#and Fushimi gets a thoughtful look

[ridiasfangirlings]

Yata notices Saruhiko is distracted only to find out it's because Saruhiko is thinking about the Blue King again.

Though of course if Yata asks Fushimi will deny it and then launch into a tirade about all the things Munakata does that annoy him, unaware that he’s just showing how much he’s noticed about Munakata. I kinda imagine this during the One Year Later period when Munakata is missing, and Yata notices that sometimes Fushimi gets this really far away look. They’re playing video games at Yata’s place and normally Fushimi’s pretty focused but he’s obviously kinda distracted today — and thinking about it, Yata’s noticed that Fushimi’s distracted a lot lately. He’s asked about it before and Fushimi always denies it but it’s pretty clear to Yata that his mind is elsewhere.

Yata beats Fushimi in their game and he grins, that’s what you get for being distracted Saruhiko. Fushimi grumbles that he isn’t distracted and Yata gives him a fond look as he’s like ‘it’s the Blue King again, huh.’ Fushimi’s immediately like I am not thinking about Captain and Yata’s like yeah you are, you think about him a lot. Fushimi grumbles that he doesn’t think about Munakata, he’s just…wondering where that worthless King’s gotten off to, that’s all. Munakata’s easily distracted by anything shiny and he’s always finding ways to move people’s hearts or get into trouble, so it’s natural that Fushimi would think about him sometimes. But it isn’t like Fushimi cares or anything, it’s no business of his where Munakata went and how he hasn’t even sent so much as a text stating he’s okay. 

Yata laughs at that, like wow you really do care about that guy huh. Fushimi snorts and clicks his tongue in response. Yata pauses, considering, and then says he’s not really one to talk, since he still isn’t sure what Fushimi sees in a guy like that, but still…he’s glad that Fushimi has someone he can think about this much, someone who makes him distracted like this. Fushimi says it’s not a good thing at all, even when he’s gone Captain can’t stop bugging him and Yata says well maybe when he gets back you should let him know you feel that way, because I bet if you do he won’t go anywhere again. 

[itsuki-minamy]

"LSW - EPILOGUE"

TRANSLATION: NARU-KUN

"Hey, Yata, did you know? Scepter 4 members live in dormitories."

That happened when he was eating with Totsuka at the bar counter. Totsuka suddenly said something as if he had always had an idea.

"What is this all of a sudden? I know... that guy told me."

Yata replied with a loud pout.

One day, half of the luggage suddenly disappeared from the room the two had been living in since the end of high school, and then moved into the Scepter 4 dorm, a statement that made him question his sanity. Was this the trick of the cat ears and earthworms?! He thought afterward as he stomped his feet.

Soon after, Yata also left that room. Every time he went to bed, he would notice the emptiness above his head and couldn’t help but feel nauseous.

"So, since it’s a dorm, does it have a dining room or something?"

"Eh? I don't know..."

"I wonder if he's eating enough food. You know, Fushimi is a picky eater, so I don't think there's much proper set menu in the cafeteria. What do you think, Yata?"

"I don't know! Why do I have to worry about the traitor's food?!"

When Totsuka continued to talk insensitively, Yata got angry and slammed his fist on the counter. The plate bounced off and the cup fell over, flooding the counter with water. Fortunately, Kusanagi wasn't there, so he was saved from punishment.

Totsuka looked surprised and took a step back. Feeling awkward, Yata looked down and pulled both fists, including the spoon in his right hand, out from under the counter.

He kicked the empty loft from below dozens of times above his head and fell headfirst onto his bed, clutching his legs and saying, "It hurts!" He yelled at himself... He just couldn't control his anger. He went crazy for a while, venting his anger outside of himself, but when he felt empty and stopped, something suddenly rose up in his throat and he felt an incomprehensible feeling of regret. Although he said he was sorry, he didn't know exactly what he was sorry for. However, for Yata, it was nothing more than a feeling of regret.

He regretted it. He grabbed a pillow and pressed it hard against his face, gritting his teeth so hard that his mouth cut and regretting it no matter what.

"Ah, if that guy changes his mind and apologizes, and says he wants to go back, we'll bow to Mikoto-san together. He's not the type to bow to anyone, so I'll bow to him, and if Mikoto-san doesn't feel satisfied unless he hit Saruhiko, then he'll hit me along with him."

"Well, if King really hits you, will Yata die?! Are you okay?!"

Totsuka was surprised at how over the top he was, so he flinched and said, "Ugh!" For Yata, coming into contact with Suoh's suspicions is scarier than any ghost story or horror movie.

"I... Still, I'm ready. I won't let Saruhiko get beaten up alone."

His voice was hoarse. However, he clenched his fist tighter, stared at the counter, and finished his sentence.

"Yeah, well, I think it's manly to be prepared for that, but isn't it a little one-sided? I wonder if that's what Fushimi wants."

"...? What do you mean? Don't say things like you already know them..."

He felt strangely angry and glared at him. Totsuka had a calm smile on his face as always.

"This is what King and the Blue King look like."

Then, he suddenly started talking again.

"It's not like they're just fighting each other like you think, Yata. Well, it seems like there's a lot going on in Fushimi's position, and it would be nice if we could talk someday... Even... If I say this now, Yata, you still don't get it, right?"

When he laughed at Yata, who asked indignantly, "Are you making fun of me?" Totsuka raised his hands in surrender and said, "Sorry, sorry."

"Well, remember what I said someday, somewhere. Even if I'm not there at that time."

"Hey, please don't say things like you're going to die someday. That brings bad luck."

When he said that in a particularly grumpy manner, Totsuka simply smiled.

++++++++++

No Blood, No Bone, No Ash!

No Blood, No Bone, No Ash!

No Blood, No Bone, No Ash!

As he excitedly waved his fists in the air, stamped his foot, and raised his voice, his surroundings became warm. Yata looked left and right with teary eyes.

He didn't know where they came from, but before he knew it, sparks were dancing all over the area.

It wasn't that... there was light. All around him, his friends were shaking their fists and chanting the same words in unison, and from each of their bodies light was born, like little lives separating. As if calling out to one another, the light gathered, dyeing the white landscape red as it rose into the sky covered in snow clouds.

"Ah..."

When he looked at his chest, he saw that the mark on his body was also exuding a soft red light.

Another light was born from within him and he let himself be carried away by the light of his companions.

He felt that Suoh's flame still resided deep within the mark that remained on his body. The flame filled his body with a gentle warmth. It was as if the fierce anger that Suoh had held within him as a wild king was dissipating and beginning to crumble.

"Mikoto-san..."

Following the light, Yata raised his tear-soaked face.

"No Blood, No Bone, No Ash! No Blood, No Bone, No Ash...!!"

He held the spot tightly and let out a loud voice as if to let go of the emotions welling up within him.

Looking up from there, he saw a line of armored vehicles with blue markings stopping on the railing of the bridge that connects Gakuenjima and the mainland. He saw a light gently floating above the bridge, moving away from the group of lights of his companions.

Fushimi was holding the same place as Yata with his hand, looking up at the sky with a strange expression on his face, as if he had lost some of his poison.

(Oh, shit...)

Yata cursed in his heart.

Why is he remembering that now? Totsuka-san, did he know he would leave one day? Was he talking about this moment?

Now that he can't do that again, he realized that he should have taken the plunge and asked Suoh what the Blue King meant to him.

He wanted to ask Totsuka what he really meant when he suddenly said something like that and said that Yata still didn't understand, but now that he can't do that again, he realized.

It's annoying for Yata to admit that, but if there's something that can help him, it's...

He's alive. They can still meet as many times as they want, express their doubts and anger, and try to talk.

"No Blood, No Bone, No Ash! No Blood, No... Idiot Monkey! No Ash!"

He doesn't know if he heard the insults mixed with his anger, but Fushimi glared at him.

The two exchanged glances on and off the bridge.

As everyone continued to chant in unison, Yata glared at Fushimi without taking his eyes off. He raised his voice even louder, intending to smash him into the bridge. He kept screaming even when his voice was hoarse, he pounded the ground even when he couldn't feel his legs anymore, and he kept swinging his fists even when he couldn't lift his arms.

[jujumin-translates]

★ A3! 8th Anniversary | MANKAI Company’s Second Special Performance - “The Blessing of Le Cadeau”

They were given two endings—eternity or momentary pain.

Summary

In the great sea lays a small island, protected by four great countries and a sacred island. Because many writers have lived there since ancient times and countless works have been produced there, the island has come to be known as "the island where stories are born." It is there that stories are created constantly.

In order to preserve and pass on the stories, an academy was founded to train librarians—Le Cadeau Academy.

This year, twelve new students will arrive at this traditional and prestigious academy. With one unfinished book given to them as proof of admission and their own aspirations, they take the first step toward becoming librarians.

However, there is a "secret" hidden within the school. A secret that gives them choices and determines the ending of the story. Now, is the ending it spells out a happy one? Or...

Cast

Aubrey played by Sakuma Sakuya / Tenma Sumeragi

"Come on, let's go! To stories yet to be seen—."

The youngest. His origin is that his grandmother read picture books to him when he was a child. He's honest, charming, and people around him always want to take care of him in any way they can.

Kieran played by Tsumugi Tsukioka / Banri Settsu

"I plan to be a great hero by the time I graduate from here!"

A childhood friend of Jared. He's a young man brimming with curiosity. He's fascinated by the kinds of heroes you see in stories. He's come to confirm the rumor that "librarians never age."

Kenneth played by Tsuzuru Minagi / Kazunari Miyoshi

"I can't believe I've been spotted by royalty of all people. Haha, my school life is over, huh?"

The class president. He had the misfortune of being nominated as class president, even though he had planned to graduate unnoticed. He's diligent to his core and tries his best to do the work that is asked of him properly.

Amalia played by Yuki Rurikawa / Azuma Yukishiro

"There's a book I'm looking for. Ever since before I even stepped foot in this place. All I remember is it's binding."

A woman with a thoughtful personality who always takes a step back and surveys her surroundings. She'll never forget a book she once came across in a small bookstore that she went to when she was little. She was going to save up to buy it, but the book becomes no longer available when the bookstore closes. She's been looking for that book ever since.

Leroy played by Muku Sakisaka / Citron

"I started writing stories... because I wanted a chance to get to know my older brother."

Gordon's gentle younger brother who's a friend to everyone. He feels more than a little indebted to his older brother, and as a result, he has the personality of someone who is more concerned about his surroundings. He is often attentive and keeps his balance in the moment. He began writing stories in the hope that they would help him restore his relationship with his brother, but he has yet to show him any of his works.

Gordon played by Kumon Hyodo / Omi Fushimi

"...Do you enjoy sharing with others? It's so strange, I've never had a conversation like this with someone before."

Leroy's older brother. Once Leroy was born, their parents stopped caring about him, and he used books to fill his loneliness. Because of that, he's somewhat introverted and not very talkative. At best, he's a hassle-free boy. He's puzzled inside, not understanding why his younger brother, who has so many friends, came to the academy with him. (He isn't aware of it, but he's worried that Leroy will take the story away from him, just as he took their parents away from him.)

Joachim played by Juza Hyodo / Sakyo Furuichi

"I've memorized all of your faces. Prepare yourselves for the year ahead."

