Tsumugi Tsukioka/Sympathy for the Angel

Current Lover

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

This translation is reproduced with permission. You can read the original by rurikawa--yuki here.

Kazunari	We’re Mankai Company—! Please support us—!
Izumi	Please support us—!
Passerby A	Excuse— me. One flyer, please.
Passerby B	One for me too.
Izumi	Thank you very much. Here you go.
Kazunari	Big sisters, are you office ladies? You’re real beauties~.
Passerby A	Eh—, you have to be kidding. We just got off from work, so don’t we look really worn-out?
Kazunari	You don’t, not at all! Your beauty’s on par with a goddess’!
Passerby B	Fufu, thanks. We may come watch you perform on stage.
Kazunari	If you big sisters come, I’ll be really excited!
Passerby A	Fufu, how cute. Bye, then.
Kazunari	Thanks~!
Izumi	Hey now, Kazunari-kun. It’s true that they were beautiful office ladies, but flirting isn’t allowed.
Kazunari	Greeting pretty women is good manners for a man, you know.
	——!
Izumi	Hmm? What’s wrong, why did you suddenly freeze up?
Kazunari	L-…Loooook! Look over there!!
Izumi	Huh?
	Tsumugi-san… and the girl next to him, who’s in uniform?!
	His younger sister… he doesn’t have one. I think.
Kazunari	So his girlfriend is a JK, good job, Tsumutsumu~!
Izumi	A JK…
Itaru	He was on a date with a JK?
Kazunari	Yup! With a JK wearing a fluttering skirt!
Homare	...What's a JK?
Citron	It refers to someone with a bossy personality.
Itaru	It's a high school girl.
Azuma	Is that so. Tsumugi has a cute face, so it seems he’s into someone younger than him.
Misumi	I’m into triangles~.
Banri	That wouldn’t be a human being, you know.
Izumi	(It seems like this is the first time everyone’s heard of Tsumugi having a girlfriend…)
Tasuku	I'm back.
Kazunari	Ah! Takusu~! Did you know that Tsumutsumu has a girlfriend?!
Tasuku	…Girlfriend? Tsumugi has?
Azuma	Judging by his reaction, it seems that Tasuku didn’t know either.
Tasuku	...
Homare	Mm? What's wrong, Tasuku-kun?
Tasuku	...
Izumi	Is he frozen?
Kazunari	Tsumugi was so distant, after all~. Usually when you get a girlfriend you’ll talk about love, right!
Tasuku	——Haah.
Azuma	Ah, he's back.
Tasuku	About Tsumugi having a girlfriend… Where did you see this?
Kazunari	Mm. At Veludo Way today. Director and I witnessed it clearly!
Tasuku	Director, is this true?
Izumi	We saw them from afar, so we couldn’t hear their conversation at all, though.
Tasuku	Was it really Tsumugi? Are you sure you didn’t see wrongly?
Izumi	(Eh, I’m feeling a strange sort of pressure…)
Tasuku	Director?
Izumi	Yes, it’s true. There’s no mistake that it was Tsumugi-san.
Tasuku	What kind of person was his partner?
Kazunari	She was a JK!
Tasuku	Jay Kay?
Homare	It means a high school girl. It is truly an interesting expression.
Tasuku	A high school girl... With Tsumugi?
	...
	...Aah, I see.
Izumi	(Ah, the pressure is gone.)
Azuma	I guess Tasuku had actually heard about it from Tsumugi?
Tasuku	No… Well, please get the person himself to explain the situation.
Kazunari	Eeh~ What’s up with that! I’m curious!
Izumi	(I am rather curious...)

{{Line|character=Kazunari|border=kazunari|dialogue=Ah— I can’t take it anymore! Tsumutsumu, you have a JK girlfriend, right!}

Izumi	(Tsumugi-san should be back soon…)
Tsumugi	I'm back.
Izumi	(Ah, he's back!)
Azuma	Welcome back, Tsumugi.
Homare	M—mm.
Kazunari	H————mm.
Tsumugi	Eh… Wh-What is it? All of you are staring at me like that.
Izumi	(He's confused...)
	Um… Tsumugi-san. You may feel awkward or shy when you hear this but…
Tsumugi	Yes...?
Izumi	Well… Is the person you’re dating a student?
Tsumugi	Dating?
Kazunari	That’s~ why~! Tsumtsumu, are you the kind of boyfriend who assumes you’ll get married?!
Tsumugi	B-Boyfriend...?
Azuma	Is your girlfriend a high school girl?
Tsumugi	Eh, girlfriend??
Tsumugi	Eeh?!
Citron	There is an unknown number of JKs in Japan. I want to hear more in detail!
Tsumugi	H-Hold on a second! I’m not dating a high school girl!
Kazunari	You don’t have to be embarrassed—! I’m Tsumutsumu’s friend, right?
	If it’s your first love, I’ll help out!
Tsumugi	I’m telling you, you’re wrong! How did you even come to that conclusion?
Izumi	Today we saw you walking with a high school girl, Tsumugi-san.
Tsumugi	Today...?
	——Aah, I see.
Kazunari	Are you finally gonna spit it out?
Tsumugi	That girl isn’t my girlfriend; she’s my student.
Izumi	Student...
Kazunari	What's up with that, you're into that kind of roleplay?
Tsumugi	It isn’t roleplay. I have a part-time job as a home tutor.
	The girl from today is truly just a student, and we just went out to choose assessment books.
Izumi	Home tutor...
Kazunari	What—. How boring~.
Azuma	Tasuku was acting like something was going on, so everyone became restless.
Tsumugi	Tasuku knows that I’m doing a part-time job as a home tutor, though…
Kazunari	Now that you mention it, Takusu’s gone, you know?
Izumi	Ah, he’s really gone. I wonder where he went?
Tsumugi	...
Tsumugi	As expected, you were here.
Tasuku	Welcome back.
Tsumugi	I’m back. It’s time for dinner, so Director’s calling for you.
Tasuku	That’s what you’re saying, yet you’re sitting down next to me.
Tsumugi	I was thinking that it’d be good if we were late together and they got angry at you.
Tasuku	Huh?
Tsumugi	This is payback for just now when you didn’t deny that I was dating a high school girl.
Tasuku	Aah, so they really asked you about it.
Tsumugi	You knew that she was my student from my part-time job, so why didn’t you explain things to them?
Tasuku	Well… It’s payback from me too. Because I was surprised, too.
Tsumugi	Eh?
Tasuku	I’m finally able to act with you again, so I’m in a state where I can’t focus on anything except our plays.
	Even though I thought you were the same, I got complacent.
Tsumugi	For me, I’m focusing on the plays now. Just like you, Tasuku. You know that.
Tasuku	That's right.
Tsumugi	If you’re going to say something like that, you should get a girlfriend.
Tasuku	I said that I can’t do that for the time being. I’m obsessed with plays.
Tsumugi	Yeah, me too.
Tasuku	Haha. We sure have matured.
Tsumugi	You may be right. But… well. With Director——
Tasuku	We’ll blossom into actors. On the stage.
Tsumugi	——.
Tasuku	...Right?
Tsumugi	...Yeah.
	For now, that's enough.
Tsumugi	Aah, me too.

rurikawa--yuki