D.C II ~Da Capo II~

[suguru]

Originally Posted by crimmy88

Ah I see.. I'll look forward for your summaries.. as for playing the game, i dont think I will since i dont know japanese =(

I feel your pain...I tried playing the D.C. II Demo, and sadly even then I could barely understand 5% of what they were saying, so I'm sure with the full game I'd be completely lost... Still, at least we can look forward to the anime coming out

[relentlessflame]

By the way, for people who're interested in the Imaginary Future manga, the first tankubon is listed on the MediaWorks site for release on July 27th. Something for people who just can't get enough Nanaka goodness! I don't think they've announced a tank yet for the official manga (running in Comptiq) which, incidentally, continues to stay pretty balanced between all the game characters right now, and pretty much follows the game story as is.

[knowngni]

Hmm the voice for Wataru seems so familiar, I know I've heard it in an anime, I just cant remember where its from. Anybody have a clue?

[MeganeShounen]

Originally Posted by knowngni

Hmm the voice for Wataru seems so familiar, I know I've heard it in an anime, I just cant remember where its from. Anybody have a clue?

The Wikipedia article (which is pretty spoilerish in nature) and other sources on the 'net list the VA as Man Kuritarou... though, he doesn't seem to have any other speaking role in more known games.

I think he did voice a few BL games though.

[DanielSong39]

By the way, is this game translated in Korean? If so, it might be worth a shot - as limited as my Korean skills are.

[kirisame_m]

wow... sugoiiiii
iam late 4 know about this eroge but really i love it ^0^

福山潤(Jyun Fukuyama)＝鬼龍院隼人＝潤潤＝山賀弘一＝万栗太郎 > wataru (D.C II) so much he taken

[knowngni]

AHH THANKS!!!

i knew it sounded familiar,

Keita from Inukami, Watanuki from xxxholic, Takaki from to heart 2

I could pick up a hint of lelouch also

[relentlessflame]

Coming tomorrow -- finally! And just in time for the anime...



Yume's plot summary! Yay! (What took me so frickin' long?! )

And here's a short preview (which everyone who's played the game should recognize instantly -- this had better be in the anime!)

Spoiler for D.C. II Yume Plot Summary - Preview Scene!:

Yoshiyuki awakens to the gentle beckoning calls of two familiar voices: Otome and Yume. As he struggles to wake himself up, he asks them what they're up to. This surprises them a bit; they were just watching him sleep, and waiting for him to get up, of course. "Of course" that wasn't the real question; why were they sleeping in his bed? Still surprised, they're quick to point out that they always sleep together. All three of them?! Despite being groggy, it doesn't take Yoshiyuki long to... (find out tomorrow!)

Here's an update on other D.C. II merchandise:

D.C. II main manga: 12th chapter will appear in Comptiq next month. This is going to be a long-running manga, as they're not even half-way through the story. So far, it's...

Spoiler for manga & game spoilers:

...following Otome's path from the game fairly precisely. Koko just got sick a few days before the Christmas Party, and Yoshiyuki and Otome are practicing lines to the play...

D.C. II Nanaka if story manga: 9th chapter appeared in this month's issue of Dengeki G's (though I've only read up to chapter 8). This manga is moving more quickly than the main manga, and despite starting on a different path, has been incorporating a number of elements from the game. At the moment...

Spoiler for manga & game spoilers:

...Nanaka is starting to feel a hole in her stomach whenever she notices Yoshiyuki being close to Koko. I think they're setting things up for Nanaka's confession and the inevitable band conflict.

It's sort of neat having two different manga based on the same property, as they each have their strengths and weaknesses. Overall, I have to say that I find the if manga a bit more fun (fits the character too), but the main manga is growing on me and provides a pretty balanced look at all the characters.

For people who followed the D.C. to EF series of videos at all, they're now going to have a D.C. to EF radio show, featuring the VAs for Otome, Yume, and Koko (Locomoco, Farte, and Arcie in Eternal Fantasy, respectively).

On the "ecchi" front, Circus is doing something kind of unique by offering character pillow cover/drama CD combos for both Kotori and Otome. They're about $105 each, though, so a bit more than I imagine most are willing to pay.


That's it for now -- look forward to part 1 of the Yume summary tomorrow. (By the way, my new goal is to have the Otome summary done within the next month or two, before they get to the ending portion of the anime.)

[Wings]

Woo, finally time for DC II. I'm still hoping for a Nanaka plotline to avenge for Kotori, but something tells me that isn't going to happen.

The combo seems to be well priced. I don't know about pricing very much, but I managed to acquire the kotori pillow cover and the nanaka one for about 100 each. Kinda interesting how they are promoting Kotori for DC II though, not that i mind. On the same note, as much as that new Kotori cover is.. uh... tempting, it's a bit much >.> Atleast the pyjama Kotori/Nanaka can be hanged on the wall... this one is just... fap material.

Anyways looking forward to your summary for Yume's route!

[relentlessflame]

D.C. II ~Da Capo II~ Plot Summary
Yume Asakura

Disclaimers -- Please read!
This is a plot summary, and not a translation. It's not a translation because I'm not a translator, and don't know enough Japanese to pass as one. The plot summary is intended to convey a general sense of what goes on in the game for those who may never be able to play it themselves. While I did my best to fully understand everything, look up the complicated kanji, research the tricky parts, and so on, I obviously can't guarantee that every single detail is perfect (though I tried!) If you've played the game and notice something incorrect or unclear, please by all means correct me! The last thing I want is to pass as some sort of expert while conveying false information -- I'm as interested in the truth as everyone else.

The other thing I want to point out from the get go: this summary is long -- really, really long (I think it's something like 24 pages in Word). Why is it so long if it's only a summary, you may wonder? I spent a great deal of time considering this problem. I kept my Minatsu summary pretty short, because I felt that a lot of the early details weren't really all that important to the "meat" of the plot. But, with Yume's story, I found that there were too many little details in the early parts of the story that turned out to be important down the road. Summarizing them too much destroyed the flow of the story, and gave away the ending in little ways. So, instead of glossing over the early parts, I decided to summarize them as well. The net effect is that rather than being an "ending summary", it's a summary of the entire Yume story. And it's long. For the "tl;dr" crowd (for whom this disclaimer was already too long), I might include an Executive skip-all-the-good-stuff-just-tell-me-how-it-ends Summary at the end. But I recommend the long version, because it's the most like the game, and that makes it more fun (unless you hate bishoujo games, in which case, why are you here? )

And now, without further ado...


