Hundred (Chapter 8-10)
Chapter 8
Nyahaha~♪ The hotel’s crazy huuuge!
That’s Nassan’s arrangements alright~ This is some real American-style VIP treatment!
I’m taking this bed, so you can go use that one~♪
Thank you very much. The view is nice from the bed by the window.
But it’ll be harder for you to escape me over there~ And even if you make an escape out the window, you’ll just hit the ground head first! Careful, ‘kay~?
—That’s a dangerous thing to say. Are you always like this?
What? Did I put you off with what I said?
No, I’m just interested.
I thought perhaps you’re from a rough, wild 1 community or something, one that doesn’t hesitate to engage in violence.
After all, you threw a blow on me during the Twin Rooster Pagoda audition, too. And the blows on Buchou and I — It felt as though they were completely indiscriminate.
If you are the type to engage in violence no matter the time or place, then I need to correct that mistake of yours.
You see, when I first came to the city, I myself had common sense relentlessly drilled into me by Aira.
Hm~? Aren’t you misunderstanding something? Neither America or Okinawa are rural places~?
If you had to get common sense hammered into you when you came here, then that means you’re the hillbilly2 here, right, Amagi-san~?
Mmn… I can’t let you talk to me like that.
I don’t care if you insult me… But my friends and hometown bear no sins.
Compared to what you think, my hometown is far and away a more advanced society.
Ohh? Is it even more advanced than America?
I can’t tell what the actual truth is, but with the way your eyes are all serious, I’ll take your word for it~♪
… Hm. I thought for sure that you’d refuse it, but you're actually being honest, huh?
Nyahaha. There are so many worlds for each and every social etiquette and culture out there~ The absolute truth that you see isn’t necessarily the truth that I see.
I’m not someone who can read the room, so I'm glad Amagi-san told me his true feelings~♪
Could it be that you provoked me… to get me to speak?
O~hh? Amagi-san, you’re unexpectedly clever, huh?
That's right! Everyone seems to think I'm a violent, dangerous idol, but I wouldn't use violence on a helpless child, you know~?
Hiding your true feelings, only ever putting up a good face... Those kinds of people who waste time doing all that are the ones I hate the most!
That's why I take tough measures now and again~♪
A human’s true colors come out when they're on the brink of danger. Dontcha think~?
… I don't really agree with your views, but I’ve come to understand your reasoning well enough.
So that's why you didn't lay your hands on anyone other than me. There was no one else in the Twin Rooster Pagoda who was well-versed with martial arts.
You made an example out of me to get a reaction from everyone around you.
Nyahaha~♪ You get it reaaal well, dontcha~?
Thanks to that, I learned more about Hasumi-san, too~
Up ‘til now, I’ve only listened to AKATSUKI’s music, and I didn’t know anything about them as people at all! But he has an elegant feel that fits right in with a Japanese-style unit, huh~?
Mhm. He works as the dorm administrator for Seisoukan, so he’s the kind of person that’s strict with rules and regulations.
But you can get that with just a glance and a little conversation with him, can’t you?
I can’t help but question your methods of observing people after all.
Then, tell me! What kinda person is Amagi-san?
What?
I won't understand unless you teach me! You wanna correct all my mistakes, right? Then teach me~♪
It's hard to answer that so suddenly... On the contrary, what do you want to know about me?
Hmm, for example, that piece of cloth on your luggage! What the heck is that?
This is a good luck charm from Aira — My comrade.
Whenever I worry during the audition, I bundle up the charm in one hand and make the sign of the cross with the other–
Amen3
… You know about a major American religion? That’s not really the time to say “Amen”, y’know~?
Are you making fun of me? You’re a mean kinda guy, arentcha, Amagi-san~?
I’m not lying. A person called Tatsumi-senpai taught it to me, his home is a church.
Ah. Maybe the religion Tatsumi-senpai practices has drastically changed here in Japan...!
Hm~m? Kinda sounds like a load of bull to me?
But I’ve taken a liking to you~♪
You’ve got something in common with me, so tell me what you found interesting about Japan~♪
O-Okay. The culture of the city always astounds me too.
If you're okay with the extent of what I've become acquainted with, I'll tell you about it as much as you want.
We don't even need to use something like violence, because we have a wonderful tool called words.
Chapter 9
I never thought I’d end up rooming with Izumi-chin…
What? You don’t want to room with me or something?
Don’t pounce on me over everything I say~ I just assumed we’d be sharing rooms with our partners from the Twin Rooster Pagoda, that’s all.
Then again, if the pairs got to know each other better in the hotel, it'd confuse the viewers.
Yeah. It looks like they don't have cameras in the hotel, so maybe they’re pretty orderly when it comes to these sorts of things.
They protect the privacy of the participants, while making full use of a large production staff to film everything during the audition.
