VOLUME 5
Chapter 4 – Only the most devout believers can become true antis
Part III
“…”
“…”
“…”
“Go to sleep, Katou.”
“No, I can still…”
It was half past three in the afternoon.
About time for the weekend sun to complete its journey west across the sky.
With provisions consisting only of a single bottle of coffee and Ca**rieM*te1, the tireless Katou was no longer fighting mere sleepiness, but overpowering lethargy.
“The work doesn’t seem to end…”
“Well, we knew what we were getting into.”
It probably doesn’t help that things aren’t progressing as well as she’d expected either.
Katou doesn’t have much experience in working through the night, nor is she used to dealing with the frustration it brings.
The frustration of being stuck in first gear.
There’s a limit to what our bodies can do.
“I guess it was pretty ridiculous trying to finish this in two days…”
“Hmm, maybe.”
It’s been almost twenty hours since we started work – or almost half the time we’ve allotted overselves.
But as for overall progress, we’re closer to thirty percent.
“Are we just going in circles, completely wasting our time?”
“Well, even if we can’t meet the target, we’ll still have less to do further down the road.”
“Yeah, but we’re doing something that might be totally meaningless in the end, right?”
Katou isn’t wrong, but our effort in amassing all our materials won’t be in vain, at least.
By forcibly making a game to assess the scenario, we’re actually saving ourselves a few days’ worth of work in the future.
“Sorry, Aki-kun. I was the one getting all excited yesterday, but now I’m the one dragging us down…”
Those sorrowful words leaked out from Katou one after the other as the goal she had set for herself shattered.
But…
“No, this isn’t meaningless. We’re not wasting our time.”
“Eh…”
“I still believe in what you said, Katou.”
Strangely enough, I was still wide awake when I said those words with quiet belief and self-confidence.
Play the game and understand.
“But why?”
“Because otherwise, the ‘paper drama’2 genre wouldn’t exist.”
How can we stop now that we’ve already started running with it? It’ll be such a bother to.
“Not only do you need the completed scenario, but visuals, sound, and above all, programming to reel the user into a story.”
She’s the one who dragged me into this, and now she’s dropping out? That’s such a waste.
“Tastefully incorporate all elements without allowing any to stand out, and before you realize it, the user will find himself fully immersed in the scenario. That’s traditional paper drama, something you won’t find in a lot of other otaku media.”
“Aki-kun…”
“Like you said, there’s another world out there we’ll never be able to experience unless we do this. That world is the reason why this genre still exists.”
“…”
That’s why I believe.
In the realities, truths, and emotions that can only be found in games.
I believe.
In the confidence Iori has in 「rouge en rouge」’s current superiority.
If that doujin racketeering prodigy says so, then there has to be something fishy going on.
Something important that we’re missing.
“Look, Katou…”
“…”
Katou didn’t respond immediately.
Instead, she stood up slowly, shuffled unsteadily into a corner of the room and collapsed.
“Katou?”
She lay face down into the bed.
“I’m sorry, Aki-kun. Wake me up in two hours.”
“Ehh…”
At that crucial juncture, Katou ran out of gas.
And in the time it took me to think that, she was already fast asleep.
* * *
“Zzz…”
“Zzz…”
“Hey.”
“Nn…Nn…”
“Nnn…Zzz…”
“Oi, Tomo.”
“Zzz…”
“*sniff*Zzz…”
“I said, WAKE UP!”
“Huh?”
“AHHHHHHHHH!”
Following the incredible noise which I was sure burst my eardrums, I was assaulted by the familiar feeling of a chokehold around my head in the reenactment of an old drama.
“So you’ve finally decided to show your true colors, huh?! I knew it! I always knew that your 2D otaku characterization was just a front, you lying womanizer!”
Equally traumatic were those two soft and springy articles simultaneously assaulting my back.3
“Ah, Ah, Ah, Mit-chan! I give in! I give in!”
The identity of my attacker should be pretty obvious by now.
“Hmm… Oh, Hyodo-san?”
Looks like Michiru had dutifully kept to her principles of unannounced marauding.
“Tch, I was wondering who it was, Katou-san. What’s the meaning of this? How long has it been since the two of started doing…this?”
“We’ve been doing it since…last night? We came directly after school so…”
…I wish those two would get on the same page before talking.
* * *
As I looked at my watch, I realized that it was already seven PM.
We had exceeded our designated two-hour sleeping time by an additional one-and-a-half.
“Oh, a game-making sleepover, I see.”
As Michiru quickly grasped the situation, I noticed that she had sometime liberated her usual place on my bed from Katou, and was in sitting in her regular cross-legged position.
