Novel Illustrations
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Chapter 1 [WIP]Things Such As “Flags” Might Disappear If You’re Not Careful Enough
“Morning,
old man Yamaguchi.”
“Oh,
so you’re delivering the papers this time, huh. You certainly do
work hard, Tomo-kun.”
“That’s
because the BD box for ‘Koukoku no Goraion’ is coming out just
next month! The nen***roid
only comes in the first edition of the product, so of course I have
to work extra hard!” (TN:Nendodroids are figurines. Also, 'Koukoku
no Goraion' is speculated to be a mix of Hyakujyuuou
Goraion and Kyoukai
Senjou no Horaizon.)
“…Could
you not say scary things like that in such a casual manner? Honestly,
I have no idea what you’re trying to get at.”
“I’ll
come over next time to talk, so please remember to get your projector
ready, thanks, bye!”
I
exchanged a brief greeting with one of my acquaintances who stayed in
the area, then stomped the pedal of my bike all the way down in one
go.
I
continued to cycle along the road then turned left at the next
turning, after which I slowly accelerated for a short distance, which
was when my field of vision suddenly widened greatly and a steep
slope appeared before me.
It’s
commonly known as the ‘Detective Slope’.
It’s
an absolutely horrifying three hundred meter slope that, when
descending it, feels like heading towards an oasis, but on the other
hand ascending it feels like traversing a desert.
Also,
the reason why this slope is named as such is because a group of
curiosity-driven grade-schoolers happened to spot a tattered, old
signboard halfway along the slope that reads “Sakashita Detective
Agency”.
“Whoaaaa….”
Just
as I was approaching the very top of the slope, a strong gust of wind
propelled my bicycle and I from behind.
The
spring holidays were already half gone, as it would be April the next
day, and so the air in the mornings was no longer chilly.
The
gently falling petals of the Sakura trees on both sides of the road
gave off a sense of warmth as well.
With
such a comfortable bit of wind pushing me from behind, I shot down
the slope that was rapidly growing steeper and steeper at top speed…
“Whoaaaa…stop!”
…About
halfway down the slope, I squeezed the handbrakes of my bike with all
the strength I could muster, causing me to decelerate rapidly.
“No
pedestrians, no vehicles, speed’s normal, all OK!”
I
pointed a hand in front of me, and my bicycle momentarily stopped.
After
which I proceeded to slowly cycle down along the pavement.
That
was because starting from some point in time last year, people
started to complain a lot more about bicycles.
At
my current age, I’m already unable to once again experience the
adrenaline and exhilaration I once felt from racing against cars
while I was still a child, turning corners at full speed in an
attempt to triumph against a machine.
But…
“Rules
are rules, huh?”
It’s
not like I was grumbling things like “You really can’t have any
freedom in this world” as if I were some old fogey.
If
I myself were to have fallen off my bike, or even flown off of it, it
wouldn’t really matter, since I worry more about the safety of
anyone I might bump into in the process.
Maybe
it’s because I’m already climbing the stairway towards adulthood.
Also,
leisurely cycling along with the dancing petals of the cherry blossom
trees is a rather appropriate pastime for this season of the year, so
it doesn’t feel half bad.
“Ah,
it’s so fluffy, and warm, so comfortable…”
I
hazily looked up at the sky while slightly relaxing my grip on the
handbrakes.
Above
the skies that were simply emanating the vibes of spring, floating
clouds swam about underneath them, and pink flower petals fluttered
about in all directions.
There
was also the sun which was only slightly warmer than how it was in
wintertime, as well as the moon which had yet to disappear even
though it was already dawn.
There
was also a circular unidentified flying object which was even bigger
and closer than both the sun and moon, which flew past my eyes in a
brief instant.
“…What?”
A
circular unidentified flying object which was even bigger and closer
than both the sun and moon which flew past my eyes in a brief
instant…
“C-Could
it be! A UF…”
Before
I could finish my query, the unidentified flying object in question
gently landed ahead of me and slowly began to roll down the slope.
