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Our Beginnings |  |
Arisa
Alright... Should we get going?
Kasumi
Yeah, let's go! Hagu~, thanks again for today! It was fun rediscovering all those precious memories!
Saaya
Sorry for staying so long, Hagumi.
Hagumi
Ah, wait. My dad said you guys should stay for dinner while you're here! We're even allowed to eat in my room!
Kasumi
Huh? Dinner?! Here, with you guys?!
Hagumi
Of course! We've got some new recipes for our popular croquettes we're trying out, so he'd really like to get your opinion on them!
Saaya
Oh~, new croquettes for Kitazawa Meats, huh~? That does sound good~.
Hagumi
Doesn't it~? Plus, I wanna eat dinner with all of you, so it's perfect! Right, Kaa-kun?
Kasumi
Uhm... I really want to, but... I should really head home. It's getting late...
Hagumi
Fufu~♪ It's okay! My dad said he'll drive you home!
Kasumi
What? Really?! Yay~! Then I'm staying for dinner! Ah, I better call my parents!
Arisa
Jeez, Kasumi, your mood swings are crazy fast...
Hagumi
Ta-da~! Thanks for waiting~! These are my dad's new special croquettes!
Kasumi
Wow! There's a whole mountain of them! Check it out, Arisa!
Arisa
Calm down, will you? You're way too excited.
Saaya
I can see why! They're fresh, and they smell amazing.
Hagumi
There's a lot of different types, so we'll try them all one by one!
Kasumi
Okay~! I can't wait to see what kind of croquettes we get~ ♪
Hagumi
Alright, first up, the Italian croquette! This one is filled with cheese and a special meat sauce!
Kasumi
Wow! Cheese?! Meat sauce...?! That already sounds tasty! Alright... Let's eat!
Kasumi
Mm! Gasp! Wow...!
Saaya
The cheese and meat sauce fill your mouth the minute you take a bite... This is delicious!
Arisa
No kidding, these are amazing... The potato and meat sauce work so well together...
Hagumi
Yay~! Thank you~! Those Italian croquettes are my dad's favorite!
Kasumi
These will sell for sure! I'd probably buy one every single day!
Hagumi
Ehehe ♪ Dad will be happy to hear that! Okay, next up are... these round ones! We call them American croquettes!
Arisa
American croquettes...? So is there a hamburger inside?
Hagumi
You have the right idea, Aa-chan! But nope, there's no hamburger inside. Instead, we've filled this one with popcorn!
Kasumi
Popcorn?! Inside a croquette?! H-how original... Alright, let's give it a go~.
Saaya
Well... The texture is... interesting? The taste is surprisingly good...
Arisa
Th-they're sucking up all the moisture from my mouth...
Kasumi
Hagu~, sorry, but could I have some water...? Cough...
Hagumi
H-huh? I guess something is off about the American croquettes. I see, I see... Looks like we've still got some work to do... Alright, let's move on to the next one!
Hagumi
We've visited Italy and America, so next up is China!
Kasumi
A dumpling inside a croquette... Hagu, your dad's imagination is something else...
Arisa
Still, is there really any point to putting it inside?
Saaya
Well, let's give it a taste. Maybe being made into a croquette will change the flavor somehow. You never know.
Kasumi
Alright, here we go. Munch... Mmm! Wow, the dumpling inside is huge! ... Actually, this isn't that bad...
Saaya
Yeah... You still can't call it good either, though...
Arisa
I was thinking the same thing. Something doesn't seem right about these two flavors being mixed together... Wouldn't it be better to just eat them separately?
Hagumi
I see, I see~. Looks like there's still room for improvement here too. I'll tell my dad.
Kasumi
Ah, I'm sorry we're being like this, Hagu. You're treating us to dinner and everything...
Hagumi
No, it's fine! I'm sure my dad will be happy to hear what you have to say! Your opinions are important to him!
Kasumi
Hey, Hagu! What about these croquettes? We haven't tried them yet.
Hagumi
Ah, sorry! I forgot to mention these! This is the Russian-style croquette! Take a bite to see what's inside!
Kasumi
Russian...? What could it be?! I can't wait! Alright, down the hatch it goes~! ... Mmm?! I-it's...!
Arisa
A croquette... inside a bigger croquette?!
Hagumi
That's right! It's one of Kitazawa Meats' classic croquettes wrapped inside another! The ultimate croquette!
Arisa
A croquette inside of a croquette... But why is it Russian...? Ah, it's because of those matryoshka dolls, right? You know, the ones with more dolls inside them...
Arisa
Still... I don't really see the point.
Saaya
Yeah... Other than the breadcrumb coating being inside, this is just a normal croquette...
Kasumi
It's still good though! These are delicious! I think this one's my favorite!
Hagumi
Right?! This was my top pick too! Kaa-kun, I knew we'd feel the same!
Transcript
Hagumi
Let's see... Tanzaku go in this box, and we'll put the other decorations in this bag.
Marina
Ah, hello, Hagumi-chan.
Hagumi
Ah, it's Marina-san and BanG Dreamer-san! Hello~!
Marina
Are you helping out the shop today?
Hagumi
Yup, that's right! Tanabata's over now, so I'm taking down all the decorations and tanzaku!
Marina
I see. It's awful hot out too. You must be tired.
Hagumi
Nope. I love hot days, so I'm fine! Although the sweat makes it harder to undo the strings tying the tanzaku to the tree.
Marina
Huh? You're taking the tanzaku off the branches one by one?
Hagumi
Yeah, of course!
Hagumi
Every single one of these has a special wish written on them. Dad said I need to handle them with care!
Marina
I see... Now that you mention it, I suppose you're right.
Hagumi
Besides, Kaa-kun and I were able to reunite in high school because of the wishes we wrote on our tanzaku!
Marina
Reunite...? Did you two know each other before?
Hagumi
Huh? I haven't told you? A long time ago, Kaa-kun and I would meet every week and play together at this one park we went to as kids!
Hagumi
But then that park got torn down... And since we didn't have any other chances to meet, we lost touch until we met again in high school!
Marina
Wow, I didn't know that~. What a coincidence.
Hagumi
It wasn't a coincidence, Marina-san! The power of Tanabata granted the wishes on our tanzaku!
Marina
Ah, I see. So that's what happened.
Hagumi
I just remembered this recently, but Kaa-kun was the one who taught me how to climb trees!
Marina
Really~? I would never have guessed. I'd think you'd be better at climbing trees than Kasumi-chan.
Hagumi
Kaa-kun's really amazing though~. She can climb a tree in the blink of an eye! And once she taught me how to do it, I had loads of fun!
Hagumi
Maybe the reason I like being active now is because of what Kaa-kun taught me back then.
Hagumi
This was before I started softball, after all.
Marina
Then maybe if you had kept playing together, Kasumi-chan would have started playing softball too.
Hagumi
Ah, you're right! She probably would have!
Hagumi
We have a practice game coming up, so maybe I'll ask Kaa-kun to come along!
Hagumi
I'm sure she would get super good right away!
Hagumi
Marina-san, BanG Dreamer-san! You should come see her debut! I'll be doing my best too~!
Marina
Fufu. I look forward to it.
Hagumi
Ah, I'll make sure to focus on the band too, of course!
Hagumi
My friends, the band, and softball! Ehehe. There's so much fun stuff going on, I can't help but smile~.