Sakuranbo Syndrome - Cupid no Itazura II Volume 4

Fourth volume, here we go!!
Scanlation available from GWR.
-----------------
003
The arrows that Cupid, of Roman legend fame would shoot around at a whim had an uncanny power that let him have men and women's hearts at his beck and call. Any human being whose heart he pierced with a golden arrow would awaken to love, and there was no passion that wouldn't be squelched after a shot from his arrows of lead. Nowadays, should Cupid ever get in a mischievous mood..............

004
Previously.
Amami returns to Agawa Munenori even smaller than before, now looking like a girl in elementary school. To fight off the shrinking process, she must kiss Agawa daily in order to take in the enzyme contained in his saliva. Agawa keeps entertaining "secret meetings" with Rena behind his girlfriend Asou Sayako's back, but Asou is quick to pick up on his strange behavior. After a fierce fight - their first - they both confess their love to each other. And then.........

Sakuranbo SYNDROME. [Cupid's Prank II] {4}
Chapter 29 - I'll never let you go. .....5
Chapter 30 - Fifty-fifty, I'd say. ......25 Chapter 31 - What are you gonna do tonight? .....
Chapter 32 - You should understand that much. ......65 Chapter 33 - What is the meaning of this? ......85
Chapter 34 - He doesn't understand. ......105 Chapter 35 - It isn't mine!! ......125
Chapter 36 - Something went down. ......145 Chapter 37 - Spitting image. ......167
Chapter 38 - What are you gonna do about it? ......189

005
Asou: I love/this man.
Chapter 29 - I'll never let you go.
Asou: Agawa-kun...//(He may be......)

006
Chapter 29- I'll never let you go.
Asou: (He must be/the first man I seriously fall in love with./The first.

007
Narrator: The first time I dated a man was during my freshman year in college.//He was in senior year at the Advertisement Studies class./He managed many of the events that took place on the campus, such as the school festival//And he knew how to make them successful.//Which in the eyes of the little girl full of aspirations that I was/made him shine as brightly as the sun itself.//He graduated and entered a famous company, but...
Asou: Wait./Come on, that's enough.

008
Dude: What?
Asou: It's been our be-all and end-all, lately. I'm sick of it.//Things used to be different.
Dude: ......../A student like you wouldn't understand.....//But my job at the company? Now that's tiresome. | I get to deal with the rush hour every morning!/And you should hear my superiors. It's almost like they're schizo or something!//They treat their personnel like shit!
Asou: .....
Dude: Take the last time. If only the dickhead had listened to me, things would have gone down a little better, but NO...
Asou: Don't vent your stress at work on me please. | It's got nothing to do with me, amirite?
Dude: Nothing to do with you?!//Wonderful./Having you around doesn't make me feel any better at all.//Always quick with the put-down, you are. Careful with those!/Let me tell you this, since other guys may not: this is the sort of thing a woman definitely shouldn't...

009
Dude: Wh-what's your problem...?//Don't you glare at me like that!!
Asou: Aaah?!//(Turns out all that mojo he had back in college meant zip in the world at large.)
Narrator: My first love affair ended with a large, bluish contusion around the left eye.

010
Narrator: The next one came when I entered Lèvres./He was older, and from an advertising company of our clients.//In working and playing alike/the man knew his thing.
Asou: (Wonderful./It's like a scene straight out of a TV drama.)
Narrator: Dinner in the most famous of restaurants//not to mention having a drink on the top floor of the Park Ryatt Hotel...
Dude: We can put that and a room on the same bill.
Asou: I have a good idea what he's gonna say next.

011
Asou: "We're gonna take a room for the night."
Dude: Say, let's take a room for the night.
Asou: ........./(Whaddayaknow......)
Dude: Let's call it quits, alright?
Asou: Uh?
Dude: ...... | I want to break up.
Asou: ....../May I inquire about the reason for that? Enlighten me.
Dude: ......../I found love with another girl.

012
Dude: She's not quite as beautiful or smart as you are | but I need you to understand.
Asou: .......//"That girl is completely lost without me?"
Dude: !
Asou: So. That's what you were gonna say next, right?//"A strong woman like yourself can manage without my help." That's it?/Heh heh.//Grow a brain, pal.
Dude: You're a pain in the ass, woman!/I've had it with you and your goddamn attitude!!
Asou: (This is the first time he does something that I didn't see coming.../He threw black tea at me instead of water. Wow...//If anyone's had it, it ought to be me./How did I find myself being the one to get dumped? | This is silly.)

013
Narrator: And when I saw Agawa-kun for his Old-Girl meeting/I figured right away//that he was just like the two of them.//Be it in fashion, in game, or even his sense of self, he led his life entirely by the book, a conformist never straying from his well-trodden little path./A boring, shallow man.//I was a child before.//But now I knew better/The men who dumped me, I could control them now//I......[tn: Old-girl meeting=OG-houmon, remember?]
Asou: .....
Narrator: Maybe through Agawa-kun

014
Narrator: I wanted to have the men who'd jilted me/acknowledge me for the woman that I was.//I even took precautions
Asou: When I say it's over, it's over.
Narrator: Set things up so I'd be ready to step out of harm's way at a moment's notice.......
Mune: I like you an awful lot.//I love you, Asou-san//I'm sure I can make you happier than your pandas ever could to be honest.

015
Mune: I still/love you, Asou-san.
Narrator: I was the one who kept playing by the book.
Asou: Agawa-kun......
Narrator: He forgot the rules and templates, went past my childish barriers as if they never existed.//Straight into my heart.
Asou: You're even clumsier than I imagined.
Mune: Uh?//!
Asou: It's been a while./Let's get dirty.
Mune: Uh?/Huh?

016
Mune: Now? In this storehouse?
Asou: Won't be a problem./Provided you've got the chutzpah for it of course.♥
Mune: ......../You can't be serious...?
Narrator: I love you./I love you so much.

017
Narrator: I'll never let you go/ever.

018-019
Rena: Uh. Ahem....../Eerrrm/Pleased to meet you./My-my name is Amami Rena!!

020
Mune: This is Asou Sayako-san./My girlfriend... ...and my senpai at work...//Asou-san/This is the girl I told you about on the taxi...//The one with the problematic........ condition.
Asou: .........//The girl with the problematic condition.

021
Narrator: Come to think of it, he say something along those lines.
Mune: It's gonna take some serious explaining, so... I think I'd better let you meet her in person. Quicker that way.//Without me, she can't do anything about that disease.......
Asou: (The old "she's completely lost without me" again?/(I should be appalled right now, wondering why men are so fond of those cookie-cutter lines, but......./For you, I'll let it slide.♥//Cause you said you loved me.//And not just because of some honeyed words.)//Mh/Mmmh/Hah

022
Asou: But because once again I could feel the warmth of your skin as you made love to me.//I won't leave this man to anyone else/This is my decision.//For the first time in my life, I am ready to grab the other girl by the hair and raise hell if I have to./..........But

023
Mune: !
Asou: (Wha... what the hell is this?!//My enemy.../Is is primary school?![tn: Can't fight the loli! :hahahha:]
Rena: ......
Asou: (Did I fall in love........./with some sick pedophile?!
Mune: A... Asou-san?
Rena: ..........
Asou: ..........
Rena: Fo-forgive me... | I'm gonna be depending on Agawa-san for a while.

024
*flutter...*
Asou: ........//Ple.../Pleased to meet you......*knock-out...*[/end

025
Chapter 30 - Fifty-fifty, I'd say.
Asou: A girl feeds you a line about some ridiculous disease | that'll turn her younger unless you kiss her, and you take her seriously!//I know you're a big softie, but you still gotta draw the line somewhere...!
Mune: We-well, but.../With all due respect...

