Minami no Hanashi : Yume - Adagio

Noon came quickly. Tsuka and Taiya watched Sanae from another table, as she sat with Haru and other friends. Minami was at the table with Sanae, who was eagerly waiting for her friend to explain his behavior from this morning. Despite knowing Minami’s reluctance to discuss her problems, Sanae decided to ask anyway.

"I know you haven’t forgotten, Minami; you seem to be feeling much better. So, how about you tell me what's going on?" she asked, smiling.

Minami looked away and ignored her, but her friend seemed more serious than usual, which she noticed. She decided to give her a surface-level explanation of what happened that morning. At the end of her story, Sanae said with a motherly tone, "The twins are worried. You should reassure them."

It reminded her of what Narumi said that morning. Sanae continued, "You know how they are, right? They practically live off of feelings and emotions. I can’t explain exactly, but they have that thing where they’re affected by negative vibes more easily—"

"What’s with all this nonsense? It sounds like pseudoscience."

"But you know exactly what I'm talking about, don’t you?"

"Yeah, I get it. They like to exaggerate their reactions and laugh about it, but they don’t handle negativity well..."

Sanae replied with a teasing tone, "Ooh~ as tough as you act, you actually care a lot about them, hahaha."

"They just attract attention; it’s normal for me to pay attention to them," Minami replied.

Sanae left a deliberate silence, signaling to Minami that she wanted to know more about her behavior that morning.

"Argh! I was in a bad mood. I didn’t sleep well because of the dream, and I was exhausted, that’s all!" she declared.

Sanae smiled and replied, "Alright then! As long as you’re feeling better! And don’t forget to go reassure the twins, little dreamer," she said as she ate.

"I won’t forget. And don’t start calling me that!" she replied.

In the next class, after Minami briefly explained what had happened, the twins reacted exactly as she predicted: they exaggerated and teased her even more.

After giving her sister some explanations, Minami lay down in bed, eager to find out what she would dream of. She turned from side to side, trying to find a comfortable position and enjoying the coolness of the sheets.

After an hour, then two, Minami still couldn’t fall asleep, her mind racing with thoughts. Finally, she picked up a book, returned to bed, hoping that reading would help her fall asleep.

After a chapter of a classic novel, she finally drifted off.

In her dream, Minami found herself in the same place. The familiar door appeared again, but Minami immediately made it vanish. She focused all her energy on thinking about the cloud. After a few moments, her intense efforts paid off, and a faint mist began to form in front of her. It was the cloud.

The cloud spoke quickly, “You need to find ‘blah blah blah’…”

“What?” Minami asked, not understanding his last words.

The cloud replied enthusiastically, “I’m replacing the words myself so you won’t feel pain! Hehe!”

“Oh~ I see!”

The cloud created a silhouette with just the faint outline of what seemed to be a human. It was barely perceptible and appeared troubled.

“Is that the one I need to find?”

“Yes…”

After a moment of silence, it replied, “We’ll have to go through puzzle rooms! It’s time to enter one of the dreams I had!”

“Uh… Alright…”

“So, since you can’t directly see what he looks like, we’ll have to use clues for you to recognize him later in the Perfect Dream.”

“Yeah, yeah, got it. I’m ready!”

“Apologies in advance, remember and tell me the words you catch: ████, ████, ██████████, Kaizen, ██████.”

Minami held her head, clenching her teeth, and exclaimed, “Kaizen?!”

“That’s all you caught?” the cloud replied, clearly frustrated by the situation.

“This is a ripoff for what it’s worth!”

“You’re not ready to hear those words yet. You’ll unlock them by finding the puzzle pieces! If they’re censored, it means we’re on the right track!”

“And how’s that going to help me find this person?”

“The dream is specially designed so that you— Uh… I can’t say that word. But anyway! With these words, you’ll recognize them in a snap!”

Minami, looking a bit skeptical, decided to trust the cloud. “So, I’ll hear the words little by little as I find the puzzle pieces?”

