#nishizono honoka

[nanasis]

[tokyo7th]

[tokyo7s]

[ri6es]

[amyure]

EPISODE LESCA BOOK 2

Let’s begin the second book of LeSCa. This is the "Kouhen", or “latter half”, of the story. - Esh

Um, I should be able to clear the backlog by 2034 at this rate…? Nah, I got more free time coming up so updates will be picking up. Will be doing much simpler editing on this one in terms of dialogue formatting etc. so apologies for that in advance (prioritising actually getting it done finally D:).- Nab

 The novel begins with Rena in her club room, opening her locker. While doing so, she was reminded of the time she had accompanied Kyouko; Kyouko had put her belongings in a Nanasis locker and there were many empty adjacent lockers, unlike here where Rena had her own locker merely because she’d won a janken game, and others had to share. A clubmate told Rena that she had gotten a call from their advisors, and said that Rena was appointed to represent their school for inter-high school regional high jump competition. Her friend praised her, "Wow! Ace! We expect a lot of you!", and Rena thought, am I even someone to rest expectations on? 

Over at Nanasis, Honoka came to ask Kyouko about her handmade meal, as Honoka felt it wasn’t good. Kyouko: "Well, duh, anyone can see it isn’t, even the salt in the onigiri isn’t mixed well, and as for the tamagoyaki-" and Honoka went Nuooo, but Kyouko said she was happy and thanked her. Kyouko went to serve her tea, Honoka went, “I will help!” but Kyouko was like, no no, this is thanks for the meal! Honoka went, no no I’m thanking you for eating it! Kyouko: "You strange girl, I am the one getting to eat it" Honoka: "Anyway Thank you!!" and Kyouko relented and let her help.

Honoka helped taking some snacks from the top shelves and Kyouko was like, ...you can reach that?

Honoka replied, "Yes, I can…? What's wrong?" Kyouko definitely minded their height difference. [lol 16 cm btw - Esh]

Honoka realized Kyouko had her textbook out on the table and apologized in case she had interrupted her studying. 

Kyouko said, “My test is next week. When are your school's?”

“Tomorrow,” Honoka replied.

“WHAT, WHY ARE YOU HERE THEN.”

“I-I studied but I just wanna know how you think about the cooking a-a-and…”

“Okay, then let’s study together.” 

Shihainin came after dark and offered to help but Kyouko already had to go. Shihainin said to Kyouko, "No training until the test’s over!"

"EH, WHAT?" 

"You overslept today, didn’t you?"

"How did you know?"

"Coney-san opens the gate every morning because she knows you will jog in everyday..." and yet today Kyouko had not. Shihainin continued, "Very late last night, I saw the training room lamp was on, on my way out to the store. I am sure you trained too late."

"But Shihainin!"

“No, you shall not have training."

Pouting, Kyouko relented... "W-wait, then what time did YOU stop working?! Did you sleep? Shihainin!"

Friday later that week, Honoka was slumped at her desk, knowing she'd fail the test, even if she had been studying real hard. She decided to go visit her favorite tonkotsu ramen chain, but didn’t know who to invite because a girl? tonkotsu ramen?! and decided to go on her own. On the way there, Honoka remembered Rena's school was close so she decided to go see her. There, Rena was lying on a mattress beside a high-jump bar, looking at the sky. A clubmate called, "Rena, do you know that girl?" Rena looked over the fence and said, "Nishizono-san?"

"Waa, look at that wave and reaction. Is she your girlfriend?" Rena’s clubmate joked.

"Haha, what are you saying. She's a friend."

Rena came closer and Honoka went, "Waa!! Amazing, Araki-san! I can't even dream of being able to jump that high!!"

"Nishizono-san, why are you here? Isn’t the station in the opposite direction?"

"I wanted to go to a tonkotsu ramen place and this school is on the way."

"Alone?" Rena noted how there was no one accompanying her.

Honoka went, uuu ikr, it's strange eh for a JK to eat tonkotsu ramen alone TAT and Rena went, "Then let me go with you."

"But the club?"

"It's just self training since it's test period next week anyway. No problem. Just wait here, I’ll be there soon."

"Is it really okay?"

