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agirlinjapan · 6 years

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Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 31)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

Help me pay for my next translation project on Ko-fi.

Here we are. We’ve made it to the end of Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School. This is the final installation of book 5 in the Red Data Girl series. From here, there’s only one book left in the series! We’re almost there!

I began posting RDG 5 just over a year ago. In this time, a lot has changed in my life for the better. I also feel like I’ve made a lot of improvements in my translation abilities. Translation is a learning process, both from a mechanical language base and a cultural base. With each page I translate, I learn new vocabulary and grammar, but also how to make a Japanese story accessible to a new language audience.I look forward to continuing my translation journey with every book and story I work on from here out.

As always, I want to say thank you so, so much to all of you who read this translation. I enjoy translating, but I honestly, don’t think I would have come this far with RDG if it wasn’t for the support of my readers. I love hearing from everyone who reaches out to me, whether that’s through messages or comments here on Tumblr or through tweets on the translation’s Twitter page. All of you make the translation process fun and rewarding, even through the hard parts.

I also want to make a special shout out to my amazing Ko-fi donors who have helped support my next translation project. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate your generosity.

Not only is RDG 5 the penultimate book in this series, but it’s also the last book whose events are covered in the anime. Book 6 will begin a new part of the story that even fans of the anime may not know yet. I will be posting the title and back cover eye catch for this new (and final!) book sometime later this week. Then next Sunday, August 19th, RDG 6 will begin on this blog.

Without further ado though, please enjoy the final installation of Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School.

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 4: Choice Part 5 (1 of 1)

The students weren’t the only ones who came back to their senses at the loud sound of the helicopter. Izumiko did as well.

Oh, I’m back…

The fan she was holding had disappeared, and when she looked down at herself, she was wearing her kuroko outfit. While all of this was a relief to her, she couldn’t help but notice that the only thing that hadn’t gone back to the way it had been before, was her long, unbound hair. It remained wild and loose.

Why were my hair ties the only thing that didn’t come back?...

As she touched her unbound hair, Miyuki rushed up with so much speed it looked as if he was being chased. The staff was still clutched in his hand.

“Come here, Izumiko.”

When she didn’t respond, Miyuki grabbed her hand and pulled her into a run.

Once again, they were surrounded by the scenery of the campus. However, Miyuki was leading them in the opposite direction of the classroom building and everyone else. When Izumiko looked behind them, she saw all the costumed students packed together, looking up at the sky as they pointed and said this or that to each other.

Izumiko looked up as well. There was a helicopter descending down through the clouds towards the ground. That wasn’t all, though. A wire rope had been lowered from the helicopter and there was a person hanging from it. It looked like a search and rescue officer. Obviously, everyone was surprised by what was going on.

“What’s happening?” Izumiko asked, but Miyuki did not answer. “Where’s Takayanagi?”

“He’s fine. He’s on his way back. More importantly than that, do you see Yukariko?” Miyuki asked, looking restlessly up at the person in the sky.

Surprised, Izumiko looked back up as well. The figure was not wearing the bright colors of a rescue uniform. Instead, she was wearing all black. Now that Miyuki had said something, the person did look female.

“But why’s she in a helicopter?”

“They’re going to land on the sports grounds. Let’s go see.”

Izumiko and Miyuki arrived at the field faster than anyone else. Thanks to this, they were able to meet the person hanging from the wire ladder while the helicopter hovered just above the ground. The woman let go, landing gracefully on her feet.

With a helmet and sunglasses on from her trip in the sky, it was hard to see her face. However, it could only be Yukariko.—Both Izumiko and Miyuki were sure of that.

Izumiko held her loose hair tightly in both hands so that it didn’t fly around in the wind. With it secured, she and Miyuki approached her mother.

It didn’t seem like the helicopter itself was going to land at the school. The ladder began to rise back up. It was difficult to see into the cockpit, but as it flew away and rose back up into the air, Miyuki was sure the pilot was Yukimasa.

Does he act the way he does because of Yukariko?... he wondered.

Yukariko’s long hair blew around in the wind as she took off her helmet. Izumiko noticed that her mother’s hair was longer than it had been when she had seen her over summer vacation. But after seeing the difference in Hodaka’s hair from one day to another, she couldn’t bring herself to be surprised. However, she was more than impressed by her mother’s entrance and the razor-like, black suit with gold buttons she was wearing.

“Mom, you look like some kind of phantom thief.”

“Isn’t this a costumed school festival? Wouldn’t you say my outfit’s just right, then?”

“Our theme is the Warring States era.”

Yukariko held her helmet under her arm, but didn’t take her sunglasses off. The dark lenses made it hard to see the emotion in her eyes, but her red lips were clear to see as they twisted into a smile.

“I may be a parent of a student here, but I also came for work. Did you forget my job in the police force? I need to expose a suspicious organization, and collect evidence against them.”

Izumiko and Miyuki’s eyes grew wide.

“Could this have anything to do with… the balloon?”

Yukariko did not answer Izumiko’s question. However, her smile widened.

“You’ve worked hard today, Izumiko. You too, Miyuki. Both of you did very well. If you can get through this, you’ve taken your first steps towards who you’ll become in the future for sure.”

There was something about her mother’s tone that Izumiko could not comprehend. “Did you become the goddess today?...” she asked, the words slipping out of her mouth before she knew what she was saying.

“Mmm. Something like that. Let the adults clean up the last few troublesome details. We need to settle things amicably with the people gathered here, as well. I’ll go to the board of director’s office and have a chat with the adults there. Go take care of your own business.”

The brisk words were all she said before she turned her back and walked away. It was the same blunt way she always acted, but it was probably all she could have done with so many students watching them now. Awestruck by the sight of Yukariko with her hair blowing in the wind, the students parted to let her by.

Honaka’s voice cut through the air over the outdoor speakers, calling the students back.

Everything was working again.

“I need to find Mr. Nonomura and return the staff, ” Miyuki, who had been unusually silent in front of Yukariko, said quietly. “There’s no reason for me to keep it.”

“Mr. Nonomura is here? I want to see him, too.”

Izumiko glanced towards Miyuki to find exhaustion written all over his face. The emotion hadn’t been there a moment before. She could feel her own body growing heavy, and knew that she was near her own limit.

“Where did you see him?”

“He was by the bazaar, but he’s probably gone somewhere else by now.”

Neither of them wanted to join the student gathering. They were tired and knew that they wouldn’t be able to handle all the questions that would certainly come at them from everyone at school.

Miyuki leaned heavily on the staff as he walked. “I feel like I need this as a cane so that I don’t trip…” he grumbled quietly. “I haven’t eaten or slept in ages.”

“Now that you mention it, we missed lunch.” Izumiko said, growing anxious over Miyuki’s condition. It looked like his legs might give out on the way to their destination, but she couldn’t be certain of that by just looking at him.

Luckily, when it seemed like they wouldn’t be able to take another step further, they spied Mr. Nonomura. His large form made big strides forward until he was in front of them. He was the sort of trustworthy person who could make someone feel better with just a look.

“Mr. Nonomura.”

“Izumiko. I’m glad to see you again. Good work, Miyuki,” Mr. Nonomura said in his powerful voice, a large grin splitting across his face. As always, he didn’t say any more than was necessary.

When Miyuki reached out to hand him the staff, the man immediately said, “Miyuki, you should go to the nurse’s office before you collapse. I’ll go with you, and talk to the teacher there. You should do the same, Izumiko. You’ll experience some backlash after what you did today.”

With Mr. Nonomura watching over them, the two made their way to the nurse’s office only to find ever-calculating Takayanagi already sound asleep in one of the beds. While the nurse, Ms. Sakakiba, showed obvious suspicion towards the previously missing students, their exhaustion was evident, and with Mr. Nonomura accompanying them to the office, she welcomed them in without much fuss. When she heard that they hadn’t eaten lunch yet, she brought them bentos and bread, along with drinks. Miyuki grateful drank a sports drink, but announced that this was all that he could manage at that point in time. Then he went to sleep in the bed next to Takayanagi’s.

The bento Izumiko received consisted of red rice, fried shrimp, and roasted fish. As she ate, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.

…If I had gone to the palace and eaten there, I wonder what kind of food would have been at the feast…

It was something she would never know. Sitting in the nurse’s office, she couldn’t help but feel as if she had been two completely different people today; who she was now, and the person who had considered all humans, including her parents, to be her enemy, and had thought about leaving forever with Masumi. Regardless of what it felt like, those had certainly been her thoughts, and now they were rooted deep down inside of her beneath her outer thoughts and opinions. There was still plenty of time to process the trials she had been through today.

Izumiko slowly finished her bento. Even when she had eaten it all, there was no chance of Miyuki waking up anytime soon, so Mr. Nonomura brought her back to the girl’s dorm. She had planned to put her hair securely back in its braids, but when she looked at her bed, she instantly know that she had reached her limit. She fell into a deep sleep before she could do anything with her hair.

When the rest of the students besides the three sleeping off the day’s events had gathered back at the front of the school, the final battle with all its balloons commenced and continued on until the scheduled end time. The game did what it had been intended to do, and the students soon relaxed and regained their earlier competitive spirit. After all the cheering, there was a short explanation on what had happened that day, but no one seemed too worried about it thanks most likely to everyone having recovered from the group hallucination.

While what had occurred on campus was strange, all the students and visitors were fine. What was stranger yet was that after everything was said and done, no one spread any more rumors about what had happened. There was not one complaint about the electrical breakdown, the Warring States era ghosts, or the other troublesome events that had happened. Luckily, none of the people working at the school that day filed any claims either, and no formal investigation on what had happened ever occurred.

That didn’t mean the students had completely forgotten about what had happened, though.

After the electronics came back on, the students spent even more time on their phones and laptops than they usually did.

“She really did look great in that costume.”

“I think so, too.”

“She made such a great princess.”

“I wish I could have gotten a picture of that dance…”

Everyone was looking at the picture of Izumiko from the kimono demonstration.

It was at this time that the top student was chosen. The decision was made based on the criteria of the other students’ consensus, but more importantly, by who had stood out the most. It was not Ichijo Takayanagi nor Mayura Souda who Hodaka Murakami chose in the end. However, Izumiko, along with the other two students sleeping soundly in the nurse’s office, would not know the reason for this decision until much, much later.

#red data girl #rdg #rdg 5 #rdg 5 week 31 #rdg my longest day of school #translation

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agirlinjapan · 6 years

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Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 30)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

Help me pay for my next translation project on Ko-fi.

Now that I’m back from Japan, I can enjoy a lazy summer vacation to the fullest!... Or maybe it won’t be so lazy. With all this free time on my hands, I’ve been translating like crazy. During the school year, I’m lucky to get 10 or so RDG pages done in a month. In the past two weeks, I’ve translated over 60 pages.

Lots of translating time means lots of material for me to post. Therefore, as I announced last week, I’ll be posting new RDG every Sunday this month. I’m excited to get back onto a weekly schedule after two years of biweekly posting.

Once September comes around and school starts, I’ll be returning to the biweekly schedule, but let’s enjoy the summer while it’s still around. :)

We’re getting really close to the end of this book! Including this week, there are only 2 more installations left! We’re finishing RDG 5 next week!!

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 4: Choice Part 4 (2 of 2)

It was decided that the student body would gather in the lecture hall. The guests who hadn’t left, as well as the parents and guardians, were directed towards the cafeteria.

Apparently the stoves and other cooking appliances weren’t working either, but the day’s kitchen staff was luckily able to put together a meal that required no cooking. The students’ lunches consisted of premade bento boxes, bread, and rice balls—all foods that were easy to eat while moving. There was plenty to go around. The only problem was that no one could have imagined the entire school eating together in one place at one time.

It was chaos.

Seeing as the middle school students had also been gathered into the lecture hall with the high schoolers, there were many students who couldn’t find a chair to sit in. As a result, plenty of people had spilled out into the lounge area.

The Warring States era costumes were also causing problems. Many students found that they couldn’t sit down while maintaining good manners. Students were strewn across the floor eating their lunches. Flags, banners, and armor were haphazardly left everywhere. At a glance, the room really did look like a battle field. The scene had more of a Warring States era feel to it than the actual all school game had.

Many of the students had taken pieces of their armor off, but the teachers and student government were hesitant to cancel the second half of the games. Seeing as what had happened with the electronics was so odd, it might be dangerous for the students to disperse across the campus after making such a decision. There was a need to cautiously continue on with the original plan. After waiting for more information to come in, the adults went back and forth over what to do, taking up valuable time.

It was taking so long to decide what would happen next that Mayura and Manatsu went out to sit in the hallway. There, Manatsu was able to relay every last detail he had seen and heard since the games had begun. He talked about the man Miyuki knew, what had happened with Hayakawa, and Takayanagi’s surprising situation. He didn’t stop talking until he came to the end of the story.

The more Mayura heard, the more she couldn’t help but think that it had been a good thing Manatsu hadn’t gone with Miyuki into the alternate dimension. She knew that Masumi was there and that some sort of altercation was going on. She was just glad that Manatsu had come back to her. If something happened here, she would desperately need his help. It wasn’t just that she had wanted to see him.

“Sagara’s a better guy than I thought he was…”

As Mayura murmured this, Manatsu gave a small laugh and said quietly, “Didn’t I say that from the start? He even took dog Takayanagi with him. I wonder what Shinko was planning.”

“He was thinking about what he could do for Izumiko.”

“Yeah. I think Izumiko’s the one who turned Takayanagi into a dog, but I’m not sure.”

Mayura sat against the wall, her knees up. She gazed at her hands resting on the luxurious fabric of her hakama pants. Manatsu, in his loose kuroko outfit, had his legs spread out in front of him.

“…Tell me, Manatsu. Will I become the World Heritage Candidate? Is Masumi gone?” Mayura asked after a quiet moment. She continued after asking her question. “I thought this was the best way to do it. I thought becoming the Candidate would show our whole family that we have power even when we’re not together and we haven’t called Masumi. But do we not have that connection between him and us anymore? That promise we made when we were kids, the connection… if Masumi is gone for good, there won’t be anything left between him and us, will there?”

“When we got taller, so did he, right? Obviously we noticed that, but Masumi didn’t. That’s why our connection to him or between us won’t necessarily disappear. It’s just going to take a different shape,” Manatsu said, voicing the ideas he had mulled over countless times before. “I don’t think Masumi will disappear, never to be seen again. If I thought that, it would be the end, wouldn’t it? The next time he returns, he’ll be a little different from me. From you, too. That’s all. Those things happen, even to triplets, right?”

“I want to welcome him back… I hope I’ll be able to say that much to him. I want to see Sagara and Izumiko again, too. But I feel like I only have you and Masumi, right now.”

Mayura leaned forward, putting her chin on her knees. “I did something mean to Sagara today. It’s not a nice story. That’s why after hearing everything you just told me, I think Sagara’s capable of way more than I gave him credit for.”

Manatsu gazed at his sister, but he didn’t ask her to elaborate. “I like seeing you all upbeat and competitive, but I don’t really like it when you’re so busy. You get weird when you try too hard. It’s okay to do what you want to do. I’m not going to disappear that easily.”

“So you’re saying I should relax.” Mayura’s tone was sulky, but Manatsu still continued on.

“If and when I die, there’s other ways to go that are unrelated to my heart. It could be a traffic accident or a natural disaster or some other illness. What I’m saying is something has to happen eventually, so there’s no reason to worry any more than you have to. You should enjoy Grandpa trying to find a husband for you.”

“That’s not something I can enjoy…”

“But today you say Shinko in a new way. Our opinions of people are always changing. And it seems like there’s still time for us to change as people, too. As we change, it’s totally alright for us to check to make sure that the unchanging ties we have to other people are still there.”

After reflecting on her brother’s words for a moment, Mayura murmured, “If you think that, it’s alright, I guess. You seem so confident that we can fix everything, so maybe I shouldn’t worry. But if you really do think all those things you just said, we probably need to start making things right again now.”

Just then, the student president along with Hoshino and Okouchi appeared as they turned a corner into the hallway. Their eyes fell on the two sitting on the floor.

“Is this where you’ve been, Manatsu?” Hoshino asked. “Listen to this—you too, Mayura. The teachers decided to go on with the second battle game!”

Mayura and Manatsu stared at the two older students. They had been sure the game would be cancelled due to the time the electric problems had taken up. However, Honoka and the two second year boys would be putting their black, kuroko hoods back on much earlier than expected. Their faces would be hidden behind the veils, and they were ready to go back to judging.

“Can we still continue the game? Even with the current limitations?”

“The official decision is that it would be better to just get through the last game than to stop here,” Okouchi responded in what couldn’t be called a happy tone. “Giving the students free time would just cause their panic to rise again. Besides, there are rumors of ghostly happenings going around. We don’t know where that’s coming from, so we’re just going to let that be, though.”

“Ghost stories?”

“They’re a little more fantastical than that, apparently. People are saying there’s nothing beyond the school campus, and after today, the world’s going to end. There are people who wanted to prove that the stories were wrong, but apparently no one’s been physically able leave the campus. No one knows why, but they can’t do it.”

Even Mayura had to admit it was a scary story. However, she could see how such talk would occur when communication with the outside world had completely stopped.

“No one can seriously go beyond the gate?”

“I haven’t tried,” Honoka said, frowning. “The teams who were competing by the horse ring are more upset than the others. When we took rollcall there, there were also a few missing students. Some of the teachers went looking, but apparently they didn’t find them. They didn’t search all the way up the hill though, and there is a chance they may have left campus for some reason. But, Sagara and Izumiko are among the missing students. This is a huge blow to the student government.”

“There are a few rumors flying around about their disappearance,” Hoshino added. “For example, they fell in a hole into a different dimension, or got dragged away by the dead, or fell through time into the past. All delusional disasters, I’m sure.”

Mayura and Manatsu glanced at each other, and then Manatsu quickly stood up.

“Ah. Sorry. I have to get back to work.”

“Please do so. Even you first years are busy today,” Honoka agreed.

The student president was never one to be lenient, but Mayura couldn’t complain today. It was clear to see how overwhelmed Honoka was as she struggled through the day.

“If all the electronics aren’t fixed by the evening, everyone’s going to get even more frightened, and I think we’ll have a real panic on our hands,” Honoka went on. “We need to continue the game as soon as possible. We need to gather all the students who are willing to work as leaders.”

Okouchi was already calmer than he had been before. He cradled his precious, broken laptop in his arms.

“If it all broke without reason, there’s a chance it’ll all start working again without reason, too, right?” he asked. “There’s no reason to give up on the possibility that it’ll go back to the way it was before. We just have to wait.”

The final game was a simple matter. Seeing as it would be played as a melee, it was important that the judges took care in managing the game. They would use the open space in front of the classroom building, and would follow traditional “balloon popping” rules. The soldiers who were still “alive” would carry their team’s banners into the battle along with a balloon attached to the same pole. The balloons’ fates would be the fates of the soldiers. It would make quite a spectacle as the two teams crashed into one another.

According to reports, the attack and defense teams had received around the same points during the first game and still had about the same amount of soldiers remaining. The commanders in their restricting armor would carry the balloons that would determine the outcome of the game; theirs were worth more points than the regular soldiers’, and therefore the team who defended theirs the best would most likely win.

The third year middle schoolers, disheartened by how the day was going, roused themselves to protect their princess general. With the game beginning again, spirits rose and rumors were forgotten. However, when Mayura looked to find Takayanagi, the attack team general she was supposed to be facing off against, he was nowhere to be seen. In normal circumstances, she would have been happy about this, but today she found that she wasn’t pleased at all.

None of this really should be happening. Not when Izumiko and Sagara are somewhere dangerous instead of here at the game…

The clouds in the sky had grown thick without her noticing. It was only three o’clock in the afternoon, but it was dark and gloomy already as if dusk was approaching. Without the sun shining, the change from the morning’s weather was distinctly apparent.

It took much longer than expected to gather everyone outside, whether costumed or no. No one had considered how slowly people would move when they couldn’t hear directions over a loudspeaker. It was just like the Warring States era.

The students who had quickly moved into their armies eventually grew tired of waiting.

That’s when it happened.

An army made up of something completely other than students came down from the sports grounds on the hill.

Some students saw it immediately. Others did not see it at all. A murmuring of surprise and disbelief began to grow in the crowd.

At first, Mayura didn’t notice it either. However, the moment she saw it, she could not take her eyes off of what was coming. The wiggling human shadows looked so weak they were practically transparent, but they were definitely part of a Warring States era battle.

