"Cohabitation Age" (Kuusou), done(?)
May. 15th, 2006 06:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wombat1138Stasy has succeeded in talking me into this :) though this may go a bit slowly as I continue catching up on various RL stuff at the same time. (Mostly writing up eBay listings. I have ridiculous quantities of beadage piling up and waiting to be flogged off.) On the other hand, my copy is printed in a beautifully clear font that makes it much easier to identify random kanji.
This is the most recent Yamaguchirow doujinshi I own; almost all of it is a single long Kenshin/Kaoru story in a modern setting. The front cover shows both of them sprawled out in front of six kanji, blocking most of them except for the first two ("Kuusou": fantasy/imagination), but the entire set can be recognized from the line that's printed in the preface pages, between Kenshin and Kaoru standing rather awkwardly in their modern clothes. (Kenshin has a sword in this drawing, as well as on the front cover. I don't think it appears anywhere in the actual story, though?)
So the entire title appears to be "Kuusou Ken x Kaoru Gendai"-- the middle two kanji are the same ones in their usual names; "gendai" means "modern". I was worrying before that those were supposed to be their alternate modern names, in which case I would've had practically no chance of deriving the correct pronunciations, but luckily they seem to be stock phrases so I won't have to wade through ten zillion possible nanori (specialized name readings for kanji). I don't see any numbers on the pages, so I'm just going to say that the actual story runs from pp 1-20.
Usual disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm doing, except for juggling a lot of reference books and web lookups.
Format key--
Frame/balloon order is from right to left and from top to bottom. The kana for "tsu" is sometimes used to indicate a glottal stop, as in a sudden gasp or an abrupt break in speech; in those cases, I'll transcribe it as "*" instead.
Narrative
= raw romaji: [kanji], hiragana, KATAKANA, words-linked-inna-phrase, (handwritten marginalia), ~sound fx~
(Every so often, I splat down a comparison from wot-club's IY translations, which indicate kanji with CAPS instead of [brackets].)
- expanded transcription: grammatical contractions unpacked from the raw transcription if necessary (e.g., inna <- in a) or other analysis
= raw gloss: [word function]*, literal-translation
*functional abbreviations: [T]opic, emphatic [S]ubject, [O]bject, unidentified [P]article, [C]opula, [Q]uestion); [nC] (negative copula), [mM] (emotional emphasis), [fM] (factual emphasis), [aX] (animate existence), [iX] (inanimate existence), [qn] (quotation)
[snarky notes]
-- "occasional coherent(ish) translations"
Pagination: #N#
Framebreaks: +++
Balloonbreaks: | (if I compress several short balloons into the same line of text; otherwise, I just start a new line for each balloon. Usually.)
#1#
The title, "Cohabitation Age", is written in English between two narrative balloons-- printed rather than handwritten, but based on Kaoru's thoughts. She's waving to some of her friends as they leave their classes for the day; they're wearing identical school uniforms-- white blouse, small dark necktie, sweater vest, short plaid skirt, and dark knee socks; the general color scheme for those from the front cover was mostly navy blue-- which I assume means that they're not in college yet. If the ages are the same as the original setting, she's 17 and Kenshin is 28; the current legal age of consent in Japan ranges from 13-16 depending on the exact location and circumstances, which saves him from statutory rape.
= [atashi]-ni-wa [tomodachi]-ni mo [i]enai [himitsu]-ga aru...
[This article has a fascinating comparison of various particles, including several sentences which more or less mean "Ghosts have no legs" but with different shades of meaning: "obake ni wa asi ga nai" (for ghosts, there is the situation that they have no legs) and "obake ni mo asi ga nai" (for ghosts, there is also the same situation (as someone/something else) of having no legs).]
- "ienai" <- neg. of "ieru" <- potential of "[i]u" (say): "can't say" or "can't tell"
= about-me[T] about-friends also can't-say secret[S] [iX]...
-- "There's a secret about me that I can't tell my friends..."
= sore-wa [juu-ichi]-[sai] [toshiue]-no [kako]-ni [wake] [a]ri-no [kare] to [dousei] shite'ru 'tte [koto]...
- "ari" <- "[a]ru" (inanimate existence); where did my verb book go?
- "shite'ru" <- "shite iru/aru" <- present progressive of "suru" (do): "is doing"
= that[T] eleven-years older's in-past reason [iX?] boyfriend/lover and cohabitation is-doing [mM] thing
-- "and the reason for that is I've been living with a boyfriend who's eleven years older than I am..."
#2#
Still walking along, thinking to herself:
= [doujou] [yasu]mi-ni shita-no-wa i-- kedo [kae]tte [shiken] [benkyou] 'tte no mo [yuu-utsu] da na...
- "shita-no" <- noun based on "shita" <- past tense of "suru": "the state/fact of having done"?
- "kedo" <- informal for "keredomo" (however)
= dojo on-vacation having-done[T] good-- but returning-home examination study [P] [P] also melancholy/gloom [C] [mM]
["doujou" can also mean "gymnasium"; dunno how/whether the modern-day scenario connects to kendo or swordplay at all-- is she still an assistant instructor or is she just taking classes somewhere?]
["shiken benkyou 'tte" might be a framing quote, meaning something like "that thing they call 'cramming for exams'" without adding substantial information; alternately, it might be an emotional marker: "that darn exam-cramming time!"]
-- "Okay, I'm free from the dojo-- but now I'm going home to the horrors of last-minute cramming...."
= so-- da [saihousou]-no-DORAMA atta 'kke
- 'kke: some sort of question particle? seems to be used for semi-rhetorical questions, where the speaker has some idea of what the answer is, but isn't entirely certain.
- "saihousou": rebroadcasts or reruns; "saihousou no dorama" is something like "television reruns" or "rehashed soap operas"?
- "atta" <- past tense of inanimate-existence "aru" (not in kanji this time)
= that [C] tv-reruns [iX] [Q]
[Is she mocking her own words, complaining at the tedium of studying, or dreading the familiar agony of exam panic?]
-- "It's the same melodrama every time, isn't it?"
+++
She stops in her tracks, surprised to see Kenshin leaning against a wall and reading the newspaper. He's wearing a lovely long coat with the hood down behind his shoulders; although it doesn't really look that much like Hiko's cloak, it reminds me of that anyway. I want his coat. The rest of his outfit seems to be the same dark (red) button-front shirt and pale jeans that he's wearing on the front cover, plus sturdy hiking boots.
Her:
= [Kenshin]?
Him:
= oro
Her:
= [nani] shiten'no yo konna [gakkou]-no soba de
- "shiten'no" <- "shite iru no", a noun based on the present progressive of "suru"
[Drat. My particles book has gotten buried too. I bet the cats are napping on it.]
= what is-doing[noun] [mM] this-way school's vicinity [C]
-- "What the heck are you doing around here, near my school?"
= [sakajitsu]-wa [kae]tte [ko]nakatta kara [shinpai] shite'ta no-ni
- "konakatta" <- irregular negative past form of [ku]ru (come/arrive): "didn't arrive"
= yesterday [T] returning-home didn't-arrive from worry was-doing although
-- "Though I was worried when you didn't come home yesterday..."
Him:
= chanto [renraku] shite 'tte KE-TAI [ka]tte-ageta desho--!
- "KE-TAI" <- "keitai", originally just a noun for portability ("keitai suru": carry along) but now a widespread abbreviation for "keitai denwa" (portable phone)
- "katte" <- gerund of [ka]u (buy): "buying"
- "-te ageru": the speaker does something as a favor for someone else
- desho <- presumptive form of "desu" (copula): "going to be", "probably is", etc.
= proper communication being [mM] cellphone bought-for-you [C]
[Wait, no; it's not actually an offer to buy a cellphone *for* her, since she already has one (it shows up later). I guess this is a more general sense of benefit, in terms of "I should have bought a cellphone for myself, for the sake of maintaining clear communication with you."]
-- "Darn, I wish I'd had a cellphone to call you with!" (?)
+++
Her:
= gomen gomen [sakujitsu]-no-[yo]-wa chotto... [tsu]ki[a]ide...
- [tsu]ki[a]u: accompany, cope well with; "tsukiaide" isn't the proper -te form, though.
[This site has an entry for "tsukiaide: for the shake[sic] of friendship", as well as a parallel entry in French, "tsukiaide: pour tenir compagnie".]
= pardon pardon yesterday's-night[T] small-amount... staying-friendly(?)
-- "Oops, my bad-- last night is no big deal... it's fine..."
Kaoru blows out a puff of air in an exasperated sigh: ~PU--*~
= (ME--RU-no shikata mo oshieta no-ni [hitotabi]-mo [kae]shite-kunnai shi--)
- "ME--RU" <- meiru (email or cellphone text-message)
- oshieru: teach, tell; [kae]su: return, repay, put/give back
- "kunnai" <- compressed from "kurenai"? <- neg. of "kureru" (give): "doesn't give"?
[ -te form + "kureru" -> someone else does a favor for the speaker or one of the speaker's peers]
- "kaeshite kunnai": "doesn't return for me"?
= (email's method also taught/told although one-more-time doesn't-return-for-me and...)
[Drat Kaoru's informal diction. It's enough to make me wish I had a lot more doujinshi with Tomoe. I shudder to think of dealing with an entire story with Sano, judging from the few lines of his I've hacked through before. I'm almost at the random-guessing stage for this line.]
[Semi-parallel construction "kare wa aisatsu no shikata mo shiranai" (he doesn't know even the proper way of greeting people)-- "meiru-no shikata mo oshieta no-ni": although someone even learned how to send email? despite knowing how to use email?]
-- "(He already knows how to send email-- and he still didn't come home on time...)"
She seems to be suspicious of his excuse?
Him:
= (ME--RU? ore [nigate] de)
[No "de gozaru" or "sessha" so far. I assume this "ore" is the pronoun he's using for himself.]
- "nigate": listed as both "difficult person" and "weak point". Hmmm.
-- "(email? I'm terrible with that)"
= [asa] [modo]tta n'de kedo [Kaoru-dono] mou [gakkou]-ni [i]tte'ta kara sore de...
- [modo]ru: self-return; [i]ku: go
= morning came-back [fM][C] however [name] more in-school was-going because that [C]
-- "Well, I came back this morning, and since you were still in class..."
#3#
Him:
= [ashita] kara [shiken] 'tte [i]tte'ta kara kono [hen] de [ma]tte-ireba [a]eru kana 'tte
- this time, "itte'ta" is from a different root kanji, [i]u (say)
- "matte ireba" <- provisional equivalent of "matte iru" (is waiting): "if he is waiting"?
- "aeru" <- potential form of "[a]u" (encounter): "can meet"
[Particle book still missing. IIRC "kana" is another sort of rhetorical/indirect question marker: "I wonder if..." or "...don't you think so?"]
= tomorrow from exam [qn] was-saying from this area [C] if-waiting can-meet [P] [qn/mM?]
-- "Since you'd been saying that your exams started tomorrow, I figured that if I waited nearby, maybe I could meet you on your way home."
Her:
= e...
-- "Okay..."
+++
(upper left panel)
Her:
= sonna... [denwa] shite-kuretara
- "kuretara" <- conditional of "kureru"
= that-way... telephone if-do-for-me
-- "But... if you phoned me..."
[He could've used a payphone or something, even without his own cell.]
Him: (cheerfully ignoring her remark)
= [guuzen] [a]etara de yokattara de [Kaoru-dono] mo [gakkou]-no [tsu]ki[a]i-ga aru derou shi
- "aetara" <- conditional form of "aera" <- potential form of "[a]u" (meet): "if could meet"?
- "yokattara" <- conditional form of irregular adjective "ii/yoi" (good): "if good"
["shi" seems to be used to signal that a sentence is connected to the rest of the conversation, I suppose as a function of the open-ended conjunction as opposed to the closed-ended conjunction "to".]
[Grar. WTF is "derou"? Alt. pronunciation of "darou"? "aru darou": probably has/exists(inanimate)]
= chance if-could-meet from if-good from [name] also school's sociable?[S] [iX] [C?] [P]
-- "So if we happened to meet, that would be nice, and then you'd have some company on the way back from school."
= [issho]-ni [kae]rou
= together should-return
-- "So let's go home together."
+++
(center inset)
Her:
= un
-- "Okay then."
+++
(lower right panel; I'm not sure what the proper balloon order is in this conversation. Based on the numbers I've assigned to the lines, I *think* it's either 1-2-3a-4-5 or 1-3b-4-2-5.)
(1) Her: (top)
= demo itsu-kara [ma]tte'ta no yo-- | [gakkou]-no [chika]ku de UROURO-shite'tara [aya]shimareru-wa yo?
- "uro uro": loiter? stumble? "urouro shite'tara" -> "if loitering"?
- "ayashimeru" <- potential of "[aya]shimu" (suspect/doubt): "can suspect"
= but since-when was-waiting [P] {mM]-- | school's nearby [C] if-loitering can-suspect[T] [mM]?
