White Album 2 manga
Volume 2, chapter 1
Character Descriptions page
Top R: Setsuna Ogiso
Houjou University Politics and Economics department, third year. Was an idol-like figure in high school, who won the unofficial “Miss Houjou High” contest three years in a row. Her popularity reached its peak when she performed vocals in the “Legendary Live” at the school festival during her third year, and even now she still catches the attention of those around her.
Top L: Kazusa Touma
Haruki’s former classmate. One of those who stood on stage in the Legendary Live. She added music to the lyrics that Haruki had written in secret, completing the song “Unreaching Love.” After graduating from Houjou High School, she crossed over to Europe in order to follow her path as a pianist.
Middle: Haruki Kitahara
Houjou University Literature department, third year. During high school, he played in the “Legendary Live” that is still spoken of today. After his relationships with Setsuna Ogiso and Kazusa Touma following that, he is currently living a life that keeps him driven into a corner. While he is steeped in his work, his grades are as excellent as ever.
Table of Contents:
SESSION07 Days Apart 01
SESSION08 Haruki and Koharuki 29
SESSION09 What Connects the Two of Them 61
SESSION10 Haruki’s Girlfriend 93
SESSION11 Setsuna’s Whereabouts 127
Middle, R-L:
Koharu Sugiura
Houjou High School, third year. Very helpful, relied upon by everyone, and firmly presses people with sound arguments… A “second-term committee member,” much as Haruki once was.
Chiaki Izumi
Houjou University, third year. Transferred into the literature department and is in the same seminar room as Haruki. Both she herself and others acknowledge her as a slacker, and her problem at present is whether she will advance.
Mari Kazaoka
Magazine editor at Kaiou, the publishing company where Haruki works part-time. She comes off as a bit of a workaholic, but she is also a picture-perfect “working woman.”
Middle header: Characters
Left pair:
Takeya Iizuka
Houjou University, third year. Haruki’s best friend since high school, who worries about Haruki and Setsuna’s relationship. He himself is an unrivaled playboy.
Io Mizusawa
Houjou University, third year. She and Takeya have had a relationship since middle school, for better or worse. From a standpoint of knowing both Haruki and Setsuna well, she feels concern over how they’re doing.
Middle pair:
Takahiro Ogiso
Setsuna Ogiso’s younger brother, and a third year at Houjou High School. He is classmates with Koharu Sugiura, and before her, he undertook the duty of “first-term committee member.”
Tomo Yanagihara
Houjou University, second year. When she was in high school, her bid for Miss Houjou High was thwarted by Setsuna. Was also momentarily a part of the Light Music Club, and caused its complete disintegration.
Left trio:
Satou-san
Substitute manager at Goodies, a family restaurant where Haruki has worked part-time.
Mihoko Yada
Houjou High School, third year. A student at the cram school where Haruki works part-time.
Kazumi Nakagawa
Floor chief at Goodies. Has a big-hearted personality and a voluptuous body.
Page 1
1.1
Chiaki: Look! More people are showing up. Let’s get going.
1.2
Girl 1: So, there’s that mixer with the medical department…
Setsuna: I’m sorry… I have plans with a friend that day…
Girl 2: We’re doing karaoke first. Why don’t you just come to that?
1.3
Setsuna: I’m sorry, really…
Setsuna: But I can’t do it.
1.4
Setsuna: I… don’t sing.
Page 2
2.2
Setsuna: …Ah!
Chapter title: SESSION07
Days Apart
Page 3
*no text
Page 4
4.1
Chiaki: Hm? What’s up?
Haruki: …
4.2
Setsuna: …Ha—
4.3
Haruki: Never mind…
It’s nothing.
Page 5
5.1
Haruki: Let’s get going, Izumi.
5.2
Haruki: If we don’t hurry, all the seats will be taken.
FX: Whoosh
5.3
Chiaki: Yeah, all right…
Page 6
6.1
Narration: My skin is tingling.
6.2
Narration: A chill is running up my spine.
6.3
Narration: That’s because it’s winter.
6.4
Narration: The third “WHITE ALBUM Season” since I entered Houjou University has arrived.
Page 7
7.1
Narration: Three years ago…
7.2
Narration: Even after being betrayed so horribly…
Setsuna didn’t resent me.
7.3
Narration: After we entered college…
She didn’t distance herself from me deliberately, but she didn’t try to force the distance closed, either.
7.4
Narration: She just…
smiled kindly at me.
7.5
Narration: Even though I didn’t deserve it at all.
Page 8
8.1
Setsuna: You’re switching into the literature department…?
8.2
Setsuna: Huh?