It
would be a little more interesting if it had remained airborne
longer.
“A
hat, huh…”
I
confirmed that the flying object was not in fact a red straw hat, but
instead a white beret.
I
see, this thing had neither the sufficient surface area nor strength
to be classified as an unidentified flying object, so it couldn’t
stay airborne for long.
Anyway,
there’s nothing to do with the color.
Just
as this useless thought flitted through my mind…
“Ah,
ahhhh! Please, wait for me!”
The
screams quickly reached my ears along with the wind that had somehow
became even stronger.
“Sigh…”
In
that instant, my body instinctively acted on its own.
My
hands grasped even tighter onto the handbrakes to the point where you
could almost see the veins in them, after which I turned my head
around with such force that my neck almost tore out of its socket.
All
because I wanted to look at the owner of that voice with my very own
eyes, the owner of that clear, beautiful, powerful, forceful voice…
“My
hat~~!!!”
“Ah…”
I
turned to look back at the slope.
A
girl who was about my age stood there blankly, completely clueless of
what to do next.
What
then entered my vision was her white pinafore, her white legs, her
white…
No,
there’s nothing to do with the color, I think.
Her
hat showed no sign of stopping, and the girl stretched out her right
hand towards it while it continued to roll, her left hand pressing
down upon her long, beautiful hair that swept from side to side along
with the wind; which is to say that she had no free hand to press
down on her skirt.
…Putting
all that aside for now, anyway the owner of the hat was right there.
“It
flew away…ah…”
“Ah…”
When
her gaze turns from the hat in the distance to her closer
surroundings, she’ll definitely lock eyes with me since I’m right
in front of her.
The
girl’s gaze darted between me and her hat with the same troubled
expression.
“Just
wait here for a second!”
“Eh…?”
I
didn’t know what that girl’s gaze was trying to tell me.
However,
now I could only…play this situation by ear.
“Whoaaaaa!”
And
so I stomped on the pedals of my bike as hard as I could and sped
down the slope…
“Whoa,
whoa, whoa…phew.”
After
thinking things through once more, I got down from the bike and
carefully kicked down the stand…
“Here
we go again, whoaaaa -!”
I
ran down the slope as fast as I could on my own two legs.
Although
this did hamper my speed and efficiently significantly, there was no
other way about it.
This
is the truly correct way of chasing objects which abides by the
traffic laws of this country.
Running
down a slope at full speed may be dangerous, but at least I probably
wouldn’t be persecuted for violating traffic laws while on foot.
All
hail the weaker ones who fare in the battlefields of traffic.
***
That
night…
Just
after midnight, two HDD recording devices that I used to record anime
were in use as usual, while I typed on my keyboard furiously with a
passion burning at a temperature not unlike the heat being generated
by those machines, causing the sounds of the keys clacking to
reverberate about the room.
Title:
Yet
determined.
Project
concept:
Encounters,
longings, sweet love stories.
“…That
last bit does kinda throw the whole concept off balance, huh?”
It
was because of the ‘fateful’ encounter I had that very morning.
It
was because that incident simply had too much story material that it
ignited my passion to write.
…And
so this passion flowed through every inch of my body, giving me the
irresistible urge to type.
“No,
what kind of galge uses ‘sweet love’ as a selling point?”
In
the end, I managed to retrieve the hat about ten meters before it
rolled into the main road.
The
girl had ran down almost half the slope, and she had thanked me
profusely while nodding repeatedly in such a manner that almost
caused me to shield my face in embarrassment.
The
pain coming from the slight scratch I got on my elbow area gave me a
rather light-headed sensation.
Prologue:
On
a certain summer’s day, I, had a chance meeting with fate…
On
a winding slope, with gentle sunbeams falling upon the ground, warm
gusts of wind blew gently, causing the cherry blossom flowers to
dance in the breeze.
