Tokyo Crazy Paradise
Hana to Yume
1997 vol. 24, episode no. 31
Translation by Yuki-chan

[Cool picture - Ryuji leaning up against the wall with a blown up version of the Kuryugumi symbol behind him.]

At the Kozuki residence.

Akira: {...Kozuki-san...} Tears are streaming down his face as he puts his hands together for Tsukasa's father in front of their newly bought altar (which is made out of plastic and cost 150 000 yen).

Tsukasa, looking from around the corner: "...Umm Akira-san... I made some tea---..."

They sit down at in the living room.

Akira: "...Thank goodness your brothers are out."(They're at work.)

Tsukasa: "Why?"

Akira: "E? ...Because... I'd be nervous..."

Tsukasa: "Why?"

Akira, looking stunned: "Why... Because it would be the first time meeting your family..."

Tsukasa, looking like she can't understand why: "...True but... Why would that make you nervous?"

Akira: "...Probably because I want to be accepted...?"

Tsukasa: "? ...H~~~m...?"

Akira: "---..."

Tsukasa: "Akira-san, I know it's sudden but can you help me with math? It's the first test."

Akira: "...Tsukasa...?"

Tsukasa: "N?"

Akira: "...Do you... remember what I said the other day......?"

Tsukasa: "......E?"

Akira: "...'Won't you stay by my side always...'"

Tsukasa: "Of course." {Akira-san did you think I'm that baka to forget that? OK, OK. I'll follow you wherever....}

Akira: {This... Could this be...}

Flashback of a couple of days ago.

Akira: "Tsukasa..."

Tsukasa: "...N......?"

Akira: "...Won't you stay by my side always..."

To this, Tsukasa had replied: "Of course!" and had given him a big smile.

Akira, panicking: {She took this as a really shallow meaning......!!}

Tsukasa, completely oblivious to his panicking: "Umm this is language, this is English..."

Akira: {This is like when high school students talk like 'Let's be friends forever' 'Yeah!'...!!! I... I thought something was strange......!! That she said yes that easily---!!} He makes this look very dramatic.

Tsukasa: "! Akira-san Are you all right!?" {Did something in the tea get to him? I mean I served tea that's been sitting around for who knows how long...}

Akira: "Nothing's wrong..." He has his head down on the table. {...Now that I think about it... Tsukasa's still 14...She wouldn't be expecting a 24 year old man [finally Akira's age is revealed] like me saying something that sounds like a marriage proposal......} He starts. Tsukasa is rubbing his back.

Tsukasa: "I'm sorry! I'm sorry Akira-san that I'm so cheap...!"

Akira, totally confused: "...E...? {What are you talking about... }

Tsukasa: "Do you feeling like throwing up? Can you stand? Do you want to go to the washroom?" Seems like she seriously thinks she poisoned him with the tea. "Does your stomach hurt......?"

Akira: "...You're worried......?" {---About me......?}

Tsukasa, with tears in her eyes: "Because! Because!! I'm too cheap---!!"

Akira: {...I don't understand... Why she's so worried about me that she has tears in her eyes because she's so cheap... ---So worried that she has tears in her eyes......?} He smiles, and pats her on the head. "Don't worry. It's not like I feel sick or anything......."

Tsukasa: "...Really...?"

Akira nods.

Tsukasa, letting out a sigh of relief: "...That's good...If you were to go down right now who would look after me? {Math isn't the only thing I don't understand. Everyone in class just runs away from me, Taku-nii is at work and Ryuji being Ryuji is absorbed in a girl. ---And the bastard ignored me too!! If he's going to be like that then so can I!! Just watch me Ryuji~~~!!} She gets up and takes the tea away to make a new pot. Akira's head falls back onto the table...

In Tsukasa's room at Kuryugumi's main house.

Ryuji's smoking and sitting on her bed.

Kamo-san: "...Well~~~ I didn't think that she'd actually come home here after I told her she could go home early but looks like she really didn't..."

Ryuji: "......"

Kamo-san: "She's probably at home. 100%"

Ryuji: "...Aah..."

Kamo-san takes the cigarette out of Ryuji's hand: "...You've been smoking too much lately. You're poisoning your body."

Ryuji: "...It's my body. ...I'll do as I please..." He gets up.

Kamo-san: "...Where to...?"

Ryuji, not turning around to answer: "...Don't ask when you know."

Ryuji walks off.

