Silver Diamond Part III (Translated)
Nov. 17th, 2003 01:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akujunkanAnd here we have the oft-promised translation of Silver Diamond Chapter III. All the usuals apply - don't take/distribute without my permission, the manga proper is owned by Sugiura Shiho (to whom I'd be married in a perfect world), etc. etc.
And for your viewing pleasure,
(Silver Diamond copyright 2003 by Sugiura Shiho)
(Translation copyright 2003 by gmorrison (trismegistus@drakmail.net))
I took the time to translate this, type it out and format it, so please don't take it without my permission.
As usual:
Words in " " are spoken aloud.
Words not in " " are internal dialogue.
Words in ( ) are character asides.
Words in {{ }} are Sugiura's asides.
Words in (( )) are my comments on the text/translation.
Words in [ ] are telepathic communication between two characters.
Words in // // are descriptions of action.
Words in \\ \\ are flashbacks.
Words preceeding an * will be footnoted at the page break.
Words in double double-quotations " " " " indicate when The Prince is speaking through Kinrei.
Double returns = page breaks.
That world is alive
Kou: "Woooahhh! What the hell is that!? That box!! That box - it's talking!!?"
Rakan: So says the talking snake.
P2
Kou: "And there are people in its body!! Tiny people!!"
Rakan: Although I suppose that's a pretty basic reaction.
(Still, things have been really tense since this morning.)
"Incidentally, that's called a 'television.' It like a toy that shows moving pictures."
Kou: "A TOY!?"
Kou: "Whoah, what the hell is THAT? That incredibly fast creature!!"
{{Basics #2}}
Rakan: "That's called a 'car.' They're what you ride in this world."
Kou: "A 'car!? That's a 'car!?'"
Rakan: "Right. It's not a creature, you know."
(That's the second time I've had to say this to him.)
Kou: "It isn't a creature!?
//Rakan turns on the gas stove//
Kou: "WHOAH! It's breathing FIRE!! You wanna start something, bastard?!!"
Kou: "AH! AAH!!"
Rakan: ".........."
{{Kou moves far to fast for Rakan to stop him}}
Kou: "NARUSHIGEEEEEEH!!"
P3
Narushige: "I apologise. He he really is a rowdy snake..."
Kou: "(Narushige, it breathes fire! It breathes--)"
Rakan: "Don't- Don't worry about it. If you think about it, it's only a natural reaction from someone who's suddenly been thrown into an unknown world.
(Please don't worry about it).
On the contrary, I think it's refreshing."
{{He's just forfeited his chance to burst out with, "Why is your snake talking?"}}
Narushige: "'Refreshing?'"
Rakan: "Yeah, it's just that that person isn't really surprised by anything.
I mean, he's never extremely confused by anything, and easily understands things."
Narushige: "'That person..?'"
P4
Rakan: "Oh, Chigusa.
Incidentally, Chigusa...you were sleeping in my room again this morning.
(It's really surprising to wake up and find you next to me.)
I do believe I asked you to sleep in the room downstairs..."
Chigusa: "Yes, but you're an important creature, and so I have to protect you."
Rakan: ".........."
Ah.......
It doesn't matter how many times he says this to me. It's still embarassing for some reason.
Kou: [Narushige... Is this guy really Senrou Chigusa?]
[I didn't know he was the kind of guy who smiled so much!]
Narushige: [Me neither...]
Rakan: "Hey, listen to me. I understand that I'm a precious creature. But at least bring a futon up when you sleep. It isn't good for your body."
Narushige: Whoah...
This child is really no-nonsense, isn't he?
Kou: (I suppose this is what you call a house husband.)
Rakan: "Wait a minute."
P5
Rakan: "What do you have in your hand? Eyeglasses?"
Chigusa: "Oh. Are these yours?
Rakan: "No, they were my grandfather's..."
Chigusa: "'S it okay if I use them?"
Rakan: "Huh?"
Ah...
"Is your eyesight bad?"
Come to think of it, he was wearing goggles when I first met him.
Chigusa: "Nope."
Rakan: ???
"It isn't bad?"
Chigusa: "No, but I'm more comfortable wearing glasses."
Rakan: "...? Well, I guess it's okay, but if you aren't nearsighted... They're prescription glasses, won't they make it hard for you to see?"
Chigusa: "That's fine. It's much nicer when it's hard to see things."
P6
Narushige: "............"
//Rakan's grandfather clock chimes.//
Kou: "HOLY CRAP! What the hell are you?!! You messing with me?"
Rakan: (Oh, not again...)
//Chigusa grabs Kou as he dives for the clock.//
Kou: Ack! Senrou!"
Rakan: (Woah, he caught him.)
Chigusa: "That's a clock.
(It's not a creature.)
Under no circumstances are you to break it."
{{Previous Offender}}
Kou: "............."
Chigusa: (Ah! He got away.)
P7
Narushige: "That man.... why is he here?"
Rakan: "The same reason as you are. He fell into my backyard two days ago. You come from the same world, don't you?"
Narushige: "Yes we do, but..."
Rakan: "That's what I want to ask."
(Why you people came here.)
Ah, here I go again. I can't keep using cooking as a way to avoid things.
{{This morning he's going to see how toast goes over for breakfast.}}
Rakan: Thank god today's a holiday. This way I can start asking from question one.
Kou: "Narushige!!"
Narushige: ?
Kou: Narushige!! Narushige!!
Narushige: "Kou?"
Kou: "The sky!!"
The sky - it's BLUE!!!!"
(What is with this color?)"
P8
Narushige: "What? You mean... the sky really is... blue!?"
Rakan: Wha- What kind of world are they from!?
Narushige: "It's because there's no sun in our world."
P9
Rakan: "...No sun!?"
Narushige: Why do I have to do all the explaining?
"No. It doesn't have a form."
