Here again, another step! - Kachimachi Kosuzu's Walking Diary
Original work of Teren Mikami and Aifuji Yuu (Hasunosora Scenario Team)
Original publication : Hasunosora Jogakuin School Idol Club Walking Diary ~DOLLCHESTRA~ Kachimachi Kosuzu. Released on Sep. 30, 2024. Physical version of the book is available to purchase at amazon.jp and various store.
*This entire story took on 2024.
Huge thanks to Rafatenshii for the translation!
Without further ado, enjoy!
Mid-July, where the summer heat directly stimulated the top of one's head.
Inside such a sweltering air that made her feel dizzy, as if she might scorch away like this, Kosuzu was blankly watching her fellow members practice.
The courtyard under the scorching sun, the heat haze shimmering up. The girls polishing their performance within it looked just like fire fairies—
“If you space out in a place like this, you'll get heatstroke.”
“Pyee!”
A cold sensation pressed right against the nape of her neck.
As Kosuzu jumped up and spun toward the voice, she saw Sayaka looking exasperated.
“S-Sayaka-senpai!”
“Yes, it's Sayaka-senpai. For now, let's get you hydrated.”
Looking at what was handed to her, Kosuzu finally realized what the cause of the cold sensation on her neck was.
A transparent drink inside a bottle.
“Is it water?!”
“Yes, cold water.”
Satisfied with that, she went to open the lid, desperate to cool herself down—
“Alright then!”
“Kosuzu-san?!”
*Splash!* She poured the water right over her head.
The pleasant coldness traveled from her head down her neck and all the way to her back.
“Shake, shake, shake!”
“Just like a puppy…”
Beside a dumbfounded Sayaka, Kosuzu shook her head violently and showed a smile, looking content. The falling droplets reflected the sunlight, bathing Kosuzu in a radiant shimmer.
“Thank you very much, Sayaka-senpai!”
“I prepared that for you to drink, but... well, I guess it's fine…”
Sayaka gave a wry smile, figuring she could just grab another one later. Kosuzu, completely oblivious, flashed an innocent smile and held up the bottle proudly.
“Ah, I'll drink what's left! I learned this from watching marathon runners!”
In the marathons she saw on TV, runners who kept going in the heat would pour water over their heads and then do some light hydration. She had admired that a little bit.
“I see.”
Saying that, Sayaka nodded once as if she understood what Kosuzu wanted to do, but—
“Though by the looks of it, you're a bit too late to pull that off now.”
“Huh? Ah!”
The contents of the bottle were completely empty. Droplets were falling sadly, plop, plop.
“Ch-challenge failed…”
“Ahaha... Well, shall we go get some together? It's just a matter of going to the water fountain.”
“Yes!”
Though Kosuzu dropped her shoulders for a split second, she switched gears immediately, hopped right next to Sayaka, and started walking. Sayaka smiled in amusement. As always, Kosuzu's ability to bounce back so quickly and move on was something she couldn't help but admire.
“Even so, it's incredibly hot today!”
“It really is. Especially today. Just a moment ago, I was talking with Kozue-senpai about wrapping up practice early today. It would do us no good if anyone collapsed.”
“The lesson room isn't available either, right?”
“Well, it doesn't belong solely to the School Idol Club.”
Remembering that the schedule indicated another club was using it today.
Kosuzu learned that not just on rainy days, but on hot days like this as well, the competition for practice spaces was fierce.
“So, that’s it for today?”
“As a whole, yes…”
While having that conversation, the two walked toward the water fountain.
Since there was no practice, what should she do today? As Kosuzu let her thoughts wander like that, Sayaka glanced at her and spoke.
“Kosuzu-san, do you have any plans today?”
“Huh? Ah, nothing worth mentioning at all! I was just wondering what I should do.”
“In that case, why don't we spend a bit of extra time as DOLLCHESTRA?”
“E-Extra time...?!”
Hearing those words, Kosuzu froze for an instant. Did Sayaka intend to continue the practice, even though Kozue had been hoping to wrap up the session early?
If it was Sayaka, it wouldn't be strange for her to do so. When it came to practice, she was a demon. Without a doubt.
She recalled what Kaho had repeatedly drummed into her after Sayaka gave her special training back in May.
“You can't just casually ask Sayaka-chan for special training anymore, okay?! Promise me!”
