Next Door - Open World Chapter 1
Oct. 13th, 2020 10:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shivalriesSeason: Summer
---
[Cafe COCHI]
(Present day - the day after Knights kidnapped Leo Tsukinaga, on the afternoon of his escape)
Tsukasa: ...This is the blunder of a lifetime. I'd never thought Leo-san would lose all sense of shame and run away.
Arashi: Fufu. ♪ I mean, that's the kind of person he is, right?
I forgot all about it since he's been so quiet lately. But back when he'd just returned to Knights, he kept squirreling out of our grasp whenever he could. He gave us quite the time, didn't he?
Ritsu: Yep. Our mistake for forgetting about that part of Tsukipi~ and failing to prepare for it.
We shall atone for the sin of letting him escape by offering up Nacchan's blood in sacrifice.
Arashi: Hold on a sec, can you not start offering up my blood?
Tsukasa: —Silence, please.
Ahem, ahem. (clearing his throat) It appears that you're both falling back into our usual leisurely banter, but we must do what we came here to do.
Soldiers must be swift and decisive—and soldiers are akin to knights, as Alkaloid has demonstrated at MDM.
You both understand what I'm trying to say, I presume?
Ritsu: Yup, no probs~ Ricchan's a clever boy, y'see.
Arashi: You're kinda cutesy today, Ritsu-chan. It's still the middle of day... Maybe you're sleepy?
Ritsu: Mnn... Lately I've been playing around with the idea of dipping back into nocturnal life, but it's thrown off my daily routine. I've been feeling spacey all the time.
Y'know what Anija went and said to me? "You're always copying me, Ritsu. You really do adore me, don't you? ♪"
So of course I got ticked off and snapped his pinky finger. But it's like, now that I think about it, I am starting to resemble last year's Anija—
One man's fault is another's lesson, right? So I was thinking lately that maaaybe I'll try kicking back just a little bit more.
Starting with Ma~kun, everybody started saying stuff like, "Ritsu's gotten serious now!" "We don't have to take care of him anymore!"...
So nobody's coming to pamper me and it's making me lonely and stuff...
I wouldn't be me, Ritsu Sakuma, if I didn't get spoiled and pampered, okay~ As a proud and noble member of Knights, I don't wanna betray my own soul.
Arashi: Um, that's actually pretty lame, though. Isn't that practically admitting you're tired of trying already? That's exactly what people say when they're avoiding responsibilities, y'know?
Tsukasa: Fufu. Even so, I feel that Ritsu-senpai has said something very important.
Disregarding one's own principles is disgraceful, after all. No matter how different one may seem on the outside, at their core they remain unchanged.
After all, I'd thought my adorable "little brother" shared my own dreams and desires to be an idol... and yet he still walks a bloody path.
Arashi: Are you talking about that kid from Double Face? They've been a real hot topic recently. What was that all about, anyway?
Tsukasa: I wouldn't know, myself. I have heard, however, that they're akin to a secret service, surreptitiously eliminating those who've done wrong.
Officially they belong to NewDi, but in truth, they are more like the Producer Association, lying outside agency laws.
Ritsu: "Eliminating"...? That sounds more like the secret police than the secret service. So Ecchan's using fear tactics now?
Tsukasa: No, it was all in fact Saegusa-senpai's suggestion. His agency is handling the troublesome Crazy:B, after all—
Perhaps he intended to create a fail-safe, should another similar evil appear to threaten this world again.
It's similar to how police officers carry guns to prevent crime.
Some may think that while guns can only be used for violence, such weapons will exact justice without any outside input on the matter—and some, I'm certain, find that very hard to believe.
Ritsu: Mngh~ It also kinda feels like an excuse for them to keep holding on to their "Crazy:B" weapon.
Like they're saying: it's okay, we have the power to stop them just in case things go south, no worries.
CosPro's methods always remind me of a military state. We're just a frail little country on the side, y'know? It's scary.
Tsukasa: But perhaps Double Face was sent to NewDi as a way to embolden us instead?
CosPro is telling us that we have the first right to this trump card. If I may be frank, though, rather than frightening, it's simply far too suspicious.
In the next Summit, I'll poke around however I can—as is obvious—and try to figure out the others' true intentions.
Arashi: Geez, shady as ever... Makes me look like a fool for being happy that Mama was finally able to form a unit with someone.
Tsukasa: Ahh... You don't know much about what's going on behind the scenes, do you?
