Pseudo blog:Cheironyx/Drama CD 0

**Potential spoilers:** up to episode 6 / chapter 13

Y: Hmmmhmhmmhmmm! Is it done yet, is it done yet?

M: Senpai, if you put your face that close to the saucepan, don't blame me if you get scalded by the steam.

Y: Whoops! Whew...

M: Please be careful.

Y: Okay! Anyway... Mmmm, it feels nice being under the open sky, doesn't it?

R: Sorry to keep you both waiting.

K: The rice hath arrived!

Y: How we have waited for you, Lady Rice Cooker!

T: Arf!

R: How is the retort curry doing?

M: Um, it should be-

(\*beep beep beep\*)

R: My my!

K: Oh, right on time!

M: Yuki-senpai, could you turn off the heat?

Y: Understood!

K: Now then, everyone, it's showtime!

Y: It's lunchtime, Kurumi-chan!

M: Everyone's so energetic...

**Gakkou Gurashi!**

**Special Drama CD - Summer Vacation Story**

**"A Brief Holiday"**

M: My name is Miki Naoki. I'm a first-year at Megurigaoka Gakuin High School. I used to be in the Go-Home Club, but a lot of things happened, and I ended up in a strange club called the School Living Club. The School Living Club's activities literally consist of living in the school. It was rather rough at first, but it's sort of like staying at a training camp for a long time, and I've gradually become used to this life.

R: Let's dish out the food.

K: I'll have a big helping, please!

Y: Ah! Me too, me too!

R: Alright. There's toppings as well.

M: What do you have?

R: I brought them in insulated Tupperware containers. There's pumpkin croquettes...

Y: Wooow!

R: ...and mince cutlets, two of each.

Y: Wooooow!

M: Frozen foods really do come in all types... Ah, I'd like a croquette.

K: Yeah, you can make fried or crumbed food just by zapping it in a microwave! I'll have a mince cutlet!

Y: Which one do you want, Rii-san?

R: You can choose, Yuki-chan.

Y: Hmm... the pumpkin croquette, then!

R: Alright.

K: Now then, the retort curry, the retort curry... Whoa, it's all gloopy!

Y: You look like you're having fun, Kurumi-chan!

K: Well, you know, making curry rice outside is kinda like camping, don't you think?

M: The school rooftop doesn't really count as outside...

K: Outside is outside, right?

R: I'll leave the pickled vegetables here, okay?

Y: Okay! ...Ouch!

R: What's wrong?

Y: The plate's hot...

M: That's because you're putting it on your bare legs...

K: The food's just been cooked, of course it's hot.

Y: Ahhh, it's a habit from eating boxed lunches...

R: Well, it is quite uncommon to eat meals while wearing a swimsuit...

K: Yuki Takeya... Your noble sacrifice shall not be in vain...

We'll be more careful.
M: Indeed.

Y: You two are mean!

T: Arf! Arf!

K: Oops, that's right!

M: We need to give Taroumaru some food too...

R: I've already prepared some for him.

Y: That's Rii-san! She's got everything you could desire!

M: I think you mean "leaves nothing to be desired".

R: Heehee, thank you.

T: \*whine\*

Y: Sit! Taroumaru, sit!

T: \*munch munch munch\*

M: Ah, he's started eating.

Y: Taroumaru! That's bad manners!

R: Taroumaru's in high spirits as well...

K: We should start eating soon too, or else it'll get cold.

Y: Ah! That's right...

R: Has everyone got some water?

M: We're okay.

K: Well then...

Y: One, two, and...

All: Let's eat!

M: On this day, we all changed into swimsuits and cleaned the water tank on the roof. It wasn't like we had to do it straight away, but minor problems had come up, and we needed to change the mood.

Y: \*munch munch munch\* Mmmmm! Fukure Curry is tasty whenever you eat it! Plenty of love! Plenty of volume! Let's all fill our bellies with it today! Fukure Curry will leave you satisfied!

R: The commercial went like that, didn't it...

