Sudden Death - Monologue 2
Aug. 4th, 2022 09:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shivalriesSeason: Autumn (Past)
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Location: Suou family garden - day
(The following afternoon)
Tsukasa: ......
Kohaku: ......
Tsukasa: —I've got you!
Kohaku: Yaaagh?! The heck are ya doin', dimwit?! Didn't your folks ever teach ya not ta throw rocks at people?!
Tsukasa: Throwing rocks was a common war strategy in ancient times, you know!
Heh heh heh ♪ This is for all those times you gave me a fright!
If I do not avenge my honor, I would bring disgrace to the Suou family name!
Kohaku: What the heck... We never intend t'scare folks, okay? We just can't help but slip into the shadows sometimes.
Tsukasa: You wish for forgiveness simply because you had no ill intentions? Why then, by that logic, we must forgive the beasts that trample our crops, or the vermin that come to pester us!
Kohaku: Why not forgive 'em? Years on, they jus' might crown ya as a saint who could never even hurt a fly.
Tsukasa: If I could not even kill an insect, how could I ever call myself a Suou warrior?!
Kohaku: ...Well, ain't you fresh as a daisy today. Ain't like I heard it—rumors were goin' around sayin' you were prone to starin' off into space these days.
What's up, then? Somethin' good happen?
Tsukasa: Hehe. I've been so excited that you've come to see me every day—
Kohaku: ......
Tsukasa: —I mean! I have discovered a truth of this world! No one has taught me this—I have reached a great enlightenment through my own means!
Kohaku: A... truth of this world?
Tsukasa: Ah, you think I've lost my mind! I can see the insolence on your face! I should have your head for that!
Kohaku: ...Don't even joke about that, alright?
Anyways, little princess... Tell me aaaall about this amazing discovery you've made, won't you?
Tsukasa: You are insulting me, aren't you?! I am no princess in need of protection—I am a son of warriors, born to safeguard and lead his people!
Kohaku: They mighta taught ya that here, but that ain't how it works everywhere, ya know.
Whatever, it don't matter. So, what was that "truth" ya found out?
Not that I really care, but ya'd pitch a fit if I didn't ask.
Tsukasa: Very well! Allow me to explain!
Look around you! The Suou family's beautiful garden is home to a vast variety of insects!
Kohaku: Bugs are everywhere, ya know. We ain't in outer space.
Tsukasa: Right, but see, there is one species among them, one group of a certain type of ant that I have dubbed "sakura ants".
Kohaku: Huh, like sakura shrimp. Sounds kinda tasty, actually.
Tsukasa: I do not think they are. Putting these ants into your mouth would only burn your tongue with acid.
Kohaku: Sounds like you're speakin' from experience there.
Tsukasa: Ants are always eating sugary sweets, so I'd thought they would be sweet as well...
Wait, why does that even matter right now?!
Kohaku: Nah, I'm just relieved. Even the Suous' little lordlin' is just a squirt who'd get curious enough to stick some bugs in his mouth.
Tsukasa: E-Erase it from your mind! If you speak of this, I will have your head!
Kohaku: Sure, sure, my lips are sealed. Pinky promise, 'kay? Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my—
Tsukasa: I-In any case, I have decided to become the patron of these sakura ants.
These ants, you see, are guilty criminals—they have slipped past my watchful eye and eaten the snacks I had so carefully stowed away.
Kohaku: Huh...? Not sure I'm followin'.
Tsukasa: It is not often I'm allowed to snack, so I have taken my time to savor them very slowly—a bite here, a nibble there...
I'd secretly stowed them in my tansu to pick away at, but one day, I opened the drawer to discover a large amount of ants had gathered inside.
Kohaku: Well, o' course. Leavin' out half-eaten food's a surefire way to attract bugs.
Tsukasa: It certainly is. I've learned something new, ehehe ♪
Kohaku: How d'ya have such good education, but ya don't know somethin' as basic as that?
Tsukasa: My position allows me to live without knowing commoner trivia.
That aside, these ants have partaken of the nourishment that was meant for me, which means they are now greater than any other ants—just as I am above other humans.
Having consumed a special food, they are now special themselves.
Kohaku: Yeah, there's some truth to that. What ya grow into depends on what ya ate growin' up—in other words, it depends on what your environment was.
Tsukasa: Yes, you understand. These ants, having eaten my treasured snacks, have gained exceptional power!
Thus, I have painted them red to mark them apart from other insects and given them the honorable name of "sakura ants"!
---
T/N: The kanji for sakura/cherry blossoms is in both Tsukasa and Kohaku's last names, and the sakura blossoms are also featured in Tsukasa's family crest.
T/N: Akira confirmed in a comment in the official SS/Sudden Death commentary stream that the tansu (Japanese chest of drawers) where Tsukasa placed his snacks is the same one mentioned in Requiem, Dies irae Chapter 11.