-- "But gosh, how long were you waiting? | Doesn't it look suspicious to loiter near a school?"
(2) Him: (in the middle)
= [daijoubu] datte [keisatsu]-ni-wa [suko]shi-wa KAO-ga-[ki]ku shi
- "kao": face?; "kiku": work well, function efficiently
- "kao ga kiku": literally "face is effective"; idiom for "have influence"
= okay [C] in/to-police[T] small-amount[T] have-influence and...
-- "That's okay, I have some friends among the police..."
(3) ??: (to the right side, slightly lower than the middle balloon)
= sore-ni [katana] [mo]tte'ru-no [mi]tsukattara do-- suru no?
- "mitsukattara" <- past conditional of "[mi]tsukaru" (to be found): "if had been found"
= in-that sword is-keeping[noun] if-had-been-found how-- do [Q]?
(3a) Him?: -- "...and if someone had noticed that I have a sword with me-- what would they do?"
(3b) Her?: -- "If someone had noticed you have a sword-- what would you do?"
[Huh? I suppose he might have a sword under his coat, but I don't see any signs of one-- it isn't obviously outlined along the side that I can see, though there isn't a good view of his back, and it isn't rolled up inside his newspaper. Or is it still illegal for most private citizens in Japan to own swords at all, even if they don't carry them around? This article seems to indicate that private ownership is fine, although import/export is under government regulation, so I dunno...]
(4) Editorial comment?: (between and slightly below 2 and 3)
= (KO--TO-no [shita]-ni [nihontou] nante [hentai] atsukai yo--)
- "KO--TO": overcoat
- "hentai": not nec'ly smut; possibly just "something unusual"?
- "nante": more incredulous/impassioned than "nande"?
= (overcoat's under Japanese-sword what?! weird treatment/handling [mM])
-- (A katana under his coat? How weird!)
...okay, I guess he has a katana under his coat. *And* he's happy to see her. Maybe that's what the long diagonal folds along his left side are supposed to indicate, if the hilt is up near his shoulder in front and the rest of it is hanging down along his side; that might also explain why he's now keeping his left hand in his coat pocket to hold the sword steady and keep it from swinging outward. I don't know how he deals with it after they go shopping, though.
(5) Her: (on the left)
= so-- yu-- [koto] ja-nai desho? sono-ni [gakkou]-ni [atashi-tachi]-no [koto] BAREtara...
[Ooo. Someone else is doing translations as a hobby (they're working on YKK): "You can say 'sou iu koto' when the person listening to you understands what you are saying, and so you do not have to explain any more." "that-say-thing" -> ~"that being said"?]
- "baretara" <- conditional of "bareru" (become known, be discovered, get found out)
= that-- say-- thing isn't[iX] must-be[C]? in-that in-school my-group's thing if-discovered
[wot-club has a line by Miroku, "Keh, ja nai desho" ("You don't mean that, surely")]
-- "Are you kidding? All of my classmates would find out about that..."
[Even if he managed to avoid getting arrested for carrying a sword around, there might still be publicity/gossip?]
+++
(lower left panel)
Her:
= ma. i-- ya [chodo] [mono] [tsu]ki[a]tte-[mora]o %
- "morao" <- (presumptive form?) "morau" (receive); "-te morau" = action on behalf of speaker
[%: a little musical note in the original]
= [P] good? and? as-if/exactly thing (should?-)accompany-for-me
[Punting again. This page is causing me deep pain.]
-- "Well. Anyway, now you get to come along with me..."
Him:
= hai hai o[tomo] shimasu
[not the same "tomo" as in "tomodachi"; with this kanji, [tomo]-ni is "together" and "o[tomo]" is something like "honorable attendant"]
- shimasu: polite form of "suru" (do)
-- "Yes indeed, I shall be your entourage."
#4#
Much later, they return home from shopping. Kenshin = packmule. Kaoru is only carrying her bookbag and a little bakery box.
~dosa~ (THUMP of packages hitting the floor)
Him:
= o... [omo]katta... (ha--)
- omokatta: past tense of verblike adjective "[omo]i" (heavy)
-- "Th-- that was heavy" (wheeze)
Narrative scribble:
= ([kuruma] [na]i n'da kara sho-- ga nai desho)
- "shou ga nai" <- condensed from "shikata ga nai", lit'ly "there's really no way to do that" but idiomatically "that's just how things are" or "it can't be helped"
= vehicle [neg. iX] [fM][C] from can't-be-helped must-be[C]
["kuruma" is usually a car or a taxi in modern usage]
-- "(This was necessary because they have no car)" or possibly "...because there wasn't a taxi"
= ([mizu]-ni o[kome]-ni [senzai]-ni SHANPU-- RINSU etc...)
- "etc." is written in the Western alphabet.
- RINSU: "rinse", hair conditioner
= in-water in-rice detergent-in shampoo conditioner etc.
-- "(Packages contain: (bottled) water, (raw) rice, laundry detergent, shampoo, hair conditioner, etc...)"
Large box label:
= (oishii [mizu])
-- "(delicious water)"
Her:
= arigato-- [Kenshin]--
-- "Thank you, Kenshin--"
+++
She skips off to the kitchen rattling her bakery box.
= KO--HI de ii yo ne (KE--KI KE--KI)
-- "Coffee would be nice, wouldn't it? (cake, cake!)"
Him (still clutching a sack of rice):
= aa
-- "Sure."
+++
After stowing his coat (and sword?) somewhere, he sits on the sofa to watch Kaoru brewing coffee.
#5#
She snarfs down a very yummy-looking slice of layer cake with cream filling and a cherry on top.
Her:
= sakki-wa gomen ne
= short-time-ago[T] pardon [P]
-- "Sorry about just now..."
Him:
= oro?
+++
Her:
= [ori] [kado?] [muka]e-ni kite kureta no-ni
- "kado" (angle) may alternately be "tsuno" (horn). Yes, they're the same kanji. @#*(@(.
[The first two kanji occur as a compound in Chinese which means "dog-ear", as in a page with its corner folded over; the Japanese equivalent seems to be different, though....]
[Further note found here: "In modern usage, 折角 is used in negative sense, such as 折角勉強したのに落第した (Though or despite the fact that I studied hard, I failed to make the grade)"; the two-kanji compound may or may not be pronounced "sekkaku"?]
[Confirmation in Mononoke-Hime script: 折角だから代わってもらいな (Sekkaku da kara kawatte morai na) "Since he went to the trouble, let him take your place..."]
Her (corrected transcription):
= [sekkaku] [muka]e-ni kite kureta no-ni
[My Kodansha dictionary has a very entertaining definition for "sekkaku": fruitlessly taking special trouble. Snert.]
- [muka]eru: greet the arrival of a guest or a special occasion; "mukae-ni kuru": go meet someone to bring them home, pick someone up
- "mukae-ni kite kureta": brought me home
= pointless-exertion brought-me-home although
- "no ni" expresses regret/surprise when linking statements?
-- "You went to so much trouble bringing me home, and yet..."
= anna [i]i[kata] shika dekinakute... HONTO-wa...
- dekinakute <- negative gerund of dekiru? (able to do something)
= that-kind way-of-speaking no-more-than not-being-able... truth[T]
- "shika dekinai": no one else can do this -> the only person who can do this?
[The first part of the sentence seems like "no one else can talk that way", but I think the meaning is a bit looser than that.]
-- "I can't tell anyone about you... REALLY..."
+++
= HONTO-wa suggoku [ure]shikute... konna [koto] [metta]-ni [na]i-desho?
= truth[T] amazingly being-delighted... this-way thing recklessly probably-not[iX]?
-- "Even though it made me really happy... wasn't that awfully reckless?"
= [guuzen] nanka ja-nakute [issho]-ni [kae]ritai natte
- "ja nakute" <- compressed from "de wa nakute" <- gerund of "de wa nai" (negative copula)
= coincidentally how/what not-being[C] together want-to-return becoming
-- "You weren't there by accident, you wanted us to come home together"
= [Kenshin]-wa [atashi]-no koto [kiduka]tte-kurete'ru no-ni...
- kidukatte <- [kiduka]u (worry/fret)
- "kidukatte kurete'ru" <- present progressive of "kidukatte kureru" (fret for me)
= [name][T] my thing is-being-worried-about-me although
[In context, it seems pretty clear that she's asking him to try a little harder to keep their secret safe for now, but I can't quite pin this sentence down into that.]
-- "But I wish you'd be careful of my reputation..."
++
He puts down his coffee cup: ~KOTO~ ("clink")
= sonna [koto]... [jibun] datte [katte]-ni yatta [koto] da shi
- "yatta" <- past tense of the brusque verb "yaru" (do); sometimes has the general sentiment "finally!"
= that-way thing... self being[C] in-selfishness did thing is[C] and...
[Chunky, clunky rendition: "In that matter... being myself, that's what I crudely did without consideration, and..."]
[Punt.]
-- "Well... I must admit you're right, that was selfish of me, but...
+++
= [konnichi]-wa [nan]daka [Kaoru-dono]-no [kao]-ga [haya]ku [mi]takute...
- "mitakute" <- participle of verblike adjective "[mi]tai" (want to see) <- verb "[mi]ru" (see): "wanting to see"
= today[T] somehow [name]'s face[S] quickly wanting-to-see...
-- "Today, I wanted to see you just as soon as I could...." (instead of waiting at home)
#6#
Smooching.
= N... | nn#
[The # marks a little heart punctuation mark in the original.]
+++
More smooching: ~chuku~ (kissy)
= a
+++
Him:
= [ama]i...
-- "Sweet..."
Her:
= (KEE#) KE--KI-no [aji] de
- aji: flavor
-- "(giggle) That's from the cake."
+++
He pulls her onto his lap: ~gui~
There is more kissing: ~chu | chu~
[Not going to transcribe most of the kissing/moaning this time.]
Him:
= motto [ta]betai...
= more want-to-eat
-- "I'm hungry for more..."
Her:
= DAME... N
-- "DON'T..." (small moan)
#7#
Him:
= doushite?
-- "Why?" (or perhaps "Why not?" is more idiomatic)
He peels open the front of her blouse to perform a conscientious mammary examination: ~muni* | funi*~ (groping noises)
She is startled: ~biku~ ("eep")
= [ma]tte... [seifuku] [kiga]ete kara... shi yo?
= wait!... school-uniform changing-clothes from... and... [mM]?
-- "Wait... I have to change out of my uniform, okay?"
Fashion note: I'm always amazed by how improbably pneumatic Kaoru's bosom always looks in Yamaguchirow artwork. In the Meiji-era stuff, underneath her kendo outfit, her chest would've been wrapped with tight layers of gauze (similar to Sano's cummerbund) which would provide some support, but here she just has a lightweight lacy camisole beneath her outer clothes. (On the other hand, this scenario also gives her panties, which are *not* standard for kimono.) Kenshin easily stretches/pulls the normal neckline down far enough to pop her breasts over the top and out the front of her (now completely unbuttoned) blouse, in a rather stunning display of titflesh.
+++
(lower right panel)
= douse sugu [nu]gasu no-ni...
- "sugu": immediate proximity[time/space]; "nugasu": remove clothing
- "douse": expresses the inevitability of an unpleasant outcome (hey, I'm just paraphrasing Kodansha's definition)
-- "Even when I take it off right away..."
= datta... SHIWA-ni-naru to yada mon'...
[I have a vague sense that "yada" should mean "enough already" or something similar, but can't find a specific ref.]
- mon' <- "mono" (thing)
= was[C]... become-wrinkled and [?] stuff
-- "It always gets wrinkles and stuff in it..."
+++
(left side)
He checks for lumps with his tongue, too. Talented lad.
~PERO~ (licking noise)
= [seifuku]-ga [nu]gashitai
= uniform[S] want-to-remove-clothing
-- "But I want to peel your uniform off you, that's the whole point."
Her:
= yan | OYAJI 'ppoi...
- 'ppoi: a childish indication of similarity; cf. nonstandard usage of English suffixes -ish/-like/-esque/-ly etc. ("neko 'ppoi" ~catly?)
- oyaji: a surprisingly complex concept, something like a slob bachelor except not nec'ly unmarried; an older guy who's thoughtlessly devoted to his own small pleasures because without them, his life is empty? Maybe similar to the Japanese negative public image of "otaku", only not even having that central obsessive intensity... not just a loser with no life, but a loser who has no purpose in life and doesn't even know it? ...this seems to be a pointlessly philosophical note, considering. (I bet there would be a single Japanese adjective for that last clause, ending in some form of the suffix "-sugiru".)
-- "Eeee | you're acting pervy..."
#8#
Lots more ~chu~ kissy noises, plus the start of a series of ~a*~ brief moans from Kaoru.
Him:
= sou kana?
-- "Is that right?"
+++
= chanto [ato]-de | AIRON-kakete ageru kara...