The cloud responded enthusiastically, “Yes! Although it’ll depend on the nasty shadows… But don’t worry, I’ve made sure the dream’s context aligns with each word, so it’ll be more intuitive! And the locations are meant to make it even easier for you to find them later!”

“You sound like you’re enjoying this…”

“Hehe, I am... Anyway!”

The cloud began scanning the surroundings, searching for something. Minami, not sure what he was looking for, watched him float in the air. After wandering off a good distance, he suddenly returned to Minami. “Uh... Where’s the door to the worlds?”

Surprised by his question, Minami raised an eyebrow and asked with astonishment in her voice, “I made it disappear. Have you been looking for it all this time!?”

“Bring it back!” insisted the cloud.

“O–Ok!” Minami replied hesitantly.

In the void, a door slowly materialized. “Now, I’ll change the destination!”

“You can do that?! Even I don’t know if I can.”

“Huh? But of course you can. You’ve done it before.”

“Oh… I… don’t remember.”

As the cloud began to wrap around the door, he muttered, a hint of irony and disappointment in his voice, “You rarely forget your dreams, huh...”

“Yeah, yeah, but you’ve inspected all of them. Plus, you’re some kind of… thing. I bet we store information differently.”

“Grrr!”

“Oh, please. You’re like a child, it’s not just your voice!” Minami added teasingly.

After a few moments, the cloud moved aside. “Open the door! I can’t do it.”

“Oh, well… here goes…”

Minami conjured a long staff and opened the door from afar. As soon as it opened, a massive troll appeared. Minami quickly shut it, “Phew! That’s the troll from a novel I recently read!”

“What’s it doing here? It wasn’t supposed to lead to that weird world! Is the door influenced by what I read? But how do you explain the mushrooms?”

She snapped out of her thoughts as she noticed the cloud repeatedly bumping into the door, making soothing sounds. “Come on, don’t get discouraged. There must be a solution, right?”

“I created this dream, though…” The cloud drifted lower and lower, clearly discouraged. As Minami stepped forward to console him, he perked up with a new idea: “I know! I’ll be the new door!”

“You can do that?” Minami asked, skeptical after her recent experience.

“No! But you can force me to become a door like that!”

Without hesitation, the cloud transformed into a door. Minami, not believing it would work, was astonished when she opened it.

“Wow! What… is this?”

“It shouldn’t be foggy… Oh, well! Trust me! Inside, you’ll find—uh… a puzzle piece.”

“Careful, okay? I really don’t want to wake up with a headache,” Minami interrupted, a slight shiver running down her spine.

Without further delay, she stepped into the dream world created by the cloud.

Once inside, the world pulled her in, as if it had swallowed her whole. The force was so strong that she fell face-first to the ground. Not understanding what was happening, she slowly stood up, brushing the dust off her clothes.

The young dreamer, amazed by what she saw, found herself in a captivating place she remembered visiting as a child. Before her stood a children's theater—a mysterious place where dreams seemed to blend with reality, like an enchanting painting in a storybook.

“Hmm… So what exactly am I supposed to find?”

Waiting for the cloud to answer, she was met only with silence. The guide that had led her so far had vanished, leaving her alone with the riddle of this theatrical setting.

“Well, guess I’ll have to figure this out myself.”

She began searching everywhere in the theater for… a puzzle? “HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FIND A PUZZLE IN A PLACE LIKE THIS!? AND I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT’S SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE!!”

She suddenly stopped shouting. She gave herself a few slaps and stood up, determined. After searching for a long time, almost everywhere, and on the verge of going mad, some people appeared on stage.

Extravagantly dressed performers took the stage, preparing what seemed like a play specifically for children. Their bright costumes and theatrical gestures looked as though they had stepped out of a fantastic dream.

"Was that part of the dream he prepared?" Perplexed, she still sat down, waiting to see what they would have in store for her. "Anyway, it's time to relax," she replied as she slumped into her seat.

