Tsumugi Tsukioka/Dappled Sunlight Garden

Overprotective People

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Taichi	I’m home~!
Izumi	Welcome home, everyone. You got home a little late today.
Taichi	The three of us stopped by a crepe shop!
Tsumugi	Ohh, how nice. That’s such a high schooler thing to do.
Tasuku	Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten a crepe in years.
Juza	I’m hungry...
Tenma	Didn’t you eat three in the car...
Taichi	What’s up with your stomach!?
Juza	That wasn’t enough.
Tsumugi	Haha. You’re still growing after all.
	And you’re built too. You might even grow taller than Tasuku.
Juza	Thanks.
Tasuku	......
Izumi	(Tasuku-san looks like he has mixed feelings...)
Hisoka	Juza. Want a marshmallow...?
Juza	!?
Taichi	Whoa!? Since when did you get here, Hisoka-san!?
Hisoka	...Zzz
Tenma	He fell asleep!?
Juza	I didn’t sense his presence at all...
	But I’ll have some marshmallows. Thanks.
Izumi	Ah, Juza-kun! Make sure to wash your hands and rinse your mouth well before you eat.
Juza	Yeah.
Tasuku	It’s the season when you have to watch out for the flu after all.
Tsumugi	Yeah. Apparently a lot of people have caught the flu in the schools my students go to.
Taichi	And then Tsumugi-san will end up catching it too~
Tenma	Yeah, Tsumugi-san looks pretty weak after all.
Juza	He does. And he’s thin too.
Tsumugi	You think so? I think I’m pretty normal though.
Tasuku	Well, it’s better to take precautions. Now off to the washroom you go.
Taichi	Oka—y.
Izumi	(I also have to be careful not to catch a cold.)
Tsuzuru	This smell... Again?
Izumi	Yup! Tonight’s dinner is curry. It’s almost done.
	Today I added lots of vegetables and ginger as flu prevention.
Tsuzuru	But the flavour is still curry as usual...
Izumi	That’s what makes it good. It’s delicious, so eat lots.
Misumi	Food, food~! Can I serve it on a triangle?
Izumi	Yup, if you eat lots of vegetables.
Misumi	Oka—y. Triangle, triangle~!
Tsumugi	I’m home...
Izumi	Oh, welcome back Tsumugi-san.
Tsumugi	......
Izumi	Tsumugi-san?
Banri	Hey, he’s kind of staggering—
Tsumugi	Ah.
Izumi	(Wah! He’s about to fall over!?)
Tasuku	Tsumu—
Sakyo	——Whoa. Be careful, Tsukioka.
Tsumugi	Sakyo...san...
Taichi	Wow, nice catch Sakyo-nii!
Tasuku	...
Sakyo	What’s this? You look more out of it than usual.
Tsumugi	I-I’m sorry... For some reason I just feel really dizzy...
Izumi	Are you not feeling well?
Tasuku	Tsumugi, I’m going to touch your forehead for a bit.
Tsumugi	Mn...
Tasuku	......
Sakyo	How is it?
Tasuku	...It’s hot.
Izumi	What!?
Tsumugi	I’m sorry... I’m fine, so…
Tsuzuru	You don’t look fine at all.
Tsumugi	I can’t...let everyone else catch it, so… please isolate me from everyone and just leave me be…
Sakyo	If we leave a frail guy like this by himself and he dies without us realizing, I’d never be able to sleep at night.
Misumi	Tsumugi, don’t die...
Tasuku	Sakyo-san, pass Tsumugi over here.
Sakyo	He doesn’t have an ounce of strength in his body.
Tasuku	That’s fine.
Tsumugi	Wah...!
Izumi	!?
Kazunari	There it is——! The princess carry!
Tsumugi	T-Tasuku, wait…
Tasuku	I’ll be the one to look after him.
Izumi	But it’ll be bad if you catch it too, Tasuku-san... I don’t have work tomorrow so you can leave it to me.
Tasuku	When it comes to Tsumugi’s colds, it’s fine. I’m used to it.
Izumi	(What does that mean??)
Tasuku	For now I’ll carry him to our room.
Izumi	I’ll go buy cooling patches, Pocari, and some medicine right away!
Masumi	I’m going with you.
Sakyo	I’ll drive you then. Let’s go.
Izumi	Thank you very much!

