Sweet Halloween – Prologue
Translation Note: Chiaki talks in an informal/masculine manner with a dramatic feel added to it. But in various parts of this story, he breaks his usual speech pattern, mostly from being spooked.
It’s a little tricky to show that change in speech pattern in English, so I’ve decided to footnote the major ones. You can read more about each of them in the respective chapter’s T/L notes.
Location: At the Bulletin Board
(Sigh… I’m not sure what to do now… Why did things turn out this way…)
(I can’t believe I ended up fighting with Tomoya-kun… This has never once happened before…)
(Tomoya-kun has always been so kind and positive towards me… Even though I’m bad at speaking, he gladly listens to me…)
(He never rejects what I say, and agrees to it with words like “That sounds good” or “Let’s do it together”…)
(He would even hold my hand while walking with me…)
(So why did it turn out this way this time around…? I don’t understand… It’s probably my fault, isn’t it?)
(I must’ve accidentally hit a nerve in Tomoya-kun… I must’ve mentioned something he doesn’t want to discuss.)
(I have to apologize to him… We should be able to understand each other’s feelings if we talk it through.)
(He’s my best friend, after all.)
(But… We can never find the right time, because of our clubs or because of family… And even though we’re classmates, there still hasn’t been the right timing to talk properly to each other.)
(And now time is going by just like that… Uuu, why did this happen…)
(I love Tomoya-kun, and he’s so important to me… So why did we clash against each other…? Why is it that all I can do is mumble my words whenever I try to make amends with him?)
(I’m just a no good dunce, aren’t I…? It’s like I’ve gone straight back to how I was before I met Tomoya-kun.)
(Sigh~…)
(What do I do? What do I do? I’m in a huge predicament.)
(Think, Morisawa Chiaki! Think of a way to break out of this dilemma! Ahhh, gosh, I knew this already, but… this wouldn’t go like a tokusatsu show would, huh!?)
(This isn’t something I could settle by doing a grand transformation sequence and defeating the evil, huh!? Yep, not happening! Think more realistically!)
(But…… Ahhh, I really don’t wannaa~! Eggplants and that are the only things my instincts can’t deal with! I can never love them…! I’m a failure of a hero!!)
(Someone who would accept anything and everything — Who would love everything, and bring peace to the world! That’s the kind of hero I wanted to be!)
(But that thing is the only thing I can’t deal with!! I just caaaaan’t!!)
(But! I’m always pushing my own interests onto everyone in Ryuseitai! Even if they don’t want it, I push it on them semi-forcefully!)
(So rejecting what I can’t handle with “I don’t wanna!” is just ridiculous!)
(It isn’t fair to them! That isn’t what justice is all about!)
(My mind knows that! But my body won’t listen! I get goosebumps just thinking about it! Ahhh, you idiot, me! You coward~!)
(Don’t lose now, me! Go for it, me! You can do it, you can do it! Stand back up, Morisawa Chiaki…!!)
…Hffmph!?
Wha—!? I-I-I-I’m so sorry!!1 Are you alright!? I’m terribly sorry for bumping into you!
O-Ow… I’m alright~! I’m so sorry, I was also walking with my head in the clouds!
No, no, it’s my bad!2 The papers you were holding flew everywhere because of me — Hold on, I’ll pick them all up for you!
Ah! It’s fine, really~ I’ll pick them up myself!
I can’t let that happen! Let me pick them up, please! I won’t be able to relax otherwise!
If I remember correctly, you’re Shino-kun from Ra*bits… You’re Akehoshi’s favorite kid, right?
If he finds out that I caused trouble for you, he may not speak to me for three months! Something like that has happened before!
In other words, I’m just doing this because I don’t want Akehoshi to hate me! It’s all for my own selfish reasons!
I may be bothering you right now, but please, let me pick them up for you…!
…Ehehe~♪
Huh? Why did you laugh? Did I say something weird again!?
No, I’m sorry… But you really are exactly how Akehoshi-senpai described you, Morisawa-senpai.
Oh? Akehoshi gossiped about me? I see now! So the reason I’d sneeze here and there every time the season changes was because of Akehoshi!
Um, I think that’s just a cold… Please take good care of your health, you won’t be able to sing if you get a sore throat.
Ehehe, if I’m remembering right, ginger tea is good for a cold.
…Wait, huh? What was I talking about?
Mhm, you have a pretty unique way of pacing the conversation! It’s super cute, there, there! (pat, pat) ♪
Hwah— Awawa…
Ah! Being patted on the head made me remember what I wanted to say! Akehoshi-senpai talks about you a lot, Morisawa-senpai.
He always says that you’re suffocating and annoying and… Ahhh, I’m sorry, he says things that are hard to say out loud…
Oh… Yeah, I guess he would. That’s heart-crushing.
But whenever he talks about you, he has a really gentle look on his face…
And he always happily ends it by saying, “Chi~chan-senpai is a hero, after all!”
Heroes are cool, aren’t they? My little brother often watches those shows on Sunday.
Ohh!! Really! I think I could get along well with your little brother, Shino-kun! ♪
…Alright, I finished picking them up while we were talking. Were you taking these somewhere?
I’ll take them there for you as an apology for bumping into you!
Ah, thank you so much. People have been complimenting my upper strength often lately, so I got ahead of myself and tried to carry a lot at once…
But it was a little too much, and ended up being pretty tough to do.
Is that so! Aaalright then, leave it to me! I’m pretty good at manual labor!
Okay, this will really help me. Thank you so much, Morisawa-senpai~♪
By the way, we’re heading to Anzu-san’s classroom.
It looks like she became in charge of planning and managing the Halloween Party, and it looked like it was very hard on her… She said she needed reference materials, you see…
So I tried to find all kinds of things in the reference room. Ehehe, it was pretty rough, though.
I see… Halloween Party is an S1, after all… Preparing for it must be a huge task.
I wonder if she’ll be okay… She likely has SS to produce for, too…
We have to properly support her — the important one-and-only producer in this school.
Yes, that’s what I think we should do, too~ People should help each other when in need, after all.
Yep, that’s correct! You have what it takes to be a hero, Shino-kun! There, there! (pat, pat) ♪
Wah-wah— Um, please don’t pat my head so roughly~!