The Ant

* English
* Japanese

**"The Ant"** (蟻 (ギ) 犠 (ギ) , *Gigi*) is the second chapter of the *Fukigen na Mononokean* manga series, written and illustrated by Kiri Wazawa.

## Overview

Despite being warned to ignore the yōkai he sees, Hanae Ashiya can't make himself ignore a girl burdened by a yōkai. He ends up in another trouble due to this.

## Plot

   Now back in full health, Hanae prepares to leave for school and bids his mother goodbye. However, she imploringly asks Hanae to wait. She offers a bouquet of flowers to Hanae and beamingly congratulates him for feeling better. Hanae abashedly reprimands his mother to stop expressing her feelings with bouquets, still thanking her mother.

At his school, Hanae gives a bouquet of flowers to his homeroom teacher and states that the bouquet was from his mother. The teacher gratefully accepts the flowers. Hanae is offered by the teacher to be accompanied to the classroom as it's his first day, to which Hanae thanks the teacher. The teacher reminds Hanae that he's just getting better so he should not push himself too hard. The two converse about Hanae being introduced first by the teacher before Hanae introduces himself. Hanae nervously notes it's as if he is a transfer student and that he doesn't have good ice breakers for the introduction. The teacher, however, tells Hanae he doesn't need to take the introduction seriously and that he has told his classmates about what happened to him. Hanae thinks to himself that he can finally attend school like normal, a little nervous but nevertheless, excited.

The two arrive at the classroom and Hanae is shocked to see yōkai at the top of the classroom door. He thinks whether he can lively normally if he can see the yōkai. The teacher orders Hanae to come inside the classroom and introduces him to the class. Hanae introduces himself, shocking his male classmates who apparently thought he is female because of his first name. The teacher points Hanae to his desk by the window.

Despite thinking he has made a bad impression on his first day, Hanae still plans on making friends and turns to the person sitting behind him. The student sitting behind him, however, turns out to be the exorcist he asked for help before, a sleeping Haruitsuki Abeno. Haruitsuki irritatedly asks a shocked Hanae what he wants before going back to sleep. Hanae aggressively shakes Haruitsuki awake, with their teacher telling him to pipe down.

Haruitsuki again asks Hanae what he wants and tells him not to wake him up. Hanae asks him why they're the same age and classmates despite Haruitsuki first introducing himself as a professional exorcist and also looked the part, making Hanae think he's older. Haruitsuki just stares at Hanae who asks the former if he was aware of who he was. Haruitsuki affirms. Hanae comments that he should have told so the day they meet and states he is a little relieved to see someone he knows, even if that he met that someone just the day before. Hanae turns back to Haruitsuki, only to find him back asleep again.

At lunch break, Hanae tries to wake Haruitsuki up. A yōkai jumps inside the classroom, whose presence wakes Haruitsuki up. Hanae notices Haruitsuki staring at something and looks at it, too. Hanae sees the yōkai and remembers the group of yōkai he saw at the door earlier and asks Haruitsuki if he is not going to exorcise the yōkai. Haruitsuki answers that it's not that easy and that he only exorcises yōkai he is hired to exorcise. He states that if he were to exorcise every yōkai he sees, he wouldn't last long. Hanae, nevertheless, insists, remembering what Haruitsuki said about yōkai belonging in the Underworld. He asks if the yōkai won't be stuck wandering the mundane world forever if they were to just ignore it and wonders whether there is some way to send it to the Underworld. Haruitsuki interrupts him and orders him to ignore all yōkai he sees unless the former orders otherwise, as Hanae has to do the jobs he gives him. Haruitsuki orders Hanae to buy him lunch. Hanae irritatedly accepts.

    At the cafeteria, students have formed a long line of queue prompting Hanae to consider running to a convenience store. A commotion near the front of the line starts. A female student who claims her foot have gone numb drops to the ground. Hanae notices the yōkai who went inside their classroom earlier attached to the girl's right leg and guesses that it is the one causing the girl to be in pain. Remembering Haruitsuki's order to ignore the yōkai he sees, Hanae hesitates from helping the girl and turns around. However, unable to ignore the scene, Hanae goes to the girl and picks up the yōkai attached to her leg. The girl notes she can already move her legs. Hanae tells the girl she will be okay already but advises her to still stop by the nurse's office. Still confused of the events, the girl thanks Hanae. The students in the queue note what Hanae has done and call him a psychic. Hanae quickly denies and flees from the scene.

Hanae muses that it's hard to ignore the yōkai despite not wanting to have anything to do with them anymore. All of a sudden, Hanae feels a terrifying chill similar to back when he was possessed by a yōkai, but more terrifying this time. The yōkai suddenly jumps away from his hold and lets out a scream. As if in answer to the scream, a horde of yōkai similar to the one he was previously holding arrives, scaring Hanae.

    Back at Class 1-2's room, Haruitsuki plays a game in his phone and notes Hanae's tardiness. He hears a scream coming from outside of the room and looks at the direction of it. He sees two female students at the door conversing, one of them asking "Is he okay?" Haruitsuki checks what's happening and witnesses Hanae, who reaches out to Haruitsuki for help, lying in the ground with a horde of yōkai in his feet. Haruitsuki angrily asks what he did despite his warning not ten minutes before. He reiterates that he hired Hanae to help in his job, not to make things difficult for him. Hanae cryingly apologizes.