Rakan: "Doesn't have a form?"
Narushige: "Well, everyone knows that it's there, but...."
Kou: "Black clouds cover the whoooooooole sky, so Narushige and I have never seen it. Nothing but clouds! This is the first time we knew for certain that the sky really is blue!"
Rakan: .......... "You mean like thousand year clouds?"*
Narushige: "Yes."
(Although that's an idiotic way to describe it.)
Rakan: A world without the sun?
"It's. Erm. Um... It must seem blinding outside to you! Your eyes must hurt! Are you all right?"
*((Neither the humor of Rakan's set expression nor Narushige's response can be fully carried over into English.))
P10
Rakan: "Wha... What?"
Narushige: "No, our eyes are all right. It's a little dark in this house after all."
Rakan: "Oh. It is?"
(Well I guess that's good, but...)
Narushige: He really does have the same face as The Prince. But his facial expressions are always so different from That Prince's. It's pretty startling.
Rakan: "But if the sun doesn't come out, what happens to everything else? Plants, for instance?"
Narushige: "It's not all due to the fact that there's no sun. Pretty much everything has become desert, as well."
P11
Rakan: "Desert!? ...You mean the whole world is covered in sand?"
Narushige: "Yes. That and bare mountain ranges."
Rakan: "What about water?"
Narushige: "Basically, everyone lives in the places where there's water."
Rakan: Probably like oases on Earth...
(Huh. Is he serious?)
"Is there any grass? Or plants? What about trees?"
Narushige: "Those things are basically gone now."
Rakan: Trees... Ah, that's right.
"What about the gun he was carrying? That was made out of wood, wasn't it? So does that mean it's some sort of plant?"
Narushige: "Yes."
Rakan: "So that type of tree exists. A tree that can grow guns."
Narushige: "Yes."
Rakan: (Woah, it's like a fantasy story.)
"Right, but does that mean...you don't have anything made out of this stuff?"
//Rakan points to the various rubbers, metals, and plastics in his house.//
Narushige: "No we don't. It's the first time I've seen materials like this."
//Narushige indicates his coffee mug.//
Narushige: (This... thing... is a container made out of slippery stone?)
P12
Rakan: (They were surprised by the stove too, and the alarm clock...)
Sooo... that means it's not just a world without plastic, but stuff like iron, glass, and metals too.
//Rakan looks at Chigusa calmly drinking.//
Rakan: Why can't you be just a little more surprised?
"So you mean everything you use in your daily life is made out of plants?"
Narushige: "Yes."
Rakan: What? But then how could they have understood what a 'clock' was?
"What about clocks? You can't mean that... are there clock trees too?"
Narushige: "Ah... We have 'Time-telling Seeds.'"
Rakan: "The 'Time-telling Seeds?'"
" (What're those?)"
Narushige: "It's a seed about this big. Attached to a sturdy runner. Its covering changes color at equally spaced intervals, so you can judge what time it is based on its color."
"(If you put a string on the pod you can wear it too.)"
Rakan: "Wooooooaaaaaah, awesome!"
"(What else is there?)"
Narushige: "(What else...)"
P13
Rakan: Drat. I can't let this go on. I've inadvertently gotten all worked up and asked questions right and left...
(I guess I'm the type who'll be taken in by door-to-door salesmen. I should be careful).
Those people are from a different world, and I... I just try to live a normal life. And speaking of...
"Chigusa.... You really have glued yourself to me."
{{He's in the middle of washing the dishes}}
Rakan: (You look so gloomy.)
Chigusa: "Yes, but you are very valuable."
Rakan: "That's enough! I've already told you, this world is absolutely not dangerous. If you've so little to do the least you could do is help out around the house!"
Chigusa: "(Fine.)"
Rakan: "Go wait by the place where you change to get into the bath. When you hear the washer buzzing, take the wet clothes out, put them in a basket and take them into the living room."
Narushige: "..............................."
P14
Narushige: ".............................."
Rakan: "Ah, Narushige-san."
Narushige: "Rakan-kun."
"(Just 'Rakan' is fine.)"
What good timing. There's something I want to ask you - what kind of person is Chigusa?"
Narushige: "You- You're letting him stay in your house without knowing anything about him?? That is incredibly unsafe!!"
Rakan: "Uh. No. That is... "
"(I don't know about his lineage but he doesn't seem like a bad person. He helped me, so I was going to wait and see what he turned out like)."
Narushige: "('He doesn't seem like a bad person.')"
" Under no circumstances should you make that decision so simply! Letting a stranger stay in your house on the spur of the moment.
"(Whoah - that's really dangerous, Rakan!)"
"Which isn't to say that I'm not grateful that you're letting me stay over, but..! You do live on your own, don't you? (You can't be so trusting!) You have no idea what type of person I am!"
P15
Rakan: "But - but you're a good person, Narushige-san... I can tell. It's all right... I just have this way of understanding who bad people are. (I do take that precaution at least, so it's all right.) I don't get a bad feeling from Chigusa-san either. I mean, he's always smiling, and..."
Narushige: "......................... Yes, well that does seem to be the case. I certainly hadn't known he was such a cheerful person."
...And now I've said too much.
Rakan: "Don't you two know one another?"
Narushige: "No. I've only heard rumors....."
Rakan: "'Rumors?'"
Kou: "Oh, yeah. People are always talking about him, even now. Senrou Chigusa's a celebrity."
P16
Rakan: Celebrity? "Um... so is 'Senrou' his name? His surname?"
"(Here, write down everyone's names - I don't know what characters to use.)"
Narushige: "Senrou is the name of his Family."
Rakan: "One thousand silvers?"
Narushige: "No, not 'silver.' 'Rou.' It's got one more stroke than 'silver.'"*
Rakan: "Ah, you're right. 'Senrou Chigusa?'" And this is the character for 'grasses' - but that's a really old-fashioned way of writing it. What strange handwriting.