Kamo-san: {---The underground shooting range... When he was younger, there were times that he'd sometimes lock himself in there for a long time---... Self control. Watching from the side I could tell from the way he recklessly pulled the trigger---...} Picture of a younger Ryuji being aided by Kamo-san in the shooting range. {...Maybe he'll be closed up in there more often than usual like back then... I have a feeling that that's what will happen... Undoubtedly... This problem will depend on you Tsukasa-san---... Aah... I won't be greedy and ask you to have special feelings towards Sandaime, but at least talk to him as if nothing was wrong...} Kamo-san stops in mid step and sighs.

In the morning.

Sho sort of faints.

Toshi: "Sho-- Are you okay!?" He helps his brother up.

Sho: "...I'm okay... Toshi... The bright sunlight just kind of stung......"

They hold hands. Both have red eyes.

Sho: "Yesterday we pulled..."

Toshi: "An all nighter studying for exams."

Flashback of the night (morning before).

Toshi and Sho: {Actually it was more like we were forced to...}

At 2 am, after Taku came home from work, he started tutoring his siblings. Akira and Kaya looked on worriedly.

Taku: "You baka--- What were you doing at school!? School's not free you know!! You're not allowed to sleep until you memorize these formulas---!!" He hits them over the head with a rolled up piece of paper, while they cry in front of their laptops.

Toshi: "...This is going to continue for another 5 days......"

Sho: "We can do it Toshi. It's only another 5 days. Look at Tsukasa..."

Toshi: "Tsukasa... Now that I think about it Tsukasa was really powerful this morning... Although she was awake like we were too..."

Sho: "...I wonder what's up......"

Somewhere else at school.

Tsukasa: "---Hurry up and come Ryuji~~~. I'll let you taste the shame you let me taste yesterday!! What am I going to do!? Well let me tell you! I'll let you see what it's like to be ignored by a friend for no good reason. I'll answer ignorance with ignorance!!" She's talking to herself, and everyone around her is looking at her as if she's crazy or something. Her eyes are also red from an all nighter, and her hands are twitching in anticipation.

Student: "Sometimes I get formulas 1~3 mixed up in the expanded form..."

Tsukasa starts. {Expanding the formulae!!!} She recalls last night when she was reciting the formulae. Whenever she got it wrong, her older brother whacked her over the head with the rolled up paper. {Formula 1... okay... Formula 2... okay... Formula 3... No!! Something's missing!! (I think). What is it what is it!? AAAAHHHH} She's totally confused. [Incidentally they are the formulae for binomials]

Tsukasa approaches the group of students and asks them about the formula, but they all run away as if escaping.

Tsukasa: {...That's right... I'm being avoided by everyone in class... Why...? Why...? What did I do......} She cries silently. She suddenly notices Izushi and Yabu. They tried to escape like everyone else. "Wait---!!!" She suddenly whips out her chain, narrowly missing both of them.

Nearby, Tsukasa notices that other classmates don't fear each other when asked questions. "So... I'll have you both explain why I'm avoided by everyone in the class..."

Izushi: "...Aaahhh~~~ ...It's probably because they think you're Shirogami-san's 'friend'... So they think... that you're a 'frightening person' like Shirogami-san..."

Tsukasa: {HHHUUUUHHH!!?? What's that!?}

Yabu: "You know, you haven't talked to anyone besides Shirogami-san since we switched classes..."

Izushi: "And everyone doesn't know you well..."

Tsukasa: "Hmph. And why do you guys run huh?" {You guys know me well don't you~~~?}

Yabu, looking apologetically: "...... ......"

Izushi: "... Because if we hang around you then Shirogami-san......" He recalls some time before when Izushi and Yabu were crowded around Tsukasa's desk. They were showing her something in a book or something, and having a good laugh. When Izushi started slapping Tsukasa on the back, Ryuji suddenly looked over from the next seat [looks like Asago was there too] at Izushi. "... He glares......"

Tsukasa crouches suddenly. Yabu: "...Tsukasa...? Sorry... but we're scared of Shirogami-san..."

Izushi: "So we were avoiding you as much as possible...... Sorry, sorry..."

Tsukasa's back lights up as if she were a lighter. {That ba---stard!!! You totally ignore me, and on top of that you're trying to pull me away from my friends as well!!!} She's getting charged up. The students around her start backing off. {You torment me like how girls would huh---!!?} [It's a girly thing to exclude someone from a group.] She starts approaching Ryuji. {If you have something to say...}

Kamo-san: "Ah!"

