#Ask Answering Keru

[patronsaintofmanchester]

Hello there, I was told to talk to "Keru" by lady Bell to get an idea of what could be considered feral

What, you want to talk to the couch surfer? Alright, be my guest. Oi! Caribou! You’ve been summoned!

I what?… Why? And I am not a caribou.

Right, okay, just answer it, yeah?

Well… I suppose a cat could be considered feral, if it lived outside its whole life. Street pigeons could be considered feral, most definitely. Feral pigs, rabbits…

[ticklystuff]

Okay my fav Itto with E and W please 🫶

tickly alphabet

n$fw warning for z

hello keru sir, ty for requesting our faves hehe i am always prepared to talk about my dumbass fave

E: Expression | How do they express their wish to tickle/be tickled?

oh itto gets very touchy when he wants to tickle someone. he'll do stuff like sling his arm over their shoulder or around their waist to pull them into a hug, while using one finger to discreetly (in his mind) poke at their side or chest. he also likes to do the wiggly finger motions at the other person just to see their reaction, he's a menace

when he wants to be tickled, he will initiate his own tickle fights, but won't go so hard that the other person won't have a fighting chance and can retaliate against him. also, after wrecking someone, he's really nice and will offer to let them tickle him back alkdjsfa idk i really like this headcanon, he's a sweetheart

W: Word | What is their reaction to the T-word? Can they say it out loud or do they get embarrassed?

oh this man is the type of man to be like "tickletickletickletickletickle" in his baby voice while wrecking someone and it's like STOP SHUT THE FUCK UP and i also do think he can say it in a normal setting. he also likes to say it around people he knows gets nervous around the word like gorou just to see their reactions

BUT he also can't handle when someone uses verbal teases while tickling him and he fucking dies when his ler is like "tickletickletickle-" like u are dumb and brought this on yourself and he'll cover his face and want to bite into his arm and you can visibly see his ears begin to turn red

B: Bondage | How do they react to bondage, do they enjoy it and if yes, what is their favorite pose?

i feel like childe would enjoy some mild bondage to a degree because he sees it as a challenge and finds it thrilling, so like maybe his arms tied behind his back. he doesn't like being totally restrained though and would prefer to at least wiggle around a little bit and he grows increasingly nervous with each added layer of restraints, but he won't actually admit it and would put up a straight face the whole time

Q: Question | Their response to the question ‘are you ticklish’?

hmmmm i don't think he'd be the type to be nervous about answering. he'd probably be like "pfft yeah, why?" but i do think around certain people (zhongli, scara, traveler) if they were to ask him, he'd be like "yeah yeah, are you?" before beginning to poke and tickle them to answer his own question

Z: Zones | N$FW - Do they have an erogenous tickle zone: the spot that turns them on when tickled?

oh his nipples and he gets so embarrassed about how spontaneous it is too LMAOOO like the feeling of someone placing their palm against them is already enough to get him turned on

also i feel like he's somewhat of a masochist and gets turned on by intense tickles in general. idk like i feel like having his arms tied up to the headboard and just really digging into his armpits for an extended period of time and ignoring his pleas to the point that his eyes practically roll into the back of his head and he's spiraled into silent laughter.. like i think he'd really like that lol

[klissblog]

Are Saiki and Teruhashi based off Asō-sensei and Furukawa-san? Part 2

This post will make you know more about Asou-sensei and Furukawa-san, and perhaps about Japanese manga characters. Sorry some information you might have seen it already.

How mangaka based off their characters?

1       appearance 

When people saw Asō-sensei, he got comments saying he looked like Saiki Kusuo. The same as Nishizawa, the author of 5mm (西沢５ミリ、Nishizawa 5miri). 

「こちらの写真の一番左に映ってるメガネの方が麻生周一先生になります。

どことなく斉木楠雄に似ているような…..」

→The person with glasses on the far left in this picture is Asō Shūichi sensei.

He looks somewhat like Saiki Kusuo......　

Ps. I have never read 5mm, but this went viral, So I knew about it.

If you want to read more about the author, here is the link https://mangakasan.com/asoshuichi-565

Some other characters that resemble the real people. The author of one piece, Oda-sensei, had confirmed some of these.

2 characters based on personality or anything else besides appearance.

This´s quite difficult. The author has to admit it or you must really know that character.

The author of Berserk did give an interview in 1996.

“For the relationship between Guts and Griffith, I'm using myself and my close friend and fellow manga artist Koji Mori (Suicide Island, etc.) as a model. Which one of us is Guts and which is Griffith switches from time to time, but I think it serves as a symbol of male friendship. Guts' friends in the Band of [the Falcon] are actually based on my friends from college. But if it's about Guts' personality or his belief... I guess some of it comes from myself.”

Source: https://berserk.fandom.com/wiki/Interviews

NBA players were the model for the characters in slam dunk. I'm not into sports, but many redditors had theories about these because they knew about different styles of play in basketball. A Japanese blogger said that the author of slam dunk did not admit or deny when he was asked if slam dunk characters were from NBA players. That means there is no right or wrong answer. The author said the readers could imagine who was the model. But the blogger said its not true because he watched NBA for a long time and he had theories to prove that.

Source:  https://happynarublog.com/slam-dunk-who-is-the-nba-player-who-became-the-model-of-the-characters/

Is teruhashi based on the author's wife Furukawa-san or is she a model for teruhashi? (Whatever the correct word is, sorry 😢 ).

We knew from the last two posts that the author started basing teruhashi on his wife after they met in 2014. The author made Teruhashi loves one, have a fan club and be able to sing from 2014.

When the author drew someone else as kokomi, Furukawa-san tweeted right away.

In 2016, his wife tweeted 「おっふしてもいいんだからね！」 → it´s okay (if you’re going) to offu! 

To prove that she´s the real kokomi.

In 2018, his wife tweeted 

「斉木楠雄のΨ難、麻生先生描き下ろしジャケ！ 

照橋さん枠はえいたそだったのか、、、！ 

けるくんも可愛く描いてくれています。サイズ感ぴったり！どんどんメディア進出！ 麻生先生！ありがとうございます！！すてき！！」

“The CD jacket newly drawn by Asō-sensei, the author of “The Disastrous Life of Saiki K”!

Teruhashi-san's quota (yellow frame) was Eitaso (nickname of Eimi), huh? It has a cute drawing of Keru-kun (her pet) too. The size is perfect! More and more media coverage! Asō-sensei! Thank you!! It's so nice!!”

And then Furukawa-san tweeted again with excuses that Eitaso wasn´t teruhashi because….

いや、えいたそ＝後光 → No, Eitaso = Halo, aureole

照橋さん＝オーラ → Teruhashi-san = Aura 

だからちとものが違うか、、、→ so maybe it’s a bit different...

I guess the author explained to her that Eitaso wasn’t Teruhashi and that’s why furukawa-san tweeted again. Well, Furukawa-san thinks she is Teruhashi. And can't stand if someone else is Teruhashi. There must be something to make her believe/sure about this. It is a secret between the author and Furukawa-san. The question about if Furukawa-san is Teruhashi. She has already given the answer!

Think why the author made Kokomi have fan club and kusuo a tsundere in 2014? Coincidences? Why did his wife have so much confidence about she’s Kokomi? Why didn't the author do that in the beginning of Saiki k? Why started basing them in 2014 the year he met his wife?

Q: Is the author a tsundere?

Is Saiki based on the author or is he a model for him? After the author met his wife in 2014, Saiki admitted that he is a tsundere.

I would like you to find out what a tsundere is on the internet. So you will understand more about it.

Nendō pet is based on/kind of like Furukawa-san's pet because keru-kun uses her hand as a toilet.

Source: https://natalie.mu/music/column/307931

the author said 「りさ推しよりの箱推しです！今日はライブです！」→My Oshi is the whole group, even though I prefer Risa a little more! Today is the live concert!

ps. Ppl/fans who don’t know him in person thought Aso-sensei liked Risa-san until they announced that they gonna get married.

Here are some comments

もっとも麻生さん本人は、15年の時点ではツイッターで、「りさ推しよりの箱推しです！」と投稿しているなど、メンバーの中では古川さんより相沢梨紗さんの方が「推し」だったようである。これもでんぱ組.incのファンには知られており、

→ However, Aso himself seemed to have his “Oshi” as Risa than for Furukawa-san, as he posted on Twitter in 2015, “My Oshi is the whole group, even though I prefer Risa a little!” This is also known to fans of Denmagumi.inc,

「推しアイドルと結婚相手って別なんだろうね」 → “I guess the Oshi idol and the person you're marrying are two different things.”

「麻生先生チケ代払ってでもでんぱガチガチで遠征してるヲタクで相沢梨紗推しのはずがまさかのみりんちゃんと結婚」

→“Asou-sensei, an otaku who pays for tickets and goes to meet Dempa in far places. I thought he had an Oshi as Risa, but surprise surprise, he’s married to Mirin-chan.”

「麻生先生でんぱ組好きって言ってて結婚はすげぇな　推しとは違ったらしいけど」

→“I knew that Asou-sensei liked Dempagumi, but marriage is surprising. But looks like the partner wasn’t his Oshi.”

と、むしろ推しメンバーと結婚相手に分別をつけた選択として、好意的に受け止められている様子だ。

→Rather, this seems to be favorably received as a sensible choice between an Oshi member and a marriage partner.

Source: https://www.j-cast.com/2019/09/19367999.html?p=all

If I were Furukawa-san and read these comments….. I felt hurt. There were some comments on x (twitter) saying that Aso-sensei liked Risa-chan or his oshi was Risa-chan from 2015-2019 (her first response to the author was in 2016). As a woman, I read comments saying my boyfriend likes my friend. Did people think I stole him from my friend or my friend rejected him so he chose me and ended up marrying me. Was I his second choice??? No wonder Furukawa-san couldn't accept when someone else was kokomi.

However, colleagues confirmed their relationship No. 3&4.

2. In 2018, the marriage purpose. No. 3 「でんぱぐみのだれかと（けっこん）」 → (Marry) someone in Dempagumi(.inc). The word “marry” was coverd by Nendou´s hand.

P.S. If anyone thinks it's a word other than the word marry …hmmm. That person doesn't understand Japanese in context (that chapter).

3. His assistant, Mitsuhara-san mentioned that Furukawa´s his favorite member and Asou-sensei replied his comment (without denying it) saying 

「わー！忙しいのにわざわざ漫画まで描いてくれてありがとー！！あれはそういう策略だったのか…w」

→ Wow! Thanks for drawing all those manga even though you're so busy! (Now I know) what kind of strategy was that...lol

(You can read his manga in English at the end of this post)

What Asō-sensei did to Furukawa-san

Didn´t say his feeling to Furukawa-san. He said he preferred Risa. But his coworker, Mitsuhara-san said Furukawa was his favourite member. Asou-sensei attended dempagumi.inc activities/events, but he wanna leave after he talked to his wife for a word or two. At first I thought their relationship had to be a secret. he could write about Risa-san but Furukawa-san. <(ꐦㅍ _ㅍ)> ……… tsundere.

Did tease his wife by drawing someone else as Teruhashi. He drew dempagumi.inc only 2 pics and teased his wife both of them. Aso-sensei drew Furukawa-san with arms crossed. ʱªʱªʱª (ᕑᗢूᓫ∗)

Source: the same link as above (telling that he drew Dempagumi two pics) https://www.j-cast.com/2019/09/19367999.html?p=all

P.S. The CD jacket supposed to release in April 2018, but his wife saw it in February 2018. So, she tweeted with those messages right away. Arms crossed = disagree. The author knew that Furukawa-san disagreed that she wasn't kokomi, but he teased her. I saw one post that he still teased her after they've got married.

Didn´t write the word “marry” in a marriage proposal. I wondered when I read it, but now everything is resolved. What a tsundere! Finally, he grouped his wife with Teruhashi even though he wrote the word "someone" on no. 3 instead of Furukawa-san (because of idol status). However, it’s really sweet of him to do it in anime and it will stay forever.

4. His coworker, ��石浩二、Ōishi-san (mangaka) who works at Shonen Jump+ said

麻生先生&みりんちゃん結婚おめでとうございます。前から知ってはいましたが、未だにえっマジで！！？なんだその漫画みたいな展開！！って思ってます。みりんちゃんのハートにＢダッシュした麻生先生。末永くお幸せに🎊

Congratulations to Asō-sensei & Mirin-chan on their marriage. I've known about it for a while, but I'm still thinking "What Really!!? What a manga-like development!!” Aso-sensei made a B-dash into Mirin-chan's heart. I wish you a long and happy life🎊.

