Absolute Reality by Mitsuki Kazumi TL by boke ### TL notes indicated by hash tags like this: ### ### Page numbers indicated by —XX for example, page one is: —01 ### Panel numbers indicated by -X for example, panel one is: -1 ### sfx- means the following is a sound effect. ### hw- means the following is handwritten text. ### Unless otherwise noted, panel and text balloon flow is from upper right to lower left. ### Sometimes my comments are snark or color, so feel free to ignore those. —03 Absolute Reality ###title —04 -1 Chapter 1 005 ###Etc —05 -1 Onii-chan! Wait! There’s so many butterflies! -2 Wait up! Where are you going? -3 Hey, Onii-chan? sfx- Whhzzs -4 sfx- Shhhwish Wha…?! —06 -1 Mikako… Ah… sfx- Whiiish Whiiiish -2 Onii-chan! sfx- Hah -3 sfx- Vrrrreeee Buzzzz ### or any other cicada sound That dream again… -4 Sigh… -5 Vrrreee Vrrreee Buzzz Buzzz Onii-san… —07 -1 Chapter 1 —08 -1 Yuiko! Don’t just laze around because it’s summer vacation! I cut some watermelon, so take it up. Okaay! sfx- Buzz Buzz Buzz sfx- Vrrrreeeee Buzz -2 sfx- Tromp Tromp Mikako-chan, let’s have watermelon! It’s chilled and yummy right now… -3 Sliiide -4 Ah… sfx- Whssh -5 I don’t want any… -6 Ah… K-kay… sfx- Bluuush —09 -1 She was changing! I-I’m sorry! sfx- Whish -2 sfx- Thumpa thumpa thumpa sfx- Kyyaaaaa She’s a noisy one… -3 Yuiko, what happened? Are you ok? -4 Owwwww I whacked my butt. -5 Geez, Yuiko, you’re so clumsy. You don’t take after me. -6 Where’s Mikako? sfx- Vrrreeee Buzz She said she didn’t want any. I see… I guess she won’t come out of her room today either. -7 Hey, mom… How long is Mikako going to be staying with us? —10 -1 Her mom and dad died in an accident when she was young. sfx- Ding a ling Yeah, and her brother just jumped and killed himself… Yuiko! -2 Don’t go talking about Atsuya-kun! sfx- Hmph Yeah. Sorry. -3 And back to Mikako… -4 I’ve been talking with your dad about taking her in. We’re the only family she has left. -5 Vrrrreeee Buzzz Buzzz Buzzz Buzzz Huh? -6 That’d be cool! I vote yes! Oh? sfx- Whssh So does that mean that Mikako and I will be sisters? That’s right. —11 -1 That rocks! sfx- Yussss -2 No more being an only child! hw- Yaaay Don’t say anything to Mikako yet! -3 Mikako’s my cousin, and she’s my age. ###box She’s been living with us since this summer. ###box hw- Excited Being sisters with Mikako-chan… -4 I wanna get to know her better… With the sad that happened to her only brother, she’s been holed up in her room. -5 She’ll start to feel better sooner or later -6 I”m sure. —12 -2 Ah… Mikako-chan, what are you doing in my room? Ah! Aaaaaah -3 When I touch here ###book -4 That’s…! sfx- Whooosh Ah -5 My yuri doujinshi! hw- lots of them —13 -2 Um… I’m sorry. I was bored, so I wanted to borrow a book… -3 P… Please! Don’t tell anyone about these! hw- especially not my mom! -4 Yui-chan, so you like this kind of manga? N-not so much the manga… but the artist. I found them online. You like the art? -5 Yeah! That artist is super popular! sfx- clench —14 -1 Their name is “Kii-san”, and their illustration site is always among the top ranked! And their doujin site gets tons of hits everyday! They don’t just draw manga, they do CD jackets and light novel illustrations! -2 And then… Ah sfx- Pause -3 Crap -4 Just what am I rambling on about in front of Mikako-chan? Getting all fired up with otaku stuff… And she totally saw my cherished yuri collection! hw bubble- and they’re a bit erotic -5 I wanted to be friends and now she’s gonna hate me! Yui-chan… —15 -1 This… is a memento from my brother. Eh…? A butterfly? -2 It’s… pretty. -3 Yeah, but it’s a really scary butterfly. -4 It’s cursed. —16 -1 If you possess this… you will die. -2 Eh?! D-die…? So shouldn’t you get rid of it? -3 Ah, psych! Are you a scaredy cat or what? Huh? -4 M-Mikako-chan…? What’s with this…? Don’t go scaring me like that. But it is true that it’s a memento. -5 This… is a new species. So I really shouldn’t have it. So that’s why… —17 -1 Can you keep this butterfly a secret, Yui-chan? Huh? -2 So we’ll keep each other’s treasures a secret, ok? ###where’s that hand going girl? -3 Okay? -4 Mikako-san’s so cute. sfx- Th-thump …yeah. -5 So, lend me a book? Yeah. When I look into her black eyes, somehow I… —18 -1 Get all flustered. sfx- Vrrrreeeeee Buzz Buzz Buzzzzz Mikako-chan, you ready? -2 Sorry to make you wait. Ok, let go! -3 