K: Geez, our school store's got nothing but Fukure Curry...

M: Come to think of it, you're right.

Y: It's not "nothing but"! There's spicy, medium-spicy, mild, chicken - see? There's four different types!

R: Five types if you include Fukure Hayashi. Which one is your favourite, Yuki-chan?

Y: I like medium-spicy! It's got heaps of veggies, and it's tasty!

M: Huh?

Y: Eh?

M: Yuki-senpai, I was sure you'd say mild...

Y: Are you calling me a little kid?

M: No, um... I just... got that impression...

Y: I really feel like you were...

M: Uh, Kurumi-san seems like she'd go for spicy, right?

K: I... like mild...

Y: W-what a shock!

M: You're right...

K: I-it's not like I'm bad with spicy food! I just like the taste, and, you know... it's just from time to time! Some days I eat the spicy type!

R: Heehee, spiciness isn't the only tasty thing about curry, right?

Y: Come to think of it, what about you, Rii-san?

R: Hmmm... I suppose I eat different ones depending on the day... I pick them so that the amount left over is the same.

K: She's been the top management... I didn't know...

Y: Rii-san is the big sister of the School Living Club, right?

K: We're always in your debt!

Y: Praise ye, praise ye...

R: Please don't worship me...

K: Well, even if it's just Fukure Curry, I guess I won't get sick of it!

M: Although if we end up eating it three meals a day, it'll be a different story.

Y: Ah! I've got a brilliant idea!

R: What is it?

Y: If we blend different types of Fukure Curry, there's the potential for new tastes!

K: If you mixed spicy and mild, wouldn't you just get medium?

R: Hmmm... They include different ingredients, so I don't think it would be a matter of simple addition...

Y: This is the alchemy of taste!

K: Now you mention it, I guess curry does have some alchemy-like points...

M: Really?

K: Well, you make curry powder by mixing together different spices.

R: Cayenne pepper, cumin, coriander, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric... As I thought, I can't remember all of them...

M: Leaving aside how to mix curry powder, it does sound interesting.

Y: Right, right? You think so too, right, Mii-kun?

K: Huh? It's rare for you to have Yuki's back!

M: If it was putting together recipes I'd be opposed to it, but if it's just mixing retort curry...

K: Well, let's test it out when we get the chance!

R: It's nice to get some enrichment out of our diet, isn't it?

M: This time wasn't special - every day's meals were essentially like this. The school store had a stockpile of instant food big enough for us School Living Club members to live on. The gas was out, but fortunately we had solar generator facilities, so we could use the microwaves and electrically-heated cookware.

K: \*glug glug glug\* Ahhh! There's nothing like some cold barley tea after eating curry!

Y: Kurumi-chan, sometimes you sound like an old man...

K: Don't be a killjoy when someone's basking in a sense of release!

Y: Ow!

R: Meals taste nice after you've been moving around, don't they?

M: Cleaning the water tank was a pretty big job...

K: I wonder if it's against school regulations to come out onto the roof in swimsuits... Ah. Hey Rii-san, why are you looking away?

M: Yuuri-senpai, don't tell me you've...

R: In first year, in the summer holidays... I watered the plants in a swimsuit, and...

Y: And...?

R: The life guidance teacher got cross at me...

K: Wow...

R: It-it wasn't just me, all of the club members did it!

K: The horticulture club sure was a lawless place...

M: There were water pistols in the storeroom too - you just did anything you wanted, didn't you...

Y: That sounds fun... Maybe I should have joined the horticulture club too...

R: Heeheehee...

M: It's a bit late to say this, but our school is pretty strange, isn't it.

Y: Hmm? What about it?

M: The retort curry is one thing, but frozen food and canned goods aren't the sort of thing that school stores handle...

R: Hmm? Miki-san, didn't you ever use the store's meal corner...?

M: I usually brought my own lunch...

K: Oh, so that's why?

R: The meal corner there is different to normal dining halls - they cook the food that you buy in the store.

Y: It's called a café latte!