They didn’t look like anything from this world, though.

Knowing no matter what it was, it was bad, Mayura hurried to find Honoka. It wouldn’t be good at all if the person in charge of the entire game fell into panic over ghosts.

However, Honoka, located between the two student armies, was already watching the incoming forces, as were the students around her. Some of them were murmuring to each other, but as the seconds ticked by, the crowd steadily quieted. They stared blankly, their eyes glued to the scene. However, none of them seemed scared. Strangely, Mayura felt the same way. She had assumed she would be frightened upon seeing ghosts for the first time, but apparently, this was not the case.

The semi-transparent soldiers coming down the hill were certainly frightening enough. No matter how Mayura considered it, it was strange indeed that the entire school was silently watching the spectacle in front of them. If she had to choose which was the stranger sight, the approaching army of ghosts or the silent students, she was certain she’d pick the students.

…What will I do if we have to fight them?...

And what about all the other students around her, carrying balloons on their backs, ready to play a silly game?

Was this the same thing as a frog being unable to take its eyes off a snake? But Mayura was at a loss of what to do as well. It seemed like the only thing left to do was pray that they weren’t attacked.

Just then, she felt a familiar sensation beside her. When she looked over, Masumi was standing next to her.

“Huh?... Masumi?”

“I’m sorry, Mayura. I was fooling around.” Masumi’s tone was cheerful.

“What have you been doing?” Mayura asked. “Where’s Izumiko?”

“Oh, Miyuki chased me off.”

“So Izumiko turned you down?”

“Nah. I don’t think she’s really decided yet. Anyway, I came to protect you.”

After letting out a long sigh, Mayura finally found the ability to speak. “Welcome back, Masumi. I knew you’d return to me.”

“I know. That’s why I came back,” Masumi said.

“Bring Izumiko and Sagara back soon.”

“Even I can’t do that.” He nodded his head in the army’s direction. “Look at that,” he urged, his tone still light. “It’s just all the ghosts of Hachiouji Castle returning home. You’ll understand after they’re gone.”

The deceased soldier ghosts passed right in front of the students. As Masumi had said, they did not give the crowd even one look as they went by. It was as if they didn’t even see the group pressed shoulder to shoulder in their own army costumes. The ghosts simply continued on to the gate, fading into oblivion as they passed through it.

The students watched silently as the spectacle went by like onlookers at a parade. The whole thing felt like a dream.

After the last soldier had passed through the gate, and the students had turned their heads back towards the campus, they found something else had appeared without their knowledge while they had been focused on the procession.

A half transparent woman was standing in the middle of the open space near the sports grounds. She was dressed in a Warring States era over kimono, performing a solitary dance.

Is that Izumiko?...

Mayura squinted to get a better look, but she wasn’t sure. Seeing as the dancer was transparent, she couldn’t quite make out the color of her clothing or the designs on it. All the same, it looked very much like the outfit Izumiko had worn at the kimono demonstration. There was an open fan in her hand. When she turned it around, Mayura could see that one side of it was white. The dancing princess’s hair flowed far down her back, and her face had a soft paleness to it. It reminded Mayura more of Izumiko than anyone else she had ever seen.

The other students were beginning to notice the dancer and murmur among themselves. All the same, the crowd was still encompassed in the silence of watching an event happen. They all gazed on in rapt attention, holding their breaths.

“Tell me. Is that Izumiko?” Mayura whispered to Masumi.

“Quiet. You need to watch this,” he whispered back. “I bet you never thought you’d get a chance to see Izumiko dance.”

Mayura knew exactly what Masumi meant. Izumiko was not the sort of girl who performed in front of crowds to bathe in attention. She had never once heard Miyuki mention anything about her dancing, either. However, when she realized that this was Izumiko, something deep inside of her chest relaxed.

Izumiko is special. She’s different from everyone else. There’s probably no one else like her…

The faint, goddess-like figure continued to dance alone in the one beam of sunlight that had made it through the cloudy sky.

As the slight figured continued her careful movements, her long hair and sleeves suddenly began to flutter, and the hem of her kimono gently rose off the ground. For an instant, everyone was blinded by the whiteness of her fan. Then she continued to silently move her feet…

Her movements repeated over and over. There were times when the onlookers could see her raise her hand to her lips, but she never made a sound. The students could not take their eyes off the simple movements. Watching her was like an invitation into a dream world.

“…Beautiful,” Mayura said, her voice quiet. “I think she’s letting you know that she doesn’t want to be with you.”

Masumi didn’t answer. However, he seemed to smile.

The students lost all track of time as they watched the unearthly girl’s dance. They had no sense of how many minutes had gone by. How many hours. But then suddenly, something snapped, and the end was instantly there.

Everyone heard a familiar mechanical sound began to fill the air; the beating sound of rotors. Up until now, no one had been looking at the sky. Now though, everyone raised their heads almost as if they were waking up.

A helicopter was flying above the school.

Keep reading!

#rdg #red data girl #rdg my longest day of school #rdg 5 #rdg 5 week 30 #translation

20 notes · View notes

agirlinjapan · 6 years

Text

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 29)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

Help me pay for my next translation project on Ko-fi.

I’m back from Japan! I had a great two weeks in the country, and I’m already making plans to go back next year. Maybe Hokkaido next time?

I, being the nerd that I am, found my way to three RDG related places on my trip. As I think I mentioned before, I went to Mt. Togakushi and Mt, Takao, but as a last minute addition to the trip, I also stopped by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building to see the view from its observation deck. All three places were great experiences. The two mountains were especially fun. I’d recommend them to anyone who even vaguely enjoys hiking. They weren’t difficult treks at all. (Mt. Takao has some more challenging trails available if you’re into that though.)

Along with talking about how my trip went, I also have some exciting RDG news. For the month of August, I’ll be moving back to a weekly posting schedule. That means I’ll be posting four weeks in a row starting on the 5th. As always, I’ll be posting the installations on Sunday evenings around 5:20 EST. I can also tell you that RDG 5 will come to an end in August, and we’ll be moving onto RDG 6. It’s going to be a busy month for RDG!

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 4: Choice Part 4 (1 of 2)

“Is that Takayanagi’s voice?” Izumiko asked, quickly recognizing the tone just as Miyuki had.

“Ah, yes,” the dog responded. “I wanted to ask your thoughts on this, Izumiko. Why do you see me as a dog?”

“Is this dog Takayanagi?”

Miyuki gazed at Izumiko standing next to him, her wide eyed. He sighed, and said, “So it was unintentional after all. I had a feeling it was.”

“Regardless, I have made it to where you are,” the dog continued. “Thus, I am reminded of the theory that a prince can be released from the magic holding him, and returned to his true form by a princess’s kiss.”

“Who’s the prince?” Izumiko asked, shocked. She quickly grew upset. “There’s no way I’m going to do anything like that. You’re really making me angry, Takayanagi. You’re the one who’s been using magic. You were using it at the horse ring to completely change the way I was thinking. Oh. I remember now. This has something to do with launching the balloon, doesn’t it?”

Her voice became sharp as her frustration continued to increase. “What was the chemistry club’s balloon for? Am I right in thinking that it was influencing people’s emotions through magic? ”

“Mmm. Of course it would be you pulling something like that,” Miyuki added slowly. “You might have come here in this form, but I knew you’d find a way to benefit from all of this. I was completely aware of everything you’d already done, and I still didn’t beat you up when I had the chance.”

The dog flattened its ears a little, but besides that, remained sure of itself.

“Is this really something to get so upset about? We’re expected to utilize the powers in our possession and fight, aren’t we? I believe it’s pointless to get worked up over this just because we all possess strong magic.”

“So what did the balloon do?” Miyuki pressed. “Keep talking until Izumiko tells you to stop,”

Takayanagi paused, but then began to speak somewhat reluctantly. “…Here in the world, there is a species that has evolved further than any other. Magic users. We diviners have been studying hybrid magic. The balloon is one of our experiments. We added a small bit of substance that would create a hallucinogenic reaction…”

“Did the balloon scatter it? You really are the one who did all this.”

“It was a tiny amount. It didn’t harm anyone. The effects will wear off in about half a day.”

Izumiko stared at Takayanagi, her eyes bright. “The school festival is falling apart because you did this. There are ghosts all around the horse ring because of you, too.”

At this point, Miyuki cleared his throat.

“Actually, I hate to say it, but you’re the bigger reason why the festival is falling apart, Izumiko. You probably don’t know this, but right now, all the electronics on campus have stopped working. No one can use their cellphones or laptops.”

“What?! That’s impossible!”

“But, Takayanagi seems to be the one who set everything in motion,” Miyuki finished.

Izumiko stared blankly out in front of her as she remembered how she had refused Takayanagi with all her might before disappearing into this dimension.

“The whole school was affected? No way… What about off campus?”

“I haven’t checked to see, but I’m guessing anywhere beyond the school probably wasn’t affected. It turns out that there are multiple barriers around the campus. The diviners weren’t the only ones who created one. The ascetic monks did too, along with other groups.”

“That must be why so many strange things were happening on campus lately. The diviners have been using magic everywhere. This thing with the balloon is practically medication abuse.”

Takayanagi’s expression grew somewhat frustrated. “That’s not true. Since long, long ago, people have seen the efficiency of medicine and magic as two separate entities, but they’re really not. When a person slips into an altered state of consciousness, they are able to think and feel in ways that they normally wouldn’t, just like the effects magic can create.”

“If anyone’s experiencing an altered state of consciousness, it’s you,” Miyuki retorted.

This time, Takayanagi cleared his throat. The white dog placed his front paws together and sat down neatly. Then he turned his gaze to Izumiko.

“Izumiko. I now understand that your magic has been much stronger than mine this whole time. Even working with a group, I did not match up to you. I know we were the ones who ambushed you so inconveniently, but I apologize sincerely for underestimating you. I will respect you from here on out, and do what I need to make everything up to you. So please, return me to my normal form. Find an opportunity to do so soon. People will come looking for me.”

“Did you put enough complaints in that apology? Asshole,” Miyuki grumbled. “Izumiko, I’d completely support you if you decided to leave that guy the way he is right now. He’ll be much more popular with everyone that way.”

Izumiko looked at the pining dog. He was quite a pretty white, Shiba inu, and he did look very dog-like—no one would have guessed he was really a high school boy. Still, she could not imagine that the dog felt the same way.

“I don’t think I can turn you back. I want to if I can, but doing that would be completely different from healing Sagara’s wound.”

“That’s because I’m a better person than he is,” Miyuki remarked, looking rather pleased.

“That’s not true, Izumiko. I suffered greatly in order to make it here to you.”

“Sagara’s wound happened here, so I just had to imagine what I wanted to see,” Izumiko said, still at a loss at what to do. “You were turned into a dog outside of this dimension, so I can’t imagine you back to the way you were.”

Takayanagi’s voice rose in protest. “Isn’t it your doing that I’m here in this dimension with its different wavelengths? And you tell me that you can’t do anything?”

Izumiko gave a vague shake of her head. “Well, that’s not really the way I remembered it…”

“Yeah, Takayanagi. You didn’t come here and then become a dog. You looked like one back at the academy,” Miyuki pointed out. “And you were the one who was making the campus into such a strange place, weren’t you?”

“You yourself said that groups other than the diviners were putting up barriers!” Takayanagi said angrily. “You can’t accuse me of everything when everyone’s doing something. All the magic mixed together and created something like a bad chemical reaction.”

Miyuki took a breath and then called up into the sky, “Wamiya, tell us what to do. Will we be able to return to the school without settling this?”

The crow did not appear, but his voice was audible throughout the clearing.

“Izumiko is not yet conscious of her abilities. She has the power to return the dog to its original form, and fix the rift in the school, but she doesn’t know how. All she can do to access this power is have it bubble up unconsciously or dance.”

That’s right. I’ve been able to use Kagura dance before…

She recalled how it had felt when she had done the Kagura dance in front of the stone door in Togakushi.

I guess the wavelengths increased while I was dancing then...

Miyuki looked at Izumiko quickly. “You’re definitely dressed to dance. Could you? You don’t have to force yourself on Takayanagi’s account, though.”

Izumiko had momentarily forgotten how she was dressed, but now she remembered. She straightened herself. Her hem and sleeves still touched the ground, but that didn’t change the fact that she was still dressed in the beautiful, red over kimono. Her long hair flowed over the cloth’s floral brocade design, its deep black luster looking so good against the outfit that the leaves it had picked up earlier were barely noticeable.

“Sure. There isn’t anyone else to see us, so I can dance here.”

She easily pulled a fan from her kimono to dance with. Creating one was much simpler than treating Miyuki’s wound had been. She tucked it into her hand and then looked around the woods. She couldn’t help but think that the space between the trees was a little small for dancing.

“But first, I have to find a larger space where I can see the sky.”

“We saw a place like that on our way here,” Miyuki said. “It’s this way.”

The three of them began to walk.

Mayura waited uneasily, continuously torturing herself with the thoughts streaming through her head. She couldn’t stand the fact that Manatsu hadn’t let her come with him.

She had already considered running after him to the horse ring more times than she could count, but she was the princess general right now. She had responsibilities to her team. It was just as Manatsu had said.

The electronics on campus were still not working. Seeing as no one could figure out the source of the malfunction, the unrest among the students was growing. The team’s third year high school members hadn’t fallen into panic right away, but the middle school players were in an uproar. Those middle schoolers also clearly wanted to put their trust in Mayura more than anyone else. They had no plans for leaving the sports grounds any time soon.

In the student government tent, Mayura could see that Jean Honoka Kisaragi had come over from the classroom building along with the vice principal and some of the teachers. With the entire school’s PA system down, the administration had to join in on running the festival. They couldn’t leave it entirely to the students anymore.

After a hurried consultation, the schedule was changed and an afternoon break was added so that repairs could be looked into. With the break going on, there were many fewer students from the castle attack team gathered on the field than there had been before.

Just then, Mayura noticed a group of kuroko moving towards her.

“Manatsu.”

As if sensing Mayura’s worry, Manatsu broke off from the group and jogged to her side.

“Sorry for not coming sooner. The horse ring area is in complete chaos.”

“…Thank God…”

Mayura had to take several deep breaths to keep her composure. She didn’t want anyone seeing the princess general cry over her brother at the moment.

“I thought you were further away than that. What about Masumi?”

“He’s somewhere else.” Manatsu was a little out of breath. His eyes were cold. “I couldn’t go, so I told Shinko to go instead,” he said, looking at his sister.

“Sagara?”

“He went into another dimension to search for Izumiko. Izumiko and Masumi are in an alternate reality touching this one.” After taking a deep breath, Manatsu added, “I wanted to search for Izumiko, but honestly, I probably couldn’t have gotten to her. Masumi and I are too different at this point.”

“Masumi… isn’t coming back?”

“I’m not sure. I think it’ll depend on what Izumiko and Miyuki decide to do.”

After a moment of silence, Mayura said softly, “I don’t like it when you’re not with me, but I don’t like it when Masumi isn’t with me either. This is all happening too fast…”

“Mayura.”

“Masumi said he’d be with me today. I haven’t settled things with Takayanagi yet…”

Manatsu’s voice was also soft, but his tone was determined. “I’ll tell you everything later, but what you need to know right now is that Takayanagi’s disappeared. I want to say this to you. Stop your fight to become best in the school. It wasn’t right of us to use Masumi to join the competition.”

Mayura blinked. “What are you talking about? Why are you saying it wasn’t right all of a sudden?”

“Because it’s going to end in a sacrifice. It would be great if we could fix our current problems, but then something else would just take their place. Izumiko would become that sacrifice.”

Mayura shrank back as if she had been hit. She stared at her brother. “What do you mean?...”

“First, I need to lead the students to where everyone’s going to meet. Then we’ll talk more.”

Manatsu looked around and then jogged away, leaving Mayura wrestling with her emotions. A minute later though, she returned to her duties as princess general.

Keep reading!

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agirlinjapan · 6 years

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Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 28)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School

By Noriko Ogiwara

A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

It’s hard to believe, but in just one week, I will be on my way to Japan! Wow! I have all sorts of plans made, including hiking Mt. Togakushi and visiting Mt. Takao. When I’m not being a total RDG nerd, I’ll be sightseeing in Tokyo, Hakone, and Kusatsu, as well as visiting friends and (host) family in Maebashi and Nagoya. It’s going to be a busy two weeks!

Seeing as I won’t be bringing my computer to Japan with me, RDG will be going on hiatus while I’m away. The next installation will be posted on July 22nd. However, I’m hoping to stay semi-active here and on twitter while I’m away. I’ll be posting all sorts of cool photos from my trip!

Reminder: I have a Ko-fi account! Any money you donate will go towards buying possible books for my next translation project after RDG. Thank you SO much to the two readers who have already donated. You’re amazing!

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 4: Choice Part 3 (2 of 2)

“Do you want to go to the palace?” Masumi asked in his samurai garb. “You must be hungry by now. Let’s go back to the palace and have a feast. I can’t wait to see what’s there for us.”

Admittedly, Izumiko hadn’t eaten lunch yet. However, there was something strange about what Masumi had said.

“Masumi, do you need to eat?”

“I’ll eat anything if you’ll come with me.”

It would be fun to see what kind of food I could eat in a place like that. Still…

Something occurred to Izumiko as she considered this.

“I’ve read myths along these lines. The goddess Izanami ate food in the land of the dead and so even when the god Izanagi came to bring her home, she couldn’t go with him. The number of pomegranate seeds Persephone ate in the underworld determined the number of months she had to stay there within the year. If I go with you and eat at the palace, will something like that happen? Will I be unable to go back home?”

Masumi looked at her, his face serious.

“Who knows? You’ll grow used to your new life, though.”

While he didn’t say it directly, Izumiko could hear the confirmation in his response. In other words, there would be no turning back if she agreed. However, she was grateful for this.

If I really can’t return to reality again, that means I’ll never have to say another word to anyone there, and I won’t even have to say goodbye. I wonder if I’ll regret that later on...

That made her pause ever so slightly. When she thought about it, this was all happening very quickly.

Thinking about school, Izumiko quickly said, “I brought a lot of things to school. My possessions. I might want them later on.”

“Yeah? We can get them easily. What would you like to bring with you?”

“Um… The computer from my dad and…”

Masumi snorted.

“As a keepsake? We can bring it with us, but you won’t be able to use it. There’s no electricity.”

“No. My father’s laptop doesn’t need electricity to work.”

Izumiko was surprised by how calmly she said this. A moment later, she recalled why she was so confident in the fact.

Mr. Sagara said I’d be able to use it without plugging it in if I ever needed help. As a last resort, that is.

Again, she found herself surprised by what she was thinking. There was one more thing she had forgotten.

I have Mom’s phone.

Izumiko looked down at herself. She was still wearing the over kimono and the second kimono under it. Her kuroko outfit had become the garb of a princess. If she wanted the cellphone she had stored inside the folds of her shirt, what would she have to do? Had the device changed into something else along with her clothes?

“What’s wrong?” Masumi asked as he watched Izumiko search her clothes.

“I had a cellphone with me.”

“You can’t use it.”

“That doesn’t matter right now.”

Reaching into her under kimono, Izumiko finally encountered something hard. Relieved, she pulled out the red cellphone.

And just like that, the phone suddenly began to ring in her hand. Up until now, she hadn’t heard it ring. It seemed completely out of place where they were now. Even Masumi stared at the phone as its cheerful melody rang out.

The electronic sound of the tone resounded through the clearing’s silence. Moreover, the song was the upbeat theme from an anime Izumiko knew.

… Why My Neighbor Totoro?...

Confused, Izumiko pressed talk and brought the phone to her ear. She heard Miyuki’s urgent voice on the other end.

“Izumiko, where are you?”

Her breath caught, and for a moment, she couldn’t speak. She remembered how she had wanted to call Miyuki. Deep down, she had continued wanting to do so all this time, but she hadn’t been able to remember that desire.

“Miyuki… Where are you?”

“I’m on my way. I’m coming to you.”

“But where am I?”

“Don’t worry about that.”

The impatient tone on the other end of the line was just like Miyuki. Izumiko felt as if all the events that had happened since she had last spoken to him on the phone had never occurred. That was how grateful she was to be speaking to him. Now she was certain that she couldn’t disappear with Masumi. If she chose the spirit, it would be the death of her human self. Everything around Izumiko had kept her from seeing that until now. She should have been wishing for someone to rescue her all along.

