#natsuki’s the greatest

[stayingtoasty]

[wiseman342]

Once again. It happened once again. Once again I had a tough day, in a series of tough days, that brought me to overthink and despair over some things that are ultimately not that big. And once again, I put on Re:Zero. I look at my favorite main character, at the best written character I've ever seen, and he says the words I, no, WE need to hear the most. And I cry. And I smile. Is whatever you're going through tough? For me too. Are you hurting or sad? I am too. Will we get through it? Of course we will. As Emilia and Subaru said. We aren't alone. There is always someone. Even if you don't see them yet. Look around. Feel what you're feeling. Let them know, and you will see. You aren't alone. We're all here, and alive, and soon, we will be well again.

[sufferu]

Yeah I don’t tend to just focus on one thing, apparently.

Runaway IF: Wilhelm Intro

It had been nearly a full year since the dual battles against the White Whale and the Archbishop of Sloth.

The battle with the White Whale had been no less than fourteen long years in the making, each one filled with research upon research, alliances upon alliances, preparations upon preparations. When the time had finally come to face the beast, it had been met with an army of gargantuan proportions, facilitated by a bargain between three separate royal factions otherwise competing against one another for the throne, and the battle henceforth become a symbol not just of strength, and courage, and constitution, but of unity and trust. The battle against Sloth, meanwhile, had been as unexpected as they come, with most on the field only learning of the coming fight hours beforehand — and yet it had been even more successful, with not a single soul falling prey to what had once been the deadliest Archbishop of them all.

By all means, the anniversary was one that should have been looked at with triumph, and Wilhelm should have been preparing to celebrate the occasion. But unfortunately — on top of the ill that was his Lady’s memory loss, which had occurred during that same three-day period — this would also mark the anniversary of the loss of something unaccountably precious.

“We’ve got nyews from the Anyastasia Camp,” Felix announced. It only took one look at the exhaustion on the healer’s face for Wilhelm to guess what the news was likely about.

Natsuki Subaru had been the key player in both victories, to the point where even the vainest of the knights and noblemen would not dare to dismiss his contribution — and to the point where Wilhelm himself would have dragged to the arena anyone who did such a thing in his presence. It was him who had recognized signs of the Whale’s arrival, it was him who had drawn first blood, it was him who had rallied the troops when their courage began to fail them, it was him who had volunteered to bait the beast for hours on end — at one point even shooting himself into the sky to bring the enraged creature thundering down behind him — and it was him who had proposed the usage of the Great Tree to finally trap the thing — and after that, it had been none other than Natsuki Subaru who had organized and led the great attack against Sloth.

And then, not even two days later, this great hero had decided to run away like a dog.

“A meeting in Priestella?” Wilhelm repeated.

“Cruschie finalized the details earlier,” Felix said. A flicker of hope flitted through his face. “Anyastasia-sama believes that she’s found a lead concerning her — condition.”

That was great news! Wilhelm gave a broad smile. “I’m sure this lead will be one worth following,” he assured the youth.

“Well.” Felix chewed his lip. “There is one other thing…”

Wilhelm was still Crusch’s attendant, but in recent months he had also taken on a good portion of the responsibility regarding the hunt for their ally’s missing self-proclaimed knight. Generous as always, Crusch had been remarkably accommodating of his personal stakes in bringing the boy back home, allowing him to largely lead the charge with regards to the Crusch Camp’s part of the nationwide manhunt — even if this meant that he was not by his side quite as much as he likely should have been, nowadays. This meant that this time, too, he had been absent when such arrangements were being made — or when such news was being delivered.

Perhaps Wilhelm would not have cared so much, even with his boundless gratitude towards the young hero, if it were a case of a random eccentric. But even outside of that show of bravery, even outside of him having formed an alliance with his liege, even outside of him granting the old man his greatest wish…the true reason for his fury was of a much less extravagant nature.

The truth was that Wilhelm had simply grown very fond of this boy over the short week for which he had known him. He had seen Heinkel’s mischievous determination in his efforts to bribe him with tea during that initial visit, something like Reinhard in his youthfulness — something like Theresia in that compassionate, gentle soul underlying everything else. He had even seen something like his younger self in that naive devotion to a beautiful girl, in that abrasive attitude that had nearly gotten Subaru killed at the Royal Selection Ceremony, to the point where the same motions that had earned the kid the ire of nearly every knight present had only succeeded in weaseling him ever closer to Wilhelm’s own beating heart. The White Whale aside, Wilhelm would not have agreed to train just anyone in that field outside of the Karsten Manor.

And then there was that look in his eyes…

Perhaps Wilhelm should have paid more attention to that look when he’d had the chance.

“A seizure?” he repeated.

“Or some kind of psychotic episode,” Felix said dully. “According to Anyastasia-sama’s report from the Iron Fang they nyearly had him — were taking him out for drinks and everything — but then he suddenly started freaking out. Clawing at his eyes, banging his head into the wall, screaming, crying — it took four of her mercenyaries to hold him down.” He rolled his shoulder. “Afterwards, he manyaged to organize a defensive manyeuver among the forces at the outpost, which ended in the demise of the Great Rabbit.”

Wilhelm had heard of the defeat of the second Great Mabeast earlier that day. This was the first he was hearing of Subaru’s breakdown prior to the incident — or of his general involvement.

Not for the first time, Wilhelm imagined himself forcing Subaru to pick his switch from the bush — the same one he had sent a younger Heinkel to, whenever he misbehaved — like the reckless, foolish, inconsiderate, childish brat that he was. And then tucking him in bed somewhere safe and warm and well-guarded where he couldn’t get himself hurt anymore.

“Emilia-sama…” he faltered.

Felix averted his eyes. “Anyastasia-sama wants to tell her everything in person,” he said quietly.

Which would happen at their upcoming meeting in Priestella, most likely. Wilhelm wondered if this was the true reason for the merchant princess to have organized such an event.

“All we knyow for nyow,” Felix continued, “is that Subaru-kyun is likely even worse off than we thought.”

Wilhelm clenched the handle of his sword so hard he thought he heard it creak beneath his grip.

[utapri-translations-uuuu]

ASSMU Behind the Stage Ver.B [Natsuki, Syo, Ai, Nagi, Yamato] - Translation

Please do not repost/retranslate without permission.

Ai: It is interesting that towards the end of the song, when the 18 of us sing together, the position of the five of us splits into two, with me in the center.

Ai: On the right are Natsuki and Yamato, who are large and adult-like, and on the left are Syo and Nagi, who are small and cute.

Nagi: Nagi may be small and cute, but my feelings are the greatest, so I’ll make the audience more excited than anyone else.

Natsuki: Wah! You’re so lovely, Nagi-kun! Not only are you cute but you’re also cool! Gyuu!

Syo: W-Wait a minute!!

Nagi: Woah!

Syo: Wait, Natsuki! Don’t go hugging Nagi! If you’re gonna do that, it should be with the super cool me.

Natsuki: I understand. Of course, Syo-chan is always cute and cool too. Gyuu!

Syo: Argh! I got it, but-! You’re squeezing too hard!!

Nagi: Jeez, what are you two doing? It can’t be helped. Nagi will teach you how to hug more cutely. Come here for a second, Natsuki.

Natsuki: Okay. Is it okay if I just wait here like this?

Nagi: Yes. Lean down a bit more. Like that. Here we go. Gyuu~ Then let’s both look at Syo and wink! How was that?

Natsuki: It makes it look like we get along well, which is very good.

Syo: Wow, that was damn clean.

Yamato: Hey, Natsuki. If you have any energy left over, be my opponent.

Natsuki: Really? That sounds fun too.

Ai: That kind of thing should be done after practice, not now. Incidentally, I'm pretty confident in my own skills though.

Syo: I mean, I'm not losing either. I'm not talking about height or arm wrestling! What's needed for a live performance is spirit! I'm going to put my heart and soul into singing and dancing for my fans.

Yamato: Yeah, exactly. I can’t waste time. I need more stamina to put on the best live performance I can. Should I increase my training? First, 500 push-ups!

Syo: No, that's ridiculous. We finished practicing the basics and now it's time for the dance lesson.

Yamato: Don't be so rigid about something being a little out of order. Let's do it together! 1, 2, 3…

Syo: I haven't said I'm going to do it yet! Ah, damn it!

Yamato: 4, 5, 6…

Syo: 7, 8, 9, 10

Ai: Okay. I'll leave the push-ups to you two. Shall the rest of us go over the moves again?

Natsuki: Yes! That’s right, Nagi-kun. How about we try to incorporate a moment of interaction with the fans like we did just now in the song?

Nagi: That might be good. Let’s see…

Syo: (out of breath) Hey, don't just leave me like this, do something about it!!

Ai: (sigh) It can’t be helped… Yamato! Let's stop that for now. Since we're all here, let's all review the choreography together so that we're all in sync.

Yamato: Now that you mention it, you’re right. Got it.

Syo: Thank god! I'm so glad Ai’s here.

Natsuki: Ai-chan is our center not only in that part of the choreography but also figuratively.

Nagi: I guess I can kinda see it.

Yamato: Natsuki, that was a good line!

Syo: I feel like having Ai in the group gives it a nice balance. Let the five of us create a new harmony.

Ai: I think I understand what everyone is trying to say. Well, thank you. Now then, I think we should get back to the lesson. After this, Syo and Yamato will do push-ups. Let's start again from the beginning.

Yamato: Sounds good. It’s the perfect schedule.

Syo: Let’s do that. I’ll do my best!

Natsuki: Then I'd like to join in on the push-ups too.