"Yeah." As she turned back, Rena whispered to herself, "the wind is strong today, I wouldn’t have been able to jump well anyway..."

~~~And that end chapter 1 of Book 2, [which makes it chapter 5 LOL] "Sourashinshin”

Next chapter, Rena and Honoka both went for Tonkotsu ramen, served by this oji-san chef with a towel wrapped around his head.

"Why tonkotsu Ramen though, did you flunk your test and wanted to take revenge by eating or something?" Rena asked.

Honoka: Σ(゜Д゜) → (´；ω；｀)

"... Don’t mind it."

They talked again, about the performance they’d put on, and about idols. Honoka shared that she was still indecisive, while Rena told her of the upcoming high jump tourney. On their way home, they talked about their past and upcoming decisions. Honoka said that she had came to Tokyo-7, and subsequently Nanasis, to find out what she wanted to do in life, but she was unsure. Unsure if being an idol was really something she wanted, or if it was only another example of her tendency to ‘move with the current’. Honoka would like to know it for sure, she wanted to be so absorbed in the things she did, like anyone doing what they love feels.

Honoka finally said, “It's silly, eh?”

"I don’t think so," Rena replied. "I think how Nishizono-san is facing your own problems headlong is amazing."

"But Araki-san, too, aren't you very absorbed in high jumping? I look up to people like you."

".... Lately, it isn’t like that at all."

Honoka felt something was off but she wasn’t sure what, or how, to ask... It started raining suddenly, so the two girls had to run for shelter. As they ran, Rena got further and further in front of Honoka, as expected from someone from track and field.

"W-wait!" Honoka extended her hand towards that back, and in that moment, somehow it felt as if Rena would slip away, going far away to a place unreachable by her.

Back at her home, Rena took off her earphones and looked out the window; the heavy rain that had been going on since last Friday afternoon, had finally stopped on Sunday night. Her club had no indoor field, so during rain they only did stamina exercises like push ups etc. which got boring.

Rena sighed, "Well that can't be helped." She caught herself right after saying that. Since when had she ever have a ‘that can't be helped’ mentality when it came to the high jump? She used to think, if it was anything about high jump, she'd do it all. But since when, she wondered, did I start to lose that?

Her mother asked Rena to take a bath but she replied that she wanted to study and to let Dad go in first.

Her mom replied, "Eh, are you okay? You're an adult now."

"I don't mind," Rena said, and went back to her desk, picking her English book back up.

Her mom went, "Good luck," and closed the door.

A few days later, Kyouko, all smiles, came to Nanastar to find Shihainin; she’d gotten a super high score for her test. 

Kyouko said to Shihainin, "Of course I did! I can get that high easily. Your banning me from training gave me a bit of more time, of course. But I could have gotten as high without it too, okay!?"

"Sure, of course..."

Later, Honoka arrived just as Shihainin had to leave. Kyouko kept the test result in her bag and asked Honoka why Rena wasn’t with her. Honoka replied that although her tests were finished, Rena still had the inter-high competition so she couldn’t come.

“I see... You wanna watch me train?” Kyouko asked.

“Is it okay?”

“Yeah, Rena did too.”

And Kyouko made better progress than when she trained alone, she learned that now. As they went up the stairs, the girls promised to one day have moments like these again, but with Rena.

 However, one, then two, weeks passed and Rena never came back to Nanasis. Kyouko and Honoka sat in the office with a box of Viva Donuts, mulling over what could have happened. Whenever Honoka had asked her to come, Rena always rejected with half-hearted words, and always replied late at night. As for Rena’s club activities, the inter-high had already passed. Kyouko asked Honoka whether she remembered anything at all. Honoka did remember that time, right before the rain, when she had seen a distant look in Rena’s eyes as she said she was ‘not that into high jump’ anymore.

Kyouko also remembered how Rena used to come, always saying something along the lines of how her club ‘had no advisor, it was self-training,’ etc. From Rena's sun-burnt skin, it was clear she had been out in the sun too much, even in early spring, and it was hard to think everything was alright when considering that. But they were not Rena, and they could not know the answer until Rena said it herself.

Kyouko then stood up and declared, "Let's go."

"E-eh where?"

"To her place, of course!"

"B-but it's already half past 5!" said Honoka; the sun was setting and counting the commute, they would get there well after dark.

"It'll be ok."

 At Rena's school, Rena said to herself, "I'll jump,” like a chant that she repeated over and over every time before a jump. She had the form etched in her head as she ran towards the bar, which was set at the highest height she had ever gotten, and never got past anymore.

The bar clanked as it fell onto the ground. Rena lay on the mattress and looked up at the sky. "It's still no good today, eh..."

"Rena!" her clubmate called her. "It's time!"

"Ah, I'll be here a while more!"

"Aren't you the hard worker. Why don't you lower the bar a bit?"

"It's self-satisfaction,” Rena offered as an explanation. “The coach did say that too."

Her clubmate gave up and left her to it, wishing Rena good luck, and helped set the bar for her, which she thanked her for. And Rena stood up again, saying to herself, "Well, let’s try again, shall we."

...The sky was dark, the bar laid beside Rena again; she’d failed yet again on her last jump. Suddenly, the field spotlight came on, shining on her. 

She sat up, surprised, and a pair of unexpected voices rang out, "What are you doing, training in pitch darkness!" and, "Good evening, Araki-san."

Standing there, with the light behind them, were Honoka and Kyouko. Rena was so surprised she could not say anything, and that shocked expression was the first thing they saw. Apparently, Honoka and Kyouko had asked the security to help light up the spotlight, promising that they would turn it back off after, because Rena was still training by the grounds. Rena broke into a sad smile, thinking the security man must have known that she had been trying and failing for days, over and over.

"Why did you come here?" Rena finally said.

"Of course, because we're worried!" Kyouko replied.

"I already said I'm busy."

"You never gave us a reason, you can't just expect people to accept it when you’ve been gone so long."

Kyouko asked Honoka to gave Rena some drinks. As it turned out, the two girls had bought onigiri and some jelly drinks, suspecting Rena had not had dinner. Rena asked if they had had theirs. Honoka answered that they had enough for everyone; they had bought loads because they ‘didn’t know Rena's tastes’. Rena peeked into the convenience store bag and said, “That is enough...?” while looking at Honoka, who went red and went, "I-I don’t eat that much! I..."

Kyouko sighed and said, "I don’t eat much for dinner, I eat a lot in the morning for that."

Honoka went >_< and Rena chuckled.

Honoka explained, "On the way here we passed the convenience store, and Uesugi-san said we should buy some for you."

