[ES!!] True To Myself, Staying The Way I Am
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Midori feels depressed as soon as he hears it's his turn to receive a personalized outfit. Despite the pressure, he tries his best to visualize an outfit idea, but all he can think of are things he'd rather not wear…
This story is connected to the card [Comfortable Staying Just As I Am] Midori Takamine.
Story Release Date: October 10, 2021
Chapter 1
Season: Autumn
Location: Resting Room
Sigh… Ughhh…
Mmm~… What do I do now…? Sigh…
Midori-kun, Midori-kun! You’re sighing way more than usual! That’s the thirtieth time I’ve heard it today.
Sorry… I let myself sigh all I want when it’s only you two here…
We don’t mind, we simply would like to know what’s making you sigh so much.
Yup! You don’t have to think ‘bout it on your own, we can hear you out! Maybe it’s somethin’ we can help you with.
Thanks… The truth is, I heard a rumor in the office that I’m the next one to get a personalized outfit…
Oh!? This is wonderful news!
…Hmm? But then why are you so depressed, Midori-kun?
Oh, lemme guess: you’re struggling to figure out what kinda outfit to make it?
Yep, basically…
They’re gonna ask me what kinda outfit I want, right? That’s why I’ve been trying to figure it out on my own ever since…
Woah, you’re actually going for it! That’s incredible of you, Midori-kun~♪
I’d love to know what sort of outfit you have in mind~♪
Uu—! Don’t look at me with those sparkly eyes! I didn’t actually make any real progress…!
Like, I did try thinking of something, but every outfit that comes to mind is something I don’t really wanna wear…
Every idea I can think of is something I’d never want as a personalized outfit… and I got so frustrated with myself for all these disappointing ideas… and just kept getting more depressed…
Ahh~ I get it now. That’s what’s been making you sigh so much, huh?
Mhm… I bet you’re disappointed to find out it’s for a stupid reason, right…
We all have our own worries, you know! There’s nothing to be ashamed of.
That said, I’m quite curious about these outfits you wouldn’t want to wear. What kind are you referring to?
Maybe saying it like that is a bit off… It’s more like outfits that’d make me feel odd if I saw myself in them…?
Like outfits that’re too revealing, with v-necks open all the way down to the stomach… Or fancy suits that’re suffocating to wear…
Outfits that’d feel nerve-wracking ‘cause they’d be doing the talking over me, I guess… I’d hate to have that sorta thing as my personalized outfit…
My fans absolutely love seeing photo shoots where I’m wearing cool clothes and praise me a lot for it, but…
I always feel weird wearing them, like I’m not actually being myself…
Hmm, I don’t have much experience with the type of jobs you get, so I can’t say that I completely understand, buuut…
What if you think ‘bout it the other way around? Like, what kinda outfits would you want? If it’s somethin’ you’d want, then you’d probably like wearing it, too.
Outfits I’d want…?
Ah—I was hoping to buy a sweater or shirt that has a yuruchara on it sometime soon…♪
…That sounds more like comfy clothes for home to me. I doubt you could make use of it for your personalized outfit.
H-How could you…!? This is the answer I get for the one time I come up with an idea!?
Now, now, settle down… I was thinking to myself, but…
……?
……?
What you heard was simply a rumor, correct? So it’s possible that you aren’t actually next in line.
Which means you may be worrying over nothing, and that would only be a waste of your time.
So how about you start by asking Anzu-dono if it’s true?
Location: StarPro Office
(Shinobu-kun’s right. I’d only feel humiliated if I let a rumor make a fool of me, so I should double-check with Anzu-san first.)
(I heard she’s in the StarPro office…)
(Ah, there she is. She’s working near the window—)
……!?
(Our eyes met—Oh no, w-what do I do…!? She immediately got up from her seat to head over this way…!)
(Don’t tell me… She really is planning on talking to me about my personalized outfit!?)
Hello, Anzu-san. Do you have something to talk to me about? Could it be my perso—
Huh? An event stage for a commercial products exhibition? What’s that about…?
…So you’re here to talk to me about that event ‘cause you’d like me to take part in it?
(She just wanted to talk to me about work, not my personalized outfit… So it really was nothing but a rumor after all…?)
…Ah, sorry, did I look out of it to you…? Don’t worry, I was listening.
You said it’s an autumn commercial products exhibition, right? They’re gonna be selling veggies, fruits, and other specialties with a bunch of local yurucharas around.
What would you like me to do in that exhibition? You said something about a stage…
Huh!? I’ll be the host for a yuruchara event…!?
—I’ll gladly do it! I’m willing to do anything to be near so many yurucharas!
I’ve been needing emotional healing for some time ‘cause I’ve been a bit depressed lately, and nothing could make me happier than getting my healing through yurucharas.
And my parents will be super happy to know I’ll be doing an advertisement for veggies and fruits. I’m looking forward to the exhibition…♪
Location: ES Hallway
(She didn’t talk to me about my personalized outfit in the end. Maybe it really was a rumor after all.)
(But huh, doing an event on stage… I bet it’d be pretty rowdy if all five of us in Ryuseitai hosted it together…)
(…Wait a sec, isn’t it kinda strange that only I got to hear about this? Is she gonna tell the rest of them later…?)