026
Mune: The first time I met her she looked somewhere around 15./Compare with what she looks like now, and you'll see how hard it was not to believe her.
Asou: And you've been meeting her repeatedly, when I wasn't looking...
*gulp* *glub*
Mune: We've only been kissing.../And it's only been 5 times, too.......
Asou: YOU'VE BEEN KISSING AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLGIRL/EVEN IF IT HAPPENS ONLY ONCE, THAT'S PLAIN WRONG!!
Doc: Rena is no elementary schoolgirl./But an honest to goodness 19-year-old.

027
Doc: Thank you for waiting./I'm Sendouji Tokuko, Rena's attending physician.[tn: Hot. Hot HAAAWWWWWT!!]
Chapter 30 - Fifty-fifty, I'd say.

028
Narrator: Today's Saturday./The morrow of that infamous night//The three of us went to pay a visit to Rena's hospital, the one she'd escaped from.//Asou-san dragged us here, since she wouldn't believe a word of what we said till she'd seen it for herself.
Mune: Makes sense. | That's pretty much the normal thing to do.
Narrator: But I didn't do it/In hindsight, it's because I was afraid to find out, I believe.//Whether Rena's illness was true or not/I didn't want to know........

029
Narrator: To be honest, perhaps I wanted to enjoy the goodness (and the accompanying hassle, that is)/of having a girl who depended on me, and whom I could keep on kissing.//Of course, I can't exactly tell Asou-san that...
Mune: .......
Asou: ......
Doc: Rena
Rena: !
Doc: You grew younger again./Nevermind your bright skin. Just like she said, you could be in elementary school.

030
Rena: ........I would've gone younger even if I didn't escape from here. What was stopping me?
Doc: Well/I guess you're right.//What about menses?/Do you still have them?
Rena: ........
Mune: .......
Doc: That said/I should commend you for enlisting the help of an ACS enzyme bearer, I suppose.//I've been unable to contact you so far, Agawa-san, because I couldn't exactly disclose the way I'd obtained your personal data. | But now that you know of Rena's predicament and have already agreed to help//I'll be able to research to the best of my ability.

031
Mune: Re-research...
Doc: Let's start with the blood samples. Gonna need quite a few of those.//This is to collect urine.//Saliva. | Gastric juices./Semen | and so on, and so forth.//I wish to collect all the bodily fluids I possibly can.
Mune: A... | All of them?
Dude: Come this way, please.
Mune: Uh?/Uh?
Dude: There's nothing to be afraid of.
Mune: Duuuuuuuuuuh?

032
Doc: You too, Rena./The fact that we've got about two weeks' worth of uncollected data to make up for notwithstanding........//I've been missing out on some crucial data surrounding the critical moments of your rejuvenation process.//Now, if you don't wanna have to hasten the next critical phase/I'll thank you to cooperate, from here on out.
Rena: Alright.......

033
Asou: Erm...
Doc: Asou-san... was it?//I'm gonna need Agawa-san's help on this/And seeing as you're his girlfriend, and all, I believe you should understand as well.//You do realize that the disease we spoke of earlier actually exists, don't you?
Asou: ........
Doc: This affliction has no known cure and the cases worldwide are few and far between, so I wouldn't expect you to know this, but...//having the opportunity to collect samples from a CS enzyme carrier and a bearer of its opposite, the ACS at the same time/is nothing short of miraculous!
Asou: I-I understand that it's not a joke.../But......

034
Asou: How long is he gonna have to see her?
Doc: ......./I have no idea, for the moment.
Asou: What about some special treatment that could work on what she has?/Like a drug that would replicate the effects of Agawa-kun's ACS enzyme, for instance. | Is something like that possible?
Doc: I don't know that either.........
Asou: Well, then what are the odds?
Doc: ......../Fifty-fifty, I'd say.

035
Asou: 50%?
Doc: Maybe I can do it./Maybe not.
Asou: ........
Doc: Research on the subject merely started today, you see.//I'll be working towards cutting the "thread of fate" between your boyfriend and Rena/so that the day he can be yours again may come as quickly as possible.[tn: Simply put, the "red string of fate" thing is the Japanese version of soul mates.]

036
Doc: Rena, please proceed with the ACS intake so that we may see.
Rena: In-intake?
Mune: Y-y-you mean kissing, right here?
Doc: I need post-absorption blood pressure and EEG measurements.//Don't worry./We can't see anything here besides the data, so go ahead. Don't be shy.

037
Mune: .........
Rena: ........
Mune: For my part, seeing as it's like an experiment and all/I don't feel all that stressed, on the contrary.
Rena: You mean usually you're nervous?
Mune: I get to kiss a girl in some secret room. | When you put it this way, that's the sort of crazy stuff that never gets old.

038
Rena: Now I know.../what the "rawring" lady looks like.
Mune: Uh?
Rena: When you get to see her up close/Asou-san is even prettier.//Thing is, however/she can't stand me.

039
Mune: .......
Rena: Small wonder, I guess./Some things can't be helped.//I'm sorry/Agawa-san.

040
Doc: Asou-san. | Wanna see?
Asou: ......
Doc: You don't look so good.
Asou: Do you know many women who enjoy seeing their man/locking lips with another girl?
Doc: As you wish. Don't look if you think it helps. It's your relationship.//I would gladly have Agawa-kun help with my research forever, if need be./To that end, I'd rather see the two of you get along.

041
Asou: ........//So as far as you're concerned, I'm a third party who might jeopardize Agawa-kun's willingness to cooperate with your research and it's making you uneasy, that's it?
Doc: ........//Oh. Got in the mood to watch, now?
Asou: I'm not gonna live up to your expectations, doctor.//I'll never break up with him/over a trifle like this.

042
*smoooooooooocchhh*
*slurp* *smooch*
*shlubb* *smooch*
*smack* *smooch*
Asou: ............[tn: Yeah, I'd get sick too.]

043
Rena: Yaaay. There IS a God.♥//Now I can go back to my place. It's been so long.
Mune: Aah, yeah. that's right.//She didn't go home after she escaped from the hospital, she went freeloading at her friend's place instead.
Asou: .........
Rena: Thanks to Agawa-san I'm free, so long as I show up at the hospital once a week./Eehee.

044
Asou: By the way//We were about to shack up, Agawa-kun and I./Gonna start living together, you know.
Rena: !
Mune: !
Asou: Right?
Mune: ........
Asou: What about you, Amami-san? Any plans?[/end

045
Asou: We're gonna start cohabiting shortly. At my place.
Chapter 31 - What are you gonna do tonight?

046
Asou: What about you, Amami-san? Any plans?
Rena: ........
Mune: ......./("Any plans", she says....//Well, there's no telling how long that thing between Rena and I will go on, which is no fun for Asou-san, obviously.)//.........//Bu-but you know...

047
Mune: Without my ACS enzyme/eventually she's gonna end up.........//(DEA...)//Sh-she's gonna disappear.//I can't/just stand by and watch it happen...
Asou: ........

048
Asou: Who said you shouldn't help out at all...?//I don't wanna see my boyfriend's lips touching those of another girl inside our very home./And this, whatever the reason. That's all I'm saying.//It's not like I'm asking for the impossible, now, am I?
Mune: .......//Su... | Sure./'Course not.......//.........
Asou: ........
Mune: So uh, on to the matters at hand./My place. .......what about my place?*scaredy-scared*
Asou: If we're seriously planning to live together/you're gonna need to vacate it, I suppose?

049
Rena: E-excuse me........//Um. Ahem.../Erm//So, uh//We're gonna have to get to my apartment to do our thing, that's it?!
Asou: ........