Rena looked at kyouko and felt like she had a really good motherly side. She accepted the jelly drink bottle, looking straight at Kyouko while saying, "Thank you." Different from usual, the words had a certain weight to them.

 Rena smiled and drank from the PET bottle, feeling how it was different having them there versus having the club member there. Honoka watched her side profile, noticing a distant expression she had never seen Rena make before, which saddened her. Kyouko asked Rena why she had not come to Nanasis and had not told them why. Rena answered brusquely that she thought it was ‘not that big of a deal’ to talk about.

 With Kyouko and Honoka on each side of her, however, Rena finally started to open up. She told them that she had began high jumping in middle school when she was introduced by a friend to the club. That time, she was still relatively bad at it and just went with her other friends. Being generally good in sports from the start, Rena found that she was beginning to like it, and she began to think that it would be great to just do high jump, and that she would still like it. In a short while, she became the best among her peers and at that time, her interest and source of enjoyment went from ‘just being able to do high jump’ to ‘just how high can I go’ and she began to seriously study and train. She was appointed as the representative of her school. But although Rena was the highest jumper in her school, it was not so in the inter-high. So many other kids could jump higher than her with no sweat, it seemingly did not matter if she had trained day and night. And earlier in the year, she had begun to not be able to jump over her highest record anymore. Is this my limit? Rena had asked herself.

 Then around that time, she had met Honoka. She saw how Honoka ran with all her might to catch a bus, observing how she gave it her all. She also learned how Honoka properly faced her questions and problems, unlike Rena who, at that time, turned her back to her problems. Then, she was scouted. It was not as if she had no genuine interest at all in being an idol, but it would also not be wrong to say she was just running away from what was bothering her, that she thought ‘it might good to just try out being an idol’. But Rena had felt that it was not right, it would be an insult to Kyouko, or Shihainin.

 In these days where idols are practically gone, those people who kept the idea of idols alive must really be putting their heart into it, Rena felt. Halfheartedly going for it, just because she did not want to face her own problems, wasn't what she wanted. And so Rena had decided, if she had the chance to go to Nanasis or be allowed to be there, she would only come once she could get over the height she could not surpass.

"It may be just my selfishness though," Rena wrapped up by saying.

Honoka responded, "Then I am just the same as you." As Honoka had came to Tokyo, leaving her family to look for what she wanted to do. But in the end she had not gotten her answer, even wondering if being an idol was only her ‘going with the current around me’. Unlike Haru, or Kyouko.

 Listening to both of them, Kyouko finally said, "If you ask me, I don't think ill of either of you.”

"Even my reason is nothing big,” Kyouko continued, “Even you, Rena, didn’t you say you tried the high jump because your friend asked you to? Would you find first timers who start having interest in high jumping insulting?"

"... No, I don't think so," Rena said.

"Reasons to begin can be anything. It's the end that counts.”

"You think so?"

"Definitely," Kyouko said.

Rena looked at the clock and said, "Well, time to try once more." Her earlier jump was supposed to be the last, but with Kyouko and Honoka even turning the light on for her and being there, she knew she had to try just one last time. Under the nervous gaze of the two, Rena prepared. Honoka was so nervous she started fidgeting and Kyouko went, “You’re not the one jumping, though.”

 Honoka explained, "But when I thought about how Araki-san isn’t going to come to Nanasis if she can’t jump over it, I..."

And Kyouko, if was to be honest with herself, was nervous too. She had never felt that before; when Shihainin auditioned her for the first time, when she danced in front of Coney the first time, there were many instances where Kyouko had felt extremely nervous, but it was the first time she was nervous for someone else.

As for Rena, seeing their faces made her happy that they were nervous for her sake, and she felt somehow different with them there. She felt that, even if today’s time is over, it would be alright. Tomorrow, or the day after, there are still chances, she could keep trying.

"There are always possibilities," Rena said quietly to herself. The air, that had been still moments before, was now filled with a wind that felt like it gently pushed her from the back.

"I'll jump," Rena said, and started running. This time, it felt like she could take a little bit longer of a stride, take a little higher of a step. With all her might, Araki Rena「flew」.

 [By the way, "Jump" and "Fly" have the same reading in Japanese, "Tobu". However, jump is written 跳ぶ and Fly is 飛ぶ。The original wording, 荒木レナは全力で「飛んだ」, uses the latter of the two. - Esh]

 The stadium lights had been turned off, and everything was dark. Rena was lying faceup on the mattress, and so was honoka. Kyouko came over and said, "I’ve turned off the lights and you guys still haven’t tidied the mattress up?!"

"But we're tired,” Honoka replied.

"Why are you even tired?!"

"I was nervous."

And yet, Kyouko went over to lie on the mattress as well. The three girls looked up into the night sky.

Rena said, "Thank you, for being with me tonight."

"Don't mind it. We came here ourselves anyway," was the reply from the other two.

"And... I thought being with someone else isn't that bad after all,” Rena added.

 Kyouko decided that she would not tell Rena to stop trying to jump over the bar, nor would she go against Honoka on her choices. She could not jump for Rena, nor could she choose for Honoka. Kyouko had always thought that ‘something that one achieves, must be something that one reached out for’. At least, that was why she had been doing things alone for all this time. However, today she could buy something for Rena, or tell Honoka more about idols, and be nervous together for Rena. In turn, in the past Rena had helped her dance training, and Honoka had cooked a meal for her. Same for Shihainin and Coney as well. Something that one wants to do, perhaps must be undertaken by that person themselves. However, it might be possible for others to be understanding and help each other. Surprisingly, Kyouko realized that she was not against that. And she knew the two people beside her also felt the same way.

 As the girls were on their way home, Rena looked up at the sky and said, "Ah, it's finally a clear sky." All three of them looked up at the starry sky in silence, not knowing the names of those stars.

 The next day, Rena and Honoka went to Nanasis, finding Shihainin there. Shihainin looked at Rena and said simply, "I am glad you are fine." And waiting for them were the Viva donuts that had been prepared for when Rena came back to Nanasis.

 Sat across from the two girls, Shihainin began, "Araki-san, Nishizono-san, I would like to ask you two, once again. Would you be interested in being idols?"

