VOLUME 5
Epilogue
The campus, long waiting expectantly for nightfall, was filled with the sounds of laughter and speaker music that invoked mild feelings of nostalgia.
Finally back at Toyogasaki Academy after those 48 hours of revising the scenario, I found the three day school festival finally at its climax – the late-night festival.
Looking up at the surrounding buildings, I saw they were all dark and empty – but right in the middle of the grounds, a red bonfire burned with all the students outside cl.u.s.tered thickly around it.
Despite the towering safety and environmental challenges posed by such an event, the school festival’s implementation committee worked their unknown magic to keep this good old tradition alive.
…But of course that “good” part only applies to the more popular demographic of the school.
As proof, only couples dancing to their hearts’ content could be found gathering around the fire, as their less stylish counterparts surely wished they would catch fire and burn as they looked on.
Oh, and n.o.body’s sure how it started, but for as long as I can remember, it’s been the girl who asks her desired partner to the folk dance at Toyogasaki.
It rivals reverse-patterned school excursions’ ability in the creation of couples, and would certainly make an old matchmaking woman smile.
“…Yo.”
“…Yo.”
In a corner of the campus, a short distance away from the fire:
Partnerless boys and girls were having fun in their own groups, and there was even a lone harmonica player, trilling his instrument as he stared forlornly at the fire. Meanwhile, I stood in front a girl sitting on a bench with her sketchbook spread out in front of her.
“I’m surprised you can draw in this darkness with those myopic eyes.”
“I’m fine so long as I can see the scenery. I don’t need to see my hands to know how the art will turn out.”
“…Wow, I don’t think I’ll ever get to feel that way.”
In Eriri’s sketchbook, a bonfire burned as if it was alive.
Those ignorant of her true ident.i.ty might mistake her drawing for a landscape piece produced for the Art Club, when in reality it’s a sketch for a doujin galge background.
“Did you enjoy the festival?”
“I’m surprised the director who spent the last two days stuck in his house adding to the scenario and dramatically increasing my workload can still ask me that question.”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
Looks like while we were in the middle of our bloodbath, a similarly intense battle had taken place concurrently.
“My G.o.d, you’ve been throwing these kinds of questions at me since just now! ‘Why didn’t you enter the Miss Toyogasaki pageant this year’, hmm?”
“Well, I’m not going to apologize for that. I bet even you’re glad now you’ve got a great excuse for missing it.”
“Even if I feel that way, that isn’t something I can just go around telling people, right?”
“n.o.body ever said you had to keep your hobbies a secret.”
“…Well, in the first place, you’re already breaking a huge rule by talking to me in front of so many people.”
“In tonight’s circ.u.mstances, our meeting will be but a legend.”
With the practice of girls asking boys out in effect for the day, Eriri’s usual followers were nowhere to be found.
Though I could feel the inquisitive glances from males sporadically coming from afar, there was really no reason to be worried about the pathetically moe pairing of 2D otaku (real) and golden-haired twintailed lady (fake).
“…Speaking of which, where’s Kasumigaoka Utaha? Haven’t you two been together for the past two days?”
“Just saying, but nothing happened between us, okay?”
“Oh, I know. It’s not as if that supremely lazy sweet-talking b.i.t.c.h could do anything even if she wanted to.”
“Wow, you never change, do you? And you know we’re not like that. We’re bonded by the same pa.s.sion, mind, and resplendent love between master and disciple.1 You wouldn’t understand.”
“…I don’t think she wants to understand that either.”“Anyway, Utaha-senpai’s over there.”
I gestured away from us in the direction of the courtyard as I spoke.
“She’s got stuff to talk about with Katou, apparently.”
* * *
“Oh, so you two decided on fixing it that way… Anyway, thanks for the hard work, Kasumigaoka-senpai.”
“I still don’t understand half of what you’re saying. I’m just going to ignore anything weird you say.”
“Erm, then, you know…”
“What?”
“Did senpai’s, erm, ‘real problem’ work itself out?”
“Of course not. I’ve had my hands full working on the scenario.”
“…Erm, I’m not sure what to say about that…”
“Then I would appreciate it if you say nothing at all. It’ll only upset me if you do.”
“Ah, ahaha… But…I think that’s mostly karma coming around to get you, senpai.”
“What’s…that supposed to mean?”
“Kasumigaoka-senpai, you treasure Aki-kun too much.”
“…”
“You treasure him to the extent where you place him above everybody else… If you’re wondering, running from Tamasaki to Waai City out of the blue was a good example.”2
“I see… Perhaps I’m just another ‘Ruri’ after all.”
“Erm, which means?”
“No matter how much I treasure him… Whether it’s as a younger sister, a source of inspiration, his master – I’m always treated as someone special by him, but never as his equal.”
“So the route Kasumigaoka-senpai wanted to choose was…”
“Say Katou-san, do you know the story about the jewel box of memories and the toolbox waiting on hand?”3
“Sorry, I don’t. Besides, that isn’t a very common reference, is it?”
“…I wonder about that.”
