Big Love from Ultra Deep Space ch15: Afterglow
p1
Please, shine for my sake.
p2
The oldest memory I have in my head is the sight of a man and woman arguing.
Why am I the only one who gets the blame!!
She never says anything because she's scared of her stepfather!
Don't talk back to me! She's just a useless waste of my hard-earned money!!
Sakuya-san.
Come with me to the room over there and I'll read you a book.
p3
I wish I had given birth to a boy too, y'know...!!
And so, a prince came to take the princess away,
and they lived happily ever after.
Sakurako.
If I do good things as well,
will a prince rescue me someday too?
p4
Yes.
Yes.
Of course.
If you live your life being as kind as a princess,
you'll surely find happiness someday.
p6
It'll be fine.
As long as I'm a good girl,
a prince will come save me.
p7
Eh? Holy cow! You're hella cute!
You moron. That's a middle schooler.
Eh? Eh? Which middle school?
Hey, don't ignore me!
...I'm in a hurry.
Holy cow! You've got a super cute voice!
You're way too desperate.
That's cos she's seriously cute. At least tell me your name!
You'll surely find happiness someday.
Liar.
p8
Hey.
She clearly doesn't like that, so could you stop?
Eh? Ah...
No, I was just joking...
You shouldn't do things people don't like even as a joke.
Keep this up and I'll call the cops on you.
p9
...
The heck is her problem...
Let's just go.
...
Hah~ That was nerve-wracking!
Ah.
Sorry for being so loud.
You're Mitake-san from my class... right?
...You memorised the names of your classmates already?
No, it's not that!
I was just thinking that your name was kinda pretty, so it pops into my head now and then...
p10
I'm
Teradate Ten.
Nice to meetcha.
p11
...To think you'd use the principal to call me out.
Being quite cautious, aren't you?
Ten.
...I wanted
to have a proper talk with you...
p12
..I'm sorry,
Sakuya.
...Huh?
What are you...
Even now,
I can't forgive you for what you did to me.
My legs freeze up everytime I remember.
I get so scared that I want to be all alone.
p13
But at the same time,
I can't forgive myself for not knowing anything about you.
You're wise, kind and just.
I thought of you as someone who understood everything even if it wasn't put into words.
...That's why I was scared
p14
when back then,
you showed me an expression that I didn't understand.
...So what?
You saying you wanna make up?
...We've hurt each other
too much to go back to being friends.
p15
Maybe after enough time has passed,
the day will come when we can look back on all this and laugh.
...But that day isn't today.
The things you did.
The things I did.
Neither can be forgiven.
p16
I wanted
to know more about you.
I'm sorry.
Sakuya.
Happy birthday!
p17
You've really grown, Nozomu.
...What're you looking at, Sakuya?
Don't you have cram school?
...I'm going there right now.
...Hey, that girl is kinda scary...
You can never tell what she's thinking...
Good morning, Sakuya!
...Good morning, Ten.
Huh?
...Not getting enough sleep?
It's not that.
p18
...Well,
I guess I am a little depressed.
Sakuya, could you lend me your hand?
Okay?
Eh...?
H-Hey, Ten!
Where are you taking me...!?
p19
I don't believe it...
I've always wanted to try
skipping school and going somewhere.
Eh? You're going in...?
Just dipping my toes!
Woah, it's cold!
Come on in, Sakuya!
p20
...Hey, Ten.
You once told me
that my name was pretty.
I don't actually like my own name.
Eh?
I was named Sukoya because I was born on a moonless night. [tn: Sukoya (朔夜) is written with the kanji for "new moon" and "night"]
They literally gave me that name right before the registration deadline.
A name packed with absolutely no hopes whatsoever...
...A moonless night.
p21
Then you'd be able to see the stars more clearly.
I like it.
You can see the good in people clearly.
It's a wonderful name.
I realised I had done something that couldn't be taken back.
p22
I loved how kind you were to anyone.
I loved how you wouldn't treat anyone as special.
If it were me, I wouldn't have helped anyone.
That's what made me fall in love with you.
...So what?
p23
It's all meaningless if you, who's kind to everyone, doesn't look at a good girl like me!
Hey, I'm begging you.
It finally felt like I had found something to love about myself.
Don't let anything else remain inside of you.
I don't want to be part of the masses.
In which case, I may as well
p24
just be a scar that remains inside of you...
...I'm sure you understand fully well too.
People are foolish creatures.
They find destructive lies way more interesting than peaceful truths.
They don't look at what's inside.
The one alien on this planet
p25
could become like you used to be just like that.
p26
I'll protect Lulu.
I'll keep on watching her
even if the whole world becomes my enemy.
...Later.
p27
...Ah.
I see...
Ah.
p28
Ten-sama...