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tsuritama10th · 3 years

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Tsuritama 2020 Blu-Ray Short Story

Since this story is fairly short, I wanted to give it a real line-by-line translation. Please be aware though that this is a cleaned up machine translation. I did try to double-check all of the lines, but my Japanese is beginner level and there is a big margin for error!

Thank you so much to my friend Felix for the scans!

He hadn't seen Haru since yesterday.

Yuki deftly put a small colorful fish on the hook and immediately stopped thinking about it again. There were many other things to think of. Much had happened in the last year and a half.

The Enoshima Boom that was caused by the turmoil a while back had come and gone. Though a few tourists still came by to see the Enoshima Dance, Heihach's shout that "The Era of Enoshima has come!" did not actually come true. The island returned to its original tranquil state.

It was Yuki's second year working at HEMINGWAY now. The store manager (the cat) had gotten fat again. The Tapioca drink that's served on a duck shaped coaster was as popular as ever. Ayumi, who had successfully become Misaki's husband, was currently repairing the roof of the store. The typhoon last week had blown off a part of the roof.

When the typhoon came, Yuki had remembered the turmoil of back then for a little, but he didn't say that out loud.

Ayumi still had a habit of dashing to the shore and shouting, but now he only did it when Misaki gets mad. He releases the screams of his heart to the ocean that way.

Misaki was pregnant but her belly had not grown yet.

"What do you think would be a good name for the baby?" Ayumi asked Yuki every time they met, but Yuki didn't feel like that's his place to decide so he never answered seriously.

The other day Erika, who had started fishing under the influence of her boyfriend, dropped by with him to buy matching lures. Yuki still felt a little swell of pride that he was able to speak to them very naturally.

He had changed from back in the day. By now, it was alright for him to man the store on his own. His customer service was decent. The days of the Hannya-face were a nostalgic memory now.

After that fiasco, Yuki was able to talk to his classmates at school a lot. They asked him many things about fishing. Yuki, Haru and Urara also went fishing every week.

These days, it was only once in a while...

Well, it's probably one of those things...

'It's been a year and a half', Yuki thought to himself. It's been a really long time since Natsuki and Akira left Enoshima... It'd been a lot of fun since, but there was also an indescribable feeling in Yuki's heart.

Boredom? Emptyness? A sense of loss?

Those words came to mind, but none of them seemed to fit.

Every day was fun, but what lies ahead?

Yuki had applied to some universities, but he aimed to high and failed. No, no. Really it was because he'd been fishing when he really would have needed to work harder.

Anyway, Yuki decided to stay in Enoshima.

A year passed quickly as he was studying, working part time and helping out at home. Yuki was getting kind of fidgety. "What are you going to do in the future?" was the question he was most scared of.

Would they ask it, too...?

Tomorrow, on March 31st, Natsuki would temporarily return from studying in the US and Akira will rush in from Finland, where he was currently posted.

Yuki hadn't seen them in a year and a half. That's why he had been reminiscing about what happened in that time.

Why tomorrow? Naturally...

March 31st - Yuki's Birthday April 1st - Haru's Birthday

Around this time, Yuki can't help pulling away from Haru, who was always next to him. That's annoying. He disliked himself for thinking this way sometimes.

While Yuki always got a bit moody around now, Haru was forever like a child. It was impossible to explain that frustration to him. They didn't go fishing these days because they got into fights over the smallest things. Urara had been pretty troubled because of that. He's a really nice guy.

Yuki had been trying hard to think about a birthday present for Haru. He thought of a surprise and then went 'oh, well' and contradicted himself again. It had been like this since yesterday.

But... oh well.

Yuki wasn't sure why, but he had a feeling that all his moodiness will be gone when he sees Natsuki and Akira again tomorrow.

There was something he wants to tell Natsuki.

Yuki recently met up with his real father. He didn't remember how long it had been, but it made him happy. But even though they went fishing together, it wasn't really exciting. They didn't know what to talk about and parted without making any plans for a next time.

Yuki wanted to talk to Natsuki about that.

After finishing up with work, Yuki went back to the empty house and got into the futon alone to remember the last year and a half from the beginning again.