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Boys Prelims - Propaganda Division - Group 9

Propaganda:

Shinpei -

"Has a tendency to ignore his emotions in high stress situations in favor of looking at everything logically, even when it is detrimental for him to take that approach. Keeps meticulous track of everything that happens around him."

Sunny -

"Sunny has been told that his face is not expressive. He doesn't talk a lot and he often gets lost into his imagination. He is a great listener and recalls a lot of information being told he has a great memory (he is able to remember a whole speech about flower symbolism that his friend told him) He is compared to a cat."

Yuki -

"He has difficulty communicating with other people and suffers from extreme social anxiety, feeling like he's drowning when placed in uncomfortable social situations or scenarios where she doesn't know how to respond. This also causes him to go red in the face and clench his jaw, which other characters wrongfully interpret as him becoming angry. Through meeting Haru (and getting pulled into his plan to save the world), he becomes friends with him and Natsuki and develops his own strong interest in fishing."

Meursault -

"not only is he based on the character from camus' l'étranger who has actual scholarly debate on him being autistic, meursault is just… so autism. hes this stoic, terse guy with resting bitch face who doesnt really seem to fully process that he isnt showing any emotions and that that offputs people, and hes very blunt and literal with things. once another character asked if he had metal for brains as an insult and he responded by telling him the exact chemical composition of his brain to show that it is not metal. once the other characters made food so bad that when he tasted it he went on a minute straight long monologue about how much it sucked. he then proceeded to cook his own food which the giant evil chicken monster man that was judging the food tasted and said was so intensely done to the letter of the recipe that it was too boring. hes like if autism was a guy and that guy was french."

Zack -

"does things based almost solely on whether or not he wants to, at one point in the series, he doesn't tell the rest of the cast that he can fly a spaceship because he doesn't feel like it. he also take everything everyone else tells him seriously, such as when another character he knew as a kid said they were going to get married one day, he took it very seriously and was confused when said character tried to confess her feelings again and he said he thought their promise from when they were kids was still on."

Joujirou -

"This boy is autism incarnate. No social skills, no normal pain perception, complete weirdo. He even has a special interest which becomes a mild issue when he joins the main cast lol."

Alus the Star Runner -

"He’s a three-armed wyvern gunslinger with cool goggles and a lightsaber. Need I say more? …Okay then. Alus was born as a mutant cripple and rejected by his kind but managed to overcome this and rise up to become Flying Reptile Indiana Jones. He’s famed as the greatest adventurer in the land, but also struggles to keep up a conversation and prefers to remain on his own (which is especially unusual for wyverns, who usually gather in giant flocks). He has exactly one (1) friend, whom he completely fails to understand as a person but still values and respects immensely. Despite his difficulties with social interaction, he’s repeatedly shown to be incredibly resourceful and intelligent, with a single-minded drive and persistence unmatched by anyone else in the series. (Also canonically asexual, because who needs a family when you can fight dragons perfectly well on your own?)"

Mamoru -

"the ORIGINAL autistic magical boy."

Shizuka -

"he's the most emotionally intelligent & mentally stable member of the cast & he's in love with the least emotionally intelligent & most emotionally volatile character ever. he's constantly got the vibe of looking into the camera like he's in the office while he's dealing with everyone else's bullshit. he's so steadfast & loyal that it makes me want to cry. he's so bad at expressing himself in a way that other people understand that for the longest time the boy he's in love with thinks that Doumeki doesn't even like him."

Idia -

"He’s a shut-in weirdo with long messy hair, a sleep deprived look in his eyes, and one of the few students to have a hoodie as part of his school uniform. He’s a prodigal tech genius with the vibes of burn out and depression. He’s usually quite meek around people, but when he clicks with a conversation topic, he gets all energetic and fired up and sometimes a bit haughty too. To avoid going out of his room and interacting with people face to face, he invented a mobile tablet with text to speech. He stays up all night playing video games and while he has trouble with IRL relationships, he’s made a genuine friend out of one of his gaming buddies (who he doesn’t realize is actually one of his classmates). He stans an idol group and once got into a hacking war against some dorm mates over it. He rebuilt his dead brother as a robot who has become somewhat of a therapist to him. The only reason he went out on a holiday vacation with school acquaintances is due to the location being featured in an anime, then bonded with the one guy’s grandma when he realized his favorite girl was based on her. For the Halloween celebration, he convinced his dorm to theme themselves after his favorite B horror movie, constantly infodumping to people about it and going all out in recreating the special effects. In Book 5, he has a minor background arc of being forced to do public speaking. In another Halloween event, he was forced to be a back-up singer and managed to pull through despite the social anxiety. He’s the most autistic student in all of Night Raven College and possibly in all of Twisted Wonderland too."

[the-only-teruteru-fan]

Heya! I’m really obsessed with a few little goobers made by me ‘n @detective-dick-gumshoes-pot-room, and…I want to spam my dearest darlingest friendo with some art!

I’m doing an art contest!

To enter?

YA GOTTA DRAW OUR LITTLE DANGANRONPA SILLIES!! >:D

PROMPT:

Draw any of the characters here (in either their childhood or killing game forms), then make a post with the art tagging me or DM me with the art! (For anyone unfamiliar with this website, you can check out the character’s AU forms using the tabs on the left-hand side of the screen!) If you need help finding certain information, have questions, etc etc, feel free to shoot me an ask or DM! (I know the pages kind of break on phones, although you should still be able to view images!)

The deadline is December 1st!

There will be a prize, as listed further down!

RULES:

-The deadline is December 1st!

-Most of the characters don’t have ref sheets, just rendered images of them! If you can’t find a reference for an element of a character, be creative! It won’t dock you points at all, I don’t care much about details! (This goes for childhood versions, too! I didn’t get around to making all of them designs for that, so if that’s what you decide to draw have fun with it!)

-You don’t have to read the character pages, although art that includes information from them will absolutely win ya some brownie points!

-You are free to take creative liberties (as long as it’s not dramatically changing a character’s size or race), put characters in alt outfits, etc! Change the colors to fit how you draw characters / your artstyle, exaggerate stuff- have fun!

-Gore, angst, etc is alright by me, as well as animalizing characters if you want! As long as art isn’t suggestive or unethical, go crazy! (Though for ship art, please stick with the few “canonized” ships, which are as follows: Koji and Mieko, Hana and Hotaru, Kiko and Honda, and Aika and Natsuki! Though you can draw Hotaru flirting with whoever you want. He weaponizes that as much as possible)

-Including canon characters is welcome and encouraged! Cute art of younger versions of the characters (whether they have official younger renders or not) and their parents is so, so welcome!

-You can draw any version of the characters, whether it be the killing game versions or the childhood versions!

-Oh my gosh PLEASE have fun with this, PLEASE!! It’s okay if it isn’t 100% accurate!! I DON’T CARE!! I’m so easy to please! Come up with your own little AUs or headcanons! Go crazy!

-Your entry can be anything, from a doodle sheet to a full art piece to a comic to an animatic!

-Don’t know anything about Danganronpa and just happen to stumble across this post? Fine by me! I don’t care I want art of the scrumblo bumblos! Are you a terrible artist? No you’re not I will reblog your art and scream about why it’s actually the greatest thing in the world

WINNERS:

I will select two winners, who will each be given a fullbody art piece of their character drawn by me! (I can also draw an AU version of a character, if that’s what you want!) It will be a single character on a transparent background, and will be fully colored and shaded! The picture below is an example!

I will also select at least three other winners who will colored doodles of their characters! This is for the art pieces that I absolutely adore but were maybe just won out by other pieces, or pieces that have something I really love about them! I also might end up doing more than three, I’m really excited about this!

[animebw]

No you don't understand, this changes EVERYTHING.

I have struggled so long, and so hard, to sort out my feelings around Eupho as queer subtext vs Eupho as queerbaiting vs Eupho as just unambiguously queer. I have tried so hard (and failed so hard, if I'm being honest) not to get my hopes up for anything unambiguous. But this is just straight-up, no-other-interpretation-possible outright explicit gay romance. Only made explicit in one of the side novels, granted, but wholly consistent with canon and completely accurate to Kaori and Asuka's characters as we've seen them before and since. All this time Hibike Euphonium hasn't just been skirting the line of queerness close enough to leave skidmarks; Hibike Euphonium is queer. It is openly, unambiguously comfortable portraying gay characters, gay relationships, gay stories period.

Which means Natsuki and Yuuko's subtext is exactly what I suspected it to be.

Which means that Nozomi and Mizore's love confession in Liz and the Blue Bird is, in fact, romantic.

Which means that after all this time, all this strife, all this despair...

Kumirei is still alive.

Kumirei is still alive.

Kumirei is still alive.

I NEED YOU TO SAY THAT WITH ME AND REALIZE HOW FUCKING MONUMENTAL THIS IS.

KUMIREI.

IS.

STILL.

ALIVE.

This is no longer cope. This is no longer wishful thinking. This is no longer praying against all reason that the impossible will happen. If Hibike is canonically queer, then Kumiko and Reina's story, through all their ups and downs, is allowed to be part of that. Whatever conclusion they reach, however this final season shakes out, their queerness was not an accident. It did not happen by chance or for bait. No matter what, these two girls exists in a world where girls loving girls is not impossible, which means all the expressions of love they've shared before are real. The confession of love was real. The festival date was real. Kumiko's messy struggle with comphet was real. Every touch, every tender word, every moment that has built the tapestry of one of the greatest romances in all of fiction- possibly the greatest- is exactly as genuine as we've always dreamed. And nothing, nothing, nothing can take that away.

...fuck me, this is what hope feels like.

It feels good.