050
Rena: That's in the opposite direction from here, though...
Mune: .......
Asou: ........
Mune: ........//Ei-either way, it's our only option now, isn't it?/Mmh?//Well, it's not too late to go to that apartment of yours, so let's do that.
Rena: Ye-yeah.
Mune: Asou-san, the more you know the better, right? | What say you?/(I won't hide things from her anymore.//It may be harsh... but at this point it's probably the only way she'll understand.

051
Rena: I haven't been to my apartment ever since I was hospitalized, you see?/It's been like forever, seriously.//I've been paying for it and college as well, which is a waste since I haven't been going to either of them at all...
Asou: What about college, then?
Rena: Ruu-kun's been answering all my roll calls for me.[tn: In the Japanese, system, you get credits for being present at your lectures. Answering a roll call for someone else is possible, but seen as a malpractice and sanctioned if discovered.]
Mune: Ah. Ruu-kun. That's a girl, and a friend of Rena's./I've seen her once.

052
Mune: She knows everything about Rena's predicament, and she's been helping./Right?
Rena: RIght. In the university, she's the only friend I have.
Asou: ......./And your exams? | There was a session this summer, I believe?
Rena: I got a medical certificate from Sendouji-sensei. I was able to get away by submitting reports./I couldn't do that for everything, though//But it's not over yet. If I work out now, I might make up for the lost credits at the next session./Yep.
Asou: Why don't you just drop out of school and be done with it?
Mune: (......../Embarrassing questions galore. Open fire......)
Rena: .......

053
Rena: If I do that/my parents back home will find out about my illness.......
Asou: Wai- You haven't told your parents?!
Mune: Why?! They should've been like, the first ones to know!
Rena: B-but/at first, I thought I only had to find Agawa-san......../and once I'd... ki-kissed him, things would go right back to normal........[tn: The words "ki-kissed him" must be written in a much smaller font than the rest of the text.]

054
Asou: But now you know they didn't.//Since it's become pretty clear that you're gonna have to kiss Agawa-kun your entire life/letting your parents know about it is a matter of common sense.
Rena: .........Yes./you're right, but.........
Asou: ........?
Rena: Here we are.

055
Rena: The rent's ￥65.000♥[tn: That's about ＄620.]/I have Ruu-kun ventilate the place and pick up the mail every once in a while./So I don't think it's a complete pigsty, but still...//Come on in.[tn: Japanese etiquette has a sentence that more or less goes "My home is a filthy place, but please come on in." It's a form a humility, and this sentence is said to guests even if your place is squeaky clean.]

058
Rena: Ru... Ruu-kun...?
Sakai: ........*flap flap*
Dude: Whoaa
Sakai: Aaaaaaah?!!
Rena: So/So...//I'm sorry!![tn: I'm not! :konokono:]
Mune: Rena?!

059
Mune: .........
Rena: .........
Mune: (Rena's gotta feel abandoned, at the moment.........//I don't know what's going on with her parents, but she's been keeping them in the dark about her illness./And the friend she was counting upon........ Well, it's almost like she's been betrayed...//Right now, she's all on her own...)//.......
*vvvrrrrrr*
Rena: .......//Ruu-kun's been using my place with her boyfriend from time to time, instead of going to the hotel.//Oh, well/I've got only myself to blame. I've been freeloading at Ruu-kun's for so many weeks...

060
Phone: To: Ruu-kun/Subject: Nah, no problem./Contents/Don't mind, don't mind.(^_--)--★/I'm the one who should apologize. Now don't let me stop you.(^o^))/***
Mune: ........*tweep*
Rena: Well/That was my place.
Asou: ........
Mune: Sure.
Asou: We're gonna be on our way, now./Since we know where you live, and all.
Mune: What are you gonna do tonight?

061
Mune: You can't exactly go back to your apartment, can you?
Rena: Aaaaah | well/Sleeping on that bed is a bit...*Haha*
Mune: But going at Ruu-kun's place would be equally embarrassing, don't you agree?
Rena: ........
Mune: ("Stay at my place for the night."/That's what I wanted to tell her.//I would go to Asou-san's in the meantime.//But this is my problem./How far can I possibly involve Asou-san into this?)

062
Rena: I'll be fine.//I'll stay at a family restaurant, or something./I'm not quite that hungry thanks to you Agawa-san, so it won't cost me much. | Aha.♥//Asou-san.//I know I'm nothing but trouble/but I hope we can still be good friends!!//Alright, then. See you tomorrow!!
Mune: Rena!

063
Mune: Uh........

064
Asou: .......//Why don't you stay at Agawa-kun's place for the night?//We're gonna need to work out something between the three of us, you see./This is gonna require some thinking ........if you know what I mean.[/end

065
Sakai: Rena-chan, I'm really sorry for last night.
Rena: Nah, really that's okay.//More importantly. That was Sawatari-senpai, right? When did that happen?/Last time I checked you were still with Takeda-senpai...
Sakai: Well, Sawatari-san's been giving me plenty of advice about Takeda-kun, at first//But the more I heard from Sawatari-san, the more I started to wonder if I wouldn't be better off with him...//So, uh, last night was the first time I ever took him to this place. | I swear.
Rena: .........//Sounds good.//Sounds like fun.//Like adolescence.
Chapter 32 - You should understand that much.

066
Chapter 32 - You should understand that much.

067
Dudes: Thank you very much.
Mune: Good work.

068
Mune: After trying to make it fit into the room, I can tell how large this bed is.
Asou: Yeah, sure.//Last week, when I picked it up...... I never imagined I'd get to feel this this way.//I can't do this....../I definitely can't...!

069
Mune: !/(Last night at my place/the three of us ended up discussing some future arrangements.//Although we couldn't quite decide what to talk about/and we didn't make any progress at all...
Asou: Can I see your student card again?
Rena: Ye-yes.
Asou: .......//These brands are a bit expensive for an elementary schoolgirl.
Rena: ......./I'm not in elementary school.

070
Rena: Ah!//Sorry. I'm sorry.
Asou: ......../What have you been doing with your daytime, all these days?//You haven't been to school, and you weren't going back home either, right?
Rena: No-nothing special. Just hanging around./And here's my student card.
Asou: .........//........../You used to be pretty hot stuff.

071
Asou: Surely you had a boyfriend?
Rena: !//N-no!/Nothing like that.//I did want to make one/but I turned younger before it could happen...!
Asou: Despite this...//You knew exactly how to flawlessly apply your makeup by the time you entered college.//Been loafing in high school much?

072
Rena: .......
*fidget-fidgety*
Mune: A-Asou-san...
Asou: .........//Why don't you borrow Agawa-kun's shower?/It's been a whole day's worth of examinations. You must be tired...
Mune: Sh-she's right. I'll give you a towel.
Rena: Th-thank you very much.
Asou: Agawa-kun.
Mune: Y-yes.

073
Asou: Why don't you go to the convini in the meantime? Buy her a change of underwear?
Mune: A-Aaaah, yeah. Looking out for each other. That's women for ya./Sure, good idea.//........But uh, should I be the one walking up to the cash register with female pants in hand?
Asou: You should find it in yourself to do that much for her./Dummy.♥
Mune: .........//Wha...... | what do you mean, you can't.....?
Asou: ........//I don't think I can handle it.../This is too much.

074
Asou: Whatever you're gonna do with this girl......../I don't wanna know!!//If you really must/pick a spot where I can't see it, or don't do it at all!
Mune: .........//If that's what you think is best...//........
Asou: ........//........./Haaaah/Haaaah/(You should find it in yourself to do that much for her, dummy.♥)

075
Mune: Okay, I'm off.
Asou: Amami-san.
Rena: Ye-yes?
Asou: I sent Agawa-kun off to buy you a change of underwear.
Rena: Y-You had Agawa-san take care of that...
Asou: You don't want to put the dirty ones back on, do you?

