtful communication is the first step towards reintegrating into society, and once Polaris members have healed sufficiently, they're allowed to leave.

Canopus mentions that around this time last year, there was a member who left, however a rumor spread around Hinamizawa that they had gone missing. Utsui says that they still maintain contact with that person and receive letters. Keiichi thinks back to last year when a Hinamizawa resident died of sickness, and comes to realize that the curse of Oyashiro-sama didn't actually happen again last year and was just a coincidence. He thinks about telling this fact to the villagers to help ease their concerns.

Some Polaris farmers greet the Holy Mother as the group nears a cucumber patch. Utsui asks the farmers to offer one to Keiichi, and he takes a bite and praises the taste of the cucumbers, much to the farmers' delight. Utsui explains that many children here had their confidence taken away because of reproaches by the people closest to them, but have regained it through farmwork, which also provides the group's self-sufficiency. Polaris maintains their lifestyle through uniformity in doctrine, clothing, housing, and other materials, which is designed to reduce the stress of decision making and allow members to have emotional support. Everyone wears the same clothes inside the settlement to more easily recognize those who are family and understand each other's pain. Utsui explains how in the past, Polaris used to live all over the country and had dozens of people sleeping in one house, but it was cramped and anxiety-ridden; they often received strange looks from neighbors, and faced a cycle getting into trouble with neighbors and moving. Thus, they consider Hinamizawa a safe haven.

Utsui thanks Keiichi for allowing Polaris to be fully accepted, and professes that they don't want to cause trouble and can't believe anyone would harass the village. Keiichi asks if Polaris people would retaliate when faced with harassment from Hinamizawans, and Utsui denies it. However, Canopus says that there used to be Polaris members like that, and references the arson-murder-suicide incident long ago: a young man and woman in the Ring of Stars went out of control and committed a murder that made national news. At that time, some members of Polaris outside the Ring of Stars had a tendency to act aggressive towards other, and caused some incidents that weren't newsworthy. The Ring of Stars embraced their negative image to protect Polaris by harassing households and leaving dead animals, hoping to pressure people into not getting involved with Polaris. Canopus admits to being part of some incidents himself.

In a flashback, a shocked Canopus speaks to fellow member Sirius, who received a dead cat from connections in the health department. Sirius plans to cut up the cat and deliver it to a nearby household who constantly yells at them and get them to be quiet. Canopus questions if this will aggravate the situation further, and Sirius asks him to consider how he would feel if he received this gift. The family will realize that they should stop getting involved with a group so sickening, otherwise they'll lose something precious. Canopus can hardly believe Sirius is doing this since he loves animals and especially his dog, and as Sirius slices off the cat's head he replies that he doesn't really enjoy this but it still has to be done. The Ring of Stars has to be evil in order to protect Polaris. All of the Polaris kids become scared when someone comes in yelling and make them freeze up in flashbacks, and Sirius states they themselves have done nothing wrong, so they need to be protected.

Sirius says that, though retaliation is against their doctrine, this is something only he can do, and nobody will protect them; he asks what Canopus will tell the children otherwise, and hands him a Ring of Stars mask. Canopus puts it on, and with his fellow Ring of Stars members puts up graffiti and deposits the dead cat.

In the present, Canopus says that back then, they were drunk on a sense of justice and believed this was self-sacrifice, and now realizes that they were all out of their minds. Utsui takes responsibility for imposing this way of life on everyone, having been unable to keep an eye on all of the members and thus allowing their outbursts to become nuisances to others. Canopus says it's not her fault as everyone's positions were scattered, and are actually thankful to her for overseeing everyone's treatment and ensuring they no longer had outbursts. Everyone swore an oath when they moved to Hinamizawa that they wouldn't commit their shameful deeds again and that this would be their safe haven. Canopus bows to Keiichi, pledging that they have not done anything to harass anyone in Hinamizawa and don't intend to do so in the future. Keiichi trusts him and thanks him for revealing something difficult, and promises to change the village's mindset.

Keiichi asks to see proof of the harassment Polaris is facing, and Canopus shows him some phone pictures as the harassment has already been cleaned up. Keiichi takes a look at some graffiti as well as videos slandering Polaris. Canopus says that the videos stay up no matter how many times they request their removal, and Keiichi notices that the videos were made recently since they feature private residences in Hinamizawa. Canopus adds that new videos pop up every day. Keiichi wonders if it's a tourist or a villager making them, despite strict orders not to cause trouble with Polaris.

At home, Keitarou is watching a DVD when he gets a phone call from an unknown caller. Keitarou picks up but the other end stays silent, with Keitarou feeling a strong presence. He wonders just who is calling him.

Irotoutoshi-hen Chapter 9

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