January 9, 2013

From Five to Nine [Chapter 30 - An Awfully Big Adventure – Love Premonition]

Back in the temple, Amane has been greeting the people who are leaving. One of them asks about the young abbot but Amane tells them that he isn’t around. His grandmother apologizes to them to bear with the young abbot since he is not yet used to the etiquette of sending the people off. She tells Amane to go and call Takane. 

Amane whispers to her, if it is okay for Takane to suddenly just disappear on his own. His grandmother rebukes him to pay attention to his tone of speaking for there are a lot of people there so quickly go find him. Amane tells her that his brother is quite strange today and this time, it is an important memorial service where in he’ll be designated and announced as the abbot’s successor.

He finds his older brother preoccupied, that it seems he is listless and couldn’t concentrate. Waving him off, his grandmother tells him that is enough, Takane won’t do such a preposterous thing so quickly go find him and bring him back to her. Amane slightly smiles.

Outside the temple, Junko tells Takane that she doesn’t care what he or her grandmother says, she won’t get married with his younger brother. “You only have to leave the temple. Whether it is marriage.. I would also agree to it, if it is with you.. and not with your younger brother. I want to stay forever at your side..--..” 

Junko hopes that Takane quickly say something. While seemingly surprised Takane looks at flustered Junko, she thinks that even if she thinks that he perhaps already hates her but it is her first time to convey her feelings like this. “It can be said that there is a 50% chance that you’ll feel happy. ..No, it is 60%. Actually, I truly think that it is 80%.”

To her surprise, Takane tells her that there is also a limit to telling lies. Pulling his hand away from her, he tells her that he won’t easily be tricked by her again and he won’t believe her honey-coated words since it is like that every time. He continues to say that she obviously said that she’ll marry him but she took that employment exam [to go abroad] and also that thing about Satoshi, she had thoroughly betrayed him.

He accuses her of plotting something to take the opportunity to cancel the marriage with Amane. While Yuki looks surprised over what’s happening, Junko exclaims what he is talking about when fundamentally, what she said just now has nothing to do with what he is currently saying. “How come you can’t understand such a simple thing, idiot..” Takane angrily asks if she just called him an idiot, well, the one who got tricked over and over again is the idiot.
Junko tells him to forget it, she doesn’t want to talk with him anymore, she’s going home. He calls her name but she is already waving him off to go back to his important memorial service and also to that miai [arranged marriage] for right now, she hates him. Takane tells her that ‘hate’ is a forbidden word for it will hurt someone.

Junko exclaims if it hurts, then it hurts since she is also.. Then, they hear a thud. Junko turns around to see Yuki on the ground. She quickly goes to him and asks if he is alright. Trying to get up, Yuki apologizes. Junko tells him not to recklessly move. Looking ill, Yuki tells her not to worry for it is just his anemia which occasionally acts up. 

Takane asks if they would need an ambulance and how about moving him into the house first. Yuki refuses and insists on wanting to go home where he has some medicine for his ailment. Junko agrees to bring him home. Takane offers to drive them but Junko refuses since there is a taxi cab already there. Takane tells her that he’ll catch up in a little while.

While helping Yuki into the cab, Junko asks why when she doesn’t have anything else to say to him. Takane tells her that they are half-way through their conversation. Junko tartly tells him to please properly continue on with that memorial service with that scary grandmother-sama then, see you again in school. 

Takane is surprised that he asks if she met with his grandmother and what unpleasant thing happened. Junko snubs him and tells the taxi driver to go to Ginza. As the taxi left, Junko apologizes to Yuki that they were noisy and in what part of his body is does he feel uncomfortable. Yuki says that compared to him, is she okay for in the end, that guy is an idiot. 

Yuki is surprised when Junko looks downcast and says that she wasn’t ‘lying’. It was obviously not easy for her to explicitly convey her feelings out. Even if she truly have times of feeling spirited inside, but this is her first time.. Teary-eyed, Junko mutters that it seems that she has been thoroughly abandoned. Yuki feels sad for Junko. 

Junko felt quite frustrated over feeling this much hurt. Wiping her tears, Junko apologizes for losing her manners and crying in front of a student. To her surprise, Yuki wipes her tears and says that Junko actually has a female way of thinking and if she wants to cry, she should have done it in front of that monk. “But, Yuki really like the Junko who can’t to do that kind of thing.”
Then, he slightly kisses[?] her head before leaning on her shoulder. Junko nervously calls Yuki’s name and could it be that his ailment is.. Yuki apologizes to her for he is a very cunning guy. While Takane is still looking at the busy street, Amane arrives and says that he is still there. Amane tells him to quickly go to their great grandmother or else, she’ll start a depressing carpet search throughout the place for him.

He asks Takane if his girlfriend went home alone. Takane says that it appears that Junko and their grandmother have met and talked during the service. Amane confirms it and he didn’t know what happened afterwards since they headed towards some room together. Takane says that he didn’t stop it. 

Amane replies that even if Takane said it that way but he has no choice for their grandmother made him quickly leave and help out in the service. Takane is thinking out loud if that is the reason why Junko would suddenly say such strange words, something like if he leaves the temple, she’ll forever..be..at his side..

Then, Takane realizes something. Then, a couple greets Takane but Takane is greeting a stone lantern. He starts to keep on muttering to himself. Amane tells Takane that this isn’t the time to be lost in thought. He apologizes to the couple and laughingly says that Takane really doesn’t know how to make a joke. 

Takane tells Amane that before Junko would say ‘will be at your side’, and ‘will marry you’ but now, she said I WANT TO stay at your side. He exclaims that it is the first time for her to spontaneously express it. He laments that Junko finally said it and what was he doing. He was paying too much attention over not being tricked by her and didn’t want to imagine things that he didn’t notice it.