- "AIRON kakeru": iron out clothing; "airon kakete ageru": I iron clothing for someone
= proper after | I-iron-for-someone since
-- "When we're done | I'll iron your uniform..."
~munyu*~ (vigorous breast-squeeze)
+++
~kuni | kuni~ (panty groping)
#9#
He evaluates the results of his manual panty probe.
= [saikin] [nu]re-yasuku natta?
- "yasuku" <- adverb form of "-yasui", a suffix which latches onto verb stems to create an adjective meaning "easily thingable", e.g. irregular verb "suru" (do) -> "shiyasui": easily done
= recent-past easily-wettable(!) became
{Guh. Can't wrap my brain around the necessary idioms.]
-- maybe "You became aroused rather quickly..." or "Did that turn you on?"
Her:
= (ya*) sonna-no [yawa]ranai* (baka)
- [yawa]ragu: soothe, calm
= [P] that-way not-soothing
-- "(eep) That's not helping (bonehead)"
+++
Her:
= yaa... koko de suru no?
-- "Hey... what are you doing there?"
He peels her panties off: ~suru~
+++
At this point, she's rather awkwardly balanced on the sofa, leaning back into the cushions while he kneels on the floor in front of her and hoists her legs straight up in the air, holding them together over his head as her panties reach her ankles: ~SURU-RI~
[the sound seems to be a cross between "surari" (something long, straight, and slender) and "suru" (clothes/hands sliding down)?]
Him: (eyeing her panties dubiously)
= [betsu]-ni [dare]-mo [mi]tanai yo
= particularly who-else/nobody not-want-to-see [mM]
["dare mo" plus a negative verb means "nobody verbs"
-- "Nobody really wants to see these."
= (ironna-TOKO-de shitai)
- "ironna" <- "iroiro na" (various)? "iro" is literally "color" and has certain sexual connotations
["toko" shortened from "tokoro" (place)? Or is it just the word for "bed"? With long vowels, "toukou" would mean "going to school"?]
= in/from-various-places(?) want-to-do
[Is he talking about what he wants to do with various places that were hidden by the panties, or is he just suggesting that they try somewhere else besides their regular bed this time? I think I'll have to completely toss the exact meaning to find a natural-sounding equivalent :b ]
-- "(They're just in the way)" or "(Let's do it right here)"?
Her:
= (ja KA-TEN kurai shimete yo*)
- "ja" <- "de wa", in this case shortened from "sore de wa" (in that case)?
- "shimete" <- gerund of "shimeru" (shut/close, transitive)
= in-that-case(?) curtains dark closing [mM]
-- "(In that case, close the curtains!)"
[Oh. There's a window right behind the sofa-- looks like there's a sheer layer of gauze blocking the view, but the heavy room-darkening curtains are still tucked off to the side.]
Her:
= (a*)[AT]tai [mae] desho*-- | [Kenshin]-no ecchi--*!
[The prefatory "a*" is written in a small font next to the kanji that starts off the main dialogue; I think it's simply there as furigana to clarify the pronunciation, so it's probably redundant for me to've transcribed it separately. But there it is anyway.]
= want-to-hit front/face should-be[C] | [name]'s naughty
-- "I ought to slap you-- | you horndog!"
#10#
Panties dispensed with, he pulls one of her knees over to the armrest (~gui~) and starts kissing his way up from the other one (~chu~)...
Her:
= a* yadaa
-- "Hey, stop..."
Him:
= hora chanto [hira?]ite...
[the "hira" kanji has the alternate pronunciation "a"; both "[hira]ku" and "[a]ku" have the same general meaning (open), but I think "aku" is intransitive and "hiraku" can go either way]
= [attention] proper opening
-- "All right, open wide..."
+++
...all the way to the top of that leg. Since he has no flag to plant at the summit, alas, he must use his tongue: ~chuku chuku~
Her:
= hia aaan | i* iya... damee!
[moaning, ritual protests, ending in "N--no... stop!" or similar, as long as it matches up with the next line.]
Art moment: this has a delicate shaded sketch of her clitoris just starting to peek out from between her labia, nudged upward with his tonguetip. Very pretty, and rather unusual compared to the usual range of illustrations.
+++
Him: ~pechu pechu~ (can't find formal corroboration, but almost definitely licking noises)
= DAME?...
-- "STOP?..."
#11#
He obliges her by changing the taste-test to a touch-test: ~KUN KUN~
[Oop Ack: "kune kune = wiggling like a snake". Oh dear.]
= [yubi]-no [kata]-ga ii?
= fingers' method[S] good
-- "How about my fingers? Is that okay?"
+++
~zusu~ (delicate back-and-forth bouncy motion)
Her:
= haaa | iyaa [hai]tchau...
- "haitchau" <- [hai]te shimau; in this case, the "shimau" probably indicates regret/dismay rather than completion: "regrettably entering"
-- "(moan) | Oh no, you're putting them inside..."
+++
Him: ~kupu puchu | kyuuu~ (probing/grasping sounds, I think?)
= hora... dou?
-- "So... how is this?"
+++
Her: ~bikun | bikun~ (shock/jolt)
= a... a... sonna-ni shitara... [chikara]-ga [nu]kechau... | ya... a
- shitara <- suru (do): "if you do that" or "after you do that"
- nukechau <- nuke shimau <- [nu]ku (remove/withdraw)?
= [moans] in-that-way when-done... strength[S] regrettably/finally-withdraw | [moan/protest]
[Oh, it's an idiomatic phrase-- "chikara ga nukechau" = "my strength is leaving me"]
-- "Ah... ah... when you keep doing that... it makes me weak... | no... oh"
Him: ~guchu guchu~
= sono mama [kan]jite'te mou (TOROTORO-ni natte'ru yo)
[My onomatopoeia book has the listing "torotto: the appearance of a smooth, viscous liquid." It's not my fault.]
- "kanjite'te" <- "kanjite ite" <- gerund/command? from "kanjite iru", sort of an extended present progressive... not just "is feeling" but "being feeling", if that made any sense in English :b
= that still is-feeling already (syrupy is-becoming [mM])
-- "So that's how you're feeling, is it? (you're getting so slippery)"
#12#
~RRRRRR~
[My brain cell must've forgotten about previously seeing this scene when I was working on the first few pages. This is the sound of a cellphone ringing from her bookbag, so Kenshin must've been talking about (not) buying a phone for himself. I've gone back and changed those lines from earlier.]
Her:
= a | gomen... [denwa]
-- "Ah-- | 'scuse me, phone call."
+++
She pulls away, half-crawls over the side of the sofa, and grabs the phone: ~PI*~ (~BEEP~)
= HEI HEI a. un [daijoubu]--
- "hei": expresses surprise/alarm
-- "Oh gosh, uh-- yeah, it's okay--"
+++
= e* [koe] HEN? a*... [ima] chotto SHAWA-- [a]bite'te [awa]tete [de]te kara... un
- [a]biru: bathe; [awa]teru: be surprised/flustered; [de]ru: emerge/exit
-- "My voice sounds WEIRD? Uh... I was taking a shower just now, so I'm flustered from coming out of it... yeah."
= haa? [shiken]-no [han'i]? chotto [ima]-goro [ma]ni[a]u-no? [ashita] da yo--?
- "maniau": manage without something, make it on time, scrape through
= [] examination's range? small-amount around-now scrape-through[noun]? tomorrow [C] {mM]
-- "Huh? What's on our tests? Aren't you cutting it awfully close? They start tomorrow, don't you know that?"
Kenshin just sits on the sofa, woozy with interrupted lust: ~mon mon~
["Mon-Mon is a slightly hentai, if not more, manga/magazine published in Japan. The term mon-mon can be used to refer to both the magazine and to the images found inside. These anime styled images are usually of younger girls in a 'fantasy' situation." (plus sample illustration of a nymphet in a negligee with tiger-striped gloves, stockings, tail, and ear-headband).]
[I'd be tempted to just change this entirely to "Oro."]
+++
Her:
= e-- to-- chotto [ma]tte ne MEMO MEMO | atta-- etto ne--
[Most of this line is just conversational pause-noises that don't really mean anything.]
-- "Wait a moment, I'll check my notes | right-- let's see--"
+++
= [ashita]-no dake de i-- no? | [kokugo]-wa-- 60-PE--JI kara...
- "kokugo": literally, "national language"; Japanese-language coursework
- "PE--JI": page
= tomorrow's only [P] good [P] | Japanese-coursework[T]-- page-60 from
-- "Just tomorrow's tests, right? | For the Japanese one-- start with page 60..."
She's still leaning over the other armrest (her bookbag is on the floor beside it). Kenshin glances over at the way the short little skirt of her uniform is revealing her continuing lack of panties.
~JIJI~ (can't find this specific sound, but from context, it's him unzipping his jeans. Oh, you naughty boy.)
+++
He snuggles up around/behind her to kiss her shoulder (~chu~) and re-establish frontal gropage (~moni moni~) while she continues to try to talk on the phone as if nothing is happening.
Her: ~haa~
= (e*? e--*)
-- "(Huh--? Um...)"
= 83 made... so-- so-- sore
-- "up to 83... th-- th-- that's"
#13#
He leans very close and hotly whispers into her ear, starting with the interesting sound effect ~BON*~:
[Oop Ack: "'Bo' is like the 'whoosh' of a gas range turned on." Orororo!]
= sono mama [hana]shite'te ii kara...
= that still is-talking good from
-- "Since you're still going to keep talking, okay..."
+++
And now, another demonstration of "hide the sakabatou": ~nu*~
[Oop Ack says, "'Nuu' is often used when something unknown, mysterious, or big appears out of nowhere." Also, nuru.]
-- ~schlorp~
+++
Not quite visible in this frame, but he has a firm grasp on her butt and is slowly pressing in: ~gu* gu*~
Her:
= (uso* konna [toki]-ni [hai]rechau?)
= untrue this-way when regrettably/finally-enter
-- "(I can't believe this-- he's going to slide into me right now?!)"
= a* GOMEN un | ato... [sekaishi]-ga...
-- "Uh, SORRY, yeah | what else... world history, right?"
+++
Her: ~puru puru~ (tremble, quiver)
= ha... | (a... a... mou YAMETE YAMETE--!!)
-- "ahh... | (ah.. ah... STOP IT dammit STOP--!!)"
= 95 PE--JU kara... | 130 PE--JU... un so... sou [kekkou] aru yo ne
- kekkou: a polite expresssion meaning "well enough" or "no thanks"; "sufficient"?
-- "From page 95... | to 130... that's right... that's what you needed, isn't it?"
~nu--ru nu--ru~ (slow back-and-forth gooshy movements)
#14#
= (a-- [Kenshin]-no IJIWARU-- waza-to yukkuri [ugo]kaite...)
- [ugo]kasu: set in motion
= [name]'s spitefulness-- deliberately slowly moving
-- (ah-- he's torturing me on purpose-- moving this slowly...)
= [suugaku]-wa e* ii no?
-- "Mathematics-- are you covered there?"
~nyururun | nununu*~ (still moving slow and squooshy-like)
= yatte mo MUDA? aha [daijoubu]?
= doing more useless? [?] okay?
[? Puzzled by this line, not that it's crucial-- "Can I do anything else for you"? "You can't study any more than that"?]
-- "Anything else I can help with? You're fine now?"
= (mou kore [ijou] saretara... [atashi]... mou...)
- saretara <- conditional of "sareru"? <- passive of "saru" (elapse/depart)
= [mM] this limit if-departed-from?... I... [mM]
-- "(Darn it, I can't take any more of this... I'm... about to...)
+++
She clutches at Kenshin to make him hold still: ~guii*~
(There's still a small ~nupo*~ squishy pump noise anyway.)
Her:
= (mou DAME... [kan]jite kichatta ja-nai no--*)
- "kanjite kichatta" <- "kanjite kite shimau" <- "kanjite kuru" (gradually feel, via "arrive at feeling"?)
= [mM] [prohibition]... regrettably/finally-starting-to-feel not[C] [P]
-- "(I'm starting to feel like... oh no, I CAN'T--)"
= gomen* [atashi] SHAWA-no [tochuu]-de mata ATO-de ME--RU suru kara | un un | ja ne--*
= pardon I shower's on-the-way again/also later email do from
-- "Sorry, I-- the shower is still running, so I'll email you later | uh-huh | bye--"
[or maybe the first half is "--I'm going back to my shower now"?]
+++
With the phone call over (~PI*~, "beep"), she frantically tears off the crumpled camisole/blouse/vest/necktie ensemble from her upper body. She looks very stressed.
Her:
= mo-- BAKAa ecchi-- [hentai] ERO oyaji--
[Hmmm.]
-- "You-- you stupid lech-- perverted porn-addict--"
["sex-fiend" seems to flow more smoothly than "porn addict", but I don't think it conveys the right degree of being a loser]
Him: ~AHA...~ (nervous laugh?)
