"Soothe Me", raw draft pt. 5
Apr. 11th, 2005 12:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wombat1138And on to the post-coital conversation.... at some point I'll have to catch up on the streamlined draft, but evidently not yet :b
#32#
[breathing noises as they drift back to reality]
Him:
= Kaoru-do...
Her:
= dame | mou [suko]shi jitto shite 'te
= [prohibition] | also small-amount patiently doing [animate-existence-command]
-- "Don't-- | wait a little longer."
+++
Him:
= mada KEIRETSU shite 'ru de-gozaru
= somewhat related-sequence doing [animate existence] [copula]
[Nowadays, "keiretsu" usually refers to huge interlocking corporate groups, to the extent that I can't really find much reference to the previous usage. I cannot for the life of me figure out a coherent sentence that doesn't feel unnaturally awkward.]
-- "I'm only doing some of the same things from before."
Her:
= baka....
#33(67)#
Him:
= [kan]jita?
-- "How did that feel?"
Her:
= kikanakute mo wakatte 'ru desho?
= not-having-listened also understanding [animate existence] must-be?
[kikanai is idiomatic for "be stubborn", but I think it's literal here]
-- "Weren't you listening, or do I really have to tell you?"
+++
Him:
= [Kaoru-dono]-no [kuchi] kara [i]wasetai no de-gozaru no
= your mouth from want-to-make-say [noun conversion] [copula] [mild command]
-- "But I want to hear it in words from your own mouth."
~ sore ga [otoko] hito ya- mono
= that [subject] man person and thing
~~ (That sort of thing is just typical of guys)
[The polite way to refer to men or women is generally "otoko no hito" or "onna no hito"]
in margin:
~ zu i[?]i [genshoo]
[The untranscribed kanji usually means "up", but I'm not sure of its pronunciation or function here. The kanji compound "gensho" means "phenomenon".]
+++
Him: (affectionately tweaking her nipple)
= nee?
-- "Hmm?"
[request for confirmation]
Her:
= [] | sugoku... kanjita
-- "(hmph!) | It felt... amazing"
+++
Him:
= sugoi [koe] datta de-gozaru
= great voice [past copula] [formal copula]
-- "You certainly made some amazing sounds."
Her:
= [kenshin] no sei desho!
-- "That's your fault!"
[i.e., responsibility; he's the one to blame for it]
+++
Him:
= sore wa sore wa | [shigoku] [kouei] ni gozaru naa
= there [topic] there [topic] | extremely glory in [formal copula] [male emotional marker]
-- "There, there | it's a very great honor for me."
+++
Her:
= nani yo-- | *baka ni shiso-* | konna KARADA [dare] ga shita to-[omo]tte n' no yo!!
= what [emphasis] | *idiot in probably-do* | this BODY who [subject] did and-thinking [lots of emphasis]!!!
[shisou is from suru (do); to-omou is usually idiomatic for "I think" but in this case seems like a command.]
-- "What the--" | (He must really be an idiot) | "You should think about exactly who my body belongs to!!"
#34(68)#
Him:
= e- | [sessha] de wa nai no de gozaru ka??
-- "Huh?! | Are you saying that I had nothing to do with it??"
Her:
= sono [zettai] [teki]-na [jishin] wa DOKO kara [ku]ru no yo!
= that absolutely [adjectival conversion] self-confidence [topic] from WHERE arrive [see note]!
-- "WHERE did that complete arrogance come from?!"
[At first I thought the last few words should be grouped as "kuru-no yo": arrival [emphasis], with implied copula, but then that didn't parse right. Apparently when stacked up at the end of a sentence, the particles "no yo" can also express an emphatic yes/no question from a female speaker, but this isn't really a yes/no question... although I can't account for all of the particles, I'm going with the most obvious-seeming translation anyway.]
~ atatte 'ru dake-ni kuyashii....
~ hitting [see notes] annoying/disappointing....
[Note 1: as a further wrinkle to the gerund-based "present progressive", the 'ru suffix may contract from (or in more formal speech, be expanded to) either the inanimate-existence copula "aru" or the animate-existence "iru" for slightly different shades of meaning; counterintuitively, "aru" tends to accompany transitive verbs and express deliberate preparation, while "iru" tends to accompany intransitive verbs and express passive/negligent continuity. I think this means that there would be (at least?) two different ways to say "your cats are eating my fish" depending on whether the fish had been intentionally served to the cats or whether the cats (or fish) had been left unguarded.]
[Note 2: Since "ataru" can metaphorically mean "be correct", I'm revising my earlier translation of Sano's marginal comment "arazu tokarazu" to "not wrong, but still impossible" as wordplay from the probable original saying "atarazu tokarazu" (not wrong, but not right either). Not certain at the moment whether Kaoru is thinking "I (or he) was right after all" or "I'm going to hit him."]
[Note 3: "dake ni" compares an event/result to its preceding expectations/conditions; depending on the exact sentence, translations of things like "X dake (ni), Y da" generally run along the lines of "considering X, Y is worthwhile/disappointing/unexpected". However, some of the examples leave out the "ni"; since there are other "ni"-less examples translated as "X, but also Y", this leaves rather a wide range of possible translations of Kaoru's full sentence; I'll list some of them below and then lie down and think about them.]