It’s an audition organized by that goody-looking NiceP, so they must be following global standards, yeah?
Ahaha. Meanwhile, Yumenosaki and ES always feel like the night before a school festival. Well, that’s fun too though…♪
But, I don’t know if NiceP’s a good guy.
? Is that distrust from the last SS?
Ah~... Yeah, all sorts of stuff happened, huh. I don’t feel any sorts of politics or schemes happening behind the scenes of 4piece, though.
If I had to say it, it’s NiceP himself I’m talking about.
I’d prefer for you to keep this between us, but… The truth is, NiceP is something of a Ra*bits fan. Look at the name written on this fan letter.
“Arneb”? This name’s…?
Yeah. Nice Arneb Thunder. NiceP’s stage name.
He came to a Ra*bits live performance and a handshake event, too.
At first I thought it might just be someone who looks like him — but when he was pretty well aware of my speech impediment during the audition, I became more convinced it really was him.
It seems that "Arneb" means "hare" in a foreign language, so maybe that's how he found out about us...
The person in charge of the show is a fan of Ra*bits!? That's not fair!
Calm down, Izumi-chin.
Even in the fan letter, he wrote, "Your recent live was Nice ☆ But I’ll be strict with my judging in the audition", so I don't think he plans to show favoritism.
There's no guarantee that NiceP won't act on selfish desires during the audition, though.
Yeah. So I’ll keep a careful eye out too.
But. Regardless of the audition, if he’s genuinely evaluating us, I couldn't be happier.
If I end up passing, I want you to judge it for yourself — Whether or not the evaluation criteria was wrong.
I want you to be a witness, Izumi-chin.
Hmm…?
There's no benefit to Nazunyan telling me about NiceP. That alone just shows you’re putting trust in me; am I right to think that?
Yeah. I wanna be seen without bias too. Izumi-chin and NiceP both.
Hah~... Finally, what a weight off my shoulders...!
It looked like I was the only one who knew about the other side of NiceP, so it was a bit of a burden~ I'm so glad I could tell Izumi-chin, y’know?
Ah~ What a relief! I'm in the same room as Izumi-chin~♪ It’s a blessing to have friends~♪
We’re former tennis club buddies, after all. Thank you~♪
I'm here to pass the audition, so don't complain if I end up needing to toss that camaraderie away for the sake of the evaluation, ‘kay?
Well, I'm glad I'm rooming with you too, Nazunyan. If I was rooming with Hibiki, I doubt I’d be able to relax nearly as much.
I wonder what Hibiki and Hasumi could possibly be talking about in their room.
Oh? So those two were sharing the same room...
That's true, I do wonder what Keito-chin and Wataru-chin could be talking about~ Although, I feel like there were plenty of times they became opponents when we were at Yumenosaki.
But maybe having to room together this time will bring them together closer than they expected~♪
I dunno about that... If it was that easy to get along with people, I don't think there’d be any wars in the world.
… A– Achoo!
Oh. Is that a cold I hear, Keito-kun?
How lamentable of my lifelong rival…! Where in the world is the Keito-kun who faced off against me!
You’re overexaggerating. I’m sure someone’s just talking about me behind my back.4
Hmm. Is that right? If so, I’m relieved.
I thought I’d make you something to warm you up if you had a cold, but that was a needless fear, hm?
Yes. … Actually, don't use your strands of hair to lift the pot. It's terrifying.
Eh~? Don't be so cold. One’s life needs to have wonder in it, doesn’t it?
We’re in the middle of an audition, but you’re as detached from the world as always.
I heard the second day is even more difficult. If you want to pass, you should rest early too.
Yes. I too am aiming to pass! I take pride in being the best entertainer after all ☆
So tonight I'll go to bed a little earlier than usual. I'll heed your advice, mm?
… I suppose it really is better to show that you’re taking it seriously when it comes to an audition~
I always intend to be serious, but it seems no one trusts that about me at all.
? What? That's odd. I wasn’t expecting you to be hesitant.
Attitudes aren’t something you should force, but for the showdown of Twin Rooster Pagoda, being seen as favorable means everything.
Whatever you believe, that alone is a fact, at least. If you're worried about it, do as you see fit, whether it be performance or other.
Make sure not to catch a cold, either. Hibiki.
Yes. I'll be sure to do that.
After all, if poor health forces me to withdraw from a grand event such as 4piece, Himegimi will be sad to see it.
Chapter 10
Tattsun-senpai! Hurry up, hurry uuup~!
The 4piece broadcast! It’s already startiiing!
It’s dangerous to rush over like that, you know, Aira-san?
The 4piece broadcast is available for recording and archived streaming, so let’s first set our things down and settle down.
Oh, the TV in the common room… It seems that people are already here, holding a watch party. Shall we join in?
ah. tatsumi~♪ are you here to watch the [audition] as well?
