#matsumura aoi

[redux-pain]

chapter 12: YUZI

[NOTE: Rare instance of Yuuji being bullied and not deserving it, and also something I've never seen before from Aoi: she occasionally mentions that she comes from a small town in the countryside, and in this one scene she gets startled enough to slip back into country yokel dialect for a couple of lines! Usually she speaks very proper standard Japanese as befits a teacher.]

「あら？　西条君？」

やっぱり西条君ですね！

”Ｈｕｈ？　Ｓａｉｊｏｕ？”

Ｙｅａｈ，　ｉｔ　ｉｓ　ｙｏｕ！

[AOI, offscreen:] "Oh? Saijou-kun?"

[AOI:] It is you!

----

西条君はなにしているんです？ お買い物か何かですか？

見つかっちゃいましたから 打ち明けますけど。

Ｗｈａｔ　ａｒｅ　ｙｏｕ　ｄｏｉｎｇ？　Ａｒｅ ｙｏｕ　ｓｈｏｐｐｉｎｇ　ｏｒ　ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ？

Ｓｉｎｃｅ　Ｉ　ｆｏｕｎｄ　ｙｏｕ，　Ｉ’ｌｌ ｓｐｅａｋ　ｍｙ　ｍｉｎｄ．

[AOI:] What are you doing? Are you out shopping?

Since you found me, I guess I'll come clean.

----

私は、ちょっとヒミツの 体験をしに来ているんですよ。

ネットカフェってありますよね？

Ｉ　ｃａｍｅ　ｈｅｒｅ　ｔｏ　ｈａｖｅ　ａ ｓｅｃｒｅｔ　ｐｅｒｓｏｎａｌ　ｅｘｐｅｒｉｅｎｃｅ．

Ｔｈｅｒｅ’ｓ　ａ　ｎｅｔ　ｃａｆｅ，　ｒｉｇｈｔ？

[AOI:] I came here to get a little hands-on experience in secret.

There's a net cafe here, right?

----

実は私、これまで一度も 行ったことがないんです。

生徒たちが、よく通っているって 噂もありますし……。

Ｈｏｎｅｓｔｌｙ，　Ｉ’ｖｅ　ｎｅｖｅｒ　ｓｅｔ ｆｏｏｔ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅｒｅ　ｂｅｆｏｒｅ．

Ｔｈｅｒｅ’ｓ　ａ　ｒｕｍｏｒ　ｔｈａｔ　ａ　ｌｏｔ ｏｆ　ｓｔｕｄｅｎｔｓ　ｃｏｍｅ　ｈｅｒｅ．

[AOI:] I've actually never been inside one before.

Supposedly the students come by here all the time...

----

どんなものか知っておくのも 悪くないかな～って。

世間知らずって言われそうなので、 他の生徒たちにはヒミツですよ。

Ｉｔ　ｗｏｕｌｄｎ’ｔ　ｈｕｒｔ　ｔｏ　ｆｉｎｄ ｏｕｔ　ａｂｏｕｔ　ｉｔ，　ｗｏｕｌｄ　ｉｔ？

Ｔｈｅｙ　ｓａｙ　Ｉ’ｍ　ａｎｔｉ－ｓｏｃｉａｌ， ｓｏ　ｋｅｅｐ　ｔｈｉｓ　ａ　ｓｅｃｒｅｔ．

[AOI:] There's nothing wrong with learning about it, is there?

This is a secret from the others. They all think I'm so clueless.

----

西条君にはバレちゃいましたけど。

それにしても休日に出会うと 不思議な感じがしますね。

Ｂｕｔ　ｙｏｕ’ｖｅ　ｃａｕｇｈｔ　ｍｅ．

Ｉ’ｖｅ　ｇｏｔ　ａ　ｓｔｒａｎｇｅ　ｆｅｅｌｉｎｇ ｍｅｅｔｉｎｇ　ｙｏｕ　ｏｎ　ａ　ｄａｙ　ｏｆｆ．

[AOI:] You caught me, though.

And it gives me a strange feeling meeting you on a day off.

----

ふふっ、何だかこうしていると 学校に居るような気分。

それはそうと……。

Ｈｅｈｅ，　ｋｉｎｄ　ｏｆ　ｌｉｋｅ　Ｉ’ｍ　ｂａｃｋ ａｔ　ｓｃｈｏｏｌ　ｏｒ　ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ．

Ｔｈａｔ’ｓ　ｒｉｇｈｔ．．．

[AOI:] Hee hee. I feel kind of like I'm back at school.

Oh, that's right...

----

ネットカフェっていうのは、 あの店のことなんでしょうか？

緑色の不思議系な建物の……。

Ｔｈａｔ　Ｎｅｔ　Ｃａｆｅ　ｉｓ　ｔｈａｔ ｓｈｏｐ，　ｉｓｎ’ｔ　ｉｔ？

Ｔｈｅ　ｓｔｒａｎｇｅ　ｇｒｅｅｎ　ｂｕｉｌｄｉｎｇ．

[AOI:] The net cafe, is it that shop there?

The strange green building...?

----

>そうです

>違います

>Ｔｈａｔ’ｓ　ｒｉｇｈｔ．

>Ｎｏ，　ｙｏｕ’ｒｅ　ｍｉｓｔａｋｅｎ．

>That's right.

>No, you're mistaken.

====

{OPTION 1: That's right.

えー？　やっぱりここ！？

うわぁ～、かなり病的な感じ……。

Ｏｈ？　Ｉｔ　ｉｓ　ｈｅｒｅ！？

Ｓｕｃｈ　ａｎ　ａｂｎｏｒｍａｌ　ｆｅｅｌｉｎｇ．．．

[AOI:] What? Really? Here?!

Oh, my. It looks so... unsettling.

----

私、てっきりここは、倉庫か 何かと思っていたんですけど。

ネットカフェって、 みんなこんな感じなんですか？

明らかに消防法なんか守って なさげなデザインな……。

Ｉ　ｔｈｏｕｇｈｔ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｗａｓ　ｓｕｒｅｌｙ ａ　ｗａｒｅｈｏｕｓｅ．．．

Ｄｏ　ａｌｌ　Ｎｅｔ　Ｃａｆｅ’ｓ　ｈａｖｅ ｔｈｉｓ　ｋｉｎｄ　ｏｆ　ｆｅｅｌｉｎｇ？

Ｉｔ’ｓ　ｃｌｅａｒｌｙ　ａ　ｄｅｓｉｇｎ　ｗｉｔｈ ｒｅｇａｒｄｓ　ｔｏ　ｆｉｒｅ　ｓａｆｅｔｙ．

[AOI:] I was sure it was a warehouse or something.

Do all net cafes have this kind of atmosphere?

It's clearly in violation of the Fire Service Act...

1}

====

{OPTION 2: No, you're mistaken.

そうでしょうね！

あんな気持ち悪いデザイン、 怪しすぎますもの。

私も違うだろうなって 思っていたところです。

Ｔｈａｔ’ｓ　ｐｒｏｂａｂｌｙ　ｉｔ．

Ｔｈａｔ　ｔｅｒｒｉｂｌｅ　ｄｅｓｉｇｎ　ｉｓ ｔｏｏ　ｓｕｓｐｉｃｉｏｕｓ．

Ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　ｐｏｉｎｔ　ｔｈａｔ　Ｉ　ｔｈｏｕｇｈｔ Ｉ　　ｍｕｓｔ’ｖｅ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｍｉｓｔａｋｅｎ．

[AOI:] I thought so!

It's such an awful design. So suspicious.

I was sure I must be wrong.

----

ですが…そうなると……、

ネットカフェっていうのは、 どこにあるのかしら？

住所では確かこのあたり……。

Ｈｏｗｅｖｅｒ．．．　Ｉｆ　ｓｏ．．．

Ｗｈｅｒｅ　ｉｓ　ｔｈａｔ　Ｎｅｔ　Ｃａｆｅ ｐｌａｃｅ，　ｔｈｅｎ？

Ｔｈｅ　ａｄｄｒｅｓｓ　ｓａｙｓ　ｉｔ’ｓ　ｈｅｒｅ．

[AOI:] But then...

Where on earth is the net cafe?

This is definitely the right address...

2}

======

一応さっきから聞いてたけど。

Ｉ’ｖｅ　ｂｅｅｎ　ａｓｋｉｎｇ　ｙｏｕ．

[YUUJI "enters"]

[YUUJI:] So, hey, I've been listening here.

----

うわっ！！　なんじゃオメエ！

突然出てくるなや！！ びっくりするじゃろ！

Ｗｏａｈ！　Ｗｈｏ’ｒｅ　ｙｏｕ！？

Ｄｏｎ’ｔ　ｊｕｍｐ　ｏｕｔ　ｓｏ　ｓｕｄｄｅｎｌｙ！ Ｙｏｕ　ｒｅａｌｌｙ　ｓｕｒｐｒｉｓｅｄ　ｍｅ！

[AOI:] Gahhh! You! Who're you?!

Don't jump up outta nowhere! You spooked me!

[NOTE: The country dialect is just for these two lines.]

----

アハハハ…いきなりキツイ言葉……。

ぼくは大倉ユウジ。 この店のオーナーだよ。

キミ達がずっと店の外で見てるから 気になって出てきたんだ。

Ｂｗａｈａｈａ．．．　Ｔｈａｔ’ｓ　ｈａｒｓｈ．

Ｉ’ｍ　Ｙｕｚｉ　Ｏｋｕｒａ． Ｔｈｅ　ｏｗｎｅｒ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｓｈｏｐ．

Ｙｏｕ　ｔｗｏ　ｈａｖｅ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｌｏｏｋｉｎｇ ａｔ　ｍｙ　ｓｈｏｐ，　ｓｏ　Ｉ　ｃａｍｅ　ｏｕｔ．

[YUUJI:] Ahahaha... Boy, that's harsh...

I'm Ookura Yuuji. The owner of this shop.

You two've been staring at my place for a while, so I got interested and came out.

----

もーう、びっくりさせないでよ。

気配無しに近づくから、 タヌキか何かと勘違いしたでしょ！

Ｄｏｎ’ｔ　ｓｕｒｐｒｉｓｅ　ｍｅ　ａｇａｉｎ！

Ｉｆ　ｙｏｕ　ｄｏ，　Ｉ　ｍａｙ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　ｙｏｕ ａｒｅ　ａ　Ｔａｎｕｋｉ　ｏｒ　ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ！

[AOI:] My goodness. Don't surprise people like that!

If you appear out of nowhere people will think you're a tanuki!

[NOTE: Tanuki are Japanese "raccoon dogs" with a reputation in folklore for being shapeshifters and tricksters.]

-----

アハハ…タヌキはヒドイな……。

それで？　お客さんだよね？

Ｂｗａｈａｈ．．．　Ｈｏｗ　ｔｅｒｒｉｂｌｅ！

Ｓｏ，　ａｒｅ　ｙｏｕ　ａ　ｃｕｓｔｏｍｅｒ？

[YUUJI:] Ahaha. Wow. A tanuki... That sucks.

So? Are you a customer?

----

ほらっ、中入ってよ！

はぁ？　中に入る？

Ｃｏｍｅ　ｏｎ　ｉｎ！

Ｈｕｈ？　Ｇｏ　ｏｎｓｉｄｅ？

[YUUJI:] C'mon in!

[AOI:] Excuse me? Come in?

----

えっ！？　なになに！？

ぼく、何か変なこと言った？

！？　Ｗｈａｔ？！

Ｄｉｄ　Ｉ　ｓａｙ　ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ　ｗｅｉｒｄ？

[YUUJI:] Huh?! Wh-what?

D-did I say something weird?

-----

こんなところ頼まれても 入る気がしません！

まるでヘビでも出てきそうな デザインの建物なんかに……、

Ｅｖｅｎ　ｔｈｏｕｇｈ　Ｉ　ｒｅｑｕｅｓｔｅｄ　ｉｔ， Ｉ　ｄｏｎ’ｔ　ｆｅｅｌ　ｌｉｋｅ　ｅｎｔｅｒｉｎｇ！

Ｉｔ　ｌｏｏｋｓ　ｌｉｋｅ　ａ　ｓｎａｋｅ　ｃｏｕｌｄ ｃｏｍｅ　ｏｕｔ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｂｕｉｌｄｉｎｇ！

[AOI:] I'm not going in a place like that even if you ask me!

That building looks like a snake or anything could come out of it...

-----

いったい誰が入るというのです！

あ、あ、はい…誰って、誰って…… ぼくとかお客です……。

Ｗｈｏ　ｗｏｕｌｄ　ｃｏｍｅ　ｉｎ　ｈｅｒｅ？

Ｕｈ，　ｙｅａｈ．．．　Ｗｈｏ　ｗｏｕｌｄ．．． Ｗｅｌｌ，　Ｉ’ｍ　ａ　ｃｕｓｔｏｍｅｒ．．．

[AOI:] Who on earth would want to go in there?!

[YUUJI:] I, I... Who...? Well, uh, me... My customers...?

