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{{TabWrapper|{{PTabs|base=Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: Short Story Collection|Collection}}{{PTabs|base=Kushagara|Short Story|width=7em|s=OS}}{{PTabs|base=
{{Chapter
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|Cover|[[File:KushagaraDigitalCover.jpg|{{ImageSize}}]]
|Inner Cover|[[File:KushagaraCover.png|{{ImageSize}}]]
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|ja_kanji = くしゃがら
|ja_romaji = Kushagara
|page = 53 {{S|Novel}}
|chapters = 7
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|next = [[Blackstar.]]
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{{Quote|The '''spread''' of words is beyond comparison to that of bacteria and viruses.}}
{{Nihongo|'''Kushagara'''|くしゃがら}} is a short story that is part of an [[Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: Short Story Collection|anthology of short stories]] based on the ''[[Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan]]'' series. It was written by [[Ballad Kitaguni]] and published by [[Shueisha]]. "Kushagara" was included with the August 2017 issue of ''[[Ultra Jump]]'' to coincide with the release of ''[[
This story received a live action [[
[[Rohan Kishibe]] encounters fellow manga artist [[Jugo Shishi]], who becomes obsessed with a mysterious taboo term that cannot be used in published works. As Jugo's curiosity about the word spirals into obsession and his sanity begins to unravel, Rohan is drawn into the unsettling mystery surrounding the word, soon realizing that some words are forbidden for a reason.
▲This story received a live action [[Kushagara (TV Drama)|TV Drama]] adaptation which aired on December 29, 2020.
==Summary==
===Chapter 1===
At {{MO|Café Deux Magots}}, [[Rohan Kishibe|Rohan]] organizes his material for a new story when he is caught by a fellow manga artist working at [[Shueisha]] who had the same idea, [[Jugo Shishi]]. "Jugo Shishi" was a pen name which originated when he wrote the wrong answer for his multiplication table, so he chose it as a reminder that life does not go as planned. Jugo starts making small talk with Rohan but Rohan wants to be left alone. Jugo persuades Rohan to sit and talk with him, stating that Rohan's yelling will attract attention so he'll have to sign autographs for kids. Rohan describes Jugo as having a thug-like appearance, with pierced eyelids and his hair dyed red. He is annoyed with Jugo's talkative personality, comparing him to [[Josuke Higashikata|Josuke]] and [[Okuyasu Nijimura|Okuyasu]]. However, Rohan really enjoys Jugo's manga, believing that it has a very detailed reality to it despite depicting a fictional civilization with fictional history. Jugo's works are always logical as he believes that experience and knowledge are necessary.
Jugo starts talking about his new editor. His former editor had the same taste in potato chips as Jugo. He liked {{W|Home Alone 3}}, only listened to Japanese music, and was a fan of the band {{W|Thee Michelle Gun Elephant}}. They were good friends, but his new editor is a lot more serious. Recently, his new editor gave him a list of prohibited terms for manga. Rohan and Jugo are appalled to see that words like "electrocution", "earthquake", and "tsunami" are banned, thinking that the publishers are cowards. Jugo found a word in the list that he wasn't familiar with,
===Chapter 2===
Jugo had succeeded in quitting smoking and is capable of tolerating his appetite, desire to sleep, and desire for lust. However, he is overtaken by his desire for knowledge. After meeting with Rohan, Jugo spends his time turning over dictionaries all over his house, staying in the library, and visiting the editorial department of Shueisha, but he never finds out anything about "kushagara". The editorial department starts thinking of him as a nuisance and asks him if he made any progress on his manuscript, so Jugo gradually stops going there.
===Chapter 3===
About a month later, Jugo and Rohan coincidentally reunite at a {{W|Used bookstore|used bookstore}} in town. It was Rohan's first time there, as he usually prefers buying new books in the best condition possible. The only reason he went there was to see the atmosphere of a deserted used bookstore. Rohan realizes that he ends up encountering unexpected situations whenever he follows his whims, remembering the time he was accosted by a [[Ken Oyanagi|persistent young boy]] challenging him to rock-paper-scissors. Rohan witnesses Jugo acting like a thug, angrily demanding for ancient encyclopedias to the confused shopkeeper. Threatening to break his neck, Jugo grabs the shopkeeper by the collar. Although Rohan doesn't want to get involved, he couldn't overlook that Jugo could easily kill the innocent man. Rohan grabs Jugo's hand and pulls it away from the shopkeeper. Rohan wants to stay in the bookstore longer but feels uncomfortable seeing the shopkeeper's reaction, so he drags Jugo out of the store without buying any books.
