 |
Called to the Gathering |  |
Moca
Ran~, hold on~.
Ran
Huh? What's up? You forget something?
Moca
Not something, someone~.
Ran
We're meeting someone? Who?
Ako
Sorry I'm late~! Huff, huff... 'Kay, let's go!
Ran
We were waiting for Ako?
Moca
Uh-huh~. She said she wanted to walk home with us~.
Ran
Oh. Okay, that's fine.
Moca
It was crazy, we ended up getting all of these potato chips~. Apparently, the person who put in the orders when restocking made a mistake.
Ran
Huh. Sounds like a pain to deal with. But I mean, it's a job, right? Guess it can't be all fun and games.
Ako
... Mhm, okay... "Guess it can't be... all fun and games"... Got it...
Ran
...?
Moca
That reminds me, how was that manga I lent you, Ran?
Ran
Ah, you know, it wasn't bad, surprisingly. At first, I thought it was just another power-of-friendship story, but some of the stuff later on hits pretty hard.
Ako
Uhhh... "Another power-of-freindship"... Oops. That's not right... "Power-of-friendship story, but"... Hm? Wait, what did you say after that...?
Ran
... Ako, what have you been doing?
Ako
Huh?! M-me? I-I'm not doing anything!
Ran
Yes, you are. You've been mumbling something to yourself...
Moca
Forget about that, just tell me what you think about the manga~.
Ran
... I guess I would say the last part was good. I remember thinking that not having a cliché happy ending was nice.
Ako
"I remember thinking... that not having a cliché happy ending was nice"... Okay...
Ran
Ako, seriously, what are you doing? Are those... notes? Are you copying down what I'm saying...?
Ako
Ah...You mean this...? No... I'm just...
Ran
Are you hiding something? I'm gonna tell Tomoe.
Moca
Ran~, that's low~.
Ako
Ngh...! You don't have to! I'm not doing anything bad...
Ran
Okay, what's going on then?
Ako
I just wanted to get some cool words from you so I could study them...
Ran
Cool words?
Moca
Ako-chin's a fan of your lyrics, Ran~. She said they're cool.
Ran
Interesting. Did she now?
Moca
Wow~, always keeping cool~♪ Or are you just playing it cool~?
Ran
Can you chill out?
Ako
They really are! They're different from Roselia's lyrics! It's like they make you feel that "qwish" in your chest!
Ako
I asked my sister for a copy of your lyrics too! Let's see. I really like the ones that go-
Ran
Stop! You don't have to read them to me! I have them all memorized!
Ran
I get it, you like the lyrics that I write, but what does that have to do with the notes you're taking?
Ako
I thought the same type of "cool" would be hidden somewhere in the words you normally use...
Ran
I'm not Seta-san, you know... It's not like I spend time trying to come up with certain words or phrases during my conversations!
Moca
I don't know~. You may not realize it, Ran~, but you use some pretty deep words on an everyday basis~.
Ran
I do not!
Ran
Besides, don't you have that... power of darkness or whatever? Isn't that enough?
Ran
Even if it's hard for people to understand you, you should stick to your guns and use words that match who you are. That'd be cooler.
Ako
Ran-chan...
Ran
Ah... Sorry, I didn't mean to get preachy on you.
Ako
That was so cool, Ran-chan! I could feel what you just said going "woom-woom" in my heart, just like an Afterglow song does!
Ran
Huh...? N-no, that wasn't the point...
Moca
Wow~, that's Ran for ya~.
Ran
Ugh! Come on! Did you hear what I just said?!
Transcript
Marina
Hey, look. Over by the entrance. Isn't that Ran-chan? Who's that with her? I don't recognize that kid...
Ran
Ah, hey.
Marina
Hello~. The person you were talking to by the door, was that your friend?
Ran
Huh? Oh, no... That was someone who saw one of my shows and was nice enough to come up to me...
Ran
I got some feedback. I was told that a bunch of stuff we did was... cool, for example...
Ran
That kid was starting a band and wanted some advice, so I shared what I could.
Marina
Ooo~! So you got to interact with a fan!
Ran
I-I don't know if I would say that...
Marina
Yeah, Afterglow is pretty cool~. I could see why others would want to be like you girls~.
Marina
Kids are always coming in here talking about how cool Afterglow is!
Ran
... 'Cool', huh?
Marina
Hm? Something wrong?
Ran
Nah, but the other day, Ako was thinking hard about the idea of cool, so that came to mind.
Ran
She was wondering how she could get others to understand what she means when she says something is cool.
Ran
I don't think that's something worth trying so hard to do. Everyone has their own opinion when it comes to what's cool and what's not...
Ran
But it must've been pretty important to her. She put in a lot of effort to try and get people to see what she was seeing.
Ran
She wasn't... satisfied with the way things turned out though. I mean, I was there, and I didn't understand a word coming out of her mouth.
Marina
With Ako-chan, that doesn't surprise me.
Ran
Same. You know, I don't think that's something you should consciously try to explain to people anyway.
Ran
With something like that, you just need to believe in what you're doing and do it. Then, you'll be able to communicate what's on your mind naturally. That's what I think.
Marina
Okay~, so that's how you do things~. And that's how you made yourself so many fans! I'd believe it!
Ran
N-no, this has nothing to do with fans or whatever...!
Ran
And I don't think I'm the one doing anything special. The people just acknowledge what Afterglow is doing as a band.
Marina
Wow~, when do you stop being so cool, Ran-chan?! I bet that kid you were talking to just now is drawn to you because you say stuff like that! Mhm, see, BanG Dreamer-san agrees.
Ran
H-hey! Would you cut it out already?! Wh-whatever! I have practice! Later!