----

わかりました、それならあなたが 入ってなさい！

私はまったく入る気はしませんから。

それじゃ、失礼。

Ｕｎｄｅｒｓｔｏｏｄ！　Ｓｏ，　ｙｏｕ　ｓｈｏｕｌｄ ｇｅｔ　ｂａｃｋ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅｒｅ！

Ｉ　ｄｏｎ’ｔ　ｆｅｅｌ　ｃｏｍｆｏｒｔａｂｌｅ．

Ｗｅｌｌ　ｔｈｅｎ，　ｐａｒｄｏｎ　ｍｅ．

[AOI:] I see! Well, you should go inside then!

I have no interest in doing so.

Excuse me.

[AOI exits]

----

……あ、いいんだ。大丈夫。

ぼく、結構タフなんだ。 ふふ、気にしないで。

．．．　Ｔｈａｔ’ｓ　ｆｉｎｅ．　Ｎｏ　ｐｒｏｂ．

Ｉ’ｍ　ｐｒｅｔｔｙ　ｔｏｕｇｈ． Ｈｅｈｅ，　ｄｏｎ’ｔ　ｗｏｒｒｙ　ａｂｏｕｔ　ｉｔ．

[YUUJI:] .....Oh well. I'm fine.

I'm real tough. Heh heh. Don't you worry about it.

[rz-jocelyn]

[NEWS] REAL⇔FAKE: The Blu-ray for the "REAL⇔FAKE Final Stage SPECIAL EVENT FOR GOOD" is Now Available for Pre-Order

RELEASE DATE

December 20, 2023

CONTENTS

PART 1 REAL⇔FAKE Final Stage VARIETY CORNER

PART 2 FAN MEETING SPECIAL LIVE

MISLEAD / Stellar CROWNS with Akane & ASTRA RING

Rings / ASTRA RING

RUMOR / Stellar CROWNS with Akane

SHELTER / Akane (Aoi Shouta)

through the wind / Ikuta Yuusuke (Ueda Keisuke)

Honey / Inamori Mizuki (Sasamori Hiroki)

Powdersnow / Uno Koki (Ino Hiroki)

Lock on / Umehara Reijirou (Matsumura Ryunosuke)

again… ~ Toxic Liar / Suzuki Kakeru (Sato Ryuji)

The one / Sena Masayuki (Wada Masanari)

Your Smile / Makino Nagisa (Aramaki Yoshihiko)

Kimi no Shiranai BLUE / ASTRA RING

Memories with you / Makino Nagisa (Aramaki Yoshihiko) & Suzuki Kakeru (Sato Ryuji)

Mata ne / Ikuta Yuusuke (Ueda Keisuke) & Umehara Reijirou (Matsumura Ryunosuke) & Sena Masayuki (Wada Masanari)

Reach 4 the New World / Fyrklöver

REAL⇔FAKE / Stellar CROWNS with Akane & ASTRA RING

-ENCORE-

WE ARE ONE / Stellar CROWNS with Akane & ASTRA RING

NOTE: The Blu-ray contents are the same for both the First Limited Edition and Regular Edition .

FIRST LIMITED EDITION BONUS

Resized pamphlet

Photobook (planned)

PRE-ORDER/SALES LINKS AND INFORMATION

Animate

Bonus Bromides: Suzuki Kakeru (Sato Ryuji) and Aoi Shouta (Akane)

To pre-order the Blu-ray from Animate, please refer to the links below.

First Limited Edition: HERE

Regular Edition: HERE

Tower Record

Bonus Bromides: Suzuki Kakeru (Sato Ryuji) and Moriya Hidetoshi (Someya Toshiyuki)

To pre-order the Blu-ray from Tower Record, please refer to the links below.

First Limited Edition: HERE

Regular Edition: HERE

Amazon

Bonus: Mega jacket

To pre-order the Blu-ray from Amazon, please refer to the links below.

First Limited Edition: HERE

Regular Edition: HERE

For more information on proxy services available in Japan, please refer to this link: HERE

Source(s): ( x , x )

[artblooger19moon]

Kakegurui Live Action

[444lpblue]

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End #1-4 - It was... Perfect

Episode 1 - The Journey's End Screenplay: Tomohiro Suzuki Storyboard: Keiichirou Saitou Episode Director: Ayaka Tsuji Animation Director: Reiko Nagasawa Key Animators: Junko Abe, Shin Ogasawara, Ran Kamezawa, Jun Sekiguchi, Daiki Harashina, Kanata Yanagisawa, Shinichi Yoshikawa, Xujian Li, Odashi, Keisuke Kobayashi, Shinji Ootsuka, Hayato Kakita, Toshiyuki Satou, Ayaka Tsuji, Yoshiko Matsumura, Emi Yamazaki, Kanako Yoshida, Kerorira, Kou Yoshinari

Episode 2 - It Didn't Have to Be Magic... Screenplay: Tomohiro Suzuki Storyboard: Tomoya Kitagawa Episode Director: Tomoya Kitagawa Chief Animation Director: Reiko Nagasawa Animation Director: Ayaka Minoshima Key Animators: Junko Abe, Nobuhide Kariya, Toshiyuki Satou, Harumi Takagi, Daiki Tanaka, Masaho Hori, Yutaka Minowa, Kanata Yanagisawa, Xujian Li, Fuuko Abe, Kyousuke Ootori, Takahito Sakazume, Jura, Yuka Matsumura, Yukiko Watabe, Hayato Kakita, Hiroyuki Kobashi, Jun Sekiguchi, Airi Takahashi, Daiki Harashina, Ayaka Minoshima, Kouta Mori, Shinichi Yoshikawa, Aoi Ootani, Naoki Katou, Sanae Shitaya, Shinya Segawa, Zihan Liu

Episode 3 - Killing Magic Screenplay: Tomohiro Suzuki Storyboard: Daiki Harashina Episode Director: Daiki Harashina Chief Animation Director: Reiko Nagasawa Animation Director: Daiki Harashina Key Animators: Daiki Harashina, Junko Abe, Shin Ogasawara, Mai Toda, Kanata Yanagisawa, Daisuke Shibukawa, Kou Yoshinari, Fei Hung Donghua, Hanwen Ye, Tooru Iwazawa, Honami Takeuchi, Yoshiko Matsumura, Xujian Li, Yukiko Busa, Nonno

Episode 4 - The Land Where Souls Rest Screenplay: Tomohiro Suzuki Storyboard: Yoshiaki Kawajiri Episode Director: Kento Matsui Chief Animation Director: Reiko NagasawaAnimation Director: Ayaka Tsuji Key Animators: Shin Ogasawara, Hiroyuki Kobashi, Toshiyuki Satou, Harumi Takagi, Rie Arakawa, Yuka Koiso, Masahiro Yufune, Pinqiao Hui, Norifumi Kugai, Ayaka Satou, Jun Sekiguchi, Miyuki Inoue, Shuuji Maruyama, Ryuuguu-san, Yenxin Fan

Last week was utter hell, with a new class, a new schedule, and my sleep going out of whack. I'm still trying to readjust, and let me explain why I'm mentioning all of this. Almost nothing would have motivated me to get out of my zone and type this post except for Frieren. Frieren is one of my favorite manga series. If you've talked to me about anime/manga before, you would know this. So, ever since it was announced, it has been one of my most anticipated series. To add to that, Keiichirou Saitou was announced as the director. He's a great example of an upcoming new-gen director who has excelled in everything he's been a part of. From the beautiful and abstract EDs he created for The Executioner and Her Way of Life or Boogiepop, to the mesmerizing, dreamlike episodes he directed for Sonny Boy, and the expressive, now very popular Bocchi the Rock. He was a perfect choice as a director for a series like this, and let me tell you, he delivered fully.

Just from a quick glance, you can see how the show looks. Everything is eye-catching, making it almost hard to focus on one particular element because they all just look so good, and no, it's not just the chromatic aberration causing the lack of focus. The various departments responsible for compositing, the background, and the overall color design have done an outstanding job, creating a beautiful and cohesive piece of art. Seeing someone you might consider a less experienced director pulling off such a complete and harmonious experience is incredible. In terms of design, the whole show is aesthetically pleasing. It's not the experimental work you saw in Sonny Boy; it's going in a totally different direction, like a beautiful painting that should be framed on a wall.

It works very well when paired with, you know, how Frieren is as a story. The fantasy world they are in isn't an extremely unique one. You've seen it before; it's fairly typical in that sense. But that's not truly the point. The main focus is showing the day-to-day or year-to-year life of this immortal elf girl, Frieren, and how she views time, how she remembers her past. It's not an incredibly grand adventure, but with the small lens we have on these characters, it feels like a cherished moment, something that should be captured in a photo or painting. It's beautiful in a very simple way. It's not a series made for extremely large moments, I think Frieren has always been focused on a simpler view of life, much like a painting. The smaller details of such a straightforward approach are highlighted so well. The trees in the environment, the squirrels just moving around—there's so much life in each scene. It really all comes together for me like a piece of art.

The consistency lasts through all four episodes, and the staff distribution also seems fairly good, so I expect this to continue throughout the two cours. The pacing itself is perfect. I've really enjoyed how the story has been adapted to animation so far. I believe that nowadays, many anime series have fallen into the pitfalls of adapting things too quickly to capture the interest of newer viewers early on. However, the series composition for Frieren here is excellent.

This writeup might have been shorter than most people were expecting considering how amazing the anime adaptation is and how much I love the source material, but what can really be said about except just praising? I feel like even if you don't like the source material, the anime's execution is almost undeniably good. Additionally, as I said this past week has not been kind to me so my energy is a bit drained, at first I was planning to be more specific in my write up and make points more adhering to the specifics of each episode, but I didn't really have time for that. However, I will do my best to cover every Frieren episode weekly from now on. Make no mistake this is going to be my favorite series from this year.

[montysworld]

NIKE JUKU Ft.「WOO! GO!」by ATARASHII GAKKOU from Mackenzie Sheppard on Vimeo.

WINNER - Cannes Lions 2023 - FILM | Silver Nominated - the One Show 2023 - Best Director WINNER - Spikes GOLD 2023 - Best Director WINNER - Spikes SILVER 2022 - Best Casting WINNER - Ciclope Asia GOLD 2022 - Best Director WINNER - Ciclope Berlin SILVER 2022 - Choreography 1.4 Awards - Flying High, Shortlist, Longlist - Branded

Nike Juku music video I directed [Woo! Go!] by Atarashii Gakkou. Credits below!

WIEDEN+KENNEDY TOKYO @wktokyo Creative Director Curro de la Villa (クーロ・デ・ラ・ヴィラ) @currodlv Senior Copywriter Nedal Ahmed (ネダル・アハメド) @nedallll Yumiko Ota (太田祐美子) @yuninota Senior Art Director Kazuhi Yoshikawa (吉川一陽) @kazuhi_yoshikawa Lead Producer Kosuke Sasaki (佐々木洸介) @kosukelawrence Account Director Jordan Cappadocia (ジョーダン・カ���ドーシャ) @jordancap Account Supervisor Chelsea Hayashi (ハヤシ・チェルシー) @chelseamiwa Kaede Ose (大瀬楓) @kadesyrup Account Executive Ryu Kaida (海田隆) @ryukaida727 Producers Ty Demura (出村太) @tydemura Yoko Onodera (小野寺陽子) @choco2910 Comms Planning Director Justin Lam (ジャスティン・ラム) @justinclam Comms Planner Joanna Fukae (深江ジョアナ) @joyofu Strategic Planning Director Thijs van de Wouw (タイス・ヴォン・デ・ウォ) @thijs.vandewouw Strategic Planner Rina Deguchi (出口莉奈) @rinadagucci Studio Designer Akane Yasuda (安田茜) @akaa.ne Shotaro Tomiyama（富山庄太郎） Studio Manager Aiwei Ichikawa (市川愛維) Agency Editor Vinod Vijayasankaran (ヴィジャヤサンカラン　ヴィノド) @videovinod PR Midori Sugama (菅間碧) @midorisugama Translator Mako Tomita (富田万木子) Executive Creative Director Scott Dungate (スコット・ダンゲート) @scotty_fingers Managing Director Yosuke Suzuki (鈴木洋介) @mrnobody8695

WELCOME FILM PRODUCTION

PRODUCTION COMPANY AOI Pro. Director Mackenzie Sheppard (マッケンジー・シェパード) @mackshepp Creative Assistant w/ Mack - Kai Sandy Producer Daisuke Misu（三須大輔）@misu_da Director of Photography Mikul Eriksson（マイケル・エリクソン) ＠_mikul Line Producer Anna Liu（アンナ・リュウ）/ Sumire Matsumura（松村すみれ） Production Manager Kazuki Omi（近江和希）/ Kanako Sato (佐藤果南子) Assistant Director Hideaki Jimbo（神保英昭）/ Kai Hoshino Sandy (サンデイー・ホシノ・カイ) Production Designer Masami Tanaka（田中 真紗美）@masamit0125 Casting Director (for Atarashii Gakko!) Shohei Ueno (上野昇平) @shohey02 Casting Director Mai Ikeda（池田舞）/Misaki Matsui（松井美咲）/Rikiya Takano（髙野力哉） Lighting Director Arata Ijichi（伊地知新） Stylist YOPPY（よっぴー）@yoppy0123456789 Hair & Make up PHOEBE（フィービー）@feebz_ Choreographer Nozomi de Lencquesaing (ド・ランクザン・望) @nozominski