Royalty. The third prince of the Kingdom of Le Cadeau, which oversees the academy. He enrolls to fulfill his royal duties in other ways, as he will not inherit the throne due to where he stands in the hierarchy. He was hit somewhat hard by Kenneth, who thought that since Joachim had the highest status among the students at the academy, he'd naturally be the one chosen as the class president.

Henrick played by Taichi Nanao / Guy

"All people need is a single story."

There is just one story he'll never forget. He has an aspiration to have as many people as possible encounter books such as he did. He's somewhat narrow-minded and self-righteous. He hopes to encounter only one book in his lifetime that will change his life. He and Meredith tend to clash with one another due to their different values.

Meredith played by Masumi Usui / Chikage Utsuki

"I just love each and every story that's been born into this world."

He loves all stories. The same holds true for how he feels about people. For that reason, Henrick thinks of him as being shallow, and they clash about everything.

Jared played by Azami Izumida / Homare Arisugawa

"It's too ominous to have a black cat pass right in front of you just as you're about to enter school... This must be a warning. This better not unravel some kind of mystery..."

A childhood friend of Kieran's. A gloomy young man. He enrolls after Kieran gets involved. Because he's afraid of librarians not aging, he doesn't want to get involved with them. He tends to think negatively.

Vance played by Tasuku Takato / Misumi Ikaruga

"You wanted to see me? Sure thing. This is gonna be a fun school year."

The student council vice president. He loves mischief and loves having fun. Thinks being vice president sounds fun, so he agrees to do it without any real consideration. He saw a librarian using magic when he was a kid and thought that life would be more fun if he could learn to do it, so he enrolled at the academy.

Abel played by Hisoka Mikage / Itaru Chigasaki

"I don't like being left behind."

He enrolled for one purpose. He gets good grades and is sociable. He behaves as a problem-free student and is trusted by both students and teachers.

[paniniichan]

Ballade of the Lost Child - Prologue

Characters: Niki, Yuzuru Proofreaders: Aru, Oli

Niki: Nomnom…♪

Kuu~u. This “hashimaki¹” is super yummy! Guess I was lucky there was a food stand here.   

It’s so delicious, why don’t more people know about this?

This world truly is weird~. Society should acknowledge “hashimaki” so much more.

It’s a flour-based food and it’s super easy to eat. You can even choose its flavour.

(In falsetto) Welcome ♪ Which flavour sauce would you like? Soy sauce flavour? Or how about cheese? –Hm~m, I just can’t choose!  

…Whoops. Woah, that was close. I almost passed that place by accident…!

Nahaha. I suddenly forgot why I’d come out here since I came across such delicious food~. 

Ooh, this line is huge!? Is this for those doughy churros that are trending at the moment!?

I thought I could avoid the crowds by coming earlier, but there are already so many people here.

I guess people gather at places with delicious food after all~.

In other words, it’s not an exaggeration to say that “delicious food creates world peace”...!

Right, this is no time to be messing around. I need to get in line before it gets too long.

<At the same time>

Yuzuru: Let’s see. I believe all the necessary purchases should be complete by now.

One, two, three… I bought this too, and that one just a moment ago. This one was sold out, so I shall have to come back at a later date.

… Hm, it appears all is in order. I don’t seem to have left any oversights.

Niki: I’m really looking forward to it~. Coming across new food is always so exciting. ♪

Yuzuru: Oh my, do I hear a familiar voice?

Ah, so it belongs to Shiina-sama. He seems to be at the end of a queue.

Season Avenue is always bustling. Hence it’s odd to see so many people lined up in a single queue.

They all seem to be queueing outside that stand. I wonder what exactly is being sold?

If Shiina-sama is lining up, it’s likely to be some type of food or drink.

… (Looking around)

… The people who’ve moved away from the stand all seem to have brightly-coloured sweets in their hands.

From their shape, I would guess they were donuts… No, perhaps churros?

Churros…? Come to think of it, I believe the Young Master mentioned those the other day…

Something about a speciality store selling cute churros on Season Avenue.

I see. He must’ve been referring to this stand.

……

Hm… He truly seemed to want to eat them, so perhaps I’ll buy them as a gift for the Young Master.

I wouldn’t usually let him eat this kind of thing, but…

Recently, he seems to be putting more and more effort into both his studies and work. Why not spoil him once in a while…♪

Shiina-sama.

Niki: Huh? Fushimi-kun?

How strange seeing you here~? Did you also come to try the churros? 

Yuzuru: I believe they would be a good gift for the Young Master. Would you mind if I accompanied you?

Niki: That’s fine by me~, let’s get these trending churros together! A journey is most fun with a companion after all²…♪

Yuzuru: It’s not a journey, we’re merely waiting together in line.

Niki: Nope nope. This line is the “Food Road”! In other words, it’s kind of like the Silk Road³, isn’t it?

Yuzuru: Well, um. Are you trying to compare this long queue to a road?

Niki: Yup! 

Yuzuru: sighs. Since the “Silk Road” isn’t about food, but rather silk, I feel like it’s a bit of a strange analogy in the first place. 

Niki: It’s instinct, Fushimi-kun. I thought I should express it to you in some way or another. Anyway, I don’t really care as long as we can get these churros. 

Yuzuru: Please stop talking based solely on reflex⁴. 

I don’t often find myself surrounded by your type, Shiina-sama. If I had to say, Hibiki-sama comes the closest.

Niki: Really?　

I don’t keep any company that’s like Fushimi-kun~. I only have irresponsible and weird people around me.

Oh well, thanks to that I can usually take it pretty easy, so that’s a plus.

Yuzuru: By the way, Shiina-sama. It seems that most people here are eating their churros as they leave, so do you know if I could order them to go? 

Since they’re not for me to eat and are instead a gift for the Young Master, I’d like to get them for takeout if possible. 

Niki: Hmm~? Is that so? I was also planning on eating while walking around here.

Truthfully, this kind of food is usually eaten on the spot or while walking, so I’m not sure if they’d be alright to take home.

Ah, Fushimi-kun. Take a look at that guy over there!

Yuzuru: Sure.

Niki: It looks like he only just bought some churros.

They’re wrapped in a paper bag from the stand too! I bet that means you can get them to go–

Man: Uwahh!?

Niki: Eh, what happened!? A fight!?

That guy was shoved over and knocked down by another man in black!?

Man: My bag! Wait, get back here! Bag thief!

Niki and Yuzuru: A bag thief!?

-----

¹ Hashimaki is Okonomiyaki wrapped around chopsticks

² Japanese proverb which means something alone the lines of “no road is long with good company”

³ The Silk Road was a series of trade routes connecting Europe and Asia spanning over 6,400km (4,000 mi) named for its primary use of trading silk. Niki is trying to liken the queue that they’re standing in to a long road where food will be traded at the end.

⁴The literal translation of what Yuzuru says is for Niki to stop talking based on “spinal reflexes”. These reflexes being involuntary and based on instinct without input from the brain. It’s effectively the same phrase as “knee-jerk reaction” in English.

[paper-mario-wiki]

Do you do farm stuff Scout? Or would you like to? Like owning chickens or tending an outdoor garden, that sort of thing?

From ages 7 to 19 I lived on farms, and was made to be an active participant in maintenance and usages of the facilities I don't know why the fuck I'm typing it like this, but I grew up on a farm. I was kinda in charge of everything, but slacked a lot and my brother had to cover for me. That said, I still spent a LOT of time doing chores.

At one point or another I've been responsible for most every farm chore you can really think of. All the basics like raking leaves, milking goats, collecting eggs, feeding chickens- but also the big stuff like moving tons of hay, herding flocks, caring for large animals such as llamas, alpacas, horses, and cows, as well as delivering babies, gutting and plucking fowl (only chickens and turkeys, though I've also cared for ducks and geese), dehoring, hoof cleaning, corpse transportation, crop maintenance, winter ice removal by breaking up frozen water troughs in 10 below weather (thought this was usually circumvented by anticipating the cold and setting up water heaters beforehand), constructing enclosures, slaughtering pigs, and etc etc etc etc etc all that shit. Bunnies snakes mini horses donkeys. All that shit. Farm stuff. Ya know.

Moved away when I went to college and immediately plunged into a mixed-zoning district in the Fushimi district in Kyoto. This was a really good transition from rural living to city living, because mixed zoning districts have blocks dedicated to apartment complexes and family homes right next to blocks of rice fields and ponds, which was behind the 7-Eleven I bought most of my food from.

Now I live in a SHITTY mixed zoning area in SHITTY America where we never stop hearing cars because there's a massive parking lot nearby and constant police sirens, not because the area is particularly dangerous, but because there's like 2 police stations nearby.

My ideal housing goal, which also happens to be my current goal in life, is to reach a slightly more rural version of the Kyoto living situation. The goals are very distinct:

0. I'm editing this one in after the fact to note that while I've used Kyoto as an example a few times in this post, I'm just looking for an area that feels right and would happily live in any prefecture that fits my needs.

I want to not be tied directly to a visa which would draw me away from doing whatever work I really want to do, like my student visa did later on when school started getting worse as professors were struggling to learn digital classroom mechanics. The visa I'm shooting for is dependent on a few ideas I have for businesses, but that's still kind of a long shot.

I want to be in a position of relative financial freedom so that I can spend enough time genuinely living there instead of just being tied to a computer all day, limiting me to the world I already know. This one's the big one, so I'm still workin on that. That said, recently I've been taking some pretty massive steps towards making this a more tangible circumstance. Fingers crossed.

I want to have a home that I own instead of renting, and I'd like to work with a Japanese architect to actually construct it. Again, these are big big plans, but I think a life goal is a thing worth thinking big about. And it's not like I'm trying to build a mansion, or even a family-sized house, I think I'd be content with three bedrooms, a kitchen, and common room. Of course, in keeping with the "dream big" spirit, in a world where I've got enough money to have a nicer, slightly bigger home, I can imagine as many as 5 bedrooms. It's nice to imagine in this "perfect" outcome that I've got a reason to have enough space for guests to sleep over. A local community, or an otherwise tangible, real-world web of relationships would be nice. Like, Real Adult Socializing Shit.

I want to have a significant emphasis on self-reliance on this home. As far solarpunk as I can reasonably go, without biting off more than I can chew as someone who's kinda limp-wristed. In a gay way and a feeble way. I figure this will come down to solar panels, water filtration, a well, and a garden (or at least the space to have gardening stuff like pots and soil). Some chickens would be nice too, but I don't know that I'd ever take on livestock proper.

I want to be properly submerged in trees without being more than a 5 minute bike ride from a train station. Somwhere like Yase-Hieizanguchi Station in north Kyoto is a good example of station that's on the edge of a metropolitan area and the forest. There was an apartment there I almost got, but backed out when covid hit cuz I decided moving across town would be a whack decision.

This is a BONUS goal, but I think it'd also be nice to not compromise on a single location, and instead have a home out in the inaka, while also having a small apartment rented in the city I can go between whenever I need to. In a world where I can afford a plot of land out in the country, but would still need to travel into town for business, that would be nice. Though in that scenario I'd likely need to also take on the arduous task of getting a Japanese drivers license. If I know far enough in advance that I want to take this specific route then I could bypass that last one by getting an international license before moving to Japan, but after moving to Japan you're barred from getting an international license.

