妖しのセレス (Ayashi no Ceres) Volume 3 Translation (Part 1) Formatting conventions: text = character's thoughts [text] = narration /text/ = sound effects, when necessary {text} = translation notes Page 5 [The scene opens on Aya and Yuuhi's school. Aya and Tooya are standing in one of the outside walkways, conversing...] Aya: "You said you're only here on some business about Ceres... does that mean you're not interested in me?" Tooya: [turning away] "Just go back to the classroom with Aogiri." Aya: "Didn't you tell me that if I could win my struggle with myself--with Ceres--then... are you saying I can't even have hope? Is that your answer?" Tooya: "For now, just keep your mind on rescuing Aki..." Page 6 Tooya: "...otherwise, you and your friends will end up making a fatal mistake." {[Image]= to make a fatal/irreparable error} Aya [remembering Kagami's words]: [You've already been included within the Mikage C-Project] //BAN// {Sound of door slamming open} Aya: "Wh.. what the--" [Tadokoro-sensei stumbles through the doorway, her body enshrouded in fierce flames] Page 7 Tooya: !? Aya: "Sen... sei...!?" Yuuhi: "Aya!" Aya: "Yuuhi! What...!!" Page 8 [Tooya begins smothering the fire with his lab coat] Tooya [shouting]: "Get an ambulance! HURRY!" Aya: "O-okay!" Tooya: "Third-degree burns... I've seen violent deaths before, but this is awful." {Mari and I weren't sure about the translation for this one, since we couldn't quite translate "eshi"--the first kanji ( [Image] ) means 'shatter' or 'destroy', while the second ( [Image] ) is 'death'. From this we surmised 'violent death'. If [Image] anyone can has a better idea...} [Aya stands in the background on the telephone, shocked] Tooya: This medical knowledge... it was programmed into my brain. "Aogiri! What happened here!" Yuuhi: "Beats the hell outta me! She just burst into flames suddenly--" Page 9 Yuuhi: "--Urakawa-san!" [Urakawa sits, trembling, on her bed] [Outside...] Student #1: "Hey, did you hear that? Miss Tadokoro, the school nurse, got burned to death!" Student #2: "Yeah, but there was nothing that could've caused the fire!" Student #3: "Isn't that spontaneous human combustion? Freaky..." [Tadokoro-sensei's body is wheeled out to the ambulance, mercifully covered] Male Student: "Aogiri! Mikage! Weren't you there when this happened?" Yuuhi: ... Female Student: "What was it like?" Hayama-sensei: "Urakawa! Are you all right?" Page 10 Aya [Watching Hayama and Urakawa leave together]: That girl--Urakawa-san--in the vision I had, SHE was burning... and I can't get it out of my mind. {[Image] = to dwell excessively, to obsess over a matter} [Back at the Aogiri household...] Kyuu: "I swear! All of the students went home from school early! [turns to Yuuhi] That fiery death must've been so frightening for you!" Yuuhi: "Not as much as a close-up of your face..." [Kyuu begins to leave] Yuuhi: "Yeah, yeah... get out of here, you're disturbing our dinner preparations!" Kyuu [motherly]: "Do you want Kyuu-san to come tuck you into bed tonight?" Yuuhi: "That's QUITE all right!" Page 11 Aya: "You can go back to your room now too, you know." Yuuhi: "You're not exactly doing anything useful with that knife except standing there and holding it..." Aya: "About today... if it has anything to do with the Mikage, then I want nothing to do with it. I hope that's not the case... I was afraid that once again, my powers might have unconsciously..." Yuuhi: "Are you going on about that again?! Look, you couldn't do something like that! First of all, what would you gain by murdering our school nurse? I don't care how big Mikage International is, or if you have some kind of psychic powers... none of it has anything to do with what happened today!" Aya: You don't have to get so pissed at me... Page 12 Aya [quietly]: "Thank you." Yuuhi: "Uh... don't mention it. By the way... oh yeah! What was it you were saying about Tooya--I mean, *Mikami-sensei*?" Aya: //Tsu--// {gasps in pain as she cuts herself with the knife} Yuuhi: "Dummy! Let me see that!" Aya [under her breath]: "I'm just fine..." [aloud] "That's okay, I'm used to it by now." Page 13 [Yuuhi takes Aya's hand and licks her cut finger] //DOKI// {sound of heart beating} Aya [remembering Tooya's words to her]: [You already have someone much better suited to you than me, don't you?] Aya: "W-wait... don't..." What nonsense, Tooya... Yuuhi: "C'mon! You're a girl, you should at least be able to handle a kitchen knife!" Aya: ...this must have something to do with the relation between Aki and Yuuhi. Page 14 