Then,
a young girl appeared on said slope.
A
young girl who I had never met, whose name I did not even know.
In
that instant, a brand-new sense of anticipation caused my heart to
flutter uncontrollably…
I
had fallen in love for the second time.
Yes,
I was in love yet again.
I
was unable to control my desires, and had once again taken a liking
for someone else.
Even
though it would hurt me. Even though it would hurt her as well.
Even
though our wishes would not be able to come true…
Just
like that, along with the anticipation that something was going to
happen, the new semester began.
“…A
little too sentimental, maybe?”
After
that, the two of us slowly walked back up, standing side-by-side, to
where I parked my bicycle on the slope.
However,
after that, I simply cycled down the slope yet again, while she
walked in the other direction, back to where she had started.
The
two of us had been unable to strike up a proper conversation.
We
didn’t tell each other our names, nor did we make any promises.
“No
no no, only sentimental storylines like this can properly grasp the
hearts of the people. Misunderstandings are the best!”
But,
that was enough.
Right,
that was definitely enough.
No
matter how you put it, maybe fates that have already been severed,
could be once again tied together by surprise incidents such as
these—and these stories shine brilliantly only because they
possessed that melodramatic element.
For
example, she could suddenly transfer into my class during the next
semester.
Or
maybe our parents could be on bad terms with each other, and so we
would be dancing within their palms, pushed about by the waves of
love and hate.
Or
maybe we would discover the shocking truth that we were actually
siblings from different fathers, causing things to plunge into chaos…
In
the span of seconds, this sweet love story had darted into some other
dimension, and so ignoring everything else for now that was basically
what happened.
The
selling point of this work:
It
uses dashes of purity to make people feel flustered, embarrassed to
the point where they can’t look you in the eye. These are the few
of the vital components of a novel about adventure and love in one’s
teenage days.
“…Where’d
all that sentimental stuff from earlier go, now this is just
something some old man would write!”
Honestly
speaking, I’ve never felt such a strange urge before.
It’s
almost as if the passion that has slumbered within me for all this
time suddenly burst out all at once.
When
was the last time my heart had burned so ferociously?
Hmm,
it was probably around the time when I got severely addicted to
“Koisuru Metronome”… (TN: Utaha’s novel)
“No
matter how hard I think I just can’t find a way to link this to
‘youth’. This isn’t a neta-filled game after all.”
…Only
about a year ago, huh.
“Normal
days…normality’s just something on the surface.”
Carrying
these feelings within myself, I continued working on the game
proposal until my HDD recorders had finished recording all the shows
that aired that night.
...In
the end I was thirty minutes late in delivering the papers the next
morning.
The
first day of April arrived.
Which
was also the second day that the plot took place in.
Character
settings:
Heroine
A (Name yet to be decided)
The
main female lead of the story. The girl I met that day on the slope
with cherry blossom flowers dancing in the background.
There’s
a gigantic, ancient cherry blossom tree that grows on top of that
slope.
There
resides an immortal fairy, bound to the tree eternally by a curse
cast upon it.
The
main character made a promise with her while he was still young…
And
when the main character carried out his promise, her wish was too
fulfilled, and the curse was broken.
It
was then that her very existence was erased from the memories of
everyone.
“…For
whatever reason this whole scenario is kinda like how people use Da
Capo in music to get back to the
beginning?” (TN: Da Capo is a musical
annotation that indicates the musician to repeat from the beginning
of the piece)
Plagued
by this feeling, I slipped into the maze of deep thought multiple
times today, not making any progress with the proposal.
I
must get back in the zone tomorrow.
It
was the night of the second day where the moon changed.
I
could almost hear the approaching footsteps of the new semester.
Synopsis:
Yet
to be confirmed:
“Crap,
I’ve browsed through all of the April Fools’ pranks on pretty
much all the websites out there already. Looks like it’s time for
me to actually begin searching for material.”
