Blood-Stained Bookmark
Blood-Stained Bookmark (血栞塗, Chi Shiori Mitoro) is a short story that is part of an anthology of short stories based on the Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan series. It was written by Mirei Miyamoto (宮本 深礼, Miyamoto Mirei) and published by Shueisha. "Blood-Stained Bookmark" was included with the January 2018 issue of Ultra Jump. It was then compiled in a collection named Rohan Kishibe Does Not Shout with four other stories, which released for sale on June 19, 2018.
Rohan Kishibe visits a library in S City to obtain An Introduction to Eating Fugu, a rare Meiji-era book documenting fatal cases of fugu poisoning so he could include a realistic experience in his manga. The library is eerily empty, and the librarian informs him of a rumor about completely red bookmarks mysteriously appearing in their books, bringing misfortune to those who find them. Rohan decides to investigate and soon discovers one hidden in the very book he sought.
Summary
Chapter 1
Rohan Kishibe visits S City's library in search of An Introduction to Eating Fugu, a rare Meiji-era book documenting firsthand accounts of fugu poisoning, which Rohan could not find in Morioh's library. As a manga artist devoted to realism, Rohan had considered experiencing fugu poisoning himself, staring at a tank of live fugu and contemplating the sensation of numbness spreading through his body. However, the high fatality rate forced him to seek knowledge through literature instead, since he couldn't draw manga if he was dead. The library's only staff member present is a disheveled, apathetic young woman who already knows who Rohan is without him introducing himself. She sarcastically mocks Rohan's interests, and expresses no interest herself in Rohan's request, folding the piece of scrap paper Rohan gave her with the book's title into an origami frog. Annoyed but unwilling to leave without the book, Rohan presses her until she begrudgingly takes out the key for accessing the restricted archives. She hands the key to him, but Rohan is irritated that she expects him to get it himself rather than doing her job.
The librarian points out how she's the only one at the counter since all the other staff are off, causing Rohan to notice how the library is eerily empty. She tells Rohan about the unsettling rumor spreading through the library, where patrons have been finding completely red bookmarks hidden inside borrowed books, and those who discover them are said to be cursed with misfortune. The rumor has driven away most visitors and even the staff. Skeptical but intrigued, Rohan decides to look for the red bookmark himself while the librarian fetches his book. Since the library is an old building, there are no elevators, and Rohan sees that the woman is taking her time walking up to the third floor where the restricted archives are.
As Rohan searches through the shelves, he overhears two young brothers reading his manga Pink Dark Boy, discussing how they plan to finish the entire series without purchasing a single volume, taking full advantage of the library's collection. Their conversation reminds Rohan of the dilemma manga artists face; libraries provide access to their work, but if too many people rely on borrowed copies instead of buying books, artists could struggle financially. He wonders if the rumor about misfortune was caused by a manga artist in the hopes of shutting down the library. Still, Rohan recognizes that manga exists to be read, and without readers, his work would hold no meaning. He slips away from the brothers, focusing on looking for the bookmark.
Chapter 2
Rohan is overwhelmed by the sheer number of books, as the library possibly had 200,000 in total. Frustrated by the lack of an efficient method to search for a bookmark, he turns to leave, but notices a sign above the children's section saying "Let's Play Together" in hiragana. He decides to check out the area, which is usually bustling with toddlers, but is also empty now. As he scans the bookshelves, he is surprised to find the book he wanted, An Introduction to Eating Fugu. The book's unexpected placement among children's books puzzles him.
The librarian soon approaches him, apologizing for not finding the book in the restricted archives. When Rohan points out that he found it, she is equally shocked, having searched for it extensively. Annoyed, she grabs the book roughly, prompting Rohan to scold her for mishandling a rare item. She dismisses his concerns, arguing that the book is already in poor condition. Nevertheless, she hands it over, and Rohan begins reading it, taking precautions with a fingertip cover. The book details the history of fugu consumption, including an account of a samurai secretly eating the fish despite the risk of death. However, as Rohan flips through, he discovers a section where the pages are entirely stuck together. The librarian suggests it might be a printing error or that someone glued it shut, but Rohan dismisses these explanations since trimming machines weren't common until the Taishō era, after the book was printed. When he asks for permission to separate the pages, the librarian refuses, warning him that some things are better left unknown and that "curiosity killed the cat."
Rohan gets her to leave by suggesting that the kids he saw earlier might want to check out their books. Before leaving, she mutters that she hates kids, and that curiosity kills kids as well. Rohan is unsettled by her remark but carefully peels apart the pages after she leaves. As they slowly separate, he feels an odd sense of unease, as though he is uncovering something forbidden. At last, he reveals a completely red bookmark hidden between the stuck pages. The bookmark has no text or illustrations, only a rough, grainy texture that reminds him of dried blood. Intrigued, he touches it directly and smells the sharp scent of oxidized iron, suspecting it may have been stained with real blood. Just then, he hears faint laughter, but when he looks around, no one is there. Rohan places the red bookmark in his pocket, but a sudden feeling of dread makes him look up. Above him, the chain holding the "Let's Play Together" sign begins twisting unnaturally before snapping. The sign swings toward him, and Rohan barely dodges in time. As he falls, he instinctively protects his right hand so he would land on his left, where a pushpin embeds itself deep into his palm. Writhing in pain, he rolls into a desk, knocking over a heavy desktop computer, which crashes onto his back.