076
Rena: Th-thanks a lot...
Asou: Despite what I said.......//It's a good thing you don't have a boyfriend.
Rena: Uh?
Asou: Think about it.//You, suffering from your illness and him, unable to do anything about it........./But it gets worse...

077
Asou: The only one who can help his girlfriend turns out to be another man.
Rena: ......
Asou: In his position, I believe the jealousy would make me freak out.
Rena: Eer, Asou-san...//Aaaaah?!

078-079
Asou: Make no mistake./Agawa-kun is merely showing compassion.[tn: You think THAT was bitchy? Wait. It gets worse!]

080
Asou: Since you're no child/you should understand that much.*hmph*
Asou: .........

081
Asou: Why Agawa-kun?/Why him of all men...?![tn: Because otherwise, we wouldn't have a story. :rapeist:]
Shima: Uh?//Where's Asou-kun?
Gals: Uh | Yeah/Eeerrrm.

082
Gals: She's out on the streets. For poster scouting.
Shima: Uh? She is? Just like that?
Poster: Sprinting Wildlife.
Sign: HOTEL/At the second angle, turn right. (A full establishment's worth of comf{ortable rooms.)}[tn: The part between { } stands for what is obscured by the SFX]
Asou: (This is part of my job.//The hell do I think I'm doing?)

083
Asou: Last night,/she dropped her train pass, and I took a look at it.//She's been getting off at this station daily.//Which is why... | I used work as a pretext to come all the way here...//However/there's something I can tell.//That girl...)

084
Asou: No, not girl//That woman//is still hiding something!![/end

085
Asou: (What the hell am I doing........?/This is beneath me.)
Chapter 33 - What is the meaning of this?
Asou: I'm tailing a woman who looks like she could be in elementary school./What am I playing at? Private eye, investigating an adultery?//Some things I'm none too proud of./But this takes the cake.......)

086
Asou: (But I know one thing for sure!//She's hiding something from me and from Agawa-kun!!)//!
Rena: ......./.......
Asou: She's calling someone...?//Who?

087
Chapter 33 - What is the meaning of this?

088
Asou: (Could it be//Agawa-kun?//He should be busy with field duty, about now...//Are they going to meet up somewhere, by any chance?/Just the two of them.........?!//No way!//If they really wanted to hide/it would have been best not to introduce me to her in the first place.)//...........

089
Asou: (Or maybe they had me let my guard down, and right now.../they're laughing behind my back!!)//........*wheewwww*
Asou: No! No no no!!/Negative thinking is a downward spiral. I mustn't go there!!//But hey/she's getting away!!)

090
Asou: I'm a grown up, now. I shouldn't have to be running at full speed like this!/And it high heels, too?! | What the hell is wrong with me?!!//!!//!//Shopping?)

091
Asou: (Clams, prawn and white wine........?)/?/?/(To prepare what? | I mean, she knows how to cook? >The nerve of her...<)
Rena: ♪

092
Rena: ♪/♫
Asou: ........//.........?
Sign: Shoe[tn: Not "shoe", Shoe. Pronounced "show-ay".]

093
Shoe: It's open.
Rena: Coming in.
Shoe: Hiya.

094
Rena: Feeling tired a bit?
Shoe: Mhhh?
Rena: You just told me you'd caught a fever on the phone...
Shoe: Yeah, my temperature just climbed to a whooping 39° last Saturday. No warning, nuthin' | With all the accompanying complications.[tn: 39° Celsius=roughly 102.2° Fahrenheit.]
Rena: Sorry?/I should have noticed...
Shoe: Mh?/What'cha apologizing for?//BWEEEEEEEEEEH!*blob blob*
Rena: A-are you alright?!
*Nah, it's nothing*
Rena: Uh?
Shoe: Don'tcha puke when you brush yer teeth? I do.

095
Shoe: I see./I'm the only one who fucks it up, then...//Screw the fever./I've been careful. Skipping lectures till today. | Temperature's still sky-high.
Rena: Ah.
Shoe: What?
Rena: No-nothing. | This is the first time I see you shave, Satoshi-kun.
Shoe: Ya ain't got no big brother or nothin'?
Rena: Nope.
Shoe: Your dad?
Rena: I do have a dad, but...*todom todom*

096
Rena: I've never seen a boy of my age at it./This is the first time.
Shoe: Your age......
Rena: Ah. No... | About the same age group, I mean......
Shoe: Even then... >Same age group......?</.........//Nevermind.
Rena: I'm going to prepare lunch! I even bought the ingredients.
Shoe: Oh-hoh.//But hey, can you cook? | You're still a kid!
Rena: Y-you called me a kid again!!

097
Shoe: What's this?
Rena: Seafood risotto./I reckon plain old rice porridge might've been a bit boring.//Yeah, sure.../Butcha know, an ill guy woulda been plenty happy with plain ol' porridge.
Rena: ........./You don't like it?
Shoe: It's delicious!!//Ya heard me, didn'cha? I'm not yer average ill guy no more./Ooooh, this is great!!//My big sis' cooking tasted like crap, y'see. So she had to take classes before she could even get married. Lots and lots a' trouble, that was./If ya can already cook that good as a kid, ya'll have little trouble finding a husband.[tn: Most manga fans are probably familiar with this, but it's considered a woman's duty to handle housework, and cooking in particular. Enough so for the Japanese educational system to actually feature such classes for female students to take. See Ranma 1/2 for an example of a girl's poor cooking (among other things) making her a poor prospect for marriage.]

098
Rena: ........//Are you sure it's gonna be okay?
Shoe: Aye, aye.
Rena: But you said you didn't attend classes today...
Shoe: To prepare for after-school club activities. That's why I've been resting.
Rena: My, someone's in dire need to learn how to get his priorities straight.
Shoe: Pretty big words, for a kid like you to know.
Rena: ..........

099
Dudes: Oooh, Reiko-chan./You came today again?//As enthusiastic as ever./Shoe is a big meanie. Switch to me instead, Reiko-chan.
Shoe: Stop making fun of her, she's just a kid.
Dudes: We're making fun of YOU, Shoe./He's blushing, he is! Don't touch the little girl, or getting kicked out of the club will be the least of your worries. We're talking social death, here.
Rena: It-it's not what you think./I'm the one who approached Satoshi-kun seeking his company!/I mean, uh

100
Dudes: Good going, there./Reiko-chan, where did you learn to say big stuff like "approach" and "seeking someone's company"?
Rena: .........*HAHAHA* *guffaw*
Shoe: Reiko//Listen/If you go around talking that mature as a kid you'll never grow into a good woman.
Rena: ..........

101
Dudes: Satoshi-KUN H.A.R.D.C.O.R.E. | Playing on the generation gap, old man?
Shoe: That's a low blow, guys.//Oh, well. Gonna stop training early today. | How 'bout dinner, ya interested?//My treat.

102
Shoe: Oh, and feel free to go home whenever. Your parents might be worried.
Rena: Uh?/Sure.//I'll be waiting!/For as long as it takes!!
Dudes: Reiko-chan!/Why don't you also seek my company?//Yeah, and mine too.
Rena: Eh?//...........
Dude: Just kidding. | We wouldn't want to get your way.♥/That was some mighty long face, right there. | So cute.
Dude: Alright, Shoe. Let's get crackin'!!
Shoe: Ye-yes sir.

103
Dude: Today, Shoe you get to train till you piss blood. Run like hell!!*Haha*[tn: Strictly from left to right.]
Shoe: Duuh? This ain't gonna do my fever no good.Hahaha*
Dude: Shut up and die!*Ahaha*
Rena: .........
Asou: Having fun?

