White Album 2 manga online
Volume 4, chapter 2
Page 31
31.1
FX: Yoink
31.2
Setsuna: Hey! Don’t just steal it like that!
Tomo: C’mon, it’s just one.
31.3
Tomo: So, what’s the secret seasoning here?
Setsuna: Well, I use soy sauce, sugar, and mirin in proportion to…
31.4
Setsuna: Hang on, why do I have to tell you that?!
Tomo: Don’t be stingy, Setchan!
Setsuna: I told you not to call me “Setchan”!
31.5
Takeya: What’s up?
Io: What do you mean, what’s up? Look over there.
31.6
FX: Badger badger badger badger
Takeya: Oh, hey, that’s Tomo Yanagihara. She was one year below us…
Io: No, not her…
31.7
Io: That Setsuna impostor who’s tearing into her…
Who is that?
Page 32
32.1
Chapter title: SESSION18
The One I Love Most in the World
Page 33
33.1
Setsuna: So… I kept telling her “no,” but she kept pestering me about whether I was free for lunch…
Having to eat with a bully like her was just suffocating!
33.2
Haruki: Wow. I never hear you badmouthing someone else.
You must actually like her a lot, huh?
Setsuna: S-stop it! No way! Absolutely not!
33.3
FX: Pinch
Setsuna: Aaaugh! Just talking about her makes me feel like my personality is getting worse…
33.4
Haruki: You’ve never had anyone to trade jabs with before, right?
I think this is a good trend, actually.
Sort of a frenemy thing…
Setsuna: Whaaat! No, no!
Haruki: You sure? I feel like whenever you talk about her, you get way more energetic.
Page 34
34.1
Haruki: And maybe she likes you, too.
Like she’s making overtures because she wants your attention.
FX: Twang
Setsuna: Urrrgh…
34.2
FX: Roll
Setsuna: Haruki-kun, I don’t understand your takes on friendship at all.
34.3
Setsuna: But, if you’re that sure…
maybe I’ll accept her invitation for tomorrow.
Setsuna: I can try to interact with her in a normal way again.
34.4
Setsuna: By the way, Haruki-kun, do you know any other songs?
Can I make a request?
Haruki: Urk…!
Haruki: I’m planning on expanding my repertoire, so please be patient for a bit…
Page 35
35.2
Takeya: So, let’s go skiing!
Haruki: Skiing…?
Takeya: I mean, we’re on spring break, right?
35.3
Takeya: Let’s do it! We can say there was a mixup with the room assignments, and you two can share a room…
Haruki: I’m not immature enough to need a push like…
Takeya: Nah, you’ve been demoted to that level now.
Radio: Today on Houjou Radio, our guest was Tomo Yanagihara-san…
Io: Gack! Tomo Yanagihara…
Haruki: What? Do you not like Yanahigara-san, either?
35.4
Radio: Thank you very much.
Io: Not like her? Eh… It’s more like, when I see Setsuna with Tomo Yanagihara, I just get this weird uneasy feeling…
Takeya: Oh, yeah! Where’s Setsuna-chan today?
Takeya: Chow time.
Haruki: She said Tomo Yanagihara invited her to have lunch together.
Page 36
36.1
Takeya: Huh? Wait, but didn’t they just say Tomo Yanagihara…
Haruki: Oh, it’s probably a recording.
Takeya: I’m pretty sure they do this stuff live.
36.2
Radio: Now, normally, this is where we’d say goodbye… But, in fact, we have an even bigger surprise prepared for you today.
A surprise guest for Houjou Radio’s annual Valentine’s Day special concert!
36.3
Radio: Known as the vocalist from the Houjou High School Light Music Club… Setsuna-chan!
FX: Drop
36.4
Io: Hang on…
Setsuna: A-ah… um…?
Takeya: No way…
Radio: Setsuna-san, welcome to Houjou Radio!
Haruki: …
Page 37
37.1
Takeya: Hey, this is—
Radio: Oh, gosh… I’m tearing up a little! I mean, this love has gone unrequited for two years! My head is spinning!
Takeya: Setsuna-chan…
Narration: I couldn’t protect Setsuna.
37.2
Radio: I just love “Unreaching Love” so much, I play it here on Houjou Radio every single time!
Setsuna: H-huh…?
Narration: I completely underrated Tomo Yanagihara.
Radio: And now, at the concert next week, I get to hear it live? My heart’s about to burst…
Setsuna: Concert…?
37.3
Narration: After that night, we lost contact with Setsuna.
She didn’t go home, either…
Haruki: Yes, all right. Thank you.
Page 38
38.1
Takahiro: Why don’t you sleep a little?
38.2
Akina: You’ve been awake since yesterday, right?
Narration: Almost twelve hours have passed since I came to the Ogiso household, both to explain the situation with Setsuna and to ask for help.
Haruki: Sorry. After eight more, I’ll be done…
38.3
Takahiro: Kitahara-san, you’re just as much of a worrywart as Dad.
No one worries this much about me.