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Jugo reveals that even if he tries to forget about "kushagara", he thinks about it so much all the time that he can't even sleep. Rohan gets quiet and Jugo increasingly starts mentioning "kushagara" in all of his sentences. Annoyed with Rohan's silence, Jugo is about to push him but stops when he sees Rohan's frightened expression on his face, which was a look that Rohan wouldn't normally make. Rohan clearly sees something strange poking out from the back of Jugo's throat, which is what had been saying "kushagara" earlier. It wasn't a person, but rather something that made Rohan feel physiologically disgusted. Before the thing could crawl out of Jugo's mouth, Rohan immediately uses [[Heaven's Door]] and turns Jugo into a book.
Jugo loses consciousness as he falls to the ground and his mouth closes, causing the thing in his throat to disappear. Rohan starts reading through his pages, learning that Jugo's real name is actually "Keitaro Nishi". His father loves manga. When he was in high school, he won an award for the work that he submitted which led to his debut. Two years prior, he had broken up with his girlfriend but was invited to her wedding at the start of the current year and attended it. Flipping through Jugo's pages, Rohan sees something that he never saw before in any human that he's read. Jugo's pages were attached together like a {{W|Japanese books#Bound books|bound-pocket book}}, meaning the ends of the two pages were stuck together to form a pouch so that what's inside couldn't be seen. It's a type of traditional binding that might be seen in weekly magazines. Next, Rohan notices a range of text that is unreadable. On the outside of the pouch, there is a messy pattern that makes Rohan instinctively feel wary when he looks at it. Looking closer, he notices that it is actually numerous small hand prints embedded on the pouch, which made the pages turn black.
Rohan deduces that it's not just a word that he's dealing with but some kind of power that can compete with Heaven's Door. As Rohan wonders what he could do, the creature whispers "kushagara" from within the book. Suddenly, the pouch tears open. Rohan understands that nothing good will come from it so he quickly takes out his pen. With it, he writes in Jugo's book to forget all about the word "kushagara". However, his attempt fails. Every time Rohan tries writing "kushagara", the ink would instantly disappear. Rohan discerns that it's impossible to find the word in any literature and there's no way to write it either because it's forbidden. He wonders whether this is a parasite that will devour Jugo's body once it breaks free from the pouch. With no time to spare, Rohan uses his supernatural drawing speed to write inside Jugo's book.
===Chapter 4===
Jugo wakes up with his head feeling refreshed, as if he just changed his clothes, took a hot shower, shaved his beard, and slept on brand new sheets for the first time in a month. With no idea what happened to him, he is surprised to see Rohan with him. Now feeling as if he has a good idea for a new story, Jugo finally decides to go home. Rohan tells him to do his best and Jugo is amazed, wondering if he can brag to people that the famous Rohan supported him. He's also surprised to hear Rohan suddenly being strangely soft to him after he was always rude before, but this motivates him to draw a great manga. The two say their goodbyes to each other.
===Chapter 5===
Jugo couldn't remember who his new editor was, so he calls the editorial department. They lecture Jugo for skipping meetings for a month. His new editor is inexperienced and felt anxious about what to do. Jugo is confused because he doesn't remember meeting his new editor, as if he lost one month of his memories. Rohan has mixed feelings that he had to write in Jugo's book that he would forget one month's worth of memories since it must have caused some problems in his personal life, but he rationalizes that it was the only way to save him. If Jugo was turned into a book again, the pouch would still exist. In the end, Rohan couldn't find out anything about "kushagara". He tried asking the editorial department later and they tell him that Jugo never met his new editor at all. He also asked if there is actually a list of banned terms that Shueisha gives to manga artists but they respond that there isn't. If a manga artist used any dangerous expressions in their work then their editor could point it out. Thus, Rohan wonders who exactly was the "new editor" that Jugo initially met, who gave him the list of forbidden words.▼
Jugo couldn't remember who his new editor was, so he calls the editorial department. They lecture Jugo for skipping meetings for a month. His new editor is inexperienced and felt anxious about what to do. Jugo is confused because he doesn't remember meeting his new editor, as if he lost one month of his memories.