Today,
the proposal advanced by another two lines.
April
the 3rd.
“The
spring season starts today…I might as well just watch the first
episode of each anime right when they start broadcasting then.”
I’d
already watched three seasons worth of the stuff, so I figured I
might as well finish up the last one.
April
the 4th.
“So
the new semester starts tomorrow, huh…nothing happened in this
spring break after all.”
No
matter how you put it, that’s how reality works.
***
“Hey,
Tomoya, you have Kohakuiro
Concerto too, don’t you?” (TN:
This references the Galge Mashiroiro
Symphony)
"Kohakuiro
Concerto…right?”
At
about three thirty in the afternoon, right after my lessons ended, my
classmate Kamigo Yoshihiko struck up a conversation with me just as I
was opening up the shoe cabinet and packing up my stuff.
“You
didn’t mishear, apparently it’s one of the best Galge that came
out this year so far, and the original’s an H-game too, so I
figured you’d definitely have it.”
“…So
what?”
“Lend
it to me, of course, anyway you’ve probably finished it already,
haven’t you?”
And
he just had to talk to me while I was going to rush back to finish up
the anime I had recorded last night.
It
would appear that in his eyes, I was the type of guy who would
immediately purchase something, even on the day of release, if it
were lauded with positive reviews, and especially if that something
were to be a Galge adapted from an H-game.
“Why
should I care? Go buy it yourself.”
“I’m
different from you, Tomoya, I don’t have the cash.”
However,
it was true that I did buy the game.
At
ten in the morning of the day it was released.
Along
with the limited first-edition original concept art as well as the
drama CD, it cost me 9800 yen, while the entire package weighed 1.8
kilograms altogether.
On
the day that the special promotions were announced, I thought it over
painstakingly before swiftly pre-purchasing it at a selected outlet.
Also,
I cried four times before beating it.
“Let
me tell you this, the reason why I have money is because I work
part-time for it to buy games and anime, so don’t you go around
reversing the goals and the means like that.”
I
come from a middle-class family, and my dad’s just a blue-collar
worker at a medium-sized corporation, our housing loans are so much
that they’ll probably carry over to my generation for me to pay.
Completely
different from your typical Galge male protagonist who lives alone in
a large house with his parents both overseas for work.
“Oh
come on, and here I was thinking that you’d definitely buy it.”
“Even
if I did buy it, lending is prohibited. You could at least ask to
come over to my house to play.”
“Hell
no, you’d begin explaining every single darn thing in detail.”
“That’s
the exclusive right of the person providing you with the venue and
the game. Having someone to talk with regarding the same piece of
work is really a wonderful thing…”
“You
spoiled a game before I even finished playing it once.”
“…I’m
really sorry about what I did back then. Please forget it.”
His
words sharply dug out the fake kindness I exuded without even
noticing.
Oh,
humans, they always cause hurt to others without even knowing.
Spoiling
a series is the absolute worst thing otaku like me can do…an act
like this is all the way down there with piracy, damaging game discs
and so on.
“Anyway
just go ask someone else, I really don’t have it.”
“Really
now~ I’ve searched the whole of Akihabara for it, not to mention
all the websites I could think of, so I really can’t find a way of
getting a hold of the game now.”
“How
many times have I told you to preorder these things? If the
manufacturers don’t receive preorders, the retailers won’t
request for more stock to be brought in, so no matter how much you
may complain in the future that you’ll never be able to get your
hands on the game, the only person to blame is yourself.”
“Why
do you speak like you’re secretly a mole for the manufacturers?”
Actually
if I had just told him the truth right then and there I would’ve
been able to head home much quicker.
…However,
the vileness of the insults he would throw at me after that would be
unthinkable.
“Anyway,
that’s the way things are, see you tomorrow.”
“Aren’t
you going back too? At least walk to the bus stop with me?”