[toyboxterror]

Natsuki Dating an Assassin Reader Headcanons

Pairing: Natsuki Seba/Reader (Romantic)

Contains: Gender neutral reader, no pronouns used, jealous Natsuki (but not towards the reader).

Author's Note: This is for the requester who asked for a jealous Natsuki with an assassin reader. I wrote it in bullet list form instead because I'm lacking the motivation to write anymore. I'm sorry, I hope I got his character right and you're still able to enjoy it. Thank you @jasminerva for helping me out again, this fic wouldn't be finished without her!

Even before you guys started dating, it's hard for the both of you to meet up and spend time together because you are in a different department.

However, you won't let it stop you. You always look for him whenever you have free time in your hands. Sometimes, you'll even skip your classes just to see the man you adore working on his weapons in his lab.

Natsuki often would tell you to go away, saying that you got your own work to do instead of slacking off in here with him. He did it because he didn't want you to fail your classes and trouble you, but he didn't tell you his reasonings directly. Because you're a stubborn person, you insisted on staying and promised him that you wouldn't get in the way of his work.

Your feelings slowly grew from there on, and so did his. You both started dating at some point. If you confessed first, he wouldn't respond for the first 20 minutes. Not because he didn't like you back, but because he had a hard time believing you.

Although Natsuki's greatest talent is making weapons, he would learn to make and fix non-lethal gadgets and equipment that can help you with your daily tasks. For example, he gifted you a machine that can make and cook your instant noodles in under a minute. Pretty handy when you're working on an essay and want a quick meal in the middle of the night!

He will remember it if you casually mention or rant about something that bothered you. Even if you don't ask him directly, he will work hard on upgrading your weapons or think of new equipment that could solve your problems if he's able to. However, he will act nonchalant, as if he didn't spend all nighter by pretending that the idea just popped into his head randomly when he hands them over to you. (The bags under his eyes clearly says otherwise)

He'll even grab some old weapons that Mafuyu didn't use anymore, adjust them to suit your ability and size before giving them to you.

Despite his laidback attitude, he enjoys teasing you and being playful to see your cute reactions. He loves seeing you riled up because of him.

“And this cloth–” Natsuki started explaining as he pulled out a red fabric with clock patterns on it, because he promised you to give you a tour of his lab. “If it covers something underneath it, it could manipulate its time to backwards.”[1]

“Whoa!” You looked at him in awe and your hand carefully touched the fabric. “Is that really true?”

“No.”

“...”

You stare at him with your brows furrowed, looking unamused at his little joke. Natsuki's lips twitched a little, he's fighting back a playful smirk from forming on his face to kept his stoic expression.

“What? You actually believed something like that exists?”

No one knew that you had a boyfriend, and no one bothered to ask. Natsuki spend most of his time in his little corner in the lab, he even took naps there. People barely see you two together outside of it. But when they do, they assumed you two are just very good friends.

“I got your letter… You said you wanted to meet me on the rooftop. What is it that you wanted to say?” You asked your nervous classmate, ignoring your other classmates who were obviously hiding and eavesdropping to your conversation.

“Yes, I…” Your classmate took a deep breath before they looked at you with more determination. “[y/n], we always talk and help each other whenever we're in the same classes. I always admired you from the moment I laid my eyes on you, and that admiration grew into… Love. I'm in love with you, [y/n]. Will you go out with me?”

You blinked at them, and gave them a smile out of pity. “You have been a wonderful friend to me. But I'm sorry, I can't accept your confession. I… I already have a boyfriend.”

Loud gasps could be heard from behind you, but you still ignored them. Your classmate looked at you with their jaw hung open in disbelief. “W-what? With who? For how long!?”

Your face brightened, as if just thinking about him is enough to make your whole day. “It's Natsuki from the weapon department! I mentioned him to you before. Do you remember him?”

After the scene, the words spread throughout the school quickly. You never told him about the event because you thought he doesn't need to know, but Natsuki eventually found out from catching people talking and whispering about it whenever he walked past them. None of the things he heard were good things about him and his relationship with you.

He tried to not let it get to him and play it off. Why should he care about other people's opinions? It's his relationship. Only yours are important. But his insecurity and fear would caught him in the end. Maybe they're right. The other person could protect you better than him. You better off with someone like them instead of him.

You are the first person he ever dated, so he wouldn't know how to confront these feelings. He thought he would inconvenience you, which means he would try to hide them from you. But his jealousy and insecurity would slowly eat him whole from the inside, begging to be vomited out. However, he would still do his best to swallow them back.

He would be less playful and not tease you as much as before. In fact, it would be rare. He'll be distant from you. Natsuki would work himself harder with his weapons and refuse to give himself a break time so he didn't have to think of you and that person who confessed to you on the other day.

You have to confront him yourself and coax him to open up about what was bothering him. He would feel a little more at ease when you hold his hand and rub your thumb on the back of his palm in reassurance, or hug him from behind when he's working. If you pay attention more closely, you could catch him mumbling about the things that troubled him, as if he really wanted to tell you about it but still doubting if it's the right thing to do.

You have to remind him that you still love him for the way he is and be there for him to cheer him up. He would still dwell on the matters that triggered his jealousy and insecurity for the rest of the day, but he would feel better at handling it this time with your words and company.

“What was that? Did you say something?”

He stopped welding on whatever he's worked on and lifted up his shield mask. “The person that you talked with at the rooftop last week... They're one of the top assassins in your department. No one can compete with them and they won awards three times in a row last year. With your skills, you two can sync up well together,” he grabbed a small towel to wipe the sweat off his face. He didn't look at you as he spoke. Instead, he put all his concentration onto his work in front of him. “I saw how they took out their opponents a couple times before. They were reckless. They're too focused on their targets that they didn't pay enough attention to themself. There were times where they almost didn't notice their opponents creeping up behind them, and they just grabbed whatever they could reach and swung it as their weapon without much thought.”

He placed a small object into your hands. It was one of the weapons that was made for you by him but hadn't been used for months. It was upgraded to be more advanced and fancier. He turned around and moved on to his next project, ignoring the confused look you gave him. “Without a proper weapon, they won't be surviving long anymore, even with a good partner who works beside them. That's why assassins need proper weapon makers who understand what's more suitable for them.”

You finally understood what's going on.

You chewed your inner cheek to hold back from giggling. He's totally jealous. While you felt bad that he was feeling down because of you, you couldn't help but think that this behavior of his is kind of cute.

“Yeah, you're right about that,” you put the weapon on the table beside you to wrap your arms around your boyfriend's torso from behind. You could feel him tensed up slightly from the contact. “I'm super lucky that I'm dating the Ace Weapon Maker of JCC, who also happens to be very caring and attentive to me unlike anyone else I ever met. Otherwise, I would already be dead in the ditch by now with nobody to love me. Thanks for everything, Natsu.”

His hands stopped tinkering with the prototype he was working on. He put down the object and remained unmoving for a while, thinking back of the comforting words you said to him. Then you felt his hand on top of yours and squeezed it gently, making you smile. It was his way of showing his gratitude to you.

He peered over his shoulder to look at you and said, “I'm planning to retire soon and open up a crepe shop. Want to be the first person to taste my crepes?”

“Oh, hell yes.”

[1] It's a reference to one of Doraemon's future gadgets, the Time Cloth.

[suffarustuffaru]

I think I read a while ago on reddit that you had a madoka magica au for re zero, do you still think about it? I can Imagine Subaru taking the place of Homura but the rest of the cast is harder to place. It's a fun thought exercise though.

WAIT wow your ask sent me down memory lane wkdndn i forgot i even had a madoka magica au in the works for a while. i made it in like late 2020 and last worked on it in early-mid 2021 hah mostly bc my skill with writing and art didnt match with how big of an idea a multichap plotty crossover/fusion au was and i was still just dipping my toes into more ambitious ideas!! but id love to revisit it again now that i got more practice 👍

i like read your ask then went WAIT A MINUTE I DO HAVE A MADOKA MAGICA AU and then i skimmed through my old google doc plot outline for it in a frenzy. but also i used to write in yellow comic sans at the time so i wont subject you to my old terrible (affectionate) writing habits too much. but i think its funny how i had some notes on vague (and Dead Serious) ideas for witch form symbolism and i just found this yellow comic sans monstrosity:

2020/21 me was on some drugs probably LMAO 😭😭 but given madoka magica’s canon content that is probably a good thing if youre writing serious madoka magica fic.

also i did have a tiny bit of finished writing for it. here is the old synopsis past me came up with:

Stumbling across magic and witches, fourteen-year-old Natsuki Subaru follows his new friends and a mischievous cat spirit into a world where a single contract could grant you your greatest wish.

And at the end of it all, he really should’ve known this from the start: wishes always come with a cost.

i think that currently id probably change up this synopsis a bit if i worked on it again but it aint bad i think 👍 and yes youre right subaru would def be in homuras role for this fic… 😔 anyone whos seen both madoka magica and rezero would immediately make that connection i think hah they have. Similarities, as we know 😔

and i deaged some of the rezero cast as you can see hah. not sure if id keep that but i think an important aspect of madoka magica is that the main characters are that young. it helps add to some of their decisions and adds to the tragedy and whatnot. that and like. targeting vulnerable young girls, Literal Children, knowing that most would make a wish and sell their souls in a heartbeat and then easily be crushed by trauma without being able to fight back much, you know? :,) and then theyd make Lots and Lots of despair to harvest… and madoka was meant as a magical girl deconstruction and magical girls iirc tend to be arounddd early teens/preteens!! ill talk a bit more later on how id try to do this au with deaged rz cast hah.

also i did have a small drabble written for this au!!

The boy, no older than fourteen, stands there with an eerie sense of calm.

