Clad in the Path I’ve Taken

Featuring: Kuro, Kanata, Nazuna, Tsumugi, Leo, Keito

Writer: Yuumasu

Season: Autumn

Location: Green Room

Kuro: …Hm? Well, if it isn’t you, little lady. Do you have work over here today? Small world, runnin’ into one another at this TV studio.

…You were watchin’ me work along with the rest of the staff from the studio control room? I didn’t even notice you were on the other side of the glass.

Ya should’ve told me you were here. Way to act all distant with me.

…How did it go? Ah right, you’re the one who got me this job, little lady.

Yeah, I feel like it went great. Sure, I felt a little off at the start, since it reminded me of Japanese class.

…Ya know how they make ya read aloud from the textbook durin’ class? Yeah, it made me think of that.

But while I was readin’ the script, it didn’t bother me any more. The footage looked great too, so I was able to just focus and get down to it.

Can’t believe they picked me of all people to do the narration for an educational program. I bet anyone who knows me will be like, something's off about this for sure.

I feel just like a reliable big brother, so there’s nothin’ off about it at all? Hey now, flattery ain’t gonna get ya anywhere.

Haha. You’re in great form as ever, little lady.

…Oh right. I meant to tell ya this when I next ran into ya.

I came up with a design for my personalized outfit, just like ya asked me to. Hold on a sec, I’ll show it to ya.

I saved it in a folder on my phone… Here it is, have a look.

…Ya look like you’re not sure how to react. Don’t hold back, I want ya to gimme your honest opinion.

Haha, ya feel awkward critiquing the guy who taught ya all ya know about sewin’? I’m tellin’ ya what I want to hear is your honest feedback.

Hmm. If possible, you’d like me to rethink it? It may be somethin’ an idol would wear and it’s not like I wouldn’t be able to pull off somethin’ as sparkly as this, but for a personalized outfit, it’s lackin’ what makes me, me?

What makes me, me? Somethin’ too traditional would clash with Kanzaki’s outfit, so I did my best to avoid that.

And on top of that, I wanted somethin’ I wouldn’t ordinarily get to wear as part of Akatsuki… So after thinkin’ about all that, this is the design I came up with.

All right. This one’s goin’ into the reject pile while I think it over.

Hm, what’s with that frown on your face? …If this is what I came up with after thinkin’ it over by myself, then that’s fine?

Nah, let me have another go at comin’ up with somethin’. All your experience and intuition as a producer is tellin’ me to give it another shot, and I don’t want to ignore that. 

The next idea I come up with will win your approval for sure, just you wait and see. All you need to do is patiently wait for me ♪

…Whoops, looks like it’s about time for us to vacate the room. Do you have time after this, little lady?

I have plans to grab dinner with Nito and the guys. Ya feel like joinin’ us?

…If ya come along, you’re afraid that everyone’ll stand on ceremony? Hey now, why’re ya actin’ so distant?

All it is, is a couple of good pals havin’ dinner together. So, you’re comin’, right?

…Good answer! I’ll shoot Nito a message that you’re comin’ with me.

Well, shall we get outta here?

Location: Saison Avenue

How’s school goin’, little lady? Are ya enjoyin’ your studies?

…I sound like your dad?

I suppose I do. You’re just like a little sister to me, so I just treat ya like family outta instinct.

How’s my lil’ sis doin’? She’s good, yeah. I attended a parent-teacher meetin’ in my old man’s place for her a little while back.

I wasn’t sure what I should wear, so Isara picked out my clothes for me. I wore my hair down too, and apparently she didn’t recognize me.

She let me have it for wearin’ somethin’ that didn’t feel like me. But it means I didn't stand out in a bad way, so she could’ve at least tossed me a compliment for that, right? Haha.

…That reminds me, you also said the design I came up with didn’t feel like me, didn’t ya, little lady.

I came up with that design when I dropped by home.  I happened to show it to my little sis and she pretty bluntly told me that she thought it was lame.

I figured she’s just goin’ through her rebellious period, so I didn’t pay much attention to it. But now that I think back, that might’ve been her way of givin’ me advice.

I owe you one, little lady. Thanks for makin’ me think this over again… ♪

All right, looks like we’re here. Apparently our table is reserved under the name “Nito.”

Location: Restaurant

Kanata: “Red Ogre”-san~ Anzu-san~ We’re over here~

Kuro: Sorry to keep ya… Huh, it’s just the two of you? Where’s Aoba?

Nazuna: He said he’s gonna be a little late, so we should go ahead and start without him.

Hm, what’s up, Anzu? This is an odd combination?

Kuro: Oh, we were in different years at school, so it might not register right away. All of us are connected through bein’ part of former Class 3B.