104
Rena: !!
Asou: What is the meaning of this?/Reiko-chan?[/end

105
Chapter 34 - He doesn't understand.
*Hah/Hah/Hah*
Shoe: (Uh?/Reiko's gone......)

106-107
Asou: Looks like you're having a good time./Reiko-chan.
Chapter 34 - He doesn't understand.

108
Asou: .......//......./You cling to Agawa-kun, like some stray puppy...//Acting like you're just a "poor little girl"........

109
Asou: And then you're out, having fun with other boys...?/I expected that much. Women like you are just...//People's feelings.../My feelings don't matter to you at all.......
Rena: ........
Asou: Anything to say?/Surely you have some ready-made excuse with which to talk your way out of this?

110
Asou: Is your real name Rena?/Or Reiko-chan?
Rena: It... It's Rena./That's my real name.
Asou: And Reiko is an alias?/Something you're using with the boys?//You're getting less and less trustworthy by the minute./You've been using a fake name with the boy | how do we know you're not lying to us?
Rena: I-I haven't been lying to Agawa-san nor to you!
Asou: You told me you didn't have a boyfriend.//You drop by a boy's apartment and cook food for him./How does that NOT make him your boyfriend?

111
Rena: Y-you're getting the wrong idea! |To-today's the first time I ever come to his place...//So he... he's not my boyfrie...
Asou: ......./Does he know about your illness?
Rena: He doesn't./He knows nothing about my condition.//Odds are... | he doesn't see much more in me than a little fangirl.

112
Rena: Still/he does know about the real me.
Asou: The real you?
Rena: He is/Satoshi-kun is......

113
Shoe: (Ah...)
Rena: A classmate from my hometown. We went to junior high and igh school together.

114
Asou: A classmate........
Rena: But...
Dudes: Little girl...//This little miss comes see us every day./What's your name?
*flicker*

115
Rena: My name is Amami!!//Amami Re[tn: The rest is obscured by Shoe's bubble.]
Shoe: Uuh?!
Dude: Uh? | What do you mean, "Uh?"..?/What? Someone you know, Shoe?
Shoe: Mh?
Rena: ........*todom todom*
Shoe: ........
Rena: .........*todom todom todom*

116
Shoe: N-nah, it's just that back home I knew someone with the same name...
Dude: What, you had a little fangirl back in your hometown?
Shoe: N-no, nothing like that.
Rena: .........
Shoe: You write that with the characters for "firmament" and the "sea"./Talk about weird stuff.
Rena: Y... yes./The firmament and the sea... First name's Re...//Re-Reiko./Amami Reiko.//But//But now........

117
Rena: When he sees me now he doesn't recognize his classmate Amami Rena anymore./He doesn't understand.

118
Asou: .......//Don't tell me you came here chasing for him. All the way from your hometown to this university?
Rena: ......../I wish I still looked 15.........//Give it 4 years' worth of growth, and if all went well | by the time I graduated from college I might have been able to come before him without feeling too much out of place........//But now that I look like this I can't anymore.

119
Rena: It's gonna take nearly a decade for me to return to my old self, and... | and.../Even him is not going to wait that long........//I'll be content to stay by his side under a false name......//At least/you can allow me that much.......

120
Asou: Enough./Even assuming those tears are real | I'm not interested.//How dare you speak so casually!

121
Asou: Four years, ten years. | Don't make it sound so simple.//That's time from Agawa-kun's life he'll be sacrificing to you.
Rena: !!
Asou: The time my boyfriend/will be spending kissing another girl. That's what you're talking about.
Rena: .........Ah.//I-I'm sorry. That's not what I mea...
Asou: .......

122
Asou: What a drag.
Rena: Eh?
Asou: You... and that doctor Sendouji alike/You're expecting me to grow sick with this situation so that I'l breakup with Agawa-kun, aren't you?
Rena: N... No. Of course...
Asou: Until fairly recently........ I might have stepped out of this a long time ago...//But now...(Now I'm different........//I love him./I won't let him go!/I won't even consider separating from him no matter what happens!!//No goddamn way!!)

123
Asou: ......You see | My relationship with Agawa-kun is more important to me than anything else./So it's not like I'm ever going to acknowledge you. | That said...//If I don't allow you around, I can tell I'm gonna lose him./So I'm willing to look the other way.//........
Rena: .......
Asou: Huh.../Huhuh...

124
Asou: Hey, I've been thinking | you could turn back all the way into a baby, why don't you...?
Rena: !!
Asou: That way/Agawa-kun and I could raise you as our precious little child........[tn: Okay, now that's plain evil!! :huwah:][/end

125
Asou: That's right./Turn back into a baby......
Chapter 35 - It isn't mine!!

126-127
Asou: Agawa-kun kissing you as a toddler | is a spectacle even I would enjoy seeing.

128
Rena: That was........./a horrible thing... to say...
Asou: .......//......./Huhuh...

129
Asou:Just joking, of course.
Rena: If you.../...that scared...
Asou: Eh?
Rena: If you're so scared... of having Agawa-san stolen from you.../Why don't you chain him and lock him up into a safe somewhere......?
Asou: !!

130
Asou: What? | Did you say something?
Rena: .........//.......//Y-you do that./And proceed to whack every girl that comes anywhere close to him.//For someone who looks so confident/you can be pretty cowardly, Asou-san........

131
Asou: Wha.../Some woman, you make!!//Look at yourself. Playing head games with Agawa-kun./Acting like you had a thing for him, and keeping the boy you love a secret. You're aware of that, aren't you?!!//Even as kid/you've been giving out a womanly vibe, and I always hated that about you!!

132
Asou: Be it me! | Agawa-kun! | And even the boy you love, you've been lying to everyone!!/Sincerity is a completely foreign concept to you!!//you're a much greater egoist than I am...........//You goddamn, bloody tart!!
Rena: R........

133
Rena: RAAAAAAAAAAH | AAH
Asou: AH//Ah.//AH/!!//Ow...//Aaaah?!

134
Rena: You think you're the only one having it baaaad?!!//I never confessed a the boy I love!! | I never dated a boy either!!

135
Rena: And of course, the same goes for kissing!!//Despite this...//Now I have no choice but to kiss a man I barely met/A man I don't even love. And this, every single day!

136
Rena: Uuuuuh! | How can you call that a kiss?!!/When you get down to it, I'm just sucking on tobacco-smelling spit like it's the best thing ever. You have no idea what it feels like!!//I'm 19, but now I need to start all over again from the age of 10./I can't just up and tell my parents that!!//I don't want this life.../It isn't mine!!

137
Rena: Never.../I never wanted to start this life all over again!!

138
Asou: Heh...//That's enough. Now get off!!
Rena: Aaaaah!!//Uh... uh...
Asou: .......Ah

139
Shoe: Uh, ahem.../wha-whatever happened...?//........
Rena: .........
Shoe: Reiko. Was that your.../........//your mom?
Rena: ........
Shoe: .....Well/I suppose not...//Ah...//Hey | What about dinner?

140
Rena: It's over, now...
Sakai: Eh?
Rena: I went batshit/and I hit Agawa-san's girlfriend.........[tn: She'd earned it.]
Sakai: ........ | Never imagined you had such a short fuse, Rena-chan.
Rena: ........//I wasn't like that before, you know...//It's like falling ill came with a stronger mind and a shorter temper or something... | Like it's part of the whole illness deal.......
Sakai: What did the doctor say?
Rena: Nothing special.

141
Sakai: ......../Here's my opinion | for all it's worth.//You used to keep those feelings in check before, and with your change of appearance you just gave up trying to hold everything back.
Rena: Yeah.//Who knows? Maybe you're on to something./Actually this is also what I've come to believe....... | pretty much, yeah.......//A message from Agawa-san...