His frame is seemingly scrawny and lean, dawning dark clothing reminiscent of a mixture between a tracksuit and a school uniform - even if it’s adorned with golden ribbons and stripes - with a whip attached to the belt at his waist. Draped over that is a cloak, the hood of it casting a shadow over messy black hair and a cold expression. His keen eyes, emphasized by the deep bags underneath, narrow at the sight of Puck, mean and brimming with distaste.

With a steady hand, he raises a pistol to Puck’s head.

The moonlight shines dimly through the broken windows and onto the shards littered all over the floor. A beam illuminates a metal contraption, its appearance similar to a shield, strapped to the boy’s forearm.

“You know, I don’t quite recall making a contract with you,” Puck muses cheerily, though an undercurrent of a threat weaves itself into his tone. He stares down the barrel without fear, his sharp teeth revealed in his smile. “Who are you, really? And why are you so upset that I’ve been getting close with Lia? Jealous much?”

“Don’t you dare call her that,” the boy replies instead, bitterly spitting out each and every word. “Don’t you dare pretend that you only have her best interests at heart, or that you really care for her like a father figure would. It makes me sick.” He sneers as he digs the cool metal of the gun harder into Puck’s fur. “Because if you make even just one mention of creating a contract with her, or if you even come near her… I’ll definitely make sure that you regret it.”

yeah so. past me made puck kyubey apparently 😔👍 and if i revisited this au im not sure if i would keep subarus character development to be Exactly the same (ie it was very greedbaru/pridebaru/homura inspired) but this drabble was a fun exercise at the time!!

but anyway i will ramble about some more ideas i had for this au under the cut!! turned out past me had A Lot of ideas.

yes so this au was like. a fusion of sorts so yes i was assigning rz characters certain roles, blending worldbuilding together, etc etc but the general plot sort of followed the general story of the main madoka magica plot from the main show to rebellion!! it was like vaguely modernish too, but you know, madoka likes to be Creative with its backgrounds (see: the infinite amount of crazy chairs everywhere, which im still very fond of to this day) and also rz vainglory/school if has its fantasy world cast mixed in with subarus parents still being there iirc and a whole bunch of other details too (like beatrice being subarus adopted sister iirc?). so i was going the vainglory-ish route here in terms of “how modern is this world?” 👍

the main cast i was focusing on was gonna be subaru (homura), emilia (madoka), rem (sayaka), ram, beatrice, felt, and reinhard. also puck as kyubey haah and satella as walprugisnacht aka the giant witch at the end of the main show. i havent seen madoka in a bit wkdn i gotta rewatch. but anyway!! felt and reinhard got a mix of mami and kyokos roles narrative wise yeah.

quick rundown on their characters is that i wanted to stick to the rz cast’s canon characterization as much as possible while leaving room for fun experimentation!! and if theyre still younger than normal canon here—subarus still got his Big Ego/Im The Main Character mindset but in that way thats specific to his little kid self bc he hasnt gotten Completely Depressed yet (think like. arc 7-8 type stuff), reinhards still stuck in the middle of watching his dad gradually deteriorate, felts even Younger and still trying to find her footing a bit, rem is Guiltily and enviously trying to live up to ram’s Golden Childness (this is pre-Incident That Kills Their Whole Family). and emilia has lived a lonely life in the forest somewhere with no one for company :,) i cant remember if i had some Magic Mindfuckery ideas for her backstory here but ive definitely had ideas for modernizing her backstory for other aus like this!! but either way emilias family is still dead ;-; and i do consider like. the idea that modern emilia would have albinism, especially when there is discrimination in place against people with albinism that is a little similar to emilias canon struggle with her appearance so a modern take of emilia being that she is someone with albinism would be Very Relevant!! but!! not sure if id go all the way with that bc its a sensitive topic that needs to be treated with care and i dont personally have albinism 👍 or i could go the magic route and go “emilia looks like a previous magical girl thats become the most powerful witch yet….” ie satella ofc. so emilia would still be a bit of a “red flag” to other magical people.

but yes emilia wished for. im not sure but probably smth like “i wish not to be lonely anymore”…………. and then she got her wish granted via having magical girl/boy friends and puck!!!!! thisll totally end happily.

and quick note on reinhard is i didnt have much plot ideas for him yet but i considered different ideas for his backstory!! maybe theres some magic fuckery and theresia was a magical girl once? no clue how that works but it was an Idea i had for sure. also various ideas to modernize the Astrea Family Drama (dont worry the accidental indirectly/directly causing your family member’s death thing would still be there wkdndh this is an important detail to me.) but regardless of whats going on with reinhards backstory his wish was a naive little kid wish!! he wanted to be a hero who helps people ;-; good going reinhard ;-;

the entire plot of this au in general was divided in half, first half would be the first timeline where things go wrong. subarus gonna be the pov and hes the audience surrogate bc hes new to the world of magical girls/boys and no one in the group 100% knows the ugly truth yet!! and like in canon emilia/madoka has already become a magical girl here. emilia is also already close with puck—and emilia is the one person puck has genuine fondness for ;-; and i had a Lot of ideas for what exactly went wrong here—i had elsa and meili planned as witches? and i think i considered disemboweling felt :<<<< this is very sad bc her family gave her away to save her bc they were in danger (yes just like in canon rz) but then later felt had her life threatened or smth? and like mami, felt wished to keep living. but the wording felt used was wanting to “live strong”…………….. well she sure got it by fighting elsa valiantly but still losing 😔

also ok the first person to become a witch is beatrice. i had like wild ideas with beatrice—the possibility that echidna still made beatrice and puck and that beatrice couldve been a failed—whats the word for the creatures in madoka that collect/cause magical girls??? incubators i think?? yeah that. because whatre the two things a little kids gonna probably trust?? a cute cat creature and a tiny little girl offering free wishes, probably. and of course beatrice got assigned by her biomom echidna to look after echidnas library maybe. bc echidnas funny like that and beatrice didnt work out as an incubator so now shes gonna generate soooo much despair when she realizes that there is no That Person + the truth of magical girls/boys and what beatrice was meant to be used for….

yes more various shit hits the fan bc rem and rams canon witch cult backstory… i had plans to adjust it for this au and make it happen In Real Time. and also rem’s wish was probably something along the lines of wanted to be needed. and Better. so not just Like Ram. but rem wanted to be More than ram. which rem is guilty about but thats still what she wants so she wishes for it away from rams eyes. ofc rams feelings on this is that she just wants her sister to treasure herself and be safe and whatnot but rem is kinda in her pre-witch cult trauma mode and Oops now their town is destroyed in flames and their family is dead ;-;;; not sure how else id modernize rem and rams backstory but yes this is. this is how their plot went in that first timeline wkdnd. and ram is injured in some way ;-;;;

yes and then rem you know pulls a sayaka and goes a little crazy about everything bc beatrices whole ordeal already revealed how fucked they all are and then rem and rams Trauma just happened so rem feels like shit!! and then she becomes a witch too oops ;-; and then reinhard decides to be the hero and sacrifices himself so emisuba can escape ;-;; or at least that was my plan at the time. but yeah rem became better (a magical girl. bc ram didnt feel like making a wish bc her only wish would be wanting rems happiness but she didnt want to Cheat That. she wanted rem to find it on her terms. except rem became “better” and bigger than ram by being a witch also oops. also i think i still had vague plans to include rem being Obsessed with subaru to contrast what will later be subarus emilia obsession haha) and then reinhard. is the hero. </3

satella comes in somewhere at the end. she used to be a magical girl but she became a witch and shes Crazy Powerful for reasons i have forgotten now 👍 but i definitely wanted to have more shenanigans going on with her backstory to keep that sort of emilia-satella-subaru mystery connection. and theyre still connected anyway bc emisuba inevitably lose to satella bc shes too powerful ;-; emilia is gonna die and puck realizes OH SHIT I SHOULDNT BE FEELING LOVE BUT I DO GENUINELY LOVE EMILIA I CANT DEAL WITH THIS. WITH HER DYING. ID RATHER DESTROY EVERYTHING THAN LET THAT HAPPEN. and ofc subarus also in agreement bc oh god oh god—and yeah. subaru hasnt made a wish until this point but he makes a contract with puck to promise to save Everyone. like subarus promise in canon right before he dies for the first time you know? bc then he dies.

and wooooo the time loop officially begins!!! i had more ideas but i have typed lots on this post already akfnd maybe ill save it for another time if people are interested.

but yes thats all thats the au!!!! i am not familiar with stuff like magia record yet sadly ;-;; but if i ever wanted to expand the au thats def One option 👍 bc WOW the rz cast would be such a goddamn gold mine for those fucking incubators. little kid felix argyle would be a Top Tier candidate for them. like can you imagine???? thatd be the biggest disaster of all time ;-;;; and also theres Lots of possibilities for various witches the cast can fight!! very fun stuff its why i chose elsa and meili and satella :o !! but yes id consider exploring other candidates for magical girls and boys as well bc WOW felix would go insane here.

[stayingtoasty]

Wish you all a Happy New Year’s and hope you get many lemons this year 🎉

[waffleweirdo]

Mayu’s ‘invasion’ of Kitauji

Mayu’s addition to season 3’s cast brings with it an incredible sense of tension. Not only does she feel out of place, but there’s almost a sense of imminent disaster.

The way her character is handled in such a way to promote this emotion in the audience so that it meshes with the character’s feelings in general. I’ll mostly be talking about what her presence means for Kumiko as she is certainly the most affected, but I think there’s some interesting stuff with Reina and Kanade as well (especially Kanade with the extreme contrast between Mayu and Natsuki, but I digress)

Kumiko’s third year is a tumultuous time already, with her having to take up the mantle of president, deal with her plans for the future, and their last chance at the competition. Amidst an already fraught atmosphere Mayu arrives, and she poses a *threat*, to the band as a whole, but especially to Kumiko.