“Uh,
nah…that’s kind of…”
“Oh,
right, since it’s a rare occasion that we ever get to walk back
together, could you help me look around in the stores? You’re good
at searching for stuff that’s out of stock, aren’t you?”
“Leave
it to me! …Wait.”
“Right,
it’s decided then. You should hurry up and pack, Tomoya.”
I
accepted his request blindly, unable to resist the temptation of the
line “I’m waiting for you”…
Thinking
closely about it, shouldn’t I be thinking of ways to get him away
from the cabinet?
“I-I
say, it turns out that I have…”
Because,
right now inside my locker, there is…
“What’s
with all the delay, I really don’t know how to deal with you,
Tomoya.”
“Ahhhh!!”
“Gimme
your bag. It’s not like you’ll be bringing your schoolbooks back
with you, right?”
“That’s
true! Well then, we should be going!”
“…Now
what’s with that over-zealous reaction.”
“Move,
move!”
I
furiously slammed the cabinet which had nothing except my bag in it
shut before hurriedly pushing Yoshihiko out into the corridor while
running…until I remembered the school rules and began to walk
instead.
Now,
the fact that my first edition, one-point-eight-kilogram heavy copy
of Kohakuiro Concerto
had disappeared completely relieved me greatly.
“Oh,
right, Yoshihiko.”
“What
is it.”
“Don’t
talk to me with that tone as if you’re some sort of nemesis
girlfriend who likes to take care of others, it makes me feel like
hitting you.”
“Don’t
say that AFTER you kick me.”
I
couldn’t help it, it was pissing me off.
Toyogasaki
Private Academy.
The
scenery around it isn’t exactly beautiful, and it isn’t located
at the city center.
It
isn’t a school that combines both junior and senior high schools,
nor is it a school attached to any university, nor is it Academy
City.
It
also isn’t a place ruled over by the student council, the student
representatives don’t brandish weapons, and there’s no form of
political conflict between the leader of the school board and the
principal.
This
local…locally built, fairly new-looking high school that hasn’t
been around for even a decade.
This
is a school commonly seen in Galge or bishoujo anime that doesn’t
require a lot of effort to depict in terms of location settings, my
school.
“Also,
the reason why you can’t find it is because you only look for it in
large stores.”
“And
why is that? They have a lot of stock, and the prices drop a lot when
they eventually do, right?”
To
be honest it really was an extremely small matter, not something that
requires a lot of time and effort to explain.
“If
you’re looking for something that essentially any store carries,
it’s fine if you want to go to places like those. But now, you’re
looking for a rare product that has even disappeared completely off
the shelves right?”
“What’re
you trying to tell me?”
“Works
like these which will definitely attract legions of customers would
definitely be sold out in seconds even if they were to hit the
shelves again. Also, their targets are large-scale outlets such as
these which newbies like you would definitely think of at first.”
“So
I’m being called a newbie just because I thought of shopping at
Yodo**shi…” (TN: This references a large shop in Akihabara,
Yodobashi)
I
didn’t even mention the name of the outlet yet, typical newbies.
“Our
targets aren’t the large outlets, and the normal game retailers
shouldn’t have them either.”
“Then
where should we be heading?”
“We
should be looking for those places where the main selling product
clearly is something else, while games are just something they sell
on the side.”
“Main
selling product?”
“Common
cases are those that sell adult DVDs, like those in narrow six-story
buildings where all they appear to sell are adult products, while a
few games are pitifully scattered in a corner…”
“Ah,
I know, la**ta***.
.”
(TN: This references lammtarra, a famous chain of video retailers,
while in this case they are referring to the Akihabara outlet which
mainly sells adult products.)
The
store name will be hereby left abbreviated…we continued our
spirited yet useless discussion while walking along the corridors,
which was when a cheery greeting gently caressed our ears.
“Ah,
goodbye, you otaku.”
“Oh,
see you tomorrow.”
“Wait,
what kind of greeting is that!?”
