#{event} checkmate

[hyenahunt]

[TRANSLATION] Reminiscence＊Monochrome Checkmate (2024 Edition) - Masterlist

✦ Season: Spring, one year ago (! timeline) ✦ Writer: Akira ✦ Release Date: 31st May 2017 ✦ Characters: Leo, Izumi, Arashi, Eichi, Ritsu, Tsumugi, Madara, Tsukasa ✦ Translator: royalquintet ✦ Proofreader: hyenahunt (JP & ENG)

✦ Masterlist ✦

The iconic event story from seven years ago and the one that originally got me involved in Enstars fantranslation in the first place.... now redone and remastered completely from scratch to celebrate the Checkmate anime! Please do check it out, royalquintet did a stellar job and we both did our best to do true justice to the story this time around!

I sat on this post for almost a week because I wasn't sure what to say but the masterlist link itself has some in-depth comments by both royalquintet and myself, so I'll let those do the talking! We hope you enjoy!

[freisende]

Ensemble Stars! - Memories Selection: Checkmate Episode 5 - 孤独な玉座 (The Lonely Throne) English Translation

Provided by Happy Elements, あんスタチャンネル on Youtube

Ensemble Stars Memories Selection: Checkmate 『チェックメイト』 Adapted from Ensemble Stars! Story: Checkmate Written by: 日日日 (Akira) English Translation: Freiya

*All copyrights of the stories, scene pictures and writings, all belong to Happy Elements. I only translated the scenes into English to help overseas fans understand the dialogues. I do not own any copyrights other than the English Translation*

——————————————

Izumi: You’re late, Leo-kun!

Izumi: It's basic to be on time, right? Don’t you lack the sense of being the leader?

Leo: Ahaha~! Sorry, sorry. You know… in truth, just now I was negotiating a bit with the unit we’re supposed to be facing off.

Eichi: Negotiate…?

Izumi: *Izumi takes a walk forward* …Now that I think about it, not even one of them has shown up yet, have they? Well, they don’t even have the will to do their activities from the start. So I thought they don’t intend to participate in the rehearsal, and will just go straight directly in the real live, though?

Leo: Hm. They’re really like that, huh? Recently, I have finally understood. Everyone, all of them, I thought they’re my lovely friends. But I wonder what they think? I was thinking; do they also think of me as a precious being, like Sena do? I was very curious about this as of late. That’s why the other day, I had Mama[1] help me negotiate, and I directly faced the former member of Chess regarding this one-on-one. I’m also a boy, so I’m worthless if I am always just being protected by Sena, right? 

Izumi: *Izumi puts a confused expression while looking at Madara*

…What do you mean?

Madara: Hmm… let’s hear it directly from Leo himself, okay?

Izumi: …

*Everyone is silent and hear Leo’s explanation deeply*

Leo: …I went all around and asked everyone. I asked them, “What do you think of me? What am I to you?” They gave me various answers. But there is not much meaning in words. “A friend. A comrade, I love you”, you can say anything with your mouth, right? 

That’s why I narrowed it to choices. 

Izumi: …Choices?

Leo: Yup. Me, or the songs I composed. I made them choose. If they like me, regard me as a friend, and still want to be friends with me, I won’t let them use my songs anymore. But if they choose to be my enemies, I will let them use my songs just like always up to now. When I presented them with those choices, Sena, what do you think happened there? 

Leo: Everyone, without any hint of hesitation, with smiling expression on their faces, they directly choose to be my enemies! Ahahahahahaha! Laughable, right, Sena? What they love isn’t me, but my songs! Well, that’s obvious though, because I’m a genius! The songs I made are great masterpieces! Ahahahaha, ahahaha! Hey, Sena, Tenshi, it was steeped in my mind that I was loved. I thought I had spent my youth well happily with these friendful comrades.

Leo: But, it was just me being mistaken by myself! Ahahahahaha, ahahahahahaha, ahahahaha, ahaha! 

Izumi: Leo-kun, well…!

