healingbonds (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
healingbonds) wrote2017-09-07 08:15 pm
healingbonds) wrote2017-09-07 08:15 pm
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For Whom the Requiem Plays | Chapter 5
Chapter 4 << | index | >> Chapter 6
Location: Concert Hall
Eichi: Fufufu. Isn’t this exciting, Keito?
A concert that collects and showcases only requiems and funeral marches from around the world; how fanciful.
If my soul is pacified and I accidentally get sent off to heaven, there will be nothing left for you to do, Keito.
Keito: ...I know you know this already, but most funerals are held more to bring peace to the living than the dead.
They are held to overcome—and accept—this tragedy called death.
Eichi: Are you suggesting that neither song nor music will reach the world of the dead?
If so, then listening feels like a waste of time. I don’t need to listen to a peaceful melody in order to accept my own death.
Keito: Not everyone has hovered between life and death the way you have. Death is a mystery; it is something feared.
By observing the deaths and funerals of others, people can prepare for their own deaths.
They take note of how they will be treated after their death, and experience some form of relief. That’s what funerals are for.
—that’s the sort of thing I would have said when I was young. I was a insolent brat who would challenge my parents and older brother by pointing out the contradictions in doctrines.
Eichi: You tried copying Ikkyu-san, right? You ran around carrying a stick with a paper skull attached to the end of it.
Fufufu, there was a time when we were cute, too.
Now, you said “when I was young”—does this mean you currently interpret things differently?
Keito: ...I think my behavior—brandishing childish logic and pointing out the holes in doctrines—might also have been the product of fear.
I thought that by distinguishing between right and wrong, by eliminating contradictions, I could reach the truth.
Or, that by learning the correct answer from someone knowledgeable, I could attain enlightenment.
But so long as you live, you cannot have peace of mind. All you can do is keep thinking. It’s troubling; how should I put it—living is also a form of suffering.
I simply made up my mind to face that reality instead of overthinking. There’s no easy way out, and you can’t beg the dead to teach you anything.
Eichi: If I die before you do as planned, I’ll appear in your dreams and put all sorts of ideas—a mixture of fact and fiction—in your head.
Keito: That also sounds annoying, so I plan on exorcising you as soon as possible.
Madara: Hahaha! You two seem to be talking about some complicated things!
Brilliant! Excellent; discussing topics that may or may not have any meaning is the joy of youth!
Keito: ...Mikejima. Aren’t you going to perform in this concert? Why are you in the audience?
Eichi: Hello, Mikejima-kun. Despite being pushy and having a large frame, you somehow always approach from a blind spot.
Please don’t surprise me too much; my heart will stop.
Madara: I’m sorry! You see, when I was little, people used to call me “Mike-kun2”; doesn’t it sound like a name for a cat?
That’s why I practiced moving like a cat!
Cats silently approach their prey without betraying a footstep, and pounce when they’re off guard.
It’s the same as “death”; there we go, I’ll force my way into your conversation like that! Hahaha!
Eichi: ...you sure are full of energy. You also seem like you’re trying to divert the subject; throwing us off by rattling on about seemingly meaningful topics.
You should answer the question properly.
Madara: Isn’t this the kind of trick you two like to play all the time? We’re not talking about mathematical equations here—it’s unrealistic to have purely logical conversations.
Let’s talk about reality. I came here for two reasons.
Reason number one! I came here to serve you drinks! Here; the first drink is free ♪
Keito: Like a rock band concert, huh.
...Ah, no. I’m not particularly familiar that genre of music; I just happen to know this.
Madara: No need to make excuses! I learned about all sorts of things from Rei-san when I inherited his job....
Including that incident at the live house, and “Dead Man’s” ♪
Anyhow, you two are important guests, so I want to properly welcome you! I prepared these drinks myself!
Good for your health and gentle on your stomach!
You spent some time in a cafe before coming here, right?
You smell like you were at one, so I chose drinks that would be good for weary tongues and stomachs.
Eichi: How considerate. As a member of the tea club, I should follow your example of hospitality.
I don’t know if it’s because of my upbringing or if I just have a terrible personality, but I wind up putting myself first.
Madara: No, people who don’t put themselves first give me the creeps!
An idol might be that sort of being—”the audience’s satisfaction is everything,” but.
Such a way of life is unnatural; you can easily lose your humanity like that.
Eichi: I do agree with that point.
Ah, this drink really is the perfect temperature and flavor for us right now... You would probably be successful at any other job, even if you weren’t an idol.
Madara: Hahaha! I get that a lot! But I don’t think easily obtainable things are worth much; instead, treasures can be found on the path less taken!
I’ve always been good at all sorts of things. My life was full of successes, full of victories. But that’s also kinda boring, you know?
That’s why, for now, my goal is to become something that I can never be! In other words, a mama!
That’s why I named my unit “MaM”
...You two came here to ask me about that sort of thing, right?