Haruitsuki asks the two female students to move away from the door and closes it. From the door, he summons the Mononokean, which quickly comes. Haruitsuki pulls Hanae using the latter's necktie, to which Hanae complains he's choking. The horde of yōkai also pulls Hanae back, dragging Haruitsuki. Haruitsuki and the horde of yōkai does a game of tag with Hanae at the center. Unable to completely pull Hanae away from the horde of yōkai, Haruitsuki tells Hanae to get the tips of his finger inside the door of the Mononokean. Hanae reaches out to the Mononokean and touches the tip of its door. The horde of yōkai quickly backs away from him after. Haruitsuki orders Hanae to get inside the room while he is able to.

Inside the room, Hanae remembers it as the room from his first meeting with Haruitsuki. The group of yōkai appear just a short distance from the door of the room but is unable to get inside. Haruitsuki closes the door of the room. Hanae lets out a sigh of relief but Haruitsuki scolds him again. Haruitsuki assures Hanae that the yōkai will not attack him inside the room but will do so if he goes outside. Hanae complains that he has just started enjoying a normal school life. He recalls the Underworld portal Haruitsuki once summoned and asks him to do it again. Haruitsuki cuts him off and bluntly states he can't. Hanae asks why. Haruitsuki replies he's only strong enough to summon the portal twice a day. He then estimates that it'd take days to exorcise the horde of the yōkai. Dejected, Hanae asks if the horde will be chasing him his whole life, prompting Haruitsuki to reconsider. Finally, Haruitsuki matters it's not as though there is nothing they can do. Confuse with the pronouncement, Hanae clarifies if Haruitsuki meant there is a way. Haruitsuki guesses that the horde are only clones instead of the actual yōkai, noting their strength compared to the one who possessed Hanae. Hanae recalls the chill he felt when he first touched the yōkai and agrees. Haruitsuki states that the little yōkai are probably just sort of like worker ants. Hanae then concludes that there's a "Queen ant" controlling them and Haruitsuki concurs.

    Haruitsuki recalls that the horde of yōkai was trying to take Hanae somewhere and that it is probably to their boss' nest as prey. The fact that Hanae nearly got eaten disturbs him and is terrified of the thought that human-eating yōkai exist as he was starting to think yōkai were cute. Haruitsuki reiterates that they're just guessing and they'll only know what the yōkai wants until they meet it. Haruitsuki prepares to leave the room but Hanae stops him and asks if he's going to look for the head of the yōkai. Haruitsuki replies that he is as Hanae would be stuck inside the Mononokean. Hanae tells Haruitsuki he doesn't need to exorcise it. This fumes Haruitsuki as, if he were to not exorcise the yōkai, Hanae can't go to school. Hanae says that if the yōkai ate Haruitsuki because he helped him, he wouldn't be able to come to school. Haruitsuki notes Hanae is terrified and wonders whether the latter can even work as an exorcist if he does save him. Haruitsuki realizes that Hanae's fear is a normal reaction as Hanae is unlike him.
Haruitsuki assures Hanae that he has been exorcising yōkai for years so he doesn't need to worry, adding that Hanae is not like him. Haruitsuki moves to leave and tells Hanae he'll come back after the exorcism is done. Hanae suddenly declares he will go with Haruitsuki, stopping Haruitsuki in his tracks. Haruitsuki berates Hanae and tells him he will only be a bait if he comes. Hanae says that it is actually what he wants, angering Haruitsuki even further. Hanae explains that if Hanae acts as a bait, they might be able to find the head of the yōkai. This baffles Haruitsuki and he notes that Hanae was only just shaking a while ago.

     Haruitsuki asks if he is not scared. A trembling Hanae answers he is but retorts that it's not like Haruitsuki is not scared as he was making a glowering face earlier. Hanae reasons that he is scared as, aside from the fact that Haruitsuki is a professional exorcist, he is still just like Hanae — in the same grade, have the same built, and both can see yōkai. Hanae concludes that they have more similarities than differences, bewildering Haruitsuki.

Hanae reasons that since they are in such predicaments because of his mistake, he has to fix it. Hanae tremblingly states he will do his best. Haruitsuki retorts he's hardly convincing with all his trembling but he still reconsiders. Finally, Haruitsuki lets him and tells him to be a good bait. Back outside of the room, a single yōkai departs from the horde and enters a small hole in a wall. The yōkai talks to a larger yōkai that looks similar with the little ones.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

Characters in **bold** denote the characters' first proper appearance.

* Hanae Ashiya
* Nara Ashiya
* Homeroom Teacher
* Haruitsuki Abeno
* **Little Scree**
* Mononokean (Visually)
* Big Boss Scree (brief appearance)

## Chapter Highlights

* Hanae finally starts his high school life.
* Hanae and Haruitsuki turn out to be in the same class.
* Haruitsuki can only summon a portal to the Underworld at most two times a day.

## Trivia

* The kanji "蟻" is the character for "ant" while the kanji "犠" is the character for "sacrifice."
* The reading for the kanji characters, "gigi," is the same sound Big Boss Scree makes when he laughs.

## Navigation

 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 | 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 | 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 | 77