Interpersonal struggles in the band have been a looming threat since before Kumiko even began at Kitauji with the lasting conflict of the previous year haunting many of the members. The conflict stirred up by Reina playing the solo first year, Kanade and Natsuki fighting in the second year, and everything with Nozomi and Mizore… Kumiko was largely at the center of all those conflicts and knows well what they entail. In a sense Mayu is the embodiment of Kumiko’s hypothesis of why Asuka didn’t want Nozomi to rejoin the band. She is too good, her presence is bound to throw everything off.

And she does. Although leading up to the auditions there haven’t been any massive incidents her presence clearly doesn’t fit. For many episodes she wears a separate uniform to everyone else, literally standing out, and her skill is evident. But at the same time she is blasé about the competition. Thinking it’s fine to just take it easy, or offering to forfeit her audition. The determination by Kitauji to play their best and win was something built up specifically by Taki-sensei. It is largely what keeps their band together, and especially in her position as an incredibly skilled player Mayu disregarding that is off putting.

And of course for Kumiko, who stands at the greatest risk of losing her spot in the competition, or the solo (that is a trumpet and euphonium solo which especially important to her) that is even more worrisome. Kumiko is also her most determined, each year learning more and more how much the band means to her, and how much she wants to improve. Playing in nationals and winning gold is the most important to her that it’s ever been, and it’s her last shot. Combined with the dilemma of being the president as well, and in charge of the band’s harmony Kumiko is stuck.

When Mayu finally does switch to a Kitauji uniform it is almost even more unsettling. It comes on the heels of her offering to forfeit her audition, and asking Kumiko to go to the Agatha Festival with her. She is trying to fit in, but in the wrong way (see Kanade trying to throw the audition in Kumiko’s 2nd year). While Mayu has clearly made Kumiko uncomfortable at times in the past this time, Kumiko feels uncomfortable enough to lie (though you could say a part of that is her wanting to attend with Reina, I think her reaction as a whole makes it evident there is a dislike of Mayu involved). This moment is really interesting because it is a momentary step back for Kumiko into a version of herself similar to her position at the start of her first year, still hiding her true feelings and very distant from others (which is only intensified by the conversation in her teacher meeting later in the episode).

This moment especially is Mayu almost ‘invading’ Kumiko’s Kitauji. With the auditions coming up, combined with Mayu’s presence being uncomfortable and threatening to Kumiko when Mayu tries to get closer Kumiko just can’t bring herself to accept it. Mayu is encroaching… She is someone who shouldn’t be here, as evidenced by her isolation throughout her time at the festival even after going with other band members (she’s the one taking the photo that everyone else is in). Her finally wearing Kitauji’s uniform doesn’t feel right, it’s just another step too close.

Even back in the ensemble contest Kumiko worried about what would happen if someone more talented than her came to Kitauji? Now now that person is possibly here. And the auditions are just around the corner.

But I think that’s only one side of looking at the issue! The narrative and Kumiko’s role as the protagonist certainly drive the audience to feel (if likely not this intensity) a similar feeling to Kumiko. But in reality Mayu is just another member of the band, and she is clearly still isolated and alone and just trying to fit in. From her point of view something like dropping out of the auditions just seems like best way to be able to fit in, even if she is brewing potential conflict it’s not like that’s her goal.

The Kitauji that Kumiko envisions is one that has everyone in it, as seen by her efforts to ease the 1st year members and include everyone. She’s certainly a bit clumsy at it, but as president Kumiko wants to create a place in the band for everyone. Looking at the flip side of her experience in all the past dramas is her desire to help people resolve their issues. She has grown so much and is far more active than she ever was in the past. But now that same conflict isn’t just those around her, but heading for her directly. And she’ll need to struggle to uphold her ideals for the band, and that’s not the path that she’s on now.

I guess all that is to ultimately say that this season has been so amazing so far and I can’t wait for episode 6 and the rest of the season!

[natsuki-bakery]

♡ Natsuki x Reader ! ♡

hello! I saw that u can write, soooo, may I request natsuki with a reader who likes baking and that stuff?? ty! <3

Of course! Natsuki, a passionate baker, found an unexpected kinship with you, who shared the same love for baking. Your friendship grew amidst flour, sugar, and laughter in the school's cooking club. You two would experiment with recipes, giggling over mishaps and celebrating successes.

As time passed, Natsuki discovered your talent for creating intricate pastries, and the reader admired Natsuki's determination in perfecting her cupcakes. Your bond strengthened beyond baking as they shared personal stories, finding solace in their shared experiences of feeling misunderstood.

Their baking sessions turned into an unspoken language of support and understanding. Natsuki would surprise the reader with custom-made cupcake designs, while the reader crafted unique pastries representing Natsuki's vibrant personality.

In the end, your friendship became a testament to the beautiful harmony found in embracing individuality and shared passions.

The ray of sunshine signaled the afternoon hour, shining and capturing all attention. The scent of warm pastries, freshly out of the oven, enchanted the nostrils. Unfortunately, these two pleasant sensations were interrupted by the familiar voice of an acquaintance.

"Hey! Were you even listening to me !?"

Natsuki, a long-time friend, her pink hair partially covered by a chef's hat. Her eyes were filled with annoyance and were fixed on me; my inattention bothered her all the time.

"...huh..."

My "huh" was the only response I could give her; the sweet scenery and the smell of our preparations had left me dizzy.

"You were talking about... manga?"

I couldn't say anything else. Literature is her greatest passion, as it is mine.

"Hmpf! Nevermind! I was saying that the cookies are done!"

She pouted again; her shyness always represented by anger. It doesn't bother me; I'm used to it, after all.

Natsuki, wearing an apron, picked up a cookie among the other delicious pastries and savored it. I did the same, and the taste was even better than the smell! After filling our bellies with lots of pastries, the girl with pink hair talked to me about the new manga she read last night.

SFW INTERACTIONS ONLY !! READ MY DNI BEFORE INTERACTING...

[sufferu]

to be fair its not like Subaru could have survived without dying that much the situation was just that dangerous in arc 8 and that big a deal that Subaru not stopping it means the world is in danger. I cant imagine him convincing all the gladiators or cecilus to follow him as kid Subaru without doing that ( and kid Subaru isn't surviving without rbd and the thorn king needed someone to take care of him because his curse would have spread to every living human (which he would have found out about so he doesn't even need to abuse rbd or kill himself to figure eugent out)

( not to mention the obvious fact he regressed to be a kid)

I wonder what if adult Subaru got transported to gladiator island

The fact that Subaru mentally regressed to his (very flawed) ten year old self is explicitly pretty much exactly why he ended up becoming…that. That doesn’t mean it’s suddenly alright, though: if anything it makes it even more thematically condemnable, because these are the actions of a Subaru who never went through the lessons that adult!Subaru did through the first six arcs of the story. But if adult!Subaru had been there — maybe he COULD have found a different way. We’ll never find out now.

Though — Oboreru suggests that’s very much the case, because it is HEAVILY implied that the thing Subaru helped Vincent with in that story to get Cecilus’ service as a reward was the Great Disaster. Which means that even in a state where basically the only thing Subaru could think about was how much he did not want to die, he managed to help stop it.

But also like — look at what Natchuki Subawu DOES?? He kills himself constantly in order to properly mold himself into someone that the Gladiators will willingly follow, he employs the use of a suicide pill, he completely loses all sense of empathy towards the people around him despite that having been Natsuki Subaru’s greatest strength. And when we finally get that reveal of him killing himself before Sphinx in Arc 8 — look at how it’s framed. He kills himself in order to save Jamal from a NON-LETHAL injury that he explicitly survives in the final loop, he bites down on the pill the INSTANT Sphinx shows up, he ends everything when everyone else is still rearing to fight and all the focus is put on their horrified reactions — and then it’s immediately followed by the revelation that he’s done basically this exact same stunt fuck knows how many times in order to get to this point. That’s not using it as needed, he was spamming the Hell out of that shit in order to push things along. He had a choice and he chose THAT.

[ddlcaskblog]

who's the greatest talent in a kitchen?

cooking and/or baking.

Natsuki: "ME! MEMEMEMEME!"

[the-only-teruteru-fan]

Some of the participants of the next-gen killing game! These guys belong to me and @detective-dick-gumshoes-pot-room!

(Some of these older designs are inspired by the drawings done of these silly guys by @foryoupeko!! Please check out the art they did I kid you not I pull it up just to look at it at least twice a day IT’S THE GREATEST THING- Also! These are all traced from sprites from the official games in an attempt to recreate the style as closely as possible! Needless to say doing this was mostly for body and face shapes! And finally, this doesn’t contain all of the important characters!)

When the tragedy had begun to die down and the world was beginning to recover, Makoto rebuilt Hope’s Peak Academy to ensure that those who fell victim to the Killing Games were remembered…and to restore Hope’s Peak Academy to the shining beacon it was always meant to be. But something’s gone wrong- it’s impossible. How is he back? What’s going on?

Koji Hinata - Ultimate Gamer

Though it seemed for ages like Chiaki really was gone for good, with the help of Kazuichi and Alter Ego, she was able to be brought back- restored, though stuck fully digital. And she and Hajime were able to be happy.

Koji is an AI created by her years ago to serve as Hajime’s and her child. Though usually quiet and cynical, he loves his parents more than anything in the world and is a whiz at video games.

