Noé — In the City of Flowers is the second 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.
Synopsis[]
In the past. A young Noé was asked if he knew about “curse-bearers.” As he read a book, the boy sitting next to him carved a block of wood with a knife. The boy explained, it was the term for Vampires who lost themselves and went violent out of nowhere, told to him by his grandfather. Noé asked whose “curse” it referred to, and the other boy calls the answer obvious—the curse of Vanitas. The boy’s knife slipped on the wood and cut a gash into his hand, to Noé’s concern. The boy stared at the bleeding wound on his hand. He brought his mouth to his wrist, and licked the trailing down his pale skin in rivulets. Noé stared as he did so. As the boy continued licking up his own blood, as Noé watched with growing nervousness, as a group of children further away waved for the two to play with them; the boy posed to Noé a question. Even if a curse-bearer were to be right before him…
Above the moon shined a brilliant blue, that glowing light cast down onto the world below and, much like the way blood stained red, painted everything in its deep blue color.
“…Could you still think that Blue Moon was beautiful?”
In the present. Noé narrates through another letter written to his Teacher, which details all that has happened to him so far. He had received his Teacher’s letter and immediately left for Paris, only to get involved in an incident while aboard the airship he was riding. From this incident, he met a man named Vanitas who claimed to have inherited The Book of Vanitas from the Vampire of the Blue Moon, and is an average human being. He is, in his own words, a “Vampire medical specialist.” And Noé had witnessed him saving a Vampire with his very own eyes. And so, after all that had occurred, brings them to here.
Noé and Vanitas imprisoned.
Noé leads Vanitas back to La Baleine.
Noé has a question for Vanitas, and Vanitas urges him to ask it. Noé asks: why are they in prison? The two of them kneel face-to-face in their shared cell. Vanitas calls this a “very good question.” About ten hours earlier, Vanitas and Noé walked together out of the citadel they had landed in. Vanitas followed Noé persistently and continued to ask him for his assistance despite the latter’s rejections. As Noé walked down the street, Vanitas pursued him step by step, asking the reason for the rejection, insisting he listen to what the human has to say, adding in inane comments. Noé annoyed by his yammering just continued onwards. Noé, face flushed and eyes tired, nursed his aching head and explained that he needed to head to a certain place immediately. Vanitas made to tag along and then speak once he was done, to Noé’s irritation. They continued on. Eventually Noé told Vanitas that they arrived, and Vanitas looked up. There were at where La Baleine landed. Vanitas choked and paled. Noé, rather pale himself but for a different reason, explained he needed to get his cat and luggage. Vanitas shook Noé by the collar, demanding why he just headed back to the airship, and Noé turns more pale as he was shaken. The airship’s guards and some policemen spotted the two and identified Vanitas as the intruder. Vanitas cursed and released Noé. The Vampire, at the lost of his rope, collapsed face down onto the ground. There’s a beat of silence. The authorities moved to arrest Vanitas and Noé.
Vanitas explains that Noé’s condition was due to being injected with poison by the Malnomen, causing him to collapse after pushing himself so far. Afterwards Noé slept half the day away in the cell until the poison wore off. Noé still doesn’t understand however, as while Vanitas is the intruder Noé only happened to be at the scene of the crime, so he doesn’t understand why he was also arrested. Vanitas had told them they were accomplices. Noé inspects himself and finds his wallet gone, to which Vanitas explains all their possessions were confiscated—including the Book of Vanitas, to Noé’s shock. Vanitas himself is unbothered that the Book was taken, to Noé’s confusion. Vanitas asks if Noé wants to get the Book, and Noé answers negative, then hesitates. He thinks back, to the exact words he was told by his Teacher; the orders to go to Paris immediately, find the Book, and…
See for himself the “true character” of the Book of Vanitas. After being told all this, Vanitas ponders on how vague of an order Noé’s Teacher gave him. Noé realizes this to be correct, as his Teacher seemed to neither want him to steal or destroy the Book in any sense. He’s left wondering just what it is that his Teacher wants him to do. But even before that… Noé looks up at Vanitas, and recalls last night. The human’s declaration that he will save them all. Noé asks him what he is. Vanitas is amused by the question. Noé continues asking further, how he got the Book of Vanitas, what his connection is to the Vampire of the Blue Moon—Vanitas interrupts. Noé stiffens, the questioning now being put onto him. Vanitas looms over him and points out that if Noé needs to learn about the Book of Vanitas then he should accompany the man who owns it, so why does he refuse so stubbornly? Noé stares blankly. His eyes widen in realization—he’s right.