Chapter 4 << | index | >> Chapter 6
1. Ikkyu-san was a clever Buddhist monk known for outsmarting his teachers. In this particular story, he convinces a rich man to help the poor before he dies because you cannot take money with you to heaven
2. Calico cats are called “mikeneko”
Location: Concert Hall
Eichi: Fufufu. Isn’t this exciting, Keito?
A concert that collects and showcases only requiems and funeral marches from around the world; how fanciful.
If my soul is pacified and I accidentally get sent off to heaven, there will be nothing left for you to do, Keito.
Keito: ...I know you know this already, but most funerals are held more to bring peace to the living than the dead.
They are held to overcome—and accept—this tragedy called death.
Eichi: Are you suggesting that neither song nor music will reach the world of the dead?
If so, then listening feels like a waste of time. I don’t need to listen to a peaceful melody in order to accept my own death.
Keito: Not everyone has hovered between life and death the way you have. Death is a mystery; it is something feared.
By observing the deaths and funerals of others, people can prepare for their own deaths.
They take note of how they will be treated after their death, and experience some form of relief. That’s what funerals are for.
—that’s the sort of thing I would have said when I was young. I was a insolent brat who would challenge my parents and older brother by pointing out the contradictions in doctrines.
Eichi: You tried copying Ikkyu-san, right? You ran around carrying a stick with a paper skull attached to the end of it.
Fufufu, there was a time when we were cute, too.
Now, you said “when I was young”—does this mean you currently interpret things differently?
Keito: ...I think my behavior—brandishing childish logic and pointing out the holes in doctrines—might also have been the product of fear.
I thought that by distinguishing between right and wrong, by eliminating contradictions, I could reach the truth.
Or, that by learning the correct answer from someone knowledgeable, I could attain enlightenment.
But so long as you live, you cannot have peace of mind. All you can do is keep thinking. It’s troubling; how should I put it—living is also a form of suffering.
I simply made up my mind to face that reality instead of overthinking. There’s no easy way out, and you can’t beg the dead to teach you anything.
Eichi: If I die before you do as planned, I’ll appear in your dreams and put all sorts of ideas—a mixture of fact and fiction—in your head.
Keito: That also sounds annoying, so I plan on exorcising you as soon as possible.
Madara: Hahaha! You two seem to be talking about some complicated things!
Brilliant! Excellent; discussing topics that may or may not have any meaning is the joy of youth!
Keito: ...Mikejima. Aren’t you going to perform in this concert? Why are you in the audience?
Eichi: Hello, Mikejima-kun. Despite being pushy and having a large frame, you somehow always approach from a blind spot.
Please don’t surprise me too much; my heart will stop.
Madara: I’m sorry! You see, when I was little, people used to call me “Mike-kun2”; doesn’t it sound like a name for a cat?
That’s why I practiced moving like a cat!
Cats silently approach their prey without betraying a footstep, and pounce when they’re off guard.
It’s the same as “death”; there we go, I’ll force my way into your conversation like that! Hahaha!
Eichi: ...you sure are full of energy. You also seem like you’re trying to divert the subject; throwing us off by rattling on about seemingly meaningful topics.
You should answer the question properly.
Madara: Isn’t this the kind of trick you two like to play all the time? We’re not talking about mathematical equations here—it’s unrealistic to have purely logical conversations.
Let’s talk about reality. I came here for two reasons.
Reason number one! I came here to serve you drinks! Here; the first drink is free ♪
Keito: Like a rock band concert, huh.
...Ah, no. I’m not particularly familiar that genre of music; I just happen to know this.
Madara: No need to make excuses! I learned about all sorts of things from Rei-san when I inherited his job....
Including that incident at the live house, and “Dead Man’s” ♪
Anyhow, you two are important guests, so I want to properly welcome you! I prepared these drinks myself!
Good for your health and gentle on your stomach!
You spent some time in a cafe before coming here, right?
You smell like you were at one, so I chose drinks that would be good for weary tongues and stomachs.
Eichi: How considerate. As a member of the tea club, I should follow your example of hospitality.
I don’t know if it’s because of my upbringing or if I just have a terrible personality, but I wind up putting myself first.
Madara: No, people who don’t put themselves first give me the creeps!
An idol might be that sort of being—”the audience’s satisfaction is everything,” but.
Such a way of life is unnatural; you can easily lose your humanity like that.
Eichi: I do agree with that point.
Ah, this drink really is the perfect temperature and flavor for us right now... You would probably be successful at any other job, even if you weren’t an idol.
Madara: Hahaha! I get that a lot! But I don’t think easily obtainable things are worth much; instead, treasures can be found on the path less taken!
I’ve always been good at all sorts of things. My life was full of successes, full of victories. But that’s also kinda boring, you know?
That’s why, for now, my goal is to become something that I can never be! In other words, a mama!
That’s why I named my unit “MaM”
...You two came here to ask me about that sort of thing, right?
Chapter 4 << | index | >> Chapter 6
1. Ikkyu-san was a clever Buddhist monk known for outsmarting his teachers. In this particular story, he convinces a rich man to help the poor before he dies because you cannot take money with you to heaven
2. Calico cats are called “mikeneko”