“Then get here soon. As soon as you can.”

The call ended, and Izumiko pulled the phone away from her ear to check the screen.

In the same moment, something flew out of the phone, and she yanked the device further away from her face. Black wings took to the sky accompanied by the sound of flapping.

It was a crow.

She watched with wide eyes as it flapped its wings a few times in front of her. Then it fluttered down to the ground. When it opened its mouth, Wamiya’s voice came out.

“So you finally called me, and now we’re face to face again. You’re frustrating. Do you know that?”

“Wamiya?”

She only knew what Miyuki had told her about the crow. Just as he had said, the bird really was black from head to toe.

“You wouldn’t show yourself to me though…”

“That’s because you weren’t aware of what you really wanted. Or something like that.”

“But I wanted to see you. Wasn’t that good enough?”

“You have to actually call me. You cut it uncomfortably close this time. We’ll be able to turn everything around now, but just by a hair’s breadth.”

The crow turned to Masumi. He might have been a small bird facing down a samurai, but his voice and demeanor were calm as he said, “You lost this round. Izumiko will not belong to Togakushi. I am saying this as her friend. Even if your true form were to awaken, she will never be yours. Maybe you were aware of that from the start, and that is why you never did anything more than tease her until now. It would have been, and still is, futile for you to do any more than that.”

Masumi gazed at the crow for a moment. Then he shrugged.

“I knew she was interested in someone else. It’s Miyuki, isn’t it? That doesn’t mean I can’t try though.”

“Don’t get greedy. You already have your siblings.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Go away.”

Izumiko watched silently as Masumi smiled and then disappeared. He said one thing before going though.

“I hope we can meet again someday, Izumiko. You said you don’t hate me, after all.”

A wave of loneliness rushed over Izumiko when he was gone. She noticed that the women from the palace had also disappeared. They had been so happy before. Wherever they were now, Izumiko could sense they were disappointed.

“…You didn’t have to chase them away.”

“But I did,” the crow replied as he walked purposefully across the ground. He stopped by Izumiko. “I’m about to do something special. I didn’t want them watching.”

“Special?”

The crow disappeared as Izumiko replied. For a moment, there was nothing there. Then, instead of the small crow, she saw a dark figure taller than her, solemnly holding a staff. Izumiko had been surprised by the phone call, but this was even more surprising.

Miyuki was now standing in front of her.

He was still in the student government kuroko outfit, but his hood was gone and his hair was disheveled, sticking out this way and that around his forehead. Izumiko saw that the sleeves of his shirt were torn in a number of places. Still, it was unmistakably Miyuki. He raised an eyebrow at her kimono, although his face showed no real interest in what she was wearing.

“Um… Was that really you being possessed by Wamiya?” she asked slowly.

“No. It was just a puppet made to look like a crow,” Miyuki said shortly.

“Oh.” Izumiko nodded, feeling overwhelmed.

As she did so, Miyuki’s manner changed. One moment he had been standing there, clutching his staff. The next, he had sunk down into a crouch, his hands still gripping the staff.

Surprised, Izumiko rushed forward and bent down in front of him.

He lowered his head and said, “Don’t show up looking like the goddess the way you are now. You scared me… I’m feeling dizzy.”

“I’m sorry. My hair came undone…”

“You’re Izumiko, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

Overcome by emotion, Izumiko felt like crying. This wasn’t a situation to cry over though. Still, she didn’t know the best way to express the impulse she was feeling either. She decided to simply bare it and ask a question that had come to her earlier.

“When my phone rang, why did it play Totoro?”

“Because it reminds me of you,” Miyuki answered, still looking down.

Izumiko thought about the movie. There was a big, medium, and small Totoro, a grade schooler, and a four year old. No matter what aspect she focused on, she felt as if she should be somewhat insulted. “What part of me… reminds you of a Totoro?”

“Don’t think so hard about it. It’s just something I like, alright?” Miyuki said awkwardly. “I watched it hundreds of times when I was a kid. Or at least, that’s what Yukimasa says.”

So Totoro must be his favorite story…

She held in her breath for a moment, but then let it out. Then she laughed, imagining little Miyuki sitting on Yukimasa’s lap and watching My Neighbor Totoro. The more she thought about it, the more she found she couldn’t stop laughing.

“Have you snapped under pressure?”

She laughed until she cried, stopping only after Miyuki spoke. The laughter had freed the tension in her chest.

“Today, I learned that I really am the goddess. I was so scared of people seeing me, so I hid myself away completely. But laughing makes everything seem less frightening,” Izumiko said, rubbing her eyes. “I don’t know if I’m ready to go back to reality yet, but you’re here. I finally got to see Wamiya, too. Thinking that I was alone was probably selfish of me. I know that I can’t stay here forever.”

“You…” Miyuki said, trailing off. He was quiet for a moment. Then he said firmly, “You have to tell me that you need me.”

“What?”

“I won’t know until you say it. I can’t do anything unless I know you need me.”

Izumiko stared at him, speechless. The more she stared though, the more she came to the conclusion that Miyuki didn’t know what he was saying. He looked injured and his breath was painful and uneven.

“Um… Are you alright? You’re pale…”

“Don’t bend my words. This is important,” Miyuki said sharply.

When Miyuki was weak, he did his best not to show it. Izumiko had known that since Miyuki had first come to Tamakura Shrine.

“I think you know this, but I won’t be your servant,” he continued. “That’s a path I’ll never take. With that said, the goddess is too heavy a burden for you to carry alone. She’s been stuck in time for thousands of years. Don’t do that to yourself. Let’s find a way for you to live your life without becoming the goddess. Without seeing a dead end future. Let’s search for it together. That’s why you have to say you need me.”

Izumiko closed her eyes. As she did so, she was sure she was would cry.

“I could say it, but then it would be all over.”

“What would be over?”

She couldn’t speak through her tears. Izumiko covered her face in both hands and hung her head low, sobbing. Silently, Miyuki wrapped his arms around her and gently stroked her hair. He pulled her close to him until her head was tucked under his.

He’s warm…

Izumiko had been wrong when she had thought she didn’t want to be touched by anyone. Masumi and the palace attendants might not have had any warmth, but she could feel the heat of Miyuki’s body against hers and knew that she too had warmth to share with him. Suddenly, she felt alive again. She could feel a willingness to go on coursing through her body.

Miyuki doesn’t belong in a place like this. Even so, he came here…

Finally, she succeeded in stopping her tears. She looked up.

“Miyuki, you’re bleeding.”

She couldn’t feel any damp parts of his clothing, but she could tell from the streaks of red that were plain to see.

“What?...” Miyuki sounded surprised. “I convinced myself that I wasn’t injured, but I guess that didn’t work.”

“I think that would have been too much to hope for.” Izumiko wiped away a tear with a red sleeve and then began checking the various rips in Miyuki’s outfit. There were shallow cuts all over him, but there were also two much deeper wounds; one on his arm and one on his back. In the darkness, she couldn’t completely see the extent of the injuries, but she supposed she should at least try and do a little to help him.

“We’re not in reality. I might be able to do something like Masumi could.”

“I’m fine.”

Without giving him a chance to say yes or no, Izumiko peeled back the fabric of his sleeve which covered the large cut on his arm. He flinched, and she looked at him nervously.

“Don’t move,” she said.

Placing a hand on Miyuki’s black sleeve, she began to pray.—Unlike in the real world where thoughts and wishes did not necessarily come true, Izumiko’s will could do a little to direct what came to be in this dimension. If she could imagine something with enough force, it would happen here. She wouldn’t be able to make any big changes, but she could probably adjust little things…

“It’s like I really am a goddess.—It’s a little unsettling, but it looks like it worked.”

Opening his mouth in surprise, Miyuki carefully bent and stretched his arm. His sleeve had even repaired itself.

“Doing something like that could turn you into the founder of a new religion.”

“I doubt I could do something like that in reality. I could only heal it because the wound happened here,” she said casually, smiling a little. “The answer to what you said earlier is really important, so I’m not going to respond just yet. But I’ll never forget how you came for me when I was lost. That’s why I’m still thinking over what you told me. I’m not trying to pretend it never happened.”

Miyuki recognized the sincerity in what Izumiko was saying.

“I can’t promise one hundred percent that my feelings won’t change.” He smiled as well as he said this. “But I need to start teaching myself to trust people. Today made that very clear.”

A comfortable silence fell over them.

At that moment, they understood each other so well that words were unnecessary. It was as if a magnetic connection had been created between them, Izumiko thought. Something was drawing them closer to each other.

Then, a third voice belonging to a person who, in all regards, shouldn’t have been there, spoke up.

“Why are you here, Sagara? Didn’t you give up on your mission earlier?”

A white dog with a peach colored tongue hanging out of its mouth sauntered up in front of the two.

Keep reading!

#rdg #red data girl #rdg 5 #rdg 5 week 28 #rdg my longest day of school #translation

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agirlinjapan · 6 years

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Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 27)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School

By Noriko Ogiwara

A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

We’re really in the middle of the story’s climax now! I think you’re going to like this week’s installation. :)

My trip to Japan is growing closer and closer. There are just about 20 days until I leave! And two weeks until I’ve completed my first year as a teacher! I can’t believe it! It’s been a good year and I can’t wait to start my second. I really feel like an established educator now.

Speaking of my trip to Japan though, there are a few things that I need to get done while I’m there. One of those tasks is finding my next translation project for when I finish RDG. (I only have one more book left and I’m already 30 pages into it!). I plan to buy a few possibilities and decide from there. I have created a Ko-fi account to help fund finding and purchasing books for my next translation project. If you have enjoyed RDG, please consider donating to help me set up my next project so that I can continue sharing translations with you.

Click here for my Ko-fi page.

If you would like to read a little more about why I created the Ko-fi account, here is a post I created yesterday with more information. I do put a lot of time and effort into RDG, and I appreciate any support my readers are willing to give. You’re all the best!

Now, without further ado, here is this week’s RDG installation.

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 4: Choice Part 3 (1 of 2)

“I guess we have no choice but to do it,” Miyuki said, raising his staff with both arms. He moved it in a circle with a practiced motion. “Those guys are definitely going to attack. Takayanagi wasn’t right when he said they’d have no effect on us if we use protection sutras, or their attacks won’t do anything if we don’t believe they can harm us.”

The white dog seemed to shrink back at the words. He dropped his head low, nervously moving his weight from one front paw to the other, back and forth.

“If your charms don’t work, what are you going to do?” Miyuki asked him.

“I’m a dog. I should be faster and more agile than you.”

If Takayanagi had truly been an invisible figure next to the dog, he wouldn’t have said such a thing. Still, Miyuki could tell that the dog was upset, and so he didn’t point this out.

“I don’t know if I can cover you, but I’ll try, so stay close to me. With that said, if it looks like I won’t be able to help you, use those legs of yours and run away.”

Quieting his heart, Miyuki began to chant a protection sutra. Then he made the nine symbols and moved further into the trees towards the soldiers.

Instantly, a spark of purpose appeared in the soldiers’ eyes and their attack began. The archers shot their arrows while the others ran towards them, angry looks on their faces. There were too many in all to count.

Miyuki stopped his sutra in midsentence. He was too overwhelmed by what lay in front of him to continue. Still, it soon became clear that all of the arrows that had fallen from the sky like rain had missed his body—his protection charm was working. He let out a quick sigh of relief, but the feeling was short lived. He was dressed in his thin kuroko outfit, and the soldiers streaming towards him were dressed in armor. The sight made his blood run cold.

While their forms were blurry, Miyuki could tell that the soldiers would do anything to succeed in the task they had been given. Their faces were dark with dirt and soot, and many of them were covered with blood. Some of them were missing body parts other than their heads. There was no point in saying that the sight was frightening. It just was.

Miyuki couldn’t hear their voices or any other sounds they may have created. It was an entirely silent event. However, the downward swings of their swords made whooshing noises as they cut through the air towards him. It may have been his imagination, but as the soldiers grew closer, he could almost feel that moving air against his skin.

The spears and swords the soldiers were carrying looked entirely different from the replicas at the festival. Some of the soldiers were carrying scythes, hoes, and other farming equipment instead. There were even some soldiers with bamboo spears and clubs. It seemed like a much more daunting prospect to be killed by people attacking with such weapons compared to more common place ones.

Reflexively, Miyuki raised his staff as the first soldiers reached him. The response was immediate. As his swing connected with an attack, the soldier and the blade that had clanked against the staff seemed to scatter and disappear. However, caught up in the moment and the continuing attacks coming at him, Miyuki did not have the time to confirm that each of the spirits he hit were indeed gone. Instead, his mind was entirely set on rushing forward, chanting and swinging at his foes as he went. It didn’t matter that he was already out of breath. His mind was paralyzed with the strangeness of the situation he was in. It was the only thing on his mind.

“We’ve crossed through the barrier,” Wamiya finally announced after Miyuki had broken through the last of the soldiers.

Miyuki fell to his knees, sitting back on his heels. He held up the heavy staff, thinking about the dangerous hundred meter race he had just run full out through.

“Uh… Where’s Takayanagi?”

He quickly looked around as he pulled off his hood to wipe the sweat off his forehead with. It was true that he had had no time to think about the dog. He couldn’t even recall if the canine had been near him during the run.

However, the white shiba inu padded over him at that moment, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. He was fine.

“Have you fallen and can’t get up, Sagara? I happen to be fine. The ghosts couldn’t even get close to catching me. I was through them before I even had to draw a second breath.”

“That’s because you make a good dog,” Miyuki muttered, but Takayanagi ignored him.

“My clothing may be invisible,” he continued cheerfully, “but there are a number of amulets attached to my shirt. They may be on some other wavelength, which is why you can’t see them, but they seem to still be effective.”

Miyuki folded his legs underneath him, moving into a more comfortable position. He bent forward, concentrating on his breathing.

“If you were that safe, maybe you could have been a faithful dog and helped protect your owner.”

“And who exactly is this owner you’re talking about?”

The space they were in at the moment was open, but there were more trees identical to the ones they had passed through surrounding them. There was no particular variation here.

Miyuki could hear Wamiya’s voice again behind him.

“Miyuki, if I were you, I would keep moving forward without letting my guard down. This isn’t the only barrier you need to get through.”

“There’s more? How many are there?” Miyuki asked. His voice took on a frustrated tone.

“There could be another and another after that. And I’d say each will have another group of those soldiers you just got through.”

“Ugh. So it’s going to be like that.”

Wamiya’s response was not good news. “There might be the same amount of them. There might be more,” he said. “They could also be stronger than the ones we just met, but I doubt they’ll be weaker.”

The ill-omened prediction turned out to be true.

After the same occurrence had happened three more times, Miyuki felt like a one man castle attack force taking on an entire defensive army.

The endless flow of ghost soldiers, their silent roars of outrage, and the way they instantly disappeared at Miyuki’s command never changed. However, the armor on the attacking forces had steadily become more intact and functional. In other words, as they approached their goal, the soldiers they met most likely grew in rank.

“Assuming this dimension is a recreation of Hachioji Castle, we’re going to have to climb up to the castle itself on top of the mountain. That’s going to be difficult though… If we get up there, we’ll be close to our goal…” Miyuki murmured exhaustedly. He leaned against the staff, his arms suddenly weighed down as if he was carrying a barbell.

“You’re clearly drained, mentally and physically,” the white dog said, giving a little shudder. “I am somewhat tired as well. How many more of these attacks will we have to go through?”

This time, Wamiya answered.

“The problem isn’t how many more times,” he said. “It’s whether or not you have the strength to break through. If you do not have that strength, you will simply repeat this battle over and over again until you give up.”

“Is it really the right time to say that so bluntly? We’re all in this together. You could at least give us a hand,” Miyuki insisted.

A note of anger in his tone, Wamiya raised his voice in a rare moment. “Perhaps. But then I will most likely share the same bad fate as you.”

The crow was not in sight, but Miyuki could practically see him fluffing his feathers.

“You used my powers to get here, but if you continue to use them, it will result in physical effects on your person. As humans, unused to such spiritual strain, you will quickly tire under the influence of my power. I appear to you in this crow form so as to create as little of an effect on you as possible, but even in this body, my powers will influence you. However, distancing myself from you will result in even worse things happening…”

“Right,” Miyuki said, a similar situation occurring to him. “Mayura said that working with Masumi exhausts her. She was saying that she’s probably going to sleep all day tomorrow after everything she’s done today. Is it like that?”

The white dog raised his nose, a look of understanding crossing his features. “It’s the same as casting a large spell. It more or less takes control of your body. That’s why you should only work magic that’s within your abilities, and why there are cases of magical backlash taking people’s lives.”

Ignoring Takayanagi, Miyuki straightened his back and picked up his staff again. He could sense that he had a limited amount of time in which to get Izumiko back.

“Shit… We didn’t cross through the barrier until after lunch. What happens if we don’t get to where Izumiko is in time?”

“You should go back. There won’t be any soldiers guarding the passages out of this place.” Wamiya’s response did not sound amused at all. “Then again, if you keep going until you collapse from exhaustion, getting back will become difficult as well.”

Miyuki lost count of how many groups of ghostly soldiers they ran into after speaking with Wamiya. However, only once did he suffer any major physical damage. He had felt the blade slice into his skin as it happened.

After the soldiers had disappeared, he crouched down to catch his breath for a while. When he was ready, he tried to stand up, but found that he couldn’t. Instead, a wave of dizziness washed over him.

As Miyuki clutched at the ground, the dog wandered up to him, sniffing at the air as he went. Miyuki gazed at him through blurry eyes. The dog’s white fur was still as clean and white as ever, making it seem like they weren’t in the middle of a serious battle.

“Sagara, your kuroko outfit is getting all ripped up. Is it just the clothing itself, or have you actually taken hits?”

“It’s nothing. Only one of them grazed me,” Miyuki rasped.

In truth, his arms and sides and back and shoulders hurt. When he ran out of physical energy, his willpower would certainly be affected as well. His ability to maintain his protection charm was slowly draining away. At first, he had been barely able to sense the change, but now it was evident in the way his body ached.

…But this isn’t a real place. That means I’m not actually hurt. But if I think I’ve actually been hurt, that’s when the wound will really open…

Remembering what had been said in Togakushi, he did his best to ignore the wound, imagining that it wasn’t there at all. He did not look at where the pain was coming from. There was an unpleasant feeling of his body being wet and then the pain was gone.

Seeing as his outfit was black, stains wouldn’t stand out that badly. When he finally looked down at himself to check, it was as nothing had happened at all.

I still don’t entirely believe this is happening…

He didn’t trust his protection charm entirely, nor did he fully trust the ascetic monks or Wamiya. In truth, he couldn’t entirely trust or believe in anything. He didn’t even fully trust that the strange situation he had found himself in was really happening, he thought to himself.

That’s because even when I was young, I unfortunately knew that you can’t take anything at face value…

Poignantly, he wondered if this was where his no-nonsense personality had come from.

He felt the last of his energy slipping away from him, and began to wonder if they were at the end of this adventure.

…Do I even fully believe in Izumiko?…

The white dog looking up at Miyuki opened his mouth as if he had thought of something. “You really are commendable, Sagara. You’ve come so far. Will you continue to go forward? I’ve never seen anything like these Warring States era warriors… if that’s really what they are.”

“We’ve gotten this far. Turning back would be unforgivable. And they’re just puppets,” Miyuki said, taking a few deep breaths to give himself the strength to continue. “Wait a second. I’m getting up.”

“No. You’re already at your limit. But I truly admire you. You’ve given all you have in order to help me return me to my true form and reach Izumiko.”

Miyuki stared at the dog. The dog returned his gaze with his shiny, dark eyes.

“That,” Miyuki said, “definitely wasn’t my intention. I think I admire you for thinking that. Stay the way you are as that dog, Takayanagi. I’ll be your owner.”

“I appreciate your kind offer, but I cannot remain a dog,” the white dog said, wagging his tail a little. “It is necessary that I reach Izumiko. You rest here, Sagara. I still have energy to go forward. That, I believe, is at least one of the benefits of the form I am in. But I will repay your generosity. In the event that I reach Izumiko, I will inform her that you are here.”

“Generosity? In the event that?…” Miyuki repeated Takayanagi’s words wearily. Still, he had to admit that the dog’s fur remained spotless while he himself was covered in grit and exhausted. Frustration filled his chest.