Leo: No, wait a moment, Sena! Hear me out! *Leo holds out his hand to Izumi* Starting this point is the climax masterpiece! I said just now that I was negotiating, right? I don’t want them to ruin and make a mess of the live that Sena and everyone else has been preparing well for, so I thought it would be best for them to just back off if they don’t want to do it!

***

–Flashback to the scene of Leo negotiating before–

Chess’ former member A: Don’t stand on today’s checkmate stage?

Leo: Yup. You would still get the pay. Not a bad deal, right?

Chess’ former member B: Okay~! I’ll ride that big negotiation deal.

Leo: …I see…

Chess’ former member C: Yeah. Even if we face off, we can’t win against you guys.

Chess’ former member D: If we don’t need to stand on stage but still get paid, that way definitely would be better for us too.

Chess’ former members: Ahahahahahaha. 

Leo: …In truth, I was hoping that they would reject this negotiation. I wanted to explode, “Don’t be ridiculous!”, I wanted to beat and mess them up!

…Hey. what’s up with those guys? Are they really idols? For what purpose do they live? Isn’t it to do their best in things they like in their life?

Izumi: Leo-kun… *Izumi reaches out for Leo’s shoulders*

Leo: …Sena, this is your fault, you know!

Izumi: …Huh?

Leo: You’re the first person I met in this school. You’re the guy that I got close to and you always do your best. That’s why I thought everyone else was like that too…! Idols are amazing, and if it’s here I can definitely make friends. It made me believe that it would be like that, I was made to believe that things were like that. That’s why! Everything, all of it is your fault, Sena!

Izumi: …Why…*Izumi backs off* …Why is it my fault, Leo-kun…?

Madara: …. *Madara looks quietly at them*

***

–Madara calls Izumi out to the archery club’s practice field to talk–

Izumi: …Mikejima, what is it that you need to talk about? It’s about time for the stage to start, I need to do my makeup, change my clothes… I’m busy, though.

Madara: Hm. I thought that you needed to know, see. So I thought of telling you quietly, you know?

Izumi: …Haa? 

Madara: On that day, I was passing by this archery club’s practice field. And I heard the voice of a cat crying inside, as if asking for help. I entered here, and I witnessed that appearance of Leo-san. 

*Little John meows*

Leo: Hm~♪ Hm~♪ Hm~♪ Hm~♪ *Leo sings a melody*

Madara: …! *Madara was surprised and hurried to rush inside, but stop in the middle of the way, while gritting his teeth*

With the flowing blood from his broken right hand as a writing tool, Leo-san was writing music scores, and composing a song with his blood. While crying, he was saying this:

Leo: I’m happy…! This is the first time I’m feeling such pain! What a fortunate moment, ahahaha! Ah, it’s flowing, it’s flowing here…! Inspiration! Ahahahaha…!

Madara: I rushed to the infirmary to call for help, but when I came back, Leo-san was gone.

Izumi: I see. 

(So after that, he came to my place, in the practice room…)

Madara: I investigated, and finally I got it. This place has become a kind of hanging out place for delinquents and those bad guys with no ethic, you see?That day too, they played and did bad things to the cat that got lost here. It’s a very disgusting, bad story, though. They used lighters to burn it, used arrows to hurt it. That was how it came to Leo-san trying to stop them using his body. And the result of it, was like that. The delinquents got scared and they ran off, apparently. Then that’s how I found out. When I saw that appearance of Leo-san, I was too shocked. I thought, perhaps because of the unbearable pain, something has gone off in Leo-san’s head. But the truth, it was not like that.

Madara: Leo-san was trying his best desperately in telling himself: “It’s no one’s fault. This is not a tragedy. If else, I’m feeling happy. Using this experience, I can write out a great masterpiece!” That’s what he must have thought in his head.

Izumi: …That guy… Leo-kun is… an idiot with a good heart of a person, so something like hating other people– he can’t truly hate anyone from the bottom of his heart. And that’s why in Chess, he’s being used delightly by other people. 

