Possibly Maybe (RK doujinshi translation), pp 16-20

[wombat1138]

Argh. I'm so demoralized by wrestling with Kaoru's long speech on page 15 (and mostly losing to a swarm of particles) than I'm just going to have to skip it for now and start fresh with page 16. Oh well, maybe it'll go a bit more smoothly from now, with relatively short lines until the next bout of post-coital conversation toward the end. This time I'm attempting to streamline the process by working with a set of printed-out scans that I can mark up and transcribe from without worrying about their condition, although the kanji and handwritten stuff still need to be read directly from the original doujinshi. (Not to be confused with actual original artwork; I am still boggled in memory at someone on the RK board mentioning that she'd managed to get hold of a few pages of original Meijijaya art. Dang.) The printouts are definitely helping me keep the format straightened out, esp. when there are sound effects all over the place.

#16#

Kaoru: ~do do do~ (running and enraged; "stomp stomp stomp"?)
= KORA--*
[Evidently Inuyasha has also been known to say this when angry; perhaps a variant of "hora", an attention-directing interjection along the lines of "Now look here" or "Listen up". Neither of those feels right to me for this context, though.]
-- "Why, you little--!!!"

+++

~nu~ (looming menace? what does looming menace sound like in English? maybe "quiver" would work)

= do are ga BUSU desu 'tte--? mou-ippen [i]tte-miru--!! KUSOGAKI
["busu" (hideously ugly) is the one of the worst insults you can say to a woman in Japanese; Kittredge Cherry speculatively traces the word to a form of poison, whether because the ugliness itself resembles the distorted face of a poison victim or because it has the same heartstopping effect on people who see it, and notes that it's been used as a translation from American movie dialogue in which a man says "Fuck you!" to a woman. When appended to a gerund, "miru" adds the sense of "try doing X to see what happens". The first half of "kusogaki" is the same as the word for "shit", although that concept doesn't really have the same force there as it does in English. This is a very pottymouthed note, isn't it?]
= why that [emphatic subject] BUSU [copula] [annoyance/quote marker]--? completely-universal try-saying--!! BRAT
-- "What the hell was that-- did you just call me 'FUGLY'? You're always trying to get away with that, you little SHIT!!"

Yahiko:
= he he--n BU--SU BU--SU BUSU BUSU DO BUSU!
[laughing/taunting sound]
-- "Bwah haah-- FUG-LY FUG-LY FUGLY FUGLY you're so FUGLY!"

+++

Kaoru:
= uki-- [i]zu--
[the first word may be "uma" instead; either way, I'm not sure what it means. [i]zu is an archaic negative form, but translating it as "thou shalt not speak thus" doesn't seem right, though she may be falling into some sort of formalized battle speech judging by the end of her next line.]
[later note: I wonder if "uma" could be a rage-slurred variant of the pronoun "omae"?]
-- "Shut UP!!!"

dustcloud noises: ~DOKU | PAKU~ (impact + something breaking, "WHAM | CRUNCH")

= moppen [i]etta no-sotchi taro-- | [mu] [a] [muyou]!!
- "moppen" <- "moppara" (mainly/usually)? "ietta" <- past form of "ieru" <- potential form of "iu" (speak/say), "sotchi" <- "sochira"; "taro" clipped down from "itarou" (past presumptive of animate-existence "iru")?
[Her last line is in the form of a four-kanji proverb; I haven't found this one on any online lists, but apparently, there are thousands of them. When the first two kanji are written together with kana as [mu]ki[a]u, the compound means "confrontation"; the second pair is the same compound used in the title of "Tenchi Muyo".]
= again(?) could-have-said over-there probably-was | confrontation useless
-- "Maybe you could say that from a distance, but now | RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!!"

Yahiko noises: ~bara bara~ (rattle rattle)

Kenshin:
= [konnichi] mo [aiwa]warazu [nigi]yaka de-gozaru naa
= today also as-usual lively/bustling [copula] [male agreement-shill or emotion]
-- "And today is just as lively as always, belike."