However, Ōishi-san compared them to a manga. What manga? Did he mean Saiki k manga? I don't know much information about Aso-sensei and Furukawa-san compare to Oishi-san, but I knew Asō-sensei is an otaku and his wife is an idol. So I think otaku & idol. That's why the author did a self-insert to Saiki k manga. Plus, he did mentioned himself (as an otaku) made his favorite idol sang the theme songs in 2016 (chapter 234).

When they were in a relationship in 2016, The author asked their friends, family and co-worker for the vote (to make Saiteru got 1&2 place) because they (ppl who knows him) knew about Furukawa-san. He wanted their votes instead of votes from readers. Who the hell didn't know that he's saiteru shipper?

Plus, Dempagumi started to sing saiki k anime songs in 2016. The author wasn't just an otaku who attended only dempagumi events, but this made them had more time together.

2nd popularity poll, chapter 115, chapter 234, Aso-sensei and Dempagumi (he wears black and Furukawa-san is on his left, the video.

After the author and Furukawa-san announced they going to marry. Someone made a video and put the author, his wife, Saiki and Teruhashi in the video. And at the end shows Imu saying "just like a mangaka whose anime main theme was sung by their favorite idol!" in japanese. Many knew that the author made the self insert (mentioned himself in chapter 234).

Source to watch video (1.5 min): https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm35700889

To answer the question of if the author based on Saiki or using him as a model.

- In terms of appearance, I'm not the only one who thinks the author looks like Saiki.

- For the personality, what he did to Furukawa-san (2015-2018), the author’s a tsundere to me.

My point with this post is that it´s not strange or stupid that the manga creators/mangaka use the real people as models for their characters in the manga or based on themselves. It doesn't mean that characters are 100% like the authors, and have to be a warrior like Guts from Berserk. The author said “Guts' personality or his beliefs... I guess some of that comes from myself.” So did Asō sensei and Saiki about tsundere.

I hope this post will make you understand about mangaka and their characters. Thank you. ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡

Wanne read about how Asō sensei became a big fan (otaku) of Dempagumi.inc. Read below.

update June 2024

Another evidence that saiki is based on the author is asou sensei tweeted in July 2015「りさ推しよりの箱推しです！今日はライブです！」→ “My Oshi is the whole group, even though I prefer Risa a little more! Today is the live concert!”

2 months later Aiura appeared in manga chapter 162 assuming Saiki was her soulmate. 

I mean he made Saiki’s life like his real life by tricking people that Risa’s his oshi the same as tricking people to believe that Saiki was Aiura’s soulmate.  And lastly, but not least

The author made this art into the hidden cover of the last volume. I always say the cover of the last volume is the hints from the author. Normally, it shows who ends up with who. If something unclear, the cover might help 😊.

Look like the author did wrap up everything about saiki and Teruhashi are canon and him ❤️ his wife. Clearly see that saiki and teruhashi are based on aso-sensei and furukawa-san. He drew the same face expression and plus a hint on holding shoulder. Normally, saiki always has a grumpy face, but the author shows saiki is happy and smiles when Kokomi is with him and holds his shoulder unlike Aiura and Makoto hold his. Some manga ends with holding hands showing that they are a couple. At first I thought saiki holds Teruhashi hands (that’s why the author didn’t draw the full body of them), but it seems like the author gave a hint on holding shoulders instead. Well, doesn’t this show Saiki and Teruhashi are a couple for a gag manga?

Thanks for reading (*´▽`*)❀.

⛔️⛔️⛔️

This message below is for someone who claimed to be asō-sensei number 1 fan and posted about me. The rest of you please ignore this.

I hope you get to know the author better and find it interesting, rather than saying misinformation without sources and lying to others because you have no knowledge and no information about manga. Real people are models for/based on manga characters existed before you were even born. Shocking? This has never happened before. Still think this information isn´t credible? And want the the author to admit or deny that he and his wife based on Saiki and Teruhashi. Good luck with that, a tsundere like him who never told/said Furukawa-san his feelings online (direct way) until they announced their marriage. He isn't a criminal he has to accept or refuse this if he doesn't want to. The author never said about it, but it doesn’t mean his wife and coworkers wouldn’t say anything. I’d rather believe his wife and coworker than you. The one who knows nothing about the author is you. How could you claim to be a big fan of the author? You believe info from his wife and coworkers were not good enough. You don’t even listen and respect his wife and coworkers. On top of that you spread this information from his wife and colleagues are misinformed (your belief are based on what? Your favorite headcanon?) Next time, please find info by yourself before accusing others, so you can learn about Japanese or practice your Japanese language. Didn’t you say so?

I asked you about did you read what Japanese people said about him and what his wife said, but you avoided to answer it for 3 days because you couldn’t answer it. Then meow’s blog who also believed you deleted my comments. I wonder why they believed you without sources. Because you claimed to be a fan of the author? Anyways, your comment about “nope 1. misinfo 2. hella fucking weird compare these two.” was delete after I posted this. Did you delete it? Huh?

I thought I did make it clear about last two post and I thought I didn’t need to write more about it. This story seems so exaggerate and hard to believe. So some people think they know about the author and think it´s misinfo. Please don’t judge Japanese manga with your different background/culture, but try to understand it. You asked for souces, I gave you. Where are your sources saying misinfo, or you are full of bias? Huh?

When you disliked someone’s (especially my) posts and comments, you disproved it by using the excuses like You dont know the author or you are not the author. Please remember even I pointed out the author drew Toritsuka´s hair pink in chapter 73 and explained that he’s Aiura´s soulmate in the 1st post. You didn’t even accept Reita x Mikoto and the evidence from the author. You are in denial bro. So don't mention the author as an excuse for debate. Please use logic and respect the authors decision rather than using your emotion in making judgments. There are much more you have to learn about japanese manga. Please keep an open mind.

You are right about running around with the big #1 Asou-sensei Fan, but "even jokes like that stink with entitlement. Please have some self awareness. You arent shuuichi asou, opinion disregarded”

Look who’s talking!

I don’t mind about your headcanon, but I do mind the way you wrote about me and your excuses. On the other hand, if I hadn’t read your rant about me on tumblr …. I wouldn’t write this post. THANK YOU 😉

[keru0]

Profile Tag Game!!

Hello - Hey! You can call me Kei or Keru. I was tagged by @lovelynim and since I really haven't said a lot about myself on here, this seems like the perfect opportunity to, no?

Chat: Tickling - Hm? What's with my obsession with tickling, you ask? Well, there's a few ways I could answer this... Well, let's just say I see it as just another form of physical affection. Just like other forms, I think it can be both intimate and non-intimate, romantic and platonic, just depends on my mood and who I'm with! But why I like it? Seeing those you love so carefree and laughing is something anyone would like, right?

Chat: Writing - I think one of my biggest flaws is that so much goes on in my brain but I have so little motivation. Putting my thoughts on paper just takes a lot out of me, y'know? But that's not to say I dislike it, I just have to take a little more time than most.

When It Rains - Ah, I love the rain so much...at least from inside. The sound of it hitting the window, the low rumble of thunder. It all just gets me in a cozy mood, but you won't see me outside.

When It Snows - It snowing?! By far the best weather in my opinion. Being bundled in clothes and blankets, the sun shining and glittering on the snow? It's so pretty! It's a shame the weather here tends to fluctuate too much for it to stay for longer than a week, though.

When the Sun Is Out - Ugh it's so bright and hot. Can't we go back inside with the air conditioning?

When the Wind is Blowing - Ah, such a nice break from the heat!

Good Morning - Ugh, just a few more minutes...

Good Afternoon - Wanna go grab lunch with me? I heard there's a new sushi place that just opened down the street! Oh? You're not a big fan of sushi? That's fine, you pick instead!

Good Evening - The sun is finally going down! Time to relax...

Good Night - Hm? Why am I still awake? Don't mind me, I just tend to feel more productive at night. Do you want me to be quieter? No need? Alright, go back to sleep. Rest easy.

About me: Music - I find that music tells you more about a person than anything else. Just one look at their playlists and recently played songs and I can tell how their feeling and what they like in a heartbeat! Plus, music just helps me relax, so why wouldn't I like it?

Something to Share: Shyness - I've been shy pretty much all my life. What does that technically mean? Well let's just say I have a really hard time starting conversations. But if others start the conversation then I feel much more comfortable, so feel free to talk to me anytime, I don't mind!

My Troubles - It just seems like there's so much I want to do but there's so little time... I guess I'll just have to try to make the most of it!

Favorite Food - Um...I can't say I really have a favorite, but I do like meat! It can go in pretty much any savory dish, and the variety of textures and tastes you can add to it just seem never-ending! And when you combine it with pasta? Mmm, delicious!

Least Favorite Food - Listen, I have my fair share of foods I don't like too much. Raw tomatoes, raw celery, vinegar... but I just cannot for the life of me figure out why people like pickles. They're crunchy and soft, somehow sweet and sour? Yeah, no thanks.

About @chibimochii - Mochi is probably the first friend I made in the community, and I couldn't be more happy about it! I had been around in tumblr for a few years before I made my blog, but he's the first person I interacted with. He's a really nice guy and his art is always just *muah* so cute! Defiantly visit his blog, you won't be disappointed!

About @ticklystuff - I haven't interacted with him a ton, but he's a pretty cool guy! I think we really bonded most over out shared obsession with fictional men, though.

About @undercovergamer - We have pretty regular discussions over out shared love of Itto, and who could blame us? The guy is really loveable! He sends a ton of fanfics to me, which I am so grateful for!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

I'm gonna go ahead and tag @chibimochii, @ticklystuff, @undercovergamer, and @italeean for this game! Of course, if anyone else wishes to join in, go ahead!

[digitalworldbound]

day five: alternate universe

a studio ghibli au where hikari is an only child and her mother has passed. luckily, the neighborhood boys offer to help find her.

The floorboards creaked under her socked feet, soot covering the once pristine cotton. Hikari didn’t care if her clothes got dirty, but she didn’t want to give her father another reason to fret over her.

Cardboard boxes littered the hallway. Despite moving in a week prior, neither her or her father had the motivation or strength to pry open memories. Instead, Hikari stacked the boxes in a makeshift castle. One day, she hoped that their Queen would find her way home.

But she had been there to see her mother’s coffin lower in the ground; she had held her father as he wept.

A bookbag hung mockingly in the kitchen. The first day of school, once the happiest day of Hikari’s life, now served as a reminder of yet another first her mother would miss. Her father slouched over the stove. Hikari couldn’t help but to feel responsible for the bags under his eyes. In between finalizing the funeral arrangements and moving across the country, he had little energy to spare for Hikari, much less himself.

A whiff of burnt eggs did little to calm her anxieties, but she stomached her breakfast like a dutiful daughter.

“See you later, dad.”

He gave a half-hearted wave as Hikari slipped out of the front door. For a moment, she considered staying home for another day. She could unpack her room and make sure that her father ate a decent lunch, but her silent wishes disappeared as a herd of boys clamoured down the dirt road. Their feet pounded the ground, a race in progress. Six bookbags struggled to maintain their grasps on little shoulders as the group ran down the road.

A raven-haired boy took the lead, navigating the rocks and potholes with a practiced ease.

From the end of her driveway, Hikari watched him draw nearer. Too focused on his impending victory, the boy failed to notice her as he stopped beside her.

“See, ‘Keru? I told you I could win!”

A head of sweaty, blond hair followed close behind. Once he caught his breath, he pushed his friend’s side. The victor erupted into giggles as he continued to antagonize his friend.

With a huff, the blond crossed his arms. His cheeks were still rosy from the wind, blue eyes bright with mirth. “That’s not fair, Ken! You got a head start!”

Before Ken was able to muster up a response, a second redhead stepped forward.

“Who are you?” An accusing finger hung in front of Hikari’s face. Six pairs of eyes, colored in surprised, focused on her. A flush crawled up her neck, her breath caught in her throat.

Her mother had taught her about the importance of a first impression, but any confidence Hikari had dissipated into the morning air. Her fingers had gone numb, palms clammy. A toe dug into the dirt, her eyes focusing on the path to school. They looked at her expectantly, eyes narrowed. Silence crackled like static, interrupted by impatience.

“She’s weird. Let’s go, Daisuke.” Ken pulled his mirror image along with him, scurrying away like frightened animals.

The others didn’t bother to stick around, chasing each other the rest of the way to school.

Hikari waited for their dust trail to settle before walking down the path. Anxiety welled into her stomach; her mother would be disappointed in her. A gentle gust of wind ruffled her bangs in reassurance.

Her feet carried her onward, further away from the comforts of her new house. The school building emerged from the meadow, a field of flowers surrounding it on either side. It reminded Hikari of the story books her father used to read to her before bedtime, back when his smile reached his eyes and her mother was there .