 ~~~This is the end of chapter 3, ‘Seikananchuu’.

 In summer, Rena rolled about on the studio floor while going "Aaah, the floor is so cold, feels so nice," spurring Honoka on to do the same. A while later, Kyouko came with their drinks and kind of went seriously, you guys? Rena took the drinks, saying, "Thank you, Kyouko."

"Don't mention it,” Kyouko replied.

Rena took a sip, then looked at Honoka as she passed the bottle, saying "Here, have it... Honoka." She naturally, casually, called her by her first name without a honorific.

Honoka, blushing, answered, "Thank you, A-Ara... R-Rena-chan."

"Well, I am not the one buying though?" Rena pointed out, gesturing at Kyouko, who averted her eyes.

Honoka got nervous, Kyouko got nervous too. And Honoka finally said, "Thank you, K-Kyouko-chan."

Rena just laughed at that and Kyouko went “It's your fault being so nervous for Rena using your first name and now I’m nervous too!”

And so, the girls ended up banning polite talk between themselves.

That night at her school field, Rena had been able to jump over the bar, and at that moment, when she saw Honoka and Kyouko, she had decided that perhaps, by being with them both, she would be able to reach even higher. She just felt that way.

As for Honoka, she could not yet say with certainty that she had found what she wanted to do. When all three of them had looked up at the night sky together though, from the bottom of her heart she had wanted to be with Kyouko and Rena. If being an idol was the way to achieve that, she might not be able to call it ‘what I really wanted to do’, but that was fine.

As the girls were chatting about Honoka's weight, Kyouko's chest, and Rena's slender body, Shihainin came in and told them to go to the office after showering and cleaning up. In the office they found Shihainin, who had been waiting with Coney beside him, munching on donuts. When the three of them sat on the opposite sofa, Coney set the donuts aside on a plate, and they knew instantly it was something serious. Shihainin started by explaining how there was a venue, Karoen park, that Nanasis had registered, with its registration deadline being last night, for 777 sisters.

However, news had came in that morning that another venue Nanasis had booked long before, at a poolside, had a change of schedule and ended up overlapping with the Karoen Park one.

 When Shihainin was done, Kyouko immediately asked, "What do you want us to do?"

Shihainin smiled and said, "As expected of Kyouko. We only need 5 minutes. We have a song that doesn’t quite fit any of the other units, and the lyrics can be made to fit yours. Coney has prepared costumes."

The event was less than a month away. Shihainin went on, "I wanted you three to make a debut."

Both Honoka and Rena went EEEEEE but Kyouko, instead, stood up and said, “Let’s do it.”

Rena and Honoka started protesting, but for Kyouko, she had always been looking at someone's back. She had came into the idol world and looked at Haru's, Musubi's… the whole of 777 sisters’ backs. However, with Rena and Honoka she now had someone to walk beside her, not in front of her. It was not like she had no confidence of herself, but Kyouko had always known she could not fill the shoes of 12 people alone.

 "Rena, aren't you here despite having to balance club and idol responsibilities? Against all odds?" Kyouko began. "Honoka, aren't you here, far away from home, looking for something you want to do? For me, if there is a chance, I want to take it. I want to believe in possibility. I’m only able to want to do this because it's with both of you. With the two of you, I know we can do it." She quickly added, “B-but don’t you get me wrong, I would still have solo debuted eventually, okay!”

 Rena went alright, alright. And they all, together, decided to do it. As if on cue, Coney immediately exclaimed, "TIME TO WORK ON THE COSTUME! GUUUUUTS!" and Shihainin took out his notes. He suddenly stopped though and asked the three girls, "Wait, what will your unit name be?”

 Close to a month later, Honoka woke up late. She hurriedly went to the shower room and would have brushed her teeth sloppily if her aunt had not told her to brush it properly and helped brush her hair. Honoka made several faces throughout the process and went, "Yosh!"

"You done?" Honoka had almost forgotten her aunt was there.

After taking an onigiri bento that her aunt had prepared for her, Honoka ran out the door. Her aunt sighed to herself, “Oh, how much Honoka resembles  her mother now…” and remembered that she too should make sure not to be late. By the bus stop, Rena was waiting as the bus came. It was going to be either missing that bus, or wait for Honoka with a huge possibility of being late. Rena then saw Honoka running frantically from afar while saying, "Waaait!".

Rena stepped onto the bus and said, "Excuse me sir, would you mind waiting for my friend over there?"

Kyouko was waiting near the office and berated them for being late; after all, it was finally their debut day. Shihainin went off to do prepwork. Kyouko announced that her mother, despite her busy schedule, somehow said that she would come. Rena said her parents and clubmate would as well. Honoka said that her aunt would be able to make it too.

Kyouko went, "Do you two know our unit’s name yet?"

"Nope," they answered.

"It's a stylization of ‘Lemon Squash’."

Honoka and Rena went what? They didn’t even drink it that much.

"Refreshing, sweet, with a tinge of sourness,” Kyouko went on, “Shihainin said, ‘it's the image of youth.’"

"I think I like it,” Rena said.

"Me too," Honoka said.

On that note, the three girls’ possibilities and hopes unfolded.

 End of chapter 4 --- Hikouhoukou

 ---’EX Chapter’. Houeikouya

 At the usual Tonkotsu ramen place, Honoka ordered a ‘super big bowl, with extra broth, extra nori, extra topping’.

Kyouko went, “You’re eating all that?!”

"Eeeh, people don’t usually??" Honoka seemed genuinely astonished.

Rena, laughing, said, "One regular for me, please."

"Me too," Kyouko added.

 After their debut, and after watching 777 Sisters perform, the three decided to have a celebratory meal together, but Shihainin had said that they would have it on another time. Honoka really wanted tonkotsu ramen though, so the three of them went there.

On the way, Honoka had said, “Will Tonkotsu + lemon be a good combination?”

The others went like what?

“I meant,” Honoka clarified, “We could have a joint collaboration with the ramen place."

Everyone went, “????? No way it’d taste good!"

"Eeeh but the possibility of a collab... hmm, lemon and tonkotsu ramen..." Honoka seemed enamoured with her idea.

 After having ramen, the three girls were full and content. They left the restaurant as the sun was setting, and the three of them, somehow as one, looked up at the sky and at one particular star in the distance.

After this they would go back, Rena to her home, Honoka to her aunt’s, Kyouko to her dorm. That realization made them feel.. lonely.

"WELL THEN!" Rena suddenly circled her arms around Kyouko and Honoka by her side as she said, "SHALL WE GO FOR DESSERT?"

"E-eh?" Honoka was caught off guard.

"It's the other stomach!" Rena went on.

"I don’t mind, I think,” Kyouko said.

“I want ice cream!" Honoka said.