Akina: You’re always dashing off as it is. We wouldn’t know how to look for you.
Narration: Despite my exposure to the air of the harmonious Ogiso family, which hasn’t changed at all since back then…
I didn’t feel bad at all.
FX: Hahaha
38.4
Akina: I’ll have food ready soon, so eat something before you go.
Haruki: Oh! Yes, thank you.
38.5
Takahiro: I’ll go look off around the station, then.
Haruki: Wait, Takahiro-kun, what about school?
Takahiro: C’mon, Kitahara-san, today’s a national holiday!
Page 39
39.1
Haruki: …A holiday?
Takahiro: National Foundation Day.
39.2
Narration: A national holiday… Meaning, a day off for both the university and the high school.
Normally, I would never be able to be by myself in that place with all its memories…
But, today, it might be completely empty.
39.5
FX: Slide
Page 40
40.1
Haruki: Sorry.
40.2
Haruki: I know I’m late.
40.3
Setsuna: …I didn’t ask you to come.
40.4
Haruki: You didn’t, but I still had to. I know I’ve screwed up in a lot of ways…
Setsuna: What ways? As a friend? As a boyfriend?
Setsuna: Or… as a guitarist?
Haruki: …
Page 41
41.1
Haruki: Haven’t been here in… three years, huh?
Setsuna: Yeah…
Narration: Setsuna wasn’t as upset as I thought she would be.
Maybe all the time she spent suffering alone, day in and day out, had left her entirely without tears, anguish, or conflict.
41.2
Setsuna: Um… Hello.
Setsuna: We’re the Light Music Club.
41.3
Setsuna: Welcome to the Houjou High School Festival. Is everybody having fun?
Narration: Sitting on the front of the stage, swinging her legs back and forth, looking up at the ceiling, as though lost in her memories…
Setsuna: Um… I haven’t thought of anything to say, so I’m sorry if I’m a little awkward.
Narration: She shut her eyes in a reverie, and, clenching her teeth now and then, as if to bite back something that was rising up…
she spoke her lines from three years before, just as they had been.
41.4
Setsuna: I never planned on singing again, so my voice might not come out right… Will you go easy on me?
Haruki: …
Narration: And she freely confessed how she was doing now, three years later.
41.5
Setsuna: Haruki-kun… What am I supposed to do?
Haruki: …
Page 42
42.1
Haruki: You don’t like singing any more?
Setsuna: I don’t.
I hate it.
42.2
Setsuna: Whenever I sing, the school festival show comes flooding back into my head…
and I remember everything that happened afterward, too.
Narration: Hey, Setsuna, you don’t actually hate singing, do you?
42.3
Setsuna: The festival, graduation…
and what happened at the airport, when Kazusa left… I see it all, vividly.
Narration: You still love it, but you’re lying to yourself because of me, aren’t you?
Setsuna: And if that keeps going…
I might dislike you. I might hate you.
42.4
Haruki: Setsuna…
42.5
Setsuna: But you made me think about singing…
Setsuna: Are you telling me to start liking it again?
Page 43
43.1
Setsuna: I want to stay the way I am, liking you…
Setsuna: So… I can’t.
Setsuna: I can never sing again.
43.2
Narration: Setsuna seemed like she might stay in this place fraught with memories forever. Then, when I asked her…
Haruki: Want to come to my place?
Narration: without a moment’s hesitation…
she nodded.
43.4
Setsuna: This time, today, Haruki-kun and I…
Setsuna: will be one…
43.5
FX: Splish
Setsuna: It’s all right. I won’t waver any more.
Page 44
44.2
FX: Blash
Setsuna: Haruki-kun?!
44.3
FX: Patter patter
44.4
Setsuna: What… are you doing…?
Haruki: What am I…? The concert is in two days.
44.5
Setsuna: Why are you doing something so pointless?
Haruki: Is it pointless?
44.6
Setsuna: Of course it’s pointless… I’m not going to sing. I’m not doing any concert.
Haruki: …
Page 45
45.1
FX: Plip
Setsuna: Anyway, we have something more important to think about right now, don’t we?
45.2
Setsuna: I’m…
Setsuna: ready, you know?
45.3
Setsuna: Today… I promise I won’t reject you.
FX: Gulp
Page 46
46.1
Setsuna: I’m fine now.
46.2
Haruki: …Can you really say you’re fine?
Setsuna: Huh…?
46.3
Setsuna: Why…?
Setsuna: Do you…
Setsuna: not love me?
Haruki: I do love you…
46.4
Haruki: You’re the one I love second-most in the world.
46.5
Setsuna: Second-most… Then, then…
Setsuna: Kazusa is still…
46.6
Haruki: The one I love most in the world is you, when you’re singing there in front of me, enjoying yourself.
Setsuna: …Ah.
Page 47
47.1
Haruki: The Setsuna who suddenly started singing along with my lousy guitar playing.
Haruki: The Setsuna who goes to karaoke and forgets all about everyone around her, singing five songs in a row alone, refusing to let go of the mic, completely self-absorbed…
Haruki: That’s the one I love most in the world.