An Introduction to Yume:
Junichi's second grandaughter and younger sister to Otome. All in all, she's a well-intentioned, kind-hearted, and slightly-introverted girl. She inherited just a bit of her grandmother's trademark "black" side (but not a lot), and her grandfather's trademark "kattarui" saying. She gets along with her sister quite well, and exchanges a good amount of banter with Yoshiyuki (who teases her quite often). She has a bit of a sarcastic streak, and will sometimes mouth off only to turn around and say that she's just joking when people start chiding her for it. Above all, though, she tends to be pretty prim and proper, and to get easily flustered and embarrassed when teased (which is probably why she gets teased so much by Otome and Yoshiyuki).

Spoiler for Yume Plot Summary - Part 1 of 5:

Yoshiyuki awakens to the gentle beckoning calls of two familiar voices: Otome and Yume. As he struggles to wake himself up, he asks them what they're up to. This surprises them a bit; they were just watching him sleep, and waiting for him to get up, of course. "Of course" that wasn't the real question; why were they sleeping in his bed? Still surprised, they're quick to point out that they always sleep together. All three of them?! Despite being groggy, it doesn't take Yoshiyuki long to figure out that this is, in fact, a dream. And seeing as it is a dream, he has no reason to hold back... "Ittadakimasu!" He awakens to find himself at school, where the class rep is talking about their current lack of plans for the upcoming Christmas party. Anzu, backed by Akane, proposes a Puppet Show, while Suginami favours a haunted house, and brings Wataru and Koko to his side. After all the class votes, it comes down to Yoshiyuki to break the tie, and much to Koko's relief, he chooses the haunted house.

On the way home from school, Yoshiyuki sees Yume waiting at the gate. A "chance encounter" she calls it, because she definitely wasn't waiting for him. But "since he's there", she asks him if he'd like to go home together with her. He starts to walk off, when she reminds him that the idea was to go home together. They stare each other down a bit, until he finally gives in. She then exclaims that she's hungry; her waiting there in the cold has been a terrible bother, she's hungry, and he should take responsibility. When he points out that it wasn't his fault, she objects, saying that she wouldn't be cold and hungry if she hadn't had to wait for him for so long... Oops - "chance encounter", huh... She finally admits that, in fact, she did it on purpose, but considering the opportunity to be accompanied home by his cute little sister, a meal is a small price to pay. He continues to play hardball, and reminds her that people could be watching her being so close to him, but she dismisses it since there's no one around. He finally asks where she wants to go, and she says that the crepe shop by the park has a new menu that she's been dying to try, and in spite of further protests from Yoshiyuki, they finally head off. As she enjoys her crepe at the park, she asks if he wants some, but he reminds her that the reason he doesn't have one is because he lost at jan-ken earlier. She takes the opportunity to rub it in a bit, but still offers him a piece. He objects at first, and reminds her that this would technically be an indirect kiss... but she reminds him that they're family, so there's nothing weird to be read into it. On the way home, she's continuing to tease him about his lack of jan-ken skills, which he tries to brush off as him letting her win. But as they're continuing their banter, she stops all of a sudden, as if she just remembered something important, and pulls out a notebook. Then all of a sudden she yells at him to "watch ou--!!" but it was already too late. As he recovers from the accident, he wonders what the weird notebook was all about... but she says that it's a secret... He happens to run into her in town the next day, and as they're walking home, she once again has a similar premonition and pulls out her notes. And sure enough, she once again yells at him to watch out but... nothing happened this time. Yume, totally embarrassed, runs on home, leaving a confused Yoshiyuki to wonder what the deal is...

Most of Yume and Yoshiyuki's encounters in the common section tend to revolve around food. Their first "date" (so-called by Otome) happens when they're out shopping at Otome has to go to school for student council duties, leaving the two of them to go grab lunch together (which Yume assures him does not count as a date ). Many of the school-time encounters are in the lunchroom, and she often comes over to eat in the evenings. This theme of eating probably has something to do with one of Yume's most notable "flaws": her cooking.

On one particular day, Yume comes to meet Yoshiyuki at his class at lunchtime, and asks him to accompany her. He's not sure what it's all about, but decides to play along. She takes him to the nurse's office; when he asks why, she says it's because she'd be embarrassed if anyone saw them. She then asks him to close his eyes as she gets ready... (of course, he's starting to wonder what doing an embarrassing thing in a secluded place is supposed to imply...) ...and when she says it's okay to open his eyes even though she's embarrassed, he sees... that she made a bento for him. He has a few misgivings, but he decides to give Yume a chance. Suffice it to say that he's not overly impressed when she opens the lid to reveal a whole bunch of burnt food. She insists that it's "edible! ...probably..." She notices that he's obviously hesitating (and admits to herself that it's for good reason), so she closes the lunch box and says that it's fine and he doesn't have to eat it. But of course, he realizes how hard she tried, and how sad she is that it didn't turn out the way she had hoped. So, being the nice guy that he is, he decides he'll go for it -- he'll eat it. She says that he doesn't have to force himself, but it's obvious that his willingness to do it for her sake makes her happy. So, "ittadakimasu!" They don't show us how it turned out exactly, but suffice it to say, it didn't go well.

Yume's attitude and tone of voice by this point have already started to change a bit. She's acting a bit more apprehensive around Yoshiyuki, but at the same time more aggressive in her own shy way. After school, she's once again waiting for him by the gate -- "coincidentally", of course. But she comments that there's been something on her mind. As they begin walking, she begins talking about the Christmas Party, and asking whether or not Yoshiyuki has any plans. Seems everyone in her class is talking about their big Christmas plans with their boyfriends and girlfriends, but she's realizing she doesn't have anyone like that. Of course, she's not saying what she means, and he's not taking the hint, so she ends up frustrated and runs off.

Later that night, she comes over to use his bath, as theirs is broken. Afterwords, she decides to stick around for a bit to watch a show on TV with him. As she's getting ready to leave, he realizes that she seems a bit stiff so he offers to give her a massage. Of course, it's her first time having a massage, and she's really getting into it. And, of course, that's just when Otome happens to walk in. As, in her massive shock, she asks what was going on, Yume makes the one mistake you should never make when a girl walks in on a guy and a moaning girl: she didn't make it clear exactly what was going on. As she keeps going on about how good it was, Yoshiyuki realizes that Otome is really getting the wrong idea here, but by the time he manages to get in a few words, Otome's already come to her hasty conclusions...