142
Phone: Agawa Munenori/About today's appointment./Contents/It's a bit sudden, I know, but please come to Asou-san's place. Here's the address.
Rena: Haaaaahhh.//Surely Asou-san told him what I said and he's angry about it...
Sakai: Eh?
Rena: As for my kiss/odds are it's not gonna happen, today....... | He won't want to...
*ding dong*

143
Mune: Welcome. Glad you could come over.
Rena: G-good evening...
Mune: Come on in.//Asou-san's been waiting to see you. Don't ask.
Rena: !//Sh-she didn't tell you anyth...
Mune: Uh?/She told me to call you. Said she needed to talk......//!//A bruise...?
Rena: Ne-never mind that. It's nothing...

144
Mune: ........//(So-somewhere, something happened between those two while I wasn't looking........//I'm sure of it!![/end

145
Chapter 36 - Something went down.

146
Asou: .......

147
Rena: .........

148
Asou: ........
Mune: .........
Rena: .......
Mune: (Th... They've both got a bruise to the face.//And on the same spot, too!!//Asou-san did mention leaving work early.......)

149
Mune: (And right after that, without a single word of explanation
Asou: Call the girl here, NOW!
Mune: The.. the girl./Rena, you mean?
Asou: Any other girl I should know about?
Mune: .......//(It's not exactly hard to imagine that something went down between them...//But whatever that was....../it ended up with a couple of bruised girls......//How the hell did they......*todom todom*

150
Mune: (Pft!!)
Asou: What?
Mune: !!/N-nothing.*start*
Mune: (This situation is too much stress for me to handle, and now my imagination's coming up with the silliest ideas./I... I'm in the process of getting screwed, right there... royally screwed.//Uugh....../My stomach hurts......)

151
Asou: Agawa-kun.
Mune: Ye-yes!!
Asou: Remember what I said yesterday?/Well, I take it back.
Mune: Uh?//(Take it back.../She means what she said about me and Rena kissing......)
Asou: I don't want you to kiss Amami-san at her place.
Mune&Rena: !!
Asou: And don't kiss at Agawa-kun's apartment either.
Mune: .........!!

152
Asou: You will not meet each other anywhere./Excepted in places where I can see it.

153
*huff*
*Haaah*
Asou: I will only accept your encounters if they happen here./And this, only when I'm around.//This is as far as my tolerance can go.//Well?/Amami-san.//Can you respect these rules?

154
Rena: Ye-yes!/Of course I can!/And I will.
Asou: Never/ever break that promise. Ever.//.........
Mune: ........//A... Asou-san?//Wha... what brought about such a radical change of opinion...?*scaredy-scared*

155
Asou: ........Indeed.//This girl........ is even younger than she looks, on the inside.//Dying of jealously over someone like that/and screaming my head off at her just felt kinda silly... | I suppose.
Mune: (Screaming......?/Something went down, alright.......)*dom dom dom*

156
Mune: (But truth be told......//I think I've got a vague idea of what that was.......//Back at the love hotel, when I was screaming at Rena//How the strangely comforting realization came/that I was just standing on tiptoe, playing the adult......//I can't tell if Asou-san really went through the exact same thing, of course......//But seriously....//This Rena girl......

157
*swish*
Asou: You don't wanna have the girl complaining about the smell./Lay off them cigarettes, for a little bit.
Mune: ?
Rena: ........
Mune: ?!
Asou: You have today and yesterday to make up for.//I'll wait here. Now get it over with.

158
Mune: Did something happen with Asou-san today?
Rena: That's a secret between us girls.
Mune: .........//Alright.../Let's get this behind us...

159
Rena: Agawa-san | Even if we keep doing this, I'll never fall in love with you.//So please/don't... don't see me as a woman.
Mune: Pft!//Heh heh heh...
Rena: Wha-what?!
Mune: Seriously, you are one strange...//(strange, little girl.)*chuckle*

160
Asou: Are you done yet?
Rena: Ye-yes. | Thank you very much.*Haah Haah*
Asou: Then I'll thank you to leave, and this without delay.
Rena: Y-yes. | If you'll excuse me.
*bowing*
Mune: ......../Thanx.

161
Asou: What is it?
Mune: N-nothing...
Asou: Does this mark/really make me look that odd?
Mune: No./On a beautiful girl like you it adds just that little bit of spice......
Asou: Huhuh...
Mune: ........
Asou: Tonight, that loose tongue of yours is starting to tick me off seriously.
Mune: Duh?

162
Mune: Wai-wait a sec........ Uh, I don't think that's really a good......
Asou: ........
Rena: If you're so scared of having Agawa-san stolen from you/just chain him and lock him up into a safe somewhere!
Asou: ......../How great would it be if I could...?
Mune: Uh?
Asou: You got what you were wishing for, so you can at least deal with a little bit of pain.
Mune: P-pain? Did you say pain?!//(Gotta say, though. It' kinda hurting already......)
Asou: Alright, I'm going to take a shower. Wait for me here.♥
Mune: Duh? | Wai | You are wicked, you know that?!

163
*ding dong*
Asou: .......?//.........//What is it?/Did you forget something?
Rena: Uh-ummm...//I've got a little bit of a problem......../I need to discuss this with Agawa-san.
Asou: .........//Amami-san wants to talk to you./What's your call?
Mune: !!*startle* *blam* *bonk*

164
*crack CRASH*
Asou: A-Agawa-kun?!//Ah...*squirm/squirm*
Rena: .........
Asou: !!//Wh-who told you to get in there?!!
Rena: E-excuse me. I'm sorry...[tn: You could start a drinking game out of counting how many times Rena apologizes.:hahaha:]
Asou: I-I don't see where the problem is!/It's only natural for lovers to engage in that sort of thing!!

165
Asou: A child wouldn't understand, but adults do!!
Rena: Sorry. So sorry!
Mune: (Tha... that's why I hate that sort of thing~~~~)

166
Asou: So./What about that problem of yours?
Rena: A... actually......
Mune: ........
Narrator: Agawa-kun, way too embarrassed to show himself.
Rena: It's about my illness.../I already told you I kept it a secret from my family back home, but......//Here.//I just received this message from my younger sister. She's coming here for a preliminary college inspection, and she's planning to stay at my place.[/end

167
Chapter 37 - Spitting image.

168-169
Chapter 37 - Spitting image.

170
Asou: A rendez-vous here. This is the first time in years.
Mune: Rena?
Rena: Yes?//Sorry./My sister hasn't arrived yet, apparently.
Mune: Right.
Narrator: Rena's sister contacted her last night on her cell phone, saying she'd come to town for a preliminary college inspection.
Phone: To: Ayuna/Subject: Big sister.★★/Contents: See you tomorrow at six in front of the Hachiko statue.♪ Be nice seeing you there. Woof.(^_^)/[tn: Hachiko is a dog statue at the Shibuya train station.]

171
Asou: Tomorrow at 6...
Mune: That's a bit sudden.
Rena: Apologies...... She always does that.
Narrator: Rena hasn't revealed her disease-induced rejuvenation to her family, and she wanted to see her sister's visit through without having to actually show herself.......
Mune: But you know/that's a good opportunity for you to speak about your problem, don't you think?//Keeping it a secret from your family doesn't strike me as the best plan ever, from a long-term perspective...
Rena: ......
Asou: .......//Well/Sure enough, she can't exactly hide it forever.

172
Asou: But asking her to make up her mind on such short notice might be a bit harsh of you.
Mune: !
Asou: We'll help you with your sister problem, just this once.
Rena: ......
Mune: (Uuuh?)
Narrator: Which leads us where we are now........//Asou-san and I would pick up Rena's sister, kill some time and then escort her to Rena's.
Mune: (......But still//I know it's supposed to be some sort of girls' secret | but whatever happened between Asou-san and Rena...?/That's what I'm worried about...)
Rena: Excuse me...

