Ninja Clan – Grasping for Something
Chapter 1
Location: Classroom 2-A
Uumyu… I had no idea somethin’ so serious was happening while we were just sitting here, messing around playing a game.
Uu… Sniffs, I can’t believe he’d ask such an unreasonable request from me in such a short time… It’s awful.
Don’t look at it that way. You can’t give up before trying, Shinobu-kun!
What’re you on about!? You know all too well how it’s been for me, don’t you? I haven’t been able to get a single club member no matter how many times I’ve tried promoting it!
I’ve participated in a joint live to present a great track record in the club, as well as trained in noticeable areas to catch people’s attention—
I made posters advertising the club as a friendly place to be in, and I even had Midori-kun help me take a club introduction video showcasing ninja arts—1
I’ve done every single idea I could think of, and it still wasn’t enough~!
Video… Oh yeah, we did do something like that, huh?
That legendary video was super popular in the club presentation, but it still didn’t get you any new members…
It had no impact as a video showcasing ninja arts, either… People these days are too used to video-streaming websites…
Yeah, nowadays there are hundreds of videos trying to one-up each other to be the next viral thing.
You got a lot of people asking for photos and autographs after that, right?
I’m not some viral streamer!
Why not try making a channel, though? It’ll promote your club, and if you get popular, you’ll make lots of money.
I want club members, not money~!
Sigh… I’ve lost hope after so many attempts…
The only thing I can do now is watch helplessly as my precious Ninja Association fades into dust…
No! It’s too late to give up!
Huh?
Aight, change of plans! Our meeting’s gonna be about how to save the Ninja Association!
Huh? Huh!? A-Are you sure…!? But I’ll be taking away your time…
Oh c’mon now, Shinobu-kun! There’s no need to hold back with us!
And didn’t I tell ya before?
Huh? What?
Dontcha remember? When you mentioned you wanted more club members, I told you that I’d do anythin’ for you in order to make that happen, since we’re so indebted to you.2
You’re fine with that, right, Midori-kun?
Mhm, sure. We have time before our on-campus live show, so we don’t have to sort it out by today.
Yeah, and besides! If one person can’t think up somethin’ on their own, then with three people we’ll have three heads to brainstorm with—
Which means we’ll be three times smarter!
We’ll be invincible together! We’ll turn as smart as a supercomputer, and come up with somethin’ good, don’tchu worry!
This is already sounding brainless, though… Also, I don’t think that’s what a supercomputer does…
Like, are you imagining it like a handy cat robot who can do anything or something…?
Huh? Am I wrong? I thought they were like, super duper intelligent computers or somethin’.
Anyway, the details don’t matter! The point is, we’ll make it through with the three of us!
Tetora-kun, Midori-kun… Thank you so much…!
Time passes…
Ermm… So according to Isara-senpai, he’ll work it out for you somehow as long as you get at least one club member?
Yep, so we just need to think up a way to make someone join.
Umm…
Mhm, go ahead and speak your mind, Shinobu-kun!
If only one person is enough, then wouldn’t enlisting either of you in my club do the trick?
I would prefer to perform activities with a new member, but this is a dire situation, so I don’t mind either of you acting as a ghost member, since you already have your own clubs.
Ehhh… I don’t think you should do that…
Huh? Why not? I thought it would be the fastest way to solve this issue…
They’re gonna instantly be able to tell that we aren’t doing any activities in your club.
Sure, your club would be saved for now… But wouldn’t you fall into the same problem again down the line?
Yeah, and we shouldn’t cheat the system. You might get harsher treatment for it, like stricter inspections.
Mmm, I would not want that happening. I would only throw even more trouble on Isara-dono…
Yeah, so let’s just figure out a way to get you a new member!
Chapter 2
While I understand the solution, I’m not sure where we could even start…
Hmm… Ah—Why not invite one of the Ryuseitai-N newbies? If they’ve joined our unit, surely they’d wanna join in on your activities, too?
This doesn’t sound so hard to solve after all~♪
………
Huh? Why’re you making that face? Did I say something wrong?
…I have already attempted such a thing before, back in April. I tried asking each and every one of them, without any luck.
To make matters even worse, my desperate act to invite any of them into the club was sent in as a complaint, that Tetora-kun even had to order me to stop~!