---
< Monologue 1 || Masterlist || Monologue 3 >
---
Location: Suou family garden - day
(The following afternoon)
Tsukasa: ......
Kohaku: ......
Tsukasa: —I've got you!
Kohaku: Yaaagh?! The heck are ya doin', dimwit?! Didn't your folks ever teach ya not ta throw rocks at people?!
Tsukasa: Throwing rocks was a common war strategy in ancient times, you know!
Heh heh heh ♪ This is for all those times you gave me a fright!
If I do not avenge my honor, I would bring disgrace to the Suou family name!
Kohaku: What the heck... We never intend t'scare folks, okay? We just can't help but slip into the shadows sometimes.
Tsukasa: You wish for forgiveness simply because you had no ill intentions? Why then, by that logic, we must forgive the beasts that trample our crops, or the vermin that come to pester us!
Kohaku: Why not forgive 'em? Years on, they jus' might crown ya as a saint who could never even hurt a fly.
Tsukasa: If I could not even kill an insect, how could I ever call myself a Suou warrior?!
Kohaku: ...Well, ain't you fresh as a daisy today. Ain't like I heard it—rumors were goin' around sayin' you were prone to starin' off into space these days.
What's up, then? Somethin' good happen?
Tsukasa: Hehe. I've been so excited that you've come to see me every day—
Kohaku: ......
Tsukasa: —I mean! I have discovered a truth of this world! No one has taught me this—I have reached a great enlightenment through my own means!
Kohaku: A... truth of this world?
Tsukasa: Ah, you think I've lost my mind! I can see the insolence on your face! I should have your head for that!
Kohaku: ...Don't even joke about that, alright?
Anyways, little princess... Tell me aaaall about this amazing discovery you've made, won't you?
Tsukasa: You are insulting me, aren't you?! I am no princess in need of protection—I am a son of warriors, born to safeguard and lead his people!
Kohaku: They mighta taught ya that here, but that ain't how it works everywhere, ya know.
Whatever, it don't matter. So, what was that "truth" ya found out?
Not that I really care, but ya'd pitch a fit if I didn't ask.
Tsukasa: Very well! Allow me to explain!
Look around you! The Suou family's beautiful garden is home to a vast variety of insects!
Kohaku: Bugs are everywhere, ya know. We ain't in outer space.
Tsukasa: Right, but see, there is one species among them, one group of a certain type of ant that I have dubbed "sakura ants".
Kohaku: Huh, like sakura shrimp. Sounds kinda tasty, actually.
Tsukasa: I do not think they are. Putting these ants into your mouth would only burn your tongue with acid.
Kohaku: Sounds like you're speakin' from experience there.
Tsukasa: Ants are always eating sugary sweets, so I'd thought they would be sweet as well...
Wait, why does that even matter right now?!
Kohaku: Nah, I'm just relieved. Even the Suous' little lordlin' is just a squirt who'd get curious enough to stick some bugs in his mouth.
Tsukasa: E-Erase it from your mind! If you speak of this, I will have your head!
Kohaku: Sure, sure, my lips are sealed. Pinky promise, 'kay? Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my—
Tsukasa: I-In any case, I have decided to become the patron of these sakura ants.
These ants, you see, are guilty criminals—they have slipped past my watchful eye and eaten the snacks I had so carefully stowed away.
Kohaku: Huh...? Not sure I'm followin'.
Tsukasa: It is not often I'm allowed to snack, so I have taken my time to savor them very slowly—a bite here, a nibble there...
I'd secretly stowed them in my tansu to pick away at, but one day, I opened the drawer to discover a large amount of ants had gathered inside.
Kohaku: Well, o' course. Leavin' out half-eaten food's a surefire way to attract bugs.
Tsukasa: It certainly is. I've learned something new, ehehe ♪
Kohaku: How d'ya have such good education, but ya don't know somethin' as basic as that?
Tsukasa: My position allows me to live without knowing commoner trivia.
That aside, these ants have partaken of the nourishment that was meant for me, which means they are now greater than any other ants—just as I am above other humans.
Having consumed a special food, they are now special themselves.
Kohaku: Yeah, there's some truth to that. What ya grow into depends on what ya ate growin' up—in other words, it depends on what your environment was.
Tsukasa: Yes, you understand. These ants, having eaten my treasured snacks, have gained exceptional power!
Thus, I have painted them red to mark them apart from other insects and given them the honorable name of "sakura ants"!
---
T/N: The kanji for sakura/cherry blossoms is in both Tsukasa and Kohaku's last names, and the sakura blossoms are also featured in Tsukasa's family crest.
T/N: Akira confirmed in a comment in the official SS/Sudden Death commentary stream that the tansu (Japanese chest of drawers) where Tsukasa placed his snacks is the same one mentioned in Requiem, Dies irae Chapter 11.
---
< Monologue 1 || Masterlist || Monologue 3 >
