Tono Monogatari is a Meiji Era collection of strange accounts and legends from Iwate Prefecture, and a classic of Japanese folklore. Many of the stories record the names of the storyteller or the person who experienced the events. In some ways, you might say it’s similar to our modern true ghost stories.

  When I explained all that to Toriko, her brow furrowed with confusion.

  “Um... So, what I’m hearing is that it’s good luck to steal something from this place?”

  “Well, that’s how the story goes.”

  “Seriously? Is that okay?”

  “It’s an old story, after all. They don’t all have to be reasonable.”

  “I don’t like it...”

  “In the original story, the person who found Mayoiga didn’t take anything back. When he returned to his village, a bowl drifted down the river to him, and he got rich after picking it up.”

  “A bowl... Oh, so that’s why. You thought of Mayoiga when you saw them, huh?”

  “Yeah. The story goes that if you scooped rice into that bowl, it never ran out.”

  “Wow, that’d sure save money on your food budget.”

  Toriko didn’t sound all that impressed, but she still turned to look back at the rows of lacquerware.

  “So, you want to take one back like the story says?”

  “Nah, I already looked at them with my right eye, and they don’t shine silver, so they don’t feel all that special. Even if we brought one back, it’d just be an ordinary bowl.”

  “Aw, shucks. Then we’d just be ordinary thieves too.”

  I crossed the room and opened the shoji. There was a small inner garden with a water bowl and dipper, and a square veranda around it. It was surrounded on four sides by similar shoji, and we could walk around the veranda to the other rooms.

  “Pretty as this place is, it’s as fake as all the other buildings in this world. This one just happens to look like a Mayoiga.”

  “When I thought it looked like a movie set, maybe I wasn’t far off the mark.”

  Walking out onto the veranda, Toriko looked up at the square of sky cut out by the tiled roofs. I could see the reflection of the drifting clouds in the inner garden’s water bowl.

  “This place is good enough to be a heritage site,” I said. “It feels like it’s been standing here for centuries.”

  “Yeah... What now? You want to leave?”

  “Since we’re here already, I want to look around some more. You don’t get to walk around inside a Mayoiga every day.”

  “I knew you’d say that!” Toriko said with a laugh when she heard my response.

  4

  We went from room to room, looking around the (building that we theorized was a) Mayoiga.

  The tatami rooms divided by fusuma panels were so clean and bright that it felt like someone had just finished cleaning them. All of the furniture, like dressers and wardrobes, was old in design, but still in good condition, shining with a black luster. There were kokeshi and other Japanese dolls, wooden bear carvings, and vases filled with flower arrangements here and there. It was hard to believe no one actually lived here.

  I pulled open one dresser and inside were kimonos and rolls of kimono fabric. Toriko took an interest in them, but neither of us had any idea what to do with a kimono. If we pulled them out, I wasn’t convinced we could put them back as we found them, so I closed the dresser without touching anything. I was a little scared to disturb a place as orderly as this.

  We soon returned to the hall that was connected to the entranceway, and opened another door there. This one was a large Western-style room. It looked like a dining hall. High-backed chairs were placed around a long table. I counted ten of them. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, and lights modeled after candelabra were placed at fixed intervals along the wall.

  I crossed the dining hall with a sideways glance at the trees in the yard outside the window, then opened the door on the opposite side. When I did, Toriko and I both let out sighs of admiration.

  On the other side of the door was a kitchen. It was old-fashioned, with shelves made of wood, but there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere. The pots, pans, and cookware were all arranged neatly, and the built-in shelves were lined with bottles full of condiments and glass jars of spices. Herbs hung from the ceiling, giving off a fragrant aroma. The large, steel oven had a brick chimney that went up to the ceiling. It was so large that you could have roasted a whole piglet in there. Everything seemed to sparkle in the light that was shining in from the garden window.

  “What a pretty kitchen...” Toriko mumbled. I nodded.

  “This is amazing. It’s like a super luxurious version of a Muji store.”

  When I said that, Toriko slapped me in the arm.

  “Ow! What?”

  “Can’t you come up with a better analogy than that?”

  “Like an IKEA model room they really sunk a lot of cash into...?”

  “Geez!”

  “Ow! That hurts! You’re always so quick to hit me.”

  “That’s your fault, Sorawo.”

  “You sound like a domestic abuser when you say that, you know?”

  To be honest, my actual first impression was different. It was like I’d wandered into one of the picture books I read as a child, but I was way too embarrassed to say that out loud.

  “Besides, have you ever been to an IKEA, Sorawo?”

  “Uh... No.”

  “Didn’t think so. You’re always joking around like that.”

  “How did you know I’d never been?”

  “You don’t go to IKEA without a car.”

  “You don’t have a car either, Toriko. Have you been?”

  “Uh... Yes.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “How about we drop the subject?”

  “Weren’t you the one who brought it up?”

  “Fine, I get it. Let’s go there together sometime.”

  “Fine by me...”

  I have no idea what it was that she “got.”

  There were two other doors in the kitchen. One was a back door leading out into the yard. When I opened the other, it led into a narrow hall. There was a staircase with a handrail. It turned at a landing before continuing up to the second floor.