Mom, we’re gonna go to the river! Be careful and be back by dark, ok? Got it! -4 Well, they’ve gotten close in a heartbeat. -5 Getting a friend will fix things more than anything that an adult can do. Tsk sfx- Vrrrrreeee Buzzz —19 -1 sfx- Vrrrrreeee Buzzz sfx- Buzzz Buzzz -2 What are you getting? Ramune. -3 Look, it’s Yuiko. We’re heading to the river. You wanna come? -4 Who are they? Old friends. They’re both classmates. -5 I’ll take a pass today. I’m hanging out with Mikako-chan. Mikako? —20 -1 My cousin, Mikako-chan. H-hello. -2 Ah… H-hello… -3 What are you getting all shy for? I… I’m not, ok? She doesn’t look like you at all. hw- Gross -4 You’re more like a monkey, Yuiko. -5 You take that back! -6 It’s fine we don’t look alike! Mikako-chan and I… sfx- Grrr ###big hw- Don’t call me a monkey! We’re gonna be sisters soon! —21 -1 Geez! Let’s not waste time with these assholes! sfx- Pull Y-yeah… -2 Man. Talk about a short fuse. ‘Cause you yank her chain, dude. On purpose -3 Let’s hurry down to the river. Lessgo! -5 Wait a moment, Yui-chan. What was that about? -6 That we’re going to be sisters? What’s that? sfx- Urk -7 Ah —22 -1 Crap. That was supposed to be a secret! Eh… Ah… Um… that’s… -2 So does that mean… I can stay with you, Yui-chan? -3 Of course! Ah, but, if you don’t wanna, then that’s… Nuh-uh. -4 It makes me happy! So that onee-san, Yui-chan? Mikako-chan… She smiled! —23 -1 Yeah! She’s just too cute! -2 Huff Huff Didn’t you say we were going to the river? -3 Scratch that. Those clowns are there. Let’s go someplace more quiet. I’ve got something special to show you. -5 A shrine? Yeah. —24 -1 It’s old and beat up, but… But it’s nice and cool, even in the summer. -2 What an amazing sacred tree. Well, that’s about all it’s got going for it. -3 Ah! A giant purple butterfly! ### Sasakia charonda Huh? -4 Wow! I’ve never seen one alive before! Hmm…? Really? —25 -1 Ah! A Siebold’s dragonfly! ### Anotogaster sieboldii There’s two them! This place is amazing! -2 Eh?! -3 Really? She must like bugs. hw- Or so it seems hw- Those dragonflies are too big, kinda scary -4 If my brother could have come here I’m sure he would have gone crazy. -5 Mikako-chan… My brother… —26 -1 He studied insects in college. He’d go around different places collecting bugs. -2 That new species? My brother discovered it. When he found it, he was over the moon. -3 Hmm Can I see that specimen? Sure. -4 Such vivid colors, huh? Kinda strange it hasn’t been discovered until now. But since I’m holding on to it, It’s still officially undiscovered. -5 Glint —27 -1 Did something just sparkle? -2 I wonder what? -3 Maybe there’s dirt or something in there… -4 Hah?! -5 Yui-chan! Don’t open the case! sfx- Pop Eh? Ah! S-sorry! —28 -1 Yeah, it’s really important to you. Sorry, I… I’ll give it back -2 Why… sfx- Clench Why did my brother have to die? -3 Are you talking about why Atsuya-san killed himself? It wasn’t suicide! -4 My brother would never do something like that! He would never go and leave me alone like this! He would never! —29 -1 He’d never leave me alone… What should I… -2 What do I say here? Mikako-chan… -3 Flutter -4 Ah… A butterfly… -5 I… —30 -1 sfx- Hug I’m here, okay?! -3 When I think back That was the time When our summer of terror started. Chapter 1 The End —31 Gotcha! —32 -1 Yuiko She loves cute stuff. Ends up cherishing things more that buying cutesy stuff to wear. She has a ton of hairpins, but usually wears ones her mom makes her. She gets most of her doujinshi off of the net. Since Mikako’s house was pretty far, she had only seen Mikako a couple times before she moved in. Her dream is to go to Komiket someday ###arrow hw- I won’t hw- Let’ you see this! Doujinshi ###book —33 -1 Chapter 2 —34 -1 We just got word that grandma collapsed. sfx- Chirp Chirp Chirp Chirp Sfx- Vrrrreeee Buzzz Buzzz sfx- Vvmmm Vvmmm Your father and I are going to go check on her at the hospital now. -2 Can you two hold down the fort? I think we’ll be staying over, ok? Ah… Yeah. -3 I made dinner… You’ll have to take care of the rest. sfx- Vmmm -4 sfx- Chirp Chirp Suddenly, it’s just the two of us, huh? Yeah. -5 Want to get in the bath before dinner? We’ve been sweating. Yeah! I want to go in with you, Yui-chan Wha?! —35 -1 Hey, let’s wash each other! Whaaa? sfx- Chir Chir Chir Chir -2 Hey, are you staying in there forever? -3 I’m embarrassed, ok? Wah