"And your name, Narushige-san?"
Narushige: "Shigeka Narushige. And this child** is Kou."
Kou: "(That's me!)"
Rakan: I wonder if there's a rule that surnames(?) and first names have to share the same characters?*** But it's still Japanese... Somehow this has all suddenly become so real.
Narushige: "So, about Senrou Chigusa-"
*((I was correct about Sugiura wanting her readers to associate the 'rou' in Senrou's name with the character for silver. (PS: Go me!)))
**((This character means 'child,' but might be another visual pun on its similarity for the character for 'character.'))
***((Looks like I was right about the first name/family name rule too!)))
P17
Narushige: "He was sentenced to death for the crime of attempting to take the life of The Prince of our world and crucified in the middle of the desert."
P18
Narushige: "On top of crucifixion, his body was shot full of arrows. And even though there are people who saw his blood-drenched form, it seems like he was still able to summon up enough final strength to attack The Prince. If that really happened, he should be dead.
Rakan: "Even- even though you've just told me this... There wasn't a single wound anywhere on his body..."
Narushige: "And for that reason, he is an extremely dangerous enigma."
P19
Narushige: "And even though you shouldn't trust me so easily, it's even more important that you do not trust that man."
Rakan: "............................." Somehow, all of a sudden, a foreign, very real world has come...
Chigusa: "Shigeka Narushige."
P20
Narushige: ".............................Senrou."
Chigusa: "Where's Rakan?"
Narushige: "He headed toward the garden, but...."
Chigusa: "The garden? Thanks."
Narushige: He smiles so easily. I understand less and less about him.
"Senrou."
Like what he's thinking.
"Was there something you wanted to say to me earlier?"
Chigusa: "As long as a Narushige of the Shigeka is around, it's probably safe for me to leave Rakan's side. That's what I wanted to say."
Narushige: What kind of person is he?
"Ah... What kind of connection does that child have with The Prince? Why do their faces resemble one another's so much...?"
P21
Chigusa: "Dunno."
Narushige: "You 'Don't know?'"
Kou: "You'd better answer his questions!"
Chigusa: "He is a Sanome. So as long as he's around, I'll be able to fight. I finally found him..."
Narushige: "'Fight?' With who?"
Chigusa: "With The Prince."
Narushige: The Prince?
"Why?"
Chigusa: "Because The Prince is just a puppet - isn't he."
P22
Narushige: "........................."
Kou: "Narushige, what is with Senrou? What is he thinking?"
Narushige: "Please don't ask me, Kou."
What is that man planning while he laughs so easily? What on earth is going to happen?
P23
Rakan: ".......................................
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm..............
It's probably because I accidentally heard so much (that I'm confused).
\\
Narushige: "He has the same face as His Highness!"
\\
Rakan: Who is 'The Prince?' Why do I resemble him so perfectly?
\\
Chigusa: "You're a 'Sanome.'"
\\
Rakan: What is 'A person who can make plants grow?' Why can I do that?
\\
Narushige: "Senrou should be dead."
\\
Rakan: I don't think that he's a bad person, but is it possible that my sixth sense could be off?
But.
But he laughs so much.
And he helped me.
And he eats all of his food so carefully.
P24
Rakan: What am I saying? That's no basis on which to judge someone.
(Anyone can be a nice person if they're hungry.)
Crap...I'm so confused.
What should I do? What should I do, Grampa? Mother? Mother. I... I... What is that?
P25
//An Ayame appears//
Rakan: "..................................................."
......................Is that?
The same as two days ago?
"AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!? (It's huge!?)"
Chigusa & Narushige: !?
P26
Chigusa: "Rakan!!"
Rakan: !
Kou: "Wha!? An Ayame?!!"
Rakan: "Chigusa!! Over there!! From two days ago!!"
//Chigusa throws himself in front of Rakan.//
P28
R ".............................."
P29
Narushige: !
P30
//The Ayame impales itself on Chigusa, in about five different places//
Rakan: "..........................Chi-................................."
//Chigusa draws his gun and shoots it to death. Its limbs fall from Chigusa's wounds.//
P31
Rakan: "Chigusa...!!"
"What are you doing... What are you doing?
Why are you just standing there without saying anything for yourself? Let me see the wounds!!
You're bleeding! You're bleeding..?!!"
Chigusa: "Rakan. I'm fine, Rakan."
P32:
Rakan: Wha?
Narushige: His blood...turned into bandages...
P33
Rakan: "...Those.." Those are the bandages his whole body was wrapped in two days ago.
"What are those...."
\\
Narushige: "Not only was he crucified, but his whole body was shot full of arrows. Even though he should be dead..."
\\
Chigusa: "Rakan. I'm sure it must seem strange-"
Rakan: It can't be!
Chigusa: "--But I'm not dead."
P34
Chigusa: "Plants are interwoven with my body. Even if I'm wounded, my blood will turn into bandages, and they'll staunch the bleeding and heal the wounds. So, even if I'm wounded, you don't have to worry about me, Rakan. I don't feel pain either, because I heal so quickly. In other words, it's because I'm just a unique type of plant.
Narushige: "..................................."
Chigusa: "I suppose the time will come when I don't heal."
P35
Chigusa: "And so I'm asking you - when that time comes, cut my chest open, and grasp my heart. If you do that, I'll immediately be resurrected. Because I'm half-plant, if a Sanome is nearby, I can "use" this body endlessly."
\\
Chigusa: "It's just that you're an incredibly precious creature."
\\
Chigusa: "So, even if I am wounded, you don't really have to worry about me."
P36
//Rakan hauls off and slugs Chigusa in the face.//
Narushige: !
Kou: Woah! He just punched Senrou!!