  Toriko sniffed the air. “Do you smell something tasty?”

  “Now that you mention it...?”

  I poked my head around the back of the stairs, and found another door there. Inside there was a storage room with huge hunks of meat-on-the-bone hung up. They looked like the legs of large animals. Through the dry, yellowed surface, I could see the red of the meat and the white of the fat. There was a large amount of dried meat hanging in the back, and it smelled delicious.

  “Is that what you call whole bone-in ham?” I wondered aloud.

  “Wow, this mansion just has everything, doesn’t it?”

  “The way things are going, maybe it’s got a wine cellar too?”

  “It just has to! If we’re gonna take something back, do you want to grab something from there?”

  “But we haven’t even found it yet...?”

  We decided to stop counting our chickens and go up the stairs that we’d already located.

  The second floor was large too, even if it wasn’t quite as big as the first. It had a twin bedroom, a double bedroom, a washroom that was the size of a one-room apartment, a retro-style toilet with mosaic tiling on the walls... We were getting more and more numb to how posh this place was by now, but still came to a stop despite ourselves when we came upon one room.

  It had walls filled with nothing but clothing racks, and there were all sorts of colorful outfits on display. There were even shoes and bags. You could probably open an apparel shop with all that stuff.

  Is this what they call a walk-in closet? As I stood there admiring the sight, Toriko strode in, and started digging through the racks.

  She’s so careless...I thought, checking for danger with my right eye. Toriko, who had been oohing and aahing at the clothes, suddenly seemed to realize something and started acting serious.

  “Oh? Huh? There’s this, and this... Oh! Is that it? Hmm, I think I get it.”

  “What’s up?”

  “Look at this, Sorawo. It’s neat.”

  I headed into the room thinking, What’s going on? Toriko took an outfit off the rack and spun around, holding it out in front of me. It was a white, one-piece dress with a floral pattern.

  “What...?”

  “Hmm, no, that’s not it,” she said with a groan, returning the dress to the rack.

  “What are you...?” I started to say, but before I could finish she thrust another hanger towards me. It was a super feminine lavender blouse with soft sleeves.

  “Yeah... Not this either.”

  “Toriko-san?”

  “Haven’t you ever wanted to try on clothes like these, Sorawo?”

  Toriko wasted no time waiting for my response before she went back to digging through the racks.

  “Hey, hold on,” I objected.

  “This Mayoiga sure is amazing, huh? Did you notice?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  The third outfit she was holding when she turned back around was a navy blue, knitted one-piece that looked rather mature, like it would clearly show off the lines of your body. It would obviously never look any good on me, but Toriko pushed it towards me anyway. The way she grinned as I pulled away frightened me.

  “S-Stop...”

  “I’ll bet the clothes here are a perfect fit for you.”

  “Huh...?”

  Caught by surprise, I looked down at the knitted one-piece. Is...it? I wondered.

  “They’re all retro style, or vintage, I guess you could say. The fabric and tailoring are solid too. They’d cost us some serious cash back in the surface world. The way things are going, I’ll probably find some that fit me. Since we’re here anyway, why not try some of them on?”

  “Whaaa...”

  “Look, if we’re gonna take something back, clothes must be a better choice than bowls or dried meat.”

  “Who was it that expressed disapproval about the idea of stealing something again?!”

  “Now, now. Come on, put down your stuff.”

  “Wait, uh, you’re serious about this?”

  “If you like, you can pick out an outfit for me too.”

  “No, no, no.”

  “Now, now, now. Come on, take off your top.”

  Toriko closed in on me. She was weirdly into this. The look in her eyes was different from usual, somehow.

  “L-Let’s go to a changing room, at le—” I started to protest, but Toriko held up her index finger, waggling it at me theatrically.

  “This is the changing room, Sorawo.”

  What’s she so smug for...?

  In my confusion, Toriko relieved me of my gun and bags, then stripped me out of my coat. It was like I was her dress-up doll. The room was pretty warm, but she didn’t stop at my coat, and proceeded to remove my shirt as well, so I started feeling a lot colder.

  “Achoo!”

  “Don’t move. Bear with me, here.”

  “Oh, sorry,” I apologized reflexively, but Toriko wasn’t listening. She glared at the frilly shirt and fluttery skirt that she had put on me, grumbling to herself. It seemed she wasn’t satisfied.

  “Okay, I’ve got it. Take off the clothes.”

  “Okay,” I replied in monotone.

  “Let’s have you try this on next.”

  “Okay.”

  I had no idea what I was supposed to do now, so I just let her do as she pleased. If she were acting as weird as she had when we were in the hot springs together, I might have been able to shove her off of me, but this felt different.

  She rapidly changed me from one outfit to the next, then Toriko’s hands suddenly stopped.

  “Yeah...” Toriko had a serious look on her face as she looked me up and down several times, then finally her expression loosened up. “All done,” she said, taking my hand and leading me to the mirror.

  “Well?” she asked.

  When you act so proud of yourself, I can’t possibly give a negative opinion...I thought as I looked at the mirror.

  “Whoa...”

