Sket Dance 8

1
[insert text: A rugged entrance!!]
Tecchan: Comin' in!!! // Are you guys the Sket-dan?!!
Bossun: Himeko.
Tecchan: They say you'll do anything, right?!!! // I came here because there's a request I've gotta -
Himeko: Get out of here and try that again.
Tecchan: Okay... *sweatdrop*

2
Sket Dance
Chapter 8: Misaki and Koutarou
[insert text: A refreshing re-entrance!!]
Tecchan: Good afternoon!!
Bossun: Huh?! / A substitute?! // What're you going on about?!
Tecchan: Like I said... // This childhood friend of mine moved away! // I started this e-mail relationship with her without telling her who I was. // And now she's saying she wants to meet up! // I need somebody to go and meet her instead of me!

3
[box: Completely-uncomprehending face]
[box: Never-intended-to-understand-in-the-first-place, starting-to-get-annoyed face]
[box: Playing-a-dating-simulation-game face]
Tecchan: You'll help me out here, right?!
Himeko: Go over that again and make sure we get it this time.
Tecchan: Uh... Why are you strangling me?! // Back when I was a kid, this girl called Misaki used to live nearby. // We were really great friends. // I don't really know all the details, but she's always been in kinda bad health. // She was always missing school and everything. // Her parents were really strict, and wouldn't let her go out very often, // so I used to go round to Misaki's place. It always made her really happy.

4
Tecchan: What's your favourite colour, Misaki?
Misaki: Colour?
Tecchan: Yeah. // I'll make you a string of paper cranes in your favourite colour. / A string of them!
[TN: A string of paper cranes is considered good luck - traditionally, the proper number to make is 1000]
Misaki: Cranes...? / Can you make those? With that big body of yours.
Tecchan: O - of course I can!! / What's my body got to do with it?!
Misaki: Hm, let me think...
TV: Now is the best time to see the blooming sakura in Kobukuro Park.
Misaki: Pink! // The colour of sakura. // Because I really like sakura!

5
Misaki: They should be in full bloom about now... // Even if I can't go and see them.
Tecchan: All right, then, I'll take you to see them! / Tonight!!
Misaki: Huh? / But...
Tecchan: Don't worry, it'll be fine. / I'll be with you.
Misaki: Wow...! // It's beautiful! // Thanks so much, Tecchan!
Tecchan: Let's come here next year as well. // And the year after that. / Every single year... / I'll bring you to see them.

6
Misaki: Uh-huh! // !! // Ahh...
Tecchan: Misaki tripped and fell into the river. // Apparently, her condition became worse after that. She was on the border between life and death.
Father: You little brat!!
Tecchan: I was scolded terribly.
Father: Don't you dare come near my daughter again!!! // You're a curse upon her!!!
Tecchan: I was never allowed to see Misaki again.

7
Tecchan: I didn't even try to see her again. // I felt like I'd only make her condition even worse if I saw her again. // A few months later, Misaki's family moved away for her health. // That was in the summer of sixth grade...
[TN: That would be the sixth (and final) year of Japanese elementary school, which I believe would place him at age eleven-twelve.]
Tecchan: If I'd been more careful... If I hadn't done such stupid things... / Maybe her condition would never have worsened. // I just kept on thinking things like that... I couldn't take it. // It really started to eat away at my life......
Himeko: And so that's how ya ended up like this?
Bossun: Eheheh... / Wouldn't Misaki cry if she could see you now?
Tecchan: I haven't got to the important part yet! // So try listening!!

8
Tecchan: I just couldn't stop wondering how she was doing. I thought of sending her an e-mail from my mobile. / But... there was no way a cursed guy like me could contact her. // So I made up a fictional person, and sent her an email under that alias. But before I knew it, we were sending each other mail regularly, so now we've somehow become penpals.
Bossun: Wait a minute... a fictional person?
Tecchan: ............ // Sakurakouji Koutarou, a second-year student at Kaimei Academy. // A top-grade student, incredibly popular, who leads a busy life holding both a position on the Student Council and a post in the Wildlife Club.
Bossun+Himeko: .........
Bossun: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, there's a limit to how much you should make up, you know!!! / Isn't that, like, the complete opposite of who you really are?!!
Himeko: What is this, some kind of obsessive fantasy?!!
[TN: "Complex-marudashi" seems to be a set phrase of some sort, but I'm not sure on the actual translation. Anybody? ~_~]
Himeko: The hell's with that "Koutarou"?!! Makin' up a crazy perfect-soundin' name like that for yourself, what's with that?!!
Tecchan: Shaddup!! Stop it!! You don't have to go that far!!!

9
Bossun: So your problem is that you can't keep up the crazy lying any more, so you need us to tell this girl the truth... right! Leave it to us!
Tecchan: No... that's not...

(・g・) We~ll
Hey, this is Koutarou
Well, actually, that was all a lie, lol
I'm that cursed Tecchan guy
So, yeah (*^-^*)v

Tecchan: Nooooo!! // Misaki said she's going to come here on Saturday!! / Her condition's got better, so she wants to look around her childhood hometown again! // And while she's at it, she wants to finally see "Koutarou-san" in person!! // But after all this lying for all this time... there's no way I can let her know it was me all along. // And so...
Bossun: "And so"...? // ......... // Wha?! / A "substitute mission"? // ME?!!

