Itaru Chigasaki/Fully Enjoying Nostalgia Park

GAMER in NY

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Sakuya	Woah, you can really see the Statue of Liberty! It’s waaay bigger than I thought!
Tsuzuru	That feels like America, in a nutshell.
Masumi	You’re prettier than the Statue of Liberty…
Chikage	Even when coming to America, Masumi’s still Masumi.
Itaru	All things considered, I didn’t think our company would get a request to act in America.
Izumi	I was surprised at first when I talked with Mizuno-san, too.
Sakuya	Helping out with reviving an amusement park….I’ll do my very best so that I can be of even the tiniest bit of help!
Citron	Yes! Let’s excite lots of the amusement park guests with our acting~!
Izumi	Yeah, that’s the spirit!
Tsuzuru	We’ve got the whole day off today, so I want to enjoy my free time and America while I can.
Masumi	The director and I on a date in New York….
Tsuzuru	Don’t erase our existence as you like.
Itaru	Well, what should we do first? I’m feeling a little hungry, so is there something to snack on?
Citron	When coming to America, it’s definitely gotta be that! There’s a stall with just the thing over there!
Chikage	A hot dog cart, huh.
Sakuya	Wow, they have a lot of variety!
Tsuzuru	And it looks like you can choose from the sandwich menu or your toppings.
Izumi	They all look delicious! What will you guys be having?
Sakuya	Umm, then I’ll have…the hot dog on the top right!
Masumi	I’ll have the same as what the director’s having.
Citron	I will get the one with sauerkraut!
	And a cola, and french fries, and an apple pie, and…
Izumi	You’re gonna eat that much!?
Citron	It’s fine! It’s Itaru’s treat!
Itaru	I’m the ATM, even in America…..
Chikage	Add chili cheese fries to that. Are you eating too, Tsuzuru?
Tsuzuru	Uhh, then I’ll get the one sprinkled with bacon.
Itaru	And so, the ATM was abused mercilessly.
Citron	Mmm~~! It’s soooo delicious~!
Sakuya	The portion size is huge!
Masumi	…..Doesn’t really feel like it tastes any different from Japanese ones.
Chikage	Well, you could say the importance is about where you eat it.
Tsuzuru	….Huh? Wasn’t the director’s order a cheese dog?
	It feels like it’s missing the cheese, which is the whole point of a cheese dog…
Izumi	You’re right. Maybe the cart vendor made a mistake.
	I don’t think I could explain it in English well enough, and it looks delicious even without the cheese, so it’s fine as it is…..
Itaru	“Excuse me. I ordered a cheese dog, but there wasn’t any cheese on it. Could you put some on, please?”
Cart Vendor	“Woah, really!? I’m so sorry, I’ll put some on right away!”
Itaru	Here you go, Director-san.
Izumi	Thank you very much!
Chikage	“By the way, could I also get a little bit more chili sauce?”
Citron	“Me too!”
Cart Vendor	“OK, I’ll give it to you for free as an apology!”
Chikage	“Thanks.”
Izumi	Amazing…. You conversed in English without a hitch and smoothly tipped them. So mature….
Tsuzuru	Impressive.
Masumi	I could do that much, too…..
Izumi	You were really cool too, smoothly helping me out earlier, Itaru-san.
Tsuzuru	Like, for Chikage-san and Citron-san, it relatively matches their image, but…
	Itaru-san speaking English fluently reminded me that he’s a trading company employee.
Masumi	That’s because the only image we have of him is him always cooped up in his room gaming.
Citron	It’s his gap!
Chikage	Good for you, Chigasaki. Your popularity’s gone up a bit, more or less, hasn’t it?
Itaru	Getting popular just for speaking a little bit of English, has the bar always been set this low…?
Masumi	You get what you deserve.
Chikage	Since we’re all finished eating, what should we do after this?
Citron	Is there a place anyone wants to go to?
Tsuzuru	I was hoping to buy souvenirs, so I figured I’d tag along with everyone.
Sakuya	I thought so too!
Izumi	Yes, me as well.
Chikage	And you, Masumi?
Masumi	I’m fine wherever, as long as I can be together with the director.
Tsuzuru	Of course he is.
Chikage	Then let’s take a nice walk around New York.
Izumi	You’re right.
Itaru	Ahh, in that case, I have a store I want to go to.
Izumi	(In the end, we followed Itaru-san without knowing where we were going….)
Sakuya	I wonder, what’s the store Itaru-san wants to go like?
Masumi	A game store, no doubt.
Citron	A game store!
Chikage	It’s gotta be a game store.
Tsuzuru	It’s a game store.
Izumi	Completely unanimous….
Itaru	Aha, here it is.
Izumi	This store is…..