Throngs of children gathered like dandelion seeds on a breeze, rosy cheeks and kind smiles adorning most faces. The strange group of boys stood off to one side. Huddled in a circle, their eyes trailed her suspiciously as Hikari made her way into the building.

Her little hands clutched the straps of her bookbag, as if pulling it closer to her body would quench her worries.

Living amongst rice farmers and livestock had been her father’s choice. Hikari’s mother had been raised in the countryside, escaping into the city for her first taste of freedom. It was strange to think that her mother, headstrong and accomplished, had sat in this same room; studied at these same desks.

The room was large, accommodating for all of the children in the village. With the older kids staking their claim in the back, Hikari rushed to the last empty space.

A pair of large blue eyes gazed at her, fear puckering at their eyebrow. It was the blond boy from earlier, his cheeks still flushed from his loss. Hikari squirmed under his gaze.

His fear must have dissipated quickly. It was the only explanation Hikari had for the fingers that poked into her side between lessons.

“Psst. Psst, girl.”

Her pencil continued to scratch at her paper, dodging dirty looks from the other students. His fingers continued to dig into her sensitive side. Thin lips pursed as Hikari swallowed down the giggle that bubbled in her throat. It would be disrespectful to laugh while her teacher was talking, and she figured that disappointing her mother once already was enough.

Still, the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but to tilt upwards. Chocolate eyes danced around his cerulean ones, and his fingers stilled.

“My name’s Takeru. What’s yours?” Whispering came naturally to some while a sense of quiet evaded others. Hikari assumed that Takeru was a part of the latter, his voice bouncing off the walls.

Some luck must have been on her side. Their teacher had been distracted with the younger students, too encaptured in their homesick tears to hear the blond’s outburst.

“You need to be quiet or we’ll get in trouble,” she chastised. A crestfallen shadow danced across his features before the light returned to his eyes.

“But you never answered my question.” Takeru’s voice was more hushed than before - he was trying. A toothy grin was plastered on his cheeks, his eyes aglow with childish anticipation.

She slipped her given name through her teeth, turning her full attention towards the chalkboard.

Later, the late summer sun kissed her cheeks as school children began their trek home. Takeru rushed out behind her, looking more like a mother duck with five boys in tow than an elementary student.

“So, Hikari, since when did you live here?” Glasses glinting in the sunlight, it was difficult to see what the dark-haired boy was thinking. Several paces ahead, Hikari wracked her brain for his name. As soon as school ended, Takeru had wasted no time in introducing her to everyone. Their names swam around in her head, none of them sticking.

“My father and I moved here a few weeks ago.” She didn’t turn to them, nor did she offer any other explanation.

One of the boys scoffed. “Why’d you have to move here?” It must have been Ken, the one with angry eyebrows. Hikari stopped, turning to face him. “Well, it’s not like I had a choice. My dad just wanted a change of scenery ever since my mom went away.”

Iori’s sugary smile wilted, looking up towards the tallest of their group. “That’s sad. Right, Koushiro?”

He nodded while the others let silence wash over them. Pebbles crunched underneath them as they continued on. Wind whistled through the treetops, a babbling brook accompanying the group on their journey. Crickets chimed in harmony, the background music to a most auspicious moment.

“I know!” Takeru propelled himself beside her, arms flailing in excitement. “We can help you find your Mama!” Grabbing her wrist, he broke into a sprint. The air was warm as it ran through her short hair.

He guided them to the edge of woods. Trees stretched to the sky, their arms caressing the clouds. Hikari pulled herself out of Takeru’s grasp as the group followed him further into the forest. “Wait! Where are you going?”

Hikari could see her house just over the hill, her stomach twisting at the thought of going back to her boxed up home. The boys disappeared into the underbrush, their twinkling laughter chasing after them. Impulsively, she started after them, branches scratching at her cheeks. A stray root caught Hikari’s ankle. A pair of spindly arms caught her, Daisuke’s disgruntled expression greeting her.

“You should be more careful. I don’t want cooties.” He stuck his tongue out, weaving through the trees. It seemed as if the dust bunnies from her house had followed her here, dancing around the feet of her young companions. Cheerfully, the soot sprites lead them deeper.

The trees gave way to a clearing. Lush, green grass was bordered by wildflowers, the occasional bumble bee flitting around.

“This is exactly where a Momma would wait for her baby!” Takeru declared, a triumphant grin spread across his cheeks as if he had already won. The others seemed to agree, their chatter flowing freely amidst the tree trunks.

Boisterous plants sprouted at the meadow’s edge.With leaves as big as Iori himself, he found it no trouble to crawl underneath them. Using the hem of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his glasses, Jou peered over the tops of the bushes. “Is she under there, Iori?”

Poking his head out from between the leaves, Iori shook his head. “It’s too dark under here for a grown lady,” he paused for a moment, brown eyes glistening, “And it’s too dark for six-year-old boys.” His voice wavered, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. In an attempt to avoid the inevitable, Jou tugged Iori out of the brush.

Little soot sprites tangled themselves in his hair, chittering at the commotion. “C’mon, you know it’s rude to ask for a free ride.” Not even enchanted dust bunnies could argue with Jou’s logic. They cascaded down to the ground, tittering as their host swatted at his hair.

Daisuke couldn’t help but to laugh from the treeline, legs dangling off Koushiro’s shoulers. Being the tallest in the group came with a price, one that he happily paid anytime his friends needed him.

From this new vantage point, Daisuke scanned the branches for something. “Hey, Hikari!”

Koushiro’s grip tightened on his knees as the pair turned towards her.

Alone, in the middle of the lush grass, she looked like a fairy. If fairies wore ill-fitting Pokemon theme shirts, that is. She turned towards them, a question dancing in her eyes.

“Does your mom like climbing trees? Maybe she got stuck!” Daisuke almost gave himself a pat on the back; he was so smart!

With the leaves ruffling his cheeks, Daisuke’s attention was easily diverted. He signaled for Koushiro to take him deeper into the woods, much to Hikari’s relief. She didn’t have the heart to say it out loud.

Not too far from her, Ken sat amongst the wild blackberry bushes. His cheeks were swollen with fruit, lips stained purple. Hikari plopped herself down beside him. With his mouth full, he was less likely to ask questions she didn’t want to answer.

Ken’s attempt at speaking was obscured by the berries, a few stray escaping past his lips. Hikari couldn’t stop her laughter, a relief from the turmoil that bubbled in her stomach. Picking a few fresh from the vine, Ken offered his sticky palm, blackberries glistening on top.

“Thank you,” she said, tossing a few in her mouth. Takeru plopped himself between the two, taking two of Ken’s berries for his own. “Wow, these are good!”

True to his boisterous nature, Takeru’s voice reverberated through the meadow. Four curious heads turned before they, too, joined the impromptu picnic.

“Hikari, do you ever think you’ll find your momma?”

She wasn’t sure who asked the question. Cicadas carried on their twilight lullaby as the sun kissed the horizon in passing.

Fireflies began to twinkle at the treeline. Hikari looked up into six pairs of softened eyes. Though their curiosity rolled off of them like waves, none of them said anything else.

The grass was soft underneath her, the breeze caressing her cheek. “I’m sure I will, someday. But, for now, at least you guys keep me company.”

[dutchforstrangers]

EXTRA! DIGIWEEK DAY 5 - CROSSOVER

Let's do some headcanons, shall we? Last week @imaginedigimon posted these headcanons of a mixed Asian/Hispanic Sora and it led me to this:

In the Heights... I LOVE this musical so much <3 All the latino and dancing and vibing and yes! Here's the trailer:

And like I said, those mixed Asian/Hispanic headcanons gave me the reason to think of In the Heights x Digimon Adventure crossover headcanons. And what better day to write such a post than on Crossover day 5 of @digiweek! So here goes.

The story

The story here is basically the same. There's a guy (Usnavi) with a store, inherited from his deceased parents, who has this dream to go back to the land he was born in, thinking that's his dream. However he was raised on this block in this city he's living in now, so eventually he's torn between leaving or staying. Simultaneously all the other characters have their own aspirations and dreams, but they shouldn't forget where they came from. That's the main theme and story, the characters will be quite the same from the movie/musical, but with some changes here and there suiting the Chosen Children and the relationships between them (for now I will only cover the 8 Digimon Adventure 01 crew members).

I want the set up to be a little different though. So it's not like a latino block on the Island Manhattan in NYC, but it's more like a city or village on it's own. Something like Big Hero 6's 'San Fransokyo'... Maybe 'Santo Dotokyo'? Could be. Anyway, it's a mix of Latino and Japan (that's actually a very weird combination. I like it!).

How about pairings you may ask?? You'll find out when you proceed reading ;D

The characters

Usnavi / Taichi Yagami: Of course my boy is the lead! He's smooth yet awkward, fierce yet cute, determined yet clueless. Sounds like our goggle headed fella right? So Taichi owns the store, like a true work-a-holic works very very hard. He's friendly, always supporting and beaming positivity. He knows the whole community and the whole community knows him, everyone well aware of his father's dream to patch up the bar on the exotic island they came from. Taichi though is still figuring out his dream and is torn between staying for the community (and his love interest...) or leaving for his (father's?) dream. Plus let's not forget he has some very serious salsa skills like a true latino! The dancing is on, gosh how much I love my Taichi swaying...

Nina / Hikari Yagami: Taichi's younger sister, kind and innocent, who followed their mother's dream to study abroad. The community believed in her and fully supported her like the little light she is, she being the first one to 'make it out'. However during her time abroad she starts to feel lonely and left out, gets homesick and travels back to her hometown and brother with the idea to never go back abroad. Though she just needs the courage to go through and that convincing might come from her community, her brother and her lover.......

Sonny / Koushiro Izumi: In this universe Koushiro, who works with Taichi in the shop, is a 'cousin' from Taichi and Hikari! He has been abandoned by his own mother -who probably was someone with a drug addict- but then he was taken in by Taichi's and Hikari's aunt and uncle..! Yes, this makes Kae a blood relative to Taichi and Hikari, being Yuuko's sister (I love that idea, although it makes both Taishiro and Koukari impossible...). Koushiro is a smart kid, quiet, but always there with his words right on time. He wants to go to college or university badly, the smart kid he is, but because he was never officially adopted and therefore isn't fully registered, his chances are low... Taichi and the community might be of help here.

Vanessa / Sora Takenouchi: WEPA VANESSA SORA! In the musical Vanessa aspires to become a fashion designer. Oh hey, that's such a Sora! Where Hikari wants to come home, Sora desperately wants to leave everything behind to start anew. She works in Mimi's beauty salon only to make money so she can move to a bigger city. It's kind of like a rebellion against her traditional mother who wants her to stay in the community and take over the flower shop. However she might be staying as fashion inspiration can also come from within the community and a certain someone she loves *cough*Taichi*cough*, but doesn't want to admit (this is a very self indulgent Taiora AU thank you very much).

Daniela / Mimi Tachikawa: The salon lady! Or boss is better. She is an entrepreneur pur sang and makes sure everyone looks good with beautiful nails and shiny hair! She's fierce, doesn't take no for an answer (no nonsense policy yup) and always has her eyes and ears open. And her mouth too, because the girl looooooves to gossip! Especially with her two salon companions (from which one HAS to be Miyako -and yes Mimi and Miyako are the lesbian couple-), ¡No me diga! Also: she absolutely loves to tease employee Sora by telling untrue rumors about Taichi just to see how Sora reacts. So sly Meems.

Benny / Takeru Takaishi: This might come as a surprise, because to be honest Taichi would fit Benny so well. But I went for Takeru as Benny, because Takeru can be just as smooth -and kinda sly-. Takeru is one of Taichi's best friends if not thé best friend (I love to explore that dynamic)! A best friend with a love interest in the best friend's sister a.k.a. Hikari. They are secret lovers who are not as secretly in love (Nina Kari and Benny Keru sitting in a tree... k i s s i n g) as they think they are. Takeru works across the street in a record store (yes, this is a big difference from the musical itself) where he takes over the community radio station in the morning. There he has a story telling podcast, telling fictional stories based on the stories of the community (Mimi always informs him with the latest gossip). Eventually he wants to go to college, just like Hikari studies abroad, to become a writer.

(Graffiti) Pete / Yamato Ishida: This is even more of a stretch, but bear with me! Graffiti Pete is a true artistic lone wolf! Spraying art on walls through the whole city and it's absolutely fabulous. He's Takeru's older brother, but was raised by his father after their parents splitted up, and also friends with the gang. Though he may have made some art on the window shutters from Taichi's shop... However, Yamato is not only a graffiti artist, he's also a musician, always 'borrowing' stealing records from the shop Takeru is working. Yamato is just a very mysterious guy, but also a very nice friend with artistic and deep emotional help from unexpected corners.

