Chikage Utsuki/Raven in the Dead of Night

The Fruit of Lies

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Chikage	...
Tsumugi	Oh, Chikage-san.
Chikage	Tsumugi, good work today. Were you taking care of the courtyard again today?
Tsumugi	Yup. I just got done, so I thought I’d take a breather for a bit.
	I was thinking of making some coffee, do you want some, too?
Chikage	I see, maybe I’ll have some.
Tsumugi	Got it, please wait a bit.
	Here you go.
Chikage	Thanks.
Tsumugi	You don’t have work today, right?
Chikage	Well, not many people work on a day off. The company isn’t that exploitative.
Tsumugi	Ahaha, I see.
Chikage	I say that, but what I was doing on my phone just now is pretty much work, too. ... No, maybe I should say it’s more important than work.
Tsumugi	And... what’s that?
Chikage	I was gathering information on new curry restaurants. I’ve been looking at online reviews to pick what restaurant to go to next.
Tsumugi	I see, that’s very like you.
Chikage	It’s not exclusively curry places either, the number of restaurants is increasing every day. I have to check on things every day-
	*phone dings*
	It’s from the director. ... Looks like she bought so much stuff she’ll need a car to bring it all home.
Tsumugi	In that case, you should probably hurry over.
Chikage	Yeah, I’ll head out in a moment. Thank you for the coffee.
Tsumugi	Don’t mention it. Take care and have a safe trip.
Chikage	Did you secure the pot of physalises properly? Okay, let’s go.
Izumi	Yes, please!
	Sorry for calling on you all of a sudden like that...
Chikage	Don’t worry about it. You only messaged me because you knew I’m the only person with a car at the dorms today, didn’t you?
Izumi	Ugh...!
Chikage	If you expected me to come, I had no choice but to respond, right?
Izumi	... Thank you.
Chikage	By the way, is it still physalis season? It feels a bit too late for that.
Izumi	Essentially, it is. These are a little out of season.
	An acquaintance gave them to me, asking if I’d want them despite that-
Chikage	And your load got heavier than you thought, so you couldn’t bring it all home.
Izumi	Yeah... I thought they were just giving me some physalises, but I had no idea they meant a whole potted plant.
	I had already said I’d take it, so I’d feel bad if I refused to, and since there’s still space in the dorm’s garden... I ended up taking it.
Chikage	I can almost picture that scene.
Izumi	Hey, don’t laugh at me. I was panicking, trying to think of what to do.
Chikage	Sorry, sorry. Tsumugi’s at the dorms today, so I’m sure he’ll be glad to see this potted plant.
Izumi	Even if he isn’t, we have no choice but to keep it! Even if he says no, I’ll do something about it!
Chikage	There’s that mysterious insistence of yours. ... It’s really strange how stubborn you are.

Izumi	We’re home~.
Tsumugi	Welcome home. That was fast.
	... Ah, physalises!
Izumi	The fruit is out-of-season, but I ended up getting it for a bunch of reasons.
Tsumugi	It is a little later than when they’re usually on the market... I wonder if they’re from a colder place.
Izumi	Tsumugi-san, would it be okay to keep this in the courtyard?
Tsumugi	Of course. This spot looks like it'll get enough sunlight, so you can put it here.
Chikage	I’ll bring it over.
Izumi	Thank you.
	The physalises look kinda cute, don’t they?
Tsumugi	They do. After taking out the insides, you can even play around with the sound they make.
Chikage	There’s also something called a watermark physalis, right? The outside is left with nothing but veins so you can see the fruit inside.
Izumi	I’ve seen those! I wonder how they make them...
Tsumugi	They’re not that hard to make, actually. Wanna try making some?
Izumi	Oh! I wanna try! How do you do it?
Tsumugi	All you have to do is soak them in water for a week. That’s what makes the skin dissolve.
Izumi	Water? Should I fill a bucket up, then?
Tsumugi	Yup. We’ll also need something like a drop-lid to stop them from floating up-
Izumi	Got it, I’ll get something ready!
Chikage	She ran off in a flash, but... is she going to make them now?
Tsumugi	Ahaha. She really is the type to get things done.
Chikage	...
Tsumugi	... The flower language for physalises is a little scary.
Chikage	Flower language?
Tsumugi	They’re tied to a lot of words with negative impressions, like cheating, lies, and deception.
Chikage	Huh.
Tsumugi	Even though the fruit looks big, there’s almost nothing inside, which is how they got this meaning... is one theory behind that.
	People in the past must have split the fruit and thought, “I’ve been tricked!”
Chikage	Haha, I guess so.
	(It’s completely-)
Tsumugi	It’s a completely unfitting meaning for you, isn’t it?
Chikage	...
Tsumugi	What’s wrong?
Chikage	Sigh. Tsumugi, you’re so...
Izumi	Thanks for waiting~!
	Everything’s ready! Okay, let’s pick the fruit off the plant.
Tsumugi	Fufu, right. Which one do you want to start with?
Izumi	Hmm, how about this one, then...?
Chikage	...
Tsumugi	Chikage-san, are you leaving?
Izumi	No way, Chikage-san, you’re joining us! You’re going to help us make watermark physalises!
Chikage	Okay, okay.
CHOICE 1: If we pull it off... [+] Izumi By the way, if we pull off making these watermark physalises, what should we do with them? Chikage Oh yeah, they’re pretty even when used as decorations, but- Looking it up online, it looks like you can pull out the inner fruit and make lamps out of them to use as Halloween decorations. Izumi That’s a great idea! Their orange color is good for Halloween, and I think it’d be fun to make them with everyone. Right, Chikage-san?! Chikage What do you mean, “right?” Have you already decided I’m participating in the decoration-making? Izumi Of course! You’re the one who first said we could use these as Halloween decorations.
CHOICE 2: I want to play with the sound, too. [+] Izumi The watermark physalises are good for now, so... I kind of want to play with the sound like Tsumugi-san said earlier. Chikage In that case, why don’t we get Tsumugi to teach us? There are still some we haven’t soaked. Izumi I really wanna do it! Chikage I bet some of the others will want to try too if they hear the sound. Tsumugi I wonder if we can gather all the people who want to try it out. Izumi Definitely! Let’s do it! Of course, Chikage-san participating is a must! Chikage I thought you’d say that.
Izumi	Look, you can take whichever one you want!
Chikage	Alright, alright.
	... Unfitting, huh.
	...

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