Madara: Hm. If you have comprehended that much, then I would like for you to watch for Leo-san carefully, closely by his side. That child is fragile. I am trying my best as his friend, but I can’t always remain by his side to watch him. But you, you’re his comrade and his equivalent, aren’t you? So I’m begging you. Please don’t make that good child unhappy.

Izumi: …Even if you told me that…! I am just a fellow unit member… not his family, or even a friend. I’m busy with myself already and have other things to fulfil. I can’t take care of each and every one of his problems.

***

–Back in the auditorium, audiences have begun to gather to watch the stage–

Leo: Aah Sena~! Se~na, just where have you gone off to? The audiences have entered and gathered here, you know!

Arashi: Hey, hey, Izumi-chan. All the members of our opposing units have surrendered, right? Then, you don’t need extra helping members, right? *Arashi looks at Ritsu*

Ritsu: Um. *Ritsu nods his head at Arashi*

Izumi: *Izumi looks around*…Where are Tenshouin and Aoba?

Leo: They have gone back! I asked them to. I’m the leader, you see. I have that much of an authority, right?

Ritsu: Well, us too…

Arashi: Can go back home, right?

Leo: No! You guys should go sing. From what I’ve seen you guys are pretty good. I’m also curious and want to see how your singing voice sounds!

Arashi: Oh my…

Ritsu: …Eehh?

Leo: It’s time to take off! Let’s go, Sena! *Leo stands up and approaches Izumi* What should I do?

Izumi: …even if you tell me what…?

Leo: I’m stupid, so I can’t figure it out by myself. You’re smart, so you should think it out, and tell me what I should do. I will make your dream come true. 

Leo: As Knights, together with me.

——————————————

Translator’s notes:

[1] Leo calls Madara with his unique abbreviated name, “Mama” from MikejiMA MAdara.

Note: This episode made me sob so much omg it hurts, Leo-kun!😭

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!Warning! Please refrain from reposting the translation to other platforms; abide to link back to this post for reference. Thank you.

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Navigation:

Memories Selection: Checkmate Directory Chapters Episode 1 - The Broken Branch Tip Episode 4 - Rusting Heart Episode 5 - The Lonely Throne (You are here now) Episode 6 - The Shine of the Crown

End notes:

✤ Read my other posts here! (●'◡'●) ✤ For other translations, here. ✤ More information (commission, messages, requests): Carrd ✤ Thank you for reading, the likes and reblogs. If you want please voluntarily consider giving me a tip through Ko-fi! 😊

[best-first]

“—et g- let— let me-!”

Orion wakes abruptly when something in his fist gives an audibly distressed beep, struggling and smacking against his chassis.

“Whh,” he strains, voicebox clicking as his optics power on and he releases his hold on—

On Rung. On Rung, a thigh scraped and crumpled by- by his fingers, stained blue and dented, he did that with his servo— there’s fuel leaking on him, hot and tangy with static—

He is moving away before he can process the full extent of the damage, the energon pooling on the berth from a burst line smearing between them as Optimus tumbled off the raised platform of Megatron’s berth, a panicked “Oh, slag,” rushing out, because he’d—

Rung’s saying something, he’s trying to, to calm him down, but why, that doesn’t make sense, he hurt him, Rung, he broke him, he’s bleeding but he’s reaching for Optimus anyway, needing him, depending on him—

Orion stumbles to his feet and runs.

[yume-fanfare]

oooo wait so the akatsuki and undead songs that are getting the cool animated pv are the climax songs you're telling me

[mihai-florescu]

I feel like i should hold lent and repent before checkmate anime like it's a holy celebration i must make my soul pure to welcome. This is normal tho i think we all are thinking this rn, right? Dont answer this

[best-for-last]

Optimus wasn’t sure what the strange tenderness in his chassis was until he’d shuffled off to a corner and further split apart the plating himself, the Matrix shifting upwards to let his refineries decompress.