Rakan: "............I'm sorry, but-"
P37
Rakan: "What do you plan to do with your life...? Do you think that anything that happens to you is okay just because you can't die? What do you think I am? Even if you're mortally wounded, even if you're gushing blood... '...Because I heal so quickly' Do you think that your soul can't be wounded either? Should I consider you such a heartless person?"
P38
Rakan: "....Only three days have passed since I met you, but if I see you wounded so badly your blood's flowing out in rivers, it's natural that I'll feel so bad for you I'll cry. Even if you say you can't feel pain! Even if you say you can't die! I'll feel so bad for you I'll cry!! I hate seeing you hurt, and so I'll cry!!"
39
Rakan: "So, don't say such unfeeling things to other people!! What do you think your body is?!!"
Narushige: "Rakan--"
Chigusa: "..............................."
P40
Chigusa: "Why................ Why is he crying..."
Kou: "........................"
Narushige: "........................"
He's crying for your sake."
......You really are an idiot.
(You're making me angry.)
"You should at least go and apologise.
....In some... in some ways, you really are a good person, so please try not to make children cry. Don't you feel sorry for him? After he's taken such good care of two strange, unfathomable men like us."
P41
Chigusa: "..........................."
Narushige: "..........................."
Kou: "Narushige - I thought Senrou was just worldwise, but...
Narushige: "It does seem to be that way..." The reason he smiles so completely without worry,
\\
Chigusa: "I'm not dead."
\\
Narushige: ...without hidden motives, or trying to trick people, is because his feelings are in a state of paralysis. And because he's killed his own ability to feel emotions.
Kou: "Narushige."
P42
Kou: "Rakan... is a good guy."
Narushige: "Yes he is, Kou. I think it's probably good that we were made to come here."
Chigusa: "........................... Rakan."
Rakan: "........................... Sorry for hitting you."
Rakan: "Ten percent was me blowing off steam. I'm just a little mixed up about everything. But I'm not going to apologise for the other 90%. That was your fault."
Chigusa: "................. That's fine. You can hit me some more."
P43
Chigusa: "Since I don't really feel pain anymore, if you don't hit me a lot, I won't understand very well."
Rakan: "Please stop laughingly saying those sorts of things."
Chigusa: How baffling... That I still have this emotion remaining.
He has the same face as the Prince, but...
//flashback (to a scene we haven't seen yet)//
Chigusa: As long as I protect the power of the Sanome, nothing else matters
\\
Chigusa: I thought that whatever happened would be fine.
"It hurts me a little when you cry."
Rakan: ".............................."
Fine. Then I'll go cry some more.
Chigusa: "It makes me sort of happy when you're angry at me."
Rakan: "You- You are a messed up person."
Chigusa: "(Ah! You looked up!)"
Rakan: "Fine. If you go do something strange again, I'll still get angry at you, but..."
Chigusa: It's baffling.
"All right."
What should I do?
"Thanks."
P44
//Chigusa is guarding Rakan in his bed as he sleeps.//
Narushige: "Would it be all right if I stay here too, next to you?"
\\
Chigusa: "Because The Prince is just a puppet - isn't he."
\\
Narushige: Certainly, that child is very different from The Prince. He laughs so much, he gets angry with, and cries for, other people's sake.
For other people's sake...
"Wouldn't it have been nice if this child was the real Prince."
Chigusa & Narushige: If this child was the real Prince...
Can I take this opportunity to mention how much I adore Sugiura? Her characters are just so wonderful (and wonderfully realised). I lurrrv Chigusa's calm acceptance, Rakan's heated politeness, and Narushige... oh Narushige. He is shaping up to be my replacement Shien fix. And Kou is a riot.
The thing that interests me the most about this chapter is fact that it's so obviously the outline for the entire series. Sugiura's not even trying to disguise the plot and eventual ending, yet I still want to read it (and hope she manages to stretch it into another half decade/25-or-so tankoubon). Getting there is half the fun, as they often say.
That will be all.
And for your viewing pleasure,
(Silver Diamond copyright 2003 by Sugiura Shiho)
(Translation copyright 2003 by gmorrison (trismegistus@drakmail.net))
I took the time to translate this, type it out and format it, so please don't take it without my permission.
As usual:
Words in " " are spoken aloud.
Words not in " " are internal dialogue.
Words in ( ) are character asides.
Words in {{ }} are Sugiura's asides.
Words in (( )) are my comments on the text/translation.
Words in [ ] are telepathic communication between two characters.
Words in // // are descriptions of action.
Words in \\ \\ are flashbacks.
Words preceeding an * will be footnoted at the page break.
Words in double double-quotations " " " " indicate when The Prince is speaking through Kinrei.
Double returns = page breaks.
That world is alive
Kou: "Woooahhh! What the hell is that!? That box!! That box - it's talking!!?"
Rakan: So says the talking snake.
P2
Kou: "And there are people in its body!! Tiny people!!"
Rakan: Although I suppose that's a pretty basic reaction.
(Still, things have been really tense since this morning.)
"Incidentally, that's called a 'television.' It like a toy that shows moving pictures."
Kou: "A TOY!?"
Kou: "Whoah, what the hell is THAT? That incredibly fast creature!!"
{{Basics #2}}
Rakan: "That's called a 'car.' They're what you ride in this world."
Kou: "A 'car!? That's a 'car!?'"
Rakan: "Right. It's not a creature, you know."
(That's the second time I've had to say this to him.)
Kou: "It isn't a creature!?
//Rakan turns on the gas stove//
Kou: "WHOAH! It's breathing FIRE!! You wanna start something, bastard?!!"
Kou: "AH! AAH!!"
Rakan: ".........."
{{Kou moves far to fast for Rakan to stop him}}
Kou: "NARUSHIGEEEEEEH!!"