47.2
Haruki: And it’s not just me.
Haruki: It’s the same for Takeya…
Haruki: And Io, too…
Haruki: And maybe even Tomo Yanagihara…
47.3
Haruki: So… I’m sorry, but…
Haruki: Right now… practicing comes first.
Setsuna: …
Page 48
48.1
Setsuna: …
48.2
Setsuna: …How long are you doing to keep doing this?
Haruki: Until I can get through with no mistakes, at least.
Setsuna: …Maybe I should get going.
Haruki: I’m afraid I can’t take you. If you wouldn’t mind calling a taxi…
48.4
Setsuna: …
48.5
Setsuna: Is this going to cause a problem for the concert staff?
Haruki: It’s not your fault.
Setsuna: The radio host seemed really happy…
Haruki: Yeah, she’s played the song almost every day.
Page 49
49.1
Narration: After a few more hours past, Setsuna’s attitude softened just a little…
and I started to see her true, good-natured self again.
FX: Snort
Setsuna: What’s funny?
49.2
Haruki: Oh, no, that’s just… surprisingly middle-class of you.
Setsuna: H-hey… That’s not a compliment.
49.3
Haruki: But, well… don’t listen to me.
This is something you should decide.
Haruki: I would love to hear you sing…
Haruki: But…
I don’t want you to regret anything.
49.4
Haruki: If you decide not to participate, we can go and apologize together.
Haruki: So, I want you to keep worrying until the last minute…
Haruki: and reach a conclusion.
Page 50
50.1
Setsuna: …
50.2
FX: Nod nod
Page 51
51.2
Setsuna: …
51.3
Narration: The memories are so painful that my voice won’t come out…
Yes, but…
51.4
Narration: He’s right…
I do love singing.
Page 52
52.1
Narration: Maybe I really will end up hating Haruki-kun.
Maybe I’ll start to feel loathing for him.
FX: Nod
52.2
Narration: But even if that did happen, I feel like he would be willing to overcome it with me.
52.3
Narration: All right.
I’ll try singing again.
52.4
Narration: One more time…
so that I can move forward, without being imprisoned by the past.
Page 53
53.2
FX: Tump tump tump
Koharu: This is the opposite direction from the north hall!
Takahiro: I told you to turn left!
Koharu: Then you should have said it before I went through!
Takahiro: You kept going when I tried to stop you, Sugiura!
53.3
Takahiro: …Yada, you don’t look so good. Are you okay?
FX: Freeze
53.4
Koharu: Hey, Mihoko, you were the one who wanted to see it for yourself, right?
Mihoko: …
53.5
Koharu: I’m right here with you, okay? Let’s go see it together.
Takahiro: …See what?
Koharu: None of your business, Younger Ogiso!
This is between us girls! Don’t try to pry!
Takahiro: I got us the tickets in the first place…
Page 54
54.1
Chiaki: …
54.2
FX: Roar roar
Chiaki: Until three years ago, I thought the stage was mine… Then, in an instant, that show took it from me…
54.3
Chiaki: I’ve been chasing after those three ever since…
Chiaki: but that will probably end today.
54.4
Chiaki: I’m intruding in someone else’s home again…
Chiaki: so you’d better show me something incredible, Haruki.
54.5
Tomo: Mizusawa-san! Iizuka-san!
Tomo: Yoo-hoo! Over here!
Page 55
55.1
Io: What… What kind of nerve…
FX: Flail flail
Takeya: Man, who knows… But she’s in the front row, so let’s just go with it.
55.2
Io: Well, you look awfully calm for the one who caused this whole uproar.
Announcement: Thank you so much for attending Houjou Radio’s special Valentine’s Day concert today.
55.3
Tomo: Quiet, please. It’s about to start.
Io: Wh-why, you!
Tomo: …
55.4
Tomo: I don’t care what you have to say about me…
Tomo: but, right now, shut up!
55.5
Tomo: If you say one word while the song is playing…
Announcement: Before we raise the curtain…
Tomo: I will kill you.
55.6
Takeya: …
Io: Wait, are you actually just here because you want to hear the song…?
55.7
Setsuna: Hey, Haruki-kun…
Haruki: Hm?
Setsuna: Before we go onstage, there’s something I want to say to you.
Page 56
56.1
Setsuna: I… I’m about to start singing. I know I’m going to remember what happened then.
Narration: This is just what I wanted.
The path Setsuna has chosen, in order to move forward.
Setsuna: And, when I remember… I might start to hate you.
56.2
FX: Spin
Setsuna: So… so…!
56.3
FX: Tmp
56.4
Haruki: …
Page 57
57.1
Setsuna: …
Haruki: …
57.2
Haruki: …All right.
Setsuna: …Thank you.
57.3
Haruki: Well… shall we?
Setsuna: Yeah…
We’ll… have fun, won’t we?
Narration: I don’t know whether this will completely restore the bond that had been broken…
But I’m sure…
Haruki: Of course.
Page 58
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