Butterfly Dream — Dreaming Chrysalis 5

Tsukasa: And that’s why it’s so hard to tell where you draw the line between strangers and friends.

You call yourself my “Onii-chan” and treat me like I’m your little brother or something…

B-But isn’t Suou-kun also sort of like family for you…? He’s your “youngest child”, isn’t he? Weren’t you guys the ones who called him that?

We’re both like family to you, or at least we should be. But you’re so harsh to Suou-kun and doting on me. It’s just so confusing and isolating.

That’s why he said you’re being unfair. If you’re just gonna talk like you’re all family even though you don’t feel that strongly about him…

If this is all just some kinda joke to you, then you shouldn’t have called him your family in the first place.

F-Family’s really important to Suou-kun, y’know? He’s always considered staying true to his family’s rules a source of pride, and a way to express his love.

He thought that Knights should love each other the same way, and that it’s okay for him to feel that way.

He believed that, but seeing the way you treat me is a real damper for him...
 

Izumi: ……

Tsukasa: That’s why… right? Uh, um… what were we talking about again?

Makoto: … Those were the grievances we have been harboring. And we considered switching bodies as a way to relieve them.

I thought that if I had donned Yuuki-senpai’s visage, you, who would be none the wiser, would treat me as though I were him.

You would dote on me and indulge me with affection as though we were brothers, despite us not being family in actuality.

You would tell me how much you love me, and how important I am to you so often I’d grow sick of it.

Tsukasa: Yeah… And if I looked like Suou-kun, you’d then treat me the way you treat him.

You’d show some restraint and stop fussing over me, and act like the cool and reliable senior you ought to be.

Makoto: That’s all we wished for. Or rather… that’s what we wanted from you.

I’m tired of being disillusioned by your nonsensical behavior, and Yuuki-senpai can walk on his own two feet even without you fawning over him.

I’m sure he wanted you to believe in him and give him a little space. This is a very decisive time for him, after all, with how close the SS is.

He wanted you to watch over him without intervening excessively in his affairs.

Tsukasa: I get why you’re worried, though. Knights may be on a roll now, but there’s a chance you guys could find yourselves in a pinch like what happened back during Halloween.

But that’s why you should pay more attention to your fellow knights, rather than using all your energy on an outsider like me.

If you need something to take solace in, Knights is there for you… They need you, since you’re their reliable senior.

But it doesn’t seem like you care for them much at all. If you do, you sure don’t show it.

You’re always so harsh when you speak to them, and act like it wouldn’t make a difference to you whether they’d quit or not.

Izumi: B-But it’s not like I’ve been saying that kinda stuff that much recently, right?

Tsukasa: But you did say it, multiple times at that. People don’t just forget what you say to them, you know.

They’ll start to worry about whether you’ve had a change of heart, or still feel that way inside.

Makoto: Exactly. Please say what you ought to to the people who need to hear what you have to say, without skirting around the issue. Please be forthright with us, I beg of you.

It’s not as though we’d reject you, or do anything to hurt you.

It won’t turn into such a tragic affair as what you’re surely fretting over, so there’s no need for you to be so apprehensive. Please, live sincerely, without glossing over such feelings.

… I suppose we should have told you that without having to switch bodies, shouldn’t we?

That’s all we had to tell you, but we’re still in quite the predicament.

Izumi: Yeah… Well, I get how you guys are feeling, and I do feel pretty sorry.

But we gotta do something to switch you two back first, don’t we?

I got it, ‘kay? I’ll try to consider your feelings a little more from now on…

So change back. already. It’s not like you can stay like that forever, right?

Makoto: Yes. We did harbor our various grievances, but it’s not as though we had completely given up on ourselves.

We hadn’t even imagined we would actually switch bodies—we were acting partly in jest, after all.

Tsukasa: Y-Yeah. Trickstar has the SS coming up, too.

It’s not like I can go up there looking like Suou-kun… I really gotta switch back.

(whispering) Um, Ritsu-senpai? I can’t seem to spot the pillow… Whatever shall we do?

(whispering) The plan was to thoroughly get our revenge on Sena-senpai to fluster him, and then sleep with the pillow once more to return to normal… was it not?

Ritsu: (whispering) That's right. Sorry, there was a little hiccup.

Izumi: What are you two whispering about? I thought you already spat out everything you wanted to say?

So hurry up and switch back already.

Kasa-kun and Yuukun just have to sleep with that pillow together and they’ll switch bodies again… right?

And then we’ll be done with this whole mess. What’s holding you up? I wanna get this nonsense over with already and get back to practicing, see?

Didn’t you also come to practice, Kasa-kun? How much time are you gonna waste?

Makoto: (sigh)... That is true, but we’ve encountered a setback.

The pillow isn’t anywhere to be seen.

It is the cleaning day… Could it have been mistaken for trash due to its degraded appearance and been thrown out?

Izumi: Huh…? So, what are you guys gonna do? Are you gonna stay like that forever?

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