-- "Considering that I'm about to hit him, he's being awfully annoying."
-- "Even though he's right, he's annoying."
-- "He's going to be very disappointed when I hit him."
-- "I'm the one who's right. He's the one who's annoying."
[Argh!]
[I was hoping I'd have some revelation about which one of those was correct, but I still have no idea :b ]
+++
Him:
= a()hahaha
~ kukuku
[laughter, fading off into chuckles]
* gaba [grab]
+++
Him:
= ne... | zutto... kou shitetai de-gozaru...
= [agreement shill] | completely/always... this want-to-do [copula]
-- "You know... | I'd like to stay like this... forever..."
+++
Her:
= [Kenshin] 'tte... | ...nande ka [kawai]i...
-- "Oh, Kenshin... | ...why do you say that? That's so cute."
* kya
[normally "grab"; in this case, she's stroking his hair gently, but with enough of a grip that he accidentally makes her pull his hair when he raises his head in the next panel]
+++
Him:
= oro
+++
Him:
= [otoko] toshite wa [fukuzatsu]-na KOTOBA de-gozaru naa...
= man as [topic] complex WORD [copula] [male emotional marker]
-- "That's an awfully complicated thing to say to a guy..."
[obviously it's not a manly virtue to be kawaii]
Her:
= de 'tte
-- "It's like this--"
= [fudan]-no [Kenshin] wa [tsuyo]kute [yasa]shikute chotto manuke-de [donkan]-de [igai]-to [tanki]-na TOKO mo atte--
= everyday [name] [topic] being-strong being-nice slightly being-idiotic being-thickheaded unexpectedly hot-tempered BED also being
--"You're usually strong and gracious, but not very bright-- even boneheaded!-- so I didn't expect you to be so hotblooded in bed--"
Him:
= sore homete'ru n'de-gozaru ka kenashite'ru de-gozaru ka?
-- "Is that really a compliment? Or is it a complaint?"
#35(69)#
[Most of the dialogue on this page is Kaoru's in a series of speech balloons that spills over multiple panels. "Amaenbou" is also the name of a character in the tv series "Digi Charat Nyo"; the literal reading is something like "sweetie-boy", which seems closer to the intended meaning than the translation "spoiled brat".]
Her:
= demo [ima]-no [Kenshin] ga
= but of-now [name] [subject]
-- "But the way you are right now"
= itsu-mo yori mo motto [yasa]shikute chotto [gouin]-de [ama]en[bou] de...
= always than also more being-nice slightly being-overbearing [see above note] being...
-- "you're more tender than ever, but also somewhat demanding, like a coddled baby..."
= dakara [da]kishimeta-'ku naru kunai... [kawai]kute
= therefore going-to-hold-tight become night... being-cute
--"so I'll hold you close until dark... this sweetly..."
= [ITOO]shi...
[the furigana provide a failsafe for the kanji reading]
-- "my darling..."
+++
= [bousei]-[honnou] 'tte ko--yu--no wo iu-no kana... nante
= maternal-instinct [emotional topic] characteristic [object] speech [speculation]... how
-- "I wonder, how can I talk like this, as if you're a baby"
[the phrase meaning "characteristic" would normally be transcribed "koyuu no", but in this case each of the individual syllables was followed by a long-vowel dash as she hesitates over them]
+++
= [Kenshin]-no [kata] ga zutto [toshiiue]-na no-ni... | HEN... kanaa?
= your way [subject] completely/always older although | WEIRD [speculation]
-- "since your behaviour has always been so mature... | isn't that strange?"
Him: [or at least I think so]
= iya... | [TOSHI] nante [kankei] nai...
= [informal no]... | age how/whatever relationship not...
-- "Nope... | relationships aren't just about age..."
#36(70)#
= [otoko] nado [SHOSEN]... | [minna] [kodomo] nan de-gozaru yo
= man etc. [summary]... | all child what [copula] [emphasis]
-- "The truth is, every guy is a child at heart"
+++
= tatoe [juu] mo [hana]reta [musume]-no [mae] demo...
= even-if ten also separated girl's before although...
-- "even with a girl ten years younger..."
[I don't have a firm foundation for this line's translation, but this is what it "feels like" in context...]
+++
[he breaks off from romantic kisses to grin in childish glee]
= [kon'ya] ga [ne]kasenai de-gozaru
= tonight [subject] not-sleeping [copula]
-- "We're not going to sleep tonight"
Her: [exasperated]
= zuibun toMASEta [kodomo] de koto...
= very made-stop child because-of stuff...
[the verb is a contraction of the past causative "tomasaseta". Semi-literally, the sentence works out to something like "You completely stopped the kid stuff" although the context makes me want to wrench it more into "Don't get TOO immature".]
-- "I thought you stopped acting childish..."
#36(70)#
?:
= ne()
[I'm still not sure who this is; it could be Kaoru finishing her previous statement with "...right?", or Kenshin ironically responding with "Really...?"]