Piragüero / Jyou Kido: Haha okay, this is weird..! Actually this is great role for Daisuke, but because we're here giving the roles to the Adventure 01 cast, this one goes to Jyou. Simply because piragua (which is shaved ice) guy has a heart of gold and is super reliable, one of the oldest ones on the block, one who has seen it all. He's also a bit silly, doing this horrible work on the street, while he failed to become a doctor (so sad), but he brings joy to others! And also great advice, especially when it comes to following dreams no matter how big or small. Jyou is the one who doesn't let you forget where you came from!

And there are so many more headcanons I could come up with, so this might gets a continuation eventually. But for now, this is it (:

[aymar-lounox]

So when will the next burst chapter drop? Thanks in advance for answering

Annnnnnnnnnnnd that’s 5!

TL;DR: Ok so, more Burstale. when? most likely, never. at least from my side lol

For more talk feel free to go down~

I was gonna make a long “sorry guys…” and stuff, but honestly I don’t feel like owing anything to anyone, BUT I will definitely say “Thank you and I can’t stress that enough.

I’ve had quite the fun time during those 2 and crumbs years! I’m of course sad that all those efforts, time and stuff didn’t make it for all of us to see the ending of the story, we had approximately 1 and a half chapter left to be made! so close! yet so far! But it’s alright!

For the why and stuff, since i know some are probably curious, I will just tell you that working with someone isn’t easy at all, you do shit, they do shit, and it goes on, which is honestly fine, it’s bound to happen, and when i say “shit” I mean disagreements and mistakes, BUT(t) there are basic, general, elementary, pillars that allow a team to prosper and grow, so I’ll share with you what i believe are those pillars and how my first experience working with someone went:

- RESPECT: in a team, or at least in a collaboration, both parts(or more than 2 I guess?) MUST respect each other, don’t look down on your partners even if you are more skilled, otherwise it will fall tremendously fast lol in my case I would say I gladly never had this problem, never really felt disrespected!!

- GOALS: in order to make a good team, you both need to have the same goal, or at least a goal that aligns and goes on the same direction as your partner’s, if one is on something and the other is on something completely different it will definitely create problems, here too I can happily say, it didn’t affect our team much~

- MOTIVATION: Eyy- that’s a hard one, since we are different persons, our motivations, their intensity, and longevity, varies A LOT. the “GOALS” can serve as initial fuel, but will definitely weaken with time, there are things that are general motivators, MONEY for exemple, COMMENTS, LIKES, and stuff like those, the hardest is when one or few ppl of the team gets demotivated while the others still have some juice, in my case or let’s say in our team’s case, I would say that we weren’t too far off from each other, I definitely felt being far more obstinate though.

- COMMUNICATION: THE FINAL BOSS - Obviously. a team has to communicate correctly, respectfully, directly and clearly, in my case I suffered heavily from that, because even if you THINK you are being clear, it’s not about how you see yourself but how your partners do, judge yourself as strictly as your judge your teammates- no- even harder! always keep the possibility of you being the one mistaken BUT BUT BUT you MUST set limits, which are hard to determine but necessary. communication needs at least 2 sides, and sometimes, even if you TRY YOUR DAMN BEST AT COMMUNICATING, it will happen that none of that will reach your partner(s). this is a team bound to fall. 

- RULES & DEADLINES: THE 2nd (True) FINAL BOSS - In order for a team to remain productive, rules are a must. rules don’t have to be a 172 pages ledger, it can be as simple as one line that says “k, we‘ll do stuff, every uh… 4 months” as long as both parties agree on the terms that they are “supposed” to follow, the rules must also be LENIENT as to allow for mistakes, lost of motivations, LIFE, because we all know that hoe doesn’t ask anyone for anyshit when it has you in it’s visor; and that was our BIGGEST problem. I personally value deadlines like crazy and the very very few times i allowed myself to step over them was most of the time for quality improvements, my partner, even though very competent, saw things differently I guess, no matter the rules that I tried to set, no matter the amount of time given, no matter the changes in the process, NONE of that worked for a very long time, whether it was the rules fault or the divergence in point of views, it doesn’t matter, in the end it was the deathblow to our team.

I wanna point that I’m not putting the blame on my partner, what I think of them concerns only me, and if you hear the story from the other side you would probably see things from a different perspective, no one is perfect, but there are ppl who work better in teams than others.

In the end, it was nice, thank you all for sticking, thanks to @keru-the-green i had a total blast for as long as it went, and maybe it’s not actually the end lol, but honestly I’ll be telling the few who still follow the comic, “to not get your hopes up” because “I STRONGLY doubt this project will ever see a continuation or even a proper end”.

So, bye! MaTchi out~ 

[artandsandwiches]

So I’m posting this now! I wanted to write something based on the ask universe that @askbeelzebub mod started. The entire thing isn’t finished yet but I wanted to post the first part. It’s approximately 750 words? I dunno, word counts are the bane of my existence.

Enjoy!

Also tagging @askarchangelgabriel and @ask-the-ineffable-being since their muses are in this too

Beelzebub and Gabriel had already been planning their date for an hour when Damien came up with the idea of a playdate with Kerubiel. At first, the idea didn’t sound feasible, at least for that day. After all, Adam was supposed to be watching Damien, and they didn’t want to get him too stressed by suddenly adding another kid. But after an elated response from Gabriel, a convenient message from God, which had been about Kerubiel also coincidentally wanting a playdate with her young nephew, and a perfected pleading stare from Damien, they relented. Looks like Belphegor rubbed off on him almost as much as Levi did.

It was about ten minutes after Beelzebub confirmed with both Adam and God that the playdate was happening that Adam arrived, teleporting with a flash of Adam-shaped light and the crack of a broken teleportation orb. And it was just as quickly when Damien practically yanked him away to go play with him upstairs. Kerubiel arrived in a slow explosion of light just a moment later, spinning into the cottage with all the flair of a Disney princess. She was wearing a white dress with a skirt embroidered with billowing winter winds, which, knowing God, may have actually been billowing winter winds. Her hair had been put up into braids, which were each tied off with a pair of large crystal glittering beads. Upon fully appearing in the cottage, she stopped directly facing Beelzebub and Gabriel, the embroidered design on her skirt spinning and settling like a snowglobe.

Kerubiel bowed dramatically, popping back up with a loud “Ta-dah!”

“Nice entrance,” Beelzebub commented, clapping.

“And what a lovely dress too!” Gabriel exclaimed. His applause was a lot more enthusiastic, which prompted Kerubiel to give a slight curtsey.

“Of course! It was my birthday gift!” Kerubiel exclaimed, swishing the skirt again as the embroidery shifted once more, “and Mom let me come down here all by myself, so I had to give an entrance!”

“Bravo!”

“Well done,” Beelzebub smiled at her, then called out, “Adam! Damien! Kerubiel’s here!”

“Keru!” The thundering footsteps down the stairs that would eventually be Damien launching himself full force at Kerubiel screamed. He lifted her into the air, ignoring Beelzebub’s worried yelps of “careful!” and “Damien please stop running down the stairs!”

“Hi!” Kerubiel laughed, then looked at Adam, who had just gotten down the stairs, a thick band of scaly green wrapped around his hand, she nodded and beamed at them, “hi Adam! Hi Snekmodeus!”

“Snekmodeus!” Damien released her, then went and grabbed the snake from Adam, gently of course, as he’d been taught to, “did you want to hold him?”

The gasp Kerubiel gave in response was enough for Damien, as he let the snake wrap its way from his hand to hers. Beelzebub watched the exchange, a fond smile on their face despite themselves. They hardly even noticed the arms wrapping around them from behind until they found themselves gently tugged into an embrace of warmth and lavender.

“See? They’ll have a great time,” Gabriel reassured them, though from their perspective there was little to reassure, “Adam’s what, 16? He’s more than capable of watching them for a few hours.”

Beelzebub leaned backward against his chest, gently rubbing the pad of their thumb against the smooth rings that adorned Gabriel’s left hand. “I know,” they said, voice low, almost like a whisper, “I’m still going to worry though. It’s my job.”

“Well, we’ll have fun, and they’ll have fun, and they’ll be so tired out that by the time we come back all that’s left to do is tuck them in, alright?” He muttered, pressing a kiss to their hair.

Beelzebub chuckled, “if you say so,” they directed their attention toward the kids, moving to a voice loud enough to grab their focus, “alright kids. We’ll be back in a few hours. Adam, feel free to order a pizza, just tell me how much it was so I can repay you. Also please make sure Damien and Kerubiel don’t stay up too late. Grandma will be by after we come back to pick up Kerubiel, alright?”

“Got it, thanks mum!” Adam exclaimed.

“I trust you three won’t get into trouble while I’m gone,” they raised a knowing eyebrow at Adam, who sheepishly looked away, “and don’t answer the door for anyone you don’t expect! I love you!”

“Love you too, mum.”

“Bye mum!”

“Bye Beelzebub!”

With that, Beelzebub and Gabriel left, the front door closing behind them, and the momentary flash of light that followed told the three that they truly had the house to themselves now.

[keruworld]

I was tagged by my @blackthornhiei. Thank you dear, better do it when i can.

Rules: Answer the questions and tag 20 (however many you really want) in return.

1. Nickname: Keru

2. Zodiac: Gemini

3. Height: I dont remember well, but i think 1.65 mt.

4. Age: 31

5. Time: 11:00 pm

6. Fav Bands/Artists: Spyair, Flumpool, Radwimps, Nell etc... i tend to listen music of japanese bands or artist, usually rock, alittle of pop, there are some few korean bands that i like... and chinese too.

7. Song stuck in my head: Asobi asobase opening (i was watching that anime with my brother).

8. Last Movie I saw:  I think it was Godzilla King of Monsters.

9. Last Thing I Googled: Probably was a word for write it correctly. Im not so good with orthography.

10. Other Blogs: I don’t have other blogs.

11. Do I Get Asks: I dont get so much... but Im open to it.

12. Why I Chose My Username:  Because my nickname.

13. Following:  I usually follow toku/dramas/actors related blogs, friends and artist.

14. Average Anmount Of Sleep: Generally 8 hours. (if i dont i become sleepy all day)

15. Lucky Number: i don't know if is a lucky number, but i like the eight. looks like the infinity symbol.

16. What I’m Wearing: comfy t shirt and leggins.

17. Dream Job:  Its difficult but i guess i'm living my dream job. I'm trying to form an independent publisher of comics here in my country, were there are not a culture of reading, more less a culture of comics. I don’t know if im gona make it, or if is the most smarter thing to do... but i will die trying for sure.

18. Dream Trip:  Japan, to a concert of spyair... and making a tour to toei’s studios and Tsuburaya’s.

19. Favourite Food:  Pupusas and pizza.

20: Play Instruments:  None.

21. Favourite Song: Probably one of Spyair. I like the 99% of their songs, but if i have to choose, it must be Bautiful Days.

22. Play(ed) any Sports: Im not good in sports, but in the school i liked to play basketball.

23. Hair Colour:  dark brown, but i have tinted my hair into red brown.

24. Eye Colour:  Dark brown eyes

25. Most Iconic Song: I really don’t know what it means by ICONIC, but may be La Calle de las Sirenas of an old mexican band. When i was little i loved that song and i still love it.

26. Languages You Speak:  Spanish and English (may be a little of japanese)

27. Random Fact: I like some bollywood movies, choreographies, dances, hindu fashion. And i love hindu mythology. I grown with their stories and ideas. So they feel like home to me. They are awesome. I consider India my second mother country beacuse of that.

28. Describe Yourself as Asthetics/things:  mangas/comics, toku related stuff and drawings?!

I tag @narashikari @diamond-night @iris-14cheonsa @philipsgaiamemories and everyone that want to do it.

[patronsaintofmanchester]

Show us the angel you

What, you mean caribou?

It’s Keruvael. Stop making fun of me or I’m not going to play. :(

Kerosene.

I don’t like this game.

Oh, come on, just say hi already.

“Hi already.”

… This was an awful idea.

[ryuukia]

[Translation] Tsukiuta. -if- Black Rabbits Kingdom Booklet Novel: Morning

It’s that time of the year when I go back to Rabbits Kingdom (I know, I postponed this so much ;;;;). Ruby and me agreed to split the novels, I take black, she takes white (in theory...... we’ll see in the future if we stick to this)

Anyway, the booklet has three chapters: morning, noon and afternoon. So here we have ‘morning’ featuring Kakeru and Hajime~

Special thanks to @ryota-kunstranslations and @moonlit-manifesto for assistance and proofreading.