She understood very well that Kaho was worried in her own way.
In fact, it was easy to imagine that if practice were to continue from here, Kosuzu would end up sleeping like the dead again.
Even so, as someone who had decided to chase after Sayaka, she couldn't possibly walk away when Sayaka wanted to keep practicing.
“Are we going to continuing practice...?”
“Why are you asking so timidly?!”
“N-No! Even if it's inside this sweltering oven, if Sayaka-senpai says she's continuing, Kachimachi will follow you even if she gets roasted crisp!”
“It troubles me when you say that with a face like you're about to cry!”
Sayaka hurriedly pulled away Kosuzu, who was clinging to her despite the already intense heat.
“No, that's not what I meant. Even I have no intention of practicing in this heat.”
With a small sigh, Sayaka said:
“If you'd like, how about the three of us go out together after this?”
“Going out!”
Kosuzu's back straightened like a rod.
An invitation from Sayaka, no matter what it was for, was a source of joy for Kosuzu.
“If Kachimachi is good enough, any number of me will follow you!”
“That sounds immensely noisy... Just one Kosuzu-san and one Tsuzuri-senpai are more than enough for me…”
Kosuzu, of course, had no idea.
She knew nothing of the nonsense Tsuzuri had once spouted about triplets, or six Sayas, and various other fantasies in which DOLLCHESTRA seemed on the verge of multiplying wildly out of hand. “I absolutely cannot give Kosuzu-san the chance to start multiplying too,” Sayaka thought, a wry smile spreading across her face.
“Kosuzu-san, are you interested in movies?”
Being asked that, Kosuzu widened her eyes slightly. Then, she nodded vigorously.
“Yes, I am!”
・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
“I feel like I'm going to melt…”
“Wow, even Tsuzuri-senpai can’t beat the heat...!”
“Yeah, because I'm a little bit closer to the sun than Suzu…”
“Does that have something to do with it?!”
“I don't think it has much to do with it…”
Chattering boisterously, they arrived at Kanazawa Forus.
Having reached Kanazawa Station and finally managed to escape the heat thanks to the tools of civilization, Kosuzu fanned her sweaty body with her hands.
Just then, a sudden gust of wind blew, flipping her bangs.
“Please use this.”
A handy fan was pointed at her by Sayaka, gently applying coolness to her sweaty forehead.
“Ahhh~”
Unintentionally, Kosuzu threw her voice into the fan, just like anime characters did toward electric fans. Seeing her like that, Sayaka laughed.
“Fufu, everyone always wants to do that.”
“It feels like a voice that isn't mine is coming out of me, so it's fun.”
As Tsuzuri said that, Sayaka wore a rare, mischievous smile and shifted the direction of the fan from Kosuzu to Tsuzuri.
“Ahhh~”
“Fufu. It's a funny voice when you do it consciously.”
“Right~?”
Tsuzuri's voice was still being stirred up by the fan.
Kosuzu and Tsuzuri's eyes met. Sensing what Tsuzuri wanted to say, Kosuzu placed her own hand over Sayaka's hand that was holding the fan.
“Kosuzu-san?”
To Sayaka, who wondered what she was doing for an instant, a blast of wind was directed.
“Hold on—”
*Whoosh.* Sayaka's bangs danced as well. Her unexpectedly wide forehead said hello.
Receiving the expectant eyes of Tsuzuri and Kosuzu, Sayaka lowered her eyebrows as if giving up and opened her mouth.
“Ahhh~”
“Sayaka-senpai, your voice is cute!”
“Yeah, Saya's voice is cute.”
“What’s that supposed to mean~?!”
Even Sayaka's pouty complaint came out soft and wobbly.
She'd been thoroughly thrown off balance, just as she always was by Kosuzu and Tsuzuri.
“Seriously…”
Turning off the fan's switch, Sayaka shook her head.
“Come on, look, it's going to be time for the movie.”
When she showed her smartphone, the screen displayed the tickets she had already reserved.
Since the movie they were going to see had been decided from the start, Kosuzu and Tsuzuri followed under Sayaka's guidance.
“What are we watching?”
“I don't know the details, but apparently... it's a phantom thief story?”
“That's cool!”
“There are lots of little guys that look like cute Suzus.”
“A whole bunch of Kachimachi!?”
