The Special-est Girl
Index
The Special-est Girl
Otherworld Suika
A kappa! You're a kappa, aren't you?! To think there'd still be kappa at the end of all things.
Otherworld Yuugi
Oh, you're right. Guess it must be pretty peaceful still if kappa can survive.
Otherworld Kasen
Kappa aren't good for anything but making tools―making tools for us oni.
Otherworld Kasen
I know. We should get her to work for us.
Otherworld Yuugi
Great idea. I was just thinking we needed more engineers.
Otherworld Suika
Whaddya say, kappa? We're all here, even though the world we knew no longer exists. You should join our Night Parade.
Nitori
...
Nitori
..ing me.
Otherworld Yuugi
Hm? Was that a yes?
Nitori
...
Nitori
Of course it was a yes, my three oni friends! I'll fix up your tools, make you new ones, and do whatever else you ask!
Nitori
If you want, I'll polish those magic items you're holding right now! They'll be sparkling clean before you know it!
Nitori
So please let me join your Night Parade! I ask for nothing in return! Not a single coin!
Otherworld Kasen
Hahahaha!
Otherworld Yuugi
HAHAHA!
Otherworld Suika
Heh...
Otherworld Suika
Did you seriously think you could lie to us and get away with it?
Nitori
...
Otherworld Suika
Your words mean nothing unless they reflect what you truly feel.
Otherworld Suika
I can smell it.
Otherworld Suika
I can smell a good fight! It's coming from that item you're holding!
Otherworld Suika
We've heard your bark, but it seems you've still got some bite! Come at me!
Otherworld Suika
Let's play! Like the good old times!
Nitori
...
Nitori
Screw that.
Nitori
I love battles of bullets as much as the next kappa, but this is different.
Nitori
This is my magic item. It's not for you. You may be oni, but that doesn't mean you always get your way.
Nitori
Kappa are underwater innovators. Innovations can surpass all the limitations of inherent strength and abilities.
Nitori
In other words...
Nitori
Kappa tech is the best in the world! There's nothing we can't do!
Nitori
Now do you understand? Even oni can't beat kappa technology.
Otherworld Yuugi
Wow, you really opened my eyes. Kappa are pretty amazing, huh?
Otherworld Kasen
You said it!
Otherworld Suika
Hahaha, that was impressive! We let our guard down, but you punished us for it.
Otherworld Suika
Reminds me of the fight at Mount Ooe.
Nitori
B-But you guys don't even seem tired...
Otherworld Suika
We both proved that we're the strongest in our own way, so why don't we call it a draw?
Otherworld Suika
I would really like it if you'd join our parade.
Nitori
You were serious about that?!
Otherworld Suika
Of course. An oni's word is their life, and we don't lie.
Nitori
Yeah, but you're not like any oni I've ever seen before...
Otherworld Suika
Whaddya say?
Nitori
...
Nitori
Sorry, but no. I've got people waiting for me back home.
Otherworld Suika
That's a shame. But maybe you could join later. Fate might bring us together again.
Nitori
...
Nitori
Yeah. I'd like that.
Otherworld Suika
...
Otherworld Suika
You might not need it, but let me give you some advice. We've learned a lot about kappa from getting 'em to work for us.
Nitori
...What?
Otherworld Suika
You take pride in your kappa technology, don't you? It's impressive, I admit. In truth, we have also tasted its benefits.
Otherworld Suika
However, the path to mastering technology is riddled with danger. You might find it leads to nothing but a bottomless pit.
Nitori
What are you trying to say? You think what I'm doing is worthless?
Otherworld Suika
No.
Otherworld Suika
Watch out for those "ladies" who use titles to refer to each other.
Nitori
Kappa tech is the best in the world.
Nitori
I truly believe that.
Nitori
But that doesn't mean there's no room for improvement. Like, I couldn't even beat those oni.
Nitori
Back in the day, kappa wouldn't even try standing up to oni, but now, I know I can get stronger. 'Cause I've got technology.
