Takkoku!!! 16

I have to wake up in two hours to go to work.

Gaku: The ball...

It's running wild!!

(Sfx- Gyurururu whirrrrrr)

TAKKOKU
FUKUCHI TSUBASA.

Muko: Ho---

How is it spinning like that?!

(Handwritten- Is the ball seriously made of magic?!)

Hikari: It's like...

Tha ball is spinnin all on it's own...

(Under panel- 16th confession: Words out of reach.)

{When she says 'Mokomon', the spirits are ready to reveal their answer!!}

Hikari: ….No way!!

Yashiro: My 'Monmokurin' is...

Absolutely unstoppable!

002

Gaku: Ah...!!!

(Sfx- Dotsu dfff)

(Sfx- Patsuuu whfff)

Yashiro: Mokomon.

Referee: Point 0-1! Score Yashiro!

Muko: W—wait! What just happened?!

Hikari: I knew it..

So that's what's goin' on!

Muko: Huh?



003

Referee: Serve, Marunouchi!!

Gaku: Just what is that ball....?!

Yashiro: Mokomon!!

Hikari: It's her predictin'!!

Whenever she says somethin, she's able to control tha spirit in that ball!!

(Sfx- Kyuutsu wfff)

(Sfx- Kyuruuun whiiiirrr)

Gaku: Again?!

Ngh..

Ugh...!!

Kako: What's wrong Gacchan?!

For a ball like that, you just need to read the trajectory and hit it!! That's soo easy!!

Muko: For YOU maybe!!

004

Referee: 0-2!!

Gaku: No good!!

0-4!!

Whether it's the ball's timing...

Kako: Gacchan!!

Gaku: Or it's direction, I can't read it at all!!

Hikari: Gaku!!

{What should I do?}

005
(Sfx- Shurururuu whirrrrr)

Referee: 0-10.

Yashiro: Mokomon!

Referee: Yashiro, Match point!

Gaku: Ah..

Hah

Hah..

Guy: Heh, this is the part when this guy pulls his miracle turn around victory, isn't it?

Guy2: Of course!! He's been getting whipped by the Monmokokuri, but you know he's got something..

It's about time for him to turn things around. After all, he's still got twelve pages to try and stop Yashiro-chan's serve, right?

Kako: Gacchan!!!

Never give up!!!

006

Muko: Hey ref!!

Isn't that incense sort of suspicious?!

There's a good chance it's creating some sort of illusion!!

Referee: I already checked it out.

There's nothing particularly special about it.

Gaku: I'm fine Muko!

The smoke does make it hard to see, but it's not worth throwing the match over.

(Handwritten- Besides she's in the same boat.)

Muko: Nggh..

(Handwritten- Y—yeah.)

Hikari: That' idjut!! How is she makin' the ball zig-zag like that?! Gaku can't even keep up!!

Kako!! Aint'cha gonna cheer 'im on?

If you cheer with yer fightin' spirit, it's bound to help 'im out!!

Kako: Huh?

(Handwritten- Fighting spirit?)

Referee: Serve, Yashiro!!

(Sfx- Zuu fwff)

Gaku: Damn it..

There has to be...

Some kind of mechanism behind this...!!

I just need some time to unravel the mystery...!!

007

Gaku: Not good...

I haven't figured it out yet...!!

At this rate...

I'm done for!!

Hikari: Do it now, Kako!!

(Handwritten- Go for it!)

Kako: O, Okay!!

Ga...

Gacchan!!

DON'T MYUUUSE!!

Hikari: She had a slip of tha tongue NOW?!

(Handwritten- Tain't no way!!)

008

Yashiro: Mokomo....
Guggh!!!

(Sfx- Kon tap)

Gaku: Huh?!

Guy: Whoa..

It didn't change?!?

Kako: My cheer worked!!!

Muko: Here's your chance!!

009

Yashiro: Drat it....

Referee: 1-10!!

Kids: oooooh!!!

He managed to get a point!!

Muko: But why?

Gaku: Hah...

Hah...

010

Gaku: Heh...