Notes

Citron	Ohh! There’s lots of figures and merch!
Sakuya	Wooow, it’s amazing….!
Tsuzuru	He didn’t betray our expectations…
Masumi	Is this a hobby shop mainly for American comics?
Itaru	Yep. It’s a famous shop that overseas fans gather at, and I heard that even movie directors, writers, and artists come here often too.
	I knew about this place a long time ago, so I thought I’d try coming here at least once if given the opportunity.
Izumi	I see…..
Chikage	It’s as if the store was made just for Chigasaki.
Sakuya	Ahh! I’ve seen this figure in a movie before!
Tsuzuru	Wow, this brings back memories. It’s an anime character who was on TV a long time ago.
Citron	I love this character! I read this comic even when I was in Zahra!
Izumi	(Everyone keeps talking about this or that. They look really excited.)
Itaru	Senpai, it’s your turn.
Chikage	Don’t just take out my wallet instantly.
Itaru	I was the resident ATM earlier, so it’s your turn next, Senpai.
Izumi	Ah, I know this character.
Itaru	Oh, that’s nostalgic. It’s from way back when the magical girl boom happened.
Izumi	When I was an elementary school kid, I bought themed pencils and notebooks. Looking at it now, it’s still really cute, huh.
Itaru	When you look at these things after becoming an adult, they get a different kind of charm to them too.
Izumi	Ah! There’s a mini figure of it over here. How cute….
	What should I do? Since we came all the way here to America, maybe I’ll buy it for the memories….
Itaru	If you like it, then you should buy it.
Izumi	I’m different from you, I’m not the type to recklessly spend money, Itaru-san.
Itaru	Oh reaaally.
Izumi	Hmm….I’ll think about it for a while longer for now….Aren’t you going to buy something, Itaru-san?
Itaru	I also thought I’d buy something to commemorate coming to this store, but I’m still lost on what to get.
Shop Owner	“Welcome. Are you guys Japanese?”
Itaru	“Yes, that’s right.”
Shop Owner	“We also carry rare Japanese figures in the corner over there. Why don’t you go take a look?”
Itaru	Oh, so they’ve got rare Japanese figures, huh. Let’s go check it out.
Citron	Ohh! It’s over-freezing with treasure!
Tsuzuru	You mean, “overflowing with treasure.”
Masumi	….I feel like I’ve seen the things around this character somewhere in Japan.
Itaru	Wow, they’ve even got this here.
	Ah. This is The Soaring Blue Bullet Amagami Roger.
Izumi	Soaring Blue Bullet Amagami Roger?
Itaru	A character who appears in my favorite fighting game.
	ーー! Woah, woah, for real?
Chikage	What’s the matter?
Itaru	It’s a figure of The Jet Black Flame Swordsman the Kuudo…..!
Sakuya	Does this character come from the same game as Roger?
Itaru	Yep. He’s a character I main eternally. Even though he appeared once in the series, he’s a legendary being boasting considerable popularity.
	If you actually play the game, he’s got a few quirks that aren’t very user friendly unless you’ve done some playthroughs to master using him. If you get good at using him, you can’t go back to playing any other character.
	And then there’s this figure here, said to be a myth. It was marketed due to his popularity, and is quite rare since they produced a limited number of them….!
	It’s a masterpiece I couldn’t get ahold of either because I lost in the cutthroat pre-order war….
Citron	Ohh, the rapid-fire rant known to nerds.
Shop Owner	“Ha ha ha, I don’t know Japanese, but somehow I get the feeling I knew what you were saying!”
Itaru	I didn’t think I’d encounter this here….I want it, no matter what…..
Chikage	Then you should buy it. Isn’t that the reason why you work?
Itaru	That’s true….It’s a rare object, and at a pretty good price too.
Tsuzuru	Umm, if you convert it to Japanese YenーーNo, wait, that figure isn’t cheap at all!
Masumi	What a rip-off.
Itaru	Mmm, but I want Roger more.
Izumi	If you had to pick one, which one do you want more?
Itaru	Definitely my main, the Kuudo.
Masumi	Then get that one.
Itaru	But I want Roger, too.
Citron	He’s so greasy…
Tsuzuru	I think you meant, “greedy.”
Shop Owner	“Hahaha….Hey! Lucky boy! I’ve got pretty good news for you!”
	“Actually, this shop holds a huge game tournament once every six months, and it’s opening today.”
	“If you win there, you can receive any one product you’d like.”
	“That figure’s included, of course.”
Chikage	ーーOr so it seems, so what’ll you do? Well, I suppose I didn’t need to ask.
Itaru	Of course I’m gonna join.