Nitori
And that's not just empty boasting. The power of kappa tech is evident in all the inventions we've made.
Nitori
But that makes me wonder...
Nitori
What even is technology?
Nitori
Some would say it's an art where, instead of using your body, you use mechanisms to engineer favorable outcomes.
Nitori
I kinda agree with that.
Nitori
Others argue that technology's all about using knowledge and experience to produce more in less time at a lower cost.
Nitori
That seems plausible, too.
Nitori
But...
Nitori
That can't be all it is.
Nitori
...
Nitori
When did I fall asleep? I must be more exhausted than I thought.
Nitori
Guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Nitori
When I first heard about the Lost Word Incident, I never thought it would be this terrifying.
Nitori
Actually, I didn't think it would be scary at all.
Nitori
It had been so long since we had any kind of incident that I was just happy and excited to shoot bullets again. We all were.
Nitori
We all just assumed it would be like the incidents we remembered.
Nitori
We had no reason to think otherwise. They were the only incidents we knew.
Nitori
If only I had built this with more storage space. That would save me the hassle of starting everything over from scratch.
Nitori
But I won't have to worry about that for much longer.
Nitori
We're almost there.
Nitori
The True Lost Word is within reach.
Takane
Are you talking to yourself again?
Nitori
Can you blame me, Takane? My only other option is to talk to you.
Nitori
Hina's gone. Momiji's gone. All my kappa subordinates are gone.
Nitori
I'm not from this world, but you all welcomed me with open arms.
Nitori
I'm grateful. I doubt I could've been even nearly as kind or considerate if someone suddenly appeared in my world.
Takane
Well, you said this incident would occur, and it did. So we kinda had to trust you.
Nitori
Didn't you believe me until then?
Takane
No, we did. But that's mostly 'cause of our world's Nitori.
Takane
Losing her was hard. So, when you arrived, we couldn't help but see bits of her in you.
Takane
We were predisposed to trust you, even though you're completely different people from different parallel worlds.
Nitori
Right... This world's me...
Nitori
...
Takane
What's wrong?
Nitori
No, it's just... What if she disappeared because I came here?
Nitori
That thought has haunted me all this time. But... I was too scared to say anything.
Nitori
I'm sorry.
Takane
*sigh* You look like you're about to cry.
Takane
That never bothered us. Like, are you trying to say you rewrote her fate? That doesn't make any sense.
Takane
The thing with fate is that you can only follow one. There's no right fate or wrong fate, and nothing can be done to change it.
Takane
So, it's not your fault.
Nitori
...
Nitori
I only brought it up now, 'cause it kinda feels like one of us will disappear soon...
Takane
So what? There's no point worrying about that either.
Takane
Sure, I could disappear at any moment, but that's why I've been searching the rubble for parts you can use.
Takane
You're gonna find the True Lost Word, right?
Takane
I'm placing all my bets on you. It won't be long until everyone's back here with us.
Takane
I'm sure of it.
Nitori
...
Nitori
Yeah... You're right.
Nitori
OK. Can you bring me any new parts you found? I'm this close to finishing it.
Nitori
I will find the True Lost Word. For sure this time.
Takane
Haha.
Nitori
What's so funny?
Takane
No, it's just I said all that stuff about believing in you, but thinking back...
Takane
Me and Nitori were always fighting, always at each other's throats. It was the same in your world, right?
Nitori
I guess. But it's not like we hated each other. We were business rivals.
Nitori
We only really fought over sales or when playing with bullets. She even helped me lead the kappa evacuation...
Takane
Yeah, but people are prone to exaggeration, myself included. I'd still say that counts as always fighting.
Nitori
You think?
Takane
Yeah.
Takane
Oh, sorry. I'll go get your parts.
Takane
I won't be long.
Nitori
...
Nitori
Technology is about understanding and interacting with the ways of the world.