~pan~ (laundry noise, "snap"?)

+++

Yahiko: ~geEN~ (can't find it anywhere, but obviously a getting-punched noise: "AAUGH" or "AIEE"?)

Kaoru:
= ~do go*~ "KO!!"
[The "KO" is written in the Western alphabet, probably as the usual abbreviation for "knockout (punch)" from boxing, maybe also in fighting games?]
= ~ker-WHAM~

Kenshin:
= are-mo [Kaoru-dono]-no [aizou] [hyougen]-no [isshu] de-gozarou...
- "aizou": love and hate together
= [surprise/dismay] [name]'s love+hate manifest/display's identical probably-was
-- "Oh dear-- Mistress Kaoru is probably expressing a love/hate relationship again, belike."
(or perhaps, "with Mistress Kaoru, love and hate feel exactly the same"?)

arrow pointing to stylized bandage on his head:
= ([sakajitsu] [ichi] [men] kuratta ATO)
- "men" (pardon/forgiveness) is the same as in "gomen nasai"
= yesterday one pardon gave small-amount
-- "(she forgave him a BIT, last night)"

#17#

A short time later, she's indoors somewhere. Kenshin is holding a tray and seems to've just placed a teacup on the table by the doorway:
= [Kaoru-dono]... | [cha] ga [hai]tta de-gozaru yo | (sotchi-ni [hako]bu de-gozaru ka--?)
= [name] | tea [emph. subject] entered [copula] [exclamation] | in-there carry [copula] question
[is "cha hairu" an idiom for steeping tea?]
-- "Mistress Kaoru... | here's some tea for you, belike | (should I bring it to you, belike?)"

Kaoru:
= a* arigato-- sotchi [i]ku wa--
-- "Oh, thanks-- I'll go over there--"

+++

She walks over to the table to join him.

Kenshin:
= [kekkou] yarareta mitai de-gozaru na
- "yarareta" <- past form of "yarareru" <- passive form of "yaru" (do)
= satisfactory was-done-do want-to-see [copula] [male emotion/shill]
[In a set of translated song lyrics, "Hitomi yarareta mitai" is translated as "My eyes hurt" (possibly because of the conditions described in the preceding lines)-- ???? Maybe vaguely like the "-te miru" formation, this speculates about cause/effect?]
-- "Everything seems to have turned out all right, belike?"

Kaoru:
= [matta]ku [otome]-no [tama]-no-[hada] wo nu(a) n'da to [omo]tten'no
- omotten' <- omotte-nai? seems to be a rather impolite/sarcastic construction
[in nu(a), the "a" is written in a slightly smaller font; I don't know what it means]
- "tama no hada" is literally "flesh of jewels" in the sense of "skin as bright and gleaming as jewels"
= completely virgin's pearly-complexion [topic] [?] [emphasis+copula] and not-thinking[noun]
-- "Oh, sure. Because I'm such a dewy-faced maiden, don't ya think?"

+++

Yahiko has crawled off somewhere else to patch up, maybe the Akabeko.

Caption:
= motto yararete'ru [hito]
= more is-being-done person
[One of wot-club's IY translations equates "bassari yararete'ru" to "exterminated" ("bassari" is a swift cutting noise). Here? Meh. The "-te'ru hito" construction seems similar to a relative clause-- "the person to whom more is being done"?]
-- "still suffering"?

Yahiko: ~YORO~ (stagger)
= (chikusho-- [sumire]-no YA*...)
= [expletive]-- violet's AND
- "sumire": the violet flower; properly, the color violet should be "sumire no iro" but he's probably in too much pain to keep his grammar straight.
["ya" and "to" both mean "and", but in slightly different ways-- "to" seems to be used when you're describing a set of items where there's X, Y, and Z, but nothing else; with "ya", the list is more open-ended, so that X, Y, and Z are provided only as examples of a wider category.]
-- "(Damn-- purple TOO...)"
[Is that the upper curve of a mirror near his hand? He must've been checking all the colors that Kaoru beat into his face.]