Scowling Amane asks if that is important. Takane explains that it is important. To Amane’s surprise, Takane says that he would quickly leave. Amane exclaims where he is going. Takane tells him that he doesn’t know where Yuki lives but he’ll confirm it on Junko’s phone. [<-GPS/asking her?] He happily thinks that he wants to hear it from Junko’s own mouth again. 

Amane wonders if this is the elder brother he knows. He just tells Takane to quickly go and quickly come back. They were interrupted by the grandmother who sternly asks what the two of them are doing. She tells Takane that today he is the deputy abbot so he must thoroughly do his abbot duty.

She happily says that even if it is awkward for him but it isn’t like he wouldn’t be delighted in it because afterwards, he and daughters of the donors around them would have a tea party. To her surprise, Takane apologizes and tells her that he has something important to do so he has to take his leave.

He says that he’ll just seriously apologize to each and every of the donors some other day. Before he can leave, his grandmother tells him to wait. She asks him if that important thing he is talking about has something to do with the daughter of the Sakuraba family. “If it is so, I won’t allow [you to leave].”

She says that it might be lacking in manners to say this but among the donors, the Sakuraba is in the lower part so their families are not well-matched in terms of social status. “I absolutely cannot approve of it.”
Takane asks his grandmother if she said those words to Junko. She tells him that she didn’t and she only greeted her because didn’t they already break up. “So, this time around, I just send her off and didn’t erase the Sakuraba name from the name registry.” Takane looks surprised. A bit nervous, he tells her how can such a preposterous thing be allowed by the abbot.

With a slight smile, grandmother darkly asks him, no and does he know that she can be quite terrifying if she is truly angry. Amane interrupts by telling her that if it isn’t Takane, but him, there won’t be a problem right?

While Takane nervously look at his younger brother, Amane says that actually, the reason why his brother and Junko break up is because of him [Amane] and if she were to marry him, who’ll inherit the temple, and let her be with him, then, they can’t remove her family’s name from the donor’s registry, right?

At Junko’s house, Yuki exclaims over how happy he is and he’s quite lucky to be able to rest at her house. Holding his cellphone, Yuki asks Junko if he can take a picture to show off to Renji. Carrying some coffee for Yuki, Junko asks if it is because her house is quite near the temple. She worriedly asks Yuki if he is really all right and is it okay for them not to go to his house to get the medicine. 

Yuki says that he’s fine and didn’t he tell her, he is only saving the princess from the malicious monk of that accursed temple. “It’s just playing along given the situation.” Junko sighs and says that she was really worried about him..but how can she say this..just now, she is indeed being saved.

“I’m really sorry, It’s really humiliating.. getting a student involved into my private affairs, this is.. *Yuki looks displeased* Ah, your ribbon has loosened. Don’t move. If it is just an ordinary knot, I can do it.” 

Junko is surprised when Yuki grabs her hand and says that she kept on saying ‘student, student’. “Have you forgotten? Even if Yuki has this kind of external appearance, I’m actually a guy. *lovingly looks at Junko and leans towards her* I’m not just your student, I’m also not a girl. I’m a guy who likes you.”

Just then, Nene arrives home. Seeing a couple of shoes by the door, Nene happily thinks that her older sister has already come back but then, whose are the other pair of shoes, a guest? Quietly walking to the living room, Nene wonders if it is her sister’s friend. She peeks in to see Junko protesting by telling Yuki to wait but Yuki is already kissing her on the lips. Blurb: “Male•Yuki makes a move!!”
Comment: Hehe, if we have a character who likes BL, it seems that this series also covers the GL in a way =P Obviously, Yuki is the type of guy who will take advantage of the situation and it isn’t like he’s stealing Junko because Junko and Takane are officially over. Yuki is a good actor ^^

Thanks to his appearance, Junko really put her guard down in front of him that he managed to forcefully steal a kiss. I wonder if Junko would slap him or something afterwards. I wonder what Nene will do after witnessing this. Since Nene is the timid-nice type, I’m not sure if she would do anything underhanded towards her sister but maybe, more on making Takane do something by telling him what’s going on so that Yuki can be ‘free’ of Junko and she can have Yuki for herself.

I wonder what Amane is plotting though..is he helping out his brother or does he have some ulterior motive? It is amusing though that he is always drawn with fangs. I wonder if there is a reason for it. =P Like, in case, Amane pretends to be his brother and we’ll know who’s who with the fangs. Well, unlike Takane, Amane seems to be more capable of dealing with their grandmother. Or that is just Amane is more cunning than his brother.

As for the main couple, I think that they only have themselves to blame for what is happening right now, excluding the grandmother’s objection to Junko. To recap their relationship: Takane likes Junko and iirc she wants to move out so he locks her up. To ‘escape’, she lies about wanting to marry him. She plans to take the opportunity to go abroad. He founds out because of a blabbermouth and through his connections, ruined her chance.

She gets back at him by having a one night stand with her best friend. He wants to ‘punish’ her by making her marry his younger brother. Now, she is ready to be with him but he doesn’t believe her because of past experiences. And, he has put up his guard too much that he didn’t notice when Junko is being pretty much confessing her love for him. So, should we laugh, cry, or be frustrated over this?

One thing is for sure, they are a complicated and not a typical shoujo couple. =P I do have a feeling that they are the type who are each other’s ‘worst enemies’ but when it comes to external factors, it is a piece of cake. ^^; Scans by 深雪

Quote of the day:
We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say. ~ Zeno of Citium, as quoted by Diogenes Laërtius