I-I’m sorry ‘bout that. You desperately trynna get them to join was starting to freak ‘em out… I had to do somethin’ ‘bout it.
Ehhh, it was that bad…? I guess this idea’s a bust, then.
Also, I’m curious. Did you ever have a promotion that succeeded in gathering a huge number of people? I know they didn’t join in the end, but like, the one that got the most amount of people interested?
I did have something like that, but…
Oh, you did? That makes things easier, then. We can just polish that idea up some more to make it into something even better. Is it the one that showcased what kinda activities you do?
No, I mean Scroll of the Elements, the joint live from last year. Remember when we had a handshake event after the performance?
I was told that I could hand out flyers about my club, so I did as such. That’s when I received many questions and requests from people wanting to observe the club.
Whaaa!? Why didn’t you get someone new from there, then!? That’s such a waste!
Uuu… I was pleasantly surprised to receive so many responses, but…
It was mostly old people who were interested in the Ninja Association, and they could barely walk on their own.
They wouldn’t ever be able to do backflips and other nimble moves.
Oh yeaaah… We did have a lot of old people as guests back then, ‘cuz of the location and theme of the performance.
Mhm, so while I enjoyed chatting with them about ninjas and historical plays over tea, I politely rejected their offer to join.
To be fair, it wasn’t the right place to do that sorta thing anyway… You need students in your club, so why’d you try inviting people over in that live show…?
No, I understand that too, I swear!
It was a desperate measure! I was hoping the old people would pass my flyer onto their grandkids or teens in their neighborhood, and that they would spread news of how interesting my club activities were.
However, I sadly miscalculated the part where they would think they’re allowed to join the club, too.
It’s like a telephone game gone wrong, huh…
I was surprised by it, too…
But I can really tell just how many times you’ve attempted to get new club members. And it still wasn’t enough to get someone…
Exactly… I’m at my wit’s end…
Hmm… We’re not gonna get anywhere like this, huh? Shinobu-kun, how about you try going back to the basics?
Basics…?
That's how karate practice works! Once you’re more capable of moving your body in a certain way, you start wanting to practice applying that to new martial arts, right? But you reach your limit pretty fast like that.
That’s when you go back to the fundamental steps! You may notice somethin’ you weren’t able to recognize in the past!
While that may possibly help, how am I supposed to do that, exactly?
Basically, you should try to get new members through one of your very first ideas.
…? Ermm, but isn’t the whole problem that I’ve attempted so many things and still haven’t found any success? Wouldn’t the same happen again…?
Yeah, I know it didn’t work out for you, but…
Rather than repeating the same thing, try and think about why it didn’t work out. And then you can improve the idea from there and try it again!
Ahhh… so basically fix what didn’t work out, and give it another shot?
Yup! There’s no point doing this in a delicate way. You just gotta pour your passion in and convey the beauty of ninjas to everyone with all you’ve got!
Wow, just what you’d expect from a musclehead… But well, he’s got a point. You’re trying to find someone like minded, so doing it the classic way might work…
A-Alright…! I’m honestly terrified and have no confidence in this, but… I’ll at least try!
Yeah, yeah! You got this, Shinobu-kun!
Actually, wouldn’t it be a good idea to ask our seniors for help, too? The more ideas, the better, right…?
You’re right! We’ll have more options to choose from that way.
Huh!? But both of them are extremely busy… and I would only feel horrible for dragging them into my personal problem…
What’re you talking about? They may be idols, but their real job is to be the allies of justice!
Yep, not to mention, heroes are supposedly the type to come rushing to the rescue for anyone in need.
Chapter 3
Location: Meeting Room
Next day…
Shinkai-senpai and Morisawa-senpai are late… Isn’t it about time for our meeting?
Indeed… Did they have a job to deal with all of a sudden?
Hmm, I think they’d contact us if it was somethin’ like that, though.
Midori-kun, didn’t you send them a message yesterday?
Are we sure the date and time is correct? What if they got the time mixed up…
I said I did already, didn’t I? And I did get the timing right.
Huh, okay, that’s weird then… What did you even send them, anyway?
Ermm… My message was—Ahh, here, this one.
Basically, I said, “I, Eggplant Baron, have taken your Ryusei Yellow as hostage. He’s trembling in fear, waiting for you to rescue him from his worries, eeeggy-eggy-eggplant LOL”
“If you want him back, then make sure you come to ES’s meeting room at 1 PM tomorrow. You better show yourself no matter the cost, or consider your Ryusei Yellow doomed to face his troubles forever.”
