haranami | Tempest

Location: Cafe "COCHI"

Yuzuru: Hmm. I’m… in love, you say?

Fufu. I haven't the faintest clue as to how you arrived at such a happy misunderstanding, but…

It seems that I have caused you all to worry. Allow me to apologize.

More importantly, please have some tea, everyone. COCHI, ES’ cafe, has an array of excellent tea leaves—

The devil is in the details; the quality of the entire box is surely preserved because good money was spent on it.

Tori: Nuh uh! This isn’t the time to be drinking tea~! You were trying to change the topic, weren’t you, slave? I still have a ton of questions, you know?

Yuzuru: I am not a slave. Fufu, it’s been quite a while since we’ve had a back and forth like this.

Lately, you have been growing at a remarkable rate, Young Master. You no longer need to spout vitriol at me to release your stress.

This is a good trend. If you continue to apply yourself like this, your future will surely be bright ♪

Tori: Uuu~! Like I said, we’re supposed to be talking about you right now, not me! If you’re not in love, why’ve you been spacing out so much?

I’ve been— I mean, everyone at the estate has been worrying about you, y'know!

Yuzuru: Ah, I’m terribly sorry. It’s simply that… Well, it’s quite difficult to explain. It is a personal issue, so please do not mind me.

Eichi: I’m afraid I can’t put this out of my mind so easily. You’re always selfless and devoted, so my curiosity is very much piqued when you say, “it’s a personal issue.”

Please, I want you to tell us what’s in your heart without reserve.

We’re comrades who have experienced both joy and sorrow together, friends that have lived through the same youth, and something of a family that trusts and loves one another, aren’t we?

I appreciate your constant faithfulness and adroitness, but in the end it’s undeniably lonely to have you merely wait on me.

Yuzuru: My… I am truly unworthy of such words.

Wataru: Fufufu, I think it would be best to take what Eichi has just said as candid advice towards all of us, and, above all, towards ourselves.

There would be no meaning to walking the same path together if we didn't strive to draw closer to one another — if we didn't endeavor to understand each other.

Just like all the other lovable idols, we should also take off our armor and pull off our masks, clashing together as bare flesh and blood.

Eichi: Fufu, that’s right. I feel like we’ve been influenced by everyone else.

If we wanted to simply live mindlessly, there would be no need to understand the hearts of others, and it would be sufficient to treat everyone as nothing more than a statistic.

However, the person I am now seems to have grown tired of a life filled with only calculations.

Yuzuru: Fufu. This is a mere jest, but you must be saying such words because you have only been doing mathematical computations lately.

You've been working very hard to put ES on track — I know you must consequently be missing the warmth of human touch.

Eichi: You’re right. This is the path I chose for myself, but I’m honestly starting to get a little fed up.

I’ve been completely immersed in administrative work, so I haven’t really been able to do any idol activities.

On that matter, I'd like to apologize to you all.

I’ve finally been released from the miniature garden that is school, and I've also purchased ES, the home of my dreams — I was supposed to be free, but…

You simply can’t have your way in life.

Tori: Mm… I know that there’s no point in sulking, but… I’m super sad that we haven’t been able to do any lives together as fine lately.

Eichi-sama has to do important work, though, so it’s just not possible — I’m not a kid anymore, so I understand that.

Wataru: Fufufu. Allow me to behave clownishly and return the conversation to its original topic. Well, then, Butler-san, what is the reason you have been so melancholic?

The stage is a paradise where every joy exists. As the days pass, are you feeling weary because you’ve distanced yourself from it?

Life itself is a stage, a place of self-expression where you must dance rapturously until the curtain call!

Although it appears that you’ve killed your true self, and are very skilled at devoting yourself to your role—

Not even you can return to being a clay doll now that you’ve tasted the honeyed flavor of a sweet apple! [1]

Yuzuru: Hmm. If I were to self-analyze, I would say that isn't the direct cause of my troubles. However, it may be one of the reasons my feelings cannot quite clear up.

I wonder if the reason I feel downhearted is because I haven’t been given a place to dispel my stress and sorrows.

It is a delight to push yourself into a mould and carry out the role assigned to you, but…

Before I knew it, I, too, seem to have become an idol — no, a human — just like the rest of you. [2]

Eichi: What're you saying? Both in name and in substance, you are and always have been a member of the top idol unit fine.

Yuzuru: Fufu. Yes, constantly being distant and reserved is a flaw of mine.

I was raised like that, and have trained myself to be that way, so it is difficult not to do so, but… [3]

If it is desired of me to expose my true emotions, my heart... I shall.

I’m sure that is a butler’s— no, an idol’s way of life.

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Notes:

1. I think Wataru is mixing metaphors here; he’s probably referring to the myth of creation from the Bible and to the Babylonian myth where humans were created from clay and the body of a god. Basically, he’s saying that Yuzuru can’t go back to his old “lifeless” self now that he's known something more.

2. This is probably a call back to The Flag's Honor＊Flower Festival, Angel 3, where Yuzuru and Wataru talk about their masks and true faces.

3. The word Yuzuru uses here is for the training/breaking of animals. I think maybe this word in particular was used to show how little regard he held for his true feelings, how he just saw them as something to be controlled and tamed. Another fun bit of trivia is the first kanji in Yuzuru’s last name, 伏す, can also mean “to hide oneself."

Tempest - Chapter 1