His fingers find his irritated nozzles hot and sticky with self-repair nanites due to the matching set of barbels pierced through the softer dermis.

There’s not much he can do about it; his fingers can’t get enough purchase to unscrew the end pieces. Mostly he’s just left hastily trying to stuff everything back into place before anyone notices, chewing irritably on his bottom lip to muffle his mildly uncomfortable huffing.

Optimus can only imagine the state of his array at this rate.

[magicalnicole]

Here's the controversy:

Nepo chimes in :')

October 6, 2024

[wishingprince]

I know this means jack squat to anyone but me, but months of patience and working at all of the events have gotten me here and tomorrow I’ll be getting Leo’s Requiem card for myself.

It’s just a dumb bunch of pixels, I can look at the pic literally anytime I want to on the internet LOL but I’m really proud of myself and happy to get it in game.

This character has done so much for me, given me a name, let me find space to love myself and ask for love in return, view myself better, etc so this is my stupid little way of putting in effort back into him since he’s not real and it’s hard to Do Something for a fictional character lol.

[starswallowingsea]

Putting the Event summary for each one under the cut for people who don't play Enstars to get an idea of what each one is.

Requiem * Sword of Oaths and the Repayment Festival, released February 28th, 2019. 46 episodes. "Tsukasa does not approve of how leadership is being passed on. Leo, who saw this, declares that he will hold the third duel, 'Requiem'!"

Sacrifice◆Resurrection Sunday of the Undying, released March 31st, 2018. 20 episodes. "The DDD is over, and the hustle and bustle of the school has settled down. Kaoru, who goes to the band club's club room on a whim, is told by Rei he wants Kaoru to 'let him drink blood'..."

Moment * The Repayment Festival of Moving Towards the Future, released February 28th, 2018. 26 episodes. "The Repayment Festival is the 3rd years' last stage. With all kinds of thoughts, they move along in their preparations, but Kuro comes to Ra*bits looking for Mika, who has gone missing..."

Reminiscence * End of the Marionette's Strings, released March 15th, 2016. 21 episodes. "Nazuna starts thinking about the reason for Valkyrie's departure—and fine. The story of the Five Eccentrics' past begins..."

Reminiscence * The Crossroads of Each One, released July 31st, 2017. 27 episodes. "Keito makes an effort to reform the school… Starting with a live at an underground live house that he visited with Rei, Keito's surroundings start to change."

[nyaitsu-writes]

Hii i love love your works and read them from time to time... Please don't deactivate this account, because i really love everything here :> 💗 i hope you're taking care of yourself over there! xoxo

thank youuuu!! i love hearing that people like to read my stuff again aaaa (i do that too sometimes www) also i don't think i'd ever have the heart of deactivating this account because it's really dear to my heart and has a lot of good memories with friends so don't worry about it <3

i've been working hard at actively taking care of myself for these past months and it's slowly getting better... very very slowly but every little improvement is great, right? my health is still wonky as ever but i need to keep trying! ♪(´▽｀)

[tenzuproductions]

Un-Abel To Help

Tenzu looks up from their phone, they just got done texting Big Mama about Scylla’s whereabouts. The spider stood against a tree in the cold, holding the two jackets for their sister close to them. They bury the bottom half on their face into the lavender purple scarf they have on and around them. It was freezing out, almost below 10 degrees due to it being late into winter, plus it was night, so that didn’t help.

Two pairs of footsteps could be heard approaching the teen. Tenzu peers to their right to see Big Mama and Miko quickly walking towards them. Both of them have a rather worried look on their faces.

“Come on, let’s go get our Scy.” Big Mama says as she walks up to Tenzu, who turned on their heel to follow her as she kept going.

“How long have you guys been looking for her?” The young spider asks, looking at their Ai.

“Almost three hours now, I’d say.” Miko responds after a moment of thinking. Tenzu wasn’t that surprised honestly, considering it was their parents looking for Scylla. If anything, they admired the commitment from both of them. The commitment due to worry, but still.