Nitori
It took me a while to realize that the strange tools that celestials and hermits use, the Lunar Capital's super-science...
Nitori
...and the outside world's science are all the same.
Nitori
Given enough time, they will all disappear and wind up in Gensokyo.
Nitori
In the end, Gensokyo engineers, like me, were fated to be the most technologically advanced.
Nitori
I've heard that the outside world's science is just another word for magic. Humans use it without understanding how it works.
Nitori
They simply believe in their scientists. And their scientists believe in the scientists who came before them.
Nitori
And their faith was rewarded. Their prayers were answered.
Nitori
That's the foundation that science, magic, youjutsu, and kappa technology all share.
Nitori
Once I was able to look at the outside world's science objectively, it led to a new discovery.
Nitori
Or rather, a new question.
Nitori
Why does technology exist?
Nitori
Nature is the natural state of things. Technology alters that state.
Nitori
Left alone, a river will flow as it wills, but you can alter that flow to irrigate crops.
Nitori
And if you plant the crops that give the most yield, you can increase the chances of a successful harvest.
Nitori
You can adjust the soil to make them grow better, and discover new ways to better manage the fields.
Nitori
But what is that all for?
Nitori
For humans, it's simple. They use technology so each person can get the most amount of sugar.
Nitori
They made pots and learned cooking so their harvests would stretch further, and they could spend more time in the fields.
Nitori
Grains aren't actually digestible unless they're cooked. Agriculture led to cooking, which led to new ways of using fire.
Nitori
Making pots led to the development of art. And from fire came bronze, steel, and the concept of energy production.
Nitori
Instead of expending their own energy, humans used fire. Fire also helped them replenish their own energy more efficiently.
Nitori
The human brain requires a lot of energy to function. And to give it all that energy, they needed sugar and time.
Nitori
Agriculture and fire supplied them with both. That is how they unlocked the potential of their brains so quickly.
Nitori
This is the foundation of humanity's materialistic civilization, and the driving force of their science.
Nitori
Nuclear power, space exploration, virtual realities, AI... they're all just extensions of growing grains and cooking them.
Nitori
Doubtless, that won't change even if they spread out to cover the entire solar system or conquer the galaxy.
Nitori
That was their fate from the moment the first human made a hoe and tilled the soil.
Nitori
They farm and cook to propagate their species.
Nitori
And the more there are, the more farmers and cooks. There's no end to it.
Nitori
They'll keep going until they fill up the entire universe, or... until they all perish.
Nitori
That's human technology. They may be our friends, but their ambitions are foolish, shallow, and irresponsible.
Nitori
So, what about kappa? Why do we have technology?
Nitori
Is it to grow crops? To cook?
Nitori
I'd like to say no, that it's to have fun.
Nitori
But the truth is that fun also comes from cooking.
Nitori
This is because once you've eaten enough to survive, the next thing you eat is sugar, fun in food form.
Nitori
This can be seen by looking at the history of humans. Eventually, their civilization became saturated with this fun.
Nitori
Sugar used to be a blessing from their gods, the ultimate reward, but it became so abundant that it started killing them.
Nitori
Fun also used to be the ultimate extravagance. They would have to work hard and walk a long way to experience it.
Nitori
But then it became recklessly cheap and accessible. They could sit there, not moving, and the fun would come to them.
Nitori
What makes this even stranger is that someone must've wished for this.
Nitori
They must've wanted everyone, instead of just the wealthy and powerful few, to have fun whenever they liked.
Nitori
But when that wish came true, they lost something.
Nitori
Gensokyo is the place where lost things gather. So, since I'm an engineer here, I can use it.
Nitori
Takane should be bringing it to me now.
Nitori
...Takane?
Nitori
Takane!
Nitori
It's always the same.
Nitori
There's never any heartfelt goodbye or farewell. For that, you'd have to know you'd never see them again.
Nitori
Usually, when someone leaves, you expect them to come back. It's perfectly normal.