Why? I don’t have big boobs like you, Mikako-chan. ### ignore handwritten text, I’ve accounted for it C’mon, let’s wash each other! -4 And… Mikako’s skin is so pale, and beautiful. -5 We’re both girls…. It makes my heart race. Okay then… sfx- Bubble Bubble —36 -1 Lemme help make them bigger Sfx- Caress sfx- Splish Eh?1 -2 Ah… Um… Mikako-chan?! -3 I read a book that told how to massage breasts to make them bigger. -4 sfx- Tweak That’s not massage! Doesn’t it feel nice? —37 -1 Yeah… sfx- Quiver -2 Yui-chan, you’re so cute. It feels like like… We’re doing some we shouldn’t… -3 Ok, how about a little more… sfx- Slide But I… -4 sfx- Flap -5 Flapishhh Pish 
 —38 -1 Kyaaa sfx- Whonk sfx- Blooosh -2 Ah, Sorry! There was a butterfly in the tub! So I ended up…. hw- It surprised me! -3 Butterfly? Yeah, A black butterfly… Huh? Where’d it go? Maybe You saw my hair floating and got confused? -4 Did I see something that wasn’t there? I’m getting out. How about you, Yui-chan? -5 I’ll stay here a bit longer… Ok, I’ll start getting dinner ready. OK. —39 -1 sfx- Ka-chak And what’s with me? -2 When Mikako-chan touched me I was getting aroused… sfx- Fidget -3 And today I was getting worked up over her slim shoulders. -4 Am I weird for thinking these things? ###nope, just gay sfx- Spaced out -5 …chan Am I a total perv? Hey, Yui-chan! —40 -1 I laid out your futon too! sfx- Tadah Eh? -2 It’s ok right? We’ll sleep together! Whaa? You don’t wanna? I-I didn’t say that, but… -3 What are you looking at? hw- Mikako-chan, you’re in your underwear… I’m looking at Kii-san’s site. It hasn’t updated at all recently. -4 I wonder what’s going on. hw- Makes me wonder Maybe they’re busy? I guess… -5 So let’s go to bed already, Yui-chan! Ah, yeah. —41 -1 You seem happy about it. -2 hw- Weeeell It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten to sleep together with someone! sfx- Whumpf It’s like a sleepover! -4 Yeah, I hear you. I’m turning out the lights, ok? -5 Yeah -6 Hey, Yui-chan… Can I hold your hand? —42 -1 Just until I fall asleep? Please? -2 Yeah… sfx- Throb -3 sfx- Clasp I will never -4 Leave you alone, Mikako-chan. I won’t let you feel lonely. —43 -1 Mikako-chan I will protect you! sfx- Chirr Chirr Chirr sfx- Chirr Chirr Chirr ### into next panel -3 Flap -4 Flap Flutter -5 Flutter Hm…? What? Whaaat? —44 -1 Hya sfx- Flutter -2 What’s… going on? -3 Whooosh ###bleeds into next page —46 -1 Whaaat? -2 sfx- Plap sfx- Jolt -3 What’s with these butterflies?! Hy…. Hyaaaaa! sfx- Whoooosh -4 Huh? —47 -1 Mikako-chan?! -2 M-Mikako-chan! Wake up! -3 Hey! Mikako-chan! Mikako-chan! —48 -1 Blink -2 Nn… What’s the matter? -3 It’s crazy! The room is full of butterflies! Butterflies? -4 sfx- Glance -5 Where? Where?! Look! All over the room! -6 sfx- Click Look! —49 -1 Flash -2 Eh…?! Um, there’s nothing’s here. -3 No way… The room was just filled with them! —50 -1 But it was true! Just now! There were so many butterflies! What’s going on?! Yui-chan -2 You had a bad dream, ok? sfx- Squeeze D-dream? Yeah, a dream. It’s ok. There’s nothing here. -3 Okay? Yeah… -4 A dream? Was it a dream…? hw- Sorry to wake you But… -51 -1 That was way too real. sfx- Vrrreeee Buzzz Buzzz Buzzz Crick Crick -2 Pshhhhh -3 I was so scared I couldn’t go back to sleep. What the hell was that? -4 It’s freaking me out. I can still feel the butterflies on my skin. -5 It’s disgusting… sfx- Sizzle Yui-chan, breakfast’s ready. —52 -1 Ok sfx- Woozy -2 Are you ok? You don’t look good. Can you eat? -3 Yeah, I can eat. I’m a mess. -4 I’m making Mikako worry. Let’s… let’s just forget about it. It was all a dream. Yeah… Yui-chan, what do you want to do today? -5 I have to do some homework. I’m way behind. Ok, then I’ll read while you do that. Afterwards, you want to go somewhere? sfx- BlubBlub It’s nice out, so… —53 -1 Sure. Where do you want to go? -2 All we have is either the mountain or the river. Other than that, there’s the school pool. sfx- Splish -3 sfx- Plish Wha? -4 sfx- Splish sfx- Flutter sfx- Twitch ###small —54 -1 Kyaaaa -2 sfx- Crrshhhh sfx- Tink -3 Yui-chan? -4 Are you ok? Are you hurt? Don’t move! I’ll get the broom! —55 -1 Flap -2 Don’t step on the glass, ok? -3 Flutter -4 Ah, the butterfly… -5 What? —56 -1 Mm-nn. It’s nothing. Mikako doesn’t see it? -2 Why? Why am I the only one to see it? -3 sfx- Shoof sfx- Clatter Chapter 2 The End —57 -1 Dinner —58 -1 