Noé shakes a dazed Vanitas off and instantly becomes lost in his own head, mind shifted into overdrive. The best choice for Noé would indeed be to follow Vanitas for the purpose of figuring out the nature of the Book, so he wonders, why did he say no? His brain is filled with nothing but Vanitas, flashing image after image of everything he’d seen of the man thus far. The answer comes to Noé like a strike of lightning. He slams his head against the wall and declares that he’s figured it out. He doesn’t like Vanitas. Vanitas deadpans. Noé is in genuine distress over this, venting all his anxieties right to Vanitas’s face. To fulfill his Teacher’s request Noé needs to accompany Vanitas, but to unquestioningly follow someone he dislikes so much would not only be detrimental to his mental health but physiologically impossible. What should he do? What should he do indeed, Vanitas replies blankly.
The door to their cell opens, interrupting the two of them. A police officer ushers them out, offering a note and the short explanation that they can’t hold them there any longer. Vanitas and Noé are thrown unceremoniously out. Noé clutches the note, completely and utterly baffled. Vanitas just yawns, having expected this. He takes the note from Noé and explains that to human society, Vampires are “forgotten beings” so any incidents relating to the species on “this side” are completely erased. Noé realizes the incident has been covered up by authorities, which Vanitas chalks to Vampires and humans coming to an arrangement regarding it. Noé is relieved, and he thinks back to Amelia, assured that she will be alright. Vanitas holds up the note, an invitation from the Count for them to head to the address listed so they can collect their possessions from the airship. Noé realizes with a shock—his cat, Murr. Vanitas offers to take Noé to said place, as his things are with the Count as well. Noé expresses his gratitude, as this is the first time he’s been to Paris. Vanitas absorbs this with interest and walks out the door. Noé follows and is immediately stunned.
Paris, the City of Flowers.
Flower petals float in the wind through the city. Light fills up every corner of the streets. Cars driving about, trolleys with passengers boarding, carriages drawn on horseback, crowds of people bustling around. The city is absolutely bursting with life. Noé’s eyes shine with wonder. He gapes all around, taking in this new sight he’s never experienced before, his face no less than overflowing with awe. Vanitas regards Noé’s wonderstruck expression with surprise then smiles. He walks off, beckons Noé to follow, and welcomes him to Paris, the city of flowers. Noé is practically bursting at the seams with excitement. He walks forth, follows Vanitas, and enters the city.
They walk through Paris. Flower petals continue to fall everywhere as they go along. Along the apartments and department stores along the riverbank, the bouquinistes overflowing with books and photographs and people alike, the surface of the river Seine glittering like crystals. Huge, grand sights to behold and the smaller, simpler details to be found. The timeworn architecture of the citadels. The tinkling music of a sweets cart rolling past. All of it is something to be awed from Noé’s perspective. Along the way he encounters a clown performing tricks such as juggling for a group of children, and finds himself so curious he joins the watching crowd. The clown makes flowers and a dove burst out of his hat, to Noé and the children’s amazement, and Vanitas has to go running back to drag the Vampire along.
They eventually arrive at their destination: the Galerie Valentine. Vanitas is exhausted, panting and wheezing and seething in place. Noé asks what’s wrong with him, and Vanitas angrily mutters that a certain someone would constantly disappear to somewhere else the moment Vanitas looked away, making the trip there ridiculously tiring. The two of them enter and begin walking through the covered passage, passing by many people who are bustling about in and out of the shops. As they go on, Noé asks if the Vampire who’d called for them is here. Vanitas confirms and explains the history: after the War wages between the two races, Vampires were forbidden from drinking human blood and for the most part disappeared beyond the “border.” But despite that, many Vampires continue living in the human world. One Vampire in particular has been appointed by the Vampire Queen to oversee Vampire affairs in Paris so as to keep the peace between the races. They walk up the spiral of stairs and enter through the double doors to enter the office of… Count Parks Orlok.
