The Next Day.
The same morning, the same office, the same couch, the same people, and the same event—storytelling.
What's different is the storyteller and the protagonist of the story. It has become a young girl's tale.
The story is not complicated, nor does it carry profound emotions. It is simply the longing of a girl who has been confined to a sickbed for many years.
The girl lost her family a long time ago. Shortly after she was hospitalized with an incurable disease, her parents and younger brother lost their lives in an accident.
Since then, she has been living in the hospital, year after year, day after day, even forgetting how long she has been there.
The girl became an anomaly in this hospital. No one hears her even if she speaks, and she can't reach out for anything. All she can do is linger in the hospital room.
What accompanies her is the view outside the window. The trees that change colors with the seasons, and the people who come and go from the hospital.
It is the only scenery in the girl's eyes, year after year until she loses consciousness.
At some unknown point, this scenery has permanently imprinted itself in the girl's heart. She begins to curse the unchanging view, curse the outside world, while also yearning for the boundless sky.
Because the sky knows no boundaries, perhaps beneath some sky, there exists a world that the girl doesn't dislike.
The scenery in her mind becomes clearer, while the scenery her eyes can see becomes increasingly blurred.
When the girl's vision reaches its freezing point, she realizes that she has gained another pair of "eyes." These "eyes" float in the air.
No, it's not just eyes that the girl has gained, but also a body.
Lying on the sickbed, she gazes up at the sky, while from the sky, she looks down upon the earth. It's the same person, the same consciousness, but two different ways of existing.
Every night, the girl in the sky floats above, overlooking the city. She starts feeling lonely, longing for someone to accompany her in admiring this scenery together.
At this moment, she encountered a boy.
The boy said he wanted to be her friend, to admire the scenery together with her in the sky, and to gaze at the sky together with her on the ground.
The girl's name is Kirie Fujou, one of the main characters in Chapter 1 of "The Garden of Sinners: Overlooking View." She is one of the adversaries of Shiki Ryougi and a person just as pitiable as Fujino.
The boy is the storyteller—Shinji Matou.
"I see... The same consciousness, different vessels, a dual existence. It seems that this Kirie Fujou comes from an ancient pure-blooded family. This family is likely an expert in prayers, and the surname Fujou might refer to impure words."
With her extensive knowledge and experience, Touko deduced many things from Shinji's few words.
"Prayers and curses are, in a sense, the same thing. This peculiarity is the answer to prayers. However, mere prayers alone cannot truly become a dual existence. It seems that someone has given her another vessel. Shinji, since you want to catch her attention, be wary of this person's existence."
"I know. I am prepared to face that person."
This is not only for Kirie Fujou's sake but also for Shinji himself. He wants to test his abilities with that person, to assess his growth over the past three years.
Sensing the determination hidden in Shinji's calm words, Touko no longer said much and only asked, "What is your purpose in telling me all this?"
"I want you to help her."
"How can I help? Cure her body?"
"That is one aspect, but more importantly, I want you to help her untangle her emotional knots. You know, I'm not good at comforting others. Sometimes, my words end up as sarcastic jabs." Shinji chuckled self-deprecatingly.
They talked for a long time last night, and Kirie was genuinely happy about Shinji's arrival. However, until her body couldn't hold on any longer and she slowly fell asleep, Shinji couldn't untangle the two knots in her heart.
Is she floating or flying?
Can a butterfly catch up to a dragonfly?
"Well... is there a difference between floating and flying? Does it even matter if a butterfly catches up to a dragonfly?" Mikiya expressed complete confusion.
"Exactly, exactly! That's what I think too." Shinji held Mikiya's hand like he found a kindred spirit and shook it up and down. "Floating and flying are both movements in the air, so why get caught up in that? And dragonflies and butterflies are originally two different species."
"Sigh, you two clueless guys when it comes to understanding a woman's heart. There's no hope for you." Touko sighed. "Listen carefully, you two blocks of wood. What Kirie Fujou wants to express is not on a physical level."
"What she truly wants is probably to escape, to escape from the monotonous hospital room, to escape from the monotonous scenery, to escape from her tragic fate. There are two types of escape, aimless escape and purposeful escape. The former is floating, the latter is flying. The former is death, the latter is life. Which category her overlooking view belongs to, only she can decide."
"And whether a slow-flying butterfly can catch up to a fast-flying dragonfly is her answer to this question."
"Isn't that terrible?"
"Exactly, how can a butterfly possibly catch up to a dragonfly?"
Touko covered her face, finally freed from the frustration of dealing with these two idiots.
"If it's about speed, of course, a butterfly can't compare to a dragonfly. But this isn't a competition, can't the dragonfly wait for the butterfly? To exaggerate even more, if you carry the butterfly while flying, wouldn't you be faster than the dragonfly? Ultimately, neither the butterfly nor the dragonfly can fly across the vast ocean. But with the help of a ship, they can soar over the ocean and reach another sky."
"Why does it sound more and more philosophical?" Shinji started to feel a headache.
"Existence itself is a kind of philosophy," Touko casually lit a cigarette, and the smoke's trajectory was unpredictable. "It seems like you won't understand it in a short time. Leave Kirie Fujou's matter to me. I'm also interested in her dual existence. She is in the same hospital as Shiki Ryougi, so it's fine to take care of them both. However, when it comes to matters of consciousness and soul, your partner is the expert. If she has time, let her come over."
"Well, I'll arrange it as soon as possible." Shinji naturally wouldn't refuse such a request.
"Speaking of which, why do we always encounter such unique beings? And they're all women. Shiki Ryougi, Kirie Fujou, and Fujino..." Touko glanced at Mikiya and swallowed back the name Asakami, another exceptional being.
"Who knows, maybe that's your destiny," Shinji sighed. Although he brought Kirie and Fujino to Touko, he was well aware that even without his intervention, these two people would have crossed paths with Touko due to the intertwining of the man sitting next to him and Touko's fate—
—in the story called "The Garden of Sinners/Kara no Kyoukai."