Short Program 28

Short Program, Volume 3, Chapter 28 (pp. 61~88)


<61>
The Angel's Hammer


<62>
It was pure coincidence...

=—And it was the first time in 30 years.
[sign]Largehill

=—But one glance was all it took for me to realize it was him.

=I didn't give my name right away—

=Because I missed my chance—
=And because it was him, yet also somebody completely different.


<64>
=Oh my,//That's a really old photograph.

=This is Toshimichi, the guy we've been talking about.

=He moved to Tokyo with his family during 6th grade,//We kept in touch through letters up until he graduated from a famous high school and entered a top-notch university, but—

=Well, we were pretty busy ourselves with families and jobs...

=Yeah, and it's been 30 years too.

=Then all of a sudden, he sends us a letter last month saying he wants to get together again.//Man, that really brought back memories.


<65>
=And now he's inviting the 4 of us to an all-expenses paid trip to Tokyo.//Can you imagine that? In this economy!

=Well, he was always pushy and big-hearted, even when we were kids.
=Yeah,//I remember him being smart and good at sports.

=—Totally.//He was cool and macho, and we all looked up to him even though we were all the same age.

=This is Tet-chan?

=Yep.
=—So,//This must be Yama-chan.

=You guys haven't changed at all.
=Oh shaddup!

=Who's this?


<66>
=Can't tell, right!
=Is it someone I know?

=Well, I don't blame you.//You don't see people change that much when they grow up.

=You got that right.//The pip-squeak ended up becoming the biggest dog in the pack.

=No way...

=Yes way!//The most successful guy in our class—

=He was the closest to Toshimichi,//Wasn't he—

=Yeah...


<67>
GWHOOOSH

=May I take a cigarette...?

[sign]Largehill

=Huh?

=Oh,
=Sure,//Please.


<68>
=Thanks.

=We were going to get together on Saturday...

=I just happened to be in Tokyo on business—

=I knew his address from the letter he sent, but I was looking forward to seeing him with everyone else, so I'd decided to wait until Saturday.

=That's a nice suit you're wearing.
=Huh?

=—Oh,//It's nothing, really.


<69>
=No need to be modest. A suit like that is worth showing off.
=I may not look it, but I've got an eye for those kinds of things.

=What's your trade?
=Oh,//I run a small company out in the countryside...

=You're quite reserved for a proprietor.
CLINK..

=Is your home nearby?
=His address was...

=It's not much of a home, really.//Just a tiny apartment out back...

=—But,//My address is in Den-en-chofu.
[note]Den-en-chofu; Luxury suburb in Southern Tokyo.

=I have my letters forwarded from the post office.
=With the address I had six months ago...


<70>
=My company fell apart,//My wife and kids left,//My house was seized...
=Those pesky debt collectors are all I have left.

=But why...?

=Am I telling a stranger—//—All these things?

=I'm telling you because you're a stranger.

ZWHISHH..


<73>
=Right, let's go!//Koike!
[sign]Largehill
=Yeah.

=Thank you very much.

=Alright! Off to the next bar.
=Oh c'mon—//I don't wanna hang out with a guy drinking his head off 'cause he got dumped by a girl!

=Shaddup!//You call yourself a friend!?
CLANG

=Hey hey, is it snowing outside?//For real? It's the end of March!

=Dumped by a girl, dumped by sunshine,//And now I'm gonna be dumped by my friend, huh...
=Alright, fine!//I'll hang around! Just stop complaining!

=Friends... Huh.


<74>
=Actually, I'm getting together with my friends from elementary school.//This Saturday. For the first time in 30 years...
=Umm.

=Oh,//No...
=Nothing...

=I was born and raised on this small island in the Sea of Japan.

=My father was originally a well-to-do guy who grew up in Tokyo.

=Apparently, he went over to the island right after he got married. He wanted to get in touch with nature, but—//He always left things up in the air.
=—We wound up coming back to Tokyo right after I graduated elementary school.


<75>
=—Well, it was partly because my grandfather in Tokyo died, and our family got the inheritance.

=You mind if I smoke?
=Oh,//Please.

CLICK

=Cruel, isn't it?//All because my parents felt like it.

=I loved that place.//That island. Those friends...

Don't worry, Toshi-chan! You won't lose to the guys in Tokyo!
Yeah, of course not! No one's smarter than Toshi!
Toshi's a genius!


<76>
=It was a shock switching schools...

=All my classmates had been going to cram schools since they were little.//They were solving equations that I'd never even seen before.

=My grades were so bad,//I felt like the guys who'd been rooting for me were being laughed at, too.
=—It was painful.

[letter title]Summer Greetings
[letter]Yoo-hoo, you guys doing alright?//The guys in Tokyo are no big deal. You guys are faster at running and [bubble]way[/bubble] better at swimming too.//Seeya.
[box]Toshi

=At first, I just didn't want to make them worry...


<77>
=—But,
[letter]School is boring. The sports teams are so bad it's ridiculous. I guess it's supposed to be a famous school or something, but I'm a scholar and a soldier! Just wait and see!

[box]Update on my college application
[letter]I got into my 1st and 2nd choices,//But not my safety.//—This is why,//Life is so interesting.
[bubble]HA HA

=Eventually...//I just ended up becoming a liar.

=I want to seem them again. One last time before the end.//The only guys I care about... The only guys I can call my friends...

=The end?

=I won't die.//I'm just gonna disappear!

=I don't care. As long as they remember me.

=Remember the "me" who hasn't wasted the past 30 years of his life...


<78>
=There was this one pip-squeak named Shinta.

=We were the same age, but he was like my cute little brother.//Always following me around like a little duckling...

=He counted on me for everything,//And I felt like I could do anything if he asked me to.

=Leaving him was the hardest.

CLANG

=It's starting to pile up quite a bit.

=The last specks of winter... Huh.


<79>
=—Well,//I'll be on my way now...

=Please... I'd like you to have the rest of this.

=Thanks.

=For his...
=Oh,//Of course.

=Excuse me—

=Goodbye...

CLANG


<80>
=—Hey,//Sabu-chan? It's me...
=—Yeah,//That's right.

=Huh?//Oh, really? Everybody's there, huh—

=—Oh,//Well...
=Something urgent came up, and...//I can't make it on Saturday anymore.

=—Yeah.//It's urgent...
=—Yeah,//I can't.

=Say hi to Toshi-chan for me.//—Yeah.
=Alright,//I will.
=Bye...


<81>
GASHUCK

=Come to think of it,//I can't go see the guys looking like this...


<82>
=Can you just accept this as a stroke of fate,//And switch clothes with me?
=You can leave the wallet inside...

=Don't cry!//I'm not gonna kill you.

=Sorry 'bout this...


<83>
=Don't cry!//How old do you think you are!

=I've been a crybaby ever since I was a kid...

=It's a little big,//But not by much...

=My name is written on the inside.

=No one's gonna check,

=A spot//...Like this.


<87>
Don't you wish spring would never come—?

You won't have to go to Tokyo if spring never comes...

You can stay here forever,
—Right, Toshi-chan?


<88>
The Angel's Hammer (END)