I also forgot to add (rather sarcastically) that I preferred the diffident Tomo of the past4.
Wait, I guess it’s not self-confidence we’re talking about here, but dignity.
“So, did we make it?”
“Well, we’re in a pretty rough spot right now.”
“Yeah, I see both of you have been sleeping quite a bit.”
“Katou slept first, okay?!”
“Yeah, I was wrong to trust Aki-kun to wake me up. Sorry.”
“…Good of you to know.”
At least Katou had returned to her usual deadpan5 self after sleeping a little.
“Mm, I see… Ah, that’s not so good… you’ve really done it this time, huh…”
Listening to our exchange, Michiru sporadically delivered some halfhearted opinions as she strummed her guitar.
The melody that came out reminded me more of the desultory ramblings of a ukulele.
I don’t think she can show her disinterest any more conspicuously.
“But you really saved us, Michiru.”
“I know, right? You two would have probably slept till next morning if I hadn’t come.”
Oh, but I wouldn’t be so haughty if I were you, Michiru.
Because although unintentional, now I’ve gotten enough rest.
“Right now I could mistake you for an original character a third-rate fanfic author would put into a lot of his short stories.”
“…I’m sorry, but you lost me there.”
“In other words, you’re a hero with the power to single-handedly destroy the balance of the world!”
How do I convey the urgency of the situation and my ad-libs to her? I thought as a recalculation of epic proportions raged in my head.
“Ah, what I mean is now that you’re here, we can turn this hopeless game around and make a huge comeback!”
“E-Eh? But you know I’m only good for playing guitars and making songs right? I don’t think I’ll really be able to help with whatever it is you’re doing…”
“No, that’s fine. You’ll have your own part to play.”
An image was slowly forming in my head.
A vision of something more substantial than the hard work Katou and I have put in.
“That’s right. You’re going to be our negotiator.”
“Your nego…what?”
“What it means is that you’re going to be engaging in some discussion…with those three otaku girls6 in your band!”
“H-Huh? Why would they have anything to do with this?!”
Ignoring that adverse reflex action, my thoughts shifted in turn to each of the other members of 「icy tail」, that anisong7 rock band Michiru belongs to.
If I remember correctly, Echika8 had some experience in programming.
She took pride in doing (only) anything computer-related well in class.
Toki and Ranko are probably gamers.
Making an inventory of material, beta-testing… there’s always more work to be done.
“Yes, let’s do it! I’m sure each of them will be a million or so times more useful than you!”
“That’s it, I’m going home!”
“That’s right, go home, Michiru! Go and get their help! Go and see if your house is good place to work! If it isn’t, then get them over here! Tell them if they won’t come, then I won’t be their manager either!”
“You’re always doing this to me, Tomo!”
“Ah, I think in the meantime I’ll go take a bath.”9
* * *
The rest of the day was even more of a bloodbath.
But with the speedy arrival of Toki, Echika and Ranko, we made dramatic progress.
Most notably, Echika’s skill was as good as we hoped, which made me wish that I’d made her a circle member right from the start.
…Apparently she had a date previously arranged for that day, so I’m not sure if she was working so prolifically out of despair or spite.
Exceeding ourselves, our efforts finally came to fruition at the very end.
Five minutes before Sunday turned to Monday, the α version of our game was complete.
Then…
* * *
“I see…”
My room, in the afterglow of the party, after everyone had left.
The morning after a weekend that passed like a storm.
“I see, Iori…”
Without sleeping a wink, I stayed up until I was going to be late.
The crystal of our dreams, now complete; I expressed my feelings about it as succinctly and appropriately as I could.
“What the hell… It’s just a shitty game!”
Next Page
Deadpan’s Wonderland:
1CalorieMate. This isn’t the first time this MRE (ew, gross) is making an appearance.
2Kamishibai (紙芝居), literally paper drama. A form of storytelling using picture scrolls or illustrated boards inserted into a stage, withdrawn one by one as the story progresses. Analogous to puppet shows in Western context.
3Time to grab those tissues!
4See Epilogue, Volume 4. I guess you’ll just have to pick up Japanese.
5BINGO! I call bingo!
6Do they really exist in real life?
7Portmanteau of “anime” and “song”. Yes, deadpan would feel pretty insulted too if a translator thought he needed a TL note for that.
8In order of appearance: Mizuhara Echika, bassist. Himekawa Tokino, rhythm guitar. Morioka Ranko, drums. deadpan forgot all their names too.
9This is only deadpan’s speculation, but this is probably what happened: While Michiru strangles Tomoya (again), the opportunistic Megumi goes and takes a bath.