 With that, they managed to fulfill their wish of being with each other for just a little while more.

 ~~~End of book~~~

Back to summaries

[gachagachaart]

[laguzmage]

[fistofart]

by��Umeno (Shio1205)

[akroglam]

[kamishiro-sui]

nishizono honoka icon!

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[nanasis]

[tokyo7th]

[tokyo7s]

[amelyrics]

Le☆S☆Ca - TWILIGHT lyrics / translation

Song title: TWILIGHT / トワイライト Sung by: Le☆S☆Ca - Kyouko U. Uesugi (CV. Yoshii Ayami), Araki Rena (CV. Fujita Akane), Nishizono Honoka (CV. Ueda Hikaru) / 上杉・ウエバス・キョーコ (CV. 吉井彩実),  荒木レナ (CV. 藤田茜), 西園ホノカ (CV. 植田ひかる) Single: TWILIGHT / トワイライト

かすれた声が遠のいた 受話器の向こうに Kasureta koe ga too no ita Juwaki no mukou ni

Your hoarse voice became distant On the other side of the receiver

目と目が合えば 伝わると思っていた日々 Me to me ga aeba Tsutawaru to omotte ita hibi

The days when I believed that Everything would be conveyed if I looked you in the eyes

冷たい風が吹きさし 街路樹の下　並ぶ呼吸音 Tsumetai kaze ga fukisashi Gairoju no shita narabu kokyuu on

A cold wind starts to blow The sounds of breath line up beneath the roadside trees

白い吐息と街並み 静かに塗り変える光 Shiroi toiki to machinami Shizuka ni nurikaeru hikari

White sighs and the town streets, The lights are quietly changing color

ときどき止まる君の影は 黄昏探す刻のようだね Tokidoki tomaru kimi no kage wa Tasogare sagasu koku no you da ne

Your shadow that stops at times Is like a carving that longs for twilight

これで最後ねと云った 嘘だとわかってるのに Kore de saigo ne to yutta Uso da to wakatteru no ni

You said that this will be the last time Even though i know that’s a lie

トワイライト TOWAIRAIT

Twilight

重ねた小さい願い 風に風に繰り返し放れば Kasaneta chiisai negai Kaze ni kaze ni kurikaeshi hooreba

If I repeatedly threw my piled up little wishes away To the wind, to the wind

瞬く星のように 強くいられるのに Matataku hoshi no you ni Tsuyoku irareru no ni

I could stay strong Like the twinkling stars, and yet,

トワイライト TOWAIRAIT

Twilight

伸ばした両手が見えない壁に壁に 触れてしまう度にまた Nobashita ryoute ga mienai kabe ni kabe ni Furete shimau tabi ni mata

Whenever my stretched out hands Touch these invisible walls, walls again

いつまでも臆病なふたりに 夜風がそよいだ Itsumademo okubyou na futari ni Yokaze ga soyoida

A gentle night breeze envelopes The two of us, that are forever cowardly

途切れた文字で綴られた ページを捲るように Togireta moji de tsudzurareta PEEJI wo mekuru you ni

It feels like turning over the pages Written with interrupted letters

壊れたRadio周波数を 変えても鳴らない Kowareta Radio shuuhasuu o Kaetemo naranai

Even when I change the broken radio frequency, The sound doesn’t come out

霞んだ雲の形に 天気予報が告げた 「6時です」 Kasunda kumo no katachi ni Tenki yohou ga tsugeta “Roku-ji desu”

The shapes of clouds became hazy The weather forecast announced “It’s six o’clock”

乾いた空気張り付き 歩いて探した灯り Kawaita kuuki haritsuki Aruite sagashita akari

Enveloped in the dry air, I was walking and looking for the light

ときどき曇る君の声は ラピスラズリの色の青さで Tokidoki kumoru kimi no koe wa RAPIZURAZURI no iro no aosa de

Your voice that becomes gloomy at times, Dyed in the blueness of lapis lazuli,

いつもより近く響いた こんなに離れてるのに Itsumo yori chikaku hibiita Konna ni hanareteru no ni

Resounded closer than usual Even though we are so far away from each other

トワイライト TOWAIRAIT

Twilight

捧げた小さいMemory 風に風に吹かれ 雲が行けば Sasageta chiisai Memory Kaze ni kaze ni fukare Kumo ga ikeba

If a small memory that I offered Was blown away by wind, by the wind And reached the clouds

輝く月のような あなたに会えるのに Kagayaku tsuki no you na Anata ni aeru no ni

Like the shining moon, I could meet you, and yet

トワイライト TOWAIRAIT

Twilight

凍えた空虚な世界 Close to me close to me 閉じてしまえば　 Kogoeta kuukyo na sekai Close to me close to me Tojite shimaeba

This frozen empty world Close to me, close to me, If I closed it

微かな 温もりに囚われた 翼はあなたを探すわ Kasukana Nukumori ni torawareta Tsubasa wa anata wo sagasu wa

My wings, Trapped by a faint warmth, Would still look for you

本当���知ってたの それぞれ違う未来 Hontou wa shitteta no Sorezore chigau mirai

In fact, I knew That different futures were waiting for us

向こう岸に渡る舟を見つめる 岸辺の番い Mukougishi ni wataru fune o mitsumeru Kishibe no tsugai

I look at your ship that crosses over to the other shore Two different seashores

重ねた小さい願い 風に風に繰り返し放れば Kasaneta chiisai negai Kaze ni kaze ni kurikaeshi hooreba

If I repeatedly threw my piled up little wishes away To the wind, to the wind

瞬く星のように 強くいられるのに Matataku hoshi no you ni Tsuyoku irareru no ni

I could stay strong Like the twinkling stars, and yet,

トワイライト TOWAIRAIT

Twilight

伸ばした両手が見えない壁に壁に 触れてしまう度にまた Nobashita ryoute ga mienai kabe ni kabe ni Furete shimau tabi ni mata

Whenever my stretched out hands Touch these invisible walls, walls again

いつまでも臆病なふたりは 夜空を見上げた Itsumademo okubyouna futari wa Yozora o miageta

The two of us, that are forever cowardly, Raised our eyes to the night sky

[amyure]

Episode LeSCa Book 1

Tokyo 7 Sisters’ ‘episode LeSCa’ novel tells of how LeSCa come to be, as well as the background for the t7s song "YELLOW". If you have time, maybe after reading this write-up, re-listen to/reread the meaning of that song and I bet you’ll be filled with all kinds of fuzzy and warm tingly feelings.

Thanks to my friend for lending me his copy - Eshtar

So Eshtar had this done ages ago on her Twitter... my bad for taking this long OTL. BTW any oddities in the English are more likely than not my fault. - Nab

Chapter 1

So, the novel begins with our Nishizono Honoka. Honoka came from the district Fukuoka 4th. Unlike Tokyo 7th that is entertainment-centric, Fukuoka 4th is centered on Fashion. She comes from a family which operates a famous restaurant, one laden with history and which is the pride of her hometown. Honoka, coming to Tokyo 7th, tried so hard to ‘get used’ to the new place, going as far as trying to erase her dialect (mostly to no avail since it pops up again whenever she is flustered and she is flustered a lot) and thus ends up talking in a polite manner most of the time.

Honoka was walking down a sidewalk, with sakura petals fluttering about, when someone with glasses called out to her, then frantically began searching for his business card, which he could not find. A girl, beautiful with blonde hair came along and admonished him, "You go out scouting while not bringing your card?!" and shoved onto him a box of business cards that he had apparently ‘left on the office table’.  The man, calling the girl ‘Kyouko’, gave Honoka his card while explaining that he was a shihainin (manager) of an idol production company, and asked if Honoka was interested in becoming an idol.

Both Honoka and shihainin-san were running late though, so just like that they parted ways before the question got an answer.

A few days later, Honoka decided to look for the shihainin’s office. After all, the reason she had come to Tokyo 7th was because she wanted to know what she wanted to do in life. Being the only daughter of her family, she was expected to inherit the family business, but Honoka had found herself not that good in cooking, nor even really interested in it. She felt like all her life she had only been going with whatever the flow was, as dictated by the people around her. Her mother had said, “why not go to Tokyo? You will definitely  find what you want to do.”

Honoka didn’t really know about idols, but it wasn’t like she was not interested in them either. Then again, it would be wrong to say she had a strong urge to do it at that time. She did, however, want to know why someone like her was scouted by that shihainin and so, she decided to go. When Honoka got to the bus stop though, the bus had already arrived and she was still far. And so she ran frantically shouting, "Waaait!!" as she neared the bus stop. Araki Rena, who was about to get on the bus, saw her running and was struck with a thought of, wow, that girl is really giving her all running here.

Rena went, "Sir, would you wait for that girl over there?" to which the bus driver replied, "I sure don’t mind waiting for your friend."  As Honoka was getting on the driver said, "Please sit, your friend is over there," and Honoka was like but we ain't friends but it's mendō...

"Come and sit," said Rena (patting the seat invitingly) and so, Honoka sat beside her and thanked her for stopping the bus driver before, to which Rena went, don't mind it. Honoka then started getting flustered about how she was drenched in sweat and all, while beside a stranger. Rena was like, “Why the hurry? An important thing?” Honoka replied, “Not like, not really important but, uh…” and she started wondering about her life again, while Rena just sort of watched Honoka being lost in her thoughts. This carried on till their destination bus stop, where the girls exchanged names, and Rena said that they MIGHT meet each other again as their schools were close to each other.

After those goodbyes though, Honoka somehow found herself lost and ended up just sitting by Kuonji Park as the sun started to set. What am I doing, why am I lost? she thought to herself.

As Honoka sat on the bench, Rena passed by and went, "Nishizono-san?"

Honoka was like TAT and Rena couldn’t just leave her be and declared, "Let me take you there!" and so they went to Nanasis (the nickname of the company the shihainin worked for) together, which turned out to be so totally RIGHT BESIDE Kuonji Park that Rena went, you serious? and Honoka was like, "Please don't say it, Araki-san."

Rena asked Honoka, “What is this place?” and so Honoka briefly explained why she had wanted to come. She was standing nervously by the main door when it burst open with Kyouko ranting about ‘Coney eating all the guests’ snacks’, almost running right into them and going, "You, from that time."

And for the first time, all three were together.

