#shindou: IT WAS RIGHT BESIDE ME BEFORE IT DISAPPEARED THOUGH SO IT WAS YOU WHO TOOK IT?? I KNEW IT WAS SUSPICIOUS WHEN YOU BARGED IN-

[calice-says]

Tenma: Oh yeah, the first time I went to Shindou-san's house was when I was returning his notebook that I stol— I mean, that I saw lying around in the library.

Shindou:

Shindou: You said 'stole' just now, didn't you???

Tenma: You're hallucinating.

[thefinalcinderella]

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru Chapter 5 - Summer Clouds (Part 1)

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

1. Shiso a.k.a. perilla is a plant used a lot in Japanese cuisine

2. This is callback to Chapter 4 when Nico-chan mentions “ Don’t they say that men who are bad at driving are bad with that too?”

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“We can’t train in this heat.”

“But if we don’t train, we won’t have a place to live…”

Kakeru listened to the conversation going on behind him while he was boiling somen noodles for lunch. Jouta and Jouji were sprawled out in the hallway by the front door, cooling off.

Ever since Kiyose collapsed, the residents of Chikusei-sou had been more careful about their health: they had all decided to get anemia tests done once a month by the neighborhood physician who had made the house call, there was a range of supplements stocked in the kitchen, and, before going to bed, there were massage battles going on in various rooms.

Even so, there was nothing to be done about the heat.

Now that the midyear exams for university were over and summer vacation was upon them, the air temperature was boiling to an almost violent degree. Chikusei-sou—of course—didn’t have air conditioning, so the front door and the doors of each room were left open. The residents, seeking a place where they could pass the time even just a bit more comfortably, crawled around the hallways like slugs.

The heat and vapor rising from the big pot instantly stuck to Kakeru’s skin and changed into sweat. He nimbly transferred the somen to a colander and ran it under running water, then put the noodle soup base, mineral water, and ice on the dining table.

“It’s done!” he called out while wiping his sweat with the shoulder of his T-shirt. The twins slowly got up.

Jouta took a look at the table and complained, “It’s so bare. Tell me there’s condiments, at least.”

“Haiji-san is picking shiso (1) in the yard right now.”

Placing the colander heaped with somen noodles in the center of the table, Kakeru struck the bottom of the empty pot with a ladle. The residents, looking like snakes on the verge of death, appeared from here and there and gathered in the kitchen.

“How much shiso is Haiji getting?”

“Shindou is not here either. I wonder what happened.”

“In any case, the landlord’s heartless. He didn’t have to get so angry.”

“I guess we deserved it, though.”

The residents sighed as they dexterously slurped their somen.

The night Kiyose collapsed, the worried landlord had tried to enter Chikusei-sou. Shindou and Musa desperately tried to keep him out, not letting him cross the threshold.

The next day, the landlord, suspicious, entered Chikusei-sou while the residents were at school. Immediately at the front door he discovered the hole in the twins’ room. The landlord’s sadness deepened at the sight of the hole in the rundown apartment he treasured like his own child, so gathering the residents, he made an announcement.

“I need money for repairs for Chikusei-sou. In order to save up money, I’m raising the rent.”

“What!”

“Don’t ‘what’ me! Didn’t you say something along the lines of ‘We’re going to do well in the Hakone Ekiden and get a powerful sponsor to set up a new training camp’?!”

“No sponsor’s gonna go that far,” Jouta, the one responsible for making the hole, grumbled, but he fell silent at the landlord’s glare.

“You all seem to have more than enough energy, so Hakone should be a walk in the park for you. If you don’t want the rent to increase, do whatever it takes to get to Hakone.”

If they provoked him any further, the elderly landlord might suddenly die from too much rage, so they could only obediently say in unison, “Understood.”

“There’s absolutely no way I can move. I want to train for the sake of leaving the rent where it is as well, but…” Prince, who was hoarding manga in his room, said. “Running in the summer is, to put it bluntly, an act of suicide, isn’t it? What do other track teams do?”

“Most of them hold training camps somewhere cool. Like in Hokkaido,” Kakeru answered.

“Hokkaido!”

Jouji became spellbound with just that word. Crabs, sea urchins, ramen…it was so easy to see what he was thinking about that it was practically reflected in the soup. Kakeru coughed, deciding that the sooner he brought him back to reality, the less painful it would be.

“It’s impossible for us. We don’t have the money.”

Right when a disappointed Jouji was gulping down his somen along with the melted ice, Kiyose and Shindou ran into the kitchen.

“You’re late, Haiji. We’re finished eating,” said Nico-chan as Kiyose pushed the shiso leaves onto him.

“Let’s escape this scorching hell called Tokyo. We’re going on a training camp.”

The twins stood. “Hokkaido?!”

“No, Lake Shirakaba.”

It lacked the impact of Hokkaido, but Lake Shirakaba, located in the Tateshina highlands, was also a famous summer retreat.

“But, what are we going to do for the lodging fees?” Kakeru asked.

“A supporter from the shopping district is going to help us,” Kiyose said. “We’re staying at a vacation home near Lake Shirakaba that belongs to the owner of ‘Batting Center Okai.’ The food for the training camp will be provided by Yaokatsu and some others, and we’ll use the Aotake van to make the roundtrip, so it won’t cost that much.”