Nox and Manet greet Vanitas
Vanitas steps in. He freezes. Blades crisscross flash underneath his chin and point at the curve of his throat. But they are not knives—they are the claws, long and sharp and threatening, of the two Vampires who swooped in to cease Vanitas in his path. At once they order him: “Don’t move.”
Vanitas smiles with amusement and remarks that they were summoned, only to be greeted with such an aggressive welcome. He’s ordered to be silent. Noé watches wide-eyed. The black-haired maid, Nox, glares and calls him an intruder for rudely entering without knocking. The blond butler, Manet, adds that the door was locked. Vanitas remarks it to have been simple, as he just unlocked it, a flash of blue light emitting from his hand when he briefly did so earlier. The man sitting at the desk, the scar on his face as severe as the look in his eyes, turns and identifies Vanitas, the human going by the name of the Vampire of the Blue Moon. Orlok waves his hand and Nox and Manet instantly retract and stand back. He remarks on the rumors he’s heard, the human who is a “Vampire doctor,” how Vanitas actively seeks out curse-bearing Vampires.
Noé hears this term and thinks back to Amelia and what happened to her. A meow from below catches his attention, and he finds Murr safe and staring angrily at him as is standard. Noé greets Murr happily, and Murr scratches him in the face. Meanwhile, Nox and Manet hand the two’s possessions back to them. Vanitas looks at his things in his hands and notes something to be missing. Orlok stares stoically at him, to which Vanitas laughs and declares that they get to business. After all, the culprit behind the serial murders which have been storming the news recently has yet to be caught, which means the Count has no time to waste. Vanitas sits himself down on the couch and demands outright: that the Book of Vanitas and Amelia Ruth be returned to him. Noé is baffled. Vanitas continues that he needs to ask her something, and tells the Count to back off his former patient. Noé meanwhile asks for an explanation, as he thought Amelia had been set free like the two of them.
Amelia in Orlok's custody
Orlok declares that he will take responsibility and dispose of her. Amelia, bound in chains, has been set for execution. Noé’s eyes are wide. Vanitas is unsurprised. Orlok explains that curse-bearers aren’t permitted to live, and so a Bourreau will soon arrive to take care of things. Noé interrupts that Amelia has been cured. Orlok pauses at that word, and pulls out the Book of Vanitas from his desk. Noé confirms that he saw with his own eyes Vanitas using that Book to save Amelia. Orlok slams his fist on his desk and declares that to be nonsense; cursed grimoires don’t exist and the Book is no more than trash. Vanitas bursts into laughter. He agrees, the Book is just trash—in the hands of the Count. Because as the owner of the Book, only he can even open it. He guesses correctly: that he was summoned because though Orlok managed to retrieve the Book he can’t figure out how to use it. Arrogantly, he demands that the Count beg to be taught how to use the Book by him, making Nox bristle angrily. Orlok retorts that he brought them here to make Vanitas confess whatever he’s plotting, to which Vanitas answers: to save all Vampires from destruction. Nox and Manet are both outraged at his arrogance. Noé watches their argument with wide eyes. Vanitas guesses correctly that Amelia when spoken to was of sound mind, which Orlok attributes to circumstance and the human’s trickery, certain that she’ll turn violent again, amusing Vanitas with his stubborn refusal.
Orlok asserts: curse-bearers are to be found, isolated, and executed immediately, that’s how it’s always been and always will be. These words echo in Noé’s mind. He remembers, his past, as only a child. Hearing the news that Mina would be executed because she was a curse-bearer, and that was the rule. Noé, rushing to go and try to save her. The other boy, block of wood in one hand, carving knife in the other, calling him an idiot. To save her, to erase the curse of the Blue Moon, is impossible. A young Noé, eyes wide with horror, as blood splatters everywhere and stains his entire being with red. Noé clenches his fist. Orlok snaps, a Vampire whose True Name has been defiled cannot be restored. Vanitas mocks, the Count being a “senile old fool” who can’t think past common conventions. Nox and Manet attack, claws extending in both their hands. That boy from the past, his words reverberating through Noé even today—“There’s nothing you can do. Not one single thing.”'
Noé lashes out.
Noé kicks the desk across the room.