Now, with an artificial body, Koji was selected to attend Hope’s Peak as the Ultimate Gamer, just like his mom…

…and, having already been forced to participate in a killing game at a young age, Koji wants nothing more than to go back home to his mom and dad.

Hotaru “Angel Boy” Tanaka, the Black Dragon of Tartarus - Ultimate Poet

Sonia and Gundham struggled for ages to conceive, though they wanted a child more than anything in the world. But they stayed hopeful. When Makoto found an infant orphaned by the Tragedy, he suggested the pair take him in- and thus, Hotaru is their “angel boy”, their gifts from the heavens.

Hotaru is just as odd and proud as his father, though he’s much more smooth and charming. He has an interest in all things strange and unusual, and truly cares about those around him.

Natsuki Kuzuryu - Ultimate Sportsman

Natsuki is really bummed that he didn’t get chosen as an Ultimate Swordsman, but he supposes this will have to do.

Though he often comes across as cruel and detached, Natsuki is fiercely loyal to the other Jabberwock Island kids, and won’t let any harm come to his little sister Fumiko or his best friend Aika.

Kiko Naegi - Ultimate Lucky Student

Though she’s never gotten along with him, Kiko takes great pride in the accomplishments of her father and will fiercely defend him against anyone who tries to slander him or his attempts at restoring Hope’s Peak.

She ends up taking lead the most, though she at first clearly has a disdain for the other participants…especially the kids who grew up on Jabberwock Island. She’s extremely annoyed by Honda’s constant emphatic support, but she does grow to care a lot about him.

Fumiko Kuzuryu - Ultimate Negotiator

Fumiko was always a daddy’s girl- and as she grew older, she retained that same innocent physique that her father once had. Fumiko, though, takes great pride in this, as it thoroughly assists her endeavors to manipulate those around her.

Fumiko puts on a very sadistic, uncaring persona, but she’s deeply loyal to her friends and especially her brother, comforting him greatly when Aika dies. She’s the participant who most frequently performs the autopsies.

Aika Mioda-Soda - Ultimate Mechanic

Aika has the combined passion and enthusiasm of both of her parents- and is proud to be following in her dad’s footsteps as the Ultimate Mechanic. Though she causes a lot of trouble- frequently pulling pranks on other participants- she’s desperate to at least build camaraderie between everyone and stop the killing before it happens. How tragic it is, then, when she accidentally becomes blackened herself- executed by one of the machines that her dad built so long ago.

Honda Hagakure - Ultimate Salesman

Honda’s older brother told him that his time at Hope’s peak would be full of great riches, great fortune, and great romance- and he’s right a third of the time, so one of them is bound to happen, right?

Honda is very frightened of this killing game- knowing he’s unable to kill anybody and is an easy target, making his chances of escape slim to none- but when he’s not struggling to withhold panic, he’s usually following Kiko around, who he thinks is a brilliant leader and the smartest person here. (He may or may not have a very obvious crush on her).

Though he can be a bit of an idiot, Honda genuinely wants everything to be okay and is more than willing to make sacrifices for those he cares about.

He’s a bit of a kleptomaniac, with a briefcase full of completely useless trinkets he stole from his peers.

[shiningwonderland]

Syo Kurusu (Repeat)

Translator: Terry (Twitter: turtlemudge)

Proofreader: Raz (Twitter: agnadance)

October — Five-Second-Early Vicenda

It's now October. In class, everyone's talking about what we should do for the school festival.

Syo Kurusu: Hmm. We have the chance to use the stage… it'd be a shame to waste it. 

Haruka Nanami: Yeah. 

Syo Kurusu: Considering the graduation audition, maybe a song would be best… but wouldn't it be boring to do the same thing twice…? 

Syo Kurusu: Is there anything just the two of us can do…? 

Haruka Nanami: Just the two of us… hmm…

Select the Phrase!

漫才 Stand-up comedy duo (+5 Love, +0 Music)

Syo Kurusu: A comedy duo? You're already too naïve—if you tried to be stupid on purpose it'd be a disaster.

Haruka Nanami: I'm...naïve? 

Syo Kurusu: Yes. You totally are. 

Syo-kun swats lightly at my forehead. 

Haruka Nanami: Then, what if I played the straight man…? "Don't be ridiculous" or something…? 

Syo Kurusu: Nope, you have no sense of comedic timing. Rejected!

社交ダンス Ballroom dance (+15 Love, +5 Music)

Syo Kurusu: Dance, huh…? Well, it'd be good rhythm practice, at least… But then again…

Syo-kun starts measuring our relative heights with his hands. 

Syo Kurusu: Unfortunately… our heights are almost the same. 

Haruka Nanami: I trip over my own feet so I don't think I can dance well... I would get in your way.

Syo Kurusu: I'd be fine with ballroom dancing at a party or something, but that's not the same as performing for an audience… Let's think of something else. 

Haruka Nanami: Sorry…

アンサンブル Chamber music (+15 Love, +5 Music) 

Syo Kurusu: Chamber music? What do you mean? 

Haruka Nanami: Like a duet for piano and violin, or something… 

Syo Kurusu: Well, if that's what you want to do, I don't have a problem with it…

Syo Kurusu: … But it also sounds like the sort of thing that Natsuki would insist on butting into. 

Haruka Nanami: Well, then, Shinomiya-san could join us… 

Syo Kurusu: If he does that, what will his partner do? They'll be out of a job for the festival. 

Haruka Nanami: Oh… that's right.

Syo Kurusu: Well, it's not a bad idea. It can stay as an option, but let's keep brainstorming. 

Haruka Nanami: Okay.

Haruka Nanami: Oh, actually, wait! Your sense of rhythm is really good, so dance seems like a good fit for you… If we could pull that off, you'd look so cool. 

Syo Kurusu: I can definitely do that!

Haruka Nanami: Really? 

Syo Kurusu: Hey. Who the heck do you think you're talking to? I'm Syo Kurusu, the world's greatest idol. There's nothing I can't do!! 

Haruka Nanami: Then, shall we do a dance? Ah, but I can't dance since I never learned how…

Syo Kurusu: I've never actually learned how, either. But whatever, we'll figure it out somehow. 

Haruka Nanami: Hmmm. My reflexes are… terrifyingly poor… I'm not sure I can actually do it. 

Syo Kurusu: Oh. I see… I was sure that the two of us could find a way to manage it, but…

Haruka Nanami: Oh, wait, I could make a song! I'll make a really cool song that's perfect for you, Syo-kun!!

Syo Kurusu: Yeah!! A collaboration by the two of us!! All right, now I'm stoked!! 

Haruka Nanami: Yeah!! Ahh, I'm getting excited already. What sort of song should I make?

Select the Phrase!

アニメソング Anime song. (+0 Love, +5 Music) 

Syo Kurusu: Why an anime song? I mean, I don't hate the idea, but…

Haruka Nanami: Ah, I just thought… it would be a good fit for you, somehow. 

Syo Kurusu: I mean… there's a lot of anime songs out there already, aren't there? 

Haruka Nanami: Oh… that's true… 

J-POP. J-pop. (+0 Love, +15 Music)

Syo Kurusu: Since it's dance music, I don't think it has to be particularly Japanese. Besides, it doesn't need lyrics, right? 

Haruka Nanami: Oh… right. But I'd like to do something stylish and cool, with a melodious feel. 

Haruka Nanami: If possible, maybe something I can add lyrics to and make into a song later… 

Syo Kurusu: Well, okay then… Oh, but make sure it's a good speed to dance to. If the tempo's too high it'll just wear me out. 

Haruka Nanami: Sure.

演歌 Enka.* (+0 Love, +0 Music)  *Enka is a music genre that resembles traditional Japanese music, usually in the style of sentimental ballad music. It is popular amongst older people.

Syo Kurusu: How the heck am I gonna dance to that?  

Haruka Nanami: I thought it would be original.

Syo Kurusu: That's TOO original. Let's go with something normal. 

Haruka Nanami: Okay. 

A few days after that, I finish the new song. 

Haruka Nanami: … What…  do you think? 

Syo Kurusu: … So is this what you hear when you think of me…?

Haruka Nanami: Huh…? 

Syo Kurusu: Oh, nothing… I was just thinking… so, this is me, huh. 

Haruka Nanami: Well… yeah. I tried to imagine a song that would fit you. Something bright and sparkling and bursting with energy… I'm happy that you picked up on that. 

Syo Kurusu: It was obvious as soon as I heard it that it's my song! … I was just thinking, I'm really happy with it. 

Syo-kun smiles happily. 

Haruka Nanami: You… like it? 

Syo Kurusu: A good song is one thing, but… There are tons of artists who never manage to find a song that really fits them, no matter how hard they try. 

Syo Kurusu: But you… you've made a song that's just for me. A song that'll really let me shine…

Syo Kurusu: As a singer, that's what makes me happiest of all, I think. I'm really lucky I met you. 

Syo Kurusu: I really feel that way… but anyway! Yeah! Let's get started on the dancing part!!

Haruka Nanami: O-okay! I'm ready when you are! 

Syo Kurusu: Uhh. One, two, three, four… whoops, that's wrong… 

Haruka Nanami: Should I lower the speed a bit? 

Syo Kurusu: No, it won't come together right if it's any slower. This is fine. 

We practice for hours. Syo-kun trains his muscle memory, perfectly internalizing the rhythm. 

Syo Kurusu: … haa, haa, haah… I think I'm starting to get it…

Haruka Nanami: "Starting to"? You're doing great. You've been amazing to watch. 

Syo Kurusu: No… I'm still not quite quick enough. … It'd be better… if it were more… precise…

Syo Kurusu: I want the audience… to appreciate your song through my dancing. I want the people watching to feel that joy in their hearts. 