[in margin:]
~[nu]ite wakatta rashii
~ pulling-out understood just-like
[the verb nuku uses the same kanji as the first one in "Battousai", "battou-jutsu", etc.; "rashii" is grammatically an adjective that can modify nouns and entire clauses to mean "it looks like X" or "X is completely typical", so a sentence along the lines of "I hear that your cat is the one who ate the fish, just we suspected" would be something like "omae no neko ga sakana tabeta rashii". I thought this might work out to "just as fast as unsheathing a sword", referring to the next panel, but it seems to be more about Kaoru's state of mind: "as if she thought he would be pulling out"?]
-- (as if she expected him to pull out)
+++
* ga ba() [*grab*: enormous sound-effect hiragana as he sits up alertly and grips her ankles wide apart]
Her: [in the middle of the sound effect]
-- ya()
= "Eek!" or "Hey!"
[handwritten caption beside him]
~ iza [mai]ru de-gozaru
= critical-moment proceed [copula]
[confusingly, "mairu" is listed as both a humble *or* formal variant of "kuru", as well as a humble variant of "iku"; its standard use seems to be in the context of making a pilgrimage to a shrine. "Iza" is archaic and usually seems to be used in the sense of "this is the moment of decision" or more loosely "this is the time to act, right now, immediately"]
-- (he sets forth with utmost dispatch)
Her: (again)
-- yaan!
[informal protest again, something like "Ack!" perhaps]
+++
[above margin]
~ o-i
-- (hey...)
Her:
= mou... [oo]kiku natte 'ru () (ya-n)
[probably a pun here, based on the common use of "mou" as a female expression for mild indignation as well as its literal meaning of "already"]
-- "well dang... he's getting huge already (oh no!)"
[below margin, ending with an arrow that points toward the previous frame]
~ ko--yu--no [ega]ku kara [josei] [dokusha] ni [kira]wareru... no ka? ->
= characteristic depict from female reader in [see note]... [rhetorical negative]
["kirawareru" seems to be a compound built from the adjective [kira]i, "distasteful", and the verb wareru, "become broken/separated"; it's often part of the stock phrase "otto ni kirawareru", applied to a woman who is losing or alienating her husband's affections. Since it's grammatically a passive verb, it partially shifts the meaning of "kara" to a marker for the verb's agent, while "ni" marks the verb's object.]
-- (Female readers are turned off by this particular scene... aren't they?)
+++
Her:
= matte...
-- "Wait..."
[hadn't previously realized this was derived from a verb; it's the gerund of "matsu" (wait for)]
+++
[back into the realm of orphaned speech-bubbles; I'm mostly assigning them based on their outline shapes.]
Him:
= mo [ikkai]
= also one-turn/time
-- "C'mon, one more try."
[Entertainingly, the website for one aikido dojo translates "mo ikkai" as a command: "do it again!"]
Her:
= ne...
-- "Well, okay..."
(somebody: moan/gasp)
+++
[oh no, I just noticed yet another margin note. Since I've gotten even rustier at instant hiragana recall, I'm not going to deal with it right now, but from cursory inspection it looks like it says something about "4-5 times"?]
Her:
-- "Kenshin..."
probably still her?:
= ii yoO | ma()
[generic sexual exclamations; lit. "That's SO good | oh-- " but perhaps fits better into translation as a more idiomatic phrase like "Yeah baby, go" or "Oh god, yes"?]
+++
= ...... (gu-)
[sound effect: grab/clutch]
= are()
-- "That's--!"
[another pun? could be a relative pronoun that refers to something that's distant from or unseen by both people in a conversation (similar to "aquel" in Spanish?), but could also be an exclamation of surprise]
= ne-- ke n shi n... nechatta no?
-- "Hey-- Kenshinnn... are you falling asleep after all?"
[based on Google, "nechatta" is probably a colloquial compound of "nemu" (-i, sleepy; -ru, sleep (verb)) and "shimatta" (from shimau), but I can't trace the exact pathway)
= nekasenai toka [i]ttoite mo--
= not-put-to-bed etc.
-- "I already told you we're not sleeping--"
[(sigh) yet more brute-force Google patchwork; danged if I know exactly how "ittoite" forms from "iu", but hey, I don't have the energy right now to get rigorous. Wonder where the cats have put my book on verbs....]
#(last page!)#
~tekain
[since teka-teka is onamatopoeia for "shiny" and this sound-effect is kinda between the morning sun and a very perky Kaoru, I'm guessing this indicates something like "blinding light"?]
+++
Kaoru:
= i yo () [Yahiko] [ashita] [kae]ri()
-- "Hey, Yahiko! Welcome back!" (or "...Good morning!", or some combination of both)
+++
Yahiko: [head surrounded with "GAN GAN", reverberating violently]
= ammari [ougoe] de donaruna--
= excess loud-voice from not-shout-at(informal)
-- "Stop shoutin' so loud--"
Kaoru:
= masaka [futsuka] [yo]i!? | [Sanosuke][]
= impossible two-days intoxicated
-- "Unbelievable-- you were drinking for two days straight!? | Sanosuke (huff)"
Sano:
= maA katee koto [i]u-na 'tte ko- yatte [obo]ete kunde ze!