  My mirror reflection stared back at me in disbelief. I was wearing a Chinese-style one-piece with pink designs on a black and white base. Its short collar stood straight up, and the waist had a corset-like design. The sleeves were three-quarters length, and there were lace gloves on my hands (when did those get there?). The hem was at about the middle of my thigh, and I was wearing tights along with lace-up boots (when did those get there???).

  Well, there was no worry of me giving her a negative response. Honestly, it was cute. I don’t know if I’d say that about the person inside, but the clothes themselves? Absolutely adorable. They looked ridiculously good on me. Sure, it had a very “otaku” feel to it, like I was doing cosplay, but it fit the retro vibe of this mansion to a tee.

  “Well?” Toriko asked again.

  “Wow... It’s cute,” I answered in a daze.

  Toriko’s reflection grinned. “I know, right?! I just knew this kind of thing would look good on you!”

  “What kind of thing?”

  “This kind of cute outfit. I bet we could go heavier on the frills.”

  “No, no, no, no...”

  I spun around in front of the mirror. My boots clacked against the wooden floor.

  It’s cute...

  “Like it?”

  “...”

  “Sorawo?”

  “This is so frustrating.”

  “Just be happy.”

  “I’ve never dressed like this in my life, so I feel uneasy. Can I take it off now?”

  “No! You need to keep it on. I’m getting changed too.”

  “You too?”

  “Hold on. It’ll only take a sec. I found something for me while I was looking for your clothes,” Toriko said, grabbing a number of outfits, then turned back to me. “Turn the other way.”

  “I’m the only one who has to? How’s that fair?”

  “Just do it, okay? About-face!”

  She’s so arbitrary...

  I shifted my weight from left to right as I listened to the rustle of clothing behind me.

  “Okay, all done.”

  When I turned back around, Toriko was dressed like I’d never seen her before. She wore a shirt with the buttons done up all the way to the top, and had, well...I’m not sure how to describe it...it wasn’t a necktie, or a scarf, it was this kind of voluminous, pleated piece of fabric decorating her chest. Over top she wore a jacket with golden buttons. It was a blue so deep it bordered on black, and the front hung open. Beneath she wore a slim pair of pants that were the same color as the jacket, along with leather riding boots on her feet. It reminded me of an old military uniform, and it made her look even taller than usual. The outfit came off a little cosplay-y, much like my own, but maybe all of the clothes in this room were a little out of date. Then again, since the person wearing them was already so stunning, I hardly noticed.

  As I stared at her admiringly, Toriko turned around, lifting the hem of her jacket.

  “Is it me?” she asked.

  “You look so cool I’m getting mad.”

  “Why would that make you angry?” Toriko laughed, reaching out with her white-gloved hand. I instinctively took it, and she dragged me in front of the mirror again.

  “What do you think?” she asked.

  “About what?”

  “About the two of us?”

  Looking at the two of us side-by-side in the mirror... The clothes looked good on us, and I had to admit that we made a pretty picture.

  “Not bad, I’d say.”

  “I know, right?! Oh, thank goodness. I’m glad you liked it.”

  Toriko quickly lifted my hand. The inertia made me spin. As I stumbled, I found her hand around my waist.

  “Huh? What? What?” I babbled as Toriko peered at my face with a smile.

  “I just remembered I said I’d teach you to dance before.”

  “Now?!”

  “We could go looking for a ballroom.”

  Eek... Her face, her face is too close.

  Toriko’s voice was a touch lower than usual. There was a gentleness in her eyes, and a confidence in the smile on her lips. It was like changing clothes had let her “get into character.”

  I, on the other hand, had received no such benefits. I was just my ordinary self in a cute outfit. Just as I was about to go into panic mode, there was a scratching sound from the wooden floor.

  Over Toriko’s shoulder, near the entrance to the room, I came eye to eye with a creature I’d never seen before, and froze solid.

  “Tori...ko.”

  “Hm? Is something the matter?”

  Unable to take my eyes off the creature, I moved just my face, signaling, Behind you, and Toriko turned around too.

  “Huh?”

  There was an animal on the other side of the door. Quadrupedal, and standing maybe eighty centimeters tall. It was covered in long, light fur, and had thin legs—actually, its whole body was generally thin. The black eyes at the end of its long snout narrowed slightly, and it stared at us.

  “The dog from before...!” Toriko said in a small voice.

  “That’s a dog?!”

  “I’ve seen people walking them before.”

  The animal was big, long, and thin, but now that she said that, maybe it was a dog. It certainly resembled the one we had seen off in that distant field.

  The dog didn’t bark, but wasn’t acting friendly either. It just looked at us, unmoving. It was probably wary of us, but I couldn’t be sure whether it was hostile or not. I was scared that it might lunge at us if I made any false moves. As I stared at the dog, weighing our options, I heard a voice.

  “Hana, what’s the matter?”

  A slim, elderly lady approached from behind the dog, her steps echoing throughout the mansion. She had her gray hair tied back behind her head, wore a brilliant orange camo jacket, and had a gun resting on her shoulder. That was how hunters dressed.

  When she saw us, the old lady’s eyes widened.

  “Oh, my.”

 

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