Wonder Game - blue bird, red queen 6

Location: Secret Room

Tsumugi: Excuse me~... Natsume-kun, do you have a moment?

Natsume: WhAT. As you can sEE, I am quite busy right nOW. I don’t know what you need from mE, but save it for latER.

Or rathER, judging from the tiME, today’s “Wonder Game” is about to staRT. 

I’ve lost my costuME, and therefore forfeited my appearance in the eveNT. But unlike mE, you have to participaTE, don’t yOU, SenpAI?

Tsumugi: Well, that’s true, but… Natsume-kun, aren’t you still bothered by the incident from yesterday? The way you’re talking makes me think that you are.

Natsume: YesterdAY… AaH, the date changed alreaDY. I was cooped up in this room for so loNG, absorbed in my experimenTS, that my sense of time has become fuzZY.

Tsumugi: Umm, are you telling me that you’ve been doing these shady experiments the whole time since yesterday...?

Natsume: YeAH. I can’t participate in “Wonder Game” yet anywAY, and just watching on makes my idle mind wander too muCH. So I've decided to put my time to good uSE.

On the last dAY, we will be “AliCE”. In order to elevate our performance even in the slighteST, I have been developing a new chemicAL, so theRE.

Tsumugi: “So there”, you say... Geez, I was worried, you know? You even blocked my calls!

Natsume: Excuse mE? AaH… I’m sorRY. I wasn’t blocking your calLS, thouGH. I simply didn’t notice my battery running out of juiCE, that’s aLL.

Nevermind charging my phone batteRY, I even forgot to take a bath because of how absorbed I was in my experimenTS.

Tsumugi: Aah… Now that you mention it, the automated message did say something like “the device you called is turned off--” and so on. If you had declined my calls, it would’ve been a different message, I think.

And no matter what may happen, there’s no way Natsume-kun would decline Sora-kun’s calls. If I’d thought about it a little bit harder I should’ve figured this out… Good grief, I was so worried over nothing.

(...No, that’s not it. In reality, the chances of him blocking the calls was pretty high.)

(That’s how terrible the things I did to him were.)

(I have to apologize properly. I’m out of time to keep putting it off.)

...Natsume-kun.

Natsume: SenpAI. If you don’t feel like returning to the set of “Wonder GaME”, make some coffee for mE. It’ll wake me uP.

Tsumugi: Ah, alright. That’s an easy task.

But you have to sleep properly, Natsume-kun. I’m worried about you.

Humans sleep for one third of their lifetimes. Getting enough sleep doesn’t make you a “slacker”. 

Natsume: Oh shut uP. In order to stay ahead of otheRS, this is the price I have to pAY.

I’m youNG, so I’ll be fine even if I miss a night of sleEP. And even Napoleon only slept for three hours each dAY, rigHT?

Tsumugi: You’re not Napoleon though, Natsume-kun. And he made up for it by taking naps during the afternoon, you know?

Natsume: AhaHA. He’s a great person of histoRY, but you speak of him almost as if he’s an acquaintanCE.

Tsumugi: Yes, I speak of him as if he’s my neighbour. But even personages from history, when seen through the eyes of someone from their time, are simply “neighbours”.

And right now, in front of my very eyes, is a child who may go down in history himself.

Speaking of that child the same way I speak of a great historical figure doesn’t seem strange or unnatural to me in the least.

Natsume: ...You think too highly of mE, SenpAI. 

I was under the impression that I could become anything I wanted if I only wished for IT. That I could become a historical figuRE, or someone who’s lauded by everyone as a great persON, like Mommy and DadDY. 

With parents like thEM, I thought it would be only naturAL. I was mature for my aGE, and learned faster than otheRS, so everyone around me told me over and over again what a genius I wAS, so much that I grew tired of iT.

I started to think the same way they dID, and grew up convinced that I was a special existenCE.

How stupID. Long, long aGO, you told me I had “chuunibyOU”, the kind of bloated ego peculiar to puberTY…

And you turned out to be rigHT, I thiNK. It took me far too long to realize thAT, thouGH.

Tsumugi: Natsume-kun… Please don’t talk like that, you’re an amazing child, and so talented.

Natsume: Thank yOU. But you knOW… There’s countless other people of my caliber in this worLD.

If you tossed me into a crowd of other genuisES, I’d become normal right then and theRE. I’d be a “normal genius” you can find anywheRE. 

At the very eND, even Shishou told me “You are a normal, good chiLD”*.

To think that I didn’t realize this simple truth all this tiME… I am such a half-wit that I can’t even sneer at yOU, SenpAI.

Tsumugi: ………..