= well inflexible stuff don't-say [annoyance/quote] that-way doing remembering drawing-out [male emphasis]
[rescued from Sano's pronunciation, "katai koto" is an idiom for (overly) correct behavior]
-- "Well jeez, don't lecture me! 'Act like this, memorize that, go fetch water--' Sheesh!"
+++
Yahiko: [creeping away with hangover]
= BAITO ikanakya
= part-time-job if-not-go
[weirdly, "baito" is derived from the German word "arbeiten"; "ikanakya" is contracted from "ikanakereba", whose usage seems to be nearly a reverse-imperative-- "if I don't go (then something terrible may happen)" or "(I must go, because) if I don't..."]
-- "I gotta go do some stuff"
Kaoru: [cheerfully smirking at Yahiko; handwritten commentary]
~ sho- ga nai wa ne
["shou ga nai" is a colloquial form of "shikata ga nai", literally "there is no correct method" and generally understood as a casually resigned remark: "oh well, there's no help for it (because there's no way to get out of the situation)"]
-- (Oh well, there's no help for it, is there?)
Sano: [grinning uneasily]
= nandei [jou]-chan [konnichi] wa [kiga] i- na-?
~ kino- [nande] zoka yatta- e ka- ?
[the handwritten note is inside the speech balloon; still not certain I've deciphered it correctly...)
= why chicklet today [topic] mood/health good [male emotion/request]? (yesterday why increase did to [question]?)
-- "Why're you in such a hell of a good mood today? (Why did it improve so much from yesterday?)"
+++
Kaoru: [blushing in chagrin]
~ [?]hii-- fu[]
[on its own, "hii" is a shriek, but I really can't figure out what the first kana is]
~ are? dotcha de kedo en no?
[dotcha <- dochira; kedo <- keredomo; with "en no", the first word could mean "round" or "fate" and the second word could be either a female question marker or the usual possessive, but the phrase also seems to be an idiom for something that hasn't been noticed?]
~ that (or [exclamation])? which-of-two being however unnoticed?
-- (huh? but I didn't notice-- which day is this?)
[meanwhile, Sano is even more uneasy; not sure whether the lines written behind his head express his internal thoughts or the author's commentary]
~ koitsura shiawase sugi...
~ [plural rude word for "persons, people"] happiness after
-- (After happiness, people are idiots), or more loosely, (stupidity is the hangover from bliss)?
+++
[Kenshin is dejectedly scrubbing some laundry]
[arrow pointing to his head]
~ kuma
[The only suggestion from my dictionary for "kuma" is "bear" (i.e., an animal of the family Ursidae); the natural assumption in English is that he has to "bear" (endure) a burden or task, but I really don't think that pun exists in Japanese. However, the web says that while the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor have been known as "Ooguma" and "Koguma" for a long time, the reading of those names as "Big Bear" and "Little Bear" is relatively recent; before the major Western influences of the Meiji Restoration, a different kanji was used for "kuma" which meant "dark corner"-- so there may be a Japanese pun at work after all.]
-- ("cornered animal"? or maybe "animal hiding in a corner?")
Sano: [not visible, so I'm not sure whether he's talking to Kaoru or Kenshin]
= n'de [Kenshin] wa?
-- "This must be Kenshin's fault?" or "This was something you did, wasn't it?"
[more handwritten comments. @#*((@.]
= ochinaide de-gozaru--() | kinoe no [shi]ki[ishi].... | chito ganbai ogitakana
= don't-fall [copula] | pine 's pavement.... | a-bit [?] [?]
["ki no e" literally means "elder brother of wood" and is a term from the traditional (and rather complicated) calendar system, where it's generally interepreted as "pine trees". The corresponding "ki no to" (younger brother of wood) is "bamboo shoots". Considering Kenshin's use of "de gozaru", "ki no e" probably fits in as a rather old-fashioned literary reference to pine trees/timber? I'll have to skip the last section for now :b ]
-- "Be careful not to fall, please-- | the pinewood walkway... (or "the walkway near the pine tree"?) | [???]"
+++
Sano: [w/ handwritten comments both inside and outside the speech balloon]
= [SHO] ga de masu ne-- (SENTAKU-ya [Ken]-chan?)
= spirit/essence [subject marker] from/being? increase [agreement shill]-- (laundry/choice-house [name]?)
[I suspect a complicated Japanese pun again, possibly relating back to Kaoru's breezy "shou ga nai" a few panels ago. The first kanji is presented in boldface, but without furigana.]
-- "Her spirits have really picked up, haven't they?" or "THAT'S the spirit; there's always more (laundry), isn't there?" or "I was right, wasn't I? And getting righter..."
-- (You made the choice yourself, Kenny-boy) or (You're a regular laundromat, aren't you?)
~ ka-- osakande
[Dunno... "sakan-de" could be a gerund derived from the nounlike adjective "sakan-na", which means "thriving/popular", but I'm not sure what "ka" is doing at the start. It can't be doing its usual particle duties up there; it could be a noun meaning either "family/department", "lesson/section", or "mosquito".]
Kenshin: [nervously laughing]
= umai de-gozaru na [Sano]
= good/skillful [copula] [agreement shill] [name]
-- "I guess I'm pretty good with laundry, Sano" or "Yeah, you made a good guess, Sano"
+++
= owari
-- Finished (!!!!!!)