The lights in the room had dimmed, creating an enchanting atmosphere that invited daydreams. Minami, still surprised by the mystery of the puzzle, watched with curiosity as the performers took their places on stage. Their shimmering costumes evoked glimpses of a starry sky mixed with the iridescent hues of the rainbow, as if each artist were a shooting star embodied in the deep night.

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The first notes of music gently resonated, accompanying the graceful movements of the performers. A murmur of awe spread through the room as the set transformed before Minami’s amazed eyes. Enchanted trees seemed to magically grow, their branches unfolding like hands reaching for the heavens. Fantastic creatures, part animal, part spirit, sprang from the wings, their dances telling stories long forgotten.

Then came the moment when the stars seemed to descend from the ceiling, their beams of light dancing gracefully, creating ephemeral tableaux of celestial beauty. Minami let herself be swept away by this whirlwind of magic, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

Suddenly, Minami stood up with determination, suddenly reminded of the reason she was there, in the heart of this enchanting world. But no sooner had she made this decision than someone she knew appeared out of nowhere, breaking the moment.

"You're leaving already?" the acquaintance called with an enigmatic smile.

Minami was taken by surprise as she recognized the familiar silhouette. "Jun!? Am I dreaming about Jun? Is this really the dream the cloud prepared??" she wondered, scrutinizing every detail with curiosity mixed with confusion. Yet, something seemed different about this dream Jun; a dark, mysterious aura surrounded him, contrasting with the Jun she knew.

The enigmatic Jun spoke in a calm voice, his gaze lost in the imaginary horizon of the dream: "Oh, looks like it's already time for you."

Then, like a veil lifting on an ephemeral scene, Minami woke up in an instant. Azumi stood at the foot of her bed, gently bringing Minami back to reality. "Are you okay, honey? You seemed to be having quite a restless dream."

Minami sat up without a word, still reflecting on what had just happened. Azumi continued speaking, handing her a brand-new notebook: "Here you go! I saw the one I gave you when you were little, and it’s completely out of space! So, instead of filling it with loose pages, here’s a new one!"

Moved, Minami joyfully took the gift from her mother and embraced it warmly. They stayed in each other's arms for a moment. Strangely, Minami seemed to need it. "It feels like I’m seeing little Minami again! You’re growing up so fast," Azumi replied in a nostalgic tone.

The young Katayama opened the book and began writing down what she had seen in her dream. Azumi, meanwhile, stood up and inspected her daughter's small bookshelf, addressing her: "Could I borrow a book?"

"Yes, except the ones with an orange tag. Those are the ones I plan to finish very soon," she answered while writing.

As Azumi seemed to search for a book, Minami suddenly appeared before her: "I’m missing a book that was here." She pointed to an empty spot. "You haven’t seen it, have you?"

Azumi flashed a big smile: "Yes, yes, that’s me! I admit I took one while I was tidying up. It had a green tag, I’m almost done with it, I’ll return it to you very soon, I promise."

"Oh, you can take your time if it had a green tag. But please warn me next time! Otherwise, I get paranoid thinking I lost it!" Minami replied.

"Oh, yes, yes, I’ll warn you next time," Azumi reassured her.

Time passed, and Minami finally left home to head to school. Today was their sports day. But Minami had completely forgotten about it.

Arriving in front of the room where students usually leave their belongings, Sanae looked at Minami: "You forgot your sports stuff."

Minami simply nodded. Asayoshi, a witness to this scene, arrived yelling: "I knew it! I’ve got everything covered! I’ve got stuff for you! We’re doing that race, Minami!!"

An awkward silence fell as the eyes of class 2-2 all awaited Minami’s reaction. "M-But what’s wrong with you!? Sports is this afternoon, I’ll just go get them at home! It’ll just mean one more bag to carry around all day..."

A twin entered: "Hey! You're weird, carrying girl stuff in your bag!"