Yume's once again waiting for Yoshiyuki outside his class at lunch the next day, and she once again wants them to eat toghther. The idea makes Yoshiyuki a bit afraid, so he delicately tries to get assurance that she didn't cook for him again. She's offended, of course, but it turns out that they're going to go eat with Otome and Sakura instead. Since it was cold outside, Sakura decide to cook some nabe for everyone (heh). As they arrive, Yume decides that she'd like to add a few things to the pot, which sounds good to the other girls. Yoshiyuki is crazily apprehensive though and, despite assurances from Otome that it should be fine, it didn't take long for his fears to prove true. As she proceeds to mess up the hotpot with one spice after another, even Harimao (Sakura's dog) is whining fearfully. Yoshiyuki sees where this is going, and decides to get up to leave, but is stopped by Yume, who wants him to eat the "probably" okay food. Both Otome and Sakura quickly weasel their way out of the situation by awkwardly explaining that they had "already eaten plenty" before Yume and Yoshiyuki got there. Yume eventually caves again and says that it's "fine" if he doesn't want any; she'll just eat it herself. But Yoshiyuki, once again being the nice guy that he is, decides that this isn't a good idea either, and decides to go for it again. As he goes to take a bite, the dog lets out one final, somber whimper. A very painful sound was heard coming from that room that day.

That night, Yume came over again to talk about something really important. Unfortunately for her, though, she just happened to catch him at a really bad time. The meal's cooking, the phone's ringing... everything's happening at once, and there couldn't be a worse time to talk! She manages to get out that it's about the Christmas Party, but he hastily asks her if she can wait. Frustrated (and clearly nervous anyway), she says to forget it and storms out angrily.


It's the day before the Christmas Party, and despite having gotten up early, Otome mentions that Yume had already left for school -- quite unusual for her. Her Big Sister instinct fully intact, she realizes that Yume's been acting weird since last night, and is probably trying to avoid him. She asks if he did something wrong, and before he can offer an excuse, she tells him that he needs to be more sensitive to a girl's feelings, and to go apologize to Yume.

Yoshiyuki finds Yume alone at lunch, and she's clearly still a bit pissed off. He finally starts breaking down the wall by buying her some food, and they start talking again. As they're talking, Koko shows up and asks if she can join them. Unwisely, he asks Yume what he should do, and she reverts back to "black" mode and says it's fine. Without wasting much time, Koko says that she, Anzu, and Akane were thinking it'd be fun if all four of them (and maybe Nanaka too) could hang out together during the Christmas Party... that is, if he didn't have any plans with a girl. As she explains this, Yume perks up, realizing that she may have lost her chance. Still in black mode, she comments that it's nice for him, and decides to leave early, giving the rest of her food to Koko. Koko realizes that she might have just done something wrong, but Yoshiyuki assures her that it wasn't her fault.

Later that day, Yoshiyuki runs into Yume, busy and somewhat-distraught. It seem the guys have been pestering all the girls to try to get them to go out with them for the Christmas Party. As she hears trouble abrew in the distance, Yume heads off, but Yoshiyuki's curious about what all the fuss is about. Turns out some guys are faking an injury to try to get girls attention. As they start becoming annoying and Yume asks them to stop, Yoshiyuki shows up to protect her. Yoshiyuki isn't much of a fighting type, but he manages to taunt the guys and ends up punching one of them. As things are starting to heat up, Suginami shows up to back him up. Just as the punks decide to back down, Mayuki shows up, prompting a prompt Suginami exit. Rather than be questioned, Yoshiyuki grabs Yume's hand and they run off to the rooftop. She chides him about what might have happened if the kids had fought back; of course he's feeling a bit cocky, but he also says that he'd take the blows if it were to help her out. Of course, this has Yume blushing profusely, which she quickly dismisses. He manages to egg a "thanks" out of her, but before he can get her to say it again, she reminds him that the student council is still looking for him. Though she makes him repeat the request (with a "Yume-sama" tagged on), she agrees to not get him in trouble with Mayuki. But as he points out that she's finally in a good mood again, she remembers that she's still upset at him and still hasn't forgiven him, so she runs off. If only things were that simple.

The next morning, the day of the Christmas Party, Yoshiyuki looks out his window and sees Yume waiting outside with something clearly on her mind. He gets ready and heads outside to ask her what's up, and she brushes it off again (though even less convincingly than ever ). As they walk to school together, she's constantly glancing back nervously, as if she has a question she wants to ask but is really really hesitant about. As they arrive at school, he finally asks her whether she has someone to accompany her for the Christmas Party. What follows is a probably one of the most roundabout ways of agreeing to go on a date you can possibly imagine. In the end Yume's "excuse" (to herself more than anything) was that Yoshiyuki's cute little sister was accompanying him so he wouldn't be lonely. When he goes to pick her up from class later in the day, and explains about their date to Minatsu, Yume vehemently denies that this is in any way a date. Minatsu points out that they get along really well, which Yume explains is because they're siblings. Robot or not, Mintasu wasn't born yesterday and wishes them a nice date. Yume has Yoshiyuki agree to remember that this is not a date as they head out; he thinks this is just like her. Yoshiyuki and Yume's Christmas Party date is pretty typical as far as dates go (at least for these two). They exchange food, and Yoshiyuki nearly chokes when eating a piece of what Yume was eating. They check out some of the various booths. They go check out a movie, which Yoshiyuki didn't pay that much attention to. After the movie, they run into Akane, Anzu, and Koko. When Yume insists that they're together only because they're siblings, both Anzu and Akane are instantly suspicious, and stare right at Koko, who isn't sure how to react. The girls invite Yoshiyuki and Yume to go grab some food with them. Yume's acting uncomfortable, but Yoshiyuki's all set to go out with his friends. Before they can go, though, Yume "remembers" that she and Yoshiyuki "had to go somewhere", and she rushes him off. Yume mumbles that Yoshiyuki's too nice to them, and decides that it's time to go home.

Christmas Eve comes, and it seems that Otome, Sakura, and Junichi are all out, so rather than spend it alone, Yume invites Yoshiyuki over for dinner. As they watch TV together, she laments that her poor brother doesn't have a girlfriend, so is stuck spending Christmas alone with his little sister. At the same time, Yume looks out the window and notices that it's snowing, so she drags Yoshiyuki outside with her to take a look. Seeing as Santa delivered a White Christmas, she wonders if she might have a wish as a present, and wishes that Yoshiyuki might get a lovely girlfriend. Yoshiyuki responds in kind, but Yume assures him that that won't happen, though. Yoshiyuki mentions that, if he does ever get a girlfriend (or she gets a boyfriend), he and Yume won't be able to stay as close as they have been. His girlfriend would get pretty jealous of his non-blood-related sister coming over to visit all the time, and likewise with her boyfriend, so they'll have to be apart more. After giving it some thought, Yume admits they'll have to worry about that when the time comes, but she's glad that time hasn't come yet. For now, it's back to their Christmas Eve party! (To be continued in Part 2: Winter Holidays)

I'll aim to post the second part within the next day or two, and so on until we reach the end! It's all already written, I just have to go through and take screencaps.