#32#
[breathing noises as they drift back to reality]
Him:
= Kaoru-do...
Her:
= dame | mou [suko]shi jitto shite 'te
= [prohibition] | also small-amount patiently doing [animate-existence-command]
-- "Don't-- | wait a little longer."
+++
Him:
= mada KEIRETSU shite 'ru de-gozaru
= somewhat related-sequence doing [animate existence] [copula]
[Nowadays, "keiretsu" usually refers to huge interlocking corporate groups, to the extent that I can't really find much reference to the previous usage. I cannot for the life of me figure out a coherent sentence that doesn't feel unnaturally awkward.]
-- "I'm only doing some of the same things from before."
Her:
= baka....
#33(67)#
Him:
= [kan]jita?
-- "How did that feel?"
Her:
= kikanakute mo wakatte 'ru desho?
= not-having-listened also understanding [animate existence] must-be?
[kikanai is idiomatic for "be stubborn", but I think it's literal here]
-- "Weren't you listening, or do I really have to tell you?"
+++
Him:
= [Kaoru-dono]-no [kuchi] kara [i]wasetai no de-gozaru no
= your mouth from want-to-make-say [noun conversion] [copula] [mild command]
-- "But I want to hear it in words from your own mouth."
~ sore ga [otoko] hito ya- mono
= that [subject] man person and thing
~~ (That sort of thing is just typical of guys)
[The polite way to refer to men or women is generally "otoko no hito" or "onna no hito"]
in margin:
~ zu i[?]i [genshoo]
[The untranscribed kanji usually means "up", but I'm not sure of its pronunciation or function here. The kanji compound "gensho" means "phenomenon".]
+++
Him: (affectionately tweaking her nipple)
= nee?
-- "Hmm?"
[request for confirmation]
Her:
= [] | sugoku... kanjita
-- "(hmph!) | It felt... amazing"
+++
Him:
= sugoi [koe] datta de-gozaru
= great voice [past copula] [formal copula]
-- "You certainly made some amazing sounds."
Her:
= [kenshin] no sei desho!
-- "That's your fault!"
[i.e., responsibility; he's the one to blame for it]
+++
Him:
= sore wa sore wa | [shigoku] [kouei] ni gozaru naa
= there [topic] there [topic] | extremely glory in [formal copula] [male emotional marker]
-- "There, there | it's a very great honor for me."
+++
Her:
= nani yo-- | *baka ni shiso-* | konna KARADA [dare] ga shita to-[omo]tte n' no yo!!
= what [emphasis] | *idiot in probably-do* | this BODY who [subject] did and-thinking [lots of emphasis]!!!
[shisou is from suru (do); to-omou is usually idiomatic for "I think" but in this case seems like a command.]
-- "What the--" | (He must really be an idiot) | "You should think about exactly who my body belongs to!!"
#34(68)#
Him:
= e- | [sessha] de wa nai no de gozaru ka??
-- "Huh?! | Are you saying that I had nothing to do with it??"
Her:
= sono [zettai] [teki]-na [jishin] wa DOKO kara [ku]ru no yo!
= that absolutely [adjectival conversion] self-confidence [topic] from WHERE arrive [see note]!
-- "WHERE did that complete arrogance come from?!"
[At first I thought the last few words should be grouped as "kuru-no yo": arrival [emphasis], with implied copula, but then that didn't parse right. Apparently when stacked up at the end of a sentence, the particles "no yo" can also express an emphatic yes/no question from a female speaker, but this isn't really a yes/no question... although I can't account for all of the particles, I'm going with the most obvious-seeming translation anyway.]
~ atatte 'ru dake-ni kuyashii....
~ hitting [see notes] annoying/disappointing....
[Note 1: as a further wrinkle to the gerund-based "present progressive", the 'ru suffix may contract from (or in more formal speech, be expanded to) either the inanimate-existence copula "aru" or the animate-existence "iru" for slightly different shades of meaning; counterintuitively, "aru" tends to accompany transitive verbs and express deliberate preparation, while "iru" tends to accompany intransitive verbs and express passive/negligent continuity. I think this means that there would be (at least?) two different ways to say "your cats are eating my fish" depending on whether the fish had been intentionally served to the cats or whether the cats (or fish) had been left unguarded.]
[Note 2: Since "ataru" can metaphorically mean "be correct", I'm revising my earlier translation of Sano's marginal comment "arazu tokarazu" to "not wrong, but still impossible" as wordplay from the probable original saying "atarazu tokarazu" (not wrong, but not right either). Not certain at the moment whether Kaoru is thinking "I (or he) was right after all" or "I'm going to hit him."]
[Note 3: "dake ni" compares an event/result to its preceding expectations/conditions; depending on the exact sentence, translations of things like "X dake (ni), Y da" generally run along the lines of "considering X, Y is worthwhile/disappointing/unexpected". However, some of the examples leave out the "ni"; since there are other "ni"-less examples translated as "X, but also Y", this leaves rather a wide range of possible translations of Kaoru's full sentence; I'll list some of them below and then lie down and think about them.]