Izumi	I’m coming in.
Tsumugi	Ah... Director.
Izumi	I’m sorry, did I wake you?
Tsumugi	No, it’s all right.
Izumi	(He still looks sleepy, and his cheeks are a little red. I guess his fever hasn’t gone down.)
	Where is Tasuku-san?
Tsumugi	He’s in the bath right now.
Izumi	I see. Were you able to eat the rice porridge?
Tsumugi	Yes, thank you very much. Tasuku brought me some earlier.
	I heard that you went out of your way to buy me medicine, Director. I’m sorry for the trouble I caused...
Izumi	I didn’t think of it like that at all. At times like this, we should help each other.
Tsumugi	Thank you very much.
Izumi	You’re sweating. Should I wipe it for you? Or would you like to have a drink?
Tsumugi	It’s fine. I can do it myself.
Izumi	But...
Tsumugi	Even though I’m already an adult, everyone is caring for me too excessively, including the Director.
Izumi	When people are sick, excessive care is just the right amount of care.
Tsumugi	Then Director, when you get sick, I’ll nurse you to the point of being excessive as well.
Izumi	I’m in good health as you can see, so there’s nothing to worry about! At the very least, I have a healthy body.
	For now just focus on getting better from your cold, and get lots of rest.
Tsumugi	You’re...right.
Izumi	Tsumugi-san?
Tsumugi	For some reason, having you right beside me…has made me sleepy... Haha.
Izumi	(It’s kind of like... He seems a little more defenseless than usual that it feels dangerous.)
	(I’ll let him sleep as much as possible so he can recover soon.)
	I’ll stay here until Tasuku-san returns, so please relax and get some sleep.
Tsumugi	Thank you...very much…
	…...
Izumi	(I hope his fever gets better tomorrow.)