K: I think you mean "cafeteria"...

Y: Yeah, a "cafeteria"!

R: The microwave that's currently in the club room was originally used there, until we moved it over...

M: I see...

K: These days they have that kind of stuff at convenience stores too.

R: Café corners, right? I suppose it is the same setup as those.

K: Well, it sure helps us out. We haven't had to worry about food for a long time...

R: Indeed.

M: When you think about having curry on camps, the standard method might be to make it properly using roux, but even our abundantly-stocked store only had retort curry. On the other hand, I don't know why they were there, but there were some unusual items in stock as well...

K: Man, I'm stuffed!

Y: Ah! Kurumi-chan, you're sneaky! I carried that sofa too...

K: Heheh, it's first come, first served!

R: If you lie down right after eating, you'll turn into a cow, you know?

K: I feel like a cow right now...

M: Yuuri-senpai, do you have any garbage bags?

R: Aren't there any in the horticulture club storage room?

Y: Aww, come on... hmm?

T: \*pant pant pant\*

Y: What is it, Taroumaru? You want me to play with you?

T: \*whine\*

Y: Oh, come to think of it, I'm pretty sure... here we go, I brought this! Okay, just watch me!

K: Man, this is paradise...

Y: Kurumi-chan, Kurumi-chan!

K: What? This sofa is for one person only, okay?

Y: I thought I'd give you something nice, Kurumi-chan...

K: Hmm?

Y: Ta-da! What do you think this is?

R: That's not a quilt... a hug pillow, perhaps...?

Y: Correct, Rii-san! It was in the Easy Sleeping Gear corner in the store!

K: That place again? The Megurigaoka Gakuin High School store is way too mysterious.

R: Perhaps the teachers use them during night duty...

Y: You use it with two pillows inside! It absorbs perspiration and lets you sleep comfortably, that's what's written in the instructions!

K: Wow, that's pretty thoughtful of you, Yuki!

Y: To be honest, I wanted to use it myself, but today I shall humbly present it to Lady Kurumi as a special service!

K: Heh heh heh, and have you no issue with this?

Y: No no, t'would not be the School Living Club without Lady Kurumi!

M: What's with this little performance?

R: W-who knows...

K: Let's see then... whoa, it's so soft and fluffy... and slightly warm, I'm pretty sure... mmmm, I feel kind of sleepy...

Y: Heh heh heh...!

M: Senpai, have you seen Taroumaru?

Y: U-umm, Taroumaru? Taroumaru is, well, maybe he's having a nap somewhere...?

M: Hmmm?

Y: U-uhh...

M: Hmmmmm?

Y: Uhhhh...

M: Senpai, are you hiding something?

Y: Of course not~.

K: Ahhh, this feels nice... Hmm? Huh? Did something just... Maybe I imagined it...

Whoa, what? Something's touching me... Ahaha, hey, that, that tickles, stop it!
R: Kurumi? Kurumi, what's the matter?

K: Nahahahaha, it, it tickles, what is this, gah, no, no no, stop!

Y: All right! Huge success!

M: Yuki-senpai, don't tell me...

K: Oh, ooh, what, gwa, gwahahahaha! Hey, not there, stop, wahaha, wahahaha!

M: It's this hug pillow, isn't it! Hyaah!

K: Gwaah! \*crash\* Oww!

M: Inside this, I'm betting... Ahh, I knew it!

T: Arf! Arf!

R: Taroumaru was inside it instead of a pillow...

Y: Heheheh, splendid deduction, Holmes!

M: Don't "Holmes" me! Come on, don't you feel sorry for Taroumaru?

K: Hey, what about me, I fell off the sofa...

T: \*pant pant pant\*

Y: Taroumaru looked like he enjoyed himself, though.

K: Did you say something just now?

Y: Aaahah!

M: We'll need to have a loooooooooooong talk with Yuki-senpai.

Y: R-Rii-san, help me! Mii-kun's making a terrifying face!

R: Hmmmm, I think you should reflect on this a little too, Yuki-chan...

