Requiem - Dies irae Chapter 9

[shivalries]

Season: Winter

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[Tennis Court]

Makoto: …Anyway, Himemiya-kun, I heard Izumi-san’s gonna go full-time model after graduating.

I only found out about it myself because it’s been pretty big news in the industry.

I was kind of impressed – seems like he’s really got guts. So, Izumi-san, even after the huge mess you made in the past, you still haven’t given up on your modeling career?

Izumi: Excuse me? Have I ever once said I was gonna give up?

Well, it’s true that even now, there’s still a lot of backlash and malice coming at me from within the country, especially from those in the industry.

But if I worried over every single thing, I wouldn’t be able to take even a single step forward, would I?

It’s just that when I returned to modeling in the summer, I had a rough time just doing my job…

So I thought graduation would be a good turning point to go test my skills overseas, upon the true stage of modeling.

After all, it’d be stupid to assume I’ve already reached my limits, hole up in a tiny place, and then just give up...

I don’t really feel like I’ve quite had my fill of modeling yet, you know?

You can’t rest in peace while holding onto regrets, and you can’t live on either…

But if you’re already as good as dead, then you can do anything. So I‘ve even bowed my head to the guys I hate and found my own way back into the modeling world.

From the world’s point of view, it’s not like it’s too late to debut right after graduating from highschool at the age of eighteen, after all.

Work experience within the country is next to worthless overseas, so even though it won’t benefit me, it won’t hurt me either, right?

This time, I want to have a fresh start and see how far I can go with it.

Right now, nobody thinks I’m the most beautiful person in the world, but… I’ll make the world look at me.

And if I manage to do that, then for the first time, I can take a step forward with pride.

Makoto: …♪

Izumi: J-Just kidding… That’s just what I was thinking when I made my decision.

Things are going smoothly right now, but the path ahead’s still unclear, you know? I might actually just be feeling a little scared, okay?

But at Yumenosaki, I’ve witnessed so many miracles that I never thought would happen.

If miracles really do exist, then it wouldn’t be so bad to bet on having one for myself, right?

Tori: …Um. Well, that’s pretty cool and I’ll be cheering you on, but… Does that mean you’re gonna quit being an idol, Sena-senpai?

What a total waste~ I thought Knights was getting super popular lately, no?

Izumi: Oh no, I’m not gonna quit. Don’t get the wrong idea, okay?

Of course, I can’t be too active as an idol since I’d like to focus on modeling until I get a strong foothold there, but—

I’m definitely planning to come back as an even better version of myself. I really do actually love who I am as an idol, too, after all.

Since Kasa-kun seems to be worrying about the same thing, I wanna tell him this as well, but…

There’s no reason to chop off and toss out a part of yourself if no one ever wanted you to.

When it comes to making life plans, it’s just a matter of when you do things.

Well, the fans might be disappointed that they can’t see me perform, even if it’s for just a little while.

But unlike a certain moron out there, it’s not like I’ll disappear completely, so it should be okay, right? W-What do you think?

Makoto: Mm~ Well yeah, in the mind of a fan, it’s hard to say goodbye even for a moment.

But these days, we’re all connected by the internet, no matter where we are… Despite staying in Japan, even I don’t have any reason to cry and beg you to stay.

So I guess I’ll just tell you this as a send-off.

Know that you have a place to return to, so come back if it doesn’t work out, okay?

I don’t want that to happen and I won’t wait for you, but I just wanted to make that clear.

Do your best out there, Izumi Sena-senpai♪

Izumi: Of course, Makoto Yuuki-kouhai…♪

And Yuu-kun, you can also come back to modeling anytime you’d like, okay?!

I’ll welcome you with open arms, and we can celebrate together with a ceremony in a beautiful chapel overlooking the sea☆

Makoto: I have no clue what you’re trying to say. …But right now, I want to focus all my energy on being an idol.

You said it’s a matter of when, but in the end, that’s the highest priority for me right now.

Izumi: Tch… Well, that’s fine, I guess? I can’t whine forever about not working hard just because Yuu-kun won’t hold my hand, right?

Makoto: Mhmm. There, good boy, now you’re getting it♪

Tori: So you two made up when I wasn’t looking, I see… Well, I guess a lot of stuff happened that I never saw.

But still, a career, huh… It still seems so far away to me. You’re all thinking so hard about it, though. Consider me impressed.

(Tsukasa. Is this what you’re racking your brains about right now? That’s not fair… We’ve always gone at the same pace since we were kids, but now you’re doing this?)

Makoto: Still, it would’ve been nice to hear about your plans sooner. Plenty of us were wondering about it, fans included.

I was pretty worried about what you were gonna do, actually.

There’s always been a part of you that quickly gave up on stuff and just promptly dropped it in the middle, after all.

Weren’t you ever worried that you might toss out Knights, too?

Izumi: That’s not something you can just pick up and discard so easily. But well, I guess I wasn’t really being fair. I act like we’re all family, but maybe I’ve been too distant…

But honestly, I didn’t decide on my future until literally the last minute, you know? I just couldn’t bring myself to talk about it.

If I bragged about my plans to everyone only for them to end up not working out, it’d be really embarrassing.

Makoto: Ahaha. You sound like so many of our other graduating seniors.

Tori: Yeah… Eichi-sama and Long Locks been pretty evasive about their plans, too.

All they’ve said is that fine won’t break up, so I’m not worried about that, at least.

But as for whether or not Eichi-sama or Long Locks will still be a part of it, it’s all still weirdly vague.

So I’ve been worried~… We’re a unit, you know? We’re not strangers anymore, so I want them to tell me the important stuff.

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< Dies irae Chapter 8 || Masterlist || Dies irae Chapter 10 >

Comments

[fourteentimes]

i made a dreamwidth account just to say: thank you!!!! for all of your wonderful knights stories translations!!!! without you, i wouldn't be able to read and fall in love w all these dumb boys!!! so thank you so much for all of your hard work, and i look forward to whenever you get to the next part of requiem! :)

[shivalries]

oh my gosh what a sweet message thank you so much!!! it always makes me happy when i can help spread the love for these boys ToT now that horaharo is done i'm really looking forward to starting up the requiem releases again!! so look forward to it too!