I couldn't tell you in honesty that I'm a Salt of the Earth, Red Blooded American Farmer in my heart, and in fact I could not WAIT to move away from the farm. I hated that I didn't have a say in living on a farm, and was made to take care of animals. But what I DID enjoy about that life was the stillness. The opportunities of perfect silence. The stars unobstructed by light pollution. The ability to explore. Those things I was incredibly grateful for. And as such, in my perfect world, I would like to live on something like a farm again one day, just on my own terms.

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Backstage Story Translation - Tasuku Takato SR: The Two Runaways - Part 1

Izumi: Tasuku-san, Azuma-san, thank you for your hard work!

Azuma: You too, Director.

Tasuku: I’m glad we finished safely. Thanks to you too, Director.

Sakyo: Although you were just acting, you were pretty impactful, Takato.

Tasuku: Really?

Sakyo: Yeah. The reason you can act as a student despite your age… is probably because you’re such a convincing actor.

Tasuku: Well… I did have my concerns about playing a student role at my age.

Itaru: Just like in manga, delinquents have their own character types. Isn’t that what you fit perfectly?

Itaru: Well, you’re playing a high schooler who’s good at fighting, for example.

Izumi: You had to research how to make it look like it’s a high schooler that’s fighting, didn’t you?

Tasuku: Right. If I overdid it, it wouldn’t resonate with students, so I had to find a balance.

Tasuku: Regardless, it wasn’t realistic enough to be comparable to people who actually fight.

Tasuku: I probably could’ve done more if I had looked into it deeper.

Izumi: I hear that brothers get into physical fights with each other often. How was it for you, Tasuku-san?

Tsumugi: Fuyuki-kun and Tasuku… You guys didn’t hit each other, right?

Tasuku: I don’t think my brother and I fought physically a lot…

Sakyo: … Hear that, Fushimi?

Omi: Yes…

Tsumugi: Did you get into fights, Omi-kun?

Omi: Well, I suppose you could call them fights… But we were just playing around and doing pro-wrestling moves.

Omi: But that’s from when we were kids. We don’t fight at all now.

Tasuku: … ‘Cause you’re not at home?

Itaru: Thinking about it, you’re serious and have no delinquent attributes whatsoever. I bet you’ve never run away from home, either.

Tasuku: No, I have.

Tsumugi: You have?

Tasuku: C’mon, that time our families got together…

[Flashback starts]

Fuyuki: Heeey Tasuku, it’s about time we started going home, so clean up~

Tasuku: Don’t wanna. We’re just getting to the good part.

Fuyuki: Hey now, don’t be selfish.

Tasuku: Tsumu wants to play more too.

Tsumugi: Y-Yeah. Please, Fuyuki-kun! Just a little longer!

Fuyuki: Not you too, Tsumu… Sorry, but no can do. Alright, it’s clean up time~

Tasuku: … Tsumu, let’s get out of here.

Tsumugi: Huh? Together?

Tasuku: Yeah. If we run away, we can stay together.

Tsumugi: … Okay.

[Flashback ends]

Tsumugi: Ahaha, that did happen.

Azuma: That’s a pretty cute runaway story.

Izumi: Little kids sure do think like that~

Itaru: You’re childhood friends, though. Didn’t you two live, like, right next to each other? You’d have seen each other again soon anyway.

Tasuku: No… My family were planning to take a week-long trip after that. Though now that I think about it, that’s not a big deal.

Omi: A week is a long time when you’re a child. I’m sure you thought you’d be lonely.

Sakyo: So? How far from home did you brats run off to?

Tsumugi: I wouldn’t say we got too far.

part 1 | part 2

[ohii-san]

UNKNOWN HOLY NIGHT AND NIGHTHEAD - BLACK CAROL 2

( A few days later )

Tomoya: Yaaawnnn, uu…

Mitsuru: Hmm~... I want that!

Aira: Sounds like Tenma-senpai, alright. I’d like this one…

Tomoya: Mm? What’re they doing?

Good morning. Mitsuru and Shiratori’s faces are pressed/huddled up together, what are you two up to?

Mitsuru: Ah. Tomo-chan, good morning~. I’m looking at flyers with Ai-chan right now!

Tomoya: Flyers for what?

Aira: Good morning. For a toy store– There was an ad in my mailbox this morning. There’s lots of toys featured in the Christmas special!

I’m not at the age where I’ll be getting toys anymore, but a flyer with lots of toys in it is always exciting no matter how old you are… Tenma-senpai and I both got excited over it.

Tomoya: Ahaha. I understand, I understand. It’s always fun to look.

Mitsuru: “This is something I wanted when I was a kid, and these are the kind of things I’d like now”... That’s what Ai-chan and I were talking about.

Tomoya: Hmm~. Lemme take a look. Ah. As I figured, game consoles have always been popular. I also asked Santa for one every year.

Ahh. This is something I wanted as a kid but I never got to get it. And I got this one from Santa once!~

Aira: Many of Mashiro-senpai’s picks are classics. I feel like you’re very consistent and easy to understand.

Tomoya: Is that so? I guess I’m really not an adventurous kind of person.

Mitsuru: Hey Tomo-chan. Doesn’t this look like a toy from a long time ago?

Tomoya: Nn? Now that you mention it, I think I did used to play with that way back when.

Wow, but now there’s shining lights, and it makes noise. The latest ones are so flashy, huh~?

Aira: Nn~♪ Looking at gift flyers like that makes me antsy! It’s almost Christmas ♪

Mitsuru: Juuust~ a fewww~ more niiights~ until Christmas!

Tomoya: Ahaha. That’s true~. After all, as December approaches, I also start to feel kinda restless…

–Oops! I’ve gotta leave the dorm soon.

Aira: You're off to work?

Tomoya: Mhm. I have a photoshoot this morning and a meeting in the afternoon. I have to go soon.

Mitsuru: That’s a shame, I wanted to talk more~!

Well then, go ahead, Tomo-chan!

Aira: See you!

Tomoya: Take care!

( That afternoon )

Tomoya: (I’m glad~...! The shoot went better than I had expected it to! I knew it was the right call to ask for Narukami-senpai’s advice beforehand.)

(My work for the morning went well, but… After I eat I’ll have a meeting about the contents of the “Shuffle Project” in the afternoon~...)

(I’m worried, what kind of project will it be…?)

Sigh~... mogumogu…

(I wonder if I’m gonna be able to get along well with the other members…)

Hinata: Yahoo~! Tomo-kun, thank you for your hard work!

Tomoya: Nn? … Ah, It’s Hinata. Thanks for your hard work.

Hinata: Are you having lunch? So am I. Can I join you?

Tomoya: Mhm, go ahead. I’ve just started eating too.

Hinata: Thank you ♪ What to order~...?

Alright, I’m in the mood for some pork cutlet curry today!

Tomoya: That was quick~. You always make quick decisions– it’s pretty refreshing to watch.

Hinata: Fufufu~. I wanna take good care of my intuition, you know! ☆

Ah. That reminds me, I heard something~! Tomo-kun. That “Shuffle Project” of yours. So they reached out to the wrong members mistakenly?

Tomoya: That’s right! I really thought I was in the same unit as Hajime and the others! The shock after so much joy was just too much…!

Hinata: Ahaha. I feel sorry for you, Tomo-kun, but it was a pretty amusing situation to hear about.

Tomoya: You… Just because it’s not your problem to deal with~...

Tomoya: All the members are my seniors, so I have to be mindful.

I’m somewhat used to Akehoshi-senpai and Fushimi-senpai, but I feel like the others are all pretty quirky…

Hinata: Uh-oh. My vice prez is on pretty high guard too, huh~?

But I think I understand. ♪

Tomoya: Even ES said they’d give us support, but… considering the circumstances, no matter how you think about it, it’s totally just meant to give us some peace of mind!

Hinata: Mhm, still, I do really feel sorry for you. But, y’know, doesn’t that also depend on the project? Have you even decided what kind of project it’s gonna be? 

Tomoya: No. We just met face to face the other day. I heard we’ll have a meeting about the project now.

Hinata: Hmm. Is that so. Then, from here on out, the outcome of Tomo-kun’s fate shall be decided…

Tomoya: You find my misfortune amusing!?

Hinata: Ahahaha �� I’m just looking forward to seeing what kind of “Shuffle Project” Tomo-kun’s unit will come up with!

Hinata: It’s okay! Give it your best shot, Tomo-kun! If it all falls apart, I’ll pick up the pieces for ya! ♪

[jokertrap-ran]

[Gakuen K] Munakata Reisi Route: Tea Summons Translation

*Translator’s note : MC’s name shall remain as my normal (水嶋ラン) *Gakuen K Masterlist / Gakuen K Mobile Masterlist *Spoiler FREE : Translations under cut ! Reblogs appreciated~

Ran: (I'm supposed to be starting my job as a Student Council Apprentice today…)

Ran: (I wonder what the Student Council does?)

Ran: Oh, Fushimi-kun. Are you heading to the Clubroom? Let's go together!

Fushimi: No thanks.

Ran: Ah… He went ahead without me.

Ran: (I guess I should head to the Clubroom and ask Munakata-senpai about it.)

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Ran: (This isn’t the first time I’ve been here, but I still can’t believe that this whole place belongs to the Blue Club…)

Ran: (Now’s not the time to be admiring the building! I need to get inside.)

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Akiyama: Hello. I’ve heard from Fushimi-kun that you’re going to be a Student Council Apprentice starting today.

Ran: Oh, yes. I am. You’re a member of the Student Council too, right?

Akiyama: Yes. I look forward to working with you on matters of the Student Council as well.

Ran: Same here!

Ran: By the way… Is Munakata-senpai not going to be present today?

Akiyama: No, he’s not coming. The Captain has left a message for you, asking you to go to his office.

Ran: (His office? Maybe he wants me to start work as soon as possible.)

Ran: Thank you, I’ll head there right now!

Akiyama: Alright, see you.

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Ran: (I’m in front of his door, but I’m feeling a little nervous…)

Ran: (But I have to pull myself together! Who knows, this might just be my first task as part of the Student Council!)

Ran: Alright, let’s try knocking.

Munakata: Yes?

Ran: !

Munakata: Oh, it’s you. Come in.

Ran: (That scared me… The door opened as soon as I knocked.)

Munakata: Is something the matter?

Ran: No! Pardon the intrusion.

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Munakata: Sorry for calling you here.

Ran: Don’t worry about it. Did you call me here regarding Student Council work?

Munakata: No, not this time. There’s just something that I’d like you around for.

Ran: What is it?

Munakata: Join me for tea, will you?

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Ran: (He’s clearly familiar with the motions…)

Ran: (Meanwhile, I know nothing about tea ceremonies. I hope this goes smoothly…)

Ran: (I got a really cute sakura-shaped sweet earlier. But I can’t just eat it right off the bat now, can I? )

Ran: (I can’t help feeling nervous since this is my first time doing something like this… Maybe I should strike up a conversation?)

Ran: Um, are you interested in tea?

Munakata: Yes, I am.

Munakata: I usually ask the recruits to join me. You can say it’s a custom of sorts.

Ran: I see… That sounds like a nice custom to have.

Munakata: Yes. Well, this often becomes a one-off thing since everyone’s busy, so it’s actually a little sad.

Munakata: —Here you go.

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Ran: O-Okay. Thank you.

Ran: (I remember something about having to turn the bowl this way or that when drinking…?)

Ran: (Was it to the left or the right?)

Munakata: Relax, I’m just doing this as a hobby. You don’t have to worry about the right way to do it.