So we sometimes get together to grab a meal. Though on top of all our busy schedules, we’re part of different agencies to boot, so we hardly ever manage to get everyone together at once.

Oh, the food arrived. Thoughtful of ya to order in advance ♪

Wait, why is everything seafood? …Was this your doin’, Shinkai?

Kanata: Yes~ I “ordered” all kinds of “fish”, from the “usual” to what’s in “season.”

Today will be our “treat”, Anzu-san. So please eat as much “fish” as you want.

Kuro: I’m not about to find fault with your taste, Shinkai, but it’s not like this place specializes in seafood, so I feel like we might as well try all sorts of different stuff.

We should order too. What would you like, little lady?

Tsumugi: Sorry to keep you guys waiting~♪

Nazuna: Oh, you’re here! Whoa, and you have Leo-chin with you.

Tsumugi: I happened to see him composing just as I was leaving the office after work and ended up bringing him along with me.

Leo: I never heard a thing about 3B getting together! Don’t leave me outta stuff like this!

Kuro: We’re not leaving you out of anything, we sent you a message about it. Check the group chat on HoldHands.

Leo: Huh? I’m telling you, you didn’t!

……

…Okay fine, you did.

Wahh, sorry! My bad! I’ll apologize right this second, so forgive me!

Kanata: Please don’t worry about it. I often overlook it too.

The more “messages” that pile up, the more of a “hassle” it is to check them all, right?

Leo: Yeah, exactly! Although in my case, I don’t even notice when I get a message.

Kuro: It’s fine, just sit down. If ya keep standin’ around, the poor servers won’t know what to do.

You come over here, little lady, and let Tsukinaga in there.

Leo: Thanks! …Huh? Why is Anzu here?

Wait, don’t tell me! I’ll imagine why!

…Oh, I know! You were in 3B too, weren’t you? You’re the same age as us, right?

Kuro: Absolutely not. She wasn't in 3B, she was at the studio where I had work.

We ended up havin’ to vacate where we were while we were talkin’ about my personalized outfit. And since we didn’t get to finish our chat, I brought her along.

Tsumugi: Oh, your personalized outfit, Kuro-kun?

What’s it like? I bet you’ve come up with something tough and cool-looking ♪

Kuro: Mm. It got rejected, but… Here it is.

Tsumugi: Wow. Uh. How can I put this…

Nazuna: Getting rejected might have been the right idea. It’s definitely something an idol would wear, but it just doesn’t feel like it would suit YOU, Kuro-chin.

Kanata: I agree. It doesn’t feel like you, “Red Ogre”-san. If anything, I would say it would be perfect for our Midori?

This sort of thing would look good on him. Although he “himself” might not be too pleased. Heehee…♪

Kuro: You guys don’t hold back, do ya? …Well, I suppose it’s better than sayin’ things ya don’t mean just for the sake of my feelings. Thanks for your honest opinions.

*sigh* It ain’t easy comin’ up with ideas for outfits.

Tsumugi: Haha. That’s quite hard to believe coming from you, Kuro-kun. Haven’t you already come up with plenty of wonderful outfits?

Leo: Yeah! Anzu is nodding away too! She’s like, knowin’ Shisho, he’s gonna be able to come up with a great design for sure!

Kuro: I sure hope so… Ah.

You four all have personalized outfits, don’t ya? Will ya tell me about how ya came up with the designs?

It’ll be the perfect conversation topic to go with our dinner ♪

Location: Saison Avenue

Kuro: We ended up talkin’ until closin’ time, huh? That’s how it usually goes when I’m with those guys.

Sorry for makin’ ya stay out with us so late. I bet your folks are worried about ya…

Ya already contacted them and it’s not a problem? Well, I’m glad to hear it.

…You’ll be fine without me droppin’ ya home? Nah, I'm not havin' any of that.

…No, allow me to drop ya home. If I make ya go home by yourself at this hour, I’ll be worryin’ about whether ya got there safely or not.

Yup. I’ll take full responsibility and drop ya home myself.

…Hm? About our dinner just now?

I looked like I was havin’ fun? And the atmosphere felt real relaxin’... Haha, were your eyes on me yet again?

Yeah. I love hangin’ out with those guys..

Now that we're out of school, we’re not able to see each other every day, and we have to make special arrangements just to meet up. And even when we do make plans, there’s times somethin’ urgent comes up that we can’t do anythin’ about..

Just like today. We made these plans a while ago, but right beforehand, it no longer suited Hibiki or Sakuma.

I know none of us can help it… But whenever our plans get destroyed thanks to work, it sure makes me wish I was a student again.