hw- Since I accompanied my brother on his fieldwork, I’m fine with insects. hw- I like dresses Mikako • Since she lived together with her brother Atsuya, she can do most housework. Most of her clothes show a lot of skin… It’s not shown, but she doesn’t do things like dress in her underwear in front of Yuiko’s father. Miyako’s mother and Yuika’s mother were sisters. Even though Mikako’s a city girl, through Atsuya’s influence, she’s fine with bugs. She’d likely even be fine with black ants… —59 -1 Chapter 3 —60 -1 Where do you even search for something that can’t be found anywhere? ###boxes Yeah, not in the the references, not on the net… -2 Yeah, not like it would be… I mean, it’s a bug only I can see… sfx- Sigh -3 They just suddenly appear. sfx- Flop -4 Am I going crazy? It’s like they’re phantom butterflies or something. —61 -1 And of course, that’s impossible. -2 Caress -3 Yui-chan, are you ok? Are you feeling sick? -4 Mikako-chan… You’ve been down all morning. -5 Sorry, it’s nothing. —62 -1 Do you want to go someplace? Just hanging out in the house is boring. Really? Yeah. -2 Ok, I wanna see your middle school! Before the second semester starts, I’d like to check it out. -3 I better not think too much about it. sfx- Vrrrreeee BuzzBuzzBuzz sfx- Vrrrreeee BuzzBuzzBuzz -4 Ok, it’s locked up. Wanna take the bikes? No, let’s walk. I want to learn the way. —63 -1 Mikako’s still grieving over her brother, so… I need to be more cheerful. sfx- Vrrrreeee BuzzBuzzBuzz sfx- Vrrreeee Huh? Who’s that? Never seen him before. -2 sfx- Vrrrreeee sfx- BuzzBuzzBuzz Does he have business us? Mom and dad aren’t home right now… What should I do? -3 Yui-chan, let’s go! -4 Well, whateves. sfx- Whish hw- Wait up! -6 Klank —64 -2 So this is your school, huh? Since it’s summer vacation, they’re just using it for clubs. Yui-chan, are you in a club? I do some activities, but I’m not in a club. -3 Eh? Ah! Hey, Yuiko! —65 -1 You should start coming to track practice. The tournament’s coming up. Ah, right. Yup, your should. And the ping pong tournament’s after that. -2 You get called in? I’m a pinch hitter. Since we’re out in the country, we don’t have enough people. -3 sfx- Vrrrreeee BuzzBuzzBuzz sfx- ChirrChirrChirr -4 Mikako-chan, did you do club back at your old school? ###ignore small text Yeah. I was in the art club. -5 Whoa So you can draw! Yeah. —66 -1 But, to be precise… -2 Splash -3 What the…?! -4 My bad! I wasn’t watching. Crap Watch what you’re doing! -5 Mikako-chan, are you ok? -6 sfx- OhMyGod I’m fine… —67 -1 I’m just a bit wet. -2 Plip Drip Drip Drip -3 sfx- Th-thump Ah! -4 This is not good! hw- You can see right through! sfx- Pull C’mere! —68 -1 Nurse’s Office ###sign Maybe they have a change of clothes here. hw- They should have underwear, at least The nurse isn’t here, so I don’t know where… -2 I’m fine just like this, really. Here’s sheets and towels… -3 No way! You’re soaked! hw- Here! A towel! -4 Yeah, I’m wet down to my panties. But it’s summer, I’ll dry off fast. —69 -1 M-Mikako-chan… but if somebody were to see you like that…! Fufu… -2 No one’s here but you, Yui-chan. -3 It’s happening again… Here, wipe yourself off, Yui-chan. My heart’s pounding again! -4 I’m fine, ok…? sfx- Blush -5 Yui-chan, are you going to go to track practice? sfx- Fwish Why I am so… —70 -1 I want to see that! sfx- Shhwaaaaah -2 I wanna see you run. —71 -1 It can’t be! Coming from her hair! The butterflies! -2 What’s wrong? You must be sick after all! sfx- Fluurp -3 Shall I go get someone? —72 -1 Noooo! sfx- Whap -2 Kyaaa! Oww! sfx- Shove -3 Huh? -4 I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to do that! Are you hurt? I’m fine. -5 Just a scratch. sfx- Flutter -6 Just what… is going on here?! -7 Yank —73 -2 Nothing… They disappeared again… Huh? Was something here? -3 I don’t know… I can’t tell if they were or not. Eh? Why? -4 Mikako-chan! I’ve been really weird since yesterday! I’ve been seeing strange, black butterflies! Tons and tons of them! It just happened right now and then they disappeared! —74 -1 I know it’s crazy! -2 Yui-chan… Mikako-chan, you don’t see them, right? -3 Yeah, but… -4 But it might be… that it’s my fault. -5 Huh? —75 -1 Mikako-chan…? The butterflies you see… it’s the same as this, right? -3 I don’t know. The shape is similar, but the size is different. And the color is not this vibrant. They’re way