Wonder Game - epilogue

[bakemonoremy]

Location: Garden Space East

- Another day, in the early morning the day of Yumenosaki Academy’s graduation ceremony -



Tsumugi: Zzz...♪

Natsume: He~Y… Wake up MojasuKE, the graduation ceremony is going to start soON.

Physically, the diploma may be nothing but a scrap of papER, but if you don’t go and accept it in person you won’t feel the closure in your heaRT.

Tsumugi: Mmh… Please let me sleep for five minutes longer~, mother ♪

Natsume: I am not your mothER. ...SheeSH, you really make yourself look stupid up until the very eND. That’s very like you thouGH, SenpAI.

Sora: Sniff… sob, uu~?

Natsume: SoRA. It’s fine for you to cry all you want todAY, but this guy is quite the worrywaRT… So make sure to send him off with a smile on your faCE, otherwise this Four-eyes might turn into a wandering ghoST.

Sora: Sniiiff! Uu~... You’re making it sound like Senpai died, but he’s just graduating normally, right?

Natsume: YeAH. He’s only graduatiNG. And we formally joined his agenCY, which means we’ll be able to keep performing together as Switch.

We merely won’t be seeing this gloomy hairball on school grounds any longER.

He said he won’t cut his hair because it’s part of a Buddhist prayER, thouGH.

We should have already dispelled anything that could turn into a cause for regrET, so how come he still stubbornly refuses to get a haircUT?

Sora: HaHa~♪ Sora doesn’t know that, but maybe the part about it being a Buddhist prayer is just an excuse? Maybe he actually just likes the hairstyle, and that’s why he doesn’t want to change it… or something?

Natsume: If that’s the caSE, there’s no cure for him being unfashionabLE, even in deaTH. The only explanation is that he never developed a sense of style while he was in his mothers’ woMB.

Sora: HiHi~♪ Shisho~ likes Senpai’s hair a lot, though! That’s the “color” you give off!

If you really hated it, you’d act indifferent towards it~, but since you keep pointing it out~..?

Natsume: Sometimes this kid is so perceptive that it’s almost scaRY.

Sora: ...Does Shisho~ hate Sora for that?

Natsume: Hm~M, who knoWS? I might hate crybabiES, thouGH?

Sora: Wawah, then Sora will stop crying!

Look, look! Sora’s smiling...☆

Natsume: MhM. That’s the Sora we love best...♪

Tsumugi: ….! ……!?

Sora: Shisho~? Senpai is writhing in agony! Why are you covering Senpai’s nose and mouth with the palm of your hand? People probably can’t breathe like that~?

Natsume: In order to wake someone uP, stopping their breathing is the most effective methOD.

On the off-chance that he doesn’t wake up from thIS… Senpai will fall into an eternal slumbER, and gets to sleep for as long as he wanTS, until he’s sick of IT. This wAY, no one gets harmED, so it’s the best solutiON, rigHT?

Sora: Nonono? If he dies it’s probably all over for him~!?

Natsume: YeP. There may be a reset button for liFE, but you can’t keep “going back to start again from zero” over and ovER.

Tsumugi: ...Bwah!?

Sora: Ah, he really woke up~♪ Incredible, Shisho~ can really solve any problem, huh~?

Natsume: FufUN. There’s nothing I cannot dO. I may not be NapoleON, but I am a magiciAN ♪

Tsumugi: Gasp! Aah, delicious oxygen!

W-w-w-why did you try to kill me, Natsume-kun!? I trusted you…!

Natsume: You didn’t dIE, thouGH. But if you’d like to not only graduate from high schoOL, but from your life as well todAY, I don’t miND. I’ll perform the last rites for your meaningless life right here and nOW.

Tsumugi: I-it’s not meaningless, okay! Why are you saying such terrible things, I thought we finally understand each other and are once again as close as we used to be!

Natsume: HmM. Are you sure you’re fine with that being your goAL; returning to how things were in the paST? If you’re gonna act like an arrogant seniOR, why not aim higher than thAT?