“Don’t worry about fundraising,” Shindou assured. “We’re advertising to the shopping district and the university staff that we’re aiming for Hakone, so our sponsors will surely increase. Besides, Nico-chan-senpai’s wire dolls are selling better than expected.”

“What?” Nico-chan said, stunned. His hands stopped plucking the shiso and dividing them among the bowls of unfinished somen. “You’re selling them? Where in the world would anyone buy something like that and for what reason?”

“I had them put in the general store, and they’re popular with girls. They’re calling them things like dolls for warding off evil spirits and ‘disgustingly cute!’ and stuff like that.” Shindou smiled. “Please keep making more from now on.”

“Hooray! Training camp, training camp!”

Jouta and Jouji took each other’s hands and rejoiced. Prince had already disappeared from the kitchen; it seemed that he had gone to his room to study what manga he was going to bring to the training camp. Everyone dreamed of a fun summer training camp.

A refreshing wind blowing across the lake shore. A beautiful girl in a white dress, riding in a swan boat with her while gnawing on roasted corn. Even when autumn finally arrives, our love will never end. We promise to meet again in Tokyo, and in the middle of a thicket of white birch trees, we shed tears over our brief parting…

“That was what I imagined, but…” Jouji got a sulky look on his face. “Why is reality like this?”

The vacation home they were borrowing from the batting center owner didn’t seem to have been used in a long time and it had half rotted away.

With Kiyose driving the white van, the group arrived at the home in the coniferous forest by Lake Shirakaba and finished the first day of camp by cleaning the rooms. With the floors scrubbed, the bath polished, and the fireplace soot swept away, the log house finally seemed to come back to life a bit.

The home built between the trees looked like a log den made by a bear at first glance. Now that they had finished fixing it up, it somewhat seemed like a dwelling for humans. Relieved, Kakeru threw the gathered branches into the fireplace.

“Jouji, your imagination is too cliché,” Jouta said, his face pitch black from the soot. “I knew it was going to turn out like this.”

As far as they could see during the day, it seemed to be mostly families and old couples that came to Lake Shirakaba to escape the heat. The swan boats were drearily swaying with the ripples on the water and music was flowing out from the small amusement park by the lake.

“It is good to feel cool, though.” Musa was wearing a hoodie over his T-shirt. “It will be almost cold when the sun sets.”

When Kakeru made a fire in the fireplace, people individually came to gather around it. It was pitch dark outside the window, and all they could hear was the rustling of the treetops.

“I’ve finished preparing for dinner; all that’s left is adding the roux,” Kiyose, who had been staring into the flames for a while, said. “Before that, let’s go for a short run.”

“Curry again?”

“No! I used up all my energy for cleaning!”

“It’s so dark, what if we get hit by a car?”

Kiyose, of course, didn’t heed their protests. As though urged forward like cattle, they put on their shoes and all went out to the unpaved forest path.

“We don’t even know the route yet.” Nico-chan scratched his head. “Which way’s the lake?”

“If we go down the slope, we’ll eventually reach the lakeside.”

With Yuki’s guidance, they formed a line and started running. Kiyose, who was at the end, gave instructions.

“One lap around the lake is 3.8 kilometers. Once everyone’s done three laps, we’ll return to the cabin and eat dinner.”

“Yes!”

When they arrived at the paved lakeside road, they started running at their own pace. The souvenir shop and small art gallery already had their shutters down, and except for a couple of large hotels, there were no other buildings with lights on. They followed this brand new route to explore it, without enjoying the scenery. 

Kakeru was next to Kiyose, running along the night road that drew a gentle curve. The presence of water nearing the shore was their only reference.

Running in a different atmosphere and on a different road from usual didn’t make Kakeru feel anxious—the sense of distance was hammered into his body. If he heard beforehand that one lap was 3.8 kilometers, then he was automatically able to grasp where he was running at that moment from his speed and bodily sensations.

The elation and fun of running in an unfamiliar land filled Kakeru.

“Where’s the coach?” he asked Kiyose running next to him. “Is he still at the go parlor?”

“Who knows. He’ll join us before long.” Kiyose tilted his head to the side a little. “For some reason, the landlord doesn’t want to ride in the car when I’m driving.”

That morning, when they were departing from Chikusei-sou, the landlord saw them off in the yard. He watched with satisfaction as the food they received from the shopping district was loaded into the back of the van, but in the end did not try to get in himself.

“But Haiji-san, you’ve gotten so much better at driving.”

After he said that, Kakeru thought, Crap, that’s not a good follow-up. However, it was true that Kiyose was improving in his driving skills at a tremendous pace; some people even fell asleep on the way to Lake Shirakaba. At the time of the first TSU meet, when they were stiff in their seats or about to pass out like they were riding a space shuttle doing an acrobatic flight, they couldn’t imagine entrusting their bodies to Kiyose at the wheel and falling asleep.

“I’m a fast learner when it comes to anything,” Kiyose said matter-of-factly. “I’m fastidious, so I throw myself into studying and training wholeheartedly.”

Recalling that common saying mentioned before (2), Kakeru, feeling gloomy, said, “Eh, then, for that too...” but didn’t have the courage to ask him. 

“Is that so? I see,” he said instead, nodding.