As they were about to say more, Minami intervened and dragged the twins away: "Leave that weird guy over there, he’s just crazy."

Sanae stayed behind to talk with Asayoshi and make him understand what he had just said.

As they were all seated in the classroom waiting for the teacher, it was Sanae and Asayoshi who entered. Minami didn’t pay attention and was eating a granola bar while reading a book. Until she was interrupted: "Excuse me, Minami!"

Takunomi Asayoshi was standing, head bowed in front of Minami, offering his sincerest apologies. Everyone was watching them again. The twins wanted to intervene, but Sanae stopped them.

"It’s… It’s a little embarrassing, you know? Can you stand up and sit down? Go on, I forgot, nothing happened," Minami tried, trying to ease the embarrassment that had settled in the class.

"Huh? You forgot? I said out loud that I brought some sports gear that’ll fit you for planning—"

"But he doesn’t understand! Shut up!!" Minami interrupted.

"I didn’t mean any harm. Anyway, I don’t care what others think. This afternoon, it’s you and me. Don’t chicken out, Minami."

"Haha, that’s not going to happen, it’s a race already won for me, you know it."

"Hmpf! We’ll see about that," he replied as he sat back down.

An otaku stood up and applauded: "A rivalry leading to love, I can only applaud a scene like in Romantic Rivals 2, series 1."

The love fans joined him, agreeing and applauding his words. Then the otaku, who was none other than Daisuke, sat back down, looking disgusted. "I refuse to be associated with these weird girls."

Nao silenced the love fans and went to the board. Haru, the most studious student in the class, questioned her behavior: "What do you plan to do? Go back to your seat, the teacher is coming any minute."

"Oh lo lo, shut up, nerd, he’s not here, that’s all. He’s probably still delayed for X reasons. Being a teacher isn’t easy, you know."

"Even more reason to not—"

"Anyway! I propose we make some bets! Can I, boss!?"

From the back of the class, Arata Kurou nodded. Nao continued: "I’m taking bets for the race this afternoon! Who do you think will win, Minami or the other crazy guy?"

"It’s Minami," the concerned one replied.

"The difference?"

Not wanting to get into conflict with him, Minami didn’t respond to his provocation.

Rikiza stood up and spoke: "No one in this room has any money to bet. So your game is useless, no real reward involved."

Irritated by his valid point, Nao wanted to silence him, but Kurou confirmed, "No one in this class has money, we’re not at the hideout. Your idea doesn’t work."

Seeing even his boss disapprove of his idea, Nao’s world seemed to collapse. But Katsuro had an idea: "We could offer each winner our protection for an entire day!"

"Ohhh!! Boss?? Does that work for you!?"

Kurou looked around. After a few seconds of thought, he spoke: "Protection from who? I don’t like it."

"But boss! For example, they say a guy attacked a girl at the athletics club! He ended up running away but we don’t know why."

"Yeah, that’s true!" added Tsuka. "I heard the girl was with her dog, and he’s the one who protected her!"

Minami and Sanae exchanged a knowing glance. To avoid further discussion, Sanae went to get a famous board game at the back of the class, called 'Eclypsia,' to pass the time with Minami.

Nao continued: "Boss!! It’s a great idea! We’ll finally get to fight against athletes, probably stronger than the university guys!"

Upon hearing this, Haru stood up from her seat, appalled: "You’re fighting against university students!? What’s wrong with you!?"

"You’re starting to annoy me, nerd," Nao retorted, glaring at her. Tsuka intervened, "We don’t talk like that to girls, you punk."

"Br—Anyway! Boss? Yes or no?"

Suddenly, the door opened. It was Ryo, the calmest student in the class. His entrance startled the students, all thinking it was the teacher. He spoke: "I was told to let you know that the teacher is absent. He got injured on the road." With these words, he was about to leave but was stopped by Nao, who pulled him back into the classroom: "Don’t leave! Stay with us, we’re making a bet!"