Tsubame:
= (KAORU-san hidosugimasu)
- "hidosugimasu" <- "hidoi" (cruel, awful) + polite form of "sugiru" (surpass, exceed): excessively cruel
-- "(Miss Kaoru again? This is just too awful.)"

+++

Kenshin:
= maa [genki] ga ii no wa yoi koto de-gozaru yo
-- "Well, it's just high spirits-- that's a good thing, after all!"

Kaoru: ~zu zu~ (sip sip)
= nani yo--? SUGU [Yahiko]-no [kata] [mo]tsu--
= what [exclamation]--? too-much [name]'s shoulder carry
- [kata]wo[mo]tsu, with the same kanji, is a verb for "support" or "take someone's side"; Yamaguchi must've left out the middle kana.
-- "What the--? You're cutting him too much slack--"

+++

= demo-sa-- yappa [suunen] mo [he]tanai uchi-ni [chikara] ja-[ka]tenaku natchau n'darou na--
["demo-sa" seems to be a stock phrase for continuing a conversation: "but you know..."-- aha, "saa" by itself is an interjection that can either mean "come on!" (I think I've heard it used that way on Iron Chef) or "well, maybe"; I'd been wondering in the opposite direction if this might be related to the -sa suffix that sometimes turns adjectives into nouns, e.g. "kawaisa" (cuteness).]
- "yappa" <-? "yappari" <- informal version of "yahari" (of course, naturally, just as you'd expect); wot-club translates it by itself as "I guess so"
- "katenaku" <- negative adverb form of "kateru"? <- potential form of "katsu" (win/excel): "unwinnably"?
[before a negative potential verb, "ja" (<- "de wa") indicates a change in condition: "because of X, now Y isn't possible anymore"]
- "natchau" <- "natte shimau" ("natte" <- "naru" (become)): "finishes turning into", "completely becomes", etc.
= [interjection]-- of-course few-years soon/yet? not-elapsed before strength/energy therefore-can't-win finishes-becoming [emphatic presumptive copula] [statement/command-softener]
[who does "chikara" belong to in this sentence? Because of the context, I assume she's talking about Yahiko, but there doesn't seem to be an unambiguous way to determine this from the sentence itself.]
-- "Though I guess-- maybe within the next few years, he'll become too strong for me to win all the time, you know?" or alternately, "after a few more years of this, I might lose enough energy to stop winning"?

~haa~ (sigh)

= [otoko]-no-KO da mon neE...
[according to this site, "mon" is a variant of the noun "mono" (thing); my other guess had been a mutant particle based on "mo" or "mou". Adds emphasis to a statement.]
= boy [copula] thing [shill]
-- "He is just a little boy, after all."

#18#

Kenshin:
= nande ka | [sabi]shisou de-gozaru?
- "sabishisou" <- "sabishii" (lonely)? Aha-- it's one of those conjectural forms about internal states, where (if you're not Kenshin) the adjective stem gets appended to "sou da" to convey "I think he must be hungry" or "he looked unhappy to me" without actually committing yourself to the absolute objective truth of whether the guy was really hungry or unhappy or whatever.
= why [question] | must-be-lonely [copula]
-- "What is it? | You seem a bit lonely, belike?"
[Yeah, the "belike" tic is getting annoying. Bwah. I shall persevere.]

+++

Kaoru stops brooding about Yahiko and snuggles up to Kenshin.

+++

~gyado*~ (semi-literally, "grab-thud", though not looking particularly violent; it's probably all about the emotional intensity: ~ker-glomp~)

+++

Kenshin:
= [kyuu]-ni doushita de-gozaru?
- "kyuu ni" <- adverbial form of "kyuu na" (sudden)
= suddenly how [copula]
-- "This is sudden, belike?" or more loosely, "But now you're suddenly affectionate, belike?"