“That crow mentioned the power to break through the barrier before, didn’t he?” Takayanagi asked offhandedly. “The one thing I didn’t get was which direction we need to go in order to break through it. Do you know?”

Miyuki couldn’t pull together the energy to answer. Instead, Wamiya, as if he had been waiting for Takayanagi to ask this, answered.

“You must find the power to believe in what you must do. You need the power of an event connected to the future.”

After thinking about this for a moment, the white dog turned his gaze forward.

“Alright. Let’s try this.”

Miyuki picked up his staff, but in that moment, he knew he was not capable of doing any more. He wanted to say this out loud, but in the end, he stopped himself. There was no point in announcing it to the dog.

I could tell Izumiko what’s going on. If only I could talk to her…

He remembered Yukariko’s cellphone. If he could reach Izumiko with that, he’d know whether or not he could truly put his trust in her. He could talk with her before he lost the chance to do so again.

Reaching inside his kimono style shirt, he pulled out his own cellphone. The screen was still black. Knowing it would never work, Miyuki pressed the call button anyway.

Sense what I’m doing, Izumiko. I’m calling you…

Keep reading!

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agirlinjapan · 6 years

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Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 26)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

Yay for long weekends! Happy Memorial Day weekend to my US readers. I’m celebrating by keeping things low key before moving into the last four (!!!) busy weeks of the school year. I’m going to be exhausted by the time school ends on June 25th. I’ll have a few days to recuperate before jumping on a plane to Japan on July 1st! It’s coming up!

Translation Notes:

In the book and anime, Manatsu refers to Miyuki as Shinko. Back in RDG 2 when Manatsu was first introduced, I made the decision to take this out and have Manatsu call Miyuki by his first name instead. My reasoning was that I didn’t quite get why Manatsu came up with the nickname and it was never explained in the book. I now know that Manatsu is using very obscure way of reading the kanji that make up Miyuki’s name. I’m choosing to return to the use of Shinko to preserve the original text to the best of my ability. I hope to eventually revise my earlier translations to reflect this as well. With this said, just be aware that when Manatsu says “Shinko” in this RDG installation, he’s referring to Miyuki.

Momotaro is a traditional Japanese tale about a boy born from a peach who goes on an adventure with a number of animal companions. Read more about the story here.

Abe no Seimei is an ancient magic user from Japanese tales. He is often compared to Merlin.

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 4: Choice Part 2 (3 of 3)

“It looks like I’ve found the other dimension,” Wamiya the crow, said. “Izumiko may choose to stay there. It’s just a guess, but it’s less likely she’ll return to reality.”

Slowly, Miyuki looked up at the crow sitting on top of the staff’s round head.

“Are you just going to retreat with your tail between your legs and let Masumi beat you? You’re the goddess’s retainer. Doesn’t that make you feel ashamed of yourself?”

The crow gave a quick move of its head. “I find new starts to be worthwhile.”

“Are you saying that it would be alright if Izumiko didn’t come back?”

“I’ve been with the goddess hundreds and hundreds of years already.”

“Don’t mess with me.”

Miyuki lifted the staff off the ground and the crow flew up into the air with a flap of its wings. However, instead of flying away, he landed on the top of the hood covering Miyuki’s head and remained there.

Wamiya then leaned his body forward and asked, “Our chances of getting her back are slim. Do you still want to try?”

“Of course I do,” Miyuki said firmly to the companion on his head, “Did you not believe anything I’ve said?”

“First, we’ll find Izumiko. If I hear Izumiko say that she wants to return, then I’ll believe you. Let’s go.”

Manatsu quickly reached out and grabbed Miyuki’s arm. “Wait, Shinko. If you’re going, I’ll go with you.”

Miyuki gazed into his face. Manatsu didn’t look afraid.

“Back in Togakushi, Izumiko went all the way to the stone door to bring me back. This time, I have to bring her back.”

Miyuki could tell that Manatsu had every intention of going into the other dimension with them. For an instant, he was unsure what to do, but then he said, “You can’t. You need to go back to Mayura. You told her you’d be back soon, didn’t you? You can’t let your sister worry.”

“But it’s our responsibility to keep an eye on what Masumi does,” Manatsu said seriously.

Miyuki only shook his head slightly. “I was with Mayura in Togakushi when we went to the stone door. Your sister was so upset then. I can understand what she must be feeling now. Don’t let your sister think the same thing that happened this summer is happening again. I don’t want to see that a second time.”

Manatsu drew back his hand, a surprised look on his face as he realized how much Miyuki knew.

“…I guess you’re right. And about what Masumi’s doing… He does think differently than we do. That’s what I’m trying to say.” He didn’t look like he would reach out to grab Miyuki again as he asked, “But will you be alright alone? We don’t know what form Masumi will take this time.”

“I’m not alone though, not really,” Miyuki answered with the crow on his head.

He looked around himself. Angelica, Claus, and the other diviners were standing there at a loss for words, staring at the talking crow. They looked as if they had seen all they could handle for one day. For just a split second, Miyuki felt badly for them.

“Takayanagi, if you’re coming, you’re coming now,” he said to the white dog. “If there’s one person most responsible for this situation, it’s you, and there’s nothing we can do here about the state you’re in. We’ll go find Izumiko, you’ll apologize, and she’ll turn you back to your normal self.”

Angelica turned and silently looked at the dog. “If Izumiko can do that, you definitely need to talk to her,” she said.

“I’ll go with Sagara,” Takayanagi said. He sounded as if he was calming down. “I’ll go however far he can bring me.”

The dog rose to his feet and padded closer to Miyuki. After looking at him for a moment, Miyuki asked, “Where can I touch you? Your head? Neck?...Tail?...”

“Don’t touch me anywhere.”

“We could try putting a collar on you then…”

“He’s strange enough as he is that he should be able to come with us into the other dimension even if you’re not touching him,” Wamiya interrupted.

Miyuki thought he understood what the crow was saying. He chanted a sutra, pounded the staff and its rings hard against the ground, and without further ado, stepped forward.

272

An instant later, the scenery changed.

Miyuki found himself surrounded by a forest of thin, sparsely planted trees. The other students had vanished, leaving the forest calm and peaceful. In fact, it was a little too peaceful almost as if all the constant background noise that he unconsciously took in throughout the day had suddenly stopped reaching his ears.

Wamiya once again fluttered down to land on the top of the staff in Miyuki’s hand. It seemed like he intended to remain a crow for the time being.

There was a noise and Miyuki drew in a breath, looking for Takayanagi.

The white dog was there. He was now on Miyuki’s other side. His appearance hadn’t changed, but Miyuki hadn’t expected it to. As Manatsu had predicted, Miyuki was the only human there.

“So I have a dog and a bird as my companions, huh?...” he murmured. “If I just had a monkey too, I’d be Momotaro.”

Takayanagi’s ears snapped in his direction. “The bird should be a pheasant, not a crow. And I’m not a dog.”

“How are you feeling, anyway? Do you actually not see yourself as a dog?” Miyuki asked, bluntly voicing his thoughts.

“I see the dog,” Takayanagi replied. “But I also know that I’m invisible and I’m right next to it. My limbs and clothes are right here. The dog’s a completely different entity. I wasn’t turned into a dog.”

As Takayanagi spoke, the dog looked up at Miyuki, opening and closing his mouth. Miyuki doubted it was for exercise.

“…I think you’re deluding yourself because you don’t want to admit you’re a dog. You’re hallucinating,” he said.

“The hallucination is that you’re seeing a dog,” Takayanagi retorted. “Do you think the dog has my vocal chords? My body has most likely been moved into a different space or plane that’s making it invisible to your eyes.”

“Ah. So we’re in a scifi story.”

Takayanagi stopped talking. Miyuki turned to Wamiya.

“You know where Izumiko is, don’t you? Which direction should we go?”

“Before, you said that crow is the goddess’s retainer spirit, right?” the white dog said with some interest. He moved closer. “Obviously, you don’t have a shikigami. I know you have some power, but how are you connected to this goddess? Abe no Seimei had twelve divine spirits, but even they were just powerful beings that stayed near him. Are you trying to control a spirit that’s impossible to tame?”

“That dog is annoying,” Wamiya said, ignoring everything Takayanagi had just said.

“I agree,” Miyuki conferred although his mind was preoccupied with the next problem at hand.

“Then why did you bring him with you?”

It had been an unexplainable impulse. However, he reconsidered his words and said instead, “He needs to apologize, and Izumiko needs to see exactly what she’s done. If she doesn’t, I have a feeling that she won’t want to return to our world.”

“Huh. I guess it’s alright, then,” the crow responded in an incredibly flat tone. More and more, Wamiya seemed to be proving that he had no intentions of supporting Miyuki in the least. “Things will become difficult from here on. You will encounter things that are not real from the very beginning. These are not the naturally sacred lands of Kumano or Togakushi. Be ready, prepare yourselves, and stay together.”

Miyuki gazed around at the woods. Personally, he didn’t see the difference where they were now and the places Wamiya had mentioned.

“It looks like a normal forest to me…”

“Direction doesn’t make a difference here, so go whichever way you like. Izumiko’s deep in the forest. It won’t be a smooth journey to get to where she is. There are many obstacles between her and us as well.”

“By obstacles, do you mean like how we’re in a different dimension right now?” Miyuki asked, but Wamiya only fluttered away and then vanished.

Miyuki decided to begin walking in the direction which he was facing. The white dog followed after him at a trot.

“That crow can disappear at will? I thought you were just an ascetic monk, but if that’s a divine spirit, then you’re a vessel as well. How is that even possible?”

Miyuki wanted to tell Takayanagi that he was being annoying, but he refrained. With Wamiya gone, silence was somewhat unsettling. Takayanagi the dog was the only companion he had with which to distract himself with.

“I don’t know, either. Wamiya goes where he likes. He’ll show up the moment we need him.”

“Who is Izumiko, anyway? And that Masumi guy, too. I want to say he’s a demon, but Izumiko’s done more than he has. She’s made everyone see me as a dog. What does she want?! She got rid of my shikigami, too. I wouldn’t even imagine going this far if I was getting back at someone.”

“Don’t you think it’s because you talked with her about pets? At least a dog’s not that bad. She could have turned you into a mouse.”

“Why a mouse?”

“Algernon.”

“She would never,” Takayanagi muttered sourly. “I was just trying to tell her about the way the rest of the world is…”

“Well, you did a great job of that.” Miyuki’s voice was full of anger. “It’s about time you realized that you screwed up. Have you thought about what it would be like to stay a dog for the rest of your life?”

“I’m a diviner. No matter how unusual something is, I have to be able to deal with it. I was raised that way.”

“Ah, of course. You were planted at the academy. Well now, your friends who watch out for you might just have to let you have dog food for lunch.”

With that, Miyuki stopped talking although he continued to walk quickly.

The trees seemed to continue on with no breaks or changes in the scenery in sight. The forest had the same feel as the one around the school, but the terrain was different. It was relatively comfortable in the shade of the trees—neither hot nor cold. The cloudy sky was bright although the sun didn’t shine through and there was no breeze at all.

Eventually, Takayanagi opened his mouth to speak again.

“…Izumiko really didn’t like that barrier, did she? She’s mad at me for calling the ghosts. People react with anger and hatred. Spirits do not.”

“People, huh?”

“I think Izumiko wanted to get back at me.”

“I can’t believe you’re thinking about that right now,” Miyuki replied coldly. “You look down too much on Izumiko. Even if you say you’re a so called global society representative, you still have to apologize to her. You won’t change back if you don’t.”

“Do you think it’s safe to assume this place we’re in right now is somewhere local?” Takayanagi asked in an odd voice. “Or do you think we’re somewhere else that just looks like the school?”

“There’s a good chance this dimension butts up against the school in reality,” Miyuki replied.

Takayanagi’s voice grew very quiet. “If that’s the case… If we find a way out, will we become Hachiouji Castle ghosts, too?”

Miyuki sucked in a breath and stopped walking.

There were no signs of people, nor did he hear any noises, but he could see a number of humanoid shadows between the trees in front of them. Despite the brightness of the woods and the faintness of the shadows, he could still clearly see blurred human outlines with no living feel to them. The more Miyuki took in the sight before him, the more he saw that the figures looked as if they belonged on a battlefield.—They were carrying bows and arrows, spears, and other weapons.

These were not the shadows of students in their rented costumes. The shaking forms were taller and much more menacing. Their armor was also much older and beginning to fall apart. Some of the figures’ limbs stuck out at odd angles, and others limped along. A few of the figures were even headless.

“Hey, Wamiya,” Miyuki called out quietly before he realized what he was doing. “Don’t tell me we have to go through those people. Didn’t you say the direction doesn’t matter?”

The crow didn’t appear, but his voice was suddenly audible.

“Obviously. The direction you’re heading is your only option. I’m predicting this based on what that being in Togakushi did. Haven’t you learned anything, Sagara?”

“You mean Masumi?”

Surprised by this, Miyuki suddenly remembered how his abilities had been tested on the forest path in Togakushi.

“Wait… Are you saying this is the same as those tengu masked people?”

In truth, the people Miyuki had encountered on the path that day had been the members of the Japanese history club; just a harmless group in masks. However, Masumi had manipulated everyone on the path into an alternate dimension, turning the club members into hostile, murderous demon like creatures.

“They’re protecting the entrance to where Izumiko is,” Wamiya continued. “That’s why I said this would be difficult. If you can break through their lines and head towards the opening in the barrier, the ghosts will disappear. They’re brutal though. You should have a plan.”

The white dog raised his nose. “Huh? What is the crow saying?”

Miyuki let out a sigh and looked down at him. “He says we’re going through.”

“Then let’s go. Ghosts feed off of mental energy. We have ways to protect ourselves from that, so they won’t have any corrosive effects on our mental states. As a result, they can’t actually harm us,” Takayanagi said optimistically, but Miyuki had a different way of looking at the situation.

“If Masumi punches you hard enough, I’m guessing he’d knock you out. What does a dog have to protect itself from that?”

Takayanagi stopped talking.

Keep reading!

#rdg #red data girl #rdg 5 #rdg 5 week 26 #rdg my longest day of school #translation

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agirlinjapan · 6 years

Text

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 25)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

Today, I successfully completed translating all of RDG 5. I’m so excited! The ending is a little different from where the anime stops. I’m really looking forward to starting RDG 6 seeing as this is part of the story that we didn't get in the anime. However, it’s bittersweet to know that this is the beginning of the end.--Book 6 is the last book in the series. What will I do when I finish? I’ll have to find something else good to translate!

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 4: Choice Part 2 (2 of 3)

With Masumi in his Warring States era costume, Izumiko felt as if the school was nearby. She became aware of her own kuroko outfit. Her hair was wild and unruly, hanging to her waist with leaves stuck in it near the bottom of its strands.

“Why are you dressed like that? It looks like something Takayanagi would wear,” Izumiko said.

Masumi looked surprised.

“Huh? Really. This is what Mayura’s wearing today. Shoot. Does she look like him, too?”

“She doesn’t.” Izumiko grinned at him broadly. “She looks like a respectable soldier. The outfit looks good on her. Masumi, aren’t you supposed to be with her all day today? Why are you here?”

“Ah, um…”

“Don’t you have to help her win?”

Masumi gave a vague gesture at her words. “Yeah, but… I’m a little confused about what’s going on here. I’ve switched places with Mayura a hundred times before this. But this time, I think she wants to sacrifice herself.”

Izumiko blinked, thinking she must have misheard him.

“Sacrifice herself? That can’t be right. Why would she do that?”

“Mayura’s ultimate wish is to give her heart to Manatsu.”

“Give?...”

Izumiko found herself at a loss. Masumi didn’t often use figurative language, but she thought that he must be this time.

“A heart transplant,” he said, his tone straight foward. “There’s a good chance that Manatsu’s heart will give out like mine did when I was young. So Mayura wants Manatsu to live a long life by giving him hers, I think. That way, they can continue living as one person.”

At first, Izumiko didn’t know how to respond. She took a breath and finally whispered, “That’s…”

Masumi’s facial features were more or less the same as Manatsu’s, but his expressions resembled Mayura’s as well.

“It’s true,” he said. “When we were little, we promised each other that we’d all become one person. Mayura still acted like a boy then. It was an innocent promise. That’s why I came back to my siblings. The being known as Masumi is a dream of that promise.”

Izumiko stared at him, her eyes wide. “But that’s… What does Manatsu think of all this?”

“He has no idea what to do. He didn’t think it would come to anything, but then the events of this summer happened. Things are starting to unravel. For now at least, barely anything’s changed though.”

Izumiko thought about this for a minute and then opened her mouth. “If I were Manatsu, I wouldn’t know what to do either. Things are serious if that’s what Mayura is wishing for. It’s hard to full comprehend. What do you think, Masumi?”

Masumi shrugged, his surcoat going up and down with the motion.

“I don’t really think anything about it. A while back, you told me that devouring another spirit was kind of like liking them, right? Could you say this situation is an explanation of what like is, too?”

“…I don’t think I would say that,” Izumiko murmured quietly. “So, whether Mayura wins or loses or whatever else happens, all three of you are planning to become the same person in the future?”

“They’re looking for ways that would keep them from being alone. Mayura and Manatsu both want the other to live because they’ve seen the existence I, who died before them, lead.”

Izumiko stared at him, thinking. The words “ways that would keep them from being alone” resonated in her chest. Mayura always had someone with her. She had people she could be with.

“I’m jealous… She’s totally different from me… I’ve always thought that, even from the first day we met,” Izumiko said, her eyes downcast. “I thought I would be happy if I could just be useful to Mayura. I wanted to be on her side and help her beat Takayanagi. I wanted to help her become the best in the school. But now I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do… I’m probably not useful. I can’t do anything for her.”

“Why?”

“I can’t go back to the school.”

“Why?” Masumi repeated. He sounded like a young, curious child.

“I’m different from normal people,” Izumiko replied. “I might as well not be human at all.”

“But you’re human, Izumiko.”

“Then why am I here with you now?” she asked in return.

When Masumi responded, his voice was serious. “You’re human, but you were born with the ability to heighten your wavelength. Ages ago, there used to be plenty of people like you, but these days they’re an endangered species. There are some people who can learn to heighten their wavelength just a little through practice, and those people can see ghosts. Still, there really aren’t many people who can change the actual wavelength of the space around them. That’s what you can do.”

“When you say wavelength… Are you talking about how I break computers and cellphones?”

Masumi let out a short laugh, hearing the moment when Izumiko realized what he was talking about.

“That has to do with wavelengths too, but everything has its own wavelength. In this world, things made of matter, from minerals to organisms, exist within the range of short wavelengths. Electromagnetic waves and light have slightly longer wavelengths. Spirits exist in a range of much longer wavelengths than organisms. To put it simply, they’re on a different stage.”

Izumiko was surprised. “You know a lot about this. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were the sort of person who put a lot of time into thinking things through and figuring them out.”

Masumi brought a hand up to the bun on top of his head, and brightened ever so slightly.

“Nah… I don’t really think things through that much. I didn’t even realize I was a dream for a long time. I only figured it out when you were dancing in front of the stone door in Togakushi.”

Izumiko recalled how she had done this in order to get Manatsu back. There had been a stone door behind which the sleeping Nine Headed Dragon God had been sleeping. She had found it while trying to help look for Manatsu.

“Speaking of that time, when Manatsu came out of the door, you disappeared instead. We hadn’t seen you since then until this festival.”

“I woke up for an instant then. But then I fell back to sleep right after that and everything just went back to the way it had been before. Now though, I know that I don’t have a regular body and that I’m just a dream. My actual body is huge, and it has a massive store of knowledge.”

Izumiko didn’t respond for a moment after Manatsu answered her, but then she said, “Umm… Well, Masumi? I saw the giant snake come out of the stone door. I don’t really want to say that’s you if I can help it. It’s just kind of uncomfortable…”

“Okay. Then we won’t say that’s me. The Nine Headed Dragon God, as you called it, is just a reflection of the image humans had of that spirit a long time ago. There were young triplets who weren’t scared of the god. That’s why I became what I am now.”

Izumiko gazed at Masumi as she took in what he had said, a strange feeling growing in her chest. Masumi did not consider himself to be one of the triplets anymore. That much was becoming clear.

“You really are a god in Togakushi, aren’t you, Masumi…”

“I am.”