“Haha,
see you around~”
Leaving
the fact that she had calmly listened to our conversation and greeted
us strangely aside for now, said person was an amiable female
classmate of ours who appeared to have spoken and acted normally, as
she then replied to Yoshihiko’s comment with a charming smile then
quickly left as if she wished to have nothing more to do with us.
“Tch,
just because I’m in the same class as you this year, I’m being
viewed as some sort of hardcore otaku now.”
“The
fact that she actually greeted us is pretty astounding in itself.
Under normal circumstances, otaku like us would either be ignored or
threatened, right?”
“Those
things only happened quite some time ago…”
“About
seven years back.”
“Why’d
you have to be so precise about it? Besides, I’m not some severe
otaku who requires rehabilitation and forceful reintroduction to
society like you, Tomoya.”
“Regardless
of the severity, in the eyes of non-otaku, you look like an excellent
specimen. And in the eyes of hardcore otaku, mild otaku such as you
are nothing more than people to be laughed at. But don’t worry,
Yoshihiko. I won’t give up someone like you, someone who lives an
absolutely dreary, boring life who has yet to achieve anything.”
“…Why
did I just have to be dragged onto that road by you and end up making
friends with you?”
Yoshihiko
ignored my passionate declaration of friendship and instead shook his
head in disgust.
Which
was why I said earlier that there’s no dealing with newbies, but
wait, this doesn’t have anything to do with that.
“Furthermore,
you’re just too slow at doing things. Even though it’s been two
years since the original H-game was released, stalls selling the body
pillows with characters at exhibitions related to said game always
have insanely long queues, and even if the people at the front of
said queues fail to purchase the product, online preorders all sell
out within five minutes, that’s how scary the popularity of this
product is, you know?”
“I
say, Tomoya, we’re underage, aren’t we?”
“Don’t
worry, I never venture into the 18-and-above sections. Everything I
just said was actual sales information.”
It’s
true, I had never been to the adult sections of the store, namely the
topmost and bottommost floors of it.
Thus
I’ve never touched the source material of Kohakuiro
Concerto, much less any other H-game
out there.
“I
see you still abstain yourself religiously from the most meaningless
of things.”
“This
isn’t meaningless in the slightest. I’ll be visiting those places
once I turn eighteen anyway. Before that I should obediently follow
the rules and not cause trouble for the vendors, it’s a win-win
situation.”
“Don’t
use that nickname on me, it makes me want to kick you.”
“Not
my back, don’t kick my back!”
Just
as we were deepening our friendship in front of the shoe cabinets, we
once again heard a noise coming from beside us, and this time it was
a pumped-up, obnoxious one.
“Hey~
Tomoya’s bunch, ya going back now?”
“Ah,
yep.”
“Don’t
make me repeat what I just said five minutes ago. What’s with that
manner of speaking, lumping the both of us together like that!?”
“You
both just look so happy together all the time…anyway, goodbye.”
“Good
luck with your club activities too, bye.”
That
was my exceptionally fit classmate A, who wore a set of sports attire
that was slightly dirty. His loud voice drowned out Yoshihiko’s
ridiculous complaints, and he promptly walked off towards the
courtyard in a set of spiked shoes.
“Come
on, ignoring the fact that I was referred to as an otaku like you for
now, why did he act like I was your follower or something?”
“Well,
that might be because like what you just said, you’re not a
hardcore otaku like me.”
“Also,
I can’t accept the fact that they judge others based on how otaku
they are.”
“That’s
because we’re so average in everything else like results and
physical ability that they can’t compare us in those areas, right?
Leaving those factors aside, all that’s left is how otaku one
person is as well as their looks. But, don’t worry, Yoshihiko…
“Don’t
get too full of yourself with regards to ridiculous areas like that.
We aren’t exactly miles apart in terms of looks.”
My passionate
declaration of our friendship…was completely interrupted this time
around.
“Anyway,
this current port didn’t just remove the H sections of the game.