Where should I start...?

Thinking about that, his thoughts got all messy and he fell asleep before he knew it.

And so came March 31st. The day of the memorable four person reunion.

But Haru didn't come back.

Even though he was looking forward to it so much...

Yuki was pissed off, sad, and for some reason lonely, and for the first time in a long time, and only on a day like this, his Hannya face returned!

After Natsuki and Akira laughed at his face and took a lot of pictures with their phones, the group went to the East Promenade of Katase Fishing Port near HEMINGWAY, where he'd fished for the first time, and fished together.

Natsuki was working towards becoming a professional bass fisherman in California under the guidance of an American bass pro. His hair was as shaggy as when Yuki first met him, and Yuki was glad to see that he was concentrating on fishing. For a birthday present Natsuki gave him a dark blue cap "for everyday use or for fishing".

It seemed that Natsuki had learned about more than just bass fishing in California.

"I am in nature every day. Everyone calls it "nature," but it doesn't really have a name. When you are in it every day, it sometimes seems like you don't have a name either." he said and Yuki didn't quite get it, but it was good.

Akira, now twenty-seven years old, currently lives in Finland and seems to be fishing as usual. For a moment Yuki thought he had brought two Tapiocas, but it seems like it was Tapioca with her lover. Yuki was surprised that it was a different one from the one he'd heard about before.

Yuki and Natsuki laughed when they saw Tapioca sharing the ham that Akira had given her with her lover, but Akira didn't laugh, instead he let out a long breath through his nose and looked at the ocean.

Yuki was given a brightly designed apron by Akira. "You've been cooking lately, haven't you?" Akira had a good memory, probably because of his job.

Yuki said, "Thanks," and then added, without looking at the two of them, "Grandma's fine, by the way." He somehow had gotten the feeling they were worried about that.

Ironically, it was Akira who was most worried about Haru's disappearance.

"Sometimes there are aliens. Sometimes there are aliens who suddenly disappear..."

But Haru didn't disappear.

Whenever he got into one of those "annoying" situations that are so common these days, he turned into a yellow fish and retreated into his goldfish bowl. His temporary home was in a place Yuki doesn't frequent these days, so he couldn't find him. It's the hospital room where Kate iwas staying.

Kate had been here more often than not lately.

Today, Haru swam in the goldfish bowl on Kate's bedside table and talked.

"Yuki says 'Things are changing, aren't they?'"

Haru felt that Yuki has been cold these days. He was in a bad mood and doesn't hang out with Haru as much as before. But Yuki says "no matter who, no matter what, nobody can avoid changing".

"Yuki has changed! He doesn't come to see you, Kate, and our house is a mess."

"There are also times like this," Kate said, "That isn't all there is to Yuki."

"I know. Yuki makes good food. Urara has also gotten better."

"Haven't you changed as well, Haru?"

"Not at all. I hate change!"

"Oh, but haven't you been saying 'it's such a pain' a lot lately?"

"I... might have been saying something like that..."

A year ago, Haru came back to Enoshima because he didn't want to be without Yuki. He thought they'd be together until they died.

"... but it doesn't look like that's going to be true..."

"Certainly..."

Coco, who had returned to their home planet, had told Haru to come back soon. And definitely, their home planet was pleasant and enjoyable. Haru always told Coco that it also feels really good here, but recently he'd been wondering if that's actually true. He's felt a lot of loneliness and sadness.

That's what he thought when the typhoon shook the house.

"But 'sadness' isn't just sad."

Haru's reply was a tantrum-like whine. "I don't get it!!"

"After all... Even when you feel sad, you eat when you're hungry. You laugh when you hear something funny, right? "

"Yeah."

"Nothing is ever just the one thing. So don't decide it is, Haru. Look, even though I'm alive, I might also have died already."

"Kate is alive!"

"That's right. Surprisingly, I haven't died yet. That's what I mean. Sometimes it feels like it's over, but then surprisingly it's not. I'm always excited to find out what happens."

"Que sera, sera!"

That was something the two of them said in a chorus.

And as Kate said, Haru was sad and still, he laughed.