173
Rena: I did fix our appointment at 6/but my sister... she's never been so great with punctuality.
Mune: That's fine, no problem.//She's only a few moments late so far........
Asou: I'm a bit excited about this, to be honest.
Mune: Uh?
Asou: Meeting Rena's younger sister, I mean./(It's gonna be crowded out there.......)//It's gonna be crowded out there. How can we tell your sister apart from the rest in such conditions?
Rena: I don't think that's gonna be a problem.//My sister more or less looks like this, you should recognize her right away.
Card: HOJO UNIVERSITY/(In Kanji): Hojo University Student Card/School Registration Number: OOQPD628/Section: Faculty of Literature, Department #1./Japanese Literature Major/Name: AMAMI RENA./This document identifies the aforementioned individual as one of our students./Hojo University, the President.

174
Asou: She may look like a schoolgirl now, but our Rena-chan's actually pretty hot stuff. | A real babe./To think there's a carbon copy of her out there...
Mune: Th-that's a bit, uh...
Asou: Ah
Mune: That would be her, don't you think?
*glance*
Asou: Wow. She's really her spitting image.
Mune: Rena./We found her.
*glance*

175
Asou: Amami Ayuna-san?//Pleased to meet you./We're friends of Amami Rena's.
Ayu: Uh? | Duh?
Asou: Your sister's got some college club business she couldn't excuse herself from, so she asked us to pick you up in her stead.
Ayu: .........//Ye-yes.
Rena: I've been trying to call you for a while now, why didn't you pick up?!
Ayu: Re-Rena?!//I-I had my hands full, and I didn't notice.

176
Rena: I've sent a couple of friends to pick you up! You be nice to them, okay?!
Ayu: Uh? Re-really?!//.........
Asou: Do you think you can trust us now?
Mune: You're your sister's spitting image, which made you really hard to miss.
Ayu: Uh?
Asou: I'm Asou, from Lèvres Cosmetics./Pleased to meet you.[tn: In Japan, it's rather commonplace to exchange business cards with someone you're meeting for the first time. This practice is by no means exclusive to formal situations.]
Ayu: Lèvres......../Lèvres, as in...//Daaaaaaaaaaaaah!!//THE Asou-san. The one who was in this month's "La Vita"!! And I saw you in "Jane", too!!
Asou: Ea-easy, there...
Crowd: Wooow. The real thing. | Awesome!

177
Asou: Le-let's show you around town. Until your sister's finished with her business.
Ayu: I bought it as soon as I saw that article!
Asou: Hello?
Mune: (Show her around town... Judging from all that stuff she's carrying, she's been around a lot already...)
Ayu: I saw this place on TV. T'was on a special report!//Wooow, I can't believe I got to enter an establishemnt like this, that's incredible. | Now I've got something to boast about to my friends.♥
Mune: ........//(From what Rena told us they're only one year apart, | but Rena comes off a lot calmer than this, she does...)

178
Mune: (They look a lot alike, which is a given for sisters but give either of them the same hairdo as the star Nijihara Yumi, and some fashionable makeup on top...//I'm wondering if Rena used to be so airheaded before she turned smaller....../So when she said she was so overly popular in college that it gave her trouble, was that just her stroking her ego...?//In that case//maybe Rena's condition took her frivolity away from her.......)//.........

179
Ayu: You look really good in a suit, Agawa-san. It makes you handsome./Definitely something else from the boys my age. | Gives you that adult, manly vibe.
Mune: Re... really?/Why, thank you.
Ayu: To think you have big studs like that working for you, Asou-san. You're really something.
Asou: Why, thanks.
Mune: .........../(......For her?/As in, luggage-carrier?)

180
Asou: She's that type of girl...
Mune: Uh?
Asou: The same kind as that Kago chick./Adept at interpreting a man's every look.
Mune: We-well, I'd pretty much come to the same conclusion myself.
Asou: Not that I have anything against her.
Mune: .........
Asou: It's just that given a choice, I'd much sooner pick Rena./She's more likeable.
Mune: !
*flick*
Mune: (So from Asou-san's point of view/Rena and her sister never had much in common to begin with, I suppose........)

181
Ayu: How did you become friends with my sister, by the way?
Asou&Mune: Uh? Duh?
Ayu: I've been thinking about it the whole time, and I don't see how someone like her could make friends of two adults like you. | There's something in there that doesn't click.
Mune: Mh... Uh.../Erm...
Asou: She's one of our contacts. She's been producing customer reviews for our company's products, at our request.
Mune: Yes, that's it. This.
Ayu: My sister? Reviewing cosmetics?
Mune: Y-yeah. You and your sister both beautiful./Maybe we should consider having you working with us as well?

182
Ayu: .......
Asou: .......!
Mune: ?
Asou: Hey, Agawa-kun. What about that present? You've brought it with you, right?
Mune: Ah./Oh yeah... | That's right.
Asou: Here's a sample of our new products.//They aren't even in sale just yet./Use it if you please, and give us your impressions.
Ayu: Awesome! I'd have to spend a fortune if I wanted to buy these!/A-are you sure? That's really a lot, you know?
Asou: Someone's really short in the quick-thinking department.
Mune: Sorry about that.

183
Mune: (Rena...//It's about time to take the girl to Rena's place.)
Ayu: Uh...//Rena?
Rena: So? How is it going with Agawa-san and Asou-san?

184
Ayu: Doing great. | We ate at some expensive Italian restaurant, and I got a really awesome treat on top of that.
Asou&Mune: ........
Ayu: It's a lot better than if you'd picked me up.
Rena: I'm gonna be busy a little longer it seems, so don't wait for me. Go to my place and get to bed./They're going to take you to there.
Ayu: Rena//That university club thing is just a cover, eh.

185
Ayu: Actually, you must be with a boy.//Don't talk such nonsense in front of grown-ups! | Darn it girl, you're really a handful......
Ayu: .........//Could it be Shoe Satoshi, by any chance?/Did things work out?
Mune: !//(Shoe Satoshi-kun?)

186
Rena: Don't be silly...//...Anyway, let them take you home, and then get to bed!!
Ayu: Alright, alright.
Rena: 'Kay, I'm gonna hang up.
Waitress: Ah...
Ayu: ........
*crash*

187
Waitress: Dreadfully sorry. My apologies!!
Ayu: Rena/Tell me...//Would you happen to be somewhere close by?
*click | toot toot*
*peek*
Ayu: .........
Rena: .......//.........*flick*
Mune: Is there a problem?/Something to do with your sister?
Ayu: .........?

188
Ayu: Sorry to be impolite.../But is my sister... hiding something away from me?
Mune: Uh?
Ayu: Are you really her friends?
Asou: Duh?
Mune: Ho-How come?
Ayu: The Amami Rena you've been describing.../has nothing in common with the older sister that I know...[/end

189
Ayu: Who have you been talking about all this time?//Cause it's clearly not the sister I know.
Chapter 38 - What are you gonna do about it?

190
Ayu: ......
Mune&Asou: .......
Mune: (So the Rena I know/is not the real one?//The girl I know/the "real Rena" (the one who looks her age)//The photograph on the student card//the college girl who was so popular it was a curse.......)

191
Mune: (The girl I pieced together from these and Rena's own explanations was little more than that. A product of my imagination.)/..........
Ayu: .........
Asou: Of course!//We do mean to get on friendly terms with Amami Rena-san.//Ours is a business relationship. We supervise her work as a reviewer for our cosmetics. | So it's not much of a stretch to say we don't know each other so well just yet.//We want women to be fond of the cosmetics we develop, as well as our expanded line of products./To that end, having multiple opportunities for personal, friendly conversations such as the one we're having with you right now, for example is something we really appreciate.