===Chapter 6===
Rohan theorizes that the word "kushagara" actually has no meaning. It is intended to stimulate people's curiosity and spread like a pathogen or a parasite as if it was "breeding". To verify his theory, he heads back to the used bookstore. As the shopkeeper greets him and mentions "kushagara" in his sentence, Rohan instantly turns him into a book with Heaven's Door. Noticing the shopkeeper also has a pouch, Rohan writes inside that he would forget about the events in the past few days. He then leaves the store, concerned about who else Jugo encountered and told about "kushagara". Rohan wonders why he wasn't affected like Jugo and the shopkeeper, since Jugo told Rohan about it first. He ponders whether Heaven's Door is countering the power of "kushagara" from affecting him. Feeling it was dangerous to pry any further, Rohan decides not to investigate. It is revealed that the word "kushagara" used in the story is set as a substitute term since the actual prohibited term cannot be written.▼
▲
▲Rohan theorizes that the word "kushagara" actually has no meaning. It is intended to stimulate people's curiosity and spread like a pathogen or a parasite as if it was "breeding". To verify his theory, he heads back to the used bookstore. As the shopkeeper greets him and mentions "kushagara" in his sentence, Rohan instantly turns him into a book with Heaven's Door. Noticing the shopkeeper also has a pouch, Rohan writes inside that he would forget about the events in the past few days. He then leaves the store, concerned about who else Jugo encountered and told about "kushagara". Rohan wonders why he wasn't affected like Jugo and the shopkeeper, since Jugo told Rohan about it first. He ponders whether Heaven's Door is countering the power of "kushagara" from affecting him. Feeling it was dangerous to pry any further, Rohan decides not to investigate
===Chapter 7===
It is revealed that the word "kushagara" used in the story is set as a substitute term since the actual prohibited term cannot be written.
==Appearances==
{{CBox|Title=Characters|bg=
{{Char|Av=RohanOneShotAv.jpg|Name=Rohan Kishibe|Color=TSKR|Color2=TSKR2}}
{{Char|Av=JugoAvDrama.png|Name=Jugo Shishi|Color=TSKR|Color2=TSKR2}}
{{CBox|Title=Stands|bg=Oneshot3|bg2=Oneshot2|▼
{{Char|Av=
{{Char|Av=Josuke_TSKR_AV.jpg|Name=Josuke Higashikata|Color=TSKR|Color2=TSKR2|Status={{Mo}}}}
{{Char|Av=OkuyasuOneShotAv.jpg|Name=Okuyasu Nijimura|Color=TSKR|Color2=TSKR2|Status={{Mo}}}}
{{Char|Av=EditorAvDrama.png|Name=Jugo's Editor|Color=TSKR|Color2=TSKR2|Status={{Mo}}}}
{{Char|Av=NoPicAv.png|Name=Jugo's Mysterious Editor|Color=TSKR|Color2=TSKR2|Status={{Mo}}}}
{{Char|Av=KenAv.png|Name=Ken Oyanagi|Color=TSKR|Color2=TSKR2|Status={{Mo}}}}
{{Char|Av=BooksellerAvDrama.png|Name=Used Bookstore Shopkeeper|Color=TSKR|Color2=TSKR2}}
{{Char|Av=KushagaraAvDrama.png|Name=Kushagara (Creature)|SName=Kushagara|Color=TSKR|Color2=TSKR2}}
{{Char|Av=NoPicAv.png|Name=Jugo's New Editor|Color=TSKR|Color2=TSKR2|Status={{Mo}}}}
}}
{{Char|Av=HeavensDoorTSKRAv.png|Name=Heaven's Door|Color=TSKR|Color2=TSKR2}}}}
==Gallery==
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{{TSKR Chapters}}
[[Category:Light Novels]]
[[Category:Short
[[Category:
{{ThusSpokeKishibeRohan}}
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