In the end, only Natsuki caught three fish. Yuki and Akira got nothing. Afterwards, they lazed around on the grass in front of HEMMINGWAY and, as if they had agreed on it, fell silent.

As Yuki listened to the soothing sound of the waves, he thought that he had expected everyone to talk much more, about many things.. It was so quiet that he sneaked a glance at the others' profiles.

Natsuki seemed to be looking beyond the sky, while Akira seemed to be looking even beyond that.

After a long silence, the topic of 'what if the world ended tomorrow' came up.

"First I'll ascertain that that's actually the truth," Akira replied.

"Sorry for being boring, but I'l probably be fishing," Natsuki said. "And you, Yuki?"

As he was asked by Natsuki, Yuki pushed a thought of Haru's smiling face out of his mind and replied: "I'd probably be with grandma." He felt like he could hear Haru saying "You haven't visited her at all lately" in the back of his mind, but he pushed that out too.

Haru didn't show up after all.

Giving Haru his presents was postponed until tomorrow and the party broke up much earlier than Yuki had expected.

Natsuki had wanted to go home since they were wishing. Yuki first thought he wanted to see Sakura, but then he remembered little Satsuki was also there and that was probably it. When talking about his youngest sister who couldn't even talk yet, Natsuki smiled so much that he didn't even seem like Natsuki.

"If she cries, what do I do? I see her over smartphone sometimes, but she still doesn't recognize me as her older brother."

Akira seemed to still be in Enoshima tomorrow, but he hadn't said where he was staying.

As they parted, Yuki slipped in the story about going fishing with his father. Natsuki and Akira looked a little surprised, but quickly recovered.

"There's still a lot of stuff," Natsuki said, "It may not work out at first, but I think it will in the future."

"I wonder..."

"I'm sure of it. I feel like you once told me you were jealous of me, but now I'm jealous of you."

"I think so as well," said Akira. He looked straight at Yuki and continued as if he had been prepared for this all along. "Yuki, don't worry too much. You saved the world here, but from now on you'll save yourself. If you start worrying about important things before they've even started, you won't be in charge of your own body and mind."

After all, Akira was an adult.

Yuki wasn't sure what to say or do, but Natsuki gently poked him.

"Get along with Haru." When Yuki didn't know what to say yet again, the other two looked at each other and laughed.

What's with those two...

The three of them parted ways there. They did not make any concrete plans for tomorrow.

After all, the thing Yuki had been afraid of, the question "What are you going to do in the future?" had not come up. Nobody asked it, though they may have wondered in their hearts.

The sun was setting before Yuki knew it.

"No way," Yuki muttered as he looked out to the sea. If he met up with Natsuki and Akira, all this moodiness would surely disappear. That couldn't be true.

When he came to, he was running. It had been a while so he was immediately out of breath.

Pathetic. I'm still only 19.

There was someone waving in the distance and it was Haru, after all.

"Happy Birthday, Yuki!"

"You too..."

"I'm only tomorrow!"

"I know."

"Here, your present!"

They had both gotten each other lures. They're similar at first glance, but if you looked at them closely, they were completely different lures.

Yuki should have been pissed off, but he had to laugh.

"That's a cute lure! Thank you, Yuki!"

"... yeah. Thank you as well."

"Hey Yuki, become my friend again!"

"What's with that..."

"Please! Say it's okay, please, pleeeaaaase!"

Haru was clinging to Yuki's arm in a tantrum. Yuki still didn't like it, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"We'll be friends again." He decided to accept the strange proposal. "I don't really get it, but let's get along."

Haru jumped in joy, just when Urara stepped out to call them for dinner.

"The Miso is read Miso with whitebait today."

Even though Yuki was simply told what's for dinner, his feelings seemed to reset.

Is that what a mother looks like?

Mother? No, that's an alien.

Yuki felt kind of embarrassed and laughed, blaming it on the bright glare of the setting sun.

As he sighed at being dragged inside by the arm by Haru, Yuki thought that tomorrow he should go fishing with Haru, Urara, Natsuki and Akira, and after that he should visit his grandma.

#tsuritama #yuki sanada #natsuki usami #akira agarkar yamada #haru (jf1)#translations #short films

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