It wasn’t the longest trip to the park, it only took about five minutes. When the trio arrived, they spotted Scylla on the bench. In the far back of the park by some trees. Big Mama was about to happily call her name, but was stopped by Miko putting their hand up.

“Wait a minute..” They say, squinting their eyes at the trees, or rather, what was behind the trees. Both spiders look in the direction Miko’s looking in, confused for a moment before all of them see a subtle glow.

“Oh fuck…” Tenzu mumbles, a subtle look of fear in their eyes.

“How wonderful of you to join us.” Scylla’s voice speaks up, causing the trio to focus on her. Tenzu looks her in the eyes, copying her gaze, tilting their head as they notice how off it seems. It wasn’t her speaking, it was Bishop talking to them. “Something wrong, spider?” Bishop asks as a grin forms on his face. Tenzu looks to the side, a sense of frustration building up inside of them.

“Arachne, I think you should let me and Tenzu handle this..” Miko quietly speaks after a moment. Big Mama looked over at them, confused for a moment. Though the more she thought about it, the more it made sense to her.

“If that’s..what you see fit. I trust you on this, both of you.” Big Mama hesitates, but turns and starts to walk away. She pauses for a moment though, glancing back at Scylla. “I’m sorry, honey..” She mumbles to herself as she continues the trip back to the hotel.

“Okay.” Miko quietly says, taking a deep breath and looking at Tenzu. “We shouldn’t stick around long. Especially since Bishop is in control and that..thing, is here.”

“But what about Scy? We can’t just leave her here. That thing could kill her if Bishop stops possessing her, couldn’t it?” The spider speaks in a whisper, a look of worry on their face.

“It wouldn’t, not if Bishop is in her body.” Miko says, shaking their head a bit. Tenzu looks over at both Scylla, or more so, Bishop. They glance up at Abel, who’s still standing behind the trees, but its gaze lingering on the small yokai. He raises an eyebrow at the spider, an unamused and bored look on his face. They turn their attention back to their Ai, silently asking them what to do. Miko opens their mouth to speak, but is interrupted by that pain in the ass ghost, Bishop.

“What do you think you can do to me? Hm?” He asks, that gin only spreads wider on his face. Both yokai look at each other for a second, then look back at Scylla’s possessed body.

“..There’s..nothing we can do. At least, not yet.” Miko says with a glare. Bishop chuckles, shaking his head slightly. Tenzu looks down at the jackets they’re holding, then up at their Ai. “We should…get going, Tenzu. There’s nothing we can do right now.” They say, though the spider can hear a hint of sorrow in their voice as Miko speaks.

“Can I at least…give Scy-Scy her jackets?” Tenzu asks, glancing up at their sister. Miko thinks for a moment, looking at Scylla and Abel. Abel hasn’t moved the whole time, it’s just been standing there, watching the two yokais.

“Um, yeah, sure. Just set them on the seesaw.” The Shibu Inu says, pointing to said seesaw that was between them and the bench Scylla is sitting on. It was a good halfway point. Tenzu gives them a nod and slowly begins walking towards the equipment, looking down at the snow as they do so. They can hear the soft crunch in the snow with each of their steps. It doesn’t take long for them to reach the seesaw. Tenzu lets out a quiet sigh as they look down at it, setting both thick jackets down. They were only able to stand there for a second before they felt themself getting picked up. Miko had thrown them over their shoulder as they bolted in the opposite direction of the park.

“H-Hey, what the!?-” They look up and at the park as it gets further away. What they see is Abel standing right in front of the seesaw, staring them down. Tenzu didn’t even hear it move.

[freisende]

Ensemble Stars! - Memories Selection: Checkmate Episode 4 - 錆びゆく心 (Rusting Heart) English Translation

Ensemble Stars Memories Selection: Checkmate 『チェックメイト』

Provided by Happy Elements, あんスタチャンネル on Youtube

Adapted from Ensemble Stars! Story: Checkmate - Written by: 日日日 (Akira)

English Translation: Freiya *All copyrights of the stories, scene pictures and writings, all belong to Happy Elements. I only translated the scenes into English to help overseas fans understand the dialogues. I do not own any copyrights other than the English Translation*

——————————————

Izumi: Do it right! We need to accumulate new songs even if it’s only one more! The student council has moved and taken action on a new system- and that’s why we need to win this so-called Drefes!