= (ERO OYAJI...;)
[punctuated with a sweatdrop at the end]
-- "(porn addict...?)"
+++
He recovers his composure and asks, with a very sweet expression on his face:
= [gaman] dekinaku natta?
- dekinaku <- adverbial form of "dekinai"
= self-restraint being-unable(?) became
-- "Were you starting to lose control?"
#15#
She seems startled to realize that actually, she stayed relatively composed.
~DOKIN~ (heartbeat "ka-thump")
+++
Him: (deploying his hidden sword technique again)
= [tomodachi] mo [Kaoru-dono]-ga konna-[joutai] de [denwa]-shite'ru nante | [omo]i mo shinai yo ne...
= friend also [name][S] that-condition [P] is-talking-on-the-phone what? | knowing also not-do [mM] [P]
[Lumping those two lines together since their translations need to be mooshed around]
-- "Your friend had no idea you were doing this | while talking on the phone."
+++
Her:
= hidoi... [gomaka]su-no... | [taihen] datta n'dakara...
= horrible... deceiving[noun] | serious was[C] that's-why[fM]
[wot-club, Kagome talking to her brother about keeping IY from following her back through the well: "furikitte kuru no TAIHEN datta n-dakara" (It was really bad shaking him off when I came back); by reference to the looser Viz translation ("Do you know what I went through to get *rid* of him?!"), the "bad" part refers to the general difficulty of the task, rather than emotional reluctance?]
-- "Pretending like that... | was nearly killing me..."
Him: ~nupu* | nupu*~ ("pump pump")
= sonna-ni? | [isshoukenmei] [ta]ete'ru [Kaoru-dono] [kawai]ikatta yo
[With the four kanji of "isshoukenmei", the first pair is "isshou" (lifespan); the last pair can be reversed to form the expression "[inochiga]ke-de" (at the risk of one's life). Assembled in proper order, "isshoukenmei" means "for dear life", "with all one's might", "to the utmost", and other such indications of extreme effort.]
- "taete'ru" <- present progressive of "[ta]eru" (hold out, withstand, bear a burden): "continuing to endure"
= in-that-kind? | to-utmost is-enduring [name] was-cute [mM]
-- "Really? | You were so adorable, hanging on for dear life."
#16#
Complicated maneuver here-- both of them were still kneeling on the cushions, but she'd switched to hanging onto the back of the sofa; at this point, he flips her over so her butt lands on the cushions (~to~, "whump") while he moves to the floor. I'm not sure whether the logistics work out; when Kenshin was waiting for coffee, both of his feet were resting flat on the floor, but I can't tell whether his knees were slightly elevated up from the edge, as I think they'd have to be for the cushions to be at/below the level of his hips while kneeling on the carpet. (At least I hope it's carpet, for the sake of his knees.)
~nuru~ (squish)
+++
He holds her ankles straight up in the air again, this time spread apart. Several of her long moans on this page are punctated with cute little hearts at the end, despite her protests.
Her: ~biku* bikun~ ("jolt, shock")
= ya*... sonna-[fu]-ni [ha]irenaide*... [futsuu]-ni shitee...
[Reversed from English syntax, the adjective "futsuu na" (ordinary, usual) is built up from the adverb "futsuu" (usually, routinely).]
= no... in-that-manner don't-enter... ordinary do!
[Think I'll have to flip the grammar again. "Don't come in like that, do it the normal way!" almost sounds like a protest against anal sex, but that's clearly not what's happening. Pretty sure I've never seen that in Yamaguchirow, though who knows what further innovations may have been introduced in the recent Kyouken proliferation.]
-- "Hey... don't do that... it feels weird...."
~nyupo* nyupo~ ("pumpety-pump")
+++
Him: ~gugu~ (either his grip on her ankles, or her trying to pull them away; her knees are bent now, putting her feet at the level of his shoulders as he leans down)
= [oku] made [sounyuu]-rete hoshii no?
- "sounyuu": insertion; the normal way of turning this into a verb would be "sounyuu suru"
- "-rete" might be shortened from "sarete" <- "sareru" <- passive of "suru" (do): "being done"?
= inner-depths until being-inserted desirable [P]
-- "Do you like being filled up all the way?" (or to reframe it from her passive role to his active role, "Do you like it when I go in this deep?")
+++
Her: ~JUPU JUPU*~ (gooshier pumping)
= ha... ya... sugoi* | kosurete... [kimo]chi... ii
- "kosurete" <- ~"kosarete"? <- "kosareru" <- passive of "kosu" (exceed, surpass)
= [moaning] amazing/great | being-surpassed sensation good
-- "Oh... it's... amazing | I've never... felt... so good"
#17#
Her:
= mo... itchai so | haa* haa* IKUu**
- "itchai" <- "itte shimae"? <- brusque imperative(!!!) of "itte shimau" (from "iku"): approximately, "MUST have an orgasm RIGHT NOW" only with sloppier grammar.
-- "I... I've gotta come now | [orgasmic wailing] I'm COMING..."
+++
She does. With that out of the way, Kenshin can finally let go. (Yamaguchirow always has such beautiful gritted-teeth edge-of-orgasm facial expressions for him)
Him: ~PURU*~ (tremble/quiver)
= (HAA | HAA) [de]ru*...
- "deru": literally, "it's coming out", but that expression always sounds so crassly porny to me in English.
-- [heavy panting] "Me too..."
+++
= *n
-- "--nh"
~DOKU* DOPU*~
[Oop Ack: "dopyu = spurting"]
-- "wham splurt"?
#18#
Drained of his precious bodily fluids, he floops forward and huggles her: ~gyu~ (glomp)
= [Kaoru-dono]...
+++
Recovering slightly, he gives her a tender smooch: ~fu~ (sigh)
= --n
-- "Mm."
Her:
= doushita no? nanka [ama]etasan...
- "amaeta" <- past tense of "[ama]eru" (somewhere in meaning between "fawn on" and "suck up to", but in a cutely adorable way instead of the pejorative connotations for the English phrases), but where does the "-san" part come from?
["amaeru" -> causative passive "amaesaseru" -> past tense "amaesaseta"? Don't think even Kaoru's grammar could turn that into "amaetasan", though. Possibly just the simple past tense "amaeta" plus the respectful-address "san"? or is it chopped down from a negative form ending in "-sanai"?]
[To hell with it. Punt.]
-- "You're so sweet to me. Why?"
+++
Him:
= [su]ki...
-- "I love you..."
+++
Her:
= [atashi]-mo... | [daisu]ki...
-- "Me too... | I love you so much..."
#19#
= ne... [Kenshin]-mo [nu]ide...
- "nuide" <- "[nu]gu" (undress)
-- "Hey... you should take off your clothes, too..."
+++
He's still fully dressed except for shoes, of course, and his shirt now hanging out from the open waistband of his pants.
= [hadaka] degyu--* 'tte shite
- "degyu" <- "dekiru"? (being able to do something)
-- "C'mon, you can get naked too, take them off"
Him: ~PECHI PECHI~ (nervously flapping her away)
= a*... iya | [konnichi]-wa kono mama...
- "kono mama": semi-literally, "still this"-- referring to himself or his clothes?
-- "Uh... no | today, let me keep them on..."
+++
She unbuttons his shirt and whisks it back from his shoulders anyway:
~harai~ ( <- "harau", sweep away)
Underneath, his torso and arms are heavily bandaged up. She is horrified; he just looks sort of embarrassed.
+++
Her:
= ke* [Kenshin] nan na no yo kono KEGA! | mata [abu]nai [koto] shite kita no?
- "abunai": dangerous, critical
- "shite kuru" <- "suru" (do): "come to get"?
-- "Ke-- Kenshin, wh-- what's with these WOUNDS?! | And where did they come from-- they're really serious!"
Him:
= iya... maa...
= "Um... they're not so bad..."
= yappari... KORE [mi]tara H-shite kurenai to-[omo]tte...
- "mitara" <- conditional of "[mi]ru" (see)
- "H-shite" expands out in Japanese pronunciation to "ecchi shite" <- "ecchi suru" (make love, have sex)
- "H-shite kurenai" <- negative of "H-shite kureru": "not have sex for me"
= as-expected... this if-seen not-have-sex-for-me thought-that
-- "I thought so... once you saw them, you wouldn't want to help me hide the sakabatou again..."
+++
She froths with rage.
= atai mae yo--*
-- "I should hit you--!"
= (wakatte'tara anata-ni [nimotsu] [mo]tasenakatta wa yo--*)
- "motasenakatta" <- past of "motasenai" <- negative of "motaseru" <- causative of "[mo]tsu" (hold, carry, wait): didn't-make-wait/carry?
= if-understanding in-you luggage didn't-make-carry [P] {mM]
["nimotsu" must refer to the sword he was carrying around under his coat earlier]
-- "(If I'd known, I never would've let you carry that thing around with you--!)"
= BETTO-de [yame]te'ro!! kono [kenkaku] BAKA--*!
- "BETTO": bet? bed? not sure of the katakana; might alternately be BETSUTO or BESHITO, but can't see any search results for either of those
- "yamete'ro" <- "yamete iro" <- brusque imperative of "yamete iru" (is stopping)
= from-bed(?) is-stopping!!! this swordsman idiot
-- "No more sex for you!!! Sword-carrying MORON--!"
+++
She relents somewhat and glomps him: ~gyu~
= [mucha] shite... [ita]kunakatta no?
- "itakunakatta" <- past tense of "itakunai" <- negative of verblike adjective "[ita]i" (painful)
= reckless doing... wasn't-painful [P]
-- "That was really stupid... didn't it hurt?"
Him:
= n--... [kimo]chi yokatta
- "yokatta" <- irregular past tense of verblike adjective "ii/yoi" (good)
-- "Mm... it felt great."
Her:
= moo*
-- "Sheesh."
#20#
Her:
= nande konna BAKA [su]ki natchatta-no kashira...
- "natchatta" <- "natte shimatta" <- past tense of "natte shimau" (finish becoming)
- what this-sort idiot likeable finish-becoming[noun] [rhetorical question]
-- "I wonder how I fell in love with an idiot like you...."
= [atashi]... [nani]-no [chikara]-ni mo narenai ja-nai...
- "narenai" <- negative of "nareru" <- potential of "naru" (become): "can't become"
= I... what's(?) in-strength also can't-become isn't[C]
["nani no" is an odd structure-- the "no" in this case might indicate a descriptive clause; from the particles book, "Kore wa Sakamoto-san no kaita aburae desu" (This is the oil painting that Sakamoto-san painted)?]
[The doubled verb at the end is throwing me off, not to mention the double negative. The closest example I've found in my verbs book is "kono sake, nakanaka ikeru ja nai", which Naoko Chino translates as "This sake is pretty good, huh?"; I'd limp it through the intermediate stage of "This sake, it can go down easily, doesn't it".]
[Limpingly, "I... can't become more in strength than what, it isn't"-- I'm torn between assuming that she's speaking about herself ("I can't get any stronger than this, can I?") and the contextual likelihood that she's talking about Kenshin ("You can't become strong again doing this, you can't." with that orphaned "atashi" at the start).
-- "I-- how are you going to recover your strength if you act like this?"
+++
Him:
= sonna [koto] nai yo | itsu-mo [tasu]kete-moratte'ru...
- "tasukete moratte'ru" <- present progressive of "tasukete morau" (receive help from)
= that-sort thing not[iX] [mM] | always is-being-helped-by
-- "That's not true | you're always helping me..."
+++
= [Kaoru]-ga [soba]-ni ite-kureru kara [tsuyo]ku nareru...
= [name][S] beside is[aX]-for-me from strongly can-become
-- "Whenever you're at my side, it makes me stronger..."
[Blergh. Done. I think I'm actually a bit disappointed in this story; I'd been hoping there would be some sort of explanation about what was going on with the sword, how he got hurt, and so on. Oh well. It occurs to me, though, that the title of this volume is probably intended as a pun; since the "Ken" kanji in Kenshin's name means "sword", "Kuusou Ken" might mean "imaginary sword" (since we never *do* see an actual physical katana) as well as something like "theoretical Kenshin". Crouching Kaoru, Hidden Sakabatou?]
This is the most recent Yamaguchirow doujinshi I own; almost all of it is a single long Kenshin/Kaoru story in a modern setting. The front cover shows both of them sprawled out in front of six kanji, blocking most of them except for the first two ("Kuusou": fantasy/imagination), but the entire set can be recognized from the line that's printed in the preface pages, between Kenshin and Kaoru standing rather awkwardly in their modern clothes. (Kenshin has a sword in this drawing, as well as on the front cover. I don't think it appears anywhere in the actual story, though?)
So the entire title appears to be "Kuusou Ken x Kaoru Gendai"-- the middle two kanji are the same ones in their usual names; "gendai" means "modern". I was worrying before that those were supposed to be their alternate modern names, in which case I would've had practically no chance of deriving the correct pronunciations, but luckily they seem to be stock phrases so I won't have to wade through ten zillion possible nanori (specialized name readings for kanji). I don't see any numbers on the pages, so I'm just going to say that the actual story runs from pp 1-20.