Masumi nodded and then was quiet. After a moment, he continued. “Eventually, I’ll probably devour Mayura or Manatsu. That’ll be the conclusion of the dream, so I can’t be sad about it or anything like that. Mayura refuses to see the great problem that is life and death. It’s just the reality of wavelengths of matter. But lately I’ve started thinking that you’re better than anything else.”

“Do you mean you’d rather eat me?” Izumiko asked, unalarmed despite herself.

“Our friends might say that. As you know, I like to eat a lot. But seeing as you’re a person with a very high wavelength, I don’t think I could really eat you like I could a normal person. In other words, what I’m saying is I want you to be with me. I don’t want you to be alone,” Masumi told her gently. “I mean, I like you, Izumiko.”

After a moment of shock, Izumiko finally thought, Could this be my first confession in my life?...

But then, she told herself, of course not. She pulled herself back. She was just being vain.

I’m wrong. I’m just the one who’s teaching Masumi about liking people. He just said he wants to eat me.

“Do you dislike me? Have you thought about that?” Masumi asked, suddenly alarmed.

Izumiko smiled a little, thinking of how he was impossible to dislike. She shook her head and her long hair slid over her body. “I don’t dislike you, but I don’t know what I feel.”

“Is that why you don’t want to go back to school? Do you not want to go back to being together with humans? Seeing as you’re such an unusual human, you could live with the humans or you could live in this dimension. So let’s be here together. I’d make sure you never got bored, and you wouldn’t be alone for a hundred years.”

“A hundred years?”

“For sure,” Manatsu said brightly.

If this really was a confession, it was one on a grand scale, Izumiko thought.

“…That’s a long time. Would I be aware of all that time passing? Is there some sort of guarantee that we wouldn’t start hating each other? We haven’t really spent a lot of time together yet. We don’t know each other that well.”

“You know what my true form is capable of. And I like you so much that I can’t stop looking at you. Let me show you how much fun we would have together.”

“I have a feeling that I’ll never enjoy anything ever again…” Izumiko said. Her words made her want to cry. Even though she had never shed a tear when she had been prepared to live in solitude for the rest of eternity, they welled embarrassingly up now in front of Masumi.

Masumi leaned forward and said soothingly, “Don’t cry. This place is different from the academy. It’s a world I thought up. We can change it however we want…. For example…”

He gently placed his hands on Izumiko’s arms. She didn’t feel anything at all as the kuroko outfit turned into the red and gold brocade over-kimono outfit she had worn to the kimono demonstration with its vine and hexagonal pattern. However, the unbelievable weight of the outfit which she had experienced that day was nowhere to be seen. The material itself felt the same, but the outfit didn’t weight any more than the kuroko costume had.

“It’s so light…”

“That’s right. It’s because of the difference in wavelengths here.”

Izumiko glanced up at Masumi who was looking pleased with himself, and asked, “Why do you want me to be a princess? Do you want me to wear this sort of clothing all the time if I stay with you?”

“I’m a boy because I came from the same egg as Manatsu. You said that yourself. I can recreate the Warring States era much better than a school festival can. If you want something more exciting, it doesn’t just have to be the two of us living together out here alone. We can live exciting lives. If you want to live extravagantly, we can live extravagantly, too.”

“I don’t want any…”

As Izumiko began to speak, she noticed that Masumi’s outfit was changing little by little. The battle surcoat’s color became more subdued. Then the entire outfit changed. The surcoat became a casual, sleeveless robe worn over a kimono and hakama pants. He looked like a samurai during peacetime.

“Houjou Ujiteru’s wife, Lady Hisa, survived the fall of the castle. However, her wish to see her husband again was never fulfilled. I don’t want to recreate that unhappy ending.”

Am I… Lady Hisa? Izumiko thought in confusion.

As she considered this, she heard voices she recognized from before.

“My lady.”

“How fortuitous. The lord has returned.”

A number of women dressed in kimono were now surrounding Izumiko. With Masumi’s hands still on her red clothed shoulders, Izumiko felt as if they had been caught in an intimate moment.

“My lady, please come this way.”

“Come this way, my lady. We have prepared a small feast for you and your husband.”

While the figures of the woman were dim, it was still clear for anyone to see that all of them were smiling as they spoke. Masumi smiled as well.

“Everyone’s been worried about their mistress all this time. If the two of us return to the palace’s main hall, they’ll be ecstatic. We’ll have moon viewing feasts, and flower viewing feasts, and have fun going out on the lake on boats. We’d rekindle an ancient love story and live a luxurious life.”

Izumiko unconsciously found herself wanting the life Masumi described.

If I stay here forever, no one would ever have to see me again…

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agirlinjapan · 6 years

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Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 24)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

We’re really hitting the climax of the story right now. And look who’s finally back. Izumiko!

For those of you who don’t follow me on twitter, I bought tickets yesterday for a two week trip to Japan this summer! Along with visiting friends in a number of different cities, I’ll be taking a trip to Mt. Togakushi to see some of the shrines mentioned in RDG 3. I promise lots of pictures.

For now, enjoy this week’s RDG!

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 4: Choice Part 2 (1 of 3)

Don’t look at me…

Don’t touch me…

Izumiko felt like these were the only things she would ever be able to think or feel again, but eventually, the fog in her head cleared. She was somewhere deathly silent, and there were no traces of anyone anywhere.

At some point, her body had crumpled in on itself and she had sunk into a crouch, her knees pressed into her face. From the stiffness of her muscles, she had been there for a while. Pushing through her thoughts, she slowly raised her head.

She was in a forest she didn’t know. The tops of the trees soared high above her, their branches intersecting across in the sky. The underbrush she was standing in wasn’t particularly thick, allowing for the trees around her to have a suitable amount of space to grow.

Where is this?...

While Izumiko didn’t know where she was, the smell of the ground and the feel of the place she was in hadn’t really changed. It had a different feel from the mountains in the Kii peninsula, and it wasn’t Mt. Togakushi which saw so much snow in the winter months. The forest looked like the one in the wooded mountains near the school. However, this forest was completely silent. There were no voices, nor were there any other noises to be heard.

Izumiko was the only one there… just as she had wished.

As she realized this, a tendril of hair slipped from her hood and down across her cheek. She reached for it with a hand and then, overcome by a strange sensation, pulled the whole hood off. Her hair fell freely around her. It might have been her own hair, but she was shocked by its appearance. After all, it was supposed to be tight in its braids, and wrapped into buns on each side of her head. But the hairpins and ties seemed to have disappeared without a trace, leaving her hair to come undone on its own.

…Ah…ah…

With her body still crouched low, her hair fell around her onto the ground. Even if she stood up now, she’d still bring plenty of dead leaves and dirt up with her tresses. Disliking this idea, she sat down entirely. It wasn’t as if she wanted to go anywhere.

Why did this happen to me?...

Little by little, whether she liked it or not, the things she had done came back to her. A lot of what she remembered wasn’t important, but after some time, she recalled what mattered the most.

I never became the goddess, not even for a second. All those things happened, but I was the one who did them from start to finish. It wasn’t the goddess…

A cold feeling came over her and she wrapped her arms around herself. Up until now, she had always been something for the goddess to possess, and so she had only thought of herself as a problem that the spirit had to work around. Today though, Izumiko had been the one to call Takayanagi and his followers out on what they were doing, not anyone else. No one could say that the goddess had been awakened without her knowing it.

Have I finally become the goddess? I wanted to think that she and I were two different people, but was I wrong? Is the goddess’s future my future?...

A voice inside Izumiko said that she should have already known this. She simply hadn’t wanted to accept the truth, and had been running from it instead.

Mom… Dad…

She looked inward for help, but her parents were surprisingly far away. Of course they were, she thought. They had always lived far away from her, after all. Hadn’t they left her all alone at Tamakura Shrine? Far from showing her love and affection, hadn’t they kept as humanly far from her as possible?

Mom and Dad had to have known about this from the beginning. They can’t think I’m human. In the future, I’m going to destroy mankind. So they wanted to control me in any way they could…

In this regard, her parents were the same as the people who searched for her and wanted to use her for their own devices. Yukariko and Daisei Suzuhara, respected members of society, had locked her up as if they owned her, like they could profit from her, like they could keep her under their control.

If even her parents would treat her that way, it only made sense that she would want to keep other people half a world’s distance from herself. There were many people who seemed kind, but they all had selfish hearts.

…Take me away. I don’t want to let anyone see me.

Izumiko climbed to her knees and shut her eyes tightly.

She wanted to tell herself to let go and drift away. That was the loudest voice in her head. The desire made sense with everything that had happened and of course, there was no easy way to distance herself from her own thoughts.

....My wish to be a normal girl really was impossible after all. It feels like I was always telling the people around me that I wanted to be normal, but now, thinking about that is so embarrassing. I’m the only one who didn’t see it. I’m such an idiot. I’m the worst. It would be best if I never saw anyone again. If I was smart, I wouldn’t depend on other people. That way, I’d be able to do what I wanted and only answer to myself. I could make that happen…

When she opened her eyes again, she could see that the shadows under the trees were darker than they had been before.

This place is probably a dimension underneath reality…

She did not find this thought frightening. Rather, it was reassuring.

If I never left this place again, I could probably live without being tied to mankind’s destiny… That is, if I stayed forever…

Her heart lightened at the idea. She could do anything she wanted to in this place.

Izumiko realized how lonely she was. If she had been fine with being alone and living a solitary life, she would have never left Tamakura Shrine. It wouldn’t have bothered her to live on the mountain for the rest of her life.

But it had.

That’s the reason why I decided to transfer to Houjou Academy. I was lonely. Deep down—deep down that’s the reason I assumed…

A vague noise cut her thought off.

It was the sound of someone’s footsteps growing near.

Izumiko had assumed she had escaped reality into a dimension where she was completely alone. Realizing that she was wrong, she snapped to attention and jumped to her feet. When she looked left and right though, she found that there was no place for her to hide, even if the forest continued on as far as she could see.

Izumiko supposed it was better to face the unknown being head on instead of having it chase after her. She adjusted her position so that she could run away if necessary. Then she waited, gazing into the woods. Strangely though, nothing appeared. However, she could sense that whatever it was, it was nearby now.

“Don’t come any closer,” Izumiko said, cutting through the silence.

“Why?” came the instant response.

A figure suddenly appeared. It was a young warrior wearing a strange, brightly colored battle surcoat. The warrior was slim and beautiful and looked both male and female.

Izumiko’s desire to run disappeared, and she let out a sigh.

“Masumi?...”

“Bingo.” He grinned, nodding.

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agirlinjapan · 6 years

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Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 22)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

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Happy Easter! Happy Passover! I hope everyone’s having a good weekend whether or not they’re celebrating a holiday.

We’re starting chapter 4, the last chapter of RDG 5 today! It’s crazy to think we only have a quarter of the book left to go. But then again, we are on week 22. This book will have more installations than previous books because it’s the longest one so far.

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 4: Choice Part 1 (1 of 2)

Miyuki considered two people to be his mentors; Harunobu Sengoku and Shingo Nonomura.

Mr. Sengoku, who lived in Yamagata Prefecture, had looked after Miyuki when he had been in grade school. Miyuki had then met Mr. Nonomura when he had lived at Tamakura Shrine between the spring and summer of his third year of middle school. The man had taught him traditional Kumano region martial arts during those months.

Mr. Nonomura was a tall, quiet man with a serious expression. He was intelligent, but he never flaunted that fact. When Miyuki had first met him, he had been working as Izumiko’s driver, silently ferrying her back and forth to school each day. Miyuki had quickly grown to respect him, most likely because he was the exact opposite of Yukimasa. Even now, they still occasionally talked on the phone and Mr. Nonomura would give Miyuki advice on martial arts and ascetic practices.

However, Houjou Academy was much further away from Tamakura Shrine and the Kii Peninsula than the school to Nagano where the students had vacationed over the summer. It wasn’t the sort of distance that one could casually travel in order to visit a school festival.

“Did something happen?” Miyuki asked Mr. Nonomura breathlessly.

“Woah. That guy called you Miyuki. Who is he?” Manatsu, who had stopped next to him, asked in interest.

“He works at the shrine where Izumiko lives.”

Mr. Nonomura gazed at them with his usual, expressionless, calm look. However, when he opened his mouth, it was clear that he was anything but calm.

“I can’t explain exactly what’s happened, but no one can contact one another,” he said. “It’s problematic.”

Manatsu glanced around the open space.

“Oh. Mr. Onuki’s here, too. I’ll ask him if his cellphone’s stopped working as well.”

After Manatsu jogged off, Miyuki quietly asked Mr. Nonomura, “Do you think this could have something to do with Izumiko?”

“Probably. All I know is that something’s going on.”

Miyuki frowned, looking at the man. “You knew? Did you know about the diviners’ barrier, too?”

Mr. Nonomura gave a short sigh. Then he said seriously, “The truth is… The diviners aren’t the only ones who have created a barrier. We, the ascetic monks, have created our own as well. The people from Togakushi have made another for reasons personal to them. By now, there are a number of barriers surrounding this place. Today, the academy’s campus has layers upon layers of webbing stretching all over it.”

It was an unbelievable truth.

“What are you talking about?” Miyuki asked in astonishment. “Is this some sort of magical negotiation? Are the guardians who came for the festival playing the game, too?”

“No.”

After a moment, Mr. Nonomura continued.

“…The guardians who came here are from various organizations and have come to look after their children’s safety. Of course, they’re not supposed to bring anything into the academy from the outside world that could negatively influence the outcome of the game, but…”

“What sort of things would put their children in danger? Are you talking about the goddess?” Miyuki asked sharply.

Mr. Nonomura did not answer. Instead, he stayed silent, returning Miyuki’s steady gaze. That gaze, however, told him that he was correct.

“So then is my father taking part in one of these barriers?”

“Today, Yukimasa is away from the academy. However, he’s staying in contact with people who are here.” Mr. Nonomura’s voice was serious. “I don’t think it will get to the point where our barrier will become necessary, but seeing as the campus is so large, a number of ascetic monks have been dispersed across the grounds and are standing by just in case. I don’t yet know if today will require our combined effort. The same can be said for those others waiting around the grounds.”

Miyuki took a deep breath and then said, “Izumiko is at the horse ring. Let everyone know what’s going on. I was just on my way to check on her.”

“Can you handle the situation?” Mr. Nonomura asked delicately.

“This is beyond what I’m capable of, but I’ll do my best,” Miyuki replied. He had never been one to oversell himself. With that said though, he had no intentions of giving up either.

“Izumiko will most likely realize her full potential today,” Mr. Nonomura continued. “This is the school festival where it’s been predicted it will happen.”

“Is that what… Yukariko said?”

“Yes.” Mr. Nonomura nodded.

In other words, Izumiko’s mother, Yukariko, had been possessed by the goddess and the goddess had conveyed the future through her.

“However, no one can truly say what will happen here. If one small factor changes—a roll of a dice is one number off—our future will roll off in some unknown direction where we cannot see what will happen. It’s the butterfly effect. Even the goddess can’t tell us everything that will occur.”

“So, what are the odds of that happening?” Miyuki asked, the words coming out of his mouth without prompting.

“No one can know the possibility of whether or not Izumiko will live her life without becoming the goddess.”

After considering this for a moment, Mr. Nonomura said suddenly, “Miyuki, wait here for a minute. I’ll be right back.”

Miyuki watched him hurry over to the bazaar tent, wondering what was going on. In that same moment, Manatsu returned.

“As suspected, Mr. Onuki’s phone is dead, too. All the adults’ phones are. I heard none of the laptops in the library are working either.”

“We didn’t really think they’d work, anyway,” Miyuki replied unenthusiastically.

“You can practically say we really have been thrown back into the Warring States era,” Manatsu said half in jest. “As long as we’re throwing a Warring States era school festival, we should be using authentic ways to communicate between each other like signal fires and messages wrapped around arrows.”

Mr. Nonomura returned before Manatsu was finished speaking. He was holding a monk’s ringed staff in one hand.

“Take this. It’ll increase your odds. I believe in you,” Mr. Nonomura said as he handed Miyuki the staff.

The last time he had told Miyuki to take a staff, Miyuki had refused to do so until the very last minute. Both of them remembered this. While there had also been that time in Togakushi, Miyuki still didn’t have much confidence in his ascetic training, his abilities, or even his “life” as an ascetic monk.

The question was whether or not his abilities had increased since then. Despite this, Miyuki, moved by Mr. Nonomura’s words, took the staff.

“Thank you very much. I’ll take it.”

The rings at the top of the staff rang out as they moved. Looking at it, Manatsu grinned.

“Ah, that’ll probably come in handy.”

“All the adults hiding behind the scenes can do is protect the student they came for. In the end, it’s you students who control what’s going on here. We’re counting on you,” Mr. Nonomura said with finality.

Miyuki and Manatsu, in their kuroko outfits, set off at a run again.

“Say a protection sutra!” Miyuki shouted to Manatsu as they went. He held the staff tightly in one hand.

They began, each chanting their own.

The magic that had prevented Miyuki from moving forward was still there somewhere, but he wasn’t sure exactly where it was. He struck his staff against the ground, but it was just a guess. It seemed to work though.

Somehow, he and Miyuki continued their way up the hill. Soon, they could see the horse ring’s fence right ahead of them.

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agirlinjapan · 6 years

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RDG 5: My Longest Day of School Chapters 1-3 Masterpost

I haven’t posted an in-progress master post for RDG in ages. Here’s a list of all the RDG 5 installations so far, which completes chapters 1-3. Today we will begin the fourth and final chapter of the book!

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Back cover eye catch: “I can no longer return to the academy.”

Dressed as kabuki stagehands, Izumiko and her friends run around the Warring States era school festival and enjoy themselves as best as they can. During the battle game, the highlight of the festival, diviner Ichijo Takayanagi’s trap is set into action. Although a part of his spell might have been destroyed at the time, Izumiko has been thrown into a panic ever since Takayanagi saw Miyuki and her powers. When Izumiko vanishes, Miyuki chases after her into an alternate dimension. But is an unexpected enemy waiting for them?!

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Week 17

Week 18

Week 19

Week 20

Week 21

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agirlinjapan · 6 years

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Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 19)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

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I hope everyone had a nice Valentine’s Day. Mine was decent. I got a few cards from my students, but mostly celebrated with sweet treats. Now I’m off to Florida for February break! I haven’t been on vacation since I lived in Japan, so this is a big deal for me. Too bad it’s only for three days!

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 3: Off Course Part 2 (2 of 2)

Within the time it took Izumiko to blink, Takayanagi was in front of her.

He was no longer with the second year commanders. Instead, he was with the same group he had been with that morning.

Although a lively crowd of students was gathering nearby, the space around them was strangely quiet. The reason soon became clear.—None of the nearby students seemed to notice the space they were in.

Now that Takayanagi was in speaking distance, Angelica said directly, “This girl can cross over. She’s definitely special. She can see them.”

“Right. I suspected as much,” Takayanagi said lightly. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Izumiko.

“At last, my first impression of you turned out to be right.”

Izumiko thought of her first encounter with Takayanagi. It had been in the library after the opening ceremony in March.

Takayanagi’s voice pulled her back into the present.

“Izumiko, you probably don’t know this, but there’s a rumor going around the school saying that one of the girls here in the academy has a closer connection to spirits than anyone else in the world. When I heard it, I wondered if it could be you.”

Izumiko stared back at him silently. She hadn’t thought this would be what Takayanagi would want to ask her about.

“What are you planning to do with all these ghosts you’ve collected? Tell me.”

“It’s no big deal. What you see is just the mental energy the academy students are creating themselves.”

“You’ve done something to everyone, though,” Izumiko’s voice was full of accusation. She was hardly recognizable in that moment. “All the people around the horse ring are doubling. You decided to make another dimension, didn’t you.”

Takayanagi, who was still dressed as Shirou Amakusa, looked at her calmly.

“You were able to recognize that alternate dimension because you’re a person who can travel through to it,” he continued with a smile. “People who have the ability to see the spirits possessing humans are generally supposed to keep their distance from spiritual beings. However, you have no problem getting near them. I mistook you for a shikigami at first, not a living girl.”

Izumiko felt like Takayanagi had mentioned this mistake before, but the words were so unexpected that she couldn’t help but feel an unexplainable rush of anger come over her. At the same time though, a small smile slid over her face.

“Sorry, but I’m alive.”

“And you’re human as well. Still, while you might be human, you’re an unusual one here in this world. Now that we’re talking so civilly with each other, is it alright with you if I confirm something?”