~~~ That is the first chapter, "Oukasaikai" Man, I should tell you, all chapters from LeSCa are these beautiful 4 character kanji things, it's very peaceful.

Chapter 2

Honoka and Rena waited in the office for Kyouko to return (she had to buy the ‘snacks for guests that Coney ate’) while discussing if that cute blonde girl was an idol. When Kyoko came, Shihainin [Eshtar: the novel doesn’t add any explanation, from here on, he is “shihainin”] who was out for work hadn’t come back yet, so she served tea.

Kyoko was like, “Yeah, I am an idol.”

"But why are you buying snacks and serving tea?" the girls asked.

"Well, we don't have many people, so everyone does what they can. And you,” Kyouko glanced at Rena. “Were you scouted too?"

Rena replied, "No, I am just accompanying her," while taking a donut.

A while later Shihainin came. When Shihainin saw Rena he said excuse me, Araki-san, could you do a twirl at that corner over there? Rena was like “Eh, what, sure?” and she twirled. Shihainin went like, what nice ankles, a great form, with a bit of mumblemumble… He smiled and asked Rena, would you be interested in being an idol? Rena was like ???

Shihainin said, not answering now is okay too, and turned his attention to Honoka, who hadn’t decided, but had still come to Nanasis, and Shihainin was so happy.

"There are people who have interest to ask questions about idols, of course I am happy! Ask me anything!” he announced.

Honoka asked why she was scouted, and Shihainin said it was a feeling, that he was sure if it is this girl, she'd be able to be up there in that poster over there, the moment he saw her under the sakura petals. Like what he felt when he saw Kyouko and Araki-san.

He admitted it may not be a satisfactory reasoning.