Onward to Part 2

[MeganeShounen]

/me hands relentlessflame a box of dangos* as thanks for making another summary
* - Fresh from another anime starting this season. Hint, hint.

I guess you'd be making Otome's storyline the last one to be made, since there's a large chance that the anime's going to follow that one..

Spoiler for Yume's storyline:

About Yume's notebook... I guess it contains a lot of information Yume gets from her... dreams?

[holyman282]

omg thank you relentless, i've been waiting for your summaries for a while.... Was hooked since your kotori summary for the fandisc if i remember carefully.

[ADavalosJR]

Her summary starts at the very beginning of the game? BTW, thanks for the summary. I can finally (somewhat) understand what goes on in her scenario.

[m0toko]

wahh! i cant find the torrent! or has it not been released yet ? :'(

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by m0toko

wahh! i cant find the torrent! or has it not been released yet ? :'(

Well, I'm assuming you're talking about the anime, whose thread is that-a-way. The anime hasn't been fansubbed yet, as it only aired a few hours ago.

[m0toko]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Well, I'm assuming you're talking about the anime, whose thread is that-a-way. The anime hasn't been fansubbed yet, as it only aired a few hours ago.

thanks much =)

[relentlessflame]

And now on to part 2! (Read Part 1 first!)

Before I get into it, though, one thing I forgot to mention about Yume's personality in general (I don't really think this is a spoiler or anything): she has a bit of a Yukino Miyazawa (Kare Kano) thing going on. She's always prim and proper in public, but at home she's sort of slovenly, lazy, and less caring about her appearance (wears big glasses, always in sports jerseys, etc.) I suppose you could say this is one of Yume's charm points, though, as you'll see in this part of the summary!

Please note that this summary contains a few screenshots that might be considered unsafe for work (NSFW) -- though nothing explicit. If the spacing of everything looks a bit off (I'm limited to what I can do here in the forums in terms of formatting), try resizing your browser window to be wider or more narrow.

Spoiler for Yume Plot Summary - Part 2 of 5:

The Winter Holdays have come, and Yoshiyuki's plans for the break involve spending some time together with Otome and Yume, as they'll be spending some time over at Sakura's place for the holidays. As they discuss their plans, and fight over some nabe, Sakura warns them all not to do anything "ecchi", much to everyone's embarssment. Later that night, Yoshiyuki can't sleep so he goes back to the living room to find Sakura still up. In the ensuing conversation, Sakura goes right to the gusto and and asks him which girl he prefers: Otome or Yume. He embarassingly blows it off, saying that they're both like siblings. Sakura reasons that it's not so weird to fall in love with those closest to you, since they know you and get along with you best. She explains that Junichi and Nemu were foster-siblings too, and because of that had a lot of trouble; despite it all, though, they were still able to find happiness. Of course, she says that she's not telling him to choose one of the girls or anything, since the choice is his, but she just wants everyone to be happy. As he reflects on the conversation, Yoshiyuki realizes that there's something fishy about Sakura calling Junichi "Onii-chan". She evades his question by simply saying that "Onii-chan is Onii-chan". This, of course leads him to ask her how old she really is, which is, of course, a very rude question. In his room that night, Yoshiyuki ponders what Sakura said, and comes to realize that there actually is one of the girls he prefers...

The next morning, Yoshiyuki is being lazy when Yume walks in to wake him up. Since he still won't get up, she threatens that "something terrible" will happen. Still no signs of life from our sleepyhead, so... BAM! (A lesson she no doubt learned from her grandmother... ) Yoshiyuki thinks to himself that a gentle kiss would have been much more pleasant... ^^; Anyway, Yume came to ask for his help bringing stuff over to his place for the sleepover. Seems she packed far too much considering she only lives next door, but she considers it too troublesome to have to make trips. "Kattaruishi" Later that day, Yume is struggling as she helps Otome with the cooking. As Yoshiyuki walks in, he exclaims his shock, prompting a sarcastic retort from the knife-wielding Yume (Note: never tease a girl with a knife.) As their fight escalates, the food start boiling over, causing a bit of a panic in the kitchen. As a result, Yume accidentally cuts her finger, prompting swift action from Yoshiyuki (much to Yume's surprise). An embarrassed Yume thanks an equally embarrassed Yoshiyuki as Otome gets back with the bandages. Yoshiyuki finds himself quite surprised by Yume's unusually cute reaction. Mealtime arrives, and Otome introduces that dish that Yume helped prepare. Yoshiyuki's understandably apprehensive, but Otome assures him that it should be fine. Yume's still flushed red with embarrassment and says that he doesn't have to push himself if he doesn't want to. There's a word for people who keep trying the same thing and expecting a different result, but nevertheless... it's not bad? In fact, it's actually good?! As he praises the food, Yume is obviously more than a little happy about the whole thing. Of course, though, when he asks about it, and Otome congratulates her, Yume promptly points out that she was definitely not cooking for his sake. I don't think Otome or Yoshiyuki were fooled.

This is Yume stunned speechless when Yoshiyuki praised her cooking.
You can tell this hasn't happened to her very often before.

Later that afternoon, Minatsu came over to ask for Yume's help looking for pyjamas to bring with her on the ski trip. When he starts teasing Yume in front of Mintasu (because she doesn't actually wear pajamas, but jerseys instead), he ends up getting looped into accompanying them on their shopping trip. While there, he runs into Anzu and Akane, who are also shopping for the ski trip. As he goes back to re-join Yume, he finds her staring at a pair of pajamas in the store window. When he snaps her out of her daze to ask her about it, she's of course quick to deny that she wants it, because jerseys are just fine for her. As she runs off to rejoin Minatsu, he takes the hint, and later on the way home he gives her the pyjamas as a present. Although she acted like she didn't want it ("Jerseys are fine with me, but if you like these pajamas better, then I guess it can't be helped..." ), a faint "thank you" could be heard amongst it all. Later that night, he spotted Yume, happily admiring her new pyjamas (though he got promptly chewed out when he interrupted to tease her about it ). The next morning, after being denied "5 more minutes" and getting treated to another "pleasant" Yume awakening, Yoshiyuki notices that, in fact, she's wearing her new pyjamas. When he complements her and says it looks good on her, she brushes it aside, saying that since he went through the trouble of buying it for her, she might as well try it on. She eventually gets sufficiently embarrassed and walks out, reminding him that his breakfast is getting cold.