Usual disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm doing, except for juggling a lot of reference books and web lookups.
Format key--
Frame/balloon order is from right to left and from top to bottom. The kana for "tsu" is sometimes used to indicate a glottal stop, as in a sudden gasp or an abrupt break in speech; in those cases, I'll transcribe it as "*" instead.
Narrative
= raw romaji: [kanji], hiragana, KATAKANA, words-linked-inna-phrase, (handwritten marginalia), ~sound fx~
(Every so often, I splat down a comparison from wot-club's IY translations, which indicate kanji with CAPS instead of [brackets].)
- expanded transcription: grammatical contractions unpacked from the raw transcription if necessary (e.g., inna <- in a) or other analysis
= raw gloss: [word function]*, literal-translation
*functional abbreviations: [T]opic, emphatic [S]ubject, [O]bject, unidentified [P]article, [C]opula, [Q]uestion); [nC] (negative copula), [mM] (emotional emphasis), [fM] (factual emphasis), [aX] (animate existence), [iX] (inanimate existence), [qn] (quotation)
[snarky notes]
-- "occasional coherent(ish) translations"
Pagination: #N#
Framebreaks: +++
Balloonbreaks: | (if I compress several short balloons into the same line of text; otherwise, I just start a new line for each balloon. Usually.)
#1#
The title, "Cohabitation Age", is written in English between two narrative balloons-- printed rather than handwritten, but based on Kaoru's thoughts. She's waving to some of her friends as they leave their classes for the day; they're wearing identical school uniforms-- white blouse, small dark necktie, sweater vest, short plaid skirt, and dark knee socks; the general color scheme for those from the front cover was mostly navy blue-- which I assume means that they're not in college yet. If the ages are the same as the original setting, she's 17 and Kenshin is 28; the current legal age of consent in Japan ranges from 13-16 depending on the exact location and circumstances, which saves him from statutory rape.
= [atashi]-ni-wa [tomodachi]-ni mo [i]enai [himitsu]-ga aru...
[This article has a fascinating comparison of various particles, including several sentences which more or less mean "Ghosts have no legs" but with different shades of meaning: "obake ni wa asi ga nai" (for ghosts, there is the situation that they have no legs) and "obake ni mo asi ga nai" (for ghosts, there is also the same situation (as someone/something else) of having no legs).]
- "ienai" <- neg. of "ieru" <- potential of "[i]u" (say): "can't say" or "can't tell"
= about-me[T] about-friends also can't-say secret[S] [iX]...
-- "There's a secret about me that I can't tell my friends..."
= sore-wa [juu-ichi]-[sai] [toshiue]-no [kako]-ni [wake] [a]ri-no [kare] to [dousei] shite'ru 'tte [koto]...
- "ari" <- "[a]ru" (inanimate existence); where did my verb book go?
- "shite'ru" <- "shite iru/aru" <- present progressive of "suru" (do): "is doing"
= that[T] eleven-years older's in-past reason [iX?] boyfriend/lover and cohabitation is-doing [mM] thing
-- "and the reason for that is I've been living with a boyfriend who's eleven years older than I am..."
#2#
Still walking along, thinking to herself:
= [doujou] [yasu]mi-ni shita-no-wa i-- kedo [kae]tte [shiken] [benkyou] 'tte no mo [yuu-utsu] da na...
- "shita-no" <- noun based on "shita" <- past tense of "suru": "the state/fact of having done"?
- "kedo" <- informal for "keredomo" (however)
= dojo on-vacation having-done[T] good-- but returning-home examination study [P] [P] also melancholy/gloom [C] [mM]
["doujou" can also mean "gymnasium"; dunno how/whether the modern-day scenario connects to kendo or swordplay at all-- is she still an assistant instructor or is she just taking classes somewhere?]
["shiken benkyou 'tte" might be a framing quote, meaning something like "that thing they call 'cramming for exams'" without adding substantial information; alternately, it might be an emotional marker: "that darn exam-cramming time!"]
-- "Okay, I'm free from the dojo-- but now I'm going home to the horrors of last-minute cramming...."
= so-- da [saihousou]-no-DORAMA atta 'kke
- 'kke: some sort of question particle? seems to be used for semi-rhetorical questions, where the speaker has some idea of what the answer is, but isn't entirely certain.
- "saihousou": rebroadcasts or reruns; "saihousou no dorama" is something like "television reruns" or "rehashed soap operas"?
- "atta" <- past tense of inanimate-existence "aru" (not in kanji this time)
= that [C] tv-reruns [iX] [Q]
[Is she mocking her own words, complaining at the tedium of studying, or dreading the familiar agony of exam panic?]
-- "It's the same melodrama every time, isn't it?"
+++
She stops in her tracks, surprised to see Kenshin leaning against a wall and reading the newspaper. He's wearing a lovely long coat with the hood down behind his shoulders; although it doesn't really look that much like Hiko's cloak, it reminds me of that anyway. I want his coat. The rest of his outfit seems to be the same dark (red) button-front shirt and pale jeans that he's wearing on the front cover, plus sturdy hiking boots.
Her:
= [Kenshin]?
Him:
= oro
Her:
= [nani] shiten'no yo konna [gakkou]-no soba de
- "shiten'no" <- "shite iru no", a noun based on the present progressive of "suru"
[Drat. My particles book has gotten buried too. I bet the cats are napping on it.]
= what is-doing[noun] [mM] this-way school's vicinity [C]
-- "What the heck are you doing around here, near my school?"
= [sakajitsu]-wa [kae]tte [ko]nakatta kara [shinpai] shite'ta no-ni
- "konakatta" <- irregular negative past form of [ku]ru (come/arrive): "didn't arrive"
= yesterday [T] returning-home didn't-arrive from worry was-doing although
-- "Though I was worried when you didn't come home yesterday..."
Him:
= chanto [renraku] shite 'tte KE-TAI [ka]tte-ageta desho--!
- "KE-TAI" <- "keitai", originally just a noun for portability ("keitai suru": carry along) but now a widespread abbreviation for "keitai denwa" (portable phone)
- "katte" <- gerund of [ka]u (buy): "buying"
- "-te ageru": the speaker does something as a favor for someone else
- desho <- presumptive form of "desu" (copula): "going to be", "probably is", etc.
= proper communication being [mM] cellphone bought-for-you [C]
[Wait, no; it's not actually an offer to buy a cellphone *for* her, since she already has one (it shows up later). I guess this is a more general sense of benefit, in terms of "I should have bought a cellphone for myself, for the sake of maintaining clear communication with you."]
-- "Darn, I wish I'd had a cellphone to call you with!" (?)
+++
Her:
= gomen gomen [sakujitsu]-no-[yo]-wa chotto... [tsu]ki[a]ide...
- [tsu]ki[a]u: accompany, cope well with; "tsukiaide" isn't the proper -te form, though.
[This site has an entry for "tsukiaide: for the shake[sic] of friendship", as well as a parallel entry in French, "tsukiaide: pour tenir compagnie".]
= pardon pardon yesterday's-night[T] small-amount... staying-friendly(?)
-- "Oops, my bad-- last night is no big deal... it's fine..."
Kaoru blows out a puff of air in an exasperated sigh: ~PU--*~
= (ME--RU-no shikata mo oshieta no-ni [hitotabi]-mo [kae]shite-kunnai shi--)
- "ME--RU" <- meiru (email or cellphone text-message)
- oshieru: teach, tell; [kae]su: return, repay, put/give back
- "kunnai" <- compressed from "kurenai"? <- neg. of "kureru" (give): "doesn't give"?
[ -te form + "kureru" -> someone else does a favor for the speaker or one of the speaker's peers]
- "kaeshite kunnai": "doesn't return for me"?
= (email's method also taught/told although one-more-time doesn't-return-for-me and...)
[Drat Kaoru's informal diction. It's enough to make me wish I had a lot more doujinshi with Tomoe. I shudder to think of dealing with an entire story with Sano, judging from the few lines of his I've hacked through before. I'm almost at the random-guessing stage for this line.]
[Semi-parallel construction "kare wa aisatsu no shikata mo shiranai" (he doesn't know even the proper way of greeting people)-- "meiru-no shikata mo oshieta no-ni": although someone even learned how to send email? despite knowing how to use email?]
-- "(He already knows how to send email-- and he still didn't come home on time...)"
She seems to be suspicious of his excuse?
Him:
= (ME--RU? ore [nigate] de)
[No "de gozaru" or "sessha" so far. I assume this "ore" is the pronoun he's using for himself.]
- "nigate": listed as both "difficult person" and "weak point". Hmmm.
-- "(email? I'm terrible with that)"
= [asa] [modo]tta n'de kedo [Kaoru-dono] mou [gakkou]-ni [i]tte'ta kara sore de...
- [modo]ru: self-return; [i]ku: go
= morning came-back [fM][C] however [name] more in-school was-going because that [C]
-- "Well, I came back this morning, and since you were still in class..."
#3#
Him:
= [ashita] kara [shiken] 'tte [i]tte'ta kara kono [hen] de [ma]tte-ireba [a]eru kana 'tte
- this time, "itte'ta" is from a different root kanji, [i]u (say)
- "matte ireba" <- provisional equivalent of "matte iru" (is waiting): "if he is waiting"?
- "aeru" <- potential form of "[a]u" (encounter): "can meet"
[Particle book still missing. IIRC "kana" is another sort of rhetorical/indirect question marker: "I wonder if..." or "...don't you think so?"]
= tomorrow from exam [qn] was-saying from this area [C] if-waiting can-meet [P] [qn/mM?]
-- "Since you'd been saying that your exams started tomorrow, I figured that if I waited nearby, maybe I could meet you on your way home."
Her:
= e...
-- "Okay..."
+++
(upper left panel)
Her:
= sonna... [denwa] shite-kuretara
- "kuretara" <- conditional of "kureru"
= that-way... telephone if-do-for-me
-- "But... if you phoned me..."
[He could've used a payphone or something, even without his own cell.]
Him: (cheerfully ignoring her remark)
= [guuzen] [a]etara de yokattara de [Kaoru-dono] mo [gakkou]-no [tsu]ki[a]i-ga aru derou shi
- "aetara" <- conditional form of "aera" <- potential form of "[a]u" (meet): "if could meet"?
- "yokattara" <- conditional form of irregular adjective "ii/yoi" (good): "if good"
["shi" seems to be used to signal that a sentence is connected to the rest of the conversation, I suppose as a function of the open-ended conjunction as opposed to the closed-ended conjunction "to".]
[Grar. WTF is "derou"? Alt. pronunciation of "darou"? "aru darou": probably has/exists(inanimate)]
= chance if-could-meet from if-good from [name] also school's sociable?[S] [iX] [C?] [P]
-- "So if we happened to meet, that would be nice, and then you'd have some company on the way back from school."
= [issho]-ni [kae]rou
= together should-return
-- "So let's go home together."
+++
(center inset)
Her:
= un
-- "Okay then."
+++
(lower right panel; I'm not sure what the proper balloon order is in this conversation. Based on the numbers I've assigned to the lines, I *think* it's either 1-2-3a-4-5 or 1-3b-4-2-5.)
(1) Her: (top)
= demo itsu-kara [ma]tte'ta no yo-- | [gakkou]-no [chika]ku de UROURO-shite'tara [aya]shimareru-wa yo?
- "uro uro": loiter? stumble? "urouro shite'tara" -> "if loitering"?
- "ayashimeru" <- potential of "[aya]shimu" (suspect/doubt): "can suspect"
= but since-when was-waiting [P] {mM]-- | school's nearby [C] if-loitering can-suspect[T] [mM]?
-- "But gosh, how long were you waiting? | Doesn't it look suspicious to loiter near a school?"
(2) Him: (in the middle)
= [daijoubu] datte [keisatsu]-ni-wa [suko]shi-wa KAO-ga-[ki]ku shi
- "kao": face?; "kiku": work well, function efficiently
- "kao ga kiku": literally "face is effective"; idiom for "have influence"
= okay [C] in/to-police[T] small-amount[T] have-influence and...
-- "That's okay, I have some friends among the police..."
(3) ??: (to the right side, slightly lower than the middle balloon)
= sore-ni [katana] [mo]tte'ru-no [mi]tsukattara do-- suru no?
- "mitsukattara" <- past conditional of "[mi]tsukaru" (to be found): "if had been found"
= in-that sword is-keeping[noun] if-had-been-found how-- do [Q]?
(3a) Him?: -- "...and if someone had noticed that I have a sword with me-- what would they do?"
(3b) Her?: -- "If someone had noticed you have a sword-- what would you do?"