Arashi: Not really. I mean, it seems like they sent out a basic outline to all unit leaders in that glitter mail thingie...
But that kind of info doesn't always make it down to us on the lower rung, you know.
Tsukasa: You're not below me in any way. Like the celebrated knights of the round table, all members of Knights are equal.
And from pure experience and history, you would both objectively be above me—and that's how I view it as well.
Ritsu: Indeed. Revere us, shower us with your every affection! I presume it no hard task for one such as you, Su-no-ji! [1]
Arashi: Oh my gooood, Ritsu-chan, pick a personality already~ ♪
Tsukasa: Ahem, ahem. (clearing his throat for the second time) Anyway, the problem at hand is not Double Face, but us Knights.
Or rather, Leo-san. He is truly hopeless—
Just when I choose to respect his wishes and let him do as he pleases, he goes and does things that aren't helpful.
I did even consider disposing of that courtesy and employing a trustworthy butler from my own home to follow by his side and manage every aspect of his life, but...
Arashi: You're always so extreme. Who did you get that from, I wonder?
Ritsu: Oh, definitely Secchan. I'm not the type to tie people up, after all.
Arashi: No comment.
...Well, extremity aside, I know how you feel. Leo-kun went and got himself wrapped up in a shady scheme, after all.
I'm not sure what exactly happened since I haven't heard the details, but...
Apparently some sinister outside producer called GFK or something was using Leo-kun, and...
Ritsu: Verily. Whilst lavishing a babe with love is wonderful, sucking the very lifeblood from my comrade is a sin unforgivable.
Arashi: Again, no comment.
---
[1] Ritsu's speech style here is very antiquated, similar to the speech style popularized in historical dramas (think samurai + warlord-type things). It's also worthy to note that this style sounds similar to Rei's, but I opted for an over-dramatic translation to differentiate this from normal Ritsu-speak.
Regarding "Su-no-ji": "-no-ji" is an Edo-period nickname ending heavily associated with the underground--ruffians, organized crime, etc.--used primarily by lower-class men. Because of this, "-no-ji" sounds both old and rough/coarse, but Ritsu here mixes it with the same ス~ "Su~" he uses in Su~chan (which is adorable, in my very unbiased opinion).
---
< Monologue 2 || Masterlist || Open World Chapter 2 >
---
[Cafe COCHI]
(Present day - the day after Knights kidnapped Leo Tsukinaga, on the afternoon of his escape)
Tsukasa: ...This is the blunder of a lifetime. I'd never thought Leo-san would lose all sense of shame and run away.
Arashi: Fufu. ♪ I mean, that's the kind of person he is, right?
I forgot all about it since he's been so quiet lately. But back when he'd just returned to Knights, he kept squirreling out of our grasp whenever he could. He gave us quite the time, didn't he?
Ritsu: Yep. Our mistake for forgetting about that part of Tsukipi~ and failing to prepare for it.
We shall atone for the sin of letting him escape by offering up Nacchan's blood in sacrifice.
Arashi: Hold on a sec, can you not start offering up my blood?
Tsukasa: —Silence, please.
Ahem, ahem. (clearing his throat) It appears that you're both falling back into our usual leisurely banter, but we must do what we came here to do.
Soldiers must be swift and decisive—and soldiers are akin to knights, as Alkaloid has demonstrated at MDM.
You both understand what I'm trying to say, I presume?
Ritsu: Yup, no probs~ Ricchan's a clever boy, y'see.
Arashi: You're kinda cutesy today, Ritsu-chan. It's still the middle of day... Maybe you're sleepy?
Ritsu: Mnn... Lately I've been playing around with the idea of dipping back into nocturnal life, but it's thrown off my daily routine. I've been feeling spacey all the time.
Y'know what Anija went and said to me? "You're always copying me, Ritsu. You really do adore me, don't you? ♪"
So of course I got ticked off and snapped his pinky finger. But it's like, now that I think about it, I am starting to resemble last year's Anija—
One man's fault is another's lesson, right? So I was thinking lately that maaaybe I'll try kicking back just a little bit more.
Starting with Ma~kun, everybody started saying stuff like, "Ritsu's gotten serious now!" "We don't have to take care of him anymore!"...
So nobody's coming to pamper me and it's making me lonely and stuff...
I wouldn't be me, Ritsu Sakuma, if I didn't get spoiled and pampered, okay~ As a proud and noble member of Knights, I don't wanna betray my own soul.