STUDY BREAK PRODUCTION

PRODUCTION COMPANY AOI Pro. Director ZUMI（中角壮一）@zoomin.graph Producer Daisuke Misu（三須大輔）@misu_da Production Manager Kai Tsuyuguchi（露口 凱）@kai_0425 /Yurika Yamada (山田 百合佳) Director of Photography Shun Murakami（村上 俊）@shun_murakami_ Casting Director Mai Ikeda（池田 舞） Lighting Director Yamato Watanabe（渡邉 大和）@yamato0326_ Wardrobe | Costume | Styling YOPPY（よっぴー）@yoppy0123456789 Hair & Make up PHOEBE（フィービー）@feebz_ Production Design Masami Tanaka（田中 真紗美）@masamit0125

POST PRODUCTION

Editor Sachi Sasaki @ssachi0528 Assistant editor Tomonori Watanabe @_tomostudio Sound Designer Mike Regan (マイク・リーガン) @mikeregannoise Sound Mixer yoshizaki.masaaki（吉崎 雅章）/Hiroki.Okumura（奥村 宏貴） Colorist Mikey Rossiter (マイキー・ロシター) @mikolour / Haruka.Okutsu（奥津春香） Film Transfer Metropolis Post (メトロポリスポスト) Compositor Murata Chitoshi（村田 千登志）/ Yamaguchi Sakiyo（山口 紗清） FX Artist Naomi Hayashi（林 直美） Animation Takashi Ohashi (大橋史) @ohashitakashi

STILL PRODUCTION Photographer Masumi Ishida (石田真澄）@8msmsm8 Assistant Photographer Ryuji Tamaki (玉城竜次) Retoucher Takuya Tsugane (津金 卓也)

STUDY BREAK - LA TEAM Production Company Couscous @couscous Executive Producer Bear Damen @beardamen Producer Salim El Arja 1st AD Kat Nguyen @katnguyenfilm Line Producer Po-Wei Su @poweisub Production Accountant Neil Engelman Locations Manager Tom Macdonnald DoP Logan Triplett @logan_triplett 1st AC Mike Lemnitzer @hellyeamike 2nd AC/Loader Vinnie Bredemus @vinniebredemus Key Grip Shun Goldin Grip Oscar Matute Audio Mixer Jeremy Emery @jeremyemery Medic / CCO Chris Serafin Driver PA Alessandro Sassi Processing/Scan Fotokem @fotokem_la Dailies Producer David Boito

TIKTOK FILTERS

Illustrator Audra Furuichi（古市オードラ ）@kyubikitsy

[leenaevilin]

[Announcement] REAL⇔FAKE 2nd Stage SPECIAL EVENT QUEEN RECORDS SUPER LIVE

you will be able to watch it @ TBSチャンネル2 (May 2022)

[violaceoussky]

[Lyrics - romaji] Stellar CROWNS with 朱音 - Bokura no Ashita e

Lyrics & Composer: Nagai Masamichi

Tatoeba chiisana omoi ga attemo Omoi wa omoi no mamade shimaikondeita

Kawariyuku toki no naka de bokutachi wa Iroaseteiku ano yume ni Kitsukanai furishite itanda

Bokura no egaku mirai ga Sukoshi chigattemo Ano hi no yume no kakera wa ima mo mada (koko ni aru) Nobashita te ga fureta Kakera o atsumetara Mou ichidou aruki daseru yo

Dore dake setake ga nobita toshitatte Kokoro wa mada kawarazu ni mukashi no mamadatta

Otonabutte senobishite muri o shite (Otonabutte kakushite iru) Sekai ni umaku magirete wa Jibun rashisa o miushinatte

Ugokidasu keshiki ni mada Narezu itsumademo Hontou no sekai massugu ni mirenakute (Mabushikute) Furueru ashi sono mama Fumidasetara kitto Taisetsu na mono ga mieru yo

Owaranai  mada owaranai Bokura no mirai wa Koko kara mata nando demo Hajimatte iku kara

Bokura no egaku mirai ga Dore dake chigattemo (Machigai demo) Negaita yume no rail o aruite iku (Rail o doko made wow) Nobashita te ga fureta Kakera o atsumetara (Atsumetara) Daijoubu  kitto kanau yo

[almorica]

Sentimentality

T, lux-pain, honoka/aoi, 7,320 words

aoi matsumura takes her responsibility for her students very seriously. no rumors of ghosts haunting the academy will scare her down from trying to look out for them, and honoka knows that well enough to make sure she goes with her.

ao3 / ffnet

“Honoka?” Aoi’s mellow voice rose above their slow footsteps.

“Hm?”

“What kind of feeling does this place give you at this time of night?”

With the clock past midnight, the school café was long since dark and deserted. Moonlight streamed in through rows of tall windows on every floor. The spacious building illuminated itself just enough to see without fumbling around, and the two women also carried bright flashlights they’d prepared beforehand. In Honoka’s opinion, that level of visibility cast any possible spookiness right out the door.

“It’s kind of nice,” she answered. “All this space, no rowdy students, no sunlight bright enough to cause headaches. It’s too bad no one’s serving tea.” Knowing that didn’t keep her from glancing off in the direction of the kitchen. A little time for them to sit down and unwind sounded much better than what they were up to.

“Hehe. The vending machines should still work if you’re thirsty,” Aoi replied with her friendliest smile, directing the beam of her flashlight at one only long enough to show it to Honoka. She was taking great care to not run into anything, keeping her eyes low for stray chairs more often than not.

“That’s not the point…” Honoka scratched at her cheek, expression clouded by a concerned affection. “How do you see it?”

“I feel the same way. I didn’t realize how cool it can get in here at night. It’s so comfortable it's almost funny that students are using the grounds as a test of courage.” Her light lifted to trace the railing along the second floor as she walked. It passed over nothing out of the ordinary.

“Almost,” Honoka repeated.

“Almost.” Aoi deflated. “Even without any ghost haunting the school, it’s still dangerous. They could run into something in the dark, or get in trouble with some kind of criminal. Teachers aren’t around this time of night to keep them safe.”

Honoka patted her shoulder reassuringly. “Tonight they are, thanks to you. Did you invite Takano, too?”

“I did, but he told me he’s busy at night. I wasn’t surprised.”

“And you gave him an earful anyway about being a responsible teacher, right?”

From Aoi ducking her chin down slightly, Honoka could picture the blush across her cheeks. “Am I that predictable?”

“You’re fine. We’ve been friends long enough for me to know that much about you.” Pausing in the back corner of the building, Honoka raised her head to scan the upper floors on the opposite end. “No students or spirits wandering about over there.”

Aoi smiled at her, relieved. “Thank you for taking this seriously, Honoka. And for coming at all. It would have been intimidating to walk around here alone,” she explained, already on the move again. The beam of her flashlight continued along one standard fixture after another.

“I could never let you do that! You could get hurt yourself,” Honoka replied in disbelief as she kept up. Aoi’s honest expression and gratitude had already made her accept one sleepless night. “With at least two of us, it’ll be easier to get any students out.”

“You’re right. I’d really like to get better at disciplining them by myself, but I’m not there yet.”

“Well, even if you aren’t, it’s impressive how far you’ll go. I care about what happens to all of them, but I wouldn’t have thought about coming here on my own.”

“It’s really nothing. I tried asking the police first, but they’re stretched too thin to deal with some kids sneaking into school. It’s only what I had to do.”

“And I admire that. You’re an amazing teacher,” Honoka said confidently.

There was another tilt of Aoi’s head — probably another blush. As Honoka moved to open the door out for the both of them, she replied in a small voice, “Thank you… it means a lot to hear you say that.”

Honoka could imagine. Just in the past month life in Kisaragi had been unusually filled with strange incidents. Some happened on the academy grounds, and others happened to the students or teachers somewhere else in the city. As an instructor and a guidance counselor, they were expected to do their best to look out for the kids. In spite of that, it was hard to be everywhere at once or shake off the building stress of it all.

Hearing Aoi confide in her so often about her concerns made Honoka sure Aoi had it worse. She made a mental note: take Aoi out somewhere to relax next time. It wouldn’t do to let her end up suffering alone like Arthur did for much too long.

—————

Their feet hit the smooth pavement outside, and the last sound they heard from the café was Aoi conscientiously locking the door behind them. The academy’s courtyard was perfectly still under the light of the moon. The fountain in the center didn’t look quite right without any students hanging around it, but it was better off that way as late as it was.

“Why don’t we head to the computer lab next?” Honoka suggested, looking to the other woman for input while shining her flashlight to their left. “If they could be anywhere, we might as well go in order.”

With a nod, Aoi replied, “I think that’s a wonderful idea. Let’s go.”

The next destination was locked, requiring Aoi to take out her key ring again. The café had originally been the same. It had made Aoi vocally doubt anyone would be inside the first time, but Honoka assured her kids got in one way or another when they set their minds to it. She’d rarely seen Aoi look more disappointed.

As Aoi opened the door, Honoka shone her flashlight inside. The room was nicely lit through its windows as well, but everything artificial was dark. Both lines of monitors were shut down and undisturbed. Aoi walked in regardless, this time focusing her light under the desks.

“You think someone’s going to be hiding down there?” Honoka asked in mild amusement as she followed.

“Well, I don’t know. That’s why I’m checking,” Aoi said with a mix of defensiveness and embarrassment.

It drew a laugh from Honoka. “The always thorough Ms. Matsumura could even catch a mouse. Tell me if you see one.”

“A mouse?!” Aoi’s round red eyes went wide as dinner plates. “There better not be! I’ll scream.”

“You’re scared of mice?”

“Th-That’s normal, isn’t it?”

“Fears like that are totally normal. I’m not afraid of mice though, so I’ll take care of them.”

Aoi drooped, sighing deeply. “Let’s just not run into any, and maybe stop talking about them at all…”

Honoka could cut her a break. “Haha, right. Let’s finish up here and get going.”

No one was under any desk or in any closet. With the lab checked off the list, they headed out and locked the door. Next up was the tallest building on the grounds, and the only one with a walkable roof. Honoka could only hope that was the last place anyone would be tonight.

As the cool autumn air settled around them and they continued their patrol, Aoi glanced around slowly and sentimentally. “This might sound silly, but being here alone makes me wonder what it would’ve been like if we were students at this school.”

“High school in Tokyo was a lot less personal than this,” Honoka said, easily passing on judging her. “There were too many bodies for that many teachers. Kids have it easy here.”

Aoi tilted her head. “You think so? It was the opposite out in the country. School life like that is what I dreamed of. Everyone seems to have so much fun. Too much, sometimes.”

“If we were students at the same time, maybe we’d be a couple of those girls that did have too much fun. I’d make sure we had plenty together,” Honoka assured her brightly.

“Don’t say something irresponsible, Honoka…” Aoi replied, but she didn’t sound as disappointed as her word choice aimed for. Despite having her eyes averted as she said so, she soon after studied Honoka’s face. “You must have been a bold and pretty girl when you were younger. Not much different from now at all. Am I right?”

“Maybe. I just remember trying to study hard and play hard, which worked well enough that I’m here now. And were you still serious and cute even back then?”

“I don’t know about cute, but I doubt my personality has changed at all.”

Getting a sudden idea, Honoka raised her pointer finger into the air. “Hey, I might have some old pictures somewhere! If I don’t, my family could send some. I’ll show you them if you show me some of yours.”

Aoi smiled softly. “I’m a little worried you might not be impressed by a young girl from the country, but I’ll do it if we can share some stories too.”

“Absolutely! I’ll make sure to keep the more scandalous ones to myself,” Honoka teased.

“You’re saying irresponsible things again…” Aoi paused. “...But I kind of want to hear them, just a little.”

—————

The first floor of the next building was a small assortment of classrooms, and the two went from one to the next with a cursory search of each. So far it was shaping up to be an uneventful night, which neither of them could assert was a bad thing. Honoka would rather be missing sleep for nothing than find something that overly justified the trip.

Arthur’s classroom was last. A room filled with stools, easels and the occasional sculpture didn’t offer much of a place to hide. As a result, the moment the two stepped in, their flashlights landed on a pair of teenagers standing close to one another at the center. Their eyes met.

“Students! What are you doing here this late at night?!” Aoi gasped, furrowing her brow. She stomped forward indignantly. “And how did you get in? The building was locked!”

“About that, Ms. Matsumura,” the tall boy began, taking awkward steps to the side. The girl with him did the same in the opposite direction. As soon as she sensed what was to come, Honoka put her back to the doorway and stretched her arms out to defend it. The students that had only just started to bolt for it in hopes of escaping stopped immediately.

“No no. You do have to go home, but you have to answer Ms. Matsumura’s questions first,” Honoka told them firmly. She didn’t budge from her spot.

“Well?” Aoi crossed her arms impatiently.

“...I left… unlocked…” the girl mumbled.

Honoka frowned. “What? Speak up.”

“I left a window unlocked, Ms. Hino.”

Aoi narrowed her eyes at the boy. “And why are you two here?”

He moved his hand to the back of his neck. “There’s that rumor about the ghost, you know? We wanted to find it.”

That wasn’t convincing enough for Honoka. “Why were you that close when we got in here, then? That didn’t look like ghost hunting to me.”

The girl timidly spoke next. “Um, well, part of the rumor is that she always comes if a couple kisses in a classroom at night…”

“Kiss?!” Scandalized, Aoi’s voice rose in pitch. “There’s no way!”