Please don’t repost/reuse my translations! Enjoy~

Slowly, I realized my consciousness was coming to the surface.

Passing from total darkness, and little by little, flowing towards a white light.

—— Ah, it’s morning.

As a bird’s chirps started to resound clearly in the background, I opened my eyes.

“Good morninggg!”

I left my chamber energetically and the soldier standing at the corridor returned my greetings with a “morning” just as he smiled.

It’s easy for me to think that something so trivial can make me feel a little more lucky.

While walking in high spirits down the corridor illuminated by the bright morning sun that passed through the large windows, I suddenly remembered my partner's words.

I prepared my outfit, and by the time I left my chamber it was still early.

The astonished pink haired male asked me, “How did you do it so fast!?” and even added “Have you properly washed your face?”. Such impolite words deserved the light step I dropped on his feet as an answer.

(Was I that quick? For me it felt like the usual though)

The time it takes for me to crawl out of bed and actually leave my chamber is around 15 minutes.

If that is quick, how long does it normally take for someone else to do it?

I continued walking while thinking to myself and before long, I reached a remarkably fine…... giant door, one that’s so huge it seemed to almost touch the ceiling.

This door adorned with black luster and reflecting the morning sun’s rays is made of magical morion (black quartz), and its curse prevents those who possess wicked hearts from opening it.

Fortunately, I’ve always been able to open it, and the maids, too, can open and shut it with even one hand despite it being made of stone, which only confirms there’s an unusual power flowing through it.

On the other side of this magical door, the master of this castle is in a deep slumber.

“......”

Unconsciously, I stretched my back and straightened my neck from the respect and fear that rises up inside me as if by instinct as soon as I feel the presence from beyond the door.

And yet, each morning is the same.

“...... haa……”

I took in one deep breath.

The moment my eyes gaze up at that black door, I see an expression of nervousness reflected on it. I slap my cheek because I think that I shouldn’t show that kind of face.

I have to smile, be lively, and face forward.

That’s always been my motto and something I desperately wished I could do right in that moment.

I try to compose myself again and place my hand on the door.

(——Well then, I’m going in!)

“Good morning! Hajime-san, it’s morning!!!”

No answer!

Nevertheless I step inside the room without concern. That is my job after all.

I approach the giant bed placed in the middle of the room and set my sights on the mountain of sheets by the window.

From that position, the morning sun hits my face directly. Maybe from the front the light is not that strong?

Whenever I think about that, it’s enough to merely see his pleased sleeping face and the answer is already obvious, thus I never question further.

He looks like a cat basking in the sun……While thinking of whether I was to commit a disrespectful sin, I reached out my hand towards the mountain of sheets and… gently placed it on the sleeping person’s shoulder.

“Hajime-san! It’s morning~?”

“...... nn……”

His ears twitched. The same ears that belong to this exceptional rabbit. Glossy, black, and covered by a splendid layer of fur. Yes, those very ears.

I’m a little jealous…… but I try not to think about it.

At the end of the day, my ears are renowned for being cute. Probably.

(...... Also, praising him is only natural)

Despite being somewhat of a cat person, this man…… the owner of this room, is the ‘king’ of this Kingdom of Black Rabbits.

This black rabbit ought to be praised more so than anyone else. That includes his fur too. And his figure.

As I huffed and puffed without even knowing why, I called out to the king that doesn’t want to be called king.

“Hajime-san, please wake u~p”

“...... Ka, keru……?”

“Yes, Hajime-san. It’s Kakeru, your personal attendant, and the one in charge of waking you up in the morning. I’m sorry to disturb you from what seemed like a pleasant sleep, but you have a meeting to attend this morning. Please wake up soon.”

“......”

“...... No, no, no, please don’t go under the……”

Sometimes, his sleeping is so vulgar…...No, even with his love for sleep, he’s a gentle yet strong king, and I love him.

There isn't anyone who could dislike such a person who rules over towns filled with smiles and liveliness, someone who makes the soil brim with life, among other things.

I heard a bird’s voice as if it were supporting the very idea I was thinking of.

It’s the same bird that woke me up in the morning, isn’t it?

The one who taught me that those chirps could only be heard in the spring when the birds are falling in love was the fearsome, and very wise, Prime Minister.

There’s no mistaking it, right now there must be piles of documents in his room.

I know I’m not supposed to be saying this, but seeing the king opposing resistance just like a child, I ended up smiling unwittingly.

“It’s useless to keep going on like this, Hajime-san. Today’s meeting will be all about the budget for the next fiscal year, remember? It’s the prime-minister’s…… Haru-san’s favourite topic. You cannot run away.”

“......”

I could hear a sigh coming from the mountain of sheets.

Hajime-san eventually gave in, thus I couldn’t help but smile again and smooth my chest with a hand as a reluctant expression made its way across his face.

I took a clean and fluffy pure-white towel from the top-most drawer and embedded some of my powers into it.

‘A small blessing’

That is my ability.

May this small fortune bless the busy you even just a little.

It’s a rare, and if I must say, cool ability that can tap into the Wheel of Fortune.

Realistically speaking, this ability’s effects don’t really stand out in daily life.

For instance, you could find your favourite flowers when you go in the courtyard.

Or the piece of pie you receive for lunch could be slightly bigger.

People say that just having this ability is lucky enough, but if it’s something that I can use for the king, I wish that it could’ve been a more practical or useful skill.

However, for some reason, the king seems to like it that way.

I can prove it now too, just look.

“If I may, I shall wipe your face now.”

“You’re going to place a good luck charm while you’re at it, aren’t you? Thank you, Kakeru.”

His amethyst-like eyes narrowed a bit.

I knew better than anyone that his eyes weren't such a big charm point, but somehow I still got embarrassed.

So I changed the topic as fast as I could.

“Haru-san is expected to rush in carrying official papers at any moment. I’m sure you know he’s extremely eager when it comes to these kinds of things. Today, during tax collection in the city, we got into a fight with some merchants since we found out they’ve been evading their taxes…… No, it was more like they got angry when we came to collect their taxes. That sort of huge commotion seemed like something that could only happen in dreams, but he seemed to be happy about it.”

“That guy is really…...well, good grief.”

It seems Hajime-san here, who is murmuring under his breath, and Prime Minister Haru-san have been acquaintances since childhood. During Hajime-san’s sixth birthday, it was revealed that Hajime-san was to become [King] and so, he was taken to the castle.

After that, on Haru-san’s 13th birthday it was revealed that Haru-san would be named prime-minister and soon enter the castle.

Although the two of them were already friends before they were taken to the castle, it appears that both of them moved around rather independently and rarely did anything together.

Actually, Hajime-san only knew Haru-san’s first name.

The moment they accepted their roles as [King] and [Prime Minister], what they knew to be their last names disappeared, and only their first names were retained. In any case, that seemed to be enough.

“When we heard a mysterious voice from Heaven, we lost our [individual selves] and in turn, we became [a part of the earth] and it seems that we were given special powers.”

The words Haru-san said one day in the middle of chatting with him have become strangely etched into my mind.

‘......Aren’t you lonely?”

I feel like I remember asking that question.

(......and what did Haru-san answer?)

Just as I was recalling the good old days, a warm hand stroked my head gently and I was suddenly brought back to reality.

“What happened to your lively partner? Is he oversleeping today?”

“Ahaha, no no. Koi’s been working hard since early this morning. Haru-san has entrusted him with the summons for the meeting I mentioned earlier. It’s an important task, so he was enthusiastic to meet the merchants face-to-face.”

“I see.”

He quickly withdrew his hand but, in its place was left a strange warmth, and I knew then that a calming power was flowing inside me.

‘Great Blessing’

It’s the higher-ranked version of the ability I possess. It’s a type of blessing with a higher range and effectiveness, similar to a goddess’s blessings that affects even the strings of fate itself as well as natural phenomena.

To think that I used my abilities on the King’s face while I received the same kind of blessing was enough to make my face light up.

It’s ‘cause I knew that this kind of ability I used on Hajime-san was the type that’s activated unconsciously.

The power that I use always seems to affect the people around me, albeit doing so unconsciously. Nevertheless, it appears they’re happily satisfied.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt this proudly happy before.

That's why, in order to support the king as best as I can, I take into consideration everything from everyday tasks to various other things……but that is not such a big deal.

I kept quiet and admired his profile as if I were in a daze.

“The weather is nice today.”

“Yes. According to the meteorologist, it’s going to be sunny the entire day. The sunshine is nice and warm, perfect for going outdoors.”

“Outdoors, huh? And here we are shutting ourselves inside because of a meeting.”

“That’s right…… Ah, but I’m certain there’s nothing scheduled in the afternoon. If that’s the case, let’s have a tea ceremony in the courtyard! I can ask Aoi-san to bake that delicious pie that Hajime-san like. With lots of fruits stuffed in it.

“Kakeru…… you can’t use the ‘prince’ as a replacement for the maids.”

Hajime-san smiled bitterly, and for a tiny moment his magnificent ears seemed to tighten up, something a capable personal attendant such as myself cannot miss.

In that moment I decided with all my heart to finish my morning duties as early as possible and persuade Aoi-san to bake that pie more than anything.

“However, Haru must be really serious if he dragged Koi out of his room in the morning for the sake of this meeting. Koi is a sleepyhead after all. He…… truly loves this kind of work, doesn’t he?”

“Indeed. To him, it seems like it’s a natural choice to force an unwilling person to give up what’s supposed to be… No, he’s told me that it’s quite a daunting task to collect the taxes but… from my perspective, it looks like he’s enjoying the process to the fullest.”

“...... I can’t…… disagree with that.”

“Right?”

Hajime-san and I smiled bitterly almost as if both of us were remembering the same image of a smiling Haru-san.

“U-um… I think him showing mercy is impo-- Has he always been the dependable type?”

“You don’t have to correct yourself all the time, you know? 'Has he always been…’ Huh…”

Hajime-san’s gaze looked distant for a while.

I don’t know what that gaze means, but it certainly must be from a gentle memory.

That was the kind of expression he was making.

“I wonder. I feel like he had a much more lovable nature back then… But, in any case, it was a memory from when we were kids. It might sound glorified but I’m not confident about it.”

“Ahaha, it’s strange for Hajime-san to be unsure about something.”

“When I look at him now, I lose my confidence.”

Hajime-san got off the bed and onto his feet.

As he stood there in a dignified manner, the glowing rays of the morning sun that illuminated his form made the king seem like he was part of a grandiose painting.

When you see that form of his, even if you don’t want to, you just end up sighing unconsciously.

Maybe that’s the reason why the king is the king.

I just showed an expression that makes it look like I’m not aware. And just like when I first entered the room, I unconsciously placed my hands on my hips.

“Well then, Hajime-san, please enter the next room before Haru-san comes in. Your change of clothes is prepared!”

“I get it, I get it. … … sigh……”

“Enough already, I asked you to wake up!”

The person that people will follow without hesitation is the strongest, noblest, and gentlest king this country has ever had.

I am the personal attendant of that person.

I reflect once more about the joys of being able to work for him today.

“I'm not good with mornings.”

“You always say that.”

All right, another day has begun.

[multifaceted-diamond]

A Strong Connection!

That night, I had a dream that I would never forget. It was sunset, and I found myself in a meadow of red flowers. The wind blew, lifting a few petals off the ground and into the air, several forming a large tornado. Suddenly, the pink sky turned a vibrant red as the red petals seemed to blear with the white wind, turning the tornado into a firestorm. Rather than be sacred however, I was intrigued, especially with how the fire didn’t burn me. As the firestorm got bigger, throught it I saw a familiar pair of eyes looking at me. Soon, the firestorm engulfed me, revealing to me what was looking at me from the inside. It was a large, nine tailed fox! It had firey orange fur with white flames at the end of each tail. “Are you ready?” the fox asked in a rough, growling voice. “R-ready?” I asked, bewildered but still not scared. “When our eyes first met, I sensed your hesitation.” he explained. My eyes widened. He must’ve meant my hesitation to start beyblading again. “You’ve no need for doubt.” he said, grabbing my attention. “All you need to do have faith. In my power, and in yours.” “My power?” I asked, confused. Before I could ask more questions, the fox’s body turned into pure fire and started to dissipate as the red sky turned back to normal. “Who are you?” I asked the disappearing fox. “Hbkal Hfqprkb” The fox answered as he completely vanished. When I woke up, I looked to my bedside table and saw my new bey and I recognized the canine face and nine tails on it. Somehow I knew this bey was connected to the fox in my dream. Suddenly, for some reason I understood what the fox said before he vanished. It was the bey’s name. His name. ”Kendo Kitsune.”