Ran: O-Okay. Thanks.

Ran: (Thank goodness. This is still a good chance to go check out how tea ceremonies should be done though.)

Ran: *Gulp* Ugh…

Ran: (This is way more bitter than I was expecting it to be…)

Munakata: How does it taste?

Ran: (At times like this, I should…)

Ran: I-It was very delicious…

Munakata: Heh, I see. Thank you.

Munakata: Though, it's written all over your face that you clearly find it bitter.

Ran: !

Ran: Sorry…

Munakata: It’s quite alright. You’re just not used to drinking it.

Munakata: …Oh dear, did you not eat the sweet along with it?

Ran: Huh? No. I thought that, you know, I wasn’t supposed to just eat it like that.

Munakata: Apologies, it looks like I’ve forgotten to inform you about it.

Munakata: You’re supposed to eat it so that the sweetness remains in your mouth before you drink the tea.

Ran: Huh!? Really?

Munakata: Yes. I did tell you that you didn’t have to follow the procedures, but perhaps I should have emphasized that you should have done this step accordingly at least.

Ran: Will it help lessen the bitterness?

Munakata: Yes. It wouldn’t have tasted as bitter as what you just drank, at least.

Munakata: If we ever have the chance to do this again, please eat the sweet first. In fact, I strongly recommend that you do.

Ran: Alright, I’ll take note of that. And I should probably study up on tea ceremonies in the meantime.

Munakata: That would be brilliant. I look forward to the next time we hold another tea ceremony.

Munakata: Now then, shall we wrap things up now? Thank you for joining me today.

Ran: Of course. It was a good learning experience. I’ll get going then…

Ran: (My legs have fallen asleep from how long I’ve been sitting on them…)

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Munakata: Are you alright?

Ran: Ow...

Munakata: Your legs have gone numb, haven’t they? Sorry for not having noticed it earlier.

Munakata: But you could have just changed your sitting posture earlier before it got that bad. 

Ran: Sorry… I was so nervous that I didn’t actually notice…

Munakata: Please do be more careful next time.

Ran: R-Right!

Munakata: Shall we remain like this until the numbness fades?

Ran: N-No need! I’ll be fine!

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Ran: (It was embarrassing how my knees nearly buckled thanks to how numb my legs had gotten…)

Ran: (Looks like there are many things to consider and take note of at a tea ceremony.)

Ran: (I think the library might have some books on tea ceremonies. I should look it up.)

»» ━━━━━━━ ∘◦♔◦∘ ━━━━━━━ ««

Next Scene: Average of 90+

[ayumicchi14]

GAKUEN K -WONDERFUL SCHOOL DAYS-

Fushimi Saruhiko route

Event 27

Translation below the cut

Announcer: "Thank you for waiting. From here we will start the interdivisional talent contest."

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Are you ready?"

Konohana Saya: "Y-Yeah. I'm ready...!"

Konohana Saya: (Finally, the school festival's main event. Thanks to the intensive training everyday after school, controlling my ability is almost perfect)

Konohana Saya: (But, I can't believe we're going first...!)

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Your face is really stiff."

Konohana Saya: "I'm nervous..."

Announcer: "This contest winner will be decided based from the voting by the judge teachers and from all of those who are present."

Announcer: "Please watch until the end."

Announcer: "Well then, entry number one. Appearance of Blue club."

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Just do as you have practiced. You don't need to be nervous."

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Come on, get on stage."

Konohana Saya: "Y-Yeah!"

Konohana Saya: (Whaa... everyone is looking at us. What should I do if it fails...)

Konohana Saya: (Although Fushimi-kun said something like that, I can't help being nervous)

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Oi, hurry up do it."

Konohana Saya: "H-Here we go."

Konohana Saya: (Do as what I've practiced. Concentrating on my hand like, this...)

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Idiot! You're overdoing it!"

Konohana Saya: (The ability just as I've practiced is...!)

Konohana Saya: "Ah!"

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Stop your ability now!"

Konohana Saya: (The plant is growing too much and it's growing right to the audience seats!?)

Konohana Saya: (That's bad, I have to stop my ability!)

Fushimi Saruhiko: "I'll cut the trees with my saber. You need to stop your ability as soon as possible."

Konohana Saya: (To stop my ability is relaxing my body...)

Konohana Saya: "......No, I can't stop it. I could have done it in practice!"

Fushimi Saruhiko: "You have too much strength in your body!"

Konohana Saya: (I just can't help it...!)

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Damn it!"

*later in captain's club*

Munakata Reishi: "It's quite an interesting program. It had an impact that made us to be on the edge just by watching it."

Konohana Saya: "I am really sorry for making an uproar."

Munakata Reishi: "......But there's no one injured, and we missed out on the win, but for an impact aspect, it's the very best."

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Impact aspect or anything, it's only an impact."

Munakata Reishi: "Just as I thought, I'm glad that I'm entrusting this to you two. You guys were doing well for contributing on the excitement of school's festival."

Konohana Saya: "I'm happy that my ability could make everyone delighted a bit, but..."

Fushimi Saruhiko: "It's almost caused an accidental freak-out though."

Konohana Saya: "But because Fushimi-kun was stopping it, so it turned out to be okay."

Konohana Saya: "I'm so glad that I'm being paired up with Fushimi-kun."

Fushimi Saruhiko: "......Even I can't always be your pair forever."

Munakata Reishi: "Fushimi-kun, Konohana-san, thank you for your hard work participating as the big role in talent contest."

Konohana Saya: "Not at all. Thank you for entrusting the big role to us."

Munakata Reishi: "Because you two might be tired, I don't mind if you are leaving. Please rest well."

Konohana Saya: "Yes, I understand."

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Excuse us."

Konohana Saya: "Even though there's an unexpected incident, I'm glad that somehow we managed to make it successful."

Fushimi Saruhiko: "That is, not a words to say from a someone that created the unexpected incident."

Konohana Saya: "Ahaha. You're right. I've got helped by Fushimi-kun again."

Fushimi Saruhiko: "From the very beginning, I'm a supporting role for dealing with the trouble at the talent contest."

Fushimi Saruhiko: "I'm just doing my duty."

Konohana Saya: "Even so, I'm grateful."

Konohana Saya: "If Fushimi-kun didn't follow-up, maybe it could have been the same kind of disturbance I've caused at the previous school."

Konohana Saya: "Thank you for helping me."

Fushimi Saruhiko: "......Don't be too naive. The one who suggested you to use your ability is me."

Fushimi Saruhiko: "If your pattern of thinking is like that, someday you will be deceived and get hurt."

Konohana Saya: "Naive, huh. I didn't mean to be like that though..."

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Tch."

Konohana Saya: "You're going back to the school? Did you forgot something?"

Fushimi Saruhiko: "I just want to meet with the captain."

Konohana Saya: "Did you remember about having a business?"

Fushimi Saruhiko: "I'm going to cancel the pair with you."

Konohana Saya: "W-Why!?"

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Why, huh... you don't want to be forced and always being paired up with me, do you?"

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Although the main event was failed, but this time, because of the intensive training, your power is considerably stable. If requested, it's expected that the pair is getting cancelled."

Konohana Saya: "No, don't. After all, I've just come to understand Fushimi-kun!"

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Huh...?"

Fushimi Saruhiko: "What do you mean by I can't? You're always apologizing at the beginning and afraid of me, aren't you?"

Konohana Saya: "It's true that at first you have a scary impression, but it's different now."

Konohana Saya: "I know a lot of Fushimi-kun's gentle side."

Konohana Saya: "I like Fushimi-kun, so I would be lonely if you cancel the pairing!"

Fushimi Saruhiko: "H-Huh......?"

Fushimi Saruhiko: "Tch... as expected, you're a dangerously good-natured person."

Konohana Saya: "You won't cancel the pairing, right?"

Fushimi Saruhiko: "You're noisy. I understand. I won't cancel it."

Konohana Saya: "Thank goodness. From now on, can I stay together with you...?"

Fushimi Saruhiko: "......It's up to you."

[katsona-the-katsequel]

Mitsuru Kirijo's Rampage

Second of the P3 Club Book mini-stories. This time, we're focusing on Mitsuru.

___________________________________________

Mitsuru Kirijo was troubled.

Apparently, she was a little different from the average girl her age.

Thinking back, up until now, she had spent every day fighting shadows and studying. She didn't shy away from any hardships if it would help her beloved father, and she thought that was just normal. Until recently.

The trigger must have been the school trip. Unlike everyday school studies, even if it was only for a few days, sharing meals and sleeping quarters with classmates from morning till night forced her to become aware of this little by little.

How should she put it? She felt like she was a little out of touch with common sense. Come to think of it, it often seemed like her friends in SEES and the members of the Student Council were distancing themselves from her.

Just the other day, she honestly asked Akihiko Sanada, "Hey, am I... not normal?"

After hearing Mitsuru's question, Akihiko remained motionless with his usual refreshing smile on his face, and after a good minute or so, he gave a passionate speech about how important individuality is, and how wonderful it is that each and every person is different, and then left singing. The song he hummed was "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana." It was impressive that he refused to make eye contact with Mitsuru until the very end.

She finally realized that this was a roundabout way of saying "there is a problem."

As the Student Council president who stands above the other students, and as the person in charge of SEES, this couldn't be good! It was probably impossible to acquire common sense overnight, but at the very least, she would become someone who was loved by the people around her! It was no wonder that Mitsuru was so inspired. And, being her character, she acted quickly... Even if it was a nuisance.

"President? What did you just say?"

"What? What's wrong? N-No... that's not it... What's wrong? C-Chihiro?"

"H-Huh!? AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

The screams of Chihiro Fushimi, the Student Council treasurer, echoed through the Student Council room. The day after school, Mitsuru's "Strategy to Become a Person Everyone Loves" was put into action. She immediately put it into action and achieved great results.

What she was doing was nothing special. She just wanted to imitate the speech and movements of the most friendly girl Mitsuru knew, Fuuka Yamagishi, just to get the hang of it. That was it.

Unfortunately for everyone, the impact was greater than anyone had expected. Mitsuru simply responded to Chihiro's question, "President, how should we handle this?" with the following words.

"C-Chihiro, what do you think we should do?"

And then she smiled.

She intended to smile softly, but she was unaware that the corners of her cheeks were twitching because she had overworked facial muscles that she didn't normally use. As a result, rather than a smile, it looked more like she was plotting something.

But even so, Mitsuru was genuinely worried about Chihiro, who had screamed and gone completely white, and called out to her gently, "Are you okay, Chihiro?"

This was the final blow.

Crack. Chihiro heard the sound of something breaking inside her.

"Nooooooo! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I apologize if I was wrong! Please! Forgive me! If there's something you want to say, you can torture me to death! Please don't swallow me whole and let me slowly dissolve alive in your stomach, torturing me to death! I'm so sorry!"

Witnessing an impossible and abnormal phenomenon, Chihiro's fragile mind was easily burned. Tormented by fear, her mind filled with persecution complexes, she ended up curled up in a fetal position, muttering incomprehensible things.

"Uh... Hey, Fushimi? Everyone? Wh-what's wrong? What happened?"

When Mitsuru finally realized what was going on after seeing Chihiro's crazy behavior and looked around, there was no one left in the Student Council room who could speak properly.

"No. It was my fault for imitating Yamagishi so poorly. As expected, I couldn't compete with the real thing."