Nitori
That's why you only regret it later.
Nitori
You cannot change fate.
Nitori
Huh? Where am I?
Nitori
It feels like I'm swimming through water.
Nitori
That's fine and all, but it also feels like I'm being dragged, like someone's pulling me somewhere.
Nitori
I'm not alone.
Nitori
Helloooo?
Nitori
...
Nitori
Guess I'll try looking for them.
Nitori
...
Nitori
No one's here. It doesn't even feel like anyone's here now.
Nitori
Was I just imagining things before?
Nitori
This place is bigger than I thought. I probably haven't looked everywhere yet.
Nitori
...
Nitori
Hm? What's that?
Nitori
N-No way! This is my workshop!
Nitori
I can hear the water in Genbu Ravine rushing by outside! If this is some kinda illusion, it's a really good one!
???
Do you like it, Nitori?
Nitori
Wh-Who said that?!
Nitori
Marisa!
Marisa
That's me. Long time, no see.
Marisa
Then again, I don't really know how long it's been for you.
Nitori
It's been a long time for me, too. I'm actually surprised that I still remember your face.
Marisa
That long, huh? Makes sense. Youkai live a lot longer than humans.
Nitori
Y-Yeah, I guess...
Marisa
Relax. This is your workshop, your territory.
Nitori
Right...
Nitori
Why is it here? Is it so we can fight back against the Lost Word Incident?
Marisa
Uh-huh. But you probably need more of an explanation than that, huh?
Nitori
No, I've tried similar experiments before. They all ended in failure, though.
Marisa
Really? I'm surprised you can remember them. Inheriting memories from other lives is cheating.
Nitori
What do you mean cheating? That's the only way we can ever hope to deal with an incident like this.
Marisa
I'm talking about the method. Carrying over memories means you're carrying over information.
Marisa
That goes against the conservation of information law.
Nitori
It's not like I straight-out broke it. I just tinkered and skirted around the edges of that law until I got the result I needed.
Nitori
That's what engineers do.
Marisa
That easy, huh? You must be pretty confident in your skills.
Nitori
Of course I am. You won't last long as an engineer otherwise. That's why I put all my memories into my arm.
Marisa
Your... arm?
Nitori
My Kappa Mattock. It's the peak of my tech.
Nitori
Technology doesn't care about ideals or principles. If I can use something, I will. And I'll make it my own.
Nitori
Doing that leads to new discoveries. It all starts with copying something else and ends the same way.
Nitori
Creativity is a spark that shines bright, but it only lasts for an instant.
Marisa
Interesting. To think that spark can create tools that enable interworld travel.
Nitori
...
Marisa
Can I take a closer look?
Nitori
...
Nitori
Sure, but let me check something first.
Marisa
What?
Nitori
Are you really Marisa Kirisame?
Marisa
Ah, I see. That is my name...
Marisa
But...
Marisa
I'm not the Marisa you know.
Nitori
...
Nitori
Thought so.
Marisa
What gave it away?
Marisa
Copying the address and creating an illusion of that world wasn't easy. I doubt any other Marisa could've done it.
Nitori
If it's so difficult, how did you manage it?
Marisa
Answering my question with a question of your own, huh? You're an engineer, aren't you? You figure it out.
Marisa
I'll give you a hint. I combined some tools. You've heard of them, but I'm not gonna say which ones.
Nitori
...
Nitori
What do you want? You said this place was to fight back against the Lost Word Incident, but that was a lie, wasn't it?
Marisa
More questions, huh? Fine.
Marisa
That wasn't a lie. I wanna do something about the Lost Word Incident, too.
Marisa
That's why I'm interested in your world-hopping tool. There's no contradiction there.
Marisa
Humans have looked for a way to travel to other worlds ever since they crossed from one side of a continent to another.
Marisa
The ancient Silk Road was the first step. Just like how overland travel progressed from walking to riding horses...