After passing the lagging members, Kakeru and Kiyose were the first to return to the house. After running three laps around the lake, the chilliness of the damp, highland night air didn’t bother them anymore. To relax his body, Kakeru filled the bath with hot water while Kiyose pressed a plastic bag filled with ice to his right calf to prevent inflammation in his burdened muscles.

“How are you feeling?”

“There’s no issue.” Kiyose smiled. “Go ahead and take a bath.”

When Kakeru got out of the bath and took Kiyose’s place in the kitchen to stir the curry pot, everyone else returned from jogging. They took off their sweat-drenched T-shirts and trudged off to the bath.

The sounds of fighting for the shower and off-key humming could be heard even in the kitchen. Kiyose was apparently thrown out of the bath. With his hair still wet, he opened the lid of the rice cooker, and Kakeru helped him arrange the dinner dishes on the huge slab of a table.

A heap of curry, rice, and salad; milk mixed with protein powder; peaches for dessert; everything was food donated by the shopping district.

After everyone had refreshed themselves in the bath, they went to the dining table. They were just about to grab a spoon to eat when…

“Wait a minute,” Kiyose said. “There’s not enough people here.”

They looked at each other. Musa and Shindou weren’t there.

“This is strange. Even Prince-san came back.”

“I don’t think there was anyone in front of me or behind me when I was running my last lap,” Prince said, tilting his head.

“You don’t think they got lost, do you?” King stood and looked outside from the dining room window.

“Did anyone happen to catch sight of Musa and Shindou on their way back here?” Kiyose asked.

No one raised their hands. Nico-chan went upstairs, and then they heard the sound of the second floor lights being turned on to mark their spot in the woods.

“Where did they go?”

“Shouldn’t we go search for them?”

The twins made worried suggestions.

“No. It’d be bad if more of us got lost. Let’s wait for a while.”

Though he said that, Kiyose was probably out of his mind with worry. They opened the door and stared at the forest path submerged in darkness. No matter how much they strained their ears, they couldn’t hear Musa and Shindou’s footsteps. The curry was getting cold, but now was not the time for dinner.

Kakeru stood at the door with Kiyose. Nico-chan, who came down from upstairs, patted Kiyose’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, even if they have to sleep outdoors for the night, they’ll be fine.”

Right at that moment, the kitchen door behind them burst open. When they turned around in shock, Musa and Shindou were just entering from the side of the kitchen.

There was a steep, pathless slope behind the kitchen. Kakeru was stunned, never thinking that Musa and Shindou would appear from there.

Musa and Shindou started shouting.

“This is bad, this is bad!”

“TSU has also come to Lake Shirakaba!”

Collecting themselves, everyone surrounded the table. As they ate their curry, Musa and Shindou told them that TSU’s clubhouse was apparently located just further up the mountain from the vacation home.

“It’s still a new building. There were lights on, so we approached it thinking it must be this house, but we could see the TSU guys having dinner through the window,” Shindou said.

“By the way, they’re having yakiniku. I believe it is the highest-quality wagyu beef,” Musa supplemented.

King was silent, and then gulped down his minced pork curry.

“Why did you climb up the mountain?” Kiyose asked.

“It is not as though we wanted to climb it.”

“We got lost on the path because it was dark.”

Musa and Shindou both spoke quickly.

“Shindou, aren’t you used to mountains?”

“I am, but I also have no sense of direction.”

“I am the same. To the point that even in my home country, my parents warned me not to go into the savannah, even if my friends invited me.”

Kakeru spoke to Kiyose, who was rubbing his temples, in a small voice. “What are we going to do, Haiji-san? You were planning to enter Shindou-san for the Hakone mountain climb section, weren’t you?”

“Aah,” Kiyose groaned. “We might be able to see the first real-time Hakone disaster drama in Ekiden TV broadcast history.”

“They have a leading car, so I don’t think that’ll happen,” Yuki laughed scornfully. “But if push comes to shove, we’ll have to leave it to Shindou’s wild sense of smell. We’ll have him push through Hakone’s trackless mountain paths and cut ahead to Lake Ashi first.”

“Is—is that possible?” Jouji, who overheard their conversation, brightly asked.

“Of course not. If you go off the route, you’ll be disqualified,” Kiyose chided.

“Apparently someone did it before,” King said, showing off his miscellaneous knowledge. As expected of a quiz enthusiast, he had also looked up trivia about the Hakone Ekiden.

“This was in the Taisho era, when there were only about four competing schools. Apparently, the thing all the schools were most enthusiastic about wasn’t training, but finding a shortcut through the mountains of Hakone. Well, it was an idyllic time where there were no radio relay broadcasts for the Hakone Ekiden.”

“Isn’t that cheating?” Prince said while peeling a peach. Nico-chan laughed as he took a second helping of rice.

“Sounds like something a university student would think of.”

Kakeru conjured up Taisho-era students running along the animal trails of Hakone in his mind: rivals desperately competing against each other, but also trying to figure out a way to make things a little easier. The figures of silly and cheerful students hadn’t changed much from then til now.

“Let’s find a shortcut if we pass the qualifiers.”

“I said you can’t.”

“The problem is TSU. What should we do?” Yuki asked.

“We’ll definitely bump into them on the path along the lake,” Shindou muttered.