Tsukasa: "TELL ME WITH THAT MOUTH OF YOURS------!!!"

Ryuji goes flying in the air as Tsukasa delivers a mighty spiral kick.

Kamo-san: "Aah! Sandaime---!"

Asago: "Kyaaa Ryuji---!" She turns to Tsukasa. "What are you doing---!?"

Ryuji: "---..." He's sprawled on the floor in confusion.

Tsukasa, very angrily: "...Say it! You have a problem with me don't you!? What do you want me to do? If you don't say anything how am I supposed to know what to do!!?"

Kamo-san: {...Tsukasa-san... ...Sandaime...!}

A silence passes between them. Tsukasa glares.

Ryuji, still sitting on the floor and avoiding her eyes: "---I have nothing to say to you......"

Kamo-san looks disappointed, but had expected just that answer. He sighs. (T-T)

Tsukasa: "---... So you've been ignoring me for no reason......"

Asago, with her arms crossed, looks on expressionless.

Ryuji: "---..."

Tsukasa: "... Well if you want to cut your ties with me, I guess you can't help doing that......"

Ryuji starts at those words, and looks up at her.

Tsukasa: "...I understand." She moves up in front of him suddenly. "---I'm no longer friends with you or anything... I'll cut this tie, just like you want to." She shoves him back. Ryuji actually looks shocked. She then walks off with without another glance.

Kamo-san: {---This is the worst possible outcome---. Tsukasa-sa~~~n.... If Sandaime could have just apologized when Tsukasa-san had given him the chance...} He starts. {---That's right...} He glances over at Asago, who notices his glance and kind of glares back. {---You would have said something if you could---...}

Ryuji clenches his fist.

After school. Classes had let out in the morning so that students could prepare themselves for exams.

Toshi and Sho: "Eeeh!?"

Sho: "And so!"

Toshi: "You're not speaking with Sandaime!?"

Tsukasa: "That's right! I slapped down a contract saying that we no longer have any ties. To be honest, I didn't think that Ryuji was so sly like girls are!" She demonstrates how she shoved the "contract" at him.

They're in the service room for supplementary classes.

Toshi: "...But Tsukasa, Sandaime didn't say a word, but you really didn't hear anything from his lips right?"

Tsukasa: "There may be a reason...... But if there is a reason then he should just say so."

Toshi: "...But... Sandaime's not that type of person right? If both himself and Kuryugumi were on different sides of a balance, he'll chose Kuryugumi right away. ...Wasn't it you that told us that he was raised to suppress his own wishes and desires for the sake of the kumi......"

Tsukasa: {---...A...}

Toshi: "Maybe he's tied down by 'Kuryugumi'......"

Tsukasa: {---That's right. I was just thinking that yesterday when I saw him all tense...... I couldn't think that far ahead since I was so pissed... ...But... after saying that I can't just go talk to him now...} She starts going through her school bag looking for something. {I'll give myself some time to cool off. That's it! That's what I should do. Leave it until the term tests are done...} "...Huh?" {I left my English text in the computer...} [They're called texts, but I think you might as well call them discs, since they're all viewed in computers.]

Tsukasa runs down the hall to her classroom, 2-0.

Tsukasa: {I wonder if the room's unlocked...} She suddenly overhears voices.

In the classroom.

Kamo-san: "---I'm asking you this favour Asago-san..."

Tsukasa: {---E...?}

Asago, stares back at him unimpressed: "......"

Kamo-san, serious: "... Tsukasa-san may be the only friend Sandaime will ever have... Please... could you not take Tsukasa-san away from Sandaime......"

Tsukasa, on the other side of the door: {...E...?}

Asago, snickering: "...Friend...? Don't make me laugh...... You think there is such thing as a friendship between a guy and a girl?"

Kamo-san: "...There is..."

Asago: "Is there an assurance that his (her) feeling won't change......? Where's the assurance that he (she) won't see Ryuji differently!!?"

Tsukasa: {---W... Wh...at......?}

Kamo-san: {---...}

Tsukasa: {---...What are you talking about...? Asago...... what are... }

Kamo-san: "---Sandaime has chosen you..."

Tsukasa: {...saying...}

Kamo-san: "Next month there will be the announcement of the engagement..."

Tsukasa: {------E...?}

Kamo-san: "......Sandaime's already yours---..."