Izumi	*cough*...
	(*sigh*... I’ve been bedridden since this morning. To think that I’d be the one to catch a cold next after Tsumugi-san.)
	(I don’t need to worry about the meals since Omi-kun is here, but I wonder if practice is going all right for everyone...)
	*knock*
Tsumugi	Director, I’m coming in.
Izumi	Tsumugi-san... You shouldn’t be here. You’ll catch my cold.
Tsumugi	You probably got it from me, so it should be fine.
	That’s why I’ll be in charge of nursing you.
Izumi	I’m sorry... for causing you trouble and all. I was supposed to have a healthy body.
Tsumugi	Please don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure to nurse you well.
Izumi	You’ve just recovered from your cold, too... You don’t have to go to work today?
Tsumugi	All of my students have also caught the cold.
Izumi	...We shouldn’t underestimate the common cold.
Tsumugi	Yes, we really shouldn’t.
	I brought some of Omi-kun’s special rice gruel. Do you think you can eat?
Izumi	Thank you very much. It smells good...
	Up we go.
Tsumugi	It’s fine, you can keep lying down.
Izumi	But then, I won’t be able to...
Tsumugi	Here, please say ahh.
Izumi	!?
	(‘Say ahh,’ he says! And so naturally!)
CHOICE 1: I can eat it by myself. [+] Izumi Um, I can eat it by myself! Tsumugi No, I insist. Please let me do it. Izumi But... Tsumugi ‘When people are sick, excessive care is just the right amount of care.’ Who was the one that said that again? Izumi ...It was me. Tsumugi That’s right. So please obediently do as I say. Say ahh.
CHOICE 2: This is embarrassing. [+] Izumi Um, this is really embarrassing. Tsumugi Huh... Oh, I-I’m sorry! You’re right! I just ended up doing it...! I was thinking it might make things easier for you even just a little, Director. Izumi Tsumugi-san... Tsumugi Um... So, if you’re okay with it, please let me look after you. Here you go... Say ahh.
Izumi	(This is embarrassing after all...!)
	(But I can’t let Tsumugi-san’s kindness go to waste...)
	(Eei! Time to eat!)
	*chomp*!
Tsumugi	...How is it?
Izumi	It’s very delicious.
Tsumugi	That’s good to hear. Please eat as much as you’d like.
Izumi	Yes. But I think I’ll feed myself after all.
Tsumugi	Haha, understood. Please be careful, the bowl is a little hot.
Izumi	Thank you very much.
Tsumugi	My job is to watch over you until you’ve finished eating and have taken the medicine, so is it okay if I stay here with you?
Izumi	That’s fine with me, but you really might catch it again, you know?
Tsumugi	As I’ve said earlier, it will be fine.
	Besides, people have too many negative thoughts when they’re sick.
	I thought you might be able to relax if you have someone to talk to while you’re awake.
Izumi	That’s true. It’s probably because my head feels fuzzy from the fever, but I end up thinking of stuff I shouldn’t be worrying about.
Tsumugi	Yes. I was able to get lots of rest the other day because you and Tasuku were by my side.
Izumi	I didn’t do much. Tasuku-san worked hard to nurse you back to health.
Tsumugi	Haha, Tasuku has always been like that.
Izumi	Come to think of it, you two are childhood friends.
Tsumugi	Yes. Since we were young, whenever one of us got sick, we’d visit each other even though our mothers tried to stop us.
	We’d talk about the stuff we missed at school, and we’d eat ice cream together.
	Tasuku becomes honest when he’s sick, so I had a little fun with that too.
Izumi	Honest, you say... You mean that Tasuku-san starts acting spoiled?
Tsumugi	Well, something like that.
Izumi	Really... I can’t imagine it.
Tsumugi	Well, that was only up until middle school.
Izumi	You two are really close.
Tsumugi	Yes. It feels like we’re siblings.
Izumi	In that case, who’s the older brother?
Tsumugi	Hmm... I wonder. What do you think, Director?
Izumi	In my opinion...
	There are times when Tsumugi-san seems like the older brother, but there are also times when Tasuku-san seems like the older brother.
Tsumugi	I guess it’s hard to tell.
Izumi	That’s not it; it’s more like you two have really great chemistry.
	It shows when you’re acting too, but it feels like the two of you instantly understand your own roles even in different situations.
Tsumugi	......
Izumi	I guess it’s what you’d call being perfectly in sync with each other.
Tsumugi	...You really do watch us very closely, Director.
Izumi	No, I’m sorry. I kind of sounded like a know-it-all.
	I’m feverish, so if I say anything strange please forget about it.
Tsumugi	No, I’m happy.
	Tasuku is such a familiar existence to me... Sometimes I feel like I can’t look at it objectively.
	That’s why, with you being here at our side, the present feels so precious, and it’s comfortable to be here.
Izumi	(So Tsumugi-san has been thinking of it that way...)
Tsumugi	You’ve eaten everything. I’ll bring you the medicine.
Izumi	Thank you very much.
Tsumugi	It’s nothing. Also, the powder medication is bitter, so I’ll bring ice cream as well.
	Even in the past, whenever we caught a cold and had to take medication, Taa-chan—
Izumi	Taa-chan?
Tsumugi	Ah...
Izumi	Do you mean... Tasuku-san?
Tsumugi	I-I’m sorry, please pretend you didn’t hear anything! I just, my old habit…
Tasuku	Hey, is the Director all right?
Tsumugi	Whoa! T-Taa-cha... I mean Tasuku!
Izumi	(What incredible timing...)
Tasuku	Tsumugi, your face is red. Did your cold come back?
Tsumugi	I-I’m fine! That’s not it!
Tasuku	But...
Tsumugi	I’ll bring the medicine and ice cream!! See you!
Izumi	(Ah, he escaped.)
Tasuku	...Is that guy okay?
	Director, what were you two talking about?
Izumi	...It’s a secret.
	(For the sake of preserving Tsumugi-san’s honour.)
Tasuku	???

Notes

maria