Honoka continued from the serious route. “Whatever your excuses are, you shouldn’t be here this late. You could get yourselves in trouble with more than some ghost.”

“Yes, Ms. Hino,” the two replied, only slightly out of sync.

“If we let you leave, will you go home?”

“Yes, Ms. Hino.”

Having collected herself a little, Aoi took a deep breath. “Well then, Saito and Nishimura. Please go straight home. If we don’t catch you here again, we might not have to punish you.”

Less willing to back down, Honoka frowned. “I’ll give you a serious lecture next time I see you two though, understand?” She was lucky Aoi knew their names so easily. Their faces were familiar, but neither of them were frequent infirmary or counseling visitors.

The girl, Nishimura, hung her head. “Yes. I’m really sorry,” she said, and both of them nodded.

“Me too. I’ll go read ahead on our assigned reading right now, Ms. Matsumura,” the boy, Saito, assured her.

“No!” Aoi insisted, not pleased with the suggestion. “Go to bed, or you’ll fall asleep in your morning classes. You should be more responsible at your age.”

“Yes, Ms. Matsumura…”

Honoka stepped away from the door. “If you’ve learned your lesson, lock the window and head out. We’ll take care of the rest.”

Saito and Nishimura did as they were told. Aoi, visibly troubled, was left alone with Honoka. If one of her hands wasn’t occupied with the flashlight, she’d probably be wringing them out.

“That wasn’t so bad. They might be the only ones we find tonight,” Honoka said, resting a gentle hand on her back. “Plus, we did find someone. Great job on the plan, Aoi.”

“I wish I had just been overthinking it, though.” While discouraged, she started to get riled up again a second later. “And kissing! Really! What kind of ghost would be drawn to that?”

“I don’t know, but we still have half of the school left to search. Do you want to keep going?”

“There could be precious students anywhere, just like you said. Let’s go.” Aoi relaxed, adding warmly, “Thank you for the support, Honoka.”

Honoka grinned. “Even if we can’t count on Takano, you can always count on me.”

“I know. You’re more dependable than anyone else.”

For just a moment, Honoka allowed herself to enjoy that small victory. If she was any younger, she might have left the classroom with a skip in her step.

—————

With the additional information of classrooms as the focus of the rumor, the two set off to the main building upon their exit. They entered through the furthest side entrance, unceremoniously starting off right in one of the long hallways. They decided to each take one side and peer in through the doorways long enough to scope out each room — maybe not the most thorough process, but the most time efficient one.

“Aoi,” Honoka spoke up after confirming the first science lab was empty. The subdued tap of Aoi’s shoes on the wood paused.

“What is it?” she asked with great interest. “Did you see someone?”

Honoka, on the other hand, continued walking. “No, I was just wondering something. Do you believe in ghosts?”

“I don’t know,” Aoi replied uncertainly. She moved to check the next classroom in her line. “I don’t not believe in them, but I’m not convinced they exist either. What about you?”

“Would you believe me if I told you I met a ghost when I was a little girl?”

“Really?” Aoi turning those big, trusting eyes on her again was just too fun. “What happened?”

“I made a friend when we moved to a new neighborhood, but it turned out I was the only one that ever saw him. I was really sad when my new playmate suddenly disappeared after I asked others about him.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Aoi paused, then looked back at her doubtfully. “You’re not teasing me, are you?”

“I would never.”

“Somehow I doubt that…” Aoi said, and Honoka laughed. She was cute when she was pouting.

Their search carried on without incident for a while. “Hey, this is your classroom, right?” Honoka asked her partway through the second floor. She was itching for a break, so when Aoi nodded, she strolled right in.

Aoi followed her, attentively examining the place. “It’s like a completely different place at night.”

Honoka took one of the jet black chairs closest to the blackboard. “What’s on the lesson plan for today, Ms. Matsumura?”

“Well, I think it would only be appropriate to start with Yumeno’s The Spirit Drum,” Aoi replied, pleasantly going along with it. She stopped just in front of the lectern. “You know, I wonder…”

“What is it?”

“If the ghost is real… why are they here? Do you think they could be a student too?”

Honoka propped her elbow up on the table and thoughtfully rested her chin in her hand. “Do you want to find out?”

Expression troubled again, Aoi said, “It’s not like we can just ask them, can we?”

“Hmm. We could try the rumor.”

“The… the rumor?”

“We’re in a classroom. All that’s left to do is kiss,” Honoka said lightheartedly, and Aoi went dead silent. After long enough, Honoka added too quickly, “If you don’t want to, that’s fine.”

“I’ve never…” Aoi’s mumbling lowered to completely inaudible.

“Can you say that again?”

“I’ve never kissed anyone.” In the outer glow of Honoka’s flashlight, Aoi’s vivid blush was in full view. “I know that’s not usually the case at my age, but I really haven’t.”

“Really?” Honoka blinked. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing! You’ll find the right person for it. For now, we could just pretend.”

“We could.” Relieved, Aoi nodded her head before suddenly tilting it. “But doesn’t it feel a bit juvenile to try to act out what we’re trying to catch students doing?”

Setting down the flashlight, Honoka pushed both palms down on the table to stand up. “We’re not old grannies yet! Besides, this is for the greater good. If we solve the ghost problem, the kids will stop trying to mess with it.”

“You might be right.” Aoi calmly stood where she was as Honoka stepped toward her, but looked more bashful the closer she came. Directly in front of her, it was hard to tell if she was more energized or embarrassed. “How will we pretend?”

“I’ll just lean in and stop before we touch. Close your eyes and hold still, okay?” Honoka told her, placing her hands on Aoi’s tiny shoulders. When Aoi followed those instructions, her round, doll-like face nervously awaiting her move made Honoka’s heart rate speed up as well. Their difference in height left her a lot of time to gradually lean down and feel her anxiety peak.

If she was honest with both of them, Honoka had had a few daydreams like this before. She might kiss Aoi as thanks for helping out with an archery club activity, or get one as sweet as frosting after taking her to Sweet Ring. It wasn’t really a normal thing to think about with a friend, so a belief that Aoi would never consider something like that with a woman had always kept Honoka’s feelings in the realm of secret fantasy. It would have been nice if this could be one of those dreams come true, but Honoka respected her too much to steal her first kiss.

With centimeters between their faces, Honoka paused. Aoi’s shoulders trembled under her fingers. Together, they waited.

Nothing happened.

Honoka released her and took a step back, leaving Aoi to breathe in deeply and fiddle with one of her braids. “I guess that rumor was just a lie after all?”

“They must’ve made it up to have an excuse to get closer to their crushes. What a teenage thing to do,” Honoka judged, digging herself deeper into the hole she’d made for herself. If that was true, she wasn’t any better than they were.

“Do you think it’s the method that’s made up, or the whole thing?”

“We can find out.” Mentally withdrawing from what she’d just done, Honoka circled her hands around her mouth and rotated slowly on her feet. When she spoke again, it was loudly. “Hey, is there any ghost out there? Come on out and say hi!” She was aware of a startled Aoi reaching for her mid-shout, but she had a problem to take care of. Then, she just had to wait again.

“I guess it’s all made up,” she told Aoi after some time passed. Before Aoi could respond, a peculiar, feminine voice interrupted them.

“YOU’RE… TEACHERS…”

Honoka turned abruptly, finding a third figure standing at the corner of the room. She stepped backward, snatched her flashlight, and turned it on them. She gasped at the sight, and Aoi recoiled several steps.

A willowy teenage girl stood at the edge of the blackboard, far from the door she should’ve come in through. Her long black hair was a mess, and her street clothes were in disarray. Most concerning was the one visible eye, piercing in its wide intensity, and the numerous bloody cuts in her blouse. She looked like she’d been stabbed, over and over again.

“H-Hospital! We have to get her to the hospital,” Aoi said with a jolt, but Honoka took her by the wrist before she could turn her back.

“Are you the school ghost?” Honoka asked the girl warily. It was painfully difficult to believe she could still be standing in that state otherwise.

“NO ONE CAME TO SAVE ME FROM THAT MAN… WHY?” The girl's head twitched at an odd angle. “COULDN’T TRUST THE POLICE… OR THE TEACHERS.”

With Aoi biting her lip conflictedly, Honoka was left to continue. “You’re one of the stabber’s victims?”

The girl carried on as if she’d said nothing at all. “WHY DIDN’T YOU HELP ME…?” she asked, taking unnatural, stuttering movements toward the two. The glint by her right thigh of a blade in her hand put Honoka on high alert.

“Please calm down,” Aoi interrupted, stepping out in front of Honoka. It wasn’t clear if she’d seen the knife and chose to ignore it or hadn’t seen it at all. “How can we help you? Can we do anything for you now?”

“YOU CAN SUFFER TOO,” the girl said, lunging for them.

On instinct, Honoka swung her arms forward to yank Aoi out of the way. The tip of the knife sliced through her sweater and into a line across her upper arm. Both the sudden movement and the shock of the attack caused her to trip and drop both women to the floor. Aoi screamed; Honoka held her breath and groaned on impact.

When she looked up, the ghost had gotten further away rather than any closer. “LEAVE… OR I’LL END IT,” the girl threatened as she stepped backward, holding the bloodied knife to her chest. If Honoka had blinked, she would have missed her disappearing through the smooth white wall between the windows.

Aoi scrambled up until she was sitting on her heels, giving Honoka the opportunity to put pressure on her wound with the opposite hand. “Honoka! Are you all right? You’re bleeding!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t die from something like this.”

“But it hurts, doesn’t it?”

“Like hell.” Pushing her elbow into the wooden floor, she sat up herself. “And I don’t know where that knife’s been, either.”

“L-Let’s go to the infirmary and treat it! Then we’ll go to the hospital. Okay?”

Honoka stared at the spot the ghost had disappeared from. That was in the direction of the staff building, nearly the complete opposite of the infirmary. They probably weren’t in much danger if they at least seemed like they were leaving, even if she really wanted to take Aoi and run away with her right then.

“Okay. Let’s...” She hissed as she started to stand, and Aoi moved to help. “...Let’s go. I might have some trouble treating myself, though.”

“I know a little about treating wounds,” Aoi stated, “And if there’s anything I don’t, you can tell me. I’ll take care of you.”

Her pace building toward a jog, Honoka hurried for the door. The infirmary was only a wing away. “You don’t need to. All that blood’s pretty gross, isn’t it?”

Glued to her side (shorter legs and all), Aoi shook her head. “You got yourself hurt because of me. I’m making up for it.”

Honoka sighed and forced a grin. “I got it. Just stop making that face, all right? I’d feel much better seeing you smile.”

Aoi’s thick eyebrows stayed curved with concern. She was never good at masking her feelings. Honoka could deal with it, even if she felt responsible for making her worry that much.

—————

Seated beside the infirmary sink, Honoka waited uneasily as Aoi did her best to clean the high wound by wringing water out above it. The sound of the water running was nothing, but she was convinced that turning the room’s light on had put them at risk of being caught again. She wasn’t worried for herself when Aoi had been the first target the girl went for. If it came down to it, she would protect her again.

It was cold in there without her sweater on, which had been abandoned on one of the beds. It was a little embarrassing relying on Aoi to help her get it off in her state; she found she couldn’t make eye contact or watch where Aoi was looking either. Fortunately, she was wearing a short sleeved shirt underneath that didn’t overlap with the cut. Rolling it up to grant Aoi even more room was easy.

“You’re shivering,” Aoi observed, staring at her face anxiously. “Are you feeling faint at all?”

Honoka shook her head. “No, it’s just chilly. That time of the year and all.”

“Let me move on, then. The doctors at the hospital can take care of anything I missed. I hope.” Aoi’s gaze shifted to the cabinet in the corner of the room. “Do you have antibiotic ointment in there?”

“Try the second shelf,” Honoka told her, and she rushed over to it. Feeling Aoi's care and kindness focused on her did make her feel warmer, if only a little bit. Below the overhead lights it was much more obvious how pretty she was under her long eyelashes. That troubled expression made Honoka want to pull her close and kiss her on the forehead to calm her down, as if that would even help outside her imagination.

As soon as she located the ointment, Aoi busied herself with applying it to the cut. “I really hope that knife wasn’t dirty. I don’t know if I could forgive myself if it got infected.”

The stinging forced Honoka to wince, but she still managed a small laugh. “Really, it’s not your fault. This is nice, anyway. Someone hasn’t taken care of me like this since I was a kid.”

“You don’t get injured often?”

“I’m not clumsy, and I don’t go around picking fights. When I do get hurt, I always take care of it myself.”

“That must be difficult.”

“Sometimes. It really would be with something like this, and you’re great at it. Hey, why don’t you help me every time from now on?”

Aoi’s cheeks reddened. She moved on to covering the wound. “If that’s what you want. If I can help you, I will.”

“Oh. I was kind of kidding, but… who am I to deny an answer like that?” Honoka was sure she was also blushing after that. Avoiding Aoi’s eyes, hers fell on the fishtank. “Have you seen the fish lately? They’re all doing well.”

Pausing mid-wrap, Aoi glanced over as well. “That’s great to hear. Is little Ping as cute as ever?”

“Definitely. That puffy little body always brightens my day. You should come by tomorrow and say hi.”

In response to Honoka’s sudden cheerfulness, Aoi smiled softly and finished up the bandaging. “I will.”