Later that morning, Yoshiyuki decides to go talk to Yume. She's in the middle of watching a show, but he interrupts saying that he wants to talk to her. When she only gives him her half-hearted attention, he steals the remote and turns off the TV -- of course she just steals it right back, and eventually he turns off the switch. (This is typical of their little squabbles. Siblings, or lovers? Heh...) Anyway, when she finally concedes and asks him what he wants to talk about, he says that they say "a change of clothes is tied to a change of heart", and he tries to convince her to help him do some cleaning up around the place. But she's feeling especially lazy on New Year's Eve, and doesn't want to change out of her pyjamas, so she says she doesn't want to. Eventually he gives up, and says that he'll just go by himself.

When she hears that he'd be going out, she perks up. He then says that he was hoping that she might have gone with him, but she can just keep an eye on the house while he's gone instead. She stops him, though, and asks him if he'd be going shopping, and if Otome would be going with him. After explaining that Otome's busy, he wonders why she asks and she awkwardly replies that there's no particular reason. Realizing that she and Yoshiyuki would be going out alone, she decides to go, announcing that "shopping alone would be lonely, right?" She decides that she'll help out her poor lonely brother, and rushes off to get changed. Yoshiyuki sort of wonders why the sudden change of heart, but decides to let it go.

Later that same day, Otome's at Yoshiyuki's place leading the New Year's cleaning charge. Yoshiyuki and Yume aren't exactly thrilled, but Otome's in serious big-sister mode, though, so there's no stopping her resolve. ^^; As Yume's cleaning the kitchen, she comes across an extra pudding and decides that she should eat it. Yoshiyuki protests, because it's his pudding (they're at his house afterall), but Yume childishly points out that she doesn't see his name written on it. Big Sister Otome steps in and tells the kids to stop fighting, and that Yume can have the pudding (despite Yoshiyuki's grumbling). Perhaps to help assuage her guilt, Yume caves in and decides to share, offering a spoonful to Yoshiyuki. When he points out afterwords that that was an indirect kiss, Yume points out that it's fine because they're siblings, but in a much more embarrassed tone than the first time (back a few weeks ago). Fast forward, and it's time to clean the final room: Yoshiyuki's! As soon as he hears, though, he tries to say that it's fine and he can handle it. Unfortunately, it comes across far too suspiciously, and Yume corners him by saying that "he doesn't have anything to hide, right...?" Otome may be a little slow to clue in, but Yume knows something's up... ^^;;; As they arrive in his room, he tries to play it cool, but Yume notices that he seems to be trying to keep them from looking under his bed. So, being the little devil that she is, she convinces Otome that it'd be a really good idea to clean under his bed too. What happens next is an uncomfortable scene that's as classic as the romatic-comedy genre itself. ^^;;; Suffice it to say that Yume excused herself at just the right time, and Yoshiyuki suddenly found himself with a smaller allowance.

Heav'n has no rage like love to hatred turn'd
Nor Hell a fury, like a woman scorn'd.
(That is not Otome's happy face (left), but it is indeed Yume's "you're so screwed" face (right).)

Later, for "some reason" ... Yoshiyuki found himself "volunteered" to clean Otome and Yume's house. He tried asking Otome why Yume got to skip out, but apparently she was off cleaning her own room. Otome doesn't forgive or forget that quickly. Anyway, after a while, they decide to take a break, and Yoshiyuki notices a photo album on the table. As they look through it together, Otome asks him if he remembers their mother, to which he says that of course he does. She then proceeds to ask if he remembers their childhood promise... He wracks his brain... but really can't remember such a thing. This gets Otome annoyed, since she says it was an important promise to her. He keeps trying to remember, and imagine what it might have been (the "what ifs" jumping through his head...), and Otome just keeps getting more annoyed and upset... He eventually apologizes... and Otome finally says "just kidding!" ^^;;;; Actually, there were a promise, but she doesn't remember it either, so she's not upset. But she does wonder why she's forgotten about it too. Meanwhile, a crime story hits the news, and Otome seems worried. Seems crime's on the increase, and the police are having no luck catching the suspects. Otome awkwardly excuses herself, saying that she has some things she needs to think about...

As Sakura's year-end speach at the dinner table begins to turn embarrasing, she gets interrupted by Yoshiyuki and the girls, who point out that the food's getting cold. As they enjoy their meal, Sakura notices that Otome seems a bit down -- Otome tries to brush it off, but it's pretty obvious. Yume wonders if she might have been working too hard, and so Sakura tries to cheer her up. Yume and Yoshiyuki continue to tease each other around the dinner table, lightening the mood. Later that night, they ask Sakura what her plans are, but it seems she's going to be stuck with work again. The crimes they talked about on the news have been causing her trouble as well. Although Yoshiyuki wonders why Sakura should have to worry about that, she says that it's part of her job as principal to look after the school and make sure nothing happens to it. On her way off, though, she takes Yoshiyuki aside to spring the big question: So, which girl is it? Otome or Yume? ...or is there someone else...? Yoshiyuki's obviously extremely embarrassed by the question, to which Sakura says that she's eager for him to get a girlfriend, because she's hoping for grandchildren someday. Of course, it's just a joke. As Sakura heads off and they head back inside, he notices Otome spaced out, deep in thought again. She still tries to dismiss it, though... but something's clearly on her mind.

Later that night, Yoshiyuki decides to go check out what's on TV, and he notices that Yume fell asleep at the table. He tries to wake her up a bit, but she seems pretty sound asleep. He remembers that it's been a long day for her, including the meal she worked so hard to prepare. So he decides he might as well lay the futon out for her, and puts her to bed. In her sleepiness, she starts mumbling words. "Nii-san.... suki..." ... "...yaki ga tabettai na..." (sukiyaki is a kind of meal, of course) The next morning, Yume wakes up and vaguely remembers that Yoshiyuki moved her. She then finds that Yoshiyuki actually fell asleep next to her. ^^; At first she's still half asleep and hasn't really clued in about it and calls out to him gently, but as he wakes up and wishes her "good morning", she all of a sudden realizes this is reality and starts hyperventilating like crazy. Yoshiyuki desperately tries to calm her down and explain what happened, but she's just panicking and can't think straight. "Why are you in my room!?" "But, see? This isn't your room..." Eventually she just forces him to get out.

