Neverland - Tinkerbell’s Sin 2

[iridesenescence]

Writer: Akira
Season: Summer
Location: Back Alley

Translated by iridesenescence, proofread by yoroshikilled

[Less than an hour later. In the vicinity of the rental apartment that Kagehira Mika lives in and Itsuki Shu is temporarily staying at.]


Shu: (Haa... I’ve tired myself out, yet have absolutely nothing to show for it. I had assumed that upon reaching adulthood, I would have free rein to act however I wished, undisturbed by all...
Particularly because the members of the Itsuki family, especially my grandfather, all seemed to live with wild abandon.
Free from the bothersome busywork known as homework and exams, spending my days working a job that would almost feel like a pastime with how much I enjoyed it...
I had always vaguely assumed I would someday lead such a life.
Though the prospect of experiencing the unsightly process of aging had filled me with terror, I was nevertheless excited at the opportunity to attain such a lifestyle.
And yet. Ahh, life truly never proceeds as per your desires. If only we possessed the power of the gods above — the power to change the world with but our fervent wishes. Things would be so much simpler.)

Mika: ......

Shu: Kagehira...?
W-what on earth could you be doing, sitting by the trash collection point like this? Your clothes will be soiled, and the dreadful odour is going to linger.

Mika: Ah... Welcome home, Oshi-san.

Shu: Mm, I’m home. My apologies for keeping you waiting. I shall begin the preparations for dinner at once, so you need only wait until their completion .
Seeing as I will be intruding upon you for some time, at least allow me to handle the household chores.
No — instead of waiting, you should utilize this time to conceptualise our next performance.

Mika: Nnahh~... I totally meant to, but...I jus’ kept wanderin’ around the area, and my head was stuffed full of thoughts, so before I knew it all this time had passed an’ gone.

Shu: If you’re going to lose your head in the clouds, could you at the very least pick a better place to do so? At this time of the year, going outdoors is akin to offering yourself to the mosquitoes.

Mika: Ahaha. I don’t really get bitten by mosquitoes, though? I ain’t very healthy, so I probably don’t look too tasty to ‘em.

Shu: You really ought to take better care of your health. Frankly, I’m appalled at how you seem to be lacking in common sense. To think I had assumed you to be ready to lead your own life...
Back in your hometown, you were a surprisingly competent older brother figure, helping out with chores and the like...
And you seldom blundered when you stayed at my residence. Thus, I was under the impression that you would do just fine when left to your own devices.
However. It appears I overestimated you. The tragic state of your apartment’s interior left me positively wringing my hands.
The room was littered with nothing but worthless garbage, and there was an almost complete paucity of everyday necessities. To add insult to injury, your tiny, pathetic fridge — which is only barely clinging onto life — contained nothing more than a few bottles of water and bags of candy.
If that is all you have been ingesting, it is no wonder that you are in poor health.

Mika: Ah, I do eat proper meals outside though.
The manager that Vice Prez-san assigned me ‘s also a nutritionist, so they give me all sortsa advice.
But I hate bein’ ordered around by anyone other than you, Oshi-san, so I end up ignoring ‘em a lot.

Shu: The words of a professional are worth listening to, you know. Ah... You’ve left me utterly speechless. I’d truly like to have a word with the ones responsible for raising you this way.

Mika: Ahaha, you’ve really taken to sayin’ mean-spirited things lately, Oshi-san. Ya know I couldn’t meet up with my parents even if I wanted to, don’tcha?

Shu: ......

Mika: Nnah? Oshi-san, why’re ya sittin’ down next to me? Yer clothes are gonna get dirty...?

Shu: I couldn’t care less. I’ve discovered that they look rather similar to Wataru’s, after all.
The mere possibility of others believing us to be so tight-knit that we coordinate our ensembles is positively irksome, so I intend to create something new for myself.
I see no need to concern myself over the cleanliness of something that will soon be discarded.

Mika: Nnah~... You’re the same, Oshi-san? Ya don’t want people to think you’re all buddy-buddy with Hibiki-senpai either?
But aren’t the two of ya best buds, like me and Naru-chan?

Shu: Hmph. Does being close friends entail constantly loving the same things and donning the same outfits?
I might even feel less resistance to matching with a complete stranger — precisely because we are friends and equals, there are matters I refuse to yield; there are fields I wish to compete against him in.