Ah, whatever. It sounds like I’m guaranteed to at least be around all sorts of yurucharas, sooo…
I’ll search up what kinda yurucharas will show up for the event…♪
Chapter 2
Location: Park (Lawn Area)
On the day of the exhibition…
(Nobody from Ryuseitai is showing up…)
(None of them ever mentioned the exhibition either, and the pamphlet only had my name on it… I kinda had a small feeling about this, but—)
(This is a solo job, isn’t it…?)
(Ahh, what do I do… I was so excited for this, but now I’m starting to get nervous…)
(My usual solo jobs are photoshoots, and only my looks matter there… Which means I don’t really need to be good at talking…)
(But if I have to be the host of an event, then that also means I’m leading it, too… and even if I have a script for it, it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve gotta make sure I get the words out right…)
(—Can I really manage that…?)
Yoo, Takamine~? Woah, what’s wrong? Why do you look like you’re in despair?
Isara-senpai? Why’re you here?
Didn’tcha hear from Anzu? I’m gonna be taking part in the talk show for the exhibition.
You’re part of the yuruchara event, right? Let’s do our best to hype this place up~♪
Haha, I can’t believe you’d get to be a host of all things~ But it is true that you love yuruchara, so I bet you can talk a lot about th—
……(Glares at Mao)
Why’re you looking at me with that terrifying look? Everything alright?
You’re making things harder for me… Why’re you putting so much pressure on me, huh…
I’m tryna say that I’m looking forward to your event, y’know! Here, you can have this merch I got, so cheer up~♪
T-That’s…!
The key strap of the local yuruchara that’s gonna show up in this exhibition—Alien Tomato…!?
Their name comes from their aggressive personality—for some reason they’ve chosen to invade all tomato-haters in hopes of making all of mankind love tomatoes—
Despite that, their face looks sooo lifeless and relatable, and the contrast is something to die for! Where did you get this strap from!?
A staff member gave it to me. Apparently it’s a limited merch from this exhibition. I took it with me ‘cause I figured you’d love it~♪
Also, you may have been nervous earlier, but you managed to talk to me all about this yuruchara at rapid speed, so I think you’ll be fine.
Huh? What do you mean…?
When you know a lot about something, it means you can talk a whole lot about it, right? And besides, you’ll be able to manage this through your love for yuruchara alone!
I’m cheering you on, so break a leg out there, Takamine~♪
Feels like you’re just throwing anything at me to cheer me up… But thank you anyway.
Location: Event Stage
(…I managed to get on stage and all, but my heart’s still racing…)
(Calm down… breathe in, breathe out… It’ll be okay—I’m an idol, too. I’ll be able to deliver something to the audience, surely…)
“Hello, everyone…! I’m Takamine Midori, also known as Ryusei Green from Ryuseitai.”
“My teammates aren’t with me right now, so I’m feeling pretty nervous on my own, but… I hope to make the place exciting with all the yurucharas here.”
“Alright, let’s start by introducing the characters. First we have Alien Tomato, who—”
(Umm… Am I managing it okay…? I’m slipping up a bit here and there, but I’m talking just fine, right…?)
(I’m so glad I researched the characters beforehand. Looking up about them made me love all of them, so I should be able to talk about their charms…!)
(And the audience is—)
Ah…
(I didn’t notice at first ‘cause I was struggling so hard to stay on foot, but I can see fans of mine in the crowd, looking at me with a fan in their hand…)
(Did they come to cheer for me…? Maybe I should wave at them, at least…)
“……♪”
(Ah, they look so happy. I’m so glad…)
(I’m not doing anything special on stage right now—I’m not saying or wearing anything cool, nor am I even performing something, but…)
(My fans are still happy to see me even without that, huh?)
(I can hear them telling me that I look cool, and cheering for me to do my best… I feel a bit embarrassed hearing that, but it’s giving me strength.)
(Huh, feeling more confident about yourself through the cheers of your fans is just like an idol, I think…)
(…Mhm, I’ll do my best here. I wanna make this a fun event, as best as I can.)
“Next up is… a yuruchara I’ve always loved, so I was super excited to meet them today. It’s Carrotian…♪”1
Location: Park (Lawn Area)
Huh, Anzu-san…? Hello, I didn’t know you were here.
Oh, the event? Everyone enjoyed it, and I got a lot of praise for it… I feel like I was able to do the best I could.
The audience looked so happy in their seats… I feel a bit more confident with myself now, maybe…
—Ahhh, that reminds me. There’s something I wanted to ask you for a while—Is it true that I’m next to get a personalized outfit?
Oh, you wanted to talk to me about that after the exhibition was over? Sigh, so that’s what it was…
Um, truth is, I tried thinking up an idea on my own when I caught news of it, but I couldn’t think of any ideas in my head…
I got pretty depressed about it after failing to come up with anything I’d like to wear…
But right now, I think I’ve got some sort of idea in my head. Could I speak to you about it?
…I think I’d like an outfit where I can be my typical self.
I don’t wanna look too cool… And by that, I mean I don’t wanna only show a cool side of me, and have everyone love me for that only… ‘Cause I’d hate to see them get disappointed the moment they see my true self.
That’s why… I think I’d want people to also love me for myself… That’s what I’d like to show in my personalized outfit—Something that represents me.
So, umm… Basically, I feel like what I’d like to wear is an outfit that shows who I really am—
Will you please accept this request of mine? I’d love an outfit that lets me be in my most natural state…♪
Midori Feature Scout Stories
Ryuseitai 5* Feature Scout Stories
Translation Notes
- ↑ Carrotian is mentioned in The Crimson’s Pure Heart, a Kuro sub story.