Kumon Hyodo/Jet-Black Sweet Temptation

Hyodo Brothers’ Exchange Diary

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Kumon	I had so much fun shopping with you, nii-chan!
Juza	Yeah. I’m glad you were able to buy what you had your eye on too.
Kumon	Yeah! I was dying to get this new Tiger’s uniform~.
	It’s too bad they were sold out of the sweets you wanted to eat. But let’s go buy them together next time!
Juza	Yeah.
	*engine rumbles*
Kumon	!?
Izumi	Ah, I knew it. It’s Juza-kun and Kumon-kun.
Juza	Director?
Tasuku	Geez… I thought something was wrong since you told me to pull over all of a sudden.
Kumon	Tasuku-san!
Juza	Hey.
Tasuku	Hey.
Kumon	That was a shock! You had your helmets on, so I didn’t realize it was you two at all.
Izumi	Sorry for surprising you.
Kumon	Anyways, Director’s helmet really stands out!
Izumi	This is more Tasuku-san’s taste than mine…
Tasuku	Don’t say it in such a misleading way.
Izumi	Is it not true though~?
Kumon	A helmet for Director, huh… that’s nice~.
Juza	…
Kumon	Morning~!
Muku	Good morning.
Juza	Mornin’.
Omi	I’m going to prepare breakfast now.
Kumon	Thanks!
	By the way, when are you free next, nii-chan?
	Let’s go buy the sweets you couldn’t get your hands on last time!
Juza	Sorry, I’m busy with my part-time job these days.
	I’m goin’ to work for today too.
Kumon	Aw, okay~… that’s too bad.
Juza	I’ll let you know when I have time again.
Muku	See you, Ju-chan.
Omi	Take care.
Juza	Thanks.
	*door closes*
Muku	It seems Ju-chan has been working more lately.
Kumon	Yeah… he sounds busy.
Muku	I wonder if he has his own reasons for that.
Kumon	…
	*bell rings*
	(…*Sigh*. I haven’t been able to see nii-chan at all lately~.)
Girl A	I don’t have any club activities today, so let’s go home together~.
Girl B	Ah, that reminds me, I brought the exchange notebook!
	Have a look inside after you get home!
Girl A	Wow, thanks! I can’t wait to read it~.
Kumon	—.
	Hey, hey. What’s that?
Girl A	An exchange notebook.
	It was all the rage in the past.
Girl B	It’s fun since it feels like you’re creating a diary.
	You give updates and stuff to your close friends.
Kumon	Can’t you use LIME for that?
Girl B	You don’t get it, huh~?
Girl A	Rather than use LIME or SNS, it’s better to purposely write your message by hand!
Girl B	You make new discoveries, like this person’s handwriting is neat, and so forth~.
Kumon	I see… you have a point!
	What kinda stuff do you write? Tell me more!