“But like, what is ‘idol’ exactly?” Both Honoka and Rena had no idea at all and asked him. At that moment Kyoko was like WTF DID U ASK HIM and they went ??? but Shihainin suddenly went fiery and like LET ME SHOW YOU THE GLORY OF IDOLS and he dragged Kyouko while saying ‘TIS GOOD FOR YOUR TRAINING TOO, COMETH BRETHREN! and Kyouko was like NUOOOOO HAAAAALP and Honoka and Rena were like omg we’re sorry we didn’t knooooooowwwwwww.... and they got lectured on idol culture for a full hour.

On the way home, Rena asked Honoka, What do you think? Honoka was troubled and said that she couldn’t decide yet, but she liked how spirited Shihainin was and he seemed like a good guy.

“What about you?” Honoka asked.

“Well, I don’t know about myself, I have my club too.” Rena replied.

"I see... I guess we should talk with our families too.."

At home, Honoka's aunt who she lived with had cooked a homely meal for her, which tasted like her Mom's cooking. Hearing Honoka’s comments on it, she asked, "do you feel home sick?"

"No, I just think it's great." Both her mom and aunt had been groomed as the next generation owner of the restaurant. Honoka started to daydream again. Her aunt asked if  anything was bothering her, and Honoka finally talked about being scouted. Auntie went, oh great, those 7th Sisters! But Honoka still seemed down, so her aunt went calm again and asked her what was wrong?

"I'm just not sure what it is that I want to do.”

She has been here for like a year and she still doesn’t know what she wants to do. Auntie smiled and went, well isn't that is okay? Your Mom wasn't decisive either about the restaurant. Honoka went, “Eh?”

"Sumika-neesan tried out things, making handicrafts, trying to be a mangaka...."

“?!?!”

"But she then met your father, who was her trainer in a cooking school, and just like that inherited the restaurant. Me too, I just saw a pamphlet of my school and just kinda along the way got really into it."

Auntie was like, "Ahaha, maybe that didn’t help much," but Honoka turned to think, shall I try to become an idol now? In this day and age when it is practically gone? Is this what I really want to do, or am I just getting swept by the current again? She couldn't decide, but she knew she was hungry.

Honoka felt it wasn't right to just head to Nanasis without having an answer and was just wandering around the city after school, looking forlorn, when someone called her name, “Nishizono-san!” and it was Kyouko, wearing her school uniform. Kyouko saw Honoka’s distant expression and carried on, “Tomorrow is my Mom's birthday and we're gonna order some flowers, you wanna come?”

"Eh, is it okay?"

"Well sure, I’m the one who’s asking?"

Honoka gladly came. The florist was in a really inconspicuous alleyway and Kyouko was like, "WTF, how does Shihainin even know a florist here?!" Even more surprisingly, by that alleyway they found Rena, playing with kittens. They went, "Why are you here?"

"I’m petting cats."

"Why here?"

"Well, the kittens ran to this place, so…”

Honoka and Kyouko went, “Oh well okay, we’re going to that florist there,” and Rena was like, "I’m gonna keep petting these kittens here." When they came in from being outside the store all this while, Honoka was overcome with barrages of smells and colourful flowers and went, "Wa... so beautiful..." and for a while forgot what she was sad about. Rena from outside the store saw her change in expression and knew right away that something was wrong.

When Kyouko and Honoka left the store, Rena was waiting for them, playing with her bangs and said, “Hey, let’s go out together. Maybe have a meal?” And they decided to go to a family restaurant.

"Don’t you have club activities?" the two girls asked Rena.

"Nah, no training, no worries. Haha," she replied.

At the family restaurant, Kyouko offered, “Let me pay for you guys since you were kind enough to accompany me to the florist.” Rena’s eyes lit up. “Seriously! Then, I order this hamburger, this dessert, this drink, another serving of pizza, ano-”

“IN MODERATION, PLEASE,” Kyouko cut her off there.

They were in such sync with the boke-tsukkomi timing that Honoka, finally, smiled. Rena immediately said, “Ah! That smiling face is better than your sad look.” Honoka realized that Kyouko and Rena had been taking her to places to fix her mood.

"Thank you," Honoka said, to which the two girls both went, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The next moment, an idea struck Kyouko. She phoned shihainin, who responded to her suggestion gladly.

~~~And that was the end of chapter two, "Santosousou."

Chapter 3

Rena, after lazing at school feeling dispirited, met Honoka at the bus stop, greeting her, "Niiishiiiizoooono-san!. They were heading to Nanasis together, because Kyouko had invited them. When they turned the doorknob, however, the office was locked. "Excuse me," someone called out to them from behind.

A girl wearing a Corsica Girls Academy uniform who, rather than ‘cute’, was extremely beautiful, with flowing dark hair and a mole under her eye. Her striking image made both Honoka and Rena go wow!

"W-we were asked to come here by Uesugi-san," the girls explained sheepishly.

"Ah, Kyouko? Oh, you're the one Shihainin scouted!” the uniformed girl apologised, “I am sorry that we are short on staff now, the office is currently empty," and unlocked the door for them, leading them in. She served them tea, but soon had to excuse herself since she had ‘preparation’ to do.

"Is that an idol?" Honoka and Rena were excitedly chatting.

"Like, definitely!"

"What do you eat to be that beautiful?!"

They heard hurried footsteps coming up the stairs followed by a voice, "MUSUBI-CHAAAN! I am sorry I am lateeee!!" and a cute girl with a bob of bright red hair came in. She saw them and after a brief moment of confusion went, "Ah! The one shihainin scouted!" Honoka explained that ‘Musubi’ had went to do ‘preparation’ and the girl was like, “Ah! thank you!” but before she went Honoka asked, “Excuse me, what prep? And what for?”

Already on her way out, the girl with bright red hair replied joyfully, "For something I want to do!" the words ringing in Honoka’s mind.

Kyouko came along, going "You should have phoned me if you were here already!" and brought Honoka and Rena around the area, going to the theater and explaining things. She also told them that Musubi and Haru were going to be performing in a live. It would be streamed, broadcasted to the small pockets of idol fans around the country. Honoka and Rena both knew that Kyouko had really called them there for the live.

And the two ordinary girls they met just then, transformed in front of their eyes. The two might not have sang as good as many singers in Tokyo 7th could have, or danced as great as pro dancers, but there was something about them that drew both Honoka and Rena in. They discussed it on their way back home, how the girls had shined so bright, like lights. Which made Honoka think, again, of what Haru said before she went up there, that it was "Something that I want to do!"

The next day, Kyouko was starting her stretches for training when she heard a knock on the studio door. Kyouko lived in the Nanasis dorm unlike Rena and Honoka, so she was always by the office. She turned and saw Rena walking through the door... 