[Huh? I suppose he might have a sword under his coat, but I don't see any signs of one-- it isn't obviously outlined along the side that I can see, though there isn't a good view of his back, and it isn't rolled up inside his newspaper. Or is it still illegal for most private citizens in Japan to own swords at all, even if they don't carry them around? This article seems to indicate that private ownership is fine, although import/export is under government regulation, so I dunno...]
(4) Editorial comment?: (between and slightly below 2 and 3)
= (KO--TO-no [shita]-ni [nihontou] nante [hentai] atsukai yo--)
- "KO--TO": overcoat
- "hentai": not nec'ly smut; possibly just "something unusual"?
- "nante": more incredulous/impassioned than "nande"?
= (overcoat's under Japanese-sword what?! weird treatment/handling [mM])
-- (A katana under his coat? How weird!)
...okay, I guess he has a katana under his coat. *And* he's happy to see her. Maybe that's what the long diagonal folds along his left side are supposed to indicate, if the hilt is up near his shoulder in front and the rest of it is hanging down along his side; that might also explain why he's now keeping his left hand in his coat pocket to hold the sword steady and keep it from swinging outward. I don't know how he deals with it after they go shopping, though.
(5) Her: (on the left)
= so-- yu-- [koto] ja-nai desho? sono-ni [gakkou]-ni [atashi-tachi]-no [koto] BAREtara...
[Ooo. Someone else is doing translations as a hobby (they're working on YKK): "You can say 'sou iu koto' when the person listening to you understands what you are saying, and so you do not have to explain any more." "that-say-thing" -> ~"that being said"?]
- "baretara" <- conditional of "bareru" (become known, be discovered, get found out)
= that-- say-- thing isn't[iX] must-be[C]? in-that in-school my-group's thing if-discovered
[wot-club has a line by Miroku, "Keh, ja nai desho" ("You don't mean that, surely")]
-- "Are you kidding? All of my classmates would find out about that..."
[Even if he managed to avoid getting arrested for carrying a sword around, there might still be publicity/gossip?]
+++
(lower left panel)
Her:
= ma. i-- ya [chodo] [mono] [tsu]ki[a]tte-[mora]o %
- "morao" <- (presumptive form?) "morau" (receive); "-te morau" = action on behalf of speaker
[%: a little musical note in the original]
= [P] good? and? as-if/exactly thing (should?-)accompany-for-me
[Punting again. This page is causing me deep pain.]
-- "Well. Anyway, now you get to come along with me..."
Him:
= hai hai o[tomo] shimasu
[not the same "tomo" as in "tomodachi"; with this kanji, [tomo]-ni is "together" and "o[tomo]" is something like "honorable attendant"]
- shimasu: polite form of "suru" (do)
-- "Yes indeed, I shall be your entourage."
#4#
Much later, they return home from shopping. Kenshin = packmule. Kaoru is only carrying her bookbag and a little bakery box.
~dosa~ (THUMP of packages hitting the floor)
Him:
= o... [omo]katta... (ha--)
- omokatta: past tense of verblike adjective "[omo]i" (heavy)
-- "Th-- that was heavy" (wheeze)
Narrative scribble:
= ([kuruma] [na]i n'da kara sho-- ga nai desho)
- "shou ga nai" <- condensed from "shikata ga nai", lit'ly "there's really no way to do that" but idiomatically "that's just how things are" or "it can't be helped"
= vehicle [neg. iX] [fM][C] from can't-be-helped must-be[C]
["kuruma" is usually a car or a taxi in modern usage]
-- "(This was necessary because they have no car)" or possibly "...because there wasn't a taxi"
= ([mizu]-ni o[kome]-ni [senzai]-ni SHANPU-- RINSU etc...)
- "etc." is written in the Western alphabet.
- RINSU: "rinse", hair conditioner
= in-water in-rice detergent-in shampoo conditioner etc.
-- "(Packages contain: (bottled) water, (raw) rice, laundry detergent, shampoo, hair conditioner, etc...)"
Large box label:
= (oishii [mizu])
-- "(delicious water)"
Her:
= arigato-- [Kenshin]--
-- "Thank you, Kenshin--"
+++
She skips off to the kitchen rattling her bakery box.
= KO--HI de ii yo ne (KE--KI KE--KI)
-- "Coffee would be nice, wouldn't it? (cake, cake!)"
Him (still clutching a sack of rice):
= aa
-- "Sure."
+++
After stowing his coat (and sword?) somewhere, he sits on the sofa to watch Kaoru brewing coffee.
#5#
She snarfs down a very yummy-looking slice of layer cake with cream filling and a cherry on top.
Her:
= sakki-wa gomen ne
= short-time-ago[T] pardon [P]
-- "Sorry about just now..."
Him:
= oro?
+++
Her:
= [ori] [kado?] [muka]e-ni kite kureta no-ni
- "kado" (angle) may alternately be "tsuno" (horn). Yes, they're the same kanji. @#*(@(.
[The first two kanji occur as a compound in Chinese which means "dog-ear", as in a page with its corner folded over; the Japanese equivalent seems to be different, though....]
[Further note found here: "In modern usage, 折角 is used in negative sense, such as 折角勉強したのに落第した (Though or despite the fact that I studied hard, I failed to make the grade)"; the two-kanji compound may or may not be pronounced "sekkaku"?]
[Confirmation in Mononoke-Hime script: 折角だから代わってもらいな (Sekkaku da kara kawatte morai na) "Since he went to the trouble, let him take your place..."]
Her (corrected transcription):
= [sekkaku] [muka]e-ni kite kureta no-ni
[My Kodansha dictionary has a very entertaining definition for "sekkaku": fruitlessly taking special trouble. Snert.]
- [muka]eru: greet the arrival of a guest or a special occasion; "mukae-ni kuru": go meet someone to bring them home, pick someone up
- "mukae-ni kite kureta": brought me home
= pointless-exertion brought-me-home although
- "no ni" expresses regret/surprise when linking statements?
-- "You went to so much trouble bringing me home, and yet..."
= anna [i]i[kata] shika dekinakute... HONTO-wa...
- dekinakute <- negative gerund of dekiru? (able to do something)
= that-kind way-of-speaking no-more-than not-being-able... truth[T]
- "shika dekinai": no one else can do this -> the only person who can do this?
[The first part of the sentence seems like "no one else can talk that way", but I think the meaning is a bit looser than that.]
-- "I can't tell anyone about you... REALLY..."
+++
= HONTO-wa suggoku [ure]shikute... konna [koto] [metta]-ni [na]i-desho?
= truth[T] amazingly being-delighted... this-way thing recklessly probably-not[iX]?
-- "Even though it made me really happy... wasn't that awfully reckless?"
= [guuzen] nanka ja-nakute [issho]-ni [kae]ritai natte
- "ja nakute" <- compressed from "de wa nakute" <- gerund of "de wa nai" (negative copula)
= coincidentally how/what not-being[C] together want-to-return becoming
-- "You weren't there by accident, you wanted us to come home together"
= [Kenshin]-wa [atashi]-no koto [kiduka]tte-kurete'ru no-ni...
- kidukatte <- [kiduka]u (worry/fret)
- "kidukatte kurete'ru" <- present progressive of "kidukatte kureru" (fret for me)
= [name][T] my thing is-being-worried-about-me although
[In context, it seems pretty clear that she's asking him to try a little harder to keep their secret safe for now, but I can't quite pin this sentence down into that.]
-- "But I wish you'd be careful of my reputation..."
++
He puts down his coffee cup: ~KOTO~ ("clink")
= sonna [koto]... [jibun] datte [katte]-ni yatta [koto] da shi
- "yatta" <- past tense of the brusque verb "yaru" (do); sometimes has the general sentiment "finally!"
= that-way thing... self being[C] in-selfishness did thing is[C] and...
[Chunky, clunky rendition: "In that matter... being myself, that's what I crudely did without consideration, and..."]
[Punt.]
-- "Well... I must admit you're right, that was selfish of me, but...
+++
= [konnichi]-wa [nan]daka [Kaoru-dono]-no [kao]-ga [haya]ku [mi]takute...
- "mitakute" <- participle of verblike adjective "[mi]tai" (want to see) <- verb "[mi]ru" (see): "wanting to see"
= today[T] somehow [name]'s face[S] quickly wanting-to-see...
-- "Today, I wanted to see you just as soon as I could...." (instead of waiting at home)
#6#
Smooching.
= N... | nn#
[The # marks a little heart punctuation mark in the original.]
+++
More smooching: ~chuku~ (kissy)
= a
+++
Him:
= [ama]i...
-- "Sweet..."
Her:
= (KEE#) KE--KI-no [aji] de
- aji: flavor
-- "(giggle) That's from the cake."
+++
He pulls her onto his lap: ~gui~
There is more kissing: ~chu | chu~
[Not going to transcribe most of the kissing/moaning this time.]
Him:
= motto [ta]betai...
= more want-to-eat
-- "I'm hungry for more..."
Her:
= DAME... N
-- "DON'T..." (small moan)
#7#
Him:
= doushite?
-- "Why?" (or perhaps "Why not?" is more idiomatic)
He peels open the front of her blouse to perform a conscientious mammary examination: ~muni* | funi*~ (groping noises)
She is startled: ~biku~ ("eep")
= [ma]tte... [seifuku] [kiga]ete kara... shi yo?
= wait!... school-uniform changing-clothes from... and... [mM]?
-- "Wait... I have to change out of my uniform, okay?"
Fashion note: I'm always amazed by how improbably pneumatic Kaoru's bosom always looks in Yamaguchirow artwork. In the Meiji-era stuff, underneath her kendo outfit, her chest would've been wrapped with tight layers of gauze (similar to Sano's cummerbund) which would provide some support, but here she just has a lightweight lacy camisole beneath her outer clothes. (On the other hand, this scenario also gives her panties, which are *not* standard for kimono.) Kenshin easily stretches/pulls the normal neckline down far enough to pop her breasts over the top and out the front of her (now completely unbuttoned) blouse, in a rather stunning display of titflesh.
+++
(lower right panel)
= douse sugu [nu]gasu no-ni...
- "sugu": immediate proximity[time/space]; "nugasu": remove clothing
- "douse": expresses the inevitability of an unpleasant outcome (hey, I'm just paraphrasing Kodansha's definition)
-- "Even when I take it off right away..."
= datta... SHIWA-ni-naru to yada mon'...
[I have a vague sense that "yada" should mean "enough already" or something similar, but can't find a specific ref.]
- mon' <- "mono" (thing)
= was[C]... become-wrinkled and [?] stuff
-- "It always gets wrinkles and stuff in it..."
+++
(left side)
He checks for lumps with his tongue, too. Talented lad.
~PERO~ (licking noise)
= [seifuku]-ga [nu]gashitai
= uniform[S] want-to-remove-clothing
-- "But I want to peel your uniform off you, that's the whole point."
Her:
= yan | OYAJI 'ppoi...
- 'ppoi: a childish indication of similarity; cf. nonstandard usage of English suffixes -ish/-like/-esque/-ly etc. ("neko 'ppoi" ~catly?)
- oyaji: a surprisingly complex concept, something like a slob bachelor except not nec'ly unmarried; an older guy who's thoughtlessly devoted to his own small pleasures because without them, his life is empty? Maybe similar to the Japanese negative public image of "otaku", only not even having that central obsessive intensity... not just a loser with no life, but a loser who has no purpose in life and doesn't even know it? ...this seems to be a pointlessly philosophical note, considering. (I bet there would be a single Japanese adjective for that last clause, ending in some form of the suffix "-sugiru".)
-- "Eeee | you're acting pervy..."
#8#
Lots more ~chu~ kissy noises, plus the start of a series of ~a*~ brief moans from Kaoru.
Him:
= sou kana?
-- "Is that right?"
+++
= chanto [ato]-de | AIRON-kakete ageru kara...
- "AIRON kakeru": iron out clothing; "airon kakete ageru": I iron clothing for someone
= proper after | I-iron-for-someone since
-- "When we're done | I'll iron your uniform..."
~munyu*~ (vigorous breast-squeeze)
+++
~kuni | kuni~ (panty groping)
#9#
He evaluates the results of his manual panty probe.
= [saikin] [nu]re-yasuku natta?
- "yasuku" <- adverb form of "-yasui", a suffix which latches onto verb stems to create an adjective meaning "easily thingable", e.g. irregular verb "suru" (do) -> "shiyasui": easily done
= recent-past easily-wettable(!) became
{Guh. Can't wrap my brain around the necessary idioms.]
-- maybe "You became aroused rather quickly..." or "Did that turn you on?"
Her:
= (ya*) sonna-no [yawa]ranai* (baka)
- [yawa]ragu: soothe, calm
= [P] that-way not-soothing
-- "(eep) That's not helping (bonehead)"
+++
Her:
= yaa... koko de suru no?
-- "Hey... what are you doing there?"
He peels her panties off: ~suru~
+++
At this point, she's rather awkwardly balanced on the sofa, leaning back into the cushions while he kneels on the floor in front of her and hoists her legs straight up in the air, holding them together over his head as her panties reach her ankles: ~SURU-RI~
[the sound seems to be a cross between "surari" (something long, straight, and slender) and "suru" (clothes/hands sliding down)?]