“By the way, I have one last weird thing to say, will you listen?”
“Yes?”
“Ruri’s… just another Sayuka in the end, isn’t she?”
“Katou-san…”
“I apologize if I’m wrong, but I’ve read 「Metronome in Love」 twice.”
“…I see.”
“While they’re completely unlike each other visually, there’s something about the way they think and act… that makes it seem as if Sayuka’s the real incarnation of Ruri.”
“You might have been the first to realize that.”
“That’s… well, only because other people don’t know about Ruri yet.”
“But my greatest fan hasn’t caught on to it.”
“Ah, ahaha…”
“Sayuka is the first character I ever brought to life.”
“You’re talking about your debut.”
“Back then I was clumsy, I didn’t have any experience building characters… and I wasn’t very good at socializing, either.”
“‘Back then’, huh?”
“I didn’t know anything about other girls. So I could only start from the person closest to me – myself.”
“Kasumigaoka-senpai…”
“That’s why… that’s why this time I wanted Ruri to win.”
“I wanted Sayuka to win then too.”4
* * *
“So, is the scenario finally finished this time around?”
“Yes, but…”
Indifferent to the clamor ahead, Eriri’s pencil was still flying across the paper at incredible speeds.
“But what?”
“I can’t vouch for the content. I had a hand in writing it, after all.”
Dancing mobs… erm, students, as well as the protagonist and heroine had been added to the schoolyard and bonfire in the book, turning the sketch into an event CG in the blink of an eye.
“Oh, I’ll bet it’s a magnum opus of horrid writing. I’ll also bet it’s about heroines with all sorts of moe appeal conveniently falling in love with the kind of ridiculously perfect and strong main character that makes otaku everywhere happy. Then they fight the big bad boss, win and everybody gets their lovey-dovey happy ending, right?”
“…You haven’t read my scenario yet, by any chance?”
“I haven’t, but I’ve seen enough of the inside of that head of yours.”
It’s true that I like those kinds of developments, but I could almost feel Eriri’s words as they hit me one by one.
I’ve been seeing what goes on in your head for a long time too.
“Either way, I can’t deny that I might have ruined the sophistication of Utaha-senpai’s work just a little.”
Equally vindictive, with hobbies and taste disconcertingly similar.
Both distinguished prodigies, their style and philosophy frighteningly different.
In this world, they’re two of a kind.
“But still…”
“Hm?”
“The new scenario’s a lot more workable than the old one.”
“Ah.”
“We’ve got a much better chance of beating 「rouge en rouge」 and Hashima Izumi now.”
Part of me really wanted to question the point of competing in the first place, though.
Question the idea that their rivalry should really matter at all, and question whether they should focus instead on producing art that would satisfy themselves.
These arguments swirled in my head as a result of my newly acquired wisdom.
“…Yeah.”
But if that’s the ultimate source of Eriri’s, and on the flip side, Izumi-chan’s motivation, then…
“Then it shouldn’t be a problem. No matter how much you’ve debased Kasumigaoka Utaha.”
“No, that’s…”
Wouldn’t that make us irreconcilable enemies too, Iori?
“That’s not something I can pretend I didn’t hear, Sawamura-san.”
“That’s not something I plan to take back either.”
“When did you…”
I’m no longer sure if the strong communication between members of 「blessing software」 is a good thing or a bad thing.
We turned our backs to find Utaha-senpai suddenly there, a.s.sailing Eriri with her usual beautifully icy voice, agitation from sleep deprivation miraculously sealed off without a trace.
“Anyway, it’s not like my writing grows soft nor my reputation sullied when something a little foreign is mixed in.”
“Oh, you don’t have to force yourself that hard, you know? You can always blame it on your co-writers if it doesn’t sell. We all knowthat’s the true secret to success in scenario writing.”
“Oh, but we can’t shift all the blame onto Ethics-kun. Especially since I’ve now used up all my energy and willpower opening new possibilities for him.”
“You mean you helped me make my writer’s debut! Don’t use ambiguous expressions like that!”
* * *
“Sigh…”
With those two entrenched in a no-holds-barred verbal conflict in no time at all, I made my escape as soon as I could.
But like a moth drawn to a flame, I literally found myself fleeing towards the fire.
The domain of the socially mobile – the revolving wheel of the folk dance.
“Onii-sama.”
The discomfort I felt here was comparable to the warzone earlier, as I slowly threaded my way through the transient gaps, taking extra care not to b.u.mp into anybody.
“Onii-sama…”
At any rate, I have to get out of here as soon as possible.
I’m bothering the other students, but more importantly I’m in a greater predicament myself.
“Ooh… I said Onii-sama!”
“Eh?”
And then.
I reacted reflexively to that voice originating from outside my consciousness.
No matter how much I think about it, “Onii-sama” isn’t something I’m used to being called.
No matter how many boxes that one word checks off in the checklist of arousal, I still wouldn’t make the mistake of thinking that voice is calling me. Usually.
However.
“You’re horrible, Onii-sama…”An unknown girl stood there alone, looking unmistakably straight at me.