Kakeru was wordlessly filled with fighting spirit. Like hell he was going to be overtaken by a TSU runner, even for jogging.

“Don’t fight,” Kiyose cautioned. “There’s only one lake. Let’s compromise and run together peacefully.”

Everyone in Chikusei-sou covered themselves with blankets on the vacation home’s second floor and slept in a huddle, and rose with the twittering of small birds. The first thing they would do was to stretch and go for a jog in the clean air before breakfast. With that in mind, they all headed out to the lakeside path where they immediately ran into the runners from TSU. The TSU track team members, dressed in matching jerseys, had just finished their morning meeting in the parking lot of the souvenir store before it opened. About fifty of them were about to start jogging in ranks, grouped by level.

The head coach and several people who looked like assistant coaches rode separately in cars, accompanying each group. The well-coordinated TSU members started running in order of seniority. “Wow…” Jouji breathed in honest admiration.

The Kansei University long-distance track team only consisted of the ten people from Chikusei-sou. They didn’t hold a meeting before practice, and their coach was absent as usual. Their clothing was all over the place as well; the twins, for example, were wearing extremely colorful Hawaiian shirts that considerably spoiled the scenery of Lake Shirakaba.

The TSU first-year Sakaki seemed to have noticed them. He whispered something to the teammate he was running with. A murmur speedily spread through the TSU group, and they—especially the first-years—turned and looked back at Kakeru and the others one after another.

“This is somewhat tough,” Musa said, getting fainthearted. King, who got nervous easily, seemed like he was about to return to the vacation home.

“Let’s go.” Kakeru was as confident as could be; he never fell behind in running. To anyone.

“What’s with this morning energy…”

While grumbling, everyone at Chikusei-sou seemed to let themselves be influenced by Kakeru and started running.

Kiyose said, “Leave Kakeru alone. Keep your own pace.”

Kakeru laughed a little when he heard that. Even though he told them to leave him alone, sure enough, Kiyose immediately caught up to him. Ahead of them, Sakaki glanced back and beckoned them with his hand behind his back.

“Don’t take the bait.”

“I can take it and surpass him.”

“Don’t throw off your rhythm. This morning’s jog is at a pace of five kilometers in twenty minutes.”

Kakeru looked at Kiyose. Kiyose was running forward with a calm expression on his face. He looked like he was listening carefully to the sounds of his own body. The TSU group and the bikes that sometimes passed them didn’t seem to exist at all to Kiyose, who was beginning to concentrate on running; he was simply moving his body silently in the space between the lake and coniferous forest.

“Yes,” Kakeru said.

He followed Kiyose’s example and stopped caring about Sakaki anymore. Five kilometers in twenty minutes. When he ran at this speed, he was only conscious of the functioning of his muscles and heart. It wasn’t a painful pace; he had room to confirm that his blood was circulating around his mind and body.

The birds were singing with clear voices towards the sun that was actively beginning to rise, and the wind blowing from high up on the mountain made small waves on the lake surface.

What is strength? Kakeru suddenly thought about that again. For example, this calmness of Haiji-san’s. Without wavering, calmly, running in his own world. I can run with a better time than him, but I’m not sure I’m stronger than him. I lose my cool easily, and all I can think about is how I don’t want to lose.

Kakeru wanted to know. He wanted to know what strength was and what he was lacking. It was the first time he had ever felt that way. Until now, he had always been running as his body demanded—as though he was being urged on by something.

Kiyose didn’t restrict or coerce the idiosyncratic members, instead trying to flexibly guide them. Kakeru looked back: the residents of Chikusei-sou were running along the lakeside path. While their abilities still varied a lot, they had solid forms and were working hard on jogging. Even though they had complained so much in the spring, through their hard work these last three months, they had managed to end up looking like members of a track team.

Kakeru faced forward again and cast down his eyes. His consciousness was stretching around, from his toes that kicked at the ground to the flow of his fingertips as his arms swung through the air.

If I follow Haiji-san, then I’m sure I will be able to see something. Something sparkling that I’ve always wanted to see.

The TSU first-years, with Sakaki at the center, were messing with Kansei University.

When they were running on the lakeshore path, they spread out in a horizontal line to block their path. They would run and surround Kakeru as a group, putting pressure on him. They did these things behind the head coach’s and their upperclassmen’s backs, making fun of them repeatedly.

Kakeru didn’t care much about it; he had gotten used to such harassment during club activities and competitions throughout high school. If he got surrounded, he could just break free and move ahead, and if his way got blocked, he could just overtake them by going out into the oncoming lane.

However, almost all the residents of Chikusei-sou were little more than beginners; they didn’t have any strategies for running. They completely shrivelled up under the TSU first-years’ harassment and had their pace disturbed.

“They’re doing something immature.”

Even Kiyose, who had been watching the situation from the beginning, finally couldn’t keep quiet anymore. When they finished their evening jog, they went to speak to them.

There were about twenty TSU first-years, and they were hanging out in the souvenir store parking lot. Kiyose approached them without any sign of flinching. But they couldn’t let Kiyose be the only one to go through something risky, so Kakeru and the others hurriedly chased after him.