Mika: Nnah~? Is that what friendships between guys are like? I feel like things between me and Naru-chan are kinda different, though.

Shu: That goes without saying. Each and every human soul is unique; it would be unfathomable for two relationships to be completely alike.
Though it is easy for us to label and define our feelings as love or friendship, those words alone are scarcely able to encompass their breadth and depth. Exceptions will always exist.
The gods will not show us what is “correct”, and even the books penned by the most esteemed writers will not chronicle an official or optimal solution.
All we can do is think for ourselves and derive the answers best suited for us.
That, you see, is why interacting with others is gratifying. Though it may inflict stress or pain upon us, it is undeniably more meaningful than ceaselessly conversing with our own reflections in a mirror.

Mika: Nnah~, s’ real unusual for you to say somethin’ like that, Oshi-san. Since yer usually bad at communicatin' an’ all.

Shu: Bad at communicating? If your only reaction is to label me as such, I'm certainly curious as to what exactly you have just gleaned.
As humans proliferate, flock together and serve as cogs in the machine known as society, their individuality and consciences evanesce... Similar sayings have been passed down since Chaplin’s era.
In modern times, that is now true to an extreme extent. Generally speaking, the large majority of the populace are now simpleminded and utterly lacking in individuality — I suppose I cannot deny that things do seem that way.

Mika: ? Chappdin’? Who was that guy again?

Shu: He was an artist from bygone times, who devoted his entire life to exploring love and human nature. Though he may not have wished to earn such a name for himself, surely it is preferable to being forgotten by the world.
... By the way, I've said this many times before, but you really ought to study up on some classics as well.
Ultimately, human lives all come to an end. However, when we translate an artists’ works — the manifestations of their very soul — into modern language and relay it to future generations, their precious, magnificent spirit will go on to live for all eternity.
This is a privilege given to us and to no other living creature on this earth.
Would it not be exceedingly foolish to let the gift God has so whimsically bestowed upon us go to waste by living no differently from the common animals and bugs?



Shu: Let us live as humans, Kagehira. After all, humans are what we were born as.
No, rather... Did we not swear to each other that we would live as humans?
Well, perhaps that was simply the result of me one-sidedly forcing my wishes onto you, and you instinctively agreeing in order to please me, but —
You know, I truly did believe that it would be nice for us to welcome such a future.

Mika: Oshi-san.
Um. ‘m real sorry. It feels like all I ever do is make ya upset... ‘m sorry for bein’ such a disappointment an’ a letdown.

Shu: ......

Mika: I really did try my best, y’know. But it’s not easy... I ain’t as skillful as you, Oshi-san.
You an’ the magazines an' my fans might praise me all the time, but I really don’t have any talent at all.
Somehow, things jus’ ain’t workin’ out. Nothin’ goes the way I want it to.
Maybe I’m jus’ no good at self-expression... Seems like my tastes aren’t really understood by those around me, so people end up thinkin’ I’m everythin’ other than what I’m tryin’ to be...

Shu: Ah, yes... I read through the magazine you were featured in, and they wrote lines such as “The cool and silent Kagehira-kun”.
The idea that you gave off that sort of image did force me to crack a wry smile.

Mika: It ain’t funny~ I’m really, seriously worryin’ about it over here.
Everyone else thinks it’s fine as long as I’m gettin’ praised, but it was a real shock to me, y’know —

Shu: But of course. You suffered a devastating defeat, Kagehira.
Failing to express yourself and receiving an erroneous evaluation because you couldn’t convey your true intentions — that is the epitome of defeat for a performer. Or at least, that is what Wataru or the like might say.
However. Unlike him, what we seek is not to provide entertainment for the masses. For we are artists, and we can rest easy with the knowledge that even just a single person understands us.
I should have done this a long time ago, but... Allow me to be one who understands you.
In this world, in this moment, we of Valkyrie only have each other to call brethren and comrade.
You have provided me with your love and understanding. It is only right for me to return what you have given me.
Allow me to work towards that. So that, regardless of the defeats we suffer at the hands of the Dreamfes system’s trifling politics, we shall remain undefeated as artists.
We may simply be licking each others’ wounds for now, but if that heals us — even if only by the slightest amount — we can eventually rise from the ashes.

Mika: Nnah~...? The stuff you say is always so difficult, Oshi-san. I don’t really get it?

Shu: Mmhm. I'm bad at communicating, after all.