Kaoru: ~sui sui~ (nuzzle nuzzle)
= nya--
[I have no idea what she means to say. As a sound-effect, "nya" can represent a grin or a smirk; it also shows up as a mysterious particle in some of the IY dialogue at wot-club. However, "nyan" is what cats say in Japan instead of "meow", so I'm going to invent something in that direction.]
-- "Meee?" and/or "Nowww?"

#19#

Kenshin scritches her head:
= [ou]kki-na neko de-gozaru naa!
- "oukki na" <- exaggerated form of "ouki na" (large)
-- "It's a huuuge cat, belike!"

= (o-- yoshiyoshi)
- "yoshi" <- colloquial version of "yoi" (good)? can't identify it as a sound effect
-- "(aw-- nice kitty)"

She gets cross:
= moo--*
-- "Heeey--!"

Sadly, I'm not sure who the last balloon in this panel belongs to.
= [ama]ete'ru no*!!
["amaeru" came up in a previous doujinshi; the concept seems to be amorphous and not-quite-translatable, but has to do with behaving like a small child to elicit love. One translator relates it to Blanche Dubois being dependent on the kindness of strangers.]
(Kenshin?) -- "But you're so cute and cuddly!"
(Kaoru?) -- "You're cute-bombing me!!"

+++

Definitely Kenshin:
= oro

+++

Still him:
= kore jaa itsu-mo to [gyaku] de-gozaru na...
- "gyaku(-na)" is a noun-type adjective that means "contrary/reverse"; the same kanji also appears with a different pronunciation as the first component of "sakabatou".
= this about normally and contrary [copula] [male emotion/shill]
-- "And is this so unusual, belike?"


She's startled when he hugs her: ~kya*~ (eep)
= e...
-- "Yeah..."
[Guh. I've been losing track of all these variants of "hai"; list and discussion here.]

+++

Her: ~DOKI DOKI~ (thumping heartbeats)
= [Kenshin] 'tte | [atashi] ni [ama]ete'ru no?
[Probably the "emotional marker/endearment" use of 'tte this time. Mou, 'tteba.]
[Another discussion of "amaeru" in the context of a rather touching rabbit obit here.]
-- "Say, Kenshin | do you really think I'm cuddlesome?"
[I consign "amaeru" and all its works to the dank pit of untranslatability. However, I conclude from this that Kenshin had that last line in the first panel of this page.]

+++

Him:
= aa | sou de-gozaru yo
= "Yes | I certainly do."

+++

Somebody (probably Kaoru, since there's no "de gozaru" involved):
= [shougi]-- [shi]mete okou ka?
- "shougi" (usually written in English as "shogi"): paper-panelled wooden sliding screens
- "okou" <- variant of "kou" (this way)?
= screens-- closing this-way(?) [question]
-- "About the shogi screens-- should we close the doors?"

#20#

The outer wall of a traditional Japanese house has solid wooden doors (amado) that're closed to keep out rain, burglars, and so on. While these weren't specifically mentioned in the previous line, in the first panel of this page, the amado is shown sliding shut, soundproofing the interior. Whee!

~TAN~ (thud)

+++

Kenshin gets frisky. ~chu~ ("kissy") ~monya~ (probably related to "momi" (grope))

Kaoru: (sweatdropping)
= a*... neE | [Kenshin]... [atashi]... [ase]kaite'ru kara
- "asekaite" sometimes separated out as "ase kaite", presumably based on some verb stem "kaku"; perhaps the one that means "paint"? The "ase" kanji means "sweat".
-- "Um... hey | Kenshin... I... I'm really sweaty right now..."

+++

= yappari... o[furo] ni [hae]tte kara...
-- "I should probably... take a bath..."