Him: (eyeing her panties dubiously)
= [betsu]-ni [dare]-mo [mi]tanai yo
= particularly who-else/nobody not-want-to-see [mM]
["dare mo" plus a negative verb means "nobody verbs"
-- "Nobody really wants to see these."
= (ironna-TOKO-de shitai)
- "ironna" <- "iroiro na" (various)? "iro" is literally "color" and has certain sexual connotations
["toko" shortened from "tokoro" (place)? Or is it just the word for "bed"? With long vowels, "toukou" would mean "going to school"?]
= in/from-various-places(?) want-to-do
[Is he talking about what he wants to do with various places that were hidden by the panties, or is he just suggesting that they try somewhere else besides their regular bed this time? I think I'll have to completely toss the exact meaning to find a natural-sounding equivalent :b ]
-- "(They're just in the way)" or "(Let's do it right here)"?
Her:
= (ja KA-TEN kurai shimete yo*)
- "ja" <- "de wa", in this case shortened from "sore de wa" (in that case)?
- "shimete" <- gerund of "shimeru" (shut/close, transitive)
= in-that-case(?) curtains dark closing [mM]
-- "(In that case, close the curtains!)"
[Oh. There's a window right behind the sofa-- looks like there's a sheer layer of gauze blocking the view, but the heavy room-darkening curtains are still tucked off to the side.]
Her:
= (a*)[AT]tai [mae] desho*-- | [Kenshin]-no ecchi--*!
[The prefatory "a*" is written in a small font next to the kanji that starts off the main dialogue; I think it's simply there as furigana to clarify the pronunciation, so it's probably redundant for me to've transcribed it separately. But there it is anyway.]
= want-to-hit front/face should-be[C] | [name]'s naughty
-- "I ought to slap you-- | you horndog!"
#10#
Panties dispensed with, he pulls one of her knees over to the armrest (~gui~) and starts kissing his way up from the other one (~chu~)...
Her:
= a* yadaa
-- "Hey, stop..."
Him:
= hora chanto [hira?]ite...
[the "hira" kanji has the alternate pronunciation "a"; both "[hira]ku" and "[a]ku" have the same general meaning (open), but I think "aku" is intransitive and "hiraku" can go either way]
= [attention] proper opening
-- "All right, open wide..."
+++
...all the way to the top of that leg. Since he has no flag to plant at the summit, alas, he must use his tongue: ~chuku chuku~
Her:
= hia aaan | i* iya... damee!
[moaning, ritual protests, ending in "N--no... stop!" or similar, as long as it matches up with the next line.]
Art moment: this has a delicate shaded sketch of her clitoris just starting to peek out from between her labia, nudged upward with his tonguetip. Very pretty, and rather unusual compared to the usual range of illustrations.
+++
Him: ~pechu pechu~ (can't find formal corroboration, but almost definitely licking noises)
= DAME?...
-- "STOP?..."
#11#
He obliges her by changing the taste-test to a touch-test: ~KUN KUN~
[Oop Ack: "kune kune = wiggling like a snake". Oh dear.]
= [yubi]-no [kata]-ga ii?
= fingers' method[S] good
-- "How about my fingers? Is that okay?"
+++
~zusu~ (delicate back-and-forth bouncy motion)
Her:
= haaa | iyaa [hai]tchau...
- "haitchau" <- [hai]te shimau; in this case, the "shimau" probably indicates regret/dismay rather than completion: "regrettably entering"
-- "(moan) | Oh no, you're putting them inside..."
+++
Him: ~kupu puchu | kyuuu~ (probing/grasping sounds, I think?)
= hora... dou?
-- "So... how is this?"
+++
Her: ~bikun | bikun~ (shock/jolt)
= a... a... sonna-ni shitara... [chikara]-ga [nu]kechau... | ya... a
- shitara <- suru (do): "if you do that" or "after you do that"
- nukechau <- nuke shimau <- [nu]ku (remove/withdraw)?
= [moans] in-that-way when-done... strength[S] regrettably/finally-withdraw | [moan/protest]
[Oh, it's an idiomatic phrase-- "chikara ga nukechau" = "my strength is leaving me"]
-- "Ah... ah... when you keep doing that... it makes me weak... | no... oh"
Him: ~guchu guchu~
= sono mama [kan]jite'te mou (TOROTORO-ni natte'ru yo)
[My onomatopoeia book has the listing "torotto: the appearance of a smooth, viscous liquid." It's not my fault.]
- "kanjite'te" <- "kanjite ite" <- gerund/command? from "kanjite iru", sort of an extended present progressive... not just "is feeling" but "being feeling", if that made any sense in English :b
= that still is-feeling already (syrupy is-becoming [mM])
-- "So that's how you're feeling, is it? (you're getting so slippery)"
#12#
~RRRRRR~
[My brain cell must've forgotten about previously seeing this scene when I was working on the first few pages. This is the sound of a cellphone ringing from her bookbag, so Kenshin must've been talking about (not) buying a phone for himself. I've gone back and changed those lines from earlier.]
Her:
= a | gomen... [denwa]
-- "Ah-- | 'scuse me, phone call."
+++
She pulls away, half-crawls over the side of the sofa, and grabs the phone: ~PI*~ (~BEEP~)
= HEI HEI a. un [daijoubu]--
- "hei": expresses surprise/alarm
-- "Oh gosh, uh-- yeah, it's okay--"
+++
= e* [koe] HEN? a*... [ima] chotto SHAWA-- [a]bite'te [awa]tete [de]te kara... un
- [a]biru: bathe; [awa]teru: be surprised/flustered; [de]ru: emerge/exit
-- "My voice sounds WEIRD? Uh... I was taking a shower just now, so I'm flustered from coming out of it... yeah."
= haa? [shiken]-no [han'i]? chotto [ima]-goro [ma]ni[a]u-no? [ashita] da yo--?
- "maniau": manage without something, make it on time, scrape through
= [] examination's range? small-amount around-now scrape-through[noun]? tomorrow [C] {mM]
-- "Huh? What's on our tests? Aren't you cutting it awfully close? They start tomorrow, don't you know that?"
Kenshin just sits on the sofa, woozy with interrupted lust: ~mon mon~
["Mon-Mon is a slightly hentai, if not more, manga/magazine published in Japan. The term mon-mon can be used to refer to both the magazine and to the images found inside. These anime styled images are usually of younger girls in a 'fantasy' situation." (plus sample illustration of a nymphet in a negligee with tiger-striped gloves, stockings, tail, and ear-headband).]
[I'd be tempted to just change this entirely to "Oro."]
+++
Her:
= e-- to-- chotto [ma]tte ne MEMO MEMO | atta-- etto ne--
[Most of this line is just conversational pause-noises that don't really mean anything.]
-- "Wait a moment, I'll check my notes | right-- let's see--"
+++
= [ashita]-no dake de i-- no? | [kokugo]-wa-- 60-PE--JI kara...
- "kokugo": literally, "national language"; Japanese-language coursework
- "PE--JI": page
= tomorrow's only [P] good [P] | Japanese-coursework[T]-- page-60 from
-- "Just tomorrow's tests, right? | For the Japanese one-- start with page 60..."
She's still leaning over the other armrest (her bookbag is on the floor beside it). Kenshin glances over at the way the short little skirt of her uniform is revealing her continuing lack of panties.
~JIJI~ (can't find this specific sound, but from context, it's him unzipping his jeans. Oh, you naughty boy.)
+++
He snuggles up around/behind her to kiss her shoulder (~chu~) and re-establish frontal gropage (~moni moni~) while she continues to try to talk on the phone as if nothing is happening.
Her: ~haa~
= (e*? e--*)
-- "(Huh--? Um...)"
= 83 made... so-- so-- sore
-- "up to 83... th-- th-- that's"
#13#
He leans very close and hotly whispers into her ear, starting with the interesting sound effect ~BON*~:
[Oop Ack: "'Bo' is like the 'whoosh' of a gas range turned on." Orororo!]
= sono mama [hana]shite'te ii kara...
= that still is-talking good from
-- "Since you're still going to keep talking, okay..."
+++
And now, another demonstration of "hide the sakabatou": ~nu*~
[Oop Ack says, "'Nuu' is often used when something unknown, mysterious, or big appears out of nowhere." Also, nuru.]
-- ~schlorp~
+++
Not quite visible in this frame, but he has a firm grasp on her butt and is slowly pressing in: ~gu* gu*~
Her:
= (uso* konna [toki]-ni [hai]rechau?)
= untrue this-way when regrettably/finally-enter
-- "(I can't believe this-- he's going to slide into me right now?!)"
= a* GOMEN un | ato... [sekaishi]-ga...
-- "Uh, SORRY, yeah | what else... world history, right?"
+++
Her: ~puru puru~ (tremble, quiver)
= ha... | (a... a... mou YAMETE YAMETE--!!)
-- "ahh... | (ah.. ah... STOP IT dammit STOP--!!)"
= 95 PE--JU kara... | 130 PE--JU... un so... sou [kekkou] aru yo ne
- kekkou: a polite expresssion meaning "well enough" or "no thanks"; "sufficient"?
-- "From page 95... | to 130... that's right... that's what you needed, isn't it?"
~nu--ru nu--ru~ (slow back-and-forth gooshy movements)
#14#
= (a-- [Kenshin]-no IJIWARU-- waza-to yukkuri [ugo]kaite...)
- [ugo]kasu: set in motion
= [name]'s spitefulness-- deliberately slowly moving
-- (ah-- he's torturing me on purpose-- moving this slowly...)
= [suugaku]-wa e* ii no?
-- "Mathematics-- are you covered there?"
~nyururun | nununu*~ (still moving slow and squooshy-like)
= yatte mo MUDA? aha [daijoubu]?
= doing more useless? [?] okay?
[? Puzzled by this line, not that it's crucial-- "Can I do anything else for you"? "You can't study any more than that"?]
-- "Anything else I can help with? You're fine now?"
= (mou kore [ijou] saretara... [atashi]... mou...)
- saretara <- conditional of "sareru"? <- passive of "saru" (elapse/depart)
= [mM] this limit if-departed-from?... I... [mM]
-- "(Darn it, I can't take any more of this... I'm... about to...)
+++
She clutches at Kenshin to make him hold still: ~guii*~
(There's still a small ~nupo*~ squishy pump noise anyway.)
Her:
= (mou DAME... [kan]jite kichatta ja-nai no--*)
- "kanjite kichatta" <- "kanjite kite shimau" <- "kanjite kuru" (gradually feel, via "arrive at feeling"?)
= [mM] [prohibition]... regrettably/finally-starting-to-feel not[C] [P]
-- "(I'm starting to feel like... oh no, I CAN'T--)"
= gomen* [atashi] SHAWA-no [tochuu]-de mata ATO-de ME--RU suru kara | un un | ja ne--*
= pardon I shower's on-the-way again/also later email do from
-- "Sorry, I-- the shower is still running, so I'll email you later | uh-huh | bye--"
[or maybe the first half is "--I'm going back to my shower now"?]
+++
With the phone call over (~PI*~, "beep"), she frantically tears off the crumpled camisole/blouse/vest/necktie ensemble from her upper body. She looks very stressed.
Her:
= mo-- BAKAa ecchi-- [hentai] ERO oyaji--
[Hmmm.]
-- "You-- you stupid lech-- perverted porn-addict--"
["sex-fiend" seems to flow more smoothly than "porn addict", but I don't think it conveys the right degree of being a loser]
Him: ~AHA...~ (nervous laugh?)
= (ERO OYAJI...;)
[punctuated with a sweatdrop at the end]
-- "(porn addict...?)"
+++
He recovers his composure and asks, with a very sweet expression on his face:
= [gaman] dekinaku natta?
- dekinaku <- adverbial form of "dekinai"
= self-restraint being-unable(?) became
-- "Were you starting to lose control?"
#15#
She seems startled to realize that actually, she stayed relatively composed.
~DOKIN~ (heartbeat "ka-thump")
+++
Him: (deploying his hidden sword technique again)
= [tomodachi] mo [Kaoru-dono]-ga konna-[joutai] de [denwa]-shite'ru nante | [omo]i mo shinai yo ne...
= friend also [name][S] that-condition [P] is-talking-on-the-phone what? | knowing also not-do [mM] [P]
[Lumping those two lines together since their translations need to be mooshed around]
-- "Your friend had no idea you were doing this | while talking on the phone."
+++
Her:
= hidoi... [gomaka]su-no... | [taihen] datta n'dakara...
= horrible... deceiving[noun] | serious was[C] that's-why[fM]
[wot-club, Kagome talking to her brother about keeping IY from following her back through the well: "furikitte kuru no TAIHEN datta n-dakara" (It was really bad shaking him off when I came back); by reference to the looser Viz translation ("Do you know what I went through to get *rid* of him?!"), the "bad" part refers to the general difficulty of the task, rather than emotional reluctance?]
