Hiiragi-chan to Tomikawa-chan - Ch. 88 - Hiiragi-chan and Tomikawa-chan

[MangaDex]

 

[MURDERBEAR]

<<IT'S TIME>>

The first time I saw the page where Hiiragi said she'd also die my jaw fucking dropped. The sheer casualness of it, the realization in Tomikawa's eyes that Hiiragi 100% means it and is absolutely lowkey suicidal/holds no value in her own life. I have been waiting for ages for someone to translate this.

Please let these pookies be happy, Inuyama-Sensei.

 

[ronieisgay]

i can't take this. let my babies be happy

 

[DestroyerK]

The healing arc can truly begin. Now let these damn lesbians be happy

 

[RosabellaMelantha]

Codependent yuri my beloved...

 

[TangerineTLs]

<<IT'S TIME>>

The first time I saw the page where Hiiragi said she'd also die my jaw fucking dropped. The sheer casualness of it, the realization in Tomikawa's eyes that Hiiragi 100% means it and is absolutely lowkey suicidal/holds no value in her own life. I have been waiting for ages for someone to translate this.

Please let these pookies be happy, Inuyama-Sensei.

One thing I've particularly noticed is the at the end of volumes 1 and 2, their names in the titles are separated since they go on their separate ways. Now in this chapter, the title has both their names since they're now walking along with each other hand in hand.

It's quite bittersweet.

 

[www_Wind]

Uuu uwaaahhh
It's so bittersweet...

 

[MURDERBEAR]

One thing I've particularly noticed is the at the end of volumes 1 and 2, their names in the titles are separated since they go on their separate ways. Now in this chapter, the title has both their names since they're now walking along with each other hand in hand.

It's quite bittersweet.

I always have to remind myself these are composed in volumes, because mentally I always associate them with Inuyama just dropping gut-wrenching updates on twitter sandwiched in-between cute doodles and her talking about snacks she likes or meeting up with friends.

And yeah, I'm glad they're finally starting to open up to one another, and become "Hiiragi-Chan and Tomikawa-Chan"

 

[pzmd]

Futa chapter next

 

[BCS]

The end...?

 

[TattiXD]

I have been holding this off till know knowing I would be argued oblivion.

But these girls. Especially Tomikawa needs to get some professional help and therapy. They are sweet together and all. But that kind of mental burden will inevitably cause some issues and hardships down the road. No matter how much good they want for each other.

 

[MURDERBEAR]

I have been holding this off till know knowing I would be argued oblivion.

But these girls. Especially Tomikawa needs to get some professional help and therapy. They are sweet together and all. But that kind of mental burden will inevitably cause some issues and hardships down the road. No matter how much good they want for each other.

I won't argue that they don't need therapy. But I will point out the fundamental problem with their situation is neither is in a good place to seek out or receive therapy, especially with the state of Japan's mental healthcare system. Tomikawa would likely need her mother's permission to enroll in therapy which isn't happening while her mom won't even acknowledge her existence, and whatever is up with Hiiragi's home life she's not exactly in a situation where she can easily reach out - if she even had the impetus to do so.

It sucks but the best place for them right now IS with each other, if only so they can help each other not go out and jump off the nearest building.

Edit: To expand on this thought somewhat with Tomikawa, a huge problem is nothing her mother is doing can realistically be defined as abuse or child abandonment under Japanese law. She is providing what she is legally required to by the state - food, shelter, clothing, education. In addition, while Tomikawa dresses and acts like a gyaru girl, she isn't actually a delinquent by any real measure. She attends class, is clearly smart and gets good grades, plays by the rules, and hasn't gotten into any real trouble. Because of this, it's unlikely for the school to request she speak with a counselor or anyone involved with troubled youths. And because Japanese law generally dictates that matters within a household are the responsibility of the household, police and child protective services wouldn't get involved unless there was evidence of physical abuse or child neglect taking place.

Tomikawa could get police involved by engaging in delinquency that would gather the notice of law enforcement, but that might not work and would also likely end up on her criminal record, which might affect future job or school prospects. If she does want to go to a good school and get a good-paying job in the future, she just has to put up with it long enough to move out of her mother's house. Otherwise, the only other recourse that she feels is available to her is, well... suicide. Which is how a lot of people end up in that situation. People don't know anything is wrong with a child right up until they jump off a roof, then suddenly it comes out how awful their home life was and everyone acts like they always condemned it.