———————————

Leo: Drefes, huh? …Hmm, I like doing lives; but, well…*Leo holds up Little John* The ones we had recently were different from what I thought, you know…?

Izumi: …Haa?

Leo: Those live fights, win or lose to decide their grades.. Why do we need to fight with our fellow members of Chess?

Izumi: It can’t be helped, can it? Following the Drefes' system, the student council has announced and made rules to limit the number of members of each unit.

Leo: Hmm…*Leo tilts his head*

Izumi: With chess’ current state, there are too many members and not all can participate in Drefes… And that’s why everyone begins to divide into three members here, four members there, according to the rule number of members for each unit… It’s the flow change of an era.

Leo: Yes, it’s just as you said, Sena. I can comprehend your logic. But you know, are idol activities like such? It is supposed to be more like… “Ahaha!”, laughing with everyone! *Leo plays with Little John* Can we make 100 friends~? Haha, wooh~! *Little John keeps meowing*

Izumi: Hey! Don’t play at your own pace and blurt things out at the same time! Poor her [1], if you hugged her with such force! (Izumi gets up from his seat, stretches out his arm to Leo to hold Little John) Here. 

Leo: Oh? Does Sena want to carry Little John too? *Little John tries to push Leo away*

Izumi: Not really. You treated her roughly, and that’s why I want to evacuate her here. *Leo gives Little John to Izumi* She’s a stray cat right? She’s dirty, too. And it looks like dirt will stick on you, soo~ annoying!

Leo: *Leo laughs* Ahaha, surprisingly you like animals, don’t you, Sena?

Izumi: Hmph. *Izumi smiles faintly*

Leo: Waahh! *Leo smiles cheerfully* It’s here, it’s flowing here, Inspiration! *Leo takes up his notebook and pen, thus begins writing* It’s been a while, this feeling! Recently, my head feels heavy, you see, I’ve been in a slump, and that’s why I’m happy!!

Izumi: Haa? Slump? Give me a break! At our side at these times, we can’t stop working, you know? As a result of Chess’ divided accumulating mountain of members, we are back to only our duo member unit. 

Even with you and me only, we can take care of those small fries without any difficulties normally, but for them, their amounts are too many!

If it’s not for those songs called weapons of yours, we don’t even stand a chance to counter them.

Leo: Weapons?

Izumi: What? You have a problem with my wording?

Leo: No! *Leo shakes his head* More like, it’s strange! *Leo smiles* As always, Sena’s word way of describing is amazing! I understand. If that’s the case, then I can’t complain in the near future, can I? *Leo closes his music notebook* Sena is smarter than me. So I’m counting on you!

Izumi: Hm. *Izumi smiles, then nods his head lightly. Little John runs away from their seat*

Now thinking about it, by the way, following Drefes’ rule, to participate in Drefes lives, we need to come up with a unit name.

Leo: Eh? If it’s a unit name, then it’s Chess, isn’t it?

Izumi: No, that can’t be used. It’s already been taken by those divided members. So that’s why we need to think of a different name.

Leo: EEHH!? I don’t want that!

Izumi: It’s too late, geez. Don’t be selfish.

Leo: Hmmmph. *Leo sulks, then propped his hand on his cheek*

Izumi: By the way, *Izumi takes out his phone* It looks like it’s becoming a trend for the divided members of Chess to use the name of the chess’ pieces for their unit, and they have been using those recently. 

Leo: …Chess’ pieces? Like, King, or Queen?

Izumi: Yup. But those two have been used already too. The rest are… pawn, or bishop, or rook, or knight… Uh, sorry, those have been registered already too. Looks like not using the chess’ pieces name directly, if we modify the name a bit, it can be used with no problem, though.