P3
Narushige: "I apologise. He he really is a rowdy snake..."
Kou: "(Narushige, it breathes fire! It breathes--)"
Rakan: "Don't- Don't worry about it. If you think about it, it's only a natural reaction from someone who's suddenly been thrown into an unknown world.
(Please don't worry about it).
On the contrary, I think it's refreshing."
{{He's just forfeited his chance to burst out with, "Why is your snake talking?"}}
Narushige: "'Refreshing?'"
Rakan: "Yeah, it's just that that person isn't really surprised by anything.
I mean, he's never extremely confused by anything, and easily understands things."
Narushige: "'That person..?'"
P4
Rakan: "Oh, Chigusa.
Incidentally, Chigusa...you were sleeping in my room again this morning.
(It's really surprising to wake up and find you next to me.)
I do believe I asked you to sleep in the room downstairs..."
Chigusa: "Yes, but you're an important creature, and so I have to protect you."
Rakan: ".........."
Ah.......
It doesn't matter how many times he says this to me. It's still embarassing for some reason.
Kou: [Narushige... Is this guy really Senrou Chigusa?]
[I didn't know he was the kind of guy who smiled so much!]
Narushige: [Me neither...]
Rakan: "Hey, listen to me. I understand that I'm a precious creature. But at least bring a futon up when you sleep. It isn't good for your body."
Narushige: Whoah...
This child is really no-nonsense, isn't he?
Kou: (I suppose this is what you call a house husband.)
Rakan: "Wait a minute."
P5
Rakan: "What do you have in your hand? Eyeglasses?"
Chigusa: "Oh. Are these yours?
Rakan: "No, they were my grandfather's..."
Chigusa: "'S it okay if I use them?"
Rakan: "Huh?"
Ah...
"Is your eyesight bad?"
Come to think of it, he was wearing goggles when I first met him.
Chigusa: "Nope."
Rakan: ???
"It isn't bad?"
Chigusa: "No, but I'm more comfortable wearing glasses."
Rakan: "...? Well, I guess it's okay, but if you aren't nearsighted... They're prescription glasses, won't they make it hard for you to see?"
Chigusa: "That's fine. It's much nicer when it's hard to see things."
P6
Narushige: "............"
//Rakan's grandfather clock chimes.//
Kou: "HOLY CRAP! What the hell are you?!! You messing with me?"
Rakan: (Oh, not again...)
//Chigusa grabs Kou as he dives for the clock.//
Kou: Ack! Senrou!"
Rakan: (Woah, he caught him.)
Chigusa: "That's a clock.
(It's not a creature.)
Under no circumstances are you to break it."
{{Previous Offender}}
Kou: "............."
Chigusa: (Ah! He got away.)
P7
Narushige: "That man.... why is he here?"
Rakan: "The same reason as you are. He fell into my backyard two days ago. You come from the same world, don't you?"
Narushige: "Yes we do, but..."
Rakan: "That's what I want to ask."
(Why you people came here.)
Ah, here I go again. I can't keep using cooking as a way to avoid things.
{{This morning he's going to see how toast goes over for breakfast.}}
Rakan: Thank god today's a holiday. This way I can start asking from question one.
Kou: "Narushige!!"
Narushige: ?
Kou: Narushige!! Narushige!!
Narushige: "Kou?"
Kou: "The sky!!"
The sky - it's BLUE!!!!"
(What is with this color?)"
P8
Narushige: "What? You mean... the sky really is... blue!?"
Rakan: Wha- What kind of world are they from!?
Narushige: "It's because there's no sun in our world."
P9
Rakan: "...No sun!?"
Narushige: Why do I have to do all the explaining?
"No. It doesn't have a form."
Rakan: "Doesn't have a form?"
Narushige: "Well, everyone knows that it's there, but...."
Kou: "Black clouds cover the whoooooooole sky, so Narushige and I have never seen it. Nothing but clouds! This is the first time we knew for certain that the sky really is blue!"
Rakan: .......... "You mean like thousand year clouds?"*
Narushige: "Yes."
(Although that's an idiotic way to describe it.)
Rakan: A world without the sun?
"It's. Erm. Um... It must seem blinding outside to you! Your eyes must hurt! Are you all right?"
*((Neither the humor of Rakan's set expression nor Narushige's response can be fully carried over into English.))
P10
Rakan: "Wha... What?"
Narushige: "No, our eyes are all right. It's a little dark in this house after all."
Rakan: "Oh. It is?"
(Well I guess that's good, but...)
Narushige: He really does have the same face as The Prince. But his facial expressions are always so different from That Prince's. It's pretty startling.
Rakan: "But if the sun doesn't come out, what happens to everything else? Plants, for instance?"
Narushige: "It's not all due to the fact that there's no sun. Pretty much everything has become desert, as well."
P11
Rakan: "Desert!? ...You mean the whole world is covered in sand?"
Narushige: "Yes. That and bare mountain ranges."
Rakan: "What about water?"
Narushige: "Basically, everyone lives in the places where there's water."
Rakan: Probably like oases on Earth...
(Huh. Is he serious?)
"Is there any grass? Or plants? What about trees?"
Narushige: "Those things are basically gone now."
Rakan: Trees... Ah, that's right.
"What about the gun he was carrying? That was made out of wood, wasn't it? So does that mean it's some sort of plant?"
Narushige: "Yes."
Rakan: "So that type of tree exists. A tree that can grow guns."
Narushige: "Yes."
Rakan: (Woah, it's like a fantasy story.)
"Right, but does that mean...you don't have anything made out of this stuff?"
//Rakan points to the various rubbers, metals, and plastics in his house.//
Narushige: "No we don't. It's the first time I've seen materials like this."
//Narushige indicates his coffee mug.//
Narushige: (This... thing... is a container made out of slippery stone?)