more black. Like the night… -4 A ton of them appear and then suddenly… sfx- Clench -5 Disappear in an instant. My brother said the same thing. —76 -1 Wha…?! To be precise, that’s what one of my brother’s classmates told me. -2 He said my brother told him that he was seeing black butterflies several days before he “killed himself”. That he was being attacked by them. -3 But no one could see those butterflies. That must have shattered my brother’s heart. -4 I can’t believe… But there’s no way it was suicide. There’s no way by brother would leave me on my own. —77 -1 Not before I became an adult! No way! -2 Mikako-chan… You know… Several days before he died my brother gave me the butterfly and said… -3 You must never show this butterfly to anyone, or ever let someone touch it. You must never let anyone know you possess this. If… this is all that butterflies fault, what do I do? —78 -1 The butterfly must be cursed… and that’s why my brother… But I showed it to you, Yui-chan! -2 What am I going to do if the same thing happens to you, Yui-chan?! Mikako-chan, calm down… -3 It might not be the butterfly, okay? Mikako-chan, you don’t see the phantom butterflies, right? That’s true, but… -4 But if you die too, Yui-chan, I’ll… I-it’ll be ok! -5 I’m scared that there really is a curse, but… I’m not going to die or anything, ok? Ok? —79 -1 Really? But right now I… -2 sfx- Th-thump Ah… You won’t leave me alone? -3 I won’t. No way. I promise you. Right now, more than anything Really? You promise? Yeah. —80 -1 I don’t want to let I promise Mikako-chan suffer -2 Yui-chan? Hah? —81 -1 I… sfx- Bluuush sfx- Whish -2 Yui-chan?! sfx- Whoosh —82 -1 I got so caught up! I’m so confused! I kissed her! What do I do now?! ### kiss her again -2 I’m not supposed to do that but it made me so happy! I am going crazy! Chapter 3 The End —83 -1 I need my floatie! She’s flat chested, so can’t pull off a bikini. —84 -1 Twintails + bikini The ultimate? —85 -1 Chapter 4 —86 -2 What the hell do I do now? I went and did it… -2 I went and… Kissed her! ###ignore small text sfx- Whumpf Uwaaaah What now? —87 -1 She’s my cousin! And a girl! We live together! What do I do? Mom! Dad! Please come home soon! sfx- Roll Roll Roll -2 Huh? -3 Mom?! sfx- Brrrrring -4 Thumpa Thumpa -5 Yes, that’s fine. -6 Ok. Got it… and I’ll tell Yui-chan. -7 Mikako-chan! sfx- Ba-dump Sure… Bye bye. —88 -1 Ah, Yui-chan! That was your mom. Granny is feeling much better, but they are going to stay a bit and see how she does. -2 So they’ll stay one more night down there. Whaaa?! I-I see… -4 Um… I ran home first, so… Um… You showed me the way, so that’s fine. -5 Dinner’s ready! Let’s eat Yeah… hw- Carry these —89 -1 Tonight… What do I do? I’ll be alone with Mikako-chan… -2 This is so frickin’ awkward! sfx- Hushed -3 hw- Glance I wonder if it doesn’t bother Mikako-chan… -5 What I did earlier… sfx- Th-thump —90 -1 Uwaaaaaaah Gah! Gah! Yui-chan? sfx- Shovel -2 Thank’s for dinner! I’m getting in the bath! sfx- Klud Ah… Ok. -3 sfx- Whoosh I’ll do the dishes, so just leave them! -5 What now?! sfx- Shaaaaa -6 I’m so ashamed… I can’t even look Mikako-chan in the face… —91 -1 I should have never behaved that way! sfx- Shaaaaaa -2 I’m so goddamn stupid! sfx- Splasha Splish -3 So… -4 What do I even do now? -5 I-in any case, I can’t just keep avoiding it. I’ve got to do something… ### kiss her again, idiot I better say something… sfx- Flop -6 Tell her that it didn’t mean anything! But… I wouldn’t have kissed her if I didn’t mean it. Um… Family kiss? Kiss between friends? —92 -1 Or… Because I love her… sfx- Ba-bam Yui-chan? -2 Eh?! -3 M-Mikako-chan? When did you get here? hw- How long have you been there? Yeah… Hey, look… Can I sleep with you? —93 -1 Eh…? Ah, today’s not really a… -2 sfx- Whump sfx- Shove Wah sfx- Whump -3 Hey! Mikako-chan? You said we’d stay together, right? -4 I don’t want to sleep alone… —94 -1 Let’s sleep together, ok? sfx- Slide Eh?! -2 sfx- Th-thump Th-thump “Together”…? Um… -3 sfx- Lift —95 -2 Nnn…. -3 Mikako-chan… -4 Shhhf —96 -1 Mikako-chan? -2 sfx- Shhhhf -3 Ah sfx- Jolt -4 Hey… ###black circle W-wait… No way… She’s… —97 -1 …Stop! sfx- Shove -2 Please stop… -3 Why? You were the one who kissed me today, right? -4 Th-that was… And so why is this so wrong? You’re being so unfair! —98 -2 It’s not fair! sfx- Drip Eh? -3 Not fair Mikako-chan?! sfx- Driiip -4 sfx- Plip