The sound of the cicadas resounded miserably in the lakeshore air. “I’d say each of us beating up two people is a good rate,” Nico-chan said, cracking his fingers, and Musa rolled his ankles to loosen them. The TSU first-years stopped chatting and turned towards them. The runners from the two schools stood facing each other in the middle of the parking lot.

“I would like you all to stop interfering with our training.” Kiyose broke the ice quietly. Sakaki stepped out from the TSU group.

“And we would like you to stop with the false accusations. Do you have any proof that we interfered with you?”

“We do,” Yuki said, then took his phone out and thrust it at them. On the standby screen, they could clearly see the TSU students running spread out across the entire path, and Kakeru running cramped behind them.

“I wanted to be able to check my form later. And when I did that, I got some interesting shots.”

“I understand how you feel, but leave your phone behind,” Kiyose cautioned Yuki. “If you run with unnecessary stuff in your pockets, it will ruin the balance of your form.”

Is that actually the problem here? Kakeru thought. He didn’t like Yuki’s actions because he was being too studious, but he was also afraid of Kiyose, who was unfazed by this and only thought about running. Even Sakaki looked astounded and uncomfortable.

Kiyose turned back to the TSU first-years.

“That’s all I have to say. I don’t want to show this out-of-focus photo to your head coach or captain if I can help it. I hope you understand.”

“Of course I do.” Sakaki smiled thinly. “TSU is seriously training to go to Hakone. We can’t be bothered with people who are running on a whim.”

“We’re on the same page, then.” Kakeru saw a vein appear on Kiyose’s temple. “It’s really annoying when people interrupt your serious practice with childish harassment.”

Kiyose and Sakaki glared at each other furiously. Haiji-san, Kakeru whispered, gently putting his hand on his arm to calm him.

“I think we have different definitions of serious,” Sakaki said in a harsh tone. “Why don’t we have a match? You ten and ten first-years from our school will run along the lakeside and compete for time.”

Kakeru’s brain seethed at the blatant challenge. He turned to Sakaki and yelled, “Let’s do this!”

He understood that Sakaki was devoted to running, but he still couldn’t forgive him for looking down on the residents of Chikusei-sou. Sakaki’s attitude was like seeing himself as he was until recently, and he felt unbearably displeased. This time it was Kiyose who grabbed Kakeru by the arm in order to hold him back, but he shook him off and continued to say, “You have something you want to say to me? If that’s the case, you and I should compete instead. Just because you can’t beat me doesn’t mean that you can drag other people into it!”

 “You never change, Kurahara, you’re as overconfident as ever.”

Sakaki also accepted the challenge without faltering. People from both schools cut in between the two, who seemed like they were about to start exchanging blows at any minute. Kakeru, with his arms pinned behind his back by Nico-chan, glared at Sakaki who was still breathing hard, flapping his legs and trying to kick Kakeru with his arms also held down by his teammate.

“Is this the time for a match?” Kiyose said quietly, as if to admonish Kakeru and Sakaki. “Focus all your attention on training.”

Sakaki’s teammate released his arms, and he straightened his dishevelled jersey. He looked at Kakeru and everyone from Chikusei-sou in order.

“Is it fun?” Sakaki asked in a low voice. “Is it fun to run with the comrades you finally made, Kurahara?”

“Enough,” Kiyose interrupted and then turned his back to Sakaki. “Let’s go back,” Kiyose prompted, but Kakeru didn’t move.

Don’t you dare use words like “comrade.” He was so angry and frustrated that the core of his head hurt. Kakeru escaped from Nico-chan’s arm bind and stood still while still glaring at Sakaki. Sakaki continued.

“Are you satisfied running around happily with a bunch of guys who sing your praises to the skies?”

“No!”

Weren’t you guys the ones who were always praising my speed? And yet, there was a bunch of jealousy and feelings of rivalry behind the scenes. I hated that high school track team. Pretending to be friendly on the surface and sabotaging each other behind the scenes, I hate you guys so much I wanna throw up.

Kakeru wanted to say that, but he was so angry that he couldn’t form the words. In a corner of his mind, he knew that there was nothing he could do no matter what Sakaki said.

Sakaki can’t forgive what I did. Endure it. Chanting that in his mind, Kakeru clenched his fists. It’s my fault he wasn’t able to take part in the last high school meet, so it’s natural he’s angry. If I just imagine it’s Nira barking, I can endure it.

“Even though you’re running around so happily now, why couldn’t you do it before? Why would you do something that invalidated all our hard work? All you had to do was endure it a little.”

I can’t, I can’t endure it anymore. Nira is cute, but Sakaki isn’t at all! Grilled by Sakaki, Kakeru easily threw away his endurance.

“I’m not much good at enduring, you know!” he hit back with a force that would make even a lion run away. I’m the one who wants to know “why”. Why did you guys just stay silent and endure that suffocating team atmosphere? The words flooded his chest, but it always took Kakeru a long time before he could say them. Kakeru’s counterattack was abruptly trampled upon by Sakaki’s vigor, which was like a marching elephant.  

“You’re pretty full of yourself Kurahara!” Sakaki said in one breath with a low tone. “I’m guessing you thought you would be the only one who’d get an invitation from the university even if you weren’t in the meet, but too bad. You, at the end of the day, are selfish and egotistical…”

“I thought I told you that’s enough.”