“Hey, you’re smiling again. I’m glad to see it.”

“I’d like to say I’ll keep smiling if you don’t do anything dangerous, but…”

“But?”

Aoi’s gaze dropped to the floorboards. “...I want to find her.”

Furrowing her brow, Honoka asked, “Find who?”

“Her. The ghost. I can’t leave her suffering like that, and I can’t let her endanger anyone else.”

“She said she would kill us next time, Aoi,” Honoka reminded her.

“I know.” Aoi raised her face and fixed her with a determined look. “You don’t have to come with me, but I have to try.”

Honoka stood. “There’s no way I wouldn’t go with you. If you’re sure, I’m with you ‘til the end.” She still deeply wanted to take Aoi away from all this, but the woman could make her own decisions. That decision would just have to be Honoka’s, too.

Aoi looked relieved. “Thank you. Just promise you’ll try not to get injured again.”

“I can’t promise anything if you’re in danger.”

“Can you promise if I’m not, then?”

“Fine, I promise.” Aoi’s childish insistence drew out a smile. Honoka hoped it was reassuring.

Wringing out her hands, Aoi’s eyes glistened dangerously. “That girl… I know she was one of our precious students, and she thought we were going to protect her. I have to apologize… for letting her die alone.”

With her uninjured arm, Honoka pulled her in for a gentle hug. It was too difficult to see her near tears. “Please don’t take all the guilt on yourself. I’m a teacher to them too. I’ll share it with you.”

Aoi’s arms slowly moved around her waist, her forehead resting in the space between Honoka’s neck and her shoulder. The hair above her braids was soft and sleek under Honoka’s hand. “I’m sorry for always depending on you, but I’m so grateful that I can. If we carry it together, maybe it won’t break either of us.”

“It won’t. We have to be extra strong for them now to make up for what we’ve failed at.”

“Yes,” Aoi said quietly, “And I’ll be strong for you, too.”

—————

Backtracking to the opposite wing of the building took time, but it was still hours before sunrise. Honoka offered Aoi the suggestion of looking for the girl in the staff building based on the direction she left in, and Aoi agreed. The wound still hurt and her arms were cold without the added protection of her sliced-up sweater, but quickly finding a resolution to this would also take care of those problems. Their pace matched their burning drive to reach it.

Aoi unlocked the building’s door with trembling hands. She hadn’t lost her confidence, but she was easily as tense as Honoka felt. They were both prepared for danger this round, however useful that was going to be. Honoka wasn’t convinced it would save them if it came down to another attack.

They crept cautiously into the normally cozy staff room, switching off their flashlights. Smaller windows than most other locations around the school also meant it was darker, and Honoka flipped on the ceiling lights to combat it. If anything would make them safer, it would be more visibility. Drawing attention was now what they wanted, anyway.

“Hello?” Aoi called out, turning her head in every direction as she walked a little further in. As planned, Honoka lingered by the door to make sure it remained open. “If you’re here, please come out.”

There was silence. Nothing changed, and nothing made a sound. The ghost took her time appearing once more out of thin air.

“STILL HERE… DO YOU WANT TO DIE?” the girl asked, swaying a step closer. Honoka chewed at her lip anxiously. Aoi would run if she had to. She definitely would.

“No. I needed to tell you I’m deeply sorry,” Aoi said, bravely bowing her head. “I failed you as your teacher. You must have been suffering so much.”

The girl stopped. “YOU’RE SORRY…? YOU THINK YOU UNDERSTAND?”

Aoi shook her head. Her voice started to waver. “You went through too much for me to presume I can understand your pain. But I know you feel it, and I know what I did by letting you die alone. You don’t have to forgive me, but please believe I would have done anything to protect one of my students.”

“YOU… WEREN’T THERE.”

“I wasn’t.” Aoi began to move her hands to her face, wiping at her cheeks. “I can only be here now and apologize. You shouldn’t… have had to die…”

The girl’s odd posture shifted to something more human. Her face did the same, revealing a fraction more of what had been hidden by her hair. “MS. MATSUMURA…?”

“Ito?” Aoi replied, shocked by the change. Honoka also recognized her: third year Yuri Ito had been a consistent visitor to the infirmary. From her counseling sessions, Honoka knew she had a turbulent life at home. It made sense that the girl had blamed the officer that attacked her and the school faculty, the only adults she felt she could rely on.

Part of her wanted to speak, but leaving it to Aoi to handle with grace felt key to seeing it brought to a safe end.

Aoi’s voice watered down further, unpredictably changing in pitch as she kept herself from sobbing. “I’m so sorry, Ito... I’ll never forget how nice it was to have you as my student last year. You deserved to graduate after all your hard work. I hope that you can let go of your pain in this world and find somewhere to rest.”

If Aoi didn’t sound sincere enough, no one could. Perfectly still and quiet, Yuri looked like she genuinely didn’t know what to do as a result. There was a vulnerable expression on her deathly pale face for a time as she watched her teacher cry, and then it twisted again. “NOT ENOUGH. THAT MAN GAVE ME… POWER TO GET REVENGE… AND I’LL TAKE IT.”

“Aoi,” Honoka spoke up in a panic, lurching forward to tug on the woman’s arm. As soon as she dropped her hands from her face in response, Honoka grabbed one and started to run with her back out the door. Aoi stumbled at first, but Honoka’s support kept her standing long enough to find her balance.

“I’LL KILL YOU!”

Honoka could feel the malice crash against her back like a wave. She didn’t have the luxury of looking back, but she still felt like her feet weren’t carrying her fast enough. “Fuck!”

At her side, Aoi gaped. “Watch your language at school!”

“Is this really the time?! Get out the key!”

For however much it helped, they ran in the dark. Avoiding equally dangerous overthinking, Honoka directed them around to one of the school storage buildings. She turned her flashlight on beside the lock for Aoi to open it without a struggle, then flipped it off again and dashed inside with her. In their hurry they tumbled to the ground with a yelp and inadvertently left the door ajar, but it wasn’t like a closed one would stop a ghost if she found them.

The two landed roughly on the polished concrete floor, Aoi on her side and Honoka on her thigh. She helped Aoi up in a hurry, who instantly clung to her. Honoka put her arms around her in return — she would have remarked on Aoi shaking or panting loudly if she wasn’t helplessly doing the same.

“I’m sorry, Honoka. We’re going to die, and it’s my fault for pushing it.”

“We’re not going to die,” Honoka corrected her, but she didn’t sound that confident. It really did feel like an active countdown to their gruesome deaths at the hand of a student come back from the dead. “Why didn’t that work? It looked like you were making progress…”

“I don’t know.” Aoi watched the world outside the crack in the door. “M-Maybe she won’t find us?”

Maybe. Or maybe this was it. One or both of them could die at any second, and they were on the floor of a dusty storage building in the dark. What wouldn’t Honoka regret if it ended this way?

“Listen,” she said, throwing out all rational thought. It wasn’t like her heart could pound any faster that it already was from the adrenaline. “I know it’s not the time for this, but I have to tell you something.”

“Y-Yes? What is it?”

“When I suggested we kiss for the rumor, I didn’t just want to do it for that reason. I’ve wanted to for a while.”

Aoi looked at her directly, confusion plain on her tear-streaked face. “Huh?”

“Sorry, but I’m in love with you,” she continued, her words spilling out quicker by the second. “I admire you so much, and I often think about how nice it would be if I could be with you.”

Completely silent, Aoi’s confusion progressed to surprise and halfway to realization. Honoka wasn’t sure how to take that, so she kept babbling to avoid hearing whatever rejection waited for her. “Don’t worry about it now, especially now that we might die, but—”

She cut off when Aoi slapped her hands on both sides of her cheeks and pulled her in halfway, crossing the other half herself. She pushed her puckered lips against Honoka’s with the same determination she mustered to face the ghost. Her eyes squeezed shut as if keeping her nerves at bay, while Honoka was too shocked to close hers.

It wasn’t fun, or romantic, or sensual, but god, if Honoka wasn’t sure it was real.

“FOUND YOU,” announced the airy voice of the ghost, and Aoi jolted away. The girl stepped in through the wall as if it was nothing more than an illusion. She held up her knife with a limp wrist, and Aoi started to scream. Flooded with the same terror, Honoka joined her.

In the second before she fainted, Honoka caught some kind of movement outside the building from their limited view of it. Whatever it was, it was already too late to make any kind of difference.

—————

“—Hino? Ms. Hino?”

As her consciousness trickled back in, the voice of a boy came with it. She found him kneeling beside her when she opened her eyes. With that unique silver hair and pretty face she didn’t have to wait for her brain to kick back into gear to figure out who he was.

“Saijo? Why are you here?” Unthinkingly pushing the palm of her injured arm down into the storage room’s floor to sit up, she winced at the pain that sparked through it. “And why am I…”

“You lost consciousness with Ms. Matsumura. I found you here.”

“That didn’t answer my question,” she remarked, squinting at him for a moment before turning to Aoi and shaking her. The other woman was still out cold. “Ms. Matsumura, wake up.”

After some indistinct noises of discontent, Aoi cracked open her eyelids. She moved her hand to hold one of Honoka’s wrists. “Honoka…?”

“It’s fine now. There’s no—” she started, but her sense of danger belatedly forced her gaze to dart around the building. “Where’s the ghost? Is she still here?”

Saijo shook his head. “The spirit is gone.”

“And how do you know that?” Honoka asked him.

His quiet demeanor returned. She couldn’t read if he was trying to wait out her question or if he was trying to come up with an answer. Once she stared at him long enough, he gave something like one. “I just know. She wanted me to apologize to you for her. She said she didn’t want to hurt you, and didn’t blame you for her death.”

“Really?” Aoi gasped, now alert enough to sit up on her own.

“She appreciated you speaking with her, Ms. Matsumura. I believe that helped her more than you think.”

“Geez…” Caught between self-consciousness and feeling comforted by his words, Honoka rubbed the back of her neck. “So you moonlight as an exorcist or something?”

“I just happened to be here.”

“I don’t really believe you, Saijo. You shouldn’t be out so late,” Aoi said with a concerned frown. “But you’re the reason we’re still fine, aren’t you?”

“I’ll go home right now,” he replied just as evasively. “You should also get some sleep. Can you get back okay?”

Honoka rearranged her awkward limbs and stood. Halfway up, she extended a hand to assist Aoi, and the other woman accepted it. “We’ll be all right. Get back right away,” she said sternly, then softened. “But thanks, for whatever you did. We owe you one.”

Saijo tilted his head forward in acknowledgement. “Don’t worry about it. Good night.”

“Thank you, Saijo,” Aoi added, her relief overtaking her strict teacher act. She smiled as if the chaotic night hadn’t happened at all. “Good night!”

He left the building as cooly as the autumn wind. Honoka watched him doubtfully. “He’s no ordinary kid. I can see why he wants to keep it a secret if we want to lecture him about it already.”

“I can keep it a secret for now for helping us,” Aoi said, shoulders slumping, “But if I catch him doing it again, I will give him a talking-to.”

“Haha, of course. You ready to follow your own advice and get out of here?”

“Yes, let’s.”

They both collected their flashlights from the floor, Aoi additionally finding her key ring before following Honoka out. As she set on locking the building behind them, she hesitated for a moment. “Do you think he was telling the truth about what she said to him?”

“I don’t think he would’ve known enough about what happened between her and us tonight to make it up.”

“...I’m happy to hear that. It wasn’t a waste to try to get through to her.” The lock clicked shut and she moved the keys back to her pocket.

“You did really well, Aoi.”

Aoi smiled at her brightly. “Thank you. And thank you for being there for me, again. I couldn’t have been that brave without you.”

Slightly embarrassed by the directness, Honoka turned and started to walk. It was going to take a while to get anywhere from there. Sleeping was definitely off the table, but she already knew that earlier. “Did you still want to drop by the hospital? That might be the only place we’ll get anything close to rest.”

Trotting after her, Aoi said, “Oh, yes. I want to make sure I took care of you well enough.”

“I’m sure you did, but it never hurts to be cautious.” And she wanted to let Aoi get off her feet faster than it would take for her to get home. “Um, about what happened in there… if you want to forget any of that happened, it’s—”

“No,” Aoi cut in hastily, then restrained herself and coughed politely into her fist. “I can’t just forget what you said, or what I did. I apologize for doing that.”

“Why did you?”

“It’s childish, but I knew at that moment that I didn’t want to die without having kissed anyone.”

“Just anyone, huh?” Honoka repeated, feeling her heart start to sink. “Glad I could be of use.”

Aoi shook her head so strongly Honoka could see it out of the corner of her eye. “I’ve wondered what it might be like to kiss you before. When you suggested it in the classroom, I was just too self-conscious to go through with it.”

“Huh?” Honoka returned her attention to her, wide-eyed. “Are you being serious?”

Sheepishly, Aoi nodded and clasped her free hand over the one holding her flashlight. “‘I’m in love with you’ has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” she said dreamily. “Could we see where this goes? I’d like to try kissing you again when we’re not as close to dying as we were.”

“O-Of course! If it would make you happy, I’d be happy to tell you I love you as much as you want.” The excitement flooding through her instantly washed away Honoka's brief heartache.

“I’ll try to support you more from now on, okay? You’ve done so much for me, and I want to give it back.”