Leo: Hmm…*Leo gives time to think* Then, let’s make it plural, and come up with Knights?

Izumi: Knights… *Izumi checks with his handphone* Oh, looks like we can register with this name. Then let’s just go with this name, is that alright?

Leo: *Leo nods cheerfully* Yup. Okay!

Izumi: Starting from today, we are “Knights”. Let’s fight through it… Through this changing era!

***

Izumi: (We, Knights, start getting through the wave of Drefes battles.)

Announcer: Then, let’s announce the final winners of the live. The winners are…

Knights!!

*The audience cheers loudly*

*Leo and Izumi smiles at each other*

Leo: Yosh!

*They wave at the audience*

Leo: Ahaha! Thank you!

*The other party looks dejected*

Leo: Um…*Leo halts them* Let’s not worry about wins or loses, we are friends after all-

Divided chess members: Let’s go already. We lost, huh. Now we can’t increase our grades.

Izumi: (Chess. The fight we’ve been through with our former members. But, I had fun!

It’s different from the times with Chess and Backgammon, these times are full of passion and freshness! Fighting, going wild, crushing directly those people I don’t like. Exciting, isn’t it!

Leo-kun, begins to be called “Ou-sama” by the fans at sometime. And that, also motivates me to do more and more. We, Knights, will get the top throne of the emperor[2]. This is that sole big chance. We will fight to the highest of heights to our best extent!) 

***

Eichi: Today’s Drefes’ checkmate, has been brought by Knights, the unit Tsukinaga-kun participated in, which has directly and respectively made the Chess’ divided units to be more and more shambled inside. 

Tsumugi: It’s becoming just as you thought, Eichi-kun. The announcement of the rule limiting the number of unit members, is made purposely to separate and divide the numerous members of Chess, right?

Eichi: Yes. To continue making actions more clearly in this academy, they are practically becoming hinders. They are like unknown accumulating members becoming a giant guild. Even though I can’t make a move on them. Idiots, aren’t they? They just make it more to be easily eaten by gathering together.

*Eichi and Tsumugi comes out from Eichi’s car*

Eichi: Then, I arranged for the divided members of Chess to fight with Tsukinaga-kun’s Knights. I thought that if he fought then lost in the middle of it, then that would be all, but as expected, Tsukinaga-kun is very much a genius. Up to now, he has never lost a fight, he even kept a perfect striking respective win. But… as expected, even for him, today’s checkmate is like hard mud for him. Tsukinaga-kun even told me and you to help his activities by acting as extra helping members.

Tsumugi: It surprised me, as it’s a sudden announcement. As for now, I will try my best to practise and absorb Knight’s choreography moves to my body.

Eichi: Yes. If there’s a problem, we can talk to Tsukinaga-kun about it in the rehearsal. *A notification comes up from Eichi’s phone, and he looks through it*

…Hm. It seems like Sena-kun has also registered some extra members in his own way. *Eichi sees the Knights’ members name, including Ritsu’s name* Oh? This name…

***

-Meanwhile, Madara is taking a walk, then sees Little John on the bench- 

Madara: Hmm? You… Well, it’s a rare encounter to see you here, isn’t it? *Madara picks up Little John, then hears Leo’s voice echoes from a distance away* 

Leo: I understand how you think of me. It’s not a bad deal, isn’t it? 

Madara: …Hm? Leo-san?

***

-Knights’ members are practising the choreography in auditorium-

*After dancing for a while*

Izumi: Ergh. Stop the song! *Izumi walks, takes a towel and wipes away his sweat*

Sighs. Will it be alright with these members? Soo~ worrisome.

Arashi: Hey, what’s with that attitude? You don’t need to worry, as we, the helping members, are practising our best to the song. Right, Ritsu-chan?

