Neverland - Return to Neverland 3

[iridesenescence]

Writer: Akira
Season: Summer
Location: Outside of ES

Translated by yoroshikilled, proofread by haranami


[Some time later.]

Mika: ...~♪
(Nnah, m’so happy~. Oshi-san’s in a good mood right now too– Well, s’more like he’s been in one lately.
It was real good of him t’get away fer a while, live his best life inna far off country.
There was that stuff with his grandpappy, so I was pretty worried about him fer a bit there.
Maybe that’s why last year, Oshi-san wasn’t speakin’ as much, and Madonee was talkin’ more.
For some reason, she’s all quiet whenever I’m around now, though.)

Shu: Kagehira.

Mika: Nnah? What’s wrong, Oshi-san? Please don’t walk that fast — ya brought a ton of stuff this time, too, and it’s pretty hard to lug it all around, y’know?

Shu: I’m carrying two thirds of what I own; you need to train your muscles a little more rigorously.
I found this out firsthand whilst living in Paris, but physical strength and endurance is necessary for art, as well.

Mika: That’s true, but beefy people ain’t too popular in this country.
I got articles an’ stuff written about me , talkin’ ‘bout how I was so delicate I could break with a single touch an’ all. They called it charmin’.

Shu: Fufu. I cannot say that I am incapable of understanding the feeling of not wanting to see something frowzy and unrefined.
However, if we cared a second about the public’s saveur du jour, then we wouldn’t be Valkyrie, would we?

Mika: Um, we oughta mind it just a bit, I think. Lately, the RhyLink veterans have been spendin’ way more time front stage and stuff –
But ya can’t stay popular if ya just stick to the way you’ve always been — or I guess ya could say it’d be real unsightly.
Ah, ‘course true art’s loved no matter the era’s it in, but...

Shu: That’s right. Well, to create such is easier said than done... You are right, however, there is rarely anything in this world that does not change.
In order to survive, one must adapt to their changing environments. I, too, must study the sensibilities of those vulgar-minded plebeians so that I may continue on.
However, naturally, I refuse to curry favor with those other, uncivilized idols.

Mika: (Nnah~... S’like I thought, Oshi-san ain’t refutin’ what I’m sayin’ at all nowadays.
Before, he used t’give me a real good scolding if I said anythin’ he didn’t want me to.
Yeah... I’d get so terrified, thinkin’ “What if he gets mad?” whenever I said somethin’ before.
But even though he affirms everything I say now, I still feel a lil’ unsettled—
But like, I dunno if what I’m sayin’ or feelin’ is “right” ‘cause of it.
It was easier before, when I’d just follow whatever Oshi-san said an’ did... What was “right”.)

Shu: Kagehira.

Mika: Nnah? Yeah, um, somethin’ the matter, Oshi-san? Wait, didn’t we have this exact same conversation a while ago?

Shu: That we did . Your head is in the clouds. I’m suffering from exhaustive jetlag, so I may be somewhat vague in conversation, but you have no such reason to be, now do you?
Since I have been allowing my biological clock to adjust for the days to come whilst I’m here, I am in peak condition for what may come.
You, on the other hand, are in a troubling state; forget not that both you and I make up Valkyrie, won’t you?

Mika: Nnah~, m’sorry, Oshi-san. I jus’ haven’t been able ta think up a single plan for the job we’re boutta do so I ain’t been gettin’ the sleep I oughta.

Shu: Kakaka! That’s what I thought; how very like you. You truly are a novice, aren’t you?

Mika: Nn~, stop laughin’ ‘bout it... I can’t come up with a single thing, so it’s real rough. I can’t even sleep ‘cause I jus’ end up layin’ in bed an’ worryin’ more an’ more...
I even went to the stage we’re performin’ on this mornin’ to try an’ see if that’d help, but the security’s so strict they didn’t let me through... I came home in worse spirits than when I set out ‘cause it was nothin’ but a pointless detour– I was ragdollin’.

Shu: Fufu. Wandering about as always, weren’t you. Our work this time takes place in a grand hall...
The events the hall hosts change day by day, yet you found nothing to help you from it?

Mika: Yeah. Today’s was some kinda baseball thing they were doin’.
I still thought I could try an’ get a feel fer how the audience is gonna be seated an’ the way the sound’s gonna echo.
But baseball’s so scary, I couldn’t even get close.

Shu: Baseball? Scary? What on earth do you mean?

Mika: Ya probably wouldn’t be able ta understand, Oshi-san, but m’hometown’s dead crazy about baseball... S’practically a religion for ‘em.
If ya say somethin’ they’d think goes against the baseball team — even if it was jus’ a careless mistake — you’d risk gettin’ tossed right into the Dotonburi...

Shu: That does sound frightening. ... Fufu, it’s quite rare for you to speak of your hometown, I’m curious to know more about it.

Mika: R-Really?

Shu: Yes. It isn’t right if I only talk about myself, after all.
The times have changed, as have our positions; I’d like to get to know you better from hereon.
There is no reason not to, after all. It can only benefit our Valkyrie.

Mika: ... I don’t really think you’d find the stuff I say interestin’, though?

Shu: That isn’t true. Humans bring to life that which they hold most dear to their hearts — what they find themselves most interested in, which absorbs their focus to the point that they forget to eat and sleep — and express them through art.
Art embodies the dreams of others, yet those vulgar idols fail to realize this simple fact.
What will remain in the world are those fruits of exceedingly unique delusions and passion: art.