читать дальше
Izumo’s Room 3
Kusanagi: Aand, our first guest today goes by the pseudonym “Snow-san”. Are you a student?
Kukuri: Yes, I am! I can’t disclose my school’s name, but I’m a 2nd year high school student. Nice to meet you all!
Kusanagi: Yeah, ditto. Let’s get straight to business: any worries?
Kukuri: I’ve been in this show from the very first episode, so how come I still didn’t get a character song of my own?!
Kusanagi: Any worries other than that?
Kukuri: Ugh…! Let’s see… There’s a boy in my class who’s a little peculiar… and, uh…
Kusanagi: Oh-ho! Could it be that he’s stealing your peace of mind?
Kukuri: Hehe, well… he does steal my peace of mind, as you said, but, uh…
Kusanagi: But what?
Kukuri: But not in the way you think. He just gives me this feeling that he might disappear any moment, and I get a little scared every now and then.
Kusanagi: “Disappear”? Is it because he doesn’t have much presence?
Kukuri: No, if anything, he stands out quite a bit, I think. He just has this slightly mysterious air about him… Ugh, I can’t find the right words, sorry.
Kusanagi: No, no, you shouldn’t. If anything, I’m glad to hear that.
Kukuri: Huh?
Kusanagi: This! This is the kind of topic you’d expect to be discussed in an advice corner! This bittersweet soul-deep rapport of hearts that could or could not turn out to be love! I’ve been waiting for normal stuff like this forever!
Colorless!Kukuri: You’re jumping to conclusions here, dude. Ghehehehaha!
Kusanagi: Huh?
Kukuri: Eh?
Kusanagi: Um, just now, what…? Was I hearing things…?
Kukuri: Well, as I was saying, when I first started paying that boy close attention, I myself became a little strange…
Kusanagi: Ah, hoho, “strange”? Aren’t you mistaken calling it “strange”? I’m thinking you should replace it with “smitten”?[*]
Colorless!Kukuri: Wrooong! Don’t make stupid shit up, ya blockhead, I toldja already!
Kusanagi: Whoa?!
Kukuri: Ah, just like right now, from time to time I feel like I’ve started having these blanks in my memory… I didn’t do anything unbecoming just now, did I…?
Kusanagi: Uh… n-no, it’s… okay, I guess?
Colorless!Kukuri: By the way, if we said that everything we’ve told you up till now is just acting on our part, what wouldja do?
Kusanagi: Eh?
Kukuri: Ah?
Kusanagi: S-See you next time…
Kusanagi: Our second guest today is “Gold-san”. He is a person of a highly prominent position, whose influence spreads onto the daily lives of all of us, though we might not realize it.
Kokujouji: Cut the unnecessary preface and get started.
Kusanagi: Ah, very well. Kindly allow me to ask, then: do you have any worries?
Kokujouji: I’ve been in this show from the very first episode, so why haven’t I got a character song of my own yet?!
Kusanagi: What, you, too?! Ahh *cough, cough* Maybe you have something that worries you besides that? Your position and power are truly peerless without any exaggeration, aren’t they?
Kokujouji: Hmph! Maybe. But lately, my health has been making me uneasy.
Kusanagi: Ahhh! I see! Now that you mentioned it, age always takes its toll. Still, you always pay special attention to your health and are careful with it, no?
Kokujouji: Yes, I am. Early in the morning I do a rubdown with a towel and go for a short walk. At noon, I make sure to have a sword training session. I also refrain as much as possible from eating oily foods, and always try to go to bed early.
Kusanagi: That is a very healthy lifestyle that you lead. And despite that, there is still something that’s bothering you about your health?
Kokujouji: To those bearing the king title taking care of themselves is part of their duty. They have got to make extra sure. And you, too: if you’re a retainer of a king, you need to pay close attention to his physical condition.
Kusanagi: I completely agree with you on that point, but he’s just so stubborn and unruly…
Kokujouji: I understand what you mean. After all, fast and flashy lifestyle isn’t limited to mindless youth only. Surrendering to youth, they indulge in fights, wild ideas, alcohol, women until they’ve tried every dangerous thing there is, and no one can stop them. It’s a manifestation of vitality. When I look at that king of yours, I’m reminded of the pilot school washouts and suicide corps survivors on the loose.[**]
Kusanagi: Suicide corps survivors on the loose…?