In the one second that Izumiko lowered her guard, she felt something touch her skin. However, her reaction was not as pronounced as it normally would have been. She didn’t move.

“What if I say no?”

Takayanagi raised an eyebrow as he looked at her.

“You wouldn’t say something like that. You’re our ally, aren’t you, Izumiko?”

That’s right… isn’t it?

The confidence with which Takayanagi had spoken confused Izumiko. How long had she and Takayanagi been on good speaking terms? Why was she in a place like this, surrounded by Takayanagi’s friends?

I feel as if there’s something I need to remember…

“You agree with us, don’t you? Spirits with too much power should be sealed away. We have to contain dangerous things so that the human race can maintain the world as a place that we control. This is a duty the diviners have received from the earth. It’s the same concept that Japanese Shintoism refers to as purification.”

Izumiko considered what she was hearing. When she thought about it rationally, she supposed the things Takayanagi was saying were not wrong. Her shoulders sagged and she sighed.

Takayanagi smiled.

“You’re comfortable seeing shikigami now, correct? You can be around them without getting upset. That very fact proves that what I’m doing is right.”

Two shikigami, both of whom were wearing helmets, suddenly walked over to stand behind Takayanagi. They were almost undistinguishable from regular, flesh and blood humans.

Why did I used to think they were scary?...

She was surprised by how different these shikigami looked from their predecessors. Rather than frightening, there was something somewhat pitiful reflected in their gazes. They had been forced into these human guises—it was sad to think about. All the same, these beings were answering to human orders. They held no ill will. They were simply following the commands they were given and no more.

After Izumiko had gotten a chance to calmly think this over, Takayanagi opened his mouth and said, “I want to tell you something. This is what really happened when you made Ricardo in Class C disappear during the first term. Based on what happened during the incident, I began to wonder if magic involving the use of a bow was a high level ability. But that isn’t true. When the spirit that had been Ricardo disappeared, it was sent to another dimension without any trouble. Is it possible that the one who did that wasn’t Miyuki—but you?

Izumiko’s breath caught.

It felt as if something had just plunged itself into her heart. Takayanagi had to be wrong, he just didn’t know it. A single word he had said had sent her whole body shaking. Takayanagi had said the one thing Izumiko had desperately wanted to remember but hadn’t been able to.

Miyuki Sagara. Miyuki.

It was as if something had fallen away from her. Now she could sense what was going on.

I can’t believe I forgot Miyuki. This is wrong. This isn’t normal.

Suddenly, a sense of fear welled back up inside of her. It was odd that she hadn’t been frightened from the beginning. Fear was a familiar shield for Izumiko. Anything could frighten her. It was a defense mechanism. It kept her from becoming exposed.

I have to defend myself—

At the same time that Miyuki had reappeared in her thoughts, the nine symbols he had taught her had also come into her mind. To her, the nine symbols carried the image of black wings. As long as she could recite the nine symbols, she wouldn’t have to use any other magic. She would have all the power she needed in that instant.

Izumiko felt a storm-like swirl of energy around her body. In reality, there was no storm, but that was what it felt like to her. Her heart had been blindfolded, her caution restrained, and her will twisted. She had been tricked into a fake sense of safety and now she was reacting.

Despite the fact that there was no actual storm, Takayanagi and his followers drew back as if they could feel the pressure of the wind.

Angelica said something in a surprised voice, but unfortunately it was in French. Izumiko ignored her and turned her burning gaze towards Takayanagi.

“You thought you could control me, didn’t you?”

Standing near Izumiko’s side, Claus sucked in his breath and said in a small voice, “She broke through. I can’t believe it.”

Takayanagi looked surprised as well now, but he still remained calm.

“Don’t be angry about what you just experienced. It was something like an evil spirit. Calm down and speak with me. You agreed to do so after all.”

“Don’t play with me,” Izumiko retorted. Her voice was full of fury. “I won’t become one of your underlings or anything else like that. I never said I would, not even once. I have never thought what you’re doing is right. And yet, you twisted my words and tried to force me to believe otherwise.”

“You misunderstand. You agreed to this on your own. If you doubt me, I’ll convince you to speak with me again.” He moved his arms, gesturing grandly as if trying to appear generous. “Let me convince you again.”

“I won’t let you trick me. Every bone in my body is telling me that you’re wrong.”

Izumiko balled both her hands into fists and stomped her foot against the ground. Her anger at being deceived only grew with each passing moment.

“Thinking that you can do anything as long as it benefits you is unacceptable. You’re doing the same thing to me as you’re doing to these spirits. You’re not just using non-humans like your shikigami and the local ghosts to your advantage. Besides, I doubt those spirits want to be used in the way you’re using them.”

“Humans do many things that benefit others,” Takayanagi replied coolly. “Are my friends and I really doing anything more than reminding people of this?”

I can’t take it anymore…

It should have been painfully obvious by now that Takayanagi’s control was not reaching Izumiko.

She glanced towards the shikigami dressed in armor and thought about the night when Masumi had consumed the spirit known as Nobuyuki Kosaka. In that moment, she understood what Masumi had done that night. He had taken a spirit whose existence had been captured for unnatural purposes and had then returned it to nature.

It was similar to what Izumiko had also done when she had released Satoru Wamiya. However, in order to access that power, Izumiko had needed to perform a Kagura dance on her own. This took time and required her to shift into an altered state of mind. As a result, it wasn’t an ability which she could depend on in most situations. Once she slipped into that altered state of mind, she was unable to sense what was happening to or around herself.

Having lost herself in rage though, Izumiko was currently unaware of the time passing by. In reality, it had only been seconds, but it felt like she had been debating how to respond to Takayanagi’s words for ages.

“I’m nothing like you and your friends, Takayanagi,” she told him in a quiet tone. She pointed an index finger towards the two shikigami. That was all she needed to do.

They disappeared into the air, their figures blinking out like a vanishing picture. They were gone without a trace.

“Who is this girl?” Angelica demanded, her voice rough with fear. Her words barely sounded like Japanese now. “Is she even human?”

A moment later, Izumiko, too, realized just how amazing what she had just done had been.

…I’m pretty sure I just did something that can’t be undone…

She heard Angelica whisper to Takayanagi who was standing next to her, “There’s no way we’ll be able to stop her if she can get rid of all those shikigami we made so easily.”

“Have more faith. There’s someone here who can do something like that. That’s what you should have said.”

Takayanagi turned his gaze towards the sky. ”We’re not through yet. Not all of our magic has been foiled. The balloon’s still flying.”

The balloon…

Izumiko instantly recalled the giant thing the chemistry club had put together. It was just one of the many problems which she had forgotten. Flustered, she looked up into the sky as well.

She couldn’t see the shiny gold balloon anywhere. The cloudy, grey-blue sky was very large though.

“Izumiko,” Takayanagi said. His voice was already back to its regular smooth tones. “I see everything you’ve just done, but I’m in charge here. You agree with me, don’t you? If the battle at Hachioji Castle is reenacted, history tells us that the attacking forces will overwhelmingly defeat the castle defense.”

“It’s just a game. How can you say that?”

“It’s going to happen that way because it’s a game. I’ll take the pieces I want. Luck is on my side.”

I showed the people here what I really can do…

The thought was sharp in her chest. She might not have been able to see the balloon in the sky, but it was still part of whatever magic Takayanagi and his people were using. She had no idea what she should do.

Izumiko could hear the sound of her heart resounding through her body as she glanced left and right in panic. The speed of its pounding was steadily increasing. Fear, her old friend, rushed over her again and again like the waves of a surging tsunami.

She was suddenly painfully aware that she had left the protection of Mt. Tamakura. The fear curling around her was dark and dangerous. She was even more frightened than she had been during her first visit to Tokyo when her fear had physically made her ill. Now though, she knew why she was feeling this way.

…If I show people what I can really do, then that’ll be the end of me. If they know what I’m capable of, they’ll catch me. Everyone’s expectations and desires will swallow me whole.

The thought was hair raising. She stood there, unable to move a muscle. She had felt fear before, but she had never experienced it to this extent where she felt as if she was being skewered by some invisible knife.

Please… Make it stop…

Just as she was about to break down entirely, Yoshiki Hayakawa was suddenly standing by her side.

“Now’s not the time to be standing around. The game kuroko have to hurry on to their next job. Isn’t that right, Izumiko?” he said happily as if unaware of the high tension currently in the air. “Oh, you don’t look so great. What’s wrong?”

He reached a hand out to touch her shoulder. At that moment though, Izumiko saw everyone’s hand as a threat—She saw everyone as her enemy.

Don’t look at me. Don’t touch me.

Hayakawa wasn’t the only one who was frightened by what came next. Angelica, Claus, and the rest of the diviners couldn’t believe their eyes either.

Hayakawa’s hand did not touch Izumiko. It went right into her shoulder and through her body.

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agirlinjapan · 6 years

Text

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 18)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

As I’m sure everyone noticed, I completely forgot to post Week 17 on January 21st. It was a busy weekend and RDG slipped my mind. To make up for this, I posted last Sunday and am now posting again today. If you didn’t check in last week, you should go back and read Week 17 before this installation.

Also, people who did read Week 17 when I posted it last Sunday should also go back and read the last bit because it wasn’t there before.

RDG is back on schedule so the next post will be on February 18th.

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 3: Off Course Part 2 (1 of 2)

From beyond the horse ring, they could hear the sounds of the field battle beginning. At the same time though, the commanders’ battle was still raging on, the two sides struggling to claim the final, winning points.

Now, Izumiko very much understood what Okouchi had meant when he had said that chess and shogi took time to play. One round of backgammon was fast. The team in the lead changed often as well. The tempo of the game moved quickly and seeing as there were no draws, there was no time for Izumiko to grow bored and turn to gaze out towards the horse ring.

After the first game, the competing generals switched seats with one of their commanders. After that game, the general did not reclaim the stools, instead, giving each of their commanders a turn. As the game shuffled through the different players, it slowly became easy for everyone to identify the strategists. The crowd watched for the lucky players as the students rolling the dice changed from one person to the next.

Just as she had suspected, Takayanagi had been chosen to be one of the frontal attack team’s players that day. She didn’t lose interest once her suspicions were confirmed though. As the end of the backgammon tournament grew near, Takayanagi took his seat on the stool. The frontal attack team still had a number of players that had yet to take a turn and had not started to replay anyone just yet.

He’s only here because he’s at the top of his class…

Izumiko guessed Takayanagi must have been proud to be a commander as a first year when he was surrounded by so many second year students.

Tayakanagi’s delicate frame made him stand out from the rest of the commanders. However, his behavior was as refined as ever. He moved his pieces without hesitation, never batting an eyelash even during the most difficult of plays. When he won, there was a cool look on his face the suggested it was only natural he had defeated his opponent.

After the game ended, Takayanagi passed the dice to Angelica. She smiled and reached for the dice cup, creating a stir among the people with cameras.

…What’s wrong with me?

Izumiko blinked, suddenly realizing that she had only been concentrating on Takayanagi this whole time.

Now that I think of it, I’ve only been watching Takayanagi and none of the other players…

Izumiko had been paying attention to Ichijo Takayanagi since before the school festival. She thought of how she had run into him during her patrol the day before. What had happened then?

I was worried about what Takayanagi would think of me. I didn’t like the idea of him being angry with me…

Izumiko forced herself to focus on the movement of the pieces. Her memories of the encounter were vague, perhaps due to having been pushed to the corners of her head by other more pressing concerns. The scene where she and Takayanagi had stood in the special classroom wing’s hallway together floated up into the front of her mind, though. What had happened there?

The games were suddenly over.

Shibata announced the end of the field games and declared an end to the strategy game as well.

Takayanagi was sitting in on the stool and the frontal attack team had won.

Overcome with excitement of victory, the frontal attack team left the game area and Izumiko finally let go of the white board.

Of course, she couldn’t mingle with the celebrating people. After confirming the point tally with Shibata, she went to get something to drink.

Thanks to the school administration, there was a cooler full of chilled water bottles on the edge of the space that made up the battlefield. The students were free to drink what they liked. Izumiko had wanted to grab a bottle for a while, but she hadn’t been able to make her way to the cooler until the end of the board games.

The students on the field had broken away from their regiments and were walking around the open space as they pleased. Now that the frontal attack team had won, the teams would be reformed. The arrangements hadn’t been finished just yet, however.

As Izumiko drank a sports drink from the cooler, three other girls from 1-C joined her at the box to get a drink. They glanced at Izumiko whose veil was currently up as she drank, and then cheerfully walked over to her.

“Izumiko, we lost again, didn’t we? No luck for us.”

“That means we’re dead now. That’s fine. I want to take this costume off.”

The three of them were dressed as foot soldiers although their flag was gone. They looked somewhat dejected. Izumiko suspected they wanted to commiserate with her. Unwilling to put together the effort needed to extricate herself from the situation, she joined in their conversation for a bit about how horrible 1-A was.

“1-A’s been in the limelight this whole time. Mayura Souda grabbed the role of princess general and she’s got the whole school’s attention now. Ichijo Takayanagi is one of the frontal attack army’s commanders, too.”

“1-C has so many good personalities in it, though, just like 1-A!”

“Izumiko, you have to do your best,” Ayano Takase said.

This made Izumiko blink.

“Me?”

“Yes, you. You were just as beautiful a princess as Mayura during the kimono demonstration.”

Assuming Ayano was speaking nonsense due to her jealousy for 1-A, Izumiko let out a little laugh.

“I can’t represent the class. I’m a kuroko today.”

“You can go anywhere you want today because you’re a kuroko, wouldn’t you say? Weren’t you just over at the generals’ and commanders’ game?”

“You were just there and you still say you can’t do anything?”

“Izumiko,” Mako Sagawa said suddenly, “Takayanagi’s not going to lose. The big confession is going to happen today for sure.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Shocked, Izumiko felt as if she was going to drop her drink.

Miyuu Hatano laughed.

“Ah, most everyone in the class knows already. Karin Hasegawa told us. You’re totally in love with Ichijo Takayanagi.”

“You’re wrong!”

“Maybe not yet, but you’re getting there. Karin says you’re going to meet him after all of this is done today… Even though you already talked with him for a long time this morning before the game began.”

“That’s not true…” Even as she said this, Izumiko’s face went red. She could feel her body shaking in embarrassment, but far from being able to calm herself, her face only grew brighter.

Mako grabbed the hand Izumiko was holding her drink in with both of her own.

“We’re cheering for you, Izumiko. Don’t worry about rivals. Do your best and get your man! You’re representing all the Japanese girls at this school!”

Ayano offered a supporting hand as well. “That’s right. Don’t worry about girls like Angelica who only have their looks to go on. You’d be a much better match for him. Anyone could see that when you’re together.”

“…I never intended…”

Izumiko was about to tell them there was a huge misunderstanding. But then, she reconsidered in confusion. This wasn’t something to ignore. Something was going on.

She thought of her run in with Takayanagi in the hallway. Karin wasn’t spreading rumors with no truth behind them.

“Hey, Izumiko. Earlier Angelica was—”

Ayano began to say something, but then she hurriedly shut her mouth. The other two girls’ eyes grew wide as well, and they looked uncomfortable. Suddenly aware that there was someone behind her, Izumiko turned to see Angelica herself standing there.

Claus was with her in his priest’s costume.

“Izumiko. Hello.”

Angelica’s voice had a nasally, sweet sound to it.

“Takayanagi said that you would come talk to me, but you still haven’t, so I came to you. I really want to talk to you.”

“Ah, really?”

“Really. Come on. Come on. This way.”

The foreign girl stepped closer. Izumiko could see how pin-up gorgeous she was. Her blonde hair, pulled up into a tight ponytail, seemed to gleam in the sun. Izumiko immediately grew overwhelmed by the situation as Angelica took her by the shoulder, and then began to walk both of them away. The three girls from 1-C looked equally as stunned by what was happening. They did not say a word. Instead, they simply stared at Izumiko.

Like a good natured giant, Claus followed silently after Angelica and Izumiko.

Angelica chattered happily as they walked.

“I love Japan. I came to this school because I love it that much. The more you know about Japan, the more fascinating it becomes. That’s why I like Takayanagi. Do you feel the same way?”

“Ah, no. Uh…”

This was a difficult question to answer. Angelica’s pronunciation was good and her Japanese was skillful, but Izumiko just didn’t know how to respond.

“His face is…”

“Oh. Of course. But you can’t say his looks are the only good thing about him.”

Angelica blinked and the two of them looked at each other uncertainly. Mayura’s eyelashes were long, too, but Angelica’s were thicker than hers.

“You’ve got a nice face, as well, Izumiko. Don’t hide it under a black veil. I’d love it if you’d take that thing off and let me see the rest of face.”

“Um…” Izumiko paused, unsure of what to make of the exchange student. It was something she had been feeling often about a lot of people lately.

“Thank you. But I don’t understand. Why do you want to talk with me?”

A friendly smile appeared on Angelica’s face.

“It’s because you’re a princess. You made a lot of fans last Saturday. You were so cute. You’re now what I imagine when I think of Japanese beauty.”

…She’s… not acting like a rival for Takayanagi’s affection, Izumiko thought to herself.

Angelica seemed to be trying to get Izumiko to like her. There was absolutely nothing about her behavior that suggested she was trying to win Takayanagi for herself.

But then why do I feel like she’s going to eat me up?...

“Mayura was a much more impressive Waring States era princess than me,” Izumiko pointed out carefully. “You’re not a fan of hers?” Izumiko asked.

“Certainly not,” Angelica replied. “She’s a general today. I’m not interested in generals.”

Surprised by her response, Izumiko felt compelled to ask more questions.

“Are you Christian, too?”

“My family goes to church on Sundays. I find it boring though.”

“So you’re different from Claus?”

“Completely different.”

Angelica glanced behind her and smiled at Claus as if to say, “Right?”

Claus returned her smile warmly.

“I specialize in tarot and astrology. But I have a great respect for the Bible.”

…So her talent is fortune telling…

Up until now, Izumiko had never had an interest in western fortune telling. She lived at a Shinto shrine, and hadn’t had a reason to involve herself in such things. Even up until now, she hadn’t thought about the effect different cultures had on supernatural abilities. There were so many different types. She did know a bit about tarot cards and zodiac signs, though. There were always a number of girls around school that were interested in fortune telling.

“Tarot cards are unusual,” Izumiko said. “Some of the cards have pretty frightening drawings on them.”

“Yes. They’re ancient. So you’ve seen tarot cards, Izumiko?”

Angelica’s tone grew academic as she continued.

“The tower, death, and devil cards may look scary at first glance, but their interpretations are not so. They represent the ability to escape your shell, let go of things you don’t need, and influence other people. The pictures have strong connotations to them.”

This might have been considered a casual conversation topic, but somehow, Izumiko found herself uncomfortable. Why was Angelica going to so much effort to explain these three cards to her?

“Um, how far are we going? I’m a kuroko, so I can’t go far. I have to get back to my job.”

“What do you think about the new castle attack team, Izumiko?” Angelica asked.

Izumiko spotted the frontal attack team’s encampment.

As the losers of the first battle, the side attack army had been split into two groups. The first had been absorbed into the frontal attack team. The others were the “casualties of war,” and would observe the rest of the game from the sidelines. They would then join the team attacking the castle near the end.

Izumiko glanced towards the group of students, but strangely enough, it was hard for her to look directly at any of them. The outline of the group was blurry and the whole area seemed to double itself in her vision.

Ah, it’s happening again…

She thought of how this had happened before the game as well. She tried rubbing her eyes, but this time, the problem didn’t immediately go away.

Her vision blurred further, and each student became two. But that didn’t mean there were two of each student. Something was strange here. All the blurs, dressed in their rented, Warring States era costumes, looked different.

Izumiko scrunched up her face and squinted her eyes. Only then did she realize with a terrible jolt, the difference between each pair of shadows. One of the armored figures in each pair was horribly injured. The figures’ breastplates were shredded, but intact. However, their hands and feet were missing. What was worse, the figures were coming out of completely normal students.

“What is this…” Izumiko whispered unconsciously.

Angelica turned her head in her direction. Her eyes went wide as if she were lifting her eyelashes to the stars.

“So you can see them, just like I thought.”

“You… So many… On purpose?”

Izumiko’s last words were sharp. Angelica seemed to catch her meaning.