After the disaster in the Student Council room was brought to an end by the sirens of several ambulances, Mitsuru took Fuuka, whom she had met by chance in the hallway, to the roof of the high school building. Feeling a little down that her plan had failed, Mitsuru apologized to Fuuka for using her as an example without her permission and frankly asked her the reason for her mistake.

"After all... a person's tone of voice and behavior are unique to them... No matter how hard you try, it's inevitable that you'll make a mistake at some point."

"But then... everyone seems to take a step back. It seems like my attitude is too stiff."

"If so, then maybe we should talk about..."

"Who?"

"I only had a short time to spend with him, but when I talked to him, I found him to be a really interesting guy. At first I was a little scared and didn't want to get close to him, but he jokes around a lot."

"Are you serious? I see..."

Mitsuru remembered Aragaki's face when he had just entered high school. It's true that before that incident, Aragaki was a rather cheerful person.

In other words, he had a personality similar to Junpei's today.

"I see... that makes sense! Yamagishi, I'm in your debt!"

"Eh? Ah... Kirijo-senpai? Where are you going?"

"I'll go back to the dorms right away and start working on my draft! Luckily, tomorrow is the day of the school assembly!"

With that, Mitsuru left Fuuka behind and ran off at breakneck speed. Her speed was like that of Archimedes who, while taking a bath, shouted "I got it!" and ran out naked into the street. Of course, Mitsuru had no idea what was going on.

The next morning, all the students were gathered in the auditorium for an assembly. After the usual sleep-inducing address from the principal and various warnings from the head teacher of the year, an announcement echoed through the auditorium: "Next, we have an announcement from the Student Council. President, please." Then, standing tall and dignified as always, Mitsuru Kirijo appeared on the stage.

Mitsuru's footsteps echoed as she took center stage, slightly adjusting the angle of the microphone on the podium, and turned her gaze forward, surveying every corner of the auditorium. It was truly the dignity of a queen. There was not even a trace of the crazy look from yesterday, and she looked just as dignified as ever, and the student council members waiting in the wings breathed a sigh of relief.

"...Good morning~☆"

A short, light murmur spread across the room. For a moment, everyone there must have thought they were hearing an auditory hallucination. All except Fuuka Yamagishi, who was remembering the careless advice she had given yesterday, and turned pale.

Mitsuru became anxious as the murmur gradually increased. Something was wrong. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She was supposed to start off with a light hook to ease the tension of the audience, and then have them laughing with a succession of witty jokes... for that purpose she had gone out of her way to buy "100 American Jokes" and "French Anecdotes for Adults" at a second-hand bookstore and studied them thoroughly. Perhaps the jokes were just too old, even though they were famous lines from a morning children's program that was all the rage when Mitsuru was a child. However, as someone who rarely watched TV these days, she could think of one... there it was! She was sure that the recent trend that Iori had mentioned would work.

"...this seems like a tough crowd, even for Mitsuru Kirijo, Ace Detective¹."

(Shhh)

This time silence enveloped the surroundings. On average, each student had an extra five gray hairs. No one moved. Then, after a moment of silence, a loud scream from Chihiro resounded, "Nooooooooo!" It seemed that the trauma from yesterday had come back to life at this exact moment. If this were a workplace instead of a school, I'm sure she would receive work-related compensation for PTSD.

That day, more than 10 ambulances were called to Gekkoukan High School.

After school, Mitsuru was really depressed. The speech she had been thinking about almost all night had ended in a disastrous failure, but more than anything, she went to tell Fuuka that she hadn't been able to put her advice to good use.

"I don't mind, but from now on, please refrain from using the Mabufudyne (1.5 times stronger due to the Freezing High Booster) in front of ordinary people, hehe."

She was really taken aback by the harsh words she said. That showed how venomous Fuuka was. By the way, there was not even a trace of a smile in Fuuka's eyes.

So Mitsuru was feeling depressed and trudged back to the dorm.

"Huh? Hey there, Mitsuru-senpai."

A voice Mitsuru knew very well called out.

It was the voice of Yukari Takeba. Usually, at this point, she would have said, "Oh, Yukari, are you coming home now too?" and so on, and the conversation would start naturally. However, Mitsuru was completely out of sorts after a series of failures.

It was driving her crazy.

"Eh? Y-yes, Yukari..."

If her words were not like Mitsuru's, then her attitude was also not like Mitsuru's, for she had a timid expression on her face, as if she was peering at Yukari's reaction from below.

"…"

"..."

"...That was weird."

Yukari's merciless words pierced Mitsuru's heart deeply. And then...

"Uh... uhh."

"Oh, what? Mitsuru-senpai?"

"...Uh..."

"What? No way! Hey, please don't cry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It was just a little joke. Oh, there you go."

Mitsuru was bawling like a child.

In the evening, Yukari brought Mitsuru, whose tears wouldn't stop, to the grounds of Naganari Shrine. The small jungle gym and the grounds beyond were bathed in orange light from the shining setting sun.

"I'm sorry... I thought maybe even Yukari had lost interest in me, so I..."

"But that's not true!"

Although the corners of her eyes were a little red, Mitsuru had somehow managed to stop crying and seemed to have calmed down a bit now.

"So, what happened? Today's assembly was pretty weird, to be honest."

Although it was because of their close friendship, Yukari's frank way of speaking made Mitsuru stumble, but she continued to calmly explain what had happened the other day. After hearing everything, Yukari sighed deeply and said bluntly,

"Isn't that stupid?"

"Why are you calling me stupid? I'm being serious..."

"You're an idiot!"

As Yukari said this and looked into Mitsuru's eyes, she looked a little angry for some reason.

"Y-Yukari?"

"Senpai, you don't understand at all!"

A face that looked angry, yet had a hint of loneliness.

"Okay, I'll only say it once, okay? Can't you see? None of the people in the dorm or the Student Council shun you, let alone hate you!"

"Yukari..."

"Why did Fuuka give Mitsuru-senpai such kind advice? Everyone was surprised to see you acting differently because they think the usual you is better, right? Seriously, it's a bad habit of yours to always be convinced and rush ahead on your own, isn't it?"

"I wonder if it's okay for me to stay like this?"

"You're fine just the way you are, senpai!"

"Even if I don't have common sense?"

"I don't have any expectations!"

"...Don't you think they dislike me?"

"Everyone loves you, senpai!"

One keyword contained in Yukari's words struck Mitsuru's heart. It was the word she had wanted most, even though she hadn't realized it.

"Once again!"

"Huh?"

Mitsuru, who should have been feeling depressed and dejected, suddenly turned around and confronted Yukari with great anger.

"What you just said..."

"Eh? Everyone likes you?"

With the handwritten words visible in the background, Mitsuru was so moved that her whole body was trembling. Then, her face flushed even more, she questioned Yukari.

"Yu-Yukari... what... did you say!?"

"M-Me?! I... I don't have to say it."

"I can't hear you!"

"Oh come on! I don't have to say that out loud... Ah..."

Yukari was about to say that Mitsuru would understand without her saying anything, but then she looked into her eyes and realized. Mitsuru, of course, understood without her having to say anything. But what she needed now was clear words from Yukari. Seeing Mitsuru's desperate gaze pleading with her, Yukari gave a wry smile and said,

"I like you too, Mitsuru-senpai. L-like everyone else does, too."

She spoke heartfelt words to Mitsuru, but also remembered to warn her so that she didn't think her as strange.

"Well, well! It's getting dark soon, so let's hurry back to the dorms!"

Yukari stood up from the bench, trying to hide the color on her cheeks, and turned her back to Mitsuru. Mitsuru followed suit, hurriedly standing up as well.

"Y-yes, Yukari! Wait a second, if possible, try to say that... again..."

Blushing even more than Yukari, Mitsuru repeated the same words she had said earlier, but Yukari continued to walk ahead without paying any attention to her.

"I don't know. Haven't you had enough?"

"...Yukari is surprisingly stingy..."

"What do you mean, stingy? Stingy!"

"You're so stingy. Just the other day..."

"Oh, should we bring that up again? You're the one..."

The two of them walked through the twilight, yelling and screaming. They looked like best friends who had known each other for 10 years. Before she knew it, Mitsuru's small worries had melted away like snow in spring.

___________________________________________

¹. "I'm a helpless/surrendering samurai" / "お手上げ侍", a joke Junpei made in the game. No matter what Junpei told Mitsuru in this story, its not a trend. He just made an expression about giving up and tried to make it popular but failed. Yeah... maybe that is why it was replaced by the "Ace Detective" bit in the localization. I tried my hand at a replacement joke.

Tag List: @kerto-p

[ridiasfangirlings]

i feel like it gets glazed over in a lot of the fandom etc but the main 3 of homra are genuinely so well written imo

rewatching r:b makes me think abt how mikoto is geniunely emotionally smart the way he read yamata and his view on fushimi, then again with totsuka i just the way hes written and how you can see the different sides of him

idk i just thought it needed appreciation

To be honest when I first watched K I didn’t like Mikoto very much, I thought he was hard to read and just didn’t have a lot of interest in him. The side materials really helped though, I agree that he’s actually written very well as a character. I like that he’s such a contrast to Munakata, where Munakata saw being King as answering a question for Mikoto it was like equal parts blessing and curse — it both allowed him to protect the people he cares about and gave him a group of people who he wants to protect, but at the same time this power always puts them in danger and Mikoto has to dull himself to keep from losing control. He’s very focused on living freely and doing as he pleases, but it’s not like he’s unaware of the consequences either. One of the things I really like about the King and the Traitor short story (besides, like, all of it) is how when Fushimi berates him for being selfish Mikoto is just like ‘yup,’ like he kinda wanted someone to say that to him and he actually appreciated Fushimi being honest. And in general Mikoto caring about people — especially Fushimi — while looking like he doesn’t is great, in both the aforementioned short story and in LSW when he shows up after Hisui is defeated, I think it’s very clear to literally everyone but Fushimi that Mikoto cares about his well being. Mikoto puts on an image like this violent barbarian but he’s clearly very perceptive in his own way and does understand his people.

Totsuka I think tends to get flattened down by fandom some and it’s a shame because I love the duality of Totsuka. Like on the one hand he’s a tragic cinnamon roll who dies to start the story rolling, but he’s also someone with his own selfishness and flaws and he’s keenly aware of both how other people see him and his own feelings. He’s internalized the idea of himself as someone who ‘doesn’t hold onto anything’ and thinks that seeing Mikoto be King is the only thing he truly wants, and seems to treat it flippantly when Anna says he’ll die if he stays near Mikoto — but when he’s actually dying he regrets, and he’s upset, because he did truly want to stay with everyone. He can switch between being friends with everyone in Homra on equal footing and ‘seeming like he’s watching over them,’ he clearly tries to get Fushimi and Yata to understand each other and make up but he’s also very aware when he’s pushing Fushimi’s buttons and keeps doing it anyway. He can be friends with everyone but also cruel when he wants to be, and he thinks of himself as selfish because he wants Mikoto to be King more than Mikoto himself wants it. My favorite part of Totsuka is that he could have been this perfect innocent angel martyr but he’s actually a much more complex and interesting character than that. 