Syo Kurusu: … I… really… love… this song… Let's practice… again…

*Wobble*.

Syo-kun's body lists to one side.  

Syo Kurusu: … Ugh…

Haruka Nanami: Syo-kun…! 

I immediately rush over, trying to support him, but… 

*Smack.* 

He bats my hand away. 

Syo Kurusu: Ah… sorry. But, I'm really okay… 

Haruka Nanami: Syo-kun…?  

What was that? Syo-kun seemed different from his usual self… My chest tightens. 

Even though he says he's fine…

Syo Kurusu: Welp, back to work! 

Select the Phrase!

無理しない方が... Don't overdo it. (+10 Music, +0 Music) 

Syo Kurusu: I'm not!! 

Syo Kurusu: Dammit…

Haruka Nanami: … Syo-kun? 

Syo Kurusu: It's nothing. I'm seriously fine. Stop worrying…

Despite Syo-kun's words, I'm worried…

Is there anything I can do to help?

お水飲む？Would you like some water? (+10 Love, +10 Music) 

Syo Kurusu: Nah, it's fine…

Haruka Nanami: It's just, you've been sweating a lot, and it can be bad to get too dehydrated. And just now it looked like you got a bit lightheaded…

Syo Kurusu: Oh, yeah, I guess. 

Haruka Nanami: I'll get you a water bottle. 

Syo Kurusu: Okay, thanks. You're a big help.

少し休憩しない？Shall we take a break? (20 Love, +0 Music) 

Syo Kurusu: I don't need it. 

Syo Kurusu: …

Haruka Nanami: But… you look a little pale… 

Syo Kurusu: This is nothing. 

Haruka Nanami: It's not nothing! 

I reach out and grab the hem of Syo-kun's uniform, gripping it tightly. 

Haruka Nanami: I'm... worried, so… please…

If you train too hard today, you'll have terrible muscle pains when you practice tomorrow. So…

When I say this, Syo-kun reluctantly finds a chair and sits down. 

Apparently he can be quite stubborn…

Oh, I know…

I crouch down and start massaging Syo-kun's calves. 

Syo Kurusu: … Hey! What are you doing? 

Haruka Nanami: What…? I'm giving you a calf massage. 

Syo Kurusu: … Haah…

For some reason, Syo-kun sighs deeply. 

Syo Kurusu: I can't believe you. Don't just do things like that out of nowhere. 

Haruka Nanami: … What do you mean? 

Syo Kurusu: Never mind! Just, don't go around touching other guys like this, all right? 

Syo Kurusu: Especially not Ren! If you tried something like this on him, there's no telling what he'd do to you…

Haruka Nanami: What he'd… do? 

Syo Kurusu: Don't make me say it. Figure it out yourself! If you don't get it, just shut up and do as I say! 

Haruka Nanami: Y-yes sir!! 

Syo Kurusu: Good!! 

...W-what was that about?

And so, we continue practicing hard, day after day. 

We finish the song, refine the dance steps, and keep developing the choreography. 

At this point, all that remains is memorization—learning the movements not with the mind, but with the body. 

Even on the day of the school festival, we reserve an empty classroom and practice right up till the last minute. 

Syo Kurusu: … Hah, hah, hah. I've just about… got it, I think…

Haruka Nanami: Yes!! I can't wait to see you perform it for real!! 

Syo Kurusu: What time is our performance again? 

Haruka Nanami: It's at 2 PM. 

Syo Kurusu: All right, then I still have an hour to practice. 

Haruka Nanami:  … It might be better to rest for a bit…? You haven't even eaten yet…

Syo Kurusu: Nah, I'm good. I want to keep perfecting this. I want to practice right up till the last second. 

Haruka Nanami: Why do you need to go that far? 

Syo Kurusu: Well, when I'm up on stage, everyone in the audience is waiting to see me, you know? 

Syo Kurusu: Even if the tickets are free, everyone is spending their precious time to watch me dance.

Syo Kurusu: I don't want to waste the audience's precious time. I want them to enjoy themselves, to be glad they decided to come to my performance. 

Syo Kurusu: So, I don't want to show them anything less than my best. I want to keep working right up until the last second so I can show them just how well I can do. 

His expression is one of a serious professional. Even though he hasn't made his debut yet, Syo-kun already seems like a full-fledged idol. 

He's a true performer, one who refuses to compromise on any part of his performance. 

He refuses to settle for "good enough." 

Haruka Nanami: I'll… play the song again, then. 

Even with ragged breathing, even with sweat dripping from his brow, Syo-kun keeps dancing. 

By now, I'm sure it's agonizing, and yet Syo-kun is  still grinning widely as he dances. 

He'll only get to perform this once in front of an audience. He's challenging himself to get as close to a perfect performance as he physically can. 

I can understand how he feels. 

I think over my compositions and lyrics over and over, hundreds of times, and if that leads to even one improvement, then it's worth it. 

During the editing process, it's fine to include only the good parts of each take. 

But with a live performance, you only get one shot. Even if you practice a hundred times before a single live performance, if you can't display the pinnacle of all your efforts during that one performance, all that hard work becomes meaningless. 

That's why he keeps improving. If he practices a hundred times, he'll create something better than what would result from 70 or 90 repetitions. 

The only way to raise the quality of his performance is to single-mindedly train his muscle memory until he's memorized it perfectly. 

And so, Syo-kun keeps practicing, over and over. Rather than relying on luck to grant him a good performance, he won't settle for anything less than a guarantee. 

Over and over and over. Right up until the last moment before the performance…

That is the duty of a professional… Syo-kun knows better than anyone else just what he's aiming for. 

Syo Kurusu: Ugh…

Suddenly, Syo-kun collapses, clutching at his chest. 

Haruka Nanami: S-Syo-kun! 

I panic and rush over, trying to lift him up, to no avail. Syo-kun's face is twisted up in pain as he pushes his clenched hand hard against his rib cage.

Syo Kurusu: Don't… yell… It's nothing… serious. If I rest for a moment… it'll go back to normal… 

It's not just that he's tired, or that he tripped, or anything like that. 

Haruka Nanami: But… This seems like something serious. I, I need to call an ambulance, or…

As I start to rush out of the room… 

Syo Kurusu: No, it's fine…

Still pressing a fist to his chest, Syo-kun reaches out with his other hand to grab my arm. 

And then he shakes his head in protest.

He seems to be in a lot of pain… Why is he stopping me? 

Haruka Nanami: Syo-kun…

Trying to ease even a little bit of the pain Syo-kun is in, I wrap my arms around him, hugging him gently. 

I really want him to see a doctor as soon as possible, but even though I'm still considering rushing off to call an ambulance, I don't think Syo-kun would release my arm to let me go. 

Somehow, I can't bring myself to leave his side. 

Syo Kurusu: *pant, pant, pant* 

His ragged breaths continue for a long time, but after resting for twenty minutes or so, he seems to start breathing a bit easier. 

Syo Kurusu: Sorry… to worry you. I'm okay now. 

Haruka Nanami: Really…? You're really, truly fine? You don't need to go to the hospital? 

Syo Kurusu: Yeah. Also… you cannot tell anyone about this. 

Select the Phrase!

でも…… But… (+0 Love, +0 Music)

Syo Kurusu: I'm serious. Tell absolutely no one about this… If people heard that I'd collapsed, then… it'd be bad, okay? Don't… tell anyone. 

Since he's going this far to press the issue… there may be more to this than I know. 

Haruka Nanami: … O-okay. 

I nod as I agree, but… honestly, I'm still really worried. Syo-kun, what's wrong??

どうして？ Why not? (+20 Love, +0 Music) 

Syo Kurusu: It doesn't... matter why. 

Haruka Nanami: Yes it does. You looked like you were in a lot of pain, Syo-kun… We should at least tell one of the teachers…

Syo Kurusu: We don't need to. Please, just listen to me. Don't tell anyone…

Syo-kun pleads with me, gripping the hem of my uniform tightly. He looks really upset. 

Haruka Nanami: … All right, then. I won't tell anyone. 

Syo Kurusu: Thanks. Seriously, thank you… Just, wish me luck for the real thing, yeah? 

Syo-kun breathes a sigh of relief, and his grip loosens.

誰にもって…… No one at all…? (+10 Love, +0 Music)

Haruka Nanami:  Not even Kaoru-kun? 

Syo Kurusu: No, don't… Especially not him…

Haruka Nanami: Why? He's family…

Syo Kurusu: That's exactly why you can't. You'd be scaring him for no good reason. So please, keep quiet about this, okay? 

Haruka Nanami: … I understand.

And now, we're backstage. 

Syo-kun seems to have returned to normal in the time we had before the performance. And yet… I can't help but feel uneasy. 

Syo Kurusu: We're next… I'll stay calm on stage, no matter what… Stay humble, don't get cocky…

He whispers words of affirmation to himself.

From beside him, I can see an expression of utter confidence on his face, brought about by his focus and determination.  

Haruka Nanami: Syo-kun…

I'm still extremely worried, but there's no way I can stop him. 

I know that trying would be a waste of effort. Syo-kun isn't the type to let anyone stand in his way. 

Syo Kurusu: What I said just now is what I say to myself when the moment of truth finally comes. It helps me get my head in the game… Okay, here I go! 

Syo-kun thrusts out his tightly clenched fist, then opens his hand in a single, explosive motion. That's the signal to begin. 

Haruka Nanami: Yeah… You've got this.

Otoya Ittoki: Next up, S Class's littlest idol, Syo Kurusu!!  

The MC, Otoya Ittoki-kun, introduces Syo-kun. 