Later, Yoshiyuki and Yume head over to the temple, where Otome is apparently working. Yume half-accuses Yoshiyuki of just wanting to go there to see Otome in her priestess outfit. ^^; As they're talking, Yume all of a sudden remembers something -- Yoshiyuki wonders if it's another "poem" ^^; -- but in fact, she asks him if he has any plans for the next day. She asks him to go over to her place to see her at 6pm. He asks why, but she says it's a secret. She laments the fact that he really doesn't remember the reason, which he doesn't seem to, but says that he just needs to be there at 6pm tomorrow, and that's all.

At the temple, they do indeed run into the miko-outfit-clad Otome, who presses Yoshiyuki on whether the outfit suits her. He apparently really thinks so, and pays her a compliment. She starts teasing him, and they go back and forth in something that might otherwise be seen as flirting. As Otome heads off, Yume gives Yoshiyuki as nice stab "by accident". ^^; Later, Yoshiyuki buys Yume some food. When he asks her how it is, she kind of brushes it aside, so he decides for himself by stealing a bite. This annoys Yume, but while she protests, he grabs another bite... and so she decides to steal some of his food as well. As they get into their little food fight, they sudden find themself accidentally... well, exchanging an accidental kiss. ^^; They're both surprised, and taken aback. Yume, in her embarrassment, assures him that it was just an accident, not to think about it, and to just forget it... but they're both blushing like crazy. Of course, just then, Otome shows up. When she notices the awkwardness and asks what's wrong, Yume immediately exclaims that it was just an accident, and they definitely didn't just ki-- ... ^^; Desperate to change the subject, Yoshiyuki asks what she's up to, and she says that she was just thinking they could all grab some food together while she was on break. Yoshiyuki comments that he'd be having lunch with a priestess, and they continue the complimenting/quasi-flirting from earlier. This manages to get Yume annoyed again, though, and when he asks her what she wants to eat, she says that she's already eaten plenty and heads home. Realizing that he can't really leave things as is, he apologizes to Otome, and goes to head off after Yume. He runs into her in the park and apologizes, but (at least she claims) she wasn't mad. She says that she just didn't want to interfere with his date with the Priestess, and besides, she had some shopping she needed to do. When he offered to go with her, she politely declined, saying that she was planning to do it on her own in any case.

On his way back home, Yoshiyuki ran into some guys causing trouble to a girl in town. He stepped into help, and as he did that others took notice of the situation too. But wait... was that Sakura? Later that night, all three are back home, and Yoshiyuki and Yume are fighting over the TV as usual. Eventually, they get Otome to choose what she wants to watch for a change. As they're changing the channel, though, they stumble across the news, and it just so happens that they're talking about the incident that Yoshiyuki witnessed. Otome asks Yoshiyuki if he remembered anything about the suspects -- like whether or not they had any distinguishing characteristics. Talking about the whole thing causes Otome to once again go turn all quiet, serious, and contemplative...

Anyway, once she snaps out of it, she remembers the food's getting cold. It seems the beverage is actually alcoholic, though, because fast forward a bit and we see Otome's become a rambling, crazy drunk, and Yume as well. It doesn't take too long for Yume to fall alseep, and Otome heads home.

As he moves Yume to the futon again, she wakes up and starts rambling that she wants to go take a bath. He's not too sure it's a good idea... She then proposes that they should take a bath together -- then he knows it's not a good idea. Anyway, you don't argue with a drunk, so he lets her go take a bath (alone), and she insists it'll be fine. A while later, he goes to knock on the door to make sure she's okay, but there's no answer. Concerned, he opens the door to find that she'd passed out in the tub. He quickly wraps her in a towel and moves her to the living room, planning to go get Otome. But Yume stops him and ask him not to go get her, and since they're siblings -- since he sees her only as a sister -- there should be no reason he can't help her get dressed. Obviously, panic ensues, but he eventually agrees to very carefully help her out. As he finishes dressing her, she starts coming a bit more to her senses and becomes very embarrassed, asking him to forget everything.

You might say that Yume started coming on to Yoshiyuki like a lovesick, rambling drunk.
That's pretty much exactly what happened, until she sobered up a bit.

The next morning, he finds a sleepy and slightly hungover Otome dragging her feet. She seems to be doing okay, though, and since she hasn't eaten yet, he offers to make her some food. As he heads to the kitchen, though, he finds Yume already there doing some cooking of her own. Of course the topic of last night accidentally comes up, and Yume's all embarrassed and says that she thought she asked him to forget about it. She tries to explain her strange behaviour, but of course she was drunk, so he assures her it's fine. She asks if he remembers their promise, and in fact he does -- he's supposed to meet her at six. She says she'll be waiting.

A bit later, Otome asks Yoshiyuki if he has a bit of spare time to do some shopping, which he does. But just ask he's asking what they'd be shopping for, Yume walks in. Yume wonders why Otome's all dressed up to go out, so she makes up an excuse. As Yoshiyuki starts questioning it, she stops him and tries to make a quick recovery. Otome asks if Yume wants to go with them, and she doesn't seem to really want to, and then remembers something and walks off. Once she's gone, Otome points out that Yoshiyuki really has forgotten -- it's Yume's birthday! So they head off to shop for birthday presents, but obviously Yoshiyuki hadn't given it much thought, so it was a bit of a struggle. ^^;

After a while, though, Otome seems to be a bit out of it, so she asks if they can take a break. Yoshiyuki wants to keep shopping, though, so they press on. Later that evening as they're preparing to go home, Otome suddenly collapses from apparent exhaustion. He carries her back home, and brings her to her room. By that point, it's already 6:30, though, so Otome realizes that Yume is waiting for him. With her remaining strength, she implores Yoshiyuki to go see Yume, but he knows that making sure Otome's safe is important too.

Once he sees that Otome's safe in bed, he heads over to see Yume. As he arrives, the lights are off, and Yume's all alone, waiting for him with a birthday dinner set out on the table. Although he arrives apologetic, she accuses him of having forgotten their promise. He assures her that he didn't forget, even though he's late. She comments that his being late obviously reflects how important the promise was to him. He apologizes again, but explains the reason: Otome fainted; even though he knew about the promise, he had to help Otome. Yume's still sad, though, and starts commenting how it's Otome again, and it seems like it's always about her. He tries to reason with her, though, since Otome was actually out there with him getting a present for her sake. As he tries to turn things around, and argue that it isn't too late, she says to just stop. She feels that Otome's obviously more important to him than she is, but he says that's just not true. He couldn't very well just leave her there after she collapsed...