Y: All hope is lost!

K: Yuuuki! Heeey, Yuki! Heeeey! Can you hear me?

Y: Fshhhhhhh...

K: Helloooo? Am I getting through? ...Ahhh, this is no use.

M: I can't see anything today, either...

R: What's the matter? Bringing out binoculars?

M: Ah, Yuuri-senpai.

R: Heehee, I wonder if the lecture's finished already?

M: Yes, well... Yuki-senpai is a bit troublesome, isn't she...

R: Could you see anything?

M: No, nothing...

R: I see...

M: I found these binoculars in the horticulture club storage room. Are they yours, senpai?

R: Yes, Megu-nee and I used them sometimes.

M: Since I was hiding in the shopping mall all that time, I never had time to look outside until I met up with all of you...

R: It was sort of similar for us. On that day, before we knew what was going on, those of us who escaped to the rooftop ended up being the only normal ones left... For the first few days, we were so scared, we couldn't move at all...

M: What did you do about food?

R: Hmmmm... Ah, that's right, we ate some bread and sweets that were hidden in the storage room...

M: Hehehe, were those by any chance the horticulture club's...

R: Yes, our between-meal snacks! Don't tell the teachers, okay?

M: The horticulture club really was an interesting club, wasn't it? Yuuri-senpai, too...

R: Heehee, perhaps...

M: I always thought the School Living Club was such an easy-going club because of Yuki-senpai, but...

R: But...?

M: It's all clear to me now. With this sort of club president, of course you'd have this sort of club.

R: And as for you, Miki-san, I think your talents were wasted on the Go-Home Club.

M: I'll take that as a compliment.

Both: Heeheehee!

Y: Um, Kurumi-chan? What are you doing with that pen?

K: Rats, she's returned to her senses? Just when I was planning to write "meat" on her forehead...

M: Hiding on the roof might have been the correct choice, though.

R: In hindsight, it probably was. Any normal people there might have been, other than us... I think they all left the school in the first few days.

M: Surely at that point...

R: Yes. I think quite a number of "those" left with them.

M: And in the end, the only ones who have arrived at the school from outside are me and...

R: Taroumaru, yes. When Megu-nee and I finally thought to look outside the school from the rooftop, it would have been after about two weeks had passed... We were busy with so much until then...

M: So it was just the three of you that made the barricade on the first floor?

R: At that point, Yuki-chan wasn't the way she is now, and neither was Megu-nee... But to be honest, even I'm surprised... If you told me to do the same thing again, I probably wouldn't be able to.

M: Two weeks, you said?

R: It's true that we had our hands full just ensuring our own safety, but thinking about it now, maybe I was scared.

M: Scared?

R: Yes. I thought just maybe, while we were shut away in the school, it had all been resolved and everything was back to normal... I knew that wasn't going to happen, but I suppose I was hoping, somewhere in my mind... But if I looked outside, I'd know everything for certain.

M: Ah...

R: At first, we could still see smoke coming from spots across town. The gas was still working, and we could hear car horns in the distance.

M: Didn't you think about leaving the school?

R: Of course I thought about it. But we didn't know what might be outside, and as long as we stayed here, we could at least keep living. But thinking about it now, that was just an excuse.

M: An excuse?

R: Maybe I was scared. Not of going outside, but that maybe while we were out there, the school, our safe place, would be taken over by someone else...

M: That would never happen...

R: Can you really say it wouldn't?

M: Ahh...

R: When I looked outside through the binoculars, maybe I was just deceiving myself, and I actually saw some living people. If I could have let them know we were here somehow, maybe I could have saved a few others.

M: You've been thinking about that?

R: I'm a coward, so I can't even patrol around the school like Kurumi... And even back then.

M: Back then?

R: When we all decided to get in the car and go on a field trip.

Y: We must not leave the school. But there's an exception! If it's a school event, it doesn't count as leaving!

K: It's up to Megu-nee. Let's leave it to Yuki.