Izumiko stopped and asked, “What did you do to everyone at this school?”

Sensing that Izumiko wouldn’t go any further with her, Angelica let go of her shoulder. Then she took one more step and opened her mouth to possibly tell Izumiko to calm down. The words came out in rapid French though. A moment later, she caught herself.

“Izumiko, the things you’re seeing are definitely ghosts. They can’t hurt you so please relax.”

Izumiko responded to her reassuring tone with outrage. “How can you say they can’t hurt me? They’ve entered these students’ bodies!”

Still, Angelica replied in a calm voice. “You’re not afraid. You’re not thinking you’re afraid. Aren’t I right?”

Izumiko was surprised by the claims Angelica was pushing into her awareness. Still, the other girl was correct.

It’s true. I can see the ghosts, but I’m only concerned for the students. I don’t think I’m afraid…

How strange. Izumiko had a tendency to be frightened by the smallest things. It was part of her nature. All the same, she considered that she was no longer afraid of shikigami. She simply disliked them.

When did I become so much braver than before?...

Of course, she still looked forward to separating herself from these frightening things. Izumiko took a deep breath, and then turned to look at Angelica. Somehow, she could sense that this girl had also gotten over her fears.

Angelica looked back at her.

“Do you understand?” she asked. “Takayanagi will explain everything. Seeing as you get it now, come with me.”

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agirlinjapan · 6 years

Text

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 17)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

Sorry about the unintentional RDG break last week! Somehow, I convinced myself that it had only been a week since the last post so it wasn’t time to post another yet. From there, posting completely slipped my mind. (I did get a good 10 or so pages translated throughout the week though.) Regardless, here we are today, a week later. This whoopsie won’t affect the usual RDG schedule. I’ll be posting next Sunday as well so that things get back on the normal track and I make up for the missing week.

Translation notes:

I’m not quite sure why this is a thing, but there is a belief in Japan that people in France really, really like anime and manga--possibly more so than in other countries outside of Japan. I don’t know where or why this belief started. I mean, I know anime and manga are big in France, but they’re also big in the US and scores of other countries.

Sugoroku is an ancient Japanese game that is comparable (in one of its two forms) to backgammon.

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 3: Off Course Part 1 (2 of 2)

“Are you okay?”

Izumiko looked up in surprise to see two deep blue eyes peering into her face. The face looking at her was excessively flushed and its chin seemed to jut out further than it should have, but the eyes were entirely focused on Izumiko. The boy was dressed as a Catholic priest, but his gaze was firm.

“Do you feel bad? Are you anemic?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Izumiko blinked repeatedly, wondering in shock if she had lost consciousness for a moment.

What was I doing just now?... Oh, right. I was on the phone telling Miyuki he didn’t have to come…

She mentally checked herself over but found nothing wrong. Not one thing was off. She remembered falling under a spell, but now that seemed like it had just been in her imagination.

“Are you really alright? You always get so distressed when you see Claus,” Takayanagi/Shirou Amakusa said.

“Ah, um…”

Claus, who looked as big as a bear standing there next to Takayanagi, nodded, his expression remaining serious.

“That’s right. I think I scare you. We’ve never talked once.”

“I’m sorry…” Izumiko’s shoulders drooped. She was embarrassed of the prejudice she had been carrying. “I was raised in the mountains, so I’m not used to foreigners. I don’t really know how to talk with you…”

Claus offered a short response but the words were casually spoken in German so Izumiko couldn’t catch their meaning.

Takayanagi smiled and said, “Izumiko, you’re breaking out of your small world right now. If you get to know him better, I’m sure you’ll realize Claus is a good guy.”

“I’m Christian, but a modern Christian,” Claus said meaningfully. He put his rosary in his pocket. “There really aren’t any people in Europe who think non-Christians are devils. We’re not hundreds of years in the past. I can be good friends with people who identify as Shinto.”

“I’m not Shinto. I grew up at a shrine but my grandfather never told me I had to be serious about the religion or anything.”

Claus nodded happily at her hurried correction.

“Ah, in that case it’ll be even easier for us to be friends. Prejudice shows up when we don’t understand things. When I first came to Japan, I thought all Germans were Protestants. I was worried about that. But as individuals, people should be themselves.

Claus seems to be a caring person. I wonder why I thought he was scary… Izumiko thought in surprise.

She had always been afraid of large, strong looking boys. The situation now fell somewhat into that catagory. Claus certainly looked like a rugby player, but his gentle nature was revealing itself. She could feel her nervousness falling away.

“I think so, too. People should be themselves.”

“You should smile more,” Takayanagi said, good-naturedly. “It’s so much better to be happy.”

As he said this, Izumiko couldn’t help but realize how stiff her face must have looked to him. She probably always looked that way around the exchange students seeing as she didn’t know what to do with them. She felt differently now though.

I built a wall around myself. I shouldn’t do that though…

Her father, Daisei, had hoped that she would get a better understanding of the world away from the mountains. Even though there were plenty of foreign students for her to meet at the school, she hadn’t remembered her father’s words until now. Perhaps that had been due to her own views being too narrow.

“There are a lot of samurai and international characters in the offensive team’s army. There’s a girl participating too,” Takayanagi said, “Angelica’s image of what the Warring States era was like is a little too much like a manga or anime but I guess that’s because she’s French.”

“There are just as many fans of Japanese manga in Germany as there are in France,” Claus said firmly in response to his friend’s opinion.

“Ah, we have to go. If we chat through the judging, it’ll look like we were making some sort of deal over here. But Izumiko, come over and talk to me after the game is over,” Takayanagi said as he walked away. “Angelica’s a very interesting person, too.”

Izumiko relaxed her hold on the fence and headed towards the tent as well.

“…Okay,” Izumiko answered a bit shyly. There was no animosity in her voice. Surprisingly, she even felt a little better about the situation. “If there’s time.”

Who would have thought that it’s so easy to stop disliking someone when you didn’t even know you disliked them in the first place…

Up until now, Izumiko had accepted Mayura’s thoughts and beliefs without question no matter what. In other words, she had never come up with her own views about what Mayura told her.

…I’ve never thought about how narrow my viewpoint really is…

Izumiko already knew why Mayura Souda wanted to be the World Heritage Candidate. She worried about Manatsu who had the same heart defect as their brother Masumi who had died young. If it became possible that Manatsu might need a heart transplant, Mayura wanted to be in the best position imaginable to make sure he got one.

Izumiko respected her as a fiercely moral person whose concern for her sibling was touching. However, her intentions were undoubtedly for personal gain. Even Izumiko couldn’t argue that.

Mayura was a part of this now, but if Izumiko had been given a chance to do everything over, she wished she would have thought a little harder about it all.

What happens if Mayura loses?... Izumiko thought for the first time.

If Mayura lost, Izumiko would be heartbroken, but she would comfort her friend, she thought. Her views on the situation would only be somewhat changed and she would be able to talk to Mayura about the other girl’s feelings.

I’m capable of changing and adapting, Izumiko thought lightheartedly. I’m already changing and I’ll keep changing from here on. I can use a laptop and a cellphone now. Not as many things frighten me as there used to be. If things keep going this way, I’ll definitely be able to live life like a normal girl one day. I’ll be able to interact with everyone normally and I’ll be able to find a boyfriend just like anyone else.

Suddenly, Izumiko got the feeling that she was forgetting something important.

Huh?...

Her mind circled through possibilities but she couldn’t think of what it could be.

Well, she supposed it was alright.

The students, dressed in their Warring States era costumes, were starting to walk up the hill and find their teams. The competition grounds by the stables where the field games would be held were also going through their final preparations. Izumiko put her veil over her face and hurried back to Okouchi.

The beginning of the games arrived. The collective western and frontal forces, along with the collective eastern and defensive forces marched solemnly across the hill. They arrived at the stable’s competition grounds, creating a Y shape—the two sets of combined forces plus the game staff and observers who had gathered around the fence, waiting for them there. The impressive looking armies were greeted with applause.

With the multicolored flags, placards, and banners the soldiers on the hill were carrying, it was an impressive sight to be seen.

There was no unified feeling between the forces who had just come together, but all four of the armies’ enthusiasm was entertaining. Class 1-C was a part of the frontal attack team and they were carrying their “Winds of Change” banner. Izumiko clapped for them.

The generals came after the flag bearers. Seeing as it had been decided that the horses would not be brought out that day, everyone was walking. Still, the shine of the generals’ helmets with their tall decorations and the bright colors of all the armor drew a lot of attention.

“Wow…” Okouchi, who was standing next to Izumiko as they watched the procession, murmured all of a sudden.

When Izumiko turned to look at him, she saw that his gaze was fixed on the frontal attack team’s general.

“Amazing, wouldn’t you say?” Okouchi asked.

“Yeah, amazing,” Izumiko said, sounding much like Hayakawa when he was pretending to have heard something. She turned her eyes in the same direction as Okouchi’s.

The general was a blonde young woman.

…That’s Angelica.

She recalled how Karin had said Angelica looked like a china doll. Perhaps because of this, Izumiko had been imagining the blonde as doll-like and delicate. This wasn’t the case at all though.

Angelica was nothing like a doll. Izumiko got the impression that she was overflowing with energy. She was cat-like—a lioness perhaps.

The armor she was wearing was probably supposed to be from the Warring States era but it was covered in decorations. Izumiko felt like she could finally picture what Mayura had meant by a game design costume.

It wasn’t that Angelica was scantily clad. Not much of her skin was exposed. However, the truth was that her figure was quite evident beneath her outfit.

The difference between a Japanese build and the build of other nationalities was clear to be seen. Angelica had wide hips and while her face was small, her facial features were still sharply defined. She had an ample chest for a high schooler. Izumiko found herself staring unintentionally as well.

“I’m sorry to do this,” Okouchi said suddenly.

Izumiko turned back to look at him.

“Izumiko, let’s switch which part of the games we’re in charge of. Can you judge the board game for me? I think you’ll be fair about it.”

“Okay…”

Izumiko didn’t immediately protest, but it was obvious to guess the real reason why Okouchi had made the decision he had. At some point in time, Angelica had probably chewed him out for something he had done or said. It was very much like Okouchi to find a reason to be far away from where she was.

The battle, which a large amount of students would be participating in on the field, was made up of sports day events that everyone knew. There would be three legged races, egg-spoon relays, bread eating contests, and so on. There was no one participating who didn’t know the rules.

Due to this, Izumiko felt comfortable judging the games. However, the generals’ game of wit was a different story. She transferred her clipboard from one hand to the other and flusteredly flipped through the papers there.

“I’ve never seen the game played before now though. Um… it’s backgammon, right?”

“The rules are easy to understand so you’ll be fine judging it the first time you see it. You use two dice. You can only move the piece as much as you roll, so all you have to do is count the players’ moves with them. There’s not much deception in backgammon. It’s basically sugoroku.”

Izumiko watched as Okouchi showed her how to place the pieces at the beginning of the game but the round, black and white pieces lined up on the board with its long, narrow triangular shapes meant nothing to her.

“There used to be pictures on the sugoroku boards but these days there aren’t.” Okouchi let out a short laugh. “It’s hard to believe, but backgammon’s actually the older game. We chose it because the students are less familiar with it, but it’s well-known all over the world, and it’s got a long history to it. They even played it in ancient Egypt. It came to Japan during the Asuka or Nara era. It turned into a gambling game and the government cracked down on it. It was popular with the noblemen of the Heian era, too. In a way, sugoroku as we know it now with a game board came from backgammon. The version of sugoroku that you play with picture cards is a version that people play just for fun, not for gambling purposes.”

The explanation made Izumiko blink.

“Now that I think of it, there was a scene in The Pillow Book with sugoroku in it, too. The noblemen were obsessed with the dice game. I wondered why they were all so weirdly preoccupied with it.”

Okouchi nodded solemnly.

“Gambling is a serious matter, I suppose. When you get doubles in sugoroku, you can move more than one of your pieces. Everything changes in an instant if you can get your pieces into the last six board spaces, though. It’s a game that requires both luck and skill.”

“But I wouldn’t think a gambling game would make sense as a game for Warring States era generals,” Izumiko said in interest.

“Chess and shogi take up too much time. And playing current card games may have been unfair to the players who usually don’t get into things like that. The present day backgammon was reintroduced to Japan during the Warring States era. It was the game that made the most sense.”

Izumiko’s interest had been peaked. She wanted to see Angelica as well as the backgammon game up close.

I’ll do what I’ve been told to do. After all, I’m one of the kuroko in black who are supposed to be supporting the games from the shadows…

Izumiko walked away from the tent in the field and towards the area where the commanders—the so called military officers under the generals and the two teams’ generals themselves—would be playing their games.

Despite the way the team commanders were dressed and the fact that they were not participating in any of the active sports day events, they were quite similar to cheerleaders. They stood in front of their teams, leading cheers. The place where the commanders would be facing off against each other had been prepared in an open space beyond the fences where the spectators would easily see them.

It was true that Takayanagi was heading the frontal attack team, but his shikigami were nowhere to be seen. Izumiko turned her head left and right, looking for them as she walked around the horse enclosure.

None of her classmates from 1-C had been chosen to become commanders in today’s games. Unsurprisingly, most of the generals who had been selected were second years. The boys and girls holding “Overthrow the Upper Class” banners were all gathered together in the rear attack team, laughing and seemingly enjoying themselves. Izumiko, who wasn’t good with competitions, didn’t think she wanted to participate as well, but she was a little envious of their tightknit team spirit.

As she watched her classmates, her vision suddenly blurred and the activities surrounding the horse enclosure moved out of focus.

Izumiko blinked quickly, trying to regain her sight. The blurred spectacle immediately corrected itself, but she had the unsettling feeling that it might happen again.

What’s going on?...

She had a very bad feeling about whatever it was. However, she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong. Instead, it was a strangely troubling sensation.

… Maybe it’s because I haven’t gotten much sleep in the past two nights. Izumiko considered, thinking it over.

All the same, she had to keep moving today. It was an important day, after all.

Huh?...

She looked around the horse enclosure again. Izumiko felt like there was something in the area that required her attention, but she couldn’t recall what it was. That had to be the origin of the strange feeling she was having.

Izumiko stopped walking, but then she reconsidered and began again.

She had promised that she would get through the morning without doing anything unnecessary or drawing attention to herself.

However, she couldn’t remember who she had made that promise to.

The large, rectangular backgammon board had been set out on a table with two stools on either side, facing each other.

The stools, which the armored players would sit on, were old. They certainly matched their surroundings, but they didn’t look particularly comfortable.

Eventually, the commanders finished their cheers and shuffled in. The generals of the front and side forces moved forward and sat down on the uncomfortable looking stools. The remaining commanders lined up around the board as if surrounding the players.

Shibata, one of the second years from the student government, arrived to act as a referee. He would take responsibility for the game while Izumiko moved to the side and kept score on a whiteboard. Tamura, another one of the first years, would then act as a liaison between her and Okouchi.

Shibata cleared his throat.

“Alright,” he said, using a wireless microphone to project his voice around the group. “Until the field battle is over, we will be having a backgammon competition. The points you score for your team will go into the final decision that determines which team will proceed on to attack the castle.”

Shibata then announced the game rules and other pertinent information that the players would need. After that, the game began.

There were quite a number of onlookers surrounding the generals and their commanders. Rather than being interested in backgammon, there were many more people interested in the costumes the players were wearing. It was clear to see that a large reason for this was Angelica’s presence. There were quite a few cameras pointed in her direction.

Angelica smiled towards the people with the cameras. It would have been strange for her to ignore them, seeing as she appeared to be enjoying her costume.

When Izumiko took a closer look at the girl, she saw that Angelica’s brown, crescent moon shaped eyebrows looked like something that belonged on an antique doll. Karin had not been lying. Angelica’s blue eyes were also large and deep set. Unlike Claus’s deep blue shade though, hers were a paler blue.

Angelica was certainly an attractive girl. However, Izumiko could not decide if that made her beautiful. She got the feeling that there was something treacherous about Angelica.

Angelica was standing next to Takayanagi behind the stool. She frequently turned to say things to him. Until then, Izumiko hadn’t noticed how tall she was. Standing next to Takayanagi though, it was clear to see that Angelica was taller than him. The armor she was wearing made her shoulders look broad as well. Seeing the two of them act so friendly with their heads bent so close to one another’s made them stand out, especially with Takayanagi’s aristocratic looks.

They look like they’re really close… Izumiko thought as she snuck a glance at them.

Obviously, Takayanagi had had a reason for bringing up Angelica’s name during their earlier conversation.

I wonder if she’d ever be that friendly with me…

She doubted Takayanagi would stop talking to Angelica, even if the game ended.

… I liked Claus right though. Strange…

Izumiko felt the need to shake her head clear. Up until now, she had barely spoken to boys at all. If she was being entirely frank, she had only ever felt comfortable speaking to her own gender. However, she felt like she would never be able to get along with Angelica.

It’s because she’s friends with Takayanagi… Maybe?

To her surprise, she found herself questioning her own thoughts.

She was in denial.

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#rdg #red data girl #rdg 5 week 17 #translation #rdg my longest day of school

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agirlinjapan · 6 years

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Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 16)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful winter break and are feeling refreshed and ready to start the new year. I had a nice, slow start to my new year thanks to the cold weather in my area. This week at school was significantly shortened because of snow and dangerous wind chills. I hope everyone who was affected by the weather stayed warm and safe! I haven’t left my apartment since Thursday afternoon, but I finally have to go out today. It’s still -9 degrees Fahrenheit where I am as I write this though so I think I’m going to wait until the temperature at least hits 1 to get my errands done.

It’s been a while since I had any cultural notes to share with you but there’s a few things this week. Enjoy the start of chapter 3!

Translation notes:

Shirou Amakusa was a Catholic rebel who, in December 1637, led the Shimabara Rebellion in what is now present-day Nagasaki Prefecture. Amakusa and his Catholic peasant followers were outraged by high taxes and the persecution of Catholics in the area. The rebellion lasted until April 1638 when Amakusa was beheaded and the ban on Christianity in Japan became even more strictly enforced.

Francis Xavier was a Jesuit priest and the first missionary to bring Christianity to Japan.

The Bible verse in this installation comes from Genesis Chapter 1 verses 3-8. The exact quote comes from the New International Bible.

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 3: Off Course Part 1 (1 of 2)

Ichijo Takayanagi’s straight cut bangs were the same as they always were, but beyond that, he looked like the Warring States era rebel, Shirou Amakusa. The fine western clothes with their Japanese flair were attractive and gave him a boost of charisma. He was more aloof than ever.

It was quite clear that Takayanagi was wearing makeup around his narrow, almond shaped eyes and the bridge of his nose. Strangely enough, it gave him an elegant look.

“Do you really think Mayura Souda knows more about spirits than me?” he asked Izumiko in a good natured voice. He didn’t sound arrogant. His tone was full of kindness.

Izumiko only stared at him in response, but the boys surrounding Takayanagi left anyway. She knew they were going back to the competition grounds. They were leaving this to Takayanagi. They wouldn’t get involved. Izumiko couldn’t go as far as to say she was relieved, but her nerves calmed just a little at their departure.

Takayanagi continued speaking.

“You know, Mayura’s vision is incredibly narrow. She doesn’t understand anything that’s going on. In particular, her family’s just too different. Unlike families who have continued to focus on the same discipline for more than a thousand years, the people who call themselves ‘ninja’ seem to have broken away from the physical aspects of what that means. Their knowledge is lacking these days.”

“Mayura and her siblings are special,” Izumiko retorted. Takayanagi still hadn’t convinced her that he was right. As long as she could disagree with him, she would. “The Souda family is saying that their ancestors’ abilities are coming back. If Mayura and her brothers didn’t have real spiritual gifts, Masumi wouldn’t have become a divine spirit.”

Takayanagi’s face hardened. His long ponytail moved back and forth as he shook his head.

“She may possess a sacred spirit but that was her mistake from the beginning. Diviners know what humans can and cannot do. It’s insolent to believe that one can control a sacred spirit. At any rate, the person the spirit ends up eating will be the one who’s been controlling it.”

Izumiko felt as if she had become the triplets’ spokeswoman.

“You and your diviners are the ones who are trying to control spirits! Mayura and Manatsu are different. They call Masumi to them as a sibling and as a person with his own free will.”

“I didn’t think anyone did such reckless things these days although I used to do it in the past, too. Doing it that way is good for a short amount of time, but no one can maintain it in the long run.”

