[ES!! Era Year 2] Terror! Footsteps Creeping Closer
 |  |
|---|
Shinobu wants to do a nighttime live stream to see the stars and Chiaki helps him out, except…
This story is set a little after the Mega Sphere arc began (July), where idols start live-streaming through Mega Stream.
Season: ES 2nd Year, Summer
MEGA LIVE on @Sengoku_Ryusei
“Good evening, everyone~! I am Ryuseitai’s Sengoku Shinobu!”
“And for tonight! Our guest will be—”
“Bam—! Ryuseitai’s Morisawa Chiaki is here in all his glory! ☆”
“Thank you for inviting me to your live stream, Sengoku! I’m so glad I get to greet all your fans!”
“Good evening, everyone! Thanks for always taking great care of our Sengoku…☆”
“Ahaha, you speak almost like a father~”
“It is I who is grateful here. I wanted to attempt doing a nighttime live stream, but I felt anxious doing it all alone…”
“I was searching for someone who could live-stream with me all this time.”
“Mm. There may be lights around, but the outdoors at night are much darker here than when we’re on the ground.”
“Holding the camera while talking and reading comments will only put you at risk of tripping on yourself. I’m honored to accompany you as your escort, Sengoku.”
“I just so happen to have something I want to try out tonight, too.”
“There’s something you’d like to try? What could it be?”
“That’s for us to enjoy once it’s time. Come on now, let’s head outside first!”
“Mmh! Right then, everyone, it is time we depart for our first nighttime live stream~♪”
A few minutes later…
“—Let’s see here. I’ll change this to night-view mode…”
“How’s the screen, everyone? Can you still see us just fine?”
“Ooh, it’s a lot brighter now. I’m glad to know the lighting was easily fixed!”
“…But, as I thought, the starry sky doesn’t appear to be showing clearly through the camera.”
“It looks so pretty right now, so it is a little frustrating that I cannot show it to everyone~”
“Were you hoping to do a nighttime live stream to show the starry sky, Sengoku?”
“Indeed, I was. Since there aren’t any city lights around, the stars are much clearer and prettier here than on the ground.”
“I was extremely moved the first time I saw it. Just gazing at the stars made me forget all about all the turmoil in Mega Sphere.”
“That is why I wanted to share that emotional moment with everyone, as well.”
“I get it now. You’re very kind, Sengoku.”
“The stars aren’t properly showing on camera, but… Look, the moon is showing clearly.”
“Can you all see it? The big moon looks absolutely beautiful.”
“Morisawa-dono…”
“Hm, that wasn’t right of me. It upset me to know I cannot show the stars, but…”
“That’s fine, I simply have to convey my feelings through my own words, as well as the atmosphere of the scenery!”
“The beauty of live streams is chatting and exchanging banter with the viewers! I shall switch my ninja gears and pull myself together.”
“Mm? I believe I saw a comment about the stars — ‘What star constellations can you see’?”
“While I’d love to answer that, I’m not all too sure~ I am only aware of the well-known ones, such as the North Star and the Summer Triangle.”
“Hmm… Right now is the period when the spring and summer star constellations mingle.”
“West is over on that side, so… Those over there are the constellations of Bootes and Virgo. Shining in the north is the Ursa Major.”
“The Summer Triangle you mentioned should show itself soon from the east side.”
“Oohh—! Why are you so knowledgeable about this!? Are you the Star Constellation Master!?”1
“Fuhaha! I don’t know enough to be called ‘Master’. These are just the fruits of my studying in my childhood…☆”
“As long as the skies are clear, you can see star constellations no matter where you are on Earth, right? That thought made me feel like I’m connected to people all across the world.”
“Back in those days, I found that fun, and became engrossed with it enough to memorize a few.”
“So that’s what it was. I don’t do quite well with the feeling of cramming knowledge in my head, and would always escape from reality instead.”
“I would come up with my own made-up constellations, such as ‘Shuriken constellation’, or ‘Ninja Scroll constellation’…”2
“——Ah! A shooting star!”
“I wish for, erm, um…”
“Uwaah! It disappeared before I could make up my mind~!”
“Ahh, that’s such a shame, Sengoku. But with skies like these, we should be able to spot one again. Let’s be patient and wait.”
“We should prepare for that moment by thinking up a wish from now. All you viewers out there, please tell us your wishes in the comments, if possible! ☆”
“…I’ve decided! My wish will be: ‘I wish for this to be a fun live stream’.”