Setsuna: What?
Setsuna: I mean…
Wh-why?
8.3
Setsuna: O-oh, I see.
You want to work for a publishing company.
8.4
Setsuna: …I…
Setsuna: had no idea.
8.5
Setsuna: …
Page 9
9.1
Setsuna: …We’ll be able to see each other, right?
9.2
Setsuna: O-of course! What am I talking about?
Setsuna: We’ll still be on the same campus and all.
9.3
Setsuna: …
9.4
Setsuna: We’ll be fine…
Right?
Chiaki: Hey.
9.5
Chiaki: Haruki!
Haruki: Uh?
Page 10
10.1
Chiaki: Well, this is weird.
You never space out like that, Haruki.
Haruki: …Sorry.
10.2
Haruki: Um… What were we talking about?
Chiaki: Your lecture.
10.3
Haruki: Right.
Haruki: Look, I’ll tell you as many times as it takes, Izumi…
Student: Haruki!
10.4
Student: Hey, about the fee we’re supposed to pay to the lecturer…
Haruki: Oh, yes. I negotiated the cost, transferred the money, and verified its receipt.
Student: Thanks a million!
Page 11
11.1
Haruki: Right. I’ve told you this a thousand times, Izumi…
Chiaki: Yes, and I’ve heard it a thousand times.
Haruki: …
11.2
Haruki: Missing the last train because you were out drinking is no excuse for sleeping in the seminar room.
Chiaki: Why not?! I see the seniors doing it sometimes!
11.3
Haruki: If you want to spend the night in the seminar room, get a project from the professor.
You never even show up to seminar.
Chiaki: When I went in to ask a question recently…
I was told to ask you first, because you’ve been put in charge of my education.
11.4
Narration: Professor…
11.5
Haruki: Anyway, a woman alone in the seminar room at night…
You ought to be more aware of the danger there.
Chiaki: I’m gonna be more careful from now on!
11.6
Narration: That said… With her frumpy clothes, disheveled hair…
Her face, refined even with its lack of makeup…
Page 12
12.1
Narration: She’s a woman, but she doesn’t feel that way—Chiaki Izumi is simply my seminar classmate.
I am very grateful to have her presence in my life right now.
Chiaki: That was great.
12.2
Chiaki: So, today…
Student: Haruki-kun, Haruki-kun! About the seminar trip the professor is planning for next year…
12.3
Haruki: At the moment, we’re looking in Niigata. We’ve picked out three hotels with tennis courts nearby, and we’re in the midst of discussions.
Student: Thank you!
Sorry to interrupt you, Izumi-san.
12.4
Chiaki: No worries.
Page 13
13.1
Haruki: Um…
What was it you were saying?
13.2
Chiaki: Do you have anything else going on today?
Chiaki: …That was all.
13.3
Haruki: After fourth block, I’m working at the cram school.
Haruki: After that, I’ll be working at the publishers until late tonight.
13.4
Chiaki: …You’re as much of a workaholic as always.
Chiaki: Do you even have a private life?
13.5
Haruki: I’m a fully self-supporting student.
13.6
Chiaki: Y’know…
Page 14
14.1
Chiaki: It seems to me…
like you deliberately take on heavier loads than you have to.
14.2
Chiaki: And because of that…
14.3
Chiaki: people use you however they please.
Haruki: …That’s funny, coming from you.
14.6
Yada: Kitahara-sensei…
Page 15
15.1
Haruki: What is it, Yada?
Yada: Um… Can I talk to you?
15.2
Haruki: Come to think of it, you got that recommendation, right? Congratulations.
Yada: Thank you. It’s thanks to you, sensei.
15.3
Haruki: I’d say it’s thanks to your own hard work.
Yada: No…
15.4
Yada: You always stayed overtime and kept teaching me…
Yada: It’s thanks to you.
15.5
Haruki: Yada…
Yada: Um! So, I have a question…
Page 16
16.1
Yada: …Are you really quitting after this month?
Haruki: Ah, that…
16.2
Yada: You are, aren’t you?
Haruki: Yep. I’m almost a senior…
16.3
Haruki: And what with my seminars, and looking for a job…
my days are going to get pretty busy.
Yada: …
16.4
Yada: M-may I ask you another question then?
16.5
Yada: When we were all introducing ourselves, and someone asked you if you had a girlfriend, you said “No.”
Yada: Is that… still true?
Page 17
17.1
Narration: Of course… That’s what this is about.
17.3
Haruki: That was a misunderstanding on your part. Please forget it.
17.4
Yada: …Huh?
Haruki: Don’t ask me any more questions about that.