“As long as you’re with me, it’s enough,” Honoka assured her contentedly. “But you can do it. If tonight proved anything, it’s that when you really want to do something you’ll pull it off.”

“Hehe, I’ll do my best.”

Honoka’s first near-death experience ending like that, side-by-side with an Aoi that accepted her feelings, wasn’t that bad at all. She still never wanted to go through one again.

[seisukeseirin]

ROMANJI

(I don't know what to believe) (I can't tell what is real and what is fake)

(Yes⇔No　Black⇔White　In⇔Out　Real⇔Fake)

Tashikameru koto mo sezu Tobikau jouhou ni odorasareru Uwabe dake kikazatta Iken wo motanu Majority

Toraekata shidai de (Up to you) Ura wa omote ni nari (Reversal) Deguchi no mienai kurayami ni Hitosuji no hikari ga sashikomu

Real na Fake ni hisomu shinjitsu Abakidase kono te wa nan no tame ni aru? Mamoritai yo donna ni kitsui sekai demo Koete miseru sa (Starting over again) Subete kono basho kara

Taikutsu ni aorarete Hi no nai tokoro ni kemuri wo tateru Tokumei ni mamorareta Itami wo shiranu Enormity

Umaku ikanai no wa (Not my day) Itsumo nani ka no sei (Get cold feet) Kazemuki bakari wo kinisezu ni Kesshite yuruganai ho wo agero

Fake na Real wo tsukamu nouryoku Togisumase onore no shinka wa soko ni aru Noboritai yo donna ni takai kabe demo Koete miseru sa (Climbing over again) Subete kono basho kara

Shinjiru kowasa utagau yuuki "Hito no yume" to kaku "hakanasa" mo Ima wo shiranakya (Mirai nado) Katarenai (Face reality) Yuganda nichijou ni me korashite

Real na Fake ni hisomu shinjitsu Abakidase kono te wa nan no tame ni aru Mamoritai yo donna ni kitsui sekai demo Koete miseru sa (Starting over again) Subete kono basho kara

(Yes⇔No　Black⇔White　In⇔Out　Real⇔Fake)

ENGLISH

(I don't know what to believe) (I can't tell what is real and what is fake)

(Yes⇔No　Black⇔White　In⇔Out　Real⇔Fake)

Without even confirming it Made to dance by the information that's flying around With only the exterior that's been decorated The Majority that doesn't have an opinion

It all depends on how you perceive it (Up to you) The flipside becomes the front [that you see] (Reversal) Within the darkness where you can't see the exit A ray of light comes streaming through

The truth that's quietly lurking, the Fake that's Real Uncover it, for what purpose do you have this hand? I want to protect you, no matter how harsh the world is I'll show you that I can overcome it (Starting over again) Everything [begins] from this place

Fueled by boredom Smoke rises in a place where there's no fire Protected by anonymity The Enormity of not knowing pain

The reason why things don't go well (Not my day) It's always the fault of something [else] (Get cold feet) Without needing to constantly worry about the direction of the wind Hoist the sail that will never waver

The ability to grasp the Fake that's Real Hone it, therein lies the evolution of oneself I want to climb it, no matter how high the wall is, I will show you that I can overcome it (Climbing over again) Everything [begins] from this place

The fear of believing, the courage to doubt Even when "evanescence" is written as "a person's dream" We need to know it [such things] now (Things like the future) [Things that] We can't speak of (Face reality) Straining to see in a distorted daily life

The truth that's quietly lurking, the Fake that's Real Uncover it, for what purpose do you have this hand? I want to protect you, no matter how harsh the world is I will show you that I can overcome it (Starting over again) Everything [begins] from this place

(Yes⇔No　Black⇔White　In⇔Out　Real⇔Fake)

KANJI

(I don't know what to believe) (I can't tell what is real and what is fake)

(Yes⇔No　Black⇔White　In⇔Out　Real⇔Fake)

確かめることもせず 飛び交う情報に踊らされる うわべだけ着飾った 意見を持たぬ Majority

捉え方次第で (Up to you) ウラはオモテになり (Reversal) 出口の見えない暗闇に 一筋の光が射し込む

RealなFakeに潜む真実 暴き出せ この手は何の為にある？ 守りたいよ どんなにキツイ世界でも 越えてみせるさ (Starting over again) 全てこの場所から

退屈に煽られて 火のないところに煙を立てる 匿名に護られた 痛みを知らぬ Enormity

上手くいかないのは (Not my day) いつも何かのせい？ (Get cold feet) 風向きばかりを気にせずに 決して揺るがない帆を上げろ

FakeなRealを掴む能力 研ぎ澄ませ 己の進化はそこにある 登りたいよ どんなに高い壁でも 越えてみせるさ (Climbing over again) 全てこの場所から

信じる怖さ 疑う勇気 「人の夢」と書く「儚さ」も 今を知らなきゃ (未来など) 語れない (Face reality) 歪んだ日常に 目凝らして

RealなFakeに潜む真実 暴き出せ この手は何の為にある？ 守りたいよ どんなにキツイ世界でも 越えてみせるさ (Starting over again) 全てこの場所から

(Yes⇔No　Black⇔White　In⇔Out　Real⇔Fake)

DISCLAIMER

I DO NOT OWN THIS PROPERTY (THE MUSICS NOR THE CHARACTERS), ALL CREDITS ARE GIVEN TO THE DRAMA “REAL⇔FAKE” AND THE MUSIC ARTIST “STELLAR CROWNS WITH   AKANE [STELLAR CROWNS WITH 朱音] - ARAMAKI YOSHIHIKO [荒牧慶彦], UEDA KEISUKE [植田圭輔], OZAWA REN [小澤 廉], SATO RYUJI [佐藤流司], MATSUMURA RYUNOSUKE [松村龍之介], WADA MASANARI [和田雅成], AOI SHOUTA [蒼井翔太]”

[kdram-chjh]

Jdrama: Real - Fake / REAL⇔FAKE (2019)

[leenaevilin-stage-market]

[Video] REAL⇔FAKE SPECIAL EVENT 「Cheers, Big ears!」

the DVD/Blu-ray will be released on June 24th, 2020☆ ☆ ☆

☆ DVD  ☆ Blu-ray         ♪ Amazon ☆ DVD  ☆ Blu-ray         ♪ CD Japan

[redux-pain]

chapter 11: Sweet Ring

スウィートリングの前では、 陽野ホノカがイライラと 辺りを見回していた。

「あっ、西条じゃない？」

Ｉｎ　ｆｒｏｎｔ　ｏｆ　Ｓｗｅｅｔ Ｒｉｎｇ，　Ｈｏｎｏｋａ　ｌｏｏｋｓ ａｒｏｕｎｄ　ｉｒｒｉｔａｂｌｙ．

Ａｔｓｕｋｉ？

/Hino Honoka was in front of Sweet Ring, looking around irritably./

[HONOKA, offscreen:] Saijou?

----

アオイ先生を見なかったかい？

ここで待ち合わせしているんだけど、 なかなか来ないんだよ……。

Ｄｉｄ　ｙｏｕ　ｓｅｅ　Ａｏｉ？

Ｓｈｅ　ｗａｓ　ｓｕｐｐｏｓｅｄ ｔｏ　ｍｅｅｔ　ｍｅ．

[HONOKA:] You haven’t seen Aoi-sensei, have you?

We’re supposed to meet here, but she’s nowhere to be found.

----

どこでなにしているんだろうね まったく……。

その辺りを探してくるから、 ちょっとここで待っていてくれない？

Ｗｈｅｒｅ　ｉｓ　ｓｈｅ　ｎｏｗ？ Ｗｈａｔ　ｉｓ　ｓｈｅ　ｄｏｉｎｇ？

Ｃａｎ　ｙｏｕ　ｓｔａｙ　ｈｅｒｅ ｗｈｉｌｅ　Ｉ　ｌｏｏｋ？

[HONOKA:] What is she doing, and where? I swear...

Could you stay here while I look around?

[HONOKA exits; a few minutes pass]

----

しばらくすると 海沿いの道の方から、 アオイが走ってきた。

ま、まあ！　西条君！

Ａｏｉ　ｒｕｎｓ　ｕｐ　ａｌｏｎｇ ｔｈｅ　ｓｅａｓｉｄｅ　ｒｏａｄ．

Ｏｈ！　Ａｔｓｕｋｉ！

/A short time later, Aoi came running up along the seaside road./

[AOI:] O-oh, my! Saijou-kun!

----

ど、どうしてこんなとこで？

ホノカ先生から頼まれて、 アオイ先生が来るのを 待っていたと答えた。

Ｗｈｙ　ａｒｅ　ｙｏｕ　ｈｅｒｅ？

Ａｔｓｕｋｉ　ｔｅｌｌｓ　ｈｅｒ　ｔｈａｔ Ｈｏｎｏｋａ　ｉｓ　ｗａｉｔｉｎｇ ｆｏｒ　ｈｅｒ．

[AOI:] What on earth are you doing here?

/Atsuki told her that Honoka had asked him to wait for her to show up./

----

そうなんですか！？

それはすみません……。

Ｒｅａｌｌｙ？

Ｉ’ｍ　ｓｏｒｒｙ！

[AOI:] Really?

I’m so sorry...

-----

海沿いの道を進んでいけば、 迷わないと思って来たんですが。

その分、余計に時間がかかって しまって……。

Ｉ　ｔｏｏｋ　ｔｈｅ　ｓｅａｓｉｄｅ ｒｏａｄ　ｎｏｔ　ｔｏ　ｇｅｔ　ｌｏｓｔ．

Ｂｕｔ　ｉｔ　ｔｏｏｋ　ａ ｌｏｎｇ　ｔｉｍｅ．

[AOI:] I thought I could avoid getting lost by taking the seaside route.

But it ended up taking a really long time...

-----

「アオイ先生！？」

あ～もう、探したんだよ！ いったいどこに居たんだい！？

Ａｏｉ？！

Ｉ’ｖｅ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｌｏｏｋｉｎｇ ｆｏｒ　ｙｏｕ！

[HONOKA, offscreen:] “Aoi-sensei?!”

[HONOKA enters]

[HONOKA:] Jeez, I was looking! Where the heck were you?!

-----

あっ！　す、すみません！

まったく……。

Ｓ－ｓｏｒｒｙ！

Ｙｏｕ．．．

[AOI:] Ah! S-sorry!

[HONOKA:] I swear...

-----

なかなか来ないから、 心配していたんですよ。

す…すみません……。

Ｉ　ｗａｓ　ｓｏ　ｗｏｒｒｉｅｄ！

Ｓ－ｓｏｒｒｙ！

[HONOKA:] I was worried when you didn’t show.

[AOI:] I-I’m sorry...

----

迷わないように、海沿いの道を 走ってきました……。

え、うそっ…あの距離を？ ３～４キロほどあるはずだけど。

Ｉ　ｔｒｉｅｄ　ｎｏｔ　ｔｏ　ｇｅｔ　ｌｏｓｔ！ Ｉ　ｔｏｏｋ　ｔｈｅ　ｒｏａｄ．．．

Ｈｕｈ？　Ｔｈｅ　ｓｅａｓｉｄｅ ｒｏａｄ　ｉｓ　３－４ｋｍ！

[AOI:] I ran along the seaside road. I was trying not to get lost...

[HONOKA:] Wait, what...? You went that far? That must be 3 or 4 kilometers.

----

それをあの短時間で、 走ってきたって言うの？

あ、はい…その方が、 迷わないだろうと思って……。

Ｙｏｕ　ｒａｎ　ｔｈａｔ　ｉｎ ｓｕｃｈ　ａ　ｓｈｏｒｔ　ｔｉｍｅ！

Ｙｅａｈ，　Ｉ　ｔｈｏｕｇｈｔ　ｉｔ ｗｏｕｌｄ　ｂｅ　ｂｅｔｔｅｒ．

[HONOKA:] You’re telling me you ran all that way in such a short time?

[AOI:] Y-yes... I thought that way I wouldn’t get lost...

----

すみません、そのせいで遅れて しまって…反省してます……。

い、いや…びっくりしているだけ アスリート並みの体力だなって。

Ｓｏｒｒｙ．　Ｉｔ　ｔｏｏｋ　ｍｏｒｅ ｔｉｍｅ　ｔｈａｎ　Ｉ　ｔｈｏｕｇｈｔ．

Ｕｈ，　ｎｏ　ｐｒｏｂｌｅｍ．　Ｉｔ’ｓ ａｃｔｕａｌｌｙ　ｖｅｒｙ　ｉｍｐｒｅｓｓｉｖｅ．

[AOI:] I’m really sorry. That’s why I was late...

[HONOKA:] Uh, no, never mind... I’m just surprised. That’s athlete-level stamina right there.

----

いや、少し足が丈夫なだけです。

アハハハ、アオイ先生って ほんとユニークな人だね！

Ｉｔ’ｓ　ｎｏｔｈｉｎｇ．

Ｈａｈａｈａ，　ｙｏｕ’ｒｅ　ｆｕｎｎｙ！

[AOI:] Oh, no, I just have strong legs. That’s all.

[HONOKA:] Ahahaha! You sure are something, Aoi-sensei!