“Why does DOLLCHESTRA always want to multiply so suddenly like that…”
Groaning with her hand against her forehead, Sayaka turned her eyes to Kosuzu.
“As for the reason we came to see a movie, the truth is, we received a request from the Drama Club again.”
“That legendary stage! I heard Sayaka-senpai and Tsuzuri-senpai looked absolutely stunning in it!”
“This time, I'm playing the role of the phantom thief... so I thought it would be helpful as a reference.”
“Sayaka-senpai… as a phantom thief…”
Kosuzu stared blankly at Sayaka.
In Kosuzu's mind, Sayaka—who was dressed in cool clothes meant for going out—transformed into a stylish, tuxedo-like outfit.
“No way! So you're going to catch Sayaka-senpai!?”
Kosuzu's tension rose as she hallucinated the figure of Tsuzuri clad in a trench coat over here. Tsuzuri also nodded happily, pointing sharply at Sayaka.
“Yeah, I’ll tie her up.”
“Fufu. I wonder if it will go that easily.”
“Wow! You two already feel like true actors!”
As Kosuzu nodded with sparkling eyes, Sayaka and Tsuzuri looked at each other and laughed.
Sayaka relaxed a little, letting the tension leave her shoulders.
“Hearing you say that makes me feel a little relieved.”
“Saya is always perfect, though. Like when you were the Ice Princess, or when we did the shooting for Tsukimakase.”
“Why do you pinpoint at those exact moments I was embarrassed?!”
“Ooh, I wanted to see it~”
“D-Don't look at me with such expectant eyes... I'll show you the photos or whatever later…”
At any rate, Sayaka shook her head.
“Anyway, I thought we should watch this movie to use as a reference for the next play.”
“Suzu, tell us if there's anything you liked in the movie too. If it seems like something we could use, I wanna try it.”
“Okay! Leave it to me!”
Puffing out her chest, Kosuzu nodded firmly.
Tsuzuri and Sayaka smiled gently at Kosuzu before turning around and heading toward the theater.
Two large backs.
“Watching the movie as a reference for the play, huh...”
Watching them walk leisurely for a while, the distance between the two and Kosuzu grew wide.
It was as if her instincts were whispering to her, “If I just stay like this, it’s no good.”
Though her legs were shorter than theirs, Kosuzu hurried along, taking more steps to keep up to her seniors.
・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
In the evening, after they finished watching the movie.
Having somehow managed to find a quiet café amid the crowded area around Kanazawa Station, the three of them sat around a circular table for teatime.
Sayaka had a fruit-flavored iced tea.
Tsuzuri had a parfait topped with ice cream.
Kosuzu had the same thing as Sayaka.
“I think the movie itself was interesting, but…”
Gently pulling her mouth away from the straw, Sayaka spoke with a vague smile.
“Compared to what is being required of us in the play... how should I put it... it was rather cute.”
As an impression of the movie, for a work themed around phantom thieves, one could say the fancy atmosphere won out by quite a bit. It gave the impression that the focus was on the cute mascots that looked like Suzu, just as Tsuzuri had said.
Sayaka felt that it was a bit different from what she expected.
“Should we lean toward that side?”
Sayaka gently averted her eyes from Tsuzuri's innocent question.
“About that... there's no telling of what the members of the Drama Club might come up with…”
“What do you mean by there's no telling what they'll come up with?! Are there gonna be surprises?!”
“Ah, no... Well, let’s say that the members of the Drama Club have... a really strong commitment to their plays, or rather, a strong philosophy…”
“I don't really get it, but the world of drama is deep!”
“Let’s leave it at that. There are many drama powerhouses who entered through the special talent admissions there, after all.”
Nodding, Sayaka took another sip of her iced tea, looking slightly awkward.
Kosuzu also took a sip of her iced tea—and then secretly picked up the gum syrup on the table. About three of them.
“So, there's something I want to ask you, Kosuzu-san.”
“The movie... the play…”
“Kosuzu-san?”
“Huh!? What is it!”
“You've seemed a bit absent-minded for a while now. Are you feeling unwell?”
“That's not it at all! It's cool right now! Kachimachi is full of energy!”
“Really...?”
Leaving aside Sayaka, who still couldn't shake her worry about whether she was truly okay, Tsuzuri, who had been single-mindedly battling her parfait, raised her face.