And of course poor Kusanagi, with his dead friends. Honestly if there’s one complaint I have with the writing for the Homra trio it’s probably in Kusanagi, because he’s great but I don’t think the series follows through with him enough. I’ve complained before about Circle Vision giving the dreams to the wrong people, Homra’s dream should have 100% been Kusanagi’s and taken time to explore his grief, because I feel like the show at large glosses over it. Like that whole movie was everyone else being like ‘yeah so this is a dream’ and basically everyone except Sukuna and Kusanagi accept that. Kusanagi would normally be one to immediately notice it though, it’s just he clearly doesn’t want to because he wants his friends back. I love that Mikoto and Totsuka stay behind with him a bit and drink with him but I really wanted more of that, justice for Kusanagi. I like everything that they do with him before that, especially in Side Red where we get the first hints of it with Kusanagi and Shiotsu talking about ‘when your King crumbles what will you do.’ I think Kusanagi in particular has the hardest role in the trio, because Mikoto’s accepted he’ll likely die eventually due to being a King and I think Totsuka’s always assumed he’d die first, while Kusanagi is the one who really has to accept that he’s going to be the one to survive.

[itsuki-minamy]

"K – LETTER STORY"

BLUE: "THE TESTAMENT OF REISI MUNAKATA"

Translation: Naru-kun Raws: Ridia

Enomoto discovered the corrupt file in a corner of the cloud while working to restore the system that had been trampled by "Jungle". Because the virus spread by "Jungle" remained a minefield on the public and private network, it was necessary for "Scepter 4" to shut down the network, re-clean the directory, and completely destroy any suspicious files there.

After carefully isolating the corrupted file and restoring it, it turned out to be a video file. When he checked the file's path, he discovered that it had been uploaded from Seiun's bedroom.

"Fushimi-san. What is this?"

"Eh?"

Fushimi approached Enomoto's seat.

"I'll try to reproduce it."

Unusually, Munakata was shown wearing casual civilian clothing, rather than a uniform or kimono. He shows him sitting at his desk in his room in Seiun's dormitory from the front. The date and time are just after his dismissal as director of the fourth legislative office.

Munakata, who was sitting at his desk with his fingers intertwined, opened his mouth.

[I leave you this letter on video in case I don't come back.]

Without saying a word, Fushimi placed a hand on the side of Enomoto's PC and leaned in to look at the screen. Enomoto stepped back a little and gave the place to Fushimi.

[A separate notarial document on the inheritance of private property has been preserved. I am a mediocre official, so I don't leave much wealth.]

Munakata had a mocking smile on his face that he couldn't read, whether he was serious or joking.

"Fushimi-san, this is..."

"It's the boss's will."

Enomoto swallowed at what Fushimi said with an emotionless face. Neither of them asked to stop watching, but they continued.

[The fact that there are people watching this letter on video means that I did not return. Did they accomplish what they were supposed to do or did they fail and allow the world to fall into chaos? In the latter case, all members withdrew, disbanded, returned to private life, and became normal individuals. This will be my last order.

Even if it is the former, I hope that social order is maintained even if I am absent. In fact, it can be said that the reason for being of "Scepter 4" has become ingrained in the social system even though I am no longer needed as an individual.

Awashima-kun, I trust that you will handle the official consequences without omissions. I'm sorry I didn't tell you anything. I will take Zenjo-san and Fushimi-kun with me. I needed someone to take care of the rest and I couldn't think about you. I'm sure you have many things to tell me.]

Munakata hit Awashima's "what he meant" with a single punch. He felt dizzy as he looked at Munakata's blurry face with red and swollen cheeks.

[Also, I should explain to you about Fushimi-kun here. I think he will survive because I take measures to bring him back alive, but I don't think he is the type to explain himself.]

Even after the incident, Munakata verbally explained the fact that Fushimi was infiltrated into "Jungle". If Munakata hadn't returned alive, everyone would surely have had a misunderstanding.

"I'm glad you're safe... Both the boss and Fushimi-san."

Feeling relieved once again, Enomoto murmured in a wet voice. Fushimi snorted.

"That was a boring suicide note. I thought he would say something about his personal life that he would never say if he were still alive, but being a "public figure" is what makes him a real person."

Perhaps it was Enomoto's desire to say something that seemed like a curse to hide his embarrassment. As Fushimi looked away from the screen and was about to get up from his seat, Munakata in the video continued.

[In other words, I would like to say that the discussion with Fushimi-kun that day was also scripted, but you said it quite well, Fushimi-kun. Was I defeated by Otori Seigo? What do you mean by not saying anything? You use interesting vocabulary. Completely beaten? Hoho... Do I want to become Otori Seigo?]

Munakata rested his chin on his intertwined fingers and smiled.

Fushimi clicked his tongue vigorously.

"Don't take it seriously. You said much more."

"Wasn't there a script for that?"

"Hey, I was just following orders to infiltrate "Jungle" by any means necessary in case the Christmas operation failed."

"Hehe. This is a communication between Fushimi-kun and me."

Enomoto suddenly heard a voice behind him and jumped into his chair. Fushimi looked back indifferently.

Munakata was standing there, again wearing the fourth section chief's uniform, which was different from the one in the video.

"Sorry, I found a file while I was working."

"I'm going to delete it. It's no longer needed, so I'll delete it completely without a trace."

While Enomoto was quick to make excuses, Fushimi said calmly and without hesitation.

"Yes. Please delete it. It is no longer necessary."

Munakata nodded and smiled with some satisfaction. Enomoto thought it was a little strange that he had gone to the trouble of repeating his intention, but he said goodbye to Munakata as he left the station and said, "Thank you for your hard work.". His beautiful, broad blue back disappeared into the hallway.

If he were a private citizen and asked to protect what was most important to him, he thought about what he would have protected. Well, he doesn't have a girlfriend, so his family at home, his hobby collection, etc... No. He thinks he stayed back and did the best he could, even in a small way, to maintain order and protect the others citizens who had fallen into chaos. In fact, all his colleagues in the Special Forces did it as a matter of course.

Even in Munakata's absence, they would create an orderly, common-sense society in which each person acted to protect "what is most important to each person" based on his own judgment.

It has been proven that Munakata's soul was already incorporated into the BIOS of the basic system running "Scepter 4".

Enomoto deleted Munakata's will, which was no longer necessary.

[jujumin-translates]

[A3!] Citron | [R] Maid of Longing | Citron Becomes a Maid

Citron: Hmhmh~m ♪

Azami: You sure seem like you’re in a good mood.

Citron: Ohh, Azami! I am looking forward to my costume fitting today, so I am a little excited!

Azami: Is that so…

Citron: By the way, where are you going, Azami? I heard that you are already done with your costume fitting.

Azami: Yeah, mine’s already done with, but I thought I might sit in on yours, Citron-san.

Citron: My costume fitting? Why?

Azami: I’m tryin’ to figure out what kinda makeup would fit you with your costume.

Citron: If that is the case, then you may watch a lot!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Citron: I am wearing a maid uniform~!

Citron: This costume is very cute! You did a good job, Yuki~!

Izumi: Yeah, your maid uniform really is cute, Citron-kun.

Azami: The demon wings look pretty good, too.

Yuki: Thanks.

Citron: The skirt is so flowy~. It is very fluffy and twirly~!

Yuki: Quit moving. I’m trying to look at the size and length, so just hold still.

Citron: Ohh, sorry!

Citron: I like this maid uniform so much that I can not help but get very excited!

Azami: You really like it that much?

Yuki: I mean, you always compliment my costumes, but it really seems like you’re yapping on about this one more than usual.

Citron: I have always been interested in Japanese maids. They are very moe-moe, kyun!

Yuki: Gotcha.

Izumi: Huh, I never knew you were so interested in Japanese maids, Citron-kun.

Citron: I love the Japanese culture of maids who work to serve their masters in such cute clothes!

Azami: Nah, most maids don’t wear that kinda thing.

Izumi: Yeah. I’m pretty sure most actual maids don’t wear cute outfits like that to work…!

Citron: They do not wear them to work!?

Yuki: Yeah, only maids at maid cafes wear that kinda outfit.

Yuki: Alright, that’s all. You can take it off now, Citron.

Citron: We are done already!? I do not want to take it off yet~!

Yuki: Yeah, no, I’m done looking it over and it’s a costume, so.

Citron: I do not want to~...

Azami: You’ll be screwed if somethin’ happens to it and you can’t wear it for the show, y’know.

Izumi: Exactly… You’ll be able to wear it again for the play, so why don’t you just take it off for now?

Citron: …I suppose you are right. I will take off my maid uniform…

Citron: But instead… I will become a maid starting today!

Azami: …Hah?

· ❀ —– ٠ ❀ ٠ —– ❀ ·

Tsuzuru: Seems like Fushimi-san made a pound cake as a snack for today.

Azami: Yeah, it looks real good. I’ll go get plates.

Guy: Then I shall brew some tea.

Tsuzuru: Ah, I’ll help out too.

Citron: Everyone, wait! Then, as a maid, I will make your tea!

Guy: You will, Citronia…?

Azami: Ah, right, you mentioned somethin’ about becomin’ a maid…

Tsuzuru: I haven’t really seen you make tea too often, so are you sure you’ll be fine, Citron-san?

Citron: Of course, I will be fine! I watched a video on a very cool way to brew tea that will make everyone gasp!

Azami: I’ve got a bad feelin’ about this for some reason…

Guy: Well, it is just making tea. How about we just see how things go for now?

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Citron: It is done! Alright, here I go! Ta-da~!

Azami: Wait, Citron-san! The tea’s spillin’! 

Tsuzuru: If you hold it up so high like that, it’ll slosh around and spill over… Wait, not the table!

Guy: I apologize for Citronia. I’ll wipe off the table right away.

Azami: Thanks, Guy-san.

Guy: I suppose I’d better go and brew it myself.

Tsuzuru: Please do…

Citron: It is hard to brew it as cool as it looked in the video~.

Citron: Guy, please take care of my tea!

Guy: Yes, understood.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Citron: The tea was a bit of a failure, but I can clean very well! This time, I will tidy up the mess in the lounge~!

Citron: The magazines that were left here are Juza’s! And this disc is Itaru’s!

Citron: I will organize these here… And now everything is sorted out!

Azami: I dunno if I’d call that organized. It’s more like you just stacked everything in a pile.

Citron: No, no. You do not understand, Azami~! This is how I have organized them, based on my own pre-price calculations!

Guy: Pre Bryce? Is Bryce an acquaintance of yours?

Tsuzuru: No, I’m pretty sure that was meant to be “precise.”

Azami: …Y’all are a mess.

Citron: Next, I will place some small items here. The pen goes here… And the tape there, and now I will push it into the empty space over here!

Guy: …

Citron: Phew, your maid is done tidying up! Everything is perfetched~!

Tsuzuru: It’s “perfect,” not perfetched.

Citron: Yes, that!

Azami: Still, I feel like you were kinda just forcin’ your way through it just to get it over with…

Azami: Are you really done with tidyin’ up?

Citron: I am done! Everything is perfect!

Guy: …Good work, Citronia. Why don’t you take a short break now? Citron: Yes! I am a bit tired, so I will drink some tea and take a break~.

*Citron runs off*

Guy: I will go give the magazines and the DVD to the two they belong to later. Right, and the tape was located over here…

Azami: You’re gonna tidy things up again?

Guy: Yes, it’ll cause trouble for everyone if things stay the way they are now.

Tsuzuru: Isn’t that a lotta work…?

Guy: No, something like this is no problem. It’s what I always do.