----

さあ、お茶しましょ！

そうそう、西条も来な。 おわびに何かおごるからさ。

Ｌｅｔ’ｓ　ｇｏ　ｇｅｔ　ｔｅａ．

Ａｔｓｕｋｉ，　ｙｏｕ　ｃａｎ　ｃｏｍｅ ｉｆ　ｙｏｕ　ｗａｎｔ．　Ｍｙ　ｔｒｅａｔ．

[HONOKA:] Let’s go get our tea!

You can come too, Saijou. Let me pay you back for the favor.

=====

おや、西条君も？　元気かい？

あ、はい。

Ｏｈ，　Ａｔｓｕｋｉ．　Ｄｏｉｎｇ　ｏｋ？

Ｈｍ？　Ｙｅａｈ，　Ｉ　ａｍ．

[KENICHI:] Oh, Saijou-kun too? You doing good?

[ATSUKI:] Ah, yes.

----

それはそうと…… なにをなさっていたんです？

あまりに先生方が遅いものだから 可哀想にアップルパイが……。

Ｊｕｄｇｉｎｇ　ｂｙ　ｔｈａｔ　ａｎｓｗｅｒ．．．　 ｈｏｗ　ｈａｖｅ　ｔｈｉｎｇｓ　ｂｅｅｎ？

Ｔｈｅ　ｔｅａｃｈｅｒｓ　ｗｅｒｅ　ｌａｔｅ ｔｈｅ　ａｐｐｌｅ　ｐｉｅ．．．

[KENICHI:] Oh, by the way... what was going on?

You teachers were so late that unfortunately, the apple pie...

----

私の口の中に入って行って……。

ああ、可哀想。

Ｉ　ｃｏｕｌｄｎ’ｔ　ｒｅｓｉｓｔ　ｉｔ．

．．．ｓｏ　ｓａｄ．

[KENICHI:]  ...found its way into my mouth.

Oh, what a shame.

----

た、食べちゃったんですか？

はい…今ごろ胃のあたりに……。

Ｙｏｕ　ａｔｅ　ｉｔ？

Ｙｕｐ，　ｓｅｔｔｌｉｎｇ　ｍｙ　ｂｅ��ｌｙ　ｎｏｗ．

[AOI:] Y-you ate it?

[KENICHI:] Yep... It’s in my stomach right now.

----

お腹が空いていたんですの？

アハハハ、冗談です、 味見ですよ味見！

Ｗｅｒｅ　ｙｏｕ　ｔｈａｔ　ｈｕｎｇｒｙ？

Ａｈａｈａｈａｈａ，　ｊｕｓｔ　ｋｉｄｄｉｎｇ．　

[AOI:] Were you starving...?

[KENICHI:] Ahahaha, kidding! I just had a taste.

-----

冷えた物を出しちゃマズイでしょ。 だからついでに味見したってこと。

いい感じに焼けているから、 今からすぐに用意しますね。

Ｉｔ　ｓｐｏｉｌｓ　ｉｆ　ｎｏｔ　ｋｅｐｔ　 ｃｈｉｌｌｅｄ．

Ｉｔ’ｓ　ｂｅｓｔ　ｏｕｔ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　ｏｖｅｎ． Ｉ’ｌｌ　ｐｒｅｐａｒｅ　ｉｔ　ｓｏｏｎ．

[KENICHI:] I can’t serve my stuff cold. So I had to sample it.

It’s nice and warm, so I’ll go get it for you now.

----

と～っても美味しいです！

本当にね。

Ｉｔ’ｓ　ｗｏｎｄｅｒｆｕｌｌｙ　ｄｅｌｉｃｉｏｕｓ！

Ｉ　ｂｅｔ．

[a few minutes pass]

[AOI:] It’s so delicious!

[HONOKA:] It sure is.

----

こんなに美味しい物食べてると 今日の疲れも取れちまうよ。

本当に。す～っと幸せな気持ちに なれますね。

嫌なこともみんな忘れちゃいます。

Ｅａｔｉｎｇ　ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｇｏｏｄ ｒｅｉｎｖｉｇｏｒａｔｅｓ　ｙｏｕ．

Ｉｔ　ｒｅａｌｌｙ　ｄｏｅｓ．　Ｉｔ　ｇｉｖｅ　ｙｏｕ ｆｅｅｌｉｎｇｓ　ｏｆ　ｈａｐｐｉｎｅｓｓ，

ａｎｄ　ｗｏｒｒｉｅｓ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｄｉｓａｐｐｅａｒ．

[HONOKA:] Eating something this good reinvigorates you.

[AOI:] It really does. I feel so happy and refreshed.

All the worries just melt away.

-----

これで高野先生にデザートを 台無しにされた怒りは消えた？

あっ、そうでした。

Ｄｉｄ　ｉｔ　ｈａｖｅ　ｔｈａｔ　ｓａｍｅ　 ｅｆｆｅｃｔ　ｏｎ　Ｔａｋａｎｏ？

Ｏｈ　ｔｈａｔ’ｓ　ｒｉｇｈｔ．

[HONOKA:] What about the anger over Takano-sensei ruining your dessert?

[AOI:] Oh, yes.

-----

西条君、聞いてください。

今日の昼休みに、高野先生、 私のケーキを台無しにしたんですよ。

Ｌｉｓｔｅｎ　ｕｐ　Ａｔｓｕｋｉ．

Ｔａｋａｎｏ　ｓｅｎｓｅｉ　ｒｕｉｎｅｄ　ｍｙ　 ｃａｋｅ　ｔｏｄａｙ　ａｔ　ｌｕｎｃｈ　ｔｉｍｅ．

[AOI:] Listen up, Saijou-kun.

Today at lunch, Takano-sensei ruined my cake.

-----

分けのわからない本を山ほど抱えて、 『おっととと』って感じで。

ケーキの上に本をどさっと……

Ｈｅ　ｗａｓ　ｃａｒｒｙｉｎｇ　ａ　ｈｕｇｅ ｏｆ　ｂｏｏｋｓ．．．ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅｎ．．．

Ｔｈｅｙ　ｆｅｌｌ　ｏｎ　ｍｙ　ｃａｋｅ．．．

[AOI:] He was carrying around a big stack of incomprehensible books, and he went, “Uh-oh, whoops--”

...and they went splat! onto my cake...

----

帰って来て速攻、私が怒るような ことをするなんて……。

ははっ、ほんとドジだよね、 高野先生っていつも。

Ｉ　ｗａｓ　ｓｏ　ａｎｇｒｙ　ｃｏｍｉｎｇ　ｂａｃｋ　 ａｎｄ　ｓｅｅｉｎｇ　ｗｈａｔ　ｈｅ’ｄ　ｄｏｎｅ．

Ｈａｈａ　ｔｈａｔ’ｓ　Ｔａｋａｎｏ，　 ｃｌｕｍｓｙ　ａｓ　ａｌｗａｙｓ．

[AOI:] The second he comes back, he manages to tee me off...

[HONOKA:] Haha, he sure is a clumsy guy.

-----

いつもアオイ先生に叱られてばかり。 まあ傍から見��たら楽しいけど。

ホノカ先生！　 先生も同僚なんですからね。

Ａｌｗａｙｓ　ｃａｔｃｈｉｎｇ　ｈｅａｔ　ｆｒｏｍ Ａｏｉ．　Ｉｔ’ｓ　ｆｕｎ　ｔｏ　ｓｅｅ　ｔｈｏｕｇｈ

Ｍｓ．　Ｈｏｎｏｋａ，　ｐｌｅａｓｅ！

[HONOKA:] Aoi-sensei’s always scolding him. It’s fun to watch from the outside, though.

[AOI:] Honoka-sensei! He is our colleague, you know.

-----

あはは、ごめんごめん。 そうだそうだ。

そう言えば、西条君、 高野先生の授業どうでした？

Ａｈａｈａ，　ｓｏｒｒｙ　ｓｏｒｒｙ．．． Ｉ’ｌｌ　ｌｅａｖｅ　ｉｔ　ａｔ　ｔｈａｔ．

Ｓｏ，　ｗｈａｔ　ｄｏ　ｙｏｕ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　ｏｆ Ｔａｋａｎｏ’ｓ　ｃｌａｓｓ，　Ａｔｓｕｋｉ？

[HONOKA:] Ahaha. Sorry, sorry. You’re right, he is.

[AOI:] Oh, speaking of which. Saijou-kun, how was Takano-sensei’s class?

-----

また妙チクリンな話の流れに なりませんでしたか？

いえ、至って真面目な 授業でしたよ。

Ｄｉｄ　ｈｅ　ｔｒａｉｌ　ｏｆｆ　ｉｎｔｏ　ｗｅｉｒｄ ｔｏｐｉｃｓ？

Ｎｏｔ　ａｔ　ａｌｌ．　Ｔｈｅ　ｃｌａｓｓ　ｉｓ　ｏｎ ｇｏｅｓ　ｗｅｌｌ．

[AOI:] He didn’t start talking about anything strange again, did he?

[ATSUKI:] No, it was a very by-the-books class.

-----

まっ、復帰初日だからね。

成瀬には、それが退屈に 感じたようですが。

Ｗｅｌｌ，　ｊｕｓｔ　ｇｉｖｅ　ｉｔ　ｔｉｍｅ．

Ｉ　ｇｅｔ　ｔｈｅ　ｆｅｅｌｉｎｇ　ｔｈａｔ　 Ｎａｒｕｓｅ　ｆｉｎｄｓ　ｉｔ　ｂｏｒｉｎｇ．

[HONOKA:] Well, it was his first day back.

[ATSUKI:] Naruse seemed pretty bored by it, actually.

-----

はぁ…成瀬君は、 いつもふざけてばかり……。

ほんとうは良い子なんですけど、 どうしてなのかな……。

Ｈｍｐｈ，　Ｎａｒｕｓｅ　ｉｓ　ａ　ｄｉｆｆｉｃｕｌｔ ｏｎｅ．．．

Ａ　ｇｏｏｄ　ｋｉｄ　ｔｈｏｕｇｈ．　Ｉ　ｄｏｎ’ｔ ｋｎｏｗ　ｗｈｙ　ｈｅ’ｓ　ｌｉｋｅ　ｔｈａｔ．

[AOI:] *Sigh*... Naruse-kun is always playing around...

I know he’s a good kid deep down. I don’t know why he’s like that...

----

まーた、アオイ先生の心配性が 出てきた出てきた。

今日はパァ～とケーキでも 食べるんじゃなかったの？

Ｗｅｌｌ，　Ｉ　ｓｅｅ　ｗｅ’ｖｅ　ｓｔｒｕｃｋ ａ　ｎｅｒｖｅ　ｗｉｔｈ　Ｍｓ．　Ａｏｉ．

Ｗｅ’ｌｌ　ｂｅ　ｆｅａｓｔｉｎｇ　ｏｎ　ｏｆ ｃａｋｅ　ｔｏｄａｙ　ｔｈｏｕｇｈ　ｗｏｎ’ｔ　ｗｅ？

[HONOKA:] Here come those worries again, huh?

Wasn’t today about refreshing ourselves with cake?

----

おっと、楽しそうですね。

食べ物が美味しいと、 話も自然と弾むんですよ。

ははっ、それは嬉しいことを 言って下さいますね。

Ｏｈ　ｙｅｓ．　Ｉ　ｃａｎ’ｔ　ｗａｉｔ．

Ｇｏｏｄ　ｆｏｏｄ　ａｎｄ　ｃｏｎｖｅｒｓａｔｉｏｎ ｇｏ　ｈａｎｄ　ｉｎ　ｈａｎｄ．

Ｉｔ　ｍａｋｅｓ　ｈａｐｐｙ　ｔｏ　ｈｅａｒ ｔｈａｔ．

[KENICHI:] Oh, looks like we’re having fun over here.

[HONOKA:] When the food is good, the conversation is too.

[KENICHI:] Ha ha. What a nice thing to say.

[NOTE: Starting with “good food and conversation” this entire part of the script file gets super choppy and some of the lines are out of order; it’s even more impossible than usual to tell what’s going on unless you have the game open to check.]

----

ではお礼に、当店自慢のシフォン ケーキをプレゼントさせて頂きます。

おっ、店長良い男！ 気前が良いね～ほんとうに。

ジゴロだジゴロ。 女の人にモテる理由もわかるよ。

Ｉ’ｄ　ｌｉｋｅ　ｔｏ　ｔｈａｎｋ　ｙｏｕ　ｗｉｔｈ ｔｈｉｓ　ｃｈｉｆｆｏｎ　ｃａｋｅ．

Ｙｏｕ’ｒｅ　ａｍａｚｉｎｇ！　Ｔｈａｎｋ　ｙｏｕ ｆｏｒ　ｙｏｕｒ　ｇｅｎｅｒｏｓｉｔｙ．

Ｙｏｕ’ｒｅ　ａ　ｌａｄｉｅｓ　ｍａｎ． Ｙｏｕ　ｋｎｏｗ　ｗｈａｔ　ｗｅ　ｌｉｋｅ．

[KENICHI:] Let me thank you with one of our specialty chiffon cakes.

[HONOKA:] Wow, what a generous move! You’re one smooth manager.

You’re a real player, huh? I see why you’re so popular with the ladies.