10
Himeko/Tecchan: Bwahahahahahahahahahahah!!
Switch: lolololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol
Himeko: Bossun in a polo shirt!! And he's even combed his hair like that! I can hardly recognise him!!
Tecchan: Hmmm... he's exuding this refreshing feeling... Yep, he definitely looks like Koutarou.
Himeko: Hm... I'm not sure... Surely Koutarou's hair should be a little more, you know, smart?
[TN: Not remotely sure on that sentence ~_~]
Switch: No, I'd say he definitely looks more like Koutarou in this casual style...
Bossun: The hell do you guys even know about Koutarou?!! // And anyway, if you're going to analyse it, I'd say he should be more like Switch!!!
Himeko: No way... I mean, look at him. // A Koutarou who speaks through a computer... that's just not right.
Bossun: Gahhhh... Switch, why are you no use when I need you?!!!

11
Tecchan: Hey, there's no time for us to just hang around. The meeting time's nearly here.
Himeko: All right, Bossun... so we'll be listening in on your conversation with the microphone... / So make sure ya pay attention to our instructions through this earpiece.
Bossun: I get it...
Himeko: If you really can't handle it, you need to give the help-sign.
Bossun: Help-sign... some kind of facial signal, right? Though we haven't decided what yet...
Himeko: Hey, why don't we just use, ya know, that weird face you're always doing?
Bossun: "Weird face"?
Switch: Right! Go for it!! Go get 'em!!
Bossun: Right... a dress with a white hat... // Is that her? // Ah... // Misaki... san?

12
Misaki: ............... // Ah! // Pleased to meet you. // ...Or is that a little strange...? // Thank you for going to the trouble to meet me.
Bossun: Ah... / No, no... / That's fine, totally fine... Ehehehh...
Himeko: Whoa. Misaki's gorgeous.
Tecchan: Y - yeah. I haven't seen her for five years either...
Himeko: Will Bossun be okay, I wonder...
Switch: After all, he is absolutely useless with cute girls, as a rule.

13
Himeko: Check it out!! He's givin' the signal already!!
Tecchan: What the heck does he want help with?!!
Himeko: Bossun!! For the moment, ya need to get her in the coffee shop!!
Bossun: Today is a pleasant day...
[TN: Literally, "Today, even the aspect of the day is good". It's a traditional expression usually used at weddings. Go figure.]
Himeko: Dammit! He's not even listenin'!!
Bossun: So, uh, yeah... / Are you feeling okay?
Tecchan: No! Koutarou doesn't talk like that at all!!
Misaki: *giggle* / Yes, I am all right. My health has been excellent recently. // Thank you for asking. // I think I'll have some tea.
Bossun: Ahh... And I'll... Uh...

14
Himeko: Dammit, does it really matter?!! Just choose somethin'!! // Ugh... this is useless. He really can't pull off a role like this.
Switch: Although to be fair, he hasn't collapsed yet.
Tecchan: Hahah... / But I'm glad. // It looks like Misaki's well... / I'm so glad.
Himeko: ............ // And it looks like ya haven't been found out yet. / 'S long as Bossun doesn't totally screw up, I guess it should be fine.
Misaki: It's only been five years since I was last here, but it's so nostalgic...
Bossun: I came by bike, so I can take you wherever you like!
Himeko: Watch how you talk!
Bossun: Watch how you talk!!
Himeko: Ah, I give up!!!

15
Bossun: "Time capsule"?
Misaki: Yes. / ...Well, perhaps that's not exactly the right word.

16
Misaki: I had this childhood friend called Tecchan. // When we went to look at the sakura, we buried it under a tree.
Flashback!Tecchan: Let's put the paper-crane-string inside.
Flashback!Misaki: You only made one, though.
Flashback!Tecchan: Silly... / It represent the feelings of a thousand. // Because I'm going to fold a new one every single day... / We can dig this up again once I've made a full thousand!
Flashback!Misaki: *giggle* / That's kinda weird. You could just give them to me, you know.
Flashback!Tecchan: Huh. / They'd just end up thrown away someday if we did that. // Origami cranes can't fly, you know... but sakura petals can flutter on the wind. // I get the feeling, if we bury them all under the sakura tree, someday they'll be able to become sakura petals.

17
Flashback!Misaki: You know, you're a real romantic, aren't you, Tecchan.
Flashback!Tecchan: Sh - shaddup!!
Misaki: You know, I came here today for two reasons. // To meet up with my pen-friend, // And to check up on these cranes.
Bossun: Well, then, let's open it up.

18
Bossun: The hell's this?!!! // They're all pink... there must be a thousand... / No, more like ten thousand of these things!!
Misaki: Tecchan... / You kept making them for me all this time...
Tecchan: Th - there was nothing else I could do, you know?

19
Misaki: There's no way I can take all of these with me... / But I'll just take one.
Bossun: What's that? You were planning to take the string of cranes with you?
Misaki: Yes... / I wanted to have these with me no matter what. // Because, you know... / I'm going to have an operation soon. // A big operation... / I might live, or I might die.
Bossun: Bossun: !!!
Misaki: I'm going to be leaving for America next week...
[insert text: A shocking revelation!!]

EDIT: I've edited one of Misaki's lines (on page 17) in light of the following chapter, since there was a continuity issue.