~~~And that ends the 3rd Chapter, "Seikananchuu"

Chapter 4 

Honoka was by the front of the office, with Coney circling around her like, "YO, GIRL! BECOME AN IDOL, DAZU!" and Honoka is like ???? but managed to mumble, "I am looking for Uesugi-san." and Coney said, "Oh! You're the one shihainin scouted! Hm! Hm!"

Coney continued, “It's too bad, but you can't meet Kyouko right now, because she is in the middle of some very important training…”

In the training room, Rena was explaining to Kyouko how she had no club anyway and had decided to just come.

Kyouko said, “Well I don’t mind, you can watch me train.”

“Why don’t we stretch together?” Rena suggested.

Kyouko was used to training alone everyday after school and so said, "I can still get good results doing it alone."

"But doing it together, while it will take more time, will bear more results." Rena insisted.

“Okay then.” Kyouku started to stretch and let Rena press on her back from behind, realizing how small Rena's hands were.

After a while...  “STOP STOP STOP!” Kyouko burst out.  

“Eh? Enough? Are you hurt?” Rena asked.

“Well yeah, enough for me! Is that wrong?”

“No, to be honest, you're more flexible than I thought. Now, it's my turn.”

Kyouko pushed Rena and she so EASILY slid down to the floor. Kyoko was like as expected for a club member… After that, they had dance training but only Kyouko danced. She took out a holocom and played a video of an unknown idol dancing, provided by Shihainin. She had been training with the video numerous times, everyday. “But I am a newbie in this,” Rena said. “It's okay,” Kyouko said, “I am looking for an honest opinion.”

Kyouko started dancing, and after the last move, looked at Rena and asked, “What do you think?”

“Hmmm it's GOOD, well, it's GOOD buuut.”

"But?"

"HMMM."

"It's okay, I did say an honest opinion."

"Can you do the last twirl?" Rena asked. Kyouko twirled again. "Mmmm, something is different..." Rena mused.

However, Rena couldn’t seem to put a finger on it and so stood up and said, "It’ll be easier to show you."

"What?" Kyouko didn’t know what Rena was doing.

"Uesugi-san twirled like this," Rena said, while performing the move, “While that idol, she twirled like... this." Kyouko was dumbfounded.

It couldn’t have been more than just a slight difference in her hand posture, or the way her feet moved, but in that moment, Rena was beautiful.

"Do you really have no experience in dancing?" Kyouko asked.

"Eh? No."

But she had done it perfectly. Kyouko asked her to do the twirl again and Rena was like man these people love twirling.

"Is it really okay, me being here?" Rena finally ended up asking.

"Yes," Kyouko replied. Kyouko had managed to grasp that point of the dance that she had been stuck on for weeks now, just by Rena being there and showing Kyouko her weak point.

Rena then asked, "Why an idol?"

"Well, I used to hate idols."

"Eh, what?"

"I hated idols."

"Uesugi-san sure can joke," Rena tried to brush off Kyouko’s serious statement.

“No, I’m not joking."

"Wait, seriously? But then, why are you here?"

Kyouko paused, then asked Rena, "Do you know a lot about movies?"

“Eh? Not really. I had a friend who loves them and shoved movies onto me though."

"Then, do you know Midorikawa Juri?"

Rena’s ears perked up, “Oh! That super beautiful actress! My friend showed me a movie of hers once!”

"Yes, she is beautiful, has a great voice, and is extremely talented in acting."

"What about her?" Rena asked.

"She is my mother."

"...Wait, what?" Rena paused briefly, “B-B-BUT YOUR SURNAME IS DIFFERENT,” she burst out.

"Seriously, that is where you got caught up? Of course, that is just her stage name. Her real surname is Uesugi. Uesugi Asuna." Kyouko said. Rena’s jaw dropped. So Kyouko's father is a foreigner, and this is where she had gotten her middle name.

"Is it okay to just say this kinda thing to me?" Rena finally said.

"It's okay." Kyouko explained that she did not even have many memories of her mother, since she had always been busy. When Kyouko was in kindergarten, she got an idol role in a performance and she hated it so much, but somehow, unexpectedly her mother made sure to attend the play. After that performance, her mother patted her head and said, "You're really cute. You did well." That was the first ever compliment her distant mother ever gave her, and despite Kyouko's reluctance to admit it, her mother's presence was a big part of her life.

"Why not be an actress?" Rena asked. Kyouko looked like her mother and even had a similar voice. Thus, she did not want to be under the shadow of her mother and wanted to establish her place, under her own name, not as Midorikawa Juri's daughter. That is also why she trains hard day and night for it. Rena asked if it was okay for Kyouko to be telling her such personal matters and Kyouko said she did not mind, although she realized that with Rena, she tended to just say everything, unlike her usual self.

After bidding Rena off, Kyouko went down to the Nanasis office, where she found a tray of oddly shaped onigiri, which looked like they must have been made by someone damn bad in cooking, and an overcooked tamagoyaki, with a note saying, "Great work for the lesson! Also, don't push yourself too hard! ~ Nishizono Honoka"

Although noting to herself how terrible the person must be in cooking (she could tell from merely the shape of the food), Kyouko took one of the onigiri and placed it in her mouth, feeling a warmth spreading through her stomach and chest.

~~~End of Chapter 4 : Heisuiruten

This is the end of book 1.

Link to book 2 summary Back to summaries