Masumi Usui/Sinking in the Abyss of Longing
From A3! Wiki
A Love Poem to Give to You
Backstage Stories| Sakuya | Masumi-kun, you’ll be appearing in the karuta[1] competition this time, right? |
| Are you practising? | |
| Masumi | Not really. |
| Sakuya | Oh, really? But the Hyakunin Isshu seems difficult, so maybe it’d be better to practise a little… |
| Masumi | Not interested. |
| Homare | Oh my, that is surprising. |
| Azuma | That’s true. |
| I also thought that if it’s Masumi, then he’d be interested for sure. | |
| Sakuya | You did? |
| Azuma | Yes. Because there are lots of love poems in the Hyakunin Isshu. |
| Masumi | —! |
| Tell me about them in detail. | |
| Homare | Oho, so you just unaware, hm? |
| In that case, please leave it to me! | |
| The Hyakunin Isshu is a selection of classic Japanese poems from 100 different poets. | |
| Sakuya | Wahh, there’s that many, huh…! |
| Azuma | People used to send classic poems to each other to convey their feelings. |
| Sakuya | It’s kind of lovely since they’re different from letters. |
| Masumi | … |
| Homare | Has that card piqued your interest? |
| Masumi | Somehow or other, I think I understand what this means. |
| “My longing accumulated, and formed into a deep pool”,[2] is the meaning like… your own love piled up and became deep like an abyss? | |
| Azuma | I expected no less from Masumi. |
| It’s just like you said. | |
| Homare | Much like the deep river which flows down from the mountain peak, my love continued piling up and has become as deep as an abyss—. |
| …Such is its meaning. | |
| It's quite a romantic classic poem, is it not? | |
| Azuma | Fufu, it’s a very fitting poem for Masumi. |
| Masumi | …I understand the feelings of the guy who wrote this poem. |
| Since my feelings towards Director keep piling up and becoming deeper and deeper. | |
| But it’s not like a river. | |
| My love is deeper than the depths of the sea—. | |
| Sakuya | Ummm… L-let’s take a look at another one, Masumi-kun! |
| Masumi | …What’s the meaning of this poem? |
| Azuma | Oh my, oh my, you’re really into it, aren’t you? |
| Sakuya | But it’s interesting getting to know the meaning of the classic poems written by people long ago like this! |
| Homare | Indeed. It truly is profound… |
| I shall recite a haiku here as well! | |
| Masumi | Sakuya. |
| Sakuya | Masumi-kun, what’s wrong? |
| Masumi | Join me for karuta practise. |
| Sakuya | Of course that’s fine, but… |
| Doesn’t this karuta have too few cards? | |
| Masumi | Only the love poems have been put in. |
| Sakuya | Ehh!? |
| Ones apart from the love poems are definitely going to appear in the competition too, you know? | |
| Masumi | It’s fine, let’s just practise for now. |
| Sakuya | I-I got it. |
| But it’s not good if you don’t memorize the other poems too! | |
| “The confusing cloth pattern, of Deep North, For whom”—. | |
| Masumi | … |
| *swipe* | |
| Sakuya | Wow, correct! |
| Then next is… | |
| “Whenever it dawns, knowing it gets dark again”—. | |
| Masumi | —. |
| *swipe* | |
| Sakuya | Correct again! |
| You memorized them all in such a short amount of time! | |
| You’re amazing, Masumi-kun! | |
| Masumi | All the poems felt relatable so I was able to memorize them right away. |
| I’ll definitely grab all the love poems on the day of the competition too. | |
| Sakuya | Yes, good luck! |
| Masumi | … |
| But it’s not enough. | |
| Sakuya | Ehh? |
| Masumi | 43 pieces aren’t enough for my feelings for her. |
| Sakuya | M-Masumi-kun? |
| Homare | Oh my, you two were playing karuta? |
| Sakuya | Ah, Homare-san. |
| It looks like Masumi-kun was able to memorize all the love poems but… | |
| Masumi | Only this number of love poems isn’t enough at all. |
| Homare | I see. You mean to say your overflowing feelings cannot be contained within 43 pieces, right? |
| Hmmm… in that case, Masumi-kun, what if you tried composing some classic poems yourself? | |
| Masumi | Write them myself… |
| Homare | Right, if there are not enough then you just need to create more! |
| Masumi | I got it, I’ll do that. |
| Homare | I shall compose some as well on this grand occasion! |
| Sakuya-kun, why don’t you join us as well? | |
| Sakuya | M-me!? |
| Umm, it seems difficult but… I’ll try my best! | |
| Homare | Swaying flickering, My wavering feelings are, All nice and fluffy…[3] |
| A wandering heart is, Emotionality! | |
| Umu, a rather wonderous poem was born! | |
| Sakuya | Okay… There, I guess this is it. |
| Homare | Umu, Sakuya’s poem is quite nice and bittersweet. |
| Sakuya | Really? It’s a bit embarrassing… |
| But if Homare-san tells me so then I feel a little more confident. | |
| Then Masumi-kun is… | |
| Masumi | … |
| Sakuya | Wahh, you wrote a lot of them, huh!? |
| Even though I had to give it my all writing just one… | |
| Masumi | When I’m thinking of her, I just can’t stop myself. |
| Homare | Ohh…! |
| Masumi-kun may have talent as a poet as well. | |
| Masumi | These poems are packed to the absolute brim with my feelings, so I want her to listen to them all. |
| …I’ll bring these with me to the karuta competition. | |
| Sakuya | Wait, Masumi-kun! |
| You're not allowed to bring in original cards though!? |
Anna
Notes