For the time being, the best thing for Tomikawa is the thing that will keep her from taking her own life... which is, morbidly enough, Hiiragi saying she'd die as well. It's not healthy, but it's more than nothing, and nothing is what she gets from her mom.

The end...?

Ahahaha no, we are a WAYS away from this ride being done with.

 

[synthubus]

I like the "you can think about that after I betray you" line. not because I think she will, she wouldn't on purpose imo, but sometimes when a person can't believe what's being said due to where their head is at/past experiences you kind of have to meet them halfway like that. like she knows she can't get all the way thru, but she can say "well that's not happening right now so you don't have to worry about it right now". it's a very realistic portrayl of how to work with someone and I appreciate that.

 

[mimuro]

Damn

 

[Lamiapits]

But these girls. Especially Tomikawa needs to get some professional help and therapy. They are sweet together and all. But that kind of mental burden will inevitably cause some issues and hardships down the road. No matter how much good they want for each other.

They definitely need to work through a lot of trauma but I fear that any "professional" help at this point would just get tomikawa locked up.

 

[KuroeNekumi]

Hiiragi punching the lights out of Ebi-whatever when she comes in trying to mess with her emotional support pair Tomikawa and sees the malice behind her eyes let's fucking gooooooooooo!

I can wait, if only because i hope they manage to build up something to prevent her from ending up in jail/juvie because of it.

 

[MURDERBEAR]

Some further thoughts as I need to keep my brain engaged to stop from falling asleep at work: I've been mulling this scene over in my head since it first dropped and my working theory is this.

When Tomikawa says "If I get betrayed again, I'm going to kill myself" I think she's fishing for a reaction. Not to say she isn't considering it, but she's mentally in a place where she doesn't feel like she can fully trust Hiiragi anymore - and so says the most shocking possibility she can grasp in her mind to be like "this isn't a game. I am in a bad way and can't take being betrayed anymore."

Hiiragi's response, however, is coming from a genuine place of suicidal ideation. I think she's been on that ledge for a LONG time - too depressed to go through with it, but not in a good enough place to step away from it. I mentioned in another thread the potential double-meaning in Hiiragi's "I should stop here" being able to be read as "this is as far as I go" and the implications of that.

In that moment, Tomikawa is the one who brought Hiiragi back and grounded her. She also recognized that something was up, and made Hiiragi promise to rely on and count on her. Hiiragi clearly holds this promise dear, and so when Tomikawa said "if I get betrayed again I'm gonna kill myself" Hiiragi doesn't skip a beat in saying "guess I'd die too." She absolutely means it, because for her it would just be shoving off the ledge she's been on for a while.

And I think seeing Hiiragi's determination in that grounded Tomikawa in a sense. You can see realization hit her like a freight train of "oh she's not playing around. This is someone who genuinely doesn't care if she lives or dies, and is continuing to live for me."

It hits Tomikawa that she's not alone - that Hiiragi isn't just a friend, but someone who fundamentally gets her abuse and understands it, and won't just walk away once she sees how badly it's fucked her up. Someone she can be a bit more vulnerable with. And sometimes, just knowing you're not alone in your feelings can be the most empowering thing in the world. Knowing that someone else is right beside you on that ledge, staring you dead in the face.

God I love this comic but it hurts me so.

Ed: Oh yeah, now feels like a good time to share this art Inuyama-Sensei posted on her twitter around the same time as this chapter went live.

 

[suburbanerrorist_]

This is a pretty heavy chapter, but at least they have an understanding now.

 

[phoenixir]

They have an understanding of each other. It's not complete but now they understand that they're both in pain

 

[onedumninja]

That was pretty clever actually. Hiiragi can't say anything to fix the pain for tomikawa right away but creating small goals and reasons to live helps a suicidal soul focus on something other than suicide. Tomikawa no longer has to die since hiiragi says she won't betray her and she even gave tomikawa permission to die if she does betray her. Rather than scolding her, hiiragi is saying she understands so here are some conditions for you to live by. "You can stop thinking now, and just keep going as you are. As long as I don't betray you, you don't have to die. Okay?" Something like that helps relieve the burden of suicidal thoughts at least a bit. It's the immediate band-aid necessary to prevent tomikawa from ending her life right now. Giving hiiragi more time to help her through it.

God this hits hard. These poor kids man T_T