Haruki: …Good night.
17.5
Yada: Ah…
17.6
Sign: Kaiou Publishing
Page 18
18.1
FX: Chk chk chk
Man: Hey! Temp!
18.2
Man: How’s the tally going on that questionnaire I asked you to handle?
Haruki: I’ve got it all aggregated in a list, so I’ll send it to you right now.
18.3
FX: Chk chk chk
18.4
Woman: So, hey, Kitahara-kun…
Our ranking series for curry restaurants in the metropolitan area will be moving into seafood next…
18.5
Haruki: Is it all right if we do it as a gathering of reviews on the web, like we did before?
Um… I can have all of it put together tomorrow.
Woman: Thanks so much!
18.6
FX: Chk chk
Narration: So busy…
Page 19
19.1
Narration: Kaiou Publishing—a major publishing company with over twenty divisions, spanning from specialist journals to magazines with massive distribution.
19.2
Narration: Among those divisions is a magazine called the “Kaiou Graph.”
And it is in the editorial department for that magazine that I work my second part-time job of the day.
19.3
Narration: I get here around six o’clock p.m., but I can work for seven or eight hours with no problem. It’s the perfect job for me, for two reasons.
Just by showing up three or four times a week, I get an absolutely crushing workload, and pay that more than covers my rent.
19.4
Narration: And, as I need both of these things…
I’m not likely to quit this job any time soon. It’s too important.
Page 20
20.2
Man: Sorry! Could you put this into a two-page layout?
Haruki: Will do.
20.3
FX: Click click
20.4
FX: Chk chk chk
20.5
Mari: Kitahara, can we talk?
Page 21
21.1
Mari: I’m the one who gives you instructions.
How many times have I told you not to take work from other members of the department?
21.2
Haruki: Sorry. I didn’t think…
Mari: Well, whatever.
21.3
Mari: If you’ve got that much free time, I’ll give you three times as much work as before, and you’ll just have to deal with it.
Haruki: …Okay.
21.4
Mari: Just kidding.
I just got back from my business trip, so there’s a lot to tackle.
Narration: Mari Kazaoka—a member of the Kaiou Graph editorial department, and currently my direct superior.
Page 22
22.1
Mari: That interview has four languages in total, so a transcription would be useful.
22.2
Haruki: I can’t do anything other than English and French. Otherwise, it’ll take at least twice the time.
Mari: For someone so work-crazy, you’re pretty clear-cut on what you can and can’t do…
22.3
Mari: When it comes to odd jobs, you’re already at the level of someone who’s been at it for three years.
22.4
Haruki: …Aren’t odd jobs something that lessen with time?
22.5
FX: Clunk
Mari: Let me warn you, though.
Page 23
23.1
Mari: You work way too hard for a part-timer.
23.2
Mari: To me…
it looks like you’re deliberately running yourself into the ground.
Haruki: …
23.3
Mari: …Have I hit the mark?
Haruki: Mari-san…
Haruki: Aren’t you the same?
Mari: …
23.4
Mari: I’ve got enough experience to know where the line is when it comes to overworking myself.
23.5
Mari: Of course, because my line is so high, it makes other people worry about me.
Haruki: That’s a strange way to brag…
Page 24
24.1
Mari: Well, forget about me. Kitahara, you’re a college student. Couldn’t you relax a little?
There are all kinds of mixers and clubs around.
Haruki: There are also plenty of college students like me…
who are mundane, boring people with no hobbies.
24.2
Mari: …Is that so?
24.3
Mari: W-well, anyway, keep up the good work.
I mean, don’t keep it up too much, but…
Haruki: Which one am I supposed to do?
24.4
Mari: I’ll just email you your assignment.
Haruki: Got it.
Page 25
25.2
Narration: Midnight… If I don’t leave soon, Mari-san will yell at me.
25.3
Haruki: I’ll check my assignment mail, and then I’ll head out.
25.4
Narration: Special feature: “Japan’s Young Geniuses Around the World.”
25.5
Narration: Kazuhisa Sakayama. Serie B, Lecce. Seventeen years old. Left Fujiyama North High School and moved to Italy on his own…
Page 26
26.1
Narration: Miyuki Hirasaka. In-house patissier at a hotel in Paris. Twenty-three years old. At the age of nineteen, she won a major confectionery competition…
26.2
FX: Freeze
26.3
Haruki: What…
26.4
Haruki: Kazusa…?
Narration: Sure enough, there was the name of Kazusa Touma, the unknown daughter of the most famous pianist in Japan.
Page 27
27.1
Mari: How long are you going to stick around here?!
Page 28
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