Arashi: Um, that's actually pretty lame, though. Isn't that practically admitting you're tired of trying already? That's exactly what people say when they're avoiding responsibilities, y'know?
Tsukasa: Fufu. Even so, I feel that Ritsu-senpai has said something very important.
Disregarding one's own principles is disgraceful, after all. No matter how different one may seem on the outside, at their core they remain unchanged.
After all, I'd thought my adorable "little brother" shared my own dreams and desires to be an idol... and yet he still walks a bloody path.
Arashi: Are you talking about that kid from Double Face? They've been a real hot topic recently. What was that all about, anyway?
Tsukasa: I wouldn't know, myself. I have heard, however, that they're akin to a secret service, surreptitiously eliminating those who've done wrong.
Officially they belong to NewDi, but in truth, they are more like the Producer Association, lying outside agency laws.
Ritsu: "Eliminating"...? That sounds more like the secret police than the secret service. So Ecchan's using fear tactics now?
Tsukasa: No, it was all in fact Saegusa-senpai's suggestion. His agency is handling the troublesome Crazy:B, after all—
Perhaps he intended to create a fail-safe, should another similar evil appear to threaten this world again.
It's similar to how police officers carry guns to prevent crime.
Some may think that while guns can only be used for violence, such weapons will exact justice without any outside input on the matter—and some, I'm certain, find that very hard to believe.
Ritsu: Mngh~ It also kinda feels like an excuse for them to keep holding on to their "Crazy:B" weapon.
Like they're saying: it's okay, we have the power to stop them just in case things go south, no worries.
CosPro's methods always remind me of a military state. We're just a frail little country on the side, y'know? It's scary.
Tsukasa: But perhaps Double Face was sent to NewDi as a way to embolden us instead?
CosPro is telling us that we have the first right to this trump card. If I may be frank, though, rather than frightening, it's simply far too suspicious.
In the next Summit, I'll poke around however I can—as is obvious—and try to figure out the others' true intentions.
Arashi: Geez, shady as ever... Makes me look like a fool for being happy that Mama was finally able to form a unit with someone.
Tsukasa: Ahh... You don't know much about what's going on behind the scenes, do you?
Arashi: Not really. I mean, it seems like they sent out a basic outline to all unit leaders in that glitter mail thingie...
But that kind of info doesn't always make it down to us on the lower rung, you know.
Tsukasa: You're not below me in any way. Like the celebrated knights of the round table, all members of Knights are equal.
And from pure experience and history, you would both objectively be above me—and that's how I view it as well.
Ritsu: Indeed. Revere us, shower us with your every affection! I presume it no hard task for one such as you, Su-no-ji! [1]
Arashi: Oh my gooood, Ritsu-chan, pick a personality already~ ♪
Tsukasa: Ahem, ahem. (clearing his throat for the second time) Anyway, the problem at hand is not Double Face, but us Knights.
Or rather, Leo-san. He is truly hopeless—
Just when I choose to respect his wishes and let him do as he pleases, he goes and does things that aren't helpful.
I did even consider disposing of that courtesy and employing a trustworthy butler from my own home to follow by his side and manage every aspect of his life, but...
Arashi: You're always so extreme. Who did you get that from, I wonder?
Ritsu: Oh, definitely Secchan. I'm not the type to tie people up, after all.
Arashi: No comment.
...Well, extremity aside, I know how you feel. Leo-kun went and got himself wrapped up in a shady scheme, after all.
I'm not sure what exactly happened since I haven't heard the details, but...
Apparently some sinister outside producer called GFK or something was using Leo-kun, and...
Ritsu: Verily. Whilst lavishing a babe with love is wonderful, sucking the very lifeblood from my comrade is a sin unforgivable.
Arashi: Again, no comment.
---
[1] Ritsu's speech style here is very antiquated, similar to the speech style popularized in historical dramas (think samurai + warlord-type things). It's also worthy to note that this style sounds similar to Rei's, but I opted for an over-dramatic translation to differentiate this from normal Ritsu-speak.
Regarding "Su-no-ji": "-no-ji" is an Edo-period nickname ending heavily associated with the underground--ruffians, organized crime, etc.--used primarily by lower-class men. Because of this, "-no-ji" sounds both old and rough/coarse, but Ritsu here mixes it with the same ス~ "Su~" he uses in Su~chan (which is adorable, in my very unbiased opinion).
---
< Monologue 2 || Masterlist || Open World Chapter 2 >