Getting lucky somehow....huh?

Rather than somehow, i'd say that fortune was right on the mark.

Muko: What?

Gaku: Thanks for that slip in the tounge, Kako-chan.

Kako: Huh?

Gaku: Watch me carefully....

This is the power of love!!!

011
Yashiro: It's futile.

My magic ping-pong ball 'Monmokokuri' is absolutely unstoppable!!

You'll never be able to read the ball's trajectory and movement!!

{This is..}

{The end!!}

Yashiro: MOKOMON!!

012

Gaku: Not happening!!

013

Kako: Huh?

Hikari: Wha...

Kids: He...

He caught the ball!!

Muko: That idiot...!!

He broke the rules!!

???: Marunouchi just threw the match!!

Why'd he just give up?!

Muko: Ka, Kako!!

(Handwritten- Hang in there!)

Referee: Because he broke the obstruction rule, the score is now 11-1!

The winner is Yashiro...

Gaku: Excuse me...

Referee: Huh?

Gaku: If it's the rules you're worried about....

This ball would be a problem too, right?
Have a look....

014

Gaku: This ball is a little mousey.

Referee: This is a major infraction...

Yashiro: I---

I'm sorry...

015

Referee: Because Yashiro Momoko broke the rule of ping pong ball substitution...

The winner is Marunouchi Gaku!!

Someone: Whaaaaat?!

Kako: Gachaaaaaaaaaan!!!

Hikari: A—mouse?

Muko: You're kidding right?

Kako: I'm so happy, Gacchan!!

When did you notice it was a mouse instead of a ball?

Gaku: Well, it was when I hit that Monmokori with a smash.

Kako: Huh?

016

Gaku: See, when she swings, the ball enters her sleeve.

At the same time, the mouse hidden in her clothes comes out of the opposite sleeve.

Since the lack of noise when hitting the 'ball' with the racket would give her away, she would yell out 'Mokomon' in a loud voice to cover her tracks!

I had thought it strange you'd want to play ping pong in your miko outfit, but this explains it right?

Without those sleeves, your plan falls apart.

Yashiro: How did you know...?

I hid Chuutarou perfectly....how did you know?!

Chuutarou: Squeak!

Gaku: Yeah...

You even got a white mouse, to keep the chance of discovery low.

(Handwritten- Even looking closely, I had no idea!)

Gaku: On top of that, no one would be expecting anything other than a ball to be used in a match, which makes it even harder to see through the illusion.

Magic guy: I'm going to make this ball disappear in an instant!

Although it's no more than a white balloon...

(Bottom- Observers who think this a ball.)

Gaku: This is using people's 'perception'. This is also the foundation of magic; to betray the audience's expectations.

I learned this back when I was in Las vegas.

Muko: W—Wait! Sure we weren't able to see the ball properly, but that's cause we're so far away!

Shouldn't you who's up close and personal with it be able to tell the difference?!

Gaku: Well, normally it would be hard to tell...

017

Gaku: But the 'incense' distorted my vision a bit....

Muko: What?

{I'm okay...}

{It's just hard to see with this smoke...}

Muko: Ah..

(Handwritten- I see...)

Gaku: It's awfully plain, but in a situation like this, it's perfect for throwing one into confusion.

Even the referee didn't notice the switch!

{For the first time, Sasaki-san realized that she had been fooled.}
Hikari: But how'd ya know that the ball was a mouse?!

Gaku: It was because of Kako-chan's slip of the tongue.

Kako: Huh?

(Handwritten- Me?)

Gaku: The mouse reacted to Kako's slip of the tongue because she sounded like a cat.

So it freaked out, and shifted it's place inside of your clothes, didn't it?

I know that cats often hang around here, looking for water bottles to drink out of...

But when I saw your reaction, I knew something was in your clothes.

018

Gaku: From there, it was just knowing where the mouse was hiding in your clothes...

That's when it came to me. You wear perfume because you want to hide the mouse's scent on you!!

Kids: Is he serious? She's been fooling us?

Then what about her consultation?