“Also, ‘I wish to see many shooting stars.’ I feel as though that’s how we could get at least one of them to appear on the live stream! ♪”
“What shall you wish for, Morisawa-dono?”
“Me? Hmm, let’s see, I’ll wish for everyone to be in good health—”
“Oh? The commenters are pretty chatty right now…?”
“‘I hear a weird sound’, ‘Is it just the wind?’… Mm? Sound?”
“‘It sounds like footsteps’…? No, there isn’t anyone near us, though~”
“You hear it even though there’s nobody… here…?”
“No, no, it can’t be…”
“The comments are saying, ‘Maybe it’s a ghost?’. Ahaha, there’s nothing like that here, you know~ Right, Morisawa-dono?”
“E-Exactly! Maybe on land there could’ve been, but there wouldn’t be a ghost in a place this high—…”
“—Ah! This is the perfect time for this…!”
“Transformation belt! Locked in!”
“Eh!? That was sudden… Wait, are you telling me the item you wanted to try is—”
“You got it! I happened to come across this when I was looking around the Passage Arcade. It’s apparently merchandise of an American sentai hero show.”3
“If I click on this switch — Look, it shines out lights in five colors!”
“Ooh~! It plays out an electronic sound, how exciting! ♪”
“Fuhaha! I thought the lights would look a lot better outside at night, so I kept it for this very day!”
“With the light and sound of justice, we’ll eradicate any and all mysterious phenomena!”
“—What’s that ‘mysterious phenomena’ about?”
“Nnhii—!?”
“I-IT’S ACTUALLY HEREEEEE!?”
“Ooh~… Moririn distanced himself real fast while blaring out lively sounds and lights.”
“You surprised me~ So the mysterious footsteps came from you all along, Sakuma-dono.”
“Guess so…? I was chatting on live stream while looking at the stars, when I heard two people talking from where I was~”
“It’s pretty rare to come across someone at this hour, so I got curious and came over to see what’s going on.”
“…Oh, woops, you’re live-streaming right now too, huh.”
“Everyone watching NinNin-kun’s live stream, good evenin’~ I’m Sakuma Ritsu~♪”
“Ahaha, thank you for greeting them. Everyone’s raving at the sight of a surprise guest!”
“…Mfun. Just as the comments say, as we were waiting for the stars, the moon came instead~”
“Moon… Ahh, you mean me, huh~♪ ‘Cause my name has the ‘moon’ kanji in it, yeah?”4
“…By the way, NinNin-kun. You sure it’s fine to not recover back ‘that’?”
“What do you mean by ‘that’?”
“Look over there. Moririn’s cowering on the side while the lights and noise keep blaring out.”
“Khh… I can’t stand, my legs are frozen from terror…!”5
“Ha—!? I’m coming to save you now, Morisawa-dono~!”6
“Ooh~ He zipped through like a shooting star.”
“Fufu. We got to see something really interesting, didn’t we~ Live streams at night are pretty neat.”
“Right, everyone, let’s get back to chatting. Don’t forget to ‘Nice!’ and subscribe to the channel…♪”
Fun Note: The story title, Terror! Footsteps Creeping Closer, uses shinobi yoru for “creeping closer”. Another way to put it is “drawing near without noticing”, as shinobi refers to concealing oneself. The word shares the same kanji as Shinobu’s name!
Shinobu Feature Scout Stories
Translation Notes
- ↑ He calls him hakase, meaning “Doctor” (for those who have a PhD in a certain field).
- ↑ As a fun note, the ninja scroll would look something like the one in Chuunibyou Shinobu’s card. Translation of Chuunibyou can be found here.
- ↑ This is the French word of passage. Passage refers to the shopping arcades that were built in Paris. Also, Chiaki likely means Power Rangers, as they’re the American version of Super Sentai.
- ↑ Ritsu’s name is 凛月, lit. “cold moon”.
- ↑ As a fun note, Chiaki is extremely terrified of ghosts. In the oshi room’s ghost chart, he was the only one at the very top of the “gets scared” chart.
- ↑ For another story where Shinobu does what he can to ease Chiaki’s fear of scary things, please see Oniyasha. Shinobu helps investigate the oniyasha rumors after noticing Chiaki was too scared to walk home alone at night due to the rumors.