I thought about my dream as I arrived at school. My first class was with Valt. I sat between him and a boy with bright red eyes and white hair. I recognized him as Shu Kurenai, one of the best bladers in Japan. Back in America, he made me learn about all the best bladers in every nation. He seemed especially interested in Shu. After class, Valt introduced us and told me that they knew each other since they were little. I was slighty surprised by that. Shu was known for being cool and collected, while Valt was loud and energetic. It was actually kind of touching that they were friends at all, let alone since they were little kids.

I saw Valt again during gym period. He was with his little brother and sister, and a few other guys. One guy was tall with blonde hair, a black coat worn like a cape, and a giant fan. The other guy had long, spiky black hair, a green coat (worn like an actual coat) and a puppet on each hand. They were all around a bey stadium when I approached them. “Hey Keenan!” Valt shouted, waving me over. “Hey Valt.” I replied. Valt turned to the other guys. “Guys, this is Keenan Glass.” he said.  “He just moved in across the street from our place.” Toko chimed in. “He’s new here at school.” Nika added. The tall guy spoke up first. “Well, nice to meet ya!” he said, putting his hand forward. “The name’s Rantaro Kiyama. You can call me Honcho.” he said as we shook hands. “Nice to meet you, too...Honcho.” I said, feeling slightly awkward. I turned to the puppeteer when I saw turn away. “Welcome to Beigoma Academy”, he said with a goofy voice through the red puppet on his right hand. “He’s Besu and I’m Keru.”, he said, giving a scratchy voice to Keru, the blue puppet on his left hand. Keru, then pointed to the person controlling him. “This guy’s Ken Midori. Wherever he goes, we go.” he asserted. “We’re kinda like his entourage.”, Besu piped up. I chuckled, both amused by the puppets’ personalities and Ken’s ability to make them both talk in completely different voices, all while not moving his mouth at all. “It’s nice to meet you. All of you.” I said, smiling.

Valt and I talked about beys. He introduced me to his bey, Victory Valtryek, and I introduced him to Kendo Kitsune. Rantaro and Ken showed me their beys, too. Raging Roktavor and King Kerbeus. Valt, then, told me that he was about to bey battle with a guy named Daigo Kurogami, his next opponent in the District Tournament with a bey called Dark Doomscizor. As if on cue, he arrived. He had short, spiky black hair adorned with skull beads, a red headband, and wore a black and purple jacket. Despite his kind attitude towards Valt, he seemed, in a word, dark. Just like his bey. When he battled, however he revealed that the whole “nice guy” routine was just to get the drop on his competition. Even going as far as bursting Valtryek in his hand! “Oops, made a mess. Wanna clean that up?”, he snarked, carelessly dropping Valtryek’s pieces to the ground. Valt was understandably upset. “Daigo! I’ll never forgive you for this!” he shouted as Daigo walked away.

As mom drove me to Young 5, I thought about what happened at school. My mind immediately flashed back to my days in America. I lost constanly and was constantly picked on. He didn’t make it any better with all the pressure he put on me. “Do you enjoy embarassing me, Keenan? I sing your praises every chance I get, only for you to fail misreably and constantly. Does making me look bad somehow make you feel better about yourself. Knowing how successful I am and how much of a failure you are, I think I have my answer.” Nothing I did was ever enough. Not the countless hours I spent training instead of studying. Not the intensive research I did on prominent bladers. Not even the few battles I actually won were enough for me to even earn so much as a smile from him. “We’re here!”, Mom announced, bringing me back to the present. “You okay? You looked like you were in another world.” I took a deep breath and looked mom dead in the eyes. “I’m okay.” I said. Mom and I gave each other kisses on the cheek as I got out of the car. As the car left I walked toward the Young 5 building with Kendo Kitsune and my launcher/beypointer in tow. Mom said moving here meant a new start. I guess I’ll see if she’s right.

[bethygauw]

Enstars: PASH! April 2017

Released in March 2017.

Thank you Nhi for the scans!! She translates Enstars stories on Dreamwidth. Check it out!

Special interview with Saori Kodama and Youhei Matsui, lyricists of Enstars unit song second series. The second half of this post includes more detailed comments on all songs they were in charge of.

They were in charge of: Saori Kodama: 2wink, Ra*bits, Switch, fine Youhei Matsui: Knights, Castle Upon Sand, Trickstar. Previously, he also wrote Enstars opening song.

Credit of lyric translations quoted in this post, references: - 2wink by PatriciaSelina - Love Ra*bits Party!! by Keru - Knights by Mike - Castle Upon Sand on wiki

Q: Both of you took part in the making of many Enstars unit songs as lyricists. What kind of impressions do you have on the game itself?

Matsui: In the beginning, the complexity of the story surprised me. The characters are divided not only by units, but also by year groups and classes. Each character has a lot of different interactions with various characters, which is something I don’t see often. I remember I got nervous thinking if I’ll be able to understand it (laugh).

Kodama: They have clubs too.

Matsui: Depending on the club, the senior-junior interactions also differ.

Kodama: There were a lot of things I couldn’t tell just from reading the main story, so when I read the event stories I got surprised by the relationship between some characters. It was worth reading.

Q: What were your impressions on the units you were in charge of?

Matsui: The units I was in charge of were Knights, Valkyrie, and Trickstar. Knights have a solid philosophy, which is “chivalry”, so they were the easiest to understand. As for Valkyrie… Say, Kodama-san, when writing lyrics, how do you read the original story?

Kodama: In my case, I’d firstly read from the point of view of all characters.

Matsui: I see! For me, I’d intentionally skim through the stories or read them from one character’s point of view, so that I can focus on that particular character who’s singing. But for Valkyrie, I properly and carefully read all the stories. They’re poor guys, I thought. If something goes wrong during my performance, I would firstly go, “Oh, come on…” (laugh) When it comes to how resolute Mika was when he started singing all by himself in that kind of situation…

Kodama: Mika had great resolve and determination, didn’t he? What about Trickstar?

Matsui: Trickstar is a unit that’s the truest to themselves. If I can say this, there’s no way they would’ve won against fine in the first place. But they did, so what’s going on there? I thought about things like that. For example, in sports, you can’t win if there’s a considerable difference between your abilities. But when it comes to idols, you can have a chance to win. When I was thinking about why that is, I thought maybe it was because of “the power of support”. I thought about the kind of people who would make me want to support them, who make me want to push their backs. So the feel I have for Trickstar is that they are important friends whom I’d root for. I could also consider about “who writes the lyrics”. For Trickstar’s songs, it seems that the lyrics would have been written by all of them. And that doesn’t mean that one member writes his own part, but it feels like a member’s part is written by the other members. I can imagine an exchange like, “Hokke, sing this part!” They are able to write others’ parts because they understand each other. I think those four are like that.

Q: What about you, Kodama-san?

Kodama: I’ll start from 2wink. From the stories, I could see that they are twins who are shouldering a heavy burden, so I figured I couldn’t write songs that only sound cute. Ra*bits also seemed easy to understand and there is truly a variety of characters in this group. I had all the intention to read the story from a character’s perspective, but Mitsuru-kun would jump in out of nowhere and go, “I’m gonna dash dash!” (laugh) I think Ra*bits gives off the feeling, “We are working hard even if we have things we worry about. This is a declaration of our determination.” I wrote the lyrics based on a collection of phrases they would want to sing.

Matsui: It’s like they asked you to write it.

Kodama: That’s truly how it felt like. For Switch, the unit wasn’t even announced yet when I got the offer. They weren’t in the main story, so I suppose I got to know them gradually at the same time as everyone else. Then, for fine… Firstly, I didn’t know what to do with Hibiki-san (laugh).

Matsui: I like Hibiki-san the most.

Kodama: Because you guys are silk hat buddies*, right? (laugh) I think it must be hard work to continue being rulers.

[*Note from PASH: The silk hat is Matsui-san’s trademark. TL’s note: yes, there are pictures if you search 松井洋平.]

Matsui: Being perfect is hard, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be a great pressure to them? I had the opportunity to write fine’s song for Enstage, but I thought a perfect unit must have perfect lyrics. But I’m not perfect, so how do I create perfection? It was something I worried about, and at the end I gave the song title “Perfect World”! (laugh) It’s like, I just have to say it myself, don’t I! (laugh)

Kodama: That’s a good way of thinking! (laugh) But if you put it that way, there’s also a genius in Knights. Didn’t that become pressure as well?

Matsui: Indeed, Knights has Leo. I don’t know who writes the lyrics in Knights’ songs, but I bet Knights’ songs are what were born within them.

Q: Is there anything that makes you think, “Now that’s what makes it Enstars”?

Matsui: If I can say this being prepared that it may cause misunderstandings: they’re not pro yet. I think their real work starts after graduation. That amateur feel is very much like Enstars, I thought. That naivety connects to “the feel of wanting to root for them”, and that feeling is the strongest for Trickstar to me. But fine doesn’t have that kind of naivety (laugh).

Kodama: I think I can understand that. I think after I’ve understood the units or characters in my own way, choosing the words that I’m going to give them is important. Even if a character’s way of thinking doesn’t match the meaning behind the lyrics, I would wonder about how the meaning would become. Does this sound difficult? (laugh)

Matsui: No, no! I listened while thinking you’re amazing. That happens, doesn’t it? In Knights for example, there’s this line, “Just being friendly will not hone this bond.” They don’t seem to be the type to say “bond” so thoughtlessly, right? But accordingly, it seems to hold a special meaning, different from what it would mean to other units. So if they’re going to sing these words, I would start asking, how would they say it? Why would they say it?

Kodama: That’s it. For Sora-kun from Switch, he’s using slightly difficult words that he wouldn’t use normally. But I think it’s because it is Sora-kun there’s a meaning behind giving him those words. Careful examination of every character perhaps, as a result, connects to “what makes it Enstars”.

Q: What do you think about the songs you didn’t work on?

Matsui: It’s amazing how fine and Trickstar became “the end” and “the beginning” unintentionally. In the lyrics, to fine’s “Finale”, Trickstar answered with “Raise the curtain!”*

[*Neo Sanctuary’s bridge: Bokura no Finale ni fusawashii maku o orosu / We shall bring down a fitting curtain to our finale; HEART→BEATER!!!!’s beginning: Maku o hirake]

Kodama: Yes! We didn’t even discuss over it.

Matsui: It’s purely coincidental. This is truly the power of the story, I thought.

Kodama: Others like “recollection*”, a word that both of us used, is a vocabulary in Enstars that holds a powerful meaning, so it comes out naturally.

[*Recollection/memories = tsuioku = 追憶, which is in Neo Sanctuary (Kodama) and Castle Upon Sand (Matsui) for example]

Matsui: Yeah, that’s right! That kind of thing really happens, doesn’t it.

Q: Then lastly, please leave a message to PASH! readers.

Matsui: These unit songs may be performed at Dreamfes or listened by other characters. For example, what kind of feeling would Wataru Hibiki have when he listens to Silent Oath? I think you can find many ways to listen to and approach every unit song. For that reason, please listen to all of them! (laugh)

Kodama: As of current, there isn’t a lot of voiced content in the game. But when you listen to the songs, you can see that each unit is singing. I think that’s amazing.

Matsui: It’s the power of the voice actors. Like really, you can see Yumenosaki is just over there. I realized unit songs have a role to make Yumenosaki closer to us. I’m looking forward to its world expanding further from now on too.

More detailed comments on each song

2wink (Kodama)

Heart Prism Symmetry: The theme is the twins having different views. When I read the story of the event Snowflake＊Street Performance of the Falling Stars, there’s a dialogue line, “It’s hard to maintain a self-image in front of a cracked mirror.”*  The way one can treat someone like a mirror and see themselves in them left an impression in me, so I implemented that phrase. In the chorus where they sing together, I intentionally made the persona all mixed up, such as with “my soul” and “Just be yourself”. I think each of them can see the other as both “your soul” and “my soul”, so by mixing up the subject both of them can blend into one. That’s the image I’m trying to depict.

[*Paraphrased; the original article didn’t quote the story dialogue exactly either. Dialogue line is from Star Chart 4, TL by Rain]

2winkle Star Beat☆: The theme is, “when these two stop feeling reserved with each other and combine together, they become the strongest!” When they sing believing they can be free, well, they’re just sparkling all over and no one can hold a candle against them. That’s what I thought, so I added lots and lots of sparkles (laugh). Moreover, Souma Saito-san sang each part perfectly, so it was truly wonderful!