Takayanagi suddenly brought the conversation back to an earlier topic.

“What do you think a pet is? They’re living things other than humans which mankind can live together with as family. And what’s more, not everything can be a pet. Even people who like all animals have to choose a certain type. Izumiko, you’re the sort of person who likes animals, aren’t you? I’m the same.”

When Izumiko stayed silent, Takayanagi once again continued speaking.

“The way I see it, I don’t believe that life is limited to our physical bodies. Our beloved pets are not things we want to be parted with by death. It’s difficult to see them go before us. Therefore, I learned how to create shikigami. As a shikigami, they can go beyond their body’s lifespan and be with me forever. However, Kosaka was sadly eaten by that thing and his life was snuffed out.”

“I don’t think that was Masumi’s fault. Kosaka became a victim because you bound his soul to yourself and dragged him around. In the end, his death was your fault,” Izumiko said harshly. “It’s one thing to carry a pet around with you like that. It’s another thing to do the same with its soul. I can’t understand that.”

“There are people who can become animal trainers and those who cannot. It’s important for a person to decide which they’re going to be. If one is going to take the plunge and become a trainer, it’s incredibly vital that they do not underestimate or belittle the creatures they work with. Having the know-how is also very important. At least the others and I know better than to take control of something we don’t understand.”

Izumiko did not react to Takayanagi’s words. It wasn’t for the Souda siblings’ benefit. Instead, it was so that she could think over what he had just said. She couldn’t help but think about her connection to Wamiya and how she still didn’t understand it.

“Divine spirits are… beings who come to you on their own free well.” she said quietly. “So no one can capture them or make them do what you want.”

“Then, something like that wouldn’t be useful at all. That’s something you can’t control. It’s different from what Mayura has.”

Izumiko couldn’t think of a good counter argument. Therefore, she tried from a different approach.

“But do you really think it’s alright to use ghosts? It seems like you and your friends have been gathering them.”

Takayanagi laughed as if he had just been listening to something amusing.

“Don’t get confused, Izumiko. Controlling ghosts is something different entirely. For ghosts to appear, they need to borrow human energy. Therefore, ghosts can’t materialize without people knowing they’re there. However, there have been cases where people continuously give their energy to ghosts and it becomes something they don’t even notice they’re doing in the process. Rather than saying I’m the one who gathered the ghosts who are here now, it would be more correct to say that the students of Houjou Academy are calling them. In other words, it’s kind of like I’ve put together a little stage for everyone.”

“A little stage? You’ve created a huge problem!” Izumiko’s words were full of emotion.

“We’re trying something out right now so we have to take a calculated risk in the performance we’re putting together,” Takayanagi answered calmly. “The stage can probably be used one person at a time. Because the students have no mind control abilities of their own, they won’t be able to fight against the ghosts. Meanwhile, we are searching for a way through our religious beliefs and customs to freely bring our abilities to light.”

I hate to admit it but Takayanagi definitely knows what he’s talking about… Izumiko thought as she blinked.

His knowledge on the subject wasn’t just made up of bits and pieces. He had backed up his words with intelligent points. It was clear to see that he knew everything that was going on. Izumiko thought about how much she, Mayura, and the others had been fumbling around lately. It definitely seemed like they had a handicap compared to Takayanagi.

“Has Mayura ever thought about how she could use her spiritual abilities on a global scale? Right now she’s only thinking about what’s immediately in front of her. We diviners are different. These days, we’re always thinking about how we can push forward and better ourselves in ways that you all could never imagine.”

Izumiko examined Takayanagi’s haughty expression.

“Are you really okay doing things like pretending to be Christian just to better the diviners?” she asked, opening her mouth to respond to his bragging. “Takayanagi, you’re wearing a cross as a necklace but you’re ignoring the actual religion part. Doesn’t that make it just a fashion statement?”

“You’re the daughter of a Shinto priest, aren’t you?” Takayanagi asked as if suddenly remembering this. In this moment, it became evident how much thought he put into his clothing.

“Organized religion is within the ascetic monks’ domain,” Takayanagi said. “They’re a group that’s been destroyed by the historic events surround temples and shrines. We diviners chant sutras and sing songs of praise to the gods, but even from the beginning, we have been broken off from organized religion. That’s why we can turn our attention to the world. More than that, we can learn of the ancient ways passed down in foreign countries, too.”

“The diviners disappeared at the same time the ascetic monks did in the Meiji Restoration era, didn’t they?” Izumiko pointed out, grateful that she had looked this up. She didn’t enjoy hearing Takayanagi speak ill of the ascetic monks.

“It’s weird to hear to you say that praying to the gods is basically just a skill you use. After all, it’s an ancient Japanese tradition in the mountains I come from.”

“The problem is its effectiveness. Is praying really that useful?” Takayanagi asked. His words were streaked with chilliness. “The ascetic monks thought it was from the beginning and became close with the Mikkyo Buddhists. Now the east and west are in conflict. However, countries all around the world have groups of some sort of magic users. Of course this includes Christianity which was begun by the historical figure, Jesus.”

“So what? Are you saying that you’ve become Christian to use their magic?”

“That’s not what I meant. Why do you think there are so many foreign students here at Houjou Academy, Izumiko?”

Izumiko blinked at the abrupt change in direction which the question posed.

“Uh…”

“Do you think that Mayura has considered that these students must also be included when it comes to choosing the top student in the school?”

Mayura definitely hadn’t thought of that. The topic had never once come up even in the slightest while Izumiko had been speaking with Mayura. It had never occurred to Izumiko either.

“Hey. I bet you’re getting a better idea of why Mayura has such a problem with me,” Takayanagi said quietly as she was lost for words. “We see what the other is doing but we’re on different levels. From here on out, there’s no wall between the east and west. We have make efforts to adopt a global mindset. Even though everyone’s praying to their own, local gods, they’re calling on the same spirits. Think about what that means.”

Before Takayanagi could finish speaking, a tone much lower than his voice reverberated through the area. It was an attractive voice that sounded like a contrabass.

“And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day…”

Claus, dressed as a monk—most likely supposed to be Francis Xavier—appeared. Izumiko had no idea of how long he had been there. She hadn’t noticed him at all. Now though, Claus had rosary beads in his hands while reciting Bible verses. He moved towards Takayanagi’s side.

…Why didn’t I get away as soon as I could?...

She had known she had to escape before. Despite this, she had let her opportunity pass right before her eyes. Just then, she finally remembered the phone she held in her hand and the fact that the call was still connected.

It took a surprising amount of determination to lift the phone to her ear.

“Sagara… Are you still listening?”

“Are you an idiot?!” Miyuki demanded. He was loud enough that Izumiko instinctively pulled the phone away from her ear.

“Don’t argue with Takayanagi! I’m on my way!...”

“You can’t come here!” Izumiko whispered into the phone as she felt her ability to resist faltering. “Please don’t come. Manatsu can’t come either. You can’t—he’ll get everyone.”

Before Miyuki could respond, she quickly ended the call. Then she pressed the button again for a long time to turn off the phone completely.

If everyone became trapped in the spell here, they would be done for.

It was already too late for Izumiko.

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#rdg #red data girl #rdg 5 #rdg my longest day of school #translation #rdg 5 week 16

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agirlinjapan · 6 years

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Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School (Week 15)

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

Check out the RDG Translation twitter!

I’m on break, Christmas is tomorrow, and all is right! I hope you have a wonderful holiday if you’re celebrating tomorrow. Happy New Year as well! Today is the last installation of chapter 2. We’ll be starting 2018 off with chapter 3!

Red Data Girl: My Longest Day of School By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 2: Manipulation Part 3 (2 of 2)

The academy students, who had grown used to the Waring States era costumes, milling around outside of the classroom building and looking up at the sky. There was an impressive blimp floating over the campus.

It wasn’t large enough so that people could ride in it, but it still looked plenty big up in the sky. The Warring States era shogun’s crest was painted brightly on its stretched silver body and a banner with, “Celebration! Warring States Era Festival!” written on it trailed behind.

As Izumiko looked up, she said to Okouchi who was beside her, “Wow. The chemistry club made that, didn’t they?”

Okouchi nodded. “Yeah. It looks like they pooled together their willpower to get it done just in time. They would have been really pleased with themselves if they had gotten it up yesterday. Still, you have to give them credit for getting it up into the air at all.“

Okouchi continued to gaze up into the sky even as he spoke. He was holding his ever present laptop in its case and a clipboard with the day’s plans on it. Finally, he looked down at the clipboard, his mind clearly full of what needed to be done that day.

Bespectacled Yoshifumi Okouchi was not a boy who was comfortable outdoors. He was tall and lanky and had a habit of slouching forward and walking around with a blank look on his face. However, he was quite knowledgeable when it came to things that he was interested in and was a perfectionist to a frightening extent. He had been deeply involved in the day’s Warring States era battle game since the time of its inception and had poured all of his energy into making it a success ever since.

Izumiko thought that for a student in his second year of high school, Okouchi was a pretty laid-back person. Whenever he got wrapped up in his interests, he seemed to forget everything else around him.

As they continued on the upward sloping path, Izumiko saw that the blimp was anchored in the little open space in front of the library. A group of people were gathered there to look at it. The tether had become noticeably tangled in a number of trees as the blimp floated here and there in the sky.

Izumiko looked for Karin Hasegawa, the representative from the chemistry club who was supposed to be watching the blimp. However, she couldn’t see her. The people standing around in the area were wearing Warring States era costumes but they didn’t appear to be students. Instead, they looked like the parents from the bazaar. They weren’t far from where the sale would take place, Izumiko reasoned.

“I wonder if one of the adults launched the blimp…” Izumiko murmured.

Okouchi looked back up into the sky.

“Someone probably lent a hand. There’s only four people in the chemistry club so they wanted the blimp near the bazaar.”

Izumiko hadn’t seen the parents’ bazaar the day before. Suddenly, she was curious about it. She remembered what Manatsu had said about the horses growing restless.

It wouldn’t be strange for a diviner to be part of the group of adults working there…

Izumiko had heard that the chemistry club had come up with their plan to launch a blimp right before the festival. When she had gone to see the blimp, she hadn’t been able to enter the cooking classroom’s prep room. Takayanagi had spelled the doorway and anyone allied with his rival, Mayura, had been pushed away. There had been something in that room that Takayanagi had not wanted them to see. It would be strange not assume that the balloon was the base of that secrecy.

“So the people at the bazaar are wearing Warring States era costumes today too, huh?”

“I guess. They’re not required to, so maybe they’re just trying to fit in.”

“Can we go check it out for a minute?”

Izumiko had assumed that the students’ mothers would be running the bazaar, but there were plenty of men gathered in the open space, too. There were even foreigners.—It wasn’t unusual that the families of the exchange students would be interested in helping out at festival though.

Okouchi paused. However, this was bad timing because Hayakawa was running up the hilly road at the same time. Even dressed in kuroko, he was still his cheerful self.

“Hey! Don’t slack off! The people who aren’t serious about their responsibilities now will have to do what the ones who were serious tell them to do at our next meeting. Well, I’m off. Bye!”

Hayakawa clapped Okouchi on the shoulder and then hurried by. Okouchi and Izumiko watched him go in confusion.

“Hayakawa’s cooking up some way to get all the glory from behind the scenes again,” Okouchi said, his words practically a groan. “He’s the kind of guy who feels the need to step in and take charge whenever even the smallest thing doesn’t go to plan. And as the student government, we have to deal with him and his baggage.”

“Yeah…” Izumiko couldn’t defend him either. She didn’t think Hayakawa would allow Mayura’s weaknesses to disrupt the student government, but she still couldn’t say he was working towards the same goal as the other members though.

Okouchi turned away from her.

“Alright, let’s hurry. It’ll piss me off if that guy ends up on top again today.”

Izumiko had no choice but to go as well. However, she was beginning to worry more and more about the blimp above her. There were warning bells sounding continuously deep in her chest.

The air is heavy somehow. It’s proof that something’s going on. My head’s getting so heavy…

She couldn’t help but view the blimp, which was obstructing the view of the sky, as an eyesore. It was a great mass looking down at her from above and it made her feel like she was being watched by cold eyes.

They made it to the fence around the horse ring, but the same feeling persisted in Izumiko’s mind. This hadn’t been the case up until now. The horse ring had always been a safe space.

But the kind, calm feeling of the horses that she got whenever she came here was gone. The place where she had had felt so safe in the dark just the night before couldn’t protect her this morning, she thought.

If Manatsu was here, he’d have a better idea of what was going on…

Izumiko remembered the phone and bit her lip.

She broke away from Okouchi who was heading towards the tent and stopped by the side of the fence. Despite the fact that she could see a number of people’s shadows around the tent area, most of the students still hadn’t arrived. She had a moment to spare as long as she acted right now. Realizing this, Izumiko pulled the red cellphone out of her breast pocket.

She lifted the veil of her hood and looked down at the electronic. Her fear of breaking it still hadn’t left her. Still, as Miyuki had said, she had to get past that uncertainty.

I think I want to tell him what’s going on… That’s really what I’m thinking, so I should be able to do it…

She prayed for this in her heart and dialed the number. Then she leaned back against the fence as the phone rang, its plastic body pressed unnecessarily hard to her ear. She felt as if it would ring forever. With each ring, the sound of her wildly beating heart seemed to reverberate even more loudly up into her throat.

Just as she thought she would give up, the ringing was replaced with something else.

“What is it?”

Miyuki’s voice sounded into her ear as soon as the call connected. She wanted to jump for joy.

“Ah, you can hear me?”

“You’re late. What happened?”

“I’m not late. I just got to the horse ring. There aren’t many people here yet.”

“Okay. That’s good. You made it there.”

The stiffness in Izumiko’s shoulders suddenly dissipated. This was the first time she had heard Miyuki’s voice over the phone. It was a strange feeling. There was always a sharp quality to his voice but it didn’t seem to be as audible over the phone.

It was probably just her imagination, but she could even sense a hint of warmness to his voice.

“If you can use that cellphone, you should have contacted me sooner. The fact that you have one will help with us not knowing where the other is today. It’s a day to be on high alert, start to finish. You know that, right?”

“I know that. How do the sports grounds feel to you? Are Mayura and Manatsu there already?”

“Mayura’s here. I see her together with her team. I don’t see Manatsu yet though,” Miyuki answered smoothly.

Izumiko realized just how good talking on the phone was. Cellphones weren’t the only means of long distance communication and it was normal for people to talk while they were far away. However, hearing Miyuki’s voice and then responding to him over the phone like a game of catch was novel to Izumiko.

“You can probably see the chemistry club’s blimp from over there too, right? What do you think about it?”

“I don’t know. I think it’s pretty showy. Is something wrong?”

“You don’t sense anything strange about it?”

“Because the chemistry club put it together?—Is that what you’re saying?” Miyuki asked. His tone became suddenly alert. “Have you sensed anything that would suggest it’s dangerous?”

“Well, the feel of the horse ring has changed completely. I’m sure that Manatsu would have a better idea of why that is if he were here.”

Miyuki stayed silent for a few seconds but he was thinking quickly during that time.

“Got it. He probably won’t be able to switch his assignment very quickly, but I’ll try to find a way to get him over to the horse ring.”

“Good… It’s convenient to be able to talk on the phone.”

Relieved, Izumiko felt a weight lift from her shoulders. Things were partially settled. Her tone brightened automatically as her mood improved.

“If I can talk on a cellphone, I won’t be much different from other girls anymore. I can use a laptop now, too. I’m becoming more and more like normal people.”

“Is that important to you?”

“It really is.”

Izumiko thought over her words. Up until now, she had always wanted to somehow believe she was normal.

“I want to have the same experiences as everyone else—I’ve always thought that.”

“You say you don’t want to be the goddess and that’s fine with me. The goddess said something similar to that before, too,” Miyuki said lightly.

Izumiko was pleased to hear his acceptance, but she found herself focusing more on his comment about the goddess.

“This isn’t about what the goddess thinks. It’s about what I think.”

“But isn’t it a good thing that both of you think the same thing? Anyway, do your best not to draw attention to yourself today. There’ll be all sorts of things happening around Mayura and Takayanagi that are meant to provoke them, so make sure you avoid anything that might pull you into it and force the goddess to appear. ”

Miyuki’s tone was forceful. Izumiko might have had attended the strategy meeting with the triplets, but it was her duty to stay out of trouble, figure out what magic Takayanagi was using, and inform Mayura about it before the beginning of the battle.

“Don’t do anything unnecessary while you’re at the horse ring. If you can just bear being on your own this morning, we won’t have to be separated this afternoon.”

Izumiko nodded. She knew the atmosphere surrounding the horse ring felt strange, so she would definitely be on her guard.

“I know I have to be careful.”

“Make sure you keep distance between you and Takayanagi.”

“Obviously I’ll do that. I kept away from him yesterday pretty well.”

“You say that but you’re always—”

Miyuki’s words continued, but Izumiko had lowered the phone from her ear. She had casually turned around so that her back was facing the fence as Miyuki spoke only to find Ichijo Takayanagi standing right there.

She stared at him in shock.

Takayanagi was not alone. He was with a number of other boys. Izumiko hadn’t noticed them at all until they had gotten close to her. Maybe that was because she had been so caught up in the excitement of being able to speak to Miyuki on the phone for the first time. Or maybe their approach had simply been silent. She didn’t know how they had gotten so close, but Takayanagi was now in front of her within speaking distance. This could only end badly.

“You’re not going to hang up that phone up?” Takayanagi’s tone was friendly as he spoke to Izumiko. “It doesn’t matter to me either way. I don’t really care if Sagara hears what I have to say.”

160

There were six boys in Takayanagi’s group. They were all wearing different Warring States era outfits but none of them were boys Izumiko had ever seen before. At least, she had never seen them within the first years.

However, as she gazed at the group, she realized there was a reason why she didn’t know two of them. It wasn’t because they were wearing helmets and she couldn’t make out their features beyond the pimples on their faces. Their figures weren’t blurry at all, but they didn’t have the vitality of academy students.

…I can’t be scared. He’ll only take advantage of that.

Izumiko might have told herself this, but she could tell that the situation at hand wasn’t something worth getting frightened over. She didn’t have to worry herself. She knew Takayanagi’s true colors. Not to mention, she could once again identify his shikigami.

“I’m making new shikigami again,” Takayanagi smiled, his voice full of seriousness.

His white face was too white—He was probably wearing makeup. At any rate, Takayanagi was dressed as Shirou Amakusa today. He was wearing a culturally blended outfit of a traditional, Japanese brocade battle surcoat and a western ruffled collar. His hair was tied high up on his head in a ponytail that hung down behind him. Out of the group he had come with, all of whom were wearing armor, he was certainly the smallest, most delicately built warrior among them.

“You’re staring at them like you always do. I don’t mind. Seeing as I’m always bettering myself, you don’t have to pretend you haven’t noticed. I’d like you to get a look at them.”

Izumiko did not hide the scowl on her face.

“Whenever I see your shikigami, I’m disgusted.”

The boys surrounding Takayanagi silently watched them converse without reaction. The human ones probably supported the diviners. She still didn’t recognize them though.

“Mayura is making you dance to her tune,” Takayanagi said, stressing the words. This time, it didn’t seem like he would simply lose his temper. “Before you said I had probably killed my pets to make my shikigami. You said I was a cruel, inhumane person who’s incapable of shedding tears. I remember that. But isn’t that all just what Mayura Souda told you? She’s doing everything she can to make me look like that person. Have you ever stopped to think about that? The person who really killed Nobuyuki Kosaka was Mayura’s ghost brother. Who do you think is actually the cruel one?”

“Uh…”

Izumiko faltered. She thought about this as she was silent though.

I can’t be talking with Takayanagi at a time like this. It’s too dangerous to be in contact with his people. I have to get out of here right away without responding to what he’s saying...

She knew this and yet, for some reason, her legs would not move. She had no intentions of letting the boys surround her. There had to be a way for her to escape. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to move.

There’s something wrong here…

She didn’t want to listen to what Takayanagi had to say. But that desire to stay away from him already seemed odd to her. Just then, she began to faintly sense something. The air around them was changing.

Izumiko sensed that even if Manatsu arrived now, he would be too late.

There was some sort of magic in process at the stable’s competition grounds.

Keep reading!

#rdg #red data girl #rdg 5 week 15 #rdg my longest day of school #translation #rdg 5

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