“P.S. If you truly can’t make it, then let me know, or ELSE.”
How will they get what’s going on like that!? Isn’t this basically just spam!?
I figured something like this would work best on those two…♪
I feel as though the reason they aren’t here yet is because they didn’t understand the situation based on that message…
Ehh~? Nah, I’m sure it’s fine, they got the gist of it. Hopefully…
You lost your confidence by the end, Midori-kun…
Time passes…
…Fifteen minutes have passed by now, and they’re still not here.
That’s weird… Wouldn’t you typically come over if you got a message like this? Not me, though.
Yeah, no. I’m telling you, dude, your message just sounded like a prank to them.
I thought they’d gladly come if I sent it like that, though…
Aight, I’ll have to make a phone call to see what’s goin’ on.
I’ll leave the room for a sec—
Fuhahahaha! Fuhaaaahahahahahaha!!! ☆
fufufu, fufufufufufu~♪
Hm?
Heroes always arrive in the nick of time! The wind howls, the sky rages — Ryusei Red!
the water dances, the waves jump — ryusei blue~☆
Ah! Those catchphrases are from Hurricaneger!
They said it so confidently, but I can barely see them posing in the hallway from here…
Heh! ♪ Typically I’d go for my Ryuseitai catchphrase, but I came here with Kanata only, so! We went for something that specifically matches Ryusei Yellow’s interests!3
Though, it feels sloppily-done with the two of us alone… and we’re still wearing our civilian clothes.
We should definitely be doing this with the proper set-up. Sorry to ask this, but could we change our clothes first and start over?
…Enough, just get in already.
yes, let’s do so, chiaki~ we [cannot] keep them waiting any longer.
Hm, good point… Right now, we should focus on talking to our juniors above all else!
Alright, so! What’s wrong, Sengoku!? There’s something troubling you, right? You can consult us all you like!
Huh!? You were able to figure out why we asked you to come here through that fishy message alone!? I’m surprised.
Hmm? Ahh—well, it wasn’t entirely clear, but…
Worry not! It made enough sense to me! ☆
fufu, i understood it, too~ i thought it suited us very well~♪
You see? I told you it’d work perfectly on them.
Don’t look so smug ‘bout it… You wouldn’t typically understand a message like that, so make sure to type it up properly next time, ‘kay?
Ah, wait, that reminds me! The message was one thing, but you really didn’t need to attach a photo of an entire box of eggplants after it!
Why did you go with an eggplant baron!? Weren’t there plenty of other options among all the vegetables!?
Huh? Didn’t you always say that the stronger the enemy, the better? So I chose something powerful enough for you to struggle with.
Gghh!? That isn’t how I expected my words to be interpreted…!
But it is true that I struggled to hold back from blocking you on sight, even when I knew it was you behind the message…!
Excuse me!? You’ve got some nerve to complain about our high quality eggplants… How about I send you a box for yourself, huh?
I-I don’t want it! I really, really don’t!
There’s no need to hold back…♪ I’m indebted to you time and time again, so it’ll be like a summer gift.
I-I’m not holding back anything, though…? While I’m grateful to receive a repayment gift from my junior, I quite honestly would rather you refrain from sending me a box!
Aight, aight, let’s stop here! This is just ‘bout eggplants now. We’re supposed to talk ‘bout Shinobu-kun’s concerns today!
But I am glad to hear you understood the message, despite how fishy it sounded. I thought you’d brush it off as a prank at first.
I was actually just ‘bout to call you guys, in case you really weren’t coming.
Sorry about that. I assure you we were trying our best to finish our work as soon as possible to get here.
Huh!? You two really were busy after all… I deeply apologize for asking you to come here despite that…
fufufu~ there is no need to worry about that, shinobu.
Exactly! Our jobs are important, but what’s even more so is rushing to the rescue when our comrades are in a predicament~☆
Now then, feel free to speak to us!
Translation Notes
- ↑ A reference to Chuunibyou.
- ↑ A reference to the first main story of !! era, Chapter 124.
- ↑ Hurricaneger is a Ninja-esque Sentai squad. It has three members: Red/Black, Blue, and Yellow. You can read more about it here.