Tsuzuru: …Is that so? I’ll help.

Azami: I’ll help too.

Guy: Very well, sorry to bother the both of you. Thank you.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Citron: It is also a maid’s job to take on the laundry~!

Citron: So, can I take this folded laundry, Guy?

Guy: Yes, that won’t be a problem.

Citron: Alright, first I will go and find Azami~!

*Citron runs off*

Guy: Ah, Citronia--.

Guy: …He’s already gone.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

*Door opens*

Citron: Azami, I have brought you your laundry~!

Azami: Thanks… Hm?

Citron: What is the matter?

Azami: Nothin’, just, this ain’t mine, it’s Taichi-san’s--.

*Knock on door and the door opens*

Guy: I’ve brought your laundry, Izumida. My apologies, that was meant to be delivered to Nanao.

Azami: Don’t worry about it. Thanks for goin’ outta your way to bring me it.

Citron: Your laundry has been delivered properly, Azami! It is just like I thought, being a maid is a fun job~!

Citron: I am certain that I have the talent of a maid! It is the perfect job for me!

Azami: Nah, all of that was thanks to Guy-san.

[paniniichan]

Ballade of the Lost Ones - Wandering / Chapter 1

Characters: Yuzuru, Niki Proofreaders: Aru, Oli, Azu

Yuzuru: Excuse me, sir. Are you alright? You aren’t injured, are you?

Man: I’m safe, but my bag… Damn, it had something important inside…

Yuzuru: …

Shiina-sama. This could be dangerous, so please wait here for now. I will go and chase after that bag thie–

Niki: You thief~! You petty thief~! How dare you steal the stand’s churros along with that bag~!

Yuzuru: Shiina-sama!? P-Please wait a second!?

(What just happened? Before I could even move, Shiina-sama ran off to chase down that bag thief…) 

Ah, this is not good. Shiina-sama’s exceedingly strange behaviour caused my thoughts to cease for a moment.

Although we’re from different agencies, we’ve been placed in the same situation… I cannot risk Shiina-sama being exposed to danger. I must pursue him with haste.

Sir, I will also chase after that bag thief. I will do my best to deal with this situation and return your bag to you. 

Man: You’d do that for me!? Eh? Are you sure!?

Yuzuru: Yes, please leave it to me. 

(Now then. It seems that while I was busy dawdling around, the distance between myself and that bag thief had widened.)

(In order to catch up with and restrain him from here, I might have to take this a bit more seriously.)

(Fufu. I don’t normally have the opportunity to get this serious. It may be imprudent of me, but I’m getting a little excited.)

Don’t think you can successfully escape from my grasp. 

Man: …

Niki: Hey you~! Get back here right now!

Those who play with their food should suffer the absolute worst of the worst!? People like you deserve to be kicked to death by a horse, you hear me~!?¹

Yuzuru: That is an idiom said when a person interferes with another’s love life.  

Niki: Huh? When did you get here, Fushimi-kun? There wasn’t anyone next to me just a moment ago?  

Yuzuru: Fufu. In order to catch up, I decided to get a little serious. 

But let us set that aside. Shiina-sama, it seems like our bag thief is running into a back street.

Niki: Ah, you’re right! I wish he’d just accept the fact he’s going to be arrested already.² 

Yuzuru: Well, this might just be the perfect time for that. Since the main street is heavily crowded, pedestrians are simply in the way and I can’t take any extreme measures.  

But since the back street is devoid of people, it may be favourable for us.  

Shall we settle this in there?

＜Several Minutes Later＞

Bag Thief: Huff! Huff! How long are those guys gonna chase me!?

They’re way too stubbo–uwaah!?

Wh-What the!? Something hit me between my legs and I fell over… Is this a plastic bottle!?

Yuzuru: –Indeed. It was a little impolite, but I threw it to stop you from continuing to run away. 

Additionally, even if it had broken a bone in your leg, I would not have cared at all.

Well, I guess it is an extreme measure, even by today’s standards. 

But since I do have a position I need to protect, I tried to take the gentlest approach I could manage. 

 I humbly request for you to resign to your fate already. You won’t be able to escape anymore–

Bag Thief: Eek…! 

Niki: Ugh~, I’m shivering. Why does it feel five degrees colder in here? Is it because it’s so dark~?

Ah. It looks like he dropped all the bags right when he fell.

All righty, safe and sound ☆

We have successfully recovered the churros you snatched! 

Yuzuru: Shiina-sama, I think your priorities are out of order. Could you please secure the bag instead of those churros?

Man: Huff, huff…! Y-You two!

Yuzuru: –Hm? Ah, you followed us all this way?

It’s dangerous to approach a thief, so I had hoped you’d wait back there.

Niki: Hey sir, we managed to safely recover your churros! And we got your bag too! 

Man: Huff, huff… My bag! I’m sorry for the trouble, thank you very much!

Bag Thief: (Now. I’ll run away while they’re distracted…!) 

Yuzuru: …! Oh no! Stop right there!

Niki: Ngah! He’s running again!

Man: Please wait, you two! It’s alright, you don’t have to chase him anymore!

Yuzuru: …Why did you stop us? While we did return your baggage, he still committed a crime and should be handed over to the police. 

Niki: Yup yup. What he’s saying. 

Man: NO! This is so much more important! (He grabs Yuzuru and Niki’s hands)

Yuzuru and Niki: Eeh!?

Yuzuru:  …What exactly are you doing all of a sudden?

Man: Owowowowowowow!?

Niki: Fushimi-kun, Fushimi-kun. You’re really twisting the poor guy’s arm there.

Yuzuru: Please forgive my impoliteness. He suddenly grabbed our hands as if he was some kind of degenerate. My body simply moved for the sake of self-defence. 

Man: Me, a degenerate!? No, that’s wrong! That’s completely wrong! I’ve never even been a degenerate at all! 

–Please, won’t you two star in my movie!?

Yuzuru and Niki: …What?

Man: I’m sort of like a– huh? Where’d my business card go? Ah, not again! Well, uh, I’m a film director!

I’d like you to star in my film!

Yuzuru: E-Err…?

Man: My intuition is telling me to pick you! You two are high school… no, university students?

First of all, if you could kindly let go of my hand, please.

I’ll sufficiently compensate you for your performance of course! I don’t even mind if you treat it like a part-time job, could you please just collaborate with me on my film!?

Niki: This guy's super freaky!? He’s rattling on and on while leaning forward crazily, I’m getting a little freaked out!? Just what is his deal~?

Yuzuru: Uhm. Could you please take a moment to compose yourself?

Well. Unfortunately, we cannot appear in your film.

Man: Eh, you can’t? I promise I’m not a suspicious individual, and the job is respectable so–

Yuzuru: No. I’m not referring to that. 

The two of us are idols belonging to production offices. For that reason, any discussion of work must go through the appropriate processes with ES. Man: Idols…?

-----

¹ As Yuzuru mentions in the following line, “being kicked by a horse” is a Japanese expression used for people who interfere with others’ love lives.

² The expression Niki uses here (観念してお縄) can be exactly translated as “resign yourself to the policeman’s rope”. It basically refers to the art of restraining a person with a rope or cord, but also can refer to arresting.

[surreal-duck]

screw it. midoyuzu sdv au (very long bullet point post warning in advance)

midori inherits his late grandpa's farm. parents' greengrocers shop in the city used to get a good chunk of their crops from there til his passing and the farm was since abandoned

kanata is definitely handling the fishing shop. though he spends more time in the water puka pukaing than actually fishing and manning the store but its fine she manages somehow. when midori gets the fishing rod kanata just straight up pops outta to water to give him the rod and floats away 👍 souma helps out there also

chiaki owns the saloon and bartends even if he does Not drink himself and the only thing that ever plays on tv are tokusatsu shows

as for the others i havent thought abt as much and subject to change. kuro blacksmith with his apprentice tetora maybe . nagisa the museum and library curator (and by extension i think itd be really funny if ibara was a joja executive. mostly to keep an eye on nagisa but also keeping the yzib hostility). eichi is the mayor though keito his vice mayor does most of everything and his boyfriend wataru organizes the town events and such like the valley fair etc!! natsume is the forest wizard w his apprentice sora and tsumugi comes by weekly in that traveling cart thing. madara owns the ranch probably.

everybody else is probably just normal townsfolk, among others hajime and hinata take care of the towns plants n stuff!! tatsumi priest, mayoi is half shadow person and hangs out in the sewer (of which noritama at some point explore together and shinobu befriends and invites to visit the surface). i said i didnt think about this much but thats a lie at this point. mika stays in an atelier in the forest (owned by shu whos in the city but does visit on occassion) to cultivate his own art, still best buds with arashi. jun koga adonis and maybe hiiro part of the adventurers guild, trick5tar are their own lil band!!

some charas r not present most of the time or yet like tori who is off at uni w his longtime academic rival and childhood friend and also now roommate tsukasa. their presence is very important for later trust me. rich family rivalry still remains here (along with military camp Because)

due to tori being at uni and learning independence yuzuru is off of his usual butler work for a while and working in the general store owned by the himemiyas! partly to pass the time partly encouraged to find something new to do outside of his servant duties. he calls and nags at tori regularly to make sure hes fine and such

the request board outside of the store is always a good source for side jobs and one day a request for foraged spring onions is pinned up with a terrifying drawing scribbled on it. midoris head over heels Immediately and she already has a good amount to spare so why not take it

hes probably a week into living in the valley already? while yuzuru had just started working over at the store therefore she wasnt aware of this yuzuru fushimi and finds the very one while looking for who put up the request!! the master artist + fan dynamic goes from then on

other than the usual chitchats and more requests with encouraged atrocious drawings accompanying them, been thinking a good amount of the specific town events that happen through the year!! other misc things are various quests and errands from each of the characters, like helping mika gather cloth or hajime requesting various flowers to brighten up the town

Y1 Spring: egg festival, noritama hanging out, shinobu sweeping the egg hunt; flower dance , as they havent gotten to know each other to well enough to actually dance (just like in the game) (haley please. anyways) its mostly just small talk and maybe including some other side pairings i like djdhhfjdj chiaki with a suspiciously soaked kanata and hina dragging off tetsu

Y1 Summer: acquiring the rusty key from nagisa, noritama sewer exploration and befriending mayoi; luau, nothing special particularly for this one; dance of the moonlight jellies, from here yuzuru and midori get a lot closer playing in the sand and just getting along (a bit like siosai marina)!! probably some background drop for the both of them like takamine gramps' farm and yuzurus actual role as a butler while telling him about tori as well dkhdhdjs. they spot the rare green jellyfish together here too

Y1 Autumn (yeah im calling it autumn sue me): valley fair commences, led by everyones own wataru whos hopping here and there somehow managing three attractions at once. yuzuru obliterates the shooting game; spirits eve, chiaki is desperately being clingy out of fear. just more shenanigans in this one

Y1 Winter: festival of ice!! i kinda want to recreate the snow bunny/cute critter scene in jingle bells here, while the fishing contest isnt even a contest at all except between souma and kanata; feast of the winter star ill probably keep somewhat similar to that in the recent luck fest campaign gift exchange!! midori -> hajime and yuzuru -> kanata at the very least. just good vibes all around. community centre would also be finished by then so while joja closes, ibara ends up assisting at the museum w nagisa instead jshshdh