P12
Rakan: (They were surprised by the stove too, and the alarm clock...)
Sooo... that means it's not just a world without plastic, but stuff like iron, glass, and metals too.
//Rakan looks at Chigusa calmly drinking.//
Rakan: Why can't you be just a little more surprised?
"So you mean everything you use in your daily life is made out of plants?"
Narushige: "Yes."
Rakan: What? But then how could they have understood what a 'clock' was?
"What about clocks? You can't mean that... are there clock trees too?"
Narushige: "Ah... We have 'Time-telling Seeds.'"
Rakan: "The 'Time-telling Seeds?'"
" (What're those?)"
Narushige: "It's a seed about this big. Attached to a sturdy runner. Its covering changes color at equally spaced intervals, so you can judge what time it is based on its color."
"(If you put a string on the pod you can wear it too.)"
Rakan: "Wooooooaaaaaah, awesome!"
"(What else is there?)"
Narushige: "(What else...)"
P13
Rakan: Drat. I can't let this go on. I've inadvertently gotten all worked up and asked questions right and left...
(I guess I'm the type who'll be taken in by door-to-door salesmen. I should be careful).
Those people are from a different world, and I... I just try to live a normal life. And speaking of...
"Chigusa.... You really have glued yourself to me."
{{He's in the middle of washing the dishes}}
Rakan: (You look so gloomy.)
Chigusa: "Yes, but you are very valuable."
Rakan: "That's enough! I've already told you, this world is absolutely not dangerous. If you've so little to do the least you could do is help out around the house!"
Chigusa: "(Fine.)"
Rakan: "Go wait by the place where you change to get into the bath. When you hear the washer buzzing, take the wet clothes out, put them in a basket and take them into the living room."
Narushige: "..............................."
P14
Narushige: ".............................."
Rakan: "Ah, Narushige-san."
Narushige: "Rakan-kun."
"(Just 'Rakan' is fine.)"
What good timing. There's something I want to ask you - what kind of person is Chigusa?"
Narushige: "You- You're letting him stay in your house without knowing anything about him?? That is incredibly unsafe!!"
Rakan: "Uh. No. That is... "
"(I don't know about his lineage but he doesn't seem like a bad person. He helped me, so I was going to wait and see what he turned out like)."
Narushige: "('He doesn't seem like a bad person.')"
" Under no circumstances should you make that decision so simply! Letting a stranger stay in your house on the spur of the moment.
"(Whoah - that's really dangerous, Rakan!)"
"Which isn't to say that I'm not grateful that you're letting me stay over, but..! You do live on your own, don't you? (You can't be so trusting!) You have no idea what type of person I am!"
P15
Rakan: "But - but you're a good person, Narushige-san... I can tell. It's all right... I just have this way of understanding who bad people are. (I do take that precaution at least, so it's all right.) I don't get a bad feeling from Chigusa-san either. I mean, he's always smiling, and..."
Narushige: "......................... Yes, well that does seem to be the case. I certainly hadn't known he was such a cheerful person."
...And now I've said too much.
Rakan: "Don't you two know one another?"
Narushige: "No. I've only heard rumors....."
Rakan: "'Rumors?'"
Kou: "Oh, yeah. People are always talking about him, even now. Senrou Chigusa's a celebrity."
P16
Rakan: Celebrity? "Um... so is 'Senrou' his name? His surname?"
"(Here, write down everyone's names - I don't know what characters to use.)"
Narushige: "Senrou is the name of his Family."
Rakan: "One thousand silvers?"
Narushige: "No, not 'silver.' 'Rou.' It's got one more stroke than 'silver.'"*
Rakan: "Ah, you're right. 'Senrou Chigusa?'" And this is the character for 'grasses' - but that's a really old-fashioned way of writing it. What strange handwriting.
"And your name, Narushige-san?"
Narushige: "Shigeka Narushige. And this child** is Kou."
Kou: "(That's me!)"
Rakan: I wonder if there's a rule that surnames(?) and first names have to share the same characters?*** But it's still Japanese... Somehow this has all suddenly become so real.
Narushige: "So, about Senrou Chigusa-"
*((I was correct about Sugiura wanting her readers to associate the 'rou' in Senrou's name with the character for silver. (PS: Go me!)))
**((This character means 'child,' but might be another visual pun on its similarity for the character for 'character.'))
***((Looks like I was right about the first name/family name rule too!)))
P17
Narushige: "He was sentenced to death for the crime of attempting to take the life of The Prince of our world and crucified in the middle of the desert."
P18
Narushige: "On top of crucifixion, his body was shot full of arrows. And even though there are people who saw his blood-drenched form, it seems like he was still able to summon up enough final strength to attack The Prince. If that really happened, he should be dead.
Rakan: "Even- even though you've just told me this... There wasn't a single wound anywhere on his body..."
Narushige: "And for that reason, he is an extremely dangerous enigma."
P19
Narushige: "And even though you shouldn't trust me so easily, it's even more important that you do not trust that man."
Rakan: "............................." Somehow, all of a sudden, a foreign, very real world has come...
Chigusa: "Shigeka Narushige."
P20
Narushige: ".............................Senrou."
Chigusa: "Where's Rakan?"
Narushige: "He headed toward the garden, but...."
Chigusa: "The garden? Thanks."
Narushige: He smiles so easily. I understand less and less about him.
"Senrou."
Like what he's thinking.
"Was there something you wanted to say to me earlier?"
Chigusa: "As long as a Narushige of the Shigeka is around, it's probably safe for me to leave Rakan's side. That's what I wanted to say."
Narushige: What kind of person is he?
"Ah... What kind of connection does that child have with The Prince? Why do their faces resemble one another's so much...?"
P21
Chigusa: "Dunno."
Narushige: "You 'Don't know?'"
Kou: "You'd better answer his questions!"