“Suzu, do you want to be in the play too?”
“Eh.”
Kosuzu held her breath at Tsuzuri's beautiful, clear eyes that felt like they could draw one in.
Then, having noticed that Kosuzu's expression had changed, Sayaka also tilted her head slightly.
“Yeah, what do you think?”
“W-Well, that is... uhm...”
It was a topic that Kosuzu, unusually for her, didn't really want to discuss.
If asked whether she wanted to try it, saying no would certainly be a lie.
Still, the sheer scale of everything Tsuzuri and Sayaka had built behind them was intimidating. She couldn't just recklessly say she wanted to join.
Kosuzu could see them. The wide backs that had moved forward to watch the movie earlier. And even now, the magnitude of the expectations they were carrying.
Kosuzu understood very well how much the Drama Club students were looking forward to Sayaka and the others' performance. Because if they weren't, they wouldn't keep offering them the main roles over and over again.
“You seemed to be having fun when we were reading lines together.”
“True, Suzu was super into it during that With×MEETS. So much that Saya even got embarrassed."
“Again, why do you only remember things like that?!”
“Because it's cute.”
“~~~~~~~~~!!”
When Tsuzuri casually replied to her, Sayaka was left speechless. She pulled out her handy fan and started making noises into it. Surely she had grown quite flushed.
“That line reading stream was fun, that's true. But, um...”
“It's rare for Suzu not to say she wants to do something right away. Isn't it a challenge?”
“It could be, but…”
Gripping the cold glass tightly, Kosuzu looked down.
“For Kachimachi to push her way into Sayaka-senpai and Tsuzuri-senpai's stage…”
The sound of the fan stopped, and Sayaka, who had regained a serious expression despite still being slightly red, spoke.
“If it's about that, we succeeded at our latest Fes×LIVE, didn’t we?”
“Everyone cheering for us welcomed this year's DOLLCHESTRA with open arms, too.”
“Well… that's because the members of the Suki-Suki Club view it as 'this year's DOLLCHESTRA,' and because Sayaka-senpai and Tsuzuri-senpai accepted Kachimachi...”
When Kosuzu said that hesitantly, Tsuzuri and Sayaka tilted their heads.
They wondered what was different from the current situation.
Kosuzu hadn't noticed the very question the two of them were silently harboring.
However, she diligently searched within for why she wasn’t motivated to take on the challenge, Kosuzu found that answer herself and raised her face.
“Because everyone in the Drama Club isn't expecting DOLLCHESTRA. But they're expecting Sayaka-senpai and Tsuzuri-senpai to play the roles, no?”
“Hmm.”
“So, um. For Kachimachi to go and fail at something everyone is looking forward to would be really inconsiderate.”
Operating under the premise of failure was typical of Kosuzu.
However, it wasn't as if Sayaka didn't understand what Kosuzu was trying to say at all.
Upon that, she let out a sigh.
“This isn't like you, Kosuzu-san. This amount of 'buts' and 'becauses' just don't suit you.”
“Guh…”
“Ah, that's a sound of defeat.”
“During the line reading, you said you had experience with that. Don't you actually want to do it?”
“I really do want to challenge myself with anything I can…”
Kosuzu said that powerlessly, with dropped shoulders.
She really wanted to try anything she could. However, even if Kosuzu had that spirit, she was afraid of ruining something everyone was expecting.
Because she grew up being told to not do anything. If she did something and it led to a “just as expected,” that would be one thing, but she hated the thought of hearing “it was all your fault.”
Especially if the targets of that were her beloved Sayaka and Tsuzuri.
“Hmm.”
Sayaka sipped her iced tea, looking at Kosuzu as if deep in thought.
Even in the posture of supporting her glass with both hands and holding the straw in her mouth, Sayaka looked sparkling to Kosuzu. As expected, she was worthy of the Drama Club picking her out.
Kosuzu's Sayaka-senpai.
“Even if I were to tell you here that I think the members of the Drama Club would welcome you if you said you wanted to do it, it wouldn't mean much, would it?”
“Yeah... Even if you say that, it probably won't get across to Suzu...”
Being stared at intently by Sayaka and Tsuzuri, Kosuzu felt a bit awkward and looked away.
“Um...”
“However... Listen, Kosuzu-san.”
“Yes?”
To the worrying Kosuzu, Sayaka smiled softly and continued.
