Chapter 55

Days of Boredom (退屈な日々, Taikutsuna Hibi) is the 55th chapter of the Fumetsu no Anata e manga, and the first chapter of the Guardians Arc.

Summary
Amidst the jungle, Fushi, now several years older and still alone, hangs up dead Nokkers on a line to dry. He eats them after cooking them over a fire. Fushi asks the Beholder how long it's been since he came to the island to which he replies it's been forty years. Fushi tells the Beholder he asks himself, "what've I been doing all these years?" The Beholder calmly states his purpose is to preserve all things. Fushi exclaims that he knows that and asks how much longer does he have to keep it up. The Beholder comes up with an examples and tells Fushi his work will be complete when he's able to recreate the sea. Fushi points out he can summon bowls of water but the Beholder tells him he needs awareness. Fushi asks for clarification and the Beholder tells him he needs awareness "that it is all yours." Fushi tells him it'll take him a thousand years.

The Beholder asks if Fushi is lonely to which he responds that he's bored. The Beholder suggests Fushi goes swimming again and play with his friends in the sea. Fushi tells him not to remind him of that awful experience.

Three days after Pioran had passed, Fushi decides he doesn't want to see anyone ever again, not even his donkey. He releases his donkey and transforms into a Kaniflower crab in an act of rebellion against the Beholder. From then on he decides to live as a crab. The Beholder applauds him for trying to acquire things he cannot while in human-forms, but as a crab, Fushi couldn't understand what he said. He also realizes that the Kaniflower's species is blind thus he can't see in his form. Without direction, Fushi drifts around the sea for two years. One day, he's eaten by an octopus; then as an octopus he's eaten by a Moray eel; then as an eel to its waste; then to microbes; then a large Billfish. He travelled the sea acquiring and living as various forms.

Fushi notes that by abandoning human-form, he didn't have to think a lot which was a positive. All he had to think about was his favorite food textures and scents and occasionally things that might eat him. As a shrimp, Fushi lived in the sand with his friend Ghoti, a fish. His eyesight was bad so Ghoti helped notify him if a predator was near, in return Fushi dug holes for Ghoti. After a while, Fushi began to think about how he'll be sad again if Ghoti died. But when he started thinking that way, Ghoti left on his own. A short while later, Fushi spots Ghoti with a new fish, making him feel abandoned. Without Ghoti to warn him about predators, Fushi is soon eaten by another fish.

The Beholder zaps Fushi back into the Nameless Boy's form and brings him back to the beach. He warns Fushi that a Nokker is nearby. Fushi quickly jumps into action as he begins to recall many things now that he's back in human-form. As Parona, Fushi uses the exploding arrows and defeats the Nokker.

Fushi writes in his diary that he occasionally feels guilty. He hated himself for living on and using others' deaths. He hated losing them as well. He decides to transform into the Nameless Boy, as that form feels the most like "himself," and tries to live as his "own form." He taught himself to use the bow (like Parona) and trained his body (like Gugu). But he soon realizes it's difficult to develop his own speciality.

The Nokkers still attacked him so he uses his original specialties to deal with them. He notes the Nokkers always come out of trees or the ground. To prepare for their attack, he booby-traps the trees by lining them with explosive arrows. Whenever the Nokkers appear, he shoots the tree causing a massive explosion. If he was lucky, they would all burn up. But if they tried to run away, he would tear them apart with force.

Back in the present, after reflecting on his forty long years, he realizes it's been quite boring. The Nokkers would attack and he would defeat then eat them, over and over. Fushi wonders if everyone in Takunaha and Jananda are alright.

The Beholder interrupts Fushi's thoughts to warn him a Nokker is nearby. Fushi asks where it is and the Beholder tells him it's already causing havoc outside the island. Fushi asks why it isn't coming to him to which the Beholder suggests they probably gave up on him. Maybe they're planning a future attack or they're trying to lure Fushi off the island. Fushi asks if the Nokker is attacking people but the Beholder doesn't respond. Fushi gets up and tells the Beholder to show him the way but the Beholder states it'll take Fushi a full month to get to it. The Beholder asks if Fushi is gonna let it provoke him and he shouts that people might die. But the Beholder tells him he's too late and that people have already died. This infuriates Fushi. Just as Fushi decides to leave the island, a group of people appear from the forest behind him. A young girl named Hisame tells him she's finally found him and that her grandmother, Hayase, was deeply in his debts to Fushi's surprise.

Chapter Notes

 * The time skip is confirmed to be forty years, the same amount of time Fushi has stay on Sarlnine Island.
 * The Beholder tells Fushi that his work will be complete when he's able to recreate the sea.
 * Upset by Pioran's death, Fushi decides to life in the ocean for several years, abandoning human-form.
 * In the ocean he acquired several new forms including: an octopus, a Moray eel, the eel's waste, microbes, a large Billfish, and a shrimp.
 * Fushi confirms that the Nameless Boy's form feels the most like "him."
 * This is the debut chapter for Hisame, Hayase's granddaughter.

Trivia

 * Fushi hasn't been able to eat fish since the time he abandoned human-form to live in the sea for a while.
 * Kaniflower crabs are blind.
 * Fushi lived as a Kaniflower crab for two years.
 * As a shrimp, Fushi made friends with a fish named Ghoti.
 * How to make dried Nokkers is explained in an archive from volume 7.