| We learn that Kujirai B's parents were killed in an accident when she was a child. She makes a partial remark that left Kudo curious: "This is how I used to think, but memories are---". Kujirai meets Yaomay and Gwen, who notice that she is in a very good mood. Yaomay briefs Kujirai about what she learned in Hong Kong, but just when she's about to drop the bombshell she was told by Weasel/Yulong, she takes a big drink of Kowloon iced tea which has the effect of making her become instantly drunk-ish and unable to remember what she was going to say. "That was too freaky!" Gwen later observes. "It feels real, yet we have no idea what it's made of or how it affects the human body" he says. Yulong knows the person he was corresponding with was really Yaomay. He muses that "Taking interest in the place is enough to get you swallowed up". Later Gwen runs into Miyuki and warns him not to eat or drink anything from Kowloon (I thought it was Miyuki who had warned him not to do that). He tells Miyuki that Kudo is 'real' but Miyuki says he has known that all along. Yulong wonders if "Being preoccupied with and drawn to the Second Kowloon that's no longer there" is equivalent to "Being caught up in the past". Kujirai and Yaomay are having lunch in the latter's shop when Xiaohei stops by, posing as an inspector of their fire alarm. he knows so much about women's clothing that he may be a cross-dresser. Gwen is frustrated by Miyuki avoiding him lately. He thinks about what happened when Yaomay took her drink and concludes "So consuming stuff from here makes you lose your grip?". He wonders if something similar has happened to his friend Kudo--or even to himself. Xiaohei concludes that "The fake Reiko Kujirai gives off a different impression than the original one. The original wasn't the type to befriend Yaomay-san. I suppose she's living here as her own person. This was unexpected. People and things actually feel more raw and real than I had expected. What if things like that grow one by one in Kowloon?". We see a top secret 'internal observation report' filed by Xiaohei (codename: Snakeberry) and sent to Miyuki's father: Regarding the 'Generic Kowloon Walled City' he feels 'the accuracy of the replica (he lived in the demolished city and knew Kujirai B) is quite high' but not perfect. The same can be said for its residents. The fact that there is a replica of a deceased person (Kujirai) proves there is 'inconsistency', he says. While Kujirai looks like her predecessor, her behavior and speech are like that of a completely different person. While he describes her as 'generic' he also refers to her as a 'living human being'. He suggests that her existence is evidence that a goal of both Miyuki and his father, namely "The reproduction of the dead--the Zirconian Project" might be possible (though 'strictly within the confines of the generic Kowloon'). he mentions that Miyuki conducted an experiment like Gwen (or maybe they both observed the same experiment) which demonstrated that if the original version of a person enters Kowloon the duplicate will vanish. Over the phone, Mr. Hebinuma asks him "Did you find any of that in Kowloon?". "Yes", Xiaohei says, "but as soon as I find any I collect and dispose of it inside Kowloon". "Don't let it get outside" Hebinuma warns him, but Xiaohei assures him that that is impossible. "Anything made here will disappear once taken outside (since it would be in conflict with the original). What doesn't was either brought in from the outside, or it was here to begin with" (which suggests that there are some perfectly real objects within Kowloon). Could generic Kujirai leave Kowloon and remain intact, Hebinuma asks, since her original form no longer exists? Xiaohei cannot be certain here. "I'm waiting for Miyuki to make a move", Xiaohei reports, "assuming that he thinks the same. That woman (Kujirai) is an important key in creating Zirconians, so I'm sure he doesn't want her gone". Miyuki instructs Xiaohei to find another generic ASAP and take him/her outside of Kowloon to see what happens. If he can't find someone else, he should use Kujirai. Xiaohei is reluctant to do that, but Hebinuma is firm. Elsewhere, Yulong asks Miyuki if he regrets choices he has made--the choice of becoming part of the Hebinuma family (apparently, he was adopted) and tries to persuade him to change his mind. "I can't turn back now!" Miyuki responds. "Miyuki, you're too obsessed with Kowloon" Yulong observes (to himself). He vows not to do anything he himself will regret. Kudo arrives at Kujirai's place but for some reason the fact that she doesn't know how to make French Toast like Kujirai B could disturbs him and he leaves. "Why does he feel so distant when he's so close?" Kujirai asks herself. Yulong confronts Xiaohei and points out that he knows that he is in fact 'Snakeberry' and had placed a listening device in his apartment. He asks Xiaohei to switch sides and says what he needs him to do is kill the 'fake' Reiko Kujirai(!). |
| Whereas not long ago it seemed like a slog to struggle through the mountains of clues and hints that were being dropped, and figure out which ones really mattered, now the pace seems to have picked up somewhat and I'm more eager to get on with it. On the one hand we are repeatedly told that Kowloon has been demolished and doesn't really exist anymore, but on the other the things that you consume there have a definite effect on you. Maybe this drugging effect of Kowloon food and drink is what kept Yaomay from noticing that the seasons weren't changing. But there had been no mention of it until now, and at first I thought it was nothing but a joke. I found myself assuming that surely Xiaohei would turn out to be a ninja or some sort of skilled martial artist, because that's how mysterious characters almost always wind up in anime; but as of yet there's no sign of it. Maybe he's just an ordinary guy who considers being asked to kill even one person to be shocking. He seems to feel some sympathy and curiousity about Kujirai. |