The desk goes flying from in between the Vampires and the lone human. Vanitas gapes, Nox and Manet flinch back, Orlok stares. The desk crashes into the wall, sending books and papers and documents flying and clattering to the ground. The impact shakes the building, making the people milling about in the floors below look upwards in confusion. Everyone in the office, Vanitas still sweating, Nox kneeling on the floor, Orlok holding Manet back by the collar, stares at the collapsed desk. Noé, eyes glowing red and fangs bared from his display of strength, stands amidst the sudden silence. He holds up the Book of Vanitas, and Orlok finds his hand empty, the grimoire having been taken from him in the collision.
Noé declares this: the Vampire incidents that are shaking Paris to its core are the result of a curse-bearer. If so, they—Noé and Vanitas—will capture the culprit and bring them back to Orlok. Vanitas behind him stares in surprise. Noé says the human will use the Book’s power before their very eyes to prove its validity. If they can’t trust Vanitas’s own words, or even Noé’s despite him being of their race, then he’ll have them witness the Book of Vanitas’s very real existence with their very eyes. Orlok stares back with intensity. He accepts and will postpone Amelia’s execution by one day only. Noé staring back just as intensely thanks him. As Nox and Manet fuss over this and Orlok brushes their concerns off, Noé turns to Vanitas. He gears himself up and throws the Book of Vanitas right into Vanitas’s face, snapping for them to get moving. Vanitas, catching his Book and nose bleeding, beams with excitement that Noé has finally decided to help him. Noé denies this, to Vanitas’s confusion.
Noé presses a finger to Vanitas and yells in his face: “I am not helping you. You are helping me!”
Vanitas stares at Noé in shock. Noé stares back angrily. Vanitas bursts into laughter and Noé puts his face in his hands. Together, along with Murr bringing up the rear, they walk out of Orlok’s office with purpose. Vanitas pats Noé on the shoulder and praises him for being “interesting,” while Noé continues on with a hardened determination. He thinks back, the boy from his memories, telling him there’s nothing he can do. Noé retorts: that’s not true, because things are different now. He thinks about the Book of Vanitas. He promises to himself: this time for sure, he will save her.
Jeanne subdues Luca's assailants.
Two figures wearing contrasting cloaks, one taller and one smaller, stand in an alleyway together. The smaller speaks about the incident on La Baleine and the rumors going around about the “Vanitas” person. He guesses Vanitas will be going after the Vampire who has been on the news for days, but—the taller figure interrupts. On the other side of the alleyway, a group of men bearing wicked grins and sharp knives as they approach the two. The smaller, Luca, identifies them as robbers. The taller figure drops the object on her back to the ground. The giant black coffin taller than her, thudding thunderously as it hits the ground, surprising the robbers in their place. She—Jeanne, bares her fangs. Luca, face pale, orders that she cannot kill, as Jeanne proceeds to defeat the robbers with ease. Jeanne confirms his orders, but declares that she cannot forgive anyone who dares to point a blade at Luca. Anyone who so much as tries to hurt him, even if it’s the Vampire of the Blue Moon and his terrible curses… Jeanne with her bare hands slams the robber by the head into the wall and sends him unconscious in the blink of an eye.
“…I will crush them all.”
Characters[]
- Noé Archiviste
- Louis de Sade* (First Appearance)
- The Teacher (Mentioned only)
- Vanitas of the Blue Moon (Mentioned only)
- Mina* (First Appearance)
- Amelia Ruth
- Murr
- The Vampire Queen (Mentioned only)
- Parks Orlok (First Appearance)
- Nox (First Appearance)
- Manet (First Appearance)
- Luca Oriflamme
- Jeanne
(*) - Denotes that the character did not appear physically, but as a part of another character's memories.
Terms[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Noé is the French form of the name "Noah," the name of the biblical figure at the center of the Genesis flood narrative, who built the Ark which would save himself, his family, and all land animals from being killed by the Great Flood, which killed all else as God's punishment for "humanity's wickedness."[1]
- While Noé and Vanitas are venturing through Paris, they pass a stand selling newspapers and a photographer's stand. Some of the photos and the articles include cameos from several Pandora Hearts characters; including Emily, Xerxes Break, Sharon Rainsworth & Reim Lunettes; Oz Vessalius, Alice & Gilbert Nightray; and the Intention of the Abyss's white rabbit form.
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 |
| Intermissions | 15.5 • 46.5 • 51.5 • 60.5 |
| Volumes | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 |
| Other | Vanitashu no Karute • Author's Notes |