Aya: I don't really hate Yuuhi, but he shouldn't have said something like that. Yuuhi: "If you're gonna be like that--Tooya is REALLY gonna get sick of you in a hurry!" /PA-N/ {Violent sound} Aya: "EXCUSE ME?!" Suzumi: "Aya--" /batabatabata/ {sound of footsteps running away} Suzumi: "Ohhh, fighting again, are they? That Yuuhi's really starting to get on my nerves!" Kyuu: "Yes, but Aya's pretty dense about that sort of thing, isn't she? Want to put money on which one of them she ends up with?" Page 15 Suzumi: "Who, Yuuhi and that pretty one they call Tooya? Well... being Yuuhi's sister-in-law, I'll put 100 yen on him. What about you?" Kyuu: "A million yen... on Tooya and I!" Suzumi: "I'm gonna go take a bath..." [Aya's school: girl's locker room] Fem Student #1: "Oh, shit! I forgot we were having goudoutaiiku today!" {[Image] (goudoutaiiku) means "combined physical education classes". In Japan, these are regular events where different schools will combine their student phys ed curriculum.} Fem Student #2: "You're laaaate! You've been to the nurse's office again, haven't you?" Page 16 Fem Student #1: "Well, duh! Mikami-sensei's so incredibly cool!" Fem Student #2: "No kidding! I got in line yesterday too! He told me, 'Feeling ill? Sorry, all the beds are full now. Will you survive?'" Fem Student #3: "If he apologizes, I couldn't say no to that face and voice!" Aya: Tooya, you *jerk* Fem Student #4: "What's with everyone? How can they be so chipper after what happened to Ms Tadokoro?" Aya: "No joke!!" Fem Student #5: "Hey, Urakawa-SAN, what're you doing? Aren't you the student aide for phys ed? You better have everyone line up, Takaoka's pretty strict." {[Image] (iin) is much like a teacher's aide. They're a student who takes on a leadership role within their class. Since [Image] (taiiku) is physical education, the taiikuiin is the student aide for phys ed.} Page 17 Aya: "You okay? You look kinda pale..." Urakawa: "Ah--I'm okay." Aya: She sure brushed me off... Manami: "It's pointless, you know. That girl's the most antisocial chick in our class. She's a wimp too, and she used to always skip school." Female Student: "No shit! She's a total retard, and she always acts like that. Don't waste your time with her." Urakawa: "Third class! Line up please!" Aya: She's not very good at communicating with people, is she? Looks like she was forced into the role of student aide. Page 18 Urakawa: "Everybo--" //DO-SA//[Urakawa trips and falls backwards over a table] Kya-ha-ha-ha {loud laughter} Fem Student #1: "Oh man--" Fem Student #2: "No way, what does she think she's doing?" Takaoka-sensei: "Hey! Girls! Why aren't you lined up yet? Where's your student aide?!" Urakawa: "I-I'm sorry!" Takaoka-sensei: "Well, shape up and start pulling your own weight!" Girls [in background]: "Did you see the way she looked when she fell?" [laughter] Aya: "You hurt? Don't listen to them, okay?" Urakawa: "It's okay..." Page 19 Urakawa: "...I'm used to it." Aya: Oh, fine... these days, I'm getting rejected by men AND women-- Female Student #1: "Oh, hey, isn't that the school nurse?" Fem Student #2: "He's always looking this way!" Aya: Tooya? Aya [remembering Tooya's words]: [I'm only here to deal with this Ceres business. Nothing more.] Fem Student #2 [in background]: "Don't look! I'm gonna wave at him!" [laughter] Page 20 //BE------// [Aya sticks her tongue out and raspberries Tooya Aya: I've had it with him! No matter how much he watches over me, it's not going to give him a chance to meet up with Ceres! She's absolutely, positively, definitely, NEVER going to emerge! Tooya: "..." Takaoka-sensei: //PI----// {sound of whistle} "Everyone pair off for warm-up exercises!" Aya: After all, he's still Kagami's dog. Ignore him, just ignore him! {ムシムシ (mushimushi) literally means "ignore, ignore!"} Page 21 Aya: Until the power of Ceres awoke within me, I hung out with my friends at school... sometimes we went to Karaoke, and sometimes we just played around... but in its own way, I suppose every day was fun. I lived my entire life thinking that those kinds of things were the bare minimum for a normal, average life... [The PE classes progress as Aya reminisces... everyone lines up for track. Aya: ...but I couldn't even conceive of anyone who wasn't like that--not until I, myself, became different from the rest of them. Page 22 [Tooya, watching the track races, suddenly notices someone else watching from another window... Hayama-sensei.] [The girls continue running... with Urakawa beginning to breathe heavily.]ha- ha- [Urakawa suddenly stumbles and staggers into Manami...] Manami: "Hey! Get out from in front of me!" Page 23 //KYA--// [Aya turns as she hears a scream. Urakawa is lying on the ground, with students milling around her.] Fem Student #2: "SENSEI!!" Aya: Urakawa-san?! Male Student [near Yuuhi]: "Hey, look at that... what's wrong with that girl?" Fem Student: "What's wrong, Urakawa? You okay?" Aya: "Urakawa-san!?" Urakawa: "I-I'm okay... anemia..." //zawa...