Kiyose’s chilly voice froze the two who had the appearance of beasts battling in the savannah. Kakeru came to his senses and stealthily peeked at Kiyose, who was standing right behind him. Kiyose was expressionless as ice. Behind him, the twins were frantically warning him with body and hand gestures: “Stop it already” and “Haiji-san’s about to explode.”

When he perceived that Kakeru had lost his will to fight, Kiyose turned his penetratingly cold gaze to Sakaki.

“I understand your own grievances. But Kakeru’s a runner for Kansei University now. I want you to stop hurting and upsetting people so excessively.”

We’re going back now, Kiyose announced, and pushed Kakeru towards the forest path. Pulled by the hem of his shirt, Kakeru started walking with him.

“What did Kakeru do to Sakaki-kun?”

“Who knows? But I kinda get the feeling he’s pretty popular?”

King and Jouta sneakily let their imaginations run wild. Come now, Kiyose said, and the residents of Chikusei-sou started leaving the parking lot.

“The rest of you better be careful, he might betray you at the last minute.”

Kiyose turned slightly and smiled at the words Sakaki cast their way.

“We’ll show you how happily and seriously we’re running in the qualifiers. Oh, but you guys have your hands full with chores and odd jobs, so you might not have the time to watch us. Well, do your best to earn a regular position.”

“Who’s the immature one here?”

“Haiji’s getting pretty nasty.”

Nico-chan’s and Yuki’s shoulders were shaking. The fight for a regular position was irrelevant to the Kansei track club, so they were carefree and at ease.

“It means that even a small club with only ten people has its good points.” Musa looked at the frustrated TSU first-years with pity.

Kakeru peeked at Kiyose, walking next to him. The vein had disappeared, but he still had a grim expression on his face, and it seemed he was deep in thought about something. He had caused trouble again. He desperately swallowed down the sigh that was about to spill out of him.

“I’m sorry, Haiji-san.”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

Thinking that he really was angry, Kakeru hesitated before rechoosing his words.

“Thank you, Haiji-san.”

“You’re welcome,” Kiyose said. The curve of his cheek was softer than before. I see, I should say thank you in times like these, Kakeru realized for the first time. Because Haiji-san stood up for me. His anger and frustration cleared away. With his feelings lightened, Kakeru started running.

“Get the bath running,” Kiyose told him, and he raised a hand in response.

Even in the highland wind that blew in from the night, Kakeru’s body remained warm.

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[masahikass]

okay so since i couldn’t resist, here’s some info about my random ie:go steven universe!au because i have no energy for online lessons :)

also i didn’t want to post about another au since @/primsbean is making so many posts about her ie:go madoka magica!au which i fUCKING LOVE OHMYGOD- but yeah, alternate universes are my favorite snacc. i have another one to talk about but first let’s say things about the SU one <3

under the cut because it’s LONG - and remember i’m not a native english so i might do some mistakes

okay so first of all, don’t blame me if there will be some events that don’t follow the plot (since i’m NOT remaking steven universe with ie charas!!!!! please keep this in mind) or events that Rebecca Sugar would have never inserted in her show. I respect everyone who worked at steven universe, and my intention is not to say their plot/story was bad, i’m just adding something that did never happen with any chara in the su series to make my au more original, that’s it. peace and love oN THE PLANET EARTH- okay that was the best su song hands down

also keep in mind gems don’t have “gemmic” names (if you know just a little of the su series, you should know all the gems are named after their gem, but i wont give that kind of names to the ie boys - or should i call them gems then? lol)

all the gems - for now - will be males too (as there werent any og male gems in steven universe besides steven, which is an hybrid though so...)

i will list each chara’s gem and ability after the general plot <3

so, the actual protags (though all the charas are!!! these are the two) are Tenma and Fey, who are around 5,000 years old - please if you don’t remember how the gems’ years worked go search it up, there are so many threads about that - and protect inazuma city (insert shooked face) from corrupted gems’ attacks. these attacks are not really frequent and they seem to deal with the situation, but one day they start increasing, being more frequent than usual and also the gems who attack are stronger and different from the previous ones. Fey starts making a theory about a possible new attempt of the homeworld gems (i still haven’t decided which charas will “represent” them, though, since this plot is a kind of season 1 we could say??) to start colonizing Earth via war, as they already did 3,500 years before the current events but failed, with the terrestrial gems rejecting them but also losing a lot of them - since some of them got shattered during the war and others escaped to travel to other planets to start colonizing them theirselves so they could live a new, pacific life. Tenma, at first, isn’t that sure about what Fey said, but as the corrupted gems’ attacks kept increasing he realized he could have been right. as they’re the only two gems who protect their city, they start thinking they should ask help to someone, trying to find more powerful gems. 