The young man seemed completely uninterested but sat down to avoid causing more disturbance.

Here’s the translation in the format you provided:

"Wait a minute." Ayemi exclaimed. "So we don't have class, and you're stopping us from leaving for this stupid bet?"

"Yep." Nao replied proudly.

Kiyoshi positioned himself firmly in front of the only exit, blocking any attempt to leave. However, no one seemed to have the intention to leave anyway. The atmosphere was tense, and only Ayemi seemed irritated by the situation.

"Tss... Well, it would be super fun to have thugs following me around as bodyguards for the whole day. I vote for Asayoshi!" Ayemi declared, expressing her preference with a hint of sarcasm.

"Yeahhh," Minami retorted with irony, "Boys agreeing to walk next to you... that must be suuuper rare!"

Sanae quickly intervened to calm the rising tension: "Minami!! Play, focus on our game!" she tried to get her friend back on track.

"I vote for myself, Nao. Write it on the board."

"Yes, yes!!" So, that made one vote for Minami, and another for Asayoshi.

"I didn’t want to participate, but if my rival is doing it, I’ll do it too! I vote for myself!" Asayoshi heroically responded.

"Noted! 2 against 1!"

Minami looked at her friend with a confident smile. Sanae sighed and then finally voted for her friend. The twins and Haru followed her vote.

Rikka and Kaori were hesitant and talked between themselves. Seeing their hesitation, Ayemi joined them: "Minami did win a cup for Unmei... while Asayoshi..."

Afraid of making the wrong choice, Ayemi intervened: "But come on, girls, Asayoshi is a sports freak! Look at him! He’s already warming up! He’s definitely going to win! No matter what level Minami is!"

Hesitant, they eventually voted in favor of Asayoshi.

"Great! We move on! That’s five for Minami, four for Asayoshi!"

Tishiku spoke up, expressing doubts: "Do we really have to vote??"

"Boss? Do we have to?"

"You were the one who initiated this! You set the rules!" Kurou exclaimed irritably.

"Then we can vote blank!" he finally decided under pressure, giving an option for those who didn’t want to be involved in the final decision.

Suddenly, a lot of students voted blank. Only Tishiku, Jouka, Takumi, and the thugs remained.

Jouka’s thoughts: "If everyone instantly voted blank, it’s to avoid having thugs running after them... I don’t want that either! I vote blank!"

"Okay, enough with the blank votes, I’m not counting them anymore! And you two then?"

"I vote for Minami!" Tishiku answered cheerfully.

"Haa!! 6 votes for Minami, 4 for Asayoshi!" Nao replied, proud of Tishiku. "Okay. Your turn now."

Nao’s gaze was very threatening, clearly indicating he didn’t want any blank votes.

"I... I’d like to vote for Asa—Uh... Mina..." Takumi stammered, clearly hesitant.

"Did you think you were Yukisada or something!?" Nao shouted, annoyed.

"Hey, that’s not nice to him!" Sanae quickly retorted, defending Yukisada.

"Tss. Come on, decide, Takumi." the thug insisted, getting more and more angry.

"I vote for the loser!" Takumi finally announced, looking for an unconventional solution.

"The who or the what?" Nao asked, ready to officially note the answer.

"The...," Takumi replied in a low voice, reluctantly admitting his choice.

Hearing this, Minami threw him a cold glance and muttered: "Nice."

Sanae immediately intervened to avoid things getting out of hand.

Now it was the thugs' turn to vote: "Boss! Vote!"

Suddenly, Tsuka walked up to Nao’s side and spoke: "No! If he votes, you’ll all follow him. The Chika-Bankaa boss will vote last!"

"Well said, Tsuka!!" Taiya responded, shaking his pencil case.

Kurou crossed his arms, waiting for Nao’s vote. Nao had become the one who was hesitating: "I... I vote for..." He looked towards his teammates, trying to guess who they would vote for. In his field of vision, Tsuka appeared. So he immediately voted for Minami. She wasn’t surprised at all. "He’s sweet on Tsuka, so it makes sense he follows her right after his friends."