The librarian returns, casually asking if he is okay before clarifying that she is more concerned about the computer. As Rohan brushes himself off, he realizes that these events were not mere accidents. The sign's chain had unraveled deliberately, and the computer's cables had detached at just the right moment to fall on him. His suspicions turn to the completely red bookmark in his pocket, which now seems to pulse faintly, as if it were alive. Determined to understand its nature, Rohan attempts a simple test, tearing a small piece of the bookmark to examine the material. However, the moment he applies pressure, his left thumbnail is unexpectedly torn off instead. Blood drips onto the bookmark, darkening its already deep red hue. Horrified, Rohan realizes that any harm meant for the bookmark is redirected onto him. He wraps his wounded thumb with a handkerchief. Annoyed about having to clean, the librarian fetches a mop to wipe the blood, even stating that she is more concerned about the floor than Rohan. Rohan questions the librarian about the completely red bookmark, asking if any rumors exist about what to do after finding one. In her usual indifferent tone, the librarian teasingly asks if he has found one himself, though he gives no response. Without pausing her cleaning, she casually remarks that he shouldn't even think about escaping his situation, reiterating that some things are better left unseen and that he should simply accept the consequences of his curiosity.
She then tells Rohan a story about a child who caught a fugu fish. Instead of throwing it back like an adult would, the child died from their curiosity by cleaning and eating it, succumbing to its poison. She describes how she understands Rohan, as she too once pursued knowledge relentlessly until she learned everything. However, knowing everything doesn't lead to good things. The librarian then explains the significance of the completely red bookmark: a bookmark marks where one stops reading, and red serves as a warning to not go beyond a point. Out of nowhere, she suddenly produces a second completely red bookmark from her fingers, despite Rohan still having his own in his pocket. Before he can react, she steps forward, questioning whether a manga artist faced with death could truly abandon their curiosity to survive.
The librarian's presence becomes suffocating, and Rohan instinctively feels that he must stop her from getting any closer. His perception of her shifts; she no longer seems like just a lazy librarian, but something entirely different. Desperate, Rohan summons Heaven's Door, turning the librarian into a book. Panting, Rohan kneels beside her and begins flipping through her memories. Her earliest recorded memory is of eating a cat, and then a dog, but nobody blamed her because everyone was hungry. Rohan learns that she had lived through the Kan'ei Great Famine 400 years ago, consuming anything she could to survive. Her hunger eventually transformed, as she started eating not out of necessity, but out of curiosity. She ate things like wooden planks, the glue from a paper umbrella, the bamboo frame of a sliding door, and more. She went on to consume human flesh, dissect bodies, and perform live experiments simply to gain knowledge.
Rohan then finds a third completely red bookmark inside her book, marking yet another point he is warned not to read beyond. He believes that if he turns the page, it could mean his end, but he refuses to stop. As he moves to read further, countless completely red bookmarks suddenly spill out, covering the floor. The sheer number of them feels like a final, absolute warning, giving him one last chance to turn back. For the first time, a rational part of Rohan's mind tells him to stop reading, to escape while he still can. Yet, he rejects the warning once again. Just as the samurai in An Introduction to Eating Fugu risked his life for curiosity, Rohan is willing to do the same to uncover the truth.
After Rohan makes his decision and flips the page, everything abruptly changes. The librarian, the bookmarks, and the entire eerie scene vanish. Rohan finds himself back in the library, now filled with people, everything appearing perfectly normal. However, the lingering warmth of the librarian's body and the bloodied handkerchief on his hand confirm that what happened was real. Although there was too much he didn't understand, Rohan realizes that the librarian must have been the embodiment of curiosity itself. However, he believes the librarian still had room for curiosity, despite claiming to know everything. He assumes she vanished because she was curious whether Rohan would abandon his own curiosity, and was satisfied upon learning the answer. He finds her selfish and wonders if their encounter was a trap to lure in people who could feed her obsession, since a library is a place full of curious humans. Regretting not uncovering her true identity, he feels both frustration and respect for her.
At the counter, Rohan sees the brothers from earlier checking out ten volumes of Pink Dark Boy. He wonders if they were also lured by the librarian's curiosity and somehow managed to provide an answer like he did. The ordinary librarian Rohan is familiar with happily greets him as if nothing strange had happened. He considers asking her about the other librarian who vanished and the bookmark but stops himself. He learned from his experience that some questions are best left unanswered. One day, he may face the other librarian again, since she will inevitably seek the answer to how a manga artist who refused to abandon his curiosity, even when faced with death, could ever let his curiosity go. Instead of asking about the bookmark, he simply asks the librarian if she has ever seen anyone nearly die from eating fugu.
Appearances
Gallery
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Ultra Jump January 2018 -
Short Stories booklet 3 -
Trivia
- When the librarian claims that those who find the red bookmark are struck with misfortune, Rohan asks if the misfortune is like losing at rock-paper-scissors or having their house burn down, referencing the "Rock-Paper-Scissors Kid is Coming!" and "I Am an Alien" story arcs from Diamond is Unbreakable.