Fey suggests to search for a trio (whose name is still not 100% sure... i randomly thought about Prism Trio just because I couldn’t remake Crystal Gems ahahah I still don’t know) which protect old war ruins in a forgotten area which is actually near Inazuma City though - but still, only some gems know about it, for example Fey did researches but Tenma knew nothing. This trio will be formed by your local ie:go chaotic trio aka Shindou, Kirino and Kariya (well, if i don’t get any more ideas for the name, then Gay Trio will be alright), who are respectively 7,600, 8,000 and 7,100 years old and actually fought in the first war. They find them fighting against a corrupted fusion, and try to join them to finish it easily and fastly. As they actually give the trio a good help, they still get scolded by them because they went in an area they shouldn’t have been to. However, the trio is still thankful to them for their help, and when Fey tells them about the situation in Inazuma City Shindou replies telling him his theory might be right as he had heard about the increasing attacks, also because the ruins were more attacked than usual in that period. Tenma kindly asks them if they could give their help back, coming with him and Fey and trying to reject the attacks together, even though he thought they’d never agree. Kirino is absolutely okay with that and shows positivity towards Tenma’s idea, while Kariya isn’t that sure since all of them should get used to a new routine, different from the one they were used to in the last millenniums. Shindou, who was neutral at the beginning, proved Kirino right since that would have been the best way to know more about the new attacks, and finally convinces Kariya to join them.

As they get in TenFey’s temple (which is the only thing IDENTICAL to the original SU one, except for the statue in the original version which is absent now), they start organizing their rooms (you know, in the temple there was that one door who led to each gem’s personal room, so the trio starts get used to them), they also keep fighting against new species of corrupted gems who keep attacking the city.

One day, then, all the five gems get to another ruins area, further from the ones the trio used to fight in, and at a moment Tenma remains alone and encounters... bepreparedtocringeihadnoideassorry... Sasuke. Yes, I did a Lion reference using Tenma’s dog instead. Original af, congrats. BY THE WAY,, he understands this gIaNt DoG (ohmygod the lion sounded better,, damn me and my dumb ideas) is related to gems somehow, and when he gets back - since Sasuke disappears after some seconds - tells the others about it, but everyone gets it as a joke and doesnt trust him. In the next fight, though, Sasuke approaches the gems and gives them help (still idk how, gotta rewatch all the lion episodes 382679345 times to get more ideas), so they all understand Tenma was right.

Some days after that, while Tenma is playing with Sasuke (gOOD BOY,,,,, I MEAN GEM,,,,,,,,,,), the dog drags him into a portal/warp (did i spell it good omg my english gets worse every day...) - just as lion sometimes does in the og series, lol - and since this warp keeps being open for some seconds, the other four gems enter it as Tenma might be in trouble alone. They all discover Sasuke led Tenma to an unknown area, which i wanted to be a desert bUT THAT LOOKS A LOT LIKE THE OG SERIES HOLY SHI- so okay, let’s make it a normal land, where there’s a fight going on. They notice a gem fighting a corrupted one all alone, and this gem seems really in need of help so they try everything to save him (oMg SpOiLeRs ThE gEm Is A mALe ToO!!11!!!111!) as they see he doesn’t have any weapon and only fights with the things he finds around himself, such as common rocks. That gem is no one else (???) than Hikaru *cries in i needed to add him hes so baby* who tells the five gems he had never seen such a powerful corrupted gem before and that he was used to reject the previous attacks in that zone more easily, and when Tenma asks him if he wants to come with him and the others to the temple Hikaru accepts without any doubt. As he gets to the temple, the others ask him if he has any weapon, but he tells them he never had the strenght to “develop” one. Perhaps, his ability (the only i’ll reveal here in the plot!!) is really useful, as he can generate light from his gem and make people and other gems blind for a limited amount of time - which, at the beginning, is really short but always increasing. He also wants to practice it as he wants to control the limit of time (for example, blinding people/gems just for a minute even if he could do for ten). When he shows his ability to the other gems, they all get blind... besides Kariya and here the ship sails *coughs* n-nothing, who is actually immune to the light’s effect. Being the only one who doesnt get blind, he starts helping Hikaru to develop his weapon.

I still haven’t thought about the rest of the plot, but there are still three characters I wanted to add. In order: Kyousuke, as an hybrid whose backstory will be way different from Steven’s in the og series (as he wasn’t born an hybrid, neither one of his parents was a gem), then Minaho and Manabe who are gems from another planet (not Homeworld, though) that are usually fused all the time... but, still, I have to think abt a plot ahah

If you’ve got this far, well... congrats? I know this is really long oh damn-

Btw, before I go, here’s the gems’ weapons and abilities as I promised! <3

Tenma: bow and arrow, he can control the wind

Fey: he basically makes grow poisonous creepers from everywhere (kind of inspired from Lapis in the og series as she generated water and could control it), controls nature in general

Shindou: sword, his voice can reach really high pitches so if he screams he can destroy things (and, maybe, he could start shattering gems too... who knows)

Kirino: lance, has a really high speed

Kariya: basically can make strong claws grow from his hands (idk how to describe it holy fuck,,, i cant draw either, if i could i’d have showed u), his ability is telekinesis

Hikaru: well, i don’t wanna spoil his weapon as i’m gonna make another post asap... i already said what his ability was, btw. also!! i didnt mention it before, but his age is around 3000 y/o

Kyousuke: katana, he can read any person’s mind for ten minutes if he had contact with them, same goes with gems but he must touch their gem in order to read their mind (age, in human years: 17)

Minaho: guns, he can understand if someone or something interacted with someone/something else just by smelling it (sounds cringe ik,, btw his age is the same as Manabe’s, 6,700)

Manabe: since i had no more ideas, don’t blame me if this sounds Peridot-ish, but he can actually generate small but powerful robots he can control and fight with, his ability is controlling technology in general.