The younger sister character who did not have a route in the original
game is now finally upgraded to heroine status due to outrage from
fans of the game. That’s one powerful arsenal…it’s almost
definitely a recipe for success.”
“The
amazing way you say 'Death flag'…putting
that aside for now, Tomoya, you have a thing for younger sisters?”
“What’s
that supposed to mean, older sisters, younger sisters, childhood
friends, seniors, juniors, lively types, passive types, unpredictable
types, violent types, all of them are the best.”
“Oh,
um…”
“However,
only one type is excluded...one can never like a female character
that cannot be conquered. That’s because no matter how much you may
like the character, the fact that your feelings will never be able to
be transmitted to her is just too painful, isn’t it?”
“…I’m
the one feeling pained instead after hearing what you just said.”
I deeply love
Galge…especially those that are adapted from H-games, and the
biggest reason for that could be said that it’s because there are
added elements.
Although it
could also be said that companies are simply being greedy and try to
get as much money as they can out of their customers, if you think of
it using common sense alone, nobody would think that converting a
charismatic yet unconquerable female character into a conquerable one
would be a bad thing.
And although
the original author of the story was against the idea of making a
port for fear of new plot elements being added would ruin the entire
structure of the game, I personally think this way of thinking is
wrong…
“Ah,
I just can’t help smiling whenever I think
about Rikka-tan's
route.”
(TN:
From light novel Chuunibyou demo
koi ga shitai!)
“I
just can’t help losing my appetite whenever I see that expression
of yours.”
Just as we
were enthusiastically discussing Galge by the school gates, once
again...
“Oh,
I’ve found you, Aki-san.”
“I
just said don’t lump the both of us together like that!”
“Um,
about that…”
“Wait,
this time you’re being completely ignored, aren’t you?”
This person
who neither referred to us collectively as otaku nor lumped us both
together was my female classmate B, and although she seemed somewhat
curious as to why Yoshihiko had flared up in such an unreasonable
manner, she immediately turned to face me.
“Hasumi-sensei’s
looking for you, Aki-san. She wants you to head to the office now.”
She was just
passing on a message for my form teacher.”
“Kano-chan?
What for?”
“She
wants you to move some teaching materials to the projector room. She
says we’ll be using them tomorrow.”
“Um…but
why me? I’m neither the class monitor nor a class representative.”
“That’s
because you always do things on your own there like running anime
appreciation meetings.”
“I
don’t go doing those things without permission. I always ask
teachers beforehand.”
On that note,
I also ask the producers for permission to broadcast their works
every time.
“I’m
sure that’s just because you pester the teachers at the staff room
so much that they let you go ahead with it.”
“What’s
wrong with wanting to share amazing works with the world?”
Some anime and
games can really offer you the opportunity to think about life.
There have
been amazing stories of young hikikomori being moved by H-games and
going back to enroll in junior high school once again. But wait,
junior high school students shouldn’t be playing with those things.
“Forget
that for now, since Sensei has been kind enough to give you access to
the room before, shouldn’t you be wanting to pay her back? I’m
sure it would be a hassle if you were to be banned from entering in
future?”
“Yoshihiko,
y-you’ll help me out right?”
“I’ll
have you know that I’m a male classmate who knows how to read the
mood and won’t interrupt the Galge protagonist and the female
teacher/heroine having a moment together.”
“…You
do realize that she’s an almost thirty-year-old lady who’s
already been in over three relationships?”
“I
do hope that you won’t be punished for your big mouth by being
banned from entering the projector room as well as being suspended
for a week. Goodbye now.”
“Hey,
hey, Yoshihiko…”
His twisted
sense of companionship quickly left him, as that idiot Yoshihiko
quickly ditched the unlucky me and walked out of the school gates.
Behind him was
me who stood there alongside my despair as well as…
“U-Um…”
Female
classmate B was still standing blankly beside me, presumably having
missed her opportunity to walk off.
