The Inhuman Teacher

Overview

Transcript

The Inhuman Teacher
Japanese	人ならざる教師
Release Date	November 20, 2011

The Inhuman Teacher (人ならざる教師, Hito Narazaru Kyōshi) is a Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni short story that was released as a booklet at the "Higurashi no Tsudoi 7" event on November 20, 2011.

Plot Summary

The protagonist, an unnamed teacher, reminisces on the state of education in Japan and how teachers trying to be fair by teaching students equally doesn’t work. Some students are slower than others, and it results in bullies being created. The protagonist swore to become a fair teacher, and so got a job as one. He eventually met a girl named Emi Himuro, who was very nice and calm, but was also incredibly slow and bad at learning, and got bad grades because of it. Many teachers gave up on Emi in the past, and so the protagonist made it his mission to take care of her. Even Emi’s parents didn’t seem to care about her grades and only ever talked about her personality and disposition.

The protagonist started giving Emi after-school study sessions, and soon her grades improved. He felt it was time to stop after-school lessons and asks Emi to start learning by herself, however Emi is saddened and asks to keep doing them. The protagonist is concerned that she won't have time to play with her friends, but Emi says she doesn't have any since everyone thinks she’s dumb, and her parents don’t even have time to play with her. Taking pity, the protagonist decides to continue after-school lessons.

Because of the lessons, Emi seemed genuinely happy and could finally enjoy school, making the protagonist proud to be a teacher. One day, the vice principal invites the protagonist to have some tea with him. The protagonist notes how unusually young the VP was, and how he had excellent skills in making black tea. The VP mentions that the protagonist has been doing a lot of teaching lately, and he takes this to mean the VP wants to talk about Emi. The protagonist insists he’s not doing anything wrong, while the VP voices his belief that he won’t do anything bad. He still thinks the protagonist is favoriting Emi and reminds him that he needs to treat all of his students equally.

At their next session, the protagonist asks Emi if she’s ready to stop lessons again, but Emi gets sad and thinks he hates her now. She says that all of her friends, teachers, and parents don’t like her because she’s dumb, and she’s afraid of being abandoned now that she has good grades. The protagonist decides to ignore what the VP said and reinforces his belief to help kids like Emi, and promises to keep doing lessons with her. As Emi starts crying from happiness, the protagonist thinks she was afraid of him leaving her after opening her heart to him. Emi hugs her teacher and he reciprocates, not wanting to leave her alone unless she tells him she doesn’t need help anymore.

Still worrying about the vice principal’s warning, the protagonist and Emi move their lessons to the social studies reference room, as hardly anyone uses it anymore. Emi brings the protagonist some cookies as he narrates that he got a box of cakes from her parents as thanks for helping her. Emi’s grades continued to improve, and were now at the same level as the rest of the class. One day, Emi says she wants to marry the protagonist when she grows up, and the protagonist reciprocates since he believes she’s playing around. Once they promise to marry, Emi asks if they can kiss to prove it. They do so, and the protagonist starts struggling with his feelings towards her. He decides that they will marry when Emi becomes an adult, and has many immoral thoughts that night.

However, the protagonist’s hopes are dashed when he learns that Emi got hit by a truck and has been sent to the hospital in critical condition. He’s refused to meet her when he visits, and can only give condolences to Emi’s parents. The protagonist goes back to school and cries into the night, with the vice principal meeting him and asking him to lighten up. The VP reminds the protagonist that he’s still the teacher for the rest of his class, and that as a teacher he is inhuman; sometimes teachers need to be cruel in order to see their students fairly. The VP expects the protagonist to come back to school tomorrow and carry on with his teaching duties like nothing ever happened, but the protagonist angrily refuses and insists he’s human. The VP says nothing more and disappears.

Wandering the night school in sadness and still worrying about Emi, the protagonist starts calling out for youkai to help him, as he should also be an inhuman existence as a teacher. He comes across a large mirror at the foot of some stairs and continues pleading for help, and is suddenly met by Kyou. Kyou says he decided to answer since the protagonist was too noisy, and offers to save Emi in exchange for half of his soul. The protagonist agrees, and after Kyou takes his pay, he gets a strange feeling, as if there was a fist-shaped hole inside his chest.

The next day, the protagonist takes a day off from school pretending to have a fever and learns from Emi’s parents that her surgery was a success, and she’s slowly recovering. Later, the protagonist is finally able to visit Emi in the hospital, having visited her every day according to her mother. The protagonist sticks to their promise of getting married, and says he wouldn’t be a good husband if he didn’t visit his wife. Emi is elated. They kiss again, where it’s revealed the protagonist’s real name is Kanamori. Kanamori thinks that Kyou must have taken the good half of his soul, while Emi’s soul still has her good half. He thinks that a bad teacher who doesn’t treat kids equally is no longer a teacher, and ominously cackles.