Notes

Sakuya	There’s space in the back of the shop where you can play games.
Citron	These are the Japanese fighting game cabinets!
Itaru	Still, the game at today’s tournament is a series I’ve already played quite a bit….
	It’s got my main, the Kuudo, and my opponents are elementary school kids. I’m at an overwhelming advantage.
Shop Owner	“Are you up for it?”
	“Today, we’ve got a boy who’s experienced official game tournament matches, undeafeated, participating!”
Citron	Ohh, it looks like there’s a champagne participating in the game tournament too.
Tsuzuru	You mean, “champion”ー Wait, seriously!?
Sakuya	I-Is that true!?
Tsuzuru	Are you gonna be okay, Itaru-san….?
Itaru	Well, keep watching. With the power of the Kuudo on my side, there’s no way I can lose.
Masumi	Is Itaru using the swordsman?
Izumi	Yes, looks like it.
Chikage	And the one his child opponent’s using is Roger, the character Chigasaki was talking about earlier.
Tsuzuru	The Kuudo’s weapon is a katana, while his opponent’s weapon is a gun. You’d expect him to be at a disadvantage since he brought a sword to a gun fight, though…
Itaru	…..Whoops.
Young Opponent	“Haah!”
Itaru	Too easy.
Izumi	His attack and defense is amazing….!
Chikage	They’re neck and neck.
Sakuya	You can do it, Itaru-san!
Citron	Finish him, Itaru!
Young Opponent	“Hmph! This is THE END!”
Itaru	Don’t look down on me, you shitty little brat.
Game Announcer	ーーYOU WIN!
Itaru	Hell yeah!
Citron	You did it! Itaru won!
Izumi	Amazing….!
Young Opponent	“Dammit! What’s with that technique!”
Itaru	The Kuudo’s grab-to-killing blow-from-behind combo. You can’t escape the chain sequence.
	“But you were pretty strong yourself. It was a good battle. Thanks.”
Chikage	To think you’d be the winner overall. I truly am surprised.
Itaru	Are you seeing me in a new light?
Chikage	As if. I meant that otaku are scary.
Itaru	So harsh.
Masumi	You really are immature. I feel a little bad for that kid.
Itaru	Another huge blow to my HP.
Tsuzuru	Well, we can say this or that, but it was pretty entertaining.
Sakuya	There were so many different kinds of merchandise! It was interesting!
Citron	I bought some comics! Let’s all read it together when we get back~
Izumi	Congrats on winning the tournament, Itaru-san. I’m glad you were able to get the figure you wanted too!
Itaru	Ahh, um….I guess.
Izumi	?
Itaru	Here, Director-san. I’m giving you this.
Izumi	Eh? This is the bag you got earlier for winning the tournament.
	…..It’s the mini-figure I said I wanted!
Itaru	Actually, I thought I’d buy it and give it to you since you wanted it that much, but knowing you, you’d absolutely refuse it.
	But if I just won it, then it should be fine, right.
Izumi	But, Itaru-san… You really wanted that one game figure, though….
Itaru	Yeah, but it’s fine cuz I can always buy the things I want myself.
Izumi	When did you… Wait, so which one did you end up buying?
Itaru	Ta-daaah. Both.
Izumi	T-That’s the power of money for you…
Itaru	Well, we work in order to use it for our hobbies, right? An adult should be allowed to buy this, at the very least.
Izumi	Geez. But… Thank you very much.
CHOICE 1: "I'm really happy." [+] Izumi I didn’t think I’d be able to get this mini figure….I’m really happy. Itaru You’re welcome. If you’re that happy to have it, then it was worth getting. And when you opened the bag, you made a cute surprised expression. Izumi Please don’t tease me…..
CHOICE 2: "I want to give you something as thanks." [+] Izumi I want to give you something as thanks. Itaru You don’t have to. I just gave it to you cuz I wanted to. Oh, but actually, if we’re talking about something I’m interested in… I’ve been wanting to try New York-style pizza since we came all this way to America. If I order some, will you eat it with me? Izumi Of course! Itaru Then shall we go eat together while I talk about the Kuudo?
Itaru	My Roger and the Kuudo figures, your mini figure…..
	We were able to get matching mementos of America.
Izumi	Hehe, you’re right. I’ll treasure it!

Notes

Ri