Chigusa: "He is a Sanome. So as long as he's around, I'll be able to fight. I finally found him..."
Narushige: "'Fight?' With who?"
Chigusa: "With The Prince."
Narushige: The Prince?
"Why?"
Chigusa: "Because The Prince is just a puppet - isn't he."
P22
Narushige: "........................."
Kou: "Narushige, what is with Senrou? What is he thinking?"
Narushige: "Please don't ask me, Kou."
What is that man planning while he laughs so easily? What on earth is going to happen?
P23
Rakan: ".......................................
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm..............
It's probably because I accidentally heard so much (that I'm confused).
\\
Narushige: "He has the same face as His Highness!"
\\
Rakan: Who is 'The Prince?' Why do I resemble him so perfectly?
\\
Chigusa: "You're a 'Sanome.'"
\\
Rakan: What is 'A person who can make plants grow?' Why can I do that?
\\
Narushige: "Senrou should be dead."
\\
Rakan: I don't think that he's a bad person, but is it possible that my sixth sense could be off?
But.
But he laughs so much.
And he helped me.
And he eats all of his food so carefully.
P24
Rakan: What am I saying? That's no basis on which to judge someone.
(Anyone can be a nice person if they're hungry.)
Crap...I'm so confused.
What should I do? What should I do, Grampa? Mother? Mother. I... I... What is that?
P25
//An Ayame appears//
Rakan: "..................................................."
......................Is that?
The same as two days ago?
"AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!? (It's huge!?)"
Chigusa & Narushige: !?
P26
Chigusa: "Rakan!!"
Rakan: !
Kou: "Wha!? An Ayame?!!"
Rakan: "Chigusa!! Over there!! From two days ago!!"
//Chigusa throws himself in front of Rakan.//
P28
R ".............................."
P29
Narushige: !
P30
//The Ayame impales itself on Chigusa, in about five different places//
Rakan: "..........................Chi-................................."
//Chigusa draws his gun and shoots it to death. Its limbs fall from Chigusa's wounds.//
P31
Rakan: "Chigusa...!!"
"What are you doing... What are you doing?
Why are you just standing there without saying anything for yourself? Let me see the wounds!!
You're bleeding! You're bleeding..?!!"
Chigusa: "Rakan. I'm fine, Rakan."
P32:
Rakan: Wha?
Narushige: His blood...turned into bandages...
P33
Rakan: "...Those.." Those are the bandages his whole body was wrapped in two days ago.
"What are those...."
\\
Narushige: "Not only was he crucified, but his whole body was shot full of arrows. Even though he should be dead..."
\\
Chigusa: "Rakan. I'm sure it must seem strange-"
Rakan: It can't be!
Chigusa: "--But I'm not dead."
P34
Chigusa: "Plants are interwoven with my body. Even if I'm wounded, my blood will turn into bandages, and they'll staunch the bleeding and heal the wounds. So, even if I'm wounded, you don't have to worry about me, Rakan. I don't feel pain either, because I heal so quickly. In other words, it's because I'm just a unique type of plant.
Narushige: "..................................."
Chigusa: "I suppose the time will come when I don't heal."
P35
Chigusa: "And so I'm asking you - when that time comes, cut my chest open, and grasp my heart. If you do that, I'll immediately be resurrected. Because I'm half-plant, if a Sanome is nearby, I can "use" this body endlessly."
\\
Chigusa: "It's just that you're an incredibly precious creature."
\\
Chigusa: "So, even if I am wounded, you don't really have to worry about me."
P36
//Rakan hauls off and slugs Chigusa in the face.//
Narushige: !
Kou: Woah! He just punched Senrou!!
Rakan: "............I'm sorry, but-"
P37
Rakan: "What do you plan to do with your life...? Do you think that anything that happens to you is okay just because you can't die? What do you think I am? Even if you're mortally wounded, even if you're gushing blood... '...Because I heal so quickly' Do you think that your soul can't be wounded either? Should I consider you such a heartless person?"
P38
Rakan: "....Only three days have passed since I met you, but if I see you wounded so badly your blood's flowing out in rivers, it's natural that I'll feel so bad for you I'll cry. Even if you say you can't feel pain! Even if you say you can't die! I'll feel so bad for you I'll cry!! I hate seeing you hurt, and so I'll cry!!"
39
Rakan: "So, don't say such unfeeling things to other people!! What do you think your body is?!!"
Narushige: "Rakan--"
Chigusa: "..............................."
P40
Chigusa: "Why................ Why is he crying..."
Kou: "........................"
Narushige: "........................"
He's crying for your sake."
......You really are an idiot.
(You're making me angry.)
"You should at least go and apologise.
....In some... in some ways, you really are a good person, so please try not to make children cry. Don't you feel sorry for him? After he's taken such good care of two strange, unfathomable men like us."
P41
Chigusa: "..........................."
Narushige: "..........................."
Kou: "Narushige - I thought Senrou was just worldwise, but...
Narushige: "It does seem to be that way..." The reason he smiles so completely without worry,
\\
Chigusa: "I'm not dead."
\\
Narushige: ...without hidden motives, or trying to trick people, is because his feelings are in a state of paralysis. And because he's killed his own ability to feel emotions.
Kou: "Narushige."
P42
Kou: "Rakan... is a good guy."
Narushige: "Yes he is, Kou. I think it's probably good that we were made to come here."
Chigusa: "........................... Rakan."
Rakan: "........................... Sorry for hitting you."
Rakan: "Ten percent was me blowing off steam. I'm just a little mixed up about everything. But I'm not going to apologise for the other 90%. That was your fault."
Chigusa: "................. That's fine. You can hit me some more."
P43
Chigusa: "Since I don't really feel pain anymore, if you don't hit me a lot, I won't understand very well."
Rakan: "Please stop laughingly saying those sorts of things."