Indeed. Hiiro-san and Mayoi-san of our ALKALOID are participating, so we were hoping to support them.
If that’s the case, you’re a lil’ late. The second venue, the Gourmet District5, just ended.
Right now, it’s in the middle of broadcastin’ the third venue that Hiiro-kun’s appearin’ in, the Twin Rooster Pagoda.
No waayy~... I wanted to see Mayo-san’s gallant figure, too!
Mayoi-dono did his best, as well. He struggled and worked really hard within such a packed crowd~♪
Are we sure about that…? It looked like there was a huge problem going on for him, though - including for Morisawa-senpai…6
Eh? What’s that mean, I’m sooo curious…!
Shiratori, all of you. Could you be a little more quiet?
Hasumi-dono is appearing on the Twin Rooster Pagoda as well. If it gets too noisy, I won’t be able to concentrate.
Besides, Amagi is participating in the Twin Rooster Pagoda too. Isn’t it the duty of comrades to lend their support?
You think so too, don’t you, Kiryu-dono?
Yup. We all took the time t’get in front of the TV, so I think we’d better watch it properly.
But, watch parties are s’pposed t’get noisy.
I came along ‘cuz ya said ya had to watch it at the screening, Kanzaki. Give ‘em a lil’ break for the noise, will ya?
Hmn… Kiryu-dono is right, I may have been a little too on edge.
You should all see how everything is set up in the Twin Rooster Pagoda. It seems that some sort of “taggu”-team battle is taking place in it.
Tag-team battle…! Wow, I heard that 4piece was an individual competition, but there are special rules like that too, huh~? ♪
Indeed. Had I known it was a “taggu”-team battle, I would have loved to participate…!
I didn’t want to compete against Hasumi-dono, so I firmly refused to participate… but looking at how that so-called “Taki” has been behaving, I'm concerned about Hasumi-dono...!
Haha, even if ya joined in, it doesn’t mean y’woulda become Danna’s7 partner like Taki did.
Taki…? I’m not familiar with that name.
Yeah, so. Apparently, he’s an idol that got scouted by NiceP, ‘n is temporarily part of ES.
I think that kinda unconventional guy is interesting, but I wonder what Hasumi-no-danna thinks about it...♪
Kiryu-dono is such an incredibly open-minded man... I'm so worried about Hasumi-dono that I can't maintain my composure when I look at Taki!
Is he that dangerous of a participant? That Taki idol...?
Yeah, you could say that. Taki-kun showed up in front of me and Hiiro-kun outta nowhere and exchanged blows with us.
He made good use of surprise attacks and assault tactics, so I couldn't gauge his exact strength… But if we took him on in a proper fight, he’d have been a pretty tough force who could wear us down just as much as we could to him.
Assault!? I make a point to try not to think about it, but the karate club really does way more than just club activities, doesn’t it!?
Ahaha. It’s not that noteworthy, we’re more like an imitation of a karate master.
Compared to people who are actually serious and focused around martial arts, we still have a long way to go.
Eh...? It doesn't sound like that to me, though…?
Well, in the eyes of someone who’s got no experience in it, there's no difference between a black belt and a master, I bet.
Anyways, teamin’ up with a troublemaker ain’t always a bad thing. If anything, it looks to me that Danna’s charm really comes out when he’s bein’ put in front of Taki~♪
Reminds me of when we were students. It’s like I’m lookin’ at the Danna when the academy was in shambles, where he was actin’ all tough.
Mmm… It’s certainly true that Hasumi-dono seems to be getting a considerable amount of “su-ku-reen-taimu” because of that scoundrel, but…
I haven’t recognized Taki quite yet.
I will see what kind of fate the upcoming audition has in store for Hasumi-dono and Taki from here on out, until the very end!8
Translation Notes
- ↑ Hiiro says 野性的な (yasei-tekina) here, which essentially means "wild" in the sense of to rely on ones wild or bare instincts.
- ↑ Ibuki uses 田舎者 (inaka-mono) here, which roughly means "someone from the country" or a "countryperson". It's often used in a derogatory manner, (often to describe someone unruly or unsophisticated), hence why Hiiro reacts indignantly. I translated this as "hillbilly" to get across that it's an insult.
- ↑ Said in English.
- ↑ It's a common Japanese superstition that when you sneeze, someone is talking about you or gossiping behind your back.
- ↑ The second part of 4piece, VS Gourmet, which Chiaki and Mayoi were a part of.
- ↑ The difficulties Mayoi and Chiaki ran into are from Praise of Delicious Flavors, Chapter 7
- ↑ Kuro often refers to Keito as 旦那 (danna, lit. master ), or "boss". He'll also use Hasumi-no-danna.
- ↑ To read the Keito & Ibuki cut of the rest of VS AUDIENCE, click here.