Syo Kurusu: Syo Kurusu, S Class! I'm gonna dance my heart out!! 

Matching the beat of the song, Syo-kun dances exuberantly. 

High leaps. Gorgeous footwork. Powerful, energetic movements without a single atom of tiredness anywhere in his body. 

I wonder if anyone would ever believe that just thirty minutes earlier, he was clutching his chest in agony… 

Syo-kun's dancing is too perfect for anyone to suspect a thing. 

Most of all, his brilliant smile never falters. He dances as though overflowing with joy. 

Otoya Ittoki: Ladies and gentlemen, Syo Kurusu!! 

Syo Kurusu: Thank you very much!!! 

Tokiya Ichinose: … Syo, you've really improved. 

Ren Jinguji: Excellent work, Shorty!! That one step sequence was superb. Even pros might not hold their own against a performance like that. 

Ichinose-san and Jinguji-san, who were watching with the rest of the audience, praise Syo-kun highly. 

And yet…

Kaoru Kurusu: …

Kaoru-kun alone watched the performance with a complicated expression, never once taking his eyes off his brother. 

Syo Kurusu: See? I told you it'd be fine. 

Haruka Nanami: … Yeah. You're okay now, too? Does anything hurt? 

Syo Kurusu: I'm a little tired, but… it's the good kind of tired, you know? Right now, it seems like the best feeling in the world!! 

Haruka Nanami: Syo-kun, that was amazingly cool! You were dazzling. 

Syo Kurusu: Well, if you want to get picky about it, I made plenty of mistakes. But I was able to really give it my all, so I don't have any regrets. It was awesome!! 

Haruka Nanami: Yes! It was so obvious you were having a great time. I got excited just watching you. But… I'm still a little worried about your health. 

Syo Kurusu: Okay, okay. I was hoping to check out the rest of the festival, but if you're gonna insist, I'll go back to the dorms and rest. Satisfied? 

Haruka Nanami: Yeah. Please give yourself plenty of time to recover. 

Syo Kurusu: You got it!! I'll be all better by tomorrow!!

Right after our conversation, Syo-kun leaves for the dorms. 

Syo-kun… Are you really okay…? 

In the end, I get worried enough that I furtively follow after Syo-kun. When I do…

I spot Kaoru-kun lying in wait for him on the path to the dorms. 

Syo Kurusu: Kaoru…

Kaoru Kurusu: Syo-chan… you've been having symptoms, haven't you. 

Syo Kurusu: Of course not. 

Syo-kun looks away, blowing Kaoru-kun off completely. 

What does Kaoru-kun mean, symptoms…? What kinds of symptoms? 

Could these symptoms have caused the pain Syo-kun went through before the performance?  

Kaoru Kurusu: Don't lie!! I could tell just by seeing you up there. You might be able to hide it from everyone else, but you can't fool me. 

Syo-kun goes quiet, listening to what Kaoru-kun has to say. 

Kaoru Kurusu: Syo-chan, please… let's just go home. Being an idol is more than you can handle. You can't do this. 

Kaoru Kurusu: You've always been so careful. Why are you being so stubborn about this?  

Syo-kun clenches his fists tightly. 

Syo Kurusu: I just… don't want to look bad in front of her…

Kaoru Kurusu: … In front of who? Who is "her"? Whoever she is, she can't be more important than your health, right? 

Syo-kun…

What should I do? It's a bit too late to come out of hiding, but I shouldn't be eavesdropping like this. 

*Snap.*

While I'm wondering whether or not to leave, I take a careless step and break a twig under my foot. 

Syo Kurusu: Who's there!? 

Oops…

Haruka Nanami: I'm sorry… It's just me. 

I raise a hand weakly, stepping forward. 

Syo Kurusu: Haruka… Did you hear…? 

I nod. 

Syo Kurusu: I see…

Kaoru Kurusu: Syo-chan? What's wrong? Don't tell me you haven't told her anything about this…

Syo Kurusu: Sigh… Honestly, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. 

Syo Kurusu: But if you've already heard this much, there's no avoiding it. Haruka…

Syo-kun fixes at me with a serious gaze. 

Haruka Nanami: Yes? 

Syo Kurusu: I'm sorry I didn't tell you this before. It's important information that you deserved from the start, as my partner. 

Haruka Nanami: …

Syo Kurusu: I have a serious heart condition. 

Haruka Nanami: Then, what happened earlier was…

Syo Kurusu: That was one of the milder symptoms. It wasn't serious. But... when I overdo it a bit too much, that's what happens. 

Syo Kurusu: There were a few times growing up when I was pretty sure I was gonna die from it, but…

Kaoru Kurusu: Syo-chan…

Syo Kurusu: But then I started karate, and got stronger. At this point, it doesn't really affect my everyday life. 

Syo Kurusu: Now, I can try as hard as anyone else… and honestly, I want to give it my all… I really hate it when people fuss over me, too. 

Syo Kurusu: So, will you please keep quiet about this? 

Haruka Nanami: …

I can see the strength of Syo-kun's will shining in his eyes, and simply nod silently. 

Syo Kurusu: Thanks. Oh, and don't you worry about it, either. I'm perfectly fine, and I want this to change anything. 

Kaoru Kurusu: You're not fine at all!! Are you planning to just keep pushing yourself too far?!?

Kaoru-kun suddenly explodes in Syo-kun's direction. 

Syo Kurusu: I'm telling you, this time was just a coincidence. Otherwise I've had plenty of energy, and haven't had any problem staying on top of things. 

Kaoru Kurusu: … Syo-chan, you promised before you moved into the dorms that if you experienced any more symptoms, you'd move back home right away. You promised you wouldn't make us worry. 

Syo Kurusu: I… 

Kaoru Kurusu: Liar… You swore to me you'd come home, and yet even though I'm begging you, you're still…

Syo-chan. Please, please come home. 

Syo Kurusu: I'm not going to.  

Kaoru Kurusu: Why…? There's no way you can keep this up without hurting yourself. It's too dangerous. What are you thinking?

Syo Kurusu: We've been over this. I came to this school so I could follow my dreams. 

Kaoru Kurusu: But forcing yourself to the point of collapse won't grant that wish either! 

Syo Kurusu: I'm telling you, I'm fine! I won't be collapsing anytime soon. 

Kaoru Kurusu: I don't believe you… There's no proof that you won't. … So I'll just stay here. 

Syo Kurusu: What!? 

Kaoru Kurusu: Until you come home with me, I'll stay here at your school.

Syo Kurusu: Seriously…? 

Kaoru Kurusu: I won't go home!! If you won't look after yourself, Syo-chan, then I'll have to look after you!!  

Kaoru Kurusu: If you won't do it, then who else can!? You can't make me leave!!!!

Syo-kun and I exchange perplexed looks. 

Syo Kurusu: … and then, well, he just straight-up refused to leave, so I brought him back to my dorm room…. 

After that, Syo-kun, at a loss for what to do, takes Kaoru-kun with him to his room for the time being. 

Of course, he avoids mentioning his heart condition to Natsuki-kun.

He explains that Kaoru-kun is just having a childish tantrum because he doesn't want to leave his side. 

Natsuki Shinomiya: How cute!!! 

Shinomiya-san, overjoyed, is quick to embrace Kaoru-kun the second he spots him. 

Natsuki Shinomiya: You're welcome to stay as long as you like!! 

As long as he likes…? I don't think that's allowed…

I hope Kaoru-kun realizes that…

Select the Phrase!

大丈夫……だよ��� I'm sure it'll be… fine… (+10 Love, +0 Music)

Feeling worried, I glance briefly over at Syo-kun. 

When I do…

Syo Kurusu: It'll be fine. Don't look so worried!! 

Saying this, Syo-kun pats me kindly on the head.

これから、どうなっちゃうのかな I'm not sure this will end well. (+5 Love, +0 Music)

When I hang my head in worry, he rests his hand on my shoulder. 

Syo Kurusu: Don't look at me like that. You don't have to worry. I'll handle this. 

Grinning, Syo-kun gives me a thumbs-up.

翔くん…… Syo-kun… (+25 Love, +0 Music) 

I suddenly realize that I'm gripping Syo-kun's sleeve tightly. 

Syo Kurusu: … Hm? What's wrong? 

Haruka Nanami: Ah… no, it's… nothing. 

I let go quickly, but with a resigned smile, Syo-kun takes my hand and squeezes. 

Syo-kun's hand… it's so warm. The heat I feel from his palm seems to be melting away my worries.

Even though he's in the toughest spot in all this, he's still looking out for me…

I can't accept that. I need to get my act together so I can be the one reassuring him…

MINI GAME

Ryuya Hyuga: Now then, today we're returning to the fundamentals with a rhythm test. "Fundamental" doesn't mean "basic," though, and it'll be harder this time. 

Ryuya Hyuga: Relax and go for it!! You wanna be a composer, so impress me!! 

Ryuya Hyuga: That said, I'll still be giving you an example first. Try to follow my lead. 

Ryuya Hyuga: Let's go!! Don't fall behind!! 

S RANK 

Syo Kurusu: You know, there are times when I've started to get discouraged. But because you're here with me, always smiling, I've had the will to keep fighting. Thanks. 

Haruka Nanami: No, I… I've just wanted to see you do your best…

Haruka Nanami: … If it'll help you, Syo-kun, then I'll never stop smiling. 

Haruka Nanami: If you ever start feeling discouraged, don't keep it to yourself, okay? Let me know. 

Haruka Nanami: I may not be the most reliable person in the world, but I should be able to support you at least a little bit. 

I want to become someone Syo-kun can rely on. The first step is to keep improving my skills as a composer…

Chapter End