Ritsu: Don’t call my name casually. I just came here to make up for the care the other day or something… Just because of returning the favour, alright? *Ritsu yawns*

***

*Eichi and Tsumugi enters the auditorium*

Eichi: Hmm. As expected of brothers, your faces are similar. You… perhaps are you Sakuma-senpai’s little brother?

I’m surprised when I saw your name on the list.

Ritsu: …Who are you? …Anyway, we don’t look alike, me and that being. 

….We don’t have any connections, he’s just an outsider.

Arashi: *Arashi is surprised* Wait… Sakuma-senpai, is it that Sakuma-senpai? Ritsu-chan, are you siblings with him?

Izumi: …. *Izumi just looks quietly at him*

Eichi: *Eichi chuckles* Sakuma Ritsu-kun, is it? *Eichi and Tsumugi walks closer to them* It looks like you don’t like talking about your brother… but if it’s not talking about Sakuma Rei, what else is left in you?

*Ritsu seems a bit surprised*

Tsumugi: Sena-kun, where is Tsukinaga-kun?

Izumi: Aah~, well, about him… he still lost his phone, and I can’t get through to him. I wonder where and what he's doing right now?

*Leo barges in through the door with Madara*

Leo: Ahahaha~! Sorry to keep you waiting! *Leo waves his hand at everyone*

*Everyone in the auditorium looks surprised*

Izumi: Huh…? …Mikejima? Why’s he here together with Leo-kun…?

——————————————

Translator’s notes:

[1] Little John is a female, check the Ensemble Stars! Story: “Robin Hood”.

[2] Izumi literally says “We will take the top seat!” but I think it will make sense to use the throne of the emperor as it seems more relevant to the story.

Note: There might be slightly different translations for some parts, hence I’m also open to suggestions/corrections.

——————————————

!Warning! Please refrain from reposting the translation to other platforms; abide to link back to this post for reference. Thank you.

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Navigation:

Memories Selection: Checkmate Directory Chapters Episode 1 - The Broken Branch Tip Episode 4 - Rusting Heart (You are here now) Episode 5 - The Lonely Throne Episode 6 - The Shine of the Crown

End notes:

✤ Read my other posts here! (●'◡'●) ✤ For other translations, here. ✤ More information (commission, messages, requests): Carrd ✤ Thank you for reading, the likes and reblogs. If you want please voluntarily consider giving me a tip through Ko-fi! 😊

[best-first]

“…I miss my friends.”

Optimus admits this to his knees, loosely tucked up on himself and holding onto his shins. A defensive curl was the first reflex pre-loaded onto any mech, meant to protect their spark and fuel pump in case of a collapse or quake. It covers up his open chassis and partially revealed inner workings, which is nice, but it also makes him feel a little like a startled sparkling.

And it blocks his grill, making it a little hard to pull in cool air, but it’s not like he’s really doing any exertion at the moment.

He hasn’t seen a single Autobot among the… dozens? It’s got to be in the low hundreds at this point… of Cybertronians who have come and gone from Megatron’s fortified audience chamber-slash-war room. A fair scattering of Neutrals, a warband of Junkion tribes-mecha from the asteroid wastes, Decepticons were a given, but Autobots?

None.

He cannot help but despair at the thought. Perhaps all of this was for nothing. Bluejack said they were trying to get off-planet, but how many of them were successful?

What were they planning to do with that success?

[nerds-yearbook]

The Force of July (Abraham Lincoln Carlyle, Lady Liberty, Majory Victory, Mayflower, Silent Majority, and Sparkler) got in a lethal battle with Task Force X (The Suicide Squad) in Suicide Squad 27# (cover date May, 1989). The conflict saw the murder of Abraham Lincoln Carlyle, Mayflower, and Sparkler. ("The Janus Directive 2: Scattermove", Suicide Squad 27#, Comic, Event)

[softfuzzyships]

CC: Shut up gay boys bring me my pizza

[ei-mugi]

my main hurdle with my dcaf fic is my depression but my 2nd task-related hurdle is not knowing what eichi should be doing at my ambiguous and butchered chosen place in time--- nvm see the notes