-- "Considering that I'm about to hit him, he's being awfully annoying."
-- "Even though he's right, he's annoying."
-- "He's going to be very disappointed when I hit him."
-- "I'm the one who's right. He's the one who's annoying."
[Argh!]
[I was hoping I'd have some revelation about which one of those was correct, but I still have no idea :b ]
+++
Him:
= a()hahaha
~ kukuku
[laughter, fading off into chuckles]
* gaba [grab]
+++
Him:
= ne... | zutto... kou shitetai de-gozaru...
= [agreement shill] | completely/always... this want-to-do [copula]
-- "You know... | I'd like to stay like this... forever..."
+++
Her:
= [Kenshin] 'tte... | ...nande ka [kawai]i...
-- "Oh, Kenshin... | ...why do you say that? That's so cute."
* kya
[normally "grab"; in this case, she's stroking his hair gently, but with enough of a grip that he accidentally makes her pull his hair when he raises his head in the next panel]
+++
Him:
= oro
+++
Him:
= [otoko] toshite wa [fukuzatsu]-na KOTOBA de-gozaru naa...
= man as [topic] complex WORD [copula] [male emotional marker]
-- "That's an awfully complicated thing to say to a guy..."
[obviously it's not a manly virtue to be kawaii]
Her:
= de 'tte
-- "It's like this--"
= [fudan]-no [Kenshin] wa [tsuyo]kute [yasa]shikute chotto manuke-de [donkan]-de [igai]-to [tanki]-na TOKO mo atte--
= everyday [name] [topic] being-strong being-nice slightly being-idiotic being-thickheaded unexpectedly hot-tempered BED also being
--"You're usually strong and gracious, but not very bright-- even boneheaded!-- so I didn't expect you to be so hotblooded in bed--"
Him:
= sore homete'ru n'de-gozaru ka kenashite'ru de-gozaru ka?
-- "Is that really a compliment? Or is it a complaint?"
#35(69)#
[Most of the dialogue on this page is Kaoru's in a series of speech balloons that spills over multiple panels. "Amaenbou" is also the name of a character in the tv series "Digi Charat Nyo"; the literal reading is something like "sweetie-boy", which seems closer to the intended meaning than the translation "spoiled brat".]
Her:
= demo [ima]-no [Kenshin] ga
= but of-now [name] [subject]
-- "But the way you are right now"
= itsu-mo yori mo motto [yasa]shikute chotto [gouin]-de [ama]en[bou] de...
= always than also more being-nice slightly being-overbearing [see above note] being...
-- "you're more tender than ever, but also somewhat demanding, like a coddled baby..."
= dakara [da]kishimeta-'ku naru kunai... [kawai]kute
= therefore going-to-hold-tight become night... being-cute
--"so I'll hold you close until dark... this sweetly..."
= [ITOO]shi...
[the furigana provide a failsafe for the kanji reading]
-- "my darling..."
+++
= [bousei]-[honnou] 'tte ko--yu--no wo iu-no kana... nante
= maternal-instinct [emotional topic] characteristic [object] speech [speculation]... how
-- "I wonder, how can I talk like this, as if you're a baby"
[the phrase meaning "characteristic" would normally be transcribed "koyuu no", but in this case each of the individual syllables was followed by a long-vowel dash as she hesitates over them]
+++
= [Kenshin]-no [kata] ga zutto [toshiiue]-na no-ni... | HEN... kanaa?
= your way [subject] completely/always older although | WEIRD [speculation]
-- "since your behaviour has always been so mature... | isn't that strange?"
Him: [or at least I think so]
= iya... | [TOSHI] nante [kankei] nai...
= [informal no]... | age how/whatever relationship not...
-- "Nope... | relationships aren't just about age..."
#36(70)#
= [otoko] nado [SHOSEN]... | [minna] [kodomo] nan de-gozaru yo
= man etc. [summary]... | all child what [copula] [emphasis]
-- "The truth is, every guy is a child at heart"
+++
= tatoe [juu] mo [hana]reta [musume]-no [mae] demo...
= even-if ten also separated girl's before although...
-- "even with a girl ten years younger..."
[I don't have a firm foundation for this line's translation, but this is what it "feels like" in context...]
+++
[he breaks off from romantic kisses to grin in childish glee]
= [kon'ya] ga [ne]kasenai de-gozaru
= tonight [subject] not-sleeping [copula]
-- "We're not going to sleep tonight"
Her: [exasperated]
= zuibun toMASEta [kodomo] de koto...
= very made-stop child because-of stuff...
[the verb is a contraction of the past causative "tomasaseta". Semi-literally, the sentence works out to something like "You completely stopped the kid stuff" although the context makes me want to wrench it more into "Don't get TOO immature".]
-- "I thought you stopped acting childish..."
#36(70)#
?:
= ne()
[I'm still not sure who this is; it could be Kaoru finishing her previous statement with "...right?", or Kenshin ironically responding with "Really...?"]