R: The truth is, I was unbearably scared. I was worried about leaving the school... But I didn't have the courage to resist, either.

M: Senpai...

R: So I was just thinking "let's get it over with quickly and get back to the school", "let's go back to our safe place soon". Even when we found you in the mall, I...

M: But you saved me.

R: Miki-san...

M: I remember. When I was on top of the grand piano, surrounded by "them", helpless and panicking...

R: ...

M: You set off the buzzers and drew their attention... That was you, Yuuri-senpai.

R: But, that was...

M: Maybe it was just a momentary thing. Maybe you were just going along with the situation... But I'm alive, I'm here because I was saved by Yuki-senpai, Kurumi-senpai, and you, Yuuri-senpai.

R: I... suppose so...

M: I was able to come to school again like this.

K: Yeah, yeah! So you could be more grateful to me, right?

R: K-Kurumi?

M: H-huh? How long have you been there?

K: Somewhere around "Maybe I was scared", I guess?

R: H-huh?

K: You're so distant, Rii-san! Rather than your kouhai, you should talk about your worries with the fellow club members who shared your hardships...

M: I-I'm a member of the School Living Club too, aren't I?

K: But you joined later, right?

M: Hmph, that's got nothing to do with this...

K: I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Actually, didn't we decide there'd be no serious talk today?

R: Yes, indeed we did.

M: I'm sorry.

K: Ah, no, it's nothing to apologise over! Well, just for today, let's learn from her carefreeness!

R: Her...

M: ...carefreeness?

Y: Wait! Taroumaru, wait up!

T: \*pant pant pant\*

Y: That's not fair, Taroumaru! Don't have fun on your own, play with me too!

T: \*pant pant whine\*

M: What... are they doing?

R: What indeed...

K: It'd take too long to explain...

M: I'll have the short version, please.

K: Yuki was showing off a frisbee to Taroumaru, and...

R: And...?

K: He jumped at her quickly, before she'd even thrown it...

M: And he took it and ran off?

K: That's right...

R: That didn't take particularly long to explain, did it?

M: To be tricked by a dog...

K: But hey, I guess that's just like her...

Y: Ah! Mii-kun, Kurumi-chan! Help me catch Taroumaru!

K: All right, might as well have some exercise after that meal... How about you?

M: Yes, I'll come with you.

K: Rii-san?

R: I'm going to rest on the sofa for a little...

K: Understood! ...Don't push yourself too hard, okay?

R: I know. Thank you, Kurumi.

K: Don't worry about it!

Y: That way! He went that way!

K: All right! Say your prayers, Taroumaru!

M: You mustn't do anything violent!

K: We're playing, just playing!

R: Heehee, take care, you two!

M: It's because of times like this that we're all living with everything we've got. There may be lots of hard times, but there are also things that come to mind when we close our eyes. They are the treasured memories of our brief holidays. Yuki-senpai's smiling face, as she pulls everyone straight onwards...

Y: Mii-kun! This way, this way!

M: Okay!

M: We will never forget those days at Megurigaoka Gakuin High School...

### **Translation notes:**

* Retort curry is pre-cooked, packaged curry, prepared by boiling or microwaving it for a few minutes.
* Miki refers to herself as a first-year when she should be a second-year (probably just a mistake in the script).
* The "Go-Home Club" refers to students who go straight home after school instead of taking part in club activities.
* "Fukure Curry" and "Fukure Hayashi" are references to the real-life "Kukure Curry" brand. "Fukureru" means "to bulge" (e.g. a stomach).
* Roux is a thickening agent made by mixing flour and fat.  Japanese curry is usually made from roux containing flour, oil and curry powder.
* Some localised terms:
	+ "futon" -> "quilt"
	+ "dakimakura" -> "hug pillow"
	+ "Akechi-kun" (Kogorou Akechi) -> "Holmes"
* Writing the symbol for "meat" on a sleeping person's forehead is a well-known custom in Japan, done in reference to the Kinnikuman series. It has some darker undertones in this situation, though...