Plip Not fair —99 -1 Shhwooof Hyaa… -2 Ba-whooof -3 Ah… Noooo Not again! —100 -1 The butterflies! No No No No No Go awaaay! -2 I can’t stand it! I hate these butterflies! -2 Yui-chan?! sfx- Th-thump ###big white sfx Hah? -4 Shoooof —101 -1 They disappeared again… sfx- Huff Huff Huff sfx- Bam Bam Yui-chan, what’s wrong?! -2 Mikako-chan?! sfx- Bam Bam Yui-chan! I’m coming in! -3 D-don’t! Don’t come in! I don’t… I don’t want to see you right now! -4 But you were screaming… It’s nothing! I’m ok! Just leave me alone! I can’t… -5 Ok… I can’t take seeing those phantoms again… —102 -1 Aaah I suck so much! ….Ngh! Agrgh I can’t take it anymore! -2 Everything’s crazy! -3 sfx- Knock Knock Yui-chan… It’s morning. It’s already 10, so get up ok? -4 I’m coming in, Yui-chan… hw- Peek -5 Huh? —103 -1 Yui-chan? -2 sfx- Vrrreeee Buzz Buzz Buzz sfx- Buzz Buzz Buzz Chirp Chirp Chirp Yuiko, Go Go Go! -4 Whoaa Nice time! -5 Nice! New PR! Yuiko, you’re on fire! hw- Huff Huff Really…? —104 -1 At this rate, you should be able to grab a new record at the meet! So c’mon, time to join the track club already! Huff I wanna go one more time. -2 I want to run a lot today. ### combine bubbles I want to run to exhaustion. -3 Get way too tired… to think about… scary butterflies… or kisses… -5 I want to forget everything! —105 -1 But I can’t forget! About the phantoms! About my shame! About how scared I am! sfx- Agonized Anxious Fretting Confused C’mon! C’mon already! If this is really real, then… -2 Whaaagh sfx- Whooosh Whoa, Yuiko! You’re blazing fast! -3 Then I really am crazy! -4 Here she is… Yui-chan… —106 -1 Haaah… So tired… -3 Huff -4 Ok! I’m gonna apologize to Mikako-chan! sfx- Determined! I’ll at least start there. -5 For yesterday… for last night… sfx- Sliiide I’m home… -6 And after I apologize, then what? sfx- Klank —107 -1 Apologize… and then… -2 sfx- Th-thump Th-thump Th-thump sfx- Pit Pat -3 And then… Mikako-chan, Um… -5 Wha?! —108 -1 What the heck?! D-did we get robbed?! -2 Mi… M-Mikako-chan! Where are…! -3 Be quiet. Chapter 4 The End —109 -1 I’m late! I’m late! Other than the splash page, I didn’t have a chance to draw her uniform. Yuiko’s school has a plain one-piece uniform. Running with toast hanging out of your mouth is justice, but Yuiko actually eats Japanese style breakfast. —110 -2 Her previous school’s uniform. I wish I could have drawn her in this uniform more. —111 -1 Chapter 5 —112 -1 Don’t make a sound. If you answer my questions, nothing’s going to happen to you. -2 Where’s Atsuya’s little sister? —113 -1 Little sister…? Mikako-chan?! You know her, right? Nn… Why?! Who is this guy?! sfx- Mmph -2 Sfx- Shove I-I don’t know! There’s no one here by that name! -3 sfx- Grab Ah… Nggh… sfx- Ggghh —114 -1 That’s right! Don’t lie to me! -2 I saw her here! This was the guy in front of my house! sfx- Squeeze If you tell me where she is, I’ll let you go. I… can’t… breathe… Let… me… go… -3 Is this asshole… Her stalker?! sfx- Flutter Where’s Atsuya’s sister?! —115 -1 Ah… Again… Why now…? -2 I… don’t know… -3 Can it really be true? I need to talk to her! Tell me! Where is she!? -4 sfx- Squeeeez Is it really cursed?! -5 sfx- Crack Nggh —116 -1 Whump -2 Cough Cough Cough -3 Mikako-chan?! —117 -1 Yui-chan… are you… okay..? sfx- Slump sfx- Cough F-forget about me! You gotta get outta here! -2 This guy’s stalking you! -3 He’s after you! sfx- Grab -4 So hurry up and… —118 -1 I finally got you! -2 N-Nagatou-san! Why are you here?! -3 You know him? Uh… Yeah… He’s my brother’s friend. The did research together at university… -4 Where’s the butterfly?! Where’s the specimen?! Kyaaa sfx- Yank —119 -1 Atsuya gave it to you, right? Ah, I don’t have it! -2 That can’t be true. It wasn’t at the lab, and it wasn’t the stuff he left behind! sfx- Yank sfx- Ow -3 This guy? Is he really Atsuya-san’s friend? ###black circle The only thing left is you. Give it to me. But, he seems… N… I need that! I need it! Ow!! ###this bleeds into panel 4 This guy is dangerous! sfx- Chomp —120 -1 Get offa me! sfx- Whack Agh -2 Whud Yui-chan! -3 Yui-chan…! Where’s the butterfly?! sfx- Yank -4 Glare -5 You want the butterfly? So you can claim you found new species? Don’t make me laugh. —121 -1 Like I’d do that. Eh? Ah.. Sto… sfx- Slide Slide It’s not just a new species… That butterfly is special. -3 There’s no way I’m telling anyone about it. -4 Hey! G-give