[in margin:]
~[nu]ite wakatta rashii
~ pulling-out understood just-like
[the verb nuku uses the same kanji as the first one in "Battousai", "battou-jutsu", etc.; "rashii" is grammatically an adjective that can modify nouns and entire clauses to mean "it looks like X" or "X is completely typical", so a sentence along the lines of "I hear that your cat is the one who ate the fish, just we suspected" would be something like "omae no neko ga sakana tabeta rashii". I thought this might work out to "just as fast as unsheathing a sword", referring to the next panel, but it seems to be more about Kaoru's state of mind: "as if she thought he would be pulling out"?]
-- (as if she expected him to pull out)
+++
* ga ba() [*grab*: enormous sound-effect hiragana as he sits up alertly and grips her ankles wide apart]
Her: [in the middle of the sound effect]
-- ya()
= "Eek!" or "Hey!"
[handwritten caption beside him]
~ iza [mai]ru de-gozaru
= critical-moment proceed [copula]
[confusingly, "mairu" is listed as both a humble *or* formal variant of "kuru", as well as a humble variant of "iku"; its standard use seems to be in the context of making a pilgrimage to a shrine. "Iza" is archaic and usually seems to be used in the sense of "this is the moment of decision" or more loosely "this is the time to act, right now, immediately"]
-- (he sets forth with utmost dispatch)
Her: (again)
-- yaan!
[informal protest again, something like "Ack!" perhaps]
+++
[above margin]
~ o-i
-- (hey...)
Her:
= mou... [oo]kiku natte 'ru () (ya-n)
[probably a pun here, based on the common use of "mou" as a female expression for mild indignation as well as its literal meaning of "already"]
-- "well dang... he's getting huge already (oh no!)"
[below margin, ending with an arrow that points toward the previous frame]
~ ko--yu--no [ega]ku kara [josei] [dokusha] ni [kira]wareru... no ka? ->
= characteristic depict from female reader in [see note]... [rhetorical negative]
["kirawareru" seems to be a compound built from the adjective [kira]i, "distasteful", and the verb wareru, "become broken/separated"; it's often part of the stock phrase "otto ni kirawareru", applied to a woman who is losing or alienating her husband's affections. Since it's grammatically a passive verb, it partially shifts the meaning of "kara" to a marker for the verb's agent, while "ni" marks the verb's object.]
-- (Female readers are turned off by this particular scene... aren't they?)
+++
Her:
= matte...
-- "Wait..."
[hadn't previously realized this was derived from a verb; it's the gerund of "matsu" (wait for)]
+++
[back into the realm of orphaned speech-bubbles; I'm mostly assigning them based on their outline shapes.]
Him:
= mo [ikkai]
= also one-turn/time
-- "C'mon, one more try."
[Entertainingly, the website for one aikido dojo translates "mo ikkai" as a command: "do it again!"]
Her:
= ne...
-- "Well, okay..."
(somebody: moan/gasp)
+++
[oh no, I just noticed yet another margin note. Since I've gotten even rustier at instant hiragana recall, I'm not going to deal with it right now, but from cursory inspection it looks like it says something about "4-5 times"?]
Her:
-- "Kenshin..."
probably still her?:
= ii yoO | ma()
[generic sexual exclamations; lit. "That's SO good | oh-- " but perhaps fits better into translation as a more idiomatic phrase like "Yeah baby, go" or "Oh god, yes"?]
+++
= ...... (gu-)
[sound effect: grab/clutch]
= are()
-- "That's--!"
[another pun? could be a relative pronoun that refers to something that's distant from or unseen by both people in a conversation (similar to "aquel" in Spanish?), but could also be an exclamation of surprise]
= ne-- ke n shi n... nechatta no?
-- "Hey-- Kenshinnn... are you falling asleep after all?"
[based on Google, "nechatta" is probably a colloquial compound of "nemu" (-i, sleepy; -ru, sleep (verb)) and "shimatta" (from shimau), but I can't trace the exact pathway)
= nekasenai toka [i]ttoite mo--
= not-put-to-bed etc.
-- "I already told you we're not sleeping--"
[(sigh) yet more brute-force Google patchwork; danged if I know exactly how "ittoite" forms from "iu", but hey, I don't have the energy right now to get rigorous. Wonder where the cats have put my book on verbs....]
#(last page!)#
~tekain
[since teka-teka is onamatopoeia for "shiny" and this sound-effect is kinda between the morning sun and a very perky Kaoru, I'm guessing this indicates something like "blinding light"?]
+++
Kaoru:
= i yo () [Yahiko] [ashita] [kae]ri()
-- "Hey, Yahiko! Welcome back!" (or "...Good morning!", or some combination of both)
+++
Yahiko: [head surrounded with "GAN GAN", reverberating violently]
= ammari [ougoe] de donaruna--
= excess loud-voice from not-shout-at(informal)
-- "Stop shoutin' so loud--"
Kaoru:
= masaka [futsuka] [yo]i!? | [Sanosuke][]
= impossible two-days intoxicated
-- "Unbelievable-- you were drinking for two days straight!? | Sanosuke (huff)"
Sano:
= maA katee koto [i]u-na 'tte ko- yatte [obo]ete kunde ze!
= well inflexible stuff don't-say [annoyance/quote] that-way doing remembering drawing-out [male emphasis]
[rescued from Sano's pronunciation, "katai koto" is an idiom for (overly) correct behavior]
-- "Well jeez, don't lecture me! 'Act like this, memorize that, go fetch water--' Sheesh!"