...but she says she knows that. She even knows that he didn't do anything wrong, but the one who made a mistake was her. Even though she planned the whole thing and made all the food hoping she'd be able to have a fun birthday, she already knew. She knew it all, but kept lying to herself -- "I wonder where he might be..." She wished him a good night, and as he called out to her...

「……さよなら、兄さん」
"Goodbye, Nii-san..."

On to Part 3...

[relentlessflame]

Previous Entries: Part 1 - Part 2

Here's a challenge to you while reading the third part of the summary:

Spoiler for The "Are you better at reading women than Yoshiyuki?" Challenge!:

As you can probably expect, this part of the summary deals with the aftermath of the scene that ended the last part. The thing Yoshiyuki, and by proxy, you, the reader, are trying to figure out is -- why does Yume seem so upset and distant? It seemed obvious, but she changed her tune right at the end... what's really going on here? Over the course of this part, she and the story will start explaining the reason why (though some pieces still remain unsaid at this point), but the challenge is -- can you figure out the real reason(s) before the end of the story? Or maybe you've already figured it out... (If you came into these summaries with some pre-existing knowledge about Yume, you're probably way further ahead than you should be... )

I have to admit, it took me a while to figure it out myself, not because it was in Japanese, but because this is all about understanding a woman's feelings... a much tougher language for most men (myself included) to decipher!

Once again, please be aware that some screenshots may be NSFW, though none are explicit.

Spoiler for Yume Plot Summary - Part 3 of 5:

It's been over a week, and Yume has still been avoiding both Yoshiyuki and Otome, staying mostly in her room. School's back in session for the new year, but Yume woke up really early in order to avoid them both. Otome's worried that it's her fault, but obviously it really isn't.

Back at school, the girls are all reminiscing about their ski trip. To keep building on the experience, Nanaka suggests that they all go out to karaoke after school, and Yoshiyuki is invited. As they head out, though, Yoshiyuki sees Yume, and invites her to come along... but before he can finish asking, she's already gone. The other girls wonder what happened over the winter break and, figuring he has nothing to lose, Yoshiyuki decides to confide in the four of them. He's hoping that, as women, they might have some good ideas to offer. Even though they understand that what happened couldn't be helped, they figure that Yume must still have felt very lonely. They recommend that Yoshiyuki be a man and apologize to her.

So, later that night, he went over to give it a shot, but... it wasn't very successful. He couldn't seem to find the words to say. Nevertheless, in a moment of weakness, he caught Yume smiling before she, in turn, caught herself and returned to her usual distant self. She excused herself, so, defeated, he went back home. There he continued to think back on the situation, and the advice he received, in an attempt to figure out how he could make it up to her. As he's thinking about it, Sakura shows up, and he explains the situation to her. She wisely concludes that the reason Yume's mad at him is because he doesn't understand why she's upset. In other words, she's upset because he thinks he knows what the problem is, but doesn't get it. (Although I've lived around enough women in my life to know exactly what this means, I can't blame Yoshiyuki for being confused. )

The next day, as the girls are teasing Yoshiyuki and each other over lunch as usual, Otome comes to see him. She lets him know that she's going to be leaving with Junichi and Sakura on a trip for about a week, though she's a bit cryptic on the reasons why. Even though she knows that Yume's still upset at him, she doesn't want to leave her all by herself, and has no one else to turn to. So she asks if he'll take care of her and, of course, he agrees. When he returns to the class, the girls ask him what that was all about, and when he explains, Akane and Anzu immediately realize that he and Yume will be all alone together, and that means... ^^; He assures him that they're siblings so nothing will happen, but they obviously have their doubts.

That night, he welcomes Yume home, and of course she's more than a little surprised when he announces why he's there. Apparently, they didn't tell her about the trip. When he says that he's there because he was worried about her being alone, she seems a bit touched by his apparent concern for her. But as she probes deeper about why he thought of her, he mentions that Otome was worried about her, and that sours the mood. She now realizes that he's only there because Otome asked him to be, and goes back to avoiding him. Later that night, as Yoshiyuki was sleeping on the couch, he heard some rustling in the kitchen. Worried it might be a robber, he attempted to surprise the suspect by suddenly turning on the light. But, instead, he found Yume, bowl in hand, trying to grab some food without him knowing it. The food wasn't going to be very good, though, since it had gotten cold, so Yoshiyuki offered to heat it up for her. Caught in the act, she agrees.

The next day, the trio remain worried about Yoshiyuki, who was eating his lunch alone. Akane and Anzu force him to go with them to the cafeteria, where they get him to give an update on the status of the Yume situation. They're still not giving him the straight advice he's hoping for though. The problem, they say, is that he's too thickheaded to see the problem, but they refuse to tell him what to do because that'd be too easy. At this point, he's getting frustrated that everyone but him has figured it out. ^^;

(See, what the average man needs in these situations is someone with the emotional insight of the typical woman, but the practical, problem-solving approach of the typical male. "So how do I fix it?" "That's the whole problem!" "So what should I do?" "You should be able to figure it out." "What?!" )

Dreams to the rescue? Yoshiyuki dreams of a scene from his and Yume's childhood, where Yume had a bad dream and couldn't get back to sleep, so she asked if she could sleep next to him so she wouldn't be afraid. At the end of the dream, she asks a hypothetical question: if they found themselves far apart some day, what would he do?

That next morning, he encounters a very tired-seeming Yume as she heads out to school. He tries to thank her, and noticing that she seems a bit out of sorts, tries to show he's worried about her... but she's not having any of it. She says that she's just fine, and that he doesn't need to worry about her, as heads off to school. Yoshiyuki still doesn't get it. At the end of the school day, Yoshiyuki goes to head home when he catches a glimpse of Yume talking to Minatsu. Minatsu's worried that Yume really doesn't look very good, and Yume says that she's catching a bit of a cold. When Minatsu suggests that maybe they should call Yoshiyuki to take her home, she refuses since she doesn't want to rely on him. Minatsu says that's fine, but wonders what changed all of a sudden. Yume clarifies that they didn't have a fight, but she realized that they might be forced apart. Because she realizes that she and Yoshiyuki won't be together forever, she decided that she needs to stop relying on him. Minatsu was still worried about Yume's health, so she walked her home.