----

やはりそんなことなら、 サービスするのはよくないのか。

これは反省もんだ。

Ｉｆ　ｓｏ，　ｍａｙｂｅ　Ｉ　ｄｏｎ’ｔ　ｎｅｅｄ　 ｔｏ　ｇｉｖｅ　ｙｏｕ　ｔｈｅ　ｃａｋｅ　ｔｈｅｎ？

Ｍａｙｂｅ　Ｉ　ｓｈｏｕｌｄ　ｒｅｃｏｎｓｉｄｅｒ．

[KENICHI:] Oh, really? Do you not want the freebie, then?

My apologies for offending you.

----

う、うそうそ！　ケーキだけは、 置いて行ってお願い！

もうそんなこと言わないからさ。

Ｎｏ　ｎｏ，　ｔｈｅ　ｃａｋｅ　ｉｓ　ｆｉｎｅ！ Ｉ　ｎｅｅｅｅｄ　ｔｈａｔ　ｃａｋｅ．

Ｉ’ｌｌ　ｋｅｅｐ　ｍｙ　ｍｏｕｔｈ　ｓｈｕｔ．

[HONOKA:] No, no no! Leave the cake, please!

I’ll keep my mouth shut, I promise.

-----

はいはい、わかってますよ。

しかし如月学園の先生方は、 ほんとみんな良い方ばかりだ。

うちのバカ息子は、幸せですよ。

Ａｌｒｉｇｈｔ　ｔｈｅｎ，　ｈｅｒｅ　ｙｏｕ　ａｒｅ．

Ｂｕｔ　ｒｅａｌｌｙ，　ｔｈｅ　ｔｅａｃｈｅｒｓ　ａｔ Ｋｉｓａｒａｇｉ　ａｒｅ　ａｌｌ　ｇｏｏｄ　ｆｏｌｋ．

Ｍｙ　ｏｗｎ　ｐｕｎｋ　ｋｉｄ　ｌｉｋｅｓ　ｉｔ．

[KENICHI:] Gotcha. Here you go.

You know, there sure are a lot of great teachers at Kisaragi Academy.

My idiot son’s happy there.

-----

こんな良い先生方に教育して いただけるんですからね。

さっ、先生方、西条君 遠慮なさらずにどうぞ！

Ｔｈｅｙ’ｒｅ　ｂｅｉｎｇ　ｔａｕｇｈｔ　ｂｙ　 ｇｒｅａｔ　ｐｅｏｐｌｅ，　ａｆｔｅｒａｌｌ．

Ａｌｒｉｇｈｔ　ｅｖｅｒｙｏｎｅ，　ｂｏｎ ａｐｅｔｉｔ！

[KENICHI:] He has some really fine people teaching him.

Well, eat up! Teachers and Saijou-kuns alike, don’t be shy!

----

わっ、ありがとうございます。 頂きます。

ありがとうございます。

Ｔｈａｎｋ　ｙｏｕ．　Ｓｈａｌｌ　ｗｅ？

Ｌｅｔ’ｓ　ｄｉｇ　ｉｎ．

[AOI:] Ooh, thank you.

[HONOKA:] Let’s eat.

----

ん～、美味しい。幸せです。

溶けちゃいそうです……。

Ｏｈ　ｍｙ　ｔｈ��ｓ　ｉｓ　ｄｅｌｉｇｈｔｆｕｌ．

Ｉ　ｃｏｕｌｄ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｍｅｌｔ．

[AOI:] Mm, this is so good!

I could just melt with happiness.

-----

……アオイ先生？

はい、とっても美味しいです。

．．．Ｍｓ．　Ａｏｉ？

Ｈｍ？　Ｔｈｉｓ　ｉｓ　ｓｏｏｏ　ｇｏｏｄ．

[HONOKA:] ...Aoi-sensei?

[AOI:] Yes, it’s just delicious.

-----

あ、アオイ先生……。

はい、は～い。

Ｍｓ．　Ａｏｉ．．．．

Ｏｈ，　ｏｈ　ｍｙ　ｇｏｏｄｎｅｓｓ　ｙｅｓ！

[HONOKA:] Uh, Aoi-sensei...

[AOI:] Yes, mm-hm....

----

いやですよ、アオイ先生。 どこに意識飛ばしてるんですか？

いや～、そんな幸せそうな表情を して頂けると、嬉しいですね。

Ｗｈａｔ’ｓ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｙｏｕ？　Ｉｓ　ｔｈｅ ｆｏｏｄ　ｔａｋｉｎｇ　ｙｏｕ　ｐｌａｃｅｓ？

Ｉ’ｍ　ｈａｐｐｙ　ｔｈａｔ　ｍｙ　ｆｏｏｄ　ｃａｎ ｂｒｉｎｇ　ｓｕｃｈ　ｈａｐｐｉｎｅｓｓ．

[HONOKA:] Uh-oh, Aoi-sensei. Are you on another planet right now or what?

[KENICHI:] Well, I’m glad to see my food making you so happy.

----

ホント、アオイ先生ったら、 ケーキで酔っ払ったんじゃない？

いや～、これほど喜んでもらったら、 ケーキだって幸せだね。

Ｉｔ　ｓｅｅｍｓ　ｓｈｅ’ｓ　ａｃｔｕａｌｌｙ ｇｅｔｔｉｎｇ　ｄｒｕｎｋ　ｏｆｆ　ｃａｋｅ．

Ｓｅｅｉｎｇ　ｓｕｃｈ　ｊｏｙ　ｉｓ　ｗｈａｔ　ｉｓ ｔｏ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｐｅｏｐｌｅ．

[HONOKA:] Seriously, is she getting drunk off the cake?

[KENICHI:] Even the cake must be glad to see you like this!

----

それでは私はそろそろ戻りますね。 ごゆっくりしていって下さい。

ありがとうございます。

Ｉ　ｈａｖｅ　ｔｏ　ｂｅ　ｇｅｔｔｉｎｇ　ｂａｃｋ． Ｅｎｊｏｙ．

Ｔｈａｎｋｓ．

[KENICHI:] Well, I should be getting back. Take your time and enjoy.

[HONOKA:] Thank you.

----

ほらっ、先生！　アオイ先生！

はい？

Ｍｓ．．．．　Ｍｓ．　Ａｏｉ？

Ｈｍ？

[HONOKA:] Hey, sensei! Aoi-sensei!

[AOI:] Hm?

-----

そんな可愛い表情してると、 ナンパされますよ？

え！？

Ｙｏｕ’ｌｌ　ｇｅｔ　ｈｉｔ　ｏｎ　ｍａｋｉｎｇ ｃｕｔｅ　ｆａｃｅｓ　ｌｉｋｅ　ｔｈａｔ．

Ｈｕｈ？

[HONOKA:] Someone’s gonna try picking you up if you make cute faces like that.

[AOI:] Huh?!

----

ははっ、アオイ先生はコロコロ 表情が変わって可愛らしいね。

ええ！？　私が、か、可愛い？ あっ！　いえ…そんなこと……。

Ｈａｈａ，　Ｍｓ．　Ａｏｉ　ｍａｋｅｓ　ｔｈｅ ｃｕｔｅｓｔ　ｆａｃｅｓ　ｔｏｏ．

Ｍｅ？　Ｃｕｔｅ？ Ｎｏ　Ｉ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　ｎｏｔ．

[HONOKA:] Ha ha. It’s just adorable the way your expressions change.

[AOI:] What?! M-me, cute? Wh... N-no, not at all...

----

ははっ本当の事ですよ。 ね、西条？

あっ、は…はい……。

Ｈａｈａｈａ　ｉｔ’ｓ　ｔｒｕｅ． Ｒｉｇｈｔ，　Ａｔｓｕｋｉ？

Ｈｕｈ？　Ｕｈ．．．　ｙｅａｈ．．．

[HONOKA:] Ha ha, it’s the truth. Right, Saijou?

[ATSUKI:] Oh, uh... yeah...

----

ほらっ、西条も可愛いって 言ってますよ。

あ、その……私全然……、 可愛くなんか……。

Ｓｅｅ，　Ａｔｓｕｋｉ　ｓａｙｓ　ｔｈｅ　 ｓａｍｅ　ｔｈｉｎｇ．

Ｎｏｔ　ｆｏｒ　ｍｅ．　Ｉ’ｍ　ｎｏｔ ｃｕｔｅ　ａｔ　ａｌｌ．

[HONOKA:] See? He agrees.

[AOI:] N-no way... I-I’m not cute at all...

----

純粋って言葉がいちばん 似合う人だね、アオイ先生は。

それじゃあ、そろそろ行こうか。

はい。

Ｍｏｄｅｓｔ　ｗｏｒｄｓ　ｆｉｔ　ｙｏｕ　ｗｅｌｌ Ｍｓ．　Ｈｏｎｏｋａ．

Ｓｈａｌｌ　ｗｅ　ｇｅｔ　ｇｏｉｎｇ？

Ｙｅｓ　ｏｆ　ｃｏｕｒｓｅ．

[HONOKA:] “Pure.” That’s the perfect word to describe you, Aoi-sensei.

Well, should we get going?

[AOI:] Sure.

=====

それじゃ、私たちはまだ 仕事が残っているから学校戻るよ。

今日は本当に楽しかったです。 西条君、ありがとう。

Ｗｅ　ｈａｖｅ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｍｏｒｅ ｗｏｒｋ　ａｔ　ｓｃｈｏｏｌ．．．

Ｉｔ　ｗａｓ　ｒｅａｌｌｙ　ｆｕｎ ｔｏｄａｙ．　Ｔｈａｎｋｓ　Ａｔｓｕｋｉ！

[HONOKA:] See you later. We're heading back to school to get some more work done.

[AOI:] This was really fun. Thank you, Saijou-kun.

----

西条、気をつけて帰るんだよ、 いいね？

それじゃ、失礼します。

Ａｔｓｕｋｉ，　ｔａｋｅ　ｃａｒｅ， ｏｋ？

Ｓｅｅ　ｙｏｕ！

[HONOKA:] You be careful, okay, Saijou?

[AOI:] Goodbye.

[rz-jocelyn]

[NEWS] REAL⇔FAKE: The "REAL⇔FAKE Final Stage" Album "FOR GOOD" is Now Available for Download and Streaming

Tracks Featuring Suzuki Kakeru (Sato Ryuji):

1．MISLEAD / Stellar CROWNS with Akane 5．again... / Suzuki Kakeru (Sato Ryuji) 12．Memories with you / Makino Nagisa (Aramaki Yoshihiko) & Suzuki Kakeru (Sato Ryuji) 14．WE ARE ONE / Stellar CROWNS with Akane & ASTRA RING

To download/stream the digital version of the single, please refer to this link here: https://lnk.to/realfake_forgood_music

NOTE: 

[1] If clicking on the link doesn’t work, copy and paste the entire URL into the search bar.

[2] For international fans, please check the streaming/download services for the availability of the single at 12.00 midnight on June 07, 2023 in the respective time zones.

For more information on how to purchase the physical album, please refer to this link: HERE

[s-oundscapes]

[DL] Real⇔Fake Episode 1

Hello everyone!

I have uploaded the first episode of Real Fake!

It’s not the best quality but I tried ^^;;

Enjoy!

Kindly do not re-upload/re-post the link anywhere!

Should you wish to stream Real Fake, please refer to Lyn’s post on Tumblr! 

DL HERE

[emitalkintotrees]

Helloo eveyryone~ 

Not the first time I’m here on Tumblrs but this is my first time writing a fanfiction, and about a couple that I’ve never thought I would write no less xD Anyways, I really enjoy writing this, as writing stuffs calmed me down greatly ~ 

So I will try to update weekly for this one, along with some facts about the drama and the actors as well 

Yoroshikyunnnnnn~

[x0401x]

Tsurune Cast Comments: Episode 10

Screenplay: Yoshino Hiroyuki Storyboard: Takemoto Yasuhiro, Yamamura Takuya, Fujita Haruka Direction: Takemoto Yasuhiro Animation Direction: Tsunoda Yuuki

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Ichikawa Aoi (Voice of Takehaya Seiya)

A Scene You Recommend

The scene where Seiya, who had been carrying the accident from the past inside him, was helped out by Minato. In Minato’s “I’ll wait for you”, performed by Uemura-san, there was a warmth that seemed to envelop Seiya completely, so without thinking twice, I myself felt like crying during the after-recording.

I think that, whenever it rained, Seiya was reminded of the accident over and over, and suffered deeply. From now on, this will diminish little by little, and he will finally be able to live like himself, is what I felt.

That’s great, huh, Seiya.

Takemoto Yasuhiro (Episode Director)

A Scene You Obsessed With

The scene where Seiya and Minato faced each other on the pedestrian bridge. In it, we depicted Seiya with openings, unlike how he usually is, precisely because the fever was making him dizzy.

He normally always pushes himself to the limit and does his best, so I think that doing so became the obvious to him without him even noticing. I believe it is okay for him to show weakness at least in times like these.

Matsumura Genki (Main Video Inspector)

A Scene You Recommend

The scene where Masa-san and Tommy-sensei have a talk in the archery dojo. It is clear that the reflections on the floor and the sunset hues are beautiful, but I felt a depth in their conversations’ contents. It is a scene where one can see that we are not only depicting the growth of Minato and the other boys, but also of Masa-san. The parts of this scene that tuned with me and had me going, “I get you!”, as well as the trail of thoughts about his “questions”, made me see this scene as overlapping with myself, so it might have left a particular impression on me.