+++
Yahiko: [creeping away with hangover]
= BAITO ikanakya
= part-time-job if-not-go
[weirdly, "baito" is derived from the German word "arbeiten"; "ikanakya" is contracted from "ikanakereba", whose usage seems to be nearly a reverse-imperative-- "if I don't go (then something terrible may happen)" or "(I must go, because) if I don't..."]
-- "I gotta go do some stuff"
Kaoru: [cheerfully smirking at Yahiko; handwritten commentary]
~ sho- ga nai wa ne
["shou ga nai" is a colloquial form of "shikata ga nai", literally "there is no correct method" and generally understood as a casually resigned remark: "oh well, there's no help for it (because there's no way to get out of the situation)"]
-- (Oh well, there's no help for it, is there?)
Sano: [grinning uneasily]
= nandei [jou]-chan [konnichi] wa [kiga] i- na-?
~ kino- [nande] zoka yatta- e ka- ?
[the handwritten note is inside the speech balloon; still not certain I've deciphered it correctly...)
= why chicklet today [topic] mood/health good [male emotion/request]? (yesterday why increase did to [question]?)
-- "Why're you in such a hell of a good mood today? (Why did it improve so much from yesterday?)"
+++
Kaoru: [blushing in chagrin]
~ [?]hii-- fu[]
[on its own, "hii" is a shriek, but I really can't figure out what the first kana is]
~ are? dotcha de kedo en no?
[dotcha <- dochira; kedo <- keredomo; with "en no", the first word could mean "round" or "fate" and the second word could be either a female question marker or the usual possessive, but the phrase also seems to be an idiom for something that hasn't been noticed?]
~ that (or [exclamation])? which-of-two being however unnoticed?
-- (huh? but I didn't notice-- which day is this?)
[meanwhile, Sano is even more uneasy; not sure whether the lines written behind his head express his internal thoughts or the author's commentary]
~ koitsura shiawase sugi...
~ [plural rude word for "persons, people"] happiness after
-- (After happiness, people are idiots), or more loosely, (stupidity is the hangover from bliss)?
+++
[Kenshin is dejectedly scrubbing some laundry]
[arrow pointing to his head]
~ kuma
[The only suggestion from my dictionary for "kuma" is "bear" (i.e., an animal of the family Ursidae); the natural assumption in English is that he has to "bear" (endure) a burden or task, but I really don't think that pun exists in Japanese. However, the web says that while the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor have been known as "Ooguma" and "Koguma" for a long time, the reading of those names as "Big Bear" and "Little Bear" is relatively recent; before the major Western influences of the Meiji Restoration, a different kanji was used for "kuma" which meant "dark corner"-- so there may be a Japanese pun at work after all.]
-- ("cornered animal"? or maybe "animal hiding in a corner?")
Sano: [not visible, so I'm not sure whether he's talking to Kaoru or Kenshin]
= n'de [Kenshin] wa?
-- "This must be Kenshin's fault?" or "This was something you did, wasn't it?"
[more handwritten comments. @#*((@.]
= ochinaide de-gozaru--() | kinoe no [shi]ki[ishi].... | chito ganbai ogitakana
= don't-fall [copula] | pine 's pavement.... | a-bit [?] [?]
["ki no e" literally means "elder brother of wood" and is a term from the traditional (and rather complicated) calendar system, where it's generally interepreted as "pine trees". The corresponding "ki no to" (younger brother of wood) is "bamboo shoots". Considering Kenshin's use of "de gozaru", "ki no e" probably fits in as a rather old-fashioned literary reference to pine trees/timber? I'll have to skip the last section for now :b ]
-- "Be careful not to fall, please-- | the pinewood walkway... (or "the walkway near the pine tree"?) | [???]"
+++
Sano: [w/ handwritten comments both inside and outside the speech balloon]
= [SHO] ga de masu ne-- (SENTAKU-ya [Ken]-chan?)
= spirit/essence [subject marker] from/being? increase [agreement shill]-- (laundry/choice-house [name]?)
[I suspect a complicated Japanese pun again, possibly relating back to Kaoru's breezy "shou ga nai" a few panels ago. The first kanji is presented in boldface, but without furigana.]
-- "Her spirits have really picked up, haven't they?" or "THAT'S the spirit; there's always more (laundry), isn't there?" or "I was right, wasn't I? And getting righter..."
-- (You made the choice yourself, Kenny-boy) or (You're a regular laundromat, aren't you?)
~ ka-- osakande
[Dunno... "sakan-de" could be a gerund derived from the nounlike adjective "sakan-na", which means "thriving/popular", but I'm not sure what "ka" is doing at the start. It can't be doing its usual particle duties up there; it could be a noun meaning either "family/department", "lesson/section", or "mosquito".]
Kenshin: [nervously laughing]
= umai de-gozaru na [Sano]
= good/skillful [copula] [agreement shill] [name]
-- "I guess I'm pretty good with laundry, Sano" or "Yeah, you made a good guess, Sano"
+++
= owari
-- Finished (!!!!!!)