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In Lieu of Thanks

In Lieu of Thanks
お礼にかえて
Orei ni kaete

Mrs. Kobato is a new tenant at Toriai Mansion. Soon she discovers a complex heirarchy with Mrs. Shiratori perched at the top. Anyone who slights Mrs. Shiratori is subtly bullied and assigned cleaning duties around the condo. It takes very little to run afoul of Mrs. Shiratori, but the biggest no-no is associating with elderly Mrs. Ukai, the owner of a talking bird named Kyuu-chan.

Soon Mrs. Kamoshita, the current target of Mrs. Shiratori's ire, falls ill due to overwork. She has been tasked with handling all of the cleaning of the building due to talking with Mrs. Ukai. Mrs. Kobato is then elected to replace Kamoshita in cleaning the building. One afternoon the passive-aggressive Shiratori is visiting with Kobato, trying to subtly assert her dominance over the building when the pair hear Mrs. Ukai take a fall upstairs. Shiratori is indifferent and balks at calling an abulance for the elderly bird-owner but kindly Mrs. Kobato insists they have to help her. When Shiratori still refuses Kobato angrily demands that she assist her in getting the old woman some help. This show of defiance seals Kobato's fate and soon she is put in charge of cleaning the building.

With Mrs. Ukai in the hospital it also falls to Mrs. Kobato to look after Kyuu-chan. Soon it becomes obvious that the talking bird has a secret word, "kanishabu" that startles Mrs. Shiratori and causes her to back down. Kobato can not figure out what the mention of a crab dish has to do with Mrs. Shiratori. Soon though the word loses any hold over the cruel woman at the heart of the condo's tangled social web. Shiratori overhears Mrs. Kobato asking Kyuu-chan what "kanishabu" has to do with Mrs. Shiratori. Realizing that Kobato has no idea Shiratori redoubles her efforts to humiliate her neighbor, going so far as to tear up all of the sorted trash in the building's dumpsters and spread it around for her to have to clean up.

With the return of Mrs. Ukai from the hospital and the aid of the put-upon Mrs. Kamoshita, Mrs. Kobato soon realizes that a gifted live crab was sent to Mrs. Ukai by her son from Hokkaido. The crab escaped and Mrs. Shiratori took it and cooked it for dinner, but got sick in the process. The haunting words of Kyuu-chan were a constant drumbeat threatening to reveal her secret theft. With Shiratori's theft revealed her hold over the social network of Toriai Mansion is undone and she has to move away in shame. With Shiratori gone, the condo returns to peace and kindness.

Published In:
  • Big Comic Original 1998 Vol 2.20
  • The Executive's Dog
Publication Date: February 5, 1998
Pages: 4 (full color) 4 (red tint) 26 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation: Episode 8: In Lieu of Thanks
Notes:
  • Each of the women's names follow an aviary trend with Shiratori (白鳥) meaning "swan," Kobato (小鳩) translates as "pigeon/squab," Ukai (鵜飼) is cormorant and with Kamoshita (鴨下), kamo is a duck.
  • Kyuu-chan is a Mynah bird, specifically a "Common Hill Mynah" which can in fact, mimic human speech.
  • Toriai Mansion is apartment complex where the women live and this too follows a bird naming convention with tori being a "bird perch."
  • The graffiti in the hallway is a heno heno moheji face and Pikachu from Pokemon.
  • Kanishabu is a contraction of kani or crab and shabu shabu, a Japanese delicacy.