As Yoshiyuki walked through town later that night, Yume's words rang through his head. He still doesn't understand what he's supposed to do and is getting pretty frustrated.

As he arrives home, though, he finds Yume collapsed on the floor. He hurries to her side, but she tells him not to worry because she's fine... Of course, realizing how feverish she is, he'll have nothing of it, and he stays by her bedside to monitor her condition. Sometime later, Yume wakes up. He once again takes the opportunity to apologize for the birthday party, but she says it's fine because she really isn't mad at him. She knew that it wasn't his fault from the beginning, and it's okay for him to forget about it. If that's the case, though, Yoshiyuki asked why she acted so distant from Otome and him. "That's because I'm weak," she said. Yume seemed to be falling back asleep, so he bid her goodnight; he'd be sleeping on the sofa, so she should just call for him if she needs anything. But before he could go, Yume quietly asked "you're leaving...?" before she caught herself and said it was nothing.

Yoshiyuki wakes up, and goes to check on his patient. Seems she's up and about, so he decides to check her temperature using the time-honoured tradition passed down from Junichi & Nemu. *SMACK* Seems she's still a bit feverish, so he thinks she should stay home and rest. Of course, Yume's freaking out about the way he took her temperature, and says that he should at least have given her some warning! Yoshiyuki tries to brush it off as no big deal -- just a bit of skinship between siblings. But if she was hoping for a kiss... to which she yells at him to "just get out" and starts throwing things. "Nii-san no baka!!" Seems his relationship with Yume is back to normal.

Later that day, Yoshiyuki goes to bring her some food. Like a stubborn child, she says she's not hungry, but he eventually convinces her to eat some. Despite her initial protests, he spoon-feeds her to make sure she eats properly. After going out to pick up some supplies, Yoshiyuki returns home to check on his patient. He opens the door to find that... he picked a pretty bad time not to knock. ^^;; He finds Yume sitting on her bed half-naked, washing herself with the water from a basin. He tries to act casual and carry on like it's normal, but suffice it to say... Yume doesn't take it very well. As he heads back, he finds himself started to feel a bit weird himself. He lays down on the couch, and sees a dream. In the dream, he and Yume are out grabbing some crepes together at the park. They're sharing each other's crepes so they can try the various flavours and see which they like best. You might have considered it a normal date... When he wakes up from the dream the next morning, he briefly remembers what happened yesterday. But when he tries to get up, he doesn't seem to have the energy, and falls back asleep.

The girls are grilling Yoshiyuki again over lunch the next day to find out what happened between him and Yume. He acts evasive at first, but eventually confesses that he thinks the fight's over now. As he explains what happened, the girls realize something, but it gets cut off by the bell. This time, though, Anzu takes him aside later to explain. She says that he must have realized that there's a deeper reason to all that's happened than the simple, surface reasons. She asks if he's realized it yet, but of course he hasn't. The reason is the feelings Yume and Yoshiyuki have for each other. The rationale being that, if Yume was never mad to begin with about him being late for the date, then the reason for her becoming distant from him must have occurred to her before then. She realizes that it's easy to see now after the fact (hindsight is 20/20), but the misunderstanding was probably unavoidable due to Yoshiyuki's thick-headedness.

As he's walking home, Yoshiyuki keeps thinking about what Anzu said. But he starts sneezing, and notices that it's getting harder for him to focus. He forces himself to walk home, but it isn't easy. As he's almost there, Yume notices him outside, and chides him for not having called her given the state he was in. He's burning up, so she leads him to his room. She offers to take care of him, and he tries to put on a brave face, saying that it'll be okay...

But not long after, he's in the dream world. There, he saw Yume, standing back to a gate overlooking a sunset, talking to him.

"I gave up on it long ago.
My feelings never changed.
Giving up was inevitable once I realized that.
It's the same for you, right?
Even though you put on a brave face all this time, you knew the lie.
I know that you can't be happy without knowing regret.
It's... painful.
So, this is goodbye, Nii-san."

Yoshiyuki awoke to find Yume sleeping by the side of his bed. The words of the dream mixed with Anzu's words -- that Yume already knew her feelings before she got mad at him -- and he finally realized his own true feelings.

He loved Yume -- not as a sister, but as a woman.

Spoiler for rf's commentary (at 3/5 of the way through...):

At this point, I imagine some may be finding some parts of the story bit tough to follow, what with the near-constant dream scenes, cryptic hints from the characters, and so on. You should rightfully be asking yourself at this point "what does this all mean?" Even if you figured out the "challenge" above (which, I should mention, is not completely clear yet, but getting much closer), the story itself is almost like a puzzle where you can only see the complete picture when all the pieces are place. This is why I couldn't come up with a way of summarizing the story in a truly compact form and preserving the impact the story has. So many of these seemingly-innocuous scenes have near-glaring symbolism and double-meanings once you understand what's going on and see what's to come. I hope that, if I've done my job right, you'll be able to read through the story again once you know the ending, and all the little things from earlier will suddenly fall into place in your mind (though they may be starting to fall into place already). That's what I love about this story, and hopefully I can convey that in spite of my inadequate Japanese. (And again, if there's anyone out there reading this who spots any errors, please let me know!)

And finally...

Spoiler for Random D.C. II Shot of the Day (not really a spoiler):

Poor Koko... even in Yume's path, she just never catches a break...

To Part 4 of 5...

[bluemist]

Returned from the grave.

I guess I would be continuing the game after all (blame the anime). Thanks to relentlessframe's Minatsu summary earlier I was able to cross-check my own summary (I hope you don't mind). If Yume's story is full of symbolism though I dunno if I can survive understanding her scenario and Otome's. I hope it's not as hard as you describe it is... my Japanese should not fail me.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by bluemist

Thanks to relentlessframe's Minatsu summary earlier I was able to cross-check my own summary (I hope you don't mind).

I don't mind... but, personally, I don't really see the point in doing the same work twice. If you're going to do Otome's plot in the nearterm future, let me know so I can save myself 100 more hours of work. I enjoyed doing both Minatsu and Yume's summaries, but I would never have done it if someone else already had. I wasn't trying to steal your thunder either, since it's you who started the idea. So let me know what your plans are, and I'll step back.

And I think Yume's story would be easy to summarize. But I think, by summarizing, I would have lost what makes the flow of the story interesting. It's probably more a reflection of my own writing ability than anything else. I'm sure others could succeed where I failed.