Juza	…
Kumon	Ah, nii-chan!
Izumi	Do you have work today, Juza-kun?
Juza	Yeah.
	Kumon, sorry it’s late.
	I wrote this.
Kumon	Woah! Thanks, nii-chan!
Juza	Aight, I’m off.
Izumi	See you!
Kumon	Hehe, I got the exchange notebook back!
Izumi	Exchange notebook?
Kumon	I heard about it from some girls in my class and I asked nii-chan to do it with me!
	It looks like nii-chan’s busy these days, so I thought we could try communicating through an exchange notebook.
Izumi	I see.
	That sounds so nostalgic~.
Kumon	Have you done one before too, Director?
Izumi	Of course!
	I wrote lots of segments myself, and I used stickers and decorated it…
	Everyone’s really motivated in the beginning, but before you know it, someone stops and it falls off the wayside.
Kumon	Really!?
	But there’s no way I’ll stop, so it’s fine!
CHOICE 1: I hope you continue for a long time! [+] Izumi I hope you continue for a long time. Kumon Yeah! Maybe nii-chan and I will still be going ‘til we’re both old men!? Izumi Ahaha, maybe you’ll be exchanging haikus by that age. Kumon Haikus, huh… I gotta study ‘til then. I’ll be happy with anything as long as I can do it with nii-chan! Izumi (I’m sure Kumon-kun and Juza-kun will always be close brothers.)
CHOICE 2: What sort of stuff are you writing? [+] Izumi What sort of stuff are you writing? Kumon Well… it’s mine and nii-chan’s secret! Izumi Ahaha, I see how it is. Kumon I really haven’t written that much though! It’s just—kinda embarrassing explaining… Izumi I was the same way, so I understand. That’s you and Juza-kun’s precious exchange notebook, right? Kumon …Yeah!
Izumi	I’m sure you can’t wait to read it.
Kumon	Yep!
	I wonder what nii-chan wrote~.
Izumi	(I’m glad Kumon-kun looks like he’s having fun.)
Kumon	What should I write for my reply in the exchange notebook~?
Yuki	You’re still going strong with that notebook?
Muku	Kyu-chan, you give it back the next day after Ju-chan returns it, right?
Kumon	I can’t make nii-chan wait, after all!
Tenma	But Juza-san doesn’t give the impression he’d reply that fast.
Kumon	Nii-chan’s busy, y’know!
	That’s why the fact he’s exchanging notes with me is important!
Tenma	That’s true. Juza-san’s that sort of type, huh?
Yuki	Well, it’s fine as long as he’s satisfied.
Muku	Yeah. I’m glad Kyu-chan looks happy.
Teacher	Alright, that’s all for today’s class~.
Kumon	Phew…
	(I have some time before the next class…
	I’ll keep writing in the exchange notebook for a bit!)
	(Umm, what should I write…)
Girl A	Sorry, I brought the notebook!
	It’s late though~.
Girl B	No worries at all!
	Actually, isn’t this pace just right?
Girl A	I know what you mean. If it gets returned right away, it puts pressure on you to write quickly too~.
Girl B	Exactly.
	Sometimes it’s a pain to reply!
Girl A	I feel you~!
Kumon	—.
	(Wait, does nii-chan feel the same way…?)
Juza	…
	(…Work dragged on a bit.)
	(As I thought. There ain’t nobody up at this hour, huh?)
Kumon	—Nii-chan.
Juza	Kumon? You’re still awake?
Kumon	Yeah… I was waiting for you.
Juza	Is somethin’ wrong?
Kumon	…Nii-chan, I’m sorry!
Juza	Ha?
Kumon	The exchange notebook… I give it back the next day, so it became a burden, didn’t it?
	I knew you were busy and all. But I asked you to do it and caused you trouble.
	I’m really, really sorry!
Juza	—I have no idea what you’re talkin’ about. But if it’s the notebook, I don’t think it’s a burden.
Kumon	Eh? Really?
Juza	I was aware that I was takin’ a while to write back.
	But I… never thought that writing itself was any sorta burden or annoyance.
Kumon	Oh, really… that’s a relief~!
Juza	More like, I’m sorry for makin’ you wait.
Kumon	Don’t even worry about that!
	You’re busy with your part-time job…
Juza	…I started workin’ cause I plan to buy you your very own helmet.
Kumon	My very own helmet…!?
Juza	You were jealous when you saw the conversation between Tasuku-san and Director the other day, weren’t you?
	As your big bro, I figured I should also buy you your own exclusive helmet.
Kumon	I see… I had no idea.
Juza	…I couldn’t meet you and tell you face-to-face.
	I’m still sortin’ out the budget ‘n everything…
	But when the time comes, wanna go choose one together?
Kumon	Sure… thanks, nii-chan. I love you!
Kazunari	Ooh, Kumopi’s very own helmet~!
Kumon	I can’t just rely on nii-chan, so I’m thinking of getting myself a job too!
	I gotta get my motorcycle license soon!
Yuki	So, what happened to the exchange notebook in the end?
Kumon	Err… exchanging notes was fun, but getting to talk with nii-chan directly can’t be beat!
Yuki	…I called it.
Kazunari	Well, it be like that sometimes ☆

Anna