“At the very least, I invited you because I wanted to come with you, Kosuzu-san. If having you here is 100, then it would be 50 if you didn't come. You must surely understand that I need you this much, right?”
“Um, yes...”
At the sudden killer line, Kosuzu reflexively averted her eyes. For a different reason than before, all she could do was nod. Whether she knew Kosuzu's inner thoughts or not, Sayaka spoke casually as if the previous lines were just a preface.
“It's about time you realized that this isn't limited to just me, Kosuzu-san. You are already a necessary presence to everyone, more than you think you are.”
“Is that so...?”
“Hmm... How can I get that across to you…”
Crossing her arms, Sayaka tilted her head.
“So, how about something like this?”
Then, Tsuzuri, who looked as if she had been thinking about something, raised a finger as if she'd just had an idea.
Waiting until attention gathered on her, Tsuzuri spoke to Kosuzu.
“A challenge to take the Drama Club's audition—”
“An audition? For Kachimachi?”
“Yeah. If you feel even a little interested, why don’t you audition for the Drama Club? If you don’t make it, then the challenge fails. If you succeed, we do it together. That way, it won't cause trouble for anyone.”
“I-If that's the case! Yes! By all means!”
Kosuzu stood up with a clatter.
She nodded repeatedly, and Tsuzuri smiled softly.
“Okay, then I'll let the Drama Club know.”
“Thank you very much, Tsuzuri-senpai!!”
Kosuzu bowed her head repeatedly, and Tsuzuri accepted it gently.
Sayaka pouted a little bit and casted her eyes toward Tsuzuri.
“That’s unfair, Tsuzuri-senpai... You can rescue your juniors’ hearts so easily...”
“That’s because Suzu is similar to me. I understand the feeling that you might ruin everyone's circle.”
“Hmph. I don't care about that. I'll pull both of you up by force.”
“Fufu... That's fine coming from Saya.”
Kosuzu, who was watching the exchange between the two, couldn't understand at all how she and Tsuzuri were similar.
But even so, she was happy to hear about auditioning for the Drama Club.
She only had fond memories of acting, even if they weren't exactly of great success, so to speak.
But on top of that, if the current challenge was successful, she could stand on stage with her seniors without any anxiety.
Thinking that nothing could be more joyful than this, she clenched her fist tightly.
And then...
・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
“We've been waiting for you!! DOLLCHESTRA's supernova!”
“If you are interested in drama, nothing could make us happier!!”
“Now, what should we have Kosuzu-chan do?! How about a sequel to the Ice Knight, where she fights against Tsuzuri-senpai? The setting is... yes, the curse that freezes everything held by the Ice Princess was actually meant to be received by Kosuzu-chan. The truth that the kind princess shielded her is revealed. Kosuzu-chan, carrying the responsibility that made the Ice Princess the Ice Princess, traveled the world looking for a cure but couldn't find one in the end and came back, only to witness the knight who accepted being swallowed by ice along with the princess—”
“Eh, eh? Eh!?”
The next day, Kosuzu was surrounded by the Drama Club.
Tsuzuri smiled and spoke to Kosuzu.
“Well, I thought it would turn out like this.”
And Sayaka followed up.
“That's why, after all, Kosuzu-san needs to know a bit more that she is needed by everyone.”
To the bewildered Kosuzu, words were conveyed one after another.
However, she understood very well that the emotion contained in those words as a whole was a welcome.
Therefore, she put strength into her hand.
“Um, everyone in the Drama Club!”
From here on, she would take a step forward by herself for the sake of what she wanted to do.
“Kachimachi might make a lot of mistakes! But if I can, I want to try the drama challenge!”
“Oh—! Sure!”
“Well, we wouldn't want to force a girl who dislikes it either.”
“Wait, excuse me?! In my case, didn't you practically trick me into doing it?!”
“Look— Sayaka-chan is the type who can do it if pushed enough!”
“You’ll just say that now?!”
Amid the noisy clamor of the onlookers.
A first-year student from the Drama Club stepped forward and asked Kosuzu.
“Kosuzu-san, do you have any experience in acting?”
Being asked that, Kosuzu puffed out her chest and said:
“Yes! After all, the first challenge Kachimachi ever did was—”
vaporwave
janainaart
andulkaphoto
izzy806
stormborns
titsay