~n*~ (little teeny moan)

Him:
= [isshou] ni [hae]ru?
-- "Can I come with you?"
[Not really as much of a double-entendre originally, more like "Can we go take a bath together?" or "Can I keep you company in there?", but more fun this way.]

+++

Her:
= dame--* sonna no HAZUKASHI--!! (iya--)
-- "No way! That's so EMBARRASSING--!! (ewww)"

Him:
= oro | motto HAZUKASHII koto shite'nai de-gozaru ka?
- "shite'nai" <- "shite inai", the negative version of "shite iru" <- "suru" (do): "not doing" as the present progressive verb, as opposed to the negative gerund/participle "shinakute", which would refer to the state or condition of not doing something. I think.
= [oro] | more embarrassing thing not-doing [copula]
[I'm inexplicably spacing out on this line, which means it's probably about time to start a new entry :b If the song lyric "Nanimo warui koto shitenai darou?" translates as "Nothing bad's happening, right?", via (presumably) the semi-literal "any/no bad thing not-doing must-be?", then, um, burble.]
-- "Oro | is it more embarrassing not to?"
[Not to do what, and for whom? For them not to take a bath together? For her not to take a bath at all?]

+++

Her:
= o[furo] wa [betsu]-na-no*
= bath [topic] separate-thing
-- "Baths are completely different" or "Baths should be alone"?

Him:
= (hai hai)
[A cross-cultural example of the double positive partially cancelling itself out, similar to the dismissive "yeah, yeah" in English.]
-- "Yes, of course."

~shin'ru~
[at least I *think* that's what the sound effect on his sleeve says. OopAck gives "shin" as the sound of motionlessness, so I suppose this would be something like "frozen in place"?]

Her:
= (mo-- nande sonna ni nugasu-no [haya]i-no yo--)
- "nugasu" <- "nugu" (disrobe, remove clothing)? There's a 1946 film called Tebukoro o nugasu otoko, "A Man Takes Off His Gloves" (or with the alternate last word "onna", "A Woman Takes Off Her Gloves"); this site, which I should probably bookmark, explains it as the transitive equivalent of the intransitive "nugu", and yet also says that "nugeru" is the intransitive equivalent of the transitive "nugu" (written exactly the same way as the other "nugu"). As Robert Graves did not write, "I, Chihuahua".
= ([exclamation]-- why that-way in disrobing[noun] early[noun] [exclamation]--)
-- (Hey-- why are my clothes coming off already, huh?)

= --ja FURO wa sono-uchi to-iu koto-ni-shite...
[wot-club's IY translations, which use capitals instead of brackets to indicate kanji, quote a line by Miroku in #147:"WATASHI wa DEAtta onago ni wa, KANARAzu Iu koto ni shite masu kara" (it is something I always say when I meet a girl). I vaguely remember, or at least have the illusion of remembering, that the "koto ni shite" construction indicates habitual/customary actions.]
- "sono uchi": idiomatic for "indoor", "inside the building"
= [particle] BATH [topic] indoors [quotation] habit
[I'm resorting to a wild guess here :b ]
-- "--you're always trying to talk your way into my bath..."

Meanwhile, her clothes are still falling off: ~SUTO*~ (plop)

#21#

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Arigatou!
Kaoru-dono is such a short-tempered person... I really sympathize poor Yachiko ^_^ And Kenshin too.
And I'm waiting for update!

Hi Wombat, Shenyu here from RKdreams

[panda-b-shenyu.livejournal.com]

Love the stuff you're doing here, it's enjoyable to just read RK stuff anyways.

I've found 3 scans of Meijijaya here:

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/godfather/378/id48.htm

They're pretty decent, and as charming as ever.

oh hi! :)

[wombat1138.livejournal.com]

Ooo, thanks for the scan links :) There's even more Meijijyaya here (http://www.4shared.com/dir/1481331/f75b9289/Rurouni_Kenshin_doujinshi.html); I do wish that scans had enough resolution for me to pick out kanji, but oh well, not much to be done about that.