A mysterious girl with l.u.s.trous long black hair, flowing naturally in all its fleeting beauty.
“…Ruri?”
No, it wasn’t.
That name and that figure resonated faintly in the depths of my memory.
It must have been in the visuals, the materials, somewhere in the 2D data…
“I’ve always been calling out to you… for years, decades, forever and ever…”
Hinoe Ruri.
Back in the present world, borrowing Meguri’s body to regain her lost love and life, she’s a slightly… well, fairly, yandere little sister with a brother complex.
“But, but now I’m… Seiji.”
And starring in that role was Kanou Meguri… also known as Katou Megumi.
“…I’m so happy, Onii-sama.”
“…”
A short distance removed from the bright light of the campfire.
“At last, I can touch Onii-sama again. I can feel the weight of Onii-sama’s hand pressing against mine again.”
“Erm…”
Dancing awkwardly and trying to avoid others at the same time, the two of us drew mild curiosity from the sidelines.
“Being able to do that alone… no, being able to do something so extravagant makes Ruri so, so, so happy…”
“Look, Katou, I…”
“This won’t do, Aki-kun. We have to act it out properly till the end, or else the scriptwriter will get angry, you know?”
“So it was her doing after all…”
The spectators included a golden haired girl sitting on a bench in the distance, directing the full force of her hatred and displeasure over here as she ran her pencil ragged over her sketchbook.
And next to her, extremely pleased yet regretful, cheering yet cursing under her breath – a black haired girl with an incongruent expression.
“To be Ruri, to be this way at least for today… that’s what senpai entrusted me to do.”
I’m no stranger to the feeling of wanting something with all your heart.
“I want you to let her rest in peace. To answer her feelings.”
Right now, every aspect of Katou is Ruri.
That yandere, pampered, yet incredibly cute and loving little sister.
At this point, I’m not longer sure if Eriri’s artistic skill is that amazing, of if it’s really Katou who’s an extraordinary bishoujo in her own right.
“So Aki-kun, won’t you be Seiji, who regains his twin memories and falls in love with Ruri, for today at least?”
“Won’t there be rumors spreading around tomorrow if we do that?”
Another hairstyle change.
And the “legendary” couple at the folk dance.
“It’ll be alright, since it’s the both of us.”
“…You’ve become pretty accustomed to self-abas.e.m.e.nt, Katou.”
The conversation was of the same crude variety, even as we neared the climax of such an important flag.
Our hands were still locked.
Somehow, I found ourselves naturally pulling closer together.5
* * *
“TAKI UTAKO?!”
“Don’t you think it’s a great name?”
“Hold on a minute Kasumigaoka Utaha… You’re serious?”
“Why not? It’s just a joint penname we’re using for this game.”
“…I find it hard to believe that you’re taking this so lightly. You can at least try to act stubborn.”
“I’m not taking that from the person who’s been pulling people along with her since first grade.”
“I don’t know about you, but I don’t console myself with such pathetic delusions.”
“That’s why I’m saying it’s just a penname. It’s not like I had any mentally unsound thoughts about binding us as creators and authors together, never to part, while I created it.”
“Oh, you did. You thought about it long and hard, didn’t you?!”
“Well, that aside, ‘our’ job is now finished.”
“There was no need for the emphasis on that plural. Tomoya still has plenty of work to do.”
“All that’s left is your art… the last and toughest battle.”
“…I know.”
“We drew out the scenario about as late as we could. I apologize wholeheartedly for all the trouble we’ve caused on that front.”
“Well, it’s not like I was delayed by you, so…”
“But if we’ve worsened our story… that isn’t something so easily forgiven.”
“…I’ve already prepared myself for that. I don’t need you to tell me.”
“Well then, I suppose I’ll be going.”
“You’re going home?”
“What are you talking about? Isn’t the school festival just getting started?”
“But there’s only the late-night fe- Wait, what?”
“That’s right, I’m going to dance with Ethics-kun now. It’s almost time for me to switch with Katou-san.”
“Wha-?!”
“That was my objective all along. Why else would I drag my tired body all the way back to school?”
“N-Now just wait a minute! Kasumigaoka Utaha!”
“Are you going to dance after me, then? I don’t think Ethics-kun would refuse, you know?”
“…”
“But I guess there’s no chance of that happening since you’ve built that wall of lies for yourself.”
“…”
“But you know, Sawamura-san, before you’re tied down… you should do really something about it.”
“…”
“Well then… Good luck, Sawamura Eriri.”
* * *
“I won’t lose…”
“I won’t lose to anybody…”
“…*sob*”
Deadpan’s Wonderland:
1So… masterzoned?
2See Volume 2, Chapter 5 and 6, or alternatively hotel scene episode (again).
3Ultra-obscure reference to the VN Chocolat ~Maid Café “Curio”~, scenario writer being one Fumiaki Maruto. At least he’s self-aware. Apparently Katou’s the toolbox and Utaha’s the jewel box, but none of that means anything to any of us mirite?
4First time you can actually feel pity for Utaha.
5h.e.l.l yeah.