-- "Pretending like that... | was nearly killing me..."
Him: ~nupu* | nupu*~ ("pump pump")
= sonna-ni? | [isshoukenmei] [ta]ete'ru [Kaoru-dono] [kawai]ikatta yo
[With the four kanji of "isshoukenmei", the first pair is "isshou" (lifespan); the last pair can be reversed to form the expression "[inochiga]ke-de" (at the risk of one's life). Assembled in proper order, "isshoukenmei" means "for dear life", "with all one's might", "to the utmost", and other such indications of extreme effort.]
- "taete'ru" <- present progressive of "[ta]eru" (hold out, withstand, bear a burden): "continuing to endure"
= in-that-kind? | to-utmost is-enduring [name] was-cute [mM]
-- "Really? | You were so adorable, hanging on for dear life."
#16#
Complicated maneuver here-- both of them were still kneeling on the cushions, but she'd switched to hanging onto the back of the sofa; at this point, he flips her over so her butt lands on the cushions (~to~, "whump") while he moves to the floor. I'm not sure whether the logistics work out; when Kenshin was waiting for coffee, both of his feet were resting flat on the floor, but I can't tell whether his knees were slightly elevated up from the edge, as I think they'd have to be for the cushions to be at/below the level of his hips while kneeling on the carpet. (At least I hope it's carpet, for the sake of his knees.)
~nuru~ (squish)
+++
He holds her ankles straight up in the air again, this time spread apart. Several of her long moans on this page are punctated with cute little hearts at the end, despite her protests.
Her: ~biku* bikun~ ("jolt, shock")
= ya*... sonna-[fu]-ni [ha]irenaide*... [futsuu]-ni shitee...
[Reversed from English syntax, the adjective "futsuu na" (ordinary, usual) is built up from the adverb "futsuu" (usually, routinely).]
= no... in-that-manner don't-enter... ordinary do!
[Think I'll have to flip the grammar again. "Don't come in like that, do it the normal way!" almost sounds like a protest against anal sex, but that's clearly not what's happening. Pretty sure I've never seen that in Yamaguchirow, though who knows what further innovations may have been introduced in the recent Kyouken proliferation.]
-- "Hey... don't do that... it feels weird...."
~nyupo* nyupo~ ("pumpety-pump")
+++
Him: ~gugu~ (either his grip on her ankles, or her trying to pull them away; her knees are bent now, putting her feet at the level of his shoulders as he leans down)
= [oku] made [sounyuu]-rete hoshii no?
- "sounyuu": insertion; the normal way of turning this into a verb would be "sounyuu suru"
- "-rete" might be shortened from "sarete" <- "sareru" <- passive of "suru" (do): "being done"?
= inner-depths until being-inserted desirable [P]
-- "Do you like being filled up all the way?" (or to reframe it from her passive role to his active role, "Do you like it when I go in this deep?")
+++
Her: ~JUPU JUPU*~ (gooshier pumping)
= ha... ya... sugoi* | kosurete... [kimo]chi... ii
- "kosurete" <- ~"kosarete"? <- "kosareru" <- passive of "kosu" (exceed, surpass)
= [moaning] amazing/great | being-surpassed sensation good
-- "Oh... it's... amazing | I've never... felt... so good"
#17#
Her:
= mo... itchai so | haa* haa* IKUu**
- "itchai" <- "itte shimae"? <- brusque imperative(!!!) of "itte shimau" (from "iku"): approximately, "MUST have an orgasm RIGHT NOW" only with sloppier grammar.
-- "I... I've gotta come now | [orgasmic wailing] I'm COMING..."
+++
She does. With that out of the way, Kenshin can finally let go. (Yamaguchirow always has such beautiful gritted-teeth edge-of-orgasm facial expressions for him)
Him: ~PURU*~ (tremble/quiver)
= (HAA | HAA) [de]ru*...
- "deru": literally, "it's coming out", but that expression always sounds so crassly porny to me in English.
-- [heavy panting] "Me too..."
+++
= *n
-- "--nh"
~DOKU* DOPU*~
[Oop Ack: "dopyu = spurting"]
-- "wham splurt"?
#18#
Drained of his precious bodily fluids, he floops forward and huggles her: ~gyu~ (glomp)
= [Kaoru-dono]...
+++
Recovering slightly, he gives her a tender smooch: ~fu~ (sigh)
= --n
-- "Mm."
Her:
= doushita no? nanka [ama]etasan...
- "amaeta" <- past tense of "[ama]eru" (somewhere in meaning between "fawn on" and "suck up to", but in a cutely adorable way instead of the pejorative connotations for the English phrases), but where does the "-san" part come from?
["amaeru" -> causative passive "amaesaseru" -> past tense "amaesaseta"? Don't think even Kaoru's grammar could turn that into "amaetasan", though. Possibly just the simple past tense "amaeta" plus the respectful-address "san"? or is it chopped down from a negative form ending in "-sanai"?]
[To hell with it. Punt.]
-- "You're so sweet to me. Why?"
+++
Him:
= [su]ki...
-- "I love you..."
+++
Her:
= [atashi]-mo... | [daisu]ki...
-- "Me too... | I love you so much..."
#19#
= ne... [Kenshin]-mo [nu]ide...
- "nuide" <- "[nu]gu" (undress)
-- "Hey... you should take off your clothes, too..."
+++
He's still fully dressed except for shoes, of course, and his shirt now hanging out from the open waistband of his pants.
= [hadaka] degyu--* 'tte shite
- "degyu" <- "dekiru"? (being able to do something)
-- "C'mon, you can get naked too, take them off"
Him: ~PECHI PECHI~ (nervously flapping her away)
= a*... iya | [konnichi]-wa kono mama...
- "kono mama": semi-literally, "still this"-- referring to himself or his clothes?
-- "Uh... no | today, let me keep them on..."
+++
She unbuttons his shirt and whisks it back from his shoulders anyway:
~harai~ ( <- "harau", sweep away)
Underneath, his torso and arms are heavily bandaged up. She is horrified; he just looks sort of embarrassed.
+++
Her:
= ke* [Kenshin] nan na no yo kono KEGA! | mata [abu]nai [koto] shite kita no?
- "abunai": dangerous, critical
- "shite kuru" <- "suru" (do): "come to get"?
-- "Ke-- Kenshin, wh-- what's with these WOUNDS?! | And where did they come from-- they're really serious!"
Him:
= iya... maa...
= "Um... they're not so bad..."
= yappari... KORE [mi]tara H-shite kurenai to-[omo]tte...
- "mitara" <- conditional of "[mi]ru" (see)
- "H-shite" expands out in Japanese pronunciation to "ecchi shite" <- "ecchi suru" (make love, have sex)
- "H-shite kurenai" <- negative of "H-shite kureru": "not have sex for me"
= as-expected... this if-seen not-have-sex-for-me thought-that
-- "I thought so... once you saw them, you wouldn't want to help me hide the sakabatou again..."
+++
She froths with rage.
= atai mae yo--*
-- "I should hit you--!"
= (wakatte'tara anata-ni [nimotsu] [mo]tasenakatta wa yo--*)
- "motasenakatta" <- past of "motasenai" <- negative of "motaseru" <- causative of "[mo]tsu" (hold, carry, wait): didn't-make-wait/carry?
= if-understanding in-you luggage didn't-make-carry [P] {mM]
["nimotsu" must refer to the sword he was carrying around under his coat earlier]
-- "(If I'd known, I never would've let you carry that thing around with you--!)"
= BETTO-de [yame]te'ro!! kono [kenkaku] BAKA--*!
- "BETTO": bet? bed? not sure of the katakana; might alternately be BETSUTO or BESHITO, but can't see any search results for either of those
- "yamete'ro" <- "yamete iro" <- brusque imperative of "yamete iru" (is stopping)
= from-bed(?) is-stopping!!! this swordsman idiot
-- "No more sex for you!!! Sword-carrying MORON--!"
+++
She relents somewhat and glomps him: ~gyu~
= [mucha] shite... [ita]kunakatta no?
- "itakunakatta" <- past tense of "itakunai" <- negative of verblike adjective "[ita]i" (painful)
= reckless doing... wasn't-painful [P]
-- "That was really stupid... didn't it hurt?"
Him:
= n--... [kimo]chi yokatta
- "yokatta" <- irregular past tense of verblike adjective "ii/yoi" (good)
-- "Mm... it felt great."
Her:
= moo*
-- "Sheesh."
#20#
Her:
= nande konna BAKA [su]ki natchatta-no kashira...
- "natchatta" <- "natte shimatta" <- past tense of "natte shimau" (finish becoming)
- what this-sort idiot likeable finish-becoming[noun] [rhetorical question]
-- "I wonder how I fell in love with an idiot like you...."
= [atashi]... [nani]-no [chikara]-ni mo narenai ja-nai...
- "narenai" <- negative of "nareru" <- potential of "naru" (become): "can't become"
= I... what's(?) in-strength also can't-become isn't[C]
["nani no" is an odd structure-- the "no" in this case might indicate a descriptive clause; from the particles book, "Kore wa Sakamoto-san no kaita aburae desu" (This is the oil painting that Sakamoto-san painted)?]
[The doubled verb at the end is throwing me off, not to mention the double negative. The closest example I've found in my verbs book is "kono sake, nakanaka ikeru ja nai", which Naoko Chino translates as "This sake is pretty good, huh?"; I'd limp it through the intermediate stage of "This sake, it can go down easily, doesn't it".]
[Limpingly, "I... can't become more in strength than what, it isn't"-- I'm torn between assuming that she's speaking about herself ("I can't get any stronger than this, can I?") and the contextual likelihood that she's talking about Kenshin ("You can't become strong again doing this, you can't." with that orphaned "atashi" at the start).
-- "I-- how are you going to recover your strength if you act like this?"
+++
Him:
= sonna [koto] nai yo | itsu-mo [tasu]kete-moratte'ru...
- "tasukete moratte'ru" <- present progressive of "tasukete morau" (receive help from)
= that-sort thing not[iX] [mM] | always is-being-helped-by
-- "That's not true | you're always helping me..."
+++
= [Kaoru]-ga [soba]-ni ite-kureru kara [tsuyo]ku nareru...
= [name][S] beside is[aX]-for-me from strongly can-become
-- "Whenever you're at my side, it makes me stronger..."
[Blergh. Done. I think I'm actually a bit disappointed in this story; I'd been hoping there would be some sort of explanation about what was going on with the sword, how he got hurt, and so on. Oh well. It occurs to me, though, that the title of this volume is probably intended as a pun; since the "Ken" kanji in Kenshin's name means "sword", "Kuusou Ken" might mean "imaginary sword" (since we never *do* see an actual physical katana) as well as something like "theoretical Kenshin". Crouching Kaoru, Hidden Sakabatou?]
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on 2006-05-08 11:24 am (UTC)*kisses wombat-sama senseless*
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on 2006-05-08 09:04 pm (UTC)(Then again, that was probably true anyway....)
I officially hate the speech balloons on page three. So far, I can't figure out who says what in which order... hopefully it'll sort itself out after a while.
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on 2006-05-13 09:44 am (UTC)You've done almost the whole script!
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on 2006-05-14 05:34 pm (UTC)Found a nifty book yesterday, all about interpreting the emotional undercurrents of Japanese sentences based on the use of particles and minor variations in vocabulary, but didn't buy it-- don't think I have the basic grammar solid enough for it to be useful for me :b :b
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on 2006-05-15 10:53 am (UTC)Hurray! The next part!
*runs to do scanlation*
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on 2006-05-16 10:46 am (UTC)Thank you a lot - it was such a pleasure to read, to understand and to do scanlation.
And, by the way, this funny story is rather er... actual, don't you think so? Phone calls, visitors - from time to time they are pretty inopportunely ^_^
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on 2006-05-16 06:32 pm (UTC)Sadly, I don't have a scanner; there might already be scans of "Sakuragari" online somewhere, though? Meanwhile, now I can't decide whether I should buy more doujinshi from eBay or if that would be a Bad Idea-- lately, Yamaguchirow has mostly been doing the long single-story "Kyouken" series, which is fun to look at, but the thought of trying to translate them makes me want to hide under the furniture and howl. At least for now :b
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on 2006-05-17 04:56 pm (UTC)http://www.stasy.net/CCinit.php?id=files_6_257
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on 2006-05-17 08:29 pm (UTC)kussou. ^^
on 2007-10-16 02:59 pm (UTC)ohmygosh, i'm starting to be fond of your translations, wombat-chan!! ^^ wooo, kussou is an AU, and i find it good that yamaguchi-sama made and alternate universe for kenkao for the first time... ^^ (the story was so swweeeett.. )
but there's still that warm sensation that i feel when the meiji period was used. well, i'll jst stop with my ramblings. ^^
arigatou.