// [A sizzling sound starts to rise from the tree above them...] Page 24 [Image] //DO SO// [The tree above Aya and Urakawa suddenly explodes in a vortex of flame, casting flaming branches and cinders in every direction.] Page 25 //Kyaaaa// {sounds of screaming} Student: "What the--" //mekimekimekimeki// [A burning branch hurtles towards Aya and Urakawa. Too far away to do anything, Yuuhi can only yell...] Yuuhi: "AYA!" Page 26 //GA// {sound of branch impacting Tooya's arm} [Tooya leaps just in time, blocking the flying branch with his arm. Yuuhi and Aya stare at Tooya in shock for a moment as he turns his back on Aya and begins tending to the other students.] Page 27 Teacher: "What's going on here--" Fem Student #1: "Ten people got burned!" Fem Student #2: "We'll be okay, though... Mikami-sensei was able to give us first aid." Aya: Why? Page 28 [Aya walks down the hallways of her school, lost in thought as she thinks back over this new incident.] Aya: Why? I don't get it anymore... even though he's in my thoughts so much that I can't think of anything else, Tooya tells me not to expect anything. It's just not fair. [As Aya heads outside, the sounds of whispering intrude on her thoughts...] Aya: Seems like I can't get Ms Tadokoro's accident out of my mind, either... [Aya sighs] //bosoboso// {sound of whispered conversation} Hayama-sensei's voice: "...because I told you to skip school?" Urakawa's voice: "Because..." [Aya turns, recognizing Urakawa's voice. and peers around the corner...] Aya: Urakawa-san's voice... that's great! I'm glad she's feeling better... Page 29 Urakawa: "...because I wanted to see you, Sensei." Aya [shocked]: !! ...no way! Isn't that Mr Hayama, from physics class? (who made me clean up as punishment!) Are... are he and Urakawa... like THAT with each other? Could it be that they were the ones I saw kissing the other day... Hayama-sensei: "But your body's still weak... you must have been really shaken up by Tadokoro-sensei's accident." Urakawa: "Yeah... but I'm all right now... I'm with you." Page 30 Urakawa: "It doesn't matter how many awful things happen... I can be brave if I see your face. All I need to be happy is for you to care for me." Aya [remembering Manami's description of Urakawa]: [She's a wimp, too, and she always used to skip school!] [then, remembering what Urakawa asked her once before when she collapsed] [Take me... to school...] So THAT's it... teacher and student. It must be difficult to maintain such a forbidden love. But... I think I know where she's coming from. When you love someone, you can draw strength from it, and surmount any obstacle. Hayama-sensei: "I'll call you later, okay?" Aya: Whether or not it's unrequited, there's no law against falling in love. Page 31 Aya [begins thinking of Tooya]: Even if he won't accept it for the rest of my life... yes... that's my right. [Suddenly, Urakawa rounds the corner, and almost runs into Aya. Realizing that she and Hayama could have been overhead, her heart skips a beat...] Urakawa: "Mikage... san!" Aya: "Um, sorry about that! I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but..." Urakawa: "U-uh... I... uh..." Aya: "Don't sweat it! I have someone that I love, too... so I won't tell a soul!" Page 32 Aya: "Let's both give them our best, okay?" Tooya, please let me continue to like you... at least until I've been rejected about a hundred times. [Unknown to either girl, Hayama-sensei listens from a nearby doorway, frowning. Elsewhere, Tooya stifles a hiss of pain as he dresses the injury he took earlier while blocking the flaming branch.] Page 33 Tooya [talking to himself]: "What do you think you're doing? You're pushing her away for her own good... still, why does your own body betray you and move away unconsciously? Why are you always trying to protect Aya?" [Tooya closes his eyes, and thinks back...] Tooya [remembering Kagami's words to him]: [You can't stand in our way, Tooya... not if you want to get your memories back.] Tooya: "And why... why did you get such a hurt expression when he said that?" Continued in Part 2...