192
Asou: At least you can trust us on that.*smile*
Ayu: ..........*Ooooooooh*
Ayu: Aaaaaah./Makes sense.//She hasn't changed one bit. Always putting up that friendly facade of hers in public./That's so much like her.
Mune: I'm not sure I understand, but well... | So you see, whether your sister has a boyfriend or not, we have absolutely no idea.
Ayu: You mean, the boy I mentioned on the phone? Shoe Satoshi-kun, yes?/I don't know if boyfriend really is the right word...//Well, she's not very likely to talk about something like that I suppose.

193
Ayu: He's her classmate of hers. They went through junior high and high school together, and he's currently attending college here.//Rena made it look like she didn't care/but it was crystal clear she came to this university chasing after Shoe-kun.♥//Our parents were leery of having a young girl living alone, but she arm-wrestled her way there./Thanks to which I'm now able to attend college here as well.♥//That said, she may be studying here now, but if she just keeps staring like a deer in the headlights, the same way she did back home/I can't picture a guy falling in love with her anytime soon.

194
Ayu: Wh... what?[tn: Muuurdeerrrrrr.]

195
Mune: (I... Idiot./W-What do you think you're doing?)
Rena: ........[tn: MUUUUURDEEEEEEEEERRRRR!!!]
Asou: Hey, little girl!//Toilets are this way.
Rena: .........
Ayu: That girl creeps me out.
Mune: Co-come on, let's be on our way.//We'll take you to your sister's apartment.
Ayu: That you very much.
Rena: .......

196
Asou: Good thing she had us hold on to her keys, just in case./Here. You can give them back to her.
Ayu: I've had a lot if fun today. Thank you.
Asou: Sure. Alright, then. Have a good night.
Ayu: Good night.
Rena: ........//Thank you very much.
Mune: Sure thing.
Asou: It's going to rain, by the looks of it./Let's get home, quick.

197
*twee lee leep*
Ayu: Yes. Ah, Rena.
Rena: Sorry. Looks like I won't be coming home tonight, after all. You can use the bed.//Feel free to help yourself to anything./I intend to accompany you to the station tomorrow, but just in case I don't have the time, I'll ask Agawa-san and his friend again.
Ayu: Wow. You mean Asou-san too? Lucky me.♥//By the way, Rena/Let's be serious there. You're with a boy, aren't you?
Rena: .........

198
Rena: ......../I am./Don't tell mom and dad about it alright?
Ayu: I'm wondering about that.
Rena: ........
Ayu: Just kidding. The only reason I can attend university here is that our parents trust you./My most venerable, trustworthy older sister.♥
Rena: Listen./Tomorrow you wake up and you get to the station. Don't be late, okay?
Ayu: ......./Say.//Who's this guy, for you to be so hooked up on him?/It's Shoe-kun, isn't it?

199
Ayu: Unless it you found yourself another man/and hooked up on him instead?
Rena: That's what I hate so much about you. You just can't watch your tongue!!
Ayu: .......*toot toot*
Ayu: Just joking.//You haven't changed at all. | Rena.
*Haa*

200
Mune: Am I within my rights to assume that today's mission is now complete?
Rena: So...Sorry./Thank you for all your help.
Mune: Gotta admit I had one little moment of panic when she went "you don't really know my sister" on us./That's family for you.
Rena: I-I'm sorry.//But she's not exactly a smart girl./This is probably something she said without thinking it through.
Mune: ........//Tell me... Who's this... Shoe-kun?

201
Mune: Not so long ago/you said you'd "never fall in love with me."//You also told me to "never fall in love with you"...//By that/you meant because we both had someone we loved, that's it?
Rena: ........

202
Asou: Now that you know this, what are you gonna do about it?//You're only kissing Rena out of "human compassion", right?

203
Asou: Rena having a boyfriend shouldn't be any of your concern, unless I'm missing something.
Mune: Uh...... Yeah.//You-You're right about that... | I guess.
Asou: Come on, let's get to bed./Tomorrow, we're leaving the office during noon break to escort Rena's sister to the train station.

204
Rena: I owe you a great deal./Well, time for me to g...
Asou: It's a bit late to go to Agawa-kun's apartment, by now. You can sleep here today.
Rena: ........//..........Uh?
Asou: Of course, we'll be using the bed/so don't feel compelled to stay if you don't want to.//Just know that you're free to use the sofa......./Alright?
Rena: Sure./Thank you very much.

205
*rain drops*
Mune: ........
Asou: Huff...

206
Asou: Are you disappointed to learn that Rena has a boyfriend?
Mune: Eh?//No-No way./Of course not...
Asou: Still/You do seem unhappy.
Mune: It-It's nothing like that...
Asou: Feeling like a daddy whose girl has found herself a man, then?
Mune: .......

207
Mune: Yeah./That's the general idea.//....../I mean//I don't know the first thing about this girl/yet I've been kissing her repeatedly...//......Then again/In the end, what we've been doing hardly qualifies as "kissing"...

208
Rena: Um... | Are you already sleeping...?
Mune: No... What is it?
Rena: ........//There's a couple of things that I have to tell you.
Mune: ?
Rena: I... | I haven't lied to you.//But | that said.../there are plenty of things that I still haven't told you about.
Sakuranbo SYNDROME. Cupid's Prank II {4}. THE END.
==========OMAKE=============
209
THE OTHER SIDE OF CUPID
Making of Cupid II
An insider's view of the series' production, delivered by the author. And a bit of a mixed bag.
Please come along.

210
[Asou-san in her College Days] Chapter 29.
She still sported dark hair, she did. It's been losing color with each breakup.(lol) Standing next to her, is Aya-san (see volume 3; chapter 26). She looked slightly overweight at the time.

[Asou-san's Trauma] Chapter 29.
Agawa-kun's been doing a lot of shouting, which has startled Asou-san every time. Perhaps because she retains traumatic memories of that incident.

[Girl Fight] Chapter 35.
I didn't draw any direct confrontation between girls in my previous work, Nujidama but this time, things are different. We actually see some punches being traded, here.

[Ruu-kun's Uniform] Chapter 31.
This is the uniform Rena was wearing when she was first introduced. That's downright cosplay material, right there.(lol) It's way too small for her now, so she can't quite fasten all of them hooks and buttons in the first place.(lol)

211
[Hachiko Statue] Chapter 37.
IEver since Nujidama, I've been avoiding to restrict locations as best as I could, but this time around I pretty much let it slip that we were in Tokyo. Talking about different places without giving them away was getting overly tedious. I tried to make it hard to pinpoint the Amami sisters' hometown on a map...
It does have a counterpart in real life, tough. So next volume, guess away!

[Agawa-kun's Smoking] Chapter 36.
We've been looking for "at least some sort of drawback to the kissing thing", and this is how Agawa-kun ended up being a smoker. Which pretty much runs contrary to the contemporary trend. The Mucchan from Nujidama was a smoker as well. The author must be looking like a major cigarette monkey right now but truth is, he doesn't smoke at all. (lol)

[La Vita and Jane] Chapter 37.
The fashion magazines Kago-chan was reading with her friends (volume 3; chapter 23).Pamphlets in favor of working women, perhaps?

[You Look Good in a Suit] Chapter 37.
I heard that one in real life, from a girl I was interviewing for my research.
...She was taking about my stud of an editor, who happened to be with me at the time, though. (sob)

[Agawa-kun's Watch] Chapter 37.
One watch out of Agawa-kun's collection. A Chronomat Evolution. About ￥400.000![tn: Roughly 3800 USD.] He's been saving last year's bonus to afford this daring expense.
...Truth be told, this is a shoutout to my supervisor, who happens to be a Breitling user himself.(lol)