Ra*bits (Kodama)

Hoppin’ Season♪: Shortly after their unit formation, it may have been a fortunate thing as well, but a strength typical of a young man is sprouting within them. That’s the image I have. I would also think about how they may have requested someone to write the lyrics to this song. Perhaps, they brainstormed the phrases themselves and showed it to them, “Right now, we are this kind of people!”  It can make you feel like they surely want to write the lyrics themselves one day. This song is exactly this developing phase of theirs. I also hope you can feel the increasing intensity from “Spring days” to “and now”, and “and now” in the last chorus. I’m sure all of you players know what happened to them in spring. Works that have an original story has strength, where it provides information that we can share just like this. It adds depth to the words.

Love Ra*bits Party!!: The theme is having a slightly grown-up party, so the lyrics are bold, just a little bit. But even if there’s a line, “Escorting you”, when Ra*bits sing it, you can really tell that they must be the ones who are getting nervous instead. I think that’s Ra*bits’ charm. But the last line, “Your heart is unprepared / because we’ll put you in a trance” may give your heart a big thump. I think it works that way because of the way the voice actors express it.

Knights (Matsui)

Silent Oath: For Knights, I was asked to treat their worldview with great care. “With story-telling style, a world of fantasy,” they said. It’s a story of a knight and the person they swore their loyalty to. This song probably has a stronger knight feel rather than idol feel. Knights is a unit that is accommodating with their fanservice, so I think they also show kindness not to destroy the worldview their fans are asking for. I thought of bringing that side of them forward. Also, the title suggests that their “oath” is not something to be put into words. If it’s set in the medieval world, where you can see a forest and a castle… I think the feelings that are concealed within their hearts would spill under the moonlight, rather than the sunlight. So the phrase “Dear Moon Light” was the first thing that came into my mind. I attached the word “Dear” to “Moon Light”. I think the dearest moonlight would affect the knight and the person they swore their loyalty to differently depending on each member. Each member would also hold different feelings regarding the phrase, “Don’t shine your light upon me” which comes up several times. Moreover, the reason why some members don’t sing certain lines… I think it’s something interesting to imagine. The choruses were done comparably quickly. The part “an eternity of purity” is referring to the title “Silent Oath”. It means to swear to an eternity that is clean of impurities.

Q: Leo’s singing “Because I will disappear myself” left an impression.

I put it towards the last chorus because I wanted to give it a meaning, because of the game’s story plot and also to make you wonder who wrote this line. Similar to this, there’s also the line, “This world filled with struggle”. While it stays within the idea of a fairy-tale, it also reminds you of the war era in the academy.

Fight for Judge: Conversely, this song perhaps brings out their true side. It can make you feel their determination in intentionally using the phrase “Fight for Judge”. I think it’s a song that audibly declares what kind of unit they are. “Nobly” is sung by Leo, but it’s not like he’s singing it thinking he’s a noble guy, but perhaps what he refers to as noble is actually his unit. He may seem to be someone who would say, “I’m noble!” (laugh) but maybe the fact that he won’t is what defines Leo. But when he’s with Knights, perhaps something like a resolve was born within him, that there’s no way he can walk away without saying the line.

Q: I was mesmerized by the line sung by Izumi, “Then once you’re prepared to struggle for it, come.”

It’s the part, “Come,” isn’t it? (laugh) If Izumi tells you to “come”… well, you would go, wouldn’t you? (laugh) There are times when I’d fling a word at a character precisely because they don’t look like the type to say it. But the amazing thing about voice actors is they’re able to make you approve of it. They grasp the intention of the song properly. They themselves are Knights, so if they’re asked to sing something, no matter what song, they’ll surely do it in this way. I think it’s something that will not change.

Valkyrie (Matsui)

Castle Upon Sand: First, I thought about the meaning behind Nazuna’s participation. From there, I thought that the theme, “coming apart” was necessary, and I started my work from creating an image in my mind perfectly and then smashing down the emotions. There are no specifics in what scene this song was sung in, and I didn’t give it a limit either. I think it’s okay to interpret the meaning behind the three singing this song in any way you like. But all of you know what happened, right? Maybe it’s when Mika started singing acapella in Marionette, maybe it’s when the three of them sang together in StarFes. After you come up with that, your imagination may start to expand, “What would the meaning of the lyrics become…” I chose the title “Castle Upon Sand” with the meaning of what seems to be perfect at a glance is something that crumbles so easily. But to me, this idiom also applies to “time”. Nazuna’s voice change also depends on “time”, and reconciliation perhaps depends on “time” as well. Also, there’s the line, “The key to the showcase is now covered in rust.” Perhaps “to rust” doesn’t have the nicest connotation, but if you think about the passage of time, antiques look more wonderful the more they rust. It’s a song that packs a variety of elements that can be seen as both good and bad.

Switch (Kodama)

Temptation Magic: Firstly, to inform more about the unit, we have the keywords “magicians” and “entertainment”. These are Switch’s first songs, so they would be introductory songs. On top of that, both songs share the theme, “We will attract your hearts with our magic, and make everyone happy!” Although, I approached both songs from different angles. To be specific, Temptation Magic uses the unit’s motif “lightning” and pierces through everyone. You can see a cool side of theirs that’s slightly more assertive.

Q: In “We’ll etch it in your heart …Switch,”* the part “Switch” is breathy and it had a great impact.

At first, I imagined that part to be a bit more machine-like. I already thought that would’ve been impactful enough, but I was surprised with how it turned out! It surely will be etched in your heart (laugh). It went beyond my imagination. It was truly amazing!

[*End of chorus: Kimi no HEART ni umekomu...Switch]

Knockin’ Fantasy: The picture I had is that in this song, they are showing their more natural selves than they do in Temptation Magic. While you don’t know if they’re expressing their true feelings, while you can feel the song’s insecurity and be entranced by it, they’re going all out with the happy feel to fill up the concert hall with smiles.

fine (Kodama)

Fortissimo of Fluttering Wings: I was given a request to reveal Eichi’s feelings. But I can’t make it into Eichi’s solo—it had to be a song sung as a unit. I started from there. So rather than Eichi’s own feelings, I kept in mind things like the burden that is shouldered by the unit fine that Eichi formed. Maybe, depending on the time period, both this song and the second track Neo Sanctuary would’ve been sung by different members. But I thought about fine’s purpose at a particular time period, and wrote the lyrics.

Neo Sanctuary: For this one, I thought about a way to make the listeners think that it might have been fine consisting of different members. Depending on how you see it, Eichi’s strong determination to open up a new world may be “evil”, but for some reason you can’t look away. Eichi is Yumenosaki’s top idol to those who don’t know him, but those he hurt wouldn’t be able to see him that way. Eichi and fine stand on top of such despair, all alone. That’s the image I have. Midorikawa-san’s “fine -the end-” was recorded more times than I expected…! For this part, I was asked to make it impactful, but I was surprised when I listened to the end product. Also, I thought the meaning of “Hibiki wataru/resounding” would waver if Hibiki himself sings that line, so I had the juniors sing it. In the chorus before the climax, Tori-kun’s “For eternity”* was so cool, and it left an impact. If Tori-kun can hit it off with a line like this, I couldn’t think of anything else but, “He’s really going to be the next emperor!” I could feel that all of the voice actors truly did a good job in making the character theirs.

[*“Towa ni ataeyou” | The whole line: We shall bestow you order (Yuzuru) for eternity (Tori)]

Trickstar (Matsui)

HEART→BEATER!!!!: What I worried about was if it’s going to overlap with the main theme, ONLY YOUR STARS. In the end, I decided that ONLY YOUR STARS expresses the excitement the [boys] have towards themselves, while in HEART→BEATER!!!! the four are going to get the audience excited. Regarding the title, there are two Trickstar members who are part of the basketball club, right? The term used in the sport, “buzzer beater” became an inspiration to the title, which means that “they are going to make your heart beat [loudly]”. You can feel that it’s something that the four would come up with after discussing with each other. You can imagine a good-natured conversation, like, “There’s this thing called ‘buzzer beater’, so what about ‘HEART→BEATER!!!!’? Sounds cool, right?!” “I like that!” Also, I added four exclamation marks, with meaning that these four are going to make a surprise together. For the lyrics, I also chose the words, as best as I could, so that it wouldn’t be surprising if Trickstar members were the ones who wrote the lyrics. There are parts where I wanted to emphasize that this is what they want to convey, rather than considering if it’s easy to sing. In that sense, the lyrics are something less technical than ONLY YOUR STARS. That’s why some lines seem like something I wouldn’t write. Youhei Matsui won’t write, “The spotlight will turn even sweat into light,”* but if it’s Trickstar members they would write it, I thought. It’s like they would put down how they feel as it is into lyrics. The line, “We can’t wait,”** expresses their feelings of wanting to sing on the stage right there, right at that moment. I didn’t have much trouble writing this song, and it felt like I wrote the lyrics after listening to conversations among the four of them.

[*Chorus of second verse: Spotlight ga ase sae hikari ni kaeteku **Beginning: Machikirenai no sa]

Rainbow-Colored Seasons: This song may not have been made by the boys in the present time. When they’ve become a bit more mature, I think they would have this kind of worldview. Perhaps, this is an expression of Trickstar members from one step ahead in the future. Firstly, Subaru’s “The changing seasons”*… it’s not something you would’ve imagined coming from Subaru so out of the blue (laugh). But that’s exactly why, if he’s singing something like this, he wouldn’t be the Subaru from “now”, but it would be Subaru who has slightly matured, has had and digested a lot of experience. Perhaps, it’s a song of Trickstar members who are aiming to stand on an even bigger stage.

[*Beginning: Utsuri kawaru kisetsu no]

[equinoxts2]

Here’s a fun thing: YOU’VE BEEN TAGGED! Let’s talk about your story! Here’s what you do: 1. how many stories are you writing? 2. What’s your favorite story/favorite post you’ve written? 3. Who do you personally ship in your story? 4: Who do you think has had the most character development in your story (bonus: why) 5. Tag 3 story simblrs that you’ve been reading!

Picking this up from @shannonsimsfan​ - thanks for the tag! :)

OK, rambly answers:

1: At the moment, I’m only writing for Kulo Seeri, because it’s the only hood I have! I’d like to have more hoods, but I panic when it comes to building, creating Sims, naming, and trying to pick a reasonable amount of appropriate CC from my almost-200-GB hoard.

2: I think my favourite blog post from Kulo Seeri has got to be this one, which shows the events leading up to Vedrafe zan-Ave becoming a magic user. (That’s what happened with the blue mist, even though I forgot to post a follow up to it.) Even now that she’s all grown up and, ironically, the only Sim who’s allowed into the shaman-only lots, it still stands out as the quintessential Vedrafe moment... no one else in KS has ever talked back to the ancestors. :)

3: Ships, ships... hmm. If I’m going for “favourite couple”, I’d have to say probably Kenda and Sophos. As I’ve said on my blog, they are the type of couple that thrives on arguing and making up. It’s a nice change of pace from all the happy-lovey-ACR-y couples I’ve got in KS. If I’m going for “two Sims I’d really like to get together”, then it’s Moli zan-Ace and Alexander Goth. Moli once spent a few weeks in TS4 Windenburg, fell in with a bad crowd and got pregnant. Her “cool new friends” ditched her shortly afterwards. It was the Goth family that took her in, and I imagine that Alexander was crushed on Moli - but she returned to KS after giving birth and they haven’t seen each other since. If I’m going for what my illeeterate self thinks is called an OT3, it’s definitely another cross-game romance. Kulo Seeri’s ex-shaman Zita studied alchemy in TS3 Moonlight Falls as an apprentice. She fell in love with a local fairy, Branch Timbley, and thirteen years later brought their son back to Moonlight Falls to meet his dad. However, every time I’ve played Zita in TS3, she’s been attracted to Branch’s roommate Dayvid Musgrave as well... so I do ship them as a threesome. Finally, I’ve got to give a shout-out to Markal, a hopeless romantic who’s currently on failing marriage number three. I have shipped him with half of Kulo Seeri and it’s never worked out, but he gets a sticker for eternal optimism. :)

4: Tia. It’s got to be Tia. She started life as Asken zan-Ace’s imaginary friend in TS3 Bridgeport. He got picked on at school a lot, and after Tia became a “real kid” she was always the one to stick up for him. They kept on getting closer, dating through their teens before moving back to KS. (If you’d asked me for a favourite couple then, it would have been Tia and Asken, no doubt!) By the time they reached Kulo Seeri, Asken wanted her to marry him, but she was starting to wonder if Asken really loved her for who she was, or thought of her as the perfect girlfriend he’d created. However, Asken somehow managed to knock her up, and they did get married not long before their daughter Briar was born. Then, Asken wanted more kids, never mind that Tia’s first experience of childbirth had nearly killed her. When I first got TS4, he volunteered to go explore it, probably knowing that no Sim from KS has ever returned from a visit to another Sims game without a baby. Asken, Tia and Briar headed for Willow Creek and came back with QUINS. A few moons later, their seventh child Keru came along. By that time, Tia had had enough. She was sure Asken still saw her as a little doll to control. She was also starting to suspect that he’d been tampering with her birth control. It was time for her to stand up for herself and leave Asken. And that’s exactly what she did. She is now happily single, and very glad to be nearly past childbearing age. Of all my Sims, she’s definitely the one who’s come furthest from her origins.