Show me your cool siDE, “Tsumugi-nii-san” ♪

Tsumugi: ...Pff, ahahahaha ☆

Natsume: ...What’s so funNY? How unpleasaNT. Have you finally lost your miND?

Tsumugi: Ah, no, I’m sorry… You may not remember it, but long, loong ago you once said the same thing, right?

I just found it amusing because I happened to be dreaming of that time just a moment ago. Natsume-kun, have you gained the ability to magically peek inside my dreams now?

Natsume: Not into the ones you see while you sleep at nigHT, but as for the dreams you create during the daytiME, I can more or less see thEM, yeAH.

...LoOK, I don’t actually caRE, but snap out of that drowsiness so we can go to the auditorium alreaDY, alrigHT~? If you keep dawdliNG, I’ll leave you behiND, got IT?

Tsumugi: Aah, please wait! I need to put on my glasses, otherwise I won’t be able to see in front of me and I’ll be too scared to walk! Also, my hair will always be unkempt no matter how much I struggle with it!*

Natsume: Then get a haircUT, seriousLY. I was talking about that with Sora earliER, actualLY. How come you keep clinging to that same old hairstyle no matter whAT?

Tsumugi: Eh~? I feel like I keep telling you the same thing in response to that, but the truth is kind of embarrassing, so I’ll tell you later… Well, eventually!

Isn’t it fine the way it is, though? Sora-kun even complimented my hair, telling me it looks like a birds’ nest~♪

Thanks to this nest, the blue bird can keep on living...♪

Location: Starry Sky

- Within the dream, or possibly a memory -

Tsumugi: --Natsume-chan, why aren’t you taking this seriously! Don’t you want to become an idol?

You have to give it your all! Otherwise you’re completely wasting your cuteness, like pearls before swine!

Natsume: Hey, what does that mean? Are you saying you’re sooo clever just because you know difficult words?

Tsumugi: Uu~! That’s not what I mean, I just think it’s a waste…!

I admire you, Natsume-chan. I want to become like you, someone who’s loved by everyone.

Natsume: Hmph, it’s only natural that everyone loves Natsume, though? ‘Cause Natsume is “special”, so Natsume automatically attracts attention!

So you see, the reason why Mommy enrolled Natsume in this school isn’t because she doesn’t love Natsume…

It’s because she wants to put Natsume’s “specialness” to good use and hone it further.

Will Mommy be satisfied if Natsume becomes an idol? Will she praise Natsume and hug Natsume tightly?

If so, then Natsume will become an idol! An idol who’s beloved by everyone!

Tsumugi: Aah, I get it. I am aiming to become an idol for the very same reason.

Natsume: ...You too, Tsumugi-nii-san?

Tsumugi: Yes! We’re in the same boat, chasing the same dream! That’s why you won’t be lonely, because I’ll always be by your side, Natsume-chan!

Natsume: ...Like we’re bound by the red string of fate?

Tsumugi: Huh? That’s right, it’s the same color as Natsume-chan’s hair! This is the red string!

Then, I’ll grow my hair out like Natsume-chan’s! Even if Natsume-chan’s string gets torn, it’s all going to be okay because I can just tie it together with mine!

See, if we weave** our hair together like this and tie it together… Done! Now there’s no need to worry! I promise I will never cut this string even if I die!

Natsume: Uwah~? It’s hard to walk when our hair is all entangled like this~, you’re sooo bad at cheering people up! You’re a hopeless case, Nii-san! You should act more cool, like a prince in a fairytale!

Tsumugi: That’s a lot to ask of me, umm..? This is the best I can do right now, though~?

I’m sorry that I’m such a pathetic Nii-san… I’m begging you, please don’t cry. Natsume-chan is the cutest when she smiles.

Smile, lift your head, get up and do your best in lots of lessons… And one day, we’ll fulfill our dream. Let’s become idols together.

Let’s become happy together, you and me.

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* When Natsume says “dawdling”, he uses a word that also refers to unkempt hair, prompting Tsumugi to misunderstand him.

** “tsumugu”, the verb that Tsumugi’s name is probably based on.