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Introduction
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Après la pluie — His Wish (Part One) is the fifty-fifth chapter of Jun Mochizuki's The Case Study of Vanitas.
This article contains plot and/or ending details for The Case Study of Vanitas.
Read at your own risk.
Summary[]
Rain continues to fall. Darkness is all around. Mikhail sits in that darkness surrounded by mounds of ice, Book of Vanitas limply held in his hands, face bloody and torn up. A hand holding that face. And a figure whose hand belongs to, standing amidst the darkness and the ice and the rain. The Teacher, who has just arrived. Dominique is baffled and asks why her grandfather is here. Jeanne is shocked herself to hear his identity, that this man is… The Teacher lifts his hat.
He shows his face for the first time.
Plain, ordinary, unassuming. A completely normal man. Just like any other man living in Paris at the time. His appearance is all the more sinister for it. The only irregularity is his left eye, seemingly colored an eerie blue.
Jeanne stares. Vanitas, head still in his hands, looks up with dread. Dominique and Noé cautiously regard the man considered their guardian. The Teacher tips off his hat in greeting. He bids hello to Jeanne, then addresses Vanitas as “Kin of the Blue Moon” and comments that this is the first time they’ve met “in this form.” Jeanne is covered in a cold sweat. She grits her teeth. She recalls what she knows of this man—the former Marquis de Sade, the longest to serve by the Queen’s side, a man of completely unknown origins, a widely feared vampire, “The Shapeless One.” The Teacher remarks that his dear “chatons” are in their debt. The way Noé has described his Teacher previously, “a kind voice,” “a gentle smile.” Jeanne is petrified. She realizes just how frightening the very lack of fear itself is.
Noé calmly addresses his Teacher. He asks why he’s with Mikhail, who continues to grasp his face and cry for how much it hurts, calling to the “Comte” (Count) for help. Noé recalls Mikhail’s words, of being saved from seeming death by “somebody kind.” Of being told by that savior that they can bring the Vampire of the Blue Moon back to life. Noé asks if his Teacher is the person Mikhail was speaking of. Noé remembers everything that had just happened. Mikhail’s sudden appearance, Dominique’s life under threat, himself and Vanitas provoked into fighting each other nearly to the death—all of this the direct fault of whoever was pulling Mikhail’s strings from behind the curtain. Noé slowly bares his fangs and his eyes glow red. He asks if that was his Teacher.
The Teacher smiles and openly admits to this. Noé and Dominique stare at him together, speechless. Vanitas yells at the Teacher, making the other three around him flinch. As the Teacher bends down to scoop Mikhail into his arms, Vanitas questions his words from before: “in this form,” he had said. Vanitas demands to know where he and the Shapeless One had met before.
“The Comte de Saint Germain.”
The Teacher smiles, his expression and countenance and the very shape of his face distorts and twists and warps into frightening. Noé, Vanitas, Dominique, and Jeanne all watch in alarm as a dark energy starts seeping into the air around the Teacher. He tells them to get his name correct the next time, as the black energy grows so much and his smile darkens so severely that his shape is no longer discernible. His face is like the smile of the devil itself. Noé, Vanitas, Dominique, and Jeanne all shudder in their fear.
“—The kingdom of dreams has fallen.”
Rain falls ceaselessly onto the amusement park left in total ruin. Broken buildings, destroyed attractions, half-collapsed structures. The storm overhead rages on. The Teacher continues; be those dreams pleasant and sweet or nightmarish and painful—Mikhail’s love for his family, or Vanitas’s resentment against Luna—they are all the same. They are only dreams. And inevitably, a time will come where it ends and they must wake up to face reality. When that time comes is when they’ll meet again. The darkness surrounding the Teacher and distorting his shape splinters and cracks as if made of glass. A hole forms made of this splintering glass-like darkness leading to elsewhere, which the Teacher steps through while carrying Mikhail. He bids his granddaughter and student goodbye, before addressing Vanitas—“human heir to the ‘blue’ of the most beautiful creature in this world.” His single blue eye shines in the darkness; Jeanne realizes it’s the exact same shade as Vanitas’s.
The Teacher starts to disappear and Noé and Vanitas both take off running in an attempt to pursue to man. The darkness making up the Teacher’s form flares out in a wave, which strikes them both dead on. They’re sent hurtling backwards and crashing bodily into the ice. Jeanne and Dominique run to them in concern. Noé collapses to the ground and watches his Teacher disappear beyond the darkness.
A memory comes to mind.
“Bonsoir… little one.”
The Teacher smiled down at him, as Noé no more than a child looked up at the man with wide eyes.
Dominique calls for Noé, but his consciousness fails him. He passes out to the sight of pitch-black darkness behind his eyes, and the sound of the rain still falling down.
Characters[]
- The Teacher
- Mikhail
- Dominique de Sade
- Jeanne
- Vanitas
- Noé Archiviste
- Faustina (Mentioned only)
- Vanitas of the Blue Moon*
(*) - Denotes that the character did not appear physically, but as a part of another character's memories.
Terms[]
Trivia[]
- Après la pluie is literally translated as "after the rain" from French.
- In Volume 10, this chapter is combined with Mémoire 55 Part Two to make a single consolidated version of Mémoire 55.
References[]
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| v - e - t | The Case Study of Vanitas Chapters |
|---|---|
| Parisian Excursion Arc | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 |
| Bal Masqué Arc | 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 |
| Hunters of the Dark Arc | 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 |
| The Beast of Gévaudan Arc | 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 34.5 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 38.5 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 |
| Amusement Park Arc | 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 54.5 • 55 • 55.5 • 56 |
| Miel Incident Arc | 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 61.5 • 62 • 62.5 • 63 • 64 • 65 |
| Intermissions | 15.5 • 46.5 • 51.5 • 60.5 |
| Volumes | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 |
| Omake | Vanitashu no Karute • Romance is a✰LOVE MISSION • Confessional Counseling Office |
| Other | Author's Notes |