5: It’s so hard to pick! Tagging everyone who wants to answer these little questions :)

[keru-lowry]

☑

Ahh yus, my favorite person to RP with. I think I have a lot of things I can say that I do really enjoy about Khuja. To start, Khuja is kind, he treats his lovers with the utmost respect and understands when they’re not in their best places. Examples being Oyun’s pain flaring up some, Keru getting all weird around the time he normally visits his mentor’s grave, Vanoh’s fears of him not being good enough to Zave. I think that Khuja has his issues with his own past and inner demons, but in spite of that he does try his hardest when the people he cares for are hurt.

I also will mention this because it’s the best, Khuja’s ability to help Zave, he’s just so incredibly sweet to him and cares for him like his own and works like hell to protect him. Plus unleashing hell on any threats that might be pointed toward the little one.

Also Khuja just has a way to make each of his lovers feel really special which I really love.

@khujatotayuun See I can answer asks!

[digitalworldbound]

Takari Week, Day One: Confessions

Hi! Here is my contribution for the first day of my favorite week!

Title: Puppy Love ft. Hikari 

Pairing: Takeru x Hikari. Takeru promises himself that he will confess his truest feelings to Hikari by the end of the year. I have a longer version of this story, but made it brief for Tumblr! I had to cut out several months, so the end seems rush, but I will post the full length story on AO3 sometime soon!

JANUARY

As the first sunrise of his sixteenth year bathed him in a glorious light, Takaishi Takeru made himself a solemn promise.  By the end of the year, he would confess it all to the girl he loved.

On the morning of January first, he was surrounded by eleven of his closest friends. They had spent the last day of the year together, sharing stories and eating street food. With their bellies full, they watched the sunrise together for the last time. Come spring, Jou would be moving into the heart of Tokyo to begin his graduate studies. Yamato had already expressed and interest in touring with his band one final time before he started, so Takeru snuggled up to his side as the golden rays of sunshine caressed their cheeks.

“This is it.” His voice was no more than a whisper. The others chattered aimlessly, filling the crisp air with giggles and shared experiences. Despite the noise, Yamato had heard him. He always did.

“Don’t think like that, Keru. You know I’m always just a phone call away.” The older blonde rested his cheeks on Takeru’s head, pulling him closer into his embrace. Despite the reassurance, there was a hint of finality in his voice, as if he, too, believed that this could be the end of all of them.

Growing up was messy business, and Takeru wistfully longed for that one, eternal summer.

“Yeah, but you take after dad. What if you get so busy that you won’t pick up?” Takeru did his best to conceal the worry in his voice, but Yamato could hear his tone waver. “When it comes to you, Keru, I would do anything. Besides,” he nudged his little brother playfully, “I think you will be preoccupied with a certain someone.” He gestured towards the direction where Hikari sat. From his position buried in his brother’s shoulder, Takeru couldn’t see much, but his cheeks colored regardless.

“How did you know?” Takeru cringed as the words left his mouth. If his blush didn’t give him away, his question surely would.

Yamato grinned, shooting his brother a quick wink. “Just call it a brother’s intuition.”

Somewhere to his right, Hikari giggled at something Iori said. The sound seemed to dissipate in the morning air, briefly riding on the wind until it faded away. Takeru suppressed a smile. “Hmm, well what does ‘brother’s intuition’ say about my odds?”

Takeru glanced up to find his brother’s attention on the horizon, the golden haze fading into a sea of milky blues. He tucked himself further underneath Yamato’s arm, feeling like he was eight years old again.

“In all honesty, I believe that you are the only person with odds when it comes to her.”

The pair sat in silence, letting the morning wash over them. Before long, Daisuke would be complaining about his stomach and Taichi would insist on sleeping in and the year would officially begin. For, though, they relished in their friends, the glowing horizon, and each other.

MARCH

“You know, I’ve never understood the point behind a love letter. If you like someone that much, wouldn’t it be easier to tell them in person?” Hikari took another bite of her bento box. Today, her mother had been gracious. Instead of a failed science experiment, Hikari had been able to pack some grilled fish with a small container of rice.

Takeru raised an eyebrow, swallowing the last of his ramen. “I think you only say that because you’ve never gotten a love letter. Personally, I think it takes a lot of craftmanship to be able to express a person’s innermost thoughts on paper.”

She laughed, tilting her head to the side. “Ah, I see. And just how many love letters have you written, Takeru-kun? Is there a special lady I should know about?” Her chopsticks pointed at him accusingly. She seemed tense, but Takeru wasn’t sure if it was her mother’s fish or the context of their conversation.

He could feel his face grow warm while Hikari remained as cool as a cucumber. The unfairness of the situation dawned on him. Takeru, so easily flustered, did not stand a chance against his brunette counterpart. “Ah, um, well-”

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’.” She smiled triumphantly.

“Why? Is there something you would like to tell me, Hikari-chan?” he leaned in, stopping just before she could become uncomfortable. Her mahogany eyes peered up from her dark lashes, widening in surprise. His mouth was just a breath away, and Hikari’s heartbeat wildly in her chest.

“O-Of course not, don’t be silly. It’s about time you get a girlfriend. Besides, spring formal is a month away. There’s about fifteen girls dying for you to ask them, and I’m sure there’s at least one girl you would like to take.” Hikari leaned back into her chair, her eyes focusing on cleaning up her mess.

He waited until she was packed up before rising out of his seat. She followed him to the trashcan, silence hanging between them like a weighted blanket. The pair walked towards the back hallway, preparing for their afternoon classes to start.

“You’re right,” He began, pausing in front of her classroom. A few of their peers leaned curiously from their seats. It was rare that Takeru and Hikari were seen together outside of class. “There is someone I want to invite to the dance, but I wouldn’t make to make my bestest friend in the whole wide world jealous.” Takeru pinched her cheek playfully, smiling as she colored. For once, it seemed that he finally had the upper hand. Giggles could be heard from behind them. Hikari seemed to come to her senses and swatted his hand away, taking a step into the classroom.

“You know,” she shot back from the doorway, skirt swaying behind her, “If you ever needed someone to practice writing love letters for, I’d be happy to proofread it for you.” She winked at him, a teasing glint in her eyes.

MAY

After the fifth failed attempt, Takeru tossed his phone onto his bed. Yamato’s tour was in full swing, and it had been weeks since he had last heard from him.

“Are you ready yet, baby?” His mother’s blue eyes peered in from his bedroom door. She raised an eyebrow at the state of his room. “What’s all this?” She kicked a ball of crumpled paper in Takeru’s direction.

“Mom! At least knock first; I could have been naked!” He rolled his eyes in annoyance. Ignoring her questions, he turned back to the mirror. With a thin comb and a stolen bottle of his brother’s hair gel, Takeru attempted to style his hair to resemble some handsome anime character. Once he was finished, he turned towards the doorway for approval. His mother grinned, admiring his sideways part.

“Come here, I need to straighten your tie.” Her hands felt like a cool breeze against his neck, and it was only then that he realized how warm he was. Glancing down at his watch, his pulse quickened.

“Momma, I have to get going soon; she’s waiting for me.”

Her fingers finished twisting the fabric, resting just above her son’s heart. “Kaori-san?” The disappointment in her voice was undeniable, and Takeru couldn’t help but to share the sentiment. Kaori was the student council president, overall a lovely girl. She had silky blond hair that reach her hips and green eyes that put sapphires to shame. Boys would often pull at her locks, teasing her until she would blush. Kaori seemed to like the attention, giggling like a banshee whenever the opposite sex would approach.

As of last night, she was also the only girl that didn’t have a date to the spring formal.

Takeru only nodded, toeing the crushed papers around his feet.  It was his own fault, really. By the time he had worked up the nerve to look Hikari in her eyes, Daisuke has swept her away. It didn’t help that he dangled his date with Hikari in front of Takeru as if he were a dog, but the blond couldn’t shake the settled look in her eyes.

She had turned down several boys before, almost waiting until the last possible moment like Takeru. ‘Daisuke-kun must have bribed her.’ If Yamato had answered the phone, he might have given Takeru the boost of encouragement (re: kick in the ass) that he needed.

The blond struggled with his civility. Kaori, dressed in green satin, insisted on taking pictures. After the seventeenth click of camera, his cheeks became sore. Walking to the gymnasium had been another ordeal. Kaori was talkative, but the excitement of a first date made her unbearable. As she rattled on about tennis matches and brands of shampoo, Takeru let his eyes glaze over. He missed comfortable silence and the girl that spoke with soft smiles.

‘I’m being ridiculous,’ he thought, struggling to hold back tears as he held another girl in his arms. Across the ballroom, Hikari struggled to keep Daisuke’s hands in place. With each dance, they seemed to slip lower on her hips. She had told him twice already to cut it out.

His palms danced across her lower back. “Daisuke-kun, I told you to stop!” Hikari pulled away, cheeks coloring with indignation. With a scoff, his eyes flickered with anger. “You’re the one that said yes to me, Hikari-chan. I think you know what you got yourself into.”

Her mahogany eyes searched for a familiar mop of blond hair; her rescuer. “This would have never of happened if I went with Takeru-kun instead.” Hikari eyed Daisuke, daring him to come closer. She had enough of his unwanted advantages. Takeru hadn’t picked up on any of her hints, but she couldn’t bear going to her final middle school dance alone. Daisuke had been her only choice.

“It always comes back to him, doesn’t it?” Daisuke raised his voice, and Hikari could feel Takeru’s blue eyes burn into her. Heads turned at the commotion. “You know what? I’m done, Hikari-san. If you want to be with him, just do it. Next time, leave me out of it.” With a huff, Daisuke disappeared, burgundy hair slipping through the gymnasium doors.  A crowd had formed around the pair, Hikari standing helpess in the middle.

Takeru tensed as Daisuke raised his voice, preparing himself to intervene. Before he could interject himself, the boy was gone and Kaori had a vice grip on his arm. Hikari’s face grew splotchy, the first sign of tears. Takeru tugged his arm free, sparing his date a look of remorse. “I’m sorry,” he offered, gentley touching Kaori’s hand. “Hikari-chan needs me.”

“Go to her.” Kaori had been insufferable the entire night, but in the moment, Takeru swore he could have kissed her. Without a reply, he weaved through the mass of people, tugging Hikari away from their wandering eyes.

The cool, night air enveloped them as Takeru pulled Hikari to the swing sets. They sat down beside each other, absorbed in their own thoughts. Despite her flushed cheeks and swollen eyes, Hikari was perfect. Her hair fell in loose waves at her shoulders, a glitter hair clip holding her bangs hostage. Glitter had been brushed across her eyelids, catching in the light. Takeru’s breath caught in his throat. It was now or never.  His silence must have unnerved Hikari, her eyes trailing him nervously.

“I’ve got to get this off my chest,” he started, voice unnaturally loud in the quiet twilight. “I’m sorry, this is going to be weird for you, but I just can’t keep pushing it down. You might not want to speak to me again, and it might ruin everything but...I have feelings for you. Really strong feelings. I know you were kind of with Daisuke-san, so I know that I may be too late. I just… couldn’t fathom living my life without telling you how I felt. That would have been my biggest regret.” Hands shaking, he focused on the gravel underneath the swing. There it was, out in the open. He couldn’t crumple up that love letter.

The silence seemed to stretch on forever. Tears burned in his blue eyes, convinced his feelings were one-sided. As he opened his mouth in apology, Hikari found her voice.

“Wait! What? Who told you I was with Daisuke-san of all people?” Her heart was beating too fast and too loud for her to be able to focus on the gravity of his words. She could feel a warmth rush to her cheeks, staining the tips of her ears. Takeru watched these emotions skirt around her face, the smallest bit of hope igniting in his chest.

“I just assumed. I mean, you went to the dance together, Well, before he left.”

An incredulous laugh slipped between her lips. “Takeru-kun, I only went with Daisuke-san because you didn’t ask me. I was waiting for you.”

His heart was singing. Hikari’s laugh seemed to wipe gravity away; Takeru was floating. His cheeks were pink, pulse erratic. “You…feel that same way?” Hikari must have super-human hearing, as his voice was barely a whisper.

“Yes,” she whispered, and Takeru swore that this would be a moment to remember the rest of his life.