She can't really communicate with the spirits?!

Seriously?!

Say it ain't so, Yashiro-chan!

You're kidding right?!

Yashiro-chan!

Chuutarou: Squeak...

Yashiro: I'm sorry for fooling you.

My divination wasn't the truth.

Kids: N—no way!!

I believed in your words Yashiro-chan!!

So did I!!

You've just been acting like a priestess haven't you!! You fooled us!!

019

Rikoccha: Wait!!

Yashiro isn't a bad person....

It's me!!

I'm the one who told her to act like a priestess!!

Kids: What?

What do you mean?

Yashiro: Rikoccha...

Rikoccha: Yashiro...

let me tell them.

For a long time now...

Shes been able to see into people's problems...

Her perception is better than most people.

020

Rikoccha: She's such a kind girl, so she'd solve anyone's problems.

She'd offer people her help, and advice, all cause she wanted to be helpful!!

But...

People: Mind your own business!

Who are you?!

What are you talking about?!

Go away!!

Rikoccha: No one would listen to anything she said.

I mean it makes sense...

Why would anyone trust a little girl to give them sound advice?


So I said to Yashiro...

'Your words don't reach anyone, do they...?'

'If that's the case, you'll have to talk to them as someone else'....

021

Rikoccha: Her house is a temple...

So I suggested the priestess guise.

You could tell people that you talk to 'spirits'! I told her...

Heh, stupid huh?

Consultations, would come to people on a subscription basis, and I would research people before she takes them on as a client....

With the priestess set up, we came up with the Monmokokuri idea.

Yashiro: I'm sorry Rikoccha...

It's all my fault we were found out.

Rikoccha: You didn't do anything wrong!!

I'm the one who should be sorry, Yashiro!

It must have been tough for you....it must have hurt you.....!!

And I...I just kept pushing you to do unnecessary things...!!

Yashiro: Don't be foolish Rikoccha.

It's actually the contrary.

I'm grateful you were there for me.

022

Yashiro: You rescued my words.....

for that I am eternally grateful!!

Rikoccha: Yashiro...!!

I'm sorry!!

So sorry!!

Kids: Hey..

Yeah...

Yeah!!

023

Kid: We'd like to talk to you...

We want a consultation from Yashiro-chan!!

Yeah!

Yashiro-chan is still Yashiro-chan!!

Yashiro-chan! Can you listen to my problem?

Me too!

Me, too!!

Rikoccha: Ah!!

(Handwritten- Me first!// Don't be stupid! I have a bigger problem then you!// What's that?)

Muko: I don't quite get this, though...

Hikari: It's nice to see that things worked out after all.

(Handwritten- And Gaku won..!)

Rikoccha: But you surprised me Yashiro!

I never thought I'd hear such a 'Virgin road' type prediction come from you!

Yashiro: Huh?

Rikoccha: It's fine though, you're always so worried about others, that I thought you'd never play Takkoku for yourself, this is moving!!

Yashiro: Virgin road? What is that?

(TN- I'll tell you Yashiro-chan! It's a TV drama!)

Rikoccha: Don't be shy! Didn't you say you'd be walking down a red isle with Marunouchi?!
Yashiro: What are you talking about Rikoccha?

Aren't a priestess with a temple?

(Handwritten- Virgin road?)

(Handwritten- Don't be foolish.)

Rikoccha: Huh?

Then the red isles are...?

Yashiro: As a priestess, I have to play several different roles.

I'm somewhat enamored with playing that one.

024

Yashiro: My aim is to be a famous Hollywood actress!!

I want to walk down the red isle with my Academy award in one arm, and my partner in the other!!

I-i-i-It's not strange that I'd like a man like Marunouchi with me..

As he is a man who knows plenty of the world...

As a Hollywood actress, such a man would make a perfect husband!

S-So although I lost this time....

Next time, I will make you mine!!!

Gaku: Should I get cleaned up and wait?

Yashiro: Yes. Please do.

Kako: WAH!!

{The girls who fall for Gaku are all like this, huh?}