“Oh,
you can go back now. You don’t need to feel obliged to help me.”
“Oh,
ok. I wasn’t actually planning to help you even if you’d asked,
anyway.”
“Ah,
I see…”
Such coldness,
as to be expected from a classmate of only half a month.
“Well,
see you tomorrow then.”
Sigh, forget
it.
My
form teacher, Hasumi Kanoko, isn’t
exactly a difficult person to deal with.
If
you round down her age a little, it clocks in at just about thirty,
but despite that she’s considered a pretty lady among the teachers
in my school; and also she doesn’t get mad whenever we call her
nicknames bluntly like Kano-chan. Sshe’s
a good teacher who’s easy to get close to.
Well,
it’s exactly because of our bluntness that she constantly dumps
errands on us to do.
“Ah,
that reminds me, Aki-san.”
“Hmm?”
Anyway, I
began my uneasy walk back towards the school building.
She’s way
too far out of my league for there to be a possibility of me
triggering her flags, but that didn’t mean I had nothing else to
look forward to.
“Thanks
a lot for the last time.”
“Huh,
what do you mean?”
For
example…when I reached the staff office, there was a girl wearing a
uniform of another school standing next to Kano-chan.
“You
know what I’m talking about, didn’t you help me get my hat back
during spring break? The white-colored beret.”
“Hmm~
did something like that really happen? I’m sorry, I’ve completely
forgotten about it.”
After that,
something along the lines of “You arrived just in time, Aki-kun,
this girl over here is actually a transfer student who is going to be
joining our class starting from tomorrow. I have stuff that I need to
do, so could you bring her around the school for a while?” would be
said, and after that the transfer student would turn to smile at me
who would still be leering at the suddenness of the whole situation.
“That’s
understandable, I guess, since it all happened a month ago. Bye.”
“Ah,
remember to watch out not only for cars but for bicycles as well.”
And then, in
the instant our eyes met…my memories from a month ago awakened once
more, and her eyes widened as well, a completely new expression
appearing on her face…
“No,
wait just a minute - !?”
My footsteps
that were just heading off in the other direction quickly turned and
dashed at full speed towards the school gates.
“Huh?
What is it?”
…The
heartless female classmate B appeared to be hurriedly trying to
leave, seemingly already bored of me.
“You,
you…”
“What
about me?”
“That
time, the white…”
“White?”
“The
white dress!”
“Hmm,
hmm~…is that so?”
“Is
that…so?”
“It’s
normal for one to not remember the clothes one wore a month ago.”
“That’s
true~…it’s, perfectly, normal.”
Chapter One:
On a certain
spring’s day, I once again had a chance meeting with fate…
In the evening
where the sun fell upon the ground like jagged, blood-red shards, a
faintly chilly gust of wind blew, scattering the dust along the path
home.
Then, standing
on the top of the hill was a…a female classmate B.
I knew her
name too, she was a girl that I would meet here every single day.
“Um…your
name’s Kano Megumi, right?“
“It’s
Kato~”
Oops, turns out I didn’t know
it after all.
Several paragraphs around “What's often available are adult DVDs. In those narrow, six story tall buildings that sell almost nothing but adult goods, you'd find one corner on the first floor with games neatly placed...” and several paragraphs around “Common cases are those that sell adult DVDs, like those in narrow six-story buildings where all they appear to sell are adult products, while a few games are pitifully scattered in a corner…” seem to be differently translated excerpts of the same original material. Check it please.
ReplyDeletePlease remember at the very least to give the proper attribution to sources used and text copied or paraphrased directly. It is the proper and polite thing to do. As they are translations there is bound to be some overlap, but when your written style is substantially similar to others it gets suspicious. You wouldn't do it for a University Assessment (And Fail/Get Suspended), and you certainly wouldn't do it for content published commercially either (and get sued for copyright infringement) . Please respect other people's efforts by attributing them and giving where credit is due.
ReplyDelete