Chigusa: How baffling... That I still have this emotion remaining.
He has the same face as the Prince, but...
//flashback (to a scene we haven't seen yet)//
Chigusa: As long as I protect the power of the Sanome, nothing else matters
\\
Chigusa: I thought that whatever happened would be fine.
"It hurts me a little when you cry."
Rakan: ".............................."
Fine. Then I'll go cry some more.
Chigusa: "It makes me sort of happy when you're angry at me."
Rakan: "You- You are a messed up person."
Chigusa: "(Ah! You looked up!)"
Rakan: "Fine. If you go do something strange again, I'll still get angry at you, but..."
Chigusa: It's baffling.
"All right."
What should I do?
"Thanks."
P44
//Chigusa is guarding Rakan in his bed as he sleeps.//
Narushige: "Would it be all right if I stay here too, next to you?"
\\
Chigusa: "Because The Prince is just a puppet - isn't he."
\\
Narushige: Certainly, that child is very different from The Prince. He laughs so much, he gets angry with, and cries for, other people's sake.
For other people's sake...
"Wouldn't it have been nice if this child was the real Prince."
Chigusa & Narushige: If this child was the real Prince...
Can I take this opportunity to mention how much I adore Sugiura? Her characters are just so wonderful (and wonderfully realised). I lurrrv Chigusa's calm acceptance, Rakan's heated politeness, and Narushige... oh Narushige. He is shaping up to be my replacement Shien fix. And Kou is a riot.
The thing that interests me the most about this chapter is fact that it's so obviously the outline for the entire series. Sugiura's not even trying to disguise the plot and eventual ending, yet I still want to read it (and hope she manages to stretch it into another half decade/25-or-so tankoubon). Getting there is half the fun, as they often say.
That will be all.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
on 2003-11-16 08:13 am (UTC)no subject
on 2003-11-17 07:37 am (UTC)no subject
on 2004-11-30 02:16 pm (UTC)R: So says the talking snake.
i just LOVE sensei's sense of humor XD
no subject
on 2006-03-31 02:34 am (UTC)So anyway, looked up your translations as comparison and clarification (REALLY helped during all the legalese I didn't have to look up when Gramps was explaining to wee!Rakan how he duped the family register. =). Also, the stuff on names--the characters are listed next to the name but. For the non-educated Koreans who did not learn chinese characters in school.... Not so much with the edification.) Your trans = Invaluable! (ALSO: that new driver sign above Chigusa's head explained...ROTF.)
So, the real part of my post is: Noticed this one part that was different from your trans--dunno about your interest in satisfying my curiosity, but I'm wondering if the Korean version is really wrong.
As it is:
P37
Rakan: "What do you plan to do with your life...? Do you think that anything that happens to you is okay just because you can't die? What do you think I am? Even if you're mortally wounded, even if you're gushing blood... '...Because I heal so quickly' Do you think that your soul can't be wounded either? Should I consider you such a heartless person?"
Korean trans:
What exactly do you take me for? Do you honestly believe that if you're horribly wounded and dripping blood that I'll just think, "Oh, well, he'll heal soon enough," and not be hurt enough by it to even blink? Do you really see me as such a heartless person?
Basically, a different slant on why Rakan is so angry. I'm personally a fan of the second (possibly wrong) translation because it infuses a bit of human selfishness(?) in Rakan. (If not not selfishness... Not quite moral outrage coupled real outrage, with concern and a dash of bewilderment thrown in...?)
I suppose I'm interested because I remember reading this segment when you first posted it, and being struck by Rakan's outburst--so so so selfless!
Haha, sorry for such a long comment. I think I'm not officially a true "fan" of a series until I own it.
no subject
on 2006-04-04 06:09 am (UTC)Hmm. I'll have to go take a look at that page again. There's always the possibillity that I mistranslated it.
Even so, I like the selfless Rakan better, if only because it sets him up for an exponentially greater magnitude of change when he comes to care for Chigusa personally as well as just on moral principles. (See: KMM, Ishuca)
no subject
on 2006-04-04 05:52 pm (UTC)And re: selfless Rakan--I liked the Korean trans better *because* it implied a difference in character from Ishuca. I like the different universe, and I was really excited about the base personality differences and how experience would affect Rakan and co. I think that even if the Korean trans is proven wrong, I'll still have a place for its characterization in my heart.... (Even while cursing out stupid careless Korean translators--REPRESENT, bitches!)
no subject
on 2006-04-05 01:52 am (UTC)Whilst employing all of his underworld yakuza connections to make sure his plantbuddies can be with him until the very end. And dude, what is grampa even doing in the countryside when he's got connections like that? One wonders if Rakan would want his inheritance $$ if he knew where it had come from!
About the trans differences--I also fell into the Rakan=Ishuca, Chigusa=Blood trap for the first two or three chapters, until Sugiura proved yet again that her storytelling genius is no match for me. Because, it would have been easier for her to write Rakan as an opposite of Ishuca. Instead we get an entirely different character--and face it, Rakan is the epitome of a fussy, pissy bitch. He may not always be on top of things, but he's snide and sulky in a way Ishuca never was. So yeah, totally different character, which is why the selflessness doesn't bother me.
no subject
on 2006-04-05 03:29 am (UTC)face it, Rakan is the epitome of a fussy, pissy bitch.
Ha! That's certainly one way to put it. <3 I totally got that Rakan was a different character, but I guess it's that I've imprinted on Ishuca and his selflessness. Also, I think I like the non-selflessness better because then Rakan can snag two guys. 2! I think I am a HUGE proponent of Rakan/Chigusa/Narushige. Or actually, you know what, Rakan's a prince, right? He could just have a rotating harem of willing warrior boys.
How're the newest issues of SD? I haven't been hearing much about the newer stuff.