Marisa
...interworld travel can be incrementally improved. I'm always on the lookout for new tech that might help with that.
Nitori
...
Nitori
Now I get it. You're scared, and you're running out of time.
Marisa
Say that again.
Nitori
If you want my tech, you should've tried to strike a deal.
Nitori
I might've helped you, or better yet, I might've told you about some more effective tech that you don't know about.
Nitori
And if negotiations fail, you could always try stealing it then. It's called strategy. You should look it up.
Marisa
Heh. Who do you think I am?
Marisa
I already know that you don't have anything better. I wouldn't have put on this whole charade otherwise.
Marisa
And I don't steal. That goes against my core values.
Marisa
I only borrow things and learn from them.
Marisa
It's the exact same thing you do to improve your technology. Only, this time, the shoe's on the other foot.
Nitori
Give that back!
Marisa
No. I'm not dead yet. You can come take it back when I am.
Marisa
I'm a human and you're a youkai. Our lifespans are much shorter than yours.
Marisa
So, there shouldn't be any problem here.
Nitori
Grrr...!
Marisa
...
Marisa
Why do you look so annoyed?
Nitori
What do you mean? You know why.
Marisa
You're safe now. I saved you.
Marisa
You spent your whole life trying to perfect your skills and technology.
Marisa
Isn't that right?
Nitori
Yeah, I did. What's so bad about that?!
Marisa
Everything.
Marisa
To borrow the words of an antique shop owner, who I greatly admire...
Marisa
"Technology brings stability. It lets others recognize and appreciate your skills. But this is at the expense of change...
Marisa
You hide your true self behind your skills. Technique and self-denial go hand-in-hand."
Marisa
There was an incident in Gensokyo when everything stopped changing. It involved these strange colored stones.
Marisa
Do you remember how the youkai reacted to it? None of them even realized that an incident was going on.
Marisa
Their proper time had paused. This is because youkai are like the physical manifestation of change.
Marisa
Once horseshoe crabs are drained of their blood, they are returned to the sea. You're a resource, just like them.
Marisa
Now that I'm done with you, you're free to go wherever you please.
Nitori
...
Marisa
You're meant to be a kappa, but you don't have a shell, a beak, or a plate on your head...
Marisa
Are you like that god of water before they fell to ruin? Apparently, they crossed the sea to Japan in the ancient past.
Marisa
Not that there's any point in asking you that now. It'd be like asking you to tell me which past is your true past.
Marisa
Or which one was truly important.
Nitori
...
Nitori
Not yet...
Nitori
She'll still find me here...
Nitori
I have to swim further. Much further.
Nitori
I have to keep hidden, underwater...
Nitori
For as long as my breath lasts!
Nitori
...
Nitori
I finally found it. I saw a glimpse of it in a memory that she had dragged along with her, but this is the real thing.
Nitori
The final holdout of the L80 universes... the real 80th provisional Gensokyo.
Nitori
All those repetitions, all those failures, in that convoluted L80 universe mess weren't for nothing.
Nitori
This is a marvelous invention.
Okina
Good. Seems I don't have to explain anything. Is that because you're a youkai rumored to have originated from the Jesuits?
Nitori
Yeah, we're on the same page, so let's not waste any more time. Call Marisa here.
Okina
What?!
Nitori
Also, everyone here has a tool, right? Let me see them. All of them.
Nitori
If there are any other items specialists, bring them too.
Nitori
And as for who we should summon next... I'd like to talk to a tsukumogami as soon as possible.
Okina
I can arrange that... But you're remarkably well-informed. What exactly happened on your journey?
Nitori
That shady Marisa stole one of my tools, believing it was imbued with all that I am.
Nitori
She wanted to use it to cross over to another world with me. But it was a fake.
Nitori
My hands are what she really wanted. They're the real Kappa Mattock.
Nitori
As a kappa engineer, my hands are my life.
Okina
Unbelievable...
Nitori
C'mon, gather everyone. I have to share what I discovered.