Another last thing... these nine characters are the same of the other au i mentioned (which is way more calm than this,,, i also have more info abt that, too), so look forward to that too <3

I’mma go now, bye!

[meetingofstars]

[2D STAR VOL.6 INTERVIEW] Unicorn Jr. – If it’s you, we’ll welcome you any day

MARGINAL#4 Interview // LAGRANGE POINT Interview // ☆UNICORN Jr. Interview

May we have a simple self-introduction?

           Teruma: UNICORN Jr.’s Nakama Teruma! Unimates, please take care of me!

           Alto: Takimaru Alto. Please take care of me.

           Tsubasa: Leader, Shindou Tsubasa. Please take care of me.

           Teruma: We go by the concept of “Young unicorns stepping down from the sky”! We are the youngest in the agency but thanks to all our seniors looking out for us, we work hard every day!

 In the TV program, you were shown backstage before your debut live. At that point in time, were you nervous?

           Tsubasa: Not really. All I thought about was success. But after that incident, I did feel a little anxious, however, we were due to show the world our stage so I decided to just focus on captivating the Unimates in front of us.

           Alto: After Tsubasa’s honest comment, I don’t really have anything to follow with. But I was so nervous the only thing I could say was “hello”.

           Teruma: Me too… I could feel my heart pounding the entire time…

           Tsubasa: But we still managed to get through the live perfectly, isn’t that good enough?

 Who’s idea was it for your signature poses?

           Teruma: Who’s was it again? Alto?

           Alto: I did suggest something like maybe we should have a pose.

           Tsubasa: And from there you just started thinking of poses all on your own huh, then somehow I got dragged into this too.

           Teruma: You say that but Tsubasa, you kept saying if the pose isn’t cool you don't want to do it!

           Tsubasa: I never said something as childish as that!

           Alto: Our signature poses were all decided after some discussion.

 I see (laughs). Well then, to UNICORN Jr., how do you see your seniors, MARGINAL#4 and LAGRANGE POINT?

           Teruma: Of course, they are seniors who we respect very much! Upon first meeting, I thought they were very strict, but that was not the case. For the sake of helping us grow and improve, they put in a lot of time and effort to guide us. They are really kind seniors!

           Alto: I respect them a lot too. They take the time out of their busy schedules just to look over our lessons. They bring us out for food, and practice together with us too. They are really amazing seniors.

           Tsubasa: Well, I don't have anything that strays from what the two of them said so besides that, I feel that they are people who we have to overtake them. For the sake of being top idols, we shouldn’t just be receiving, but improving more and rising above. I want to be able to smirk at them like “Just you wait!”.

 Everyone has been singing praises about MARGINAL#4 student life. Does UNICORN Jr. have any school events that they like?

           Teruma: Of course, for me, it's the Sports Festival! I love to work out and just the thought of being able to take part in lots of sporting events gets me excited!

           Alto: It would be the Cultural Festival for me. There’s food to be eaten. Also, it has a very festive atmosphere and I like that.

           Tsubasa: For me, it’d be summer and winter holidays. During then, I can properly do my (idol) work.

           Teruma: Ehhhh, choose something more like a proper event!

           Tsubasa: I don't like it when its noisy.

           Alto: Then shall we have a quite Sports Festival next time?

           Teruma: How!?

           Alto: A walking race?

           Tsubasa: Isn’t that difficult.

 Lastly, please give a message to the readers.

           Teruma: Yes! We have just debuted recently but we’ll work hard to be big just like our seniors! So please, support us!

           Alto: It would be nice if we could become a unit that the Unimates will look out for. We’ll definitely work hard, so please expect good things from us.

           Tsubasa: We’ll show you a world where LagPo (LAGRANGE POINT) and MG4 (MARGINAL#4) isn’t there. If it’s you, we’ll welcome you any day, honey.

♞♞♞ MINI Q&A SEGMENT!

Shindou Tsubasa

Q: What is something you would like to be given the chance to do in the future?

A: A location shoot overseas. I want to meet people who don't know who I am. Also, being able to bring things that can’t be found in Japan back is one of the perks about being in this industry.

Q: Is there anything that moved you lately?

A: Moved huh… Well if it was something recent then it would be the debut live? Being moved doesn't just mean to the point of tears. Even though it wasn't cold at all, it felt as if my entire body from the top of my head to the tip of my toes were numb from electricity. That is one way of being moved, and that live was it.

Takimaru Alto

Q: What is something you would like to be given the chance to do in the future?

A: A show where I can pet animals. I want to touch fluffy animals, and also hug them. Right now, my personal boom is the red panda. I want to nuzzle my face in its chest.

Q: Is there anything that moved you lately?

A: Manga, probably. Reading the final chapter of a series that I have been following was somewhat moving that one box of tissues disappeared.

Nakama Teruma

Q: What is something you would like to be given the chance to do in the future?

A: A variety show seems interesting! Also, maybe a program directed at children! I want to be able to do something fun!

Q: Is there anything that moved you lately?

A: Un… There are quite a lot of them… Of course, there’s our debut live, the day when our unit was formed, the day of our first recording, the day when we stepped on the stage (for rehearsal) where there was no one there, they were all very moving. Ahaha, I feel moved so easily but I will definitely cherish this feeling.