Short Program 23

Short Program, Volume 2, Chapter 23 (pp. 234~255)


<234>
The Way Home: Part 1


<235>
=Back in the day, it was real dark at night, wasn't it?

=That's why I think ghosts and spirits really did exist back then.
=—But the humans chased the ghosts away with their science and their lights,//Just like they cut down the forests, and upset the animals.

=Maybe if people could actually see them, the environmental groups could've stepped up and tried to protect them...

=—But, I guess they're ghosts because no one's sure whether they really exist.


<236>
=He—y, pissy-pants.

=Shouta was out in the mountains for too long,//And it got dark on the way home.
=Gen-chan!//You promised not to tell anyone—!

=He got to the guardian statue over by that cedar tree but he was too scared to move.

=Shouta's mom and dad came looking for him with flashlights,
=But he thought the lights were ghost eyeballs and he pissed his pants!

=He—y,//Pissy—
WHACK

=Shouta's still little. He's got a right to piss his pants once in a while.//You're the one that should be ashamed, breaking a promise like that.


<237>
=Alright, let's run over to Sanmon Lake!
=Yeah—!

[x2]BZZ—T

=Hold up,
=Let's wait for Shouta.

=We should hide, Masao.


<238>
=Alright,//But don't make him cry. We're just gonna surprise him.
=We know.
=Count his footsteps.//12 rings on the stone stairs, and we go out on 1-2-3.

=He's coming!

[x3]CLACK

[x4]CLACK

CLACK


<239>
=Huh?


<241>
HO—NNK


<242>
[advertisement]Rough Volume 10 in stores now!
[x2]GONK


<243>
WHIRR—

=Tet-chan!

=Tet-chan! Tet-chan!
=Mommy—!

=What's wrong?

=This weird kid is following me.
=We're going to Sanmon Lake, right—Tet-chan?


<244>
=Hey, where did you come from?
=Our son's name is Yutaro.//You're thinking of someone else.

=Tet-chan...

=Okay,//Now go home.
GACHUK

=What was that about?
=Some strange-looking child.
=He was barefoot, and he looked really dirty—

=He was chasing Yutaro, calling him Tet-chan.
=Hey hey.//You're saying he thought I was Yutaro?

=Ohh—//Right.//Your nickname was Tet-chan, wasn't it.

=—And?//Did the kid do something?


<245>
=No,//He just wanted to go to Sanmon Lake.
=Sanmon Lake?

=They got rid of that place a long time ago.//Made it into a parking lot.

=Time for cram school, Yutaro.
=Oka—y.


<246>
Closed to All Vehicles

*construction noises*

=Hey kid!//You got a problem with construction work?
UCK


<247>
TAP TAP TAP..

=You don't see that too often these days.
=See what, Masao?

=A kid that's scared of adults.

=Ohh,//Yeah—Back when we were kids, there were a ton of scary old men in our neighborhood.
=That geezer down at Maruko and Takinoya's old man.

=—Yeah,//They gave out pretty good whacks, didn't they.


<248>
=Masao-chan—
=Toshi-chan—

=Gen-chan—
=Tet-chan—

[bubble]ZZT

W-WHOOSH..


<249>
[bubble]W-WHOOSH..

=It's the cedar tree.


<251>
[bubble]W-WHOOSH..


<252>
=Ma!//Pa—!!


<253>
=Oww...

=What the hell, Gen!

CHUK

=What's wrong—!?

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


<254>
=Back in the day, it was real dark at night, wasn't it?
=That's why I think...

The Way Home: Part 1 (END)