Y2 Spring: only thing of note is that This flower dance they do get to dance together!! 👍 had to get those hearts up beforehand sjhdhdjshd midori at this point fully realized he really does like yuzuru, but kind of the calm before the summer storms

Y2 Summer: gets a bit (a lot) more complicated from here. yuzuru receives word from tori that he'll be visiting from midsummer til the beginning of autumn, and coincidentally tsukasa is tagging along to meet up with his pen pal and friend sora!! bickering the entire way there and due to circumstances yuzurus hosting tsukasa as well in the end, having to share toris room with him aksjdhjwjs

tori gets introduced to midori. the famed young master of midoris crush and this random farmer boy tori had heard so much about for some reason. midoris rather intimidated in the end but it ends up not Horribly to say the least. didnt quite help how tori had noticed how yuzuru softened up even just a bit when interacting with him. sora as well finally meets tsukasa and "the torikun he's heard so much about through tsukasas letters" 🎉 toris awfully smug and tsukasa tries to salvage it saying he was badmouthing him the whole time (not completely a lie but definitely not completely the truth either. dork)

with toris arrival inevitably comes yuzurus duties as a butler, its plain to see his priorities and out of consideration midori backs off a bit. she thought he'd only have to keep his distance until tori's gone back but little did she know toris main reason for coming not only was to assess how yuzurus faring (well and to meet eichi again) but had planned on bringing yuzuru back with him too to which yuzuru of course though not without feeling a tinge of pain for a reason unknown to him agrees to it

midori hears this from tsukasa, how he didnt think yuzuru would stay in town for much longer. and of course midori ended up pretty devastated at the news but who is he to stop yuzuru from leaving? in the end yuzuru would all but abandon his duties, and after all that same diligence and devotion is what midori had fallen for in the first place. if this short year really is all he'd get to spend with him then at the very least she'll have to make the most of what time they have left

the moonlight jellies come around again, probably one of the last times they both thought they'd be able to spend together and went off with just the two of them. a bit of an awkward air around them, yuzuru comments on how toris been complaining about the sand and other attempts at casual small talk as usual but its painfully obvious theres still that tense atmosphere

midori finally asks if yuzurus really leaving after all, to which she got a yes. midori simply nods and had long since accepted that inevitability, and already resolved that when the time comes to put an end to his feelings and get rejected properly. and so he confesses, and while saying she didnt need yuzuru to give him any proper answer in return, all yuzuru could really say was an "i'm sorry" while finally realizing what that awful ache that has been eating at him the entire time was. even if he did realize he felt the same, no matter how much he wanted to say it back theyve both resigned to the fact that its not something that could or would really ever happen between them

once the jellies have all left, their parting was pretty awkward, with that one goodbye feeling a lot like their last. tori notices something off about yuzuru and that something had probably happened between them, but didnt pay it much thought until a while later

yuzurus made more mistakes than whats normal, miscategorizing the stock or putting salt in his coffee, tori and tsukasa are both shocked and tried to pry it out of him but hes a brick wall that wont budge even a bit. it was only when midori came around for his usual errands and groceries that tori could note how distant and awkward theyre both being and that slight bit of hurt behind yuzurus all perfect mask

after much uncomfortable tension and quietly longing gazes enough is enough amd tori eventually confronts him, that while he did say yuzuru could come back to the city asks him if thats really what he wanted. and of course, all hes ever wanted or rather, knew how to want was to be able to serve tori to the best of his ability and really theres no other reason to stay anyways. even more frustrated now tori brings up midori, if he really wont regret leaving things like that when theyll surely drift apart to the point of no return if he keeps it up

argues that whatever was between him and midori has nothing to do with it!! tori is Mad and says if yuzuru is hiding behind his role to run away from the depths of his own feelings hes being an idiot. eventually tori calms down and while he did want yuzuru to come, never wanted him to tear himself apart so much and that he didnt need to sacrifice his desires or getting close to anyone else for his sake, and how before being a servant yuzuru is his family as well and he just wants him to be happy too. then asks one last time if leaving the valley really is what he wanted

yuzuru finally thinks it over again and apologizes first. for letting himself get so caught up and carried away for even daring to get close to someone else (tori glares daggers at him. he stops) and affirms that while he did wish to stay, theres still nothing more important to him than tori and his wellbeing and even should he open up and find more people in his life its not gonna change that fact

toris finally satisfied, reminding him again that even if he were to run off to be with some farmer boy hed still be his butler first and foremost and that he wishes them the best. then proceeds to grab the bouquet from over the counter, shove it into yuzurus hands and lock him out of the store until he has a proper talk with midori. yuzuru tries to argue but it all goes one ear and out the other with tori he is Not gonna let him back inside until then

eventually gives in and goes looking for midori. he asks all around town and seems to just miss him each time, til eventually it starts pouring and into a pretty hard rain. at this point all he could rly focus on though was wanting to see him so pushes on until running into her taking shelter in the forest. yuzuru is Soaked and disheveled and with the wind and rain the bouquet is stripped down to only a few of its flowers left but he does not care at this point

midori is understandably shocked and tries to dry him off with what he had, lending her jacket and asking what he was doing out in the rain like that. well with yuzuru only being able to think about wanting to meet him had completely ignored the rain and brushes it off saying there was something more important he wanted to say

even knowing that he'd (somewhat) rejected midori before, asks if he could give him a proper response this time if midori would give him another chance. she agrees, yuzuru lets him know he wont be going back to the city after all to midoris surprise. goes on that before he knew it midori had become important to him as well and that he truly does adore him, and if his feelings havent changed would like to court him properly. midoris just processing the entire thing before crying. never thought his feelings would be reciprocated and between sobs hugs him. rain clears up, a nice rainbow arches over and while midori accepts what was left of the bouquet they almost had a moment until yuzuru starts sneezing. cue them running back to the store before he gets sick

while yuzurus taking care of himself it leaves midori and tori in the store together. tori gives her a bit of a shovel talk and if he dared do anything to hurt yuzuru he could have his entire farm shut down. and asks to take care of yuzuru for him too. they do talk a bit and end up getting to know each other a bit more before tori and tsukasas impending departure

once midori leaves, tsukasa, having seen the whole conversation, asks tori if hes really okay with it and while tori cant say hes absolutely happy is glad someone cherishes yuzuru just as much. and even if he is a bit lonely will always have tsukasa anyways half as a tease and half being genuine

Y2 Autumn: tori and tsukasa leave the valley, promising to come back next year!! theres a lot more ive planned out from this point out but i am keeping it to myself for now. or maybe forever it depends 👍 my apologies if youve read this far you deserve a medal thank you for listening to my silly rambling 🏅

theres some other things like mini chara arcs/episodes and such (or stuff like specific "heart events" of a sort) i thought abt but among them is tatsumi and mayoi meeting and [omitted] or tetoras apprenticeship under kuro, or shus visit to observe mikas progress and [omitted], and specifically a certain trks episode also

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Backstage Story Translation - Guy SSR - Treasure Hunt: GUY - Part 3

also proofread by myuntachis!

Guy: (The note Fushimi gave me says “The promise we made the day the daffodils bloomed”…)

Guy: (The first thought that came to mind was the dormitory’s courtyard, but this is probably…)

-

Tsumugi: Over here, Guy-san.

Guy: I’m glad. I was right about the location.

Tsumugi: Fufu, did you think it might’ve also been the courtyard?

Guy: I did. But then I realized you meant this café.

Tsumugi: You made the right choice.

Guy: Looking back, this all started when you invited me to come with you to buy daffodil bulbs for me.

[Flashback starts]

[Door knocking]

Tsumugi: Guy-san, are you there?

Guy: Yes.

[Door opening]

Guy: What is it, Tsukioka?

Tsumugi: I’m thinking of going to the garden center. If you have time, would you like to come with?

Tsumugi: Ah, I’m not forcing you, of course. If you don’t have time now, we can go another time—

Guy: No, I don’t have any plans, this is no problem. Let me come with you.

Tsumugi: I’m glad. Let’s go right away, then.

-

Tsumugi: Umm… Ah, there it is.

Guy: Are these daffodil bulbs…?

Tsumugi: Yes. You said you wanted to plant some next, right? I thought we could plant them together.

Guy: You remember such a trivial thing?

Tsumugi: Well, I was the one who told you about the daffodils in the first place.

-

Tsumugi: Gently cover it with soil… Now it’s perfect.

Guy: Is it alright to water them when the soil is dry?

Tsumugi: Yes. I believe they will grow just fine as long as they get their sunlight.

Guy: I see. … I look forward to seeing them bloom.

Tsumugi: Yes, me too.

-

Guy: (It’s been a few months since we planted the daffodils… They’re looking like they will bloom soon…)

Guy: ! They’re blooming…

Guy: (I have to let Tsukioka know.)

Tsumugi: Oh, Guy-san. Did you come to check on the garden?

Guy: You came at the right time. Tsukioka, the daffodils are—

Tsumugi: Hm? … Ah, they’ve bloomed!

Tsumugi: They bloomed so beautifully, too. I’m glad.

Guy: This is all thanks to you raising them together with me.

Tsumugi: It’s also thanks to you, Guy-san. You kept watching over them and taking such careful care of them.

Tsumugi: I believe they bloomed so beautifully because we took such good care of them together.

Guy: Yes, you’re right.

Guy: … You took me to your favorite café before.

Guy: It had a lot of greenery and flowers, and you told me the owner grew it all themself.

Guy: I didn’t realize it at the time, but now that I’ve grown them myself…

Guy: I truly understand just how much love and care went into growing all that greenery in the café.

Guy: I’m afraid it took me far too long to realize this…

Tsumugi: It doesn’t matter how much time it took you to get there. I’m just happy you’ve now become aware of it, Guy-san.

Tsumugi: If you’d like, we could go to that café together again.

Tsumugi: We’ve gone there with the Winter Troupe, but… Just the two of us this time.

Guy: Yes. I was thinking I’d like to go with you as well.

[Flashback ends]

Guy: We could’ve come here at any time since making that promise but… We never decided on a date.

Tsumugi: You’re right. Perhaps we’ve both dragged this promise on for so long because we treasure it so much.

Tsumugi: So, I figured this was the perfect chance to fulfill it, and chose this meeting place.

Tsumugi: A very happy birthday, Guy-san. Please take this.

Guy: Thank you. Do you mind if I open it?

Tsumugi: Not at all, go ahead.

Guy: A frame with pressed daffodils. They’re extremely beautiful.

Guy: Every time I look at it, I will remember the time we grew the daffodils together, as well as this day.

Tsumugi: I’m happy to hear that. Truth be told, I made this myself.

Guy: You made this? I wouldn’t have noticed had you not told me. It’s beautifully made.

Tsumugi: Thank you. I’m quite proud of this, but hearing you say that has made me all the more confident.

Guy: I can’t seem to decide whether I should display this in my room or the shop.

Tsumugi: Fufu, I can make another one next time, if that’d help.

-

Guy: … This should be alright.

Azuma: Are these the gifts you got today?

Guy: Yeah. The hand blender is from Fushimi, and the pressed daffodils are from Tsukioka.

Azuma: Fufu, they’re beautiful. You can tell they were both thinking of you when they made their choices.

Guy: Yeah. You’re right.

Guy-N

I have received my birthday presents. I will use and display them with great care. I’m filled with gratitude.

part 1 | part 2 | part 3