Although I wasn’t a fan of bein’ constrained by school politics. But that aside, we had some good times.

Well,  I’ve never been great at studyin’, so if ya asked me if I wanted to do my school days all over again, I’d probably turn ya down. Haha ♪

…Hm? Why don’t I relive my school days through my outfit?

What do ya mean? Ya want me to dance around in my Yumenosaki uniform?

There’s an online article ya want to show me? Yeah, show it here…

…Oh. So this manga about delinquents* is popular right now? And ya always did want me to wear a school blazer like this?

(It’s true that a design like this would suit me better than the design I came up with that got rejected.

And as for this manga…)

Location: Dressing Room

Several days later

Keito: …Hm? Anzu is here too? I have some business with Kiryu.

Kuro: Oh, it’s you, Danna? If it’s me ya want, here I am.

Keito: Yeah. It’s about what we were discussing yesterday…

Oi, Anzu. Where are you going?

Kuro: Haha, ya read the room and decided to see yourself out? We’ll be the ones to leave, so you can stay right here.

I’ll go get you a drink while I’m at it. What do ya feel like?

…Hot tea it is. I’ll be right back, so you be a good girl and wait right here.

Location: Drink Bar

Kuro: So all you really wanted to do was hand me this envelope?

Keito: Yeah. It shouldn’t have taken more than a second, but you’re the one who had to go through all this…

Kuro: Can’t help it. Anzu was tryin’ to be all considerate by leavin’ the room for our sake.

Besides, ya could’ve just handed it to me and it’d be over and done with. So I don’t want to hear ya scoldin’ me about it.

Keito: Hmph… It looked like you and Anzu were working on an outfit together. Was that your personalized outfit?

Kuro: It was. Trust you to pick up on that right away. You were only in the room for a second, yet ya sussed out what it was no problem.

Keito: Anyone who knew you would have been able to pick up on what it was right away. And yet…

A patterned school blazer. It’s like something a delinquent would wear and it brings to mind your past.

Which is something most people don’t know about. But if you, Kuro Kiryu yourself are okay with it, then I suppose I don’t see any reason to complain.

Kuro: Yup. No complaints necessary. It’s not as if I wanted to make a whole outfit based on my past in order to represent myself, but I never planned to specifically avoid it either.

The past is the past. It’s not like I can pretend it never happened.

I came up with the idea for the design after the little lady showed me an article about a manga about delinquents.

And my little sis happens to be a fan of that manga. I figured she’d approve of me using that as the motif for my outfit, so that got me on board.

And so once the little lady started puttin’ it together, I started thinkin’ that it wasn’t half bad. I may have scrubbed myself up, but it’s not like I’m some good little boy who’s the definition of moral conduct.

Everyone I’ve shown it to seems to approve too. When Tetsu saw it he got all excited, tellin’ me it’s “Suuper manly! The best!”

Even my little sis complimented it, sayin’ outta all the outfits I’ve worn so far, it’s the most acceptable ♪

Keito: Is that really a compliment…?

In any case, noted that you’ve given your approval.

No mistakes about it, that design certainly suits you. I’m sure all of your fans will be thrilled too, Kiryu.

Kuro: Yeah, without a doubt. Men are more attractive when they’ve got a bit of a wild streak in them…♪

Keito: Hm. If you’d customized your uniform to look like that back while you were in school, there’d be no end to people chasing after you.

Location: Changing Room

I’m back, little lady. Sorry to keep ya waiting.

Here, I brought ya your tea and a light snack. I figured ya must be gettin’ hungry…

Whoa, don’t come at me like that with such a serious look on your face. Are ya mad at me or somethin’? Sorry for whatever I did.

You want my left wrist? Oh, so ya want to measure the size in order to make me a bangle. Here ya go.

You’re as fired up about your job as ever. Don’t ya ever have moments where ya feel drained?

…So long as it’s for the sake of idols, you’ll work as hard as ya need to? We all sure are loved ♪

But don’t push yourself too hard. I’m happy that you’re full of enthusiasm, but I wouldn’t be the idol I am without ya, little lady.

…Hm? While I was out of the room, ya got a message from Rhythm Link?

Just like the other agencies, they want us to put on a show featurin’ our personalized outfits?

Took them long enough? Haha, leave it up to our agency to be behind the times.

So I’m gonna be first up? Then I’ve got to get myself all hyped up for it.

I’ll put on a helluva show and make it clear just how great my personalized outfit is. Let’s put everything we have into it, my little lady…♪

*Possibly referring to Tokyo Revengers

Translation by nazunyan427

JP Proof by iridesenescence

ENG Proof by azurevagabond