Nao looked at Kiyoshi, waiting for his vote: "I vote for Asayoshi."

"8 for Minami, 6 for Asayoshi! We move on! Let’s go, Katsuro!"

"Sorry, Nao!!! I vote for Asayoshi!!"

"Okk!! 8 against 7! Your turn now! A tie? Or a win for Minami?"

Kurou looked out of the corner of his eye at Asayoshi warming up. On the other side, he saw Minami playing with Sanae. He moved to Minami’s table and sat next to her, playing her turn against her opponent: "You run fast?"

"Well... Yes? I think?" Minami answered, perplexed by his approach.

"Hmm... You won a cup last year, didn’t you? Then be more convincing," Kurou said teasingly, trying to put a bit of pressure on Minami.

"My guys and I bet money among ourselves. Honestly, who do you think I should vote for?" he asked with a mischievous smile, openly challenging the unwritten rules of the competition.

"Ch–Chief!! You’re cheating!!" Nao and Katsuro protested simultaneously, expressing their indignation at this manipulation.

"Your rules never said we couldn’t talk with the people involved. Plus, I’m not putting any pressure on her, am I?" Kurou replied, trying to justify his actions by turning to Minami.

"Of–Of course," she replied, understanding the game going on around her.

"Samurai with Six Caprices activated, I destroy your last attacker. I’ve won, Sanae." He said as he laid down a card. "Alright, I vote for Minami." He gave her a look as if to threaten her.

"Hey! Don’t look at me like that! If you lose, you have no one to blame but yourself! I never told you to vote for me!" Minami retorted firmly, defending herself against Kurou’s implied accusation.

Her gaze expressed both determination and a hint of exasperation at the situation, which seemed to be moving beyond the initial boundaries set for the game. The competition, which had started off friendly, was now taking on a tense turn due to the unexpected stakes introduced by Kurou. Minami’s response didn’t go unnoticed, and the thugs were all waiting to see how their boss would react to a girl who dared to stand up to him.

One could even see the question in Ayemi’s eyes: "Does she want to die?"

Kurou stood up, Sanae quickly tried to intervene by placing herself between them, but Kurou roughly pushed her aside, pulling her by the arm, ignoring any attempts at mediation.

Moving towards Minami with a threatening aura, she stood up from her chair to distance herself, uncertain of what Kurou might have in mind. The atmosphere was charged with tension, and it was clear that the situation could escalate at any moment.

Backed against the wall, Minami couldn’t move much further. "Don’t touch Sanae. This is my first and last warning."

Kurou burst out laughing and, with a sharp motion, grabbed Minami by the chin, his grip firm, exuding both authority and threat. His piercing gaze locked with hers, creating an immediate sense of captivity and vulnerability. A shiver of apprehension ran down Minami’s spine as she felt trapped in Kurou’s hold, her breath quickening from the intimidating proximity. The seconds seemed to stretch, laden with tension and anticipation, as the heavy silence in the room amplified the intensity of the moment.

Tishiku, Haru, Sanae, and Asayoshi all wanted to intervene immediately, but the other thugs held them back: "The boss isn’t like that, he won’t hurt a girl! He just wants to scare her!"

In the brief silence, everyone heard Minami’s words, still held by Kurou: "You don’t scare me."

In an instant, the thugs rushed to Kurou’s side, ready to stop him in case he got carried away.

He released Minami and responded while patting her head: "I like you. You must know some strong people to pull off this kind of thing."

Minami gave him a confident smile, responding positively to his suggestion.

"We’ll get along just fine, you and me! Unless you lose. You’d better run fast, little rabbit."

"N–Don’t call me that!!" Minami replied, irritated by his behavior.

The thugs left the room, leaving silence behind them. Once they were through the door, everyone started talking among themselves.

END OF CHAPTER