it back! You see, this butterfly Could become a threat to the entire world. -5 Wha?! —122 -1 Threat? -2 Oh? So Atsuya didn’t tell you about the danger? The scales of this butterflies causes hallucinations. The breathing the tiniest amount of the scales causes terrible hallucinations. This butterfly’s like a narcotic. -3 The butterfly cause hallucinations? So what I was seeing was… It’d be a waste to just put this butterfly on display. We need to harness it’s power. For example… Military uses, right…? Was from the butterfly? -4 Yes. You’r Atsuya’s sister, of course you would catch on. —123 -1 With genetic modification, we could make huge amounts of this substance. You can’t! It would be possible to make military grade weapons with this. -2 This butterfly… I’m different from all those other scientists! My name will go down in history because I dare to be great! -3 That butterfly belongs to Mikako-chan! But that damn Atsuya destroyed all his data on this! —124 -1 And then the sample went… sfx- Nab -2 H-hey! Yui-chan?! -3 Gyaaa -4 Whud -5 sfx- Pling Ah! -6 The butterfly! —125 -1 What the hell are you doing, you brat! sfx- Whoosh -2 Where’s the lid?! sfx- Glance This is irreplaceable! -3 My brother never would let this happen. -4 To let it be used like that? sfx- Clench My brother would never do that. -5 He told me… To burn that butterfly. He told me before he died. —126 -1 And now I know exactly why… My brother didn’t want you to get your hands on it, Nagato-san! -2 Why not? I know he’s the one who discovered it, but… I did the research on it with him! But he wouldn’t tell me where he collected it! He was supposed to be my friend! -3 He was supposed to be my friend… If he just hadn’t been that stubborn… That day… it wouldn’t have happened… -4 “That day”? What did you do to him?! No way, you… -5 sfx- Clench It’s not my fault! I just wanted to know! —127 -1 Where did he collect that butterfly? So I asked him to come to the roof to talk… But he said he’d never tell anybody… Not where he found it, nor where the specimen was! -3 And we got into a fight over it… And when I came to, he had fallen over the railing… -4 sfx- Haah Haah I-if he just wasn’t so stubborn! It’s his fault… It’s… his… Ah…. —128 -1 You killed my brother?! Mikako-cha… -2 No! He fell! It was his fault! -3 I’m not to blame… It’s not my fault… It’s not my… -4 It is your fault! ### bold or italicize “is” —129 -1 Nagato, it is your fault! -2 A… Atsuya…? -3 The reason I died… sfx- Swoosh -4 sfx- Flit Flit Flit Flit Is because you killed me ### bold or italicize “you” Nagato! sfx- Flit —130 -1 It’s your fault! —131 -1 Swoooosh Uwaah… -2 sfx- Split Splat Split Splat -3 S-toooop! Please stop it, Atsuya! —132 -1 sfx- Split Splat Split Splat Stoooo… sfx- Stab -2 Blood…? W-why…? hw- Huff hw- Huff So much… Why…? -3 Stab -4 Ah sfx- Stab —133 -1 Haaaagh… sfx- Split Splat Ah… sfx- Flit Splat -2 sfx- Split Splat Gaah… Gyaaaahh… -3 sfx- Split Splat —134 -1 Uwaaah -2 Chapter 5 The End —135 -1 This guy’s already dead… Ah, I’m Mikako’s brother. —136 -1 Atsuya. Mikako’s brother. He’s twelve years older than her. From Mikako’s perspective, he was more like a parent to her. If he had lived, it would have been revealed that he thought Mikako was the most beautiful girl in the world. While his main research focus was butterflies, he likes insects in general and is quite the bug otaku. —137 -1 Final Chapter —138 -1 Pl… Please stop… Forgive me… The butterfly is… The butterfly…! sfx- Shiver ###repeat -2 Is he… going to be ok? I don’t know, but… He keeps calling my brother over and over… —139 -1 Is my brother here? I think he’s seeing a phantom. He touched the butterfly earlier, so… -2 I can imagine just what he’s experiencing sfx- Shudder If I had inhaled more, it would have been so much worse! Reality and hallucinations mixing and churning -3 hw- Ah! Right! The butterfly! Nightmares… -4 Ah! sfx- Swoosh —140 -1 Swipe -2 M-Mikako-chan! That’s dangerous! Put it in the case! Yui-chan, stay away! -3 Eh? Mikako-chan?! —141 -3 Ah, gimme a break! She’s faster than she looks! sfx- Huff Huff She said “stay away”… -4 There’s no way I can leave her alone! -5 Mikako-chan! sfx- Huff Huff sfx- Whish —142 -1 Yui-chan… I said stay away! -2 But that butterfly’s so dangerous! Mikako-chan… What do you plan to do here? ###both bubbles —143 -1 And… What’s with that lighter? -2 I’ve always had it… -3 Always.