Kokujouji: Yes, especially with mobsters like you people, things they do are always the same in any given time period.
Kusanagi: Calling us mobsters is rather old fashioned…
Kokujouji: Then how about “biker gangsters”? Ah no, you’re not riding motorbikes, are you? Motorbikes are very useful though. I may not look it now, but when I was young, I was a modern boy enamored with science and technology.
Kusanagi: What an unexpected hobby! I’m surprised!
Kokujouji: Riding dashingly along the streets of Dresden, with that person in the attachable side car is the dream I saw once upon a time.
Kusanagi: “That person”?
Kokujouji: Nothing is impossible as long as you’re alive… You, too, etch this truth into your heart.
Kusanagi: Haah. I’m deeply impressed, really. Oh, our time seems to be up. Please take care of your health, Your Excellency.
Kokujouji: Oh, huh, it’s already over? Hmph.
Kusanagi: Well then, see you next time!
Tsukumo: Show some respect!
Kusanagi: Ah, right, I’m sorry. Before talking, it’s only proper manners to introduce myself first. Ehm, I go by the pseudonym “Cloud”[***]. Nice to meet you. Well, now, about my worries… will you listen to them?
Tsukumo: Here I come.
Kusanagi: Haha. You mean that no matter what your conversation partner might think of you, just charge ahead and start talking, right? I get it. Well, actually, I’m a host of a certain show, but I’m thinking that it’s about time I washed my hands of it, you see…
Tsukumo: Punishment!
Kusanagi: You mean I should nip this weakness in the bud and man up? I see~ I feel like you’ve opened my eyes. Lately I’ve been dealing with nothing but troublesome guests, and looks like it really put a damper on my spirits… Heh, well, thank you, really
Tsukumo: Much appreciated.
Kusanagi: Oh no, it’s me who should be thanking you. I promise I’ll make use of the numerous pieces of friendly advice you’ve given me. I’m resolved to do my best hosting the show from now on. Well then, see you next time!
Kusanagi: This show was sponsored by GoRa!
T/N: [*] what Kusanagi actually says here is that he thinks Kukuri is mistaken in her choice of the kanji (字が違い
when describing her emotion, and that she should replace the bottom radical in the kanji for ‘strange’ (変 with the radical for 'heart’ (心 which turns it into the kanji for 'love’ (恋
[**] Back in the times before and during WWII, Japan had the elite pilot training course (海軍飛行予科練習 or 予科練 yokaren for short) which produced highly skilled and outstanding pilots. However, the number of pilots the school had the capacity to train was desperately small, in contrast with the huge demand that WWII imposed. So in the closing stages of the war it was decided to dramaticly increase the number of students (at the expense of training quality, of course) as a desperate countermeasure, but it didn’t help as by the time Japan’s resources had already been exhausted (fuel shortage didn’t allow to waste it on training flights, and later, due to shortage of aircrafts, even training crafts were put into active service). Thus, the big number of the course’s students couldn’t become pilots and were forced to find other ways to serve their country, with most of them joining various suicide corps or taking up jobs like digging bomb shelters and such. After the war ended and they were demobilized, they returned to their home towns, only to find that the society as they knew it no longer existed, and changes were prominent and imminent. Some of them became totally lost, unable to cope and adapt to their changing world, and their frustration manifested in increasingly reckless behavior and violence, which made them no different from ordinary hoodlums and earned them the derogatory naming: 予科練崩れ and 特攻崩れ (yokarenkuzure and tokkoukuzure - washouts/has-beens of pilot school and suicide corps).
[***] His name, Izumo (出雲, uses the kanji for “cloud”. Also, a few words later, he first uses the masculine personal pronoun “ore” when reffering to himself, but quickly corrects himself by changing it to the gender neutral “watashi” as to try and remain as anonymous as possible (not that it helps any, lol)