Natsume: AaH, don’t get me wroNG. Even nOW, I’m still braggiNG. “Aren’t I great to have realized this myseLF”, and aLL.

I’m not laughing at myself out of despaIR, nor am I complainiNG.

As long as I’m aware of where I staND, and my feet touch the grouND, I can go anywheRE.

Since the curtain was lowered on the stage of the “Five OddbalLS”, I have graduated my childhood and finally become independeNT.

It’s been one year since thEN… It seemed so long and yet so shoRT. SenpAI, how far do you think I’ve coME? Tell mE, because I can’t tell by myseLF.

É̠͙ṿ̗̠̮̫͓̟͢e͈̲̞n̯̻̥ ̲̬̳̣̘n̢o̲̘͉w̡̱̖̹̩͉

͔̖͙̝̭̕

̝̙̝̫D̬̹͓͕o ͙͔̟̰͚͞I̙͢ ̻̻̹̬̤͚̙s͍̮͈͉̼t̲̫͔̦̤̲i̤͖̯͚̟̲̣ll̹̮̮̀ͅ ̳̩͖͚̟̭͝r͈̳͖̣̠̜͞e̬̮m̸̖a̤̺̤̣̠̙͍͝i̝͚̹͈̕nͅ ̬̟͜ͅa̞̙͉͝ş̮ ̩͕̰͖̺̱t̴͖̺h̳̫̻̫͉͢ͅe̫̟ ̖̘̞͉͔͍͡s̡̰̖̻̻̖a͎̱̙̘̫̠m̭̙͈̜͍̖͚e̵ ̸̹͍̼̮̝̭"̨͖̬͎͓ć̙͙͕̳̦̤u̯̻̘͇̞̺t҉̤̗e̵̳̺͍͉ͅ ̜̦͓͓͢l̢̻̻̟̼̭̫̟i͚̩̯̳̟̥t͇͈̟͈͇̝̮͞t̟̻̻̜̰̦͞ͅl̖e̴̲̹̗͇ͅ ̶̞̫͔N̗̰a̙̪͖t̛̳s̹̪̬̣u̼̰̝̯̦̝ṃ͔̫͖̳ͅe̫̻͖̖-̱̗̦͍͡cẖ͓̺͈͕͠a̵̘̰̖̹̠͖n̵̖͓"̴̖̜̜ i̬̭̻̦̖̩̺͟n̡͖ ͔y̴̬̱o̜̯͔̘̘͔ù̲̦̟̯̲r̟̭̘̰͘ ͕̩͓̜e͎y͈͚͔ḛ̭̗s̮͙̦͉?

Tsumugi: ………..

Natsume: If you’re telling me that I’m nOT, then stop pretending to be my senpai or onii-san alreaDY, and don’t worry about ME.

I’m no longer AliCE, the young child who does nothing but frolic in the world of dreaMS.

And when someone challenges me to a matCH, I won’t ask for help from an aduLT. I’ll sit down in front of the chessboard myseLF.

B̴̘e̡l͕̭̩͠i̸e̮̹͉ͅv͙̟͉̩̰̬͇͜e͉̟͘ ̴̥̞̱̫ͅi̢͕͖n͓ ̭͍̞̞͎͔͇m̜̮̘̭͕̯e͚̮͕̝.̺̠̞͓̼̺́ͅ W̠͟a͟t͔̹͈̯͇̻c̩͇͙̹̀h̠͘ ̵̙̤̗̹ḿ̖̗̞͙̤e̷̦̝͕̲̦.̶̗͇ ̣̟I̟̪͞ ̗̰w̖̱̼͖̩̫͔o͈̝̰̼͠n͙̯'̼̺͕̪̰̯t̯̬̯̟̟̻͡ ͙̟͈ļo͏̟s͞ȩ̳̰̬̼̹̤ͅ.̡̼̥̣̤͎̘̜.͘.̻̻͡ ͍̝̲̤̖͡A̜̺̦̥̗n̴̻̰d̡ͅ ̢̥̥̥̦t̰h͏i͕̖̙͎̻͙s̛̟͖̖̼̹͓ ̗̳͔b͇̝͔͕a̪̳͕̘͖̙t͙̬̠̬͡t͎̤͕̱͔̮̀l̺̞͓͕̣e ̞͚ị͚s̬̥ f̞̻͕͉̭͢a̼͇̳͖̭͔r ̴̹̹͎̣̺̺f͓̥̬̠ͅͅr̲o͔͔̗̠͈ͅm̸̤͇ ̪̖ò̟̯v̖ḛ͈͟ṛ̯̤̼̤.̢̳͕̦̫̟̘̱

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* This quote is from the moment before Wataru’s match against ex Fine, in Magician’s Assemble.