 -4 My brother’s last words were to burn this butterfly. -5 But I can’t do it! sfx- Klack If I burn it, I’m afraid my brother will vanish from inside me… —144 -1 If… I can see my brother one more time, I want to do it… Before I burn this butterfly. -2 Mikako-chan?! She can’t mean…?! -3 Maybe this butterfly Will let me see my brother again… —145 -1 Don’t do it! If she does she’ll destroy herself! -2 Yui-cha… Let me go! Stop it! You can’t do this! I’m not going to let you! -3 Even if you see him it’s not your brother! It’s just a hallucination! sfx- Squeeze -4 I can’t let that happen! That’s fine! Just one glance… just one more time! Mikako-chan! —146 -1 You can’t do this! sfx- Snatch Ah -2 Yui-chan! Wait! Please, Yui-chan! -3 sfx- Flick Flick I will… -4 I will protect you, Mikako-chan! Stop it! sfx- Fwa —147 -1 Fwoosh Kyaa… -2 Yui-chan?! —148 -1 Shhhhaaaa The flames are…! sfx- Whoooosh ###bleeds over to next page —149 -1 Turning into butterflies! -3 Roooar —150 -1 sfx- Splat Ah -2 Ow…! sfx- Splap Ah… Noooo! sfx- Splat -3 Hug -4 sfx- squeeze Eh…? Yui-chan?! —151 -1 sfx- Split Splat It’s ok! They’re phantoms! -2 We’ll be ok! sfx- Shwaaaaa —152 -1 Fwaaa -3 The butterflies… -4 And all our wounds… disappeared leaving behind just a tiny bit of ash. -5 And… 
 When we returned home, the police and my parents were there. Everything was in uproar. -2 Yuiko! Mikako! -3 Nagato-san was apprehended and being interrogated. He confessed to pushing Atsuya off the roof, but… -4 He kept muttering incomprehensible stuff. hw- The butterfly… sfx- Mutter mumble Sounds like he’s headed for a psych exam… -5 Several days later about the time when the butterfly phantoms had finally faded… Yuiko! Are you still lazying around? How’s your homework? You have school tomorrow, you know! I know, mom! The summer was coming to an end. —154 -1 I’ll do it… hw- eventually sfx- Vrrrreeee Buzz Buzz Buzz sfx- Vrrrreeee Buzz Buzz Buzz sfx- Chrr Chrr Chrr -2 Sigh… Since then, I haven’t spoken to Mikako-chan. -3 After all that Mikako went back to holing herself up in her room. -4 Maybe she’s angry I burned the butterfly. Maybe she hates me now… -5 Sigh -6 B-but… I didn’t do anything wrong! And tomorrow’s school, too. I can’t let things stay this way. sfx- Nngh I’m the big sister after all! It can’t stay like this! -7 Clench 
 —155 -1 Mikako-chan, can we talk? Mikako-chan? -2 Is she ignoring me? sfx- Silence -3 I’m coming in… Mikako-chan? -4 Mikako-chan! W-what’s wrong? Mi… -5 sfx- Zzz Nn… -6 The heck? She’s sleeping. That was a surpr… hw- Whew —156 -1 …ise… Eh…? -2 This is Kii-san’s artwork! I haven’t seen this one before! Why is it up on Mikako’s PC? -3 And these butterflies… —157 -1 It’s that butterfly… ###bold or italicize “that” I modeled her off of you, Yui-chan. -2 Eh…? Th-this? -3 sfx- Yaawn But I just can’t get it to turn out the way I envision. I did put time and effort in, though. -3 I gave it my all! Hold up… wait… You mean to say you drew this, Mikako-chan? -4 Yeah. I’m “Kii”. No way…! —158 -1 You could have just told me that…! sfx- Bluuush But the timing got all weird. And… -2 It’s kinda embarrassing to admit it. -3 About the butterfly… Are you mad at me for burning it? -4 You couldn’t see your brother… -5 But you’re the one who said it was a phantom, Yui-chan. I know I did, but…! —159 -1 Maybe you… Still regret it…? -3 Mikako-chan? You’ll stay with me, right? -4 Yui-chan, you’ll always be with me by my side —160 -1 Yeah, I will. I always will. Absolute Reality The End —161 -1 She said she modeled it on me, but she’s more adult and has bigger boobs. -2 I’m happy, but it’s embarrassing too. Hm? -3 Hey, Mikako-chan, what’s this stick? hw- Here, in the illustration… Ah, that? -4 It’s a bug net! hw- Of course hw- You’re exterminating the butterflies! Ah. ‘zat right? I shouldn’t have asked. ###vertical In this story, there were all sorts of things I was trying out for the first time, so I was really nervous. It’s a little bit horror, a little bit girl’s love story. The story plot was conceived of quite a long time ago. Thank you for letting me have the chance to bring it to life like this. Thank you for hanging in there until the very end! Managing Editors Mashio-sama and Hashigaya-sama, Thank you very much! Assistants -> S No-san. Midori-chan. Ha-ko. Chodori Koga. And thanks to all my friends who helped me along.